On Astral Tides: From Humble Freelancer To Astral Emperor

Kana sighed as she looked at the newly refurbished outbuilding that served as the new home of Akio-kun and Shaeula. Chewing on her lip pensively she wondered whether to ring the doorbell, but decided against it. I’ve no reason to interrupt them, and they said they would be busy for the next few days…

Still, it was definitely annoying. After all, their new home was fancier and had nicer stuff than her own home at the shrine, which was clearly unfair as it was her family’s land to begin with! Even Marika-chan, their new guest, was living in relative luxury, as Akio-kun was buying her anything she wanted to make her feel at home, no matter the cost. Touching her platinum hairclip, Kana sighed. Damn, he is really sweet to her. Maybe he likes younger girls? After all, Shaeula looks like she could be in middle school… but then… Once more she remembered Mori-san, and found herself frowning. I refuse to call her Mori-senpai in my mind… damn, she was really annoying…

In any case, Mori-san had a surprisingly adult charm, and if Kana was being honest, she was very beautiful. As pretty as I am. And I don’t say that lightly. Damn, it makes me feel like I’m losing. All her life Kana had revelled in being the most beautiful girl around. Sure, it came with troubles, like older guys hitting on her when she was out, and some jealous girls at school attempting to bully and smear her, but they were small prices to pay to know that she had value, was a winner in life. After all, it isn’t like I can boast about my wealth, is it?

The dark of the night was rather pretty, and from the top of the hill she could see the surrounding suburbs of Tokyo, their many lights glittering like the few stars she could see up above, and since it was relatively clear, in the distance the bright neon of Tokyo proper were lit up brilliantly. I just want to live a life I deserve, is that so wrong? She strolled over to the construction site, where various diggers and other heavy machinery were left out, covered with tarpaulins. A deep hole had been dug into the hillside, and various metal bars and concrete plugs had been inserted, forming the basis of a large underground basement.

“All that money spent on this… if only we’d have sold up… I don’t want to be a shrine maiden.” Kana mused, staring into the pit. I mean, I’m not sure what I really want to do, but living at this dead-end shrine my whole life definitely isn’t it.  Her thoughts going back to Shaeula and Mori-san, she pondered what Shaeula had told her, that she needed to have more value than just being beautiful. Ordinarily she would have shrugged it off as sour grapes, but it was hard to do when it was coming from Shaeula.

Still, Shaeula said that my abilities were worth honing. But… doesn’t that tie me to the life of a shrine maiden? But then… Kana was so envious of the lifestyle Shaeula and Mori-san were leading on the back of Akio-kun’s achievements. Foreign trips, penthouse suites, meeting the fabulously rich in flashy restaurants, it was everything she wanted. At least I guess when this facility is built… Kana had stolen a look at the plans, and it was going to have a gym, sauna, swimming pool… Sure, Akio-kun said it was going to be for training, but even so it’ll be really nice to have that right next to home. Maybe I can even bring my friends, lord it over them… the thought made her giggle.

Maybe… maybe I need to change the way I think about things? After all, Mori-san was poor, apparently, even worse-off than Kana was. And yet now… It isn’t like I’m interested in Akio-kun. I mean, sure he’s hot, and really rich, but he has Mori-san… and Shaeula too, apparently, the pervert. Still, I guess he is a good catch… Still, Kana had always thought she was going to find a man who would dote on her and treat her like a princess. Sharing her man would be a total no-go for her. But even so… he’s really generous, my hairclip proves that, and the way he treats his girls and Marika-chan. She had asked her father if she could ask Akio to buy some things for them as well, like a new tv or a nice computer, but he had shot her down, ranting at her for ten whole minutes about decorum and modesty. It was agony. Why couldn’t her father and grandfather be more flexible? Akio-kun was loaded yes, but they were doing him a favour in a way, letting him use their land. He’d reciprocate.

Anyway, where was I… ah, yes… Maybe being a shrine maiden did have a future, if she worked under Akio-kun. It sounded like it was hard work, from what Shaeula had told her, honing her skills, but if Mori-san could, there was no way she wouldn’t be able to. I don’t want a hard job, but… Akio-kun would reward his workers well. She had spoken to Watanabe-san, who had visited several times to deal with construction issues, and now had an office in another outbuilding, and apparently Akio-kun was a very kind and generous boss. With my talent, I’d become valuable to him for sure, and then I could have anything I wanted… and I don’t think his ambitions are restricted to just this shrine…

And on the bright side, that would also annoy Mori-san. Just thinking about her made Kana angry. She conceded that if she was in Mori-san’s position, she probably wouldn’t like her either, but still… There was no need to be so rude about it. I do have more to me than my looks. I do have value. Besides, us beautiful girls should stick together… Feeling frustrated and a bit bored, Kana shook her head. Maybe I’ll go play with Marika-chan for a bit. At least it’s something to do…

********

“You sure about this, Akira-kyodai?” one of his little brothers in yakuza, or shatei, asked nervously. He was wearing a hockey-mask to hide his face, and carrying a baseball bat, one of the aluminium ones. “This seems a bit of a departure from normal business right? The police are going to be all over this…”

Several other shatei agreed with him, likewise masked up and armed, with knives, machetes, katana, baseball bats and more. Looking at his brothers, Akira could feel the weight of the pistol he carried in his pocket, seeming almost icy against his flesh. Guns were rare indeed in Japan, and even the yakuza seldom used them except in the most heated of turf disputes. But this mission was special.

