[IC] FoToK Chapter 1-The Lab Rats Scurry Under the Microscope. Hijacked_Network

[Hiss13]

Zero Gravity Biological Impact Laboratory (Hikoboshi II)
As if defying gravity, the middle school girl named Amano Kaguya floated in the center of a hollow sphere with a radius of 20 meters. The girl who was normally seen curled up in fetal position at the center had straightened out her body into a position into one more reminiscent of a person sitting in a chair.

"Ah, so it seems impossible to stop?" The girl spoke in a casual tone. Anyone who saw her would stare confused at the contrast between the tone of the girl's voice. Her long black hair and junihitoe floated around revealing her shoujo manga-like figure. She held a level of beauty and grace that one would be unwilling to imitate. After all, her beauty was a result of a lack of mechanical loading on her bones and muscles due to prolonged exposure to a low gravity environment. She would never be able to walk normally in a 1G environment.

But it didn't matter to the girl. From her position in space, she was content being an observer of the world beneath. From the spherical cell called the Zero Gravity Biological Impact Laboratory, the girl was complacent as the master of the five kilometer long satellite known as Hikoboshi II.

"Correct. The hacker has already passed through the all of the security protocols on the antenna side. It's only a matter of time before the surveillance systems and the rest of satellite are out of our control." Another voice spoke to her through speakers that were implanted somewhere in the walls of the Laboratory.

However, the complacent observer's territory was being invaded. She was being brought into the rest of the world that she was observing from afar and she refused to accept that. "Given the timing and the possible suspects, it could only be her. In that case, isolate the surveillance system and cut it off from the internal network."

"But.."

"No matter who it is, there is far too much weaponry like the S5 aboard the satellite to let it fall into the hands of a hacker. Since the cracking of the surveillance system is inevitable, we just need to make sure that the hacker can't go any further. This is my domain. I refuse to let it fall into the hands of another." The middle school girl declared.

Fukui Kiyoko
A loud alarm that could have startled even the heaviest of sleepers started to sound off from the smartphone sitting on the desk. Of course, the girl laying on the bed was no exception to the all-reaching effects of the unsettling cacophony.

Fukui Kiyoko was laying on a single queen-sized bed in a luxurious, albeit small, one-bedroom hotel room. The faint, yet present scent of a certain haloform compound wafted around her mouth and nose.

The room was structured much like a typical hotel room. On either side of the bed Kiyoko was lying on were small dressers with lamps and an alarm clock on them. On the left of the left dresser was the corner connecting to the foyer, closet, and bathroom. On the opposite corner of that was a television. Lastly, on the next corner counterclockwise was the desk where the phone lay along with a tablet that was indicating an incoming call with the regular icons that told the user to accept/reject the call.

Kita Haruki
At the same time, a loud, obnoxious alarm rang from a phone a coffee table. The phone was sitting next to a tablet that had an incoming call display on it.

On one of four couches sitting around each side of the coffee table lay Kita Haruki. Like with Kiyoko, the scent of a haloform compound was wafting around the entrance points of his respiratory tract.

The room he was in was highly bleak as the couches and coffee table seemed to be the only thing in there. Not only that but the walls were painted a pure white with no ornamentation to be seen anywhere. There were three doors in the room as well but all of them were locked and it was likely that nobody would be able to open them without keys.

Komuri Makoto
At the same time, the loud obnoxious alarm sounded on a coffee table with the same contents as the others. Just like the Haruki, Makoto lay on a couch with the faint scent of a haloform compound around his nose and mouth.

The windows and blonds were closed but there was a light trickling in through a gap in the blinds. Along the pantry that lined the wall were things one would find in a break room, ranging from a microwave to coffee machines.

Next to the door to the room, there was a simple slip of placard which read:

District 11 Engineer Entrance-Break Room

Edited November 4, 2015 by Hiss13

[Chevaleresse]

Haruki flailed a bit as the phone rang, this being enough to upset a precarious balance on the edge of the couch. This in turn resulted in a maladroit tumble to the floor, Haruki landing in an awkward table of table legs and his own slender limbs. After taking a moment to straighten himself out on the floor, he ran a hand over his head and down his hair before getting up, ensuring it was the cheery pink color he preferred. What's that smell. . . ? He pulled himself upward to a sitting position and looked at the ringing phone for a moment. Hopefully this phone call won't be as boring as this place. He tapped a button to answer, and spoke into the device with a cheery tone entirely contrasting his surroundings. "Hello?"

