Part 1 of chapter 2 in which the specifics of S4’s work organization are explained, Munakata’s stalker hits on him, Awashima gets dangerously close to embracing her inner fujoushi and Fushimi works as Hidaka’s long distance consultant.

Chapter 2 (part 1/3) (volume 1, pages 49-83)
The Exceedingly Pure Usurper

When a crime was committed by supernatural power holders such as strains in the area of Tokyo Metropolis, Scepter 4 was dispatched in accordance with the following mechanism. First, ordinary people, who had witnessed the crime or had been dragged into it, dialed 110 - the police emergency number. The call went to the National Police Agency Communications and Command Center at Tsubakimon, where the police officer in charge heard the details out, and only in case he determined that strains had been involved, the call was sent to Scepter 4.

When it was, simultaneously, the police station in the district on the territory of which the incident had taken place was notified, and the personnel of the station, starting with the station chief, were obliged to provide cooperation to Scepter 4 asap.

As it went, the command authority was to be transferred from the police to Scepter 4 only when the head of the Special Phenomenon Regulation Office within the Enforcement Division of the Security Bureau with the National Police Agency had recognized the offense as strain-related, but in practice, the police ceded the command right of the crime scene, coming under Scepter 4’s orders, without waiting for that notification.

To be specific, what the police were doing after that was cordoning off the area, performing traffic control and, depending on the circ.u.mstances, providing information to the Scepter 4 troops obtained through questioning and other means.

Furthermore, upon receiving a call from the police, Scepter 4 was to dispatch its troops with the Special Ops squad as their core, but, depending on the scale of a given incident, there existed the 4 level gravity gradation scale, ranging from Type I deployment when only 1 smallest unit consisting of 2 troops was dispatched to Type IV deployment when Munakata Reishi himself headed to the scene.

On that day, the notification Scepter 4 had received from the National Police Agency was cla.s.sified as Type II deployment and the troops on duty were dispatched.

Four members - Akiyama, Benzai, Fuse and Enomoto - took one of Scepter 4’s special vehicles and proceeded to the scene. The case allegedly involved 3 perpetrators recognized as strains that were jumping from one building to another, partly destroying them and severing power cables; there was also unconfirmed intel saying that the three were under the influence of stimulants, so when the members got to the scene, all of them, save for Akiyama, were understandably tense.

However…

“What is this?” Bafflement was evident on Akiyama’s face.
“…” The other members, too, were clearly stunned.

The sight that opened to their stares included three unconscious tied men.

A single sheet of paper was placed in front of them, with a rock used as a paperweight so that it wouldn’t get blown away by the wind. The message written in large inked letters read: “These 3 ruffians were using socially destructive drugs and causing disturbance in the city for their own pleasure, so we captured them. Take this warning to heart. You are an unnecessary existence.”

Having read the note slowly and thoroughly, Akiyama turned to his comrades with confusion written all over his face.

“Say…” He obviously didn’t expect things to take this kind of turn. “What does this mean?”

Benzai, Fuse and Enomoto all simultaneously shook their heads.

But…

It was only the beginning.

†

Scepter 4 was an agency for suppressing crimes caused by strains, apprehending strains involved and keeping them in custody.

Since Scepter 4’s targets were super power holders who often possessed strength and stamina far exceeding what was considered normal for mankind, the agency’s scope of activities was extremely wide-raging. However, all its duties could be divided into big parts and cla.s.sified further into 3 big categories.

The first category was what took place earlier: dispatching upon receiving the notification from the police and dealing with unexpected incidents caused by strains that could not be foreseen.

Another category was routine management work consisting of tasks like getting in touch with strains registered with the Family Register Division of the Legal Affairs Bureau at regular intervals and interviewing them.

And the last category included the so called gray zone cases where it was difficult to say for sure if an offense was committed by strains or normal people; Scepter 4 cooperated with the police for investigation of such cases.

This was the most troublesome job, and, unlike with cases where strains were explicitly involved, the police, otherwise favorably predisposed, weren’t happy about Scepter 4’s interference. In a sense, it was only a natural reaction. Normal criminal investigations were the police’s turf and out of Scepter 4’s jurisdiction to intervene.

For that reason, it became an established practice for Scepter 4 to sent one or two its troops to the investigation headquarters as consultants at the stage where strain involvement was only suspected.

