Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Lisa Mishima struggled desperately against the ropes that bound her, but it was no good. She couldn't break free.
"My, you are a dull one, aren't you?" the white-haired woman named Five walked up to her. "It's impossible to get out, so you should just be a good girl and wait quietly for your heroes to come."
"They won't come," Lisa said with more bravado than she felt. "I ran away and left a note telling them not to follow me. You're wasting your time."
Her captor laughed maliciously. "You don't know them like I do. They'll definitely come. And even if they don't, I'll just kill you first, and then enjoy hunting them down slowly later. So, either way, I'm still the winner, and you still die."
Lisa felt her stomach lurch. Nine and Twelve shared the same strange number names as this woman, but that was where the similarities ended. Although she had been afraid of them at first, she had gradually come to see that, despite everything, those boys were kind. But this woman before her was filled with nothing but insanity and hatred.
But it was precisely because of their kindness that Lisa feared that Five may be right. She had been nothing but a burden to those two, yet they had never failed to come to her rescue when she needed it most. She had left so that they wouldn't have to worry about taking care of her anymore, but nothing had gone as planned. If Nine and Twelve walked into this trap because of her, she would never forgive herself.
"Lisa!"
She raised her head at the familiar voice, and her eyes filled with tears.
They had come. She realized that a part of her had been hoping that they would all along, but now that they were really here, she wished wholeheartedly that they hadn't. Even as incredible as those two were, she knew that Five wouldn't let them get away easily. They had played right into her hands by coming here, and now they were at the mercy of a madwoman.
"You see?" Five leaned over and hissed into her ear. "I told you they'd come."
"Get away from Lisa," Twelve started towards her.
Nine put a hand out to stop him. "We came like you wanted," he told Five, "so let the girl go. She has nothing to do with this, anyways."
"I could do that…but you all were just reunited," Five answered with a cruel smile. "I'd hate to break it up, so I'll tell you what. I'll be considerate and let you all die together."
Before any of them had time to react, she pulled out a gun and fired several times. Lisa screamed, but her voice was drowned out by the sound of the shots and a loud explosion.
By the time the smoke had settled Five was gone and Nine and Twelve were lying motionless on the floor. The opposite side of the room was consumed with flames that were quickly growing closer.
"Nine! Twelve!" She strained once again to free herself, but with the same result.
She was on the verge of despair when her eye caught a flutter of movement through the thick screen of smoke. It was Nine. She watched with as he drew himself shakily to his hands and knees and crawled over to where Twelve was still on the floor. After a moment by his side, he started towards her.
"Nine!" she cried tearfully. "Thank goodness you're al…right…" Her voice trailed off as she took in the extent of his injuries. His right leg was covered in blood and was dragging behind him like something that was already dead and useless. His shoulder was also dripping with blood that had stained his white shirt sleeve crimson.
Without a word, he pulled out a pocket knife and began working on the ropes, his face white and his jaw set with pain. He miraculously managed to free her, but just as he did so, his strength seemed to give out and he slumped to the floor.
"Nine!" she knelt at his side.
He grabbed her wrist with surprising strength. "Lisa, listen to me. Go get Twelve and get out of here."
"You mean he's still alive?" Lisa asked tremulously.
"For now," he answered grimly, "but he won't be for long if he doesn't get help. Now, go. There's not much time."
"But what about you?"
"I need to rest for a minute, but I'll follow after you, don't worry."
Lisa may not have been a genius, but she could detect a lie when she heard one. She shook her head stubbornly. "I'm not leaving you."
"Lisa! Think about this rationally. We're on the fifteenth floor. Even just carrying Twelve all that way will be difficult. There's no way you can get both of us out."
Lisa looked at him for a long moment before rising slowly to her feet. She walked over to where Twelve was, and with a heave of effort, hoisted him onto her back. Then, without a word, she went back to Nine and yanked him to his feet.
"What are you doing?!" he said in frustration.
"We're not leaving without you, so lean on me and let's go."
