Sirens.

It's as clear as day.

The memory of sirens.

The blood staining the concrete, slowly being washed away by the rain.

The grin on its face as it leers at her, its four crimson eyes all looking in different directions before coming to fall upon her. The red staining its teeth, dripping to the ground and its tongue lolls out, nearly reaching the ground.

Its laughter.

It's the moment in which she dies. She's certain it's then. No later and no earlier.

It's that very second.

She dies when it locks eyes with her laughs.

The her who steps forward is not the her who arrived at the scene.

The her who speaks those words is not the her who had woke up that morning.

The her who becomes the reaper is not the one who held that hand.

The demon is gone.

The rain continues to fall.

The blood washes away.

---

The smoke curled into the crisp air.

The woman leaned on the railing, her dark ponytail falling over her shoulder as she gazed out at the street below. Raising the cigarette to her lips, she took another drag.

The department wasn't even close to the tallest building on the street, let alone in the ward. But it wasn't a bad view regardless.

Everything seemed pretty quiet today.

At least, as quiet as Tokyo ever was. Of course the city was bustling with all kinds of activity non-stop. Even at night was pretty busy.

But as far as the woman was concerned, it was a pretty quiet day.

Not that it was going to last. In fact, she was certain it wouldn't. But it was the sort of time where you took advantage of a slow, peaceful moment before everything exploded.

Indeed, she was certain they would have to do their job today.

The branch wasn't big enough. Some of the operatives felt like they could really use some more training.

But that didn't change what their duty was.

It didn't change that there were lives on the line.

She took another drag on her cigarette, with a heavy sigh.

That's right.

It was her job to see to it that as few people as possible suffered.

... There it was. The flashing light, the whine of the siren. The detection doll triggered the alarm.

It was a familiar call to action.

Hirasawa Ayako, Head of DDF Department 247, tossed her cigarette to the ground and stepped on it as she turned to head back inside.

It was time to slay a demon.

@Raineh Daze@Rune_Alchemist@RolePlayerRoxas@Quartz@Emeth

Natsumi Fujikawa

Natsumi was startled out of her book by the sound of the alarm. The familiar sense of fear and anxiety crept up her spine. She had seen action before, but not nearly enough to be inured to it. As usual, a part of her mind told her to hide from the problem. If she buried her face in her book, she might not even notice whatever was going on out there. That was absurd, of course. People's lives were on the line and she had the power to do something about it, so it was only logical that she should.

She put her book down on her desk a bit too forcefully and rose to her feet. She was already wearing her flame-resistant bodysuit, but with the top stripped off and tied around her waist, revealing a tank top underneath. That was her compromise between battle-readiness and comfort. When she first started this job, she would wear the suit during her entire shift, but that didn't feel right. The suit made her look strong, confident, sexy… and that wasn't who she was at all. Still, now was the time to put on her heroic façade. She pushed her arms into the sleeves and zipped up the body, then removed the elastic from her ponytail, letting her long red hair tumble freely across her shoulders. Taking a sharp breath to suck in all her worries, she walked briskly towards their usual assembly point. Kubo was probably already out there trying to whip her colleagues into formation. That was one of the few points of relative certainty in this profession.

As usual, the office was brightly lit and welcoming, the various desks where work was to be done sporting shiny monitors and well-maintained equipment. Nothing of exceptional quality, but enough evidence that the department's staffing issues didn't extend to funding. If the occasional transfer was to be believed, it was nothing like one of the isolated groups out in Tohoku. Maybe those watching over Sendai got new stuff, but Akita Prefecture? A few years back, they'd finally got around to replacing some old CRT's, the whole prefecture had been quiet enough that their equipment seemed to have just slipped through the cracks.

Equally as usual, Akira wasn't to be found at one of the desks, her work up to date with no reports to fill and no training to be done--although with her specialisation, that mostly meant staying in shape and up-to-date on first aid requirements, nobody was expecting a summoner to get into the thick of things. She'd relocated to a nice set of colourful, cushioned chairs by one of the walls, ostensibly for the purposes of collaborative discussion rather than hanging over shoulders, and rearranged them into a makeshift couch, shoes kicked off and one leg propped on the other.

With headphones on and phone in hand, it gave every appearance that a schoolgirl had decided to play truant and visit, lounging around in the late-morning sunlight streaming through the bank of windows. A look that was only enhanced with the half-eaten stick of pocky hanging out of her mouth as the siren went off.

Not that Akira could hear it, instead sighing and finishing her snack off as the alarm came through to her phone, forcing her to close the game and swing her feet down. Couldn't it have been a bit later...? It was getting close to lunch. If there was one thing that was clear, it was that demons had no respect for the workday. Or for their free time, for what that was worth. At least it wasn't another case of an alarm going off while she was showering, those were the most awkward by far.

Headphones around her neck and once again ready to head out, the small girl ran through the ingrained ritual of the summon. She'd never really spoken much with others about what it was like to do this part, whether their contractee demanded something elaborate, a full magical girl chant, some piece of bespoke poetry, or even a token offering of rice or bread. But her summon was a demon, all too eager to come into the world for her own diabolical ends. Akira just needed to cast her mind back to that afternoon, the feeling of energy crackling on the air and the fabric of space shuddering around, and speak a single word--

"Andrea."

