King of Heroes - Chapter 7/City of Intrigue
=7=
Commander Jason Urashima groaned. After moving to Japan, he ended up marrying and taking his wife's family name but that didn't exactly help him escape the stereotypes. So when Fuyuki began to go under, he was selected as the task force commander. Sure, it was a promotion (of sorts), but he hated how his colleagues immediately singled him out to deal with the monsters and superheroes based on his nationality.
Yes, he came from LA, but he had been gone by the time John Pluto Smith began to operate.
Jason had spent a few days reaching out to all his friends back in the States to get some clues maybe, but most of it was hard to believe. Monsters from legends walking among men, people with abilities to change shape… it really felt like straight out of old comic books. But the proof was undeniable. He witnessed firsthand the vigilante 'Kingsblade' bring down an apartment building with but a few words. Not to mention what the Lizardman did to the precinct and Centipede and Ifrit remaining at large.
If only those were his only problems.
The entire city of Fuyuki was on the brim of the biggest gang war Japan has seen in at least fifty years. And some son of a bitch was going around handing out guns like this was Christmas in Texas.
"Half the reason I came to Japan was to not end up as a damn statistic… and then they pull shit like this!" Jason pointed at the large picture of a crate full of weapons. Rifles and spare ammo clips. And, because this was apparently the new normal, a damned sword sticking through the middle. "The only bright side of this mess is that we don't need to worry about someone trying to steal those from the evidence locker."
A slight chuckle echoed in the room as the other task force members looked at the photo
"Somehow, Kingsblade was able to learn about the weapon transport. He then raided the storage facility and destroyed every single weapon cache. Only then did he call the police. All we had to do was arrest the morons he left for us."
"Do we have any idea where he could've learned about the contraband?" One of the officers asked.
"For all we can guess, he might've divined it from the position of the stars. We're talking about a man who can throw swords like they are going out of fashion. And each of those is probably worth over a million Yen." The man glanced at the photo.
"And they tend to disappear after at most a few hours of lying around." Jason shot him down. "Now… I want all of you to familiarize yourself with the updated procedures. The higher-ups want us to play ball with Kingsblade on this one. The city is too unstable to turn down his help."
"And the other… abnormalities?"
"Officially, they don't even acknowledge they exist." Jason sighed. There was too much politics going on in the background. "But that also means that they can't charge you with a murder of something that's not real."
"Wait, you can't just advocate for lethal force!" One of the officers, Kotetsu if Jason recalled, protested.
"Even if it offends your delicate sensibilities, officer," Urashima shook his head. "As far as I'm concerned, it's better to try and justify your actions than to have a closed casket at your funeral. This city is getting worse by the minute and I don't want to have to bury you."
=7=
Shirou walked around the Shinto's Red Light District. For once, he didn't wear his Kingsblade armor. Instead, he put on Kiritsugu's old coat and a white scarf he found in the back of the closet. He didn't want to stand out too much and even with spring just around the corner, he easily fit into the crowd of people pretending to be lost. The way Raiga explained it to him, it was all part of an elaborate game of pretend. Almost everyone knew where they were going but the appearances had to be kept.
Shirou didn't bother with any of them. He was looking for a specific person in this crowd.
"Trace. On." The whispered words left his lips as magical energy rushed into his eyes and ears. Reinforcement didn't just make you stronger and faster. It could also make your senses sharper. And he would take full advantage of it.
The man he was looking for wore a leather jacket. That wasn't enough to single him out. He also had black hair. Common, but removed a few suspects nonetheless.
Seeing a few members of the Kunimi clan wander the street made him pause. The crowd swept him toward the adult-oriented book store where he pretended to look at the covers for a moment. He was back on the prowl as soon as the men passed him.
Their presence confirmed that Raiga's tip had some merit. They were patrolling the street. This was Washimine group turf, so unless there was a conflict between the younger leaders, they were not here just for a protection racket.
Shirou smiled for a second before schooling his expression. He noticed a man walking into one of the brothels on the other end of the street. His leather jacket had stylized "923" on the back.
Weaving through the crowd, Shirou neared the building. With each alley passed, the number of patrolling Kunimi men increased.
The Shawl of the Nameless Hero provides conceptual protection against recognition, but it's also limited in scope. They might see past my disguise if their 'patron' had instructed them about me and my abilities.
When the number of yakuza members reached the point where Shirou didn't want to risk it, he went into an alley. There was a bar entrance to the right, but he simply walked past that and hid between two minivans someone had parked there. With no foot traffic to spot him, he relaxed.
A muted flash of golden light lit the hiding spot for a moment. His armor replaced the coat and the white scarf was stored to be replaced by his shawl.
With that out of the way, he leaped up. One of the buildings had a staircase sticking out on the side and Shirou took full advantage of that architectural design. Instead of landing on top of the building, he took cover on the stairs leading to the top.
