Saitou flipped through his papers. "Hmmm," he mumbled. "Chou, where are you? Just because I'm in a good mood today doesn't mean you can slack off."
With Saitou, it was hard to define a "good mood." Especially these days. After the entire Shishio incident, Saitou was bored. Not that he wanted Japan to be in such danger again, but…
Chou walked in. "Yeah, what is it?"
"You know," Saitou said, "you should treat me with a little more respect. After all, if it hadn't been for me, you would still be groveling at the feet of that mummy."
Chou glared at him. "I didn't ask for your help, willow head. Like I said, the second somethin' betting comes along, ffft, I'm outta here."
Saitou lit up his ninth cigarette of the day. "See if I care. Men like you are easily replaced."
Chou grit his teeth. Saitou could really be a pain in the you-know-what. But the sword hunter had to make a living somehow. He hated to admit it, but he did sort of have a grudging respect for the smirking policeman. "Anyway, what did ya want?"
Saitou looked up. "You have a letter."
"Okay. So?"
"It's from someone who calls herself 'Kamatari.'"
"Kamatari?" He couldn't believe it. Wasn't Kamatari supposed to be over in Europe, or America, or something?
"Ah, so you know her."
"Yeah, but 'she' is really a 'he.'"
Saitou looked only mildly surprised. "Oh? Is that right?"
"Mmmmm-hmm." He picked up the letter and began to read it.
Dear Chou,
Thank you for your support. Things are wonderful here. Everybody's so nice, and nobody's found out I'm actually a man. I must be really good at pretending, huh? Every day, I think of Shishio-sama.
Why don't you come over and visit me? You'll love it here. There are lots of fun things to do that you can't do in Japan. It's really easy to obtain weapons and drugs here. Not that I'd know from personal experience, of course…
The letter went on and on. Finally, when he was finished reading it, Chou hung his head and groaned. "I should've just let him off himself…"
"So, are you going to America?"
"What? You read my letter?"
"Hey, I can't be too careful," he answered. "After all, you used to be a member of the Juppongatana. Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot. You're very sensitive about that now, aren't you?" He grinned wickedly.
Chou ignored him. "I guess I'll go. Might find somethin' worthwhile to do with my time. Better than bein' a cop. I'm leavin', and ya can't stop me."
"I wasn't going to try. Like I said before…"
"Men like me are easily replaced," Chou snapped at him. He stomped out the door. "Have fun lookin' for someone to replace me."
Saitou watched him leave. If I didn't know better, I'd say he's jealous. He shrugged. Oh, well. Can't be helped. He stood up. Then, he pushed the intercom button. "Sawagejou is leaving. Wants to go to America," he added with a smirk. Then, just in case Chou was listening, he added, "To see his fiancée."
Chou heard, all right. But he ignored it again. He was used to being tormented by Saitou.
Besides, it wasn't like he was planning on coming back.