"…The pattern has remained stable throughout the past 3 months. We believe we are due for another surge at some point this year or next year," A bespectacled young man said. "But we are sure that it will be well within our capabilities. As usual."

Fukuda(福田) Sora(空). A young(relatively) member of the Akasha Agency's main branch. Though the main branch does keep a large amount of their strongest combatants on hand, enough to defend Tokyo in case of invasion, a large amount of the branch's personnel was devoted purely to administrative duties. One such person was Fukuda Sora.

In the darkened room, before a small conference table, at which sat five other figures, the young man delivered his report. Unlike him the one speaking, they were visibly much older. A few attendants stood at attention around the room, but not many. These were some of the most powerful men and women in the country. A special panel of the Minister of Defence, Minister for the Environment, Minister of Occultism, the Chief Cabinet Secretary, and the Prime Minister himself.

This was a 6-monthly briefing on the state of the Akasha Scourge. Carried out within the central headquarters of the Agency itself. Begun in the outbreak's earliest stages, it had continued throughout the years, unbroken save for times of national emergency. Before the Agency would deliver their report in front of parliament and the public as a whole, they would deliver it here behind closed doors.

"The specific numbers are enclosed in those folders," The young man said, indicating the manila folders the aides held.

The folders held copies of the report they would be formally giving. The Ministers would be free to make redactions as they saw fit before the report saw the light of day. In a time when the goal of the Agency had been to counter panic at all costs, this was something which had seen heavy applications, but it would be truly rare now if any of the Ministers decided to raise the black marker.

"And that makes the conclusion of our report. Thank you for being very patient with us, Ministers(大臣)." Fukuda said, doing a short bow.

He remained keenly aware of their gazes as he raised his head and met the ministers' eyes which were all on him. Because now came the dreaded call.

"Do you have any questions for us now, Ministers(大臣)?"

Fukuda watched carefully for anything out of the norm. Any indication of displeasure or distaste.

"Where is Musazishi Zoroya?" They said.

There it was. Fukuda kept a thin smile.

Of course it was the same question. It was always worded in a way that could not be misinterpreted. And that strange, strange name. They were of course, asking about the Akasha Agency's founder.

"…I'm very sorry to say," Fukuda answered carefully. "He has not made his return as of yet. We will endeavour to inform you as soon as we have word that he has been sighted. Please rest assured, we can operate at full capacity even in his absence."

He was an eccentric by all accounts. Many suspected he was a foreigner, and the strange name certainly added to the rumours. But the thing about Musazishi Zoroya was that no one had seen the founder in many years. Fukuda Sora had never even seen a glimpse of him, save for the few pictures there were of the man himself.

This was the exact same answer he had given the six or so times he had conducted this meeting. The response he'd honed and trained to deliver under these… circumstances. A misstep could end his career, or even the whole Agency if it was dire enough. He had to give the answer purposefully, with confidence.

The deadly silence continued.

"…Very well." They replied. Fukuda was flooded with relief.

It was over. In polite unison, they rose from their chairs and allowed Fukuda to vacate the room. They said their goodbyes, and the curtains were closed on that short, chaotic chapter of his life.

---

Fukuda stepped outside and sighed loosened his tie. As always, it felt like he aged a good 6 months every time he had that meeting. By all accounts, it had gone swimmingly so he really shouldn't complain, but the way his muscles tensed left always left his back sore afterwards.

As he stretched his arms, he heard the faint flick of a lighter, and caught the distinctive smell of cigarette smoke in the air as a figure rounded the corner.

"Akemi-san!" Fukuda called out.

The sight was usually a surprise to many who toured the Agency headquarters for the first time. Kurosawa(黒触) Akemi(明美). She stood almost 6 feet tall, and was always clad in a stark grey suit. She was a Yokai. A Kitsune to be precise. She was one of the most powerful members of the agency. Both in standing, and combat prowess.

She was a Kitsune with 7 tails. The highest among the Kitsune who remained as Operatives of the Agency. Reason being, Kitsune with even more tails were close to being their own Divinities. They were almost too powerful to really have to deal with such mundane matters, even when it was to do with the Scourge. Even to the Agency, who often dealt with the Spirit World, it was rare to see one a Kitsune with so many tails.

