Guest F: Yes, Happy Birthday Knight. Since today is Knight Yagami's birthday, I present you with this chapter.
November 24th, 2055
Japan
Sitting back in her chair, Rain plays with Rubik's cube and manages to solve it in under ninety seconds. After putting the puzzle down, she turns to her computer. She checks for any updates on the trial involving Hydra.
"Hydra is still under investigation," Rain reads aloud. "Not surprised."
Gintik Hagmay materializes before her. "Or, they're having their reporters write that in the headlines. Who knows?"
Nodding, Rain rotates in her chair after resting her elbows against her stomach. She taps her foot against the ground as her eyes briefly drift to her Shinigami father.
"I've been going over your plan in my head a few times, Rain," the Shinigami begins. "Are you sure about this plan?"
Rain nods.
"Okay, just making sure. You know, in case you change your mind. We haven't reached the point of no return."
Rain turns to her computer again. "Okay then." She searches the contacts on her phone and finds several 'friends' she made on several Kira forums, people willing to die for Kira's sake. One of them came from overseas in England.
She opens the most recent message she got from this British follower and reads the message over.
'To all Kira supporters, we stand together as one, united, no matter the distance or how different we are, whether we are in [Japan] or [England]; we stand united as a family.
It wasn't just sent to her but to a large number of people. Kira basically had their own social media where like-minded Kira lovers could come and share their thoughts, ideas, and wishes for the new world that Kira created.
As goddess of the new world, Rain was obligated to read through these. S her eyes roll over the messages, and her face remains emotionless, not a shred of her personality or feelings able to be read, even by those who know her. She blinks twice before clicking on a link, taking her to this British follower overseas.
Gintik Hagmay leans down. "Looks like it is time to get serious."
England
Henry Brook shrugs off his uniform as he turns in for the night in his wife's home. After dropping the wrinkled uniform in a laundry basket, he collapses in bed next to his wife.
"Hey sweetie," his wife snores. "What are you doing home early?"
"My girlfriend blew me off so I'm stuck with you tonight."
His wife yawns, her eyes closed shut. "That's nice, sweetie." She wraps her arms around him. "I visited my ex today so I think it's could we sleep around."
Henry grabs her arm. "I gotta get up early in the morning so no cuddling."
"Okay." His wife turns her back to him. "Good night sweetie."
"You too, baby."
As Henry turns his back to her, he waits silently in the dark for about one hour before looking over his shoulder. Hearing his wife snoring, he climbs out of bed, carefully tiptoeing to the bathroom, and locks himself in. Turning on the light, he takes out his phone and opens an app. He refreshes the app to see if the results have come in yet.
'Results: Pending'.
He shuts off his phone. "Damn it." He leans on the granite counter before looking at himself in the mirror. "When someone gets brain cancer or lung cancer or some other shit, it's easy for them to get diagnosed so why is it so fucking hard for my gene to get tested?" He clenches hsi knuckles against the counter. "What are those lazy doctors doing?"
"Honey," his wife's voice calls for him. "Is that you, sweetie?"
Henry pauses and continues to stare at himself in the mirror. "Yeah, just had to go the bathroom."
"Okay, I'll keep your space warm for you."
"Thank you, Jenny, I'll be there when I can."
"Goodnight, sweetie."
"You too, cookie."
Henry steadies himself before composing himself. Tugging on his undershirt, he heads outside and joins his wife on the bed. Even as he fell asleep, the dream of never finding out if the test results came back haunted his subconscious.
Japan
"Good flight out there, Vulture," the pilot commends as he pulls his helmet off. "Outstanding work."
Avaron Kajitani removes her helmet before climbing out of the cockpit. She leaps down from the military jet and addresses the mechanics around her. She salutes her superior officer.
"Captain Kajitani," the officer begins, "great maneuvering out there. You handled yourself well."
"We both did," Avaron corrects.
"Kajitani, I'm putting you up for a promotion. Pretty soon, you're going to be flying one of our fighter jets on your own. I expect you to give nothing but your A-game from now on, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
"Good. Dismissed."
Avaron salutes one more time before leaving the fighter jet to the mechanics and other specialists in the landing zone. She heads to the locker room to change out of her military uniform. She takes a quick shower before changing into her uniform.
After drying her hair, she heads to her quarters to turn in for the night. As she rests on her side, she rolls over and pulls out a photo of her family. She looks it over and holds it above her head.
Staring at the people in her family, her eyes ignore her two younger brothers, her parents, and her boyfriend. The only person that catches her eye is her older brother.
Izanagi Kajitani.
The only person in her family she shares a mutual love for. Sure, she had a boyfriend but their relationship was casual and carnal more than anything. But her older brother, Izanagi, was perfect, everything. His hair, his eyes, his lips - Avaron could find no flaw with him. When her service was done, she planned on following through with her plan with him. The two of them would post the names and faces of their family on several social media dedicated to Kira and then they would leave and hopefully, Kira would judge them as guilty and have them face his wrath. They all deserved to die but her brother, no, she wanted nothing more than to be with her brother.
