Hello, it is I, returned from the shadow realm.
First things first, I'd like to apologize to everybody that has been eagerly waiting for me to post for my delay in posting. THis delay came about due to the unreliability of my gear (again), as it is not a particularly powerful, or modern, computer, and since my ISP has been acting screwy since early november, and hasn't yet stopped having issues. It's not a rare occurence for my internet to randomly crash throughout the day.
(My internet was actually down during the process of me writing this chapter.)
Despite all of those facts, I still feel the need to greatly apologize to my readers for these delays. My goal for this year is to actually get a better rig for various purposes, from writing to schoolwork, so it's a work-in-progress type deal.
Most of my patrons have retracted their monetary support, something which is perfectly reasonable while taking into account the problems I have previously pointed out in regards to my sporadic periods of activity. I fully understand their choice to do so, and I do not begrudge them at all. I thank them, even, for having ever decided to invest in me and my work. I will never forget that fact, and I will always mantain the spirit of that choice.
With that being said, I still find myself blessed with a single Patron, Tyric Gaia, which I wholeheartedly thank for still believing in me despite all of this. So, thank you very much for your continued trust and support.
With that out of the way, let us go onwards to the story.
Previously in the story
*BOOM!*
Just as the various patrons recovered, another clap of thunder sounded, coinciding the the doors to the bar being slammed open, before a very distinct individual sauntered in.
Clad in a dark grey kimono with a dark blue trim and light blue accents in the pattern of electricity, standing at 6'1", heavily muscled and broad-shouldered, with wet, russet-colored hair and beard/moustache combo, and a tan consistent with constant exposure to the sun at high sea, this man's presence plunged the whole bar into silence.
His blue eyes moved from person to person in the room, before focusing on Issei with such intensity that it was almost palpable. The man opened his mouth, and the booming voice that came out of it could easily be compared with the crashing thunder right outside the bar.
"I am Hageshi Katagi, and I am here to talk to Hyoudou Issei!"
Now
The entire bar went instantly silent. The many varied patrons of 'The Hammered Dwarf', all of them being members of the Japanese underworld, knew exactly who Hageshi Katagi was. The head of one of the biggest Yakuza families of the country, operating out of the Kanto region, which encompasses the Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba and Kanagawa prefectures, Katagi was one of the seven people said to run the entirety of Japan's hidden, darker side.
Where he went, people looked. When he spoke, people listened. If he 'invited' you to have a talk, you graciously accepted said invitation, no if's, and's or but's. This was the type of person that was asking for Issei.
It was only natural for the majority of the bar's customers to tense at his presence, their desire to say something, anything in possible defense of their favorite waiter warring intensely with their awe, fear and sheer intimidation.
It wasn't just the man's tall, broad shouldered and noticeably muscular form that gave them pause, nor just his reputation and influence. Rather, it was this... Air that he had about him; it was an air of overwhelming and suffocating power, comparable to the large, rain-ladden dark clouds that hung in the sky right before a massive storm. In the face of someone whose mere presence evoked feelings of domination comparable to the forces of nature themselves, it was very difficult for most people to say a single thing.
"Hoh? And what could you want with my most efficient and lucrative employee, Hageshi-san?"
Andre, the owner of the bar, was most definitely not most people. Unheeding of the air of apprehension hanging around his very own bar, and ignoring the tenseness that had taken hold of all of his other customers, he answered nonchalantly, as if he were talking to any other client.
Hageshi actually nodded respectfully at the man for that, before answering.
"I would like to talk to him about a certain... Annoyance... That we have in common. One which happens to be very fuzzy, very ugly, and has more legs than it knows what to do with."
While he didn't fully understand the meaning behind man's words, Andre caught the gist of things, causing his hands to stop their previous activity of polishing a drinking glass. He placed said glass down on the bar counter, turning towards his other customers before speaking.
"Dear customers, I am forced to ask you to leave the bar right now. I apologize for the inconvenience that the closure poses to you all, and can only promise to make up for it at a later date, but at the moment, if you're not staff, then you need to go."
Andre's words caught his already stunned customers by surprise. Despite the fact that they were currently awe-stricken by the 'important businessman', they were still willing to break out into action to defend their preferred bar from danger or damage, even if it meant going against one of the most powerful people in the country, with an authority equivalent to a very high-ranking member of government. For Andre to simply dismiss them like this... It was very surprising. One doesn't go into a dangerous fight without backup, after all.
