Fushiguro Megumi leapt through the rooftops, a method used by many Sorcerers to get themselves where they wanted to be. Thanks to his capabilities as a superhuman, doing such a thing was a casual feat.
The man found that using The Inverted Spear of Heaven with the extended chain was satisfying as all hell. He had a new appreciation for the weapon. Even if it were complicated to use, far more complicated than Playful Cloud; he would still try to at least learn how to use it efficiently.
Using the weapon to spin it around and flash it forward at supersonics speeds also felt cool, not that Megumi would ever admit it to any of his friends (if he could ever meet them again).
'Besides that, I'm still clumsy with it, the process could've been much cleaner...' Megumi thought to himself, but quickly dismissed it as he was going to train with the weapon more.
The cityscape of Lungmen passed by him, the blinding neon lights that he hadn't gotten much time to look at or register when he made his way to kill Hanshi, a stark contrast to the dullness and monotone of the slums.
Although it looked beautiful, Megumi knew that most likely held a lot of dark secrets behind it, if the condition people faced in the slums were anything to go by. Speaking of the slums, he needed to get back fast so he wouldn't be spotted by the 'LGD' people. If they could even spot him on the rooftops.
Having to find the building which his target resided in was a pain, having no access to a GPS or map made it so that he had to scour nearly the entire damned city to attempt to find him, only doing so because he found a landmark map on one of the streets.
It was honestly a pain having to hide in the shadows, so his presence wouldn't be known by the civilians. Although they weren't as privy to his Cursed Energy as skilled fighters or experienced warriors were, he didn't want to risk it.
Besides, he was most likely wanted by the LGD after his stunt against what he assumed was their most high ranking member.
'I need a way to hide my Cursed Energy,' Megumi muttered to himself, 'perhaps I could suppress its constant output? But that would take effort and tire me out...'
The process as described by Gojo Satoru was 'like being conscious of your own breathing and controlling how much air you intake.' That was the best analogy he could explain to his students, as it weakens you passively just like how breathing less would lower the amount of oxygen your blood receives and makes your muscles less capable.
Breathing was manual, an unconscious act the body does to keep itself alive. Just as how the body unconsciously emits Cursed Energy if you are a trained Sorcerer. So lowering the amount of Cursed Energy manually would be a tiring task, along with weakening oneself.
'Ah screw it, he also said it's good for building up refinement with Cursed Energy if you did it everyday,' Megumi had tried it before, but found it extremely uncomfortable to attempt, so he had been slacking on it for over the past month or two... Especially after his body was taken over by Ryomen Sukuna.
The process wasn't even that efficient in refining Cursed Energy anyways, you'd have to do it consistently and constantly for an entire month to see some level of progress.
'But I'll need it if I don't want to be attacked the moment I meet somebody who can sense my Cursed Energy,' Megumi stopped leaping across the rooftops of Lungmen, landing on the wall that separated the slums and the city, hiding himself in the shadows. 'Let's begin...'
The black haired man closed his eyes, feeling a sense of serenity overtaking him as he focused on his Cursed Energy. He saws its flow, the energy coursing through both his body and soul. The way it moved was like a river channel across multiple veins, all originating from his stomach... And then the flow started to hamper down, moving far slower than before.
Megumi opened his eyes, feeling a lot more weak and tired as his passive output of CE lowered. 'I'll have to get used to this,' he sighed to himself as he kept conscious of it. If he didn't, it was most likely he'd lose control of it and it'd spike briefly. 'Now, to turn in my commission... Actually, I didn't gather any proof because...' He didn't have a phone to record or anything like that, 'Damn it.'
A frustrated expression made its way on his face as he clenched his fist, he hadn't been able to collect the head of the man either, because there was another person there that had seen his actions.
A pink haired mouse eared girl, he had only caught a glimpse of her, but he didn't know whether she was working with the man or against them; seeing how they were having a heated debate(?) about something? That's what he could tell from where his vantage point was. He hoped she hadn't seen him, considering that she seemed like a powerful person just from a glance.
Comparable to the blue haired dragon lady he had encountered earlier, even with that red sheathed blade drawn.
'Enough of that, I'll just try my luck,' Megumi turned to where the Mercenary's Tavern was, clasping his hands together as he summoned a certain bird.
"Nue."
Out of his shadows, a reddish-orange haired bird came out, donning a stone white mask on its face, its wing spreading out as it flew out of the ground. He noted how it was bigger than before being overtaken by Ryomen Sukuna, its size comparable to that of an elephant.
