A/N: Upon catching up on most of the new ynm chapters, I wanted to present Watari's thoughts on Ruka and her presense changing certain aspects of the Summons Section. There's mention of Watari creating the database and finding out certain aspects of the Tsuzuki siblings.
-Lucicelo
Yutaka Watari entered the Gokan department through a series of tests conducted by Lord Enma himself. Nothing in life or death prepared him on going through these various obstacles to prove his capabilities on entering the secret-not-so-secret department of the Judgement Bureau. Rigorous and tiring, he managed to keep his composure as Lord Enma congratulated him on passing his test. In his exhaustion, he agreed on his position, more than happy to put in his part to his new colleagues.
In life, he went through the motions, almost robotic in achieving his meager goals and just living. Having experienced multiple rejections in his lifetime, he grew used to picking himself up from the disappointment. He wanted to become a part of an experience and help achieve a big part of change. Anything to soothe over his resentments of the time he lived and the lack of resources which came with his low status.
His intelligence pushed his initial application into Lord Enma's hands, which presented him with a spot in the Gokan. Despite his successful interview with the lead of the Gokan, Lord Enma decided his fate and approved of him. Had he failed or made Lord Enma doubt his usefulness, he would have been dismissed without a second thought.
His superiors informed him to keep silent about his personal test with Lord Enma. Many workers from the Gokan kept the information of their tests discreet and an afterlife secret. The popular consensus made it tacky to want to exchange stories between coworkers. So tacky that old workers transferred or had their status revoked for another section of the Judgement Bureau.
His new co-workers welcomed him in with less reluctance than he expected. A relief to soothe over his nervousness in starting his new day. He jumped into his work, eager to show his superiors that he had the drive as the rest of his department. His sudden busy training schedule lessened the boredom and made his time go faster. Soon, he got into a routine, almost forgetting that he died at a young age.
Watari spotted Ruka Tsuzuki in the communal kitchen. A vast and spacious area for the Summons Section, separate from the larger cafeteria that a majority of the staff occupied. His eyes locked in on her petite form. Her dainty and feminine appearance suited his taste which made him stop at the door. When he saw her speaking in an animated fashion to a tall and handsome young man, he cursed under his breath. She was taken or at least, had an admirer in the guy.
He wrote her off as a potential love interest until he saw Ruka ruffle the young man's hair. Attaining some hope, he inspected them a bit longer, and realized their familiar bond, including the close resemblance. Almost as if they were twins. When Tsuzuki turned his head toward his direction, he noted Tsuzuki's bright purple eyes. Those eyes contrasted Ruka's honey brown eyes. He found them a bit odd, but then again, his own golden eyes brought attention as well.
Tsuzuki took notice of Watari and exclaimed in excitement. He loved meeting new people and adding another friend into his life. "Hi! Don't be shy! Come on in! I'm Asato Tsuzuki, call me Tsuzuki."
Ruka turned her attention onto Watari, seeing his clothing she chuckled. "Ah, so you're the new person who entered the Gokan department. The Gushoshin told me about you. Golden curly hair and eyes," She tilted her head to the side. "It's a pleasure to meet one of you after so many years. I'm Ruka Tsuzuki."
Face flushed at her attention, Watari stammered out. "How did you-"
Ruka pointed at the white lab coat. "The white coat gives it away. No one outside of the Gokan wears those around the Judgement Bureau. I assumed you were new since the Gokan department tends to keep away from everyone."
Tsuzuki turned Ruka in surprise, a bit of cream was stuck on the side of his mouth. "You knew one of them? When?"
Ruka reached forward with her napkin and wiped her brother's mouth with a chuckle. "Oh, a long time ago. There was a lot less tension between all the departments. It helps having done various jobs around the whole bureau to know the gossip behind certain departments." As she turned her attention back onto Watari, she noticed his awkward and stiff posture. "Is something the matter...um...?"
