Chapter 6: Confrontation
Once the armed men disappeared, Mikado's fingers flew across the keypad of an old earth phone she'd stashed in the warehouse. Her voice dropped to hushed whispers, then she spun toward Shirou, determination etched in her features.
The car materialized from the shadows - a nondescript vehicle piloted by one of Mikado's contacts, the kind who dealt in unspoken favors. The drive passed in tense silence through winding streets until they reached their destination.
Before he left, Mikado seemed to whisper something to the unknown driver. They were to quite for Shirou to catch anything they said. The man nodded like he was consenting to something and left the pair like that.
Shadows clung to the narrow alley where their sanctuary waited. The safehouse blended seamlessly with its surroundings, nothing more than another forgotten building in the city's maze-like edges. Inside, bare walls and minimal furniture spoke of utility over comfort.
Metal scraped against metal as Mikado secured the reinforced door. Her movements were swift and practiced as she activated multiple security measures, each one adding another layer of protection between them and the outside world.
The fluorescent lights seared into Shirou's retinas, casting stark shadows across his features. His mismatched eyes flicked between dark corners like a cornered animal's, muscles coiled beneath his shirt. Images flashed through his mind - the deafening explosion, Kael materializing from nowhere, the soul-deep exhaustion as magic had poured from his hands to forge steel.
The leather of Mikado's coat whispered as it slid onto the chair. "Well, beats sleeping under the stars," she quipped, her forced cheer ringing hollow.
Seeing him paralyzed, she crossed over and tousled his hair with feather-light fingers. "My little champion. Those blades you conjured? They're the only reason we're still breathing."
"Why do they want me?" The words barely disturbed the air.
Chair legs squealed against the floor as Mikado dragged one closer, motioning him down. Her playful mask slipped away. "This isn't about you doing anything wrong. It's about what you can do. Those men serve the people who made you. They're trying to reclaim their asset."
"Am I a monster?" Grief colored his whisper.
Silence stretched like taffy before Mikado shook her head. She dropped to his level, squeezing his shoulder.
"You're no monster, Shirou. Not unless someone forces your hand. What you are is irreplaceable—and that makes you valuable to men like Kael."
His gaze fell to the scuffed concrete. "I never wanted to harm anyone. That power... it just erupted tonight."
"That's natural," she assured him. "You're discovering yourself. I'll be right beside you through it all."
His eyes lifted, searching her face. The steadfast certainty he found there echoed back to their first meeting. "Alright," he breathed.
Mikado pushed to her feet, boots clicking as she paced.
A metallic glint caught the harsh light as she withdrew a sleek device from her pocket - salvage from one of Kael's fallen men. Data streams pulsed beneath its surface like digital veins.
"What did you find?" Curiosity momentarily brightened his voice.
"A little prize," she said dryly. "One of their toys. If we can pierce its secrets, we might learn their next move—maybe even their base."
"Could it help us fight back?"
"It's somewhere to begin," she replied, setting it aside with a soft click.
"Will they track us here?" Anxiety threaded through his words.
Mikado's eyes darted to the fortified entrance and her web of security measures. "Not tonight," she said, uncertainty lurking beneath her conviction. "This place is invisible, and I'd trust my contact with my life. But we can't put down roots. We have to take actions."
The muscles in Shirou's shoulders sagged beneath his shirt, though he kept his protests locked behind pressed lips. His eyes followed Mikado's movements, clinging to the familiar sight of her purposeful stride.
Time crept by in the cramped safehouse. Keys clicked beneath Mikado's fingers as mysterious symbols marched across her portable console's screen. The furrow between her brows deepened with each passing minute. On the narrow sofa, Shirou's eyelids grew heavy as he watched her work.
"Do you think... I'll ever be normal?" The words slipped out, barely stirring the air.
Mikado's fingers froze mid-keystroke. She turned, meeting his gaze with widened eyes.
Her lips curved upward, gentle yet sure. "Normal is overrated. Besides, who wants to be normal when you can be extraordinary?"
