After Transmigrating to Become Lady Skylark - Chapter 36

Chapter 36

After hanging up the phone, Jin Chaoyan sent a message to Tetsuya Kusakabe, asking him to bring some men to the vicinity of Take Sushi in Namimori city. She did not return to the Hibari residence; instead, she and Kina checked into a hotel with a good vantage point overlooking that block.

During this period, the chain on her left hand remained active, never deactivated. Fortunately, the chain was very thin; when she lowered her sleeves to cover it, it looked to outsiders like a piece of punk-style jewelry, not enough to arouse suspicion.

“Will Madam not return tonight?”

Kina, who had briefly tidied the suite for her, turned a blind eye to the oddities on her body and asked as usual. After Jin Chaoyan replied, “I won’t go back until I find Kazumiko,” Kina nodded. “Understood. Then I will go and pack some daily necessities for you.”

“Sorry to trouble you.”

Jin Chaoyan thought of Hibari’s mention of moving to a new place and hesitated. “Take a larger suitcase. We might not be going back for a long time.”

“Understood.”

Kina complied, asked about her current preferences for clothing and jewelry coordination, cautioned her to stay safe, and then temporarily left the hotel.

It wasn’t until she returned with the items and ordered a meal for Jin Chaoyan at a nearby restaurant that the two of them spent two quiet nights in the hotel. The chain on Jin Chaoyan’s left hand showed no reaction.

She woke up naturally, peeked out through a crack in the window, and stared at the Take Sushi shop. She raised a hand to yawn and couldn’t help but wonder: given Jin Kazumiko’s personality—someone who couldn’t endure the slightest bit of hardship—could she really last that long in the wild?

Even if she had someone with her and could obtain food and water normally, this abrupt escape meant the camping conditions must be primitive. How did they sleep at night? How did they handle bathing?

Just as her thoughts were veering toward worry—

The chain, like a lazy corporate worker finally clocking in reluctantly, made a belated clinking sound. The circular metal piece hanging from her ring finger was suddenly attracted by a strange force and pointed straight toward the window.

“!”

Jin Chaoyan instantly snapped awake, her yawn cut short. Her violet eyes were clear as she calmly announced, “Kina, tell Mr. Kusakabe to find a way to lure away the black-clad men in the vicinity, then have people surround the sushi shop and wait for me to arrive.”

“Yes.”

Kina replied. She saw her mistress grab a dress from the open suitcase by the table and rush into the bathroom, only to realize halfway that it was a blue cheongsam that wasn’t very practical for movement. Jin Chaoyan hurriedly backtracked, swapped it for a short-sleeved shirt and jeans, and went back in.

Entering the elevator, Jin Chaoyan bit a hair tie, used both hands to pull her pale blue hair back, and casually tied it into a bun. When the elevator reached the first floor with a “ding,” she lowered her hands and walked quickly following the chain’s guidance. Her gaze swept over the outside environment as she tilted her head slightly. “Is Kusakabe here?”

“His subordinates are luring the patrolling black-clad men away. He himself has arrived outside Take Sushi, Madam.”

“Good.”

Take Sushi.

Only after the black-haired middle-aged man judged the situation at the entrance and confirmed no one was inside did Jin Kazumiko poke her head out tremblingly behind him. Seeing the mess in the shop, she instinctively gasped, but covered her mouth halfway through.

She swallowed back the rest of her scream.

“U-Uncle Yamamoto…” Even after staying in the wild for so long, Jin Kazumiko still hadn’t recovered from that day’s events. Returning to the scene of the crime now, her hands and feet felt weak. After a few steps, she clung to the corner of a table and said in a shaky voice, “I… I want to go home.”

The middle-aged man, looking at the wrecked shop with a heavy expression, turned his head. He was about to say something when his eyes narrowed. He reached out to grab the last remaining knife on the counter and gestured for her to be quiet. Just as he was about to strike first against the presence outside, he heard a woman’s voice ring out from behind the door:

“Kazumiko, are you inside?”

“Sister?”

