As the meeting came to a close (as well as the questioning of the guards), the wardens watched as everyone walked out of the room, ready to end a tiring day. It was as if some miracle that none of the guards within the room had any sort of involvement.

It definitely eased the hearts of both wardens, but caution was still necessary.

"You must be tired. You used your quirk a fair bit today." Warden Tokugawa noted.

Eris shook her head, choosing to turn towards her fellow warden, "earlier, with Suimin...are you seriously considering using prisoners to drag Mariko back?"

"I'd preferred if it didn't get to that point. There's a lot of risks in it. The allure of freedom is a strong one and even if we send prisoners out, with trackers on them, they might just try to escape anyway. Even if some faces are chosen to be rather trustworthy."

As Seimei's head dropped onto the table, Eris continued their conversation. "So... Are you going to tell Shi about Mariko's disappearance? She was on vacation after all."

"...shit."

It wasn't that he didn't trust Shi with this knowledge. She was a trusted guard and quite a loyal one at that. However, she was a bit too loyal if that could be believed. There was a risk that came with telling Shi about Mariko's escape.

And that was how she'd act.

When a prisoner stepped out of line, Shi was there to knock them back down. Now, she was looking into a different part of their problem. To say she was focused on uncovering this mysterious tamperer would be an understatement.

If she learnt that Mariko was gone, she would (probably) demand to leave the prison and search for her. Not to mention that she was a familiar face with the escapee. The real risk of it (besides Mariko becoming harder to catch) was that the prisoners might learn that the rumours about Mariko were true.

She was the silent type, only talking when she needed to.

There was a risk that her actions could speak louder than words. Though, at the end of the day (which was soon), this was probably just overthinking something simple.

"It wouldn't be good to just withhold it to ourselves." sighed the wavy haired warden. "We can only hope that she takes it well..."

Before the burgundy haired woman could bring something up, a scratch on the door got their attention.

"Come in."

As the door opened, it revealed a bird's talon holding the knob.

"Ah. Welcome back, Suimin. I thought you were going to leave this until tomorrow?" Eris turned around in her chair to face the grey feathered harpy, removing her foot from the doorknob.

Of course, the harpy smiled as she returned back to her seat. "I couldn't wait til then! After leaving, I thought it might be better to talk about it now."

The two wardens shared a look with one another. "So you believe that using an inmate's face might lower her defence?"

The short, harpy woman had quite the smile on her face as she nodded. "Yeah! She's going to be suspicious if random people take a sudden interest in her, yeah?" That was a possibility...they couldn't deny that. "So if she saw some faces she knew from prison, she might be a bit more open around them."

"I can see where you're going with this, but that limits us to prisoners at least within two wards. Besides, she might be even more cautious when seeing other prisoners. There were a few here that didn't seem...fond of her," Eris began, crossing her arms on the table. "Not to mention, some faces in Styx might be risky to send out into the world."

Suimin hummed for a bit, her talons gripping into the soft swivel chair she crouched on. "Truuuuuue..." stretching her arms (or wings in her case) out wide, she quickly got back on track. "There wouldn't be many inmates to use in that case...and that might resort to a risker plan."

Sharing a quick look at each other, Seimei and Eris both asked the guard a simple question, it was almost automatic. "Riskier?"

"Instead of using only safe inmates, using one or two loose cannons!"

To say that the wardens were stunned, another understatement. "No! That's not a good idea!"

From a limited pool of inmates to using at least one convict that most likely wanted out! "Saying it aloud, certainly sounds silly, but it would throw suspicion off the undercover guards and safe inmates."

"It's...definitely riskier..." mumbled Seimei as his fellow warden shook her head.

"A riskier inmate would probably want to escape, plus there's no telling that they might warn her about us as well. Safe inmate or not."

For a while, only silence went around the room before the harpy shot her head up. "Yeah, you're right, but we also have those trackers that could also 'punish' inmates, correct? Can always use that!"

"We could do that, but I still think we should go through the guards and other sources first. We don't need a large team to hunt her down."

Before a word could be uttered by the guard, Eris followed up. "And just which prisoner would you consider to be the safest? You must have had an idea of a couple of inmates."

Without hesitating, the harpy with a large smile said, "Ashita and Koneko are the safest right now!"

