Kirika sniffs the air, following the scent of blood laden with magic. She and her team continue walking down the sidewalk, hands inside their suit jackets. People step out of their way as they pass. As they should, I-C's are akin to ill omens. Where there is an I-C, there is a mess they've been sent to clean up.
And what a mess this whole operation has been. The five I-C's she sent out to crush the Kuze Clan should have been more than enough and yet, they had to bag those five bodies. Five junior researchers lost, just like that. The five other I-C's she sent to investigate a peculiar smell haven't come back yet. And neither have the five I-C's she sent to find them. Now she's down to just her last five.
"Damn it…" She bites down on her fingernail. What's going on? Why is her vanguard being crushed so thoroughly? This isn't even supposed to be the hard part. The Lady of Osaka isn't supposed to have touched this place yet considering how thin her I-C's have been stretched and the distance between Ozawa and Osaka. Has she? She doesn't know.
Regardless, this is a disaster. The best she can do is to salvage the situation and hope for The Lady of Tokyo's forgiveness.
"Your orders, ma'am?"
"Search and Recover." Kirika speaks calculatedly. "We're pulling out of Ozawa. Our current primary objective is to limit casualties. Is that clear?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"Good. I'll take charge of the operation. I need to investigate the source of this odd magic signature myself." If she's lucky, the data she gathers will be enough to make up for her failure.
"You two." As they approach the building that seems to be the source of the odd signature, she points at two of the I-C's backing her up. "Take point. An ambush is the last thing we want to see–"
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH–!"
"From above–?!" A berserk bellow echoes from the second floor of the building. The I-C's all draw their handguns and point it up at the windows. A shadow briefly falls over the far left window before the glass shatters and a body crashes through. More specifically, the suited body of an I-C. As she falls to the ground, it becomes obvious that she's missing both of her arms and the top half of her head. In the frame of the broken window stands the presumed assailant.
A tracksuit-wearing girl with silver hair and golden eyes, hunched over from what might be either pain or sheer ungodly rage. Now that she's shown herself, the smell of the curious magic signature is even more apparent. If nothing else, Kirika's found the subject of her next dissertation.
"Cease and desist immediately!" Kirika's voice just barely reaches the second floor. "Surrender now or else we'll be forced to shoot!"
"A…ragh… rrr…" Strange animalistic noises come from the girl's mouth.
"..."
"Grgrgh…"
"Hmph." Maybe it's not intelligent. Kirika makes a motion with her hands signaling the I-C's to fan out. Then, without a second thought, she gives the order to "Fire." The I-C's all draw their handguns before bringing them to bear against the animal.
The instant the first 'pop' rings out, the girl is set in motion. She jumps out of the window at blinding speed. She's so quick that she manages to avoid every single one of the bullets. She crashes onto the empty road. There's no other way to describe the way her body simply crumples onto the asphalt. And yet, there is an odd grace to the way she falls. One that quickly picks her back up off the ground, setting her back onto her feet .
"This agility–!" Kirika's eyes widen.
"Gh– GRAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!!!" The girl merely roars in response. Her eyes are deranged, devoid of sapience. Feral. The I-C's all tuck their guns into their jackets before drawing their actual weapons.
"Go for the arms and legs. I want this one brought back alive." Kirika grins to herself.
The I-C's rush the girl, weapons raised. One by one, they surround her and bring their weapons to bear. Guns, knives, swords, shields, anything goes. But for every bullet, every slash, every bash, the girl moves like water, seamlessly dodging every single attack. A mixture of preternatural instinct and honed physical prowess means there is no wall for her to be backed against.
"Haaah!!!" One of the I-C's overextends, leaving her body wide open as she brings her sword down for a slash. The berserker digs the sole of her foot into her stomach, lifts her up before tossing her right at a gun-wielding I-C. They're both made vulnerable.
The other three I-C's try to cover for the two while they recover but that's precisely what the girl wants to happen. With a vicious straight, she pokes a fist-sized hole in the chest of one of the I-C's. The other two try to counter but she simply uses the I-C's body as cover. Still, they don't hesitate. Their devotion to their highest lady is absolute. They draw their guns and fire. If their bullets have to pierce their comrade's body to reach the girl then so be it. If their shots accidentally destroy her gem, then so be it. The I-C jerks uncontrollably as the bullets pierce through her body finding their mark into the berserker's shoulder.
But she shrugs them off like raindrops splashing onto her skin. She doesn't give them another chance to regroup. The berserker lunges at another I-C, seizes her by her arms, and proceeds to rip out her windpipe with her mouth. Still unsatisfied, she rips both of her arms from her body using sheer brute strength.
The other I-C's try to move but they can't. Duty compels them to fight but terror compels them to back away. They're frozen in place, like rabbits staring down a wolf. The berserker smells their fear. It springs into action, animalistically tearing into each of the I-C's one at a time, parrying their pointless attacks as she does. Only Kirika remains standing.
