Fandom Tokyo Ghoul: The Old Blood IC

[CerpinTaxt]

Things just kept getting worse and worse.

The lights had gone out and then the fire alarm soon activated not long after; prompting a swift end to the fighting crowd below. All the while they remain unaware of the nearby pile of dead bouncers currently strewn about nearby. Some people's vision adjusted to the nonexistent light, several horrified shrieks drowned out by the alarm as the crowd caught sight of the girl with a blade much too large for her frame. Panicked voices overlapped one another, and people were pushing past one another or breaking windows or running out towards the kitchen to escape. Those that had managed to get out through the front were met with the horrific attack Ikiru performed; causing people to scatter out in random directions.

The ghouls outside had little time to react as their ally was smeared against the car, horrified looks coming from the one that was still standing as well as one peeking their head out from the window. They were at a loss for sure, holding their hands up as the one outside let out a nervous nod. "Y-Yeah..sure lady..we're just the hired help!" The one who had been unfortunate enough to have been dealt the fatal blow weakly rose his hand up to his mouth; a shrieking whistle coming from him before he died a few moments later.

Headlights on half a dozen cars turned on, engines starting seemingly in tandem. The cars hurriedly backed out of their various parking spots; taking off into random directions a few moments later; though not before a few of their passengers exited and began to charge towards the two investigators currently at the front. Kagunes of all sorts had formed, and it seemed about twelve in total were making their way forwards.

The fire alarm had prompted the waiting police force to act, various vehicles pulling up towards the club as the fight between Ikiru, and the new group of ghouls took off. The people who had been blocking Sascha's path would have cleared out and given the investigator a path towards Ikiru. Dieter even had the chance to join in. Police wearing various degrees of body armor had already moved onto the scene to round up civilians, all the while staying clear of the quinx member and her adversaries. They knew full well they were incapable of assisting the girl. Radio chatter was mixing with panicked voices and the fire alarm which had yet to cease.

--

Meanwhile, the owner's office was an absolute mess. The fat greaseball of a man letting out a series of gargled shrieks as his neck was slid and his kagune was suppressed by the two investigators. The one active ghoul had been rendered practically blind by the darkness, his eyes not yet adjusted to the darkness. He thrashed his kagune about useless, using the voices the investigators and his boss made. Once his eyes adjusted it was clear one of the investigators was facing him; intent on fighting him. He couldn't see his boss as the fat bastard rolled down the stairway like a bowling ball; trailing blood and grease behind him.

"Oi! You wanna fight huh? I'll take you on lady! All three of you!" With that, he lept forward, slashing at Hayashida with surprisngly swift movements for a koukaku. It seemed he was unaware of the woman's kagune; either due to not noticing it or the poor lighting obscuring it from his view. Regardless, he was coming forward with no holds barred; intent on taking at least one investigator with him before his demise.

Outside, the owner had landed in the backalley his secret door had led to. His face crashing into the pavement as his neck wound finally closed up. He weakily rose to his feet, stumpy legs shaking as he tried his best to flee the scene. He had barely enough time to register the car speeding towards him; though his lack of exercise ensured he couldn't react. He let out another squeal as the car slammed into him, sending him flying a few feet away.

The car was clearly marked as one of the GGET12's , a few men exiting the vehicle and moving to chase after the employees had were working to escape from the club from the back exit. A voice came through the teams comms, one that was clearly male. "Ladies and gentlemen, we got 'em. Anyone who wants to hitch a ride before the news crews get here you better hurry..also someone has to lug this guy in here."

S n o w The One Eyed Bandit simj26 Arne QuirkyAngel Entity.Eclypse Lucem

 

[QuirkyAngel]

First Class, Dieter Krause

Dieter shook his head in mild amusement, mild exasperation, as the fire alarm went off and the chaos in Noyse only got worse. Overall, it wasn’t a bad call if one considered civilian safety, especially if ghoul reinforcements really were coming. Though, if they intended to clear the premise, it would’ve been easier just to show their badge and order the swift evacuation of civilians at the start. Why bother being covert?

Chuckling a bit, Dieter finished his silent strangling of the last ghoul employee near the stage—RC suppressant reducing regenerative abilities and quickening the process. The less blood involved, the less excited ghouls became…or, at least, that was Dieter’s experience in dealing with a nest of flesh-eaters. Dieter didn’t even kill them, pulling the whip around their neck with just enough to force them into unconsciousness. Killing when he didn’t have to, when they weren’t even aware of it, wasn’t how Dieter Krause liked to do things. If the monsters had snacked on human flesh, butchered innocent clubbers, then it would be the law that judged them. Not him. That wasn’t his job.

Besides, if he was going to capture at all, capturing alive seemed more useful than capturing dead.

Amidst the chaos of civilians running around like blind ducks looking for an exit to escape the ‘fire’, Greta appeared beside him to hoist the prone bodies over her shoulder. Their original plan to stuff the bodies into the bathroom until the target was captured seemed moot at this point. A flick of his wrist and Rosette wrapped around the corpses of the bouncers, tying them together, as Dieter dragged them along the dirty floor to the back exit where some of the employees (mostly bartenders) had tried to escape. Tried being the key word.

Why waste some good potential quinques, after all.

“I’ll leave the rest of the clean up to you.” Dieter said to his butler. Cleaning wasn’t something a Krause really did. The fact that he even assisted in such menial tasks was a credence to his generous heart.

Retracting Rosette, Dieter’s gaze flickered up to the owner’s office. Micha’s report confirmed that the target had been acquired. One of the following reports also confirmed it. And yet, for anyone that bothered to look up during the chaos, it was clear that some sort of skirmish was still going on. Then there was Kuutake who was requesting back up as soon as possible. What to do, what to do? He got his answer when he spotted an innocent girl in the crowd shoved aside by larger man that forced his way out the entrance. Dieter immediately moved to help the teary-eyed girl up.

A man that didn’t know his priorities wouldn’t get very far in life. “Shhh, it’ll be alright, Little Bird. We’re here to keep you all safe. The pretty lady with the big sword as well.”

Of course, when the path out the entrance cleared enough to reveal a battle between roughly 12 ghouls and Quinx Investigator Kuutake, the female in his arms fainted. Dieter sighed, handed the girl over to the police, then glanced at Sascha—a corner of his mouth quirked upward in amusement. “These foreign quinx really are entertaining, aren’t they? Makes me think of the good old days.”

Granted, Dieter himself had just recently been promoted to a Senior Investigator, so his ‘old days’ weren’t exactly old.

His eyes returned to the scene created by Ikiru. The line outside the establishment had been scattered and the civilians rounded up by the police, but, even so, there was only so much the police could hide from the populace. Wasn’t the new quinx squad supposed to be some sort of secret project of the higher ups? Did it even matter? Dieter tapped on the earpiece.

“I’ve got my own ride and news reporters don’t particularly bother me,” Dieter replied merrily to the team comm. That…and anyone that knew anything about Dieter knew that he wasn’t the sort to touch a pig let alone help lift him into a car. He didn’t even carry his own quinque case. Manual labor and menial tasks were his butler’s job. “But thanks for the offer. I’ll see about helping investigator Kuutake finish up quickly.”

Hopefully whatever was going on in the owner’s office would resolve itself quickly as well. Dieter didn’t know anything about the quinx, but he trusted Micha would be able to handle herself. Keep the newbies safe if necessary.

Exiting Noyse through the cleared path, Dieter drew a red rose from his sleeve and tossed it between the 12 charging ghouls and the female investigator. Perhaps it was because of the surprise of the gesture. The oddity of a flower in the middle of a bloody battlefield. Or perhaps, it was because cliches always seemed to work, but all eyes (or at least most) turned towards him.

“So many against a single girl?” Dieter tutted. “Have you all no shame?”

