Grief In the Shell: Madokapunk IC Thread

[Selinia]

[Febuary 6th, 2096 - Dawn of the First Day]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Monument Point]

Sato Arata had always enjoyed sunrises.

They were a simple pleasure for an old man, and this was one of the best places in the city to view them. A rocky outcropping overlooking the flooded bay that had once been Old Mitakihara, the small plaza wasn't exactly a high traffic area. Of course, there wasn't much to see - some well-kept, simple garden plots, a tidy little plaza, and the monument itself. A warm, clean obelisk of brown marble, embedded with a lone golden topaz of impressive size. At the pillar's base, a small pile of flowers. Most of the people who scaled the rather winding footpath up here came to offer their own, in memory of one of those fallen in the demise of the old city. But Arata came for the view.

"Stirring, isn't it?" Nearing ninety, modern medicine had spared the mayor of Neo-Mitakihara from many of the ravages of his age, and so the cane he carried was strictly an accessory, but a tremendously useful one for striking a dignified pose like this. The part of him that still enjoyed rowdy tales of giant robots clashing in a battle for justice fancied that it gave him just the right amount of elderly poise, with his gray-bearded face to the sunrise and the dead city reflected in his eyes.

"I shall assume it is precisely as stirring as yesterday, sir." The reply was prompt, an exchange made with mechanical precision and timing - expected, given it was made by a machine. A lavender-haired young woman visible only by virtue of Arata's augmented reality contacts and audible only thanks to an earpiece adjusts a pair of glasses only worn because marketing thought that a secretary program would look good in them. "Mr. Sato, sir, your schedule is quite packed today. Should I begin at the top?"

"Bah, give me a few to enjoy the view. Allow me a few minutes in the day free of your yammering, if you would."

"Your first appointment is in thirty minutes, sir. Algorithms estimate a ten minute drive if we start in the next five minutes, but that commute time will inflate to seventeen minutes or more if we do not put ourselves ahead of the morning work-"

"A few minutes, Miko. Now, quiet."

A brief pause, then a mildly frustrated nod of consent. Simulated frustration, of course. Miko programs' almost uncanny range of expression went above and beyond the requirements for a natural-language personal assistance program, but that was part of their charm. Arata took a deep breath of the salty air, looking out over the painterly vista. Stirring indeed. The sunlight danced upon the crests of the low waves rolling through the ruins, even as the rosy rays were snared and shattered by the shimmering husks of the old city's architecture.

Even now, more than half a century after the catastrophe that had claimed so many lives, many of those buildings still jutted from the waters like the bones of some mechanical leviathan. Some, he knew, were even partially functional - the corpse of a metropolis housed certain especially unsavory criminal elements beyond the view of Neo-Mitakihara's electronic eyes, and a proper demolition had been on the agenda for decades.He expected it would stay there for decades more. Nobody wanted to be the mayor to authorize lobbing shells into what amounted to a graveyard, however many rats the blast might catch. He certainly didn't, and had reasons of his own. Monument or no, he had never entirely trusted that the Golden General and her allies had taken the last of the calamitous swarm of wraiths down with them. Who knew what might be shaken loose by rattling their tomb.

"Sir? I apologize for the interruption, but..."

"I'm aware, Miko. Quiet. Now."

"Sir, this is important, you have a call from the foundation regarding... sir? Mr. Sato? I... appear to be suffering a wireless error. I've lost access to your visual and audio input streams. And... vitals are... sir, please hang on. I am calling emergency services now. Please hold on..."

As they so often did, the program's protestations fell on deaf ears, even as her distress call was relayed via some of the city's highest-priority networks. This time, however, the mayor of Neo-Mitakihara could hardly be blamed. Responsibility fell squarely on the high-caliber round which had just entered the rear of the man's cranium, reducing the front of the skull to a blown-out crater that only the most charitable of observers would deign to refer to as a face and sending chunks of red and gray matter soaring in a grotesquely elegant arc over the cliff's edge.

Elsewhere - at a range straining credulity, and well out of sight of the city's general surveillance network, a figure nods briefly at the confirmation, beginning the methodical disassembly of the launching device back into briefcase form.

Sato Arata had always enjoyed sunrises.

[strawberryman]

[Residential Sect - Ward 13]
(Warutsu (Waltz) Towers High-Class Apartment Buildings)
[7:38]

There's a sudden buzz on a desk cluttered by cans, bottles, and cigarette butts lazily overflowing from several ash trays. Then... the ringtone. Gods, the ringtone. A buzz rings through a hungover engineer's head as she begins to rouse from her slumber, head resting peacefully on the desk's surface.

Rumba rumba rumba rumba-

The engineer jabs the answering protocol on her phone. Well... can she even call it a phone? It's basically a miniature data center at this point, contained in a futuristic slab of high-impact fabricated glass. Processing and memory have gone nearly microscopic at a fast rate. And why shouldn't it? It's an age of technology. Nonetheless, as her program handled answering the call and putting them on hold as she lifts her head off the desk and brushes the trash off her face, a single thought races through Nadica Novak's head as she metaphorically boots up all higher functions.

Who the **** is calling at this hour? 8 in the morning. Not even 8 in the morning, 7:40 in the morning. Everybody who was anybody knew she did not take calls before 9. And she programmed her answering machine as such to berate whoever had a stupid question during her non-business hours. But one guesses that is why she had an emergency patch-through. For emergencies. So this is probably an emergency. She swipes to disable the protocol, lets out a phlegmy cough, and growls none-too-gracefully;

"Who the **** is calling at this hour?"

"...and good morning to you, Miss Novak."

"Cut the sass, Honda. I didn't set an emergency line for bull**** wakeup calls. It's my 'is this important? don't care, smartass. Is this deathly important? well, call later, ***hole. is this a world-shaking emergency? well leave a message, and hope I am feeling up to answering, ****face' line." Wow that was a mouthful. She coughs again. "So it better be raining hellfire and dead rising from the grave and seas turning to blood and boiling all biblical-style because if not I am coming to shove a boot-shaped piece of spiky hot metal so far up-"

"...yes, yes. I've heard it five times already. And that was just yesterday." Honda would not have been accepted as Novak's secretary without a respectable amount of wit to counter Nadica's own. "The board is calling an emergency meeting in 20 minutes, with the expectation of all available board members being present in 15. You will need to leave in-"

"I know the math, Honda. What's so serious?"

"I don't know." She is legitimately concerned. Most of the time they were at least somewhat liberal with some amount of information. But today... "They simply sent the call out, and have it set to black." A bit of a in-company grading system of severity. Black being one of the worst. Nadica rubs her temples.

"****." Cough. "Fine. Have an energy drink for me when I get there." She hangs up, shakes her head to wake herself up, then taps on her desk. A virtual keyboard flashes out of nowhere, projected on the flat surface and her quick keystrokes read by a minuscule camera. The side of her small apartment... just opens up, wind howling for a moment and blowing out a few possibly important papers into the sky. Oh well. Rolling her wheelchair to the edge, she taps a few buttons on the chair's arm... and it expands, snapping out wings and a rocket engine, strapping her into place and putting a glass visor to protect her face... before roaring out of the building. The apartment wall slides back into place, like nothing happened after she left.

Well okay then.

