“Hands up in the air! No sudden movements!” one shouted.
Shan raised his hands in the air and glanced over at me. Our opponents dropped to the ground. I accelerated forward and encased all five in ice. That was too easy. There had to be backup coming.
“Jacque, can you drive?” Shan inquired.
“I don’t have my license but I’ve practiced with my dad before,” the artist replied.
“What’s the plan?” I tossed all of our equipment into the back.
“Jacque drives while the rest of us take care of any enemies,” Shan responded, assisting me.
We clambered into the van but didn’t make it too far. A line of people, wearing hazard suits, blocked our way. The artist stepped on the brakes as they surrounded our vehicle.
“Tell Shan Shigetzu and Ichaival Darryl to step out! We have no issues with the remainder of you. You must also relinquish those plane parts. After all, those don’t belong to you,” one person shouted through a megaphone.
Shan and Ichaival exited the vehicle. I leaped out from the back and joined them. Someone hurled a molotov cocktail but I stopped it with Zhuyu’s zero vector power. I encased the explosive in a protective field and detonated it without injuring anyone in the vicinity.
“Stop your foolishness. Do you not know who that is?” someone chided.
“Tomo Yuki, the newest member of the Gatekeeper’s little merry band. You are a literal pain,” a person, wearing a faded police uniform, insulted.
“Get your facts straight! I’ve been with them for more than half a year now. And I’m not the newest member either,” I corrected him.
“Doesn’t matter. Hand over the parts and everyone gets to go home,” he demanded.
“I don’t feel like it. Besides, why do you want them so badly?” I refused.
“Good one, Yuki,” Shan commented.
“It’s for our protection! They’re building a war machine with those! Please, anyone with a brain can figure that out. We’ll make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands!” he argued.
“They already swiped one. Isn’t that right?” I refuted.
“That was a slight oversight. Besides, that Tachibana lady isn’t a saint either. We can’t rely on other people protecting us anymore! No more relying on the government or organizations! Enough talking, get them!” he ordered, pulling out a police baton.
I repelled all his comrades and hauled the man up by his shirt collar. He resisted but I shut him down with Shan’s powers. Ichaival stared at me with amazement. Shan shrugged and gave me a thumbs up. I knocked the man prone and froze his legs to the ground. His comrades stood back, hesitant to back up their leader.
“Want to talk now?” I poked his forehead with my electrified baton.
“Never. Torture me. I won’t say a thing,” he challenged.
Man, I really wanted to punch this guy’s face. Calm down Yuki, don’t let him get to you. I released him from the ice and trapped him inside a magical circle.
“Let him go. He’s my responsibility,” a voice ordered.
An older man, in his late forties, hobbled toward us on a cane. His skin was rough, hardened by the outdoors. A jagged scar ran across both his eyes. Despite his bad leg, I knew he was a capable fighter. This man must be the real leader.
“Mr. Satou, I was wondering where you’ve been,” Ichaival greeted.
“Shan Shigetzu and Ichaival Darryl, still kicking huh? Makes it easy to negotiate. Have that lass there release my dumb subordinate. I’ll fight you, Shan. Heard you’re almost back to full power. Consider me a little test to be truly at top again. You win, you go. Take the plane parts too. I don’t carry grudges like everyone else. After all, you’ve helped me before,” Mr. Satou offered.
“Sir! You can’t trust these two. They were the ones….,” the uniformed man protested.
“Stop it, Zane! Do some research like the young lass said. Just because someone said something doesn’t mean it’s true. Hell, I’ve lied to you when you get on my nerves,” Mr. Satou interrupted him, a snarl on his face.
I glanced over at the gravity manipulator, waiting for his decision. He nodded at me. I released Zane from the magic circle. He dashed at me, still wanting a fight. This guy never learned. I swung my baton, electric sparks flying from my weapon, but didn’t strike the man. I would let Mr. Satou deal with him instead.
“Zane, you know the punishment,” Mr. Satou said, tapping his cane on the ground.
“Sir! It was just a spur of a moment thing. You know, these things just get to you. I swear….,” Zane pleaded his case.
