The Lone Vigilante Issei – High School DxD
Hey everyone, it's me Hide Shinyama.
And here we get to the epilogue of the Battle at the Tengu residence.
How will things go on now that the fight is over?
What will happen in the future?
Find out in…
Chapter 34 – The Day after the Fight
24th of September, Tuesday, 12:56 am (past midnight) – at the banks of the Arakawa River
Multiple police cars were parked at a certain area near the Arakawa River. Multiple policemen had just cordoned off the area on both sides of the river, as they investigated the site for evidence.
Currently, the grassy banks of the river were drenched in wet mud and sand. Both sides were the same, being muddy all over the place. It was truly an unusual site, though perhaps not police emergency material. And yet, Inspector Kogoro was on the scene to see for himself.
"Tell me. What have you boys found out?" the police inspector asked one of his men, who was in charge of forensics.
The police man pulled out a clipboard and read out the protocol he had made.
"According to the timeline of events, we received calls from panicked residents that they had seen a flaming object falling down from the sky at about 11:20 pm. Some say it was a helicopter," the officer read out the facts.
"A helicopter?" Inspector Kogoro raised his eyebrows skeptically.
"Correct, sir. Furthermore, the sand, water and mud on both sides of the river suggest that the 'helicopter' landed right inside the river," the forensic officer continued.
"Has it been retrieved yet?" Inspector Kogoro asked.
"No. In fact, here is the mystery of it all. We found no object in the river whatsoever," the forensic officer revealed.
"What?" the inspector voiced in genuine surprise. "Have you checked?"
"Absolutely, sir. We have just sent our divers down there and they said that there was absolutely nothing down there. The only thing we did find were signs of the river bed being impacted by some powerful force, but no helicopter or any other vehicle whatsoever," the forensic officer stated.
The inspector mulled over what he just heard. He silently pondered over it all, only to come up with a question.
"Is that all you have in your report?" Inspector Kogoro asked.
"Well…" the forensic officer looked through his notes one more time. "…we did find something of interest…"
This piqued the inspector's interest. "What is it? A piece of the helicopter?"
"No, sir," the officer shook his head. "Rather, we found muddy footprints of at least three people leading away from the river and unto the pavement. We believe that whoever they were, they probably were involved in that helicopter crash."
"And…?" the inspector gestured for him to continue.
"We have secured the prints and their properties along with pictures of them. We presume that the three individuals have headed towards a vehicle and departed the area, given the fact that their footprints end here," the forensic expert finished.
"Hmm… I see…" Inspector Kogoro said, as he stroked his chin in thought.
A helicopter crash in the Arakawa river… no signs of a wreckage… and three footprints with a vehicle ready to pick them up… How very strange…
"And there is one more thing, sir," the forensic officer spoke up.
The police inspector looked at him strangely. "Hmm? You have more evidence?"
"Yes, and this one was the strangest one of them all. We found a… statue of some kind made of sand, lying near the shore. From the looks of it, the figure is of a young woman with wings and looked like it was toppled over," the officer revealed.
"A female statue with wings? What could it be doing here?" Inspector Kogoro wanted to know.
"We do not know, sir. But what we also noticed – and that may be the most disturbing find of it all – was that there was a look of absolute terror on the statue," the forensic expert described.
"Absolute terror, you say?" the inspector questioned with interest.
"Yes, sir," the officer nodded. "From what we could tell, the statue not only this look of horror on her face, but also seemed to be trying to pry of something of her head, if the remains were any indicators."
The veteran police inspector said nothing. He contemplated what he heard and tried to take it all in. However, the forensic expert had one last thing to add.
"And one last thing, sir," the officer spoke up. "The statue was brittle, so we were careful not to touch it. We believe that a significant part has been washed away by the river. Thankfully, we have taken pictures of the broken statue as evidence before it disappears. But while we were doing so, we came across something else."
"And what is it?" Inspector Kogoro queried.
"Although the statue was made up of sand, it wasn't the same type of sand found at the scene. It seemed completely different," the forensic officer reported.
"Completely different?" the inspector asked.
"Yes, sir," the officer confirmed. "The sand that the statue was made of was more organic, like… as if it had been alive at some point, only for it to turn into this lifeless husk."
