Chapter 2. Dreams and Realities

Lying on her back, Yukiko was looking up at the rotunda, moonlight shining through the glass panes. The NCRE was quiet, almost peaceful. The orb like moon glowed alluringly, and very slowly, Yukiko raised an arm up as if to touch the moon itself. Blood trickled down her fingers. Frowning, Yukiko stared as more and more blood spilled down her arm faster and faster, soaking her jeans and shirt a deep crimson. Yukiko jerked herself into a sitting position, breaths coming out short and panicky. She was surrounded by piles of bodies. Hector lay in one corner. One body pulled itself from the rest, him. With jerky movements, he opened his mouth. "Why did you kill us?" he rasped.

 

Yukiko opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He began to fall apart, into tiny mechanical pieces. His facial figures melded and collapsed in on themselves, revealing whirling gears and sparking wires. Her most beloved person was an android. All of the other bodies struggled and worked themselves up. "Why did you kill us?" they chanted.

 

As soon as each body spoke, it came apart at the seams, breaking down into gears, bolts, and wires. Hector worked his way towards her. He waded through robot pieces, and with each step, more and more of his face melted away, chugging gears hidden beneath the skin. Finally, the Hector-Thing stood in front of Yukiko. All that remained of his face was his mouth and one rainbow eye. "I would have taken you with me," it creaked.

 

Then Hector began to crumble and fall at Yukiko's feet. Blood began to well through the cracks in the tile floor. Trapped in a sea of robot parts and standing in a pool of blood, Yukiko screamed. Then the pieces enveloped the girl whole. And then the NCRE was quiet.

 

"Well, she's alive," a warm female voice echoed from somewhere far away, "And with lungs like that, alive and kicking."

 

"Alright. Just give me a sec to get her some medicine," a voice called back

 

It's really dark. Why is it so dark? I don't want to be here, alone, in the dark. Yukiko fluttered her eyes open to see a white stucco ceiling. She jerked herself up and fell off the couch she had been laying on. She was in a room, not a standard government issued apartment room, but someone's living room. Green carpet covered the floor and the wooden walls were lined with pictures and bookcases. One face stared at her. A girl, African American, possibly even younger than Yukiko herself, giggled from her perch on a wooden stool. Then she started to chuckle. Brunette dreadlocks swaying back and forth, she started to full out guffaw, rocking back and forth on her stool. With a crash the stool and girl fell over, stool landing half propped on a glass coffee table, girl landing backwards in a fireplace. Gasping and wheezing, the girl just sat in the fireplace.

 

Blushing, Yukiko stood up. Still laughing hysterically, the girl did not even turn, instead pounding the brick fireplace with her fist. "You-" she shrieked with laughter, "Your- your face! It's " Bwahaha!"

 

Wiping tears from her face, the girl fought to look serious. "Sorry- teeheehee. I… Oh, sorry, sorry, sorry."

 

Grabbing the girl by the shoulders, Yukiko stared her down. "Where am I? Tell me now, or it'll be the worse for you," she growled.

 

Finally, the girl wiped her ridiculous grin off her face. With one swift movement, she knocked one of Yukiko's hands off her shoulder and, deadly serious, replied "I saved your life. How about a 'Thank you, Miss Cleo, ma'am.'? "

 

Deliberately slow, Cleo stood up and dusted soot off her cargo pants and tank top. Barefoot, she leapt away from the fireplace. Landing with a dangerous thud, Cleo posed herself on the glass coffee table, fists at the ready. On her left arm, a purple bird was tattooed over her bicep. Yukiko lowered herself into a crouch. A strange twinge pinged inside her head. "Cleo! Off the table. Now. How many times has Eric told you to play nice with the house guests?"

 

Something in Yukiko's stomach dropped as her hands fell to her sides. Standing in the doorway, between the living room and what looked like a kitchen, a tall blonde boy with rainbow eyes leaned against the doorframe. "Here. Catch," called Hector, tossing a white bottle at Yukiko.

 

Stunned, Yukiko stood, rooted to the ground in horror. The bottle hit her shoulder with a small rattle and fell to the floor. Hector frowned and tugged at one strand of blonde hair. It was now clean and its natural color, no longer stained dark with blood. "I said catch, not let the valuable and expensive medicine hit you in the shoulder. Did you hit your head too hard, kiddo?"