His suspicion was confirmed as soon as he looked at the rooftop. There were two men there, armed with swords and handguns.
One of them lit up a cigarette. The sound of lighter closing served Shirou well to cover the sound of his sword being drawn and slammed into the back of the second man's head. Then, when the body hit the floor the hero was already by the side of the first man. He delivered a quick chop to the neck and the man crumbled down.
The next rooftop had only one man, who turned to see what the commotion was about. In that time, Shirou dismissed the sword and instead brought out a bow. An arrow materialized and a bit of Alteration turned the sharp end into a rubber ball.
The man on the other rooftop reached for his gun with one hand while pulling a phone out with the other.
Shirou took aim and released. The first arrow knocked the phone out of his hand. The gun was aimed at the hero.
The second arrow knocked the man unconscious before he could fire.
"That was closer than I hoped," he murmured as he willed the arrows to go back into the Gate. Then, he put the phones and guns inside too. And swords. He would drop them at the police station later.
With other rooftops of variable size, his path was mostly clear. Humans had a tendency not to look up unprompted.
As Shirou reached his destination, he had two observations. Firstly, the rooftop of the brothel was suspiciously clean. And there were no guards.
"The hard part will be finding which room he is in. If he is in a room."
The word Brothel was perhaps a misnomer for this establishment. While there were private lounges and even rooms, the two ground floors served as a sort of club. So his target might have been just enjoying himself at the bar.
With little other choice, Shirou reached into the Gate of Babylon and pulled out a tool he was saving for such an occasion. It was something he found while looking for something to help with infiltration. It was not exactly what he wanted, but for this situation, it would probably work well enough.
A plaid cloth deerstalker hat appeared in his hand. Shirou fixed it on his head and circulated his od into the treasure. One moment, the famous hero of Fuyuki was standing on the rooftop, and the next, Akira Kaito was walking into the club. His "923" jacket hanging over his shoulder.
As he walked through the upper levels, he noted several Kunimi men give him a quick nod. One even gave him a thumbs-up.
Disguised Shirou grinned.
As he walked floor after floor, he finally spotted two men standing in front of the doors to a room. They were looking around and as soon as one of them spotted him, Shirou began marching faster.
"S-Sir?" One of them asked. "But… Aren't you… I was sure…"
Taking advantage of the man's confusion, the disguised hero delivered a knee strike to the man's liver and then slammed both palms into the other man's ears. With the second guard momentarily stunned, Shirou stomped on the first one with just enough force to knock him out. Then, a quick jab into the first man's kidney sent him to the ground, crying. The last thing he saw was a steel-capped boot going at his face.
Quickly, Shirou all but kicked the doors to the room and barged in. The real Akira was tied to the bed… busy. Shirou brought out the Archer's Bow and fired a rubber-tipped arrow at the man, knocking him out. Then, he turned to the girl.
She was now cowering in the corner, holding a knife in front of her.
"Don't worry. I won't hurt you." Shirou avoided looking at her as he caused a stack of bills to appear before the girl. "For your trouble…" He grabbed the unconscious man and opened the window. On a hunch, he walked over to the pile with the man's clothes and rummaged through the pockets for a moment. He found his wallet, the gun, the knife, and a ring of keys. But the true success was a fancy drug injector that the hero recognized. This was almost the same as what Centipede used at the docks.
A wave of his hand sent it into the Gate of Babylon for safe storage. After a thought, all of man's belongings were similarly stored inside the Gate.
Hauling the body over his shoulder, Shirou leaped out of the window. People on the ground screamed and started to scatter while the boy ran into the distance. With Reinforcement improving his body, none of the Kunimi men could catch up to him.
=7=
Rin tossed yet another gem at the wall. Yet another attempt failed. No matter how she tried it, the calculations just didn't compute. The power-granting drug was seemingly breaking half a dozen theories. Transmuting humans into phantasmal species just wasn't done. Especially not with just some concoction. A correct ritual might achieve something, but even that was usually dangerously close to Dead Apostle research (and thus hidden away). Using pure magical energy wouldn't yield results that… distinct. Even beast magecraft of the Glascheit family doesn't go to that level. And is only temporary whereas, proven by the continued existence of Centipede, the serum alters the core biology.
"Tohsaka?" Shirou asked from the door. "Everything okay?"
"No…" She collapsed on her knees. "I thought I had it. I thought I had actually figured something out… I've been at it for weeks and I got nothing!" She groaned in frustration.
"Don't worry." He patted her head. "The fact that you tried already means a lot."
Rin scowled and moved to escape his hand. "This is… was my city. I was supposed to be responsible for it. And when the time came for me to step up… I just can't do anything!" She slammed her fist into the desk.
"Well, maybe this will help." Shirou produced a small metal container.
"You've got the drug!?" Rin jumped to him. "How?"