"Yutaka Watari." Watari coughed into his hand. "I'm sorry, I lost my sense of direction back to my department. I didn't mean to come into the Summon Section's cafeteria."
"Ruka Tsuzuki, call me Ruka." Ruka smiled up at him. "It's easy to get lost throughout this building. Asato still gets lost once he passes the cafeteria."
Tsuzuki pouted. "Ruka!"
"Anyways, once you walk out of the door, go to your left and pass three hallways before turning to your right." Ruka gave some indicators to help Watari keep an eye out for those objects. She also warned him away from certain offices that no one dares to enter inside. "Just make sure to keep your eyes open. I managed to open a private door during my first week and it turned out to be a room of illusions. Not very fun."
Relaxing a bit, Watari chuckled at her story. "I see. Thanks for the warning."
Tsuzuki added in some quips of his own misadventures which made Watari almost keel over in laughter. Tsuzuki had no qualms in making fun of himself and didn't shy away from taking responsibility of his ability to damage properties during his cases.
Asato Tsuzuki and Ruka Tsuzuki left a nice lasting impression on him.
While Watari put on his white lab coat, he caught the attention of the co-workers who sat in their personal break room. As the new member, he didn't blend into the crowd as everyone else yet. Although, his co-workers were comfortable exchanging gossip from around the Judgement Bureau in his presence. Not like he knew half of the people someone talked down about.
Not one to remain silent for long, Watari interjected through the volume of conversations. "Can any of you describe the Tsuzuki siblings to me? I met them the other day, but I keep hearing rumors about them. They seemed like nice people to me."
A silence spread throughout the room before one of the more seasoned Gokan members snorted. "The Tsuzuki siblings? Those two are shameless in the manner they are all over one another. It's almost as if they are-"
"Tanaka!" Yumi interjected with a scandalous screech. "Tsuzuki Asato and Tsuzuki Ruka are respected in the whole Judgement Bureau. Both of them are powerhouses and trained under Chief Konoe! Remember the last person who dared to spread false claims outside of their departments?"
A different co-worker, Akihiko added in. "Don't be ridiculous, Ichiro ended up being reincarnated."
Yumi shook her head, making her curls bounce with each movement. "There are ears all throughout the bureau, nothing is a secret. You should know this better than anyone. I distantly remember Lord Enma putting a stop to your tryst with a guardian from the Summons Section,"
"Shut it, Yumi." Akihiko glared at Yumi who returned the sentiment through her own glare.
Watari's eyes widened at the information he received. "We're not allowed to form relationships outside of our own sector?"
Yumi broke from her expression to chuckle and waved a hand. "Oh, we can make friends, just not a relationship. We're constantly working for the better of the Judgement Bureau. We can't afford to slack off. Leave the slacker lifestyle to the regular guardians." She pulled back her curls into a loose ponytail. "Besides, it's not like we can't relieve stress between one another."
From her suggestive leer, Watari put his hands up with a placating smile. "No, thank you." He found her pretty, but he didn't feel any spark of attraction between them. No use brining any tension in his workplace if they didn't work out or someone caught feelings.
"Your loss." Yumi turned her attention onto another co-worker who jumped at her attention.
Watari fiddled his lab coat collar, stunned at the implications of their position. This self isolation made his department almost gear physical attention with one another due to not having the ability to seek a relationship outside of their ranks. A forbidden act.
Almost absentminded, he followed his co-workers out of the locker room.
At first glance, Watari found the closeness of Tsuzuki and Ruka a tad concerning. His associates in the gokan told him about assumed unsavory happenings and their shameless displays of affection. He hated to admit that he even picked up on behaviors that he found odd. Tsuzuki's kissing habit brought on extra attention to employees from other departments. He always pecked Ruka's cheek when he saw her and embraced her. He figured this was a way to keep any men away from his older sister.
