"Mori, Counterintelligence Division chief," said a lean man with cold eyes. This one's skeptical, Daisy whispered in Hiroshi's mind. Indeed, Mori barely concealed a sneer as he spoke. "I look forward to showing you how we do things here, Assistant Director." The thought that flickered off him was something like "Little brat probably hasn't seen a day of real work". Hiroshi fought the urge to smirk and instead responded with an appreciative smile and a bob of his head. "I look forward to learning, Mori-san."
"Sato, Technical Research," offered a woman in a lab coat who gave Hiroshi a tight smile. Her surface thoughts came through indistinctly – Daisy hinted that Sato was outwardly calm but guarded. Technical Research was tied closely to the recent laboratory theft incident (where experimental Pokémon tech was stolen in the betrayal). Sato's department had a lot to prove now. Was her guardedness simply stress, or hiding guilt? Kirlia, from afar, pinged Hiroshi with a subtle gut sensation: unease. Not necessarily malicious – perhaps fear of blame. Hiroshi made a mental note.
"Hayashi, Admin and Finance." An older balding man nodded to Hiroshi. He seemed genial enough, but Daisy immediately flagged a discordant note: his thoughts were flitting, as if checking off some list… or plan. When Hayashi smiled, Kirlia's distant sense twitched – a hint of falsehood, maybe. Hiroshi memorized his face.
And so it went. The HR director, a middle-aged lady who welcomed Hiroshi kindly (Kirlia read genuine warmth – likely not an enemy). The Operations chief, a burly ex-military type who looked almost insulted to be outranked by a 20-year-old (no strong malice, just bruised ego). The Foreign Liaison officer, a sharply dressed man who gave a broad smile and spoke perfect English-accented Japanese in greeting. Daisy murmured that his mind was oscillating between Japanese and another language – Mandarin, perhaps unconsciously. Hiroshi engaged him in a bit of small talk about his background, and the man smoothly answered he'd spent years working with overseas partners. Kirlia pulsed steady, controlled emotions from him. Too steady? A possible foreign plant hiding behind diplomatic polish? Time would tell.
Then there was Chief of Internal Security, a stern woman named Hasegawa. She actually gave Hiroshi a slight bow of respect – possibly because, as internal security, she'd looked him up and saw the "high connections" in his file. Her mind was disciplined; Daisy could only skim that she was already thinking about "background checks" and "protecting the Director." Could be loyal… or could be a double agent with excellent self-control. Another to watch.
Finally, Director Takeda formally welcomed Hiroshi with a rehearsed spiel about "young talent infusion" and "honored to have the Cabinet's confidence." Takeda's smile remained pasted on. Daisy slid an impression into Hiroshi's mind: Takeda's thoughts are hard to read – he's trained, guarded, but there's irritation. Possibly he resented having an Assistant Director foisted on him. If Takeda was dirty, he'd surely be alarmed; if he was clean, he'd still be annoyed. In any case, he was on edge. "We trust you'll… adapt quickly to our branch's operations," Takeda said. "If you need any guidance, my door is open. I understand this is your first assignment in domestic intelligence administration."
Hiroshi gave a self-effacing laugh. "I admit I have a lot to learn, sir. My background is mostly academic." He placed just a hint of tremor in his voice, like someone trying to sound confident but revealing inexperience. "I'm grateful for the support. Director Makima spoke highly of everyone here." At the mention of Makima, he observed reactions carefully. A few around the table stiffened almost imperceptibly – Makima's name carried weight. She had been the one to purge a lot of deadwood even before the betrayal; loyalists revered her, and traitors surely feared her. The Foreign Liaison guy's smile faltered a millimeter. Admin Hayashi swallowed. Mori's lip twitched. Hiroshi pretended not to notice and pressed on. "I hope I can contribute… perhaps bring a fresh perspective from my studies abroad."
One of the deputies, a gruff man from Counterintelligence, interjected with a thin veneer of politeness. "Assistant Director, since you're new to field work and HQ, how do you plan to approach overseeing operations? Any particular focus you have in mind?" The question was innocuous, but the tone underneath said: Do you even know what you're doing? It was a test – possibly a trap to make him show his hand.
Hiroshi felt a flutter of anxiety in his gut, but Kirlia's distant reassurance and Daisy's steady presence bolstered him. He answered with a careful smile, "As of now, I'm here to listen and learn. My uncle always said a good leader listens twice as much as he talks." A few smirks and approving nods met that cliché. "In the first week, I'll be reviewing the open case files and ongoing projects to familiarize myself. Perhaps I can assist with some inter-department coordination – sometimes being new, I can spot inefficiencies others might overlook. But I assure you," he added, almost stumbling for effect, "I'm not here to step on any toes. I know I'm surrounded by experts. Please treat me as a colleague who's eager to earn your trust." The disarming humility in his words seemed to ease the skepticism in the room. By positioning himself as a harmless newcomer who might even be useful, Hiroshi aimed to lower defenses.
As the meeting shifted into routine updates (weekly reports, resource requests, a briefing on a minor intelligence exchange with police), Hiroshi mostly kept quiet. He interjected once or twice with a basic question – "Excuse me, what does this acronym stand for?" or "Sorry, which unit handles that?" – playing up the greenhorn act. Each time, someone kindly answered, and he jotted notes. Internally, though, he was running a complex calculus. Daisy and Alakazam caught the equivalent of mental murmurs and fleeting images from the group: a chief worrying if the new AD would dig into his budget report (Admin Hayashi again – heart rate elevated when finance misallocations were mentioned), another mentally cursing Makima's "meddling" (Hiroshi couldn't be sure who, but Daisy flagged it emanated from the far side of the table – likely Foreign Liaison or Mori in CI). Kirlia's input came as subtle mood readings: when a division head spoke about tightening security protocols, one other person's emotional aura spiked with irritation, as if that inconvenienced them. Noted.
A telling moment came when the lab tech chief, Sato, reported on efforts to recover data lost in the lab break-in incident. As she spoke solemnly about the measures being taken to prevent another breach, Hiroshi offered a supportive nod. "It must have been devastating, what happened with the research theft," he said gently. At that, a palpable chill fell over some of the table. The great betrayal – when insiders helped foreign terrorists steal every Pokémon from Japan's central lab – was still a raw wound. A few faces clouded with genuine anger or sadness (loyalists, no doubt). But Hiroshi zoomed in on those who went poker-straight or downward cast in that instant. One man coughed and fidgeted with his pen. Daisy caught a ghost-thought from him: "Don't think about it…don't think about her.* Her? Who? A contact? A superior? The man quickly spoke up to gloss over the silence: "Rest assured, we've increased clearances and background checks since then." It was the Internal Security chief, Hasegawa. She sounded resolute, but Kirlia pinged a spike of nervous energy beneath her calm. Hiroshi filed that away. Maybe Hasegawa was simply pained by the memory of betrayal… or maybe she knew more about that incident than she let on.
By the time the meeting adjourned, Hiroshi had a list of half a dozen strong leads – if only in his own mind. As chairs scraped back and executives milled about packing their documents, Director Takeda approached Hiroshi. "Walk with me to my office?" he offered, courteous but firm. The division chiefs took their leave with polite nods, and Hiroshi found himself accompanying Takeda down the hall. His heart thumped; one-on-one with a potential traitor (or at least a skeptical boss) was delicate. Daisy and Alakazam stayed behind momentarily – it wouldn't do to have psychic eavesdropping obvious around the Director – but Akemi in Hiroshi's office was close enough to keep sensing emotional tone.