The first part of everyone's summon was always the same, a steady circle of light. Only after did it change, and the brunette had often wondered what determined the effects. Was it a conscious choice on the part of the summon? Was it a reflection of the nature of what they were summoning? Or some interplay between the contractor and the contractee? If the latter, she could only wonder how much that said about her as opposed to Andrea.

The light pulsed. Darkened. Sunk to a deep purple so faded it was almost a shadow on the floor, purplish light overwhelming the surrounding sunlight. The very air within the circle started to visibly crack, going glassy and all too solid--and then it stopped, dropping back to a steady white glow, the demon within appearing with no more fanfare than a slight woosh of displaced air.

The white-haired monstrosity only raised an eyebrow in greeting, then fell silently in behind Akira--easily visible, her summoner didn't even come up to the demon's shoulders--as she led the way to the open atrium on the bottom floor to assemble with the others, and find out if she was even going to be attending to this incident. If it was minor enough, there was no way the DDF would authorise basically giving Andrea a free meal, and so she could go back upstairs and back to her farming, get some lunch and then whittle away the next few hours grinding away unit upgrades--

But, more likely, she would have to go out and watch the carnage, since you couldn't just send a summon out on its own. Help anyone that was still around get to safety, and pretend to not be associated with the looming figure that would surely just as soon eat them as be a protector.

Hm, the redhead was already there. Hopefully this wouldn't turn into small talk...

It would be a miracle if she wasn't late, Federica thought as she fast-walked down the streets of Tokyo, a plastic bag from a nearby convenience store dangling from the fingers of her single, open hand—remembering how her wheelchair-bound mother had pleaded with her not to leave home and go to work for the DDF. An outside observer would have thought she was leaving the country. It seemed unreasonable at the time and yet, as she continued to walk, she began to realize just how big Tokyo was. It was also busy and full of tourists in this part of town, which was nice since she could more reasonably blend in with the crowd—a rare luxury for her, and well worth the extra noise.

She'd put way too much thought into how she'd introduce herself to the crew. Some thanks for saving her life recently wouldn't be too mushy, hopefully. An apology for the trouble might balance it out and bring the mood back down to neutral. She'd made some homemade cinnamon rolls, but deciding that may be a bit much, had pestered the poor part-timer at the local convenience store bakery for a box so she could act like she'd just picked them up someplace. For whatever reason, saying "I brought these" came with a lot less pressure than "I made these." On the rare occasions that the gloomy-looking Russian girl had been showered with gratitude, it had left her so embarrassed she could just die, so she'd rather avoid that if she could.

There it was: the DDF building. Walking up the steps, she made to struggle with the door using her foot to open it before a friendly receptionist waved at her as she approached. Rika shot her a sheepish, slightly apologetic smile and waited for her to get the door, but she instead pointed to an accessibility button for Rika to push, which she hadn't even noticed. "Woah. Tokyo is amazing..." she thought out loud as the door slowly opened by itself, another feature she was not used to seeing in the sparsely populated district she came from.

"Um. I'm here for my orientation," she said a little slowly, hoping the woman could understand her accent.

"Your orientation is this way," the woman replied in English, gesturing down a nearby hallway.

"Ah, eigo hanashimasen suimasen. Roshiajin desu." she replied automatically.
(Ah, I don't speak English sorry. I'm Russian.)

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" the receptionist replied, a little embarrassed. "This way, please. I'll take those to the break room if you don't mind?"

"Oh, thanks... please do," Rika replied, passing the bag to her.

Suddenly, an alarm of some kind went off. Though it was unfamiliar to Rika, it wasn't a fire alarm, that much she knew. For a moment she stood there, considering her options as the receptionist offered apologies she could barely hear. Orientation would indeed have to wait, but Rika had no intention of leaving helpless people waiting to die. Remaining here would be silly, given the circumstances. She could go outside and climb the buildings to get a bird's-eye view, or simply try following emergency vehicles or catching a ride with one, but nobody in this part of Tokyo would know who she was and her particular contract abilities were prone to causing a scene. Instead, she looked around the lobby and nearby hallways, trying to figure out where the toughest-looking people were all running off to.

Suddenly, she saw the towering figure she would later know as Andrea. Jackpot.

"Um, miss?! Please wait in the lobby!" the receptionist called out uselessly as Rika took off with surprising speed.

I hope she doesn't eat all the cinnamon rolls, she thought for some reason. No, wait. I hope I don't get fired! What am I doing?!

Emerging into the meeting room suddenly, she tried her best to look the part of somebody who was supposed to be there. Unfortunately for her at the time, she'd been unable to see through the blood in her eyes when the DDF arrived to rescue her, so she couldn't recognize any of these girls—but of the other three girls currently in the room, her bets were on either the serious-looking black ponytail or the sexy redhead in the bodysuit.

"...Reporting," she managed, looking at the empty space between the two women, hedging her bet. Her tone was a bit too casual, owing to her lack of confidence in that exact moment and trying too hard to make her announcement not sound like a question. She had every intention of coming along. If they asked... her orientation finished up early? No, lying was a bad idea. She'd just hope they wouldn't ask. It would be easier to ask for forgiveness later than to ask for permission now.

