Chivalry Yet Lives

LAUGHTER AND CHEERING RANG OUT IN THE NIGHT, as the ramen stand Yūgure served dinner to a full squad of soldiers. Clad in enchanted armor bearing the letters of the ACU, these men were the elite of the unit.

“This one goes to the Colonel, may he remain in good health!” said one of the men, cracking open a cold beer.

“Any excuse to drink is good enough for you, Matsuda.”

“Hah! Says the guy with four empty bottles next to him.”

“Well, yeah. They weren’t gonna drink themselves... Could’ve spawned a yōkai if we disrespected them.”

“Bwahahaha!”

It was a merry atmosphere, putting a discreet smile on the stall owner’s face. The soldiers always came with an appetite, but this time around they were piling up their tab like there was no tomorrow. Not that he’d complain.

“Go easy on the beers, lads,” said their commander, Katsuro. “We have work tomorrow, and you will owe me 500 push-ups if you show up hungover.”

“But Colonel! I drank this one for you!”

“Yeah, and also the other three, no doubt.”

“Exactly!”

“And we’re supposed to be the cream of the crop…” muttered Kuroda Maki. Now holding the rank of Major, her career had advanced nicely after Ryuuji’s departure from her unit.

However, as she was getting a headache from putting up with the men, she noticed a beautiful woman walking unsteadily towards the stall.

“Oh. We’ve got company, Colonel,” said one of the men.

Katsuro turned around, and saw the obviously drunk lady stumbling her steps.

“Are you alright, ma’am?” he asked, walking over to check on her. As he did, the woman tripped forward, and Katsuro stepped in to catch her.

“Whoa! Leave some for us, Colonel! You’re married!”

He ignored the teasing and asked again, “Are you alright?”

“Yes, thank you. You’re so kind, major…” the woman whispered, staring at him dead in the eye. It was a familiar look Katsuro had seen plenty of times before, from an old apprentice he hadn’t met in years.

The two of them stayed in silence for a moment, until the woman bent over and unceremoniously puked on the ground.

“Just how much did she drink?” asked Maki, walking over to them.

“It’s alright, Major,” said Katsuro, motioning her to stop. “I’ll drive her home. You stay with the men, make sure they don’t end up like this.”

“Colonel, that’s no fair!” yelled one of the soldiers.

“No buts, you vultures. I want you sober by morning, so behave yourselves.”

“Sir, yes sir!”

They stood up and saluted, and Katsuro guided the woman to his armored truck with an air of chivalry. Little did they know, the damsel in distress was no damsel at all…

* * *

“WHY THE HELL ARE YOU IN DRAG, HASEGAWA?” was the inevitable question.

“For disguise. What else?” Ryuuji replied, his voice smooth and feminine despite the irritation in his tone.

“Did you go to a beauty salon?”

“I did. It was hell."

“That takes balls. Unconventional, but I respect it.”

“Don’t make me remember,” he lamented the dreadful memory. “So, is it safe to talk in here? Is it bugged?”

“No, it’s not bugged. We can talk freely, and I hope you have plenty of answers for me. I’ve heard a lot about you recently, and none of it was good.”

“Yes, I can imagine. Just to be on the same page, what have you heard?”

“They said you went MIA again and joined forces with the Wandering Songstress. Helped her kill five men, and two of them were your handiwork.”

“That sounds about right. And do you know who the Songstress actually is?”

Katsuro fell silent for a moment.

“Kisaragi Hotaru, your old sweetheart.”

“So you knew. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because I was afraid exactly this would happen.”

And his concerns were spot on.

“She isn’t evil, Hino-san. She’s the whole reason why the Miasma Incident was contained, and although she fell to corruption, she’s been purified since. She isn’t the Voice of Ruin anymore.”

“It may look like that to you, but she still triggers our cursed energy sensors. The kind of corruption she took in that day—you can’t just cleanse stuff like that. There’s still plenty of it inside her, and it’s only a matter of time before she loses control again. She’s a walking time bomb, Hasegawa.”

“Yes, she is. I know for a fact she’s in trouble, but she isn’t dangerous. Do you remember the dragon from back then? The Celestial Dragon, Reigetsu-sama? He’s her warden. They made an agreement, and he will kill her if she loses control.”

“That’s anecdotal at best. The Bureau won’t take your word for it.”

“And what about you? I can call Reigetsu-sama to manifest here and now. He can corroborate everything I said, and he can tell you who’s the enemy they are fighting. Just think about it. Do you believe he and Hotaru would actually go rogue? That they would pick a fight against the Red Thread just for the hell of it?”

Katsuro fell silent again.

Indeed, he harbored plenty of doubts that the Bureau never answered. The matter about the Songstress in particular was rife with inconsistencies, and the official stance was not to ask questions and keep trying to capture her.

Even to him, a lifetime veteran of the force, the affair stunk to the heavens.

“Very well. If you can call the dragon, then I’ll meet him. Just let me drive somewhere isolated first.”

And now, the ball was in Reigetsu’s court.

* * *

“WELCOME BACK, RYUUJI. HOW’D IT GO?” asked Hotaru as he entered the apartment. It was late at night after the meeting with Katsuro, and she and Akari were eager to know the results.

“He came around,” replied Ryuuji, leaving his bag on the table. “But first, can you get me out of this? I got catcalled all the way back; I can’t stand it.”

“Fufu, welcome to our world,” said Akari, feeling a bit sorry for the guy.

“Alright, you’ve suffered enough. You’re nice and manly now.”

“Finally,” said Ryuuji, his voice back to normal and his makeup dissolving into thin air. Even his clothes transformed into men’s attire, with the shirt saying “MACHO MAN” square on his chest.

“You’re awful, Hotaru,” said Akari, struggling to hold back her laughter.

“And here I go, falling in love with her like an idiot…”

“Aw, don’t be like that. Come, tell us about Katsuro. What happened?”

The group relocated to the couch.

“I managed to fool his squad and hitched a ride with him. Then I arranged the meeting with Reigetsu-sama, and he told Katsuro about the Red Thread and the coming incident at the festival. He believed us, and will cooperate.”

“Awesome. But you didn’t tell him about our plans to do a raid, right?”

“Nope. We agreed that I would look for evidence for him to take to the General. If that fails, the official plan is to react to whatever the Red Thread cooked up. If we do launch a raid, he’ll be mad at us, but I trust he’ll back us if push comes to shove.”

“That’s as good as we could hope for. Well done, Ryuuji.”

Hotaru patted his head as she praised him.

“Have you had dinner yet?” asked Akari.

“No, but I’m not hungry. I need a bath.”

“Oh, let’s go in with you,” Hotaru said impishly.

“Yeah, right,” replied Ryuuji as Akari flinched in surprise.

“I’m serious. We can keep our towels on, and I can adjust the tub’s size. It’ll be like we’re at a hot springs~”

“Stop joking around; I’m going in alone.”

“Why, are you scared?” she poked his side, making the oldest taunt in the book.

“Of course not, but you’re bothering Akari.”

“Oh, really? I’m not so sure about that. What do you say, Akari-chan? Are you up for a little skinship?”

The girl’s face was crimson red, looking away in embarrassment.

However…

“If it’s with our towels on… then sure…”

Thus came her answer.

“You girls are crazy.”

Ryuuji was in no position to chicken out, especially with the shirt he was wearing. So on they went, vanishing into the depths of Hotaru’s bathroom.