January 25th:
Asuna Yuuki sat in her bed, ever since she was freed from ALO and Sugou's control, she was able to wake up and finally meet Kirito for the first time in the real world. She also got to reunite with her family…. well mostly her father and older brother Kouchirou. Her mother, for some reason, disapproved of Kirito or Kazuto Kirigaya which was his real name. She didn't understand why she should condemn Kirito for his actions that night. He was forced to put down Sugou as he, along with Yuki, were attacked and it was all in self-defense. However, it was more than that that her mother didn't like Kirito and what she tried to do even in the aftermath; especially after the authorities accused Kirito of his death. She was very fortunate that Fuji Yamane and Yuki Tsutano helped him in his defense, even exposing the creature's plans to the public, including the footage of Sugou's assault on her. She had to avert her attention away from the television screen whenever they showed the footage as it was a painful, agonizing memory to her. Even though the touches weren't real, the feeling of being violated was much too real and had broken her spirit even though she escaped with her real body intact.
However, she found out that the footage had shocked and disturbed the public not just in Japan, but nations across the seas and ocean; including the United States of America. In fact, America was the first country to act on the 'Sugou incident' in the wake of it as well as recognized the relationship between her and her lover Kirito. Then the footage of Samantha Thompson began to broadcast from America. The woman was in a suit standing with a group of supporters for the couple as she then gave a firm, stern look before she spoke up.
"In the past three days, in the wake of the ALfhiem Online on the four hundred players, a horrible act was committed on an innocent girl across the Pacific. A monster that has used the players as his human subjects to play God had the nerve to assault her while chained up. But there was more to it behind it all as the girl, Asuna Yuuki, has been forced into a marriage of this monster by her own parents while she was still under.
"These types of parents only see their own children as tools and are willing to sell them into slavery in order to build up their reputations and careers. I can assure you all that this act will not be tolerated and those who committed this act against this young girl will be held accountable." Samantha said.
"The Society for Integrity in Marriage exists for a reason: to ensure that our children have the perfect futures and to have marriages based on love, not corporate gains as 'Arranged Marriages' are never based on love," she continued. She took a brief moment to pause before she looked at the reporters straight in the eyes as some of the people with her showed their signs supporting the young couple at the heart of this matter.
"These two have been through a lot; the boy went into hell to save her from the clutches of the madman. That right there is what true love is all about. They deserved to be together with each other and should not be separated."
"Yeah! What she said!" one supporter shouted.
"They deserve each other!" another supporter shouted. Samantha then spoke. "See folks? This is what the reality of love should be. Not to be joined by forced marriage for corporate gains, but to be joined by love and compassion for one another."
Asuna was touched by the woman's words. The Society for Integrity in Marriage had their full support from across the Coalition of Allied Nations, even after the counter-protests from UN-members of Canada and the European Union denied these claims - calling them as 'cries of attention' from something that never existed. Those words were enough to hurt her, but she was glad that the Coalition is behind them.
Then the news channel reported that the verdict was handed down. While Kazuto would be under watch and surveillance to ensure that there was nothing wrong with his mental condition, it was beyond doubt that Sugou and his division were guilty of crimes against humanity, even in the wake of the 'Sugou' incident which various people are calling for an investigation of the whole mess. As she continued to watch the news reports, she begins to think back yesterday when she got a visit from her mother.
January 24th:
A nurse appeared through the door to Asuna's room, notifying her that she's gotten a visitor; she thanked the nurse as she began to turn and leave. A few minutes later, the door opened up again and her mother walked into the room. The mother and daughter haven't been seeing Eye to eye most of the latter's life; she put her through private school and had her prepared for the upper class in the world. It was her mother's plans for her children. The elder Yuuki mother scolded her for playing the Sword Art Online death game in the first place, believing it caused their plans to derail as the result.
"I understand that you're upset for what has happened," Kyouko said in a tone as calm as she can. "But you must know that your future is the most important for the family. If you are to be able to reach in the upper class, any distractions are not tolerable."
"My future is, however, I choose it to be, right mother." Asuna replied, her tone was calm but stern.
"That death game you played had set back your plans," her mother said, this time with disapproval in her tone. "However, I'll be able to get you up a couple of grades and into college. Plus you will be able to have a proper suitor for your life; the one that'll take great care of you." However, Asuna never approved that at all, she knew what had happened to her in the past two months all locked away in the birdcage in the world tree by her so-called fiancée.