[Sutoratosu]

Makoto weakly opened their eyes. Their mind detected the phone's ringing long before the sound ever reached their ears as they lay there, trying to recall why they would've come to in such a place as this. They sat up and tossed their legs over the edge of the cushions, only then catching the whiff of the faint compound. They reached up a hand to their mouth, rubbing at the suspicious odor. There was no doubt about it.

"This... this is indeed ironic..." They sighed to themself, though not without smiling despite the obvious implications. "hit with chloroform. interesting... so this is how they must've felt afterwards. Too bad, I can't say I'm a fan of it." They stopped reminiscing about the past job long enough to take in the rest of his surroundings. The rather conveniently placed placard saved them the trouble of having to piece together their own conclusion though. "A strange place to incarcerate a prisoner, assuming that's what I've become. Regardless however..."

They had been practically suppressing the phone's noise up until this point- whatever time it was, it was too damn early for such an annoying racket -but reached out a hand now, taking up the sleek device and giving a single tap on it's glossed screen. They didn't bother with a greeting. Chances are that whoever was on the other end wouldn't care anyway, not if their most prevailing theories about their predicament were true... though they had to admit, if one of their past employers really was behind this, it wouldn't be that surprising.

"I presume this has something to do with my awakening in a random break room?" They said calmly in their natural, androgynous pitch and timbre; they saw little point in any voice tampering at the moment. "And the fact that I was obviously abducted at some point in the journey here as well." all the while, they were just waiting for the moment when he could analyze and file away whatever voice answered... alone it might not be much in way of means for identification, but it would at least be better than nothing, if things came to having to hunt down the other end...

[Shamitako]

Kiyoko opened her left eye, which turned out to be the one facing the bed. As she became a aware of her surroundings, she realized she had her arms and legs wrapped around a pillow. She also gained a sense of what had awoken her, an extremely loud alarm. She didn't have any alarms, so she could already tell she wasn't at home, but she wasn't naked so that didn't make much sense at all. She opened her right eye now, allowing her to get a better view of her surroundings... Or it would have if she could have seen past the pillow she was straddling. Sighing, she pushed the pillow away and sat up, looking about for the agitating source of sound. Her vision focused in on the phone and she quickly moved to pick it up. She recognized neither the device nor the number calling. She didn't really want to answer, but she was confused enough she decided she might as well.

"Hello." She said, speaking in heavily accented Japanese, "Who is this?"

The accent wasn't natural, it was one she had learned to imitate when her uncle, who lived in America, visited with his wife when she was younger. She liked to use it when she needed to answer a phone for someone else.

[Hiss13]

In a Certain Office

"Hello?"

"I presume this has something to do with my awakening in a random break room? And the fact that I was obviously abducted at some point in the journey here as well."

"Hello. Who is this?"

The three voices made their way to the ears of Kihara Yuiitsu. "Good. They're all awake. Let's get this over with." She said before pressing a button to turn on the microphone in front of her.

The large computer screen in front of her was sectioned off into four partitions. Three of the partitions held the faces of the three people who had just accepted the call, taken in real time with the activation of a camera on their tablets. The other one was Yuiitsu's corner, a black portion that held the words "sound only". An identical screen displayed on the three tablets that each of the formerly unconscious agents had.

"Welcome. Kita Haruki, Komuri Makoto, and Fukui Kiyoko. I am Kihara Yuiitsu, your employer. Before we start, take a good look at each other's faces. These are the people you will be working with for now."

She paused for a few seconds before continuing on. "Now, then. Let us move on to the important part. You are all wondering why I have had you gathered and the answer is quite simple. We have commissioned the three of you to eliminate four persons of interest. Their names are Kihara Sousai, Kihara Kenbi, Kihara Jouryuu, and Kihara Bunshii. Do you have any questions so far?"

Edited November 6, 2015 by Hiss13

[Sutoratosu]

"How much are you paying?" Makoto immediately asked in deadpan. There were other questions, of course, but that was their biggest. Besides, it wasn't like they hadn't been in a situation where the employer had gone to the trouble of exerting some type of forceful and coercive tactics. In fact, it was similar to the very first job they'd ever done, now that they thought back on the circumstances. Perhaps a bit more drastic in the measures taken, but nevertheless... still the same basic intent at the core of it's tactics. Which made the Soundbreaker consider another possibility...