 

Soundlessly, Yukiko opened and closed her mouth. Cleo hopped off the table and on to a red love seat. She grinned wickedly at Yukiko and mouthed, You'll get it now. Fidgeting with her fingers, Yukiko stared down at the green carpet. "I… I'm seventeen. Stop calling me kiddo."

 

The carpet was a really rich shade of emerald. Because it was one of those luxuries not afforded to normal people, this was the first time Yukiko had seen one in a long time. Yukiko studied it quite deliberately. "Andikindasortatriedtokillyou," rushed out in one quick breath.

 

Yukiko winced. The room was completely silent, except for Cleo, who had started giggling like a small maniac again. "Sorry. You spoke a little too fast for me, ki-uhh, miss. What was that last part again?" said Hector's voice, a little bemused.

 

I never told him my name, Yukiko thought, her stomach plunging even deeper. Stupid, stupid Yukiko. Taking one soothing breath, Yukiko frowned determinedly. The carpet was very plush. "I'm Yukiko. Why are you saving me when I… uh, well…"

 

She stumbled over the last few words, turning an even deeper scarlet than the couch that Cleo was now hysterically bouncing up and down in. "I kinda sorta maybe tried to kill you or at least I didn't really try to save you too hard but I had this soul exploring dream thingy so I kinda regret it a little now maybe a bit can I just go now?"

 

Yukiko bit her lip and stared at the rich, green, plush carpet. Oh, how I hate talking to people. Cleo was snickering. For a while Hector was quiet. Carefully Yukiko lifted her head up to see his face. Hector, too, was biting his lip, but a grin was starting to break across his face. In horror, Yukiko realized he was trying not join Cleo in laughing at her. Hector bent over, shoulders shaking, and held up one hand. Mortified, Yukiko turned her attention to the ceiling. It was a rather nice white color upon closer inspection. "Yukiko," Hector called, fully composed, "Yukiko, look at me."

 

Yukiko dragged her eyes from the ceiling and looked towards Hector. Very seriously, he looked right back at her, with his unsettling rainbow eyes. "I know that. You're here because we need you anyways."

 

Yukiko frowned. "I tried to kill you, twice actually, if you count that time in the computer room."

 

Cleo chirped in with a "That's what I told him!" in her sunshine voice.

 

Hector grinned. "And that's when I tried to explain to her it'd be like a Darth Vader-Luke Skywalker thing. You see, I predict you'll start out trying to kill us, but in the end, you'll turn out to be a good guy and," he finished off cheerfully, "you'll save all of our lives."

 

What a ridiculous cotton candy story, thought Yukiko. So why is it making me feel better? She studied Hector. He was still tugging at one blonde lock nervously while the rest fell to his shoulders. His rainbow eyes appeared to be quite absorbed in the nature of the stucco ceiling. "So at what point do I discover you're my son?"

 

Visibly relieved, Hector released the strand of hair and smiled, his rainbow eyes crinkling at the corners. "Let's hope never, because otherwise I'd be in trouble."

 

Some people shouldn't be allowed to say words ever. Yukiko felt her face grow steadily warmer. Flustered, she dove under the table after the bottle of pills so she wouldn't have to look at the rainbow eyes. As she bent over, Yukiko caught a glimpse of Cleo. The girl was smiling, but a hard glitter was in her eye, something that was not there before. Shaking her head, Yukiko picked up the bottle of pills. She shook the bottle and looked to Hector. "So how exactly should I take these?"

 

Instead of answering, Hector leaned back into the kitchen. "Eric!"

 

"Coming, coming. You all have too much energy. I heard the rough and tumble from yard and the kitchen," a tired voice responded.

 

Hector sidestepped out of the door way as Eric entered the room. He looked a professional business man, mid-thirties with dusty brown hair and square framed glasses, dressed in a tidy suit. He was completely average, except for the wheel chair. He rolled into the room and stopped by one of his bookcases. With a light frown, Eric turned to Cleo. "Pick up your stool. Don't leave a mess in the house."

 

At once the girl sprang into action, without so much as a snicker. Yukiko opened her mouth to speak and stopped. Cleo was glaring at her with a very, very deadly expression. It seems Eric is the leader around here. Hector was busy shifting odds and ends out of Eric's way so he could wheel himself smoothly, and Cleo was trailing after the both of them with a blanket, clearly for Eric. While Eric kept waving them away with delicate hands, both Hector and Cleo ignored him.

