Thank you as always for the support!
IV - Loss
"Uncle Goodwin… never mentioned he had a brother, did he?"
Rua nodded while typing away at his keyboard, not taking his eyes off the computer screen. "Nope. No one ever heard anything about a Rudger Goodwin."
"I'm not so sure about the 'no one' part, Rua." Ruka looked over from her own computer. "If what Carly told us is true, then Uncle Fudo definitely would have heard of him."
"Which makes it even weirder that Rudger Goodwin's name isn't even associated with the Momentum team." Rua slumped in his seat in frustration. "The city values Momentum so much that even people who have died during the project gets a mention. But nothing… nothing talks about how Uncle Goodwin had a brother."
"You know some of the documents just mentioned initials." Ruka raised her eyebrows at her brother. "If they just recorded a R. Goodwin, then that could have been either brother."
"Then I'll never get to the end of this!" Rua pouted, sat back in his seat, and glared at his sister. "How am I supposed to figure that out?" He kicked his legs a little, but seeing how Ruka also let out a sigh, he turned back and stared with annoyance at his screen, which was showing the results of database searches regarding the names of people employed by the Momentum prototype team.
"So, are are there actually people who were only recorded with initials?" Ruka asked, completely seriously this time.
"Yeah… actually, yeah, there are." Rua sighed and put his forehead on the table. "There's a lot of R. Goodwins, so they could totally be referring to two different people. But there's no record of a R. Goodwin leaving the team, so I'm just gonna assume that's all about our Uncle Goodwin."
Ruka reached over and patted her brother's head.
"I'm sorry to hear that, Rua." Her brother was clearly disappointed. Ruka tried to offer him a comforting smile. "At least we found out more about the prototype team, right? We now know that the City's government is definitely hiding a lot of stuff about what happened at Satellite back then, and Uncle Goodwin and Uncle Fudo are probably both a part of it."
"But we can't find these secrets." Rua looked up and turned away from the computer, evidently not wanting to work anymore. "What about your end, Ruka? Found out anything about Rosewood?"
"I think I'm making this too difficult for myself." Ruka gave a small frown. "I'm trying to look up all the recent patients admitted into Rosewood, but it's a mess. And there are all sorts of – codes? – mixed up in their electronic records. Like… I was trying to find Izayoi Aki and Kiryu Kyosuke, but these names don't exist in the records. So… I don't think I can get much further than you can."
"They don't keep accurate records, do they?" Rua scuttled to his sister's side of the table and looked at her monitor.
"That'd make it too easy when anyone tries to look up their patients." Ruka scrolled through a few more pages of the records. "They must have tried to hide the truth for almost a decade. We can't be the first ones to get suspicious."
"Most of the people who are first-hand witnesses for Rosewood and Momentum prototype are also Satellite residents, where they don't have access to our databases." Rua nodded. "Are there any patients you can find, though?"
"I can find a lot of people, but they're all from Satellite and we don't know any of them." Ruka brought up a few names. "Not much to go on. I tried to look up their birth dates and when they died, if I could find that information. "
"So, these are all long-term patients staying in Rosewood?" Rua squinted closer at the names. "Anything else we can find out of about them?"
Ruka made some more searches with a few names she randomly picked out. However, Rua could see his sister was soon wearing a frown.
"What's wrong, Ruka?"
"There are lots of things wrong with these people, Rua." Ruka said in a low voice. "I know Satellite is a very poor district, and that lots of people die early, but so many people on this list… are orphans."
"So?" Rua blinked, not sure what his sister meant.
"Do you remember what Carly said about people like Martha-san and Crow-san?" Ruka turned to face her brother. "Martha-san sounds like she physically gathers up all the orphans she can find. Also, there are smaller organisations and individuals like Crow-san, who are actively taking care of orphans too. Carly also mentioned that when Martha-san and Crow-san need to take the kids to the hospital, they wouldn't go to Rosewood because it's still expensive by their standards. People like Martha-san also put themselves down as the children's guardian. But all these young orphans are staying in Rosewood for years without any legal guardian… With so many children staying in Rosewood like this, it just looks suspicious."