"You guys heard the boss! OUT!"
Issei's sudden shout had the frozen customers jolting in place, before actually following Andre's instructions and slowly trickling away from the bar, all the while shooting Issei and Andre worried looks. As soon as the last customer left the bar, Issei flipped their sign from open to closed, while Ginei's hands went straight under the counter, where he had been working with Andre preparing drinks.
Andre looked at the nervous-looking Daichi, who had been helping to wait the tables, before speaking up.
"Daichi, I want you to go upstairs, lock the door and don't open it until I say it's fine."
Daichi, whose whole body displayed his nervousness, spoke in a low tone.
"I-I want to stay, uncle."
Sighing deeply, Andre kept his gaze on the 'visitor', seeing no obvious signs of anger or impatience from him, even as he spoke to Daichi.
"Daichi, we're going to be discussing things that are much to dangerous for you to know! You need to-"
"I already know."
Daichi's words caused Andre's focus to instantly snap onto him, it's intensity causing Daichi to cringe even as his uncle spoke in a very careful tone.
"What do you 'already know', Daichi?"
The young man closed his eyes and took steadying breaths, allowing most of the tension he had been feeling to disperse, his posture to straighten to a degree that he never did before - changing Issei's assessment of his height from 6'5" to about 6'7 or such - and his fidgeting to clear, before opening his eyes, allowing his gaze to meet Andre's.
"I heard you and senpai talking. About your... Previous lifestyle. And my... Origin, and status. I already know about all that stuff. And I want to be able to help if either you or senpai are ever in a bad situation."
Andre sighed out loud, pinching the bridge of his nose as he spoke.
"I didn't want you discovering things that way, but I guess I should've just been more cautious... Well, since Daichi already knows... Hit it, Issei!"
Issei slammed his hand onto a poster hanging right next to the door depicting a scantily clad woman, allowing a strand of energy to leave him and to trigger the magical array drawn on the back of it. A series of mathematical formulae spread from the poster to all of the bar's walls, the lines of numbers crossing and intercepting one-another until it formed a rough approximation of a gridlock pattern, before vanishing with a flash of grey light.
Almost at the same time, Ginei pulled whatever it was that he had been holding onto under the counter into view, revealing a blue-tinged Nodachi with a green hilt with gold adornments, which exuded a feeling of cold, and caused the bar to smell like freshly fallen snow.
Issei took a deep breath before his skin was covered in black tribal marks, which were gradually filled up with a purple hue, while Andre flicked his wrist, allowing a massive double-headed battleaxe to suddenly materialize within his grip.
Daichi took a shuddering breath before arming himself with one of the bar's tables.
Issei spoke up at that, being the one that the subject actually revolved around.
"Our mutual... Acquaintance... Told me who his boss was, and gave me a basic description of what he looked like. He also did the same regarding his boss' known associates, so before anything else, I'd rather know if you're going to keep using your made-up name, or if I should use your real one... Susano'o."
The russet-haired god of storms seemed totally unconcerned by this development, with it already being expected given the debriefing Risan had given them regarding the... Target... of the mission Tsukuyomi had unilateraly assigned him.
"Either one is fine, really."
Nodding at that, Issei clenched his left hand into a fist even as he spoke in as nonchalant a tone as possible, as if discussing the weather.
"So, have you come to finish the job that Butt Ugly failed to?"
Susano'o sighed again at that, already expecting the conversation to go mostly like this. He kept his tone as non-threatening as possible as he answered, "Not at all. I came here just to talk. Peacefully."
Ginei looked at Andre at that declaration, while both Andre and Daichi looked straight at Issei, waiting for his call. The brunette allowed his sensory skills to uncoil themselves slightly, something which allowed him to feel that Susano'o spoke truthfully, leading him to nod, which caused the other three to lower their respective weapons. Poignantly enough, none of the three, not even the nervous and inexperienced Daichi, really put away whichever weapons they wielded, even as Issei sat down at one of the tables Daichi had not lifted as if they were lego toys, with the god of storms sitting across from him.
Clearing his throat, Susano'o spoke up.