An answering smile tugged at the corners of his mouth, tentative as a butterfly's wings. "You really think I'm extraordinary?"
"I know you are." The words rang with quiet steel. "And don't let anyone make you think otherwise."
Peace settled over Shirou's features as his eyes drifted shut, muscles loosening one by one. Mikado's gaze lingered on his sleeping form, her face a mask. Kael's warning echoed in her thoughts as the device's encoded data blinked mockingly. Eden's remnants cast a longer shadow than Shirou alone - but watching him now, small and vulnerable on the sofa, her jaw clenched with renewed purpose. He was more than their failed experiment. He was Shirou.
A single wall lamp cast the basement in amber shadows. The console's glow painted Mikado's features in electronic blue as alien text scrolled past. Two hours after drifting off, Shirou sat alert nearby, thoughts churning behind watchful eyes while the console hummed its steady song.
Her triumphant exhale broke the quiet. "Got it." She massaged her temples. "This thing's more sophisticated than I expected, but I've cracked the basics."
Shirou straightened. "What did you find?"
Her keystrokes brought forth a glowing map. "I've found them. Kael and his companions are holed up in a temporary hideout not far from here."
The blood drained from his face. "He's that close?"
"Too close for comfort." Unease threaded through her words. "Which means staying here isn't an option. If we wait, they'll eventually track us down."
"So... what do we do?" His voice quavered.
She met his eyes, steel in her gaze. "We take the fight to them."
Her fingers traced the edges of a hidden panel until it clicked open, revealing years' worth of carefully curated equipment. After a heartbeat's hesitation, she reached for a stun pistol's familiar grip, followed by smoke grenades and a palm-sized EMP device.
"Wait, are we actually going to fight them?" Shirou's voice cracked, his fingers twisting the hem of his shirt.
Mikado didn't look up from her gear check, examining methodically her options. "We don't have a choice. If we sit around, they'll just keep coming. The best defense is a good offense."
Shirou's shoulders hunched inward. "But... I don't know how to fight."
Mikado's hands stilled on her equipment. She turned, her expression softening as she studied his face. "To tell you the truth, I don't want you to fight..."
The gentleness in her voice only made Shirou's jaw clench tighter. "I'm not letting you go alone!" His fists balled at his sides, trembling.
A ghost of a smile touched Mikado's lips. She crossed to him, resting her hand on his shoulder. The warmth of her palm steadied his shaking. "Shirou, I'm not going to fight them alone, nor am I asking you to fight like a soldier. Your job is to stay close to me and use your abilities defensively if things get messy. That stunt during the attack? It was impressive, but too risky. We need to adjust your approach."
Steel crept into Shirou's spine as he straightened. "Okay. Teach me."
The corner of Mikado's mouth lifted in approval. "That's the spirit."
Mikado sank into the sofa cushions, her tablet balanced on her knee as she gestured for Shirou to join her. Her fingers danced across the screen, pulling up diagrams and schematics.
"Watch closely," she said, tapping the display. "Everything stems from your perception - what you see, what you grasp. Like a photographer capturing the perfect moment. That's what i think your power is all about."
Shirou's chin dipped in concentration.
The screen flickered as Mikado pulled up a military-grade blueprint. "Here's your template." The schematic showed an energy shield, its specifications marked in the angular script of the Deviluke military.
"They call it..." Mikado cleared her throat. "Blast-splash-kun."
Shirou glanced sideways at her, catching the way her professional demeanor cracked just slightly. A pink tinge colored her cheeks as she maintained her serious expression. He bit back a comment about the childish name.
The technical specifications scrolled past, a maze of numbers and formulas that made Shirou's head spin. He couldn't make sense of even the basic parameters.
Mikado's fingers traced the complex diagrams as she began breaking down the impenetrable technical jargon into digestible pieces.
"The tool used to create this energy shield was developed by the Devilukians, the exact inventor is unknown. But this an almost impenetrable defense that is light, strong and dispel energy based attacks, like the weapons in Kael's group hand."
