Disclaimer: I don't own any IPs that might appear in the story
Angel of Assassination
A Council of Thirteen universe story
One shot
Beta:
"Oh yes~! More, Onee-sama! More~!" Yumi heard her beloved girlfriend Tōko-chan encourage her enthusiastically as she kissed her way down her neck towards her recently bared breast courtesy of Yumi having just divested her of her bra.
"Gladly," Yumi breathed against Tōko-chan's left nipple and earned a pleased moan from her girlfriend that got her smiling as she leaned in to give it a peck before she opened her mouth to wrap it around the teat.
She was just about to begin suckling even as her own left hand began to massage Tōko-chan's right breast when there was a sudden sharp knock from her bedroom door.
Startled, the two girls hastily pulled away from each other, blushing terribly and looking like children whose hands had been caught in the cookie jar. Though that did not stop Tōko-chan from groaning in disappointment at the interruption.
"Yumi!" Her brother Yuuki shouted through the sturdy wood and the wards she'd layered around her room. "The Commissioner General of the National Police Agency is here to see you. So stop whatever you and Tōko-san are doing! You don't want to keep him waiting!"
"T-The Commissioner General of the National Police Agency?" Tōko-chan said breathlessly as she recovered from the shock and, much to Yumi's disappointment, slipped her bra back on. "Is Yuuki-san pranking us? Why would he be here?"
"I have no idea," Yumi said with a pout. "But no, it's not a prank. The privacy wards I set up around the room are keyed to intent, Yuuki wouldn't have been able to interrupt them if he wasn't serious."
"I thought so." Tōko-chan sighed at this as she began pulling her top back on. "Then it's probably a good idea to see what the police want."
"Yeah," Yumi nodded as she stood and began walking towards the door. "You can stay in my room while I talk to him, Tōko-chan. Or maybe go hang out with Yuuki or my par-"
She cut herself off when a once more fully dressed Tōko-chan reached out and grabbed her arm causing her to look at her girlfriend questioningly.
"Onee-sama, are you forgetting something?" Tōko-chan asked with a roll of her eyes as she gestured pointedly at Yumi's discarded top that she'd removed when they'd been making out and reminding her of her state of undress
"Eep!" Yumi squeaked as she scrambled to pull her top back on to the sounds of her girlfriend's giggling at her expense.
A few embarrassing minutes later, Yumi had switched gears and donned the professional persona she'd been cultivating as the Third Lord of the Thirteen as she sat down across from the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency at her family dining table to discuss what the Japanese police wanted with her.
"Apologies for interrupting your time with your girlfriend, Yumi-sama." The elderly man said with an amused grin.
"You overheard what my brother said earlier I see." Yumi replied, barely suppressing a groan as she did.
The police officer just chuckled. "He was rather loud."
Damn you, Yuuki. Yumi thought with annoyance. I'm going to make you pay for this later.
"I see," Yumi said, trying and hopefully largely succeeding in keeping her irritation concealed. The way the Commissioner General just offered a reassuring smile, told her she probably hadn't been wholly successful.
Guess, I'll need more practice. Yumi thought with a mental sigh. Maybe I should ask Onee-sama for some pointers too. She's excellent at this kind of thing.
"Setting that aside, might I know why you have sought me out, Commissioner General-dono?" Yumi said firmly, determined to get this discussion over with quickly. Whilst it was unlikely that she'd get another chance to make out with Tōko-chan today, not with her girlfriend having chosen to go spend time with her parents whilst she spoke to the government official, but she hoped to be able to spend as much time with her before she had to send her home.
"I assume you are aware of the very public but yet mysterious murder of the Member of the National Diet who was seemingly shot in broad daylight and whilst walking through a crowd, Yumi-sama?"
"I do," Yumi confirmed with a frown as she recalled the video of the killing being shown on seemingly endless repeat by the various news outlets the past week.
"We have run into some difficulties in our investigations." The police officer informed her. "And on behalf of the National Police Agency I would like to formally request your assistance Fukuzawa Yumi-sama as the Imperial Court Magician."
