1.2 Youth

Yomo knew how to be charming, but he didn't like forcing himself to put up with people whose presence and behaviour exasperated him. So he much preferred to keep a low profile and avoid the people who seemed to be the most unpleasant and go towards people who were more discreet and calm.

Once seated, he gave a big smile to the table and introduced himself.

"The girls from the law department are going to flip out at the sight of the handsome man of the year at the language students' table," exclaimed one of the students, delighted at the idea of seeing the reaction of the poor girls who were disappointed by the turn of events.

"Oh, you're in languages," Yomo exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"We crashed!" they replied, laughing.

Yomo looked around the table quickly. Three boys and two girls. His gaze met that of the guy standing diagonally across from him. His beautiful green eyes drew his attention and he lingered a little longer to observe him. "He's cute," he thought after a quick mental analysis. He seemed to have had a few beers already and looked a bit cheerful.

"So you're the Don Juan all the ladies are after," he joked. "Poor you, it can't be easy!

Yomo smiled at him. An extrovert. And enthusiastic by nature. He was going to get on well with him. He loved that kind of character, they were the most fun to tease.

"What are you talking about, Rau? Isn't it your dream to have all the chicks at your feet?" retorted one of his comrades.

"Not really," he said after a short reflection. "I find it really boring if you ask me."

"Oh, you're weird, man! It's every guy's dream to be the popular guy in the class!"

"His name is Rau," noted Yomo mentally, who was following the conversation carefully.

"You know what?" replied Rau. "I don't understand you guys! Seriously? What's this craze of being a pasha surrounded by girls? And what are these expressions? To have chicks at your feet? They're not animals you know, they're human beings! You have problems, frankly..."

He shook his head before taking a sip of his beer. Yomo gave him a satisfied smile. "Well said," he thought. This first year was definitely interesting. More than it seemed at first. "In that case, maybe it's worth it," he thought. He smiled. This evening was going to be more interesting than he thought.

"Seriously, you're weird, man! What's your problem, you don't like girls or something?

"What's that got to do with liking girls? You can like them and respect them, I don't see what the problem is! We don't have to be big dorks either!" he replied with the same sincerity that made Yomo smile.

This unconcealed honesty was truly attractive. At least for Yomo. He went into player mode. A mode he rarely activated since he rarely met people interesting enough to assume this mode.

"Yomo, don't you agree?" one of the boys at the table asked him, pulling him out of his reflection.

"I'm gay, so well, women aren't really my stuff..."

He scanned the reactions with interest. He had put his foot down on purpose and was waiting for the others' reactions. The other two boys looked at each other awkwardly while the girls made dumbfounded faces, hand to mouth whispering to each other. The rising tension was finally broken by Rau who burst out laughing.

"No way! That's great hahaha! The girls' faces when they find out!

He was laughing out loud. Yomo smiled inwardly. He was having a good time. He had not been mistaken in thinking that this guy would be different and that he would get along with him.

"But you're brave! It's not often that you hear people come out about their sexual orientation so openly," said the green-eyed boy.

"Haha thanks, Rau," Yomo said with his usual charming smile.

"He doesn't seem to be on that side," he thought, a little disappointed. But it was better to know that from the start than to have any expectations. Things were clear, it was better that way!

"No judgment," said one of the boys with an embarrassed look. "It's just that... we didn't expect it at all."

"It's the principle of coming out," Yomo replied with a wink that made the student shudder.

Uncomfortable with the third year's provocative look, he began to drink his beer with concentration. Rau was holding his ribs. He seemed to be enjoying the situation as much as Yomo. Yomo watched him with a knowing look. "It'll be fun to be his buddy," he thought. It had been a long time since he'd met anyone interesting since he'd entered college, other than Jin, Nils, and Neti.

He was about to continue the conversation when a group of girls approached the table. Yomo noticed the girl who had interrupted his drink with his friends. She smiled at him as she met his eyes. Yomo ducked. He shut himself up and concentrated on his beer. The conversation quickly changed topics after the girls arrived at their table. In a hurry to leave this oppressive and tedious atmosphere, Yomo relieved his boredom by giving Rau a few glances. Rau was very sociable as he had quickly adapted to the newcomers and was chatting away.

Unable to run away as he would have liked, Yomo had to endure the rest of the evening in this way, pretending and unwillingly participating in the situation. Finally, seeing everyone start to get tired and leave, Yomo followed the movement, grabbed his jacket, and stood up. The table followed him and everyone found themselves outside saying goodbye. His friends had already left, so he was on his own to return.

"Yomo, which side are you going ?" asked Ange as she approached him.

"Ah..." said Yomo, thinking of the best way to get away. "I'm going back on my bike."

Of course, he didn't have a bike and was going to take public transport. But there was no way he was going to make the trip with this clingy girl! He was going to pretend to have parked his bike a bit further away to make a quick escape. The girl gave a disappointed pout and didn't insist. He waved to everyone and was preparing to leave when Rau called him.

"I'm going that way too," he said with a big smile.

Yomo returned the smile. Nice company, he didn't say no...

"Where's your bike?

"Oh...nowhere," replied Yomo, taking out a cigarette, after they had moved far enough away from the group.

