v1c2 part1 (1/2)

Case Files of Blue by Miyazawa Tatsuki

Chapter 2 (part 1/3) (volume 1, pages 49-83)

The Exceedingly Pure Usurper

When a crime was committed by supernatural power holders such as strains in the area of Tokyo Metropolis, Scepter 4 was dispatched in accordance with the following mechanism. First, ordinary people, who had witnessed the crime or had been dragged into it, dialed 110 - the police emergency number. The call went to the National Police Agency Communications and Command Center at Tsubakimon, where the police officer in charge heard the details out, and only in case he determined that strains had been involved, the call was sent to Scepter 4.

When it was, simultaneously, the police station in the district on the territory of which the incident had taken place was notified, and the personnel of the station, starting with the station chief, were obliged to provide cooperation to Scepter 4 asap.

As it went, the command authority was to be transferred from the police to Scepter 4 only when the head of the Special Phenomenon Regulation Office within the Enforcement Division of the Security Bureau with the National Police Agency had recognized the offense as strain-related, but in practice, the police ceded the command right of the crime scene, coming under Scepter 4’s orders, without waiting for that notification.

To be specific, what the police were doing after that was cordoning off the area, performing traffic control and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, providing information to the Scepter 4 troops obtained through questioning and other means.

Furthermore, upon receiving a call from the police, Scepter 4 was to dispatch its troops with the Special Ops squad as their core, but, depending on the scale of a given incident, there existed the 4 level gravity gradation scale, ranging from Type I deployment when only 1 smallest unit consisting of 2 troops was dispatched to Type IV deployment when Munakata Reis.h.i.+ himself headed to the scene.

On that day, the notification Scepter 4 had received from the National Police Agency was cla.s.sified as Type II deployment and the troops on duty were dispatched.

Four members - Akiyama, Benzai, Fuse and Enomoto - took one of Scepter 4’s special vehicles and proceeded to the scene. The case allegedly involved 3 perpetrators recognized as strains that were jumping from one building to another, partly destroying them and severing power cables; there was also unconfirmed intel saying that the three were under the influence of stimulants, so when the members got to the scene, all of them, save for Akiyama, were understandably tense.

However…

“What is this?” Bafflement was evident on Akiyama’s face.

“…” The other members, too, were clearly stunned.

The sight that opened to their stares included three unconscious tied men.

A single sheet of paper was placed in front of them, with a rock used as a paperweight so that it wouldn’t get blown away by the wind. The message written in large inked letters read: “These 3 ruffians were using socially destructive drugs and causing disturbance in the city for their own pleasure, so we captured them. Take this warning to heart. You are an unnecessary existence.”

Having read the note slowly and thoroughly, Akiyama turned to his comrades with confusion written all over his face.

“Say…” He obviously didn’t expect things to take this kind of turn. “What does this mean?”

Benzai, Fuse and Enomoto all simultaneously shook their heads.

But…

It was only the beginning.

†

Scepter 4 was an agency for suppressing crimes caused by strains, apprehending strains involved and keeping them in custody.

Since Scepter 4’s targets were super power holders who often possessed strength and stamina far exceeding what was considered normal for mankind, the agency’s scope of activities was extremely wide-raging. However, all its duties could be divided into big parts and cla.s.sified further into 3 big categories.

The first category was what took place earlier: dispatching upon receiving the notification from the police and dealing with unexpected incidents caused by strains that could not be foreseen.

Another category was routine management work consisting of tasks like getting in touch with strains registered with the Family Register Division of the Legal Affairs Bureau at regular intervals and interviewing them.

And the last category included the so called gray zone cases where it was difficult to say for sure if an offense was committed by strains or normal people; Scepter 4 cooperated with the police for investigation of such cases.

This was the most troublesome job, and, unlike with cases where strains were explicitly involved, the police, otherwise favorably predisposed, weren’t happy about Scepter 4’s interference. In a sense, it was only a natural reaction. Normal criminal investigations were the police’s turf and out of Scepter 4’s jurisdiction to intervene.

For that reason, it became an established practice for Scepter 4 to sent one or two its troops to the investigation headquarters as consultants at the stage where strain involvement was only suspected.

On that day, Kamo and Doumyouji had been sent to a local police station where the investigation HQ of a certain murder case had been set up. When they had arrived to the station, the reception they got from the station chief and the on-site detectives was polite but tangibly cold; Kamo met it with unfailing politeness. Not letting it interfere with his own conclusions on the matter, he proceeded to obtain the necessary information pertaining to the investigation.

Doumyouji, meanwhile, leafed through some PR brochures found at the police station, resting his chin on his hand and looking bored.

Suddenly, the door to the investigation room was kicked open and a newbie detective burst in. “You won’t believe this! The perp has been found!”

