Hinata was not upset to hear of Felix’s death, yes she had followed his orders to capture Mary Elise but she was against the entire endeavor, they had acted too rashly and without enough intel, but as she always had, she followed her orders. It was not her place to question her superiors.
A new mission promised to remedy the mistake of the last mission; Hinata was ordered to stake out an amusement park in another timeline, a timeline usually forbidden to enter due to it being labeled as “tainted”. Their intel suggested that it was one of the places Mary Elise might seek refuge. There was no way for the normal to assault the place directly, it was protected by a loyal army and powerful magic. Hinata was forbidden to enter, she was to observe the entrance for any signs of Mary’s team.
That’s how Hinata came to a hotel room located across the street from the park. She had set up multiple hidden cameras and computer equipment for security and monitoring. Laid across the second bed were various guns and tactical gear, a high powered, anti-magic sniper rifle was mounted on a tripod facing the park entrance, it’s short barrel and integrated silencer ensured its subtlety.
She sat watching the park’s entrance through her window, sharpening Moon Slayer. The girl wasn’t wearing her armor and gear yet, only a school uniform that served as a disguise, as despite being over 80 years old she had the appearance of a teenager. She wore it properly, it wasn’t too different from her normal conservative clothing.
“Foxtrot Alpha, this is Golf-4. How copy? Over.” Her radio came to life.
“Golf-4, this is Foxtrot Alpha. Still no sign of Tangos, over.” She replied.
There was no sign of the group for over a day, Hinata knew that if they were inside they would not be coming out anytime soon, unless,
“How do we know they didn’t portal out? Over.” She asked.
“Negative Foxtrot Alpha, even if they did we’d know. Timeline travel, through tech or magic, is easily detected with the right equipment. Over.” He said.
“What about those two detections last night?” She asked.
“Negative for Tango’s signature, the ones last night were off the charts, way too powerful to be from Misery. Probably some other freak, over.” The voice explained.
“Copy that Golf-4, Foxtrot Alpha over and out.” She finished and went back to her observations.
“Maybe go out for a bite Foxtrot Alpha, we can’t order room service with your equipment in the room. Don’t worry, if they haven’t come out now, they’re unlikely to leave today. Golf-4 over and out.” He said.
Hinata looked back at the window and hid her sword inside a guitar case, she made sure her black hair was still in perfect pigtails. Hinata made sure her uniform was neat and tidy before leaving the hotel.
The Asian girl walked down the street past the entrance and kept glancing at the amusement park, she could always just burst in there and kill anyone on her path. But the reports about what had happened to Felix suggested a powerful individual was with Mary Elise, she was confident in her skills but she needed more intel if she was to take on someone like that. Besides, she had her orders and she would follow them.
This timeline was completely different from her own, almost the opposite of her timeline. Animal hybrids and supernatural beings lived side by side with humans. Hinata’s heart skipped a beat when she saw a red kitsune, it reminded her of the one who killed her family. It took everything she had to ignore it and keep walking.
This place was the antithesis of the organization that raised her, while she agreed with their goals she didn’t share their hatred and disgust. The girl wondered if she could change to her full kitsune form, nobody would notice, nobody would care. But she couldn’t, her human form was better, was normal.
Hinata was so lost in her thoughts that she collided with someone, both being thrown to the ground. The black haired girl made sure her skirt had not been flipped up and her clothes ruined.
“Sorry about that, are you okay miss…?” A voice asked and offered their hand.
“…uh, H-Hinata. No I-I’m okay.” She said maintaining her composure despite her embarrassment, she made sure to grab her guitar case.
She took the strangers hand and saw who had helped her…