Аннотация: Hiroe reads the history of his native country. Hikari meets Pachi on the embankment. Rinko is chatting about the squad with Hiroyo. Departure of Tsuchi and transfer of Kouji artifacts.
Part 28.
Interlude 19. Dom Kaname, Hiroe Kaname, an analyst at the A-Ko Group Management Company, a junior high school student, and just a very bitch... A very sweet 11-year-old girl
Hiroe closed the browser tab and leaned back in her chair: it became very informative to read the history of her native country. In general, if you look for information about historical events in your Homeland in one way or another, from the point of view of the participation of some names and surnames in them, the result changes dramatically. It would seem that: the empire, the feudal lords... but for some reason, emperors come and go, the empire is replaced by the shogunate, it is replaced by restoration, and the Yakoin family has been among the government's advisers for almost six hundred years. Or Tsuchimikado, a surname that is constantly juxtaposed in chronicles and historical research with expressions like "progressive changes" and "new reforms." But if you look for "Amakawa"... Yuto's relatives "lit up" in the chronicles literally several times. And every time in passages like "the mysterious mystic" or "the fatal amulet." From the fragmentary notes, one might have thought that these objects or mysterious personalities suddenly found themselves "in the castle of an ancient and high family" by accident. Like, they walked and walked and came to visit, they asked to spend the night, so to speak. Especially amulets suffer from such a cute habit, yes, yes. But all that could be learned from historical documents was just a small piece of the puzzle called "the true state of affairs in Japan."
Small, but important to understand. Kaname received the second, much larger and more valuable piece from her mother. It's amazing how little human society changes, having changed so much! For half a century, the island Empire has rightfully occupied the place of one of the most technically advanced states. Instead of tens of thousands of peasants, only hundreds of combine harvesters enter the fields, and proud samurai castles have been burned down, demolished, or mockingly turned into hotels and entertainment centers. And where are they, the proud and fatalistic followers of the "bushi" way? The Prime Minister talks about democracy from the screen... and yet, the country's policy is largely set by the Old Clans. Mysterious magicians, spirit fighters and military men, schemers and researchers, fanatical followers of ancestral traditions and brave innovators. Bone rivaling the descendants of Heaven in whiteness, blood bluer than the blood of noble families. If you are lucky enough to be born or enter even the last collateral family of the weakest of the clans, they may spit at you, but they will not dare to touch you, no matter what you do. Business? You're welcome! Politics? No problem! Show business? The theater? A movie? They'll look askance, but if you act under a pseudonym, as much as you want. Humiliating and impassable bureaucratic obstacles and dirty games of competitors magically bypass such people. Yes, there may be complaints... but only the representatives of the clans. Here, the Jinguji, despised by the rest. They wanted to get their own piece of the state budget pie and influence in the social sphere of the Islands' life. Through the lip, almost spitting, the other clans allowed it... and the huge structure, with thousands of seats, was literally presented to the eldest family on a platter. In the form of a government decision, of course, but appreciate the speed and scale! But that's not all. For a long time, the girl could not understand how the clans had settled so firmly on the political Olympus.
But you couldn't get this piece of the puzzle from people outside the clans. From humans, but there are also spirits. And there is Amakawa, with whom the spirits agree to make contact, including telling several episodes of the secret endless war in the first person. Wars that have become a given, a tradition... and a solid foundation of the clans' political power.
Amakawa... Yuto. An orphan boy who turned her inner world upside down. Her mother and her father are happy, but her father is obviously not her equal. From the moment her mother forced her to communicate with her peers (and with adults), Kaname understood, accepted that one day she would be alone. Her mother taught her not to lie to herself-never and for nothing. No matter what kind of person Hiroe falls in love with someday, he will never be her equal. He might be strong, he might be a great businessman, or he might just be an honest hard worker like her father. But not like her. He will just see the world from the wrong side, from the wrong angle, through the wrong prism. He would never understand her. Kaname Sr. was completely satisfied with this situation. Due to Kaname Jr.'s age, this situation did not suit her at all... But what to do? And then Amakawa burst into her life. Children's plastic movements and not a childish, piercingly sober view of the world. Amakawa-who-doesn't-lie. Amakawa, who does not recognize problems, but only tasks. A type of thinking that is impossible in principle for an orphan child. The only person who told her, "I trust you," completely... Well, having understood it well enough. And he said it anyway. Let their union initially be an alliance for the sake of joint benefit... But doesn't that make it so strong? And then, if the union is a solid benefit, why shouldn't it also be pleasant?
