He was the CEO of Okumura Foods, which also overlooked a fast-food chain. His true interest was politics, however. He wanted to gain more of a foothold into that world.
That's awful. I didn't- [Way to go, Eddie. Way to turn the conversation around from something casual to getting her to mention her dad's murder.] Sorry, I didn't know.
Do you want to talk about it? Or we can switch conversation tracks right now- [He doesn't know her well enough to dive this deep into family talk if she doesn't want to, he knows that.] -and just talk about... something else.
[ She puts the spoon back in the soup and folds her hands in her lap. They're unseen to anyone else, fingers twisting and knotting together. ]
My father... sought power. To be up there among the politicians. And to do it, he was willing to trample and abuse the food workers and anyone below him. He was willing to make a pawn out of anyone and he was willing to borrow help from less savory sources in order to get rid of his competition or anyone who spoke poorly of him and his methods.
Of course, those sources didn't wish to have this information regarding them leaked, so they had already taken steps to remove him from the picture when he came forward to speak of it. So he was... killed, in a manner that could be traced to no one. You could call it a... "mental shutdown".
[Eddie's abandoned his sandwich while Haru speaks for now, letting it rest on his plate. He lances his fingers together, letting those rest on the table -- he's interested, because of course he is, but he's also sorry that Haru has to recite this at all. It must be hard, getting those words out.]
Your father, it sounds like he... lost his way at some point. Not that I hobnob with those that high up the food chain, but that's how it goes. The bigger you get, the more you care about the paycheck, or the influence. Forget about how you started...
[Hell, he can say that about a number of bands. Still, Eddie's jaw sets a little. "Mental shutdown"? Is that like-- poison causing psychosis or something?]
But someone did manage to trace it and find the killer, right? You said his sources did it.
[ It's hard. It hasn't even been a year and she's spoken distantly of it enough, but it's never that simple. So she closes her eyes, briefly, fingers now trembling as they tuck against each other. Still unseen, at least. ]
He did. He forgot everything about what my grandfather wanted for the company and used it - and me - to serve his own ends. I just... wanted my old father back. I wanted him to be able to take responsibility and work towards a better outcome. And at the end, he did try, but...
[ Well. Eddie knows now. ]
... Yes. Rather, after some time had passed, I suspected that it had been them. My friends were being framed for his death and the one who had actually killed him was planning to trap us in a moment of weakness. It didn't quite go as he'd intended, of course.
In the end, Eddie-san, it very much ties into the supernatural nature of what I told you about before. There are deaths that happen that the police can't explain, which means those who did it can't be held accountable normally.
At least he tried. [At least he had that change of heart.] To be better, at the end.
[Haru’s situation sounds utterly complicated—framed for her father’s death? Really? That resonates a little too much—and once again, the supernatural’s being brought up in a way that makes his skin crawl.]
What kind of person would do something like that? [That’s a rhetorical question. He knows what kind: a gigantic asshole with grand plans that involve hurting everyone else. (Stupid fucking Vecna.)] I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. I know what it’s like.
Yeah, uh... [He rubs the back of his neck.] A girl I knew, from high school, she was killed in a way that no one could really explain. All that supernatural shit, it was to blame.
Anyway, I ended up taking the blame for it, so. Yeah, I get it. Not something we should be happy to share in common, but- [Shrugs.] I don't know, yours still sounds worse.
It is what it is. I can't do anything about it now. Me and a group of others were trying to get to the bottom of it, trying to set things straight, but...
[He's not sure how all that went down, in the end.]
Now that I'm here, I can't do a lot more than hope for the best. But sorry, I'm not trying to bring us down.
[Closure's something he's never going to get. But still, that last bit does win a laugh from him, dry but not insincere. Like a bit of his tension spooling out with the same air expelled from his lungs.]
Yeah. How much worse could it get, huh? Think we're all set, then.
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You got, like, bad experiences with people who've done that before?
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What does your father do?
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Yes. But he was also murdered during a televised conference.
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Shit.]
That's awful. I didn't- [Way to go, Eddie. Way to turn the conversation around from something casual to getting her to mention her dad's murder.] Sorry, I didn't know.
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I'm sorry, for phrasing it so bluntly, but I've come to learn it's been worse to try and explain it delicately.
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I can't go into too many details about it, but if you'd like to learn more, I can tell you.
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I'd like to know more about what you're willing to tell me.
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[ She puts the spoon back in the soup and folds her hands in her lap. They're unseen to anyone else, fingers twisting and knotting together. ]
My father... sought power. To be up there among the politicians. And to do it, he was willing to trample and abuse the food workers and anyone below him. He was willing to make a pawn out of anyone and he was willing to borrow help from less savory sources in order to get rid of his competition or anyone who spoke poorly of him and his methods.
Of course, those sources didn't wish to have this information regarding them leaked, so they had already taken steps to remove him from the picture when he came forward to speak of it. So he was... killed, in a manner that could be traced to no one. You could call it a... "mental shutdown".
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Your father, it sounds like he... lost his way at some point. Not that I hobnob with those that high up the food chain, but that's how it goes. The bigger you get, the more you care about the paycheck, or the influence. Forget about how you started...
[Hell, he can say that about a number of bands. Still, Eddie's jaw sets a little. "Mental shutdown"? Is that like-- poison causing psychosis or something?]
But someone did manage to trace it and find the killer, right? You said his sources did it.
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He did. He forgot everything about what my grandfather wanted for the company and used it - and me - to serve his own ends. I just... wanted my old father back. I wanted him to be able to take responsibility and work towards a better outcome. And at the end, he did try, but...
[ Well. Eddie knows now. ]
... Yes. Rather, after some time had passed, I suspected that it had been them. My friends were being framed for his death and the one who had actually killed him was planning to trap us in a moment of weakness. It didn't quite go as he'd intended, of course.
In the end, Eddie-san, it very much ties into the supernatural nature of what I told you about before. There are deaths that happen that the police can't explain, which means those who did it can't be held accountable normally.
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[Haru’s situation sounds utterly complicated—framed for her father’s death? Really? That resonates a little too much—and once again, the supernatural’s being brought up in a way that makes his skin crawl.]
What kind of person would do something like that? [That’s a rhetorical question. He knows what kind: a gigantic asshole with grand plans that involve hurting everyone else. (Stupid fucking Vecna.)] I’m sorry you had to go through all of that. I know what it’s like.
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Since you knowing what it's like means you went through something similar. I'm sorry, too-- that such a thing happened to you.
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Anyway, I ended up taking the blame for it, so. Yeah, I get it. Not something we should be happy to share in common, but- [Shrugs.] I don't know, yours still sounds worse.
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I don't think we should compare, really... that's also incredibly terrible. And to be framed for it...
I really am sorry, Eddie-san.
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It is what it is. I can't do anything about it now. Me and a group of others were trying to get to the bottom of it, trying to set things straight, but...
[He's not sure how all that went down, in the end.]
Now that I'm here, I can't do a lot more than hope for the best. But sorry, I'm not trying to bring us down.
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... I hope it does work out for the best. You certainly aren't someone I believe would ever kill an innocent girl.
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[Not like that. The sight is still engraved into every groove of his brain; that night will reside in his nightmares for a long time to come.]
Well, I just wouldn't. But thanks, I hope it works out for them, too. And I'm glad that you got to the bottom of your dad's murder, in the end.
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... Well, I suppose if we haven't traumatized each other by now, we ought to be fine living together?
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Yeah. How much worse could it get, huh? Think we're all set, then.
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