Chapter 8: Vigilante's Life: Yakuza
Vigilante's Life: Yakuza
Classes went by rather slow for Kaine today. Perhaps it was his lack of interest for some of the general courses, perhaps it was the pain from his injuries from the night before making it feel like an eternity. However, there was one good thing that happened. People were talking about him, or rather, people were talking about the sudden appearance of a vigilante in the city taking down Land Shark. A lot of people had negative things to say, but he didn't care, he had a large smile on his face all day.
After classes were over, the bell rang for students to go to lunch. Tetsutetsu, Monoma, Kaine, Kendo, Setsuna, and Awase all walked together out of their math class and towards the lunch room. "What about you, Kaine? Did you hear about that vigilante that showed up in the red district last night?" Tetsutetsu asked, "It was pretty crazy, man. Apparently he showed up and took down Land Shark. I mean, that's pretty impressive, right?"
"I have to admit, that's pretty bad ass." Awase added with a nod.
"Guys," Kaine chuckled, "Regardless if he did good or not, vigilantism is still illegal. We have rules and guidelines we have to follow." he laughed, "We can't go around taking the law into our own hands. That makes us just as bad as villains."
"I'm glad ONE of you boys has common sense." Kendo said with a breath of relief.
"Having said that," Kaine continued, "Yeah, it was pretty rad. Taking down Land Shark is no easy feat."
"Land Shark is pretty old. Not nearly as prevalent a villain he was ten years ago." Monoma mentioned.
"True, but think about it, Land Shark is still a massive threat even today." Kaine continued, "He has experience. I mean, how many new heroes do you see taking on experienced villains their first year? Even Mount Lady, her first year she was still taking down pretty minor villains that were the equivalent of purse snatchers or store robbers." he explained before he walked in front of the group, turned around and gave a big smile as he walked backwards, "THEREFORE, I have a theory! This guy came out of nowhere, so either he's really good out of the gate, or, OR he's a hero that came out of retirement but doesn't want to follow the law. You know, real hardass that plays by his rules 'cause it's the only way to get results. The type of guy who likely screams out: 'Fuck the police, coming straight from the underground!'" he explained the last part switching to English and waving a middle finger in the air.
Kendo sighed and chopped Kaine on the head, "I think that fight you got into has frazzled your brain. You're speaking nonsense."
Setsuna let out a laugh, "I don't know, I kinda like brain damaged Kaine, he's a lot more talkative than he has been.
"Kaine." Kaine stopped when Monoma called him. "Everyone, stop. Kaine, turn around." Kaine turned to see a group of Class A students, it seems Monoma really wanted to have some sort of stand-off with them. The group consisted of the red-headed student that Tetsutetsu was arguing with the other day, a blonde male student with black highlights in the side of his hair that looked like lightning bolts, a fairly plain looking student with medium length black hair though it looked like he had big elbows, and finally was a fairly tall student with spiky brown hair and a muscular build. "Well, well, well, if it isn't Class A." Monoma said with a grin.
"Class B." the black haired student said with a nod.
"Looks like we meet again!" the red haired student said with a grin as he and Tetsutetsu stood face-to-face. Kendo pinched the bridge of her nose in embarrassment for her classmates while Setsuna had a large grin plastered on her face.
The blonde student, not really focusing on the...rivalry, the two classes recently formed from nothing, took a quick look at Kaine and had a concerned expression, "Damn dude, what happened to you?"
"I got in a fight with a truck, the truck lost." Kaine replied with a chuckle.
"Kaine here is arguably Class B's ultimate weapon." Monoma boasted, "He's powerful, he's fast, and he has combat experience. Which is probably more than some of your class can say." Kaine cocked and eyebrow in confusion and Kendo just stared at Monoma in disbelief. "I suppose you'll figure that out soon enough though when he beats you in every aspect during the sports festival. C'mon guys." the Class B students walked away with Monoma who had a malicious grin the whole time.
"Monoma, what were you talking about?" Kaine asked as they walked away, "Like, did we forget I barely got into the class?"
"All apart of the plan, Kaine." Monoma laughed, "If they start to overestimate you they'll underestimate the rest of us. That's when we get the drop on them when they least expect it."
Meanwhile, with the Class A students. They were walking into the lunch room and sat at their typical group table, "Man, those guys are kinda weird, right?" the black haired student asked. He gained a unanimous grunt and nod of agreements from his friends.
After classes were let out, Kaine decided against going home right away. Instead he planned on hiking himself to the Upper West Side and scoping out the Abarai Family building. The moment Kaine stepped outside the gates though he felt an arm wrap around his neck, "YO, KAINE!" Tetsutetsu yelled out as he pulled the spider teen into a one armed hug, "Dude, you wanna come to the arcade with me and the boys?"
"The boys?" Kaine asked with a cocked eyebrow.
"Yeah, me, Awase, Tsuburaba, Monoma, ALL OF US! The 1-B boys are gonna hit up the arcades and totally dominate!" he smiled, "Well...except Kamakiri...he said he was gonna focus on training, but you gotta take a break every now and then too you know!"
Kaine grabbed Tetsutetsu's arm and lifted it off him. "Thanks, but no thanks, man. I think I'm gonna follow Kamakiri's lead and focus on training." Kaine waved as he began walking away from a disappointed Tetsutetsu.
"Ah, c'mon, man!" Tetsutetsu called out, "We found this Super Retro Arcade in the Upper West Side!" Kaine stopped in his tracks and turned back to Tetsutetsu, "It's super rad, man! We heard they have cabinets from the 1980s! That's practically a hundred years ago!"
Kaine blinked a few times, "R-Retro Arcade Cabinets?" he slapped himself and shook his head a few times, "I-I mean...did you say the Upper West Side?"
"Uh...yeah, man. That's where we found the arcade."
Kaine gave a large smile before giving a thumbs up, "I mean, I have errands to run up there anyways, so why not right!?" Tetsutetsu pumped his fist and cheered over the confirmation.
The boys of 1-B arrived in the Upper West Side, taking in the sights of the large buildings and different electronic based shops that made up the shopping section of the district. The Upper West Side was a pretty weird district, at least, it was to Kaine. It was the complete opposite of The Sinkhole. Instead of run down buildings and prostitutes, there was state of the art skyscrapers, big electronic shops and cosplay cafés which are like prostitutes in that you give the waitresses money to like you more and sex isn't involved at all. However, there was another difference between the districts and that was the living situation. In The Sinkhole people were usually tightly packed into apartments, but here the living situation was extremely bourgeois: lavish penthouse apartments, huge mansions that take up dozens of acres of land. The shopping center was only a portion of the district, the rest of it consisted of these large homes.
"Wow, look at this place." Tsuburaba said with a whistle, "It's like a massive tech expo."
"I know right!" Tetsutetsu yelled out, "Man, seeing cutting edge technology is so cool! They have massive holographic rooms you can rent out here! We should totally try renting one out, I here they even put on special shows!"
Monoma's eye twitched slightly, "You moron, those are eighteen-plus only. Those 'special shows' are adult shows." he sighed, "Well, come on, Shoda. You're the one who found this place, no?"
Shoda nodded, "Yeah, it's a little out of the way. It's down an alley. You wouldn't know it if you saw it normally. It just looks like a warehouse." he explained, "Supposedly they have all sorts of cabinets there from Japan, the States, Europe. Ranging from the 1980s all the way until the 2050s! Think about it, we'll probably be able to see the original version of many of our favorite games!" Shoda seemed awfully excited as he couldn't seem to hide his smile from the others. But as excited as Shoda was, Kaine was so much more.
Shoda led the group through different alleyways in the district until they eventually reached one that just had a singular cube van and a large sized warehouse that looked as if it was used to for storing products that would be shipped out across the country. Shoda approached the door at the side of the warehouse and knocked the classic 'Shave and a Haircut' and the door entered allowing the boys to enter.
Inside the warehouse the group of boys was greeted by a single man sitting behind a desk working on an old arcade cabinet. He turned around and coughed in his hands before wiping them off with a cleaning wipe. "Hello boys. Ya'll browsing or are ya here ta game?"
"Woah, Hokkaido accent." the boys said in unison, "Um, we're here to game, sir." Shoda said.
