"Chief Wei," a Shadowguard lowered his head and chest into a bow, showing immense respect for the person in front of him. "I believe you've seen the events from before?"
"Hm, indeed," he continued staring out the window, giving the man secretly working under him a glance. "It was... a troublesome sight. Tell me, what happened?" Taking a huff of his pipe, the flowing smoke was like clouds rising up to the ceiling before dispersing.
Seeing a gigantic orbital laser beam with three skyscraper spanning birds circling around it, emitting electricity to power it was definitely a sight to behold.
So much so that Wei Yenwu was half expecting the city of Lungmen to wonder if their Nomadic City had been sitting under an ancient site that once held these beasts. But he knew better, 'what sort of power is this...?'
"Head Superintendent Ch'en Hui-chieh, Senior Superintendent Beatrice Schwire, and Special Operator Hoshiguma took care of the problem along with Lin Yuhsia," the Shadowguard paused for a second before continuing. "Here is the report, Chief Wei."
Turning around to receive a written report, he grabbed the piece of paper before taking a glance at it. Reading all of its contents within the span of a single second he handed it back with a nod, "I see."
Apparently, the black haired man who called upon the beasts had been knocked unconscious from exerting himself from summoning the three 'Chimera Birds.' Right after, he was rescued by Lin Yuhsia from being kidnapped by what seemed to be a Sankta woman who used Leithanian Arts and a white haired Lupo who is assumed to be part of the Blood Hounds.
The LGD arrived after, the three forming an alliance with Lin Yuhsia to deal with the other two more prominent threats, 'how interesting.'
After that, the summoner had awoken and shot what seemed to be a purple flame from his hands, causing an explosion almost surpassing the size of his previous orbital attack.
Wei Yenwu let out a sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose, "and what now?" Of course, even a more bag of surprises decided to reveal itself from that summoner.
"The mysterious man had been taken to the LGD Headquarters for questioning. We needn't step in because the situation was under control," the Shadowguard explained.
"What of the two enemies? The report said they escaped," Wei turned back to stare out of the window.
"...My deepest apologies, the smoke screen created by the thermobaric explosion had given them the opportunity to escape," the Shadowguard lowered their heads at that.
"...It's fine," Wei Yenwu didn't particularly worry too much about the fact that they escaped, it would be like finding a needle in a haystack. "Since they survived such an attack... those two are nothing to scoff at, are they? Be more careful when dealing with them next time."
"We'll keep an eye out for them," the Shadowguard declared, "they won't escape next time."
Wei nodded at their words, hopefully they were right.
***
Sleep was a nice thing for Megumi. Ever since the Shibuya Incident and Shinjuku Showdown, having any bit of rest was a godsend. Of course, not having to worry about anything in the blankness of his mind was also amazing.
What made it even better was that he wasn't the type of person to receive a lot of dreams. Sure, some nights held them, but at the current moment, he was truly free of any burden. Anytime he did have a dream though, it would more times than one be a nightmare.
After Shinjuku, it became worse, especially after his entrance into this new world. One that Megumi hadn't done his research on. Thanks to the pros and cons of his new situation though, the Ten Shadows user was completely free to visit them.
...If that was how it worked, anyways. The empty dream he was having right now reminded him of the landscape that presented itself when he was stuck in his own soul. It wasn't a comforting sight, or an uncomfortable one. It was just there.
An added bonus for him, since he got to regather his thoughts and plan out what he would do next. Two things came to mind, visit a library, and discover more aspects about his Cursed Technique. He also had a stray wish of traveling this newly discovered world... but that so far was out of reach.
Besides, he wouldn't know where to travel anyways, considering this unnamed world (he doesn't even know its name!) was completely unknown to him. Political situations between countries, what happens within, and crime rates were all determinate factors of where you would want to visit.
It would be a gamble to just visit wherever he wanted without any thought. Plus, what if traveling required something like a Visa, that was a concept that existed back in his own world. There would be no guarantee it wouldn't also exist here.
"Ugh..." a groan escaped Megumi's lips, the bed sheets covering his entire form in the dark high rise apartment complex he had found himself. Strage, why was such a bright light invading his empty dreams?
Didn't he close the curtains-
"Wake up!"
Something was shaking at his shoulders, an extreme sense of drowsiness filling every inch of Megumi's body. His eyes slightly opened, a melancholic look of exhaustion present with barely any light leaving it.
"Wha...?" His voice barely made out, more so a croak or a groan when he turned to who exactly was shaking his body, "...nee-chan?" Seeing the slender arms shaking him, he couldn't help but be brought to a different time, one of...
***
Ch'en was trying her damndest to wake up this sloth of a man, watching him clutch and bury his face closer into his pillow when she walked into his room and pulled the curtains away.
It was currently 4:30 am, the sun barely leaking through the horizon, but just enough for light to shine on the currently asleep person's face.
"Wake up!" She began to shake him on the shoulder. The man was currently wearing a white Higashinese gi, the same one she remembered encountering him with those past few times. Yesterday, he was wearing black jacket, but that one got ruined.
Now that brought up the question whether Higashi was similar to the Shinjuku place he came from.
The only thing lacking was the black haori he had, but she could see why he wouldn't want to wear it. With how fluttery it was, sleeping with it would get it creased like a beach that had been stepped on a hundred times.
