Identity

Chapter 10: Answers

As the guard pushed open large wooden doors, Mikagami tensed in anticipation and saw Fuuko do the same. However, he was sure that neither of them quite expected the sight that greeted them.

The doors opened to a large room, the office of one of the most successful business tycoons. A long desk cluttered with stacks of paper and expensive stationery occupied most of the room. A high shelf of filled with thick books lined the left wall and beside it was a small tank in which swam many multicoloured exotic fish. A large cardboard box of folders and other things lay on the floor beside the desk, half unpacked.

"– sent them in, sir." A woman's voice, Yuki's, filled the room as they entered.

"Ah, yes. They're here," the man sitting behind the desk spoke down to the machine amidst the stacks of paper. "Thankyou Yuki." He looked up and Mikagami started. Fuuko couldn't hide her surprise either.

Both of them had expected their enemy to be older, someone who was a mirror image of Mori Kouran, perhaps. Instead, Sendou Ryoujin was a handsome man with neatly combed brown hair and intense blue eyes. He looked like he was in his mid-thirties.

"Ah, thankyou Umi," he said in dismissal to their burly escort, who then nodded and quietly closed the doors behind him. He turned his gaze on Mikagami and Fuuko, his civil smile growing wider. "Please excuse the mess. I've just moved in. Oh, and don't worry about your madougus. They'll be returned to you when you leave. It's just a precaution, I'm sure you understand. Please sit down." He indicated the two black, leather armchairs in front of the desk.

"We'll stand," Fuuko said stiffly.

Sendou looked at her. Mikagami thought that his gaze was rather predatory. "Ah," he said, "I do believe that you work for me, don't you Kirisawa?"

"Just because you're now head of Kinta Corporations doesn't mean that I work for you," Fuuko replied, the anger seeping in her voice.

Sendou laughed and reached for the slim, silver box on his desk. He opened it and took out a cigar, which he promptly lit. "You honestly think that you were working for that buffoon Kinta, don't you?"

The pretence of the charming, young boss was gone now – Sendou's smile turned nasty and a sneer appeared on his face. "That's what I like about you, Kirisawa. In fact, that's why I hired you. You're so naïve and easy to manipulate."

Mikagami stepped in before Fuuko could lose her temper. "We're not here to play your games, Sendou," he said coolly.

"Ah Mikagami Tokiya, but you are." The man took a long puff on his cigar. "Don't you realise that this whole thing, starting two years ago, has been a long, long game?"

"A game?" Mikagami repeated.

"Of course. A game of revenge." Sendou leaned forward in his chair, planting his elbows firmly on the desk. For the first time since their arrival, he lost a little of his cool edge. "Revenge for what you pests did four years ago."

"Four years ago?" Mikagami frowned. Did he mean…

"It was you! Your winning the Urabutousatsoujin that destroyed Mori Kouran and also me in the process."

"Mori Kouran," Fuuko said quietly. "So this has all been about Mori Kouran."

Sendou regained his composure, but the edge in his voice was still present. "Don't be mistaken. This isn't about Mori Kouran. This is about me.

"I was the head scientist under Mori Kouran and had been ever since I turned twenty-two. With his expanse of wealth, he funded any experiment I wanted to carry out. I could research into fields I had always been so interested in, and there were no rules, no restrictions. I had all the resources I needed, as well as all the test subjects I required." Sendou smiled at the thought. Mikagami thought that he looked quite mad.

"Of course," Sendou continued, "there were some stupid projects that he made me work on, but as long as I carried them out alongside my own interests, he provided me with all the funds and resources I needed. Mori Kouran was a fool, but he was also a necessity.

"There were times though, when he proposed some very interesting ideas to me," Sendou smile unpleasantly. "Like when he brought me that girl with the healing powers and demanded me to use her to give him eternal life. Well, I can tell you that I devised some very… interesting plans for her."

Mikagami could barely hide his fury. So he was the one who caused Yanagi so much pain all those years ago. The ensui-wielder very much wanted to wipe the smugness of the older man's face.

