4/12 Early Morning
As I heard the annoying ringtone I paid over three hundred yen for go off, I felt the need to hit my head against the wall for being stupid enough to buy it. Then hit the person who was calling me. Then hit my head again so I could go back to sleep. After hearing it for five seconds, I held back a curse a grabbed it, not even bothering to open my eyes as I brought it to my ear. I didn't put up the polite façade I usually did, as there was only one person who would call me at this hour.
"Someone better be dead or dying." Cause if not, I'll finish the damn job.
"Not this time kiddo." I groaned at both the 'kiddo' and the slightly smug tone the voice had. "Get up. Chief wants all of us to get debriefed on this haul we just got."
"It had better be good." I peeked one eye open as I brought my phone in front of me, reading the time as- oh for the love of- it's barely five in the morning! What could be so important?!
"Considering that the haul consists of ten crates of military grade firearms, then yeah, I'd say it's in the ballpark." My eyes shot open, fully awake at that moment. "Giddy up, I'm just about outside your place." The home screen of my phone came on, and I stared at it for a brief second, trying to will this moment into being just a dream. Failing that, I let out a tired sigh that turned into a yawn as I put my phone back on my nightstand, and I absently turned over to shake my partner awake before I remembered they went home last night.
Great. Now I wouldn't have a reason to be late.
Grumbling, I shook my blankets off and went to the bathroom, turning on the shower and making the water as scalding hot as I could manage. After my mirror was sufficiently fogged up and I dried off, I slowly changed into my meticulously crafted ensemble; tan peacoat over a dress shirt with a black and white striped tie, with black loafers and matching gloves. The last part, a detective's badge, was clipped onto my left breast pocket. I studied myself in the vanity mirror hanging on my door, checking to make sure nothing of my image was out of place. I brought a hand to my face, resting my chin between my finger and thumb, making a pointing gesture like I just snapped my fingers after solving a puzzle, my mouth shaped in a calm grin with one of my auburn eyes closed.
Feeling satisfied, I left, locked up, then prepared myself to work as Tokyo's Great Detective Prince, Goro Akechi.
At five in the morning. They'd better appreciate the sacrifices I make for them.
A scornful laugh escaped me at that. 'As if.' This is Tokyo, after all.
Stepping out from the automatic doors and the comfort of my apartment's front entrance heaters, I spotted Huang's well-worn department issued vehicle on the sidewalk. He was in need of an upgrade.
'Not like he'll get it. Was pure luck he managed to get even that old fossil.' I ignored that stray thought, opening the passenger side door and buckling in. I immediately turned on the seat warmer and welcomed the feeling of automated air replacing the morning chill.
"Good morning." Huang's cigarette charred voice spoke up, and despite sounding as comforting as sand paper, it managed to lift up my mood somewhat. "Wanna grab something to eat before we head?"
"Just some coffee. I won't make it through the briefing otherwise." His innocuous question brought up memories of our earlier times as partners, and despite how unpleasant their context was, I couldn't help but smile.
"Really? Hope I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" I glared at him from the corner of my eyes as he pulled onto the road, bringing a chuckle out him.
"Yes, as a matter of fact. My usually scheduled time for sleeping." That got a wry laugh from him.
"The casualties of service." I scoffed in response, and the rest of the drive was made in silence, only being broken when we grabbed our coffees. When we finally arrived at headquarters and exited into the parking lot I spoke up.
"We have any idea who was making the trade?" I went through a list of all known criminal groups in Tokyo, but none of their prior crimes or modus operandi painted them as being the type or having the means of facilitating an illegal arms deal.
"The dealers are known associates of the Qing Long Tang, so that helps. The other guys we collared had no priors, so we've got nothing in our own database to give us a clue regarding them." Huang grumbled out, pulling a cigarette from his now empty pack and resting it on his lips as we got into an elevator and hit the button for the briefing room floors.
"Anything else?" I hazarded to ask, even though there likely wasn't anything he knew that wouldn't be covered in the briefing.
"All of the perps were found incapacitated on the scene by the time uniforms and tactical got there." I hummed in acknowledgement. Foul play, perhaps? "But that's not the most interesting part." His lips quirked up in his usual smirk when he had an interesting bit of information on mind, and even after two years of working with him I still felt the urge to punch it off his square face, popping those three boils on his large nose.
"One of the largest arms trafficking incidents Tokyo, let alone Japan has seen in years, isn't the most interesting detail?" Even as I said it, I felt stupid for falling into his baited trap. His lips quirked up higher as the doors to the elevator opened and we stepped off.
"Our resident arachnophile was found at the scene." I stopped for the smallest of seconds after he said that, temporarily shocked before I caught back up and followed him down the hall, a slight hurry to my steps.
"Really?" I did my best to sound unimpressed, despite my mind racing at the implications. "We don't think he's involved with it, do we?"
"Me and you? No. The rest of the department..." Huang gestured with his hand and trailed off, not needing to elaborate. I let out a derisive scoff at that. Idiots. I kept quiet as we came upon the door to the briefing room, and I only just took a sip of my now lukewarm coffee. My face twisted up slightly as the bitter taste reached my lips. Needed some sugar in it.
Before Huang opened the door, I took a deep breath and quickly exhaled, forcing any frustration I rightly felt at being woken up so damn early, and slipped into my role as Goro Akechi, young ace detective, a perfectly molded smile framing my features as Huang opened the door and we walked in. I cast a glance around the room, noting how barren it was, with the projector still in the process of being set up and case files still being passed around on the various tables strewn around the room. Few people were even in when we arrived, and I kept the flare of annoyance I felt at that fact contained as I walked to the back of the room towards the table with the coffee machine and additives. Scooping in four spoons of sugar and a touch of cream, I took another sip. Ah, much better.