"The last one you've chosen wasn't a very good one." she retorted. "You know what he did to me in there as well as the other players." A short pause filled the room before Kyouko spoke again.
"I can assure you that he was a mistake that should've never been made. Your father was wrong to have him arranged to marry you. A proper suitor has been selected; Ryuya is more trustworthy in taking great care of you." Asuna just scoffed at the idea, Ryuya Tazaki Yuuya is the distant cousin of her mother, and although older, he has connections with the upper class and high social status.
"He's a far better future husband for you, Asuna. More suitable than that boy you've met in that game." Kyouko continued. "He's committed sins by taking a human life and he shouldn't be entrusted in your future now that he has blood on his hands."
"Kirito has been taking great care of me while I was trapped in the game!" Asuna argued. "He also risked his life to save me from that madman you tried to marry me off too. That man you've hand-picked attempted to rape me while I was chained up while taunting me to do the same to my real body!" Tears formed in her eyes and streamed down her face. "I believe the reason you don't like Kirito is that he ruined your wedding plans! It's not just his social background wasn't it, mother!? I bet you were the one who called the police and had them thrown in jail for putting down that monster!"
"Watch your tone young lady!" Kyouko snapped. "You don't talk to me with that tone as long as you live under my roof."
"You'd never cared about what we say or think! All you care about is your career and nothing more even if you tr…" It was then Asuna went into a panic attack. Worried, Kyouko tried to help her only to have her arms smacked away.
"Stay away!" She nearly bellowed before clutching her chest again. A small alarm on the heart monitor went off when her heart skyrocketed, causing the nurses to rush to her, entering her room and helped her calm down while one of the nurses escorted Kyouko out of the room.
"It'll be best if you come back another time." the nurse explained to the Yuuki mother. "It'll give her time to calm down as her heart has accelerated caused by stress." At first, Kyouko was going to argue in protest, but she decided to do what the nurse said. From where she was, she could tell that Asuna was still recovering from the NerveGear and it would only make things worse for her daughter.
"Alright, I'll leave." She said at last and turned away to leave the hospital, as she headed down the hallway, Kouchirou came from the elevator, but they didn't say a word to each other. He just gave her a glare that pierced her like daggers. He entered the room just as the nurses left the room. They finally got Asuna's heart to normal levels, she began to calm down. One of the nurses told her if she needed anything to just give her a call before they left the room.
"Asuna," Kouchirou said as he brought a chair and sat it next to the bed and pulled his little sister in a comforting hug.
"Kouchirou…." Asuna wept. "I'm scared…" She burrowed her face into his shirt while he gently patted her head.
"It's OK now, little sister. What happened in there is all over," Kouchirou soothed. It was then she took her face away and looked up. Her eyes held sadness and worry.
"But what if Kirito is sentenced to a life sentence?" she asked, tears continued to flow down her face. "I may not be able to see him again…. I don't even know what to do.!" She sobbed into his shoulder again.
Fuji and Yuki were fighting tooth and nail to have him free again. Kouchirou pulled her closer; there were times when she wept: one time when she lost her teddy bear when she was very young and when their grandparents passed away. Asuna was devastated as she loved visiting them in the countryside. However, the past few days were hard on her; to learn that the boy who has risked his life to save her from the clutches of the monster their mother tried to marry her off to is in jail and with the possibility of serving life for first-degree murder.
"It's OK Asuna…." the elder brother said at last. "He's got full support from both Fuji and Yuki; they're fighting tooth and nail against the system for his rights. Plus; the media organizations from both Japan and America are backing him up; he'll pull through with all that support behind him." His reassuring words finally reached his sister's ears and he felt her starting to calm down to where the sobs and hiccups were less frequent.
"I'll never let anything happen to my baby sister, you know that." He smiled at her. There were times where he managed to keep the creature of a fiancée at bay when she was still sleeping as well as trying to warn their parents about him, but they never took notice as they were too busy looking at his high social status. Asuna didn't say a word; just let her brother's arms hold her tighter but gently. The room fell silent as the Yuuki siblings just held each other. Both of them made a silent prayer to God to watch over Kirito and protect him from the charges he was accused of until he is declared innocent.
