Fushimi looked out upon the city, wearing his usual Sceptor 4 Attire, watched as the chaos went on in front of him. A Strain, who could apparently project copies of himself, was running around causing chaos in a shopping mall. The entire situation stunk of distraction, but Fushimi was ordered to this area.
Well, he heard some people he wanted to talk to where in this area also, so he decided to go meet them afterwards, a light appearing in his eyes as he got excited, and decided to wrap the situation up swiftly and quickly. After all, he had a lot of things he wanted to do.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?"
"Yes. We need to stay close".
"Are you sure?"
Currently, Azi and Suri were both riding in a large helicopter gunship on their way to Azuma. It seemed that multiple Strains had been confirmed there already, and chaos was rising. Azi was in the same harness as Suri, and if he had not been so short, they might not have fit. But, Sceptor 4 did not have any child sized harnesses, or child safe harnesses, in their Helicopter Gunships designed for heavy assault and support. Their ones meant for evacuation and rescue, and some generic ones, but not the ones meant to fly into combat.
He was a bit worried that the pilots who glared enviously at him were too distracted to do their jobs though. The situation caused him so much stress, his purple aura appeared and gave him wolf traits again.
"Shiro, how is your group?"
"We dealt with the one that appeared on the School Island, and are now downtown with Suku-chan".
"Hey, umm...Shiro-sensei, was it?"
"Yes, Azi-kun? If its about Suku-chan its not really the best time..."
From afar, the voice of an upset Sukuna complaining not to talk about him could be heard.
"No, its not that! Well, yes...I am curious about what happened while I was gone, but since you know everything about the Slate and all, I was curious...if you could tell me more about my Aura? Did you ever see it before?"
"I see...yours is still a big mystery. Since the Gold King handled a lot of the new Kings and their powers, the old one, not that new woman, he would know best, but from what I remember with the experiments with the Slate, we never really got a purple one. However, I do have one idea. Right now, its formed wolf ears and a wolf tail again right?"
"Y-yeah?"
"Then, its possible it is similar to Kuroh's" Shiro responded as he thought about it. "It seems to be aura that can be manifested physically. I suppose that also makes it similar to the way the Green Clansmen worked, as they could also materialize objects. So my guess, its likely something like that. It could be it shares some similarities due to you previously being a Green Clansmen, granted not really an official one, but I think it has some fundamental differences and unique attributes. Either way, I think it will respond to your mind and imagination, so if you use that, it should work to your advantage".
"Okay...but, why does it keep forming Wolf Ears and Tail? Its...its embarrassing..."
"What is your favorite animal?"
"Well, its a wolf but..."
At those words, Azi twitched a little.
"...you have got to be kidding me".
"Look at it this way. What if your favorite animal had been a pig, a fish, or a rabbit?"
Azi's face turned even more red then it already was.
"But why cant I control it?!"
"Its a flight or fight response, probably from your subconscious. In other words, those ears and tail probably gives you some sort of boost or perks. Just, try them out! Awashima is there so you should be fine regardless of what you do! Anyways, gotta go!"
And so, he hung up on them.
"Is he always this carefree and casual?"
"Pretty much. When his life was at stake, I dont think he really panicked or cried once. I certainly feel like it, suddenly becoming the Blue King and therefore defacto leader of Sceptor 4".
"Right...I dont even have any Clansmen yet, so its still not really real for me, but you already have a whole regiment".
"Yeah. I wish that my Captain had become the Blue King again instead. He would know what to do..."
Azi tilted his head a little.
"You cant just call him for advice?"
"Its a bit difficult...he has been busy lately, and is probably busy dealing with his family. After the Slate got destroyed ten years ago, he eventually found the time to get married, have a kid, and so on. Well, they also got divorced...I guess relationships were not his strong point".
"Huh...also, before we land...I do want to know. Sukuna-sempai was always so awesome when I saw him, but...something about him also made me feel sad. But now, he seems a lot more honest and happy. What was so great that it made him like that?"
"Lets just say...not everything has been peaceful the last nine years. Anyways, here we are".
"Ma'am! We just got an alert! Someone fired a missile at us!"
"Open the doors and evade! Azi, we are jumping from here! Focus your aura on your legs and let me handle the missile!"
"Wait, ma'am. Are you sur..."
"Yes! This is a decision as King. Just trust us!"
Suddenly, she disconnected the harness as the doors flew open, and as the helicoptoper took evasive measures, the force from that sent them flying out of the helicopter and into freefall.
