Sick Cycle Carousel
Summary: Akane would never tell anyone what else she saw through the fields as she desperately tried to solve the incinerator puzzle. It seems there was more to the first Nonary Game than anyone realized.
Rating: T
Notes: Random shower plot bunny. :3
Disclaimer: Don't own 999. If I did, more Ace plzkthx.
Sick Cycle Carousel
"So when will this end?
It goes on and on.
Over and over and over again.
Keep spinning around...
I know that it won't stop 'til I step down from this for good."
It starts when they all stop at a rest stop and Junpei arrives back first. He props himself up on his knees in the back seat and peers over the edge to look at him.
"Hey," he says calmly, watching the older man's eyes flicker faintly with acknowledgement. He reaches down, rips the tape off, and crosses his arms. Hongou simply stares up at him, a silent understanding settling between the two of them. Junpei flinches under the haunted look in the man's eyes, but quickly decides what he wants to ask, and how.
He bites his lip, his fists tightening, and demands, "Why?"
The question's met with silence for a few moments, until Hongou rasps, "Why... what?"
Junpei grits his teeth. "Just answer me. Why, Hongou? Why?"
"...I... I'm afraid I don't understand, Junpei-"
"Why the fuck did you create the stupid Nonary Game in the first place!?"
The older man is taken aback for a moment, before he gives a sigh and replies, "I've already told you; I wished to see human faces-"
"So you kidnap children? Are you just a fucking psychopath!? Because that's all I'm hearing!" Junpei doesn't know why he's so worked up; it wasn't as if he had been directly harmed. And yet, a part of him yearns for Akane still, and in some corner of his heart, he knows she's been lost. Yes, she's alive because of the whole second Nonary Game, but the Akane he had fallen in love with is gone. Gone forever – and all because of this monster.
Roughly, Junpei reaches down and grabs Hongou by his collar, lifting him slightly so their gazes lock head-on. "Why, Hongou? Why did you put Kanny and the others through that?"
Hongou is struggling to breathe at this point; his turtleneck collar is constricting around his neck due to Junpei's grip. Still, he rasps, "T-the... the faces..."
"Yeah, yeah, you 'just wanted to see the faces'. Bullshit," Junpei snaps, releasing him to fall to the floor.
"N-no..." he murmurs slightly, shaking his head. "I didn't... I didn't just want to see human faces. I... I needed to, for at least a short while."
When Junpei doesn't answer, Hongou heaves a sigh. "Akane Kurashiki and I have something in common, it seems."
Junpei almost makes a sniping comment on how far from the truth that is, but he doesn't say anything. For some reason, he sits down and listens to Hongou.
"I suppose there's no need to keep it a secret any longer..."
'Warning.
Warning.
Automatic incineration to take place in...
6 minutes.'
She is wailing at this point, desperately mashing her fingers against the buttons. The answer must be here – it has to be! Why couldn't she calm down and think!?
It's a sudoku puzzle. She reminds herself. Mama used to do these all the time, in the morning newspaper.
An image of her mother flashes through her panicking mind, and Akane Kurashiki calms down, just a bit. She takes a deep, shaky breath, closes her eyes, and concentrates.
Jumpy, help me!
It was only hours ago when her world spun and nearly flipped upside down. After the explosion on the ship, Akane panicked and recalled her best friend. She began to see the world around her through someone else's eyes. Scenes, people, and puzzles flashed into her mind in increments of at most a half-second each. She saw the same ship she is currently in, and puzzles' answers. But who was solving them? Whose eyes was she looking through?
Before she could wonder any further, the answer entered her mind, along with a quiet understanding. Along with her own world, she sees everything Junpei is put through; a Nonary Game following the one run by Hongou. The game she herself will create in nine years.
But now, once she has been thrown into the incinerator, she sees him solve the final puzzle. She watches Junpei give her the answers and solve the puzzle. And finally, she is safe.
However, before her mind cuts off from the telepathic connection – the morphogenetic fields, as she would soon figure out later – she hears a faint sound.
Crying?
