Spying on SEBEC
   
  

 /=====================( - Lunarvale - Sebec Building - )=====================\ 
|                                                                              |
|  Sebec, the shortened name of the Sakei Electronics / Biological / Energy    |
| Corporation, is the most dominant corporate entity in all of Lunarvale.      |
| Responsible for all sorts of advances in the many fields it specializes in,  |
| many households hold at least one Sebec product. Its main headquarters is    |
| located past the north end of the industrial area.                           |
|  A recently constructed building, it is very new and quite slick. The color  |
| black is prominent through not only the lobby, but out through the hallways  |
| that lead to the various offices. Citing security reasons, their hallways    |
| are set up as twisty mazes that make it hard for complete strangers (or      |
| intruders) to tell which way they're going. A highly restricted area down    |
| below where more intensive research happens appears more a shelter than a    |
| corporate building, steel floors and blast doors a seemingly unnecessary     |
| touch.                                                                       |
|  Controversially, some areas are trapped with pressure-sensitive taser and   |
| gas traps, which Sebec largely gets away with due to the sensitivity of      |
| their work. After all, it would do no good for anyone who depends on their   |
| products to have their security compromised, now would it?                   |
|===============================( - Players - )================================|
| Yosuke Hanamura [KDA] <Flaemis>       Tohya Kidzuki [NWO] <Persephone>       |
| Takahisa Kandori [NWO] <Haunter In Da                                        |
|===============================( - Objects - )================================|

|================================( - Exits - )=================================|
| Out <O>:                 Lunarvale                                           |
 \============================================================================/
Lunarvale is such a nice city, isn't it?

Right now, however, it's a rainy day in this nice little place, cloudy and gloomy and generally amazingly well-suited to the sort of crazy spy fantasies that a pair of teenage boys could certainly cook up. It is a pretty slick building, but since after all it's only the headquarters of a major Japanese corporation, it welcomes visitors now and then. There's a fine lobby and waiting area, too, probably the easiest part of this mazelike builing to navigate.

Once inside the glass sets of double-doors, the shining example of success is visible: glossy, well-kept, and generally pretty swanky. It's well-lit, and there are a few doors leading other places. There are few people down here at this hour, considering that adults in the real world have jobs and suchlike and so forth, but there is someone behind a desk near the end of the room. She's a pale, pretty woman with few major distinguishing features other than her glasses, and she's typing away at a computer. One might assume that she's a secretary.


//we're basically the least likely ever to succesfully spy on these guys//
//i figure that's good enough reason to do it; SEBEC'll never suspect the KDA of sending a guy in neon colors to spy, let alone me. basically this plan can't fail//

That was Yosuke's plan, insofar as he'd completed it mentally. The rest was pretty much just going to have to come as inspiration as he went along; Inspiration that, mind, seems to be coming in spades as he walks through the initial doubledoors. It occurs to him, meanwhile, that he has been busy enough with his inner monologue about how great this is going to be he hasn't actually been paying attention.

Fumiya...IS following him? Not, like, going through a back door or anything?


Lunarvale. Fumiya hasn't found his way here yet, not before today at least. But he has been compelled to make the trip today for a few reasons. Not least of which was Yosuke's hare-brained scheme. Fumiya can't turn down something like that. Spy on SEBEC? He's all over it!

Yosuke need not fear, Fumiya isn't too far behind him. He's even cut down on the neon as well, sticking to a neon shirt under a black coat similar, but not identical, to their Yasogami uniform.

It's not until they cross the double doors tht Fumiya realizes that either they don't have a detailed plan past this point, or that he wasn't paying attention. Fortunately he's good at not panicking, and just leans in closer to Yosuke to whisper "...so what now?" as inconspicuously as possible.


Of course, SEBEC would /never/ expect a pair like this to show up and do anything. After all, they might notice that there have been no security guards alerted to their presence, no alarms going off, and no dorms slamming shut and locking on their own.

It might actually be a little disappointing that nothing seems to happen, except the secretary glancing up as they start quietly speaking with one another. "Good evening, welcome to the Sakei Electronics/Biological/Energy Corporation's offices. Is there something I can do for you?"