The inspector glanced at the remains of Yuki, which had almost faded away beyond recognition. He turned his face back towards the forensic officer.
"Any idea what may have caused it?" Kogoro asked.
The man shrugged. "I… don't know… And that is what bothers me about it all. It's already baffling enough that we have eyewitness reports of a helicopter crash. But for the helicopter to disappear without a wreckage or pieces of metal… that's hard to take in. And that's not to mention this mysterious organic statue of a terrified girl and those footprints… I just… I just have no explanation for all of this…" the forensic expert said with an undertone of exasperation.
Inspector Kogoro, on the other hand, remained calm and thoughtful. He fumbled in his coat pocket and took out a cigar and a lighter.
He didn't know what to think of it all, except for the fact that everything could not be explained by normal means.
"Sir?" the forensic officer spoke up. "Any further instructions?"
Inspector Kogoro had just lighted his cigar before glancing at his subordinate.
"Tell the boys to secure this place for the night. We'll check this place again at day at ten," Kogoro ordered.
"Yes, sir," the officer responded and went away to relay the instructions.
Inspector Kogoro resumed his thoughts, as he put his cigar in his mouth.
It was all extraordinary just like the case with these bloodied frozen bodies in the park the other day.
And then it hit him.
Come to think of it, the victims also seemed to be humans with wings just like the sandy statue here. Also, they all seemed to have ended a horrible death. Could this be a coincidence? And speaking of frozen…
He could not help but think back at that strange report he read in a newspaper a while back about "The Frozen Arakawa River Mystery" (as it was titled). This case happened at this river no less. What a coincidence…
And then, that murder victim being mauled by wolves whose bloody footprints could end, as if they vanished into thin air…
And the mysterious oversized feathers that have been found all over Tokyo…
They all were different cases and had seemingly nothing to do with each other, but they had one thing in common.
All of these cases could not be explained except if one were to involve… supernatural means…
But could it all be?
Could the supernatural really exist?
And if so… what then?
Questions after questions… It was a lot to think about…
Though for now, it would be better to wrap it up and hit the hay. A man had to rest at this unearthly hour.
Inspector Kogoro puffed out a smoke.
He could see the headlines already, titled "Disappearing Helicopter – Washed away by the Arakawa River?".
The inspector shook his head. What a ridiculous thought.
It reminded him of that helicopter that emerged from that detention facility and disappeared into thin air…
Wait a minute…
Come to think of it, those two cases were quite similar. Both helicopters appeared and disappeared – crashed even – before vanishing into thin air, as if they never existed. The only thing that testified to their existences were the trails of destruction they left behind.
What's more, the incident at the facility happened about a week ago. It happened not too long ago.
Now, that he thought of it… wasn't the helicopter heading towards Tokyo from the outskirts of Kuoh? This couldn't have been a coincidence.
He remembered talking to Inspector Kuraido after the incident at the park. Unfortunately, it didn't give him the answers he wanted. But he also remembered tying the incident at the park with the appearance of the black helicopter at that detention facility. How funny that things were coming together.
"Sir? Is everything alright?" the voice of the forensic expert called out to him.
Inspector Kogoro looked at him mildly surprised and nodded.
"It's fine. I'm just thinking about something that's all," Kogoro replied and resumed his musings.
The officer nodded and went his own way with the rest of his team.
Inspector puffed out another small cloud of smoke.
He didn't know how to solve this incident, but he had the feeling that he found out something bigger – just like a man who had just lost his chance to win first place for a marathon, only to stumble and fall off the well-trodden path and crash into a goldmine.
Inspector Kogoro chuckled a bit.
"What a random example…" he laughed, while breathing out a fume of smoke.
As the small cloud of smoke ascended and dissipated into the night sky, unbeknownst to Inspector Kogoro, a figure watched him from above. He stood on one of the treetops in silence, as he spread his wings and flew off.
Inspector Kogoro never noticed the figure come, nor did he notice it go.
24th of September, Tuesday, 1:07 am – Tengu Residence, Nerima
A knock from the door of the Tengu house. About twenty seconds later, Soun Tengu sluggishly came down the staircase and opened the door. To his shock, it was a police officer who looked like he was in his twenties, standing in front of the door.
"Pardon me, sir, but are you the owner of this house?" the young officer asked.