"Can you at least look like you're tired?" I turned to my left and saw my most frequent migraine inducer, resisting the urge to scowl. Partly to keep my mask up, mostly to spite him.
"Of course not. Crime doesn't sleep, after all." The joviality I put in my voice was infectious. Not infectious in the way that some annoying children were with their headache inducing happiness, but infectious in the way that it was so bad you were cheering on the disease to end your misery. It had the desired effect, Kazuki Ide's face tightening up in barely hidden contempt. He was faring being up worse than I was, his soft face showing clear lines and prominent bags under his brown eyes. His neatly combed over black hair was now covered in a thick layer of grease and looked as though he drove a hand through it in order to pass off as orderly and neat. "Ah, how rude of me. Allow me to make you a cup. You seem like you need it."
"I'll manage, Akechi." He spat out, likely with more intensity than he intended as what few heads were in the room turned to look at us. He paid them no heed as he brushed past me to the coffee machine and I walked over to where Huang was sitting at one of the tables near the end of the room.
"Arrogant prick." I heard him mumble under his breath as I sat down.
'My thoughts exactly.' I ignored him in favor of looking over the far more interesting case notes in front of me, flipping open the file and pursing the information within.
"Still as great at making friends as you were when I met you, huh?" I also ignored the barb Haung threw my way. Well, I tried, but the joke managed to dislodge my sleep deprived thought process, and after reading over the same line five times due to my eyes blurring, I gave up and decided to wait until the briefing started. Taking a look at Huang, and with his comment in mind, it caused me to reflect on the absurdity of our partnership.
On a physical level, we were the definition of polar opposites. Kiyoshi Huang; a portly, short, balding stump of a man who was going well past his prime, with an aged trench coat over a two-tone beige vest and red dress shirt, a gold bolo tie around his neck with a brown flat cap covering his bald head and stopping above the only hair he had left. Me; a teenage, young faced, tall for his age boy that was still growing and wearing neat and pristine clothes, with greatly cared for light brown hair.
I imagine it was part of the reason I was partnered with him to begin with. A joke that the department likely thought as them being clever. Not only to just lump the 'upstart' greenhorn with the 'one foot out the door' out of shape detective, even though I suspected that was the primary reason. And during the first few weeks of our partnership, that was how I felt. That it was done specifically to spite me, even though I was doing a better job than thirty-year-old adults at just sixteen. They likely thought that we would just fade away, go silently into the night and not accomplish much.
Two years later, I was very pleased to say that I wasn't the only one who had been proven wrong.
"Any gut feelings?" Huang spoke up, ripping me from my musings. He was looking over a section of the file that showed photos of the shipment, and I turned to the page to study it on my own.
"Other than it twisting at the prospect of being on the receiving end of these?" I snarked, but it was devoid of any joviality as I read the number of how many guns were found. 'One hundred fifty M4 carbines, two hundred fifty AK-47s, and one hundred P90s between the ten crates.' That number of guns was likely enough to arm a small army at the very least. "Is the NPA thinking of taking this over?" This kind of situation was more than large enough to require their attention.
"It's too early to say, but due to the fact we actually have some faces to put to this, they might just let it stay with us if we manage to get something out of them." I flipped over to one of the pages detailing the suspects, their mugshots glaring at me. A smirk started to form on my lips at the impotent sight, but the lack of any rap sheet for over half the men quickly made it die down.
"These guys show up on any other databases?" I tapped one of the photos, the man in it having a prominent bruise forming on his neck.
"We don't know yet, the request to other agencies is still being processed." Of course. Need to let the bureaucracy take their time. "Take it easy. We only just got these bastards a couple of hours ago." I looked to Huang in confusion, before he cast a glance down at my lap. I looked and saw that one of my fists was balling up. Taking a breath, I loosened up and folded both my hands in front of me. "You need to do something 'bout all that stress. How'll you keep all those fangirls of yours when you start getting grey hair?"
"Speaking from experience?" I shot right back, the reminder of my mob of vapid teenage girls doing my mood no favors.
"Heh, I wish."
"I'll be sure to let your wife know you said that." The scowl he sent my way managed to lift my spirits enough that, when the doors to the briefing room opened and a number of other detectives and uniformed officers came into the room, I was in a good enough mood to actually feel like I could focus on the matter at hand. Of the many people that walked in, I recognized the SIU director, my precinct's chief inspector, a representative of the NPA, and a tall man with brown hair and white streaks through it and his beard, black gloves covering his hands who I didn't recognize. One of the last things I spotted was a spot of silver-grey hair that immediately caused the back of my head to tense up.
Of course she would be here at this hour. She quickly took a seat at one of the tables near the front, while the last of the entourage took their seats at the front of the room.
"Thank you all for coming at this hour." I suppressed a groan at the empty gesture of gratitude. My chief inspector, Higuchi Kudo, took center stage at the podium as everyone took their seats. He gave a grandfatherly appearance, with greying sideburns and a comb over matching the well-worn face of a man with many years on the force behind him. "I'll ask that everyone remain quiet and save any questions they have for the end of the presentation. This is an unprecedented situation we're faced with and we've got a lot to go over, so keep a lid on it." He pointed a look towards me and Huang before nodding to the tech manning the projector. My eyes narrowed slightly at that as the first slide to come onto the large white screen to the podium's left showed the ensemble of guns. One of the crates was open and had a white, stringy liquid sliding off of it.
So, he was there. I felt a flare of trepidation at recognizing the melting liquid, but I kept it contained as the lecture continued.