Of course, SEBEC would /never/ expect a pair like this to show up and do anything. After all, they might notice that there have been no security guards alerted to their presence, no alarms going off, and no dorms slamming shut and locking on their own.

It might actually be a little disappointing that nothing seems to happen, except the secretary glancing up as they start quietly speaking with one another. "Good evening, welcome to the Sakei Electronics/Biological/Energy Corporation's offices. Is there something I can do for you?"


It's time for a plan, Yosuke. He cracks his neck a bit, thinking quickly as he walks up to the secretary. "Yeah! I, uh. I had a friend tell me you guys were offering internships. I thought she was full of it, of course, but she insisted, and I figured at the very least I'd get some sort of detail on how it works so I can shove it in her face later. This's just a buddy of mine."

Makes sense, right? This seems like a good adhoc plan.


Oh crap! They've been spotted! Red alert! Every man for themselves! Throw Yosuke at security and run!

Fumiya's not used to infiltration missions. Luckily he doesn't lose it, and remains in control of his expression despite feeling an intense 'oh crap' moment. He hangs back as Yosuke explains things and regains his composure, nodding at the appropriate times. Good so far.

"Yeah." Fumiya acknowledges. They're 'Buddies'. "I'm still a bit skeptical, but I thought I'd tag along. Uh, us high school students can never have too many potential options, ya know?" Right? Fumiya does his best to sound like a total preppy. That's the type of loser student these things usually look for first, isn't it?


Oh, is that so? The secretary looks away from her computer again, folding her hands down on the desk in front of her with a polite smile. "I see." Her attention moves to each of them in turn, and she speaks up again, "Well, come in out of the rain, then, and I'll see what I can turn up for you. Your friend did steer you the right way, I'm afraid, but perhaps you'll be armed with better ideas that she has this time, hm?" She waits a moment to allow them to do just that--after all, it wouldn't do to go shouting around the offices. It's not civilized.

"That's a very mature thought." It seems she's bought Fumiya's act, since she's already typing again. "What kind of work were you looking for? There are scholarship programs, too--SEBEC thinks that keeping in touch with our youth is vitally important to our future." The doors to elsewhere remain closed, of course.


Yosuke wanders up to the desk, trying to see if there's any obvious 'set kitten on fire' post-its just, you know, casually around. Without being too obvious. Who knows at this point, really?
"Ah--you never know. I've always wanted in on the legal system..." He chuckles a bit, "But, sure, I'd love to hear about scholarship programs. Is that just the, uh.....KNEW? ..THOUGHT? It was some kinda..." He snaps his fingers a few times. "Is it just that youth club in Inaba, or?"

Surely it's not /just/ Inaba that they do this in, right? Seriously? The entire world doesn't love that irritating little podunk that much?


Fumiya moves inside, following Yosuke. He also keeps an eye out for anything suspicious that might incriminate this Kandori guy. These big bad corporations are always bad news, at least in all the movies and television he's seen. While that might be a little silly, it's hard to abandon preconceptions.

When asked what kind of work he'd be looking for, Fumiya momentarily freezes up. The problem with winging everything is that you'll often be given a question you're not ready to answer. Luckily Yosuke's immediate response gives Fumiya time to come up with his own. "Yeah, law. Good ol' legal law." Well it wasn't so much coming up with his own as it was parroting what Yosuke said, but sometimes it's good to stay focused!

Fumiya takes a moment to look around as Yosuke continues with the questioning, trying not to make it look like he's intentionally snooping.

He wonders where the super secret elevator that leads straight to the CEO's office is located... there has to be something like that if this is an evil corporation...


The super secret elevator that leads to the CEO's office is in fact well known and positioned by the regular elevators. It's just guarded by a huge man in a dark suit with a prominent gun who looks as if he sleeps in a closet when not in use and has keys around his waist. Lots of keys.


Nope, no 'set kitten on fire' post-its, though there are a number of business cards here and there, and a marked phone with all sorts of names and numbers on the various buttons. It's just a regular desk, with regular things. What, would SEBEC really just leave all the good stuff out where anybody could see it?

Maybe. Maybe they would.