"I am, officer. What's the matter?" Soun asked calmly.
"Well, sir. We have received reports from worried neighbors who claim that your house has been the center of explosions and flashes of light and temperature fluctuations," the police officer stated.
Whatever emotions may have been going on through Soun's head, he kept them hidden pretty well, giving a calm outward exterior.
"Well, sir… It all sounds… very incredible, but I can assure you that if there had been any explosions in my house, I would be first to know about it," Soun said to the officer.
This caused the officer to raise an eyebrow in confusion.
"If I may ask. What were you doing around 10 pm to midnight?" the police officer queried.
"I was asleep, officer. And I must have been in a very deep sleep because I certainly did not hear anything… Ahaha…" Soun laughed.
The police officer stood there in silence for a while, not showing any emotions.
Soun stopped laughing and sought to clear up things.
"Look, officer, sir… I do not know what it was they heard or saw, but I can assure you it had nothing to do with me or my house. I mean, if it did, my house wouldn't be standing here in one piece," Soun reasoned.
"And… inside?" the police officer asked, looking over Soun's shoulder to look inside the house.
"Same thing. Nothing suspicious," Soun answered quickly. "If you have any doubts you can come in and see for yourself."
The police officer raised his hand. "That's not necessary, sir. I believe you. I'm sorry to have disturbed you. Have a good night's rest," the officer said, bidding him farewell.
"You, as well, sir," Soun said to him and closed the door.
After the door was closed, Soun stood there calmly with his back to the door. He remained there in absolute silence. And then, he slumped down against the door and breathed out a huge sigh of relief. His nerves were utterly at wits end there and he was glad it was over.
"Thank the heavens, he's gone… I almost fainted back there…" Soun whispered to himself, finally glad he could rest after everything that has happened.
A few hours ago, Soun and Kasumi had returned to the house which had become icy cold something he expected, though he still had a hard time believing his eyes. It turns out that the young man named Issei had flooded the house, heated the water and then turned it into a frozen wasteland moments later.
Soun did not like the idea of his house being damaged like this, but because they had no other way to take out Yuda, he reluctantly agreed to Ddraig's plan.
To further his surprise, Soun found statues of men frozen inside the house. It turned out Yuda had backup and that all of them had been caught up in the ice – including Yuda, who found his icy death at the hand of Issei.
Soun was shocked that the boy could do something like this, but relieved nonetheless. At least Yuda would no longer torment his family and Kasumi.
Sometime afterwards, Issei's legal guardian showed up, the man known as Shinyama Hide. A rather strange young man, Soun had to admit. He did not look all to special, but he seemed full of hidden mysteries inside of him. But even more surprising was the sight of his daughter Nakane riding at the back of his… pedaling vehicle. It was a joyous reunion for Kasumi and him. They didn't know how long they hugged each other. They each had a lot of questions to each other and Hide-san, but the man suggested that they retire for the night and discuss it with him tomorrow. It had been a long night after all.
The destroyed home was… easily fixed within a blink of an eye, as though it had never been destroyed to begin with. When Soun wanted to know how Hide-san accomplished this, he merely smiled at them all before taking his leave with Issei.
That Shinyama Hide… to say that he was full of hidden surprises didn't even begin to describe him.
And even more so, that young man named Issei. He also was an enigma.
All he wanted to do was to visit his house to see some feathers. And yet in a blink of an eye, he saved Kasumi from her kidnappers, saved him and his family from imminent death and used supernatural powers absolutely unheard of.
Sanma was already a wonder boy with a lot of talent, abilities and achievements to boot. But something about Issei and his guardian that seemed otherworldly.
Just who were those two? And why did they come to them?
Just then, the door knocked once more. Soun nearly jumped in fright.
"Is it that police officer again? Don't tell me that he's here for more…" Soun said to himself, as he got up and opened the door.
To his surprise, it was his friend and permanent house guest Gunma Raotome, father of Sanma Raotome, who seemed to be dripping wet for some reason. He also looked pretty angry, too.
"Raotome-kun! Good thing you're here! Listen. We just had a…" Soun wanted to explain things to his friend, but Gunma cut him off.
"Where is Sanma?" Gunma asked Soun abruptly.
"Sanma? He's upstairs sleeping. Why do you want to know?" Soun asked confused.
