Embers of Hope Part 1

“Holy hell, what happened to you?” he asked the moment he caught a glimpse of my bruise covered body and hanging arm

I froze for a moment as I didn’t know what to believe anymore. This man? Torturing people? Even with my extensive knowledge in reading people’s intentions, he wasn’t slipping up even in the slightest

"Nakamura-san? You okay?" he asked with a tone of concern…but was it even real?

There is no telling what he’d do to me if he knew I went into the basement, so I decided to play dumb “Yeah, it’s just…. Can we talk inside?” I replied after regaining my composure, as much as I didn’t wanted to get out of here as soon as possible, I decided to look into Yamori with a more keener eye, if he is really as demented as he was made out to be, so I have to act as if I didn’t know. First thing first, let him know about what happened

“Yeah, of course” he hurried in and closed the door behind me “Judging by how beat you are I’d say this was fairly recent”

“You sure you want to know?” I asked, to which he responded with a look that asked for more without uttering a single word. “Lets just say I ran into our person of shared interest” and as I said that, his expression turned to one of surprise, as he knew I wouldn’t joke about it.

The next thing I know, I am back at the interrogation room where moments later the echo of Yamori’s footsteps gave way to the sound of the door opening to reveal the man himself.

If I lie, he will catch me out. Do not panic, and do not think about the basement… Focus on giving him what he wants and getting the hell out of here as soon as possible.

“You look like you’ve seen a ghost…. You okay?” Yamori inquired

“Well I did, didn’t I? And let's just say that ghost had a mean right hook.”

Yamori sat down opposite me and looked at me “Still the same old even after having your ass thoroughly handed to you… You never take anything seriously, do you?”

“If there is one thing all those years going against the best had taught me…. Is that everyone has subtle tells that give away their true nature. And we all have our own ways of hiding that, guess this is my way” I replied

“So does that mean you are hiding things from me?” he asked….. Shit, I slipped up.

I slowed my response as much as possible, using the milliseconds I had to bounce back from this “Nah, it’s just…. After running into Tadashi, my thoughts and emotions are a mess right now. Just…. keeping them at bay”

Yamori put down a few files on the desk and took one of them onto his hand and opened it “Well for now, I’ll do all I can to help… but in the meantime, I have a few questions to ask you… It’s about… the old days… as you put it. You won’t mind if I ask a few things about it, do you?”

“What’s that got to do with anything?” I inquired

“I was thinking about it, and realized the way I went along with the previous interrogation was wrong. Before I try to get into the headspace of Tadashi Chifuyu, I want to learn how the head of a pro player with as much experience works…. someone like you” he stated “ Oh and just so you know, this part is completely off the record, you can say whatever you want” he said after a brief pause

I had no idea where he was going with this, but I decided to humor him. “Unless it’s about details about the NDA contracts we signed with orgs and sponsors back in the day, I’ll bite. It’s not like anything about the scene was hidden to the public.” I replied

“Great… So to start off, you said on multiple occasions that you have extensive experience reading people. How do you do that when all your showdowns are being a mouse and keyboard and through a screen?” Yamori pitched me his first question, which sounded pretty standard

“As you might be aware, one of the hallmarks of professional play in almost any sport is playing friendly matches in a tournament environment….what we call scrims. When you are in the upper leagues of the competition in this craft, it’s something you do a lot, hours on end per day sometimes. In other scenes, most scrims are online. Arrange a time with the other team, join the same lobby and you got yourself a match… But it was different for CG. Every four months was a different season. The first four months in the year is when teams are allowed to hone their skills. Living in competitive queues for days on end, VOD reviewing, working synergies…. the usual team stuff…. during that time, we were free to scrim any team we want in the country, and even participate in any small scale tournaments”

I leaned forward onto the table with my only able hand. “The second is where things get much more interesting. Teams that have proven themselves in their prefectures are all transferred to where the yearly major would take place. That’s where we are made to put what we learned to the test against the best teams of all the other servers. It’s the ultimate stress test… many teams get weeded out not being able to cope with getting demolished by more skilled opponents…. And then the final part of the year-” I was cut of by Yamori who filled in the rest

“Is the four long months of qualifiers, losers bracket comebacks, all the way to the grand final. But that didn’t really answer my question” he stated

“Notice something about the last two thirds of the year? Notice that none of the games we play are online? All the top talent of the world living in one place for all that time, scrims always on LAN, and you never know who you would walk into around the corner. While the matches may be behind a mouse and keyboard, the battles had started long before that” I said and leaned back on my chair, releasing some strain from my broken body.

