Makoto stepped out of the ruins and out into the streets. She took out the gas mask and put it on her head. That place might be safe, but other areas might not be. Several decontamination squads walked past her, followed by a small team of police officers.

Makoto observed the hectic environment, looking for objects or people that seemed out of place. The Skulls won't panic, right officer? If what you said is true, then they should be watching what's going on here.

HAYATE

Hayate, his curiosity piqued, had drifted slowly towards where he'd imagined the explosion to have been. It probably wasn't safe, but then again, he doubted many of the Skulls and police even knew about him. He had slung his own mask around his waist. It would probably be useful for later.

Closer to the site, he noted two bat-like shapes leaping from roof to roof. Those are probably Vampire Skulls, from what I've heard. The one in front...that's the Ryuujin. What's her name again...?

Makoto walked away from the apartment building and wandered around. There were groups of policemen everywhere she looked. The rubble and the smoke made it harder for her to observe her surroundings.

She spotted a fire escape on the side of a standing building. There. I'll climb up that building. I'll get a better view up there. She jumped and grabbed onto the ladder, and lifted herself up onto the staircase. She continued up the stairs and climbed onto the roof.

Makoto was greeted by a blonde-haired woman as she lifted herself onto the roof. She sighed as she removed her gas mask and hooked it onto her tactical vest. A Skull? Guess he was right.

She threw a sharp glare at the woman in front of her. "You don't need to know. You'll be dead soon enough." Makoto drew her firearm and locked its sights on the woman.

HAYATE

He took one glance up, and was swiftly flying up the ladder and stairs behind the woman with the gun. His left arm whipped out and pulled the firearm up, and he held tightly onto her other shoulder with his free hand.

"What...are you doing, miss? I don't think you've the basis to be pointing guns at someone who's done no harm to you," he asked, calmly, his voice low. After the mass deaths in the explosion, there was no need for more people to be hurt.

"..."

Makoto was a bit startled by the man behind her. Her left arm started to feel awkward, having her submachine gun held over her head. She quickly jerked her head back, hitting the man's face with the back of her head. At the same time, she spun around, took out her knife and slashed at the man's chest, and kicked him towards the edge of the roof.

The blonde-haired woman had fled from the rooftop. Makoto sheathed her knife and pointed her firearm at the man, and slowly walked towards him. "You want to die too, kid? So be it."

HAYATE

A combination of his advantage in height plus a slight turn of the head to stare at the shaggy-haired girl made the Hunter's first blow narrowly miss Hayate's nose and instead land full on his lower lip. He was already beginning to trip backwards when the blade lashed out, catching his a bit higher than she'd intended and cutting across his left upper arm and collar bone.

He staggered a bit, and the harsh kick sent him reeling towards the edge.

Somewhat stunned, Hayate slowly trailed his fingers across his bloodied mouth, then as per habit blew strands of hair out of his face. He wasn't used to fighting.

"I...don't exactly...have a death wish," he countered slowly, clamping his right hand across the bleeding gash. "I don't even know who either of you...are."

Makoto stopped about two feet away from the man. A faint smile appeared on her face. She slung her MP7 over her shoulder and cautiously approached the man again. She grabbed his shirt collar and jerked him towards her. "If you just left me and that woman alone, you wouldn't have a death label over your head." She took out her knife and prodded the man's stomach with it. "You try to fight back or pull any tricks, I'll cut you open."

Makoto cleared her throat. "Now. Where's your base, boy?"

HAYATE

"Base?" Hayate asked, what he hoped to be a quizzical expression spreading across his face. "I'm not sure what you mean by that. Also," he added, "...it'd be rather nice to not be eviscerated. I've heard that more painful than...uh..."

He glanced down at the wound; it was still spewing blood. The cut itself wasn't lethal, but there was no way he could seal it right now without giving himself away.

"Hmph." What a smartass.

Makoto was rather annoyed with the man's response. She glared at him, and cut the man's left thigh with her knife. "Wrong answer. Last chance, boy. Where is your base? You screw around again, and your head will be delivered to your boss wrapped in that nice shirt of yours." Once again, she prodded the tip of her knife on the man's stomache.

HAYATE

His eyes widened a bit as he stifled a grunt of pain. "It's...not exactly nice...if it's torn to shreds. And bled on. Profusely."

He thought for a brief moment. The office compounds were in the east sector of Old Tokyo...Hayate jerked his thumb north, then returned his hand to his chest as blood bubbled up again with alarming rapidity.

Far enough to prevent harm, yet close enough to save myself if needs be, eh.

Hayate glanced up. "...Do you...look down on me?" he asked, ignoring the strands that were now firmly matted to his face.

Makoto looked in the direction the man pointed. North...that's something, I guess. She let go of the man and dropped him onto the floor.

She kneeled down on one knee. "Do you want me to?" Makoto wiped the blood off of her knife on her pants, and sheathed the blade. She stood up, and slowly walked towards the fire escape.

