Part 1

“Yes….” Radcliff unconvincingly added in assurance as he wondered where the old man intended to go with this. “The civil engineering…..department….”

“Wait only police can enter this room….” The Captain spoke up irritably while trying to make sense of the nonsensical talk the old man was spouting out. For the Captain, the two men definitely appeared shady. The old man was dressed in a traditional light coloured Japanese hakama and the younger person was wearing a black suit.

Why the hakama? Why would people from the civil engineering team be here?

It was blatantly obvious that these two people were not from where they claimed to be. The more Captain-san inspected the two men, the more familiar they appeared. Many questions began sprouting in the Captain’s mind - Who called them? Why do these two men look so familiar? This brash yet domineering attitude is so vaguely familiar….

Before the Captain could voice his opinions or thoughts, the old man cut in, “You see there were questions about the structural integrity of this building…..and I must say that the condition is pretty bad.”

As though sensing that the reply was not convincing enough, the old man continued without a pause, “Please don’t ask why I am dressed as I am – I can only say that this matter was of utmost importance and I was dragged away on short notice.

The Captain stupidly and silently stared at the old man – is that really the reason why this old man is dressed so strangely? No more importantly, that person called Radcliff, he gives of feeling of belonging to the special forces….

The old man shot Radcliff a stern glance. Radcliff lowered his gaze to the floor – hiding his face from everyone. “Yes….this building is in very bad shape…and Sensei a supreme expert on buildings…was brought here on short notice…” Radcliff muttered the words as though he had been coerced into speaking them.

“Everything is wrong with this building…” The old man excitedly announced and began speaking like a car salesman. “You see we received a call not too long ago that the contractor of this building may have cut corners during the most critical stages of preparation! For example, the foundation isn’t deep enough, the cement used is of low quality, the plumbing system is in ruins and the electrical works are in shambles…..you must have noticed some of these problems?” The old man was quick with his words as he wrapped his arm around the Captain and stepped with him out of the room.

Just like how a car salesman, helps you find problems with the current car, the old man assumed a familiar tone.

“Eh….no…” The Captain looked terribly confused as he tried to recollect whether this building had any such problems. The police headquarters building was brand new with no issues whatsoever.

“You are very fortunate my friend….you have gotten away lucky!” The old man continued on with great confidence despite being so evidently wrong. “That hole in the wall is just the beginning of the end of this building….for I fear this building is infected with super-mites!”

“Super-mites?” The bewildered Captain, Shinichi, Baka Junior and Radcliff asked at the same time.

Who would believe such a stupid lie!!! Nobody spoke that out loud, but all shouted that in their minds – with the exception of Baka junior who had completely swallowed the lies of the old man as though he were preaching the gospel.

The old man shot a stern glance at Radcliff – thankfully no one noticed that Radcliff-san’s faux pas. Radcliff just lowered his gaze and began softly mumbling something to himself.

“Yes….terrible pests….they eat anything…..concrete ….steel…..anything….” The old man lied through his teeth. He did so without the slightest hesitation. The old man’s imagination could only be described as wild and fanciful. With each word the old man spoke, Radcliff-san could be seen hiding his face deeper and deeper into his hand.

The Captain and Shinichi didn’t buy a word of the old man. They were experienced tough cops who wouldn’t be moved with fancy words and wavy hands. First of all, if some old man began speaking like this they would immediately lock him up. However, the old man had a certain charm and aura that prevented Captain-san from speaking up forcefully. Even Shinichi noticed this, any scepticism or distrust he held towards the old man was irrationally but surely melting away. Shinichi and the Captain didn’t understand it – but they began feeling that they could trust the old man. Unlike the two senior officers, baka-junior was mentally more vulnerable – the subtle yet tremendous pressure that the old man released was super effective on him.

Radcliff was the only one in the room who remained unfazed by the tremendous pressure released by the old man. Having been through many life and death situations, Radcliff could sense the terrifying aura that was being continuously released. The intensity of the aura made Radcliff’s hair stand up on its ends. However, for normal people, like the police officers, who cannot sense or understand auras – the pressure being applied was like an invisible force bending their wills.

“That explains why my shirt has holes whenever I leave them at work!” The baka junior was the first to crack under the mental pressure.

“Of course!” The old man patted the baka-junior’s back – for some strange reason, the baka-junior immediately crashed into the ground when he was patted. The Captain and Shinichi could only sigh at their junior’s shameful presence. Neither of them suspected in the least that the old man had exerted tremendous force with his whimsical pat.

“Super-mites?” The sceptical Captain-san asked again while looking at the baka-junior who was smiling away stupidly as he slowly stood up.

“Yes! Radcliff-san please explain to them!” The old man happily reached out to his companion for support.

Radcliff-san was lightly bumping his head against the wall when his named was called out. He jumped up in fright and turned to face the Captain and Shinichi. “Yes….super-mites…Termites but only superior!” Radcliff-san fumbled around with words as he tried to come up with something appropriate to say. Radcliff stared at the old man desperately for a lifeline, however the old man appeared to be thoroughly enjoying himself and Radcliff’s embarrassment.

“So you are saying that hole in the wall was caused by termites and not by someone punching it down?”

“Hohohoho….of course termites can’t destroy a wall….but you see these super mites excrete highly acidic concentrates from its digestive tract which softens walls. Let me demonstrate….” The old man pressed his hand against the wall and quickly dug out a piece of the wall.