“Four months in the same environment alongside the peak of competition where mind games and tensions run rampant. And it all gets decided behind a game…. I have to give props where it’s due, Sato’s gameplan when it came to the competitive scene was quite impressive in that regard.” Yamori deduced and started writing down on his file.”

“I thought this was off the record” I asked

“It is…. About the case at least” Yamori replied, masterfully twisting his words from before. So what else has he been setting up smoke and mirrors about

“Anyway, moving on. In the first third of the year, did you commute from home or were you given special accommodation inside Japan as well?” he asked

“First quarter wasn’t any different from the common person. So yeah, we are told to go home after we get back. More difficult for some than others…. But we didn’t have a choice.” I said, answering his query

“Chifuyu?” he inquired

“Wasn’t only him…. There were couple dozen Japanese teams who persisted every single time, everyone had their circumstances, including a few people I knew”

“Anyone in particular?” he asked

“Way too many to count” I replied

“What about yourself? I know it still might be a touchy subject but, how was your relationship with your family? Your recently passed mother and younger brother to be exact… Apologies if I come off as insensitive.”

“Back then, it wasn’t really that easy. My passion for games came from my dad, we were a happy family back then but we lost him when I was 8 to a car accident. My mom didn’t let either me or my brother play any game for quite some time because it reminded her of him…” I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle thinking about a past that was long behind me “…. But I guess that’s when my friendship with Tadashi truly grew… we used to lie about hanging out at the park and end up playing all the games we wanted in their garage on the consoles Masato-san had set up for us. Even he played a part, covering up our hijinks from Mom.” I looked down as to hide the tears welling up in my eyes, but into the sight of my unsteady hand

My voice was quivering throughout this time, I wasn’t in denial anymore about having moved on after I lost them “Yuito didn’t really remember Dad… he was a year younger than the Kanie twins so he was 3 when he passed. I remember that we didn’t see eye to eye for a while, our early relationship was okay at best but it was at it’s all time low once I decided to go pro. My own brother used to call me many things...disgrace, freeloader….failure. I remember that I didn’t fare any better with Mom as well. One day I barely convinced them to watch my debut tournament and lets just say that turned my biggest haters into my biggest fans…. Mom gave me a chance after that as well.” I ended my rant by quickly drying my eyes on the sleeve of my jacket before I slipped up.

Slip up? Shit…. Before I even realized it, he had cozied me into a state where I opened up to him. What he had done had completely slipped my mind till now.

“You feel better?” he asked

“Huh?”

“Felt like you were holding that back for all this time. Feel better now you got that out of your chest?” He asked me with a sincere expression, but I am trying not to zone out again on the important thing right now.

“Yeah…it did” I replied briefly as my able hand finally stabilized

Yamori cracked a faint smile and readjusted his sitting posture. “Alright, I won’t grill your brain about your personal stuff anymore, so let's get on record now, shall we?”

He takes out the recorder from his inventory “You ready?” he asked pointing the device at me.

“I guess” I replied, averting my gaze and shrugging my shoulders.