And Hiroe found the solution to the "mystery" of young Amakawa's thinking... and if Yuto, in his unique style, had not dragged Mizuchi to his side, it remains to be seen how that sweet friendly dinner with poker and revelations would have ended. This ability of his is... "Farry"... It is very different from the mental techniques of all spirits and magicians combined. Amakawa's ability could actually change the parameters of thinking - it seemed only with his own will that was being processed, but Hiroe was sure that if it was really necessary, then the trick could be done without him. When Yuto talked about his clan's "blood power," he usually emphasized the possibility of incredibly wide modification of the properties of materials and objects, modestly omitting such a wonderful material as a person... or a non-human. An ordinary magician can make a person consider himself a god... and the usual Amakawa is to make you think instead of obtusely following orders. Instead of deception, there is a contract, and instead of obtuse execution of orders, there is conscious help. Feel the difference!
And the "secret"... Yuto, of course, didn't tell me anything... but the events are not so difficult to compare. When a nine-year-old child is left without parents, he can commit suicide. In this case, literally. I must admit that Yuto proved himself to be a real fighter: only such a person can wish to see the world very clearly to the point of pain, to the point of tears, when your whole being is trying to hide in the warm haze of memories of a life that disappeared overnight. The resulting character of Yuto could not be called kind: capable of pushing his childhood friend into a deadly battle, cynically forcing the spirits to carry out their plan, and being ready to plunge into blood and dirt in advance. However, by doing this, he turned an ordinary and unremarkable Rinko into his "blade". Who now dares to wipe away from the "throne" a girl who initially shed blood along with the head (even if not her own... so far) that you supported him selflessly from the very beginning? He was not afraid to take a deadly risk himself, he was not afraid to stand between his subordinates and the discontent of the clans if everything was revealed. He took a swing at the centuries-old order of relations between Yokai and hunters.
And how could Hiroe not follow him? Such a chance... not even one in a billion, but an even rarer one. To become a partner of a man who, though almost destroyed, is still respected (and dangerous- oh yes!) The old Clan. This is a bid for the very pinnacle of opportunity and freedom that an ambitious person who does not belong to the "elite" by birthright could receive. Yes, she would not become Yuto's wife. The clan needs allies, and she, Kaname, will make sure that their joint political capital with Yuto is invested as efficiently as possible! But to become the founder of one of the side branches? That would be problematic too... but she also has the notorious "improved genome." Slightly flawed, but no one would dare take her children away from the clan. And the father of the children... Well, how do you think all these subsidiary branches and junior families are formed? Oh, don't say the word "adopted into the family"! That's how the clan leader will accept someone into the family from nowhere. The institution of concubines, "successfully defeated" in "modern society," has not disappeared from the admirers of the old traditions. Well, "who orders the music, the girls dance," isn't it? Oh, her mother could have said a lot about that... but it's not always censored: there just aren't enough decent words to describe individual cases. By the way, the number of concubines is also a matter of status. We need to take care of this in advance...
Interlude 20. "Amakawa Group" (unofficial name), a Mutual Aid Group(OV). Octopus Sea Spirit, Pachi
That's what, and in the most terrible dream, in the most abstract nightmare, Pachi could not imagine that his species could cause a massive "fit of wit" on the part of his nakama. And after all, nothing foreshadowed when the Hawk-nosed artel, consisting of three snouts, sorry, individuals, crashed into the store under the sign "Manga". I must say that the location on the border between the port and work quarters played a role in the selection of the range of printed publications, you know which way. A slight distortion of the central nervous system after taking the Amakawa oath allowed the spirits from the group to learn and memorize information much more effectively. This also affected the speed of reading, and there were not enough books... As the art workers found out, manga is even more interesting! And the hentai manga, taking into account the peculiarities of the physiology of the animal forms of the existing composition of the "group", was almost a direct guide to action! Since both groups included female Yokai, the overall effect was positive: in the process of trial and error, so to speak, two solid cells of society were formed... and one innocent octopus got hurt! The beautiful dark blue color of the animal's skin, multiplied by the moral principles of the spirit, played a cruel joke on poor Patchi. That is, the jokes are from friends. And, believe he, the question about the erogenous properties of suction cups was almost the most harmless! The second mistake of the spirit was the decision to rent a separate room (and take a break from the constant "teasing" at least in the evening) - since there is no more constraint on the means. What prompted the wits to another batch of absolutely indecent creativity! About cami...