Ruka always seemed amused and humored her brother's clinginess. An odd reaction in Watari's opinion. Most siblings tended to lose this affectionate back and forth behavior once they grew older. When he caught them in the moment, she expected his embraces whenever she first saw him and welcomed Tsuzuki Asato with open arms. More than one person commented on their actions, but they tended to smile and say nothing else.
During one of his sudden investigative moods, he searched for Ruka Tsuzuki. Asato Tsuzuki left on a month sting operation in his sector, unable to stay around the pressing environment of the Gokan, he needed a break from the constant urgency of their work. Half the time, he doubted the validity of their research and the competency of the members of his own department.
A major indication that he needed a vacation or a few days off. His mind whirled from having work shoved into his mind that he wanted to forget about it for some time. He might request such days sooner than later.
Anything to have a relaxing state of mind.
Standing in front of the Summons Section entrance, he stayed still as he stared up ahead. The large bay window showed the continuous cherry blossoms that bloomed all year round. A beautiful sight to behold. Through his research, his time to just watch the grounds of his workplace went down to nothing. He missed seeing this sight when he was buried in his work.
The other sections were spoiled and lucky to work in the open.
"Watari-san?" Ruka's curious tone interrupted his thoughts.
Watari realized she walked right up to him without him knowing. How embarrassing.
"Come in, come in. It's not polite to stand at the front door, someone might want to enter the room."
"Right." Watari ushered himself inside, trying to will his blush away at being caught. He didn't want her to assume any wrongdoing on his end.
Taking the time to inspect the cleanliness of the Summon Section offices, he saw the personalized items on all of the desks. He locked down Tsuzuki and Ruka's desks due to the small plants on their middle of their combined desks. The area exuded an open office setting.
He turned his attention onto Ruka and noticed her wearing a knee length sleeveless dress with a turtleneck neckline. She always appeared in a dress or a skirt ensemble.
Sitting down on her desk, Ruka motioned to the empty seats around her desk. "You can sit around, I don't think the other guardians will mind." She picked up her pen and resumed writing her reports.
Stopping in front of her desk, Watari got right to the point. "I have to know. Why are you and Tsuzuki so close?" Ruka wrinkled her nose in confusion and he rephrased his question. "I-I mean, you two are unusually close. Why are you two so...clingy?" Watari bit his tongue to stop himself from putting his foot in his mouth.
"I raised him." Ruka informed Watari, her eyes showed immense fondness at the thought of her brother. "Safe to say, I grew into his maternal figure and tried filling in the role of a father as well. I worked long hours to provide for him and urged him to finish his education. Not that he listened to me, he wanted to begin working when he grew tall enough to fool people." She signed her name on her newest report. "We were all we had back when we were alive."
Watari turned his gaze away in embarassment for having believed an inkling of the gossip. Such rumors ruined even the best of reputations. The Tsuzuki siblings stayed on the top of the Summons Section every single year. This one aspect about them, the loving and caring affection they held for one another, almost destroyed their credibility outside of their jobs.
Giving up on her cool act, Ruka sighed. "I'm not deaf to the rumors, Watari-san. In fact, I've overheard more than enough callous words to last my afterlife."
Watari managed to stop himself from flinching. "I see."
Ruka clenched her pen, furious at the blatant lies. Had she defended their relationship, people would add their own spin to her words. Better to ignore them and not take mind of outsiders' opinions, but it still hurt to have such a prominent rumor over their heads. "Is it so wrong for a brother and a sister to love each other so much?"
"No, there's nothing wrong with loving one another." Watari noticed her trembling hands.
She turned to him, eyes narrowed to show her displeasure. "I never saw you as the type to believe rumors before discovering all the facts for yourself. I mean, people who enter the Gokan are considered intelligent, am I correct?" She laughed sarcastically. "If I didn't know any better, the Gokan spiked the rumor from the depths. I thought Asato and I wouldn't have to hear about this. Again."
Watari opened his mouth to defend his department, only to have no words to say. He tried forming words in his mind, but any defense withered away as he stared into her eyes. She was right in a sense. Any dimmed rumors about a successful or popular worker revamped with a vengeance.
