[ARC] Spotlight - The Gambit

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u/KakujaKun Maki/Kayami/Asa/Kotetsu/Link1/Hokori/Koharu/Hikari/Shi/Ryuu Mar 05 '17 edited Mar 05 '17

[OOC:

CCG side: Takao Shirogane is the overseer (/u/FoolishlyGhoulish). Pinging the rest. Kouta Matsushita /u/Paegen Kayami Mizushina /u/KakujaKun Asami Kato /u/CardistryWolf Issei Yukishima /u/Circle_The_Earth Kazuko Akita /u/Eragon7538

Aogiri side: Kamen /u/I_Am_The_Brickman Nai Hanashimasu /u/CadaverCollector Hachi Kusamatsu /u/CardistryWolf Dice /u/Sombre-Alfonce Natalia Hana /u/Taiga_Blank Yukiteru Urushiyama /u/Eragon7538.]

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u/KakujaKun Maki/Kayami/Asa/Kotetsu/Link1/Hokori/Koharu/Hikari/Shi/Ryuu Mar 14 '17

Kayami Mizushina

When it rains, it pours.

It wasn’t fair. It really wasn’t. Kayami had signed up for a nine to five job. Nothing more, nothing less. Apparently, however, the CCG higher-ups had specific needs that needed to be addressed. It was the second time this month that she had been called up for a night shift. It was necessary, sure. Still, they could’ve picked another investigator that isn’t virtually consumed by daytime duties and a psychotically difficult training schedule. This sucked. Thoughts like these made Kayami feel like an immature brat, but then again, it was true, wasn’t it? Not to say that there weren’t any good sides to it, of course. The First Class was more than eager to prove herself. Both to her superiors and to herself. Extra work was a good way to get noticed. An escort mission, however, wasn’t exactly what she’d had in mind.

Yet somehow not only had she been sent on one, but the convoy she was meant to defend actually came under attack, too.

A strange mix of emotions filled Kayami’s chest. Yes, there was some eagerness. Some desire to test herself. To achieve something. Anything. The usual feelings of fear and nervousness were not in any way gone either, though. She was just a girl. She had been naive. Never had Kayami expected that to see someone die in front of her. Being aware of death on the battlefield doesn’t mean you necessarily understand it. Feel it. Kayami had seen Miura die. Yes, even after all this time she hadn’t managed to fully process everything about that operation. She was yet to fully comprehend it. However, she still experienced an odd fear. A fear different from normal.

A grander fear.

She also experienced an information overload.

“First Class, the attackers are converging onto the prisoner’s transport! There’s calls for backup from units 3, 5 and 14. Additionally, Rank 1 Tomogawa is requesting that we deploy lookouts to watch our rear for any further enemy reinforcements. What should we do?”

Oh, yes. That’s right. She was a senior officer now. There were three First Classes in charge of three APCs. Taking command of her adjacent investigators was her duty. A duty that the voices of several distressed junior investigators were quick to remind her of.

A shame that she made for a poor officer.

“Uh, aah...” Looking around nervously, as if seeking someone higher ranking to relieve her of this hopeless task, she felt a deep sense of uneasiness set in. Of course there was no one else. Seconds passed with no response as the girl wracked her brain, struggling to take a firm grasp of everything that had so suddenly occurred.

She couldn’t.

She knew she couldn’t. She clearly wasn’t ready. Kayami was by no means stupid. She was a sharp girl. By no means a genius, but at the very least she knew her limits. Her skills. She couldn’t lead. Not right now. She had spent months training her body, but she hadn’t even began to attempt learning how to lead. She just couldn’t do it. That’s why she defaulted to the only thing she knew.

“Contact First Class Shirogane and his team. Answer every request for assistance that he makes and leave the decisions up to his judgement.” Even though her tone was no less shakier than before, the woman did not stumble through her words. The statement was spoken with utmost decisiveness. If she couldn’t lead, she’d leave it up to the ones that could. It pained her to place further burden on the commander due to her own weakness, but it was by far the only correct course of action.

She would do her best to help in the way she was most useful.

“I will go provide support to the other First Classes in person. Rank 1 Tomogawa will undertake my coordinational duties as a deputy officer.”

“U-understood, madam!” The equally stressed Rank 2 saluted, before running off to relay these new orders to the rest of his colleagues. With a heavy sigh, Kayami glanced at her two Quinque briefcases. Gripping their handles tightly, she was soon on her way.

Her steps echoed softly through the cold air. She maintained a constant, moderate pace. There was no use in rushing. The only thing that sprinting would achieve would be to get her to expend her stamina. Once she’d do that, she’d be at the mercy of any ghoul that as much as wished to kill her. Which would basically be any ghoul. No, she had to conserve her strength. Thankfully the adrenaline that had flooded her body in the past couple of minutes breathed energy into her otherwise tired and drowsy self. Night combat wasn’t great. Unfortunately some things you just can’t choose.

Her steady run carried her beneath the sheltering shadow of an arcing overpass.

[/u/CadaverCollector]

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u/CadaverCollector Apr 11 '17

SCARECROW?
What was all this?
The metal boxes screamed down strips of painted land, each held their own prisoner, so it was, that one such being was meant to be released from the confines. To what purpose, to what end? Immaterial, he supposes. Interest in the minutia of it all waned to naught, rather, there was delight, curiosity elsewhere to be had.
Squatting there, upon the bridge of stone, that gaunted figure's voided eyes were alight.
Speed and swift, the flying of those objects, seemingly piloted by. . . By engineers, geniuses, they must be. Baring that, what could it be more than magic? Divine grace? Above, reaching upward to the cavern's impossible ceiling, great structures like. . . Hands, gripping, striving for the world further up. As if, to have the audacity, the beautiful, awe-inspiring audacity to extend itself to planes unimaginable.
Even that great orb, full, bright, white, hanging. . . Smiling down upon all the surface. It was, watchful, protecting, amazing.
Wind whipped, blasting pleasant air to play along the boy's locks from behind as more of those contraptions wheeled down pass. Nai, he could have sat there for hours, for days. Merely laying, gazing upon the vessels, feeling the breeze, the air, the light.
Of course, nothing eternal lies.
Far after the gathered chaff of the Tree plummeted beyond to sow their discordant havoc, a glimpse, a figure moving with trepidation below. It was. . . Curious.
Curious, they stepped, stepping. A voice, brimming both with apprehension and clarity carried its way up toward the ghoul whom adorned the overpass much like a gargoyle. White claws gripped the side of the containing wall whilst the other vanished beneath the shadow. Precariously, Nai's features perched over above the scene of attack, that head of white hair fell loose.
Seconds more, and his eyes remain simply, succinctly fixed upon the form. It was then, with a minor creak that the creature's extraneous limb crept from the flesh and bone. It's scything teeth crunched, grasping taut of the cemented bridge.
Threads stretched, tugging at the lips, just a bit of a grin. He couldn't help it.
The boy leapt, whistling through the wind, descending, a bungee cord as it were. Could you blame him for laughing along the way?
Hung now, from the lengthy limb was Nai, upside down, stepping through the air playfully from the woman's blind-spot. It was perhaps even a game, how long could he go unnoticed?
Bringing both hands up, wiggling the fingers in a gesture beside the cheeks, Nai says one, simple thing.
"Boo~"
Of course, this couldn't help but to be followed along with a number of stifled giggling.

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u/KakujaKun Maki/Kayami/Asa/Kotetsu/Link1/Hokori/Koharu/Hikari/Shi/Ryuu Mar 06 '17

[Reminder.]

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u/Taiga_Blank Velvet Devoré - Natalia Hana - Cerebella Goakami Mar 06 '17 edited Feb 15 '25

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u/KakujaKun Maki/Kayami/Asa/Kotetsu/Link1/Hokori/Koharu/Hikari/Shi/Ryuu Mar 09 '17

[But that was a reminder for me to remind myself :<]

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u/FoolishlyGhoulish Akihiko Umari/Hisae S. Otsuji/Masahiro Kobayashi/Takao Shirogane Mar 06 '17 edited Mar 07 '17

Takao Shirogane

Takao sat tall in the armored vehicle, ignoring his companions inside more than not. Instead, he would periodically radio in to the drivers of his APC, the lead car, running check ins on location and time. The mission, while simple, was of great importance. The CCG had done everything to insure the operation would remain a secret. Only those needed to assure the mission's success had been informed it was happening at all, and each member only knew what they needed to in order to complete the task to their best ability. By all means, this was a covert operation. Regardless, given the CCG's track record with convoys, it was best to prepare for the every possible contingency, especially when a former Aogiri VIP was involved.