The Present:
Asuna sighed from the thought of her argument with her mother. Yesterday, she'd lost control of herself and was practically yelling at her. However, she knew that she couldn't help herself that she was still suffering from post-traumatic emotions from her experience with Sugou and her mother telling her that she can't see him didn't help much at all. She was fortunate that her older brother came by to give her reassurance that everyone had protected him and will keep on supporting him until the end of time. However, her fears of losing Kirito had been pushed aside as the verdict claimed him innocent under surveillance. Nearly twenty minutes went by when the door opened up, She smiled happily when she saw Kirito roll into the room. In front of him, he pushed a wheelchair and stopped by her side of the bed along with the nurse who followed him.
"The nurse let me bring the wheelchair to you so you can get out of this room for a while." Kazuto smiled.
"Thanks, Kirito…" Asuna smiled. She still kept calling him by his avatar name as she was used to it in the past two years. But she was still learning how to do so one step at a time. Asuna sat up as Kazuto and the nurse helped her out of bed and onto the wheelchair. Kazuto grabbed the handles from behind and began pushing her out of the room and down the hallway.
As they continued down the hallway, Kazuto kept an eye on her while going at a slow pace.
Asuna was smiling the whole time in his presence. They stopped at one of the cafeterias near the windows; they turned her around, allowing her to get a full view of Tokyo from above.
"Wow….." Asuna said in awe. Kazuto smiled as he felt the happiness radiating from his girlfriend.
"Beautiful, isn't it Asuna?" Kazuto asked her.
"Indeed it is…" Asuna answered while sighing.
"The thing that being trapped in SAO is when we return, we appreciate the things that we've missed in the real world…." He leaned down to hug her. "But it also sprouted out new love for each other." The Yuuki girl nodded in agreement. The nurse smiled and left them to let them have their moment together. Kazuto had to be extra careful with her as she was still recovering from her experience with the monster. So far, she was holding out and he intended to keep it that way.
It was then Kazuto reached in his back and pulled out a stuffed bear, he handed it to Asuna who looked at it in both surprise and confusion.
"It was given to me by my aunt when I was adopted by her; she told me that if I got scared, I could hug it anytime I wanted." He smiled before continuing. "I'm giving it to you. Whenever you get scared, hug it tight and think of me when you do."
"OK, I will Kirito." Asuna said softly. It was then he took his coat off and placed it around Asuna.
"Also, if you want, I can spend the night." he continued. He knelt down and held her hand. Asuna reached up and pressed her cheek against his, sighing, happy to be back in the real world and with her lover.
"And I'll always be with you….. always…" Kazuto promised her. She didn't say a word as they kept holding each other in a warm embrace. Some of the medical staff smiled to see the warm affection the two lovers shared.
Yuki, along with his niece, drove on their way to Fuji's home, hoping to greet his friend and have his niece properly thank him for his services. Especially after the police strike force raided one of RECT's facilities and forced the employees who worked on his inhumane experiments to release the players from the NerveGear. They also learned that one of Sugou's associates has died while wearing one of the AmuSpheres. According to the second associate, he suffered from massive strokes as their pain absorbers were lowered to zero by their boss in order to prevent any carelessness while conducting the experiments and someone in the form of one of the fairy races called the Spriggan came in and managed to slay him before they could capture him.
In the wake of the incidents, RECT Progress Inc. suffered from declining stocks and poor publicity due to the man's inhumane experiments. Several police units were called in to form the blockade between the company's headquarters and the large crowd of angry people calling out for justice for the players and the girl who was nearly raped by the madman.
The main CEO Shouzou Yuuki mysteriously stepped down from position while the rest took the heat from the Media. Multiple lawsuits further crippled RECT greater than what happened to Argus after the SAO incident, several branches connected to RECT were shut down and the ALFheim Online server was shut down, but the shutdown is temporary as it was soon sold to another company.
'This was most intense since the shutdown of various Mega-Corporates from America.' Yuki thought to himself. He recalled the time since the wake of the Second American Revolution across the Pacific and afterward, various Mega-Corporates fell through like twigs for massive corruption during the Obama Administration and long before that. The Ripple Effects from the Second Revolution affected nations around the world; although Japan and several others made it with little to no effect, the others weren't so lucky and they have changed for better or for worse.
'Still….' Yuki realized that Shouzou stepped down during the whole thing as if they've got something to hide, perhaps with the girl as she bears the surname 'Yuuki' which indicates that she's their daughter and the madman Sugou was the fiancée. However, it didn't take long for the Media to figure it out, including the Society for Integrity in Marriage from America. They've been bombarding the father and mother of the girl for arranging the marriage to the creature, they barely shown their faces out in public due to it all.
