The ride to the office was one of Katsu's most surreal rituals. He takes this time to ground himself in the reality that he fights to protect by watching the fellow passengers of his ride. The mother who is trying to coddle her cranky child, the business man who is struggling to stay awake as he makes his way home, the loud and obnoxious teenage lovers who don't care who is looking, the student who's nose is glued to their text book desperate to pass. Watching them gives him a sense of fulfillment, the knowledge that they are blissfully unaware of hordes of creatures he had vanquished brings a slight smile to his face. Greyridge is a diverse city filled with every emotion imaginable as its denizens try to make sense of their bustling lives, but on the bus late at night it calms down enough to see past the chaos and see the joy. He received many stares from most of the passengers, the reason most likely his attire. He was formally dressed in a black suit, white shirt and blue tie. Not out of the ordinary, but in his right hand stood his shakujō, a five and a half foot tall walking stick topped with a split circle, with each half hanging three rings. Being a monk he had carried one since he was young enough to understand its meaning, and was rarely without it, despite the confusion it caused his onlookers.
After the ride it was a three block walk to get to the office. Having just returned from delivering a quarterly report at TERA's headquarters, walking the distance had more stimulation that usual. All of the sights and sounds that are very familiar to him blending together into a late night cacophony as the city refused to go to sleep. It didn't take long to arrive at a very unassuming building that stuck out like a sore thumb against the rest of the districts architecture. For starters it was a small building standing at two floors tall and not much bigger than a large home, whereas everything around it was at least six stories. A driveway lead around back to a parking lot that had room enough for six cars, part of the reason Katsu didn't care much for driving. The building itself was a boring beige color, lacked any windows and had one steel reinforced door at the front, which the second floor hung over slightly to provide shelter from the elements. It lacked any labels such as what business was inside or any hours of operation, fitting because they didn't want just anyone knocking on the door. Lastly if that wasn't enough to ward off the curious, the only way to get in was for the door to be electronically unlocked from the inside. It was hard to say if this was all to keep the monsters or the people out, but all the same, unless you are supposed to be inside, you are not getting inside.
The young man pushed the call button, and could almost hear the ringing on the inside. It took several moments, but eventually a woman’s voice flew through, “How may I help you?” The voice was familiar, and solidified the fact that he had returned home. It belonged to Jasmine Gilboa, their division’s resident financial secretary, whom had compiled several of the reports Katsu had spoken on. He first met her when she had applied for the job right after she graduated collage with her Masters in Accounting. Having not known about TERA, it being a secret organization and all, her first few days had quite a shock factor, but over the last year she settled in nicely, trying to shield her sanity by not asking too many questions. “Good evening Ms. Gilboa,” he replied, “This is Katsu Fukui, and I’ve returned.”
“Sir Fukui! Come in, It’s good to have you home again.” The door clicked and in he went. The main floor was mostly office space, several desks lined up with some facing each other. All of them were uniquely decorated with varying levels of cleanliness. The front wall held a white board with a projector pointed at it, while the back wall was a cork board filled with various documents, most of them take out restaurants. At the end of the room sat the door to one of the bathrooms and a spiral staircase that went to the basement as well as the second floor. The basement consisted of a fully functioning kitchen with all the trimming, and a fully equipped gym that was slightly over the top. The second floor was all of the living space, everyone had their own bedroom and at the far end of the hall would be the main bathroom and entertainment room, again slightly over the top. Right next to the door was Jasmine, standing at her desk. Dressed in her usual attire of business jacket and pants with her black hair tied back in a tail that ended at her upper back. She was taller than Katsu, which most people were, and most of her features were round without it being unhealthy. “How was the trip Sir?”
“Long and informative. Seems like we are going through a transitional period, many of the Lords are stepping down and new ones are being appointed. We are going to have to update our directories. Have there been any incidents during my leave?” Katsu was always straight to business, believing that the more you do now the less you have to do later. As he spoke he walked over to his desk, the cleanest of the lot by far, simply because there was nothing on it save for a few curious books and his in and out box for hard copies. Removing his coat he hung it on the rack next to his monk robes which he missed so, awaiting Jasmine’s reply. “No incidents to report Sir. Several false alarms, which I have placed on your desk.” Unbeknownst to Katsu that wasn't entirely true. In his absence Jasmine was second in command, since she was the oldest in the building. She had formed a good relationship with most of the Knights and the other secretaries, and she wasn't about to tattle on the other’s misadventures as most of them were harmless. “Good to hear. Anything else to report?” he asked as he turned his attention to his fellow Knights.