Pov Narrator.
Upon entering the office, Power observed Makima in her usual posture, calm and serene as she finished reviewing some papers. Upon hearing the door, she looked up.
"What brings you here, Power? Where is Isagi? You're supposed to be together today." Makima asked, placing the papers on her desk and looking directly at Power.
The fiend immediately stiffened.
"U-Uh, well, I just came quickly to tell you that Isagi sent me to tell you that he was going to "work abroad because he got promoted." A bastard with glasses came and said some people called the higher-ups wanted to see him." Power answered quickly, trying to end the conversation as soon as possible, since she didn't like being alone with Makima.
Makima remained silent for a few seconds.
"The higher-ups of Public Safety called Isagi?" Makima repeated, making the room seem colder for a moment as she leaned slightly forward.
Power swallowed.
"Yes!"
Makima's gaze remained fixed on her.
"Power, and did he leave by himself?"
"Yes!"
Makima remained silent for a few seconds.
She hadn't thought they would act so quickly against Isagi. She expected them to take a little longer before trying to do something to him. Although, in reality, she wasn't too worried.
She remembered that Isagi seemed to have fairly decent regeneration, to the point where he could recover parts of his body after having them cut off. Besides, he had proven to be much harder to kill than he appeared.
Even so, a strange sensation appeared in her chest.
Concern?
Anticipation?
Expectation?
Perhaps a little bit of all three. Makima calmly rested one hand on the desk, while a small smile appeared on her lips. After all, she also wanted to know what Isagi would do if the higher-ups really tried to put him to the test. Makima was somewhat curious to discover whether Isagi would be capable of overcoming the higher-ups' traps on his own.
A soft giggle escaped Makima's lips, after which she slowly shook her head. Then, she turned her attention back to the rigid Power.
"By the way, Power, how much blood do you drink from Isagi? I think you know how good it can taste. It has interesting effects, relaxing to a certain extent when you try it." Makima said while calmly tapping her fingers on her desk.
Power remained still for a moment.
"W-Well, normally until I'm satisfied. But the rascal allows it!" Power said, quickly moving her hands to clarify it, as if that were enough to prove she wasn't doing anything wrong.
Makima maintained her smile.
"So, until you're satisfied? Power, have you ever heard that too much of something isn't good? Maybe next time you should drink less of his blood, don't you think?" Makima asked with a small smile that, although it seemed kind, only managed to send chills down Power's spine.
"Yes, you're right! I'll do that next time." She said quickly, lowering her gaze. The Blood Fiend felt her body tense.
"Good that you understand. Now you may leave. You can join Denji and Beam's patrol." Makima nodded, satisfied with the answer, and gave her permission to leave after setting a limit on the "feeding" activities she usually had with Isagi.
Power quickly nodded.
"Yes!"
Without hesitating much, she turned around and quickly left the office, closing the door behind her. Once outside, Power let out a sigh of relief. She would much rather keep annoying Denji than stay in that place any longer.
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"This is the life, man. I wish there were modern phones so I could post this. High-quality flex, dog." Isagi thought with satisfaction as he leaned back in his seat and put his feet up on the seat in front of him.
He was traveling on a private plane, all by himself, while the pilot remained in the cockpit. Isagi felt pretty damn important after the meeting with the higher-ups. If he managed to complete this mission, he would officially be recognized as Japan's strongest Devil Hunter.
Just thinking about it made a proud smile appear on his face.
"Heh, the strongest in Japan... Sounds nice." Isagi smiled slightly. Obviously, he kept the windows closed, since looking down would make him panic.
His fear of heights was still very much present; as long as he didn't look out the window, everything was fine. He didn't need to complicate his life by looking at the ground from several thousand meters in the air. He let out a yawn. There wasn't much to do during the trip, so he took out a sleep mask and put it on. He got more comfortable in his seat, crossed his arms, and closed his eyes.
In less than a minute, he was already snoring like a bus. The inside of the plane remained quiet for several minutes. The only constant sound was the noise of the engines as they passed through the clouds.
Everything seemed completely normal. Until the pilot slightly leaned out from his position and, upon seeing Isagi deeply asleep, let out a sigh. He slowly returned to the cockpit. What he was about to do weighed heavily on his soul. He had accepted that job for a very simple reason: he had made a deal that could change his family's life.