The inspector reprimanded the rookie coolly and told him to speak in order. This was what the detective shared.

A call had placed, but not with the 110 police emergency line. An unknown had called the general affairs section of the police station in question directly, and a young-sounding male voice informed, “We’ve caught the culprit you’re looking for, so come and tow him away.”

Two patrol officers, half in doubt, headed to the back alley indicated by the caller and found there an unconscious man, securely tied with chains.

He really was the man that the investigators were looking for as the suspect in the case. Moreover, as the two policemen approached him, the man came to and, producing sharp bladed objects from his limbs, tried to put up violent resistance. With this, very little doubt remained regarding him being a strain; furthermore, it became impossible to subdue him without putting the officers’ lives in danger, so the scene was in an uproar. The inspector listened to the story in disbelief, but immediately requested that Kamo and Doumyouji, present at the station, dispatch to deal with the situation.

The two agreed readily, although the looks they gave to each other said:

‘Just what on earth is going on?’

'No idea.’

The culprit was apprehended through the efforts of Kamo and Doumyouji and 3 hours later started giving confessional statements in regards to the murder case…

†

For some reason, an unidentified person or persons were set on beating Scepter 4 to the punch in execution of its primary functions, so after that, a series of strange occurrences where cases had been settled before Scepter 4 could interfere, continued.

The motives and the means of the mysterious person or group remained unknown, and the members of Scepter 4 were extremely confused; many of them were also angry, feeling that the interference was a blow to their honor.

The frontrunner of the discontented clique was, predictably, the Lieutenant of Scepter 4, Awas.h.i.+ma Seri. She came to Munakata’s office to deliver reports and demanded, “This is, beyond a shadow of doubt, a provocation and a challenge to us as Scepter 4! Captain, please order for prompt countermeasures to be taken!”

She slammed the palms of her hands on the table, interposed between her and Munakata, and leaned in closer to him. When she did, her enormous b.r.e.a.s.t.s predictably jiggled. Sparing the sight a glance completely devoid of lewdness and smiling all the while, Munakata s.h.i.+fted his gaze up to Awas.h.i.+ma’s face.

Sitting in a chair with his legs crossed, he replied with an air of composure, “Awas.h.i.+ma-kun, I see you are being quite emotional. Before deciding on anything, I would like to have a little more information at my disposal first, if possible.”

“Then I apologize, sir,” Awas.h.i.+ma made her apologies with a face that plainly said that she wasn’t sorry in the least, and rightened her posture, standing stiff as a ramrod with her arms folded at the waist. Without sparing the reports another glance, she started explaining the particulars of the recent incidents herself.

“Hm. I see…” Munakata looked pensive, putting a hand to his chin.

Awas.h.i.+ma spoke as if pressing him for an answer, “To crown it all, the unknowns used our pa.s.s and even performed our regular duties.”

“Hm.”

“That is, they openly forged our pa.s.s and counterfeited our uniform. I think the situation is very grave.”

“Hmmm.” This time, Munakata elongated his “m”. Then he said, “It looks like there is an excellently ordered and systematized organization behind it. By the way, Awas.h.i.+ma-kun…” His smile was still firmly in place.

“Sir?” Awas.h.i.+ma fired off on a reflex, but Munakata’s next statement was answering a question with a question.

“What kind of actual harm does the present situation cause, specifically?”

“…” Awas.h.i.+ma instinctively stiffened. Then, clearly perplexed, asked, “Um, sir, I’m afraid I fail to understand…”

“Let me rephrase it then. Those enigmatic persons. Since it is hardly possible to do what they do una.s.sisted, I a.s.sume it is an organization; so what is the problem with them trying to preserve public order in our stead, exactly?” He smoothly and easily said something that left Awas.h.i.+ma speechless. “They are protecting this country’s peace and justice, which is a splendid aspiration, in my opinion, especially considering that thanks to them, our burden was reduced. Could you maybe try and treat it as a temporary addition of many new troops who are a little too eager to do their job?”

This time, Awas.h.i.+ma was lost for words thoroughly and completely. The person in front of her… the Blue King, Munakata Reis.h.i.+, was basically saying that as long as the job was getting done, it didn’t matter one bit just who was getting it done.

Awas.h.i.+ma felt giddy.

She wanted to give him a lecture about their honor as Scepter 4, about their pride as the ones wearing swords, and about many other things, but gulped down her protests. After all, the one who was the personification of it all was currently sitting before Awas.h.i.+ma’s very own eyes with an air of nonchalance.

'This person… he really…!’

Sometimes, she found herself almost cursing Munakata’s extraordinary broad-mindedness - or, put in other words, his complete lack of restrains.

