Tokyo Ravens - Volume 14 - Chapter 2.2

Part 2 
Even though the report was received earlier, but the real situation before his eyes is worse than imagined. The aura of the surroundings is still chaotic, one can [see] the traces left by the intense magic battle. Shigeoka Shunsuke stood in front of the main gate with his head held high for some time, a sharp gaze was shot beneath his beret. 
Exorcist Bureau, Shinjuku Branch. 
Last night, this place was attacked by the wanted man, Onmyouji Tsuchimikado Harutora. After destroying the permanent barrier that encapsulates the branch, he invaded the building, and battled against the exorcists that rushed over inside the building, defeating them. Then, just ten minutes before the reinforcements of the Branch and Meguro Branch arrive, he swiftly retreated. Of course, there was no way to track him after that. 
“My deepest apologies, for this to happen when the Independent Officer is not around…” 
“… This could be said as a damage caused because I am not around.” 
He replied calmly to his fearful subordinate, yet his tone unconsciously become imposing. The fact of allowing the terrorist to commit atrocity is placed in front of his eyes, a stabbing pain could be felt in his heart, his usual gloomy face could be seen to be even darker at this moment. 
-- Moreover, the other party is only one person. 
He had heard about the report on the destruction of the dark temple, but the method of attack this time is even more brilliant, this attack did not just rely on brute force, just pulling some small tricks will not cause this extent of damage as well, one can conclude that this surprise attack is done in an extremely bold and skilled way. 
It just… It’s because of this, he can’t help but feel confused. 
-- No. 
The things that needed to be done are piling up, now is not the time to think or standing here. Shigeoka straightened his body once again. 
“Is the garage all right?” 
“Yes. There are no problems with the interior, but because the front is jammed, we have to tidy up if not the towing vehicle cannot access--” 
“I got it.” 
After saying that, he turned his head to look behind. 
There were two towing vehicles that looks out of place with the streets of Shinjuku parked along the road in front of the Branch, there was one more minivan parked behind as well. Shigeoka shouted in that direction... “Open the container doors!” he ordered. 
The man sitting on the assistant driver’s seat of the towing vehicle was surprised, and put his head out of the window. 
“Shi… Shigeoka Independent Officer, are you thinking of activating them right here?” 
“The towing vehicles cannot access, we will let the main body enter first.” 
“But the current state of the system--!” 
“There is no need to worry, since it is named as [General Purpose] Type, it should be flexible enough for this kind of usage. 
He notified with firm determination, the man said… “I can’t stand this.” He retracted his head back into the vehicle, and alighted from the assistant driver’s seat. The man wore his working attire, he seems to brought a walkie-talkie, operating it on his ear using his hand, while giving directions on the small microphone. Next, men from the other towing vehicle and the minivan at the back began to make their way down, and gathered near the towing vehicle. 
Shigeoka pulled up the sleeves of his miasma protection clothes, and activated the stopwatch on his watch. 
After a few seconds, low motor sounds could be heard from the towing vehicles that stopped on the site. 
The side of the towing vehicle is spilt into upper and lower portion, the container door and the top of the vehicle shifted upwards, the side wall shifted downwards, revealing the things that were being transported. What was transported is over two metres in height and width, a large sized machine with a strange shape. Each towing vehicle contains two of such units, totalling of four. “That is…!” The subordinate who came to welcome Shigeoka widened his eyes in surprise, staring at the transported items in the towing vehicles. 
The men in working attire made their way into the containers of the towing vehicle, and began working with the directions given through the walkie-talkie. There was a man that brought down the wires that connects to the machines, there were also men that activated the system, inspecting the information on the screen. 
“All done!” 
That man who alighted from the assistant driver’s seat shouted towards Shigeoka, Shigeoka nodded his head lightly. 
“-- Release magic, [FAR 01], [02], [03], [04], activate.” 
Next moment, the machines that were sleeping were awakened. 
Kada, rumbling noise sounded, the protection armour that that encapsulates the body left their positions, like a flower bud growing outwards. The leg that is fitted with armour started to stretch out. Various joints begin to stretch and lifted up the body. 
