Chapter Text
“You know I don’t like this any more than you do, Sunflower.”
Miku took a long, long, dear God, how are her lungs not exploding drag of her pipe. Exhaling, her head pointed away from the girl in front of her, the sound of a guttural growl was unmistakable. “I’m starting to doubt that.”
“What?” Hibiki tugged at her tie, the cloth feeling tight and rough around her neck despite how loose it was. “You know this is all business. Lydian needs to survive—think about Yumi, Shiori, Kuriyo. Not to mention all the others under our protection.” She frowned, leaning forward. Her jacket creaked and moaned, and Miku could tell it was seconds from tearing at the seams. “And you too, Sunflower.”
Miku lowered her pipe, allowing the ashes to fall into the tray below. She extended her hands, clasping them in Hibiki’s own—then, she frowned. “No gloves.”
“What? But what if someone starts something?”
“This is a welcoming ceremony. There are measures in place. Plus, if anyone tries…” Miku’s eyes sparkled with a dark shine. “They would be dead before they could even draw steel.”
Why is that so hoNOPE, NUH-UH, KEEP IT CLEAN, TACHIBANA.
“Right,” she replied instead, smiling at Miku. “I trust you.”
Miku’s frown flipped. “I trust you too, Sunshine.”
Hibiki stood, helping Miku up to her feet. “So, these Kazanari guys—you think they’re as vast as everyone says? I hear even their lieutenants have lieutenants.”
Miku shrugged. “Perhaps. It would do well to have some kind of structure and organization, I suppose. We are a little… loose when it comes to who does what around here. We’re as much of a social club as we are a gang.”
Hibiki laughed, slapping Miku on the back with a boisterous grin. “Hey, if it means I get told to knock some skulls around, I’m all for it. I just hope they know how to throw a party.”
Genjuro Kazanari laughed as the last of the streamers fluttered down from the ceiling. “Welcome aboard, Lydians! Lydianites? Lydiae? Doesn’t matter—you’re all Kazanaris now!”
Miku turned to Hibiki. She was drowned in glitter and confetti. It would have been adorable, if not for the death stare. “Next time, please hope for something else.”
“Eheh. So…does this count as someone starting something?”
“...give me some time to decide.”
Genjuro held up his hands in mock surrender. “Look, ladies, you’ll have to forgive me—it’s an old family tradition.”
“That started with you, last year,” Yatsuhiro called out from the nearby kitchenette.
“Two years ago! You’re getting senile!”
“...are you sure you’re gangsters?” Hibiki asked, bluntly, but with a hint of sincere curiosity. Miku’s head whipped around so fast, the confetti on her head blew right into Hibiki’s face. “Gah!”
“Well, we’re people, like anyone else.” Genjuro knelt down, holding out his hands to the duo. Helping them up, he pulled them in close—enough so he was able to whisper in their ears. “We’ve also never been caught. So, I can understand why you’ve got your doubts.” Pushing the two back (as gently as a man of his stature could), he continued, “The Kazanaris run this city—it’d run the country, but between you and me, we’re waiting for some… changes in management,” he whispered once more, though far more staged.
“You’re lucky Dad’s in Kyoto.”
“More work on the dinner, Yats! Speaking of Kyoto,” he asked, “Have you heard from Tsubasa yet? She was supposed to deliver her report when the two of them made it to the station.”
“No,” Yatsuhiro called back. “I haven’t—”
There was a loud slam from the foyer, followed by shrieks of terror—likely from the maids Hibiki and Miku had seen on their way into the manor. What’s got them all worked up?
A young man—lanky in frame, with brown hair, a nondescript face, and a pair of sunglasses—burst into the room. “Director,” he began, “Tsubasa has—” He paused, lowering his frames for a moment as he took in the obvious murder of a party store that had just taken place in the sitting room. “Am I interrupting?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Hibiki insisted.
“Yes, you are,” Miku replied.
“Ladies,” Genjuro cut in, “Meet Ogawa—he’ll be showing you around the place later. Though, to my memory, ‘later’ was supposed to be tomorrow…”
“About that.” Ogawa looked over his shoulder, a weary tone to his voice. “We… may need to either reschedule this party, or order in.”
“What?” Genjuro was clearly scandalized at the very thought. “Yats is working his ass off!”
“One of us is, at least.” An older-looking gentleman, with graying hair and a pair of spectacles, exited the kitchen with an apron draped over his shoulder. “What seems to be the issue, Ogawa? Where are Tsubasa and Father?”
