Keep your friends close[FINISHED]

"So what you're saying is, in the end, nothing much has changed for the people of China?" Styn confirmed while resting his chin on an upraised hand. The woman across from him would pass unremarked among the local populous, with distinct Asian features. Her simple, but well made attire put her firmly in the business class. In fact the two of them were even now sitting in her shop. It was late at night and the store was now closed.

When standing, Styn was not quite six feet tall, taller then average perhaps, but not in a way that stood out. His medium build accentuated his averageness, he wasn't quite slim, but fell short of heavily muscled. Dark green hair only an inch or so in length, could possibly be a dye job. Pale violet eyes, while a questionable fashion choice, were not outside cosmetic modification. Both ears came to slight point at the apex of their arc, something easily overlooked. His teeth might be a bit sharper then normal for a human, but they retained the same basic shape and placement. The demon's nails also came to a point and were thicker then common, but were by no means long talons or claws. All and all - discounting Za Koa which was naturally suppressed in this base form - Styn would go unremarked in most locations. Unchallenged was another story entirely.

The Knight of the First Circle sported a dark green business suit, almost black outside of direct light. The pale violet tie was clearly meant to bring out his eyes, which were somewhat concealed behind a pair of gunmetal gray glasses with translucent bottom rims. Black dress shoes capped out the attire, with especial detail paid so that the combat boot soles didn't look out of place. Still the effect lacked a certain something. First of all, his white button down shirt was untucked, which his unbuttoned dark green jacket didn't quite conceal. His tie was loosened at least an inch, and cocked slightly to the left. His pants looked a bit rumpled and his shoes were scuffed. In addition his eyes had heavy dark bags under them and his stare was half lidded, giving him the appearance of someone tired or sick.

The woman opposite him seemed completely unimpressed, and that opinion had not swayed in the slightest during their long conversation. "Why is first circle involved in this again?" The woman asked with no small amount of skepticism.

Styn gestured vaguely with his free hand. "Oh you know, kicking the tires and what not. Some of the new equipment you reported is interfering with our portals. I'm stress testing the area tonight. If I find anything interesting that Kokuryuteshi is going to notice anyway, we'll write up a report and send it to them as a gesture of good will. In the unlikely event that a subtle security flaw is detected we'll...file the information away for future speculation."

The woman grunted something that might have been agreement. Finishing the last of his tea, Styn got to his feet. "You've been very helpful. I'll be sure to mention you favorably in my report," Styn said. Another grumble was his only answer as he made his way out into what passed for a night life in this modern day Hong Kong. The young demon could hardly fault her attitude. From the information he had read before heading out, the woman was an experienced field agent in Shadow Fall. In years at least, she was very much his senior, and most likely resentful of the young upstart.

There was still a whole city to investigate though. The impact that K-world had had on the region was tremendous. This had been a key focus of their administration, even as the battles against Iori Sugiora raged on across the country. Recently the VIP Sing Iramasha had made a visit to the area, prompting Styn's own deployment into the field. It wasn't the sort of mission he had much experience with in the past. He sometimes wondered what Hobgoblin's plan for him was. He'd worked point on several missions now that had only the vaguest relations to his standard duties as a First Circle Knight. In this case, it wasn't an official Shadow Fall mission even.

Still, he had his orders. For the next few hours the demon made his rounds. Every so often he stopped and began the process of opening a rip in space. Kage Chokyo-shi was actually a bit of a specialty for him. The young demon performed all sorts of tests, always stopping before full materialization, so as not to alarm nearby residents. Styn tried opening portals into the demon realm, hueco mundo, other areas on earth, and even two portals into soul society. Each result and observation was carefully recorded and documented for later contemplation.

The security was certainly higher then it had been just a few weeks earlier. No doubt that K-world was here to stay. The residents seemed to be going about their life normally, in fact the degree of discipline and order was much higher then in most Shadow Fall controlled communities. It was doubtful such facts were not common knowledge to his superiors though. No he was looking for something a bit more substantial to take back with him.

It was most likely the reason he stayed walking, even as the many of the evenings entertainments began to shut down. Slowly the crowds diminished. Styn never quite found himself alone in the city, not in a place this size, but with only hours until sunrise, he was certainly less troubled by any sort of traffic. Taking a moment to sit on the lip of a large pool, with a fountain in the center, Styn wondered if it was time to make his exit after all.

Styn had been hoping to catch a member of Sing Iramasha's entourage out and about in the city. His blunted spiritual detection capabilities were fully deployed hoping to get a chance to force an encounter. Sadly, either most the people who had arrived in the area with her were gone, or saying in for the night. In the end the Demon Knight was forced to wonder if his journey wasn't just another waste of time.

He supposed that it was a good chance to see what the Kokuryuteshi was capable of when they got serious about empire. At the moment they were allies of Shadow Fall, but such things were fluid and subject to change. When the leader of your people was the embodiment of insanity it wasn't easy to imagine that the fault would lie with someone else either. To serve such a Queen, knowing that you might not have any sort of moral high ground was some times disheartening.

Life was interesting though, and for that Styn wouldn't change a thing. He wouldn't always be middle management, carrying out the incomprehensible orders of those placed above him. The Demon Knight stared down at his hand a moment, opening and closing it into a fist. He could feel his power growing exponentially. Whatever laid at the end of his current journey wouldn't be something that the Demon World had seen very often. What was important to him now was keeping his identity intact.

With a shrug Styn concentrated on opening a portal back to Shadow Fall Village. There were a few things he needed to wrap up back at headquarters anyway. He had met some interesting people in the last week and still hadn't finished submitting his observations. The work of a flunky was never done, especially when you were one of the few who took the time to manage the little things. With those thoughts already replacing his disappointment, Styn walked through the Kage Chokyo-shi and left China.