[BitP:R] Mortal World 2

[KnightDisciple]

Kaito frowned deeply at Ken's inane antics, and Kina's unusually defeatist attitude. He looked like he wanted to say something....but something in Haruaki's eyes told him he should still his tongue on such things, at least for the moment.

"I am myself curious what we will discover."

He carefully stood, then looked around, frowning.

"Val isn't back yet..."

He seems torn between going with the group, and going to look for his friend.

[Dorizzit]

[Shrine]
Interior

Nakahiro has remained quiet and observant during the conversation. As Haruaki suggests going outside, he nods and stands.

"Thank you very much for teaching us about all of this."

Having expressed his gratitude, he turns to Kaito.

"Come with us. We can collect Valeria on the way."

[Prime32]

Ayase gets up and follows, a determined look on her face. Or, at least, a look which was intended to look determined. The ears kind of get in the way.

[Kuroimaken]

[Cemetery]

"After you, then", Yui says cheerfully, all but shooing Hasunaga and Silva out of the hideout. Then she notices Sora obliviously reading to that book of his. How long has he been doing that? As Sora begins following others like a lemming, Yui reaches forth and snatches his book away. "Young man, don't you know it's rude to ignore your guests? Off you go now!", she snarls, closing the book and throwing it on the bed in the corner.

"I feel like my mother just ordered me around for some reason." Hasunaga comments off-handedly.

[strawberryman]

Mayumi's smile vanishes as Hibiki accuses her. But her anger also fades as she realizes that his fears are just as justified as hers were. She looks intently at the man who looks like a child sitting across from her.

"I have been teaching at this school for around five years now. If I had wanted any of the students dead, they would be dead. However, I understand that all of these students, regardless of their...circumstances, each deserve an equal chance. Should any of them attempt to harm the others I shall restrain them, but not until they prove ill intent."

"I am many things, Hamasaki-san. But a killer is not one of them."

"Now, if we are done interrogating one another, there is somewhere to where I would like you to accompany me. I believe that it is of interest to both of us, for similar reasons." While saying this, she stood up, inviting Hibiki to do the same. She had places to go, and battle sites to see.

Hibiki sighs. He had hoped to look over more than a few pages of his course plan, but what was there to do? Standing from his chair, he packs his papers safely away and looks to Mayumi. "Very well, Yamashiro-san, I'll humor you. Need I leave my Gigai behind?"

Valeria and the Broodling Hollow Bird

"Hmm... Not much of a fan, but I will answer to it, I guess."

"All right, then. Gabi it is." Val looks up to the shrine. "...Wonder if they're still talking... Guess I'll go back up." She looks to Gabi. "If you can't get in, I guess if you feel like waiting here..."

[The Shop]

"Reiatsu cloaks, do you have them?"Suzume says, looking around for anyone who may notice she's wearing a captain haori.

Vi's expression turns skeptical. "...Perhaps. They're in high demand and not exactly high supply. So I'm not exactly inclined to show them to people without a guarantee that I can receive a fair trade." She crosses her arms.

[Kayne650]

"I don't believe so, Hamasaki-san. If you need to shed your gigai you can do so at the site. Besides, I think that this will be of much more interest to you than your course plan."

"Besides, in my experience, it never takes as long as you think it will. You'll still have plenty of time, this shouldn't take long." And with that, Mayumi led the way out of the school and towards the intended area. On the way, Hibiki would notice her hand gravitating towards the cross on her necklace. She expected trouble.

[riccaru]

Vi's expression turns skeptical. "...Perhaps. They're in high demand and not exactly high supply. So I'm not exactly inclined to show them to people without a guarantee that I can receive a fair trade." She crosses her arms.

"Do you make them yourself, or do you purchase them from a supplier? If you don't make them I'm sure I can get a few from your supplier. Unless of course you want repeat customers." Suzume says, unswayed.

[strawberryman]

"I don't believe so, Hamasaki-san. If you need to shed your gigai you can do so at the site. Besides, I think that this will be of much more interest to you than your course plan."