"What you see in this picture is five hundred pieces of military grade hardware sitting in an abandoned warehouse in Machida prefecture. Uniformed officers and SATs raided the building at around thirty after nine and detained all perpetrators." The slide shifted to show all of the men found at the scene, their pictures staring out at the room. I noted that one of them had a significant bruise forming on the left side of his face, his eye hidden under a black welt and various cuts on the other side. I almost felt bad, were it not for his swollen lip making it look like he was pouting, which just made it look funny.
"These are the men responsible." He grabbed a laser pointer and circled it over five of the faces, one of them including the winner for best human punching bag. "These five we can confirm are the ones who brought the weapons to our shores. They're members of the Qing Long Tang." The room broke out into hushed whispers and quiet gasps. One look from the chief was enough to silence them, but I ignored it for a moment and turned to the page in my file that held the dealer's info.
'Minor drug smuggling, racketeering, low level assaults and thefts. None of these correlates to gun running.' I could feel my eyes sharpen in concentration, and my hand unconsciously went over my mouth as I went deeper into thought, only idly paying attention to the rest of the briefing.
"After securing them and the shipment, screams were heard on the roof of the building. Some of the uniforms went up to investigate, and found our most recent attraction." At his mention of that, and how terse he sounded, I brought my eyes back up as he clicked the remote for the projector, and in the place of bruised goons, an image taken by a cheap CCTV camera showing a blurry white figure swinging through the air replaced it. It was a night picture, so the only thing that could be seen with any clarity was the white of the costume the person was wearing, a black spider symbol emblazoned on the chest staring directly into the camera, eyes narrowed in a violent glare.
The Pale Spider. Tokyo's very own and very first superhero. And the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department's biggest current pain in the ass.
"He fled the scene the second he was spotted. Testimony from the dealers say he was the one who apprehended them." Higuchi's voice gained a sharp edge as he went on, and I could see his face shape into his signature angry glare from here. "This is unacceptable!" His brought his hand down on the podium, and a couple of the men in the room jumped in their seats. Huang and I on the other hand just rolled our eyes at the familiar act. "Two years we've been dealing with this lunatic! Hearing rumors and speculation about a man in black, then a man in white going around and playing at being a superhero!" My brow quirked up at that and I took a glance at the picture.
'Dresses up, has inexplicable powers, saves damsels and roughs up scoundrels; I'd say he's past playing at this point.' A dark chuckle left my throat. 'Then again, maybe it's not the vigilante who's playing around.'
"Tokyo doesn't need these vigilantes and costumed freaks polluting its streets! Do we want to go through that farce America is dealing with right now?!" At the mention of our western friend, the entire room went quiet with a depressing silence. Given that the Stanford incident was sparking outrage over the caped community, with even the Avengers themselves not being free from the backlash... Let's just say that Pale Spider chose a bad time to start being active. And also chose a rather unwieldy name. Well, was assigned a rather unwieldy name, more like.
Funny. The department hates talking about him, yet they're the ones who give him his title. Kudo looked like he was about to go on, but the man I didn't recognize cleared his throat and gave him a glance. Kudo saw it and lost his steam, and straightened himself out before he continued.
"Wow. Think that's the first time I've ever seen someone get him to shut up." My thoughts exactly, Huang. I looked at the man, and our eyes met. He nodded at me before the presentation continued.
"Getting back on track, while we were able to detain all the suspects, our top priority as of this minute is determining if this was a onetime event or if there's a bigger shipment incoming. If it's the former, good for us. If it's the latter, we need to put a cap on it now before it becomes an issue of safety." He gestured to the unknown man, and he got up and took over Kudo's spot at the podium.
"I'm Yoshimitsu Horai, a chief with the Public Security Bureau of the TMPD." Everyone straightened up at hearing that, and more than a few went rigid. I, on the other hand, was only intrigued. "As was said earlier, this case is an unprecedented case that hasn't been seen before in our generation. The only event prior that comes close in scale is the Washimine conflict three years ago."
At that, everyone's mood once again shifted, only this time to one of morose somber. The only one who didn't have a strong reaction to it was me, with even Huang taking a moment of silence. I have to admit, I did feel a little bad at being the outsider in this particular situation. Eleven police officers were lost during that gang war, and among them...
I looked to the familiar patch of grey-silver hair, and despite not seeing her face, I could tell how stiff she was, and felt a glimmer of sympathy at the sobering sight.
"Whatever cases you were working on before are now of secondary importance. Right now, what matters most is making sure that the chance of any more of these guns making it onto the streets becomes zero." Horai's voice didn't raise one octave, but the strength in it was felt through the entire room. At that moment, I wished that he was my boss instead of my current one. However, despite my wishful thinking, there was something at the back of my mind that I needed to ask.
"Sir." I spoke up and rose a hand, and suddenly all eyes were on me. Despite the reproachful glare from Kudo, I didn't waver one bit. "A question if I may?" Horai looked at me for what felt like a few tense minutes before nodding. I rose form my seat before I did so. "Public Security usually deals with national threats. While this is an incredibly serious event, I don't see how it would require your department's expertise."
"To be completely transparent, I thought the very same." I blinked, not expecting the blunt candor of the answer. "While this has the potential to escalate depending on what information is uncovered, the fact of the matter is this is a case that can be handled by the Metroplitan Police force's own resources rather easily."
…. Huh. This was a new experience. Complete and total honesty from a superior. I'd have to make sure to pinch myself just to be sure I didn't actually manage to make this whole thing into some sort of dream.
"However, one detail that was uncovered by your forensics has made my superiors worried." Horai turned to a page in his own file as he finished to emphasize his point. "None of the weapons had any form of serial number on them." My brow quirked up at that, specifically due to the way he worded it. "Page seven, if you're curious." I flipped to the relevant section, as did every other detective present. I browsed through the lines of notes, my interest in the case increasing by the second. It was near the bottom of the page that I found the information he was referring to.