Shirou took the tablet with the file. "If this is military stuff, how did you get this?" He asked implying if it wasn't dangerous.
"Not exactly, the materials used to make this tool are impossible to work for me or anyone else in the galaxy."
Mikado got up and took a piece of metal from her armoury.
"Here." She showed it to Shirou continuing her explanation." It's called Athersteel, a metal so stupid to work with, that the entire universe gave up on using it for any real use."
Mikado took a lighter and put the piece of metal on top of the fire, but in a few seconds the piece of metal turned to dust.
"Here the problem. Whenever the metal come in contact with any form of alteration of it's chemical composition it does that."
"It was believed to be impossible to work with with the current level of technology on our galaxy, but 3 years ago the Devilukians came out with a new invention based on this same metal."
Shirou was more puzzled than before. "But how? You said the entire galaxy's technology was not at that level." Mikado simply shocked her head. "I don't know either and I don't care really. This subject is far away from my interest. Maybe they have developed new technology capable of working the metal or a genius was born on their planet.
"But to us, all of that doesn't matter now. With your power it's possible to skip all the development phase and go directly to the end result. Avoiding completely the problem of the metal."
Shirou's eyes widened in shock and understanding. Mikado was correct. With the photos and the exact description on how this device work, he can really make it.
"Ok... I will try!" Shirou exclaimed motivated, but right afte his mood went down drastically.
"... I'm starting to understand why they want me back..."
Mikado knelt down and hugged him gently.
"If possible I would have let you keep making forks. But sometimes it's better to take things that we don't like and accept them as they are."
" Your power was most likely meant to harm, but the one who has this power is you, Shirou. That mean it's your choice if you want to do good or bad with it. Not me, not them."
Shirou was feeling a bit depressed when Mikado said that he was created to harm. But the last part gave him hope.
" Your right. I can choose...the choice is mine."
"Good boy." Mikado gave him another squeeze. When she let Shirou go, she started to explain to Shirou all the complex development phase of the shield generating tool. Shirou started to work immediately. He was more concentrated than ever. He honestly doesn't have to much energy left, so he only have one attempt to make the barrier right.
Maybe it was talent or programming, but Shirou took a very short time to understand the complexity of the tool if he considered it a "weapon".
One hour later.
"Good," Mikado said, studying the tool shaped as a disk. "It was usually used in tandem with a gauntlet and battery, all held on the back of the hand, but for us this is sufficient." Mikado said activating the tool, creating a translucent energy barrier of two metres square, that absorbed energy from a portable battery. "Now, hold it steady while I test its durability." She gave the device back to Shirou to hold.
Shirou blinked. "Wait, how are you going to—?"
Before he could finish, Mikado threw a small rubber ball at the shield. It bounced off harmlessly, Shirou didn't feel anything while the barrier took all the force of the impact, causing the barrier to waver.
"Focus," Mikado said, her tone firm but not unkind. "Trust the barrier. It'll hold as long as you keep it up and connected to the battery."
Shirou nodded, inhaling deeply to steady his nerves. When Mikado threw the ball again, the barrier stayed intact. A third throw, then a fourth—each one met with growing confidence.
After a dozen successful tests with different types of attacks, Mikado lowered the knife, the latest testing weapon, and smiled. "You're getting the hang of it."
Shirou left the barrier disappear and put the disc on the ground and wiped his brow. "It's… harder than it looks."
"You mean the barrier or the effort?"Mikado asked raising an eyebrow.
"Both."
By the time they were ready to leave, the tension in the air was palpable. Mikado had donned a sleek tactical vest, her stun pistol holstered at her side. Shirou, got a protective suite that should raise his survivability if ever hit.
"Stay close to me," Mikado instructed as they exited the safehouse through a concealed back door. "If anything happens, you focus on defense. I'll handle the rest."
Shirou nodded, gripping the shield/tool (Blast-splash-kun copy) tightly. "Got it."