The impression that the whole thing gave grew by a fold, but compared to the enlargement of size visually, the feeling of the machine being overweight before, disappeared. Not only that, it gave off a feeling of being as nimble as a living thing. 
The four machines moved steadily using four pairs of legs, and moved on to the road from the towing vehicle. When the machines moved, the whole towing vehicle that transports these machines violently rocked up and down, one can conclude they weigh quite heavy. Yet, these machines have light and flexible movements, totally ignoring their own heavy weight, Shigeoka can feel his subordinate behind him gasped. 
What appeared on the road were of streamlined armour body, with four pairs of straight legs, machines that move on multiple legs. That was a multiple limbs general purpose mechanical type shikigami [FAR.Ver7], developed and created by Fujiwara Industries and Onmyou Agency together, for the sake of testing yesterday, the final adjustments were made at Hachioji Development Department until late night, these are the four of the total eight machines. 
Shigeoka stopped his stopwatch, after confirming the time required for activation, he lightly raised his right eyebrow. 
“… Not a bad performance.” 
Next, he turned towards the man that was on the assistant driver’s seat-- the chief engineer for the [FAR] development, and gave him a nod. The chief engineer grinned and laugh proudly, giving Shigeoka a thumb up. Shigeoka began to control the four [FAR]s, pushing out the small tires that were kept on the front portion of the legs, changing the mode of transport to wheel based. 
The four machines moved together, passing through the main gate before making their way to the garage. The subordinate hurriedly moved aside, but his eyes were following the [FAR] all the way. 
“… Ju… Just like a sci fi movie…” 
“As long as you know how to build one, it is actually not something that impressive, anyways it’s just an expensive kind of mechanical type shikigami.” 
Shigeoka said calmly, while controlling his new shikigamis. 
The [FAR]s he controlling now had the number [01] to [04] printed on their respective armours, these are the number one to number four units of the total eight, the remaining four are said to be delivered by noon, however, looking at the situation of the branch now, the timing might drag till night time. They are on a very tight schedule, after all, tomorrow is the deadline itself. 
“The remaining checks will be done by the engineers of Fujiwara Industries, please comply to their wishes as much as possible. With the branch now in such a state, surely there will be more procedures to follow before official activation, we must quickly reformulate our schedule.” 
“Yes.” 
The subordinate straightened his body, after giving a bow to Shigeoka, he started running towards the chief engineer. 
Shigeoka sent him off by watching him from the side, then he made his way into the building. 
“Ask someone to help me lead the way, I want to know the extent of damage here.” 
He brought along with him an exorcist that stayed in the branch since the day before, and quickly inspected the whole interior of the building.” 
Luckily there weren’t major casualties, not only nobody died, there was not a person with heavy injuries either. It’s just that this kind of conclusion can be said the attacker showed mercy on purpose, one can see the difference of battle prowess between the two parties is quite significant. Even though many teams here were trained in exorcising spiritual disaster before mobilising, but just an Onmyouji bringing along one shikigami, spending just a night to fully invade one of the branches of the Exorcist Bureau, this situation really show the abilities of Tsuchimikado Harutora were indeed great. 
The damage towards people were not serious, however, facilities were heavily damaged, especially the barriers set ups inside and outside were completely eradicated. 
“… Truly a complete destruction, even the barrier of the Document Room was destroyed without exception.” 
“Yes. It is unknown if this was done to prevent the creation of a blind angle, not just the barrier outside, the barriers inside the building seemed to be completely destroyed as well.” 
The Shinjuku branch met with an intrusion from an enemy Onmyouji a few days ago as well, the intruder was an Onmyouji with the nickname of [D] given by the Magic Investigation Department— Ashiya Doman. It was because Miyachi used a long-distance spell that time, he temporarily removed the permanent barrier that encapsulates the whole Branch, it resulted in the barrier not being damaged, however, this time it was destroyed by Tsuchimikado Harutora. 
What’s more, he did not just destroy the outer barrier, even the barriers in the building— Magic Tools Safekeeping Room, Document Room or other offices with their own individual barriers, were all either released or destroyed. 
“Is the enemy targeting magic tools or equipment?” 