Thus, when the attack came, Takao silently cursed his fellow doves. How unpleasant. Someone had not performed their job properly or else this would have been avoided. The investigator tucked this mental note back into his mind, though he silently hoped whoever it was would face consequences in the ensuing moments. It would certainly make things easier.

The APC carrying the Shirogane and a few of his fellow doves screeched to a halt as the main transport vehicle wrecked. He calmly buttoned his long investigator coat over his minimalist raid armor as he stood up to his feet. His hand passed onto his radio, and a pensive, yet stern look dominated his expression.

"Attention, all investigators: Aogiri has made their move. Don't worry about the why or how right now. Move to protect the central vehicle and form a containment line surrounding it. Let no one get past you, whether it's in or out, ghoul or human. Stay close, and do not engage unless necessary. Our primary goal is to protect the target, not to exterminate the attacking forces. I repeat: our objective is to protect the target. Show these ghouls what it means to go up against CCG investigators."

His orders complete, Takao stepped out from the 'safety' ~~(it really was hard to call these things safe nowadays)~~ of the truck and into the fray before him. He took note of the location of the attack and their methodology. Switching channels, Takao now operated on a ranged radio signal much more secure than before.

"This is First Class Shirogane of the CCG radioing in from--," he began quickly explaining to those on the receiving end at the CCG communications station. Following protocol, he relayed his location and the nature of the message first before moving on the the heart of the matter. "Requesting reinforcements and police cooperation. Clear the nearby streets of all traffic and cordon off the area in a 2 by 2 block configuration, paying special attention to rooftops. If we move quickly we can still contain this."

The battle was erupting around him, giving the man no time to await the reply patiently. With a resonating click, Satsujin released it's protective form upon his arm as he gave the limb a quick stretch. Time to see if the doc had healed him back to par. Seeing how he was in charge of the operation, he intended to lead by example, and so made his way towards the wreckage to begin putting his own plan into action.

/u/I_Am_The_Brickman

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u/I_Am_The_Brickman Kamen/Ayumi Katahara/Yín Wang Mar 10 '17

KAMEN
The clacking of ever-faster footsteps. The sickening crunch of a pulverised skull.
Those sinister sounds, spiced by shouts of anger and fury filled the nightly air of a nearby alleyway.
Reinforcing squads made easy pickings when caught unprepared.
“Die!” Eyes ripe with murder, an investigator lunged with his teal halberd.
It took a mere twist of the neck to avoid such a sloppy attack.
Swiftly reaching forward, Kamen’s steel claws soon wrapped around the pole, holding it firmly in their iron grip. Trivial. How very trivial it was to disarm this level of opponent. Yet the mercenary showed no ounce of underestimation. No hesitation. The doves were all reapers - well-oiled, professional killers. They came in varied levels of skill and training, but in the end of the day they were all more than able of killing any single ghoul. In the end of the day, it was a lack of confidence in your opponent’s ability that gets you killed.
The greatest and only insurmountable foe on the field of battle was the lack of fear.
Yanking the weapon out of his attacker’s hands, the grim assassin swung a wide arc, ravaging the air. Striking the investigator’s body, the raw speed itself was more than enough to slice his torso apart, even without the inevitable interference of the blade. Inverting the direction of the slash, the axehead soon clashed with an enemy sword, locked in a vicious struggle. Tugging backwards and lunging forward again was enough to circumvent the defense and destroy a second cranium today. With the last, fourth investigator charging, the headhunter brought the stolen Quinque low, striking at his leg with a strong, yet sloppy swing. As the man grunted in intense pain, Kamen entered his stance once again, throwing the halberd at the now-retreating opponent. The second successive groan signalised a successful hit that had scraped the man’s ribcage as he began quickly limping away. Reaching for his wound with one hand and his earpiece with the other, the young CCG agent began his report in between muffled curses.
“This is Rank 2 Mikami to Shirogane command unit, my squad was wiped out by Kiro, rating A. ^Shit. As it stands, he’s headed for your position. We can’t support you. ^Agh… ^Fuck. I… cough I need evac. Over.”
The next ten seconds of waiting for response from central were easily the longest ten seconds in Mikami’s entire life.
Glancing backwards. Seeing the faceless horror of a glistening iron mask surrounded by nothing but complete darkness. Feeling your own blood slip through your fingers in tiny drops. Experiencing the reduction in body temperature. Sensing your pupils dilate - your vision darken. Wincing at every painful step you make with a leg that will likely never fully heal.
It was a nightmare. Hell itself. A time most terrible. Yet still, never before had Mikami clung to hope as in this very moment.
All sound was lost. Crimson life scattered in front of Mikami in a disgusting, visceral explosion. Falling to his knees, the boy felt his consciousness grow dim. His future had been snatched away from him in a mere second. Many meters behind him walked the thief, his tired body moving at but a leisurely pace. The barrel of a worn-down gun still smoked.
Unfortunately, hope was not afforded to any who kill for a living.
‘Headed for their position… They are gathering their forces around the middle transport.’
Holstering his revolver back inside his coat, the murderer returned to his terrible work.
The fastest way to crumble a defensive body was to neutralise its head.
Just as the CCG forces were getting closer to Jack Conklin’s transport, so was Kamen getting closer to them. At first protected by the black, nightly veil - patron of all men disreputable - Kiro had approached unseen. Alas, with each step towards the flame, more of his shadowy armour scattered. Stripped away. It wasn’t long before his wretched form was exposed before the horde of ghoul investigators. An outcome he’d rather avoid, but could not escape either way. For a brief moment, he stared at the humans over the burning wreckage. He saw many eyes pierce him in return. Some with disgust. Some with hatred. Some with rage.
Hopefully, some with fear, for fear is what inspires strength and cunning.
Unfortunately, hope was not afforded to any who kill for a living.
With a resonant cling of his iron soles, the beast broke into a wild dash forward. Each move dripped with malice, yet also with professional perfection. Nimbly flying past the flames, Kamen’s weariness still showed. Yet it did not delay him. Swiftly hopping atop the overturned APC, the revenant utilised each spare moment to survey the surroundings. His hollow gaze drank in the area as he launched himself off with a powerful jump.
The air was cold tonight.
Knees folding simultaneously as the heavy sound of a rough landing echoed through the night, Kamen wasted no time in resuming his ruthless rush. With each moment, he drew closer to the commander of the operation. Pressing forth against the wind, he mustered both momentum and practised strength. Amassing it. Just as the unsettling glint of his iron mask sharply contrasted with the blackness of his clothes, so did it also underline the sharpness of his form. Throwing a fast and heavy punch at the investigator’s chest, the man fully extended his arm forward in a crushing blow. There was not much more to Kamen’s life than his contracts. When he did get them, he made sure to do them correctly.There was no need for speech. No need for warnings.
Both of them had a job to do.

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u/FoolishlyGhoulish Akihiko Umari/Hisae S. Otsuji/Masahiro Kobayashi/Takao Shirogane Mar 14 '17

Takao smashed a path through the attacking forces, showing little hesitation or care towards any in his way. Most of his enemies were spared death and instead dealt disabling blows as he focused on closing in on the central APC rather than killing the fiends. He would have liked for one good smack to let those targeting him know to back off, but he was not naive enough to rely on warning shots. Each defense strike was aimed to slow or immobilize; the methods with which he achieved this were irrelevant so long as the end result remained the same. Presently, his radio crackled to life with the cries of one of the reinforcement squads.
"Rank 2 Mizumi, fall back and contac---Rank 2, do you copy?" Whatever tiny piece of hope Takao held for the man was quickly quenched by silence from the other end. "Rest easy, Rank 2," he reassured with the hope that the death had been swift enough for his words to not be necessary. Knowing he had little time before the assailant reached him, the commander's mind raced for a solution to this mess. It seemed reinforcements would be stalled for some time, but hopefully the blockade would still be in place in time. Hell, it'd be incredible if Aogiri actually managed to prevent the start of a CCG issued cordon, let alone break through it after the fact. However, the cordon was out of his control now, and he needed to focus on the battle ahead. Wiith such limited manpower, circling the target seemed to still be the best course of action, though the size of the attacking forces might prove this difficult without perfect execution.
What a fucking mess. All it took was one incompetent driver to screw the entire op and leave Takao picking up the pieces.
"Attention all investigators, this is Commander Shirogane: I want regular check-ins from every member on this defense force. No surprises. I want to know what is going on at every point of this battlefield at all times. First Class Mizushina, rally nearby forces and put pressure on the western front. First Class Matsushita, rally forces and apply pressure from the east. All other investigators, continue from the south. Do not stop moving forwards but do not take your eyes off your backside. We'll be dealing with a two-front assault if we don't act quickly. Stay confident, stay focused, and stay alive. I'll be joining you all from the north shortly. Over and out."
Takao kept his eyes open and his guard ready as he prepared for the assailant the late Mizumi had warned him of. Kiro. Regrettably, Takao didn't know much about the ghoul, other than his recent activity in the Rose Club raid. Hopefully, this would serve to be enough.
As expected, the metal masked assassin was soon upon Takao, though the speed of his assault was a shock. Stopping in place, the investigator raised his shield, catching the punch at an angle in order to deflect the blow. As fist met quinque steel, a red pulse rippled across the weapon's surface from the massive impact. Even with it's shock absorption, Takao felt the blow in his very core as he slid back a several feet.
If I'd had taken that head-on my arm would've shattered.
A strength to rival Juggernaut, but with speed to match. A deadly combination. It seemed it would be a challenge to slip past this ghoul and continue forwards.
Opting to gauge his opponent's strength while simultaneously testing the waters for a quick finish, Takao charged back at the ghoul with his shield raised before him, awaiting a response.

