Natsuki stared at figure of her childhood friend.

"You.. You can't be.."

"Here? Real?" Tsubaki laughed. "Alive?"

Natsuki gave a small choked gasp at that. Calm down.. Calm down. I can run faster than her now, she thought to herself. She barely comes up to my knee. If I can just get away from here, it might dis-

"Ah! You were thinking of something mean just now, didn't you?" Somehow Tsubaki had moved right in front of her, yellow eyes staring straight into hers. Natsuki froze as Tsubaki's hands caressed her cheeks. "Don't you remember your promise?"

Wait, how did Tsubaki get so big? Slapping away the hand, Natsuki jumped backwards, landing on some dry leaves. Tsubaki looked on in amusement as she examined herself. Its not that Tsubaki grew bigger, she herself had gotten smaller, or to be more precise, somehow reverted to being a child. She was even wearing her usual oversized shirt, short pants and baseball cap.

"AHAHAHA~ Did you just realize?" The dry autumn leaves swirled around Tsubaki as she opened her arms wide in front of the shrine. The others were gone, and no more was the warped street of the imitation town, just the autumn forest and the shrine she knew so well.

"Welcome back, Nacchan~"

~Natsuki's Possessed Body~

Dark shadows formed around her, causing her to spasm uncontrollably. The spasms stopped abruptly as a stylized old crow masque appeared on her face, whereupon she calmed down considerably, crounching down as she held the stick in both hands, the business end pointing to the ground. The eyes of the masque glowed a fierce purple, as she seemed to ponder her options. Unlike the others so far, she was silent, betraying no hint of emotion or thought.

As soon as possessed Saito moved however, she moved with speed at his back, obscuring her actions from those who were still sane. At the moment possessed Saito started his attack, she dashed out from the side, swinging the stick horizontally towards Yamada's side.

As a lion’s mask formed over Haruto’s face, his blank eyes quickly becoming the color of gold, the limp body of Haruto forced itself up using only its back and legs, almost as if his upper body muscles were no longer working. It turned its head to the side, and the sounds of Haruto’s neck cracking could be heard. With a deep sigh, the possessed Haruto spoke with a cackling voice.

“Well then, I’ve got nothing to hide from you all. No, really, I could care less what you saw – but there’s an overflowing amount of hate burning in me, and I don’t really have anywhere else to direct it to…! It’s unfortunate that you just happen to be here, so call it a poor twist of fate.”

Jumping on the spot a couple of times, Haruto dashed forward with surprising speed, appearing right in front of Dai.

“IT BEGINS!”

With a roar of battle, Haruto twisted his body mid-motion so that he began to spin in the air, and he raised one of his legs upwards, intent on bringing down both the weight of his kick and the unforgiving power of centrifugal motion straight towards Dai’s head.

__________

“This is unbecoming of you.”

The lion sat comfortably on the reading couch that Haruto used to watch television on when he was still in the orphanage. Licking its paws, it opened its mouth in a rather grotesque grin, looking forward as if it was measuring its next meal. Haruto could see the glee in its eyes, as the shadows that had previously tortured Haruto seemingly dissipated, the cackling disappearing with them.

“Don’t you remember the last time you talked to either of your parents? The bitch asked you to be brave. The coward asked you to be brave, as well. So what are you if you’re not brave?”

The lion stood up, and began walking towards Haruto – the boy, in response, began to back away, towards the small television set that he used to watch so much in his younger childhood. The lion began to chuckle, as if amused.

“Why do you fear the virtue of courage, boy? Is it because you’re not truly brave? Or rather, you completely discarded the emotion of fear, haven’t you? Instead of fear, the immense amount of hatred that is brewing within you rages out – I suppose that’s why you ended up being so violent.”

The lion pushed Haruto in the abdomen, causing him to topple backwards, but instead of crashing into the television set, Haruto began to sink into it, with the sound of surprise barely leaving Haruto’s mouth before he was completely submerged into the screen. Falling backwards, Haruto quickly landed on tough concrete ground, although the pain he felt was minimal.

Sitting up, Haruto looked around – the area appeared to be an intersection that was currently burning, but despite all the smoke, it seemed to be familiar to Haruto. He took a few steps forward, covering his face and eyes as he walked through the fire, and he found himself face-to-face with a glass door that he knew all too well.

This was the gym Dad used to go to…

Pushing the door inside, Haruto could see all the equipment inside, all meant to train a boxer; it brought a wave of nostalgia back to Haruto. However, on the top of the boxing ring, was something Haruto did not want to see – a big man dressed in dark clothing, beating his bleeding and dying father.

NO!

Haruto wanted to say something, scream something, but nothing left his mouth as the man raised a carpenter’s hammer over his head before bringing it down on top of Haruto’s father’s head, causing it to crack open. As the spurt of blood flew into the air, Haruto stood paralyzed at the door, reaching forward as if to stop the memory from happening, from repeating all over again.

“Are you reminded? Do you remember what it means to fear, Haruto Okada?”

The lion’s voice could be heard cackling behind Haruto, but the boy could barely hear the beast, as his father’s murderer turned to face him, the shadow of a man whose face Haruto did not know. Yet, across the darkness was the blood of his father, and Haruto couldn’t even let out cries of pain as his demon turned away from Haruto and walked deeper inside the boxing gym, where the coach’s office once was.

“Why don’t you follow him? Why don’t you end it here and now? Vengeance is not unbecoming of you – it might just be the cure,” the lion purred. Haruto had nothing to say in response.

For a while, Gruffydd knew only his breath. The desolate landscape, his still classmates, even his own trembling form were, for a time, unknown to him.

Then, he heard Kazuo speak. “Per…so…na.”

And, as a mask—the head of a stag—appeared on his face, and his eyes turned a sickly yellow, his worl became nothing.

---

”Heh…heh…heh…” The head that once belonged to Gruffydd tilted to the side as large, inhuman yellow eyes fell upon the writhing shadows. ”Well, well, well. A den of monsters.” A smirk broke out under the stag’s face. ”Looks like I finally found somewhere I belong.” There was laughter like the barking of a hyena, and those yellow eyes fell on Kazuo. “But you don’t belong here. You are an incursion. An invader.” The words ceased with a snarl. The snarl grew into an animalistic roar, and the body that once was Gruffydd’s charged Kazuo, its gait ate the distance between them, and the shovel its hands held was raised into the air to bring down onto the invader’s head.

---

Guffydd could hear music. A flute, to be exact. His eyes opened to the light of a fire. It was at the center of wooden room. All sort of figures danced around the fire. They all looked familiar to Gruffydd, but he couldn’t place them. Eventually, his gaze fell on a man dressed in red and gold, wearing a pointed hat. He was the one playing the flute. Immediately around him danced two dozen children, and a massive horde of rats. Gruffydd didn’t know this man, but children, rats, and a flute player only came together in one place. In a story.