“...I’m not going to beat around the bush,” Ogawa sighed. “Fudo Kazanari—”
“—has gone to meet the devil personally,” a low, intense voice called out. “He will not be joining us—not now, not ever.”
Hibiki’s eyes widened, and from her periphery, she could see Miku’s flash of shock and frustration. A young woman—close to their age, Hibiki suspected, with blue hair tied up in a ponytail and a piercing gaze—approached the entryway. Her shoes had remained on her feet, but she was saved from the faux pax by the far more obvious blood that stained her azure dress. A blade sat comfortably in her hand, dripping with crimson.
Genjuro looked at the blade.
Then, at the blood.
Then, for a moment, back at ‘Yats,’ whose glasses—fogged up from steam—betrayed none of his emotions.
Finally, Genjuro looked the woman in the eyes.
“...okay,” he began, “Tsubasa, I’d like you to meet Hibiki and Miku of Lydian.”
“Hm.”
“Hibiki and Miku, this is Tsubasa, scion of—”
Tsubasa’s gaze narrowed. “Head.”
Genjuro grimaced. “... head of the Kazanari Clan.”
Hibiki, still a little baffled, simply offered a friendly wave.
Miku didn’t bother to look at Tsubasa, her eyes locked onto only Hibiki.
Genjuro sighed. “We were going to have a nice, respectable feast.”
“I see.”
After another few seconds, a sheepish smile settled on Genjuro’s face. “So...anyone got any preferences as far as Chinese food goes?”
Omake 1: The Wanderers from A Land Beyond Decide to Take in the Sights and Sounds Before the Sights and Sounds Take Them
“Hey, Isaac?”
“Yes, Miria?”
“You said if we came to Japan, we could learn from the great masters.”
“Why, of course, Miria! That was the whole reason we took that steamliner—it wasn’t easy to sneak on board, you know!”
“I know, I know! It was so exciting, though! It felt like we were pirates, sailing the nine seas!”
“Miria, you know as well as I do that there’s ten seas.”
“Oh, right! Thanks, Isaac!”
“Of course, my dear!”
“But…”
“But what, Miria?”
“What exactly are we learning? And from which masters?”
"...well, Miria, that's part of their test! We need to find the masters ourselves, and only then can our education truly begin! That’s the true way of the samurai, you know! Bushido, as they say!”
"Oh, that's brilliant, Isaac!”
"Not as brilliant as the masters who came up with the idea!”
“Now, if I were some sort of master, where would I be…?”
“Well, we won’t know until we start to explore! So, let’s go right ahead and—”
“Isaac, wait! There’s a car—”
SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE—
KA- CRUNCH!
「大丈夫ですか？！」
“Um. I—did you just…?”
「響、そんなことを続けるのはダメよ。あなたのおかげで自動車販売店が『響保険』を売り始めたんです」
「それで、私はどうすればよかったのでしょうか？ 彼らに怪我をさせましょうか？！」
“Hey, Isaac, what’re they saying? I can’t make heads or tails of it!”
“Oh, that’s Japanese! I picked up a little in my time. Mostly, ‘Hello, what’s the time,’ but that’s the most important thing to know!”
「……ねぇ、ミク、この二人何言ってるの？ 表も裏もわかりません。」
「響、英語です。私に任せてください。」 “We’re so sorry for the trouble.”
“It’s no trouble at all! You saved Isaac from a horrible death!”
“Hey, now, we’ve been in worse scrapes—remember Ennis, when she hit us with a car?”
“This happens often?”
“Yep!”
“...I see. Well, we must be off. This food will get cold before long… have a good day, you two.”
“Of course, you as well!”
“...wow, they sure were nice!”
“Indeed! That’s Japanese hospitality for you!”
“...say, Isaac.”
“Yes, Miria?”
“Do you think that one who stopped the car is one of the masters we’re looking for?!”
“...that’s exactly right, Miria! The great Japanese masters of martial arts are well-versed in trifling matters like that.”
“Stopping cars?”
“No! Stage magic! That car was clearly made of paper mache, shuffling along the road through a series of razor-thin pulleys and levers! This was a showcase for our benefit—to demonstrate just what kind of masters the Japanese can be!”
“Oh! If we learn their magic, we can become even better thieves!”
"Precisely, my dear! Now, let's go welcome ourselves to their dojo!”
“...but Isaac, we haven't learned the language! And we don’t know where their dojo is! Or what a dojo is!”
“Not a problem, Miria! If there's one thing that's universal, it's the human spirit—and the existence of tourist maps! There must be one at one of the local shops. Onward, Miria—for spirit and tourism!”
“Spirit and tourism!”