Jakunen Mirai
Chapter 18: Nirvana
***
Another
few months had progressed since the beginning of the investigation into Abel;
the results, until now, had been scarce and unrewarding. But now the news had
reached the Mishima Zaibatsu, along with the Japanese government. Abel’s
genetics firm had created something even more evil than what they’d been planning
for the Devil Gene. The most frightening part was that the research Abel had
done with the Devil Gene previously had been a major part of this abomination.
The
Devil Gene, Kazuya knew only too well, was unusual for a human gene to say the
least; for a start, it went through all stages of dominance between people.
He’d inherited it through his mother, who was heterozygous for the recessive
form of the gene. She was a complete angel as a result; not one evil drop of
blood flowed in her veins. It had been dormant in him, too, and only
heterozygous; however, with Devil’s possession of him, he’d become homozygous
dominant for the Devil condition. That allowed Devil to control him from time
to time. The gene had been passed onto Jin; he was only heterozygous dominant
for the condition, so he seemed much more human when he ‘transformed’. The
other forms of the gene were Incomplete dominance, Co-dominance, and mosaicism.
It
was this unpredictable inheritance of the gene that had inspired Abel to create
this new tangent of evil, it seemed. He’d discovered the means behind the
gene’s inheritance, so the reports said, and had applied it to several viral
strains. One had adapted, with the aid of numerous kinds of genetic therapy and
experimentation, and had developed into one of the nastiest strains of virus
that could affect the human race.
Such
scientific procedures and products were highly illegal in almost every country
in the world because of the complete lack of ethics involved. This was what
worried Kazuya, along with everyone else involved. The virus, like the Devil
Gene, would take on different forms and affect different people in varying
degrees of danger and fatality.
Now,
the Mishima Zaibatsu was working closely in its scientific department to find a
way to destroy viruses; even in today’s day and age, ‘cures’ for viral
infections were not possible so far. Antibiotics, after all, work on biotic
factors, such as bacteria – not non-living chemical-like pathogens such as
viruses. Word had spread through the scientific and business community of this
abhorrence, and many Zaibatsu and companies alike had pooled their resources in
a rush to find a way to destroy the virus, or likewise, Abel – before the
danger could begin.
Apparently
their efforts had been in vain. A new email that Kazuya had just received had
proven it; it was hopeless, they were too late.
Mishima-sama,
We
regret to inform you that we have failed in our joint venture to avert the
disaster hanging above our heads by a thread. Abel’s corporation has released a
beta-strain of the virus just north of the city, and it has already begun to
infect the population from thereon. An attempt to stop the release of the virus
in
We
advise you to put as much emphasis on research as possible from now onward, it
may be humanity’s only hope...we still are unaware of what the virus does.
Kind
regards,
As
he read the mail, Kazuya’s features had taken on a deathly pallor, and he felt
his heart racing, fluttering in his chest painfully...so this was it. This was
Armageddon. Wasting no time, he grabbed the phone next to him roughly, and
punched in numbers.
***
The weeks following the initial release had passed by like seconds; every
minute seemed wasted, and every second seemed to draw closer to the time of
death. The Mishima scientific team had isolated a small sample of the virus,
and had begun researching its genetic makeup. So far, so good, it seemed, as
Kazuya read through the report. He was pacing up and down the length of the
laboratory, making everyone around him quite nervous in the process.
Finally,
he relented, and placed the paper down on the table nearby. “So it seems Abel
isn’t as wonderful as he believes...” Kazuya smirked to himself.
“It
would seem that way, sir.” One of the scientists turned around on his swivel
chair to face the taller man. “The virus affects people with certain
vulnerabilities, but as for others, it has little effect. Symptoms are
flu-like, but can accelerate and develop into something much more fatal very
quickly...only if the person has the vulnerabilities. It’s not airborne either,
because of the weight of the genes fused into its RNA. Infection is via water
supply.”
Kazuya
nodded, and paced some more. He felt incredibly nervous these days, and for
good reasons. It was that nervous energy that caused him to almost leap out of
his skin when his name was called again, this time by a woman sitting further
down the laboratory.
“Mishima-sama?”
Startled,
he turned hastily to face her...most people cringed slightly when they noticed
how uptight he was; an uptight Mishima is one to avoid. “Yes, doctor?” His
voice was mildly strained.