”The Pied Piper.” A character from folklore. Gruffydd scanned the room again, and sure enough, every person there was from a folk tale he had read. ”That’s… strange. Where the hell am I?”

”An Inn. A roadside tavern.” Gruffydd whipped his head around to look at the speaker. He was seated behind the bar, and so obviously the proprieter of this “roadside tavern.” He was hidden in shadows, but his voice—strangely familiar—was clearly male. Gruffydd’s expression turned to one of further confusion, and the innkeeper chuckled.

”What better place is there for someone who doesn’t belong anywhwere?

Shinku was confused by Dai's question about hating old ladies, but she didn't really reply as. . . Masako? Yes, Masako. As she suggested never looking at the TVs again. Shinku could only nod as Kazuo audibly agreed. Her mind turned to how Ito was fairing. . . Just for a second before something showed up. Creatures similar to what had taken away Sasaki. "Ah, hell." If nothing else there was the factor of the amount of them awake outnumbering the monsters.

The girl raised her fist in preperation to fight. Whether or not she was able to do anything against these would be tested. That however, was when she noticed Kazuo. He looked like he was having the biggest headache of a lifetime. "You alright?" She had to ask. Of course, the flames that appeared soon gave her. . . An answer of some sort. Shinku was definitely taken aback. "What the hell!" She exclaimed at Kazuo, that mask he wore. . . Well everything that was happening in front of her.

Confusion swept across her face until Kazuo spoke again, "Move."

With the same look on her face, she started to question, "Why, the monsters are gone and. . ." She dropped off slowly as the rest of those who had been staring at the TV turned to them. . . And did not seem happy in the least. "What's wrong?" She asked. Of course, the words they sputtered weren't the most calm ones. Saito's were something about existence and. . . Something, something. She would have focused on what the others were say but all she knew is that the boy attacked with his pipe. Just a few minutes in the past they had been allies, ready to look for a lost teacher. Now. . . She intercepted the strike with her hands. The hand wraps she wore helped soften the blow, "Hey, I deal with punk weapons like this a lot boy-o. This much won't make me flinch."

Of course, she hadn't exactly figured she would have been attack by two people. . . Out of the corner of her eye she saw her roommate making a move for her. Not her favorite moments to be sure. "Damnit Ito, I thought we were on good enough terms." With the man behind the pipe putting force into the weapon still, Shinku released the weapon after pushing the weapon off to the side. Giving herself enough time to dodge the swipe and move in closer to the boyish girl. These masks are suspicious. Maybe if I take it off she'll go back to normal? She put an arm around Ito's stomach to hold her, "Work with me, Natsuki." and used her other hand to attempt to take the mask off. . . To no avail. "Damnit."

Shinku broke her grip on her roommate and backed up. "Come on now, Roommate. Get yer' head back together girl." She said keeping an eye around her. Saito was still there as well. Two on one wasn't fair, but well, that's what she fought for wasn't it? "Geez, I don't think I'm going to be able to take it easy on you guys now. Not if you keep up this attitude. Come on, take out your anger as much as you want. If you can manage to hit me that is!" She was prepared for the two now. Hopefully she wouldn't have to worry about anyone else, though the girl with the gardening tool was a bit of a worry.

Masako proposed a no-more-creepy-televisions movement. Almost in an instant, everyone who were mentally intact expressed their agreement. Dai nodded along with Shinku as Kazuo voiced his approval. As the transfer student explained that he had witnessed all of their memories and those having mental breakdowns should be calmed, the blond male continued his sage-like nods.

“Oh, definitely. Should we break the rest… of the… What?” Slowly, Dai trailed off without finishing his sentence, his gaze followed the line of sight of the others. Something strange had emerged from the ground; pitch black slime(?) had begun to drag itself toward them. As the mysterious entities crept closer, a colorful array of curses were muttered. Dai took his stance and readied his bow, taking an arrow from its leather container. He breathed in a vain attempt to stop all negative thoughts. What were the chances of taking them down? These things were much tougher than they looked since a single inky arm could drag eleven people around. But, still, they have to try.

As Dai was about take aim, his concentration was disrupted when Kazuo clutched his head in pain. Eyebrows scrunched, the blond was about to comment when the guy’s lips moved. He didn’t have time to register the words before, like a magical chant, a torrent of flames swallowed Kazuo entirely. A rabbit mask covered his face. Dai blinked, and the entire battle was already finished.

“Move.” Kazuo interrupted with narrowed eyes.

Dai stared in confusion. And soon, it came to him. The air… There was something… something suddenly felt very wrong. The hair on the back of his neck bristled and, with a single glance, it wasn’t hard to tell why. Among his fellow mask-wearing classmates and the cries of their frustrations, Haruto Okada spoke of hatred. Suddenly, a war cry erupted from the lion-wearer. It was a scary roar, one meant to send enemies running, and yet, Dai stood his ground and let out a small flinch. He could swear he could feel the possessed eyes of everybody staring at him accusingly.

His stomach knotted with nerves as he felt a wave of nausea. As much as he hated to admit it, the way Haruto moved was impressive. The guy was walking the line of graceful dancing and throats-crushing action. It wasn’t long before the distance between them closed, and Haruto twisted his body to create a beautiful arc with one menacing leg that promised pain - possibly death.

Dai's body moved purely on its own; he didn’t dare make his bow a shield since it could easily break under the full weight and momentum of the attack, leaving his defenseless and hurt. Instead, Dai leaped off to the side as the heels of Haruto’s shoes flew past his head and would surely end up crushing the ground. With instincts screaming, Dai backed away as he raised his bow and arrow, his arms shaking from the combined force of the taut string and his own shot nerves.

It was so hard to breath. Dai wasn't sure if he should laugh or cry; his face fully conflicted, torn between guilt and unsure giggles. The pointed end of his arrow was aimed at Haruto. “C’mon, hot rod, don’t shove your angst at us! How about chilling out and finding a nice pillow to punch? We got better things to do than being some bag to kick around.”

First we got dragged down a giant hole, then we got stuck in a twisted frigging alternate reality thing, then we got psychoanalyzed by demented television sets and now a trio of evil slime monsters are trying to murder us. You know I think I'm starting to tired of this crap. The eldritch creatures slurping and moving about in completely alien ways were definitely not the welcoming committee that any of them had hoped for. Masako looked towards the others watching them raise their own weapons of choice be it baton, bow or fist and followed suit raising the rubberband gun and pointing it down range bracing it with her off hand to steady herself. Yeah she'd shot a toy gun before and her father had taken her shooting out of the country once or twice but she had never shot a live thing, Where these things even alive? Turned out she wouldn't be able to get her answer as something happened to Kazuo involving blue fire? What in the world was happening.

