War Arc:
Chapter 39: Lost Girl in the Red Sea
Early Morning – 25/11/2012(Sunday) – ?
(5 days before War's arrival)
The room gave a bizarre vibe, fit for the extremely tense atmosphere. Three sofas around the table, few portraits on the wall, a half-opened wooden door, and guards with masks on around the VIP of the stronghold was already giving the impression of ongoing meeting of utmost importance. And yet, the man with the hood wasn't comfortable with the flow of the meeting, where his grumbling was loudly heard in the room. The light bulb swung weakly as it hung on the ceiling, griming the steel floor with heavy shadows.
Tatsuya Sudou, resting his worn-out mask on the table next to him, stared menacingly at the crossed-leg ex-leader of Strega positioned on the sofa in front of him. It was clear that Takaya took joy in Sudou's deceitful glare upon his impolite attitude, and that didn't stop him from fidgeting the glass cup between his right fingers. He was listening, but his mind was full of disagreement, contrasting the ideology of the plan laid by him.
Crash!
"…Oops," Takaya smirked as he purposely dropped the bottle in his hand, spilling white liquid all over the yellow mattress. He was disappointed at Sudou's unamused expression, who seemed rather bored with his tease. Still, he continued with the plan, after glancing at the watch on his left wrist, as he laid out the huge sketched paper on the table.
"I think it's about time you do your part of the job," Sudou commanded with a powerful voice.
"I preferred something more private," Takaya was honest in his disagreement.
"How else we're supposed to break Suou's force? Suou brothers have been ruling the police for years. We going to need something bigger than full assault-"
"AAAAAHHHH!"
From across the room, a horrendous scream interrupted his sentence. Sudou hissed an annoyed tone when he heard it, and signaled the guard next to him to check the source.
"Goddamn little punk, can't handle a bit of needle without screaming like a baby."
"Now, now, don't go overboard. If you push him too much, he's going to end up dead before his job is done."
"You seemed fond of him, Sasaki. Perhaps you know him?"
From the door, came Adachi, dressed in his usual clothing, into the room and dropped into the sofa next to Takaya. Even Sudou noticed the obvious strained association between Takaya and the vessel of Strife, but Takaya deserved a praise for tolerating with his abnormal habit in the group.
"No, I don't. But we're almost similar, ALMOST," Takaya corrected him with a strong tone, "I don't care what you do with him, but don't mess up our plan."
"Oh, that's so nice- *cough**cough*!" Adachi released a big cough, then realized a pool of blood on his palm when he covered his mouth. His eyes turned sharp on Sudou as he removed the handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the blood from his hand and mouth, "Ah, man. You said there's no side effect."
"I said not yet," Sudou answered.
"I hate you guys, you know that-"
"AAAAAHHHHH! DON'T TOUCH ME, BASTARD!"
Another scream from the young voice reached the room. Adachi turned to Takaya and Sudou mixed of baffling and astonishment.
"He never screamed that loud before. What happened?"
"That idiot got damaged yesterday in a car accident, almost affected his Plump of Dusk. Professor Juugo probably can't harvest from those 'things' from him yet now that he's hurt."
"That's not good, we got less than a week to collect enough fuel for War's awakening," Sudou said.
"Sudou, can we really trust this man, Professor Juugo?"
"Sasaki, I never said a word about trusting him. He just needs to do it, or else."
Then, he suddenly reached for his phone in his pocket, sensing a vibration from the incoming message:
"We had a deal. The drug isn't working anymore. I need something stronger.
You better fix this, Sudou, or we're done."
"Cheh, looks like our spy is getting impatient. Guards!" Sudou shouted. A moment later, a young man with a mask walked into the room.
"How is the Limbo Recall doing?"
"Our sales are going well, we got around 300 buyers-"
"That's not enough!" Sudou stormed his feet on the table, staggering the rest in the room over his rage, "We need thousands, you hear me?! Go and spread it around other cities, too! We need more sacrifice!"
"B-But sir, I don't think he can supply that much. The accident he had yesterday delayed his body's energy, anymore he will die-"
"F*ck him!" Sudou cursed like a madman. He reached for the glass of water next to him and threw it at the wall. Adachi and Takaya watched the scene with amusement while shifting their eyes between Sudou and the cowardly messenger. Sudou remained silent for a while before he gave his order.
"Bring him here!"
"Y-Yes, sir!"
And the room was quiet again before Takaya continued their original conversation.
"So, you guarantee that the famous Suou Devils will fall with this plan alone. I'm a scapegoat, then?"
"If you do it right. Better prepare your script, Sasaki. We'll talk when it's done."
"This isn't my first speech, Sudou."
"And you," Sudou turned to Adachi, "How's that girl?"
"Alive," He smirked as he responded, his voice began to distort, "She's mine, anyway. Always mine - Oh, sorry about that, my persona seems unstable. I might need another dose." Adachi laughed, rummaging his messy hair and slapped his right cheek.
"What about Kazuya and Erio?" Takaya brought the topic to Sudou, "How do we know when they're really… 'picked' by the prophecy?"
"We'll leave it to Lord Nyarlathotep for that. Ah, finally."
From the door, two men barged into the room dragging a half-naked man by his arms. Scars covered most of his torso, with bandage bind around his ribs and newly made scar at his upper back. He's desperately catching his breath after being dropped on the mattress by the men, stared disgustedly by Sudou, Adachi, and Takaya. His red hair covered his swollen eyes socket as he forced himself to stare at the moderator of his nightmarish course. To Sudou's surprise, the young man chuckled as their eyes met, knowing the desperation the organization needs from him.
