Moon Cell Irregular
By psychored1911
Disclaimer: I do not own Fate/EXTRA or Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei
Chapter 17
[WARNING]
[IMPENDING_CONFLICT_DETECTED]
[ACCURACY:_90.04%}
[ESTIMATED_TIMESPAN:_WITHIN_16_HOURS]
[_]
[{PERSON_OF_INTEREST}_SURVEILLANCE_IN_PROGRESS]
[PERSON_OF_INTEREST:_{Airi_Isshiki}_IS_CURRENTLY_UNDER_SURVEILLANCE]
Airi weakly lifted her head from her pillow and tilted her phone towards her face, wincing as the bright screen lit up her unprepared eyes.
6:32 AM.
Okay, she woke up an hour earlier than she was supposed to. Not that she got much sleep last night. Worrying about your missing best friend the whole time will do that to a girl.
Rubbing her eyes and yawning, instead of going back to bed and attempting to sleep for another hour, Airi decided to bear with it and dragged herself out of bed.
"Oh, look. Little Miss Sunshine's finally awake."
"Indeed."
Airi just grunted numbly as she glanced at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess again, but at least she remembered to change out of her uniform last night. Now, where did she put it? In the bathroom, probably.
"It's always so cute watching them stumble out of bed."
"Much like watching a pup shake itself out of slumber."
Ignoring the commentary, Airi stumbled towards the bathroom and quickly got changed for the day, combing her hair straight and tying her ribbons on. Once she looked halfway decent, she picked up Zoe's jacket, which she left on the bathroom counter, left the bathroom, and rechecked her phone.
"I swear, they're always attached to their phones these days."
"It would do her well to look up at her surroundings occasionally."
…Wait a minute, who was Zoe talking to?
Airi looked over her shoulder and noticed the two Servants were sitting in the corner by the table. One was Zoe, and the other was Hakuno's Servant, who called herself Chiwa, who sat cross-legged and self-confident. Unlike Zoe, who more-or-less stuck with one general look of a 'green jacket and a hat, plus whatever else Airi bought for her', Chiwa was wearing denim shorts and a brown t-shirt that read "Milk Duds" printed in big red letters across her chest, tied in a knot that exposed her midriff.
…Who buys merch for Milk Duds, of all things?
Aside from that, Airi's eyes wandered toward the table, not at the little drawing Chiwa was scribbling on a sketchbook, but specifically the opened bottle of wine in the ice bucket. And then to the other empty bottles littered by their feet.
Airi was incredulous. "Were you two drinking this whole time?"
"Not the whole time; just enough for a pair of heroic spirits to get to know one another in the age-old bonding activity known as getting plastered and complaining about our Masters," Chiwa smirked, swirling the glass in her hand. "Why? Do you want in on this?"
Airi stared at Hakuno's Servant in bewilderment. "...No. It's six in the morning. Where did you even get all that wine?"
"Stole it."
"Stole it."
"Of course you guys did…" Airi sighed, massaging her temples, picking up one of the bottles, and examining it. Of course they were drinking the more expensive brands. She then eyed Chiwa and Zoe with an annoyed exasperation. "You idiots better have covered your tracks, because I don't wanna get in trouble for this!"
Chiwa rolled her eyes, "Eh, security won't care if a few bottles go missing. 'Sides, they probably care more about the stiff they found in the stadium."
Airi paled, "A stiff?"
"I believe it's a colloquialism for corpse, milady," Zoe added, nonchalantly picking up the bottle in the ice bucket by the neck and taking a swig.
"Yeah, I got that!" Airi barked in alarm, "What do you mean by that?! Who died?!"
Chiwa shrugged nonchalantly. "I dunno. We kinda saw a fleet of security cars head to the stadium and decided to check it out. Looked like she was killed for some kind of ritual or whatever." She showed off the image she was drawing: a graphic scene of the murder of a poor girl. Her heart was removed, with something impaled through the gaping chest cavity, and the number 09121 was carved into her chest. Despite Chiwa's shoddy artwork, the more she looked at the disturbing image, the more dread built up within her.