"Awashima, ready!" she announced as she drew her sword, and created a barrier around the missile, causing it to crash and explode mid air with a huge explosion. "Just as I thought, that missile was enhanced with aura".
Meanwhile, after making sure to bring up their aura around their legs, the two landed on the ground unharmed.
"Was it the people from before?"
"Yeah...and it was an explosion, Homra's specialty".
Out of all the Auras, the Red Aura had the most fire and volitility. Packing it into an explosive missile would be child's play.
"Maybe..."
Azi, the one who was supposed to be investigating who stole the Slate as the only person who couldn't be responsible, was unsure. Although, if someone killed him, the one person who everyone was okay with investigating, the infighting and distrust could result in a clan war. Blue and Red did not trust each other, Gold did not trust Silver, Red did not trust Green, and it seemed like no one trusted Blue who were supposed to be the police for one reason or another. No one trusted Gold either, and there were wispers of doubt that Silver also had a motive for stealing the Slate.
He was the one who destroyed it with a Damocles Down after all, a rather eccentric way of doing things.
"But, lets actually find evidence to prove that first" he mentioned, as he saw the Strain, or the group of Strains, appear in front of him. They appeared to be weird, somewhat deformed, monsters. It seemed they were everywhere, as instead of bunkering up inside, many of the students were still running around.
"It looks like they are inside too. What sort of Strain is this?"
"I dont know, but this is far from natural. Its possible this is the work of the Colorless King".
"Can he really do that?"
"Every Colorless King develops a different power. We have a better idea of what you can do then what he could do".
"So you do believe its the Colorless King then who stole the Slate?"
"That...I don't know...just, lets focus on helping these people and finding the 9th and Orange King".
As they said that, some sort of robot rolled on up to them as if nothing was going on.
"Excuse me miss, but we do not detect your child in the database. Please make sure to check with the registry and central offices to apply to join the school, or to fix the clerical error".
The robot was suddenly kicked to the side by a small leg.
"...by the way, what are you going to do about school?"
"I already know what I need to, and I doubt a King should go to school anyways!" Azi shouted, and looked at the creatures ahead of him. They certainly did not look human.
One of them tried to charge at him, but Azi ducked and slid under the creature. As he did, a katana appeared in his hands that he used to cut through it, killing it immediately. It instantly turned into dust, and no longer existed.
"How did you know that was not a person?"
"...the ears are useful for something. I could tell there was no heartbeat inside of it. Looks like they are creations of some kind".
Meanwhile, another creature tried to claw him from the back, but the tail moved automatically and blocked it, even tossing him aside. Azi cut through its head, and turned it to dust.
"What else can you create?"
Azi looked at his other hand, and purple aura surged there and became a gun, a pistol to be exact. He gripped it properly and pointed it forwards. It had a very futuristic look to it, and had lines of glowing purple across it.
"Enough" he mentioned, except the two of them were suddenly caught off guard as a creature burst up from below ground. The negative about them not having a heartbeat, they could sneak up like that. Furthermore, it looked like it was immediately trying to eat Azi and Awashima whole.
And then, a massive gunshot sound went off as a blast of orange energy shot through its head, turning it to dust as well. Azi looked over, and enhancing his eyes further with aura, looked over and saw a boy, younger and shorter with him, laying on his back with his feet planted against the wall, leaning up to look down the sights of his sniper rifle that was half resting on his body. It looked as unusual as he thought it would sound if he described it, but that was what position he was in. He couldn't even be in a double digit age yet...but his rifle, it looked...well, like the gun he made, only with orange instead of purple.
"Is that the orange king? Huh, he has the same color hair and eyes as you".
"What do you mean? He has white hair and red eyes, mine are both black".
"...did you look at yourself in the mirror properly?"
"Yeah, and I..."
Suddenly, shock hit Azi again.
"I didn't even realize before!"
It seemed that Azi had neglected to mention that detail.
"Whatever, we can deal with it later! We know who the Orange King is now!"
"Behind you!"
Awashima slashed behind her at Azi's warning, while he shot a few more monsters.
"The Orange King was up on the roof, I saw when I was in the air. We need to regroup with him, see if he knows who started all this".
"Fine. But we still need to worry about whoever shot a rocket at us also".
"Don't worry about it. I have some people on that" replied a voice, and Azi noticed that Awashima suddenly seemed...relieved? Happier? Soothed?