"What's wrong, boy? What's your name again? Ah, that doesn't matter. Anyway, you're tired? Do you need a break? Does your rib hurt?" Sudou left his seat and approached the laid figure on the ground and crouched opposite him, "Oh, it must have hurt, huh?"
Sudou stroked his red hair gently before he suddenly clutched it and bashed a knee to his chest aggressively multiple times, "Who told you to walk outside, then?! War is coming! We need more sacrifice than just one! So do your damn job!"
"Calm down, Sudou. We don't want him dead yet," Takaya warned. Although disagreeing, Sudou finally halted his assault on the weakened man and returned to his seat.
"Why don't we let him rest for a while? A few days should be enough. Besides, I think we already have enough power to fuel War," Takaya suggested. Adachi, for once, agreed with him.
"I can arrange it. I know just the perfect place for him to relax," Adachi said with a mischievous grin.
"Tch! 4 days, and you'll come straight here, got it?" Sudou warned, patting his chest as he began to lose his breath, "Back to our plan, if Takaya succeeds, we can send our army and lock down Sumaru City."
"That's impossible. You do know where we are, aren't you? How are you going to find a 'spot' for it?"
"I already dealt with that," Sudou cast aside the white sheets on the table, revealing a blueprint beneath it. Takaya and Adachi stretched forwards to see the plan. They couldn't contain their amazement.
"Oh! I see," Takaya said, "Koukai Ward, huh?"
Windy - Morning – 25/11/2012(Sunday) – Koukai Ward, Sumaru City
Koukai Ward, the "Red Sea" Ward, is the newest ward in Sumaru City. Extended from the remains of Sky Museum of Konan Ward and jointed from Narumi Ward, it is established not more than a decade ago. The development began when the population of Sumaru City increased throughout the years, which was the sole reason for the number of condominium funded to be built on it.
Of course, there was an attraction too, primarily the underwater aquarium that became Sumaru City's new tourists' attention. There was also a newly built primary school registered 7 years ago called Koukai Elementary School, the school where most of the young scholars attended to.
"You sure you're around here? I mean, this is the first time I've been here in a long, long, time."
Eikichi Mishina, still carrying the heavy bags from home, seemingly lost among the passengers and houses. He didn't remember the last time he entered this ward, but it helped to get a chance of a reunion for his band Gas Chamber. The last time they held a concert was three months ago. Setting a concert in open space outside the Aquarium Center was an entirely new experience for the leader of the band.
But there was a more important purpose for the early visit to the ward this morning. There was someone he wanted to meet today, for he knew he was free. Yet, even after the third call, the restaurant where his friend sat waiting was nowhere to be found.
After a solid 5 minutes, Jun Kashihara was seen sitting at the front table in one of the secluded restaurants near the end of the ward, where the back windows allowed a fantastic view of the deep sea and Ebisu Beach. He didn't seem to mind his lateness, but instead expressed gratitude for accepting his request to meet today. Eikichi felt his excitement, prepared to bond again with him after the absence of mutual conversation over the last few weeks between them except for anything related to the prophecy.
"You heard? The Gas Chamber will be making their concert tonight near the Aquarium Center! You have to come! It'll be epic!" Eikichi revealed a ticket of his concert and lent it to Jun. Jun accepted it with a chuckle, observing the expression of his friend.
"To think you have a lot of energy despite knowing the world is close to an end."
"…Darn," Eikichi's face turned dark, "Why do you have to bring that up? Of course, I want to help to stop the prophecy, but I don't know much other than 'sacrifice' or 'vessel'. I tried to offer some help, but Tatsuya insisted on me staying out of his work. He worries me a lot."
"True, ever since he reclaimed his memories of the 'other side', he is so persistent on keeping us out of the loop. I guess past memories haunt him more than we thought."
"…Hey, there's something that has been bothering me," Eikichi said, "If we all remember the 'other side', then do the world return to that side too? Shouldn't the world end when we all remembered it?"
"It should, but no. The Tower of Seven Chain of Time kept the 'other side' from merging with this side, but that didn't stop the truth that that side exists. Besides, Tatsuya of the 'Other Side' never traveled here, only his memories, like us. At least, that's what Father Time told me."
"So, 'that side' still exist right now, huh?" Eikichi lamentably accepted the truth, "Heh, when those memories came surging back, I almost thought I would go mad for forgetting those memories. It's strange that I felt nothing, no sadness or regret. Probably because it happened too long ago that maybe the wound didn't cut me too deep. Everyone has already moved on with their lives…the past just doesn't affect us anymore. I can still remember Lisa crying about not remembering those memories years ago. Now, she's just quiet, I can't read her at all. I mean, we both know how she felt towards Tatsuya… You get me, don't you?"
"Maybe she still does and we never know. Do you remember, when Tatsuya graduated from Seven Sisters, we all came to visit him despite not recognizing him that well? Tatsuya, that time, was still new to everything that happened, but that didn't stop Lisa from being so happy when she saw him. She used to call him Chinyan almost all the time after that."
"Oh, right, I remembered! We had a photo, right? Man, I still have that photo hanging on my fridge."
"Yeah, that was such a fun moment for us. We were so excited that none of us could stay put when the cameraman was taking our picture."
"Yeah, I remembered that too!"
"And then, remember that time when we all go to the school festival together? Everyone is having so much fun that we were sad to go home and went our separate way."
"Uh, what festival?" Eikichi blinked several times, then touched his forehead with his fingers to recall the past, but failed.