Moments later whatever just happened as a thing came out of Kazuo or was Kazuo coming out of it? Needless to say Masako was very confused but a bit grateful as whatever just happened or did'nt happen because this worlds air was apparently full of PCP as those creatures where dealt with in an extraordinarily brutal and efficient manner, black slime becoming asseverated in instant flashes that took less than a second. As Dai and Shinku voice their on exclamations Masako chimed in her own looking from Kazuo to where the monsters had fallen and back to Kazuo who seemed normal enough. Though it seemed that Kazuo was more focused on something that was happening behind them at the moment. As if whatever had had just done was perfectly natural and happened all the time, it was actually part of his Monday routine to kill slime shadow things or whatever. "Well.....Shit."



It was less of a suggestion from Kazuo but more of a command and Masako was not one to argue with the kid that could do whatever the was. So she moved back as she heard the rest of her classmates began to arise from behind her. She turned to face them once she made some distance and well they looked wrong in a way. They had the masks upon their face like Kazuo's had materialized but unlike his they did'nt seem to be a cohesive whole they seemed almost forced upon the face, almost constricting the face and the bright yellow eyes loomed into their few still sane classmates and those eyes felt like death itself was looking back at them. That was before they started talking between the hideous crying and shouting, the talking was worse as whatever had taken over their classmates bodies used them like a puppet, the voice the same but off with a slight delay between the words just slight wrong enough to send a shiver down the spine. Soon though they moved towards the group and commenced their attack.

"Well this is the last time I take a geography class.." Masako muttered to herself as she back up a bit more. Luckily at the current moment it seemed that Masako was not any of their classmates intended target at least allowing her to process the situation before things got crazy. She moved to a ranged position where she had a clear firing lane keeping the rubberband gun out and ready to fire as needed. Hopefully though she did'nt need to shoot anybody, I mean they were just rubberbands but she did'nt want to actually hurt any of these people they just seemed hurt and confused not exactly vicious well beside the whole trying to kill them part that is. Come on happy thoughts don't start panicking now Masako you got this. She tried thinking of a plan in her head but they really did'nt have that many options did they? Running away was out of the picture because they couldn't just leave them here, their probably not going to give up their weapons without a fight, so what the only option was to incapacitate them and hope that they don't suffer permanent damage of some sort? Yeah it seemed all their options kind of sucked but fighting was the only one that could maybe work. So they might as well get the fight over as quickly as possible shouldn't they? To prevent extended injuries?

"Hey transfer student! Do you think you could do whatever you just did before again to try to knock them out? Since I would prefer that we did'nt all get our brains bashed in by the angst brigade! That would just only add to their angst later!" She explained hoping that Kazuo at least had some sort of plan that was a little more refined than hers.

Donning shadowy masks, the students who had succumbed to their memories rose up and confronted Kazuo, Dai, Shinku, and Masako. Saito and Ito attacked Shinku but she managed to block the first attack and evade the second. Dai was attacked by the masked Haruto but also succeeded in avoiding the attack. Fortunately, Masako got out of harm's way before she could've been attacked by any one of her masked classmates. That left Johnathan, Minto, and Gruffydd. Minto has yet to make a violent move on the others but Johnathan fired a bolt at Kazuo, missing on purpose, all while confronting him about the memories he witnessed. Kazuo kept quiet; he knew he wasn't dealing with the real Johnathan, at least not mindset-wise anyways. Johnathan's second bolt was aimed to actually hurt Kazuo but the latter swatted away with his baton. Upon impact however, the bolt dissipated into TV static just like the glass shards from before - something to take note of.

But Kazuo didn't have time to rest as Gruffydd accused him of being an invader of this world and attacked him with his shovel. Reacting quickly, Kazuo jumped back and avoided the attack completely; regrouping with his classmates who are in control of their minds and bodies. Shinku was primed for a fight while Dai still attempted to talk his masked classmate, Haruto, out of a fight. But it's no use. Kazuo is the anyone at the moment who can sense what is really happening. Masako then suggested to Kazuo that he used his powers from before to incapacitate the masked students lest they risk getting killed.

"I plan to but..." Kazuo explained that their classmates' minds and bodies have been taken over by a presence similar to the monsters that he had killed and even with his new power - which he told them is called "Persona" - he alone won't be able to take on all of them. He needs their help in this fight too. Kazuo added that he isn't sure if defeating their classmates would return them to normal but they had to try. Kazuo placed his left hand on his face. "Persona!" Once again, the rabbit mask enveloped Kazuo's face and Sigurd appeared above him. The blade of his sword grew bright orange and, as he swung forward, a fireball (Agi) was released and made its way to Gruffydd who was the closest target. The fireball made impact with the ground just a few feet away from Gruffydd and exploded; the force of the explosion managed to hit its target (27 Fire damage).

---

Kazuo
HP: 84 / 84 HP
SP: 32 / 36 SP

The longer he whailed, the more he heard a voice laugh out at him. Quickly raising his head fearfully he looked up to see his Shadow self, sitting upon an overly massive throne, the sparrow mask on his face and its body coated in dark ominous flames. The shadow grinned and wept as well, before he spoke with a sarcastic, mocking tone.

"Don't you wish you could be here, me?! We should be the ones who are perfect! But since that was striken from us... We should just die shouldn't we? Isn't that what you want? You don't have to hurt anyone else by being their friend, and you simply want to be the best! To rule over everyone and not be a nobody! You're unable to obtain that though, we both know that! We both know you're just a weak willed, weak minded, weak bodied little kid who gurns and cries and depends on everyone for ANYTHING! you're a loser! A wimp! A moron! Just another toy for everyone! Admit it~"

Johnathan wiped his eyes and sat on his knees, looking up at his shadow self. He never denied who he was, and in all honesty... He always knew he was weak and dependent on others. It's true he wanted to give himself to people, but only because he didn't want to be alone, didn't want to be left behind. He can't live without others. He knew this. Johnathan spoke up, crying as he spoke, unable to look away from his shadow counterpart.

"You're right... I am. I'm just a user who uses other people for my own personal gain... I'm too weak to do anything myself. I need others to do things for me or i'd die. You're right. I should die, and i'm too much of a coward to kill myself because I fear death, so I stick around, using others, while unable to give anything in return. So my reality is realised. I want to give up my life to make sure... That... That I don't hurt anyone else... and so i won't be used like a tool a- anymore... I'm a horrible person!"



The others who were not possessed by their shadows were able to hear the words of the real johnathan speak out from the shadows own mouth. Surprised by this, the shadow screamed in agony, and held its head with fear and guilt, squeeling in terror at the voice. Perhaps if the others talked to the shadow, Johnathan inside might be able to hear them. The shadow yelled.

"SHUT UP... NONE OF THESE ASSHOLES CARE ABOUT YOU! THEY WANT YOU TO DIE, THEY WANT TO USE YOU! They want to deflower you... JUST LIKE HE DID! THEY DON'T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT YOU!"

With that, Raising his crossbow up again, Shadow Johnathan shot a bolt for Kazuo once more.

