On the Trail of a Fallen Star

Recovering from his outburst, Yamori sat back down opposite to me with a conflicted look on his face

“Look…about what just happened…the stress just gets to me sometimes. I didn’t mean anything by it….”

“I can understand that. Let’s pretend that it never happened” I accepted his apology or else we won’t get anywhere anytime soon.

“Thank you…Right, let's get started shall we?” And my sentiment worked as Yamori bounced back instantly.

He brought up his inventory and took out what looked like a recording device

“Just so you know, after I start this…there will be no idle chatter…we stick to the subject…No messing around, and no obscure pop culture references. Clear?”

“Tsk...fine” I replied hesitantly, and he hit the record button in the next moment

“Detective Yamori Nishigaki, former Shibuya P.D, Badge number 6447…. Case 1 interrogation of suspect Akio Nakamura”

Suspect?

“Time is, 5:33pm, July 7th 2038, Mid-Sec Precinct Interrogation Room”

He leaned forward on the table and put his hands together

“This is where the questioning starts Nakamura-san….So I have brought you here to answer some questions about one of your closest associates….The man that is currently known as ‘The Immortal Tyrant’….as I am aware, you have no knowledge about his current self, hence the questions will be based on your interactions with him in the past. So now that’s out of the way…How long have you known Tadashi Chifuyu?…would help if you could be as precise as possible”

“Precise?...If I had to make an estimate, I’d say we’ve known each other for almost 20 years”

“Sorry for being so blunt, but aren’t you that much of age?”

“Tadashi and I were born in the same hospital. Our parents were good friends from much earlier. Only difference was that we were only 7 days apart in age…Me being older.”

“Okay, let me rephrase my question, when do you have your earliest memory about Chifuyu-san?”

“Depends on when you are interested….like I said, we were friends from a very early age. But the memories that matter, I’d say around when we were 5..maybe 6 years old? That’s when we got into playing games”

“Right….Has Chifuyu-san ever shown signs of violent behavior?”

“You played competitive games before, Nishigaki-san…I’m pretty sure the answer is obvious for that”

Yamori was not satisfied with that answer, as seen by his expression.

“Right….serious. No, he has not… As a matter of fact, his whole life goal was to be seen as someone else”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Two words that everyone is aware of…. Psychosis Index.”

“He was high rated?”

“I think high rated would be an understatement.”

Yamori still didn’t understand as he was just staring at me in silence

“Think back to the only public execution that took place ever since the Psychosis Index’s implementation”

“The Minister of Homicide, Masato Chifu..yu”

“Yeah…I think you can piece it together”

“The Tyrant is his son” Yamori deducted

“A fate he didn’t deserve, but….it’s not like the people at the top were against ruining innocent lives if their secrets remained hidden to the public”

“Go on”

“Masato-san was wrongfully accused….he was leading the opposition at the time standing against the Psychosis Index, and he was winning. Many of the higher ups who exploit it for their dirty dealings saw him as a threat, and framed him for something he didn’t do”

“How are you so sure about it?”

“Because it was Tadashi’s birthday that day. Masato-san couldn’t have done what he was accused of since he was at the party…Me and my family were there as witnesses. They took him away during the party and threatened us with increasing our rating if we ever tried to go public with it. And we all know how that twisted system works…. Anyone related to you does a crime, their entire family suffers for it”

I leaned forward on the chair “After that party on his 14th birthday, Tadashi’s life just kept going to shit. Almost everyone he called friends turned on him, insulting him, stoning him...vandalizing everything known to him…. It was like, living in hell….Tadashi was fed up with his life, wanted a change…..wanted to show who he truly was, without a system deciding for him……That was when he decided to go pro. And dragged me along with him.

“Mhm, I am aware of your feats in the professional leagues, you and Chifuyu started competing small time and went onto Open Division and then climbed all the way to the big stage of the CyberGrounds League….quite a story there as well. So let's talk about the early days of your journey together. As I am aware, you and Tadashi Chifuyu had been inseparable for most of your careers, even shared the spotlight with the Kanie Twins once as a potential dynamic duo. You said that the professional career was the break that he was looking for….What did you mean by that?”