"I don't remember that, but I'm pretty sure we never went to any school festival with Tatsuya and Lisa."
"Oh," Jun scratched his head, thinking that he must have confused his memories, "I guess I've forgotten."
Without they realized it, their conversation sprouted for an hour. The eyes on Eikichi sparked a new resolve to help his friends, trying to redeem the sin he made for forgetting those memories all those time.
"You know what, screw Tatsuya's order. After the concert, I'm gonna ask my customers or Chunky about those shady businesses around the city. I'll do everything I can to protect you guys."
"Hoo~, I don't need protection. My persona is more than enough to protect me," Jun replied with a prideful grin, reminding the band leader the power of the time god.
"No need to show off…" Eikichi sweat-dropped as he continued, "Maybe not you, but… Tatsuya and Maya, I sure hope nothing happens to those two. They're the one who suffered most."
"They sure do-"
Ring!
Jun took out his phone and saw a message from someone. His expression was worriedly serious.
"I need to go now, but I promise I'll come to your concert tonight," Jun rose from his chair, "See you, Mishina-kun."
Eikichi ordered another drink after Jun left the scene, where his eyes wandered to the big windows revealing the sea. His packed routine won't stop him from conducting an investigation of his own. His double life as a sushi chef and band leader gave him a powerful advantage of recognizing more people than most. This was the moment he should be the friend everyone needed, and always be ever since the meeting that changed their lives over a decade ago.
"Hmmm..." Something crossed Eikichi's mind, "When that photo was taken, wasn't it around that time that Tatsuya said he saw someone who gave him a sense of déjà vu?"
Tatsuya Suou
Cloudy – Morning – 25/11/2012(Sunday) – Old House, Outside Sumaru City
Turning the key on his engine, Tatsuya left his bike and approached the old, secluded house where Ulala had informed about its terrible residents and their use of Limbo Recall. But there was a more personal reason for his visit, regarding the sketch of the red butterfly akin to his dream. Perhaps there was a clue to why he was able to hear Azathoth's voice and why he's the only one to hear his daemonic whispers.
"The residence was brought a few months ago, owner's occupation unknown, last seen a month ago," Tatsuya mumbled about the owner of the old house, who hosted numbers of youngsters in his house. He shifted his eyes from the paper towards the window on the second floor, where darkness shrouded the interior in absolute mystery.
No one was bothered enough to paint the extremely dull, grayish wall around the house that was hundreds of meters away from the last residential area, with the forest sheltering its yard and roof. It was originally built on a farmland, but tainted soils force the original owner to abandon it. It was disturbingly odd that a man was insane enough to buy this nest of loneliness, whom background was secluded in an incredible mystery that Baofu's skill could not decipher the truth, except his name: Kazuma Kaneda. He hesitated after suspecting that the owner was out since the front door was closed, but it was unlocked.
It was completely unorganized on the first floor. All three rooms were filled with trash, papers, leftover foods, and old furniture. It made it hard to believe that this house was crowded with youngster according to Ulala's testament, yet now the silence was chillingly coursing through his veins, where he felt hidden eyes watching every step he took into the house. There was no one in the house, yet he knew someone had walked in here very recently.
At last, when he tried approached the kitchen next to the stairs, he saw the one thing he's been searching for. The sketch of a red butterfly and cocoon was taped to the wall next to it exactly as photographed by Baofu. Without realizing it, his hand had already taken the sketch, and his eyes carefully studied the image.
"You like that drawing?"
"!"
Tatsuya rapidly reached for his gun and aimed at the voice at the top of the stairs. A man was standing rather casually despite seeing the gun aimed at him. He was dressed in dark clothing layered with long coat and hood, covering the rest of his head while barely revealed the face covered in an odd mask. His voice was oddly tuned as if eaten by illness. Still aiming the gun, Tatsuya slowly ascended the stairs, not before folding the sketch he had and inserted it into his back pocket.
"You're Kazuma Kaneda, the owner of this house?"
"I can't answer that," The mysterious man walked away into the corridor without the slightest care.
"Are you sheltering any youngsters here?" Tatsuya demanded an answer as he slowly reached the top of the stairs.
"Oh, those… They're heavily dosed with those drugs, so I showed them a place here so that they would not hurt anyone. I don't kidnap people, not when I had a girl with me."
"Wait, what girl?" Tatsuya asked again. This time, he could swear that his voice seemed familiar.
"The girl who drew that drawing you just saw," The mysterious man said as he reached the end of the corridor and began to open another door, "That's not the only one she had drawn, come and see more."
"Wait!" Tatsuya rushed to the door where the man vanished into. For some reason, his breathing was getting heavier, as if he feared what he will see inside. He calmed himself for a second before he entered the room, only to be shocked by the scene he witnessed.
Taped all over the walls and ceiling were oil-pastel drawing of terrifying sketches, mostly in red. Many monsters or inhuman creatures were seen in each drawing, but red butterflies were all over the room, even on the floor. It was not the childish drawing of those creatures that inflicted horror on him, but the idea that a mere child was able to visualize it on a paper. In front of the white-curtained window was placed an old table but absence of the chair. Tatsuya could hear the mysterious man coughed as he began to speak.
"All butterflies came from cocoon before they manifest. All Archetypes came from a simple collective of people's unconsciousness before they all turned into a massive shadow of humanity. But the Nuclear Chaos, he's a rare 'butterfly'. You have seen his butterflies and how massive it is. It was never a coincidence that you, out of all people, are the only one who can hear his voice, and the fate of Maya."