"Oh, no, it's much more than that. I'm sure you boys wouldn't be good candidates for the KNOWS program, since you're already clearly on the track to success." She smiles.

"Law, though? Both of you? Such a difficult course of study. You must be really hard-working to be considering something like that so young." For her part, if she even notices Fumiya sneaking around, she doesn't say anything about it. The happy man over by the elevator can handle that just fine on his own.

And law /is/ rather legal. "Here, let me get some brochures for you. The SEBEC legal program is one of the best, you know." All the better to cheat JUSTICE. Even if their mad science is better.


Yosuke looks around a bit, nodding slowly. "Hey, brochures are good, yeah. --Gotta say, nothing against KNOWS, but I'd feel a little silly signing up for a program like that. I've always kinda liked the idea of duking it out in a courtroom, though..."

Which...is technically true. Man, someday, when he becomes an epic prosecutor and gets to wear a jacket with a ridiculous amount of white ruffles, he might even get to send some SEBEC dudes to jail. That is kind of awesome.

He is all /for/ that.


Fumiya leaves Yosuke to the trials and tribulations of his fantasies in the court room and continues to suspiciously glance around as unsuspiciously as possible. Though he does pipe up again when the secretary mentions other programs.

"Well I'm not against looking at other options. If I decide law isn't for me it would be good to have a Plan B." He says. Anything to keep the secretary going while he keeps trying to find something to justify why they're there in the first place.

The big scary security guy looks big and scary and Fumiya doesn't risk giving him a second glance out of fear he might destroy him from that distance by flexing an arm muscle.

He finally decides to dig a little deeper regarding the KNOWS program. "Well, we might not be all that suitable for the KNOWS program, but it got our interest anyway. Maybe it's just, uh, academic curiousity but I was wondering how the center goes about helping... delinquents."


The guard, finishing his coffee, wanders off to the bathroom and to fetch more coffee. His footsteps shake the hallway. Before he goes, he takes what looks like a paper seal out of his back pocket, licks the back, and sticks it over the crack in the Private Elevator door, just in case. The characters morph and change on the paper, looking strange to the eye.


"Dreams of dramatic speeches, matching your wits against someone else?" With that, the secretary opens a drawer, pulling a few little folded bits of paper out and offering them to Yosuke, setting them right on the edge of her desk. "There you are."

Meanwhile, Fumiya rejoining the conversaton gathers her attention, too. "You are young, there's still time for you to think about what you want." She hasn't kicked them out yet, has she? But his attempts to dig are again met with a polite response. "Hmm, you don't much approve, do you? It's a very ambitious program. It makes use of intensive testing, coaching...everything meant to mold them into fine young members of society." And nothing more than that.

"Oh, excuse me, would you mind bringing me back a cup? I have such a long night here." She smiles over at the guard, seeing no issue, it would seem, with him leaving these two nice boys here.


"Yeah, thereabouts." He takes some of the pieces of paper and starts reading them intently, chuckling a little to himself. Who knows? ..Hey, that 'wishes come true' thing in Sumaru, and...

Well, that's a completely incapable-of-failure plan for later. For now, what's important is that big man the size of god guards a very clearly important elevator door. That's..--really, just comparing the elevators to Yuuka's map should probably be useful, at any rate. Not gonna do anyone any good if they go crazy tonight, after all.

"..I...uh. Actually. Little embarassing," He says, shifting his weight from side to side. "You guys don't...happen to have a public washroom?"


A nearby electronic sign blanks itself and resolves into an arrow pointing after the massive man. The arrow has the word "Washrooms" above it, as part of SEBEC's Psychotrophic Signage program - Showing You What You Want To See.


Fumiya watches the security guard walk off, and turns back to the secretary. Well things just got slightly less dangerous, but they're still not any closer to figuring anything out. Come to think of it, he's not even sure what it is they're specifically trying to figure out. Probably confirm Yuuka's map. But Fumiya has bigger fish to fry.

With the topic of KNOWS finally on the table, Fumiya tries to direct the conversation as carefully as possible. "Is that right? Well, I'm sure SEBEC is using only the best methods. There's actually a pretty notorious student in our high school who recently enrolled there. Thora Kobayashi. She almost seems like a lost cause, I wonder how successful the KNOWS program will be...?" Whether or not Yosuke already had words with Kandori over this, it can't hurt to try and find out more. Even if the secretary won't be willing to part with any sensitive information.