She looked him up and down as if reaffirming who he was.

"Ah, Fukuda." The senior kitsune said.

She looked up as he approached, a lit cigarette hanging out of her mouth. Her face had the tell-tale creases of weariness from overwork. But there was an untouchable aura of youth. She was older than Fukuda. Older than the Agency, even.

"How did the meeting go?" She asked, cocking her head to the side.

"As well as it ever has," Fukuda replied, bowing his head. "A few small hiccups, but I think the Ministers were still alright with me."

"That's a relief," The kitsune smiled. "You're the one they like the most, it'd be difficult to replace you if they decided to act odd all of a sudden."

She took a drag of her cigarette and look out over the blue morning sky. That's right, if she was here this was her smoke break. It would be good of Fukuda to let her enjoy the moment in peace. She worked the hardest out of almost anyone in the Agency. Part of that was her position, part of that was her nature, or at least he guessed so.

When the Kami made contact with the human world to deliver their ultimatum, long before he was even born, they had decided to send some of their servants to remain in the human world as a permanent point of contact between the Human World and the Spirit World.

She was one of them.

A servant of Amaterasu. She had been given the task of keeping watch over the Akasha Agency, and by extension almost all official operations of Yokai in the human world. Not only that, but she was a highly skilled Arts practitioner, and was second to none with the sword. And even though she looked stern, she was remarkably kind. She insisted on being called by her first name whenever possible, even by the new staff.

"Ah, Akemi-san!" Fukuda suddenly piped up. "I didn't notice, you've formed another tail! Congratulations!"

He didn't know much about Kitsune, but he knew for all Kitsune, growing another tail was quite a feat. Kitsune used their tails to store power. Once they had accumulated enough power over their long life, it formed into a new tail to join their others. It wasn't as easy as he was making it sound, he was sure. It was quite a long and arduous process still.

"Hmm? Oh. I suppose I did." She said, looking back at her own tails as if she was counting them for herself.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. Yes, she was an 8-tailed Kitsune now. But she still seemed the same as ever.

"Are you going to celebrate Akemi-san?" Fukuda asked excitedly.

"…Mmm, I suppose we won't have as much work in the upcoming season so now would be an opportune time," She replied.

"…" Fukuda was mystified. It wasn't his place to just assume what he felt was wrong, but…

"…You seem distracted Kurosawa-san," He said hesitantly. "Is something on your mind?"

She seemed to stop to think for more than a few a moments before she replied.

"I suppose there is something on my mind," She finally sighed.

She rubbed the back of her neck and massaged the bridge of her nose. As if she was letting out something that had been weighing on her for some time, but the burden wouldn't be lifted yet. Not for some time, it seemed.

"…You wouldn't have known, but shortly before I joined the Agency was the time when I gained my 7th Tail," She said after a while.

"Really?" Fukuda said. He was certainly surprised.

Akemi-san had grown used to human perception of time after a while, but he remembered her talking about her time serving as one of the many kitsune under Lady Amaterasu as if it had, in essence made up a majority of her life. At least for a large amount of the time she had spent serving her, she had 6 tails and not 7.

But crucially, as the gears worked inside his head, he realized…

"That means you gained a new tail within the last 50 years…?" Fukuda said as he did the calculations in his head.

"That's right." Akemi replied. "Forming a tail within 50 years is normal for your earliest tails. The first, second, third, could all probably be obtained within 50 years, although every Kitsune is different. But the energy required increases exponentially every time. 50 years for your eighth tail? That's certainly unheard of."

She paused to take a drag of her cigarette.

"…It's just a little odd." She said after a time. "How long have you been in the Agency, Fukuda? 3 years? 4 years? You started as an intern and now you're already giving reports to the Prime Minister."

"Those in the Agency see their talents grow and flourish at a blistering rate. Is it just the environment, or is it something else?" She let the question hang in the air.

Fukuda was speechless. Of course, she was right. Fukuda was young, by almost anyone's standards. He was only 26 years old. He had risen fast in the Agency, to a position where no one could replace him, and his only direct peers were almost a decade older than him. While it had its share of challenges, he was privileged. That's all he knew.