Tatsuya's blood went froze after those words. The one truth that he refused to accept was echoing in his mind.
"…I had no idea what you're talking about…"
"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You can hear his voice because he WANTED you to listen. He wants to tell you something, something that you subconsciously knew, but wish to deny."
"Maybe it's time you put your hands on your back and stay still-"
"Perhaps you already realized it. Maya-"
"How about you shut your mouth?!"
He shouted in anger, but the stranger kept his motionless stand while murmuring something beneath his breath.
"Look at this, Tatsuya Suou, memorizes it," His voice penetrated into his mind. From the table, the man flipped opened a paper, revealing an odd childish sketch of a smiling pair of girl and boy with each of their hands linked by a red string-like line.
"Why are you showing me this?"
"Remember this scene, remember it well…"
"I don't understand-"
All of a sudden, his vision lost its vividness.
"…Chase her… take her… before it's too late…"
"Ugh!" Tatsuya clenched his head, kneeling on the ground over the dizziness. Over the edge of his vision, he caught a glimpse of Kazuma Kaneda torching the sketch in his hand.
"Seems that I don't need this anymore. It's not the 'real' one, anyway…" He heard the man said, "Be careful with what you feel, rumors can change the world, but not you."
The torched sketch in his hand landed on the ground, spreading fire to the other papers printed on the ground. The man pushed open the window give him one final glance.
"Take care of the girl."
The fire began to spread, all over the room, leaving Tatsuya alone as he recovered from the voice.
"Wait! *cough* *cough*" Tatsuya shouted, reaching the window to search for the man. Like a ghost, Kazuma Kaneda disappeared from the yard, leaving no trace behind. The fire had spread all across the room, forcing him to make one desperate decision to jump outside.
It wasn't long before the house was licked clean by the flame. Tatsuya dragged his bike away from the scene and messaged his brother, marking the location for him. His only suspect was gone, and Ulala's effort of investigating the background of the house went to waste. There was no longer clue to the drawing of the red butterfly.
Suddenly he remembered the paper that he took earlier in his back pocket when he met the owner. He quickly took it out and reexamined it. The owner mentioned of a girl as the painter of this image. Perhaps she was his daughter? Did Kazuma Kaneda know of his eventual escape and entrusted this girl to him?
"Hmmm… What did this girl know?"
Revving his engine, Tatsuya rolled the handle and dashed towards Sumaru City.
Maya Amano
Afternoon – 25/11/2012(Sunday) – Suou's Residence, Konan
Sunday was supposed to be her resting period, a day where she took a break from all the work and complexity of adult life. Matsuya would nag to play with her and begged to go somewhere, while Tatsuya made an exception from work to run home and spend the night with her.
Yet in the early morning, Tatsuya had left with an urgency she dared not ask as he left home with an expression that baffled her. She had never forgotten those words by him yesterday… that had given her a terrible sense of anxiety.
Tatsuya was hiding something from her, a secret different from what Naoya was hiding. She feared that Tatsuya's secret might be closer than she thought, or to be exact, something about her. She didn't remember the last time Tatsuya didn't trust her enough to share his secret with her, maybe since before their marriage. This fear, this anxiety, made her felt that Tatsuya was slowly slipping away from her…
"Suou-san, do you hear me?"
"What? …Oh. Chunky, sorry! I was lost in thoughts," Maya apologized to the speaker's voice belonged to Kenta Yokouchi, the rumormonger "Chunky", over the loudspeaker phone. In front of her were a laptop and a house phone for a quick revise she needed to investigate into. It was quite a sudden decision to call Chunky this morning, for she was dissatisfied over the rising of the strange rumors of extremists and terrorists that had continued for days. She must have drifted off when the topic about Tatsuya was brought up by the rumormonger, who was working extra hard gathering information on a list of all rumors in Sumaru City.
"Listen, Maya-san, finding all rumors will take me about a day. That doesn't mean I can't, but I won't make any promises. I'm emailing you all the rumors that I got now."
Maya was speechless to the list of rumors currently arousing the strange rally around the city. It was unexpectedly odd and suspicious, but more so when the name "Suou Devils" was mentioned.
Rumors of Sumaru City
-The world will end in 21/12/2012, prophesied by Mayans of the old past.
-There's a city called R'lyeh underwater which can be seen glowing at midnight at Koukai Ward.
-The government is making experiments that turn humans into demons.
-Suou Devils are summoners of actual devils.
-If you look into the mirror long enough, you can see your alternate self in the mirror world.
-A long lost son of Tetsuzou Sudou is the head of a powerful underground organization.
-The government is hiding a monster beneath the city and secretly feeding humans as a sacrifice.
"This is not what I had thought of the current rumors. I never thought that being busy for a while had made me lose track of all these," Maya commented, but paused when a thought occurred, 'Strange, why is there nothing about the Four Horsemen? Did Nyarlathotep covered it?'
She dismissed the error and continued, "Anything else, Chunky?"
"Hmmm, there is one rumor in Koukai Ward about a lost girl who is always seen with a sketchbook, and without her parents, but the rumors said she's a ghost of the sea where the ward was built on. I don't know the full details, but if you want, I can dig deeper… for a fee, of course. Hehe…"
"Is that so? *sigh* Let me think about it first."
"I'm kidding! I'm not going to charge you! Don't be so grumpy about it. Maybe you can go to Kuzunoha Detective Agency and ask Tammy for help. Maybe she can change some rumors about your husband."
