[Red Text = Bold, Blue Text = Underlined, Gold Text = Bold+Underline. ]
Note: This chapter is mostly the same as the old one, save for a few paragraphs rewritten to sound more natural. But starting from next chapter, we'll be seeing a lot of rewritten work.
"You really ought to hire a maid," Lion complained. "I won't clean the guest's rooms next time, no matter how much you beg."
"I don't recall begging," Will remarked as he glanced outside the window. "In fact, all I remember is you screaming at me and then saying you would clean everything since I was hopeless."
Lion walked up to Will, the unusually loud sound coming from said footsteps indicating a certain amount of anger. Then, from behind the couch, Lion grabbed Will's neck much like a professional wrestler would. Though the hold was admirably flawless, no amount of force applied seemed to even be enough for Will to drop his tea. He impassively drank his tea, showing a complete lack of regard for Lion's efforts at causing him pain. There was only one thing Lion could do to bother him, and that course of action was blocked by the sofa.
"Besides, there is, y'know, a reason I cant' hire one," Will said cheerfully, a hint of an English accent showing, "Van Dine wouldn't allow for it."
This annoyed Lion, because he knew the English accent was there just to bother him. Van Dine himself was American.
"Van Dine doesn't forbid you to hire a maid. It just says that the culprit can't be a maid," Lion retorted, loosening the firm grip on Will's neck, but arms still near his neck. It almost looked like a hug.
Will nodded in agreement.
"Which means that when the inevitable crime happens, our dear maid couldn't be the culprit. As such, she would just make the investigation more complicated."
"Why are you so sure that there will be a crime?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Will shook his head sadly. Lion couldn't tell whether his gesture was made in jest or if he really meant it. "It is my finality, my destiny, my purpose and my fate! Most interesting you would think otherwise," Will's accent again shone through, his condolence seemingly linked with his English education.
"How would that make sense? Why does a crime need to happen?"
"It just does. Don't think too hard about it, you'll get a headache."
Lion's eyes met Will's, and they carried a silent conversation that would have taken hours if done with words in a matter of seconds. What should Lion do with Will? His dreamed retirement had come, and he was now bored. That wasn't something Lion really cared about, but Will being bored made him absolutely unbearable to live with. Will's eyes answered that by pointing out how it was in his nature to act like that, and deep inside, Lion wasn't bothered by that. Lion's eyes proceeded to close, unsatisfied with the conversation's theme.
"Moreover, I would have to spend time exonerating her, perhaps calming her and assuring there was nothing to fear," Will said flippantly. "And that sounds like a bad mystery to me. A mystery needs heart, but it also needs a body and soul. Each player needs to have his own part on the play, or else he shouldn't exist."
"What if the maid helped the investigation? Wouldn't that make her a major player?" asked Lion, with a playful tone. There was no harm in playing along with Will's joke. If it was a joke, that is.
"I don't think women are capable of thinking," said Will calmly.
Lion thought about reaction to this obviously sexist statement, just when it became clear that this was Will's intention. Will wasn't sexist, he just wanted to test Lion, to see how Lion would react. After all, depending on how Lion answered this, the answer to "Woman or man?" should become clear extremely easily.
"What do you think, Lion? Do you agree that women are emotional creatures that men need to comfort?"
That smirk! That smirk proved it. Will really meant to get a reaction out of Lion. Part of the Ushiromiya felt relieved Will finally took an interest on that matter, but another part of Lion felt offended Will only felt curious about it once he had nothing else to do.
"I won't answer it."
"Are you fine with that?"
"I could be a man so mad at your sexist statement that I decided not to dignify it with an answer, or a woman so mad at your sexist statement that I decided not to dignify it with an answer. There is no way for you to know."
"Oh, but there is." Will jumped out of the couch in one single motion, his hands in his pockets, and walked up to Lion, their faces separated by less than one centimetre.
"No such a thing as a woman who is offended by my statement and doesn't answer it. If she doesn't answer it, she is the kind of woman who has a few problems with her self confidence and refuses to answer not because she disagrees with it, but because she is afraid the sexist man just might convince her of being right."
