Broker-Chapter 189

Tokyo was an urban jungle, a sprawling cityscape of buildings of every conceivable size and shape. A world unto itself. There, amidst the concrete and scattered parks, mana was thick in the air. Most went through their days without even noticing, their only hint being the frequent monster sirens warning people away from one area or another. It came as little surprise that it was home to not just one, but three guilds. Even so, between monsters, villains, and the occasional dungeon, they were stretched thin.

Crusader raced through the narrow alley, Alphonse flying ahead of her and a silver sphere floating to the right of her head. It kept pace, reacting quickly as she hopped a dumpster and threw herself forward into a flip. She pushed off and launched into the air, alighting on the roof of the building ahead of her. Just up ahead a woman in heels slid across the roof as if she were surfing. The ground beneath her feet sparkling like glitter before reverting to normal. She glanced back at Crusader and sneered before tilting forward to accelerate.

Tch

“I've got visual!” Crusader said as she burst into motion. “Snow!”

A burst of static filled the air an instant before a bright yellow billboard appeared right in front of the woman. She let out a shriek of confusion, turning hard and falling into a roll. She crashed into the low concrete wall wrapping around the roof with a grunt of pain. Crusader lunged and the woman rolled onto her back, kicking off the wall. Tell-tale glitter spread out where her back touched the surface as she slid across the ground without resistance, hurtling straight into Crusader’s hands.

A quick scuffle later and the woman was pinned. Crusader tapped her earpiece as the woman struggled beneath her. “Target secure.”

“Hounds dealt with,” BLF replied.

“Victims are safe but need medical attention, there's six,” Harbinger chimed in.

“Dispatching police and ambulances. Checking the target's face against the registry. She's unregistered. Crusader, does she have ID?” Snow asked.

Crusader patted the woman down with her free hand and grabbed a wallet from her pocket. She flicked it open and held the ID up to the sphere. The woman tried to slip her hands out from Crusader’s grip again only to go very still when golden flames erupted from the ground around her in warning. The woman shifted her head and looked up into Crusader’s stern eyes and flinched.

“Naguya Rika, 32, office worker,” Snow said, “Got it. Cuff her. I'll play her rights.”

Crusader reached back and pulled a set of power suppression cuffs from her belt as a recording of the Japanese analog of the Miranda rights played. Crusader pulled the woman to her feet and Alphonse darted down to land on her shoulder. “Good tracking Al,” she said brightly as a dark shape landed on the roof nearby. She turned to Bandit and smiled.

Bandit ran his fingers up through his messy dark hair and smirked tiredly, the bags under his eyes emphasized by the sunlight. “Not bad, newbie,” he said as sirens approached. He turned his attention to the woman and tapped a metal pendant on his neck and frowned, “Miss Naguya, the traffic collision you caused has hurt a lot of people. Cameras show you intentionally performing the act with your abilities. You'll be charged with villainy. No one has died yet, and as long as it stays that way you can expect a villainous mayhem charge. Still a felony, though. Three to five years, minimum.”

A moment later the pendant started speaking in Japanese, translating for him. The woman slumped in Crusader’s grip and said something. Bandit shook his head, “That's no excuse. You got innocent people swept up in a domestic dispute.”

“One of the victims just had a heart attack,” Harbinger said through Crusader’s earpiece. “Medics tried to resuscitate, but he didn't make it.”

Crusader’s heart sank as she tapped her ear, “Which one?”

“Naguya Shou.”

Crusader and Bandit exchanged a look before looking down at the woman who paled a little more under Bandit's chilly gaze. The sirens drawing close stopped and a pair of police officers soon burst out the door leading down into the building below.

Bandit tapped his necklace again, “Villainous mayhem and manslaughter, then,” he said before nodding to the cops who approached. Crusader handed the woman over and they departed in silence. The two heroes watched them leave, a heaviness setting in Crusader’s chest. She let out a sigh as a strong hand clapped her shoulder. “You guys did good. Good call on how you split up.”