And he hits record “Detective Yamori Nishigaki, former Shibuya P.D, Badge number 6447…. Case 1 Interrogation 2 of Suspect Akio Nakamura…. Time is…” he brings up his interface for a split second “11:38pm… July 7th 2038 approximately 6 hours since Interrogation 1”

He sets the recorder on the desk and begins

“Nakamura-san, you mentioned that you came into contact and into interaction with the prime suspect of this case…. Could you briefly describe the chain of events that lead you to this scenario” Yamori asked as his first question

Calm down, Akio…. Relax your mind, and focus only on the question…nothing else

“Long story short. I left for the Mid-Sec Arena after our previous session. Groups were getting intimidated by the New World Order, and I stood opposing them… I didn’t fall for their scare tactics and proceeded into the Arena. They felt insulted and challenged me for a match”

“Oh dear…. And I’m assuming that it didn’t go well for them” Yamori commented

“I thought that was a given… Anyways, the man who challenged me fled after the match, he was certain that he was in for a world of hurt if his employer got his hands on him. I gave chase”

“Why?” he asked

“I thought maybe we could cut a deal…. actually…. That you would cut him a deal. Leverage for taking Isaac’s regime down. That’s when I ran into him.”

Yamori was speechless for a moment. “I’m…flattered that you tried to help me. But are you sure you are telling me the full story…. Why would the Tyrant appear in front of the common goon?” he questioned me with a curious expression on his face.

“Because the so-called ‘Tyrant’ was looking for someone in this place, the same someone who is sitting pretty at the top right now”

“Isaac? But why?” he asked

“Your guess is as good as mine. As you would have it, you got yourself a lead now…. It all comes down to if you are willing to bark up that tree”

I laid the pressure on him… as I recalled, Yamori was uncomfortable around topics that covered Isaac. Maybe this is what I need to do to get him to crack

“Next question…” he avoided that topic completely…. Damn, he’s good.

“… You also interacted with him, yes…. Mind filling me on that? Give me all the details, anything you noticed, anything he said, anything he did… all is fair game”

I decided to come back to this later, but now I knew where I had to strike to break his shell.

“I first tried talking to him… It was clear that he was not expecting to run into me in Helios…. A man is capable of changing completely but there are always those small signs that show their true nature, and his surprise…..was very real. But everything after that was….very weird”

“Weird how?” he asked

I looked at glanced at him for a second and pointed my gaze onto the white ceramic-looking table

“Back on Day 1, he acted deranged…. Showing no hesitation to kill, no empathy to spare but today…. He looked…. conflicted. At one time he was taunting me about what he did…” and the memory of that caused my words to stall for a second, but I forced myself to bounce back “… and the next he mellowed out for a moment…. And then he proceeded to beat me into a pulp”

“You didn’t fight back?” he asked

“Didn’t? More like couldn’t….. I’ve been on the level playing field with Tadashi for as long as I remember. We learned off each other, which meant he knew my weaknesses, and I knew his. But it’s like he knew what wasn’t there”

“What do you mean?” Yamori inquired

“I knew the moment we got into a fight that the odds were going to be against me. We’ve played alongside each other for so long, we knew how each other worked. I changed up my approach in the fight so many times to throw him off but he knew what I was going to do long before I ever did it. I couldn’t land a single hit, and he destroyed me without even using his gear.”

“Attacking a player without using Gear is a massive disadvantage, shielding absorbs more than half the damage done by non-gear attacks.” Yamori commented

“Yeah, well if his attack power with all the damage reduction left me like this, I can imagine him turning me into a protein shake without it-”

“Nakamura-san!” Yamori cut me off due to my analogy

“Sorry…. It’s just…. I haven’t been this frustrated in a long time, especially for being this…defenseless” I said

“I can understand that…. Anything else you noticed?” he asked

“Actually yeah…. While I was patching myself up, I managed to pick up the shell casing of the bullet he fired… And I’ve played this game enough to know what the casing of a 50 AE round looks like.”

“Your point being?” Yamori inquired

“His gun used to be chambered in pulse ammo, not physical. And thinking back to Day 1, that gun didn’t look or sound like the conversion module he uses.”

“Are you telling me that his gear was different to what he used to have?” he asked

“Points for the ace detective for putting 2 and 2 together. The game prides itself on not letting you change weapons, saying that the player’s first choice is a personification of their true character. But how did he do it?”