"So the serial number was scratched off, that should be expected in something like this, right?" I heard Ide speak up from behind me, dismissing the line of information.
"That's not what it says." I cut in, not bothering to look back. "It says no serial number was found on the guns, not that it was scratched off intentionally." I looked to Horai, and I saw the barest hints of a smirk on his lips. "While you're correct that them being scratched off wouldn't be unusual, the fact that there was no evidence of there being one to begin with is what's troubling."
"Correct, detective." I sat back down, and I could feel the spite filled glare that Ide was likely sending my way. It had the opposite effect that I'm sure he intended, as I felt the corners of my lip twist up in satisfaction.
"What does this mean then?" Huang spoke up from next to me. "Guns without numbers on them aren't strictly speaking illegal in some countries, so tracking them through international boundaries is going to be tough."
"A good point, but the discrepancy is important to note. It could mean that they either have a line to someone who is willing to sell them before they obtain proper identifying marks, or that the ones smuggling them are also the ones manufacturing them." A chorus of murmurs and speculation broke out at that. Kudo tried his best to stymie the rise in noise, emphasis being on tried. For someone who was so skilled at going on derailing tangents, he was rather bad at handling other people doing so.
"And this should be obvious, but I'll remind you." Everyone quieted down and looked to Horai, his face narrowing in a steely glare. "Under no circumstances should any details of this case be made available to the public. There are to be no press conferences or anything of the like until we have concrete information. We don't need the people of Tokyo to panic, especially when we have so few details to actually tell them." Horai's tone brokered no argument, and a few of the detectives in the room even subconsciously nodded in agreement due to the sheer intensity of his voice. Me, on the other hand, I couldn't help but feel uncomfortable with the order.
It wasn't that I didn't understand the necessity of keeping something like this on the down low. I even agreed with it wholeheartedly. With Japan's overall aversion to firearms, news of this deal would likely cause unneeded panic that could hamper the investigation. People didn't act reasonably when suddenly confronted with troubling events after all, as the Stanford incident could easily attest.
Even so, I still felt uneasy about keeping it from them altogether. I felt that keeping people in the dark would accomplish just that. Keeping them in the dark about things that could potentially harm them.
"What about the Pale Spider?" The errant question the quiet that had settled in the room, and everyone present looked back to Ide. Even I turned slightly to spy at him from the corner of my eye. His face was set in stone, no earlier signs of his frustration or annoyance showing through. "What're we planning on doing with him?"
All heads turned to look back at Horai, and his face was still its impassive visage. A tense quiet settled on the room, and I had the urge to drop a pin on the floor to make someone jump out of their seat. Especially if it made everyone forget the utterly idiotic question. Finally, Horai decided to answer.
"The vigilante known as the Pale Spider is the one who brought this deal to our attention in the first place. We have no reason to believe that he's involved in any way, whatsoever." I cast a glance back at Ide, and despite his best to look calm, I could see him grind his teeth from here.
'Afraid you're not going to get your usual statistics?' Honestly, it's like they're not even trying to hide it.
"Your task is clear. Find the source of the illegal guns, and stop them from being set upon our populace. Dismissed." Kudo let out a strained choke as Horai walked out the door, and I'd remember the look on his face when I went back home to catch my missed sleep. Everyone got up and grabbed their belongings, and I finished the rest of my now cold coffee in one chug. And immediately regretted it, because boy do cold beverages and coffee cream not mix.
I saw a flash of silver-grey hair dash out the door, and I couldn't help but shake my head in exasperation at the familiar sight. 'Why does she even bother?' Well, I knew why, but it didn't make dealing with her any less annoying.
"So, what do you make of this?" Huang broke me from my musings, and I brought a hand to rub at my temple. I was regretting not grabbing any food. I followed him out the door and to the bullpen. I was about to give him my usual snark, but I was no longer in any mood.
"Where are the suspects?" Huang gave me a look before he answered.
"They're down in holding. Everyone's going to be trying to get at them, so I wouldn't bother." I let out a low grumble at that.
"Yes, because why let someone who knows what they're actually doing get the results?" I couldn't stop the vitriol that temporarily entered my voice, and Huang once again gave me a look. "Don't. I'm not in the mood." He brought his hands up in mock surrender, and I felt a bit a shame at my outburst.
"It's not like we haven't gotten the short end of the stick before." My eyes narrowed.
"I know." It's just that I only have so much patience for bullshit. Two years of dealing with it was just icing on the cake.
"Hey, we've busted some cases when no one expected us to plenty a' times. We just gotta do what we're best at." Huang's signature cocksure grin came onto his face, and it actually managed to calm me down. "Still, you haven't answered my question."
"What do you mean?"
"I asked if you had any gut feelings." It took me only a moment to understand what he meant, and it caused whatever feelings of fatigue or frustration to flee in terror in order to be replaced with burning humiliation. Huang's faced turned into a neutral mask, and I made sure to look around in the hall to make sure we were alone three times before I answered.
"No." The answer was short, curt, and to the point. If anyone heard, they would probably think I was just answering a normal question about the case.
"... It's really gone, isn't it?" Huang hit the button for the elevator to head to our floor, and I refused to acknowledge the question.
My situation was an unusual one. I mean, come on, how many detectives were still going to high school after all? Why, I must be so good at the job that the city simply had to accept me as part of its police force! There was no other possible explanation! I must be the real life Kogoro Akechi, which would be oh-so-dramatic given the coincidental naming!
'If only.' How I wished that were the case. The truth of the matter is, I was accepted onto the force as a detective's apprentice not only because I was just good at the job, but because I was unnaturally good at it.
