Chapter 24- 'Cause I'm the Bad Guy? Duh.
They have invaded Hiro's kitchen - not the one at the restaurant, the one in his home - when the radio news jingle chimes faintly through the room, cutting off the cheery J-pop song that had been playing.
Hiro's mother - Oshitaki Yuzuki, 5-star chef and co-owner of several restaurants in the area - looks up from where she's been trying to get the family's youngest member, Inari-chan, to eat her mashed vegetables.
"Hiro-chan, be a dear and turn up the radio for me".
Hiro quickly dries off his hands on a dishtowel, leaving Cass to chop up the dark chocolate as he hits a button on a small remote.
"…we are now ready for the 2 o'clock news. The local community is struck speechless as further investigations into Domino City Central High School reveal more atrocities. Several female students have stepped forwards with accusations of sexual assault towards a fellow student, as well as acts of humiliation from teachers. Most shockingly is the reveal of the arranged assault on an innocent student of the school, identified as Hanasaki-kun, by a director of ZTV, as a part of recordings for a documentary on high school violence. Charges have been filed against the director and the other party involved in the assault - an assistant asked to disguise himself as a student. ZTV have chosen not to comment on this case. More to follow as the situation updates. Radio Hanafuda was given permission to publish the assault victim's name".
Mrs. Oshitaki gives up on trying to get her daughter to eat for the moment and gets up to turn the radio down once again with a heavy sigh. "And that, dear children, is why you always research and visit the schools you consider having your kids go to," she turns and looks at them sternly. Even Hanabi herself freezes under the power of the mom-gaze. "I don't care how convenient it is if a school is close to your homes or has a decent reputation - if it doesn't feel right, don't send your kids there".
"Yes Mrs. Oshitaki". "Yes, mama".
The woman sniffs and shakes her head. "I just knew something was going to come up with that school eventually, but I had no idea it'd be this big. Gods above, what a mess. And those poor kids. No, choosing Meiou was the right choice".
"That and the partial scholarship," Hiro points out, waving a spatula covered in a chocolate cake batter at his mom.
"Careful not to spill that all over my clean floor, you impossible child," she scolds back. "But yes, the scholarship opportunity also helped".
Deep inside her heart, Hanabi feels something ache, and for a moment she thinks it's jealousy. A cold ball of bitter envy, settled right above her stomach… but no, it doesn't feel quite right to her. There is pain, yes, but she's not sure it's quite jealousy.
Rather, she looks at Hiro and his mother and the precious little ball of purple hair and chubby cheeks, and she longs, as if for something long lost that she wishes she could get back.
(She knows exactly what it is, and it hurts to think of, but it'll be okay - it's why she has to do this, has to keep the plan going, so they can get her back and it will all be as before).
(So what if it's starting to feel very wrong. So what if she's pouring gasoline on the bridges she'll have to burn - it's her own fault for starting to form these pesky attachments, just like They always said not to do, back before They'd gone and stabbed her and her sisters in the back. It's just the price she'll have to pay for happiness. All who walk this planet, mortal or not, magical or not, have to sacrifice things, and by all the gods that she does and doesn't know, she will go through with this).
She can't afford to think like this, though, so she turns her attention to the little girl in front of her and considers the situation.
Little Oshitaki Inari - 2 years old full of energy and adorableness - dislikes her mashed vegetables, is refusing to eat them, and is rather vocal about it, even with her limited vocabulary. Granted, Hanabi thinks that's fair - even with a decently famous chef for a mom, she can't think of any way to make vegetable mush tasty when it's supposed to be an afternoon snack. She's not sure she'd eat it now, either, unless if it was plated nicely as a side dish - not in a plastic bowl with cartoon characters on it, as a full meal.
"Mush!" The little girl complains. "Bad mush! Bad mush! Ew ew ew!"
"I agree, Nari-chan," she says, eyeing the bowl skeptically "I am with you all the way, but it's good for you so you can go big and strong like your nii-chan".
"Bad mush, ew!" Inari just repeats, waving around her tiny hands and kicking her feet in her high chair.
"There must be a way to get her to eat this," she thinks, tuning out the noises (and much more delicious smells of chocolate and sugar) in the background. Something to make it look more appealing, just like she and uncle had done when she was small and just as stubborn.
"Think, think, think… what would- I've got it!"
It hits her like lightning from a clear sky.
(A long forgotten memory of a rough wooden table and a smiling woman, a bowl of porridge quickly going cold and a child still needing to eat it. And the woman picking up that porridge and…)
She rises quickly and goes to wash her hands. Then she grabs the bowl and a spoon, and gets to work with the mush. "Look, Inari! A rice-less onigiri! Much better than that mush".
Turning mashed vegetables into a little ball, easy for a little child to grab and eat with their hands. It's somewhat of an underhanded trick, but… if it works…
She knows she's got the little girl hook, line and sinker when her eyes widen and she eagerly reaches out and immediately starts munching when the ball is in her hands.
"Well, I'll be…" Mrs. Oshitaki comments, then starts laughing. Hanabi jumps when she realizes she's been watched the entire time, turning to look over her shoulder at the woman. A warm hand lands on her head and ruffles her hair.
"Good thinking, Hana-chan," she praises, smiling down at her with a wink. "Forgot for a moment that presentation is everything, even when they're this small. And if all else fails, a little good-natured trickery is allowed".
"Watch Inari want all her food in ball-form now," Hiro comments instead, finally bringing his project over to the table.
Four ramekins filled to the brim with chocolate cake are put pride of place in the middle of the table.
Or rather… four ramekins of barely baked chocolate cake batter are put in the middle of a table, just needing to cool a bit before they can dig in.
Because it doesn't matter that this is a family of Michelin-worthy chefs. Or a family of one Michelin star chef, her son who is clearly on his way to becoming one, and a toddler who can barely speak.
