The shopping bags felt heavier with each step. Yuki glanced at her phone—11:47 PM. Shit. Her parents were going to ground her, and her little sister would never let her hear the end of it.
"Come on, there has to be a faster way home," she muttered, squinting at the navigation app. A blue line appeared, cutting straight through the maze of alleyways she didn't recognize.
Fifteen minutes versus thirty-five.
She kept thinking but there was no time to waste, looking toward the main street, then back at the dark mouth of the alley. Her phone battery blinked red, only 6% remaining.
"These areas are patrolled by that Shield hero guy, right? Takeru-san or whatever?" She took a deep breath. "I just hope there are no rats, but... twenty minutes earlier might save my life."
The alley swallowed her whole.
Three guys lounged against a graffiti-covered wall, cigarette smoke curling around. Their eyes tracked her movement.
"Well, well," the tallest one—buzzcut, scar across his chin—elbowed his friend. "Look what we got here."
The buffed up guy with a golden tooth beside him, "Heavy bags, nice clothes. Girl's got taste."
"And no sense of direction," the newbie. "Doesn't she know whose neighborhood this is?"
Yuki's grip tightened on her bags. Just keep walking. Don't make eye contact.
"Hey, miss!" Buzzcut stepped forward, his voice mockingly sweet. "Those bags look heavy. We're real gentlemen out here, let us help you out."
"Yeah," Gold Tooth added, blocking more of her path. "These streets get dangerous at night. We'll make sure you get where you need to go safely."
The third guy bounced on his feet like an excited kid. "Come on, don't be shy! We're trying to help!"
Yuki's heart hammered against her ribs. "No thanks. I'm fine."
She tried to push past them, but they started surrounding her like vultures.
Further back, two more figures watched from the shadows. The smaller one nudged his companion—a guy casually flicking a silver lighter.
"Looks like the boys are having fun," he whispered. "Should we join the party?"
The one with the lighter shook his head, opening and spinning the lighter like a toy. " "Big man" told us not to get involved with such stuff".
"You scared of him, big bro?"
Hiro's eyes gleamed in the firelight. "I ain't scared of anyone. But we need to keep our heads down until the deal goes through. Causing trouble for him means trouble for us."
"Just hand over the bags, sweetheart," Gold Tooth said, his fake politeness dropping with a creepy smile. "Nobody has to get hurt."
Yuki stumbled backward. "Please, just let me go. I don't want any trouble."
"Too late for that," Buzzcut lunged forward.
Her scream echoed off the narrow walls, bouncing between the bricks. On the main street, a couple of people glanced toward the alley, but nobody moved to help.
That's when the shadow dropped from above.
He landed silently—all black clothing, hood up, a cloth mask covering the lower half of his face. In his hands: a metal rod and a wrench shining under the moon light.
"Who the hell are you?" Buzzcut snarled. "This isn't your business, kid."
The masked figure didn't answer. One moment he was five feet away, the next he was between Gold Tooth and Buzzcut—the rod cracking against Gold Tooth's temple while simultaneously blocking Buzzcut's wild swing with the wrench.
Did he just... teleport?
Buzzcut threw another punch. The masked guy ducked low, dropped the rod and whipped his arm out with electricity crackling through the air like a living thing, striking Buzzcut in the chest. He went down hard.
"Get him!" the third gangster yelled, rushing in from behind.
But the masked fighter was already moving, spinning around with both weapons. Wrench to the gut, rod to the face. The attacker is down on the ground.
When he turned to face the last standing gangster, his eyes glowed faintly blue through the mask.
A slow clap echoed through the alley.
The final guy stepped out of the shadows, cigarette dangling from his lips. "Not bad, kid. Real nice moves for someone who looks like he should be doing homework or perhaps be in bed for some good night's sleep."
The masked vigilante's voice came out distorted,heavy: "I don't have time for wannabe gangsters who think they own the streets."
"Wannabe?" Hiro's smile was razor-sharp. He flicked his lighter, and flames erupted along both arms. "Just because you can throw around some party trick lightning and generate 2 watts of electricity doesn't mean you can handle real firepower."
Fire punches flew toward the vigilante, who sidestepped them with grace. They circled each other like boxers, trading blows and blocks. Each hit landed with brutal precision.
"You're good," Hiro admitted, breathing hard. "But I can't let this drag on."
He spread his arms wide, flames pouring out like twin flamethrowers. Fire raced along the ground and up the walls, trapping them both in a burning cage.
The woman, Kazama thought, glancing toward Yuki cowering in the corner, frantically pressing buttons on her dying phone.
This is the third time I am facing a guy with powers in these situations. This one however seems a bit more problematic. The more this fight gets dragged on the harder it will be to take him out.
"Time to end this!" Hiro charged through his own flames.
Kazama slammed his rods together. Electricity arced between them, forming a grid. He held them in an X-shape, catching the stream of fire. For a heartbeat, lightning and flame fought for dominance.
Then Kazama burst forward through the flames and tagged Hiro on the shoulder. Electricity coursed through the gangster's body, dropping him to one knee.
But Hiro was back up in seconds, grinning through the pain.
"You think a little shoulder tap is gonna work on me," he laughed. "Gonna have to do better than that".
He is better than I thought but not good enough to see that he fell into a trap.
Hiro continues to throw fireballs while Kazama dodges in an unusual pattern.
Kazama had been circling him, backing him toward the water pooling near a broken drainpipe. When Hiro ran out of flames for a split second, eyes wide with shock, Kazama struck with a professional wrestling tackle, a spear.
