"You know this is a terrible idea, right?" Yuuji said as he looked at the enormous multi story mansion in front of them, with a yard even larger than the mansion itself.
"Why?" Yami asked, genuinely curious.
Yuuji didn't have time to answer, because while they were talking, an elegant completely black car pulled up in front of them.
The driver stepped out and greeted them all respectfully.
"Young Master Yuuji, Young Lady Yami, Miss Lala, Miss Lunatique, please have a seat" he said as he opened the rear door, revealing a spacious interior with red seats.
Yuuji got in naturally, followed by Lala, then Yami, and finally Tearju.
"Umm, where are we going?" Tearju asked as she looked around nervously.
Of course, Tearju held enough status in the universe to have something far better than this. If Tearju asked for a planet, people would compete to be the first to give her one just to establish even the slightest connection with her. That was how valuable she was on a galactic level.
But Tearju preferred focusing on her inventions and discoveries instead of seeking fame, power, luxury, or, well, pretty much anything else. In that regard, she was very similar to Lala.
"To see my parents" Yami replied before turning toward Yuuji, waiting for the answer to her previous question.
"You'll see" Yuuji simply replied as he gently patted her head with a helpless smile.
"Parents?" Tearju reacted from the side. "Y-you have other parents?" she asked, immediately losing her confidence.
Ever since she had arrived, Yami had simply been guiding her around without revealing how she felt about her. Tearju had gained confidence after seeing that Yami didn't seem to hate her, but after this revelation she no longer knew what to think.
"Yuuji is my brother, so his parents are my parents" Yami replied as though it were obvious.
And Tearju realized that, indeed, it was.
"Do you think they'll like me?"
Yami and Yuuji looked at each other for a second.
"Yes." "No." They answered at the same time.
"C-can I not go?"
""No.""
This time, they both agreed.
"...Alright" Tearju sighed helplessly.
While they were talking, the vehicle finally arrived at the mansion's entrance. Standing by the doors were Yuuji's parents with firm, strict expressions, never taking their eyes off Tearju from the moment she stepped out of the car.
...
"So, I understand that you want to steal our daughter from us?" Clara asked as she looked at the nervous scientist in the white lab coat sitting before her.
At that moment, everyone was gathered in the mansion's living room, and the servants had brought each of them their favorite drinks.
While Yuuji was drinking a soda and Yami a fruit juice, Clara was sipping a hot café au lait. After taking a small sip, she set the cup down on the table and looked critically at Tearju as she spoke.
"Of course not" Tearju answered immediately.
"Then" Yuuji Eicchi said as he raised an eyebrow, "you're saying that even though Yami invited you here, you plan to abandon her again?"
"No! I would never do that! In the first place, I never wanted to abandon her, I was forced to! NEVER, EVER, would I abandon my daughter!" Tearju declared with complete certainty.
"Is that so?" Clara asked with interest. "I'd love to hear the whole story."
Tearju sighed, knowing she would have to explain everything if she wanted them to believe her. Not just them, but Yami as well.
"The truth is, Yami wasn't just my creation, she was part of a much larger project.
I joined the project with the goal of creating life, no, not just life, but the perfect life form. One capable of adapting to and surviving in any environment, and performing any kind of task regardless of its nature, from tasks requiring agility to those demanding strength. Yami, who was called Eve at the time, was meant to become the pinnacle of the evolution of every trait possessed by any sapient being.
But... as the project progressed, I realized that the others didn't see Yami as a living person, but as a tool. Little by little, they shifted the research toward giving her more combat abilities and equipping her with weapons for battle.
Eventually, they even said they wanted to erase her memories and replace them with an obedient artificial intelligence whose only purpose would be killing.
The original project of creating life was forgotten. They only wanted yet another murderous weapon to use in wars.
Everything we had gone through, everything we had experienced, Yami herself, they wanted to erase her and replace her with nothing more than a weapon.
After discovering that, I tried to stop them. I created a code that would make Yami's personality impossible to erase and would never leave her at the mercy of other people's orders.
But I was discovered and expelled from the project. I tried to return, but by the time I finally managed to get back, the laboratory had been destroyed and Yami was nowhere to be found.