“Maybe so, but this is for Kazuo-bro, right? He’s been a friend to the Matsubato-kai for years. And some bastards have done him over real good. He could have died! You think our honour can let that slide? Hell no!” Kazuo-bro had been employing members of their gang for a long time, and not only that, if the heat was on and members needed places to lie low, he would always hide them in his hotels, even shipping them out to his property in Osaka if the police threat was really bad.

“Think how many of us would be in jail right now if not for his help. Besides… he’s paying as well, no, better than always. We pull this off and a hundred million is going into our coffers. Which means a good bonus for everyone! Sure we may have to lay low for a while, but Kazuo-bro can put us up again and keep us in booze and women. It’ll be a holiday, and not the usual prison kind!”

“Yeah, that’s true.” A huge brute of a man said, a large metallic cannister slung over his shoulder. “Still, I don’t get why you said to bring all this stuff…”

“Well, I figured we could really wreck the place.” Akira chuckled. “Make an example of them, so that people will think twice before crossing the Matsubato-kai. Besides, I like a good fire, don’t you?” Nothing beats burning down places that refuse to pay us the respect we deserve. Besides, this isn’t really claimed territory, no other yakuza seems to care about this part of Tokyo. “And also it’ll make the police wonder just what happened here. Makes it easier for those two bastards to… disappear… in the confusion. Damn, if the girl is as hot as Kazuo-bro says, I hope he’ll let us have a turn before we have to get rid of her.”

At that vulgar laughter and comments were shared, and Akira started feeling more at ease. Relax, we’ve done this sort of thing before. Sure, the stakes are high, apparently the guy is a good fighter, but… his hand went to his pocket, feeling the cool metal of the pistol. I don’t care how good he is at martial arts, fists won’t beat bullets…

********

“Akio, you seem restless.” Shaeula commented. “Is there something wrong? You can tell-tell me.”

“I don’t know if something is… wrong…” I answered, finishing up crafting another useful weapon. My muscles still ached from the training I had undergone with Ulfuric, who was frankly appalled at how I handled the spear, which had hurt my feelings a bit, as I thought I was making solid progress. He had told me that the spear was a good weapon for me, but that I should learn the sword as well. Ugh, I’ll have almost no free time if my training regimen keeps increasing. “… it’s just… I can’t help but feel something really bad is going to happen soon.”

“Hmm, do you think that banshee-witch will attack?” Shaeula pondered. In the several astral days we had spent in the Boundary recovering our elemental essence, rebuilding our destroyed gear and training, there had been no major attacks. A few ghostly orcs had probed us, but were quickly killed. Which was worrying in itself of course. We need to finish this soon, before she rebuilds all their strength, or that piece of shit recovers… “Or is it to do with the messages you received from that-that entertaining female?”

I don’t see how, but it was rather strange… I had popped back to the Material several times to make sure Karen-chan had everything she needed, as well as do a few miscellaneous tasks, and on my return I had discovered Aliyah had texted me, saying that she wanted to exchange information she had received on Territories and Aether. Strange, but considering that they took away that bastard from the casino… I needed to think about it, so I sent her back a fairly non-committal response, and received a reply that she would love to arrange a meeting, and was prepared to even fly to Japan for it. What to do, what to do? I am curious about her information, and the more I know the better, but getting involved with foreign agents reeked of a bad idea… In the end I had simply not replied, putting everything on hold for now.

“I don’t know… it’s just a feeling I’m getting. Foresight at work probably. But… it feels more immediate than that. Damn, I really do feel off-colour.”

“Perhaps you should take-take a break then.” Shaeula patted my head gently. “Master Ulfuric has been working you hard, has he not-not? A little rest might do you good. I can hold down our Territory safely.”

You are always thinking of me. I smiled at her in return and we kissed, Shaeula finding any excuse to do that recently. Not that I was complaining, of course. “Yeah, I think I’m going to head back and have a few beers. Are you sure you don’t want to come?”

“It is tempting indeed.” Shaeula admitted. “But I wish-wish to continue to work on my abilities. I feel that my understanding of the flame is growing after our last battle, and fire is what we need most of all right now, is it not-not?”

“Yeah, against those ghosts it’s the only real way we have of defeating them right now. All right then, I won’t be gone long, I promise.”

“Take as long-long as you need.” She waved me off. “Just remember to reward me when you return.”

