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[?] A Certain Masked Man

+6
Oda Taichi
Misaka Mikoto
Hakusho Tsuru
Kita Tsukiko
Takamiya Jin
Kaneko Mirai
10 posters

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[?] A Certain Masked Man Empty [?] A Certain Masked Man

Post  Aleister Crowley Sun Jul 16, 2017 1:00 am

[SS] A Certain Masked Man


Inoue Hiyori sat quietly on the monorail, eyes piercing the night that glittered with a million sparkling points of light. The city seemed so far away, a labyrinth of light that was ever shifting for the movement of the carriage. Bright trails of illuminated roads spanned a web between the city blocks only to dart away at strange and peculiar angles, vanishing behind the silhouetted towers of skyscrapers only to reappear from another perspective.

A glimpse of a girl's face stared back at Hiyori from the window, ghostlike and ephemeral. She jolted at the sudden sight of her own reflection cast over the shimmering backdrop of Academy City. The girl sighed, turning her face down to the phone in her hand.

11:59 PM.

It was rare that she found herself out so late. Rarer still that she was alone. Looking around the empty monorail carriage she couldn't help but feel a shiver run down her spine. A kind of gnawing paranoia clutched at her stomach, twisting it in knots as she imagined the kind of things that could happen to a girl alone in the dead of night.  

And she was alone.

The carriage was totally empty, the fluorescent lights flickered a little with a hum and a click. TikTik Brrrr. She looked down at her phone.

00:00AM.

Hiyori looked up and jumped in her seat with a tiny hitching yelp. She hadn't been alone after all.

There as a single other passenger. Sat at the far end of the carriage, hidden in the gloom of the failing lights. A man by the looks of it. Sitting perfectly still, rigidly upright. She turned her eyes away, not wanting to attract his attention.

Out of the corner of her eye, Hiyori saw him stand. He was tall. Unnaturally tall. She tried her best to avoid looking, fought with all her will but something drew her eyes to the figure. Some instinct urging her to look. To see what it was that bothered her so much about this man.

His face was pale. Was there something wrong with him? That might explain why she couldn't tear her eyes away as he turned. Was that a scar? A long, thin red gash across his face.

No. It was a mask.

Fear snapped her eyes away again. A bead of sweat crawled its way down her temple and her cheek.

Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me...


A tense, awful minute crept by.

00:01AM.

Hiyori's gaze crept towards the man even as she screamed at herself to look away.

He was still standing there. Staring.

Something's not right...

Hiyori wanted to look away but she couldn't. That mask... Something about it inspired dread in the core of her being. Primal fear welled up inside her, locking her muscles in a frozen mien. Seconds passed and she managed to force herself to stand. Slowly she edged towards the door of the carriage. Ice water in her vein made every step a struggle. She couldn't tear her eyes away from that mask.

That dreadful, dreadful mask... Featureless, save for the dark pits of eyes and that red gash of a mouth, turned upwards in a horrifying rictus...

Something inside her barked at Hiyori to run and she bolted for the door. Why did she have to sit in the middle of the carriage? Why did this have to happen to her?

She reached the door to the carriage and snatched the handle, yanking it and twisting it with a strength borne from fear.

But it didn't budge.

No. No. No. No no nonononononononono...


She glanced behind her, eyes wide with uncomprehending horror as the figure took a step towards her. Something glinted in his hand.

A knife. Long and vicious like an oversized scalpel. Even from a distance she could tell the blade was razor sharp. It seemed to ring as it moved through the air. Slowly. Precisely.

Hiyori started to tear at the door, hammer on the glass. Scratching and scrambling for an exit with animal desperation.

Tik TikTik brrrrrrrrrr.

The lights flickered off and on again. That instant of darkness seemed like an eternity to the poor girl. She looked back and still the stranger moved towards her at a leisurely pace. Stalking with predatory intent. And she could see now that his mask wasn't a mask at all.

He simply had no face.

Tik Tik TikTikTik The lights went out and Hiyori's breath caught in her throat. She dared not move, so certain was she that it would bring her death.

Brrrrrrrrr.

Featureless, smooth and utterly inhuman. That blank visage stared at her from barely an inch away. The faceless man whispered to Hiyori in a cracked and hoarse voice that slithered over her like a hundred coiling serpents.

“I like your face... I think I'll take it...

***

August 30th, 23:00 Sakugawa Middle School Dormitories

“Kyyyyyyaaaaaaaaaah!” Uiharu Kazari leapt back with a shrill scream of terror, throwing the blanket up and away as she shrank back into the corner of the dorm room.

“Pretty scary, huh?” Saten Ruiko grinned from above the flashlight

“Did that really happen?” The short haired girl was still cowering, watery eyes wide with worry.

“Don't be ridiculous.” Shirai Kuroko sighed, folding her arms with a disdainful shake of her head. “If there was something like that in Academy City don't you think we'd know about it already?”

She turned away from the two girls, one shivering with fright, the other chuckling to herself in amusement. “A mosnter that steals girls' faces...” Her lips quivered in a tiny tremor of doubt.

***

August 30th, 00:00 District 15: Downtown

In the depths of Academy City's downtown a teenager stood sheltered beneath a bridge, the sound of cars rumbling overhead drowning out any stray noises. He glanced down at his wrist, pulling back the sleeve of his grey sports jacket to reveal his watch. The sudden sound of footsteps alerted him to the presence of an observer in the shadows and he turned with a gasp.

“It’s me.” The man seemed out of breath. There was an agitated look in his eyes as they darted to and fro. He wore a beaten trench coat drenched in rain with a wide brimmed fedora. The boy relaxed slightly, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

“What took you so long?” He asked, allowing a relieved smile to cross his face.

“They found me. But I think I shook them.” The man looked behind him as he descended the steps to the underside of the bridge.

“But you got it right?” The boy asked tentatively, looking into the other’s eyes.

“Yes.”

“Good.” The boy's expression dropped into one of neutrality. His eyes became cold and apathetic. Crimson beads of light burned like twin coal embers in his eyes. He snapped his fingers and the trench coated man toppled suddenly, his skin turning to slush, melting from his muscles a they stripped and peeled from bones. What was left of his body slumped to the ground with a thud. The teenage boy immediately moved to the corpse and began to rifle through the pockets  of its quickly withered clothes before removing something from the coat pocket.

“Entropy acceleration. ” The voice came from the shadows and the boy looked over his shoulder as he stood. “That is your ability, is it not?” In the shadows of the bridge a tall figure in a black overcoat and white mask stood. The boy took a step back and raised his hand. The figure in black lunged forward, his movements lost in a blur as he moved through the darkness with ferocious speed. The boy stumbled backwards and collapsed, the same empty expression never leaving his face even as the knife sliced through his jugular in a thick spray of blood. The ground rushed to meet him as his lifeless body toppled, sprawling across the floor as the blood pooled around him. The black coated man stooped to retrieve the item in the body’s hand. A small vial that pulsed with the soft blue glow of an inner light.