"Oh, if you somehow survive, and I find out you lied to me, I'll come back for you. And I'll be the last thing you see before you close your eyes. Permanently." Makoto descended down the fire escape, and traveled north.

HAYATE

He sat up slowly and groaned. Who would...?

"Who are--" Too late. The girl, or police, or whoever she was, had vanished. Apparently she was headed in the direction he had indicated. She would figure out, sooner or later. Is there a way to stall...?

He struggled down the fire escape and was halfway down the ladder before his blood-slicked fingers slipped and he was forced to awkwardly break his fall, stopping in the middle and jamming his tailbone against the ground.

Ow. Shit... Pushing himself forward against the brick and concrete walls, he limped forward as quickly as he could.

"Wait! Who are you?!" he yelled in her general direction, then coughed blood again.

Makoto stopped as she heard someone call out to her. She turned around, only to see the cut-up man.

Tch. What a nuisance. I should just break his neck right now. She walked up to the limping man and pushed him onto the ground. "I'm already giving you a chance to run. Save your breath and run back to your boss, before you bleed to death, boy! Unless you want to die right now." She placed her hand over her handgun. Makoto didn't want to fire her handgun and attract attention. She wanted to scare the guy off.

Makoto also felt that the blonde woman from earlier might be hanging around still.

Several Punisher Skulls entered the area where the violent woman and strange man were that Lillian had encountered, and Lillian came out of the building. She pointed to the Hunter and said calmly, "That one threatened my life without provocation. The other one aided my retreat." The Punishers began to close in on them, glaring at the armed woman and taking out their own weapons. Lillian stayed back a short way, walking over to the injured man. "Thank you for allowing me time to retreat. Allow me to now return that favor so that you can seek medical treatment."

HAYATE

This girl...is a Punisher Skull? He'd thought all Punishers were uncivilized brutes, from the stories. Apparently not.

"I...I can take care of myself...I think." He forced himself up, clinging onto a pipe that ran over the wall, and thoughtlessly pulled a lighter out of his pocket. He'd rather carry out a clumsy cauterization than inconvenience even more people, and started to head back in the opposite direction.

"Thank you for the offer, though," Hayate called weakly over his shoulder.

KYD

It smelled rather poisonous outside. Not that Kyd minded, of course. A wide grin slowly spread across his face. However, the toxic smoke, coupled with the recent explosion, would probably have triggered a mad hunt for Toxic Skulls. And Flame Skulls, too, maybe.

The Flame Skulls...they don't stand a fucking chance against the police, do they?

He'd still have to find a new place to sleep. And quickly. The multitude of syringes tucked into his belt made it all too clear who he was.

Only five steps out into the back alley, Kyd suddenly stopped and ducked around a corner. What are those Punishers doing here...? he wondered, thinking about the flurry of movement a hundred yards away, at the other end of the alley, that had caught his attention.

Roland had arrived at the precinct to find that it was crawling with Hunters. He rushed towards the Chiefs office to find out what was going on.

Roland opened the door to the chiefs office and slammed the door behind him. "Chief, Whats going on? Why are there hunters in the precinct?"

"The hunters are taking over the investigation of the bombing in the residential district. They have requested the use of the precincts files and other resources." The chief sighed and poured a glass of whiskey.

"What the hell do you mean 'they are taking over'? It just happened and already they want to cut us out. What the fuck is really going on chief?" Roland slammed his fist down on the chief's desk.

"Calm down! I have no answers for you. Every precinct in the Old district have been taken off of the case. These orders come from the top brass and they even have the Director of the Hunter's signature to boot." The chief took a long swig of his whiskey before slamming it down on the table.

Roland sat down and folded his arms across his chest. "The director huh? This is the first time the director has ever signed something personally to my knowledge... And why do the hunters even want to use our resources? They have far superior Intel departments then us by far so why?"

The chief shook his head before pouring another glass of whiskey. "I don't know. This whole thing stinks..." The chief reached into his desk and pulled out a folder and dropped it on his desk. "Roland, I know you have trusted me with this file but it is no longer safe here."

Roland reached out and took the folder and stood up. "I understand..." Roland lowered his head and sighed. "I'm sorry to have put you in this situation chief."

"Don't be. I understand perfectly well why you had to."

Roland nodded and tucked the folder into his coat and turned to leave the chiefs office.

Makoto turned around towards the voice of the woman who spoke to her comrades. Makoto saw the blonde Skull backed up by some friends. She grit her teeth, and glared back at the group of Skulls.

This is bad. I've a group of them in front of me, and I have an injured, yet potential threat behind me. Makoto turned her head slightly, and looked at the man behind her limp away from the area. She returned her glare back to the blonde haired woman, took out her submachine gun, pointed it directly at the woman and stood her ground.

"Hmph. I didn't think that you'd need this many people to take down one person." Makoto flicked off the safety on the MP7.

A grenade would be nice right now.