With a glance towards the rapidly approaching flames, he obeyed. "You know," he told her as they made their way painstakingly to the stairwell, "We're the terrorists here, but I'm beginning to think that you're even more dangerous than us."
Lisa smiled. "You're just now realizing?"
….
Detective Shibazaki stood gaping, along with the rest of the Japanese police force, at the building that had burst into flames just seconds ago.
"Kurahashi-san," he addressed his superior officer. "Your orders?"
The white-haired man kept his eyes fixed on the building as he answered. "Our orders have not changed. We will continue to guard the perimeter and keep an eye out for the perpetrators."
"But sir, the situation has changed-"
"Shibazaki." The other man finally turned to look at him. "I understand how you feel, but we are not the authorities on this case anymore. The American FBI are now the ones in charge, so unless they tell us otherwise or you feel like losing your job, you'll stay put."
Shibazaki said nothing, instead lighting a cigarette and inhaling deeply. They had received a report from the FBI that the mysterious terrorists he had been after for the past few weeks had decided on a new target, a high-rise apartment. They had been shown footage of a hostage, a girl who seemed to be high-school age, who was apparently in the building. Then, due to the "delicacy of the situation," they had been ordered to stand by outside while the FBI agents went in to disarm the bomb and retrieve the hostage.
But his old, hound dog blood told him that something was off. There had been no warning video with a riddle, which had become a trademark of the self-named Sphinx 1 and 2. There was also no political link to this building that he was aware of, which had been a pattern that they had stuck to in all of their bombings so far. And finally, the use of a hostage was oddly out of character. Although their attacks were destructive, no lives had yet been lost, and it appeared that this was intentional on the part of the terrorists.
His thoughts drifted back to the incident at the airport. One of the members of Sphinx had actually contacted him, asking for help in moving a rogue plane that had a bomb in it that would've killed hundreds. He had assumed this was simply due to a mess-up on their part, but he was now wondering if this was really the case. Sphinx had told him that the bomb wasn't theirs, what if he had been telling the truth? What if they had been framed by someone?
In an instant, all of the pieces came together. Why hadn't he realized it before? The FBI had been the ones in the control tower that night, and one of them, a white-haired woman, had even tried to stop him from moving the plane. The FBI had been strangely involved in this case from the beginning, and they had made every effort to keep the Japanese police out of it. There was only one reason for that that he knew of. They were hiding something.
The unmistakable sound of a helicopter made him tilt his head back. He watched it rise up from the roof of the burning building, an American flag plainly visible on its side.
There was no question about it now. The bombs and the hostage hadn't been the work of the terrorists, they had been set up by the FBI. It was all part of a plot to trap Sphinx, and he feared that the white-haired woman wouldn't be content with simply apprehending them. Her eyes back at the airport had been filled with unquenchable bloodlust.
"Shibazaki!" He heard Kurahashi-san call after him, but he continued his dash towards the building. Sphinx was his prey, and he wouldn't let anyone, not even the American FBI, steal them from him.
….
How…? Lisa gazed with dismay at the scene before her. They had made it to the fourteenth floor, but there was fire here too. It didn't make any sense. The stairwell had been clear, so how it had spread…?
"I'd expect this from her," Nine muttered. "She doesn't leave a job unfinished. She most likely planted a bomb on each floor that were all linked to a single detonator."
Lisa felt her heart sink. If it was like this the whole way down, she wasn't sure she would be able to make it, despite her earlier determination. She was already finding it hard to breathe, and the burden of Nine and Twelve's weight seemed to increase with every passing second.
"Maybe the elevator…?" she began hopefully.
"Don't try it," Nine told her. "It's likely broken down, and even if it hasn't, you can bet that Five has already disabled it. Listen, Lisa," his voice grew gentler, "it's alright now. Thank you for trying to save us both, but you must see now that it's impossible. If you go now, there's still time for you and Twelve to make it out before the building collapses."
Lisa shook her head. "I can't."
"Why are you being so stubborn?" he raised his voice for the first time. "You love him, don't you? Do you want him to die?!"
