Prologue
The glow of the computer screens was a cool, blue tone across the figure of the man sitting before them, typing at the keyboard with a furious intensity, pausing only as programs took a moment to run. The faint sound of a thud made him pause, half a command typed into the box on the screen, and he turned his head. When silence followed, he turned back in the office chair and continued at his work, mouth a determined line. The only sounds in the room were the tapping of keys and the hum of the electronics.
"Masamune-sama, please be serious about this."
"It's all going to work itself out, just wait." The young man turned lazily from the television, 'pause' displayed in large letters across the screen, dark strands falling across his face carelessly. His single eye was fixed, in annoyance, on Katakura Kojuurou.
"I think in this case, we don't have the option of waiting it out, Masamune-sama. We're not sure what information has been stolen, but it was from our encrypted files, where our accounting for our other business is kept…" The exasperation in his expression far outmatched the slight annoyance on Date Masamune's face. "The police are involved."
"The cops got involved in a hacking? Don't they have better things to do with their time?"
Katakura Kojuurou sighed, closing his eyes, brows creasing. "You fail to grasp the severity of this situation. If they have anyone even half as skilled as the one that stole these files, they'll be able to find their way into our system… The police will be looking into the Date family directly, and in our computers. They may uncover our other operations."
"Ehh. All we can do right now is wait and see how things pan out from the initial investigation, right?"
Kojuurou's expression showed a momentary alarm, and a short spark of anger that was quickly subdued. He sounded defeated as he replied. "For now, that is all we can do, yes."
"Then we'll wait. When the dust settles from the first pass through, we'll see where we stand. For now, move the files somewhere safe."
Date Masamune's carefree attitude regarding their less legal operations was worrying, but that was, Kojuurou supposed, why he was here in the first place. He bowed slightly, though Date had already turned back to his game, and strode back down the hall.
"Who carries a full-size sword through downtown Tokyo without anyone noticing?" the young man said loudly, gaping at the crime scene before them. He had short cropped brown hair, and an earnest face, though right now it was contorted with shock and a little bit of disgust. Though he wore the uniform of a police officer, it was a little rumpled, as if it hadn't been hung up properly after it had been worn last.
"Quiet, danna." The title was, though not accurate, almost affectionate towards the young intern officer. "The press is biting at our heels for anything they can get. We need to keep this under wraps for now, until we have more information." The second man to speak placed a hand lightly on the shoulder of the first officer, and despite the grisly scene before them, he had a slight smile—a smirk, even—on his face. He wore the uniform with an easy confidence that looked almost out of place, though it had nothing to do with his vivid almost-orange hair.
"Sarutobi-dono, what are you doing here? I thought you only worked on cyber crime?"
"Well, it's true I'm not in homicide, but I guess there's something that they need my type of expertise for."
"That's right." The gruffer voice made both men turn sharply and salute. "No need for such formality, Yukimura. But back to the case, I'm sure you can both understand why we need to keep this discreet…"
"Yes, sir! The murder victim is the owner and CEO of that communications company, Hojo Enterprises. If this got out, the other companies would be fighting for their corporate clients!" Sanada recited enthusiastically, smiling expectantly at the man in uniform before them.
Takeda Shingen was the head of the homicide division, a decorated officer, and dedicated to the pursuit of murderers. Until recently, Sarutobi Sasuke had worked under him, but upon the creation of the cyber crimes division, he'd transferred. Sanada Yukimura was an intern, working closely with the department under Takeda's watchful eye. Though he was still attending university, Sanada had a lot of promise as an officer, and keen insight, though he was often seen as naïve for his outdated mannerisms.
"That's right. But on top of that, the main clues we have to this murder are in that room there." Sanada turned, but the red-haired officer was already opening the door with one gloved hand, revealing a room full of blinking monitors.
"Oh, so that's why you're here, Sasuke…"
"Let's see what we've got here." The smirk on his face was almost predatory as he settled into the chair and spun it around to face the keyboard, cracking his knuckles absently before the clicking of keys filled the no longer silent room.
"Aniki, you sure about this whole moving to Tokyo thing?"
The kamikaze coat fluttered in the wind, gold embroidered kanji glinting in the sunlight. "Damn right, I'm sure about this. It's a new start, boys!"
The rest of the gang cheered from their motorcycles, and the streets echoed with the roar of it as they drove down the street into downtown Tokyo.
A silent figure in a long coat stood, shifting nervously from foot to foot in an alleyway later that evening.
"Do you have it?" The voice was low and muffled somewhat through a tall collar, from someone whose face was hidden by shadows and a hat pulled low over his eyes.
The figure said nothing, but held out his hand, passing something to the figure, who took it quickly, and passed in return an envelope towards the silent man. No words of farewell were exchanged, and they went their separate ways.
A light drizzle began to fall over the city.
"I've got it!" The triumphant cry rang through the room, and the few officers remaining at the crime scene gathered outside of the small room. The sun had gone down, so the room was now lit with the glow of monitors and the yellow light from a floor lamp someone had moved into the room.
"You got in?" Yukimura stood directly behind Sasuke's chair, peering at the screens in obvious confusion. "But what's it all mean?"
"Well, whoever designed this system was good. It took me longer than usual, and I nearly lost it a couple times…"
"But you're the best, Sasuke!"
"Doesn't matter, if someone booby-traps their system, we could've lost it all…" Sasuke's tone was grave, and he rubbed his eyes. "Anyway, I found out what this was all used for. They hacked into the Obiryuu Communications system, and there were some files copied over."
"Obiryuu… Why does that sound so familiar?" Yukimura's brows creased in his concentration.
"It's the company the Date clan runs." There was a tense silence in the room as the words sank in. Corporate espionage against a yakuza clan… Things were going to get interesting.