[Action/Closed] A Sense of Familiarity

[haruna_of_fog]

Who: Haruna, Sakuya Izayoi
What: While hunting for a bounty Haruna finally makes contact with the target
When: The night after the full moon
Where: Genessia City
Warning: None


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Day Sixteen Of Combat Patrol
Patrol Zone 3

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Haruna's pace was as steady as it always was when she was on patrol. The lights in this part of the city were less maintained then in the more prosperous areas, thus a number of lights either had failed or were in greatly dismissed in their performance. Combined with the limitations of human vision this allowed for easier ambushes.

The ones who were attacked by the target were killed in areas like this. Less likelihood to be detected during the attack. The battleship knew she was lacking experience in this area, but it was no different than tracking a submarine, but this one was human. She couldn't underestimate this one as she did of the humans who managed to sink her.

The Target's description was vague but enough to narrow things down. Female, wearing a skirt and having red eyes. Another few humans passed, none being proper matches for the target. The eyes were not right for the ones that had skirts.

Every time Haruna passed an alleyway, she looked into it, the darkness not a problem for her eyes. If the Target was in the area then she may not expect that its hunter could strip away the protection of the darkness.

It was only a matter of time until Haruna managed to find her Target. After all, she had all the time in the world.

Comments

[sakuya_izayoi]

It was on this night that Haruna would run into a peculiar looking woman. She was dressed in black and seemed to be walking alone with her hands tucked behind her back. She didn't carry herself like the other people she had passed, this one moving with an air of confidence. Despite being alone. Despite it being an area where many people have turned up dead. It was unusual to say the least.

She paused for a moment to straighten one sleeve-cuff, looking up at the full moon before continuing along her way. She didn't seem to see Haruna, or made no motion that she had. Although once she had turned a particular corner and broke line of sight... she simply seemed to vanish.

[haruna_of_fog]

More humans on the street, Haruna's keen vision tracking and identifying them. Data flowed into her field of vision as she human after human was catalogued; some of them were those who presumably lived in the area considering the frequency of appearance, Others were just wanderers.

Her eyes locked onto another human passing by. Female, wearing a skirt, unable to see eyes. The way she was moving seemed different from the others. Was this human another on this hunt? Movements were steady and direct with odd gesture with her hands, which would result in a slight delay to draw any possible weapon on her. Confident posture, possible attempt to dissuade combat by showing a lack of fear.

The blonde's expression stayed cold and neutral as she moved to follow the woman in black. She needed to get the rest of the information needed to rule this one out. When she turned Haruna moved to pursue at her usual walking pace. Running would make the target more aware of her presence and tracking, and with humans having the ability of intuition, it would greatly reduce the odds of success.

Around a corner and nothing? Haruna's vision ran overlays as she looked into the infrared spectrum and it was the same, a trail of footprints and nothing. Walls were clear around her of any signs that she scaled the wall. Humans don't vanish without a trace.

The mental model's eyes narrowed as she focused. This was not expected. The last time she was caught this off guard was moments before she was sunk, and now Haruna had an odd feeling about this.

[sakuya_izayoi]

There was a strange distortion in the air. A chilling feeling as the fabric of spacetime was warped and twisted. There were brief heat signatures around her, passing so quickly she could only detect the residual impression left in the air. It was like this person was some sort of phantom. Or moving too fast for even Haruna's eyes to track.

And finally. "You aren't exactly inconspicuous. I've noticed you following me for a short ways. Why is that?" Her tone didn't seem angry. More irritated and perhaps slightly curious. The woman was floating a decent ways in the air behind Haruna. Her eyes were not red, but she had an unmistakable air of power around her. Power... and danger. And also, how did she do that? It simply didn't make sense. But then again, much in this place didn't.

"Do answer quickly. I have places to be."

[haruna_of_fog]

Haruna's eyes went wide at the sudden feeling of gravitational distortion, activating her Klein field. No thanatonium, and no signs of a mental model around her. What's causing this? The fact that the distortion didn't result a graviton degeneracy event was a relief. The last thing Haruna wanted to deal with was a traitor to the Fleet.

Now there are flashes of heat around her. An object moving so fast that she couldn't track it with her abilities. No. It'd create thermal trails. It's as if she's being baited by decoys. But if there are humanoid shaped decoys it means that that the target may have been that woman who vanished.

The sound of a voice behind her caught her off guard, as there wasn't anyone behind her. She would have heard footsteps if someone were approaching. Haruna's eyes narrowed at the idea of foe that was able to become invisible. Again, she faces off against a submarine.