“Any other career prospects he had were done the moment Masato-san was taken away. The Chifuyus was max rated on the Psychosis Index, and the moment Tadashi applied for anything, it would’ve been instantly rejected. Even if it was accepted, he would barely be able to support himself with the fraction of earnings he gets. His mother…still wanted him to do it anyways, but he didn’t want to live the way it was for him for the rest of his life, and that’s when he caught a break…. When we applied for open division tournaments, none of it checked out Psychosis Index Ratings….Tadashi felt like he was as normal as any other person after a long time in that environment. And Sato’s pitch for the esports scene was very convincing. ‘Be your own legend, not what others expect you to be’.”

“Hold on, rewind back a bit…You’ve met Izanami Sato?…face to face?” Yamori inquired

“Everyone who competed had…Sato was extremely active in the community…Interviewing players of all levels…even bailing them out of unnecessary trouble. Even remembered him saying something about the league being his atonement. But that’s all I know”

“Interesting…. How was his relationship with his parents? Were they ever…abusive towards him?”

“If you looked up supporting parents in the dictionary…I’d say there is a good chance you would find their family portrait in there. They were both the best he could ever hope for, and knowing them for as long as I did, I’d say that was who they were.”

“You said he was executed when you were young…How well did you know Masato-san?”

“I thought the questions were about Tadashi…that was our main agreement”

“It’s all in the hopes of understanding how he thinks…So far, I’d say you haven’t given me anything substantial.”

“Yeah well let me tell you something, Nishigaki-san…. If you haven’t figured it out already, you are barking up the wrong tree.”

“And which tree would you rather have me bark up…Sato? This is the only tree I have left in the forest…Sato, the Immortal Ten…all of them are ghosts. Chifuyu is the only one of them that has shown his face so far, and I’m not willing to let that go”

“I get that, I would do the same if I was in your place…. Look, is there anything else you want to ask me or are we done?”

Yamori checked his file and took down notes of our conversation.

“Just a few more questions. I know it is hard for you to talk about it….The CGI”

I could feel my heart sink for a moment…even if I had over a month to come to terms with it.

“Chifuyu was seen publicly brutally executing your-”

“Stop” I raised my hand at him “I know…what he did….more than anyone else…..Can we please get to the point?” I interjected

“Right… Even after an act of that caliber…You are still willing to doubt him. Why?”

I straighten myself on the chair and rest my hands on my lap “There is a popular belief in the competitive space….You play with someone for long enough, you know how they think, you know their limits, and most importantly….you know who they truly are. Winning can make someone confident, but losing can make them humble, and it’s how they respond to the loss that shows the truth of the person. You might think I’m talking out of my ass right now…but you’d be surprised how accurate it is, especially once you get to know someone away from the screen….The man that was on the stage that day? That wasn’t the man I had been alongside growing as both a player and as a person.”

“Then who is Tadashi Chifuyu to you?”

“He’s many things. A royal pain in the ass, an obnoxious troll at times…but always had his heart in the right place….one thing he never was or could be, was a cold-blooded killer, and definitely not to the only two other people who showed him kindness in that dark stage of his life. There are many other personality shifts he could have that I am willing to believe….but never this”

“Back on that day. He did something to you…As I went through the footage, your body clearly glowed red when he held you above ground. Notice anything different? Anything he slipped to you?”

This is something I am not willing to reveal to him or anyone else, I had to deflect this

“Only thing I noticed was that I healed much slower. That’s it” I threw a half truth his way as if he is as good at reading others as he is with detective work, he could’ve caught me out

“Slower healing? That’s it?”

“Wish I had a better answer for you”

“It’s fine…better than nothing for now”

I threw him off the scent… thank god

“One last question…. You talked a lot about his father, Masato Chifuyu….I noticed that you never went into detail about his mother”

Oh, give me a break

“I don’t think that was necessary”

“This is an open case, Nakamura-san. Of course even the smallest details would be necessary”

“I’m sorry Nishigaki-san….I am not willing to answer that”

“Why not?”

“It’s a promise between me and Tadashi. One I am not willing to break”

Yamori got up from his chair suddenly and scoffed

“You are joking right?”

“I wish I was to save you the effort….but no”

“You are keeping a promise to a psychopath”

“That’s where you are wrong, Nishigaki-san. My promise is to Tadashi Chifuyu….not the Immortal Tyrant”

“You are getting on my nerves, Nakamura-san”

“Jun ever talk to you about me? Pretty sure he would second that….I’m pretty sure your five minutes ended a long time ago anyways” I get up to leave, having enough of this

But Yamori had other ideas. He grabs me by the collar of my jacket and pins me to the wall.

