Inheritance of Shadows [Hugo Vlad x Fem!OC]

Chapter 4: The Awakening

The next morning felt dreadfully long.

Yukari moved like the world was collapsing beneath her with every step. Her body ached—not just from injury, but from memory. The fight still clung to her skin.

She dropped into her seat, not having slept a single minute. Her arm was still bleeding even though she had redressed her wounds with proper bandages. She wanted to pass out right there at her desk. Her eyes drifted in and out of focus, zoning in, zoning out. Her thoughts blurred like static. She forgot what she was even supposed to be doing.

Then—thud.

Her head hit the desk with a loud crash that turned every head in the room. People called out, worried.

But Yukari barely heard them.

Her gaze landed sideways, where that same heist note from the other day still sat, crumpled and creased.

'Oh right... I forgot about that heist note. I need to see... that... thief... aga...'

The voices around her felt further and further away.

Then everything went dark.

Later that afternoon, Yukari found herself in a hospital bed, the sterile scent of antiseptic clinging to her senses. A nurse was tending quietly nearby, and Yurina was wailing like someone had died.

"Wake up, Yukari... Please wake up..." She clung to Yukari's arm, her tail flailing wildly behind her.

Yukari's eyes blinked open, blurry and disoriented. "I wanna eat cookies with you again... Please don't die!" Yurina's voice cracked, high-pitched and raw.

Without hesitation, Yukari raised her arm and slapped Yurina across the face.

The nurse flinched. Yurina was sent flying, yelping as she hit the floor.

Yukari sat up with a groan, rubbing her temples. "You're too loud," she muttered. "There are other patients in this hospital, you know..."

Yurina leapt up and flung herself into another hug, still crying. "I was so scared! They said you lost too much blood and nearly died! Why didn't you go to the hospital?! What happened? Did he hurt you? What did he do? Tell me—"

Yukari uppercut her without even looking. Yurina flipped backward, landing face-first on the ground.

"It's nothing," Yukari said, her voice quieter. "I just had a fight with Mockingbird."

From the floor, Yurina sat up slowly, eyes wide.

"You... you what?"

Yukari shot her a glare.

"If you repeat that out loud, I'll hit you again."

Yurina covered her mouth. "I wib nawt utter a swingle vord," she mumbled through her palms.

Yukari sighed in relief. "Good. So... what else did they say?"

Yurina finally settled onto the stool beside the bed. The nurse in the background peeked over her clipboard, clearly still listening in.

"Well, your wound..." Yurina frowned, tail twitching. "It was weird. It cut all the way down to your elbow—but it was clean. Precise. Like... surgical. No torn ligaments. Just deep. It's almost like... he knew how to hurt you without doing permanent damage. That's the strangest part."

"That is strange," Yukari murmured, resting her fingers under her chin. Her brows furrowed in thought.

"So," Yurina pressed, "why didn't you go to the hospital? Why go to work like nothing happened?"