Chapter 10

Yukari Mishakuji's photo-message a mere half an hour after Dewa and Chitose have been found beaten and unconscious in one of the back alleys, after a picture of them has been posted on social media, was surely not a mistake or accident. It proved that Jungle knew exactly who had the disposable PDA and Izumo Kusanagi knew he has never entered any information that could in any way be linked to HOMRA and much less to him personally. It proved that Jungle was unparalleled online.

Especially after Fushimi has deserted from Sceptre 4, Izumo amended with a wince. Seri didn't want to say too much about it, but he could read her well enough to know that his info about how Fushimi was fairly advanced in Jungle has played a role in his desertion. If he has known it would turn out that way, he wouldn't have told her anything. Well, maybe he would because what if Fushimi has betrayed the Blue clan? Izumo wanted to believe that he wouldn't but Fushimi has already betrayed the Red clan once.

He has even tried to get a hold of Fushimi, but the "turncoat bastard", as Yata has called him ever since they got the news, didn't answer his calls and has very obviously left his room in the Sceptre 4's dorm in a rush. Probably it was too much to hope he has left Tokyo altogether.

'Kusanagi. Do you have visual?'

The question sounded in his earpiece, slightly disturbed by the static, snapping Izumo out of his gloomy thoughts. He pressed the button activating his microphone to reply, internally cursing himself for forgetting to report. He wasn't used to those kinds of situations, damn it.

'The target has entered the bar approximately two minutes ago,' he informed Seri and her team, trying to sound like the report was meant like that. He thought he heard a little, annoyed huff, but nobody said anything. So Izumo changed the channel to speak to his team: 'Anybody in the bar sees them?' he asked, because he hasn't received any reports from them either. He wasn't the only one not used to this kind of situations.

All the same, he should try to not make them fail this mission.

Locating a high-ranked Jungle player hasn't been easy. In fact, Izumo was sure that it was pure luck Yata has managed to see that one guy exactly in the moment when he was on the phone with somebody, confirming that he was free to meet in person and discuss Jungle's extension. Izumo was proud that Yata has managed to keep his anger in check and, rather than beating the man up, snap a picture and take it to Sceptre 4 for investigation.

Of course, that was also when Yata found out that Fushimi has deserted, but that was another story.

A mechanical voice in Izumo's earpiece relayed that ""target and Jungle's Mishakuji are having a drink together". Sceptre 4 had this system in place for people who were in situations where they couldn't speak out loud: they could type the message and it was transmitted as a voice message through all channels. It was stupidly useful, he thought.

'We're ready at the back,' a Sceptre 4 officer, Izumo thought his name was Domyoji, reported moments later. He and Seri exchanged a couple of remarks and silence fell on all channels. Just to have something to do, Izumo snapped opened and closed his lighter. It was the first time he participated in this kind of action and he already knew he didn't like it: it would be so much easier to just storm the bar, take the target and go.

Except none of them could stand against Mishakuji and win.

They have considered his suggestion seriously, until one of the Sceptre officers pointed out that Seri, who was their best fighter right after Munakata, couldn't hold off the Black Dog on her own. And Mishakuji has done a thorough job in defeating the Black Dog. They have all seen at least a part of that recording. So they were stuck with waiting and hoping that Mishakuji and the target wouldn't leave together.

They shouldn't, Sceptre said. The principle of such a meeting was to be seen together as little as possible.

'I think Mishakuji transferred something to the target's PDA,' the artificial voice, reading a text message of one of the guys inside, articulated carefully. Then, moments later: 'He is getting up.'

'Mishakuji is heading towards the back exit,' announced another of the observers inside. Izumo could feel the adrenaline pumping in his veins: any time now it was go time.

'The target is heading towards the front door.'

'Alright men, on your positions,' Seri commanded. That also meant him, Izumo realized and jumped off the window ledge where he was sitting. He ran down two flights of stairs and was right on time, on the street, opening the door of the building where he has been hiding right as the target opened the door of the bar.

The target paid him no attention, taking a lighter and a cigarette out of his pocket, and an idea came to Izumo. It wasn't exactly as they planned, but he thought it would work.

'Excuse me, sir,' he called out, pulling his own cigarette out of the package. The target glanced his way, obviously displeased that he was being disturbed. 'Would you be so kind as to borrow me some fire?' he asked.

Their gazes met and the target's eyes widened.

A few things happened in the same moment. A voice in Izumo's ear reported that Mishakuji has definitely disappeared from the vicinity. Three policemen jumped out of hiding to restrain the target. And the target pushed the lighter, flame first, into Izumo'ss face, doubtlessly hoping to make an opening to escape.