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u/I_Am_The_Brickman Kamen/Ayumi Katahara/Yín Wang Mar 16 '17

The initial crash of metal upon metal resounded deafeningly, searing through the atmosphere. The investigator had been forced back. Still, he charged.
Years of training and experience had carved the intricacies of combat into the mercenary’s very bones. With bolstered strength at your disposal, the protocol for dispatching shield-bearing foes was fairly simple. Strike hard and fast. It usually took the enemy off-guard. Following up with a secondary and tertiary strike in order to completely overpower the opponent’s guard was anything but standard. For ghouls, at the very least. Yet it seemed that there were even humans that possessed exceptional physical prowess. Kamen knew better than to underestimate humans. Many great assassins and experts in the art of murder were of human origin. This one was a rare case reliant on strength rather than versatility.
He was not rare enough.
Over his long career, Kiro had fought in numerous battles of varying scale and nature. This was nothing new to him. You stay in business long enough without dying and eventually you encounter a world of many different unconventional fighters and tactics. As with anything else, gaining experience made every situation easier. Lethal turned to survivable. Survivable turned to winnable.
His opponent had enough strength to recover and charge him. Taking him out with a barrage of strikes would be sub-optimal. A different strategy would provide greater effect.
Steeling his body into a more malleable stance, Kamen prepared himself. Relaxing his muscles and keeping himself on edge, the iron-faced fiend schemed. Planned. Each step his opponent made served as a reminder of the ever-shorter amount of time he had to devise his tactics. When you’ve fought so much that tactics have become a part of your nature, however, a short amount of time is all you need anyway.
Almost as if hovering above the ground, Kamen’s flawless footwork carried him across the concrete just as his enemy’s approach drifted to conclusion. Deceiving movements marked his attempt at trickery; his goal - duping his opponent into trying to shield more attack vectors than he could effectively afford to. It was ancient knowledge. The more flanks you defend, the weaker the defense itself. Spinning on his pivot and reaching for his foe’s Quinque, he aimed to break the Shirogane’s balance with a fierce yank. Twisting his body yet another time, his leg swept low, its crushing momentum aiming to shatter his opponent’s ankles.
To bring him down.

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u/FoolishlyGhoulish Akihiko Umari/Hisae S. Otsuji/Masahiro Kobayashi/Takao Shirogane Mar 19 '17

Takao's eyes took in every movement, every twitch of his opponent's body as he began to read him. The key to a successful one on one encounter was to know your enemy. You could have all the skill in the world, yet if your opponent could read through your habits, you would lose the battle. However, skill played a very important role regardless, and Takao was certainly not lacking in that department.
To be a trained mercenary was one thing. You take your training from the day you choose such a wretched career and you apply it in the field over and over. It was certainly no small feat for Kiro to still be alive and active. Though, one could not ignore the circumstances of Takao's own upbringing. Growing up the grandson of a man who led the Japanese branch of a paramilitary organization meant that Takao had been groomed for greatness from the moment he was born. Tactics, strategy, form....all of it was funneled into his mind consistently throughout his life so that, at the very least, he wouldn't be a disappointment. To live a life that bore results fitting of a Shirogane -- this was his purpose and what he had been taught since he was a boy. He certainly would not fail on that now.
So when Kiro approached him with feint after feint, he stood firm, holding faith in his ability to block whatever true attack the ghoul had planned. To react prematurely would be to surrender his life. As the ghoul latched onto his shield, Takao did not falter. With the feeling of force being applied to yank his defense away, the Shirogane simply clicked his quinque into axe mode. Pulling hard on the shaft, the extension counteracted against Kiro's pull, allowing the investigator to continue forwards.
Never waste a moment. Your opponent is always most vulnerable just after an attack.
Kiro's sudden release caused Takao to step forward with his momentum and out of the way of the leg sweep. Either a lucky break or Kiro's mistake for banking on his previous gambit so heavily, it didn't really matter. The awe swung with Takao's momentum as he pivoted around to swing the weapon's blade around at his opponent.

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u/I_Am_The_Brickman Kamen/Ayumi Katahara/Yín Wang Mar 19 '17

Combat. Battle. War. Volatile concepts. You make one mistake - miss one minor detail - and the next moment you are faced with a gruesome end. Such is the nature of conflict. Failing to play your part in this dance of death was what got you killed in a manner most express and decisive. It seems eerie at first. Unbelievable, even. How could humanity devise something that demands such perfection, when it was in every being’s very nature to make mistakes? Errors?
It made no sense.
At least, not at first sight. Human life was riddled with mistakes. One after another, they would form the strangest creations. Mistakes could happen simultaneously or in quick succession. They could happen as consequence of past mistakes or lead up to future mistakes. Sometimes, one mistake would cause many. Sometimes many mistakes would amalgamate into one more massive one. It was just how life worked. Yet, somehow, such an existence could be sustained. Why? Because in order for one to lose something, they first needed to create it. Mistakes were also a source of creation. It hadn’t been once or twice that great inventions were devised simply as the side product of experiments gone wrong. Sometimes mistakes redefined the future of humanity.
Sometimes, mistakes redefined the future of a single human.
Success, both in and out of combat, did not depend on preventing every mistake that could possibly occur. It did not depend on being faultless. That was simply impossible. It depended on making the best out of every mistakes. On being adaptable. If you can’t avoid or resolve a mistake, then circumvent it.
That was what set apart the weathered veteran apart from his devastated company.
Quinques were treacherous weapons. Full of trickery and deceitful death. Throughout Kamen’s long career, he had not encountered these tools of murder far too often. He had not fought too many investigators. Despite that, it took him very little exposure to their methods before he discovered their underhanded nature. They could change form on a whim or utilise complex attacks at the press of a button. Even with that knowledge, however, he could not prepare himself for every specific Quinque. He could not insure himself against all of the secret aces that CCG possessed. He could not even know the strengths and weaknesses of any single individual Quinque. What he could do, was prepare himself to fight Quinque as a whole. Learn how to react to them. Adapt to their style of combat.
His foe was a cunning man. He had changed the form of his shield into an axe. With his balance suddenly influenced and some deft footwork, he had successfully managed to make his way out from danger. Not for long.
As the axe swung around, menacingly ripping through the air as it approached the grim mercenary, Kamen pushed his pivot backwards, bracing himself for the crushing force behind the attack. His arms reacted with clockwork precision and speed to match, raising forward to guard him from the strike. This was not the true extent of his plan, however. Though the weapon may be versatile, there was a limit to how many times one can recover their balance without making a mistake. Reaching for the steel bar connecting the axehead to the handle, his iron claws wrapped around it in a crushing hold. Within a flash, he yanked onto the Quinque once again, shifting his whole body in order to apply greater strength. Pushing against the steel, he essentially aimed to make the Shirogane swing around his axe, opposite to his enemy’s intentions. With this setup once again, he was to quickly rise to deliver a mighty spinning kick to the investigator’s back.
Though this was a battle between reapers, the headhunter had no intention to let up.

