Chapter 1 / The Null Hypothesis, Part 1

About one year had gone by.

—Two employees were talking in the lobby of a building.

"You know, I'd thought that being a secretary for one of the biggest conglomerates in Tokyo would have been a little more hectic. It was a pretty good first day."

"There are days where the workload is insane. Don't expect this to be normal."

"I don't think I would mind though. The pay and benefits are too good to pass up."

"By the way, when I heard that there was going to be a new secretary joining us, I thought that it would have been for his personal secretary. One of the higher-ups still has that position vacant ever since he joined. I should have kept more realistic expectations."

"Who are we talking about?"

"You know about the CEO, the big boss up there? His son also works here, but he's no spoiled brat that was given a position because of nepotism. He's good at what he does and thus, he's got high standards for whoever would fulfill his assistant role. They say that no one has ever gotten past the interviewing stage and it's been almost a year since the position became available."

"That long? You have to be kidding, right?"

"He might be looking for someone extraordinary since he's capable of the same level of detail as him. And this guy's attention to detail is beyond human."

The senior pulled up some old news articles on his phone from earlier in the year for the new employee to read. There was a photo of the white-suited man with the CEO in front of the main building. The man didn't exert the atmosphere of a businessman, having his black hair covering some of his eyes and ears, but the sources were all that was needed to show its authenticity.

"Quarterly reports of the Phoenix Conglomerate, highest numbers met in ten years…?" he read. "Evidence proves that the influence of the prodigal son has broken company records with ease…? Stock value is rising to new records. Hey, hey. Seriously? Who the hell can be an assistant to a guy like that?"

"This was only when he was a few months into the job right out of university. I still remember how he basically took control of whatever he could get his hands on and change it. At the time, everyone was taken off their guard, but in the long run—no, even as short as two months after his arrival, massive improvements came around for the company. It wasn't as if anyone could complain because everyone got bonuses off of his efforts."

The senior scratched his head.

"He's a once in a lifetime businessman, but that does come with the caveat that whoever his secretary is, it's going to be hell for them."

"Who's been helping him manage everything?"

"He's been doing it all for himself. Scheduling his own meetings to attend, taking care of every call himself, tackling the finances, checking up on the conglomerate's partners as a representative, on top of restructuring the company with his father's approval."

"Are we sure this guy is human?"

The elevator rang, pulling the employees' attention over. As if it was speaking him into existence, the familiar man from the photo had walked out. His hands were in pocket and his head had been focused on the exit. It was difficult to tell what he had been thinking about, but he noticed that he was being looked at. He audibly clicked his tongue and glared back at them. It was as if an unhealthy corpse was staring right into their soul with a quiet rage ready to emerge from its chest.

"What the fuck are you two looking at?"

"Nothing, Mister Houou!" The senior jumped in his place. The junior couldn't react in time, fazed by the strange greeting. "Please don't mind us. We're simply talking about how the day went with a little review. My colleague here is new; he's one of the folks who started today!"

"Huh!? Is that really him!?"

"Shut it, man! Don't let him hear you! Do you want to keep your job!?"

The violent whispers between the two employees could be heard by the man, but after pausing for a bit, the man shook his head and went on his way. His sudden departure following his confrontation was as if he was saying that he had better things to do than to speak any further with them. The senior sighed in relief though while the junior had his jaw wide open.

"What the hell was that attitude? Was that really the same guy!?"

"That's the thing about Murasame. Although he's got the ability to back up everything he does here, there's always that one thing about him. I'd say it's one of the reasons why no one has been able to fill in the position. It would be a frozen hell when there's someone who can stand the guy for the job."

-/SK-EV/-

The Phoenix Conglomerate is known as one of the most well-known zaibatsus, not only in Tokyo, but throughout the entirety of Japan. Some corporations overseas know of their name due to the company's recent attempt to expand outwards to international waters like the United States.

Unknown to very many, there is a secret that rests at the heart of the company.

It was about the family that ran the entire operation from high up, the Houou Family. The secret is that they are a part of an underground world of shinobis, those that once served feudal lords in the ancient past. They were reliant on their skills of espionage, subversion and assassinations, but time was not so kind to the shinobis. After the Meiji Restoration, these feudal lords were no more, causing shinobis to seemingly disappear from the evolution of society. In modern times, a civilian would not believe that the shinobi is a role that still exists, but within the shadows, they still exist.