Strolling forward, he cracked Rosette loudly against the ground like a bullwhip. Once. Twice. If ghouls were as simple as animals, things would be much easier. Alas, they weren't. On the third crack, Rosette lashed out at the first ghoul that charged at him, winding around the ghoul's neck and pulling him head first into the ground, even as he clawed at the thorny, red cord that threatened to choke him.

“Clearly, I'll have to lessen the numbers a bit to make things fair."

Entity.Eclypse , CerpinTaxt , The One Eyed Bandit

 

[S n o w]

Hualing Fan​

Slowly, Hua was beginning to adjust to the dark. She squinted as Shota moved into her line of sight, and somehow held herself back from instinctively stabbing at him. As he further incapacitated the target, Hua moved to the window he'd suggested. Before making a decision, she wanted to make sure the distance between this floor and the ground floor wasn't too great. This would all be for nothing if they rolled him out the window and he died upon hitting the ground. Neither would it be acceptable if ghouls were waiting for him when he landed, and he managed to escape.

It looked clear—

Hua heard a thump, and then several more as the target rolled down the stairs, alone and unsupervised. It was the second time Investigator Hayashida had ruined a perfectly good plan. Perhaps tricking their way past the bouncers wouldn't have worked, but she didn't even let them try. All plans of stealth, gone in an instant. And now, all plans to ensure that their target would remain in their custody, up in smoke. Hua whirled on Hayashida. "Nǐ yòu huǐ le tā," she said, shooting the other girl a glare before she took off after the target.

She was on the bottom step when the voice came through her earpiece. It was lucky that none of the Germans streaming out of Noyse had come this way in their panic, and luckier still that their target was not an agile man. "Zhòng diǎn," she chided herself. Hua went over to the large man, and just for good measure, slit his throat again. She was still left with the same problem she had before, of lifting him by herself.

"Investigator Shota," she said into her earpiece. "Your assistance would be appreciated."

She grabbed the large man by the arm while she waited, managing to drag him a few feet back. She might eventually be able to get him to the car on her own, but she already knew lifting him into it was out of the question.

 

[simj26]

HayashidaAh, wild slashings. She couldn't actually see her target, but she could hear his stumbling footsteps as he tried to make his way through the darkness, and the whistling of a heavy implement, most likely his koukaku, being swung around rapidly through the darkness, trying to snag at least one of the intruding investigators. He was reverting to the most base of human reactions when they were afraid or enraged- they lost their sense of logic and common sense, discarding them for wild, uncontrolled knee-jerk reactions. She couldn't blame him- his partner had recently just gotten a door kicked into his face, and his quarry had been whisked away from under his nose under complete darkness. Even though he was a Ghoul, and his opponents were, as much as he was concerned, just humans, they had the advantage of numbers, the darkness, and the fact that that they had already succeeded in their objective, whatever it was. Anyone would lose their mind and launch themselves into a flight or fight response.

He was afraid, and his response to fear was to try and take whatever he was fighting down with him. Yes, he was a Ghoul, and he felt fear. They were as human as her hypothesis supposed they were, and yet many couldn't see this truth. How utterly pathetic, she thought to herself, ignoring Hua entirely. She didn't understand a single word of that language, so she assumed what Hua said was either directed at the air or at the wall. Whatever. She would have to deal with the threat herself. After all, she had to show that smug shōta that she could pull her own we--

The bodyguard’s koukaku came within a hair’s breadth of smashing in her skull, the gust of wind throwing her ponytail backwards, and interrupting her thoughts. For a second, she remained in shock, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. The idea that he would close in so quickly hadn't occurred to her. Wasting no more time, she took a step back and raised her tail in vain defense, hoping it would at least slow the next attack. It didn't. The shield-like koukaku sliced through two of her tails, but thankfully, left not a scratch on her. She retracted her tail, the remaining three tendrils curling around her hand as she caressed them. If she had stood there just a millisecond more, she’d have been ground starfish. She blanched. That was not a pretty sight she just imagined.

The bodyguard had slowed down his approach, having noticed that he had hit something, but the fact that there had been no cry of pain or anything of the sort, it was likely that he supposed that his opponent had either died on impact or there was something fishy going on. She clutched onto her quinque with both hands, and raced through the many scenarios that could occur within the next few seconds. She just had to pick the most probable one, roll with it, and try to take out the Ghoul. Such was the basis of the strategy of a cornered combatant.

She had to take a gamble. She had the rough idea of where he was, and he didn't. That was an issue. She needed him to attack, and then he’d be open. The two tendrils that had fallen had already regenerated, trailing along with their other brethren, waiting for her move. She was confident that, if all went according to plan, she was coming out of this alive, and a kill on her belt.

“Over here!” she cried out, and darted straight in to the bodyguard. He took a second to register her challenge, a reaction within her projected parameters, and unleashed a roar in reply. He didn't need to move- she was already close to him, but if he took a step forwards, or even charged forwards, that, too, was also within parameters. She couldn't see what he did next, how his strike was going to come at her. All she could do was bunch her tails together, and swing them upwards. If she missed, if she was a second or two off, an inch too much to the right or left, she was dead. A shudder ran through her tail, and a sickening crunch of her tails breaking against the impact of his koukaku was all that she needed to hear.

She had succeeded. She knew where his arm was, and where his torso was. With a loud cry of triumph, she jammed her sword into his torso, running him through from his side through his entire chest, skewering nearly every vital organ. She withdrew her sword, and slashed him across the torso once more for good measure, then ran the sword through his throat, twisted it, then tore it through the side of his neck, halfway beheading him. Her tails went limp beside her as the bodyguard crumpled to his knees. With one foot, she pushed him onto the ground, and climbed atop his body, her quinque already poised at his arm. If she wasn't wrong, the thing that she needed was around here somewhere. The sword pierced through his skin, and she got to work. Just in time, too, she thought, as the lights came on. Blood was everywhere, streaked across the floor and the walls, but she duly ignored those. She was here for something else. She thrust her hand into the wound she had made on the Ghoul and extracted a sack-like organ. She turned it over in her hands, and shrugged. Good enough, she supposed. Wiping her hand on the dead Ghoul’s clothes, she pulled out a Ziploc bag from her pocket, and slipped the organ into it, then sealed it shut.

All things considered, she was pretty lucky, she thought, as she finished cleaning the blood from her other hand. She straightened up, brushing herself down, and, without further ado, turned, and hurried after Hua and Shota.

 

[Arne]

Eeichi couldn't help but frown as he watched Ikiru jump to intercept the two ghouls that tried to enter the club through the emergency exits, a hint of worry showing up in his eyes for a second before he quickly went back to executing his plan of maneuvering through the rooftops till he had a more adequate position to interfere in case things went south. After all, Investigator Kuutake was more than capable of dealing with two ghouls by herself, so it would be much better for him to simply do his part and prepare himself to interfere if, or rather when, as he rather doubted it wouldn't happen now that they not only already caused a ruckus but even engaged the ghouls openly, the rest of the ghouls got a wind of the operation and sent reinforcements to the club - Not that this especially bothered him, as that was the easiest way to fetch some good achievements anyway and, since he decided to stay outside, he probably wasn't especially likely to be made liable in case the confusion happening inside the club ended up blowing the operation as long as he took care of any potential reinforcement.

Even under such circumstances, though, Eiichi couldn't help but feel a bit tense as he waited for Ikiru to quickly get rid of the pair of ghouls, enjoying the fact that he now had the luxury of not having to deal with being covert anymore to quickly assemble the quinque hidden within his clothes back to the form of a rather plain spear while on his way to the ceiling of one of the buildings near the club. quietly watching as chaos started to take over the previously... Uh... somehow tamer surroundings, his gaze quickly darting through the crowd as he waited for the prey he expected to show up.

