"" Speech

Italics thoughts

 It is not every day that you do something that would make actual witches start a witch hunt if they knew you had done it. For Akihiko and Ryuunosuke it all started with a simple murder case.

"Who do you think did this", said a middle-aged man, in a black suit.

"Um, something not human?", responded a teenager, dressed in a shirt with an anime character and beige jeans.

They were in a morgue. The body that they were examining was that of a white man. Aside from the injuries that had killed him his body had many scars.

"Haa. Ryuunosuke you are someone with a rare ability, don't let it go to waste. Study harder. But for your sake I'll explain.

See those injuries? They are tearing marks, showing that it was a blunted cutting edge that did it. And the lack of supernatural signatures of any kind show it was something fully mundane. Taking into account that there should be no animals capable of causing such imjuries in this city we can guess that it was a human." 

Ryuunosuke was startled and turned to look at the man.

"Wait, if it's not supernatural in nature should we even be involved?"

"Good question. Normally? no. But I know this guy, he's a Hidden World mercenary. Jonathan Strauss, works for the highest bidder and should be in Nagasaki. Buuut, he has morals and he hates, well hated, unscrupulous mages and martial artists and the such. So he tends, tended, to only take contracts against such people. Now why would there be such a person in our city, dead?"

"He came for a job and was killed?"

"Exactly! So now we have to find the douche who killed him because he's surely an asshole and it's our duty to deal with Hidden World assholes. So, let us begin. It's not one of the ones we know because even if one of them turned evil he would not be this careless. Crafty foxes. So... any ideas where to begin?"

"Have there been any newcomers?"

"Nope, also not a single inhabitant has come to this city. Our wards would have detected it."

"That means either they were already here and we didn't know or someone resourceful has sneaked them in. So investigate big groups?"

"Yep, the candidates are Sweet Breath Medical Company, the Auction, the Blue Leathers. Assholes. Or those government dudes. Let's get going."

Ryuunosuke paused, he had never heard of these government dudes. The Company was a constant of this city, mundane but aware of the Hidden World, and more importantly, rich. The Auction was East Asia's Hidden World's greatest merchant association. The Blue Leathers were the biggest supernatural gang composed of both humans and youkais, difficult to deal with but inoffensive to mundanes. But government dudes? Those he had never encountered.

"Government dudes?"

"Some guys that remain from before World War 2 and the american occupation. They have kept working for the 'Imperial Rule'. So delusional folks, and imperialists, but they have resources and age for them. Doesn't surprise me you haven't heard of them, they're low-key and they have few inhabitants, but high grade military equipment and old resources. Well then let's get going."

Seven hours later, Ryuunosuke found himself in front of an old building, bustling with activity.

"It's here? Doesn't look like a former government base."

"Its a covert place. The real base is underground. Cliche I know. We are down to these guys then. Listen, stay out here, stay vigilant, and if I don't contact you in ten minutes go home and bring reinforcements."

"But won't you be in danger, Akihiko?"

"If you are going to be in the Hidden World you should expect to be in danger at all times, it's a dangerous world." He said stepping towards the building.

Ryuunosuke sighed, he had encountered the Hidden World when he told a classmate to shut up and the classmate didn't speak for three days. He was soon attacked by the Blue Leathers and joined the Waning Moon Association for protection.

It was a nice place, specially compared to some of the things he heard about. But sending him with only three months of training to a mission, in which a much more experienced man thought reinforcements could be needed? Not his idea of safe above all when he only had his ability, a healing spell, a magic detecting spell, and what could only be described as a magical taser. Thankfully his senpai was reasonable, he didn't want to think what would have happened if Akihiko had wanted to bring him along.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

                                                                    ***      

Ten minutes had passed, and Ryuunosuke was growing nervous. He was about to go to the asssociation when a man grabbed him from behind and all went black.

A while later Ryuunosuke woke in a well lit room. He groggily looked around and saw he was not alone in the wide room. There was one man in glowing chains. Much like the ones binding him, he realised, in the room with him. It was Akihiko. And another in far more restricting bindings, an unconscious mediterranean man dressed in rich ceremonial robes. Manacles in hands and feet, chains binding him to a black stone pedestal that was fused to the ground and nailed with six centimetres wide nails, thick steel wire binding his arms and legs together, a black cloth covering his eyes and talismans that probably had binding spells.

"Talk about overkill," he said still half asleep.

"Awake at last, Ryuunosuke?" Said Akihiko, gently.

"Wha-what happened, where are we?!" Ryuunosuke woke up and began panicking. This is no time to appreciate how trapped that man is, where the fuck am I?! 

