Author's note: All manga/anime characters (both from Project K and, appearing later, from Durarara) belong to their respective authors. Mai Ueno is my humble creation. The title is a quote from Deathstars' song "Death dies hard". You don't really need to know Durarara and its characters to follow the story, which is why I'm not putting this as a crossover.
Play the heavens with the devil's dice
Chapter 1
The video feed was cut, leaving the spacious office, decorated tastefully in blue, silent. Reisi Munakata, the captain of a special police force, Sceptre 4, drummed his fingers on his desk. His lips pressed into thin line, well aware that his reaction was carefully observed by his second- and third-in-command. Sooner or later, he would have to express his opinion, but what was there to say? The fight was as long and violent as it was impressive to watch, but that was to be expected between those opponents. The outcome - he wished he could say he was surprised, but it was to be expected, all things considered. Of course, there has been one way it could have ended differently:
'The Silver King didn't show up,' he half-stated, half-asked. Provoking the elusive, First King to finally reappear up might have very well been the reason for the attack, no matter what the sparkly Green clansman said out loud.
'We saw no sign of the Silver King,' Saruhiko Fushimi, the third-in-command of Sceptre 4, replied diplomatically. Munakata propped his chin on his hands, elbows on the table, watching the still picture of a hysterical, young woman, as though it would give him answers.
Perhaps they have all been wrong in reading the Silver King, he thought. He was sure the man would have turned up to aid his faithful swordsman.
'What about the Strain?' he asked out loud. Fushimi restarted the video in fast forward. The young woman cried a bit and ran in circles, before taking off towards the mainland. Different cameras throughout the Shizume City followed her until the HOMRA home base.
'We should have taken them into custody when it became obvious that the Silver King has disappeared in that incident,' Seri Awashima, Sceptre 4's second-in-command, commented quietly. Managing clansmen without a King was well within their responsibilities, so they had a good excuse.
Munakata didn't look away from the screen, now paused on the closing door of Izumo Kusanagi's bar. Surprisingly, HOMRA still didn't realize there was a municipal camera aimed straight at their bar, but this wasn't the time to discuss it.
'Did we manage to follow Mishakuji?' he asked instead, rather than acknowledging Awashima's statement. They all knew the Silver clansmen wouldn't have taken kindly to being forcefully protected by the Blue King. Plus, the Gold King seemed to have backed them up, giving them the place to stay on the island, in the Ashinaka High School, while they awaited the return of their King.
Of course, the Gold King was now gone for quite a while. And his choices led to this confusing situation.
Wordlessly, Fushimi changed the screen to a blurred picture of Green clansman Yukari Mishakuji, carrying away an unconscious Kuroh Yatogami, drawing quite a few glances from the random passers-by. A few more pictures followed, from different cameras.
'That's it,' Fushimi said, sounding thoroughly displeased. 'He was going towards the centre of Shizume. Our best guess is that he ducked into one of the smaller streets near the department store and into some secret passageway or safe house. We know nothing about Jungle's operation base.'
Still no luck hacking in, Munakata translated and nodded slowly.
'Let us assume they wanted to drag the Silver King from his high skies, figuratively speaking,' he said, leaning back in his armchair. 'Or verifying that he has given up on participating in whatever unfolds,' he added after a pause.
'It seems like the latter is true,' Awashima pointed out. 'If the Silver King didn't move to save his clansman then what would make him move?' she asked. Indeed: what?
'Or he believes the Black Dog can fend for himself,' Fushimi suggested, but didn't sound convinced by his words. The very video they have watched was a proof he couldn't, although admittedly Yukari Mishakuji might have been the first clansman who could win against the Black Dog. Besides, he came very close to delivering the fatal blow and the Silver King, as far as they knew, did not have teleportation powers. If he has hoped to intervene, he couldn't have planned to show up in the last minute. And if he has started his approach, why would he let his precious friend be abducted? The Green clan could have nothing pleasant in mind after all.
Of course there was a possibility that the Silver King was not looking and didn't even know. Perhaps the mere mortals he has met were not important enough precious friends. Or his life has run out despite his proud claims of immortality. Neither was a pleasant option, considering the desperation with which Yatogami and the cat woman searched for their king.