Lillian nodded to the injured man and let him be on his way before turning to face the violent one again. "We do not need this many, pixie dust. You underestimate our abilities," she stated. In one quick burst, she unleashed the blades in her gloves as she activated her jet boots, sending her flying at her opponent.

What the hell?! Makoto was shocked. This is really bad! She's got an aerial advantage over me now. But... She took the gas mask she wore and threw it at her aerial opponent. Afterwards, Makoto jumped and rolled to the side, and fired her gun in bursts of three at the Skull.

I have to hold out as long as I can! Makoto hoped that the nearby police force would hear the gunfire. She knew she couldn't win this confrontation.

HAYATE

She wasn't the only one shocked. Hayate spun around, splattering the surrounding area with droplets of blood, and called out after the airborne girl.

"...Hey, stop! I...You don't need to..." But these were Punisher Skulls. They had a reputation for deserving their name.

"I'm sure she won't bother you again. I mean, there's no need to injure any more people," he ended rather lamely.

Lillian was clipped by two of the bullets and one lodged itself in her right shoulder. She grunted in pain as she half-rolled, half-tumbled to the ground. She looked to her boots to see one of them sputtering sparks where a bullet had grazed the trigger mechanism, thus rendering both boots useless.

Unfortunately for the violent one, her evasive maneuvers put her within range of the other Punishers, who proceeded to come at her with weapons ranging from reinforced gloves and knuckles to maces and spiked bats.

The gang charged at Makoto. There wasn't enough time for her to reload her gun, and she knew her handgun wouldn't be useful against a gang. She dropped her MP7, and took out her knife.

"..!" She managed to parry one attack and counter it with a quick slash to the neck, but two others took his place. One punched her in the stomach with a set of reinforced gloves. As she staggered, another struck her in the back with a spiked bat, which tore off some fabric from her protective vest along with some blood. Makoto yelled in pain as she fell onto the ground.

Roland was going through his drawers at his house which was located near the shrine district in old Tokyo. He had already hid the folder that the chief had given him and now he was looking for something more important. Cigarettes. He had already used up his rationed amount and now he was having a nicotine fit. Papers and drawers laid scattered all over the floor and even some clothes had found there way up on the ceiling fan.

"Fuck... I know I had some more in one of these drawers."

~~~~~~

A platoon of 15 hunters began to open fire at a group of Punisher skulls which appeared to be chasing a single heavily armed female. "All unites continue to fire!"


(( Lame hunter encounter is lame but I have to go so that's all I can do for now. I'll leave the rest to you guys. ))

Makoto turned her head, opened her eyes, and looked towards the sound of gunfire. It was a squad of fifteen Skull Hunters. The wound on her back slowly bled, though it could have been worse if she hadn't worn the protective vest.

Makoto sighed in relief, and slowly helped herself stand up. A Skull Hunter approached Makoto and helped her up. She spat out some blood on the floor, and wiped her mouth with her sleeve. "T-thanks for the assistance." She coughed again, and breathed erratically, trying to catch her breath from the punch to the stomach from earlier. She took out her handgun and fired at the Skull gang, trying to cover her rescuer from potential attacks.

The Hunter led Makoto to a safe area. Two other Hunters followed, and kept watch for any Skulls that would approach the area.

"Hold still." Makoto's rescuer carefully cut her free from the damaged protective vest, but the vest wouldn't come off. A broken nail pierced through the vest, and dug into Makoto's back. "This will hurt a bit." The Hunter pulled the nail out of her back, and took the vest off with it.

Makoto grunted in pain, stopping herself from yelling. "Augh...fuck... how bad is it?"

"You'll live. Stay still while I clean you up." Makoto took off her jacket and lifted up the back of her shirt, and the Hunter cleaned and quickly stitched the wound up. He wrapped up her body with a bandage.

"Thanks for the help. Go assist your squad. I'll retreat on my own." Makoto grabbed her jacket and ammo and jogged away from the area while holding her hand over her stomach.

KYD

He slowly crept towards where he figured the fight had been. Maybe he'd have a chance to off that damn policewoman.

Almost before he had finished his thought, a group of Skull Hunters rounded a corner only a dozen feet away from him.

The...the fuck?! Kyd dover behind a trash can, clattering it loudly in the process Shit. Shit. I'm fucking screwed... he though as he ran for cover.

Roland left his house after losing his battle with his nicotine habit. He had gone to a store several blocks away from his house to buy some cigarettes and now he sits at a bench near an abandoned stretch of road with old stripped cars.
With a lit cigarette between his lips, Roland relaxed and stretched out on the bench and look up at the sky.


(( Lazy moment for Roland XD ))

Makoto jogged down an alleyway, clutching her left side in pain. The wound on her back throbbed in pain. She spotted a backdoor on one of the building's walls, and approached it. I...I won't be able to make it back to the apartment...I'll just hide here for now.

She backed up, and rammed the door with her shoulder. The door's old hinges started to break, but the door stayed up. She backed up again, and gave it another go, crashing through the door and falling to the ground. She groaned in pain, and crawled into a security room.