The Wizard

Shibuya

It's known as the busiest intersection on the planet. Pedestrians traversing the multidirectional crosswalk number between 30 and 3,000 on any given light exchange. Half a million people a day cross between the bustling Tokyo shopping district and the hectic train station. The view of endless humanity exiting the Shibuya metro is mesmerizing and often photographed from the platform and especially from the second-floor coffee shop across the street. 

The lights are timed to stop all directions of auto traffic every three minutes and allow an average of 2,500 people to cross at any angle between the intersections that come together at the crosswalk. Dense pedestrian packs form between lights, at rush hour they're at their thickest; rain or shine. 

The signal changed to red and stragglers that didn't make the scramble across would have the longest wait. 1,700 residents and tourists from twelve different countries piled up at the intersections, spaced apart at the scale of a personal umbrella, and took in the neon shimmer off buildings and the wet reflective blacktop in the late afternoon rain. 

Thousands of digital phone camera's trained on the intersection, not to mention the official police surveillance, captured the events before the crossing with absurd perfection. 

A moment after a Mercedes semi-tractor-trailer cleared the intersection two men appeared out of nowhere in the center of the white lines that mapped out the preferred pedestrian pathways.

One was middle-aged and possibly of a multi-national origin. His Japanese citizenship has never been confirmed. His clothing was black, traditional, and sophisticated. His shaved head highlighted intense long facial features. His right arm was bare and some said covered in ghoulish makeup, for its skin color seemed different from the rest of his body. Some suggested a Frankenstein-esque appearance to the arm. 

The other man was younger, clearly of European, or potentially American origins. He had short-cropped hair and a rough beard, that wasn't completely out of step for westerners of the time. His handmade clothing, however, seemed straight from a Renaissance fair and his heavy fur jacket was certainly out of place in the muggy summer season. 

Their conversation was blotted out by car horns.

"Follow. Follow." 

"Look around you. This is just one of a million worlds. Look at them. Waiting to be conquered. With all their technology they know nothing of our abilities!" 

The older man raised his unmatching arms to the sky and fire flashed so bright every eye in the intersection dilated. Flames rushed down, formed a massive ball, and sailed toward the younger man. Who, intern, produced a small cherry blossom twig, and reduced the fire to a spark. 

The younger man, in turn, reached to the heavens and pulled a lightning bolt from the sky and held it in his hand. For the next 3 endless seconds, every recording device got nothing but a white screen. Those present, however, saw the young man throw the lightning bolt right into the heart of the older, who lit up like a Christmas tree. 

The elder clapped his hands, creating a sonic boom that silenced every car horn in the city, blew back the hair of onlookers in the vicinity, and brought Tokyo traffic to a standstill. 

The younger assumed a kind of Kung Fu stance and enormous tiger paws were seen flying through the air and slashing toward the older man. He slashed his monster arm forward and a massive samurai sword was seen overhead. It sideswiped the tiger claws out of existence.

The elder reduced the size of the sword and it lowered into his hands with dark purplish radiance. The younger taking out his cherry blossom twig turned it into a thick western battle sword of fire. The two advanced on each other and began an epic sword duel. 

Blows were masterfully exchanged to the amazement of the silenced crowd. After seven perfect parries, they connected weapons with such force that an explosion of colored lights ignited the entire square. 

When the colors faded overhead, both men were gone, as if they simply evaporated into thin air. 

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause. The walk signal turned to green and the intersection filled with people going on their way again. A sea of umbrellas filled the square. Conversations and speculations raced through the streets in Japanese and a smattering of other foreign languages, though in the vast minority. 

"What a performance!"

"Maji sugee!!!"

"Such amazing pyrotechnics." 

"Imaichida na."

"How did they vanish?" 

"Weren't their costumes amazing?" 

"Korekoso art da. Saikō kessakuda!!"

"Wunderbar, fantastisch."

"Best Kabuki theater I've ever see."

"Bellissimo!"

Images were shared. Photos and videos posted. Nightly news reporters told of an unsponsored spontaneous magic show performed by unknown actors. The official police report stated that it was some kind of art piece and the perpetrators were never identified. Their only real crime was a minor traffic violation for adding to rush-hour congestion. Everyone, including officers on the scene at the Shibuya crossing, agreed to overlook the incident.