The man nodded, "Alright. Since there's so many of ya, I'll give you a slight discount. let's just say ¥10.000 altogether, yeah?"
The boys turned to each other and huddled up and began to count their cash. Obviously, Kaine contributed the least, only coming up with ¥400 but the boys gave him a pass since they sprung it on him last second. The one who contributed the most was Monoma which didn't really surprise Kaine since the blonde teen always came off someone who came from a pretty well off family. Maybe it was his looks, maybe it was the way he talked. But, the boys came up with the money and they were allowed to enjoy several hours of unlimited gaming. Honestly, it was a steal of a deal. But people are more interested with modern arcade games, too bad.
"Dude, look at this place. It's like a time warp!" Manga mentioned with an astonished tone as the boys walked through dozens upon hundreds of classic cabinets. "I mean check this one out! It's just lines to imitate a 3D space!"
"Those are Vector Graphics," Kaine pointed out, "Quite a few games were made like this before 3D graphics were more realized. But 3D would fully be embraced in the 1990s with the introduction of Sega's Virtua Fighter."
"Wow, you sure know a lot, huh, Kaine?" Awase mentioned.
Kaine blushed slightly, "I just really like retro stuff." he said with a slight chuckle.
"Enough about that, boys! Let's check out some old games!" Tetsutetsu yelled out. With that the boys began to explore the warehouse full of arcade cabinets going through the history of games. Donkey Kong, Punch Out, Outrun, King of Fighters, Street Fighter, Final Fight, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the arcade game, Daytona USA, Initial D, NBA Jam, NFL Blitz, Virtua Fighter, Dead or Alive, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Pac-Man, Galaga. It was an instant time warp, and each cabinet was split off based on the era it came out it. The 90s having largest section.
However, there was one cabinet that caught Kaine's eye, something he would consider the holy grail of arcade games. Sitting under a large light in the middle of the 90s section was THE ultimate fighting game. The combination of fictional fighters and real heroes who lived on through comics: Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Kaine placed his hands together in a prayer motion and thanked whatever gods were looking over him, for he had found something he has always wanted.
Elsewhere...
On the opposite side of the district was a large mansion like building, having many acres of land attached to it. On the grounds of this building, hundreds of men stood guard as they walked around, all were wearing suits of some sort to make them look professional, but also intimidating. The building belonged to the Abarai clan, one of the larger Yakuza organizations in the region. Inside the building, in the meeting room, sat the head of the Abarai clan, Eighth Chairman, Kenchiro Suda. He was the older skeptical man that was at the meeting in The Sinkhole a few days prior. He had graying hair and a wrinkly face, he also wore a dark gray suit with a red tie.
Suda sat in his large chair while Tatsu and The Assassin stood before him and gave a bow. "Tatsu," Suda greeted, "To what do I owe the visit? Come to get more men from me, have you?"
Tatsu straightened his tie and frowned, "Unfortunately Land Shark has been compromised." he groaned, "Worse than that it seems he let slip some information. He told the vigilante that stopped him that you were affiliated with us. So it is plausible you may be the next target."
"What?" Suda laughed, "Aren't you getting a little worked up over a vigilante? Land Shark will be out in a few weeks, this kid, whoever he is, won't stand a chance the moment he steps foot on this property." Suda gave a heartful belly laugh as he called one of his underlings over to light a cigar for him. The Yakuza chairman took a long puff from his cigar and blew smoke towards the ceiling, "For a minute, I thought you were going to tell me something that could give a scare."
Tatsu squinted his eyes, "Perhaps I didn't make myself clear, the vigilante is likely coming here. He caught Land Shark off guard, what makes you think he won't do the same to you?" he warned, "What if he learns what your organization does for this business venture? He'd be able to find connections to our other business partners. He'd be closer to finding our employer. I don't think you'd want that to happen do you?" Tatsu's tone sounded almost threatening as he squinted. "That being said, I shall leave The Assassin here for the time being. Until you pack up your supplies and change locations."
"Change locations?" Suda scoffed. "What for? This building is one of the best fortified in Japan. My men will take down that vigilante no problem. I'm not Land Shark you know."
Tatsu let out a groan and gritted his teeth in frustration, "If he gets you, then he could stop the funding. If you want your payout you need to continue helping our funding. The boss would also like to keep things as clean as possible and not have us clean up your mess." he straitened his tie again as he began walking towards the back exit with Assassin following close behind. "Move your men, change locations. Before we have an issue." Tatsu left the building, leaving Suda to sit in his seat and grit his teeth in frustration.
Tatsu left through the rear exit of the building and walked to a helipad where a helicopter was waiting for him. Tatsu spun his finger in the air and the pilot started the engine and propellers. Before Tatsu climbed on he was stopped by Assassin, "What is the order? Should I come into contact with the vigilante."
"Destroy him." Tatsu ordered, "Heroes are one thing. But freaks who don't follow the law can be just as bad as an unhinged villain. Nip this in the bud the moment you get the chance." The Assassin nodded and Tatsu left on the helicopter.
"Pfft. Can't believe I have to babysit this old man." Assassin scoffed as she walked back inside.
Kaine...
HOLY CRAP! I totally lost track of time! Kaine mentally yelled, I got so caught up with the arcade and everything I totally forgot why I was up here in the first place! Kaine and the others had just left the arcade. It was already starting to get dark. "I feel bad for ditching the guys at the end there, but I would like to get answers sooner rather than later. Kaine ran through the streets of the district before finding a narrow alleyway and climbing to the top. While on the roof, Kaine dug through his backpack and grabbed his "suit". "It's a miracle I kept this hidden in my bag the whole time. I should really invest in an actual suit to wear when I do this. Maybe one of those scrapped concepts so people don't recognize its me." Kaine slipped into his outfit and put on his make-shift mask, "It would be smart because I could have an actual mask...and also this one already has some battle damage."
Kaine looked around the rooftop, searching for a place to put his backpack until he chose a section by an air vent. He webbed his bag to the vent and he took off for the mansion.
Kaine swung his way through the city until there was no more building for him to swing from and he was forced to move by foot. Of course this wasn't good for Kaine because it was practically a flat road from here on out and if he was spotted he would rouse suspicion. Dammit, what the hell am I supposed to do now? Get on all fours and act like an animal? Kaine stopped dead in his tracks and sighed as he put his hands on the ground and began crawling like he would when he scaled a wall.
Eventually, he made it to the Abarai clan headquarters. He knew it was the right building because it literally said their name out front of the building. A luxury one is sure to have when a large portion of the police force in the area is bound to be in your pocket. Kaine gulped as he started moving towards the front gate and stopped. He smacked his head, Don't go through the front gate, moron! Kaine turned around and went to the side of the building and climbed the wall to get inside.
Infiltration start! Kaine chuckled. Almost immediately he had to duck out of the way and hide because he saw someone patrolling the front courtyard he entered in. The man came by and flashed a light near where Kaine was at. Kaine quickly tucked his feet in and hid behind a bush. The man just gave a quick glance before moving on with his patrol. Kaine let out a sigh of relief and slowly moved from the bush. Okay, sneak into the building. Find the chairman, get some answers. Kaine thought with a determined nod. How to find the chairman though? I could try to beat it out of someone, but something tells me these guts won't be quiet.Kaine shrugged his shoulders and jumped onto the side of the building and began looking for an entrance.
While Kaine was crawling he was about to cross a window when he saw someone on the other side open it up. Kaine quickly moved his head and moved up the wall so he wasn't spotted. "Damn man, it isn't that hard. If you're going to smoke, open a damn window. You're gonna destroy my sinuses." a voice called out from the room.
"Oh quit you bitching." another voice replied with a laugh. Kaine quickly poked his head down and spotted only two people in the room. Okay...this is a way in...may be the only way in I get. Kaine wagered his options and decided this was the best course of action.
Kaine poked his head down again and shot a web at a vase that broke. The two mooks jumped in surprise and looked to the vase. Kaine quickly crawled into the room. He hung himself upside down from the ceiling by his webs and grabbed ahold of the two's heads before slamming them together and knocking them out. "Man, that was...incredibly easy." Kaine mumbled to himself. He webbed up the two men and put them in the corner of the room before shutting off the light. "Well, on a positive note, at least they can rest in peace." Kaine left through the door to the room and jumped to the ceiling of the hallway so he could continue his infiltration.
