Chapter 2:
Kyouya drove his car to Mount Akina with Peabody, McGee and JB in it.
JB played around with her Cube Puzzle while they were cruising.
"What's that?" McGee asked her.
"Cube Puzzle." JB simply answered.
"I've never heard of anything like that." The chubby yet beautiful woman said.
"Have you heard of the name Dino Cavallone?"
"Of course! It's, like, he's the most successful man in the known universe because of his inventions and his mega riches!"
"I know him personally."
That had got McGee staring at the kid. "Say what again?"
"I said I know Uncle Dino personally. And so does dad." JB said as she continued solving the puzzle on the screen of the CP.
McGee looked at the back of the head of Kyouya. "Is that true?"
Kyouya shrugged. "Unfortunately, it is." He answered. "JB is his child's friend."
"What? Wow! You have super connections and you are freaking intelligent! I checked the reports about you and you have an IQ as high as Einstein's at the age of 5! 165 points, right? Dang, kid! And now, I find out that you are connected to Dino Cavallone! Wow! That's mega magnificent!" McGee rattled in excitement that had got her partner's eyes rolling. "When will that be released? I definitely want one of those!"
"In 5 months, I guess." JB answered with a grunt when she pushed the wrong answer for the puzzle that had her go back to the same level.
"5 months? Wow! You really are super ahead of me when it comes to gadgets!"
JB smiled at that. "Did you get the new CommLink model SD-209566?"
"Yeah, I have it here in my pocket." McGee said as she pulled out the 'link from her pocket and showed it to JB. "But I'm pretty sure you already have it too way before I had one."
"Yeah. There's a new model. It's SD-301005. It's mega awesome too. You can have hologram meeting through it and you can even check out the off-planet websites!"
"Really? When will it be released?"
"In 2 months."
"I still have to wait 2 months to have it when you already have it."
"Yeah, I keep them as my collection. There're only a few kids who have it before the scheduled release."
"And you are one of those lucky kids."
"Yeah, that's right."
Since the voices of the two people behind them were starting to annoy him and Peabody, Kyouya decided to engage the Invisible Division Wall between the driver's and passenger's seats and the back seats.
"Thanks for that." Peabody said when they couldn't hear the noise anymore.
Kyouya smiled. "I needed the silence too so I can think."
Peabody smiled. "Your kid is quite bright." She said as she looked at the scenery outside the window. Leaves were already starting to fall from trees indicating the arrival of fall.
"Her mother was also like that so I guess it's like mother, like daughter." Kyouya said with a sad smile as he remembered Tsuna.
"Was?" Peabody looked at Kyouya.
"He died when Jorrielle was still a baby."
"What happened?"
Kyouya took a deep breath and let it go. "I was driving our Engine Boat from an island. Jorrielle and Tsunayoshi—that's his name—were behind me. Jorrielle was sick and we needed to bring her to the hospital. We were still far off the nearest island when somebody ambushed us. I was able to duck immediately. I saw… I saw the bullets hit Tsuna as the boat started to sink. I was able to get hold of Jorrielle but Tsunayoshi… he sank with the boat. I was not able to save him."
A pang of pain overcame Peabody's heart. She empathized with the man beside her. The feeling of guilt because you were not able to save your loved one is too over-whelming that it hurt so much. "Was he found?"
Kyouya shook his head. "Nah… The coastguards said that he might have been taken by the underwater currents since the boat was found empty."
"What if he's still alive?"
Kyouya let out a chuckle. "That would be a miracle then. I just want—just once—Jorrielle to feel that she has a mother who loves her more than anyone else—aside from me, of course."
Peabody also laughed a little. "Yeah, of course."
They all looked around the scene where the victims were dumped almost 8 years ago. The place has a tomb in respect for the victims who were slaughtered.
JB stared at the names written on the tomb. 16 names; names of children who were tortured and/or raped and/or slaughtered to death. A certain feeling of anger and guilt—she doesn't know why—overcame her. How can people be so cold-hearted to be able to kill young humans just for profit?
Kyouya put a hand on JB's shoulder. He looked at his child and saw the rage and sadness written all-over her face. He sighed as he knelt in front of her. "Hey." He said to take her attention.
The child looked at him with solemn eyes. "How can they…"
"Shhh… baby… Those kids were unlucky to have been caught up by those cold-hearted people, Jorrielle, and now, it's our job to find those people who did this to them." Kyouya said as he caressed JB's raven-black hair—the only thing she got from him—and looked into the caramel orbs of his child and saw Tsuna in there. The feelings and wisdom of Tsunayoshi were in those eyes.
JB nodded. "Yeah, we have to catch those bastards who did that to them." She said then turned around.
"Hey, where did you learn that word?" Kyouya asked as he followed his child.
"What word?"
"The B-word."
"Dad, it's so effin' normal for children to talk like that now."
"Not you, Jorrielle. I don't ever want to hear any bad word come out of your mouth again, understand?"
JB puffed her cheeks. "Okay, dad."
They inspected the fenced place all over again after almost 8 years.
Kyouya closed his eyes and imagined the placing on the bodies just beneath his feet. Bodies of 16 young human beings stacked like sacks of sand; uncared for, already useless and lifeless. All of them were naked; all were hacked up. All of their internal organs were gone and some of them—according to Official Medical Examination—were even drugged and/or raped before they were killed. But why would they drug them if they needed their organs? Wouldn't it be better if they—the victims—would come up clean so they'd be used for paid donation?
He opened his eyes and saw Peabody and McGee using their Body Tracker. "What are you doing?" he asked.
"We're looking for other bodies just in case." McGee answered without looking at him.
Kyouya shrugged and looked around the place inside the high fence that surrounded it now. 15 meters by 15 meters; not so big a lot but well, it sure is a good place to dump bodies without anybody noticing—not immediately that is.
JB thought about it. Will there still be evidences in a crime scene abandoned for almost seven years? Surely there will be but it will take days to search a place like this. She walked to Kyouya and took his attention. "What about going to New York and start working on the victims found there?"
Kyouya thought about it for a few seconds. "I'll go but you'll stay here with Mukuro."
"Why?"
"Because New York is not a safe place right now, Jorrielle." Kyouya had to kneel in front of the child again to look into her eyes. "I can't possibly put you in danger."
"You'll leave me here, is that it, dad?"
"I won't leave you for long."
"That still means that you'll leave me."
Kyouya had to hold onto his already-running-short patience to keep himself from screaming and pounding at his child. The reasoning of JB is way out of his league