'We're still on a lookout for any sign of the Silver King, just in case he has meant to come but showed up late, but it doesn't seem to be the case,' Fushimi added. Munakata sighed.
'So the Silver King has chosen to stay away,' he stated. 'The Gold King has gone as well, leaving me and Anna Kushina to deal with Nagare Hisui. Awashima: go visit your friendly barman. Try to see if the cat woman has anything to add about the situation and gauge the possibility of any sort of truce between Sceptre 4 and HOMRA. We can hardly tackle the Jungle if we're involved in those childish spats.'
'Yes sir,' Awashima said primly, saluted and left. Munakata waited till the door closed behind her.
'Good work, Fushimi,' he said and paused with some hesitation. 'Take some time off, play a game,' he added eventually. The minute widening of Fushimi's eyes told him that he understood the message.
'Sir,' he replied.
'Nothing extreme for the moment and make sure to keep yourself safe,' Munakata added. Fushimi opened his mouth to answer, but no words came: a sharp knock on the door interrupted them. Three seconds later, Awashima was back and Munakata internally congratulated himself for not flinching or showing that his heart was racing at the very thought that his secret plan would be uncovered.
'I forgot to say, sir, but you have the meeting with that student in the Mihashira Tower,' his second in command said in a rush. 'I am really sorry. You should leave right about now, to be on time, sir.'
Munakata suppressed a groan.
Another of the Gold King's fancies he had to deal with, he thought even as he got up, pushing the armchair backwards. He glanced at his third in command and a thought struck him: giving the man a boring mission could make what might have to happen later more believable.
'Fushimi, you're coming with me,' he said sternly. 'Awashima, go and have a drink,' he added, repeating his order for her. She tried very hard to not smile as she saluted sharply and left.
'What am-'
'I'll explain on the way,' he cut Fushimi's question short. At that, his third in command followed without any further hesitation and didn't speak again until they were in the car.
'What is a student doing in the Mihashira Tower?' he asked then, probably because Munakata had yet to speak up and explain the situation. The captain sighed tiredly: he wondered that himself, ever since hearing about the graduation project the Gold King has approved just before disappearing.
'She will be studying the script on the Dresden Slate,' he stated in the calmest and most self-assured way he could manage. Internally, he enjoyed the shocked expression on Fushimi's face, probably more than he should, since it changed so much from the usual, bored look. 'It is something sanctioned by the Gold King. According to the official documents, he thought that perhaps acquiring a better understanding on what the symbols mean would lead to better control over the Slates, or maybe even enable us to manipulate it.'
'Allowing a civilian to even know about the Slate is highly unorthodox,' Fushimi complained, but all that Munakata needed to say was that all HOMRA members were civilians in just about every meaning of the word. As usual, talking about Fushimi's previous clan shut him up efficiently, although Munakata wasn't sure if it was because he was somewhat ashamed of his betrayal or angry that he has ever joined the Red clan.
'She seems to be a really talented student at the University of Tokyo and has already tried to decipher parts of the script on the Slate, apparently without knowing what it was she was working on. She has come up with some interesting theories, which do not sound completely unbelievable, so her professor, an acquaintance of the Gold King himself, has decided to appoint her graduation project on the translation of the Slate,' he explained.
'So it is true that there are no documents explaining why the Slate does what it does?' Fushimi asked.
'The documents are incomplete,' Munakata corrected. 'We know a lot, but there exists no direct explanation of the scripture. I highly doubt that a graduate student will be able to decipher it, but the Gold King is willing to try.'
'The Gold King is not here,' Fushimi pointed out in a flat tone.
'Indeed,' Munakata agreed. Instead of continuing the conversation, he took out his PDA and forwarded the young woman's file to Fushimi. Silently, he watched his third-in-command open the file and wince slightly.
'Her name reads like a beginning of a cheesy haiku,' he muttered with distaste. Munakata smiled, amused, lowering his head slightly as though he wanted to hide his reaction. Fushimi didn't look up, quickly reading through the file, face impassive. When he was done, he only acknowledged that her university results did look impressive and that was the end of the topic.
The car slowed and came to a stop right in front of the entrance to the tower and they got out without hesitation. Munakata supposed that Fushimi shared his opinion on the situation: the faster they did it, the sooner the student would be gone and they could go about their real work. Admittedly, his officer was in for a surprise.