"I am hunting a posted bounty. You were not a regular visitor to the area and had fit the majority of the description of the killer, female and wearing a skirt," Haruna answered before turning about, her overly long sleeves flopping backwards with the motion, hinting where her hands where.

Still what she saw was rather unexpected, this human was floating? If it were a mental mode, Haruna would have had seen the effects of a Klein field under those feet. But there was no sign of this. Nothing to explain this. Just more mysteries. What this woman was may have been a threat to the battleship as those green eyes focused on the silver haired woman as if glaring through her.

It was Haruna's turn to have some initiative. "But your eyes are not matching the third detail in the description of the target. You do not have red eyes. But you have unexpected abilities. Are you also hunting the same target?" She said with a rather flat tone showing that if anything she was unimpressed by this display of power.

The more time she had the more she could run her simulation subsystems to try to get an idea of what to predict next from this human... if that was even that woman in front of her was even one.

[sakuya_izayoi]

"Is that so..." The voice was flat. It was very difficult to tell what she was thinking. It did seem though that she had relaxed. If only a little bit. She was still absolutely on-guard and trying to attack someone like this was probably a very bad idea.

"I take it you are hunting the 'phantasmal killer' then." It wasn't a queston. "I daresay it might be a bit hard to catch them as you are. I noticed you following me quite easily. Your coat does little to help you blend in." As fabulous as the coat was, Sakuya certainly had a point. Then again, something so big and clunky isn't really designed for stealth.

Drifting down, the maid's shoes touched sidewalk again and she paused to brush her apron and fix her cuffs. She was still alarmingly on-guard. "I have not seen you here before. Pray tell why you are hunting what is clearly one of the more difficult bounties with so little information and contacts to go on? Did you hope to bring this killer in? Or perhaps were you looking to make contact?" An odd question, certainly, but there was no real 'deception' in Sakuya's voice. Nor was there any hostility implied if Haruna answered one way or the other. There was simply genuine curiosity.

[haruna_of_fog]

Haruna was holding her ground and not aiming to make the first strike. Her gaze was locked upon Sakuya's floating form, "You are correct. I have taken that target. The 'Phantasmal Killer' would be one who if focused upon their prey may not make their move with knowledge that I am in the area."

The human touched down but still the tension was there. This degree of stress was not normal for a human who is not looking for open conflict. There was more to here than she was giving away.

Haruna's hands remained at her side, even though hidden away in those long sleeves. "I possess capabilities and patience enough to gather enough information to continue my patrols and eventually encounter the target as the killer will.” The way the two questions were made had the mental model pause for a few moments, "Simply making contact would provide an opportunity to collect enough information to make further judgment."

It looked like Haruna was still wearing that impassive mask, "I ask again are you hunting the same target? If you are then combining forces would be our best option for higher efficiency."

A thought back to Kirishima and how they linked up for the first time. A slight twitch of her face into a frown before it returned to that neutral look.

[sakuya_izayoi]

"Clearly you know very little about this world if you are boasting of power." The maid crossed her arms. "What makes you think you, yourself have the power or authority to pass judgement on someone else? Especially on your own like this." There was no threat in her tone, but it certainly was harsh.

"And no, I am not hunting this target. I have no desire to follow up on bounties. From what I've read the killer has only gone after native residents. And killing one only results in them popping back up after a few days." She shifted, tilting her head a little as if listening before focusing back on Haruna.

She was finally starting to relax more, but she still hadn't dropped her guard. Perhaps she was just a person who was always on-guard? But that didn't seem practical for a normal person...

"It seems like a foolish thing to risk one's life over." But Sakuya seemed a little distracted now. "Especially without a clear goal in mind. It seems strange to me that you would dive into something like this without clear intent on befriending or subduing this killer."

[haruna_of_fog]

Haruna seemed perplexed by that declaration, "If admitting that one possesses great patience and determination is a boast then I must be boasting." That change in posture, "If anything you were the one to be showing off your ability, performing teleportation while appearing to fly. It was a definite threat gesture."

The mental model raised her arm and made a sweeping motion, "It is not passing judgment. It is gathering information to make a decision based upon available facts. The contract does not mention that the target must be killed. If there is a solution not requiring destruction then logic dictates that it the best for this situation."

"The fact that the target is only killing things that appear again is very odd when one thinks of it. Wasting the effort to kill those who will simply return is most strange one would note. It leads to determining the motivation to that it one not of this area that is the killer. But why? It's not effective combat training or honing one's craft to target noncombatants like this for no reason. They are not able to fight back. It is pointless."

Haruna's eyes narrowed as she glared at Sakuya, "You seem to still be on alert after I had said that I am not tracking you."

