“….Zenjou-san. Let us talk a little bit in private before we call in Awashima-kun.”
“Huh…”
Munakata said to Zenjou, whose expression was one of confusion and surprise.
“I believe that Kusuhara-kun said something similar to you before - but has the being Zenjou Gouki lost all value when he lost his left arm?”
Munakata directed his gaze towards Zenjou’s left arm, fixating on it in a manner that could even be considered impolite.
“…I don’t think so. Rather, I think that you have presently become complete by losing one arm.”
The kitten purred and rubbed its head against the fingertips of Zenjou, who remained silent.
“In the same vein, by losing the member Kusuhara, my SCEPTER4 is nearing its completion. Perhaps I can even say that…one death was necessary for the sake of the organization’s completion.”
“…are you”
Zenjou said, after a long pause.
“Are you saying that Kusuhara was supposed to die?”
Zenjou stood up. As if sensing the tense atmosphere, the kitten ran off.
“Well then…”
Munakata adjusted his glasses. His expression, half hidden by his hand, remained unreadable.
“If I said “yes”…will you slay me?”
Munakata said,
“Much like how you slew your own master - the Blue King, Habari Jin.”
“….!”
Zenjou’s expression underwent drastic changes.
Shock, rage - no, feelings even more intense than that displayed themselves on his face.
“199x, July, the Kagutsu Incident, in that decisive moment - caught in the area of influence of the “Red King” Kagutsu Renji’s Damocles Down, Habari Jin could not stabilize his own Sword of Damocles. In other words, there was a high possibility of a chain reaction occurring as a result.”
Munakata said to Zenjou, frozen with the look of a demon on his face.
“If two Damocles Downs were to occur at the same time, in the same area, then the amount of energy, multiplied by each other’s influence, should theoretically be enough to burn up the entirety of Kanto, leaving it to sink into the waters…it is even possible that the repercussions will be enough to lead to the downfall of the entire country.”
Observing Zenjou’s reactions, Munakata continued.
“In that moment, the life of one King and the future of one country was put on the balance of fate. Your swift strike saved the entire country - by instantly slaying the Blue King, faster than his sword could fall, and making his Sword of Damocles disappear-“
Zenjou did not answer. He let his gaze fall to the floor wordlessly.
-indeed he had slew Habari. He had no intentions of shying away from that fact.
However, at the same time, that wasn’t out of his own judgment…he thinks. He was spurred into motion - neither by his own will, nor by the expectations of others - but by some great impulse, and drawing his sword from its sheath came naturally.
Regardless-
He had slain Habari. The fact alone won’t change. The weight behind it will never ease up.
Even after the passing of ten years, he has yet to gain confidence in the justness of his actions.
But, the figure of Habari burnt in his mind-
“-Yes. That’s fine as it is.”
He found support in the memory of Habari, who smiled dazzlingly as he said that with a serene expression.
And now,
“Indeed….you are correct.”
The figure of Munakata before him overlapped with the figure in his memories.
-no, that’s not it.
This man isn’t Habari. He is not the master who was as bright as he was clearly fair.
Zenjou’s hand extended towards the hilt of his saber. His hand came to a stop upon it.
He had his doubts.
-Just who is this man? What does he hide behind that smile of his?
An evil and terrifying nature that toys with human life?
Or, the special caliber of one who can carry out justice with decisions beyond that of normal men?
That is a question he had asked himself thousands and thousands of times ever since meeting Munakata Reishi. It was a complicated question that he has yet to find a clear-cut answer to.
Zenjou growled like a beast, like a demon. The ferocious will he harbored inside him bared its fangs against the chains that imprison it.
-should he slay the man before him, or should he not?
Two wills and two sources of power raged and clashed within his body, stretching the chains to their limits.
There was something that rushed up from his chest. He felt like his blood was boiling, his muscles tense to the point when they could snap at any moment.
Zenjou raised his downcast eyes and stared at Munakata.
If only looks could kill - despite being on the receiving of such a deadly glare, Munakata smiled fearlessly.
At that moment-
Zenjou felt something exploding within him - something even greater than his own will.
A huge amount of power erupted from the insides of his sword’s sheath.
The demon’s sword rushed forth, flinging off the broken shards of its sheath.