However, in the room Kaine left he had forgotten to close the window. The wind blew into the room and knocked some papers onto the ground. The paper floated over to the discarded cigarette that one of the men had and landed on it. The paper quickly ignited into flames and due to the wind blowing in the flames quickly spread to one of the cabinets.
Kaine continued crawling along the ceiling, staying out of site of the best he could. I have to find the chairman if I want to get answers, but to find him I need a hint. At least a way I can look into these rooms. Kaine shivered as he felt a cool breeze come over him. Looking up he saw an air vent blowing cool air down into the building. Oh...I have an idea.Kaine ripped the vent cover off and began crawling through the metal system. Due to Kaine's larger frame this made his infiltration a little difficult since he practically got stuck every time he moved.
Ugh, damn. Now I know what it's like to be a store bought ben-to box. Kaine thought with a groan. He continued to slowly crawl his way through the air vent until he heard something below him. "Chairman, The Assassin is still here. What do we do?" Kaine stopped and looked down through the slitted grating. Through the grating he could see Suda sitting at a desk looking at some laptop.
"Ha!" Suda laughed, "Mind it not, Tatsu is just a worry wart about nothing. I mean, what sort of vigilante would be dumb enough to enter this building, alone?" Me, apparently. Kaine gulped. Suda sent the man away and continued to tap away at laptop at his desk. So that laptop could have important information on it. That'd be the best way to go instead of making a huge ruckus.
Kaine suddenly felt a weird tingle on his spine before he heard a creaking sound. "What the fu-" Before Kaine could finish, the section of the ventilation shaft he was in snapped off and fell to the office floor below.
"What the hell?" Suda asked as he jumped from his chair in surprise. He walked over to the ventilation section and squinted. He then gripped the top of the shaft and, by sheer force, was able to dig his fingers in. He then ripped the top of the shaft off to find...nothing. It was empty. "Damn, seems I need to make renovations to this damn building." he said with a shake of his head. He turned around and went back to his desk, but as he sat down he saw that his laptop was missing. "HUH?! Where? How?" he looked ahead to see the door to his office closing. Fuming with rage, his face practically red, Suda slammed on his desk in anger before pressing a button on his intercom system, "THAT VIGILANTE PUNK IS IN THE BUILDING AND HE STOLE MY LAPTOP! STOP HIM BEFORE HE LEAVES!"
With Kaine, he was crawling along the ceiling, keeping the laptop attached to his back thanks to his adhesive ability. Alarm has gone off, that's fine, I'll be okay as long as none of them think of looking up. "There he is! Up on the ceiling!" one of the yakuza members yelled out. Kaine let out a long sigh, Can't even think things these days, can I? Before Kaine could even think his next move he felt a bullet whiz by his head and hit the ceiling.
"Holy shit!" Kaine yelled as he dropped down in surprise. More Yakuza began to flood the open area and began firing at him. "That's a lot of guns." Kaine hid behind a pillar as the Yakuza goons unloaded their weapons at the pillar where he was hiding. All Kaine could hear was gunshots and all he could see was the rock of the pillar popping off all around him. His heartbeat began increasing exponentially, "Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit, holy shit!"
Suda burst into the large open area and began yelling at his subordinates, "Where the hell is he!?" he walked over to one of his men and yanked the gun from his hand, "You vigilante sonova bitch! You think you can come into MY home, and steal MY things!?" he fired wildly at the pillar and Kaine nearly got hit when a piece of the pillar broke off near his shoulder, "Now give me back my laptop, and I promise I'll make your death quick!"
Kaine took a deep breath and took the laptop off his back. He looked at the machine and gulped before he punched the ground several times and made it crack. He hid the laptop in a small gap and put a copious amount of webbing on top. Kaine then quickly peered around the pillar and saw black woman he hadn't noticed before. "A foreigner?" Kaine asked.
The Assassin gripped the barrel of Suda's gun, "Hold on...sir." she said with a tinge of sass. Assassin barely made eye contact with Kaine before he ducked back behind the pillar. "I have as much of a mission here as you do." She closed her eyes before opening them again. They were glowing and her eyes moved back and forth quickly as if they were vibrating. Her eyes stopped vibrating and she reached for her stiletto. She quickly drew her sword and threw it forward towards the wall to the right of the pillar. Then, as the sword was flying, she quickly drew the pistol from her back side and fired it at the blade of the sword. The bullet hit the blade and ricocheted and all that could be heard was a cry of pain. "Hm, so he did stand up."
"AAAAAAGH!" Kaine yelled out as he held his side, the shock of it all still getting to him. Holy shit I just got shot! Kaine's breath was shaky as he placed his hand over the wound and felt the wetness of the wound. He lifted his hand to see it covered in blood. His heart rate increased and he began hyperventilating as the realization finally began to sink in that he had indeed been shot. Tears began to form in his eyes, not so much from pain, but from fear. Kaine may have bitten off more than he could chew and these people are trying to actively kill him.
"I have to get out of here. Screw the laptop, I need to think about myself right now." Kaine looked around to see if there was anyway for him to leave, but there wasn't a single exit he could see that was nearby. Suddenly, Kaine and the others flinched at the sound of an alarm, a really loud. really annoying alarm.
"Is that the fire alarm?" one of the yakuza men asked. He got his answer as the ceiling caved in slightly and some of the hallway from the second floor came crashing down. Everyone looked up to see that practically the entire second floor was on fire.
"What the hell!?" Suda yelled out.
While everyone was distracted, Kaine used this moment to try and catch them by surprise. Kaine shot two weblines to a chandelier above Suda and Assassin and pulled it down. Assassin quickly jumped out of the way and shot a rope dart from her wrist so she could pull Suda to saftey. The chandelier then landed on a large group of Yakuza. "AGH! You crazy bitch, did you have to throw a rope dart in me?"
"I was only ensuring your safety...sir." Assassin replied with a deadpan expression. Her eyes began vibrating again and she stole a rocket launcher from one of the Yakuza members. She then ran up the wall and jumped off before firing the rocket down and launching her across the room and landing near Kaine. "Hello, vigilante." she greeted before throwing a punch.
Kaine ducked and rolled out of the way. "Holy crap, did you just rocket jump in real life? I know you're trying to kill me, but that was kinda cool!" He then shot a webline at the rocket launcher in her hand and threw it at one of the yakuza that was coming at him. Kaine then had to back flip out of the way to avoid getting shot, and instead The Assassin was hit by some of the yakuza members.
The Assassin's eyes glowed and she reached under her cloak and pulled out an Uzi. She then turned the weapon towards the Yakuza members and shot them down with a quick burst of the weapon, killing several in the process and injuring others. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? THESE ARE MY MEN!"
"Then tell them to stand down. If they are going to shoot at me I won't hesitate to fire back. And my shots won't miss." Assassin warned. She turned to face Kaine again and was met with a web ball to her face, followed by a flying knee that sent her flying back against the wall. She ripped the sword out of the wall and shot her rope dart at the ceiling above Kaine and pulled herself towards him. Kaine's eyes widened and he dodge rolled to his left to avoid getting sliced.
Damn. I gotta play this right, otherwise I'll be cut to shreds.Assassin's eyes began to vibrate again, this time Kaine took notice. "Hey, are you okay? You're eyes look a little um...irritated?" The Assassin moved forward and sent a horizontal slice. Kaine moved back to avoid getting cut and he shot several web balls at the blade. Assassin switched her blade to the other side and sliced down, but Kaine caught it, however, he cut himself in the process, "YE-OWW!" Kaine shouted, "This is double bladed? Aren't swords like...one blunt side and one sharp side?"
"It's a stiletto, dumbass." Assassin replied with a blank expression. She tried to pull her sword back, but Kaine's strength was too great. Instead, she was pulled forward into a knee to her lower region. She groaned in pain but Kaine seemed a little...confused.
"Oh...you actually are a girl? I'll be honest, I was hoping you were just cross-dressing. That would have made the crotch shot make...much more sense." Kaine chuckled.
"You realize this is a fight right? That I'm trying to kill you?" Assassin asked.