"…I'm afraid I don't have an answer Kurosawa-san," Fukuda said sheepishly.

He had to admit that he really had no idea what it could be. Though he was at such a high position, he hadn't had time to stop and look at the base of the mountain, so to speak. He couldn't say everything that went on in the organization. And by the way Akemi had confided in him led him to believe that even she wasn't sure of the root cause.

He lifted his head to see Akemi looking over him with a tired smile.

"That's quite alright Fukuda, treat it just as the musings of a tired old fox," She said.

She looked up towards the sky once again.

"Some mysteries just aren't meant to be solved yet. I'm sure the answer will present itself with time."

---

Once the break was over, the two headed back inside to discuss the details of a personnel shift with some particular significance to Fukuda on the way back to their stations.

"You're asking about Sentouji?" Akemi asked.

"Yes, it's my home town so I'm a little worried about it," Fukuda sheepishly admitted. "I heard they were replacing the person who runs the Shokuden because he's retired now. I know it's been a problem area before, but it had been going well for some time from what my relatives in the area told me."

"Ah, you're concerned about his replacement?" Akemi said.

"Yes, I've heard he's quite young," Fukuda said. "I met the dispatcher for Sentouji coincidentally, once upon a time. I've heard it hasn't become any easier to deal with her since then…"

Akemi gave him a look which had become very familiar over the course of his time in the Agency. The look of 'oh, what an adorable human problem', which she did every so often. It was hard to see it coming because while many things in the way Yokai and humans perceived things was different, there were areas of similarity and between these areas was when that look occured.

He supposed she'd had prior experience with someone difficult like that, which prompted the look.

"I don't think you'll have to worry much," The Kitsune said. "The replacement was trained directly by the previous head for a time, and besides, he's highly qualified for the position."

"You might know him as 'Five-Finger Gotou'."

Fukuda had in fact heard of him him. He had made waves in the Agency for rising through the ranks extremely quickly as a Specialist. In less than a year, he had already been running solo missions, and now he was even running a Shokuden?

"He's even younger than you are, although I don't imagine you'd envy his position much if you know our Dispatcher in the region as well as you say you do." Akemi said with a light-hearted laugh.

"I think I'd have to agree, Akemi-san…" Fukuda said.

Fukuda wasn't sure where the future was going.

He hadn't been here for the fight against the Scourge in its prime, but the scars could be felt even by a civilian like him in this day and age. At any moment he knew that it could return one day in its full force and utterly overwhelm the Agency. But being here, it felt like being next to possibility itself.

He couldn't see anything but a bright future on the horizon.

Homura arrived shortly after the Shokuden had officially opened. It's not easy living a double life of going to school during the day and then staying up at night training or hunting monsters, but at least it's interesting. "Evening," she greets Gotou and Sakura informally as she walks in.

I was warm enough out that one could manage without the heavier winter outfits, something Homura was all too happy about. She's not really the trendy sort, sacrificing all sense of fashion for warmth in the winter, but it was still nice. Spring was time for new beginnings, and skirts. At least she wasn't wearing her school uniform while hanging out at what was ostensibly a bar.

She hopped up on one of the unoccupied bar stools and slung the cloth case carrying her sword off her shoulder and leaned it against the bar next to her. "Hey!" A voice rang out from the sword. "How many times do I have to tell you, don't treat me like an umbrella or something."

"Quiet," Homura shot back, while eyeing the bin by the door for actual umbrellas. It could be worse. She looked over to whoever was tending the bar behind the counter. "I'm probably not a regular yet, so I can't just ask for the usual. What's good without alcohol tonight?" She paused for a bit to think. "What's on the menu for missions, for that matter? Anything interesting I might be able to help with?"

Hopefully there were some interesting missions tonight. Homura always enjoyed a good sparring match or hanging out with some of the Specialist crowd, but she was in the mood for some proper action.

Karine slid around the corner to the Akasha Agency entrance, before quickly pulling her phone from her jacket. She had made sure to time her run to the Agency from her home this time, even using her phone! However, the stopwatch app showed some strange set of laps that ultimately ended far too early. Karine realized that she must have accidentally pressed the touch screen a bunch while it was in her pocket. "Oh well..." She shrugged it off easily. She never really cared too much about the time anyway, the timer was just to make sure she wasn't slacking rather than set any kind of record.

