It was about 8 in the morning when Yuzu had woken up. The blonde felt refreshed despite being sleep deprived as a result of last night's strenuous activities. She looked down to see her girlfriend wrapped in her own arms, still sleeping soundly. Yuzu started to unconsciously fiddle with Mei's jet black hair, breathing in the younger girl's scent in the process.
She recognized her girlfriend's natural scent with a hint of lavender, which was different from the vanilla shampoo they had been sharing for the last few months.
A muffled "Good morning" came out of the raven haired girl's mouth, followed by some shuffling. Mei turned her head to look up at her blonde girlfriend.
"Sorry, did I wake you?", Yuzu gave an apologetic smile.
The other girl shook her head slightly, "No, it's okay…"
"You should go back to sleep, Mei", Yuzu suggested.
Mei only gave a small nod in reply before dozing off once more.
Yuzu wanted to spend the rest of the day like this. She thought she could since Miyagi-sensei didn't have much else to teach her, so she didn't have to get up at ungodly times in the morning anymore.
However, just as the blonde was about to doze off as well a sudden knock jolted her awake.
It seemed like Mei had also woken up from the sudden disturbance as she immediately got up to slip into some clothes while Yuzu scrambled towards the door.
"Y-yes? What is it?", Yuzu asked.
"Yuzuko-san, you must get ready immediately!", a distressed voice called from the other side of the door.
"Why? What's the hurry?"
"Well, your grandmother is on her way here! She's a week earlier than expected. I heard that she's at the airport right now and will be arriving in twenty minutes!", panic was apparent in the maid's voice.
'Crap.', was the blonde's first thought. "A-alright. I'll be out in a few minutes"
Yuzu turned to Mei who just finished dressing up. The younger girl immediately noticed the other girl's pale face. "What is it?"
"M-my grandmother… she's on her way here!". The blonde started to pace around, "What do I do? I'm not ready to confront her yet! Well, that's actually the whole reason why I came here but… but I'm still not ready!"
Mei grabbed the girl other girl's quivering shoulders, "Yuzu! Calm down, it's alright."
The other girl stared into Mei's violet eyes as she nodded and took a deep, albeit shaky, breath.
"Yuzu, you'll be alright. I'm right here with you"
Yuzu chuckled nervously before responding, "Yeah, I know… thank you", she hugged the other girl for a moment before getting up and hitting her cheeks. "I've got this!"
Yuzu got into her usual clothes. She also packed her bag since she had a feeling that she would no longer be staying there.
Yuzu and Mei entered the room where Mrs. Hayato was already sitting in.
"Grandmother, how are you? It's been a while"
"Enough with the formalities. Come sit", the old woman said harshly.
The blonde sat down across from the elderly woman, with Mei sitting down right next to her.
"Oh, if it isn't Aihara Mei. What brings you here?", she raised her eyebrow in confusion.
"I've come here to watch over Yuzu as requested by her mother, my stepmother.", Mei answered firmly.
Mrs Hayato continued to look at the raven haired girl, who glared back at her, "I see…".
The room was quiet and the air felt thin as both were engaged in a staring competition. Thankfully, the tense atmosphere was halted when a bald man entered the room.
"Ah, Miyagi-sensei, I trust that you've properly educated Yuzuko in the basics of martial arts?",
The bald man nodded, "Yes Hayato-sama, in fact, I've given her more advanced lessons as she learned the basics quite quickly upon her arrival here 10 weeks ago"
"I see", Mrs Hayato raised an eyebrow as she eyed the blonde girl. "Well, why don't you show me how far you've come, Yuzuko. If your skills are indeed as great as Miyagi-sensei preaches, then I'll accept you as my granddaughter and the only heir to the Hayato clan!", the elderly woman declared.
The old man wordlessly walked out to the garden while Yuzu stood up from her seat and followed suit. Mrs Hayato and Mei also stood up to sit on the engawa to watch the fight.
The martial arts master bowed first, "It was an honour teaching you, Yuzuko-san".
Yuzu wordlessly bowed as well before taking her stance. Miyagi-sensei immediately launched a breaking side kick. The blonde was able to block it with ease, taking the chance to land a hit on his chest.
'I heard about your fight with Junko and Jiro. You waited for them to attack first, using minimal energy to block their hits and waiting for them to tire out. That may have been a good strategy... but it won't always work, especially if your opponent has a lot of experience'
A blow to the chest is always effective in weakening the opponent's defense. Miyagi-sensei stepped back which was the perfect opportunity for Yuzu to attack full force. She performed a roundhouse kick, managing to attack while still keeping distance between her and the old man.
As expected, the martial arts master reeled back from the heavy blows. Though the fight had just barely begun, Yuzu already felt adrenaline rush through her veins.
'Remember, hand to hand combat usually only lasts a few minutes at most', Yuzu recalled something her teacher told her. 'Unless you have a lot of experience and built up your endurance and stamina, you can't afford to waste energy on attacks that won't hit!'
Heeding her master's words, Yuzu decided to launch another attack with her knee. However the old man struck first, landing a teep kick directly on her sternum causing Yuzu to slouch forward in pain. He took this opportunity to land an axe kick onto her back which made the girl completely fall to the ground.