She
recoiled slightly, fearing a dangerous strike if she angered him. “Uh...we’ve
been trying to develop vaccines for the virus, and so far we’ve been
successful...do we have your permission to begin inoculations around the city?”
He
nodded. “Yes. The sooner you begin the better; use as much of the budget as you
need to get the entire city safe. After that, begin fanning out through our
other bases worldwide.”
***
What made a stressful last month had been made worse by bad news within the
company. One of his best employees, a woman determined and loyal to the very
end, was resigning. Her resignation was sitting on his desk, upstairs, read
over a thousand times over these last few days. It was a pity she was leaving
for more than just her value to the company; she was the only gaijin in the
workplace, and had changed the way people worked. She’d changed the way he
worked.
Yet,
he knew it was important for her to leave. Her mother had fallen ill with
leukaemia back home in
Leaving
the work about the new virus – which Abel had dubbed ‘Gaidoku’, meaning poison
in Japanese – he ventured downstairs, after quickly adjusting his dark amethyst
tie and pulling on his navy business coat. As the lift opened, music flooded
into the air, along with sombre voices, quietly humming over the noise from the
speakers.
The
room was lavishly decorated with gold streamers and balloons, tables laden with
food, and a massive ‘Goodbye Sheree Brown’ banner hanging over the windows on
the far wall. As people saw him coming, there were nudges and whispers passed
from person to person. Eventually, as he made his way through the cafeteria,
the only sound left was the dimming tunes played from the sound system. Sheree
herself was standing by a table at the back of the room, talking to her best
friend, Yuki.
Kazuya
approached the pair slowly; Yuki saw him first, and turned Sheree around to
face him. The woman’s blue eyes were burdened with tears that dared not fall,
though her reddened cheeks beneath streaks of blonde hair showed that tears had
fallen earlier on. When she saw him, she bit her lip...and he paused, suddenly
not sure what to say.
“You
do know this company’s not going to be the same without you...”
She
smiled and nodded, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. “I know,
I know...there’ll be nothing but a sea of black heads on all floors as of
tomorrow.”
He
chuckled softly, though his smile was somewhat sombre to match the mood the
room had taken on. “That, and everyone’s going to lose
morale. You kept this place on its heels every moment you were present.”
Before
she could reply, he turned and walked toward the right end of the room; a small
stage had been erected, with a lectern and all. Looks like it
was time for the farewell speech by the CEO himself.
The
music lost volume and fell silent, and eventually, everyone turned to face the
stage. No notes were in Kazuya’s hand; he knew what he wanted to say, and
needed no speech before him to say it. And, needless to say, he needn’t tap on
a glass to get everyone’s attention. He merely had to be present.
Once
the rabble had ceased, he took a breath, and began to speak. “I know for
certain, ladies and gentlemen, that no one in this room would disagree with me
when I say that today is a poignant day indeed for the Mishima Zaibatsu. As we
all know too well, as of tonight, we are about to lose one of our most
qualified, most elite, most respected accounts people, and the most outstanding
personality most of us have had the pleasure and privilege of working with in
years.
“Sheree
Brown has served the Mishima Zaibatsu from well within my Father’s reign, right
up until now; the entire time, she has effortlessly and subconsciously lifted
the morale of the entire workplace, and thus has aided the Zaibatsu’s efforts
in this latest series of crises in an immeasurable way. Losing her won’t just
be losing a friend; for most of us, we’re losing a family member.
“But
it is this theme, to my understanding, that drives her need to resign and move
on; ill relatives at home need her caring presence more than we do here at the
Zaibatsu. So, though we regret to say goodbye to one of the most profound
employees this company has seen in decades, we know she’s going on to somewhere
she is needed even more.
“We’ve
all watched with amusement as she’s blended into the Japanese culture and our
workplace – or tried to, at least. Our token gaijin has kept us amused throughout
her time here with various antics, her choice of words, the way she’s changed
us all in varying degrees...and of course, her accent.”
At
this point, there were a few snickers from the audience before him.
“This
friendship she’s willingly offered every single one of us has made it even more
difficult for us to say goodbye to her this evening, especially with our need
of her benevolent presence as of late. However, other motives are often more
important in a person’s life than business and the outside world; for those
that are lucky enough to have a family, they must be there for them in times of
need. Sheree’s family need her with them now, so, it is with a heavy heart, on
behalf of the Mishima Zaibatsu, that I bid her farewell, and a safe journey
into the perilous future ahead.”
