Shouyou James' Office.

11:23 a.m. 2nd July, 1092.

Suzuki walked through the office hallway, brows drawn in a tight frown. Despite his protest, Kashi insisted on forcing him to come out after every five in-game days, even if only for an hour or two.

Originally, he intended on hitting the gym, but then changed his mind when he saw the sun. He rarely woke up during the day. This was a good opportunity to do something he had been putting off for too long. The young man stopped in front of a door and gently knocked.

Ku. Ku.

"Come in!"

Suzuki tucked his hands into his hoody's pocket and then made his way into the room. 'As expected.' The young man looked at the games sitting around the office. It would not be a Shouyou office without random arcade games littered haphazardly around.

"So, you're finally here, Su-kun."

Suzuki looked across the room to the smugly smirking blonde man seated behind a desk. James Shouyou. Now that Suzuki thought about it, his life went out of whack from the moment he met this man. The young man's eyes narrowed.

"You look pissed." James' smile widened to a full grin. "Well, to be fair, you always look pissed. You should smile more." When Suzuki did not respond, he shrugged and then pointed at the chair. "Take a seat. Bet you've got tons of questions to ask."

"I'm good." Suzuki silently searched James' eyes. In this world, Suzuki had never met a soul he could not read. No one, that is, except this man. "I remembered, James." Suzuki frowned. Kashi's little episode forced him to relive the buried memories. That was why he remembered something he'd forgotten. Something he initially thought irrelevant. "How long?"

James' brow rose. "How long?"

"Since when have you been watching me?" Suzuki's gaze grew cold. "Back then, at the hospital. You were there when I woke up the first time." Suzuki remembered it. The first time he awoke after the accident. The nurse by his bedside who ran away, screaming for the doctor. The door she yanked open in her haste. The blonde man barely visible through the door crack. "That was you, wasn't it?" His memory was hazy. That was to be expected. It was his first memory after a huge accident. Furthermore, his vision was blurry, and he passed out soon after.

Suzuki glared at James. Was this the reason he always held on to that room? During Razznik, and now Kashi's dives, his 'waiting room' always was that white hospital room. Was this a subconscious way of warning himself that there was something he was missing?

"Oh? You remembered?" James leaned back in his chair. His smile relaxed, and he looked at Kashi. "Yes. That was me. You had several third-degree burns. Fixing your skin without leaving any blemishes was expensive, you know?"

Suzuki's frown deepened. This was what he hated the most about this man. James always seemed to be in control. It sometimes felt like everyone else was dancing around in his palms. "Why?"

"Why?"

"Stop playing dumb. Why did you help me? Why did you only show up years later?" Suzuki clenched his fists. "I have a shit ton of questions. So, let's make this quick. I'm not letting Kashi walk into that battle blind." He jabbed his index finger at the smug man. "He needs to know what the hell you're planning. No. What you've been planning for years now."

"Haha!" James burst out laughing. He gave the young man a look of ridicule. "Do you think is some anime? That you're some chosen one I personally groomed all these years for a nefarious plot?" James shook his head and waved his hands. "You've got it all wrong, Su-kun." He shrugged when he noticed the doubt in Suzuki's eyes. "Alright. I've never kept any secrets. You just never asked the right questions. Why did I help you?" James chuckled and reached into his desk cabinet. He pulled out a picture frame and passed it to the youth.

"This is—" Suzuki froze, eyes wide in shock. The picture depicted Mato Ryumaki, his father, and Shouyou James standing in front of an upright blue, transparent pod filled with a strange liquid. Something obscured from view by their hands floated within the pod.

"Your father was the most brilliant man I've had the pleasure of meeting on this planet." James pulled Suzuki's attention to him. "He and Akira are the closest things I have ever had to friends." He revealed a bitter smile as he pointed at the frame. "You—or rather, Razznik already met Light in King's Journey. It's quite honestly, the greatest invention in the history of mankind. A fully sentient artificial intelligence capable of building worlds, other A.Is, and performing more calculations per second than all computers in the world combined." James looked into Suzuki's eyes. "Your father designed that. That was why he couldn't be with you all those years. He bet everything on this one invention."

Suzuki frowned. "What about Lunette and Shadow?"