Currently, she herself was wearing a white shirt and dolphin shorts, her usual sleeping attire. The hair she kept in a dual pigtails was also let loose and flowing for more comfort.
'Is he going to get up?' Ch'en had to ask herself when she shook him more roughly, watching his eyes barely open and close at the same time. It was like a flickering light bulb, except it came with the flickering of his eye lids.
Also, the lack of light coming out differentiated the two.
"Nee-chan?" The black haired man mumbled out, causing Ch'en to hold a perplexed look.
'A Higashinese term? He has a sister...?' The term she knew, having taken Higashinese classes, because Yan and Higashi shared a sort of traditional friendship and connection with each other.
It was then at that very moment, the dots seemed to have clicked in her head. Megumi's home was destroyed, he says he's the only 'Sorcerer' they would ever find... so that must have meant.
'...His sister is dead,' most likely killed during whatever incident that razed his home to the ground. For some reason, Ch'en couldn't help but find the prospect of 'Special Grades' more terrifying.
The fact that they weren't even known throughout Terra made it more discomforting.
Sighing to herself, Ch'en closed her eyes and shook her head. The demeanor she held before started to shift as her expression softened. Leaning in, she spoke more gently, "Megumi, wake up."
Now that she thought about it, wouldn't abruptly waking up somebody like him have high chances of causing a disaster? Ch'en was... sometimes abrasive, that she could admit, but it was most likely Megumi had some sort of PTSD from the events before.
'Isn't he 18-years old?' To be as skilled as he was at combat at that age meant he must have been trained at a very young age. The Head Superintendent didn't know much about Shinjuku or whatever Sorcerer occupation he had before, but it was definitely easy to put the pieces together.
So... if he abruptly woke up in a panic, it might cause a big problem if left unchecked. That was definitely the reason why she decided to speak more softly, the exact reason why.
Maybe that was also the reason why he held an aura that seemed like there was a mountain of corpses. Ch'en would assume it to be some developmental self-defense mechanism that came from surviving in a country being destroyed.
Besides, it could be something this 'Sorcery' was capable of, something she could tell was completely different from Arts.
"Ah... huh?" Megumi's eyes fully opened this time, a spark of light shining through it and showing that he was still alive, "Ms. Ch'en?" A deeper voice than his usual one left, a common occurrence in those who had just woken up.
It seems she could theorize about him later, especially since she had enough time later to ask questions.
"It's morning, get up," Ch'en crossed her arms under her chest, and motioned her chin to the door. "I need to be early for work, and I need to monitor you. Get to it," the LGD officer was one who took her work very seriously.
"Ugh..." Megumi stood up on his bed, "wasn't it... 2 am when we went here...?" He rubbed his eyelids to get the drowsiness out of his body, 'should I Reverse Cursed Technique my brain to refresh it? How did Gojo do it?'
"Two hours of sleep, take it or leave it," Ch'en gave him a blank look, "get ready, the apartment has two bathrooms, your monitoring starts today." The dragon lady turned to walk out the room, leaving Megumi to blankly stare at her.
Halting her steps, she turned back to him, "oh, and you're no longer wanted by the LGD, all of you're off their wanted list now." With that, Ch'en fully stepped out of the room.
'...Two hours of sleep, huh?' Megumi scratched his head, his usually spiky hair having become more of a mess from the lack of sleep and messy posture he most likely had over the night.
He wondered how the woman could be so active despite only having 2 hours of sleep. Maybe it was because she was a workaholic, he didn't really know.
To get rid of the exhaustion, Megumi closed his eyes and decided on his next course of action, 'I'll try it out, I guess.'
Shadow Extension: Round Deer
***
Ch'en checked herself in the mirror, having already finished her shower. Her standard uniform was on and hair was fixed into a dual pigtails.
When she first decided to bring Megumi to her apartment, the stares she received from Swire and Hoshiguma were reasonable. Especially since the black haired man could kill her in her sleep, there posed many dangers that came with it.
It didn't matter though, she needed to keep an eye on him, and so Ch'en decided to drag him to her apartment to sleep through the night. Of course, the LGD Head Superintendent kept one eye open and Chi Xiao right by her bedside in case he tried anything funny.
Thankfully though, he slept through the entire night, if his languidness from before was anything to go by.
Satisfied with looking presentable so far, Ch'en stepped out of her bathroom and into a rather large living room. It was decently large in size, not as extravagant as the ones Swire would rent or buy, but she honestly didn't care.
If it was comfortable, that was all that mattered to her in a housing complex.
Turning to the second bathroom that Megumi was in, she could hear the sounds of the shower running in it.
Narrowing her eyes, she started to have a slight sense of paranoia creeping in her brain, 'what if he already escaped? What if the running shower is just a distraction?' At the very moment, the blue haired woman felt like busting down the door and checking if he was actually in there.
Focusing her hearing more, she could hear the splashing of water and scrubbing against the body, just barely through the door. At the very least, that brought a sense of comfort to her like a wave relief.
'Okay... no need to be so paranoid,' shaking her head, she checked the time and found out that they had about 15 more minutes to get to the LGD Headquarters and begin her workday. Estimating the time, Ch'en knew she could make a cup of coffee or two and then drive to the place on time.
After all, since her place of residence was extremely close to it, she could leave when only 5 minutes was left and arrive perfectly on time.
