Beginning Note: This chapter is ridiculously long compared to the previous ones, but then again, it was before I decided to upload this story to begin with. Enjoy!
This chapter is ridiculously long compared to the previous ones, but then again, it was before I decided to upload this story to begin with. Enjoy!
The office Munakata led them both to was distinctly like the room Aneko would wait around in while her father did work when she was a child, albeit the décor was considerably newer in this time. It, like the building, were generally furnished with blue items, although occasionally it would have reds and browns.
Once the door was shut, Munakata prepared to start the awaited conversation after brewing some tea. Aneko took a cup and saucer delicately, remembering the manners her father instilled in her for years.
"This is very interesting," he started, "You called me your father, earlier. Elaborate on that, please." Munakata produced a tablet from his desk, pulling up a recording from the building's front cameras. A light emitted from the tablet, and it projected the video of the woman's Sword of Damocles forming, confirming it as a genuine sword, seeing that the design was improved and different compared to his own.
There were two purple stones accompanying the blue stones nestled in the middle of the grip. The Sword's guard was more shaped like a saber's guard instead of a rapier, the grip significantly thicker, and the blade leading up to the point was slightly broader. Circuits ran along the length of the Sword, a bright blue glow visible even in the daylight.
"I am Munakata Aneko, like I said before," said Aneko, "I became the fifth incarnation of the Fourth Blue King after my predecessor, Munakata Reishi abdicated his throne when I turned twenty one. Where I'm from, it's 2037, and the Blue, Red, and Silver Clan created an alliance to stop the Green Clan from taking control of the Dresden Slate and unsealing it completely."
"A Red and Blue Alliance?" scoffed Fushimi, an old animosity rising in his eyes, "That's rich." Aneko narrowed her eyes, tension entering her. It took nearly everything in her not to bare her teeth at him, a gesture she knew was pervasive in her childhood.
"Why is that so unfeasible, Fushimi-san? Anna-chan isn't exactly a hot-headed individual. I do not know who the Red King here is, but an alliance is by no means impossible," she said icily, a frown marring her features.
Sensing the prickly atmosphere, Munakata interrupted smoothly, "As I am your father, who is your mother?"
Aneko blinked, taken off guard. To her knowledge, her parents were married before her father became the Blue King. "Suoh Mika. Why do you ask? You two were married before you became King."
Munakata froze, the new information catching him off guard. His hands paused as Fushimi made a strangled sound that suspiciously sounded like a cross between a laugh and a cry of outrage.
"…Fascinating," he said, intrigue shining behind violet eyes, "Who was the previous Red King before Kushina-san?" Fushimi had recomposed himself, his hands dipping into his pockets.
"Yata Misaki," answered Aneko calmly, regaining her detached politeness. She raised her cup of tea to her mouth and drank, while Fushimi sputtered once again, making her raise an eyebrow. In fact, she was amused that the sadistic Fushimi was so taken off guard about her time.
"I take it that he isn't the Red King here…which means that this isn't just time travel, its dimension travel as well," mused Aneko after she set the cup in its saucer. Her lips quirked in a smile, one reminiscent of the older Munakata. Her excitement was palpable under red eyes before she gave a straight face.
"If I may, who's the Red King here?" she asked, interested in the answer. This new universe was getting more interesting by the second, and she waited patiently.
"Suoh Mikoto," replied Munakata, and Aneko's eyebrows raised. "This universe is interesting," she said, trying to imagine her mother as a man. The image wasn't quite working, and she had to refocus on the situation on hand.
"You mentioned a Strain outside. Elaborate more on their abilities," said Munakata after a moment, and Aneko obliged.
"The Strain's name is Shiraki Sugita," she withdrew her PDA from a pocket, the thin screen creating a hologram of a man with silver hair and green eyes, "According to my second, his powers revolve around moving through dimensions. He was part of jungle before he was turned into a Strain, and he recently became a J rank, which put him under supervision." She changed the picture to Shiraki in his jungle biker helmet.