"Or... is the type of situation where there isn't money, and you've simply gone and specifically found threats to hold over each of our heads, just to ensure we comply?"

[Hiss13]

"You will be paid upon successful completion of the job. The details of the payment will be delivered to you shortly after this call ends via the intra-device network." Yuiitsu spoke in a bored tone. To her, it was almost routine. As the 'negotiator' of the Kihara family, she ended up having to do a lot of things like this that she considered boring and mundane. But, if she was ever going to get back to her research, she had to finish debriefing the agents. "Do remember where you are a part of, Makoto. You are a part of the side of Academy City that the light never touches. From the moment you stepped into the Dark Side, you…eh…this is such a bother. You already know what I'm going to say. I'm sure you've heard it before."

[Chevaleresse]

"Are we working together? I bet that'd be super fun." His voice sharply contrasted his surroundings (not to mention the topic at hand), not that Haruki cared. "Oh, I'm Kita Haruki, by the way, since Boring Scientist-san didn't say who everyone was. I think your names are nice, too. I wonder why you got them? My name is kind of a mystery, but I think..." The boy continued to ramble on about names, not seeming to be talking to anyone at all after a short time. The constant verbal torrent was something a few might have found endearing, something one would expect from a child. Others... well...

[Sutoratosu]

"Oh Please, I never forget... I'm simply checking to see if I'll have to kill someone else too after this is done..." "Tch...Fine." They responded flatly. The question of payment and circumstance was satisfied... at least momentarily. Makoto passed glance at the other faces on the screen's display. Both looked to barely be out of middle school, but they knew from far too much experience it was best to reserve judgement until an ability was revealed. Whoever the kids were, they'd likely have at least something to possibly contribute... even if they probably did lack a good bit in maturity.

"Are we working together? I bet that'd be super fun. Oh, I'm Kita Haruki, by the way, since Boring Scientist-san didn't say who everyone was. I think your names are nice, too. I wonder why you got them? My name is kind of a mystery, but I think..." Makoto held off with their second question as the boy spoke... and then just droned on and on about nothing. Out of everything else- being chloroformed, abducted, and then presented with a hit job- and names were the one thing the kid was focused on. The older Esper merely let out a slight chuckle under their breath and shook their head. "Amazing...this is apparently what I'll have to work with here. I'm probably not too far off with the age estimation..."

[Hiss13]

Yuiitsu was a bit annoyed but not surprised. There were all kinds of people in the Dark Side. For example, there was a girl who used the word 'super' and had an abundant enthusiasm for B, C, and even D movies. For example, there was the double agent who was a complete siscon. So, someone who was colorful and talkative was not the least bit surprising.

It was definitely a chore for her. Frankly, having someone who was talkative was also annoying for the woman who wanted to get this debriefing over with. "Ahem."

The sound of the woman clearing her throat resounded through the speaker. "If you would like to work together, feel free to do so. I'm going to be leaving most of the detail on how to execute this mission to you all. Feel free to work together or to split up the work. Whatever you do for this mission is fine so long as you succeed. Do try to be as discreet as possible, though."

"Are there any more questions from the three of you before I move on to the next portion of this debriefing? Do feel free to drop into the conversation, Kiyoko."

[Shamitako]

(OOC: ...)

After the tablet had switched to show video and she'd gotten a look at her coworker's faces, Kiyoko had pretty immediately gone back to bed. She wasn't quite rude enough to just leave the tablet where it was, so she set it upright on the bed next to her. She was a little annoyed when her name was mentioned.

"I don't see why I would have anything to say, Yuii-chan." she said, dropping her fake accent, "One way or another I'm going to end up naked."

She yawned loudly and rolled over so her back was to the tablet. Normally she wouldn't be so rude to a superior, but she was annoyed at the whole abduction thing. Just because this was the "Dark Side" didn't mean everything had to be so edgy and cliche. Kihara could have just sent some whore to give her a message overnight, that would certainly have been more interesting than this.