"Those two?" James wore a wistful smile. "They're the first sentient A.Is Ryu developed. The building blocks for Light, you might say." He scratched his chin. "Back then he was always so mopey and alone. I light-heartedly advised him to design them after something he loves to keep him company. I didn't think he would base the design on his own family."

Suzuki clenched his fists, and tightly shut his eyes. He took a minute to calm down the rage that rushed up to his chest. He could not afford to lose his temper here. Not now. He was eating up enough of Kashi's prep time as it was.

"Oh? You've really learned to control your anger well." James chuckled. The veins bulging on Suzuki's head and neck were hilarious to him. "Time was, you'd have jumped over the table and begun strangling me to death."

"It's not too late." Suzuki opened his eyes as his breath evened out. Despite his words, he shook his head and said, "So, this is the reason you helped me? You were my father's friend?"
"More or less."

"So, you watched me while I was in foster care?" Suzuki brows furrowed. "Then, the contract Razznik supposedly earned. That was all you?" For some reason that left a nasty taste in his mouth. That contract was one of the few things Razznik was satisfied with before he died. Mr. and Mrs. Akio might have gotten a large share of the money, but there was more than enough for Suzuki to live off of when he turned 18 and cut them off as planned. The warrior was glad that, somehow, with his own hands, he forged a brighter future for Suzuki.

The thought that that achievement was all James, was quite frankly, downright disgusting.

"Yeah, it was all me... is what I'd like to say." James snorted as he watched Suzuki's rapidly changing emotions. To most people, Suzuki's face was forever neutral, but James had learned to read the young man's true emotions from his eyes' minute fluctuations. "But, Razznik earned that deal all on his own. To be honest, I was not planning on interfering in your life until you turned 18." He patted his chest with a mournful, wronged expression. "Razznik catching the eyes of our talent scouts was shocking for me too, you know? Nearly had a heart attack when I saw your profile."

"Why?" Suzuki gritted his teeth as he recalled Mr. Akio's favorite belt. "Why did you decide to wait?"

James' smile disappeared when he saw the pain in the young man's eyes. Suzuki was the toughest person James knew. But being tough did not negate the pain. It only meant one was able to bear the pain. Written another way, toughness meant someone had become so accustomed to the pain that they were able to deal with it better than others. "I had to wait. I made a promise to your father."

"What?"

James sighed as he raised his head to look at the ceiling. "Your father loved you, Suzuki. More than you will ever realize. He took so many measures to ensure that should anything ever happen to him, both you and your mother would be okay for the rest of your lives." He revealed a bitter smile and then looked at Suzuki. "You could say, he learned from what he once considered his biggest mistake, and made sure to account for every possible scenario."

Suzuki laughed. "So, he did see me as a mistake."

"Right up until your birth, yes." James honestly revealed the truth. "He often talked about how scared he was. But, that only lasted until you were born. He always said he knew from the moment he first laid eyes on you. "My mission is to make sure Suzu gets everything he wants in this world." He would repeat that phrase to death. Made me sick, to be honest." James shrugged, and then continued, "But that's precisely why he made me swear not to bring you in until you were 18."

"What the hell are you talking about? What changes at 18?"

James shrugged. "You become a billionaire."

"...I'm sorry?"

"Well, a yen billionaire. You'd only be a dollar millionaire." James chuckled and then pointed at the picture. "Aside from a few research grants, Ryu never accepted pay from the company. He, instead, demanded a percentage share of all profits from Light, if and when he completed it." He then looked at Suzuki. "Your house was a research benefit. To be honest, your parents were dirt poor. That is why your father spent all that time in the office. The sooner he finished, the faster your lives could really start."

James shook his head. Reality was often cruel. A man sacrificed his family's present happiness in the hopes of a blissful future. Unfortunately, he lost his life right after accomplishing that dream. James rubbed his face, and then looked at Suzuki. "Aside from your school fees and upkeep, Ryu kept separate accounts for both you and your mother in the event of his death. That is what the Akio's were leeching off of. But, even larger than that, he put you down to inherit his shares in Light, but only when you turned 18. He feared someone might manipulate you to steal your shares if you got it earlier."

James brushed back his hair and then revealed a bitter smile. "As I said, he became paranoidly cautious after you." He sighed and said with a shrug. "That's why I waited so long. You were only supposed to inherit the shares when you turned 18. I didn't think you would suffer that much in the foster care system." He pointed at himself. "I'm a foster care kid too, you know? My first folks weren't the royal-stamp grade, but they at least tried their best. Of course, they don't compare to the old Jedi."