Those were rather good picks. There was a possibility that Ashita already knew the truth when it came to Mariko, and her silence if she did know something was appreciated. Koneko on the other hand, there was a reason she was behind bars (though you could say that to all inmates within Styx). Thankfully though, she was easily handled and was more than willing to cooperate with the guards.

Which brought a certain topic up with Seimei and right now he didn't want to deal with telling Shi that one of the prisoners might be taken off and put to work searching for another prisoner.

Besides, it wasn't like the inmates were the best and first choice after all.

"Oh. What about the guards? I can think of two that might be sent, so who are the other lucky people?"

"Right now, since Hokori is a rather new guard, he will be sent on the operation. A face Mariko would not know at all. Another guard that we're pretty sure is faceless to her is Dion. We also have Furore supporting us and his sidekick will be attending the mission." Eris informed the smaller woman.

Crossing her wings, yet another thought popped into the bird's mind. "Hmm...isn't there also another set of guards that she doesn't know about?"

"They cannot go," the pale lavender eyed guard shook his head, "after the incident with Vito, they are on increased security for the time being and cannot move from their positions."

With a gloomy look, the harpy sighed out, "ah man..."

Fixing her cap, the golden eyed snapped her fingers. "We would also need guards to be positioned with the bus, should Zugaikotsu be the one driving. You will be on the bus as support for her."

"Yes ma'am!" saluted the youngest in the room. "Oh! Does that mean that some inmates will be used...?"

A sigh came from Seimei. "We're still unsure. We do appreciate what you're trying to do, but when it comes to the convicts, it's quite risky but we will take note of your points."

Bowing, a smile returned to the guard's face. "Thank you, sir!"

"Now, it's getting late, let's wrap this up here and finish what we need to finish." With a clap from Eris, the meeting was truly over now as they all began to make their way out of the meeting room.

"Will it really be worth the risk to send inmates after our escape artist?" Eris closed her non-covered eye as she walked through the halls of the prison. There was only one real way to find out and that was after the formation of the team needed to hunt Mariko down if a prisoner was required or not.

Yet, she still couldn't risk an inmate leaving and trying to take advantage of their new situation.

She really hoped that the formed team for the task would be enough to bring Mariko back.

"All done!" The skull headed driver proudly dusted her hands as the bodies were unloaded. Now all that was left to do was head back to Styx and call it a day, letting those at the morgue continue the rest. "Are you guys ready to head back? We should probably go now before traffic gets too busy."

"Yeah, we're ready to go." the muscular guard gave a thumbs up.

As the three prepared to head back to good ol' Styx (after doing a little paperwork), they took the time to enjoy using their legs before getting back into a vehicle.

"Let's head off then!"

"Hold on a second." a fourth voice interrupted. It belonged to one of the morgue workers. "I should let you guys know that criminal activity in a few nearby areas have increased due to that motor gang that was on the news lately."

Realisation flashed across the three. "I believe we just heard about it on the radio during the trip over," Bunri began as his clones stretched in the background. "Something about a recent robbery?"

They nodded, "that's right. Apparently this motorhorse gang have set their sights on so called higher scores. What have you heard about the recent robbery?"

"Only that they did a robbery," answered Alexios, "we heard nothing else of the sort."

The worker took off a pair of disposable gloves, tossing them into the nearby bin full of tissues and wrappers. "The recent 'score' was apparently at a gun store, probably to equip its members for something. While not quite that big, it's still a decent sized gang."

That...wouldn't be ideal right now.

"The main thing with that is that this gang have also done highway robberies too. Pulling people over at gunpoint or quirk-point. I know I don't really need to say this, but please be careful when on the roads."

As the worker bowed, Alexios gave him a pat on the back. "It's all good. Really, thank you for the heads up."

Zugaikotsu, looking up from her phone, spoke up. "We're needed back at Styx, thanks for the heads up, but we gotta head off."

"No worries," chuckled the worker, hands in his pockets. "Um, will they be staying…?" as he asked this, he pointed to the small group of clones.

Bunri was the one to answer this, as he should. "Nah. They'll disappear if you give them some time."

"...ah."

While this was happening, the driver was already gesturing for him to hurry up. "Anyways, we gotta beat the traffic rush. See you next time!"