[Chevaleresse]

"There's always something to say, Kiyoko-chan! I'm sure there's something you're wondering about, like Makoto-chan's ability, or mine, or just when we're going to let you go back to sleep. I mean, this is supposed to be super serious business stuff, aren't we supposed to ask all sorts of questions like, 'why should we do this, what are we getting paid, what if I get run over by a car or shot or something,' though I already know all that." The one bit in the middle was spoken with a comically exaggerated deep, serious voice. "There's other stuff I could ask about though, like why would you be naked? Oooh, I bet it's something with your ability." As he spoke, Haruki slowly moved closer to the camera until his face was filling virtually the entire frame. He did not appear to be aware of this.

[Sutoratosu]

Again, the soundbreaker sighed as they watched their supposed 'co-workers', this time with an air of genuine annoyance. It may have been amusing at first, but now it was getting to the point that they could feel brain cells beginning to die.

They turned their attention back to the Kihara's panel on the screen, crossing their arms as they leaned back into the couch. "While these two... explore their adolescent perversions, mind explaining a bit about just why you suddenly want a few clan members dead? I know you kiharas generally give no damns about anything aside from your research projects, but still... most of you aren't psychotic enough to just go commissioning hit jobs without a reason."

Makoto paused and contemplated that last part for a second. "Actually, forget the 'most' part; that's probably giving out far too much credit. Point is: just what is it exactly that these targets of yours have done?" They usually were a bit more mindful when it came to dealing with the clientele than this; then again though, they also usually weren't kidnapped and- presumably -locked into a small room without an easy means of escape in order to coerce compliance...

[Hiss13]

"Yuii-chan…?" The woman muttered at the sound of an odd nickname from the lone girl of the three. She felt that she may want to question it but she really did not feel the proper motivation to question the quirks of any of the two who were currently speaking in such upbeat manners. She put a finger to the end of her hair and started twirling it around.

Luckily for Yuiitsu, the saving grace came from the one who seemed to be the no-nonsense kind of guy. "Well, I guess we can use your question as a jumping point to go straight to the main portion of the debriefing. I'll start with a brief introduction to who the Kihara are. While Makoto is one of those rare people who seem to have delved deep enough to have a basic knowledge of our existence, most people don't. So, I'll start from the beginning. I hope all of you are listening because I'm not going to waste time repeating all of this.

"To most who have heard of or interacted with us, the Kihara Family is a group of scientists with a passion for science and with little, if any, concern for ethics. On the surface, that is what we are. But, at our core, we are the byproduct of mankind's reliance on scientific development. So long as mankind continues to rely on scientific development, we will continue to exist. Even if the current bloodline is destroyed, the essence of the family will merely respawn in a different bloodline. As a result of this, we tend to go where our research specialties can progress the most and Academy City's virtual monopoly on scientific development leads to all of the Kiharas being contained within the walls of the city.

"Now, here is the problem. Academy City is now waging war with Russia and due to the nature of Russia's declaration of war, there has been a ripple in the conscious of the world. Will Academy City's superiority and monopoly remain or will it crumble? That ripple has gone deep into even the darker sides of the city and reached the Kihara Family. As such, these four Kiharas are attempting to leave Academy City as there is a possibility of their research being optimized outside of the city. Of course, the higher ups don't want certain research to leak outside of the city so we have decided it would be better to cut our losses. In the end, the bond between Kiharas is nothing more than a burning curiosity to discover the unknown. At least, that's how sensei would put it." With that, she stopped twirling her hair and then looked to the faces on the screen.

"Do you have any more questions before we run to the final part of the debriefing? Or, if all is clear, I will give you a brief description of the targets and the reason why I had you put under chloroform and brought to separate unmonitored locations."

[Shamitako]

Kiyoko found the boy's interest in her potential nudity more than a tad annoying, but she didn't let that show. This conversation was tiresome and she was bored. As such she put on her best tsundere voice for her next line.

"Y-you don't have to sound so interested, pervert!" She said, holding her arms over her chest defensively and blushing furiously.

Without missing a beat, she swapped to a more lighthearted but somehow menacing tone and spoke to Kihara Yuiitsu.

"If they're trying to run away, I'll be more than happy to play tag with them." She said, now holding her hand to her face mischievously, "After all, tag is much more fun when the tagger can turn the runners' organs to mush."

