119/A Kitty Appears! Ikuto Meets Hannah

A Kitty Appears! Ikuto Meets Hannah
Date of Scene:	01 July 2015
Location:	Mitakihara - Downtown
Synopsis:	Hannah meets Ikuto! Morals are probed, and Hannah gets a part-time trash man.
Cast of Characters:	Hannah Sharpe, Ikuto Tsukiyomi

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Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Sometimes, even Evil Corporations need a bit of face-to-face time between employees. It builds comaraderie...or at least encourages them to not murder each other somtimes. And trading information face-to-face is often secure than spreading information through mere email. Thus, one Ikuto Tsukiyomi would be directed to one of Easter's newest projects: WitchHunter Professional Services. Aside from its VIP Protection service, the more magical end of it seems to be ran by a former intern at Eclipse: one 'Kasagami White', if one is to believe that's her name. Information on the girl is a little sketchy, outside of the higher-ups in the corporation.

Finding the place is easy enough: it's an office building, utterly generic in Mitakihara. Several office peons give polite greetings to Ikuto should he enter, magic decidedly /not/ reigning in this level of the building.

But one person with a spark of it soon approaches: a massive older russian man in a suit that seems more in his general area than actually containing all that size. He offers a wide smile, completely at odds with his height and bulk.

"Ah! Is our guest today, da? 'Tsukiyomi Ikuto-san'? Call me Viktor, Director White's secretary. Come, come, little white kitten down in play pen with black yarn, get lost in unravelng she does." Comes his heavily accented, clipped japanese. He waves Ikuto over, and off into an elevator. A few button presses on a concealed keypad, a keycard swipe, and down the elevator goes rapidly. Opening, there's a massive set of steel doors and a pair of oddly gangster-like guards: Ikuto might have seen the like before in more criminal sections of Easter or Eclipse.

They don't say anything, looking, but the presence of Viktor has them opening the doors. Said doors creek open slowly, inch by inch, heavy and massive to let the pair through.

The doors shut behind them, and a second set open. Beyond, computers, and strange and arcane equipment with tubes running into a series of containment cells through triple-thick viewing glass, and white walls, and steel can be seen. The area is white-washed and gloomy. A horrible feeling of pure evil washes through the area, those massive cells not quite able to keep the magically barrier-held denizens entirely in check. Miss White, clad in her white suit and flowing Barrier Jacket on her shoulders, has a writhing, wiggling Familiar strapped to a table with binds of wind magic. There's a needle in her hand, which she stabs into the creature, glowing liquid entering it.

The creature screams aloud, even as Miss White taps a device on her ear.

"Experiment number twenty-two with compound XJI3 commenced. Subject shows increased emotional and magical output, as well as..."

Those wind binds rip off, and the Familiar takes a swipe at its captor. Several awful words in russian, Hannah ducking back at the last minute, before kicking the thing in the face. It slams to the ground, mostly inert, before being quickly rebound. Hannah sighs.

"...As well as a lack of mana conversion or increased sentience. Increased hostility as well to researcher. Experiment ended, compound deemed a failure pending data analysis."

Click! Off goes the recorder, and she's dragging the Familiar back to a containment cell. Chucking it in there like so much trash, soon safely back behind doors and barriers, she finally looks up.

"Oh! Is that you Viktor? Do we have a visitor today?" Director White beams a friendly smile back towards the duo, despite nearly having had her head taken off.

Viktor facepalms and mutters lowly in frustration.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto hates dealing with Easter enough. Now that he's being loaned out to other side-projects, Ikuto feels like he has every right to be more than a little surly. He is, however, smart enough not to say anything about it. In fact, he doesn't say anything at all. Really is there any need; the large Russian fellow knows his name anyway. So Ikuto just follows the man down the elevator, remaining quiet.

There's no visible reaction, in fact, until they reach that area where all the Familiars are kept. It's at this that Ikuto frowns slightly, looking to the holding areas. And those capable of seeing such things might get a glimpse the little head of Yoru, barely poking out of his school bag. Yoru is doing a very good impression of Kilroy at the moment, ears flat against his head. "...I don't like this place, nya," Yoru says quietly. Ikuto makes no reply.

