Black Rose

5: Howling Aquilo [Setsu]

The grandfather’s clock ticked another hour lost, and yet, Setsu hadn’t moved from his spot behind the ancient-looking grand desk. He’d long lost count of how many times they’d nearly destroyed it during the brawls that occasionally broke out within the Howling Aquilo’s office (reasons could range anything from small, unrelated remarks to an intentional insult that often left Setsu dealing with the aftermath).

It’s what happens when you put together a band of six very different people: a sociopath with tendencies to drink during duties, a spoiled diva who thinks he’s better than anyone else and doesn’t give a s**t about hierarchy, a commoner who barely cares about anything, a former Noble-woman with her mindset on revenge, an i***t, 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 backbone to break his brawling colleagues up. He didn’t know why Seiren appointed him with this task, he had his suspicions, yes. But he still found it an unwarranted decision.

Most of it had something to do with Hyuga Aya and her miraculous survival in Hell. There must be a reason why Seiren had gathered them all together, even though he was well aware of the fact that they couldn’t be more different from each other and could barely tolerate each other’s presence. And despite knowing it all, Setsu had no problems calling Seiren an i***t for doing this to him. 

He’d snapped during that job in Sector Fifty-One causing him to turn several Peace Patrol members in the area into mindless dolls, a special spell that was passed down in the Fuwa family. It was the result of watching Fu and Oboro nearly ripping each other’s throats out, Setsu can still recall the look of pure horror on their faces when they realized what he was capable of doing. He’ll admit it, it had been extremely enjoyable tangling the mindless dolls in front of them, threatening to turn them as well. 

After that, they didn’t dare to mess with him. It was worth the reports he had to write up and explanations were given. It’s not he’d done what Ran did, and yet, ever since that 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, 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. Seiren had put it on him to ensure his loyalty, and as a reminder, the spell forbid him from doing anything that could indicate even the smallest hint of betrayal. 

Fuwa Setsu was spell-bound to Haruse Seiren until the man deemed it fine to release 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.

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. 

For a moment, everything was forgotten - lost in memories - 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 didn’t need to know it. 

And just in time for the Hyuga Princess to storm into the office, looking extremely annoyed and unhappy. 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, Seiren called it his special skill to notice things others didn’t. 

The twenty-one-year-old girl marched over to the couch near Setsu’s desk and threw herself on it, face first. He blinked at her incoherent mumbling, eying the door that had been left 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. Three years of partnership, her following his orders (albeit very reluctantly), and it barely meant anything to her. 

He hoped that the girl, at the very least, cared a tiny bit about the members of Howling Aquilo. The same would go 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 tired-looking face from the pillow that he knew needed washing, grimacing at the smell it probably exhibited. 

“The Warden’s an i***t, 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 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 stamina and ability to use complicated spells with ease. He’d heard that 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 knew or still believed in the official report of it having been an unknown cult.

“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, “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, “Could’ve spared me from the trip there.” 

Setsu snorted, “Had to remind him that he owes us money,” he said, she flinched 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, and mh? He looked up, noticing her satisfied smirk. He knew about the bet Ran, Fu, and Aya had made, which surprisingly included him after they witnessed the Warden nearly exploding from pure anger and humiliation. It was after the incident regarding Fu that started it all, the one where he basically destroyed access to Sector Five. 

“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. 

“It was easy, just reminding him the bill he hasn’t paid,” she sounded disappointed, Setsu thought. “Fu’s still in 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 hand to make a cuckoo-crazy gesture.

“Don’t forget his drinking issues,” he muttered, taking a sip of his cold green tea. It was a bit more bitter than normally, but still fine in his eyes.

His stomach growled, reminding him the last time he’d eaten was 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 golden brown hair pulled up in a ponytail, readjusting her clothes in the process. There was a gleam on her cross-shaped necklace that appeared older than anything else in this office. It was in gray tones, made from a material that resembled stone, and held a bright Emerald stone in the middle of it. 

From time to time, he caught the stone sparkling in darker tones, and could swear he felt a demon’s 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?” 

She groaned and shook her head. “No. But they will soon if you don’t get going.” 

Setsu nodded, standing up from his chair. He winced at his sore muscles, stretching to get the feeling back. He grabbed his dark brown jacket that hung on a nearby chair and pulled it on. 

“Are you planning on joining me, Aya?” The name felt foreign on his lips, sure he called them all by their first name. But not that often, and only when he was in a good mood. Or 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. 

He heard a cough but didn’t stay around to investigate it. It really wasn’t his business. Nor the source of her necklace. For now, all he wanted was to get some food and head home.