Emi stretched as she took a walk around the building, arms raised to the ceiling, letting out a soft sigh. She'd been sitting at her PC for a few hours, passing the time with riveting report write-ups, double-checking the branch's budget and expenditures, ensuring that the new hire's orientation was properly scheduled... it wasn't overly difficult for Emi, even if she felt her computer literacy couldn't compare to the general populace. Still, there were plenty of days where it was all she could really do - which was a good thing in the context of her job, but she'd have to pay more attention to her health at this rate. It'd really suck to be called out to the field and her back was to ostiff for her to move or something.

When the young woman was returning to her station, she spied Akira by the couches, and was immediately struck by conflicted emotions. As hard as it was to believe, Akira was both older than her, and her senior. The cute lady compelled Emi to want to strike a conversation with Akira, or at least pat the summoner's head... but Emi also desperately wanted to scold her for lazing around so sloppily! Feet up on the couch, who does that in a work environment!? It's like she's completely forgotten they're supposed to be ready at a moment's-

In a rare instance of discretion, Emi instead turned, and continued her walk around the building for now. Honestly, if it isn't Akira, it's Kaeru making her feel weird about ensuring everyone was ready and alert. Simply talking to her colleagues was still difficult, after all this time. She always had a gripe about their conduct to point out, but that's hardly her fault, right? Everyone here needs to be perfect, or it's the civilians that pay the price.

The alarm disturbed her pondering, making Emi jump. For all her talk of immediate action once those sirens wail, it still took her a moment to compose herself, before heading to the meeting room. The irony was not lost on her there. Well, she could always scold her reflection in the mirror later, for now, she marched to where she should be. It was fortunate her wandering had led her so close to the atrium, allowing Emi to arrive in mere seconds, with her colleagues arriving soon after.

"Fujikawa-san," Emi acknowledged the redhead's arrival stiffly, noting Akira's presence with a similarly-stiff "Honda-san". She pointedly ignored the demon accompanying her, merely counting away the seconds it would take for the rest of their small division to arrive. She opened her mouth to greet the next arrival, pausing when she realised she didn't know this girl's name. Or face. Emi tilted her head, wondering who she was supoosed to be, someone visiting from another branch, maybe?

Kaeru & Nyoko

---

"Not gonna lie, kinda excited Nyoko." Kaeru giggled, walking at a decidedly unhurried pace. Behind him, a furry creature that resembled something of a large cat, almost seeming to be a miniature tiger of some sort with bluish white fur. This 'Nyoko' as she was apparently named merely mewled in response, seemingly in agreement. "What do you think they'll be like? Wonder if there's anyone I could spar with. The guys in the dojo are sooo weeeak." Another giggle as he'd stride along at a casual pace, heading for the DDF building. "Sometimes I think they even like it...weirdos."

Another mewl of agreement from nyoko as she'd disappear in a flash of light before quickly reappearing on Kaeru's head in a mere instant.

"Ahaha-hey! hey! Watch the hair I spent way to long on it ya know!" His pleas fell on deaf, feline ears though as Nyoko continued to make herself at home, the large feline not having too much room to laze around though, ended up instead laying on top of his head, front and back paws dangling off either side of his head. "Tsk, fine. You're lucky you're cute - ah, we're here." He already thankfully had his orientation a few days ago, but he had yet to see any real deployments or combat. This was the first time he was supposed to really meet anyone on the team beyond just an initial greeting. There was supposed to be someone new too, wasn't there?

"...Ah?" Opening the door to the building, he could hear the alarm before he even opened the door and the activity from inside could be seen from outside, too. Kaeru couldn't help but to grin. This meant there was a demon right? That wasn't something someone should be excited for, but man, he really wanted to test himself against a demon and see just how tough they were.

"Alright, lets-mhm? Do I smell...cinnamon...?" It just so happened, Kaeru entered the building just behind Fedrica as she'd run off to the meeting room and hand off the cinnamon rolls to the receptionist. Well, on one hand he really shouldn't linger, but on the other hand those smelled awfully good. He'd take a moment to consider his options before glancing up at his soon to be co-conspirator. "Psst, Nyoko?" The Raiju, apparently had the same idea already and before he even said anything, Nyoko had already leaped off his head and was following after the baked goods. "Bring like...five back for me!" He'd whisper to her as she'd leave. "And if I remember right...meeting room this way!" He'd run off down the hallway as Nyoko began the greatest food heist in the DDF's history.

He could already see most of the others gathered, plus someone he hadn't seen yet. She looked kinda tough. He had to wonder, just how tough was she? If this was any other situation he might have challenged her to a round of sparring, but well, that probably wouldn't look good. Instead, Kaeru chose the reasonable option of walking up behind Kubo, and giving her a rather pat on her back.

"Hiyooo, Emi right?" He was pretty sure that was her name. He hadn't been around long, but he made a point to remember most people he had been introduced too during orientation. "No need to give the new girl a look!" He'd say, as if he wasn't still mostly new himself. "I know she's kinda scary looking but hey that's got its own vibe to it ya knows." He'd greet her cheerily as he'd walk around her. "Reporting for duty! New recruit Kaeru Nakanishi and...Nyoko. She's around here somewhere. Don't worry about it she'll be here before we leave. Probably..._{if she's not busy getting fat...}" That last part was said in a low, grumbly voice.