And then suddenly there's a monster free and it's trying to attack that girl! He doesn't really like most of his coworkers, but still. If that thing gets loose it's going to cause problems for people that don't need to get hurt. So just as Hannah backs away, two things happen. Firstly, the shape of Yoru pops out of the bag proper, floating up to just behind Ikuto's shoulder. Second? Ikuto suddenly has cat ears and a tail.

It turns out to be unnecessary, though, since just as he's tensed to leap into action, Hannah re-binds the creature and drags it away. Pop! The ears and tail disappear before Hannah turns to regard him. And as quickly as he'd been about to leap into action, he is deadpan and impassive again, and Yoru is safely hidden in the bag. He remains quiet still, letting Viktor handle the introduction, since the Russian seems to know who he is anyway.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
The silence doesn't seem to bother Viktor too much. Really, nothing does that isn't related to his owner's frustrating ways. But he does fill the silence from Ikuto just after the young man gets ready to defend Miss White! Mostly by giving him a hardy slap on the back!

"Is good to see brave young men! Do not worry, White Kitten always fall on feet even when kitchen knife come hurtling at neck." An odd analogy, but these two are definitely odd.

With the Familiar contained, there's a tiny drop on the Evilometer, but not by much. There's just way too many Darkness-coated things around.

Miss White walks up, and offers a hand to Ikuto!

Viktor again is helpful here!

"Is Easter employee, Ikuto-san, little kitten. One talked about in email."

Miss White rubs her head thoughtfully with her free hand, then brightens.

"Oh! Well, welcome Ikuto-san! Please call me White-san, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." She's at least far nicer than your average magical employee at Eclipse, on the surface anyway. Who knows, maybe she's one of the crazy ones.

Then she turns to Viktor.

"Can you handle things upstairs, Viktor? Ikuto-san here seems like the quiet type, he might feel more comfortable if it is just us two." Smile!

Viktor laughs, and waves, heading out and back to the elevator. Thus, the pair are alone. She's soon over to a coffee pot.

"Want some? Sorry if my head is not all there: long week." There's shadows under her eyes. Sleep has /not/ been a thing recently.

"So what do you do for Easter, Mister Ikuto?" Business, it might be a comfortable topic versus actual outgoing human interaction for the seemingly surly young man.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto is utterly unprepared for the slap on the back, and stumbles forward, eyes widening in surprise for a moment. Once he rights himself he gets his flat expression back in place and then sends a look back to Viktor. Polite, polite... stay polite. It's a fair bet that if he still had those cat ears they'd be laid back like Yoru's were a moment ago.

Quiet type? Maybe. Or he might just be rude. Either way, you guessed it, he stays quiet while he's introduced. He regards Hannah's offered hand suspiciously for a moment. It's probably long enough to make Hannah think he's going to snub her. But then he returns the handshake.

Viktor leaves, and Ikuto turns a look in his direction. Though he might be looking at the exit, too. As for the coffee? "...No thank you." Wonder of wonders, he DOES talk! And then Hannah asks what he does for Easter. "...Cleanup." It's very simplified, but it's pretty much what he does.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
There's a smirk at the stumbling Ikuto after Viktor's out of the room.

"Sorry about that, Viktor's a good guy, but forgets just how huge he is sometimes. Anyway, welcome to my carnival of breaking every conceivable law of nature and good sense! I do hope you enjoy your stay!" Teases the girl, trying to break the ice.

Even Miss White's smile is a bit forced by now. Talk about a tough nut to crack! Even Tuxedo Kamen was easier.

A firm shake with slightly worn, calloused hands. This one has seen some work, perhaps.

Here, she ponders, even as she collapses into a rolley chair and slides over to a computer. She starts tapping away, grabbing a lanyard and attacking an earpiece to one ear. Tap-tap-tap! If Ikuto looks over, tons of data are swiftly compiled into spreadsheets, graphs, and other types of projections. There's the slight sound of a text-to-speech device spitting out said information into the woman's ear. Curious!

"Do you mind if I multi-task? Lots of data to go through after that experiment. My partner will maul me if I hold out on data on him!" She laughs a bit, waving Ikuto over. There's a seat kicked out for him.