-
Epilogue
The Sword of Damocles
Zenjou’s sword, bathed in blue light, broke out of its sheath and drew an arc across the air just centimeters in front of Munakata’s nose.
-No.
At the same time, the glass window on one wall shattered, a shower of sparks bursted along the path of the demon’s blade, and a portion of the wall was blasted off, leaving a fist-size hole.
One thing was responsible for shattering the glass window, causing the shower of sparks and opening a hole in the wall.
A 12.7mm round.
With his saber, reinforced by supernatural powers, Zenjou deflected this high-caliber bullet that came bursting through the window at supersonic speeds.
The black kitten meowed in distress and slipped beneath the sofa.
-Sniper…!?
Zenjou, the very person who deflected the sniper’s shot, was shocked.
It wasn’t a conscious action on his part. His beastly intuition has picked up on the presence of the supersonic bullet, and his bodily instincts urged him to draw his sword and strike it down.
Furthermore, Zenjou twisted his body from the posture he’d taken after swinging his sword, and, with his back to the window, flung his sword behind him.
Once again, a shower of sparks bursted in the air. The second bullet was struck off course and pierced the wall as well.
Zenjou, with his seamless movements, faced the window again.
He waited two seconds, three seconds - it doesn’t seem like there’ll be a third shot.
Munakata pressed a switch on his intercom.
“Fushimi-kun - we were attacked just now.”
Munakata took one glance at the hole in the wall,
“The weapon is probably a high-caliber AM rifle. The sniper is perhaps-“
“On a tall building two kilometers southwest.”
“There. Contact the police.”
“On it.”
Fushimi had already made an estimation of the sniper’s location from the layout of the room that Munakata is in, as well as the range of the rifle itself. He had arranged for the local police to capture the sniper on urgent notice.
“Excellent.”
Munakata cut the intercom’s connection.
-sniping with an AM rifle from 2000 meters away.
Munakata did not expect the ‘enemy’ to have enough power to arrange for and utilize weaponry and snipers of this caliber. SCEPTER4 has special permissions to inspect various public and official sources of information in the capital, but they’re sometimes one step behind on information unrelated to supernatural elements.
If Zenjou wasn’t present, then the “enemy“‘s bullet, which had slipped through the cracks of their information network and into their perceptional blind spot, would definitely have blown off Munakata’s head.
“So this is the last trick for today…or rather, all the “enemy“‘s movements up till this point has been nothing but a plan to lure me into this situation, so it seems.”
Munakata said dispassionately, and Zenjou spoke up.
“….why?”
“Why…did I step into the enemy’s trap and expose myself to danger?”
Munakata answered,
“High risks yield high returns. Using my own life was the fastest way to get a reaction from an unknown enemy and draw out information - of course, this is something only possible with the best bodyguard there is, Zenjou Gouki.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
Zenjou said,
“…why did you provoke me?”
“Ah, you were asking about that….”
Munakata chuckled, and Zenjou’s expression darkened.
“This world is something like a puzzle; one that you can only piece together through perseverance and determination. That’s what I think….but sometimes I feel like throwing reason to the winds and entrusting myself to fate.”
“Fate…?”
“Zenjou-san. Your sword is yours, yet at the same time, it isn’t.”
Munakata let his eyes wander to the drawn saber that Zenjou was holding.
“I believe that your strike, brought to motion faster than you are conscious of it yourself, is the manifestation of some sort of Providence.”
Zenjou did not answer. He simply let out a low growl, with his teeth scrunched together.
Two eyes, harboring within them the presence of a demon, found Munakata.
They stared straight at Munakata’s fathomless smile; an ambiguous smile.
Zenjou poured strength into his right hand holding the saber. But as long as that smile remained ambiguous, Zenjou’s hand would not move. He could not swing his sword.
“Let’s go.”
Munakata turned his back to Zenjou and began walking.
“…someday, when you see through the very depths of my being, perhaps you will slay me.”
Zenjou did not answer. He followed Munakata, all while glaring daggers into the back of Munakata’s neck.
“You are the swift strike of a sword, as well as a bomb on the verge of explosion. That will become my strength, as well as something beyond my own control. In other words, Zenjou-san-“
Munakata smiled while exposing his defenseless back to the demon’s gaze.
“You are also a “Sword of Damocles” much involved in my fate.”