***
Having slept in abandoned buildings and crappy areas, having slept in a normal bed for once was a great change of pace for Megumi. Even if it were only for 2 hours.
Currently, he was cleaning off the remnants of soap that clung to his hair, flattening it and leaving it in a state where it was no longer spiky.
It would change when he turned off the water and exited, grabbing a towel before drying his hair. When Megumi got the moisture out, his hair now stood at its familiar spikiness that he was familiar with.
Megumi stepped out of the shower, having dried himself off and donned his black haori. The clothes flowed along with his movements, drifting in the air as he made his way out the bathroom and into the living room. The kitchen made itself clear, before his gaze met Ch'en.
A small silence followed, the woman holding two cups of steaming coffee in her hands. The brown liquid looked like melted milk chocolate, but the light brown at the edges and overall texture was completely different.
"...Good morning," Megumi greeted her with a low voice, slightly averting his eyes. He suddenly found that the kitchen sink was more interesting.
Ch'en paused for a second, glancing at him and then at her second cup. Taking in a small breath, she spoke, "do you want one?"
"...Yes," Megumi replied, before Ch'en walked up and gave the second cup to him, "thank you."
Ch'en gave no reply when the item left her hand, turning away and taking a light sip of her own. Once the sustenance had entered the body did she reply, "we'll be departing now, 10 minutes are left on the clock."
Megumi watched as she walked towards the door, two sheathed blades attached to her waist, "alright," he gave a small response and followed her.
***
"Don't do anything stupid," Ch'en was on the wheel of the car, starting its engine and switching the handle from parking and setting the vehicle into motion.
"Understood," Megumi sat beside her in the front row seat, nodding along with her words. His sights were focused on the outside of the window. 'Don't mess things up, Megumi...' A single thought came to his mind.
While looking outside, he saw some sort of digital billboard on one of the skyscrapers around the car, playing what seemed to be repeated news of what had happened yesterday. It was to be expected in his opinion, but having to deal with it every time he looked outside was sort of embarrassing.
'What are those theories they're throwing around? Mythological beasts? What's a Sui?' Trying to process those unfamiliar terms they threw around was not doing his mind any good.
On the other side, Ch'en sent a glance his way, before focusing on the road and accelerating. It was jarring to see how he was in combat and everyday life. If she hadn't fought him before, and if his aura didn't practically give everything away, then she'd mistaken him for a polite young adult.
Albeit, a very stoic, polite young adult.
Seriously, he was way too obedient in her opinion, taking everything demanded by her within a stride. 'I would have expected him to have put up some sort of resistance...' A criminal or assassin didn't really fit him in any sense of the word.
That notion was completely flipped on its switch when he was in combat, obviously, so Ch'en couldn't help but ask a question, "your abilities-"
Megumi turned to her with an expression that showed he was paying attention to her words. He was met with her still focusing on the words, but waiting for what she would say next.
"-It's quite developed and skillfully used, and you obviously have high combat capabilities," Ch'en cut straight to the point, as she usually did. "Have you had any experience working in the field of combat?"
"I have," Megumi replied, before turning to glance forward, "I..." He hesitated, wondering if he should go on with it. But seeing how he had already answered her question, and what he had shown before, he knew he was far too deep in. "I was assigned missions during school, to ensure... public stability from danger."
He kept it as vague as possible, not mentioning Cursed Spirits or anything of the like. It would be an absolute pain to explain.
Ch'en let out a hum, the tense and silent atmosphere from before starting to peel away, "then that means you must have been in high school when you started, correct?"
"Yeah," Megumi replied.
"I see..." Ch'en drew out, her voice becoming lower. She knew child soldiers were not something that was uncommon in Terra. In certain militaries, and during times of war, there was no way to keep it in check.
However, that didn't mean it wasn't frowned upon. In stable cities like Lungmen, those who weren't at the age of 18 or older weren't able to apply for an officer position in the LGD. At best, university or college students could only apply for an internship.
The internship job only consisted of working and helping around in office areas though, never entering crime scenes or any areas of combat.
From what she could tell, he worked in a 'peacekeeping' type of job, most likely acting no different from a police officer. But with what happened to his home, it didn't seem like it worked out.
'At the very least, he isn't a complete scumbag,' Ch'en sent a barely visible side eye when she had reached a red light, assessing him further. "How old were you when you were assigned these missions?"
"...15 years-old."
"What the hell?" Ch'en whispered a Lungmen profanity under her breath right after, "and... that was perfectly legal?"
"My abilities developed when I was 5 years-old," Megumi explained, "under the society I lived in, I guess they wanted to put it to use quickly." Under Jujutsu Society, of course, in the actual world it would be admonished at first sight.
A brief silence followed, Ch'en accelerating the car when the light turned green. The acceleration lightly pushed them backwards, before they stabilized and got used to the force.
"Hmph..." Ch'en muttered something under her breath, something Megumi couldn't hear. He hadn't reinforced his ears with Cursed Energy at the moment. After speaking whatever she had, the next one was audible this time, "then I hope you possess an acceptable degree of discipline then."
"I'll do my best to stay out of trouble," Megumi really hoped nothing bad would happen today. It had already been a constant wave of events crashing into him before, and a brief moment of respite was all he asked for.
The black haired man needed to fix his reputation, and hopefully this would act as so.
