Search & Destroy {Easy, NDE}

[✠Asmoskon Masurao✠]

Name: Search & Destroy
Participants:
Location: Saitama, Japan
Difficulty Level: Easy
Setting: NDE

Plotline: Over the last week a member of the Vandenreich has been located in Saitama, Japan as the government official of the district. While he surveillance has declared that he isn't powerful he does possess influence throughout Japan in regards to the human world. A small group of Shinigami have been sent by their Captains to handle the situation. They've been given orders to capture this member of the Vandenreich and find out why he is infiltrating the human world government of Japan as well as any information he may have on the status of the Vandenreich Empire at the moment. The group should be arriving in Saitama not together, but near the same location. They've been given instructions on the whereabouts of the targets job, route and home so that locating him won't be very difficult. It's 11:30 a.m. meaning that he should be at work. How will the Shinigami handle this assignment?

Estimated Enemy Strength: Class 7-6
Estimated Time Until Completion: 3-4 pages
Starts: Right Now!
Special Conditions: N/A

[Ranth]

Ranth's chest was aflutter with a mix of emotions as he entered the Senkaimon that would take him to the world of the living. He could scarcely believe it, this was his first mission as a Shinigami! It had been exactly one week ago that he'd left the Academy behind and been invited to join the Kido Corps upon the recommendation of his instructor on the subject. It was rare for someone to have the innate talent that he'd exhibited and rarer still for someone to dedicate themselves to it with the same fervour as Ranth. For most Shinigami- or so he'd been told- Kido was a supplementary skill set in which many dabbled but few sought to master. In other words, it was perhaps the one area that Ranth could not only succeed, but excel and make a name for himself.

As he stepped into the Senkaimon and began his inexorable journey through the swirling darkness towards the distant pinprick of light at the far end, Ranth recalled for the umpteenth time the moment when one of the seated officers had sought him out the day before. He'd brought with him a sealed envelope addressed to him containing his first official mission and he'd nearly fainted on the spot. Was he ready? Could he really do it? He felt so unprepared, it wasn't at all how he'd imagined this happening. It was all so sudden and yet his numb fingers had broken the seal and he'd read the assignment while his officer loitered to ensure he understood and agreed to the mission and its parameters.

Thankfully, his time in the Academy wasn't wasted and words like 'Vandenreich' actually meant something to him. The short version was that the Vandenreich were a Quincy Organisation that often seemed to find itself at cross-purposes with the Shinigami- not least of which because of the long and bloody history between the two races. Whilst it might be too much to say that there was any kind of peace between the two races, there wasn't exactly a full-blown war against them either... or at least, no more-so than there were against the Hollows. They were simply a group with their own agenda and that agenda was frequently the cause of no small amount of anxiety to the Soul Society- especially with the recent turmoil that had been said to rife within the human world. Of course it went without saying that he'd accepted the assignment and now here he was, a little over 24 hours later stepping out of the Senkaimon and into the light of dawn...

Ranth emerged onto one of the countless rooftops that made up city of Japan. He'd never been here in person before, but he recognised the signs immediately from his studies. Literally, there were dozens of enormous neon signs that advertised 'Japan's best this or that', from phones and televisions to bars and clubs. It was an impressive sight even during the half-light and part of him hoped that he'd get a chance to see the city at night before he had to return home again. But putting aside his fascination with great effort, Ranth returned his thoughts to the mission. There were to be two other Shinigami sent to join him on this mission, all of whom had been briefed with the same information that he had presumably and hopefully- for his own sake- had more experience than he did.

As if right on cue, Ranth felt a tug in the back of his mind as the familiar sensation of Senkaimon opening nearby drew his attention. Moving to the edge of the multistory building that he'd arrived upon, he found himself looking down at a slightly shorter building where a Senkaimon could be seen fading away and an unfamiliar Shinigami now stood upon the otherwise deserted space. One down, one to go, Ranth thought as gave a shout and waved frantically in his new companion's direction in hopes that they would look up and see him. He wasn't averse to going down there of course, but he figured that from up here he'd have a better chance of spotting- or being spotted by- their third companion who he'd yet to see any sign of just yet, but then again they'd only been here for 5 minutes.