"My Clansmen were set to disrupt a gathering of Strains and other jungle members who were planning on fully unsealing the Dresden Slate," she finished, putting her PDA away. Draining her cup of tea, she set it down and let Munakata organize his thoughts.
"This man, how dangerous would you rate him?" asked the older Munakata, steepling his fingers. It seemed he was intrigued about how his alternate universe daughter would proceed, which, Aneko mused to herself, was interested to see her father at a young age.
"As a Strain, he's a Risk 4 Beta. Shiraki-san is one of the highest ranking members, and we all know that J members meet the Green King himself," said Aneko shortly, "His M.O. is dragging Strains from other universes to join jungle and increasing their already high population with powerful Strains. The first Gold King perished years ago, leaving the Dresden Slate unguarded until SCEPTER 4 was granted control of Mihashira Tower. Although Shiraki-san was only turned into a Strain after the Dresden Slate was almost completely unsealed, he is proficient in using his powers." She started to pull a rubix cube out of one of the many pockets on her person but shoved it back in after noticing Fushimi tense.
It wasn't unnoticed by Munakata after his eyes strayed to his subordinate, and he said, "Very well. I'll put all SCEPTER 4 members on high alert to capture him. In the meantime, please explain more about your world and how you came to be."
Aneko took out her PDA again to send the picture of Shiraki to Munakata's so he could post it on SCEPTER 4's alert system. Fushimi left after Munakata gave a gesture, shutting the door with silent fury, leaving the two Kings and Munakatas alone.
"Well, according to mom, she and Kusinagi Izumo shared the right to bar HOMRA, and they formed a gang that went after other gangs with several other people. Yata Misaki became the Red King when he turned sixteen, a year after dragging he and Fushimi-san into joining HOMRA, when he learned the responsibilities of the Seven Kings. After some…disagreements, Fushimi-san joined SCEPTER 4 at my father's behest," said Aneko, fiddling with her PDA to show old pictures her parents shared.
"Mom said that she met dad while in middle school and started dating in the middle of high school. There were a bunch of times they nearly broke up, but they stuck together in the end. They got married in their early twenties, producing me a year later. My childhood was…interesting, considering I was traded between HOMRA and SCEPTER 4 every other week," she opened a picture of her parents holding her as an infant, as well as a small girl easily identified as Kushina Anna with her small top hat and ribbon hiding near the woman's legs.
"Suoh Mika, aged 22, and my dad, aged 22 too," said Aneko, "I was born on July 25th, 2011. Almost all the Red and Blue Clansmen were considered aunts and uncles. Anna-chan was my sister in everything but blood. You could say I bridged the gap between SCEPTER 4 and HOMRA. Not that it stopped them from fighting of course, but members wouldn't suddenly fight if they passed each other on the street." A new picture was shown, this time it was in bar HOMRA with New Year's decorations all over the room.
In the middle was a seven year old Aneko with her parents, hands holding onto the arms of an older Anna. The Blue Clansmen gathered near her father while dressed in casual clothing, while Red Clansmen sided with her mother. Fushimi was glaring at Yata openly across the picture, while the Red King stuck his tongue at his former friend.
"It was a problem when I was younger because I'd cry if they didn't even try to get along. I think mom even threatened to, if I may, 'Straighten the fuck out or I'm going to beat all your asses.' That resulted in…remodeling of the bar," she said reluctantly. "Family wise, my cousins are worryingly normal, and they continued the family business after oji-san and baa-chan retired."
A new picture was projected, this time of Aneko in SCEPTER 4's dress uniform, along with her parents. Munakata was smiling slightly as he stood with his own uniform, Suoh looking tired beside him, frowning slightly. Both parents looked older, with more pronounced wrinkles.