 

Completely forgotten, Yukiko sat down on the stool and waited to be remembered again. Another twinge of pain echoed through her head. Dully, Yukiko stared at the bookcases and paintings of birds that adorned the walls. Eric coughed softly. "Miss Yukiko, right? I'm Eric. As I'm sure these two lovely children told you, we practically pulled you back from the grave."

 

Hector now lazed across the couch Yukiko had woken up on, one long leg sprawled up and over the back of the couch. His head dangled backwards off the edge of the seat. "Actually, I was busy being resurrected, too. Don't remember much."

 

Frowning, Eric gestured at Hector. Hector winked at him and straightened himself out, sitting on the couch with both feet on the ground. With a sigh, Eric turned back to Yukiko. "Anyways, when Cleo saved you and Eric from that NCRE death trap, you got a nasty knock on the head. I patched it up for you, but it's so much harder to mend external injuries than internal ones. I'm slightly worried you may have some skull damage. You need to take a pill a day from that bottle to bolster bone health or, what with all that rough housing you do, you could seriously injure yourself."

 

Yukiko looked at the small white bottle with its little red label. Cleo looked up at her from the loveseat. "I wanted to put a skull and crossbones on the cap," she said, face childishly sweet, "but Hector and Eric said no."

 

Yukiko's fingers tightened around the bottle. She looked up at Eric, eyes narrowed. "Look. I appreciate it, but I don't want or need your charity. I can walk on my own two feet, thank you."

 

Yukiko slipped off the stool and with a light clack, placed the pills on the coffee table. "Here are your pills, and if you'll be so kind, please show me the door."

 

Cleo smiled triumphantly at Hector. Fidgeting again, he was tugging on another strand of hair, pointedly not looking at anything in particular. Yukiko started towards the kitchen door, but Eric wheeled himself into her way. "I can't let you do that, Miss Yukiko," he said softly.

 

Yukiko almost laughed. "Sorry, Eric, but you're in a wheel chair. I could walk my way out of here, and you couldn't do anything about it."

 

"Maybe he can't," Cleo chirped behind her, "but I could, and Hector could, too, if anything's left once I'm done."

 

Yukiko spun back around. Cleo had stood back up and was cracking her knuckles with a smile. Hector looked extremely awkward. "Darth Vader and Luke had their rough patches," he joked, "I mean, Vader chopped off Luke's hand, and kidnapped his sister, and encased his best friend in metal. Luke blew up the Death Star. That really got under Vader's helmet."

 

"You want information, the same we do," said Eric in his soft voice, "Why should we fight?"

 

Yukiko really laughed this time. "None of you know the slightest thing about me."

 

Eric pulled a bloodstained sheet of paper from his breast pocket. It was a diagram of a human body, titled 7mbES. Yukiko paled. "Actually, you'd be surprised."

 

"Give that back," she gasped.

 

"You see, Miss Yukiko," Eric said, with a faintly melancholy look, "all of us here are like you. Hector there can hypnotize people with those eyes of his-"

 

Yukiko turned to Hector. He avoided her gaze. Eric continued, "Miss Cleo shoots explosive lights from her fingertips."

 

As if to demonstrate, Cleo pointed a finger gun, aimed at Yukiko's face, and mock fired. Yukiko turned back to Eric uncomfortably. I don't think she likes me much. "And I, well, unwrap your bandaged arms and see," he finished, humor tingeing his voice.

 

With a slight frown, Yukiko began to undo the bandages on her arms. She remembered scraping them during that balcony jumping debacle, and that brawl with Hector had only made her arms bleed worse. Unless Eric had worked some magic, her arms should be scabbed and raw. The cream colored wrap fell to the floor in a small pile at Yukiko's feet with a soft swish. Just like magic, her arms were perfectly healed. Awed, Yukiko held them in the air, twisting them back and forth, smooth skin catching the light. She flashed a rare smile at Eric. "Thank you, Eric, sir," she said with a bow, "Your work is beautiful."

 

Hector leaned over the couch. "What? I don't get praise for my awesome brainwashing powers. You were totally out of it, Yukiko. I think I'll save what you told me for blackmail purposes. If I were you, I'd never get drunk ever."