As
he finished, the large portion of the Zaibatsu’s staff present burst into
rapturous applause, those that were sitting down rising to their feet in their
ovation. At the main table, Sheree had exploded with tears of joy, and was
trying to halt their descent with a fresh tissue. Around her, people raised
their glasses, cheering, saluting her.
Kazuya
stepped down off the stage, and disappeared into the crowd for a while. As he did, the speaker system came alive once more with music; an
old classic from twenty-five years in the past, and almost a cliché in this
situation; Vitamin C, Graduation. Still, it had the same effect it did
on any crowd saying goodbye to someone; caused many a tear to fall. Since the
party was nearly over, the true goodbyes had begun. Friends and colleagues were
taking turns in saying their farewells to the lone blonde, hugging, shaking
hands, saying kind words she would never forget. This too, was a day she’d
never forget; the day she was to leave her second family. One day, perhaps, she
would return; but it wouldn’t be the same. Kazuya would have grown older, and
would have become further from her reach than he already was. It was a thought that
pained her immensely.
After
a few more songs, he appeared out of the crowd as randomly as he’d disappeared
into it beforehand, and gently laid a hand on her shoulder. She jumped,
startled by his sudden appearance, and turned to him. She’d been thinking over
these last few weeks...should he know how she felt about him? Of course, there
was a possibility that knowledge was more widespread than she hoped; after all,
those that hadn’t heard from her herself had probably figured it out by now. He
probably knew that she ‘had a crush on him’, or whatever the rumours had
developed into.
With
that in mind, she reached up and hugged him tightly around the neck. This time,
it was his turn to be startled. He eventually wrapped his arms around her
though, holding her in a gentle embrace. He knew he was going to miss his
little gaijin.
“Mishima-sama?”
He
pulled away, though staying in close proximity, and looked down at her. “I’m
not your superior any more, remember? Just call me Kazuya...”
She
smiled, and brushed hair from her eyes. “Kazuya...”
This
time, he responded by raising his eyebrows expectantly.
“I
don’t know how to say this...” She fiddled with her nails, suddenly unable to
look him in the eye. “I guess you’ve probably heard it all before...but...” She
looked up at him again, expecting impatience...but say none, only a look of
expectation in his eyes, waiting for her to say whatever it was she needed to
say. But what she needed to get out wasn’t able to be expressed with mere
words. Finally, she decided to go with it...there was nothing anyone could do,
she was no longer employed. Without warning, she leaned back and grabbed him
with both arms again, this time, forcing her lips against his.
Surprisingly,
a muffled ‘mmph’ was the only resistance he offered. After a second he relented
completely, relaxing in her grasp. And she, Sheree Brown, had died and gone to
heaven. Those lips she’d wanted to kiss for years were sweeter than she could
have imagined; so incredibly soft, so delightfully warm...as her tongue lashed
against his in his mouth, she felt his arms wrap around her waist again,
holding her tighter against him than he’d done before. She had indeed, reached
heaven in this incredible man’s arms. It made leaving him and his Zaibatsu even
more painful than before.
Around
them, even though neither could hear them, the crowd erupted with cheers and
applause once more; yes, indeed, everyone knew her secret...and most had prayed
that one day she would get the opportunity, before she left, to fulfil at least
a small portion of her dreams. It seemed her dream had come true, to get to the
point...the two hadn’t engaged in a short kiss by any means.
Finally,
Kazuya drew back and parted the sweet passion they’d exchanged. The look in his
eyes was enough to make Sheree start crying all over again; he was showing, to
her alone, a soft, tender side of his personality kept way below the
surface...in his eyes was a hint of something...like he almost cared for
her...not as an employee, but as something more. He reached up and gently
touched her cheek with one slender hand, then brushed her golden hair away from
her face. Then he smirked ever so slightly. “To answer your question; yes, the
rumours did reach me.”
She
blushed a colour similar to that of a beetroot, and
covered her face with both hands, forcing back embarrassed giggled. She
honestly didn’t know what to say. To save her the trouble of finding words, he
gave her a firm hug again, which she happily responded to. “We’re all going to
miss you, you know; myself, most of all...”