Mr. Satou whacked Zane’s legs, bringing him to his knees. He poked the man’s forehead before cracking his cane across the man’s chest. Zane fell face first with his back exposed. Mr. Satou raised his cane in the air before stabbing the tip into Zane’s back with force. Zane coughed out blood before falling unconscious. Did Shan and Ichaival learn combat from him?
“Anyone else? Didn’t think so. Let’s get this started!” Mr. Satou declared, directing me to set up a battlefield.
Shan Shigetzu vs. Mr. Satou
“Young lass, there will be a few special conditions for this little training exercise. Mr. Shan, you know them well. For everyone else, I will explain. Automatic victory if one gets knocked out of the specified vicinity. It will be an automatic disqualification if anyone interferes for either side. Make sense?” he pointed his cane at me.
“I have a name. It’s Tomo. And yes, it makes sense,” I responded.
“Ms. Tomo, your sole job is to make sure that as soon as one of us leaves the vicinity completely, you call the match. Understood?” he questioned.
“Yeah,” I replied.
Shan and Mr. Satou met in the middle of the 50×50 feet battlefield, shaking hands before the fight. First time I witnessed such sportsmanship and courtesy. Usually, the combatants were hostile and only cared about tearing each other apart. I stood between the two men and raised my hand in the air. Once my count reached zero, I swung my hand down and the fight began.
Mr. Satou flicked his cane upward, aiming for Shan’s jaw. The gravity manipulator weaved, swinging a baseball bat at his opponent’s head. Mr. Satou propelled himself into the air, performing a handstand on his cane. He kicked Shan’s hand before knocking away the gravity manipulator’s bat with his cane. He poked the bat with his cane against the bat and Shan’s weapon vanished.
Shan summoned a martial arts pole. Mr. Satou initially flew towards him, pulled in by the man’s gravitational powers. The older man pressed his thumb against the upper part of the cane and broke free of the force pulling him in. He hurled his cane into the air, daring the gravity manipulator to come at him. Shan didn’t take the bait and parried the cane plummeting toward him. The hero grimaced, relinquishing his weapon, grabbing his hand in pain. Mr. Satou slid over, retrieving his cane and poked the martial arts pole. Shan’s weapon vanished just like last time.
Shan chose sledgehammer for his third weapon. He lured Mr. Satou in and battered his foe’s stomach. He slammed his foot onto the older man’s hand but couldn’t disarm him of his cane. Mr. Satou swung his cane, striking Shan’s leg as he performed another kick. Shan pulled back, teetering near the battlefield boundaries.
“Different kicks than before, huh? Impressive enough, I guess. Can you beat me with them?” Mr. Satou inquired, swinging his cane.
An umbrella was the hero’s next weapon. He clashed with Mr. Satou, meeting him strike for strike. The gravity manipulator flipped his umbrella over, grasping Mr. Satou’s arm with the handle. He yanked him in, driving his knee into Mr. Satou’s stomach. The older man crumpled over but managed to drive the top of his cane into Shan’s chest. Shan was knocked back several feet and coughed out blood. Oh, I was starting to get it.
Both remained on the floor and after a minute, they stood back up. Shan went behind Mr. Satou and kicked his opponent’s cane into his arms before stomping him into the ground face first. Shan slipped the cane underneath Mr. Satou’s arms and stomped downward, shattering it into halves. The older man coughed, his breathing heavy.
“Damn, was that the final blow?” Jacque questioned.
“Not yet. Mr. Satou isn’t that easy to beat,” Ichaival predicted, shaking his head.
Shan leaped away from his opponent, opening his umbrella as a defensive measure. Mr. Satou dual-wielded the two-halves of his cane, raining down blows on Shan’s umbrella. His movements resembled Ichaival when he swung his Kali sticks but with different footwork. Shan twirled his umbrella, pushing Mr. Satou back. The hero waited for the right moment and closed his umbrella. He flipped his weapon over, latching onto Mr. Satou’s right hand with the umbrella handle. Shan disarmed Mr. Satou and stole his weapon to use. The two men went back and forth, neither gaining an advantage. Eventually, Shan knocked away Mr. Satou’s remaining cane piece and retrieved it from the ground. He struck his opponent’s stomach with the left piece and followed up with a hit to the shoulder. Shan swung both halves down, connecting with his foe’s upper arm.