On that day, Kamo and Doumyouji had been sent to a local police station where the investigation HQ of a certain murder case had been set up. When they had arrived to the station, the reception they got from the station chief and the on-site detectives was polite but tangibly cold; Kamo met it with unfailing politeness. Not letting it interfere with his own conclusions on the matter, he proceeded to obtain the necessary information pertaining to the investigation.

Doumyouji, meanwhile, leafed through some PR brochures found at the police station, resting his chin on his hand and looking bored.

Suddenly, the door to the investigation room was kicked open and a newbie detective burst in. “You won’t believe this! The perp has been found!”

The inspector reprimanded the rookie coolly and told him to speak in order. This was what the detective shared.

A call had placed, but not with the 110 police emergency line. An unknown had called the general affairs section of the police station in question directly, and a young-sounding male voice informed, “We’ve caught the culprit you’re looking for, so come and tow him away.”

Two patrol officers, half in doubt, headed to the back alley indicated by the caller and found there an unconscious man, securely tied with chains.

He really was the man that the investigators were looking for as the suspect in the case. Moreover, as the two policemen approached him, the man came to and, producing sharp bladed objects from his limbs, tried to put up violent resistance. With this, very little doubt remained regarding him being a strain; furthermore, it became impossible to subdue him without putting the officers’ lives in danger, so the scene was in an uproar. The inspector listened to the story in disbelief, but immediately requested that Kamo and Doumyouji, present at the station, dispatch to deal with the situation.

The two agreed readily, although the looks they gave to each other said:
‘Just what on earth is going on?’
"No idea.’

The culprit was apprehended through the efforts of Kamo and Doumyouji and 3 hours later started giving confessional statements in regards to the murder case…

†

For some reason, an unidentified person or persons were set on beating Scepter 4 to the punch in execution of its primary functions, so after that, a series of strange occurrences where cases had been settled before Scepter 4 could interfere, continued.

The motives and the means of the mysterious person or group remained unknown, and the members of Scepter 4 were extremely confused; many of them were also angry, feeling that the interference was a blow to their honor.

The frontrunner of the discontented clique was, predictably, the Lieutenant of Scepter 4, Awashima Seri. She came to Munakata’s office to deliver reports and demanded, “This is, beyond a shadow of doubt, a provocation and a challenge to us as Scepter 4! Captain, please order for prompt countermeasures to be taken!”

She slammed the palms of her hands on the table, interposed between her and Munakata, and leaned in closer to him. When she did, her enormous b.r.e.a.s.t.s predictably jiggled. Sparing the sight a glance completely devoid of lewdness and smiling all the while, Munakata shifted his gaze up to Awashima’s face.

Sitting in a chair with his legs crossed, he replied with an air of composure, “Awashima-kun, I see you are being quite emotional. Before deciding on anything, I would like to have a little more information at my disposal first, if possible.”
“Then I apologize, sir,” Awashima made her apologies with a face that plainly said that she wasn’t sorry in the least, and rightened her posture, standing stiff as a ramrod with her arms folded at the waist. Without sparing the reports another glance, she started explaining the particulars of the recent incidents herself.

“Hm. I see…” Munakata looked pensive, putting a hand to his chin.

Awashima spoke as if pressing him for an answer, “To crown it all, the unknowns used our pa.s.s and even performed our regular duties.”
“Hm.”
“That is, they openly forged our pa.s.s and counterfeited our uniform. I think the situation is very grave.”
“Hmmm.” This time, Munakata elongated his “m”. Then he said, “It looks like there is an excellently ordered and systematized organization behind it. By the way, Awashima-kun…” His smile was still firmly in place.
“Sir?” Awashima fired off on a reflex, but Munakata’s next statement was answering a question with a question.
“What kind of actual harm does the present situation cause, specifically?”
“…” Awashima instinctively stiffened. Then, clearly perplexed, asked, “Um, sir, I’m afraid I fail to understand…”
“Let me rephrase it then. Those enigmatic persons. Since it is hardly possible to do what they do una.s.sisted, I a.s.sume it is an organization; so what is the problem with them trying to preserve public order in our stead, exactly?” He smoothly and easily said something that left Awashima speechless. “They are protecting this country’s peace and justice, which is a splendid aspiration, in my opinion, especially considering that thanks to them, our burden was reduced. Could you maybe try and treat it as a temporary addition of many new troops who are a little too eager to do their job?”

