Penumbra (Challenger, Marrow, Tomi)
Amidst the dimmed light of the back alleys, Hifumi wandered, looking for some kind of revelation. Life seemed to be going well for him lately. He attended his dream school. He had great friends and a girlfriend he loved dearly. Not only did he pass the exam but placed among the top ranks. He got a call today that he had been accepted for his chosen internship.
And yet, he was restless. The pressure Hailey's family has been putting on her made her irritable lately. It led to some arguments like the one they had an hour earlier. The reason for it was so minor, he already forgot what it was. It was more like an excuse. A weak spot that started to crack, unable to handle the strain they were under. He went for a walk to clear his head, but so far, it did not help.
Many of his classmates had been growing distant over the past few months, getting entangled in conflicts they were nowhere near ready for. He wanted to help them in any way he could, but he didn't know what he was really able to do for them. He invited them to hang out, but even if they agreed, the time they spent together did not seem to have much of an impact. With how busy everyone was getting around this time, there weren't even many occasions for it in the first place.
He had been training hard, and it showed results. Yet ascending those new peaks only made it clearer how long the road ahead of him was. In his mind, there wasn't any doubt about his goal, and that as long as he gives it his best, he will earn his chance to one day reach it. But a frustration was growing over how slow his progress was. What use is being strong a decade in the future, if it's right here and now that his friends are getting hurt? Is the path he chose to reach his dream really the right one?
The thoughts swirled around in his mind as he walked aimlessly. It's been a long time since he last did that. Ever since he set his eyes on becoming a hero, he was too busy to afford to waste his time like this. Right now, he did not care about it and was just trying to take in the surrounding mood.
In Kyoto, with its spirit tightly bound in a myriad of landscape regulations, one needed to know where to look to find its urban heart. Hifumi knew and decided to stay on the very border of it. The edge between the light and shadow. The area where one could peer into the bustle of the nightlife without being embroiled in it themselves. This feeling of being an outsider is what he was seeking right now.
Step by step, he made his way down the labyrinth of alleys. Embraced by the buildings looming around him, he walked down one of them that went parallel to a more lively area. In semiregular intervals, he could see the flashing beat of the city's nightlife before he once again dived into the darkness of its underbelly.
Even in that separation, the noise of the metropolis followed him. Loud voices of people enjoying their life, whirring of engines and the calls of touts. He found the way they almost drowned out his thoughts soothing. Drawing him in, inviting to abandon his worries and join.
One sound caught his attention — a call for help. The words were foreign, he usually needed a moment to understand them, and yet, even without them, the desperate intention of its origin would be clear. His legs were already heading towards the source before he ordered them to.
He didn't have to walk far. The destination was but another step away from the city's heart. An alley a shade darker than the one he walked through before, but still close enough to the light to drain life from it.
Entering, he quickly spotted the source of the commotion. In front of a door with a little neon sign above them, a violent-looking man was roughly yanking around a woman in a tacky sequinned dress. Her makeup was running down her face, its marks encroaching on a reddened cheek.
Coming from the side he did, Hifumi threw a long shadow, which caught the man's attention. Shoving the woman towards the doors, he barked towards his unwanted witness.
“The fuck you looking at, kid? My girlfriend just got a little too drunk. Scram!”
From the other side of the alley, a teenage boy covered in piercings stepped out of the shadows. Attracted by the screams, after witnessing the scene in front of him, he was staring down the man who had not yet noticed him.
{“Please, help me!”}
The woman pleaded in Korean. Growing up among Zainichi, Hifumi picked up some words from it, and because of Hailey practised it enough to understand her.
“How about you let her go? She clearly doesn't want to go with you.”
“How 'bout you fuck off and mind your own damn business?”
{“Help! They kidnapped me and my friends!”}
“Shut up, bitch!”
The loud sound of a smack reverberated through the alley as the back of the man's hand met the woman's cheek.
Less than a second later, a loud crack followed it when two fists collided with the man's head. Both boys had instantly reacted to the man's violent act and responded in kind. Unwittingly, they synchronized in a way that their punches reached him at the exact same time.
The man fell down unconscious in between them. The boys took a moment to look at each other before turning to the woman.
{“Thank you! But there are more of them inside! We need to hurry and call the police! My friends are inside! We came here for a modelling job, but it turned out to…”}
The recollection of the dreadful experience drained the strength from the woman's voice. She started sobbing and wiping the tears from her eyes.