Yumi nodded, having already guessed as much.
"I am happy to oblige." She agreed easily. It was her duty as Imperial Court Magician to assist the Japanese government should they require it after all. "Tell me more."
The officer nodded and pulled out a number of manila folders from a briefcase he had with him and handed them over to Yumi. She accepted the files and placed them on the table in front of her. She would review them later.
"The details are in those documents." The Commissioner General said, nodding to the folders. "But in summary, despite our best efforts we have been unable to identify the shooter. Or even if there was more than one. Though we're leaning towards the latter or someone who could teleport or perform something similar. We've extrapolated the bullet trajectories based on the victim's injuries and they suggested the shots came in from multiple directions. We were however unable to find the bullets, casings, or other signs of a shooting save the wounds themselves which look like typical bullet wounds."
"Which leads you to suspect magical involvement." Yumi concluded.
The man nodded.
"That's a flimsy justification though." Yumi noted with a frown. "You know I can only get involved if magical involvement is a high probability and I don't know if this qualifies. There are mundane ways this could've been accomplished, even if they would be incredibly complicated."
"There are," the Commissioner General conceded. "But that's not all. We have also detected traces of magic at the probable firing locations."
"Since you didn't present this fact first, I'm assuming this is just barely above ambient levels?"
"Unfortunately," the man said with a sigh. "Let me be honest, Yumi-sama. As it stands, we, the police, are stumped. Considering the high profile of the victim and the public nature of the crime, this is unacceptable."
"So you're grasping at straws?"
"If it helps solve the case? Yes." The man admitted shamelessly.
Yumi sighed. She understood where he was coming from. The honour and credibility of not just the Japanese police but by extension the government and state was at stake.
"Very well," Yumi said after a moment of consideration. "I will see what I can do."
"Thank you, Yumi-sama." The Commissioner General said as he stood and offered Yumi a deep bow of gratitude.
As the first step of her investigation, Yumi had reached out to the Japanese branch of the Assassin Guild, the international body that managed most high-profile magical, and supposedly some non-magical, assassins. Yumi knew precious little about assassinations, besides having been trained on how to survive one, so she needed their expertise.
The Guild, much to her surprise, had fallen over themselves to assist a Lord of the Thirteen. Something that if what Sakura-sama had said when she'd mentioned it whilst asking for advice on how to conduct her investigation was correct, probably had something to do with how they idolised the Thirteenth Lords and Dom-sama in particular. Not surprising considering one of the Thirteenth's most infamous nom de guerre was the Assassin Lord and how her fellow Lord was largely considered the greatest Thirteenth Lord in generations.
As such, within hours of her initial contact via the proper channels aka the Guild's hotline, - Yes, they maintained a hotline. One that posed as the number for a delivery health service for all but those who knew the correct passcodes. Codes which Yumi had thankfully had the foresight to obtain from Sakura-sama. - a meeting was arranged between Yumi and a representative with the local Assassin Guild in, of all places, a karaoke room in a lounge in the Minato Ward.
"I take it that this business is one of the Guild's fronts?" Yumi asked the woman serving as her Guild contact as she closed the door to the private room where they'd be conducting their meeting.
"It is Yumi-sama," The woman said as she offered Yumi a welcoming bow. "I go by Charlotte Corday and I and the Assassin Guild are at your service."
She was in her mid-twenties with brown shoulder length hair that she wore loose except for a braid on the left side of her face. The assassin was wearing an outfit reminiscent of those dating to the French revolutionary period, likely to reinforce the symbolism behind her name.
I bet she's often mistaken for being a gothic lolita. Yumi thought with a nod as she glanced at her surroundings to double check that the room was secure.
"Are the wards to your satisfaction?" Corday-san asked, looking expectant.
"They are passable." Yumi replied with a nod, before finally returning Corday-san's earlier bow. "Where are my manners? Fukuzawa Yumi, Third Lord of the Thirteen and Imperial Court Magician, at your service."
