It was a dreary, cloudy day, as if even the sun was mourning. Will was wearing his best suit, at the funeral of his best friend. Then he saw it; Suguru Misato, merely a boy, at his own father's funeral. It was made all the more bitter by the fact that this wasn't the first time attending one of his parent's funeral. William Migdal, for the first time in a long time, had no goddamn clue what to do. Young Suguru was crying in the damn turmoil of loneliness, but Will knew he couldn't even begin to take the place of his best friend. The FBI always came first, and he couldn't change that. That was just who he was.
Will sighed deeply. He was never good with children at all. Will was content with no wife or kids – he never liked kids nor trying to figure out women. This wasn't going to be easy, and he didn't know what to say, but he had to try. But, as will started towards Suguru, he saw somebody looking at the boy in… horror? No… guilt? Will later would know he should have confronted her. In retrospect, he could have unraveled everything right there. In hindsight, he screwed up. But hindsight is always 20-20. So he paid no attention to the girl, looking maybe 17 or 18, and continued walking.
Will kneeled down to Suguru, who was at most 4'10'' whereas Will was 6'3''. Will still was not completely sure what to say but had to say something.
"Hi, Suguru," he said gently. "I'm Will. I was…" he hesitated, unsure if he should mention Suguru's father. "A friend of your father." It felt awkward talking like this in Japanese, but luckily he had talked to Misato so much, where they talked half in English and half in Japanese, he was rather good at it albeit still rusty. But he worried it would sound wrong, though Suguru didn't seem to notice.
"Why… Why did he have to go?" Suguru asked quietly though the tears. Will had a feeling this was going to be very hard.
"Sometimes bad things happen. He didn't want to leave. But he would have wanted you to feel pain for it even less," Will said softly.
"But why does everybody I love die and leave me alone?" Suguru looked up and stared into Will's eyes, as if begging for an answer, some explanation of why he deserved this.
"Hey, you aren't alone. You still have friends and many people who care about you. Just remember you are never alone, and your parents just wanted you to be happy. Can you try to be happy for them, once the shock wears off?" Suguru, with tears still rolling down his face, nodded lightly.
"William Migdal?" A large man in a suit asked Will.
"Yes, that is me." Will replied as he stood up and turned around. The man handed Will a folded piece of paper. He unfolded it, finding a message in English.
Dear Will,
If you are reading this, I am now dead. I have also left young Suguru alone, which is what I wish to speak about. Will, you are my best friend. I am asking you, as my last request, to support Suguru. Transfer all finances under your name and manage them well. I know I can't ask you to be there all the time and be a father for him. But please do what you can for him. Thank you, and goodbye my dear friend.
-Yuichi Misato
Will had to hold back tears. But then he felt determination to help his diseased friend however he could. Will then noticed the closed casket resting. Walking up to it, he knew it was empty, Misato having burned in the fire. But a chill ran through him, an odd feeling that something was off. He couldn't put his finger on it, but he knew better than to question his instincts. Thus, he stepped aside and called up Brian Michaels, his friend and field tech and information support.
"Brian, I need you to examine the records of Misato's death more thoroughly. See if there's anything off with the facts." Will talked quietly, even though he doubted anyone could hear him or understand considering he talking in English to Brian. He also put the phone up to his ear, despite the audio coming though the earpiece, so he didn't look like a crazy person talking to himself.
"What? Why?" Brain seemed very confused as to what this could be about.
"Please, something is off about this, I trust my instincts. And you do too." Brian sighed heavily.
"Alright, I'll look through it."
"Thanks. On standby." He then hung up and moved to Suguru's grandfather.
"Hello! Do I know you?" The rather large and almost imposing man asked. Will smirked.
"Don't remember me from Misato's wedding? I must say I'm rather offended. I was the best man, you know. However, I need to make sure all Misato's finances are transferred to my name and I am given control of them."
"Ah, of course! Good to see you again, Will!" The man gave will a very firm handshake.
"Listen, I need to make sure all of Misato's finances are transferred under my name so I can control them." Will handed him the letter.
"Ah, I see. I guess you're quite the man, the famous William I've heard so much about!"
"And you, the old disappearing in-law I've heard so little about?" The grandfather laughed heartily.
"Yes, good to see you! If my son trusted you, then I suppose I do too." Will chucked, but then became very serious after a minute.
"You aren't going to take care of Suguru, are you?" Will already knew the answer.
"I.. I-"
"Am a very busy man? I guess that's why custody of Suguru when to me when Misato died." The older man looked rather surprised.
"It did?" he questioned. Will nodded.
"Misato told me that if he was to die before Suguru grew up, legal custody would go to me. I told him that was insane. He told me even if I couldn't go to Japan or be there much for Suguru, he wasn't letting Suguru go to an orphanage. I will pay off the house mortgage and will pay property taxes, and once you leave I guess Suguru will live in that house alone if that's what he wants." The older man's face darkened.
"So you're going back to America after this?" Will shook his head.
"No, I'll stay here. It's the least I can do. But I'm not gonna bullshit you; I have bigger responsibilities and I'm not fit to raise a kid anyway. I'll do what I can to support him though."
"Thank you. I wish I could be there for Suguru, but I can't. I'll be here for a couple of weeks, but…" Will nodded slightly.
"I bought a small house on the same street as Suguru. I will protect him, though I'll need to install a system to alert me of intruders, considering an alone kid in a nice big house is a great target."
"Shouldn't you rig it to alert the police?" he asked, confused. "What good can you do?" the man asked, chuckling at what seems to be a terrible idea.
"Listen, I don't know about here, but back in the states the average police response time is about ten minutes. I can sprint it in less than one, and I was in the FBI for a very long time. Trust me, I've had extensive training, and I can deal with whatever low-life robbing shit-stains try to get in."
"I see," he replied simply. His face then turned melancholy. "Thank you for protecting him." The rest of the funeral went by smoothly. There was the ceremony, and multiple people spoke about Misato, even Will gave a few words. As Will was leaving, Suguru's grandfather ran up to him, and invited him to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Immediately after accepting, Will heard talking over the earpiece.
"The factory never existed. Clearly a cover-up, I doubt Misato died in a freak accident. Furthermore, the date lines up with an SKV incident recently reported. We don't know what happened, but it was close to the alleged factory. You want my best guess? SKV was involved in his death, and somebody's covering it up now."
The FBI agent had heard many things before, but this took the cake. He couldn't believe his ears. Many people had claimed to have worked with Misato. He would have a nice, long talk with the head of them. But moreover, William Migdal swore he would find the truth. But at the time, god only knew how much shit he'd uncover getting there.