“You are not going anywhere without giving me anything I can use”

‘So this is who you really are?.... Remember what I said, Nishigaki-san? It’s only how they handle a loss that shows the truth of a person. You thought you were cutting down a tree when in reality you were cutting down a lamp-post. You want more answers? You find Tadashi….or is that too much for an ace detective”

He lets me go and recovers from his outburst

“I’m sorry, it just happens out of my control” he reiterated.

“I’ll let you in on this one…Jun might trust you with his life, but I don’t. You want Tadashi, you can find him on your own… but you want him to talk, I’m your best bet. The choice is yours….you find him and approach him, you won’t get anything except a bullet to head. You let me know when you find him and leave me alone with him, you’ll have a better chance of getting something useful…. I know how he thinks, and I have the best chance of breaking through to him”

“You only got one chance….don’t waste it making the wrong decision” my final words before I left the room and the precinct all together

Well…This day was a total rollercoaster

“Took you long enough” a very familiar voice greets me outside the precinct while munching on something

“What the hell are you eating?” I inquired

“The vendor said it was peanuts, it looks like peanuts and tastes like peanuts…so I guess it’s peanuts? Seriously, do you remember there being peanuts here back in the day?”

“Stop saying peanuts”

“Right, sorry…Want some?” he extends a paper bag to me

“No” but the bag wasn’t moving away from my face and after a second of silence, I reached out my hand, grabbed some and threw them into my mouth… Huh, it really does taste like peanuts.

“Anyways, what the hell are you up to?” I asked while munching myself

“Well, we were going to head to some PvP matches…Mai and Meguru are already waiting at the arena…you coming?”

“It’s not like I had a booked out schedule to begin with…I’ll bite” I answered

“Excellent….follow my lead”

Jun turned around, put his left hand up “To battle! Nakamura-kun”….I guess there isn’t anything else to do except follow him at this point

“Yamori-senpai treating you alright?” Jun inquired

“I suppose….he might be good at his job, but even he is clueless on the whole Tadashi situation”

“I mean, can you really blame the guy? You are managing riots and saving people one day, and you are expected to confront one of the biggest threats in this place on the next day”

“Do you really believe that? That Tadashi has really gone off the deep end?” I asked stopping in my tracks

Jun also came to a standstill and turned around to face me “Honestly I don’t know what to believe anymore. Tadashi was….he was one of the best people I knew, but now? I don’t know….I’ve been racking my brain about it as well but I never could figure it out. What could possibly make a man abandon his moral code completely?”

“Well, let's cross that bridge when we get to it… So, lets talk about something else” Jun turned back around and started walking

“So, what’s up with you. It’s been almost two months, something should’ve gone on, on your side” He continured

“Well, I had a price on my head the first day into the game, dragged my ass from one city to another, survived on scraps for what felt like an eternity, and worst of it all, ran in your ass”

He turned around, swinging his finger at me “You know? This is why people have a very strong tendency to punch your ugly mug, Akio”

“I’m sure if there was a magazine featuring the most punchable mugs known to man, you would be right there along with me” Our idle chatter ended and we continued along our way, and we found ourselves in the marketplace.

“So…you restocking?” Jun inquired

“I already got what I need”

“Really? Potions? Grenades? BCs?”

“The hell is BC?”

“Brain cells, I’m sure you don’t have any right about now”

“Who do you think I am? Hayato?”

But in the next moment, your chuckle worthy moment turned into a valid question

“You think that bastard is still out there?” Jun asked

“I see you are feeling lonely without your usual punching bag….all I can do is hope he is still out there, or that his end was quick and painless”

“Yeah….but as for the punching bag, you’ll do for now”

“Hey!” I said in reaction to that sentiment

And our usual banter was interrupted by the spark behind the counter to us clearing his throat loudly

“Oh…sorry about that” guess big brother Kanie is still humble as always, but only few know about the jackass underneath

“I’ll just be around the corner until you are done”

“You sure you are all stocked up?”

“Yes…I am sure. I still have materials from my journey to Helios to craft HP and SP vials-”

“Are you guys going to keep yapping bothering my customers or are you going to buy something?” asked the shopkeeper

We both look back in unison and look around to spot the very extensive line of zero customers lining up to this very shop

“You know what I mean” he replied to our messing about

“You know where to find me” I told Jun, pointing my thumb behind me over my shoulder and I slowly walked back and turned around the bend, clearing both the shop keep’s and Jun’s line of sight.

