MUGEN Voltage

Ch. 24: X is for "Xypher"

As Shisui and the rest of Mugen were resting in Kouya's apartment, Denji Akashi was walking around town alongside his own gang, planning their next move against their new targets.

"So, that old man asked us to hunt down this little lady, huh..." Said Denji. "Hate to admit, she's quite the looker.

"Denji... are you really sure about this?" A female voice replied. "I mean... we're about to kill other people in here..."

"Relax, Miyu. We've done this like several times now." Said Denji. "You'll get used to it soon enough."

The voice came from Miyu Dokigami, a young girl, roughly 14 years old, who is a member of Denji's gang, Xypher. Miyu had short, poofy, black hair with a purplish hue, and black eyes. She wore black rimmed glasses, a dark purple hoodie, a short black skirt, black socks and purple sneakers. It was none other than the same girl from the restaurant that the Mugen gang had encountered.

"But Denji... killing is wrong, and you know that..." Said Miyu. "... Right?"

"Miyu... think about it this way. What if the girl was doing bad things? What if she was also killing other people for seemingly no reason?" Denji replied. "Besides, if you're feeling uncomfortable with it, we could just kidnap her and bring her to the doc alive. We'll probably have to kill her new friends, though. They'll be a problem for sure.."

"... Still, isn't this the job of the cops...?" Said Miyu. "Like, observing the peace...?"

"Psh, those cops don't do jack shit. They just sit around on their fat asses while scarfing down on some donuts." Denji replied. "All the while, the true judgment lies solely on vigilantes and bounty hunters like us, the Xypher, who hunt down these criminals for them."

"Sounds to me like you just have a T-Rex sized bone to pick with the cops in this place. Eh, Denji?" Said a male voice.

"Shut it, Elain." Denji replied. "I wasn't even talking to you."

Elain Sparks is another member of Xypher. He appears 14 years old, roughly the same age as Miyu, and is of foreign descent, as one might notice by his name and appearance. Elain has light blonde hair, and green eyes, and wears a black newsboy cap, a pair of crucifix earrings, a white polo shirt with a red tie, a watch on his right wrist, blue jeans and brown leather shoes.

"Aww, don't be such a party pooper, Denji!" Said Elain. "I was just joking."

"Knowing you, that might be more than just a light-hearted joke." Denji replied.

"Come on... Lighten up, dude!" Said Elain. "Don't be such a grumpy-bear!"

"Can you cut it out, Elain?" A female voice replied. "Dammit, you're starting to annoy me as well, you know that?"

"Oh, come on, Tetsuko. You always tell me to shut up." Said Elain. "Freaking Amazon-ass musclehead."

"I heard that! You want me to shut you up myself?!" Tetsuko replied, cracking her knuckles.

Tetsuko Kakuda serves as the muscle of Xypher, as shown by her slightly muscular build and toned abs, unusual for a 16-year old teenage girl. Tetsuko has long maroon hair with red highlights at the front, tied up into a ponytail, maroon eyes, and a dark sun-tanned complexion. She wears a white headband, a red scarf around her neck, a white sleeveless tank top with the lower part torn up to reveal her midriff, red fingerless gloves, black sweatpants and red sneakers.

"OK, OK, fine..." Said Elain. "I'll shut up..."

"Hmph." Tetsuko replied.

"Will you two keep quiet?" Said Denji "I'm trying to think of our next move."

"Denji, I swear. You always let the others get on your nerves too quickly." A female voice replied.

Denji sighs.

"I can't help it, Hyouka." Said Denji. "As the leader of Xypher, I'm supposed to keep all of you in check."

"It's just, well, I lose my temper most of the time." Denji continued.

Out of all the members of Xypher, 15-year old Hyouka Shirayuki is the one who's closest to leader Denji in terms of relationships. Hyouka has blue eyes and long ice blue hair styled into a firm hime cut, fastened by a white hairband and a snowflake-shaped decoration on the right of her hair, and wears the standard uniform of the Sajyou All-Girls' Elite Academy: a sky blue vest on top of a sleeveless white shirt, a blue bow tie, a blue skirt, blue detached sleeves with white lining, knee-length white socks and brown shoes. She compliments the prim and proper look by wearing white gloves.

"Hmph. You always say that..." Said Hyouka.

"Someday, you'll understand what I really mean." Denji replied.

Hyouka sighs and rolls her eyes away.

While walking down the streets of Shin-Majima, the five comrades come across a scruffy mugger with an unkempt look who's held a middle-aged woman hostage, holding a shard of glass toward her throat, as he tries to sidestep away from the people to make his escape onto the dark alleyways.

"Hey, you." Said Denji.

The mugger hears Denji's voice, and is immediately alarmed.

"S-Stay back! Don't come, any closer." Said the mugger, waving the glass shard at the youngsters.

Without a word, Denji flicks a sprite bolt toward the mugger, electrocuting the mugger and allowing the woman to make her escape. Denji, then walks toward the mugger and pins him down with one foot on his chest. He then prepares to finish the mugger off, but not before asking him one last question.

"So, you good-for-nothing, butt-ugly creep." Said Denji. "Any last words before I give you thw shock treatment?"

"Who... who the hell are you?!" The mugger replied, scared witless. "WHO THE HELL ARE YOU?!?"

"Heh, I figured you were gonna ask." Said Denji. "Ey guys, show 'em the mark."

Each member then steps down to where the mugger is and shows off their mark: a small X-shaped scar located in various locations on their body. Hyouka's mark is located below her navel, Tetsuko's is on the back of her left hand, Elain's is on his right forearm, Miyu's is on her back, and Denji's is on his collarbone.

"That mark...!" Said the mugger.

"Heh! Say goodbye, you bastard!" Denji replied, with a sadistic grin on his face.

Denji prepares a fistful of sprite electricity on his right hand and prepares to drill his fist toward the mugger's face. The sheer force of Denji's punch, coupled by the powerful voltage of the sprite bolts, causes the mugger's head to explode in a bloody mess.

Each of the other Xyphers react in horror: Miyu covers her face in fear, Elain grimaces, Tetusko closes her eyes, and Hyouka looks away.

Denji then steps away from the mugger's now-headless corpse, licks some of the blood from his fist, and then glances at the others.

"It's over. You can peek now." Said Denji, with a mischievous grin on his face.

"God, that was.. gnarly." Elain replied.

"I think you might have overdid it again, Denji..." Hyouka added.

"Did I...?" Said Denji, shrugging. "Oh well."

The five of them then walk away from the scene as if nothing had happened.

"That was the Xypher's patented brand of hard justice. And soon enough, that girl's about to get a real good taste of it!"

TO BE CONTINUED