OOC note: Please see the previous thread if you have not already before reading this thread, as this thread is a follow-up to that one. A link will be provided
Here.Thank you.
Now please enjoy the story.
The Story:
Aunt Cynthia drank some of her iced tea before answering.
"Well, seeing as you're a smart man like your father and mother, i'll make this interesting: i'll tell you a clue, and if you can figure out how it plays into this in some way, i'll let you ask a question that I have to answer with a fact. We keep repeating this process until you find the truth, deal?" she said with a smile.
Shinji did indeed love mystery stories, and they were his favorite kind since he was a child. He loved the thrill of managing to guess the truth before the story could explain it. He had gotten so good at it, that he calculated that nine times out of ten he could get it right.
The one time out of ten tended to be from some of his favorite mysteries, the ones that could get his heart pounding with anticipation.
He also was the type to learn for himself, never really asking questions unless he needed to clarify something.
His Aunt Cynthia had introduced them to him, giving him his first mystery story, a physical copy of 'The Purloined Letter', which he treasured.
"Alright, then. Give me the clue, please." he said, drinking down the water, and mentally began to think in a manner like a certain great detective.
- Mystery Theme:
"Okay. The first clue concerns my sister, your Aunt Belia. She's a big player in all of this." she said to him.
The moment she said that, his mind immediately went into overdrive, and he closed his eyes to visualize the case before him, assuming a 'Gendo pose'. in the process.
How was his Aunt Belia connected to all of this? Besides being a part of the family and all, of course.
According to his mother, she had been there when he was born, as well as-
"Doing okay so far?" Aunt Cynthia asked him, briefly interrupting his train of thought.
"Thinking." he said tersely, and Cynthia smiled. That was a sure sign that Shinji was beginning to work out the solution.
"No, no. Think outside the box. Consider the clue from all angles." he thought, dismissing theory after theory in his head.
He began to think back on the photos, the main evidence he was basing this whole case on.
From somewhere in early February until late october of the year he was born, there weren't any photos of his mother, as she would have been pregnant during that time.
But, he now realized, there was something else odd too.
In all the photos after that, he hadn't given it much thought before, much to his now-great consternation.
"I think I have an answer. Does it have anything to do with why Aunt Belia isn't, now that I think about it, present in any photos from that time either?" he said, opening his eyes again after several minutes.
"You are indeed correct. It does have to do with that." she said, nodding.
"I see." he said. He figured that she would omit certain details to the point where it could only technically be called a fact.
She didn't have to say exactly why, after all.
Which was just fine with him.
He liked it this way.
"Your turn, now. Ask me a question." she asked him.
Knowing Shinji, he would always try to ask the fewest amount of questions simply because he would see this as a challenge.
An interesting one, at that.
"Hmmm...." he muttered, carefully considering what to ask for a moment before he finally said something again, eyes wide with a potential realization.
"Does the truth have anything to do with why Aunt Belia has no children?" he said.
"Correct again. Would you like another clue?" she asked him.
"Yes, please. One more clue." he said, slowly beginning to have an idea as to what was going on.
If it was what he thought it was, then his next question would be his last.
"Alright. Your next clue is this: As you know, your mother and I have the same birthday, February 9th. But that year, your mother gave your Aunt Belia something on that day even though her birthday isn't until later that year." She said, the unspoken question being 'why?'.
At this one, Shinji's theory solidified in his head upon having come up with an answer.
"Does it have something to do with Aunt Belia's gift to mom?" he said.
"Yes. Have you figured it out yet, or do you need another clue from me?" she asked him, a smirk beginning to form on her face.
"No, because I believe, my dear Aunt Cynthia, i've figured it all out." he said, with a smirk that matches the true face of a high-rolling gambler who's drawn a royal straight flush in a game of poker.
He simply can't lose.
- Shinji's Theme (Overwrites Mystery Theme):
"Alright then, Sherlock Shinjiro, why don't you present your theory to me, then?" she asked him, a smirk beginning to form on her face as well. Sherlock Shinjiro, or rather, Sherlock Shinji, was a nickname that Shinji had when he was younger, given to him by his father, who loved how Shinji always seemed to figure out the mysteries before the detectives themselves solved it.
She had to wonder why Shinji didn't become a detective himself.
Shinji, for his part, was actually considering taking the necessary classes to become qualified as one in case being a writer didn't pan out.
"Alright then." he said, nodding, taking another sip of water before answering.
"It's elementary, my dear Aunt Cynthia. I believe that the reason why no photos exist of my Aunt Belia and my mother during the time of my pregnancy was to cover up something that had taken place. If I am correct in what I presume, the exact reason is Aunt Belia is my surrogate mother with a womb, but no ovaries, while my mother had the ovaries, but no womb, meaning both would be normally unable to have children. That would explain why Aunt Belia's gift was taking my mother's eggs: It was so that my mother could have me. I almost didn't consider this a possibility until I recalled seeing a certain article in the newspaper today concerning new breakthroughs in terms of surrogate parenting. Showing either one of them during the time of the pregnancy would have raised some very personal questions, the sort that people are not likely to answer. Am I wrong?" he said, smiling.
His Aunt Cynthia smiled, clapping lightly.
"Well done, Shinji. Here's your prize for figuring it out." She said, handing him an envelope with some money in it, taking a sip of her iced tea.
"Thank you." he said graciously, pocketing the envelope.
"Of course, there's more to the story than that. I think that if you're smart enough to deduce from what I told you the story behind your birth, I think I can fill in a few more details about your parents. Your mother never did tell you about her life before she came to Junction, did she?" she asked him.
That caught Shinji's attention. His mother nor any of his Aunties talked about how life was for them before they came to Junction. It was practically public knowledge that they had been immigrants from another world, but as for the world in particular, that much wasn't exactly known to the public.
"No, she hasn't. Do tell, please." he said.
"Alright. Then let me go make another cup of Iced tea for myself first." she said, getting up to take the glass, and leaving him to ponder what he had just found out.
He had to wonder:
Just what other secrets were his parents hiding from him?
To be Continued...
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