"You're thinking… these people are made up to explain the real patients living in Rosewood, like Aki-san?" Having picked up what his sister was suggesting, Rua sat up in alarm.
"I guess I am… Hold on, let me check something." Ruka put her fingers to her lips and went back into the database, starting to arrange the masses of information by date, and typed in one date to bring up another list of names and descriptions.
"What are you doing?" Rua looked at the date. It was a date approximately three months in the past, but not a date he remembered as being significant.
"That is the date of Izayoi Aki's 'execution'." Ruka replied quietly as she looked at the rows of descriptions. "Not here…?"
"Are you looking for… a replacement for Aki-san?" Rua's jaw dropped as he looked at his sister.
"You could say that. No… nobody…? Am I wrong?" Ruka wasn't really paying attention to her brother. She went back and changed the date to one day later.
"Oh God… No. I am right. Rua, read this!"
Rua sat closer to his sister and looked at what she was pointing at. The data was the admission of a young woman into Rosewood on the day after Izayoi Aki's supposed 'execution'. A brief medical report followed, outlining the patient's physical appearance. Wordlessly, Ruka brought up a webpage that focused on Izayoi Aki's trial, and went through the young woman's description line by line.
"Height... The same. Weight... The same. Eye colour and hair colour are definitely identical. Birthday is off by about a week. The name is nowhere near, but that's to be expected." Ruka breathed out softly. "If anyone sees Izayoi Aki, Rosewood can probably take out this record and claim this fake person is who she is. I understand if Aki-san is a special case due to her status, but it sounds like they made fake records for civilians like Kiryu Kyosuke too. Why are they doing that?"
"Isn't that what Jack and Yusei are trying to find out?" Rua hummed.
"There is literally no way to look for these fake records unless you know exactly who you are looking for, and exactly when they entered Rosewood." Ruka sighed. "I can't imagine a publicly funded hospital doing something like this."
"But Rosewood isn't actually public." Rua gave his sister a look. "It started as a charity hospital, but that's not the case anymore. It's private now, so someone could totally be doing their own stuff out there."
"I don't think we ever found out who's running it now..." Ruka mused. "Maybe it's not even associated with the City anymore."
"Uncle Goodwin worked there after the Momentum project, so he's probably still interested in it in some way." Rua sat up and was ready to resume his work, but the loud sound of the house's landline ringing interrupted them both.
"What the -?"
"Don't ask me. Hardly anyone knows our phone number." Ruka gave a displeased frown, evidently not happy about being interrupted. Nevertheless, she got off the chair and walked over to pick up the phone. Rua watched as his sister listened to whatever was said, and her eyes opened wide in shock.
"Ruka…" When she finally put the phone down, Rua asked in a tentative, soft voice, unsure whether he should ask her what just happened.
"That was from Security." Rua wobbled a little as she leaned against the table, her face a mixture of confusion and disbelief.
"And?" Rua instantly rushed to his sister's side, looking worried at her as Ruka shook her head, indicating that she was fine. She took a deep breath.
"They called to say the Security station that took in Carly could not be contacted. They have tried to call the station, but no one was replying. Now they have decided not to send out the team that was meant to get Carly back."
"So… You think something bad happened to Carly?" Rua felt a cold chill run all through his body as he muttered these words.
"I don't know, and Security aren't going to check." Ruka lowered her head, then bit her lip and turned back to the computer, walking slowly back to her seat and sat back down. "But there are people we can ask to help us check. And I think… I think they would want to know about Carly as soon as possible."
-\-\-\-\-\-
It was around noon when they got the call from the twins.
Jack didn't recognise the unfamiliar caller ID coming through his D-Wheel at first, and actually hang up. It wasn't until the twins tried again and Yusei recognised it that Jack finally picked up.
The blond man grumbled unhappily into the call at first, evidently annoyed at being interrupted when they were on their way to such an important destination.