“… To attack the Branch just for magic tool or equipment, isn’t it too excessive?” 
“Could it be that the enemy is targeting the [FAR]? Tsuchimikado Harutora had three units of Armoured Juggernauts, it could be that he knew of the existence of [FAR], and view that those things will hinder his launch of terror attacks.” 
“If that is true, there is no need for him to destroy every single barrier inside the building.” 
Shigeoka rejected his subordinate’s views, but what is the true intention of the enemy, he himself could not guess as well. 
-- This is indeed a bold and brilliant surprise attack, but there is… no [meaning]. 
The Shinjuku Branch was heavily damaged, but it wasn’t completely destroyed. Work operations became poor, but the most important part of the Branch— the job of exorcising spiritual disasters seems to not be affected at all. However, this is also natural, the most important resource of the Exorcist Bureau are the exorcists, as long as they can be mobilised, the Shinjuku Branch will be able to fulfil the Branch’s most basic duties. Looking from the tactics used, Tsuchimikado Harutora had indeed launched a spectacular surprise attack, it’s just not being able to find out the strategic [value] behind it. If there was no strategic value behind, no matter how great of results achieved in terms of tactics will be meaningless. 
Anyway, it’s hard to imagine he would attack the Branch for no reason, what kind of strategic value did he exactly formulate? 
-- According to the report, Tsuchimikado Harutora moved around the building, and he completely destroyed the interior barriers, could it be… 
He was looking for something? 
Or is it, he was looking for a person? 
-- After thinking so hard, there is still no way to break away from speculating. 
Assuming Tsuchimikado Harutora is looking for someone in the Onmyou Agency, it is most likely he will look for the Tsuchimikado Family that were arrested in Kichijoji. They are currently handled by Kurahashi Chief, their locations and the things they are doing now, Shigeoka had no idea. Since the chief had no intention of granting him this piece of information, any speculation will just be futile. 
Regarding Tsuchimikado Harutora’s intention is the same as well. If there is a way to know the other party’s true intention, it will greatly help in having a direction when formulating strategies and counter tactic methods. 
However, [finding] his true intention is the job of the Magic Investigation Department, not Shigeoka. 
Right now, Shigeoka only need to concentrate in reorganising the Branch, and begin preparations for the next day. Since the exorcists were not injured or dead, there is no need for any significant changes to the battle plan. 
-- I am just an exorcist that’s all. 
To be in a position of authority, delivering tasks, all he need to do is to fulfil his duties. As a [Twelve Divine General]— wrong, as a Onmyouji, this is Shigeoka’s [job], this conviction has never been shaken before. 
Never been shaken before— ideally it should be like this. 
“—Shi… Shigeoka Independent Officer!” 
After completing most of the inspection on the damage condition of the building interior, a few staff members rushed towards Shigeoka’s side. 
Shigeoka’s expression reactively become stern. 
“What is it?” 
As he asked, his consciousness flew towards the [FAR]s in the garage. Spiritual disasters rarely happen during this time period, but the situation now is special, anything can happen anytime is not be strange at all. To tackle any kinds of emergencies immediately— Shigeoka had this kind of obligation. 
Yet, what shook Shigeoka this time was an attack which he could not have imagined. 
The staffs rushed along the corridor panting, once standing in front of Shigeoka, they looked at each other, not knowing how to explain. 
One of the staff lowered his voice, “Ac... Actually…” he began to whisper beside Shigeoka’s ear. 
Shigeoka was puzzled as he listened to the staff. After hearing, his expression changed to that of surprise and anger. 
“… Utter nonsense… even it is from the internet, surely the other party would know how tense the situation is right now? And this kind of news came from a big publishing company? 
“Yes, it’s from the [Onmyou Monthly Magazine] website.” 
“Any directive from the main branch?” 
“Not yet so far, because this content is published just recently.” 
“Is that so… Instead of dealing with this rumour right now, it is cleverer to just ignore the other party, there is no need to waste resources on this kind of stupid stuff.” 
He said in a scolding tone, he furrowed his brows, making his eccentric look to become even more malicious looking. 