And it was all due to my mutant ability. It was a rather unimpressive one on the surface. I could look at two objects, concepts, locations, people, what have you, and naturally make connections between them. What they had in common, what they didn't. If they were related, it they were having an affair.
If this knife was used to murder someone, and if this person was the one to do it. Completely skipping the deductive process. A rather invaluable power for someone in a judiciary position to have.
I power that I have since lost, and I had no fucking clue as to why.
"Don't worry Goro. You'll manage just fine without it." Huang, the only person who knew about my power, sounded like he believed what he said as we stepped onto the elevator.
As the doors closed, I wished that I shared his optimism.
'It's going to be a couple of long nights.'
4/12 Early Morning
I only just stopped myself from falling onto my bed, hitting my shoulder on the end post as I sprawled onto the floor, clutching my head between my hands. My ears were still ringing like I was in the center of church bell, and my vision was blurring everything together into a malformed miasma of shapes and colors, flecks of colored dots being strewn about at random in my eyes.
Alarm going off- Skin slapping against-
Tire screeching- Gas burning-
Chemicals coating air- Electricity thrumming-
Cold water covering concrete- Evening dew invading nose-
Everything around me was acting like it was being amplified by a speaker system, and it caused my head to feel like a constant pressure was building to the point that it would explode. Covering my ears had no effect, and all it did was press the now ice-cold water into my skin, feeling like flecks were scraping it off. A bit of it went down my ear, but it honestly felt pleasant due to it managing to deafen the surrounding noise.
'Wait a sec.' Ripping my masks and overshirt off, I went downstairs and stumbled into the kitchen, knocking over the dish rack as I turned both faucets to full blast. Closing the drain, I waited for the sink to fill near the brim before turning it off and ducking my head into the water. The mix of hot and cold water settled over my senses, and it stung my eyes like nothing else, but my entire world had managed to get taken over by a dull throbbing thrum, nothing from outside being emphasized anymore.
I let a breath out while still submerged, the air bubbles dancing along my face feeling like massaging stones. It didn't do anything to lessen the painful pulsating of an all too familiar migraine coming on, but it did its job well enough to stop the overflowing of outside stimulus.
I slowly bring my head out of the sink, the water going past my skin feeling like a layer of it being peeled off. The moment my ears left a sharp ringing had replaced the constant noise, and opening my eyes revealed a cascade of sparkling-colored dots filling my vision. My breath was shaky, and my stomach felt like it was trying to collapse in on itself.
'I'm going to be dealing with this throughout the whole day. Wonderful.' I rubbed my temples, then looked around the kitchen area to see if the café had any kind of medicine available. It didn't, so I'd have to grab some on the way to school. 'Wait, school...' I just now remembered what was waiting for me at Shujin, and what I decided to do that put me in this situation to begin with.
And here I was, not even half past one in the morning, whining in a café with my hands empty.
Sure, I stopped an arm trafficking incident, but I've got no way of knowing whether or not it was a onetime event or if there are more on the way. And there was the matter of just who it was that nearly killed the dealer before they incapacitated me. And the dealer...
I brought my left hand up, my soaked glove clinging to my skin from the rain. I remembered his neck in its grip, his throat pushing against my palm as I tightened it. 'Why did I do that?' I knew that, on some level, it was because I was angry about abandoning the situation with Kamoshida. 'But he had nothing to do with that. Well, he did, but he isn't responsible for Kamoshida's actions.' It wasn't right, me taking it out on him. His eyes came to the forefront of my mind, how scared he was at my actions, and how his skin lost all color when I stopped that needle from piercing his head.
A stab of pain that felt like red hot iron being stabbed into my skull stopped my musings, and I gripped my ears to stop the influx of blaring noise. I strained out a terse breath, doing my best to force out the invasion of stimulus. I opened my eyes, tears filling my vision before I blinked them away.
I shook my head and made sure to grab some plastic bags and a garbage bag from the kitchen before I went upstairs, putting my wet costume in the smaller Ziplocs and then putting them in the black heavy duty garbage bag, putting it away in the hiding space I found. As I began to dry myself off, I reminded myself that I would have to go back and grab that duffel bag I left in that AC unit, but that could wait until the end of tomorrow. Well, today technically.
While it made me sick to admit it, I was in no condition to go back out and continue with my duties. That flashbang completely unbalanced me, as my still ringing ears and sore eyes were quick to remind me. My bed actually looked like the preferable option for once. I ignored the pit of disgust in my gut as I sat down and began changing into my night clothes. 'I need to find a countermeasure to attacks that can affect my senses in the near future.' I considered my mask for a moment. The only thing the eyes of it did was widen and close depending on the amount of light hitting them and the movements of my muscles, and the hearing problem could be easily fixed with some high-grade plugs.
HORN BLARING DRIVER YELLING
I let out a scream at the sudden invasion, my hands shooting to my ears. The ringing had increased in full force, and I couldn't hear anything but it's constant high-pitched chord for what felt like an eternity. I dove my head into my pillow, and the cheap stuffing moved away from the impact, causing the sides of it to come up and rise around my head.
'Damnit all.' My entire life I've had this power, and it can still do this to me. As my mind agonizingly went dark, I wry thought made its way through it. 'At least it's only hurting me now.'
4/12 Morning
"-id. Hey, kid!" My eyes shoot open, and I instantly regret it when light pierces them like a knife. I bring an arm up to cover them, but the action pushes me over the edge of my bed, hitting the back of my head against the chemically doused floorboards. Immediately the muscles there tighten, and I actually whimper slightly at the sensation. I slowly eke my eyes open, and I'm greeted with the sight of Sakura's perturbed expression.