"Huh?" said Rau, who couldn't understand what he was saying.

"I'm going home on the metro..." he replied, lighting the cigarette he had placed between his lips.

Rau looked at him, a little confused then laughed. He had understood. He gave Yomo a big hug.

"You don't do things by halves," he said. "I mean, I understand you, it must be unbearable to be surrounded by people who come to you with ulterior motives...you never know if they're sincere or if they just want to use you.

Yomo smiled. Indeed, it was exhausting. And that was why he did everything to avoid these student gatherings.

"Well, this is where I leave you," said Rau.

They had just arrived at the entrance to the metro.

"It was nice to meet you, Yomo, and I'll see you again if we meet at the university!"

He waved and continued down the street. Yomo watched him go, then crushed his cigarette in the ashtray at the entrance of the subway and went down into the underground. It hadn't been such a bad night after all. The underground was full of students going out for the night or going home. This time of night belonged to the carefree young people who were enjoying their twenties. A blessed time, according to the elders.

When he finally arrived home, Yomo entered quietly. His aunt was probably already sleeping. He went to his room and dropped onto his bed. He was already beginning to sober up. Taking his mobile phone, he opened instatram and started searching. "Rau... 1st-year law student at Saiki...". There couldn't be many Rau students in their first year of law at Saiki university after all. After a few minutes of searching and about twenty pages further on, he found his profile. He pressed "follow" after a quick look at her photos. His account looked like him: not updated, not used much, and the photos were not very neat. He didn't look like a social networker.

Yomo turned and put his head on his pillow. He closed his eyes for a moment. Overall, he'd had a pretty good night. If he put the sticky girl aside. Feeling tired, he sat up and went to get ready for bed. He thought about Neti's challenge. Maybe he could add another trusted person to his close circle? He brushed his teeth and wiped his face before putting on a T-shirt for the night. He crawled under the covers, setting an alarm for the next morning. Finally, maybe the year was going to be more interesting than he had expected...

The evening light was barely visible behind the heavy black velvet curtains. Resting in the shadow of an armchair, a cat with fur as black as night slept peacefully on the dark wooden floor. Lit only by the dim light of three low lamps with shades, the room had an air of mystery and danger that the occupant seemed to embrace perfectly.

Sitting in a red leather armchair adorned with gilt, a blonde woman with slender legs elegantly crossed in front of her, smoking a cigarette with relish. Her long black eyelashes fluttered languidly over her brown eyes. With a disdainful hand, she moved the paper-wrapped piece of tobacco back and forth from her full lips to the tin ashtray on the oriental-patterned dressing table to her right.

She seemed to savour the moment as if she were giving herself a long-awaited reward. Her blonde curls cascaded disorganized over her ample bosom, barely concealed by the cleavage of a red silk gown in shades as bright as the late afternoon rays. With her hands, whose nails matched her dress, she grabbed a photo that was lying next to the ashtray. She looked at it for a moment with her languid eyes and a tired expression.

"Rau...Rau Netilium..." she said before taking another puff of tobacco and blowing it out with the same provocation that was in her eyes.

"You think you can escape me...escape your fate," she said, speaking to herself.

A gleam then flashed in her eyes. Anger flashed through her as she thought of the young man's audacity to stand up to her despite the danger she knew he was in. She was sure she had created enough fear in him to make him tremble like a leaf just by seeing her. A fear that would make him submit to her in a second. So why? Why was he trying to resist and had he pulled himself out of her grip?

With an angry gesture, she crumpled up the photo and threw it on the ground, waking up the feline who was dozing peacefully. Reassured to see that any imminent danger did not cause his fear, he settled back comfortably and put his head on his paws, ready to go back to sleep immediately.

As beautiful as she was dark, the woman began smoking her cigarette again, this time with an air of annoyance. A groan from the bed in front of her echoed through the silent room. With a smile on her face, she left the cigarette butt in the ashtray and stood up. With a steady hand, she stroked the leg of the naked woman lying on the grey satin sheets. The moans became more insistent. Moving up to her waist, she finally stopped and bent over the naked body with the eyes of a raptor ready to devour its prey. In one swift movement, she bit into the tender flesh that exposed itself to her without restraint, eliciting a hoarse growl of protest from the prey.

She straightened up, and held back for a moment, devouring with her eyes the food before her, lying there at her mercy. She thought for a moment and then called out in a loud voice:

"Yuka!"

A tall man, built like an ice cream cabinet, with a shaved head and dressed in a strict black suit, appeared in the doorway.

"Yes ma'am," he replied deferentially.

"Start the plan now, there's no time to lose," she ordered him. "Prepare for our departure. We will leave Russia at dawn. It is time for us to return to Isekai.

"Yes, ma'am," the guard said, bowing.

"It's time to bring our dear Rau back," she smiled wryly. "I miss him so much, it's time he understood that I can't live without him.

The man nodded and left the room, leaving the eagle alone with the lying vole, wearily accepting its end. With a smile as cruel as it was exciting, the woman bent over the body again, offering it to the sacrifice of her desire. Covering everything from the gaze of human beings, the black of the night enveloped the room in its neutral opacity, hiding from the eyes of the world what could not be seen.