"Yeah just...a little nervous I guess. Seems like I'm a bit of a talker when I'm in danger. So...we're all learning something today."
Assassin was able to finally pull her sword away from Kaine's grasp and she slid back. She pulled out her Uzi again and held it up to fire. Kaine leaned to his right slightly and hip fired web balls at the weapon, gunking it up right as bullets began to leave the barrel. The weapon was clogged and several bullets were caught by the webbing, leaving strands of webbing where they tried to escape from. Assassin quickly threw the weapon away and charged forward. She sent an upward diagonal slice that Kaine avoided by ducking and moving to his side, however, he was immediately met by a kick to his face and was knocked back.
Kaine got to his feet and saw Assassin go for a side kick. He lifted his arm to block, but at the last second a blade came out of the tip of her shoe and dug into his forearm, making him yell out in pain. Assassin pulled her foot back and sent a punch to Kaine's gut, followed by a palm to his face. Kaine tried countering by sending a headbutt, but The Assassin seemed unfazed by the attack. Instead, Assassin grabbed Kaine by his collar and threw him across the floor. She then pulled a small pistol from underneath her pant leg and shot at the ceiling.
Kaine had just barely gotten to his feet before he looked up and saw a chandelier right on top of him. The large chandelier crashed on Kaine and put him on the ground, the crystal and glass shattering all over the place. The Assassin started walking back to the yakuza, "We're leaving, it's clear we've been compromised and emergency services will be here eventually. Set charges, destroy the building." she ordered.
"Why the hell would I do that?" Suda asked, "This is still my building you know!"
"Do you want a hero to show up and potentially find incriminating information about you?" Assassin asked to no answer, "Exactly. Now do as I say or I'll do it myself." She began walking away until she heard a creaking sound. She turned around and was immediately met with the chandelier she shot down being thrown at her. The impact made her fly back against the way, causing it to crack. She landed on all fours and groaned in pain, "Really? Couldn't have shown that far ahead?" she mumbled. "GO!" she yelled out.
The Assassin cracked her neck as she began walking towards Kaine, "You're making this more difficult for me. You should just give up and know your place in life."
"I know my place in life!" Kaine yelled back, "It's to do right by others. To protect those who can't protect themselves. I'm going to take you down...then I'm going to take down your boss! I'll make sure they never hurt anyone, especially those in The Sinkhole who can't fend for themselves."
The Assassin just gave an uninterested stare, "You really are just a child, aren't you?" she sighed, "No matter. You're in my employer's way, and I'd like to get my paycheck." Kaine was the first to act this time, but instead of a standard frontal assault, he instead dashed forward a few steps before shooting a webline to the ceiling and swinging his way over to The Assassin. He clearly caught her off guard as he was able to land a swing kick with no problems, even able to bring her airborne. While in the air, the two began trading blows back and forth. Assassin tried reaching for her sword, but Kaine webbed it to its hilt. Kaine then sent one more punch before kicking her downwards, catching her with a web strand and spinning in the air before slamming her against the ground.
The Assassin quickly rolled out of the way before Kaine came down to slam into her. She got to her feet and grabbed her pistol again and fired. She missed her first shot which allowed Kaine to roll to the side and avoid getting shot again. Kaine then shot several web balls at her to try and gunk up her pistol. Learning from before, however, The Assassin lifted up her hand quickly and only got a web ball on her elbow. She rolled back and aimed her gun at Kaine and her eyes began vibrating again.
The Assassin's eyes widened in surprise and an explosion went off shortly after. Both her and Kaine were in surprise as explosions were going off all around the building. "Not with me inside assholes!" she shouted. The Assassin quickly kicked Kaine in the chest and he slid back along the ground as the explosions continued to go off. The second floor began to cave in and fall to the first floor and the Assassin left by hopping from debris to debris and leaving out the second floor, while Kaine was crushed and covered with debris and dust.
The Assassin made it out of the mansion in one piece, a few scratches on her suit and some soot on her face. She walked over to the yakuza members and socked Suda in the eye, causing the other yakuza members to pull out their guns and point it at her. "What the hell was that? When I said destroy the building I meant when I was out! Do you have a death wish or something!?"
"We had to ensure the brat was killed," Suda countered, "besides look at my home! Do you think this was easy for me? Generations of Yakuza operated out of this building, and now it's crumbled and on fire!"
"Oh, quit your bitching." Assassin warned. She straightened her tie and fixed her hair the best she could, "Listen, your building may have been destroyed, but we have...precautions. Now is the chance to move to a new location. My employer has already set up a temporary place of residence for you and your men, all he asks is if you place the money in a safer location."
"Where?" Suda asked.
"With him." Assassin replied, leading the Yakuza to laugh at her.
"With him?" Suda echoed, "Is he insane?"
"No, I believe he is in the right state of mind and," she gestured to the destroyed building, "As you can see you were moments away from losing valuable information. Had he left with that laptop everything could have been compromised."
Suda frowned and growled in annoyance, "Fine...But I want a larger cut!"
"That's something you'll have to discuss with him." Assassin replied, and she gave a bow. She reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a phone and dialed the only number on her contact list. "It's done." she stated.
"Suda is moving his operations?" the voice on the other line asked.
"Yes. And the vigilante has been taken care of." Assassin replied, "An entire building is on top of him right now and the debris is on fire, so there should be no traces of him. However..." she paused, "There is a slight issue. The laptop that has the banking information was lost in the building with the vigilante. We can get access to it again, but it may take a few weeks."
"A minor setback." the voice replied.
"There is one more issue. Suda wants a bigger cut. I told him that was for the two of you to discuss."
"No matter. The money now is not the issue. Power is what's important, and I'll be ever closer to it once we have that district."
"I'll let him know." The Assassin hung up the phone and let out a slight sigh. "Come, Suda. Have your men get into limos and follow me, I'll lead you to the new location. And don't worry about the percentage. The boss said he'll make a plan for you that everyone will be pleased with." Suda had a large grin on his face as he followed Assassin to a limo. She opened the door for him and got into the driver's seat. The other yakuza members then followed behind as they left the district to their new location.
Kaine groaned. He opened his eyes and saw practically nothing. It was dark, it was dusty, it felt hard to breath. Where am I? he thought. Oh...yeah. A building fell on top of me. he let out a shaky breath as he tried to lift the debris off him, but he quickly stopped when he felt how heavy it was. Damn...I can't move. I'm completely pinned here. he groaned, Everything hurts. My arm, my side, my legs. It's like I can't move my muscles. I'll just be stuck here waiting for someone to come and dig me out. he gasped, But what if no one comes? What if by the time they do come it's too late and I've already died from suffocation? Or, if they do find me they'll realize I was the vigilante and they'll put me in jail!
"Damn." Kaine coughed out, "It's literally stay here and die, or attempt to escape and die trying." he chuckled, "I don't like the idea of slowly suffocating, succumbing to injuries sounds less painful." Kaine put his hands to the ground and tried to push up with the debris on his back. He began straining himself before his arms gave out and he fell flat on his chest again. "Wait...this sounds kinda...familiar." Kaine began thinking to where he had seen this situation before and he let out a chuckle, "Oh, right...Spider-Man #33. He was trapped under that machinery left by Doc Ock." Kaine tried lifting the rubble off him again before collapsing back down. "Who am I kidding. I'm no Spider-Man. I'm just some kid who wants to be him. I'm just...a fool." Kaine closed his eyes and he quickly started to dream.
In his dream, Kaine saw his home. He was back at his apartment. He saw his mom again, just as he remembered her, happy, smiling doing the best she could to provide for the two of them. Things began taking a dark turn as her smile faded and she collapsed in the kitchen. Kaine tried to help her up, but she was heavy. He then saw he was no longer his current self, but he was his kid self again, no older than eight years old. "Mom!" he yelled out and shook her her shoulder back and forth, "Mom, wake up, please!" Kaine wasn't sure what to do, it was like all his sense of reason disappeared.
Using whatever strength he had he grabbed his mom by her shoulders and tried to put her on his. Her head rested next to his as he dragged her out of the apartment. He got onto the walkway and was immediately pelted by rain. "I have to get her help." he said to himself as he dragged his mom onto the street, "HELP!" he shouted out, "PLEASE, SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH MY MOM!" he continued dragging her on the street, people passed by, nobody helped. People drove by, nobody stopped, "Please...somebody...anybody..."