[Yun Fēng]

This whole mission smelled bad, and that wasn't just the gut feeling he got when traversing through the dark and decrepit Dangai either, that specific chill down his spine was attributed to stories of people getting lost in here and eaten alive by that thing. This two part at minimum mission was developed and sent without much base credible information, only the target's current whereabouts, route, home and workplace location were given in addition to some of the target's features that was provided by a hell butterfly when Yun finally reached his destination through the Senkaimon. He sent the extra butterfly back with a comment requesting more information regarding the target be provided as soon as possible, the more, the better.

With the butterfly which navigated him through the gate, he held onto as he exited before relaying the confirmation of his arrival and awaiting further instructions, as he noticed the idiot Amanite-san waving and shouting towards his general direction, Yun made sure to include his sighting in case the kido member forgot to notify the other kido corp guys back home who'll receive these spirit insects back. Finally with the menial tasks done, the rogue first started to look around his immediate surroundings of the Saitama prefecture.

It was nearly lunch time and most desk-workers would be taking their lunch in around half to one and a half hours, a quick look around the corners of the roof he arrived on showed the area was likely a break room, given how the roof access door was decently used and benches lined one corner. This place wouldn't be appropriate for some kind of first contact meeting in the human world, Yun looked up in the happy kido caster's rough direction while reaffirming this small assumption, just in case, he thought as he jumped and scaled upward towards his fellow shinigami with air ground. That skill although usable by all spiritual and spiritually aware denizens alike was not complicated, it still took Yun many tries to properly utilise when he first encountered the human world. Even now the formation of the platforms weren't always perfect and sometimes provided a slight incline, but at least his imagery has levelled up the last time he extensively used it in quick successtion.

Arriving towards the top where the wave enthusiast occupied, "Don't shout you idiot, do you want to notify everything we're here?" Yun was less then pleased by Ranth's immediate reactions while he quickly added in before the other could retort, "I get that you're slightly enthralled by the sights of something new, but this is a mission, some professionalism should be given no matter what job you're in." Yun could assume Ranth was of the naive bracket given his previous actions but that didn't lower his guard, shown by how he openly presented himself, straight back and stern faced. The most noticeable crack in this sharp demeanour was the smirk the rogue gave when he added, "We can have fun after the mission has ended, I'll even treat you, how's that?" for good humour.

"Oh, and proper introductions could wait before our team is whole".

[Connor Greaves]

For me to receive a mission from my Captain was something I had not expected so early in my time among the Shinigami, but it was not an unbelievable turn of events. Having been on several trips to the living world, I was more used to the environment than most others with the same level of experience. It was still not something I would prefer to be doing, but I had little choice in the matter. If this would help my image in the eyes of those with power, then so be it.

The mission was quite the oddity. The Quincy have put one of their own into a position of power in the government of Japan, for whatever reason that may be. Well, if they were trying to gain access to additional weapons to fight us with, they were going about it all wrong. Japan had no military to fight with. They were protected by the American government after the last world war. Perhaps they were after land, or something of the sort. I hoped they were not planning on poisoning the humans, or somehow turning them I'm into Quincy.

My mind wandered, as I prepared to enter the living world yet again. It was the second time I had visited Japan in my time as a soul reaper, and it was no more pleasant than the first. I was here for serious reasons, and could not afford to slack off, as much as I wished I could. After the few minutes it took to walk through the purple nightmare that was the senkaimon, I arrived. My stroll through the goop had landed me in a back alley, in between two tall buildings.

I sighed, knowing that my 'comrades' were somewhere nearby. I just had no idea where to look. I would probably arrive last, but hopefully I would not be too late. Not wasting any time, I used air ground to walk to the top of a building. My thoughts were that, if I had the high ground, I would be able to find them easier. And surprisingly enough, I find them near instantly. The were both on a rooftop... Two blocks away. I groaned, with my mask muddling my voice, as I made my treck towards them both.

I walked to them both, not bothering to run, knowing I would be late regardless. I was not one for doing more than I had to, and if I did not have to exert myself so early on into the mission, the faster I could move later. A bad excuse, I know, but I was just a lazy individual. It took me seven minutes to reach them, and my greeting to them was a small wave. My fellow reapers were an interesting pair. One looked giddy and excited to simply be here, while the other was almost the opposite. I would let one of them take the lead. I would prefer not to take charge in a situation like this.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Information}Stats: Strength- 80
Speed- 110
Reiatsu Strength- 30
Spiritual Pressure- (115+50%) 172
Senses- 50
Instinct- 50
Energy Sensory- 0

Dark- 100
Light- 0


Skills: Strength of Will- 1
Weapons, Swords- 1
Weapons, Guns- 1
Street Fighting- 1
Acting- 1
Disguise- 1
Crafting- 1
Charisma- 1

[✠Asmoskon Masurao✠]

Alright guys GREAT! opening posts. Sorry for the late response, but lets get this going. This next round form up as a group and decide what your actions will be. I look forward to reading what you guys all do.

