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Post by Kuma on Dec 1, 2015 1:33:47 GMT
Prologue
JHWAB Kanto HQ – Undisclosed Underground Location – JHWAB Monitoring Center – 3 Weeks Ago
A large room filled with electronic equipment, at first sight nothing out of this world, monitors on the walls, large consoles with keyboards and buttons, it could be taken for a broadcasting center. Yet upon a closer inspection some things popped up to the trained eye. The equipment lacked cables, as some strange archaic looking antennas engraved in mystical runes older than any of the personnel in the room checking the screens
Not many individuals were inside the room, it was one of the least popular jobs in the JHWAB, it amounted to sitting and checking monitors that scanned the whole territory under the Bureau’s sphere of influence. It was grunt work at its finest, long hours of staring at never changing dots, blips in the screen always moving in the same patterns day after day. If boredom was made into a single thing then this job would be exactly that.
Yoshida was a low level intelligence employee, not even an agent, looking at the screen in front of him with glassy eyes, bloodshot eyes. He was covering a double shift for the third time this week, as the guy who took the night shift was quite ill and could barely walk, much less type, something to do with an incident at the start of the year in the HQ. Yoshida had dark rings around his eyes, no sleep and too much coffee do that to a man, he was jumpy and sleepy at the same time.
With a tired glance he looked around, not many covered the Night Shift, as the Mahoureiko, the JHWAB private information network, was set to be mostly automatic during nighttime, because regular humans wouldn’t be able to follow the amount of movement from the Yokai and Ghosts moving in Japan all the time. The Mundane World didn’t know how much happened behind the veil the Hidden World Denizens created to separate them and hopefully they’ll never know.
Hours passed as the blips in the screen, the ones in Nagoya, the sector he was tasked to monitor, moved as always, a couple of tengu who passed themselves as kind book dealers, a Oni who for some reason lived in the sewers, who caused many clogs lately as he killed some kind of mysterious plague that came from a foreign country. No JHWAB agent wanted to enter there and as the Oni was doing a competent job stopping the creatures from surfacing they washed their hands.
Yoshida’s cell phone started ringing and thankful for having a distraction in such dreadful boredom he picked it up without hesitation. His girlfriend was asking about his next free day. Yoshida started spinning on his chair, leaning back as the voice of his girlfriend Rumi flooded his brain, like a salve over his overworked neurons. He got so lost in the conversation he didn’t notice the shift in the pattern displayed on his screen. Slowly the digital Omnyo Prediction Algorithms showed a “Confluence” The specks of light in the map swirled towards a single point that could only mean one of two things. If the gathering happened in a rural area or a temple, in the JHWAB this was usually called a Hyakki Yagyo, the parade of one hundred demons, a term used to talk about gathering of Oddities, Myths and Demons into a focus point, usually a really powerful entity, western organization usually called this an “Aquelarre”. But this wasn’t the case, as the gathering wasn’t happening on the outskirts of civilization, but on the heart of it… the city of Nagoya was the epicenter.
When this pattern happened in cities the JHWAB coined the term Localized Concentration Event or LCE for short. Its stipulates that thanks to the ever increasing connections between Denizens of the Hidden World a single individual taking shelter or popping his head in the Mundane World will cause ripples in the web of connections and those ripples will make the original point of surface a magnet-like situation for them, bringing many Denizens into a same location. These types of incidents are better known as “Shonen Effect”
Soon Yoshida will stop talking with his girlfriend and return to his screen discovering this pattern spinning in the middle of Nagoya and he will ran to inform his superiors, hopefully they will put the best people in the case.
Kuma presents…
JHWAB Kanto HQ – Undisclosed Underground Location – JHWAB Intelligence Branch Offices– 2 Weeks Ago
-I don’t understand why did they call me here old fart, I don’t like being pulled out of training with Eien-sensei.- Shin Bushitora, Military Branch Agent, was rigidly sitting on his father office, drenched in sweat wearing practice attire for Kendo. He carried a Shinai on his hand and was only wearing part of the armor, only in the shoulder. He was clearly pissed as they sent a message through the loud speakers “Shin Bushitora, report to your father’s office”. To Shin, who got into the JHWAB with a false last name to avoid being treated differently than any other this was quite demeaning.
-I don’t understand either boya… so stop harping at me, you should blame…- Norio spoke with a tired voice, he was clearly overworked, bags under his eyes, pale skin and he had more graying hairs than before. As he was talking the door of his office opened and the temperature dropped several degrees. Subaru Yukishiro, the Intelligence Branch Leader, entered the room carrying an envelope. –Blame who?- He asked coldly as his sandals stepped over the carpet, now crunchy after being frozen by his mere presence. Norio laughed trying to avoid replying and shook his hands a bit flustered. Shin, who started feeling his sweat drenched clothes slowly freezing into rigidity decided to ask directly.
-What the hell is this whole thing about Subaru? I don’t get many chances to train with Eien-sama recently after that debacle in Sakurajima…- Shin stood up in a rush. –And I’m not saying this out of egoism, I understand that Eien-sama is busy with the new incidents, but if I don’t train I won’t be able to help back in the field.- He opened his hakama showing his exposed chest. It was quite difficult as it was frozen. He had two large scars crossing over his heart. –The new one is working just fine, but I need to lit up the flames again you know… I can’t do that from a cushy desk job.- Shin stomped the ground. –I don’t fucking care how important Hyoron-san mission is, I refuse to stay handling the issues of those battle happy boxers anymore, not to mention you don’t have the authority to keep me there.-
Subaru witnessed this whole rant without moving a muscle or showing the least interest, his pale face unfazed and his eyes glacial. Norio softly face palmed himself shaking his head as he covered his eyes, how did his son grew up to be such a dumbass? –Boya, stop making a scene and shut the hell up, a branch leader doesn’t come down to talk unless is important, at least the Intelligence Branch one.- Norio tried to calm down his son before Subaru turned him into a human popsicle, as for something so cold looking the Intelligence Branch Leader had quite the temper.