"Last night I took out the Kunimi clan second in command. He had that with him."
"I thought he would've used it if he saw you coming."
"He was… busy entertaining a guest."
"What?" Rin stared at him.
Shirou rubbed the back of his neck and refused to meet her gaze. "I… uh… tracked him to a brothel."
"Oh really…" She stared at him for a moment. The boy resisted the urge to squirm under her glare. "Good for you." She relented and went to place the vial on the table. The girl let out a huff as she focused on her work.
Shirou sighed in relief.
"By the way, Raiga invited us to the family dinner." The boy began again. "This Sunday, I'm not going out in costume. Old Man ordered me to take a night off and relax."
"That… would be fine. Raiga-san is a decent man. Besides the Yakuza thing of course." Rin admitted. She was happy for the boy. Since that assassination attempt, Shirou had been non-stop going after the gangs. And while he was winning, it was starting to take a toll even on him. An evening with friends and family would do him some good.
"Great. If you need any help with the…" He nodded toward the vial. "Oh! Grandfather said that you should dress properly for the occasion. There will be some extra guests."
"Wait. Wait, wait, wait." She waved her hands as her cheeks reddened. "Who exactly is going to be there?" She squeaked.
"Well, there will be Taiga, you, I, the Old Man, and Taiga's dad was invited. I think Luvia might be there since she saved Gramp's life." He listed. "Ah! And some of his lieutenants. With Akira behind bars, Kunimi might actually have to pause their push into Fujimura territory."
"Oh. Okay." She nodded, looking slightly dazed. "I think I will. Go there with you that is," the girl quickly added.
"That's great! Anyway, I'm going to go start things up for today's dinner. Sakura hogs the kitchen too much these days."
With that, he was gone leaving Rin to her own device.
"That… that…" She whispered. "That complete moron!" The girl groaned. "Just casually dropping an invite to a Yakuza gathering like it's nothing!? And after he asked me to train some of them in magecraft!" In her frustration, she almost knocked off the drug vial. Luckily, the damned thing stayed in place and secure. "At least he is civilized for a Campione…" She sighed.
Satisfied, she went to prepare some preliminary tests on the drug.
The day of the dinner arrived faster than she expected. Surprisingly, Rin found herself sitting opposite Sakura. The younger girl tracked her down to the bathroom while Tohsaka was getting some makeup. She knew how to prepare for a formal event, thank you Luviagelita.
"Senpai has his eyes on you," Sakura stated. Her face was bereft of any emotions.
"Yes." Rin huffed. "Look, Sakura. I know you-" She was interrupted when the girl's hand shot out in a silencing motion.
"I belong to Shirou. I've already promised that I would be his and his alone." She looked down. "He was good to me. He took me in, protected me…"
"I… Look, I-"
"I wasn't finished." The younger girl's tone left little space for discussion. "The night Senpai killed Zouken, I… I was ready to give myself over to him. He was always my one piece of happiness. One shining light in the sea of darkness." She sighed. "Shirou became my everything. But when I offered myself to him… Senpai didn't take advantage. He was more worried about my feelings. Even if I was ready to give him my everything." Sakura stared at Tohsaka. "Since that day, I knew I would belong to Senpai and only to Senpai. Forever. No matter what."
Rin opened her mouth to speak, but Sakura wasn't finished. "I accepted that Shirou might not want someone so damaged… I accepted that I might not be the only one. So… appreciate the chance you have been given, Tohsaka." The girl wiped a lone tear that threatened to fall. "Because if you hurt him… or try to take advantage of his kindness towards you…" The light flickered. "I will show you how much I remember from Zouken's training."
With that, the girl marched away.
Tohsaka stared at the closed doors. Then, her ears began to redden.
"I… I don't… Shirou and I are not… there is nothing…" She wordlessly screamed at the mirror. "I don't have a crush on Shirou Emiya. Absolutely not!"
Three cars arrived to pick up the Emiya party and bring them to the dinner. Taiga was already waiting in the first one and she all but dragged Sakura with her. Shirou and Rin rode with the middle one.
When they arrived at the location, Rin found herself before one of the most expensive restaurants in Fuyuki, The Rain Tree.
The third car's door opened and a tall, muscled man walked out. He stretched and Rin saw his muscles stretch his shirt almost to its limit.
Taiga and Sakura got out of their car and the older woman immediately rushed to the man.
"Daddy! So nice to see you." She grabbed his arm and jumped in place like an overeager puppy. "You're finally back in Fuyuki."
"Hey there, pipsqueak. How's it going?"
"Mou. You didn't tell me you'd be here." She huffed.
"Now, now. Why would I ruin a surprise."
Shirou chuckled as he got out of the car and joined the girls. "Meet Isshin Fujimura, Taiga's father."
"Heh. So he was right." Mr. Fujimura chuckled. "You really are following Old Man's footsteps."