“I have it. Mission Accomplished.” The Masked Man intoned coldly.
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
General Superintendant of Academy City

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[?] A Certain Masked Man Empty Re: [?] A Certain Masked Man

Post  Kaneko Mirai Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:09 am

District 15, Downtown, Academy City, 1:35:02 AM (JST)

It was a night like so many others. The wheelchair-bound former Tokiwadai student wandered the streets on autopilot, occasionally looking into alleys and less frequented spots along the way, all part of her search for one man. The man who ruined her, a Sekigahara Jo, was hiding somewhere in these streets. Was it because of what happened? Or had those rumours of a Masked Man every so often scared him into obscurity?

Either way, her search was once again beginning to appear fruitless. If she didn't keep her mind occupied with making notes in her phone about places she'd checked, she might well have drifted off to sleep by now. Without the adrenaline rush of running or even jogging, it was quite the struggle to conjure up late night energy like she used to. With a yawn, she turned the chair around to one last place, talking herself into staying awake and aware long enough to at least check there before heading back home for the day.

Before Mirai knew it, she found herself getting closer to quite the spectacle. As she neared the bridge, it became quite clear that...something had happened around there. But what? Had there been a traffic collision? Perhaps out of morbid curiosity, she changed course to go and see what this was all about. Deep down, she wished to see a certain someone's body there.


Last edited by Kaneko Mirai on Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:04 am; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Timestamp!)
Kaneko Mirai
Kaneko Mirai
Level 3 Viscoelastic Impulse

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[?] A Certain Masked Man Empty Re: [?] A Certain Masked Man

Post  Hujisaka Natsumi Wed Jul 19, 2017 1:26 am

A while earlier, August 30th, 12:45 A.M.

Vrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...

Trembling on the table as the strong vibrations indicated an incoming call, the small yet modern-day smartphone rang out a tune that its owner most certainly knew well, but despised just as much.

The drowsy woman that served as its owner reached out her slender fingers to the nagging device, allowing the call by a simple hand motion that didn't even require touching the screen itself while she sluggishly brought it to her ears, not bothering to check the display as to who could it be.

She knew all too well.

“Yes?” As expected, it was the sound of work. Even in the dead middle of the night, for it was also the beckoning of an owner towards their dog. “Rumours about people with peculiar competences and reputations? I guess I know a few, why? ...There's an intruder in Academy City?” She hadn't even needed to confirm her name or the caller's identity, as no one but her could ever be allowed to touch this phone for their own safety.

“Uhuh... so the toy you want was stolen by that mysterious figure, and you're seriously thinking it's got something to do with tha-... Okay, okay, fine. It'll be taken care of.”

The caller who had rudely interfered with the young woman's growing sass remained as rude as they one-sidedly and forcibly ended the conversation, hanging up without any farewells, simple orders barked. She had wanted to complain about their lack of manners, but knew better than to think such thoughts should be made public.

As such, phone still in her hand, she flung her legs off to the side of the bed as she flicked through her contacts list. It wasn't especially long, but it certainly had a considerable network within it; something common for a woman her age though not exactly for reasons agreed upon.

It didn't take long before she'd found and call the appropriate number, but she found herself quickly cancelling it.

It occurred to her that for once, she should be doing her job herself.

Because, in a way, she had a terrible feeling of what would happen if she relegated the task to the elsewhere she was used to, knowing what had happened a mere month prior. It wasn't exactly fear, but rather a strongly cautious attitude that prayed for as minimal difficulties as possible.

And so, the woman named Hisakawa Miyako put the silenced device on her bed as she took off her clothes and changed into her more “professional”, though really dishevelled, uniform that she took quite a fair amount of pride in.

***

???, 12:52 A.M.

Another phone rang a similar sickeningly familiar tune though muffled under a pillow. Its owner wasn't a very heavy-sleeper and had grown accustomed to answering that specific ringtone as soon as it was heard.

However, answering the call had served no purpose as the familiar caller had gone back on their decision before either of them could even say anything.

It was, to say the least, so much more troubling than what could've been heard had the conversation occurred.

***

District 15, Downtown, 1:34 A.M.

“...Wow. And I thought I'd rationalised unnecessary violence already.” Miyako spoke in almost twisted amazement. It seems she had gotten dibs first on this investigation despite the likely involvement of other agents as well later on, luckily for her and her potential profits from it. But that was just about it in terms of luck and things to rejoice about.

The sight in front of her was certainly to behold for all the wrong reasons: not a massacre per se, due to the lack of numerous corpses, but the ones she had in front of her had certainly been dealt a number to. It almost felt like whatever bastard had done this had been running on a terribly sour mood for a while and had lashed out for the hell of it.

At first glance, at least, seeing how there were particularly odd things about this crime scene today.

Fitting gloves on her hands to avoid accidentally involving herself in this case once Anti-Skill would inevitably come, Miyako approached the victims of tonight's incident. It was time to put her ill-acquired skills to action and conduct a thorough investigation.

The first noticeable aspect of the incident had simply been the jarring contrast between the murders.

(This one... ew. It's like everything but its bones melted or something. And this one... had his neck slashed? That's a pretty neat cut, looks pretty effortless. The knife must've been amazingly sharp.)

Despite how close the corpses were to each other, there could be no bigger differences between the causes of death for the two. However, she couldn't actually find a knife around, or even a sharp object that would fit such a fatal wound, near the bodies and she highly doubted that it had suffered the fate of the first man's poor flesh. Surely some of it would at least remain otherwise.

As for the second one, any kind of object with a sharp edge could be used to kill, but there was a drastic difference between a stab and a slash; you could slash with just about anything, but smooth and precise slashes were much more difficult to achieve without the appropriate items. Yet no objects in the surroundings seemed to even remotely fit the injury, indicating that the conflict had more sides than she originally thought: between the higher-ups and the intruder.

(So this was either a three-sided “disagreement”, or... two-sided with inner conflict in one of those sides...?) She observed the surroundings and the corpses closely, settling on the idea that the direction in which a bridge could be viewed was likely the way the third man had arrived from the way and direction in which the teenage boy had fell when dying.

At least if nothing about the crime scene had been tempered with... It was an option she had to keep in mind, no matter how it made the lingering issue of figuring out the peculiarities regarding the only man who seemed to have escaped this conflict alive all the more difficult. It was already obvious he wasn't the source of the initial murder that made obvious use of an ability, an amazingly twisted one when used wrongly, but a knife was a very peculiar weapon to use in a modern-day place like Academy City.

(A Level 0? No, those tend to just be simple delinquents; their style of fighting doesn't often involve precise attacks like this, and there isn't a single sign of fighting or struggling from the corpses... Then, someone trying to conceal their ability? Possibly a mere teleporter? Then again, teleporters aren't that common and from the way that person talked, it seems our mystery man isn't Academy City material anyway. I guess that's out of the question... The cut looks like the knife didn't give too much resistance going through, so I assume a fairly well-maintained knife was used here. Potentially dealing with a bit of a slashing-maniac? Goddammit. There's literally nothing to go by here.)

The speculations came and went, but she could eventually only reach the conclusion that there was too little evidence to even make coherent theories out of. As far as she knew, this had been the first instance of such a disturbing case, and she found herself almost legitimately amazed by how little leads had been left here. If anything, she could tell it wasn't a petty delinquent but a professional of some sorts she was dealing with from the nothingness of this crime scene...