Izumo ducked instinctively. All the same, even as he was ducking, he took the flame and made it his own, wrapping it around the target's wrist until the man, screaming in panic, dropped the lighter and the flame died. Izumo punched him in the stomach then, but it was his time to be surprised.

He heard the bones of his hand cracking against the target's armour before his brain registered the pain. The target smiled and raised his arm to punch back. Izumo noticed something black covering the man's knuckles and made it his absolute top priority to evade the blow. It didn't look very promising, considering his crouched position.

A slim blade stopped the fist. The target and Izumo alike looked to the side to see Seri Awashima, an angry scowl on her face. She moved her sword up and the blade slid from the black armour, slicing the target's fingers.

The man growled. He made a sudden pirouette and Izumo felt his feet leave the ground under the force of a kick the target delivered to the back of his legs. At the same time, an electric shock left him momentarily paralysed and without any way to break the fall, he landed in a heap, head hitting the ground pretty hard.

Frustrated, he did the only thing he could think of: as he regained some semblance of power over his motion, he thrust both hands forward, hoping to grab the target's leg as he was jumping over him. He did catch something. He thought he heard, through the ringing in his ears, a shout of surprise.

Seri shouted something, but Izumo was too focused on blinking away the black dots that suddenly danced in front of his eyes.

})i({

The PDA beeped. Fushimi glanced at it out of habit, not expecting anything, but the message on the screen quickly caught his attention:

"Emergency mission, 10000 JP"

He poked the flashing words inviting him to see the details. His eyes widened as he read that the Blue and Red clansmen have managed to capture a Jungle player who carried "vital information" and were escorting him to the Sceptre 4's headquarters. The mission was simple and as ruthless as Jungle has been from the very beginning: to kill the U-ranked Jungle player before he could spill his guts.

Fushimi smiled.

He was already on the move by the time he composed the Hirasaka's number.

})i({

It was funny how, between one blink and another, the scenery changed completely. One blink he was on the ground and another Seri was helping him up, together with Bando. Yet another blink later, he was sitting in the van they have arrived in. The van was moving and the target was on the floor between him and Seri, growling through the gag and struggling against the bonds that suppressed his aura. It was funny how the next blink did not transport him anywhere else.

'Do you feel better?' Seri asked quietly. He looked at her and plastered a smile on his face, or at least tried to. Everything felt a little bit fuzzy, so he wasn't sure how much his facial muscles have obeyed his wish. 'I completely forgot that you're not very good in those things,' she added and Izumo thought he could feel his cheeks burning with a blush. The other Sceptre 4 officers in the van pretended they didn't hear Seri's words, which made it both better and worse for Izumo.

'You don't need to make it sound so bad,' he protested. He glanced at the captured man, bound like a piglet on the van's floor. At least his complete sacrifice of dignity hasn't been in vain, he thought.

'Our ETA is ten minutes, lieutenant,' Kamo, who was driving, reported. Seri acknowledged and called the HOMRA driver of the other van to tell him they could go ahead and drive around the Sceptre 4's headquarters to be ready for escorting the prisoner upon arrival. She listened to the reply and acknowledged it before hanging up.

'It seems that Yatagarasu is impatient to have us arrive,' she said, a small smile on her lips. Izumo laughed shortly. They have not taken HOMRA's vanguard, afraid that he wouldn't be able to stay put for as long as the mission required. And to pacify him, Munakata has made him the boss of the arrival committee.

'That kid has-'

Izumo never got to finish what he wanted to say. A single gunshot shattered the calm and satisfaction permeating the van as it swerved violently. Izumo barely managed to grab a hold of the handle next to him, trying to not have his head hitting anything too hard and, ideally, not flying across the van to land on Seri. With their audience it would be no fun after all.

They stopped hitting a street lamp.

'They must have shot from the back, I didn't see anything suspicious. They got one of the back tires. I'm calling for help,' Kamo reported even before anybody from the back could ask what happened.

'Is everybody ok?' Seri asked, looking around. Izumo followed her gaze, registering that all the officers managed to hold on to something, but the piglet on the floor got thrown close to the door when the van came to its abrupt stop. Seri was already grabbing the man by the bonds, lifting him to a sitting position.

'Funny how it happened right after you sent the other van away,' Izumo muttered, taking out his lighter, ready to scorch whoever was there.

The back door of the van blew open. Instinctively, Izumo raised an arm to protect his eyes. And by the time he has lowered it, everything was over. He saw blood bursting from the target's neck. He heard Seri's gasp and looked ahead.

Less than ten steps away from the truck, Saruhiko Fushimi stood, a bored look on his face and one hand still outstretched after throwing one of those daggers he was so talented with. In the other hand he was holding his PDA and Izumo heard with eerie clarity how it announced:

'Emergency mission complete. You have passed to J-rank level.'