Not only that, those of the Houou Family are shinobis themselves.

At least, that holds true for most of them.

"Right over here! Take this! Hyah!"

A weighted end of a kusarigama wrapped itself around a training dummy made from logs. Murasame held onto the chain and tugged onto it. It swung forwards, prompting Murasame to close the gap to slash with his sickle.

"There's nowhere else to—Ah?!"

Unfortunately, but expectedly, Murasame tripped over his own feet and propelled himself forwards. He started rolling with that momentum until he crashed into a tree.

Within this lonely forest, there wasn't anybody around to see his mistakes. It was why this place was where he liked to train. If he practiced at home, that would probably bring about wayward eyes that he would rather not attract over.

"Haaa…!"

Murasame exhaled as he dusted himself off as he turned back to the dummy. With a dramatic pointing, he transformed his grumble into a boisterous laughter.

"You were lucky that time, but I'm not done yet! I still have my secret ninja art!" He lifted the weighted end and the sickle as he recklessly spun himself over to the dummy. "Hien Hosen! Mode Zero!"

It had been about a year since Murasame made his decision to work with his father after they were finally able to have a heart-to-heart conversation. There hadn't been much work he needed to do to prepare for the transition though, because the position was already prepared for Murasame once he finally graduated from university.

While Murasame had been on the road to becoming a great businessman, it wasn't everything he wanted to achieve. Being successful was one thing, but he had never let go of his desire to be a shinobi. His father was rather exasperated at the sheer stubbornness, but Murasame promised he would prioritize the company's ambitions first, so his father simply let him do whatever he wanted in his spare time.

As an unrelated note, Murasame found himself wrapped with his chains as he laid on the ground. The secret ninja art hadn't gone the way he wanted it to go, as it did every other time he tried it. On the bright side, Murasame did this so often, he could free himself in well under a few seconds.

Before long, Murasame was already back on his feet as he pointed his sickle at the log.

"You aren't too bad, but you're unlucky enough to face me! Here I come!"

Murasame always liked envisioning the fateful battles that shinobis experience, putting himself in the middle of the fictional action. It was like how children would play pretend, fighting as heroes against villains similar to the shows they play on television. Perhaps that was the kind of fantasy Murasame wanted to sink himself into, even if it were for a moment.

"Hah… hah…"

Despite whatever results he produced, or lack-there-of, this was still good exercise for his body, even if he didn't do any of the attacks properly.

"I guess… hah… that's enough… for today…"

Since nobody came here in this part of the forest, he could leave the dummy there and expect to find it the next time he arrived. It was still a little surprising that no one came by this area. Given the luscious green field against a riverbank among the cozy trees, this would have been a pleasant place to hangout with people, though he didn't have anyone to invite in the first place.

He could still get a signal on his phone here, so he used his spare time to catch up on the news. It was always a good idea to keep an eye on the competitors of the business and make sure that they aren't doing anything that could be detrimental to the Phoenix Conglomerate.

The prime opposition that stood in their way is the Wolf Conglomerate

For now, Murasame doesn't feel like they're in the position to catch up to them thanks to the pushes Murasame made throughout the year. Although, it won't be too long until the Wolf Conglomerate will have its new successor in a few years. They already named her, so it was a matter of keeping an eye out, but from what Murasame noticed, that girl looked a little too green for the industry.

That was no reason to be overconfident. Murasame needed to do whatever he could for the Phoenix Conglomerate regardless of who might stand in their way of business.

All for the sake of the Phoenix Conglomerate's real successor.

What was the point of him doing all of this if he wasn't going to be the one to replace his father? An answer would surely present itself one day, but Murasame was doing whatever he felt like doing now and he didn't care about what others might say.

That alone was enough satisfaction for him.

"Huh?"

While mindlessly browsing his phone, he noticed something was flowing down the river and it was caught between some of the rocks. If it was small, Murasame might have simply overlooked it as trash, but it wasn't. It was as big as a person.

Scratch that, it was a person.

With their body floating motionless and their head submerged, a sight like that had broken Murasame into a cold sweat. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he was seeing this properly, but once he confirmed that he wasn't hallucinating, he stammered at the dire situation.

"H-Hey! Hey, you there! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"

There was no response.

Their head was under the water, after all.

