Summary: Introducing Aneko is the easy part, but the actions of this world's HOMRA forces her to tread carefully.
The blare of Aneko's PDA woke the woman up at 6:00, and she stretched, taking care of the kinks in her bones. She wore men's boxers underneath her blue slacks, and she found a new white shirt in a clothes drawer, putting it on. The shirt was luckily a size too large, and it was baggy enough to cover her dagger's harness.
The woman stepped out of the room, her concealed weapons safely tucked under clothing. She had pressed her uniform coat with an iron she found in the dorm and had spent time to make her coat look pristine as ever after it had been carried in a bag. Before she left the dorm, she left her windbreaker in the dresser, and put the drawstring bag underneath her blue coat. Aneko quickly made her way out of Tsubaki-mon, stealing out of the building through little-used corridors.
The next few hours were filled with Aneko buying breakfast in a McDonald's, walking around and visiting a library to check up on the history in this world. She was absorbed in reading about what the public knew about the Clans, and how they treated HOMRA as a common occurrence and viewed them as enforcers that stopped more dangerous gangs and uphold the peace on their turf.
It was nearly eleven when she decided to return to SCEPTER 4 HQ. Aneko decided to stop at a Matsuya, buying a burger to eat as a light brunch.
When she walked freely through Tsubaki-mon, she could hear whispers from Blue Clansmen who had seen her yesterday with the Blue King, and she paid it no mind, striding in the halls like she owned it.
The moment she reached the Common kitchen area, she started making some tea with an open package of loose leaves from the cupboard. When she was done, she pulled out a seat quickly, placing her food onto the table. "Itadakimasu~!" she proclaimed before eating.
Aneko ate until one of the members of Sword Squad 1 dropped in beside her. She recognized him as a younger version of Hidaka Akira, and she turned to greet him.
"Good morning!" she said cheerfully, waving with one hand in hand. She blinked as Hidaka scrutinized her, and she made a 'huh?' noise.
"I haven't seen you here before," Hidaka said first in a flirty tone, "Come here often?"
Aneko was nonplussed, the emotion flashing across her face, restraining herself from punching him.
"No, actually," she told him, "I'm supposed to be shadowing Reishi-kun today." She grinned when Hidaka was taken aback, clearly not expecting that answer.
"Reishi-kun?" he questioned, and Aneko offered him the alibi like a piece of meat.
"I'm Munakata Aneko, Reishi-kun's older cousin," she said, "He didn't tell you about me?" She blinked at the man, tilting her head just so. It was the perfect veneer of innocence that she practiced getting out of trouble with teachers.
"Uh, you're the cousin that's shadowing Captain, right?" Hidaka asked, "It didn't say you were beautiful. I'm Hidaka Akira, one of the members of Sword Squad 1." He smiled in a way that he deemed charming, and Aneko laughed a little, her voice lightening with humor.
"That's very kind of you," she told the swordsman with a genuine smile, "I'm supposed to meet him soon if you don't mind…" Aneko gestured to her half-eaten hamburger, and Hidaka went to eat his own lunch, tapping on his PDA about the new addition to SCEPTER 4.
Aneko finished up quickly, throwing her garbage and cleaning whatever she used and putting it back. As she left, Fushimi had appeared in the doorway, startling her when she opened the door.
"Captain's expecting you," he told her, and with a muttered apology for bumping into him, the woman moved aside, leaving quickly.
Turbulent thoughts echoed in her head as she walked, reminding her of what happened in her own world when Tatara had been killed. Her mother had been furious, convincing Anna that something had to be done with his killer.
Both HOMRA and SCEPTER 4 were running around on a wild goose chase to find the Colorless King, both Mika and Reishi fighting on how to lure him out. Anna, the pacifist she was, had objections on how to deal with the rouge King, but after exhausting her Strain powers, had collapsed, sleeping restlessly.
Ashinaka Island was the war ground between the two Clans, and Aneko had to fight against HOMRA, even though it tore at her heart. She was among the first to listen to the Black Dog, Yatogami Kuroh when he demanded both clans to stand down and help the innocent students off the island.