There was a good chance she would eat most of them.

"Do you know what the threat level is, Kubo?" Akira asked after a few moments to look at everyone filtering in. The redhead probably wouldn't know, she didn't know who that tall one was, and the new hire had literally just come in the front door... no chance that she would get an answer from that direction. "I can go get everyone lunch, if I'm not needed."

It wasn't that she didn't want to take part, although that was true--when it came down to it, Akira was a small girl whose best action in a combat situation was to stay out of the way. It was simply a matter of regulations: if the incursion could be handled safely without pulling in A-ranked contract, then she and Andrea were to stay put. Regardless of the contract, Andrea was a potential enemy who could only be strengthened by an easy time.

"I'm pleased to see none of you are deaf, at least."

Her voice was stern. But it was only suitable to be so, given the situation.

Ayako entered the briefing room. It was difficult to discern just how much time they had, even with the capabilities of a detection doll, so they couldn't afford to dawdle.

It was time to cut to the chase.

"Given you all heard the alarm, I'm certain you know what's happening."

She stood at head of the room, eyes scanning the operatives. Two new faces. The effeminate boy, Nakanishi. Contracted with a raiju. The Russian, Simonova. Contracted with the scapegoat Azazel. She'd already read their files, and there was no time to give them any further orientation. Not today.

"Orientation is going to have to wait, but any operative of the DDF should be capable of working on the fly," she continued, briefly addressing the new recruits, "I'm certain you know what she is, however, unless the academy's standards have collapsed."

As she continued to speak, another figure, the 'she' that Ayako had mentioned, entered the room.

She was small, child-like, her skin pale, her white, straight hair hanging past her hips. She wore a black-and-white, frilled dress, and her eyes were orange with a strange cross-like pattern in each.

She was completely expressionless as she came to a halt beside Ayako.

"This is our Detection Doll, Shiro," continued Ayako, "As I said, you should understand what that means, so I'll cut to the chase. Shiro-kun has detected the manifestation of an Emergence Gate roughly fifteen minutes away in northern Shinjuku, which falls under our jurisdiction. Additionally, she has identified roughly fifteen demonic signatures, likely originating from Beast-class demons, and a sixteenth of greater intensity. It may be a Monster or a low-level Devil."

Ayako placed her hand on the expressionless girl's shoulder.

"She has confirmed that they have not fully emerged, and thus it's imperative that we arrive as quickly as possible to eliminate the threat and prevent civilian casualties. We don't have the luxury of time for questions or further briefing. You are to proceed to the vehicle bay, board the transport, and ready for immediate departure. Once we have arrived, we will deploy a Demon Denial Field to contain the threat, identify the nature of the more powerful demonic signature, and then proceed to move in for elimination. Dismissed."

It was quick and to the point, but given the lack of time and explicit information that was typical of sudden Emergence events, it was only to be expected.

Ayako had already departed, the Detection Doll following her wordlessly, to the vehicle bay.

She expected everyone else to do the same.

@Raineh Daze@Rune_Alchemist@RolePlayerRoxas@Quartz@Emeth

Natsumi Fujikawa

While Hirasawa addressed the team, Natsumi nervously wrung her hands. Then she considered that two brand new recruits were watching, so she put her hands behind her back instead, trying to look confident. She certainly wouldn't have liked it if her seniors seemed nervous on her first day. The young girl, no wait, the young boy did at least seem a lot more comfortable than she had been on her first day joining the action. Maybe too comfortable. As for the foreigner, well, she was getting mixed messages from that one. She couldn't help but wonder if it was a bad idea to bring two new recruits on what sounded like a challenging mission right away. But she trusted her superior's judgement, mostly.

As Hirasawa strode away to the vehicle bay, Natsumi quickly followed after her. On her way out of the meeting room, she cast a long glance at the two newcomers, hoping to confirm that they were on the same page. "Are you two ready for this?"

@Rune_Alchemist@Emeth

Rika was, perhaps, looking just a bit scary at the moment. Between the anxiety of meeting her new colleagues and the suppressed rage she was feeling standing right next to a demon, she had slipped into her possession mode without thinking, wiping almost all trace of emotion from her face and causing her to look like a slightly angrier, goth Detection Doll herself. At Kaeru's comment, she caught herself, relaxing her expression, but only a little given the task at hand. Resisting the urge to apologize and introduce herself, she listened quietly to the leader speak, and exhaled in relief. She wasn't going to be fired; in fact, it sounded as if she'd made the best decision she could have possibly made. Also, though the woman who seemed to be her immediate supervisor spoke sternly, she was straightforward and made things easy to understand, which was something Rika appreciated.

Fifteen Beasts and a single Monster or low-level Devil. Rika couldn't help but think that she could handle this on her own, and was wondering why a whole squad was being sent. Is this why no one was able to come to her rescue when her home was destroyed? —but she would file that thought away for later. Right now, she didn't have the expertise or the guts to criticize the boss, given she almost died in an incident that she also thought she should have been able to handle. Perhaps these things tended to escalate unexpectedly. She also realized in that moment that she didn't know a whole lot about how the DDF handled things. "Emergence Gate" was a new term for her. The Detection Doll was also a thing—an adorable little thing. Her eyes were glued to it as she followed to the vehicle bay, when Natsumi suddenly called out to her.