She mulled over her timing problem as she strolled into the entrance. Her eyes quickly scanned the room, and settled on Homura, who had sat down at the bar already. Karine decided against using the element of surprise to steal some warmth from Homura - The benefits probably were outweighed by the negatives of being "the agent that caused a scene the second she entered the room."

Instead Karine took a seat next to Homura. "Well, I'll have some hot cocoa!" She said, giving the bartender a big smile. "Oh! And I'll also have a mission, too. But the cocoa first." She barely paused before quickly turning to Homura. "Say, do you have a watch? I just realized that I could totally use a watch, something that could time my runs for me-" Karine stopped for a moment before realizing she didn't even properly greet Homura, so she quickly added, "-Oh! Also, good evening!"

It was another evening for Roku. Familiar sounds filled the kitchen. A hot iron sizzled as it cooked an egg. The rice cooker waited as the rice turned to a puffy state. Roku's familiar cutting noises. The crunch of vegetables under a knife. The collision of cutting board and blade. The sound of meat splitting under blade. Really, cooking was something Roku was always proud of. It was something he had done for a long time, as evidenced by every task being finished at once. He made a lot. After all, martial practitioners were often slaves to their appetite. He assembled each bento box with an eye for detail. The octopus and crab sausages were place among the rice, egg, and vegetables. The theme of these boxes were a day at the beach. Was it accurate? About as much as a bento could be.

As day turned night, his duties and obligations to his personal life were completed. The lunches for the dojo were placed in the fridge. He kept five of the boxes for himself. After all, who knew if someone would be hungry at the agency!

So Roku entered the Shokuden as he always did. His mission history wasn't exactly the most tenured, but he remained a consistent figure for those in the Shokuden. Even if he just appeared every now and again between training to offer a meal for the night.

"Bento, anyone?" He asked everyone "I'll trade some for a mission~."

Genichiro hadn’t ever really been a fan of crowds. A few years ago he probably would have said it was all the noise that bothered him, but now, even as familiar as he’d become with listening to constant chatter Genichiro still felt uncomfortable. Perhaps it was time to just give in and admit he was a bit of an introvert.
“Ne̴̯͋r̵͉̔d.” “Hav̸͙̏e yo̵͔͝u̴̺̾ trie̷͖̓d just̴͍̐ talki̸̹͊n̷̛̥g?” “Oḧ̷̠́,̶̛̹ I k̶̜͒no̴͚̿w! Why dő̷̘ṇ̵̚’t you jus̵̻̈́t as̴̃ͅk̸̬͛ me ho̵̻̕w to extr̷͎̈́o̵͎͠vert̶͐ͅ?”
Of course, the chatter was particularly noisy right now, numerous excited streams of exposition and babble. Normally when they got this excited it meant Genichiro would be able to infer something out of the voices, but right now it seemed like the voices' interests were thoroughly divided making it hard to pick out any patterns.
“S̷̢̿hi̴͈̚ny!̷͐ͅ Shin̴̙͋y̸͓̎! S̴̡̉hi̶͍͊ny!” “Are s̶̤͠w̷̖͋ŏ̷̡rds mea̸̘̓n̵͔͘t to ta̸͖͠l̸̍͜k?” “Whǎ̸̪t̵̡͠ doe̵̮͝s ̴̭͘k̷̩͠itsṳ̷͑n̸̪̽e tast̶͑͜e lį̴̉k̷̦͠e?”
Ignoring some of the more detestable comments being made in his head, Genichiro scanned the room for a clue as to where he was meant to go. He hated doing things like this, it always ended up feeling awkward, looking around like he hadn't the first clue as to what he was meant to be doing, which admittedly was pretty much exactly the case. Worse yet would be having to go up and ask someone for directions, which it was looking like he’d inevitably have to do. Logically speaking most people were probably as confused as he was before their first mission, so it wasn’t like anyone was going to judge him too harshly, not that that thought helped.
“Acẗ̶͍́û̸͇ally, eve̵̲͆ry̷͙̆one ju̴̜͌st haṭ̴͂es yo̷̬̿u!” “I’m g̴̪͝oing̵͚̾ to̵̼̽ pre̶̼͒t̸̪͛end not̶̬̂ to̷̦͝ kn̵̽ͅow yo̸͚̎u̷̩̔.” “Is tha̶͍̚t̴̼͆ man ̷̠̆a̴̘͘ dinő̵̹s̴̱͐aur?̸̯̈́”
With a sigh, Genichiro approached the woman, or rather the man according to the voices, that appeared to be offering people bentos. “Um… you mentioned something about missions? You wouldn’t happen to know where I’m meant to go for those by any chance? Sorry, I’m kind of new here. To missions that is…” Genichiro glanced over at the bentos, trying to ignore several voices that were insisting that they were in fact poisoned or otherwise deadly weapons in disguise. “Please shut up... oh. Er- apologies, I didn’t mean you…”
“Hah̶̠͝a̷̛͖hahǎ̸͚!̷̯͋” “Wel̴̟̕l̵̝̎ thi̵̱͝s is̷̝͛ embar̷͎̚r̶̙̀assing.” “I̴̝͘’̸͙̈́m teḻ̵̐l̶̼̑ing yo̶̝̍ü̸͙, t̶̜́haẗ̶̟́’s a bö̶͕́mb in disġ̷͔ų̷͒ise!̵̠̌”

