Picking up the Pieces of Destiny (Ingel, Izumi)

:: The days come after the alleged terrorist attacks on the city. The mayor, a respectable figure, had done well to elevate the war on terror, or as our company would refer, the war against the supernatural. Though it was BS those too ignorant to know of it's true intentions, it was a wave of fresh air for those lobbying against stronger measures to protect humans from spirits. It was pleasant news that the barrier of SpiritNet would be extended over more of an area in the city; this would definitely make things easier on us, as a division. But aside from that, it was business as usual within the city and protecting it. It didn't take long for the rest of the hellhound riff raff to be dealt with after the events of the night, meaning that the large hellhound monster must have been the final desperation attempt at destroying the headquarters of Division 12, and when it failed, so did the plan of whatever entity was behind the assault on Division 12. It was my belief that the smaller groups of assaults scattered about the city was to pull resources away from the headquarters. Of course any enemy that knew our purpose would know that we would seek to protect the innocent. It was my firm understanding that the basis of the attack of that night was to defeat it and put down the human's strongest line of defense against spirits and whoever it was that wanted to come against our race. With that thought in mind, the question that began to plague me, and many of my peers was who could be orchestrating these events and why.

At the moment, it would be the afternoon, and having just come back from lunch, I would be on my way to my office about to step into an elevator. My hand closes the phone it held, placing it in my pocket after sending a message to Ingel to meet me at my office. Construction would still be going on the headquarters with much of the frontal area near a skeleton, since the attack would be only days ago, but thankfully, of the areas affected by the wide scale attacks, my office, and more importantly, office plants, were still in tact after a full day of TLC. The doors to the elevator open, with a few officers and a secretary exiting. After they exit, I enter into the elevator and press the button for my floor before resting my back against the elevator and watching the doors close. The melodic sound of elevator music comes to my ears as the elevator begins its ascension upwards. ::

- 444 -

.:: Picking up the Pieces of Destiny ::.

As I speed down the road heading for Division 12 HQ in City Metro, my gaze shifts from one side of the street to the other as I think back to the attack that took place only a few days ago. My attention quickly shifted to my train of thought to my phone as it began to ring in my pocket. Once I heard my phone, I pulled a hand from the steering wheel and reached into my pocket. After taking a hold of my phone, I pull it from my pocket and glance at it, seeing Jyn had sent me a message. After a second my gaze shifts back to the road ahead of me as I open the message. Once I had the message open, I glanced back at my phone to see what Jyn wanted. I scanned over the message, reading what Jyn wanted before exiting out if it and slipping my phone back into my pocket as I looked back to the street.

I looked up from the high way, to the fast approaching Division 12 building that was my destination. It only took a matter of minutes before I pulled into the Division 12 parking lot. After pulling into the parking lot, I pulled into an open space before turning my vehicle off. After turning my vehicle off, I opened the door and slipped out, shutting the door behind me. Once out of my vehicle, I paused for a moment and glanced up at the building. Upon seeing the stat of the building, I sigh lightly and shake my head before I begin to walk. Making my way through the parking lot and to the main entrance to the building and into it.

As I stepped into the building, I gave a quick glance around to see if Jyn was waiting for me on the first floor. When I didn’t see him, I gave a faint nod and made my way to the elevators. As I came to the elevators, I reached out and pressed the up button and a moment after pressing the button the door’s to the elevator opened. With the door’s now open, I stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the floor I wished to go to. As the doors shut, I stood in the center of the elevator, waiting as it began to ascend.

Post WC: 396
Total WC: 396

:: The elevator continues its ascent upwards until it comes to a stop on my floor. During this time, I simply stand there listening to the tropical elevator music, the type that would make someone unconsciously rock back and forth to the island tune. The momentum in the elevator stops and there is a small ding as the door to the mechanism open and the floor which my office is on reveals itself to me. Stepping out, I pass by a few people who enter into it. As I step out, I hear a familiar, “…yo, boss.” as I am hailed from down the hall. Looking up, a tough figure (biker type) with a football build, bald head and full beard approaches in training gear. “Tapp,” I welcome as I come to a stop in front of the elevator during his approach, “how are things.” He grins while coming before me and stopping; with a nod he speaks, “pretty well. I see you’re in early today. Hey man… about your secretary… does she have a boyfriend?” I frown and raise an eyebrow. He continues, “…well… it’s just that she’s hot, man! When I go in your office…well… the thing is…” I interrupt, “aren’t you supposed to be on patrol?” He laughs it off and answers back with a bit of a blush, “yeah, you’re right. See you around, boss man.” My gaze follows him as he walks off. I shake my head slightly afterwards. Izumi did seem to draw a bit of attention around the workplace. ::