(Zeal Technologies Board Room)
[7:55]

Nadica Novak rolls into the conference room with a loud bang as the doors are kicked open. Dressed in... a fairly worn-out dress, and one of her floral-pattern eye patches hastily donned to avoid the annoying glares... she nonetheless attracts a lot of glares. "One of you ***clowns better fess up pretty damn quick on this prank, or we're gonna play a game of spin the bottle. The winner gets a bottle where the sun doesn't shine. Yes, even you guys." It's a wonder Nadica was tolerated this long, but... she just sort of. Owned a considerable share of the company. Given she helped build it. And no matter how rude she was, nobody could really argue with that.

Nonetheless, Nadica slides into her spot on the table looking hilariously out of place between men and women in business suits just... waiting. She chugs the rest of a Magic-Star energy drink before crumpling it up and throwing it in a corner somewhere for some hapless mook to pick up, the clank echoing through the nervous conference room, interrupting quiet conversation yet again.

For the remainder of the 4 minutes until the meeting actually starts... Nadica boredly taps on her dataslate phone, organizing her projects.

[Selinia]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 3]
[Zeal Technologies HQ, Boardroom]

There are a few polite coughs at Nadica's comment, before the chair at the head of the table squeaks softly with the arrival of its occupant. Seven fifty-nine, sharp to the point that the clock ticks over almost in sync with a coffee mug clinking onto the glass tabletop. Nakano Hiroto, CEO of Zeal Technologies, possessed a number of somewhat idiosyncratic skills for someone in his position. One of them was the ability to look like it was five o'clock in his own little world, regardless of whatever the clocks might be imposing on the rest of the room, or how solemn he is trying to appear.

"Ladies. Gents. Novak. We are gathered here today in memory of..." Tap tap tap on the touch-sensitive table, and an image appears - a genial older man instantly recognizable as the city's mayor. "...this guy. Former mayor of Neo-Mitakihara as of about an hour ago, according to the distress chimes of one of our little Mikos out there. No press release, fuzz ain't chiming in yet, but let's be honest. Total physical destruction of neural interfaces plus an instant flatline?"

Hiroto spins slightly in his chair, miming a pistol with the fingers of one hand. "Boom. Headshot." He adds the mimed recoil for good measure, before catching himself and spinning back to face the table.

"This is, of course, incredibly sad. Our city has lost a very great man today. Perhaps more relevantly, it's lost a man who was very free with taxpayer money when it came to keeping our fair burg of NeoMiki on the cutting edge. So I had Kami crunch some numbers." Tap tap, and several spreadsheets appear in front of each board member, filled with the best estimates of one of the city's most powerful computers.

The Zeal Technologies operating system functioned on two very distinct levels. The overwhelming majority of work could be handled by the user-friendly natural-language Miko-OS personal assistants that had proven one of the company's most popular products since their release. More intense queries, meanwhile, were forwarded by a Miko into the queue of one of the eleven Kami supercomputers placed strategically around Neo-Mitakihara (and a handful of other relevant cities). It wasn't perfect - queue-sorting systems still needed some refinement, and high traffic times occasionally caused service hiccups, but it put immense processing power in the hands of the consumer. And networked together, the Kami systems could provide some very impressive projections.

"Now. Don't go worrying, 'cause here's the good news. We're all still rich. Actually, just, this is really dang good coffee. Miko?" A tiny figure - this one with her hair in a bun and wearing a smart business suit, as is proper for the assistant to the board meeting room - pops up in confirmation. "Miko? Cool, give the guy who brewed this a raise. Bam. See? Totally frivolous expenditure, 'cause we're gonna be just aces flush here. Worst case scenario, we all just have to deal with being imperceptibly less wealthy."

Taptaptap, more charts.

"Not gonna happen though. Know why? 'Cause we are on top of this. Let's take a look at what we're losing. What we're gaining. How we can roll with this thing. Feel free to chime in with your thoughts, as long as you're taking like three seconds to vet them for stupidity. Start at the top, Miko..."

At this point, things shift into a bit of a rhythm, the conversation ebbing and flowing with the potential for stalled buyouts, how to ensure major contracts don't lapse, and - above all - how to make sure the city's next mayor keeps the old one's business-friendly policies intact. The question of who killed a man known for his tolerance and unwavering good works, and for the love of the goddess why, seems to have been tabled by some sort of unspoken accord.

[Sucrose]

[Residential Sect-Ward 8] (Watanabe Satou)

Meanwhile, across town, one of Zeal Technologies' products went back into service.

"Satou?"

"Satou!"

"grr......WAKE UP, YOU OLD FART!"

Tsunde-Rei, one of the many kinds of Miko available. Designed to encourage those particularly in need of motivation. And personal pain in my ass.

"Your heart rate's up, Satou! Give up- you're already awake!"

With the low groan of a geriatric bloodhound, and the whir of a clunker's engine, I climbed off my sleeping mat. Stood, put on my AR sunglasses, and looked down into Rei's virtual eyes.

"This better be big, Rei."

"...Of course it is. Do you think I'd end a decent night's sleep for you at the drop of a hat?"

I gave her a sidelong look, then sighed, and raked back my hair.

"Who, when, where?"

She hesitated. That was a first. Must've been calculated to let me brace myself. Just as I was about to repeat myself, though, she piped up.

"Mayor Sato Arata. Five minutes ago. Monument Point."

The words stopped me cold. Sato Arata... the man had been a legend. One of the few decent people left in Neo-Mitakihara.

Honestly, it was almost surprising that it had taken this long. But the old goat had seemed immortal. Like a mountain, always just part of the background of the city.

I was pulled out of my reverie by a tug on my shoulder. Smart-cloth, responding to a command by Rei. The Zeal people did good work. She actually looked like she cared.

"...Satou, you should go."

She was right. The trail was already getting cold. I slipped on my trench coat. Covered my metal hands. Muffled my footsteps with my heavy boots. And stepped into the bright boulevards of Neo-Mitakihara.

It should have been raining.

[KnightDisciple]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Japan]
[NMSF HQ]

A giant of a man strode through the bullpen of the police station, his red hair standing out as much as if he'd literally been on fire. He seemed a bit tired, having apparently worked an overnight shift. He stopped at a desk and glanced at a couple of papers before glancing around, clearly looking for anyone of a higher authority than himself, before slipping a small flask out of somewhere on his belt and taking a couple of quick, deep swigs. He was just twisting the cap back on and enjoying the burn when lights flashed at key points around the bullpen. He blinked, then pulled out his phone as it buzzed.

Seconds later he was racing out the door, a cloud of curses in multiple languages following him.

The screeching of tires outside is heard soon afterwards, as Duncan Turnbull III races to catch up and keep up with the CSI and coroner vans.

[strawberryman]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 3]
(Zeal Technologies Board Room)

Nadica blinks. Then has a coughing fit, followed by a 'wth' stare. But... no, this wasn't the place to get answers. She had "friends" in the police force, she'd get information from them. She sends out a few messages idly, pulling a cigarette from a compartment on her wheelchair and lighting it. By this point nobody really said anything, just letting the filtration systems handle it.

So, old man, who'd you finally piss off enough to blow a hole in your skull?

Spoiler: Message to Reaper Satou

Show

need everything you know as soon as you know it

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 6]
(Yumeiji Tower)
[Earlier-6:04]

A light jostling at a teenage girl's feet is the catalyst to the first waking thought of the day, but a tired groan is the usual first response. Then, a few minutes later, the feeling of a cold damp end of a muzzle on her face, and the light scraping of a rough tongue. Koizumi Rio groans again, pushing Kin's head away before sitting up slightly, rubbing her eyes. "I'm uuuup..." Kin tilts his head before padding over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, jumping up slightly to hit the blind control with his paw, the windows' built-in darkening shifting to half strength. Still more than enough to turn the twilight of the room to a more proper (if somewhat blinding at this point) brightness.