But he didn't have to. Sendou's smile disappeared as he continued. "Then you four brats broke in and took her away before I could try the best of my techniques out. That was the first time I encountered you filthy Hokage and that cursed Hanabishi."

He took another puff of his cigar. "But soon, I found that carrot dangled in front of my face again with the advent of the Urabutousatsoujin. Of course, that carrot would have been mine if you had lost. But instead, you…"

"Won," Fuuko finished for him. "So you've been after Yanagi all along. That's why you tried to kidnap her."

Sendou's smile returned. "Oh, that did cross my mind, but my main purpose hadn't been to kidnap her." His expression turned ugly. "It had been to kill her."

Mikagami and Fuuko started. Neither of them had expected his blunt admission.

"Oh, you think that this is all about that little princess of yours? Eternal life was Mori Kouran's obsession, not mine. It did catch a little of my interest, but I knew all along that the project was just a fantasy. There is no key to eternal life. Nonsense like that just doesn't do it for me.

"No, what interests me is power. What good is a scientist unless he has power? The power to exhibit his research, carry out experiments he desires without having to worry about trifles such as funding or ridiculous laws?"

"I don't understand," Fuuko interrupted. "So your revenge is based on us destroying the source of the power that you had – Mori Kouran?"

Sendou looked at her as though she was dull-witted. "I've told you before. This isn't about Mori Kouran, this is about me. Mori Kouran merely provided me with a means by which to carry out my work. No, I was the one who was on the path of creating my own power – a path that began with Sai. You have met her Kirisawa, haven't you? I believe you knew her as Asagi as well. It's so sad when friends become enemies."

"She wasn't an enemy." Fuuko's voice was quiet despite her obvious rage.

Sendou blinked and raised his eyebrows. "Yes, well there was something between you two, wasn't there? Although it's probably not what you think it is. She did hold a fascination for you ever since she saw you fight in the Urabutousatsoujin. Of course, she wasn't always like that."

Sendou continued to fix his gaze upon Fuuko, who stared back, a whirlwind of emotions including anger and guilt shining in her eyes. "We shared the same father, she and I. Unfortunately, it was her mother who carried the Mitsukawa bloodline. Fortunately for me, she and my parents died when I was nineteen and the little girl was left in my care.

"It was amazing when I found out what a deadly weapon she was, and of course, it would have been an awful waste if she wasn't brought up like one. She was perfect, you know – deadly and efficient, but she was just one little girl. I thought about how much power I would have if only there were more of her. Literally."

"Are you talking about cloning?" Mikagami asked slowly.

"Cloning?" Sendou repeated mockingly. "Any scientist can clone a person. It's people like Sai and your precious princess who separate the brilliant scientists from the ordinary ones. An altogether different process is needed to 'copy' them and ensure that their abilities are passed on to their counterparts a hundred percent.

"Years of motivation and diligent research were needed. Luckily, I had been working under Mori Kouran for a few years by then and he had also been having that problem with his son Kurei, so I suggested the idea to him.

"Ten years of blood and sweat deriving the complex formulae and equations to get the process right and finally, on the few remaining days of the Urabutousatsoujin, I succeeded. My first, Renge."

Surprise registered on Fuuko's face. "That was that… thing that Recca and Kurei fought in the arena."

"Correct. It was a brilliant day – or it would have been was it not for you Hokage." Sendou almost spat the last word out as if it was a curse. "The laboratory, in which all my years of hard work and dedication lay, was burnt to the ground along with the arena that day. Years of research destroyed by a bunch of brats. The step of creating my own army was gone along with the dream of showing my science off to the rest of the world. I had nothing left after that. I had to start from scratch. Again.

"The only thoughts I had after that were of revenge. I waited and planned. I worked hard, driven by my anger, and slowly built up a small business. Then I went and picked up a homeless idiot, dressed him up, told him what to say, and made him the face of my business." Sendou laughed, "It's funny. I'll bet people never guessed that Kinta Corporations was named after a street bum.