“So he is an imposter then? There is no other explanation” Yamori deduced

“No... he was real. I was in denial about it for a long time as well but once I talked to him…. I had no doubt in my mind. There were a few more things he said that also raised an alarm….. That he did what he did on Day 1 to save them from a much worse fate. And that he was working on his own agenda, not Sato’s.”

“Bullshit…. That makes no sense, he must have lied to you” Yamori got up and started walking around restlessly

“Didn’t look like it. He wouldn’t have bothered at all if he was actually lying…. All he did say was that it was too early for us to meet, and that he told me everything I needed to know in the mail”

“The mail?” his attention was back on me again

“Before Day 1, he had sent me a mail. I found it weird because the date was blacked out.”

“You never told me this” Yamori reiterated, sounding more tense than he usually is.

“I never thought it was important”

He returns and slams the desk “How is that not important? You got a MESSAGE… from Chifuyu!” he exclaimed

“Because it didn’t have anything in it. I wish there was a way I could show you but all it said was that he was sorry…. Was that the breakthrough you’ve been looking for?”

“This doesn’t make any sense, you are not telling me everything… I just know it.” He was not calming down, as if all his theories till now were falling apart.

“Nishigaki-san, I have been telling you everything I can think of to help you here… I want everyone to get out of this place as much as you do, and that is why I am helping you to the best of my ability”

Yamori recollected his thoughts and took a deep breath “ Helping me to the best of your ability?...” he let out an unsettling chuckle “ You practice that line while listening to yourself? How are you helping me when you are hiding things from me, lying to me?”

“What are you talking about?” I inquired

And after a momentary pause, he dealt the final blow “ I know that Sato used to coach you and your team”

I was left speechless, as this was the only predicament I was not ready for

“Trust in the Sheriff…. All hope is lost the day that trust breaks. It seems that you, Nakamura-san…. don’t trust me even a little bit” he said with his hands on my shoulders from behind and I remained frozen stiff

“Where did you learn that from?” I slowly asked

“I can assure you it was none of your teammates, but a common acquaintance” he said from behind me

“Isaac” I involuntarily thought out loud

“So it had me thinking, if you are this keen on hiding crucial information like this from me… what else have you been hiding from me…. actually…. Why…have you been hiding things from me?” Yamori continued while he walked along the corners of the square room. “ You had every opportunity to tell me the truth but you never did…. And coincidentally, you….run into The Tyrant… someone who has been so good at covering his tracks that even I couldn’t pin him down….” He returned back to his side on the desk and leaned towards me slamming his hands on it “ There has to be more to it that you are letting me in on, no….I know…. There is more to it.”

I stood silent for a moment “Didn’t you answer your question already?....Hey Nishigaki-san, so the madman who has trapped millions of people against their will, actually used to coach my old team…. If I was you, I would’ve tossed my ass into a cell without even giving myself a chance to defend myself.” I got up from the chair and leaned towards him on the desk, with only a few inches separating us “And in case you are done with your ramblings, because if the detective in the room hadn’t figured it out already, you should be questioning your trusty pal in the NWO about why he has Tadashi looking for him”

“Tsk,tsk,tsk…. Now that the gig is up, you are resorting to being that petty huh? Trying to misdirect me towards going after the man who spilled your secret.” Yamori said, being way off the mark

What Isaac had done right now is put up a one way wall between me and Yamori, all I could do right now, is ask and not tell.

I sat back down as now I knew that none of my words were getting through to him “Why are you so afraid of him? Everytime the topic inevitably circles back around to him, you are always defensive about it. You know that he is a threat and yet you do nothing about it. I’ve seen his handiwork, I saw him having persuaded a once good man to take the life of his family…. That’s the kind of people that you are ignoring, and you are after me about not telling you something inconsequential” I said, not looking away for even a second from Yamori who sat down and was looking down

“Isaac will get what he deserves when the time comes. Even with his extreme methods, he keeps everyone under his thumb. Nobody has to worry about him, he just goes a little mad sometimes….” And Yamori’s gaze suddenly meets mine “We all go a little mad sometimes”.