"First of all, I'd like to apologize for the previous... Misunderstanding. That attack on your person was the consequence of an unilateral decision from my brother Tsukuyomi, and neither myself nor Amaterasu were complicit in, or even aware, of his actions."
Issei, who chose to keep his empathic abilities active to gauge Susano'o's honesty throughout the duration of the conversation, nodded at the storm god's truthful words, signaling him to continue.
"The truth is, the Shinto pantheon would like to work with you, Hyoudou-san. As the true authority of the country as far as the supernatural world goes, we have certain methods made available to us to know of the existence of people beyond a certain level of strength within our territory.
"These methods made us aware of someone of your strength and potential, and we saw you as someone capable of giving us great aid."
Issei nodded further at that, before speaking up, "And what aid would your pantheon require from a mere human such as myself?"
Susano'o managed to supress the desire to snort at Issei's ridiculous statement, allowing his finger to heavily tap the tabletop even as he spoke, "There is nothing mere about you, Hyoudou-san. That I can definitely guarantee. As for why we would need the help of a human...
"Truth is, the Shinto pantheon has only recently come back into activity. There was a serious problem a few hundred years ago which forced us to, let us say 'close the doors', so that we could re-assess and re-structure the way in which we functioned as a united group.
"This resulted in us all but fading into obscurity, probably being presumed dead or faded by the rest of the supernatural community at large. It's the only reason why we have things such as Devils choosing 'territories' on our turf to lord over as if they were their own.
"Various other groups overtook us in power, authority and development, while certain groups that were either part of our own, or at least associated to it, splintering off and following different paths."
"Basically, what you're saying is that you guys turtled up, but are now surprised that the rest of the world overtook you..." shrugging lightly, Issei spoke in an unconcerned tone, "I don't really see why any of that is my business. Why should I get involved in any of this, especially if it meant clashing against other powerful factions who have nothing against me, or that just don't know about me in general?"
"None of this seems to be your business," the storm god said with a nod "But, you have not yet heard the most important part. The reason behind the re-emergence of the Shinto pantheon, even in the less-than-optimal state we're currently in.
"Dark forces are stirring, Hyoudou-san. Japan used to be one of the safest places for people unrelated to the supernatural world, with very few exceptions, however this seems to be changing. Whereas people only really had to worry about supernatural interference with the mundanes in spots like Aokigahara, lately there have been more occurences of unnatural things going out of their way to hurt regular people.
"Of course, it's hard to notice if you're not paying attention, but if you keep your eyes peeled for the unnaturaly high number of missing persons and mysterious animal attacks that have been increasingly targeting rural towns and cities, you can see that things aren't really normal.
"The amount and severity of the attacks have been steadily increasing, with some of them occuring even in broad daylight, with witnesses. If things keep going like this, more innocent people are going to get harmed, and the risk of the supernatural world being revealed to the regular people increases."
Those words caused the mood of the three other men in the room to change from guarded and cautious to grim, while Issei inwardly gave Susano'o a notch of respect for having placed innocent lives ahead of the secrecy of the supernatural world - and actually meaning it!
Having given them time to digest the previous information, and intending to 'strike while the iron is hot', Susano'o continued.
"If these instances keep escalating, as they seem to be at the moment, it won't take long for even the more urban parts of the country to be hit, placing a myriad of targets within reach of these assailants, whomever they may be.
"It could go as far as even the people around you getting hurt. Family, friends, loved ones of all types... All of them could get endangered by the enemy if nothing is done about it.
"This is where you come in, Hyoudou-san. We, the Shinto pantheon, have a few suspicions on the source of these attacks, and we believe that there is a big bad behind them, either causing them, or simply using them to further their goals.
"I cannot tell you who we suspect at the moment, as it is not confirmed information and could lead to you simply jumping at shadows in an unnecessary way, but I can tell you that if it really is whom we think it is, then any actions from our part would cause them to go to ground, and turn their overt moves into cover ones, which would make them much more difficult to figure out and deal with.
"However, if we had you, Hyoudou-san, on our side..."
"You'd have someone capable of acting on your behalf, without alerting whomever you believe is responsible for this situation."
"Correct."
Steepling his fingers in front of his face, Issei spoke, "Let us say that I choose to work with you. What would I be expected to do, and what would I be getting in exchange?"
The storm god nodded in pleasant surprise at Issei's willingness to talk business, despite any previous misgivings, before answering.