As she looked up at the light-polluted sky, she wondered why. The idea that she was making no progress in the phase where she was supposed to gather much more clues than any other, made her feel like this investigation would be lots of fun...


Last edited by Hujisaka Natsumi on Fri Jul 21, 2017 6:26 pm; edited 1 time in total (Reason for editing : Months are very difficult to understand.)
Hujisaka Natsumi
Hujisaka Natsumi
Level 4 Ignikinesis

Posts : 693
Join date : 2013-05-06
Location : Tokiwadai's Middle School, Academy City.

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[?] A Certain Masked Man Empty Re: [?] A Certain Masked Man

Post  Mugino Shizuri Thu Jul 20, 2017 10:48 am

«Whoever the third guy must have been, he probably took the second guy out after that one took the first one out. What a drag…»

A voice spoke up from the shadows. The way they spoke was hardly anything befitting of the situation. In fact it sounded so casually annoyed it fit quite well in your average afternoon tea conversation between higher class women at the right age, not into that gruesome scene. But for people from their world that probably still made sense.

«Stealing both of my kills, that’s not nice at all, isn’t it? I mean that little shit over there stole my first kill, probably enjoying his ass off, only to be so useless as to allow for the revenge kill to be stolen by someone else. What a drag, really now…»

Steps revealed the owner of that annoyed voice.

White high heeled pumps with decorative flowers up front greeted the asphalt. Long legs, covered in black leggings reaching to only cover her legs down to an area slightly above her ankles and a yellowish mini-skirt right on top. Wearing an elegant light coloured half sleeved top laced slightly above the chest area that was perfectly fluttery to go along with the skirt rather well, the impression was clearly that of someone who held high tastes in fashion. However to make things even more dazzling her body seemed to be rather well shaped as well, harbouring both an ample chest and perfect figure that’d only be surpassed by the long, wavy tea coloured hair.

Her face was just as beautiful, even while displaying the typical sign’s of womanly annoyance.

«I guess there’s no helping it is there? At least I’ll strike that fucker down and have him pay me back twenty fold.»

Still talking to herself the mysterious high class lady didn’t mind the presence of the other, simply approaching the crime scene as though it was the most natural thing there ever had been.

That overly casual girl feeling at home in this gloomy blood stained world of the night was Mugino Shizuri, holder of Academy City’s #4 Esper power, Meltdowner.

Originally she had been the first to claim this incident for herself, had it been her mission to pursue the first victim for the sake of retrieving whatever item he may have been carrying. However to her dismay the target had somehow managed to slip away from her attention the moment she’d been distracted and when she’d found him there hadn’t been much left of him or his attacker. From there on she had simply been waiting.

Waiting for someone to exploit.

«Anyway, I’m short on leads and the frustration’s still growing. You look like an expert, so go on. Tell me what you’ve found. Maybe that’ll stop me from using you to vent off.»

There was no hint of politeness. No hint of mercy. The message, however, was clear as day: Tell me what I want to know or you’ll see even worse than the other two.

From the beginning on she’d sat down waiting for somebody else to come, did she not expect the requested reinforcements to arrive timely. Instead she would rely on whoever would be the first to appear useful enough. The chances were high after all, knowing this city and its current state. It was late and with the curfew going on, hardly anyone would hit the streets either way. Thus a murder scene like this one wouldn’t be found or even reported to Anti-Skill just yet.

So, logically spoken the most likely candidates to show up were those involved with the chase.
Mugino Shizuri
Mugino Shizuri
Level 5 Meltdowner

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[?] A Certain Masked Man Empty Re: [?] A Certain Masked Man

Post  Oda Taichi Thu Jul 20, 2017 11:02 pm

1:35:45 AM (JST)

Oda Taichi normally would be studying at this point, he was basically a night owl compared to others and probably the reason why he is terrible with mornings. But instead of studying hoping to improve his grades, despite having no real improvement in the long run. A real mystery if you ask the lad, he tries to study every day and wonders if he's missing a trick.

Maybe one day he would figure it out, but this night he will have to neglect his studies and even return to the streets he once walked. You see there was this nagging feeling in his mind, that something was going to happen with a recent new student at his school. Sakugawa Middle School had recently introduced a girl who at first seemed like any other, sure she was in a wheelchair but to Oda that never detracted any value of equality and standing with others. She was a fellow student of that school and would be treated as such.

However, there was this nagging feeling that he was just looking in the mirror. He couldn't put his mind on it and probably don't want to tackle it head on. But this nagging feeling is what made him watch Kaneko Mirai, to keep an eye on the girl just in case. Sure you could call this stalking, but like a dog who was curious, they will follow until driven away. And she wasn't exactly hard to find tonight either, she stood out which is a shameful point to make but it was that reason to what made Oda worried.

As someone who originally ran around these streets at night getting into trouble, this was nothing but bad news with someone who seems to be desperately searching for something. She was a target, but a slight moment of reassurance for his worries came as it seemed the girl was getting tired and he was sure she was going to head back.

But that reassurance didn't last long as something caught their attention near the bridge. And while it was something to see Oda's mind quickly switched from instincts and left his distant position keeping watch on Kaneko Mirai. They were still some distance away from the bridge, so his concern for Mirai far outweighed whatever happened.

And so as quick as a charging bull, Oda not only caught up but ran past her which shouldn't be a feat of pride, but this boy as dense as he has seemed glad he managed to get ahead.

Now standing ahead he turned to face the girl.

"To find my underclassmen out in the cold at night, what a coincidence but please tell me what you're doing? Haven't you first years got a test tomorrow?" Oda said who seemed concerned but his eyes turned serious as he continued "It's not safe on your own at night."


Last edited by Oda Taichi on Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:25 am; edited 1 time in total
Oda Taichi
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Level 0 Auto-Rebirth

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[?] A Certain Masked Man Empty Re: [?] A Certain Masked Man

Post  Kaneko Mirai Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:24 am

"To find my underclassmen out in the cold at night, what a coincidence but please tell me what you're doing? Haven't you first years got a test tomorrow? It's not safe on your own at night."

Mirai switched over to manual control and came to a halt in front of the boy with a deadpan expression. She was still a fair distance away from the bridge, and he decided to get in her way. Why was it that people cared about what she did now, when she no longer mattered to anyone? Perhaps he mistook her for a promising student with a future. He was clearly a goody-two-shoes type who made a habit of getting involved in the business of others to satisfy something or other inside himself.

"Good evening. And what might I ask is wrong with enjoying some time to one's self when their homework and studying is already finished, and there's nothing else to do? I'd prefer seeing something other than the blank wall or ceiling for a change."

She continued to just look at him, watching for any tells she could use against him.

"Safe? There's not much more that anyone can do to me at this point. Are they going to cripple me a second time?"

This was followed by a giggle before shaking her head and returning to normal.