Waving back at the three with a smile, the clones began to disappear. One after the other. Now, out the front of the morgue, Bunri leaned over towards the taller guard. "So...we should probably keep an eye out for that Mares group huh."

"We should, but I don't really see why they'd target us."

Bunri just gave Alexios a look as they put their seatbelts. "Highway robbery man. They could just pull a gun on us and demand for cash."

With that reassuring smile on his face, the tall guard told him, "if we are targeted, we can just use our quirks if need be."

As a bead of sweat rolled down the cloner, he turned his attention back to the front of the vehicle, already heading back to Styx. "I think we should just leave it to the heroes..."

Silence.

Swinging his head back around, he was greeted to the sight of the beige haired guard looking out the window, the smile gone as he could only see the face of his co-worker in the reflection.

"You... okay...?"

Looking out the window, the pair of electric blue eyes seemed hazy. "I'll be alright, just wandering in thought about something. Let's just drop the discussion for now," Mr Tatopoulos said, smiling once again after leaning away from the window.

"...alright?"

The rest of the way back was filled with the music from the radio.

...

However, as the three were out of sight of the morgue by now, a familiar figure rested at the top of a nearby tree overlooking the morgue. "Well now. Let's see what sort of shady figure will go for the bodies now that we're gone." the clone of Bunri got comfortable, making note of the nearest phone he could get too. Hopefully he wouldn't have to stake the place out for too long.

And that this clone body of his will be able to hold up.

"See? You're all good to go." smiled Lambert, quite the tired smile at that as the patient stretched.

"Thanks, Lamb!"

In response, the doctor grumbled. "Don't call me that."

Osamu just laughed as he fixed up his guard uniform. "Hey, what about the-"

"If it's about the armour, then don't worry about it too much. The armourers have already repaired it during your recovery," the doctor said, waving his hand around as they dropped onto an office chair. "Anyway, you're free to go back to work but I would recommend giving it a day or two longer, but then again, that's why we kept you in longer than normal. Not like recommendations are taken seriously around here..."

As Lambert mumbled, Osamu fixed up his messy, dark purple swept fringe while he pondered on his own thoughts. He had definitely been out of commission for some time. He could only hope that nothing drastic had happened during the past week or so.

His dark red eyes shot open with a sudden internal scream. "MUIKA!"

The older Yomaura sibling could only pray that everything was alright. "Sorry for whatever trouble Muika did during my time away. I know she's a klutz but-" as he went over a few different variations of apologies, he also considered how to convey his sincerity for whatever time he lost track of. Maybe a good ol fashion dogeza? "Yeah, a dogeza is perfect!"

His mind was racing!

What if Muika got injured? Sure, he helped her get a job here in the first place, but he didn't want her to get hurt!

He wouldn't be able to forgive himself for that.

As he rushed out of the room, giving a very quick thanks to the doctor again, he leaped into action, right into the hallway before taking around five or so steps before encountering one of his fellow guards, judging by the uniform he recognized.

"So you're finally awake."

Osamu's red eyes locked onto another set of red eyes. A pair of eyes belonging to his fellow guard, Tai. As the different shades of red stared into each other, as if seeing who would blink first, the darker shade closed. "Yep! Hope things are going well, Tai."

"Tch. Would be better if these ingrates stayed in line for once."

Drifting his gaze downwards, drops of blood dripped off onto the ground...from his co-worker's fist. "Is that…?"

"No," the ash blonde guard rudely spat, "just some blood from inmates who couldn't handle what they boasted."

"I...see..." after giving an uncomfortable, throat clearing cough, he moved onto his next question. "So... uh, how is everything since I've been bedridden? No problems? Muika didn't make another accident? Nothing too dangerous?"

"I'm not a babysitter. Why don't you ask her yourself!" Despite the harsh tone, Osamu still threw an arm around the hotheaded guard's shoulder. "Get your hand off me."

Before he could even ask, Tai shoved him off and jabbed his thumb in the direction of the prison's counsellor. "Thanks, Tai!"

Quickly making his way towards the room where his sister was said to be, leaving the bloody fisted Tai alone near the infirmary, he opened the door to the office she inherited. Well, it came with the job.

Taking a look at the inside. He blinked.