"I let him have all the credit. All that nonsense didn't appeal to me and I didn't want any attention yet. I just needed the funds to begin my research once again and to plan my revenge.

"Of course, there were many obstacles in my way – business competitors, prying reporters, employees too curious for their own good – too many for Sai and Narumi to handle, so I hired others to take care of them. And that's where you come in, Kirisawa."

Fuuko blanched, remembering the offer she had received those years ago. "Why? Why did you target me?" she asked woodenly.

"Oh, I think you know the answer to that," Sendou drawled, his handsome features twisting uglily. "Wasn't your father having problems with his business? Wasn't your family experiencing financial difficulties? Wouldn't my timely and generous offer be more than enough to get your loved ones out of trouble? Your weakness was that you were the one who sacrificed for others without thought and as I predicted, that was exactly what you did."

Mikagami looked at his friend in surprise. So that was what happened. He had remembered Fuuko acting strangely during her last year of high school, but had thought that it was merely nerves. Besides, he had already started university at that time, so he hadn't had much contact with her.

"It was satisfying," Sendou continued, "having one of the Hokage close by to do my dirty work for me. I had hoped that it was Hanabishi, but I didn't have as easy access to his father as to yours."

"What…" Fuuko's voice was barely audible. "What do you mean by that?"

Sendou rubbed his hands together. "It was easy quashing your father's small, petty business. Kind of like stepping on an ant, really.

"But it worked out all for the better, didn't it? You've sent enough money home to restart your father's business and I've had my fun sending you off to murder my obstacles. All in all, a good two years worth of work, wouldn't you agree?"

Fuuko's shoulders began to tremble. Mikagami thought that she was crying at first, but when he leaned forward to look at her, there were no tears on her face. She was shaking with unsuppressed anger.

He edged towards her until their arms nearly touched, lending her the support of his presence. He wished he could do more to comfort her, but he couldn't. He couldn't even begin to imagine how much rage she felt.

"So," Sendou continued, enjoying the effect he was having on them, "two years later, my business has become one of the richest in the world, Hanabishi and the rest of you are settled on your career paths, enjoying the simpleness of everyday life when somebody appears and tries to kidnap your precious princess. Of course, that was what I had planned to happen. If the kidnapping succeeded, I would have continued what I started four years ago and when I finished, I would have had her killed. I sent Sai along just in case something went wrong, which it did."

Mikagami felt some satisfaction as the scientist scowled at him. At least he didn't appear as smug as he had earlier. He felt better on Fuuko's behalf.

"But instead of killing Sakoshita like I told her to, she missed. So instead of Hanabishi being the one to play my game, you were."

"Sakoshita-san getting injured ensured that," Mikagami said slowly as realisation dawned on him. "Instead of coming after you in blind anger, Hanabishi stayed behind to look after Sakoshita. But the note with Fuuko's address was meant to be found, wasn't it?"

"I did ask Sai to make sure that it was. How she did it was up to her. The note was the beginning of the game. It reunited you with an old friend who worked for the enemy. How did that feel? And then later finding out that your only lead had been killed off. Quite disheartening, wasn't it?"

"Why did you have Kinta killed?"

Sendou shrugged indifferently as if they were discussing a minor detail. "He simply wasn't very useful anymore. And he was starting to get on my nerves. Besides, even though he didn't know anything about my true ambitions, he knew me by sight, so he had to be gotten rid of sometime. He'd lived longer than he would have had I not picked him up those years ago anyway."

"That still didn't give you the right to murder him," Fuuko said softly.

Sendou smiled at her. "Ah, and how did you enjoy Asagi's companionship at university? Did you hesitate in your battle with her yesterday because of it, Kirisawa?"

Mikagami saw Fuuko stiffen and said, "But the result wasn't what you had expected, was it Sendou?"

Sendou sneered. "Narumi had an easy job and she failed," he said distastefully. "I helped her, gave her a chance to make something of herself and she repaid me with incompetence. I should have expected that from a second-rate madougu user.