"No, we are at yours, Yumi-sama." Corday-san insisted with a curtsy, though the slightest hint of a smirk let Yumi know she was teasing.
Yumi rolled her eyes. She had plenty of experience with teasing from dealing with people like Sei-sama and this barely phased her.
"Shall we get down to business?" Yumi said as she gestured to the room's seats.
Corday-san nodded and moved out of the way so that Yumi could sit first. The Third Lord obliged and waited for the assassin to also take her seat before continuing.
"I take it that the Guild has reviewed the material I sent over in regards to the killing I am investigating?" Yumi asked and waited for Corday-san to nod in confirmation before continuing. "Then, in the Guild's professional opinion, was magic involved?"
"Highly likely." Corday-san confirmed. "Whilst the killing could have been carried out with mundane methods, doing so would have required equipment whose movement into position would not have escaped our notice. A mage however could be much more discreet."
Yumi nodded. That assessment lined up with her own after she'd reviewed the documents the Commissioner General had provided her and concurred with Sakura-sama's second opinion as well.
"Then, I would like the Guild to assist me in locating the killer." Yumi ordered firmly, prepared to accept nothing but compliance.
"Of course," Corday-san replied easily, much to Yumi's surprise. Perhaps she'd underestimated just how highly the Assassin Guild held the Lords of the Thirteen. "The Guild did not sanction this assassination. And it was an assassination. We simply cannot accept a freelancer or rogue agent, whichever it might be, operating in our jurisdiction without us knowing."
Ah! So they're driven by self-interest. Yumi thought with relief. That's a lot more understandable.
"To that end," Corday-san continued. "I have taken the liberty of rounding up the likely suspects within the Guild. The two assassins that were known to be in the vicinity and at the time of the killing."
"You have?" Yumi asked, blinking in surprise. "Already?"
"The early bird catches the worm." Corday-san said with a grin. "Might I call them in?"
Yumi nodded and Corday-san stood and left the room.
The Guild is startlingly efficient. Yumi thought as she waited for the older woman's return. Either that or this incident is more concerning to them than I realise and they're incentivised to resolve it as soon as possible. Not that it really matters, either way it benefits the investigation.
The Third Lord had just finished thinking that when Corday-san returned with the two aforementioned suspects.
They must've been waiting very nearby. Yumi thought as she stood to allow Corday-san to introduce the new arrivals.
"This man is Chizome Akaguro-san, Yumi-sama." Corday-san said as she gestured to an intimidating, muscular man who walked with a distinct hunch, and had a flat, somewhat-triangular face without a nose and an extraordinarily long tongue that he ran across his lips constantly. He had rather long, black hair, which he wore in a messy fashion that draped over his face.
He sported a dark combat suit, plated with metal armor across his body and a host of sheaths to holster his many, many weapons. Its torso was sleeveless, so he instead wrapped his arms in yellow bandages, all the way from just below his shoulders to his wrists. He complemented this with long black wristbands and a watch on his left arm. His knees were protected with metal pads and his feet by black boots reinforced with steel armor. He completed the outfit with a blood-red scarf and matching headband, as well as a tattered cloth that he wore around his face as a mask.
Yumi nodded at the man, barely holding back a grimace at the scent of blood that he gave off, and received a polite one in return.
"And this young lady is Yumiya Rakko-chan, Yumi-sama." Corday-san said as she turned to the other new arrival.
Yumiya-san was a teenage girl with gold eyes and long black hair that she wore in a pair of pigtails. She was dressed in a white long-sleeve shirt, a black skirt that she accentuated with a belt that featured a series of pouches. Underneath of which she wore what Yumi suspected was a black full bodysuit, which when combined with the rest of her outfit appeared like she was wearing stockings.
"Yumiya-san," Yumi greeted politely, offering the girl a bow.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yumi-sama." The teenage assassin replied as she returned the bow with one of her own.
"Likewise," Yumi said, more out of instinct than anything. "Alright, now that we're all here- Unless we're expecting anyone else. Are we, Corday-san?"