"Ah! Gin-chan, you're so mean." Rio mutters this, rubbing her eyes even more frantically but turning to shift out of the bed, clad in luxurious striped pajamas of various shades of blue. Stretching a bit, she touches the surface of her nightstand, activating an intercom system to the kitchen. "...tou-san, I'm up..." Koizumi Akio's gentle tone rings back.

"Oh, good! I was just starting breakfast. Salmon and herb omelettes! I'll tell your mom you're getting ready."

There's her usual moment of hesitation before responding. "Hai." She shuts the intercom off with a second tap, then walks to her wardrobe, pulling down a clean, ironed school uniform, as well as a clean set of undergarments. Everything was neatly organized. Her dad helped, but it was an expectation as part of her daily routine that she would keep things in order. The same with her room... everything as close to spotless as possible. Her shelves of books (fully more than half of it being various manga) had little oversight in content, just in organization. Really... it might seem a little overboard, but it did help Rio feel a little calmer. Perhaps just because she'd always been in a clean environment, but it's a chicken and egg kind of thing.

With her clothes gathered, she enters her personal bathroom (as she grew into teenage years, her parents actually changed apartments just so she could have her own bathroom), just as orderly as her bedroom. Kin sits dutifully outside the sliding door as Rio locks it and steps in the shower. After over half an hour of bathing, grooming, and clothing, she steps back out, giving Kin a pat on the head and a smile before heading to the kitchen, german shepherd padding after her at a respectable pace.

The Koizumi's apartment's kitchen is just as luxurious as the rest, with classy marble counter tops, and state of the art appliances and other accouterments. All the better to keep Akio, a stay-at-home husband, occupied. The brown-haired, clean shaven man turns with a smile from the stovetop as Rio scoots onto a stool to sit at the kitchen bar. Kin sitting at his empty food dish as usual. "Ohayou!"

"Ohayou." Rio's response is a little flat, but she gives a bit of a smile. "Breakfast sure smells good, doesn't it?" The aroma of salmon, eggs, and a mixture of herbs can certainly attest that fact. Rio nods. "Mm. Mom is getting ready?"

"Yeah, she has to go upstairs soon." Being part of Yumeiji Entertainment had its perks, like getting an apartment just a short walk and elevator ride's away from work. Rio nods, just... quietly waiting before Akio slides a delicious-looking omelette in front of her. "Well, enjoy as usual! And don't think I've forgotten you, Kin-chan~" He slides a few scraps of salmon into his bowl, giving him an affectionate scratch behind the ear before setting half of an omelette out for Chiyo, taking the other half for himself.

Rio cuts in quietly and chews, honestly a little glad for a break in conversation.

[Kuroimaken]

Spoiler

Show

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 3]
(Zeal Technologies Board Room)

Nadica blinks. Then has a coughing fit, followed by a 'wth' stare. But... no, this wasn't the place to get answers. She had "friends" in the police force, she'd get information from them. She sends out a few messages idly, pulling a cigarette from a compartment on her wheelchair and lighting it. By this point nobody really said anything, just letting the filtration systems handle it.

So, old man, who'd you finally piss off enough to blow a hole in your skull?

Spoiler: Message to Reaper Satou

Show

need everything you know as soon as you know it

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 6]
(Yumeiji Tower)
[Earlier-6:04]

A light jostling at a teenage girl's feet is the catalyst to the first waking thought of the day, but a tired groan is the usual first response. Then, a few minutes later, the feeling of a cold damp end of a muzzle on her face, and the light scraping of a rough tongue. Koizumi Rio groans again, pushing Kin's head away before sitting up slightly, rubbing her eyes. "I'm uuuup..." Kin tilts his head before padding over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, jumping up slightly to hit the blind control with his paw, the windows' built-in darkening shifting to half strength. Still more than enough to turn the twilight of the room to a more proper (if somewhat blinding at this point) brightness.

"Ah! Gin-chan, you're so mean." Rio mutters this, rubbing her eyes even more frantically but turning to shift out of the bed, clad in luxurious striped pajamas of various shades of blue. Stretching a bit, she touches the surface of her nightstand, activating an intercom system to the kitchen. "...tou-san, I'm up..." Koizumi Akio's gentle tone rings back.

"Oh, good! I was just starting breakfast. Salmon and herb omelettes! I'll tell your mom you're getting ready."

There's her usual moment of hesitation before responding. "Hai." She shuts the intercom off with a second tap, then walks to her wardrobe, pulling down a clean, ironed school uniform, as well as a clean set of undergarments. Everything was neatly organized. Her dad helped, but it was an expectation as part of her daily routine that she would keep things in order. The same with her room... everything as close to spotless as possible. Her shelves of books (fully more than half of it being various manga) had little oversight in content, just in organization. Really... it might seem a little overboard, but it did help Rio feel a little calmer. Perhaps just because she'd always been in a clean environment, but it's a chicken and egg kind of thing.

With her clothes gathered, she enters her personal bathroom (as she grew into teenage years, her parents actually changed apartments just so she could have her own bathroom), just as orderly as her bedroom. Kin sits dutifully outside the sliding door as Rio locks it and steps in the shower. After over half an hour of bathing, grooming, and clothing, she steps back out, giving Kin a pat on the head and a smile before heading to the kitchen, german shepherd padding after her at a respectable pace.

The Koizumi's apartment's kitchen is just as luxurious as the rest, with classy marble counter tops, and state of the art appliances and other accouterments. All the better to keep Akio, a stay-at-home husband, occupied. The brown-haired, clean shaven man turns with a smile from the stovetop as Rio scoots onto a stool to sit at the kitchen bar. Kin sitting at his empty food dish as usual. "Ohayou!"

"Ohayou." Rio's response is a little flat, but she gives a bit of a smile. "Breakfast sure smells good, doesn't it?" The aroma of salmon, eggs, and a mixture of herbs can certainly attest that fact. Rio nods. "Mm. Mom is getting ready?"

"Yeah, she has to go upstairs soon." Being part of Yumeiji Entertainment had its perks, like getting an apartment just a short walk and elevator ride's away from work. Rio nods, just... quietly waiting before Akio slides a delicious-looking omelette in front of her. "Well, enjoy as usual! And don't think I've forgotten you, Kin-chan~" He slides a few scraps of salmon into his bowl, giving him an affectionate scratch behind the ear before setting half of an omelette out for Chiyo, taking the other half for himself.

Rio cuts in quietly and chews, honestly a little glad for a break in conversation.

Speaking of the devil, Chiyo's light steps can be heard rounding the end of the corridor as she speaks into a holographic terminal out of her watch.

"Look Saya, all I'm saying is that it's too early in your career to be selling that kind of image. You've only just settled in your persona as a strong and independent young woman. You need to give it a little time before you can let your fans know you have a more delicate side as well, otherwise it feels inconsistent. Just... think it over, okay? Please give it a couple more days before you sign that voice acting contract. I'll stall Bamco for you. See you around."

A click of a button and a quick sigh later, Chiyo resumes her perpetual smile. As usual, she's clad in an impeccable business suit with a bolder design than most - she can afford it, both literally and in her career. She practically zooms over to Rio as soon as she is spotted, squeezing her against her ample bosom and kissing the top of her head. "So what will your subjects at school be today, sweetie?" It was a thankless but necessary task to keep Rio's mind on her schedule.

