POV: Kenji Tanaka
Location: Greenvill mansions. Tokyo
Country: Japan
Continent: Earth
Time: Early morning
Are you still going to wait?
You know what she's doing don't you?
Why are you punishing yourself like that?
With a heavy scream you flung the glass of expensive whiskey through the window of your penthouse suite and yelled.
"Lies!!! Lies!!! All Lies!!! All Lies!!!"
You then began taking the breath to calm your mind
"Lies. (Breathe) Just lies."
"Oh my goodness Mr Tanaka!!!" A high pitched voice cried
"What manner of malady is this?"
"It nothing lady Yu." You replied without turning back.
"Just a nightmare."
"A nightmare?"
The middle-aged housekeeper cried
"You have not slept for 3 days now Mr Tanaka. You wander the house every night like a ghost, you refuse to leave this spot since yesterday and you call it a nightmare?"
"My personal life is none of your concern madam yu." You replied harshly
"Focus on your task of keeping the house in order and let me worry about my health."
"Well that's where you're wrong Mr Tanaka."
The old lady countered smoothly.
"The hospital has apointed me your primary caregiver and as your primary caregiver it is my duty to tell you that starving yourself and staying up waiting for your wife for 3 days is not aiding your recovery."
"Let's not the delude ourselves into thinking that I have any chance of recovery from a totally broken spinal cord madme Yu. The best the surgeries and the medicine can do for me is to lessen the pain."
"And so you wish to starve yourself to death?"
"I am waiting for my wife madam yu and I am not standing up from the spot until she comes home."
You take a deep breath and asked in a throaty voice
"Do you think I was wise back then madam?"
"About?"
"Sponsoring my wife's business and introducing her to Jin ma." You clarified
"Was I acting foolishly then?"
Obviously not knowing what to say, the housekeeper simply shook her head lightly and went inside the house. Seconds later she returned with a hand held phone which she handed over to you.
"What is this for?"
You asked in confusion
"You wanted to see your wife so badly did you not?"
She said while trying hard to fight the sarcasm from her voice
"Well call her?"
"I can't"
You said as you threw the phone on the floor
"Now is working hours elder yu, what if she's busy when I call. I'll simply be a nuisance to to her."
"A nuisance?"
She asked in a tone that showed how horrified she was of the thought.
" Mr Tanaka If your wife loves you half as much as you love her I firmly believe that she will treat your call as the most precious part of my day that is if she doesn't call you first. Or is there something you are afraid of Mr Tanaka?"
Seeing the logic behind madam yu words and mostly because you wanted to prove your trust for your wife to her, you slowly leaned down from your chair and picked up the discarded phone and dial her number."
The call went and rang for some time but there was no receiver so it went to voicemai.l
"She must be busy"
You said to madam Yu
" I suppose." She quipped
"Do you wish to try again?"
Not having much of a choice you dial the number again but still the same results.
"This is pointless."
You said
"Why am I even indulging you this way?"
Madam Yu's face twisted as though she had a thousand things to say but ultimately chose just to not and keep quiet.
.
Luckily four minutes later the phone rang.
"Is this her?"
You asked with a beaming smile.
"Yes Mr Tanaka.'
Madam Yu said as she picked up the call and put it on loud speaker.
"Hey honey how is work going ?" You asked
"Oh work (mphh) is going well love." She replied while trying (and failing to cover up some.... groans?)
"Oh you want to talk about it?"
You pushed
"I really wish I (ahhh!) but I can't right now I'm a little bit busy." She replied
"Mrs Tanaka I have to hear some groaning sounds in the background are you alright?"
Madam Yu asked
Her voice came out flusted
"Oh yeah (ahhh) the new business partners wanted to demonstration of our new (ahhh!) jimin equipment and I was chosen as the (emmph) demonstrator."
"Oh I see"
Madame Yu spoke in a sarcastic tone.
"Anyway the young master just wanted to know if you would be home in time for dinner and what you would like to be prepared."
"Oh I am so sorry (emph) madam you. This trip might extended again so please tell him to have dinner without me."
"But honey didn't you promise that..."
(You heard the sound of door knocking from the other end).
Without another word your wife quickly hang up the phone
"I suppose you skip dinner and wait for her again"
By now madam Yu tone was sounding like a straight up accusation.
"I do not like that tone you are using madam Yu."
You answer
"I will eat when she is home madam you not before not after."
"Of course."
She said with a resigned sigh
"I suppose I will go to fetch you another battle of Scotch."
She then walked out while murmuring words that you choose not to hear.
"It's all lies. They are all liars"
You said as you poured yourself another cup of whiskey
"She's faithful to me. She loves me.
She's faithful."
The phone then rang again and thinking it was your wife, you hurriedly pushed your wheelchair to pick it.
"Hello Mr Tanaka"
A deep male voice spoke through the phone
"Who are you?
You asked
"Are you a private investigator? If you are you can tell my sister but I do not need anyone following my wife."
There is no need to be overly dramatic mister Tanaka."
The voice sounded insulted
"I am not a man who meddles in family affairs."
"What sort of man are you then?"
You asked mainly out of curiosity
"A man such as yourself Mr Tanaka. A man who's purpose is to give others purpose."
"Is this some sort of marketing scheme? Because if it is, whatever it is your selling I am not buying."
"Really?"
The voice sounded highly amused
"Even if it comes with something that might just get you your life back?"
That immediately got your attention
"I was told that my medical state is incurable man."
You said in a much lower voice
"Are you offering me a way to cure it."
"Your legs were severed from your lower spinal cord Mr Tanaka."
