Mission 3: A Memory of Snow p2
Free—Yuki felt the casual word that Anna had spoken pierce her consciousness unexpectedly deeply.
『Watching them makes me realize how meaningless and empty freedom is. To live without any mission, under the illusion of being free, is to be unconscious of fate. Even though no one can engage with this world except by having some kind of role. In that case, humans would also become a fallen existence like cats. We are all equally slaves to fate.』
The words coming from the headset from Anna were a mirror image of Yuki’s own thoughts, word for word. It was only natural, as she had spent years making it so.
As she confirmed the success of her mind control, an indescribable sense of unease welled up within her.
She didn’t know what it was. But the keyword “freedom” continued to take root in Yuki’s consciousness.
『Freedom is meaningless, huh. You’re right about that, Anya. We are a family bound by a blood pact. Each member of the family has a role to play, so it’s no good if everyone starts doing whatever they want. In the first place, we can’t physically live apart from the Domik.』
While agreeing with Anna’s words, Yuki continued to toy with the unidentified sense of unease.
『In other words, for us, freedom is something that shouldn’t exist… something like a fantasy. But if it’s a fantasy, then anything goes. What do you say, Anya? Isn’t it interesting to talk about such pipe dreams once in a while?』
『Talk about… fantasies?』
『Yeah. Let’s just talk about “what ifs,” without worrying about whether it’s meaningful or not. Anya. If you were free, what would you want to do?』
『…』
Anna, as expected, fell silent, looking taken aback.
『Well then, shall I start? Let’s see… I’d like to go to Japan.』
『Japan… Yaponiya… I believe that’s the country where your mother was born.』
『That’s right. I want to know what the environment was like where my mother spent her adolescence and grew up. First, there’s the desire to satisfy that curiosity.』
When Yuki answered, Anna fell silent again. But this time, she could sense that she was hesitantly thinking about something.
Eventually.
『Is the name Yuki a word in Japanese?』
That was the question that came back from Anna when she opened her mouth.
『That’s right. It means snow—sneg. Those white, cold particles that fall from the sky.』
『I’ve always liked the sound of the name Yuki.』
At the voice coming from the headset, Yuki was enveloped in the illusion that the entire world had become distant for a moment.
『I don’t understand freedom. I don’t want it either. But I like the sound of Japanese. If you’re going to Japan, Yuki… I’d like to go with you and see that country with my own eyes.』
『Fufu.』
At Anna’s sheer earnestness, Yuki couldn’t help but laugh. She didn’t know if it was out of happiness or amusement.
『Was that a strange answer?』
『No, that’s not it… Well then, I’ll teach you Japanese. I learned it from my mother when I was little.』
From that day on, a new task was added to Yuki’s work.
The item of one-on-one Japanese education for her enthusiastic student, Anna.
***
Meanwhile, Yuki was steadily progressing with the component analysis for the development of a vaccine for the Krov’vy Klyatva—the inheritance she had received from her father, Alexei.
It had already been five years since she began secretly exchanging analysis requests with researchers in various countries via a hidden server in the online game she managed.
A killer virus developed during the Soviet era, based on human experiment data left behind by Nazi Germany. Its mystery had become a lost technology buried in the cracks of time, and even with the latest medical and chemical knowledge, it was slow to be solved.
In the midst of such unchanging days, an unexpected discovery was brought to Yuki.
It was while she was referencing data sent from one of the researchers she had requested analysis from, a retired old French doctor.
“…I knew it.”
For some reason, data in which the efficacy of the Krov’vy Klyatva was weakened was occasionally mixed in.
However, there was no pattern like a cycle to it. The same change was not seen in the data submitted by other researchers.
That’s why she had naturally overlooked it until now, and the fact that she noticed it this time was close to a coincidence, as she only remembered it because the last occurrence was close in time.
Focusing on the irregular changes that had been scattered randomly for some time, Yuki scrutinized the phenomenon.
And then…
“This is it. The virus is attenuated only in the experiments where this protein component is slightly mixed in.”
It was a microscopic particle called “Fel d 1.”
From the pattern of the name, Yuki could tell that it was some kind of allergen.
After investigating and confirming with the other party—
“…Haha.”
After a moment of daze, Yuki covered her face with one hand and looked up at the ceiling.
Learning what kind of allergen it was, an indescribable sense of exhaustion washed over her.
“Hey, hey, what kind of joke is this… can something like this really happen?”
It was the moment an unexpected piece was fitted into a puzzle that was supposed to be unsolvable forever.
***
About five months later.
Yuki was visiting Anna’s Detskaya in the facility 50 meters underground.
This was the living space where only the children of the Domik lived, and it was also a de facto prison, completely isolated from the outside world.
As an executive of the organization, Yuki passed through the facility’s gate with ID authentication and opened the door to the target room with a passcode.
“Hey, Anya. This will be the first time we’ve met in person, won’t it?”
At Yuki’s all-too-sudden visit, even Anna’s eyes went wide.
“…Yuki?”
And she stared at the visitor’s face.
“Fufu, being stared at so intently is embarrassing. Was I as plain-looking as you imagined?”
Yuki laughed playfully.
It was partly a way to hide her embarrassment and maintain her composure. The sixteen-year-old Anna, whom she had seen in motion for the first time in a while, had grown into a beautiful girl beyond Yuki’s imagination. To be honest, it was enough to make her flustered.
In front of her glossy, ash-silver hair, her own black hair, inherited from her mother and which she had been fond of, seemed a bit shabby. As for her unfashionable very short hairstyle and plain black-rimmed glasses, none of it could compare to Anna’s beauty.
“Only your height hasn’t grown at all since you were little. You’re still as small and cute as ever.”
“…You’re not plain at all. I was just a little surprised that you’re more of a big sister than I thought.”
Anna, in front of Yuki, was more obviously embarrassed. She shyly cast her eyes down, and her cheeks were slightly flushed.
I wonder if she’s more clingy than I thought, Yuki thought, watching her reaction with an amused smile while also coldly analyzing it. And she felt a little self-loathing for her own nature. It was a psychology she hadn’t had before.
“I’m twenty-two this year, so I’m six years older than you, Anya. Anyway, Anya. Could you open this basket for me?”
Yuki handed the basket she had brought to Anna.
“It’s quite heavy. What’s inside?”
“Just open it and see, it’s a surprise.”
As prompted, Anna unfastened the latch on the case and opened the lid.
The next moment—
“Achoo!!”
A duet of sneezes erupted from the two of them, face to face.
Both with runny noses and faces red with hives, they looked at each other. Anna’s gaze turned to the contents of the basket.
“Wha—a cat?!”
Inside was an adult Russian Blue. It was curled up on the cloth that was laid out as a cushion, looking up at Anna with a defiant expression as if to say, “Who the hell are you?”
“…It seems fate has given its answer.”
“What do you mean, Yuki?”
Wiping her face with a handkerchief, Yuki smiled through her watery eyes.
“We’re leaving now, Anya.”
“Where to? And besides, I…”
“Don’t worry. This is a mission assigned to you.”
With the word “mission,” a switch was flipped in Anna’s mind.
For the sake of a mission, she would become a ruthless killer machine that would even sacrifice her own life for its execution.
***