Aneko arrived at Munakata's office without incident, knocking on the door, and allowing herself in. She was met with the face of Awashima Seri, who turned as the door opened. The older woman strode in, an easy grin on her face, and Aneko made a beeline towards Awashima.
"Hi! You must be Awashima Seri, Reishi-kun told me a lot about you!" she held a hand out, expecting the other woman to take it. Instead, Awashima looked caught off guard with the cheerfulness exuding from the newcomer.
"Uh, hello," Awashima greeted Aneko, once she got over her shock, "Yes, I'm Awashima Seri, lieutenant of SCEPTER 4. It's a pleasure to meet you." She took the outreached hand, shaking it slightly, and Aneko retracted her hand, leaning back on her heels. She looked over to Munakata, who had a slight smile on his face.
"This is Munakata Aneko, my cousin," he introduced them, standing up, "She will be lodging here for the next week."
"I love the blue motif, by the way," Aneko told the two conversationally, "Do I get a sword too, Reishi-kun~?" She gestured at Awashima's saber, lips quirking into a smile.
"If you are compatible with the blue aura, then you will be able to proceed in joining SCEPTER 4," the Captain informed his 'cousin', "As protocol, new Clansmen are knighted in front of the rest of Sword Squad 1. Though in your case, you are not beholden to SCEPTER 4, which changes procedure." He walked forward, stopping when he stood in front of Aneko, looking down at the shorter woman. "However, I can instate you as a temporary Clansman until further notice."
"You can do that?" asked Aneko, remembering that Weismann had the ability to make Aunt Seri a temporary Silver clansman, "Lay it on me then. I'll do as you say, Reishi-kun." The woman took a step back, bowing with an exaggerated hand gesture, catching Awashima's eye and winking at her. "Your wish is my command, Captain. Please take care of me."
A glimmer brightened in red eyes as Munakata offered a hand, and she took it, feeling the man's blue aura freezing its way into her body, joining the aura her father had bestowed on her, later the aura of the Blue King. While maintaining a calm expression, she forced the full brunt of her aura down, but it didn't deter the new aura from flaring and flickering. The room filled with a blue glow, settling almost instantly soon after the initial contact.
Aneko grinned, feeling her not-father's aura mingling with her own. "Wow," she marveled, feeling the comfort of the aura, "I think it likes me!"
Before anything else could be said, alarms blared through the building, both Munakata and Awashima catching each other's gaze. Munakata expressed regret, saying, "My apologies, Aneko-chan, but the Red Clan is on the move. Find Fushimi-san and stay safe."
"You're in luck, I've already brought my own weapons," grinned Aneko, launching a knife into her hand with a flick of the wrist. Her grin turned into a smirk as she expressed a bloodthirsty personality. It faded quickly, and to an unobservant person, they would question if it existed at all.
The 'temporary' Clansman left the office with a lazy salute, allowing another flick of the wrist to hide the knife. She started following the other Blue Clansmen through the halls, finding and following Fushimi quickly to a van filled with equipment meant to observe one's Weismann's levels.
"Heya Fushimi-san~," she sang quietly, once the van was being driven by another Clansman. The young man grunted at her, displeased at her presence, a sour look on his face. Aneko started twirling a knife in her hands, throwing and catching it as they were driven.
They arrived soon after, Fushimi watching the monitors, and the other Clansmen moving out to accompany Munakata into the hotel. Red aura bloomed, bursting out of the doors and startling Clansmen who stood outside.
"Any minute now…we'll see his Sword of Damocles," commented Fushimi, watching as red aura gathered in the air above the building. The Clansmen inside the van were studying the equipment that filled most of the van, screens with wavering lines and curves on graphs. Meanwhile, Aneko sheathed her knife, leaning back in her seat, closing her eyes as she started waiting.