In almost identical fashion to the way Ryu made a hole in the wall, there was now another smaller hole in the wall. However, this one had been created by the old man.

The Captain’s and Shinichi’s eyes nearly popped out when they saw the old man gouge out a piece of the wall as though it were made of soft clay.

Captain-san was initially sceptical of the old man’s identity and explanation. However, after seeing the old man simply carve out a piece of wall with his bare hands – the Captain stood and watched with his jaws slack open. There was no rationale or scientific explanation to what he just saw. The mental shock was so strong that the Captain found himself turning to the only plausible explanation – super mites.

Shinichi was in not better condition than the Captain. Although Shinichi was witnessing this for the second time – it was a completely different experience. Previously when Ryu gouged out a hole in the wall – Shinichi assumed the young man had ample strength….then what about the old man? He looked so feeble and old – as old as Shinichi’s grandfather. Those hands and arms should have no strength in them – is what Shinichi’s mind screamed to him. However, Shinichi was too shocked to react. This coupled along with the mental pressure being released by the old man – even Shinichi could not help but accept the old man’s words.

It was only the baka-junior who reacted differently to his colleagues– his eyes were sparkling as if he were ten year old who had been offered a ton of candy. The old man was no alien but rather a saviour who offered a solid explanation to the holes in his shirt.

“Radcliff! The situation is grave! We will need to bring all our equipment here!” The old man shouted out to Radcliff – giving the impression that Radcliff-san was some sort of assistant. Radcliff only reacted with a quiet sigh and nod. Like the police officers, Radcliff was impressed with the old man’s extraordinary strength. He had seen it many times before, however he would continue to be amazed each time he saw it. It was only a reminder to him that the old man in front of him only appeared human but was really a monster from within.

“You see this is a health hazard and as such we need to evacuate the building!” Radcliff began to speak on cue from the old man. Radcliff gave a pitiful and sympathetic gaze to the two shocked officers. They didn’t even react to his words – they were so far withdrawn.

“Captain! It is best if we evacuate…” Radcliff repeated himself – louder than before.

Captain stuttered, “Evacuate?”

Radcliff solemnly nodded his head to assure the Captain.

“The building?”

The old man stepped next to the edge of the hole made by Ryu and stared out at the city. His gaze suddenly became sharp as though he were watching something in the distance. “No the entire district…”

“EH!!?” Everyone in the room, including Radcliff, exclaimed out in surprise.

Part 2

Shibuya could be divided into two worlds at night. The first was the lively street. Although it was night, the streets of Shibuya were bright as though it were daytime. It wasn’t street lighting which lit up the entire square but the colourful street signs and gigantic TV screens. All the buildings in the vicinity were covered in neon bulb signboards and large TV screens running adverts etc.

The second world, which no one ever visited, was the roof tops of buildings in the Shibuya district. Unlike the glamourous and lively streets, the roof of buildings never had any visitors. Roofs were dark and only lit occasionally by the moonlight.

Unknown to the world, the silhouette of a man appeared against the back drop light of a neon advertising board. From the appearance black silhouette, one could tell that the man wore tight fitting jackets and pants. His loose hair blew freely with the night breeze. This man went by many names – the Great one, the Ancient One, and Immortal Ryu.

“Tch….to think you would come after me all the way here. Come out!” Ryu shouted out as he spoke to the obscure creatures that moved within the dark shadows of the night.

A dark grey cloak fluttered as it blew against the breeze. There was a special gold colour intricate embroidery around the edges of the cloak. A single person stepped out from the shadows. If one were standing in the shadows they would not have noticed the presence of the person who just stepped out. The person emitted no scent or aura. The person’s presence was almost non-existent even to the normal eye. The mysterious person was about six feet in height and wore a broad shouldered cloak which disguised the true form of his/her body.

“Kukukukuku, as expected of Emperor-sama, to be able to detect us despite our special concealing abilities.” The person in the cloak spoke. The cloak was clearly meant to hide the identity of the mysterious visitor. Even though the mysterious person was speaking, the voice sounded like a machine’s - it conveyed no sense of gender. “You really had given us a good slip back in Amercia. However, this is the end of the road……”

Ryu moved ten feet within the blink of an eye - leaving behind only a trail of unsettled dust. Ryu easily reached the position of the mysterious visitor and smashed a hole through his face. The punch brimming with explosive power and was easily able to penetrate the skull of mysterious visitor.

*KIRCH*

*KIRCH*

Sounds of electrical short circuiting could be heard. The mysterious person could no longer continue speaking as Ryu’s fist went through the face of the visitor.

“Kukukukuku, as expected of Emperor-sama, to be able to take out my minion in a single punch. However, unlike last time I have made sufficient improvement to my children.” The voice did not come from the ‘broken’ visitor who had a hole in his skull. The voice was echoing in from everywhere – as though Ryu had been surrounded.

Thirteen new figures ascended from the shadows. They all wore the same attire – dark purple cloaks with intricate gold embroidery patterns on the edges. In the darkness, the thirteen appeared identical in outline.

Ryu eyed the thirteen opponents carefully. He took a step back – away from the ‘destroyed’ person which collapsed to the ground lifelessly. Ryu opened his fist to reveal crushed bits of metal and electronic gadgets. “Tch…” Ryu silently muttered. “Lifeless dolls again…”

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Author's Notes:

Been so busy!!! Still am!!! God save me!!!