Glimpses of the calculating guardian who kept her high rank, showed through Ruka's fiery gaze.
No wonder various employees warned him about angering her.
Ruka tore her gaze away from him and turned her attention onto another different report. "I suspect that your department will notice your disappearance, Watari-san."
Seeing the dismissal for what it was, Watari gulped. "R-Right."
As he turned toward the direction of the door, Ruka's new partner walked through the threshold. A new doe eyed girl with natural charm and beauty that enraptured any passersby. The woman eyed him with suspicious eyes, piercing, judging. He didn't expect this reaction out of such a complimented and well liked guardian. Almost up in the popularity ranks as Asato and Ruka Tsuzuki.
Once they broke eye contact, he heard the young woman exclaimed in delight. "Ruka-chan! I made some new strides in improving my spellwork! Will you spot me in the training room to see if I perfected them?"
Ruka responded. "Of course, just let me finish my part of the report and we will get going." She added in. "You still have to do your reports as well, Aina-san."
"But, Ruka-chan! I practiced so hard, you have to see me in action!"
"I will see your spell work after you finish these reports."
"Oh...okay."
Watari passed the threshold and turned down the hallway. He made it so far before he stopped and backed himself against the wall. Peering from the corner of his eyes, he saw guardians giving him a suspicious glance and hovered around the area, waiting on him to leave.
He heard about the animosity between the Summons Section and Gokan department. Most of the time, his superiors boasted about their department's flawless record, and their importance in serving Lord Enma and the Judgment Bureau. All the while, they demeaned the ones who went out in the field and risked their afterlife to serve the Judgment Bureau.
He wondered if he picked the right choice in career.
Tsuzuki waved at Watari with a huge grin on his face. "Hey! It's good seeing you, Watari! The Gokan really makes you work hard huh?"
Watari paused in his stride toward the library and turned to see Tsuzuki holding a stack of papers in his arms. Ever since he overheard that Tsuzuki and Ruka joined forces, he recalled a lack of incident reports in the Summons Section. Tsuzuki became infamous for his power levels, twelve shiki, and his ability to rack up a large bill in property damage. It seemed Ruka knew the right manner in how to guide Tsuzuki throughout their investigations.
His boss commented on Konoe's peaceful and blissful attitude during the monthly meetings. Tatsumi relayed their numbers with assuredness and a slight amount of pride in his tone. Through combining the Tsuzuki siblings, cases became solved in a timely fashion and Konoe didn't yell as often. Konoe became infamous for lecturing his guardians, mainly Tsuzuki, about screwing up their budget.
Watari was relieved that Tsuzuki didn't appear to have bad feelings of him. Either Ruka kept their tense meeting a secret or Tsuzuki chose his own opinion over him. Seeing that bright smile made him feel comfortable in Tsuzuki's presence.
"Yeah. My department is always working hard. We almost never have breaks." Watari held up the food he had in his arms. "I wanted to get away for my lunch so I left."
Tsuzuki gaped. "I can't imagine working that hard!"
Watari chuckled. "Well, I chose to put in my application in the Gokan. When I was alive, I didn't have many prospects and I had such a boring, mundane job. At least, I get to use my talents somewhere." He pointed to the bench on the end of the hall. "Do you have time to sit and talk? I don't want to eat standing up. It's not good for the stomach."
"Sure!" Tsuzuki hurried over to the bench and set down his papers right beside him. "What's new?"
"Same old, same old." Watari opened his bag and took out his lunch. "Working hard as I said previously."
Tsuzuki huffed. "C'mon Watari, I'm sure you have something other than work to talk about. Have you heard about Terazuma's transformation? He turns into a dog when he's near girls now! Whoever convinced him to merge with a parasitic shiki he had no bond with is an idiot! He didn't even want a shiki in the first place! So irresponsible!"
Amused, Watari teased him. "And you're the pinnacle of responsibility?"