*Roll = 10*

The bolt managed to hit him and evaporate into static, dealing a damage total of 20 points to Kazuo@Blu

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shadow Johnathan:

HP: 40/40

“Of course, getting to the bastard wasn’t going to be so easy.”

The lion walked behind Haruto as the boy found himself in a gigantic, empty hallway. The path went straight, but the lights made it difficult to see anything else – much like the lights inside of a boxing ring, it was positively blinding to Haruto, who had to keep his hand right in front of his face as he slowly made his way towards the back. The lion behind him nudged him forward.

“But how exactly are you going to find the guy?”

Haruto suddenly found himself in front of a big door. Frowning, Haruto had to ask himself whether the hallway was smaller than he thought – there was no way he made it across the entire length of the way with so few steps. As the black door suddenly opened up, a gigantic black hand reached forward and grabbed Haruto, leaving him completely pinned to himself.

Struggling, Haruto had never felt so helpless as the gigantic hand lifted him into the air, and from the darkness within the depths came a massive demon, horned and winged like Dante’s depiction of Lucifer. The demon’s shapeless face began transforming into different forms – his father, his mother, the Father who ran the orphanage…

“Yes, none of those faces are that of your father’s murderer. You don’t even know how he looks!”

The demon’s face transformed into that of the lion, whose fur had become incredibly dark and emanating with a familiar hatred.

“It’s a magnificent emotion – you could direct your hate to anyone by simply putting his or her face over that of your father’s killer. But why go that far? Why try to avenge a man whose last decision was not of poor, little you, who needed him, but that of himself?”

The lion sneered as it brought Haruto closer to its face.

“Your hatred is born of more primal and simpler things. Let it consume you, boy. If anything, this feeling is all you truly ever had.”

___________

“ARE YOU MOCKING ME?”

In response to Dai’s words, the lion-masked Haruto simply screamed words of anger, frustration, and hatred. The pressure that was already being applied onto poor Dai grew evermore as Haruto slowly advanced onto his opponent, ignoring the fact that there was an arrow pointed right at him.

“Did you think that you could so casually say such words without bearing the consequences? Are you so naive that you thought you might simply make an attempt to reason with me?”

Throwing his left hand back, Haruto’s hand closed to the point where it resembled a claw, and the boy readied his legs, as if ready to pounce.

“Very well then, little mouse. Let us see you escape the lion’s den!”

- rolled a 13 -

With a snapping of his wrist, Haruto rushed forward and dove right in front of Dai. With another roar, Haruto back-flipped into a graceful dolphin kick, striking Dai for 25 damage from underneath.
__________

Haruto
HP: 70/70
SP: 50/50

It felt like hours passing by wondering around on that garden forest following his dad voice. Each turn and twist was almost endless until he stopped at a certain area. There was a long table like pedestal, it was like in snow white in away as he read in this fairy tail books before. Though…there was someone lying on it though he can’t see who, the person was covered in a white sheet, Bride got scared….he heard his dad voice though and it lead him there but he was not there…his dad was gone. He closed his eyes and as soon as he wanted to head back he heard a voice.

“Hey…dont you want to know?”

Bride turned quickly around to see….himself yet with a butterfly mask and those golden scary eyes. “...h-ho…” It was obvious Bride was scared, terrified even he was looking at himself who was sitting on the pedestal crossed legs with a small smile on his face….was this him? A mirror?

“Shut up whelp I am no mirror! Well do you want to know!?” The masked Bride shouted at him, he flinched back scared of the sudden shouting. Who is this person anyway!? …know what? What does he want to know…. There was nothing-

“You little weed don’t you want to know why daddy dear put us in that school anyway? He kicked you out and never wanted to see your pretty little face again?” his dad…His dad told him he would be moving to a new school, he didn’t want to look at him anymore…his dad never told him why though why he wanted get rid of him, his dad was a good man, he was his mom prince and they were happy together they were all happy. he was a good kid…he didn’t do anything maybe. “Daddy was a good man….fuck that…Anything wrong? Oh dear you did not do anything wrong…. intentionally…Imagine this, most guys would be wrapped up with your tiny finger….tease them without even knowing…do you get the idea why your dad kicked you out now?”

“What…w-h-whta are you talking ab-about?” Bride was scared beyond all things, who was this person, this…this wasn’t him! His dad was a good man! He knows it, he is really nice and took care of all of them, he had nothing but happy memories with him there…was no reason why….why would his dad would force him into a school… slowly the garden slowly warped, the pedestal the masked Bride was sitting slowly turned into a bed and then…it was his bedroom before. He knows that room yet…there was something he unexpected. A younger version of himself sleeping peacefully and beside sitting beside the younger version was the masked Bride slowly pulling away any hairs form his younger version sleeping face. "Huh…w-hwat…”

“You repressed this memory so much…it’s the worst one…then those hospital treatments…surgeries…you know that, you kept it blocked out so you can live your fairy tale life…you don’t remember it but I do so clearly…” The masked Bride began to cry underneath the mask then a loud bang appeared. Bride turned in terror though it was relief for a second. It was his dad yet…his shirt was messed up, he looked tired and that smell… alcohol… that strong smell he also hated. He covered his nose, as the scent was awful much worst than before like…he knew it. Then it happened…it was like a nightmare and Bride stood there watching everything happen right in front of him.

“Dad…” almost the same time as he said that his younger self got up from bed clearly sleepy looking at his dad.

“Shut up, keep your mouth shut…” His dad hissed almost like it was for him but it was clearly for his younger version. His dad got on the bed and unbuckled his belt….

No this can’t be happening, he doesn’t remember this at all, this was a lie he… knows it’s a lie this never happened! As Bride was about to run away, fearing what else he can see the Masked Bride grabbed his arm and made him watch everything every little detail and made sure he didn’t blink at all. “No…nono…no…p-please…t..th…” Tears flow done his face as he saw it, he saw everything… the pounding, the tearing…the begging everything and he couldn’t run away form it at all. His dad can’t be doing this he just cant…



“Dad came home one day drunk, he came into our room and shouted at us to keep quiet, it was painful absolutely painful and horrible, he shouted more, stuffed his tie in our mouths to make sure we don’t scream, the blood, that awful smell of alcohol….yet at the end you forgot it….like it was nothing. You woke up the next morning with a smile like nothing has happened…you forgot about it…you escaped it. Dad was terrified, he didn’t know what he was doing, he was scared…pathetic to deal with it obviously so you know what he did right…sent of to school so he wont have to see your face again, to not deal with damage goods…you know that right? That why…it so easy to throw you away because you forget about it…”

“…n-no…no…no….n-no…th…th-this…I d-don…t …remember…. An-anyth…ing…th-tis..is a…n-night…ma-mare….d-dad….ne…never done something….ing like t-this bef-fore…you a-are lying…l-ying…l-liar…l-lia…r…”

Then the scene repeated over and over again right in front of his eyes.



