Inside the room. Ilaya is hungrily devouring her food that the man, Haruki, delivered to her. As she was eating, Ivana was sitting in the chair across the table. She watch Ilaya eats while crossing her arms. Then, she waited for Ilaya to finished eating before she asked
"Are you done?"
Ilaya looked at her with blissful and sleepy expression as she nodded before saying
"Yes, I'm already done. To bad you didn't joined me. The food is so good"
Ivana didn't answer her but she asked a different question
"So, What happened to you?"
Ilaya confusingly tilt her head as she asked
"What do you mean?"
Ivana sighed as she leaned forward and put her arms in the table while crossing her fingers. She then looked at Ilaya and explained
"Ilaya, you are not included in the database of this country. What I mean is that you have no traces, past records, or anything of the sort. You're like a ghost, you have no past. Literally"
Ilaya became shocked as she hurriedly asked
"W-Wait! So you mean that you did try to dig up my past and didn't find anything!?"
Ilaya became dismayed as her goal of searching her past became even more difficult
'If the boss of Yakuza couldn't find anything about my past despite using all of her connections. Then, is my search for my past going to be hopeless?'
As Ilaya became sad. Ivana said to her
"That's what it is. But, it's not exactly like we'll not be able to uncover anything about you. And it's actually one of my main reason for saving and helping you"
Ivana looked at her blue eyes as she said
"Ilaya…"
Ivana stopped speaking as she was confused about where to start. Then Ivana asked Ilaya to tell her about what happened to her first. That way, she can gather pieces of information. And compile it in a structured way. She can analyze and compare all the information that she has. She can then effectively convey all that she know without leaving other important information
Then, Ilaya said all of the things that she knows. Which is basically of her waking up in the street. And to Ivana's dismay, there's absolutely no information that she can use except for the address. She then said to Ilaya
"I'm going to tell you a story. Don't interrupt until I'm finished"
As Ilaya nodded. Ivana started her story
"A decade ago, there's a woman who's in her early 20's, who arrived here in Tokyo. My grandfather helped her settle in this place. He received a report about her from a street fight, since this place was chaotic that year. She is a really good fighter that's almost on the level of a superhuman. My grandfather wanted her to join his force, so my grandfather helped her. He wanted the woman to owe him a favor. And the house that my grandfather gave her is the one that you wanted to rent"
As Ilaya's eyes widened, she was about to say something, but was interrupted by Ivana who raised her hand. Then, Ivana continued her story
"So, the year that my grandfather gave her the house. She was often vanishing from time to time. It's to the point that she vanished for months before returning to the house. My grandfather asked her about it, but she said that it's a secret"
Ivana pulled out a dagger from her boots as she played with it. Ilaya eyes trembled when she saw the knife, but, she just leaned back to her chair as she placed all her attention to the red eyes of Ivana while struggling to ignore the knife as she listened
"Then, before that year's end. A big war happened in this city. It's a fight between all criminal organizations in Tokyo. Of course, the police forces get dragged to it too. I'm still a child back then, but I still remember the chaos that the fight had caused"
Ivana's eyes turned melancholic and sad as she continued her story
"The police forces and the Yakuza back then suffered so much, to the point that my family was close to being destroyed. The enemies back then had created an alliance, led by a foreign force that came to this country, the Mafia. They managed to unite the 8 criminal organizations of the underworld that they became a hegemon. As the Yakuza and the Police forces fought separately, we were brought to our knees one by one pretty much immediately"
Thud!
"Kyaap!"
Ivana abruptly stabbed the dagger at the table, causing Ilaya to be startled and let out a yelp
Ilaya immediately covered her mouth as she stifled her scream. Ilaya looked at the emotionless woman in front of her with fear in her eyes as Ivana continues
"Then, as we were nearly brought to our destruction, the woman returned from wherever she had gone to. Then, she arrived when we're suffering an ambush and…"
She didn't continue her words as her eyes trembled, but she swiftly calmed her emotion. Her red eyes turned into a serene stillness as she said
"She then arrived and gathered us all. My grandfather said to me that after she figured out what was going on. She returned to her house for a while, and when she appeared at the Yakuza's hideout, somehow, she's clad in a strange leather armor, wearing a single edged sword and a shield, like a female adventurer in a fairytale"
Ilaya got drawn to her story and she felt something stirred inside her. Like an echo of the past. She suddenly felt a strange emotion flashed through her, but it vanished. Then, as her attempt to identify what she felt got no result, she turned her attention to Ivana and carefully listened to her tale
"She then, after figuring out the location of the headquarters of the alliance, immediately set off and headed straight to that headquarters. Well, the outcome is obvious. She killed her way towards their territory and beheaded the Boss of the Mafia and the heads of other criminal organizations that night. Then, the war that was raging at the city had come to end"
Ivana lifted up her left hand as she took off the ring in her index finger, and she put it down on the table. The ring is like a transparent crystal that contains a glitter, like a trapped stars in the night sky. As Ilaya saw it, she immediately became flustered as she hurriedly took out her necklace where she put her ring. Then, she placed the necklace and the ring besides Ivana's ring
Ivana's eyes widened, but she didn't let her shock interrupt her storytelling
"The woman returned to our hideout and she returned with a lot of wounds. From bullet wounds to lacerations. Then, my grandfather said to me that the woman looked sadly at the sleeping me, before she took out her ring and gave it to my grandfather. She said to him that the ring is a gift from her, and it will help them when the time comes. Then the woman pointed at me, who was sleeping at that time, as she continued to speak to my grandfather"
Ivana paused for a moment, while her expression became confused as she said
"The exact wording of the woman is; (You must pass it to her someday, only she can use it). Then, the woman turned around and leaves the hideout without saying or listening to anything. My grandfather said that he remembered the resolve and resignation from her as she left. From then and on, she never appeared again"
Ivana took a deep breath as she rested for speaking so much. Ilaya however became enamored at the story. There's something about it that keeps scratching her memories, but she couldn't remember anything. Then, Ivana said to Ilaya
"And Ilaya. Did I tell you about the appearance of the woman in the story?"
Ilaya snapped out of her thoughts as she shook her head. Then, Ivana said to her as peered into her blue eyes that Ilaya turned uncomfortable
"She had a black hair and she had a deep blue eyes"
Then, Ivana smirked at her and said in a joking manner
"And what a coincidence! That you have those very characteristics! So, what do you think? Who… do you think you are?
Ilaya's trembled as she finally found a clue to her identity