Chapter 7: Search

"He held you hostage, attempted to murder you, and slaughtered an entire platoon of my soldiers!" King Frost roared, his scepter ablaze with blue fire. "And you dare suggest I show mercy!"

"My King, that is not what I said!" Santa shouted back.

"Allow me, Your Grace," Dracula bowed. "I can go and put an end to this meddling mortal at once."

"Silence!" Santa yelled as loud as he could. He got the desired result, for the other Guardians stopped their clamoring as a hush fell over them. However, King Frost was none too pleased with this undermining of his authority.

"I believe it is only myself that can call for silence in my Throne Room, Santa," King Frost said coldly.

"Begging your pardon my liege, but none of you are listening!" Santa retorted, addressing everyone else in the room. "Did you not hear my account of what I saw in his eyes! He is not just some trickster, mischievous child who discovered us by accident! He is a highly trained warrior who fears nothing and will stop at nothing to get what he wants!"

"And what is it that he said he wanted?" Easter Bunny spoke up. Santa turned to his brother.

"Him!"

The look on Krampus's face betrayed his surprise as he and the other Guardians looked at each other. Then, Krampus recovered and cackled with his usual wicked disregard.

"Me?" Krampus said in disbelief, holding his hands out to the side. "The mortal wants me! Why should I be afraid? Does he really believe he can kill me, even if he did manage to find me in the first place?"

"He is a man on a mission, brother!" Santa argued. "And men like that are dangerous! You remember what happened when you brought judgment down upon Napoleon Bonaparte's head! He cared nothing for it and continued with his conquest!"

"Which eventually was put to an end," the Tooth Fairy interjected.

"Enough!" King Frost hollered, causing a piercing silence to descend upon the room once again.

"Santa, if what you tell me about this mortal is true, then you're right," he declared, looking right at Santa. "It would be foolish to provoke him so soon, lest he have some powerful allies on the mortal plane he could call to his aid."

King Frost turned to the rest of the Guardians.

"That said, we are to enter our Augmented Concealment Clause. Interactions, even fleeting, with the mortal world must be limited. Only go out to scout when absolutely necessary, and use all of your Concealment Magic when you do. Dracula, you will utilize your bats to keep an eye on this warrior. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, your Highness," the Guardians bowed in unison.

"Very well. Santa, thank you for bringing this to our attention. Dracula, you know what to do. Council adjourned."

As Santa exited the Ice Palace and made his way back to his parked sleigh, he heard a familiar raspy breathing behind him and stopped.

"What is it this time, brother?"

"This mortal," Krampus began. "Who was he?"

"Nishikata," Santa answered, refusing to turn around. "You met him a decade ago in Japan when you killed the girl he loved."

"Oh yes, him!" Krampus said in mock delight. "I guess I should give the boy more credit. Perhaps he has a spark of fight in him after all! It might actually be fun to see him again."

Santa remained unamused, and resumed his walk back to his sleigh.

"Be careful what you wish for, brother," he warned as he mounted up and took control of the reins.

...............................................

"In terms of the historical record, there are only a few hundred reported sightings of Krampus," Dr. Johnston told the eager prospective student sitting in his office. "I don't know if there are many today who have seen him, but if you were to search in depth I'm sure you could find something!"

A longtime Professor of Mythology at Western Ontario University, Dr. Grinva Johnston was always happy to engage in conversation on the subject with anyone who would listen. At present, it was a prospective student with medium length black hair, thick-rimmed glasses, a Star Wars hat and a Super Mario t-shirt who was asking him questions.

"Oh, okay," the student replied, jotting down some notes. "Do you know where a good place would be to start?"

"Hm, well, I'm not sure how many people today would be so outspoken about an encounter like that," Dr. Johnston replied, thinking. "Then again, there's always a small chance. That said, let's turn to a cliché but helpful source: YouTube!"

Opening his laptop, the old professor hit a few keys, turning his monitor around to face the eager student.

"These first few search results don't look promising. But if we use some filters..."

