Summary: Aneko's brain needs rebooting, Munakata gets yelled at, and day is seeing a new light.
Aneko stared while the door closed behind her, her mind blanking before a flurry of thoughts crossed it. Totsuka!? Here!? Since when? Did he know who she was? What she did? Why was he here, wouldn't HOMRA notice if he up and left?
Before coming here, the last time she saw Tata-oji was…that day. The event that changed her view of life. Munakata had no right to spring him on her.
Before she could speak, Totsuka got up from where he was drinking tea with Munakata. The man looked a bit rumpled, but he smiled like he was fine.
"It was you that night, wasn't it?" Totsuka spoke first, walking towards the speechless woman, "I never had a chance to thank you for saving me."
"How…how did you know it was me? Why did you come here?" Aneko's words came out in a rush once her mouth started working, subconsciously leaning backwards. She was frozen like a deer in the headlights, confronted with a younger version of her beloved uncle, who was whole and alive.
"To be honest, the blue aura gave it away," Totsuka smiled, "And you were clearly a girl. My camera couldn't pick up your voice because of the wind, but I remembered."
"…" the woman's tongue felt like lead, and she could feel her face heat up. Of course. Of fucking course. She'd forgotten that when her father was King, SCEPTER 4 was lacking severely in female management.
When her Kingship started, almost all of the original Sword Squad 1 disbanded within a year to go into other jobs or SCEPTER 4 positions, leaving about a dozen posts to be filled. She looked for women to apply for the job to even the gender ratio in her squads.
Considering there were only two dozen or so women in such a big organization, a change of pace was sorely needed. Another consideration was that she seemed to just know who to ask to be her Clansmen.
Even so, if Tatara could remember that much about the other night, why wasn't HOMRA knocking down their door? Wouldn't the rest catch on? The other members weren't completely idiots by far, so they should've put two and two together.
"Heh…the rest of the guys don't know. You're wondering why HOMRA isn't actively looking for you, right? It's written all over your face," Totsuka continues, looking a little amused by how red Aneko's face is getting.
"Uh, yeah," Aneko scratched her chin, "But why did you come here?" She gestured toward the whole room with her arms, momentarily dropping them before deciding to cross them.
"Totsuka-san wanted to thank you in person," Munakata cut in, taking advantage of how the other Blue King was still stunned and relatively speechless. He had an infuriating smile on his face, Aneko seethed inwardly. Her father was really an asshole, no matter the age.
"Yeah. Sorry about the late hour," Totsuka grinned sheepishly, and Aneko's fatigued mind remembered that it was already seven in the evening.
"I also saw you before. At HOMRA, when I left. You didn't see me because you were focused on Izumo-kun, but I noticed you. For a second, I thought you were Munakata-san, but I saw your eyes…" he trailed off, collecting his thoughts, "Your eyes reminded me of King. That's why I remembered you."
"I can't believe I didn't notice anyone staring at me," Aneko muttered finally, scratching the back of her neck out of embarrassment with a sheepish expression.
"You looked really engrossed in your conversation, so I didn't announce myself," Tatara smiled innocently, "I really do appreciate it. When the Colorless King pulled out a gun, I thought I was a goner. And then you showed up, you called me important. It felt special."
"Of course, you're special, and important. You've always have been," Aneko managed, and the younger man chuckled slightly.
"Being reminded every once in a while, is always nice," Tatara admitted, "I only meant to stop by for a few minutes, before the rest of HOMRA comes knocking. I'm glad you were there. I can't imagine leaving King to fight his battles alone." He bowed politely, then made his way to the door.
"Munakata-san, maybe I can offer you a drink at HOMRA as a thank you one of these days," he offered, holding onto the knob, before leaving, the door closing softly behind him.
The woman turned, glaring daggers at the younger Blue King. "Why didn't you say anything!? How dare you, Munakata Reishi!" she shouted, voice strained from the flux in emotions from the past twenty minutes.
Tears were threatening to spill, the burden of speaking to a man she knew as dead, who had been dead for six years producing conflicting emotions. The same man she cried over after saving him.
