Dragon Traffic Jam

One week flew by in a flash, and before I knew it, it was Monday again.

I woke up from sleep with a smile on my face. It was my first official day as an M-SERT captain after all. How could I not be excited?

I practically jumped out of bed to get ready. I hummed a tune as I prepared. I showered, brushed my teeth, threw my dirty clothes in the laundry, then swapped out the bath towel I had wrapped around my waist for an outfit most appropriate for the occasion.

I stood in front of the mirror as I admired myself. A pair of jet black boots and trousers. A black shirt, with a brown corporate jacket overlaid on top. I didn't care to button up the jacket because... why would I? I looked better this way, and to top it all off, I slid a matching accessory onto my face.

"Oh, looking sharp, my dear. My little man is all grown up and heading into his first day of office. Ooo, I'm so proud."

Of course, the woman who birthed me into this world was the first to take notice of my outfit as I came down the stairs. "Thank you, Mother." I grinned, putting on my most charming and sophisticated accent as I flexed my jacket collar. "You're looking dazzling yourself this morning." I said, returning the compliment despite my mother only wearing her usual apron for breakfast. She made me smile, so I was simply returning the favor.

"Oh, you," my mother blushed, the compliment having done its magic. "Quickly now. Get to the table, breakfast is ready." She gestured with her frying pan towards the living room. "We wouldn't want you late on your first day, now would we?" she added, and I flashed her a wink before dashing off.

"Oh... My... God, you look ridiculous. Bwa pfft pfft. At least lose the sunglasses, Big Bro. What the heck are you wearing?"

I had only managed to sit down at the dining table when my sister, who was dressed in her middle school uniform, began throwing jabs at me. I hadn't even begun eating yet.

"You look like one of those wannabe try-hards from TV. What were you even thinking? That you look cool or something? Ha!"

I took a deep breath and exhaled. "Well, Sister," I said as I picked up my chopsticks and reached into my plate for some tamagoyaki. "I don't particularly care what you think at the moment because it is such a special day, so your childish taunts are lost on me." There was an explosion of flavor in my mouth as I chewed. Mom's cooking was always so delicious. Maybe I should bring some to the office with me and share with the team.

"Well, you look dumb. Just wanted to let you know that," my sister replied as she focused her attention on her own food. "Anyway, I hope the new job comes with a car. I'm tired of taking the train to school."

"And what makes you think I'm going to drive you to school every day?" I asked as I reached for a glass of water.

"Huh? Isn't that obvious? Because I'm your lovely little baby sister, Big Bro."

"...!" I nearly choked on the water I was drinking. "My lovely little what?"

"Cute little baby sister, of course," she repeated, even going as far as proudly puffing out her chest.

I nearly choked on my water again.

My sister instantly stood up from her chair and slammed her hands on the table, eyes narrowed in anger as she glared at me. "What is that supposed to mean?"

I took another bite of my tamagoyaki, savoring the flavor, before replying.

"Sashi?"

"What?"

"Lovely, or cute, aren't words that should be used to describe you under any circumstance."

"Huh? What did you just say, big bro?"

"I mean, sure, you were a cute kid back then and all, with your tiny legs, and your little arms, and the way you always mispronounced my name whenever you tried calling me. That version of you, I did find lovely and cute. But ever since you grew up, you have become nothing but a massive pain in the..."

"Water Arrow!"

My sister lifted her hand and recited a spell, and before I could react, a bolt of water magic materialized from thin air and came shooting towards me. I tried holding out my hand to block the attack, but it was already too late. I was completely drenched.

My mother, overhearing the commotion, stormed out of the kitchen, furious. She walked over to where her daughter stood, grabbed the girl by the ear, and tugged.

"Aw, aw, awww, Mom," Sashi complained, but our mother wasn't hearing any of it.

"Apologize to your brother this very instant."

"But Mom, he started it."

"I don't want to hear it. Oh, and you think I wasn't listening? Apologize now, young lady."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry, Daisuke."

Way to go, mom. My hero.

***

"Okay, honey, see you later, dear! Have a great first day at work!"