'...What the hell? When did this happen?' Megumi couldn't help but look upon it in confusion, a slight itch in his brain happened when he summoned it, but it quickly dissipated as the Shikigami was fully manifested.
It turned to him, bringing its head closer as the man took the opportunity to pet it, the bird finding comfort in it.
'Well, I can't really complain... It might be too big for stealthy transportation though, since it has gotten much larger,' but Megumi needed a way to sustain his suppressed Cursed Energy as he made his way back to the slums' tavern.
Giving it a command in his mind, the bird turned around as he leapt upwards and onto its back, finding a comfortable position. Because their minds were intrinsically linked after taming it, he could command it to go wherever he wanted.
Its wing flapped, a great pressure blowing around as it leapt up and into the night sky, flying ever higher as Megumi had a full view of the slums below him, and Lungmen behind it. 'Wow...'
He had never flown this high up before, considering Nue couldn't offer much mobility or flight in its smaller form that he was stuck with. Megumi knew it was most likely influenced by Sukuna's Cursed Energy, but he would never thank that god-awful bastard for such a thing.
In fact, just thinking about him gave Megumi a sinking feeling in his chest. It was better to just dispel the King of Curses from his mind.
Instead, he decided to simply admire the slums below him, even if it was a place where the poor resided, it still at least had some lights illuminating the place below, hiding the depravity and darkness it held.
Nue was flying above the clouds now, Megumi feeling the wind blow against his face as he felt truly free, abandoned from the duties that came from being a sorcerer, from the responsibilities of having to live up to the potential of surpassing Gojo Satoru of all things...
He hoped this moment could last, even for a little bit.
Only if to forget the world he had found himself in, he'd indulge this decadence.
***
The headquarters of the LGD was bustling with officers and employees alike running about, a process that looked like a well oiled machine working its magic. Phone calls were being made, typing sounds echoed in the backdrop of conversations and keyboard typing. The residents moved past each other, carrying paperwork or the like and transferring them to their needed locations.
However, the flow was broken when a translator rushed through the crowd, much to their dismay.
The man spoke out small apologies as he moved past them, people moving out the way as he held a standard sized piece of white paper in his hands, one that had recently been printed if the warmth it was emitting was any indicator.
"Ch'en sir!" The Lungmenite translator called out to the woman with blue hair, who was discussing matters with another officer.
Ch'en broke off her conversation with the officer to glance at the approaching man who was waving a piece of paper in the air. She gave the officer a glance, the other person nodded as they walked away.
"Yes?" Ch'en assessed the paper in his hand.
"We've finished translating all the Sircusan words on the boxes," the translator handed her a piece of paper after he had made it to her.
"Good work," Ch'en nodded towards him, the translator nodding back as he moved through the crowd again and back to his workspace.
'Let's see...' The blue haired woman narrowed her eyes as she read the translated words over. 'If I'm getting this right, then they're from the Blood Hounds?' Ch'en didn't really know what gang or famiglia it might be, but it definitely sounded like it came from Sircusa.
Hoshiguma and Swire were off doing their own thing, so she'd have to have an officer deliver this information to them. For now, she was going to research who the hell the Blood Hounds were.
"Officer," Ch'en walked up to an LGD member who was wordlessly typing on her keyboard, lowering her headphones as she regarded the Head Inspector.
"Ah, yes?" The woman tilted her head as she received the papers.
"Deliver this to Hoshiguma and Swire when they arrive, say it was sent by Ch'en."
"Understood, Ch'en sir," the woman nodded her head as she placed it on her desk, putting her headphones back on as she began typing on the keyboard.
With that out of the way, Ch'en was about to leave, until she glanced at the TV attached to the corner of the LGD office.
It was there to deliver news to the LGD headquarters of whatever was happening outside, but most people ignored it if it wasn't anything useful.
'Is that..?' Ch'en's full focus on it now, along with other officers who paused what they were doing as the TV had a 'BREAKING NEWS' headline upon.
What it was saying... Was that the rather large technology company of Hanshi that sells USB had their CEO, Hanshi himself, assassinated.
Ch'en crossed her arms as her eyes narrowed, being presented with a blurred screen of the slaughter that had happened, a branch of LGD investigators walking around the scene as they analyzed it. 'Hanshi? We were already investigating for any dirt on him... But somebody already killed him?'
The woman could tell that the man had been decapitated, cleanly so, the window glass behind him broken and shattered. Even if it was blurred, Ch'en could make out the details extremely well. Although she might receive the full information until the LGD investigators return from analyzing the scene, it was already a puzzling sight.