"I do love him," Lisa said tearfully. "But that's exactly why I can't leave you behind. He loves you, too, Nine. All this time, you've been his only family. He couldn't bear it if he lost you. Can't you understand that?"
"Lisa…" For the first time, she could sense that he was really looking at her. "Alright then," he said at last. "You win. Now let's hurry up and go. There's not much time."
Lisa continued her trek down the staircase that never seemed to end. She kept going until her mouth tasted of soot and her chest ached. She had lost count of what floor they were on, all she could think of was making it to the next step. It took everything she had just to lift her foot and move forward. She wanted nothing more than to drop down and sleep, but the heavy weight on her back reminded her that she couldn't give up. No matter what, even if she lost her life in the process, she would protect the two who had worked so hard to protect her.
Nine suddenly collapsed, dragging her down with him. He had been somehow walking on his own all this time, only using her as a light crutch, but it appeared that he had reached his limit.
"Nine!" She shook him, but he wouldn't wake.
Still carrying Twelve on her back, she struggled to her feet and tried to lift him as well, but she wasn't strong enough. It would've been difficult at any time, but in her current state it was impossible. She sunk back down to the steps, laying Nine and Twelve down gently beside her. As she stared at their unconscious forms, she felt emotion well up inside her, mingling with the already present pain in her chest from the smoke. She buried her head in her lap and began to cry, although her sobs came out more like painful coughs. If only she were stronger…!
"Do you need some help there, miss?"
She looked up to see a vaguely familiar man. She had seen him on the news before-he was one of the detectives that was after Nine and Twelve.
She watched, speechless, as he effortlessly hoisted Nine and Twelve onto each of his shoulders. He trotted down several steps before turning back to her. "You coming?"
At this point, Lisa was ready to accept help, regardless of where it came from. She brushed herself off and followed him without a word.
They made it down to the fourth or fifth floor before being forced to stop. Fire was filling the stairwell, making it impossible to go any further.
"Follow me," Shibazaki directed her. They retraced their steps to the nearest landing, where there was a large window. Lisa watched as he set Nine and Twelve down and pulled out a gun.
"You may want to cover your ears, miss."
He fired, shattering the window, and in an instant, the fire crew had a crane ready for them. Shibazaki held out a hand for her, but she refused.
"Take them first, please," she said, her voice hoarse from the smoke.
She watched with bated breath as Nine and Twelve were lifted carefully and handed over to waiting hands on the crane. Now that they were safe at last, her last bit of strength evaporated. Her knees gave way, and she would've fallen if a large hand hadn't grabbed her.
"It's your turn now, miss."
In a daze, she felt herself being lifted up by strong arms. She was vaguely aware of being taken outside, where there was finally fresh air, but her chest hurt too much to breathe it in. She could hear people talking all around her, but they sounded very far away. At last, everything slipped into darkness as she drifted into a merciful rest.
….
Shibazaki glanced at the sleeping girl beside him. The fatherly side of him didn't relish the idea of interrogating of someone who reminded him so much of his own daughter. But at the same time, the other part of him, the detective side, was itching to finally discover the truth behind the case he'd been chasing for weeks.
The girl, as if reading his thoughts, stirred and opened her eyes, looking groggily around.
"Welcome back," he said, closing the book he had been reading.
She sat up abruptly, a panicked look in her eyes. "Where are Nine and Twelve?"
Nine and Twelve…? Was she talking about Sphinx? "If you mean Sphinx," he answered, "they're in another part of this hospital. They'll need to stay here for a while, but they're both in stable condition."
Tears of relief sprang into her eyes. "Thank goodness…"
He cleared his throat awkwardly. "Since you're the only one who's awake, do you mind if I ask you some questions, Ms. Mishima?"
She looked at him in surprise. "You know my name…?"
"Yes. We did some research. So, what do you say? Will you cooperate?"
She didn't actually have a choice, but he found that things generally went over better if he phrased it this way. The girl hesitated for just a moment, but she seemed to sense the truth behind his request, as she finally nodded in agreement.
"Great," he pulled out his notepad. "First, could you tell me about your relationship with the Sphinx bombers?"