"Because I have the feeling that my kidnapping and plunge into the ocean had something to do with him…" Gunma answered and went past Soun and upstairs into Sanma's room.
"BOY! GET OVER HERE AND EXPLAIN!" Gunma was heard shouting.
"AH! CRAP!" Sanma yelled and the rumbling of furniture and walls could be heard.
"WILL YOU QUIET DOWN! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP HERE!" Nakane called out from her room.
Soun sighed, closed the door and slumped against the door. He rubbed his forehead in annoyance.
"*Sigh* Can't I just… get some rest…?" Soun groaned.
Totally tired and exhausted, Soun fell asleep. He rested, while slumping against the door.
24th of September, Tuesday, 1:17 am – Perverted Trio's Apartment, Nerima
At the trio's apartment, Issei, Matsuda, Motohama, Shinyama and Ddraig were assembled in the living room and were holding a meeting. They were all tired and wanted to go to sleep. They had already washed up and were wearing their pajamas. Nevertheless, Shinyama had insisted they get together to talk about the results of their "Operation" and thus they had assembled.
"Man! How come I always get to be the one who gets a limb broken?" Motohama complained, as he rested his injured leg (now bandaged) on the sofa.
"Be glad! You could have been killed by that girl! Heck! We all could have lost our lives today!" Matsuda rebuked him, as he leaned back on the chair.
"Still, I wished you could have healed me, Hide-san. You know like last time when you healed Issei's burns?" Motohama reminded Shinyama.
"That kind of healing takes time. It takes about two or three days before everything is healed up," Shinyama replied.
"But how were you able to fix that house in a second?" Issei asked Shinyama.
"House? What house?" Matsuda asked bewildered.
"The Tengu house. He fixed everything in it like nothing happened. Even the inside of the house was back to normal," Issei revealed to Matsuda and Motohama.
All three boys sent a glare to Shinyama, demanding an explanation.
"I… I'm just better at fixing things than healing people. That's all…" Shinyama nervously answered.
Unfortunately, the mood from the three boys was still that of mistrust towards their guardian.
Shinyama tried to figure a way out of the situation. He clapped his hands together.
"Anyway, since we are here, why don't you guys tell me what you've gone through today. I'm sure everybody would like to know what you've gone through today," Shinyama said with a placating smile.
The boys looked at each other and then back at Shinyama.
"OK… Should I go first?" Issei asked.
"Go ahead," Shinyama beckoned him.
And thus, Issei began telling everyone about what happened to him, Sanma, Soun and Kasumi. He told about how Yuda attacked the Tengu house with solidified feathers and how Issei was ultimately able to beat Yuda with Ddraig's plan and abilities. He also remarked that throughout the ordeal, Sanma was a great help and that he wasn't such a pain in the neck after all.
Matsuda and Motohma marveled at Issei's account. He really had a tough time back there. Pretty much in the same they did. Luckily, Ddraig came up with this ingenious plan to flood the corridor with water and then steam it to freeze the Fallen Angel.
They had to admit, it was a really brilliant plan.
"Issei, I've got to confess to you. I'm jealous…" Matsuda said straightforwardly.
Issei raised an eyebrow. "What? Why?" he asked.
"Because you could defeat that Yuda guy – and his men. Us, on the other hand…" Matsuda trailed off, as he shook his head.
"Hey, don't say that guys," Issei replied with some humility. "If it wasn't for Ddraig and Sanma, I would have kicked the bucket out there. Ddraig was the one who came up with the plan to beat Yuda and Sanma was the one who could go toe to toe with him. All I could do on my own was nick him once with my Dragon Shot. That's it."
"But you still beat him, right? That's something to be proud of," Shinyama said to Issei. "You may not be as strong as most supernatural beings, but for someone who has only discovered his powers less than a month ago, this is quite an achievement."
[Maybe so, but for a host of the Boosted Gear, it is not good enough] Ddraig said disapprovingly, much to everybody's surprise.
"Ddraig? What do you mean by that?" Issei asked perplexed.
[I mean, that while you certainly did your best, this is far from ideal. You are still too weak. Ideally, at the very least you should be of equal strength to that of that Fallen Angel. But in your case, you barely managed to keep up with him and only managed to survive thanks to the intervention of Sanma. I'm afraid I need to strengthen the training regimen from today onward] Ddraig explained, much to everybody's shock.
