[h2][center]Geralt of Rivia & [color=BFBFBF]Zenkichi Hasegawa[/color][/center][/h2]
[center]Quarantine Valley- Sector V[/center]
[center]Lvl 10 (203/100) -8 XP Friend Heart -> Lvl 10 (198/100) [/center]
[center]Lvl 4 (62/40) -> Lvl 4 (65/240) [/center]
[center]Word Count: 1,588 words[/center]

Joining Goldlewis, Hal, and their new friend with the other Seekers, Zenkichi and Geralt relaxed a little and listened to her explain the situation regarding how Sector V got its money. Zenkichi nodded along, somewhat familiar with the under-the-table dealings people got up to in the underbelly of the city. Not through direct connections, but through hearsay, rumors, and the occasional bust of somebody trying to hawk illicit goods while not knowing how to keep it quiet. He was sure that for every one that got arrested, though, there were half a dozen more keeping it quieter and slowly raking in the cash. 

Wind Chimes lead them around the barricade to a more discrete entrance, explaining that people who had already been vetted and approved came this way. Whether she'd get into any trouble for bringing them with her wasn't certain, though Geralt wasn't overly concerned, given that she didn't seem to be sweating the idea. The door was locked, though, and it required him, Goldlewis, and Wind Chimes, who was deceptively strong if that kick was any indication, to knock it down. Yet another thing to worry about, though now Geralt wasn't sure if this woman was thinking this through, given that they'd just knocked open a way inside the Hermits' hideout. Approved guest or not, they wouldn't be happy with her, or them, for that. 

What they found inside the hideout was...surprising. A fighting ring, likely as some sort of high-risk training, for fighting and killing Chimeras. That the Hermits could reliably [i]trap[/i] Chimeras in order to train against them was fairly impressive to Zenkichi, whose eyebrows were climbing his face. A few Hermits could be overheard talking about the 'latest batch', presumably of the drug or substance that let them see, and apparently fight, the Chimeras. From the sound of it, they'd made some good progress. 

The apparent leader took a moment to give a rousing speech, one about standing up and fighting back, though whether that was [i]just[/i] against the Chimeras or against the Chimeras [i]and[/i] the Administration itself, Zenkichi wasn't sure. He had his own bone to pick with Shinra and Konoe, though, so he wasn't sure he particularly cared. As long as they were more discrete about their targets than Avalanche, that was. 

That they'd been detected was surprising, but not excessively shocking. They ran Sector V from the top down. Whether somebody had seen and sent a message through the main gate, or they had some well-hidden cameras, or even enhanced senses among the demihumans, the idea that they could waltz in undetected was...naive. 

Zenkichi was a bit more surprised that the Hermits knew who they were, and his hackles raised when he put together that meant they likely knew where Akane was. Though he didn't think they'd stoop [i]that[/i] low, they might sell some information to somebody who would. His face darkened, but he kept quiet as Goldlewis talked to Kyle. 

'Talking' quickly turned to 'Prove your worth to me in mortal combat!' and Geralt sighed as he drew his steel sword, Zenkichi groaning a little. Backpedaling to avoid the initial burst of lightning from Kyle's opening attack, Geralt stepped in and flashed his sword, staking his claim. Zenkichi joined beside him, his Phantom Thief attire appearing as he fired off a pair of shots, forcing Kyle to acrobatically yank his sword from the ground as he dismounted it, blocking the two shots just in time. 

Kyle laughed. “Ha, I knew it! ‘It’s a great day to make new acquaintances!’ My horoscope’s never wrong. It even said my lucky color’s black today!” His holographic face grinned at Zenkichi’s Phantom Thief apparel.

“What’s with this guy?” Hal wondered aloud as his drone floated above the fight, observing. “My scanner says he’s human, but I’m not convinced…”

"What do they say about me? I'm certainly not all human anymore." Geralt retorted as he stepped in to attack, already having shielded himself with Quen while Kyle was dealing with Zenkichi's gunshots. Kyle's massive blade even beat out Geralt's in length, oversized as it was to match his larger frame, but not by much. 

"Mostly human, but there's some noise in there. With him, though, I'm not getting those readings." Hal replied from above, thankfully not being targeted by the Hermits, who correctly pegged him as a non-combatant companion. 

[color=BFBFBF]"Gotta be that drug they were talking about!"[/color] Zenkichi called, rushing in to try and get inside Kyle's guard while Geralt traded blows with him. He'd summoned Charles' Closing Statement instead of his longer sword, partially for the extra heft, and partially for the blunted backside, which would prevent any accidents when they got him on his last legs.