Shigeoka took pride in his work, he took meaning in life to deliver tasks that were successfully completed. Because of this, from his bottom of his heart, he disdains worthless people that speak such irresponsible words of defamation as a method of sabotaging others, especially when such things will hinder his job. 
-- Doing such things for the sake of creating debate? Too irrational. 
Even though they should punish the publishing company severely, but the most important thing right now is the day when terrorist attack will be launched is nearing. This is the job of the Exorcist Bureau, everyone had the same level of mind as well. 
They cannot afford to spare their attention to other matters. 
“There is no need to specially report to me on this kind of baseless rumours, besides, now is still working hours, all of you are to return to your positions now.” 
Shigeoka ordered them angrily, yet none of the staff left. 
“This… This matter cannot be regarded as completely baseless, in fact…” 
The staff seem to fear the eyes and ears of the surroundings, he started to whisper beside Shigeoka once again. 
Shigeoka’s expression changed suddenly. 

“What did you say?” 
He cannot help but exclaimed, his mind was in shock. Next, he was flustered by the fact that he panicked, and meaninglessly readjusted his hat. To the Shigeoka who always kept his cool on purpose, this is a very rare reaction. 
He silently gritted his teeth, the rest of the staff held their breath and concentrated on observing the Independent Officer’s reaction. 
“… All right, let me take a look at the website.” 
Shigeoka spoke towards the staffs, he then followed behind them through the corridor. 
 
The call did not go through. 
The message of asking to leave a voicemail came through the mobile phone, however, Yuge had already left a voicemail on the other party’s mobile earlier. She could only end the call helplessly. 
“… I cannot stand this. Always during this kind of important times, that moustache guy…!” 
The main branch of Exorcist Bureau. Yuge is alone in the conference room. She finally managed to find a time slot to leave her job for a short while, she rushed into the room the moment she found it empty. 
The time now is 11am. Spiritual disasters normally occur during timings from evenings till midnight, in other words, from to Omagatoki till Ushimitsudoki [10] , the amount will drop sharply once daybreak comes, this is why to the exorcists, this timing is the time for them to have an easier chance to take a breather. In order to prevent spiritual disaster terrorist attacks, Yuge is on a special roster now, resulting in her living in the main branch for consecutive days. If it was the usual days, she would be resting right now. 
However, her subordinate woke her up today. After reading a certain news, she realised that now isn’t the time for her to be sleeping. 
The [Onmyouji Monthly Magazine] Editorial Department has put up an article to expose the Onmyou Agency on their official website, the contents indicate that the previous two occurrences of spiritual disaster terror attacks, even the forewarned spiritual disaster terror attack that will be launched by the Twin Horn Syndicate the next day, the true mastermind behind all these is the current chief of Onmyou Agency, Kurahashi Genji. 
The report emphasised the relationship between Kurahashi Genji and the current ruling party member of parliament, Satake Masumi, as well. Regarding the history behind the establishment of the Lingering Spirit Division of the Imperial Household Agency, the creation of the underground organisation Twin Horn Syndicate, and how the two of them used each other, gaining power till this day, every detail was described realistically. Normally speaking, there was no need to care about such reports, to the point where one would suspect if the person who wrote this report had gone mad. 
However, professional magazine such as [Onmouji Monthly Magazine] which boast a reputation of being the most traditional, as well as reporting accurate content that gave themselves good ratings. They had many loyal readers, Yuge herself had bought a few copies before to read as well. Even though it’s on the internet, for [Onmyouji Monthly Magazine] to publish such absurd article, surely problems are created— and is [serious problems] with reporting, she couldn’t believe it for a moment. Her subordinate who is knowledgeable about the internet investigated, reported that there were readers who suspect if the website had been hijacked by hackers. 
Yet, because of that article, the Exorcist Bureau now— wrong, it’s all the employees of Onmyou Agency that are panicking to the extreme. The main reason is because, other than the article itself, a short video was uploaded as well. 
An old man sitting in a wheelchair, revealing the crimes of the Onmyou Agency while facing the video camera. 
That was the long missing former Magical Crime Investigation Division Chief, National First-Class Onmyouji, nicknamed [The Divine Fan], Amami Daizen. 
