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In the early morning hours, Scepter 4 Headquarters was quiet, absent the usual hustle and bustle that would pick up closer to dawn. This was just fine by Munakata, who was hoping to avoid any unnecessary run-ins with his men as he walked quickly toward the back exit. It wouldn’t do to be seen right now, in light of the... delicate nature of his current circumstances.
“Where is everybody? Thought you Blues worked ‘round the clock.”
The snide drawl came directly over Munakata’s shoulder, and he swatted at Suoh to maintain his distance.
“Would you keep your voice down?” he whispered testily. “Indeed, most of Scepter 4 is still asleep at this hour, and I’d like to keep it that way.”
This was exactly why he had opted to escort Suoh out instead of trusting him to leave discreetly on his own. The Red King might not care about his own reputation, but, as Blue King, Munakata had an image to uphold. The quicker he could get Suoh out of the building and put this momentary lapse in judgement behind him, the better.
He could hear the smirk in Suoh’s voice when he replied, this time over Munakata’s other shoulder.
“Aw, what’s the matter, Munakata? Ashamed to be seen with me?”
“Ashamed” wasn’t nearly a strong enough word, and any other time Munakata would’ve been glad for the opportunity to expand Suoh’s pathetically limited vocabulary. But because nothing seemed to be going his way today, Munakata didn’t actually get the chance.
They turned the next corner, and Fushimi, Munakata’s third-in-command, who clearly hadn’t expected to bump into Munakata at this hour, jumped back in surprise. This sent him crashing into Yata, captain of Suoh’s front line, who’d been creeping along behind Fushimi. Yata yelped, dropping his skateboard, and they winced at the resulting clatter that echoed down the empty halls.
“Oh?” Munakata said, struggling to keep his exasperation at bay as he stared down at the cowering pair. “And what exactly is going on here?”
Suoh just hummed.
Fushimi and Yata stared wide-eyed at their superiors, Yata’s face nearly as red as his hair. Fushimi seemed to get his wits about himself first and grabbed Yata’s wrist.
“I caught him snooping around,” he said, dragging Yata forward.
Yata looked ready to protest, but Fushimi silenced him with another jerk of his arm. They shared a few silent, meaningful eyebrow raises, until realization dawned in Yata’s eyes. He grinned.
“Yep. That’s why I’m here,” he said, puffing out his chest and nodding eagerly. “Spying on the Blues. Oh, well, too bad I got caught. Guess I should get outta here, huh?”
Munakata blinked at them.
Fine, whatever. He really didn’t want to deal with any of this right now, and he was perfectly alright with letting their feeble excuse slide for the time being.
Suoh, to his dismay, was not on the same page.
“Funny,” he mused, and the droll tone set Munakata further on edge. “I don’t remember asking you to spy on anyone.”
Yata’s face dropped. “Um, well…” He looked quickly to Fushimi, who shrugged. “I wasn’t acting under orders because I was, uh, taking…” He leaned toward Fushimi to whisper, “What’s the word?”
“Initiative?” Fushimi offered.
“Yeah, that’s right!” he announced, at a volume that made Munakata’s eye twitch, “I was taking initiative!”
Suoh tipped his head to the side, smirking, and Munakata silently willed him to drop the matter. The clock was ticking ever closer to the first patrol’s shift, and they were but one hall away from the exit. Wrapping this up without further ado would allow the present Blue Clan members to resume their posts, and the Red Clan could get back to drinking or vandalism or whatever they had scheduled for the day.
But then again, when had Suoh ever done anything to make Munakata’s life easier?
“‘Initiative’, huh? So that’s what you kids are calling it.”
“Suoh,” Munakata hissed. “That is highly inappropriate.”
Not to mention inaccurate. Such behavior with a rival clan went against department protocol, and Fushimi… Well, Fushimi would never… Not with Yata...
...Right?
Fushimi shifted guiltily, scowl fixed on the floor, and Yata flushed scarlet again, looking very much like he wanted to disappear. He risked a glance at his dropped skateboard, which was still slowly rolling away, and Munakata half-hoped he’d dive for it and escape, ridding Munakata of at least one of the troublesome HOMRA gang members infesting his headquarters. The opportunity to save face was rapidly dwindling, otherwise.
As if on cue, Fushimi’s eyes narrowed. “Wait a minute...” He dropped Yata’s arm and rounded on Munakata. “Captain, why the hell is the Red King at Scepter 4?”
Fortunately, Munakata was prepared with no fewer than four lectures on insubordination, which would give him ample time to come up with a believable excuse. He opened his mouth.
