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The hope
I just stayed there on my bed for hours. My parents were off doing whatever, not that I really cared, so things were quiet. I wasn’t hungry and I didn’t feel like really doing anything to brighten my mood. After all, I’d watched one man spiritually shatter another man.
Turning around, I looked at the ceiling and sighed in defeat. Last year, things had been creepy enough between Gou Aioshi’s death, the damage to M--, Asuka’s trauma after losing her parents, and the other various “accidents” that occurred due to the Shiko’s actions. For most, they could just try to avoid getting involved, and things were fine.
But for me… well, it’s hard to imagine what happens to you when the Empress of Darkness herself possesses you not once but twice. True, the two times had been justified, once to save Asuka and another time to save Mizuki, but those were parts of my life that I did not remember. I knew very well that Minako and all the others had killed, and those acts were justified but still horrible to think about.
It’s… almost like nearly drowning, you know? Your body starts to tire and your mind gets all fuzzy, and even after you’re rescued, you’re never quite the same again.
I had been pulled out of that dark world, the world of the Great Sea of Evil and the physical embodiment of destiny, and had been told the battles had been won. True there remained the issue with that Kei Kimatura woman, but Kei was dead as well, she had been for nine months.
And only today, I had seen a man use a power only I could see. I was willing to believe it had something to do with me being a Candidate, but where did Higashi’s power come from then? The Dai Makai was not meant for such purposes and represented a physical, tangible Darkness.
I didn’t have the answers. I wasn’t sure if anyone I could get in touch with would. But I had to try.
I dialed a number I had long since committed to memory. A few moments later I heard her voice, and I felt better.
“Hello, this is the Yuki residence, Hokuko Yuki speaking.”
“Hi, Hokuko.”
“Oh, Soma!” Her voice was enthusiastic, and it helped put the first genuine smile on my face since I met Ikki Higashi. “How was-”
“Terrible,” I answered. “Higahi’s… he’s…”
“He’s what?”
I sat up on my bed; it would help me think. “He did something today, while interrogating the defendant. It almost amounted to something like raping his soul, ripping it apart for the sake of the truth.”
Hokuko was at a loss for words for several minutes. Her experiences nine months ago had arguably been stressful, as had those first days afterwards when she had a new identity to cope with. “… Didn’t anyone-”
“Nobody but me even saw what was going on,” I answered. “Nobody called him out on it, and Higashi admitted he’s not even sure where this power of his came from.”
“What exactly was it? Was it some kinda mental attack or incantation?”
Good question. “For all I know, it was nothing but his overly dramatic mannerisms. I mean, he just was saying that Kenji Nagare was lying with such determination, and citing evidence to boot, that caused Nagare to completely break down.
“It was… kinda horrifying. And this is supposed to be over, dammit. There’s no reason for us to have to jump through the hoops of having to worry about someone else out there, making our lives miserable.”
“What about Kei Kimatura?” Hokuko asked me. I was afraid she’d mention her.
“… Kimatura’s dead, right? It really shouldn’t matter at all.”
“Well, there’s the fact she was there. The Shiko didn’t know about her, and they were in a position of nearly unlimited power for centuries. I should know…” Hokuko sounded upset, and I hated the fact that I was reminding her of them.
“We really don’t know, Higashi himself doesn’t understand where his power is coming from. This is something different, and Higashi’s not trying to be a bad person. He’s just misguided, I guess.”
“… You think seeing him do this has anything to do with you being a Candidate?”
“According to Occam’s Razor, that’s the reason why. I don’t want to believe there’s any other explanation.” I really meant it. “Higashi’s in the dark about this all too. He thinks it’s just some power he woke up with one day, and that’s dangerous. At least Minako had Loretta to tutor her on her powers, and Mizuki knew what the Dai Makai was the very day she started using it. Higashi… with him, nobody knows where that power comes from. And I know that has to stop.”
“You’re not going to do anything crazy, are you, Soma?”
“Hokuko. I’m not stupid and I’m not crazy. I’m going to walk carefully.”
“Okay then. Just… just call for help if you need it.”
I didn’t sleep that night, and even if I had, it would’ve probably messed me up worse than I already was. At least I had the common sense to wash up and get a full breakfast; I knew today would be bad. And I worried quite a bit about not going after Ikki right away no matter how many times I convinced myself that he’d had this power for a while now, and one additional day was not going to bring about the end of civilization. If I was lucky, Higashi would also not reduce someone to a quivering mass either.
My destination was a private legal office which usually dealt with representing defendants. I’d checked the address last night after talking with Hokuko and I knew that he’d be there. Talking to anyone else would be unnecessary.
Simon Tyer, the man who had defended Kenji Nagare, was my best chance.