Her voice hardened as paused, "If one willingly enters a combat area it is natural to put oneself in danger no matter how slight. My goal is well stated and the outcomes are not so binary."

The coat’s collar stiffened seemingly of its own accord as the blonde haired woman lowered her arm, "You seemed to be set upon the idea that I am beyond my means to hunt this target. Such confidence implies you are knowledgeable of the capabilities of this killer. Admittedly, your abilities would be advantageous to be a killer that does not leave evidence outside the damage directly inflicted to the target. You leave no footprints due to the ability to fly. Along with the ability to move without detection, ensure that if a kill is made none will see you if you had left."

The mental model began her calculations as her Wave-Force armor activated. Her simulations predicted that this would likely draw a response from the silver haired human. If anything, it'd provide data to refine her human behavior simulations.

[sakuya_izayoi]

"A young woman being followed while reports in the paper speak of a killer on the loose? Naturally I would be on-guard. And on-guard I remain after such a boast. I know of many who would discount my claim of innocence and attack me regardless." Reimu was kind of a jerk like that.

The fact that it was pointless wasn't the point. It was the catharsis of spilling blood. But then again... "We are in agreement in one matter. That fighting unarmed civilians is neither good combat practice nor even decent sport. Nor would anything be gained by eliminating a target on a non-vital day as their death will not affect the political environment in the slightest."

She was still on-guard, but she wasn't moving to attack. Even after Haruna attempted to provoke her. "But your argument is flawed. Someone with my abilities would not be seen. If I can kill and move without risk to myself, why was there an eye-witness? Please consider your words before making accusations. I will not tolerate being used as a scapegoat if you're just after the bounty."

Sakuya was wary about lying right now, choosing her words carefully to remain truthful. She was not familiar with Haruna's abilities and she didn't want to give anything away.

[haruna_of_fog]

"An acceptable rational," Haruna said as she continued to lock upon the human woman. "There are times where someone may want there to be witnesses. If there were no witnesses and with the geographic distance from each instance it may be associated with random happenstance and not being known to be a single individual performing the action."

A thought of the style of I-401 again came across her mind as the submarine always uploaded reports on her kills to the Joint Tactical Network as a way to confirm that she had indeed struck. Although 401's actions were not targeting random ships, and her prey always could fight back, if not having an edge in terms of firepower...

"I am not making a formal accusation. I am listing how if you were the killer it was possible. I would not bring in an incorrect target as it would indicate that I had not done my duty and claimed something I could not confirm adequately enough," Haruna's body was too still and with the bulk of her coat reading her body language was extremely difficult.

"I still find that your heightened alert appears to clash distinctly from how you walked when in the street itself. A posture suggesting that you did not know or care about the possibility that the killer was in the area. With your hands behind your back, a response to a knife-wielding attacker would be slowed. The fact you would need to move your hands from behind you to the front would allow for the attacker to cover one to two strides and launch an attack before you could react," Was Haruna that attentive to motion or as she doing something a bit more?

[sakuya_izayoi]

"Why anyone would want a witness is beyond me." And that was the truth. "Boastful pride seems like a small reward when one will spend their lives in a cell... Unless, of course, they have a cause. But then they are a martyr and not a murderer."

Sakuya could understand wanting to do one's duty correctly. She understood it very much, in fact.

"Perhaps I'm more alert because a strange woman in a coat that may or may not be hiding something dangerous is interrogating me about local murders." Her eyes narrowed. "I am adept at noticing when I'm being followed or threatened. I have an excellent sense of what is around me. A killer would need to cross more distance than you and so long as I am alert and aware I will react first. At shorter distances my safety is not as assured."

[haruna_of_fog]

Haruna looked up and down Sakuya's body in an instant, "The most likely result of being seen and having a profile created of the killer is that others encountering the killer would react with fear of death. Fear causes poor judgment and against a capable and calm opponent this is another force to be leveraged."

The phrase martyr was always odd, the battleship had heard of the term and knew it's definition but could not conceive of why one would do such a pointless act.

"I possess no weapons within my coat, and if your ability for sensing danger is as keen as you claim it is then what do you feel about me? Am I a threat? As you said you will be able to react faster than I can," To emphasize this Haruna lifted her arms, coat sliding back to reveal her fingers for a moment before she lowered her arms, hands vanishing into those oversized sleeves as they moved to settle at her side, "I repeat am I threat to you?"

Safer at close ranges seemed to be a paradox. Perhaps the teleportation was only short ranged only and thus quite ineffective to her. Although that may be more tied to Haruna still thinking of distance in terms of things scaled that of her proper body and not her mental model. Still the various models running through her simulation systems pointed to the fact that Haruna was safe if this became a battle.