There was no getting through to him anymore, and I was doing nothing but wasting my time right now. “I’m done”

“We are not done yet, Nakamura-san” Yamori said from his seat

I stopped at the door and replied “But I am…. You asked me here because you wanted my help….. And you just made it clear that it wasn’t needed” I quickly got through the door and shut it behind me, walking as fast as I could out of this house of madness, and without any resistance or encounters I managed to leave through the front door.

I could feel my heartbeat as the adrenaline settled. I did all I could to hide the fact that I was afraid for my life back there. After what felt like a 10 minute walk, I put a fair amount of distance between the place and attempted to recollect my thoughts at a safe place, and the nearby tavern was where I found myself in. I took a seat next to the bar in the hopes of taking a breather. The crowds were minimal but the clinks and clanks of glassware and the calming music helped me focus.

It’s all starting to make sense now…. Isaac had started to worm his way into Yamori’s head, making him more deranged and dangerous. The barrels he brought in on the first day…. Chemicals for his experiments? But what is Yamori’s end goal with all this?

What am I supposed to do now? I saw the basement…. I saw what he is doing to people. I can’t just walk in there and try to save them, there is no way I can even recon the place to even plan a rescue. The Kanies are my best bet but it’s going to be a much harder task to convince them. The information overload was giving me a headache.

I defaulted back to my trusty mental technique I fall back on at times like this and closed my eyes. Okay… take a deep breath and empty your mind…. Picture a water drop falling and as soon as it landed and began to ripple, I opened my eyes to a familiar voice.

“Interesting” he said from the seat beside me and the first sight my refreshed mental state took in was the person I was trying to get away from

“Ah… love to sneak up on people much” I played along as I didn’t want to give my displeasure of seeing him away.

“You were in a… Zen-like state. I didn’t want to interrupt” he said

“What do you want, Nishigaki-san…. And how did you even find me?” I asked

“Call it coincidence I guess. This is usually where I come to clear my head, and this has to be the only place that stays open after midnight” Yamori said while looking around

I turned around paying him no mind but I guess Yamori had other ideas

“Look, back there… I went too far. I’m not going to apologize this time, I’d already done that twice and if I do it again, it would lose all meaning. At least let me make it up to you… drinks on me” he said in his reassuring tone

“I don’t drink” I said to shut him down

He stood silent for a second “Really? You are in a bar….”

“What can I get you gentlemen?” asked the bartender

“Something that will knock me out cold in a few hours…” And he glimpsed at me for a moment “… something sour and non-alcoholic for my friend here. Put it on the Sheriff’s tab” Yamori tells the bartender

“Actually I was just leaving” I got up tried to slither away but Yamori was quick on his reflexes as he grabbed my able arm while my back was turned

“Hey,hey,hey,hey, don’t be like that. Please” he begs me… who is he trying to fool

“I ain't answering anymore questions Nishigaki-san” I made that fact clear to him

“I’m not asking you to answer anything. You have done enough, now it’s my turn…. Look, all you need to do is listen. You don’t have to say anything, and whether or not you want to afterwards, it’s your choice”

I wanted to shrug him off and walk away, but then I risk him following me all the way back to the clan house. Considering all I had to do is listen to his drivel and walk away, I indulged.

“Fine” I turned back around and returned to my seat where the drink he had ordered had arrived.

Yamori lifted his glass at me, and after a moment of hesitation I went along with it just to get it over with.

I finished off the drink in one go and the fizziness burnt the back of my throat and the sourness gave me a bit more energy to work off of. I shrugged at him letting him know I’m listening

“You know, Nakamura-san. When I found out who you were for the first time, I was holding back a bit of excitement, not going to lie.”

