Fushimi was in a park near the bar.
On a small, roofed arbor’s bench, Fushimi was was sitting hunched over. After Yata had viewed that from a distance for a little while, he slowly stepped forward and approached Fushimi.
“Hey.”
When Yata came closer and raised his hand lightly, Fushimi glanced at him. Making a face that was sulky, or perhaps bored, he met Yata’s gaze for a moment before immediately looking away.
“…hey.”
Even then, he did at least reply, and softened his presence as though to allow Yata’s approach. Come to think of it, ever since they had met this guy had given off a strong aura that didn’t let people close. To the point that it seemed like there was a physical wall.
It was surprisingly easy to tell when Fushimi’s atmosphere was letting someone come closer. He could hear the lock on the small door in the walls surrounding Fushimi unlock with a small noise. It wasn’t like the door would open from the other side. It was just that it was as though it were giving off a small signal, like saying ‘if you wanna come in, fine’.
On that subject, he thought that since they had entered Homura he hadn’t taken time and talked with this guy anymore. Homura was rowdy, and unlike when they were together in middleschool, Yata hadn’t paid much attention to Fushimi. He didn’t know if it was because of that, but recently he felt as though the moments where he didn’t really get Fushimi had increased.
“…we’re gonna barge into the Center, they said.” Yata spoke as he sat down next to Fushimi, and Fushimi snorted.
“If we mess up, it might turn into war with the golden clan.”
“I say bring it on.”
“…do you get it?” From behind his gla.s.ses, Fushimi looked coldly at Yata’s face.
“If it really ended up facing off against the golden king, your precious Homura might get crushed."
Those words. .h.i.t a nerve, and Yata stood up without thinking.
"Saru, are you trying to say that Homura would lose to the goldens or something!?”
“The clan’s scale is different. If you think about it calmly, even an idiot can understand, right?”
He was about to yell in response to that mocking tone, but Yata squeezed his fists and shut his mouth. Fushimi raised an eyebrow at those unexpected actions.
“…why did you say it like "your precious Homura’. You’re Homura too, aren’t you."
Fushimi stiffened for just a moment, but immediately frowned and turned away.
"Saru…”
“Shut it.” Fushimi said irritably, standing up.
“I just wanted to say it. Going by how things were when we infiltrated the Center, that place didn’t seem to be trusted by the golden king. You were just acting all innocently excited, so I put a stop to it in advance.” Saying that in a cold voice, Fushimi sighed once.
“…Mikoto-san isn’t all-powerful or anything.” It wasn’t a mocking tone. Maybe because of that, even though they were words that should have annoyed Yata, he didn’t get angry. It was just as though he felt like he was looking at something mysterious as he watched Fushimi.
“Saruhiko’s going too, right. To crash the place.” He said that in a tone like when they were in middleschool and he was extending an invitation to the arcade on the way home, and Fushimi widened his eyes slightly in surprise, then clicked his tongue quietly.
“I’ll go.”
“Don’t be upset about that kid.”
“…just for the record, I’m not upset about anything, and I’m not obligated to be upset about anything either.”
“Wha, that kid got hurt because you said something thoughtless, you know!”
“Don’t say that right after you tell me not to be upset about it.”
“Guh… you really have a bad att.i.tude!” Even while arguing and shoving Fushimi slightly, Yata felt just a bit at ease because it was like they had returned somewhat to how they used to be, even though they had been distant recently.
Kusanagi and Totsuka faced each other over a map of the Center in the seats furthest back in the bar. Beside that, Suou was sitting on a sofa, and leaning back. The other members were noisily going in and out of the bar while getting ready for the attack by contacting each other, preparing things that could be used as weapons, and that sort of thing.
“We’ll also need to guard Honami-sensei. So we’d better leave a few guys here.” Said Kusanagi. Totsuka lightly folded his arms while looking over the map.
“Going by how things went when we infiltrated the Center, I think Anna-chan probably isn’t in one of the above ground floors. The place we got into was surprisingly open, so I’d think that the important Strains would all be put into the underground parts.”
“Can’t tell how to get into the bas.e.m.e.nt from just this map. I guess we’ll just have to directly /have someone tell us/, huh.” Kusanagi looked up from the map, and looked out of the corner of his narrowed eyes at the king who didn’t even try to partic.i.p.ate in the planning session.
“Mikoto. This time, don’t you be doin’ anythin’ too crazy.” Without moving his body at all, Suou just used his eyes to glance at Kusanagi.
“This is a pretty dangerous bridge, after all. We’re pickin’ a fight with the golden king of all people, and there’ll be a hospital full of civilians right by us. We can’t afford to mess up.”
“Yeah.” Suou replied vaguely, in a way that made it hard to tell whether he was listening or not. Kusanagi sighed, took a box of cigarettes from his pocket, and put one in his mouth.
“For starters, we’ll open the way. So don’t use your power until it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Yeah.” Suou was lying back on the sofa and, as usual, only replied carelessly. Kusanagi looked at Totsuka.
“Totsuka.” Suou called over to him while sloppily sinking into the sofa.