“You want your fairy tale to come true that why you forget, you forget and forget to live out that stupid dream you have of finding prince charming but that would never you know! Once people knew they leave like before, dump you easily because you. Maybe if you were born as a girl…maybe things would be easy but no…born as a little boy with a innocent face fooling everyone on sights just like that.”

The masked Bride told Bride who was still trapped in that fucked up world in his head, typical…always wanted to live out that fairytale yet it was impossible. Fairytales aren’t real at all it was bunch of made up lies. The show sighed as he wiped away some of his tears and with the rake headed towards the unmasked classmates. Then suddenly bashing the rake at Masako successfully with n remorse yet the masked bride seemed sad like he wanted to give, there was no way for himself to accept that truth anyway….he going to be trap there forever and ever…..

Roll=5

Bride struck Masako with the rake at her side causing 15 damage on her.

Hp= 35/35
Sp= 85/85

HP:40 SP:80

---

Her first swing a miss, Yamada quickly took the chance to grab her, trying to rip off the masque glowing a fierce purple. Natsuki would have retaliated by smashing an elbow to her side, but Yamada mentioning her first name stopped her dead in her tracks, allowing Yamada to release her unscathed.

The moment she was free from Yamada's grasp however, she quickly moved away, outside of Yamada's reach, but still well inside her range, utilizing her longer limbs and weapons to her advantage.

Giving a side glance at Saito, she moved suddenly to the side, thrusting the stick swiftly towards Yamada's torso. Should Saito move to attack as well, Yamada would be facing a two way attack.

~Center of the mind~

Dry leaves crackled incessantly as she ran through the autumn forest. Her lungs was burning, and her legs was starting to feel as if red hot barbed wires was running through it.

"Nacchan~ I liked you soooo much~ Do you like me too~?"

The voice echoed through the trees, ephemeral and dissonant. Natsuki stumbled, falling face first into a pile of leaves.

"Ah.. I just cleaned that up too."

Startled, she looked up, only to find herself back at the shrine, with Tsubaki grinning at her with a broomstick in hand. Her red and white shrine maiden outfit was starting to grow more red, blood gushing out from a large wound in her chest, slowly soaking into her white haori.

A huge gust of wind suddenly blew a torrent of dry leaves into Natsuki's eyes, obscuring her vision. When she could see again, Tsubaki was nowhere to be seen, and the shrine was in ruins. The radio came on suddenly, as a familiar voice started singing a familiar song, though distorted and filled with static.

usagi oishi ka no yama
ko-buna tsurishi ka no kawa
yume wa ima mo megurite
wasure-gataki furusato

The song mocked her as she sprinted down the steps, never seeming to fade away regardless of how far she ran.

Shinku: HP: 90/90 SP 30/30
________________________________

Shinku took a blow from Natsuki. Not specifically powerful, though there was a problem if Saito decided to come and fight at the same time. She could probably easily remove Ito from the fight. . . But this was still her, albeit not in her right mind. The girl never seemed to be very sturdy in the first place, she probably couldn't take much. Saito Keiichi on the other hand. . . He could be a threat in this fight. That pipe looks painful. "I know it's not good to beat up your friends, but this is a certain case right?" Shinku said to Ito and Saito. "Not exactly what I want to do." Then she rushed to Saito and socked him well in the face. (24 Strike) "You're a man right, you can take a hit can't ya?"
________________________________
HP: 75/90 SP: 30/30

Dai flinched as Haruto accused him of mockery, of taking this whole situation too casually. That miscommunication will cost him dearly as Haruto roared once again. Dai was still hesitant to attack, but as Kazuo explained, it might not be a matter of choice to beat these guys back into sanity; although, there was a small problem with that plan. With only sharp objects to use as weapons, these people might become swiss cheese in an early grave. Urgh, if only he chose a rock.

“Oh, sorry. Are you saying that you don’t have enough brain cells to comprehend reason?” Dai spoke; his steely gaze clashed against the dark yellow eyes beneath the lion mask. Unnerved, his grip on the bow readjusted itself. “Every little thing has consequences. I might as well roll with it if I’m just gonna get my ass kicked either way.”

His opponent stalked toward him with a grace of a predator, his muscles was tense. Instincts blaring, as fast as he could muster, Dai tried to brace for impact with his bow. But the lion was too fast. Dai was caught off guard by an attack from below; the hard-soled shoes dug deep into his stomach, creating a burst of pain. He buckled when fire ran through his belly. For a second there, white spheres danced around the edges of his eyes.

“Shit…” Dai took a deep breath as sweat began to form. Already, he knew, his sane teammates made a decision to fight. Kazuo can't save everyone by himself; how rude was it to make him carry the weight of beating up his classmates all by himself? Ignoring his pain, Dai stood and simply stared at the lion-masked student; his breath was now steady as he took a stance and nocked his weapon. He aimed. He fired.

[Rolled 5]

Close. It was oh so close to missing, but his arrow managed to hit its mark. However, instead of hitting Haruto, there was another target in Dai’s line of sight.

Saito would suddenly be struck by an arrow from the side, colliding into his shoulder as the projectile suddenly dispersed into static upon impact. The attack dealt a total damage of 20 points to the young man.

Dai couldn’t be more relieved. Instead of metal piercing through flesh and bones, the arrow had just disappeared, replaced by fizzy lines that are similarly seen in television sets. Okay, that made things a little less awkward. Questionable in terms of logic and moral, but it lessened his guilt nevertheless.

As soon as his shot was released, Dai winced in pain as he grabbed a certain object from the ground and slung it over his unoccupied shoulder. It was Saito's bag he caught sight of when he had buckled over from the previous dolphin kick. It must've been dropped during Saito's assaults and somehow ended up being kicked around before it neared Dai's feet. That was a surprise. Nevertheless, Dai drew his bow and arrow once more.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dai
HP: 40/65
SP: 55/55

HP: 47/68
SP: 52/52

---

The blast from the fire knocked that which once had been Gruffydd to the ground. There was a wail of pain when the fire struck, and a grunt on impact with the ground. Somehow, the shovel had not been knocked away. Standing up again was slow, but it was done.

"Well, that was enlightening." Great amusement could be seen in sickly yellow eyes. "But to so readily play with fire? You might burn yourself. Or me." That which once was Gruffydd approached Kazuo, now much more slowly. "So calm. So collected. And all the while you play with fire. A deep chuckled echoed from beneath the stag's face. "You could kill someone like that, you know. Do you even care? Maybe you do belong in this Den of Monsters after all. But even if you do, I don't take kindly to people trying to kill me."

[Roll: 16! 11 Damage dealt to Kazuo!]

The swing of the shovel was fast, and hit Kazuo solidly in the body. "I simply must return the favor."