Deciding to change topics, Ch'en elaborated on what Megumi was supposed to do today, "I'm sure you already know what to do. Stay by me and don't stray too far away, Lin is holding a lecture in her university tomorrow, but not today." Swerving the car to the right, the LGD Headquarters could now be seen, "so she won't be watching you over with me, and because she 'hired' you before..." She placed heavy emphasis on the word, "I'll have to spend a good portion of my time tomorrow watching over you at the university."
Megumi knew that this woman was somebody to take her job in the LGD seriously, if the way she persistently pursued him before was anything to go by. So knowing that she'd have to spend about 2 hours away from work to observe him at his new job.
Honestly, signing the contract for being Lin's assistant made him wonder how the mouse lady had pulled out a contract so quickly and out of view. It made him question if she had just magically produced it.
Megumi decided to acknowledge that he heard what she said with a few words, "I understand." A few words was an overstatement, as he only spoke two. He wasn't one to drag on what he said anyways.
"...You're a lot more obedient than I expected," Ch'en remarked before lightly pressing on the brakes, the car starting to slow to a crawl. "I wouldn't have expected from the guy who killed Hanshi."
"Thank you?" Megumi didn't know how to reply to that, so he decided to take it as a compliment if anything.
Ch'en scoffed at his response.
The car was now in what seemed to be a parking lot, the dragon lady taking a few turns forward and back to get it in the perfect parking position.
Megumi glanced outside the window, wondering why the woman was trying so hard to be as precise as she could with it. He counted about three times when it would have been fine to park it as is, but...
The LGD Superintendent narrowed her eyes, lightly stepping on the brakes, before pulling the lever to drive backwards, braking again, and then going forward.
The Ten Shadows user decided to speak his thoughts, "isn't it parked fine-"
"It isn't," Ch'en pressed on the brakes abruptly while replying, sending Megumi a little forward, but not too great of an extent where it smacked him against anything.
His eyes slightly widened when he turned to Ch'en who still held her gaze forward, 'this woman...' Did she have an obsession for parking?
"This looks acceptable," Ch'en noted while glancing out from her side window, pulling the keys out of her car before opening the door, "get out, we're going in now."
'As if that weren't obvious,' Megumi mentally rolled his eyes before opening his own door and stepping out.
***
"So, what do you know about Originium and Oripathy?" Ch'en gathered a few papers and produced them into a stack. From what she had heard from the officers today, the activities of the Blood Hounds have seemed to lower.
But that didn't mean she was any less vigilant, the fact that they were slowing down whatever trouble they were causing meant the bastards may be preparing for something big.
"Uhm..." Megumi sat beside her in his own chair, glancing around at the office. The stares he received were uncomfortable, but he powered through it, "nothing...?"
The Head Superintendent paused for a moment to stare at him with blank eyes, "excuse me?" They weren't able to have this conversation yesterday, even after finding out he had zero Originium in his body. Everybody was too tired at the time, so questions and answers were saved until tomorrow.
"I really don't know anything," Megumi shook his head, "could you explain?" The seriousness in his voice didn't wane at all, showing his sincerity in truly not understanding what she was talking about.
"It's... the energy source used by everybody, Originium," Ch'en slowly resumed her process of filing out the paperwork, "did your country not use it?"
'Used by everybody?' Megumi deduced Originium to be the main fuel source of this world, "no, it didn't exist from what I'm aware of. We used alternative sources-"
The sounds of paper being dropped was heard, before Ch'en swiftly moved to cover his mouth. "What?" Her voice was in a low and aggressive whisper, staring deep into his eyes.
The officers around turned to look at the scene with a confused expression, but when their superior turned to glare at them, they got back to whatever they were doing before.
Megumi stared at her strangely, wondering what exactly he had screwed up this time.
Removing her hands, Ch'en held a stressed expression, "we can't discuss this here, we're doing it in my personal office."
The officers who heard those words perked up at it, wondering what she was talking about.
Megumi in particular was cursing himself for not choosing his words more carefully.
***
"How is that possible?!" Ch'en grabbed him by the shoulder, "how has it not been discovered? Was it exclusive to your land?" The dragon lady continued to excessively ask questions, a stern look held within her gaze.
Megumi was at a loss for words, trying to formulate the best response he could, "I don't know...?" Best response to his ass.
"Ugh..." Ch'en pulled back, before pinching the bridge of her nose and looking upwards, "do you know what would happen if this information was leaked?" First, Sorcery, second, his blood levels, and now? Alternative fuel sources?
If it were to leak out, god knows what would happen to him if the people in power were to hear what he was saying.
Megumi knew he didn't need to respond to that, and he knew Ch'en was intelligent enough to tell that he knew.
"There's never been a recorded case of somebody with zero Originium in their body, destroying Oirginium particles, or having knowledge of alternative sources," Ch'en listed out all of the absurd things Megumi had done. "You're just a bag of mysteries that keep spilling shit out, huh?" She rubbed her temples.
"...I apologize," Megumi turned away and scratched the back of his head, 'so my situation... is completely screwed.'
"Don't ever mention anything you've said before, understood?" Ch'en spelt it out for him, "neither about your BOCD, your abilities, your home, or any alternative fuel source thing." She wasn't going to ask about the alternative fuels, since it was most likely destroyed along with his home.
Besides, Megumi was an 18, having information on how they explicitly worked would be illogical, considering he hasn't even graduated from university or college.