"Yes? Jack here."
Yusei and Crow could hear the displeasure in Jack's voice even as they travelled on their D-Wheel, and almost simultaneously rolled their eyes. The twins must have some truly urgent news for them to call Jack's D-Wheel like this, and Jack's attitude wasn't encouraging.
But they soon realised something was not right. Jack's D-Wheel abruptly screeched to a stop in the middle of the street, throwing up a cloud of dust all around him. Thankfully, neither Yusei nor Crow were in a position to run into him. Jack himself gave no indication or explanation towards his sudden stop. Crow was in fact halfway down the block when he realised Jack was no longer with him. Yusei had just enough time to notice what happened, but had to slam the breaks hard and do a U-turn.
"What did you say?!"
Jack's voice was terrifyingly loud in the desolation that now enveloped Satellite. His tone was unnaturally raw and rough, carrying something desperate that Yusei have never heard before from Jack. Jack seemed to have suddenly cast away all the haughtiness and arrogance he usually carried, and he was literally yelling into his microphone, as if that alone would be able to give him an answer. Crow had turned around and was running bacl towards Jack.
"Jack! What's wrong?"
Jack sat rock still in his D-Wheel, as if too stunned to move. Yusei saw Crow moving his hand in front of Jack's face, trying to stir Jack from his stupor. That being unsuccessful, Crow resorted to forcibly yanking the helmet off Jack's head. Yusei then ran towards the both of them in alarm, afraid that something very serious might have happened to Jack. The blond man had lowered his head. He could not see Jack's expression, but the tightly drawn mouth indicated something had seriously affected the aloof, self-centred man.
"Yusei, Crow, we need to part ways."
"Why?" Yusei asked cautiously. He had known Jack to have his own moments of unpredictability and wistfulness, but he thought they agreed to move to Old Momentum as a collective. Jack was not averse to the cause behind their action, so Yusei couldn't understand why the blond man suddenly made such a declaration. Crow made a small step backwards as well.
"I need to find Carly. She lost contact with the twins."
Yusei felt his heart skip a beat in sudden fear. He had assumed with a sort of certainty that Carly was going to safe – she was not involved with Momentum or Psychic Duelists, so why should she be in danger? – and had not considered that leaving Carly to go back to Neo Domino would be a dangerous move. In fact, he was completely convinced going back to the City with Security officers would be safe. Crow drew a sharp breath and hurried to question Jack.
"Jack, are you sure? Wasn't she meant to go with the Security forces? Shouldn't they – "
"The entire Security station she was meant to be at went darl. No one could contact them." Jack looked up, his violet eyes burning with a determination and rage that stunned Yusei a little. "The City forces absolutely refused to go and check. They are going to leave her. I need to see what is going on."
"… Which station was she taken to?" After a thoughtful pause, Crow asked, evidently considering if they might afford the detour.
Jack gave a name that meant nothing to Yusei. Crow frowned visibly, obviously not happy with the direction they would have to go.
"That's kinda on the way, but one hell of a circle around." The orange-haired man grumbled, not taking his eyes off Jack as he said it, as if afraid Jack may make a sudden move.
In fact, that was exactly what Jack did. Without another word, Jack yanked his helmet out of Crow's loose hands and boosted up his D-Wheel, apparently ready to leave immediately.
"Wait!" Crow and Yusei both cried out, and Crow even reached out and grabbed Jack's arm, physically preventing him from driving away. Looking thoroughly frustrated, however, Jack made a vigorous shake of his arm to try to get rid of Crow, but Crow held on tight.
"Jack! You can't go alone like this! You don't even have the ability to fight back if Kiryu and his men come after you with the Black Duel Disks! Stop this nonsense!"
"Then god damn it, give me your Black Duel Disk!" Jack growled out under his breath as Crow fought against his attempt to wriggle free. "You think I can't take on Kiryu and his goons in a fist fight?!"