So it's not surprising that in the early autumn evening, the octopus strolled along the embankment in proud solitude, admiring the sunset and relaxing from overly cheerful friends, and completely ignored the people around him. The detector doesn't detect magic? Is there no magic? Well, that's fine. Yeah, right now! Spirits have excellent reactions. It's just that Patchi didn't connect with the cry
"Hikari, come o-o-o-o-on!!!", and then it was too late.
Because there was a human girl with light brown hair, about eighteen or twenty years old, hanging on his neck! I must say, there was only half of the classic Japanese appearance in the girl.: red freckles on her cheeks and distinctly green eyes spoke of an admixture of foreign blood, but there was a look... Patchi tried to find a non-material analogue, but did not succeed - the cockroaches in this person's head were clearly an order of magnitude more advanced than the average man in the street! The octopus tried to gently pull away, but it was not there! The girl held on tight and looked extremely happy!
"Hurray! Hikari! I'm finally here! You! I found it!"
"Me?" The spirit asked, lost. Why a human girl should be looking for him, Patchi could not say at all. "There must be some mistake, mistress..."
"Come on! You just forgot me again! Your signature feature, of course, I remember. I still admire how well you do it! And our tax service still believes that for a couple of years you ate only burdocks and dressed in them..."
In this regard, the prototype seemed to be the most reliable object of implementation: parents were dead, there were no friends, a handyman without a fixed place of residence, at least he was able to graduate from school. In principle, according to information unearthed online in both police and medical archives (Hiroe, as always, presented herself as an employer*), Comrade Hikari was definitely a candidate for the Darwin Prize: he had achievements like climbing the outer wall of a school naked at midnight, jumping off a cliff into the sea (in an unknown place at random) and other follies in the same spirit. Apparently, the aggravation passed over time (there was no mention of a period of more than three years), but the award still reached its hero: the corpse of the previous passport holder was found by a group of Corpse Eaters on top of one of the flat hills around the city. The guy managed to spend the night there (why?!), choosing a stone with a crevice as a pillow, where he safely stuck his head in a dream, insensitively pinching both arteries in his neck at once...
"I must have inherited an evil fate along with my name!" Patchi thought, trying hard to figure out how to behave with his "friend" who "recognized" him.
"Okay," octopus finally said, pulling the girl away from him. "I really don't remember you, so please introduce yourself and tell me how you found me."
"Hikari-i... Okay, I'm Haruhi Hirano, and I found you very easily! Here."
The girl held out her phone, where the display showed the standard registration page for public non-profit organizations on the website of the Takamiya City Council, where it read in Japanese in white that "Hikari Goto, deputy head." That's right, such information is open, and Hawk-Nosed, who was given the official leadership of the newly created Squad (well, not in the Rinko!), had to officially register a deputy, who became a responsible and restrained octopus.
"There's only the first and last name, there was a chance to make a mistake," Patchi pointed out reasonably.
"Oh, come on, I'm not mistaken! I turned twenty yesterday, I had to finally get away from the drunken old people! But! I sailed on a river tram! And anyway, why are we standing?! Let's do something fun, I've been waiting for five years to finally be able to see you!" Yokai repeated his boss's favorite gesture.
"...So, let's check if I understood correctly," the handyman spirit rubbed his forehead, "You and I have been friends since high school, but your parents were against a society like me. At the same time, I kept forgetting about you, saying nasty things, doing idiotic things... Uh, "brave male acts" and each time he declared himself either a spider-man, a samurai from an ancient family, or an alien earthworm?!"
"Yeah! It was cool! And you..."