"Rather, i'd question what you're doing out here at night. A young man with a bright future ahead of him. But I'm not one to pry...it's not uncommon to have late night liaisons out of sight from your coworkers and authority figures. I only wish you the best on that front."
Kaneko Mirai
Kaneko Mirai
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[?] A Certain Masked Man Empty Re: [?] A Certain Masked Man

Post  Hujisaka Natsumi Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:51 am

Thankfully, in this time and age, enhanced camera capabilities made flashes rarely necessary in order to take quality pictures at night-time, a technological growth she found more than practical when trying to be discrete.

Only a slight head tilt was given in response to a new woman's rambling, as Miyako quickly turned off her phone's display and returned it to her jacket's pocket, the pictures she had taken now hopefully secured within the device's memory card.

“How kind of you. If that's the case, how about you just kill me now and we get it over with? You'd do me a favour.” Miyako spoke with a noticeable amount of frustration in her voice. “'Cause I've got as many leads as you do, miss. What we've got here is all we've got and damn us, it's a whole lot of nothing.”

She fell into deep thought, but as expected nothing much was occurring to her. Though not expecting a eureka moment, she'd wondered if it was just her complete concentration that was having the opposite effect and causing her to overlook elements instead.

Unfortunately, no.

“At the very least, we're dealing with a high-level professional here. Enough to make the higher-ups shit their pants and start pointing fingers towards rumours like children.” A small scoff followed that statement, implying her very thoughts that the higher-ups were likely just children in the first place anyway, whether physically or mentally.

“Were you hanging around hoping for some leads to appear? 'Cause, no offence, but this isn't a TV show. Our bastard likely won't risk coming back to the crime scene when he's done such an “efficient” job at it in the first place. Not to mention he would've gotten rid of the corpses before we'd caught wind of this were that his intention.”

Compared to the woman's physique and style that would have her on the front cover of any beauty magazine, Miyako was a much more simply clad woman, and someone who almost revelled in the simplicity of her clothes. Yet, both of them held an admittedly inappropriate language and disturbing discussion even for this troublesome situation.
Hujisaka Natsumi
Hujisaka Natsumi
Level 4 Ignikinesis

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Join date : 2013-05-06
Location : Tokiwadai's Middle School, Academy City.

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[?] A Certain Masked Man Empty Re: [?] A Certain Masked Man

Post  Aleister Crowley Fri Jul 21, 2017 12:14 pm

It was eerily quiet in the oppressive gloom of the damp, out of the way underpass. Thanks to the curfew there was little in the way of traffic or pedestrians and it was almost certain that there would be no witnesses to whatever had occurred. It was likely the spot had been chosen precisely for that reason.

The streets above were clean and brightly lit by street lamps. Pristine, almost sterile. But one need only take a slight detour to find the gloomy underbelly that existed within the city. These places were hidden all around the regular world, underneath or to one side in the places most regular people overlooked or turned a blind eye to.

Even under the watchful eye of Academy City's surveillance places like this still existed. Small pockets of isolated seclusion where darkness thrived.

Miyako had scarcely gotten to check the bodies before the second girl had arrived.

The first, barely recognizable as human, was now a gelatinous pile of fat and viscera arranged in the vague shape of a person. What had once been a mid-priced suit from a common high street retailer had been soaked through with the revolting mass of organic material. The overcoat and hat were new, freshly purchased going by the receipt in his pocket, dated just a few days before.

His belongings were nothing out of the ordinary. Car keys, a pen and modern smart phone with more than half its charge left. A keycard for an apartment complex and an ID card for the offices of a local business, Arisawa Science and Research.

The other victim's body was still intact save for the long, open gash along one side of his throat. A pool of red had spread about him where he had fallen and heavy blood spatter could be seen across the walls of the underpass. He had been wearing a red and white varsity jacket from Dangai University over a white t-shirt and jeans, cheap bootlegs of foreign manufacture. He was young, no older than twenty with sandy blonde hair and pale blue eyes and he bore no distinguishing features on his body save for a couple of light scars around his forearms. His face was blank, almost disconcertingly so. As though he had not had time to react to the violence that had ended his life.

The contents of his pockets were also nondescript, even more so than the other victim. A dormitory key, a handful of Yen in small denomination notes, a cheap prepaid phone with most of the charge remaining and a card that identified him as a student at Dangai University's engineering faculty.

Had it been an ambush? Or a clandestine meeting turned sour?
Aleister Crowley
Aleister Crowley
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[?] A Certain Masked Man Empty Re: [?] A Certain Masked Man

Post  Mugino Shizuri Sun Jul 23, 2017 10:44 pm

Clicking her tongue in annoyance beauty and life style magazine cover girl Mugino Shizuri seemed at her most displeased upon the other girl’s response.

«You’re pissing me off.»

She had never been one to enjoy the smart-ass type of person, especially if they came with a tongue as sharp as that one. However she just shrugged it off as the typical everyday occurrence, not minding the dissatisfied comment of her own, though.

«Clearly, with your deduction competence your bosses should have sent a Skill-Out thug. At least they’ve got taste.»

Dropping another comment on top of the mystery woman’s last one, Mugino finally settled on closing in towards the bodies entirely, making a straight move towards the still more or less intact one amidst that over exaggerated pool of blood. Only to step directly on the body so that her shoe’s pointy heel would dig deeply into the flesh.

«I’m not a tracker or whatever, so I’ve been waiting for someone else to show up and pick up the investigation for me. That way I wouldn’t have to wait for the proper reinforcements from my group, those slow fucks. But it seems all I got was someone even less useful than that. What a drag.»

While she still kept humiliating the body of the victim, she’d bring forth her phone – the most modern model for a refined lady – for the sake of snapping both his face and the scene from lacklustre angles. Then once she was done with that, she’d finally let off, leaving a kick as the encore, before kneeling down to run her bare finger across the wound that had cost him his life.

A short swipe to gather the sticky fluid between her index and middle finger only to then eye it with great curiosity and interest.

«That’s one fairly outstanding cut, though. A martial arts technique? Some new high tech weapon? Or an ability? Hmm. Mhh. How boring, though. With something that can cut this perfectly clean, why did they waste it on a direct kill? Chopping off all ten fingers bit by bit with great speed and precision…like a sushi chef…that can really drag one into insanity, don’t you think? So whoever must have done it, probably was after a fast kill.

Our guy probably assumed he wouldn’t stand a chance against red neck here, which isn’t all too far fetched looking at the other guy. At least it’s rather likely that he was the one who turned my guy into that.

The question is…did they watch the entire show or did they already know who they were going after? If they saw that kid as a threat at all that is. Maybe they’re just pro enough to fancy quick kills.»


As she kept wondering in her overly casual slightly bored and annoyed manner which made her seem like someone who spent their free time having gory splatter movies to their tea, she didn’t even bother to look the other girl’s way even once.
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Post  Oda Taichi Mon Jul 24, 2017 12:50 pm

"Rather, i'd question what you're doing out here at night. A young man with a bright future ahead of him. But I'm not one to pry...it's not uncommon to have late night liaisons out of sight from your co-workers and authority figures. I only wish you the best on that front."