The older man sighed mentally, hopefully, this all blows over. He pulled the car over to the curb and the two exited the vehicle. Yuki then proceeded to knock on the door. The door opened and Fuji was seen before he saw his friend and niece.
"Yuki." Fuji greeted him.
Yuki's niece, Ava, ran toward the office worker with a huge smile on her face.
"Uncle Fuji!" she exclaimed as she tackled him with a hug. He laughed as Ava tackle hugged him and he hugged her back.
Yuki walked in and offered his good arm to help up his friend, "You heard the news?" He explained that the young couple is gaining support from other nations throughout the Coalition; Nations of Japan, Australia, Britain, Israel, Taiwan, the United Korean Republic and the United States of America.
"It's a pity that Canada and the European Union hardly support them at all," Fuji added, he recalled Shin telling him that very few people from Canada and nations from the European Union supported it.
"Yeah, I really don't understand politics," Yuki picked up his niece with one arm and placed her on his shoulder. "I'm going to visit Asuna. The recovery has been going well so far."
"That's good," Fuji replied. "I'm planning on visiting Asuna as well." They heard that Kazuto has been visiting her since he was released from the police. So far, their surveillance shows that nothing was wrong with his mental state in the aftermath of killing Sugou, which is great progress. Plus the proof of the former CEO's inhumane experiments on the 400 players which the Media was covering, overwhelmed the Kirigaya boy's conditional surveillance.
Yuki headed to his car and sets his niece down so that he could open the doors, his niece hopped into the back seat while Yuki steps into the driver's side.
"Hop it," said Yuk, Fuji steps into the passenger side of the car and buckles in. Yuki started up the car and together, they headed off towards the hospital.
Yuki stopped at the parking lot and exited the vehicle. After parking, they entered the hospital.
The nurse guided them to Asuna's room where Kazuto was already there, along with his friends Ryoutarou Tsuboi aka Klein, Andrew Gilbert Mills aka Agil, Rika Shinozaki aka Lisbeth, Keiko Ayano aka Silica and his sister Suguha. There were several boxes of gifts in the room as well.
"Who are these girls?" asked Yuki with a suggestive wink towards them, jokingly of course. This, however, caused the girls to groan in disgust from his behavior.
"I'm his sister if that's what you're asking!" Suguha squeaked with a shade of red on her face. Fuji rolled his eyes.
"He tends to joke every once in a while," he said to Suguha, who sighed with frustration.
"You got that right!" he said proudly while holding his niece.
"Check out these gifts," Klein commented. "I've never seen more gifts like this before. And several of them aren't from us."
Fuji looked at one of them and he saw from the return address that it was from Jerusalem, Israel. And then he saw five more; one said it was from Dallas, Texas, USA; the second from Philadelphia, PA, USA; the third from London, England; the fourth from Sydney, Australia and the fifth from Seoul, United Korean Republic.
"I never knew many people from different nations would support me and Asuna," Kazuto said.
Yuki's niece opened one herself and immediately closed it after seeing its content.
"Uncle Yuki, there's a-", Yuki immediately blocked the girl's mouth after reading a letter she read from Asuna's mother.
"Oh great..." Fuji murmured under his breath. They knew that Kyouko Yuuki was Asuna's mother. Ever since the ALFhiem incident and Sugou was killed, she'd been trying to keep Kazuto and Asuna apart, even after Sugou's plans and the footage was released to the public. It was like she acted they didn't exist. But more importantly, after Kazuto's actions, she acted like she didn't even care.
"Well..." He pocketed the letter in his coat. "I'll get rid of it myself..." He smiled.
"Good." Fuji nodded. "But no matter what she does or tries to do, everyone will have your back."
"Yeah, it's like you two are celebrities." Klein chuckled.
Asuna smiles and nodded. "Thank you, I appreciate that." And with it, Yuki exited the room with the letter to dispose of it properly.
Kazuto turned to Fuji. "I like to thank you and Yuki for helping me out." He let out a sheepish smile.
"It's no problem," Fuji replied with a smile. "You did what you have to do. If I were in your position, I would've done the same."