"Stop! Don't go any further, I've already figured it all out. Okay, let's say. You were bored at home, and you ran away on your birthday..."
"I left a note! In the fridge! They'll definitely read it - daddy has to try to find out who ate all the food!"
"You give me a headache."
"Yeah, you've told me that a lot before! Are you remembering already?"
"No!!! And I'm not going to! Understand, I have a new life now, I'm done with the old one... Why are you nodding? Oh, did I say that all the time?! KSO! Okay, I'm calm... I'm calm... Are you sure you're not going to leave me alone?"
"Nope! And anyway, I successfully caught you on the embankment, otherwise I don't have any money at all. I even had to steal some change from one of the guys for the ticket. Daddy didn't give me any pocket money at all..."
"Should I take you to your father?"
"But why? I'll only ruin his reputation further. "I have to marry an adult daughter to a respectable man... but I won't be able to look any respectable person in the eye after they've talked to you for ten minutes." But if you have nowhere to take me, I can sleep in a box on the embankment, like you and I used to do at home. I proved to you then that I can be a "real man, not a slob"!
Patchi groaned naturally. Oh, kami! Without magic, it was difficult for him to understand people's emotions, so he risked taking off his "branded" glasses from Amakawa for just a couple of seconds to look into the girl's eyes and make sure that she was crystal sincere. Octopus really wanted to take the lady to a mental hospital, but after a concise retelling of the events of her life over the past ten years, he cornyly felt sorry for a pretty good girl. Yes, it's weird. Yes, her slightly un-Japanese appearance literally blocked her from communicating with her peers in the not very prosperous neighborhood where their families lived (her and Patchi's predecessor). Actually, Hikari himself was almost the only one who communicated with the girl. There were, however, some other "daddy's brothers," but for the past few years, the father, who practically ordered his daughter to stay at home as if under arrest (and Haruhi, for all her wild nature, was an obedient girl), did not let anyone else go home. I didn't want to repeat what ridiculous and often dangerous "trials" the former Goto, who was also pretty crazy, put his eternal "tail" through. Without a profession, only with a school education (her father rightly did not let her out into the "big world"), without money... What good could have happened to her? After making sure that her only relative would not be looking for the girl - on the contrary, such a development would finally remove the long-standing "curse" from his neck, the octopus rose from his chair with a sigh, paid the bartender and led this misunderstanding in the form of a girl to the dorm: fortunately, he now had his own room. Perhaps I should talk to Amakawa-dono or Kuzaki-dono? Yes, that's what he'll do. And now we need to get to the hostel without losses.
And who are you now? asked the girl pacing next to Pachi, looking into his face and counting off her fingers. You were an alien from a distant galaxy, you were an immigrant from the past, you were a mysterious emigrant from Europe, you even seemed to be a zombie into a human being, then you couldn't bite through the back of my head, even though we both tried.
"Yokai," New Hikari said tiredly, not even trying to hide anything. What for? The truth is pale and unsightly compared to the wondrous grass in his counterpart's head.
"Wow! Probably some kind of powerful spirit like yokai the fox?"
"I'm an octopus!" Pachi was offended.
"Well, well, don't worry so much. Eight is almost nine, isn't it?"
"..."
"Ah-ah-ah! People, look!" Pachi found himself a girlfriend!!! And even a beautiful one! Pachi-ku-u-un! What about your wonderful tentacles, with which you can do almost anything? Is she really better?!"
Pachi led Haruhi, who was listening to the screams behind her, into the room with curiosity, but completely calmly, and without looking at her, he stretched out his other hand behind her back: after all, partial transformation is very easy for his kind. There was a juicy wet slap and fuck's behind his back in three voices - in the morning it will be fun to see how the nakama jerks explain the presence of round bruises in the shape of an octopus sucker in the center of his forehead!
Interlude 21. Management company A-KO Group. Rinko Kuzaki, Executive Director of OV Management.
