“That could be another infected Knight… or it could be something else entirely, that I’m not sure,” he replied, thinking of something. “Or it could just be one of the patrol groups investigating the Infected scene,” he said, trying to calm Hinata down from her paranoia it would seem. Judging from what she said, it was likely that she hadn’t seen the person’s features. It was hard to go anywhere else with this little information. “Anything else you want to get off your chest?”
"Right, those all make sense. I hope that it will be something good, but I intend to plan for the worse." Hinata sighed some, shaking her head a bit.
"And no, not really. It's a bit surprising to me, but I really haven't been going through a lot. Plus, I have just got here, so other than what I've described, things haven't been… horrible."
Hearing that, the light fox had suddenly turned her body to meet his, gently hugging her.
“Things will only turn out for the better, believe me on this,” he said through his sudden movement. Of course, she hadn’t given him the consent to hug her but… he thought it’d be better if she understood that she was going to be safe and sound around. For the most part at least.
Hinata was surprised by the hug, but after a moment she returned it, humming some.
"Thank you, Tenshi," Hinata said, smiling a bit. "I'm glad you think so, it does mean a lot." Hinata pulled away after a moment, her hand going back into Tenshi's.
"O, shall we get to the scene?"
“We shall,” he had slowly let go of her and had returned to holding onto her hand. His smile slowly faded when they got to the scene where some blood and a chuck of formerly active infected flesh had been found. Some officers were at the scene and had gone to the side when Tenshi came along. “Reports said that the blood was of a bystander while the Infected—now dead—chuck of flesh came from a Knight, given by its residual aura,” the fox has said.
(A. Investigate the blood splat)
(B. Investigate the blood trail)
(C. Investigate the flesh)
(D. Ask the officers for reports)
Hinata's smile fell as well, becoming much more serious. She didn't bother saying anything to the officers- she never trusted the police to do anything at all to help her. Really, Hinata would have been a full-blown anarchist if it wasn't for the fact if she stopped obeying the government everything would fall into absolute chaos as other powerful beings decided to go rouge as well.
"I see," she said softly, examining the scene once. She let go of Tenshi's hand, going over to the blood trail.
The blood trail had led outside the alleyway where it had taken a left before completing disappearing. With how abruptly the disappearance of the trail was, it was as if something just came and ripped it apart of reality. Or at least, took it somewhere that wasn’t as real as the Labyrinth. Or rather… it was in the Labyrinth, just not near here.
Hinata followed the trail as far as it went, sighing and rubbing her eyes some when it ended. She knelt, careful not to touch the evidence. It ended abruptly, enough to where she knew the… source, hadn't been picked up. She stood slowly, hands in her pockets. This was quite intriguing, in a macabre fashion.
“The blood trail doesn’t make sense physically…” the fox had said, rubbing his chin. “Do you think someone had dragged the man away un-physically somehow?” He’d asked.
(A. Suggest portals)
(B. Suggest pit holes)
(C. Suggest flight)
(D. Suggest teleportation)
"Yes, it's the most plausible answer." Hinata thought for a moment. It wasn't a portal, unless it had been opened directly on the body. This eliminated flight was well- there would have been some indication the body was lifted for that, which usually left a faint trail for a little after the main part.
"They were probably teleported," she finally said, looking back up at Tenshi. "It would explain why the trail just cuts off instead of having some kind of taper at the end."
Tenshi had nodded to her idea. “Sounds likely,” he had presented. “That can be a lot of people then, a lot of Knights here have teleportation abilities, although they aren’t exactly similar,” the fox had said, smiling softly. “Then again…” the fox had continued before shaking his head. “Unlikely,”
"And unfortunately there isn't very much we can tell about the type of teleportation used, except that it seemed some form of instantaneous due to the point that I see no indication of blood pooling while the victim was resting on the ground stationary." Hinata tilted her head.
"Who do you have in mind? We shouldn't eliminate any suspects yet, no matter how unlikely."
