Blades of Despair

-Chapter Eighty-

The Final Decision

Morino... is a clone. A clone of the mastermind. No matter how many times those words played over in my head, I came no closer to accepting them as truth. If Morino were a clone, it would answer a number of questions that hadn't been fully resolved, but simply the idea was almost unfathomable. However, when I looked across at Morino, I could see from his eyes that it was the truth, or at least he had come to accept it. If he believes it, why should I doubt him now? His logic has always been right on the money.

"A clone? Did you just say Morino is a clone?" Nishi shouted. "What kind of bullshit-"

"It's not bullshit, Nishi," Ori's father interrupted harshly. "Your beloved Morino is not really Morino Yoshimatsu. He's actually a replica of the man whom Miyagawa knew as his mentor, whom you all know as the leader of the Shadows and the Blades. Your 'Morino' is Kinji Ishotaru." Morino bowed his head in shame.

"How long have you known?" I asked him. Morino shook his head.

"Only during this trial. When Kinji told me he was my father, that Amano's journal was vital to the secrets of the killing game, and that there were other, prepared participants. What connected all of those things? Also, when Morihei was alive, she told me that my talent was related to who I am, not what I am. The pieces started falling together, and I realised that the only way for the Kinji Ishotaru standing before us in this trial chamber to be the same as the Kinji Ishotaru who founded Seiko Academy a century ago was for them to not be the same person. However, once Amano became involved in the discussion, I realised that 'Junichi' was just like us - a student prepared for a killing game."

"Cloning is illegal in the outside world," Ori argued. "How could the Blades of Despair avoid detection if they were conducting such an illegal practice?"

"The laws of the human world don't apply to the Blades of Despair," Junichi laughed.

"That's true," Mina agreed reluctantly. "Seiko Academy's construction was funded by the wealthiest and most powerful families in the world. Also, if what we've been told about the Blades having control over entire cities is correct, then it would not be a far cry to admit that they could conduct research into cloning and not worry about its legality." Ori's face paled.

"So... it's true? Morino is a clone?" She whispered.

"Yes," The Madame affirmed, grinning toothily. "About twenty years after Amano won his killing game, we approached him with a desire to use his talent as a cytologist. At that time, the Blades didn't have as many footholds in the upper echelons of society that we do now. Running the games had become increasingly difficult, as people had started to notice that teenagers were disappearing. We therefore resolved to utilise Amano's talent to create our own talented children. Children like yourselves."

"Was this also how you preserved the original Kinji Ishotaru?" I questioned grimly. The Madame nodded.

"He was a wonderful man," she said with tears sparkling in the corners of her eyes, "but like all of us, his life was finite. He was made painfully aware of this as he aged. He feared that his legacy, and all his hard work, would die with him. We therefore decided to take some of his genetic data and mass-clone him. We were desperate to create another Kinji Ishotaru, and after years of botched attempts, the man to my left was born. Isn't he just beautiful?"

"You warm my heart with your words," Junichi cooed, kissing Madame's pale hand once more.

"I am the one who is blessed," she sobbed, but with the happiest expression on her face. "I have lived long enough to see you in three lifetimes, Kinji. Blessed."