With that I returned to the Material, my soul screaming at me that danger was upon us, despite there being no indication of it anywhere. Opening my eyes I stared at the still, motionless Material form of Shaeula next to me on the bed. It was still weird waking up next to her corpse-like form, and I still had questions about how the Material/Astral bodies worked in tandem, but research on that would have to wait.

Leaving the room I moved to the fridge in the kitchen, opening it up to find some beer. Cracking the ring pull I took a swig. Damn, I can’t calm down. I still feel like something terrible is about to happen imminently… huh? Who’s that?

My abnormally sharp senses picked up on heavy footsteps outside, which was strange at this hour, as all the construction workers would be long finished, as even though I was tempted, if we had them working at night the noise would be unbearable for the neighbours. I suppose it could be Izumi-san, but… no… straining my ears I could hear multiple voices, and none of them seemed to be ones I recognised. The sound of breaking glass could be heard, and then our door opened, footsteps sounding on the wooden floor, boots scraping loudly.

Yeah, clearly not Izumi-san. This is bad… my practice spear was in the bedroom, and I was currently unarmed. Wait, I’m in a kitchen… grabbing a knife and a heavy pestle as a club, I opened the door gently, and could finally hear the voices clearly.

“Spread out and find those bastards. If we are the ones to catch them we’ll get a bonus. Hopefully they aren’t in the main shrine.”

“I want to catch the girl first, if you know what I mean..” one scoffed, tone vile.

“You know we have to leave her be so Kazuo can have his fun.” Another warned, and at that name I finally realised what was going on. Fuck, no wonder I have a bad feeling… Karen-chan had quickly discovered some information for me, which I had picked up earlier this afternoon. It seemed like Kondou Kazuo was the opponent we were fighting in the Boundary. He ran a chain of budget hotels, and was apparently rather wealthy. One of them was pretty much in the middle of the Territory, and on finding a picture it matched. I had considered reporting him to the police anonymously since I was aware of his crimes, but without evidence… Damn, why hadn’t I considered that wars between Astral Emperor-candidates could and would spill over to the Material, with the rich and connected having a massive advantage? After my fight with the bastard in Las Vegas, I should have realised it.

“Come on, keep it quiet bro.” another said, meaning there was at least four of them. From the footsteps as they went into the other rooms it was probably more. “If we can catch them sleeping all the better. Or maybe they’ll be fucking!”

“Oh shut it…”

So now what? This is bad, Shaeula is helpless, and oh fuck… they said ‘if we are the ones’ which means there’s more of them out there. Marika-chan, Kana-chan, her family… they are all in danger. All right, no time for hesitation…

Opening the door I burst into the corridor, coming face-to-face with a suited thug carrying a katana, wearing a balaclava. There was a second behind him carrying a baseball bat. On seeing me his eyes went wide and he made to call out, only for me to cross the corridor so quickly the floorboards cracked under the strain. My elbow took him hand in the base of the ribs and he let out a pained squeal, vomiting. As he fell I slammed my foot down into his head, feeling bone crack. I don’t think that’ll kill him, but I’m taking no chances, not when lives are at stake.

The second heard the commotion and turned, and at catching sight of me and his fallen comrade he let out a yell. “He’s here, it’s…” before I cut off his words by slamming the heavy pestle into his face so hard it cracked, shattering his nose, cheekbone and jaw. He went down, teeth scattering, and I stamped on his wrist, breaking it. bending down to grab the baseball bat I gave him a swift blow to both ankles, breaking them painfully, leaving him shrieking and wailing, but unable to cause trouble.

“Lou… argh! Bathtard! Yu’ll die fu thith…” he slurred, his words hard to understand.

“No, the only ones who are courting death are you.” my answer was as cold as the grave itself. “Stay there and when I’ve dealt with your friends I might have time to call you an ambulance before you bleed out.”

Five more yakuza burst out from various rooms, and on seeing the state of their fallen comrades they were enraged. “Don’t worry, I’ve got this!” one said, pulling out a pistol and pointing it at me. He then collapsed as I threw the baseball bat like a javelin and it slammed into his guts with the crunch of breaking bone. I then threw the kitchen knife, taking the one behind him the shoulder.

“You haven’t got shit.” I cursed, charging. The front runner, a guy in a virulent yellow shirt and snakeskin-patterned trousers, staggered back, nearly dropping his machete as the knife pierced him, still, he managed to take a swing at me in desperation, but I ducked to the side so it only grazed me, drawing a little blood. My knee hit him right in the groin, and I felt things rupture. As he went down I struck a knife hand to his throat, and he fell, choking and gasping for air. Even as he went down though I had to ward off a blow from another bat with my arm, and I felt pain from the impact. Shit, there’s not enough room to dodge here. A knife flickered at me, narrowly missing my eye, and I retaliated with a headbutt, smashing the bat-wielder unconscious, giving me his weapon as a reward.

“We’ve found the guy, Akira-kyodai!” the one at the back was shouting into the phone. “He’s putting up one hell of a fight. It’s like… ugh!” I silenced him by shattering the phone (and his hand) with a swing of the bat, before fracturing one of his kneecaps with a well-placed kick, though since I wasn’t wearing shoes my toes took a beating.