The streets were eerily quiet as they made their way toward Kael's hideout, a dilapidated warehouse on the city's outskirts. Mikado led the way, her movements silent and precise, while Shirou followed a few steps behind, his eyes darting nervously.
When they reached the warehouse, Mikado scanned the perimeter with a handheld device. "Four life signatures inside," she whispered. "Kael's probably one of them."
Shirou's heart pounded. "What if they have more of those… weapons?"
"They probably do," Mikado admitted. "But that's why we have this." She held up the EMP device. "It'll knock out their tech long enough for us to make our move."
Shirou swallowed hard, nodding. "Okay."
The plan unfolded rapidly. Mikado disabled the outer security with a small hacking tool, then signaled Shirou to follow her inside. The warehouse was dimly lit, its cavernous space filled with crates and machinery. Voices echoed faintly from a side room.
Mikado activated the EMP device, and a ripple of blue energy spread through the warehouse. Lights flickered and died, and the hum of machinery fell silent.
"Go!" Mikado hissed, moving swiftly toward the side room. Shirou followed, his hands trembling but his resolve firm.
They burst into the room, catching the operatives off guard. Mikado's stun pistol discharged with a sharp crack, and two of the operatives went down instantly. Kael, now in his alien form, snarled and lunged at them, his shimmering skin catching the faint light.
"Barrier!" Mikado shouted.
Shirou reacted instinctively, throwing up the shield between them and Kael. The alien's energy blast collided with the barrier, sparking harmlessly. Mikado took advantage of the momentary distraction to incapacitate the third member of Kael entourage.
"So," Kael said, his voice carrying across the space. He was now hiding behind a wall. "You've come to me. Saves me the trouble of hunting you down." His golden eyes glinted as they locked onto Shirou. "And there he is. Eden's key to our future."
Shirou felt a chill run down his spine. He stepped closer to Mikado, his resolve wavering.
Mikado stepped forward, her stun pistol aimed towards Kael direction. "You're not taking him," she said, her voice firm. "He is not your property!"
Kael chuckled, a deep, unsettling sound. "You misunderstand, doctor. He was never yours to protect. That boy belongs to Eden—our salvation, our rebirth."
"Your so-called salvation is over," Mikado shot back. "Eden's gone, and he's free now."
"Free?" Kael sneered. "You call this freedom? Hiding in shadows, hunted like prey? No, he's meant for more. With him, Eden will rise again, and accomplish our vision."
Kael raised his weapon at a inhuman speed and shout energy blast at the two without looking.
Shirou acted on instinct and managed to change the position of the shield to block the attack. Causing smoke to erupt from the impact.
The sudden eruption of smoke, partially blinded Mikado's field of view and she wasn't trained to react like a real fighter.
Kael literally appeared in front of Shirou's barrier and gave it a powerful kick.
The force of the kick was too much for Shirou to stay still and he ended up flying back, leaving Mikado unprotected.
Kael took out a sleek, menacing blade that crackled with raw energy. He swung it toward Mikado, with a speed impossible for her to dodge.
But call it luck or instinct, Mikado was able to press the trigger of her stun gun. The bullet grazed Kael's hand and the high voltage of the bullet stiffened his arm, making him miss the target.
But Mikado's brief victory lasted so short, she didn't even made in time to smile, that an axe kick powered by Kael's swinging motion, connected with her left side, throwing her to the ground in pain.
"Get away from her!!" Shirou yelled, his voice cracking with emotion.
Shirou saw right in front of his eyes, how in 1 second, Kael managed to get rid of him and defeat Mikado, like they were nothing.
At the sight something shifted inside Shirou. The fear and uncertainty that had plagued him moments ago melted away, replaced by boiling anger. His hands trembled, energy coalesced around him, swirling and condensing into a focused point.
Before he realized what he was doing, a blade of pure energy materialized in his hand. It was identical to Kael's blade, humming softly as if responding to his heartbeat.
Mikado, from her position behind a crate, gasped. "Shirou…"
Kael froze, his expression one of surprise, then delight. "There it is," he said, his voice reverent. "The power of our Project. Beautiful."