 

Hector grinned mischievously and ducked back on to the couch. Eric just sighed. "Yukiko, you're like us, and just like us, you want information. The thing is, you have the flash drive. We sent Hector in the NCRE to hack their computer system, but that's risky and time consuming. I've tried to get the papers you printed for months. We need you."

 

Eric pulled Yukiko's arm, bringing her down to his eye level. "You don't have to tell me why you want these records, but I'll tell you why Hector, Cleo, and I want them. We need to know what the NCRE and the government did to us and how they did it, so we can reverse it. We want to live normal lives again, not feel like government pawns."

 

Eric gripped Yukiko's arm even harder. "You help us, and we'll help you. If you refuse to help, I might just let this little piece of printer paper fall into the wrong hands," Eric whispered, flicking the paper in front of Yukiko's face before returning it to his breast pocket.

 

Eric released Yukiko and spread his arms grandly. "You and your information might be the key to our final clue."

 

He turned to Yukiko. Trembling, she stepped backwards, bumping into the red couch. Cleo bounced over on to the cushions and, dreadlocks falling in the way, leaned over to look at Yukiko's face with a slightly psychotic grin. On her other side, Hector was staring off into space, lost inside his own thoughts. "And what is it you want, Yukiko?"

 

Yes, Yukiko, what is it you want, a voice purred somewhere inside her head. "I… That's not for me to say. Personal," she ended lamely.

 

Eric studied her closely with gray eyes. Yukiko took a deep breath. "But I'll work with you for the sake of cooperation," she added.

 

Eric smiled. "Good."

 

With a flump, Cleo slid back down the couch and sat there with arms folded, pouting. Hector was scowling deeply. In fact, Eric was the only one remotely happy. And why isn't everyone else on board with this, Yukiko thought with narrowed eyes. Eric wheeled over and took the medicine bottle from the glass table. Placing it in Yukiko's hand, he curled her fingers over the small plastic bottle. "Don't forget these, one per day. Hector, escort the girl home for me, please," Eric called as he wheeled back into the kitchen.

 

Stepping away from the couch, Yukiko turned to face Hector. Something strange is going on here, I just know it. Hector shifted off the couch. "Alright, Yukiko, ready to head out?" he asked, flashing a charming smile.

 

Yukiko opened to her mouth to speak and was cut off. "You're ridiculous, and I'll never accept you. Eric and Hector may have welcomed you, but these two eyes are going to be peeled to your every move," snarled Cleo.

 

With a murderous glare, Cleo flounced off the couch and stormed towards the kitchen door. In the doorframe, she turned. "Don't forget where your loyalties lie, Hector," she spat.

 

Turning on her heel, Cleo stomped away. For a brief moment, Hector just stood there, tugging on a strand of hair. Yukiko waited for him to say something. The two feet of space between them seemed to stretch in awkward silence. "Cleo's just not too good with people. She'll get used to you."

 

Hector gestured towards the door. "C'mon. Let's head out."

 

Following Hector, Yukiko crossed through the kitchen, a construction of white tile surfaces and oak cabinets, and into the foyer. Feet smacking against the wood flooring, Hector lifted a beaten grey fleece coat off the coat rack. He tossed a black jacket in Yukiko's direction. "Here. It's Cleo's, but it looks more your style than Eric's button up sweater thing."

 

Gingerly, Yukiko held the jacket away from her body. "Cleo didn't booby trap this or anything, right?"

 

Chuckling quietly, Hector pulled on his coat and sneakers and opened the front door for Yukiko. A cool blast of fall New York air blew into the room, stirring Eric's sweater on the coat rack. "She's a good kid. You'll see."

 

Yukiko stuffed one arm in the jacket. She almost expected the small girl to rush in, long dreadlocks streaming behind her, shrieking death threats. Nothing happened, however, and no small reptiles, spiders, or rats crawled out of the sleeves, much to Yukiko's surprise. Bundled up, Yukiko stepped out the door and on to the quiet street.

 

A blast of cold air caught her in the face. Wrinkling her nose, Yukiko sloshed through the melting snow that covered Eric's yard. Hector seemed quite amused. "How long have you lived in New York now?" he teased.

 

“I don’t like wet feet, and I don’t like the cold.”

 

“Then why live in New York?”