[Ranth]

Ranth's jaw dropped open in shock as he was berated by the comrade he'd called out to and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He'd assumed that because they'd come without Gigai that nobody in the human realm would have been able to see or hear them, but now that he reconsidered the notion he realised that he had no concrete reason to have any kind of confidence that there wasn't a member of one of the various human factions nearby. Of course, an argument could be made that if they'd wanted to blend in then they would have been better off coming in Gigai's because if there was one thing that would have given them away more than making noise, it was their attire- particularly the tell-tale swords that each of the three men wore upon their person which marked them as Shinigami.

However, Ranth was hardly about to try and point that out to a superior officer on his very first mission and very first trip to the human world. Instead, he just nodded once in a serious manner. "I'm sorry sir, I didn't think. It won't happen again", he said solemnly. Although the man seemed somewhat understanding of the fact that Ranth was a rookie, he wasn't about to take that for granted by making any more basic mistakes.

Ranth had been just about to introduce himself when the other man beat him to the punch by saying that such formalities could wait until the whole team was present so that nobody had to repeat themselves and Ranth nodded, seeing the sense in the proposal. They didn't have to wait long before the third and final member of the team appeared- approaching the pair at a leisurely pace that Ranth could only assume was either a mark of supreme confidence in his ability, authority or both... or extreme laziness. But again, he wasn't about to assume the worst about any of his superior officers- which included pretty much every Shinigami in the Gotei 13- and he went with the former rather than the latter.

"My name is Ranth Amanite, unseated officer of the Kido Corps", Ranth said once the late arrival finally reached them in order to kick off the introductions. He barely resisted the urge to salute, remembering what his own 5th seated officcer had told him about trying to loosen up a little. Once the other men had introduced themselves in turn, it was of course time to turn their attention to the matter that had brought them here in the first place- the mission.

A member of the Vandenreich- the largest and most dangerous branch Quincy organisations as far as the Soul Society was concerned- had been discovered within the highest order of Japan's politicians. It was unknown to what end a member of the Vandenreich had taken on such a role, but with everything else that had been happening in the human world over the past several months, it was of no small import for the Shinigami to get to bottom of things.

Of course, they'd been briefed on all of the pertinent information that the Central 46 had access to- and had deemed necessary to the operation- which had consisted of a long list of the targets known locations and some limited details on his routine as well. To someone like Ranth who was nothing if not an academic, he'd seen an opportunity to prove useful to his comrades and had taken it upon himself to do some research of his own the night before and the results of this research could be seen as he drew a large rolled up piece of paper from within his robes. "I prepared this based off of the information within the briefing, I hope it'll prove useful", was all he said as he noted the two men watching him curiously.

Kneeling down and unrolling the paper, it would quickly become apparent that the paper was filled to bursting with lines and annotations. Upon closer inspection, it would become further apparent that what they were looking at were two sets of blueprints- one for the office building in which their target worked and one for the home that was registered under his name. The blueprint of the office detailed the 13th floor of the building as a whole- which was the floor that the target worked on and also listed his average working ours on each day of the week- which had been a part of the briefing- as well as the officially mandated breaks that all Japanese employees were required to be given by law- including a more recent program designed to encourage office workers to get daily exercise.

Several coloured lines joined the office diagram with the house diagram. These were the fastest routes between the two places via each major method of transport- car, bus, train and on foot along with the estimated duration of each in the morning versus in the evening. The house bore fewer annotations other than that the target was believed to live along and it was his primary dwelling. Ultimately, most of the information was what had been within the briefing, Ranth had simply taken it upon himself to present in in a manner that was easier- in his opinion- to visualise the information and make the most informed decisions possible in order to achieve their objective.

With his arts and crafts project now fully on display, Ranth shuffled back a little to give the men a better view and waited for one of them to take charge. After all, he couldn't possibly be the leader of this expedition on his first ever mission, right? The very thought of such a thing occurring was quite literally the contents of his worst nightmares. In fact, he'd woken in a cold sweat that very morning after having dreamed that he'd been tasked with leading the mission that he was now in the middle of.