The feeling of shakiness and confusion after viewing the video for the first time had not disappeared, this feeling should be what people described as speechless isn’t it. Under her feet felt like the sky falling and the earth splits. If this is a Second-Grade, this will definitely be the largest scale Second-Grade magic Yuge has experienced in her entire life. 
-- This video doesn’t seem to be fabricated… yet… why? 
The disappearance of Amami was during two years ago during the middle of operation to wipe out Twin Horn Syndicate— to be accurate, it was on that [night]. On that day, other than a magic battle breaking out with the remaining members of the Twin Horn Syndicate, there was an exorcism of a level four spiritual disaster at Meguro Branch, it was a truly chaotic day for everyone. By evening, everything concluded, Onmyou Agency and Exorcist Bureau were busy with the aftermath, it was in the midst of this chaos, Amami [disappeared]. 
In fact, for the second in command to disappear suddenly, was quite a huge blow for the Onmyou Agency. To be able to overcome that difficult situation, it was fortunate that Kurahashi Chief personally appeared on site, directly carried the duty of command. From then on, Kurahashi not only held the positions of Chief of Onmyou Agency, Chief of Exorcist Bureau, he even holds the current position of the Chief of Magic Investigation Department. 
-- After the disappearance of Amami Chief, all the power of Onmyou Agency indeed concentrated on the hands of Kurahashi. But even so…! 
The Amami who appeared in the video is way thinner from the Amami from Yuge’s memories, the appearance of him on the wheelchair pains people watching. But the most eye-catching part is the X shaped scar that is on his forehead— that perhaps is a seal. 
That seal was the exact same ones on the foreheads of Kagami Reiji and Dairenji Suzuka who escaped from the Onmyou Agency a few days ago, it is a seal that seals magic powers, a magic technique used mainly to limit or completely rob a magic user from his or her powers. 
The one who placed the seal on Kagami and Suzuka was none other than Kurahashi Chief. In order to not let the person with the seal placed on to have any ways of removing it— it is designed to not even allow a National First-Class Onmyouji to remove it themselves, it is an extremely complicated and difficult technique. From what Yuge knows, there is only one Onmyouji who knows this technique, and it is Kurahashi Chief. 
If it is a simple technique, other Onmyouji are able to perform something of similar as well. Moreover, just from the video on the internet alone, it is difficult to judge if the mark on the forehead is a real seal. The video should be nonfabricated, but it could also be that a shikigami made from a simple technique to look like Amami before filming. 
-- But… if this video is faked through the use of the simple technique, why would the user of the technique would specially place the seal on the forehead? 
The seal on Amami’s forehead looks rather [convincing], as long as one is familiar with magic—especially the upper echelons of Onmyou Agency, they are able to feel the realness of the seal, it applies to that weak appearance and the wheelchair as well. If there are not much changes to his looks compared to before his disappearance, that will then make people strongly suspect if it is created by simple techniques. 
Another thing, it could be that the person in the video is Amami himself, but being controlled by someone— thinking from the current situation, the person most likely is Tsuchimikado Harutora. 
However, this inference has one contradiction. Tsuchimikado Harutora awakened as Yakou’s reincarnation, was [after] Amami’s disappearance. Of course, if Amami went into hiding of his own will and made contact with Tsuchimikado Harutora after that, it would solve the contradiction, it’s just this thinking seems to be too forced to be true. 
-- Moreover, Amami Chief doesn’t look like he was asked to do this. 
Amami on the wheelchair, with an appearance that pains people obviously had weakened quite a bit, but the sharp gaze from his eyes when looking at the video camera, it is no doubt it’s from one of the important figures of the [Twelve Divine Generals], Amami of [The Divine Fan]. 
His eyes emit a strong sense of determination and a sharp sense of rationality, really doesn’t look like he was under any influence, and it doesn’t look like a simple technique could bring out such feelings of realness. These were the first thoughts of Yuge after watching the video. 
This way, there are only two possibilities left now. 
One is that Amami was a member of the Twin Horn Syndicate and had betrayed the Onmyou Agency. 
The other will be… Amami was speaking the truth entirely. 