"Besides, in my experience, it never takes as long as you think it will. You'll still have plenty of time, this shouldn't take long." And with that, Mayumi led the way out of the school and towards the intended area. On the way, Hibiki would notice her hand gravitating towards the cross on her necklace. She expected trouble.

Hibiki follows silently. Wonder what this could be...

"Do you make them yourself, or do you purchase them from a supplier? If you don't make them I'm sure I can get a few from your supplier. Unless of course you want repeat customers." Suzume says, unswayed.

"Trade secret.", Viatrix rebukes without second thought. "I don't think it's very much to ask for a fair trade for a valuable product."

[riccaru]

"Trade secret.", Viatrix rebukes without second thought. "I don't think it's very much to ask for a fair trade for a valuable product."

A slight frown crosses her face before she raises her hand, signalling a car to come forward. A man steps out as it pulls up, his face hidden by a simple white mask, and hands Suzume a black leather briefcase. The man then returns to his car and drives around the corner.
"You'll come to notice that we have very valuable resources, along with a large amount of human legal tender. How much for a total of four cloaks and a Gigai for myself?" Still not an emotion in sight.

[strawberryman]

[Furousha shop]

Viatrix raises an eyebrow, but doesn't ask any questions. "Well, you're just in luck. I happen to have four more cloaks left. But since they're my last four... It's a pretty heavy proposition to sell them all. If resources aren't a problem for you, though... I'll sell them for ¥61,875,000 apiece. Normally I'd make you pay more, but since you're buying in bulk, I'll give you a little discount." She gives a slight (somewhat sly) smile.

"As for the gigai, ¥4,125,000. And if you don't mind, I'd rather not receive that money through bills, I have a few chump change bank accounts for this kind of thing. Sound like a deal?"

((American exchange: $750,000 each for the cloaks, $50,000 for the gigai.))

[horngeek]

[Day of Shrine Meeting]

Izumi looks at Rex. "By the way... thank you again for helping me out."

[Terry576]

[Cemetery]

"After you, then", Yui says cheerfully, all but shooing Hasunaga and Silva out of the hideout. Then she notices Sora obliviously reading to that book of his. How long has he been doing that? As Sora begins following others like a lemming, Yui reaches forth and snatches his book away. "Young man, don't you know it's rude to ignore your guests? Off you go now!", she snarls, closing the book and throwing it on the bed in the corner.

Sora glances around, and slowly realizes that Yui has kind of adopted him.

This is one of the few times Sora is actually rendered speechless by others.

[Kayne650]

[The site of the Joint Ops battle]

It was a site of peaceful devastation. The marks of missed Kido spells, errant sword strikes, and the signs of the indiscriminate destruction of Hollows pockmarked the landscape. And yet, birds had already returned to area; their songs could be heard past the craters and fallen trees. Mayumi marveled at the resilience of nature as she walked through the scattered destruction.

"I leave for a week on vacation and this is what I return to" Mayumi observed as she and Hibiki walked through. "The remains of a battle that I felt even on my way back. Full of Hollows and Shinigami, their blades and claws uncaring and cold." She seemed oddly philosophic, a trait that she often picked up in such situations but would still seem odd strangers.

She walked up to a particular area, with a large circular depression in the ground, as if some massive weight had been dropped and left here. "What do you make of this, Hamasaki-san? I have no idea, beyond some Shinigami spell. Very few things would make a perfectly circular shape in the ground."

[Draken]

Out of the Shrine

Gabi takes wing from Valeria's shoulder.

"I can't go in. But I will wait out here, in that tree."

With that, the hollow bird flies into the copse of a nearby tree.

[KerfuffleMach2]

"I feel like my mother just ordered me around for some reason." Hasunaga comments off-handedly.

Silva suppresses a laugh as she walks with the group.

So...we're not gonna fight a Hollow today, are we?

Not looking that way, Medric. Sorry to disappoint.

Stupid other people getting in the way...*grumblegrumble*

[tgva8889]

Kina follows outside, mostly to watch rather than to participate in anything. "I...don't have much to contribute to the demonstration..."