Kaine's dream moved on and suddenly he saw the inside of a hospital room, his mom was in a bed and he was sitting by her side. A nurse walked into the room and gave Kaine a water and his mother woke up. "Oh my god, Marianne, you're awake!" the nurse said, she had known Kaine's mom, they worked together at the hospital.
"Mizuki?" Kaine's mom asked, "What happened, where am I?"
Mizuki moved closer to Kaine's mom and gripped her hand, "Something happened, Kaine said you suddenly collapsed. He dragged you all the way here." she smiled, "Good thing too, had he waited for an ambulance, who knows if you would have made it if he didn't bring you. He's a real hero." she smiled.
Kaine's mom smiled, "Yes, I know." Mizuki left the room so the two could be together, "Kaine, I heard you brought me here. You saved me you know."
"It...it was really hard." Kaine said as he rushed and hugged his mom, "I was scared of losing you."
"And it's okay to be scared." Marianne said as she rubbed Kaine's hand, "But you can't let your fears get to you. And you fought them to help me. No matter what obstacles life throws at us, we always fight against it. That's what we do, we're fighters. It's in our blood." she smiled, "Even when it looks like things are against you, you have to keep fighting. And remember, even if I'm not there, or I can't help you. Just know that I believe in you."
Kaine's eyes shot open and he felt adrenaline shoot through him. He put his hands on the ground again and began to push up to try and get the debris off him. I can't give in here. I have to keep fighting. For me, for The Sinkhole, and especially for her! "I am NOT going to die here!" Kaine shouted as he began to exert pressure and lift the debris off him. His muscles began to strain and he could finally move his legs and get into a crouched position, he then was able to get his hands under the debris and use his legs to lift. "Come on god dammit, lift fifty times your body weight, stop being such a pussy!" Kaine yelled at himself as he continued to lift.
"AAAAAAAAAAGH!" Kaine was now standing and he began to lift the debris with his arms, he got it well above his head and he just jumped out of the way, a lot of the debris rolling off to the side. Kaine took his breaths and lied down on some of the debris and let out a laugh, "Heh...heheheh. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! WOOO!" Kaine felt something sticky on his hand and looked down to see some webbing. His eyes widening, Kaine began to move some of the debris so he could get to the webbing, "No way, no way."
Kaine then removed the webbing to see the laptop he had hidden, completely intact. "HAHA! HOLY SHIT!" he pulled out the laptop and began jumping around like a madman before he stopped due to the pain in his muscles.
The next day...
The good news: Kaine got the laptop, and it was still functional. The data on that laptop would surely be valuable to Kaine's nightly activities. The bad news: Kaine had absolutely no way of accessing it's contents without a password. However, he believes he knows how go get it cracked. He just has to find the right person. "Yo, Kaine!" Tetsutetsu shouted out as he did his usual greeting by wrapping his arm around Kaine's neck, "Talk about a crazy time yesterday. If we weren't training for the sports festival, I'd suggest we all go back soon."
Kaine chuckled, "Maybe after the festival. I would like to school everyone in old school fighters again."
"HA! No kidding, you're a natural at those old school games." Tetsutetsu slapped Kaine on the shoulder and he let out a loud groan. "Woah, what's up with you?"
"Oh, you know...just some heavy lifting." Kaine smirked.
Chapter 9: Vigilante's Life: Hero Trouble
Vigilante's Life: Hero Trouble
It's been a few days since Kaine was able to procure the laptop from the Yakuza. He of course had no way of unlocking it himself, technologically savvy he was, master hacker he was not. HOWEVER, he did happen to know a local 'Hacker' (self proclaimed) in The Sinkhole.
Two days ago...
After Kaine got out of classes he immediately rushed back to The Sinkhole because he knew of one man he could call on to deal with his 'locked laptop' problem. Aleksandr Petrolov-Lovikov, 'The Russian Badger' though, these days he just goes by Aleks. Formerly a graduate from the support course at Red Guardian Academy, he was then a support hero for some time in the sixties (the 2060s, mind you), being 'the guy in the chair' partnered with some of Russia's best heroes. But he got bored, just wasn't his thing. He wanted to go bigger so he came to Japan and realized he just didn't want to do hero work and he'd get much more money scamming people online than he would helping other heroes. Thus he began living in the samw apartmemt complex as Kaine, essentially making money as a petty online thief.
Kaine grabbed the laptop before going to the third floor and knocking on a door that had a bunch of security around it such as a handprint reader to auto unlock the door, a camera that constantly recorded the door, and a monitor that would allow Aleks to see who is at the door. "What is it?" Aleks asked in English with a very heavy accent.
"It's Kaine, I have something I want you to take a look at." Kaine responded. He heard a beeping noise and the door unlocked and opened for him. When he walked in Kaine immediately plugged his nose from the smell. Varying smells of dirty laundry, garbage, what assumed was recently burnt circuit boards and some sort of Russian dish he wasn't going to attempt to pronounce or pretend he knows what he's talking about. After stepping around the multitudes of broken appliances and dirty laundry, he finally stood in front of Aleks.
Aleks pushed his chair away and turned to face Kaine. He was a fairly large man, about 180 centimeters in height, and roughly 150 kilograms in weight. Despite his weight, his body type was rather large, much like All Might, Kaine was surprised the man went support and not the hero course. He had long brown hair and a large bushy beard. He also wore rectangle framed blue-light shield glasses. He wore a short sleeved gray shirt that had 'Red Guardian Academy' written in Cyrillic, as well as plaid suspenders that went over his shoulders and connected to a pair of khakis. "Ah, Kaine. Good to see you young spider." he greeted, "What have you broughten me, boy?"
Kaine bowed slightly and presented the laptop before the large Russian man, "I have a laptop that I need access to. I don't have the password, was wondering if you could crack it?" he asked in English.
Aleks hummed as he grabbed the laptop, "Locked out? How'd that happen?"
Kaine gulped, this is where he would have to pull out his best lies, "I won it in an online auction. I needed a new laptop, and I was told there was four terabytes worth of porn on there. And not the censored JAV shit we have here. The good uncensored stuff from the west." Solid, no way he questions the logic.
Aleks looked up to Kaine and cocked an eyebrow, "You...won an online auction?"
Shit, didn't think of that part. Kaine thought, "I've been saving up for a while." he chuckled.
Aleks let out a slight laugh and patted Kaine on the shoulder, "My boy, I'm just busting balls. We're adults here. It's fine to say you bought it for the materials. I'll get this laptop unlocked for you in a few days."
"Great, thank you!" Kaine cheered as he left the room.
After that issue was resolved, Kaine was happy that he had gotten a call from Aleks when he was at school, letting him know that the laptop was unlocked. Now all he has to do is look through the contents and find anything that could lead him to the other conspirators that are assisting Yoshii Realty. Already Kaine was at the apartment. He knocked on the door and he was immediately met by the face of Aleks on the monitor, "What is it?" Aleks asked, his heavy Russian accent present as always.
"It's Kaine. C'mon, man, you called me." Kaine replied with a shrug. The monitor turned off and the door unlocked and began to open like last time. When Kaine went to walk through the door he felt Aleks' large hand grip his collar and forcibly pull him through the doorway before throwing him onto a chair. "Ow, what the hell man?" There was a light that shone in Kaine's face and he was temporarily blinded, seeing nothing but white until his eyes adjusted.
"Listen here, young spider." Aleks started, his voice starting to sound threatening, "Now, I don't want you to treat me like idiot. I know you stole this laptop from someone and I know you are looking for special documents." Aleks wiped his face and slammed his desk, "I like you, spider, I want to see you prosper like everyone else in The Sinkhole. But robbing from Yakuza chairman? That's unfathomable. They'd find you in an instant!'
Kaine cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "I don't care about the money! I'm trying find the names of the people he's working with so I can put a stop to them and Yoshii Realty!" Kaine quickly closed his mouth as he realized he just revealed he was a vigilante.
Aleks let out a breath and rubbed the back of his head, "Kid...kid, kid, kid." he shined the light in Kaine's eyes again, making him wince, "You're vigilante?" he asked and Kaine simply nodded. "Chudesnyy!" he replied with a hearty laugh as he pat Kaine on his shoulder, "For a minute, I thought you had become stupid criminal. But vigilante is much more admirable."