She was caught off guard a little. She'd tried to casually slip into the group without saying anything, and was a little surprised that nobody seemed to know who she was. She flashed a little smile, relieved to find herself just being paranoid about any office rumors there might be. "Uh, yeah. I've fought a few Monsters before," she said casually, then immediately regretted it. It sounded like she was bragging, she told herself, though her tone didn't sound that way at all. "Uh, I mean Beasts. Distracting them is like a specialty for me, so... yeah. Let me handle the small fry," she hedged. Rika dressed a bit tough, but she sure didn't act like it. There was also the whole, being a foreigner with only one arm, with a barely-usable hand, thing. Rika wondered if her presence here made the DDF look desperate.

"Eh? Uh, no, I wasn't..." Emi hadn't realised she was staring so hard at the unfamiliar girl, momentarily flustered. Kaeru was one of their newest additions, and those cute looks, combined with his friendly demeanour, were quickly proving to be an effective combo against the strict woman's heart. She managed to recover quickly enough when Akira spoke to her at least, shaking her head in response, "I'm afraid not, I only just-"

When Ayako addressed the gathered agents, Emi immediately shut her mouth and stood to attention, intently listening to her words. She couldn't help but reflexively clench her fist at the mention of a Devil-class, but otherwise she betrayed no hint of her emotions. Up until Ayako made it clear that the rookies were coming along with them, that left her somewhat conflicted. Even if the Devil was supposedly a low-level one, she hated the idea of inexperienced fighters accompanying them, it felt far too risky... no, that line of thinking had to be wrong, right? Her superiors disagreed, and it simply meant that Emi would have to do her job, and keep them safe. As long as they stuck close to their more experienced counterparts, and only engaged the beasts, there shouldn't be an issue.

"You will handle the small fry alongside one of us," Emi noted, sounding a tad harsher than she meant to, glancing over her shoulder, "playing the hero is a nice sentiment, but do not over-estimate your abilities before your first deployment."

She only wanted to remind Frederica that she could rely on her comrades, but who knows how her interjection was received? Her expression only soured for seemingly no reason, as Emi felt like she could hear an amused chuckle, echoing in her mind. Ugh.

A potential Devil? Even if it was a weak one, and everyone else--especially with the new recruits to bump up their numbers a bit--was able to take it out as a group, there was no way that she was going to be able to go get lunch. The extra time it would take and the risk one of the Beasts would slip containment whilst they were distracted... Andrea would have to take part for certain. Keep the main threat occupied while everything else was cleaned up, then bring it down together? That would be the best way to handle it, in the small girl's mind, but who knew what the new employees would do. She could just suggest it, but the tall one seemed so angry...

Trailing along to the vehicle bay, the not-at-all-a-schoolgirl hopped into the back of the transport and carefully made sure to tighten her seatbelt. Everyone else here might have some sort of possession contract to reinforce themselves in the event of a collision, but she just had your usual, squishy human body without a hint of padding or protection. Well, the boss didn't have a possession, but the weapon contract was just as good, and the detection doll was probably fine.

The accompanying demon, naturally, had no such safety concerns, casually sitting arms-folded in the next available seat, looking out across the storage space impassively. Potentially starting an unwanted staring contest with whoever sat opposite.

Kaeru & Nyoko

---

Stealthily....stealthily....quiet....

Down the hall in the confusion, ran a very stealthy and very talented little cat. Quicker than lightning, and talented and more cunning than even a kitsune (Self proclaimed). A singular goal was in this beings mind. A singular, sugary, baked, goal that smelled of cinnamon and sugar. She'd quietly plop along behind the secretary as she'd place the rolls down on a table in a break room. Nyoko had to say, it was such a shame to let these all go to waste...so it was a good thing she was here to remedy this.

As the sirens blared their warning of demons, she astutely observed her target. As soon as the humans back was turned -

Fwoomp

Quick as lightning, she snatched a bag and two rolls, stuffing them inside of it and was now hiding out of sight on the other side of the room.

The woman turned back around, a bit perplexed as to both why the box was opened and now why there were two missing from it. With a small shrug though, she brushed it off and went to grab her a small saucer upon which to store two of the confectioneries herself.

Fwoomp fwoomp

Upon returning, she'd find not two more gone, but four!

Nyeheheh. The sight of the confused woman admittedly amused her as the secretary started looking cautiously around the room for anyone trying to play a prank on her. Seeing nothing, she went to close the box and make another check of the room before quietly leaning down to look under the table -

fwoomp

May day may day, landing zone calculation error!

"Eh!?" The secretary gave a small shout of surprise as she'd suddenly have a face full of bluish white fur, as Nyoko completely missed the target of her little leap, struggling briefly before climbing on top of her head and mewling.

The jig was up! Time to bail!

And thus, the expert cat thief bolted from the room before she could be caught, leaving just a somewhat bemused secretary behind.