"Jack, stop!" Yusei decided to step in. "Crow is right. It's too dangerous for us to split up right now. Aki and Kiryu are after all three of us. If we go and find out the truth behind everything – Psychic Duelists, Momentum, the City – then everything would be able to work out. Then we can help Carly, as well as Aki –"
"I don't give a damn about your Izayoi Aki!"
As if that was the last straw, Jack roared back at him.
All his previous restraint and discretion gone, Jack bared his teeth at Yusei as if he was an animal finally pushed past his limits.
Yusei felt rooted to the ground as Jack turned off his D-Wheel, stepped off the vehicle, took off his helmet, and walked right in front of Yusei's face. The taller young man reached out, grabbed the dark-haired man's collar, and forced the King of the City to look at his face.
"You think I want to be involved in this mess? You think I give a damn about the whole Old Momentum and Psychic Duelist crap? Face it, Fudo Yusei, you are the one who got everyone into trouble. No, not you exactly, but your Izayoi Aki. She was the one who started everything, who yanked out whatever secret Rosewood was hiding, who screwed with the entire Momentum system and dragged out shit from years ago. She's why Carly got herself into this mess. She's the reason why we even need to save Carly. Tell me, why? Why are we all messed up because of something that has nothing to do with us?!"
"Jack! Calm down!" Crow instantly reached out to try to break up the fight. Yusei chose not to step back this time and stared back at Jack unflinchingly. However, even though a part of him knew that Jack was being unreasonable, he wanted to stand his ground, to face Jack. This must have been what he himself looked like in the first few days after Aki's trial.
He did not consider himself insensible then – no, he thought he was the only sane man in the City. He thought he was completely justified, that the entire world had done Aki and him a wrong, and that he absolutely must find her.
"Jack, I understand what you are feeling right now." Yusei started with a low, controlled voice. "I felt the same way when I first heard the news about Aki. I understand you feel bad that you lost her –"
"Screw you, and screw your sense of guilt!" Jack gave a powerful shove and pushed Yusei forcibly away from him, causing the King to stumble on his feet. No. Jack was not going to bend under any attempt to control and mould him. Yusei could see that in his purple eyes. "I'm nothing like you! I may share your pain, but I'm not an idiot like you!"
"Who are you calling an idiot...?!"
True, Yusei did not care about whatever Jack might think about him, but there are lines regarding what he can tolerate when his emotions towards Aki were involved.
And for some reason, he felt that Jack had overstepped that line.
"I'm going to save Carly not because I feel guilty, but because she deserves to be rescued!" Jack was in Yusei's face again, looming over him, trying to get him to cower. "She's not meant to be mixed up in this. She's just an innocent reporter. But you, son of Professor Fudo, you and Izayoi Aki were born to be involved with whatever conspiracy Neo Domino is wrapped up in. Even I am in this because of my goddamn birth mark. But Carly is different, and I'll make sure to protect her."
"You think any of us want to be involved?" Yusei was too tired, too frustrated, and too offended to back off by now. "Aki didn't ask to be involved, nor did I! All I want was to get our old lives back! We're trying to save ourselves as well, and now you're just going to run off and make yourself easy prey?"
"I can handle myself, Fudo Yusei. I've told you that already." Jack growled back. "But you are still an idiot. You think Izayoi Aki can go back to her old life? You think she wants to go back to her old life? You lived with her for sixteen years, but did you ever accept her as she is?"
"We've been over this. She's misguided. Kiryu must have confused her. If I can get her to see that and see the errors in her ways –"
"Ha! That's why you will never succeed in getting her back!" Jack rolled his eyes, and Yusei gritted his teeth. "That's why I am nothing like you!"
"And please tell me... just why are you so different, Jack Atlus?"
"Because I like Carly as she is!"
Jack yelled out then, ignoring the fact that his own voice sounded rather alien pronouncing these words. Yes, it was the first time he publicly admitted what he felt towards Carly. It felt odd, and he can't deny that he felt a pang of shame and embarrassment – but it felt good too, like he finally got a heavy weight off his chest. He stared back at Yusei with equal intensity, knowing that no matter how justified Yusei was in bringing the entire city and Satellite down with him in his search for his loved one, Jack himself was even more justified.