Naturally, It didn't take long for the reinforcements he foretold to arrive, and before even a couple of minutes went by, a whole group of masked figures showed up - very clearly both ill-intentioned and in a hurry, as they didn't even bother trying to hide their presence before directly charging towards Ikiru. Before he had the chance to properly ambush them, though, a rather bizarre scene unfolded in front of himself as a blonde man left the club with a rose - Wait, a rose? Where did he even find that? - in hands, throwing the flower towards the ghouls as if attempting to hold them back with only it - something that did indeed happen, as even the most cold-blooded murderer wouldn't quite manage to not be stunned by the absurdity of the whole situation - and dashed to position himself in front of Ikiru, directly voicing some absurdity that Eiichi didn't even bother to listen before he went ahead to engage one of the ghouls, revealing a whip-shaped quinque that made his identity crystal clear to Eiichi.

As soon as the second of hesitation caused by the odd scene disappeared, though, a trace of indignation - or perhaps even anger - quickly surged from within the quinx. So now even this German faker thinks he can steal my glory and diminish my squad member in front of my eyes? Unforgivable. He couldn't help but mutter inwardly as he leaped from the bulding's parept towards the ghouls, his left eye directly assuming a characteristically crimson tonality as he employed the RC cells to further strengthen his already absurd physical prowess, resulting in him being propelled towards the back of the nearest ghouls in a speed that could only be described as absurd. Naturally, he didn't stop at just arriving there and instead directly swung his spear towards the group with enough strength to easily crush bones - even if those belonged generally superhumanly durable ghouls - choosing to directly use the force generated from his move to throw the group in disarray instead of going for a much more restrictive piercing move - something quite surprising considering that this kind of move had remarkably lower chances of causing fatal wounds.

In the end, while he'd quite enjoy guaranteeing at least a few kills for himself while teaching the German playboy that the quinx were more than capable enough to take care of themselves, getting the ghouls separated to avoid giving them the opportunity to group on his teammates was considerably more important than getting personal merit for himself.

 

[Entity.Eclypse]

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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The plan of drawing a sword had worked even better than he'd been expecting, the fleeing crowd had separated from the entrance in record time. Somehow they'd managed to clear out faster than the last bar he had to siege, and that one was actually ablaze. The sound of footfall outside was enough indication to tell him that people were proceeding with the operation, whether they were ghoul or human he couldn't discern right off. The flash of a police officer worked to verify that back-up had begun to move in, however the flash of a kagune off a little ways from the entrance explained that someone wasn't ready to surrender. By the sound of screeching tires he assumed that they would be making their exit, but if the foolish ghouls wanted to overstay their welcome then the least they could do was accommodate.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Turning to look over his shoulder the scene within the office started to play out, it seemed that the quinx and a ghoul had begun their dance of bloodshed. Micha was nearby them so they would be fine in the event that the ghoul overpowered them, but given how Kuutake had handled herself he didn't doubt all the quinx were capable. Helping the front-lines would be the most beneficial thing for them now as they already had their target in their possession. Lifting the blade over his shoulder he returned his gaze forward, and it seemed that the knight in shining armor had come for a girl that didn't quite make it out the doorway. Another victim to Dieter's flirting, it was far more surprising that half the girls in the club managed to evade his clutches. With that he began to walk forward while a few officers moved past him and his ally brought up an interesting point, "I wonder if everyone in Japan is like them... or maybe their custom to kick down doors?" He jested in return before watching his fellow German move towards the other quinx.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀The good old days? Well you could think of them that way- his thoughts had begun drifting off to a rather unsightly image. The sounds of tearing flesh and frantic breathing filling his mind as he stood in the doorway, an abrupt force against his left side pulled him from this fog and brought him back to the situation at hand. Another officer had bumped him while entering as they checked the bodies in the main room of the establishment. A voice broke through his earpiece, the suggestion of getting out before the press showed up wasn't a bad idea, then again someone had to explain what went down inside. That would probably fall onto the shoulder of the GGET12 and CCG, so sticking around was for the best- given the display from earlier on he already drew assumptions to the group lacking when it came to verbal matters.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Weaving around through the interior of the building Sascha noticed a little something about her teams attackers, twelve on two and all their attention was directed towards the two investigators who had accosted them. A rose, a certain investigators calling card, appeared to be the source of confusion for a few of the dumbfounded attackers. The first of them was handled in a moments notice, a whip quinque proved far more efficient than Sascha had expected. His attention split from the group as he spotted something moving atop the buildings, that was likely the other investigator- Yuujima if he recalled correctly. The assumption had quickly been proved as true when the speeding figure wielding a spear appeared to move towards the group. Guess it was time to roll initiative, moving through one of the broken windows Sascha began to wrap around the exterior of the group. A simple flanking maneuver should be more than effective against the shambolic group of ghouls.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Focused more on the situation at hand than communication Sascha readied the cleaver, reeling it over his left shoulder he sat in preparation for the first target to appear. As quickly as the first of the stumbling ghouls pulled away from his group he'd been met with a sharp greeting, the blade came down with an immense ferocity and made short work in shattering the clavicle. By the time he would have been able to scream the ghoul's diaphragm would have been bisected, the bleeding body falling limp against the blade. Had the ghoul not been fleeing from another opponent such an injury wouldn't have occurred, as the cleaver angled downward the body slid off and back to the asphalt below. "You Quinx have a hell of combat prowess. Makes me glad you're on our side and not there's" He called out to the two Japanese members, they were a little younger than he was and already operating the same way he had a few months ago. Sure he knew they'd harnessed the power of ghouls, but with enough training they'd even put a special class investigator to shame.
Tags: QuirkyAngel CerpinTaxt Arne The One Eyed Bandit

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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Micha merely surveyed the situation that unfolded before her, the pattern of events was quite the spectacle to behold. It wouldn't be a true test of their abilities if she were to interfere, so instead taking notes would be the most beneficial option to pursue. The quinx known as Hayashida had been left to combat the remaining ghoul and a language that Micha hadn't studied was spoken as another figure make their exit. The battle between them hadn't lasted a very long time, a few concise moves and it had been won with the quinx coming out on top- though that was expected. When the lights came on Micha watched as the quinx tore into it's corpse, the blood scattered around the perimeter of the room was a nice touch. It would add another layer of depth when the police came in and asked for an explanation as to what just occurred. It seemed that the quinxes wouldn't be around to answer that as they had left the room in an effort to pursue the blob of a being that was their target, at this rate what blood belonged to which body wasn't easily explained.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Regardless of that, it wouldn't be right of her to make carrying the buffoons harder on the inbound officers. So with that she began to drag the two bodies together, had they not been corpses she may have taken note to relieve them of their craniums but that wouldn't be necessary. The light made this far easier, and soon she'd dragged the two bodies against one of the walls and left them propped up against it. Granted they were bleeding on one another at this point it probably wouldn't make a difference, taking her suit jacket off the floor she noticed that it too was bloodied by the brutalization that occurred moments ago. The corpses would have better usage of it than she would at this point, so it soon found itself covering the gory scene of the recently deceased koukaku user. Heaving a sigh from her relatively small frame she continued across the room and sat herself atop the desk of the boss, not like he'd be getting any more use out of it. Through the window she could see other figures scurrying around within the building, along with faint hints of something going on outside the building.

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Dieter and Sascha were probably out there by now, if they needed it then they'd call in for backup. So instead of that she mulled over what the quinx had done, based on the appearance they had been a bikaku user. She could only hope that the quinx would prove to be as interesting as they were efficient. With that she shifted on the desk a bit, retracting one leg upwards as the other continued to hang off the side. Reaching up she tapped twice on her earpiece, "All hostiles in the facility have been neutralized" and then cut off her input to the comms. In her hand she continued to open and shut the fan a few times, she would play witness to what happened up her- it was better than letting Japan's experimental group get questioned for hours on end, probably a better usage of the quinxes time as well.
Tags:

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[CerpinTaxt]

For as much of a disaster in covert operations that the job had become, it had been a success and now cleaning up what remained was all that was left. The few investigators that had run off to handle the stragglers that had used the emergency exit had begun to return; bloodied weapons and clothing signaling their success. A few had even approached Hua, attempting to help the woman pull their quarry into the back of the car. A large van by the looks of it. "Here..we can help you get this sack of fat in here." One of them said, the sound of a radio coming more clear as the car became closer. The driver of the vehicle had rolled down their window, an arm resting on the door with the darkness of the inside of the vehicle concealing his features as the voice from before spoke through the comms.