Spotless. The office was spotless. Spick and span, no messes or scattered papers to be seen. The only papers he did see were very organized and on the desk, seemingly in use as he watched his droopy eyed sister look up, widening at the realisation of who just entered the room.

"O...Osamu!" she almost bounced from her seat as he closed the door behind him.

With a confident smile (and less so confident chuckle), the first thing he said to her that day was, "sorry for worrying you."

"I...as long as you're safe."

That warranted a hug and a hug she received. Afterwards, while they engaged in small talk about what happened during his bedridden week, he couldn't help but think, "is it just me or is she coming out of her shell more?" It was hard to tell, since she was pretty much comfortable around him, but if that was true, it was a good sign. Maybe being responsible for someone newer than her might have had a hand in it? He wouldn't truly know.

"I see you've been busy...hopefully no other accidents happened while I was stuck in bed!" he laughed before noticing her expression drop. Ah. A reminder to himself later.

Changing the subject, he pointed over at the pile of papers. "Whatcha working on?" he asked, leaning into the soft leather chair.

"O...Oh, uh. Just working on some counselling sessions..."

Ah. That was her job after all...it did explain the desk pile. He could only hope that none of those recent sessions contained anyone too dangerous. "Mind if I have a look?" he asked, already reaching for the stack of documents despite the mumblings of uncertainty.

"So far so good." he thought, looking at the top few pages as a warm feeling spread through his body, most notably with his smile. Oh yes, he was definitely proud of how far his own little sister had progressed when it came to helping the inmates. Now if only the pride he felt for her was shared by other members of their family...

Though, it wouldn't hurt for him to look through all the inmates and he was pretty sure that it would be fine to remove one or two of the more potentially dangerous inmates if they arose. He didn't want her getting into a situation like Vito or what he had heard with Rin way back when. It did show her how...dangerous they could be, but one thing was for certain.

He was determined to keep his sister safe no matter what.

Nozomi sat in the female ward cafeteria, as she looked up, her singular eye locked onto the prisoner across the room.

Demelza.

Lately, she had been hanging out with Fushiko for some reason or another. Normally that would be fine, but she had noticed something about it. Looking to her left, she saw Koneko standing with Sora. The two were talking about something, but Koneko was looking a lot happier today.

For a few days, the shy Koneko seemed to get gloomier and gloomier as the days went by, though definitely nothing too major of a shift. Then suddenly, starting not too long ago, her mood improved. The same went for Sora too. The irritation she felt also started to improve.

And it definitely wasn't the work of Chie.

The sophisticated woman had no idea where Chie went after the trouble she caused for her own entertainment, so it couldn't be her. She learnt her lesson.

Which meant that this behaviour belonged to someone else. It could have just been an odd coincidence. The motherly or sisterly expression (depending on who you asked to describe it) on her face did a one-eighty, from a comfortable warmth to a distant cold one.

She closed her visible bright green eye in thought, remembering the conversation she had with Ashita yesterday about it.

It was quite the sight when she approached Ashita. Mostly due to who she was with.

Sae.

Seeing her with the info broker and Yua was quite the shock. It made her wonder why Sae was willingly with the pair, but then her non-covered green eye rolled over towards Ashita.

She was dangerous and Nozomi knew the threat information brokers brought to the table, especially one as knowledgeable as Ashita. She might have only been in Styx for two years (which wasn't a lot compared to her), but she already built up a reputation of being the untouchable info broker.

Ashita knew a lot about the prisoners within Styx, information that some of the other prisoners wanted. It would be easy to blackmail someone...

Looking over to Sae, it might have been just that. Blackmail. Right now, this wasn't her concern. "I need to talk to you," her motherly tone got the broker's attention. "Alone, if possible."

With that playful smile or smirk on her face, she turned to her current companions. "I'll be back in a bit." Turning back to her, wiggling her finger, the hourglass woman followed the dyed haired inmate.

Heading to a secluded area of the ward, the broker began the conversation. "So, what do you want to know?"

"I have some suspicions," Nozomi began, crossing her arms as she slipped into her 'work' persona.

"About what?"

"Ever since Chie stopped using her quirk, I have noticed that the effects of her quirk have lingered on Sora and that Koneko's mood has been deteriorating," seeing Ashita waiting, she continued. "It could just be a coincidence, but they couldn't really describe it themselves and there was something I noted."