Oda sighed in response rather obviously, and he seemed rather annoyed by the arrogant attitude coming from this girl. "Is this really how underclassman speak to their seniors these days? I know you're formally from Tokiwadai, but that shouldn't change how you talk to others." Oda said who seemed like he was sulking and he was rarely one who followed manners at all.

"But seriously how stupid can you be!?" Oda said finally revealing his outspoken nature, the boy could be compared to a baking dog at that moment. "Do you believe that now you're crippled there isn't anything else they can do to you? I speak from experience so let me give you a hint, the only thing it changes is that you're a much easier target to catch." Oda spoke casually as if this wasn't the first time he had this sort of conversation. But Oda wasn't trying to scare the girl, to be honest, he wasn't entirely sure what he would do and thought to rely on his old instincts.

"We both shouldn't be out past curfew. Honestly, I only wanted to shout at you for that reason. But I see that trying to force you back will not do any of us good. So you can either call it a night or do what you intend to do. I'm not going to force you against your will, but you're stuck with me and have been since you became a student of Sakugawa Middle School. As you see my night liaison is you. Every time you attempt to run around at night past curfew, I will be there, making sure you're safe because that is my role as your senior more than as a Judgement member. To protect and guide my underclassman no matter what they choose and you're no different." Oda said speaking truly by the word, it seemed like he was actively scolding his underclassmen and wasn't trying to hide what he felt on this issue. Still not knowing what made him feel like this originally Oda had realised something.

"I'M AN IDIOT! Sorry, Kaneko! I didn't mean to offend by saying 'run around----' ahh how am I suppose to say this without causing offence!" Oda said who seem torn by it.
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Post  Kaneko Mirai Mon Jul 24, 2017 11:15 pm

"Sorry, but you'd best do better than me when it comes to romantic affairs. It's for your own good, Upperclassman. I promise to not speak of this to anybody else, because you're my senior. But I can't promise any further favours if you insist on pursuing me."

His comments stung, but she knew better than to allow him the satisfaction of knowing they hurt, so she maintained her deadpan stare. Was this boy going to keep being a problem for her? As she pondered what to say or do to escape this situation, something clicked.

As they had gotten somewhat close to the crime scene, voices could be heard in the distance. They were faint enough so details of their conversation could be not be discerned, but it was clear that other people were perhaps also breaking curfew.

"...Your social clumsiness aside, surely you hear what's going on over there? Voices near a bridge in the dark. Sounds to me like an opportunity to advance your Judgment career a bit and explain away your breaking curfew. What do you say? Think it's worth checking out?
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Post  Hujisaka Natsumi Tue Jul 25, 2017 5:12 pm

"My sincerest apologies."

Ah, the insolence of youth. It was amazing how much this girl, who had basically achieved literally nothing except expect of others to do things for her, spoke as if she were a key element to figuring out this mystery. Miyako found it even amusing, and as such decided to not reply to the attacks  with anything but her most insincere apologies as the overly confident-yet-ultimately-useless girl spoke on.

“I think it's worth considering what kind of ability was used here; a power that can fatally wound someone in a way that no hospital in Academy City could salvage... With an ability like that, our slashed boy had to either be under some kind of surveillance, or perhaps be a fellow dog? Not a very useful one if that's the case, though.”

It was time to investigate further on the actual victims themselves moreso than the mystery man if she wanted to get anywhere.

Readjusting the gloves for her fingers to fit perfectly in them without any sliding around, especially considering what she was about to touch, Miyako approached the viscous mess that had once been a person, shoving her hands deep into the disgusting noise-producing mass as she wondered what he had done, or what kind of item had he carried, to warrant such an unusual death.

Though only a handful of items were produced from this hands-in approach, namely everyday items that even a teenager would own these days depending on their circumstances. The only pieces of interest there had been in it were an apartment keycard, a business card, and a modern-looking phone indicating that if nothing else, this former human was someone who followed latest trends a lot more than an average flip-phone owner.

But it wasn't like she had the soul of a detective, so the keycard would hardly prove itself useful to her. And as far as the business card was concerned, she simply decided to pull out a pen and a notebook from her inside jacket to write down the details of this mushman's identity, down to his professional phone number in case she needed it.

Which only left the phone.

That would certainly come with her.

"I guess this is better than nothing..." She muttered.

A cellphone was a device that would speak volumes about its owner, even if the owner had taken precautions in regards to regularly protecting their privacy. Data could almost always be recovered in a way or another, and it could reveal more than any face-to-mush interrogation ever could. Come to worse and there was no data on the phone itself, there was always information to be found as long as you knew who used to own the phone and its sim card.

The smartphone unfortunately appeared to be a password-locked device that would take quite a fair amount of time to crack through, though with sufficient time and materials she was fairly certain she could get through.

“The two don't seem like professionals of any sort if they were done in so easily by the other without so much of a visible brawl, that, or mystery boy is just that terrifying. Would explain why the higher ups forgot their potty-training. But don't worry, I won't steal your prey. I'm more interested in the source of it all, and that's the exchange between these two boys.”

She spoke, prompting the younger girl to perhaps start moving away from the slashed corpse so that she could begin investigating it.
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Post  Mugino Shizuri Fri Jul 28, 2017 5:03 pm

Just a second later, Mugino removed her delicate hand from the clean wound, ignoring the comments given by her company. If anything at all, she figured the other girl was wrong, being strongly convinced of her own viewpoint, no of what her instincts told her: Whoever had been the final killer was much more intriguing than those two amateurs. After all they had died, while the third guy had made the great escape. And of course the method he had used, was the most interesting to her.

«Tch, what do you even know?»

Simply fending the other girl off, while running her hand into the pockets of the dead man of her own, she was at least careful enough, not to allow for her company to take note of what she’d been after. A moment later, she simply slipped the item she’d found into her skirt’s pocket, before finally letting off. Of course not without kicking the body again. Casual evening humiliation.

She hadn’t confirmed it herself, but from what she had felt with her fingers, the item retrieved should have been a cellphone of some sort. Unlike hers however the shape and quality alone would reveal it to be the expandable kind, most likely a prepaid model; an item that was romanticised as the go to method for any kind of shady business. How rewarding it would turn out in the end, however, was questionable, considering the aforementioned baseline.

With nothing really in her sight anymore, she simply took a few steps away from the entire crime scene, toying around with a strand of her hair, stretching and twisting it between her fingers.

There hadn’t been anything for her to look for in case of the other after all. The reason she’d come here to begin with, had been her chase after the first victim, so there was likely little for her to retrieve, since at least some information on the now no longer distinguishable human had to be in her organisation’s hands. They could likely keep pursuing the trace of him, but it was unlikely that they’d arrive at many more new conclusions. More interesting an impression was left by the other guy, as his role in the entire story was still a blank. But with a phone in their hands, given the resources they held, ITEM’s support organisation would likely squeeze an sufficient amount of data from the device, no matter how heavy the encryption or sparse the data.

Not that she had any exact idea of those matters, though.

«You’re quite wrong, though. I’m not here to chase after some lucky ass killer or whatever. That’s just my personal bonus, since that asshole stole my original prey. No, I’m here for the very same reasons you are, I suppose. So, you can figure what that means, yes?»