"It's all clear in there? Cool cool cool. You can talk to the cops then. Uh.." His voice abruptly cut out only to come back a moment later. "We're stopping most traffic in and out of the area to prevent any amateur news reporter trying to speed here to report on this but I doubt you all at the front.." His voice cut out once more, those at the vehicle able to see the man shift in his seat in an attempt to see the fighting at the front of the building, his arms raising in apparent frustration once he realized he had no way of seeing anything. "Uh yeah- I doubt you all want to be seen by the news; supposed to keep your existence a little secret." A gloved hand extended out of the vehicle, making a gesture that signaled the GGET12 members to enter the vehicle. "You got a few minutes to party but don't get too rowdy, 'kay?"

The man finally revealed himself as he leaned out of the window, a black mask that looked like some sort of repurposed gas mask with a long tube that was connected to something that was out of view for the moment. The mask hid his facial features, though some scar tissue could be seen near the small bit of his neck that could be seen. He seemed to be looking towards the Quinx, black lenses covering his eyes. "Uh..you guys want a ride? I swear other than my little breathing machine it's pretty comfortable." The man then lifted a small machine into view before shaking what was most certainly a very delicate piece of work around without a care in the world.

If he was an investigator, he certainly wasn't behaving like one.

--

The fight at the front of the building meanwhile had been going at a rather steady pace. Low-ranking lackeys attempting to attack the three investigators with every trick they knew. Between the rose that had been thrown and the flanking and subsequent destruction of one of their allies and horrific choking of another they went about attempting to work to divide and conquer the three investigators. At least until a sudden addition joined the fray, their spear managing to decapitate two of the ghouls before they had time to react. Four down, eight to go.

They attempted to split themselves into groups of two, a ukaku and bikaku ghoul moving to attack the tall and muscular man who had launched himself into the fight while two rinkaku's had moved to attack Dieter, their small amount of tendrils showing just how low on the food chain they were. The four that remained were bikaku's; splitting themselves like the others had and moving to attack Kuutake and Sascha respectively as the whole group moved in an attempt to overwhelm the investigators.

S n o w The One Eyed Bandit simj26 Arne QuirkyAngel Entity.Eclypse Lucem

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Support had come hard and fast. Eechi and two of her German Seniors had descended into the fray of battle, as if they were at her beck and call, and Ikiru breathed a sigh of relief. Confidence was all well and good, she reckoned, but she'd have been lying if she said that the sight of fifteen odd Ghouls spilling out into the streets hadn't made her sweat a bit.

While her comrades held off the ghouls, Ikiru turned her attentions elsewhere for the moment. Placing Dieter between herself and the enemy, the sound of clattering metal could be heard as she emptied the remaining contents of her suitcase onto the pavement. Before her, a collection of what seemed to be half-finished weapons lay piled high. Glimmering in the way that only Q-Steel did, the heap of blades and spikes soon found itself one item lighter, as their owner scooped a heavy, lattice of an axe-head up into her hands.

"Cover me for a moment, please!" She called out in German, as present company demanded it so, sliding the axe-head beneath her coat as she did. Nary a minute passed, Investigators both Japanese and German both putting up an impressive show of dominance as she had them wait on her. It was embarrassing, almost, but beneath her coat the payoff for her impudence was bubbling away nicely enough to suppress it.

And here it was.

With a flick of her wrist, the axe-head glided through the air, now dyed and filled in with a deep, murky black, her body soon moving to follow it's trajectory. Much like the German's rose, the unexpected projectile had caught the mob's attention, if only for a split second, but that was all the time she needed. It'd meet its mark easily enough; not the skull of one of her enemies, but instead the haft of her own weapon. With an impact that sounded half metallic and half organic, the two crashed into each other, melding into one single mass at the crest of her swing, before cleaving its way through the ghoulish flesh of her would-be attackers.

"Right! Press the advantage, let's tidy up here before any more of them show up!"

QuirkyAngel Entity.Eclypse Arne CerpinTaxt

 

[Lucem]

Shota watched as Hua went to slit the fat piece of roadkill's throat once again. It was a wonder how a Ghoul like this managed to stay alive for so long, even if he did have a few hired hands that were capable of seeing their own feet. If not for the order to bring him in alive, he most likely would've been dead by now. He must've had some useful information if his employers were willing to go to such lengths to secure a slob like this. Well, his usefulness didn't really matter at this point. Like the newly arrived investigator said, the mission was over. The Ghoul could have a heart attack during transport and it wouldn't have anything to do with him. Everything was behind him now. Except for the matter of loading the sack of fat into the car.

Shota didn't really feel like touching a fleshy bean bag or doing any heavy lifting. He probably could've passed it off to Hayashida, but she seemed to still be preoccupied at the moment. Thankfully, the nameless investigators took care of the dirty work and got their hands greasy for him. Jobs like this were more suited for guys like them. This was probably the most excitement they had gotten all day.

While the other investigators were busy trying to get a grip on dozens of fat folds, Shota fished out a lollipop from his coat pocket, savoring the cherry flavor as the masked man spoke. As much as he would've preferred to stay and deal with the bugs that were still crawling around the club, dealing with reporters and potentially upsetting his bosses didn't sound very appealing. The Quinx weren't supposed to exist, and they had to make sure things stayed that way. Besides, his associates probably would've finished cleaning up before he arrived. This wasn't a very difficult operation, so even low ranking investigators wouldn't have much trouble wrapping things up quickly.

Shota briefly eyed the masked man's scar as he removed the sucker from his mouth. "I'll pass." He brought his own vehicle and didn't intend on leaving it outside a trashy club overnight. If the goal was to not be noticed, then the smaller motorcycle would've been the better choice. He also didn't feel like riding in a confined space with the fleshy bean bag that called itself a Ghoul.

Raising a finger to his earpiece, Shota contacted his associates as they finished the remainder of their business. "The operation is over, so we've been advised to leave. I'll be going now." As he cut off his communication, he looked back toward Hua. "You want a ride? Or do you plan on rising shotgun with the pig?" It wasn't just him. One of his reasons for riding alone was that it would be easier to get around the incoming press and inevitable traffic jam. Taking along someone else would've lowered the chance of them also getting caught up in that mess. Although, his concerns mostly had to do with himself. The bosses were big fans of collective responsibility and he wasn't a fan of getting chewed out if his partner got caught up in something bad. The potential lecture that waited for them after this disaster of a mission already sounded boring enough.

S n o w CerpinTaxt The One Eyed Bandit simj26 Arne QuirkyAngel Entity.Eclypse

 

[QuirkyAngel]

First Class, Dieter Krause

Dead already?

It had barely been 7 mins since he started choking the creature. Didn’t even get to try his hanging technique yet, since he’d opted to—with a grunt—swing his captured victim at the two rinkakus charging at him instead, using the ghoul’s weight and durability against them, before stepping closer to Kuutake and providing her cover.

Course, the charging Bikaku he tripped ended up having their head sliced off by a spinning ax before he could do anything. Along with several others.

Dieter whistled.

The Japanese quinx (Ikiru and Eeichi at least) were proving to be quite capable in combat—moreso than most investigators he had the pleasuring of working with. Messy though. Grimacing at the bits splattered blood that got on his new clothes, courtesy of all the flesh being torn around him, Dieter sighed.

The pains of protecting the innocent.

Releasing the choked corpse, whose neck had several holes in it because of the thorns that ran along his quique, Dieter kick the prone body aside, whip spinning like a red blur in his hand as he approached the next target foolish enough to attack him or his allies. Given how quickly the one he choked died, it was clear they were pretty low tier as far as ghouls went. Seemed almost a pity to kill them all.

