Disclaimer: I do not own Eminence in Shadow series.
Identity
Like some other nights, Cid Kagenou returned to his dorm room after going through a rigorous training deep in the wood. He sat idly in front of the desk with a single paper sheet on top.
"Hm Hm."
A certain thought had been forming in his head. Grabbing the pen, he jot down the precious ideas which came to him on a whim because he was feeling bored. Yes! Got that right. Lately, the boredom was chewing on him. The daily day time of being a mob character and the daily night time of portraying his alter ego as Shadow have been rather bland. He didn't manage to collect that much money from the bandits anymore. Funds of Eminence in the Shadows were almost empty and he'd thrown most of what he managed to collect throughout the week into Mitsugoshi Bank. That was barely a hundred zeni he got for Alpha and the others, anyway.
Just yesterday, it was only a small chest of gold coins and jewels, and a few more sacks of coppers looted from those guys' pants. There was also a map he found, but Cid doubted its usefulness. It looked too old, too tattered to earn the title "Valuable Item." Nah, the term didn't even pop into his head in these moments.
"Done!" Cid announced eagerly to no one.
He put down the pen, enthusiastically snacked the sheet off the bed stand and raised it to his eyes level. As he stood by the window, the moonlight almost made his nonsense scribble on the paper see-through. But Cid didn't even let half of his mind pay attention to that. His heart has focused on something else greater. The outline, the details and the drawing of a figure clad in the same black cloak as Shadow.
If anyone else saw this, they would think it was made by an elementary school kid. But Cid wasn't serious in the making. Just this one night, he didn't ask the pen to dance gracefully in his grasp. He was currently a mob character so it's fine. It's still look good to him. This was one of his special mob techniques after all.
"Aside from Shadow, a new identity will be born. Someone with an unknown origin, living the unrenowned life as a mysterious wandering warrior while he follows the way of the undefeated martial-art!" Cid rehearsed the line he'd been wanting to say.
Well, he just wanted to say it out loud because it seemed kind of fitting the mood. However, the undefeated martial-art wasn't just a random words he picked. It was an idea coming into fruition.
"Man, I totally forgot about this character design. Should I start roleplaying as this person instead of Shadow by tomorrow? Tomorrow is Sunday."
Simple. To Cid, this description ticked all the boxes of his newest fantasy.
A mysterious past. Checked.
A name no one has ever heard of. Checked.
The silent type of person who kept things to himself. Checked.
A stylistic, hardened warrior who fights using nothing but his fists. Checked. Reason? Martial-artist, DUH!
A shadow eminence. Double Checked!
More importantly, this new identity will be an excuse for him to put into use a combination of various fighting styles he'd been practicing. Yeah, maybe he just wanted to do just that instead of the usual swordplay and overpowered magic output. Sometime, you have to try a new experience.
"Yeah. This is good." Cid nodded to himself, smiling from ear to ear. "Starting tomorrow, Shadow will temporarily step down from the world stage, gone missing and a new existence will rise from the absence of darkness incarnated!"
Again, he was saying random things just for the heck of it.
"...eeh..."
Suddenly, he flinched. As if a realization struck, Cid looked back at the drawing of his character creation and pondered for a moment.
"Wait a second, doesn't seem like this will stick for the better. More like, isn't this an already established trope back in my world?"
A silent protagonist of his own story going on an adventure in a cruel, heartless world, punching every obstacles along way and doing NPCs' quests through his fists. Wasn't this kinda similar to the characters of those hardcore RGP games back in the days?
There were...probably...yes, probably plenty of this type of fighters in this isekai, right? Maybe? Sure, maybe. This whole character seemed redundant. Would it be alright if he did this? Things were starting off good for a moment there.
Cid nonchalantly shrugged and perished the thoughts. Eh, what the hell. He was bored anyway, might as well see how much more boredom he can get from adopting this persona.
He put the paper down and looked over to the stack of books at the corner. By a flick of his finger, the book at the top shot towards Cid. Catching it, he examined the string that wrapping around the object. It emitted a faint trace of purple-colored magic. That was one of the skills he'd learned from the training, Cid knew how to make it efficient. Still, he didn't think it would fit in with the new identity as a secondary fighting style.
"I should save this for future usage, then."
Now, talk about coming up with a suitable technique. It doesn't have to be purely strength and stamina. After all, 'I Am Atomic' goes well with Shadow, swordplay and magic. How would Cid apply it to a hand-to-hand based combat style?
"Circulating the flow has never been a problem. Maybe adding more decompression, let it regulates normally around the arms and legs? How about I mix it up with a palm-strike technique?"
As Cid opened his palm, the air began to flow, sucked into the central part of the hand. Bright purple light appeared, lit up the curious expression on his face while a tiny ball of magic came into view.
Pop!
"Uwahh!"
The thing burst, Cid was surprised. A strong gust of wind knocked down the objects around the room. He needed to be more careful with his magic output.
Doing it again, he created another ball of magic. Still a bit weak, add some more output, using the same principle with the Slime Suit. Yes, that's it. This should go well with the...
When Cid glanced back at the desk, nothing was there.
"Ah. The character design..."
The paper got blown out the window and caught in the grip of another cool breeze outside. How unfortunate. Maybe he should think of another idea.
AS IF!