As the washroom sign lights up Fumiya eyes Yosuke curiously. Is he really going to play the bathroom card? Who on earth needs to suddenly use the can so urgently?


Souji arrives in the SEBEC complex some good time after the others. He figured it best to follow a bit behind as to not appear terribly suspicious. However, he eyes the others soon enough. Far too soon. The fact they were still in the lobby. This threw a bit of a monkeywrench in his idea. He was going to have to improvise.

Walking towards the desk, he nods to the others politely before mocking an apology, "Sorry I'm late."


They're such nice little papers, full of cheerful graphics. There's even a picture of that lovable lion on the KNOWS brochure, and they're all clearly made on fine paper, with great ink that certainly isn't bad for the environment. Meanwhile, Fumiya's questions receive their proper attention, though she appears to draw a blank on the name. "I'm afraid the KNOWS department isn't my area--I work here in Lunarvale. But I imagine that it'll be exactly as successful as she wants it to be. You know how it goes, hard work and diligence."

Even Yosuke's need for the bathroom--and the sudden appearance of that sign--don't get anything more than a slight laugh. "Sure. Just go right down that hallway, and you'll find it. The nice security man can show you the way." A pause, as Souji finally walks in, and the pale, pretty secretary reaches up to adjust her glasses as he reaches the desk.

"Are you a friend of theirs, then? Looking for an internship, too?" She smiles. "So nice to see such interest...but you know..." Her eyes scan the group again. "If you wanted, I could just make you an appointment to talk with someone about all this. You seem like such a fine, upstanding group of young men, after all. ....So, where are you boys from, anyway?" She starts typing before they even have a chance to answer.


Yosuke, meanwhile, wanders off towards the bathroom. This is an excellent ruse, he figures, pushing his way through the doors. Perhaps the rest of this mission will go completely wrong. Perhaps they'll all get shot. But this--this one part, will not be sullied, in any way, shape, or form. Yosuke strides up to a stall, looking around before opening the door.

Fumiya is never going to know Yosuke pretty much has had to pee for the past hour. It's just. You don't /say/ that when you're busy /spying/.


As Yosuke enters the stall, there is a clumping, as of the huge man leaving. then, the door opens. The door swings closed. Stomp. Stomp. Stomp.

Grey, scabrous legs can be seen outside of the stall. There is much groaning. A zombie's gotta do what a zombie's gotta do.


Fumiya tries not to look disappointed as the secretary doesn't give him any further info. He should've known, really, coming all the way out here for a different department entirely. But snooping around the KNOWS center directly has its own complications, especially with his own 'colorful' history there. It was worth a shot at least.

As Yosuke runs off to totally do important spying things and not just use the bathroom Fumiya tries to keep the secretary's attention, which should hopefully be easier with Souji arriving at the 11th hour. "Yeah, we're all from Inaba." Fumiya doesn't let on that /all three of them/ are actually from bigger cities and were sent there for varying reasons, that's not important. There all ...Inabians? ...Inabites?

"A meeting huh? That might work, though we don't have a whole lot of time today." Fumiya continues, trying to sound as on top of things as possible. "So who could we see, uh, assuming we could see anyone?"

A chill idly runs down Fumiya's spine. Nah, that distant sound couldn't have been a zombie...


"A meeting would be great, yes," Souji answers with a smile, looking between the others. He really wasn't certain what to say. Hell, he wasn't even sure if he should be here. Kandori still may want him dead after that time he interrrupted his lunch.


Since Yosuke is away at the bathroom, dealing with whatever fun surprises await there, the secretary instead gets to focus on Fumiya and, now, Souji. As Fumiya mentions where they're from, she smiles. "Ahh, Inaba. I see." She even seems to have heard of it, though, since they were talking about the KNOWS program, it was certainly an easy enough connection to make. That, and it's been in the news.