"If you chose to work with us, you'd be expected to work as hired boots on the ground. Investigating suspicious occurences, saving endangered villages, terminating supernatural threats to the general populace, those are the first things you would be expected to do. Anything other than that, any additional tasks that don't fit into the previous mold, would be up to you to accept or reject."
"I see... Now, let's talk payment. How would you make that deal worth my while? I'm sure you already noticed, but I have a job, a very lucrative one at that, and I am a full-time student as well. My schedule is already pretty full at the moment. So, what could you give me that would make me working with you worth the effort?"
Susano'o retrieved a chit of paper from the folds of his kimono, placing it atop the table and sliding it towards Issei. The brunet lifted the paper and read the number written on it, one eyebrow rising, before he placed it back down and spoke to the storm god.
"Not bad. Nothing to scoff at, however... These jobs I would theoretically be saddled with would carry an inherent risk to my very life, one that could be bigger in scale than I even know given the ominous things you've said, and their possible implications. I'm not really sure this would be enough to cover that, and that is without considering any extra activities, of the type that would not be covered by the primary agreement."
"I expected you to say something like this, Hyoudou-san, which is why I didn't intend to repay you with money alone. The fact of the matter is, if I start moving around the amounts of money that these types of services would usually garner, people will take notice. It would be especially bad for you, as you would have to justify getting paid such exorbitant amounts to both your bank and the government. They would more than likely believe it to be dirty money, meaning that they'd keep a closer eye on you, making it difficult for you to have the freedom to do the jobs required to keep our country safe.
"Rather, I intended to pay you in a combination of money, books on magics of all sorts, and magical items of great power and value. Pad out your bank account while increasing your survivability and skillset, ensuring that you come out of danger alive-"
"And capable of continuing to do work for you."
"...Correct."
Issei leaned back into his chair even as he though things through, before Susano'o spoke again.
"You don't need to make a decision right at this very moment. Rather, I'd prefer it if you took this," the storm god spoke as he placed a business card right in front of Issei, "And used it to contact my group with your decision after you've had the time to fully think things through, and make a choice."
"Is that all?" Issei spoke as he carefully handled the business card, getting a nod from the storm god.
"Yes. I simply wished to apologize for the previous event, explain how and why it came to be, and invite you to work with our pantheon to protect innocent people from being harmed by the forces of darkness. With all that said, I'll be taking my leave."
Nodding his head respectfully at Issei, Andre, Ginei and Daichi, one after the other, Susano'o let out a pulse of energy, easily disrupting the seal that Issei had previously activated, before vanishing in a flash of lightning.
Andre clicked his tongue, while Ginei muttered out a low 'show-off'. Issei, still sitting down, adopted a pensive face even as he rolled the business card between his fingers.
Daichi's gaze moved from his senpai, to his uncle, his thoughts in disarray as various questions tried to assemble themselves within his mind. His gaze fell on Ginei, who had been looking at his blade up close, before he finally spoke.
"Ginei-san also knew about the supernatural world?"
"Yeah," Andre said with a nod, his own gaze on his oldest worker, "Part of the hiring requirements here is the ability to hold your own properly for a reason. Some of the less... Benign supernatural entities have a tendency to be attracted to these 'underground hotspots', as there's usually an abundance of free-flowing lust, anger, violence, pain, and so on and so forth.
"The same applies to this town, especially with Stray Devils. We're no Las Vegas or New York, fortunately enough, but the concentration of strays in relation to our town and population size is ridiculous.
"Most of them get taken care of by the 'Land Owners', but it always happens that some slip through the cracks, or become active before the ones looking out for them gain awareness of them.
"They almost invariably end up moving within or close to Kuoh's red light district, and we are forced to take care of them. I'm one of the four 'bosses' of the district that help coordinate in these efforts to defend our turf, and to ensure that we manage to avoid the attention of other factions."
Issei gave Andre a curious look as he spoke.
"Is that why you were so quick to hire me?"
"Part of it, yes," the bald man said with a nod "Dai told me about how you seeingly moved fast enough to be a blur, how you could just vanish with a flicker of the light, and about the fact that you exploded a 2x4 with a single punch with no problem, something which I later on noticed left no injuries, not even bruises.