The dragon lady's view on Megumi had changed, from a vicious blood soaked criminal to a floundering young adult who barely knew anything about the world. 'He's too ignorant, aside from his powers, Megumi is way too fragile in other regards.'
Grabbing his shoulders again, she gave him one last deep look in the eyes, "this is for your own good, alright?"
"Yes... I know," Megumi placed his hands in his pockets and glanced around the room. It was the same one from yesterday where he was questioned.
"What a headache," Ch'en shook her head, her tail drooping downwards, "the LGD still has to deal with public unrest after yesterday, so I still have a lot of paperwork to go through." Moving back to her desk, she motioned Megumi to follow with, "organize the ones I approve here, and the ones I reject here." Pointing to her left and then right respectively, Ch'en issued her orders.
Megumi nodded, before grabbing a chair and sitting by her.
Ch'en grabbed stacks of paper that were transferred from the lower floors to the upper floors when the two moved upwards. "If you need a more detailed explanation about Originium, I'm willing to provide it," she continued her process while speaking.
"That would be appreciated," Megumi watched Ch'en settle the papers she gathered down.
The woman flicked to straighten it, and applied pressure to bend it straight. Her eyes narrowed to read through the next before placing it flat down and writing something. "Originium is the fuel source used by everybody on Terra," scribbles were heard before she handed the paper to Megumi.
He glanced over it and placed it in the accepted section.
"However, because of its properties, you can catch an infection if overexposed to Originium," Ch'en swiftly pulled another document from the stacks, proceeding with the same process as usual. "It's called Oripathy, and because of the widespread use of Originium, it runs rampant everywhere."
Megumi listened intently, receiving another piece of paper and looking at which part she signed, 'rejected.' He placed it in its proper spot.
"Everywhere has Originium particles in the air, whether it is large or small," Ch'en pressed the non-writing end to the bottom of her lip when she received a paper she needed to spend more focus on. "The concentration in somebody's body can be measured by checking your blood... and for somebody for your age, having absolutely zero is impossible."
"If I lived a sheltered life, wouldn't it be plausible?" Megumi asked the question, watching Ch'en mull over the paper she was reading and thinking up an answer for him. 'She's pretty good at multitasking?'
It was hard to imagine this was the woman who slashed open his chest before with how different she was right now compared to before.
"No, still not," Ch'en started signing the paper, making up her choice on whatever matters were written on it. "Even if you've lived completely away from Originium, the fact that you've already spent a few days in Lungmen, I presume, and an unknown amount outside..." she tilted her head, "it's impossible for you to have zero."
Megumi placed his elbow on the desk and held his chin upwards, closing his eyes while he received the signed paper, "what if I took really good medicine for treatment, then?"
"Impossible," Ch'en shook her head, a disappointed tone coming out, "there's no cure or way of reversing Oripathy. Only stabilizing and slowing it down."
"...Oh," Megumi then realized something, if there was no way to reduce the amount and that it was... "it's incurable?"
"Yes, it's incurable," Ch'en confirmed, as if stating the most obvious thing in the world. "The fact that you have zero Originium implies that your body can either combat it completely, or that you have a way of preventing Originium from entering." Honestly, there were far many more theories, but those were the two most obvious ones the Superintendent could think of.
"So, I'm an impossibility?" Megumi sweatdropped, wondering why this world couldn't have just had Jujutsu Sorcery as its mystical power system.
"Yes, you are, along with whatever home you were in," Ch'en continued to sign paperwork, while Megumi received them.
They were like a well functioning machine with the process set up.
"Originium in the body also powers Arts, but also works to advance Oripathy levels if you don't use a catalyst," Ch'en gave a side glance to Megumi. "You don't use any catalyst like a staff, from what I've seen, you just make hand signs and summon whatever the hell animal you want." Like a Victorian Princess from the Columbian movies she used to watch.
"So that's how you knew it wasn't Arts?" Megumi asked, leaning back on his chair to stare off into the distance. His hand still moved to collect the papers Ch'en was giving him, taking a small glance before placing it down.
"Exactly, that's why you couldn't fool me yesterday," Ch'en had a sharper tone, as if admonishing him.
"Sorry," Megumi half-heartedly replied.
"Do you always apologize?" Ch'en's head leaned back while she exasperatedly asked, "I'd expect somebody like you to be more... hardened?" It further cemented the fact to the LGD officer that this walking city-wide panic was a damned 18 year-old.
Megumi was about to reply with another apology on instinct, but bit the bottom of his lip. He wasn't trying to get into any deeper mud than he already was in right now, so the Ten Shadows user was attempting to put up the best image he could.
Which so happens to be his standard self, "Well, I-" he was cut off when the TV screen at the corner of the room changed channels, one that was much louder than the previous one
It caught both of their attention, but they still worked vigilantly to have the paperwork on Ch'en's desk signed and organized.
A brief silence followed as they turned a portion of their attention to listen to the news-, no, a talk show?
The talk show was discussing the events that had happened yesterday, the host talking to a guest known as Xiao, Megumi remembering him to be the news reporter on the Lungmen Daily.
"Mr. Xiao, I'm sure many of us on this show and in the audience have heard of your efforts in reporting information about the events surrounding Lungmen recently," the talk show host politely referred to him.
"Ah, thank you, I try my best to deliver the best news that I can," Xiao nodded his head, giving a smile from where he was seated.
