Galas are dull, boring and tense. There will be businessmen and people with glasses of champagne in their hands and negotiating on the spot or observing others - complementing or staining a name. After the gala celebrating Chinese New Year in the Hong Kong Convention Exhibition Centre, Yuki and her father (former uncle mister Yue. Yuki have some trouble calling him father) went back to one of their many penthouses in Hong Kong. Her father isn't that fond of the crowded streets of Hong Kong and the high traffic jams. He can be found mumbling under his breath about going back to Beijing as quick as possible when he finish his business negotiations.
Yuki abruptly stood up from the leather armchair in the office where her father discuss important matters with guests. "The gala was fun! Xuemei is tired, I'm off to bed daddy!" Yuki chirped in mandarin as she dashed out of the living room, "goodnight everyone~!" Mr. Yue gave Yuki a nod before he continued his negotiation with some guests who were clearly charmed by Yuki's fake demeanour.
As soon as Yuki left the office of the penthouse, that facade dropped. "I'm off to train," she said to herself before heading towards a room in the far side of the penthouse, which many people had mistaken as a storage room. Yuki opened the door and flickered on the lights, revealing a spacious room with little to no gym implements.
The floor was tiled with mats and there's scrolls with Japanese and Chinese phrases of willingness and obedience littered around. Gaela headed towards the wooden mannequin and bowed down before getting into a stance. Her new father is an excellent martial artist, she need to be as strong as him to see Brian again.
'As swift as the wind, approach your target.
Dodge any attacks; it's not all fight.
Slice 'em in the vitals, as fast as light.'
With his father's words resonating with Yuki's mind, body and soul, she leaped and started smashing her fists into the upright mannequin appropriately and stepped back a few times. Her former father and her mother's corpse taunted her. Yuki felt her blood boil. After a few wild swipes and curses, Yuki leaned in, bruised fists aiming at the imaginative head of her dead father.
The image of Brian with a horrified expression flashed across her vision.
Yuki widened her eyes before stumbling, loosing her balance. The girl floundered around before she crashed into the wooden mannequin, clutching her head in pain. Is Yuki a monster...? For Brian to look at her with such a horrified expression... No, she isn't a monster.
Yuki winced at her sprained ankle before dragging herself towards the glass wall and stared outside, at the tall skyscrapers of Hong Kong. It reminded her of one of her father's apartments in Dalian - it must be the tall buildings and the view of the Kowloon Bay that made Yuki think of Dalian.
From the view of the penthouse, Yuki can affirm Hong Kong is truly breathtaking. Yuki can see so much shimmering lights below, lighting up the misty night like stars. The roads seems to be glowing; like a golden yarn being thrown onto the floor with a trail of gold behind. The towering skyscrapers seems to be reaching for the skies to replace the stars but the Kowloon Bay wasn't loosing - the water reflected the lights of the skyscrapers as well as the gradient sky, out-shining the view of land in glee. Yuki gazed at the tall skyscrapers stretching into the distance, staring at the faraway mountains behind.
Yuki finally closed her eyes before facing her back to the view, leaning on the glass wall. She slid down, collapsing onto the floor before resting her head on the glass. A single tear trickled down her cheek. Yuki was angry for being so weak. She was ashamed of herself for being so emotional. Yuki missed Brian very much. When can she see him again..?
Yuki wonders if Brian's doing the same thing as her - gazing at a nation's scenery before resting his head on a wall or window of some sort, shedding a few tears or closing his eyes with little to no emotion. Yuki shakily reached out her hand, wishing for her hand to reach Brian.
....A girl can only dream.
Yuki finally stood up and dusted herself. "I shall continue learning how accounting works," Yuki said to herself, "I need to study Cantonese after this as well as the cello.... I wonder why father want me to learn the cello when mother taught me how to play the erhu." Yuki paused before she shivered, recalling her father's look of distaste when he learnt Yuki didn't learn any orchestral instruments, "it's not my problem there's no violins or pianos at home.... I'm sure Brian would love to teach me the violin."
With that, the girl quietly retreated to her room, pulling out her accounting copy, her calculator and Cantonese textbook. Yuki have to admit - traditional Chinese characters is harder to interpret than simplified Chinese characters. What makes learning the Chinese languages really difficult is that a lot of the characters look like some kanji characters which confuses her. Her new father reminds Yuki of her old father, forcing languages upon her for the sake of a secured future.
***
How long has it been..?
A few years.
Yuki tried her best to remember Brian's face but all she can remember is a mop of blonde hair and blue eyes. She remember his laugh, his voice and his bright smile but she cannot remember him. Yuki was one step closer to seeing Brian again. After training under her father for so long, she's finally moving onto the next stage of her life. She mastered Mandarin, she mastered Cantonese. She mastered the art of trading, accounting and how to run a business. She can beat her father in hand-to-hand combat and she can play the cello.
