We don't talk about Jouno

You can't say sorry for this

The air left Jouno's lungs. When he was nine years old, his parents had been murdered. Brutally and violently, and their bodies had been left in the living room as a message to the government agency they had worked for. When Jouno got home from school that day, he didn't know they were dead. He just knew they weren't there. Jouno was blind, and couldn't see the remains. He had just thought his parents were out visiting relatives or something like that. He'd stayed in that house for a whole day before one of his parents's colleagues came looking for them. Fukuchi had done that. And Jouno had been part of his team from the time he was fourteen to how old he was now, twenty four. He'd worked with the guy for a decade and had never figured it out.

"I do apologize for the theatrics I indulged in then." Fukuchi said, so casually it was like he was saying sorry for playing his music too loud. "I wouldn't have done that if I knew there was a child in the house. Especially not that you were...you know..." "...blind?" Jouno supplied. "You can say blind. That's what I am. It's not a dirty word."

"Why are you telling me this?" Jouno asked. "I have nothing to gain from that knowledge." Fukuchi tilted his head to the side, his neck bones cracking slightly. "You have answers. Closure." Jouno had to try to hold back a laugh at that one. "You are unbelievable." He said. "You think that you'll get me to trust you by telling me you killed my parents. You do realize there are some things you can't just fix by saying sorry. I wonder, have you tried apologizing to Ranpo for killing his dad?"

Fukuchi's voice was low and dangerous when he spoke next. "Don't talk to me about Fukuzawa. She'll bring him back, just like everyone else I hurt along the way. She promised she'll use the book and make it right." Jouno shook his head. He'd never thought Fukuchi was a good leader, but he at least had enough logic that Jouno and the rest of them would follow him into battle. Now, it appeared that all of that had gone out the window. "You said you weren't planning to make Akutagawa your apprentice, even though you promised you would. Why would you think your boss would bring Fukuzawa back?"

For a few seconds, no one said anything. "Because when she makes a promise, she can't break it." Fukuchi eventually said. "Fukuzawa will come back. I wouldn't have done what I did if he wouldn't." Jouno could tell there was no sense in arguing with Fukuchi here. He wasn't getting anything else out of him, at least not about the decay of angels.

"Why did you kill my parents?" Jouno asked, before he could think about what he was saying. He didn't want to play Fukuchi's game. Fukuchi had only said that because he wanted Jouno to ask. Jouno could practically hear the balance of power shifting.

"They worked with a government agency that was close to discovering the identity of the fake decay of angels leader." Fukuchi didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Fukuchi, if you're pointing at yourself, you do realize I can't see you, right?" More silence. "I'm pointing at myself."

"So, you killed my parents because they almost figured out who you were." Fukuchi nodded, as if this knowledge was revolutionary. It wasn't. "Fine. I have my closure." Jouno put air quotations around the word. "If you have no more information, I'm going to leave." Jouno got up to do just that, and got a few steps towards the doorway.

"Jouno, wait." Fukuchi said. Jouno stopped walking. He hid his uncontrollable smile. This would be when Fukuchi would crack. Jouno could feel it. "Yes?" He asked, leaving the question hanging. It was a good feeling, in Jouno's opinion, to know that he had won.

"Snorri Sturlson: the poetic Edda: dial a power, basically. John Milton: paradise lost: demonic possession. Meira Chand: last quadrant: control over water. I have no idea about the other two." Jouno nodded. "Many thanks, captain." He said sarcastically. "You've been a great help."

"This is the last time you're going to see me alive." Fukuchi said. "Is there anything else you want to say?" Jouno couldn't help himself. "I won't see you anything, old man." Fukuchi laughed. Jouno frowned. "We're not going to execute you just yet." Jouno said.

"So I'm guessing you think your team can somehow kill you in your cell. Your power would still be useful to them. Why do you think you're going to die?" Fukuchi didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Because they'll soon have someone else with my ability." It took Jouno a minute to figure out what he meant.

"You have a kid." He said. Fukuchi nodded. "You remember Dumas, right?" Jouno did. Alexander Dumas, one of Fukuchi's many partners in the early days when he was trying to make Fukuzawa jealous. Dumas was nice, very much in that category of way too good for Fukuchi.

"Jouno. Listen to me. The game has changed. You can open the book. She has enough power to kill anyone who would seek to prevent you from doing so. It's no longer about who has the book." Fukuchi said. "It's about who finds the two of us first." Jouno finished. "Well." Jouno finally said. "Are you going to give me a hint?"