"Been reading psychology books, eh?" Lion answered without missing a beat. "Sorry, but you can't be sure of that just by a few random guesses."
"Well, I suppose I can't." He scratched the back of his head. "Just figured it was worth a shot.
Will then broke the tension by laughing, and backing away.
"Don't worry. I am not going to find out anything you don't want me to. I just wanted to check to see if you felt like telling me this time. Well, don't worry. I won't ask again."
A loud gong announced at least one of the guests had arrived. Will smirked, and went to get the door. Lion smiled as well, pretending to be happy Will wouldn't look for the answer anymore. But that was a lie. Why, Lion wanted Will to find out, in a way. Of course, Lion also didn't want Will to find out.
What did Lion want? The feeling of being chased after and never being caught? Lion's feelings were confusing. Perhaps luckily, among the first two guests to arrive, one of them was the only person in the world that could be of some help in that complicated matter.
"Hihihi, your house is bigger than Rokkenjima. This is amazing!"
"Well, you know how it goes, detective solves one case for an important person, becomes rich and famous, " said Will, somewhat sarcastically. "But comparing a mountain to an island isn't the way to go."
"Why not? They are both great!" said Battler, laughing. His words didn't quite make sense, but he spoke rapidly, as if he couldn't contain his excitement.
"It's funny how you are full of energy now, but you kept screaming faaaaaaaaaaallllllll when we were being brought to the top of the mountain."
"B-beato, no need to tell them that!"
Battler took off his cape, covered in snow and blood, and Will helped him place it at the coat hanger. The years of marriage having no effect in the ageless meta world, Battler's immaturity shone through, as he rushed to greet Lion while Will was left helping Beatrice to take off her coat, a duty usually reserved for her husband.
"Things like this really make me realize it," said Beatrice, sighing heavily while Will did an overly exaggerate bow to her, "Lion really is my one in a million shot at happiness."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Battler laughed.
"W-what's that supposed to mean?" Lion asked, blushing slightly. If Beatrice knew what living with Will was like, there was no way she would think that.
Beatrice assured Lion there was nothing to worry and sat in a sofa with Battler, Lion and Will sitting in a sofa directly across them, the table between the two containing tea for all four of them.
"How was the trip?" Lion asked.
"Must have been tough to come here while goats tried to obtain answers from you." Will sighed.
"How did you know that?" asked Beatrice, mildly surprised at that statement. It was true. However, how could he know that?
"The quest for enlightenment upon which we are now embarked," said Will, "may prove a bit tedious. But you must exert your willpower and bear with me. I merely noticed the blood on both your coats, and deduced that there must still be goats who want to understand your golden land."
"That's right. It has been a bit of a pain, but Beato and I can handle them without problem."
"I'm still surprised that someone other than Battler could understand it. I heard the rumours before, but I was still surprised to see you were so strong. I guess I'm lucky Bernkastel didn't bring you for the fifth game, or else I would have been destroyed."
"That's not true. If I had been in the fifth game, I wouldn't have denied your existence. I would have just understood you. If Bernkastel would have tried to force me to kill you, I would have died fighting her. She knew that. That's why she picked the Knox group, who go after those who break their rules no matter what."
"Oho? So are you saying you could kill me if you wanted?" She asked playfully, her trademark smile plastered across her face.
It was just a joke, of course. Will had solved in one game what had taken Battler five games to do. If he went head to head with her, there was a very good chance he would kill her.
"Van Dine's 20 rules. Rule #3. It is forbidden for the detective to have a love interest," Will's red words floated around his hand, dangerously close everyone in the room, "of course, you are not the only one who breaks that rule. I suppose I would be denying my own existence if I were to use it in your game."
"Are you saying you were holding back?"
"Of course. Your game wasn't designed with my rules in mind. I couldn't just kill you for that. It wouldn't be fair. Well, don't worry about the red," said Will, once he realized Battler seemed afraid of his red words. "All it means is that it is an undeniable truth that Van Dine does not agree with detectives having love interests. So long as I don't have authority over a particular district, it's not harmful."
At that moment, Diana began to scratch the door. Everyone knew, some by instinct, some by deduction, what that meant.