Kaine tilted his head in confusion, "Huh?"
"You want to help people yes? You want to find the important people linked to that laptop, yes?" Kaine nodded, "Da, I can do that. Should be easy, considering I have all his banking information in here." Aleks motioned Kaine over to the laptop which was open with what looked to be banking information open on multiple windows. "You're the 'hero' here, what do we do?"
Kaine gulped, "This money...I bet he's using it to help fund Yoshii. I need his money gone, and I need to know of anyone else who is providing Yoshii with funding and anyone else that is being used as his personal militia, if that's possible." Kaine chuckled nervously.
Aleks cracked his fingers and popped his neck, "Alright, let's get to work." Aleks began typing at the laptop furiously, Kaine watched what he did but he wasn't entirely sure what was going on. "I'm moving the money from his accounts into offshore bank accounts and shell companies like he would do, the only difference is that they are offshore bank accounts and shell companies I have access too. Once I have moved the money enough I'm going to place it into donations to lower no-name politicians from across the country and even some in Korea. These will just pop up as donations for them and they will likely think nothing of it, especially if we keep it to a couple million yen a person."
"Um...won't that kinda...mess up elections?" Kaine asked.
"No, people are stupid. Already set in their ways. Just because they see a different politician more doesn't mean they'll switch. HA! They'll probably be more convinced their choice is right and just get into petty fights online." Aleks blinked a few times, "Um...better stay off social media for a few days. Timeline will probably be filled with a bunch of mess."
"I don't use social media, but thanks." Kaine shrugged.
Aleks cupped his chin and hummed, "I've found two other main investors, as well as dozens of smaller investors. I can give you the names...but that's about it. Finding them will be on your own." Kaine nodded, "Actually, scratch that. I can give you a freebie." Aleks pointed at the screen, "This, man, one of the other large 'donators,' I've done business with him before. Symkarian, former Sable Force. These days he goes by Ridge Racer." Kaine let out a loud and long audible snort, "Yeah, he's not good at names. Listen, he runs a club: Heroes Paradise. Full of smaller heroes and villains alike. It's a fight club. Only rule is no fighting outside of the arena."
"Wow, heroes don't deal with it?" Kaine asked with an intrigued expression.
"Eh, they'd have to destroy it. But as far as they're concerned. They get to beat villains, they get some cash right away. You know...unless they lose." Aleks laughed, "Vigilante like you will fit in fine. Just don't stir the pot too much." Kaine nodded. "Spider," Aleks through a bag at him and shooed him away, "Personal gift. Don't run around in a hoodie anymore." Kaine nodded and he left the apartment to go to his own.
Kaine walked into his own apartment and opened the bag to find an all black suit. The top was a fleece sweater with a white spider spray painted on the chest, fingerless black gloves, black cargo pants with multiple pockets, black hiking boots and a ski mask. However, there was also a special set of goggles. They were mechanical lenses and had some sort of extended protection for the ears. Sound proofing? Kaine thought. He put the goggles on and tapped them. Suddenly the inside lit up and he was able to see everything around him like it was a screen. "Woah..." Kaine whistled.
"How's the goggles, kid?" Kaine jumped in surprise at the sound of Aleks' voice. He began looking all around seeing where it came from, but couldn't spot the large Russian, "Relax, I am communicating to you via the link in your goggles." Kaine's goggles flashed slightly and a small window popped up showing Aleks at his computer, "Goggles are practically a microcomputer. You have a small heads-up-display. Nothing fancy, just tells you your elevation and the outdoor temperature. Annnnnnd, if I decide to call it I'll pop up like I am now. Now, these aren't cheap to make, boy, so be careful with them."
"Um...t-thanks Aleks." Kaine said with a bow, smacking his head when he realized he was bowing to no one. "So, why help me out? You aren't a hero anymore."
"No, but vigilantism sounds fun. Plus, stopping Yoshii means I stop them from trying to buy out this building. It'd be awfully bothersome to relocate."
Ah, it makes sense now. Kaine thought. "Thank you, again. Let's take them down!" Kaine gave a fist pump and Aleks let out a chuckle.
Later that night, Kaine began making his way towards the 'underground' fight club, Heroes Paradise. He swung through the city in his new suit, the wind blowing against his face...or at least, blowing against his face the best it could considering he was actually quite warm. "Dammit, Aleks. I love the suit but why is it so damn hot? I feel like a pizza pocket!"
"I'm from Siberia, I needed sweater to keep warm." Aleks explained through the communicator.
"You were the COMPUTER GUY! Just put a damn heater in your office!" Kaine complained. He continued swinging before stopping on the side of a building. He looked ahead and saw the bright neon red and white light that blinked 'Heroes Paradise' followed by a small blue neon sign reading 'Heroes Only'. But at this point Kaine knew that was a lie. He looked down and watched as some little known hero knocked on the door of the club and stood there for a few seconds before being let it. Okay, that looks to be the entrance. Kaine nodded.
He looked both ways before jumping down to the streets below and knocking on the door himself. A small slot on the door opened and he saw to golden eyes staring down at him. "Password?" the eyes asked, the voice being gruff and sounding as if he smoked a carton of cigarettes a day.
Password? Kaine thought, I wasn't told about a password. "Uh...Password?" Kaine asked, "Nobody-" he was cut off when the slot was closed off. "Well, son of a bitch." he cursed in English. Kaine began winding up his arm ready to punch when suddenly the door flung open.
"Welcome to Heroes Paradise." The gruff man said as he bowed and gestured for Kaine to come inside. Wait so was the password just...Password? Kaine thought, a baffled expression hidden by his mask.
"Thanks, Jeeves." Kaine bowed as he walked into the establishment.
Inside the club he saw numerous bars that were just full of small time heroes, underground heroes and villains alike. It was kinda strange seeing everyone in one place, the only way they could not try to rip each other's throats out was by sitting down and having a drink with each other. Could it really be that easy? Kaine looked at a sign that had a list of rules, and in large red font it read: 'No Fighting Permitted Outside the Arena: Violators Will Be Punished.' Kaine gulped and looked around the bar to see several men dressed in all black suits with guns at there hips. "That's Racer's hired muscle." Aleks mentioned, "Some ex-hero hopefuls, and ex-villain types who are just looking for work."
In the center of the large room was a large sphere shaped arena with clear barriers so everyone could see the fight that was happening. at the bottom of the sphere seemed to be a flat platform, so it was essentially just an extreme cage match. Oh, I'm sure that will be fun. "Kid, to your left." Aleks called out. Kaine turned his head and his goggles highlighted a man in a white jumpsuit that had red and blue accents as well as white stars running along the sleeves. "That is Ridge Racer. Owner of the establishment and your target."
"Wow, that was easy." Kaine mumbled as he began walking towards the man as he began to to ascend a staircase that lead to the upper floors. When Kaine got to the steps he was stopped by two of the black suited men.
"Sorry, sir. Authorized personnel only beyond this point." one of the guards stated.
"C'mon boys," Kaine started with a shrug, "I'm here on business with Mr. Racer. Have some important matters to communicate to him, Suda sent me."
The two guards grabbed Kaine by the shoulders and began dragging him upstairs, however, instead of dragging him to Racer like he had hoped, they dragged him to some counter with some skinny guy sitting behind it. "Who's this?" the man behind the counter asked.
"Says he's one of Suda's men." one of the guards replied. He turned to Kaine and pat his back, "Good luck." Kaine cocked an eyebrow in confusion, With what? he thought.
The man behind the counter yawned and stretched before a pop was heard, "Alright man, you get the rundown? Suda wins his cash if you win the matches, got it? These guys are tough though and uh...between you and me," the man leaned closer to Kaine and whispered, "You're pretty screwed today, no matter how far you make it, you're gonna lose. So it's okay to back out now to avoid serious injury."
"But if I win I'll collect the money from Racer directly? That's what Suda wants." Kaine lied.
"Yeah, yeah. The boss is familiar with the terms." he sighed, "You sure you don't wanna back out? You sound pretty young man." Kaine shook his head and the man clicked his tongue, "Name?"