---

"What are you talking about? I have a home. I have a family." Gruffydd was upset at this random bartender's assertion, but was doing his best to remain calm.

"Sure, you have a family. They're good people. Your parents don't force you to leave home, or deride or degrade you. But come on Gruffydd, you know better."

"And just what the hell does that mean!?" He snapped. The song and dance in the tavern had died. Everyone there, from the Giants to the Rats, was staring at him, and the people close to him backed away.

"Quite simply, Gruffydd, you don't belong. Not there, not with them. They're good people, after all. Hell, they're people."

Gruffydd was unnerved by the silence and the stares, but he pushed beyond that. "And you're implying that I'm not?"

The Innkeeper chuckled. "It's quite simple, really, only Monsters kill."

Gruffydd flinched. "It was in self-defense"

The Innkeeper's laughter reverberated throughout the room. "Yes, because that makes it all better. You ended human life. Living, breathing, thinking people. The law may make exceptions for self-defense, but you know as well as I do that nothing can morally justify what you did. There is no ethical exception. It just proves what they were saying about you in the first place. That you are an animal." The ground beneath Gruffydd vanished, and he fell through. He landed hard on the cold ground, a sharp contrast from the warmth of the fire. Looking up, he could see the hole he had fallen through, the light from the fire streaming down.

The hole in the roof vanished, and the light of the fire with it. But the room was not dark. There was a faint glow emanating from behind where Gruffydd fell. As he stood, he heard the breathing of a very large creature behind him. He slowly turned around to find a large beast, covered in white fur, with long proud horns, and unblinking, piercing green eyes. Gruffydd jumped back with a yelp, landing on his behind. The beast move, and he heard the clanking of metal. A second look revealed that the beast was shackled to the wall with great iron chains, and it was the source of the faint glow in the room.

"So stay a while in the cage, where the animals belong."

Masako took a step back from the approaching butterfly masked assailant with the gardening implement. Getting hit with a rake did not seem like a very good time to her. Masako held her rubberband gun up in front of her, arm still shaking though a mixture of actual dread and adrenaline slamming through her body at a rapid fire pace, speeding up her heart and breathing as each sensation and touch became highlighted. Honestly though she really did'nt want to hurt anyone of them, sure it was probably the only way to save themselves fight or die and all that but they were humans too weren't they? Just a few moments ago they were her fellow classmates getting ready to go save their teacher from evil monster. Just because they were experience some mental trauma or whatever Kauzo was trying to explain to them it did'nt mean that they were suddenly free game to go start using as personal punching bags. But then again she did'nt want to get hurt herself did she? No that wouldn't help anyone, she continued to try and find her resolve as she took a step away from Bride.

Of course though Kazuo made it painfully clear that he wasn't just going to be able to use his magic powers alone to save the day and that they were going to have to work together to get through this. Which meant everybody had to be totally on board for the oncoming fight. Watching the others take hits and then come back swinging though that was something though. It was something that Masako despite her bravado nature doubted that she could do on her on, yet in the moment she felt inspired by them like she could take on the world on whatever. Kazuo, Shinku and Dai both reacted with the uttermost calmness and grace under pressure in the face of adversity that she couldn't let them down now be freaking out. No that wasn't the right choice, the right choice was to seize adversity by the horns and face it like they did. Coming up with this sudden powerful resolve she began to move into action only to have Bride come in hard with the rake.

__> HP: 69/69
__>15 DAMAGE!
__>HP: 54/69

The butterfly masked assailant came in with a surprising amount of strength and speed for such a feminine frame and the thwack the resounding against her side would surely leave a bruise in the morning. Scrunching her eyes in pain she stumbled to the left the wind knocked out of her momentarily. She righted herself and took a step back creating at least some distance but as Bride came in for the swing Masako had noticed something a sadness a sort of pain the yellow eyes as the thing that was not her classmate and at the same time was seemed to be at war with itself. So as Masako moved back to readjust her firing lane to properly support her teammates she called out to the butterfly masked individual with a psychological shot in the dark. "Hey your name is Minto right? Or at least that's what the teacher said your name is. Listen I know you probably can't here me right now and if you saw anything like I did looking at the T.V you are dealing with stuff. But listen you keep muttering stuff about friends and stuff. I don't know if you have lots of friends but you seem pretty cool, heck your prettier than me! So we could be friends. But you know we can't do that if you bash my head in with a rake. So could you stop please?"

As Masako made her own appeal to the heart she turned her attention towards her teammates. They currently seemed to be focusing fire on Saito. That sounded tactically sound in Masako's head concentrate your fire so you can take guys down quicker and even the numbers quicker. So Masako joined the fight and raised her rubberband gun taking a breath to steady herself and get a bead she fired moments later.

__> Rolled 18!
__> 20 Piercing Damage to Masked Saito!

Through sheer force of luck it seemed to shot hit home flying through the air the rubber band came to a halt against the side of masked Saito's head exploding into static upon contact. Masako did'nt know how much of an effect it caused but from that static display she at least hoped it was something. As she reloaded she turned her attention back to Bride getting ready for anymore rake attacks.

---

Masako
HP: 54/69
SP: 51/51

As Saito walked though the halls covered in books and papers he could hear the soft cries of a child somewhere in this nightmare he remembers it as his own. Saito has decided to ignore it, he will not be forced to endure the trauma his mother has inflicted onto him, she doesn't deserve to be remembered. He has decided to pick up a dropped paper on the floor and started to read it.

He died and all you have of him is his Arm.

"..." Saito looked sick after reading the note which he threw to the ground after reading out the crossed out words. He sighed deeply and without warning a pet of the paper floor wavered and Saito fell though the paper ground to about twenty feet down. After a surprised scream and free falling for a bit he landed on his back with a loud thud and he groaned for a bit. But when he got up and after rubbing his back for a bit and seeing his surroundings he suddenly didn't want to be here in this nightmare.
He was at his old house front door the door wide open letting the moon light in and a silhouette of a bard board box with a distinct pool around it.

"Nononononononono..." He muttered in a panicked mantra. He was looking at the one of the reasons for his mother's terrible treatment of him and the reason he hated his father so much. The fear and debt he inherited from his father, after he died.

Suddenly the box started to squirm and the puddle under it gotten bigger and brighter it was almost bleeding. And Saito knew what it was. It is his father arm.

As he thought that, a tattooed arm ripped it way though the top and toppling the box over spilling the blood all over the doorway mat. Saito covered his mouth and disgust. The fist opened and closing until finally it started to look for the ground, once it did it started to crawl towards Saito. Saito feebly crawled backwards from until he hit a wall with his back, he silently watched the arm crawl it way at him, wanting to scream but the air is trapped in his lungs.



The masked Saito's pipe was blocked by Shinku hands and he was pushed aside, where he tumbled and almost fell but he caught himself and he chuckled silently.