"Looks like the mama kitty has arrived," Will said, "hope we have enough milk."
"Milk?" Beatrice blinked, unsure how to absorb that piece of information. "You invited Bernkastel?"
"I thought you had no problem with her anymore."
"I don't have a problem with her," she hesitated. It was hard to tell whether it would be alright to proceed with that subject or not. However, being who she was, she decided to ask anyway.
"Don't you have a problem with her? I thought she ripped your arm out."
Will slowly took a cigarette from his case and tapped it on the arm of his chair. He didn't actually smoke, but he was in the habit of taping cigarettes against objects to give the impression he was actually considering a question instead of promptly replying, as he had learned from Lion that some people may get rather upset if he doesn't pay attention to them.
"She's just a naughty cat, that's how they play around. Diana is the same, isn't that right?"
Beatrice turned around only to find Diana furiously scratching Battler's face, who bravely attempted to pet her in spite of common sense. The doorbell rang once more, and Lion got up. Bernkastel definitely wasn't someone who should be kept waiting. One quick dash to the door and one overly elaborate bow later, Bernkastel, Erika and Dlanor entered the house.
"It's not a bad house, the location is nice, and it has some style to it," Bernkastel said, her words almost completely devoid of any sarcasm.
"I'm glad you like it?"
"It's to be expected, a detective's house needs to be at least this dignified." Erika, however, showed no attempt at being polite. Lion felt a certain amount of contempt coming from her.
"I apologize, LION. Lady Erika hasn't taken well to the fact that her master has accepted an invitation to another Detective's HOUSE."
Lion laughed the subject off, hoping to calm Erika down with a bit of diplomatic amusement. This had an opposite effect than expected, as Erika interpreted the diplomacy as mockery and rudely threw her coat at the coat hanger. One couldn't help but wonder if she intended to hit Lion but missed due to her senses being numbed by the cold.
"We didn't get to interact much last game," Lion began, "so I hope we get to know each other this time."
"I didn't even see you last game. Why was I invited?"
Bernkastel, having already hung her coat, entered the conversation.
"He read the past games. He probably wants to torture you for being heartless those past few games. He probably wants to fight you to the death."
"I would like to see him try!"
With a haughty turn, she went inside the living room, not waiting for anyone. Bernkastel's face twisted lightly, and Dlanor's showed a frown. The witch's eyes and Lion's met for a second, as if playing a game to see who blinked first. Lion, the diplomatic person, was the first one to yield as a sign of courtesy.
No, that wasn't quite right. Perhaps Lion yielded as a safety measure. Bernkastel could be quite nasty when she wanted to.
"I'm thankful you are holding back on the manipulation," Lion said, bowing once more to Bernkastel.
The witch's face twisted even more, in a rare moment of surprise. Finally, her face turned up an expression of both amusement and fickleness. Lion knew she could change her mind at any moment, but at least for that moment, Bernkastel's words were genuine.
"You better be."
Lion was unsure on how to lead the conversation from there. Perhaps inviting Bernkastel in would be adequate. Perhaps asking Dlanor about her job. It was hard to decide; however the young aristocrat wasn't allowed to choose. Even Bernkastel seemed absolutely surprised as they heard Erika scream.
"Y-YOU!"
They all sprinted to the living room, and found a livid Erika pointing her index finger at the amazing sight of Will, who had dropped both his teacup and jaw to the ground, staring at her with an expression Lion had never seen before. The great detective, so often stoic, now had his eyes opened wide, completely in shock. He had never lost his cool before, at least not that Lion could remember; be it fighting Bernkastel or while holding off the goat army, attempting to annoy him would be the same as striking the moon's reflection in the water. But this time, just this time, he seemed to have been caught completely off guard.
"Furudo...Erika," he completed that sentence with great difficulty, and turned to Bernkastel, who, just like himself, was also uncharacteristically shocked. "Do you mean to tell me you didn't just name your detective that name to toy with me?"
"Huh?"