OOC: Feel free to invent any annotations or other details regarding places the target visits, where he goes for meals or anything else you can think of that might have been within the briefing.

[Yun Fēng]

Yun's smirk widened underneath his black mouth cover after Ranth's serious initial retort, the kid even visibly straightened up to fit his verbal conviction, a sight which pleased the often aloof-faced servant. The white haired shinigami's usually simple demeanour only served to bolster Yun's impression, the latter believed in the kid's words, We'll wait and see on that.

Yun thought as he scoured the urban japanese landscape in the meantime, taking in the beeps of cars and lit skyscraper windows with his senses of sight, smell and hearing. Remembering vividly of the first time entering this world of wonders had brought about a now surreal thought, he once only heard about the world of the living from hearsay, paintings and dull written reports sent to his mistress.

But now these sights plagued his daydreams and drunken stupors endlessly, it was pretty and dirty at the same time, totally unlike the rukongai of the spirit world; where ambition, power and greed ran rampant in broad daylight and not behind closed doors.

The late arrival of the third member gave enough time for Yun himself to calm down properly, choosing to focus on the mission and formalities then bother with reprimanding another blades-mate, a single scowl towards Connor's general area sated his irritation quickly.

Waiting for Ranth and the new addition's introductions with arms crossed and back straight, Yun replied in kind with a deep but calm introduction, "I'm Yun Feng, an Unseated Onmitsukido" his clothes gave away his affiliation to that special ops squad anyway but the clarification couldn't hurt.

Before Yun could speak up however, he was cut short by Ranth's pleasant surprise, a planner's dream; a map with tons of annotations across two specific points. The writing was so small and long that some paragraphs stretched entire roads and filled community housing and parking lots, this caused Yun to subconsciously stare deeper with a curious gaze, before huffing out a surprise. "Nice homework you did there, it's mostly general information but it's nice of you to bring multiple sources"

Yun knelt down to grab a closer look at the barely legible and bundled writing, the map littered basic information like distance and time for all manners of transport (Train, car, bike, walking, etc) were marked by long coloured lines between the two points which showed the most recommended route for each mode of transport, some black dots near the lines showed places of interest after a day's work or early commute, places like supermarkets and family run ramen shops were highlighted.

Most of the information detailed possibilities, which made Yun somewhat at ease to know, even if the target in question wasn't interested in such luxuries. Even if this large poster of a map was useful, it still created a glaring problem that Yun decided to voice, "It's great to know all this, but we need concrete information about the target to even begin to narrow down some of these places, if he bothers to visit them at all" his brows twisted together while following one of the route lines towards the target's home.

"What's more important though is his personal life, we need to know more about the vices he indulges in, the woman he loves, the children he cares for, the job he upholds, how other normal people view him as, his physical health, bodyguards when taking transport, his most used method of transport and lastly, how strong is he?" Yun looked up after listing what believed critical information, some less important but still relevant and possible if he takes these questions up with the person who initially found out the target's true identity as a Quincy.

"I say we collect more information by the Onmitsukido member who found out our target's identity and find out if the target's packing heat with bodyguards and his basic strength. We can then choose a proper location based on his preferred route to set up an ambush and take the enemy by surprise. Is that satisfactory for everyone present?" Yun stood up and stretched lightly, taking his time to get his words out and stare at his fellow shinigami, if they had a better plan questions for him then Yun would be all ears and listen to it. He only wanted to be on the same level regarding this mission, it's only natural if they get slightly bewildered.

[Connor Greaves]

A member of the Kido corps, as well as a member of the Onmitsukido, each of them walking different roads less traveled. Not that I envied their choices. "Connor Greaves, Ninth squad." I spoke to them with a tired, dull monotone. It was hard for me to sound excited on a mission like this. Being placed on a team with a mage in all but name, and an assassin. One could cast Kido like no one else outside of their division, and the other was willing to do whatever orders he receives from his higher ups. The mage looked eager, but prepared, bringing with him schematics of the building the ...target, would most likely be at. How he attained those was beyond me, but I would likely use magic as an excuse if I were in his position.

Ranth, as he named himself, put off the feeling of a hard worker, someone who wanted to go the extra mile in everything he did. I could appreciate that in a person, as it usually meant less work for myself. If this was how he always acted, he had great potential when he dedicated himself to his art. I almost envied his future, but his path was not for me. I had not the time to spend learning such things, as nice as the power would be to have. I would make due without it. There was a great deal of information here, much more than I was expecting to see, perhaps I should have focused more in that meeting.