Megumi could hear Ch'en let out a small hum, 'does she respect him?' He had only seen the news reporter a few times, the first time being in the Mercenary's Tavern. Overall, he didn't have a full view of him, but if the Head of the LGD could affirm his words, then...
"Now, to get straight to the point," the talk show host motioned to Xiao, "we've all seen the recent, and to put it mildly, insane events from yesterday outside of Lungmen's outskirts."
"And also in Lungmen's walls," Xiao clarified, suggesting the Chimera Bird flying over Lungmen.
"Yes, indeed, but what was seen yesterday had been a complete shock to Lungmen," the talk show host nodded at the other man's words, "what do you think of it, Xiao?"
"Frankly, it's quite scary," Xiao softly laughed to himself while giving his opinion, "after all, if you've seen the two Arts attacks that happened yesterday, it would be enough to scare just about anybody."
Megumi received a paper from Ch'en, not before noticing the woman was giving him a deadpan look.
Xiao continued on, "and with its apparent consistent appearances, and the fact that there are two others, all of Lungmen has obviously been in a panic."
"That is... quite evident as we have seen," the talk show host held a more serious voice, wiping a hand in a downwards motion on his mouth. "What do you think of the theories flying about it?"
"The fact that it's some sort of mythological beast? That it comes from Sui? Or that Lungmen is under some sort of ancient site of beasts?" Xiao listed all of the most popular ones while crossing his arms.
"All of them," the talk show host clarified.
Megumi wondered how many times Ch'en would turn to gaze at him with an ever increasing dead look, it was making him nervous.
"Well..." Xiao looked thoughtful, glancing up to the roof while holding a scrunched up expression. "I believe that the fact it could be some mythological beast has some merit, but the problem is that we don't even know what it's from. No records from Yan or Lungmen are similar to it."
"I see, I'm sure a lot of history enthusiasts have tried comparing it to them," the talk show host nodded, "but no concrete similarities between them have been made."
"Oh! I just remembered something," Xiao moved forward from his slouching position, "have you seen the 'Shadow Tiger' video that was also recorded at about the same time the Chimera Bird appeared?'
"Let me think..." the talk show host closed his eyes while holding a stopping motion, "the one with... ah, I recall, yeah."
"It wasn't as popular as the three Chimera Birds, but while it does connect some dots... it also creates many more questions," Xiao crossed his legs and interlocked his fingers. "In my opinion, it supports the fact that Lungmen is currently under some sort of ancient site, if two mythological-like beasts appeared one day, excluding the two other Chimera Birds..."
The game show host kept silent, letting the news reporter finish speaking.
"...So either Lungmen moves away from this site to test its theory or wait it out, we can't be completely sure what they are or where they originate from," Xiao shrugged, giving the best unbiased view he could.
Megumi blinked at those words, what do they mean by moving away? Move an entire city? That was a pretty funny image.
"I believe I agree with you, Mr. Xiao," the talk show host nodded, "but back onto the topic of the Shadow Tiger as it has been aptly named, I'm pretty sure I remember from the video a person being launched by it."
"Ah, yeah, it was pretty brutal," Xiao held a restrained expression when recalling it, "I hope they recovered from it well."
"Now that brings up another question, does anybody even know what happened to the Shadow Tiger? It had been noted by witnesses and recordings that the Chimera Birds disappeared from sight..." the host drew out.
"No other footage of the Shadow Tiger was seen, but it has been seen from a distance that the first Chimera Bird appeared from where it was, leading to even more theories of what could have happened," Xiao pointed out. "Another theory that has been running about is that they are beings summoned, either by some spirit of Sui or ancient Arts summoner..."
"...What's with that look?" Megumi nervously asked, feeling Ch'en's gaze on him once more. The stack of documents and papers that the woman was signing was already half done.
"Oh... it's nothing," Ch'en turned away with a look that seemed to leak sarcasm, "it's just that it would be nice to just throw you into one of those talk shows and explain everything, hm?" That would solve a good portion of the public unrest happening.
"...Please don't," Megumi half-heartedly said. Considering his position, the woman could probably just drag him to one. If news got out, he would be pointed at from the streets and would never be able to live a silent life.
Ch'en didn't respond to his remark, continuing with the paperwork.
"Tch, I'd rather be working on the field than paperwork," the annoyance and tediousness of filling the papers out was getting on her nerves. "Hey Megumi, I've already explained Originium to you, why don't you explain your abilities? Sorcery was it?"
Megumi thought of his options (there were none), before relenting, "it's... called an Innate Technique, passed down from a clan."
"Clan? I've heard of Arts similarities between genetics," Ch'en recalled learning something like that in Biology, "is it like that?"
"Yes, something like that," Megumi remarked.
"Does that mean your entire family... clan," she fixed to the right term, " can summon a Chimera Bird?" Ch'en couldn't imagine such an abhorrent sight happening, it sent a chill down her spine.
"It's rare," Megumi reassured her, "like, one in a century rare for the technique to be inherited."
"Wow, quite lucky, huh?" Ch'en blankly responded to that notion. 'But then again, his home was destroyed...'
"You already have a gist of it?" Megumi grabbed a piece of signed paper from Ch'en, "it basically lets me summon animals. It's called the Ten Shadows." The treatment he could be receiving from the LGD woman could have been much worse, so he at least felt if he could trust her with this information...