The only person who understood her, the only person in her family who bothered to show her love. The one person in her family who gave her physical affection when she desperately craved it.
She puts the photo away before turning in for the night.
November 25th
England
Lady Indy steps out of her room at the hospital and yawns. Stretching her arms, she sees several more Royal Marines stepping through the hallways, doing an inspection instead of a retrieval operation this time. One of them gazes past Lady Inda and looks up and down.
"Take a picture, boy scout, it'll last longer."
He laughs. "Nah, I'm sure you'll outlive any photo of you."
"Splendid."
The marine steps forward. "So, it is true what these mates say? You a drawer?"
"An artist." She clicks her tongue. "And a damn good one. You want a photo of yourself? It'll cost you but I can get you one right now."
"What can of drawing can you do?"
She smiles before taking out her sketchbook from the inner pocket of her nurse's outfit. She removes a pencil as well and, in just ninety seconds, manages to sketch Spider-Man without looking. She shows the marine the artwork. "I specialize in making art for people who are dying but I'm more than willing to give you a photo of me. For a price though."
"You're not a scammer, are you? You know, those scammers who say they'll draw artwork for you for an absurd price?"
"I'm no scammer. Unlike those artists you find online who use AI to create art, everything of mine is hand drawn and made by yours truly, right in front of you if you wish."
"I think I should be good for now." He looks around. "You draw photos of your friends for free?"
"I can't be friends with anyone in this hospital. Almost every patient here is already on death's doorstep so befriending them in just a short timeframe is not a good idea, laddy."
"I see and I understand."
Lady Inda touches his arm. "Is it true what they say about Hydra and his trial? I've never been one for politics but with the king of England gone, I think..."
"We're handling it. The king of England being gone issue will be resolved, just like the Japanese Prime Minister being gone issue will also be resolved in good time. If we let nature take its course, things will work out."
"I've seen nature take its course before." She looks away. "I saw a woman die five seconds after she pushed her child out of her. She died before she got the chance to see the baby she brought into the world, all because some doctors were negligent and forgot to administer her medicine."
"Humanity survived the Stone Age; we can survive another Stone Age."
Lady Inda smiles. "I will survive the Stone Age but anyone too dependent on technology won't stand a chance."
A few seconds later, a gurney rolls out, bringing a patient from their room to an elevator, where it heads to the ICU. Lady Inda looks over and watches them disappear as the elevator doors close.
"You fought in combat a lot?"
"Nah. With Kira around, there's hardly been any battles for us to fight, lass."
"I understand. And in a way, I'm glad. But..." She smiles. "If you're open to me making sketches of you and your friends, I'm willing to give you a discount if you plan on going to war and possibly dying." Her smile grows. "I mean, you're dying in service of our great kingdom so it's only fair I give you a discount."
The marine laughs. "Thank you, but I'm not an infantryman; I'm a medic. I've saved plenty of soldiers off the battlefield and some civilians but... I've never managed to revive a Kira victim. Kira killed one of my friends who served with me."
"Was he a criminal?"
"No. But, when fireworks were set off, it... well... I'm sure you can imagine."
Lady Inda nods. "I can imagine."
"The funeral for his wife had to have a closed casket because... well... I'm sure you can imagine."
"When was this?"
"Like six years, during the two-year time period where Kira was inactive before he became active for the last five years."
"Oh."
He cocks his head. "What's your opinion on Kira? You look like someone who was around since before he was born."
"Ahh, I remember Kira. He was all over the news when I was young but... I didn't really pay attention to him. I was just so focused on my art career that I didn't bother to give Kira a thought or two. I'm a famous artist because of it."
"How famous?"
"Successful."
He narrows his eyes.
"How successful?"
"Successful enough to be famous."
He laughs. "Do you have a name?"
She shakes her head. "Nope. No name. I'm Lady Inda."
His eyes widen. "Wait, are you that Lady Inda?"
She laughs. "You recognize me."
"Yeah. I mean, I saw some of your artwork when I was little but, I never saw your face."
"Sweetie, anyone standing next to me, is always going to be smaller than me, no matter how much older or how tall they are."
"Whatever you say, ma'am."
"Normally, I would object to being called 'ma'am' but because I'm of age, I'll allow it. What bout you, lad, what's your name?"
"Dwhite Halberstram."
Lady Inda laughs. "That's a mouthful."
"Sometimes I go by 'Marcus Halberstram', other times, 'Paul Allen', or sometimes, 'Dwight D. Eisenhower' but I could never measure up to that name."
"What got you interested in the Marines?"
"I just wanted to serve my country. I've always wanted to be a doctor and serve my country so being a medic seemed like a perfect choice."
"How long have you been serving?"
"Eight years."