He dropped the magic ball, took his shoes, jumped out the window and chased after it. It took him a whole day to come up with that design. As if Cid Kagenou was going to let all of this effort go to waste! Not like he could remember the details again! And what if somebody else found out about his brilliant design and decided to be that cool, stylist warrior before he even could!? Not a chance! By the holy copyright disclaimer under section 107 of the copyright act of 1976, he called first on that!
"My precious creation, come back to me!"
There it is! That paper sheet was flying up in the night sky. Cid followed its shade while he parkoured across the rooftops. At the right height, he pushed his feet to the ground and shot through the air.
BOOM!
That noise was loud. It sounded like an explosion just happened. Cid didn't look back to see what became of the rooftop, he probably left a crack on top that building.
"Gotcha."
Finally, it was between his firm grasp. He got everything clearly sorted out now.
Atomic Punch. It shall be the name of this technique. Against a worthy opponent, this persona will be the kind of warrior who likes to end his fight with the most powerful hit. Ain't that sound so freaking rad!
With that, Cid flipped the paper and read the content. On the other side, it was a wanted poster. Yes, this has always been a wanted poster he got from the street. He needed something to write down right away in the spur of moment.
Name, Mad Finger. Serial killer. Sightings, Ruins outside Lawless City. Bounty, ten thousand zeni.
"For starter, let's roll with this punching bag."
First thing first, he would need a wig, and a jacket for fashion sake. Mitsugoshi has everything Cid wants to get himself a nice outfit. But this time was different, this was an identity no one has ever heard of. If the girls knew about it, it would defeat the whole purpose.
Starting tomorrow, he is on his own as the silent warrior in town. Damn, he couldn't stop smiling while thinking about it.
Hm?
Wait. Tomorrow is Sunday. Isn't there something he's supposed to do on Sunday?
Looking back...
He went out for a walk with Sherry this morning. Because she invited him.
He had a little chat with Beatrix during lunch time. Because he happened to meet her on the way back. She said something about traveling outside the city for a small quest.
He had escorted Princess Iris across the town in the afternoon. Because she wanted to learn more about the life of a commoner through a mob character. Understandable.
He got a free ride on Rose's carriage to downtown this evening. Because she invited him, also. Well, it was a free ride straight to the marketplace, which was pretty far. Nice deal. Who would want to pass on an opportunity like that?
There was a bit of running in with Alexia after that but he successfully got away in time. And surely, Rose had enjoyed the rest of the trip by herself.
What else? He was supposed to join Claire in a sparring match next morning. Skip! Sorry dearest sister, your little brother has to miss on that one.
What else? Oh yeah, there's that little dance Alpha's been waiting. Nah, just this one time. She'll understand. He'll make it up to her some other time.
"..."
Or rather, he could go over this as quick as possible and come back to Alpha for that dance before Sunday's over.
Strange, isn't it? How come a mob character like him has so many interactions with the ladies? Cid didn't bother to stop for a moment and wonder about it. After all, why should he do that? He dedicated himself into living the life of a background character. Cid Kagenou was not a harem protagonist by any means, he thought so.
Enough about that. Tonight, the moon would pave way for the birth of a new warrior. Now, where could he find the information of this serial killer?
"Lawless City, here I come!"
That said, the taverns should be a good place to gather intel. With the goal in mind, Cid began following the direction that led him towards the bright moon.
Once he was gone, an event unfolded.
A group of guards were moving down the street. People were gathering outside Midgar Dormitory to witness an incident. Pieces of shattered glasses and furniture scattered around a corner of the grass yard. A big hole revealed on one side of the building.
It was Cid Kagenou's room, broken and messed up due to what they assumed to be another terrorist's attack. As no body was found on scene, the young student was declared missing.
By the time the news spread, it wouldn't be taken so lightly by certain individuals.
"Claire! Claire! Calm down! Let the authority do their job first!"
"Hey! Lady Rose just fainted for some reason! Someone please get her to the infirmary!"
"Cid-kun...how can this be...?"
"What do you mean my Pochi-kun went missing!?"
"Form a unit, find and rescue that boy at all cost!"
Sooner than others, the Shades started their movements from the shadow.
"Alpha-sama, what should we do?"
"Whoever's responsible for this incident, they must be either foolish or brazen enough to attack Lord Shadow head-on. Alert and mobilize all the Numbers. Initialize Fade-Out Protocol. Gather all the intel we can get about the culprit and Lord Shadow's whereabout. Track, find and eliminate the target if needed."
"Boss-man is very strong! There's no way he would lose to someone else!"
"Indeed, Delta. He must have foreseen this outcome and let it happen. It's impossible to think the enemy could jeopardize him so easily. There must be a plan. Yes! He must have formed some kind of plan in accordance to this. Now, it's up to us to do our parts."
The members spread out, leaving Alpha who stood by the window. A hand on her chest.
"You have promised me a dance." She muttered. "I will not let this situation deem your words broken."
Then, she looked at the moon. Beautiful blue eyes reflexed the shining star.
"Shadow, please be okay."
/
Author's Note: For now, this stays as a one-shot. This is just an idea that came to my head on a whim, the beginning of another load of comedic nonsense from Cid's side of the story and the huge misunderstanding everyone around him is getting.
Thank you for reading. Take Care!