Disclaimer- I don't own Shadow Hearts.
Prologue
Summer, 1941
Brooklyn, New York
Within the bustling streets of the vibrant city that is Brooklyn, was a small, quaint building that most people wouldn't even take a second look at as they passed by on their way home from work. That building was home to a young man that had, at one time, saved the world from complete destruction.
On that building was a simple sign that simply read, "Johnny's Detective Agency".
Inside, a single ceiling fan spun slowly above the studio-like room with dozens of newspaper clippings of recent and not-so-recent events pinned to almost every wall. The room was fairly well kept with books covering the shelves and dust kept to the minimum.
The only place that wasn't, was the lone desk that faced the front door.
Piles of papers, writing utensils, cups, even food was scattered about in a reckless manner. From the looks of it, it has been like that for a very long time, possibly weeks.
Behind the gigantic pile, seemingly hid by this phenomenon, was a young man in his late twenties. The man was leaned back on his chair, feet propped on his desk and hands on his chest as he softly snoozed the afternoon away. A simple yellow fedora shielded his eyes from the light that crept through the windows.
In the background, the soft sound of trumpets and saxophones could be heard as jazz music from the radio filled the air as a sort of lullaby.
Everything seemed calm and serene, like a fragile picture that would crack at the slightest disturbance.
"Master…, oh Master. It's almost time for Dinner." Came a voice in another room.
"Master…" The serenity was shattered by a great explosion of noise that shook the man awake.
"Hey, what the… wwhhoooaaaa!" He lost his balance and his arms waved wildly as he fell to the ground, his hat rolling to the far side of the room.
He was a bit irritated by being woken up by such a racket and groggily made his way to the noise.
"Lenny, what's going on back there?" He groaned as he rubbed an eye with the palm of his right hand, peering through the opening to see his butler and friend, on his hands and knees, panicking to clean up a mess of dishes and food that covered the floor.
The man looked up in surprise as he looked back at the mess and his arms dropped in defeat.
"Master Johnny, I'm so sorry. It's just that my hand slipped when I was busy making Dinner and…"
Lenny stopped his rambling as this was causing Johnny to laugh a little.
"It's alright, Lenny. How many times have you gotten me out of hairy situations?" He said as he knelt down to help.
Lenny nodded and handed him a cloth as they both started to clean.
"I know that it's been hard lately, Master. With business being so slow and this war that's been going on. Some are even saying that it could spread to America if it gets any worse."
"Don't worry about it. I know that being a detective isn't the most stable of jobs. Even though I helped put Capone away, my credit as a detective hasn't become well known. But we'll make it through this so lets put on a brave face shall we."
Lenny seemed to be comforted by his words and nodded in agreement.
After they cleaned the mess, they stood up and placed the mess in the garbage.
"There, that's better."
"Thank you very much for you help, sir." Lenny bowed as he usually does.
Johnny was still amazed at Lenny's stature.
Johnny was already a young adult. Standing just over 6 feet tall and developed into a lean, broad-shouldered man, even though he was relatively short and small for his age when he was younger.
Lenny was almost 60, but still his massive build was as large as ever and time had only touched the hair on his eyebrows. Must have something to do with his Godhand power.
"Well it's almost time to close up for the day. I'll take care of the office and I'll be back in a minute, ok."
Johnny left the kitchen and went to close the shop when he noticed someone sitting in his chair, their feet propped up on his desk.
"Hey, what the hell do you think you are doing?" He demanded as he approached.
"So is this where I can find the great detective, Johnny Garland?" Came a woman's voice.
He stopped when she spoke, possibly due to her mature and sensuous tone. His eyes focused on her long, slender legs that ended to a simple brown cloak that hid the rest of her form.
"Yes, I'm Johnny Garland. How may I be of service?" He asked, noticing that the bell that was over the door had never rang.
The woman seemed to give a nod of approval as she got up from the chair and turned to him.
"I just want to make sure that you have the credentials to find someone."
She grabbed the chair with her right hand and threw it with great force.
Johnny was almost shocked by the attack, but quickly knocked the chair to the side, which shattered against the wall.
He was really shocked when the woman was in his face, crossing the gap too fast for his eyes to notice.
She reached out and placed a hand on his chest as magic shined from it, which launched him across the room, breaking the wall from the impact.
"She's strong."
He pushed himself out from the hole and she charged again, but he was ready this time.