"Wait. What is that supposed to mean?!" Rin protested.
"Well, Raiga was also rather… popular with ladies in his youth. Even when I was marrying my dear Hyori, I remember him lamenting because he didn't know which of his three ladies to bring to the wedding."
Shirou smacked Isshin on the shoulder. "Stop speaking such stupid stuff! I'm not some lecherous old man!"
"Yeah!" Taiga protested as they walked inside the restaurant. "Everyone knows that Shirou and Sakura are a happy couple." Sakura squeaked and instinctively grabbed Shirou's arm.
A surprised voice came from the table. "What?" Raiga was sitting there, with some of his lieutenants a small distance away. The seats close to the boss were reserved for his family. "Now, Little Tiger, I think you are mistaken." As the group began to sit down, the old man continued. "It's obvious that Shirou and Tohsaka-san are together. They complement each other. Just like Hisana and I did."
The Fujimura men, here for protection, led the group to their seats. Taiga ostensibly switched places with Sakura so Shirou ended up between her and Rin.
The food was brought and after a short prayer, the dinner began. At first, everyone ate in silence but soon some of the men started chatting and the atmosphere became more relaxed. Especially when Sake was brought.
Taiga kept sending her grandfather an evil eye every time he tried to nudge Tohsaka toward Shirou with all the subtlety of an old-time Yakuza. The old man would in turn happily try and distract the boy whenever Taiga espoused all the things Shirou and Sakura had in common.
"I'm just saying, with all of the responsibilities, Shirou is going to need someone reliable at home to care for him." The youngest Fujimura said while holding a cup of sake.
"Men like us," Raiga pointed at himself and Shirou, "need someone strong. Someone able to stand with us and rein us in if we're going too far."
"Sakura is just as strong as Tohsaka." Taiga protested. "And I'm telling you. They are meant for each other. They cook together and she even lives with him."
"Bah. Rin also lives with him last I checked. And she has the fire under her. She will challenge him. Help him grow!"
"You know… he could just date both of them," Isshin suggested while trying to get his family to calm down.
Taiga glared at him. "Dad! Stop trying to push your unrealized fantasies onto Shirou."
"Unrealized?" Raiga chuckled. "Little Tiger, you really have no idea what my Hyori was getting into while in college. And I'm pretty sure if it wasn't out of some misplaced sense of respect, your dad would've remarried twice over by now. I still can't figure out how those two decided to settle down."
"You are all a bunch of lechers!" Taiga groaned. "And you're corrupting my Shirou."
Amakasu, who was standing behind his boss, had to work hard to keep himself from laughing.
"And what's wrong with that?" The Yakuza boss chuckled. "He's still young. He should enjoy himself while he still can."
"Mou… You are a meanie."
Rin, who was beet-red for the entire second part of the dinner, finally had enough. "Gah! Maybe you should all just let us decide, no!? You're both talking about us like we're not even here! I've been trying to be a polite guest and let you continue this… this…" She was breathing heavily as she searched for a word.
Shirou put a hand on her back. "Tohsaka is right. Fuji-nee, stop trying to push me and Sakura together. I respect her greatly and I'm not gonna take advantage of her." He then turned to his grandfather. "And you, stop intentionally rilling Tohsaka and Fuji-nee up. You'll only end up with something flung your way and I'm not sure which is closer to doing that."
"We were just having a bit of fun." Raiga kept laughing. "Besides, it's a moral and ethical imperative for the family to embarrass their teenage son when he brings his girlfriend for a family dinner."
"Then should we assume those are your dates, Raiga-sama?" Sakura, who until now stayed silent, pointed at Fujimura Lieutenants.
The old man was silent for a moment before bursting into a loud fit of laughter. Several of his men who heard the comment joined him. "Oh, I like her. I didn't suspect she had such a sharp tongue on her. Well, you clearly have a type, my boy."
"Don't be ridiculous! I am not dating either of them!" Shirou tried to protest again.
"The boy doth protests too much methinks." Isshin smiled. Taiga nodded sagely. The boy huffed and focused on the dessert that was just brought in.
It seemed that the subject of Shirou's love life was finally exhausted and talks turned to other matters.
"I heard that the new construction firm, Gravehill Industries, got the contract for renovating that old park near Mount Enzo."
"They've been expanding left and right. And they keep importing more materials."
"I wonder…" Shirou began. "That ship. The one that brought the kidnapped people… who did it belong to?"
"Unclear. The register had been spoofed so it's hard to tell."
"No business talk!" Rin gently slapped the boy in the back of his head. "You're supposed to relax today."
"Eh! I just thought of something. You don't need to be so grumpy."
"Tohsaka is right, Shirou. Today you are supposed to relax."
"Now you're all ganging up on me!" The boy protested.
"Good." Rin, Sakura, and Taiga said at the same time.