“Yeah?”
“Come with me.” Totsuka’s eyes widened a little.
“My, my. I thought I’d be stuck in the stay home group. If King says so, of course I’ll go, but won’t I totally be in the way?”
“You being in the way won’t even count as a handicap for me.”
“Well, that’s true, but.” Why? When Totsuka looked at Suou questioningly, he went "hmph’.
“That brat might run away if she sees my face. She’s gotten somewhat attached to you, right.” Looking at Suou who said that irritably, Totsuka smiled wryly.
“I don’t think that will be the case.”
“Anyway, I hate brats. You look after her.” Suou spat that out, then got up in the s.p.a.ce of a breath and headed towards the door. He went out, saying only "let me know when the preparations are done’.
“…I guess he’s actually really holdin’ back.” Totsuka widened his eyes when Kusanagi said that with a wry smile.
“We pretty much had to do somethin’ like half threaten Honami-sensei to hold her back, right? …That guy’s actually pretty bad at stuff like that.”
“Yeah…” Totsuka also smiled wryly, and looked towards the bar’s door Suou had gone out of.
“Well, even if that guy hadn’t said it, I was plannin’ on makin’ you go with him anyway.” Totsuka tilted his head at Kusanagi’s words.
“You’re the stopper.” Kusanagi said this while spitting out some cigarette smoke and suddenly remembered what Totsuka had said before, while acting unusually down.
“…A while ago, you said you didn’t have any power, right.”
“Ah, yeah.”
“At that time, I said you weren’t suited for us, but. It’s actually a bit different. We need a "powerless one’, probably.” Totsuka blinked confusedly.
“We’re a breed of team where power is like our meanin’ for existence. And on top of that, we’ve got a bunch of guys together who let the blood rush to their heads. Someone who, within that, won’t let them drown in their power… who’ll keep everyone together using a method that isn’t forceful, is needed.” Kusanagi pulled the ashtray over and dropped the cigarette’s ash into it.
“The one who needs a stopper most is the king.” Saying that with a bitter smile, Kusanagi remembered the time he went to Scepter 4 and spoke with Shiotsu.
(When your king crumbles, do you think there’s anything you can do?)
The words that hit a sore spot returned to the front of his mind, and Kusanagi frowned shallowly.
There’s nothing he could do. At the very most, they could tie him down so that wouldn’t happen, that was their… especially this guy’s role.
Kusanagi remembered the past. This guy, from before, had been good at deflecting Suou’s annoyances. He’d take the spite out with a smile and make one feel like an idiot for being irritated. Come to think of it, the first time they’d met had been in a hospital. Totsuka, a middleschooler, had been hanging around Suou, and been carried to the hospital after being tortured by some people with grudges against Suou. Kusanagi, who had a lot of connections, was informed of this from a witness and went to the hospital with Suou.
Totsuka, despite being black and blue all over, smiled like he didn’t care. Even when asked who had done it, he just laughed and dodged the subject, and before they realized it he had made up with the attackers. He definitely hadn’t allowed Suou to get angry for his sake.
And even after Suou became king, Totsuka continued to smile the same way. With a smile, he had distracted Suou who was almost taken in by the seduction of power… of destruction.
“Ever since before, you’ve really acted so free it’s annoyin’… if you’re not like that at least, that role would be tough.”
There’s no way that even this guy wouldn’t have any objections towards this. Even then, on top of swallowing all of his negative feelings, he could smile and say "it’ll all work out’… and he would end up making those who heard him think that it might really all work out… if not for that mysterious formidability, he wouldn’t be able to stand in that place.
“Kusanagi-san?” Totsuka tilted his head as he looked at Kusanagi.
“Sometimes, I’m jealous of that mentality of yours that makes me wonder if you’re missin’ some screws.”
“What’s with that, you’re not praising me, are you?”
“I’m not praisin’ you or anythin’. Anyway, you’re responsible for Mikoto.” Kusanagi pa.s.sed this over as though lightly tossing something heavy, and looked back down at the map.
Minato Hayato and Minato Akito were in the Center’s security room, facing Shiotsu.
“The red clan,”
“Is going to attack?” Hayato and Akito split up their sentence and at the same time tilted their heads. Feeling bitter, Shiotsu nodded.
“Probably. I’ve technically sent them a warning, but with that clan’s att.i.tude, I doubt they’ll listen."
That morning, Shiotsu had called the red clan’s advisor and told him about taking Anna. Kusanagi had listened to those words, but not said anything about giving up and standing down. Remembering that tricky young guy’s face, Shiotsu snorted.
"This has turned into a pain…” His real thoughts came out along with a gloomy sigh. At this point, everything was a pain and full of despair. In contrast to Shiotsu’s feelings, the twins had interest in their thin eyes.
“To think they’d try to lay a hand on the golden clan’s territory.”
“They must not care for their lives.”
Shiotsu emotionlessly looked at the twins, who had let a bit of color rise to their masklike faces. These twins were skilled, but their personalities were unnaturally immature. Even though they would be twenty two this year, he felt as though they hadn’t changed at the core at all from when they had just become blue clansmen at twelve.
