Fun fact, the Alice scene and the Akane scene you're about to read were one of the first few scenes I wrote when drafting this story.
Chapter 11
"Keiichi!"
Before he can register the owner of the familiar voice, a force – no, a human – slams into his chest. "Unf!" he grunts, as he feels small arms wrap around his torso. "K-Keiko?" he nearly screeches, finally recognizing the voice. The straight, short brown hair beneath his chin confirms that it is, in fact, his sister. Relief flows through him as he closes his eyes and embraces her. Looking back on it now, those 9 hours in Building Q have been horrible.
Her head tilts up at him to reveal bleary eyes and tear-stained cheeks. "Keiichi," she sobs, her hand squeezing his shoulder tighter, "they've arrested Papa."
Wait a minute . . . From the corner of his eye, he shares a wide-eyed look with Nona, who he has just arrived at the SOIS headquarters with. Keiko is supposed to be in Japan!
"Keiko," he begins slowly, shock replacing the relief in his voice, "how are you here and not back home?" There is no way Keiko was able to come so quickly after learning about their father's arrest. It's only been a few hours, and though she could have used their father's money to get on a plane immediately, it would be impossibly quick to get to the United States this fast.
She pulls away from him and averts his narrowed-eyed glare, focusing on her shoes instead. "I . . . I came to Las Vegas to find you since you said you were going to Uncle Sho." And then her face tilts back up, shooting him an angry glare of her own. "But he didn't even know that you were here and I was so worried. And then I got a call that Papa was arrested!"
Fuck. This would be hard to make up an excuse for. "Keiko, I – "
"Do you know how worried I was, Keiichi? You were gone! You were missing . . . and then Papa got arrested?" Her voice cracks and the anger on her face crumples into sorrow. "How did he get arrested? He couldn't have done anything bad, right?"
Keiichi immediately reaches for her. "Shh, shh." His hand strokes her hair softly, nodding at Nona, who has hesitantly indicated to him to bring his sister inside the building, since everyone is staring at them.
So, he coaxes Keiko to come inside and sit on the waiting bench with him.
"Hey," he then whispers quietly to Nona, "go find Ennea and Lotus – " He shakes his head. "Sorry, I mean, your mother. We will talk later."
She nods. "Okay," she answers, shooting him a look of pity that makes him want to growl in frustration, before she walks away.
"What's going on, Keiichi!?" Keiko demands hoarsely, after Nona is gone. "You clearly know something if I'm the only one who is shocked by this!"
With a deep breath, he takes a seat next to her and wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Listen to carefully," he murmurs softly, feeling his voice cracking. "Our father is a bad man. He has done a lot of bad things."
Keiko's eyebrows knit together as her face slowly tilts up to him. "B-Bad things?" Keiichi is surprised by her response – it's the first time she hasn't tried to argue with him or defend their father, but considering the man's recent arrest, it makes sense.
He slowly and softly explains to her how their father was the one to trap the kids in the Nonary Game 9 years ago, and that's why he hated him – he would have told Keiko, but she was already so traumatized, and the bastard kept taunting him to tell her and see how her mental health would worsen.
"I couldn't contain my hate enough and am sorry to have caused you so much turmoil with the tension between me and him, but now you know why I acted like I did," he finishes, giving her a sad smile.
"I-I didn't know," Keiko whispers sorrowfully. "I wish I had known." She wipes her tears, before opening her mouth to speak once more, but is interrupted before she can.
"Excuse me." An agent stands in front of them, and the sympathy is evident on his face. "Mr. Hongou is done with the interrogation – you can meet him now."
That was rather quick. Hopefully, that means his father has kept mum about the Nonary Game he was just a part of; they didn't call Keiichi or Nona into questioning, so, it at least appears to be the case.
Keiichi represses a sigh. This is it. He stands up, but suddenly feels Keiko grab his hand.
"I want to see him, too."
His eyebrows rise to his forehead. "Are . . . are you sure, Keiko?" he hesitantly asks, worried that she won't be able to keep herself together, and instead, make herself more miserable.
She swallows and tearfully nods.
So, hand in hand, they follow the agent into a small room with a long table, where Gentarou sits on one side quietly, with his hands folded together on the metal tabletop, the same resigned expression Keiichi last saw him with a few hours ago.
