Izanami no Jidō: Repercussions

A Sinister Gathering
New York City, from a distance, appeared to have remained the same ever since it's 21st century counterpart. There were several new buildings that seemed to touch the heavens themselves, the city was much darker and it's primary colors were black and gold. At this time, the night sky covered the whole area, making it to where you could see it from the vast reaches of space.

Near the tallest building, known as it has always been as the Empire State Building, in a large room overlooking the city, stood a lone figure. He was near a large window, allowing him to monitor the buildings and activities both above and below him. His cape dragging along the ground as his arms were folded between it and his back. Behind him stood a magnificent case holding a golden hilt of a sword, and the larger blade of said sword with it. Both floating and spinning in the air slowly. Letting others know of it's beauty. The figure then turned his head to where he was looking behind him.

"I see you decided to come after all."

"Of course."

Behind him stood the familiar figure of Brina, her hands folded in front of her and the usual smile on her face. Behind her stood three urban-gear gunmen with Kidō rifles holstered in their arms. They stood still as she stepped forward towards the Prophet. "I did say I would have a bit of spare time within my work, didn't I?"

The Prophet then turned around, his cape flapping behind him. "Indeed you did, though I didn't expect you to have this much security." He slowly paced around his display case, dragging his finger along it. "I can assume that you don't work alone in this "buisness" of yours?"

"Sometimes I do, and sometimes I don't." Brina said, giving a respectful nod. She then motioned with her head over at the three idle guards. "Don't mind these lot. They are just here to provide overwatch and be our "extra eyes" for the time being."

The Prophet gave a slight smile as he spoke, stopping in front of the display case. He waved his hand to his left towards a group of leather seats just a few feet from the sword case. "Please please, make yourself at home." He then flicked his right fingers and a floating chair emerged from the ceiling straight above the large window. As it made it's way to the ground, it stopped about 2 feet from the ground and he sat in it. "Now then, I guess you didn't come all this way just to discuss your tactics. You asked for a role. But before I can give you one, I need you to tell me exactly what it is that you're wanting. I know that you seek revenge against a former Captain, but I would like to know more about the situation." He held his head up with his right hand, resting on the arm of his chair. "It sounds like alot more than simple revenge."

"If you insist...." Not wanting to be impolite and refuse, Brina walked over to the chair and sat herself down, folding her hands within her lap.

The guards looked at each other for a moment. One of them shrugged lightly and wordlessly pointed a thumb behind him towards the rest of the seats. The other three, deciding to heed him, followed him over to the chairs and took their own seats to make themselves comfortable.

Brina paid no attention to this, her eyes focusing themselves on the Prophet. "What I told you already is nothing more than my own intention, and in that case, my motive is nothing more than simple revenge. My peers, however, operate on a different story."

The Prophet's expression didn't change. "Indeed. And what is this story that your peers operate on?" He glanced upward, as if he was looking at someone...

"I am not informed completely of their intentions, considering that I am only a subordinate." Brina said, discreetly noting his glance upwards. "But they have witnessed your actions as of late, and they find it profitable that they lend their assistance to you."

"Truly?" He lifted his hand from his head and sat upright. "I have found myself in need of some rather...talented individuals such as yourself. Since the death of De Soto, I have yet to find someone of equal skill that I have no use for here to find what it is I am seeking. Perhaps this is where your assisstance could come in handy?" He then folded his hands togather as their elbows sat on the chair's arms. "I assure you, those who assist me are usually rewarded in great amounts."

"As a former member of the Stealth Force, I'm no rookie when it comes to gathering enemy intelligence as well as securing targets of opportunity." Brina assured him. "De Soto had a direct approach to things, but I prefer to work within the shadows in order to manipulate the very environment my targets make themselves comfortable in."

The Prophet closed his eyes and smiled. "Excellent excellant. I'm certain that you will prove to be a valuble asset to my cause." His eyes then opened. "What will your first move be in this chase? Do you have any leads?"

Brina nodded, her polite smile widening briefly into a happy one at his reaction. "The Captain as well as her two companions will be heading to New York via a private plane. Following tonight, they will board and depart. After pinpointing the plane they will be on, our agents have managed to place explosives hidden within the engines just in case anything goes wrong."

The Prophet's eyes widened in surprise. "My my. You certainly have taken the initiative. Had you been operating without my supervision..." He then resumed his normal look. "Which reminds me, when will you be leaving?"

"As soon as possible, sir. It's only natural that I return to base after such transactions are made. But I will be staying within New York for a little while, so I will still be in contact for the time being."

The Prophet stroked his beard in an interested manner. "Very well. Before you go I believe I have someone that I would like to accompany you on your journey, at least for a time."

Brina blinked a few times. "An escort?" She questioned him, her expression slowing slight confusion. "There's nothing wrong with that, but whoever it is cannot accompany me back to HQ. I'm sure you understand."

The Prophet smiled. "Well...I wouldn't refer to him as an escort so much as..." Suddenly, a rushing wind noise could be heard coming from above Brina and the three guards. Then the sound of a bird flapping it's wings soon followed and crow feathers slowly floated down the ground. Had Brina and her guards turned around, they would have seen a muscular figure with various purple clothing fit with various bone pieces. It's purple hair parially covering it's white Hollow Mask. It looked down towards Brina's guards with a sort of annoyed gesture.

"...a Watcher."

"What the--"

Instinctively, one of the gunman aimed his Kidō gun at it, only for another to lay his hand down on the barrel to lower it. Confused, the startled guard looked at the calmer one, who shook his head in disapproval. This seemed to make the alerted one understand, sitting back down within his seat.

"A watcher....." Brina repeated slowly, contemplating what was just said. "So, in other words, you do not trust us completely...."

The being sneered at the two guards before quickly Flash Stepping over next to the Prophet, a crow perching on his shoulder. "Well." the Prophet began. "While your gentle politness and warm attitude is very welcoming and appreciated, it also gives you a reason to warrant caution." He then waved his left hand up to direct their attention to the Watcher, who had his arms crossed. "This here is my top ranked assassin, Kafiezial. Or as my peers like to refer to him, the Watcher."

"I can't help but note....." Brina commented, directing her eyes on the mask that the Watcher wore. "That's a Visored's mask, and they tend to have a certain time limit before they shatter completely. Yet, this man seems to use his naturally, almost as if it was nothing more than some artificial and material one."

"Indeed. I'm glad that you noticed." He then stood up from his chair as the Watcher folded his arms across his back as if he were standing at attention. "You see, there is a secret about Hollow Masks that many other Visoreds don't ever know about until it's too late." He placed his hand on the Watcher's shoulder. "In his youth, Kafiezial was a ruthless and violent man, always using his Hollow Mask whenever fighting or just whenever he was causing chaos." He lowered his head. "He then realized, that using the Hollow Mask too much would result in the mask permanatley merging with his face. While he can take it off briefly to eat or drink, the mask will quickly grow back."

He then raised his head back up, taking his hand off of the beings shoulder. "Due to this, he has almost completley forgotten what it is like to be human. He shows no emotion when on an assignment, is strictly loyal, and he acts as my eyes and ears." He looked straight towards Brina. "This is where he comes in on your journey."