She wasn't sure how she really felt about this whole situation, that would have required caring who she really was. But as fun as toying around with her coworkers was, she figured it was time to prepare for the job at hand. To do so, she firmly settled into her most commonly used face, one with a high-pitched entitled sounding voice. She sat up, sitting cross-legged and with a look of annoyance and boredom on her face. Her hands sat softly in her lap, her fingers intertwined loosely with the top forefinger tapping itself repeatedly against the one beneath it. It wasn't her real face, but it was the most useful for getting what she wanted. All the clear features of an entitled brat were there, but they sat atop the figure of a very small girl, making them often endear people to her. It let her be very vocal about what she wanted without ticking people off to the point where they wouldn't give it to her.

[Chevaleresse]

"Wha- You said you'd be naked! If I said I was going to be naked for some sort of super covert assassination thing I bet you'd be curious. I even said that I thought it was something to do with your ability. We should probably tell each other that kind of thing, you know, with all this super serious stuff going on it would be good to know. Ooooh, I wonder if we can guess stuff about each other's abilities!" And with that, any trace of anything resembling anger was gone - if it was even there in the first place. Haruki seemed to have forgotten his indignation at being accused of perversion as his mind flitted to another subject. "I bet Kiyoko-chan's ability is something that doesn't work as well if you have clothes on. Or maybe it destroys your clothes? Does your skin set things on fire? I don't know what Makoto-chan's ability is though, other than maybe extreme grumpiness. Yelling at people, maybe? That's what grumpy people do." The boy - though it was difficult to even tell his gender, given his high voice and penchant for brightly colored hair - seemed to be blissfully unaware of how his rapidfire speech was grating on the others in the call, as he moved back and forth in front of the camera while he gesticulated in time with his speech.

[Sutoratosu]

"And I thought I was the only one who had the power to literally talk people to death..." This... was not funny anymore. This brat on the other side of the screen was starting to Piss Makoto off just a little with these constant little tirades; the kid was- for all intents and purposes -a genuine annoyance. Hell though, from a professional stand-point, this entire situation they were in right now was- for all intents and purposes -a genuine annoyance; Kidnapped, chloroformed, locked up, forced to work alongside two juveniles...

They focused for a moment, analyzing the variables of the child's voice before finally negating their specific vibrations through the speaker. Though the kid was still talking on the other end of the screen, and everyone else would still hear and suffer through his grating little voice, All Makoto heard was the Discriminate Silence they had self-imposed with their Aim Field and the soft ticking of the analog over the doorway. They glared at Kihara's side of the screen , mouth set into a thin line of agitation.

"Just hurry up and give us the name's and profiles already. The sooner I can get out of here and shred the target's lungs into pulp, the less babysitting I'll have to do..."

Despite their words however, they had no intention of looking after either of the two juveniles at all. They may be forced to work with them, but that by no means meant they were about to go acting all 'Older-Sibling' and the like...especially given the circumstances of how they wound up in this situation in the first place. This was the darkside afterall... If you fell from the path of the light and ended up here, even if you were a kid, you had best either find yourself an organization to sell your soul to, or be able to survive without a big sister or brother constantly looking over your shoulder and watching your back for you...

[Hiss13]

They're far more eager than I am. Who would have thought that our handpicked assassins would already be this bloodthirsty…or just ready to get this over with. I wouldn't blame them.

"Well, seeing as you all are not doing anything but your own side-conversations, I'll just assume that you're all ready for the end of our debriefing. So, let's start with the targets. There are four targets."

With the tap of two buttons, the words "Sound Only" were replaced by a picture. It was a young man with messy orange hair, baggy eyes, and wearing what looked to be a wrinkled t-shirt. "This man is Kihara Jouryuu. He's a man who specializes in research on Chemical Weapon Distribution and Purification. He was last seen roaming District 4, though this last sighting was about two weeks ago on October 9th. At current, he is the lowest priority target."

Yuuitsu slid her finger on a panel, prompting the next photo to replace the the previous one. The next picture was that of another young man. He was slender with sleek black hair and black eyes. Combined with his lab coat and tie, he looked like the type of man who easily attracted people to the point where 'pretty boy' could be an apt term for him. "This is Kihara Bunshii. His research specialty is nano weapon research and his reputation lies in the development of Mimosa. He, too, was last seen on October 9th in District 4. He is to be placed at higher priority over Jouryuu."