[Selinia]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 5]
[Monument Point - Crime Scene]

Even a city as bright and well-secured as Neo-Mitakihara was no stranger to violent crime. In moments of passion or rage, no amount of surveillance in the world could allow an intervention before a potentially deadly assault, particularly in light of the augmentations that even an average civilian might possess. But for all that existed, crime had been lessened dramatically by the valiant efforts and razor-edge technologies of the city's vigilant Security Force. Ordinary crime, at least.

As the already-bustling crime scene indicates, the city's officers still retained a morbid job security. This was clearly a less than ordinary job, even setting aside the target. Someone clever enough to avoid any of the most obvious traces, well-equipped enough to execute their plan, and enough of an outlier to pull the trigger on one of the city's most beloved figures. There had not yet been a proper press release, but there would likely need to be one before too long - this was a public area, and the NMSF was not exactly the most discrete of entities on its best days.

The scene is still fairly calm as some of the force's more elite officers arrive, however. Teams are setting up equipment, a perimeter has been established, and several officers seem to be making calls to various sources, attempting to filter out the most obvious leads: yakuza, terrorism, some sort of ill-conceived corporate espionage. This was obviously no passion killing, entirely too well executed. Someone had it in for the poor old sod. At a small terminal setup, a technician is trying to sift through the victim's damaged Miko unit, while others are trying to politely turn away a magical girl who'd shown up early to leave a bouquet at the memorial herself. The corpse itself seems to have been roped off for the moment until more specialized investigators could arrive.

[strawberryman]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 6]
(Yumeiji Tower)

Rio grimaces a bit at the hug, chewing and swallowing before answering with her usual slow, neutral tone. "...math, english, music, health, and social studies." She takes another thoughtful bite after Chiyo gives her space again. "...was that Lightstriker Saya?" Rio usually tended to light up when it came to the mashou that her mother worked with.

Akio chuckles and pushes Chiyo's plate over. "...well, before that... half portion as usual, Chi-chan." A distraction? Maybe. Rio still looks like she's interested in an answer, though.

[Kuroimaken]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 6]
(Yumeiji Tower)

Rio grimaces a bit at the hug, chewing and swallowing before answering with her usual slow, neutral tone. "...math, english, music, health, and social studies." She takes another thoughtful bite after Chiyo gives her space again. "...was that Lightstriker Saya?" Rio usually tended to light up when it came to the mashou that her mother worked with.

Akio chuckles and pushes Chiyo's plate over. "...well, before that... half portion as usual, Chi-chan." A distraction? Maybe. Rio still looks like she's interested in an answer, though.

"Yes it was." Chiyo replies when she finally lets go. "I'm worried because she's trying to go after popularity way too quickly... And she can have a bit of a stubborn streak. That's an awful combination. The public will chew her up and spit her out if she's not careful." The manager had a way of peeling through the outer layers of people and seeing them for what they were. Sometimes this meant she spoke out of turn, but thankfully, her job was to counsel, not be in the public eye. A good manager's work almost always ensured she was never actually seen.

"On top of that I need to find a referral for our latest contract. Red Gear Makoto... *sigh* I just know he's going to be trouble."

[KnightDisciple]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 5]
[Monument Point - Crime Scene]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 5]
[Monument Point - Crime Scene]

Even a city as bright and well-secured as Neo-Mitakihara was no stranger to violent crime. In moments of passion or rage, no amount of surveillance in the world could allow an intervention before a potentially deadly assault, particularly in light of the augmentations that even an average civilian might possess. But for all that existed, crime had been lessened dramatically by the valiant efforts and razor-edge technologies of the city's vigilant Security Force. Ordinary crime, at least.

As the already-bustling crime scene indicates, the city's officers still retained a morbid job security. This was clearly a less than ordinary job, even setting aside the target. Someone clever enough to avoid any of the most obvious traces, well-equipped enough to execute their plan, and enough of an outlier to pull the trigger on one of the city's most beloved figures. There had not yet been a proper press release, but there would likely need to be one before too long - this was a public area, and the NMSF was not exactly the most discrete of entities on its best days.

The scene is still fairly calm as some of the force's more elite officers arrive, however. Teams are setting up equipment, a perimeter has been established, and several officers seem to be making calls to various sources, attempting to filter out the most obvious leads: yakuza, terrorism, some sort of ill-conceived corporate espionage. This was obviously no passion killing, entirely too well executed. Someone had it in for the poor old sod. At a small terminal setup, a technician is trying to sift through the victim's damaged Miko unit, while others are trying to politely turn away a magical girl who'd shown up early to leave a bouquet at the memorial herself. The corpse itself seems to have been roped off for the moment until more specialized investigators could arrive.

A fairly nondescript car pulls up and over to one side, where several other NMSF vehicles already reside. The man who climbs out is anything but nondescript. The towering ginger Scotsman squints at the now-bright morning sun and pulls a pair of sunglasses from a pocket, depositing them on his face with a sigh of relief.

Then he hunts down the table with coffee, giving polite grunts of greeting to those other officers and technicians present and in similar states of wakefulness. Two cups disappear in as many minutes, and then he's off to the actual scene.

Before talking to any of the CSI techs or other dectives on scene, Duncan Turnbull III goes over to the roped off area and begins eyeballing its position, any nearby impact craters (that bullet clearly didn't stop in the Mayor), that sort of thing. Finally, he stands up and walks to whoever looks to have done some of the immediate ballistics analysis.

"We have any idea what did this, besides "probably not a Saturday night special"?"

[Sucrose]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 5]
[Monument Point - Crime Scene]
(Within the vivid shadows of Watanabe Satou's mind)

I step under the police tape, the gravel of the path getting ground a bit finer as I pass. Behind me, a majou keeps arguing with some of the junior officers. Nice kid, to be out so early. Isn't the scene for her right now. She lets out a little cry when a patrol wagon screeches to a halt behind her.

Ahead of me, there's the body. Still leaking.

First young'ns that got here were careful not to disturb it, aside from removing the Miko. Maybe they knew the importance. Maybe they didn't want to touch the city's grandfather, feel him cooling down.

...Shouldn't have been like this. Can't even let the people say their farewells to Sato Arata. It'll be to some bio-molded sculpture in his casket instead.

Rei lets me know that I have a message incoming. Must've noticed that I was monologuing again. I look it over. So. The girl wants to nose in. I let Rei know my response. After a frown from her, I word it more politely.

Spoiler

Show

You'll get your information with the rest of the public, unless you can aid the investigation, Novak. You want to know, come down and help. I expect you want out of that den of vultures anyway.

Right. Have a job to do. The old man wouldn't have stood for me just dreaming on the clock.

Rei brings up the photos taken so far. Coverage is good. With a nod, I send all of them up to Omoikane, the police's secure Kami. Top priority. Within a few seconds, it gets back. Full 3D model, down to the centimeter. Should be able to interact with the scene directly, after we're done working with this.

I look over the body, observe the position. He always did love to strike little poses. I move to AR, and have Rei pick up the representation of his body. Adjust it. Turn it to face the best view. And...there. Structure of the scene established.

Just at about the time Turnbull finishes looking it over for himself, and speaks up. The gaijin must have been working late. Then jumped right back into action. That fiery head of his still hasn't cooled, for all the time he's been with us. Probably his most endearing trait.

"Nothing immediately found on the city surveillance network. Otherwise this case would be solved No report of sonic crack. I'd say a rocket gun, as long as magic isn't the direct cause. Rei'll send you what I have so far. After you're done looking through, give me a look at the back of the head, with that folding hand of yours. Want to observe the exit angle."