This time, Awashima was lost for words thoroughly and completely. The person in front of her… the Blue King, Munakata Reishi, was basically saying that as long as the job was getting done, it didn’t matter one bit just who was getting it done.

Awashima felt giddy.

She wanted to give him a lecture about their honor as Scepter 4, about their pride as the ones wearing swords, and about many other things, but gulped down her protests. After all, the one who was the personification of it all was currently sitting before Awashima’s very own eyes with an air of nonchalance.

"This person… he really…!’

Sometimes, she found herself almost cursing Munakata’s extraordinary broad-mindedness - or, put in other words, his complete lack of restrains.

“—Indeed.” Awashima turned her head and took a stab at a hole in Munakata’s logic. The hole he must have been aware of. “But I believe that even if we disregard things like our honor, there still remain a few issues. What needs to be mentioned first of all, is that the process via which the operations were performed remains completely unknown. For instance, even if on the surface the proceedings seem to be going smoothly, as long as we are not aware of the unknowns’ command structure or communication lines, it is too risky to make use of them.”
“I see.” Munakata gave her a complacent smile. “True indeed. To us, such an organization with the personnel and person in charge unknown is like a vehicle with no way to perform maintenance on it; it makes predicting when a breakdown or an incident occurs impossible.”
“There is another point of concern. We cannot confirm if the unknowns’ motivations for taking action are virtuous. The possibility of them infringing on part of our duties with the intention to later misuse it for their own gains and throw the county into chaos is not negligible.” Awashima looked at Munakata with a slightly chilly stare. “Naturally, I would think that you have already been long since aware of these arguments, Captain.”
“Mm, hm.” There was a short pause in Munakata’s humming this time.

As Awashima expected, he didn’t deny it.

“Awashima-kun. You are absolutely right. But, despite that, in regards to those men - I am not excluding the possibility of that organization being comprised solely of women, but for now I will provisionally refer to them as men - I do not find it likely for them to have a sudden change in att.i.tude and start disrupting the country’s order.”

Before Awashima could ask him why exactly he didn’t find it likely, he answered, “My reason being that they keep sending us a certain message.”
“Message?” Awashima knitted her brows.

But this time Munakata didn’t reply to her, continuing as if he was talking to himself. “What is bothering me is not the danger they might present but how I should answer to the message they are sending,” he murmured, joined his hands and looked up at her. His eyes behind the gla.s.ses gleamed with thoughtfulness.

Awashima, feeling anxious, was about to throw more questions at him, but in that moment the speakerphone on Munakata’s desk came alive and Enomoto’s fl.u.s.tered voice flowed out of it.

“Captain, sir, excuse me! Could we request that you urgently come to the data processing office please, if possible?”

Munakata smoothly extended his arm and pressed the connect b.u.t.ton with a finger. “Munakata listening. Did something happen?”
“At the moment, we are receiving a video call from the man who introduced himself as the ringleader behind the recent cases! He requests to speak directly with you, sir! Please respond, sir!” Enomoto answered in a voice this short of shrieking.

Awashima’s eyes widened.

Munakata, a cold smile playing on his lips, only muttered, “I see. So they contacted me first. Quite the self-confidence they have, huh.”

†

“Is the call being recorded? Did you identify the source?” Voice hushed, Awashima fired off her questions at Enomoto in rapid succession.

Enomoto, working his keyboard with energy, replied, following her suit and m.u.f.fling his voice as well, “The recording started automatically when the call came in. I’m working on determining the location.”

Since Fushimi Saruhiko had left on a business trip, information processing became mostly Enomoto’s job.

At the moment, in the data processing office six Scepter 4 members gathered: Akiyama, Benzai, Kamo, Doumyouji, Enomoto and Awashima.

They all wore the same expression on their faces - one of worry. In contrast to them, standing in the center of the room was the person who was radiating the oppressive grandeur of winter, like he always did - Munakata Reishi.

In front of him, there was a big screen, and on it…

“—Ohh, it’s such a pleasure to meet you, Munakata-kun.”

…the wire puller behind it all was showing himself boldly and with no reservations. He acted as if he was calling a close cla.s.smate - completely unguarded and overly familiar.

He looked like your average person found anywhere, but at the same time was very distinctive. He seemed to be in his 50s. All in all, he was an unimpressive looking shorty. To the observer, he appeared as a slow-wit with short limbs and belly sticking out to give him the resemblance to a penguin.