"That was graceful." My headache worsened. "You alright?"
I grabbed the edge of my bed and pulled myself up, my legs feeling like they were filled with water and my vision swimming. "Yes." Given how my voice sounded comparable to rocks being ground together, my answer did little convince him. He crossed his arms over his chest, somehow looking authoritative despite the brown apron contrasting against his pink dress shirt. "Just a headache."
"You need to take the day off?" I honestly considered it for a scant few seconds, but given the situation at school I quickly dismissed the idea.
"It's my second day. Not an option." For several reasons. Besides, my healing factor would kick in eventually. The only reason I was still drowsy was because it was early in the morning and the flashbang had directly affected my senses.
Crosswalk signal going off-
Feet stamping on asphalt-
Jackhammer drilling into concrete-
I brought a hand up to cover my ear. I looked to my still open window, my eyes wincing at the morning light before they adjusted. I had forgotten to close it last night.
"Kid, your eyes are bloodshot all to hell." I didn't manage to stop an annoyed grumble from escaping me. "I don't have any issue calling in-"
"I'm fine." I snap my head to him, looking Sakura straight in the eye. He flinched back slightly, and for a moment a stab of guilt grows through my chest. I cast it aside. I had no patience to be coddled by this man. "I've dealt with headaches before." I brush past him and head to grab my uniform, but he grabs my arm. The muscles in it immediately tense up at the course feeling of his hand, and I wretch it from his grasp, continuing with putting my uniform on. "Do you mind?" I started to take my shirt off, idly grabbing for my rosary off the back of the... I grabbed it.
"I'm sorry." I stop in the middle of putting it on. I let the chain fall on my shoulders, moving my hair out from under it. "About what I said." I look back to him, and he searches my face for some understanding on what I'm feeling.
Good luck.
"I thought..." Sakura scratches the back of his neck, his eyes closed as he turns away from me. "From what I heard about your situation," I felt my fists ball up, "I thought that what you needed was a disciplinarian of some sort. Help set you straight, if that makes sense." He opened his eyes again to look at me, pleading. I stay rooted in my position, not one inch of skin so much as twitching. He eventually lets out a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry. That's all I've got."
….
"... You have nothing to be sorry for." I continue to gather my school items, moving them to my bed.
"W-what?" Sakura looks as if he's been smacked across the face as I walk by him. "Look, what I said obviously upset you, so-"
"You're right. It did." He stops in his tracks, and I turn to look him in the eye. "But you also weren't wrong to act that way. And I responded poorly." His mouth drops, moving as if trying to find the right words. "Is that all?" It snaps shut, and he lets out a breath through his nose as he shakes his head.
"Yeah." He looks back to me, rubbing the back of his neck again. "You sure you don't need the day off?"
I hazarded a cursory scan with my powers, and nothing looked as if it was going to cause me any problems throughout the day. The ringing in my ears had now since disappeared, and my head had settled into a dull throb. "Yes. I'll grab some medicine on my way to school." Sakura stayed there for a moment longer, until he finally turned away.
"If you say so." He stopped at the stairs and looked back to me. "There's a clinic just across from the café, literally straight ahead once you exit the door." I blinked, not expecting the advice. "I'll call and tell them you might be a little late. If you get any worse, just head back here, alright?" He continued back to the bar before I had a chance to say anything, leaving me in the attic.
…. I changed out of my bed clothes and into my uniform, slinging my bag over my shoulder and tapping the rosary under my school shirt.
'Did I do something wrong?' While what Sakura said hit too close for comfort on my part, he did it thinking that it would help me. Not something that was worth investing any time in, but the effort was what mattered in the end. And I told him that it was fine, so why did he seem so confused?
Letting out my own sigh, I walked downstairs and decided to head to that clinic he mentioned. I cast a glance at him as I passed the bar, watching him prepare a fresh batch of coffee. I took a moment to savor the smell of it, the aroma of caffeine doing wonders for my head. I stopped at the door, grasping the handle but not opening it. I could feel Sakura cast a glance at me as I stayed there.
"I accept your apology." I didn't wait for a response as I left the café, walking down the street. Right now, I honestly don't think he did anything particularly wrong, but he still made the effort to accommodate for his actions. Accepting those efforts was the right thing to do. I felt something tighten in my chest at my reasoning, but I ignored it as I walked across the street and to the clinic.
The same odd neon sign I saw when first arriving in Yongen-jaya greeted me, the words 'Takemi Medical Clinic' in bright red. A teddy bear wearing a nurse cap with various needles sticking in its arms, covered in stitches was to the right of the title. Not the most welcoming of signs for a medicinal facility to have, and the prospect of entering one of them with a sign like that set my teeth on edge.
Given my experiences with hospitals and the like, I wasn't strictly speaking fond of establishments like this. The sign certainly wasn't doing my nerves any favors. And to complete this unnerving image, I could easily hear loud music, I think it was the genre called 'metal,' blaring from behind the walls of the place.
To say I was trepidatious when I set foot on stairs to the door would be putting it mildly.
The music was so loud that when I grabbed the doorknob, it was actually shaking from the noise, and I could now clearly hear the discordant notes of what I could only assume was music. 'More accurate to call it violent noise.' That thought was only solidified when I finally pushed the door open, and my ears went through its most violent assault since... last night essentially. My ears were now ringing again, and I saw another batch of colored spots occupying my vision that I was forced to blink away. Mercifully, the music was turned off, and I turned to look at the doctor with poor auditory health concerns.