She told him about how they had met by chance during their first attack and how they had eventually taken her in after she had run away from home.
"They cared about me when no one else did," she finished with emotion. "To me, they are the two most precious people in the world."
He could see why she had been an obvious choice for a hostage. She clearly thought the world of those two, and if the fact that they willingly entered a trap for her was any indication, it appeared that they felt the same about her. Aloud, he said, "And do you know anything about why they have been bombing various locations in the city lately?"
She shook her head sadly. "I don't…but I know that their goal isn't to kill people," she added with conviction. "When there was a bomb on that train, they thought for sure that you would figure out their riddle and stop it, and when you didn't, they rushed all the way there themselves to stop it. Nine even got injured because of it."
His eyes widened with sudden understanding. He had solved the riddle back then, but they had been blocked from stopping the bomb by none other than the FBI. The bomb had gone off, but miraculously, no one was killed, despite the fact that it occurred at the busiest time of day. There had been several eyewitness accounts of smoke filling the station several seconds before the explosion that had given many people time to get out of harm's way, but since the security footage had been mysteriously cut off, they hadn't been able to confirm this. He now realized that this, too, was likely another example of the FBI's, or more specifically, that woman's, interference.
He pulled a photo out of his pocket and held it up for her. "Do you recognize this woman?"
She instinctively drew back, a look of terror on her face. Well that answers that, he thought to himself.
"Yes," the girl answered in a near whisper. "She's the one that took me hostage and shot Nine and Twelve. She blew up the building today, and the airplane that time too. She set it up to look like it was Nine and Twelve, but it wasn't."
"I already know that this incident and the attack at the airport weren't their doing," he replied. "But do you have any idea why she's after them?"
"I'm not sure," she answered slowly, "but they call her Five, and I can tell by the way they act that they've met her before. It almost feels like…it feels like they were close long ago, and then something happened…but I don't know."
"So, they call her Five? And you said that Sphinx go by Nine and Twelve?"
"Yes."
"Some sort of code, perhaps…?"
He had been mostly talking to himself, so he was surprised when she spoke.
"I don't think so. To me, it feels more like those are the only names they have. They don't talk about it much, but I think that those two have been through something horrible in the past."
"Like what exactly…?"
"I don't know," she answered softly, "but I think that it must have been something very, very painful."
"I see." She had answered some of his questions, but it seemed that those still unanswered had multiplied tenfold. "Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Mishima. And, oh," he suddenly remembered, "the doctors want to keep an eye on you overnight since you inhaled a fair amount of smoke, but they think that you should be good to go in the morning."
He stood to leave, but she grabbed his sleeve. "Mr. Shibazaki, please tell me honestly, what…what will happen to Nine and Twelve?"
The desperate look in her eyes made him reach out and squeeze her hand. He had a job to do, but at the end of the day, he was a human being, a husband, and a father. "Don't worry," he told her gently, "they haven't killed anyone, and they're both minors, so their chances of getting off with less than a life sentence are good. And it's likely that their sentence will be diminished even more if they agree to work for a public security agency. We're always looking for people with their talents."
"I see," she said with evident relief. "Oh, and Mr. Shibazaki?"
He stopped at the door. "Yes?"
"I wanted to thank you for rescuing us. I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't come."
"No need to thank me," he gave her a crooked smile. "I just wanted to make sure that justice was served."
And with that, he turned on his heel and walked down the hall, feeling more determined than ever to get to the bottom of this case.
….
"Ms. Mishima?" the nurse peered into her room. "One of your friends is awake and is asking for you."
Lisa followed her down the hall, her heart pounding wildly. Nine and Twelve had been caught because of her, so she didn't know what to expect. She opened the door a crack and looked inside nervously.
"Lisa!" Nine said when he saw her. "You're alright?"
"Nine!" she rushed over to him, all her fears forgotten. "I'm fine, but what about you and Twelve?" She glanced towards the other bed, where Twelve was still unconscious.
"I'm fine, and the doctors said that Twelve will be alright too, although he probably won't wake up until tomorrow."