Suddenly her eyes had landed upon a new prey. A cold kind of pressure was being emitted by the oddly calm girl, as she still kept twisting and stretching that strand of hair between her fingers. She wasn’t tense at all. Nervousness didn’t seem to be her thing either. It was a kind of arrogance that long since defied the idea of bragging how powerful you are. Much like a lion setting their sights on a gazelle in the wilderness, she seemed to be convinced that nature’s laws only allowed for a single outcome.

One that would arrive just the next instance.

And yet, just when the other girl would expect something akin to a killing blow coming her way, all there was, was a camera’s repeated flashes..
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Post  Oda Taichi Sat Jul 29, 2017 12:24 pm

"Romantic affairs? Who has time for that these days, anyone who knows 'Oda Taichi has a love for good food and nothing more! As it seems.. to always be out of my reach..." Oda naturally jokes brushing off Kaneko's words. He had hoped at least something he said would strike true to Kaneko, but the more he looks her way, the more it felt like he was looking into a mirror.

And it hurts.

Either way, the dog was anything but entirely oblivious, though easily distracted as a magpie to a shiny coin the mention of commotion towards the bridge had readdressed Oda's priorities. He wasn't one to entirely believe in coincidences, but this smelled very fishy to him.

"Don't get me wrong here Kaneko. I didn't join Judgement to just save others; I joined to save myself." Oda said without realising his own words and started to check his pockets for a small notepad and pencil. Knowing he wasn't the smartest person to join Judgement, Oda had found it easier to handle cases normally above his I.Q by writing notes down on what happened. As the dog had this unusual feeling in this stomach, life isn't going to easily allow him to send Kaneko home and return to his studies.

In the end, his curiosity had gotten better of him.

"Fine, but you stick with me. I will not allow a fellow student to wander alone at night. The very least as those who go to the same school, we should look out for each other." Oda said disgruntedly as prepared to take the lead but waited for Kaneko to follow. He didn't like the very idea, it seems his instincts were telling him to turn back and make sure Kaneko return to the dorms. But at the very same time, he couldn't just ignore this commotion and this way he can protect Kaneko if they stuck together.
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Post  Kaneko Mirai Tue Aug 01, 2017 12:25 am

"Don't get me wrong here Kaneko. I didn't join Judgement to just save others; I joined to save myself."

Mirai could only stare at the boy in stunned disbelief for a moment before barely restraining herself from exploding with laughter. Was he serious? That line was so lame! Clearly, she was dealing with someone who had seen one too many bad B movies. Her expectations of Oda had dropped so low that they could be found next to dinosaur bones.

"If you say so, Casanova. We'd better hurry if we want to see what's going on over there. We mustn't allow an opportunity like this to slip us by."

She began to wheel herself in that direction once more, with her...philosophical companion being left behind if he chose not to follow.
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Post  Hujisaka Natsumi Fri Aug 04, 2017 12:45 am

The moment that younger but certainly mature-looking girl had stepped away, Miyako had finally gained an opportunity to inspect the other corpse. It was without doubt that that girl had taken something from it, seeing how they would all need to have a lead of some sort, but as far as Miyako was concerned the source of the incident would reveal many more details than picking from corpses at random so she couldn't find herself too bothered by the idea.

She rummaged through this actual human-looking corpse herself as she pulled out once more, but as if the typical example of a normal teenager – though doubtful considering the place he had been murdered and the way the crime had been committed – whose life was too boring to even mention. The only reliable source of information that she could seize in case was his name from a certain university she knew well.

A slight sigh escaped her lips, either that vulture girl had taken a very valuable object that would reveal why such a normal-looking boy would be found dead in such a dark part of Academy City, or the case had been made just that much more difficult by the odd feeling that this entire ordeal should have possibly never happened in the first place.

«You’re quite wrong, though. I’m not here to chase after some lucky ass killer or whatever. That’s just my personal bonus, since that asshole stole my original prey. No, I’m here for the very same reasons you are, I suppose. So, you can figure what that means, yes?»

Though she doubted the former, judging from the lack of any triumphant expression coming from that girl and her rising threats, especially since she seemed like the type to rub her victories in the face of her opponents before stepping on it for a sense of superiority. Someone who was a step ahead would scarcely need to threaten any left-behind concurrence, after all, especially if they had taken a “key” to the investigation that Miyako wouldn't be able to progress without.

So the elder, but certainly not lacking in her equally mature charm despite her much more rougher clothing, simply stood from where she had been inspecting the last corpse of the scene though without a trace of fear in her expression. It was as if she were only facing a small child throwing a tantrum and expecting her to abide by it, and the lack of urgency in her demeanour was proven right by the sound of camera flashes.

“Oh my, fallen in love with my looks now, have we? What an honour.” She simply peeled off the transparent plastic gloves from her hands, rolling one inside the other in a ball that would only leave the inside plastic visible and touchable – as well as avoid any dripping blood from her inspection – before waving one of them as she spoke in a boring tone that didn't fit her teasing words.

“I'm sure I'd be getting a fun death coming from you since you look fond of those, especially since it'd make Anti-Skill's investigations lose its mind trying to figure out why there are so many modus operandi, but adding onto the pile of corpses for tonight by trying to kill each other won't make our search go any faster... yet, at least. Not to mention...”

Miyako walked away from the crime scene though in a different direction than from which she had arrived, having secured pictures at various angles she could refer to if needed, and having acquired an item that would hopefully help her in a way or another. She would only turn her head once beyond Mugino, as she could feel people approaching, perhaps more agents, perhaps civilians.

“Seems like we've got company, so I'll leave you to it. Bye bye~♥”

If it were the former, then it was wiser for her to get out of there before it became a battle royale. If it were the latter, then even more reason to avoid standing out.

With that reasoning, she finally disappeared in preparation of the all-nighter she would spend cracking this small but likely strongly-protected device.
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Post  Mugino Shizuri Sun Aug 06, 2017 5:43 pm

One last click of her tongue to see off that walking annoyance, then she’d just follow her example and turn tails.

«What a drag. Hope she’s going to prove at least a bit useful.»

Commenting only to herself, Mugino Shizuri finally set foot into another direction, her phone still in hand.

There had been a lot of different approaches for her to take in regards to the corpses or the other person at the scene, however she just didn’t bother thinking about these. She had made it seem as though she was acting on a whim, but that wasn’t all there was to it. In the end everything had followed a carefully spun idea of her mind, she’d get to play out eventually. Maybe she had gone overboard here and there by recklessly touching the corpses or getting some of the dirt on her clothes, but that was also fine. In the end, she was sure, her organisation would handle these small messes. That was what they existed for.

Hearing the distant, yet ever closer drawing sound of an electric motor, she simply did what she did best: Remain entirely casual, whilst proceeding with her job. She’d simply walk away just like that, switching through the pictures she’d taken just a moment ago, not minding anything in the world. And from the looks of that, she just appeared like any other high class girl out at night for no reason you would ever personally wish to inquire.

However that wasn’t the end of it, of course.


Pictures of the dead, the phone of the interfering party and pictures of the tracer.

