Dangerous Lines | Yuzuru Hanyu

58. New beginnings

Yaeko never expected her first experience on a private jet to be like this.

The emergency untracked flight was scheduled in such a hurry that they were barely certain of the existence of a pilot.

No one in the Agency seemed to be willing to tell her where they were going either.

One thing was painfully obvious, no one expected what had happened in court. Yaeko had seen all the plans of action, and had read through the prosecutor's detailed guide of everything that could happen, and not once did anyone expect her husband to be set free like he was.

He had somehow outsmarted the whole team but the problem was that no one knew how.

It was only when she was sitting on the plane that Agent Miura took some time to discuss what had happened. Initially, the man had begged her to get some rest but it was very obvious that she wouldn't be able to sleep with so much adrenaline and fear running through her veins.

"The jury has to be corrupt. I spoke with the prosecutor before they announced the verdict and he seemed very certain that we had won the case. Everything pointed to that outcome."

"My husband had that look on his face... I knew that the way he was acting was weird, even for him."

"He knew he wouldn't be convicted, no matter what was said or proven on that court."

"But isn't there any way we can fight this?"

"I'm sure the prosecution will appeal but it seems unlikely that we'll be able to win if he has his hands on them."

Yaeko had trusted the justice and here they were, back to square one without anything good as a prospect.

"Be honest with me, Agent... do you think I will ever be able to live a normal life?"

"I'm afraid that only the future will tell, Yaeko."

❣️

They landed in a far different timezone.

The truth was that nothing of it mattered when she had barely slept a wink since they entered the plane.

Her eyes were locked on her watch as the hours passed. The baby inside of her moving restlessly, probably feeling her stress as well. It took a lot of hours to arrive at their destination and only then was she told where they were.

"Finland."

"Holy... Finland?"

"We considered a lot of places, mostly trying to find somewhere without ties to the Yakuza. As you know, probably better than us, they're pretty much everywhere, even here, but we also needed somewhere with enough infrastructure to get you a decent life fast."

"It will be hard to find a job without knowing Finnish."

"All in it's due course. Right now, the important part is to make sure you're settled in our safe house, get you a new identity, and allow you to rest properly. I don't want you working while you're pregnant, no matter the field. We've subjected that child to enough stress by now and the Agency has more than enough budget to handle this, especially after you managed to take so many criminals from the streets."

"Who would believe that a single mom could afford to move to Europe and not work for months?"

"Let us worry about your story. You worry about taking care of yourself. It will take time to settle the details but the one thing that matters now is to make sure you're safe."

At least Yaeko had chosen Spring for this mess to happen. She wasn't at all used to the cold that Finland could bring but looking at the future prospects, she would probably get used to it very soon. 

Helsinki would be her home for the foreseeable future, whether she wanted it or not.

The first impression of everything was how different it was from what she was used to. The culture was obviously different but it wasn't just that, the way things were built, the norms society followed and even the way people expected to behave were different.

Not that any of it mattered much when all they had planned for her was to stay in the safe house and live life quietly for a while.

The initial scary mood seemed to vanish once she settled in after a few weeks in the country. There were certain habits that she wouldn't be able to take from her life. Yae still removed her shoes before entering the house, even without the tatami floors that she loved so much and still uttered those silly words that every Japanese had engraved in their routine.

Thinking about it, an inevitable image of Yuzu filled her mind. His clumsiness-filled body saying "Yoisho" every 5 seconds was a fond memory she held, especially now that it was uncertain when she would be able to see that scene again.

Yaeko eventually realised that she didn't despise Finland. In fact, it was a country that she grew to love very quickly.

The circumstances were the one thing that made it hard to endure. She missed him with each day that went by and to add to that, every day felt the same.

The truth was that the life they chose for her was one she wasn't used to. Sure enough, Yaeko had spent a good part of her life being an obedient wife but there had always been things to do.

Her new life was just boring.

Without much to do besides small house tasks, Yae found herself thinking of how much she missed Yuzuru more often than anyone would deem healthy.

Then again, she didn't know what else to do with her life. She had no hobbies, no passions, no hint of her own Identity.

In Saga, she had the luck of being able to go out often without fearing for her life but now that seemed impossible.

It had been a few weeks since Agent Miura assured her that there was no recent Yakuza activity in Europe and that despite it being obvious that her husband was actively looking for her, he hadn't been able to track her down. It was now like a needle in a haystack.

That was all that mattered then. No matter how much she would have to endure, safety was the number one concern.

And even if she couldn't contact the father of her child, Yaeko hoped that everything would be worth it as they worked to have a better, safer and stable future.

All Yaeko wanted was for her son to have a normal life.