Pawns used in the bigger scheme of things.

“How about all surrender now and save yourselves the trouble. We have a nice prison cell for your kind in the GGET12. Better than ending up like your friends, I think.”

There. Offer made. At the very least, they wouldn’t end up looking like savages in front of their audience. Or when the press came around. If the remaining ghouls did surrender, all the better. Dieter didn’t actually enjoy dirtying his hands when it came down to it. However, a job was a job.

The One Eyed Bandit , Arne , Entity.Eclypse

 

[S n o w]

Hualing Fan​

It took an embarrassing amount of time for Hua to translate the German voice coming through her earpiece into something she could understand. Something about talking to the police, or perhaps not talking to them? There was a secret of some sort and... a party? He spoke too fast, or she was too slow.

Either way, she refused to embarrass herself further by asking him to repeat himself. With the help of a few other investigators, Hua stuffed their weighty target into the back of the vehicle. She had to press her back against the door and push against it with all she had for it to close, but it was done.

"Thank you," Hua said awkwardly in German, slumping against the side. Neither the chaos, nor the fighting exhausted her, but the might of an obese ghoul wasn't something she would underestimate again. She feared when the man in the strange mask looked out the window at them, if only because she knew he would start speaking German again.

He said something about a breathing machine, then gave them a good look at a small device. Hua nodded and smiled. She moved away from the car and looked towards the front of the nightclub. Had it been Investigator... Micha that said the ghouls in the club had been taken care of? Regardless, if her comrades outside needed assistance, they would have said so by now.

"I'll ride with you, if you don't mind," Hua said to Shota. It would be better for one of the others to ride with the breathing machine man, someone who understood German better. If Hua could help it, she would rather avoid the awkward car ride. Not to mention their guest in the back, who would most definitely make an attempt to escape along the way.

 

[CerpinTaxt]

The masked driver let out a groan as he stretched his arms out. "You got it, you two!" He then gave Shota and Hua a thumbs up as they walked off and slid his arm back into the van and moved the window back up, concealing him once more. Once everyone that had had planning on riding the van was inside, the doors were shut and the vehicle put in reverse; the car haphazardly dodging the various objects behind it as the man behind the steering wheel recklessly pulled out from the scene and drove off. Perhaps it was for the best that Hua and Shota decided not to ride with him.

The fight at the front of the club was quickly coming to a close, the ghouls that chose to still fight despite the odds stacked against them inevitably slaughtered, though two had chosen to surrender alongside the other two from earlier. Blood and other body parts were strewn across the pavement, marking just where the battle had taken place. The Quinx had just enough time to hide their various 'additions' and leave the scene before the various news crews arrived. The normal GGET12 investigators were able to make their leave alongside them; the police would take care of the rest.

Officers entered the owner's office, stunned at the apparent brutality that had occurred. It wasn't exactly common to see a ghoul's kakuhou ripped from their body though they had no intention of questioning what had occurred other than taking Micha's statements of the conflict and beginning the cleanup procedures.

Within a few minutes, various news vans had arrived, rushing to the sectioned-off scene and questioning anyone nearby, from civilians to the few investigators that had remained. News channels were fed the story of the owner's capture and their link to the quickly growing new pain in the GGET12's back, though little else was allowed to leak out. The few civilians that had claimed that 'Investigator Ghouls' had taken part in the conflict were merely dismissed by the various hosts and crews, believing the hysteria and poor lighting had given the illusion of investigators with kagunes.

The Quinx' presence was still hidden.

--

A newspaper made a loud slap as it collided with the oak table of the large meeting room, the headline which repeated what had occurred last evening sprawled across the paper. A bearded man stood at the front of the table with a stern look, his eyes looking ready to pop out of their sockets. "This wasn't meant to be all over the news!" He exclaimed, his fist slamming against the table as he took his seat.

"You never told them it had to be a stealth mission. Just that it was preferred." The masked man from last night retorted, his labored breathing filling the otherwise silent room. "I say they did pretty good. No civilian deaths, they got the target out, I think it was pea-"

"You are an idiot! The Butcher's know we're out from them now and are most certainly moving to relocate and try their damnedest to make sure we don't get another one of their members. All because it was of a bunch of barely trained investigators that are a bunch of manmade freaks!" The bearded man ran a hand through his hair, a few sounds of apparent worry and stress coming from him.

"They would have figured it out anyway. Besides..it was just one of them that split the whole thing open." A bespectacled bald man spoke up, the metal pin which signified his
'Associate Special Class' positioned briefly reflected the sunlight that seeped through the open window. "They've yet to have been assigned a Squad Leader apparently. Their mentor forgot to do that before they were sent over. Simply put, they have hardly any cohesion."

"See! Müller knows where I'm coming from!" The masked man exclaimed as he rose his arms up with fervor. "We gotta make someone the leader and get them to realize that they gotta work together and uh..all that stuff." Müller seemed rather displeased with the man's outburst but nodded with agreement. "So..what are we going to do? Make them get to know each other? Get 'em to sit down and get all friendly?" The bearded man scoffed and shook his head. "I mean yeah that could proba-" The masked man spoke up once more only to be silenced by the annoyed Müller.

"With all due respect Chairman Wagner, I believe that with a bit of extra training and squad cohesion, they could improve vastly." Müller leaned forward and rested his arms on the table. "Allow me to take the squad and make one of them a squad leader. Make them run a few exercises with the Investigators they worked with prior and get them ready for more assignments. Just give me three days while Richter works on getting information from our target." He made a gesture towards the masked man, who gave a thumbs up. "We got a lot of good stuff so far! We might even be able to stage an assault on one of their compounds once he spills the location, him and the four who surrendered were pretty quick to talk. Apparently 'Leatherteeth' is a horrible guy to work with, they prefer being locked up than go back to him once they lost."

Wagner let out an exhausted sigh, running his hands over his face before his eyes focused on Müller.

"Three days."

--

Over the next few hours, notes and other messages were delivered to the Investigators and Quinx that had worked that evening. A small pin of a pair of wings was even attached to the one addressed to Ikiru, 'Squad Lead' inscribed on the bottom. All the notes said essentially the same thing: the Quinx were due for a bit of extra training due to what had occurred last night. While they had performed well, a 'lack of hierarchy' had lead to a few poor decisions on their part. Ikiru had been designated as the Squad Leader for the Quinx due to her 'proactive behavior' when she went to watch the front entrance. The Quinx were to report towards a small facility a few miles out from Berlin the next morning; they could take personal transport if so desired but if they felt they were too unfamiliar with the layout of the city and would get lost then Richter would pick them up at the apartment.

The Investigator's message was one asking for assistance. They were asked to 'assist the Quinx in their personal development' and head towards the facility as well. A bonus would be added to their paychecks if they did it. All they had to do was arrive and provide advice and other assistance to the Quinx. It sounded rather simple considering the sizable addition to their paycheck they would get for doing it.

--

The facility was obviously old, concrete structures surrounded by rusted fences which covered the perimeter could be visible as the various individuals arrived though only the Investigators would likely be aware of what the place was. It was the old GGET12 training facility, closed down just a decade ago. Cracked pavement lined the long stretches of nothingness and abandoned buildings. The whole facility had to be a few dozen acres large. The main structure was a building a few stories tall, placed in the very center of the ghost town. That was where they were meant to go.



S n o w The One Eyed Bandit simj26 Arne QuirkyAngel Entity.Eclypse Lucem

 

[Lucem]

Shortly after removing his helmet, Shota let out a yawn, clearly not feeling very energetic after driving out to an abandoned facility first thing in the morning. With no one else in sight, the boy refrained from immediately dismounting the motorcycle. There was no point in standing around while waiting for the rest of his squad to show up, so he chose to lean forward and make himself comfortable. Feeling the machine's residual warmth underneath his small body, he was well protected from the German temperatures until everyone else arrived.