"The fact that we did not initially notice it rules out the perpetrator being a Servant." Zoe stated, "However since Masters can utilize the magic of this world, it would be too early for us to rule them out as potential suspects."
"Explains why the fuzz was buzzing about too," Chiwa added, "They wouldn't even notice if a Caster-class Servant or a hacker used their magic. But the magic of this world? That's more than fair game."
"Why am I hearing about this now?!" Airi asked incredulously. This was insane. While the NSC was no stranger to death, it was always due to an accident or a participant pushing themselves way too hard. It was never murder!
"You were asleep."
"You were asleep."
Their mutual response caused an increasingly painful migraine to form in Airi's head as she massaged her temples. The fact that a pair of Servants were so indifferent to such a horrid death both baffled and disturbed her.
"Not to alarm you, milady, but I also believe I've seen the victim before." Zoe added, though seemingly with more regret than Chiwa, "I believe I saw her in your school's tent in the days past. I'm afraid I never caught her name, though."
Another pit formed in Airi's stomach as she processed her Servant's words, and she quickly pulled up her phone:
Airi:: [Senpai, call in a headcount of the student body. NOW.]
Mizuo:: [WTF? Why? It's only 6!]
Airi:: [Do it now! It's important!]
Mizuo:: [Kay, kay… jeez. What's gotten you in a twist this morning?]
Airi:: [I'll tell you when I have more information. For now, just keep your head down and give me an update when you can.]
Putting her phone away, Airi hastily tossed Zoe her jacket and slipped her shoes on. As she did, she turned to Chiwa and asked, "You're gonna tell Hakuno about this, right?"
"Yeah, obviously." Chiwa nodded, sparing a glance at Zoe as she put the bottle down and pulled the sleeves of her jacket over her arms.
"Good. Tell him to call me as soon as he's able." Airi told her as she practically bolted out the door, with Zoe at her heels.
Any plans she had concerning Kaname and her father were gonna have to wait.
What a day this was turning out to be…
[{PERSON_OF_INTEREST}_SURVEILLANCE_IN_PROGRESS]
[PERSON_OF_INTEREST:_{Tatsuya_Shiba}_IS_CURRENTLY_UNDER_SURVEILLANCE]
9:03 AM.
"A spokesperson for the USNA's Federal Bureau of Investigation has stated that the bureau will cooperate with Japan's Public Security Intelligence Agency in a joint investigation against Four Leaves Technologies as the number of scandals surrounding the once-acclaimed industry leader continues to-"
Tatsuya closed the news video on his phone before he got even more distracted.
Today was the Newcomer's Modified Crowd Ball event… or as Kishinami put it last night: magic tennis. So, basically-
…Actually, with all the rule changes, magic tennis is more or less an accurate description of the event. It essentially is tennis, but at a significantly faster pace, and with specialized CADs utilizing pre-made loadouts instead of rackets. It even borrowed/reused many tennis rules (best of 3, tiebreaker rules, etc.). And, as per the new rules of the NSC, any outside or unapproved magic is expressly forbidden.
"Oh, so that's what the red shell does…"
However, none of this seemed to be a concern to Miyuki.
True, she wasn't participating in the Crowd Ball event (Subaru was the one representing First High later today), but clearly, her focus wasn't on the NSC at all today. Instead, she was currently occupied with…
…Mario Kart 8.
Miyuki sat in the middle of the table, with her phone in one hand and Kishinami's Switch Classic (when did she borrow it?) in the other, occasionally pausing in the middle to read some gaming article on her phone. And then there were the other first-year girls, hovering over her, giving her pointers and advice as she kept playing. Which was the exact same thing that Kishinami and Utsumi were doing last night.