"Oh, don't worry, I don't think it would take terribly long. Let me just see if someone is available at the moment." Perhaps someone will be. She ignores the distant sound--perhaps Fumiya was just imagining it, really. Meanwhile, as she types, she focuses more on the boy with the silver hair. "So nice to see youths showing interest in their futures, as I was mentioning to your friends. But Inaba? I bet a boy like you can find a lot to do, even in a little town like that." She pauses, stopping in her typing. "I think someone actually is available. Just through the elevator, there." With another smile, she writes something down on a card, holding it out so that it's very easy to take. "I hope you get all the answers you're looking for."


The elevator door snaps open at the secretary's words, sitting, inviting. It has plush red carpeting and a comfortable leather couch inside.

In the bathroom, the zombie can be heard washing its hands then stalking toward the door. BUT WHO WAS YOSUKE?!?


Yep. That. That was a zombie. That was basically...yep.

Yosuke obviously cannot /perform/ while a /zombie/ is nearby!!!

So it takes him a while to finish, and...once he gets out, he looks around. He....Wait. Which way was back to the lobby so that he could argue his way into not being watched while he wandered around SEBEC's hallway--

...Yosuke stops. Facepalms. And just picks a random direction and goes that way. There's a one in two chance he'll get Random Exploration out of it, and he'll just claim he's dumb and got lost if that happens. Seems like a perfectly legitimate plan. RANDOM HALLWAY WANDER GO!


Yosuke wanders in the correct direction and ends up back at the lobby with Souji and Pals in short order. The elevator is still standing open. The zombie has already left the room when yosuke comes out, but a trail of toilet paper was leading in the other direction.


Fumiya actually was not expecting someone to be able to meet them immediately. Let alone to have an elevator, a surprisingly posh one, magically open up on command. That just screams bad news.

Maybe they should make an excuse to GTFO.

But, they certainly didn't go there to leave empty-handed, and Fumiya can probably feign interest in SEBEC's programs long enough to learn /something/. Plus, his decision is more or less made for him when he notices Yosuke leave the bathroom and wander off /somewhere else/ completely. Oy. Luckily it only takes a moment for Yosuke to re-appear. What's up with the layout of this crazy building?

Fumiya decides not to waste a potential opportunity, it's not like him to back down from anything after all, and nods to the secretary and heads for the elevator, with or without the other two.

Luck favors the bold? Well, SOMETHING favors the bold, anyway.


Souji eyes the far-too convenient elevator warily. As far as he knew, it could be a metaphorical, or perhaps even literal, portal to hell. Kandori liked traps, as the silver-haired boy has come to understand quite well and this reeked pungently of one. Before his own recklessness can defeat his better judgment, however, someone else's does.

He takes a deep breath as he eyes Fumiya making his way towards the elevator. For a fragment of a moment, he contemplates stopping him, but rather he begins walking in behind him.


It is very convenient, isn't it? And the secretary just sits at her desk like nothing at all is out of the ordinary. Even if Souji has been rather ignoring her comments toward him, as has Fumiya. The elevator looms over there, and it appears that all three of the boys are quite ready for their meeting.

Yosuke, at least, acknowledged her, and she smiles his way. "Have a good time, boys." With that, she goes back to her computer, taking just one moment to arrange a stray strand of her white hair. Back to work. Another day, another list of meetings to make. It's hard, being a secretary.


Yosuke ...does not know what just happened. He just knows that he's going to have to explain that there was a zombie in SEBEC's bathroom, and that's basically exactly what he never wanted out of anything ever. In any case, as he walks back into the lobby, vaguely depressed he /didn't/ end up wandering down some peculiar hallway of doom, Fumiya walks past him, and he just kinda...

"...Hey, guys? Guys, what did I--"

Well, if everyone's going into the mysterious elevator, fine, /whatever/, frigging probably doesn't even have a zombie in it, graghlaghlagh. In fact, for a few brief moments,while noone is looking, he makes a few zombie-like shambles, and rolls his eyes and lets his mouth hang open. Like that. That is the kind of zombie. That is how angry he is about this zombie thing.


Aww, poor Yosuke.

The elevator heads on up once they're inside, it has all of the regular emergency features such as an emergency phone, a stop button, and a floor indicator.

It is heading toward the top floor. On the top floor, someone settles things in their office, waiting.