Kaine's eyes widened, he didn't expect to get caught up in underground fighting, and he sure as hell didn't expect to give a nam. "Um...The Human Spider?"
The man looked up at Kaine with a questioning glance before looking down at his chest and nodding, "Makes sense. And, Hero or Villain?"
"Vigilante." Kaine replied quickly.
"Okay so...villain." the man said as he typed on his tablet, making Kaine groan in frustration. "Okay, since you're here for Suda, you get priority and will be paired for the next match." the man clicked on the tv behind him so that he could show the match. Currently it was two villains against each other. One of them had some sort of speed quirk and the other a quirk that allowed them to hurl lava at their opponent. Surprisingly, the glass wasn't breaking from the lava, which meant it was either a quirk suppressor or an element suppressor. "Are you SURE you don't want to call it quits now?"
"Hell no, I'm winning this thing." Kaine protested. The two looked up to the screen and watched as the speedster ran around the ring at hyper speed all the while punching the lava villain in the face. Eventually, the speedster took one final punch and the lava villain dropped like a sack of flour. "So I'm next?" Kaine asked, and the man nodded.
"What an amazing performance!" an announcer called out over the intercom. She looked to be a young firebrand of a woman with gyaru makeup bright yellow dyed hair. "Zoom Zoom really making a name for himself tonight, taking down crowd favorite Magmus!" the crowd cheered as Zoom Zoom left the arena and Magmus was carried away. "Now, immediately on to our next event! No holds barred, we got ourselves a regular battle of ideologies!" she announced, leading the crowd to cheer again, "In the blue corner we have a hero-Whoops! Slip of the tongue, technically villain. That's right folks, we have ourselves a bona-fide vigilante! Introducing in his debut match: The Huuuuuuuumaaaan SPIIIIDEEER!"
The crowd erupted into massive cheers as smoke began pouring into the walkway that Kaine was meant to take to get into arena. Over the crowds cheers was an impromptu music queue of the Spider-Man theme song from the animated tv show from the 1990s. Kaine walked through the smoke and into the glass arena where he saw hundreds of eyes on him, cheering him on. "Oooh, tall and fit too!" the announcer laughed, "Too bad he's got a mask, I kinda want to see how cute he is." she bit her lip and winked at Kaine.
"I'm broke!" Kaine shouted out, making the announcer recoil back in a cringe.
"Thanks for the save, newbie!" she laughed, "Now, in the red corner!" she stopped and started laughing, eventually holding her gut and supporting herself with the railing, "Holy shit, really? No kidding? Oh man, newbie...you should've stayed home. Ahem...in the red corner is an all-pro hero, originally from Hiroshima, she's the bad bunny with the bad attitude, the number six ranked pro hero: MIIIIIIIIIIRKOOOOOOOOOO!" The crowd seemed even louder the before, it felt like Kaine was in the middle of and earthquake. From the smoke, with loud modern hip-hop music blasting as the entrance music, a short dark-skinned woman sauntered into the arena with a large grin plastered on her face. She had long white hair that flowed down passed her hips, long white rabbit ears, and crimson red eyes. She wore a white leotard that had purple trim, she wore some sort of metal armor around her waist area, she also had a golden crescent logo on her chest and a furry collar around her neck. She wore thigh high purple leggings and had metal foot protectors that made her feet look like rabbits feet. Finally, she wore white gloves.
Now, Kaine didn't use this word often, he hardly uttered it, making sure to use it only when he felt he had absolutely no other way to express something. This was that time: "Oh...FUCK me running." he groaned in English.
"Seems you have bad luck. Maybe ask for a mold of her foot." Aleks joked.
"You know," Mirko started as she began strafing the arena, Kaine following suit, "I respect using the 90s Spider-Man theme. That's a deep cut. But, 'The Human Spider?'" She began laughing, holding her hand against her face as she did so, "Man, that is SO FUCKING LAME! Who named you? You're mom?"
"My mom is dead, thanks." Kaine replied snarkily, "I see that radiation is still mutating the wildlife one and a half centuries later. I mean, you're a walking, talking rabbit!" he laughed.
Mirko smirked and crouched down into a fighting stance. Kaine took a deep breath and got into a boxing stance. "Oh, so you do have some fighting knowledge. I can't wait! I've never fought a vigilante before." Mirko's laughter sent a shiver down Kaine's spine. Just looking at her, she was definitely a true hero. Not just someone who fights evil because it's the right thing to do, but because she finds it FUN. And Kaine was her next plaything.
Mirko was the first to react, of course she was, she was the most experienced. She used her abilities to hop all over the place, using her leg strength to hop off the walls at rapid speeds. She eventually hopped to the ceiling of the dome and pushed off it, sending her flying downward. She immediately attempted a scissor kick, but Kaine was able to backhandspring away from the attack. When Mirko landed, her heel crashed into the floor and caused a small crater in the glass-like structure. "Ooh, you're kinda fast. I like having to hunt my prey." she licked her lips and Kaine, again, felt a shiver down his spine.
Mirko advanced towards Kaine again, this time throwing a punch that Kaine redirected and sent a punch to her stomach. When his attack landed he heard a light groan from Mirko, but at the same time he felt as if he didn't do any damage because her abs were ROCK SOLID! God DAMN. You can carve diamonds on these things. Kaine thought. While he was distracted with Mirko's abs, she quickly went on the offensive by sending an uppercut to Kaine's gut making him groan in pain. "Damn, you're a strong one, huh?" she asked, "I like that, would have been a shame if you were a little pansy!"
The two broke apart and slid back, Mirko getting back in her crouched stance and Kaine in his fighting stance. If I want to get close to Racer, I need to beat her. Kaine sighed, Easier said than done. Probably no chance of getting that autograph now, huh? This time Kaine was the first to react, sliding himself forward getting ready to strike. Mirko grinned and hopped forward, eager to meet the attack head on. Kaine threw his punch forward, but Mirko was quick and ducked the attack (not that hard, considering her height), she then hopped up to sneak in a headbutt, but Kaine met her head on with a headbutt of his own.
Mirko stumbled back slightly and felt the blood trickling down her head. She let out a laugh as she began hopping all over the arena again. She used the side of the arena and launched herself forward, Kaine sent a backhanded punch, but missed as Mirko slid along the ground and lifted Kaine's leg up as she stood up again. She then kicked Kaine's other leg back and essentially made him do the splits while one of his legs rested on her shoulder. She then went for the classic crotch kick, but Kaine was MORE than prepared to block her attack. "Oh no, no way!" Kaine yelled out as he caught her foot, "I'm so not falling for the ol' dick hit again." he threw Mirko's leg up and made her flip. As she flipped, Kaine sent a kick of his own and made her slam into the ground.
Mirko rolled back to her feet immediately and sent a massive kick that Kaine countered with a kick of his own. When their attacks collided Kaine felt a pain shoot up his leg, Damn, she puts a lot of force in those kicks! Kaine backed off and hopped one one foot, trying to get the sting out of his leg before he put pressure on it. He didn't have much time to relax, however, as Mirko was already on him again. Her method of attack was a little...unorthodox. She jumped into the air crotch first into Kaine's face, she wrapped her legs around his head her thighs putting pressure on his skull, she then spun in the air and used her momentum to throw Kaine across the dome and slam against the wall, causing it to crack slightly.
The crowd cheered and Kaine was left to ponder what had just happened, the scene replaying in his mind several times. She smells very nice. Kaine shook his head and slapped himself a few times in order to focus. Just in time too, as he saw Mirko coming for another scissor kick. He moved his head just as the foot came down. She had landed in a crouch position which was close enough to the ground for Kaine to use his long reach against her. He reached up and grabbed her shoulders and flipped over her. Mirko tried to sweep his legs, but she was put into a grapple by Kaine who grabbed her leg and went under her thigh, he then used his other arm to wrap around her waist and lifted her up. "Better put me down asshole, before I give you a concussion!" Mirko yelled out as she began slamming her fist against Kaine's head, however the spider teen seemed practically unfazed. She was strong, but most her power was definitely in her legs, an exploit he'll remember for later.