Finally Shin understood the situation and sat down heavily on one of the couches. Subaru supported himself against a wall (which he was covering in an ever growing thin layer of ice) and explained the situation. –Yasumori-dono is extremely worried for your health Bushitora-dono… from all the members of the Intelligence Branch you are the one who has clocked the most hours doing research and investigating leads after the Sakurajima Incident. So he decided to shift your assignment for a couple of weeks into a more relaxed position… with your son as your bodyguard.-
Roshi sighed and shook his head, opposing to the order with a tired expression. He couldn’t stop, he wasn’t making any progress but if he left the trail maybe the clues would turn cold and he would lose them. Looking to the side, incapable to looking Subaru in the eye, the Old Inspector started talking. –I’m grateful for Roshi-dono’s concerns but I- Just to be interrupted by Shin. –He is taking the assignment and I’m going with him.- Both Subaru and Norio looked at Shin’s determined face with surprise plastered on their faces, of course Subaru’s was more subtle while Norio’s was greatly exaggerated. The Old Inspector stood up glaring at his son.
-Who do you think you are to take missions for me brat?- Norio grabbed his son from the now brittle hakama, that cracked upon contact, shattering the ice film over it. –You don’t get to choose! Understand that?- Shin stoically took his father shouting, shouts that made the people around the branch look towards the office, and then without saying much he flicked his father in the head and removed his hand. –Look at a damn mirror old man!- He shouted to the confusion of his father. –What?- It was Shin’s turn to grab his father from the jacket, dragging him to the mirror so he could see his own reflection.
-Last time you where in such a pitiful state was after the divorce… I swear to the gods that when I entered your office today I was about to call a priest to exorcise an evil spirit from your dead corpse .- Shin forced Norio to watch his own reflection, struggling to keep his father head locked in the direction of the glass, as the Old Inspector was trying to shake him off. Finally Norio stopped once he saw his own haggard and tired reflection in the glass. He stopped fighting and hanged his arms lifelessly by his sides. He turned to face Subaru. –What do I have to do?- The Intelligence Branch Leader took a digital tablet from inside his lab coat and showed images of a school.
-This is Nagareboshi Gakuen, one of our low level analysts noticed strange readings focused on the school grounds.- Norio took the tablet reluctantly and examined it with drained glance, but as soon as he was able to check the information his eyes sparkled with curiosity and looked at Subaru. –This hasn’t happened in a long time… even before Shin’s time…- Norio’s face brightened, partially dispelling the exhaustion and drowsiness. – This is a Shonen Effe- The Old Inspector was interrupted by Subaru. –No, that’s not the name and you know it, it’s a LCE.- Norio smiled cunningly. –C’mon Subaru-kun… you’re the one who coined the nickname… don’t try to hide under boring protocol. Even Roshi likes the name.-
Subaru white skin turned very pale pink and he avoided Norio’s gaze. – I was young and dumb, I prefer the proper name much more…- Shin, who was in-between them and followed the conversation like a tennis match finally had it and interjected. –Can somebody explain me what is this all about? What the heck is an LCE? Or however is called?- Subaru sighed and was about to reply, when Norio took over, moving closer to his son showing the tablet screen. –When you gather enough denizens in a single populated area you have a LCE, in which human or human like denizens circle around a epicenter… a denizen that happens to be on the middle of a network of relations with other denizens… their sole surfacing creates a wave in the Hidden World, that creates a strange compulsion to gather in the location of the epicenter individual.-
Shin looked at his father quite concerned. –But doesn’t this mean that the Hidden World could breach through with so many people in the same spot?- Norio smiled, thanking that his son was smarter than he looked. –Yes and no, when is quite possible to have a leak it rarely happens, as most of them tend to regulate themselves, as in anything there is always a balance and “Good Natured” Denizens keep the “Evil Ones” on check.- Shin was confused. –You, talking about black and white morality? That I don’t buy…- Norio shook his head. –Enough snark, is not my theory to begin with… it's Subaru’s.- Shin stared at Subaru with his mouth wide open in utter shock. The Red Clad Warrior pointed at Subaru and then at Norio. –I can believe you talking about black and white morality… but him? That I really don’t buy…-
Subaru clucked his tongue with disgusts and did his best to avoid their eyes. Shin and Norio looked at him with equally curious and sly eyes. The pressure of their gazes slowly cracked the Intelligence Branch Leader resolve who snapped, turning to face them with burning eyes. –I was really young damnit! You can’t blame me for the dumb name… much less for everybody liking it! I just wasn’t as smart as I am right now!- Shin and Norio did their best effort not to laugh at the embarrassment of Subaru. Finally the young Bushitora managed to ask, still containing a chuckle behind an amused smile. –So what’s the other name?- Norio looked at Subaru who turned his back on them and overly dramatically said. –The Shonen Effect.-
The Intelligence Branch Leader shuddered as Shin started thinking about the name, finally commenting on it. –I get it… Is because they join up around a single guy… kinda makes sense… shitty name though.- Norio let out a coarse chuckle, while Subaru stewed in embarrassment. Norio stopped laughing and turned to his boss. –So do we have to investigate it ourselves? I can pass for a teacher… and even Shin can pass for a student… an older, dumber student. – Shin glared at him. –I take offense to that old man! I could be the cool P.E. Teacher or a really intense history teacher.- His father shook his head in disapproval. –Unless your class is either muscle-headed fighting or the story of slaughters with sharp sticks then you don’t stand a chance.- Shin clucked his tongue and looked away. Subaru interceded before silence took hold of the office. –No, you two will be in monitor duty for a team we assembled… we had to hire freelancers, your job will be guiding them and keeping an eye on them so they follow regulations and don’t become a part of the LCE.-
-So we are going to be handlers from a cushy spot… yes that sounds like the idea for a vacation right from Roshi-dono's mind.- Norio stroked his short beard and finally nodded. –Tell Roshi I will do it, give me the information and location of the meeting.- Subaru pointed at the tablet. –Everything is in there… I just wanted to warn you about the team… let’s say we had to get it from very different places so they might not gel well… hopefully that won’t be a problem.- Norio smirked and grabbed his son by the shoulder in a gesture of paternal pride. –Don’t worry, I’ll handle them and Shin will keep them in line.- Shin raised his thumb with confidence and dumb smile on his face.
