The grandfather's clock ticked another hour lost, and yet, Setsu hadn't moved from his spot behind the ancient-looking mahogany grand desk in the Howling Aquilo's headquarters. He'd long lost count of how many times his subordinates had nearly destroyed it during the brawls that occasionally broke out within the office, and reasons often didn't matter.
Their fuses were easily lit and could explode at even the smallest provocation if it came from the wrong person, such as unrelated remarks or intentional insults that often left Setsu dealing with the aftermath. Such as paying for the repairs or apologizing to the people around them. Their office wasn't the only one in this building, something that those idiots seemed to often forget as they brawled like hooligans.
It's what happens when you put together a band of six very different people: an alcoholic sociopath, a spoiled diva who thinks he's better than anyone else and doesn't give a shit about hierarchy, a commoner who simply stares you don't like you were empty space, a former Noble-woman with her mind set on revenge, an idiot who was more into fashion than doing her job properly, and lastly, Setsu, himself.
The man who was given the unfortunate role to lead them, a position that didn't fit him the slightest since Setsu knew he lacked the will to break his brawling subordinates up. He didn't know why Seiren appointed him with this task, although, he had his suspicions, yes. Nevertheless, Setsu found it an unwarranted decision.
Most of it had something to do with Hyuga Aya and her miraculous survival in Hell, something Setsu heard from the girl herself. She'd let it slip one day while drinking. It'd been an anniversary of that tragedy. Neither she nor Seiren was in a particularly good mood. But she let it slip and Setsu was surprised.
Despite knowing that, Setsu had faith in Seiren that there was a reason why the man had gathered them all together, even though he was well aware of their differences and that they could barely tolerate each other's presence.
Setsu still called him an idiot for doing this to him.
Really, it was no wonder when Setsu - the meek, quiet and someone who looked like he couldn't hurt a fly, had snapped during that job back in Sector Fifty-One causing him to turn several Peace Patrol members within the area into mindless dolls, a special spell that was passed down in the Fuwa family. It was the result, mostly, of him watching Fu and Oboro nearly ripping each other's throats out.
He won't say it, but Setsu can still recall the look of pure horror on their faces when they realized what Fuwa Setsu was capable of doing - what they saw before them. He'd tangled the mindless dolls, humans, in front of them, threatening to turn them as well.
It'd instantly shut them up.
After this incident, they didn't dare to mess with him and word had gotten around. It was worth the reports he had to write up, being forced to give an explanation behind his actions that cost the Emperor a good amount of his precious soldiers (Setsu had nearly snorted at the shouting he received from the Warden Momonga).
It wasn't like he'd done what Ran or Fu did, and yet, ever since the incident the Peace Patrol members were incredibly distrustful of him and his band of dysfunctional idiots.
There were times when he contemplated ending it all by turning both Seiren and the Hyuga Princess in, for a piece of his mind if anything, but he never could bring himself to do it. His black eyes glanced at the markings on his right wrist, the symbol of a life debt he owed to the strongest man alive stared back with a cold reminder.
Seiren had put it on him to ensure his loyalty, after realizing who exactly he'd saved and Setsu's position in his clan, and a reminder. The spell forbade him from doing anything that could indicate even the smallest hint of betrayal, shocking him if he did something that the mark didn't like.
Fuwa Setsu was spell-bound to Haruse Seiren until the man deemed his debt paid and released him. And since it was placed by the strongest man alive, Setsu had no way to break it. It's not like he could go around asking for an anti-spell, not when Seiren had eyes and ears everywhere he went, and so, he'd simply given up.
It helped that their cause was mostly the same, and he didn't want his arm to end up numb from the pain caused by the spell.
He ran his fingers over the black lines that formed an image that closely reminded him of endless lines of a bar-code, stamped on his wrist in a diamond shape and hidden kanji words within the lines that couldn't be read. Not even years after constant research.
And for a moment, Setsu found himself lost in memories - everything else was forgotten - as he stared at the mark until he heard rushing footsteps approaching the office. Setsu's hand instantly pulled his green-and-white colored wrist warmer back to its original position, hiding the mark from those who weren't on a need-to-know basis.
And it was just in time for the Hyuga Princess to storm into the office, looking extremely annoyed and unhappy. Though, strangely enough, there was blood on her sleeve, her dominant right hand. Setsu blinked as he wondered why he'd noticed it before anything else, like the way she gripped on her necklace or ran a hand through her golden brown hair.
Seiren called it Setsu's special skill that allowed him to notice things others missed.
The twenty-one-year-old girl marched over to the couch near Setsu's desk and collapsed on it, her body bouncing back like a basketball. He watched her grabbing a pillow and screamed into it, muttering obscenities and something else that Setsu didn't want to know.
Instead, he merely blinked and eyed the door that had been burst open and threatened to fall off of its hinges. There was another dent in the wall, he noticed with a sigh.
"Do I even want to know the reason behind your…behavior?" He was never comfortable talking with the Hyuga Princess, mostly because he knew her dark side - he'd witnessed it in person.
He knew she'd survived Hell.
He knew she was a survivor, while compared to her - he was what?
A mere coward who ran from his shit. He didn't have the guts to face his clan, his responsibilities and kept trying to get Seiren to give leadership to someone else. Not that the man listened to him, merely giving him a lopsided smile as if he knew something Setsu didn't. It infuriated him to the point that he sometimes wished he could hit the bastard.
And after he'd worked with Hyuga Aya for nearly three years, Setsu had come to know her quite well. He knew that she didn't like following orders, that she wasn't used to being bossed around by someone she probably considered not worth her time. He didn't know it for sure but suspected it whenever she scoffed when he gave an order.