'Did the perpetrator break into the window and then decapitate Hanshi and all the guards? But that would mean they would have to climb all the way up... Or leapt in from another building?' It was all confusing to Ch'en, if it were a projectile that had lodged themselves in the corpses, then it would make more sense.
But clear and concise cuts? Through a broken window that stood several stories high above the ground? That was unnatural.
The dragon lady shook her head, it might put a damp in her time if she spent too much time trying to analyze what happened, and would be more time efficient if she focused on the Blood Hounds currently.
"Ch'en sir!" A voice of a woman came out, prompting Ch'en to turn to face them. It was a woman who looked to be the camera footage manager for Lungmen, waving towards her. "We've found footage that might connect to the current news!"
The blue haired Lung raised an eyebrow, feeling her tail slightly twitch at that, '...It can't take that long, I'll investigate the Blood Hounds after this.' With that confirmation, Ch'en nodded as she walked towards the other woman, "alright then, show me it."
The two of them walked to an elevator at the end of the office, entering it and pressing a button to go to the higher floors. The camera footage manager decided to make some small talk to the Head Investigator, "the footage is pretty strange, but I'm sure we connect it to the case that happened."
Ch'en decided to indulge it, "How so?"
"Well, it was pretty close to the building of Hanshi when the scene was recorded, so we could use it to get some leads," the woman shrugged.
"I'll see for myself," Ch'en spoke in a curt tone. Hopefully, it wouldn't be a waste of her time.
Once the elevator reached the floor they needed to reach, the two made their way to the camera footage room that held the scenes captured.
Both of the women entered through the door as it slid open, after the camera footage manager had swiped a card on the termina. "Here we are, bring up the footage!"
At that command, key presses were heard throughout the room as they walked inside, the footage of the many screens shifting and blurring.
Eventually, it landed to the scene of a dark building, overlooking the rooftop. The footage was then slowed and reversed, the time recorder at the top right being reverted back. Then, the scene played.
"That's..." Ch'en's eyes widened, seeing the person hopping between the rooftops, a blurring shadow... But what really caught her attention was the-
"Do you know who that is?" The footage manager perked up at the Head Inspector's reaction.
"It's just a hunch..." Ch'en narrowed her eyes, focusing on the blacked out figure of the person, watching as the footage replayed itself over and over again in slow motion. "There! Stop!"
The footage halted, the worker managing the screen was slightly shocked at her words, but was able to react fast enough.
The Head Inspector of the LGD crossed her arms as she lightly leaned to the left, getting a clearer view of the potential murderer of Hanshi. 'Ah, so it's that rabbit summoning bastard after all, huh?'
Although his figure was still obscured, she knew those spiked hair and black flowing coat from anywhere, a small grin finding itself on her face as she finally found a lead on him.
"Alright, I've made my choice," Ch'en spoke out. She would forget the Blood Hounds for now, there was a larger problem that she needed to investigate. Besides, this one had a far better lead.
"Ah, Ch'en sir?" The manager wondered what the blue haired woman was talking about, as she tilted her head. Perhaps she should just let it go and head back to analyzing footage, whenever the Head Inspector made up her mind on something, nobody could stop her-
"Head Inspector!" Another voice came out as the door opened, causing heads to turn to the person who had entered, a Feline man.
Ch'en paused as she raised an eyebrow, watching what she could tell a call receiver panting and holding onto the door while breathing heavily. 'He must have ran up the stairs, but why?'
"W-we got a call from Inspector Hoshiguma! They've recently had a run in with what we've recognized as the Blood Hounds-!"
"Are you kidding me..?" Ch'en cut him off with a deadpan look, as all heads turned to look at her. The Lung let out a small Lungmen profanity as she pinched the bridge of her nose while looking down, 'what a day, huh?'
***
Megumi knocked on the door leading to the Mercenary's Tavern, waiting for the person to respond to him. He had already landed on a building and was dropped off by Nue, so he desummoned the large bird back into his shadows.
As per usual, the slider of the door opened for a voice to come through, "what's your need?" It was the same voice as before, Megumi noted.
"Any services-," before Megumi could complete the sentence, the locks of the door were immediately unmade, the same Lupo man from yesterday opened the door and moved out of the way for his path.
"Good sir, it is certainly an h-honor to have you back," the Lupo man spoke out to Megumi. Even if he still felt a great malevolence emanating from him, he found it weird how the black haired man's aura had dissipated to an extent.
