A Date with Destiny
"So…how did it come to this?"
As the amber-eyed man stood amongst his fellow Red clansmen, he could not believe the people who had appeared before them.
"Oya? If it isn't it Suoh and the Red clansmen. What brings you gentlemen here tonight?" the ever-calm and collected Blue King asked.
Behind Munakata Reisi stood his second and third in command, Awashima Seri and Fushimi Saruhiko, along with the rest of the Scepter 4 team members.
"We should be asking you the same thing! Why are you all here!? Shouldn't you Blues be working and not wasting other peoples' hard-earned tax dollars?
"For someone who barely pays anything and mainly free-loads off of others, you are sure talking a lot, Mi-Sa-Kiiiii," Fushimi said with a smirk.
"SHUT UP YOU SHITTY MONKEY!" The chestnut-haired man had been at Midoriyama Hot Springs and Inn for literally ten minutes, and he was already fuming in anger.
It wasn't even three days ago when one of Suoh Mikoto's ex-girlfriends stopped by the bar HOMRA and asked him to go in her place.
Mochizuki Saki was a successful business woman who was now married with two kids. While she was in high school, Saki was harassed by a group of delinquents. Mikoto happened to be walking by when he saw this, and he immediately proceeded to beat the living hell out of each and every one of them before continuing on. It was love at first sight for the girl. Although the relationship never worked out—as with all of the Red King's other ones, Saki still respected Suoh and kept in touch.
"Hi Suoh? It's Mochizuki. Some of my business associates and I were supposed to go to Midoriyama Hot Springs this weekend, but we suddenly received an urgent request from one of our clients, so we can't go. Since it's already been paid for, would you and your friends like to go instead?"
Although Mikoto was uninterested and was going to reject the offer, a chorus of excited voices chimed in.
"Yes! A hot springs trip! I want to go!" The crow's eyes glittered with excitement.
"Mmmm…think of all the delicious food they would have…meat!" Kanamoto began to fantasize stacks of barbequed beef on a platter in front of him.
"…No thanks." Mikoto replied as he continued to lie on the couch without opening his eyes.
An instant wave of melancholy hit the Red clansmen, pulling them into an ocean of sadness and dejected emotions. Before another word was spoken, a small grabbed onto the Red King's sleeve. Mikoto slowly opened his eyes and turned his head over to the young strain girl beside him. "What is it, Anna?"
"…I have never been to a hot springs before…I would like to go…" Although her face continued to remain like a blank slate void of emotions, it was apparent that the girl sounded hopeful.
The crimson-haired man sighed as he got up from the couch. As he scratched the back of his head, he turned towards Saki and said, "Mochizuki. We'll go to the hot springs this weekend."
"ALLLRIGHTTT! A WEEKEND GET-AWAY!" The Red clansmen all began to shout and cheer.
They all couldn't be happier…well…at least until this happened.
The Blue's—on the other hand, came as a "Scepter 4: Forget about Age and Rank and Bond with Your Fellow Man" group. Their Blue King organized the trip a few weeks prior to the weekend. At the end of their weekly wrap-up meeting, Reisi announced to his subordinates of the upcoming trip.
"My fellow clansmen, I have an important announcement to make. I have decided that two weeks from now, we shall all strengthen our bonds and unity as members of Scepter 4 by going on a weekend excursion together."
The Blue clansman all began to tense up as they heard this announcement. The captain of Scepter 4's greatest talent was to make other people feel awkward and extremely uncomfortable. The manner in which he spoke, and the straight-forward gaze that appeared to be analyzing their every move, could make even the most stoic, manliest of men begin to sweat and tremble before him.
"Tch, are you serious, Captain? This sounds like a waste of time. I have other things to take care of," the young third-in-command said dryly.
A series of protests also began to chime in.
"I can't! I have to…uhh…go visit my sick great-grandmother!"
"And I have to go home that weekend for my brother's birthday!"
"My girlfriend is coming to visit me during that time!"
None of the Scepter 4 members wanted to go on this trip. Not that they didn't like the idea of getting a free trip and vacation away from work, but the idea of having to spend every waking moment with their superior frightened them to the very core. The Blue King would manage to humiliate them in one way or another.
"Captain must still be bitter that he was left all alone at the Year-End Party…" Fuse Daiki muttered to himself.
A glint of light reflected from Munakata's glasses. "Hmmm? Did you say something Fuse-kun?"
Fuse swallowed hard as he felt the pressure of Reisi's gaze begin to suffocate him. "Ummm…no sir! Nothing at all!"