Yes,
she had died and gone to heaven. She had reached Nirvana, achieved
enlightenment, found the Garden of Eden, and died in sheer bliss. If only this
wasn’t for a goodbye...this man, despite his age, was a man she would love to
marry, settle down with, have kids with...if only life wasn’t so harsh, the
dream might have become reality. But she knew that a man like him didn’t really
need a wife, and he was too enigmatic to even dream of proposing to.
So,
though she would have loved for so much more to have happened between them, she
knew that this was it. This was goodbye. She pulled back, gave her face a final
dab with the tissues, and prepared to leave. “I’d better head for the airport;
my flight home is in two and a half hours...”
Kazuya
nodded, straightening out his jacket. “There’s a limousine waiting outside the
mansion for you...”
She
blinked, and looked back at him. Limousine?
He
smirked, and led her away. “Don’t tell me you thought we’d send you off in a
lousy taxi...”
Shaking
her head, she smiled and headed out to the limo, quickly grabbing her bags as
she left the room. Most of the room’s population followed her as well, and as
the boot was packed, as she stepped inside, the air was filled with screams,
cheers, clapping, goodbyes and sobs, which carried right through the night air
for everyone in
A
little while later, as she was checking in at customs, she felt a hand fall
gently onto her shoulder. Did she have someone waving her off as she went
through the final checkpoint?
She
turned, and saw Kazuya...much to her surprise. He smirked at her startled
expression. “I forgot to give you this.” He handed a small white envelope to
her; her name was written on the front in Kanji, in almost the neatest darned
handwriting she’d ever seen. Yes, he was an elegant creature, wasn’t he? She
was about to open it, when he stopped her. “Ah-ah, don’t open that until you
get back home to
She
opened her mouth to respond, but he placed a finger against her lips. “Promise
me...”
Smiling,
she nodded, and placed the envelope in her handbag. “Alright, I promise.” After
a moment, she looked back up at him. “You didn’t just come here as a
messenger-boy, did you?”
Kazuya
shook his head after a short moment, and leaned down to capture her lips once
more. With a soft moan, she threw her arms around his shoulders again, clinging
like she’d never let him go. She didn’t want to, let’s put it that way. As long
as the embrace lasted – though it was the most passionate kiss they’d shared so
far – it ended, for her, way too soon. As he broke away again, she rested the
side of her face against his solid chest. “I’ll miss you, Kazuya-sama...”
He
kissed the top of her forehead lightly. “I’ll miss you too.”
***
As sombre and as lifeless as the last month or so without Sheree’s presence in
the workplace had been, there had been a lot of action centring around Gaidoku. Though many major companies and institutes
worldwide had bought the technology from the Zaibatsu to begin distributing and
manufacturing the much-need vaccine, it seemed that those efforts too had been
in vain.
Their
limited luck had ended the threat of the beta-strain of the virus by protecting
the planet against it; it had also been highly unstable, and after a few
generations of virus, the disease had self-disrupted and become extinct.
However,
Abel’s organisation had predicted such, and had finally released the true
version of the virus; it no longer adhered to the original criteria of its
predecessor’s biology. It infected anyone it pleased, regardless of strengths
and weaknesses. Thank god it was a slow spreader, because it had already begun
infecting various people worldwide. For those of western descent, it was like
pneumonia; it had them bed-ridden or in hospital, closely quarantined in
whatever country they were in. For those of darker ethnicity, for example,
those of Asian descent, it seemed to slowly progress worse and worse; so far,
there hadn’t been a survivor. For those with very dark complexion, it was
deadly within 72 hours of infection.
Abel’s
organisation had designed the virus to begin eliminating those he considered
‘weaker’ or ‘lesser’ people in the most politically incorrect manner ever. He
was indirectly causing genocide in cultures other than the western culture, and
was proud of it.
The
Mishima Zaibatsu and her allies were swiftly setting to work on a vaccine, and
hopefully, a cure – using cutting-edge technology and scientific know-how. The
future looked bleak, but the technology and cooperation of so many people
worldwide brought a glimmer of hope into the darkening world. Most countries
around the world had decided that they were faced with an epidemic; in less
than two weeks, the world was faced with a pandemic of a deadly disease. The
spread may have been slow, but it was a spread nevertheless. For many, it
seemed the end had finally come; what was once an innocent exploration into the
unknown had swiftly become an elimination of ethics as the final line had been
crossed.