With nothing else to do except wait and admire the scenery, the Quinx took his time observing today's training grounds. The building was decrepit and obviously hadn't seen any use in a long time. The same could be said about the rest of the area, showing no signs of life whatsoever. While it wasn't one of the fancier facilities he was used to visiting back in Japan, this place worked well enough, considering their situation. The Quinx weren't supposed to exist, so conducting business in a ghost town made it easier to keep things under wraps. Of course, things like that didn't really matter if screw ups like the ones from last night kept happening. A few more operations like that and they wouldn't have to worry about being stealthy anymore. Every person on the planet would know who they were, including the Ghouls. That was the reason for this sudden mission. Actually, it was closer to group therapy, or a desperately needed icebreaker.

He didn't think a simple operation like that could go so badly, but there was a first time for everything. He could only imagine how much his superiors were freaking out. The investigators who worked on yesterday's extraction would definitely be getting chewed out, but he could be certain that someone of a higher rank was getting it a lot worse than them. Taking responsibility for your subordinates was a big hassle for people that bothered to get promoted. For people like him, there was also something known as collective responsibility. Because of that, he'd be spending his day getting to know his squad mates all over again. He wondered what sort of team bonding exercises they'd be forced to participate in. Probably nothing as simple as trust falls. It felt like he was back in the academy again.

On the topic of people taking the heat for the actions of others, they'd also have to adjust to their new chain of command. To no surprise, Ikiru would be their new squad leader. The fact that nobody thought to assign one in the first place was a pretty big oversight, but the people up top were quickly throwing things together to make up for that. The older woman was the only person who was actually fit for the position, so it was likely a pretty easy decision. Personally, he didn't really care who was in charge. He always made sure to do his job properly, even if he wasn't a fan of some of the more tedious aspects that came with exterminating Ghouls. As long as it wasn't him, there were no complaints. Being the wrangler for a bunch of lab rats was going to be a lot more trouble than it was worth, even more so than the usual pains that came with being a leader. Higher positions came with a lot of responsibilities and paperwork, something that many people failed to consider in their endless pursuit of promotions. Compared to being stuck in an office with mountains of files all day, walking the streets as a lower rank was a lot more preferable.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

What a dilemma, what a dilemma.

In the rear view mirror, a tiny pair of wings glimmered on Ikiru's collar. Appropriately enough, just the sight of them was enough to set her heart aflutter. She was hardly the type to ravenously chase after promotions and the like, but her heart still couldn't help but swell a little. It was the same sort of feeling that'd come with her graduation, a sincere glee that her efforts had been recognized. At the same time though, she could feel more than a little anxiety brewing in her chest.

She didn't hate any of the Quinx, but she'd be lying if she said the prospect of trying to manage them wasn't a touch intimidating. She wouldn't name names, but some of them were harder to get a handle on than a tenth grader, and the others were...

Intense.

She was... Kind of sure it'd all turn out fine in the end, but she still made a note to buy some stomach medication just in case.

Setting that aside, she certainly hoped that she wasn't late. Between the clean-up from the previous night's escapade, her sudden promotion, and her early rise, she'd hardly gotten any sleep last night. So, coming here on her own may have been a bit too forward of her, but she'd wanted to get a better feel for the city, and this seemed like as good an opportunity as any. The rental car she'd picked up came with a built in GPS, so by all means she should have been safe, but... Well, she'd hardly done any driving even back in Tokyo, so the roads of Berlin were more foreign to her than the language.

Surely enough though, with each direction that the GPS spat out at her, Ikiru got closer and closer to her destination. The cityscape of Berlin pulled away as she drew further from the city center, giving way to fresher air and clearer skies. For a training facility, the location was surprising. Nice, quiet, and out of the way, nothing like the hustle and bustle of Tokyo.

Her arrival was punctuated by a surprise; she wasn't the first one here. Lingering just outside the facility, Shota was sat atop his beloved bike, idling away the time on his lonesome. Honestly, it was surprising that he'd even bothered. She'd figured him for the type that'd take a free ride whenever it was offered. Maybe he just loved that thing even more than she thought he did.

As she pulled up beside him, Ikiru kept herself planted firmly within her own vehicle, only winding down her window to greet the boy.

"Hey hey~ You're up and about early today."Contrasting the chilly weather, Ikiru greeted Shota with a voice as chipper as she could muster. "Actually, I'm more surprised that you managed to get here on that thing without turning into a popsicle. Wanna hop in with me? I've got the heat on."

Lucem

 

[S n o w]

Hualing Fan​

As soon as Richter pulled up in front of the facility, Hua evacuated the car. It had been an awkward ride. Her German hadn't improved much in the span of a day. It showed in the fact that without the letter from their higher-ups, Hua would have been lost. She grasped most of what he said when she got into the car, but it seemed that every time she did miss something, it was vital to understanding the words that came after it.

Hua turned away from the car, shading her eyes as she looked up at the training facility. This was all because of their successful failure of a first mission the night before. The target had been captured, but a club full of people flooding the streets in a drunken panic hadn't exactly been subtle. Not counting those undoubtedly injured in the fight they caused. "All because of Hayashia," she murmured.

It was because of her and her recklessness that they were being forced to endure this unnecessary bonding exercise. Perhaps one of them should have tried harder to stop her, or convince her to do something different. Was that why they were being punished this way too? Because they didn't act decisively enough?

What would her father say if he saw the reports, the papers, all the scraps of information that had leaked on their supposed 'stealth' mission? He would be disappointed. "Dài zài zhè lǐ," Hua said to herself. What he thought wasn't most important now. If she was going to have a chance to redeem herself on another mission, she would first have to get through this.

Hua strode towards the two like a model squad-mate. "Shota," she greeted with a nod. "Congratulations on your promotion, Investigator Kuutake."

 

[simj26]

HayashidaSquad leader? More like, squad patsy. Her fingers ran through the Rubik’s Cube™ in her hands, and turned through the colors rapidly while she glanced outside of the car. She had elected not to join the rest of the group in their travels towards their destination. It wasn’t as if she was afraid of getting reprimanded by them. Far from it. In fact, she wanted to see, most of all, what was plastered upon their visages. Disappointment? Anger? Sorrow? Or plain disinterest? It was vital to her research. She wanted to know more about her colleagues, and talking to them about it was stupid. Who knew what hid beneath the veneer of kindness or irritance besides throwing them into the fire? It was exactly where chaos shone- it bared the true faces of people. When faced with desolation and panic, what were they behind those masks of theirs? Calm, collected people may turn vicious and turn on their own friends, while the wacky wahoo pizza dudes would suddenly swing around and claim control of the group. The gears in her head turned slowly as she realised her plan.

She transferred the Cube™ to one hand, which kept working on the colors, while her other extricated her phone from her pocket. She accessed her Gallery and swiped through the images, each of them showing a formal picture of the other Investigators. To be more exact, they were images that were exactly the same ones on their IDs. She paused on the current ‘squad leader’. “Kuutake Ikiru,” she mouthed the name out silently. A smile crept onto her face. What was she made of, indeed? Was it steel that would stand strong, bamboo that could bend through the strongest of winds, or was she merely a plank of wood, destined to snap under pressure? These are the answers she sought. The others were...secondary subjects, for the time being.

She returned her phone to her pocket, and stood up from her seat. She was arriving at her stop. The bus came to a slow halt, and the doors swung open, blasting the interior with a cold gust of wind. Even with the heater turned up, some passengers still cowered away from the cold. Hayashida strode out into the biting cold, observing her surroundings as her hands continued to flick away at the Rubik’s Cube™. Right, if she wasn’t wrong, the meeting spot should be right around the corner. Time to stop fiddling around with a child’s toy then. She clutched at the Cube™ , and was about to dispose of it the only way she knew how, then hesitated. Maybe that Shota unkid would like to fiddle with this thing.