"Cleanup, eh? Well, there is no shortages of messes. Remind me to call you if I ever need backup keeping those abominations..." Cue the massive Witch in the largest chamber howling in fury and hate.

Miss White reaches over, grabs a cane, and smacks the tempered, bullet-proof glass.

"Oh shut up in there before I hit the shock button again!"

"Ahem! Sorry, our subjects get a bit unruly. What was I...riiiiight! Might use your services next time I am in the field. You strike me as the level headed type, could have used you last night." Her face falls at that, her tapping stopping. Visibly shivering, she then forces herself to be friendly again.

"So do you have any questions about my operations? If Easter sent you down here, then I have a feeling we are going to get to work together some time. What about you? Looking for anything other than being a trash-man?" Her questions, though phrased lightly, are certainly digging.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
"Nn." An affirmative response to Hannah's mention of Viktor forgetting his strength sometimes. Perfectly reasonable explanation, Ikuto can buy that.

Ikuto's hands have calluses too. But only at the tips of the fingers of his left hand. Hannah, if she'd offered her right hand, would have shaken Ikuto's right hand as well, and might not have noticed the calluses. Otherwise, writing calluses, typical of a teenager. Nothing more.

She asks if he minds her multitasking, and he shrugs. "Go ahead." Her place, after all. He's the outsider here, not her. Though her mention of calling him for help gets a distinct frown. Great, the last thing he needs is ANOTHER organization treating him like a janitor.

The roar of the Witch gets him to step back from that direction, with a frown. What ARE these things?! He does, however, pass the question of what he's looking for over completely. Instead he asks, "What are these things?" He looks into several of the holding areas. Nothing in those holding areas looks human. Which is comforting on one hand. On the other... why is Hannah keeping monsters?

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
That frown is met with Hannah's ever-present confident smile. It might even be annoying, so seemingly sure of herself as the girl is. All utter lies, of course, but it's a useful mask she's learned to put up.

"Hey, hey, no need to look like that! Nothing you cannot handle." Ominous words, given what she's keeping in her lab here!

And then the young man gets to the point, and Hannah smirks.

"The big one is called a Witch: a monster of darkness that eats people and grows stronger. Causes terrible things out in the wild: suicide, agression, depression...consider it a ball of animal emotions that effects people. Even works on people like us, though the real bad ones are those without magic."

"The little ones are called Familiars, minions for the Witches. They go out and eat and grow stronger too. Bigger range though, the Witches act more like spiders waiting in their webs." She considers how much information to spread. Then she nods.

There's an obvious question in the air, and she adds on: "I keep these guys locked up so I can study them. You see, there is a particular brand of magical girl that fights them. Specialists, you could say. Pretty obscene casualty rates, though, and the Witches have a pretty vast source of magical power."

She shrugs. "I hate seeing good kids getting chewed up by abominations like that. I mean, one thing for we humans to use our powers to bicker and fight, something like that?" She hmph's, anger in her sightless eyes.

"So, trying to learn how to develop the best weapons to kill them, drop those death rates a bit, and increase my own strength at the same time. Plus turn a profit too. Win-win for everybody!" She declares.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Ikuto isn't quite so sure, but Hannah's reassurance gets that frwn to leave his face, and he goes back to being deadpan. When Hannah starts explaining what's going on with these things she's got locked up in here, he looks back to the Witch. Then Hannah says something that gets his attention more. A clear denoting that she knows he has magic. He looks in her direction... and Yoru peeks back out of his bag with a quiet 'nya?'

Witches, Familiars, and a specialist type that fights them? "...Shouldn't we leave it to the specialists then?" he ventures. Because no, being around these things don't make him feel anything good. Which explains why Yoru's not out and messing about in Hannah's lab-- poor thing's probably afraid he's going to get eaten!

The mention of dropping the death rates, though, gets a tilted head. That does kind of suck, if the specialists are getting killed. Which is what he assumes she means. "What do the specialists use against them? Improving those might work." Ikuto does seem to be opening up a little, even if it's mainly out of curiosity.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Deadpan catboys get a smirk! "Oh come on, try not to act surprised. Anyone without that spark we share would be on the floor or trying to hang themselves by now." For all her ways, Miss White actually has a head on her shoulders. Usually.