“—Indeed.” Awas.h.i.+ma turned her head and took a stab at a hole in Munakata’s logic. The hole he must have been aware of. “But I believe that even if we disregard things like our honor, there still remain a few issues. What needs to be mentioned first of all, is that the process via which the operations were performed remains completely unknown. For instance, even if on the surface the proceedings seem to be going smoothly, as long as we are not aware of the unknowns’ command structure or communication lines, it is too risky to make use of them.”

“I see.” Munakata gave her a complacent smile. “True indeed. To us, such an organization with the personnel and person in charge unknown is like a vehicle with no way to perform maintenance on it; it makes predicting when a breakdown or an incident occurs impossible.”

“There is another point of concern. We cannot confirm if the unknowns’ motivations for taking action are virtuous. The possibility of them infringing on part of our duties with the intention to later misuse it for their own gains and throw the county into chaos is not negligible.” Awas.h.i.+ma looked at Munakata with a slightly chilly stare. “Naturally, I would think that you have already been long since aware of these arguments, Captain.”

“Mm, hm.” There was a short pause in Munakata’s humming this time.

As Awas.h.i.+ma expected, he didn’t deny it.

“Awas.h.i.+ma-kun. You are absolutely right. But, despite that, in regards to those men - I am not excluding the possibility of that organization being comprised solely of women, but for now I will provisionally refer to them as men - I do not find it likely for them to have a sudden change in att.i.tude and start disrupting the country’s order.”

Before Awas.h.i.+ma could ask him why exactly he didn’t find it likely, he answered, “My reason being that they keep sending us a certain message.”

“Message?” Awas.h.i.+ma knitted her brows.

But this time Munakata didn’t reply to her, continuing as if he was talking to himself. “What is bothering me is not the danger they might present but how I should answer to the message they are sending,” he murmured, joined his hands and looked up at her. His eyes behind the gla.s.ses gleamed with thoughtfulness.

Awas.h.i.+ma, feeling anxious, was about to throw more questions at him, but in that moment the speakerphone on Munakata’s desk came alive and Enomoto’s fl.u.s.tered voice flowed out of it.

“Captain, sir, excuse me! Could we request that you urgently come to the data processing office please, if possible?”

Munakata smoothly extended his arm and pressed the connect b.u.t.ton with a finger. “Munakata listening. Did something happen?”

“At the moment, we are receiving a video call from the man who introduced himself as the ringleader behind the recent cases! He requests to speak directly with you, sir! Please respond, sir!” Enomoto answered in a voice this short of shrieking.

Awas.h.i.+ma’s eyes widened.

Munakata, a cold smile playing on his lips, only muttered, “I see. So they contacted me first. Quite the self-confidence they have, huh.”

†

“Is the call being recorded? Did you identify the source?” Voice hushed, Awas.h.i.+ma fired off her questions at Enomoto in rapid succession.

Enomoto, working his keyboard with energy, replied, following her suit and m.u.f.fling his voice as well, “The recording started automatically when the call came in. I’m working on determining the location.”

Since Fus.h.i.+mi Saruhiko had left on a business trip, information processing became mostly Enomoto’s job.

At the moment, in the data processing office six Scepter 4 members gathered: Akiyama, Benzai, Kamo, Doumyouji, Enomoto and Awas.h.i.+ma.

They all wore the same expression on their faces - one of worry. In contrast to them, standing in the center of the room was the person who was radiating the oppressive grandeur of winter, like he always did - Munakata Reis.h.i.+.

In front of him, there was a big screen, and on it…

“—Ohh, it’s such a pleasure to meet you, Munakata-kun.”

…the wire puller behind it all was showing himself boldly and with no reservations. He acted as if he was calling a close cla.s.smate - completely unguarded and overly familiar.

He looked like your average person found anywhere, but at the same time was very distinctive. He seemed to be in his 50s. All in all, he was an unimpressive looking shorty. To the observer, he appeared as a slow-wit with short limbs and belly sticking out to give him the resemblance to a penguin.

His features weren’t exactly unpleasant but were definitely flat, and not even the most extreme of kiss-ups would describe him as a handsome man.

“We can finally talk face to face like this. I’m so happy.”

But there was one feature that set him apart. His eyes. They were filled with the light of purity and sincerity that people lost as they grew older. Those bright eyes, as if made of deep black obsidian polished to a s.h.i.+ne, were the only thing about his appearance that could be called beautiful.

The sunny look of a 3 year old child paired up with the misshapen body of a middle-aged man. Such a combination looked grotesque, producing a mixture of inexplicable magnetism, appeal and charm.

Akiyama and the rest of the troops stared at the man with bated breath.

“I see,” Munakata started, then abruptly said something utterly shocking. “So it was you who sent me that ardent love letter.”