“Oh, you know me,” Suoh said, cutting Munakata off. “Just taking some initiative.”
“Suoh!”
“What?”
If there was anything in the world that could reduce the Red King himself to ash, it would’ve been Munakata’s glare in that moment.
Suoh rolled his eyes. “Alright, alright. Yata, just get out of here before anyone else—”
“Oh, hey, guys!”
The four of them jumped when Kusanagi (Suoh’s second-in-command) strolled up to the group, tailed by a flustered Awashima (Munakata’s second-in-command). Well, three of them had the decency to look surprised, at least. Suoh just mumbled a bored “mornin’” and lit a cigarette. Munakata wondered if it would be a good time to tell Suoh that if he wanted to smoke indoors, he could do it back at HOMRA. Or, considering Suoh seemed in no great hurry to leave, perhaps a gentle reminder that Scepter 4 had designated smoking areas, all of them conveniently located outside the building, would be more effective.
“Fancy seeing you all here,” Kusanagi continued, as if nothing was amiss. “Need a ride back to the bar?”
Awashima grimaced, then snapped to attention. “Captain!” she barked by way of greeting, and Munakata watched miserably as the pink tinge in her cheeks grew brighter as she took notice of Fushimi and Yata, then Suoh.
So much for the opportunity to save face.
Munakata cleared his throat, addressing Suoh, who had taken to slouching against the wall. “Right, well, unlike some of you, my men have actual work to do. I would ask that the Red Clan kindly leave the premises and return to HOMRA so that we may all get on with our lives.”
Suoh exhaled a stream of smoke and frowned. “But what about breakfast?”
Yata perked up.
“Now that you mention it,” Kusanagi said, “I did work up a bit of an appeti— Ow!” He rubbed the spot on his shoulder where Awashima landed a deft punch. “I didn’t mean it like that!” he clarified, dodging out of the way when she squared up to hit him again.
Munakata sighed wearily and adjusted his glasses. “Stand down, Lieutenant,” he said, and Awashima’s arms instantly dropped to her sides. “And you” — he turned his glare back on Suoh — “can gather your men and get out of here. Now.”
Suoh took a long, slow drag. “Someone’s grumpy,” he said finally, smoke curling out of his crooked grin. “Did you not get enough sleep, or…? Woah, woah, woah! Hey! Come on, it’s too early for that.”
Munakata’s blade glinted in the first hints of morning light, the tip aimed pointedly at Suoh’s throat. “As much as I’m sure you’d enjoy finishing that train of thought, I can’t say I would recommend it. And making me repeat myself a third time would be similarly unwise.”
Snickering, Suoh ducked around the blade and put a hand on Yata’s shoulder, steering him toward the exit. He jerked his chin for Kusanagi to follow. With a genial wave and a furtive “call me” mouthed at Awashima, Kusanagi jogged to catch up with them, snatching Yata’s skateboard on the way. The last thing Munakata heard before the ruffians disappeared around the corner was Kusanagi asking, “So, what’s on the agenda for today, Boss?” and Suoh grumbling something about still wanting breakfast. Then, mercifully, they were gone, leaving only the lingering smell of tobacco and an incredibly awkward silence.
Munakata sheathed his saber and pressed his glasses up his nose, pausing in the motion in order to collect himself.
“It would seem,” he said, when he finally turned back to his charges, “that I need to have a conversation with the two of you regarding your recent… behavior.”
“Our behavior? What about yours?”
“Fushimi!” Awashima snapped. “Watch your tone!” She turned back to Munakata. “Apologies, Captain. He will be reprimanded for his disrespect.”
Munakata considered reminding Fushimi that, as Blue King, he had the authority to do whatever he very well pleased, but he didn’t think his pride could handle any of Fushimi’s sarcastic retorts. He tried a different tack.
“I will be blunt, then; if the two of you value your positions here at Scepter 4, I suggest you get back to your duties and never speak of this again.”
Awashima, tactful as ever, took the threat seriously. After another formal “Yes, Captain!” she grabbed Fushimi by the collar and yanked him back toward the dormitories.
Munakata watched them go, unnerved by the meddling smirk spread across Fushimi’s face. He wouldn’t be surprised if the rumors were already spreading like wildfire through the ranks. He really should’ve confiscated Fushimi’s PDA. Awashima’s too, to be sure.
He sighed and looked blearily out the window, where the sunlight was creeping further across the lawn. Admittedly, he was a bit tired. Couldn’t hurt to return to his quarters for another hour or two of rest. After all, he really didn’t get much sleep last night, not that that was anyone’s business but his own.
Well... and maybe Suoh’s.