Bernkastel was legitimately puzzled, much like everyone else in the room. She looked at Erika, who was staring intently at Will, her face livid with anger. Will himself seemed troubled, but not particularly angry. Beatrice seemed just as confused as she was. Dlanor was even more confused, believing herself to be the one who best knew Erika and Will among the guests, and yet not understanding what was happening. Battler kept looking from Erika to Will, attempting to reason things out.
Will hadn't expected to meet Erika. Well, he hadn't expected to meet this Erika. His invitation to Bernkastel, despite what he said, was largely motivated because he wanted to finally see what Erika looked like. He had assumed that she had looked into his past, and named her piece after someone who would affect him as some sort of twisted joke. After all, he had only read the games, he didn't actually watch any of them. Her surprised expression showed she had no idea of what had happened. It was truly just a coincidence. Yet, it was the worst coincidence that could have happened to him.
"Do you two know each other?" Lion asked, voice filled partially with curiosity and partially with hesitation.
"You could say that," Erika responded softly. "Why don't you tell your friend how we know each other?"
It should have been Dlanor. She should have been the one to understand what Erika meant. She was the one Erika had confessed that story to. Yet, she was too late. Feminine intuition, despite being a powerful weapon in understanding subtext, was only the second strongest telepathic device in existence. The strongest telepathic device was one many scholars referred to as the alert.
The alert was a special bond men developed throughout the years in order to help each other to protect themselves from feminine intuition. This allowed men to understand with a mere look that a fellow member of the male species was in the worst possible situation, and had to be helped. A seamless impossible bit of knowledge, obtained through intuition, magic even. The only type of magic neither Battler nor Will would ever deny.
"W-Will, can I see your 20th century film collection?" Battler shouted all of a sudden. "The one you mentioned in the letter!"
Everyone turned to Battler, having no idea what he was taking about. But then, the alert happened, and Will knew.
"I had no idea you two were pen pals," said Beatrice.
Then, that moment of danger made their bond evolve quicker than one would have expected, resulting in one of the rarest phenomenons in the world, when two guys begin to tell a lie together that is seemingly impossible to have been planned ahead, being therefore completely improvised, despite making perfect sense, convincing any woman that they were in fact telling the truth.
"We have been keeping it a secret, because Battler actually wanted to make a murder mystery game for Beatrice's birthday."
"I asked Will for help with it, and we have been friends since then. Man you ruined the surprise!"
"I apologize, old friend," Will smirked.
"No problem, no problem. The film collection, shall we?"
And with that, they both ran upstairs, away from the raging blue haired girl. Erika turned around, and stomped her feet twice. No one, not even Bern, dared to ask her why she was reacting like that, still shocked. She then got her coat, and walked outside the house, whispering something about getting some fresh air.
"What just happened?" Lion asked, puzzled.
"This is a lively party to be sure," Beatrice answered, her shock evident in that she had accidentally dropped her pipe when Erika screamed, and had yet to pick it up.
"We'll find out soon,"Bern said, walking towards the door to follow Erika. "I'll interrogate her. You three find out what you can as well."
Surprising absolutely no one, Bernkastel seemed interested in gossip. As she left, Lion began to brainstorm reasons why Will would have reacted like that, but came up short. Beatrice couldn't explain Battler's behaviour either. It was Dlanor who finally broke the ice.
"Lion, you asked me for Will's files didn't YOU?"
Lion nodded in surprise. Normally, Dlanor would have long handed the files if not for the fact that Erika's stunt distracted them so much. The files were put on the desk, where all three of them could see. Lion briefly explained the file's natures to Beatrice, and her eyes brightened in excitement.
"Wizard-Hunting Wright..." Lion's voice trailed off after reading the name on the cover of the files.
"That name sends a chill down my spine," Beatrice said.
"Mine TOO," Dlanor acknowledged. "Shall we take a look?"
Lion and Beatrice nodded.
Thanks for all the reviews, I'm glad you are enjoying the story and I hope I can continue to entertain you. The murders will take a while to start, since Umineko always liked to show people just having fun before they happened. "Love then, then tear them to pieces" or something that Bern said. But the clues are already popping up, so pay attention if you want to solve the mystery! In any case, see you next chapter!