"I see," Lisa said, feeling as if she could cry with relief.
"I can't remember anything after I passed out. Did you actually carry both of us all by yourself?"
"That's…," Lisa knew that she would have to tell him sooner or later. "Detective Shibazaki came and helped us."
Before Nine had time to respond, Detective Shibazaki entered the room. Lisa tensed, looking from one to the other anxiously. She had no idea how this would turn out.
"It's an honor to finally meet one of the famed Sphinx," Shibazaki said, pulling up a seat beside them.
"Likewise, Detective Shibazaki. I hear that I owe you thanks."
Lisa exhaled deeply. It appeared that her worries had been unfounded. Rather than the relationship between a criminal and a law enforcer, the atmosphere was almost friendly.
"There's no need to thank me," Shibazaki waved his hand dismissively. "It's my responsibility to make sure that we caught you guys alive. But I must say, you certainly didn't make it easy on us."
"Did you enjoy our riddles?" Nine smiled. "You were very impressive in cracking them, you know."
"Well, when you've lived as long as I have, you know a lot of useless information," Shibazaki replied. He then turned his attention to Twelve. "So, you two are the ones we've been after all this time, huh?"
"You're thinking that we look young, aren't you?" Nine smiled wryly.
"Yes, but I'm also thinking that you both seem kind. Much kinder than I'd expect from typical terrorists. What made you do this?"
"It's only natural that you would be curious," Nine answered. "But lucky for you, you'll find out tonight, along with the rest of Japan."
"What did you do?" Shibazaki asked in the harshest tone he had yet used.
"Don't worry, Detective. No one will get hurt, it's just a little video we've prepared. Connect to the internet at 7:00 pm, and you'll understand everything."
….
Shibazaki fiddled with his pen and glanced at his watch for the thousandth time that day. 6:58. Only two more minutes and all of his questions would be answered. It seemed that the more he knew about this case, the less it made sense. He had asked for Sphinx 1's, or rather Nine's, medical report, and it had showed that he had burn injuries from a prior date. It looked like the girl had been telling the truth. They were terrorists that were willing to sacrifice themselves to prevent people from dying. He couldn't think of many things more paradoxical than that.
Finally, the clock struck seven, and two familiar masked figures appeared on the screen.
"Good evening everyone. It's Sphinx 1," Nine said.
"And Sphinx 2!" Twelve chimed in. "We hope that you all have enjoyed our fun riddles, but unfortunately, everything has to come an end."
"Now that we have your attention," Nine continued. "We would like to answer the questions that are on everyone's mind: who are we and why are we doing this? So, we'll start by introducing ourselves properly."
They both reached up and removed their masks, revealing the same young, boyish faces that he had seen in the hospital. No matter how he looked at them, they really were just children.
"I'm Nine, also known as Sphinx 1," the dark-haired boy spoke.
"And I'm Twelve, also called Sphinx 2!"
"We are both sixteen years old, children by society's standards, yet we were never allowed to be children," Nine said solemnly. "We will now tell you a story from the past that we hope will help you understand how we came to be here today."
Ten minutes later the screen turned black, but Shibazaki's mind was still running at full speed. Sphinx, along with dozens of other children, had been scientific experiments. They had been hand-picked by the government for their superior intellect from orphanages all over Japan and brought to a top-secret facility. The goal was to create super humans by giving them a drug that would further enhance their mental abilities. The children were essentially tools and they were treated as such. They were fed and provided for, but they weren't even given proper names, let alone love or affection. The drug had terrible side effects, and all of the children eventually died, except for three. Nine, Twelve, and that white-haired woman, Five.
Nine and Twelve had ultimately escaped, but they had never forgotten the children who had never made it out. They had spent years tracking down the government officials who were responsible and making plans to expose the cruelty of the program. But they knew that the public would never take a couple of children seriously, which was the reason they decided to become terrorists. They would use bombs to gain the public's attention, so that when the time came, the whole world would hear about the inhumaneness of the program, and about the innocent children who had been sacrificed because of it. That had been their goal and their purpose this entire time.
