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[color=Silver]	[i][b]August 29th, 2031AD[/b][/i]. As the year of the volatile world, NeoTokyo had found itself collapsed into a secret state of disarray. Amidst the prosperous exterior view of the city, where its bright lights, egotistical tourist attractions, vibrant streets and bustling individuals all move along with the development of their home, lies a strong musk that stains the city alleys. Across the levels of carparks, street levels, shopping centres, nuclear exclusion zones, service stations, banks, homes, homeless quarters and other foundations of the urban metropolis comes the war that had been raging for nearly two years. People had died, whilst others didn't even know why. Thousands had been purged in the line of a new, sophisticated and stable rulership over Japan. Whilst other cities found themselves facing minor scourges over the same course of this blistering war, its true battleground was there in NeoTokyo. Many terrified individuals feared that something bigger than their lives was shaping the stability of society as a whole, but no one could truly pinpoint its extent. The [/color][i][b][color=13BD17]Jinrai[/color][/b][/i] [color=Silver], attempting to force its way into the Governmental council had now taken refuge in every conceivable stronghold in the city. On the opposing force, the [/color] [color=0583C8][b][i]National Security Force[/i][/b][/color][color=Silver], otherwise known as the NSF, had established a militarised policing force in order to secretly combat their influence. Primarily segmented into cyber-security, enforced investigation and covert operational raids, the NSF are equipped, trained and handled just well enough to combat and match that of the Jinrai's military expertise. Whilst most of the war is silent, hidden behind a veil of wiring, flashy lights and traditional shrines and temples, larger scale engagements have been recorded and seen by the public on occasions that act most unfavourable for each side involved. Truly, it wasn't just a battle for survival, but a war for Japan in its entirety.

	As one would travel through the main centre of NeoTokyo, the grand compound of the Governmental facilities sits right in the middle, surrounded by great concrete walls, patrolling officers of the law and situating the homestead of [url=https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DRWIIDAUEAA-hl7.jpg][b][i]Prime Minster Konno Mashai[/i][/b][/url][/color]. [color=Silver]Only a year into his term, he'd made a name for himself for publicly condemning and dispersing the infamous Jinrai division after political dissonance had apparently threatened his life. Unfortunately, for his attackers and conspirators, the soft looking and eagerly kind-hearted individual was indeed a hard hitting individual with a long determination to bring about his ideology in full force. There was no backing away from the breach of conduct in the political landscape. Japan was going to be fought over, and Mashai was prepared to give his all into funding the extermination of the terrorists who wished to force Japan into a state of war. It seemed very black and white, with the good guys and bad guys being clearly marked with a sticker plastered onto their cybernetic foreheads, but of course the world was always a little less clear than the common man could anticipate. And so, the NSF was formed out of an elite policing organisation previously known only to the highest officials. Now, the NSF were a known threat to the Jinrai themselves, as the conflict has uproared into a flame and fury that was unavoidable.

	Beneath the governmental institution laid the NSF headquarters. A mile of underground tunnels, war rooms, barracks, armouries, firing ranges, gyms and occasional luxuries was for the well-being of each of their operatives, who all were ensured to be rewarded handsomely for their service to the state and Minister himself. The NSF was hoping to becoming the changer of Japan's future. A recent inclusion of exterior recruits contacted primarily by NSF individuals after they expressed interest conventionally. Many of the members lived on base, but some were even offered alternative egos and places of residence within Japan itself, at the cost of a termination programme. Any information caught being supplied to the Jinrai, or operatives that were at a threat of information extraction without any hope of rescue were to be assassinated by one of their own in order to preserve the intelligence perfection of the NSF's inner-workings. Some of the Operatives had suffered greatly from this experience, and so the inclusion of international recruits had seen a small rise in the recent months.

	Down the corridors, Takai walked forward with his hands clasped around a file. Beside him, the clattering of a cybernetic arm stretching and shifting beneath the rolled up sleeve of his superior. Takai wasn't exactly the ideal soldier here in the NSF, having found himself become a part of it before it officially donned the three-letter acronym. However, what he had was respect and and appreciation amongst his common comrades, at least the ones who knew him well enough. Those around him were keen to work with each other, and the regular shift of investigation partners, raiding teams and reconnaissance parties was accepted in order to increase the trust of every operative, especially the trust they should have in each other as well as themselves. [url=https://external-preview.redd.it/aqwLHMQYUAXK_s6zptumO4ia99_69k0X5YVVKxX_ev0.jpg?auto=webp&s=cd86576bba7efbde9b0e79544f58ed6570944742][b][i]Iha Shumei
[/i][/b][/url], the Company Officer recently promoted from his regular non-commissioned role in the gritty part of the NSF warfare group. Across his eyes, the overly familiar glimmer of his permanent headgear always made him instantly recognisable compared to his comrades, only amplified by the addition of his prosthetic limb on the left arm. He wore the suave attire of a intelligence officer, more akin to that of a police detective or private investigation's officer. As he wandered, Takai read the files further and further. Sure, he'd heard of most of those written down on the file, and even knew some quite well from their previous involvement, but his knowledge of their personalities was limited and potentially deprived of a full enhancement. More to the point, the names he read did seem a little...alien, to the NSF.[/color]

