by T L Brevis
“You don’t like my uncle do you?” Makoto asked in an innocent tone.
Hiroshi froze and his eyes widened ever so slightly. He kept as cool of an expression externally as he could but internally he was shocked. How did this boy know? Had he been underestimating him?
The boy broke the silence after a few seconds and said, “I saw the way you look at him when he’s around, or in pictures. You look at him with an angry face when he is not looking at you, but you switch back to a happy one when he looks or talks to you. How come?”
Hiroshi was surprised, but was still certain he could come up with a sensible and believable excuse for his behavior, but he could not. He was not expecting a question like this from anyone, let alone Makoto.
Hiroshi’s mind was completely blank, but he knew he had to provide a response soon, or else things would get far too troublesome for him to prefer. Hiroshi began yet again resenting himself for his carelessness. Now his plans would be derailed just because he let his guard down.
“I think you were just seeing things. Your uncle is very kind and there is no reason for me to not like him,” Hiroshi responded with a smile. Makoto would hopefully just brush it off with that. It was about a 70% chance in his mind. Hiroshi pleaded for that to be the case.
“You can drop the facade,” responded Makoto, changing his cheerful tone to one that Hiroshi was used to hearing from Kaito, all in an instant.
Hiroshi’s face dropped. How had Makoto known? Had his intelligence been overlooked? How did Hiroshi allow this to happen?
“What do you mean, Makoto?” Hiroshi responded while sitting up, now with a concerned expression on his face.
“You don’t have to act anymore, and neither will I. I know that you have been putting on a facade, and used our time together to gather why, and have found your disdain for my uncle. I'm reasonable and have always been open to having my opinions changed. I will allow, and maybe even aid in what you plan to do to my uncle depending on if you tell me what he did, and proof of it,” Makoto responded coldly.
Hiroshi lay back down and began to think. Was this boy trustworthy? How did he gain this intelligence without the Noromi? Would he truly just betray his uncle, and presumably family just with proof of his crimes, or report Hiroshi to his family the moment he revealed what his uncle had done, and his plans moving forward.
Hiroshi needed more time to feel this boy out before he decided on his response. If the boy truly seemed to have his mind completely changed about his uncle after his test, he either would have risen to godlike levels of manipulation, or he truly was a perfect ally for Hiroshi moving forward. This could be an opportunity rather than an obstacle if Hiroshi played his cards right.
“Tell me Makoto, what do you think is wrong with this world,” if his answer did not correspond with Hiroshi’s viewpoint at least by 50%, he would be a threat.
Makoto seemed taken aback, but after a few seconds, he began to speak.
“Answering a question with another question? Bold, but I will answer you regardless. This world is too war-ridden. It is almost as if world leaders enjoy their people being killed. Disagreement leads to suspicion, which leads to intimidation, which leads to paranoia, which leads to impulse, which leads to foolish actions, which leads to fighting, which leads to war, which leads to death and destruction, which leads to loss, which leads to animosity even after the war is finished, which leads to even more war. A never-ending cycle of bloodshed. That is what is wrong with this world, or more so our pathetic species as a whole,” Makoto said, his tone filled with animosity.
“Hm. Well I will be honest, I have come across similar thoughts, and they are viable concerns,” responded Hiroshi matter-of-factly.
“We do agree mostly. However, I still don’t know if this is a lie to prove me a threat to his family. I will have to prod further,” Hiroshi thought.
“What do you think about your uncle’s contributions to hospitals?” Hiroshi again asked casually.
“I simply think they are great. He is doing a great deal for a great number of people, specifically children which is always good,” responded Makoto in more of a casual tone, matching Hiroshi’s now.
“What if I told you that your uncle is a fraud who has been embezzling money from these people,” Hiroshi asked, still casual in tone, but internally could barely contain his excitement at what Makoto’s response would be.
Hiroshi got a response he did not expect, and not even because it was non-verbal. He could feel Makoto’s body tense up the second Hiroshi finished his sentence, even without looking at him, but the sky above. Hiroshi glanced over and saw Makoto’s eyes were widened to their limit, with sweat beginning to drip down his face.
“N-No way. Y-You are l-lying,” Makoto said after a few seconds, stuttering uncontrollably.
“No, I'm not,” Hiroshi responded coolly. This was all a test to gauge Makoto’s reaction, and from what Hiroshi had seen and studied in his time, this type of reaction was difficult to fake, but he would need more time to fully assess if this boy could be trusted.
“I-I need proof. This goes against what I’ve been told all my life,” said the boy, not calming down in the slightest.
“Well naturally, firstly though, I would need you to prove that you will not relay any of what I’ve said back to your family,” Hiroshi said sternly.
“Of course I will not. I would do anything for the betterment of the world,” responded Makoto, composing himself.