The girl, who had subconsciously gripped her last card, was stunned for a moment. Without thinking, she rushed to the door and slid the wooden door open. Sure enough, she saw the person leading the group outside. The woman was currently crossing her arms, raised an eyebrow, and said:

“You really are—”

Before she could finish, she was hugged by a figure rushing out of the room. Jin Chaoyan staggered under the sudden weight. Feeling the damp, warm breath soaking into the fabric of her T-shirt’s shoulder, she swallowed the rest of her criticism. She raised her arms to pull the girl into her embrace, and her gaze turned toward the other person inside.

“You are… the owner of this Take Sushi shop?”

Back when this sushi shop opened a branch in Tokyo, Jin Chaoyan and her sister had eaten there. The owner himself was there that day, wearing the same classic Japanese chef’s outfit, so she remembered him.

So he was the father of the Vongola Rain Guardian, Takeshi Yamamoto?

“My name is Yamamoto, given name Tsuyoshi,” after confirming she wasn’t an enemy, the man set down his chef’s knife, lifted the short curtain behind the door, looked at Jin Chaoyan and the people behind her, and then at the shivering girl in her arms. He spoke quickly, “The sushi shop was attacked unexpectedly earlier. Thanks to this Miss Jin’s rescue… you are…”

“Jin Chaoyan, her sister. Thank you for looking after her these past few days.”

Jin Chaoyan gave him a slight nod. Seeing the shocked expression of Tetsuya Kusakabe nearby, she knew he likely recognized Uncle Yamamoto. Since the street wasn’t a suitable place for talk, she said naturally, “It’s not safe here. Mr. Kusakabe, please take us to a safe place first.”

Kusakabe snapped out of it and immediately nodded. “Yes, Madam. Please follow me.”

The fact that Yamamoto’s father was still alive would surely be a piece of celebratory news for the current Vongola members.

Jin Kazumiko had some post-traumatic stress. After crying, she clung to Jin Chaoyan’s arm and refused to let go the entire way, as if she wanted to hang off her. Without being asked, she began to pour out her heart like beans from a bamboo tube, telling the terrifying story of what happened that afternoon at the sushi shop.

The armed men burst in suddenly and began to kill indiscriminately without warning. Kazumiko was scared witless and didn’t even react in time to reach for her card. When the slaughtering blade was about to reach her, the sushi shop owner blocked it with his knife and told her to run.

Belatedly reacting, she tremblingly grabbed the card, chanted the [GAIN] incantation, and hid behind the owner in a panic. As a result, she didn’t even look at the card’s surface; her body plummeted into the cave that appeared beneath her. Before she fell in, she grabbed out blindly—

And accidentally caught the owner’s trouser leg, dragging him in as well.

Then, she sat under a tree in the dense forest listening to wolf howls, too scared to move for two days. Aside from eating a bit and drinking some water, her nerves were constantly on edge. Although the sushi shop owner broke a branch nearby and guarded her from a distance, picking some wild greens that could be eaten raw to share for sustenance, the two of them were unfamiliar with each other and the age gap was too vast, so there was virtually no communication.

“Waaaaah, I’m never going out again, Sister! I’ll be good and stay home…” After speaking, she started crying again. “I’m so hungry, I’m so tired, and I’m so sleepy. I’ve never lived such a miserable life in my life…”

Jin Chaoyan was numbed by her crying; her last desire to scold her vanished.

Ultimately, it was the Millefiore people who were insane, slaughtering innocent civilians. Kazumiko was just unlucky to be caught in it while eating.

“Alright,” she stroked the girl’s head. “Stop crying. I’m with you. Once you’ve recovered, I’ll send you back to Tokyo. It really is too chaotic here lately.”

Because the group moving toward the secret base was too large a target, Kusakabe continuously dispersed his subordinates along the way. By the time they reached the entrance at the foot of the deserted Namimori mountain, only he, the Jin sisters, Kina, and Tsuyoshi Yamamoto remained.

“Does Namimori’s underground actually have such a magnificent base?”