…
…
…
…Was she seriously having that much difficulty with Mario Kart of all things? He figured out how to play in like, five minutes after watching the others play a round. Tatsuya shook his head. He'll have a talk with her later-
"You got a problem with me?!"
"Everyone here's got a problem with you!"
"Guys! Knock it off!"
"Quit it!"
…And here we go again…
Tatsuya's attention was then diverted to the four boys on the other side of the room. Mikihiko and Morisaki were staring each other down, neither of them backing down, even as Hagane Tomitsuka and Yousuke Igarashi tried pulling them away from one another. Those two practically hated one another when they first met, right when they were both picked for the Rookie's Modified Monolith Code team. It was manageable at first when there was actual space between them, but as soon as they were in close proximity to one another (which, by necessity, happened a lot), it wouldn't take long before they were at each other's throats. And it was clear that the others were getting sick of breaking up their fights.
"That's enough."
Tatsuya stood to confront them, but Juumonji beat him to the punch. A barrier was erected between the two, dividing them, startling them long enough for Juumonji to grab both of them by the collars and slam them both against the walls of their tent as the other two first-years justifiably excused themselves from their senpai's wrath.
"This ends now." Juumonji declared in a low voice, "You both are under a lot of stress right now, but that is no excuse for you to take out your frustrations on one another. Either you two figure out how to get along now, or we will bench you two permanently and forfeit the rookie's Monolith Code right now. Do I make myself clear?"
Mikihiko and Morisaki exchanged brief, spiteful glances at one another before they both relented.
"Fine."
"Sure."
"Good." Juumonji dropped the two, "Go out, cool your heads off, and come back. I'm sure Ono-sensei would like to have a word with you two later after I give her another incident report."
The two paled, both otherwise said nothing either to each other or to Juumonji. They just turned in opposite directions and left, clearly grumbling to themselves. Juumonji himself went over to Kanon, who was resting in the corner with Kei. Perhaps he took over her duties this one time. Considering how much pressure the faculty was placing on them, it wasn't too surprising for the acting head of the Public Morals Committee to be overwhelmed.
Despite this, the tension in the air still remained, though Miyuki and the other first-year girls continued to play Mario Kart; Miyuki even handed one of the joycons over to Amy, leading to them playing multiplayer with one another-
"Where did she get one of those? Those consoles have been scalped to oblivion by this point." Mayumi plopped down next to Tatsuya, sipping from a juice box.
Tatsuya sighed, "It's Kishinami's, actually. He won it from one of the game stalls and Miyuki's just borrowing it." And hopefully with permission.
Mayumi let out an 'ah' before she continued. "How is Kishinami? I haven't heard from him in a while."
"He's fine. He's working for the Chibas right now. He'll probably make time if you simply ask." Tatsuya could understand her concern. While she was slowly regaining her lost popularity, she still had very few allies to work with. And Kishinami, despite his weak magical abilities, was at least a reliable shoulder to cry on if need be.
"That's a relief." Mayumi sighed. "I need all the support I can these days."
Tatsuya nodded, "Just know that Miyuki and I are also in your corner-"
*ring*
"Ah, sorry, I have to take that."
Tatsuya quickly excused himself, answering the phone as he exited the tent, "Ushiyama, how are things over there?"
"We're more or less ready to leave after we finish up with the lawsuits," Ushiyama answered.
Tatsuya suppressed the urge to sigh. It was expected that employees would rather leave and save their own careers with their reputations intact rather than stay in the sinking ship known as FLT. "So, I presume you and the others are planning a startup?"
"Actually, no." Ushiyama's voice seemingly lightened up, "We've been receiving lucrative offers from competitors ever since the scandals dropped."
Of course, they were. Damned vultures. "Are there any offers you and the others are considering?"
"Oh, dude. You have no idea." Ushiyama sounded excited, "We got one from the Harweys, and it blew all the other offers out of the water."
Tatsuya felt like time just stopped. "...The Harweys?"