"Yes!" Tsuzuki nodded his head. "I take care of all my shiki. I made sure to bond with each and every one of them. None of them ever have to feel that I favor one over the other. They're like my extended family. Hell, I get along with Ruka's shiki!"
Watari ate a couple of bites of his lunch as Tsuzuki continued. "Even Chief Konoe lectured Terazuma's superior over what he forced him to do! That's when you know it's not a good idea."
"Ah, I didn't know there were different types of shiki." Watari shivered at the idea of a parasite. "I'll pass on the shiki."
"Boo." Tsuzuki fake pouted.
"Pouts don't work on me." Watari swallowed his next bite before he said. "I heard that...Ruka-san is dating Tatsumi-san."
"I'm the one that spread the rumor." Tsuzuki declared with pride. "Tatsumi tends to follow protocol when it comes to names, but since there are two Tsuzuki's in the same department, he can't fathom calling her by her first name. I never gave him permission to use my first name, so he was out of luck. At first, it was to get back at him for dumping my food into the trash, but it's fun teasing him about it."
Watari deflated from the news. Despite Ruka's newfound dislike of him, he still had affection for her. Not in the manner The Count showed his affection to Ruka or Tsuzuki, but he watched her at an extended distance. He found her appearance pleasing to the eye and she was kind to everyone she encountered. In fact, Tsuzuki behaved in a similar, but more open fashion. From Ruka's claim of having raised Tsuzuki, it showed in his behavior and mannerisms.
"Not that I wouldn't mind having Tatsumi as my brother-in-law." Tsuzuki mused. "He is all put together, quite responsible, and will be able to take care of my sister. She needs someone to take the reigns every once in a while. He already checks up on us, well, he checks up on me when Ruka isn't around."
Watari arched a brow. "Tatsumi takes time out of his day to make sure you two are alright?"
"Oh, all the time." Tsuzuki leaned back onto the bench which caused his papers to scatter on the floor. "Crap! Ruka will lecture me if I go back with dirty papers again." He scrambled onto the floor, taking care to look at each exposed paper to check of dirt. "She won't make me apple pie for a week."
Watari crouched down onto the floor and helped Tsuzuki. As he held the papers in his hands, he sighed. "Tsuzuki, I think I messed up." Tsuzuki looked up at him. "Ruka-san hates me."
Tsuzuki blinked before brushing aside Watari's words. "Not likely. Ruka is not a hateful person. You must have misunderstood. Did you say something wrong?"
Watari handed Tsuzuki the papers into his hands. "I...might have asked her about the rumor."
"About Tatsumi? I didn't know Ruka got mad about the fake crush rumor. She always teases him about it too."
"No." Watari stood up on his feet. "About the...other rumor. The one where you and Ruka are-"
"Oh." Tsuzuki looked back at his papers. "That rumor. Yeah, that would do it." He collected the rest of his papers and got back up on his feet. "You really shouldn't have asked her about it. I mean, I've heard way worse things about me that I shrug my shoulders and move on. I'm guessing she's more mad at the rumor resurfacing again."
Watari nodded. "Alright." To get rid of the tense atmosphere, he changed topics. "So what has been your most dangerous case to date? My co-workers have been away from the field for so long that I have no idea."
Watari overheard Wakaba relay her worries to her partner, Terazuma, about the Tsuzuki siblings latest case. According to her, their means of communication stopped in an integral part of the case, leaving Chief Konoe in a stricken panic to locate them. Having a missing an action guardian meant that the Judgement Bureau went into red alert. Decades ago, a pair of guardians were sucked into Hell, making it impossible for any rescue mission to retrieve them.
The Summons Section took their missing in action guardians seriously ever since.
Tatsumi kept up appearances to the guardians who entered the office, but from the tenseness in his jaw, he seemed concerned as well. A rumor spread about his affection for Tsuzuki Ruka or even Tsuzuki Asato. No one ever settled on the one sibling to make a clear cut observation.
