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Post by Akon Santsuno on Oct 13, 2024 19:36:24 GMT -6
Bleach Unrated: REBOOTEDCurrent Arc: The ChaosEpisode 546 "Where in the World is Gojo?": Akon yawned as he walked into the Digital Archives room in the Twelfth Division. Thankfully, the Digital Archives was not a part of the main laboratory, but there was--had been--a bridge that connected the two buildings since oftentimes the Research and Development team needed to access the archives for their research. That bridge was now a pile of rubble that was still being cleaned up. Thankfully, no one had been in the bridge at the time. Regardless, that was barely consolation at all for all of the team members they had lost to the theft of the lab. Though he didn't show it, the loss weighed heavy on Akon's heart. Becoming overcome with emotion wouldn't solve anything. It wouldn't bring back all of the lives that had most likely been lost. The Digital Archives, as one might have guessed, was a digital recreation of the Daireisho Archives, completely virtualized and categorized and, most importantly, unsupervised by the Central 46. It was a project that had begun in conception when they learned just how much of the Daireisho Sosuke Aizen had accessed in researching the Hogyoku and the Oken before the Winter War. Twelfth Division, in addition to having a digital copy of everything ever recorded in the archives, could also monitor the information going in and out. Who was accessing the information and when and even why. So it had become part of the routine of Twelfth Division to check the logs and the integrity of the files make sure everything was all status quo. Being Third Seat and usually the one that ran the show when Captain Kurotsuchi was "busy" and Nemu was off carrying out orders on behalf of the "busy" captain, this task often fell to Akon. Akon took a large gulp of his black coffee and sat the mug on a tray labeled with a sign that said "DRINKS HERE YOU MAGGOTS OR I'LL USE YOU AS MY NEXT TEST SUBJECT!" The sign and tray had shown up one day when a very tired, very overworked RnD member had come in to check some files and spilled energy drink all over the keyboard. One of the sugary, sticky ones that seemed to instantly turn to syrup whenever it hit open air. He pulled a dorayaki cake out of his RnD coat and set it on another tray that said "FOOD TOO! OR I'LL FEED YOU TO MY EXPERIMENTS INSTEAD!" ... That one was his fault. He forgot to clean up the crumbs ONE TIME and never heard the end of it from neither Kurotsuchi or the other RnD members. "This is why we can't have nice things!" one of them had griped. Akon, finally emptied of all threats to the machinery and Kurotsuchi's last shred of sanity, sat down on the rolling chair in front of the three massive screens and three equally massive keyboards that reminded Akon of a church organ he had seen in pictures brought back by some of his colleagues after a mission in the world of the living. He clacked on the keyboard closest to him and typed in his login. Hitting "enter" the screens beamed to life, pulling up the main portal of the Digital Archives. "Alright," he sighed. "Let's get this over with so I can finish my breakfast and get started on that project from last week." And maybe a cigarette too. He hadn't had one yet. |
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Post by Fuu Ayumu on Oct 13, 2024 19:44:45 GMT -6
Fuu stepped into the Digital Archives with her usual determined expression, her storm-gray eyes scanning the room before resting on Akon. She was here for business, though she couldn't help but find the place a bit overwhelming with its sheer size and complexity. As she approached Akon's station, she cleared her throat to catch his attention.
"Morning, Akon," she greeted, her voice even. "I need to research a name. It’s part of an investigation I’m working on for Division Nine." She pulled out a small slip of paper from her sleeve and handed it over to him. The name on it was written clearly: "Gojo."
"I'm looking for any record of this person," she explained. "It's connected to an... underground group we’ve been keeping an eye on. I was told that Twelfth Division might have more information archived than we do."
She stepped back slightly, watching Akon’s reaction, her fingers tapping idly against her thigh. Fuu was good at research, but even she knew that sometimes, she needed help accessing certain files. Especially when it came to Twelfth Division's treasure trove of information.
“Think you can help?”
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Post by Akon Santsuno on Oct 13, 2024 19:56:23 GMT -6
Akon glanced over his shoulder with a grunt, seeing his fellow Third Seat from Ninth Division. He saw her fairly often. Often enough that they were on a first name basis, same rank or not. She was nice enough. Smart too. Sometimes she brought him snacks as payment for information, especially when it was something wildly inconvenient he had to research for her.
He took the paper from her and looked at it. "You realize I just sat down at this thing thirty seconds ago? I haven't even gone through my checklist of logs I have to check." He spun back around in his chair and faced the computer again, setting the slip of paper down in front of the keyboard. "Normally I'd tell you to fuck off until a reasonable hour--preferably after lunch--but since we're both Third Seats, I'll give you a pass." He opened the search tool for the Soul Society Census Records, which were done yearly, and began copying in the name and search parameters. "At least you remembered to narrow down the search this time instead of just throwing noodles at the wall to see what sticks. So... who's 'Gojo'?"
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Post by Fuu Ayumu on Oct 13, 2024 20:04:52 GMT -6
Fuu smirked at Akon’s remark, crossing her arms as she leaned against the desk. "I figured I’d catch you before you got buried under logs and projects. Timing’s everything, right?" She glanced at the screens, watching as he started the search.
"Gojo," she repeated thoughtfully. "I don’t have much yet. He’s connected to a group we’ve dubbed the 'Robin Hood' crew. One of their runners, but my gut is telling me this guy’s probably more than just a runner or lackey. Maybe a handler or someone higher up. Thought it might be worth seeing if his name pops up anywhere official."