Subaru shook his head in disbelief of their easy going attitude. –You will handle the team from a small traditional inn in the whereabouts of the school, you will have a budget for equipment and food that will be handled by Minato-san from the Economy Branch, and she will be the liaison between your team and the HQ.- Norio and Shin nodded. –We will be on our way then Yukishiro-dono.- The Old Inspector informed as he started to gather some of his stuff. –Shin take a shower and get changed, we are going to Nagoya.- And with that said the father and son duo split up to gather their equipment and travel to southwards once everything was set
City of Nagoya – Go Raita Ryokan - 1 Week Ago
Norio and Shin had a whole week to set the security measures and monitoring equipment. It would have taken 2 days if Shin wasn’t involved, him not being very skilled when machinery was involved. They were waiting for the arrival of the mercenaries, bounty hunters and freelancers the economic branch hired. Unluckily for the father & son duo the Mahoureiko, the JHWAB private information network, was overloaded as data on the Omega Squad incursions against Oni or higher threat was carefully analyzed back in both HQ. That meant they didn’t have data on the mercenaries except the one they knew by themselves, like Shin Mizukara, who visited the Kanto HQ for the accustomed interview and they knew from there.
-So what do we do now old man?- Shin asked while he sat down in the common room, a large traditional Japanese decorated lodging with short tables and pillows. Norio was sitting lazily against the wall and glanced at his son, a sly smile slowly appearing on his face. – You could brew some tea for the guests…- Their eyes clashed in a fight of wills until Shin clucked his tongue capitulating and went to the kitchen. Norio, left alone wondered what kind of operatives was he going to handle this time around.
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Post by TimePuppy on Dec 4, 2015 22:49:07 GMT
A terrible screech was heard in front of the building as Arthur tried to stop his motorcycle without crashing into anything. He managed, although barely. He missed driving the old bike recklessly like that. He couldn't even remember how long it's been since the last time he did that. After finding a nice parking spot, he thought about whether he should change into something more professional, like a suit, but he decided against that. If he was gonna be a highschooler, he should start getting into the mindset straight away. He simply put away his brown leather jacket, remaining in his gray jeans and plaid button-up T-shirt.
He approached the wooden door and knocked loudly. "Hello?" He said in Japanese, opening the door slightly and peeking inside. Upon seeing one man sitting inside, he went inside. While crossing the bridge, he looked around, slightly impressed by the scenery. Maybe it would be better if there was a bit more color besides just green, but it was kinda cool.
"You must be a member of the Japanese Bureau." Arthur said after noticing the JHWAB badge Norio was wearing. "I'm one of the freelancers who took the job. Arthur Cromwell, at your service."
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Post by waybig1010101 on Dec 5, 2015 5:41:30 GMT
Shin walks down the road and appears to not have a care in the world with both his hands behind his head as he takes slow steps forward towards his destination. He is currently wearing a pair of dary black jeans with a few holes, a simple red hoodie with dark a light grey shirt underneath. He didn't exactly enjoy wearing these clothes as he rather have on his normal apparel. Yet, his typical kimono is a bit odd to wear on a regular basis apparently, especially for a high school student. He couldn't help but think that his current attire is useless in battle, but he was told that he will help him fit in and not stand out. Still, he couldn't understand why people want to wear jeans with holes. Wouldn't you rather have a pair of pants that didn't look like they were attacked by a group of wild dogs?
Evenetually he stops once he spots the building that he was told about earlier. Guess this is where I need to be. He walks towards the wooden door at the front and casually knocks on it a few times with the backside of his right fist. He didn't hear a response, so decides to check if the door is aleady open. He place his hand on the door and gently pushes forward. As the door slides open, he walks inside, yet almost immedalty stops as he stares at the scene before his eye. At once, he begins to feel homesick and starts to rememeber the past. After what feels like an eternity, Shin slaps his own face with both hands in order to remind himself that he didn't come to memory lane. God, how long have I been standing here....He turns towards the main building and prepares to enter the lobby. Once inside he greets everyone with a big smile as he says, "Shin the high school student, reporting for duty!"