"Tammy… I heard she's keeping the agency well after inheriting it from Todoroki-san. I rarely went there anymore, but I'll see to it. Call me back if you find something."
All those rumors felt so directed towards Nyarlathotep's scheme as she knew from the past. It wasn't a good rumor, so Maya decided to trace the source of the rumors. After all, rumors always came from someone's mouth.
It was only then she saw Matsuya staring at her sneakily from across her small table, clenching the doll in his arms as he shyly daring his steps into her circle of working space.
"Matsuya-kun… Sorry, am I too loud?"
Matsuya shook his head.
"Are you busy, mommy?"
Matsuya was un-doubtfully uncomfortable of her spending time on her work when it was supposed to be the best day for her to spend time with him. Life with a child is a life worth living, but not to have when she needs to fight her old demon again. It was around this time she feared that she had failed as a mother. What is the child's sin to experience the lack of moment with his own parents?
"Aw, dear, just a bit of work. Come here," Maya said, patting her lap to gesture him to sit on it. Matsuya obeyed, gently placing his weight on her.
"Have you watch Phoenix Ranger Featherman on TV?"
"That was in the morning, mommy. Now I just played with Mr. Bunbun," Matsuya said, at the same time observing the works on the desk before he asked, "Where's daddy?"
Maya had to pause to answer him, "Daddy's got work to do."
"When will he be back?"
"…I'm not sure, dear. But I'll stay to play with you today, okay?"
Matsuya's frowned, and his lips were twitching as if waiting for the correct moment to speak.
"M-Mommy?"
"Yes, dear?"
"I-I… I want to…" Matsuya clenched Mr. Bunbun even tighter, "I want to play with Aunt Lisa today."
She knew of his fondness with Lisa, but to seek her himself was a first. Maya couldn't help but wonder. She admitted she was slightly jealous of the caretaker.
"You want to play with Aunt Lisa, today? You don't want to play with mommy?"
"N-No, no, no, no! That's not it!" He jumped from her lap and faced her directly with panic to solve the misunderstanding, "I-I just thought I never get to spend time with Aunt Lisa on Sunday before, so I want to…"
He didn't finish his sentence as it faded away into another silence. Maya examined him carefully, wondering if he really wanted to stay with Lisa. His eyes told of his willingness to be away for a while from her, but not for the sake of spending time with Lisa. It took her quite sometimes to reconsider it, as it would spare her the time to investigate the odd rumors.
"Alright, if that's what you want," Maya said, stroking his brown hair, "But promise me you'll return before dusk, okay? Go get your bag."
Cloudy - Afternoon – Police Department, Konan, Sumaru City
Shiori paused at the door when she saw Katsuya talking on the phone when she entered his office. From their conversation, she knew it was the commissioner, Katsuya's higher up who was working on the other side of the city.
"I know, I know. You don't have to yell at me… Of course, we will clear everything before you know it. Give me some time."
"Suou-san, about your brother…" Shiori spoke the moment he finished his conversation.
"Have you handle those things regarding Tatsuya and the flame?"
"It's all done. The fire department and police will arrive at the scene soon. We will also search for Kazuma Kaneda's whereabout."
"Anything else?"
"More files."
Shiori placed the files on Katsuya's table in his office. He hissed at the thickness of the report, suspecting full well of the issues that will be shown to him. He flipped open the files in flash, before cursing the higher-up with insults Shiori never thought he would say.
"The politicians and all those parties…" Katsuya spoke, "They're preparing for their own elections next month, but not before we, especially my department, settled the issues regarding these… 'propaganda' about the world end. Sudou must have known and have done his homework well."
"I don't follow," Shiori responded before Katsuya continued.
"*Sigh* The higher-ups know of my power as a persona user. I was elected as the head chief because I'm the only one capable of handling any dangerous cases with my brother. But there were doubts towards me for keeping the other persona users' identities a secret. The black ops force of Persona users, the Shadow Operative, was an exception, for their activities are way more hidden than your elite forces, Shiori.
"I'm on razor's edge right now, the commissioner can take away my badge and kick me out anytime. Worse, they might jail me the same way Sudou was being held in that sanatorium a decade ago. Those damn hyenas, after all that happened with Tetsuzou Sudou in the past, I still look like the bad guy around here."
"But they can't do that, right? This case belongs to us from the start."
"IF we catch Sudou. But look at this… (pointing his hand towards the files) …all tracks lead to nothing, and we searched everywhere where he and his men might be. We had no idea when he was brought back to life, or if he even died at all in the past. He must have created an underground organization of his own and expanded it, waiting for the right moment to strike Sumaru City."
Some words really are curses to some people. Immediately after, one of the officers rushed into the office in a panic.
"Chief Suou, we found an abandoned factory which the group with Limbo Recall from yesterday was last seen! One of the members confessed it was where the shipment is made! It's in Yumezaki!"
"Hah, got you!" Katsuya grinned as he reached for his jacket and gave Shiori his order, "Shiori, gather the squad, I'm calling my brother!"
Cloudy – Afternoon – Koukai Ward
From afar, Matsuya caught a glimpse of Aunt Lisa waiting by the entrance of the long street way of Koukai Ward. Now that he saw her, his true sense began to return, asking himself why and why again for making the sudden decision to be separated from his beloved mother, even though he couldn't live a day without her. He gazed upward towards his mother and saw a faint smile on her as she called out to Aunt Lisa.
"Lisa, to think I'll be troubling you like this…" Maya said as she approached the girl who dressed so appealingly well that it reminded people of her legacy as an idol of Muses. Lisa didn't seem annoyed but instead expressed joy in seeing Matsuya.