"Papa," Keiko whispers, as Keiichi notices the agent slipping out of the room.
Hongou looks up with a frown. "Keiko . . . I don't want you to see me like this, my darling. Please, leave."
What the fuck!? Is this bastard for real? Keiichi thinks, unable to believe his ears. No apology, no "I've done you wrong," no remorse, not even shame — only embarrassment.
But Keiko is surprisingly calm, and doesn't object. "I will leave, Papa, but I need to ask you something first . . . did you trap us in the Nonary Game nine years ago?" she vacantly asks, no trace of emotion in her voice.
"Yes," he immediately responds, but even the embarrassment disappears from his face. In its place, a blank expression is set onto his face.
"Why?"
Is this exchange really happening right now? Keiichi is in disbelief. This is like a weird nightmare from which there is no escape nor awakening. Keiko, in spite of her tear-stained, flushed cheeks, and hoarse voice, is calmly talking with her father like this.
Gentarou closes his eyes and leans back in his chair. "All I wanted was to see my children's faces . . . it was all for you two."
"W-What . . . what's that supposed to mean?" she demands, taken aback by his words. Finally, Keiichi notes, the stillness of their exchange is shattering and Keiko's coolness is starting to burn up.
"I have prosopagnosia, Keiko," he answers quietly, his eyes still shut.
Her eyes flash with some indecipherable emotion, and then her fingers pull away from Keiichi's hand. "Can you give us a minute alone, please?" she asks her brother in a shaky voice.
"Keiko, I'm not sure if that's – "
"Please?"
Keiichi sighs, resigned. He comfortingly rubs Keiko's shoulders and turns to sharply glare at Gentarou (whose eyes are wide open in surprise) in warning. He says a silent prayer to whoever is up there that Keiko finds closure and not anguish through her talk with their father.
As he leaves the room, he nods to the guard who stands outside, before falling back onto the bench he and Keiko were sitting on before.
The walls of the room are unfortunately soundproof, so Keiichi cannot hear the contents of their conversation, but two minutes later, the iron door opens with a squeal. Keiichi looks up to see a sobbing Keiko appear though the doorway. He immediately springs to his feet and runs to her as she collapses into his arms.
"You were my hero, Papa," she croaks, without turning back at her father. "You were everything, but now . . . you're nothing to me." In spite of her tears, her voice holds a tone of finality.
Keiichi peers over Keiko to see Gentarou look away, his eyes hard and his face taut. He can't tell if their father is hurt by her words, or if he's still embarrassed that his fall occurred like this.
What a pathetic man.
He turns back to Keiko. "Shh," he finally coaxes his sister, "let's go."
Now, they have returned to the bench, where a pink-haired girl in a school uniform sits and looks at them in pity.
Clover, Keiichi recognizes, as he tries to comfort his sister.
Of course. If his father is here, that means Clover, that detective, Junpei, and Nona's mother are here . . . as well as Light.
Keiichi sees the guard motion at him. Of course, the universe won't let him sit quietly with his grieving sister in peace.
He needs to go speak to his father. It's the last opportunity he has to ask what he didn't feel was right to ask in front of Akane and Aoi.
He looks to his sister. "Keiko," he says softly, "I have to speak to him. I will be back in a minute, I promise."
She sniffles and nods, but more tears leak out of her eyes, and Keiichi feels his heart break a little more. He wants to talk to his father but also doesn't want to leave his sister behind like this.
Suddenly, a pink-manicured hand holding a tissue comes into view. Keiichi identifies the source as Light's sister. "Go. I'll look after her."
Keiko's teary eyes light up in surprise. "C-Clover?"
She looks well put together, and for someone who participated in the Nonary Game a few hours ago, she is rather calm. "I'm glad that you remember me." She smiles gently.
.
"I hope you are satisfied. Keiko finally hates me. Are you here to rub it in my face? To mock me that I've completely and utterly lost?" Gentarou's voice is dark.
"No." He shakes his head. "I don't have anything left to tell you. I've already made it clear that you're the most pathetic excuse for a human being I've met in my life."
Gentarou cocks his head in confusion. "What do you want, then?"
"This may seem obvious, but I wanted to hear it from you," he starts hesitantly. "Your prosopagnosia . . . was it acquired?"
His father bows his head in defeat. "Yes," he sighs.