A green light from the screen reflected in Fushimi's glasses when he glanced at it, the tiniest of smiles tugging the corners of his lips up.

It felt surreal. As the meaning of the words sank in, Izumo realized that it hasn't been an explosion that blew the van open but a gust of fire, HOMRA's fire. And he felt fury boil the blood in his veins and, before he could even think about it, he had the lighter out, an unforgiving flame whooshing towards the damned traitor.

But Fushimi wasn't there anymore.

})i({

He didn't really get to see their faces, but it didn't matter. Hirasaka transported them through the buildings as soon as they ascertained that the mission was complete, neither of them wishing to be caught. Or, as it would have been, burned alive by Kusanagi's surprisingly spontaneous and violent reaction.

Immediately after the notification that he has now become a J-ranked member of the Jungle, Fushimi received a message that he was going to be picked up by another J-ranked Jungle member and taken to the home base. The message contained also instructions on where he should go and Fushimi didn't hesitate for the briefest moment.

He paid Hirasaka for her help and made his way to the meeting point, not fully surprised to find Yukari Mishakuji already waiting for him there.

'Welcome to the real Jungle, Saruhiko Fushimi. Your progress has been most amazing,' Mishakuji complimented him with a smile. Fushimi managed to keep his face completely emotionless. He has already decided to go with "bored with life" attitude. But Mishakuji didn't seem bothered in the least. He laughed and made a gesture for Fushimi to follow.

'I'm sure everybody is eager to meet you,' he said in a pleasant tone. If he had anything against a traitor joining the Green clan, he didn't let it show at all. 'So if you follow me: this is the shortest way to our home base,' he informed Fushimi.

'After you,' the ex-policeman muttered and Mishakuji laughed again. He kept up his chatter throughout their trip down and through what felt like a maze. He told Fushimi they had multiple exits in various places in the whole Tokyo and that it took ages to memorize everything, which was why Nagare usually included a map with the missions he had for them.

Fushimi stayed silent. He did his best to memorize as much of the trip as he could and all of what Mishakuji was saying, no matter how inane it seemed. Thankfully, Mishakuji didn't require any input from Fushimi and chattered away all the way until the enormous cavern in steel, partly hidden in the darkness.

'That is our headquarters,' he announced when they stepped in.

In the middle, there was a small construction. As they neared it, Fushimi realized it was a room, limited from the cavern by three walls, the fourth one open to where a lone figure was sitting on the ground, some meters away.

Kuroh Yatogami. Fushimi wasn't quite able to not recoil when he saw the long lost Black Dog literally jump into an offensive stance, eyes blazing with fury as soon as he saw him arrive with Mishakuji. He didn't look any less dangerous without his katana and Fushimi was unpleasantly reminded that he has nearly allowed for the female Strain to be kidnapped by the Green clan. Not to mention that he has very obviously betrayed the Blue clan and the Black Dog's psychological profile clearly said that he valued loyalty above everything else.

Yukari Mishakuji laughed out, amused at new development.

'Kuroh, is that how you greet the new member of our little family?' he asked the Black Dog in a tone that was a bizarre mix of fondness and mocking. Then he turned to Fushimi. 'Don't worry, Fushimi. My cute, little Kuroh can't reach you here,' he assured him with a mocking smile and no fondness whatsoever.

'At least until he joins the Jungle,' a man dressed like a priest commented lightly, briefly shifting Fushimi's attention towards the bizarre room where he was sitting. With the corner of his eye, Fushimi saw he Black Dog also look at the priest for a moment, before turning back to Fushimi and Mishakuji, a calculating expression on his face now.

A feeling of foreboding washed over him.

'Until he joins the Jungle,' Mishakuji repeated with a scheming smile, eyes shining with delight, his voice almost a purr. Fushimi looked away from him. It sounded like he genuinely was eagerly waiting for Yatogami to join the Green clan. It was true that the Black Dog had a reputation of being an excellent fighter, a reputation he has rightfully earned, and would be a valuable addition to any fighting force.

Fushimi didn't fully understand the situation yet, but it was obvious that while Kuroh Yatogami has fared well after abduction, he was somehow restrained. It surely had to do with the shiny, metal collar on his neck, surrounded by multiple scratches and scars. Just as obviously, Kuroh Yatogami had something against Fushimi. Whether it was because he has betrayed the Blue clan now or has facilitated the attack on the female Strain, it didn't matter. What did was that obviously the Green clan was willing to have the Black Dog in their ranks. And Fushimi was sure that Yatogami wouldn't have to go through all that tedious point gathering, since he already pretty much lived with the others.

Something needed to be done to prevent that from happening, Fushimi thought. He had no desire to find out which disloyalty the Black Dog would consider less grave: joining the Green clan or letting the traitor walk free.