Yuge looked at her phone that is gripped on her right hand as if looking for help. 
She ordered her subordinates to not be disarrayed, not to believe this kind of baseless talks, and focus on their work in front of them. Luckily— this doesn’t sound fair, but so far only Amami’s statement support the article. Even if the person in the video is Amami himself, there is no way to prove that Kurahashi indeed committed those crimes mentioned. 
Even so, they cannot treat this issue lightly. As long as the upper management do not come out with a clear statement to refute this kind of saying, there will be surely a widespread panic on the ground. In addition, the response from the upper management must be fast, because the day when the forewarned spiritual disaster terrorist attack will be launched is tomorrow. 
“Please pick up the phone, commander...!” 
The person she just called is her superior Miyachi. No one picked up her call, her phone had recorded nearly ten lines of [Moustache] on it. 
-- Could it be that he is dealing with the matter regarding the video? For this kind of video to surface, and to not care about his subordinates and not picking up the phone, what is he doing…? 
If she got angry with Miyachi’s laid-back attitude it’s still considered okay, but just from watching Amami’s video, Yuge’s spirits has reached levels of extreme. Even without the video, she had tightened her nerves to do everything to prevent terror attacks, her workload has piled up as well. Last night, Shinjuku Branch was reported to be surprise attacked from the person who forewarned the launch of spiritual disaster terrorist attack, Tsuchimikado Harutora. In the afternoon, she was scheduled to rush over for emergency repairs of the permanent barrier that was destroyed from the surprise attack. 
“… That’s right, at least we cannot disregard Tsuchimikado Harutora’s actions…” 
Amami impeached Kurahashi Chief, but he doesn’t seem to be working together with Tsuchimikado Harutora. The true intentions of Tsuchimikado Harutora is still a mystery, right now the most important thing is to look at the fact that he attacked the Branch, and focus on bringing him to justice. 
Regrettably, this is not a simple case. If what Amami said were true, continue following the orders of the higher ups will result in an irreversible end. 
“If I could contact Kogure-Senpai…” 
If there is somebody to discuss, she could have been calmer regarding this matter, at least she could have escape from the current situation of continuously making guesses. It is especially this kind of situation, Kogure can be considered a very reliable senior. 
However, ever since Kogure was transferred to Magic Investigation Department, the two of them did not contact each other anymore. Compared to Yuge, Kogure had a more intimate relationship with Amami, she wondered what he would think after he watched the video. 
-- There were rumours saying that the magic battle two days ago was related to Kogure-senpai… 
She doesn’t know. She always feels when she is at a place where she is not familiar, a place where she cannot see, there will be a lot of things disturbing. She had a kind of feeling as if she was forsaken at the same place, panicking. Almost subconsciously, she intended to make a call once again. 
It was before she pressed the call button on the phone, a call came. 
-- Commander? 
Initially her whole face lit up, but after looking at the caller’s name on the phone, disappointment and uncertainty appeared in her mind. She did not expect that person to call. 
Kadei Byakuran, one of the two currently remaining Special Spirit Sensor, the elder sister of the twins from the Onmyoudou Noble House of Kadei. 
Yuge unknowingly straightened her face. As a colleague who works together in the Exorcist Bureau, Yuge is quite familiar with the twins. Not just being familiar, the relationship between the three of them can be considered intimate. Not knowing why—Yuge is younger in terms of age—the two of them treated her well, often inviting her to join them for lunch in a spur of moment. It’s just, to call Yuge at this timing, it is very hard to imagine that she is calling to invite her to join them for a meal. 
… No, that twins are capable of anything, but surely, they must had watched the video before making this call. 
-- What should I do? 
Yuge doesn’t dislike the twins, and she is impressed with their exceptional abilities of Spirit Sight. As for their ignorance of worldly affairs, after she got used to it, she began to like their innocence. Moreover, their workloads are heavier than Yuge’s, yet they did not hold a grudge or even complain before, their serious attitude towards work had gained respect from Yuge as well. No matter good or bad, the two of them are truly [rich family’s girls], more accurately, [rich family’s girls with unswerving determination]. 