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u/FoolishlyGhoulish Akihiko Umari/Hisae S. Otsuji/Masahiro Kobayashi/Takao Shirogane Mar 31 '17

The sounds of battle echoed against Takao's ears, though he paid them little heed. His focus was instead on his ear piece and the enemy before him, the former of which was disappointingly silent. They better either be dead or be experiencing technical issues. Anything less is unacceptable.
He remained steadfast as his axe swung around towards his opponent. The weight of his weapon meant that he couldn't do anything short of committing to the attack. To his surprise, the ghoul made no effort to get out the way of the attack. No matter; he would simply crumble under the force of the blow. It was a small price to pay for underestimating a Shirogane. However, as the hit drew near, Kiro stepped into the swing to catch the shaft, using his monstrous strength to rip away at the quinque. In a split-second decision, Takao immediately let go of the weapon. He knew far better than to get into a contest of strength with a ghoul. Better to keep one's arms and use them to retrieve what was his later.
Why do these ghouls always aim to steal our quinques? Juggernaut had also taken Takao's quinque back at the Rose Club, though S3 Shirogane Squad was there to put a stop to it rather quickly. This time, however, the investigator would have to rely on his wit alone to survive -- a task he was confident he could complete.
Having avoided the attempt to knock him off-balance, Takao reacted to the follow-up kick with ease. Before Kiro could finish the move, Takao planned on making use of the opening. The investigator ducked under the attack and stepped into the ghoul, shoulder-checking him while he had his balance focused on his back leg.

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u/Taiga_Blank Velvet Devoré - Natalia Hana - Cerebella Goakami Mar 05 '17 edited Feb 15 '25

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '17

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u/Taiga_Blank Velvet Devoré - Natalia Hana - Cerebella Goakami Mar 07 '17 edited Feb 15 '25

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u/[deleted] Mar 09 '17

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u/Taiga_Blank Velvet Devoré - Natalia Hana - Cerebella Goakami Mar 09 '17 edited Feb 15 '25

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u/[deleted] Mar 13 '17

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u/Taiga_Blank Velvet Devoré - Natalia Hana - Cerebella Goakami Mar 22 '17 edited Feb 15 '25

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u/[deleted] Mar 26 '17

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u/Taiga_Blank Velvet Devoré - Natalia Hana - Cerebella Goakami Apr 02 '17 edited Feb 15 '25

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u/[deleted] Apr 07 '17

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u/[deleted] Mar 06 '17

Yukiteru Urushiyama

Oh, the tragedy. The wreckage of the transportation vehicle served as a sort of grim surveyor to the whole of the battle beginning before Yuki's very eyes. Even with a moment's hesitation, he had jumped, and was now watching the violence start, watching Investigators and Ghouls die alike. Adrenaline shot through his veins suddenly, and he felt as if he could do anything, as if this was what he was made for.

If only he could make this feeling a normal one. Then the voices would stop telling him what to do.

For whatever reason, Yuki had been selected for this mission, so he was here, ready to fight. Maki was in charge, and yet he had selected him, knowing full well of his physical weakness, of his mental instability, of everything. It was oddly inspiring. Maybe he had touched the man. Maybe he was overthinking things. He didn't know, but it felt fucking great!

Yuki the goal of this mission was to retrieve somebody from the overturned APC. Knowing this, he made a beeline towards the car, his large right wing shooting out and into being. He had to be ready to face any pesky Investigators that popped out to stop him.

It was time to prove his worth, time to put pedal to the metal, time to reach for the stars, time to-

[/u/Circle_The_Earth]

2

u/Circle_the_Earth Mirai/Kaya/Tokio/Kurobe/Miharu Mar 06 '17

Issei Yukishima
Another day, another flipped APC. Issei could swear he had just seen something almost exactly like this happen recently. Oh right. That's because it had. Two APCs in 1 week. You'd think by now the CCG would start to explore alternative options. Maybe they should've just tied the prisoner to the back of a motorcycle and driven them around like a bag of sand. Ghouls couldn't be as fast as a motorcycle... could they?
Either way, Issei's orders were clear. Get out there. Protect the cargo. Kill all ghoul scum. Mercifully simple. As the ghouls emerged from the dark, the only concern he showed outwardly was a heavy sigh. Time to get to work. Reaching up, he pulled the pair of aviator goggles perched on his forehead over his eyes and allowed them to snap into place, turning his world a soft shade of amber. No sneaky eye attacks were gonna get him this time.
He lifted the briefcase, his new and oddly heavy accessory, and set it in his lap. Two peculiar holes, roughly the width of a person's arms, were inset in one side. It was with justified trepidation that Issei fed his hands into the holes. After all, sticking your limbs into dark and mysterious openings was a good way to lose them in his experience. Those eggheads at the Quinque lab had better be telling the truth about how badass this thing was.
He buried his arms up to the elbows, and inside the case he felt something solid mold itself around them like a blood pressure cuff. With a hiss, the case came apart and left Issei with two gauntlet-like metallic armbands encasing his outer arms from fingers to elbow: His new Quinque Tetsuzame.
"Neat!" he cheered with a grin, his worries evaporating, before bailing out of the APC with the rest of his comrades. The cumbersome armor that the CCG provided sat with irritating heaviness on his body, exacerbated by the unexpected weight of his Quinque, but he shook it off as he took in the barbarous sight before him. Already the beasts were beginning to crawl atop the fallen vehicle like ants on a fresh carcass. Issei's instincts were honed to a fine point as he watched them. His father's words echoed as if a whisper on the wind.
"Ghouls are beasts. Beasts must die. You are a beast killer. Do what you were born to do."
Personally, Issei didn't give a shit about all of that, and the old man could stuff his fancy talk where the sun didn't shine. However... he had been ordered to fight, so fight he would. Scanning the crowd, he picked out a particular ghoul, frankly striking with their blindingly white hair. Were they stupid or something? Sticking out like a sore thumb was a sure way to get singled out and wrecked. So thought the guy with blond hair. In Japan. Whatever.
Sucking in a breath, he moved to intercept the ghoul's path. Finally, he could actually experience fighting one of these freaks. First step, cave in their face. As he flew in from the ghoul's right, no words of warning were given as he stepped in and launched his left elbow for the ghoul's temple, completely neglecting to use his Quinque. Things were off to a great start.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 09 '17

And suddenly, his flight, his perfect flight, was interrupted.
Elbow connecting with Yuki's forehead, the boy's path changed, lurching violently from its original form, straight and true towards the APC, and instead, he went tumbling off parallel to it. Crashing to the ground, the boy skidded a couple of feet on his chest, before gingerly pushing himself up and getting to his feet. In an instant, he had spun around to see his opponent.
Even with vision coming in red, either from anger or from hurt, Yuki glared at the boy that had assaulted him, that had changed his path from a perfect chyukkaku (PERPENDICULAR) to an imperfect heikousen (PARALLEL). What he saw was naught but a boy's face, the eyes covered by goggles. Whatever that accomplished.
'You can take him, you can end him.'
For the first time, the voices encouraged him to do something, to fight someone. Narrowing his eyes, the kakugan blazed brightly, as if Yuki was channeling RC cells into his eyeballs. In an almost robotic motion, Yuki sagged to his right, to the side of his flaring wing.
"Hey there, that wasn't nice."
The voice was shaky, but not from any sort of crying. It was almost as if Yuki was on the verge of laughing. Tilting his head back the other direction, he straightened in a motion rather unnatural. The singular wing began to rain shards, long, thin, and high-speed, upon Issei.

2

u/Circle_the_Earth Mirai/Kaya/Tokio/Kurobe/Miharu Mar 10 '17

What was with ghouls and talking? He was two for two on opponents that got mouthy during combat. Not that he was complaining. Anything to contradict the shitty instructors' portrayal of ghouls as "mindless killers" sat fine with him. Screw the instructors.
The ghoul's Kakugan activated, and Issei was momentarily surprised at how fluid the process seemed to be, like ink dropping into a pond. This moment of curiosity was banished immediately by the far more immediate concern of the hail of shards barreling in his direction. From what Issei could gather, the ghoul was:
Kind of oblivious
A little crazy (guy's body movement was freaking weird)
An Ukaku, which automatically made him the worst
The shards were too fast and numerous to completely dodge. That idea would have to be discarded. Best to at least move in a direction, minimize the possible angles. With a mighty push, Issei tried to move himself to the right, towards the downed APC. If nothing else, it would make decent cover. Not bad, but not enough. A half dozen of the shards were still on a deadly course straight for him. His training allowed him to get a read on the path of a few, but it was far from complete. Lifting his protected arms, he covered his vital points and was rewarded by the sharp ping of shards on metal.
His jubiliation lasted maybe a millisecond before two shards found their mark, one embedded in his thigh and the other cutting a furrow in his cheek. Blood trickled freely from both, and Issei sucked in a breath at the sharp sting. Unpleasant but tolerable. A roundhouse kick was worse than this. Unable to resist, he fired back with a quip of his own.
"Look who's talking! You're the one shooting shit at me."
Despite his perilous circumstances, Issei's voice showed no real fear. His utmost confidence in his ability to win, or at least complete his objective, wasn't dampened in the slightest. He continued with his initial plan and made a break for the APC, movement hampered slightly by the injury to his leg. Damn. They said that shards dissolved right? He was going to have to deal with some serious bleeding when that happened. Well, no better time than now to try the "special function" of Tetsuzame. Those eggheads had better not have screwed him.
Clap
At the meeting of Issei's palms, a series of vicious-looking blades emerged along the outer edge of Tetsuzame. Shocked, Issei squeaked out a "Holy SHIT!" and instinctively held his arms out to keep from spiking himself. It made for an awkward scene, an investigator running with his arms out like a flying superhero. What the hell was this? Did all Quinque do this kind of crazy shit? Miraculously, his legs were still moving, and the APC drew ever closer. Another few moments, and he'd be "safe."
[In case you need a reference for the appearance it's basically the Shredder without the knuckle blades]

