Hello, I don't have much to say here. This is a bit of a test run for an idea I had. Japan's intelligence agency knows about the Metaverse, Phantoms are sent through the Metaverse after high valued targets in the hopes of getting them to turn in. They're known to the public eye, however they don't know that they're linked to intelligence agencies around the globe. Each country that participates in the Phantom Project is linked to one another, acting as a larger whole. I hope you enjoy!
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Akira closes the door behind him, his eyes immediately hidden in a brief glint by the glare that the artificial light flashes. He's dressed in a suit tailored dangerously well to his tall and broadened frame, it turned eyes for the young detective. However he didn't go to work to look good, he went to work to catch criminals. The young man had graduated from his university with a major in criminology, he was an average student at best.
Grades were seen as decent and his extracurriculars weren't outstanding, he left that institution just like any other. But what set him apart was when he joined the force, migrating to the intelligence agency to where he was now. That 'now' was in front of his superior, inspector Sae Niijima of the Phantom Project.
Her eyes glanced from the paper she held to the raven haired twenty-four year old. "When we're done here, I want you to relieve your case to Hyde for further investigation." That seemed to stir very little in the young man except a tilt of his head.
"We're close, Mona and I. Giving it up now might lose our momentum." That was what she was expecting him to say, Akira was never the type to just hand over work so easily.
An exasperated sigh rolls from her lips as she holds her patience thinly, she motions to a spread of folders in front of her. "It's an order, you have more pressing matters right now." Slowly, Akira came over to inspect.
He reached out and picked up a folder, quickly flipping it over. "Sakura from the communications department." Akira glanced at her, a clear sign of skepticism on his features.
"Keep going." At that, he places the folders down and begins to read them one by one through the introductory face sheet. "Kitagawa from the forensics unit … Sakamoto from the weapons unit … Niijima from the interrogations department … and Takamaki from the relations department."
Sae sat there with a burning impatience, she was expecting something. "Well?"
Akira placed them all down. "With all due respect, I don't need a team."
The gray haired woman sighed, she was expecting that too. "You and Morgana are not enough."
The young man sat down in a chair that was near her desk as he leaned back slightly, relaxed and composed as he always was. "We're more than enough, we've solved every case we've had for the past three years with flying colors."
"Under my supervision." Akira shifted.
"Ma'am, we've still operated on our own."
"Under my supervision." Sae reiterated. This time it was stronger, causing Akira to mentally meet her halfway.
"What is the issue, if I may ask?" His voice doesn't betray him, loyal to his placid and collected composure to the bitter end. But it was cracking slightly.
Sae stood up and went over to a locked filing cabinet, she took a key from her necklace and unlocked it. Then she pulled out three black files to show it to him. From what he observed, they were tabs and there were numbers on them. One. Two. Three. Four. These were the four teams that operated in the Phantoms.
"Read the labels." she deadpanned.
Akira was getting tired of the long con, but opted to read it as he was instructed with a steady tone. "One. Rook, Everest, Orion, Bolt, Lock, and Wren. Two. Merlin, Hyde, Gale, Shot, and - I understand."
"They have teams. They have functioning teams who can do multiple things, who can take on bigger cases, and more high risk situations in the Metaverse."
The detective takes a deep breath and runs a hand through his hair. "But why them and …" Her sister. Akira hesitates in saying that, choosing his words as carefully as he was drumming his fingers against the armrest. He didn't have an issue with it, he's heard of her sister's work, it was admirable. "They show exceptional talent, they're the top in their departments and units, and they have potential that can be to the benefit of Project Phantom."
He shifts in his seat and leans forward. "And what about Tamaki? Why do we need someone from relations? That seems like a rather useless addition to a team." Sae shifts on her feet. "Ann Takamaki is a transfer, her mother is well known here and her father is a highly renowned inspector in the States. Plus the branch there recommended her, you'll understand more once you read her file.."
His thumb brushes his brow. "I see. We do have a good relationship with the sister branch of the Phatoms in the States." The woman nods in agreement as she picks up the folders he set down to arrange them in a pile. "Look over these, see if they catch your interest and take this seriously. It's about time you had a team with you."
In all honesty, he liked his duo.
Akira takes the pile and nods, making war with her would be futile and he tried to be as considerate of the offer as he could be. The man tucks them under his arm and heads for the door. The woman speaks up before she leaves, "After you have a proper team, you'll get bigger heists."
The sound of that made Akira somewhat happy. "Got it, thank you inspector." He nods at her and heads out of the room, picking up the pace to head for the area that belonged to him and Morgana. A black haired boy raised his head at the sound of Akira's shoes, his blue eyes met the steely gaze of his partner.
"I haven't seen you this grim since the Iwanaga Incident, did you and Niijima go at it again?" Akira shook his head and came around to meet Morgana. "Nope, give me the case file for Terada along with the USB."
Morgana did just that, but talked as he did so. "What for?"
"It's not our case anymore." he replied, masking his disappointment.