A fairly large monetary reward for his family if he did this, so he took control again, pressing a couple of buttons before communicating with the base.
"Flight 180, this is Flight 180. A storm is approaching. Warning before entering it to continue the journey. Turning back is not viable, I repeat, turning back is not viable."
"This is base, understood. You are cleared to continue the journey."
When the pilot received confirmation, he sighed and turned off the intercom, cutting off all communication with the ground. For a few seconds, he remained completely still in front of the controls, waiting.
His hands trembled slightly because of what he was about to do. He glanced toward the back of the plane. Isagi was still asleep. The pilot swallowed. This was his last chance to change his mind, but the thought of the reward he would receive and everything he could do for his family made his expression harden again.
Finally, he pulled a firearm from underneath his seat. He slowly left the cockpit. Isagi still appeared to be asleep, with the sleep mask covering his eyes and his feet still resting on the seat in front of him. The pilot raised the weapon. He aimed directly at his head.
Bang!
The gunshot echoed throughout the plane. Silence. That was the only thing that followed afterward. However, it didn't last long, as the weapon fell to the floor due to the pilot's shock. Isagi had casually caught the bullet. He held it between his fingers, completely intact.
A slight smile appeared on his lips as he slowly removed his sleep mask. His eyes shone with a mocking expression as he looked at the pilot, who seemed to have forgotten even how to breathe.
Isagi looked at the bullet for a second before letting it fall to the floor.
"A gun, seriously? I expected them to put in a little more effort." He said, dropping the bullet to the floor while calmly sitting back down.
Before the pilot could do anything else, Isagi extended one hand and an invisible force slammed the man against the door. The pressure concentrated around his throat, keeping him suspended in the air, as if an invisible hand were trying to choke him.
It was Isagi's Governor's Hand, an ability that, in short, allowed him to attract, repel, and manipulate objects without needing to touch them. Basically, it was telekinesis. The pilot brought both hands to his throat, trying to free himself, but his feet could barely touch the floor.
"Now, you're probably wondering: how? Easy." Isagi said as he stood up, without paying much attention to the man's struggles, who could barely breathe. "I have something called a danger sensor. It's like a sixth sense. When there's danger, I feel a sort of prickling or itching at the back of my head. When I got on this plane, it activated, so I knew something was wrong."
Isagi smiled proudly. How he loved the Danger Sense Quirk. Thanks to it, he had managed to avoid many things that otherwise probably would have ended quite badly. Like, for example, this situation. He had avoided a bullet to the head simply because his body had warned him that something wasn't right.
That's why he had decided to pretend to be asleep. If someone was planning something against him, pretending to sleep was practically an invitation for them to start with whatever they had prepared for him.
And, sure enough, it had worked.
"I won. Now..." Isagi narrowed his hand a little more, making the invisible force tighten more intensely around the pilot's neck. "Who sent you?" The man tried to answer, but barely managed to make a muffled sound. Isagi tilted his head slightly. "I don't mind that you tried. I mean, I also mostly move around because of rewards. So, worker to worker, who paid you? Aren't you going to talk? Very well, then...
Suddenly, Isagi's danger sensor activated again. This time it was much stronger than before. A sharp pain ran through the back of his head, accompanied by that alarm sensation he already knew perfectly well. Isagi stopped using the Governor's Hand and released the man, who fell to the floor while beginning to cough and catch his breath.
Isagi, however, was no longer paying attention to him. He looked around. The inside of the plane still appeared normal, but his instinct was telling him the complete opposite. His danger sensor had activated again. This wasn't over yet. Isagi narrowed his eyes and looked at the pilot again. Then, a fairly obvious possibility came to his mind. And, honestly, it was probably the safest thing those big shots from the higher-ups had prepared.
"There's a bomb on the plane, right? Fuck... they pulled the Osama Bin Laden on me." Isagi said with an expression between annoyance and surprise.
In a hidden area of the plane, a small timer continued counting down. The numbers rapidly decreased.
Three...
Two...
One...
Zero.