"Totsuka-san wanted to thank you for saving his life, and if you knew he was here, you would've refused," Munakata said in a measured tone. He didn't look smug, only resolute in his decision, "Refusing the man you saved would only make him more suspicious of anything we are withholding. You said so yourself, keeping your secrets are important. The wrong step can invite chaos."
"How cruel, but sadly true. It would've looked really sketchy if you pretended to be ignorant. But a little warning would be nice. You're lucky I didn't have a panic attack, Reishi," Aneko glared. "That wouldn't have ended well for any of us."
"I apologize, Munakata-san," Munakata sounded surprisingly genuine, "Your situation is unique, and I understand my actions have overstepped your boundaries." He bowed, and the other King accepted the apology with a sigh.
"Apology accepted. Don't do that again," she warned, before walking in front of Munakata's desk, "Where did you put my saber? I want it back." It ate at her, the realisation of how far the younger man would go to meet his ends.
"Have I overstepped too far?" Munakata asked mildly, getting up from his seat and kneeling down. He ran his fingers along the tatami mats covering the left side of the floor, gripping the edge of one and pulling it off the floor and revealing a hidden compartment under false flooring.
Inside was a box big enough to hide a saber in, and he opened it, removing the precious contents within. Munakata replaced everything, the mat covering the compartment again, before he presented it to the older King.
Aneko only responded when the saber was in her hands, gripping the sheathe lightly before placing it on her sword belt, where it belonged.
"Yeah. Maybe you did." She stood there for a moment before walking towards the door, "Good luck finding the Colorless King, and good night."
Leaving the room is easy, the King holding onto her mask as she walks out, hiding her pain behind a pensive smile.
Even though its late enough to be time for dinner, she didn't feel hungry, the shock from earlier disturbing her appetite. Aneko walked through the halls, going slowly as her saber shifted with every step.
"Oh, hey! Munakata-san!" a jovial voice shouted from behind, and the woman turned to see Dōmyōji run up to her. He grinned at her, Aneko returning the smile.
"Hidaka was looking for you. He said he saved a table in the canteen, do you wanna come?" the Clansman asked, eyes widening endearingly. The man was bouncing on his toes, the thoughts of dinner exciting.
"Weeeellll, I'm not that hungry…" the older woman trailed off, only for Dōmyōji to proclaim, "That's okay! Even a snack would be great. Come on!"
With that, he took her by the hand and started to tug her towards the canteen, Aneko's eyes widening as she took quick steps so they didn't fall over.
"Well, if you really want to," she sighed, and relented, allowing him to drag her there, the other members who were still around not even glancing at the duo half running through the halls.
"Anyway, Kamo-san's there, and so's Enomoto-san," Dōmyōji added, after they passed the entrance of the canteen. There were quite a few people in Scepter 4 uniform, chatting to each other in pleasant tones.
"Hey guys!" Hidaka waved, some of the occupants of the room glancing at him before looking away, "Come on, I'm starving!"
"I doubt that," Enomoto muttered from beside the brown-haired man before looking up to see the newcomers, "Oh, hello. You were with us when the Red King surrendered. I'm Enomoto Tatsuya."
"Nice to meet you, Enomoto-san," Aneko pulled out an empty chair, sitting on it immediately, "I'm Munakata Aneko, Rei-kun's older cousin. He hasn't mentioned me, has he?" She smiled at him, a small one that didn't quite meet her eyes. The King felt bad that she was meeting Enomoto officially for the first time when she was already mentally and emotionally drained, and the woman knew the younger man could see it.
"Captain doesn't talk about family matters often," shrugged Hidaka, "But if he letting you join SCEPTER 4, then he must trust you a lot." He grinned at her before he got up to order his dinner.
"I'm sorry if I seem a bit cold, Enomoto-san, I'm just tired," apologized Aneko, slumping in her seat, "This whole Clan thing is a lot to wrap my head around."
"That's alright. It was for us too," the younger man smiled slightly before his gaze followed where Hidaka went, "You'll get used to it. Anyway, dinner?" He got up from his chair, making his way to order.
Aneko opted for the smallest size of udon, to account for her lack of appetite. She waited for everyone else to come back before starting on her dinner, robotically eating.