The office of the OV, the Mutual Assistance Unit, turned out to be a fairly large semicircular metal hangar, which was rented for a ridiculous amount - another redevelopment of the warehouse area clamped the driveway so that every turn of a truck or a long truck risked turning into a multi-hour extraction of the latter almost on their hands. In general, after the third day and a half of downtime, the owner of the warehouse and the territory urgently unloaded the remaining goods and was very happy that the tenant was found at all. Although he filed a complaint with the administration and regularly beat the doorsteps of officials. Yokai, having received a strong point, turned around with all their might: they bought a certain amount of office furniture, fenced off workplaces at one of the "walls" to work with documents (and the Amakawa tracking system, which was not advertised, of course), connected the Internet to them, but electricity, water and sewerage were already there. The second half of the warehouse was separated by a serious partition to the very top and sublet to a newly created Water Resource Concern. Why "Concern"? As Hiroe explained, the primary type of activity for which the main profit will go will not be water and underwater work, but the search and lifting of sunken cargo. The presence of as many as three yokai of the water element (counting Shizuka) hinted at the success of this event. There were only two difficulties, and if the first was to gain a reputation for fulfilling "ordinary" contracts so that their activities would not look "out of thin air," then the second, namely the ability to raise a substantial amount of money from the bottom at the same time, immediately after the first successful operation, would attract the close attention of more or less serious companies and businessmen. In order not to get problems, it is better to immediately lay down the equity principle and invite someone else's capital yourself, again after the first successful rise. Then the sheep will be safe, and the wolves will have to shake up investments to buy a serious special vessel, albeit with a very small displacement. Well, the officials in the city office and the tax office had a lot of fun with the "concern" during registration: with an authorized capital of one computer and two active employees, which only added speed and goodwill.
By the way, the legal entity initially wanted to be called the "Kappa Resource-Mining Concern", as Yu suggested, and even almost adopted the name when Shizuka asked what kind of Kappa it was. And she was offended! They say she has only one head, and if someone in Europe is smart enough to grow heads instead of tails, then she won't give a hand to such spirits. Except maybe from the foot, and right in the face! Any one to choose from. And the Concern remained nameless.
Rinko went inside the spacious room, through the open gate, and with pleasure unloaded a bulky package with a ceramic barrel... What's his name... ah, Rail Gun, and she put a bag next to it with a set of plastic prints for the ammunition supply system and butt elements. Since the girl with the thick-walled ceramic tube looked a little strange, Hiroe recommended that she tie the barrel together with the bokken. Of course, it was impossible to identify the details of the weapon in the set of the young plastic parts lover that Shizuka had brought the day before, as well as in the composite pipe (which, however, was an element for some kind of gas or water pipe with high pressure and high corrosion resistance), but... As Yuto said, strangely grasping and pinching his nose: "Congregation, my dear!"
In general, Kuzaki was somewhat annoyed that the planning of all actions in the commercial and social sphere took place, although with her participation, but as if by her. Shizuka was also "overboard", but she didn't seem to care at all: the role in providing "intelligence for the Amakawa group" that Yuto suddenly dumped on her made the previously calm and measured Mizuchi literally bury herself in the mountain of various materials that were dumped on her in portions at each new meeting by Hiroe and "Commander-in-Chief Amakawa." And the meetings, in turn, went on every second evening, and there was no end in sight. Actually, Rinko asked Yuto why they had to strain so hard, and in response she received an equally incomprehensible "because you shouldn't have been a jackass!" and a link to an article about time management.
It was very "on time"! Taking into account the fact that Rinko has inter-district and then city competitions on his nose, the number of training sessions has increased to 3-4 per week. Fortunately, having won classes in the sports section last academic year, Rinko has improved considerably in the level of mastery of a sports sword. The coach was simply amazing - a girl who started "late" (ten years old, and professionals start at five!) She showed the makings, if not of an international star, then certainly of an athlete at the national level. And he began brainwashing her in every possible way so that she "would never give up training." She wasn't going to. Kendo is interesting! A whole world of fencing schools of its own, unknown and incomprehensible to the uninitiated. Own ratings, rivals for many years to come, and friends with whom you can talk in "your own language."