Ashita leaned against the wall, giving the older woman a knowing look. "Oh? And what was that?"

"I noticed that Demelza had gotten a bit distant with them lately," Nozomi shifted her position, leaning a bit to the side where she stood. "When she went to hang out with Fushiko, I noticed that their moods improved slightly. Nothing happened with them, both from what I've seen and from what I've asked."

Nodding, the info broker stopped leaning against the wall. "So you want to ask me for confirmation about her quirk...correct?"

"Yes," the classy lady in prison garbs nodded. "I want to confirm if her quirk is having some sort of effect on them." as she said this, the younger inmate noticed the fingers digging into the very experienced woman's crossed arm.

"Years of being in prison has really honed your senses, eh? Though, maybe that was your previous occupation?"

Not even commenting on what Ashita just said, Nozomi stepped closer. "So Demelza's quirk has done something then?"

Shrugging despite the closeness of the woman before her, Ashita replied, "her quirk would have affected them. So you're on the right track."

"Explain."

"Well, her quirk is in the same line of Chie's in the sense, in the same way it affects the people around them. From what I've dug up, it's either consciously done or unconsciously done, though..."

Raising an eyebrow, waiting for Ashita to explain herself, Sae popped around the corner. "Hey, we have no time to waste. Hurry it up." Cold as usual.

Watching Sae leave, Nozomi turned her attention back to Ashita. "Well, sorry Ms Tendo," the playful cheekiness in that tone didn't go unnoticed, "I need to go, but I'll let you know this for giving me a rather nice introduction to Styx back then. In the end, she's also affected by it too, whether it's on purpose or not. Not to mention, quirks can play a part on a person's personality."

"So, how would I know if it's consciously done?"

"Well first, I have to tell you her quirk, but look for how fast those two change. Anyways, let's get to business before Sae comes and drags me away. So here's the thing about it..."

Opening her eye, she touched the black, magnetic eyepatch that was put on her. Demelza had left her line of sight by then, so she turned back to the two she spent time with the most in prison before a warm smile replaced her cold, distant look.

As her father taught her, "look out for your comrades." A honourable and just thing to do, especially from a group like them before...she ended up here.

Words that stuck with her, and since her incarceration, they were her comrades. Maybe when she got out of Styx, back into the world and dealt with her...problem, perhaps they could join her family? Right now however, what Ashita had told her, Demelza was under her watchful eye for the time being.

The next move was on her.

A new day was upon the prison of Styx. One of its guards just recovered and after having some time off, was ready to dive back into it, though only on small patrols for the moment. Now Seimei was gathering up guards that they had talked about during their late night chats before calling it a night themselves.

Now, that left her with her own task.

Questioning the staff of Styx just like the group she had questioned the day before. Though, with the knowledge she had now thanks to a certain someone's interrogation, there was a lead on who to target.

A few individuals...

The real problem was choosing when to act. Right now, she would screen the team going on the operation first and depending on how many go, hopefully she wouldn't overwork her quirk.

So choosing who to screen first afterwards would take priority...assuming they didn't have any countermeasures. Not the best thing to think about right before questioning. So for now, she waited for the team that Seimei would send her way. Thinking on it, questioning the inmates would also be a good idea, though where to start was more difficult than the guards.

Despite having a clear lead on who they were searching for, there were other matters that came up during her interrogation… which meant still more staff to scan. "What a troublesome month this is turning out to be..." she sighed out loud, resisting the urge to drop her head onto the nice quality wooden desk before her.

Before she could even consider that idea, her golden eyes moved over to the desk phone. As expected, it was ringing. She wasn't expecting any calls today, but might as well answer it. "Hello?"

"Ah! Excuse me. I'm ringing on behalf of a local television studio in the nearby area. You might have heard of our documentary about the former pro-hero Returner," the caller greeted with a little boast. "We're calling to see if we could do a documentary on Styx?"

"Sorry, but we're in a busy spot at the moment," Eris quickly took control. "Maybe at a later date when things slow down a bit."

The caller on the other end didn't seem to catch the hint. "Oh! A busy day could show how hard you guys work. Tartarus never accepted our proposal, this could be a great-"

"Once again, sorry. We're too busy to handle a camera crew right now and- Oh, I'm just wrapping up this call, please hold on. Sorry, I have to go. My apologies." hanging the phone up, she leaned back in her chair. "How dare they try to use Tartarus' name against us."