He leaned onto the counter and took a sip from his drink. “I was an avid CG player back in the day, platinum peak rank but when the job required a lot of deskwork, I always had a stream running, and during the tournament season I never missed one of Zero’s matches…. One reason was Junichi and his sisters sure, but it’s how you fit into that team that intrigued me the most. In a place where trading gunshots was the norm, there you were with a throwing weapon and a butter knife. For a long time I told myself it was innate talent but the more I talked to you, the more I realized that wasn’t true”

He quickly chugged down his drink “Back in the Academy, two of my strongest areas were profiling and deduction. But out of everyone I had tried to profile for years, you have been my biggest challenge yet. I guess that’s why you earned the nickname of Absolute Zero…. It’s like you never feel pressure, and in turn, you never crack. And that’s why I went to Isaac… someone who is well versed in breaking people, and it was my way of accepting defeat… my way of accepting, that the ways of Yamori Nishigaki, wasn’t working. He gave me exactly what I wanted and I think I figured you out”

Where is this monologue going?

“Let's give it a shot anyways. A man can hide who they are under a false persona, but there is always a telltale sign that gives away their true nature. It’s something he said, and something you said. But even though you were aware of it, you showed yours long before I cracked you…. How you might ask?.... Your eyes.” He continued

And those said eyes diverted their attention towards him “That subtle jolt of your eyelids, that’s what happened when I told you about what Isaac told me and I realized then, that’s your telltale sign when you are afraid of something…or someone”

He turned towards me suddenly “And after you left and when I remembered it, your reaction when you ran into me at the door earlier…. It was working my head along the way, why would you be afraid of me beforehand. I hadn’t given anything away and my supportive Sheriff act had been flawless so far….”

Act?

“...So what makes someone scared of one who gives everyone a trustworthy impression? It definitely wasn’t something I said, or was it something you saw?”

I was slowly inching close to the edge of my seat as if he had really figured it out…

“You are uneasy now, which means it is something you saw. Definitely not a Trial of The Wolf because you have done something much worse by now. Or is it something only you know, maybe something that isn’t seen by many but is by you?...... Maybe, something that others weren’t supposed to see or know”

At that moment, Yamori became the biggest threat to my existence, and the moment he finished, I started to get dizzy and my vision started to blur. “What the… When did he?”

“Eventhough your awareness is trained, human beings inevitably slip up. Guess that’s why it slipped your mind that I could’ve add something to your drink.” He spilled the beans

“You…bastard” my words were starting to slur as it was getting progressively harder for me to keep my head straight. I tried to open my inventory but I didn’t have the focus to find an HP potion in it.

“You could try but it’s not like it’s going to help. If you didn’t know, HP potions only take away the harming effect of substances….. but the effects don’t go away. And considering that was only meant to knock you out and not kill you, it’s not like the potion would do anything against it.”

“Go to ... .hell” I said and struggled to pick myself up and walked out of the door, swinging left and right, falling over all the tables and chairs.

I had to get away, I felt my thoughts slowing and slipping away from me. But that wasn’t something I could do anymore as Yamori caught up to me and was nudging me in the direction of somewhere secluded under the pretense of helping me.

“Nothing to see here people, my friend here is feeling a bit sick that’s all” he said, and his voice was starting to muffle in my ears, signifying that my brain was shutting down rapidly.

A moment later, he nudges my limp and broken body into the alley behind the bar and tosses me to the ground

“I didn’t want to do this, Akio. If you do hear me, you only got yourself to blame… Are you still with me?” Yamori closes the distance, but I still had one more burst of fight in me

“Fuck…you” I said as I drew my blade at him and struck him from my grounded position with the last bit of energy I had remaining…. I needed a miracle to happen if it was to connect, and unfortunately….. Miracles only happen in fairy tales.

Yamori evaded my strike and stepped on my blade. He then lowered himself to my level and wrapped his arm around my neck, hoping to knock me out for good.

All I could do was struggle fruitlessly. I had no strength left, and my waning vision only became darker. I started gasping for air as he was choking me out

“Sh,sh,sh,sh,sh,sh,sh,sh….. It’s fine, it’s fine. I am not going to kill you. Just relax, let it go” and with his miasma filled words, I felt my body giving out, the grip on my blade loosening and finally. I couldn’t feel anything

I was defeated.