Spotting the student was easy. The only civilian near the door, the young woman stood out in her black suit. She turned to look at them as soon as the car arrived. She looked a little bit older than on the photo that came with her university file and somewhat nervous, but that was to be expected. The hair that was shoulder-long and ultra-straight on the photo was somewhat longer, the ends curled in seemingly random directions.
'Captain Munakata, it is an honour to meet you,' she spoke as soon as Munakata was close enough to hear her over the sounds of the city. She bowed deeply, the large, rectangular bag she was carrying almost falling off her shoulder, together with her handbag.
'Miss Ueno, I presume,' he replied, inclining his head when she straightened up. 'This is Saruhiko Fushimi, my third-in-command,' he introduced.
'It is a pleasure to meet you, Mr Fushimi. My name is Mai Ueno. I am a graduate student at the University of Tokyo,' the student replied, seemingly undeterred by Fushimi's lack of enthusiasm or even acknowledgement of her presence. She looked back at Munakata. 'I am deeply honoured to have the possibility to study the Slate directly,' she said.
'I will be frank with you: it is only possible because of the connections your professor has,' he replied coldly. The student seemed to falter for a split of a second, but she pulled herself together marvellously. Even Munakata had to admit it, despite wanting to see this whole assignment as nothing more than an annoyance and an unreasonable fancy of the Gold King.
Because to acknowledge, even in the privacy of his own thoughts, that understanding the Slate could help him was allowing for hope such understanding could be gained. And it was more than doubtful a single graduate student could do that.
'Of course,' the woman replied. 'I will work hard to not disappoint your expectations and prove that the trust bestowed upon me was not misplaced,' she added and Munakata had to consciously keep himself from reacting.
Has anybody mentioned anything about trust? Surely, she simply meant the non-existent "trust" that she solves the mystery, rather than trust she will know to keep the existence and location of Slate secret, as well as any findings and theories she might produce.
'Well, let's not waste time,' he said, forcing himself to not sigh tiredly. He could at least afford the minimum politeness, couldn't he? He gestured towards the entrance and the student followed him inside the Mihashira Tower.
'For security reasons, you will not be given personal entrance, but will rather be escorted in and out of the tower, always accompanied by an officer of Sceptre 4,' he said in a monotone as they walked towards the lift. The student nodded. 'For the same reasons, all the notes and replicas of the Dresden Slate you make will need to remain in the Tower until they have been read and approved by me in person. An officer will be available around the clock for your convenience. Under normal circumstances, you will have access the tower whenever you need to, for however long it takes to complete your project, until the deadline.'
Another nod. Good, she wasn't one to speak needlessly.
'I will discuss the manner of disclosure of your report with your professor, but I expect it to remain a top secret document, regardless of your success in deciphering of the Slate,' he added, this time glancing to see the reaction of the student.
'I am aware of that,' she said.
'Finally, there might be cases of emergency when you will be denied access to the tower with no advance notice. The safety of the Slate is the ultimate priority of Sceptre 4,' he finished, right as the lift arrived.
'Of course,' the student acknowledged. Briefly, Munakata wondered if she knew what the Slate was and what it did. He would have to have the officer assigned to her supervision get that info out of the student somehow.
How troublesome, he thought.
They rode the lift in silence. Once up in the Slate chamber, the student all but ignored them, immediately focusing on the huge slab of stone. She pulled her hair back, into a messy ponytail. She took out a large block of paper from her rectangular bag and fished out pencils from her handbag, immediately starting to sketch the Slate. Munakata looked at her from the doorway, wondering whether he should make a fuss about not having allowed her to approach the Slate.
'So, why exactly am I here?' Fushimi asked, shifting Munakata's attention away from the enthusiastic student. He sounded and looked bored and the captain couldn't help a smirk from twisting his lips as he thought about the reaction he was about to elicit.
Ueno Mai, according to "Behind the name" website, can be written as:
上野真愛
From Japanese 上(ue) meaning "above, top, upper" and 野(no) meaning "field, wilderness".
From Japanese 真(ma) meaning "real, genuine" combined with 愛(ai) meaning "love, affection".
Yes, it's on purpose ;)