NO. 35 - Kobashigawa

[General POV]

"Hurry the hell up! Don't you dare forget those briefcases, you damn imbecile!"

"Yes, sir!"

Deep within a highly secured mansion on the outskirts of Kyoto was a group of people rushing within a large office. They were all dressed in suits while they moved with haste to collect, pact, organize, and secure several documents, expensive items, and stacks of money.

Sitting in a chair with an annoyed expression was a large man dressed in an expensive black and blue three-piece suit. He had four pairs of eyes, all of which were a different color. His brushed-back black hair was sleek and shiny, while a well-kept mustache sat over his lip. He was tapping his fingers on the armrest of a ludicrously expensive gold and red patted chair.

"Kobashigawa-san." Stepping into the frantic room was a beautiful woman with neon violet hair. She was dressed in a skin-tight hero suit that accentuated all her natural curves. A short black cape hung from the woman's shoulder while her black high heels tapped along the shiny quartz flooring. "Relax. Nothing will go wrong while I'm around."

The woman, Shimmer, otherwise known as Imada Kiyomi, was known by the public as Japan's number 25 ranked pro hero. She was one of the country's rising stars with an impressive quirk called Shimmering Energy.

Shimmering Energy allowed Shimmer to use the energy around her as a weapon to use in any way she deemed fit. By bringing out the natural power within nearby technologies, vehicles, electrical cables, or even the sun above her, Shimmer could manifest that energy into powerful beams of pure energy to launch at her targets.

However, despite her growing fame and powerful quirk, Shimmer was a hungry, insatiable, opportunistic person who would take whatever she thought would benefit her. Being a hero was just a means to an end for her. She didn't even care about the people she saved; they were all just a way for her to earn more money.

So when she was offered 150,000,000 yen to protect a paramount crime lord, she jumped at the opportunity. Despite knowing all about his past and abhorrent actions.

"Tch, for your sake. You better be right, Shimmer. Especially at what you're costing me." Kobashigawa growled as he turned away from the woman to glare at a short, nervous woman standing patiently beside him. "How long until we're ready to move?!

"G-gah. W-we almost have everything packed, and your plane will be ready to depart as soon as we arrive at the runway, Kobashigawa-sama." The nervous woman, Kita Kobeni, said while looking down her tablet. "It should only be another t-ten minutes."

"Not good enough! Make it five!"

"Y-yes, Kobashigawa-sama!"

"Not bad; everyone either respects the hell out of you, or they're scared shitless," Shimmer said with a small sultry smile. "You sure do live up to your reputation, Kobashigawa-san."

Sora Kobashigawa, otherwise known as the Dealer of Sin, was one of Japan's three major crime bosses. He came up from nothing and made a name for himself by doing whatever it took to get to the top. Whether that meant murder, blackmail, arms smuggling, corruption, and human trafficking.

All his actions allowed him to achieve the heights of power he now held. He was one of the world's richest men, and his influence spread far beyond his home country of Japan. He was untouchable by the government, police, and even the pro heroes. His power and status are what allowed him to have such a prosperous and unimpeded career.

All that allowed him to enter the Demon King's inner circle. Further bolstering his infamy and strength.

There wasn't anyone within the underworld that didn't know his name.

There wasn't anyone who didn't fear his name.

That is, all except that force of nature that has been systematically destroying everything he's built over his entire life over the course of two years.

His most significant source of income, his human trafficking ring of children with impressive quirks, was destroyed.

His dozens of safe houses that kept his vast wealth were all burned to the ground. Money and all.

His large army of two thousand strong quirk users were all slaughtered or crippled to the point he now only had around two hundred men at his disposal.

Not even his most trusted and loyal business partners wanted anything to do with him for fear of gaining the Demon God's attention.

"That damn bastard, Sukuna," Kobashigawa growled, the armrest under him cracking under his grip. "I'll fucking have his head for what he's done. I'll never stop coming after him until I get payback."

"Did you say... Sukuna? As in the King of Curses Sukuna?!" Shimmer said in shock, turning an angry look at Kobashigawa. "You didn't say that's who was coming after you!"

"Shut up!" Kobashigawa yelled, shooting to his full height of 2.5 meters. His four eyes shrank into slits as he glared at the shaken hero. "I've already paid you your wage, woman. Now you either do your job, or I'll skin you and your entire family line one by one! Is that clear?"

"…crystal."

With a huff, Kobashigawa walked away from his chair and began yelling at his staff to quicken their already fast pace.

"Shit. What did I get myself into."

Shimmer mumbled and left the room to head to the mansion's electrical room. Once there, she grabbed a pair of thick electrical cables and begged to absorb the several thousand bolts of electricity. As she did so, her violet eyes glowed with power.

"I'm sure all those rumors I heard of him were all blown out of proportion. I'll just kill Sukuna and be done with this dumb job." Shimmer said with a smile. "Yeah, this'll be a walk in the park."

x x x

[General POV]

Himiko and Twice sat on Sukuna's Shikigami, Nue, as it flew over the city below them towards their destination. Looking up, Himiko watched as Sukuna flew above them using what appeared to be mechanical wings that resembled those of a dragonfly.