I waved back at my mother before signaling to the cab driver to begin moving. Damn, I was definitely running late.

I had delayed leaving the house while I waited for my clothes in the dryer. I absolutely refused to show up to my first day on the job without the jacket. I wanted it to be my signature look, so it was paramount that I showed up with it. Any other attire simply wouldn't do.

Also, as much as I hated Sashi's use of magic, especially today, I had to admit she got me good. Her magic was drastically improving, and with water being her elemental affinity, she was no doubt soon going to become a master, thanks to that new fancy school of hers. I just wish she wouldn’t occasionally use me as target practice. Because of her, I was probably going to receive a query for tardiness. I swear, that girl was such a pain.

M-SERT headquarters was at least half an hour from my neighborhood. So... "Hey driver? Can we go a little faster, please? I'm already running late as it is."

"Sure thing. No problem."

I sighed and relaxed in the back seat. The driver did as I requested, and the cab began moving much faster than it did before. For a moment, I just rested my head while staring out the window. I watched as local establishments whooshed past, shrines, stores, and roadside food vendors, until it was all replaced with the familiar hustle and bustle of Shibuya city streets. Skyscrapers. Supermarkets. And a river of people walking back and forth on the pedestrian path.

Now that we were already in the heart of the district, a few more minutes, roughly fifteen, should see us arriving at the gates of M-SERT HQ. The cab suddenly came to a stop. What the...? What was going on?

"Hey driver, what's the problem? Why did we stop?"

"I'm sorry, sir, but it looks like there's some traffic forming up ahead."

"Traffic? Come on, not today, not now."

Frustrated, I pushed my head out the window to get a better look at what might be causing it. There were indeed a number of cars parked ahead of us on the road; most had their engines shut off to preserve gas as they waited.

In Japan, traffic was usually caused by one of three main things. Rush hour, when everybody was trying to get to work at the same time and inadvertently caused a traffic jam.

A pileup, an accident involving two or more vehicles, which ended up shutting off the road entirely for at least a few hours.

And of course, the rarest of them all, which barely happened in any other place around the world but was your typical Tuesday here in Tokyo, magical creatures taking up space in the middle of the road for one reason or another. And from my point staring out the window of the cab, I could clearly see one of said creatures lying down on its side. Big, red wings, scales running up and down its body, and looked like an overgrown lizard.

I sighed as I pulled my head back into the car and slumped my back against the seat. "It's a dragon," I said to the driver. "There's a dragon taking a nap in the middle of the road, that's what's causing the traffic."

"A dragon? Again?" the man exclaimed in annoyance. "That's the third time in the past five days. Damn things, always causing trouble like this. Such nuisance."

I gazed out the window with my chin resting on my hand, the expression on my face somewhere between a mix of disinterest and disappointment. I had already given up on the idea of arriving early at HQ anyway, but this additional delay guaranteed I was going to get a talking-to. "Stupid dragon," I muttered.

***

Ten minutes later, and it was time to move. Finally. The road was clear, as the dragon was no longer there. A team of M-SERT officers had shown up to handle the situation. They must have woken the dragon up and shooed it away or something. There were protocols on how to handle those kinds of situations when they arise, citing section D, dash E in the M-SERT officer's handbook. But honestly, I couldn't care less what method they must have employed to get the creature to leave. I just wanted to get to HQ as soon as possible.

The driver switched the engine of his cab back on, prepared to continue our journey. But then, the cries of someone in distress caught my attention.

"Thief! Thief! Please help, that man stole my handbag!"

I saw the moment the thief in question ran past our cab. He was wearing a red cloak and had the stolen item in his hand. Instantly, three years of academy training took over. I didn't wait to think. I just acted.

I swung open the door and bolted after the crook. I could hear the cab driver calling after me. "Hey! Wait! Aren't you running late?! Don't you have somewhere to be?!"

I ignored him and continued running after the guy in front of me. Or at least I thought he was a guy; his cloak concealed his face. I apologized to pedestrians as I accidentally bumped into them. A man carrying a suitcase. A woman with her nose buried in her phone. "Sorry. Sorry. I'm so sorry."