…That’s my fault, isn’t it. The edges of Shiotsu’s mouth curled upward self deprecatingly. After these twins lost their parents, and the previous king had turned them into clansmen, only two weeks had pa.s.sed when the king pa.s.sed away. After that, the one who had raised these twins was mainly Shiotsu. Though while we say raised, he hadn’t actually done anything like instructing them. The money for their education had come from Scepter 4’s treasury, they were given food and a place to sleep within the base, and he only gave them work to do.
Losing his king, Shiotsu had come to take in the remaining blue clan, and while dealing with the business that came despite his lack of motivation, he hadn’t shown hardly any interest in the twin boys. To be honest, Shiotsu didn’t even know when their personalities had become twisted. By the time he had paid any attention, the twins who had innocently respected the previous king and wanted to be clansmen like their parents had become terribly childlike adults who used "cause’ as an excuse to gain pleasure from throwing their power around.
“Are those guys going to come to take that little girl back?”
“I wonder why Mizuchi-san is also so focused on that girl?”
Hayato and Akito spoke in turns. They didn’t know that Mizuchi planned to turn Anna into the blue king, and they didn’t know that for that sake she was being forced through inhumane experiments. Even if they had known, they surely wouldn’t have been moved. If, by gaining a blue king their position could be improved, they may even be glad. And in addition to that, they didn’t comprehend how dangerous their current situation was. They were simply excited like children because they had been given a chance to use their powers under the name of justice.
Shiotsu, while feeling these bitter thoughts, didn’t have the willpower to scold them, or even to explain the danger to them.
“Gather our people and set a guard. Be prepared for a fight, and get ready to shut out civilians.”
“Understood.” The twins answered in unison.
Outside the bar, his comrades were armed and waiting.
“Don’t be causin’ trouble for the neighbors.” Kusanagi called out to them in a relaxed way. Pa.s.serbys saw the foul-tempered looking boys armed with baseball bats, steel pipes, and that sort of thing and dodged them with a startled look. There were even some people who changed which path they went down. Kusanagi went hmm and looked around, arms folded.
“I sure hope we don’t get reported to the police.” He looked at his comrades’ faces. The members who would be barging in were mostly gathered. But there was a face amongst them missing, and Kusanagi spoke to Totsuka who was talking to the others.
“Totsuka, hasn’t Fushimi come back yet?” Totsuka looked up, waved lightly to the guys he was talking to and walked over to Kusanagi.
“Yata went to check on Saru-kun. I think they’ll be here soon.”
“That so.” Kusanagi said while thinking of that twisted boy. Totsuka, whose job was to always help when something happened to their comrades, had said about Fushimi that "he’d hate my followup’ and not tried anything.
“I… wonder what’s up with him.”
“Fushimi… you’re always gettin’ along with new blood right away, but this time you’re havin’ a lot of trouble, aren’t you.”
“Saru-kun might be no good!” When Totsuka said that, Kusanagi looked incredibly exasperated.
“You… that was a really extreme way of rejection all of a sudden! Don’t surprise me like that!"
"Ah, sorry, sorry. It’s not like I meant that Saru-kun himself is hopeless or anything… it’s just, I think he’ll have trouble fitting in, is all.”
“Fitting in?”
“That kid’s interest… or maybe I should say his focus, he’s just clinging way too hard to one single thing."
Kusanagi thought for a couple of seconds, then had a vague, troubled look on his face.
”…for you, that’s a pretty roundabout way of sayin’ it.“
Totsuka smiled wryly, and narrowed his eyes as though looking far away.
"It’s not like I’m being roundabout, but… I feel like if he has something he can cling to that much, he’s fine just like that.”
“Hmm?” Kusanagi tilted his head, and Totsuka just changed his wry smile into his usual carefree smile while looking at Kusanagi.
“Well, putting that aside, Saru-kun is an interesting guy, so I want to be friendly with him to the extent that he won’t be annoyed!”
Kusanagi said "what a troublesome guy’ along with a sigh. Right then, speak of the devil, Yata came up the road with Fushimi. Totsuka welcomed with with a wave.
“Sorry for being late! Are we leaving already?” Yata asked breathlessly as he ran up. Kusanagi nodded.
“Yeah, now all we need is our boss-”
“Everyone’s here, huh.”
A deep voice resounded from behind them.
They turned around.
Suou was standing in a place slightly separated from the Homura group. Like a slender lion, despite being lightweight he was a man who gave off a heavy pressure. Red light overflowed from his body, like power bubbling over from inside.
Suou stepped forward and came closer. When his feet connected with the ground, sparks flew with a small crackle.
“Someone’s fired up.” Kusanagi said that teasingly, making Suou go "hmph’.
All the members of Homura shut their mouths, and waited for Suou’s next move. The eyes watching him were glittering expectation, heat, pride towards Homura, and anger towards their enemy.
“Let’s go.”
Suou made a low announcement.
Homura replied with a shout.