The mission itself didn't sound bothersome, go in, grab some criminals, get out. What really bothered Saruhiko, was the fact he had to spend an hour sitting right next to Reisi. Maybe even longer, seeing how the traffic was particularly horrible. So in his head, the younger man recited a chant for the traffic to speed up. He knew that at some point, possibly very soon now, the bubble of awkwardness would burst and something even worse will replace it. Also the excitement, yes he could now feel excited, was at the brim and threatening to pour out. However, being a master of masquerades, Saruhiko's default expression settled on his face without changing.
Reisi was behind the wheel of the sleek sedan, and he had only allocated one person to accompany him in his car. Saruhiko. One, it wasn't logical to have everyone crammed in his car, the van was just enough for those on Saruhiko's team. Two, the younger man next to him had always piqued the Blue King's interest. From the first moment he laid eyes on Saruhiko, he knew there was something unique about the said male. It wasn't the extreme display of apathy Saruhiko kept around him, nor was it the fact he was a traitor to one of the worst people to anger, Suoh Mikoto. Glancing at to the side, Reisi noticed that Saruhiko was strangely tense. Although Saruhiko's default expression was the same, something about his aura just screamed impatience.
"Nervous?" Reisi teased.
"You think?" The younger man replied as he shot the king a death glare.
"I never thought the day Saruhiko is nervous about a mission would come."
Saruhiko was slowly learning to ignore the teasing Reisi.
"Don't worry. I'll protect yo-" Reisi didn't even finish his sentence when he received the other man's fist in his gut.
"I'm heading there first," Saruhiko stated monotonously, as he threw open the door of the sedan, right in the middle of the road, and stepped out. The traffic wasn't moving anyway, but he definitely startled a nearby motorcyclist.
"Young ones are so lively," the commander grinned as the door was slammed closed. A curious glint flashed across Reisi's glasses before he pulled out his phone to contact the van behind him about a route change.
Meanwhile, Saruhiko slowly navigated his way towards the destination. Not only was the traffic slow, he realised that walking was substantially slow as well. Especially when you're the only walking against the tide of people. It was only then that Saruhiko realised that he hasn't really walked anywhere since he joined Scepter 4. The elected mode of transport was the control van. Taking a moment to look up at the sky, he noticed that it was painted a brilliant sapphire. He sighed. Sometimes he felt like Reisi had more than those 2 pairs of eyes. Unlike in Homura, he could roam around freely behind Misaki, but those days were long gone. His hand instinctively reached up to where his mark was. But it wasn't completely over.
Finally arriving at the dockside where the mission was to be undertaken, Saruhiko felt like he'd just spent half his day trudging through the torrents of people. He actually preferred the control van now. Not Reisi's car though. Maybe if Akiyama or Andy was with him, just not alone with Reisi. Something like a shiver ran down his spine from just thinking about it. Despite his demeanor, somehow he'd become casual friends with Akiyama and Andy. It didn't really bother Saruhiko but he personally thought that his personality could ward off those happy-go-lucky types like those two.
A flash of movement in the corner of his eye interrupted Saruhiko's thoughts. The curtains have finally opened for the first act. He let a smirk decorate his features for a second before returning to his usual expression. Slowly, but with an unusual bounce in his step, Saruhiko made his way towards the warehouse, to where the first steps of self-discovery was.
"Hurry up and pile it on!" the rough voice of a man demanded.
"There's too many in here, if we put anymo-"
"Shut up and just cram it in." The voice was impatient, its eyes glanced towards the closed door as if expecting something to storm in any second. "We have five minutes to get out of here."
After two more minutes of scuffling, an engine roared, the sound echoing throughout the warehouse. The van, stripped clean of any distinct markings, silently. The voice almost let out a sigh as they steered several shipping containers past the warehouse. The coast was clear.
"I should get an extr-," it began but was quickly intercepted by the gasp that escaped its lips. A man clad in blue was standing right in their path several meters away. Those stupid law enforcement.
"Wah? What do we do?" His accomplice exclaimed desperately. Clearly not cut out for jobs like these.
"Run him down." Simply too easy, was what the voice's smile said.
As the van approached him top speed, Saruhiko pushed his glasses back into place, unfazed. He did have a plan in place, but he wanted to see how vicious his opponents were before he got down to business.
Just as the van was about to ram into the man in front of them, the accomplice squeaked and swerved the van to the left. A myriad of swearing exploded from the voice, but was silenced when the van leaned precariously onto its left-side before crashing, bonnet first, into a nearby shipping container.
A sigh escaped Saruhiko's lips. Looks like he'd have to make do with some meek minds.
A shaky figure emerged from the burning wreck, followed several seconds later by another. The later was more steady, and held something black in his hand. Saruhiko only had moments to react to the gunshot that followed. He had expected them to have a gun, but didn't expect one of them to shoot so accurately right after their brains were turned-about.
"I guess you have some idiotic persistence after all," he clicked as he noticed the trail of blood on his hand from where the bullet had scraped past.
"You'll pay for that!" exclaimed the enraged voice as it proceeded to empty the gun magazine at Saruhiko.
The edges of Saruhiko's curled up into a smirk. The brilliant violet aura exploded from Saruhiko, instantly vaporising any bullet that was brave enough to near him. It rose higher into the air above them before wavering and descending downwards. As he glanced at the other two men, the fear etched on their faces made him shake in silent laughter. This was power, and it was his. Something that was finally exclusively his.
As he brought the violet closer towards them, Saruhiko noticed that the shadows around them began quivering. The sun didn't quiver, nor did the solid shipping containers so what happened? The moment he asked himself the question, his aura simmered down to a electric blue. The violet was lost. Saruhiko clicked his tongue. Looks like it still needed his complete concentration. From the corner of his eye, he noticed the voice grasping for another weapon.
"Fushimi, emergen-"
"Surrender yourselves," stated the familiar voice of the Blue King, halting Saruhiko mid-sentence.
Munakata Reisi and Saruhiko's team finally arrived at the scene.
Taking his hand off the hilt of his sword, Saruhiko was strangely appreciative of their arrival. Using the violet aura tired him out much more than he'd expected, but it left him with a sense of fulfillment. Something that had remained foreign to him for too long.
"Are you alright?" Akiyama asked Saruhiko.
"Yeah."
Akiyama patted Saruhiko lightly on the shoulder before heading off with the rest of the team to arrest the two men and examine the wrecked van for evidence.
Saruhiko needed time to analyse his own abilities, so silently he slinked towards the exit. Only to be stopped.
"Fushimi-kun."
Shoulders immediately slouched.
"I would like to have a talk with you."
A light 'Tch' echoed through the emptiness.
"Get in the car."
Saruhiko almost wanted to do a double-take and sprint home, but the energy had been sapped out of his veins. With another click of his tongue, he began following Reisi back to the man's car. However he didn't realise what the Blue King had in store for him.
Cliffhanger~ A very hint-y one at that v As you can tell, I'm a fan of some minor Scepter 4 members. The artists are so nice to have given them each some kind of individuality. Though they are very OoC. T^T