His features weren’t exactly unpleasant but were definitely flat, and not even the most extreme of kiss-ups would describe him as a handsome man.

“We can finally talk face to face like this. I’m so happy.”

But there was one feature that set him apart. His eyes. They were filled with the light of purity and sincerity that people lost as they grew older. Those bright eyes, as if made of deep black obsidian polished to a shine, were the only thing about his appearance that could be called beautiful.

The sunny look of a 3 year old child paired up with the misshapen body of a middle-aged man. Such a combination looked grotesque, producing a mixture of inexplicable magnetism, appeal and charm.

Akiyama and the rest of the troops stared at the man with bated breath.

“I see,” Munakata started, then abruptly said something utterly shocking. “So it was you who sent me that ardent love letter.”
“Fufu.” The bald man on the screen snickered happily. “So you have read it. Thank you.” He jumped with joy like a little kid. “I was absolutely mesmerized by your beauty when I first laid my eyes on you. My feelings surged uncontrollably, and I ended up sending you that letter. Forgive me that rudeness.”

“Captain?”
“Beautiful?”
“First laid his eyes on the Captain…? What the heck!”
“When I first met the Captain, "weird” was my only impression.“

Due to the shock they had just received, the normally disciplined troops couldn’t help exchanging whispered impressions. Munakata didn’t seem to mind it one bit, but Awashima did, scolding the members in a carefully hushed voice, "Quiet!” Then, with a stiff expression, she went back to staring down the man on the screen, perhaps because she took the man’s words at face value and was now suspecting him in h.o.m.os.e.xual preferences.

Seeing that, Munakata whispered quietly to Awashima standing by his side so that only she could hear, “…Not to worry. It is only a metaphor. The connotation of his words is unlikely to go beyond the extent of his having been charmed by my talent or ability.”

Awashima blushed a little.

Raising his voice to the normal volume, Munakata remarked, “Indeed, that was not very polite of you, and your manners are a little lacking. Even if you are my senior, if you are going to profess your love for me, I would like you to properly give me your name first!”
“Kounomura Zenichi.”

Not missing a beat, the man did as asked and broke into a huge grin. Since he had identified himself so ready, the Scepter 4 troops were taken by surprise momentarily, but a few seconds later they already were busy cross-checking the name using their PDAs or PC, only for their shock to worsen as they did.

The name the man gave did exist, moreover, with the name came the man’s face shot and all the personal history which they all found in no time and with no trouble at all. There was no need to search any special database. Any ordinary search engine could find the man’s full profile for them to examine all they wanted.

For as it was, the man who approached Munakata Reishi, Kounomura Zenichi, was a celebrity.

“I see.” Munakata smiled with a composed smile. “No wonder you looked familiar. I have seen your pictures and interviews on the pages of business magazines.”

A multimillionaire and a world-famous philanthropist. Munakata wasn’t the only one who had heard of him. Four other Scepter 4 members recognized him and couldn’t help commenting in whispers.
“Hey, is it really him, in person?”
“He was in Newsweek’s "top 100 world prominent figures”, placing third among the j.a.panese celebrities. a.s.suming that this is really him, he’s a seriously big name of the world’s scale. “
Only Doumyouji was clueless, "Eh? Who? No, seriously, who’s he?” but the others ignored him.

Munakata said slowly, “I am a.s.suming that it was you or a group spearheaded by you standing behind the recent attempts to usurp our duties, would that be correct?” Cutting the preamble, he got straight to the point.

All the present held their breaths. What would Kounomura Zenichi reply to that?

“Yes, that’s right,” said man confirmed readily. Throwing out his plump chest, he added, “I’m the mastermind behind all the incidents. We’re going to perform all your work in your place.”

The Scepter 4 members were abuzz.

About that time, Fuse and Hidaka came into the data processing office. Hearing the details from the other members, they were now looking stunned.

