Here's the Sitch

“SO. HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THE RED THREAD?” Ryuuji asked the golden question. Romantic misadventures were well and good, but as fate would have it, there were more pressing matters at hand.

“We’ll start by meeting with Akiko-chan,” replied Hotaru. “She’s been gathering intelligence for me; she should have a report ready about the Obon Festival.”

“Who is she?” asked Akari.

“Yura Akiko, another Kotodama user. She’s my former boss from the Institute of Divine Phenomena back in the day; we did research together.”

“I’m surprised you stayed in touch,” said Ryuuji. “The Red Thread knows you’re alive, and old friends would be the first people of interest for questioning.”

“I know. She was questioned, but I hadn’t made contact with her yet. I reached out two years ago and we’ve been careful not to get caught.”

“That can’t be easy. Last I heard, she still works in the Institute with the old guy.”

“Yes, Director Mito Hajime. He’s an enemy.”

“Is he with the Red Thread?”

“Yup. He’s the one who made the technology to counter my magic; you saw it the other day. On paper, it’s meant to prevent another disaster like the one I caused during the Miasma Incident. But in truth, it was developed to capture me.”

“But what do they want with you?” asked Akari.

“My power, of course. If they managed to enslave me, they would be able to seize control of the country and rule from the shadows. I would only need to say a word, and they’d have all the cursed energy they ever dreamed of.”

Akari and Ryuuji shuddered at the thought. Hotaru’s gift was so potent that she could lay waste to the country if she wished to, and the only thing stopping her was her good conscience. But if she were to be corrupted again, or forced to act against her will…

“That will never happen,” said Ryuuji, putting the thought to rest. Not so long as he lived, it wouldn’t. Hotaru knew his resolve, and smiled at him with a tinge of guilt.

“Anyway, I already sent Akiko-chan a message. She should answer soon.”

“What, by phone?” asked Akari, worried about getting traced.

“No, it’s by paper. And I’m not joking; we use a teleportation box. It can only be operated with Kotodama, and no one else knows the encryption. It’s safe.”

“I see. Then we’ll just have to wait for her,” said Akari, munching her last cookie.

“In the meantime, I have something to report,” Ryuuji added. “I met with Ren last night. I explained to him the situation, and he agreed to help us poach the Amaterasu Unit from the Red Thread.”

“You did what, now?” Hotaru stood from her chair.

“He’s Akari’s brother, and the largest siscon in Tokyo. He would’ve never stopped looking for her, so I had to let him know.”

“Oh my God. You didn’t tell him about the… agreement with Hotaru, right?”

“Hm? Oh, that one. No. Hell no.” Ryuuji liked his head where it was.

“Phew. He wouldn’t take it well, so I’ll break it to him softly when it comes to it.”

“So what did you tell him?” Hotaru asked.

“Your identity, our relationship, and the ongoing fight with the Red Thread. He agreed to ditch them for us, and will seek out the Divine Veil for employment.”

“That won’t be easy. I’ve never met the Amaterasu Unit personally, but I hear they ain’t cheap. The Veil won’t be able to outbid the Red Thread just like that.”

“I took care of it. Well, Reigetsu-sama did.”

“How so?”

“He gave me a Moon Mirror. It should be enough to handle the expenses.”

“HE DID WHAT!?”

Hotaru’s chair clanged on the floor as she knocked it over.

“Ryuuji, how the hell did you persuade him?”

“Nothing special, really. We just talked.”

“Oh my God… But that dragon is such a miser! He didn’t give me 5 yen when I was short of change for a drink, but he gave you a Moon Mirror!? Unbelievable. Un-freaking-believable.”

“Um, what’s a Moon Mirror?” asked Akari, having never heard of it.

“It’s a divine artifact,” replied Hotaru. “You won’t find anything better than it to do divination, scrying, or reflecting curses. Heck, even the Emperor would cry if he heard one was just given away.”

“It shows how much Reigetsu-sama cares about you,” said Ryuuji.

“Or how highly he thinks of the Amaterasu Unit. Are they really that strong?”

“Yup. They could go toe-to-toe with Hino Katsuro’s unit from the ACU. If the Red Thread had them on their side, they’d have a good chance of killing us. Especially if they’re given resonance dampeners.”

“I see. I hadn’t taken them into account…”

“Good thing we’re here, then.”

Even with Kotodama and Akiko’s assistance, the amount of intelligence Hotaru could gather had its limits. Thus, having someone with Ryuuji’s contacts and experience was a godsend.

“Is there anyone else you’d like to recruit?” asked Hotaru, interested to expand her list of allies while she had the chance.

“Yeah. Katsuro should be clean, so I’d like to reach out to him. Making contact will be difficult, but if we get to talk privately, there’s a good chance he’ll help us.”

Ryuuji had reservations about meeting his old mentor again, but the stakes were high enough to look past them. No matter the shame he had to endure, Katsuro and his men would be incredible allies… if Ryuuji succeeded in recruiting them, of course.

“But we’re wanted criminals now. Won’t they shoot us on sight?” asked Akari.

“Katsuro won’t. As long as we meet him off the record, he’ll listen to us.”

“That’s a lot of faith you have.”

Akari had heard the stories, but never actually met the guy. They seemed to be exaggerated, painting the man like some paragon of justice, but Ryuuji’s words said otherwise.

“I can vouch for him,” Hotaru chimed in. “I’ve met him before, and the guy is an iron man. Even after all these years, I don’t think he’s changed. Plus, Akiko-chan also said he’s clean, so it should be safe to talk to him.”

“The only question is how…” said Ryuuji, pondering the options.

Yet, before he could come up with something concrete, a glint of light shone from the counter close to Hotaru.

“That’s Akiko-chan,” she said, walking over to a small metal box by the stove. With a faint whisper filled with power, the device popped open and revealed a paper note stored within.

Hotaru picked it up and read it, before burning it to a crisp.

“She said the report is ready, and she can meet with us in a few hours.”

“Let’s get to it, then. Should we take anything with us?”

“Yes, I’ve got some samples for her. Mind helping me load them on Ponko?”

“Sure, let’s go.”

And with that, Ryuuji and the girls carried on about their work.