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 6, 2015 3:40:07 GMT
Jun lay battered against the alley wall. Her head hung forward in unconsciousness, letting the blood trickling from her lips drip into her lap. Yuu stood up with her BHA card and gently lay her down, tying her limbs carefully. "I'm sorry." Her eyes were near tears when she was done. The bound and gagged bounty hunter was carried into the kaspa and dropped on the bed of a blank white room. Yuu changed into clean clothing and left the kaspa again, leaving the alley. The proper spot was just down the street, easily in view across a short bridge. She ducked back into the kaspa and popped back out with two teens, almost stereotypically teenagerish.
One was tall and leggy, white denim coat over a navy blue t-shirt decorated like a soccer ball studded version of Vincent Van Gogh's Starry Night. Her bulky legs were clad in powder blue jeans heavily spattered with holes. Beside her was a plump little girl in a red hoodie and blue sweat pants, feathery hair tied back with a hairband. Martha grouchily rocked back and forth on her heels. She didn't want to go to school, she wanted to play with her friends back in Briton. But she had to be here. Even if Marika wasn't ordering her, Jane needed her. She hugged her shuddering little sister. Yuu lead them across the small bridge and knocked on the door before entering. Martha's face split with a wide grin. "Hey Arthur!" She belted at her friend.
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Post by Kuma on Dec 13, 2015 3:53:04 GMT
-Good morning to you all.- Norio spoke as he stood up, he was a tall man, almost reaching 1,90 mts, his hair was long and graying, tied in a messy pony tail. A large leather eye patch covered his right eye and he was wearing a traditional navy blue yukata with a white sash emblazoned with a golden pine tree insignia, the emblem of the Yasumori Omnyojutsu Style. –My name is Norio Bushitora, I’ll be acting commander of this mission, serving as one of your liaisons with the JHWAB and I’ll be the one you need to report to and will receive orders from.- Norio bowed humbly. – It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance. -
The Old Inspector quickly raised his head when he heard Martha talking. His eye glanced at her and he spoke with a gentle voice. –Some of you may know each other, but I ask of you to please wait a moment before you greet each other, as I require the attention of everybody involved so we can pass the boring briefing as soon as we can.- Norio talked with gentle authority, something his son, who was just bringing a platter with tea and snacks, noticed. Shin never saw his father on the field leading a team, it was quite different to when Norio was on his own, doing investigations or scouting for intelligence.
The Older Bushitora pointed at his son while he was setting the snacks on the table. –This is my son, Shin, he will take care of the equipment and the security of this building, that will serve as our base of operation for whatever length the mission ends up having.- Shin nodded to them and left back to the kitchen to it clean up. Norio’s eye scanned the room with interest. Magic could be felt swelling inside Arthur, he heard a bit about him from Roshi himself. He knew Shin Mizukara from the Interview disaster earlier this year, so he was more or less knowledgeable of his skill set, maybe he got even better considering he was accepted into Inazuma. The three foreign bounty hunters were an unknown factor for him, something he needed to fix as soon as possible.
-Please, introduce yourselves and talk a bit about yourselves, I want to know who I’m working with.- Norio sipped some tea and continued. –After the introductions I will explain the situation we are handling and what will our modus operandi be.-
-Is everything set?-
-Yes, everything is on its proper place, nobody knows anything except us. Did you ever have a doubt?-
-One of these days I’m going to cut your tongue, but until then you better keep them on the dark, we don’t need to draw attention to him, her or them-
-Relax and don’t be such a stick in the mud, nobody will know… Not even the JHWAB will find the epicenter of this mess…-
-Tsk, if you say so… just don’t mess up, we can’t clean up if you do and we need the epicenter.-
-Men, always so lacking in faith.-
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Post by Colt of Personality on Dec 15, 2015 3:52:15 GMT
Kusuri’s First Big Mission
The step of rapid footsteps and panting drew closer and closer to the room where Norio was currently giving the debriefing. After inadvertently creating a few disturbances to the point where she caught the attention of the JHWAB the young magical girl was approached by one of their agents and told she was currently on their watch list. While the Magical Nurse wasn’t sure what they meant she didn’t want to get on this organizations bad side she was fairly new to this Hidden World they mention and needed all the help they could get. After all she believed her brother’s disappearance had ties to the Hidden World. So when a chance came up to help the JHWAB and potentially get in their good graces the Ruby Heart was eager to join this mission…however in typical Kusuri fashion was running late.
“Oh no. Oh no. Oh no. I can’t believe my phone getting go off to remind of me this meeting. Oh god my first big mission to help out the Japanese Hidden World Affairs Burea and I’m going to be late.” As the Mahoseki Warrior ran towards the debriefing in a panic state she had on a back pack which contained her Ruby Heart wand and Shinshi, her guardian and mentor in the ways of Mahoseki Magic, the White Knight spoke to Kusuri telepathically. “Maybe if you wouldn’t be up all night watching your silly TV shows you would wake up on time first once. Honestly Kusuri how are you supposed to be a Mahoseki Warrior when you can’t even wake up on time.” The student nurse frowned a little at the white rabbit’s words pouting a little as she replied. “It’s hard enough to keep up with my favorite anime between school, your training, and finding the gems but I won’t ever miss an episode of Asassin Witch, Ninja Musketeer Virgins, and especially Their Dutchess Noctournal.” The former Mahoseki Knight sighed a little he was still trying to accept that Kusuri was still a teenage girl and this Hidden World was a scary place she may not be ready for.