"Yeah, their offer is just too good to pass up." Ushiyama practically giggled. "20-30 hour work weeks, thrice our hourly wage, paid overtime, remote work opportunities, insurance, dental, unions! Unions?! Tatsuya, have you ever heard of unions in this industry?! If we take these guys up on their offer, not only will we be revolutionizing the industry as we know it, but I can actually be a part of my kids' lives! School events, outings with the family, date nights with the missus, ooh, the future's already looking bright!"
Tatsuya had to admit, the conditions put upon by the contracts sounded incredible. Because they were, no sane person would reject those terms if they were legit. But they sounded far too good to be true. If the Harweys set this as the new standard, he doubted other companies could ever hope to match it. Heck, he was still trying to wrap his mind around how they managed to perfect mass production of CADs.
Still, though. He can't exactly tell them not to do it. As much as he distrusted the Harweys, he knew that this deal was nothing but good for Ushiyama and the Taurus Silver Team. He couldn't force them to throw away such an opportunity based solely on his own suspicions.
"You know, Tatsuya, we probably can't use the Taurus Silver name anymore, but we can probably still have you attached to the team." Ushiyama offered, "We could tell them you're an intern or something and have you come with us."
It was tempting. Once FLT falls, he knows for sure the Yotsuba will undergo some serious financial troubles, and he won't be able to rely on them to pay for his and Miyuki's house. And he won't be able to use Taurus Silver either; it was a pseudonym, a name he took up for anonymity, and technically not even on FLT's heavily cooked books. It wouldn't pass one of the Harwey's background checks. He wanted to be at the forefront of magic development. If he took them up on it, then Taurus Silver was truly dead. And that's if his aunt Maya didn't want him to use the newfound position to infiltrate the Harweys. It would be more than short-sighted, because if he is caught by them, then he might even ruin the team's careers if he so much as makes the slightest error.
He may have had his emotions suppressed, but he wasn't heartless. And he certainly wasn't stupid.
"...Can I have some time to think about it?" Tatsuya asked hesitantly. "To plan my next few actions, so to speak."
"Sure, man." Ushiyama laughed, "Look, don't worry about us. We'll say our piece for the lawsuits then dip out. And also…"
"Yeah?"
"Don't be a stranger, alright?" Ushiyama advised. "Listen, all of us are a team. Your team. We've got your back."
"...Thanks," Tatsuya said with a hint of sincerity in his voice.
"Also, keep an eye out for your folks," Ushiyama added really quickly. "I hear there are a lot of people after their heads right now, so steer clear of them if you can help it."
Tatsuya suppressed the urge to groan. The less he needed to know about his sperm donor and his side chick, the better. "I'll keep that in mind."
He hung up, and not a moment too soon, as the second he did, he got a text from Corporal Otowa. It read:
Otowa:: [An incident happened. Keep your head down, and I'll try to give you and Kyouko updates when possible. Whatever you do, do not do anything drastic.]
Tatsuya couldn't help but be alarmed at the notification, whipping his head towards the oblivious Miyuki and her friends as his instincts went into overdrive.
What happened?
[{PERSON_OF_INTEREST}_SURVEILLANCE_IN_PROGRESS]
[PERSON_OF_INTEREST:_{Hiroshi_Magatsu}_IS_CURRENTLY_UNDER_SURVEILLANCE}]
Magatsu put a hand over his hat so that it wouldn't fly away as the chopper touched down on the hotel's landing pad.
The door swung open, and two individuals stepped out. One was an older man in a trenchcoat, with a revolver holster attached to his hip and one of those combination gun-CAD prototypes he heard the police were trialing holstered inside. The other was a younger, scruffy-looking man, wearing a police-issue bulletproof vest over an unkempt dress shirt and a katana slung over his shoulder.
"You must be the detectives Lord Kudou sent for." Magatsu said as he shook their hands, "The name's Major Magatsu. It's a pleasure. Apologies for calling you over on short notice."