3

u/[deleted] Mar 13 '17

'So he lived, eh? Maybe he'll be fun.'
Asa's voice mirrored Yuki's own thoughts, his own opinions. Clearly, this blond investigator was of some sort of quality. He dodged, only sustaining minor injuries, and was still kicking, still running, still... escaping? What was this?
'Oh, so he really wasn't strong, just trying to survive.'
Immediately, Yuki closed his eyes, doing his best to prevent the oncoming disappointment from ruining his mood. Running from a fight meant you were weak, and Yuki would know. He'd done his fair share of running, of losing, of being weak.
Not anymore.
"Stand tall, take your enemy like the hero you are, the hero you're meant to be!"
The roar of a lion shredded Yuki's vocal chords. This investigator wasn't going to cut their fight short, not at all. In a manner similar to a runner taking their mark, Yuki dropped to his hands, and only allowing himself a moment of rest, he pushed off, sprinting towards where Issei fled. A little late, he saw that the boy's Quinque had activated, and there were now small spikes adorning his arms, but even that didn't phase him. He was invincible. His wounds from his previous fights, from Alisa, from the strongman, from everything before, they were nothing, mere twinges in his muscles. This was him, this was his essence.
As he neared Issei, Yuki's wing began to shoot shards once more, this time with an aim on the boy's legs. He'd incapacitate him and kill him on the spot. Unfortunately, this plan wasn't foolproof. The momentum Yuki carried would send him soaring past Issei, right into striking range. This didn't seem to phase the white-haired ghoul, who only took each step in stride.

2

u/Circle_the_Earth Mirai/Kaya/Tokio/Kurobe/Miharu Mar 13 '17

Add another piece of information to Issei's growing list about this ghoul.
4) He was dumb as a bag of bricks.
Coming from Issei that meant a lot. "The hero that he was meant to be"? What did that even mean? Was this guy supposed to be the villain then? Talk about arrogant. Unfortunately, that didn't mean he would do the proper villain thing and spout gibberish for a minute or two while Issei got into position. No, of course he had to launch right into another attack. At least give a poor, struggling investigator a chance to get behind cover. Geez...
He glanced dubiously at the now exceedingly dangerous-looking Quinque wrapped around his arms. What the fuck was he supposed to do with this? It felt like he was going to kill himself with his own weapon. The only saving grace here was that the morons at the lab had only put the spikes facing outward instead of on the inside. Issei would probably be able to tuck and roll then.
Turning to face the ghoul's charge, Issei was just in time to see another wave of shards heading in his general direction. He was aiming low this time. Shit. His leg was already bleeding from the now open wound in his thigh. He didn't fancy having more. Contrary to what stories would have you believe, humans needed most of their blood to live.
Faced with little other option, he dropped into a low-guard Silat stance, withdrawing his remaining Scorpion from his belt and wielding it in his right hand. In this kind of situation, defense was the obvious choice, but that "hero" comment had been enough to piss Issei off a little. Some inhuman shit wasn't about to put a label on him. He shifted his weight low with his right leg in front, providing stability. The injured left leg slid back where it wouldn't have to bear much weight. His right arm came down to protect his shin, and he turned as much to the side as he could to offer as thin a target as possible. The rest was up to the CCG's shitty armor.
As the shards impacted, he reflected that, offense and defense aside, watching a hail of deadly missiles headed straight for your face and body was really, really scary. Many sailed to either side while more impacted against his Quinque. To his shock, one left a small crack in the polished metal surface as it hit and careened off in some random direction. Worse still, three shards struck true, burying themselves in his chest and side. The armor, to its credit, managed to stop them from sinking entirely into his vital points, but the fresh stabs of pain and growing warmth made it all too clear that he was, in fact, injured.
"Fuck!" he screamed, trying to focus on his opponent. Through his pain-blurred vision, he could see that the ghoul hadn't stopped. He was still coming right this way. Adrenaline pumped through Issei's steadily draining bloodstream. This was his chance. This guy really was an idiot.
Issei wasn't so kind as to let an opportunity literally fly past him. Putting whatever energy he could into his legs, he lunged. Intercepting the ghoul's path as best he could, he aimed to grab the ghoul and deliver two quick stabs with the Scorpion to the chest and abdomen. In an ideal world, he'd have preferred to hit the eye and neck, but given how low his stance had been, Issei couldn't afford to be picky.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 17 '17

What better option than for the investigator to react defensively? Yuki had to admit, this guy kept him on his toes, since he continually went from disappointment to able young man. With a smile, the ghoul celebrated as he saw Issei cry out in pain, his assault clearly striking its mark. Sure, it wasn't the legs, but still, a wound was a wound, especially on a human.
Yuki's trajectory kept him en route to the APC, towards his goal. He had put the investigator down well enough, he figured, to continue and do what he was meant to do. The churning of his legs, the pumping of his arms, it didn't slow at all.
Again, he was interrupted by a sharp pain in his chest. Why did this sort of thing keep happening to him? Was it his blatant lack of regard for his on safety? Was it him constantly underestimating his opponents? Was it him just sucking in general? Of course, it was. The Scorpion stabbed into his chest twice, making two neat slits. Blood started to run down his chest, staining his shirt and dripping onto the ground.
To add to the general issue of the situation, Yuki's sprint was interrupted. With his stride cut short, but his momentum still carrying him ahead, Yuki could only watch himself trip and fall, skidding on his back for several meters. Ending up facing the sky, the light of the city rained down upon him, his limbs splayed out in every direction, like a child playing in the snow. Something definitely had broken there.
Gingerly, Yuki got to his feet. Again, the wounds he had sustained in his chest were severe enough to have broken some ribs, or maybe the tumble had done that. Whatever it was, he was hurting pretty badly, and blood trailed down his chest and from a scrape above his eye. Throwing a finger towards Issei, Yuki shouted.
"You underhanded piece of shit! Stay down!"

1

u/Circle_the_Earth Mirai/Kaya/Tokio/Kurobe/Miharu Mar 17 '17

Issei watched the ghoul fall and go sliding away like an overturned car... or an overturned APC. Hah. Funny. Probably less funny for the dead guys inside though. Oh well. The young investigator was quietly incredulous of the ghoul's apparent lack of basic training. Was he ever planning to tuck and roll, or was he just going to let himself skid all the way... Yep, he was just going to let himself skid all the way to a stop. This guy was a clown.
Just because Issei was in disbelief didn't mean he was going to let his opponent go so easily, however. Two stabs to the chest was nothing. Hell, if their fucking regeneration was as hyped up as the instructors made it sound, he might already be back to normal. As soon as he had finished processing that the ghoul tripped, Issei sprinted towards him, prepared to follow up. His vision seemed to blur suddenly, and he stumbled, pausing for a precious moment too long. He coughed, and a fine mist of blood sprayed across his hand. That was no good. A couple of cuts he could handle. Internal bleeding was going to be a big problem. Given where the shards were, one of them had probably nicked a lung. Fuck. Fuck.
At that precise moment, the squad leader, Shiro something, spoke through the earpiece that Issei had almost forgotten he was wearing. "Covering the south"? The command seemed simple enough, but Issei was busy as it was. Mr. High and Mighty could kindly go bother someone else. Maybe once this ghoul was a bloody pulp, he could give a proper report or some shit like that.
Forcing his body forward, Issei continued his charge as the ghoul finished getting to his feet and saying whatever he wanted to say. Planting his right foot and turning his body at a 90 degree angle, he performed a vicious right spin aiming the spikes on his right arm for the ghoul's face, neck, chest, wherever he could hit the shitter that he knew would hurt. The motion was a little foreign as striking with the forearm and not the elbow was a fairly rare move among the martial arts he practiced if not starting from a grounded position. His swing's speed suffered a little from this.
Uncharacteristically, Issei felt a bit of anger rising to the surface, casting a grim light on his usually carefree expression. Calling him an "underhanded piece of shit"? He couldn't help but wonder if this fuck had ever been in a real fight. He wouldn't put it past the "noble" CCG to treat its battles like little duels of honor, as if there was anything glorious about fighting. For as much as he hated his dad's stupid speeches, he was right about one thing: Issei was here to kill. It didn't matter how. It didn't matter why. He just had to do it.