Munakata, on the other hand, only narrowed his eyes in amus.e.m.e.nt. “I see. Thank you for the honest answer. Still, though young and inexperienced may I be, would you perhaps be so kind as to tell me your reason? Why would a successful and all-around accomplished person such as yourself engage in paramilitary make-believe at this time?”
“Paramilitary make-believe?” Kounomura inclined his head questioningly. “Are you people calling your work "make-believe”? Isn’t it carrying humility too far?“
”—I believe I called that what you are doing, not our work.“

But sarcasm of Munakata’s correction and smile he had accompanied it with was lost on Kounomura. "Oh, that’s what you mean. Reality begs to differ though. We’re clearly far better at it than you guys and we can protect this country’s justice more efficiently. If you insist on labeling what we do as "make-believe”, that makes you guys sham champions of justice, no?“

Awashima was speechless. Needless to say, that statement was enough to set the feelings of every member of Scepter 4 aflame. The glares of hostility, fierce opposition and hate focused on the monitor.

Kounomura waved his hands, as if fl.u.s.tered, "Ah, no, don’t misunderstand, don’t misunderstand. It’s not like I’m degrading you guys. I do think that you’re doing a great job. I’m just saying that we can do an even better job, is all. Come on, Munakata-kun,” Kounomura, the possessor of those almost abnormally pure and direct eyes, said. “You do understand it, do you? The message I sent, that is.”
“…” Munakata didn’t utter a single word in reply to Kounomura’s question, only silently adjusted his gla.s.ses with his index finger.

“You see, Munakata-kun,” Kounomura kept chatting happily, “from the first time I saw you, I became your captive. And when I did, I had this thought: I, too want to try and become a king like you.”

Those words floored everyone present. This man, Kounomura Zenichi, actually considered being a “king” to be a tangible, realistically reachable status. Like a child dreaming of opening a shop that would sell flowers, cakes and future.

“The difficult part is that to become a king you’ve got to be chosen by the thing called the Dresden Slate apparently, right?”
“Where did you learn of that name?”
Munakata’s tone was cold, but Kounomura only grinned, “I just did a little research. It’s not like that thing is an absolute secret, right? So it’s pretty easy to find out about it if you really want to. I also investigated a bit on my own about the Dresden Slate’s special qualities. Using several investigative agencies, that is,” he said boldly and like it was nothing.

Before she knew it, Awashima was gripping the edge of a table. She had a bad feeling about this. "This man might be the type of an enemy we’ve never faced before.’

Amidst the growing disquietude hanging in the air, Kounomura went on, with his eyes still sparkling like those of a boy, “Sadly, I wasn’t able to find out the criteria based on which one is chosen as a king. So I thought: if I take over your duties, replace your organization with my own, replace you in everything, the impartial Dresden Slate just might choose me…” Terrifying innocence with not a shred of malice. “…as the new Blue King in your place.”

“Screw you!” somebody cried out in a stifled voice, expressing the honest opinion shared by all the Scepter 4 members currently gathered in the room.

But they also knew, sensed the barely discernible trace of fear tinging that voice. They were losing the mental battle - losing it to the strange aura, showing the signs of being monstrous, that this stubby unattractive 50+ man exuded.

“…” Among all of them, only Munakata Reishi was completely unfazed, being his usual self.

Dropping his shoulders, he smiled with a wry smile. “I would like to apologize for having to crush the hopes of such a wiser and more life-experienced senior as yourself, but that is impossible.”
“Why is that?” Kounomura appeared to be genuinely wondering. “You have been chosen by the Dresden Slate and you’re taking that as the baseline, but I’m different. Even if right now I’m not a king, I know that eventually I can become one.” He was grinning broadly. “Not once in my life have I failed to accomplish what I wished for from the bottom of my heart.”

At that moment Enomoto reported to Awashima in a whisper, “I have located the source!” and, surprised himself, immediately elaborated, “Cairo…? It’s Cairo, in Egypt!”

Awashima gave a small tongue click. She was hoping to find out the place and dispatch some of the members there to detain this unexpected personage. But the place he was calling from was completely outside of her expectations, throwing a wrench in her plans.

Meanwhile, Munakata, who had to hear this exchange, without the slightest change in his countenance, continued the conversation, “I am saying that it is impossible for you because it is the question of ability. I am sorry to say, but you cannot replace me. Would you like to try and target the other kings, perhaps?”

Upon a closer consideration, that suggestion was quite outrageous, in and of itself, all the more since it came from one of the seven kings chosen by the Slate.

But…

“No,” Kounomura shook his head immediately. “It’s you I’m fond of.”

Munakata smiled wryly and let out a sigh.