"After graduating high school, I joined SCEPTER 4. Dad was thrilled, as far as he gets happy, but mom…well, she didn't really like the idea. Afterall, it could get dangerous, but she relented after teaching me how to brawl. There was a lot of pain involved," Aneko said the last part quickly.
"At what age did you become King?" asked Munakata, breaking Aneko off from her developing rant. He had abandoned the tablet for a puzzle, steadily pressing in pieces as the woman regaled her story.
"I was twenty one. I've been King for five years now," she said, "It was a surprise to Dad, but Mom always said I was like you. I'm the only King that was related to a previous King, let alone the same Sanctum." Aneko showed her official ID of when she had been officially Captain of SCEPTER 4, rotating the image, "Dad was very firm with ensuring I understood the full ramifications of being a King while going through physical training."
Aneko shuttered, thinking about her mother's reaction of her being slated as the next Blue King. It wasn't unnoticed by Munakata, especially when she grinned sheepishly. "Mom nearly leveled Dad's office when she got the news. She's a scary woman. Hell hath no fury like Suoh Mika mad," she coughed into a raised fist.
A beat passed, and she pulled out her rubix cube, scrambling and solving it repeatedly without looking. "I'm going to be completely honest with you," said Aneko, "My life has become really weird in the last decade. I'm not quite sure it happened here yet, but a whole slew of death will happen soon. Anna-chan foresaw that I will get stuck in another time and place, and it will spell disaster."
A sudden thought came to Aneko, and she asked, "Um…what year is it? I'm sorry, it slipped my mind."
"Today is December 7th, 2012," said Munakata, and Aneko's eyes widened at the new information, calculating her father's birthday. A pause, and Aneko nearly burst out laughing, tamping the urge down, although it pained her to do so, instead in a deadpan tone said, "Oh Kami, I'm older than you."
It felt like a giant cosmic joke, and it really took all of her discipline to not lord it over her alternate universe father. She couldn't help but smile after a moment, blue glittering in red eyes. A laugh nearly bubbled out of her throat, but she quashed it quickly, only letting it come out for a second.
Mortified, red spread to her cheeks, and she apologized, "Sorry, sorry, it's just odd. It's like…like looking at old photographs of people you know and comparing it to who they are now. Especially if it's your parents. Especially because I saw my dad just before the mission, and you're a completely different man compared to the one I know."
Munakata had finished his puzzle by now, and he looked directly at Aneko, searching for the features that she had from him and Suoh. The red of her eyes were reminiscent of Suoh's amber eyes filled with red aura, but her eyes had a playfulness that the man lacked. The woman's hair had his dark blue, but it could also be seen as a very dark violet. She didn't share his need for glasses, taking more from her mother than just the color of her eyes, but she didn't have the creases Suoh had around his eyes.
Thinking back on the picture of Suoh Mika, the woman shared her mother's iris shape and eyebrows. It was clear that Aneko had Munakata's jawline, albeit softer. Posture wise, Aneko shared how Mikoto would occasionally slump while in thought but would straighten when an idea formed. Seeing her smile was akin to looking in a mirror, and the way her eyes tightened when she did was like his.
He then studied the other Blue King's outfit more critically. She wore the Captain's variation of the SCEPTER 4 uniform, which fit slightly looser to allow free movement. Her dark blue trench coat reached her knees, and had a high collar, gold stitching crisscrossing her lower back. A white dress shirt peaked out of her half buttoned coat, and a black sword belt was worn around her waist. For her pants, she wore slacks held up with a belt with a silver buckle, which was attached with her sword belt, accompanied with black combat boots that reached to her mid calf with silver laces.
"How does this development affect how you perform in this world?" he asked finally, filing his observations away to see how she'd respond. The woman's fingers paused on her rubix cube, stowing it away.