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto looked at the decor with surprise, guessing the person behind this wasn’t simple. He stopped at the entrance and said to Kusakabe, “Young man, you actually don’t need to bring me here. Although I don’t know who those guys who attacked me were, since I’ve already caused trouble, I shouldn’t involve you all—”

“Please don’t say that, Mr. Yamamoto.”

Tetsuya Kusakabe replied politely, “What happened to you is related to the predicament we are facing. It is only right to bring you here for temporary refuge. Besides, there is someone on the other side of this base who cares for you deeply. I believe he wants to see you very much.”

“Hmm?”

Tsuyoshi Yamamoto glanced at him, then laughed heartily a moment later. “Alright then.”

By then, Jin Chaoyan had already led Kazumiko and Kina into the corridor. Seeing the familiar style and the structure which wasn’t much different from the Hibari residence, she turned back and asked, “The layout here is the same as over there?”

“Yes, Madam.”

“Fine, then you settle Mr. Yamamoto first. I have Kina with me, don’t worry. We’ll take Kazumiko to wash up and rest first.”

Kusakabe complied, and before leaving, he said to her, “I am taking Mr. Yamamoto to the other base. Kyo-san is also there currently. Since we haven’t had time to input your fingerprint and related information yet, if you want to head over later, please be sure to notify me. I will meet you at the entrance.”

“Mm, okay.”

Jin Chaoyan replied casually. In fact, she had no intention of visiting the connected Vongola base at this time. She put her arm around the weak-legged Kazumiko and headed toward the room she remembered as hers.

“In the end, this girl fell asleep without even eating?”

Twenty minutes later.

Jin Chaoyan crossed her arms somewhat helplessly, looking at her sister who was sprawled in the futon with her pajama buttons misaligned. She exchanged a glance with Kina, who was bringing a tray nearby. She had thought she would have to coax the child to sleep, but she didn’t expect her to be so carefree.

“In a way, being able to sleep is a good thing. it shows she knows she’s in a safe environment.” Kina set down the tray, went over to re-button Kazumiko’s pajamas one by one, helped the girl into the covers, and tucked her in. At the same time, she looked at Jin Chaoyan with a gentle gaze. “Madam, I’ll take care of Miss Kazumiko here. You can go attend to other matters.”

“Ah?”

Jin Chaoyan was stunned for a moment. “What ‘other matters’?”

“For example, seeing someone you want to see?” Kina teased her softly and playfully.

“…I don’t have anyone I particularly want to see.” Her voice grew inexplicably small as she looked away. Noticing that the ink-wash screen in this base featured plum blossoms, she nodded to herself. “This screen is quite nice.”

The room was exceptionally quiet, save for the soft snores of the soundly sleeping Jin Kazumiko.

A moment later, Jin Chaoyan turned her head back as if nothing had happened. “I suddenly remembered that I have many acquaintances over there. I should bring some gifts and pay a visit.”

Her dessert group had been exceptionally quiet these past two days. Kyoko, who said she was coming back, and I-Pin, who said she was going to pick her up, had no news. Jin Chaoyan suddenly realized that since the Vongola protagonists had arrived in the future, Kyoko and Haru, who were closely related to them, would inevitably be involved…

In other words.

Her friends should currently be in the neighboring base in their forms from ten years ago.

She wondered if they could adapt to suddenly arriving in a strange place.

“Indeed,” Kina agreed, still smiling. She looked at the loose clothing Jin Chaoyan was wearing and naturally suggested, “Since you are going to see friends happily, why not change your clothes for a better mood?”

Fifteen minutes later.

Standing before the bathroom mirror, her hair had just been styled beautifully by Kina’s skilled hands and secured with a hairpin. The woman looked at the grey-blue cheongsam she was wearing—overlaid with thin gauze and silk, hand-embroidered with clusters of silk flowers, cinched at the waist, and slit to the leg. She turned to ask Kina with some doubt:

“…Isn’t it a bit too much for me to go see them dressed like this?”

“Not at all. Madam looks just right in this.”

Kina nodded approvingly, adding in her heart—

Just right for seeing the husband you haven’t seen in a long time.

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