Normally, getting something like that might be seen as a good thing. Promote the prison and whatnot. However, Eris saw beyond that. The fact that they used their most notable 'rival' prison, Tartarus, to get them to bite was infuriating. She knew what would happen if she accepted the deal.

They'll go and film the inmates, everyone on their best behaviour, then they'll talk about their...shame. It was less about a documentary on Styx, it would be a documentary on something like Mariko, a continuation of their last one, or whatever else they'll dig up.

Feeling a bit miffed, she went out to take note of that specific number, already labelling it under one of the 'do not answer' numbers. Less they'll call the better.

"I'm going for a walk," she said to no one in particular. Unless there was an invisible person in the room, she was certain she was alone before she marched out of the door. Now she had to get the image of those miscreants as Seimei politely called them in the meeting out of her head before it rattled her up.

She had her mobile on her. If Seimei's group approached, she'd hopefully be back by then. If not, that's what her phone was for. Until then, the warden was going on a short patrol.

Today was the day. The day that they were going to bring Mariko back to Styx. It took some preparations as well as lying low to get Mariko to slip up or be consumed by paranoia, but they had a solid lead thanks to Furore.

"Hey. It's me again," the voice of Furore said over the phone. "I already let Eris know about this, but earlier today I think I saw someone that could fit the description of your missing prisoner. There was some odd behaviour, I don't think she ever looked me in the eye now that I think about it. Anyways, I'm rambling. I won't be able to search right now, got some thieves here and currently waiting for Icarus to return. Yeah, he showed back up out of his early retirement. Just give me a call and I'll send my sidekick around and... Sorry, now I gotta go. Please, sir, no autograph-"

The pale lavender eyed warden looked over to the sidekick that Furore sent. She wore a large overcoat, hiding away the hero uniform underneath while she brushed her medium-length brown hair out of the way.

"It's good to have you with us," he gave her a smile, offering a small cup. "Want a drink before you head off?"

"Thank you, to both, but I must decline the offer."

Giving her a nod, he turned his attention to the bus crew. "Zugai, how's the bus doing?"

"It's going well! All fuelled up and ready to go whenever you give the order!" After seeing the thumbs up, Seimei turned to see two of the guards going on the hunt alongside Zugai's temporary bodyguard.

The first was a short little fox, looking like he was about to go on a run. He was wearing a grey, sleeveless top with some black exercise shorts as well as a pair of black and white running shoes. Around his wrist was a black watch, one of those fitness ones and lastly, a set of specially made black and purple coloured headphones made for his fox-like ears around his neck, looking to be plugged into whatever was in his pocket.

Judging by the sweat, Seimei already had a good idea just where the fennec fox went.

Which brought him to the other two that accompanied him.

"Can I have one? Please?" begged Suimin, pointing her talons at a box of tic-tac looking things.

Unlike Hokori, she didn't wear anything new. Just her version of the guard's uniform. The person she was with though, didn't even look like a guard. Which worked quite well.

"No."

Wearing a pair of jeans, wooden sandals and a simple white shirt that said 'booze' on it in some wavy or sloshed red coloured text. He also wore a large, dark green open jacket which seemed to have multiple pockets on the inside, all holding multiple bottles that you'd think he'd might try to sell you something if he opened it up.

They had long red hair that looked a bit off as well as a dark tinted pair of aviator glasses. Of course in their hand was a bottle.

"Who...are you?" Hokori tilted his head at this new arrival. "Are you another sidekick?"

Taking a swig from the bottle, a smirk appeared on their lips. "Forgot me already, huh?"

"D...Dion…?!" the fox sputtered.

The aviator wearing man just held his hand up, the free hand anyway. "Going forward, my name's not Dion. For this little excursion I am Shuten Doji."

"A very good disguise," Seimei crossed his arms. "Are all your bottles equipped for the task at hand?"

"Yes sir."

Hokori almost couldn't believe it. "So...that's a wig then?"

"Yep," Dion, or for the moment, Shuten, nodded, walking to the bus. He moved the long red wig just a bit to show his mint green hair. The wig was definitely longer, reaching down to his waist. "Now, we got a job to do, don't we?"

