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Hongou lifted his glass, letting his partner fill it midway, and he soon started to swirl the glass in his hand, letting the aroma from it slowly start to reveal itself like a flower opening up for spring, its full beauty there for him to observe and relish in. A fine, perhaps better described as an elegant bottle of wine from 1945, which came from a wine estate in France, (which of course was owned by a large, powerful family, like many things in France) was what they were drinking. The taste felt truly magnificent and it only complemented the feeling the group felt that night. The wine felt like a beautiful bouquet, it’s intricate smell swirling and dancing in the air as the glass was spun gently, and so there they were, all four of the organizers, appreciating the finer life as they drank wine from over 70 years ago, all while drinking inside the Gigantic, Titanic’s sister ship that had been recovered many years ago and restored by the one who owned it before.
Oh, and that feeling was excitement.
The Nonary Project was now closer than ever, and the team was celebrating. Celebrating their future success which they could all feel would come soon. A toast to their experiments becoming true and to Gentarou’s research proving useful. A toast to the morphogenetic field, and that it is finally controlled!
“1945… What a horrible year, huh?” Spoke the faceless large man in the group, looking over the bottle in his hand. Of course, Gentarou could tell who he was, he was Kagechika Musashidou, the majority shareholder of his company, and one of the other three who helped him plan all the events of tonight, but of course, considering how faceless the man was, Hongou always had to take a moment to look over the man’s figure, carefully analyzing his clothing, his hair, and mustache, which let him know for almost certainty that it was him, along with how his voice sounded like, of course. “End of the war, and the attacks in Japan. Our country has changed a lot since those dark times, hasn’t it?” He continued talking, and only then did Hongou start paying attention, fixing his lab coat that was set over his suit, pretending as if he was paying attention.
“Yes… Japan has changed a lot since then, and we have become one of the leading countries in technology now. The Nonary Project will be proof of that. We’ll be the first ones to have access to the morphogenetic field.”
“Finally, huh? Maybe this will help the stagnating economy. We’ll be the push that will improve everything!” Musashidou speaks with a loud chuckle, one that vibrates around the wide room of the ship’s deck. “Well, but besides that, did you see that beautiful lunar eclipse back in January? How gorgeous it was to see the moon so bright and such a nice shade of red up in the dark skies of Tokyo. I spent the whole night drinking with other friends, just taking in the sights of the high-life of Japan." He speaks of his luxurious, carefree life, and Hongou can't help but wonder if truly he had no meaning to his life other than just wasting resources. Truly, he couldn't judge him too much, as he was his biggest funder in the project, but also because he was his friend. Truly, all he could do was give a smile and nod as if he cared about what he spoke, as the large man kept talking. "Really, the Olympics have been lacking these past few years too, maybe our Nonary Project will become some inspiration for a type of game one day. That would definitely be something I'd pay to watch."
That's what gets on Hongou's nerves though. Paying to watch others feel pain and hurt others, like what people had done in the past with the game Gentarou went through those couple years ago, just for enjoyment? It felt strange to even find such entertainment from something you're not actively involved in, which is what made him find those that had allowed him to gain the Gigantic, 'Free the Souls', as they called themselves, to truly be the strange ones in this world, despite him having joined them, out of his own interest of course, because what other reason would someone like him join any sort of organization? If there is one thing Gentarou Hongou values in this world, that thing is himself, because he feels like a man who doesn't look out for his own interest is no man at all, but a coward.
Oh well, it's not like Musashidou lived on anything past a need-to-know basis with his friend, even despite his attempts at learning more about him, but Gentarou wasn't budging. "Well, I should leave you to it, Hongou. I'm sure you still need to talk to the others."
"It has been very good talking to you, Musashidou. I will see you later tonight." And with that, he went off to talk to another person there who would be celebrating with them tonight.
Nagisa Nijisaki, his Chief of Staff at Cradle Pharmaceuticals. A man who always had great ambition and wasn't afraid of getting the respect he deserved, at times, becoming ruthless with his method of work, but truly, Hongou respected that in him, which is why he became one of the few who were entrusted with such a complex project, and also because he was one of the only people there he truly cared for.
