Vol 3 Chapter 1 (1/2)

Mission 3, Part 1

The deep blue tone of the van was reminiscent of the ocean, Fus.h.i.+mi thought, before he was shoved into the van with a “get in!”

“I invited him here. Show proper manners.” A voice as clear as tinklings of jade came from inside.

“Y-yes sir.”

“You are dismissed.”

The clansman gave Fus.h.i.+mi an intimidating stare before he closed the sliding door from outside. After staring him back, Fus.h.i.+mi took a good look inside the van again. “What in the world…” He commented inwardly.

The s.p.a.cious interior was enough for 3 rows of seats, yet seats were removed to lay tatami on the floor. A tokonoma was set in the very back, decorated with a hanging scroll of waka poem written in calligraphy. While there’s a teakettle steaming in front of the tokonoma, the aircon maintained a cool refres.h.i.+ng temperature. A traditional j.a.panese fragrance made his nose twitch a bit.

“It’s sandalwood. Are you not fond of this scent?” Said the man sitting perfectly straight in seiza on the tatami, the Blue King, Munakata Reisi.

“Not really. Not liking it nor disliking it.”

“Indifferent, I see. What a shame. Please, take your shoes off and step in.”

“Don’t you want me to disarm today? I have my hidden knives as usual.”

“That was only formality. You are not so ruthless as to make a surprise attack alone, nor do you have the reason to.”

Munakata openly showed the composure of a king knowing he can’t be killed by merely a clansman. Fus.h.i.+mi tug his shoelaces loose roughly, kicked his shoes off at the step of the van, and placed them next to Munakata’s long boots.

“… What is this?”

“Jigsaw puzzle. Haven’t you seen one?”

“I have.”

Something piled up in front of Munakata’s knee. On a closer look, those were jigsaw puzzle pieces, cut rather small. There must be a lot to pile so high.

“That’s not what I’m asking. This van seems to be an official vehicle. Is this puzzle related to your work?”

“No. It’s my hobby.”

“Do you have too much free time or what?”

“I bring my hobbies to workplace because I don’t have free time.”

Fus.h.i.+mi began to suspect that Munakata is actually looking forward to his talking back.

“Great timing. Here. I’ll share you half of these. Please piece together as many as you can. Feel free to sit at ease. No need to be formal.” Munakata divided the pile of puzzle pieces, and shoved half of it in front of Fus.h.i.+mi.

“Hah? Why should I do that?”

“Well, is this not your forte? Pardon me. I shouldn’t have asked then.”

Seeing Fus.h.i.+mi provoked by his teasing and claimed to be good at it, Munakata cracked a smile in satisfaction. Then he took a piece from his pile which now resembled a half-eroded sand dune. Holding it between two fingers, he gave it a glance, and placed it on a spot on the tatami with a soft “pachi” sound.

With a sulky look, Fus.h.i.+mi sidled and put his knees together, sitting in seiza.

“I don’t suppose you’d call me here just to help with the puzzle. For the Blue King to privately invite a Homra member, it’ll cause a problem if word gets out.”

“I don’t see that stopping you from coming here.”

Munakata replied without looking away from his puzzle. Fus.h.i.+mi pouted his lips and remained silent. The soft “pachi” sound of Munakata continuously placing pieces on the tatami, together with the clinking of the teakettle’s lid pushed by the steam, created an ancient and elegant atmosphere which made Fus.h.i.+mi felt like he’s no longer in a van of the Blue’s.

“I heard that you were the one who leaked us information on Minato Akito leaving Suoh’s kingly domain.”

“I did it to steer Homra clear of trouble, not for your clan. Please don’t get the wrong idea. Nor do I intend to use this as a bargaining chip on betraying to your side.”

“Ha ha. I never thought of taking it that way. It’s not worthy enough for a chip. Besides, there is always a possibility for traitors to betray again. I wouldn’t even consider placing that kind of person at hand. One can never be too careful.”

Weren’t you the one who said a hidden weapon user would be a handy chess piece? Of course Fus.h.i.+mi wasn’t antic.i.p.ating to be recruited. Still, being told “you are not needed” in his face was displeasing.

“What’s more, we are now bogged down thanks to you. When Minato Brothers stayed in Bar Homra, at least we knew their whereabouts. Now we have no clue, let alone capture them. As a result, what you did was no more than buying time for Minato Hayato to recover. On top of that, in the past week, we have been receiving reports on Strains getting attacked for no reason. All victims are ‘Risk 3’ level Strains, which means they are not subjects of restriction, but are kept tabs on due to their high risk for causing problems. They all stated that the a.s.sailants were a duo calling themselves 'Scepter 4’. A victim remembered the duo’s emblem clear enough to draw this.”

Munakata lifted his hand from the puzzle to take out his PDA, and slid it across the tatami to Fus.h.i.+mi. He looked at the hand-drawn emblem shown on screen, noticing some slight differences from the one painted on the side of this van.

“This was the Scepter 4 emblem during Habari Jin’s era.”

Hearing the explanation, Fus.h.i.+mi lifted his gaze from the PDA.

“Habari Jin’s Scepter 4 is the one and only authentic 'Scepter 4’ to carry out the duty of supervising Strains. So they declared. I am really hated. Unlike me, Suoh is adored by his clansmen.”

“Which ain’t that different from monkeys gathering around their leader.”