"What are you going to do when you get out? Become a doctor?"
"Well, I considered it but..." He clicks his tongue sarcastically. "Yeah, I guess that's my only option. A doctor. I mean, I already have experience so it makes sense." He loses his smile as he ponders. "Wait, you're not friends with anyone here? The patients, I understand, but what about the doctors and nurses?"
"Oh, them. I would consider them friends but they see me as nothing more than a nuisance intruding on them. They think of me as a freeloader because I spend most of my free time here, eating their cafeteria food and sleeping in their quarters using supplies from their storage room."
"Hey, if I ever work at this hospital, I wouldn't mind your presence here."
"You're not just saying that because I'm famous, are ya?"
"Hey, I didn't know you were famous and I still wanted to hang out with you."
"What about your fellow marines in the Royal Marines? Aren't they your friends?"
"No, they're not my friends; they're my brothers. But even so, I would still like to be your friend. Besides, all of my friends and brothers were born after Kira got here. I don't know anyone on a close, personal level that was born before Kira's time. I just want to talk to someone who isn't all 'Kira this, Kira that'."
"I know how you feel. Your parents and grandparents weren't born before Kira's time?"
"They're all dead."
"Ahh. I'm an orphan and I have no grandchildren."
He looks at her, his eyes twitching slightly. "Why not?"
"Just... my career got in the way and... I don't know how to raise children. I'm an orphan so..."
"It's okay, I understand."
"Listen, I don't know what's going on with the British Royal Marines and Kira exactly and frankly, I don't want to get involved. I'm a nurse who works here and draws pictures of people who are terminally ill so they can have a beautiful face instead of whatever ugly face they contort to when they die. I want to keep a low profile but... I still want to contact you if possible."
"Sure." Halberstam takes her hand. "As soon as my service is up, I'll take us out to a night restaurant and we can chat, like friends."
"No artwork?"
"No, just friends."
"And your family?"
"Don't worry about them."
A second marine medic approaches Halberstram. "Hey, sergeant, we got another live one."
"Not 'live' for long," Halberstram snarks. "Goodbye, Lady Inda."
"You too, Sergeant Halberstram. Now get back to serving our country."
"Yes, ma'am."
With Rain
"Good, all the players have been identified." Rain turns to her two younger brothers. "Archer, Angel, we now have our chess pieces to help us out to win this battle."
Angel struggles for a second to speak so Archer speaks for him. "What are their names?"
"Henry Brooks, Avaron Kaitani, and Lady Inda." Rain tosses her phone to Archer. "Look through it, take a look at them."
Archer takes her phone and studies it carefully. He looks at his sister incredulously. "How did you find out about these people?"
"Our diverse Kira fans are more than willing to share information about 'blasphemers' in the community. Wolves hiding in sheep's clothing, they'll point them out for us but ultimately, we're the ones who decide who is a wolf and who is a sheep. All these people are guilty one way or another."
"But how can we use them in our plan?"
Rain looks at Angel. "You want to take a guess for your little brother?"
Angel shakes his head. "Nah, I'd rather hear from the horse's mouth."
"If you say so. One of them is going to be an arrow, a shield, and finally, a scout."
"How do you plan on using them?" Angel asks.
"Lady Inda and Brooks are both in England so they're going to play the largest role but Kajitani is the one who is going to make everything right for us." She stares intensely at the twins. "You remember what my plan is right? The completion of the plan depends almost entirely on Kajitani. And I've learned from my grandfather's mistakes; do not get cocky and expect someone other than you to complete a task."
"I remember the plan," Angel nods carefully. "But... if the slightest thing goes wrong... then... god."
"We are god," Rain reminds them.
"It better go right, sister," Archer warns. "I will be damned if..." He steadies his breathing. "I can't even say it."
"I understand." Rain pulls the ottoman forward and sits down in front of her brothers. "But with this plan, we will win. We. Will. Win. Hydra. Will. Die. Not just one of them, but all of them."
Angel shook his head. "But so many-"
"This is war and they fired the first shot when they declared war on us. We didn't start this war but we're sure as hell going to finish it."
Gintik Hagmay laughs. "I can't believe I'm saying this but I was reluctant about this plan and now, I'm on board. It's so exciting, and man, I can't wait to see the outcome. Man, I'm getting chills right now."
Rain turns toward him. "Thank you, Father." She checks her watch. "We got one more day to get everything settled. Right now, Hydra is still on trial and I imagine that the other Hydras will be out of commission for the sake of saving face while the trial is ongoing so we should use this chance to rest up."
Angel narrows his eyes. "Rest? Shouldn't we be using Hydra's inactivity to our advantage?"
"We already have. Now, we can rest because as soon as Hydra is off trial, the real war begins."
A/N: What do you think Rain's plan is? Also, to make up for some of my tardiness, I decided to craft a mystery for you readers to solve and I hope you have fun solving it: Who is Lady Inda?