"Listen closely, King. I like Carly. Not just her good parts, but all of her flaws as well! Her clumsiness, her idiocy, her stupidity – that's all part of her too! And I will protect all of it! Unlike you –" He pointed towards Yusei's face, "how long are you going to deny the deeds Izayoi Aki committed?"
"You are telling me to think that the woman I love is a murderer." Yusei growled from behind tightly clenched teeth.
"You dare to use the word 'love'? Pfft." Jack shook his head derisively. "She damn right is a murderer. She may have her reasons, but there's no way you can deny her actions. She's never gonna be able to shake off that label either. And if you're not ready to shoulder that label with her, then don't you mention the word 'love' with me!"
"You understand nothing about me and her!" Yusei fought back, thoroughly vindictive now. "You think it was easy to live in the City, in Tops? You think just because we had privileged lives, that we could do whatever we wanted? Only a certain type of people can survive in Tops, and people who couldn't fit in would have to adapt or leave. All I want to do is to let Aki see that! If she could see that – "
"That is exactly your problem! You and Izayoi Aki both." Jack made a dry, mocking laugh. "That's why you suffered so much. That's why she hates you and the City so much. You think that's the right way to live? You think that would make anyone happy? You're saving her so she can go back into that cage, and you wonder why she wouldn't listen to you? What kind of salvation is that? Do you honestly think anyone would be willingly to do that?!"
"I –" Yusei wanted to rebuke again, but checked himself, suddenly realising what he had just said. As if just now coming to terms with his own thoughts, he paused and stared at Jack, blinking slowly as what he said slowly sank in.
Was that what he had thought all along? Fudo Yusei had always been the model genius, the prodigal child who needed minimal supervision and guidance. His father left him to his own devices since a long time ago. In Yusei's memories, both his parents were involved with the maintenance of Momentum night and day, and what little free time they had was taken up by the various social activities their elevated positions demanded. He did not remember anything about sitting down with his parents for a heart-to-heart conversation at all. He could only imagine the situation in the equally prestigious and busy Izayoi family. Even when he was at school, Yusei was also always elevated above his peers, both by the designs of his teachers and by the sheer amount of excellence he exhibited in his work. It also did not help that he skipped multiple grades and was rushed through schooling while living in a dormitory, away from friends and family. He was set upon a predetermined path from the moment he was born, and the first dozen or so years of his life were simply a path heading straight towards that destination, with no detours allowed and no other possibilities presented.
Perhaps that was why he clung to the idea of Aki all this time, even though there were massive stretches of time when they did not even contact each other. Meeting her was one of the stable activities everyone was sure to plan for him whenever he returned home. Even if his parents were away, or if all his friends were busy with school, the society around him always made sure Izayoi Aki squeezed out some time to meet him. She was always there for him, and he could not deny that he found comfort in such predictability. He found relief in her presence, not because they did anything fun together, but simply because of how long they have known each other and how often they met compared to his other friends. He willingly believed that Aki and he were going to be together, and that life was going to be good for the both of them at the end of this designated path. He accepted his role, no matter how reluctant he might have felt, and looked upon her company as his consolation and anchor.
But how did she feel?
He didn't know, and he never checked.
That was the irony of everything in Tops. No one knew anything about other people, yet everyone pretended to know it all. Everyone fitted into their roles, given to them by fate or by birth, and all was good as long as everyone abided the rules. That was why he was so obsessed with getting Aki back. He wanted to restore his own life back to normal, even though he felt the crushing weight of guilt. Tops did not care about the past; it was obsessed with the future and what each person can promise to bring. It would be possible to have a repentant Izayoi Aki somehow re-integrated, if she could offer something back. Even though he knew it would be a very difficult undertaking, Fudo Yusei still secretly hoped for that unlikely outcome, for the day when everything would just go back to how it used to be.