“Yes, well you might say that but I’ll still need some evidence first, I think you can empathize with that concern.”
“Alright, here,” said Makoto while quickly glancing around to ensure no one was in the vicinity before pulling his phone out of his right pocket.
Makoto unlocked his phone, then tapped on a link inside of a memo he had created which led to another page of clickable links, one of which led to a chatbox website where many pieces of text were displayed, all under anonymous usernames.
“This is a chatroom where I communicate with multiple hitmen I have hired, along with spies and private detectives. The spies and private detectives are well in tune with the deep web and are aware of many serial killers and predators who have yet to be caught or are too skilled to be caught. They relay those people’s information to the chat, and I give the go-ahead to the hitmen once I check everything is correct, and have formed a plan of action for them,” said Makoto while scrolling through the chatbox.
“Here, I will even show you proof of what I have been doing. Here is a video of this man murdering someone for his twisted deep web viewers, but my spies were able to get his information, relay it to me, to which I made a strategy and gave the go-ahead and the man was killed. I can show you proof. Here, at 3:41 pm one of my spies sent the man’s information. At 4:50 pm I give the go-ahead and plan of action, then at 9:24 pm my hitman assigned with the case killed him. Here is a police report a neighbor made the next day after he had gone to check on the man and got no reply, then police discovered the man dead when they broke down his door,” Makoto said, all the while matching everything he had said up with links, photos, and videos of every segment of his story.
Hiroshi was taken aback, but not surprised given the information he had already known. Makoto was very wealthy and could definitely afford all of this. Even if he had kept it a secret from his family, he could have easily taken the funds from them without them noticing due to it being minuscule compared to their full wealth.
“Do your parents know about this?” Hiroshi asked.
“No. They still think I am an average boy, albeit very introverted. I showed signs of genius early on, learning to talk and walk much earlier than most of the population, and excelled in school. However, once I reached the age of five and began to win prizes, I realized that keeping it a secret would be better. I stopped excelling on purpose, and from then on everyone just thought I was an average, quiet and nervous boy.”
“Alright good. From what I have
seen, you are trustworthy enough, so I will show you the proof and tell you my story as well, but the proof is on my laptop back in a motel I am staying at so you will have to accompany me back there.”
“Alright, I will come right away, I just need to tell my parents. They do not usually mind when I do this, and even encourage it since I make myself out to be so quiet and lonely.”
“Good, well I will follow you, just to make sure you will not order my immediate death.”
“Well, I guess that is to be expected.”
On their walk back, Hiroshi mulled over what he had just witnessed. This boy ran an operation of killing vile criminals, something Hiroshi had been doing himself. He had even seen the proof himself. If this boy’s parents knew about this and he was lying, would they really be alright with associating with a disgusting man like Saisho Waru?
If it was an act, would they go that far to gain Hiroshi’s trust? If so, how would they even know he would be taking on a mission like this in the first place, and prepared accordingly days before? It was irrational to think that this was all an act. This boy was telling the truth, Hiroshi could feel it. Regardless, an air of suspicion was necessary to ensure this boy did not interfere with his plans. Hiroshi would still continue to observe for the time being.
As Hiroshi was finishing up his apprehensive thoughts, the two arrived at the door. Hiroshi vaguely recalled it from his last visit to the house, but both then and now could not possibly pay attention to the stunning design and detail that went into it due to the mindset that was necessary for him to have, more so on this occasion rather than the last.
Makoto swung the door open and Hiroshi followed directly behind him as he made his way up to his parent’s room. They reached about halfway up the long, elegant spiraling staircase that held all of the five floors of the massive piece of architecture together and were met with a short corridor with a room on either side and another room at the end. Makoto did not even waste a second before beginning to yet again brisk-walk over to the room at the end, Hiroshi not missing a beat, and within a few seconds, they had arrived at it.
The piece of wood they were met with was similar to the front door but far smaller and more modest in design. Any chance of admiring it was gone in the span of the five seconds between Makoto knocking gently on it and his father coming to answer.
“Oh, hello Makoto! Oh, and Hiroshi too? What a nice surprise. What brings you two up here?”
His demeanor was reminiscent of Saisho Waru, which was troubling, but not incriminating with them being brothers after all.
“Can I go to the hotel Hiroshi is staying at? I’ll text you the address,” said Makoto, very straightforwardly.
“Of course! As long as you do message me the address so I know where you are. Have fun boys!” replied Makoto’s father in an even more enthusiastic tone, which Hiroshi did not think was even possible.
“Thanks, Dad,” responded Makoto in the same soft tone.
With that, the two boys promptly spun around and quickly walked over to the end of the short corridor and descended the spiral staircase. They were met with the bottom of the stairs after a good amount of seconds, despite their speed, then immediately left the large home, with Hiroshi taking the lead instead of Makoto the second they stepped out of the luxurious front door.