[color=2EAC5F][b]"Andrews...O'Connell...Duke...Black...Bell? I heard we'd outsourced our members, Shumei, but this is rather precarious."[/b][/color] [color=Silver]In a loud mutter, Takai questioned the reasoning behind these non-Japanese individuals, clearly highlighted by their names and mugshots. Alongside them sat names that he found at least recognisable. Li was one of them, though she too was an outsider to the Japanese nativity. From what he'd heard, she was a capable asset, though his knowledge was once again limited beyond personal experience. Takai had previously been an operative of solitariness, pursuing a life in Investigations whilst only occasionally participating in the engagements with teams of heavily armed personnel. Those were where the true battle was being fought, and Takai was still adjusting to find his footing in the field of the NSF operations.[/color]

[color=Red][b]"If you have a problem, Shushen, then I'd rather you think about it a bit more."[/b][/color] [color=Silver]Of course, playing the diplomatic man again. Takai did utilise his methods quite a lot himself, but when it came down to personal belief Takai had to put his foot into the room to solidify who he was as an individual.[/color]

[color=2EAC5F][b]"It's not them being from another country that disappoints me, Shumei, it's the fact that they are highly unlikely to be loyal to the cause. I'm not asking for patriotism, but working alongside individuals who don't see any benefit in the outcome of this war for Japan is daunting. It will take me a long time to adjust, maybe."[/b][/color] [color=Silver]Immediately, his thought process was interjected by the smile of his officer, smirking immensely to compliment his lack of emotion from his eyes. If his mouth wasn't exposed from his eyepiece, it would've been impossible to truly tell what the man was conveying through his voice.[/color]

[color=Red][b]"You seem to get along with Yi and Bykov at least, and they clearly aren't from Japan."[/b][/color] [color=Silver]Takai didn't respond at first, finding himself smirk at his quip too. He wasn't wrong at all. Out of his new company, Takai had interacted with Yi and Bykov the most so far. Whilst the latter was slightly harder due to a sort of gritty politeness in her tone, he was indeed aware of who they were and what kind of person they might've been. He wanted to press more into his intentions and interactions with his comrades, however the selection was so far more of a circus than that of a military police outfit.

	Takai closed the folder and sealed it back up with its brass button. The two continued down the dimly lit passageway, beneath the surface of NeoTokyo itself. He sighed at the flickering light that had been blinking for two weeks and still awaited changing. An epileptic annoyance was always one of the few things he could immediately complain about, seeing as the [i]"how about that weather, ey"[/i] icebreaker was clearly useless down in the NSF Headquarters.

	Eventually Takai made his way into the mess hall and sat down, unravelling his NSF Tac-Pad and looking into the details of his upcoming mission. Shumei nudged him and grabbed a small bar of cereal to eat for himself. He offered Takai a bite, to which he declined.[/color]

[color=Red][b]"'Nother investigation? You've been really busy. You should find the time to relax, maybe go out for dinner with someone. Settle down and get some-"[/b][/color]

[color=2EAC5F][b]"Maybe after. I know we've got a potential raid coming in the few days, so I don't want to jinx it, if that makes sense?"[/b][/color] [color=Silver]Takai looked more into it, reading into the possibility of a Jinrai tradesman being located on the rim of the exclusion zone, hiding in plain sight to bolster a potential guerrilla movement being introduced within their ranks. Whilst the Jinrai were a dedicated, professional military source of warfare, they too liked to dabble in the different arts of war in order to fully express their intentions, expansive nature and informality into asserting the power gap's devolution. It wasn't going to be an easy campaign, and the upcoming raid was definitely something he was going to be required to participate within. It had been a while since Takai had left the investigation front and committed to the true battle, finding excuses and perfectly timing his investigations to conflict with the battle themselves. It wasn't that he wanted to avoid it, it was just that he wanted more time to mentally prepare what could happen, especially considering what had happened in his last operation.

	For the mean time, Takai sat in the centre, alone at a table as Shumei left for his own duties, hoping to offer a helping hand to a few cadets who'd been reportedly struggling with a recent training exercise. Takai was in a position of solitude once more, and thus he smiled to himself, reading over his next target. He had about 30 minutes before he had to get ready, and how he was going to kill that time was for someone else's explanation. Until then, he thought about his suspect: Iwata Honomi.[/color]