While Jun was busy at the shop, I took this moment to give my equipment some needed care. First was my primary….I never got to do any maintenance on it, and the edge retained its maximum sharpness…guess my weapon is still clean of red while my hands aren’t….I put it back into the sheath on my back and it dematerialized away and focused my attention towards my other weapon which is stuck to my hand unless I am in a safe zone. My gauntlet didn’t look shattered anymore and I don’t think I ever reloaded it since I came in here. If I remembered the animation correctly, my character used to clench his fist, and point it upwards.

I did exactly what my memory from the game before told me, and the top of my forearm opened, with the top sliding to the underpart of my forearm. I’ve mostly been using my kunai as a secondary melee weapon and rarely threw any, which made sense that I had almost half a cartridge left. Since the kunai is classified as throwable in the game, I found out that unlike my blade, it doesn’t wear down or break. I removed the cartridge from my arm and held it in my hand…the prompt appeared right next to it saying 18/30.

“Guess I’ll live with this” I said and put the cartridge back into my forearm. And as I straightened my arm, the compartment closed and I spaced my fingers to see if it would load properly into my hand. Answer? It did, evident by the trio of kunai that appeared into the spaces between the fingers.

“You really don’t have a spare reload?” said a voice from behind me which startled me instantly

“Ah! Where the hell did you come from? I thought you were at the shop?”

“We are not gearing up for a raid you know…all I wanted to get was some PvP ammo and a few odds and ends…. Speaking of which” And he throws a canister at me, which I catch with one hand.

“A smoke grenade?”

“You might act like you are all set….but I know you Akio, the fact that you just loaded a half empty cartridge into your arm proves that you are not fully geared up. Might as well keep that in your pocket just in case”

“Fine….thanks anyways” I sent that to my inventory. And we started walking to the Arena

“It’s not like I can do anything about it… I am stuck with one clip of ammo at least till we get to a higher rank” I continued

‘What’s that supposed to mean?” Jun inquired

“I mean think about it…FMF’s take days on end to charge down here….If you ran a shop, would you really risk crafting ammo for a weapon barely anyone would use? I could put in an order, but that means I’d have to buy the whole stock that the vendor’s FMF puts out, which in the bronze layer’s economy-”

“Would cost millions of Rels” Jun finished my sentence for me

“Gold medal for the great Junichi Kanie”

“And I thought you had it rough back in the old days” he commented

“I did find a work around though…use Kunais as a second melee weapon….Doesn’t break or wear, and you can reslot them back into the cartridge.”

“Can’t you pick them back up after you throw them?”

“Can you reslot your bullets after you fire them? Same principle here as well. The grip on the kunai acts like the primer and the powder in a bullet. Once it leaves my hand, it travels with much more force than put into it. That’s why my arm lets out that red electricity like thing every time I go for a throw. I try to pick a kunai from the ground with a burned-out grip and slot it back in, it dematerializes.”

“You really thing a game of all places thinks of details like that” Jun asked, and it was apparent from his tone that he wasn’t buying it

“I was surprised too…until Nishigaki-san let me in on a very interesting fact. This game generates functions down to a cellular level. According to him, a lot of microscopic things are coded into the game, and that feeds into a bigger code”

“Basically a code-ception” said Jun

I stopped in my tracks, looked back at Jun and paused for a moment “Ah…now I see why Nishigaki-san reacted the way he did”

“Huh?” Jun looked at me confused

“Nevermind” I turned around and continued on my way

“By the way, Jun…..Nishigaki-san….he ever had outbursts in the past?”

“Senpai used to be my roommate… I don’t think I ever saw him even shouting at anyone…Why’d you ask?”

“Looks to me like the job is getting to him. Looks to me like he is desperate…like he is one gust of wind away from falling off a cliff”

“I don’t think it will best him”

“How so?” I inquired

“It’s a long story”

“Well, it’s not like PvP will run away if we take it a bit slow”

I noticed Jun stopped in his tracks so I did as well. He leaned on the wall beside him

“Back in the day…. University was hell….teachers who acted like they cared but honestly didn’t give a shit about their students and only cared about their jobs. When I started my first year, I made a bunch of friends… Many of them were from all over the world, all aspired the same….To be someone. But as the weeks passed, the pressure was put on us…..Everytime we overperformed, they kept doubling everyone’s workload, when everyone underperformed, they were threatened with expulsion”

Jun’s expression turned a bit pained all of a sudden “There was this one guy I knew….was a great friend to talk to and hangout with. But he came from a troubled place….Usually we take pride in letting others know where we are from but….he wasn’t. Said his country was a place the people in charge had abandoned them. Long story short, basically what he described was the state of Helios right now. And then came the unreasonable academic pressure….he was keeping up but barely. The more time passed, the more he changed…..Barely had any time to himself, was working for most of the day. And one day, he got the news that his parents were killed in a planned bombing by their government.”