"No, this is all of us, Yumi-sama." Corday-san assured her as the woman gently guided everyone to take a seat.
"Good," Yumi said with a decisive nod once they were all seated and she turned to look pointedly at the two suspects. "You two know why you're here?"
"We're here as potential suspects for the killing of the Member of the Diet." Chizome-san said in a rough voice, his distinctive tongue lolling out of his mouth as he did. "Sloppy work that. So bloody public."
"Yeah," Yumiya-san agreed. "But that was probably the whole point of it. The client likely demanded it."
"That is certainly a possibility." Corday-san agreed. "But we can question the culprit about that once we've apprehended them. For now let's focus on doing that, shall we?"
Both Chizome-san and Yumiya-san nodded.
"Then let's do that. Corday-san mentioned you were both in the area when the killing happened?"
Yumiya-san nodded and began summoning some documents from some kind of magical storage space. Chizome-san seeing that his teenaged counterpart was preoccupied decided to go first.
"Technically," He said with a shrug. "However I was quite far away. On the whole other side of the ward in fact."
Yumi frowned at this and turned to Corday-san for an explanation.
Giggling, the woman obliged. "He was still theoretically close enough and had the means to pull off the deed."
Chizome-san scoffed at that.
"My blood manipulation-"
So he uses blood magic. That explains the scent of blood that surrounds him.
"-would never have managed what happened over the distance involved, besides I was rather preoccupied with my own mission at the time."
"Mission?" Yumi questioned. "I'm sorry and I mean no offense, but you do not exactly strike me as a typical assassin."
"Assassins do not just kill other humans from the shadows." Chizome-san replied with a snort. "Sometimes our targets are more obvious monsters and when that's the case, that's when I'm called in as was the case of the day in question."
"I see." Yumi nodded and she thought back on whether there were any monster sightings in the area of and at the time of the killing that would corroborate his alibi. Though she honestly believed the man. Her passive lie detection spells, weak though they were, were telling her he was telling the truth. Not that it would stop her from double checking just to be sure.
"I'll need to double check your story, but let's just say I believe you for now." Yumi offered tentatively and received a nod from the man, before she turned her attention to Yumiya-san. "What about you Yumiya-san?"
"Yumiya-chan is a more likely suspect," Corday-san said with a grin. "Especially based on her abilities. With her ability to blend into crowds and her ability to surreptitiously cast deadly the air bullets that are her choice weapons she could conceivably carry out the kill and she was in the area."
"Yes, I know that I'm a prime suspect." The teenage assassin agreed as she handed the documents she had been summoning earlier over to the Third Lord. "Which is why I came prepared with an alibi. Here you go, Yumi-sama."
"These are-"
"Testimonies, including my own, backed up by Geis that attest to their truthfulness. They categorically state that whilst I was in the area, I was doing so as a civilian and had been simply hanging out with my friends when the assassination happened."
"And how did you manage to get your friends to agree to provide such testimonies?" Yumi asked with a frown. "Binding oneself to a Geis is not to be taken lightly."
Yumiya-san rolled her eyes and replied, sounding exasperated.
"Neither is being held responsible for an unsanctioned killing that has brought the unwanted attention of the government and the Council of Thirteen onto the Guild. The only possible consequence for that is death. Taking that into account, my friends were more than happy, even if it took some of them a little convincing, to provide their testimonies."
Yumi nodded in understanding, but had to ask. "Were any of them mundane?"
Yumiya-san scoffed but before she could reply, Corday-san shot her a chiding look and replied on her behalf.
"The Guild respects the masquerade and would not dare to violate it by needlessly exposing mundanes to magic. Especially not in the presence of a Lord of the Thirteen, the masquerade's guarantors."
Yumi nodded, mollified.
"It seems that your suspects have been ruled out, Corday-san." Yumi said pointedly.
"My apologies, Yumi-sama." The assassin said coyly, clearly up to something. "But perhaps the Guild can assist you in hunting down the real killer in another way?"
"What do you propose?"