“Got you, fucker!” the knifeman declared, and I felt the blade catch bone as he tore a thin gash into my flesh along my ribcage. “Huh? That should have done more damage. What the fuck are you made of?”

What indeed? Still, such injuries were minor compared to what I’d suffered against Shaeraggo. As blows landed on me, I noticed they seemed less serious than they should have been, even considering my high attributes. In response my elbow knocked him out, cracking his skull, and the last standing opponent had frozen in panic at the violence I had dished out and the mighty presence I was giving off. He merely watched, numb, as I scooped up a fallen bat and swung it, the end connecting with a meaty thud, followed moments later by his body hitting the ground hard.

“Going somewhere?” I asked the one who had made the phone call, who was trying to crawl away, sobbing. Grabbing him by the collar I hoisted him up, staring into his fear-filled eyes intensely. “I think you might want to talk, or…” he let out a sob as the knife that was still stained with my blood flew up into my hands, seemingly by magic, a faint green glow almost invisible to the eyes lingering. “… well, you seem to be yakuza right, you know how this goes…”

Threaten those I have under my protection, will you? I need to make this quick, I can’t rush out blind. But damn, I’m worried… what if the worst has happened…

********

“I’m scared, Izumi-senpai.” Marika-chan sobbed, clutching her tightly. In reply Kana could only try and show her good side to the younger girl, but inside she was terrified too. What is going on? There’s shouting and fire and smoke… my mother quickly bundled us into this little alcove hidden in the back of the shrine, but even now…

“just… just stay quiet all right? Maybe it’s a robbery or something. They’ll go away when they find we don’t have anything worth stealing.” Kana rationalised, whispering in her ear.

“They… they won’t hurt us, will they?”

That’s the question isn’t it? Kana felt her stomach tying itself in knots. She could hear angry shouting through the wooden walls of their hiding spot, and it seemed there was a lot of intruders. And if they were going to the trouble of setting fires as well… damn, maybe they’ll be prepared to take bigger risks, do bigger crimes… stifling a cough from the drifting smoke that was slowly seeping into the hidden room, she listened as her parents and grandfather were arguing with the men. The noises were muffled, but she could make out some of it.

“… and a girl… not leaving until… don’t want to make us angry!” one man was saying, his tone cruel.

“… where you are defiling? This is… sacred… to the gods…” her grandfather was arguing back, before a grunt of pain was wrung from him, and the sound of something heavy hitting the ground was heard.

Grandfather… she clutched the trembling Marika-chan tighter, hoping that he wasn’t too hurt. Her mother and father were also protesting, only to be silenced, pained cries heard through the ruckus.

“… tear this place apart, until we find them. Go!”

Upon hearing those baleful words, Kana hung her head, tears dripping from her cheeks onto Marika-chan below. Help us, someone. Please… kami who watches over this shrine, surely you won’t let it end like this? As she started hearing the sounds of doors being flung open, slamming against walls, she felt her stomach clench. Akio-kun… big bro… please… Shaeula… someone… help us!

********

I emerged out into the chaos, smoke filling the air outside. The flames seemed to be coming from the construction site, where we had building materials piled up ready for construction. Thank the gods, at least they haven’t set the buildings on fire yet…

I spotted a half-dozen yakuza returning from that direction, one of them a massive guy with bulging muscles, carrying a big metal cannister. As they saw me through the smoke they started shouting and pointing, which meant I had little time… All right, fuck this. No mercy.

Not even caring about being discovered, I pushed all my energy into my muscles, burning aether to prevent injury. I then sprang, my legs tearing up the ground, as I sprinted towards them, covering a hundred or so metres in a mere few seconds. Bone shattered under my punches and kicks as I lashed out, not even giving them time to retaliate. It was like they were moving in slow motion. It was as if my very presence was overpowering them…

Hopefully none of them will die from this, but… If they do, they do. It might be hard arguing this was justified force in self-defence, and the laws in Japan were notorious at being awful in regard to that, but I’d rather take my chances in getting arrested than risk anyone’s safety. Even as I thought this I had slammed the head of the last yakuza with his own metal container, denting it in. As he fell, blood leaking from his nose, I turned, only to find a dozen more coming my way, led by an impressive-looking thug in a vivid purple shirt and expensive suit, carrying a heavy pistol. And worse, there was another shirtless man next to him, covered in tattoos, carrying what looked like an automatic rifle.

Damn. I’m confident I can dodge pistol rounds, but against automatic weapons… is that a Russian rifle? No, it isn’t an AK-47… whatever it is, it isn’t good…

“Well, Kazuo-bro wasn’t lying when he said you were a fighter. Though if anything he undersold you, man.” The leader said, pointing his pistol at me. “So, you have two choices. You can surrender quietly, and all we’ll do is rough you up a bit for what you did to our brothers, before we take you to Kazuo-bro, or… well, there’s the hard way, isn’t there?” he smiled, not a trace of humour in it. “That way we put a few bullets in your arms and legs, and when we find your girlie, we’ll be sure to take extra good care of her before we hand her over too.”