I should’ve dressed formally. After all, I was visiting the attorney during business hours, and yet I simply wore casual clothes. I needed to be calm, in my element as much as possible. A snappily-dressed white-haired boy stumbling over words would make less of an impression than a focused and direct commoner, and so I defied logic. The elevator opened up on the eighth floor of the building, to the Tyer & Co. Law Offices.
Stepping out and opening the door to the office, the dark-haired secretary looked up at me for a second and then back down at whatever paperwork she had to worry about at the moment.
“We don’t do co-op programs,” she stated plainly. “If you’re here to request the services of one of our lawyers, please notify the office via telephone or email first.”
“I’m not here for any of that,” I responded. “I just would like a word with Mr. Tyer.”
That, however, got her attention much moreso.
“Wait a second…” she said as she looked at my hair. “I think he mentioned you yesterday after his case… Soma Elpiz?”
I nodded.
“Well, it’s your lucky day, boy,” she said as she pressed the pager. “Because he also has some questions for you.”
Simon’s voice came out of the receiver, asking what the matter was. The secretary answered, although I did feel a bit embarrassed with how she referred to me.”
“Boss, it’s that kid you said banged his head against the table. Want me to send him in?”
“Sure,” the man answered. “Send him in.”
Simon Tyer’s office was… well… surprisingly small and bare. I had almost expected to see him drowning in paperwork and with cabinets stuffed with documents everywhere. Instead, the room had a desk with a few pictures and memorabilia on it, Simon Tyer having only a few stapled lists on his desk. There was a shelf to his right, with various other small trinkets. Probably from cases, I guessed.”
The blonde man looked up at me and smirked. “How’s the forehead doing?”
“What?” I really didn’t understand what he was saying for a moment, and then it clicked. “Oh, yeah… that. I’m fine.”
“Good,” Tyer said as he gestured that I could take a seat. “Now, if you really don’t mind, I have a few questions I’d like to ask you.”
“Well, that’s fine… provided I get to ask some to,” I answered.
“… We’ll get there if we get there.”
Tyer moved his papers off of his desk and leaned forward, looking at me. He seemed a lot more serious than just a moment ago, but I tried to tell myself this man wasn’t my enemy, and I hoped he didn’t view me as one as well.
“First… and especially foremost…” he began. I remembered that Simon Tyer talked this way yesterday while Kenji was on the witness stand. “… Why’d you black out?”
Clearing my throat, I knew what I had to say. Ikki had even said that Simon was a good person, just very bitter sometimes. I’d dealt with his type before and was on speaking terms with them to boot. No harm in being completely honest.
“I saw Kenji Nagare’s physical condition worsen as Ikki cross-examined him. Like he was torturing him with a knife or something… more antiquated and meant for pain than killing.”
Simon sighed as he bowed his head down. “Any idea why you could see this?”
“I have one suspicion, and I hope it’s the right one. But it’s merely the after-effect of a problem that was solved.”
Simon looked up at me and smiled weakly.
“Over the course of the trial, I watched Kenji began to act more and more irrational. Not long after you blacked out, he declared he was refusing my services. Since I had no purpose in the courtroom, I was escorted away by a court bailiff.”
“Bet you were upset about not getting paid.” The attempt to break the ice with Simon did not go over to well as he pulled his seat up and rested his arms on the desk, bringing them up and then resting his chin on his hands as well.
“You have no idea, Mr. Elpiz. The important thing, however, is that you are here, and you told me what you believe happened to Kenji.”
“Did you think he was innocent?”
“Of course,” Simon answered. “It is the duty of a defense attorney to always have faith in their defendant. After all, it’s less humiliating to be wrong in that case than if you believe an innocent man to be guilty. It wasn’t really the reason I got into this in the first place, though.”
What was that supposed to mean? Was he waxing nostalgic about the beginning of his career or something? I opened my mouth to speak, but he simply gestured towards one of the photos on his shelf. I turned, and realized that it was an image of many men and women in graduation robes.
“I completed law school quite a while ago,” the blonde-haired man said. “I could’ve had a promising career as a DA in any local on the planet, but I decided to go into defense.”
“How come?”
“Why not?” Simon answered. “I didn’t really like a lot of people in school; thought it’d be nice to get back at them in the courtroom.” He then laughed, and all I could do was think he was a terrible person. At least Ikki-
“But Ikki Higashi was different.” The man continued, returning to a solemn tone. “He truly did love just trying to get to the heart of any case. I wonder if that’s why…” He sighed, closing his eyes and shaking his head.
“What do you mean?”
Simon shrugged. “What always happens to men that are too good for this world. They loop around to being more of a hindrance than a help.” He leaned down, opening a drawer in his desk and pulling out a packet of documents… nothing but names. “Here… recognize any of the names?”
Looking down, I was coming up completely empty. Beside each name was a date… starting back as far as last October.
