[center][color=708090][h2][b]Hoshio Kikuchi[/b][/h2][/color][/center]
Hoshio turned an unimpressed frown upon Maria. [color=708090]“I’ve seen and heard you talking to Mai here, you know,”[/color] he told her dryly. He wasn’t sure if she heard, or was paying attention, since she promptly left, dragging his other teammate with her as well. [color=708090]“Good luck,”[/color] he called after Mai cheekily, leaving her to the violent woman’s devices with not a small amount of relief. He shuddered to think what it would be like for [i]that one[/i] to attach to him. Then again, he had his own worries, what with Maria’s apparent lack of concern with his orders. Sighing, Hoshio departed home to sleep off his stress.
[center][b][h3]***[/h3][/b][/center]
The following day, after all the mundane tasks such as showering and eating breakfast, Hoshio called the DHA associates of the temple, their number having been found in DHA’s database. He determined that they only had a vague timeline of when the devils started disturbing the sealing stones, but did not know if they operated on specific days of the week or hours of the day. And while they had closed off the temple from public access via excuse of regular maintenance being performed, they could not prevent any civilians from accessing the grounds around the building itself. [color=708090][i]Great. Just great. So there could be some punks there fooling off, soon to be devil snacks.[/i][/color]

[color=708090]“Haah,”[/color] he uttered a sound of defeat. How were they even supposed to stage an ambush when the devils were in a much better position to do so? Not to mention that as far as he knew, no one on his team was versed in sensing demonic presences. They were also going to need a minimal plausible deniability if any civilian did see them with all the unusual arsenal they had to lug around, them all being Bringers…[color=708090][i]So much hassle.[/i][/color]

By the time Hoshio got his things in order and thought over possible plans, it was indeed around noon when he arrived at the DHA base. He typed a, [color=708090]“I’m here, get to the cantina, team. – Hoshio,”[/color] into the DHA chat group. He then got his lunch, waited for the arrivals, and explained the tactics once he got ahold of them. 

[color=708090]“Right, so I’ll drive us all to the base of the park, then we’ll ascend together. Until we see what the situation at the shrine is, no splitting up. As far as anyone knows, the devils might already be there, and hiding. We also have to check for those rocks, and destroy them as a matter of priority. If there happen to be any civilians there, we’ll also have to be the ones to convince them to leave, somehow. In the worst case scenario, with civilians, devils, and the stones all there, it’ll be a shitshow, but let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, huh.”[/color]
[center][b][h3]***[/h3][/b][/center]
The drive to the temple – or rather, the parking spot at the bottom of the hill underneath it – was uneventful. Hoshio did make occasional remarks to clarify some things, and answer questions if there were any.

[color=708090]“If we get lucky enough to set up an ambush, we will. But scouting comes first,”[/color] was an example of such an order.

[color=708090]“We’ll pretend to be cosplayers, if we must,”[/color] was another, said with a grimace that spoke of unpleasant experience of trying to herd civilians to safety.

[color=708090]“Oh, by the way, can either of you sense devil’s presences?”[/color] was a question from him to the two of them.

And so, with some meagre conversation on their part, it was in no time that they arrived at the destination. He parked, got out, stretched, and gathered his bow and quiver from the boot of the car, letting his fellow hunters do the same. [color=708090]“Any last minute questions before we head up?”[/color]