"What!?" Issei cried out. "Ddraig, I'm already doing my best to become stronger and I think your training regimen is good enough. Why make it tougher?"
[Because there are always improvements to be made in light of your recent battles. From now on, we will give you a focus on dealing with hostiles from the air] Ddraig answered.
"What about us? Will your training regimen be toughened for us as well?" Motohama asked, hoping that was not the case.
[Hmm… I wasn't thinking about you two when I said these things, but… perhaps I could get you involved…] Ddraig mused partly to himself.
Matsuda and Motohama groaned out loud. Seeing their discouragement, Shinyama spoke up.
"Guys, instead of seeing it as routine torture, see it instead as an opportunity to improve yourself. Use what you learned out in the field to become stronger so that you won't get defeated the next time around. I can assure you, the effort will be worth it," Shinyama encouraged the three of them.
"""Easy for you to say…""" the three boys murmured under their breath.
Shinyama, seemingly didn't hear them, for he moved on to the next topic.
"How about you two? How did things go on your end?" Shinyama asked Matsuda and Motohama.
Matsuda and Motohama looked at Shinyama in surprise for a moment, before looking down in embarrassment.
"What's wrong, guys?" Issei asked.
Matsuda and Motohama fidgeted on their seats with blushing faces.
"Well, um… remember how I said just now that I was jealous that you were able to beat your Fallen Angel?" Matsuda asked, leading Issei to nod.
"Well, with us… uh…" Motohama continued with some hesitation.
And so, Matsuda and Motohama narrated what had happened. They explained how they destroyed the barrier, got discovered by the Fallen Angel Yuki, found Nakane and fled for their lives on bord the Chopping Board Type 2. They recounted at how they all were at their wits end. The blasts rocking the helicopter, Phoebe's blaring alerts, Motohama's failed attempts to shoot down their enemy, Nakane's incessant wailing and complaining… And then how they ended up crashing into the river and miraculously escaping death from drowning.
Issei and Ddraig were fascinated at Matsuda's and Motohama's experiences, but they were also humored when they tried to picture it all using glimpses of what they briefly heard when they last contacted each other during their fights. It was a hilarious picture.
Finally, Matsuda and Motohama mentioned how Yuki caught up with them just after escaping a watery death and then skewering Motohama's leg with her light spear. And just when they thought everything was over…
"…This floating green jellyfish comes out of nowhere… latches itself on her… and… sucks the life out of her…" Motohama revealed, speaking more slowly as he remembered the horror of that moment.
Issei and Ddraig were surprised and confused at what they just heard, but said nothing and let them continue.
"Yeah, it was the most screwed up thing I have ever seen. It's even more screwed up than that time we came across those dead victims of the Succubus back at the detention facility. Except that unlike the Succubus' victims, that Yuki girl was being killed right in front of our eyes. I can still remember the screams she made before dying…" Matsuda said, as he shuddered in horror at the memory.
"And what makes things even worse is… we didn't know what the heck that thing even was… or where it came from… It was almost like it came from some nightmarish world… you know like some kind of horror movie with its… fangs and… red balls inside its body…" Motohama described in obvious discomfort.
"And what happened then?" Shinyama asked, trying to get back on track.
"Well, then it just… floated away… It disappeared into the trees somewhere, but we couldn't see because it was so dark out there. Eventually, you came and picked us up. The rest of the story you know," Motohama ended the tale.
"Yes, I remember," Shinyama said with a sigh. "I should have known. Your faces looked too traumatized back then. Thankfully, I was able to get Nakane and you guys back here or else you would have died from a cold out there."
"Thanks again…" Matsuda thanked Shinyama.
"You're welcome," Shinyama answered.
"But… just what on earth was that thing? Any of you guys have any ideas?" Motohama asked those present.
Issei shrugged. How was he supposed to know? He looked to Ddraig…
[Do not ask me. While I am knowledgeable of myriads of creatures great and small, none of them are green floating jellyfishes] Ddraig answered truthfully.
Everyone then turned to Shinyama, who was mentally absent at that moment until he realized everyone was staring at him.