“BLF can handle most monsters around his tier solo. Harbinger isn't as fast as I am but can apply direct strength better. Snow is our point person,” Crusader said and shook her head, “Should have gone more aggressively with the pursuit. She could have hurt someone else with that power.”

She thought over the route the woman had taken. It had been winding and chaotic with numerous opportunities to run into a bystander. I got lucky, she thought bitterly.

“Maybe, what else?” Bandit asked.

“Harbinger could have pursued even if it resulted in a longer chase, but I would have been able to use my ability to save that man,” Crusader said, crossing her arms before shaking her head, “No, it was a heart attack, not an injury. It may have happened regardless. We made the best call possible.”

She felt Bandit's eyes on her for several moments before turning to face him. He had a broad smile of approval on his face, “Exactly. You guys can't blame yourselves for that. You did good work and saved a lot of lives too,” he scratched his head and clicked his tongue, “That slipping ability might be around common or uncommon tier, but it had a lot of potential for harm. Hopefully she can be rehabilitated by the time she gets out of prison.”

“You know the tier?” Crusader asked, surprised.

“You see the full gamut of tiers on patrol. After a while it becomes pretty easy to pick them out.”

Crusader nodded thoughtfully before reflecting on what she saw. The slipping function seemed like it could be broadcasted based on how the vehicles had been affected, but nobody on the opposite side of the road from the villain had fallen. Limited range but varied applications when used on the self. Having a firm enough grip can prevent it from working. Single concept being applied.

“I'm going to guess it's uncommon. It's too versatile for common,” Crusader said.

“Guess we'll see when they test her with an RTE,” Bandit said before checking his watch and tapping his earpiece, “Your patrol is over, team. Go, drop off your gear and enjoy the city.”

–

Lillian stretched her arms over her head, letting the sun wash over her as they stepped out onto the city street. She’d forgone her usual outfit for something a little less noticeable. A thick black turtleneck and cargo pants over heavy boots with a cap over her head to hide the red and green streaks in her hair. It wasn’t a perfect disguise, but it did well enough to keep most people from picking her out of a crowd.

She let her arms fall and looked around, watching the throngs of people walk by. She felt a jittery feeling work its way through her legs and frowned. More than twelve weeks ago she had started her journey as a hero. It didn’t feel like a long time when she thought of it that way, but it certainly felt like it. She could hardly remember a moment when she wasn’t actively doing something towards achieving her dream.

“I’m not sure what to do now,” she said.

Snow stepped up next to her in a long thick coat, her hands shoved into her pockets. She glanced up at Lillian and raised an eyebrow. A bit of static in the air heralded her words, “Got used to keeping busy?”

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“Yeah,” Lillian said before turning back to the other two as they approached. Cass was in a dark one-piece sweater dress with a fluffy collar and heeled boots that showed off her figure. Alex had gone for a heavy jacket, t-shirt, and denim jeans. She watched their body language, but kept her thoughts to herself, “Where are we meeting Sapporo?” she asked.

“He said to meet him at the National Museum later this afternoon,” Alex replied.

Cass looked his way and pointed to her neck, “Got a few scales there still.”

Alex clicked his tongue and furrowed his brows as a trio of gray scales sank into his skin before vanishing. “Still have a hard time getting them all. Downside to being able to selectively form them,” he said absently before reaching up to tug on the necklace around his neck. “Don’t like how this thing feels.”

“It looks good on you, though,” Cass pointed out, placing a hand on his arm, “You should wear jewelry more often.”

Lillian smirked at the pair of them and turned back to Snow, who shared her amused look. They were all now wearing the pendant that Bandit had been using to translate for him during the earlier arrest of the villain. Sonya had apparently prepared a whole kit for them to work in areas where not everyone spoke English. It’s nice having a sponsor to take care of those kinds of things, she thought.

