Burnt to Ashes - Kenichi Todoroki

Welcome, Akihito

I sat in the backseat of my dad's car, playing Minecraft on my ipad, but also listening to my dad's conversation.

I'm Akihito Hokori, and I think my family and society in general is messed up.

"I'm approaching Tokyo right now." My dad muttered into the phone. "I wish I didn't have to cover this case so soon."

Case? I knew my dad was a detective, but it wasn't like him to just turn down a case. I knew this only because I've listened to how happy he would get when a new one opened up. So why was he not pleased about this one? Could it be because it's dangerous?

As we approached a building, my dad parked the car on the side of the road. "Get out, Akihito."

I got out of the car, leaving my ipad inside. My dad didn't give me a second glance as he walked up to the building and opened the door.

Inside, it was giant, bigger than I initially thought just from looking at the outside; pillars held the ceiling up and the floor was polished marble. It looked expensive to say the least.

A man with brown hair and a suit came up to us. "Dr. Hokori, and..."

"He's tagging along, just pretend he isn't even there." My dad explained. I narrowed my eyes, but didn't comment on it. Of course I was going to be pushed to the side again, but this could be a chance to learn about my dad's job. Heroes work with detectives all the time. Learning about a detective's job from up close is definitely an experience I can't miss out on.

The man with the suit nodded. "Just call me Dr. Xen, nothing more nothing less. I have a lot of info that was gathered over the years about the famous Shirokage Mafia. There's some files to look into for sure, and pinpointing an exact location is your mission for when you head off to Canada."

"I understand." My dad said.

Dr. Xen led us through a hallway. We got to a room that was completely white with screens and holograms around, forcing me squint because how unbearably blinding it was. My dad went and sat down, followed by Xen. I just silently stood by my dad as Dr. Xen went through a bunch of files, also squinting.

"This is the research we gathered so far." Dr. Xen finally began. "There are four known complete families, all split up. One resides here in Japan, one in America, and two in Canada. You're going to investigating the west family, which is run by Sotsui and Chikara Shirokage, with a total of 23 'minions', also known as their kids."

My dad nodded, and I looked over his shoulder at him taking notes.

"They are said to be the head of the other families, and also the biggest and strongest. The list of kids go as followed." On one of the screens, 23 names were on there; Ichirou, Keiji, Saburo, Tora, Akuma, Inei, Enkai, Tsuki, Kurai, Daku, Kuroppoi, Ankoku, Amida, Taji, Rinchi, Koumori, Shinju, Notan, Meian, Zukin, Kinan, Kiken, and Tomoru. "Those are all the known kids listed under them, and most of them have strong quirks."

"I see." My dad nodded. "So where would I find the location of this specific family."

"That's something that is unknown. They must move around a lot because everytime a location is pinpointed, somehow they end up not being there." Dr. Xen put his hand on his chin. "I suspect that there are multiple bases."

My dad nodded again.

"It's odd that all of the kids are male, which leads me to believe most of them were either stolen at birth or adopted." Dr. Xen went on. "One of them is currently in jail and was arrested three years ago, Tora Shirokage. Numerous police and detectives have tried to get him to talk, but he won't, stating that because of one of the brother's named Shinju he refuses to put his life in danger. So Shinju, he's the one you'll need to find and target."