For a long time I believed she had died, until I heard about Konjiki no Yami, a famous galactic bounty hunter, and saw pictures of her. The moment I saw her, I knew it was her, and ever since then I've been trying to contact her without success."
"That's true. I had to change my phone many times because she kept hacking it" Yami nodded as though none of what had just been said affected her at all.
Meanwhile, Yuuji had his own thoughts.
'I see. The creation of Darkness always seemed somewhat illogical to me in the original story. According to the plot, it's a dark personality created to awaken only when Yami feels true peace in her heart, a personality whose sole objective is to create as much chaos and destruction as possible without any restraint.'
The explanation for that particular activation method was that the scientists who created it hated peace with all their hearts. However, if that were true, wouldn't it have been much simpler to just leave Yami in Darkness mode from the very beginning? That would have eliminated any chance of her ever feeling peace while also ruining everyone else's.
Now it seemed that they hadn't intentionally designed that strange activation method, but had instead found a loophole in the code Tearju had created.
'Of course, at first glance it doesn't make sense that a loophole in the code would involve Yami feeling peace, as though the two things had no connection.
However, Yami is, in the end, an artificial life form whose base personality was completely coded by Tearju. So having one part of her code be "feel peace" is just as natural as another part being "feel love" or another "feel hunger."'
Of course, that was only how she had been when she was created, and Yami was far more complex now. Being able to evolve emotionally on her own was only natural for something called "the ultimate life form."
"I see. It truly is a sad story" Clara sighed.
"Yes. Preventing you from seeing Yami wasn't something we had planned from the beginning, but now we're even more certain we won't do that" Eicchi added.
"I-I see. Thank you very much. I know that although I consider her my daughter, you are the people she considers her parents, and I have no intention of interfering with your relationship. I only want a chance to repair ours," Tearju explained.
"Well, that's not really our decision, is it?" Clara smiled as she looked at Yami.
Tearju also looked nervously at the blonde girl.
"It's almost time for classes to end. Let's go" Yami said as she stood up from the sofa, ignoring the question.
"E-eh? Right" Tearju nodded, unsure of what to do but deciding to follow her anyway.
"Bye, Dad, Mom. See you this weekend."
"Goodbye, sweetheart. You can call us if you need anything. We might even come visit you before the weekend for no particular reason."
"Bye."
"Rito, can't you be as polite as your sister too?" Clara complained with a childish pout. "Treat Lala well. Ah, but not too well, remember that Yami lives with you and has very sharp senses."
"Bye bye."
"Lala, Yuuji is lazy, so make sure to get him moving, alright?"
After saying their goodbyes, and after Tearju looked at them with envy as she watched Yami bid them farewell, the group left after a rather brief meeting.
...
"Umm, Yami, what are we doing here?" Tearju asked as she looked at the elementary school in front of them.
"We're waiting for someone" Yami simply replied.
"I-I see" Tearju stammered for what felt like the hundredth time that day. However, she quickly shook her head to herself before making up her mind, taking a deep breath and clenching her fists before speaking.
"Yami, even though I'm afraid of what you might say, I really want to have a serious talk with you."
Yami didn't answer. Instead, she simply raised an eyebrow and looked at her silently for a moment.
"...Alright. This is the second to last place we have to visit. We can talk at the last one" Yami replied.
"But... alright" Tearju sighed helplessly as all the courage she had built up vanished from her body.
With anyone else, Tearju would have insisted. Don't mistake her airheaded personality for naïveté, that's only how she acts when she's relaxed. As the galaxy's greatest biotechnology expert, she was used to dealing with all kinds of people, and even if she hadn't wanted to, she had been forced to adapt. Tearju could be just as cold and decisive as anyone else, even more so if she wanted. However, she was so afraid of what Yami might say that, even unconsciously, she didn't dare oppose her.
If, after finally getting the chance to see her, Yami told her she never wanted to see her again, she might burst into tears right then and there. This was her only chance to repair things with her daughter.
After all, Yami was famous throughout the galaxy and not difficult to find. With Tearju's resources, she could have gone to see her, or even captured her against her will, long ago. But Tearju would never resort to such methods. Her goal was to repair their relationship the right way, which was why this opportunity meant so much to her.
And while Tearju strengthened her resolve, the school bell finally rang, and the students began pouring out in large numbers.
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
p-atreon.com/IAMME26
(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)