Yun Fēng, what a peculiar name, started to take charge, dismissing a fair amount of what Ranth had given, even if he did so through kind words. I was grateful that he was taking charge, but I was not sure how to feel about him. I knew nothing of his character, but being what he was left me less than willing to trust him completely. I narrowed my eyes at him from behind my mask. Collecting information was a good plan, however... "So long as no human is injured, so be it." I looked at him, my head angled to make it seem like I was looking directly at him.

Perhaps I was creating unnecessary conflict... There was no way another shinigami would consider humans expendable. Perhaps it was just old stories from when he was back in the... districts. I had to focus. This was a person, someone who should be a comrade, yet I was thinking of him as an enemy, simply for being what he is. He was still unseated even, it was doubtful that he would have killed anyone yet, right? Why must I rant to myself like this, he is still probably a better person than I am. "Any that get caught up in this could be rallied in whatever scheme he has planned." I said, still as lifeless as the other times I spoke.

[✠Asmoskon Masurao✠]

Well it seemed that what was happening right now was the beginning of potentially a great team up between some of the newest shinigami in all of Soul Society. One thing was for certain from the talk between all of them and the information that had already been gathered along with the information that the Onmitsukido member felt they still should obtain prior to advancing against the Vandenreich member specifically, this group was smart and could work together better than most.

"So you're not going to just charge in the first chance you get and maybe get it right?" said a voice from across the way at another roof top. In the time that it would take all of them to gaze over to find the source of the voice though they'd see nothing. There was no one there yet that had been where the voice had come from. In a little less than three full seconds of potentially looking around to find nothing suddenly the Onmitsukido member would feel it. Something light had landed on his head yet it wasn't threatening him or attacking it just landed there.

To the other two shinigami present they;d most likely see it a moment prior to it landing on Yun's head. Laying on his head now gazing around at the both of them was a bat. It only looked at them for a few moments and then looked down at the map that the shinigami by the name of Ranth had worked so hard on to bring along. "Hmmm not bad kid. So you want to do this the right way." the bat spoke in a very deep gruff voice that contrast heavily with its small fragile looking body. Almost like a hurricane speaking through a fan.

"It should be easy enough though. Why do you all think you were assigned our of all the Shinigami available. This Vandenreich member isn't very powerful at all only around the strength of a low seated officer and that's pushing it based on his appearance. He's not married and has no children. He's currently at work more than likely shouting at someone for not doing work that he should be doing himself, but isn't smart enough to accomplish. Everyone that's under him doesn't like him because of his loud arrogant mouth, he's rather overweight and prefers to be driven in a limo both to his pent house alongside two human bodyguards. Anything else you want to know newbie?" asked the little bat as it's head bent down over Yun's forehead to stare directly into his eyes.

[Ranth]

On the whole, Ranth was relieved to find that the fruits of his labour had been well received. Unbeknown to him- at least for now- the person perhaps most impressed by his thorough preparation was someone whose presence was currently unnoticed, in part due to the fact that he was picking up on some kind of underlying tension between his squad mates. Yun Fēng of the Omnitskudo and Connor Greaves of the 9th Squad, Ranth was quick to commit their names to memory and they couldn't have been more different if they'd tried.

This was his first time meeting a member of each of the two squads, but like almost all Shinigami, he was familiar with the stereotype of the Omnitskudo and to a lesser extent, the general duties that the 9th were responsible for. Naturally, the Omnitskudo and their members were generally held in a... less than stellar regard. They were, after all, quite literally the assassins of the Seireitei and although it was rarely spoken about, everyone knew that their true purpose lay in keeping rogue elements in line, or out of sight altogether... which usually meant their fellow Shinigami.

Ranth wasn't aware of the Omnitskudo or their members holding an especially low regard for civilians or collateral damage, but from the few words that Connor spoke, Ranth had to wonder if the man knew of something that he didn't. Had there been some significant event in the past that had involved the Omnitskudo and a large number of casualties? With no way of knowing and very little given away from what little Connor had said, Ranth decided to file that question away for now and give his teammates the benefit of the doubt across the board.

As he was about to open his mouth to forestall what felt like an argument in the making, a fluttering motion caught his eye and he turned his head to see a small birdlike creature flying towards them. That was hardly unusual, with the living world hosting literally millions of different animal species. But what was unusual was that the thing alighted atop one of the Shinigami's head- something which should have been impossible given that they were in their spiritual forms and thus only perceivable by other spiritually aware beings... a list which he was almost certain didn't include bats.