Oh… God. Please…
“Don’t tell me… I know it’s true, but…”
“Alright then. I won’t,” Simon said as he stood up. “But understand that Ikki’s not technically doing anything illegal, since few people have actually taken notice to this. Even fewer really care. I mean, he gets the job done, who are we to call him out on it?”
“It disgusts you, doesn’t it?”
“Like nothing else.”
“Good then,” I answered as I rose up as well. “Because you disgust me, Simon Tyer.” I crumpled the papers up, and in an act of sheer stupidity, threw them right back at his face. “Why the hell did you not confront Ikki about all of this?”
Simon ignored the act of disrespect, although I was betting he was vowing to make sure I’d never find a firm that would hire me as he picked the makeshift projectile up and straightened the documents.
“Soma. It’s a pretty screwy world out there. If we confronted Ikki, we have nothing but our claims that what he’s doing is wrong. Then comes the issue of actually proving he’s doing anything at all other than shocking people with overly dramatic mannerisms. If this isn’t a no-win situation, then the solution is so clunky and impractical it wouldn’t do me or you and good.”
“That’s if you treat the problem like one you should solve as a lawyer,” I answered as I walked away. “I’m going to solve it a different way.”
“Such as?”
I stopped at his door and turned around. “If I told you… well, it would be unbecoming for me.” Which was true.
But to me, that door was also representing something else, something genuinely intimidating. When Minako was alone fighting the Shiko, at least she had Brauner to give her advice and explain things. Now Brauner was gone, we didn’t have some all-knowing authority figure in charge of us. Even Jun admitted she had absolutely no idea what Kei was supposed to be.
I guess that was just the case with growing up. Sooner or later, anything someone would do for you, you had to handle yourself. Supplying food, transportation, funding. I guess having the resolve to go out there and fight our battles without being ordered to do so was just one more thing to add to the list.
Grabbing the door handle, I turned it before opening the door.
“Higashi!”
Compared to Simon’s conservative office, Ikki’s seemed a lot more colorful… complete with an entire wall decorated with newspaper clippings. The sight of them caused me to lose focus for a moment, and I instead scanned the articles. The phrase “Hachi Satsu”, written in English, appeared over and over again… for a moment I didn’t understand what they were discussing. And then it clicked.
The Hachi Satsu, the Murderous Eight. An assassination guild, willing to take any job from any individual for the right price. They’d been in the news quite a bit for the last six months, and they apparently were serious enough that Interpol had an entire division trying to track them down.
I didn’t know Ikki was keeping up on the murders…
“Yes, Soma?”
Ikki’s voice caused me to look back at him, the man looking a bit surprised and upset at my entrance. I couldn’t blame him, but I didn’t care that much either. I had to end this.
Stepping further into Ikki’s office, I gathered my thoughts as best I could before simply stating what I knew had to be done. “You have to end this.”
“End what?”
“Please sir,” I begged before clearing my throat. “You… you have to give up ripping the truth from people in this way. It’s not going to end well.”
“Why wouldn’t it?”
“Because you’re hurting too many people by doing your job in this way!” I exclaimed. “I mean… do you ever even bother to look into what happens to the people you use your powers on?!? They… they lose their minds, and that’s if they’re lucky! A small portion have even taken their own lives!”
The words shocked Ikki, but he almost immediately walked around his desk and approached me, scowling all the while.
“Soma?”
There was something about how he said that, something that made me suddenly lose my momentum. What he said after that didn’t help either.
“Tell me? How many people would’ve been subjected to my power… if they just told the truth.”
“Well… well none.” I hated admitting that, but it was true.
“Exactly.” With a wave of his hands, he continued. “Honestly Soma… I don’t do these things because I bear people any ill will. I just want to try to find the truth in these cases.”
“But you don’t know where this power comes from,” I countered. “It could be very dangerous, for all we know!”
“It could also be the gift from a benevolent goddess!” Ikki shot back.
Clenching my fists, I calmly delivered my counter-argument. “Ikki… it doesn’t matter at all. Where your power comes from doesn’t matter, its origin cannot vindicate you from any unethical actions you do with it!” I should know, because even something that was appropriately called the Great Sea of Evil was still just a tool. How you used it determined whether you were in the right or not.
Higashi could only glare at me as he tried to find words to justify his actions. I knew I had him in a corner; the prosecutor was now nothing more than a child that had just been told he had to stop shooting all of his neighbors’ pets.
“Soma…” he growled, “You… are in no position… to DECLARE WHAT’S RIGHT OR WRONG IN THE WORLD!”
…
I had no idea what Ikki was going to do after that rant, and my mind was racing. As soon as Ikki took a step towards me, well, I had to just go for it.
There were always at least two ways of solving a problem, a certain dichotomy: through physical means or spiritual means. Lawyers were all good at the latter, forcing someone to admit defeat in their heart. But the Magic Girls in my life had shown me, once nine months ago, that violence was just as effective.