"Hmm…" Chizome-san hummed to himself thoughtfully as he used his blood magic to seemingly resonate with the trace amounts of the victim's blood that the cleanup crews had failed to remove as Yumi, he and the other two assassins examined the crime scene under the watchful eye of dozens of police officers. "Can I have a look at that map?"
The watching police officers were extremely tense but honestly Yumi didn't know why. Sure both Chizome-san and Yumiya-san had been suspects but they had both been cleared. Yumi, with help from Legion, had looked over their alibis with a fine tooth comb and they both checked out.
Or are they just on edge because they're assassins? Yumi thought as she eyed the nervous police officers with amusement. If that's the case, I'm almost insulted. Do they really think I'd let them kill anyone when I'm around?
"Here," Yumiya-san said, passing to Chizome-san the map of the area the police had handed them earlier and on which they'd marked the places where the shooter or shooters had taken their shots. "Did the police get it right?"
"Yeah," Chizome-san said after examining the map for a moment. "Not that it's difficult. The bullets followed a standard trajectory."
"So we're not dealing with someone who uses homing bullets?" Corday-san asked, referring to the variant of magic bullets famous for being able to change their trajectories in mid-flight.
"Doesn't look like it." Chizome-san said with a shake of his head. "Yumiya, you got the culprit's scent or will you need to visit where he took his shots?"
"No need for that," Yumiya-san said with a shake of her head. "I've got his scent just fine from here. You know who he is? I don't recognise him."
"Not surprised. He's a foreigner. I only recognise him because I ran into him once or twice whilst working up in Hokkaido."
"You know who the culprit is, Chizome-san?" Yumi asked, surprised that the assassins had seemingly solved the case so quickly when it had stumped the Japanese police.
"A foreigner known for operating occasionally in Hokkaido? It's the Phantom, isn't it, Chizome-san?" Corday-san asked with a frown.
"Yeah, it's that bastard." Chizome-san said, his tongue licking his lips furiously in agitation.
"How can you be so sure?" Yumi questioned.
"You see, Yumi-sama," Corday-san said, turning to Yumi. "There was another reason why I recruited Chizome-san and Yumiya-san despite being suspects. They are also, in fact, some of the Guild's foremost trackers. Well, at least some of the best we could find on short notice."
"I'm beginning to wonder if they were ever suspects to begin with or if you and the Guild had simply misled me on that front to engineer events so these two could become part of my investigation."
The enigmatic smile that Corday-san offered in reply did not help her suspicions at all
What in the world does the Guild would gain from being so sneaky? Or is such cloak and dagger antics so ingrained in how they do things that they just can't resist.
"Sometimes Yumi-sama," Corday-san said, still sporting that enigmatic smile of hers. "A coincidence is just a coincidence."
Somehow Yumi didn't believe her.
"Your sense of smell is exceptional." Yumi complimented Yumiya-san as the four of them followed the teenage assassin's directions towards the Phantom's hiding place.
"It's not really my sense of smell." Yumiya-san corrected. "It's really a magical talent to track targets. It just manifests to me as smells. I once had my whole nose blown off in a fight and it switched to hearing for a bit, and wasn't that disorientating, but once I got healed it went back to smells."
"I see." Yumi nodded. "It's still a remarkable talent."
"Thank you, Yumi-sama. And Corday-sama, stop the car." Yumiya-san said as she pointed to a house just a little down the road. One that looked largely indistinguishable from the other surbandan homes that lined the street they were driving down. "He's hiding in there."
Corday-san obeyed and she quickly parked the car they were using by the curb.
"I still don't understand why this Phantom person didn't flee the country." Yumi confessed as they all exited the vehicle and made their way towards the house Yumiya-san had identified. "I mean he's a foreigner, right? Why stay?"
"It's simple, Yumi-sama. Ever since the killing, the government, the Assassin Guild and a whole host of other interested parties have been watching those going in and out of the country closely." Corday-san explained. "If he attempted to do so, he'd very likely be flagged at the very least as being suspicious. As such, it would be safer to just go to ground inside Japan for a while, wait for things to cool down then leave the country."