"Aiyah, what are you talking about? I'll be lonely today, anyway. I'm glad you called me, Maya," Lisa responded, shoving aside her apology before she changed the topic, "I supposed Tatsuya knew about this?"
"No, he was quite busy today," Maya answered, "Don't worry, I'll tell him about it."
"I see…" Lisa responded lightly, "Anyway, I'm eager to go for a walk at the aquarium, but now that you're here…" Lisa turned to Matsuya, "Let's go together then, Matsuya-kun!"
"O-Ok!" Matsuya fisted his hand and raised it up, pumping up for the event today. Lisa and Maya shared a laugh as Maya gave her final words to her son.
"Don't be late, okay?"
After a quick nod from Matsuya, Maya left the place, leaving Matsuya alone with perplexed Lisa. She was sharper than he thought, for she immediately confronted him regarding his intention for today.
"Okay, now that your mother is gone, can you tell me why you want to be separated from her? I know you're not here to play with me."
"H-How did you know?"
"It's obvious, Matsuya-kun. I think your mother knows too..."
"Whoa…" Matsuya said in awe, "You have magic."
"A women's secret, Matsuya-kun, but I guess you're too young to understand that," Lisa teased, "Now tell me, why do you want to stay away from her?"
"B-Because, mommy is busy," Matsuya explained, "If I stay away from mommy, she can work like she wanted to. Am I a burden to mommy?"
Lisa was astonished as she clearly did not expect such answer from the child.
"I don't think you're a burden to your mother," Lisa replied, "If anything, I think your mother is sad to be away from you."
"Then why did mommy and daddy leave me that night? Why didn't mommy tell me anything?"
"What night? …Oh…" Lisa suddenly remembered something and quickly raised the mood, "That was nothing! She's just busy and had to work extra time."
"I know… Maybe, if I become a good kid and don't bother her work, mommy and daddy won't leave me again…"
"Oh…" Lisa suddenly revealed her serious side, "Is that why you never told them about the play?"
"Yeah, if I ask them to come, they probably get angry because I disturb them, so…"
Matsuya was slow to react to her question, for he swore that he had never told a soul of his secret play, "How did you know?!"
From her handbag, Lisa took out a piece of paper, "I found this in my house yesterday. This is a week ago, but knowing your mother, she would've mentioned it at some point. Yet I only found out yesterday. Which means you haven't told them anything."
"W-w-wait! Don't read it!" Matsuya reached his hands out in a panic to grab the paper, but Lisa quickly dangling it high above her out of his reach.
"Let's see…" Lisa began to read to further teasing him.
"Aunt Lisa, Noooo…!" Matsuya begged, but Lisa didn't stop as she took a deep breath and read the paper colored in purple:
Sleeping Beauty Theater
by Koukai Elementary School
A theater will begin on November event for Koukai Elementary School! We are proud to invite all parents and guardians to our school as our proud students perform in a stage play based on the folktale Sleeping Beauty.
The play will be held on Friday, 30 November, at 10 a.m.
We will be waiting!
"Friday, huh…" Lisa mused before averting her eyes to Matsuya, "You really want to go to the play, didn't you? If you think that your parents can't come to the play with you, you can't force yourself to go there."
"That's not it. I need to go there…"
"And why is that?"
"…" Matsuya gulped his throat and revealed, "Because I'll be acting on stage too."
Lisa's eyes widened in astonishment, where her gasp was heard loudly, which caused his face to reddened like a tomato.
"That is amazing, Matsuya-kun! Do you know? Your father was never into this stuff when he was young, but you did! He'll be proud! So, tell me, what do you play as?"
"T-That's a men's secret!" Matsuya looked away, but he shrieked a bit when Lisa tickled his ribs, "Haha, ah, hahahaha! Aunt Lisa, stop, or I'll- HAHAHA- or I'll scream!"
"Come on~, why don't you share you manly secret with Aunt Lisa?" Lisa tempted him to expose his final, embarrassing secret. Nearly losing his sense, Matsuya was forced to reveal his role.
"I'm a red fairy!"
"…Eh?" Lisa stopped, wanting a repeat on his answer, "Do you mean one of the three godmother fairies? I thought it is a girl-"
It was a little too late for Lisa to stop her teasing, for Matsuya was ready to burst into tears.
"*sob*… You don't have to make fun of me…"
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! Please don't cry! I'm not making fun of you!" Lisa was quick to comfort the sobbing child and wiped his small tears. Lisa continued.
"Don't need to cry, it's fine if you don't get to be the main character! A fairy is fine too! You'll probably be so cute on stage!"
"I don't actually want to act at all…" Matsuya said with his head tilted downward, hiding his red face from Lisa.
"Then why do you joined the theater play at first?"
"B-Because…" He looked away, not wanting to make eye contact with her, "Because I made a promise with someone."
"Haime, can you tell Aunt Lisa about it? Let's walk as we talk."
The street way of Koukai Ward was bare and wide like an actual car street, despite it was only for walking passengers to cross around the housing complex around it. It was clearly a lot of people, which forced Lisa to hold Matsuya's hand all the time as she began listening to Matsuya's story.
"There's this one girl in my class. I call her Mia-chan. She doesn't talk to people, so she doesn't have any friend. I only saw her sitting alone, drawing stuff that others don't like…"
"Will she be in the play?"
Matsuya nodded, "She's the evil fairy, the one that curses the sleeping beauty."