As much as I was enthralled in his story, I soon started to wonder what the point in this was, but I didn’t have the heart to cut him short as I could see that this was something personal to him

“He became resentful at first, but also severely depressed…. I tried to talk to him and calm him down, but there was only so much I could do. I insisted that he talk to the heads of the University about this…I even joined him for it. And that’s when I realized how little we meant to them. They rejected any kind of support for him, saying it was ‘not good enough of a reason’. Few weeks later, he couldn’t pay his tuition since he had to cover for both his parent’s funerals, and they didn’t think twice about kicking him out. He went to the roof afterwards and he jumped off. I tried to talk him down but…..The most twisted part of it all, is that no-one cared….not the teachers, not the higher ups, and definitely, not the cops who investigated…That’s when I decided I wanted to join the force instead…to be someone who cared. I was made to leave home and move into the University dorms…and that is when I first met Senpai.” He took a moment and caught his breath, and I guess now we are getting to the point

“From the first day itself, he was supportive…Showed me the ropes of the place, helped me a lot with academics….was even the one responsible for introducing me to CG. But as the time passed, it all became too much. They demanded perfect attendance records, unreasonably high grades with similarly unreasonable deadlines. Even with such a strong motivation driving me, I was ready to give it all up. But Senpai…he didn’t have any reasons like I did…he was just driven by the fact that he wanted to do what was right….That’s when I realized, it wasn’t others or the University this whole time….it was me that had to change….. And if it wasn’t Yamori-senpai that held onto me while I tried to let go, I wouldn’t be half the man I am today…. I’d still be lost…. For that and for the fact that he is still a better person than me is why I will always look up to him…..Long story short, Akio…..he has gone through much worse. He’ll pull through”

Jun paused for another moment “I just got carried away, didn’t I?”

“You did….but seeing how much you admire him, I’ll take your word for it.”

He got off the wall and walked past me and took the lead,

While I’ve played against and alongside the Kanies for quite some time, we barely shared our histories with each other. I remember it being the key reason that Tadashi wasn’t shunned by anyone in our circle, and it being the only times he was treated like a normal person. But judging by the fact that he is still holding regrets about the death of a friend of his, I can be certain that Misha’s death is also something that is heavily weighing on his mind even at this moment, especially from the fact that it was something he could’ve prevented. It would be unwise to confront him about it right now, so my best bet was to be patient.

“Can I ask you something?” Jun inquired

“Shoot” I replied

“You said you still haven’t decided on being our IGL yet, and here you are…in our clan, and joining us for PvP”

“Think of this as a one time thing for now. I have no clue how PvP has changed down here, so best know what I am getting into before I decide”

“What would you do, if your decision is no?”

“I don’t know….start a registered job perhaps? I heard that they can move into the next layer once someone unlocks it”

“Never took you as one who let others do the heavy lifting” Jun commented

“I don’t want to kill anyone Jun….That one time was mistake, it won’t happen again”

And all of a sudden, he stops walking and turns around towards me

“Wait, wait, wait, wait…. Time out. Are you telling me that all this time you believed that people die in PvP?”

“Uhhh…. Something I should know?” I inquired

“Oh my dear….PvP is the same as it used to be. The losers aren’t killed, they just lose the RP they pay for the match….literally the same as when we used to play competitive”

“I am not willing to believe that….there has to be some catch?”

“No catch….we played a few games of PvP before, same as usual, same maps. You even respawn on death….only difference is you can choose to respawn once you get low on HP and get to the enemy team’s side of the map…just in case you get stalled out.”

“You had no reason to act like an overdramatic douche to begin with” Jun ended with a throwaway comment

This is too good to be true. Every facet of this game had been changed to a way to inflict some sort of dilemma….why is it that only PvP is unchanged?

Guess it is time to find that out the hard way, as moments later, I find myself in front of the building everyone in here is all too familiar with.