Suddenly, the Scepter 4 captain stood up from his seat, causing all his men to jump a bit. "My fellow comrades, I implore you to reconsider your schedules for that weekend. I would be thoroughly disappointed if even one of you could not be able to attend."
'Thoroughly disappointed' wasn't quite the words to express the emotions that the Blue clansmen were feeling at the point. It was more along the lines of 'angry enough to make your lives a living hell.'
With a defeated sigh, the Scepter 4 members all replied in unison, "Yes sir, we would be delighted to attend."
The two groups began to walk over to the reception desks, unsure of what the weekend would bring. Both second-in-commands for their clans stepped up to the receptionists in front of them and began to check-in there fellow clansmen. Until…
"Ah! I am looking at our records, and I just realized that we have accidentally overbooked our vacant rooms! We would be able to accommodate most of your parties if you were to stay together in some of the larger guest rooms, but we sincerely apologize, as there still would not be enough room to fit all of you." The receptionists, looking frantically at the inn's manager, quickly began to bow repeatedly.
"Haaaaa? Then what are we supposed to do!? This place is hours away from downtown Shizume City!" The crow had a look of bewilderment on his face. "And what the hell do you mean 'stay together in some of the larger guest rooms'? You mean you want us to share rooms with the fucking Blues? Don't fucking mess with us!"
The elderly manager, who was now present in front of the groups, also began to bow and apologize. "Customers, I sincerely apologize. Some of our larger rooms had been filled by some last minute VIP guests."
"Tch, I knew this was going to be a stupid waste of time…" Fushimi muttered to himself.
"Well, if that's the case, why don't a few of you come and stay in our room? We won't mind at all! Our room big enough to hold more!" a familiar, easy-going voice said behind the crowd of people.
The little vanguard of HOMRA quickly turned his head as his eyes widened in surprise. "…SILVER KING! YOU BASTARD! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
There stood the Silver King, Isana Yashiro, along with his Silver clansmen, Yatogami Kuro and Neko. Beside the trio was a young brunette girl named Yukizome Kukuri, who was also invited by Shiro on their weekend trip out. "It is our fault anyway. I know the Lieutenant made a selfish request by asking for a room at Midoriyama at the last minute."
The "Lieutenant" that Shiro was talking about was none other than Kokujyoji Daikaku—the Gold King and currently one of the most prominent figures in all of Shizume City.
"Don't fuck around, you bastard! Do you think we'd be okay with sharing a room with you after that big mess at Ashinaka Gakuen! Mikoto-san was…was…" The crow stopped and looked perplexed. "Wait a sec…what happened to Mikoto-san again? Didn't he…"
All of the clansmen instantly turned and looked at Suoh Mikoto, who stood there emotionlessly. For some odd reason—they all were not able to place their finger on it, the clansmen couldn't help but wonder why it felt like the Red King shouldn't be there at the moment and that something had happened to him…Oh well.
"Tch, well…I guess there's no helping it! It's just for sleeping purposes anyway!"
In the end, the rooms were divided up with a mix of the three clans in most of the rooms. All of the girls were assigned to the Cherry Blossom room. "Anna, will you be okay staying there by yourself?" Kusanagi knelt down and held the small strain girl by the shoulders.
"…I'll…be okay…" Anna softly replied.
"Don't worry, nya! We'll take good care of her, nya!" Neko twirled around with excitement.
The smaller Pine Tree room was prepared for some of the older clansmen, including Suoh Mikoto, Kusanagi Izumo, and Munakata Reisi. Most of the Red and Blue clansmen were placed in the East and West Sunflower rooms. As for the Silver King's room…
"OI! WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS? WHY AM I SHARING A ROOM WITH THEM AND THE SHITTY MONKEY?" Yata's body was red from head to toe. He wasn't able to contain the fiery rage within him.
"Yata-san! Calm down! You yourself said the rooms are just for sleeping right?" Kanamoto, who was also assigned to that room (in order to make sure no serious brawls happened), tried to get the little vanguard to lower his voice and relax.
Saruhiko clicked his tongue in annoyance. "It's not like I want to room with a bunch of worthless delinquents and idiots like you all."
"I dare you to say that again, you bastard!" Misaki was covered by fiery flames within seconds.
"Oh? You wanna go at it, Mi-Sa-Ki?" The blue-eyed man grabbed the handle of his saber, ready for a fight.
Then, the arguing duo felt two strong fists hit the top of their heads. Both Izumo and Seri shouted, "WILL YOU TWO CUT THAT OUT ALREADY?"
All the on-looking clansmen breathed out a loud sigh. This was going to be a long weekend.