- 699 -

.:: Picking up the Pieces of Destiny ::.

Once I was in the elevator, it began to ascent up to the floor I had choose on the control panel. As it began to ascend, I stepped back and leaned against the back of the elevator as I brought my arms up, folding them over my chest as I waited for the elevator to arrive at the floor I wished to get off at. As the elevator worked on moving up to the floor I was heading for, I tilted my head up some and looked at the numbers over the door's of the elevator and watched as the light shifted from one number to another as it worked its way up in the digits. As I watched the numbers, I began to think on why Jyn sent me the message to meet at his office, did he want to talk to me about something, or maybe go on patrol, or perhaps just sit down and have a little chat. As I thought on this, it helped pass the time and as soon as the elevator bell went ding, my gaze shifted back to the elevator doors as they began to open before me. While they were opening, I let my arms fall back to my sides as I pulled away from the back of the elevator and stepped out of it as the doors pulled open fully. After stepping out of the elevator, I began to move down the hallway making my way towards Jyn's office.

Post WC: 248
Total WC: 644

:: As I stand in proximity near the elevators, I hear it chime behind me, which causes me to note my surroundings and come out of my thoughts about my secretary and her ability to distract those around her. The objective to move on in the process of going to my office returns to mind. As the doors to the elevators open, I notice a familiar figure as Ingel step out and enter into the hallways towards my office. Speaking out, I greet, “Ingel…” I could assume he was on his way to see me; this just made it easier for him and I would have someone to talk to on my way to the office. “How are you?” I inquire as I walk towards him leading in my motion towards the hallway to continue to my office. ::

- 836 -

.:: Picking up the Pieces of Destiny ::.

After making my way out of the elevator, I was greeted with the sight and voice of the very man I was here to see. When my gaze fell upon Jyn a light smile came to my face at seeing the man, " Hey Jyn. " I say as I give him a faint nod of the head to go along with the greeting. When he makes the motion towards the hallway that continues to his office, I begin to follow at his side as I speak up, " I'm doing alright, thanks. What about you, how have you been? " I ask, shooting the same question right back at him, glancing at him for a moment before returning my gaze to the hallway while moving down it at his side.

Post WC: 131
Total WC: 775

:: “I’ve been well,” I answer back as I lead the way making a now casual strike through the hall and the fichus plants, holographic decorations and people who exist in it. This area of the building would see more activity with the other side under construction and offices still getting set up and rebuilt after the destruction. I didn't necessarily like "people" but it wasn't too much that made me very uncomfortable; just slightly. In my strides I continue my speaking, “...as well as can be imagined after what happened and the increase in workload. Things are a mess in the city with the increase in threat level, the civilians and the breech attempt. There are so many things that I’m wondering about.” My voice trails off for a moment as I look to him in my strides for a moment to see if he was following my thought pattern. Inquisitively, I inquire continuing in a tone seeking his opinion, “don’t you think that the attacks on the city were a bit calculated?” Around this time, we turn the corner for the hallway with the door to my office in sight. I wondered if Izumi would be in there already. ::

