Arc 10: Whispers of the hunt
"Thank you for watching our broadcast of 'Ranker Royale', we will be back again soon with even more battles and fights from across the world."
The energetic voice of a female announcer rang out from the TV. A small studio set, with a white couch and large TV was that was needed for this set.
Ranker Royal; a television show that aired weekly. It covered the top rankers and the best gate clearing highlights from all around the world.
Bulky, heavy armour wearing warden classes taking on manticores. Nimble rouges slashing at the napes of werewolf monstrosities. Of course, many of these filmed in flattering angles to capture the maximum bloodshed of these foul, wretched fiends from other worlds.
Although meant for a Japanese audience it did cover many people from abroad, such as the American 'United Guilds of America' or the European ranker league.
"Have you ever met rankers like these?" Megi; who rested as a shadow fox on the couch adjacent to Eren asked.
"No... Probably for the best. They would be a bunch of self-righteous assholes."
Eren had turned to watching daytime TV whilst his students were on winter holiday. An assortment of trainwreck TV; to which he loathed. Turning it over to gate clearing news, which was somewhat interesting. That and a decade of missed anime and video games occupied most of his time.
However, seeing the top rankers going about doing the gates they do brought about an old desire that was once buried. Once he would have hoped to have been as affluent and successful as those people on screen.
Now it was merely a curiosity of those that lived on the other side.
"Even me? Would you ever want to be like me?" Megi morphed into 'Hikaru Takahashi.' One of the most famous rankers around the world.
A necromancer like Eren, the leader of the 13 heroes of Japan. A man with chiselled features, a face made for modelling and the body to boot.
But seemingly from the outside; he wore his virtues on his sleeve. Eren was reluctant to call him a good man without actually laying eyes on him; but by all accounts, he practiced what he preached whilst he was active.
A man worthy of the title 'Hero of Japan.' The man who ended the siege of Tokyo.
"The number 1 ranker in Japan? Not in a million years."
Now 'retired' from active gate clearing; although many people speculate that the man is still active behind the scenes. Either through his minions or reach as a hero.
"Why? You have my looks and abilities. Why would you want to live in his house, be wealthy like he? Two kids and a loving wife. Why wouldn't you want to live in the same situation as me?" The white fox asked through the facade of Hikaru.
"Because what you know of the man is only shown through a curated media presence. A curtain of privacy, pull it back and you might not like what's hiding in the shadows."
Megi seemed to understand, morphing back into her preferred form. A young woman with azure eyes, that lightly shaded shadowed skin as well the customary fox ears. The most human like of all his shadows.
"Not everyone has a dark side... People hide themselves from the world because they fear their mask won't fit."
Eren starred off into the distance, giving an aloof shoulder turn.
"You really don't think people can be good?"
"People can be good, people can be evil. Good people can do evil things and evil people can do good things. I just think people turn a blind eye to the bad things in favour of seeing the world better that it is. If your whole world is good, then there can be no evil."
The fox girl titled her head.
"Are you a good person-"
"I'm not a good person. I kill people, for the greater good of all, but that doesn't mean I am a good person."
Eren cut her off before she could build up to that predictable 'you are a good person.' He truly didn't feel like entertain that notion.
He refuses to see himself as the good person in this world.
"So, why did you come back then? Did you truly want to bring balance to this world?"
"Yeah... I think so."
It had been nearly six months. But Eren had finally begun accepting that he was the reaper, not someone else. Whether he liked it or not. He knew his mission and had already paid its price.
"Well, I'm glad that I joined you. I just hope one day you can see yourself as others do. A reaper with the heart of a human."
Eren was about to speak; but his instincts picked up trouble.
"Master, can you sense them?" Her ears perked up.
"Yeah. Go."
Megi vanished into the shadows. Leaving only the approaching presence.
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
The knock at the door was heavy and powerful; the wood creaking with the blows against it.
"What is it?" Eren opened the door; Two men stood before him. A large muscle-bound man in an expensive suit, buzz cut blonde hair, thick jawline, and eyes as dead as Eren's own. The other was far shorter; like a pencil neck with a slim body and beady eyes.
"Is this the Heart household?" The pencil neck asked. Both hands tucked behind his back in a tight, attentive pose to greet the reaper.
"Yes, Eren speaking." He kept his answer curt. Neither of them looked like normal people, let alone rankers.
"Ah, Eren Heart. Pleased to meet you, I'm Mr. Kim-Woo, and this is Mr. Alekseev. We are her to collect your fathers' debts. We ask that you please hand over exactly ten million yen; we take cash, cheque or even gate credits if you prefer." He held out a slim hand expectantly.