Dude was fast, and there were no signs he was slowing down. I was going to lose him if I didn't think of something. "Hey you!" I shouted. "Stop!" but he ignored me and kept on running. I could have fired off a warning shot, a low-level lightning spell meant to discourage him from continuing to evade capture. But there were so many people around, I could accidentally hit any one of them if I was not careful.

Also, without my official M-SERT police badge, using any sort of assault magic without permission could land me in trouble. Section 12 of the M-SERT officer's handbook, Subsection 3, clearly stated, "No individual, including law enforcement officers, shall employ magical force without explicit government authorization, except in cases of self-defense or imminent threat to public safety." The guy in front of me, as far as I knew, only stole an old lady's handbag. He wasn't threatening anyone. At least not yet.

"Hey!" I shouted again. "I said stop!" The guy ignored me once again and made a beeline into a nearby alley. I followed suit, hoping it was a dead end so I could jump and tackle him to the ground. But as soon as I rounded the corner...

"Fire Blast!"

He had stopped, turned around, and shot a blast of fire magic directly at me. I only had mere nanoseconds to react.

"Bubble Shield!"

I yelled out just in time with my arms thrust out in front of me, activating a transparent pink circle that blocked off the massive fireball that was aimed at my face. The impact knocked me back on the ground a few centimeters, which I briskly turned into a backward roll before springing back up to a crouching position, ready to defend myself in case of another attack.

That was close. Too close.

Realizing his plan hadn't worked as intended, and also not expecting me to recover so quickly, the hooded figure, who I guess was some kind of fire mage, took off running in the opposite direction, deeper into the alleyway. Since he had displayed open hostility against me, not just threatening my life but the life of any other person that might have been caught in the crossfire if I hadn't used my magic at the last minute, the safeties were off. I now had the legal backing to go on the offensive.

I got back up and continued chasing after him. "Lightning Strike!" I shot a low-level lightning spell through my fingers, missing the first strike, missing the second one, but not missing the third shot.

Bullseye!

The lightning hit him square in the back, sending him crashing to the ground. It wasn't lethal, the pain was comparable to being shot with a taser.

I rushed forward and retrieved the stolen item, the handbag he had dropped beside him when he fell. Since I didn't have a badge or even cuffs yet, I couldn't directly make an arrest or bring him in for questioning. So after confirming he was just unconscious and not in any danger from the assault magic I used, I placed a call to the police, told them I had a package tied up and waiting for them by the roadside, then left to return the stolen item to its rightful owner.

"Thank you, deary," the old lady had said to me while threatening to pull my cheeks apart. "Thank you for catching that thief and bringing my handbag."

"You're welcome, ma'am," I replied in a high-pitched tone, tears threatening to leak out of my eyes from how painful she was still grabbing my face.

***

I eventually got back in the cab and was dropped off at M-SERT HQ. When I got inside, I, of course, received one hell of an earful from a field commander for being late. I was handed my badge though, and was subsequently instructed to head to the south side of Shibuya district, where my team was already waiting. 

Apparently, since I was the last among my peers to show up, I didn't get to select my field agents, and was instead given whoever remained at the end of the selection process.

I was a bit worried as that basically meant I was stuck with whoever everybody else didn't want. But knowing it was my fault for coming in late, I didn't protest; I just followed orders. Maybe the team wouldn't be as bad as I thought.

I almost bumped into someone on my way out. Kaori Katsuragi, the angel of my dreams.

From the looks of it, they were just returning from their first mission. I guess her team were the ones who had handled the situation with the dragon on the road.

She didn't even notice my existence. She just walked past in her blue captain's uniform, her squad of hand-picked field agents following closely behind. Damn, she was so cool. And her team looked like they were made up of some of the best guys in the academy. What I wouldn't do to be part of the same squad as her. But two captains cannot lead in one group.

When I finally arrived at the south side of Shibuya district, I took a deep breath in anticipation. This was it. The only thing separating me from my team was a single door. I was a captain. I had done the work, put in the hours, and now, the job began.

I cleared my throat and straightened my jacket. Time to introduce myself to the crew.