The tackle sent them both into the puddle.
"Flame's out sir," Kazama said quietly, and let loose every bit of electricity he had as Hiro shrieked with pain.
Hiro makes some eerie sounds and gets knocked out.
Police sirens wailed in the distance, growing closer.
Kazama gathered Yuki's scattered belongings and walked over to where she sat trembling.
"Are you hurt?" he asked.
She looked up, tears streaming down her face. "N-no, I think I'm okay. Thank you. You saved my life."
"Stay out of these alleys. There are worse things than rats down here."
"My phone died," she said shakily. "I just wanted to get home faster and—"
"May I?" He held out his hand.
She hesitated, then placed her phone in his palm. His eyes glowed brighter, and when he handed it back, the battery showed 100%.
"How did you—?"
"When the police arrive, don't mention me. Just tell them some hero helped you out."
"But you are a hero."
Kazama looked at her for a short moment, then stepped backward into the shadows. Electricity danced around his body, and he vanished into the power lines overhead with a sharp crackling sound.
On a rooftop several blocks away, Kazama pulled off his mask to catch his breath. The night air felt good against his sweaty face.
THUD.
Heavy footsteps landed behind him.
"We need to talk, kid."
Kazama spun around, mask halfway back on. The man standing there was broad-shouldered, arms crossed, wearing the black and silver costume that appeared on news broadcasts across the city. A large shield was strapped to his back.
Shirai Takeru. The Shield of the Local.
"You know those guys work for the Kurotsuki Mafia, right?" Takeru's voice was stern, but not unkind. "You just painted a target on your back."
"That's not a reason to let innocent people get hurt."
"No," Takeru admitted, running a hand through his dark hair. "But it's also not a reason for some kid to get himself killed playing vigilante. You have no idea what you're up against."
"I can handle myself."
"Can you? Because from where I was standing, that looked like dumb luck. It would be better for both of us that I don't catch you again doing this kinda stuff. You have no idea what you're getting yourself into. You could get seriously hurt—worse than you can imagine."
Kazama's jaw tightened under the mask. "You wouldn't catch me at all."
Kazama smiled—a cocky expression Takeru couldn't see but definitely heard in his voice. Lightning coursed through him, and he disappeared into the city's electrical grid with a sound like zoop-zap-zoom.
Takeru stared at the empty space. "Kids these days..." He rubbed his beard thoughtfully. "But how the hell did he take down that flame guy? I need to investigate before the local police intervene and take over the site and ruin everything like they always do"
Shirai-Takeru jumps off from one rooftop of a building to another and reaches the scene. The gang members have been tied up and four police officers are investigating the area.
"Shirai-san!" The older officer tipped his cap respectfully. "Glad you're here."
"What's the situation?"
A younger officer stepped forward eagerly. "We've got five suspects, one civilian victim, and evidence of superpower usage. We should probably—"
"Superpowers huh", Takeru interrupts. "Well then this case comes under my jurisdiction".
The youngster continues, "But sir, we have also identified some notable criminals among these guys. I think we should have a look around here as well."
Takeru lifted his shield off his back and planted it on the ground with a heavy thunk. The young officer's next words died in his throat.
"Here's the thing," Takeru said calmly. "See that guy over there? The one with the burns? He's been giving you both funny looks ever since I arrived. And we already know at least one of them has powers."
"But sir we have–", the youngster speaks up with a bit of fear in his voice but pauses.
The older officer places a hand on his partner's shoulder. "Let it go, son. Do you even know who that man is? That's Shirai Takeru — the Shield of the Local. Our streets are safe because of him. Time and time again, he's stepped in where no one else would, helping us take down gangs, arrest dangerous criminals, and protect the people. If anyone has earned our respect, it's him."
The younger officer looked frustrated.
The older officer with more words for comfort, "I know this is your first big break but trust your senior on this one."
The young man nodded reluctantly as Takeru stood with pride and bolstered his head up high after such praise.
The senior officer looks around and calls out everyone else, "Hey wrap it up boys. We are gonna have Shirai Takeru take over this."
"Okay Senpai!" "Thank you Shirai-san!." "Can't believe Shirai-san is helping us out"
"Thanks, officers. I'll take it from here."
After they left, Takeru knelt down and carefully removed any evidence of the vigilante's presence. Then he cut the zip ties holding the gangsters. The gangsters carry each other away from the scene.
"Hey." He grabbed the fire-user by the shirt. "What the hell happened here?"
"Thanks for the save, boss." The gangster struggled to his feet, still shaky from the electrical attack.
"Don't thank me yet. How did you lose to that nobody?"
"He wasn't a nobody," Hiro protested. "Kid had real skills not gonna lie. And those lightning powers—"
"That's not an excuse!" Takeru's tone gets even heavier. "I put you here to be the muscle, and you got your ass handed to you by a guy who seems like a teenager."
"You were watching us big bro ? You could have helped us", while still holding his aching arm.
"Help you beat up a guy who was saving an innocent woman? Do you know how that would look? Although I did confront that vigilante later on"
"You got him ?"Hiro with a puppy-like smile across his face.
"There were 2 heroes nearby patrolling who were not on our side. Don't worry though I will get to him.." Takeru with slight disappointment.
As the gangsters limped away, Takeru's expression grew darker.
"And when I find him," he whispered to himself, "he's going to wish he'd never put on that mask."