Yuiitsu slid her finger once again. However, the new image was blurred and corrupted. It seemed to be nothing more than a back-shot of a person in a long, loose-fitting lab coat. The parts above the neck were so corrupted, it was impossible to tell any information about it. "I guess there was little point in showing the image to get a good idea of what this target looks like. Her name is Kihara Kenbi. She's an expert in Cell and Tissue Biology who has made multiple strides in the manipulation of AIM Distribution Fields through exposure to neurotoxins. She and the next target are the two top priorities for your mission. Unlike the other targets, Kenbi has been seen very little. We should still be able to get images of her but…the next target is likely the one causing attempts to do so to fail."

With one more slide of her finger, the final image file opened. It showed a girl of middle-school age with green eyes and green twin tails. "The last target is Kihara Sousai. Her specialties include remote hacking, networks, and virus implantation. One could say that she is the one who holds the primary collar around your necks. Not many people know this but shortly before you woke up, the satellite, Hikoboshi II was hacked into. The surveillance systems were compromised and are now likely under Sousai's control. In other words, you three have left the watchful eyes of your targets who know that the city will send assassins to eliminate them."

"In other words, once you leave the buildings you're situated in, the eyes of the enemy will be focused on you and they will target you. While they will have a relatively hard time mobilizing force, they will eliminate you in order to safely escape. Though things may change depending on how quickly you can kill Sousai."

She paused so she could shut down all the images and return to the "Sound Only" screen. "With that all said, we know you still don't enjoy the fact that you have been put into this situation and we know that you would have zero motivation to complete the mission as a whole once you kill Sousai so we will still reward you for successful completion of the assassinations."

"The profiles for all of the targets can be found on the data terminals I have provided you with. Once again, feel free to undertake this assassination project with whatever means you feel necessar--"

"Though, do try to be discrete, children." A lower tone voice, that of an older man, suddenly cut in.

"Ah, sensei? Were you there the whole time?"

"For most of it, Yuiitsu-kun."

"Well, what did you think of the debriefing I gave?"

"Not a single hint of romance in it."

"I don't think a debriefing really needs any romance, sensei…anyway…do you think that about covers it?"

"I have one more thing to say. Children, if things end up taking too long, we may be able to provide some minor support."

"Hmm…do they really need to know that…ehh, whatever. For those who decide to go after Kenbi, I'll try to contact Yakumi Hisako in advance. It would be troublesome if she decided to sic that thing against you guys. With that, if you don't have any more questions, feel free to hang up. All of the doors will be unlocked once the call ends."

[Sutoratosu]

"I have one." Makoto interjected almost immediately, stone faced with eyes as barren as twin dying red dwarfs as xe continued to glare at the screen. "Where's this Sousai kid at? Is there any intel about her current possible location?" Xe had no qualms about going after little kiddies, at least not those who delved in the dark side. Again, if you're down here in the underhell of the city, then you aren't innocent, not even a little bit. Either you were strong enough to survive on your own, or you sold your soul to an organization in order to keep living just a bit longer; things down here were as simple as that, and it applied to kids like these two 'co-workers' of xirs too... just as much as it applied to a professional like xemself.

And this one was Kihara scum to boot, even. Kihara... just thinking the name was more than enough to leave a bitter taste in xyr mouth...

A kid like that... simply should not exist. Makoto knew she wouldn't be missed.

[Hiss13]

"Like with the other three targets, we can only give the location she was last seen at…though, Sousai-chan was never the type who enjoyed being seen by others. The best intel we can give you on that is that she was last seen at the Virus Isolation Center in District 5. You can guess why she would go there based on what I already told you." Yuiitsu said, returning to her bored and apathetic tone. "Though, this information was sitting on the profiles on your terminals as well as information on the others so feel free to consult those. After all, it's not like you're using your phone here. This entire conversation is being done over those tablets, right?"

[Chevaleresse]

"This might seem like a really super obvious questions but do we get our own locations? I mean you did drug us and stuff, and it's hard to use any information on where someone else is if you don't know where you are. Unless that's on the tablets too, I guess that would make sense, but Boring Scientist-san is probably smart enough to not give us information that makes us less likely to cooperate." Haruki's voice didn't hold a single note of hostility, however, still maintaining a fairly cheerful tone despite essentially accusing them of withholding information to ensure they got what they wanted. "Ooh, I guess we get to keep the the tablets? That's fun."

The young esper drew back and gave each of his newfound partners a sharp glance, an expression of what might have been concentration - or just mock seriousness - on his face. "You guys still didn't tell me your powers, even though we're going to work together."