---

Kaeru listened as intently as he did about anything. The situation seemed urgent, at least that much he did gather. Fifteen beast class and one greater Devil class? He was pretty sure he remembered the classifications well enough from reading up in his spare time. Beasts were small fry that he was incredibly confident that he could simply just slap them from existence. Devils though? Two classes up, after Monster. He was honestly a little uncertain.

"Emi's so serious." Kaeru giggled, flashing her a grin before answering Natsumi. "Sounds exciting to me, red" Natsumi, wasn't she? Maybe he should dye his hair such a vibrant shade of red at some point, it definitely looked good on her...Oh, he was being spoken too. "These guys don't sound any tougher than the guys at the dojo. Granted, some of them...I feel like they lose on purpose, but they're all pretty great. Some smelly demons won't be a problem." It would be his first time fighting some, but he wasn't nervous in the least.

Maybe it could be argued excitement over this was worse, though.

Kaeru would decide to be the one to sit across from Akira, strapping in his seat belt and flashing his senior a smile, perhaps, looking and acting a bit like the school girl that Akira looked like she was more than she did. It was now, that Nyoko decided to make her stealthy return, fwoomping into existence in a flash of lightning, bag full of Cinnamon rolls hanging from her mouth. Kaeru gave her a thumbs up as the Raiju took her usual seat on his lap, passing him the goods with a satisfied mewl...and promptly decided to start stuffing her face with one.

"Sooo, uhm, Federica was it?" Kaeru turned his attention to his fellow new recruit, biting into a cinnamon roll. "I'll be trusting you to have my back out there since we're both new here~"

Rika's face looked a bit nonplussed, getting mixed signals from Emi. "Ah, I mean, yeah, but... yes ma'am," Rika replied sheepishly, deciding against making any potentially misunderstood remarks about how Emi might want to keep her distance from Rika on account of the whole exploding dolls thing. "Yep... No heroics here..." she mumbled in admission, just a bit of wind taken out of her sails, having only recently been released from her second extended confinement in a hospital bed. It was a bit of a lie, as she might have "forgotten" to explain how her "healing" ability could backfire during her recruitment. This resulted in her being given a tentative B rank, which was fine. It was a familiar and comfortable grade for her; not too low and not too high, it didn't attract unwanted attention.

Rika sat as far away from the summoned demon as she comfortably could in the armored van, leaving an empty seat on her left. Her seat belt ended up on the right side of her as a result, which proved to be giving her some difficulty. She couldn't quite get it to lock into its intended place on her left without a second hand to hold it in place. Man, she really didn't want to summon a disembodied, huge, scary looking arm bound in chains and covered in scars just for something mundane like this. In the end, she gave up, letting the seat belt retract and hooking her wrist around a nearby handle instead. If the armored van really ran into something solid enough to stop it, and she ended up flying somewhere, she supposed she'd just shrug it off and hope the injuries didn't look too fatal.

She sighed inaudibly as she witnessed the successful results of the cinnamon roll heist. Oh well; it didn't matter. It seemed none of the girls here remembered her face. Maybe they never saw her to begin with, or perhaps her injuries at the time were just that bad. Either way, being incognito was also fine by her. "Uh, yeah, but... Just Rika-chan is fine," she replied to the cutie chowing down on her homemade sweets. Were there no men in this department? She thought back to Azazel, and wondered if supernatural beings just had a thing for making contracts with women in particular.

Some DDF Branch Departments had multiple vehicles, simply due to the number of operatives that worked within them.

Branch 247 was not one of them.

While there was space for a second armored transport, only one stood in the garage currently.

The vehicle was large, and mostly black in coloration, with red and white highlights on the sides and a siren perched towards the front. It most resembled some kind of van, but more angular, emblazoned with the DDF letters on the side in the same red and white that adorned it elsewhere, their motto beneath it.

'For Humanity's Future.'

Atop the vehicle was another member of the branch's personnel. She was a young woman, perhaps in her early twenties, her pink hair tied into low braided pigtails beneath a blue baseball cap. Her features were bright, and her green eyes seemed to shine behind her round glasses. She was wearing a white shirt, large gloves, and blue overalls, and had just finished loading a set of Demon Denial Field stakes into the top of the vehicle.

"Ah!"

She hopped down as the operatives entered the garage.

"Welcome!" she declared with a cheery grin, "Since this is going to be your first time riding my pride and joy, it's time to introduce you! This bad boy can-"

"We don't have time, Terada-kun," interjected Ayako, flatly, as she proceeded into the open rear of the vehicle.

The engineer looked completely crushed, as if the Department Head's words had instantly destroyed her soul.

Inside, the transport was fairly simple, two rows of seats on either side of the vehicle allowing a decent number of operatives to occupy it.

Ayako took a seat, but the Detection Doll did not. She proceeded to the front of the vehicle, the door sliding open.

It shut behind her.

Such a small girl couldn't possibly be intended to drive, right?

"As soon as Shiro-kun is ready, we'll be departing."

Moments later, the vehicle hummed to life.

The garage door opened, and the siren blared.

DDF Branch Department 247 was deployed.

---

The construction site was already empty when they reached it, though a crowd had formed just outside of it. It was only natural that people wanted to see what was going to happen, even if Ayako could only sigh at the sight of it.

The transport pulled up outside.