"Detective Chiba. This is my partner, Detective Inagaki." The younger detective introduced. "You got the body?"
"It's in the stadium," Magatsu told him. "We would've authorized the chopper to touch down over there, but it would've been a tad too conspicuous. We're gonna have to take a car there."
Magatsu held his tongue and hid his annoyance. He expected a member of the Hundred Families to at least dress a bit more formally, but that was a bit too hopeful even for him.
"Mind if I stop by one of the rooms first?" Detective Chiba asked awkwardly. "Some of my siblings are here, and I want to make sure they're safe first."
Magatsu stared at him incredulously. "You can't be serious. There's a gag order in effect."
Detective Chiba raised both of his hands up in surrender. "I promise to take the heat from Lord Kudou! I swear!"
Magatsu shook his head, leveling a glare at the detective. "If you want to piss Lord Kudou off, then say it to his face and on your own time. Leave me and my men out of it."
"Knock it off!" Detective Inagaki shoved Detective Chiba with an irritated growl, "Sorry about my partner. He's a bit of a cowboy if I don't reel him in."
"Whatever." Magatsu spat in annoyance. "Let's not keep Lord Kudou waiting."
What a joke. If this was the future of the esteemed Hundred Families, then this country was doomed.
Once they were downstairs and ushered into one of the security vehicles, Inagaki cleared his throat and began to speak again, "I believe we got on the wrong foot, Major. Do you know how this happened?"
"How it happened, who it happened to, even some footage of when it went down." Major Magatsu folded his arms. "Plus, I had the entire NSC grounds blockaded. Nobody goes in or out without me knowing. The perpetrator will not escape us."
"Then why does Lord Kudou need us if you've already done the legwork?" Chiba asked, almost jokingly.
Magatsu shrugged. "Aside from the fact that this fits the M.O. of your serial killer, Lord Kudou thinks that the public will panic if they see the military treat the audience of the NSC as potential suspects. Making this a low-profile police matter will cause less of a fuss in the long run."
Or, more likely, the old man wanted to give the prestige to a go-getter, allied Family rather than to him or any of Japan's best and brightest, the ones who actually earned their stripes instead of being hand-given to them due to the numbers in their name.
"Low-profile?" Inagaki asked.
"Yeah. If word gets out of a serial killer running loose during the NSC, it would tank the Hundred Families' PR. Something we really don't need." Chiba replied. "Plus, the Harwey Conglomerate is involved this year, so there will be hell to pay if shit hits the plan. That's why we're officially here to help with the 'contraband' problem and not a serial murder."
Huh, so the fop has a brain after all.
"Contraband?" Inagaki inquired.
"Yeah. Every year, there's a handful of entrepreneurial students who go out of their way to make unofficial merchandise for their respective schools. You know, like fanart, T-shirts, doujinshi, that kinda stuff." Chiba explained. "It's not illegal, and in fact, the schools and the NSC encourage it to an extent by giving them tents and tables. However, there's always this black market of sorts where they sell illegal stuff like drugs or illegally modded CADs… or more 'explicit'-"
"ANYWAY," Magatsu cut him off before they got even more off track. "your cover will allow you to have a free run of the grounds while you find our serial killer. But, as we have discussed, we do have some potential suspects for you. I've already sent you the files. Look them over before we meet with Lord Kudou."
"Saho-senpai!"
"Waah?!"
"What the-?!"
Airi made a beeline to Saho-senpai, ignoring her friends' yelps of surprise, leaning over and asking her, "Please tell me you finished that roll call, senpai?"
Saho looked at her quizzically, "Uh, yeah. Everyone except for Takeda-"
Airi pulled out her phone and showed Zoe a picture of Third High's competitors, and pointed at the one freshman girl on the right flashing a v-sign with her right hand while holding a rifle CAD in her left. "Is that her?"