Pacing back and forth, Murasame could stand around and do nothing about it. If he were to do that, the current would continue dragging that body down the river. This had nothing to do with him, after all. There was a good chance that the person was already dead too, so if he had placed any efforts into helping out, it would be entirely futile. He had almost resolved himself to look the other way—

—And then bubbles started foaming near the body.

Air had been escaping from somewhere.

That person was somehow alive.

As the current started to push the person away from the rocks, Murasame could only think about where the river was headed to—the Tokyo Bay, which was attached to the ocean.

The tightness in his chest broke like water crashing through a dam. With a frustrated kick against the ground to preface, Murasame turned to the floating body.

"Ah, what the hell am I doing!?"

Grabbing a hold of the weighted end of his kusarigama, he tossed it over to the body. He was accurate enough to get it wrapped around, but he found himself staggering forwards while trying to reel the body in. He didn't realize the current was so strong.

The force caused Murasame to be pulled into the river.

His clothes became all wet, but now that it happened, he might as well stop caring about his clothes. He swam over to the body and grabbed on their arm. Murasame found himself out of breath as he started to realize why some people might not have liked this place.

One wrong step into the river and it was difficult to get out.

Murasame dragged the body up to shore and looked down to them.
"What am I looking at?"

The person was strangely dressed. Their clothing looked like it was ripped all over the place while it was absolutely drenched. It even looked discolored from what was supposed to be a bright white. Other than a single piece of clothing, similar to a one-piece gown one would find at a hospital, there was nothing else to their name.

It was even tough to figure out this person's gender, though they looked slightly younger than his sister. Their skin was the definition of perfection and their white hair was long and silky. Their face was somewhat effeminate, but the underlying issue was the flat chest and the inconspicuous mount on the pelvis region. He had his assumptions and while Murasame couldn't say for sure without investigating further, he wasn't interested in committing a crime today.

"Hey! Wake up already!" Murasame repeatedly slapped the person's cheek. "I didn't save you for you to die on me like this!"

They slowly opened up their red eyes, as they were waking up from a good night's rest. With an outward stretch and a quiet yawn, they rolled over and went back to sleep.

Murasame felt a vein bulging on his forehead. "Are you kidding me!?"

As if a bubble popped, the person opened their eyes again.

"Finally, you noticed me! Get up already!"

The person tilted their head, but they listened. Sitting upright, the person looked around the area before unleashing a big yawn.

"It feels like I've been sleeping for a while." The person's voice sounded gentle yet rough, as if they haven't used their throat in a long time.

"I figure that drowning makes you feel like that."

"Drowning?"

"You didn't realize you were drowning? Have a little self-awareness." Murasame scratched his head before standing back up to tower over them. "I helped you out, so you owe me one. I don't forget favors that are owed to me. You have a name I could use?"

"My name?" The person tilted their head. "What's my name?"

He narrowed his eyes. "How am I supposed to know?" Murasame then flinched upon his realization. "Hold on. You don't know what your name is?"

"I can't remember."

"Do you have an idea as to where we might be?" Murasame tested.
The person shook their head.

"Great. That's great. Looks like you've got amnesia."

"Amnesia?"

"It's when you can't remember anything in your past. It seems like whatever happened to you, you lost your memories when you hit the water. I guess some of the after effects of drowning does include memory loss from the possible brain damage. It shouldn't have been as severe as this though."

Although this smelt of bad news, it wasn't as if Murasame could consciously leave a person to fend for themselves here. If leaving them here isn't a choice, then what would he need to do? What was the correct decision? He really didn't like the vibes that were being packed into this situation. It was like a can of worms waiting to be opened.

"You don't know what happened to me?"

"If you want to know how you stumbled into that river, I can't tell you. I can tell you how you were saved though." Murasame smirked as he puffed up his chest. He wasn't going to turn down a moment to paint himself in a chivalric manner. "You were rescued by yours truly right here! I saw that you were going to die and I couldn't stand around and do nothing about it, so I put time out of my busy schedule in order to save you from the brink of death! You should feel honored!"

"O-Oh, wow!" The person started clapping nonchalantly. "That's amazing!"

"Keep the applause coming! I was the one to save your life!"

"Are we friends? Have we met before?"

Murasame slightly relaxed himself, letting the gusto in his tone lighten. "No, this is the first time I've met you. Since I'm important, I don't carelessly collude with unimportant people like you if it's not needed. I made a special case for this situation."