Yuzu managed to get up on her feet, still hacking and coughing in an effort to regain her breath. The old man was as merciless in training as he was in combat as he once again hit her with a snapping front kick. He continued to assault her with unrelenting kicks to the torso, pushing Yuzu back, all the while getting closer and closer to the blonde. The sickening taste of coppery blood filled her mouth and the stale sweat on her forehead only served to worsen her hazy vision.
Meanwhile, Mei sat there with a hardened expression, her fingernails digging into the skin of her knees as she watched the fight between her girlfriend and the martial arts master. She was reluctant to watch the fight but at the same time she knew that she had to be there for Yuzu.
Miyagi-sensei was now in close range with the blonde and took the chance to knock the wind out of her with a palm smash to the stomach.
'Throwing an opponent may take up a lot of energy, but it's a good way to put distance between you'
The old man's words resonated in Yuzu's mind. While he was still in close proximity the blonde grabbed him and threw him over her shoulder, knocking the wind out of the old man's lungs in the process.
The room was silent except for the sound of laboured breaths which made the air feel humid and suffocating. Both fighters stared at each other, trying to predict their opponent's next move.
Miyagi-sensei moved into action first, suddenly diving head first towards the young girl. Yuzu was able to successfully predict his next move, another attack with his leg, which she managed to grab a hold of while he was in mid air. The blonde did not hesitate to strike him in the face, elbowing him downwards and finally smashing her palm into his abdomen.
'Now, listen carefully. Knife hand strikes can be
very effective in bringing down an opponent but it won't work if you don't hit the exact pressure point. Learning the knife hand strike is easy enough, however, learning the exact spots where they're most effective is the tricky part'
The old man, once again, reeled back from the blows. Before he could even catch his breath Yuzu managed to get behind him.
'For an instant knockout a hit to the sternocleidomastoid muscle should do the trick'
In the blink of an eye he felt a slight jab on the side of his neck. His surroundings darkened and he instantly fell to his knees.
The match was over. Yuzu bowed, "It was an honour to be taught by you, Miyagi-sensei. Thank you".
While the servants carried the elderly man away, Yuzu turned to her grandmother. Her face showed a combination of an amused and analytical expression.
'She's come this far already even though it has only been 3 months', Mrs. Hayato thought. 'She definitely has Hayato blood in her'
"So, are my skills up to standard?", the blonde said smugly even through the pain of her sore, aching muscles.
Her difficulty to stand seemed to be apparent as Mei stood up from her seat to help Yuzu stand by wrapping her arm around her shoulder.
The older girl gave her girlfriend a smile, which was enough to express her gratitude.
Mrs Hayato sighed, "Well, it seems like you have definitely improved in your martial arts skills and Ms Izumi has told me that you've shown some academic improvement as well. With that, you have proven yourself worthy of inheriting the Hayato fortune", she smiled. "You will be the one to succeed this family!"
"Grandmother, I am honoured that you've finally accepted me as a worthy heir but I'm afraid that I can't become the next head of the clan at the moment", Yuzu bowed her head in apology.
The elderly woman was bemused at first but then started laughing, "Is this some kind of joke? Didn't you come here because you wanted to be the next head; to inherit the Hayato fortune?!"
"It is true that I wanted to be the next head of this clan. But I didn't come here to inherit the Hayato Clan for power or money…", Yuzu explained calmly. "All this time I've been trying to forget… but now I know that I can't hide from the past forever! I came here because I wanted to accept and forgive myself for what happened"
Mrs Hayato was silent for a moment, her hands balled into fists, "You want to forgive yourself?! Taking my son's life… what you did was unforgivable!"
"That's the other reason why I came here. I want to ask you for forgiveness..."
The elderly woman shot up from her seat, "Have you no shame, girl?!", she was now seething.
Nonetheless, Yuzu continued, "Yes, I do. I've hated and been ashamed of myself for almost my entire life… But recently someone showed me that I don't have to live like that. I realized that I don't want to live like that anymore!"
"...What makes you think that you deserve to 'not live like that anymore'?"
"Because I feel like I owe it to dad.", Yuzu said simply. "He didn't just die from the crash. He could have saved himself, but instead he protected me"
"Silence", Mrs Hayato spoke faintly.
"Dad gave his life for me and I'm sure that he'd be sad if I continued to live the rest of my life full of these toxic feelings of hatred and contempt for myself!", the blonde continued.
"Shut up", this time a bit more loudly.
"I think he'd also be sad if he saw that his mother and his daughter didn't get along-"
"Enough!", the old woman bellowed. "Get out!"
"...That's why I came here. I had to at least try...", Yuzu finally finished as she started to walk away with the help of the raven haired girl.
When they arrived at the gates they encountered Ms Izumi and a few other servants with their luggage ready to go.
"Yuzuko-san, please let us drive you home", Ms Izumi spoke spoke softly.
The blonde smiled at the offer, "Thanks, I'd really appreciate it…"
As the car left a few of the servants waved goodbye while others bowed in respect.
"So… what now?", Mei asked softly.
Yuzu shrugged, "We go home".