Her haul had been the most promising there was. With hints at the identity of everyone who had been at the scene it would be an easy game for ITEM to acquire the most relevant data, starting from their identities and alignments. And if that didn’t help, there was still the phone they had yet to crack. A lot could be found just from those, she was sure.

However, if necessary she would simply latch onto the other party, exploiting their efforts.

At least that was her favoured plan.


Clicking her tongue once again, she swiped through the pictures of that mouthy hag.

A face she would make sure to remember.

Off into the night.
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Post  Oda Taichi Mon Aug 07, 2017 3:51 pm

Anything that Kaneko may have implied went over Oda's head. His attention long has been diverted to something far more interesting. Something was happening at the bridge, but it wouldn't be so obvious at first glance. At this time of night, those who dare wander the streets at night often avoid them altogether and especially those brightly lit by street lights. Instead, they roam the shadows of the back alleys and all places not on the direct path. So while the street running above the bridge was clear and perfectly normal.

Oda knew that the best place to look was those normally out of sight, leading the way ahead of Kaneko he headed towards the underpass. He moved carefully, keepings his eyes out for any possible danger but as he approached it became clear to him what has happened. Oda covered his mouth briefly as if trying to stop himself from being sick, but it was only for a moment as he reached for his phone. The first instinct he had on his mind was to report this to Anti-skill.  

However...

"I hope this is what you wanted." Oda said towards Kaneko while keeping calm, but the dog of Judgement wasn't amused in any stretch of the imagination. He didn't exactly prepare to walk into a scene of a brutal murder and everything was telling him to just tell Anti-Skill right now. But doing that had suddenly gotten complicated. Honestly, Oda thought it was pointless upon seeing what happened here since Anti-Skill would eventually find out. Whats important now before even looking at the scene was to make sure no one was around the corner on the other side of the underpass.

He had to make sure that no one was about to ambush them and not because for his own safety but Kaneko. But before he checked, Oda made sure to take a few pictures with his phone of the scene just in case they have to run.
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Post  Kaneko Mirai Wed Aug 09, 2017 8:16 am

"If I had what I wanted, things would be very different."

The sight and smell of death was overpowering. She had done all she could to mentally convince herself to be strong and proceed no matter what, but being confronted with such an awful thing up close was not at all what she expected. If she couldn't handle this, how could she handle what was to follow? Taking a deep breath and keeping at least one eye open, she scanned the scene for anything useful, trying desperately not to think too much about what she was looking at.

"Do you, uh...see anything we can use to identity them, or something? We've come this far, don't want to just run away and go home, right? Perhaps the people who ran from here had something to do with this. We'd better hurry or else we'll be the ones blamed."
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Post  Oda Taichi Wed Aug 09, 2017 8:12 pm

Oda like anyone would be disturbed at first by the smell and the scene of the murder. He almost gagged even but slowly as he remained there he seemed more curious rather than disturbed. After checking no one else was around, the boy took out his Notepad and pen and furiously wrote down what he saw. Details about the state of the body interested him, one seemed like the primary target, and the other was collateral damage. Oda had based this deduction on the state of the bodies. I mean if he were angry at one person, you would give them a few more punches than the other guy who happens just to be there? Right? Oda attempted to explain his half arse logic to himself.

Moving on Oda tried to avoid touching the bodies directly and used his pen to get a better look at anything. There was plenty of things which was important to note like the IDs which he just copied the information. Putting to good work his homework studying skills. He also noticed the business information of the first body and the school info of the second like he was from Dangai University's engineering faculty.

His focus on what he saw almost made him forget Kaneko's words. Though he had noted all possible information that he can glean from them, he was far more interested in the more messed up body.

"Well that's strange neither of them have a phone." Oda said who find it hard to believe anyone in this city isn't attached to the hip to a mobile device of any sorts. And thinking on this after scanning his notes, Oda tried to grab a certain item of interest without touching them by using his pen and paper clip he found in his pocket. Making the dog secretly wish he had gloves with him. Though unsure if he succeeded avoided adding his DNA to the scene, the dog had managed to recover the keycard from the first body.

With that item now in Oda's possession, he headed towards Kaneko without looking back.

"Kaneko I think it's time we leave unless you want to linger around, but I rather get you home safely." Oda said who was ready to go, but like before he wasn't going to force Kaneko to do anything. While every fibre in his body just wants him to leave with Kaneko, there was something there that made Oda believe this has to be her decision. In his experience, he has never witnessed anything this gruesome, but Oda always believed there to be a reason why a curfew is in place. And despite how terrible it was this scene should be more of enough of reason to heed the curfew in the future.
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Post  Kaneko Mirai Fri Aug 11, 2017 6:21 am

The disabled girl continued to fight back against every sense of hers screaming at her to leave immediately. But she had to know. Could one of the corpses here belong to the target of her hatred? She opened her other eye and took a closer look at the grotesque display in front of them. All other distractions vanished as her eyes darted back and forth to details, important details. After this moment of intense concentration, all tension evaporated into the ether. Neither of the bodies gathered there were his.

"...It's nobody I know after all. What a waste of human life. I'll be going home now. I presume this is something you'll want to phone in to somebody, so you can just say you were trying to bust me going out past curfew and came across it. I can take the verbal beating. Well, see you at some later time, upperclassman."

She began to solemnly wheel herself back to her dorm, glad to be moving further and further away from the stench of death and sight of blood. Unless of course, the boy saw fit to intercept her passage once more.
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Post  Oda Taichi Fri Aug 11, 2017 2:35 pm

Oda didn't say anything in response, the dog had no intention of deliberating on this any further. The most important thing now was to make sure she got home safely. Oda was actually surprised that Kaneko hadn't anything else to say and so he kept quiet to avoid any possible distractions from her returning to the dorm. And admittingly he also wanted to get away as quick as possible.

And once that was all said and done Oda prepared to travel home, but before he actually did he thought it was time to actually contact Anti-Skill. He didn't want to use his own phone because he would get in trouble if he was caught out past curfew. So the dog thought it was best to actually leave an anonymous tip and found a phone booth to do it. However, it seems habits are hard to shift...

"Well hello this is Oda Tai--c-hii-i.." He said pausing for a moment, realising what he had done. He spoke before actually thinking and the whole idea of an anonymous tip was completely wasted. Sighing at his own stupidity the dog thought he might as well continue...  "You see there has been an incident at the underpass which you should know about..." Oda said who seemed to be weeping inside as he explained about almost everything, though he forgets to mention the key card in his possession and avoided mentioning the true reason he was out so late. "Well you see some hooligans decided to burn something disgusting in front of my door and annoyed that they disturbed my studying session I chased after them. They gave me the slip and well sort of lost until I stumbled upon that in the underpass." Oda spoke rather freely knowing it was a lie, but he did it to avoid mentioning Kaneko Mirai as he felt she didn't need the trouble.
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Post  Aleister Crowley Mon Aug 14, 2017 1:32 am

The phone in Miyako's possession was a newer model with a long, slim flat screen made of sturdy plastic. And though its owner had taken the usual precautions for security in the form of a PIN number on the lock screen, it didn't take that long to force her way in.