Her mind is churning with thoughts and images, but she cannot ignore the faint sobbing. Cautiously, her mind opens up to the sound, eclipsing her vision with another's.
And once again, she's in the incinerator. It looks a bit different, but she knows it's the same. In front of her is the same screen with the sudoku puzzle; however, displayed on this screen are several rows of images of people – the players of the game, perhaps?
"I... I can't... I can't do it..."
Akane recognizes the same voice as the one crying only minutes before. She hears the other person's heavy breathing, his terrified thoughts.
I can't... I can't solve this puzzle! I'm going to burn! Why can't I see them!?
Akane then sees the boy's reflection staring so intently at the red screen; tears are streaming down his face, much like her reflection before. However, despite his youthful appearance and agonized expression, Akane knows instantly who it is.
Her instinctive fear attempts to run away, to stop seeing this man's – no, this boy's – world, but she can't. His crying is simply too loud, the echoes grabbing her mind's focus and clamping on tightly.
'Incineration in...
2 minutes.'
A voice sounds from outside the incinerator – over a loudspeaker, perhaps.
"'ey, boy! Solve the puzzle! Come on! It's been a cinch for you so far – why is this holding you up? Come on, you're the last one! Heh heh heh!"
They knew. The boy's horrified thoughts echo in her mind. They knew I would be the last one, and they designed this puzzle for me. Why?!
Akane is almost certain that the boy doesn't know he connected with her. Softly, she repeats the words the older Junpei had told her only moments ago.
"Just hang on, all right? I promise I'll get you out of there. I'm not gonna let you die! I promise! So don't worry, all right? Just give me a few minutes. ...Okay?"
The boy is surprised at her presence, but doesn't try to argue. He looks down at the screen and continues to try so desperately to process them.
This isn't like her connection with Junpei, Akane realizes; there is nothing to follow along with in her own time. However, she can see clearly what he cannot; the faces on the screen. Though she is connected with his mind, she can process the identities of the people.
Another quiet understanding worms its way into her mind. She understands now; this boy simply has to choose the image with his own face on it and hit the enter button. The incinerator will let him out then.
But there are so many rows of images, and he obviously cannot tell them apart at all - his finger is hovering over a few that bear no resemblance to him at all.
Akane doesn't want to save him, but another part of her knows she cannot simply abandon a crying child.
"L-Listen, Hon- Gentarou... it will be okay. Choose the one in the ninth row, number one. That's you."
How can I... trust you? Who are you?
"Akane Kurashiki. My name is Akane Kurashiki. Years from now, you will understand."
Granted, she prays that he wouldn't understand and strays from kidnapping her and the rest of the children, but she knows that it is inevitable. With Hongou having access to these same telepathic fields, he obviously was shown some of Akane's world, as well.
And he will have to recreate everything, simply to make sure he doesn't burn.
Just as Akane will.
She sits, her hands folded over her lap, as her brother speeds through the desert.
"You think we lost 'em, Akane?" he asks idly, glancing in the rear-view mirror just in case.
The girl nods, responding quietly, "Yes. Yes, I think so." Her tone is melancholy; she really didn't want to leave Junpei, but it was necessary. She is a criminal now, after all.
Sighing, Akane gazes out the window at the never-ending terrain of dust and sand.
"Do you regret it?" Aoi asks, his voice gruff and low.
Immediately, she shakes her head. "No. We did what we had to."
Just like him.
Briefly, she had wondered if Hongou has forgotten about that. But when Aoi was going to fetch the rope from the car and left the two alone, he turned to her. His eyes were empty, his mouth muzzled by duct tape, but his expression seemed to finally understand.
Perhaps he was recalling his own struggles in the incinerator, or perhaps he was finally seeing why this whole game was necessary.
To that, Akane had simply curled her lips into a smirk and leaned in towards him, whispering, "We are alike, you and I."
Hours later, those words are still echoing in her mind. It is true, of course; the two of them have more in common than anyone would ever know.
And Akane will never tell a soul what else she saw on that day nine years ago; when Junpei's kidnapper connected with him for help...
And when Akane's asked the same of her.