"What on earth are you talking about?" Eren feigned a little bit of ignorance. His father did ask him to settle a debt a couple of weeks ago, but why would he? It seemed the debt was passed on regardless.
"Please Mr. Heart, we are being civil thus far. Ten million Yen, or we must escalate the situation."
'Or else what?' Eren thought to himself.
"Fuck off." Eren went to shut the door on the pair.
*Whack*
However, the Russian brute kicked the door wide open, Eren landed with a hard thud and slid back into the house. Stronger than any regular man, like being hit by a bull at full charge.
As the two men entered; Eren felt an invisible force push down on his chest.
'They are rankers.'
"Please Mr. Heart. We only want what is owed." Spoken like a slimy salesman with glowing eyes, the Korean was using his power of telekinesis to hold Eren in place.
"Get fucked."
The brute stepped forward, reaching for something in his pocket. Although instead of a weapon. It was just a small pocket notebook.
He began flipping through some pages, landing on a specific line, eyes glanced back from Eren to the notepad.
"You have three choices here..." Very, very broken Japanese, barely intelligible by the accent. However, the man spoke slow enough that the words could be understood.
"Option 1. Pay now, we leave, never come again... Option two. Don't pay, we break, we come back and break again... Option three. Your body, we use, until debt paid."
"I said fuck off you- Urghhh!" The force on his body increased, as if an extra invisible hand had taken a vice grip on his neck and torso and was choking the air from his lungs.
"Forgive Mr. Alekseev; he is learning to speak better Japanese... I shall reiterate. Pay now, we hurt you until you do pay, or work for us until it's all paid off. Understand? Your father signed a contract, so you are liable for the debt. Please, make this easy for all parties involved." The Korean man let up a little on the pressure holding Eren in place.
"What about option four?! I kill you and leave the corpses to rot." He threatened, straining against whatever power was pinning him down.
The Russian looked to Eren, then to Mr. Kim-Woo, who shrugged his shoulders.
"Forth option is girl... She works for us." Alekseev added onto the list, not quite understanding what Eren had just said.
"What?!" The Russian absentmindedly invoked the anger of the Reaper.
Speaking about the ultimate taboo; Emi. He would sooner burn the world in white fire than letting these two ever lay a finger on her hair.
"The young girl... Emi Heart. She will work for us." The Korean man offered an explanation, although it wasn't needed. Eren already understood what they were asking for.
"Final warning Mr-"
*SCHLIK*
A whip tore through the air, and through Mr. Kim-Woo's neck. A sloppy cut that didn't sever the head from the shoulders. But deep enough to cause a fountain to fall onto the ground below.
The Russian didn't offer any reaction whatsoever. As if death held no meaning to this man. Instead of trying to fight back, he stood almost accepting death as it was.
Eren cut clean through the Russian, head to groin in a downward slash.
Eren felt sick to the stomach. These men had threatened Emi, to threaten one's family is a line that should never be crossed.
Blood and gore were the price left by the pair.
"Saku!" Eren ordered his most competent shadow to rise.
"Yes master." He bowed from behind Eren.
"Emi. Where is she? Is she okay?"
Saku paused for a moment. "Yes, she is presently at her friend's house."
"Double the guard on Emi." Eren demanded, Saku nodded as the crow headed scouts emerged from the ground. Bowing and flying out the main door that lay in ruins.
"Her friends too..." Eren thought aloud, it would only take a single hostage for people to get what they want from him. Saku bowed once more with Virtue and Vice themselves heading out the door.
Eren sighed. Unknowingly his heart had been pounding away in his chest at the sudden attack. A rare feat to get the adrenaline pumping so quickly. But it began to slow down after the threat evanesced.
"These two... They didn't fear death. Why?" Saku asked as he knelt over the remains of both.
"I don't know... It's never good nonetheless, when death is but a second thought..." Though his heart had steadily decreased; he still beat faster than anything from his recent memory.
These two men weren't afraid to face a grim reaper. Worse yet, he and Emi were on someone's list. And these two were only a pair of thugs. Someone with far more resources and influence will come knocking at some point.
"Master, may I suggest we visit Master Baelor? He may offer some additional insight..."
"Yeah... I'll go see him. Clean this mess up." Eren ate the two bodies. Leaving a squad of vanguards to mop up the rest of the blood and viscera; and pick up the pieces of the ruined door.
A more important responsibility took precident.