She straightened, her tone shifting slightly more serious. "If he’s in the census or has any ties to the Seireitei, it could help narrow down where to look next. But if he’s not… then that tells us something, too." Her fingers idly brushed the edge of Akon’s desk, glancing down at the slip of paper. "I’ll owe you one for this—snacks after lunch sound good?"
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Post by Akon Santsuno on Oct 13, 2024 20:31:13 GMT -6
Akon held up three fingers over his shoulder as he kept typing and searching. "Three Cs, Fuu. Caffeine, calories, and coin. Bring me one of them and we're straight."
He hit enter on the search and waited a couple of minutes before a list of names auto filled into a list ready to review. "Alright. Let's see what we got here. 'Gojo' as either a family name or given name. White hair, long. Grey eyes. 178 centimeters approximately. Possible Rukongai soul. No age range is probably going to throw this whole thing off. Possible leg injury. No visible tattoos or scars. Number of hits in the census... More than we can count, but they're organized from most likely to least likely."
Akon looked over the names before he hummed in interest. "It says here at the top that no direct match can be found. Closest hit is a thirty-something year old soul named Satoru Gojo. Short white hair. Blue eyes though. And definitely not 178 cm. Died not too long ago. About five years. Cut in half? Yikes. Sucks to be him. No tattoos or scars." He turned and looked at Fuu. "You got any other info on this guy? Cause from there, the list just devolves into hits that are less than fifty percent matches. Unless you brought me a name you know is a fake, in which case I'm gonna have to charge you extra. One of those cream filled circular croissants from Lady Mai's Bakery in Third District."
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Post by Fuu Ayumu on Oct 13, 2024 20:43:46 GMT -6
Fuu pondered the information Akon had pulled up, her brow furrowing slightly as she thought about the name. "Hmm, yeah, I had a feeling it could be fake. The guy didn’t exactly inspire confidence in his honesty." She chuckled softly, shaking her head. "Gojo, Satoru... short white hair and blue eyes? Sounds close, but something's off. No leg injury either, and him being dead -- definitely not a perfect match."
She tilted her head, mulling it over. "I don’t have much more to go on, though. The guy who gave me the name was slippery, didn’t stick around long enough to fill in the details. And with the whole Robin Hood crew involved, I wouldn’t put it past them to throw out fake names just to mislead us."
Fuu giggled again when Akon mentioned his extra payment. "Oh, so now we’re getting fancy, huh? Cream-filled croissants? I guess for this much effort, I’ll consider it. Lady Mai’s does make the best." She flashed him a teasing grin. "But seriously, thanks for digging into this. Even if it turns out to be a dead end, it’s better to rule things out."
She straightened up, ready to move on but still keeping things light. "I’ll get your payment after lunch, Akon. You’ve earned it."
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Post by Akon Santsuno on Oct 13, 2024 20:54:23 GMT -6
"If you find out anything else, come back and I'll run the search again. Just bring me something substantial this time," Akon told her as he turned to face her fully. He shook his head. "This thing has a lot of info on it. A lot of souls come in and out of Soul Society. The more pieces of the puzzle you bring me, the easier I can fill in the gaps. As many cross references as possible. Even if it's something small like he's missing his third toe on his left foot or he eats egg fried rice on Fridays." He gestured to the computer. "Otherwise you'll be hunting ghosts all century."
When Fuu nodded and headed off to leave, Akon added as he turned back around to face the computer, "You bring the croissants and I'll bring the coffee. The good kind and not the pig piss Hiyosu makes. As a matter of fact, you can take that mug of shit over there on the tray and toss it into the trash on your way out."
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Post by Fuu Ayumu on Oct 13, 2024 21:01:36 GMT -6
Fuu giggled, shaking her head at Akon’s typical bluntness. "Fair enough, I'll try to bring you more to work with next time. Missing toes, rice habits, and all." She gave him a playful grin as she grabbed the mug of awful coffee from the tray, eyeing it like it was toxic. "I’ll definitely save you from this 'pig piss,' but you owe me the good stuff when I’m back."
She made her way toward the door, pausing for a moment before turning back with a smile. "After lunch, I’ll bring the croissants. Consider it payment in advance for running that search again."
With a nod of appreciation, Fuu left the room, tossing the vile coffee into the trash as instructed.
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Post by Akon Santsuno on Oct 13, 2024 21:09:22 GMT -6
Once Fuu was gone, Akon took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders and cracked his knuckles. He closed the Census Records portal and opened up the back end of the archives to check and make sure none of the files were corrupted or missing. After about five minutes he had gotten into the groove of things when suddenly red lights flashed on all of the monitors and a loud blaring alarm screamed at him from the speakers. Akon nearly jumped out of his seat as the screens fizzled out and were replaced with the horrifying image of his captain's face on the screens, zoomed in to an excessive degree as if he could peer straight through the glass at Akon. Odds were, he could. "AKON!" Mayuri's voice shouted through the speakers, his all white, unnaturally straight teeth gnashing as he spoke. "FUCKING HELL!" Akon cursed as he sat back in his chair and placed a hand on his heart to make sure it was still beating. He sighed heavily. " Yes, Captain? How can I help you?" He tried to keep the bite out of his tone. Mayuri’s voice blared through the speakers with his usual irritation, “Akon, stop wasting time on whatever meaningless drivel you’re indulging in and get to Temporary Lab 7—now. I need you to recalibrate the neuro-synaptic analyzer again after someone with half a brain ruined it. Don’t make me come find you.”Akon didn't even have a chance to say yes or no before his captain's face fizzled out and the screens returned back to normal. He groaned and let his face fall in his hand. "Fuck my life..." The checklist did not get done that day. -END- "Gifts From the Heart" |
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