"That makes sense." Yumi nodded in understanding as they reached the gate leading into the property the house stood on.
"Anyone sense any wards?" Chizome-san asked, looking around them suspiciously.
"No," Yumiya-san said with a frown. "This feels like a trap."
"It probably is." Corday-san said with a shrug. "I doubt he missed us showing up at his doorstep."
"Actually, there are some wards on the property." Yumi corrected as she drew her twin tessen Mystic Codes. "They're just incredibly subtle."
And they were. Their caster had woven them into the omnipresent ambient magic of the area with an incredible level of precision. To the point that Yumi wasn't surprised the assassins hadn't sensed them. She'd only been able to do so because of her own extensive experience with exactly these types of wards. They were the kind that Tomoyo-sama favoured as it played to her quality over quantity approach to her magic that was born out of her magical strength being notably weaker than most of her fellow Lords. They were thus a staple of all the properties that the First and Seventh Lord owned.
The three assassins exchanged a look before Corday-san shrugged. "We defer to you, Yumi-sama. What kind of wards are there?"
"From the looks of it just standard wards to keep mundanes away and containment ones to keep anything magical inside from spilling out." Yumi said as she gave the wards a once over. "Pretty standard stuff."
"At least it's not a hidden fortress." Yumiya-san said with a shrug.
"We could take it even if it was." Chizome-san said confidently as he pushed open the gate and walked onto the property, drawing the katana he'd strapped to his back as he did.
"Maybe, but I, for one, am glad we did not have to." Corday-san said with a sigh as she summoned her Mystic Code which took the form of a knife that appeared to have been a modified bayonet and led the rest of them after the man.
"Same," Yumiya-san agreed even as Chizome-san roughly kicked the house's front door open.
"You know there was no need for such violence, correct, Mister Chizome?" A man said from inside as Yumi and the three assassins cautiously advanced into the open plan entrance hall and living room beyond. "It was unlocked."
"You were expecting us." Chizome-san growled crouching low and his sword held at the ready. "Weren't you Phantom?"
"I was." The Phantom, a man wearing a black suit with a red double breasted vest complete with a pair of gloves, a mask modelled after a skull that concealed his entire head and an admittedly quite stylish hat, said in reply. "As Miss Corday said earlier, I detected you the moment you drove onto my street. And to be honest I was expecting this visit as soon as I heard that Lady Fukuzawa had approached the Guild for assistance with her investigation."
"We will have to clean house later. Someone has loose lips it seems." Corday-san said with a tired sigh.
"Later, Corday-sama." Yumiya-san said as she gathered magic at her wrists, around what Yumi only just realised were a pair of metal wands she'd strapped to her forearms and hidden under her long sleeves. "We have to deal with this guy first."
"Indeed," Chizome-san said, licking his sword with his tongue in a mildly disturbing display.
"Yes, we do." Corday-san said as she shot the Phantom a serious look. "Phantom! As leader of the Japanese branch of the Assassin Guild-"
Corday-san is the leader of the local branch of the Guild!? Yumi thought, looking towards the woman in surprise. Not that the assassin responded to it, instead choosing to continue passing judgement on the foreign assassin which had trespassed into her jurisdiction.
"-I, Charlotte Corday, declare that for your reckless actions that potentially brought the Assassin Guild into conflict with not just the government but the Council of Thirteen, you are hereby sentenced to death."
"So be it." The Phantom said with a shrug as his gloves exploded as his hands transformed into vicious claws and he fell into an almost bestial stance, his hat toppling off his head and to the ground in the process. "But don't expect me to go quietly."
"Perish the thought. Chizome-san, Yumiya-chan, deal with him." Corday-san ordered, as she turned to Yumi. "Please leave this to us Yumi-sama. This is an internal matter for us assassins."
Yumi just nodded and watched as Yumiya-san sent a salvo of air bullets shooting from her wrists at the Phantom only for him to leap safely away with inhuman agility, turning invisible mid-evasion as he did. This didn't seem to deter Chizome-san though who somehow, probably by sensing the Phantom's blood, swung his sword at the cloaked man forcing the foreigner back into visibility as he used his claws to parry the slash.