Once the Red Sword of Damocles could be seen hovering over the hotel, she opened her eyes, looking at the Sword through Fushimi's monitor. "Wow, that's pretty impressive," she commented with intrigue. Through her somewhat limited view, she could see that the Sword was starting to disintegrate. Large chunks were floating around it, or they were gone altogether.
When Yata was the Red King, his Sword always appeared to be sharp like his tongue. It was a stark contrast to the King here, and Yata's Sword had never lost its luster until Fushimi's Accident happened.
Aneko slinked out of the police van, wary about Fushimi watching her leave, yet he was unable to because of his job of surveying Suoh's Weismann Level. She looked up at the Sword directly, smiling up at the large object.
"So this is the power of the Red Aura," she muttered reverently, drinking in the sight of the weapon capable of creating the Kagutsu Crater. Soon, the Blue Sword of Damocles appeared, a shining blue that Aneko recognized from her father. "Suoh Mikoto…he is a lion in human skin."
The flare of blue and red could be seen through the glass walls of the hotel, the aura suddenly disappearing. Aneko made her way back into the van, deciding to 'rest her eyes' if nothing interesting was happening.
Sitting back in her spot, she started humming an old tune that Anna would sing to herself when she babysat the younger girl. It lulled her to a steady beat, her tense body relaxing, sure that none of the other SCEPTER 4 clansmen would stab her with her eyes closed.
The sour mood of Fushimi could be felt in the enclosed space, but she figured it was just his hatred of HOMRA, and by extension, Yata Misaki that made him such a Debbie Downer. She never did understand Fushimi, but it was mostly because of his past. Their childhood experiences were too different to be compared.
The motion of the police van made her wake up, tears in red eyes, blinking them away. Aneko had leaned to the side, nearly falling off her chair, and she righted herself immediately, noticing the other Clansmen glancing at her. She shook the grogginess off, flashing a quick smile that her Uncle Fushimi had shown her a handful of times, making it disappear in record time.
The return to HQ wasn't a long ride, and it was buzzing around in SCEPTER 4 that Suoh had given himself up and was to be imprisoned in Tsubaki-mon's jailhouse unless he gave up his King status. Sword Squad 1 was reentering the building, and both Fushimi and Aneko were mingled into the crowd.
Mentally, Aneko scoffed; if Suoh Mikoto was anything like Munakata Mika, he'd be stubborn until the end. After all, her father could barely budge her mother if she already decided. From a glance at Fushimi, he doubted it too.
"Fushimi-san, can we talk?" she asked the man, and he frowned at her, displeasure at his core. "I'm busy," he told her snidely, brushing the King off.
"Don't worry about him," Hidaka reassured her, walking quickly to her side, "He's like that with everyone." The man had a sudden idea, perking up, and he held a hand out to Aneko. "I have an idea! I'll introduce you to the guys if we have time off."
Aneko smiled brightly at him, nodding her head, "I'll hold you to it, Hidaka-san." She winked at him, remembering the Hidaka of her time was enamored with girls until he married. "Does your building have a library of sorts? Reishi-kun hinted at one, but since he's so busy, he can't really show me around."
"Uh, yeah, there's a room we keep books," Hidaka answered, "It's not that far, do you mind if I lead you there? It's mostly for recreation, but it has all sorts of things. Mostly video games, whenever it gets dull here."
"If you want to, sure," Aneko shrugged. It wasn't like Munakata told her she had specific things to do while 'shadowing' SCEPTER 4. The two walked, going upstairs and towards the dorms.
"Here we are," Hidaka told her, opening the door.
Inside was akin to a game room, with sofas, video game consoles, a large TV, and other things. The walls were painted a tasteful beige, with a white ceiling. Three tall bookshelves were spotted along the far left corner of the room, a reading space complete with more chairs and two coffee tables that were pushed together in the center.
Aneko could spy a cleaning robot charging in another corner, and she turned as Hidaka said, "You can stay here until dinner or something. Have fun, I need to fill out some forms from the dispatch." The woman bade him farewell, and he went off, whistling cheerfully.
Note: Note: Matsuya is a restaurant chain in Japan.