IGNIS
AKANE
Akane Akiyama, daughter of Akio, son of Yoshrou, was the last of the honorable samurai house Akiyama, founded in the first days of the Edo period. Of course, when the Tokugawa family fell into decline, the house fell with them, and it eventually became easier to leave Japan than it was to stay. That was two generations ago. Akane had never been to Japan, and had little interest in doing so.
After meeting her new roommate, Akane felt, for the first time in her life, that she was connected to modern Japanese culture.
She did not mean that as a compliment.
“So what's your favorite anime?”
Ling Yu was a little Chinese girl, clocking in at about five feet tall. She had a wide smile plastered on her soft face, and her dyed dirty blonde hair was put up in odango style—two spherical buns worn at about forty-five degree angles at the side of the head. She looked like the most stereotypical Chinese girl in existence. At least she wasn't wearing a Chinese dress. She had chosen a simple set of blue jeans and a white t-shirt instead. Small mercies.
“Akane, are you even listening to me?” she said.
“Uh-huh.” Akane glanced around the street, then crossed with Ling following only a step behind. Akane had left the room to get away from all the stupid anime posters Ling had on the wall, but with Ling sticking to her like glue, it hadn't done much good. Now she was pretty much just wandering aimlessly.
“I'm just trying to connect with you a bit. Find some shared interests.”
“Of course.” There was a pack of lupes ahead, led by a fully anthropomorphic wolf. Akane headed down an alley to avoid them.
“It doesn't have to be anime. Do you play video games?”
“I can imagine.” A couple rats were swarming a dumpster, but they ignored the girls as they walked past. Good thing, too. Akane didn't think Ling would be useful in a fight.
“...you're really not listening to me at all, are you?”
“Not really.”
Ling glared at her. “Fine. Well, if you had been listening, you'd know I want to go into directing and writing for television—probably animated.”
Akane started walking again. “Should have seen that coming.”
Ling huffed impatiently. “Yes, you should have. Where are we going, anyway?”
Akane shrugged without stopping. “Nowhere. Go back to the room if you like.”
There was a moment of silence. Akane wasn't looking in Ling's direction, so she couldn't tell what she was thinking, but she didn't really care. They came out of the alley to a mostly empty street. On a whim, Akane headed right.
“Were you avoiding that anthro?”
Akane frowned. “Anthro... the full-animal kemos?”
“Yeah, I've heard that's what they're called.”
“Well, yeah, I guess. Nothing against lupes, but...” Akane stopped and sighed, forcing herself with a conscious effort to articulate more clearly. “The daybreakers and nightstalkers and such... they're a little crazy. I just avoid them all as a general rule.”
“I know what you mean, I guess. I...”
Akane never found out what she was going to say next, because that was when the screaming started.
It wasn't like someone screaming for help. It was just a voiceless, toneless cry, droning on like an alarm. There was no emotion in it, nothing but the ceaseless scream. And it was nearby.
Akane glanced at Ling. She was in what looked like a fighting stance—although it wasn't one Akane recognized—and was coiled like a spring. There wasn't even a question of whether or not they were going to investigate.
“Any weapons?”
Ling shook her head, so Akane handed her a gun. It was a stupid little Colt revolver with five shots and a safety. Akane didn't know anything else about it. She had bought it mostly because she was promised it wouldn't need serious maintenance.
Ling took the gun without comment and quickly checked that it was loaded. It was—Akane always made sure of that. She nodded at Akane's bag. “You gonna be fine with just that?”
Akane took the long, thin zippered bag off her shoulder and opened it, pulling out the katana she had been given for kendo class in middle school. It wasn't anything special, it didn't have any deep meaning other than as a gift. It wasn't even very high quality. But it was steel and it was sharp, and she knew how to use it.
“I'll be fine,” she said. “Don't shoot me.” They ran towards the source of the screams.
“If they have a gun, hang back,” Ling said. “I don't want to see you test your sword against bullets. But hopefully this will just be monsters.”
Akane nodded.
They finally found the source after ten minutes of searching. It was farther than Akane had thought, two streets away. She didn't have time to wonder how they were able to hear the screaming that far away. The noise remained throbbing in their ears the entire time, though it faded in volume every minute or so and came back moments later, as though the screamer was taking a breath. It led they to an abandoned skyscraper just a block and a half from the dorms.