- 1036 -

:: While the walk continues, I take in the answers received from my current walking partner as we traverse the hallway heading in the direction of my office. I do not talk as he answers, but I take time to listen with gaze slightly tilted downwards, but for the most part forwards in my strides. I remembered seeing a glimpse of the beast; with Ingel near me, I would have thought he would have seen it as well, granted we were very busy at the time. I do find validity in the point he raises about it being a possible distraction as I share, “my primary thought would be that the enemy knows that the Division protects humans and would want to get rid of us first in order to have easier access to the city, almost as if preparing the field of play.” As we talk, I make my way through the front door, entering my office. While walking in, I notice Izumi at my desk working on my computer; better her than me, since I didn’t like the thing. With a nod, I acknowledge her while continuing with Ingel, “but that is interesting. If it was a distraction, what would it be a distraction from?” I motion for Ingel to make himself comfortable at one of the chairs in front of my desk while walking behind the desk near where Izumi was, assuring her she didn’t have to move, if she thought I wanted to sit at my desk. It escapes me for the moment that I had not introduced the two since Ingel’s come aboard. ::

- 1303 -

:: While I move behind Izumi, my hand comes to rest on the back of the chair in which she sat. My other hand comes to my waist and plucks something, detaching my phone from there and placing it on the charger and sync which connects to the computer as well, which was situated on the desk. My gaze shifts and in turning back around I glance up at Ingel as his words begin. My hand lowers from the back of the chair and I walk around to the side of the desk where Ingel was, taking the seat in the chair to the side of him, giving him my attention as the conversation continues. With a nod, I take in his words as he seems to see my side of things in my thinking. I remember my manners and motion towards my lovely assistant with an open hand speaking, “Ingel, I don’t believe you’ve formally met my secretary yet. In all the chaos, I never introduced you two.” The hand lowers as I confirm, “this is Izumi Hiramoto and Izumi this is Ingel Mayer. He is a new recruit on my squadron. He’s not half bad.” It would be a partial tease on my hand, but I would give the two time enough to say a simple greeting to one another. I didn’t know if they had seen one another around the building or not; but still it wasn’t like Ingel had been with us for a long time, though. ::

- 1553 -

:: As thorough as Izumi was, the response did not surprise me at all. Since she was in charge of my files, it would be natural of her to know things like that. She had come a long way from the time I inducted her into the Division and was quite the accomplished secretary and she had nice [strikeout]boobs[/strikeout] work ethic. Leaning back in the chair, I make myself comfortable during this time, sitting casual as the time passes where the two give their pleasantries between one another and names a formally exchanged. After Ingel speaks and the question about what we were talking about is posed, I respond. My right hand supports the side of my face as my elbow sits on the arm rest and I speak, “Ingel and I were discussing the events of the terrorist attack. My theory is that the enemy, whom I would assume to be a spirit or demon of some sort, has enough intelligence built up to know that Division 12 protects the city and set a calculated strike against us. Ingel brought up an interesting scenario where the attack on the headquarters was a diversion for something else. The thing is, there were attacks all around the city, but no notable damage occurred anywhere other than the headquarters.” There had been reports of a light in the forest, but at the moment of conversation, it would not appear to me that would be a significant event since it was so far away and barely visible from the all portions of city. ::

- 1812 -

.:: Picking up the Pieces of Destiny ::.

As Jyn began to speak up, I nodded my head faintly as I thought on all that we were talking about. When Izumi began to speak, I looked over at her, " Yeah, I read the report. I'm wondering how that happened, the defense turrets should have reacted to the person. If the turrets react to the presence of a demon, then, they should have reacted to the man if he himself was either a demon, or possessed by a spirit. Them not reacting could mean one of two things possibility; that the person was a demon that can pass as a human, with out being detected. Or, that the person was not a demon and simply a human that was being manipulated by another. Both would pose a great threat, one being the fact that there could be demons out there that go undetected. On the other hand, if it was simply a human being manipulated, then that means that there could be others out there that are being manipulated by whoever was behind the attacks. And these people being manipulated could be in any walks of life, even here in Division 12.. as much as I hate to think it. "