"Down? You want down?" Kaine asked, "Alright, let's go down!" Kaine shouted as he spun his body and slammed Mirko to the ground with a Belly-to-Belly Suplex. She landed on her back and cracked the glass of the floor slightly. Kaine then rolled over Mirko to get to her flank and landed in a crouched position of his own with one hand on the ground and the other balled into a fist by his head. Mirko jumped to her feet and turned around and got back into her fighting stance herself, the two now facing each other.
"Looks like we're getting a better fight than we bargained for folks!" the answer called out as cheers drowned out even the music, "Looks like this Spider Newbie is one to watch out for!"
"Hey Mirko!" Kaine called out, his confidence seeming to rise as the crowds cheers became louder, "You're not the only one who can jump all over the place! Let me show you what a spider can do!" Kaine then began to hop all over the arena, moving at speeds rivaling Mirko's. Maybe now is a time I steal one from the original Spider-Man. Kaine thought with a smirk. He webbed the wall and jumped towards Mirko, acting as if he was going for a punch, she dodged but it didn't matter as Kaine still attached the webline to Mirko by shooting a web ball to attach it to her chest. He then quickly shot a webline at her arm as he jumped to the other side of the dome and attached the webbing to the wall. Kaine then continued going back and forth, webbing Mirko's body until she was suspended in air, held by dozens upon dozens of weblines. The crowd cheered as Kaine jumped to the ceiling and pushed himself off with his legs, he then shot two webs to the ground and yanked himself down to gain even more momentum as he went for a scissor kick of his own, "MAXIMUM SPIDER!" Kaine yelled in English as the heel of his foot connected with Mirko's chest and he kicked her to the ground, breaking her out of her web prison.
The crowd roared at the display and Kaine couldn't help but internally cheer himself. "Ha!" Mirko let out a light laugh before getting louder, "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! THAT WAS GREAT!" Mirko yelled out as she sat up, a large, crazy looking smile plastered on her face. "I wasn't sure about you before, but now I'm certain that you're gonna be fun!" Mirko instantly hopped from a sitting position to being in front of Kaine ready to send a spin-kick. Kaine lifted his arm and blocked the attack. He then shot two weblines behind Mirko and tried to slide between her legs to get to her flank, but was kicked in the face for his trouble. "Yeah right!"
Kaine got to his feet again and shook his head. Okay, I literally ran into that one. I need to come up with a better plan. Kaine looked to his right and saw Racer walking down the stairs surrounded by guards. Mirko sent a punch to Kaine's face and he caught it without looking, surprising the hero. "Okay, listen, I'm going to be very real with you. I need you to take a fall." Kaine said bluntly.
"What?" Mirko asked, her face looking irritated.
"You see that guy," Kaine slightly flicked his head towards Racer, "I need to get a meeting with him so I can take him down. He has information that I need."
Mirko cocked an eyebrow and smirked, "What a coincidence, I'm after him too." she chuckled, "How about this, vigilante. A truce. We go after him together, and when everything is over we go our separate ways." Kaine, not wanting to pass up the opportunity to NOT get his face kicked in anymore, quickly agreed with a nod. "Great, follow my lead. On the count of three." Mirko nodded as she looked towards the wall which was cracked slightly from their battle. "THREE!" she shouted, throwing Kaine off slightly as she jumped and kicked the wall, making the crack larger, followed by Kaine who launched himself at the wall with his webs and broke through.
The music stopped and everyone fell silent, "LISTEN UP HEROES!" Mirko yelled out, "Unless you want me to report all of you for allowing this fight ring to go on for so long, you're gonna pull your weight and start taking down the villains in this club. And if you don't," she chuckled, "I'LL JUST HAVE TO GO AND KICK ALL OF YOUR ASSES WON'T I!?" Upon hearing that, the club erupted into madness as the heroes and villains seemingly ignoring each other before broke into an all out brawl. Mirko then let out a laugh as she menacingly pointed to Racer.
Racer's guards began pulling out their guns, but Kaine not liking the idea of getting shot at again, was prepared as he began firing web balls at their guns and either gunking them up or sticking them to their bodies so they couldn't pull them out. Kaine then swung forward after Racer who began running up the stairs in fear. Kaine was met with minor opposition, but he was able to spin kick a guard, jump off him, web another gaurd and throw him into the third. Kaine landed on the stairs and began to chase after Racer but immediately had to jump out of the way as he began firing a gun down the stairs at Kaine.
"Out of the way vigilante!" Mirko yelled out as she began jumping up the stairs, "I'll take him myself!"
"Hold on!' Kaine yelled back, "I need him to answer some things for me!" Kaine shot a webline to the top of the stairs and slung himself up to the top of the steps in an instant. He saw Mirko chasing after Racer and as she was about to grab him Kaine webbed her back and yanked her to the ground. Kaine then webbed Mirko to the ground as he followed Racer into his office where he found the man on the phone calling someone.
Kaine slammed the door to the office closed and webbed it shut so the two couldn't be interrupted. Kaine then webbed the phone out of Racer's hands before crushing it with his own. "Hello, Ridge Racer." It took all the power in Kaine's muscles to keep himself from laughing. He webbed the man's chest and yanked him into a grapple where he held him up by his collar, "I think you have some information for me."
"His computer, spider. I need access to his files." Aleks reminded.
"Give me your computer, Racer. If you do, maybe I'll be nice to you." Kaine chuckled.
"And what if I don't?" Racer asked.
"Then I feed you to Mirko back there. And I assure you, she's going to be a lot more rough than I am."
Racer's eyes widened as he struggled to break out of Kaine's grasp. "Okay, okay! Just put me down." Kaine set the man down and he walked over to a painting that was on the wall. He removed it to show a safe with a password. Kaine stood and tapped his foot as Racer put in the code into the safe and opened it. Finally, Racer pulled out a laptop and presented it in his hands.
"Good, now hand it over." Kaine demanded as he held out his hand. To his shock though, Racer seemed to have other plans. The man slammed the laptop against the side of his desk, Kaine watched as the top part of the clamshell device practically flew off. Racer then threw the machine across the ground and laughed. Kaine didn't know what to say all he knew was that he was extremely angry, and he had an outlet standing right in front of him. "Fine...I see how it is."
Kaine rushed the man and grabbed him by his head, he then began to repeatedly slam the man's face into the desk before doing it one last time and breaking the corner of the desk off. While the man was down Kaine sent a ferocious kick to his groin, causing Racer to cry out in pain. "You messed up bad, man." Kaine said as he picked the man up and slammed him on his desk, "I wanted to make this easy, but I'm willing to go the hard way and force information out of you. You're banking information, tell me what it is!"
"I don't sell out anyone." Racer spat out. Kaine frowned under his mask and lifted his fist, ready to punch.
"Wait, spider." Aleks called, "I only need hard with his data on it. The laptop isn't nearly destroyed enough to prevent that. Take the bottom half of the clamshell and leave."
Kaine looked to the man and chuckled, "You got lucky." he then threw a punch to the man's face before webbing him to his desk. He picked up the bottom half of the laptop and walked to a window which he broke open to make his escape. Before he left, however, the door to the room burst open and Mirko stood with an angry expression adorned on her face. "Hey, Ms. Mirko! I left him for ya'!" Kaine called, "Already got what I needed!"
Mirko smirked as she looked at the captured Racer on the desk, "You know I'll be coming after you now, right?" she asked.
Kaine cupped his chin and shrugged, "Well...guess you'll have to catch me first, huh?" With that said Kaine jumped put the window and Mirko ran to it to see where he fell. As she got to the window she saw Kaine swing up through the air and continue to swing away until he finally left her eyesight.
Mirko let out a slight chuckle as she leaned against the wall, "Well I'll be damned. Marianne...it looks like your son has grown up." she let out a loud laugh, "That dumbass!"
"Good news and bad news." Aleks started after he analyzed the broken machine Kaine gave him, "The mechanics of the machine are intact. He should have struck it harder. Bad news, it'll take a few days before I get the other names. Until then, I have a list of what I could get from Suda's laptop. To find them though, you may have to crack some skulls. Shouldn't be too hard for you though, eh?" Aleks laughed, "Taking on the sixth pro hero is no easy feat."
"Yeah, and if her threat is real, I'll likely be seeing her again." Kaine groaned. "Thanks, Aleks. I'm gonna get some rest."