It took Shinshi a moment but he soon realized that Kusuri had stopped dead in her sprint and was motionless in front of the door to the debriefing room. “Kusuri dear…what is wrong you were just worrying you were going to be late? Don’t just stand outside gawking go inside dear.” The Magic Gem Girl was shaking slightly as she tried to enter the room. “So this is it? This is my first big Hidden World mission? What if I’m not ready Shinshi? I barely know how to use Mahoseki Magic let alone to control my own. I just learned about all these crazy nonsense without realizing I was already a part of it. I’m not ready for this.” While Shinshi was still getting use to treating Kusuri like a teenage instead of a warrior he know when it was time for her to shine like the gem she is. “Kusuri dear you may not think you are ready but I believe you are. You may not have all the skills you need but I believe you are far more skilled in other ways. As you said you are already apart of this Hidden World without you realizing it and have handled yourself like a true Mahoseki Warrior.” Kusuri smiled a little and mumble a quietly thanks to Shinshi. Pushing out chest and mustering some will power the young Mahoseki Warrior triumphantly pushed the door open to the debriefing. “Hello everyone I’m Kusuriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” Unfortunately for Kusuri her shoe came untied and she ended up tripping on it as she enter the room.
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Post by TimePuppy on Dec 15, 2015 19:16:47 GMT
"Oh, Martha! Hey! Long time no see!" Arthur smiled, ready to ask her how she was, but the man in the lobby silenced them for now.
"I'm Arthur Cromwell, a frost mage from Britain. I figured I could help you guys out. Lighten the load a bit, since I heard-"
“Hello everyone I’m Kusuriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” A strange girl interrupted him with her clumsy entrance. Probably a good thing if you ask the JHWAB, as they probably didn't want the fact that they'have their hands full revealed. Not that he would've said what they were busy with. Anyway, he rushed to help the girl up so that the others could introduce themselves straight away.
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 16, 2015 0:46:09 GMT
"My name is Jun Li. I'm a bounty hunter from Korea." Yuu said in flawless Japanese. "My partners are Jane and Martha Arachne." "Hi!" Jane waved and smiled at everybody. The new girl who ran in looked like she was nice, but she wasn't sure about anybody else. "That's the name we're going with...?" Martha grumbled under her breath, inaudible to anybody else. "Hey. I'm Martha." She and Jane spoke much choppier Japanese. Yuu nodded and put her hands on their shoulders. "They can pass easily for high school students."
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Post by waybig1010101 on Dec 19, 2015 4:09:52 GMT
Shin looks towards the door as he hears someone shouting a big fashion hello. Without bothering to wait to turn around, he begins to greet the newcomer. "HI, I'M..." Before he could finish, he sees the new girl falling on her face, which causes Shin to start giggling and that eventually develops into uncontrabble laughter. It takes him a while to settle down, but he eventually stops his outburst with a few more quick chuckles before he walks over and offers to help her back to her feet. "Here, let me help. I'm Shin by the way. Though, don't get me confuse with the other Shin." he says with a pleasent smile on his face. His demeanor is both welcoming and honest with a kind of charm that can only come from a goofy goodhearted teen. His eyes then shift towards the creature by her side. "So who's your friend?" he askes, while he bends his knees and attempts to pet Shinshi.
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Post by Kuma on Dec 20, 2015 1:34:40 GMT
Norio looked at all of the members of the team with a polite smile, thankfully everything was going smoothly. The Old Inspector was thankful for Roshi’s consideration on giving him this assignment, as since the Sakurajima Incident and the events during this year first interview he had been working from dawn to dawn without stopping and pulling more all-nighters than when he was in college wasn’t helping his health. This feeling of tranquility about what seemed to be a routine operation, got shattered by the sudden entrance of Kusuri Innoue, who stumbled into the room like a ditzy hurricane.
Norio’s face turned red and was about to shout but managed to get himself together and calm down. His first action after that was blasting his son, who popped his head out of the kitchen with a hand over his sword handle after hearing the racket, with a deadly glare. –Son… did you forget to add the newest paperwork to the pile didn’t you?- The Old Inspector wasn’t expecting Kusuri and he surely knew who to blame about that, as his son’s painfully obvious guilty expression totally uncovered him as the guilty party of this administrative mess.
The Red Armored Swordsman went quickly into the kitchen and took a folder from over one of the shelves and entered the lobby to hand it to Norio, who kept glaring at him since he entered. Shin abandoned the room as fast as he could but a moment later he popped out once again and cleared out the problem his homonym had. –Well you all can call me Bushitora to avoid confusion, I’ll be prepping your rooms, so I’ll get any equipment of luggage you brought and take it there.- And with that said he left to do this chore.
Norio deeply breathed, collecting his thoughts and calming his temper. –Innoue-san is it? – He invited her to sit with a gesture. –Please sit down, so I can properly explain the job you all signed in for.- The JHWAB Inspector searched inside his hakama and took a paper charm, which he placed over the table. A soft crackling sound surged from it, followed by golden sparks. Light radiated from it, like luminescent golden brush strokes forming a seemingly ink painted map floating over them, allowing everybody to see clearly.
-Not very far from this location- A blue flame appeared over the Inn location, moving towards the Nagareboshi School and staying there. –Is this school, Nagareboshi Gakuen.- Norio stood up after placing three more charms on the table that also crackled with energy but this time around they released orbs of green, red and purple light. With a circular motion of his wrist one of the spheres turns into a similar floating brush stroke and the same happens to the others, three curves forming a spiral-like design, centered on the blue flame.