However, the second unusual thing was that the bat spoke to them- about the mission specifically and after a few moments of blind confusion, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place and Ranth felt a vague sense of relief as he realised that this bat was actually a medium- similar in function to a hell butterfly- for them to communicate with their Omnitskudo liaison, namely the one who had been responsible for discovering the Quincy infiltrator in the first place.

With the new information that the bat provided, Ranth looked down at his map and reassessed the information that he'd noted upon it. Public transport was ruled out now- even if they hadn't been told that the Quincy was driven via limo, there was no way that anyone who needed bodyguards would walk or take a train- it would make their job incredibly difficult when they couldn't control the environment as much as possible after all.

This meant that there was really only one route that the man would take when coming home, but the fact that the man also had a very regular routine meant that the number of variables that they had to take into account was also dramatically reduced. He lived alone, he didn't sound like he was any kind of physical threat- although one couldn't be too careful when it came to Quincy- and as an added bonus, nobody was likely to miss him for a while after they managed to abduct him.

No doubt the others were also thinking along similar lines in regards to how the scope of the mission shifted with this useful new information, but in the end it was Ranth who spoke up first- even befoe Yun could ask the bat any further questions. "If all of this information is accurate, then it sounds like our best bet is to just break into his home and wait for him there. I have two concerns with that though", he paused, taking a breath to brace himself against the queasy feeling of having all eyes on him for the moment.

"Do we have any kind of certainty that his bodyguards aren't Quincy too, or at least if they're spiritually aware? Secondly, does the apartment complex itself have any known Quincy residents or affiliations? It seems unlikely to think that the Vandenreich would bother to install someone and not take at least some basic measures to protect him from any of of the other spiritually aware factions that might take notice of him".

He was actually sweating a little now as he finished speaking and took half a step backwards as though to escape an imaginary spotlight that had been trained upon him until that moment. Yun looked like he had more he wanted to say whilst Connor seemed about as animated as a brick wall. Perhaps he was simply deep in thought, or perhaps he was completely disinterested in what was being said and just wanted to get on with the mission. Ranth sure as heck couldn't tell.

[Connor Greaves]

Continuing off of the suggestions Ranth listed, I added my two cents. "If the body guards are not spiritually aware, one of us could replace his driver, and attack him while his guard is down. I am a decent actor, and I know how to make a decent disguise." This was sounding like a very annoying mission to deal with. So much subterfuge, it is making me more paranoid than I usually am. Forcing yourself to try and see every trick and trap someone has, scaring yourself at every little potential unknown would halt progress, and make a mission go far longer than it should. But at the same time, not having enough could cost us our lives, or the lives of others.

"If not that, we could try knockout gas, or even stage a riot in the building, either with a fire, or frame him for a crime. It would involve the human police forces, so that should be a backup plan. If we do start a fire, it would force everyone in the building to exit, while we would hide amongst the crowd, striking at him and his guards while there is too much for them to focus on." I probably was hurting my image by leaving any inflections out of my voice, but I wanted this mission over and done with. Whichever route to ending it with minimal casualties was the best route.

[✠Asmoskon Masurao✠]

Throughout the comments and plans put forth by Ranth and Connor the little bat that still rested upon Yun's head turned and looked at the both making it very apparent that it was listening to what they were saying. It allowed both of them to speak and then was quite surprised when Yun didn't make a comment or speak at all. However, the actions of a single member of this crew couldn't dictate the outcome. "I'm surprised both of you bring forth good points. I don't believe disguising yourself as a driver is wise. While this man is arrogant and self centered he's also a coward and based on everything I've seen he'd take notice of a sudden shift in his daily life. As for staging a fire escape in the evening to get him out and surrounded by people. That's quite a gamble, but a possible success. The only problem is you haven't been sent here to simply kill him."

The head of the bat nodded a few times, but gave Connor a smile showing that despite how different the situation was that his ideas were accepted and appreciated. The little black animal turned its head back towards Ranth. "The plan to break into his loft and wait for him to arrive back home is a fine one. His bodyguards stay outside of his room mainly although periodically throughout the night they do enter and check on things. You'll have more than enough time if you strike fast though. They don't check up on him after he arrives home for at least an hour. Now the body guards are also Quincy. I believe they're a family that serves his own, but based on what I've sensed the both of them are only barely stronger than him. There have been no other signs of Quincy in the building, but this is still earlier in their planning from what we can tell so there is no idea when they could move in additional Quincy as guards that simply look to be normal people. Do any of you want anymore information?"