 

Hector stopped on the sidewalk and watched her. Passing him without so much as a glance, Yukiko started down the deserted street. “Hey!” he called after her, “Don’t give me the cold shoulder! And you don’t even know where you’re going!”

 

Yukiko turned to face him. Sighing, she folded her arms over her chest and pursed her lips. “Look behind me.”

 

Greying skyscrapers and rooftops lurked in the misty fog at her back. “Behind you, Hector, is a… charming view of endless suburbs,” she leaned towards him and hissed, “Now, tell me, Hector, which way I should go?”

 

With that, Yukiko turned on her heel and stalked towards the New York City skyline. “Don’t follow me. I don’t want you to know where I live.”

 

It had started to snow. In complete silence, Yukiko strode past the seemingly infinite line of identical white, wooden houses. Finally, sweet peace. People really are too much trouble. For a split second, she saw Hector’s face, confusion darkening the swirling color of his eyes. Very lightly, Yukiko stretched out a hand to the fence, running her fingers across the wood planks. With each step she slowed down more and more. Finally, Yukiko sunk down into a crouch, one dark speck amongst the giant wash of white snow. Yep, too much trouble indeed. “I’ve been contemplating nicknames for you. What do you think about Ice Princess?”

 

With a gasp, Yukiko spun up and faced Hector. He was grinning, tugging on that same strand of hair. “I-,” she spluttered, “Just-- You! You’re like a roach! Don’t you ever-”

Little flecks of red and green twisted into tiny designs amid loops of blue and green. Watching his eyes, Yukiko just stood there. Hector leaned in, close enough for Yukiko to see snowflakes catching in his lashes. “Mm… nope. Til death do us part, Ice Princess.”

 

Yukiko felt herself beginning to blush and quickly started walking again. Hector strode alongside her, with his perpetual smile. “I don’t know why it is that you don’t particularly like to talk with people, but that’s cool. I can talk for both of us,” he said, staring up at the falling snow.

 

Steadily, they passed house after identical house. “Eric is the one in charge, but I guess you figured that. He doesn’t live in the standard issue apartment complexes, so it’s a little easier to talk. No thin walls, you know.”

 

As it began to snow harder, Yukiko pulled the black hood over her green streaked hair. She watched the sidewalk pass by and kicked at the small snow drifts collecting on the ground. “Eric found me off the street, actually. I was a kid, too young to apply for housing or get a job. I would charm people with my eyes into giving me food, money, stuff like that.”

 

Yukiko turned to Hector, watching him. He looked up to the cloudy sky as more snowflakes collected in his blonde hair. Very slowly, he blew a puff of foggy breath. “Look, Ice Princess. It’s a dragon. See?”

 

The cloudy shape blew away into wisps in the breeze. “That was a blob, Hector.”

 

Clucking his tongue, Hector shook his head. “No imagination. Anyways, I had tried to convince random pedestrians into letting me live with them or to give me the keys to their apartments or something, but it never worked. Too young, I guess. I tried to pull the same trick on Eric. He took me home with him. I was pleased as punch, thought I had the guy under my thumb.”

 

Hector threw a sidewise look at Yukiko. Awkwardly, she jerked her eyes elsewhere, instead studying the graffiti covered walls that had begun to replace the white washed houses. Chuckling, Hector shook his long blonde hair out of his eyes. “Of course, it turned out Eric didn’t fall for the ploy at all. He had caught on to my game, knew I was special. I didn’t figure out until that summer. I tried to convince him I didn’t need to enroll in school, and he flat out ignored me. I was eleven at the time.”

 

Hector laughed to himself. For a little while, the two of them walked in silence. Yukiko could not remember when exactly, but they had entered the city proper. Skyscrapers and apartment complexes towered above them, creating narrow, shadowy alleyways. Yukiko skirted around a prostrate man, lying in the middle of the sidewalk. “My father told me, years ago, that New York City used to be a place of colors, with music, and cars, and stuff,” Hector said softly, as he looked out on the desolate street.

 

“Funny. Now it’s the land of black and white,” Yukiko replied.

 

In the middle of the street, the two of them stopped in front of the Empire State Building. They both stared up at the billowing banner hung over several, several floors. A smiling, handsome man and an equally smiley and beautiful woman stood together with a small, blonde boy between them. In the background, a security android cupped the family in the palms of its hands. “NCRE and the USA: Working Together to Protect you” fluttered in the breeze. Hector elbowed Yukiko in the side. “Dunno about you, but they’re doing a pretty crap job protecting me.”