********

“… take extra good care of her before we hand her over too.” I know Kazuo-bro wants to have all the fun with her himself, but as long as we don’t rape her, there should be other entertainment we can get out of her…

As Akira threatened his target, thoughts on what he would do to the woman when he caught her running through his mind, he noticed that the man was suddenly still, his face blank.

Yeah, think about it. You can’t win. You’ve done a good job beating up my guys, but against a dozen of us and two guns… you’ve got no chance. Akira had been surprised when he got a call from one of his brothers saying he had found the male target, especially since the call was ended amidst screams of pain, but even more surprising was that he had taken out one of the best fighters in the whole Matsubato-kai, and so quickly too. Still, Kazuo-bro would pay the hospital fees for anyone injured on the job, and if any of the boys had died… well, it’d be shitty as hell to lose good brothers on a job, but that’s the way of life of a yakuza. He probably isn’t a killer anyway, he doesn’t look the sort… huh…

Akio had sprung into action, rushing at Akira. “Fuck. All right, shoot!” he ordered panicking, feeling a wave of oppression radiating from him, making him sweat and tremble, things he hadn’t done since he was a snot-nosed brat freshly joining the yakuza years ago. He squeezed the trigger of his pistol, feeling the heavy recoil rock his arms back. The bullet missed the rapidly moving target, but he pulled his arms up, aiming and firing again.

“I got this Akira-kyodai!” the shatei he had armed with the very rare K2 assault rifle that was one of the alliances’ few prized firearms opening up on full auto, the constant barking of bullets being released merging into an angry whine.

Akio staggered, taking hits, blood scattering, but moments later the shatei screamed, K2 falling to the floor, grooves sliced into the handle, while he clutched his ruined hand, all his fingers severed to stumps, fountaining blood.

What the fuck was that…? For a moment Akira froze, unable to process what had happened before Akio was upon them, driving his knee into the face of the first man, swinging around a katana he had plundered from the gang that had set the building site ablaze. One of his men went down as the blade cut through his leg, severing muscle, before the madman threw the blade, piercing through the body of another shatei who was about to stab him.

Fuck fuck FUCK this guy is crazy! How can he move so fast? And why do I feel so scared? We outnumber and outgun him hard! Squeezing off a shot again Akira watched in horror as Akio swung backwards, the bullet passing through where he was and nailing one of their own as he attacked from behind, bullet punching into guts with a wet squelch.

Akira panicked as suddenly Akio was in his face, grinning balefully, his face a mask of blood from where a long cut had torn across his forehead. More blood was leaking from a bullet wound in his thigh, and another in his chest. Even so, he was still fighting, the injuries impossibly light for rifle rounds. Akira slowly raised his pistol, knowing he wouldn’t make it in time, but…

“Akira, bro, watch out!” one guy cried, swinging an iron bar, while a second and third attacked from other angles, one with a bat, another with a heavy cleaver. Their target swung aside, dodging the cleaver and punching the guy off his feet. Akira winced at the sound the impact made. Just what the hell is his punching force? It’s like a heavyweight boxer, no, a boxer can’t do hits like that…

The baseball bat took Akio in the shoulder, spinning him off balance, but with his other hand he caught the swung iron bar, wrenching it free and delivering a couple of brutal hits, shattering both collarbones of its erstwhile wielder. It was like their attacks were doing almost no damage. It was impossible!

Fuck, I think we might have to forget about taking this bastard alive! Akira was in a panic. Kazuo-bro will have to be satisfied with the girl when we find her… he fired again, and this time Akio was unable to dodge entirely, the bullet punching deep into his shoulder, before falling to the ground, warped and spent, stained in blood.

“Fine. I need to stop holding back…”

Akira was stunned as Akio spoke those words. He’s holding back? Bullshit… he’s already wrecking us.

“One more push and we can take him down, brothers…” Akira began, before his men started falling, crying out, covering their faces or clutching at their wrists. One fell beside him, and Akira caught sight of blood streaming through his hands. Another was trying to staunch the blood that was gushing from his wrists, the fight forgotten.

“Take who down, you piece of shit?” Akira staggered as pain exploded in his brain, his nose shattered as a headbutt slammed into him. He tried to fire his gun once more, only to find his hand unresponsive, tendons cut suddenly by a sharp blade he couldn’t see. “I don’t have time for you now, just stay down…” another impact hammered into his skull, and as bone cracked he blacked out, his last thoughts cursing the misfortune of running into such an impossible monster…

********

“Get the hell off me!” Kana snapped as the leering brute pulled her arm, dragging her out of the closet and into the smoky interior of the shrine. Behind her Marika-chan had lost the ability to even cry, simply being white as a sheet and trembling so hard Kana could hear her teeth clicking.