No, her life right now couldn't be called boring, rather, on the contrary, but it was so nice to find friends and girlfriends outside the school social circle... yes, and to unload my head from all these brainiac plans and works, some of which she "pulled". I wonder how Yuto and the others are coping with the rest, if she already dreams about these "instructions on the work of special forces" and "law enforcement service" at night? Rinko made a circle around the OV office, greeted the respectfully bowing yokai from the Kashi brigade ("Rinko-dono!" Nice to meet you, damn it!) and made sure that the gun barrel wouldn't accidentally get lost in the commotion. After looking at the stacks of "waste paper" that the spirits were unloading from the printing truck, she shrugged and went to look at the "office" garage on the other side of the hangar, remembering along the way how Hiroe explained to her why it was necessary to register the "patrol" in the first place...
...Hiroe Kaname, comfortably sitting on a chair, swinging her leg, aristocratically holding a thin-walled porcelain cup of tea by the handle, explained in detail the "social background" of the events they were preparing:
"Nothing comes out of the void, you know! damn," The girl put down her cup in annoyance and complained: "I said it again!"
Rinko tried not to show any amusement, but apparently it didn't work out - while communicating, the children pretty much adopted some of each other's habits, like Hiroe's moralizing tone when explaining or, at the first inconsistency in opinions, going after "primary sources" on the Internet from Yuto. Mizuchi, on the other hand, "shared" with the company her trademark "impenetrable" indifferent expression and a favorite saying that Hiroe had once blurted out in front of her mother and had been trying to get rid of ever since. So far, without success. In general, the "five bespectacled ones" at school were the number one local attraction, they were even specially shown to the new ones, scaring them with all sorts of deliberately stupid rumors. However, Taizo swore that he himself saw how they scared the new young elementary school teacher, whom the guy on duty that day had to take to the first lesson in an unfamiliar classroom (so that she would not wander through the corridors). They say they are walking in a harmonious group, they speak in such a way that half of the words are generally incomprehensible terms, and they flash their glasses synchronously. In general, I had to run for a cup of water for the teacher who started to stutter...
"..Every company, every organization, every association has its own story. And once this structure becomes known, this story will inevitably surface. According to our plan, the patrol's structure will become known only among "those who need it," but having incorporated into our political platform the principles of protecting the rights and freedoms of not only spirits, but also ordinary people, we cannot ignore the latter. What is unclear?
You said "political platform." What does politics have to do with it? Oh, you asked, friend! Wherever the interests of several people meet, politics appears. It's a quote, you know!* Damn, again! So, are we talking about the patrol, that it is designed to observe mutual observance of the rules, and at the same time we want to play one goal? Then, when we have to "step out of the shadows," we will definitely be asked why people's interests were not actually represented in any way. Or they'll ask some other stupid question, find something to dig into, in short. And they will demand the curtailment of illegal activities, including attributing terrorism to us on a particularly large scale. Rinko, don't turn pale! That's taken into account, and that's why we registered the patrol on Shinji as a Mutual Aid Unit. Firstly, we have legally registered a database where a huge number of people can go without arousing any particular suspicion from either the property owner or the police. Secondly, clauses on real mutual assistance were added to the squad's charter. Actually, according to the "legend", Hawk-Nosed decided to create a squad after looking at the lawlessness in the work and warehouse area. Well, there's no one to bring drunks home, there are constant fights, they sell drugs from under the floor and all that sort of stuff. So he decided to reduce tension in "his environment," and it is clear to the lowest bureaucrat that he will try to put together a larger workers' cooperative from several teams under this verbal tinsel. Moreover, he's "lucky Shinji"!"
Yes, the story of the "lucky" Hawk-nosed was just a hit with the handymen right now! And I have to say thank you to Yu, who asked Shizuka for an antique coin and punched information on it. Cost... it turned out to be, let's say, slightly higher than the value of the not very pure gold that the coin consisted of. A numismatic rarity, and even several at once, sold in one lot... Yu also chose a place where the treasure could be discovered - fortunately, there were very ancient buildings on the site of the "old Takamiya". However, Kashi had to take out a loan for an excavator - only "deep" ones were suitable for work in a suitable area in order to dig a hole three meters deep. Well, then it's a matter of technique: to find a contract... and "find" the treasure. Then Shinji "put down" in his dorm, telling everyone how he was well acquainted with one "keen eccentric" who raised so much money for him at an auction for crazy antiquity lovers, that they paid for the excavator, and there was still left, and now he decided to do a good deed "for all his own"... In general, several familiar people had already signed up for the OV, and the "Hawk-Nosed gang" still had to distribute leaflets and portray a PR company. It is to depict - the number of people initially did not play any role, the main thing is to depict the expected actions... Rinko entered through the door in the gate on the opposite side of the hangar, admired the "lucky" excavator (it had several fresh "relevant" inscriptions on it) and approached the octopus Pachi and an unknown girl next to him. They were loudly and emotionally discussing a ribbon made of red cloth, which was supposed to be worn over the agitator's shoulder: "Join the OV!" was written on it in white hieroglyphs. Take life into your own hands..." and the couple argued over the last word. The choice was made from "proud worker" and "oppressed proletarian."