Word spread throughout the Judgement Bureau, almost manic in shock that their best guardians disappeared. Watari kept an ear out to different conversations as he went through his duties. He tried asking questions, but he received little information to quench his curiosity. From the confusion spread throughout the bureau, he realized no one knew what happened.
Tsuzuki Asato arrived with Tsuzuki Ruka at his side, both of them bandaged up, but beaming at having returned from their mission. Tsuzuki held his sister's waist while she fumbled as she walked.
Tatsumi laid a hand on his chest as his tenseness left his shoulders. He shouldn't have doubted the duo, but these intensive and dangerous missions tended to throw away any sense of safety. The seasoned guardians tended to tease him for settling as a secretary, but he became backup for any sector.
He wondered why Tsuzuki and Ruka didn't send a messager bird to call for his help.
He answered his own question through seeing two help each other walk. They were stubborn enough not to bother anyone from their usual duties. Almost reckless in not wanting to bother anyone, they leaned on one other to solve their cases. Ruka and Tsuzuki tended to send for help during dire situations. Those situations surfaced once in a blue moon.
Being the first up on her feet, Wakaba ran toward them. Terazuma remained behind, almost rolling his eyes at her dramatics. "Tsuzuki! Ruka-chan!" She held Ruka in a light embrace while Tsuzuki ruffled her hair, messing up her curls into an even puffier mess. "Tsuzuki!"
Ruka soothed the young girl with a soft smile. "We're back." She turned her gaze toward Chief Konoe and she tipped her head down. "Mission accomplished, Chief. We tried to keep the property damage down, but—"
Tsuzuki harrumphed, "That bastard almost killed you, Ruka. I had to intervene with Suzaku."
"And I added Mayumi, into the mix." Ruka added in. "I am as much to blame in destroying that temple."
Konoe stepped forward to break up their banter. "Glad to see you two have made it back."
Konoe reached out his hands and patted Tsuzuki and Ruka's shoulders. His tenseness left his shoulders at having them back in somewhat good health. Considering their rapid healing, Tsuzuki and Ruka wouldn't have any visible injuries when they returned for their debriefing.
"I didn't think we would get everyone to greet us back." Ruka heard various coughing throughout the guardians of death who peeked from inside of the main office. Their genuine care made her feel so warm inside.
Ruka held up her purse, covered with multiple pieces of fuda paper, which contained the cursed object from their case. "We're going to need a team to get rid of the dark aura coming out of this thing. I only managed to get it into my purse because I kicked it inside without really touching it. Asato and I slapped as much fuda paper as possible to keep it contained."
He recovered the bag from Ruka and wrinkled his nose. Cursed objects always gave out such a disgusting smell to those delicate enough to feel the presence of dark auras. "I didn't think such a little box could cause so much trouble." He smiled with pride at the siblings, "I knew you two would come back in one piece."
"Well, almost one piece." Tsuzuki snickered. "Ruka lost a good portion of her hair." He motioned to the jagged hair which reached under Ruka's shoulders. "I think I lost a bit of my left ear."
Konoe chuckled. "All in a day's work." He motioned them away from the office. "Complete your reports at home. You two look like death."
Tsuzuki deadpanned. "I don't know if you know Chief, but—we're dead."
Konoe's eyebrow twitched before he flicked Tsuzuki's forehead. Tsuzuki whined to his sister, but she covered her smiling mouth while trying not to laugh at him.
Watari left the area without anyone knowing he was in the vicinity.
Growing curious about this new collected knowledge, Watari set time aside from work to dive into the information. Having finished with his usual duties, he left his area of work and went toward the area which housed the newest keeper of information. Using the old book of the dead, he managed to configure it to update everything into the module he created for the Judgement Bureau.
Sitting in front of the processor, self doubt wrapped itself around his mind. Under his fingertips, sat all the information of previous and new workers of the Judgement Bureau. There was a reason the Book of the Dead keyed into the soul of the individual. Yet, the Gokan managed to break the spell and he suggested a storage sort of facility to keep the data from leaking out.