“Well, aren’t you a feisty one?” the yakuza chuckled, revealing ugly gold teeth and bad breath. His shirt was open down the front, revealing a serpent tattoo coiled across his shoulder and down his chest. “Just shut up or you’ll get hurt.”

“All right, I’m going, I’m going.” Kana complained, trying to shake off his grip. “Just… Marika-chan is scared, go easy on her, all right?” I’m her senpai, the older one. I’ve got to keep her calm, protect her. Damn, who am I kidding? I can’t even protect myself… she felt like sobbing herself, but was desperately holding it together, knowing giving in to her fear would just make things worse.

As they emerged, they could see Kana’s parents and grandfather in one corner. Oh, thank god they don’t look too hurt. At least, not yet… her father had been restrained roughly, his hands pulled behind him and tied, while her grandfather had one side of his face swelling painfully. Her mother was also restrained, and fortunately she didn’t look as if she had been manhandled.

“Kana…” her mother said softly, eyes full of despair.

“She’s not the one. Wrong hair and eye colours.” A yakuza said, leaning in close to inspect her. “Damn hot though anyway.”

“You always were a lolicon, bro. Still can’t argue.” Another chortled crudely.

Ugh, this isn’t the time I want praise for my appearance. I’m not the one though? … Shaeula, it has to be. What the hell have they done to provoke this? Cursing Akio-kun and Shaeula in her mind, she looked away.

“Get off me… help, help!” Marika-chan was panicking, flailing weakly as one of the yakuza dragged her out.

“Leave the girl alone…” her father began, before a yakuza told him to shut up and punched him hard, silencing him. “Anyone who interrupts us again is dead. Now, I’ll ask one more time, maybe now that we have these girls you’ll be more… co-operative…”

“Please, we don’t…” her father began again, in a tone Kana had never heard from him before, raw and pleading, so… weak and unsure.

“Get off, get off! Kana-senpai, help me!” Marika-chan wailed as another brute pulled her up by her hair.

“You sure? Maybe we’ll start by cutting off a finger or two from your daughter here…” the man said, misunderstanding their relationship. He then eyed Kana, his gaze making her skin crawl, like he was licking her all over. “And when she’s out of fingers, I can think of some… other… ways we can make you talk.”

Tears sprang from her eyes, as she was now unable to hold them back. Still, what fragments of pride she had left meant that she would not show her fear, not to these bastards. Again, the thought came unbidden to her… You need to find the value in you before you can be happy… what do I have that’s mine? My beauty, here that’s worthless. My ability to see ‘abnormalities’? Useless. Our long history and bloodline? Everyone who is alive has just as many ancestors as we do…

“You leave the girls alone…” her mother was crying, only for a yakuza to grab her hair and pull her head back painfully. Her grandfather and father tried to struggle against their bonds, but that only led to more blows raining down on them.

Damn, it’s up to me to salvage this. Value… if I can save my parents and Marika-chan then… maybe I can be a little proud of myself, even if… even if it comes at the cost of… “Stop, I’ll tell you. You want big bro and Shaeula, right?”

“You cannot tell them…” her grandfather groaned out of his bloody mouth, aghast that she would sell out the one their shrines’ kami had endorsed.

“You shut your mouth. Your granddaughter here is the smart one.” He was kicked into submission.

Sorry, but… I care more about us than I do about the gods. What did they ever do for us anyway? “They aren’t here. They live in the building at the back of the shrine. If you go there you’ll find them…”

“I see.” The man holding her nodded to one of his brothers, who pulled out his phone and started calling the boss of the raid. “You are a clever girl. Once we’ve got what we came for we’ll be on our way.”

Sorry Akio-kun, Shaeula. I hope you don’t blame me, but what else was I supposed to do? One of them even has a gun…

“Don’t be so hasty. We aren’t allowed to play around with the foreign girl, but this one isn’t on the list, and she’s really pretty.” One of the yakuza walked over and grabbed her chin with one hand, forcing her face upwards, making her recoil at his touch. “Why not take this one with us? We can always give her back later… besides, you wouldn’t mind, would you?” the man looked into her eyes with his own, and she knew she was in trouble, as the utter lust and lack of mercy displayed there was barely human.

“Back to your lolicon ways, huh? I don’t know…” the leader was unsure, and for a moment Kana let brief hope well within her, but it was quickly dashed.

“Lolicon, seriously? You are being damn rude to this fine-ass girl. She’s old enough, right? Hey, if you come with us, we won’t have to hurt your sister, or your parents…” he brandished the pistol he was holding, finger on the trigger. “I’d hate to have to shoot your little sis.”

With that Marika-chan fainted, eyes rolling up in her head, and she fell to the floor with a thud.

I… what… what do I do now? Kana swallowed. I don’t want this… I’m going to be doted on and loved by someone wonderful. I’m going to have a happy life…

“You look like you could use some money. Why not get a job in our soapland or hostess club when you’ve got a bit of experience? Think of the positives, the pay isn’t bad, and you’ll meet and service some interesting people.” The man chuckled, and Kana quivered, feeling a desperate urge to wet herself in terror.