"You really helped me out despite being strangers?! That, uh, doesn't get me closer to knowing what I was doing before I was drowning."

"Does it matter? If I were you, I'd be grateful that I'm still alive."

"Alive…"

The person started spacing out. Murasame raised an eyebrow.

"Something wrong?"

The person closed their hands. "Nothing."

"Is that so?"

Murasame sighed, but there were still things left to do here like what he needed to do.

The most logical choice was to bring the person somewhere where they are equipped to deal with situations like this. It was a bonus that the person got out from a drowning incident and just as that crossed Murasame's mind, something strange fell into place.

The person was in the water long enough to possibly suffer memory loss and brain damage, but once they were out of the water, it took a few minutes—no, not even that long—for their consciousness to return, along with the motor skills needed to move their body without CPR being applied. He wasn't a doctor, but even that would sound strange to anyone.

"Are you sure you lost your memories?"

"Maybe?"

It was probably for the best if Murasame brought the person over to the hospital. From then, the responsibility would be off his shoulders and he'll be hailed as a hero. Right now, that was all Murasame was thinking about using this mysterious commoner as a way to paint himself in a better light in public.

"Alright, follow me. I'm taking you to people that can help you."

"You would do that for me?"

"I can't leave you here alone. The reputation of Murasame Houou can't be tarnished by leaving a helpless person to themselves. I'm the greatest person you'll meet, after all! Make sure everyone you meet knows that I was the one to save you!"

"Thank you, Mister Murasame! I'll make sure I'll do that!"

"I like the sound of that! Mister Murasame, huh?"

It wasn't as if he was devoid of people calling him by that honorific, but there was something nice in the way the person said it. That drew a big grin on his face.

Murasame reached out his hand to pull the person onto their feet.

"But, well, I'm a busy man, so get up on your feet and we'll get you some help."

"I don't want to be the reason why an important person like you is slowed down."

As the person grabbed Murasame's hand, a slight shock stirred between their palms. They both let go at the same time, surprised by the jolt. Murasame frowned, glancing down to his palm. It seemed like a case of static electricity, but that wouldn't make sense.

He looked over to see the person having a child-like groan from it.

"Ah… That stings…"

"Hey, that wasn't my fault."

"I-I'm sorry…"

"I'm pretty sure it wasn't yours either." Murasame grabbed the person's hand once more. "Now stop playing it up and we'll be on our way."

"Right. Thank you."

This time around, there wasn't any shock, but Murasame could feel the person's hand. It was extremely smooth, but that didn't make sense either. There should have been some wrinkles in the skin as if they were taking a prolonged bath, but maybe he was reading too much into it. Like he thought before, he wasn't a trained professional in the field, so he didn't have the qualifications to make comments.

Murasame pulled the person onto their feet as he guided them out to the forest. He called out his personal limousine to come around to the entrance of the forest, prompting them to make the destination over to the hospital. He also got a change of his clothes since the drenched suit wasn't doing him any favors. There hadn't been any questions on the other side, just as he demanded it, but as they continued down the path, Murasame needed to clear something up first.

"Before we get anywhere far, I have one question to check with you."

"I'll answer as best as I can, Mister Murasame!"

"Are you a boy or a girl?"

"Isn't it obvious?"

"That doesn't answer my question."

"I'm a boy. You couldn't tell?"

"I was just checking that you can remember the differences there. I wasn't sure how far your amnesia goes, so that's at least a good place to start."

"That's a valid point! I appreciate the concern!"

Murasame sweated the rest of the way. There was no way that any regular person could have determined that this person was actually a guy.

-/SK-EV/-

"That is quite the story. We'll have her checked in once a nurse is available."

"Hey! I'm male, you know!"

The receptionist blinked. "Ah, my apologies. I misspoke."

"Why does the receptionist think I'm a girl? I don't look like one, do I? I mean, Mister Murasame was able to tell, so it couldn't be anything like that."

"Maybe it's your long hair?" Murasame asked.

"Guys can have long hair too, right?" the boy pouted.

"And why would you know that for a kid with amnesia?"

"Isn't that common sense? Where else would the hair go?"

"It gets cut."

"With what?"

"Uh, scissors? Really? You can't be serious right now."