He deflected a sharp barrage of blows meant for his face and crouched under a high spin kick, giving him the chance to sweep her leg out from under her.
She jumped over it as if she knew what he was thinking, landing gracefully a short distance from him.
"You know you can't be victorious if you hold back against your opponent." She stated as she hid her arms in her cloak.
But that wasn't the reason behind his way of fighting. The thing was that there was no violence in her strikes, so he was hesitant to attack her full force.
"Such a gentleman to not strike a lady or is that all that you are capable of?" She provoked before she charged.
"Wrong, I just see no point in this fight!" He met her charge as he reared back his fist as dark red energy crackled from it.
The woman let out a gasp of surprise, allowing her to pause long enough for Johnny to punch her in the face, sending her spinning head over heels, knocking her through the giant pile on his desk to land in a heap at the front door.
"So do you want more?" He asked as he cracked his knuckles.
The woman smirked as she rose to her feet, the blow having no affect.
"That was enough. I'll say you pass." She replied, looking down to flick off some old food from her cloak.
Johnny blinked in confusion as his brain processed her words.
"You mean that was just a test!" He blasted in surprise.
"Just an evaluation to see if you were skilled enough for my task. You still have a long way to go."
A large X formed on his white shirt as if by an incredibly sharp blade.
"What the…"
"So, shall we get down to business?" She walked over to the other side of the desk and sat down.
Johnny was a bit unnerved, but picked up a stool as his chair was in pieces.
"Master Johnny. Is everything alright in there?"
"Yeah, everything is just fine!" Johnny shouted as he looked at the woman.
"Well I'm glad that you approve. But what about this mess you made? I don't have the money for this!" he yelled.
"If it's funds, don't worry about it." She reached under the cloak and brought out a large bag of gold, the contents spilling on the desk.
"Consider this an advance. There is more where that came from."
Johnny was dumbstruck by the glittering coins that he almost lost himself.
"Of course, this sounds a little funny. First you attack me and then you offer me what looks to be thousands in gold pieces."
"Tens of thousands, actually. But I can understand your apprehension."
"As I should be. With this being the Great Depression, gold is hard to come by. Also considering the cloak, you want this to be anonymous."
"That would be preferred."
She wasted no time by pulling out a picture and handing it to him.
"I'm looking for this man. I haven't seen him in a very long time."
Johnny took a look at it and inspected it. It was worn with age and so it was a little hard to distinguish specifics. He could just make out that it was a picture of a family.
"His name his Yuri Hyuga and he's been missing for years so I hope that you will be able to find him for me."
Johnny continued to look at the picture.
"So you want me to find this guy for you? Is there any more information that you can give me?"
She brought out a small accessory. A silver cross.
"This belonged to his mother, Anne. She died when he was a young boy. It was something that he cherished dearly, so maybe he will be able to recognize it should you find him. Also there might be someone who knows of his whereabouts, a Roger Bacon."
"Roger Bacon?" A name that he hadn't heard in a long time.
"Yes, he might know something if you can find him. My efforts have been rather difficult for quite some time."
She got up and turned towards the door.
"I wish you the best of luck in finding him. Also, be careful."
And with that, she left, the bell ringing as she opened and closed it.
"I wonder who that woman was? She wasn't ordinary, that's for sure."
He looked at the picture again as his mind began to work.
"Roger Bacon, eh. It would be nice to visit him. Of course I'll have to find a ship that will take me to Great Britain. But something tells me there's more to this than just a missing person. But then it wouldn't be fun if it wasn't."
He walked over and picked up his fedora and placed it on his head.
"Detective Johnny Garland is on the case."
XXXXX
The next day, Johnny was up and about at the crack of dawn. Excitement filled him at the prospects of such a case. This is what he lived for when it came to being a detective, finding clues and having a satisfied client.
"Ok Lenny, I'm heading out! Take care of everything while I'm gone, ok!" He shouted as he ran downstairs.
"Are you sure that you don't want breakfast?" Lenny poked his head out from the kitchen.
"Thanks, but I've got to strike while the iron is hot!"
"Then take the bag that I've already made for you!"
Johnny noticed a large sack already prepared for him. Inside it had several premade lunches, along with money and other supplies.
"Lenny, what would I ever do without you?"
The man scratched his head in embarrassment.
"Good luck, Master. Come back safely."
"I will, don't worry." He waved as he opened the door with the morning sun in his face.
"This is gonna be a great adventure."