As the sidekick patiently stood around, she asked, "is this all who's coming?"

"Yes. You will be working with Hokori Arashi," Seimei pointed at the newest guard before moving his hand over to Dion, "and Dion Meade, or for this operation, Shuten. These two are faces she wouldn't expect and any larger numbers could backfire."

"I see. Pleasure to meet you two."

"Zugaikotsu Kokkaku will be driving you down and Suimin Hatori will be providing backup, though mostly staying behind with the bus." Noticing that the grey feathered woman gestured something to him, Seimei directed his attention to the bus. "Please, feel free to board the bus."

"Thank you," the sidekick smiled. "Nice to meet you, Zugaikotsu."

"Please, call me Zugai!"

Now, turning his attention to Suimin, the warden waved his hand. "Yes?"

"So we're all good to go now?"

"That's right," he nodded, "sorry about not going through with the inmate idea. In the end, it's too risky despite all the measures we have to contain them, prevent them from talking or punishment should they leave the guard's radius."

However, a smile appeared on the woman's face. "Hehe, that's fine!"

"Now, Hokori. I know that this month must have been hectic for you. A lot has happened since you've arrived and I'm sorry for putting you on a hasty mission like this," the warden bowed his head as Dion and Suimin boarded the bus. "We don't have that much time remaining and Tsujihara wouldn't know you which makes it hopefully easier."

When he raised his head, he saw the short fennec fox salute with a large grin. "No problems sir! I'm happy to help out!"

"Thank you. Now, there is one last thing you should now. You might have to put that nose to work when searching for Mariko, assuming she's not using anything to cover her tracks."

"Understood!"

Walking to the bus, the warden threw his arm to the door. "Better not waste anymore time. Good luck."

As the last member of the team boarded the bus, Seimei gave a nod to the driver, causing the engine to come to life with a powerful rev. Now, it was time.

"It's time to begin...Operation Eurydice!"

"It's been quite a while since your last call," a voice whispered into the recipient's ear. "What do you have to report?"

A smirk appeared on said person's lips. "Sorry about that. I had to lay low for quite some time while things were blowing over, though I think it will take much more time than that."

"..."

"Anyway, it seems Styx had a locked up criminal run wild in the past week or so. They managed to contain him the same day, but that's definitely not a good sign for such a highly rated prison."

As the figure laughed, the person on the phone didn't seem to find it that funny. "I see. When you say 'locked up criminal' I sure hope you're not referring to-"

Quickly, the caller cut in. "Hey, hey! Don't worry, it wasn't one of those inmates. It was one of the ones locked away for bad behaviour. A weakling compared to our targets."

"It better be."

Removing the phone from their ear, the caller took a second to themselves before diving back in. "So, when will you be arriving?"

"If you rang earlier, we'd probably be talking in person right now. I need to do some work on my end and the preparations as well. It's going to take some time, but we'll be on the move eventually."

Ah, that's right. There was a lot to do and a sudden 'meet and greet' like this was going to take some time. A lot of paperwork and discussion. The phone holder could only hope that they would be able to arrive without any complications.

Which reminded them of something...

"There is a problem I should mention," the caller sighed, running a hand through their hair.

"...What is it?"

Ignoring the rather cold tone that emitted through the phone, they continued. "It seems that some of the staff around Styx were called into Eris' office recently, guard or not. Pretty sure the driver was brought in. I suspect she's using her quirk to dig for information. If she has indeed interrogated Vito, the guy I mentioned, it will be only a matter of time before I'll be found."

The following silence was almost unbearable.

Whoever was on the other line didn't say anything for what felt like minutes. "I see. That is indeed a problem. Of course Styx would have someone as capable as her…" they grumbled with clenched teeth, "try to avoid putting unwanted attention on yourself as they could be trying to lure you into a false sense of security if they learned a key feature to identify. Perhaps lady luck will be on your side and someone else might be uncovered to be doing something shady."

Leaving it to luck?! The caller would have said that would be impossible! "I can't leave it to luck, what can I...wait a second!" they paused right as a sinister smirk grew on their face. "Someone else...yes. That will do."

"Don't worry, I have an idea."

The phone call came to an end as a pair of red eyes glared into darkness.