This doesn’t happen to me… this isn’t how my story goes. I’m the heroine of my own life! Still, she did the hardest thing she had ever done in her life, putting others before herself. It’s useless anyway. Even if I say no, they’ll only make me, after hurting Marika-chan and my family, so in that case… Slowly she nodded, tears flowing like rain. “I’ll… I’ll come. Just… leave them alone. They aren’t who you wanted, right?”

“Smart girl.” The yakuza said. Turning away from the shivering Kana, he asked his brother, who was still trying to get through to Akira-kyodai, what the holdup was.

“I don’t know man, nobody else is answering. I hope they aren’t having fun with that foreign girl. Kazuo-bro won’t be happy if they are…”

“Fine, we’ll go and see for ourselves. Come on, my little pretty. Don’t look so sad. It hurts at first, but after a while you’ll start to enjoy it.”

Kana swallowed nervously and followed, unable to do anything else. You liar, Shaeula. I hate you. You said Akio-kun was the best male alive… if he was, surely he wouldn’t have led us to this… surely he’d save me now…

Ignoring the bitter sobs of her mother and the cries of her father and grandfather, Kana trudged after the departing mob of yakuza step after bitter step. Please. Akio-kun, Shaeula. Kami. Anyone! Save us now and I promise… I promise I’ll do anything! Still, she was a realist. She knew that prayers were pretty much never answered in this harsh world…

“All right then, time to…” a yakuza was saying before the door to the shrine exploded inwards, ripped off its hinges, and a crazed, blood-soaked figure crashed in, immediately pouncing on the yakuza, heavy blows beating him down mercilessly, not heeding his cries.

Kana’s eyes met his, and her heart jumped suddenly, a brief moment of hope flaring within her. He looked awful, half-dead, blood streaming down his face, leaking from bullet-wounds, knife-holes and more, but when he met her frightened gaze he smiled reassuringly. “Just hold on a second. I’ll handle this.” He said confidently, despite his terrible state and being heavily outnumbered.

Well, maybe sometimes prayers are answered after all… she thought, legs going out from under her. As she fell her bladder gave way, soiling her clothes and the floor below, but she didn’t care at all. I’m sorry… if you can save us, I’ll bow my head and apologise and believe Shaeula when she says you are the best…

********

On seeing Kana-chan collapse and piss herself, I dragged myself off of the unconscious thug I had just beaten within an inch of his life. My knuckles were raw and bleeding, just one among many injuries I had suffered. Still, that meant nothing compared to the furious rage I was feeling, and the relief at seeing that Kana-chan appeared unharmed.

“it’s him!” one man cried, waving a bat. “What the hell is Akira-kyodai doing letting him slip by? I bet he is playing with that pretty girl… ugh… agh…” the man clutched at his neck as blood started gushing from it. Shut up, fucker.

I had unleashed a fine blade of wind, cutting just shallowly enough that his life wouldn’t be in danger if the bastard staunched the wound immediately. That was the only kindness I was prepared to give. My anger was burning hot, and this was only stoking it further. As everyone else was stunned, seemingly unaware of how that happened, I used the time to rush to Kana-chan, scoop her up and carry her past the frozen yakuza, back to the main chamber of the shrine.

“Kana, you’re safe!” her mother cried, seeing her in my arms.

“Is everyone else all right?” I was concerned as they looked like they had been beaten, and Marika-san was lying unconscious in the corner.

“Yes, we’ll live. But what is going on…” before Daichi-san could finish, I tore the bindings holding them with brute strength, setting them free, and handed over the limp Kana-chan.

“Later. First I have to finish this.” I turned back to the yakuza who were rushing in now that the surprise had faded.

“He has a gun, be careful…” Kana-chan gasped.

“I know. I’ve already been shot enough.” I made a joke to try and lower the tension. “Kana-chan, I’m sorry this happened. And when this is over… if you and your family want to cancel our alliance I’ll understand. I’ll do anything to make it right. But for now… I assure you, no further harm will come to any of you!”

Even as I finished up speaking I was moving, and with a savage kick I shattered the knee of the first assailant, before tossing him over my shoulder and stomping down on this hip, feeling bones break underneath. Channelling wind I snatched up the metal rod he was wielding and used it as a harpoon, impaling a second through the shoulder. As that one fell I caught a swung katana with my palms, in the traditional blade-catching technique.

“The fuck?” the puzzled yakuza said, muscles straining as blood flowed along the blade.

Yeah, no way you can do that without getting cut. Shit that hurts a bit… Flexing my muscles I shattered the metal, driving my knee into the idiot holding just a hilt.

“Back the fuck up or I’ll shoot!” the pervert with the gun ordered, and I merely gave him a look, cold enough to chill his blood. “You asked for it then!” he barked, squeezing the trigger.