“What?” Alex demanded as Snow snickered. It wasn’t lost on Lillian that Snow had to intentionally let Alex hear the sound.

“Nothing,” Lillian laughed, “Where do you guys want to go first?”

“Snow mentioned Akihabara,” Cass said, “Why don’t we start there?”

–

Akihabara was a sea of colors and screens, even in broad daylight the place was so bright it was almost blinding. The street was crowded, men and women in a variety of fashions and even costumes came and went from shops. The mixed scents of people and a wide variety of foods at small stalls and cafes filled Lillian’s nostrils. Very few people paid them any mind, most focused on getting from one place to another. She watched an ad play on a screen larger than the side of her home back in Atlanta.

“This place is huge,” she murmured.

Snow gripped her hand, “Let’s check that one out first,” her girlfriend said, pointing at one of the shops where a girl was handing out flyers in a skirt.

Lillian glanced back at Alex and Cass who waved them off, “We’ll be fine,” Cass said, “We saw something we wanted to check out as well. Meet back here in an hour?”

“Sure,” Lillian said as she was dragged away by the excited Snow. They dipped inside the shop after waving at the girl out front and accepting a flyer that Lillian couldn’t read. Snow poured over it, murmuring to herself as Lillian took in the space. It was beyond close quarters, crowded with shelves of books and toys from ceiling to floor. The walls were covered in posters from shows and games she both recognized and didn’t.

As they stepped further inside, and Snow began darting from shelf to shelf, Lillian turned in a circle to try to get her bearings. That proved to be a mistake as someone ran straight into her. For the person in question it must have been like colliding with a wall when Lillian didn’t so much as shift on her feet. She glanced down at a boy in an orange baseball cap who had fallen onto the ground and was staring up at her in shock. Lillian tapped her pendant, “Hey, sorry about that,” she said and reached down to help him up.

“Crusader,” the kid breathed before saying something else that took a moment to translate in her earpiece, “From the stream.”

Oh boy.

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She forced herself to just smile at him and nod towards her hand. He took it and she pulled him to his feet. He stared at her face with wide eyes, his mouth agape.

“Arata!” someone called out as a girl in what Lillian assumed was some kind of school uniform darted around a shelf past Snow who frowned at nearly being jostled. She slid to a stop when she saw Lillian holding the kids hand. Fear was the first thing that crossed her face as the kid, Arata, turned to her.

“Sister! It’s a hero! Crusader from America!” the kid said excitedly as the girl hurried over to reach for her brother. The girl grabbed him and pulled him away before bowing her head to Lillian once as the boy protested, “She was on the stream! Don’t be rude!”

Lillian rubbed her neck as she looked down at the pair. Do I look that scary? She tapped her pendant, “Sorry, your brother slipped and fell,” she said, “I was just helping him up.”

The girl glanced at the pendant as the translation came out of it before looking up at Lillian’s face. “You’re a hero?” she asked.

“I just got my license,” Lillian said with a shrug, “Apparently my final exam got leaked online; that’s how your brother saw it.” She knelt down a little and got at Arata’s eye level. “Mind keeping it to yourself that you saw me? I’m just a tourist today,” she said with a wink before focusing her attention on his hat. Her eyes softened a little, “You like Firestorm?”

He broke into a wide grin in his sister’s protective grip, “Yeah!” he said, reaching up to tug his hat a bit more snugly on his head.

“Me too,” Lillian replied with a smile.

“We are The Firestorm!” the boy shouted, throwing his fists up and getting a scolding hiss from his sister. He scowled up at her before looking back at Lillian and abruptly shifting from enthusiasm to shyness. He reached up to tug his hat off and looked down at it before holding it out to her, “Can you…?” he trailed off, his face turning a little red.

Lillian stared at the hat and felt butterflies in her stomach. She rubbed her neck and glanced at Snow who just smirked at her and gave a shrug. She squinted at her girlfriend, You’re no help, she thought petulantly before looking back at the hat. “Are you sure?”