“In that case…” he started, but Kounomura was faster, “Alright, I’ve decided. I’ll make you say uncle in the not-so-distant future.”
“Hoo,” Munakata intoned, highly interested.

Kounomura clapped his hands together, grinning widely, “You will say to me, "I acknowledge my defeat, Kounomura-san, and beg your forgiveness”. And when you do, the Slate will abandon you and choose me, I feel.“

Munakata looked momentarily stunned at that.

It wasn’t clear, however, what amazed him: Kounomura’s out-of-line proclamation or his bottomless childishness to declare such a thing on the other party without even realizing that it was a challenge.

"Very well. I shall entertain you. However…” Munakata’s eyes behind the gla.s.ses glinted. “I shall also make sure that you are punished for this act. Without fail.”
“Sounds good to me!” Kounomura’s whole face lit up in a grin. “It won’t be fun otherwise. Alright then, in place of war declaration, how about I show you this?”

Lips lifting up in a grin again, of a slightly different kind than before this time, Kounomura snapped his fingers.

In that instant, the video-feed was interrupted, and pictures started flashing, one approximately every 3 seconds. All of them were candid shots of the Scepter 4 members.

Benzai, yawning from fatigue en route to a crime scene. Kamo, in his uniform and watery eyed from looking at his child’s photo. Doumyouji, buying sweets and snacking on them when he was supposed to be on the clock, with cream left on his cheeks. Enomoto, in civilian clothes, choosing an obscene magazine with an impossibly serious face in a second hand bookstore. Awashima performing a daring roundhouse kick upon apprehending an escaping suspect, except she was off duty at the time, so her skirt rode up very high, exposing her blue underwear for all to see.

“Wh-What is this?!” Awashima, beet red from embarra.s.sment, shrieked.
“Do something about it, quick!” The Scepter 4 troops were stricken with panic.

Hidaka chasing a big breasted girl on the sidewalk with his eyes while riding the official vehicle, then taking a picture of her secretly and sighing in grief.

“Fufu,” Kounomura, now voice-only, spoke up from behind the pictures. “What delightful comrades you have. Well then, see you later.”

The slideshow continued, but the contact with Kounomura was apparently cut off.

Munakata smiled. “What a strange person.” Clapping his hands together once, he added mirthfully, “—Well, let us see what he has got, shall we?”

Then, he turned on his heels and walked out of the data processing office which was still immersed in panic. Nothing about his att.i.tude differed from what was ordinary for him.

†

A few days later Hidaka Akira called Fushimi Saruhiko, who was currently in America. The sound coming through his PDA’s speaker was flawlessly clear so the business Hidaka had called Fushimi about, namely doc.u.ments check, was wrapped up in no time.

“Fushimi-san,” Hidaka tried to restart the conversation. “There is something I’d like to report…” With this, he gave Fushimi a summary of what had happened the other day.

Fushimi didn’t interrupt, but once Hidaka was finished, he said curtly, “I already know the gist of it.”
"Guess I should’ve known,’ Hidaka thought.

Originally, Fushimi was part of the intelligence division. So even if he was on a business trip, it was only to be expected that he had already been aware of the incident big enough to cause an uproar in Scepter 4.

"Does this mean he gets in touch with Lieutenant Awashima at fixed intervals? Come to think of it…’ Hidaka suddenly wondered, “Why is he in America in the first place?”

Just then, Fushimi, who was keeping silent, abruptly spoke up. “There is something I don’t get from the data alone though. So I want your opinion.”
“Ah, yes, of course!”

Fushimi proceeded to ask him a few relevant questions that hit their mark precisely. While providing his honest replies, in his heart, Hidaka felt admiration for him. "This person really is very smart.’

When Munakata had promoted Fushimi to his current position, there were quite a few who felt opposed to the decision on the grounds that Fushimi was too young. But Fushimi made everybody acknowledge his right for the position by displaying how sharp and skilled he was. He was still a minor. But presently he was Scepter 4’s third-in-command.

"It’s a fact that very young people held top positions in turbulent times like the Warring States period or the closing days of Edo era…’

But in this case, this kind of personnel appointment was possible probably precisely because Scepter 4 under Munakata’s control was still a young organization, itself.

Besides, Fushimi wasn’t just your ordinary boy. He was a convert that came from another clan. To Hidaka, both Munakata, who so nonchalantly appointed such a guy to a responsible post, and Fushimi himself, who, despite generally showing his displeasure without holding back, performed one difficult task after another, were equally incredible.