Shirou tightened his grip on the blade, stepping forward with newfound confidence. "You're not taking me," he said, his voice steady. "I won't let you hurt Mikado."
Kael smirked. "Then show me what you've got, boy."
Kael lunged, his blade meeting Shirou's in a clash of energy that sent sparks flying. Despite his inexperience, Shirou moved with surprising agility, parrying Kael's strikes and countering with calculated precision. Each swing of his blade felt instinctive, as if the knowledge had been ingrained in him long before he could remember.
Despite their size difference he was exercising the same level of strength as Kael, the sparks flying from their blades making contact was proof of that.
But their fighting style was completely opposed to eachother. Shirou was jumping, sprinting and dancing around in a fury of slashes.
While Kael was stationary like a fortress, blocking and engaging every attack from Shirou, moving only the bar minimum to fix his balance.
Looking from outside, a novice may say, Shirou was in advantage, because he was the one in the offensive pressuring Kael. But the truth was the opposite.
He was the one with a time limit and wasn't in control oh his emotions. Meanwhile Kael was composed and deflecting every move from Shirou. He just have to tire him down to win.
"What wrong boy? Are you tired already?" Kael said mockingly after blocking the weakest strike from Shirou till now.
"Shut up! Go away! What do you want from me?" Shirou tried another sequence of attacks while letting out his frustrations like a whining child. Kael parried every single one of his strikes.
"You shouldn't be tired so easily. You were made to fight endlessly. What with this joke!"
Kael entered in a engaging stance with Shirou, both swords pressing against each others, making a continuous sound of a chainsaw on steel.
"You were made for battles and chaos! You have the means to continue fighting!"
Shirou gritted his teeth. Trying to put more force in his arms, but Kael was matching his strength equally.
"I... I don't want to fight!" Shirou tried to make his opinion known, but Kael couldn't care less.
"That is not for you to decide! You are Eden's weapon." With a surge of power, Karl pushed Shirou back of a few steps.
"Consume that woman!" Karl pointed at the struggling Mikado on the ground.
"...What?"
Kael made a strange suggestion with a firm voice that Shirou couldn't understand at all.
"I said consume her! Take her energy and fight! You can do that- you were made to do that!"
With every word coming out of Kael's mouth, Shirou's blood became colder and colder.
The reason for that, it wasn't the sheer bad implications of the suggestion. But it was because for some reason he thought he could actually do it. As if what Kael was saying was true.
--
Mikado's body throbbed with pain, her side radiating agony from the force of the kick. She struggled to push herself up from the ground, her hand trembling as she pressed it against the cold dirt for support. Blood pulsed in her ears, but Kael's words froze her more than the pain coursing through her body.
Mikado's hand roamed across the pockets of her clothes. She prepared some first aid drugs in vials at the safehouse, but now she was worried if they they had broken in her collision with the ground.
Fortunately they were still intact
When her fingers touched the familiar shape of the intact vial in her pocket, she let out a subtle sigh of relief.
Mikado took the vial and drunk the content as sneakily as possible.
"Consume that woman!"
Was Kael referring to her? Mikado tried to follow what Kael kept saying to Shirou, who froze still in place for some reason.
"...What?"
"I said consume her! Take her energy and fight! You can do that- you were made to do that!"
Shirou's voice was trembling. Mikado could tell that Shirou was somewhat conflicted. She didn't know why or how, Kael's words affected Shirou, but she had to intervene.
"Shirou," she called out firmly, her eyes locked on him. "Look at me."
Shirou's trembling gaze shifted toward her, his heterochromatic eyes glistening with confusion and fear.
"Whatever he's saying—whatever lies he's trying to feed you—don't listen to him," Mikado said, her voice unwavering. "You are not the monster he wants you to believe you are."
Kael chuckled, crossing his arms. "Lies? Oh, I'm just stating the truth. He feels it, doesn't he? That hunger gnawing at him, the need to survive. He knows he can take what he needs from you. It's his nature."