A few non-DF operative disaster response workers had already set up a perimeter, but that certainly wasn't enough.

When the rear of the vehicle opened, Ayako had already risen to her feet.

"Shiro-kun, deploy the Demon Denial Field."

A small, soft voice emanated from the vehicle's communications system.

"Deploying Demon Denial Field."

With a loud ka-chunk, the port at the top of the vehicle opened, and the stakes were launched into the air. Utilizing the psychic targeting system tapping into the Detection Doll's abilities in order to locate the perimeter.

In moments, a hazy purple-gold sheen surrounded the entire construction site.

Now it was on the operatives.

"Stick together. Locate the threat, determine the nature of the more powerful signature, and eliminate every demon," commanded Ayako, pulling a pack of cigarettes from her pocket as she spoke.

The construction site itself was clearly early on in its development, with only the base foundations in place, equipment scattered from a hasty evacuation.

The Emergence Gate couldn't be seen from here, so it had to be deeper inside.

@Raineh Daze@Rune_Alchemist@RolePlayerRoxas@Quartz@Emeth

The small girl gave the dome-like barrier an aggrieved look. Now she was on the outside--or more importantly, Andrea was on the outside--along with the vehicle. And, notably, the seating. Which meant she couldn't just sit back and wait where it was comfortable and air-conditioned; she had to go in with the rest of them--at least so far as to cross inside herself--and risk being chewed up by anything that might get the drop on them all.

She knew summoners were an uncommon class and all, but they'd been working together for years, couldn't they work out a slightly better procedure than sending someone whose greatest personal asset was her baking skills into a danger zone? She wasn't going to be able to dissuade demons by offering them fresh cookies!

Cookies that were going to remain inside her incongruously militaristic backpack for the time being. No cookies for Ayako and Shiro until she got back.

With a sigh, Akira hopped out of the vehicle and took Andrea's hand, pulling the demon through the barrier and into the construction site. "You heard the instructions. Priority one is protecting anyone still alive for extraction, then occupy the major threat."

Her response was a nod, then sprinting ahead. Right, she would stick with the others, there was no reason for the summoned demon to show such a concern. She'd just heal off anything that happened and, being a summon, could be called back to Akira's position as needed.

After a few steps further into the construction site, the brunette turned and looked back at the new hires. "So, did either of you go to an Academy...? How much do you know about normal procedure?" Or, for that matter, general tactics. If this was their first deployment, then it really was important to not get in over their heads by taking on the potential Devil and letting the weaklings have free reign.

Natsumi Fujikawa

Natsumi passed through the Denial Field alongside Akira, then sighed when Andrea charged off on her own. She always did that, on the few occasions where her deployment was approved. Sure, she stood little risk of getting killed out there, so in that way it made sense. But it also meant that the chaos of combat would probably already be happening by the time they got there, which meant a less cleanly-coordinated engagement. As much as she would like to stick around and discuss a plan, the longer they waited the higher the chance that the Beasts would be scattered all over the place looking for a way out of the Denial Field. So she’d best get on with it and do her usual job.

She clapped her hands twice, then performed a polite bow. It was a shortened version of a Shinto prayer that she had found through experimentation would still work. It probably had more to do with her belief that it would work than with the ritual itself, but she couldn’t exactly test that, so she stuck with what she knew. After bowing, she felt the sensation of a second, more bestial mind occupying her body, manifesting as a pleasant warmth that spread out from her chest. Her eyes began to glow softly, like candles, while her hair transformed into dense red flames, dancing atop her head but leaving her skin unharmed.

“I’m going to scout from above,” she announced before the others had a chance to respond to Akira. “I’ll stay within line of sight so we’ll know if either of us gets attacked.”

With that, she pointed her hands at the ground and created small red jets of flame from her palms, the force of which lifted her gently off the ground. Two larger jets then surged from the soles of her boots, propelling her into the air more quickly. Flying had been a pain to learn, but she was quite comfortable with it by now. Her hair created a fifth fiery streak in her wake as she zipped away, flying closer to the centre of the construction site while ascending high enough to not disappear from view behind all the scaffolding. She would make for an easily-visible target for any demons down below, but also a difficult one to hit. She didn’t like making herself a target, but if all went well, it wouldn’t take long for the others to get into position once they had pointers about the demons’ whereabouts. Assuming the newcomers cooperated. Hopefully Emi and Akira would see to that.

Emi's expression during the trip could be witnessed notably souring with each passing minute. Part of the reason was certainly due to the unheard, prodding comments inading her thoughts, courtesy of her contracted spirit. The slightly more obvious reason could ost likely be attributed to her sitting directly across from Andrea. Being so close to the demon always made Emi uneasy, it was still difficult for her to view the demon as an ally. A useful asset, certainly, but not really someone she could place her trust in.

Not that you're listening, but we're there now~! came the unwelcome voice once more, and Emi exhaled silently. Indeed, a moment later, the vehicle was slowing to a stop, the field deploying soon after. With everyone exiting the vehicle, Andrea had taken the initiative and charged onward. Emi hated how that had earned Akira a respectful complaint for later, though she was at least aware of how unfair it was to act like Akira had total dominion over the demon, especially when she could barely utilise the infuriating fox that had suggested contracting with her in the first place.