-There is a phenomenon that usually happens when a Denizen of the Hidden World surfaces in a mundane public location, not exposing himself, but just being there causes it.- The spiraling strokes slowly fade out and then reappear. – For some reason that existence generates some kind of attraction to other denizens in a level we don’t yet understand.- From inside the kitchen Shin told his opinion. –A weirdness magnet!- Norio sighed after glancing on his son’s general direction and then continued. -Our job here is to find the epicenter of this situation, usually displaying some common traits, as he ends up involved with the affairs of the Denizens he or she attracts to the location, and remove him from the premises- Norio zoomed into the school. –Right now in the premises, there is a single Hidden World Denizen who is bringing the others and soon it might be too late to stop the possible incident that will occur before they happen.- Norio paced around the room. –Usually we don’t give too much attention to these kind of situations as they tend to solve themselves only leaving us in the JHWAB with some cleaning.-
Norio stopped talking, sighing as he didn’t want to talk about it, but he had too. –Yet, as currently the JHWAB is stretching their manpower a bit thin in relation to unrelated incidents we can’t have the luxury of spending time, effort and personal in the cleaning duty, thus you were all hired to become freelancing agents for the organization, while this investigation is handled.- Norio returned to his seat and took a folder from inside his Hakama, opening it up and passing papers to all of them.
-We already arranged the paperwork for you to enter to this school as students.- He gave a meaningful look to Yuu. – And teacher. So you can investigate the situation from inside, probing the individuals in the school and searching for clues pointing to the individual who is causing this unnatural disruption in the Hidden World “Biome”.- Norio also placed on the table a box full of smart phones. – These devices will serve as your communication and information inputting tools, you will be connected to the Mahoureiko, the JHWAB information network, but you will not be able to access it, just send information into it for processing in the HQ.-
Norio picked one of them and showed the camera to them. –With the camera you will be able not only to take pictures to get background checks on individuals if they have Hidden World relations, but also you will have some enhanced features, like night vision, Hidden Energy measuring tools, that detect things like Ki and Magical Energy, as well a rudimentary Genetic Analysis tool, allowing you to detect inhuman characteristics in an otherwise human looking individual.- -If you have any questions this is the time to ask them.- Norio glanced at the room hoping they understood his explanation.
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Post by HungryHunter on Dec 25, 2015 7:06:14 GMT
Jane's face fell more and more as the situation was described. "So this gathering is a bad thing, and if it's exponential... eep! Us coming in will just make it worse!" Yuu put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a calming grin. "I'm sure that's not the case. What besides your gear are we allowed to carry into the area?" Yuu had kunai hidden in many spots on her body, and while she would rather not fight, having her weapons was comforting. "What's the other stuff distractin' you guys?" Martha raised an eyebrow. She wondered if it would be preoccupying other organizations. She was brainstorming how to get Marika caught by one.
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Post by Colt of Personality on Jan 2, 2016 20:20:51 GMT
Kusuri’s First Big Mission (Part II)
As Arthur and Shin helped Kusuri to her feet she couldn’t help but try and hide her bright red face. She couldn’t believe this was her only chance to make a first impression on her possible team mates for this big mission and she just made herself look like a klutz. One of the guys who helped her up introduced himself as Shin and ask about Shinshi making Kusuri panic a little how as she going to explain Shinshi. “Nice to meet you Shin, I’m Kusuri Inoue and this is um…..my pet Shinshi he very attached to me I don’t really go…um anywhere without him.” The White Knight was slightly impressed with Kusuri quick lie and before he could congratulate her however the Mahoseki Warrior in training suddenly grab Shinshi from the back pack and started hugging her like a hungry boa constrictor. “See isn’t he just the cutest….my poor shinshi would be lost without me.” Kusuri laughed a little she acted like Shinshi was merely her pet to Shin while the White Rabbit’s fumed with silent anger of be treated like he was a dignified knight and protector of the Mahoseki Queen but now trapped in this body he was no more than a girl’s adorable pet.
The Magic Girl nurse stuffed her pet back into the backpack and thanked Arthur and Shin again before taking her seat to listen to Norio explanation of the situation. While some of the others took the information with a calm collected resolve. The Mahoseki Warrior was a bit flustered by all of the information bombarding her, it didn’t take long for Kusuri to get out a note book and start scribbling down notes. Thankfully Kusuri was a one of the students who learned and absorbed information better by writing it down, yet it was still a lot to take in especially when Norio mentioned the effect of a one Hidden World denizen affecting others around them. It really made Kusuri question her on place, was she technically a Hidden World denizen despite knowing very little about it and if so how was this affecting her friends and family. Was her weirdness attracting dangerous elements to her and threatening those she cared about. It was slightly troubling for her to think about but she tried to push it from her mind. The young nurse was impress with the devices the JHWAB agents passed out, it took months of saving to afford the latest smart phone yet here was something that far surpass it just handed to her. Maybe there was some benefits to the Hidden World and this job.
Being a teenage girl in this Hidden World might cause more than enough problems but it provided its own advantage. Just having the device for a little bit Kusuri was quickly becoming a master with it not only discovering all its features and functions but also customizing it enough to her preferences. This was something that Shinshi quickly took notice of, coming from a world where technology was near absent and magical powers govern everyday life even he was quite impress with the features of the device and believed it could be very useful later outside of this particular mission. Kusuri smiled as she needed to do one last thing to customize her device she turned the camera on herself and took a selfie to set as its wall paper, the young girl completely forgot about the camera other features until she took the photo and wonder what it would reveal about her. Kusuri also wanted to ask Norio at least one question. “Um Excuse me Bushitora-dono? You mention your job would be to extract this person attracting all this activity but once you do that what happens next? What do you do with that person? How do you explain all the activity? How do you deal with their family and friends?” While Kusuri was asking for the mission she was also curious about her own situation and how it could have easily been her in this situation they were attempting to extract. Shinshi again took notice of this and was impress with how there was a certain moments when Kusuri showed a lot more insight than others gave her credit for.
