The Proximation of Hello and Goodbye

16

Shinobu sits at his desk, idly clicking a pen as he looks at the reports that came in over the course of the weekend. He yawns looking at the summary for the next report in the stack that sits almost a kilometer high. There's no way I'm ever going to make it through all of these. I really need to do something about the number of reports that get written. This is a waste of my time. He drops his pen and shoves the report to the other side of the desk, sitting back in his chair. He lulls his head to the side, looking at Riku with a cold expression. "Is all of this really necessary for me to read? Isn't your job to sift through all of this and give me what's important?" he asks.

"It is important," Riku answers.

He nods, blinking slowly. "Right, because the grunt from the main office being sent to pick up a shipment of drugs is something that I need to know about. Really, do you just choose not to use your brain, or are you just that stupid?" Riku swallows. "If you want to keep your job, I suggest you start taking into consideration how valuable my time is when you read through these reports. I want this stack cut down by eighty percent by the time I get back. You have an hour."

"An hour?"

"Do I need to say it slowly or something? An hour, get it done," he demands standing to his feet and pulling his coat closed. "Or do I need to use more unconventional means of meeting my desired results?"

"No sir."

"Good," he sneers. "I'll see you after my break." He makes his way across the room and out into the hall. He hates this place more and more each time he comes. What's the point in having any of it if none of it is efficient enough to keep me from wasting my time? He takes the elevator down and to the parking garage, getting into his car. He pulls his personal phone from the console and looks at the messages on his phone. Some of them seem to calm his foul mood slightly, but all of that flies out the window upon reading a message from his assistant back at the main office. //Two of five planned captures this weekend turned out unsuccessful. Ready to discuss details at your earliest convenience. Please give me a call when you're available.//

He closes his eyes, trying to keep his anger checked. Not one, but two of his targets have gone unaccounted for. So much for keeping a tight schedule. He dials his personal assistant's number and presses the phone to his ear. He no sooner settles into his seat than he hears her voice over the phone. "Good morning, sir. How are you doing?"

"Pissed. Cut to the chase, which ones were we not able to get our hands on and why?" he asks, resting his head against the window of the car.

She clears her throat. "Right. The first one is the one with the quirk you were interested in, Suzuki Himari. Upon arriving at her apartment, the vessels were unable to locate her. They waited around for several hours before the effects of Compel wore off. They ended up making it back to their homes without arousing suspicion. It was later discovered that she'd gone out of town for the week and wouldn't be back in town until tomorrow. The best time to go after her again should be Wednesday of next week."

"Fine. We can deal with that. The other?"

"Miyamoto Ena wanted for unspecified reasons. The vessels arrived at the scene and tried to capture her, but were interrupted by the presence of a co-worker it appears. The report mentions the use of a so-called explosive quirk, one of which neither could hope to match up to. Ultimately, one of our people was captured and the other made it out okay," she explains. "He visited the hospital shortly after, brought in by another one of our people. The report mentions that the target had been admitted to the same hospital just twenty minutes later, only five minutes after the effect of compel would have likely worn off." She shuffles some papers around audibly, indicating that there's more to the story. "On the other hand, a report from the person we have stationed at the hospital says otherwise. According to this other report, they both arrived at the same time, quickly trailed by two of the target's co-workers, and finally by her savior."