16] Mimic's debut

(Shin POV, Shin's house)

I cough into my hand, not sure what to do.

Hikari- "So we can real-" I interrupt her.

Shin- "M-maybe when we're older. I don't think it's a good idea to do it right now..." I can't get distracted before the end of the 'World's End Arc.'

Hikari- "Boo." She makes a pouty face.

"I guess it's fine though. You do have a serious reason right?" I briefly nod.

Shin- "Coincidence has it that when I'm eighteen, the world will be coming to an end." She seems startled slightly.

Hikari- "What do you mean?" I shake my head quickly.

Shin- "It's not necessary for you to know right now. If you were to know, you would probably be put in danger." I can't risk her getting kidnapped, and tortured for future information.

Seeing that I'm 100% serious, she doesn't press any more.

Shin- "Okay, now we should start our training. Maybe I could train some of the others, at least a little bit. What do you say?"

Hikari- "I don't mind, but try not to focus too much on them." I chuckle in response.

***

I spend a few months training the others and trying to find Cass. Hikari is progressing really quickly, and she discovered something amazing about her Flair. She can copy someone else's Flair, but it takes her a moment to get used to it.

Blaze- "Here we go again." Blaze is currently training Hikari in using a fire-based Flair.

Hikari- "Alright!" Her eyes glow red, and she bursts out a black and red flame aura. She holds her hand out, and a wave of black and red fire surges forward.

Shin- "Yikes! It keeps getting hotter huh?" I sweat as I block her fire with a wind wall.

We've been training like this solely to increase her control over her new ability.

"Okay, switch to Accuracy." I make some targets out of ice, making them smaller and farther away from the last.

***

A few more months pass, and I barely spend any time at home. I hardly get any more Flairs, but I continue to grow the ones that I currently have.

Hikari- "So I'm finally ready for the real thing?" I hesitantly nod.

Shin- "I think you should be fine, just don't get too carried away." She hugs me with an impressive speed and power.

"I'll make sure you don't get hurt, but don't expect too much assistance." She backs up slightly before firmly nodding.

Hikari- "Okay! So, what do we start with?" Blaze speaks up, wanting to give his advice.

Blaze- "I suggest either trying to take down rookie heroes or criminals. Actual villains may be a bit too tough to start with." A small smile makes it's way onto my face.

Shin- "A good suggestion, how about you debut with her? You can handle yourself, and if Hikari gets into any dangerous situations, you can assist her." His eyes widen.

Blaze- "Me? You want me to debut with her? I haven't even thought about a villain name yet!" He tries to back down, saying he's not ready. My smile fades slightly before being replaced by a smirk.

Shin- "Great!" I clap my hands together as I say this.

"We can get you all set up at the same time then!" He looks slightly worried, but he doesn't say anything else.

I try to think up a name for Hikari and Blaze, relating to their powers... Possibly related to my alter ego's name.

"Kari... Copy... Mimic!" I nod my head. "Mimic, of the Abyss." Now about Blaze...

"You used to be Shadow Flame... White flames... Ifrit. Quite fitting huh?"

Blaze- "So I'll be: Ifrit, of the Abyss?" I nod before turning to Kari.

Shin- "Any objections with your name?" She shakes her head with vigor.

Kari- "What about our costumes? I know that we've worked on a couple designs here and there, but it was nothing final." Blaze speaks up as well.

Blaze- "I can't use my old suit, it was torn to shreds." He glances at me.

"Although it doesn't matter since I would get recognized instantly if I wore it."

***

We spend many hours just tweaking designs with Darkness Manipulation.

Hikari's costume looks similar to mine, minus the cloak and Blaze's has a scarf without the cloak.

Kari- "So, did you give Shiro a ring too?" My expression contorts into that of confusion.

Shin- "What do you mean?" She points at the black ring on her finger.

"Oh! No, go ahead and show her Blaze." Blaze rolls up his sleeve to reveal a tight black band around his wrist.

Blaze- "He was going to give me a necklace, but I asked for this instead." Hikari nods.

Kari- "So, how many of these things do you have?" I scratch the back of my head lightly.

Shin- "Uh, only those two right now." It's Hikari's turn to be confused now.

Kari- "Didn't you offer Shiro a necklace? How did he get the necklace if you only had these two?"

Shin- "I made them, but I can only currently have two at a time." She nods before we descend into an awkward silence.

Kari- "So... What about our debut event?"

Shin- "I know, we can deal with the growing Vigilants. I'll deal with the higher ranks, and you both deal with the lower ranks."

They both nod in understanding.

"Blaze, protect Hikari with everything you have. If a dangerous situation occurs, and Hikari dies?" Killing intent floods out from my body, and Blaze sweats uncontrollably.

"You'll wish you were allowed to die."

*** (3 hours later, City D3)

All three of us are standing on a rooftop looking down at the remains of the Vigilant headquarters.

Kari- "Wait... didn't we already deal with these guys?" Her response brings a mild smile to my face.

Shin- "You see, it's been a while. They've probably regrouped already with stronger allies."

Kari- "I see..."

Shin- "So, I'll watch as you guys dismantle the weaker ones. If any strong ones show up, I'll deal with them." They nod and cloak themselves in darkness, when the darkness fades, they are seen in their villain outfits.

Ifrit- "Let's go." Hikari nods and jumps down the building using a whip of shadow to slow her descent.

(Hikari PoV)

I land on the ground with a soft thud, and wait for Shiro to follow.

When Shiro lands we both start making our way to the base, only stopping at the entrance.

Mimic- "Hey, are you as nervous as I am?" He calmly answers with a bored tone in his voice.

Ifrit- "Meh, I'm used to raids. This is the first time I'll be fighting an ex-hero though."

I look to him, noticing his confident strides.

Mimic- "Leave it to me, I'll deal with everyone I can. You provide backup in case I can't deal with someone." I can't see his face, but I can practically feel his smirk.

Ifrit- "Yeah, that was my plan. Now, what's yours?" I tilt my head in confusion.

Mimic- "What do you mean?" He chortles slightly at my question, causing me to glare at him.

Ifrit- "What I mean is this: What are you going to do to take these guys down? Are you sneaking in and taking them out stealthily? Are you going in guns Blazing?" He chuckles at the little pun he made using his name.

"Anyway, that's what I meant."

I ponder for a moment. What am I even going to do? I was just so excited to go on my first... outing? I don't know.

Mimic- "I was just... going to walk right in there and start beating up the first person I see." Shiro facepalms and jently shakes his head, silently muttering something about 'scouting'.

Ifrit- "Can you at least scan the area to see how many people are in the building?" I get a sudden wave of realization.

Mimic- "Oh yeah, I can totally do that!" So, I do just that.

My Flair activates and I can see the Aura of dozens of people. I can even tell their Elemental affinity by the color, and their strength by the density of the Aura.

"Woah! Good thing I did this, I don't know if I have the ability to go against six people at once." I look to the density of Shiro's aura, and it's vastly stronger than all of the people in the building.

"Just make sure I can handle it, I want to challenge myself. I think my Aura is stronger than most of theirs, but not to the extent that it'll be easy."

Ifrit- "So we're still going with the original plan?" I nod.

"Okay, I'll just stay beside you. If I think you'll get hurt I'll intervene." He walks up to the front door, before gently opening it.

I follow closely behind him, trying not to make a sound. When we get closer to the group of people, he waits for me to go ahead of him.

I kick open the door with all of my force, the black and red flame blazing in my hands.

Mimic- "Let's get this party started!"