"Ah, sorry about that." She sounded surprised, her carefree voice a stark contrast to her equally contrasting appearance, the white of her doctor's coat striking against her dark blue dress and pale skin, with dyed navy-blue hair and a black, studded choker with a necklace holding a vial of some sort completing the odd ensemble. She tilted her head looking at me, before her lips came up in a smile. "I don't get many patients this early."
Given that the small waiting room was only populated by a dusty magazine rack, a dead dracaena next to the door, a whiteboard that hadn't been written on in ages, and the red lines of matching, fading cushioned seats on both opposing walls being the only element of color in the dull grey walls of the depressing place, I didn't take long to find out why.
I trudge my way to the service counter she's behind, my vision blurring and legs shaking as I did so. I put my hand on the countertop to steady myself when I reach it. "For a doctor, you have poor care for your hearing." I barely recognize the fact that I actually said that, and when I do my face reddens in embarrassment. The lady, I'm assuming Takemi, sets her mouth in a curved line.
"You have to listen to it loud. Otherwise, what's the point?" She smirks at me, a playful look spreading across her eyes.
"Not going deaf." Like I felt I was drawing ever closer to. She lets out a laugh at the comment, despite how rude I was being.
"I see you're just as personable as ever." I tilt my head in confusion at that, until I remember that this woman was sitting at the bar last night when I got back from Shujin. I looked away in shame at the reminder of my attitude. "I'm Tae Takemi. How can I help?"
I shake my head, dispelling any leftover discomfort from the assault my senses have been under these past hours. "I just need some headache medication." My voice was still as coarse as it was when I woke up, and it caused Takemi to raise her eyebrow at hearing it properly.
"And some water as well from the sound of things." She got up and went to the back wall of her little office area to a shelf that had a variety of pill bottles arrayed on the many sections of it. "Anything specific?"
"Triptans." She stopped midstride, turning her head to give me a confused glance before narrowing her eyes.
"Those are used for migraines, not garden-variety headaches." There was a warning tone to her voice, all trace of her earlier laid-back attitude gone. "If it's that bad, I'd recommend simple aspirin and bedrest."
"I've tried that." I grumbled out. "I've also tried acetaminophen, dihydroergotamines, Lasmiditan, ubrogepant, opioids, chlorpromazine, beta blockers, tricyclic antidepressants, and valproate." She blinked at my rapid listing of all the medications I've been administered over the past years to help with one of the many pains I've had to deal with. "Triptans work the best for me."
She stood there for a moment, digesting my abridged medical history. Eventually she raised a hand in defeat before saying, "Well, when you put it like that." My eyes narrowed, but I paid the comment no heed as she grabbed a clipboard and walked to a door at the side of the office. "Meet me in the exam room please."
"I have school." I only just remembered Sakura's comment about calling in case of my absence.
"I'll write you a note." She opened the door to the room. "Come on. I don't bite." I didn't have time to protest as the door closed. I let an annoyed sigh as I open the door to my right and enter the cramped exam room, the smell of medicine and clinic specific sanitization further aggravating my mood. Sitting down on the one bed in the dimly lit place, I prepare myself for the questions I've been asked for as long as I can remember.
"Fill this out please." She hands me the clipboard, and the information that's needed for the patient form flows out my hand with practiced ease. "So, how long have you been dealing with migraines?" Takemi takes the board back and prepares to write her own notes, folding her bare legs over one another, my eyes being distracted momentarily by the black, crisscross design of her sandals that went to just below her shin.
"I started receiving specialized treatment for them when I was four. I've had them for as long as I can remember." My voice is robotic, listing off information that I've known my entire life. Takemi looks up from her clipboard, her light brown eyes widening.
"This is a chronic issue?" I nodded. "Is there an underlying cause?"
'Yes.' I bitterly thought, but instead answered, "None was found. It's just something I've always dealt with." Takemi looked annoyed for whatever reason at my answer before looking back down and jotting some notes. She didn't look back up as she continued to ask more questions.
"Are you on any medication for it at the moment, or any other types I should be aware of?"
"No." She stops writing again and looks up from the board, giving me a questioning stare. "Personal issues. Not necessary for you to know." My voice is firm, and even though she looks ready to challenge it, she shakes her head and looks back down.
The medical history continues, and we eventually move on to the quick examination. It takes effort on my part to keep my eyes open when she looks at them with her ophthalmoscope, but it isn't something I haven't dealt with before. Finally, it ends, and Takemi writes out a prescription for Imitrex.
"I take it you know the side effects and proper dosage?" I nodded, putting the bottle in my school bag. "I'd honestly rather you just stay home, but I have the impression you'd rather not given last night." I looked to her as I got up from the bed, her face and voice regaining a bit of its playful edge. "When you need a refill, come back right away." She purses her lips for a second, then she settles on me with a glance that I can only refer to as mischievous. "I might have something special cooked up that can do a better job than what you've been treated with," she raised one of her eyes up, "if you're interested, of course."
…. That wasn't suspicious. I cast out a quick scan of the area, and I couldn't find anything that would seem out of the ordinary for a small clinic to have. I detected a group of chemicals that seemed to be in the development phase, and I couldn't compare them to any standard form of medication through a cursory inspection with my powers. Was it normal for a small clinic to manufacture their own meds?
I looked at Takemi for a brief second, inspecting her face for any sign of malicious intent. I can't find anything out of place with her posture, and I detect no elevations in heart rate or body temperature, so chances are the innocent offer was just that; an innocent offer said in a not so innocent way.
"Thank you. I'll consider it." I bowed and left the building, leaving my part of the payment on the countertop. Only after walking a few steps away from the building, I can easily hear that screeching 'music' blasting within the walls of the place again. 'I pity her audiologist.'