Finland was colder than Yuki had anticipated. As excepted from a country across the world from Asia... Finnish towns at night are dead silent, Yuki needed to take note of that. The girl shivered a bit before she stared at the one eyed beige blonde with a bandaged face and a sturdy half-face gas mask resting on the rooftop above her, unfazed.
Her father next to her shoved her forward. "This is my sister's daughter. Cillian said you need to guide her to the right path. Grind her, train her well." Mr. Yue said before he hovered his gaze at Yuki and nodded. "Xuemei, you did well. Now you need to train under mister Veikko Häyhä..." Yuki's father ruffled her hair, looking away bashfully.
"....I'm proud of you."
Those four words....
Yuki always yearn for those words from her father. No matter how hard Yuki worked back then, her deceased father never gave a damn about her and took her happiness away from Yuki. Yuki finally hardened herself, learnt not to give in to her selfish desires. After all these years, her new father said the very words Yuki always yearns for. Yuki never thought she needed to hear those four words until today. "Of course father." A single tear involuntarily slid down Yuki's cheek as the young teen nodded, expression as blank as ever. Veikko Häyhä scowled as he looked down, examining Yuki.
"This pipsqueak is Mistress Hisame's child?" The blonde began, shaking violently as his eyes widened. "I can see...... I can tell... She got her mother's charisma and gifts but..." The blonde stood up, pulling a cleaver out of his satchel, insane eyes unravelling, "can she kill in cold blood? Can she handle my training? She have emotions unlike mistress Hisame who's ruthless, cruel yet..."
The Finnish man began hyperventilating, as if having a heart attack of some sort as he relive a painful memory, tears flowing out of his eyes as he trembled. A creepy smile crept up his cheek as tears continued to flow out of his eyes. He stood up from the roof and started shouting at the top of his lungs. "Mistress Hisame is a Queen! A Goddess! An Angel sent down from heaven! Oh so wonderful! She's Our Lord's masterpiece!" He exclaimed before he started laughing maniacally, "so talented..! So much bloodlust! So cruel..! Yet she spared my life........ HISAME WHY MUST YOU DIE?!"
Yuki gave her father an uncertain look who just sighed as the Finnish man continued to scream and sob. "Don't worry, he's always like that," he sighed, "Veikko and his brother Cillian Häyhä all have a fixation for my sister and it's not normal. Those damn creeps.... Veikko, whose a hitman in desperate need of money at the time, witnessed your mother Hisame murdering a corrupted loan shark Veikko's in debt to. Veikko, being the totally sane person he is, attempted to kill Hisame but she's too strong for him. Veikko would've been dead if it wasn't for your mother's merciful heart for other victims of fate. An Assassin's Faith isn't easy to gain you know. Your mother sympathise killers and trust them like how she would with a normal person."
Mr. Yue cringed as Veikko screamed out 'I love you Mistress Hisame' out loud. "It seems the Häyhä siblings thought of her as an angel or a Goddess who freed them from suffering. Your mother also opened up a new world to Veikko, reminding him he's human and he can die too. She opened his eyes. No matter how strong you are, there's always someone stronger waiting." Yuki nodded, taking her father's word to heart.
"HEY MISTER YUE, CAN THIS PIPSQUEAK KILL?! CAN SHE DEFEND HERSELF?!
IS
SHE
REALLY
RELATED
TO
MISTRESS
HISAME?!"
Yuki's father widened his dark eyes as he stepped back. "XUEMEI, WATCH OUT!" He shouted out. A gun in the Finnish man's hand fired a bullet into the sky. Yuki focused her gaze at the bullet, her sharp eyes fixated on the bullet, ears ringing from the shot....
Yuki can only widen her eyes upon realisation as the insane maniac leaped off of the roof, cleaver in hand, grinning like the lunatic he is, lunging at Yuki. That bullet is a diversion. He's fast. Really fast. Yuki quickly snapped out of her trance and shakily whipped out the Yoake sheath under her lamb skin leather dress-coat, barely defending herself as the cleaver cuts into the sheath of the Yoake.
As if by some coincidence, the cleaver in the Finnish man's hands cuts into a part of the Yoake sheath that seems to be used to block an attack before in the past. The Finnish man less than a few inches from Yuki hovered his gaze unsteadily at the Yoake before he paused, breathing hitching.
"God... it's that sword.... That sword Mistress Hisame freed me with... it's the sword she used to defend herself and........" The Finnish man let out a yell before collapsing into the floor, looking up at Yuki with his widened eye. Yuki looked down at the man in distaste. "It's that look in her eyes....." Veikko Häyhä hovered his hands shakily towards Yuki, as if wanting to hold her in his hands. Yuki smacked the hands away, cold eyes darkening as she unsheathed the Yoake and got into a stance, tightening her grip onto the Yoake.