"Its nice to have you here, Kusanagi".
"Yeah, when I noticed that the Blues were deploying to the area furthest away first, I figured I should come and get involved".
"Maybe once this is over, we can drop Azi off somewhere and get a drink".
"No reason to do that" Azi said, totally missing their feelings for each other and just thinking that they were friendly. "I am legally 21, so I can drink".
"...oh, right..."
Azi might be smart, but it seems he failed to pick up on their flirting. Then again, it was the middle of the battlefield, so his focus was occupied.
"Hey, Kusanagi-san was it? Any idea of how we can find the source, in case the Orange King doesn't know?"
"Yeah. Even with the Slate, there are limits. TO create this many creatures, someone is exerting themselves. Find whoever seems more out of it then the others, and we find the source".
"Alright, that is something".
Kouta Takama watched as the rest of the front yard was cleared, and dismissed his sniper rifle. It looked like everything there was covered, and there were still creatures inside the school he had to worry about. He sprung to his feet, and quickly put on his shoes and socks.
However, as he finished, he suddenly drew two guns and pointed them at the door from the roof down into the rest of the school. At the same time, the Sword of Damocles appeared over him.
"Sorry. I really don't have long, so I was curious if you would want to help me with something...that is a scary face on someone who is so young".
"It cant be helped, when a stranger in a cloak and mask approaches a young boy like me. What is with that fox mask anyways?"
"Its something a mentor of mine once recommended. Anyways, I would like to talk to you about the offer of an Alliance. You see, I know what the source of your power is, and more importantly, if you help me I can take you to it".
"I dont think I can trust anyone hiding behind a mask" Kouta replied.
"Then I suppose I only have one choice then" the man replied, and then out from his sleeve, a blade was drawn and he attacked Kouta.
"Hello the 9th and Orange King, I am the 7th and Colorless King!" he exclaimed, as Kouta blocked the attack with one of his pistols. He deflected the attack easily, and then threw a flashbang right into his face. The Colorless King blocked it and ducked under so it did not get him in the eyes, but Kouta used the opportunity to fire multiple rounds into his chest. He deflected them all, then charged forward with such great speed and Kouta could do nothing to block it as it slashed right through his body...not.
Instead, once he slashed through Kouta, or what he thought was Kouta, the image faltered like a hologram, and Kouta appeared behind him and open fired once more. He projected a barrier, but some broke through while others were blocked.
"YOu switched up the power of each Handgun...clever..."
"How about you show some respect then, and stop using a voice disguiser!"
He charged at Kouta again, but this time threw a few explosives around the roof. This forced Kouta to take a specific path, which he used to get around him and attack from behind. Kouta ducked this though, but he then got hit with an improvised kick across the roof.
But Kouta was not beat yet, and jumped back to his feet, indicating he had not given up. He then seemed to turn invisible.
"Do you honestly think such a trick would work again?"
A shot was fired at him from behind, but he blocked it with a barrier. However, then two shots came from both left and right at the same time, which caught him off guard and he was only able to block one. And then, four shots came at him. He was more ready this time, but two still caught him off guard. When eight did, he tried to dodge, but he still got hit a bit.
"What the...how...unless..."
The Colorless King went and stamped his foot on the ground, creating a shockwave that sent everything flying. Including several automated guns that had been created with aura, and one boy who got blown off his feet.
"Tsk. What a bother. You should have just listened to me, kid. Now, you are all alone".
"Am I?"
Suddenly, the man was hit with a rocket from behind. He turned around, and two boys around Kouta's age were there, both holding an orange energy shield in one hand, and an orange rocket launcher with the other.
"I bet you thought I was just some dumb kid who didn't know about the Slate right?" he questioned, a smile appearing on his face. Even though a mask was in the way, he could tell the person in front of him was displeased.
"You aint gunna believe whose child I am, but regardless of that, I am going to kick your butt".
"Wait...whose child..."
Suddenly, the Colorless King could feel a chill growing behind him.
"Its a shame my ex made him take her name instead of mine in the divorce" a certain familiar voice said, as he walked out from behind the door leading down from the roof. Wearing a blue uniform, and wearing glasses, Munikata came out. "But my son still inherited at least some of my ability".
Both of them immediately could feel the Colorless King, frowning and not happy in the slightest.
AN: Yay! We finally get to see Munakata appear! That said, quite a bit has happened in the past ten years it seems! Makes you wonder what it was exactly...well, hope you enjoyed!