@Vega7285 @Crowvette "You've never asked for a drink before but I do consider you a regular, Homura-san. Also, hello Karine-san." Gotou remarked while giving a small nod to the second newcomer.

"Ojii certainly thought well of you. If thought up a usual, I'd certainly make it for you as far as I'm legally allowed to of course." He said.

While he spoke to Homura and Karine, he was simultaneously preparing the latter's drink of choice. This was a spectacle that was sure to be unusual to one who wasn't used to daily life in the Agency. Before he even touched the glass he was intending to use for the young lady's drink, the finger closest to it blazed to life and it began to float on its own and fly through the air.

It traced a precise path before setting itself down on the counter while he tended to the other ingredients, which all followed the same path soon afterwards. Milk, cocoa powder, a generous amount of sugar, a pinch of cinnamon for flavor, and a small square of dark chocolate poised on top.

As they watched, the young bartender had another finger at the ready, and it came to life with a small burst of flame, not unlike the flames of a lighter. He traced a circle small circle in the air in front of the drink, and the special platform the drink was poised on seemed to begin to heat up. Soon the hot chocolate began to bubble and steam, being stirred all the while.

Carefully, with his first finger which was covered in a light blue aura, he lifted it close, and with a third finger blew a fine spray of ice crystals, which seemed to adhere to the surface of the glass.

"Cool to the touch, warm for the heart," He said as he finally served Karine her drink. @Crowvette

Drinks were rated at the Sentouji South Shokuden by the amount of fingers required (By Gotou) to make them. It's an aspect which forms a part of a drink and a show, which attracts many customers, human and Yokai alike once Agency missions are handed out and the Bar assumes regular operations for the night. And he can make many drinks alone by himself, which was a rather large bonus.

"We mostly just carry non-alcoholic components to make alcoholic drinks, but with extra quantities for this kind of occurrence to make these types of drinks as well," Gotou explained. @Vega7285

"We have a number of common mixer ingredients like orange juice or tonic water which still make for fine drinks when combined with themselves. Shall I try to make something simpler for you to sample out?" He said.

"You better just do it Gotou," Amari Sakura cut in with a sly laugh. "I don't think this girl will ever know what she wants unless she gets a taste for it."

As she paced over, Gotou stepped aside and allowed her the room to do her bidding.

"We're familiar with that sword of yours, you don't need to hide her away." She continued. "She may not personally have a history with me or my Grandfather, but she has certainly had history with the Agency. Regardless, you want a mission, do you?"

She leaned over the counter and fixed her gaze on the two young girls before her. Her long blonde hair fell past her shoulders and reached past the edge of the countertop. Her intense purple eyes belied a sense of hunger about her. But they still had a playfulness behind them.

"Ah yes, I do believe I have the perfect mission for you two." She said with a wide smile, as she stood up and went to fetch the job posting from the board behind the counter.