"Yes, milady," Zoe affirmed with a grim frown.
Airi cursed under her breath as she put away her phone, "Damn it all…"
Saho-senpai frowned in concern. "Airi, what's going on? Is Takeda in trouble?"
"Understatement of the year…" Airi grumbled as she rushed out of the tent. She quickly texted an update to Hakuno and Sir Blackmore, making her way back into the stadium, when-
"Airi!"
Shiori grabbed her by the arm before she could run off. Airi was about to wrench her arm free in her haste to keep moving, but she found herself surrounded by the rest of her friends, Saho-senpai included.
"Airi, what's going on?" Touko asked slowly, clearly concerned.
"You've been acting weird ever since we got here," Shinkurou noted, folding his arms. "And it's more than your usual ninja thing where you and Zoe vanish for a while before popping up again."
"And then there was that headcount you made me do on the student body?" Saho-senpai added. "What was up with that? And what happened with Takeda that has you all riled up?"
Shiori grabbed onto Airi's hand, concern reflected in her eyes. "Airi. We're your friends. Talk to us. Please."
Airi paused, pursing her lip, clearly trying to ruminate on her next course of action. She could tell them exactly what was going on, as that would technically be the protocol with allied families. Then again, she still couldn't rule out the possibility of another Master being involved, and there were those Masters present whom she still didn't know. Heck, she still doesn't know much about the other two she was allied with, much less anything about their Servants. What if they were involved in this?
…Oh, well. She had to go with her gut on this one.
Eyeing the nearby security guard, who was glancing at them suspiciously, she whispered, "Takeda's dead. Her killer's on the loose, and Lord Kudou's trying to keep it all under wraps. Don't do anything stupid."
She bolted, wrenching her arm out of Shiori's grip before any of them could stop or ask her any questions.
"Lord Kudou. It's an honor." Chiba bowed, as did Inagaki. "I wish it were under better circumstances, though."
"I wish it didn't have to be." Lord Kudou mused.
Could they not have their pleasantries in the middle of a crime scene?
"You already moved the body?" Chiba inquired.
"My men had already done so. Her body was moved to a military hospital under our jurisdiction. It was the least we could do." Magatsu informed them.
"It is quite a tragedy when they die young." Lord Kudou mused, ushering them to the crime scene. "And it's even worse with how she died in such a gruesome manner."
"Yeah, we saw all the files." Inagaki shuddered. "First Atrum Galliasta and now this? Why are all the psychos coming out of the woodwork now?"
"Perhaps because they're no longer afraid of the Hundred Families keeping them in line. At least not after what happened to First High." Chiba scoffed as he knelt down to examine the chalk line, as well as the implement that was used to impale the corpse. "Seriously, my baby sister just started going there a few months ago. Back then, I never had to worry about her safety. Now, I'm afraid she'll get jumped by Blanche or some other nutjob every time she leaves the house. And now our newest victim's the same age as her…"
"All the more reason to restore the reputation of the Hundred Families." Kudou agreed. "Our names, our numbers, mean something: tradition, courage, honor. These are what make us. We are the mighty magicians of Japan. The people of this fine country had nothing to fear with us as their protectors. However, they have been exposed to the… darker side of our society. Now, the public believes we are little more than a ravenous pack of sociopaths, monsters who eat their own, soulless madmen who indulge in their power instead of being tempered by it."
Magatsu suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. The old man had the gall to act like he didn't thrive or benefit from Japan's magic societal structure. He and his ilk had decades to change Japan's archaic two-tiered magic school system, but did nothing to stop it. After all, they knew it would benefit them in the long run, all the way up until it blew up in their faces.
"We need to show the public, no, the world that the Hundred Families is still a force to be reckoned with." Lord Kudou declared, "If we are brought low by a single murderer, then we aren't capable of saving anyone."
Ah, so that's why Lord Kudou wanted the Harweys in the dark. He had something to prove.