While Nijisaki didn't look all that different from other people, his face looked as complex as all other faces he'd seen in his life. He had to analyze it in pieces to truly try to start to make sure he was talking to the right person. Firstly, he looked at his clothes, noticing immediately how he wasn't as large as his other acquaintance was, and also didn't wear a lab coat like his other co-worker, Kubota, always seemed to wear, which helped differentiate them. Along with that, he wore no glasses and had no facial hair, and from there, it was already letting him safely say that he was in front of Nagisa. The man had dark hair, but it also puffed behind his head, not too unlike a mullet, but also looking more modern than one, and his eyes were serious. As he paid close attention to his face, another faint aspect he could see was how different from the other two, his nose was slightly perked up too, which finally put the final nail in the coffin for him.
"Hongou, are you enjoying the wine? Seems like Musashidou picked well for once in his life." He jokes, laughing as he lets his friend get used to him as much as he wanted, knowing how much he struggled with identifying people.
Though claiming he had trouble identifying people was an understatement. As someone who saw no faces, it felt as if he lived in a world full of strangers. The world felt lonely because everyone else was someone he never saw in his life, and that with one quick change of wardrobe or haircut and he wouldn't know who they were, and so his life felt tragically empty, with no one to truly share his loneliness with, as everyone was someone he didn't know and recognize, so truly, why should he care for people he couldn't recognize? Perhaps this sounded cold, but try to step in his shoes and live in a world where you can't trust your own vision to tell you who you are standing in front of, and try not to become colder towards others. Gentarou fixed his hat for a moment, trying to center his mind once again and try to spend time with his one, and almost only friend in this world.
"The wine is good, yes, and I'm surprised he didn't grab a random bottle from a grocery store or something and just open that. At least he has the decency to notice when we're having an important event worthy of an important bottle." Hongou says, watching his friend grab the bottle.
"You're right about that. Musashidou isn't the best at planning things, so I'm glad he's just funding the project." He scoffs, before looking at the wine bottle's label. "1945... V for Victory, huh? I guess the part of the world that didn't get the blame after the war ended was pretty content with themselves." Nijisaki shakes his head, putting the bottle down with a sigh. "Maybe one day our country won't be held back by the rules they made us follow. It's been years, and yet our laws still benefit an occupation that hasn't been in effect for years."
"I see you're still very passionate about politics, Nijisaki. I assume you were supporting the Prime Minister's wish to revise Article 9?" Hongou asked absentmindedly, letting their conversation flow as he cared little about it, because why would he care about politics in an important moment like this? Today was their day, not Abe's day. It was pointless to talk about these things now.
And unsurprisingly, it seemed like Hongou's close friend agreed. "We can leave that loaded question for another day. Today we have to focus on our project, Hongou." He says, before grabbing a camera from his pocket. "We need to create a memory of this day. Come on, I'll gather everyone."
And with that, Nagisa went over to grab the large man, and also their other co-worker, the more quiet one who always seemed to avoid conversations, which is why Gentarou didn't even try to approach, and so he came to the staircase, letting his friend place the camera and ready it, and so he and all others lifted their glasses up, all with proud smiles, looking at the lenses as if they stared into their future that awaited them. The great things that their future held! They would take their chance and seize it because they were the founders of the Nonary Project itself!
Then, the camera flashed, filling their eyesight with its bright light.
And there went the past, gone like the wind.
Gentarou Hongou was dressed in a dark grey jumpsuit, one that almost complimented his grayish hair if it wasn't for how faded the jumpsuit was from how worn it had become. On it, it had a tag. A6391. His number felt like the universe was mocking him, by having the number he had in that game, 1, along with the letter A for Ace... Along with the number of the one person he killed, Kubota, the person with the 9 bracelet, and the two who took him down in the end, 6 and 3, June and Santa, who apparently had also been players of his game all those years ago.
Funny how things play out. Hongou had finally managed to prove the access to the morphogenetic field and he saw it in action in that incinerator 9 years ago, but only for that person who he forced to access the morphogenetic field to 9 years later cause suffering to him and unmask him for all he'd done, and eventually cause him to unknowingly kill all his former co-founders of the Nonary Project... along with his friend, Nijisaki. How utterly painful it was to be a subject to June's sick game. How petty can one person be to plan revenge for 9 whole years? He didn't understand how she could hold onto a grudge for that long.
"Yo, geezer." A man with young-looking hair and a clean-shaven head spoke to him in the courtyard. "You seem older than most of the prisoners here, were you caught for shoplifting or something?" He asks.