Natsumi, at least, was putting her own abilities to great use, giving the team a better field of view to spot incoming attacks. Emi shouldn't fall behind. Clenching her left hand to her chest, she called out to Shirokami, Come on out, already.

In a momentary transition, Emi's lengthy, pitch-black hair changed to a brilliant white, starting from the roots. Her nails lengthening, sharpening into distinct claws, a white, fluffy mass seemingly growing from her lower back... with her own transformation done, Emi swept her gaze along the construction site, keeping alert for any sudden attacks. They'd have to search a bit for the gate, but for now, it'd be best to clean up the pests already on the prowl.

Should she take one of the rookies with her? With Natsumi taking to the sky, and Andrea decidedly caring little for formation, it left herself and Akira on the ground with Kaeru and Frederica. Well, given the latter two's inexperience, sticking as a larger group might be safer, but inevitably slower. Ugh, this was infuriating, she just knew Katsuro would've figured this out long before they even boarded the van!

Kaeru & Nyoko

---

"Okaaay, Rika-chan." Kaeru nodded. "Kaeru Nakanishi if you didn't get it. This is Nyoko. Looking forward to working with ya." A small pause as he'd stuff his face with one of the rolls. "Mhm, whoever made these did good. I'll have to stop by that bakery later." The rest of the trip would pass in silence for Kaeru. There wasn't much else to comment on, and the others didn't seem like they would appreciate small talk anyways so he'd content the trip just eating the Cinnamon rolls with Nyoko. Honestly, though, it was tough keeping himself from being too excited for this.

Thankfully, it wasn't a super long trip.

The vehicle ground to a halt, Kaeru unfastening his seatbelt and hopping outside as Nyoko dislodged herself from his lap and lazily stretched before following shortly after as the demon denial field was deployed. A construction site, huh? Andrea, the demon was quick to be summoned and fly off to handle things.

"Eh, lucky..." Kaeru's lips curled into a small pout. Here he was, having to stay back with the others instead of going and beating some demon to a bloody pulp. Natsumi was quick to take to the skies. He briefly considered asking what she was contracted too, but that'd have to be for later. Instead, he'd turn to Akira.

"I sure did." Kaeru responded with a nod. "Got full marks in academics and general demonic classifications and abilities," His expression shifted to an excitable grin. "I was told I have problems fighting though. My instructors told me I'm waaay to eager sometimes so lemme know if I get carried away, ahaha. Ripping a demon in half is just too much fun sometimes ya knows? Speaking of...Nyoko!"

"Mrrowl~!"

A snap of his fingers, Kaeru would spin on his heel as his Raiju partner's body became electricity, flowing into Kaeru. His carefully styled, tied up hair elongated slightly, the blond locks of hair falling to his...her butt now, as two feline ears popped out from the top of his head and a long, tiger striped tail grew from his waist. His nails lengthened, though not quite claws they certainly would hurt if smacked with. It was finished off by a complete wardrobe change and well, a noticeable increase in volume around the chest area.

"Weh~" A decidedly more feminine voice as the possession was finished, Kaeru stumbling forward a little as she'd finish the twirl. "Mmngh...being a bit more top heavy throws off my balance a bit always..." She'd lightly complain, but the troubled expression was soon replaced with Kaeru's usual casual, mildly excitable expression. "Alright! Ready and eager to smash some demons face in!" A pause. "Althooough, if anyone sees any civvies still alive and needing extraction, tell me. I'm probably the fastest one here."

Rika watched in barely-perceptible wonder as the Demon Denial Field was deployed, the nerves once again causing her to slip away into her possession mode. She wasn't afraid of the demons; rather, she was consumed with thoughts of every way she might screw up her first real mission, and the subsequent first impressions. Dulling her emotions would help. She nodded to Akira, her eyes suddenly looking a bit flat and empty. "Yeah. I got, like, the cram school version though... So I'll stay close by, and scout ahead..." she said, her voice just a bit morose as she jumped out the back of the transport.

Just as the others might be wondering how those two things might be achieved at the same time, barely-visible, faintly red magic circles appeared on the ground in a hexagon shape all around Rika. One by one, they rose to slightly above the level of her height, summoning life-size copies of herself—or at least, at first they appeared so. As more were summoned, their eyes too became lifeless and glassy, their joints became more obviously doll-like, their skin like fine finished ivory wood, their hair falling more loosely around the face—even faintly visible red strings started to appear. They were still life-like enough to be mistaken for the real thing from a distance, but their false features would give them away on closer inspection.

"There... Some chew toys for the beasts should keep them away from any stranded innocents..." she said with a slightly creepy but satisfied smile. With a dismissing wave of her limp hand, the six dolls she'd summoned shambled off in every direction, running with a limp as though they were injured and dutifully acting as tempting bait for any demons that might be lurking. Rika then stowed away her hand inside her pocket and faced the others, but didn't look at them directly. "If anyone gets injured, bring 'em to me. Uh, but don't fuss over 'protecting the healer' or anything. I'm not made of papier mâché..." Figuring she'd stood around the transport van long enough to provoke the boss, she took off straight ahead, towards the center of the hastily evacuated construction site. If nobody else was going to take point, she might as well show the others that she wasn't afraid.