“Let’s have a team-building get-together!” Godou suddenly declared.
Kiyoka glared at him sharply.
It was the end of the summer, and after being laid up in bed for a short time, Kiyoka had finally returned to work and had gotten back into his daily routine.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
His subordinate had burst into his office, but he didn’t have any pressing business to communicate—just nonsense to spout. Unfortunately, Kiyoka didn’t have the slightest hint of tolerance for a subordinate to act like this.
Nevertheless, Godou slammed his desk with a grave look, ignoring his boss’s cold reception.
“I’m talking about team building, Commander!”
“Quiet. If you’ve got spare time to fool around, I’ll make you work overtime.”
“I don’t have any spare time, and this isn’t about fooling around. Drinks! We need to get drinks together!”
“That’s the last thing I need! Buzz off and go home.”
Collecting the documents had he finished processing, Kiyoka began getting ready to leave for the day.
He had finished his work. The only thing left was to return home, and he definitely wasn’t going to entertain his obnoxious aide’s ideas. Drinking parties were nothing but trouble, and he wasn’t having any of it.
Kiyoka stood up to signal that if Godou wasn’t going to leave, he would, but Godou got in front of him and blocked his way.
He beamed an aggravating grin at Kiyoka that was completely opposite his serious look moments prior.
“Nuh-uh, that’s not going to work! I’m not letting you go home today!”
“Move. You’re getting on my nerves. Out of the way, I’m leaving.”
“I thought you might say that, so…”
“…”
“I called over a veeeeery special guest!”
Kiyoka’s eyes widened, and he glanced over at the door to his office. He hadn’t sensed anyone at all. Despite that, someone had appeared in the doorway at some point.
…I didn’t even notice.
The man was capable of moving without alerting Kiyoka of his presence. There was only one person skilled enough to accomplish that feat.
“Good evening.”
The man Kiyoka would describe as his natural enemy popped his shrewd smiling face into the office. He had wavy chestnut-colored hair and friendly, handsome features, and he was flawless in both dress and conduct. No matter how many times they met each other, Kiyoka could never let his guard down around him.
The next head of the Tsuruki family—rather, the next head of the Usuba family—Arata Usuba.
“…Godou. You must have a death wish if you’re inviting outsiders into our station.”
Kiyoka threatened Godou, taking his anger out on his subordinate. But Godou didn’t seem to care at all.
“Well, this was just to ensure we take you out tonight, by force if necessary!”
“An idiotic reason like that isn’t going to fly, you buffoon.”
This wasn’t a problem Godou could just laugh off. Leading an outsider to the reception room was one thing, but bringing them all the way to this office was a complete violation of military regulations. The punishment would be severe.
Kiyoka assumed a hostile position, signaling for Godou to prepare himself for the worst, when the outsider in question brought the two men’s spat to a halt.
“No need to get heated, I have permission from Major General Ookaito.”
“Excuse me? The major general gave you permission? For this farce?”
“Well, you know how good my negotiation skills are.”
“…You’ve got to be kidding.”
Flabbergasted, Kiyoka lowered his raised fist.
Everyone around him was off their rockers. Both the two brazenly violating military regulations, and the one giving them permission to do so. Not that Kiyoka wanted to speak ill of his superior.
“Oh yes, and I have a message from Major General Ookaito, too: ‘You could stand to do some team building with your subordinates from time to time.’”
“…”
Kiyoka just barely choked down his retort about the advice being unwanted and followed Godou and Arata.
Kiyoka saw red for a brief moment when Arata informed him, with an affable, nonchalant smile, that he had already filled Miyo in on the situation. For some reason, it was Kiyoka’s job to lead the way to their favorite pub near the station.
“I made sure to reserve us a table!”
He had lost the energy to quip back at Godou, who proudly puffed his chest out behind him.
“Where’d all this team-building talk even come from?”
“I mean, you’ve gotten so unsociable ever since Miss Miyo showed up.”
“…”
“Only joking, of course… I had a bunch of things I wanted to ask Tsuruki here, see. I figured it would be a waste not to have you join us, Commander.”
“Doesn’t sound like a waste at all from where I’m standing.”
As they talked, Godou, having slipped in front, energetically pulled open the sliding door with a “Good evening,” and the three men flipped back the hanging entry curtain one by one to step into the pub.
The Akita was a five-minute walk from the station, and the unit members patronized it regularly. The place was small, and the building was old and fairly grimy, but this was all the more reason why it became a hangout spot for men on their way home from work.
The boss was a good-natured old man, and it was a comfortable place overall, so when anyone in the Special Anti-Grotesquerie Unit talked about getting drinks, this was usually where they ended up.
“A rather folksy little place, isn’t it?”
Arata looked around with curiosity.
“Oh, of course, this is exactly the type of place—Bleh!”
So pleased he could’ve started humming a little tune, Godou had begun to reply to Arata when he abruptly let out a weird grunt and stopped in his tracks.
“Why is he…?”
“Godou?”
“U-uh, never mind, we should go home.”
Godou frantically turned on his heel and tried to leave the pub, but in a rare moment of unity, Kiyoka and Arata blocked his path from behind.
In Kiyoka’s case, with a slight amount of enmity and exasperation included.
“You want to go home after coming this far?”
“W-well, I mean, you know,” Godou stammered at the question, his eyes wandering left and right.
“Hey Godou, don’t just stand there, come over and drink with me.”
Kiyoka was very familiar with the voice he heard from a table in the corner of the pub. It instantly explained Godou’s sudden, suspicious behavior.
Those two truly got on like cats and dogs.