He was suddenly socked in the face by Shinku he lurched back from the punch and he almost fell to the ground but caught himself in the last second by leaning on his pipe.
The masked Saito placed his hand where he was punched, he laughed harder at her comment.

"Not that I ever had a choice, hehehe...fuck!" He chuckled before suddenly an arrow had him in the shoulder and then shot by something in the head by something he didn't see, Saito didn't know where to grab but instead he forced away from the pain and suddenly swing his pipe as hard as he could towards Shinku.

*rolled 19 CRIT*

Saito got a direct hit at Shinku's abdomen with his pipe causing 62 strike damage.
He grinned, eerily which didn't help with his mask and glowing eyes.

"It seems I have my father"s enforcement skills."he chuckled.

---

HP: 35/99
SP: 21/21

Somehow, Johnathan's true feelings were able to get through to the others even despite his shadow's control of his body and mind. Hearing those words, the shadow became furious and shouted at Johnathan that no one cares for him before firing a bolt at Kazuo which managed to hit its mark; evaporating into TV static upon impact (84 HP --> 64 HP). Kazuo winced from the pain but quickly regained his composure. He looked straight at Johnathan and called his name. Kazuo told Johnathan that his shadow is wrong; that they all care about him. They wouldn't be fighting so hard to return him to normal if they didn't. "You think you have nothing to give? I say you just haven't found what it is you can give. We need you, Johnathan, and Ms. Sasaki needs you. Give us that."

Before Kazuo can say anymore, Gruffydd confronted Kazuo and delivered a strike with his shovel (64 HP --> 53 HP). Kazuo was hit but managed to shrug off the pain and retreated to a safer distance. "Gruffydd..." Kazuo spoke under his breath. It seems his classmate is still under the complete control of his shadow. There's nothing to say to him at this state. Then, Kazuo heard a revelation from Minto's shadow. Speaking to the real Minto, his shadow revealed him to be a boy; claiming that he's fooling others to stay around him but if they found out the truth they would leave. Masako spoke with Minto's shadow in an attempt to reach him. "I'd like for us to be friends as well, Minto. We're not going anywhere," Kazuo said to the shadow. Haruto and Ito are still firmly under their shadow's control.

Dai is doing his best to fight Haruto's shadow but Shinku is resistant to the idea of fighting Ito. She's also dealing with Saito's shadow who had just recovered from Shinku's punch. Retaliating, Saito managed to land what looks to be an incredibly powerful strike straight into Shinku's stomach; forcing her onto one knee. This looks bad. One more attack and Shinku's done for. Kazuo had to act quickly. He placed his hand onto his face once more. "Persona!" Both his mask and Sigurd appeared again and Sigurd rushed towards Shinku's position. Arriving there quickly, he turned his sights to Saito and deliver a powerful downward slash with his sword (Cleave / 53 HP --> 49 HP), knocking the shadow a ways back (rolled 14 / 35 Slash damage).

As Sigurd disappeared, Kazuo arrived and kneeled down beside Shinku. He placed a hand onto her shoulder and, suddenly, sensed a power growing within her. Kazuo's surprised expression reverted to its normal calm as he stood up off the ground. "Shinku," he began, "you sensed it too, right? Your inner self. Call it forth."

---

Kazuo
HP: 49 / 84 HP
SP: 32 / 36 SP

It was all lies, as much Bride wanted to believe that his dad...done that to him was a lie he kept seeing over and over again, it kept on replaying non stop and as much he wnated to turn away his masked self was holding him tight thre making him wtach it all. There was no way his dad can do hat to him he knows that, it has to be a nighmare but somehow The feeling of pain struck him. Tears roll down his cheeks and he couldn't stop trembling, his legs felt weak, all the energy in his body was gone. "ma-mak....Ma...ke it..s-stop...pl-pleas...e..." He begged to anyone just hoping that would stop it all. As his younger self struggled on the bed fighting against his drunken father each strike and hit effected him like he was experience it as well.

Why did he have to see this?! There was no reason...he doesnt remember anythign of this at all, his dad never hurt like that...he never treated him like trash...The scene stopped but he didn't know it he was stricken in terror. The masked Bride slowly hugged Bride and whispered right at his ear gently almost like it was pitying him.

"It did happen...our dad did that to you...you trusted him, love him...just a happy family. Poor mommy doesn't know a thing, what would happen if she knew her husband raped her child while she slept peacefully at night not knowing her own child was being destroyed? Bet she gonna have a heart attack, divorce...charges against rape... the press will know, news and everything...poor mommy gonna be sad...Yet you never remembered it, you woke up and dad was just sitting on the bed with a horrid look on his face waiting for something and yet you smiled at him and asked what was wrong...coward, he was a coward to lie to you like that, saying nothing was wrong at all..."

Bride broke down, he couldnt take it anymore. He collasped on the dark abyss like floor and cried out in fear, this was not happeneing to him, this was not real at all...that thing was lying to him. "Nonono....P-plea..se...st-sto...op...I do-dont...un-un...ders...ta...nd..." He begged out to the masked self. it looked down at him like it was some bugged that needed to be crushed, it crouched and took a hold of his pathetic crying face. Bride looked at his masked self, it looked sad yet angry as well...he clung on the sleeve and cried out more wanting that...horrid memory to stop. Those golden yellow eyes looked so sad yet angry at the same time..

"You don't get do you? People are going to treat you like that no matter what, use you, dump you, leave you all becuase of that pretty little face you have, to would be so nice to be born as a girl right? No more trouble like that but no mommy gave born to...you, a shiveling little whelp, a freak...At the end...you are going to be alone, no one will care for you, they wold be happy and you will be there still waiting for your fairy tale to come true but you know taht wont happen right..." Slowly the shadow wrapped it hands on Bride's fragile neck though before doing anything else it whsipered again. "So sleep...like in your fairy tale books... sleep and wait...for how long just wait...no one is coming for you so it be just great to sleep..."

Bride closed his eyes and let a muffled out cry yet somehow he was fine...the fact he was going to die by it hands...he escaped death many tomes...that would be quick but then he heard voices...familiar voices. They...wanted to be friends they weren't going to leave like the others...? The shadow was surprised the voices reached them, it growled angrily and the spoke to them leaving Bride to listen and unable to answer.



"Shut up! Like you care...friends that pure shit right there! They all just want to leave...You only want to be friends with that whelp because out of pity, I bet you are just going to use him right?! He cant hurt a fly that why it so easy to do so...At end you will just leave and there would be nothing left for him! Things would be easy if he was a girl but nope just a freak. You are just lying! Always lying! Liars! Just like dad, like those perverted fuckers just freaking liars!" The shadow screamed at them with anger and distress, they don't want to be friends at all, they were just going use him and throw him away like trash.