Post WC: 203
Total WC: 1622

:: After Ingel finishes, I nod at his words and agree, “it would be troubling if our enemy had the ability to use human’s as agents to possibly spy for them, or do other things.” I remember being briefed of the report and Izumi brought up a good point. I hadn’t personally been at HQ in order to see what or who approached, but from the surveillance that was done, it seemed like a normal man. “…He was bandaged as if injured,” I remember out loud, “perhaps there was a bomb of some type implanted into his body, or the enemy may have kept him as an experiment in order to learn more about humans and how our bodies are composed. We may be dealing with a highly intelligent entity here.” For a moment, my mind comes to the realization, “…or maybe they are sophisticated enough that they are integrated with a human faction, such as the Yakuza.” That would be a worst case scenario if demons and humans were working together against the city; the Division would really have its hands full if that were to be the case. I did know there were demons who posed as human; they did it all the time as a tactical advantage. The target was the protected Metro and not the vulnerable surrounding areas. If the enemy wanted a strong hold anywhere in the city, it would be the commons, and there they would be able to exist under the radar and attack the Metro at their leisure.” ::

- 2067 -

.:: Picking up the Pieces of Destiny ::.

As Jyn begins speaking, I think more on what I just said, taking in what Jyn was saying. What would be worse is if the humans were helping the demons were using the humans with out manipulating them, like a cult of demon worshipers. When Jyn brought up the fact that he man was bandaged I nodded my head faintly, he was bandaged in the video and what Jyn just brought up was a possibility, they could have put a bomb in him or even on him. As he continued speaking things seem to sound even worse, there were many what ifs we were facing and not a lot of information to go on. Then he seem's to take a thought right out of my head in a way, though rather then a cult it is one of the groups with in the city working with the demons. I neglected to think of that, it could be a group working with them. All of this was troubling me more and more. Once Izumi began speaking again, I looked to her for a moment as I listened to what she was saying. What the man had to say before blowing up sounded like something you would hear a crazy person say while walking around on the street, shouting out warnings about the end coming and other crap. But in this case, the man yelling the warning ended up blowing up, so was it a real warning, or just some crazy man yelling out things. As she finished speaking I shot a glance to Jyn for a moment, " That sounds like some kind of crazy warning, though is it really true, and what about the forest? "

Post WC: 286
Total WC: 1908

:: With a nod, I agree with Izumi’s point and answer Ingel as I state, “I heard there was a pillar of light in the forest. That could possibly be the distraction you were talking about. If the man warned not to allow the six pillars to rise, then we may have already failed on out of six objectives…” I pause for a moment before I look up as if having an idea stating, “there is a lot of if’s here. What we need are solid answers. I don’t believe the Division has more of an idea than us, so what we should do is gather information. Unlock your friends at the PD, Ingel, we do not have any demon informants… yet… We need to hit the streets, find spirits who may know what’s going on, and interrogate them in order to further protect the city.”::

- 2212 -

.:: Picking up the Pieces of Destiny ::.

That didn't sound good, if we missed out on preventing one of the pillars then we only had five more to go or at least that is how it seemed. That was, if we hadn't already missed others by mistake. When Jyn addresses me, I look to him and nod my head faintly. Once he brings up the fact that we need to hit the streets and find spirits so we could get information, I find out a sound idea, it would be good to have information from spirits or demons, they may know something about what is going on. When Izumi speaks up, I glance to her, waiting to see what she had to say. As she continued speaking she brought up some valid points, a city as advanced as ours my not have much information on things dealing with what we want to know. Now that she brings it up, if there was a leak in one of the departments and we did go around hunting for spirits and demons, they could find out about such things and work to put a stop to it, this just brought up even more complications that needed to be taken care of, but how to do it, " Alright. I can look into my old friends in the PD if needed, ask around, though I may not find anything, there is always the chance to find something. How would we go about getting in touch with these hunters to speak to them? " I asked, looking to Izumi.

Post WC: 257
Total WC: 2165

:: My gaze shifts to Izumi as she speaks and brings up the forest hunters. About the hunters, I did know of them, slightly, but not officially; nor did I know them by name. As a dweller of the city and protectors of the city most of our focus was within the city. I did, however, know the history of the city and the old folklore of the forest. There were rumors and reports of another group of demon hunters that were from the forest, but I did not know if they were still in operation. Basically, I thought the forest hunters were a myth, other than those like Izumi and the various spirit vigilantes that moved into the city. My gaze shifts to Ingel as he responds to me and adds to the conversation. “Well, we should keep the PD out of it, and seek out demons guising as humans; instead of killing them, we can use them as informants. Our team should be able to handle this one the side.” Looking to Izumi I answer, “you’re saying the forest hunters are real? Would you be able to find and communicate with them?” I didn’t know if they were in a hidden village or anything to that nature. ::

