*snag*
That we both came up with that particular 'irony' probably says something about our psyches. Think either of us should be investigating the latter side of that whole S&M thing?
*pitch*
A standard SEARRS reaction team had seven members, but First District Team 28 was down one, since their usual driver was in the hospital after running afoul of a jilted boyfriend. An Agent In Place like Sakomizu didn't usually have much to do with their division, being more concerned with espionage than black bag work, but given the circumstances he'd been quite happy to see them.
After all, Natsuki hadn't been as careful tying his wrists as she might have been, and he was starting to lose feeling in his fingers.
The tall one with the fierce scowl put a fingertip to his earpiece microphone. "We have guests," he said after a moment. "Four, three female, one male. One high school age. female, three a little younger. They seem to be in a hurry - do you know-" the apartment's door crashed open and they stormed in, all breathing a little heavily. The teammembers cursed and went for their weapons, but Sakomizu waved them down and rubbed at his aching wrists.
Fujino, Okuzaki, and that newcomer, Minagi. Given the things Natsuki had said, that meant that Munakata was almost certainly one of the HiME that hadn't been identified yet. A pack of trained goons like the standard reaction team wouldn't even have been able to stop one of them - with three HiME working in concert and an Okuzaki ninja in support, they wouldn't even be able to slow them down.
The Fujino conglomerate was one of SEARRS' cover corporation's major competitors, and had evidently stumbled onto some of the Foundation's other activities in the process of industrial espionage. Its material resources couldn't compete with those available to the full Foundation, of course, but were far from inconsiderable, especially when the presence of the heir of two of the conglomerate's three founders among the chosen maidens was there to provide motivation.
The Okuzaki clan had been a thorn in the SEARRS Foundation's side since before there was a foundation, almost since the establishment the 'First District' itself, and had proven almost immune to any attempts to finally root it out. It had been a long time since the Okuzaki were strong enough or the Foundation limited enough for the former to seriously hinder any of the latter's operations, but the conditions of the Festival were so delicate, so finely tuned, that the usual rules went entirely out the window. Even an indirect influence wasn't to be scoffed at, and if they could actually control the winning HiME, the balance of power would be abruptly and utterly reversed.
Minagi was a cipher. She'd come from nowhere, just popped up on their radar - tracing back to her past showed a pattern of seemingly random people being drawn from complete ignorance of the organization supporting her to total commitment to it, often with only a single meeting. Further examination had revealed the group's surprising extent - despite its ability to influence individuals and tap their full resources and talents at will, it never seemed to go any farther than the degree neccessary to support and educate a single individual... who was here now. It was not a new pattern - the Foundation's records showed someone with much the same traits and background being present at all three of the previous Festivals, and to have won the second.
The first case of the Black Death, those histories also recorded, had appeared, without precedent, less than a decade later, and had taken several decades to evolve into a form survivable enough to have time to spread.
"Ah, Sakomizu-sensei," Fujino said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, and he was abruptly aware of... something which made him feel like some vast and awful and beautiful presence was looming above his head and deciding whether or not he was worth the trouble of devouring. "It's good to see you're alright. I'm afraid time is pressing, so, concerning Natsuki..."
This would be extremely delicate - but then, that was why he'd been given this assignment in the first place.
Ja, -n
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."
That we both came up with that particular 'irony' probably says something about our psyches. Think either of us should be investigating the latter side of that whole S&M thing?
*pitch*
A standard SEARRS reaction team had seven members, but First District Team 28 was down one, since their usual driver was in the hospital after running afoul of a jilted boyfriend. An Agent In Place like Sakomizu didn't usually have much to do with their division, being more concerned with espionage than black bag work, but given the circumstances he'd been quite happy to see them.
After all, Natsuki hadn't been as careful tying his wrists as she might have been, and he was starting to lose feeling in his fingers.
The tall one with the fierce scowl put a fingertip to his earpiece microphone. "We have guests," he said after a moment. "Four, three female, one male. One high school age. female, three a little younger. They seem to be in a hurry - do you know-" the apartment's door crashed open and they stormed in, all breathing a little heavily. The teammembers cursed and went for their weapons, but Sakomizu waved them down and rubbed at his aching wrists.
Fujino, Okuzaki, and that newcomer, Minagi. Given the things Natsuki had said, that meant that Munakata was almost certainly one of the HiME that hadn't been identified yet. A pack of trained goons like the standard reaction team wouldn't even have been able to stop one of them - with three HiME working in concert and an Okuzaki ninja in support, they wouldn't even be able to slow them down.
The Fujino conglomerate was one of SEARRS' cover corporation's major competitors, and had evidently stumbled onto some of the Foundation's other activities in the process of industrial espionage. Its material resources couldn't compete with those available to the full Foundation, of course, but were far from inconsiderable, especially when the presence of the heir of two of the conglomerate's three founders among the chosen maidens was there to provide motivation.
The Okuzaki clan had been a thorn in the SEARRS Foundation's side since before there was a foundation, almost since the establishment the 'First District' itself, and had proven almost immune to any attempts to finally root it out. It had been a long time since the Okuzaki were strong enough or the Foundation limited enough for the former to seriously hinder any of the latter's operations, but the conditions of the Festival were so delicate, so finely tuned, that the usual rules went entirely out the window. Even an indirect influence wasn't to be scoffed at, and if they could actually control the winning HiME, the balance of power would be abruptly and utterly reversed.
Minagi was a cipher. She'd come from nowhere, just popped up on their radar - tracing back to her past showed a pattern of seemingly random people being drawn from complete ignorance of the organization supporting her to total commitment to it, often with only a single meeting. Further examination had revealed the group's surprising extent - despite its ability to influence individuals and tap their full resources and talents at will, it never seemed to go any farther than the degree neccessary to support and educate a single individual... who was here now. It was not a new pattern - the Foundation's records showed someone with much the same traits and background being present at all three of the previous Festivals, and to have won the second.
The first case of the Black Death, those histories also recorded, had appeared, without precedent, less than a decade later, and had taken several decades to evolve into a form survivable enough to have time to spread.
"Ah, Sakomizu-sensei," Fujino said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes, and he was abruptly aware of... something which made him feel like some vast and awful and beautiful presence was looming above his head and deciding whether or not he was worth the trouble of devouring. "It's good to see you're alright. I'm afraid time is pressing, so, concerning Natsuki..."
This would be extremely delicate - but then, that was why he'd been given this assignment in the first place.
Quote:I'm still not all that sure I have a good handle on either of them, actually, but I hope to be able to keep it all together.
Also, Nate, good one! I'm looking forward to seeing more of your Shizuru. I'm pretty sure a lot of her fanboys are going to be mildly put off with what I do to her in my story, if not bloody furious. Likewise, with her Natsuki.
Ja, -n
===========
===============================================
"V, did you do something foolish?"
"Yes, and it was glorious."