Chapter 3: Family Meeting
Daiki, Wingspan Apartments No. 1403
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It was Hinami’s turn to be the little spoon today. She was exhausted after a 12-hour shift at the hospital. I could feel every little breath she exhaled. She fit like a small creature in my arms. I must’ve done something right to have found her.
Through the windows, the rest of the city was still very much awake. People were out there living their lives, and I was here. Holding my beautiful wife in my arms. Life was truly peaceful.
Until my work phone buzzed.
Fortunately, I had put it on vibrate, and Hinami didn’t stir. I slid out of bed, grabbed the phone, and moved into the living room.
It was Raechal. “Daiki. You were right. Wren and your brother remember everything.”
I sighed as I practically threw myself across the couch in the centre of the room. “Take them to the estate, I’ll be there by 7. Have June send over a van.”
“Will she be pleased to hear from me at the devil’s hour?”
“Either you deal with the devil, or a sleep deprived Hinami.”
“Point taken. I’ll see you in the morning,” Raechal hung up.
I let out a long sigh and, deciding that wasn’t enough, followed up with a low groan. Hinami’s voice called out from the bedroom, “Love? What’s wrong?”
I made my way back to the bed and got in, wrapping my arms around her and nuzzling into her shoulder.
“Sorry to wake you up,” I murmured into her hair. She made an answering hum. “Asahi and Wren were faking memory loss.”
“And you’re surprised by this?”
I pulled away and sat down on my side of the bed, facing away from Hinami.
“Asahi’s a good kid. I’m sure he had his reasons,” she said, hugging me from behind.
“I’m wondering what I should do.”
“Well, standard procedure dictates that you should wipe your brother’s memories. Though I get the sneaking suspicion that you won’t.”
“I don’t know what to do with that boy. He never listens to anything I tell him.”
“Careful now, all that stress will only cause you to age faster,” Hinami leaned in and kissed my forehead. “Though this forehead of yours could do with a few more wrinkles.”
“And why would you want me looking like an old man?” I asked as I slid my arms around her waist, shifting her to be the little spoon once again.
“Do you have any idea how many of the nurses and doctors ogle you when you come by? I don’t want that.”
“That’s a two way street missy”
“Oh please. Next to you I look like a peasant.”
“Well to me, you’re a goddess,” I said, pulling her closer. Her hair smelled of strawberries. It was dark in our bedroom, but I didn’t need light to know Hinami had turned as red as a tomato. She always did. “Let’s get some rest, I’ll be heading out at 6:30.”
“And I know nothing of this so I can’t come. As usual.” Hinami was annoyed, either because she had to feign ignorance of my activities, or more likely because I was spending time with Raechal.
The room fell silent. Not the peaceful and quiet kind, but the kind you get from your wife being angry at you.
“You hate that I’m spending time with Raechal, don’t you?”
“Oh wow, it’s as if you read my mind,” she replied, deadpan. She was definitely not happy.
–
I rubbed my bleary eyes as the car pulled into the Furuya Estate driveway. Having to work at 7am should be considered a human rights violation. Then again, this wasn’t work. Asahi and his friend were the ones ‘fucking around and finding out.’
The car stopped in front of our main entrance. No matter how familiar I was with it, the old-school western styled mansion never failed to impress. My great grandparents had built it in the ‘50s with the best materials money could buy, back when Danjyon reopened its borders after the 3rd Great Eastern War, foreign trade was hot and building generational wealth was easy so long as you were ready to crack a few skulls.
“Be sure to get yourself breakfast from the staff kitchen,” I told my chauffeur as I stepped out of the car and headed inside.
Entering the dining hall, I was greeted by June, equally bleary and finishing off a gigantic cup of coffee.
“Want another one of those?” I asked, making a beeline for the coffeemaker next to the bar. “And did you get the call?”
“I don’t know Daiki. Maybe you can jog my memory,” June said, gulping down what remained of her drink. It was Deadpan Day for everyone, it seemed. “I receive a lot of calls, you see.”
“How many do you receive at ungodly hours?” I asked, as I switched on the coffee grinder.
“It’s the Devil’s hour. Raechal says devil''s hour- okay no, this bit done.”Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
“Shame. We had a good bit going there,” I said as I carried over two cups of coffee to the table. I made sure June got hers in hand before I dared sit nearby.
She didn’t hesitate to immediately take a sip of the burning concoction. “Goddamn, Jimmie! This some serious gourmet sh-”
“Language!” I interjected hastily. “I’ve told you before June. Using foul language is below your station.”
“Oh please. As if you didn’t cuss up a storm when you were my age.”
“I did, and I’m not proud of it.”
An awkward silence ensued.
“Sooooo... Asahi?” June said, unsubtly changing the topic.
“What about Asahi, and his friend…?” I asked, looking around the large hall with its heavy dining table. It felt odd coming home at times. The apartment I shared with Hinami wasn’t small by any means, but this dining room always made me feel miniscule. It was more suited for groups of 20, not two.
“Wren.”
“Right. Wren.”
“So what’s the plan? If we’re going by the books, it’s the memory erasure route,” June paused to take another gulp of her coffee. “Though I feel you have some scheme in mind. Elaborate.”
Before I could word an indignant reply to June – why did no one have faith in me – the dining room door opened without warning. It was Raechal, Asahi and the other boy, whose name I had once again forgotten. Ah yes, Wren.
“Good morning Raechal. Asahi, Wren. Sit,” I said. Raechal took a seat at the head of the table closest to the entrance, while Wren sat across the table from June, and Asahi across from me.