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
excerpt: munakata and zenjou's conversation
“….Zenjou-san. Let us talk a little bit in private before we call in Awashima-kun.”
“Huh…”
Munakata said to Zenjou, whose expression was one of confusion and surprise.
“I believe that Kusuhara-kun said something similar to you before - but has the being Zenjou Gouki lost all value when he lost his left arm?”
Munakata directed his gaze towards Zenjou’s left arm, fixating on it in a manner that could even be considered impolite.
“…I don’t think so. Rather, I think that you have presently become complete by losing one arm.”
The kitten purred and rubbed its head against the fingertips of Zenjou, who remained silent.
“In the same vein, by losing the member Kusuhara, my SCEPTER4 is nearing its completion. Perhaps I can even say that…one death was necessary for the sake of the organization’s completion.”
“…are you”
Zenjou said, after a long pause.
“Are you saying that Kusuhara was supposed to die?”
Zenjou stood up. As if sensing the tense atmosphere, the kitten ran off.
“Well then…”
Munakata adjusted his glasses. His expression, half hidden by his hand, remained unreadable.
“If I said “yes”…will you slay me?”
Munakata said,
“Much like how you slew your own master - the Blue King, Habari Jin.”
“….!”
Zenjou’s expression underwent drastic changes.
Shock, rage - no, feelings even more intense than that displayed themselves on his face.
“199x, July, the Kagutsu Incident, in that decisive moment - caught in the area of influence of the “Red King” Kagutsu Renji’s Damocles Down, Habari Jin could not stabilize his own Sword of Damocles. In other words, there was a high possibility of a chain reaction occurring as a result.”
Munakata said to Zenjou, frozen with the look of a demon on his face.
“If two Damocles Downs were to occur at the same time, in the same area, then the amount of energy, multiplied by each other’s influence, should theoretically be enough to burn up the entirety of Kanto, leaving it to sink into the waters…it is even possible that the repercussions will be enough to lead to the downfall of the entire country.”
Observing Zenjou’s reactions, Munakata continued.
“In that moment, the life of one King and the future of one country was put on the balance of fate. Your swift strike saved the entire country - by instantly slaying the Blue King, faster than his sword could fall, and making his Sword of Damocles disappear-“
Zenjou did not answer. He let his gaze fall to the floor wordlessly.
-indeed he had slew Habari. He had no intentions of shying away from that fact.
However, at the same time, that wasn’t out of his own judgment…he thinks. He was spurred into motion - neither by his own will, nor by the expectations of others - but by some great impulse, and drawing his sword from its sheath came naturally.
Regardless-
He had slain Habari. The fact alone won’t change. The weight behind it will never ease up.
Even after the passing of ten years, he has yet to gain confidence in the justness of his actions.
But, the figure of Habari burnt in his mind-
“-Yes. That’s fine as it is.”
He found support in the memory of Habari, who smiled dazzlingly as he said that with a serene expression.
And now,
“Indeed….you are correct.”
The figure of Munakata before him overlapped with the figure in his memories.
-no, that’s not it.
This man isn’t Habari. He is not the master who was as bright as he was clearly fair.
Zenjou’s hand extended towards the hilt of his saber. His hand came to a stop upon it.
He had his doubts.
-Just who is this man? What does he hide behind that smile of his?
An evil and terrifying nature that toys with human life?
Or, the special caliber of one who can carry out justice with decisions beyond that of normal men?
That is a question he had asked himself thousands and thousands of times ever since meeting Munakata Reishi. It was a complicated question that he has yet to find a clear-cut answer to.
Zenjou growled like a beast, like a demon. The ferocious will he harbored inside him bared its fangs against the chains that imprison it.
-should he slay the man before him, or should he not?
Two wills and two sources of power raged and clashed within his body, stretching the chains to their limits.
There was something that rushed up from his chest. He felt like his blood was boiling, his muscles tense to the point when they could snap at any moment.
Zenjou raised his downcast eyes and stared at Munakata.
If only looks could kill - despite being on the receiving of such a deadly glare, Munakata smiled fearlessly.
At that moment-
Zenjou felt something exploding within him - something even greater than his own will.
A huge amount of power erupted from the insides of his sword’s sheath.
The demon’s sword rushed forth, flinging off the broken shards of its sheath.