Also, it needed to be mentioned that officer cla.s.s members like Akiyama and Benzai accepting the situation as a matter of course played a big role.

The two were former members of the National Defense force, and they would never sell short someone just because he was younger than them.

Skills and the order of the organization was what mattered to them.

That was why the att.i.tude of Akiyama and Benzai, among others, mattered a great deal, influencing how Scepter 4 in general and the Special Ops squad in particular came to regard Fushimi.

“Hey,” Fushimi called out to Hidaka from the other end of the line after a pause.
“Yes?”
“Lieutenant Awashima’s underwear.”
“Huh?”
“And also the dirty mag Enomoto was choosing.”
“Eh?” Hidaka was confused by these unexpected utterances.

Fushimi, perhaps feeling somewhat uncomfortable with the subject, sounded especially curt, “Did you see the two things I just mentioned clearly?”

"What is he even saying?’ was Hidaka’s first frank reaction. But then he changed his mind. After all, it was very smart Fushimi Saruhiko who was asking him that. Which meant it was important, no doubt.

“Umm…” He pulled at the thread of his memories, unraveling them. “Yes, I saw both of those things clearly,” he affirmed decisively, wondering inside what he was even saying.
“—I see,” Fushimi replied.

“Um, Fushimi-san…?” Hidaka tried, wanting to know already the purpose of all these questions.
Fushimi chuckled. “You don’t get it? Among all those peeping pics of the Scepter 4 members, only Lieutenant Awashima and Enomoto’s were taken when they were off-duty, right?”
“Ah!” Hidaka made a noise of recognition.
“When we’re on the clock, it’s possible to set up a stakeout near the site of an incident by arriving before us and then snap peeping shots of us using a telephoto lens. But Lieutenant Awashima and Enomoto’s were off-duty shots, like I said. To boot, the shots had decent enough definition for the juicy parts to be perfectly distinguishable as if they were directed. Which means we’re dealing with one of the two possibilities,” Fushimi proceeded to explain in a well-reasoned manner. “The first possibility is they’re taking pics of us with a telephoto lens and stuff all the time, regardless of if we’re in or out of the uniform. But this isn’t very likely. After all, this implies that they have someone tailing each of us and snapping pics; finding qualified enough personnel in such numbers is hard, and it’s also easy to spot and expose them. Neither Lieutenant nor Enomoto are nearly dense enough not to realize that they’re being followed around the clock and taken pictures of.”

He paused for a second before moving onto his conclusion. “The above leaves only the second possibility, namely remote photographing via spy cameras.”
“I see!” Hidaka smacked his knee in sudden realization.

Fushimi continued, “Hidaka, a.n.a.lyze all the pics, determine the shooting angle and the circ.u.mstances of each shot, then go the places where they had been taken at and check the area thoroughly.”
“R-Right!”
“Maybe you can still find some small leftover clues there.” He let a cynical chuckle slip. “Oh well, that dude seems like a smart guy, so the chances are pretty low. After that, well, just try doing what I suggested if you can, I guess.”
“I will definitely do it!”

That earned Hidaka another cold chuckle.

“—Yeah, do your best,” was all Fushimi said before hanging up.

Hidaka clenched his fist and muttered, “I need to inform the Captain asap.”

He sprang up to his feet excitedly.

†

But, unfortunately for Hidaka, at about the same time Awashima was in Munakata’s office reporting her findings on what Hidaka was only going to investigate.

“Hm, I see. As expected, no clue to allow us to close in on that man was left.”
“I’m afraid so,” Awashima confirmed, standing before Munakata and operating her tablet. “The total number of images sent is 18. All of them are pictures of the Special Ops squad. To be precise, among them there are 3 pictures of me, Doumyouji, Enomoto each, 2 of Hidaka, Gotou and Fuse, and 1 of Benzai, Kamo and Akiyama.”
“What a pity. There is none of myself, apparently.”

Munakata leaned his elbows on the table and elegantly rested his chin on his laced fingers.

“Awashima-kun. I would like to hear your opinion on this matter: do you sense any arbitrary significance in the varying number of pictures for the troops?”

Awashima’s finger froze in the middle of flicking the tablet’s screen as she took her time to think. After a pause, she shook her head and replied flatly, “No, sir. I think that, perhaps, it was determined simply by how many pictures of each member worth sending those people were able to take.”