[Selinia]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 5]
[Monument Point - Crime Scene]

One of the technicians gives a confirming nod to Satou. Bit of a pasty-faced sort, doesn't look to be sporting more than the bare bones basic augmentations for his job. Probably not too well bloodied either, judging by the faintly nauseated look on his face. But as far as the old detective can tell, the numbers are good. He directs his answer to both of the cyborgs, clearly happy to have some authority figures on the scene. If perhaps a little intimidated by the titanic enforcers of the law.

"Well, uh. Yeah, we've... we've queried our Kami on it, so we're getting info a bit piecemeal, but you've hit it on the head sir. Looks like a gyrojet. Maybe something else fancy. No sonic crack, and trajectory says it came from inside the city, which isn't really, uh. You know, gonna happen with our cams. The security footage, they're going over now, but well. Sir. Probably just going to be confirming that. You know how it is, sir, just doing diligence. But uh, yeah, looking at a round that can cut a... more than 90' turn. Or a couple smaller ones real fast." Spotting Turnbull looking for craters, he continues with the conclusion that Duncan has probably already drawn.

"Uh, exit trajectory says the round probably wound up in the drink, sir. I think uh, we have some... well, divers, going to take a look."

In the drink. Because of course it is. Not a totally fruitless line of questioning, at least. Weapons capable of that kind of correction were rare, and the software needed to program their trajectories went beyond what any reasonable human could expect to pull off. The handful of such weapons used by the NMSF were linked into HQ's Kami unit, which was admittedly overkill, but no ordinary Miko could pull it off. Satou had heard of Americans using briefcase processors as part of their sniper kits, calibrated specifically for weapons like that. Thankfully not the likely culprit - stolen tech or not, that would be a recipe for a political disaster. Simplest answer would be a disgruntled officer, but a quick query reveals all NMSF weapons were accounted for at the appropriate times. Easiest answer after that would be the usual suspects. Too bold for the Yakuza, but the gun might have passed through their hands.

Hard answer would be magic. Something like this wouldn't be able to be swept under the rug. Magic could sit quietly and behave in the pretty column of 'hopefully not'.

The corpse itself is untouched by decay. Heck, it's still almost warm, or close enough to imagine the difference. It was... quick, at least. No suffering. The shooter had gone for the head, blasting it to pieces with a single round. Odd for a sniper, especially when using a caliber clearly large enough to snuff out a life aimed much closer to the center of mass. Computers were good, not perfect - professionals would maximize their odds. Maybe some sort of odd compassion, in all this. Small mercies. Had all the usual implants for someone his age - bio monitors, regulators, a handful of synthetic organs. The geezer was living on time bought by metal and plastic to begin with, but he sure didn't seem to be slowing down.

Which left the question of where the round came from to begin with. Old city was a cesspool, goddess only knows how many empty windows in those stainless towers in the sea. But with a gyro... the range on those things was positively outlandish. Especially if there was a spotter feeding data somewhere nearer the impact site - either a human accomplice or a digital ghost lurking in one of the countless public or private cameras covering any given point in the city.

[strawberryman]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 3]
(Zeal Technologies Board Room)

Nadica grits her teeth angrily.

Spoiler: Reaper Satou

Show

coming over there to put a foot up that mechanical ass

She slams a hand on the table, putting out the stub of her cigarette on the expensive surface. "Well look at the time. The NMSF invited me over to do some techno-bull**** for them at the crime scene. Hate to ditch you wonderful people to your money talk but I've got **** to do." She starts rolling out of the room, taking the elevator to the roof, the sound of her rocket-wheelchair audible from the board room. She lands on top of the Town Hall, ignoring the NMSF jockeys yelling that the area is restricted and riding the elevator down to the mayor's office level.

[Ward 6]
(Yumeiji Tower - Apartment)

"...she's cool. I watched some clips last night, she has good finishers. Hard to capture because of the lights, but... she's a good person. She deserves to be popular." Rio nods a little. "...you'll help her, right?" This is important to her!

Kin, meanwhile, lays down and sighs contentedly after finishing the last morsel of salmon in his bowl. Canine life was going good.

[Kuroimaken]

[Yumeiji Tower]

Chiyo smiles. Her daughter has a good heart and a good eye.

"Of course I'll help her, Rio. This is why I chose this job. I'm just worried because she's trying to do too much at once! I think she'll be happier if she paces herself, is all."

This was said politely in between sips and bites. Mommy had to run.

[Draken]

[Prefecture]

Nadica's elevator stops on its tracks. Followed by Leon's 'face' appearing in the back wall screen, taking the place of a news channel talking about how Leon has not issues any statements to the press yet, but is due to do so soon.

*Bzzt* "Novak, what are you doing here. This is not even the crime scene."

A short pause.

*Bzzt* "Actually I don't want you at the crime scene either, but the point remains. What are you doing here?"

[Kuroimaken]

[Kujoh manor]

Makoto was thoroughly bored.

Since he outed himself to his family as a mashou, his mother and father insisted he not hunt wraiths until he could find someone to properly supervise his career in the public eye. He'd been a target for kidnapping at least twice in his young life. The first time he cried and prayed that his family would see him loose, only to find out that his release was a matter of finances and investment, not of feelings.

The second time, he mediated his own release. And then had his kidnappers killed.

He had no interest in studying at this point. He was all caught up on his manga and anime too - being rich can afford you LOTS of free time when you learn a lot of things in less than a third of the time most people do (thank you, genetically-engineered superior brain!). He wasn't in the mood for another mock-up training session, and he'd even revised the quarterly reports for his parents' company (someone in the Singapore branch was about to get the axe).

"Josuke."

"Yes, young master?"

"Ready my bike. I'm going out for a ride."

"But sir--"

"Did I stutter?"

Josuke knew better than to go against Makoto. Truth is, the old butler was terrified of the child. His parents were, by comparison, the sweetest couple anyone could ever hope to meet.

Makoto put on his leathers.

[strawberryman]

[Ward 6]
(Yumeiji Tower - Apartments)

Rio gives a short nod. "...Okay." With that, she's satisfied, chowing down on her breakfast.

Akio leans in for a kiss, and takes Chiyo's cleared plate. "Have a great day, Chi-chan." Rio gives a bit of a wave as she finishes her plate. There was still some time before she had to leave for her train.

[Ward ?]
(Town Hall, Elevator)

"Look, Leon, I'm not a ****in moron, I dug the crime scene out of the police chatter already. I'm getting a step ahead." Nadica leans over, pulling a plate off the control panel and fiddling with wires and inner components. After a few moments, the elevator starts back up. "I've got important places to be, so why don't you be a good goldfish and forget I was even here." The door opens at the Mayor's office floor, and she rolls out. No doubt Leon would be ringing her up pretty soon, but the silence is appreciated. A few security guards stand at the door to the office, the only people on the floor. The press were way down below, on the ground floor. No doubt in a mad rush to get their scoop.

Nadica stops at the meat wall, pulling a cig from her pack and lighting it. "So, look. I don't have time to suck you off with a bunch of nonsense, I'm on a tight schedule. Call me the IT chick and let me in, unless you'd really like to do this the hard way." Maybe Leon would call and she could BS her way in. Maybe.

[Draken]

[Ward 1, probably]

Leon's face keeps following Novak as she strolls along, not showing his chagrin, because it is mostly a decorated helmet-looking android's head.

"..."

*Bzzt* "Fine, but we will have words after I am done with the press outside. Let her though."