Nothing beats eating cake mix batter with a spoon and not giving a fuck, because it's got no eggs and they are children. Hiro putting it in the oven for the least amount of time while still giving it somewhat if a cakey-texture and a crispy top only improves that experience.
Hanabi greedily reaches for a ramekin and the whipped cream, giddy in the knowledge that there are more waiting on a cooling rack behind them. "Bless your soul, Hiro. Sorry for all the curses the other day, I was lying, you're definitely not a menace to society but its salvation".
There's laughter and jokes and cake and more whipped cream than they know what to do with (they're going to eat it all anyways), and for a glorious afternoon, Hanabi allows herself to just be a kid and not a piece in a much larger game.
"Welcome. I apologize for the delay. Thank you for coming in today Mr. Otogi."
"Thank you for meeting with me, ma'am."
Duke's heart beats at 50 miles a minute when he sits down across from the dark-haired woman on the 20th floor of an otherwise unassuming office building, still in the process of being furbished and set up for use.
Even with the half furnished building, everything is high quality and expensive. The entire wall behind the woman consists of three massive windows, giving a perfect view of central Domino and the districts beyond. The floor is polished to a shine, all the furniture are expensive designs - the chair he sits in probably costs more than everything he's ever owned combined, heck, there's some kind of cane made of what looks like solid gold just sitting in a glass case like it's a museum piece - and the woman herself is dressed to the nines in a sharp-looking suit, earrings catching light of the afternoon sun.
And this is only the assistant's office.
Nevermind that these people invited him to come speak to them, that they requested a meeting after discovering the kickstarter he'd secretly published without his friends knowing, that they are interested in his game, that they want to help him bring his idea into the world and make it a reality.
Being here in this office, wearing his best clothes to look as professional as possible (he even managed to tame his hair for these people!), he still feels like a beggar at the emperor's doorstep.
The woman folds her hands atop the table, smiling pleasantly at him. "It is us who should be thanking you, Mr. Otogi, we requested the meeting. Our CEO was very impressed when he discovered your Kickstarter and just couldn't ignore such bright, young talent".
Duke swallows, his mouth dry as a desert. "Your CEO- you mean Mr.- are you telling me that-"
"Oh yes," the woman keeps smiling at him, closing her eyes and tilting her head to the side. "Mr. Pegasus himself is the one who insisted that we contact you and pick up your project as part of our plan to support young, independent game creators. Unfortunately he couldn't be here today, as he is preparing for an upcoming multi-game tournament next month, but worry not - I am more than qualified to serve in his stead".
He takes a deep breath. "Of course. I will be in your care, Ms…."
She opens her eyes again, and for a barely there moment he thinks he sees them flash. But no, surely not.
Her smile grows wider as she extends her hand towards him. He thinks her nails might be covered in actual gold as well. "Oh, pardon me, how rude - I didn't introduce myself at all!"
He reaches back and takes her hand, laughing a little awkwardly. "Oh, no worries, I suppose I didn't as well. I am Duke Otogi… though you already knew that of course. It's a pleasure to be working with you".
The woman shakes his hand, fingers locking around his wrist. "Ishizu Ishtar. And I assure you, Duke Otogi, the pleasure is all mine".
She almost feels bad for this kid.
Well… almost.
Poor, foolish, trusting child. So blind to the monster right in front of him, seeing only the pretty facade that she has so carefully cultivated.
That trust will be his downfall. She'll quite make sure of that.
The moment that he touches her hand is when the trap closes around him. There is a thin snare around his neck, his heart, and she is at the other end of it, lying in wait.
When he notices something is wrong - or rather, if he ever notices something's wrong, she's very good at these games, afterall - she is ready to pull the trigger and let that snare close around his throat.
"Come into my parlor, said the spider to the fly".
"Ishizu Ishtar," she says, smiling at him as he is caught up in her strings. "And I assure you, Duke Otogi, the pleasure is all mine".
Yes. Young Duke Otogi shall do nicely as a pawn to stop the duo destined to destroy everything. First those two children, then her current benefactor, and who knows what else later on.
And if it means using darker methods and altering someone's free will, just a little bit, well… that's a sacrifice she's willing to make for them.
An addendum from Nordic: Hey everyone! I don't have anything to say for this, so I'll let Stars do the speaking :) I hope you guys are all staying safe, practicing social distancing, and washing your hands.
Love you all, and thanks for reading and commenting, we appreciate it all!
—
Hey all, Stars here.
Happy Easter! We both hope you all have been well and safe in this quarantine lockdown all over the world. It's an uncertain and scary time, and this will change how things are done in the future. But we can all make it through.
It's a bit of a shorter chapter this time but it's better than nothing. Nordic and I got stuck on several things and decided that what we have is good. Trying to add more would be forcing it and not work out. But we are slowly getting more into canon! It's taken forever but we're almost there!
Don't have much to say regarding this chapter really.
But, did you all realize that this April 27th marks CitG's 3 year birthday/anniversary?! Can you believe how time has flown by already?! It's crazy. Thanks for sticking with us this whole time everyone!
Shoutout to all of the people who viewed and all of our current followers and faves and our new followers and favorites (CloudZzFluffyBedsOfWhite, Direwolf626, Dbone68, Lord White Fang, SilentXD7, almakarma18, minnatarek, Simmergirl93, and amberxox) And thanks to everyone who left Kudos!
And EXTRA thank yous and love for the reviews/comments!
Thanks again to the amazingly talented and lovely Moirei for Beta-ing for us, as always :)
That's all for this chapter. Stay safe and have a good rest of your day, week, or month(s). Until next time!
C. S. Stars
Edited/Beta by Moirei
Finished & Published: April 12, 2020