"But you – you I'm surprised at. You must have had some enormous luck, defeating Sai."

Fuuko bowed her head. "I didn't defeat her."

Sendou frowned at her for a while before asking bluntly, "Is she dead?"

"Yes," Mikagami answered for the fuujin-wielder. "But Fuuko didn't kill her. She died of… something else."

Sendou fell silent. He took a long puff from his cigar. "I see," he finally said. "Did her body disappear?"

"Yes," Mikagami replied in surprise.

Fuuko looked up sharply. She hadn't known about this.

"Ah, that's it. I guess it was about her time." Sendou raised an eyebrow when he saw the puzzlement on the two Hokages' faces. "She didn't tell you, did she?

"Didn't you ever wonder why, being as deadly as they were, the Mitsukawas never forced their way into power, which they could've easily?"

"They preferred to live in secrecy," Fuuko answered shortly.

"And why do you think that was? They had a secret, that's why. One that would have been revealed had they lived in normal society. It was a weakness – a price, you could say, that they had to pay in exchange for being blessed with such a gift.

"Sai's ability allowed her to create blue dagger from her life-force. Because they're made of a part of her, she could control them as she willed. But they disappeared after some time and a part of her died along with it. She may have been able to create as many daggers as she wanted, but she only had so much life-force.

"It's an extraordinary ability, but it takes as much as it gives. No Mitsukawa had lived beyond their early twenties. Their gifts consumed them before that. I see that Sai was no exception. It's a pity."

"You… you knew that that would happen and yet you still made her do your dirty work for you?" Fuuko asked angrily.

"Oh, I didn't make her. And even if I didn't her death was inevitable. I had hoped to have her copied before she expired, but then as you know, you came along. As I said, it's a real pity. The Mitsukawa bloodline died when she did."

"Expired?" Fuuko repeated, "Expired? That's not how you talk about a human being." Before Mikagami could stop her, she bounded around the desk, scooped up a gold fountain pen from the desk, popped its lid and pressed its sharp tip against Sendou's neck. "How would you like to expire today?" she asked harshly as she held him down in his chair with one arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sendou said as he swallowed lightly. "I call out and dozens of guards will rush in and shoot you on sight. You'll never make it out of the building. Besides, even if you did escape, the security cameras have recorded you entering my office on tape. How far do you think you'll get before the police – or worse – catches up with you?"

"And what if I don't care?" Fuuko said, sounding unconcerned.

"Fuuko."

She looked up ready to retort, but it died on her lips when she met Mikagami's eyes.

"Fuuko, don't."

The anger fled from her eyes and defeat replaced it. Her arms dropped slowly to her sides and the pen fell from her grasp. She moved away. Mikaagmi felt relieved, but to his surprise, he also felt sad – sad that he was the one who had coerced Fuuko into defeat. His hands curled into fists at his side as he looked at Sendou. He would make him pay, for Fuuko's sake.

"Smart move," Sendou said. He was unaware of the ensui-wielder's angry gaze on him as he carefully adjusted his tie. "You'll live today. But for how long? That is the question. I can wait. I'm a scientist after all, and scientists are very patient. One day – it could be a month from now, or it could be ten years – I'll strike again when you don't expect me. Can you go back to your normal lives again, knowing this?" He turned to a deflated Fuuko. "Can you, after knowing what you've been doing these past two years? You're surrounded by death, Kirisawa. Do you think you can return to a normal life?

"You Hokage may still be alive, but the game isn't over yet. Let's just say that it's been postponed." Sendou pressed a button on his desk and a few seconds later, the doors opened and the same guard who had escorted them in, waited outside.

Sendou smiled. "I look forward to seeing you again."

Fuuko walked out, her gaze fixed on the floor, and Mikagami followed. The doors closed behind them. Mikagami collected his ensui and they rode the elevator down in silence.

They had their answers, but Mikagami couldn't help thinking as he looked at Fuuko, that they had come out of the encounter worse off.