Anyone with a little determination and enough time on their hands could break that code. And to someone with a little know-how, say, someone used to operating on the other side of the law, the task was little more than a chore.

The unlocked phone revealed little in the way of useful information at first. Countless text messages from colleagues and a few friends. Work emails from Arisawa and newsletters from gambling sites among other things. Over the last few days the phone's owner had received numerous messages discussing meaningless gossip and plans for a night of drinking on the weekend. By all accounts the man who had owned this phone had been a regular young professional of little noteworthiness. A regular, boring person who one wouldn't look twice at.

But only a few days earlier they had received a single text from an unrelated contact number, saved under a conspicuously enigmatic designation.

Contact Name: ?

Message Subject: Our offer.

Message Body: Meet 00:00 30/08.

A list of coordinates followed, corresponding to the underpass.

Clearly the owner of this phone was not familiar with the idea of secrecy. Not only had he neglected to delete the message detailing his shady dealings but he had actually saved the sender's number under his contacts. Scanning through the records, another message could be found dated several weeks earlier.

Contact Name: ?

Message Subject: Our offer.

Message Body: Contact us when you have the item. Payment will follow once it is in our possession.

Combing through the other messages one's eye would have been caught by another unusual message nestled between the others.

Contact Name: Courier

Message Subject: Insurance

Your payment has been received. The package will be delivered via private courier on the date specified. As discussed, discretion will be our utmost concern.

Perhaps this 'regular, boring person' hadn't been quite as naive as first expected.

***

Only a few hours later Mugino's phone chimed with the indication of a newly received message.

Contact Name: N/A

Message Subject: N/A

Message Body: Data retrieval of the device you recovered has been completed.

The device was purchased from a small independent retailer and paid for in cash. Records of the transaction indicate that the transaction was completed using an assumed name and false details.

All messages had been deleted soon after being received, suggesting that the deceased was attempting to cover their tracks. However, fragments of the original data have been recovered. The deceased was in frequent contact with only one other individual concerning a single topic. The last message sent concerned a meeting at the point of discovery roughly one hour thirty-five minutes before your arrival.

Records indicate the deceased to be Dangai University student Yagyu Saito. However, the circumstances of the deceased's enrollment appear suspicious. Yagyu first appears on Academy City databases within the past month and cursory examination indicates that his records may have been falsified. Further investigation shall follow.

Based on GPS data recovered from the device the deceased's movements were regular and do not include visits to Dangai campuses, lending further evidence to a possible falsified identity. Other locations of interest include Dangai University dormitories,  the offices of Arisawa Science and Research, and repeated visits to an apartment complex in District 3 and a single visit to the offices of a small shipping company in District 11.

GPS data is attached.

Regarding the second individual encountered at the scene, records indicate the individual to be Hisakawa Miyako, a freelance agent who lends her services to a number of clandestine groups within the city. She has not had any prior contact with ITEM or its associates at this point in time.

Recommended course of action: 1) Investigate deceased's movements for possible information about their motives and intentions.

2) Perform routine surveillance on Hisakawa Miyako until details of her involvement can be ascertained.

***

31 August 09:00

Oda Taichi would awaken to a loud knocking at his door. As he opened the door he was met by the tall, powerfully built figure of an Anti-Skill officer. Two others stood a step behind him.

"Oda-san." The officer began, meeting the young man's eyes with a withering, wary glare. "You're the young man who reported the incident at the District 15 underpass last night, correct?" Though the man's expression remained disquieteningly steady and his voice level, he was visibly coiled tight beneath his uniform. His hand hovered over the grip of his firearm as though prepared to use it at the drop of a pin. A small bead of sweat traveled down his temple as he regarded the younger man in front of him.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions regarding your whereabouts last night." His colleague interrupted as though sensing her partner's tension. The woman with long frizzy hair and wide, round glasses seemed no less apprehensive but at the very least far less ready to reach for her weapon. She smiled disarmingly at Taichi.

In Taichi's pocket the card key he had retrieved from the scene of the crime was plain save for the words stamped onto one side containing the address of an apartment complex in District 3.
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Post  Oda Taichi Tue Aug 15, 2017 1:21 pm

31 August 09:00

The dog couldn't remember how long it took him to get home and sleep. And knowing himself, that wasn't even pretty straight forward. His room was tidy as despite his usual demeanour he is rather well mannered and also dedicated. The desk which he uses to do homework is full of school issued study materials and had two chairs tucked under it. And around his television was a neat pile of games with a list of which ones to complete first. Other than that the room seems similar to other usual student dormitories until you reach his kitchen which was rather messy. And it wasn't messy as in dirt, but piles of cooking books and recipes with signs of failed cooking attempts scaring the kitchen.

It had looked like a scene of a losing battle constantly being waged on a daily basis and it was topped off by the sticky notes by Oda pleading with himself to just buy cereal. This was a battle being waged at least once in the morning and that wasn't helped by his unruly mannerism in the morning.

As you see Oda was someone who was completely terrible at functioning in the morning and getting a morning caller this early in the day wasn't a good start. And upon opening that door the ones who came knocking about last night's report was greeted by a young student who's eyes look rather dead.

"We'd like to ask you a few questions regarding your whereabouts last night." the women said to which Oda happily seemed to comply. "Finally, wanted to get this off my chest ever since! Oda said rather annoyingly but was actually inviting them to come in but failed to first make that clear to the point he started to appear eccentric as he rushed inside assuming they would follow. "I'll just get you guys some cha---" Oda said who was actually trying to be thoughtful and stepped back towards them. "Aren't you guys going to come in or we going to do this elsewhere?" Oda said who went back to pulling out chairs for them to sit on.
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Post  Mugino Shizuri Thu Aug 17, 2017 11:30 am

August 31st, 4:45 A.M.

The sky was brightening slightly, however the night had yet to pass.

Mugino Shizuri hadn’t slept at all. Once she had sent the phone to her handlers, she had seated herself in the room in a nearby hotel she rented for the night, taken a bite and flipped through some fashion magazines for the sake of making time run by quickly; up until the point she would finally hear word from her superiors.

Once she had, it had meant for her to head out again immediately.

Getting off the car that her brought her here, she took a few ladylike steps forward, checking the area with a few careful glances.

With containers and grey concrete block company buildings lined up everywhere District 11 was by all means the least spectacular you would find in the city, yet unfortunately that was exactly what made it the most interesting for people from suspicious fields of work. Transportation of goods just had this kind of ring to it that’d oftentimes lure in the worst kind naturally.

«Let’s see. The address should be about here.»

Mumbling to herself the refined lady of the night crossed over the grey fortified ground meant for heavy weight vehicles, making her way towards the building that’d function as her destination.

A small shipping company in itself would always seem suspicious, especially if you considered that the target had only visited the place a single time. Of all the places ITEM had pinpointed, this one by far was the most intriguing. Not because the other sounded so friendly in comparison, but because for some reason it suited the incident the most.

If nothing would happen on her way, she’d simply proceed into the building, straight towards that company’s offices.

Who cared about office hours anyway?
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