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Post by waybig1010101 on Jan 3, 2016 2:32:54 GMT
Before Norio's briefing: "Nice to meet you tiny Shin." said Shin with a smile on his face as he cuts out the shi in Shinshi. He searches his pockets real quick, finds what he is looking for in seconds, and removes a plastic wrapped Rice krispie treat. A few weeks ago, he receive the snack from an American foreign student, and since then he has gone out of his way to attain the delicious goody. It wasn't long after that initial encounter that he went to a local convenience store to purchase more Rice Krispies, and after a quick conversation with the manager of the store, he was offered a job working there as the store's cashier on the weekends. The manager enjoys Shin's personality, yet still found it weird whenever he asks his employer if he could be payed in Rice Krispies treats along with other materials. Though for Shin, back home everything is base on commodity money, so when he received his first paycheck, his boss had to explain to him a lot about the modern economics.
Once he tears apart the plastic warp from the edge of the snack, he breaks off a reasonable size piece for Kusuri's animal companion, while saying in a happy tone, "Here you go little Shin." Since he's focus is on the animal in front of him, he didn't really pay attention to the Red Armored Swordsman's words. Instead, he begins to brainstorm a name for the Shins in the room. "Should we be The Three Shin-e-teers?" Before he could suggest another terrible group title, Norio interrupts his mental conversation with himself with some important information to share with the group. After listening to the whole thing, Shin just nods his head continuously in a fashion that he thought would show that he comprehend the situation, but in reality it is just a huge tell to the others that he didn't absorb much information. All he knew is that he has to go to a different school, find someone special, and he receives a cool looking device to use for the mission, which he will not know how to use. Lucky for him, his Mizukara enhance senses cover pretty much the whole supernatural spectrum.
He moves towards the table, grabs a smartphone, shakes it a bit near his ear, then walks over to the older Shin and asks, "Is this school like Inazuma?"
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Post by TimePuppy on Jan 3, 2016 19:26:01 GMT
Arthur listened to Norio's explanation of the situation and took the provided smartphone. He took a photo of Norio to test out the information gathering capabilities of the phone. "Huh, interesting. So we have to find the hidden worlder as fast as we can? As miss Kusuri said, what happens next? What if more show up before we find the Shonen Protagonist? Will removing the original from the school stop the gathering permanently or will one of the other ones just become a new magnet?" Arthur asked. At the same time, he took photos of all the people there to get some info on them, as well as to check if the computer contained info on the whole hidden world or if it was contained to Japan.
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Post by Kuma on Jan 5, 2016 14:03:06 GMT
Norio replied in the order he was asked, first looking at Yuu, glancing her from top to bottom with wise eyes. –Anything that doesn’t stand out and can be quickly hidden, we don’t want to attract attention to ourselves, in fact you shouldn’t even try to enter a fight. - The Old Inspector smiled slyly. –Only if you’re under attack and you can’t diffuse the situation you’re allowed to use all those scary knives you’re carrying young lady.- Norio could easily notice when somebody was carrying weapons, one of the most basic skills for an Intelligence Operative and the Old Bushitora was one of the best in the JHWAB history, there was only one man who he thought could beat him on his own game, but he wasn’t working with the JHWAB anymore.
Norio then turned to Martha and shook his head. –I’m sorry, but I cannot discuss this with you, just senior agents and over can have that information.- He didn’t glare at her, but his stare was clearly much more focused and intense than before. –It’s classified.- His intensity slowly faded away as the tomfoolery ensued with Shinshi and Kusuri. The Old Inspector looked at it amused at first, but when it started to get long he cleared his throat. Kusuri may or may not heard that but at least she focused on the mission and started asking questions, question that struck Norio as kinda odd, since they came from such a cute-looking girl. Maybe he was reading the book by its cover, but something seemed off with her.
-Innoue-san, we have protected Japan from exposure to the Hidden World for more than a century, we know how to clean the traces of Hidden Activity to the mundane eyes.- Norio sighed and noticeably lowered his shoulders. -We have a whole department dedicated to the task…- The Old Inspector seemed a bit offended about the other questions. –Sorry, but do you think we will eliminate him?- Norio turned his face and clucked his tongue in disapproval as he muttered something in the lines of “kids these days” before finishing to reply. –Our organization protects both worlds form the other, we won’t hurt the epicenter, we will discuss with him and his family, as many times the families also are part of the Hidden World, about relocating.- Norio stared at her. –Is that reply enough?-
There was a moment of awkward silence, broken by Shin asking something to the young Bushitora. The Red Armored Agent popped his head out of the kitchen and shook it. –No, this isn’t like Inazuma, it wouldn’t have a point if this school was like Inazuma, would it? Is a regular mundane school.- Once said that he returned to the kitchen. Norio squinted as the flash of the smartphone camera hit him.
