Prologue
Moriko forbade any thought that her existence had more echo than her self-image, which stared silently at her from the mirror opposite.
Mostly.
The blond man who had invited her over after that unwary moment and who had finally offered her to work for him, had cut a notch in a part from which she hadn't even heard how much he screamed to be noticed.
How else did it come about that a damp veil fell over her eyes and with every blink it blurred the grin that her reflection gave her?
A jolt went through her body. She reared up.
Where else did the smell of salt come from, which mingled with the calloused scent of copper?
She knew that even if she closed her eyes and mind, she would not wake up in another place.
So where did her mind get the right to let these enrapturing images pop up in her mind's eye?
Pictures in which she was... surrounded by this household?
The sensation of glow, that ate up from her bowels to her sensitive skin from her hips up to her torso, made her clench the teeth. So hard that next to the veil, lightning also clouded her view.
That made their faces clearer. Frankenstein, Rai, Regis, Seira, M-21, Takeo, and...
He smiled. It was an open, cheerful smile that didn't quite match the attentive look in his gray eyes. Eyes that signaled interest, friendliness, childishness, but also the sharpness that was hidden under his black techno cut with a white accent. Likewise, the seriousness of life and danger, as well as the concern for those who were important to him.
She dragged her arm up and stretched out her icy fingers, as if with sheer willpower she could get the illusion before her eyes.
His smile, which was aimed at her - and from which she secretly imagined that she would also see these caring seeds germinate at her sight...
Trapped in a cascade of frosty fire that enveloped her entire body, she barely noticed the warm rivulets that worked their way down her cheeks from her burning eyes. The numbing smell of copper and sweat disappeared suddenly as her nose swelled up and blocked her sense of smell.
The world turned over. Her hand dropped weakly.
A groan tore from her throat.
Tao...