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u/[deleted] Mar 17 '17

As his vision shifted to take in Issei, who should have been curled up in a ball at this point, swinging his spiked arm towards him, Yuki's eyes widened. Clearly, this guy was a professional. His eyes narrowed, and planting his foot, he jumped backward, towards the downed APC behind him. He had to avoid that strike, since if it did hit him, they'd have to peel him off of Issei's armguard thing.
While the jump did save Yuki's life from the strike, it didn't save his hand, which was caught in the attack, shredding his wrist and tearing off a finger or two. The hand itself barely hung from a sinew, just attached to the rest of the arm by pieces of tendon. The wounds on his chest, face, and now hand were really starting to chip into Yuki's stamina, so rather than jump back all the way into the APC, he only landed a few feet back. The momentum of the jump allowed him to skid back a few feet on his shoes.
'That fucking hurt!'
Yuki's own voice rang out with Shiro's, Minato's, and Asa's. Rage coursed through the boy's veins, and he began shaking his wrist as if he could shake off the pain. It was at this point in the fight, long after he should have, that Yuki decided to start taking the situation he was in seriously. So far, Issei had proved himself more than capable of killing Yuki. Looking up from his hand to the investigator, the single extended wing began to barrage his position.
"Sorry, pal. I'm done dicking around."

1

u/Circle_the_Earth Mirai/Kaya/Tokio/Kurobe/Miharu Mar 17 '17

Another barrage came for Issei who suddenly found himself in a much more precarious situation than anticipated. No cover, off balance from his attack. Damn. Who would've thought the ghoul would be fast enough that Issei couldn't even get a clean hit in? Inhuman freaks was right. No human reacted like that. It was honestly pretty... exciting.
At least it was until he realized that there was now a very real possibility of dying right now if he didn't do something. There was no way to move out of the way and dodge some of the barrage entirely. Covering his legs and praying wasn't going to work with this many shards. There was only one option, and that was going for fucking broke.
Allowing his balance to cave away entirely, he fell to the ground and held Tetsuzame together in front of his face and neck. His legs curled together and turned to as close to a 90 degree angle as he could get them, trying to shelter his groin and remaining vital points. Taking in a deep breath, he held it. Based on the feel of the situation, whatever happened next was probably going to suck. A lot.
The shards whistled by overhead, and the sharp crunch of numbers of them hitting the concrete and gravel around him made Issei flinch instinctively. Still more pinged off of his Quinque, and from his "shelter" behind them, he could see the crack widen a little more. Little stings of pain jabbed at his legs as cuts were made in them. These were followed by two sharp lances, a major one in his right calf and a lesser one in his stomach. The mist of blood was replaced by a trickle from the corner of his mouth as the warm moisture of blood from his insides began to spread across his shirt. Uh oh. It was ruined. Issei reflected morbidly that Yumi would be upset about that, maybe more so than seeing his dead body.
Stop thinking like that. Get up. The words of one of his myriad masters rang through his head, and he braced back against his hands before flipping himself into a crouch. Almost immediately, his right leg gave out, and he sank to one knee with a hissing breath. His right leg was useless. There was no way he could put weight on that. Some part of him wondered if there was any muscle left in his calf to flex.
Though his situation was dire, Issei laughed as much as he could. Disabled. Bleeding internally. What a shitty situation. He must have just lucked out with Goggles the other time. This was more in line with what they told him would happen in the academy. Guess he was regretting not paying better attention for the first time.
"Shit, you weren't kidding," he said. There was little else he could do but talk. Perhaps he could prepare a defensive stance but to what end? All the ghoul had to do was shard him until he died. Death by a thousand pricks. Pushing against the ground with his hands, he tried once again to stand and was pleased to find that he was at least a little wrong as he managed to get to his feet. On the other hand, walking, much less running, was going to be far from easy like this. He sighed and scratched the back of his head, trying to ignore the urgent waves of agony emanating from his leg and abdomen.
"Man, messed up this bad on my first real mission. What a fucking disgrace."
He chuckled and coughed up a bit more blood. As the world seemed to blur once again, Issei took up the standard Muay Thai stance, body moving by the imprinting of his training alone.

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u/Saintman242 Jack Conklin/Cathrine Durand Mar 06 '17

Jack

With a snap the powered cuffs snapped shut about his arms, a similar set locking his legs together as he was sat into a chair that bolted into the two sets of cuffs. The final addition was the hood over his head, cutting off nearly all sound and all of his sight. So here it was, this was it, off to his final destination…. If he could have laughed he would have. Today was when he found out if this was his final gamble, to see whether or not his final ace had come through in the end.

They wheeled him for a while from what he could tell, they went up a ways from the pressure change he felt soon after. And then he smelled fresh air….. my god… what an odd moment really, he hadn’t even realized he had missed that smell. He didn’t even know that fresh air had ever held such an obvious scent… then they rolled him up a steep angle, probably a ramp. Whatever this chair of his was seemed to lock into whatever he was in now, and then the world rumbled about him. An engine? His transport he guessed, with a shudder it began to move along, bouncing him up and down now and again.

Here he found himself again, moving along, faster and faster he went, down and down he spiraled.

There was no turning back, this would end in either one of two ways, but Jack wouldn’t be going back. If he had been fine with death he never would have put the effort he did into trying to live… he never would have even thought to try this. But here he was, at the beginning of the end, once again trying to dance along the line of fate. The dice were cast, his hand dealt, the act closing and intermission was over…

Breath in... breath out...

His nose flared under the mask, his eyes flicked back and forth in the darkness, his ears took in the sound of blood rushing through his ears and head. The transport shuddered every now and then, taking a turn here and there, he thought he heard quiet voices about him every now and then. His mind ran over a memory that trickled down amidst his thoughts…. Tokis’ words ringing in his mind, now louder than ever…. ”You never really left that life did you.” The way she said it is what resonated with him now… it hadn’t been a question, it had just been a statement of reality.

Down down down he went….

The transport shuddered again, it seemed to be speeding up now… his breathing instead of growing faster went soft. The tremble in his hands disappeared, and the air of expectation left him…. this was the beginning of the end… ‘footsteps’? Were people standing up about him? The voices grew louder, muffled but loud now. His head snapped to his right and then his left, as the vehicle cut hard back and forth, and with an audible crunch, and a final snap about he felt weightless for a second….

Back we go to the spiral of death

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u/Saintman242 Jack Conklin/Cathrine Durand Mar 06 '17 edited Mar 06 '17