"It appears I have brought nothing but cowards and incompetents with me." She flicks her wrist at the girl, sending a black lightning bolt coursing through the air. The berserker doesn't even bother looking back. She simply catches the bolt in her hand and crushes it. No matter. Kirika makes a motion with her hand and the bolt wraps itself around her hand, creating a nigh unbreakable shell. She does the same for the girl's torso, legs, and both arms, encasing her in a cocoon of pure energy.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAA–!" The last of her cries is drowned out as her head too is covered by energy.
"Perfect. Just perfect." Kirika sighs. She's pretty sure this couldn't have gone much worse. But hey, at least she has something to show for it all. She raises her hand and the prison lifts off of the ground, hovering in midair. Kirika begins to walk away, tugging the cocoon along behind her. She's just started to relax when she hears a series of bangs. She holds out her hand, summoning a localized tempest strong enough to deflect bullets. Sure enough, sparks fly as bullets ricochet off of her shield
Goddamnit! The sound of her thoughts is barely audible above the din of gunfire. Kirika sees a girl in a red coat holding up two guns and firing barrage after barrage into her shield as she walks towards the cocoon. She holsters one of her guns, summons a sword, and cuts through the black bolts like they're nothing. The berserker is freed. The way she shrieks as she breaks out of her shell reminds Kirika of a chick emerging from an egg.
"GRAAAAAAAAAAAGH–!" The veins on her face almost seem like they're ready to burst just from sheer ungodly fury. Taking a single earth-shaking step, she closes the gap between her and the enemy. Kirika just barely manages to duck out of the way. She conjures a jet of wind pointed at her torso, flinging herself backwards a dozen or so feet. Heaving, she takes stock of the situation and quickly comes to the conclusion that the occupation of Ozawa is currently untenable. A swirling wind rapidly lifts her up into the sky and she begins to make her way back to Tokyo.
"Grrgh…"
Daisuko watches the girl carefully. She's too busy stomping on the still writhing bodies of the I-C's to notice her. Or maybe she does notice her but opts to not acknowledge her. Daisuko notes the black tattoo on her forehead.
Tricky, tricky.
"You're telling me..." There's only one place someone can get that kind of power. This must be one of the two girls The Lady of Osaka mentioned. By all accounts, they're supposed to be allies, but considering her general demeanor, she hazards a guess that she might not be particularly friendly at the moment. "This isn't your doing, is it?"
Nope, this is all her. Maybe we should… how you say? Split?
"I got this." Daisuko assures her spirit.
"Gragh… grrr… rrr… haah… haah…" At last, the girl begins to calm down, her entire body starting to relax. She collapses onto her knees and raises her face to the sky. Little by little, her breaths become slightly less labored until she collapses onto her back.
"Want some?" Daisuko holds out a fish-shaped waffle, taiyaki, and holds it out for the girl to take. "It's got Bavarian cream inside."
"...Thanks." The girl says something in Russian as she takes the taiyaki and bites into it, the white filling smears her oil-stained lips. "Got any–"
She clears her throat, remembering that she needs to speak Japanese.
"Got any more?"
Daisuko reaches into her cloak and retrieves the bag she was saving for when she got home.. "Go nuts."
"Thank you." The girl starts wolfing down bite after bite, the cream smearing itself on her mouth. Eventually, she finishes the whole bag. Daisuko makes a mental note to go get some more for herself and for Oka.
Daisuko takes out a small packet of tissues. "Here. Wipe your face. You look like you just gave a blowjob."
The girl doesn't smile as she wipes her mouth on the tissues. "What's your name?"
"Daisuko Kuze. Of the Kuze Clan. You?"
"Nikola Anatolyovna Sokolova"
"Hell of a name. Though, if I remember correctly, isn't Nikola supposed to be a boy's name? As in, Nikola Tesla?"
"Long story." She waves away the topic. "For now, you can just call me 'Iko.'"
"Cool, cool." Daisuko stuffs her hands in her pockets as she watches another girl approach them, one with blonde hair and military fatigues. "Friend of yours?"
"Step-sister. But I do like to think that we're friends."
"Of course we're friends." The girl takes a dramatic bow for Daisuko. "Klara Anatolyovna Volkova. At your service."
"Daisuko Kuze. I'm with The Lady of Osaka. I've been looking for you two all day."
"Looking for me?" Klara tilts her head. "Oh, I don't know anything about this Osaka business. I'm just here to help Iko and get some petty revenge on these so-called Keepers of the Peace." Klara kicks one of the bodies on the ground with genuine malice.
"So… we're still missing one more person." Daisuko bites her thumbnail. "Any ideas for who they might be?"
"If God was merciful, then I would have no clue." Iko's eyes turn bitter and hateful. "But He is not