Aneko was silent for a moment, but she answered with conviction, "I don't care if this is a completely different world compared to mine. I swore to uphold peace, and it doesn't matter where I am. I am a King, and a King never abandons those they swore to protect. As long I breathe, I will protect the people of the land I am treading on." She clenched a hand, blue aura rising unbidden, determination setting in her jaw. Looking up, she blinked when she noticed a smile on Munakata's face.
"Don't look at me like that Da-I mean, Munakata-san," she said moodily, nonplused at her not-father's smile, "I know what you're thinking. SCEPTER 4 doesn't need two Kings right now. Honestly, I'm surprised that my Sanctum even activated."
"We've found that the Dresden Slate has a sort of sentience," offered Munakata as an explanation, "It must've picked up your King status and allowed you to access to its power."
"Yeah, probably," shrugged Aneko in a relaxed motion, "If that's the case, I'm going to lay low for now, maybe get out of these clothes and get a drink." She picked at her collar, the small metal disk that was her tracker popping off and pressing it, a thin beam of light emitting from the object.
"I don't suppose my tracker still works, does it? Can I get one?" she said, flipping it between her fingers. "Wouldn't want to lose me in this lovely city, right? Maybe I'll get Anna-chan a gift. It's her birthday tomorrow, right?"
"Correct. She's turning 11," confirmed Munakata, and he opened a drawer, a small tracking device pinched between two fingers. "Place that in your PDA," he instructed, and set it on the table. Aneko plucked it from the wood surface, studying the outdated piece of technology, opening a compartment in her PDA and letting it stick. The tracker pulled from her shirt collar was slid into a small zippered pocket in her dress pants.
"Munakata-san…" she started, looking over to the man who wasn't her father, "You're a good man. No matter what you have to do. That Sword above our heads aren't the only thing that can kill us. It's the choices that we make that do us in."
Standing up, Aneko gave the younger man a smile, "Take it from your daughter from another time and place. There's going to be a lot of triumphs and regrets in your life. Don't be consumed." She dropped her PDA into her pants pocket and pulled off her coat, folding it neatly, her white dress shirt the only thing shielding her from the cold. Her hands stopped at the saber attached to her side, unsure of what to do with the weapon
"Can I…" she started slowly, turning to the other King, "Munakata-san. I wish to leave my saber in your care. I do not wish to carry a weapon so blatantly in the city. Please don't let any harm come to it. My father gifted it to me himself."
"I am surprised you are entrusting this to me if it means much to you," said Munakata, and Aneko shook her head.
"You may not be my father, but you do share his face. I am deciding to trust you, but do not think you have my only way of offense," said Aneko confidently, and she placed the saber delicately onto Munakata's desk. "I have more secrets than you know, but it isn't kept out of maleficence, but out of necessity," she stepped back, seriousness steady in her red eyes.
"I'm going out to see the city. I want to see the differences between your world and my time," Aneko told Munakata, "I don't expect to be back till very late. There is something I must do tonight, my universe or not."
"It's rather chilly today," said Munakata, "Do you require a different coat?" Aneko shrugged, tucking her coat under her arm, "I don't think so. The cold never bothered me anyway." She languidly made her way to the door, turning back to address the man again before leaving.
"I'll see you around, Munakata-san~!" she said in a singsong, the seriousness she originally shown fully gone. "It's been a long time since I was able to get any vacation time, what with the Green Clan stirring up trouble lately. Being serious all the time is so tiring, I have no idea how Dad dealt with being a King for nearly a quarter of his life and be a loving father at the same time. One of life's mysteries, I suppose."
"Where are you heading off to?" asked Munakata, and the fifth incarnation of the Fourth King smiled at this world's King, "Like I said, I'm off to get a drink, I think I owe myself one for the last five years. Call me if you need me." She pulled out her PDA again, waving it, "I'll text you. Dad hasn't changed his phone number in decades, but I'll test it out."
She sent a text, and the PDA in Munakata's pocket pinged. "Right. Bye!" Aneko quickly walked out of Reishi's office and out of Tsubaki-mon, passing Blues on the way.