They walked in silence, apart from the vibrant noises that came with the bustling city environment they found themselves in. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of walking, seemingly to no end, Makoto began to make conversation.
“So, how are we going to reach this Motel of yours?”
“Simple, we walk a little further and catch a bus at the bus stop a block from here.”
“Oh, I see, but I don't have spare change or a bus card.”
“Right, you’re the rich type who drives everywhere. Luckily, I have a bit of spare change, here,” Hiroshi said while pausing his walk and beginning to dig through his pockets to find his wallet and fumbled for a few coins in one of its compartments.
He found enough for bus fare to get Makoto to the motel, with a good amount to spare and handed the necessary sum to Makoto, who was now sporting a rather embarrassed expression, but quickly snatched the coins out of Hiroshi’s open palm. The two then began walking and staring straight ahead once more, as if they had never stopped.
As Hiroshi predicted they would, the two reached a bus stop a little while after. They stood in silence, side by side, viewing each other’s movements through their own peripheral visions, both carefully choosing their movements so as to not seem suspicious to the other. After a few minutes of this, the bus they required, numbered 14, came into view, and both of their eyes lit up the slightest bit in relief.
They boarded, Hiroshi with his pass and Makoto with the coins Hiroshi had passed him. The bus was a double-decker, so the two took the opportunity to climb the stairs leading to the second floor, Hiroshi in the lead. They took their seats in the last row of chairs on the second floor, far from the only other person on the floor, a middle-aged man who was seated near the front and very obviously in deep slumber.
The two sat one seat apart from each other, Hiroshi taking his seat first and Makoto hesitantly sitting a few seconds after. They still sat in silence for a few minutes before Makoto once again broke the silence.
“So how long will this ride take?”
“About thirty minutes, so get comfortable.”
“I see. Will we talk about the relevant topics while aboard, or only while inside your motel room?”
“Motel room. There are cameras and wiretaps in here, and I don't like being held verbally hostage when discussing important things,” Hiroshi responded, much quieter this time, so as to not be picked up by the aforementioned wiretaps, as obviously, a child like him should have not been discussing things like that, and although that would still be a major lack of evidence that he was involved in anything whatsoever, Hiroshi did not even want to take that risk after the shock he had gotten not even an hour earlier due to previous carelessness.
“Alright then,” Makoto whispered back.
The two sat in silence yet again for the remainder of the trip, a recurring theme of their relationship it would seem. The stop where they inevitably would have to alight came, and the two timed their trip across the stretch of metal flooring to the metal staircase, and their subsequent descent perfectly so as to not waste a second between the bus reaching a comfortable stop and their quick departure through its doors.
Hiroshi took the lead, staying a comfortable foot ahead of Makoto while he walked at a quickened pace, which Makoto kept up with easily. After a few more minutes of silence that felt like hours for the two, the motel Hiroshi was currently inhabiting finally came into view.
From the speed and direction they were walking at, Makoto knew this was the only possible motel they could have been making their way to and he quickened his pace even more.
They made their way past the security guards outside the motel with no issues and were met with Hiroshi’s room’s front door seconds later. Hiroshi simply slipped the key into its rightful hole and flicked his wrist to the right suddenly and fervently.
Hiroshi entered, with Makoto close behind him and he was met with the familiar, dull setting he was unfortunately used to by this point. Hiroshi let the room key down gently on the table to his right next to the door he had just entered through.
Kaito poked his head out from behind a wall with a puzzled expression on his face, but it was nowhere near potent enough to drown out his blank and solemn one.
“Who is this Hiroshi?” asked Kaito simply.
“Saisho Waru’s nephew,” replied Hiroshi.
“Oh hello there, I’ve heard good things about your uncle, doesn’t he work in charity?” asked Kaito, switching to a kind and genuine tone as quickly as he had finished entering the short corridor leading to the front door entirely.
“No need for that, I am already aware of the situation and
intend to find out the truth about my uncle,” replied Makoto swiftly.
Kaito made a slight twitch of his right arm in Hiroshi’s direction, not bothering to hide it and Hiroshi responded with a nod after realization hit him. Out of the codes Hiroshi and Kaito had formed previously when they headed to the hospital weeks before, Hiroshi recalled one where Kaito had made the exact same arm twitch, telling Hiroshi that sign in particular correlated to him asking “are they telling the truth?” and of course, Hiroshi nodded yes to this question immediately.
Kaito returned to his normal posture and slowly turned towards Makoto. He spoke to Hiroshi, all the while maintaining his gaze on Makoto.
“How do you know he can be trusted? Hasn’t he already tricked you up until this point by hiding his true mindset? What is to say he won’t do so again?”
“Don’t worry, I’ve talked to him. He has a strong sense of justice, one that can’t be faked.”