"How? Tell me!" he demands, a hand subconsciously slapping against the metal table.
"Monoxide poisoning."
His eyes widen in surprise. "What? Monoxide poisoning? From what?" he wonders.
Gentarou's lips are pursed. "There is something you should know . . . Nijisaki, Kubota, and I were participants of Gordain's games, a game established by Lord Dashiell Gordain, the second owner of the Gigantic. People would be kidnapped and forced to escape from their captivity and seek a way out. Gordain and his wealthy friends would bet on the players. Gordain passed, but his game lived on." His eyes, unabashedly stare into Keiichi's, a sick interest shining in them. "Think of the Nonary Project, but without the puzzles and bracelets.
"One year, they decided to expand the range of years of the participants and decided to see what would happen if they had kids participate. They would make sure that there would be a way for all of the children to escape without dying, and though most of us got out of there quickly, they pumped carbon monoxide into the incinerator, so some of us were poisoned with carbon monoxide while escaping . . . a punishment, of sorts, for not being swift enough. Breathing in the monoxide caused my vision to become blurry, or so I initially thought, and it was hard to breathe, but we managed to make it out of there alive. And, of course, that blurriness stayed even after I was recovered, since I was the only one who suffered from the rare side-effect of prosopagnosia." He grins wryly. "And you think I was cruel to the kids during the Nonary Project."
Keiichi wants to argue but bites his tongue, knowing that now is the only time he'll get to hear his father speak his side of the story.
"I grew older, but more weary of being surrounded by monkeys," Gentarou continues, his face darkening. "I married and had kids, but even the people closest to me were still nondescript to me. I couldn't see my employees who worked for me - and I felt powerless, weakened by my inability to see their faces. That's why I had constructed the First Nonary Game. I got into contact with Musashidou, one of the wealthy men who bet on me during Gordain's Game, and was willing to place his trust and money in me once more - even more so, after I was able to create Soporil from the root found in the coffin that was supposed to hold All-Ice. We, along with Kubota and Nijisaki, created the Nonary Project."
"And kidnapped children, including your own, to play your sick game and do your bidding?" Keiichi finishes bitterly.
His father's eyes flash in anger. "You possibly can't understand how it feels. Do you have any idea how much I've suffered?" His voice rises with every word. "Can you even begin to understand my pain?"
Keiichi is silent, though he contains the anger rising within him. He is done with this man. He does not want to speak to him or look at his face again.
He promptly turns to leave without looking back at his father, who protests and tries to call him back. But Keiichi simply shrugs while walking away and makes a noncommittal noise in response. See you in hell, old bastard.
He returns to the bench to see Rikona now sitting with Keiko, her face blank and emotionless. Clover is gone. What an eventful bench, he deadpans mentally, though he approaches the seating area with caution.
"Rikona," he starts, upon coming close to the young woman, but she holds up a hand to silence him.
"Father is dead." Her voice is hollow.
He outstretches a hand to pat her hair softly, but clenches it into a fist and retracts it before it can make contact. "Rikona, I'm so, so sorry." More than you could ever know.
"I know you kidnapped him," she breathes suddenly, in a voice so soft, he could have nearly imagined it. Nearly.
Keiichi's heart lurches to his throat. She knows.
"Rikona Nijisaki? Keiichi and Keiko Hongou?"
They all turn to face the approaching woman, the sound of her golden, high heels clicking as she struts towards them. Keiichi nearly sways, dizziness hitting him as he takes in her appearance. This day just keeps raising Keiichi's blood pressure more and more.
She completely resembles the drawings he saw of All-Ice, the Egyptian queen preserved by ice-9, the one whose coffin was supposed to be on the Gigantic. Her clothing may be modern – her ornate jewelry excluded – but the color scheme of her outfit definitely reminds him of the mummy. It doesn't help that her beauty is stunning (and her eyes are fierce and gaze piercing), enough to rival an Egyptian queen.
"My name is Alice, and I'm an SOIS Agent," she nearly croons, her voice velvety. "From what I understand, you all are participants of the First Nonary Project."
Alice! Even her name is similar to All-Ice!
"As you must have realized by now, the people that were responsible for kidnapping you all 9 years ago were the four executives of Cradle Pharmaceutical. We have recently come to learn that there is a religious death cult called Free the Soul that three of the Cradle heads has had ties to."
