Step 1: Arm Thy Self: Demon Hunting

He had walked away from Isla and the group that had gathered there with much on his mind. While he agreed to aid with this whole Azami and Zachary issue, the young man had not created a solid standing with either party he agreed to aid. Did this mean he was going back on his word? No. He was going to follow through and do his investigations; however, before getting a clearer picture he was not going to stand completely with one side or the other. He knew what running headlong into any of this could mean. He could fall into another hole…and maybe this time not come back.

While the young man was still perplexed why Fate had brought him back stripped of most of his power, he still had to move forward if anything was to be discovered. So alone, he would move through the streets of San Malarus and towards the station. Once at the station, he would take note that a stopped train was currently on the tracks. With no guards here currently, he would approach the doors that slid open automatically despite no passengers or a driver being around. Not really questioning this, Hiro would enter the train and head towards the back. While some doors slid opened automatically, others he had to figure out how to open manually. It was a bit of a struggle, but with time, he was able to get through the train and onto the last car.

Struggling with the manual lock on the door, Haru would eventully get it to unlock and finally letting him out to the small railed landing beyond. Back out in the coolness of the underground, Hiro would scope out his surroundings before carefully launching himself over the rails.

With a heavy crunch, he landed on the tracks and gravel beyond in a crouch before standing once more. As he began to walk, Aria would slip out of the pouch she hid in earlier and fly next to him for now as the tunnels became a series of dimly lit turns. Together, they would begin their trek to Standasen Island, taking their time as they began to hunt for something in the tunnels….something that could perhaps aid them should the island they were targeting proved threatening.

Despite how tense, Hiro was the young man found himself oddly relaxing the more he walked. Moving along the tracks and occasionally having to contend with a halted train was all he really had to do while he was in the tunnels. He wasn't sure what was going on here though. While he was still in the area of the protected island, he suppose the barrier kept the creatures at bay, but once past that safe wall? He wasn't sure quite sure what kept the demons at bay. Maybe they were distracted by what was happening on the surface and perhaps this was a sign he too could be the same for a bit.

Taking a moment to pause in his track, Hiro would attempt to summon the board he once used two years ago to keep track of things going on. He wasn't sure if he could do this or not, but surprisingly this one ability stuck with him from his days of being a fallen VA. As the familiar chess board appeared before him, it would create a strange layout of the islands and the blurry versions that use to be the clear mirror sides of each island. Something was warping the presentation, but at least with this he could somewhat see what the heck was going on.

Watching the board as Aria leaned forward in the air to observe, Hiro would watch as old pieces were replaced by new ones. The first big change was the introduction of the strange pieces in the shape of Zodiac symbols. Scorpio and Gemini seemed to have been on the very island he was heading for. While he wasn’t sure what happened, it appeared that some form of damage had been done to Scorpio. Maybe whatever that represented had gotten into a fight or perhaps it simply meant that the thing it represented was naturally damaged in some fashion.

Taurus seemed to be on Penecia Island along side Pieces…Hmmm. Perhaps that was the girl he had met alongside of the man when he was speaking to Isla and maybe the other was her friend; however, who was who was hard to say and the large amount of solider pieces suggested a battle of some sort was happening there. There was a third on the island with them in the form of a knight, but how he was connected to the Zodiacs Hiro did not know. He didn’t bear a symbol as clearly as the others. That was a bit troubling. Hm. He'd have to watch that one.

Aries and Sagittarius seemed to reside in the blur of the other worlds, but what they were up to was hard to say with the swaying of the worlds. Aquarius and Capricorn seemed to be around each other, but much like the other two they were in the other worlds making it hard to see what was happening; however, it appeared the pair were near a piece that radiated with the light that belonged to those that were chosen by Philemon. A wild card? And where was its counterpart?

Hiro’s eyes would scan the board. It seemed the last place the chaotic piece had been was on Standasen, but where it had gone pass that was unknown. Hmm…He wondered if losing that piece meant he lost something vital to his investigations. He sure hope that wasn’t the case. It would be very annoying to do double work because of such a flaw in the way the system Fate ran worked.

In any case, it appeared another of the zodiacs had been revealed this time on Lunapa where yet another large group had gathered. The piece here was Leo...Did the ones gathered at that location suggest another battle then?

Hmmm...that was quiet a bit with at least six on this side of the world and about three or more on the other side. Why were they scattered like that and why it seemed some were in strife with others didn’t make sense after what he had heard, but maybe things weren’t all what they seemed.

In the midst of this madness a white piece marking Isla and purple piece marking Zachary would appear on the board, but even stranger than these two outcast on the board was the appearance of two other pieces that mimicked the WCs. Seeing this, Hiro would frown not sure why two sets of wild cards seemed to be on the board. Maybe so much was going on that even the unseen couldn’t figure it out. Maybe the confusion caused the double images. Who knew?

What was known was that at least Hiro had some understanding of what was on the board. While it was true the board told him little, at least it helped him brace himself for whatever hell rested ahead. Dismissing the board for now, Hiro would push onward moving himself from the tunnels and to his destination.

~ Haru has exited the tunnels and has come out: Here ~