I grabbed the nearest enemy and spun him into the path of the bullet, only making it in time as I reacted when his muscles tensed, showing he was about to fire. The yakuza fell, blood gouting, and I used the distraction to surge forwards. He fired again, bullet racing past my cheek to blast a hole in one wall, before I seized his arm, snapping it cruelly. My foot smashed into his groin, rupturing his balls, and then I finished him with a straight right, breaking his cheek and fracturing his skull.

“I would offer you surrender…” I said to the remaining three enemies, who had lost the will to fight at seeing the brutal savagery I was dishing out, as well as the oppressive League I was radiating, fogging their minds and lowering their reactions. “But you know what? I don’t trust you all not to do something stupid…” with that screams filled the air as I made sure to render them harmless, with extreme and brutal efficiency…

********

Kana didn’t look away as big bro dismantled the remaining yakuza, ignoring their pleas for mercy and cries of pain. Relief was hammering in her chest like never before, and as her mother pulled her to her chest, sobbing, Kana looked at the pervert who was going to… he was going to rape me, wasn’t he… I hope you rot in hell…

She had let out an involuntary cheer as she saw big bro kick the bastard where it hurt. Hopefully his parts are ruined. I’m tempted to go and kick him some myself. If I could walk… her legs were still useless, the fear having rendered her immobile. Plus of course she had… oh hell, he’s covered in my pee. I don’t think I can look him in the eyes again… still, if you think about it, this seems to be all his fault… yeah, an accident like that doesn’t matter in the face of this. Besides, any man should be happy to have a pretty girl pee on him, right? Oh kami, I can barely keep my thoughts straight. Is it over… is it? In the distance she could hear the wailing of sirens, probably fire engines, responding to the flames, she hoped.

As Akio-kun finished off the last of the frightening yakuza, he tossed her grandfather a phone. “Call the police and some ambulances. We’ll need a ton as there are more out there.”

Nodding, her grandfather started to call emergency services, while big bro staggered over to check on Marika-chan. He looks in terrible shape… exhausted too. “Marika-san, are you all right? Wake up!” he patted her face gently, and she groaned, eyelids fluttering, until they snapped open, her chest rising and falling rapidly, as she gasped in fear.

“Help me, someone… uwwwwwwwah!” she cried as she saw the ghastly bloodstained visage of big bro. It took her a little while and some calming from him to make her realise she was safe. When she finally understood big bro had saved her, she clung to him, crying.

Kana’s expression twisted, sourly, feeling a tinge of pain in her chest. I get it, I do. I want to cling to someone now, to feel I’m safe, but with all these wounded scum around, and the place on fire… “So, what is going on here? It’s like a warzone. They had guns!” she complained. “I mean, I’m grateful you came to save me, I really am. If you hadn’t, soon I’d be…” she swallowed that down, not wanting to think about it. “…but yeah, they were looking for you and Shaeula, right? So isn’t this your fault?”

“Pretty much, though it isn’t like I invited this, though I’m not going to shirk my responsibly.” He said, handing off the recovering Marika-chan to Kana’s father. “I’m going to bring Shaeula back from the Boundary, it’d be problematic if she wasn’t awake when the police arrive. Then I’ll do something about your injuries.” He eyed her bruised and bleeding family, expression shamed and mournful, which didn’t suit him.

Damn, now I feel bad. He did save us, and he’s hurt pretty badly himself… “Uhh, I didn’t mean… uhm, seriously, don’t listen to me right now. I don’t know what I’m saying. Just… yeah, go get Shaeula. I’ll wait here for you big bro. and uh… sorry for making a mess.”

He looked down at his arms in surprise, seeing that they were soaked. Wow, he’s blushing. That’s kind of hot. To think he’s still so shy despite having both Shaeula and Mori-san… maybe I can get my revenge by teasing him some more…

“Don’t worry about it. If you didn’t react to a situation like this fearfully, I’d be worried for your future.” He scratched his bleeding head, embarrassed. “Anyway, I’ll be right back with Shaeula. I’ve got all of the yakuza, I’m pretty sure, but just in case, find somewhere to hide until I return. I should only be a few minutes.” With that he left, and Kana watched him go.

It’s over… finally. I never want to do that again. I hate myself for being so powerless, unlike big bro, and Shaeula. But… even though I’m pathetic, I stood up for Marika-chan and my family, even if I couldn’t really do anything but sacrifice myself. Big bro was willing to fight through anything to save those he cared about, even in the face of knives and guns. I don’t know if I could do that, but… I want the ability to defend myself, so that if I’m ever put in this position again, my only option isn’t to cry, surrender and piss myself.

Resolved, she remembered Mori-san, that girl who infuriated her so despite only having met her for a few minutes. She had no talent, right? But she was able to learn. Well, if I, who have a bloodline with a long history of spiritual power, as well as having my own gift, put in the effort, I can do it, better than her, right? And wouldn’t it be just wonderful to see the look on her face when I surpass her? That frustration, it’d be priceless right… I could even…

Kana started laughing quietly to herself, lost in thought, entirely unaware of how her parents were looking at her quizzically.