[Ginko Sakatachi-Hijikata (SnowbloodSugarFiend)]

@toshizosaotome

[Rika SniperSugarSpirit Minami]

**Strategic Command Center: Crisis Briefing**

The heavy blast doors hissed open as Rika stepped into the command center, the scent of the Borderlands’ ozone still clinging to her tactical suit. She didn’t bother changing; the situation was moving too fast. **Commander Isao Kondo** stood at the head of the holotable, flanked by the stoic **Vice-Commander Toshizo**. To her side, **Captain Shuhei** offered a brief, supportive nod, though his eyes remained fixed on the data scrolling across the screens.

“Report, Chief,” Kondo barked, his voice like gravel. “We don’t have long. The ripples are widening.”

Rika stood at attention, her blue eyes sharp. “Commander. We successfully navigated the Borderlands perimeter. The ‘Hunt’ is active, but we encountered a more pressing anomaly: a displaced combatant from a separate reality. Code name: **Levi**.”

With a flick of her wrist, Rika uploaded the squad’s field data to the center table. Holographic stills of Levi’s gear—vorn, notched blades and a peculiar wire-propulsion system—shimmered in the air.

“His equipment is primitive by our standards, yet his efficiency is… staggering,” Rika stated, her voice calm and clinical. “I’m authorizing the playback of a helmet-cam recording from the 1st Squadron.”

The room went silent as the video played: a grainy, high-speed sequence of Rika and Levi engaged with a **Void Stalker**. Even in the low light of the dark forest, Levi was a blur of motion, his blades finding the creature’s weak points with surgical precision while Rika’s PSG-1 provided cover.

“He fought with a level of instinct that defies standard military training,” Rika continued, looking directly at Kondo. “My assessment? He is a high-tier tactical asset. If we can secure his cooperation and upgrade his ‘analog’ gear with our alloy-tech and SAT propulsion, he’ll be a force multiplier we can’t afford to lose.”

She paused, sensing the urgency of the sirens beginning to wail in the lower levels. “I recommend immediate integration into the military program, pending your approval, Commander. We need that kind of lethality on our side before the next wave hits.”

@ketchuplord @toshizosaotome @fruitchinposamurai

• This reply was modified 2 weeks ago by  Rika SniperSugarSpirit Minami.
• This reply was modified 2 weeks ago by  Rika SniperSugarSpirit Minami.

[Toshi Hijikata Saotome ‡ TenebrozusVampyruszSugarDemon]

The holotable pulsed crimson as the final seconds of Rika’s footage replayed—Levi, suspended mid-air by twin filaments of wire, pivoting with impossible grace to drive both blades into the Void Stalker’s neural cluster. The creature collapsed in a twitching heap, dissolving into static miasma. Silence followed. Not even the hum of the servers pierced it.

Commander Isao Kondo exhaled through his nose, arms crossed. “A soldier from another world,” he muttered, eyes never leaving the hovering image of Levi’s blood-smeared face. “And you’re certain he’s not a enemy.”

“Biometrics confirm organic origin,” Rika replied. He doesn’t know where he is. But he knows how to survive.”

Vice-Commander Hijikata stepped forward, his long coat whispering against the metal floor. For a man who spoke only when necessary, his presence filled the room. He studied the schematics of Levi’s ODM gear—bulky by 13th Bureau standards, powered by pressurized gas canisters.

“Primitive,” he echoed Rika’s words, but his voice held something unexpected—interest. He zoomed in on the blades. “But the precision. The economy of motion. This man doesn’t waste a single movement.” A pause. Then, quietly: “I’ve seen assassins, cyborg operatives, even psionic elites. I’ve never seen combat like that.”

Shuhei glanced at him, surprised. “You’re seriously considering this?”

Hijikata turned, his gaze like a scalpel. “We’re three days from the next Void surge. The border fortresses are cracking. We’ve lost two squads in the last 48 hours. And now we have a warrior who kills like instinct is his command language.” He looked at Kondo. “Deny him, and we’re idiots. Hold him back with red tape, and we die slower. He doesn’t have the presence of an enemy. It’s as Rika says, he’s a survivor and he was definitely in the military troops in his own world.”

Kondo’s jaw tightened. The sirens below rose in pitch—a containment breach in Sector G. Time was bleeding out.

Rika didn’t flinch. “He asked for one thing: purpose. Not asylum. Not answers. A fight. He said, ‘If your enemy’s stronger than Titans, I’ll cut it down.’”

A dry chuckle cut through the tension. Hijikata removed his gloves, tossing them onto the table. “Then give him one. Recruit him. Rebuild that gear with monomolecular edges, integrate our SAT thrusters—make it sing. Put him under Rika’s wing. Train him on our protocols. In 72 hours, I want him in the field.”

Kondo stared at the frozen image of Levi standing over the dissolving Stalker—small in stature, immense in presence.

“God help us if he turns,” Kondo said.

Hijikata’s voice was steel. “God? If he does turn, he’ll face me. Then we’ll see if God has anything to do with it.”

The holotable shifted—new orders cascading across the display. Asset Levi: Clearance Alpha-9. Immediate integration. Project: Phantom Blade active.

Outside, the storm over the Borderlands deepened. Somewhere in the compound, a lone figure sharpened twin blades—waiting.

And the hunt was just beginning.

Kondo gives in and sides with Hijikata, Shuhei nods. “It’s settled then. Recruit him! And Chief Rika, excellent work, as always!”