The loud noise of an aircraft suddenly blares on the outside, and as the door of the office is opened by the officers, Nadica gets to see Leon making an "I've got my eye on you" gesture at her through the window from the cockpit of an NMSF patrol ship. One might think this was too well timed.

The vessel descends slowly afterwards, forcing the crowd of reporters outside to open up space for it to land. A small crew of guards comes out and pushes the crowd further out of the way, opening a path for the captain to reach the gate of the public building. No doubt under a hail of questions.

[Selinia]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 1]
[City Hall, Citizen's Plaza]

"Captain Gomes! Would you..."
"...just one question if you..."
"...the public wants to know..."
"...can you confirm the rumors that..."
"...what is your position on the theory of..."
"...any leads on the alleged killer..."

A screech from a police horn quells the crowd long enough for one of the harried public officials who had previously been trying to fend off the crowd before the Chief's arrival to clear her throat and make a statement. By all that was holy these people turned into a churning sea of apathetic inquisition at the drop of a hat.

"The Captain of the Neo-Mitakihara Security Force will be taking your questions now! You will ask them one at a time, in an orderly and concise fashion! NMN, you may go first." The reporter from the Neo-Mitakihara Network seems mildly surprised at being selected over the national outlet, but rallies quickly and asks their question. The others follow in turn. Certainly, Leonardo's presence had that effect on people - even the most disorderly had difficulty being the one to step out of line under the vigilance of that unblinking metal gaze.

"Sir, the city is reeling from the apparent death of Sato Arata. What is the current situation? Do you believe this to be a politically motivated assassination, or a random act of violence?"
"Captain Gomes, how close are you to bringing the perpetrator to justice? Do you have any suspects?"
"There are rumors that one of the corporations is responsible for this, are you pursuing that line of investigation?"
"The Neo-Miki Investigation Team has estimated that it's likely that this was done with police weaponry. Are you investigating your own forces, sir?"

And there it was. The Neo-Miki Investigation Team - a bunch of nerds fancying themselves 'citizen detectives' with a cobbled-together network of Mikos they fancied a Kami unit. Always just right enough to tantalize the media and wrong enough to start some extremely irritating rumors. You could almost count down to the first outlet to spew out some of their nonsense. Of course, they were occasionally right, but they were very rarely helpful.

[Draken]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 1]
[City Hall, Citizen's Plaza]

The captain takes a moment to pull out a cable and link it to the speakers.

*Bzzt* "Due to the details and precision with which the crime was executed, details that, due to the sensitivities of the investigative process, will not be disclosed at this point in time, the likelihood of a random act of violence has already been discarded. As for the nature and potential associations of the killer, I am afraid to say we have no information to disclose yet. But I can say with absolute certainty that the weapon of the crime did not come from official armories. The particular weapon of the crime is not found in the arsenal of the civilian police and the few exemplars we possess in the NMSF are all accounted for. And as usual, I urge all of you to take the 'work' of NMIT with a grain of salt. They have neither the training nor the equipment to do more than scatter misinformation and conspiratorial nonsense amid the public, and feed the fear-mongering machine of lowest rank media."

There, enough information to tantalize the media and with some luck, filter false claimants who get the weapon wrong.

*Bzzt* "Next round of questions, if you would."

[strawberryman]

[Ward 1]
(Mayor's Office)

Nadica rolls her eyes at Leon's intimidation attempts, rolling into the office like she owned the place, and going straight to the Mayor's desk, kicking his chair aside and sliding into the metaphorical 'seat of power' herself. For a moment, she sits back and looks on the office, and in a fit of fancy, imagines the kind of man (or woman) it would take to run this city. Imagines her own orders and shortcomings in that position. But that was just silliness. Time to get to work. First, she activates the mayor's Miko, and while she boots up, Nadica starts digging through his drawers, employing her "lock pick" (really just a device that used electrical signals to disable modern locks) and seeing what, if anything, would point towards the Mayor getting a target on his back. Or maybe just some good booze.

When the Mayor's Miko appears, she flicks ash from the end of her cig. "Miko Designation #113694, employing override authorization code 74UPHB." Well that would get over any pesky security protocols. "Miko, describe the mayor's schedule, as well as his activity the last 24 hours."

[Selinia]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 1]
[City Hall, Citizen's Plaza]

The next round doesn't take long, shifting away from the nature of the killer with the clear indication that there was nothing to be said.

"Captain! Some are calling this the most important case of the past decade! What can you tell us about how the NMSF is responding?"
"Are measures being taken to ensure the safety of other public officials?"
"A question for the Captain! Have you made contact yet with the Wishcraft foundation? Will they be assisting in the investigation?"

And so on.

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 1]
[City Hall, Mayor's Office]

The desk is full of... ew. Papers. Paper existed for essentially two reasons in Neo-Mitakihara - for the purpose of luxury and making a statement about wealth and permanence, and for securing documents against electronic snooping. These likely had a bit of both. City plans, documents needing signing, notepads filled with scribbled ideas... all of it in the same scratchy, precise handwriting. And all of it fairly irrelevant to Nadica's current pursuits.

There's also an unopened bottle in a lower drawer, apparently liquor of some sort. It's simply lableled with a joking, "Save for the end of the world". It gives off an intense aura of alcohol. Some nice pens - do they even make these any more? A handgun, mildly surprising, but she supposes he still had a bit of military in him after all this time. An... unfilled grief cube? That probably had an interesting story behind it, but for the moment those things are valuable. Some nanopills. And of course, a spare handheld. But the computer was an easier access point.

"...override code accepted. User registered. Welcome." The Miko flickers into existence, adjusting glasses. She narrows her eyes a little at Nadica, opens her mouth to say something, then pauses. Closes it. The terminal lags severely for a few moments as the Miko massages her throat.

"We will begin with the request for activities. Mr. Sato's daily activities were as follows. He awoke, as usual, at 6:30 this morning. The mayor's vitals were stable at this time. He removed the covers of his bed as a single unit, requiring approximately eight seconds to do so, from the initiation of the action to its completion. This followed a thirty second period of wakefulness in which his eyes were closed and Mr. Sato engaged in mental exercises to fully rouse himself from slumber. Once the covers were removed, Mr. Sato shifted his position several times before reaching a seated posture. Following this..."

The Miko continues speaking at a measured pace, detailing the most mundane actions of the morning in excruciating, mind-numbing detail, complete with timestamps and environmental observations on everything from the quality of the eggs at breakfast to a running commentary on the motions of fish in a home aquarium.

Goddess. She isn't even out the front door yet. Nadica has heard of (heck, worked on) some deliberately obtuse models of Miko, but this takes the cake. Stupid little faux-personality modules, this was probably the thing's glitched-out idea of loyalty.

[Sucrose]

Spoiler

Show

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 5]
[Monument Point - Crime Scene]

One of the technicians gives a confirming nod to Satou. Bit of a pasty-faced sort, doesn't look to be sporting more than the bare bones basic augmentations for his job. Probably not too well bloodied either, judging by the faintly nauseated look on his face. But as far as the old detective can tell, the numbers are good. He directs his answer to both of the cyborgs, clearly happy to have some authority figures on the scene. If perhaps a little intimidated by the titanic enforcers of the law.