"Don't. Touch. Me." Yuki growled
Veikko Häyhä widened his eyes before he shakily whimpered and started bawling like a baby. Yuki lowered her Yoake and stared at the man, a bit confused. Why is he scared of her? Yuki started shaking internally. Is it because she's a monster..?
Mr. Yue stifled out a laugh. "You're really her daughter." He smiled, "now that I actually take a closer look at you holding the Yoake, you look just like your mother. No matter how close the two of us are, I guess it still makes her my foster sister because she doesn't share the same blood as me. You're very lucky Yuki, sharing the same blood with such a blissful and talented woman."
Those words struck a chord in Yuki's heart, recalling how her long lost and forgotten brother saying him and herself look like their mother thanks to them sharing her blood. "...." Yuki simply nodded.
***
Training under Veikko Häyhä was harder than Yuki had anticipated. From using duel daggers to using poison to sniping to learning Finnish and even a bit of Norse, Yuki managed to learn more skills to help her survive in this world. Heck, Yuki even learnt how to read somebody's emotions by looking into their eyes thanks to her mentor having one functioning eye and majority of his face covered in bandages and a gas mask. Yuki's respect for Veikko Häyhä deepened over time as he taught her every skill she possess today. Yuki is really thankful for Veikko.
She discovered she have a talent with handling guns - especially sniper rifles.
Yuki watched her target walking down the street with a suitcase of cash. Her dark eyes quickly adjusted to the darkness as she layed down, M24 in her hands. She aligned her eyes to the scope of the precious gun. It's a gift from her beloved mentor Veikko, who loves to tinker with guns despite using cleavers for most of his kills. Yuki felt a presence behind her.
"You're late, oppetaja." Yuki commented as she reloaded her M24, focusing on her target with her eyes to the scope. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Hisame." Veikko grinned(?), his bandaged face illuminated in the darkness with his grey blue eye flickering in the night light, "you're using the M24 I tinkered for you? You must love that baby very much." "Of course. It's bestowed to me by my oppetaja." "I'm glad you like it Hisame!" Yuki hesitated.
"It's Yuki or Xuemei oppetaja. Please don't use Seuno."
"Sorry Yuki, you just look so similar to your mother."
"Why don't you give me another name then? It's not like I care anyways. I have too much names to the extent I don't care anymore."
"....C-Can I name you?"
"You are my oppetaja, of course. I'll use the name you bestow on me as my..... name. It'll be an honour to receive a name from you."
Veikko Häyhä let out a chuckle as he clicked his fingers. Yuki pulled the trigger, aiming for the man with the suitcase on the head. Within a split second, the man fell on the floor, dead with a bullet in his eye. The Finnish man let out a cheer before hopping off of the roof, rushing to grab the suitcase like a rodent feasting on trash before disappearing from Yuki's sight. After a minute or two, Veikko appeared beside Yuki again, opening the suitcase in delight as he stared at the stacks of euros. Veikko gave Yuki a delightful look before he paused.
The soft moonlight illuminated the quiet city of Oulu, penetrating the veil of darkness casted by the chilling night. The dimly lit lamps of the streets glowed softly over the pavements as Veikko observed Yuki. She was looking up at the night sky with a serene smile plastered onto her face for the first time in a while as she watched the beautiful splash of black, blue and purple above her littered with glittering white stars like freckles on a young colleen's face.
The moonlight was befalling a silvery glow upon Yuki, making the young girl glow in a silvery blue hue. Veikko examined Yuki's refined features. No matter how many times he contemplated Yuki's face, there's something always puzzling him: why doesn't he love Hisame's daughter as a God or worship her..? Veikko sees Hisame's daughter as his own child.
Veikko first met Hisame under the full moon in Galway, where she killed the devil Veikko and his brother suffered from. Hisame is the Queen of the Moon. The Ice Queen. Veikko simply sees Yuki as her daughter. Yuki cannot replace Hisame. Yuki is Yuki and Hisame is Hisame. Hisame died and there's nothing he can do about it. Her daughter on the other hand... She still have a lot of potential and a bright future ahead of her.
Somewhere deep within Veikko's heart sank, wishing for him to see Yuki as Hisame. She is the only person who makes him happy, who makes him scared, who makes him excited. But she's dead. Hisame, Yue and her daughter are the only reason why he's alive. Veikko would kill himself a long time ago if he didn't know Hisame had a daughter. Veikko swore he'd look after her daughter. He would still have a reason to live other than reliving memories of Hisame; and that is to guide Hisame's daughter to the path he believe is right.
"....Gaela." Veikko breathed. Yuki tilted her head in confusion. "Your name is now Gaela. A combination of Gealach and Gaeilge... A fitting name for the daughter of the Queen of the Moon. No matter how many times I said it already I'm going to say it again. You just look so similar to your mother......... I cannot replace a deceased Goddess who shares the same blood as you but I'll guide you to the right path, to an unspoilt and worthy future." Gaela gave her mentor a small smile that doesn't match her lifeless eyes.
"Gaela... I like that name."