Sequence 4

As they turned onto a short road, Shuji at once saw the GUARDIAN base. It always upheld the same basic pattern. Just distinct enough to the trained eye, but just normal enough to blend in.

Nearest the street, with a small parking lot, sat an office building. The size of the office building really didn’t matter. But it was always there as a wall between the real world and GUARDIAN. Behind the office building was always the apartment buildings. In this case, there were two which made a disjointed “U” shape with the office building that opened up to the edge of the water.

“Guess I’ll be smelling seawater while I’m here.”

As Umeki turned into the mostly empty parking lot, she raised her eyebrows. “You get used to it. The ocean’s kinda relaxing. And it’s always there if you want a swim,” she joked.

He turned to her with the slightest look of annoyance. “Do I look like I swim?”

After hurriedly parking, Umeki turned to face him with her usual smile. “Maybe you should try it. What wrong Yotogi-san, don’t know how? It’s really easy to teach you, don’t worry. We just throw you in and if you don’t start kicking, someone gets a promotion. I mean, it obviously isn’t that hard to find Lancers.”

“Do you ever stop talking?”

“Nope.”

“Well, perhaps you sh-.”

“Hush you,” she said, quickly placing her hand over his mouth and squeezing. There was no escape from this grip. “You need to meet with the Captain of the Vanguard. Walk into the office building and ask for Intoku-taicho, the receptionist will guide you from there. He should be expecting you. I’ll handle your stuff and take the car to the garage, okay?” With her instructions finished, she released her grip on his face.

“Stop doing that.”

“Never.”

“What if I don’t want you handling my things?”

“Too bad.”

Shuji went to grab for his bag in the back seat but was met with a swift swat on the hand by Umeki. He looked to her to protest, only to be met with the usual smile. “You’re already four minutes late, you should hurry.”

Seeing the futility in his quest, he let out a groan and exited the car. If he had the time to kill, he would’ve stayed to mock Umeki try to put the car in gear and back away. But luxuries were scarce today.

He walked briskly on the small sidewalk to the building. In that short period, he mentally prepared himself for meeting his superior. The Captain of the Vanguard for any given branch was typically the most powerful individual there. Regardless of how they presented themselves, they were never to be taken lightly.

He wondered if the Captain had been the one to select him for Lancer as he opened the door. Upon opening it, he got smacked by a strong waft of air conditioning. Why was it so strong? It wasn’t that hot out. These thoughts just wasted time. He crossed the humble lobby of the building to get within proper conversation distance of the rather plain-looking receptionist. “Yotogi Shuji. Here to see Intoku-taicho.”

The receptionist didn’t turn her head to acknowledge him. Her eyes stayed fixed on her computer screen. “Intoku-san is expecting you. Straight up the stairs to the second floor, first door on your right. Go right in.”

Shuji got a little annoyed at her dismissive attitude; she was only a receptionist. But, it wasn’t his place to reprimand her…yet. “Thank you.” No response. He went on his way in silence.

He followed her directions in continued silence until he arrived outside the door of his new captain. The door was closed so he could not see this man, but a small sign the door ensured him he was in the right place. Shuji raised his left arm and knocked once.

“Ah, Yotogi-san, I’ve been expecting you. Come on in.”

Without a word, he complied. As Shuji opened the door, he took a tentative step in as he took in his captain’s office. Upon entering the room, Shuji first noticed the man behind the desk: Intoku Rei.

The man, on the whole, was unremarkable. Shuji guessed he was in his early fifties based on the slight gray in his short triangular beard. He seemed only of average fitness for his age. As he remained seated, it could only be assumed he stood at around average height. His aged face showed no unusual wear. But, the eyes that rested on the face of this unremarkable man were truly remarkable.

This set of green eyes seemed to be deeper than any eyes should ever be. Their color was the faintest tint Shuji had ever seen. For whatever reason, this was…intimidating to no end. This very slight coloration seemed to make one lost. It was as if Intoku wasn’t looking at your appearance; it was as if he was staring into your very soul. All the secrets that you wanted to be kept were his without trying. Every dream, aspiration, hope, or fear were as easy to read as any text. Shuji was terrified, and he killed Oni for a living.

To make matters worse, he had no idea why. Why should the eyes of his superior terrify him? He had done nothing wrong here that would embarrass him. Unless...what did this man know? Shuji cleared his mind. He focused on the anxieties of moving and working in a new place.

“Yotogi-san, please sit down,” Intoku spoke politely. His voice broke Shuji from his fear if only a moment. No. The Captain had closed his eyes.

“Th-thank you Intoku-taicho,” he stumbled out as he crossed the unassuming office filled with small trinkets that were probably made to make one more comfortable. But, it was to no avail. Shuji awkwardly pulled out a comfortable looking chair and then settled into it as best he could. He was no longer worried, but he was not at ease. What was it about Intoku’s eyes that put him so on edge? What had that man seen?

“Sorry about that,” Intoku spoke. He kept his eyes shut. It was a little rude. Wasn’t eye contact supposed to be the standard in civilized interaction? It was especially vital for first impressions. So why did Intoku-taicho close his eyes so soon into their meeting?

“You might be wondering why I shut my eyes.” Shuji was about to open his mouth to make up an excuse, but decided to keep silent. He wanted to hear this. “Don’t get upset. I’m no mind reader. I’ve just gotten good at reading people’s emotions without my eyes. You see,” he spoke, rocking back in his chair. “My contract powers manifest themselves through my eyes. I could see you practically squirming when you tried to meet my gaze. That’s not uncommon. The feeling takes getting used to.”