"Nice ears by the way." She quips, before calming a bit. She might be playing /too/ much with Ikuto!

Yoru, however, seems to either go unnoticed or ignored. Hard to tell!

The first question goes unanswered, as Ikuto seems to make the logical connection.

"Heh, good, you seem sharp. Those specialists are rare, and do not live long. Any of us can kill them with enough effort, but see casualty rates. I am pretty decent at it, but only because I have a...eh, consultant and I research them. Going in against a Witch without a plan, a lot of caution, and a bit of knowledge will just get you killed. Never fight one alone if you can manage it, and run away as fast as you can if you are alone."

The second question gets an answer.

"Magic, same as you or I. Wish I could embark on something like that, but the specialists...well, I would have to tamper with their source of magic. One thing to start messing with my own, but I draw a line there. Science like that /will/ get someone killed." A wave. A line of research she's clearly considered, and rejected.

An Eclipse researcher with /morals/. Imagine that.

"So instead I look for weaknesses in Witches, their progeny, the Barriers they form that twist into their own reality...things like that. Lots of other ideas, too, but...well, trade secrets." A shrug here.

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Well, she does have a point, Ikuto realizes. Aside from Viktor and Hannah, did anyone else get this close to these things? Not that he knows of so far. Maybe that's why, because if anyone not so powered approached, they'd be influenced too greatly by the negative feelings, like Hannah said? It does make a lot of sense.

And then Hannah mentions his ears. He emits a 'tch' sound at the comment about his ears, turning his head slightly and frowning. He doesn't reply to that one. Hopefully she doesn't start trying to get him to let her see his ears again. That'd be kind of embarrassing. Besides, this isn't really the place.

The mention of tampering with the specialists' magic source gets a look to hannah. It's a thoughtful look, not a contemptuous one though. Curious. He's not accustomed to working with people that have morals. None of the people of Easter do, that's for sure. He likes this. But he decides to poke a little nonetheless. Looking to one of the Familiars, Ikuto shoves his hands in his pockets and notes, "If it's for the greater good, what's the problem? A few people can die to speed the research or hundreds can in facing these things."

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Thankfully Miss White is a professional when it counts, and so no asking about ear-scritches. It /is/ tempting though. Ikuto should be glad she's on the clock right now.

And then he starts prodding at her words. Hannah visibly goes stock still, and tenses. She trembles, still faced towards the computer, but her entire body seethes with anger.

It seems Ikuto's hit a raw nerve. Given all the negative emotions already flowing, that anger is almost physical in nature. Several of the Familiars howl in their bindings, a feedback loop that threatens to swallow even Miss White.

Then she slams down a fist on a table, cracking marble and tile like glass.

"Ikuto-san. Even for someone like me, a girl's heart can be fragile. Watch your tongue." She comes, barely avoiding hissing at the boy.

A moment to let that sink in, and she seems to calm down. She's good at switching emotions, or at least putting up masks. She smiles again.

"But to answer your question, that is an idiot's line of reasoning. Sure, if you want to develop a weapon to sew nothing but destruction, then one's ability to sleep at night aside, that might be an optimal route."

A shake of the head. "But if you want to build weapons that destroy specific things, or that can be controlled, using up lives will inevitably turn them right back into massive, indescriminate bombs. I might be weak, but I have no intention of uselessly throwing away lives. Plenty enough even in a third-rate, pathetic mage like me to take on the burden. Those kids have been dying enough already. Who are we to increase the casualty rate?"

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
...Yyyyyeah, maybe prodding Miss White with anger in a place where there's already tons of negative emotions was a bad idea. The howling of the Familiars gets a scowl from Ikuto, and his shoulders rise up as if he were quite literally raising hackles. Hannah's fist cracking the tile draws his gaze to her, and he tenses. It's a defensive tensing, as if he expects to have to defend himself.

And then things are back to normal, after she speaks. He relaxes, only a bit-- Hannah might notice that he never really seems to relax completely; he's always somewhat on-guard. Of course, in this place it's understandable.