[KnightDisciple]

[Downtown Phoenix Town, Business District]

In the midst of the business district, there stood a modest skyscraper, a "mere" 70 stories tall. Despite it's impressive size, only two companies called it home.

The top 20 stories belonged to Katzbalger Pharmaceuticals. This was their headquarters in Asia; those 20 stories directed the research, manufacture, distribution, and sales of all their products in Eastern Asia. No small thing.

The rest of the building was devoted to Hrunting Technology Solutions. This ever-growing company also had its Asian HQ here, but it did more than just administrate from these floors. Several stories held small experimental labs, while others held rooms for brainstorming, design, and drafting more innovations. Already, they were making headlines for some promising developments in the fields of materials science, next-generation power storage, and even ways to help the lame walk again.

At least, that's what most people thought.

In reality, this building was much, much larger. For you see, it went underground another 25 stories, spreading out for several blocks in every direction, as if it were some strange hive.

This was where the Spiritual World Organization of Reintegration and Defense made one of its homes. This was where, even now, they were working to develop the tools to move forward their shadowy agenda. Many of the people working in this underground complex had only some understanding of their ultimate goal.

One man had a much better picture, mind you. Of course, right now, his mind was on some much simpler pictures...

"It's just the cutest thing ever!"

Josiah Kane was (once again) gushing over a picture of his young daughter. This time, she was clad in a little princess outfit for Halloween. There had been a party the previous evening.

"And here's the missus and me. Meow!"

Here we see Josiah dressed as Batman, and Lilianna as Catwoman. The lucky bastard.

"And here's little Stephani eating candy!"

Perhaps someone should save the poor lab techs trapped in here with him. It's not like they can brush him off...

[strawberryman]

[Outside Houheiden]

Valeria nods, then proceeds up the stairs. Not in a hurry, since she began to feel that uneasiness as she climbs...

[Joint Ops Site]

Hibiki looks downward. "Something wet was here. The grass is lighter than the rest. There's no saturation left, so it was likely spiritual in nature, but it was long enough to affect the environment." He adjusts his glasses.

[Secret Underground Facility]

A low cough comes from behind Josiah.

"There is a time and place for everything, Dr. Kane." Nero doesn't look disapproving despite his comment, but rather just as detached as always. After dismissing the lab techs with a hand gesture, he looks to the scientist with his usual cold stare that could give goosebumps to most men.

"I am under orders to oversee the productivity of this department while I am here, so it wouldn't do to let things slip. I have trust that you will do the same, Dr. Kane?" Obviously a rhetorical, as he continues. "Are there any updates on standing projects?"

[riccaru]

[Furousha shop]

Viatrix raises an eyebrow, but doesn't ask any questions. "Well, you're just in luck. I happen to have four more cloaks left. But since they're my last four... It's a pretty heavy proposition to sell them all. If resources aren't a problem for you, though... I'll sell them for ¥61,875,000 apiece. Normally I'd make you pay more, but since you're buying in bulk, I'll give you a little discount." She gives a slight (somewhat sly) smile.

"As for the gigai, ¥4,125,000. And if you don't mind, I'd rather not receive that money through bills, I have a few chump change bank accounts for this kind of thing. Sound like a deal?"

((American exchange: $750,000 each for the cloaks, $50,000 for the gigai.))

A cell phone is pulled from the haori and Suzume dials the number to Kujo's representatives. "What's the account number. I'll take the Gigai now. We'll be in touch about the others. Don't disappoint, Viatrix."

[strawberryman]

[Furousha Shop]

Viatrix pulls out a piece of paper, and hands it to Suzume. She then takes out a notably ancient-looking camera, which produces a momentary blinding flash. "Gotta apply your likeness to a blank one. It'll take an hour or so. Come in for tea, or something." She leaves the door open as she makes her way inside, instantly heading for the basement, and her gigai storage unit.