And yet, now that he was looking through the history of the City, now that he saw the darkness that encircled his father's divine machine and the extraordinary discovery that he himself was named after, Yusei no longer knew what normalcy was.
How would he respond if the entire City was built on a lie?
What would he do if everything he represented, everything he lived with, was in fact a conspiracy on a cosmic scale?
Was that what Aki knew? Was that why she contained such unquenchable rage? Was that what Carly discovered? Was that why she was taken away?
"Yusei… Yusei?" Crow was calling to him with a concerned voice.
"I… I'm fine." Yusei blinked, as if he was slowly returning to reality. Jack was still glowering at him, but he was no longer standing so aggressively close to Yusei. Crow was comically waving his hands in front of Yusei's face, looking highly concerned.
"Leave him, Crow. He's having a moment of revelation about his Izyaoi Aki." Jack spat derisively, while the King of the City only shook his head slowly. "I don't care what you think about Izayoi, Fudo Yusei. I'm still going to go find Carly."
"Jack, hold on. Do you really think that… what happened to Carly was independent from what was happening with Aki?" Instead of challenging Jack, Yusei simply looked straight at the blond man.
"What do you mean? I was born here in Satellite. I know how messed up Satellite is, and people get abducted randomly all the time." Sensing that Yusei's tone was more mellow, Jack narrowed his eyes and carefully scrutinised the blue-eyed man in return. "I'm not going to leave Carly alone. You just don't want us to split up, but I don't need your help. In fact, I'll even leave Crow and his Black Duel Disk with you, so you won't feel scared."
"Jack, I'm trying to say that Carly is probably involved with Momentum rather than with some random Satellite gang." Yusei frowned as Jack turned his back to him and started to walk back to his white D-Wheel.
"Yeah, yeah, you're not the only person to figure that out." Jack didn't even turn to face Yusei, simply shouting back while he kept walking. "But I still need to go find Carly."
"Jack! Do you even know how many people you're gonna go up against?!" Crow obviously was even more concerned than Yusei. The orange-haired young man stomped his foot, his eyes glued to Jack's retreating figure.
"I don't care!" Jack huffed as he sat back into his vehicle. Crow tried to lunge towards Jack, but Yusei held him back.
"Let him go, Crow."
"But he's running off on his own –" Crow's voice died down as Yusei's grip on his arm tightened more. The orange-haired man turned slowly to look at Yusei, and the latter slowly shook his head.
"Let him go, Crow. I understand what he was going through. I was like that too… a while ago." Yusei said in a low voice. "Let him be. He knows what he is doing – unlike me."
That pause was all Jack needed to get away. He pressed on the accelerator of his D-Wheel and the white construction sped into the distance with a screech, leaving behind a flying trail of dust to slowly settle back onto the dirt road.
"Yusei…" Amid the silence that followed, Crow lowered his head. "I know Jack has been hounding you with this question for a while, but I want to ask you this too… What are you doing to do when Aki finally confronts you?"
"Honestly? I don't know." Yusei took a deep breath. "I really don't know. When I first realised she wasn't dead, I thought she was simply locked up, and it would be a matter of walking in and using my prestige to free her. Then when I heard about what she did at Satellite, I thought maybe she was fed lies and she wasn't thinking for herself. But now? Now I don't know anything anymore. I think I have to listen to what she has to say. I have to understand everything that is affecting her. That… that wouldn't be a satisfactory answer, but it would be my answer."
"She really admired you, King." Crow addressed Yusei's title in a subtle shift to formality. "She wouldn't stop talking about you when I met her. I believe if you really try to understand her… then maybe she would allow you to understand. It's different with me," Crow cracked a dry laugh. "I don't hope for her to understand or forgive me –"
"Crow." Yusei patted Crow on the shoulder. "Relax. It's not your fault that everything broke down in this way. And it's not her fault either… and it's not mine." Here he paused, and briefly shut his eyes. The City and Satellite, blaming each other – how natural that had seemed when he was growing up. And Psychic Duelist, a term that always terrorised the people on the periphery of thought, were considered criminals based on their power alone. He remembered how he took such slogans as an everyday occurrence, never giving it an extra thought. "We'll never get to the bottom of it by blaming everyone else, but it's gotta be someone's fault, back when Old Momentum was built. Someone must have triggered everything that came after it… and I'm not sure if I want to find out who it was."