-
Epilogue
The Sword of Damocles
Zenjou’s sword, bathed in blue light, broke out of its sheath and drew an arc across the air just centimeters in front of Munakata’s nose.
-No.
At the same time, the glass window on one wall shattered, a shower of sparks bursted along the path of the demon’s blade, and a portion of the wall was blasted off, leaving a fist-size hole.
One thing was responsible for shattering the glass window, causing the shower of sparks and opening a hole in the wall.
A 12.7mm round.
With his saber, reinforced by supernatural powers, Zenjou deflected this high-caliber bullet that came bursting through the window at supersonic speeds.
The black kitten meowed in distress and slipped beneath the sofa.
-Sniper…!?
Zenjou, the very person who deflected the sniper’s shot, was shocked.
It wasn’t a conscious action on his part. His beastly intuition has picked up on the presence of the supersonic bullet, and his bodily instincts urged him to draw his sword and strike it down.
Furthermore, Zenjou twisted his body from the posture he’d taken after swinging his sword, and, with his back to the window, flung his sword behind him.
Once again, a shower of sparks bursted in the air. The second bullet was struck off course and pierced the wall as well.
Zenjou, with his seamless movements, faced the window again.
He waited two seconds, three seconds - it doesn’t seem like there’ll be a third shot.
Munakata pressed a switch on his intercom.
“Fushimi-kun - we were attacked just now.”
Munakata took one glance at the hole in the wall,
“The weapon is probably a high-caliber AM rifle. The sniper is perhaps-“
“On a tall building two kilometers southwest.”
“There. Contact the police.”
“On it.”
Fushimi had already made an estimation of the sniper’s location from the layout of the room that Munakata is in, as well as the range of the rifle itself. He had arranged for the local police to capture the sniper on urgent notice.
“Excellent.”
Munakata cut the intercom’s connection.
-sniping with an AM rifle from 2000 meters away.
Munakata did not expect the ‘enemy’ to have enough power to arrange for and utilize weaponry and snipers of this caliber. SCEPTER4 has special permissions to inspect various public and official sources of information in the capital, but they’re sometimes one step behind on information unrelated to supernatural elements.
If Zenjou wasn’t present, then the “enemy“‘s bullet, which had slipped through the cracks of their information network and into their perceptional blind spot, would definitely have blown off Munakata’s head.
“So this is the last trick for today…or rather, all the “enemy“‘s movements up till this point has been nothing but a plan to lure me into this situation, so it seems.”
Munakata said dispassionately, and Zenjou spoke up.
“….why?”
“Why…did I step into the enemy’s trap and expose myself to danger?”
Munakata answered,
“High risks yield high returns. Using my own life was the fastest way to get a reaction from an unknown enemy and draw out information - of course, this is something only possible with the best bodyguard there is, Zenjou Gouki.”
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
Zenjou said,
“…why did you provoke me?”
“Ah, you were asking about that….”
Munakata chuckled, and Zenjou’s expression darkened.
“This world is something like a puzzle; one that you can only piece together through perseverance and determination. That’s what I think….but sometimes I feel like throwing reason to the winds and entrusting myself to fate.”
“Fate…?”
“Zenjou-san. Your sword is yours, yet at the same time, it isn’t.”
Munakata let his eyes wander to the drawn saber that Zenjou was holding.
“I believe that your strike, brought to motion faster than you are conscious of it yourself, is the manifestation of some sort of Providence.”
Zenjou did not answer. He simply let out a low growl, with his teeth scrunched together.
Two eyes, harboring within them the presence of a demon, found Munakata.
They stared straight at Munakata’s fathomless smile; an ambiguous smile.
Zenjou poured strength into his right hand holding the saber. But as long as that smile remained ambiguous, Zenjou’s hand would not move. He could not swing his sword.
“Let’s go.”
Munakata turned his back to Zenjou and began walking.
“…someday, when you see through the very depths of my being, perhaps you will slay me.”
Zenjou did not answer. He followed Munakata, all while glaring daggers into the back of Munakata’s neck.
“You are the swift strike of a sword, as well as a bomb on the verge of explosion. That will become my strength, as well as something beyond my own control. In other words, Zenjou-san-“
Munakata smiled while exposing his defenseless back to the demon’s gaze.
“You are also a “Sword of Damocles” much involved in my fate.”