Munakata smiled. “Yes, that is right. I think so, too. In other words, some people had given them many more opportunities for taking funny pictures of themselves then the others, it would seem.”

Awashima flushed a little.

The total of 3 such pictures of her were taken. It was the same number as for the most extreme oddb.a.l.l.s even among the Special Ops, Doumyouji and Enomoto.

"Do I have that many c.h.i.n.ks in my armor…?’ she asked herself bitterly even as she resumed her report.

“By the filming location, we have 14 outdoor shots and 4 indoors ones. The outdoor locations are places like roads and parks. As to the indoor locations, 3 pictures show the HQ premises and 1 the interior of a second hand bookstore.”
“A second hand bookstore… that would be where Enomoto-kun was selecting a magazine, if I am not mistaken. I would certainly like to discuss that sort of hobby with him sometime.”
“As I was saying,” Awashima cut Munakata off forcibly, ignoring his remark with all her might, “there are only 2 pictures of the members in civilian clothes - of myself and Enomoto,” Awashima said by way of a conclusion. “Also, about the circ.u.mstances of the shots that you specifically indicated, Captain…”

Munakata’s eyes behind the gla.s.ses glinted.

“—What did you find out?”

It looked like this was the part Munakata was waiting for.

Awashima cleared her throat and, following his suit and hardening her her expression, reported, “4 pictures were taken via manned utilization of an ultra telephoto lens. I have confirmed that with the exception of those 4, all the other shots were made via unattended cameras.”
“You are certain of it, I presume?”
“Yes, sir. These are the official results of the technical research inst.i.tute’s scientific expert appraisal. Would you like to take a look at the list of camera models used for each picture and the other details pertaining to the circ.u.mstances they were taken in, sir?”

Munakata shook his head. “No, that is not necessary. Make the list a shared file later and leave it for me, that would suffice. What about the unattended cameras?”
“As you have surmised, sir, for most part they were the small type used for surveillance and spy recording, also called camouflage cameras.”
“—So we do have security camera footage among those pictures.”
“Yes, sir.” Awashima nodded deeply. “The picture of Enomoto at the second hand bookstore is precisely that. It appears that the bookstore suffered damage from rare books being shoplifted so they installed high definition surveillance cameras there. Naturally, the footage from them is saved to the built-in hard disk.”

Munakata slowly closed his eyes and took a breath. “Which got hacked, I a.s.sume?”
“Correct, sir,” Awashima confirmed again. “Pictures taken with a manned telephoto lens, footage recorded by concealed camouflage cameras in the important areas of the city and footage obtained through hacking of security cameras. All in all, they have employed at least 3 distinctly different ways to take those photos.”

Munakata smiled thinly and wryly. “Those pictures are, indeed, embarra.s.sing to us, but at the same time the very fact of their existence does not make much sense. Arranging for such a meticulous setup and investing so much time and efforts just to take a few peeping pictures is ridiculous. I simply fail to get a concrete grasp on our opponent’s real intentions.”
“…”

Munakata got up unhurriedly and went to stand by the window in silence.

Awashima flicked her tablet again, “Ah, one more thing, sir. We apparently arrived after all the camouflage cameras had been retrieved. Not a trace of them remained at the a.s.sumed filming sites.”
“Hm.”

Munakata had probably expected that much. Not making a move to express his opinion, he stared out the window at the scenery outside.

“Also,” Awashima tried to be as concise as possible, “at present, no evidence of secret filming has been found in the headquarters , but, to be on the safe side, we are conducting a search for camouflaged cameras and taking preventive measures against any suspicious person without exception.”
“…”

Suddenly, Munakata turned to her and opened his mouth as if wanting to give some orders.
“What is it, sir?” Awashima asked in puzzlement.
“Nothing.” Munakata frowned. “—It is just that something feels slightly off to me…”

Touching a hand to his forehead, he pondered for a short while, but… “No, must be my imagination. Awashima-kun. Those countermeasures are correct. Please continue, I am counting on you.” He smiled pleasantly.
“Yes, sir.” Awashima bowed to him and left the office.

Once her back disappeared behind the door, Munakata turned his attention back to the view outside the window.

“—So this is another one of your messages, huh, Kounomura-san,” he murmured.