"I like my hair though! It's nice!"

"I'm not telling you that you need to cut your hair!"

The receptionist mostly ignored their mundane conversation at the front desk, but as Murasame had already explained the situation to them, the problem was starting to come around.

"You're saying that this boy doesn't have recollection of memories, including their name, family and address. If so, there might be a slight problem. We'll be able to run a few tests in order to check up on the boy's condition, but if anything needs to be done…"

"If it's anything regarding money, I can cover it if needed. Don't you know how wealthy the Houou Family is?"

Japan's health system was great for its citizens, but for everyone else outside of the system, it needed to be paid for. It wasn't to say that the boy's check-up would cost anything, since they're giving the benefit of the doubt due to his amnesia, but if the situation reveals that he was a foreigner that stumbled his way into Japan somehow, then there would have to be a cosigner there to pay for his expenses. And besides, Murasame could drop large sums of money without hesitating. If it was for the sake of his own publicity, it wasn't a bad deal in his eyes.

"Alright, then I'll put you in as a dependent."

As the receptionist created a file for the boy, Murasame was provided with a few papers to sign and a couple of pages that most people would ignore. As he handed them back within the minute, he glanced at the boy's outfit which piqued the receptionist's attention.

"Would anyone happen to be missing from the hospital?"

"If you are to ask if this boy was someone that came from our institution, we don't have any records that point towards him, much less anybody that was reported to be missing. I don't recognize any hospitals that provide that kind of gown either."

That was the most effort Murasame was going to put in for determining the boy's mysterious identity. If that didn't turn up anything, he'll leave the rest to the professionals.

"It's alright, Mister Murasame," the boy smiled. "Thanks for checking."

After a while, one of the nurses called out for the boy to come along with her. As the boy went over, he looked back to see that Murasame hadn't moved.

"You're not coming with me?"

"I told you already. I, Murasame Houou, am a very busy and important person. I've already overstayed my welcome when it comes to helping you out."

"Oh, I see." He looked a bit sad to see Murasame go. "Thank you for everything, Mister Murasame! I hope we see each other again one day!"

With a waving hand of departure, the boy went with the nurse.

Murasame picked himself up, but the nurse called out to him.

"Excuse me? Do you mind staying for a little longer?"

"I'm not needed to watch over the kid by signing myself as his benefactor. I'm not an idiot to be playing by made-up rules here. Did you think I didn't read the terms and services of the paperwork?"

"No, it's not that." The receptionist paused momentarily, feeling like she heard something irrational. "You read all those papers within the minute you were signing them?"

"What did you think I was doing with my minute? It takes only a few seconds to sign a signature. Are you going to ask me more stupid questions? If you are, I'll be taking my leave."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to go on a tangent," the receptionist bowed. "An associate of mine already contacted an investigator concerning this incident. If he was found to be drowning within a desolate river, there is suspicion that there is foul play at hand. I'm sure that the investigator would appreciate a witness account from you."

"Are you suspecting Murasame Houou of foul play!?"

"No, not at all! Please don't think like that, Mister Houou! Like I said, the investigator merely requested for a witness' account! That's all there is to it!"

A brief sigh escaped from him. They were certainly keen on trying to not offend him on the outside, but Murasame knew better. It was more like they were trying to not offend his position and his power, rather than the person themselves.

"Have them call me! I left my number in the file! It shouldn't be that difficult!"

The receptionist physically retracted at the outburst and that bothered him even more.

"Argh, never mind. Don't make me wait too long. I've got places to be."

Leaving the receptionist speechless, Murasame walked over to take an empty seat in the lobby. Spending time doing nothing was already a waste of its own and time was its own currency in this world. Murasame pulled out his phone to read a few more news articles before he decided to switch over to a mobile game that he had downloaded a while back. It was an endless runner he recently got into. The best part of the game was that it allowed him to continue where he lost by spending some chump change.

And so about twenty minutes passed.

A man in his thirties walked into the lobby with a navy blue suit and slicked-back hair. Pushing up his squared glasses, the man scouted the area until his eyes rested on Murasame. Seeing the stare out from the corner of his eye, Murasame leered over to meet him, but he acted disinterested as he switched back to the news to make him look more professional.

The man approached Murasame without even giving the receptionist a word.