Her words get an affirmative sound. Notably he doesn't offer an apology. He merely nods, as though he had just had a question answered. Seems Miss White is not the only one digging for information! "So since you can't raise the power of the specialists, you're making something that's more effective against these things." Looking to the Witch. Geez that thing's huge. How did she expect him to do cleanup duty against something like THAT?

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
Miss White is certainly on her guard by now, far too late catching onto Ikuto's intention. Deep inside, she facepalms. Her temper, truly, can be her greatest weakness.

The silent highschooler is definitely a cunning person.

"Something like that. My original idea was to overwhelm them with magic and turn them against each other..." She shrugs.

"But as you saw, that line of research is less than useful. Control and sentience is the problem. Without those, all you make is a more powerful monster. Useless." There's frustration in her voice.

Then, a shrug. "So I hit on the idea of, rather than trying to necessarily worry about making the specialists stronger or cause infighting, taking away a Witch's strengths is the best angle. Actually, I am pretty close to finishing it up I think. One I make more of the serum, and gather enough of the ingrediants, well...the spell is actually pretty simple, in theory. Need some more lab time, and then field testing against a few of those specialists to see if it will really pan out. Ugh, way too much mana involved, too. But inefficiencies like that can be worked out later once the base spell is in place." Rattles off the girl, clearly far too into her own work.

She finally notices Ikuto peering towards the Witch chamber.

"What, scared? If you are, then you are smarter than most. You and I are prey to them. They never get full either. Like I said, not something to be taken on alone. Only ridiculous genius specialists and fools do that. You get to take care of the little ones, and back me up against the big one if they get loose."

Ikuto Tsukiyomi has posed:
Hannah's rattling off of what she's planning is carefully taken note of, even if Ikuto seems like he's not paying attention. She's planning to use magic to depower a Witch? Well, it's worth looking into. Particularly if the people who kill these Witches and Familiars are dying that often. Then Hannah notices him looking into the Witch's chamber, and Ikuto looks to her as she asks the question. "When she says 'little ones', he looks to the Familiar. That looks marginally less frightening, but still not something he's ging to be taking lightly.

"...Easter will probably still expect me to do their cleanup too," he comments. Meaning he might not be able to show up, or he might end up being fashionably late. It's a very offhand comment anyway, as if he was saying 'maybe, if I feel like it'.

Though because he's decided he likes Miss White, at least a little, he offers something that might actually be more productive. "...Does magic have a frequency? Or maybe the negative energy does? Maybe you could make an anti-wave for it." Ikuto is a musical fellow, so he thinks in terms of sound, and sound is just a pressure wave that can be canceled.

Hannah Sharpe has posed:
There's a little chuckle. "No problem, no problem! Consider yourself a part-timer. Come in if you can, if not, well you have your own ambitions and desires too, right? I understand completely." She shoots a winnig, wide smile, completely at odds with the energy around them both. Strained as she looks, it likely takes a lot of willpower and effort.

She considers, then waves him over to the computers. She pulls up a graph.

"Pretty inconsistent between subjects, but the data can be represented as such. I am a bit reluctant to make a leap like that until I can fight against the more powerful Witches instead of a weak one like that." She motions to the one in the chambers.

"Huh. It might actually be possible, though. Know any magic musicians by chance? It...could work." She stands up, and claps the guy on the back. Seems Viktor and she share a few things.

"Well, if Easter ever kicks you to the road, I could use someone with insight and cunning like you. Consider it a standing offer." Another laugh, only to pause as her phone goes off. Click!

"Hello? Oh, Viktor, what is...Eh? Really? Does that idiot realize how hard it is to properly balance books /based on magical artificats/!? Alright, alright, I will be there in fifteen."

A sigh, and she offers an apologetic look.

"Sorry, the other board members are being a pain. Let's do this again some time, you are pretty good at bouncing interesting ideas off of. Come on, wait in the lobby, I will treat you to lunch or something about I calm those fools down." With that, she'll lead the way back to the elevator.

In the dark lab, the captured Witch and Familiars howl, spewing more hate and filling the area with more and more hateful energy.