“I have many suspects in mind. The one I was thinking about was a Artistry Knight from the Fallen Sector,” he mentioned. If he was being honest with himself, Tenshi didn’t want to even get close to the Fallen Sector as he doesn’t feel welcome there.
"I see." Hinata let out a breath. "I believe that's the Sector I was taken to when first brought here, but I'm not entirely sure on that. The man I did meet was polite, I'm sure there might be some chance I could go talk to him…" Hinata thought a long moment on that.
“That man must’ve been Zeros. He’s well known for being quite polite with everyone but one person in the entire Labyrinth,” Tenshi had claimed. “Though… if I could, I’d prefer not going there myself. You can go, of course. It will be a great course of action if we can confirm or cut out certain people from the ‘currently infected’ list,” he added, sighing some.
(A. Go alone)
(B. Stay with Tenshi)
(C. Try to persuade him)
"Ah, I see." Hinata wasn't quite sure who the person Zeros was not polite to, but she thought it might just be the fox she was talking to.
"I'll go, then, and see what I can discover. I'll be back soon, hopefully. Keep safe, okay?" Hinata could handle herself if things went wrong, and she had no reason to not believe she'd be able to get the information she was seeking.
Tenshi nodded and gently took her hand.
“Stay safe, alright? I’ll keep Matthew safe, I swear,” with that, he slowly pulled back and turned away, back to where the Syrain estate was.
Now, the Fallen Sector was to the furthest south of the land. She was going to have to pass a lot of cities to head there.
"Thank you…" Hinata watched Tenshi go, letting out a sigh. She hoped he would keep himself safe, too. So, with an empty stomach and a goal in mind, Hinata started off to the Fallen Sector.
… This was going to take a while, wasn't it.
Damnit.
As Hinata continued towards the Fallen Sector, she was destined to pass by a certain building which looked like a hospital. Some people were going in with broken limbs, a fractured skull, or, worst case scenario, being quite literally decapitated. Almost.
Hinatta couldn't help but shiver at the injuries she saw on those who were going into the hospital was not savory memories came to mind. She slowed some in her walking, taking in the scene for a moment.
Looking at the scene, it would only induce more fear into Hinata as the patients, some having far worse injuries than others, cried for help. It looked as if some of them were soldiers, based on their clothes, or had been a soldier, based on their bodies. Nevertheless, the hospital was not an ideal place to be in. What’s worse, was the fact that some were already dying outside the place, unable to be saved. The doctors were clearly trying their best. Their best, not being enough. Perhaps it was better to move on. What was gone, was gone for good. The Fallen Sector was still a long distance away. There was no guarantee though, that the things that had happened to the poor souls by the building wouldn’t happen to Hinata as well.
It was only a moment before Hinata averted her eyes. Too much death- it made her stomach seize up. The small part of her that was jealous… It didn't help. It made her feel ashamed of herself- those people were in pain, the kind only they and she could understand, the pain of feeling their mind losing control of their body, of everything un-focusing and turning black. For a battle most wouldn't make a difference in. When was it ever the foot soldier who was anything more than fodder? Who actually took down the enemy? In this world of powers and strength, the weak could only matter in death.
Enough of that. Hinata pulled all these thoughts to the side, banishing them as she hurried on. Her head was ducked down, and she wasn't going to look up until she couldn't see the hospital behind her anymore, couldn't hear it.
Soon enough, Hinata would enter what could only be assumed to be a new Sector. Yet, it wasn’t the Fallen Sector she was in before. It was colorful. Buildings were decorated with multicolored glass, crystals, geode formations, and smiles on the locals’ faces, some even greeting Hinata as she passed by. This place seemed more peaceful it would seem…
It helped, that this place was more peaceful. She had no idea what Sector it was, had a very vague idea as to how far she had to go, and had left pretty much the only people she really knew in this place. This was going to be interesting, to say the least. Not to mention, that no matter how well she seemed to take the few greetings she received, it always put her on edge when being greeted by strangers. Especially with what was going on at the moment.