"You must be Murasame Houou." Crisp words of firmness and steadiness left his mouth, almost methodically and yet, it was a casual statement he made. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Murasame casually turned off his phone and looked over to the man. The brown eyes, slight beard and basic body frame allowed Murasame to relegate the man to being an average person, someone who he wouldn't even bother to remember.

"Apologies for keeping you waiting." The man pulled out his identification card. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Masanori Endo, an investigator of the Tokyo Police Department, Crime Division."

"I don't have much time on my hands. Skip any further introductions." Murasame kicked back and crossed his legs. "Let's get to the point here. What do you want to know?"

"Being efficient is my preference as well. I see that we'll get along just finely, Mister Houou." The investigator replaced his identification card with a notebook from his jacket. "I'll simply have you provide me with responses to some rather straightforward, but obligatory, questions. As you may presume, please answer concisely and truthfully to the utmost ability. Please include any information that you would deem important to this possible case."

The attitude of the investigator made Murasame think he had something stuck up his ass. It was the type of person that was a stickler to the rules and regulation. While he wasn't much of a fan of those types of people, he told himself to simply put up with the investigator for this one interaction. There was no point to make a fuss if this was their only encounter.

The questions that Masanori asked were exactly as one would expect for an investigation. Information such as the time of day, the location of the incident, descriptions of the events that unfolded—Murasame answered all of them without any hesitation. He tucked away the answer of what he had been doing in the area with a mere nature walk, since shinobi activities shouldn't be known to the public, but that was a mere white lie under the truthful answers he provided.

Masanori had written everything relevant down in his notebook in bullet points. A few pages were used, but when the interview came to its last question, Murasame paused for a moment. It was an unusual question that caught him off guard.

"Was there anything strange that you noticed about the situation?"

"Other than the fact that there was a boy floating down the river?"

Murasame thought about it and something did stick out.

"I mean, for someone who was drowning, he recovered too quickly…"

"Could you elaborate on that more?"

"Why? What does that have to do with anything?"

"The more information we have, the bigger scope we can use for our investigation. I suppose I wouldn't have to explain this in depth for someone in business."

Murasame groaned, but he agreed. There wasn't a point to withhold that part of the situation after all, but he still rolled his eyes. "There isn't much to it, so I'm not sure what you want me to elaborate on. I noticed that the kid was conscious within a few minutes after I pulled him out of there. Usually, if someone was drowning badly, then that wouldn't be the case as far as I know, but I'm not an expert."

"It is certainly noteworthy. It means that whatever happened, it couldn't have happened too long ago. Though, I wouldn't say I'm much of an expert on the matter either."

After taking that note, Masanori was out of questions and closed his notebook.

"I appreciate you taking the time here, Mister Houou."

"Does that mean I can leave now?" Murasame asked sarcastically.

"Why, of course. Your time was valued and appreciated. You're free to leave, but I'll have to remain here to see the victim for myself."

"I didn't ask what your plans were."

Masanori hadn't changed his demeanor from the blunt response, unaffected by the sourness as he tucked his notebook away. "I have a tendency to say aloud what my intentions are, but regardless of that, I will have to mention that we may be in further contact if needed. Since the victim has amnesia, I suspect that until further notice, you're the one with the most information concerning this case."

"I told you everything I knew," Murasame shrugged as he was already walking away. "I better not hear you call me again because you wanted me to repeat myself. Are you trying to tell me that your note-taking was for show?"

"It's simply a precaution. You can never be too sure with these types of cases."

"I already had enough of my time wasted here. I'm leaving."

As Masanori thanked him for his time, Murasame couldn't shake off the idea that he really didn't want to meet that investigator again. Those types of people were folks that Murasame wouldn't even think twice about ever again, like the ground below him, but the straight-laced mannerism was far too aligned that it was the second time the thought crossed his mind. He really couldn't handle folks like that. Some rules were meant to be bent a little as far as Murasame was concerned.

The moment he left the hospital, he decided it was for the best to leave it behind him. He had already done his good act of the day, looking like a hero in the process, so anything further than that was inefficient for his time. He hopped into his limousine, thinking about the headlines that might show up on news articles and front page results.

Not that getting his name on the front page was something difficult. He had already done it countless times without even trying, but this was probably the first time he was looking forward to seeing how the reporters would write about him if they asked the kid for quotes.

"It's not a bad feeling…" Murasame mumbled, smirking to himself.