In the meantime, Corday-san was gathering some magic but it didn't seem to do anything.
"Darn," the older woman said with a sigh. "He is immune to my mind magic. A shame, I hate having to fight in CQC."
With another sigh, Corday-san blurred forward and lashed out with her knife at the Phantom's head. At the same time, Chizome-san tried to run him through with his katana. In response, the foreign assassin unleashed a sonic boom that produced an explosive release of air which pushed him away from his attackers even as they were sent staggering back.
He seemed to have forgotten about Yumiya-san though, who launched a brace of air bullets that slammed into his head, shattering his mask and revealing his face underneath. It was a horrifying visage that was badly deformed and looked like some twisted cross between the face of a human and that of a bat.
He shrieked at having his face revealed and somehow shot a brace of air bullets of his own that intercepted Yumiya-san's own, before he ducked under Chizome-san's attempt to decapitate him as he charged Corday-san. The leader of the Japanese Assassin Guild met him head on, parrying every swing of his claws, summoning another blade identical to her first into her free hand to make doing so easier.
I want to help. Yumi thought as she gritted her teeth to fight the urge even though she knew it wasn't her place. The foreigner had broken the etiquette of their profession and must pay the price for it. If she intervened, she'd make an enemy of the Assassin Guild and that was a price she was not willing to pay. A conflict with them, even a small and short one, would potentially cost untold innocent lives. What was the life of one rogue killer in exchange for that?
It doesn't mean I have to like it though. The Third Lord thought as the Phantom unleashed a directed sonic blast that destroyed the dozen or so lances of blood that Chizome-san sent his way. Sometimes I hate being a Lord of the Thirteen and Chief Imperial Mage.
If she wasn't, she could just listen to her conscience and join the fight before her.
Not that her allies seemed to need her help as demonstrated by how Chizome-san seemed to have counted on the Phantom countering his attack. In fact, it seemed like the bloody lances were little more than a screening action to allow him to close into close quarters. Allowing him to once more join the deadly blade dance between the Phantom and Corday-san.
"This bloody cheat is a user of Copy Magic," Yumiya-san as she launched a targeted shot at the Phantom's head, forcing him to screech in her direction to unleash a sonic burst that nullified her attack. "He must've copied my magic and used it to kill the MP. He was trying to frame me."
That would explain why Yumiya-san was in the area and the killing was so similar to her modus operandi. Yumi noted. His Copy Magic probably only has a limited range. He must've chanced on the victim moving close enough to her that his magic could duplicate her own, allowing him to frame her for the deed. Or maybe it's the other way around and he picked out Yumiya-san first before engineering a situation where the victim got into a position where he was still in range to copy her magic. Not that it really matters when he's a dead man walking.
"Looks like," Corday-san said as she leapt away from the Phantom for some reason as Chizome-san drew a machete in his free hand and intensified his assault, more than picking up the slack. "Judging by his immunity to both my magic and Chizome-san's blood magic and his inhuman appearance, I can only presume he is descended from a Midian or is one."
"I think it's more the former." Yumi chimed in. "His magic feels human."
"I agree." Corday-san said as she gathered together a significant amount of magic. "Angelus! I need your help!"
At her incantation, in a burst bright yellow light a strange being appeared beside the lead assassin. It was the size of a basketball with a jellyfish body, a pair of avian wings, a halo hovering above its body and an aura of bright white light. Light that seemed to burn the Phantom who howled in pain and reeled back from Corday-san's newly summoned familiar, leaving him open to a pair of slashes from Chizome-san whose blades cut a deep X into his body. As he staggered back, a brace of Yumiya-san's air bullets finally slammed home and blew chunks out of his body apart and sent him flying back.
"Angelus! Hastam Coeli (Spear of Heaven)!" Corday-san incanted, causing her familiar to create a large magical circle in front of its body from which it unleashed what Yumi could only describe as a massive laser of white light that blasted the Phantom and proceeded to literally reduce him to ash.