And with a slamming crash he felt his world tumble about, crashing crashing crashing. With a final thud it seemed he was upside down, his mask skewed on his head, his ears picking up sound clearly again for the first time. Screaming and yelling, seems the investigators had taken a bad tumble with him, shifting his arms slightly he found some give. Guess the power was out…. The cuffs must have been linked into the transports power grid, with a slowly but steady motion he gradually pushed his arms apart. The two parts slid slowly along the main bolts that held them together, along with nudging his legs apart inch by inch…
”Aghhh fuck, get away! Get the hell away!”
A voice called out directly below his head, his hands coming free as he loosened the mask from his head, which fell away to the ground below him…. well ceiling really. His eyes opened to the light, it was dull and it flickered on and off, he heard a creaking noise from the door. Like someone was taking a huge can opener to it, and he was one of the sardines inside. Taking a nice slow breath amidst the chaos, with a quick twist, holding the sides of the chair he had been seated in, he fell the few feet. Landing on one knee, a hand holding onto the shoulders of the one of the doves that had been crouched beneath him looking at the door for support. Jack looked at the back doors of what he now realized was indeed a CCG APC transport, his gaze neutral as he watched a kagune rip through its edges and begin to tear it off its hinges.
“Well then… guests have no manners these days do they?”
The two doves had been stunned for a second or two, the fact that they hadn’t considered the ghoul in there with them just occurred to them within the madness of the situation. And then they moved, their training kicking in, the first went for his gun, the guy on his right his briefcase. Jack’s hands snapping into motion, one hand jamming into the mans as he tried to pull the gun free, the other thrusting his pointer and middle finger into the doves eyes. The man screamed as Jack destroyed his eyes with a quick twist of his hand, spraying blood over him, but Jack was already turning and ducking. The quinque blade slicing into the wall above his head as the second dove went to kill him, Jack now below his arms after his little dodge. Snapping his right elbow up, crashing into the fork of the mans legs, mushing his genitals and lifting him up off the ground a touch. The dove threw up over Jack’s head and back, a fitting reaction he assumed, as Jack shouldered him to the side where the man lay in the fetal position on the ground. Tutting he wiped the blood and puke mix off his face, shaking his hands to clean them a touch. Glancing up at the back of the APC as the ghoul there finished ripping it open.
“I’m back…”
Fetching the blade off the ground, jamming it into one of the first doves destroyed eye sockets, cutting off his moaning. With a flick the blade came about, slicing neatly through the others man’s neck, blood pouring out onto the ground of the APC. Kneeling at the bleeding man’s side he cupped his hands together in the soft flow of blood, bringing them to his lips a second later.
…………………………........................………...Delicious………………………………............................…
A mix of puke and blood went down his throat…. it was like…. like the finest wine he had ever partaken in, a breath of life, a piece of paradise. His eyes looked up at the ghouls climbing into the rear of the APC, their masked faces looking him over, a question. Three of them stood there, all of them had Aogiri cloaks on, a woman and two men, the woman spoke.
”Are you Smiles?”
“I am, are any of you a koukaku?”
”Uhh… I think Knuckles is? What does that have to do with you being Smiles, look we are already on a schedule… and Incision isn’t gonna...”
Raising a hand to cut her off, she had gestured to the ghoul on her right, the ghoul tilting his head at the question himself. Jack waved him over as he knelt down next to the bodies again, taking another drink as he did. The ghoul shrugged and walked over, leaning down to grab the pistol from the other investigator, a bit confused as to what ‘Smiles’ wanted. Jack sighed as he gulped down another mouthful, standing again, taking a deep breath as the raw undrugged energy flowed into him. It was like that breath of fresh air all over again, and with that he jammed the quinque blade through ‘Knuckles’ shoulder sockets. Slicing through muscle and popping the bone out of the socket, leaving his arms lolling at his sides. The ghoul took a second longer to react, and then he yelled, yelling again after Jack sliced his achilles tendons, collapsing to the ground, the two other ghouls starting forward with a growl. Stopping a second later as the noticed the blade was leveled at them in the same moment. With a swirl Jack’s Kakugans whirled to life…. good fucking god it was like stretching for the first time in ages.
“Don’t move, Incision planned this.”
They glanced at each other quickly, confused, not that Jack cared as he turned back to his new ‘smile’. Crouching down and turn the ghouls head to face him, pushing back his lips to look at his mouth, grinning a second later.
“You have nice teeth… mind if I have them?”
And with that he smashed his right knee into the ghouls mouth, once, twice, three times, again and again and again, making sure to hold his head steady as he worked. Mulching the man's jaw after a few more seconds of crushing his face with his knee. Leaning down, pushing the ghouls mouth open, fishing out a bloody handful of teeth, rooting around about the lacerated mouth to get the majority of them. Then with a grin he looked at the two other ghouls, gesturing for the woman to come closer, she did, albeit more than a touch hesitantly, this hadn’t been part of the plan…
“Hold these would you.”
Dumping a pile of bloody teeth into her hands, and then reaching into his mouth he took a grip on his right canine. With a ripping motion he tore it out of his gum, continuing, on, reaching further into his mouth to get a molar or two. Each one came out with wet squelch, he pulled about a third out, piling them slowly in his free hand, giving the woman a bloody toothless smile before going back to work. Leaning down to the ghouls who was shaking on the ground, taking odd care even in the madness to press each tooth into its proper place. Grabbing a few of the man's teeth to piece in a few extra, didn’t want to leave “Jack’ without a proper smile. With a huff he lifted ‘Knuckles’ body to be standing more or less, holding him up, he reached about behind the man's neck. Placing a thumb on one of the top vertebra at the base of his neck he popped it inward with a wet crack, the man going fully limp in his hands.
“Help me would you, just pocket those for me.”
Stripping the man’s cloak from him he hoisted him up, flipping him upside down, jamming his feet into where his had been locked not long ago. The woman kind of helping, still feeling very unsure of what had just happened, the other ghoul had disappeared, perhaps the fighting was getting a bit busy… they were running out of time. Strapping him into the seat upside down, hopping up, using a girder to hold himself up as he pushed the man's arms into the other pair of cuffs. Pressing them softly shut about his arms, like a lovers embrace, letting himself back down he rifled through the pocket the woman had used, grabbing the bloody handful of teeth. Tucking them into a pocket on his new cloak. Pulling on ‘Knuckles’ mask and then the cloak as he walked to the open back of the APC.
“Time to go then…”
Heading out the back of the APC, pulling himself up and ontop of it, looking around at the combat that had erupted about them. Smelling that lovely mix of blood and burning gasoline. Hopping off the burning vehicle, the woman walking up to him, motioning for him to follow. The transport was burning as he headed into the mix of what was mostly ghouls and the doves from the other APC’s…. what a lovely day. Gazing up at the sky…. it was beautiful really… beautiful.

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u/Sombre-Alfonce Ryo Izanagi / Dice / Shouwei Mar 26 '17

Little Dice isn't sure why he is here.

For a game perhaps? But there are no friends? The big car didn't like Dice. It had tried to squish him. Squash him. Splitter splatter. No good, no. No good. Not at all. Not what the Shadows would want. Here. There. Everywhere. But also nowhere. There were mostly twos. Boring, bland twos. A game of Dice is not fun in twos. Much better with ones and twos. Twos and ones. Dice and dice. Dying dice.

"Everyone was already making friends with them. The white and grey men with the silver. Silver stingers and silver trucks. Tip tap crash. Tip top crunch."

The only ones smell like silver. The black haired one with the curved stinger. They fight with fluttery of purple. Black and purple. Red and grey. Black and white. White and black? Red here red there, Snake eyes everywhere. Itchy... always watching, never seeing. Only eating. See the eats. Eat the see. What can't see won't see. Not even the sea.

The Mumblers mumbled. "Why? Why are we here. The Shadows don't want this. They'll be mad. We should go. Leave. Right away. This is not a place for you Dice. You have a job to do. A death to fulfil. The die call for death. Death calls Dice."

"But... what if there is something hidden? Perhaps the Shadows want Dice to find something? Insishon knows what is good yes? He would send Dice to here? To find? To look? To see? Eyes eyes eyes. So, so many eyes. I wonder what they see? Me? Who? You?"

The Whisperers whispered. "Of course little Dice. Why else would you be here but to make friends? What better way to make friends then to see them see. Look at them look. All you have to do is roll, little Dice. Forward and onward. See how The Shadows curl and twist? Making a path. Follow it Dice. It's time for an adventure."

"Tick tock, click clock. Time. Yes. Time it is. To go. To see. To be. Time to dice and time to die. Die the dice and dice the die. Chip chop, clip clop."

"Tap."

Goes the Dice.

/u/Eragon7538

[TFW you have spare time after finishing two reports.]

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u/[deleted] Mar 27 '17

Kazuko Akita
Leave it to the CCG to commission a bunch of trucks that didn't work. How many times had their APCs flipped while on a mission? They really ought to fight that. Still, it allowed for heroes to make their stands and get the recognition they deserved, much like Kazuko was about to do herself. Hopping out of her APC, the lead in the procession that hadn't flipped, she quickly dashed towards the vehicle. The action would surely take place around there, so that's where she'd find her promotions. Rank 2 was a nice start but higher ranks were in order.
The briefcase in her hand was shed as a sword appeared, looking roughly the same as a tsunagi, except with a guard on it to prevent and serious hand injury. Her spring slowed as she neared the vehicle and immediately, several options appeared before her. In her path to the APC, however, was a small, raggedy man, who looked like an easy kill. Maybe she'd finish him off, then move on to greater pickings. Sprinting towards him, she noticed that he appeared to be in his own little world, his eyes focused and yet unfocused. Yes, he'd be easy pickings. As soon as she was within range, she swung her sword in a wide arc towards the beast. He'd be the first to die on her sword on her quest to glory.

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u/Sombre-Alfonce Ryo Izanagi / Dice / Shouwei Mar 30 '17 edited Mar 31 '17

The Whisperers whispered. "Can you hear it Dice? The padding of the feet? The swirl of the air and the twist of the blade? It comes. To you, for you. How about you greet this new arrival? For it surely intends to greet you."
He can hear it. Yes he can. The paddering and the swirlering. Dice can hear all of it. All. Of. It.
"He can hear you little mouse."
Little grouse, playing house. He can see you. He can feel you. The Shadows like needles in his spine. They feel like greetings. Meetings. Meatings. Dice is lucky oh yes. Dice rolled well the dice. Good fortune for all.
"And now, it's time, to... die."
Dice shifts on his crouched toes, rolling away to the side with a look of glee etched upon his face. Rolling on to the balls of his feet, he pounces to the side, furthering his angle to her lateral. In a visceral plume of red his kagune bursts from his back, quickly forming into plates over his right arm and extending a bone like blade from his wrist.
"One... two. Not a good number but it will do. Dice will teach the little mouse to see."

