Heh...long time no see?
As Aneko walked thorough Tokyo, she went over her options. Wandering back into HOMRA's territory wasn't the best idea, seeing as Tatara was most likely recovering in the second floor of the bar, and the mall was out of the question, because some HOMRA members, Yata in particular, would eventually be investigating in there.
By this time, Fushimi and Akiyama would be disrupting a weapons pickup and confront some HOMRA members.
If her timeline was right, the amnesiac Silver King and Miyabi would be chased by the Black Dog, going on how Yata was griping about being shouldered in the stomach by said man later. Granted, being hit anywhere was generally unpleasant. Would more sightseeing be a good thing? Going to, say, the Timeless Palace was out of the question.
An unknown woman talking to the Gold King? That would be impossible. If anything, after her father went to the Palace, he had a somberness that had lasted through the day after inspecting Weismann's dead body. It also didn't help that he relayed that the other King was hostile upon his visit.
The absence of her SCEPTER 4 uniform didn't help, she thought as she crossed the street. Calculating her leftover amount of money after last night's shopping spree, she had more than enough for a bit of fun.
A few hours later, Aneko stretched after she made her way out of a cinema, the brightness of the sun hitting her in the face. She'd relaxed, watching her mom's favorite movie that was still in theaters in this world.
Her next stop was a museum she visited plenty of times in her world, and she was interested in how much this world compared to hers.
The trip was interesting, particularly after she found a few more glaring differences. The Kagutsu Crater happened in 1999, not 2003. Which meant that Munakata and Suoh were only 11 when it occurred. Even stranger, SCEPTER 4 was headed by Munakata Reishi when the man was 18, not 22.
Thinking back, it would explain how Uncle Saru betrayed HOMRA, albeit for different reasons. Since Yata wasn't the Red King, it had to be because of Suoh Mikoto. Even in her world, Uncle Saruhiko would be anxious in Mika's presence, and Aneko had brushed it off as her mother being legitimately scary.
Her Father said that even back then, jungle targeted Uncle Saru in numerous attempts to drag him to their side. If the then Blue King Munakata Reishi wasn't the one who stopped it, who knew what would happen. Uncle Saruhiko was a very powerful man, even as a kid. Her father kind've teased the man a little, bringing up how Uncle Saru was like when he was eighteen.
The Blue King sat at a hard bench that seemed to be in every room of the museum, looking over the History of World War II. Her thoughts wandered as she looked over the grainy black and white pictures that filled the exhibit, thinking about Shiraki for the first time after leaving Tsubaki-mon.
Shiraki's boldness was worrying, although Aneko knew that her family could take care of themselves. The likelihood of HOMRA needing to step in at Anna's command to salvage the operation was very high, especially because she was effectively MIA until the Strain regained his ability.
A glance at her watch showed it was already creeping to two o'clock, time passing without Aneko noticing. She jolted when a hand touched her shoulder, looking over to see a security guard checking to see if she was okay.
A quick reassurance made the guard leave her alone, the woman standing up from her seat. The King left, idly strolling through the city as hours ticked by. Eventually, boredom reared its head, so she returned to Tsubaki-mon, buying a bag of chips as a snack and eating it on the way.
Aneko sat onto her bed heavily as she pulled her windbreaker off, the blue fabric hitting the floor. She discarded her sweater in the same direction of her windbreaker, then laid down. Her feet were planted on the ground, and her boots were clear of the bed's cover. She closed her eyes, breathing silently. The day was kind of a waste. It was cold, not enough to warrant a heavy coat, but there was less sun than she liked.
Technically the museum trip was useful. Learning more about this world's history was intriguing, with so many smaller differences from her own world.
Aneko didn't feel great if she felt there was too much downtime. She was like her father in that regard, always ready to set out on her duties. She got up and started to pace, PDA retrieved from her pocket.
The woman set up her PDA, playing a music playlist with the device laid on the bed stand. She started practicing her forms, using her long dagger in lieu of her saber. While Aneko practiced, her mind moved back to her own world.
She didn't want the tragedies that happened in her father's reign to be repeated in this world, where she could stop the death and temporary death of Uncle Tatara and Weismann. Though history here couldn't differ too much from her own world, there was still an itch to protect Japan from whatever damage SCEPTER 4 and HOMRA were going to cause.
The week and a half between Tatara's death and both the Silver and Colorless Kings death was one of the hardest times Aneko had ever faced, as both SCEPTER 4 as her duty, and to her friends and family of HOMRA.
The Ashinaka Incident had also strained Mika's and Reishi's relationship, both of them disagreeing on how the Colorless King would be drawn out and brought to justice.
Her father recommended covert surveillance, sending different squads out to track any leads to subdue and arrest the rouge King. However, her mother, stricken by her close and longtime friend's death, demanded to literally smoke the Colorless King out, no matter the cost.
Although the fiery Clanswoman didn't mention the full extent of her 'justice' for her treasured friend's death, everyone knew what she'd do. Even Yata agreed, as HOMRA's Red King, that someone was going to die. There was no question about it.
The Blue King's train of thought was broken when the music cut out, her ringtone blaring instead. Aneko stopped, sheathing the dagger and picking her PDA and reading the caller ID.
"Hey, Captain," she said, accepting the call, "Have any news from Suoh-san?" The woman walked to the closet to retrieve a fresh linin, dabbing at the sweat beaded on her forehead.
"Suoh-san refused to step down from his throne, as expected" Munakata Reishi replied, "It appears as though he expects I know who saved Totsuka-san's life. You need to tread carefully in the coming days."
"Don't worry, Captain. I haven't forgotten my orders. What is the purpose of this call?" the woman asked, throwing the towel aside onto the floor.
"Come to my office as soon as you can. There is a person of interest we need to discuss," Munakata ordered, and then hung up.
Aneko stared at her PDA, then shrugged. "Right…" The device was tossed onto the bed while she went to wash her face, letting the cool water drip onto the sink. It would've been weird to walk into Munakata's office dressed as a civilian, so she took a lightning quick shower, putting on her uniform.
As the woman walked through the halls, she wondered why she had to see the younger man so often. She'd only been in this world less than a week, yet she was called to his office nearly every day. The most she'd ever called on one of her subordinates in one week was three times, and that was when she became the Blue King.
The other SCEPTER 4 employees didn't bother her in the halls, already wrapped up in finding who and where the Colorless King was.
She bumped into Hidaka, who looked surprised to see her. She waved at him, and he beelined toward her.
"Munakata-san!" he beamed, a tablet held tightly to his chest with one arm and waving with the other, "Fancy meeting you here. Fushimi-san said you went off on your own in the morning." His eyebrows raised, noting how Aneko looked a bit stressed.
"I'm sorry, but I have to see Reishi-kun in a few minutes, Hidaka-san. I'll try to look for you later," she apologized, biting her lip as her expression softened.
"Oh," Hidaka deflated, before perking up, "That's okay. Um...you can call me Akira, if you want. I guess I'll see you some other time then. Good luck with Captain." He walked off, whistling cheerfully.
Aneko sighed and continued on her way, stopping at the Captain's office door. She knocked with the side of her fist, and a muffled "Come in." came through the solid wood.
"Captain, you wanted to see…me…" the woman stopped talking once she realized who else was in the room.
Totsuka Tatara.
…. Oh no.
Note:...I have no excuses
｡(*^▽^*)ゞ