"So, she's the bad person in the story."
"But she's not really a bad person!" Matsuya raised his voice, much to Lisa's startling, "I know she's not! She's just… look so sad every day, looking out the window in class. But I know she's a good person, she just needs help…"
"Do you like her~?" Lisa asked with curiosity, but Matsuya shook his head.
"No, I just want to help. Daddy helps a lot of people, so I want to help someone too. I saw one of her drawings and I think it was pretty, although a bit scary…"
"And how did you two get into the play?"
"Because the classmates forced her too. Nobody wanted to be the bad person in the story, so everyone voted for her to make fun of her, just because she's a 'weirdo'. Mia-chan just nodded, even though she's afraid of people. So, I promised I helped her for the play."
"And thus, you joined."
Matsuya nodded again, "If I join the play, I can watch over her, a-and then protect her from bullies."
"Awww~, that's so sweet of you!" Lisa praised, much to Matsuya's embarrassment, "Are you sure you don't like her? You don't protect someone unless you really like that person."
"Really?" Matsuya focused his eyes on her, "Is that what it means to like someone?"
"Hehe, you'll understand it someday, Matsuya-kun."
"Aunt Lisa, do you have someone you like?"
He was too young of a boy to know those words inflicted something painful upon her. Lisa stopped her tracks, where Matsuya marked on the paleness on her already white face. He felt Lisa's grip tightened on his hand before it became oddly forceful, where Matsuya in a flash called out to her.
"A-Aunt Lisa?"
"Oh, yes," Lisa loosened her grip and continued her walk with him, "I did. When I was your age, I had my first love. I know I love him because I wanted to be with him… Then…"
"Who is that guy?" Matsuya interrupted. The pressure upon his hand returned.
"Chinyan, why do you still like her after all I did…"
"Aunt Lisa?"
"…Ah," Lisa snapped out of her sudden daydream and faced him with a confused expression, "Sorry, what did you say? I didn't hear that well."
"Uh…" Matsuya paused, considered it wise not to speak further and upsetting her, "Nothing, I'm just thinking what I want to see at aquarium later."
"Is that so?" Lisa smiled, "But don't change the topic, Matsuya-kun. What are you going to do about this letter?"
"I… I want Mummy and Daddy to come to the play, but I'm embarrassed if they saw me in a girl's dress. Also, they're too busy… What should I do?"
Matsuya was at loss for words. He never reached the phase of childhood where he was ready to make a decision he won't regret.
That moment, Lisa made a deal he never expected.
"…Hey, I have an idea. How about we don't tell them? How about you let me go to your theater play instead? We can brag about how you help Mia-chan afterward. How about it, Matsuya-kun? It will be our little secret…"
Evening
"Hey, Miyabi dear! Nu-uh, just calling. Haha! Okay. Lock the shop when you're done. Don't worry, you can close early today. Bye!"
4 more hours before his concert began, and Eikichi was already bored beyond words. All his bandmates were stuck in apparently traffic jam and won't be here for the next two hours. Calling his wife in the bathroom clearly wasn't enough to suppress his boredom.
"Well, let's put on my make-up already," Eikichi thought, taking out his bag and placing it next to the sink. It took him half an hour in front of the mirror perfecting his image as the face of Gas Chamber. He smiled gleefully upon his haunting painted face that was unrecognizable from his original look. Satisfied, he exited the public bathroom and gazed upon the housing area and the primary school nearby.
"Come on kids, let's go to the aquarium!"
As he walked, his attention was focused on the voices of parents who tagged along with a few of their kids on the opposite side of the road. It seemed that they're heading for the aquarium park at the end of the road ahead. The kids were thrilled as they held their parents' hands, walking side by side along the street.
Eikichi was instantly reminded of his 3 years marriage with Miyabi. He admitted that it took longer than it should for him to propose to his long-time girlfriend, but there should be a sign after 3 years. Doctors didn't give confident answers as to why Miyabi couldn't bear a child. Deep inside, he knew that he envied Tatsuya and Maya, whom child had already attended school and growing healthy.
"Man, maybe I'm just not suited to be a father, to begin with," Eikichi speculated, "I mean, I'm a sushi shop owner, but I'm a band leader. Maybe it's my fault… *sigh* Come on, dear god, just one kid is enough for me!"
In the middle of his lamentation, it was then he caught a glimpse of a young girl sitting next to the school gate not far from where he stood. In her hand was a sketchbook and oil pastel, where she was drawing something while being oblivious to outside world.
"What's a young girl doing all alone over there?" Eikichi mused, deciding to approach the girl, "Heyyyyy, girl! What are you drawing?"
"...Hmmm?" The girl with fairly short black hair in white dress glanced up to his voice. She was fairly short, moderate size, and pale skin, but her face looked so childish it's impossible to believe she was more than 5. He did not expect her to jump away in horror upon his presence.
"Who are you? Why do you call me?" The girl spoke with a whisperingly low voice. It was at that moment, he couldn't shake the feeling that she reminded him of someone close.
"Hey, it's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."
"Are you a demon?"
"Of course not!"
"Then why is your face white with a black mark?"
"O-Oh, you see, girl, I'm in a band, singing in a concert. That's why I painted my face-"
"Stay away from me!" The girl screamed, attracting surrounding passengers to his direction. Obviously, what is the common thoughts when you see a child screaming next to a man with heavily painted make-up?
"H-Hey, girl, this isn't what it looks like! Wait!"
The girl, taking her stuff, dashed away from the scene. The nearby people had already started to crowd him, which he took the chance to ran away and chased the girl to solve the misunderstanding.