"And it is done." Corday-san said, patting her familiar on its head and eliciting a happy chirp from it. "Thank you, Angelus."
"He never stood a chance against you, Corday-san." Yumiya-san said with a giggle. "You are the Angel of Assassination after all."
"Indeed," Chizome-san said as he nodded in agreement and sheathed his blades.
"Quite impressive Corday-san," Yumi said, offering her own agreement. "And thank you for assisting with my investigation."
"It was a pleasure to assist each other." Corday-san said meaningfully as she snapped her fingers and dismissed her familiar in a burst of yellow light.
"Yes, it was." Yumi said with an irritated sigh. Knowing she'd been played by the Assassin Guild to allow them the chance at eliminating the Phantom with the official sanction of the Council of Thirteen. Something they would not have managed if she hadn't brought them into her investigation.
Well, I can't be that upset. Not when they have helped me solve this case.
The next day, Yumi was meeting the Commissioner General of the National Police Agency in his office in Kasumigaseki District, Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo to report the outcome of the case to him.
"-and then the assassins finished him off." Yumi said, finishing her recounting of her investigation. "There's a more detailed report along with testimonies from the assassins as well as an official statement from the Assassin Guild in the documents I gave you. As well as follow up investigations by Legion that verifies we got the correct man, including banking transactions that show his payment for the kill and recovered communications between him and his client."
And I was incredibly fortunate that Legion was able to verify we got the right person. Yumi thought, hiding a wince. I really should've made sure the Phantom was the culprit instead of letting myself get led by the nose by the assassins. If they'd gotten the wrong person…
The thought didn't bear thinking. Nor the fact that she had been used by the Assassin Guild to essentially legitimise a hit against a threat to their position in Japan.
I think I really need supplementary lessons on politicking. Yumi concluded with a mental grimace. I can't allow myself to be manipulated again.
"Though we haven't identified the latter yet," Yumi continued hastily, desperate to change the topic. "Though I've heard that your men have had better luck on that front."
"I see." The Commissioner General said as he eyed the manila folder Yumi had handed him earlier. "It was good that the killer was a foreigner, if it was a local it could've led to trouble."
Yumi nodded her agreement. If the Phantom had been a local, there was a good chance that there would be at least some degree of unrest that would have resulted from his death. All local users were part of some magical association or faction, if even loosely, and it was certain that whichever one he had been a part of if had been local would have demanded some restitution for his summary execution at least.
"In other related matters," the Commissioner General continued. "You heard correctly, while you were tracking down the killer, my subordinates managed to figure out who put out the hit on the MP in the first place."
"Oh? Who was it?" Yumi asked, curious despite herself.
"It was a rival politician who the victim defeated in the previous election and who had run into hard times since."
"So he blamed it all on his former opponent and wanted revenge?"
"Yes," the Commissioner General said with a tired shake of his head.
"I hope he rots in prison. Death is too kind for someone who would kill another for something so petty."
"Oh, he will. You have my word on that."
And done!
For those who didn't catch the implication I made in the one shot, the Assassin Guild never saw Chizome as a legitimate suspect for the killing. Yumiya was though , 'cos Phantom was trying in part to frame her, and since she was also one of the best trackers they had the bright idea to rope in Chizome, another of their more capable trackers, too and present them to Yumi as suspects showed up. Especially since, as Corday points out, he could theoretically be linked to the crime too. That way they could more easily convince her to allow them to aid with the investigation and clear their name. Or more accurately get her to de facto sanction their execution of the Phantom. Sneaky but there was no ill intent involved here except towards the Phantom.
And yes, Yumi's inexperience is on full display in this one shot as it had on occasion in the main story. It's something of a theme for her. In comparison to her peers who are either older and more experienced than she is or has received dedicated, long term, full time training or in Legion's case was literally built to serve in his role, she is the least prepared for the position she's inherited. This is something that I've tried to show, hopefully with some success.
Anyways, that's all for this one shot, so till next time ja ne!