The masked Bride came running heading towards Masako again striking her with the rake once more in anger, tears were running down the shadow face not believing at them at all...they were lying just lying...lies all lies...

roll=17 (15 damage points for Masako again)

It was a good hit, striking her at her leg then stepping back with a sad distraught face suddenly a sudden change in color of it eyes...it was a peach orange color with warmth and innocence to it.

"...re-a...real..ly?...fri...end...s?" Quickly the shadow covered it mouth surprised that whelp was able to speak out. the color though turned back to that evil golden yellow color. It was pissed and angry for that slip up to happen, it was sure it was going to made that weed shut up but he spoke through...Bride spoke through.

-------

Hp=35/35
Sp=85/85

As Minto's shadow yelled its distress and anger at the world, Masako could do nothing but stand there and take it all. The words of hate and anger everything that had once been all boiled up suddenly ripping through and being let loose. The floodgates had been broken in more ways then one. Yet Masako knew those feelings as well maybe not in the same way that Minto was feeling them but she had felt abandoned by the world as well at times, to have everything pulled out from under you like some kind of magic trick. So she wasn't going to just back down because of some name calling and the threat of death by garden implement though if she could not get murdered by a rake that would be cool as well. She stood firm looking at the masked figure approaching her contorted somewhere between anger and despair almost like a caged animal. Her eyes looking into the yellow ones as Bride's shadow sung low with the rake. She took it at the legs the rake sweeping her leg out from underneath her as she hit the ground with an omph. But then a different voice caught her attention.

__> HP: 54/69
__>15 DAMAGE!
__>HP: 39/69



And for a moment the eyes behind that butterfly masked changed and they were soft and innocent, lost, afraid. For a moment Masako thought she had reached Minto but moments later whatever that things was grabbed control again and forced its way back into control. This anger Masako this thing whatever it was had no right, had no reason to torment somebody with eyes that innocent, nobody had the right to dictate somebodies life life that. And yet here it was doing just that. Masako channeled her own inner resolve, something roaring deep inside of her letting her get back to her feet as she armed her rubberband gun almost like an automaton running on instinct and anger. Her hair was frizzled and her uniform now stained with dirt and dust. Her breath panting as she regain her center and raised the rubber band gun up to the shadow and yet she couldn't fire. Looking at those evil yellow eyes and a face masked with tears, she could only see the gentle orange ones from a moment before, her damn head was getting the better of her. And so she yelled in frustration, that thing inside of her roaring again. "I'm sick and tired of all this creepy mask bullshit!"

And she fired. But she the gun was not directed towards Bride, no she instead fired towards the others more in desperation and anger than anything else. The little rubber band came out of the launching mechanism with a deadly passion as it whizzed through the air charged with some angry fury as it found its target hitting into the chest of Haruto. Upon impact it exploded again into static but this explosion was bigger than the previous one the static flashing red for a moment like a strike of red lighting. Masako barely even registered it her eyes never leaving that of her assailant in the butterfly mask.

__>Rolled 20!
__>C-C-C-C Critical Hit!
__> 20 x 2.5 = 50!
__> 50 piercing damage to Haruto!

At this Masako holstered her rubber band gun and took three determined steps towards Bride, coming into striking distance. As she did she used one hand to grab the front end of the rake drawing it up to her head where her eyes never stopped starring with an angry determination into those devilish yellow ones. Blue and yellow came into fierce contact as she addressed the Shadow with some very serious words. "I'm many things. I'm a total disappoint to my father, I'm terrible at school, I'm terrified out of my fucking mind right now and I can be a real jerk sometimes. But you know what I'm not? I'm no damn liar and you better believe that I'll make sure you understand that." As she said this she brought her other hand up also onto the rake steadying it aligning it perfectly with her skull for the shadow but as she did she spoke again. "Minto... I really want to be your friend, so does Kauzo and everybody else. But before that can happen you need to wake up and you need to stop this. But if you think I'm lying crack my skull open now and be done with it. But if you know that I'm not, please stop this. Come on kid where all waiting for you."

Saito silently stares in horror at the arm weakly crawl at him leaving nail marks on the ground. when it finally gotten close to grab ahold of Saito, Saito finally stood up and kicked the arm away from him in disgust and when it slammed into the door way wall Saito thought he was going to get sick as the arm convulsed in disgusting ways and finally he can't take it anymore he ran away deeper into the house and hid his face as he ran. He doesn't want to be weak anymore he wants to be strong he wants to move on.

Saito slammed though a wooden door, which led him to a kitchen, Saito barely remembered a thing about about it.
All but one thing. Wait is it that nigtt The night I left?

Suddenly as Saito was thinking of that day, he heard a drunken hiccup, and he knew the source of it. For scattered all over the floor was sake, and wine bottles and in the middle of the kitchen was the monster from the Television. But the hair is calm and down compared to before and it's orbs are leaking tears of light down to the ground. The face wasn't shadowed like before now it's show a pitiful woman with puffy glowing eyes and make up is all but a mess. It was his mother.

"Mom?"  Spoke a young voice.

Saito looked to the voice, it looked to be a younger version of himself, his hands are covered bandages and his hair is messy and short.

"I'm surprised you still call me that...?" The woman spoke her appearance slowly started to turn more human.

"..." the younger version of him stared in silent anger.

"You're like your father you know that Saito?" His mother spoke in a nostalgic tone.

"You never talk about him..."

"That because I knew you would end like him if you remember him.

"Do you really know me?"

"... I guess, not since I did all those terrible stuff to you since you found his arm i only wanted to protect you but all I did was hurt you."

"..."

"If you hate me... I'm fine with that... I confessed to what I did to you, I will be taken to prison soon... you won't have to deal with me anymore."

"...STOP IT!" the younger Saito suddenly yelled out to the drunken women who looked shock at her son sudden scream and hurt expression on his face.

"Stop telling how to feel!"

"..."

"It's my life I feel how I want to feel!"

"..." His mother appearance has changed to that of his real mother.

"I will live how I want to, no matter what you did to me I will be me." Saito said in a bitter tone.

" good bye mom!" The younger Saito yelled and left his now crying mother in the kitchen. The door he went though had a bright brilliant light and the younger Saito was silhouetted with the light. He current Saito couldn't help but smile, this has been three years ago bit it was a bittersweet memory, but it was sadly the sweetest memory he has of his mother but it was also the memory that kept him moving.

" I guess I lost my way, huh... but I won't ever again,  if I can move on three years I can move on today." Saito spoke to himself and he followed his younger self though the door and everything was blindly bright but warm.

---

As Saito was laughing at getting a clear hit on Shinku, he was hit by Kazuo's persona launching a few feet away from Shinku landing back first to a wall normally with how much hits he took he would passed out but instead he lurch forward and suddenly he puked out a shadowy ooze out of his mouth all over the ground. And suddenly he was consumed by a blue light and an large man in armored raised his blade and a light surrounded Shinku healing 45 Points of damaged he as caused.

---

Hp: 0 > 99
Sp: 21 > 19