[Sutoratosu]

"By Nobunaga's ambition... and here I was thinking you were just some annoying little shit..." Makoto made no verbal comment as to the sudden observation from the boy. Of course, he himself knew from the get go the Kihara's weren't going to spill everything... the bastards prospered on manipulation and secrecy, afterall. Still though... maybe the boy was smarter than he looked...

"You guys still didn't tell me your powers, even though we're going to work together."

Xe sighed at that. Well... the kid had a point. Xe looked at the screen, still maintaining a face harder than a stone monolith as xe gazed at the child

"You know, you failed to reveal yours as well; It's generally considered rude to demand the abilities of others without first offering information on your own..." Xe began. "But fine... guess there's no point in hiding it. To put it simply, I wield vibrations, especially those of a sonic nature." Almost as if in demonstration of Xir words, a Classical Melody began to play in the area around xem, spontaneously generated by nothing but xir AIM Field and memory as xe sat there, the song beginning to play over the speakers of the other devices as xir tablet's own mic picked it up clear as day.

Then just as suddenly as it had began, it stopped. Silence reigned supreme once more.

"Perfect cataloging and replication capabilities, among... other applications as well. What you just heard was a snippet from the audio track of a song I last heard nearly seven years ago. There... that should be more than enough to satisfy your curiosity."

[Hiss13]

The Video Call
"Hmm…I was going to leave it for you two to figure it out since there's always the possibility of Sousai intercepting our transmission, but the targets do not really have the ability to mobilize quickly. What do you think, sensei?"

"Their current locations are less of a danger compared to the information they're giving to each other now. Though, that's our fault for not letting them know that they have access to each others' data on their powers on their phones. If Sousai-kun is able to intercept the call, she will easily be able to locate the three of them."

"Well, you guys heard sensei. Fukui Kiyoko, you are in a multi-purpose hotel that's in District 7. Kita Haruki, you're in a private salon in District 3, the one that was attacked in a certain incident on October 9th. Komuri Makoto…you already know where you are right now so you can relay that on your own to the others if you wish." The woman said before getting out of her chair and stretching her back. "Like I said, feel free to act as you wish. Those devices are yours to do with as you will as well so be as rough or as gentle with them as you want."

With that, she slunk back into her chair and began stroking the golden fur of the entity she called sensei. "Honestly, this would be so much easier if the natural enemies to the Kihara were not out running around in Russia and out of our grasp at the moment."

A Computer in a Dark Area
The noise of teeth hitting a round, hard lollipop resounded across the tiny enclosure. In that enclosure, a young girl with green twin tails with an earphone in one ear sat, staring at the screen of a computer. On that computer screen were three displays. One was a display of the video call that was already in progress. One was a map that had four locations marked: one in a private salon in District 3, one in a hotel in District 7, one near the border of District 11, and one in a warehouse in District 15. On the last display were lines of code that were being typed at tremendous speed.

"Sound…" The girl spoke under her breath.

"Oh, did something go wrong? Have you been found?" A voice rang through the earphone.

"No, Kenbi-obaachan. Everything is going just fine." She said with a light smile.

[Shamitako]

Kiyoko felt no need to respond to any of the others blathering, she simply blocked out anything that didn't directly pertain to her role in the upcoming mission. Based on the description, her default persona would do fine, which was good since she was too grumpy to think of a different one. She perked slightly at the mention of having information on the others ready, but then immediately returned to being grumpy when she realized that meant they knew about her too. It wasn't like it wasn't stuff she wouldn't have shared eventually, but it was easy to feel violated by the matter--especially considering her power. With the knowledge of her location giving her a means of finding both herself and her partners she made for the door, but paused before exiting.

"Quick question, is there any importance to our locations?" She asked, feigning idle curiosity.

With how well-planned this entire situation was, it would have seemed silly for Yuiitsu to simply dump them in arbitrary locations. It was equally silly for Kiyoko to get her hopes up, but still, if she was nearby she could probably make the stop before moving to meet with the others.

[Hiss13]

"Kiyoko, I would like to remind you that the doors will only unlock after the call ends." Yuiitsu and Noukan could tell it was obvious that the girl wanted to get the hell out of that location. "As for your locations, I put you all close to possible escape routes or targets of attack for the enemy. District 11 is right next to District 23 while District 7 is adjacent to District 22, for example. You also have ease of access to certain locations where the targets were last seen though some are more out of the way than others…"