It was an interesting comment to hear. Ace couldn't truly see how young the faces of most of the people around him looked, so he couldn't quite know for sure how many people there were older like him, but it was definitely strange to see someone who seemed as young as the man before him, who seemed maybe in his 20's if he had to make a guess based on everything besides facial appearance. "Why don't you tell me what you're in here for, and maybe I'll do the same?
"Damn, where's the sense of community that they're trying to teach you here?" The man chuckles. As he spoke, it was noticeable that his accent was thick, and implied that he wasn't from Japan, despite seemingly learning the language well enough to speak with a local. Perhaps it was due to him having to learn it here. Perhaps he was a foreigner that was incarcerated in Japan, and considering the rigid prison system, he was forced to learn the language. "Well, fine. I was caught bringing in cannabis. Thought I'd make a quick buck that I could use to build a life here. I had to swallow the bag but turns out the other guy that was doing the job with me put it in his damn shoe. When he was found out, the bastard ratted me out immediately, and so here I am now." He shrugs. "Been here for a while. You're new though, so what'd you do?"
As Hongou readied himself to talk, he turned to him and noticed his hair, the perked up nose, and the steely gaze that showed ambition in them, along with a grin that felt almost devilish.
Nijisaki...?
No, of course not. He was dead, and this man wasn't even Japanese, of course, it wasn't Nijisaki, but... the similarity felt too striking. Even if Ace couldn't recognize faces, this one felt too similar to his', for some strange reason, and he couldn't help but miss the one person he considered a friend in his life.
When someone sees no face, when all there is to stare at is like a blank canvas, it's hard to take others seriously. Truly, it feels as if everyone around is just the same, and it shows how tedious people can be. How absolutely horrible this life is, but if only he could see … Finally see for once in his life, to free himself of these shackles… If maybe he could see from the start, would things have been different? Would he have chased a different career? Perhaps chase other bold theories? Or would he just make another mistake, as he wouldn't learn with mistakes he had not done. He wondered about all of those things as he sat there.
In truth, he wasn't even sure why his mind thought that the facial traits of Nijisaki were the ones in front of him. He certainly couldn't remember if that's what he remembered about him, and he could barely distinguish anything from the man's face in front of him now that he looked at him again, as if what was once there suddenly was no longer.
Could it… be?
He scoffs at the thought in his mind, just turning to the man before him again. "Kidnapping, primarily." Was all Hongou said.
"That's all you got? No details?" The man said, insisting, annoyingly, as he bumped his elbow against him. "Come on, I told you a bunch of details about how I got here. I'm not judging either."
He sighs, his eyes looking heavy as he felt uninterested in divulging the details, but figured he had nothing else to do, so he went ahead. "I was a scientist. I wanted to do an experiment, but the experiment involved danger. As you would imagine, that is illegal to do to humans, as well as difficult to find anyone willing to put themselves in danger. Therefore, my partners and I kidnapped people to participate in the experiment. I was eventually found out." He said, choosing to leave out the extra detail of the murders of Kubota, Nijisaki and Musashidou.
"Damn, that's extra." He said, although the opinions of someone else on his own actions did not bother Ace. He was already paying for them here. "Guess you're gonna be staying here for a while then, huh?"
"I suppose."
"Hey, look on the bright side, at least—"
An explosion is seen in the distance. What caused it is unknown, but it was a large enough explosion to be seen from several miles away.
"What the fuck?" The man beside Hongou sits up, walking up to the fence of the courtyard, where several others gathered around.
Then, an alarm is heard through the prison, blaring loudly, before a few shots are heard.
And that was the signal for the inmates as they started to run out, hoping to get a shot at escaping. As if that were possible. The guards would shoot them all dead before they even stepped off the prison.
"Hey, come on!" The man with Hongou whose name he didn't even know started to call for him to run with him, and before he could object, he pulled on the older man, dragging him along.
"W-What are you doing?! We'll get ourselves killed!" Gentarou shouted at him, but the man kept running.
They entered a hallway to find dead guards, single shot to the head of each one of them, with their guns nowhere to be seen.
Could it be? There really was a chance at escaping? But if so, who attacked the prison? Who had killed the guards?
No matter. This was finally freedom once again, and Ace craved it more than he realized, as he steeled himself, carrying forward with his newly-found "business partner".