Kyle proved to be quite the acrobatic fighter, however, rivalling some of Geralt's more nimble moves when he was smaller. He parried a blow from Geralt with his nodachi, Tatsu, half-spinning and resting the back end of the blade along his arm, guarding it with the sharp edge to deflect any attacks while he thrust with the pommel as Zenkichi got close. Choosing to rely on his bulk, Zenkichi took the blow to his chest, swinging in retaliation and landing a somewhat staggered hit, his arms pushed back along with his chest. Kyle still got tagged by the heavy blade, though his was able to roll with the blow and lash out with a wide swing, forcing Geralt to bring his sword up to deflect it. Zenkichi took a step back, the Closing Statement a little to heavy to reliably block with in a pinch. 

Kyle took the offensive this time, swinging Tatsu in a quick series of slashes to try and take advantage of its innate Radiation damage, which would somewhat bypass Geralt's heavy armor if a blow landed, and even potentially cause Confusion on the Witcher. Geralt deflected one, then two blows, the third scoring a decent hit, but Quen's magical energy kept the Radiation bleedthrough from affecting Geralt. Without a lucky Confusion proc as well, Kyle was forced back on the defensive as Zenkichi returned to the fight, calling on Valjean to boost his own agility with Sukukaja.

Even with the boost, however, the fact remained that Kyle was quick, and skilled, enough to avoid most of the damage the pair were trying to put out. The fight was, boringly enough, a bit of a stalemate while Sukukaja kept Zenkichi moving enough to just barely keep up. Kyle was capable of landing a few blows of his own while taking a couple of hits, but it was when he finally managed to trade a heavy blow with Geralt that Quen shattered, the bleedthrough Radiation burning through Geralt's armor and causing the Witcher to hiss in unexpected pain. 

[color=BFBFBF]"You good, Geralt?!"[/color] Zenkichi called, only to receive a grunt and a hastily-ducked swing of steel in response. [color=BFBFBF]"What the hell, man?!"[/color] The Phantom Thief cried out, backpedaling desperately as Geralt stormed after him, unable to block or parry the Witcher's quick blows with his heavier, shorter sword. Kyle ran in as well, catching both Geralt and Zenkichi with quick, relatively shallow blows, but Geralt whirled on him, causing him to back off and let the Confusion keep the pair distracted for another moment. 

"What's wrong, that all you got?" Kyle sneered. "I'm just starting to enjoy myself!" Kyle taunted as Zenkichi desperately dove out of the way of a powerful slash from Geralt's steel sword, before crouching and launching himself into the air.

As the Confusion wore off, Geralt shook his head and blinked off the status effect, forcing Zenkichi to call out Kyle's attack in warning. Much as he had started the fight off, Kyle hurled Tatsu into the floor from his massive leap, landing on the hilt and releasing a burst of Radiation and lightning along the floor. Both swordsmen had to back off, though Zenkichi caught an arc of the lightning and was shocked. Geralt, on the other hand, fought fire with fire, wreathing his steel sword in the Orphan's Lightning as he ran in. Zenkichi took the opportunity to switch up his technique, Closing Statement vanishing to his back as he drew his revolvers and fired on Kyle. Taking advantage of the distraction, Geralt advanced aggressively, each connected sword swing, be it to Kyle or Tatsu, sending a little jolt through the Hermit and tensing his muscles involuntarily. 

A shot from Zenkichi winged Kyle on the side as Geralt clashed blades with him, stepping as close as he could manage to crash his horn into Kyle's face, sending him reeling as hard as a traditional headbutt would. Zenkichi capitalized on the opening with Valjean, calling in a One-Shot Kill to critically hit the Hermit, knocking him flat on his rear. Geralt reached down and grabbed the man by the collar, straddling him as one hand produced a Friend Heart from his chest and forced it into the Hermit leader. 

Stepping off and away to give Kyle some breathing room, Zenkichi holstered his pistols and walked over. [color=BFBFBF]"Give it a minute. It's a weird sensation, I know. Just went through it myself a few days ago. Lot to put together. We'll be happy to explain once we're all done fighting and getting to know each other."[/color] Zenkichi half-joked the last part, but he was much more relaxed now that Geralt had given Kyle the Friend Heart. The Witcher himself was still a bit wary, but he knew the confusion of reconciling memories would keep them safe for at least a few moments.