Or maybe not. She chucked the Cube™ behind her, letting it skitter across the iced floor. She had already solved it, so it was useless now. It proved to be good mental warm up, and the exercise was about to begin. Shuddering not from the cold, but rather from the excitement, she turned the corner, and came face to face with the old, dilapidated training grounds of the GGET. Sheesh, they weren’t kidding about it being OLD. It smelt like dust and must. She waved at her face, trying to disperse of the smell, and kept going. The rest of the squad was probably waiting for her. She expected to be the last to arrive, and that was of no consequence to her.

However, when the group finally came to view, there were only three present: the Patsy, the Chinese, and the Kid, all in their respective vehicles. What a dour set of faces. She almost burst out laughing at them. It was all she could do to stifle her laughter, but she could not hide the ridiculous grin on her face. She skipped towards them and did a little twirl as she came up to them, feeling the exhaust of the car warm her up. “[Good moooorning!]” She waved cheerily. “[How’s everyone today?]” She said in perfect German, then caught herself. She had been practicing to the point where she forgot that Japanese was her native language. She cleared her throat and tried again, this time in Japanese. “How’s everyone today? Did ya get a good night’s rest, huh? I heard you were the new scape-- leader, Iki-chan! Congrats!”

 

[CerpinTaxt]

"Hee hee hee, hoo hoo hoo." Ritcher amused himself as Hua left the vehicle, giving a small wave before hitting the gas and speeding off towards the center building at much too quick of a pace. He could be seen heading towards the rear of the building, turning out of view within a few moments. After that, however, the Quinx were left alone in the cold and windy weather of Germany with no sign that anyone else was with them. The occasionally creaks and groans of the surrounding buildings settling could be heard, but other than the harsh sound of the wind and whatever the Quinx said it was totally silent.

"You uh..just gonna let them stay in the cold?" Richter spoke as he lowered his binoculars and turned to look towards his coworker. "That's kinda harsh." He turned back to looking at the Quinx through the binoculars and ignored the sounds of equipment and other unseen objects being moved about. "Ah..shit. I forgot to drop off that new quinque for the weird one." He turned to head back to his van before a hand gripped his shoulder.

"Don't bother; she'll get it when she earns the right to have it." Muller replied with a shake of his head. "As for the cold? That'll be the least of their worries once we get started. Besides, them getting in the same vehicle might make them less..hostile to one another. Or rather, the one of them. Or maybe they'll exclude her." The masked man had a gesture that made it clear he was wanting to know when they were supposed to actually start. "Whenever I feel like it, Ritcher- don't think about offering them a ride." He was quick to order the man, which Ritcher replied with a sigh before nodding.

"Fine, fine."

--

The cold seemed to freeze time itself around the Quinx. No displays telling the time, and suddenly no phone signals killed off any chance of seeing how long they'd been outside for. The wind picked up and died off sporadically, causing a nearby metal gate to rattle and hit the part of the fence it was meant to be connected to. However, the silence was broken as opera music began to fill the intercom system which covered the facility grounds through a series of speakers on long poles. "Of course! A genre as terrible as this is a great way to lower their mor- mmph!" Ritcher's voice could be heard though it was quickly cut off and the music continued on.

More time passed before the music was suddenly cut off, a different voice coming from the intercom system that was different from Ritcher's. "You may enter. Leave your vehicles parked somewhere and walk towards the center building please." While this was going on, a group of men could be seen opening a small door and placing what looked to be various backpacks out against the wall along with a sign which read 'CARRY ME'.

The packs were clearly different weighed and all of them were marked with the various investigator's names. Hayashida had the heaviest one with Ikiru a close second followed by Hua and then Shota with the lightest though it was by no means 'light'. Once the Quinx were inside the doors were shut and bright fluorescent lights were turned on to show where they were. The tiled floor was cracked in several places, and random documents covered the dusty wooden counter that was once a reception desk. The investigators led them to a door off to the left, away from what looked to be stairs that were waiting to break if someone stepped on them.

The door was opened, revealing a large 'gymnasium' of sorts. Obstacle courses and what looked to be a large climbing wall that practically touched the ceiling, along with what looked to be several targets meant for combat practice made up a corner of the large room. Ritcher's van could be seen off to the side with the man inside, oblivious to the Quinx's arrival as loud music blared out and he moved to the beat with lazy movements; thankfully slightly muted due to his windows not being down.

At the center was a bald man, the lighting reflected off his shiny head as he stood there with an expectant look as the Quinx were moved in. "Go ahead and take a seat." He gestured to the uncomfortable looking metal chairs that were nearly aligned in a row in front of him.

Lucem The One Eyed Bandit simj26 S n o w

 

[Lucem]

Shota heard the sounds of the approaching vehicle long before it pulled up beside him. When the front window rolled down, he could see Ikiru exposing her face to the freezing German air. "Mornin', Iki." Unsurprisingly, the new squad leader was the next to arrive. It wouldn't be good for her to show up late after getting a promotion. People with authority had to be punctual. As for him, the pain of getting lectured was worse than waking up early, so trading the comfort of his warm bed for the cold outdoors wasn't a big deal.

"I'll take you up on that offer, Leader." Answering with the usual childish tone in his voice, Shota seemed unbothered by morning chills. He was about as comfortable with discomfort as a person could be, having built up a tolerance for unpleasant things over the years. Compared to having Ghouls take bites out of him, a little cold was no big deal. Still, he liked being as comfortable as possible, so sitting in a car sounded better than waiting outside. Besides, it wasn't good to leave the bike running.

Before moving to the car, Shota noticed another one approaching the building. It seemed like only Hua decided to get a lift from Richter. If not, the masked man didn't give them a chance to exit. As soon as his fellow Quinx left the vehicle, the tires screeched as it sped off. He didn't give the chauffeur much attention and focused on Hua instead, exchanging nods with the older woman as she greeted the team. She didn't seem as chipper as Ikiru and it was easy to guess why, especially when the person she was upset with showed up shortly after.

Hayashida approached everyone with the enthusiasm of someone who didn't almost ruin an operation last night. She bounded up to the group with a friendly attitude, but her words didn't match her expression. Shota maintained his smile and waved when the woman corrected herself, wondering if that slip of the tongue was actually a mistake or not. Well, it didn't really matter if she had ill intentions or not. Either way, Hua would probably still be angry. He wondered if one of them would kill the other by the end of the day. Murdering a teammate would likely count as a failure for their bonding mission, so he hoped not.


After using the backseat of Ikiru's car as a bed for an unknown amount of time, Shota opened his eyes when opera music suddenly filled the silence that plagued the ghost town. It was pretty fitting for this atmosphere. Someone inside must've had strange tastes, or just loved being dramatic.

Having already parked his motorcycle in another place, the boy approached the line of backpacks after exiting the car. Doing as the sign said, he picked up the one that was assigned to him, noticing its weight as he slung the straps over his shoulders. He'd probably have some trouble carrying it if he didn't have the strength of a flesh-eating monster. After looking at the ones assigned to the others, it seemed like he was getting off easy. It was one of the benefits of being small and adorable.

Following the guides through the ancient building, Shota stopped when they arrived at the gymnasium. Aside from the targets used for combat practice, everything in the room looked like something that could be found at an ordinary field day for children. Appearances could be deceiving, so whatever the investigators had in store for them was probably more intense than what the equipment suggested. Either that, or this day really would consist of doing trust falls and handing out ribbons.

Shota took a seat as instructed, waiting for the others to do the same. In the meantime, he'd stare at the bald investigator's head. Hopefully, there were sunglasses in their backpacks. If not, the light that reflected off the man's dome could end up blinding them. That was a safety hazard.

CerpinTaxt The One Eyed Bandit S n o w simj26

 

[S n o w]

Hualing Fan​

Hua kept her expression carefully neutral as Investigator Hayashida greeted them first in German, then again in Japanese. She was just mocking them now, wasn't she? Pretending as if the mission the night before went off without a hitch. Pretending as if they weren't here for remedial lessons because of her. Speaking to them in German.

