Editing Toaru Majutsu no Index:Item4 Chapter4 (section)

===Part 2===

“…”

Sobasaka Michio sat silently with his face buried in the airbag even as it began to deflate.

His unmarked police car was stopped while crashed into the mountainside.

The bumper was definitely broken. The engine compartment may have been crushed as well. He doubted the car would start back up if he turned the key. He had come to Kanagawa without permission and he would be found out if he called for a tow truck. Still, the crashed car was city property. He couldn’t just abandon it out here.

His new partner was sitting dazed in the passengers seat. Good thing he had actually been wearing his seat belt. Otherwise he might have flown right on out through the windshield.

“This is going to mean more than some docked pay.”

Sobasaka Michio had been fed up with it all since the attack helicopters showed up.

It wasn’t just one side of the fight that was special. Both sides had fought it out in the air and then some beams of light had torn through them all.

What had he hoped to accomplish rushing in here with only a baton and handcuffs? The threat was in sight. It was within arm’s reach. So what? Why had he assumed he could defeat the criminal? Why hadn’t he considered the possibility of the villain tearing his throat out with their powerful jaws?

Maybe he never should have tried it.

Carrying a police badge didn’t make him anything more than a government worker. Maybe he should have suppressed this weird desire for justice and simply put in as much work as his salary warranted.

(I’ve turned into such a pathetic adult. Would you be angry with me, Hiyamugi?)

And while he was letting the regret wash over him, someone suddenly peeked in through the broken driver’s side window.

The elderly man wore a fancy Italian suit that didn’t look at all suitable for hiking through the mountains.

“Hello, officers.”

“!?”

“You are police, correct? I was hoping you could help me. To keep the peace, of course.”

“Wh-who are you?”

“The head of the Mugino Family.”

The gravity of that statement stopped Sobasaka’s breathing.

The young maid standing by the man’s side slapped her forehead. That likely had not been in line with the manners of high society.

“What is the guy at the very top doing wandering the front lines for? Are you stupid?” asked Sobasaka, taken aback.

“I am perfectly safe even 5cm away from the enemy so long as they are unaware of my presence. Conversely, even the most heavily defended fortress would be bombed or assaulted in no time if people knew I was there. That is how this shadier industry of ours works. Being elusive and slippery is the greatest trump card in our deck.”

The Italian suit man smiled bitterly at Sobasaka’s dumbfounded look.

“Also, no one would follow us if we didn’t give them something to aspire to. Help me out. We need to show those unruly young ladies just how cool a sophisticated adult can be.”

“I-it’s already gotten bad enough you can see the flashing lights from here. How are we supposed to fix this now?”

“What option is there but to fully stop this tragedy in its tracks?”

The man didn’t hesitate.

He somehow reminded Sobasaka of Hiyamugi.

In a way, he seemed more police-like than Sobasaka Michio himself.

“I don’t have a problem with them going after me. The position of head is nothing but risk. I mean, the reason each head looks so grim is because we don’t want to force this throne onto the next generation we so adore. It’s the rest of the sacrifices I won’t stand for. I will make those rampaging fools pay for the trouble they’ve brought to the public, the chaos they’ve caused, and all the death and tragedy they’ve scattered about. I swear it on my name as the Mugino Family head.”

“…”

What had happened?

This wasn’t a recent development. He may have been fighting alone for a long, long time before the world turned out like this.

But then the Mugino Family head grinned.

It was a perfect smile, but that was what made it seem inauthentic.

“You see things the same, don’t you, officer? If you were satisfied with doing just enough work to earn your salary, you wouldn’t have crossed the prefectural border to drive all the way out here. Because it’s your duty? To protect all the good people out there? No. It comes down to you needing to go after everything you refuse to accept. You reject crime for being illogical and you want to make all the villains out there pay for their crimes. Right?”

…Right.

But something about this was bothering Sobasaka.

Yes…

“Are you saying there’s more to this? The unmanned helicopters and the rampaging esper are enough. I already have plenty of stories to tell my future children or grandchildren.”

“You are a government worker and they are Academy City. You’ll be slapped with an annoying gag order and won’t be able to tell anyone about this. You knew that, which is why you broke the rules to be here.”

The Mugino Family head’s tone was carefree as he invited Sobasaka to ruin his life.

Then his voice dropped to a whisper.

“This is Academy City we’re talking about. They won’t just give up after sending in a few Two Wings. If we don’t cut it off at the source, reinforcements will be coming.”