He hoped that the girl, at the very least, had come to care a tiny bit about the members of Howling Aquilo enough to protect them should there be a need for it. The same went for the rest of them. Because, despite his grievances, Setsu was willing to lay down his life for their sake. He was willing to fight to protect the idiots working for him, for Seiren's cause.
After all, that's what mattered the most, nothing else did. Not really.
She raised her exhausted-looking face from the pillow that he knew needed washing, grimacing at the smell it probably exhibited. Yesterday, he'd seen Oboro spilling her Ramen on it, fruitlessly trying to clean it off and then acting as if she'd nothing to do with it.
"The Warden's an idiot, and walking back through the fog wasn't exactly a piece of cake," she said as if that explained everything.
Setsu blinked, now knowing the culprit behind the red flash that had caused the tremors to ruin his report, and shook his head. He was too tired to question her about her use of that particular spell. Izanami's Red-Torch wasn't exactly an easy spell, it easily drained an untrained user of their Mana (Spiritual Power).
And a human with an empty Mana was a dead person.
It was her luck that she was from the Hyuga clan, who were known for their long-lasting stamina and ability to use complicated spells with ease that made Setsu envious. He did hear stories how the children were trained from the moment they learned how to talk and walk, but hadn't dared to ask the Hyuga Princess if it was true.
She didn't like talking about her family, much less, things related to her clan.
Not that it surprised him considering that he knew they were behind the sacrifice attempt three years ago. He just didn't know if she was aware of it or not. Perhaps she believed in the official reports of it having been an unknown cult. But he doubted it.
She was smart enough to see past the lies they tried to feed her.
"What did he call you for?"
"He wants me to give him information about the Revolutionary Army and preferably bring him some heads while I'm at it," she replied, turning her body around, resting her hand in a manner that shielded her eyes from the unwanted light.
Setsu sighed, "So, he finally asked for it, huh?"
Her light amber-brown eyes peeked at him, blinking in surprise. "You knew that's what he called me for?" She sounded accusing, Setsu thought with a blank face.
"After the stunt they pulled, I had my suspicions."
She glared at him, "You could've spared me from the trip there. Done it over a phone."
Setsu snorted, "Had to remind him that he owes us money," he said, she flinched, looking guilty, and instantly looked away. "And judging from your expression, he didn't pay, did he?"
"Said he'll pay it this time if we don't destroy anything."
"And bring back heads?"
"Yeah."
Setsu groaned, rubbing the bridge between his nose. Dealing with the Warden always ended with a headache. He blinked, suddenly remembering something upon noticing her satisfied smirk. He knew about the bet she made with Ran and Fu, which surprisingly included him after they witnessed the way the Warden nearly exploded from pure anger and humiliation.
It was a bit after the incident regarding Fu, where he basically destroyed the main access to Sector Five. It was now in shambles and people had to go all the way around to the second entrance to get in. It was a more dangerous path, trapped with lurking monsters.
"You pissed the Warden Momonga off, didn't you?" He pointed an accusing finger at her, eyebrow twitching since he knew that it meant they couldn't ignore this request. Like he'd originally planned.
The Hyuga Princess just had to go and piss him off, did she?
"It was easy, just reminding him about the bill he hasn't paid," she sounded disappointed, Setsu thought. If this was her pouting face, then she was pouting. "Fu's still in the lead."
He snorted at that. "There's a reason for that, be glad you're not."
"Cause he's a freaking sociopath?" She grinned, lounging on the couch as if it was her bedroom, using her hands to make a cuckoo-crazy gesture.
"Don't forget his drinking issues," he muttered, taking a sip of his cold green tea. It was slightly more bitter than it normally was but still drinkable in his opinion.
His stomach growled, reminding him that the last time he'd eaten was several hours ago.
The Hyuga Princess snickered, "He'll end up dead if he doesn't stop and when was the last time you ate?"
"That may be his goal."
"You didn't answer my question, Setsu." She pushed herself to sit up, her long golden brown hair was pulled up in a ponytail, readjusting her clothes in the process.
There was a familiar gleam on her cross-shaped necklace that appeared to be older than anything Setsu owned. It was colored in grayish tones, made from a material that resembled a stone, and held a bright Emerald stone in the middle of it.
From time to time, he caught the stone sparkling in darker hues and could swear he felt a demonic presence from it.
"Setsu?" She snapped her fingers, causing him to jump, startled. "Well?"
"Hours ago," he grumbled, begrudgingly. She gave him a look. "I was planning on going out to eat."
"With this fog?"
He blinked, scratching the back of his head. "Yes?"
"When we have a perfectly good restaurant downstairs?"
"Isn't it closed by now?" He acted as if he hadn't forgotten about it.
She groaned and shook her head. "No. But they will be soon if you don't get going."
Setsu nodded, standing up from his chair. He winced at his sore muscles, stretching his limbs to get the feeling back to them. He grabbed his dark brown jacket that hung on a nearby chair and pulled it on.
"Do you wish to join me, Aya?" The name felt foreign on his lips, sure he called them all by their first name. But it wasn't that often, and only when he was in a good mood. Or when he felt like they didn't deserve being told off.
"Sorry, but all I want to do is sleep," she gave him a weak smile. Attempting to look as apologetic as she could. He wasn't convinced.
"Let me know before you head out for the job," Setsu ordered, his hand on the doorknob, and upon seeing her nod weakly, he closed the door behind him.
The moment he'd left the office, he could hear a cough but didn't stay around to investigate it. It really wasn't his business, he thought. Frowning when he walked downstairs. Nor the source of her necklace.
But it didn't mean he wasn't concerned.