“Fufu.” The bald man on the screen snickered happily. “So you have read it. Thank you.” He jumped with joy like a little kid. “I was absolutely mesmerized by your beauty when I first laid my eyes on you. My feelings surged uncontrollably, and I ended up sending you that letter. Forgive me that rudeness.”

“Captain?”

“Beautiful?”

“First laid his eyes on the Captain…? What the heck!”

“When I first met the Captain, ”weird” was my only impression.“

Due to the shock they had just received, the normally disciplined troops couldn’t help exchanging whispered impressions. Munakata didn’t seem to mind it one bit, but Awas.h.i.+ma did, scolding the members in a carefully hushed voice, ”Quiet!” Then, with a stiff expression, she went back to staring down the man on the screen, perhaps because she took the man’s words at face value and was now suspecting him in h.o.m.os.e.xual preferences.

Seeing that, Munakata whispered quietly to Awas.h.i.+ma standing by his side so that only she could hear, “…Not to worry. It is only a metaphor. The connotation of his words is unlikely to go beyond the extent of his having been charmed by my talent or ability.”

Awas.h.i.+ma blushed a little.

Raising his voice to the normal volume, Munakata remarked, “Indeed, that was not very polite of you, and your manners are a little lacking. Even if you are my senior, if you are going to profess your love for me, I would like you to properly give me your name first!”

“Kounomura Zenichi.”

Not missing a beat, the man did as asked and broke into a huge grin. Since he had identified himself so ready, the Scepter 4 troops were taken by surprise momentarily, but a few seconds later they already were busy cross-checking the name using their PDAs or PC, only for their shock to worsen as they did.

The name the man gave did exist, moreover, with the name came the man’s face shot and all the personal history which they all found in no time and with no trouble at all. There was no need to search any special database. Any ordinary search engine could find the man’s full profile for them to examine all they wanted.

For as it was, the man who approached Munakata Reis.h.i.+, Kounomura Zenichi, was a celebrity.

“I see.” Munakata smiled with a composed smile. “No wonder you looked familiar. I have seen your pictures and interviews on the pages of business magazines.”

A multimillionaire and a world-famous philanthropist. Munakata wasn’t the only one who had heard of him. Four other Scepter 4 members recognized him and couldn’t help commenting in whispers.

“Hey, is it really him, in person?”

“He was in Newsweek’s ”top 100 world prominent figures”, placing third among the j.a.panese celebrities. a.s.suming that this is really him, he’s a seriously big name of the world’s scale. “

Only Doumyouji was clueless, ”Eh? Who? No, seriously, who’s he?” but the others ignored him.

Munakata said slowly, “I am a.s.suming that it was you or a group spearheaded by you standing behind the recent attempts to usurp our duties, would that be correct?” Cutting the preamble, he got straight to the point.

All the present held their breaths. What would Kounomura Zenichi reply to that?

“Yes, that’s right,” said man confirmed readily. Throwing out his plump chest, he added, “I’m the mastermind behind all the incidents. We’re going to perform all your work in your place.”

The Scepter 4 members were abuzz.

About that time, Fuse and Hidaka came into the data processing office. Hearing the details from the other members, they were now looking stunned.

Munakata, on the other hand, only narrowed his eyes in amus.e.m.e.nt. “I see. Thank you for the honest answer. Still, though young and inexperienced may I be, would you perhaps be so kind as to tell me your reason? Why would a successful and all-around accomplished person such as yourself engage in paramilitary make-believe at this time?”

“Paramilitary make-believe?” Kounomura inclined his head questioningly. “Are you people calling your work ”make-believe”? Isn’t it carrying humility too far?“

”—I believe I called that what you are doing, not our work.“

But sarcasm of Munakata’s correction and smile he had accompanied it with was lost on Kounomura. ”Oh, that’s what you mean. Reality begs to differ though. We’re clearly far better at it than you guys and we can protect this country’s justice more efficiently. If you insist on labeling what we do as ”make-believe”, that makes you guys sham champions of justice, no?“

Awas.h.i.+ma was speechless. Needless to say, that statement was enough to set the feelings of every member of Scepter 4 aflame. The glares of hostility, fierce opposition and hate focused on the monitor.

Kounomura waved his hands, as if fl.u.s.tered, ”Ah, no, don’t misunderstand, don’t misunderstand. It’s not like I’m degrading you guys. I do think that you’re doing a great job. I’m just saying that we can do an even better job, is all. Come on, Munakata-kun,” Kounomura, the possessor of those almost abnormally pure and direct eyes, said. “You do understand it, do you? The message I sent, that is.”

“…” Munakata didn’t utter a single word in reply to Kounomura’s question, only silently adjusted his gla.s.ses with his index finger.