This groundbreaking accomplishment brought an overall smugness throughout the Gokan. Yet, the majority of the Summons Section disagreed with their experiment and demanded they reversed their project. No one wanted to have their information possibly shared or exposed to any random stranger.
His superiors added on security measures and turned a deaf ear to any complaints.
As he looked at the monitor, Watari's curiosity won him out of his reservations in invading the privacy of his fellow guardians. Besides, he assumed he wouldn't have any consequences. After all, he helped created the coding and the database. He had help from others in the Gokan, but he did a majority of the work. In any case, his previous ponderings about the Tsuzuki siblings made him want to break a rule for once.
Reading over Tsuzuki's files, he found the usual information that came with each individual. His date of birth, date of death, age he died, the usual tidbits. The information presented the way he died and Watari was taken aback. He wouldn't have expected such a free and carefree guy to have such deep rooted demons to push him to his death.
As he checked throughout the file, he skimmed over the name of the parents. Tsuzuki Kasumi and—
His fingers trembled as he kept them elevated above the keyboard keys. He processed the name listed as Tsuzuki Asato's father, but his body shivered of the implication of his findings.
Shifting to Tsuzuki Ruka's file, he scanned through her information.
Her information presented normal findings, no signs of mental illness, but she died from a strain of illness that came from the afterlife. She didn't die from consumption as she wrote in her application, but of a different monstrous disease. Her whole body shut down from fighting the invading disease with her hidden spiritual powers.
His heartbeat deafened his ears when he landed on her parents.
The Tsuzuki siblings had the same set of parents.
Slamming his hands onto the keyboard, he stood up on his feet. A bead of sweat trickled down his forehead and a bone chilling realization came to the forefront of his mind.
Tsuzuki and Ruka were Lord Enma's children.
"How saddening." Lord Enma drawled out. "You were so promising,"
Watari kept his head low, not daring to look up at the screen that separated him from Lord Enma.
Earlier that week, his superior pulled him aside and placed a summons in his hands. Her face showed sympathy to his plight. She even went so far as to pat his shoulder with a concerned frown marring her pretty face. His superior grew to enjoy his input and became friends with him. Well, as far as a superior could become friends with their regular worker.
She knew the basic information, but understood the implications of having a private meeting with Lord Enma. No one other than the leads of the departments stayed in the same room as Lord Enma. Secretaries accompanied their bosses during the monthly meetings. Other than those occasions, a regular employee didn't have the clearance or the importance to be in the same room as the secretive man.
From the high rise curtain, hiding all of Lord Enma's features, Watari understood their distinct level of importance. In the scale of hierarchy, he was nothing more than an employee to do Lord Enma's bidding. Lord Enma had the power to rid of him without any repercussions.
He was doomed.
Lord Enma continued. "I should have known that such a database would expose certain secrets. A slight miscalculation on my part. I was certain the lead of the Gokan made sure to file Ruka and Asato Tsuzuki as a high priority secret. It seems I will have to discipline her in breaking my orders. Are my beloved Gokan workers fighting against me now?"
Watari shook his head. "N—No, my lord. We are proud to work under your guidance."
"Then? Why do you know of this high ranking secret? Hmm?" Lord Enma drummed his fingers onto the wooden paneling of his chair. "Am I certain that your department won't break my non-disclosure contract?"
"I can shadow them! I will make sure that they will never find out this secret!" Watari yelled out.
Upon realizing his mistake, Watari slapped his hands over his mouth and trembled on the spot. Looking toward the screen, he realized that Lord Enma stood up from his seat. He didn't hear the man's chair creak from his movements. Taking a few steps back, he prepared himself to run away from the meeting and to make strides in attempting to escape Lord Enma's wrath.
No one interrupted Lord Enma.