"Are you… afraid?" Crow blinked. "Are you scared of whoever is behind Kiryu and Aki?"
"No, not that." Yusei shook his head and took a deep breath. "I'm talking about the original culprits, back before I was born. And I think I can guess who those might be. They are probably the people I grew up with... and those who are closest to me."
-/-/-/-/-/-/-
"That was a loooooong afternoon." Rua stretched lazily on the sofa and gave out a big yawn, even though it was just hitting three in the afternoon. He certainly felt like he had worked very hard, looking over data and tracing over logistics. It was almost as if he suddenly became some kind of an analyst. Shouldn't he be playing Duel Monsters or watching TV on such a nice, summer afternoon? He briefly wanted to grumble about why they were working at all, but seeing how concentrated Ruka was, he sighed inwardly and closed his eyes.
Yeah, sure, they were trying to figure out what exactly was happening with Momentum and the Psychic Duelists, which does concern Ruka personally, since she can kinda be considered as one. However, the more Rua looked into Rosewood, the more he thought this was going to be a useless venture. Even if they found something, what could they do? They probably have more spare money than half of the City, but Rua still doubted how much Ruka and him alone could accomplish. He wriggled on the sofa and looked at his sister.
"Still looking?"
"Mmm, almost done." Ruka seemed to be at her limits too, but she was not done just yet. She punched in one last web link and sighed, taking a sip from the glass of juice next to her computer. She was secretly jealous of how relaxed Rua was and how freely he complained. She wished she could be like him too, but she also knew how important everything about Rosewood could be.
"What are you still looking at?" Rua tilted his head to look back at his sister.
"Who exactly is financing Rosewood now." Ruka navigated to the webpage, looking at the people running the organisation she found. "This is apparently the charitable arm of a relatively small company. I wonder how they got the money to run such a large hospital, and with all the secret maintenance too."
"Maybe they were only a front for their parent company." Being born into the heart of Neo Domino's business elite, Rua was savvier with business than many grown men.
"That's exactly what I'm checking now." Having found very little in this organisation, Ruka went and looked up the parent company. "Just checking who they are supported by. Let's see… wait!"
Rua jumped up when he heard the shocked note in his sister's voice. "What did you find, Ruka?"
He quickly ran over to his sister's side and stared into her computer screen, then understood the reason behind her surprise. What he was looking at… was one of the companies under their parents' control.
"This can't be right!" Rua's initial instinct was that something was wrong. It can't be right. It has to be a mistake.
He turned to his sister, but she was staring at the computer screen in stunned silence,
"No, Ruka. I'm telling you, it's definitely a mistake!"
Rua got up and bodily shook Ruka. He was afraid, suddenly very afraid. Not only of what the computer was showing them, but also at the absence of light in his sister's eyes.
"Listen. Ruka. It's not what we think it is, ok? Dad and Mum won't be so blatant if they are behind this. They wouldn't just link it straight to themselves. It's gotta be a trap!"
"Would it be a trap? You think it is a trap?" His sister muttered quietly. "Why would anyone want to set such a trap? I… I thought Dad and Mum were not involved in the City's politics. I didn't think… I…"
"Ruka! It's going to be ok!" Rua gritted his teeth. He refused to believe that their parents were associated with Rosewood, yet he didn't know how to explain what Ruka had found.
No, he will just to convince Ruka and pray that this was a trap, or some sort of a mistake, and that their family – possibly themselves – were not a part of the chaos and slowly tearing apart Neo Domino's very roots.
No. It must be a mistake. It has to be a mistake.