"Me? Umm… I'm not too sure…" Shinyama said with a flustered face.
It was then that his face wandered to his watch which said that it was almost two o'clock.
"Guys, we'll focus on that green thing later… It's getting late and I think it's time to hit the sack… I also forgot to tell you about my side of things in the operation…" Shinyama said suddenly.
'But you were the one who insisted we stay up for this meeting…' Issei said mentally with a sweat drop rolling down his face.
Everyone reluctantly gestured Shinyama to go ahead with his tale.
"Well, here is what I've been doing…" Shinyama explained.
It turned out that while Issei was fighting Yuda and Matsuda and Motohama were fighting Yuki, Shinyama was dealing with the remaining Stray Exorcists that remained at their headquarters. He explained how he used his abilities to knock out his opponents one by one, going into great detail about he punched one guy in the face, knocking his companion out with him or… about how he smashed a crate unto the head of another one… or punching another guy's throat making him spit out blood… until…
"Snore…" "Snore…" "Snore…"
Shinyama realized that his audience had fallen asleep on their seats. He sighed. Was his story so boring? He hadn't even gotten to the best part yet!
Shinyama shook his head.
"Oh well… it's late anyway… Time to go to sleep…" Shinyama yawned and was about to make his way back to his own apartment.
[Hey! I'm still awake!] Ddraig called out from the Boosted Gear, which hadn't been dismissed by Issei yet, despite falling asleep.
"Oh… Sorry… I keep forgetting about you… Now, where was I…" Shinyama wanted to resume his story, but Ddraig stopped him.
[There is no need for you to tell all the minute details. Just tell me if defeating those Stray Exorcists was all you did] Ddraig asked of him.
"Well, of course not. After I knocked them all out, I tied them up and called the police. They should be in jail now for loitering and carrying illegal weaponry. Sadly, I've got no evidence of their attempts to create a human smuggling ring or engaging in illegal prostitution. But… at least they'll be behind bars for at least a few years…" Shinyama said nonchalantly.
[What about those Stray Exorcists that were in the Tengu Residence?] Ddraig wanted to know.
"Them? Teleported them to their unconscious comrades in the warehouse just after I fixed the house. They should be suffering the same fate as well," Shinyama explained and poured himself a glass of mineral water.
[You really are an unusual existence and unusual powers… Just who are you really?] Ddraig asked suspiciously.
Shinyama shrugged. "Who knows? I'm just an ordinary man."
[Uhuh… sure…] Ddraig said skeptically.
Nobody said a word, as Shinyama gulped down the glass of water in one go. After he finished his glass, Ddraig spoke up once more.
[Tell me something and be honest about it. What was that green jellyfish?] Ddraig asked Shinyama.
Shinyama looked at the Boosted Gear confused. "What are you trying to say?"
[The way you were reacting earlier, told me that you were trying to hide something. And that means that you know what that creature was. So, tell me. What was that?] Ddraig asked again.
Shinyama sighed. "It seems like I can't hide it from you, can I?"
[Nope] Ddraig said smugly.
"Fine. I'll tell you. I wasn't planning on telling it to you guys because I didn't want to frighten you with more dire information. And you already have quite a lot on your plate," Shinyama said seriously.
[Really? Is that jellyfish that frightening?] Ddraig wondered.
"You can't even begin to understand. I said earlier that I didn't want to frighten you with more bad news, but that wasn't the only reason why I didn't want to talk about it," Shinyama added.
[Then what is?] Ddraig asked curiously.
Shinyama took a seat on one of the chairs.
"I… Well… it has to do with the fact that that creature… is not of this world…" Shinyama revealed.
[So… you're telling me it's from the supernatural world, right?] Ddraig asked.
"No. I mean it comes from a world neither you, nor any of the boys know," Shinyama corrected Ddraig.
[Huh?] Ddraig voiced confused.
"Listen. I didn't want to tell you this, but I think I can trust you. What I'm talking about is another dimension – the kind of dimension that is separate from our world in the same way that Monika's world is different from ours," Shinyama explained, as Ddraig felt uneasy for some reason.
[That… different?] Ddraig asked, barely comprehending what Shinyama was getting at.