[Ranth]

Ranth absorbed the new information from the Omnitskudo officer like a sponge and he could almost feel it seeping into his half formed plans and changing them like a sort of mental chemical reaction. Knowing that the bodyguards were also Quincy was hardly surprising, but it was also vital to know ahead of time. Connor's questions and suggestions were of a very different mindset to Ranth's own, he recognised this fact instantly, but rather than Judging the other Shinigami for it, he instead weighted the other man's hypothetical mindset- as best Ranth could guess it anyway- and used it to critique his own.

Was his approach too soft? He'd never dealt with any of the hostile factions that existed in the human realm, so he couldn't say with any certainty or personal experience that a 'slash and burn' approach that simultaneously got them their target and dealt a blow to the enemy forces wasn't the correct approach. The obvious downside to something like setting a building on fire however, was the risk of collateral damage to regular humans- which the Omnitskudo officer was quick to point out- albeit in a gentle fashion.

In short, Connor seemed to be the type who wasn't afraid of considering approaches that might have been the most effective, but not necessarily the most palatable or subtle to most. For a moment he wondered what kind of training, experiences or upbringing would lead to someone being so... pragmatic, perhaps was the best term? But then he remembered that this wasn't an Academy exercise in psychology and he had a mission to focus on.

"It seems then... that with the information that we have available... our best option for actually grabbing him is to get inside the Hotel and wait for him there. But apprehending him might prove to be the easy part... what are our options for extracting him? Is it as simple as getting him to the roof and opening a Senkaimon to drag him back to the Soul Society?. It was easy for them to move around since they were invisible to normal humans, but their target was not and anywhere they took him, he'd be fully visible to any humans they came across.

Of course, even that wasn't a real issue since any cries for help would make him look mad... but how was one to tell a regular human apart from a Spiritually aware one until it was too late? The Quincy would have the element of surprise thanks to a home ground advantage of sorts- able to blend into the crowd whilst observing the Shinigami in their attempt to abduct one of their number. Briefly, Ranth wondered if this was where Connor suggestion to set fire to the building or slaughter everyone in the building just to be safe would be the most practical, but the idea of doing such a thing made his stomach crawl. Perhaps he was soft indeed. "We're walking into the hornets nest in a manner of speaking, but we can't have everything our way I suppose... although... are we authorised to use Gigai and do we have any human world funds for this mission?"

If the Quincy could blend in because they looked human... then couldn't they technically do the same? A trio of humans looking to book a hotel room on the same floor and corridor of their target would surely attract no undue attention from any Quincy who happened to be in the building when they arrived. "In a way, the best way for us to be invisible in is... well... to be completely visible".

[Connor Greaves]

I suppressed a groan as our plans got shot down. It seemed that there was no easy was to go about doing this, no matter what way we attacked it. A coward was the worst kind of person to attack. They always have some sort of way to escape, and were more than willing to take hostages if they got close to being killed or captured. If we messed up in some way, people would die. There were some things I could live with, but the deaths of innocents were not on that list. "I have but one more." I claimed. "If you have had time to collect all of this information on him, why have you yourself not yet captured him?" I questioned, leveling him with a suspicious glare. Meaning I basically tilted my mask towards the bird.

[Wycliff]

Shit, shit, shit shit, shit. Wycliff knew he was super late to the mission and that his fellow shingami was already there. Normally he wouldn't care too much about this, but this was a mission that Ludwig had asked him to take care of personally and help out the newbie and now he was late by a good while. So here he was running through the gottei trying to get to the gates of the Senkaimon to get to the mission. Luckily for him he was able to track down exactly where the new recruit was and opened up the senkaimon right nearby the newbie. It seemed that everything would be ok, that was till he got out of the senkaimon

Without even looking where he was going Wycliff rushed out of the Senkaimon bashing into somebody and knocking them off the roof top that they were on. Luckily Wycliff had something just for this, an emergency item that Ludwig had given him to quick summon a Senkaimon that would lead back to the front of soul society. Using it he was able to summon the senkaimon quickly underneath the poor person he knocked off the roof and safely sending him to the soul society. Looking over at two folks there he smiled and simply said “Sup I'm Wycliff.”