From the outside, the plane continued its apparently normal flight, crossing the sky at high speed. Until a powerful explosion, initiated from the center of the plane's body, echoed throughout the sky.
BOOOOM!
The structure violently broke apart. Fire engulfed the interior while an enormous cloud of black smoke began spreading through the air. The remains of the plane began falling into a nosedive, while the front and rear sections were completely destroyed and engulfed in flames.
Chaos had broken out within a matter of seconds. Fragments of metal flew in all directions, while black smoke covered the remains of the plane that were rapidly descending.
However... Something shot out from that black cloud at an impressive speed. It was Isagi, he was practically unharmed. Riding on Nue, the enormous owl-like shikigami quickly moved away from the remains of the plane, flapping its wings as it passed through the cloud of smoke.
Isagi's hair was slightly messy, but aside from that, he didn't appear to have suffered any damage. His current physical stats, bodily strength, and a little reinforcement with cursed energy had been enough to practically tank the explosion head-on.
"Fuck, now that's gangster, gangster, my friend." Isagi muttered as Nue finally emerged from the cloud of smoke. "It's the first time an entire government has tried to kill me, I feel important."
Isagi joked as Nue descended lower, following the signals from his master. When they reached a point where the water became visible below them, Nue slowed down, remaining suspended not far above the surface.
Isagi watched as the remains of the plane fell into the sea, causing powerful splashes and enormous waves that spread in all directions. Some metal fragments were still engulfed in flames before disappearing beneath the water.
Isagi frowned slightly. It was the first time he had gotten directly involved in an assassination attempt plot. He didn't need the pilot, now dead, to answer him to know who had prepared that attempt.
The old geezers. The higher-ups. And, probably, Isagi also had a pretty clear idea of why they had decided to do it. Makima. If it made sense, having their greatest weapon against other countries become too attached to someone could be seen as a weakness.
"What fucking assholes... and I've only been in a relationship with Makima for one day. Come on, don't screw with me." Isagi sighed as he brought a hand to the back of his neck. After a few seconds, he pointed toward the remains of the plane that were still floating on the water. "Nue, get closer."
The shikigami immediately obeyed and began descending toward the remains. As they approached, Isagi could see the damage more clearly. The fire was already beginning to die out because of contact with the water, while the heavier parts of the aircraft were beginning to slowly sink.
Some smaller pieces floated around, carried by the waves. Isagi silently observed the scene.
It was then that Isagi had an excellent idea... To fake his death.
The only people who knew about his regeneration were Makima and Power, although the latter had only seen him regenerate a mutilated hand. Because of that, she didn't know how powerful Isagi's regeneration really was. Only Makima had a clearer idea of how far that ability could go.
So, to leave some evidence of his supposed death, Isagi took out his katana. Not Magatsumi. He wasn't going to use such a beautiful weapon for something like this. He took out his other katana and stared at it for a few seconds. Then he took several breaths and gritted his teeth.
He didn't like feeling pain. Not at all. But it was necessary. With a quick movement, he cut his own arm from the shoulder downward. Blood began pouring out like water from a hose, while Isagi gritted his teeth to endure the pain. His face tensed slightly and he breathed with difficulty for a few seconds.
However, Isagi's rapid regeneration had already begun to take effect. First, it was the bone that began to regenerate. Then the tissues appeared and began rebuilding themselves around it, followed by the muscles, flesh, and veins. Finally, the skin began covering the entire structure again.
Everything happened within a matter of seconds. When it was over, Isagi once again had a completely functional arm.
"Fuck..." He moved his fingers several times to make sure everything was fine. "Even if I can regenerate, that doesn't make the pain go away." Isagi then looked at the mutilated arm he had left behind.
He picked it up and threw it toward one of the areas of the plane wreckage that was still floating and had some flames on it. The arm landed on the hot metal and began to char. From a distance, it could perfectly look like a human remains burned by the explosion. Isagi watched for a few seconds to make sure the scene was convincing enough.
"With this, they should think there wasn't much left of me after the explosion. It's not like I'm a crime genius anyway, let's get out of here quickly, Nue." Isagi settled himself on Nue's back while taking one last look at the remains of the plane that were slowly disappearing among the waves.
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End of chapter.