Norio Bushitora - JHWAB - Omnyojutsuka • Dormant Ki • Yasumori Omnyojutsu Paper Charms • Traces of Omnyojutsu signature • Traces of Kikkawa Raitori Ninjutsu
Norio massaged his eyelids and stared down at Arthur, a bit pissed by the sudden photo. –No Cromwell-kun, in the case of a LCE the removal of the epicenter tends to be more than enough to dismantle the situation, it has always worked like that, in all the registered cases the removal of the epicenter is what fixes everything.- Norio sipped some tea and scanned the room. –So any more questions?-
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Post by HungryHunter on Jan 6, 2016 23:43:57 GMT
Yuu made a short bow. "Of course. That's what they were made for." Martha was less pleased with her response. "Oh come on, I won't tell anybod-" "Martha, it's not important." Yuu cut her off, leaving her to stew at how annoying everybody was getting. Even Arthur was being immature, and he was supposed to be cool. It was lucky they all had her to look out for them, or things could get really bad. She went to introduce herself to the childish girl with the rabbit, stopping briefly to check up on Jane. "I'll introduce you to Arthur in a minute, so just stay calm for a minute. We'll make sure you're alright!" Leaving her sister with a touch more confidence, she went on to Kusuri. She gave the shorter girl a stern look and put her hands on her hips. "Are you sure you should bring your pet into potential danger? That's very irresponsible."
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Post by waybig1010101 on Jan 7, 2016 8:06:37 GMT
Shin rubs his head, wondering what exactly would a mundane school would be like. But he doesn't bother asking another question about the school. He will simply learn what an ordinary school from personal experience. He also hopes that he will get to learn more about this world by going to a regular school. As much as the hidden world is fascinating to him, the ordinary is truly the mystery he wishes to uncover about. He glances over at Yuu, and wonder why she is so upset about tiny Shin. Looking back at his phone, he wonders how this little device can do everything Norio said it could. He did not understand technology, but this is just something else he looks forward to understanding about.
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Post by TimePuppy on Jan 9, 2016 17:02:40 GMT
"No more questions from me, thank you." Arthur said, turning off the camera's flash function. He should remember to do so from now on. Wouldn't want to make the students think he's a freak who loves taking photos. Or does he... Pretending to be a wannabe photographer might make the investigation easier. Hm... He'll have to think about that.
He looked around the room and seeing that other people started goofing off, he asked: "So is the briefing already done?"
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Post by Colt of Personality on Jan 10, 2016 22:32:25 GMT
Making New Friends?
Kusuri couldn’t help but blush a little bit after Norio answered her question she felt like she may have asked a dumb question just by her response. It didn’t help that one of the girls in this group came over once the questions were done and started question the young magical girl about her bringing her pet. However unlike in the past Kusuri would have bowed her head and apologized to the older girl for being so irresponsible Kusuri was a bit more confident and even Shinshi was taken aback nearly choking on his piece of rice treat that Shin gave him. “I don’t know isn’t a bit irresponsible to bring your sisters with you on this mission. Besides I wouldn’t have taken this mission if I couldn’t handle myself.” Kusuri matched eyes with Martha and even though she spoke confidently one could hear the slight tremble in his voice but she didn’t want to back down. After all she needed to show the others in the room that she wasn’t as timid as her appearance led many to believe and that she could handle herself when confronted. “Besides as someone who is currently attending a school not to different from this place I’m perhaps an expert when it comes to this environment. When Shinshi may just seem like a cute pet that would get in the way, many of the popular girls at this school may adore him and want to become friends with me. Also many girls my age bring their often small cute pets to school so I would be just fitting in best.” Shinshi jaw had dropped it seemed that Kusuri just dropped the proverbial “mic” on Martha.
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Post by Kuma on Jan 13, 2016 4:56:05 GMT
-As everybody seems to be lacking any more questions I think the briefing has officially ended.- Norio stood up, with some effort because of his age, and glanced at everyone in the room, slowly moving his eyes from face to face, as if he was trying to lock them in his memories. – Well then, before you go to unpack.- He pointed at a hallway leading to a wooden staircase. –Let’s talk some rules of co-habitation.- Norio’s hand shuffled inside the internal pocket of his hakama until he found a Omnyo Paper Charm. He slammed it against the nearest wall and the charm grew larger, changing the kanji to letters, with a translation spell so whoever read it would read it in the language most familiar to them. –These are the rules, read them, follow them and ignore them at your own risk.- 1. Keep your room clean 2. Keep the lobby clean 3. Keep the bathroom clean 4. If you use something in the kitchen you clean it 5. Food is bought by the JHWAB, you cook it 6. Baths are separated by sex, so no peeking 7. Don’t reveal your identity 8. Don’t fuck this up -Is this clear?- Norio asked with his arms crossed against his chest and a dangerous spark on his eyes. But all the tension he was trying to create diffused when from the kitchen the Young Samurai shouted. –Don’t listen to his crap, he is a sad old man with crippling OCD, you should've seen him prepare the family for holidays.- Norio wrinkled and half bearded cheeks blushed slightly after hearing that and without giving a second thought he replied shouting. –At least I’m not a 20 something years old samurai otaku who lives with his mother.- The Old Inspector instantly realized his mistake and after giving some nervous looks around he entered the kitchen closing the door.
For a moment there was an awkward silence, until he opened the door and popped his head out. –You can check the preliminary information we got from our scouts in computers set on the rooms, you study up a bit about the targets the Intelligence Branch survey considered most likely to be the epicenter.- He popped back in the kitchen and let them to their devices as he started arguing, muffled by the walls, with his son. Yet what they didn’t know was that there was a third JHWAB agent in the Inn, hiding in plain sight… deep inside their cellphones. Norio brought his assistant Akane Kikkawa, to serve as the human firewall of their phones and help them out with the processing information at a faster rate, but her presence was unknown.
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