There was a short pause before Fuji broke the silence. He mentioned that he found phone recordings from the RECT main drive along with the info and the experiment results. However, they're still encrypted and it may take some time until they're fully decrypted.
"Although I'm still trying to decrypt the phone recordings I recovered. Not sure what's on them but I'll know when I do." Fuji added Kazuto nodded in understanding. "Until then, make sure you're taking care of Asuna."
"Don't worry Mr. Fuji; Kirito's been taking care of me." Asuna let out a small smile; Kazuto leaned in and rubbed his cheek against her forehead with care like a cat to an owner, he gently held her closer to him in a gentle hug. The room fell silent as everyone respected the tender moment the couple was sharing.
Then suddenly, a shot rang out in the hallway outside, alarming everyone as a loud commotion was heard from the hallways. People were seen rushing past the doorway, they were a mix of doctors, interns and security guards; the latter was armed with pistols.
"What was that?!" Kazuto said in shock. More security teams arrived on the scene. He and Fuji headed outside to see what it was all about, they see Yuki lying on the floor clutching the side of his abdomen, next to him is the gunman, who was tackled and pinned to the floor by security guards.
"Not again!" he groaned. The gunman struggled to get free, but it was no use and he gave up.
"Dammit, you weren't my target!" The man groaned, the guards hoisted him off of the floor and onto his feet, with his arms bound together with zip-ties behind his back. Fuji recognized the gunner. It was one of the employees who worked for Sugou's department in RECT. His name is Kenji Ueda. He approached the latter and gave him a stern look.
"Who were you planning to shoot?" Fuji asked Kenji in a demanding tone.
Kenji still struggled. "I was hired to get the black-haired kid! Not a pathetic old man!"
Yuki gripped his abdomen and managed to speak out. "it... seems... he... got me... instead.." Fuji then glared at Kenji, the two of them never got along as the latter was loyal to the RECT Company as well as Sugou's division. Even after everything was brought to the light, he seems hell-bent on killing the boy who exposed his plans.
"Who hired you!?" Fuji demanded again.
"I'm not telling you, I'd be dead either way!" he spat back. Fuji grumbled he sees Kenji's phone on the floor. Knocked out of his pocket when he was tackled, he leaned down and picked it up and showed it to Kenji.
"We'll see about that." He remarked.
Kenji joked, "You know that's an invasion of privacy?"
"Like how you used 400 players for Sugou's experiment?" Fuji responded. Then the police came and took Kenji away.
Kenji smiled smugly, "And was YOU any different when you joined for MONEY?" Fuji just watched Kenji as he was hauled out of the hospital.
But what he said was true. He joined the project as he was desperate for money and was facing debt. He even still remembered those months ago he saw ads from RECT that the company was looking for people with computer technician skills and Fuji, with superb knowledge of it, signed up. However, they told him all he had to do was check for glitches and bugs in the computer mainframe's for the company so that they would work as planned, as well as to help out with the 400 players still trapped. He wasn't given the full picture on the purposes of their use but he decided it was best to have those questions left unanswered.
As the burden of regret began to weigh on him, Kazuto patted him on the back, snapping him back into reality.
"Hey... what was that about?" he asked.
"It was a mistake I've made when I joined the project." Fuji sighed. "I should've known what he was up to and put a stop to it earlier. But I didn't and this happened… It feels like I'm responsible for allowing this to happen," he continued sadly.
"Well, don't worry about it. You'll find a way to make it up, it was circumstance's anyway," Kazuto reassured him.
Fuji let out a small smile after Kazuto reassured him.
Then two men entered the hallway and headed towards Fuji and Kazuto. One was in his mid-thirties with blonde hair, the other was dark-skinned like Agil and they both wore business suits. Kazuto and the others felt nervous from the odd strangers who just approached them.
"Hello." One of the men greeted Kazuto.
"The name's John Blake and this is Charles Wilson. We're from the United States. Are you Kazuto Kirigaya?" he asked. Kazuto was surprised. Visitors from the United States? Then again, both the media from America and Japan had been covering the whole thing since it was exposed, not to mention the footage of Sugou molesting Asuna shocked and disturbed the public which fueled rage and support from both sides, not to mentioned several nations in the process. They even dubbed the events as the 'Sugou' incident.
"Um…Yeah?" Kazuto replied.
"We're part of the people Shin Yamane contacted to help you beat the charges against you."
"So... You're lawyers?"