"Thanks," Megumi didn't really care much for pleasantries, so he walked through the door and back into the familiar bar. This time however, not as many heads turned, but they all did eventually get a glance at him as their friends urged them to. 'At least it's not as bad as before.'
He walked up to the bar counter once more, placing his left arm on it as he sat on the tall stool. A barista walked up to him, a different one from what Megumi was accustomed with.
"Would you like anything?" It was a Liberi man this time, who didn't have experience feeling the brunt of his passive Cursed Energy. Right now, all he felt was the suppressed version, something that felt unnatural, but was bearable.
"I'm here to turn in a commission," Megumi replied.
"Oh? Which one?" The barista leaned forward as he awaited the Ten Shadow user's answer.
"The Hanshi one," Fushiguro Megumi blandly said.
"Huh?" The barista looked confused, raising an eyebrow, "d-do you have any proof?" It was quite a surprise somebody had actually taken the Hanshi commission, considering how powerful of a man he was.
"..." Megumi looked at him blankly, the problem he feared the most had come to fruition. "I don't believe so, no..."
"Ah, well, we can't really..." The Liberi man scratched the back of his head, not really knowing what to say to the man. "Sorry, but we can't pay you if there's no proof."
Megumi could hear snickers from the background, most likely more experienced mercenaries who knew it was standard protocol to bring in evidence of the job being done. Whether it was video recordings or even more extremely; bringing the target's head.
'Damn it...' Megumi couldn't help but berate himself further, but before he could continue line of thought...
The TV stationed at the corner ceiling of the bar had cut off whatever it was displaying, turning to a 'BREAKING NEWS' headline.
It seemed to catch the attention of the residents of who weren't watching it before, while those who were already watching the TV were confused on why it had suddenly changed channels.
"This is the Lungmen Daily News, Xiao reporting... What had happened in the dead of night in Lungmen has been a vicious scene..." The reporter spoke out, the scene shifting to the office room of Hanshi.
She began elaborating how the bodyguards and Hanshi himself were all decapitated, the window leading to the office being broken.
Sights landed on Megumi, those who had ridiculed him before immediately shut their mouths as a sense of fear towards him had been developed.
"...So do I get my pay?" Megumi decided to capitalize this, raising an eyebrow at the barista at the counter.
"I-I'll immediately get to it!" The Liberi bartender immediately rushed to another room, a rapid thought running through his mind, 'how the hell did he kill fucking Hanshi of all people?!' Targeting a man like him would mean you'd have to get past his two elite bodyguards who were proficient in arts. They also possessed a near impenetrable barrier most would find difficult getting through.
Although they lack physical strength because of being an arts caster, the defense provided from their barriers and offense given from their arts blasts were what made them skilled in combat. Although they weren't the best, it was also somebody you would have to calculate the risks of engaging.
Not only that, but Hanshi had many other companies and crime organizations connected to him, getting rid of Hanshi would only incite ire and wariness towards the person who did it.
Megumi sat there obliviously, awaiting his payment, 'huh, that was convenient...'
He wasn't aware of the waves of turbulence that would hit him in the future...
***
Lin Yuhsia sat in her place of residence, a tea cup set in front of her as she sat on a luxurious sofa. She waved her hand for an attendant to come up to her, and they abided.
The attendant was a Vouivere woman, clad in a white dress shirt with a vest and black dress pants. "Your need, madam Lin?"
"I need records from the Mercenary's Tavern," Lin's refined voice spoke up as she picked up and took a sip of her tea, "I have a few things I would like to take a look at."
"At your service," the other woman bowed and moved to grab a tablet that held all the records. After all, every barista had the obligation to register whoever took a commission to a network private to only the Rat King, Lin, and the attendants who were allowed to access it.
Lin sat in silence as she continued to sip her tea. Her eyes were closed while waiting for her attendant to bring up what she needed. 'I wonder how Ch'en is doing?' A thought came to her about her frenemy, with the increased crime rates in both Lungmen and the slums, both of them were most likely being swamped with work right now. Though, their relationship was rather strained right now.
Footsteps came, making Lin set down her tea cup, taking the tablet from the attendant who had handed it to her, "thank you."
"I'm honored," the attendant bowed once more.
Lin began scrolling through the tablet, going through the commissions, until she found the one that she wanted to take a look at. 'Hanshi...' Clicking it, she was brought a summary of it, before scrolling down. At the bottom, it showed all the people who had taken up the commission, all of the names in red text as they had failed... 'Except for this one... Anonymous?'