“Are we in trouble?” Wren asked, his voice calm.
“I’m not sure how to feel about the stunt you two just pulled,” I said as I took a sip of my coffee.
“Cut the shit Daiki. We all know you’re not here on a social call,” Asahi said, slamming his hands on the table.
I looked over to Raechal, who was gulping down a glass of orange juice from god-knows-where. I hadn’t noticed the maids bring it in. They were doing their jobs well. “Raechal. Tell me, what is the procedure for when civilians see anything they shouldn’t?”
Raechal took a moment to process my question, taking another sip before replying. “Standard procedure dictates that a civilian is to be interviewed by the Keeper in charge of the case, in cases where the civilian remembers and comprehends the incident, they are detained and have their memories erased after further investigation. ”
“Bingo!” I said, finishing off my coffee. “But, in this case, we’re going to break protocol.”
“And there we go. The scheme.” June said, placing her mug on the table. “You do realise that you’re making my job a lot harder right?”
“Daiki, there’s a reason we follow protocols. It’s to prevent personal bias interfering with our duties,” Raechal said, frowning.
“Protocols exist to prevent people from veering from the mission statement. So long as you keep to the core values of the Keepers, you’re in the clear,” I held up my coffee cup, inspecting it, hoping to find a defect. “You don’t get to where I am without breaking a few eggs, Raechal.”
“It’s not only the outcome that matters, Daiki. The process of how you achieve results is equally important. I -”
“I’m going to cut you two off. Daiki. Either you start talking or Wren and I are leaving,” Asahi said, standing up and glaring at me.
“And where do you plan on going? You know running from me is pointless,” I said, gesturing for Asahi to sit down. Surprisingly, he complied, with a glare that said he would happily see me burn.
“What do you want from us, Daiki? You already know what happened on Hanafuda street, maybe you could answer my questions for a change.”
“You want answers? Fine. Let’s skip the niceties,” I said, getting up from my seat. “What you encountered on Hanafuda street was an Oddity.”
I fished out my field notebook from my jacket pocket, tore off a page and slid it to Asahi. “Tell me what you know about this.”
“It’s a piece of paper, nothing out of the ordinary,” as Asahi spoke, a maid appeared from the side kitchen door carrying Wren’s double shot, a pot of coffee, and Asahi’s favourite mug.
“Fill your mug to the brim, place the paper over your mug, give it a bit of pressure and flip it and remove your hand.”
“What?”
“Do it before your friend does a better job of it,” Asahi glared, but begrudgingly followed suit. To nobody’s surprise the coffee didn’t spill. “Notice how the coffee doesn’t spill?” I asked, reaching into my pocket. I found my pocket knife and pushed it across the table. “Poke a hole.” Asahi held the upside down mug away from him and stabbed the paper, spilling the coffee all over the table. “Notice how that caused a mess?”
“Can you please get to your point?”
“That paper, delicate and fragile thing that it was, was the barrier between the coffee and table. The moment that paper got a single tear, the whole barrier was compromised. The coffee interacted with the table, causing a mess.” I paused for dramatic effect. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Asahi’s friend swipe my pocket knife off the table.
“Our universe is made up of two sides,” I continued, ignoring the petty thief. “A world we can see and a world we can’t, separated by a delicate barrier we call the Fabric of Reality. When that barrier is damaged, messes are caused, Oddities.”
“Oddities?”
“Entities that don’t obey the laws of science.”
“Oh yeah, because that sci-fi crap totally exists.”
“Seeing as how you two came into contact with an Oddity recently, there really isn’t much that should make you doubt me.”
“Who deals with these entities? The magic police?” Asahi asked, smirking.
“Yes. Us. The Keepers.”
Asahi scoffed, "Really? You expect me to believe your eighth grader delusions?"
“Believe me, I wish these were delusions.”
Wren cut in before Asahi could speak. “Is it safe to assume that the thing we ran into on Hanafuda Street is an Oddity?”
“Yes, we’re calling it the Hanafuda Street Stalker.” I looked over as Raechal shifted uncomfortably in her seat. I couldn’t blame her. So many protocols were being broken here. “You two are the second group of its victims.”
Asahi’s friend, for all his delicate bird-boned looks, seemed to have caught Raechel’s movement too. “With all the talk about breaking protocols earlier, I assume we now know too much? You’re going to associate Asahi and I in this… situation somehow?”
“You’d be correct in that assumption.”
I looked over at Raechal and tilted my head inquiringly. Once she was at my side, I leaned over and whispered, “You’re going to hate this, but I want you to get Asahi and Wren on this case.”
Raechal stared back in abject horror. “You’re asking me to break half the oaths I swore to uphold.” Her voice rose. So much for discretion.
“It’s not breaking protocol if it’s official recruits,” I said, blandly.
“Henry would never do something like that.” Raechal said, taking a step back.
“Henry is far from a worthy successor,” I could see that my comment made her uncomfortable. But it was true.
An uncomfortable silence pervaded the dining hall. Asahi’s eyes were flitting between me and Raechel, Wren was fiddling with my pocket knife, Raechal was pointedly avoiding eye contact and June? June was on her phone.
I sighed. “June, make sure that this case is dealt with. Get Asahi and Wren onboarded. Spin your magic and handle the logistics.”
With that I stood up and made my way towards the exit, but not before stopping behind Wren and taking back my pocket knife. “Make sure Asahi doesn’t do anything stupid,” I told him as I left the dining hall. My chauffeur was waiting at the entrance.
“Take me to the Financial District StarDucks. I’m meeting an old friend.”