Sure enough, the young student saw a lone video entitled 'I've Seen Krampus' pop up, with less than one hundred views, an upload date of last year, and an older Asian man in the thumbnail.

"I must say, I'm surprised!" Dr. Johnston exclaimed. "I was worried I'd have to pull out some of my textbooks. Would you like to watch it right now?"

"I'm good sir, I can just watch it later," the student said, jotting down the name of the channel and video for himself. "I have to run to the next event, but thanks!"

"Anytime, young man!" the professor replied, shaking the student's hand with a smile. "Don't forget to go to the Financial Aid office to see what you're eligible for!"

"I won't!" the student replied. "Thanks again!"

Dr. Johnston chuckled to himself as he returned to his lesson plan. He recalled times when he'd been that young with great fondness. It truly was a wonderful thing, the curiosity of a young mind.

For all of his intellect, this professor had just committed the most foolish blunder in his career. The supposed prospective student he'd just spoken with had been an imposter.

A stoic, expert killing machine skilled in the use of many weapons, martial arts, and disguise.

A highly trained agent, who'd brought entire criminal networks to their knees with nothing more than his stealth, strength, speed, and skill.

A man on a mission of ultimate revenge.

Agent Nishikata.

Making his way to the curb to wait for the next bus, Nishikata found the video on his own phone and bookmarked it for later. It had been two months since his battle with the Ice Soldiers. The DNA sample he'd collected after the fight had earned him the respect of his peers and superiors, and now the CEA's Mythology and Folklore Division was on full alert. These past two months, Nishikata's ruthless efficiency had earned him many more missions. At present, he was on assignment in Ontario to track down a weapons dealer who'd been supplying gangs in the US with weapons and armor.

But that didn't mean he couldn't make a side stop on his own mission.

Five minutes later, the bus arrived, and Nishikata made his way to the back of the bus after paying his fare. A newfound, buried rage rose in his chest as he put his earbuds in and watched the video of the man who'd seen Krampus.

This was no ordinary man.

This was the man who had accepted the silence stemming from Nishikata's guilt as a blessing back when he'd first committed his crime. The man who, despite having been under his tutelage for three years, never bothered to ask Nishikata how he was doing.

His old middle school teacher, Mr. Tanabe.

....................................

Makoto Tanabe, having located his favorite beer in the fridge, flopped down on the couch and turned the TV on. Another day, another paycheck from the factory. He still didn't like Ontario that much, compared to the life he'd had in Japan.

He'd had little choice but to move after the decision he'd made last year, though, and there was no way around it.

Turning the channel to the evening news, Tanabe sat back and drank his bottle, tuning out the rest of the world as he listened to the news anchor.

"News reports coming in tonight that American and Canadian law enforcement performed a joint strike on a nefarious criminal hideout just two hours ago!" the brunette woman reported. "The American Embassy has confirmed that one American secret agent in particular, Agent Ren Nishikata, was crucial to the success of the campaign by scoping out the hideout first! The Ontario Chief of Police has said that his department did indeed petition their superiors in the Canadian government to request help from our ally to the South, and deliver help they did!"

Tanabe arched an eyebrow as a picture of his former student came onto the screen. He'd only been a boy the last time he saw him. Clearly, his student had grown.

A knock sounded at the door.

"Coming," Tanabe grumbled, standing to his feet and ambling over to the front door of his apartment. He fumbled with the key as he unlocked the door and opened it.

Nishikata stood there, face to face with him, dressed in casual civilian attire and a silent fury in his eyes.

"Huh. I think I just saw you on the TV," Tanabe said nonchalantly. "Nishikata, right?"

"Yes," Nishikata answered. "I have some questions and you will answer them for me."

Tanabe blinked in surprise.

"Excuse you? Am I a suspect? How did you even find me here to begin with?"

"The next time you don't want to be found, make sure your YouTube video doesn't have the location where it was filmed listed in the description."

Tanabe groaned, and ushered Nishikata in. "Fine. You're right. Come on in, though I don't have much to offer if you're hungry."