[riccaru]

[Furousha Shop]

Viatrix pulls out a piece of paper, and hands it to Suzume. She then takes out a notably ancient-looking camera, which produces a momentary blinding flash. "Gotta apply your likeness to a blank one. It'll take an hour or so. Come in for tea, or something." She leaves the door open as she makes her way inside, instantly heading for the basement, and her gigai storage unit.

"Two arms, please." Suzume sits after she says it to Viatrix. She tells the account number to the man over the phone as she does, and the money gets transferred easily.

[KnightDisciple]

[Shrine]
Interior

Nakahiro has remained quiet and observant during the conversation. As Haruaki suggests going outside, he nods and stands.

"Thank you very much for teaching us about all of this."

Having expressed his gratitude, he turns to Kaito.

"Come with us. We can collect Valeria on the way."

Kaito gives his friend a small smile, and nods.

"Yeah, you're right."

He begins leaving with the others.

[Secret Underground Facility]

A low cough comes from behind Josiah.

"There is a time and place for everything, Dr. Kane." Nero doesn't look disapproving despite his comment, but rather just as detached as always. After dismissing the lab techs with a hand gesture, he looks to the scientist with his usual cold stare that could give goosebumps to most men.

"I am under orders to oversee the productivity of this department while I am here, so it wouldn't do to let things slip. I have trust that you will do the same, Dr. Kane?" Obviously a rhetorical, as he continues. "Are there any updates on standing projects?"

[Secret Underground Facility]

Josiah's smile fades a bit as he puts away the smartphone he'd been using to show off the pictures. He then turned to face Nero.

"Well Mr. Abel, we're kind of stuck waiting for a batch of computations to finish running on the local server cluster. Calculations for improvements in power generation and storage, you see. So while we have to keep one eye on the servers to be sure they don't crash-"

At this, he points to one wall, covered in computer screens, with several control stations running along its length. Some of the lab techs have "stealthily" moved back to said stations.

"-it still leaves a few free moments. As for productivity, well. Have you heard of my most recent large project, finished about 3 months ago?"

There's an odd gleam in his eye. Those less charitable might call it the gleam of a mad scientist. Clearly these people were fools. It was merely the gleam of Science.

"Typically referred to as "Dynamo" in most of the documents I've sent up the line."

[Kayne650]

[Joint Ops Site]

Hibiki looks downward. "Something wet was here. The grass is lighter than the rest. There's no saturation left, so it was likely spiritual in nature, but it was long enough to affect the environment." He adjusts his glasses.

"Very good, Hamasaki-san." Mayumi agreed as if Hibiki were a student who had given a correct answer. "Now, how good is your reiatsu sense? What can you tell me about the combatants that were here?"

[strawberryman]

[Houheiden Shrine]

Valeria reaches the top of the stairs as the group exits the shrine. She looks a bit surprised. "Oh?... Are you done talking already...?"

[Furousha]

((Donovan is still there, right? Waiting on reaction from him if so. ))

[Joint Ops Site]

Hibiki eyes Mayumi at the slightly condescending tone, but doesn't say anything of it. "It's one of my better senses. There were multiple hollow combatants. One of the shinigami was likely of lieutenant level, and had an ice-type zanpakutou. Ice is simply a formation of water particles, so it is quite easy for me to notice it."

Trusting enough to reveal some facet of this soul's expertise?

It's not like knowledge of an element will give her an advantage if it comes to it. There's still plenty of variables.

[Secret Facility]

Nero's expression doesn't change. "Very well. If splitting your attention more than that would prove harmful, then I suppose I can look the other way." That could almost be misconstrued as encouraging if it wasn't said in his usual flat tone.

"And I have heard of Dynamo; 00 is pleased with the concept, and wishes further research into the technology. Personally... I would like to see a demonstration, if possible, before passing any judgement."

[Steilos]

Henry follows the goup without saying a word, heading out to watch the demonstrations. He didn't actually have any powers of his own, and really wasn't comfortable at all with what these kids were becoming, but there wasn't exactly much he could do to stop it. Best then to just sit back and observe.

[KnightDisciple]

[Houheiden Shrine]

Valeria reaches the top of the stairs as the group exits the shrine. She looks a bit surprised. "Oh?... Are you done talking already...?"