Keiichi's eyes meet Keiko's equally shocked ones. Free the Soul?
As she talks about the group and how it is SOIS's responsibility to stop them, the taste of bile fills the back of his throat, which he must swallow down – he is feeling sicker and sicker by the moment. His father is part of a death cult?
"As the kids from the First Nonary Games have come into contact with Free the Soul through Hongou, Nijisaki, and Musashidou, SOIS wants to recruit you to help us take them down."
"No thanks – not interested." Keiichi's response is immediate, in a voice that is hard and aloof.
"Keiichi," Keiko feebly rebukes, her voice raspy from crying, before turning to Alice. "I'm sorry about my brother, Agent Alice. We've had a long day."
The chocolate-skinned beauty shakes her head. "It's quite alright. I understand. Are you interested in joining?" she asks Keiko. "I know you are young, so we wouldn't immediately require you to do any field wor – "
"We said we're not interested," Keiichi interrupts through gritted teeth.
Alice raises an eyebrow. "Your sister has a mouth of her own, you know."
His nostrils flare up in anger. "Look, Agent. Sorry if I sound like an ass, but I'm in no mood to listen to your bullshit about SOIS. My father was just arrested, and right now, I don't want to think about him, let alone try to pry into the terrible, sick shit he's done and was a part of. I don't want my sister – who, mind you, is only 15 fucking years old – to be exposed to that either . . . so, for the last time, we are not interested in joining SOIS!"
"Keiichi . . . "
Alice seems unfazed, and merely shrugs. "Suit yourself. Just know that you're welcome to join at anytime, should you consider it."
"What?!" he snaps, as soon as he answers his cellphone – the words PRIVATE ID flashed across the screen.
On the other line, Akane sighs. "Why did you turn down Alice's offer to be part of SOIS?"
What the fuck?! "Because I'm not interested in learning about the crazy shit my father has been a part of," he answers back, as a pang of irritation hits him.
"Keiichi, don't you understand? We could get so much information out of this! Free the Soul is planning something huge in a year, and we need to find out what it is."
So, he was right that Akane saying, "you've done more than enough for us," was only meant for Nona. Though she got off the hook because she and Ennea have promised to provide ABT to Crash Keys in the future, there is no way he is done with whatever shit Akane has in store for him.
His hand clenches into a fist. "Akane, why can't you understand? I don't think I'll be able to come out of this with my sanity intact." He exhales in resignation. "Look," he starts softly. "I'll do whatever else you need me to do, but I'm not joining SOIS."
Akane is quiet, which releases a sigh of relief from Keiichi.
Before she can say anything further on the matter, he changes the topic. "You know," he begins in a somber tone. "Junpei came in as I was leaving."
He hears her breath hitch over the phone. "He was looking for me," she answers back softly.
Keiichi's brow twitches. "I wish you were there to see the hope disappear from his eyes when he realized you weren't there," he tells her bitterly.
She does not respond to his words, but Keiichi is satisfied by her momentary silence – she needs to realize the weight of her actions on Junpei. "He walked into the building? I thought they drove Alice to the headquarters and were questioned there."
He is not surprised by her change of topic, but is surprised by how she knows that last bit of information. He refuses to question her on it, though – Aoi has warned him to never question Akane. "No, he actually came from the basement floor – I assume that's where their headquarters is located."
She hums in thought – Keiichi thinks it sounds slightly gleeful. "It's rather small, then," she boasts.
"Yeah, probably smaller than Crash Keys HQ, I guess." Keiichi purses his lips, and then sighs. "Don't change the topic, Akane. How long are you going to torture the poor guy? We both know that he is crazy about you, and probably will never stop looking for you."
"We'll meet in the future . . . certain things need to occur before he can see me again. It will be worth the wait, though."
Doesn't sound like it, Keiichi thinks sourly, as he exhales sharply. "I can't wrap my head around your love for him – you have an awful way of showing it."
"Well, Keiichi, you should mind your own business." Her voice is calm and low, but full of warning. "And you have no right to point a finger at me like that. I love Junpei and I know that I'm doing the right thing."
Keiichi doesn't know what the difference between right and wrong is, in Akane's mind, but knows that if love is this, then he can't stomach the thought of what Rikona's love might mean for the two of them.