- 2420 -

:: I assume that with her background and her family having dwelled outside of the city, it wouldn’t be a far stretch that Izumi would have the best chance out of all of us, or anyone I knew, in finding the forest hunters of legend. I found it a bit hard to believe that people could actually live in the most demon-infested area, as it was common knowledge that the spirits drifted from the forests to the city. It would be nice if the city would allow the deforestation of forests near the city, but then again, that could probably lead more demons towards the city and increase our problems even more. These thoughts are in my head after Izumi’s offer to go out and find the demon hunters of the forest. The plucky sidekick speaks up to answer the secretary as he brings up the point about her safety in the forests. Of course he, nor anyone else, would know that Izumi wielded a big ass pole blade thingy that she used to hunt demons with. I knew she wasn’t much of a slouch and was probably in better shape than myself, whether I wanted to believe it or not. Still, she had been to the forest before and neither Ingel nor myself had. This didn’t mean I was fine with her going alone, due to my over protective nature, so with his words I add, “…well, Izumi has a bit of knowledge about the forest. Still, it would be better if you were to act as a guide and we went in with a team, just for added precaution for the forest searching operation.” ::

- 2695 -

:: And here we go; the bait is given to Ingel, who probably would assume, by the acting going on, that Izumi was a harmless female who would be at the mercy of anything big and bad that wanted to eat her; much like many of the males at the HQ. Granted, I didn’t know just how strong she was, I knew she was strong enough to go toe to toe with a four story tall earth worm without a gun. Still, in responding to Izumi’s words, I confirm, “Remember, you were sworn to secrecy when you came into the Division. This is not a media based organization, nor one where information is easily distributed to the public. I know you may think that having more people would hinder our progress in seeking out these people, but it would be my guess that if there were hunters in the woods, and we went in looking for them, they would find us before we found them. Much less a fire fight with demons in the woods may attract the attention of the hunters. If they are demon hunters and human saviors, we may be able to make contact. This would seem easier than anyone, even you, attempting to track them down. It may look as if you’re snooping, if we take the route as sending you alone. We don’t know anything about these people, or at least, we don’t on our end; I’m not sure about you, but if you knew where they were, we wouldn’t have to look.” ::

- 2952 -

:: As Izumi steps away from me, I ponder over her words and decide that if she had a plan of action in order already then I would allow her to go out and see if she could contact this hunter group. It would be a non combative mission in theory, and she would attract less attention from the dangers of the forests alone. As a team, we would surely gain the interest of any and all spirits and demons looking to prey on humans. I simply had to trust that she had a way she was used to taking to go to and from, in and out of the forests. With a nod, I allow, “then do your best and seek them out. Ingel and I will take the city approach in your absence.” To help her keep her secret from Ingel, I oblige, “hopefully Ingel’s lessons will be of some use to you, but I’m afraid your charms may not work on him. He’s got a girlfriend whom I’m assuming he’s still serious with.” The charms comment is a bit of a tease to the secretary who seems to be able to have her way with most men about these parts. Addressing Ingel, I conclude, “I’ll leave Izumi to you, to learn a bit with a hand gun in case she needs it. I’ll have to prepare a briefing to my team of the direction I want us to take in our patrols.” ::

- 3196 -

:: “Well, then,” I conclude seeing as there was no formal need to continue the meeting since I changed what I originally wanted to do, “I’ll let you two get onto that.” With that, I stand to my feet, coming out of the chair in which I was sitting and make way towards the door of the room. “I’ve got stuff to do, I trust you both will play nicely,” I semi tease. I didn’t really want to stick around for Izumi’s ploy and Ingel’s training; though far be it for me to get jealous over Izumi. Pausing at the door, I turn to them both and nod towards Ingel, “I’ll see you for tonight’s Patrol and we’ll pick up things on our end then.” With that, I would wait if there was anything that needed to be said before taking my leave. ::

- 3338 -