"An Oni disobeying the Night Mandate has shown up recently near the Park." She said. "He's assembled a small gang, and they don't appear intent on obeying the law, so by the Agency's rules we have to punish them."

"No killing, the Kami simply want them to be taught a lesson. Oni are particularly tough anyway so it would be difficult to do it if you were determined enough not to." She continued. "Are you interested?"

Homura nodded to Karine and returned her greeting. "Evening." At least she wasn't also greeted with the familiar shiver down her spine that sometimes accompanied her half-yokai friend. "I usually use my phone for things, but I do still wear a watch." She fiddled a bit with her left sleeve to reveal a sporty little digital watch that's definitely seen better days from some of the wear on it. "You want me to start training with you or something?"

She does eventually decide on a drink, at least. "Can you make a Shirley Temple," Homura asked Gotou. "I don't really know about many non-alcoholic things, but I might as well get fancier than cola."

She nodded to Sakura. "Oh, it's not really a matter of trying to hide her or anything, it's just what else should I do? Just put the sword on the bar counter? I don't want her getting in the way."

"That does sound like a nice mission," Homura answered the offer from Sakura, leaning forward a bit to get a better look at the posting. "I'm sure we're up to the task to giving an oni and any cronies a good spanking. They particularly dangerous, or just the usual sort of troublemakers?"

She turned to Karine. "What do you think? Sound like a fun girls' night out?"

Karine nodded enthusiastically to Homura. "Definitely!" Karine took a quick sip of her drink, and gave a content sigh. "Ah... That's perfect!" She gave a thumbs-up to Gotou before quickly returning to her drink. In between sips, Karine quickly added, "Definitely sounds like a fun girls' night out, I mean! Well, I'd also be okay with you joining in for training, but I don't necessarily want to embarrass you, so-" she flashed a teasing grin to Homura with that little jab- "I just wanted to see what watch you had, you know! If it was reliable, if it worked below freezing temperatures, and such."

The hot chocolate was wonderful. Karine wanted to order another, and then another, and then... But she'd end up curled up on one of the chairs in the lobby, too lazy to end up doing anything. Not that Gotou would let her have too many, of course. Karine's mother had given the Agency a decent "dos and don'ts" list when she was first signed up.

Karine held out hope that she'd get at least one more hot drink after the job was done, though.

"Well then, it's settled!" Amari Sakura said, with a slight laugh. "I'll have you registered on the board. You can leave right away if you'd like, but you should at least stay until your drink is rea-"

The words died on her lips as she seemed to take sharp notice of something in the air. There was a point in space she was staring at, right in the center of the room.

"Oh dear…" Was all she said before a very familiar patron to the regulars of the bar made her very dramatic entrance.

All of a sudden the lights in the bar dimmed, the music changed to a soft, smooth jazz. The door burst open, and in waltzed a certain dark haired Kitsune with what could only be called a shit-eating grin on her face.

She held aloft a slip of paper much like the one Sakura held.

"I have an emergency mission everyone!" She loudly, and proudly exclaimed.

Amari Sakura could only sigh and shake her head as Gotou came sprinting back to the barfront with finished drink in hand.

"Oh, Aki-san." He simply said.

He raised a hand in the air and snapped his fingers a few times and the lights and music turned back to normal.

"Please refrain from disturbing the Tsukumogami too much Aki-san, they're still developing so they're very susceptible to outside influence."

"How many times have I told you?! You will refer to me by my true name!" She shouted angrily. "Kurenai-hime demands the respect she is owed!"

Yes, Kurenai-hime, as she liked to call herself, was a regular sight at the bar. With her short stature, and prone to tantrums as she was, anyone could easily mistake her for being just a child.

But she was a Kitsune. Many Kitsune could change their form at will, so appearances were often deceiving. A Kitsune with even just a few tails often outstripped any human in pure power. Aki was one such Kitsune. Ordinarily she would be very powerful by human standards but…

"The name on your identification card says otherwise, Aki-senpai," Amari Sakura said with a smile on her face.

This clearly irked the tiny Kitsune. Yes, Aki would have certainly been a higher ranked Agent than Amari Sakura, although Rank and station were rather separate to begin with. But she was mainly taking a jab at the very reason Aki was even here.