Okay, the latter might have been Hua's personal bias against the language that everyone but her had a good grasp on. So what if it was? Hayashida either was acting so nonchalant to irritate them, or she cared so little about them that none of this truly mattered to her. Hayashida was here to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. Who cared how the rest of them were punished for her actions? Hua sucked on her teeth. "Fěn suì," she said in Chinese. It was exactly what Hayashida was. A catastrophe.

She did not join Shota in Ikiru's car. Not because she didn't want to, but because she wasn't all that fond of the idea of intruding on a space that she wasn't invited to. Especially that of her superior. Though, after a few minutes of the wind biting at through her leggings like they weren't even there, she began to regret not hopping in when she had the chance.

Hua had resorted to pacing to keep warm by the time the opera music came on, then Ritcher, then another voice after both the music and Ritcher were stopped. Of course, since her ability to translate German to Chinese in real-time was pretty abysmal, she only caught part of what they said. Ritcher, saying something about a genre before he was cut off. Was he reading a book of some kind? And the other, telling them they could enter and put their vehicles away.

Seeing as neither Shota or Ikiru went to get their vehicles to store them properly, it was clear that she mistranslated something. Hua approached her backpack with a healthy dose of caution and while Shota took his, she crouched to inspect it. It was the second-smallest, only beat by Shota's tiny pack. But was the purpose? Training equipment? She glanced at Hayashida's pack. Was it a punishment? With a frown, Hua picked it up and followed the others inside.

The quiet unnerved her. They were supposed to be a team, were they not? This-This quiet between them was the reason they were put in remedial lessons in the first place. And, Hua had already promised herself she would try, at least. She wouldn't be the reason they failed again. She turned to Hayashida. "What do you think we'll be doing today?" she asked politely in Japanese. Since the bald man didn't tell them not to talk, she waited for an answer as she sat.

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Even if she was hardly confident about her promotion, hearing the various congratulations that the other Quinx offered her still bought a smile to her face. Hayashida's slip of the tongue seemed to go ignored. Whether the ignorance was willful or not wasn't clear, but the unblinking blush and grin that the blue haired woman put on registered no sign of displeasure or discomfort.

"Aha! Right? Who would've thought! Frankly, I'd have nominated Eeichi , but.. Eeh? Whatever? Right?" Clearly entertained by her own comedy, Ikiru's grin turned into one of amusement. "Live and let live! Let's all work hard together!"

It was only natural that a barrage of questions would flit through Ikiru's mind as the foreign agency's little show unfurled itself. The most poignant of which being exactly why they'd felt that music was necessary for the occasion. That wasn't to say that she was particularly incensed by the idea, but ah... It was a far cry from how she was used to these things being run back home.

Where were the hyper sterile walls? The grim faced grandpas? The droves of tasks that demanded perfection after perfection? Ah. She was feeling a little nostalgic, as strange as it might have sounded. There was something nice about how sternly run things were in Japan, even if she wouldn't even dream of putting her comrades through the same experience. It felt secure, she supposed. Like she knew what to expect at the start of every day of training, even if what she expected sounded like it'd leave her with three broken ribs.

That, or she'd just developed Stockholm Syndrome without noticing. Scary thought. She'd also gotten herself sidetracked.

Stepping from the car, Ikiru cleared her mental throat and set about doing as she was told. Even as she set towards the facility and hefted that brick-laden backpack upon her shoulders, she was still running a mental investigation. Perhaps it was because she'd been put in charge of her friends from now on, but she was feeling a whole lot more observant than usual. Or at least she was trying to. Despite her efforts, she couldn't match Hayashida's mania or Hua's cool headed calculation, but she was doing her best to handle things in her own way. Figuring out what sort of challenges would be laid out in front of them, how to best get the squad through them, and how to get the most out of the experience.

Of course, given that her only leads were music that not even baby boomers would listen to and an obese backpack, she wasn't making much leeway.

"Morning, sir!" She called to the stranger as they shuffled into the room. "Rank 2 Investigator Ikiru Kuutake reporting in! How are you today?" Her dialogue, caught halfway between military formality and friendly politeness, slipped from Ikiru's lips without her even meaning for it to. She caught herself, but it was a moment too late. She could already hear him barking her ear off, if he was one of those Drill Sargent types. She'd just have to hope he wasn't the scary type, she thought, as she settled into her seat.

 

[simj26]

HayashidaHonestly speaking, Hayashida was having trouble. Coming up with jokes and puns colder than the current weather, that was. She hadn’t meant to do it, but she found herself drifting from one senior to the next, clinging onto them like a persistent parasite, sapping off the warmth of their bodies. Scapegoat, Chinese, and the kid barely produced enough heat to fill her heart, much less her body, and, in her infinite wisdom, she kind of figured that trying to cozy up with Shota in the confines of the backseat of Ikiru’s car was not exactly too wise. There was toeing the line, there was scuffing it out of the dirt, and there was drilling a hole right through it. This was drilling a hole right through the line. And the car was just too cramped. She could even say that it was cramping up her style. She was born to be free! Not cooped up in a metal box of death and gears! She couldn’t stand being in such a thing for too long. She instead settled for Eiichi’s very broad shoulders. His frame conveniently blocked out a lot of the biting wind, and she clung to him incessantly for the most part, until the opera music started to pipe through the speakers.

It was swiftly, thankfully, cut off, followed by a voice that she didn’t recognise, which was also cut off. The opera music continued to play, much to her chagrin. Jesus CHRIST. She placed her hands over her ears and scowled at the speakers, as if they would convey her disdain of the music to whatever moron was playing it. Her prayers were answered pretty quickly, as the gates opened up to...a very drab view. What had she been expecting? It was more grey buildings inside. Having lost most of her pep to the cold, she scratched her head in bemusement, and followed as the speaker told them, moving towards the center building.

She crouched down by the bags, and checked the nametags on them. Glancing at the other packs next to hers, she could barely make out the weight distribution. Hers seemed to be the heaviest. Talk about being the luckiest. She sighed and hung her head low. “You don’t think--” she started as Ikiru picked up her bag, then gave up. Uuuuughhhh, the cold was getting to her. She would say it was getting under her skin, but at this point, it didn’t seem too far away from the truth. She thought about taking out her kagune and picking up the bag, but she was just too lazy to. Besides, those German suckers might just tell her to put her tail away almost immediately. Whatever. She slipped her arms through the straps, and steadied herself, before straightening up. Her legs ached just by standing up. She gave a panicked squeak as she teetered off-balance for a second, then scurried after the other Investigators.

Oh, Hua, how sweet and kind of her to indulge in niceties with her! Hayashida just wanted to give her a hug. If it wasn’t for the dumb bag on her back and the fact that Hua didn’t seem like a hugger, she would have. It might have to do more with the bag than with Hua not being a hugger part, seeing as the latter rarely mattered to Hayashida. “Dunno. Looks like some--oof!” she dropped the backpack onto the ground with a grunt, and wiped her brow of sweat that was threatening to freeze into icicles. “Looks like some kind of weight training. Probably gonna run us to the ground like military instructors from the TV shows, you know? ‘Give me 50 laps, maggots! My grandmother can run faster than you lot, and she’s past her expiry date by two years! ’” Her voice dropped a few octaves as she mimicked a disgruntled drill instructor, then guffawed at the thought. She leaned in close to Hua, then jerked a thumb towards the bald man. “And given by the state of his head, I wouldn’t put it past him to start yelling like that. Bald people don’t have too much of a temper.”

To tell the truth, she just wanted to talk because she was getting a tiny bit irritated. Being forced to wait out in the cold was NOT doing any favours for her temper. She leaned in towards Ikiru, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, Ikiru, just wanted to say, you missed a bit of the boot over there. Wanna try again?" She was trying her best to come up with material. She hoped the others at least worked with her a little. Nothing worse than a cold day than a cold audience, after all.

She was too disgruntled to think that was even a serviceable joke, even to herself.