Suzuki frowned. "Who?"

"Never mind." James waved off Suzuki's question, and then linked his fingers. "I believe I've answered your questions, right? Do you have any more?"

"Tons actually." Suzuki did not care about this billionaire nonsense. Being alive was already a blessing he did not deserve... "But I'll ask the one that's been weighing on my mind the longest first." His gaze turned frosty cold. "Taki. Usman Taki. He's one of yours, isn't he?"

James' smile once again blossomed. "Ho? You figured it out? When?"

"First day I met him." Suzuki snorted. "The others didn't personally care about me, but Taki. He was watching me too closely." Suzuki shrugged and then said, "Same with Kashi. Whenever they are together, Miote doesn't stop looking at Kashi. It's obvious someone got him to watch us. The only person who would give a damn about me in this place, and has the power to pull off such a thing." Suzuki pointed at James. "You. You're the only one."

James chuckled. "Look who's been watching Detective Conan. Well, you're not wrong, though he's far from the only one keeping an eye on you two. He's inexperienced, so cut him some slack. Besides, he hasn't reported in a long time." His eyes lit up as he said in jest, "I think he's taken a liking to you two."

"I don't care." Suzuki shrugged. "He can do what he likes. Just needed to confirm that." The youth then held up two fingers. "Question number two. This one's for Kashi. What the hell's up with Zuri? Is she like Lunette and Shadow? Don't even pretend not to know who Zuri is. I know you keep track of everything Kashi does. I won't be surprised if you watch him like a pervert."

"You wound me." James placed his hands over his chest and then scrunched his face in mock-hurt. He then laughed as he remarked, "I only follow Kashi because of you." Ignoring the scorn on the young man's face, he chuckled and then tapped on his desk. A holographic screen appeared, hovering over the table. "Zuri's a special case." The image switched to reveal a hospital room. Several machines, monitors and pipes were hooked up to a tiny, skinny child lying on the bed. "Zuri is the first coma patient to be successfully injected into the gaming world. Hospital researchers are trying to see if Virtual Reality can stimulate coma patients into waking up."

"...And?"

James shook his head. "It's tough to know whether it's a success or not. She is the first, and only candidate so far to enter the program successfully. Furthermore, it seemed to do a number on her mental faculties. Her memories were erased, and she mentally regressed to about an 8-9-year-old." James pointed at the screen. "She's 14, by the way." He released a defeated sigh as he lamented, "There's a system monitoring her progress. It will only give her the option to logout when it deems the situation safe enough. Or else, there's a high chance of regression." James looked at the silent Suzuki. "Don't worry. There's no danger to her life. She can live there till she's grey and old. We're prepared to pay the full price."

Suzuki nodded. That ought to satisfy Kashi's unease. Frankly, he should have asked much sooner, but Kashi was either too busy, or Suzuki woke up at the dead of night.

"Hmm..." James looked at Suzuki. Something was off. All these questions. Sure, they were things Suzuki would have been curious about. But they were not the type of thing that would make this stubborn kid come all the way to his office. Besides, what was it that Suzuki said at the start? "I thought you did not want Kashi to walk into that battle blind?" James grinned. "Why don't you stop beating around the bush, and ask what you really want to know."

"Razznik." Suzuki's gaze turned sinister. "That thing in the game." The young man would never forget the eyes he saw through Kashi's. The arrogance. The way he looked Kashi in the eyes. The way he carried a sword. It was the same. It was exactly the same! "How the hell is Razznik in that world!?"

James' grin grew even wider till they were almost the size of a Cheshire cat's. "Now, that is the real question."

A/N: I hereby dub this volume, the Book of Revelations. Everybody's secrets getting spilled... well, most. Still got some enigmatic figures running around. 

By the way, this volume will end very very soon. If possible, right on 100. Doing the math in my head for how many stories I got scheduled for this volume... Will be very tight, but might be possible.

Everyone's cleaning up their affairs in preparation for the biggest battle arc this story has ever seen!!!

It's gonna be HUGE! Definitely not pulling a Game of Thrones and ending all this build-up in three chapters