"Add to that the fact that you went out of your way to help Daichi when you had no need or obligation to... It just painted a picture of someone I'd like working with me. I actually intended to bring you into the loop soon, since you work late hours on the weekends and, if you joined the 'communitary rotation', you could use that time to hunt."
"You said that you are one of the district's four bosses...?"
A flick of the wrist from Andre caused a lit cigarette to appear between his fingers, with him taking a relaxing puff from it - disregarding the slight grimace on the face of the three others - before speaking with a finger poined at Issei.
"You don't need to get curious, since you'll be meeting them soon enough," seeing the surprised look on Issei's face, Andre shrugged before speaking again "This information is pertinent to all of us in the district. The knowledge of increased supernatural attacks, and the understanding that it might be enemmy action, rather than simple happenstance, could be the difference between life and death."
The man turned towards Daichi after that, taking a deep breath before speaking.
"Daichi, about what you heard... I can't tell you much right now," seeing the boy's frown, and Issei gearing up to protest in behalf of Daichi, Andre raised his hand, before speaking, "I made a promise, Daichi. This sort of information has a way of changing people, and the way they see themselves. Your mother knew that, so she made me promise not to tell you until you were ready."
"And what would 'being ready' mean, uncle?"
"A defined sense of self. And unwavering understanding of who you are, who you want to be, what you want to do with your life, what you wish to achieve. Your mother wanted you to become your own person before you gained that information, so that you weren't inadvertently influenced into trying to in some way mimic or measure up to any perceived 'legacies' or 'expectations'.
"Learn about yourself more. Become stronger, in heart and mind, find your own way in life. Then... I can fulfill the promise I made to her."
A stricken look came over Daichi's face as he spoke "You're not even going to tell me who my parents were?"
Andre, seeing the look on the young man's face, mentally apologized before speaking.
"Your mother's name was Helen, and your father is still alive."
Daichi's face changed, a mixture of various different emotions running through it at the same time, before Issei spoke up.
"If Dai's dad is alive, then why isn't he present?"
"I can't tell you about his motives," Andre spoke "But I can tell you that they are reasonable. Anyways, I think we've all had an interesting day so far, so I belive it's best if each of us retreated to think things through in peace. Gin, Issei, you two can consider yourselves on break, since I won't be opening the bar for a while. Daichi... If you need someone to talk to..."
The meek young man nodded with a somewhat glazed look in his eyes, before heading straight upstairs into the apartment he shared with his uncle right above the bar.
"Dai... If you need anything from me," Issei spoke "Feel free to seek me out."
Having said that, Issei walked besides Ginei as they left the bar, and walked in about the same path for a generous amount of time.
"So..." Issei started, "How are you connected to the supernatural world, Gin-san?"
The college-aged man shrugged, causing the sword hidden within his shinai case to shake slightly before he answered.
"Family's been in the demon-hunting business for as long as I remember, hunting evil Yokai and Oni since the old days. They wanted me to inherit the position of clan head and hunt demons full time, but I wanted to go to college and have a social life, so I left. The boss found me having some trouble fighting a stray devil barehanded, so he saved me.
"Since I didn't have any money or contacts in the city, and the boss needed employees capable of dealing with the creepy-crawlies, he hired me to work for him. The pay's good, the hours aren't that bad, and I even got this sick-ass sword out of the deal. How about you, how've you gotten involved?"
"I'm a sacred gear user. My sacred gear hosts a dragon."
Ginei nodded in understanding at that.
"An aura that just attracts trouble, and you end up plunged into a whole new world out of nowhere. Got it."
The two resumed their silence as they walked, before Ginei spoke up again.
"The boss said that he'll be warning the other three heads of the red light district about this stuff, which means a meeting with them. You should probably get ready to be officially introduced to the other groups."
Issei nodded thankfully at Ginei's words, before the two of them split up, each of them following their own path after the tiring night they had.
The two of them, but Issei particularly, had much thinking to do, and decisions to make.
-Chapter, End-
This was a short one, more to get me back into the groove of writing, shake off the rust from my period of inactivity, and to expand a bit on the immediate world around Issei, to show that the supernatural is more diverse and propagated than one would think if simply seeing things from a unilateral perspective.
If my gear doesn't crap out on me again, then I should have the next chapter out by next week, so look out for that!
FrancoGamerxz, out!