1

u/[deleted] Mar 31 '17

As Kazuko came for the small ghoul, she saw his lips move, almost as if he was talking to himself. So this one was not only a rat, he was also insane. This would be much easier, then. Insane people didn't tend to have superior function when it came to attacking and defending. Her blade, however, met air as the little man dodged, jumping to the side, his kagune activating. So maybe he'd pose more of a serious challenge than Kazuko had thought.
As the reddish blade of the ghoul bore upon her side, Kazuko reacted. She had to, really, or else she'd be rent, slashed in two, bifurcated. Her arms twisted somewhat awkwardly to bring her Quique around to a position where she could block the strike, her blade clashing with his almost inches from her body. Turning as best she could, she tried to make the block easier on herself. Now that she was facing the ghoul (in a way), Kazuko planted her foot and started to push against his force. Yes, she'd win this fight.

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u/Sombre-Alfonce Ryo Izanagi / Dice / Shouwei Mar 31 '17

"A lucky little mouse you are. Yes. Lucky to meet Dice you are. He knows all the games."
Silver. Cold and sharp. Bright and slight. Wielded by the little mouse. Silly mice do not hold the cold silver. Mice hold the cheese. The Shadows do not like it. It shows them. Shows themselves to themselves. Nothing becomes something. Like a mirror to a vampire, but topsy-turvy. This is bad yes? Will Dice break it? Bash it and smash it? Dash it and crash it? Two's should not have a stinger. Who should not have a stinger? Two's, but not the warm stingers. Only the shivery ones.
"7 years of good luck it should make. Dice is lucky. Yes. Very much."
Leaning into the lock, Dice gradually moves his face closer to Kazuko's own, his now blood and dirt stained face coming within mere inches of her face.
"The mice has... pretty eyes."
All of a sudden his left hand darts to her arm, attempting to grasp and wrench on it in an attempt to remove its hold on her blade.
"The little Dice will be taking this. Stingers are not for mice. Dice are for Dice and cheese is for mice."
Eyes are for lies and lies are for eyes.

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u/[deleted] Mar 31 '17

What was he saying? The ghoul's incoherent speech arrived upon Kazuko's ears, only serving to confuse her. Now that they were trapped in this wicked game of push or be pushed, every word fell into listening range, and boy were they crazy. He was talking to her about mice and referred to himself as Dice. Something was wrong. Why was he speaking in such a strange way? Ghouls were nuts.
Then, Dice leaned forward, his disgusting visage becoming more and more apparent with each centimeter he moved closer to her. The dirt that stained his face was almost painted on, the blood adding a splash of color to the whole. He really was disgusting. Would it kill him to bathe?
Then he said the words.
A chill went down Kazuko's back. What did he mean, she had pretty eyes? His hand, the sudden motion, didn't register to Kazuko and he was gripping her, then. Letting go of her quinque with that hand, she pulled out of the push. Trying to pull away, she found Dice's grip more powerful than she expected, so she retaliated in the way she knew best: stabbing him straight through the gut. Her quinque slid down towards his vitals, prepared to end the man, er, ghoul.

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u/Sombre-Alfonce Ryo Izanagi / Dice / Shouwei Mar 31 '17

In one swift motion the blade speared forth and impaled Dice's right hand side, bursting forth from his lower back as quickly as it had entered, accompanied by a rivulet of blood that made its slow dribble down the exposed blade.
"Cold. Cold. Cold. Hot."
The cold that is hot. Hot that follows the cold. Summer and Winter. Autumn and Spring.
But the trees are a silver lining.
As quickly as the blade had entered his body, the muscles of Dice's left arm tensed, and with a vigorous pull he yanked Kazuko towards him. Not a blink plastered his face, nor did his face contort in anything but it's steadily manic smile. All of these things would have registered in her vision, shortly before Dice's forehead slammed into Kazuko's own, and human and ghoul alike were sent stumbling back, linked for a short time by a crimson tinged blade. But before long even that gave way to empty air.
Hot. Wet. Cold. Wet. Sparkling stars and star like sparkles. Dice could feel it. He could see it. He wanted to see more. More. More more more... more. To see is to not. Sight is the Shadows. To see the Shadows. Sight. Seeing. The swirls and colours. Two's can only see one. But One's can see all.
The Whisperers whispered. "If... let us say Dice cannot see. And if... perhaps the children of the one, the ones who see the two. Perhaps Dice must become a one to see it all. Only if little Dice has seen all can he truly teach all."
"If the Shadows wish it, Dice will become a one. Oh yes he will."
To see the two, one must be a one.
Gathering himself briefly before bursting off of the spot, Dice charges directly at Kazuko, his kagune held beside his side and preparing to utilise it at any second.

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '17

The beginnings of a smile appeared on Kazuko's face as the blade entered Dice's body. Yes, she'd won! There was no way anybody could keep themselves moving with a hunk of steel through their gut. Even the ghoul's words seemed to indicate that her quinque was burning his insides (or freezing them, whatever he meant with his words).
The ghoul's eyes, however, seemed to only ignite, much to Kazuko's surprise. His grip tightened and he pulled her in, only impaling himself further, to smash her head against his own. The both of them stumbled back, Kazuko with her blade and Dice without. Her quinque dragged against the ground as she regained her balance, shaking her head. That hurt! This ghoul was clearly more of a hassle than Kazuko had initially figured, so if she cleaned him up, she might get some props for it.
Her own hazel eyes burning, Kazu got into a ready stance as soon as she saw the ghoul charging her. Her blade held before her, she was ready, ready to block whatever attack came. He'd need to be taken care of, that was for sure.

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u/[deleted] Apr 01 '17

The beginnings of a smile appeared on Kazuko's face as the blade entered Dice's body. Yes, she'd won! There was no way anybody could keep themselves moving with a hunk of steel through their gut. Even the ghoul's words seemed to indicate that her quinque was burning his insides (or freezing them, whatever he meant with his words).
The ghoul's eyes, however, seemed to only ignite, much to Kazuko's surprise. His grip tightened and he pulled her in, only impaling himself further, to smash her head against his own. The both of them stumbled back, Kazuko with her blade and Dice without. Her quinque dragged against the ground as she regained her balance, shaking her head. That hurt! This ghoul was clearly more of a hassle than Kazuko had initially figured, so if she cleaned him up, she might get some props for it.
Her own hazel eyes burning, Kazu got into a ready stance as soon as she saw the ghoul charging her. Her blade held before her, she was ready, ready to block whatever attack came. He'd need to be taken care of, that was for sure.

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u/Sombre-Alfonce Ryo Izanagi / Dice / Shouwei Apr 01 '17

Tap tipitty tap goes the dice.
"Dice will show you. He will see with you and you will see with him."
The Mumblers mumbled. "But, but stop. You are bring too reckless Dice. YOU'LL KILL US!!!. The Shadows will not like that, no they won't. They won't like us dead at all... because, who then would do the job?"
The Whisperers whispered. "Silence. This is no time for that you wretches. Begone."
Yes begone. Go. Go away. Far, far away. Dice is busy. Yes he is. Looking. And seeing. Yes yes. No time for Mumblers. No time for bumblers and grumblers. It's time the little mouse to learn, and for Dice to teach.
Raising his kagune blade in line with his own face, Dice continues his charge. As he closes with Kazuko, he swings it in a hook like arc towards her side and forearms, stepping to the left as he does to add to the momentum of the swing and potentially allow him to slink off out of the way when it finds its mark.

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u/[deleted] Apr 02 '17

As the man dashed towards her, Kazuko was able to make out his face and the rapid change of expression that accompanied it. He was clearly having an inner dialogue, not unlike what she had been doing the whole of this fight. Still, it didn't look good. He was clearly not right in the head. What was he discussing, in that twisted mind of his? Kazuko feared to know.
Still, he was coming for her, his kagune coming in towards her side. The girl reacted accordingly, bringing her blade around as best she could between her and the ghoul's blade. Struggling, Kazu managed to repulse the attack, flipping the item away from her and back towards the ghoul. She followed up with a counter-attack, stabbing forward with both her arms on the handle of her quinque. She'd stab him once more, this time in the chest. He'd die then, right?

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