"Well, uh. Yeah, we've... we've queried our Kami on it, so we're getting info a bit piecemeal, but you've hit it on the head sir. Looks like a gyrojet. Maybe something else fancy. No sonic crack, and trajectory says it came from inside the city, which isn't really, uh. You know, gonna happen with our cams. The security footage, they're going over now, but well. Sir. Probably just going to be confirming that. You know how it is, sir, just doing diligence. But uh, yeah, looking at a round that can cut a... more than 90' turn. Or a couple smaller ones real fast." Spotting Turnbull looking for craters, he continues with the conclusion that Duncan has probably already drawn.

"Uh, exit trajectory says the round probably wound up in the drink, sir. I think uh, we have some... well, divers, going to take a look."

In the drink. Because of course it is. Not a totally fruitless line of questioning, at least. Weapons capable of that kind of correction were rare, and the software needed to program their trajectories went beyond what any reasonable human could expect to pull off. The handful of such weapons used by the NMSF were linked into HQ's Kami unit, which was admittedly overkill, but no ordinary Miko could pull it off. Satou had heard of Americans using briefcase processors as part of their sniper kits, calibrated specifically for weapons like that. Thankfully not the likely culprit - stolen tech or not, that would be a recipe for a political disaster. Simplest answer would be a disgruntled officer, but a quick query reveals all NMSF weapons were accounted for at the appropriate times. Easiest answer after that would be the usual suspects. Too bold for the Yakuza, but the gun might have passed through their hands.

Hard answer would be magic. Something like this wouldn't be able to be swept under the rug. Magic could sit quietly and behave in the pretty column of 'hopefully not'.

The corpse itself is untouched by decay. Heck, it's still almost warm, or close enough to imagine the difference. It was... quick, at least. No suffering. The shooter had gone for the head, blasting it to pieces with a single round. Odd for a sniper, especially when using a caliber clearly large enough to snuff out a life aimed much closer to the center of mass. Computers were good, not perfect - professionals would maximize their odds. Maybe some sort of odd compassion, in all this. Small mercies. Had all the usual implants for someone his age - bio monitors, regulators, a handful of synthetic organs. The geezer was living on time bought by metal and plastic to begin with, but he sure didn't seem to be slowing down.

Which left the question of where the round came from to begin with. Old city was a cesspool, goddess only knows how many empty windows in those stainless towers in the sea. But with a gyro... the range on those things was positively outlandish. Especially if there was a spotter feeding data somewhere nearer the impact site - either a human accomplice or a digital ghost lurking in one of the countless public or private cameras covering any given point in the city.

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 5]
[Monument Point - Crime Scene]
(Finally Free of Satou's Monologue)

Satou nods. May as well release the kid from his presence, at this point. Nothing further needed from direct contact with the scene. Good as it felt to investigate in-person, there were now...inquiries to be made.

"...Sounds like I should visit a couple of old friends, then. Rei, send the boy the map."

He looks down at the young tech.

"...Yuki, right? You seem like a kid who likes a physics puzzle. Get the entry vector, and point of contact, as narrow as you can. Put the point of contact on the model of the mayor in my map. Extend the angle cone from the point of contact, and query the memories on the air quality sensors along it for any sign of rocket fuels. Figure out, given this was a high-calibur round, and the amount of exhaust, how large of an adjustment the 'jet was making. See if you can use that to put together a path through the city."

Satou turns, and starts clanking out.

"Let me know what you find. Turnbull, care to join me, or are you taking charge here?"

[strawberryman]

[Ward 1]
(Mayor's Office)

Nadica uncorks the bottle with her teeth and takes a big swig, growling a bit at the stubborn Miko. "Okay, look here. I'm investigating Sato's murder, so how about you talk to me already? I want to know what he did of importance yesterday leading up into today. So if you don't want an override on your personality drive next you'd best start working with me instead of against me."

[Draken]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 1]
[City Hall, Citizen's Plaza]

Ah dreaded question, that third one.

*Bzzt* "We expect Wishcraft to contact us on the subject at any time now, or at the very least for one or more of their Mashou to do so."

Why, one could almost hear his voice crack a bit at that. Except they wouldn't because it is a pretty monotone tune coming out of his voice box. Then again, the captain has been known to be less than pleased with Mashou interference on his cases on general grounds of their childishness, misanthropy, lack of professionalism, lack of actual technical skill on the subject matter and/or egotistical prepotence.

*Bzzt* "The remaining public officials of Neo-Mitakihara are handling their security privately as we speak, with the full support of our defense corps and the Ward Police departments."

"As for the level of our response to the crime at hand. My best investigators, inspectors Turnbull and Satou are on the case, and I will be joining them personally in the pursuit of this criminal as soon as we are done with this press release. We will locate the perpetrator of this crime and then there will be no door nor wall nor barrier of any kind that will prevent us from bringing him, her or it to justice."

Some would finish a line like that by smashing a fist on the podium or raising a closed fist to the sky or really, just doing something with a fist. Leon doesn't, instead he has always taken to intensifying the red light that comes out of his helmet's visor.

[Selinia]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 5]
[Monument Point - Crime Scene]

Spoiler

Show

Satou nods. May as well release the kid from his presence, at this point. Nothing further needed from direct contact with the scene. Good as it felt to investigate in-person, there were now...inquiries to be made.

"...Sounds like I should visit a couple of old friends, then. Rei, send the boy the map."

He looks down at the young tech.

"...Yuki, right? You seem like a kid who likes a physics puzzle. Get the entry vector, and point of contact, as narrow as you can. Put the point of contact on the model of the mayor in my map. Extend the angle cone from the point of contact, and query the memories on the air quality sensors along it for any sign of rocket fuels. Figure out, given this was a high-calibur round, and the amount of exhaust, how large of an adjustment the 'jet was making. See if you can use that to put together a path through the city."

Satou turns, and starts clanking out.

"Let me know what you find. Turnbull, care to join me, or are you taking charge here?"

"Y-yes sir! Moko Yuki, sir, and... that would do it, wouldn't it? I'll uh, I'll work on that, and submit it to... to Omoikane. Kami will need some time to crunch the specifics, but uh, we'll drop you a line as soon as it's done, sir. The rest of the team is working hard too, we won't let the city down!" The kid snaps a salute, and hesitates, as if unsure whether to ask something. Eventually, curiosity wins out.

"...uh. Not to intrude, sir. But, is it true that you once took on two wraiths with only one bullet in your clip and survived? I, uh. Read a lot of old reports, studying for this job and, sir. Just... with you and the Steel Bull on this case, this guy doesn't stand a chance! Whoever they are, you've got this!" He gives a shaky thumbs-up, then turns back to his work, clearly having exhausted the last measures of his resolve.

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 1]
[City Hall, Mayor's Office]

Spoiler

Show

Nadica uncorks the bottle with her teeth and takes a big swig, growling a bit at the stubborn Miko. "Okay, look here. I'm investigating Sato's murder, so how about you talk to me already? I want to know what he did of importance yesterday leading up into today. So if you don't want an override on your personality drive next you'd best start working with me instead of against me."

The miko lags again before replying, looking a little defeated. Erasing its personality drive would probably be doing it a favor, they're not much good if they're going to waste this much (or any, honestly) time on glitchy introspection. In the meantime, the booze is surprisingly potent. It might also have some flavors to it, but taste buds weren't high on the list of things she regenerated regularly. Eventually the computer answers.

"Mr. Sato had done very little today prior to his death. He took his morning repast, and, as usual, took a tram to the edge of Ward 5, where he planned to visit Monument Point prior to continuing on to his office, here. This was a strict morning routine, even on days with very full schedules, and it was not a secret. Any assassin could reasonably assume that he would be there at that precise time. He used the time to gather his thoughts and reflect before beginning the workday." A small day planner is projected upwards next to the Miko.