[Houheiden Shrine]

Kaito turns to face Valeria, and seems to relax a bit.

"Uh...mostly. We're going out back to...I dunno if we're showing, or he is."

[Secret Facility]

Nero's expression doesn't change. "Very well. If splitting your attention more than that would prove harmful, then I suppose I can look the other way." That could almost be misconstrued as encouraging if it wasn't said in his usual flat tone.

"And I have heard of Dynamo; 00 is pleased with the concept, and wishes further research into the technology. Personally... I would like to see a demonstration, if possible, before passing any judgement."

[Secret Underground Facility]

Josiah shrugged. He'd gotten somewhat used to Nero's dispassion.

"I never let myself have more than 1 big project and 3 small ones anyways. Any more, and I become unproductive. Too many things demanding too much time. As for a demonstration, follow me."

He walks to one of the worktables along another wall, scribbles a note, and passes it to one of the system monitors as he walks out.

Approximately 5 minutes pass in silence as they go through 3 security checkpoints, heading deeper into the complex. Finally, they arrive in front of a heavy steel door. Josiah places his hand on a scanner to one side, while 3 sensors pop out from the wall to scan his eyes, face, and current physical state. There was the sound of several locks disengaging, and the door slid to one side as if floating on air.

Josiah stepped inside, clapped his hands to signal the lights to turn on, and then gave a grand gesture at the room.

"Behold, the Armory for the Dynamo Powered Suit. Here we store the core armor, replacement parts, optional modules, and of course, the weapons."

He turned and walked to the centerpiece of the room, the D.P.S. itself, currently standing, fully assembled, with a multitude of robotic arms folded up on the stand behind it. Josiah stared at it for several seconds, before facing Nero with a grin.

"So. First thoughts?"

[strawberryman]

[Secret Facility]

Nero follows silently, and regards the suit with a contemplative look. "Certainly visually appealing. But we prefer function over form. I assume you've utilized one of our testing facilities?"

[KnightDisciple]

[Secret Facility]

Nero follows silently, and regards the suit with a contemplative look. "Certainly visually appealing. But we prefer function over form. I assume you've utilized one of our testing facilities?"

[Secret Underground Facility]

"More than one facility, in fact. I have footage from every live test. But I assume you're going to want a live demonstration, yes? If so, I'll have to ask to excuse myself."

He certainly seemed eager to give a live demonstration, but still willing to defer to his senior officer.

[strawberryman]

[Secret Facility]

"A live demonstration would indeed be my preference. Permission granted." Nero adjusts his glasses. "Which testing room were you planning to implement?"

[KnightDisciple]

[Secret Underground Facility]

"Testing Ground 6. You know, the live-fire course just a level below us."

His grin reveals his excitement. He ducks into a door to a small changing room to one side.

He emerges in an odd-looking suit that covers almost his entire body, leaving only a section of his head (face, and the sides until just past his ears) exposed. His hair is apparently tucked up into a special cap.

He steps onto the platform in front of the armor, and gives a single voice command.

"Begin suit up sequence."

The arms come to life immediately.
(OOC:Imagine him wearing the same underlayer, but with the suit shown in his profile. Also, no arc reactor in his chest.)

It takes less than a minute for him to stand there in his fully armored glory. The faceplate retracts, revealing his grinning face.

"Just step onto the lighted platform over there, sir. It's the elevator down."

Josiah himself heads for said platform. As soon as they both step onto it, a metal cage extends, making sure they will stay safely inside as it quickly descends. Once at the bottom, the lights flicker on, revealing a fairly simplistic target range. Josiah walks over to one wall, tapping a few characters on a touch screen. The wall that matched the one filled with weapons one level above opens up, several vertical tubes being exposed. As several weapons descend, the purpose is made clear.

"We arranged these rooms like this so we could easily swap out parts. Makes tests go quicker. Any preferences on what loadout I should use?"

Nero will find a computer screen flickering to life next to him, with an interactive list of weapons displayed.