And so I exchanged taking one risk for another, looking down at the ground and shutting my eyes closed while screaming out at the top of my lungs. I swung my right arm out, my fist striking square into the middle of his face. The older man let out a stammer of shock before being knocked to the ground.
Oh my god. Oh my GOD! I JUST PUNCHED A PROSECUTOR! HE’S GOING TO SUE ME FOR EVERY CENT I HAVE! MY PARENTS ARE GOING TO KILL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I had hoped that extraordinarily crazy -read: stupid- would have helped vent my stress. Instead I could only stand there, face beet red as I saw my future as a public servant slipping away. I was, in a word, doomed. I mean, as soon as Ikki got over the shock, then-
“… Soma?”
Oh god. This was the end. “Y-yes…?”
“… You did something very stupid just now, you do know that.”
“… yeah…”
I looked down at him, seeing the man simply lying there on his back, blood trickling out of his nose, and judging by its angle, I had broken it to boot.
Ikki closed his eyes, just breathing in and out for a few minutes of horrifyingly awkward silence before speaking again. “Crazy thing is… it was probably a lot more mature than anything I’ve done in quite a while.” He laughed before looking up at me. “I don’t wish to be a bother… but I’d like a few moments alone. Would you… please step out?”
“You’re not gonna kill yourself are-”
“No.” Ikki’s voice tone did quite a bit to reassure me, I had to admit. He bid me goodbye as I turned and began walking away, and I could feel my body begin to finally calm itself over those stressful moments before.
Reaching the door, I turned around to Ikki, seeing him just staring up at the ceiling. “See you around… Mr. Higashi.” I wasn’t a question or a request. Ikki seemed to understand, and smiled again before saying farewell.
Those words had been a promise. One that wouldn’t be fulfilled for another year and a half.
“You’ll never get away with this, Empress of Darkness!”
Sitting in bed in day-old pajamas, I munched down my breakfast cereal as best I could in between watching scenes of whatever generic Magic Girl show Horoki had supplied me with before break. I guess she wanted to help prep me if things ever went south again. Considering I was still completely in the dark about Ikki Higashi’s powers, it was a possibility.
A knock at my door caused me to turn, seeing Hokuko leaning against the opened frame.
“Hey there,” she said with a soft smile. “I didn’t hear anything from you since two days ago, and I got worried. You okay?”
“Not really,” I answered. “For one, I’m calling my manhood into question after watching thirty-six episodes of what seems to be the Mystic Adventures of Sparkly McSparklyton.”
“Why not turn off the DVDs then?”
She had now idea how hard that would be for me. Reluctantly, however, I complied before throwing the remote to her.
“Pick a channel, any channel,” I commanded before finally finishing my breakfast and putting it on the dresser next to my bed.
Unsure, she complied, only to be blasted with media pundits describing how a certain Tokyo prosecutor had left the offices and just, well, vanished. She promptly turned it back just in time for us to catch another one of those goddamn stock-footage transformation sequences. I wondered which one was going to mentally scar me more.
“So… Higashi left?”
“Yeah,” I told the blue-haired girl as she sat down onto the bed next to me. “Maybe I got through to him or something. He’s off on his own, maybe he’ll make heads or tails of what’s going on in his life.”
Sensing my melancholy mood, Minako’s younger sister wrapped an arm around me and rested her head on my shoulder. “You hate him?”
Such an overwhelmingly difficult question to answer. But I owed it to her to be honest. “No. I pity him, but I don’t hate him. Why should I? Ikki’s just a man, he makes mistakes just like everyone else in the world. Us included.” I turned to Hokuko and kissed her briefly.
“It’s been a jarring experience for you to face alone, hasn’t it?”
“You have no idea.”
“You hesitant to go back to M--? You know, get your law degree?”
Another difficult question. What was with her today? “Hokuko,” I told her as I took her hand. “It wasn’t that jarring. I’m going back… but I don’t want to run the risk that Ikki Higashi did. I think I want to be a defense attorney.”
“Defense?” Hokuko whistled in surprise. “You know you’re bound to lose a lot of cases, right?”
“That’ll happen, I know that.” The confession was a necessary one. “But think about it: isn’t it in Hell where good people are needed the most?”
“Wow, that sounds pretty poetic. So you gonna try to be the great defender of the damned then, Maoh Soma?”
Her choice of words threw me off a little. “M-Maoh?!?” Okay. More than a little. “You mean like ‘Demon King’ Soma?”
“Well, ‘Matei’ and ‘Senshutei’ have already been taken,” Hokuko pointed out. “And if you’re gonna be trudging around terrible people, you might as well be the best of the best, right? Hence, the Lord of the Damned, Maoh Soma.”
“That’s… well, that’s one way to look at it.”
“A good way?” Hokuko asked.
Turning to her, I kissed her again. “Yeah. It’s a nice slant on it.”