"Today's schedule was quite full with meetings of substantial economic and political importance, but you seem to lack interest in the more routine aspects of his position. The more noteworthy meetings of his were at eight hundred with Ms. Li Nuan, at fifteen hundred with Mr. Leonardo Gomes, and at nineteen thirty with Mr. Nakano Hiroto."

Well, three for three in recognition at least. Hiroto could probably have stood to mention he was meeting with the dead guy at the start of the friggin' meeting, but whatever. Maybe it came up after she walked out. Or maybe during one of the mind-numbing business debates. Nuan though, blek. One of Wishcraft's star rookie-trainers, the ridiculously-nicknamed "Senpai Corps", with a personality like a slab of pure rock candy - as nauseatingly sweet as the worst of the panderers on the network, but somehow immeasurably worse for being genuine. How she wasn't shanked a decade ago is a mystery for the ages. But the Miko is still rambling on.

"I expect I would have been used as secretary for non-confidential portions of these meetings, but I was made aware only of the general topics beforehand, as a cybersecurity measure. The meetings with Mr. Gomes and Mr. Nakano both related to the Zeal Technologies upcoming rollout of the Miko-OS II, the availability of hardware units in the early production runs, the structure of our city's trade, compatibility, and similar issues to ensure a smooth transition during launch. As parsed from the information I can access, and public advertisements, the release date is still unannounced, and this was a preliminary set of meetings."

Also correct, as best Nadica can tell. She... actually hadn't heard that the sweaty otakus on the Miko team were even close to closing in on the full-system upgrade they'd been aiming for, but it's not like software was her specialty. And it definitely wasn't like most anyone in Zeal Technologies to deliberately seek attention from Nadica Novak. But she'd definitely have picked up on it if they were far enough along to give a definitive release date.

"The meeting with Ms. Li Nuan was social in nature. Mr. Sato wished to congratulate her personally, and offer thanks for her continued efforts with the magical and nonmagical youth of the city. It is likely that business would have been discussed, but no specific topics were entered into my itinerary. Mr. Sato has made a policy of periodically sharing a cup of morning tea with exceptional members of the magica community for the past decade, as a way to both express appreciation for their efforts and better understand the issues they face from a firsthand account."

"Do you have further queries? I can expand the definition of 'important' if you wish, or otherwise inform you as I am able."

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 1]
[City Hall, Citizen's Plaza]

Spoiler

Show

Ah dreaded question, that third one.

*Bzzt* "We expect Wishcraft to contact us on the subject at any time now, or at the very least for one or more of their Mashou to do so."

Why, one could almost hear his voice crack a bit at that. Except they wouldn't because it is a pretty monotone tune coming out of his voice box. Then again, the captain has been known to be less than pleased with Mashou interference on his cases on general grounds of their childishness, misanthropy, lack of professionalism, lack of actual technical skill on the subject matter and/or egotistical prepotence.

*Bzzt* "The remaining public officials of Neo-Mitakihara are handling their security privately as we speak, with the full support of our defense corps and the Ward Police departments."

"As for the level of our response to the crime at hand. My best investigators, inspectors Turnbull and Satou are on the case, and I will be joining them personally in the pursuit of this criminal as soon as we are done with this press release. We will locate the perpetrator of this crime and then there will be no door nor wall nor barrier of any kind that will prevent us from bringing him, her or it to justice."

Some would finish a line like that by smashing a fist on the podium or raising a closed fist to the sky or really, just doing something with a fist. Leon doesn't, instead he has always taken to intensifying the red light that comes out of his helmet's visor.

"One last question, sir!" The conference seems to be winding down - or reeling back, as the case might be, most dissuaded from questioning by the ominous glare - but one reporter musters the verve to step forward. "Mr. Sato was the one to appoint you to your present office, and has made a platform of strengthening the NMSF through his administration! Do you, as an individual or as the Captain of the force, have anything you'd like to say about his death? What does this mean for the city?"

[Kuroimaken]

[Neo-Mitakihara Streets]

Makoto's bike sped through the night like a blaze out of control. An even more apt metaphor considering his red mane of hair and the color of the motorcycle itself. The integrated GPS app showed him the paths with the least amount of traffic and the most green lights, ensuring he could afford to not slow down for silly "pedestrians" or other cars. Those few he met on his way he weaved past with alarming disregard for their reactions - but the wind was blowing so fast past his ears that he couldn't listen to their cries of indignation anyways.

Any traffic tickets he accrued were swiftly taken care of by his family's automated legal system. Each of these joyrides typically ran him on the upwards of the low hundreds of credits, but then again, he had enough on his personal account that he could ride each day for the rest of his days and still not run out of money. That's how wealthy the Kujoh were.

It probably helped that most of the time, his bike's scrambler managed to make the cameras miss out on his ID. Although pattern tracing could later confirm him to be the same rider, that didn't hold up as proof of identification - and his personal scrambler was legal on account of him being a mashou. (Can't have a wraith attack doing more damage because those that could fight it were stuck in traffic, after all.)

Simply put, Makoto skirted the laws of transit much like he skirted the legality of anything else.

[strawberryman]

[Ward 1]
(Mayor's Office)

Nadica takes a drag and another swig as she processes this information.

"Any notable meetings within the last week? Month? Any meetings that got heated or ended suddenly? Any unplanned visits, or anything that seemed to concern the old goat?"

[Dorizzit]

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 12]
Unkempt Apartment

"Ma'am. You need to wake up."

A lazy eye opens from within a thick tangle of blankets and pillows, accompanied by a short groan.

"No way in hell...don't have anything to do today..."

The Miko program, projected as a hologram through the apartment's systems, just smiles with simulated patience. It waits a moment for its master to become more aware of her surroundings before continuing.

"Sufficient quantity or priority of messages override your more recent directive not to be disturbed before noon."

A hissing noise comes from the bed as Leysa slowly untangles herself, giving a leonine yawn and pulling at her tangled hair. She frowns, then sighs in dejected acceptance.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Give me the usual."

The mashou sits up, stretches, and walks over to the far wall, kicking a dirty pile of laundry out of the way. Intelligent use of her image has given Leysa more than enough money to afford the finer things in life; one of the main indulgences being a high rise penthouse in one of the tallest residential buildings in Neo-Mitakihara. Her bedroom itself is small, with most of the apartment's space being devoted to public areas. Leysa switches the opaque wall to transparent and gazes out over the skyline as her digital assistant provides an update.

"You have 27 unseen priority messages, and 1,261 unseen general messages. Weather predictions for the day..."

Leysa half-listens to her Miko's comprehensive update through a quick shower and the process of dressing and binding her hair.

"Okay, so why am I up?"
"Earlier this morning, Mayor Sato Arata was killed in what is currently believed to be an assassination. Ms. As-"

Leysa cuts the program off.

"Miko, override existing protocol and add murder investigations to priority 'S' situations. Let'em know I'm going."

Leysa heads for the door, grabbing her phone off of its mount on the wall.

"And get my bike ready."

[Neo-Mitakihara, Ward 5]
Crime Scene

Leysa's "bike" is a vehicle of unknown construction, but what it is known to be is sleek, agile, and very, very fast. Leysa touches down outside of the cordoned area, sliding off the seat of her bike before snapping her fingers and putting it into locked mode. She strides towards the very edge of the crime scene, zeroing in on one of the security force members near the perimeter.

"I'm from the WCF, I need to talk to your boss."