"I'm not here for hospitality," Nishikata said with not-so-hidden icy bitterness, finding a seat in the living room. "When and where did you encounter Krampus?"

"Why does that matter to you?" Tanabe shrugged, flopping back down onto the couch. "It happened over a year ago. Besides, didn't I say where it happened in my video?"

"You only said, and I quote, 'My wife and I were on vacation,'" Nishikata repeated, clenching his fists. "You did not specify where exactly you met him."

"Singapore," Tanabe said flatly.

"How did you encounter him in the first place? Did you write in the same book that I did?"

"Yeah, it was a book of some sort. My wife and I had been having some problems, and I wished that she'd stop nagging me all the time. I can't remember all the exact details, but I remember we'd traveled to Singapore to make up to each other. That was the day I lost her, and I met Krampus."

Tanabe stopped short.

"Wait...how did you even know it was a book?"

"Because I too have met Krampus."

Long pause.

"Huh. Fancy that," Tanabe said, sipping more of his beer. "When did that happen?"

"Seventh grade."

Again, Tanabe's face betrayed his surprise.

"You mean when you were still a student?"

"Yes," Nishikata said, not bothering to hide his anger anymore. "There was a girl, Takagi. She always used to get me in trouble with you due to her teasing. Then one day, she never came to school again. Remember?"

Tanabe's eyes grew wide.

"You...you...you wished for her to—!"

His sentence was cut off as Nishikata suddenly stood up from the chair and kicked Tanabe hard in his right leg. Tanabe yelled in surprise as Nishikata relieved him of his beer bottle, grabbed him by the shoulders and stood him up.

"Yes! I did!" Nishikata confirmed, looking Tanabe dead in the eyes. "I made a wish for her to be gone! And you—you just rejoiced over the fact that I'd become a quiet goody-two shoes little boy! You never even asked me how I was doing!"

"You little brat!" Tanabe protested, struggling to break free. "I'll teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"

"Little brat this!" Nishikata shouted back, bringing up his left knee into Tanabe's groin as hard as he could. Tanabe gasped for breath fell to the ground, kneeling before Nishikata in pain as the embittered agent stood over him in a blatant stance of power.

"You—you!" Nishikata continued to vent, delivering another kick to the man's chest. "Did you ever once stop to think that maybe, just maybe, Takagi's teasing was the reason I had so many outbursts! You only ever punished me, humiliated me in front of the entire class every time! Why? Answer me!"

Nishikata stopped to collect himself, fists still clenched and his body tense as a tightrope. Tanabe just stayed on the ground at first, grunting in pain from the blows. Then, he laughed.

"Well, would you look at that," Tanabe smiled as he rose up and sat back into the sofa. "The two of us, so different in profession and status. You, a courageous crime-fighting agent and me, a drunkard who accidentally killed his own wife with a foolish wish."

"Don't make small talk with me," Nishikata hissed, but Tanabe continued.

"And yet, here we both are, trapped by the sins of our past and fooled by a demon who most other people don't even believe exists. Alone in our struggle against our own choices."

Tanabe laughed again.

"Can't say I don't admire your tenacity, Nishikata," Tanabe complimented. "You really have come a long way."

"How wonderful of you to say that," Nishikata scoffed. Then a knock sounded at the door.

"Hello?" an elderly woman's voice sounded. "Is everything all right in there, Tanabe? I've heard quite a racket!"

Tanabe gave Nishikata a smug smile.

"Everything is fine, Mrs. Wilson," he assured her. "Thanks for checking though."

"Oh my, well, good to know," Mrs. Wilson's voice said through the door. "I was about to call the police!"

After a few moments of silence, Nishikata made his way to the door, checking to make sure he had everything before he left.

"So, what's next from here?" Tanabe asked. "I'm guessing your own agency won't believe you since you had to come to me for a lead."

"I'm going to kill Krampus," Nishikata said as he walked out the door. "Simple as that."

Tanabe chuckled.

"Good luck, Nishikata. Farewell."