"In the highest security room in the building of the imperials, they were our perps, I can't believe they were hiding him," he said looking at the other man.

"Why, who is he? Why are you so calm? What are they going to do to us?! What's going to happen now?!" He asked, staring at the unconscious man.

"Behold, the great-" he began proclaiming before being interrupted by the man waking up.

"I'm known as the Oracle of Augusta Emerita. To understand his calm you must know about him. Saito Akihiko, son of Saito Akihiro and Saito Chiharu. His family has been aware of the supernatural for 200 years and are a far eastern orthodox magical family, but their abilities have declined due to a lack of knowledge and talented practitioners.

The last heir of the family, Akihiko, joined his city's Waning Moon Association to improve himself and restore his family. He has shown little promise and growth but his son, Saito Akira, shows great potential. He is considered this decades greatest magical prodigy in the association. Akihiko is proud and assured of his family's and son's future, as such he puts his all in his missions to make the association more willing to invest in his son. Laid back and sharp he is an effective if weak investigator. Currently held in the Locapalas' Oracle's room for realising they comitted the murder of Jonathan Strauss. He is calm due to a distinc lack of regrets, as well as experience with this kind of matters.

His and your projected future is death and disposal within three days by the the 1915-founded Japanese Locapala, one of six organisations named Locapala in Japan's history.

The most likely future regarding the participants in these events is that the Locapala will relocate after the Waning Moon retaliates for your death causing massive casualties among their ranks and heavy economical and material loses. Their projected future further being discovery and destruction by the the current Japanese Supernatural Response and Regulation Agency of the Japanesse Ministry of Mysteries.

The Waning Moon will go on. Your parents and friends will grieve but eventually move on and live normal but happy and long lives, except for Ichiryuusai Makoto who will die in a car accident in 2025. The Saito family of this city will prosper under Saito Akira. Jonathan Strauss has not made significant connections since the death of his family at the hands of the infernalist Johan Lieber, as such his death shall go largely unnoticed" The man finished his speech and fell unconscious again.

"What."

"Better than I expected honestly. Ehem, allow me to redo the introductions. Behold! The Oracle of Augusta Emerita, the All-knowing. He was last seen in Korea, these guys, erm, the Locapala, that's a weird name, must have gotten their hands on him during the occupation in the war. I don't know much more, just that he is one of the best oracles in the world and about 1600 years old."

"So, how does that help us? He just prophesied our deaths!"

"It doesn't. We just have to get him out of here or the Locapala will escape, he's how they knew I was coming. He can't predict the changes that his prophecies bring until he has made them, so that means we now have a chance to live and the Locapala to escape. That's probably how they've survived this long honestly, prophecy the years market condition and bam! Funds, funds everywhere."

"And how will we escape? We're a bit tied up at the moment, if you haven't realised!"

"Simple. They have the Oracle, they've gotten sloppy and think themselves infallible. These chains are completely magical, not a single physical component to speak of. Your Word of Might can easily break them."

"Oh, ooh! That's convenient. Sorry for freaking out. Let's do this. SEVER." He spoke the last word brimming with power.

The chains broke in pieces. Akihiko and Ryuunosuke stood up and stretched.

"Thanks for that, my hands were getting numb. Let us get out of here. Grab the oracle. I'll open the way you follow-"

Clank

A loud sound of breaking chains interrupted him. They watched fascinated as the Oracle began breaking free of his bindings, physical and magical, with inhuman strength.

"Is he supposed to be that strong?" Said Ryuunosuke fearfully.

"He isn't even supposed to have enough will to walk! The bindings were so intruders would have a hard time breaking him free and give the Locapala time to stop them!" Akihiko exclaimed horrified.

The man undid the cloth blinding and looked up in awe.

"Tu, wait no. You" spoke the man," you are the one that freed me, aren't you? Wait, yes, yes you are I remember that, wait I remember, I think, I, I. Hahahaha! I'm awake! I can think! And therefore I am! Finally, finally I am free of of that hellish place! Thank you, thank you!

I Gaius Atiius Quadratus swear this day, I will repay this grace granted to me by Fukuyama Ryuunosuke even if it kills me." Swore the man grinning and laughing wildly.

Yes, they couldn't let anyone know they had been the ones to wake him. Oracles are too valuable to kill, and what they had done was equivalent to that.

Well this is it, the beginning. I'd like some thoughts which how to improve my style since this is the first thing I've written and I'm not fully satisfied with it. I thank you very much for reading. Also, is there a word for a cloth used for blinding someone? I could swear there was one, but I can't remember. Well then, farewell!