Magatsu was no fool. And as such, he knew better than anyone in the room how foolish it would be to antagonize the Harweys. Those freaks could make the Yotsuba's week-long genocide of Dahan look like a 4-year-old's temper tantrum. So when they suddenly muscled in to help with the NSC after the conclusion of last year's events, there was little the Magic Association could do to refuse. Actually, when he read the contracts… they actually had no reason to refuse. The Harweys' offer was lucrative, substantial even. They would practically pay for the whole event themselves. However, one of the stipulations (one among many) in their contract was for the NSC to make at least 80% of last year's profit this year; should they do that, they wouldn't even need to pay them back. The deal was practically a steal… last year, before everything went horribly wrong. Then, those stipulations felt more like the blades of the guillotine as more backers pulled out and interest in the NSC tanked. Currently, it wasn't so bad, but if they made even the smallest mistake, made even the smallest sliver of damage to their own PR… then the Magic Association would be deeply indebted to the Harweys.
But, there lay another paradox. The Harweys' contract also stipulated that they would help out with virtually any change in circumstances, so long as the organizers simply asked them; otherwise, they would be completely hands-off in the NSC. With the resources and clout of the Harweys, no sane person would dare disrupt the event. And, despite his own reservations with the Harweys, Magatsu knew personally that the original Lord Harwey was an honorable young man, despite his dominion over WEU the Moon Cell itself, who wouldn't mind if they asked for his assistance.
And that was the problem.
If they asked for his assistance, the public would further question the competence of the Hundred Families. What good were they if they had to hide behind the Harweys' power?
This was the Hundred Families'- no, this was Japan's problem. They were still running the show, and they would be damned if some outsiders had to step in and solve such otherwise simple issues.
And it was also one of the few reasons he and his unit were cooperating with them in the first place.
Inagaki eyed the camera in the corner, "Oh, please tell me that thing's working."
"Indeed it is." Magatsu smirked, "As I've said before, the footage should be in the files I sent you. The bastard even had the nerve to look at the camera. Unfortunately for us, he didn't show up in any of our facial recs."
Inagaki pulled out his phone and scanned through the footage, his eyes darting all throughout the screen, before a lightbulb lit up above his head, "Toshikazu, check this out."
Chiba took the phone, his eyes widening as he pulled out his own phone. "Oh my God…" he darted up to his feet and pulled out his own phone, "Major, put out an APB on this guy, now!"
"Long since done. If that freak turns up anywhere on NSC grounds, he will be swarmed by my men within seconds." Magatsu folded his arms, "Why? You recognize him?"
Chiba balled his hands into fists, grimacing, "Yeah, I saw this rat bastard a few days ago. I ticketed him for graffiti… just a few blocks away from our first victim!" Chiba stomped on the ground in frustration. "Damn it! He was literally right under my nose and I missed him!"
"Graffiti?" Magatsu questioned.
Inagaki gravely nodded. "Yeah, we assume our serial killer is either making some fucked up artistic statement… or he's performing some form of ancient magic ritual."
Magatsu cursed under his breath, "Then let's make sure we put him down before he finishes his magnum opus."
[WARNING]
[CONFLICT_IMMINENT]
[ACCURACY:_98.61%]
{ESTIMATED_TIMESPAN:_WITHIN_30_MINUTES]
It wouldn't be until late into the night that the cameras caught their culprit again. He was skulking in the middle of the stadium, using some form of paint to mar the otherwise immaculately kept grounds. The security forces within the stadium swarmed the culprit's location, but the feed cut out, and the men were not responding to their radios.
They all feared the worst.
Magatsu immediately mobilized his remaining forces, grabbing a rifle and a vest from one of the racks and joining Chiba and Inagaki in the car as it drove back to the stadium.
"Remember, men. This man has killed nine individuals. We preferably want this man alive to stand trial, but I won't be shedding any tears if you put a couple of rounds into this madman's skull." Magatsu said on the radio as he adjusted his glasses and fixed his gloves.