"Ten... Shadows?" Ch'en remembered the abilities that Fushiguro Megumi displayed, such as pulling weapons out from a dark shadow, summoning a black puddle, and animals coming out of them too. "Does that imply you can summon ten different animals?" She theorized.
"You catch on quick," Megumi confirmed her theory, "I can store items in my shadow and summon ten different Shikigamis, but I have to tame them first."
Ch'en paused what she was doing to fully pay attention to what he was saying, "so that's what you mean by untamed." Her thoughts came back to the video of Megumi being punted by that strange tiger. 'Also, Shikigami? Is that the term used for them? It sounds Higashinese.'
"Yeah..."
"How many do you have 'tamed' so far?" Ch'en crossed her arms and turned to him.
"9 of them," Megumi put up nine fingers, "I'm only missing one."
"And that tiger-"
"Tiger Funeral, that's its name," Megumi felt the need to point that out.
"...Tiger Funeral," Ch'en wondered why it was named that, "how strong is it compared to all your other summons?"
"...It could rip me in half," Megumi responded, if he hadn't had Nue: Totality or Divine Dog: Totality, he would've been dead ages ago.
"Seriously?" Ch'en knew that he was strong, being incapable of fully defeating him without Chi Xiao. "Compared to the Chimera Bird?"
"Nue? It could probably rip it apart too, yeah," Megumi shrugged, "I only tamed it because of luck. It's probably the second strongest summon in the entirety of Ten Shadows."
The Head Superintendent took note of the actual name of the Chimera Bird, keeping a mental note that it was called 'Nue.' Another term that sounded Higashinese.
"...Second strongest?" Ch'en was about to grab her pen to continue signing papers, but paused when she heard those words. "What's the strongest?" She came back to the fact that he only had 9 of them tamed.
"I..." Megumi opened his mouth but stopped, a sense of unease forming in his stomach just thinking about it. If he had his ass handed to him by Tiger Funeral... then that meant that Shikigami would...
Ch'en noticed the contraction of his pupils, the light shaking in his hands.
Aside from the terrifying might that the Divine General brought, he remembered and associated it to the monster used by Ryomen Sukuna to kill his sister and his mentor.
Could he... even tame it? What could he even do against such a ghastly beast?
His teeth clenched, realizing that he would have to face it at some point. Either that, or Mahoraga would forever be the suicide switch for his last resort... the edge of the cliff where he had to choose whether to jump off or not.
"Megumi," Ch'en called out, seeing him barely react to her. She started to wonder if there was some sort of PTSD regarding the tenth Shikigami, "if you don't wish to talk about it-"
"It's never been tamed," Megumi interrupted her and whispered. "Ever since its conception, it has never been tamed by anybody from my clan. Not even by the Special Grades."
Ch'en paused, her mouth hanging slightly ajar when he said that, 'what...? Never been tamed? Not by a Special Grade either?' She knew about the description of a Special Grade, being able to level a nation. 'If a Special Grade can't tame it, then... what is it?' A sense of unease found itself overtaking her muscles.
Calming herself down, Ch'en gave one glance at Chi Xiao, "alright... then I hope you don't ever summon it if that's the case." Could her family heirloom even be able to stop it? How ironic, they both seemed to inherit something that came from their family.
"...I won't," Megumi knew that was the greatest lie he would ever tell the Superintendent.
"Aside from that, how was your clan?" Ch'en wanted to know more about it, even if she would most likely never meet it.
"Incestuos, misogynistic, and elitist," Megumi listed all that he knew about the Zen'in clan.
"Okay, what the fuck?" Ch'en crinkled her expression into disgust, processing the three descriptions that Megumi had given her. She couldn't even whisper her profanity from what she had heard.
"That's all I know," Megumi shrugged, "they were massacred by one of their members, one that couldn't do Sorcery and was a woman, ironic huh?"
'...How is he talking about it so casually? Did he hate his family?' Ch'en slowly wrote on one of the pieces of paper while listening to his words.
"If you're wondering, they're my clan but not my family," Megumi decided to shed light on the full situation, "I wasn't born within their walls, and didn't live with them. Even if they tried to get me to at times..." But Gojo Satoru was able to scare them off all the time.
"That's understandable," Ch'en nodded, unbelieving that the man in front of her could be a part of a clan like that. '...Even if he's a damn monster in battle.'
But overall, Fushiguro Megumi's personality was far clearer to Ch'en then it had ever been.
Knock
Knock
Two knocks echoed into and across the room, the two residents turning to look at the door.
"Should I...?" Megumi asked out to Ch'en, pointing towards it.
"Go ahead," Ch'en motioned for him to do so. She needed time to fully grasp what Megumi had talked about after all, in regards to Sorcery, his clan, his technique, and many other things. 'What a pain... wait, who would visit me at this time? Don't tell me-'
Click
The door was opened by Megumi, before a familiar woman with blonde hair and tiger ears and a tiger tail walked through.
She exuded an energy that seemed to fill the room, one that could only be given off by extremely rich and refined ladies, "hey~! Oh, Ch'en, already on duty, huh?" Swire had given a small wave to Megumi, but her expression soured when turning to the dragon lady sitting at the front desk.
"I should've expected that," even if she was hoping for a one in a billion chance that Ch'en wouldn't be in her office today.