{“Worry no. We help. Is good.”}
“You understand what she's saying?”
“Just a little bit. She wants us to call the police. Her friends are inside. She said they've been kidnapped.”
The sounds coming from inside the doors suggested the commotion outside had not gone unnoticed. The presence of the CCTV camera pointed at the entrance confirmed that.
“Before the police graces us with their presence, the bastards will be long gone and her friends with them. We need to act now. If you want to help me, then let's go.”
The boy with piercings didn't wait for the answer. As he hurried inside, bony protrusions covered his body.
“Dammit, wait! We should-”
As quickly as he could, Hifumi directed the woman towards the closest police box, grabbed a pipe that was lying around and headed inside.
The interior of the “Pearls of the Orient” quickly betrayed the nature of the establishment. Going down the corridor, they passed by multiple rooms with little more than a bed in them. Scared looking girls and their surprised clients spectated the impromptu raid. Those that could think more clearly, tried to rush towards the exit.
By the time Hifumi caught up, Junichi was already fighting with a couple of tattoo-covered men. In the cramped corridor, they were forced to face him head on. Heavy blows of bats and bottles rained down on the skeletal armour, but the boy held strong, returning blow for blow as he pushed forward.
The gangsters were like hydra, for each one taken down, two more showed up in his place, some came from the rooms they passed by, while others arrived from deeper inside the building. Forcing the mass of the enemies back was exhausting Junichi, but each door he caused them to retreat behind meant that one more girl might have a chance to escape this hellhole.
Passing by the wave of escaping women, Hifumi joined the fray. Teleporting behind the enemy line, with quick and precise strikes, he lightened the load that Junichi had to face. Confusion, caused by surprise attacks and futile attempts to avoid trampling over their fallen comrades, made it harder for gangsters to focus on the target in front of them.
Slowly but steadily, they made their way forward into the depths of depravity.
It took them about three minutes to get to the end of the corridor. They were bruised and battered. The rush left them exhausted. Junichi took the worst of it. Blood was pooling in the spaces not covered by his armour. However, there was no sign of him wanting to rest. The determination painting on his face made it clear he was focused on finishing the job.
Most gangsters were lying on the floor behind them, unable to move, but the remains bunkered themselves in the establishment's operational centre. Heavy metal doors separated the boys from what was behind them.
“Can you teleport inside?”
“First, I'd need to know what's there. You got any idea how to get these doors open?”
“Fully? No. Just enough so you can take a peek inside? Maybe.”
He approached the doors and rested his hand on the frame. With a visible strain on his face, he pushed against it. A small bone spur lodged itself in it and slowly grew, prying them apart. After a couple of seconds, the gap was big enough that Hifumi could have a look inside.
Another couple of seconds later, he was already opening the doors after Blinking behind them and taking out one of the guards closest to them. When the boys rushed in, two of his buddies quickly followed.
The only one left was a tall, lanky man that looked like the head of this operation. He was holding a phone in his hand, seemingly having just finished a call for backup. He slicked back his greasy hair and put on the scariest face he could, but his knees ware shaking.
“You have no idea who you're fucking with, kids. You should get out while you still got a chance. Not that it will do you much good, but might be enough to say your final fare-”
Junichi just rolled his eyes and punched his lights out.
“Come on, let's get out of here. The cops will be here soon.”
“Wait, we should stay and help with this mess.”
“Yeah, no. Unlike you, I don't have no fancy licence. You want to stay here, Takeda? Be my guest, but I'm getting out.”
“Wait, you know me? How?”
“You could say we have mutual friends.”
“Who are you?”
“What, so you can rat me out to the cops?”
“Wouldn't do that to a battle brother. Just want to know what to call you when we meet again.”
This made Junichi stop on his way to the exit and look back at Hifumi. He seemed to weight his option. After a brief moment, he responded.
“I'm Takagi.”
And with that, he left.
A day later, in a different part of town, a sharp claw pressed a button to answer the phone call. A displeased looking black panther listened to a report about one of his new operations getting ruined by some dumb kids.
According to the police report provided to him by one of his informants, in the official version, one of the kids was never even there. He'll have to verify the details himself.
After all, such a slight against one of the Night Parade could not go unpunished.