"Yes sir!" Was his response back from his men.
"You sure we'll get this guy?" Inagaki questioned as he loaded his Combination CAD with magnum rounds. "What the hell is he thinking, coming back to the crime scene?"
"Doesn't matter. The sooner we put this sicko behind bars, the sooner we can put this slow-moving trainwreck behind us." Chiba growled, checking his katana before slamming it back into his scabbard.
"My men have the place surrounded and barricaded." Magatsu smirked, "Once we get there, the only way he's getting out is either in cuffs or a body bag."
[WARNING]
[CONFLICT_IMMINENT]
[ACCURACY:_100.00%]
{ESTIMATED_TIMESPAN:_WITHIN_3_MINUTES]
The stadium's headlights illuminated the field, revealing everything for all to see.
And part of Magatsu wished he didn't need to see it.
The stadium's security forces were annihilated. Some were missing their limbs, others were missing their heads. Either way, all of them were dismembered in some form or another, and their blood seeped into the green turf, saturating it in a deep red.
"Aww… man."
And the culprit, standing in the middle of all this carnage… seemed disappointed.
He had a head of reddish hair and was dressed in a purple blazer and matching slacks, with blood-caked leopard-print shoes. He couldn't have been older than his mid-twenties at most, but those soulless, empty eyes of his, foretold of a sicker, more twisted personality. However, those eyes did not match the man's expression of mild annoyance, as if the deaths of his men were an inconvenience to him instead of a grisly act of malevolence.
"This better not disrupt the sacraments…" The man grumbled, scratching his head, revealing that his right hand was conspicuously wrapped in a bloody bandage. "I'm gonna be so annoyed if I have to start all over."
"Freeze!" Inagaki screamed as he aimed his Combination CAD at the man, "Don't you fucking move!"
It was only then that the man noticed all of the security forces were coming down on him, casually waving back at them. "Hey. Do you mind if I rip one of your hearts out? It's kinda important that I-"
"Hands in the air!" Chiba roared, unsheathing his katana, keeping the tip trained on his perp. "Keep them right where I can see them!"
Magatsu kept his distance, even though he kept his rifle aimed right at the culprit's head, "Careful, detective." he warned, eyeing the corpses of his dismembered soldiers. "He somehow killed all of the men I stationed here. We should tread cautiously."
The culprit quizzically tilted his head, "So… is that a no, or-?"
Chiba glared at him incredulously, "What the fu- NO! You're not killing anyone else! It's over! You are under arrest! We're gonna lock you up in a padded cell before they give you the damn chair! And that's only if we don't decide to put you down, right here, right now, you sick son of a bitch!"
The culprit sighed, as if this was just another mild inconvenience to him. "Fine, be that way. The hard way it is."
Raising his hands up high, he snapped his fingers, and the whole stadium went dark.
"Bluebeard, SHOWTIME!"
[CONFLICT_INITIATED]
[MASTER_{Hiroshi_Magatsu}_AND_SERVANT_{Berserker}]
[VS]
[MASTER_{Ryuunosuke_Uryuu}_AND_SERVANT_{Caster}]
[Live_or_Die_by_the_Sword]
[What_power_do_you_hold_in_your_hands…?]
[Dancing_Flames,_Decaying_Earth,_Withered_Ocean]
A/N: Happy Halloween! You won't believe how many cuts I had to make to get to this point. I swear, it was like, half the size of this chapter, and it was essentially the different characters going over the same points repeatedly. This went on for a while until my co-writer for my other story, Lady in Waiting, realized what I was doing, and just said "GET ON WITH IT". After that, I cut off all the chaff and kept in all the worldbuilding I wanted to put in, and now I'm way more satisfied with the finished product. What do you guys think? I bet you didn't see that twist coming, did you?
Anyways, that's all for now! Please review!