"Okay, where is that girl?"
After a while, Eikichi could swear he saw the girl near the condominium before he lost her among the people.
"Crap… Maybe I really AM not good with kids-"
Eikichi froze when he felt like he stepped on something. He examined it and realized it was a blue pastel of the same brand from the girl's. From the looks of it, the trace seemed to direct him to the quiet alley behind the condominium.
"Hmmm? Did I hear someone?"
Following the alley, what he saw sparked a rage inside him. A group of three men, all adults of hideous attires and manners, were circling the shivering girl. Thinking that they were away from the public, they were brave as they seemed to subject her into following something he could hear very clearly.
"You look like you're lost, girl. How about you join us?"
"Do you know that the world will end in less than a month? Those idiots think they can enjoy their lives while being ignorant of the truth because they're lost!"
"But not anymore! With the revelation, you can be granted eternal life if you follow us, the cult of Mayan! Let's go and pray together, little girl! Don't be lost!"
"No…" The girl broke down and clenched her head, shivering in fear, "Don't take me, I'm scared."
"Don't be scared! We're the good guys around here!" The biggest thug grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her up, which the girl screamed in panic.
"AH, stop! Please!"
"HEY!"
They all froze upon the voice of Eikichi, who had removed his bag and cracked his fingers, "Let go of that girl."
"Who the hell are you?" One of the cultist asked, "Get lost, this has nothing to do with you."
"I'm going to repeat myself again nicely," Eikichi cracked his neck while glaring at the man who was still holding the girl's wrist, "LET. GO. OF. THAT. GIRL. Do you understand?"
"It's people like you that disturb the peace of our cult. We're saving this girl, and you're going to put this girl in the likes of all you low-life humans?"
Two of the thugs approached Eikichi, ready to pounce. Pity them, for Eikichi had trained a lot ever since he was informed of the prophecy, both mind, and body.
"I don't want to make a mess on this special day, but you guys are really hard to deal with."
"What do you care?" One of the thugs cracked his fist and ready to swing a punch. Yet, Eikichi simply smirked.
"I just do."
With full strength, Eikichi launched a powerful kick to the crotch area between the man's legs, sending him down screaming in agony. In a flash, the band leader had already prepared his fist and sent a left hook on the second thug's face, sending him crashing on the trash bin nearby. The last thug, still grabbing the girl's hand, could only watch speechlessly as two of his men were taken down in one shot.
"Don't move, don't move!" The remaining thug took out a pocket knife, "If you attack us, you'll be committing sins you can't atone!"
"I know a guy who atoned for the worst of all sins, but he's nowhere as low as you. I honestly don't give a crap about your cult or your stupid belief. So, you can hate me all you want, dude, but I'm not backing away until you let go of that girl."
"Then…" The thug shifted his attention to the girl, "If you two deny us, then you two better off dead!"
The thug was ready to stab the girl with the knife, but Eikichi, in a flash, kicked away the knife in his knife in the thug's hand went flying before Eikichi choked down the thug's neck, forcing him to release the girl before he too was sent flying to the trash bin nearby.
"If I see your face again, I'll make sure to rip your face off. Now get lost."
The girl stared in disbelief upon Eikichi after the thugs left the place.
"You're alright, girl?"
She nodded quietly before she asked.
"You're not a demon?"
"No! Of course not! These are just make-ups! I'm a band leader, I sing for people! As the matter of fact, I have a concert tonight! ~We are the Gas Chambeeeerrr!~"
She nodded in understanding before Eikichi continued.
"Listen, forget about what you saw today, okay? Now go, go back to your parents, or they'll miss you."
"I don't have any parents, only Guardian," The girl said, "My guardian won't be home until nighttime, so I'm all alone."
"Oh dear," Eikichi responded with sympathizing tone, "How could your guardian left you all alone like this?"
She shook her head. They once again fell into silence, before Eikichi suggested.
"Hey, girl~! How about I accompany you for today until my concert begin? Don't misunderstand me, but a young girl your age… How old are you?"
"…" She remained silent before revealing seven opened fingers.
"See? You're too young to be walking alone. Look, until you're ready to go home, why don't you follow me? We can go to the aquarium together. That way, nobody can bother you again. I'll take care of you."
"I don't trust you. I don't even know your name."
"Okay," Eikichi smiled, pressing his chest to introduce himself in melodic like voice, "My name is Eikichi Mishina, the leader of the proud Gas Chamber~! And I would like to be your friend for today! Can I be your friend, little girl? Can you tell me your name?"
Eikichi lent his hand towards the seemly fragile young girl. She didn't move for a while, but he had hope that saving her from the thugs would help her gained a bit of trust in him. The girl finally nodded, introducing herself.
"H-Hello, my… my name is Mia Kaneda."
A/N: Sorry for the late update, hope you enjoy this chapter and the introduction of the new ward of Sumaru City and a few OC, especially Mia Kaneda, the mysterious girl.
There's a lot that's happening in this chapter. Eikichi is finally getting his screen time for this arc. Same as Persona 2 duology, Sumaru City has a special power of rumors, where any rumors will turn into reality. What else? Tetsuzou Sudou is the father of Tatsuya Sudou and the top executive of New World Order in Persona 2: Eternal Punishment who was defeated by Maya and her team. When Matsuya said something about his parents leaving him, it was the day they were trapped in clock tower during their attempt to save Minato. What is Lisa thinking? She will play an important role as well in the near future.
Please wait for the slow update.