Shibazaki rubbed his face tiredly. In a situation like this, who was in the right and who was in the wrong? There was no question that Nine and Twelve were victims, and they were probably right that no one would have listened to them, but did that give them the right to bomb private property and put lives at risk? He didn't know, and he was thankful that figuring it out was far above his pay grade.
….
Lisa picked up her buzzing phone and smiled. It was a text from Twelve.
"It's opening today. Are you coming?"
Lisa's fingers flew across the keyboard. "I'll be there."
As she walked to the train station in the sultry mid-July heat, she thought about how much had changed since last summer. As soon as they were released from the hospital, Nine and Twelve had been put under house arrest to await trial. Those had been difficult months, but Shibazaki's words had proved themselves to be correct. Three weeks ago, they had finally been given a sentence to serve in the police force's special crime fighting division, and from what Lisa had heard, they appeared to be settling in well there.
The ringleaders of the cruel program that they had been a part of were also receiving justice as last. Their cases were all over the news, and from the looks of it, most of them would be spending the rest of their lives in prison for crimes against humanity.
Things had changed in her life as well. She was now a senior in high school, and…
"Lisa!"
She turned at the sound of her name and broke into a smile when she was met by the face of her boyfriend. "Twelve!" she waved back and went over to meet him.
They had confessed their mutual feelings while he was still in the hospital and had been dating ever since. Lisa had always heard that being in love made the world more beautiful, but it had turned out to really be true. Her life before she had met him had been gray and meaningless, but now it was like she was living in an eternal, green summer. Even though things were still difficult sometimes at home and school, as long as he was by her side, she knew that she could face anything.
They shared a kiss, and she gazed up at him with contentment.
"I know that face," he poked her cheek playfully. "What are you thinking about?"
"I'm just thinking how much I love you, and how great it is that we can finally meet outside of that stuffy house."
"And without all of the guards watching?" he added with a grin.
"I'm sorry to intrude, lovebirds," Nine said jokingly. "Are you sure I shouldn't just leave?"
"Of course not," Lisa assured him. "You know that I'm always happy to see you, too, Nine. And besides, for what we're doing today, you need to be there."
At this mention of their purpose for meeting, the atmosphere immediately grew solemn.
"Shall we go then?" Nine said.
The three of them walked side-by-side through the bustling downtown center.
"Is work going well?" Lisa asked after a while.
"Yeah, it's a lot of fun," Twelve said. "The only thing that would make it better is if you were there."
"I'll have to come and visit sometime to see you in action," she smiled. "I'd also like to see Shibazaki-san again. Are you two getting along with him, alright?"
Nine snorted in disdain. "That old man calls himself our boss, but he does nothing but laze about and eat donuts and leaves all of the work to the rest of us."
"I see," Lisa giggled. "That certainly does sound rough." Even though he talked like that, she knew that both of them had grown close to Shibazaki over the past year. Nine got along with him especially well, with Shibazaki becoming sort of like a father figure to him.
Finally, they arrived at their destination. A simple stone pillar in the middle of a park with the numbers one through twenty-seven, with the exceptions of five, nine, and twelve. She glanced at the boys beside her. To her, these were just numbers, but to those two, she knew that each carving represented a dear friend.
Are you watching this? her heart whispered to the children whose names were etched on this stone. Your friends, Nine and Twelve, did this for you. They worked hard to make sure that your names which were carved on their hearts would be carved in a place where everyone would see them and remember you. They really did it, so, children, isn't it enough now? They've spent all these years devoting their lives to your legacy, so isn't it alright for them to move on and find their own happiness?
I wanted to tell you all that I, Lisa Mishima, intend to make sure that they become happy. I may not be a genius and I know that I will never be able to understand what they've been through, but I happen to be hellishly stubborn when it comes to those I love. I'll spend my entire life making them happy, so you all can rest peacefully and leave them to me.
As the three of them stood before the simple stone monument, she smiled. She didn't know how exactly, but something told her that she had definitely been heard.