Mr. Inazuma (
Summary[]
At roughly 11:53 am, the various auction-goers take their seats. Kyora muses on how Chihiro hadn't tried anything over the last five days, but sets the matter aside as he prepares to take the stage.
Outside, on a balcony overlooking the Rakuzaichi's front entrance, a sunglasses-wearing guard briefs an investigating Shiba on the security situation: as with all Rakuzaichi events, three people per party are allowed to enter the underground auction hall, while the rest band together to guard the outside and ground floor; a longstanding tradition imposed by the Sazanami Clan. The Sazanami Clan's sorcerers patrol the building's underground, where the auction hall is located.
The one thing different, remarks the sunglasses-wearer, was the 50-million yen bounty placed by the Sazanami on Chihiro Rokuhira, owner of Enten. The sunglasses-wearer pulled out a leaflet; a bounty poster for Chihiro, which had been handed out at the entrance. Shiba casually claims he had lost his own, hence why he didn't have one. He proposes that if Chihiro is killed and Enten's Lifelong Contract is broken, Enten's price would exponentially increase due to being usable. The sunglasses-wearer acknowledges that as a distinct possibility.
He continues by idling commenting that the city sleeps on the day of the Rakuzaichi, no one wanting to interfere with the cesspool of villainy in fear for their own lives. Since no one dares come near, the guards usually have nothing to do. The sunglasses-wearer concludes by stating he does not believe Chihiro would come, especially after his weapon, Enten, ended up in the hands of the Sazanami. Even if Chihiro came, he does not believe anything would change.
A young child named Yuu, wearing a helmet with a lightning bolt on it, then walks up to the Rakuzaichi gates. In a diary entry labelled November 8th, Yuu calls himself 'Mr. Inazuma', and states he will bring down the thunder of justice on evil. In a flashback, Yuu recalls his sister telling him not to be scared of the thunder and that she would protect him. In the present, Yuu declares internally that he will no longer be scared, and that he will be a hero that enters the 'den of evil'. The word 'scared' is seen scratched out in his diary.
Yuu marches through the front gates, and the guards decide not to bother apprehending him, simply alerting the building guards to the intruder's presence. Yuu marches into the building and immediately runs into a guard, who shouts through a walkie-talkie for the gate guards to actually do their job. As Yuu shouts at him to move, his neck is grabbed by the guard, who bluntly asks why he's here. Yuu, now held aloft in the air, demands his sister, who was slated for auction, to be released. The guard smugly tells him to come back with money, causing the other guards around him to laugh.
In response, fuelled by a memory of his sister, Yuu unveils a knife and stabs the guard's forearm, provoking more laughter from the other guards and aggravation on the stabbed guard's part. Annoyed at the gate guards for causing him so much inconvenience, the stabbed guard vows to get payback on them; but they are already dead. The one responsible, walking in through the front gate, is noticed by the sunglasses-wearer, and he notes the one entering has a scar on his face. Shiba then interjects, stating the young man approaching had both arms whereas the notice stated Chihiro had only one. The sunglasses-wearer concedes the point, evidently not aware of regeneration abilities capable of recovering arms.
Shiba checks his watch, which reads 11:58, and realises Chihiro had shown up earlier than than expected. Shiba immediately ducks into the foyer, thanking the sunglasses-wearer for the info and stating he needs to go help Chihiro by turning off the lights, leaving the confused sunglasses-wearer behind. Inside the foyer, Shiba sees the stabbed guard pulling Yuu's knife out of his forearm. Yuu then recalls another memory; his sister telling him lightning never strikes good children, and is what the sky uses to punish evil. In the present, tears scream out of Yuu's face as he proclaims himself to be Mr. Inazuma, the one who rains down the thunder of justice.
Chihiro calls forth Mei.
The guard holding him pulls out the knife and prepares to stab down at Yuu, but Chihiro then enters and slices off the arm holding Yuu using his wakizashi, saving the child and telling him he had done well. As the guards begin noticing Chihiro's identity, Shiba then detaches the chandelier above from its position, immediately bringing the room into darkness. The guards attempt to rally together to claim the 50-million yen.
In a flashback, Chihiro makes it clear to Shiba that he would move directly through the guards, and as Shiba asks if he's sure, Chihiro states he has already decided to take on the responsibility of something. That something is made clear to be Cloud Gouger, which Chihiro activates before calling Mei. The clock strikes noon, and as Kyora walks up the stairs to the stage, Chihiro simultaneously recalls he and Shiba had planned to begin their operation at noon. Kyora then declares the 208th Rakuzaichi open.
Quick References[]
Chapter Notes[]
- A Rakuzaichi guard with sunglasses talks with Shiba, and is unaware of Shiba's true intentions.
- Shiba pries information from the guard regarding security and a 50 million yen bounty placed on Chihiro's head.
- The guard comments that there's usually not much for them to do since most people ignore the auction.
- A young child, Yuu, calling himself Mr. Inazuma, attacks the front door to try and rescue his sister, who is due to be auctioned off.
- In the front room, a guard easily grabs him and mocks him for his attempt, prompting Yuu to stab his arm with a knife.
- Chihiro arrives at the front door at nearly 12:00 noon with his right arm restored, though still bandaged.
- Shiba leaves the sunglasses-wearing guard and sees Yuu's situation, where the stabbed guard is about to kill Yuu.
- Yuu recalls his sister saying that lightning is what the sky uses to punish evildoers, which is the reason why he gave himself a storm-related title; Inazuma directly translating to lightning.
- Chihiro saves Yuu, Shiba breaks the chandelier and the lights go out. Chihiro then activates Cloud Gouger and uses Mei.
- The clock strikes noon and Kyora walks up the stairs to the auction platform. He declares the 208th Rakuzaichi has commenced.
- Chihiro and Shiba had planned to begin their operation at noon.
Characters in Order of Appearance[]
Author's Comment[]
| Author Comment | |
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Takeru Hokazono |
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