The Blue Clansmen chatted amongst themselves, occasionally bringing Aneko into conversation. The King could clearly remember them from her childhood, and they hadn't changed much. She laughed when they made jokes and picked out whatever useful information they shared.
According to them, Fushimi was still working overtime on reports, which was why she hadn't really seen him as of late. Saruhiko was always one to work without breaks.
It was nearing 9 when the group of 5 dispersed, the cafeteria staff warning them that it was near closing time.
"Hopefully you guys can find the Colorless King soon," Aneko waved as she went into her dorm, taking off her boots quickly.
Aneko dropped onto her bed with a full stomach and a troubled mind, going back to the meeting only three hours earlier.
Totsuka Tatara knew who she was. Perhaps not the full story, not the reason she knew he was going to die, but enough. HOMRA hadn't known her interference, but they would find out soon enough.
Changing into her bedclothes and brushing her teeth, Aneko plugged in her PDA, setting it on the dresser. Bed time it was.
Next Day
Aneko woke up early, feeling an itch to do something. She glanced at her PDA, noting it wasn't even daylight yet. The King left her dorm, dressed in civilian clothing with daggers holstered as she made her way to a building she knew had public roof access. Sunrise would be soon, and she reveled in the cool wind that blew around the roof.
The woman was facing the bay, waiting for the sun to come up as she leaned on a railing. The sun was always beautiful, strands of red creeping into the dark blue of the night, creating violet in some areas.
Aneko had to glance away when the sun became too bright and called upon her aura.
Sparkling strips of blue glimmered as it rose from her surroundings, the cracklings of ice forming around her feet. The aura's sheen reflected the sun's rays, refracting and lighting up the concrete floor.
No matter how much she'd seen the rays of new light filtering through her aura, the sight always mesmerized her. It reminded her of the pictures of the sunrise in the Arctic, of how the snow in each image seemed to have an otherworldly shine.
Aneko did this frequently in her own world, going to a tall roof before sunset, allowing the sun to enhance the beauty of her aura. No one had ever said a power that could protect or destroy couldn't be beautiful.
The woman stood there for a few minutes, before extending her aura's reach, and creating a tiny miniature replica of her Sword in the space beside her. She looked carefully at the tiny details, the scaled area around the Sword's grip and the trio of jewels in the end of the hilt.
If she wanted, she could disperse the replica and create her real Sword. However, that would be a pretty obvious beacon she was there. And that there was a completely different Blue Sword. To be fair, she only summoned it when she arrived, and the itch to recreate it was starting.
The King released the miniature projection of her Sword, leaning on the railing again as the town of Shizume came alive.
"I'll protect this world," she declared, a breeze picking up as the streets start to fill with people, "I won't let Shiraki, the Colorless King, or jungle destroy it."
Aneko's words are scattered into the wind, but she knew she's telling the truth. She frowned, feelings of missing her family and her subordinates rising to the surface.
Sato Nori was her kouhai in high school, two years below than hers. He was also part of the school's Kendo Club, and she remembered watching him practice against the other club members. She approached him with the job right after he got out of a community college, when she was wandering around looking for people to join her new Clan.
It took him about two years before she officially made him her lieutenant on Saber Squad 1, and Maeda Katsumi became her third right after.
Katusmi-chan was about 19 going on 20 when she joined SCEPTER 4. The teen had seen one of the advertisements for the job, and Aneko knew almost instantly the younger girl would have a place in her Clan. Katsumi was a common class Strain with the power to feel people's emotions, and it was a good skill to have when negotiating.
Nori-kun as a person wasn't very sociable, but he was very bright. According to her dad, Hiko-oji was like that as a teen and young adult, but Nori wasn't high in edginess levels. Nori wasn't a really fun person either, but between the two, Aneko would take an edgy Nori over an edgy Saruhiko any day.
Aneko just watched the cars drive, tiny people walking on the sidewalk below, allowing the sounds of life reach her ears, and smiled.
Hm. She'd get back to work later.
Yeah it's kinda filler, but next chapter will hopefully have more action.