However, if they are going to ask for an explanation regarding that video, she have no answers for them. If it’s others, she could give a half-hearted explanation, but she doesn’t think the twins would accept her reasonings. 
“……” 
Yuge looked at her phone, in her heart, she felt like avoiding them. 
Yet, the feeling of wanting to discussing this with someone of similar stand became stronger, it could be that the twins had the same feelings as well. They may have felt insecure after watching the video and wish to look for someone to talk about it. 
Yuge shook off her hesitation, and took a deep breath. 
After pressing the receive call button, “Hello.” She started speaking on the phone. 
“Mari? Something bad happened, something truly bad happened. Are you free now? Ah! It’s me, I’m Byakuran.” 
The familiar voice of Byakuran could be heard from the phone, it is hard to know from her tone if she is panicking. Even this kind of moment she is still the same, Yuge felt a sense of relief while listening to her now. 
“Everything will be fine, Byakuran, are you referring to the video?” 
“Video? What video? What are you talking about?” 
Yuge couldn’t help but stunned. After a few seconds of silence, her mind restarted, “… Err, that… Wh… What?” But she really did not know how she should continue saying. 
“Mari? Hello? What video are you talking about?” 
“I thought you were saying [something bad happened]--” 
“Eh? Ah, yes, that’s right, something bad happened, can I talk to you about this?” 
“Isn’t what you wish to discuss related to the video?” 
“Video? From the start, I haven’t been understanding anything that you are saying.” 
The conversation between the two is as incongruous as the mouth of a horse on the head of an ox, but to reach this situation, the fault lies with Yuge. She started communicating with the other party with her own assumptions, to put it simply the two of them— 
“That… Byakuran, could it be that you haven’t seen that video?” 
After she did this confirmation, Byakuran seemed to be slightly angry, “Really.” She began speaking in a huff. 
“Didn’t I say that I do not know what video you are talking about? How could I have seen something that I have no knowledge of, I can’t figure out what you are talking about.” 
“Oh… I understand, I was too anxious, I’m sorry.” 
Yuge could not help but dumbfounded, she apologised to the other party. 
Yuge felt that she got driven crazy, but it is also because of this, the insecurity she felt just now disappeared without a trace. The tensed expression she had ever since she watched the video returned to normal, even though nothing has been solved yet, but her mood has relaxed slightly. 
Luckily, she picked up this call. As she is feeling happy for herself, “So you were saying-- Byakuran? What is the bad happening that you are talking about? Do you have something to discuss with me?” While she recalls the chicken and duck talk before, she renews her question to the other party about her intention of calling her. “Yes.” Byakuran quickly changed her tone back to before, spoke with excitement. 
“This matter is very serious, actually just now--” 
After speaking halfway, “Onee-san.” Another person’s voice could be heard behind Byakuran, interrupting her. 
That is the younger sister of the twins, Kurogiku, her voice is slightly further away from her sister’s, “I forgot about it.” Yuge could hear Byakuran’s voice as she replies her sister. 
“Mari, can we discuss this after we meet?” 
“Can’t we talk about it over the phone?” 
“Yes. Not over the phone.” 
Byakuran said firmly. 
Hesitation flashed into Yuge, “No problem.” Yet, she replied back quickly. Yuge thought to herself, since she had already mentioned about the video, she would like to hear about their thoughts as well, compared to the phone, she prefers meet ups. 
It’s a pity she is very busy currently, she had to make a trip to Shinjuku Branch later on, there is no way to meet them immediately. 
-- Oh yes, I remember Shigeoka-senpai had returned from Hachioji today… At least I can discuss this matter with him when I’m at Shinjuku later. 
It will be best I discuss with him before discussing with the twins. 
“I am busy right now. Can I contact you again once I’m free?” 
“Sure, no problem, this way it will be convenient for us as well. I shall wait for your call then, you mustn’t forget okay.” 
Yuge forced a smile after hearing that childlike tone, replying a yes while giving a nod. After ending the call, she let out a big sigh. 
-- Alright, I shall stop thinking so hard alone, the most important thing right now is to focus on the work on hand. 
Pa. she used both her palms and clapped her face, refreshing herself, she then exit the conference room and return to work.