Well, at least he wasn’t a mind reader. As Intoku spoke, Shuji still felt uncomfortable. What the hell was he supposed to be looking at if Intoku kept his eyes shut? He wasn’t even a huge fan of eye contact. But, even he would admit it was preferable to this. His desk. Shuji decided that he would stare at Intoku’s desk instead of his eyes. The top contained sparse paper-work and a few papers that appeared to just be doodles. When did Captains have time for such nonsense? What did he actually do?

“So, if you don’t mind Yotogi-san,” Intoku-taicho started calmly.

“Yotogi-kun is fine, Intoku-taicho,” Shuji spat quickly. He hated being referred to so stiffly by superiors. It felt so...insincere. It was almost as if they were placating him.

“Oh, well alright then Yotogi-kun. So, if my eyes being closed doesn’t bother you, we can continue. Firstly, I’d like for you to tell me a bit about your contract and its manifestations.”

“Well, what would you like to know that wasn’t in my file?” Intoku only responded with a small frown.

“Your file didn’t include anything about you aside from the bare minimum in physical description and your mission record. Your last superior did go out of her way to note your scowl,” he added with a small chuckle.

Shuji didn’t see what was so funny.

“Let me just ask you this much,” Intoku began as he leaned in from his chair to rest his elbows on his desk. He then interlocked his fingers and rested his head on his hands. This still looked quite creepy without his eyes being open. “Is your spirit in the current library? It seems like more and more spirits keep popping up and it’s almost impossible to keep track of them all. But, I might get lucky. So tell me, are they old enough to be in the library?”

As Shuji thought of his contracted spirit, he shuddered a bit. The less he had to think about that inconvenience the better. But if Intoku was asking, then he would have to at least try to recall her age. Just how old was she exactly? He remembered her aging, but appearance was a simple thing for spirits to manipulate. Wait, he remembered being told that she had been tied to his family for eight generations. Sometimes the ranting of old men could be useful.

“She should be. I’ve been told she’s been tied to my family for eight generations.”

“Ahhhhh, eight generations you say? Let’s see…your clan was Yotogi right?”

“Yes, Intoku-taicho.”

“Oh, well it has to be Haishutsu Megami then?” Shuji’s eyes widened with surprise as the captain correctly guessed the name of his spirit. How?

“Y-Yes. How did you know that?”

“Oh well, it’s simple. I memorized the last library from the census. Haishutsu Megami…the Emission Goddess. A bit of a pompous name if you ask me. So, as the name suggests I’m assuming she allows you to emit energy from your weapon.”

He had stopped listening after Intoku said he memorized the entire last library. There must be thousands upon thousands of spirits logged in the last census. How could anyone remember them all? How could anyone man possibly remember all the spirits and their powers? That was…that was impossible.

“I’m a bit fuzzy. Which number host are you? Third?”

“I’m fourth. My great-uncle was the third.”

“Oh? Well, I guess they should update the census more often. What weapon manifest did you obtain?”

“A switchblade.”

“That’s oddly modern,” Intoku said as he began blindly digging through his desk.

“I certainly thought so. But I was quite young when I forged the contract. So it didn’t seem that out of the ordinary for me,” he replied absently. Typically when he began discussing things that far back, Shuji turned his brain off. It was a regurgitation he had to go through often.

“Well, regardless, I see you’re quite adept at using whatever tools that goddess of yours gave you. Your track record is pretty impressive. When my First Lieutenant recommended you, I approved pretty quickly.”

So it wasn’t Intoku that chose him after all. Shuji didn’t know if that was a letdown or not. Either way, getting recommended by a First Lieutenant was still nothing to scoff at. “Yotogi-kun, that was about all I needed for our first meeting. Do you have any questions?”

“Just one Intoku-taicho. Where can I get information on my Lance Corporal? None was sent to me.”

Intoku-taicho furrowed his brow. “What do you mean? I sent her to pick you up.”

Shuji’s face dropped quickly. Umeki? Umeki Yumiko was his Lance Corporal?! He didn’t have a weak stomach, but he felt like he was about to vomit. The thought of dragging her along in missions made him physically ill.

His illness would have to wait. A phone ring alerted him that his problems were suddenly not the topic of the room. Keeping his eyes closed, Intoku grabbed the phone from the hanger and placed it to his ear. For a moment, there was silence in the room.

“Alright, thank you. I’ll get someone right on that. Okay. Bye.” There was a soft click as he set down the phone. “Well, good news Yotogi-kun. You’ll get to showcase your skills immediately. A kilometer southeast there’s been an Oni arising. You and Umeki-chan will go deal with that as soon as you leave here.” Shuji was about to protest but couldn’t come up with a good enough reason to deny the mission. Besides, he’d like to take out his frustration over the upsetting news he’d just heard.

“Yotogi-kun, I believe Umeki-san is waiting outside the office. It’s time for you to get going.”

Shuji turned to the door that had been closed for the entirety of their meeting. How could he tell if anything was beyond this door? “I could hear her coming up the stairs, in case you were wondering,” Intoku chimed in. “Now, you should probably get a move on. Oni won’t slay themselves.”

With their business concluded, Shuji stood up and walked to the door reluctantly. He was not looking forward to fighting alongside Umeki. But, life was full of things you didn’t look forward to.