The voice replied
"There is no known remedy for that."
"Then what the fuck did you mean by giving me my life back?"
You cried out in frustration as your one hope was dashed to the ground.
"I am not offering you a pair of wings rather a pair of legs Mr Tanaka."
The voice said
"I am offering you something that only men like you can forge from the fire of the battlefield. I am offering you redemption."
"What sort of sick joke is this?"
You boomed
You still think I am joking Mr Tanaka?
The voice sounded amused
"Well then perhaps a little trip down memory lane will be all the conviction that you need. Open the drawer 5 meter to your left."
You opened a small cupboard that he described and in it you saw a photo of you and your entire unit from the time you served in Japanese army.
"Kenji Udashi Tanaka born October 1998. Raised by widowed mother and a drunken stepfather untill you ran away from at age 10. Lived on the streets till you joined the army at age 18. Fought throughout the rebel suppression war where you served with remarkable distinction in the Southern theater and won yourself rapid promotions all the way to the second highest commisioned officer in the army. However at age 30 you suffered an assassination attempt which left you without the use of your legs and forced you to resign from the army. You then married a local woman named Yuki takada and bought a house in one of the most pretigious areas in the country just to please her. Impressive Mr Tanaka. Very impressive."
To be honest you were a bit surprised at the amount of information he had on you (as some of them could not be accessed on the Internet) but you quickly schooled your expression into something cold.
"What is it you want from me?"
You asked
"Is it money you are after? Send me your bank details."
"Now why would I do so much digging on you only to demand for something as paltry as money."
The voice sounded offended
"I am a man who gives others purpose Mr Turner. I want to do the same for you."
"Is this some recruitment drive because I can tell you that I'm not worth much especially with my..."
"You let me worry about your big foot Mr Tanaka."
The voice clarified.
"All you have to do pick up the package, crack the code and play the game."
The phone then hung up.
"Mr Tanaka"
You turn to see madam Yu with a large box
"This came in the delivery for you sir. I saw you on the call and I didn't want to disturb you."
Pick up the package
"Did the sender leave a return address?"
Madam Yu looked around the surface of the box.
"None that I can see Mr Tanaka."
She finally acquized
"Maybe the address is inside the box"
"You have not opened it?"
"It's not very easy to open sir"
She said with a faint smile
You started running your fingers around the box trying to see from which angle you can open it when fingers accidentally shook one of the tiles on top of the box and it repositioned with a click.
Crack the code
"This seems to be a pattern box Madme Yu"
You admitted
"Can you get me a cup of coffee? I need a clear head to crack this."
"Yes sir."
She replied and quickly went into the kitchen with a smile.
You returned your attention to the box and tried clicking each of the button that were out of place. Before long you were able to figure out that the trick was not the button themselves but rather the sounds they were making which seems to resemble the morse code that units used in the military. You then tried usinging it to spell all sorts of things at first but ran out of ideas. Eventually you drew inspiration from the photo in the locker and spelt out the name of your former unit. Soon as you did this the box opened wide to review another pattern box with a used compass as its key. You began struggling with the compass trying various locations and things that you could remember until you went for the simplest option of the location of the mission where you and your teammates have taken those pictures. The box then opened to another puzzle box which had a set of lettered abacus as the key. This one however proved to be quite easy to solve once you realized that the letters of the abacus referred to an old elephant joke that was quite popular among the soldiers then. After all said and done you succeeded in getting to the bottom of the box or boxes in this case and what you saw was a small box and a large book. At first you thought that that the book was just another piece of a puzzle but after some time feeling with it you quickly realized that is the final price.
"What sort of bullshit is this?"
You yelled
"I went through all that stress just for a piece of paper? If I wanted a book that badly I could have just gone to the library."
You are about to throw the book outside the window but a piece of paper fell out of the box and you picked it up.
Dear reader if you are reading this then is clear that you are one of the lucky 5 who will receive the first closed bata test for our new game congratulations.
"A game?"
You asked in abject confusion
"The book is a game? What kind of scam is this?"
You continued reading
Is your appetite for mysteries wetted because we have something far much more impressive that it will make this little code look like a cave painting. PS if you think our method of introducing your invitation to you is lacking then be rest assured that this piece of paper maybe the last hint of normal you will ever get in a long time. If you disagree take the pill and open the first page of your book.
Out of curiosity you reluctantly did as you were asked...and the card like edge drew blood from your finger. To make matters worse the book absorbed the blood from your finger and it's first page generated a very realistic image of you beside a bunch of writing.
Name: Kenji Udashi Tanaka
Age: 32
Civilian specialization: Military (retired)
Melee: 2 (physical hindrance)
Friction: 0 (physical hindrance)
Senses: 1
Skils
Firearms: level 2
Hand fighting: level 3
Tactic: level 3
System recommendations: Subject possess good talent overall but is burdend by both physical and mental shackles. Recommendation: Break the subject to his last atom extract the guilt and dependancy from him and then forge him anew. It will be interesting to see what comes out of it.
As soon as you finished reading the status page you could not help the slight jittery feeling creeping up your spine but whether it was from fear or excitement you could not really tell. Nevertheless you still soldiered on and continue reading the rest of the letter.
Are you now interested in our game?
Are you now excited? Are you now afraid?Good you should be because in the grim dark all these feelings can kill you just as much as they can keep you alive. Buckle up initiate. This is only the beginning. Welcome to the grim dark.
As if the words themselves were not enough, the minutes you finished reading the last word on it, the whole letter vanished in a puff of black smoke.
"What the hell did I just get into?"
You asked yourself