"Indeed we are and we're members of the National Republican Party," Charles answered. Fuji had heard of the National Republican Party. It was the number one political party in America. Ever since the Second American Revolution, the two-party system was rebooted, the National Republican Party is the rebirth of the Republican Party, the Democrat Party collapsed and was replaced by the Libertarian Party. But the public supported the National Republican Party more than the other one. It acted more like a national political party for the entire nation which focused on restoring the nation to its former glory and to reverse the damages the corrupted old government has done in the past. In the end, America was restored to its former glory and its military might was at its peak.
"So, you've been supporting my case against the company?" Kazuto asked.
"Yep and to keep you and Miss Asuna Yuuki together," Wilson replied. "We've been made fully aware of the situation and will do anything in our power to help the two of you," he continued.
"Thanks, I appreciate it," Kazuto said. Then he noticed Fuji had the phone he took from Kenji.
"By the way, Fuji, why the new phone?" Kazuto asked when he saw it.
"Because someone wanted you dead Kazuto," Fuji explained. "And this phone would show us who hired him." He turned the phone on and went on to previous calls, but the number was restricted and the phone recording itself was heavily encrypted.
"Hmm...This would take a little bit to unlock," he stated. "It looks very sophisticated for an ordinary smartphone," he commented.
A man with glasses and a brown cloak approach the two from behind the men in suits, "I can help with that."
"And who are you, sir?" John asked as they turned.
"My name is Andrew Schne-...Willmott, I am a hacker of sorts," the man replied.
"A hacker you say?" Fuji asked.
"Yes, I am also a master fencer and a leader of a team of... devoted heroes." He branded a rapier sword he had hooked to his belt. It almost resembled the rapier Asuna used in SAO.
"Fair enough. How fast can you decrypt this phone?" Fuji asked.
"In five minutes," Andrew smirked.
Later that day, Fuji and Andrew were at Fuji's place working on the phone recordings. The process looked very hard at first as they had to take apart the phone cover and hook the SD memory card and SIM card to the laptop Andrew brought with him. There were a series of codes he had to go through, but Andrew mowed through them as if they were nothing but grass. Then….
"and, there. Finished!" Andrew said with pride.
Fuji looked at the phone recordings and they showed they could be played. Fuji clicked the play button.
"Hello, Mr. Nobuyuki. Have you considered the decision?" A female voice was heard. It was too familiar.
"I have," Sugou's voice responded. "I'm more than honored to be a part of the marriage to your daughter. Mrs. Yuuki." Fuji stood in shock; the female voice was none other than Kyouko Yuuki, the mother of Asuna. He continued the recording.
"I'm glad you have. As long as the marriage will help the family be wealthy," Kyouko continued.
"It will, I assure you," Sugou replied back, and then the phone conversation ended.
Fuji was shocked by the recording, but he managed to get out of it and played a few more. It told how Kyouko Yuuki was somewhat aware of Sugou's experiments but continued to allow the marriage to progress. It also played the tasks Kyouko had done: from obtaining the blueprints of the NerveGear helmets and the Amuspheres. The Amuspheres were the improved version of the NerveGear as it was lighter and had a fail-safe system built into it. And, unlike the NerveGear, it didn't have an internal battery.
But what had gotten Fuji confused were Kyouko's questions to Sugou on the experiment that affected the Amusphere users in other countries. But she kept bringing up the question of the United States of America. As if… she had a personal vendetta against the nation across the Pacific.
But checking her background was gonna have to wait for now as he activated Kenji's cell phone and the recording began to play.
"Mr. Kenji Ueda? I have an assignment for you." Kyouko's voice was heard. "Your job is to head to the hospital and kill Kazuto Kirigaya. The payment will be transferred to your account when you complete your assignment."
"The job will be done, Madame," Kenji replied.
Fuji was speechless; expression of shock was shown on his face. He knew that Kyouko never liked Kazuto due to his gaming background and his social background along with his friends and was surprised that she, herself, arranged the marriage of that sexual psycho... but this...? This was an all-new low. Having Asuna's boyfriend killed so that her mother could control her life?! It didn't make sense as a mother was supposed to protect her own children, even in the wake of the ALO. But with the new evidence, he had discovered... things were said differently. It proved that she didn't even care at all.
"The public will be very interested in this," Fuji said to himself before turning to Andrew. "I'd like to thank you for helping me with the recordings." Andrew nodded.