Sukuna was dressed in a black haori with a white kimono and black undershirt that was connected to a black hood that hid his features. On his lower body, tied together with a black belt, were baggy martial arts pants and black martial arts shoes.

Around his body and over his shoulder was Zaiko, Sukuna's ever-faithful weapon inventory, while Jello, another Shikigami of his, sat on his other shoulder in a much smaller form.

Himiko herself was dressed in a black-blue uniform with a yellow hood that had cat ears on top. A white and yellow cat mask covered her face to hide her identity, while the mask's eye holes had the lenses of one of the curse tool glasses. Strapped behind her was a blunt sword covered in white tappings and black dots as two knife holsters were strapped around her thighs.

Himiko was a little concerned at the sudden shift in her friend's personality once he was fully changed. He was now more silent and cold, or at least that's how he felt to her. Himiko was curious to know whether this was due to his current focus or if this was how he normally was whenever he went out at night as the King of Curses.

"Trust Souta, I mean, Sukuna, Toga-chan," Jin said as he turned to look at her. "You may have been training with us for the past few months, but being out here is different. Yeah! It's scary!"

Jin was dressed in a heavily modified version of his old suit. Instead of it being a skin-tight latex suit, Jin's new costume was made of a thicker, more reinforced material that offered him greater defense and protection. The areas where his joints were still had the flexibility required for his acrobatics or hand-to-hand skills.

Strapped to his back were twin katanas that Souta implemented as an extra layer of offense while Jin's wristband measuring tape tools sat over his wrists.

"I do trust him. That's never a question." Himiko said, her hands gripping Nue's feathers tightly. "I guess... I'm just not used to this version of him."

"I see. I get that... But from what Sukuna has told me, this guy he's after is seriously bad news. He's been after this guy for two years, and tonight is his chance to end it."

"Bad news? What did this guy do?"

"…he's someone you don't ever want to come across. Ever." Jin said, his voice deadly serious. "He's one of Japan's most powerful crime lords, and he's the reason so many… so many children go missing. This guy is as close to evil as one can get."

Himiko's eyes grew wide, the weight of what was going on finally settling upon her. Taking a deep breath, she schooled her anxiety and fear.

"I think I get it now. This is some super serious stuff." Himiko said, her eyes determined. "Still, I'll do whatever it takes to help Sukuna-kun. I owe him everything."

"Good! Just remember to stick close to me." Jin said as he flexed. "We're just back up today! Leave all the heavy lifting to Sukuna! He's pretty strong, you know?"

Himiko smiled with a nod, her soft gaze falling back over Sukuna as he flew with the moon above him.

"Yeah. I know."

Despite not ever seeing what Sukuna could truly do, Himiko absolutely believed what she said.

x x x

[Shimizu Souta POV]

(This is where the human is, Sukuna-sama.)

"Good work, Uraume."

I gave Crow Uraume a piece of fruit and dismissed her. Watching her fly away, I turned to Himiko and Jin as they jumped off Nue. They gave the Shikigami a few pats before it melted into shadows.

They jogged over to me and came to a stop at my side. We peered down at the sizeable Western-style mansion below the hill we were on with the trees on our backs. The mansion was nestled between several tall trees hidden away by several large jutting boulders.

"That it?!" Jin said as he examined the mansion below. "I wonder how much a night here would cost. You think they got an Airbnb?"

"Yeah, this is it." I turned to Himiko and Jin, my voice unintentionally low and cold, causing them to stand straight. "You two stay away from Kobashigawa. He's mine. Your role is to hang back and take down his henchmen while I move in… At the FIRST sign of things going south, I want you both to get out of here. Is that clear?"

"You got it!" Jin nodded while Himiko looked conflicted.

"Himiko." I took off my hood and stepped closer to her. My calm eyes gazed into her own reluctant ones. "I know you're a skilled fighter. The amount you've learned in those few short months we trained is proof of that. But you're still not ready for what we could face down there. I'm sure Kobashigawa has hired some strong people to keep him safe from me. I just… don't want you to get hurt. Either of you."

[+10 SP]

[+10 SP]

"Ah! Okay!" Himiko crossed her arms and turned away with a pout. "I'll be sure to get out of there at the first sign of trouble."

I smiled and patted her head. As I walked away, I missed the light blush that burned on her cheeks. Stopping by the edge of the cliff we were on, I gazed down at the mansion and its surrounding terrain.

Jin, who did pick up on Himiko's blush, lifted a small flag with SSxTH on it. He waved it around before tossing it over his shoulder to step beside me, as did Himiko.

I reached into Zaiko and pulled out Playful Cloud while Jello floated behind me. Himiko pulled out Nanami's blunt sword while Jin whipped out one of his measuring tapes.

"Okay. Let's begin."

[IMAGE]

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AN:

And so, Souta's long two-year mission will now reach its climax!

Hopefully, you all will enjoy the little visual I did for the last scene. It took around the time to write an entire chapter, so it's a bit rough. Depending on how things go, I may or may not make a few more of these for future scenes.

Be sure to comment and leave your thoughts!

Until next time!