Akane wasn't sure what the place used to be. Something small, with only one register and a back room she could see from the door. The shop itself was nothing special, and looked pretty much untouched from when it had been emptied. Next to the stairs there were a few small piles of dust and trash someone had forgotten to empty into a trash can, and some screwdrivers abandoned from when they had been removing shelving, but otherwise it was downright boring.
The doorway, however, was not.
The shop was covered in a big steel folding gate, the kind they typically used in malls. Since this block was basically an outdoor mall, most of the shops had similar devices, and when this store closed down they just locked it up.
Something had torn through the steel gate like it was tissue paper, leaving a hole they could easily walk through. The glass door behind it was also shattered inward, but that was less surprising. The only good news was that whatever had done this clearly wasn't very smart. If you were strong enough to rip metal like that, the padlock would have been a much easier target.
Akane gingerly stepped over the threshold, walking around the broken glass and the claws of the ruined gate. Ling followed carefully behind. The screams had lulled again, for a bit longer than before. She began to think they may have stopped entirely, when they started again—from the secondary room she had seen before, not ten feet in front of them. A few spots of blood led that way. Maybe the thing was injured.
From this distance, it sounded infinitely louder, like a banshee wailing while dragging its nails on a chalkboard. Akane rushed forward, resisting the urge to cover her ears, and found the source in the old employee office.
It was... a girl.
She was average height, as best as Akane could tell—she was crouched in an animal stance, ready to pounce. She was white, probably, but she was so dirty it was hard to be sure. Her hair was a bit past shoulder-length, and strewn about her head like a stringy mop. Akane didn't even try to guess what the natural color was. Her hands were bloodied, probably from ripping open the metal gate. She looked baseline, with no obvious toys.
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Her jaw was... unhinged. That was the only way to describe it. Her mouth was open so wide it looked like she could swallow an apple whole. The second she saw them, her head swiveled in their direction, and she continued screaming without shifting her jaw at all.
Akane did the first thing she could think of: She ran forward, drew her sword, and slashed the woman. It wasn't exactly a complicated maneuver. She had done it a hundred thousand times before.
But that was not quite what happened.
When Akane tried to move forward, time... slowed. It was so surprising she nearly tripped over her own feet. The screaming girl's eyes suddenly weren't tracking her as quickly, and her screams were far deeper. Akane glanced back at Ling and found her staring with wide eyes. She blinked, slowly.
Oh.
Time returned to normal, with Ling still staring at her. “What was that? You were moving so fast...”
Akane looked down at herself. “I think... I have no idea.”
Ling frowned. “Wait, you didn't know you could do that?”
Before Akane could say anything, the dirty girl picked up her scream again and charged forward. Akane tried to activate her speed again, but nothing happened.
No, that wasn't true. She could feel something in her gut, a reservoir of power that was trying to fill itself, like the burn in her legs from running too much. She knew she'd be better in moments, but those were moments she didn't have.
The screamer leaped past Akane, towards Ling... and bounced off a translucent blue force field that appeared in front of her. Akane didn't get a good look at it, but it looked like a softly glowing shield of blue plastic. The screamer screeched and fled to the back of the room, where she watched them warily.
Akane stared at Ling. She had thrown herself backwards when the screamer lunged, and seemed to have hurt herself banging into the heavy door. “Was that you?”
“No, that was me.”
Akane turned to see the newest arrival. Derek, as it turned out. He was panting, with his arm outstretched, and was covered in dirt-encrusted cuts and scrapes that were still oozing blood. He looked like he had survived a fight.
Behind him was another man in a similar state. Other than that, there was nothing notable about him other than the two pillows he was carrying. One looked like it had been dragged through the mud.
Next to him was a girl with iron eyes. She had a gun in her hand, and looked prepared to use it, but Akane could tell from the way she was holding it that she wasn't accustomed to it. She knew because it was the exact same way she held guns.
“Akane!” Derek said. He nodded, pleased to see her, but didn't waste time on pleasantries. “We're taking her alive.”
Akane instantly sheathed her sword. “I don't think that's wise. She's obviously dangerous.”
“And if we take her alive, we might figure out how she's dangerous. C'mon, it's you and me. Take point.”
Akane headed forward, sheathed sword raised. It wasn't lethal anymore, but it was still a heavy stick. It would serve as an adequate weapon.
“Derek, she's right, we should kill her now.”
It was the bland man, the one holding the pillows, who had spoken.
“We can always kill her later,” Derek said. His tone brooked no argument.
Akane didn't stop, carefully inching forward. She could feel her speed replenishing, but she wasn't sure if that was actually what it was, or something else entirely. She didn't want to rely on it until she was sure it would actually work. Derek stayed back, near Ling, who was still near the door, rubbing her head.