"Exactly," Shinyama nodded. "But this world is very different from even Monika's world. The world this creature comes from is a world full of hostile creatures with little to no civilization or order. In fact, compared to the most chaotic parts of this world, that world would make this one look like a first-world country."
[And what about that creature? What was it?] Ddraig whispered with intrigue.
"That creature… is known as a Metroid. As Matsuda and Motohama described earlier, it sucks its victims dry by latching itself on them. These things can feed off all kinds of living organisms – plants and animals alike," Shinyama said.
[Wait if it came from another dimension, then how did it come here?] Ddraig asked.
Shinyama stroke his chin for a moment before answering.
"That… I don't know. But I'm going to find out…" Shinyama said, as he stood up and made his way to the door.
Before he departed, Shinyama turned around once more.
"Oh yeah, before I go, I forgot to mention two things. One, when the boys get up, could you tell them that after each supernatural encounter or adventure that we meet together like we did just now?" Shinyama requested.
[What for?] Ddraig asked.
"To help them and guide them. In the future, they are going to need it," Shinyama answered.
[I understand. I'll do it as soon as I can] Ddraig replied.
"Good. The other thing is this. I did some investigating on the Fallen Angels. There was a total of thirteen Fallen Angels deployed to Tokyo. Two are dead and that leaves eleven Fallen Angels. Be careful. You'll come across them sooner or later. Be sure to be prepared when that happens," Shinyama spoke for the last time that night.
[I see…] Ddraig said.
With that said, Shinyama went through the door and closed it behind him.
Ddraig was now the only one awake in the room. He took a look at the three boys.
[You boys… things are definitely getting… more dangerous] Ddraig remarked.
24th of September, Tuesday, 2:00 am – somewhere on the roof of a building, Tokyo
In the middle of the night on top of a building, eleven figures had assembled together. Despite the darkness, the figures had no problem meeting in the dark with no lights on.
"Is everyone present?" asked one of the figures.
"Reuben, what is this all about?" asked another figure.
"Yeah, we just had a meeting a few hours ago. Why are we meeting again?" asked yet another figure.
"Besides, we're not all here. Yuki and Yuda are absent," said another figure.
"I'm sorry, but it's an emergency. In fact, this emergency is all about Yuki and Yuda," the figure, now known as Reuben said.
This caused all of those assembled to look at Reuben with anticipation.
"What about Yuki and Yuda? What did they do?" said another figure, a rather huge man.
"They… have been murdered…" Reuben broke the bad news.
This caused an outrage among the figures assembled.
"Murdered!? What on earth are you talking about!?" a woman among them screeched.
"I mean, I have been detecting abnormal activity in Nerima where they operate. Just a few hours ago, I saw some of Yuda's men storming a certain house there. That house had been ruined. Presumably Yuda and his men had attacked the place for some reason," Reuben answered.
"And why would he die at some random human house?" asked one of those assembled.
"I do not know. What I do know is that I heard Yuda's yell coming from within the house and then… there was ice everywhere!" Reuben described.
"Ice? Could it be one of the Stray Exorcists?" the huge man asked.
"Somehow, I don't think so, but I'm not sure. All I know is, I sensed his presence and then it was gone. There was a sudden spike of energy inside, which died down quickly and with it Yuda's energy signature," Reuben said with fury in his eyes.
Nobody said a word for they all shared the same sentiment. It was that of anger and a desire for revenge for whoever did this.
"And? Who did this?" asked the woman from before. "Who would do such a thing?"
"I don't know," Reuben answered truthfully. "And I couldn't see or sense who it was because the energy signature was unknown to me. Moreover, it was icy and very cold. I didn't dare go in. Who knows who or what the assailant was?"
"Didn't you stick around to find out?" Reuben was asked.
Reuben sighed and tried to explain everything in one go.
"I planned to do that, but then I decided that waiting wasn't worth it, moreover with an unknown enemy. So, I went to his hideout to ask one of his men what was going on. It took me some time to find it, but when I did, it was too late. The police had already rounded up those who remained in his hideout and were taking them away. I didn't know what to do or where to look and so I searched for Yuki. It was hard to find her, but then I sensed her signature in the distance and followed her, but by the time I got there it was too late. Yuki had already been killed. I don't know what it was but I found out from the policemen investigating her death that she died by something abnormal like her life had been sucked out of her."