Interlude 22. The Department of Investigation of Crimes committed or related to occult purposes, as well as ritual or magical acts (also known informally as the "Mystical" Department)
[Todoki Tsuchimikado]
No matter how super-mag you are, you can't beat the bureaucracy! No, no one dared to put a stick in the wheels of a person with SUCH a surname as you! They just politely asked his to fill out another form, write down and certify the transfer of the next case to the archive, make up an explanatory note, and so on ad infinitum. A special touch of masochism to all this paperwork was given by the fact that, for now, the head of the Mystics could stupidly tell everyone to fuck off, and all sorts of archivists, clerks from related departments and other paper riffraff, overgrown with a lump of mold on the paperwork processes in the police system, would silently swallow and somehow sort out all the inconsistencies. He could have... but the "loss of face" due to the same surname will cast a shadow on the clan! The lightest, weightless, imperceptible shadow... but from the shadows, twilight is forming. Dozens of generations have worked to build their reputation, their respect, and everyone knows that Tsuchi ALWAYS keep their promises. And what else but a promise, an official instruction signed upon taking office? So Todoki clenched his teeth, swallowed another long-winded expletive tirade and walked stone-faced to scribble another document.
Yamamoto and Minako, who did not use their last names, cursed loudly, but continued to pull and pull on the strap. Archival boxes of papers (and because electronic media are supposed to be duplicated in hard copy - according to the instructions in triplicate) grew in towers in the common room of the "mystical" department, and then they were personally distributed under the painting (don't let some freak confuse the boxes and leave something instead of the police archive, say, in the city). Minako, small and fragile, also had to help herself with magic, otherwise she couldn't carry three boxes at a time - and at least one bastard offered to help! The bastards stared, gave way, cautiously called the elevator and smiled sympathetically. And they were silent. Japanese employees have their own traditions, and the "revenge" for the disdainful attitude for several years, following the head of the department, poured out on the "barefooted", finally came true. Petty? But it's nice! Minako was so fucked up that she only noticed her aura, which was not bad by the standards of weak-willed "scavengers," when she literally bumped into the committee magician at the door. The girl no longer had the strength to politely apologize, and Sugowarakouji heard something like "I'm sorry, there are all kinds of boor boor boor" in her address...
[Sugowara Kouji]
In response, the Regional Controller was not too lazy to stop and politely bow after the retreating back, apologizing profusely. Nothing will get rid of him, but to drive a malicious grin deeper. The common room of the "mystics" for Sugowara literally "screamed" in the magical range. The half-dismantled security system on the amulets had not yet been turned off, but it had already been compensated, and the resonance waves were hitting the magician's sixth sense. That's apart from the aura power of the almost former department head himself. Is that how they work here? It's impossible to go "deaf", but loss of sensitivity, even short-term, will be very expensive for a magician. Tsuchimikado himself met the guest sitting down, briefly looked from the monitor to his face and back. Even with his strength and clan ability, it was difficult to sit in the midst of the cacophony of magic, but apparently it was even more difficult to break away from the papers.
"Good afternoon," Kouji greeted him very politely, but without fawning, and after waiting for an answer, he put a thick folder with papers on the table from his briefcase. It was so thick that they would have packed it in a box at the post office. "I have brought you, personally, a short list of requests and clarifications for the transferred cases, as well as comments on previous official correspondence..."
Was it heard, or did a barely audible groan come from Tsuchi with a frozen face?
"... as well as a request for the transfer of special items "L-A-507". Here he is."