As I grabbed a seat on the train bound for Shujin, I checked the time on my phone. Eight thirty-four. I let out a terse sigh at the fact that I was going to be late on my second day, and I could feel the back of my head tense up. Not having any patience to wait until I got to school, I grabbed the bottle of Imitrex and deposited about six of the fifty milligram tablets onto my hand. For most people, you weren't supposed to exceed two hundred milligrams of the medicine within twenty-four hours. These six were one hundred milligrams past the recommended dosage.
I put the tablets in my mouth and swallowed them in one motion. Given my healing factor and enhanced metabolism, I wasn't most people. Taking this amount wouldn't affect me in any adverse way, and really only acted as a buffer to my natural ability to fight off bodily ills. The only reason I was taking it now was due to that flashbang I took.
At the remembrance of last night's encounter, my mind focuses on the metal appendage I saw that preceded it. I only caught a fraction of a glimpse at it, but I could easily remember the steel green-grey color of it. 'Who was that? And more importantly, how were they able to sneak up on me?' My senses made it virtually impossible for anyone to sneak up on me. The fact that whoever this person was could accomplish that, despite what appeared to be a very complicated set of machinery attached to them, was a troubling prospect to say that least.
'And it nearly got someone killed.' My jaw clenched, and the terrified visage of the dealer flashed across my eyes, his skin going a deathly pale at the sight of the needle between my fingers, inches away from piercing his head. I felt a hand drift up my chest, gripping my broken cross through the coarse fabric of my school shirt.
What the man was doing was wrong. Unquestionably. He was bringing guns onto Tokyo's shores, selling them to God knows who. He should be punished for what he was doing. But that didn't mean he should be killed. That he deserved to die. If I felt that way, I would have let that mystery figure finish what he attempted.
'Then why did you torture him?' My hand gripped tighter around my cross, and my face scrunched up in worry. 'Those would have been his last moments if you were too late. Him. Your hand around his throat. Terrified.' I reasoned with myself that I didn't let that happen, but it felt weak. An excuse. Hell, not even an excuse. An evasion. I let out a calming breath, leaning the back of my head against the cool window of the train car.
'I did it because I was angry.' My mind doesn't act to counter the statement. To further interrogate my actions. As the train stopped and I exited the station, thoughts on my destination told me why that was.
I was under no illusions that my actions could be seen as extreme, even cruel. I sent some criminals to the hospital well before they were sent to prison. With my strength, it would be naïve to think that I wasn't capable of seriously hurting people. But that didn't give me the right to carelessly cause more harm than I wanted to avert, because it would do nothing to actually solve any of the problems I encountered.
Memories of the human trafficking incident I stopped a couple of nights ago spring to mind, in particular the part where I kicked a man whose ribcage I had fractured earlier. I didn't pay any heed to actions then, but now I was practically flogging myself for simply putting my hand on another man in an intimidation display. So what was the difference here?
…. It was obvious to me. The prior was a crime that specifically got under my skin. Seeing those girls and boys, some not even close to my age... it stuck a chord, to say the least. With the dealers, it was because I was taken away by a similar type of criminal, one who I had been in contact with for just a few moments, and yet had already met two of his victims. Having to divert my attention from something like that had put me on edge, my entire body feeling like a coiled spring that would snap out at the slightest provocation.
I stopped and looked up, the stairs and closed gate of Shujin Academy filling my vision, its steel white walls rising above the black bars. It was just after nine, and the overcast clouds from last night's downpour made the building and area blend into a dull, nondescript grey. It looked more along the lines of a forgettable office building than a school, and the dichotomy created a strange disconnect in my mind. It didn't seem like the kind of place children belonged, like there was no life to it.
Knowledge of what was going on behind its walls only added to the oppressive imagery. That students were being preyed upon by a sexual predator who was in a position of power over them, that he was being potentially covered by the man who was responsible for the place.
I walked up to the gate and laid a hand against its damp surface, sticking to it, then pulled upwards, curling through the air as I landed on the other side of the gate. As I walked towards the entrance, my earlier dilemma echoed in the back of my thoughts.
Kamoshida, the dealer, the human trafficker. All scum. They all deserved to go to jail. And I would ensure and did ensure that they got put there. But I wouldn't be cruel about it. It wouldn't do anything to help alleviate the pain they've caused.
I felt my hands tighten their grip, the straps of my bag straining under the pressure.
No. That's not the kind of person I want to be.
Author's Note:
And we're back! With a marginally better time between updates! So... progress?
Anyway, our introduction to the not at all divisive, absolutely beloved Goro Akechi! And also surprise guest star Tae Takemi. So, this is the part of the fic where the divergences are really going to start cropping up, not just through the introduction of new villains (props to anyone who can guess which Spidey inspired bad-guy I'm setting up here) but also with the canon characters of Persona 5, the most obious being that Goro is a mutant.
Or rather, was a mutant. With the setup for this story, its taking place during the same time period as Civil War (right now the lead up to it), so M-Day and its effects are still fresh in the world. How this will affect Goro and his relationship with our pale vigilante will remain to be seen.
I'll admit, I feel the introduction to Takemi was a bit weak, and a bit of the casualty for how long I prefer to make my chapters. Given how much time I usually take between updates, I feel the need to give you guys something meaty.
Also, with the ending bit, while I hope Kurokuya doesn't come across as overly angsty, I wanted to show that he isn't the typical 'grizzly badass, stoic vigilante who dispenses justice indiscriminately' type character, but rather someone who is aware of the grey area people who resort to criminal activity operate how he deals with that, and that he does care and think about the ramifications of his actions, even with regards to criminals he fights. I also just wanted to use this chapter as a small introduction to his... shall we say interesting sense of self.
With that, enjoy!
Also, double kudos to the people who recognize the characters I'm importing from another series. Can you guess who?