"Sucked out of her?" asked one of them.
"I don't know. It's just what I heard. I saw her body and to be honest, I think it matched what had happened to her," Reuben said truthfully.
"And you do not know who did this?" asked the tall man, while taking a step forward towards Reuben.
Reuben unconsciously took a step back out of fear.
"I… don't know… All I know is that whoever did this, left some footprints behind. If we can find out to whom these footprints belong we coul-" Reuben could not finish that sentence for the tall man punched him in the face, leaving sprawling on the ground.
"You idiot! As if that could help us!" the tall man said.
"Dohnaseek, calm down! He…" someone tried to placate the man named Dohnaseek.
"I know!" Dohnaseek answered angrily. "It's just that those two are by no means weak and they got killed so easily! What's worse, is that we have no idea who is behind all of this!"
Nobody said a word, as Dohnaseek paced up and down in anger.
"What do we do now?" the woman asked sheepishly.
"We continue what we have been doing. But this time, we'll keep an eye out anything suspicious. Whoever is behind Yuda's and Yuki's deaths must be able to freeze and absorb. Keep an eye out of for that. In fact, keep an eye out for anyone or anything with magical abilities or Sacred Gears. Whoever or whatever has these things and is not with us is for our enemies…" Dohnaseek commanded them.
"Yes, Dohnaseek…" said one of the Fallen Angels.
"Spread out. Meeting is adjourned," Dohnaseek said with the wave of his hand and everyone flew off with black feathered wings fluttering everywhere.
Dohnaseek looked at the sky with clenched fists.
"Whoever you are…" Dohnaseek threatened, before summoning a light spear and then ramming it into the ground in anger.
"You will not escape…" he said before flying off into the night.
24th of September, Tuesday, 2:20 am – somewhere in the skies of Tokyo
And speaking of one of the culprits…
Somewhere into the night sky of Tokyo, the Metroid would fly around aimlessly looking for signs of life. Because it could not find signs of life in the city (because it was night time), it flew towards the outskirts where animals and plant life could be found in abundance…
And that was Chapter 34 of The Lone Vigilante Issei.
Now, about this chapter.
Perhaps you remember Inspector Kogoro from Chapter 28. He makes a reappearance here and for good reason. For what reason exactly? Well, you will find out soon in another arc (it won't be the next one by the way).
As for the Ranma knock-off characters.
Sanma will become an ally of our heroes like Ryuga currently is.
With Kasumi, I will give her reappearances from time to time. I'm unsure where to go with their romance and I have my own ideas for it. But I do plan on developing their romance as I go.
And Nakane… eh… she'll also reappear, but I don't know what to do with her. I hate her original counterpart Akane Tendo and honestly didn't plan on developing her that much.
And Soun and Gunma… forget about them… They'll just make cameos at most.
Now, for the conversation in this chapter.
From now on after the end of each arc, I will have something like a discussion table where the boys talk about what had happened. I took inspiration from a detective book series known as "The Three Investigators" or "Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators" where this fictional Alfred Hitchcock sits down with these three teenage detectives after each adventure. I really enjoyed the books and they are quite popular in Germany – so much so that the Germans picked up the series even after it had ended in America (even to this day).
In fact, "The Lone Vigilante Issei" is partially inspired by "The Three Investigators". Of course, there are plenty of differences such as the fact that in that series it's more about solving mysteries than fighting villains. Also, in that series the supernatural does not exist, while in "The Lone Vigilante Issei" the supernatural obviously does.
But I digress. The part that I liked the most about that series was the talk session with Alfred Hitchcock. That is when he and the detectives discuss the case and ask and answer questions, giving the reader insight into the aftermath of the case and answers to some unsolved questions. I wanted to recreate it in this fanfiction and I hope to do that at the end of each arc.
Now, about the Fallen Angels.
As you can see, I'm not done with them yet and you can expect to see them soon.
The Metroid will also play a big role in the future. I have some ideas, but I'll figure it out later.
As for our heroes, they are definitely going to up their game – especially Issei. Someone of you in the comments mentioned that this story could become better if he became stronger. Well, I've heard you and I've got an idea or two for it.
So, stay tuned.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
Please read and review, I'd like to hear from you.
And as always, I hope to see you soon.
Until then.
Hide Shinyama