The Mousse felt her eye nearly twitch, seeing how every name had to be listed if they wished to accept a commission, 'an oversight? No, what are the baristas doing?' She clicked on 'Anonymous,' checking the footnotes left behind by the person who typed it there.
It read, 'far too terrifying to ask for a name, will add if found out. Black spiky haired man wearing a white Higashin gi and black Higashin haori.'
Lin settled the tablet on the table, letting out a small sigh. 'Ah, I should visit the tavern myself sometime, if that is the case...' She turned back to her attendant, "any interesting news about the LGD?"
"Indeed, the Head Inspector had recently been looking for a wanted man, who has been rumored to have escaped from her Chi Xiao..." The attendant spoke it clearly, keeping the same tone throughout.
"Escaped Chi Xiao? No, it's probably just a rumor," she has heard many legends about Chi Xiao from her father, she doubted anybody could escape it. Even then, the woman would have to face a worthy opponent that would have it be drawn. Still, a curious thought wondered, who was this man Ch'en is looking for?
As if she read Lin's mind, the attendant spoke up, "our insiders in the LGD have taken a picture of the sketch provided, it's not private," the attendant pulled out an image from her pocket, presenting it to Lin.
"Hm?" Lin grabbed the image, analyzing the fine drawing that was plastered on it. 'This is definitely Ch'en's drawing...' Her eyes squinted as she analyzed his features... 'Black spiked hair... Higashin black haori... Higashin white gi...' The pink haired woman blinked with surprise.
She grabbed her tablet, and compared the description between the Anonymous person's description and the sketched image. 'Ah, what a coincidence...' A small smirk started to form on her lips, 'so the one that Ch'en is chasing after is the same one who accepted and completed the Hanshi commission?' It all clicked in her head.
'I see, it seems I beat the prodigy investigator herself to the punch?' An amused smile left her lips as she called to her attendant, "clear my schedule tonight, I have somebody I wish to meet."
"As you wish."
With that, Lin set the picture and tablet down into her desk, standing up, 'I'll need to assess whether he is a danger to Lungmen or not...'
***
Megumi felt a chill down his spine, but he shrugged it off, attributing it to the wind. His mind was brought back to the suitcase he was given, filled with LMD after he completed the Hanshi commission. When he received it, he immediately left, not caring for the barista calling out to him.
'50000 LMD, though? Damn, does being a mercenary pay this much?'
He hadn't received such a staggering amount of money from any Sorcerer missions back on earth. So imagine his surprise when he opened the briefcase in a private location and found the large amount of money in it. After that, he decided to place the briefcase in his shadow, not feeling the weight of it thanks to his physical strength.
'Enough of that, I need to see which Shikigamis I have tamed or not,' Megumi walked around the slums, attempting to find a private location to check on them.
His search would stop when he found a large abandoned warehouse in the deeper sections of the slums. No lights seemed to be active in this area, but that was perfect for him; because it meant there would rarely be any residents here.
'Alright, time to start,' Megumi took a deep breath as he stood in the center of the warehouse. He decided to skip out on Divine Dogs and Rabbit Escape because he already utilized them, which meant he already had them tamed.
Megumi didn't want to waste Cursed Energy either, so he opted to summon Max Elephant to see if his Cursed Technique progress was that far.
"Max Elephant."
His hands clasped together and formed an elephant, as a pink elephant formed behind him. Megumi turned around to regard the summon, watching how it stared at him in a docile fashion.
"Whew..." His Cursed Energy drained from it, but the efficiency he had gained ever since the Goodwill Event has increased dramatically; meaning he wasn't only able to summon it just once. 'Alright, so it must mean I don't have Piercing Ox, Round Deer, Tinger Funeral, and Mahoraga tamed... If I can't summon Round Deer, that is.'
His decision was made as he dispelled the elephant, he was going to tame the Round Deer. But it was already tamed, then he would lose nothing from checking. 'Let's get this over with.'
Megumi's hands were brought together, as his haori flowed behind him. This would be one of the most useful things he could get right now.
"Round Deer."
The familiar feeling of a taming ritual started, a sense of danger flooded his veins as his eyes tensed.
***
A/N: Writing Megumi's thoughts and his goals in Arknights is way easier compared to Gojo now that I'm writing this story. Also because Megumi's story is distant from the current timeline of Arknights, making up scenes is much easier and flexible.
Current plans so far are having Megumi travel around Terra and meeting many different soon to be future operators before the main story starts. Give me suggestions of where to go after Lungmen, but it might take a while before this arc ends.