The hero then looped around, hitting Mr. Satou’s back multiple times before delivering a ferocious strike to the back of his opponent’s neck with both cane halves. Mr. Satou collapsed to the ground, spitting out blood. The hero back-stepped and dashed forward, punting Mr. Satou out of the battlefield boundaries. Mr. Satou’s head hit the ground and he was motionless. I jogged over to check on his condition. Still alive, the most important part. I teleported over to the gravity manipulator and raised his right arm up.
“Shan Shigetzu wins!” I announced as the crowd stared at him in stunned silence.
Mr. Satou finally stood up and clutched his stomach. He nodded at the gravity manipulator before stepping in front of Zane’s approaching group. They glared but didn’t confront us.
“Shan, you good?” I inquired.
“Better than Mr. Satou. Old man still has it, you should have seen him a few years early. He would have lasted much longer,” he answered.
“We free to leave?” I asked Mr. Satou.
“Go ahead. You won fair and square. I’ll make sure they’ll open a path for you,” Mr. Satou allowed, shooing away the people gathering around him.
Tachibana Residence
“Good work. But, I have bad news,” Lyra congratulated us before her expression turned serious.
“Shan’s watch still missing a part?” I guessed.
“Sort of. This isn’t normal rust on your watch part, Shigetzu. To get rid of it, you need to expose it to a very specific magic frequency. One that you won’t find down here or in the waters. You see what I’m getting at, right?” the prophet revealed.
“The plane. We have to find it and go up into the skies. Just great,” I realized.
“What about flying up there with your powers, Shan?” Ksi suggested.
“Won’t work with my weakened powers. The higher I fly up, the more energy I use up. I’d be knocked out by the time I get up there. The plane’s the only thing that can take us up high enough. The grid still isn’t completely fixed yet either,” Shan answered.
“Correct. That would not have been the case before the “Great Cannon Disaster”. The output from the event caused many shifts in the magic leylines and energy sources. I suspect they designed the plane to take advantage of these changes,” Lyra confirmed.
“Any idea where it could be?” I questioned.
“I’ll look into it. For now, head home and rest. Next time, it really should be the final step in unlocking your full powers, Shigetzu,” Lyra replied.
Thursday Summer Quarter Week 2016 Week 1
“Congratulations, Yuki. You’re hired. I can put you in on weekends and some weekdays if it gets busy. Once school starts, I’ll schedule around your classes. It’s a small store but it can get busy. Let’s see, how do you feel about operating the register?” the manager called me in to her office.
“I’m fine with anything you give me,” I replied.
“Perfect, I’ll have someone train you. You know En pretty well so he’ll teach you the basics of stocking and organizing in the storage room.
We don’t have a lot of morning people so I’ll put you in that time slot,” the manager decided.
“That sounds great. Thanks for the opportunity.” I gave a slight bow.
“We needed people so need for the formality. Here’s your badge, your uniform will be ready by tomorrow, the manual for the register, and a list of rules. You can read through it today. You’ll begin work on Saturday,” she informed me.
I left the office and bumped into En. He carried two cardboard boxes and they looked heavy. I offered my help but En refused. I sighed, taking the top box despite his resistance.
“En, just tell me where to go. I’m working here soon so let me help you out,” I directed.
“Okay, thanks for your help. Just follow me.” En nodded, walking toward the middle area of the store.
He placed the box near a shelf of cans. En pulled out a box cutter and sliced off the tape.
“It’s good to have more people,” En remarked as he placed the cans into an empty shelf.
“Yeah, the manager said I should ask you for any help when I’m in the back,” I agreed.
“I don’t know if I’m the best person for that. But, I’ll try to show you everything,” En said.
“You’ve been here for awhile, huh?” I questioned.
“About a year now,” he responded.
“Did you work somewhere else before?” I was curious about his previous jobs.
“Sort of, at a restaurant.” En finished stocking the shelves and flattened the cardboard boxes.
“Never thought you would work someplace like that,” I said.
“It was just to help my mom. It wasn’t full time. I didn’t do anything for awhile until I started working here.” En rechecked the shelves.
“See you Saturday if you’re working,” I said as he left.
Time to go home and review the manual. I thought it would be thicker but it wasn’t too long. I was surprised En worked at a restaurant considering his quiet personality. Maybe he just worked in the kitchen? I should ask him about it the next time I saw him.