Mikado's emerald eyes narrowed, her gaze never leaving Shirou. "He's wrong, Shirou. Whatever instincts or impulses you think you have, you are in control. Not him, not Eden, not anyone. You."
"But... I..." Shirou's voice cracked, his hands gripping his sword tightly. "What if he's right? What if... if I could do something like that? What if I hurt you?"
Mikado stood up and took a step closer, ignoring the burning pain in her side. "Then I'll remind you, as many times as it takes, that you won't."
Kael on the other hand was standing there watching, like he didn't see any danger in leaving the wounded Mikado get to Shirou.
She placed a hand over her heart, her voice softening but no less resolute. "You're kind, Shirou. You've shown me that every single day since I found you. Don't let his words make you forget who you are."
Kael sneered. "Such touching words. But you're deluding yourself. The boy's instincts will take over. It's only a matter of time."
"Consume her, boy. You know you can," Kael taunted, his voice low but piercing. "She's just a tool, isn't she? A means to your survival. Take her energy. It's what you were made for."
--
Shirou's eyes darted between Kael's smirking face and Mikado's crumpled form. A gnawing emptiness spread through his core, each heartbeat amplifying the desperate need for sustenance. His body hummed with an electric yearning, demanding to be fed.
Yet somewhere in the back of his mind, a quiet voice of reason still whispered, holding back the tide of raw instinct.
The walls seemed to close in around him.
His limbs felt leaden, useless against Kael's overwhelming presence. The thought of harming Mikado made his stomach turn, even as that same hunger pulled at his very being. The seconds ticked by like hours, each moment narrowing his options.
Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as his chest heaved with quick, shallow breaths. The sword in his white-knuckled grip trembled, its familiar weight now a stark reminder of his weakness. Kael's words echoed in his skull, a constant hammer against his resolve.
"Your time's slipping away," Kael's boots scraped against the floor as he advanced, each step deliberate and predatory. "Feel it consuming you? That's your true nature calling."
"Run!" The desperate cry pierced through his spiral of thoughts. Shirou's gaze found Mikado again - her face contorted in agony, yet her eyes blazed with concern for him, not herself.
The choice tore at him - flee as Mikado begged, knowing Kael would harm Mikado even more if he leaves, or stay and watch her suffer for his cowardice.
His pulse hammered against his ribs like a war drum, each thundering beat threatening to shatter bone.
A serpentine smile slithered across Kael's features as he watched Shirou's inner battle play out. "Pathetic." The word sliced through the air, sharp as any blade. "Too weak to raise your sword, too frightened to embrace your nature, too lost to see what's right before you. Since you can't decide..."
Steel sang as Kael's blade arced through space, his body becoming a lethal silver streak.
Metal clashed against metal as Shirou's arms buckled beneath Kael's onslaught. His shoes scraped against dirt, heels digging furrows as he staggered back, knees threatening to fold.
The second blow thundered down like lightning. His sword exploded in a shower of luminescent shards, scattering into nothingness. Air rushed from his lungs as his spine cracked against the earth, stars bursting behind his eyes.
Mikado's cry pierced the haze, her footsteps dragging through gravel despite the pain seeping from her wound
"Stay there, or you'll be next." Kael's shadow fell across Shirou's face, teeth gleaming in the darkness.
The world tilted and swayed, pressure building behind Shirou's temples until his skull felt ready to burst. His limbs grew leaden, reality bleeding at the edges as consciousness slipped through his fingers like water.
Through the encroaching darkness, Mikado's trembling fingers reached for him, growing more distant with each faltering breath until there was nothing left but the void.
author's note:
I just want to address the readers that wants me to answer your comment.
I honestly don't think I will write any response to comments on the story chapter page unless is a genelral note like this.
so if you wants for me to answer your questions, i'll suggest PM me on "fan fiction . net" or leave a comment on "Ao3" (posted with the same name)
thak you for your attention, have a nice day.