Chapter 71 Fukada Akihiko
“Mmm—”
Kazumi opened her eyes with difficulty, and what greeted her was a somewhat familiar dim chandelier. She slowly turned her head, feeling as if her brain had been hit by a heavy hammer, and she was dizzy and weak.
“Then sleep a little more…”
She turned over, smelled the faint scent of shampoo on her pillow, and Kazumi, feeling somewhat at ease, decided to go back to sleep.
[Wait! I should be in…]
Suddenly remembering something, Kazumi’s sleepiness vanished instantly. She abruptly opened her eyes and sat up.
“This is… my room?”
The familiar environment and layout around her instantly filled Kazumi with a sense of relief. This messy, tattered little room, wasn’t it Kazumi’s bedroom where she had slept for so many years?
[Mind control? Or an illusion?]
Her eyebrows knitted slightly, Kazumi coldly opened the nightstand cabinet. Even the books inside the nightstand were ones she had placed there last night. At the very least, this could preliminarily rule out a deliberately created familiar environment to lull her into lowering her guard.
The skull mark on her wrist appeared. Kazumi sensed that her abilities were still there, and she quietly set the teleportation exit directly above her head. This was probably Kazumi’s only means of attack for now.
She then grabbed her own arm fiercely. Her once fair skin turned red in a visible patch from the force of her grip. A pained expression appeared on Kazumi’s usually placid face.
[There’s pain, so it shouldn’t be a dream.]
She nodded gently, having ruled out a few possible situations. Kazumi then recalled the last scene before she lost consciousness.
Perhaps it was due to the clash of abilities, but although Hamano Tsukasa’s final move was stopped by Dragonji, the leaked trace of energy still caused Kazumi considerable harm.
It was known that the ultimate, pure yang lightning energy was like a natural nemesis to a soul like Kazumi’s, which had fallen into darkness. A mere touch was a severe blow.
Although she didn’t know why [Warhammer]’s energy could harm her to this extent, Kazumi knew that in that situation, she absolutely couldn’t expose her injured state to the two heroes. Otherwise, if she aroused suspicion, it would be difficult to explain.
Using her feigned shock to cover her pale complexion, which had turned that way from her soul being injured, she hid in Sato Shinichi’s embrace. Only after both of them had left did Kazumi make her escape under the cover of darkness.
Unable to hold on any longer, she hid in the restroom, unleashed her ability, and slipped into the coffin.
[So, I should be in the hospital right now?! Why am I suddenly back home?]
Walking over to the table, Kazumi casually flipped through a few pages of her study notes, becoming increasingly certain that this was her home. Pulling aside the curtain and looking out the window, the pitch-black sky indicated that it was quite late.
“What exactly is going on?”
She murmured, her mind spinning rapidly as she tried to figure out if the current situation was beneficial to her.
“Creaaak—”
The worn room door was opened from the outside. A tall man with a square face, holding a cup, walked in.
“Uncle Fukada!!”
Seeing the familiar man who appeared before her, Kazumi couldn’t help but shout. She scurried over to Fukada Akihiko and burrowed into his embrace like a returning swallow.
“Oh my, my little Kazumi!”
He held up the milk in his hand a little higher with one arm, preventing it from spilling and scalding Kazumi, as Fukada Akihiko steadily caught the excited little girl.
Although he didn’t know why Kazumi was suddenly so close to him, the uncontrollable smile on Fukada Akihiko’s face showed his current happiness.
“Thump!”
Then, a huge, jet-black coffin suddenly appeared and violently smashed down towards Fukada Akihiko’s head.
“…”
A jet-black arm emerged from Fukada Akihiko’s shadow, blocking the impact of the thousand-pound coffin falling from the sky.
Fukada Akihiko, however, looked at Kazumi Shimizu, who had now retreated one step away from him, with a look of world-weariness. The smile that had been on his lips was now frozen.
As if sensing the change in Fukada Akihiko’s expression, Kazumi blinked innocently and smiled at him with a harmless expression.
“Um… Can I say, I was trying to test if it was the real Uncle Fukada…”
…
In the messy, yet black-element-filled little room, the tall, strong man sat on a chair with a dejected look. Beside him, a thin young girl hung onto his arm, shaking it incessantly.
“Uncle Fukada, sorry, you taught me to be extremely vigilant when it comes to matters concerning you. I was afraid someone might be impersonating you~”
Looking at the girl clinging to his arm and dangling him, the dejection on Fukada Akihiko’s face eventually turned into a wry smile. He shook his head helplessly and then gently ruffled Kazumi’s head twice.
What could he do? No matter how much wrong she did, she was still his own daughter. He couldn’t dote on her enough, so how could he bear to scold her?
“Alright, alright, uncle knows Kazumi is the most vigilant. It’s uncle’s fault for not explaining clearly at first.”
He rubbed the back of his neck with hindsight. Fortunately, he had extensive combat experience and always paid attention to his surroundings, even with Kazumi in his arms. Otherwise, if he had taken such a blow directly, he, who wasn’t a physically enhanced ability user, would have likely suffered some injury.
“Mm, mm, mm, drink your milk, Uncle Fukada!”
Seeing Kazumi holding out the cup in her hand to him again, Fukada Akihiko’s lips revealed a few more relieved smiles. For a lonely old man lacking affection like him, receiving care from his children was already his greatest wish.
“You drink it, Kazumi. You drink it. You were just injured, you need to rest well.”
He pushed Kazumi’s cup back, replying with a smile. However, when he uttered the words “Kazumi injured,” his gentle eyes suddenly turned cold, as if he was planning something.
Nodding, she obediently took back the jet-black cup and took a sip of the warm milk, which was at the perfect temperature. The replenishment of energy also made Kazumi’s condition slightly better. She looked up at Fukada Akihiko, who was sitting on the chair, and asked,
“So, did Uncle Fukada find me and bring me back?”