"Wha - ! Why?!" Akira arched his brow. "I'll explain on the way, come on." He held his hand out, which Morgana placed both contents inside for. The blue eyed detective followed beside Akira, who explained what Sae had said to him. Morgana crossed his arms proudly, not showing any restraint in his annoyance.
"Pshh - who needs a team. We're fine as we are, aren't we?" Akira only nods.
"I can't believe she's having us give the case up too, Terada was close. We just needed that calling card to start the steal and BAM -" Morgana jumps, pumping his fist. "That was ours." A small breath escaped between the lips that contained Akira's sincere smile.
As he got to the second team's area, he held a hand up to greet Hyde. Akira explained the case to her and handed the contents over. "Good luck, Hyde." The woman nods with a faint smile. "Will do, we'll solve this one for you two, Joker."
He nods appreciatively and departed with Mona towards the leisurely area, where coffee and everything else was served. Akira went up to the machine and began to make some coffee for his fellow detective. "One please!"
"You got it." In just a few short minutes, a cup of coffee sat in front of the both of them. Akira sat beside Morgana to also stare out with him through the tinted windows of the tall building. "So we should review those files when we get back, huh?" Mona seemed sad over the prospect, he liked the freedom that the two man team offered.
"Yes." Akira took a sip of his coffee and fixed the glasses that sat on the bridge of his nose. "Did anyone stand out to you?" He glanced at Morgana and then back out to greater city in front of them, taking in the details.
"A few, I've heard of Kitagawa and Niijima's sister, Makoto." Morgana looked surprised. "Sister? That sounds like a bit of nepotism doesn't it?" Akira shook his head and placed the mug down. "Makoto I heard knows how to crack the hardest of criminals."
"What about the rest?"
He places a hand on his neck and took a deep breath. "Kitagawa can paint a crime scene like no other, I say that metaphorically and literally. He's also a well known criminal sketch artist. I don't know about Sakura, the communications department is fairly secretive. Sakamoto I heard believe is well versed in firearms, I saw that he had top scores in marksmanship. The weirdest one is Takamaki."
"Why so?"
Akira sipped his coffee and placed it down a few seconds after. "She's a transfer, she spent some years in her father's department. Her father is a well known inspector in the States and her mother here is one of the chiefs. She specializes in relations now."
Morgana arched his brow. "So … she … ?" The raven haired man seemed dumbfounded. "Public relations, that sort of stuff." he ignorantly commented. That only made his partner scratch his head some more.
"The hell would we need a PR person for? I can understand the others, but PR is all that talking crap."
Akira finished the rest of his coffee in that sentence and got off the stool. "We don't. But I can see the value in having someone like that." His fingers drummed the surface of the cheap coffee cup warming his hands.
"How so?"
"Before we finish our work in the Metaverse, we need to walk the talk in the real world. No offense, you're not so good at it."
"Neither are you!" Morgana interjected.
Akira smirked. "I know, that's why Takamaki might just be our best shot out there." Morgana huffed and shrugged his shoulders, ruffling the black jacket he wore. "Yeah, true."
They made their way back to their area, where they both gathered at the table beside one another and began reviewing the folders of potential Phantoms. They spent some hours on it, pining on the weakness and strengths of each person. He had to hand it to Sae, the team looked pretty solid. They had the brains, brawn, and beauty as far as he could tell. He could also tell Morgana was all for the 'beauty' when he saw Ann's photo.
"You're drooling." The black haired man wrinkled his nose as Morgana lets out a huff.
"... No I'm not." Akira pushed the box of tissues to Morgana, who took it as discreetly as he could. "Anyways, I think this isn't so bad. They're around our ages too, Kitagawa is a year older and Sakura is a year younger. I think we'll get along well, right?"
Akira sets down Sakamoto's folder and nods. "We can tell Sae of our decision tomorrow. Be prepared, we'll have to go through a long briefing to get them all acquainted with the program." Morgana seemed less hindered by the thought of a team now and held great interest in his words. "I'll head out then, do you need me anymore?" A short shake of the head sends Morgana off, walking towards the exit. "See you tomorrow, partner!"
"Yeah." Akira looks back at the folders and then gets up to arrange them for tomorrow. He had a budding hope for the team after considering it more and more. He joined the project under the recommendation of Inspector Niijima, but never did he expect to get so far. As far as he was told, he had an 'impeccable eye for detail'.
His grades and past didn't say much, but Akira Kurusu was a detective with a golden eye. He outmatched his peers on the field and brought many criminals to justice at such a young age. This caught Sae's eye and she placed her bets right, Akira was just as exceptional in the Metaverse was he was in the real world. His Persona Arsene was embodiment of that.
"I am thou, thou art I." He breathed a sigh of relief as he stared out to look at Tokyo's neon night, it always looked nice from up here. As Akira drew close to the exit, his ears were filled with the sounds of the city's busy streets. But his phone cut through all the noise, someone had texted him. It looked to be Morgana, asking him to meet at a karaoke bar. Akira glanced at his watch; he had time to spare.
JOKER: On my way.
Please comment if you want! But otherwise, I hope you enjoyed the beginning. =) Have a good day and stay healthy!
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