The boy nodded emphatically and she looked up at the sister who just gave a resigned nod. Lillian took the hat in her hand and ran her thumb over the side thoughtfully before looking up at the kid. How would Sonya… she smiled and gave the kid a conspiratorial grin, “Wanna see something cool?” she asked.

The boys eyes went wide and Lillian laughed before letting out a sharp breath and slowly running her thumb over one side of the hat. Gold flames danced where her thumb moved as she carefully manipulated her ability, her eyes focused on what she was doing. A pair of gasps pricked her ears before she finished. She blew gently on the hat where the word ‘CRUSADER’ had been burned in, leaving a faint golden glitter on the black letters. She turned the hat around to show the kid before handing it over.

He took it and stared at it in awe. She watched the hands on his shoulders relax a little and she looked up to see a smile on his big sisters face, “Thank you,” the girl said.

“No problem,” Lillian said before reaching forward to tap the boy on the nose, “Hey, stick with your sister, okay? She’s looking out for you.”

The boy nodded hurriedly and she got to her feet as the sister steered her shocked sibling out of the store. Lillian rubbed her neck and watched them go, a hand slipping into hers. She looked down at Snow who smiled up at her, “Good job, Hero,” Snow said.

Lillian let out a satisfied breath, “Yeah, that’s what it’s all about.”

–

Akihabara was like a fever dream for Lillian. There was an energy there that she couldn’t quite grasp. The feeling was exciting and unsettling at the same time. Perhaps it was because of her training, but with how acute her senses were and how in touch she was with the mana in the air, finding something that she could feel and not identify was even more strange than it would have been before she acquired her powers. Young and old, happy and serious, people from all walks of life came into those stores and shopped for the things they loved. They talked amongst themselves, even when just outside the doors everyone seemed to be minding their own business. It was like the doors were a portal into a world where they could be themselves if just for a little while.

She was a little sad when she stepped back out onto the street, a few bags clutched in her fingers. Most of it was Snow’s, of course. She was just being a good girlfriend and carrying it.

A small hand wrapped around her arm and squeezed as the sound of static filled her ears, “Oh my god, Lil, look,” Snow said and pointed across the street. There, Marta was walking down the steps out of one of the many cafes that lined the street. She had what had to be twenty or thirty bags clutched in her hands. People stopped to stare as she casually moved, unimpeded by the weight. Behind her, Sonya was half way inside the cafe doors, one leg up. Lillian raised a hand to her face and groaned. “What is she doing?” Lillian asked.

“What do you think?” Snow laughed, “I’m more interested in Marta; look at all those bags.”

Lillian watched Sonya step backwards out of the door with a laugh, writing something down on what looked like a receipt, before handing it back to someone inside. She blew a kiss and took a few jaunty steps back before nearly stumbling down the stairs, catching herself on the railing and blowing another kiss. Lillian shook her head, “Oh boy, let's go before she recognizes us.”

As if called by her words, Sonya spun on her heel and held a hand over her eyes, squinting across the street at them. Don’t her eyes adjust to sunlight automatically? Lillian thought as their sponsor brightened and bounced up and down, waving at them.

“Heeey!” Sonya called, drawing the attention of pretty much everyone on the street, “Having fun?” Lillian shook her head and glanced at Snow, who was mouthing something. Sonya shot the two of them a thumbs up, “Good! We’re heading back to the hotel! Later!” Sonya shouted and bounded down the steps, flashing a grin at Marta, who shook her head and followed along with a spring in her step.

“Well they’re definitely having a blast,” Lillian chuckled as the crowd parted for the eclectic pair.

“So are they,” Snow commented, and pointed at one of the photo booths tucked in beneath an awning a few doors down. Cass and Alex stepped out of it, laughing. Snow looked up at Lillian and pouted at her.

Lillian chuckled and started walking, “C’mon, let's go get our pictures taken too.”

“Yay!”