 

Yukiko smiled lightly and started towards the Queens Midtown Tunnel. Following behind her, Hector was fully absorbed in kicking a tin can down the street. A slight breeze picked up his can and several fliers, drifting them up and away. “You really care for Eric a lot, don’t you?”

 

Yukiko’s words echoed in the empty space of New York City. A few alley lurkers peeked out at Yukiko from their dark haunts. One of them, a pierced, tattooed old man, tossed a beer bottle at her, before ducking back into the shadows. Pitching the bottle back at him, Yukiko heard the tinkling sound of breaking glass and a grunt. She gave him the finger for good measure. Then Yukiko slowed down, and she waited for Hector to catch up.

 

He walked up to her, smiling triumphantly. “Ice Princess, you were listening to my story,” he exclaimed, tapping Yukiko’s nose with one long finger.

 

Yukiko reached up to rub her nose. “Just answer the question. And don’t touch my face.”

 

They had reached the bridge. Far below them, the icy current flowed on its path. Hector folded his hands behind his back, face unreadable. “Yes, I suppose I do care for Eric a lot.”

 

He looked out on the water. “I mean, Cleo is important to me, too, but Eric, I’d be who-knows-where without him.”

 

“What about Cleo? Her relationship with Eric, I mean.”

 

Hector stopped. He looked back to Yukiko, hands still folded. “Cleo is… a very private person, much like you. She likes to put up lots of little walls, and woe be to the person who finds the short cut around them.”

 

They walked in silence again. As they passed block after block from the bridge, Hector piped up, “We’ve been walking for miles and passed loads of apartment complexes. Where do you live, Ice Princess?”

 

Yukiko plucked a stray flyer from the air, crumpling it up and tossing it in a nearby trash can. “On Broadway.”

 

“Broadway?”

 

Exasperated, Yukiko threw her hands up in the air. “You, know what Broadway is, right? That street with all the theatres?”

 

Hector stared off at the skyline. “Yeah, Broadway, the ghost town. The government shut it down at the petition of the NCRE, something about an insurgent group damaging the police androids in the area.”

 

They had finally reached Broadway. Running her fingers along the brick wall of one dilapidated theatre, Yukiko looked down the street. Hector just followed behind her and watched the neon street signs flicker. As she passed one wall, Yukiko stopped. They stood in front of a giant wall mural, its paint fading. While the picture was almost indistinguishable in its old age, “The Phantom of the Opera” was still readable in blocky, white letters at the bottom. “It’s only as dead as you think it is,” Yukiko said very softly, “I refuse to give up on Broadway.”

 

And the NCRE will pay for what they did to it. Her hands curled into fists. Abruptly, Yukiko spun around to face Hector. He hesitated then stretched out a hand to touch her shoulder. “Yu--“

 

With a light movement, Yukiko blocked his hand with the back of her own. “I have something to look into, Hector. From here, I’m going on my own.”

 

Yukiko strode off down the snowy street alone, but warm fingers wrapped around her wrist, pulling her back. A slow hand tugged her hood back. “And why is it I can’t come with you? I have my own questions, too,” whispered Hector into Yukiko’s ear.

 

His soft breath tickled her ear. Blushing, Yukiko tore her arm from his hand and stumbled a few steps forward. Slightly out of breath, she pulled the hood back over her hair. Without turning to face Hector, Yukiko fixed her eyes to the ground. “You can’t come with me because you’re deadweight and a distraction. Just go home, Hector.”

 

“Fine,” he retorted coolly, “and here I was thinking we were friends. Have it your way, Ice Princess.”

 

She didn’t wait to listen for Hector’s footsteps as he walked away. Instead, Yukiko listened to her own boots crunch against the snow and rapped her chapped knuckles against icy trash cans as she went. “Don’t forget to take your medicine!” Hector shouted after her.

 

Yukiko pressed her cold fingers to her warm cheeks. Twisting back, she looked for Hector, but he had already vanished into the snowy haze. Yukiko spun back around and kicked a nearby trashcan. With a loud clang, it ricocheted off a wall on the other side of the street. “I didn’t mean it like that. Stupid, stupid Yukiko,” she muttered.