K R:B by Azano Kouhei
6 (extract 2, pages 164-172)
“You two, too,” Totsuka addressed the two boys. “You now understand what kind of place Homura is, right? So just decide by yourselves what you’re going to do next. After carefully thinking it over, OK?”
“…”
The boys looked bewildered. But despite their puzzlement, it seemed that they both were now properly facing ahead - facing towards the future.
Now that Totsuka thought about it, he was about their age when he first met Suoh. It was only a few years, too, but it felt as if they had been spending time together ever since his birth.
Disbanding Homura would be a mistake, after all, he was convinced. Even if the problems it faced were agonizing, hard to figure out and hard to do something about, it was worth it - at least to Totsuka - to try and struggle till the bitter end.
“Alright then,” Totsuka strengthened his resolve.
But…
“Found them! Over here!”
The once popular shopping street was almost abandoned, but suddenly not a small number of men came crowding it all at once.
All the men wore the same uniform. The blue uniform. A groan was threatening to make its way up Totsuka’s throat. Scepter 4 had arrived. What were Yata and Fushimi doing? No, these men didn’t look like the remnants that made it past those two. Another squad then.
Scepter 4’s troops made to charge in but suddenly stopped with a start.
Suoh was standing there.
Totsuka ventured a glance to the side but promptly looked away. Although Suoh was his king, the pure villainous face he was making, made the pit of Totsuka’s stomach run chill. Suoh was gloomy beyond measure, truly looking moments from exploding. Wrong time, both for Totsuka, and, of course, for Scepter 4.
“…Hey.”
That one word almost sent the two boys swooning.
“What d"you want.”
It was like a gust of doom from h.e.l.l. As if strummed by it, the Blues took a fighting stance, their now sweaty faces drawn. Totsuka couldn’t blame them, because he himself shared their sentiments at the moment.
And it was only the beginning.
“I thank you for the earlier, Red King.”
The Blues crowding the place parted to let a single young man unhurriedly come forward. Totsuka’s cheeks twitched.
The blue uniform the man was clad in looked offendingly good on him. The brilliant guardian governing “order”, he walked as if gliding, the coattails of his uniform swishing elegantly, and his presence was absolutely overwhelming.
The Blue King, Munakata Reishi.
To make things worse, Totsuka had no idea how to interpret that “thank you for the earlier” remark the Blue King dropped. It couldn’t be that they…? Totsuka chanced a sidelong glance at Suoh and found that Suoh’s already fiendish-looking countenance got even more steamrolling.
“Get lost,” Suoh spat out as last advice.
Even demons would have scrambled to evacuate at once upon hearing that warning.
The Blue King, however, coolly took no heed.
“In the course of Scepter 4’s work, the need arose to hear what Yamata-shi over there might have to say on a certain matter. Will you relinquish his custody to us?”
Yamata cowered with fear.
Munakata continued, addressing the strains, “—Ah yes, also, I would like the two of you to accompany us. You are not registered yet, and I have a few questions to ask of you.”
Although there was a smile on his chiseled intellectual features, the Blue King uttered it like his words were the only absolute truth in existence. He acted like he owned the place. He was faultlessly refined and courteous, yet what was that unmistakable oozing vainglory…? Ouch, this… Totsuka was lost for words. This was looking really dicey. That king turned out to be the type the least compatible with Suoh.
As Totsuka had feared.
“…I’ll repeat one last time for you. Get lost. You’re an eyesore,” Suoh informed him, loading the words with all of his disgust, hostility and irritation.
The slight smile playing on the Blue King’s lips slowly changed its overtone as his eyes behind the gla.s.ses narrowed. “I seem to recall you saying that you were not going to give me orders?”
The corners of Suoh’s mouth lifted in a predatory grin. Totsuka’s restlessness reached its peak.
“H-Hold on a second! Intervening with other clans is prohibited by Protocol 120! Demanding we hand Yamata over to you is unjustified, no?”
To frantically sputtering Totsuka, the Blue King replied smilingly - and icily, “For the time being, we simply wish to question him on the circ.u.mstances of the matter. Depending on the result, we might hand him over to the judicial branch… although as far as dealings with supernatural ability holders are concerned, we Scepter 4 are entrusted with full authority in most cases. Naturally, the issue will be settled if he is not guilty.”
“But—?!”
Totsuka was about to lean forward, but Suoh stopped him, extending his arm to the side.
Before Totsuka could say anything, “In short,” Suoh reaffirmed, scowling at the Blue King, “you wanna pick a fight, right, Munakata? You really love beating around the bush, huh.”
No, no, no, no! Totsuka paled. What was Suoh saying! A fight between 2 kings? No, no, no, no. If it was a joke, it was a really bad one. What’s more, it reeked of ill omens. After all, Suoh was the Red King and Munakata Reishi was the Blue King. Jokes aside, the worst possible map altering fight was no joke at all.
“…Suoh Mikoto. a.s.suming that you are capable of providing not only knee-jerk replies, I have a question for you…” Munakata slowly pushed up his gla.s.ses, his smile never wavering. “What is it in it for you to be protecting Yamata-shi, nothing to say of the two strains, at this time? I am offering you to take that burden off your hands, you know? To take care of a few problems that Homura is ridden with at the moment.”
Suoh spat on the ground exaggeratedly and took out a pack of cigarettes slowly. Fishing out one, he put it into his mouth, produced a lighter, lit the cigarette and took a long drag. Exhaling the smoke lazily, he nodded with his chin towards the Blue King - towards the saber strapped to his hip,
“King?!”
“—Captain.” The female member of the troops standing next to the Blue King requested his orders in a sharp voice.
Totsuka panicked and braced himself. If the kings came to blows, he would have to fight all the Scepter 4 troops standing before him right now. He moved his hand to grasp his PDA in order to call for help, although in his head a chorus was still chanting, ‘You gotta be kidding me?!’ No, before that, he wanted to scream at the female Blue, "Why are you egging them on?!’
“…So it is unavoidable then,” the Blue King sighed.
And then - his eyes took on an extraordinarily freezing, absolute zero reaching glint.
“Awashima-kun. I am leaving you in command of the troops. I shall hold off Suoh Mikoto. While I do, please arrest Yamata Daichi and the two strains. Once you do, withdraw. Let us end this as quickly as possible.”