Chapter 5: The Claw of the White Tiger
In the shadows, a white
haired boy stood, hands in the pocket of a black buttoned up long coat, and
darks eyes set upon a neon den. When he had first learned of Asabi he had
expected it to be a quiet town, a silent domain where everyone knew each other,
and no one was hard to find, but the information Kouta had delivered had
changed that impression around. Right now Ushio stood in the delinquent
district where teens roamed wildly through the night, and successful single
women found a place of solace. It was small building of two floors, nestled between
a three-story office on its right and a bar on its left, and it stood out more
than them both, welcoming potential patrons with neon cursive that scrolled
over its door. Velvet Touch, it read, and made Ushio wonder if it was a simile
for the atmosphere or the workers that dwelled within. He didn’t dare try to
enter, and didn’t think he’d have a chance if he did, but from where he stood
on the other side of the street, he could see the soft lighting, and barely see
several couches that lined the walls within. He wasn’t a fan of anime but it
was the type of scene he had seen in them before, and had always expected a
host club to be. A host club, a den where single women went and would be
flattered by the handsome men who dwelled within. At a time in his life, a girl
had told him that he could potentially work in one and left him a little
flustered, but as he stood there, a job was not what he sought.
It was eleven o’ clock now, but
the call had come at five that day. Kouta - very assured of himself Ushio
assumed - had told the young agent about the rumors and led him to where he
stood. On a quiet night about one month ago, a mother had come to the club and
received a kind gesture as one of the hosts walked her home. When a jealous
ex-boyfriend appeared and brandished a knife, the host had defeated him with
nonchalant ease, using blades that possessed no form and blowing the man away.
It was written off a merely a tale, because no mother in this small town could
afford such luxury, but it was a good enough lead for Ushio, to bring him where
he was.
“According to the rumor the guy
is easy to notice. He’s a bit taller than you and me and always wears an
overcoat open. His hair is pretty long, and the rumor said he drew it back into
a pony tail when he left, so that’s what you should look for.” Kouta provided a
description, but as Ushio had begun his surveillance and saw, several longed
hair men enter the building, he wonder if the description would be of any use.
So far, at least five of them had left and yet he was still there, clinging to
the smallest detail and hoping that one would draw their head.
Suddenly the sixth longhaired
man exited, and drew his hair behind his head before lighting a cigarette up.
After a few puffs and a wave goodbye, he began walking down the street, and
Ushio followed, mixing with the crowd that walked toward him. If he had to
guess, the man was going to the end. He would turn the corner after that and be
at a parking lot where he would get his car. That was where Ushio planned to
confront him, and how he’d get information was already decided. The streets
quieted as he followed the man around the corner, and kept following him pass
the lot and further down the street. The silence became eerie as Ushio realized
they were alone, and as the man stopped and let out a puff of smoke, he
wondered if he had been lured into a trap.
“I know you’re there.” The man
said and Ushio’s eyes became sharp as he took a few steps back. “Who are you?
Some jealous boyfriend? An obsessed ex? Or maybe…” The man began to turn and as
he saw Ushio, his eyes widened. “Wow, didn’t expect this. Which one of our
visitors has you by the balls kid?” He
laughed, and Ushio calmed down.
“I don’t know any of your
visitors.” He replied and the man sighed.
“Really? I guess I’m not
surprised, I mean what she would need with a teasing host club when she had a
brat like you.” The man referred to the hypothetic customer and Ushio suddenly
got an idea.
“That’s right.” He said. “What
would she need with someone like you? Someone so old and dried up, you couldn’t
remotely make her happy.” He said and the man’s smugness faded away.
“What’s your girl’s name kid?”
He asked and Ushio smirked.
“Tae Yui.” He replied and the
man ran his hand through his hair.
“She’s a hot one, pretty rich
too. She’s bold, and knows what she wants, and she’s smart too. So it makes me
wonder – how does this guy I’ve never seen before know her name.” He said and
Ushio shrugged.
“Isn’t it obvious?” He asked.
“Yeah, you’re either someone
from her past or someone from Prospect.” The man replied as he hand came free
of black hair, and he gave Ushio everything he needed.
“Then we can skip the
pleasantries. Since you know Yui tell me where she is.” He barked and the man
laughed.
“Tell you where she is…” He
remarked as the colored faded from his hair, and black stripes appeared on his
cheeks. “You know there’s no way I’ll do that.” He said as his hands came up
and the smoke that rose from his cigarette bent and wrapped around them.
With a thrust forward of the
man’s hands, Ushio almost found himself impaled on the translucent tiger claws,
as the smoke shot forward and gave the man a name. Blocked by a ball of
electricity that gathered in front of him, the claws sank toward the ground and
swept up a mist, then came back at Ushio tenfold, bigger than they were before.
The ball was knocked away and Ushio was thrown to the ground, left at the mercy
of the man he’d called Byakko right before a spear fell down. As Byakko’s arms
came back then forward again, the tiger claws were launched, and Ushio grabbed
his spear and quickly batted them away. As they swooped up and detracted, he
noted their solid feeling, and charged Byakko as they continued to withdraw.
With them withdrawn Ushio took the momentary chance and swiftly thrust his
spear, but was barely able to cut Byakko’s coat as he stepped aside. He felt
the solid feeling of the smoke claws, as he was slammed into a wall, but
managed to avoid a fatal feeling as he broke free of their might. The cratered
stonewall produced dust as Byakko moved his hands, and Ushio quickly threw
himself to the side as the claw came down. Again, he took advantage of Byakko’s
lapsed defense, as he thrust his spear toward the man’s side, but found it
stopped as his hand came up and for a moment he stared with surprise. With his
spear firmly halted Byakko turned to the boy, and began to pull his hand back,
but found himself in pain as Ushio smirked and a second spear was slid from the
first. He toppled back as he stared at Ushio standing rather smugly with two
partisans in hand, and was almost able to launch another attack before he felt
something stab into his back.
“What…” He murmured as he
reached his arm around and felt the warmth of blood.
“Mine are the reflecting spears,
when damage is dealt by one it is reflected by the other.” Ushio informed him,
and at the smugness, Byakko glowered and mightily swung his hands back.
As Ushio charged, he swung them
forward, and repelled the agent with might of a battering ram as he was thrown
through the air. When Ushio crashed into the ground, his back arched up and his
spear clattered a few feet away. He saw the claws quickly withdraw, and when he
was sure they would zip forward and shatter every bone in his body, he instead
heard a voice.
“What do you mean that’s
enough?!” Byakko replied to the voice.
“Exactly what I said, if you
kill him, more Prospect agents will come.” The voice replied and Ushio sprung
up to find out who it was.
There behind Byakko a teenager
stood, a white muffler wrapped around his face and hands in the pockets of a
burgundy duffle coat. He waved at Ushio as his eyes went wide and Ushio quickly
retrieved his spears, and stood with them at the ready. For a moment the boy
stared, his eyes now as wide as Ushio before he took a moment to shake his head
and made Byakko scoff.
“What do you mean, if I let him
live they’ll just come any!” He continued to object, and black hair swished as
the boy nodded his head.
“No they won’t.” He laughed.
“Why not?”
“Because, this isn’t a Prospect
mission is it Ushio-chan.” The boy said and gave Ushio more than the reason he
needed, as he charged toward the boy and found his spear stab nothing.
He stomped in defeat as he stood
there alone, and wondered why he thought he’d even land a blow. He cursed at
his mission’s failure, then pulled his cell phone from his pocket and began
pressing the keys.
IT’S NOT JUST TAE YUI, he
texted, Nobuki is here too…
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