She was on probation.

She'd committed several misdemeanours and the Agency had finally decided to take regulatory action. All of her tails were sealed except for one, and she'd been forced to earn her Ranks back one by one by running missions.

Ranks were earned both by your ability and the merit of your deeds. Kurenai-hime had the talent to be sure, but she had always been loath to use it.

She gave Amari Sakura a scathing look as she continued to speak.

"Headquarters approved the emergency mission and sent me to oversee it. That means you don't even get to choose the members," She gloated.

"That's fine Aki-san, but I'll need to take that notice so I can register it on the board." Gotou said, leaning over the counter.

"Do as you like, I've already memorized it," She replied, (meagre)chest puffing out in pride.

As Gotou went to take down the details, Aki scanned the room and called to the members she was selecting to be part of the team.

"I'll pick you, you, and… you! And I won't take no for an answer!"

[@Vega2875] @Crowvette @TheMushroomLord

((Feel free to respond to her however you'd like, this isn't mission start time yet))

Homura looks a little surprised by the sudden arrival of one of the more senior members of the Agency, and her sudden recruitment. After a few gestures to confirm Aki meant her, she starts with the questions. "What are the details," she asks. It's the best start. "I'm happy to help, but I'd like to know what I'm getting into, at least."

Part of her also just wanted to ask "Why me?" but she thought better of it. That could happen later. As it was, she'd just been drafted for something urgent, and it wasn't what she originally planned, but as long as she wouldn't be in way over her head, there should be a problem. Shame she didn't know what she'd just agreed to, yet.

Karine jumped to her feet in an instant. "You don't need to bother taking no for an answer, because I'm in!" She just barely managed to spill her drink, which was luckily halfway empty when she jumped.

Her enthusiasm settled down somewhat as she considered Homura's words. "A-Actually yeah, what will we be up against?" Karine could imagine an extensive list of things that would turn a mission from "fun" to "terrible" immediately. She scanned the room warily as she sipped her drink, as if the mission might sneak up on her now that she already agreed to it.

"I'm certainly glad you asked!" The kitsune grinned excitedly. "Where would you like to start? The forlorn lover? The myriad deaths? The deadly curse...?!?!"

It certainly sounded like trouble, whatever it was. Was this some kind of murder investigation or…?

"Oh, you're talking about the Honjo House, right?" Gotou cut in.

"They finally decided to address it," He nodded. "That's certainly admirable of them."

"Where's your sense of drama?!" The furious Kitsune started pounding Gotou's arm with a series of devastating blows, but no harm was really meant, and none was taken by the barkeep.

The Honjo House was fairly famous in the area. It lay on the outskirts of Sentouji, and had supposedly been haunted for years. A messy trail of owners made it hard to keep the story straight. It'd seen murders, accidents, collapses, and more every time it switched hands. You name it, the Honjo House had it happen. Or so the story goes.

"Are you supposed to do an exorcism? You're certainly the most qualified to do that of anyone here tonight, Aki-san," Gotou said.

"Are you kidding me?! That'd be way too much work. Besides, they don't even know whether it needs an exorcism or not." Aki replied. "This is strictly an investigation, if it's within my ability to solve then I have permission to solve it. They just want some solid information first."

"There might be a ghost, or it might be Oni, who knows?" She shrugged.

Aki turned towards her chosen victims for the night.

"Is that enough information for you?" She asked playfully.

@Crowvette @Vega7285 @TheMushroomLord

"I'd say that's enough. I'm admittedly not the best at investigation, but I have a few useful tricks in that regard." She did tend to prefer a direct approach, but if they didn't know what they were up against, Homura would do her best to keep an eye out for anything unusual.

"Just don't go zoning out or playing on your phone so I have to point everything out, again," her sword admonished her.

"Oh come on, it was just the one time! It was a limited event, too. It's not like I'm going to ditch everything else just because I should spend some AP." Homura looked at everyone and quickly went from indignant to flustered, fiddling with her glasses "Ah, uh, really, You can count on me. Though I can't really see spirits without Mizuki, so she'll be helping out anyway." She opts to finish her drink rather than make any more of a scene.