To his unrelenting shock, Lord Enma told him. "Go on."
Watari gulped and removed his hands from his mouth. "I-I can relay information on Tsuzuki Asato and Tsuzuki Ruka if I become a worker of the Summons Section. I have gotten some trust in Tsuzuki, but Ruka is suspicious of me since I'm in the Gokan. She trusts no one from my—well my old department. I won't reveal anything. I can make Tsuzuki Ruka and Tsuzuki Asato's profiles private as well."
"Hmm...I see." Watari watched the shadow of Lord Enma sit back down. "Is it really that simple?"
"Lord Enma?"
"Had you not dipped into your curiosity, you wouldn't have discovered this truth. There is a reason I requested to keep certain individuals in an—alternative section." Lord Enma resumed sitting back in his seat, the playful quirk of his tone did nothing to calm down Watari. "Why—of all people who have stuck their noses in private affairs—should I give you clemency?"
Watari bowed his head, causing his long blond hair to shield his eyes from the curtain. "I—I."
He couldn't come up with a great plan to relay to Lord Enma. His mind blanked. Nothing that managed to come into his mind seemed perfect to save himself. He was doomed.
"Although," Lord Enma said. "I always needed an undercover agent who reports only to me. None of the other guardians lasted long due to their sudden breach of morality. Such a tedious and fragile concept. Offer a man money or protection and they sing their secrets."
His voice became cold as ice when he declared. "Don't disappoint me, Watari Yutaka."
The implication caused shivers to travel up Watari's spine. He didn't know how he managed to keep his voice steady, but it seemed his fear worked for his own safety. "Yes, Lord Enma."
Tatsumi pushed up his glasses over the bridge of his nose while he relayed any last minute itineraries for the day. In the end of his speech, he handed Chief Konoe a sealed envelope he received before lunchtime. He refrained from opening it since Konoe's name was displayed on the fine envelope. Besides, Konoe informed him of anything new happening in their department.
As Konoe opened the envelope, he unfolded the letter and began reading it. The more he read it, the tenser his form became. His fingers dug into the paper, wrinkling the pristine and sophisticated strokes of the words. "We have a transfer."
Tatsumi raised his eyebrows. "This late in the year? I didn't know we had any openings in our roster."
"Higurashi submitted her paperwork for reincarnation. Today." Konoe slapped the paper with one of his hands. "And this just so happens to arrive? This is no coincidence."
Tatsumi peered toward the closed door before he asked. "Are you going to accept this transfer?"
Chief Konoe nodded his head as he looked down at the official letter given to him by Lord Enma. Another one of the Judgement Bureau's expelled workers. "This has Lord Enma's seal. Even if we didn't want to accept Yutaka Watari, we can't deny Lord Enma's request." He rubbed the bridge of his nose and groaned. "We can't tell anyone the truth. Watari transferred."
Tatsumi read over Chief Konoe's shoulder and looked at the contents again. "It seems—odd. Lord Enma doesn't seem the type to insert himself into department business. Better yet, wouldn't this shame Yukata Watari? He is well-known as a member of the Gokan." Having met Yutaka Watari in a handful of moments, he didn't find anything off-putting about him.
Konoe huffed. "Those uppity bastards need a reality check. All the departments play an integral role in making sure the Judgement Bureau runs properly. In Watari-san's case, he can decide for himself if he is embarrassed to come into our office." He tossed the letter and envelope onto his pile of papers. "We'll have to keep an extra eye on him."
Tatsumi nodded. "There are no issues on my end."
Konoe smirked. "Lay some time away from watching Ruka and Tsuzuki and you will do fine," Tatsumi coughed into his closed fist and didn't say a word. "Don't make it obvious."
"Of course," Tatsumi clicked his tongue, "When are we hosting Higurashi's reincarnation party? Next week?"
"Before New Years." Konoe sighed. "We'll file Higurashi and Watari's paperwork at the same time. I don't want to do unnecessary work before the holidays."
The end.