Todoki studied the request sheet for a couple of seconds, then nodded wearily to himself, locked the computer and invited him to follow him. The security guard assigned to the "mystics" turned out to be on the minus third level of the basement, behind two doors with electronic locks and one protective barrier allowing access to the amulet. The special storage was practically empty - the cabinets were open, showing the absence of contents, and the shelves were pristine. Only the large freezer window, such as every self-respecting supermarket has, was occupied, and by no means with food. A long straight double-edged sword with slightly swollen cutting edges and a two-meter-long partially white, partially melted (but slightly reddish tip was clearly visible) spear.
"Here, take it and own it. I doubt you'll be able to find out more than we can. Ice is ice in Africa, and "L" is just a blade and a spear made of ice."
"Ice is an artifact that is as strong as steel."
"There is no magic in this "artifact". The police expert to whom we took the samples was thawed and tested for chemical composition - just very clean river water. However, you know that without me. Perhaps," Tsuchimikado slightly indicated the irony in his voice, "you can find a Mizuchi or an Ice Maiden capable of such a thing... If the spirit is still wandering around Takamiya."
There was clearly an unspoken "and she's coming to town for you as soon as we get out of here" in the police magician's voice.
Sugowara nodded politely and packed the "object L" into a special container. He already knew everything he needed to know about the "object" from the transmitted reports - he looked at the information on the transferred magical items first. It won't take long to get exposed if you don't track the amulets that the "competitor" transmits. It's a pity he can't check the objects and the room with a scanning spell right now - damn etiquette, the Tsuchi themselves probably use it all the time, and here you sit and wonder what was just handed to you. The police building should also be "licked out", the "mystics" will "accidentally forget" (or really forget in the confusion) some godlessly magical stuff, and the loss of non-Committee civil servants who are at "risk" in advance will greatly damage his reputation and career. It's better not to frame the clan.
That's why the Committee's Controller had to go after each artifact or special item on his own - there was a good chance to deal with the new "toy" immediately after leaving the police department building, and at the same time to prevent the arrogant freaks from mocking his subordinates. Low self-esteem or, God forbid, conflict just before the departure of the Tsuchi squad is the last thing he needs. Well, it was also nice to look at the faces of the proud fuckers who were blown away by the influx of unusual work!
After all, they still caused hemorrhoids. It's okay, another week and they'll finally be out of town. Unfortunately, he would have preferred the "mystics" to stay - now there are literally one and a half to two quiet months, and the problems will start completely different, and there were not so many "bright spots" ahead. In particular, yesterday, the Amakawa boy, about whom he had forgotten a little during all this series of troubles, wrote off that he would open the protection of the estate "within two weeks." I wonder how? However, it was impossible to single out someone for trusted monitoring of events with Yuto-kun right now - the woodpeckers had not all been caught, and it would be difficult to "sew on" an "attempt at violent manipulation" or some other crap in relation to the heir of one of the "old eleven" (although kami sees, he worked honestly here). It's pretty simple. And the clan will definitely not intercede in SUCH a matter. In figs-in figs. It's better to just hope that the boy finds the right blanks. The bet is weak and controversial, but if he plays, half of the problems are negative! In the meantime, the old proven ways remain - to give a couple of more expensive gifts to a slightly familiar head of the inter-regional squad for the suppression of magical manifestations and cleansing at the Committee, so that his fighters would load into the helicopter more quickly in case of a "hot" call, and reconfigure the protection system so that it would stop "shining" into the entire building like a beacon at night...
...What the Social Controller did not know was that, after sending an e-mail with a notification, Amakawa Yuto nodded in satisfaction and waved the escorts to load onto the suburban "dog". An eleven-year-old boy, a girl of the same age with a scythe, two adults with small backpacks and a tent, and another girl with short hair and a wooden bokken, sat in a compact group on the seats and had an animated conversation about something. Tourists who decide to spend a couple of weekends in nature, although in the opinion of another adult it is already too cold to spend the night in a tent for children - it's autumn. But even the most caring Japanese mothers are very reserved and cultured women, so none of the "tourists" heard anything about themselves from fellow travelers. The "Amakawa Inheritance Quest" has begun.