When Akane got within five feet of the screamer, she stopped. She needed to finish this in one blow, if possible. If she could rely on that speed...
No. Later, once she had more practice, she could use it. Right now, she'd stick with the sword.
But before she could strike, the girl sprung into motion, screaming past her towards the most vulnerable member of the party—Ling, still dazed from earlier.
Ling shrieked and covered her face in a desperate attempt to shield herself. Akane tried to rush forward, but I was too far away, and she couldn't activate her speed.
Before the screamer got to her, Derek jumped between them.
Akane didn't know if he was having the same problems with his powers she was or if he just forgot about them, but he threw Ling out of the way and took the screamer's tackle himself. He grunted in pain, but tried to wrestle her to the ground.
“Akane!” he called.
She came up quickly and struck the screamer as hard as she could in the face. The screamer's nose broke with a sharp crack, and her screams momentarily changed to a screech of pain, but she was otherwise unfazed. Then the pair rolled over, and Akane couldn't get a good hit in any more.
The girl with the gun rushed forward, but Akane stopped her. “You'll hit Derek.”
She glared at Akane, but nodded.
Akane waited for another opportunity to strike, but Derek was stronger than he looked. Years of hunting monsters was a hell of an exercise program. Crazed as she was, the girl was outmatched. He quickly managed to pin her to the ground, though he was still having trouble keeping her there.
“Get a rope,” he ordered. “Quick.”
Akane searched the room as fast as she could, but there wasn't anything they could use to tie her down.
“The sheets,” the bland man said. He ripped open one of the packages he was carrying, pulling out a set of sheets with long tears and streaks of dirt on them. He tossed Akane one end. “We can catch her with this.”
They braided the cloth into something vaguely resembling a rope. It would restrain the girl, if only for long enough for them to knock her unconscious.
She, however, seemed to have other plans.
The screamer gave a great howl of anger and threw Derek nearly five feet with a surge of adrenaline. She thrust her hand toward him and fire blossomed out of thin air, a cone of it rushing towards him.
He managed to get his shield up before he got hit, but Akane could see it was straining him. The flames were pushing against the barrier and licking the edges, and it looked like a large amount of heat was getting through. He was already sweating like a pig.
Akane couldn't get to the screamer with her sword. She had backed herself into a corner, and her flames would roast anyone who tried to get close. If she could activate that speed again...
Bang. A gunshot echoed through the small room.
The flames flickered and disappeared. The girl fell to the ground, and a pool of blood began to grow around her chest, where Akane could see the exit wound for a bullet. A moment later, Derek collapsed as well as his shield died. Akane rushed over to make sure he wasn't hurt, but he waved her off. He took a few deep breaths before speaking.
“Who shot her.”
“I did,” the bland man said. He still held Akane's revolver in his hand. He didn't look like he knew how to use it much more than she did. “Got it from the...” He wiggled his fingers in Ling's direction “...her.”
Derek took another deep breath. “What part of 'We're taking her alive' didn't you understand?”
His friend seemed unfazed. “She was going to kill you.”
Derek sighed again. “Yeah, yeah, I suppose there was no choice.” He held out his hand. Akane helped him up. “We need to find out what's going on here.” He looked at Akane. “Is there any chance you know why we have powers now?”
She shook her head.
“Yeah, me neither.” He brushed his hair back from his forehead. He didn't seem to have any idea what to do next.
“We'll need to see if everyone else has powers,” the girl with the gun said quietly. She had holstered her pistol. Akane held out her hand for her own revolver, and the bland man gave it back. “Derek and... Akane know each other, so it's logical to assume there is some common source.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment, considering.
Then a phone rang. Five simple beeps, then a pause, and five more.
No one moved.
“Who's is that?” Ling asked groggily. Akane shrugged.
The bland guy jumped. “Oh, sorry, I think that's me. New phone.” He pulled out his cell. “Adam speaking.”
Well, at least Akane knew his name now.
“MC? I... uh, yeah. Yeah, I'll pass it along.” He hung up. “Someone called 'Mr. Butler' wants to see us. She said you'd know where.”
Everyone else in the room looked up, surprised.
“He wants to meet us?” Ling asked. “Are you sure?”
“Uh, yeah.” Adam glanced around. “Guys, who is he?”
Akane looked at Derek. He shrugged, defeated.
“He's the biggest gang lord in the city.”