"You really should have," Ch'en sent a glare towards her, "what do you want?"
Megumi wondered why Ch'en had so many aggressive relationships with other people. There seemed to be some venom between her and Lin, but in regards to Swire? He didn't know too well.
"Hm? I'm on break, I was just curious about the person we're gonna be observing, it's better to be prepared, no?" Swire crossed her arms and leaned to her right, glancing at Megumi.
"Pleased to meet you again, Ms. Swire," Megumi gave a small bow to greet her.
"Ah, isn't he so polite? See Ch'en? Hoshi was right about you being too hot headed!" Swire smugly turned to the woman.
"She didn't directly say I was hot headed, dumbass," Ch'en glared at her, placing her pen down and standing up. "If anything, she had implied you to be more of a pig head than me."
"Oh? You got any evidence for that?" Swire shot back with a retort of her own, before grabbing Megumi's arm and dragging him to her desk.
The Ten Shadows user realized what sort of relationship those two held, realizing that he was about to be in the center of whatever banter they were going to have.
"Wait, hold on," Swire raised a hand to Ch'en, the latter who was about to hurl a new wave of insults towards her.
"...What?" Ch'en's eyelid twitched, watching the tiger lady holding a 'stop' motion towards her. 'What is she getting at this time?'
"I just remembered why I came here," Swire's tail swayed for a little before she let go of Megumi's arm and turned to him. "Hey, I wanna see your abilities."
"...Excuse me?" Megumi gave her a confused look, raising his arm to see if any damages were there, 'did she have to drag me?'
"I'm sure dragon bitch here is pretty curious too, no?" Swire closed her eyes and held her arm out, as if presenting Ch'en.
"If you don't know, I still have paperwork to go through, moron," Ch'en spat out.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Swire rolled her eyes, "hey, Megumi, why don't you show us a summon or something?"
"Isn't that... reckless?" Megumi raised an eyebrow, wondering why she was so casual about it.
"Oh, you won't do anything stupid," Swire declared with the utmost she could, "Ch'en could just draw her little Chi Xiao, can't you?"
"To save your ass if he does anything? No, of course not," Ch'en crossed her arms, 'besides, I don't think he'd do anything either.' Based on how cooperative he had been so far, the dragon lady even agreed with Swire's first sentence. Even if she would never in her life, admit it.
"Huh?" Swire let out an exasperated breath, "whatever, I can handle myself better than you." She turned back to Megumi, an unnatural expectant glint in her eye, "you can summon that tiger again, right?"
Megumi then realized that since Swire was a tiger lady, if her features were anything to go by, she had some sort of fascination for his summon. Not wanting to screw anything up, he gave Ch'en a glance that asked if he was allowed to.
Ch'en rolled her eyes in response, motioning him to 'do whatever.'
"So, are you gonna do it? I could make it a command-"
"I'll do it, I'll do it," Megumi let out a tired breath, before gathering hands together into a shape that formed a tiger.
"Tiger Funeral."
This time however, he poured as little Cursed Energy into summoning it as possible, a small black puddle forming underneath his feet.
Swire and Ch'en seemed to tense at the increased pressure of his Cursed Energy, paying attention to what would emerge...
It was a small tiger, looking exactly like Tiger Funeral, but lacking its humanoid form and gaping teeth. In fact, it simply looked like a tiger but with yellow spiral eyes and the black shadow cast over the top half of its head.
Overall, it looked like a normal baby tiger, but with the eccentric features of Tiger Funeral.
"It's..." Swire's eyes seemed to glow, not caring to question why it was so different from his summon before, "it's so adorable!" She immediately knelt down and scooped it up into her hands, looking at it with a giddy expression.
Ch'en stared at the scene with a sick looking expression, undoubtedly pissed that her rival was getting to enjoy an admittedly adorable animal.
Megumi knew that the Feline was on break... but wasn't this too much?
"Hey, Megumi!" Swire held it close to her chest, the animal curling to rest in her embrace, "can I keep it? I'll pay you any price, alright?!" An exotic animal that completely matched her entire flow of being a tiger, she would not let an opportunity like this pass by.
"Idiot, you can't buy it off him," Ch'en placed a hand on her forehead before approaching the two.
"What do you mean?" Swire turned to send a feisty glare towards the other woman for what she had said.
"...It's true," Megumi confirmed, "it'll dispel itself after some time, so..."
"Ugh..." Swire held a sulky expression, taking one more look at the tiger, 'I see... then I'll just ask him to summon this little thing every time he's close by!' A genius thought came to her, before a smile formed itself on her features again.
Megumi watched the scene with a resigned expression, wondering if this was the Cursed Technique to rival Limitless and Six Eyes.
"Megumi," Ch'en had arrived to his side, covering the side of her mouth as she whispered into his ears, "can you summon a dragon?"
"...What?" Megumi whispered back with an utterly confused expression.
"I need to one up this bitch, can you do it?" Ch'en asked with a more hurried tone than before.
"...No, I can't," Megumi shook his head. 'Isn't this a bit unprofessional...?'
"Tch... what a lame ability," Ch'en crossed her arms and grumpily turned away from him.
"..." Megumi stared at the scene, a sulking dragon lady and a tiger lady that was having way too much fun with Tiger Funeral's shrunken form.
***
A/N: Bigger chapter than usual, I'm not editing allat, LOL.