Ryan looked around and wondered what exactly was going on. From what he could surmise, this appeared to be one of those Cosplay Cafes he had heard so much about. He probably looked pretty dumb, those waiters were just doing their jobs by yelling at him. Loudly. He shivered and drew his jacket tightly around him. The room was warm enough to warrant shorts and a t-shirt, yet here he was shivering and wearing a jacket, a scarf, and jeans.

The manager came out and announced that today was the very first day of a brand new theme and that there would be a performance going on. "Wait a minute... Is that the guy from Phoenix Ranger Featherman?" He asked himself quietly. The performance started and a lot of squealing and loud music began, making Ryan cringe. "This is definitely the worst decision I've made all week." He covered his hears and looked around. He decided to move to an empty seat near the back, hopefully it would be somewhat quieter there. Nobody really played attention to him, they were all focused on this intense performance. A few minutes passed and the performance was thankfully coming to an end. An alarm sounded and Ryan groaned, was everything out to get him today? A man in a black hoodie sprinted by him and through the back entrance, Ryan decided to take action. He stood up from his chair and chased the thief out of the back door.

As Ryan began his sprint towards the thief, he felt adrenaline begin pumping through his veins. He hadn't gotten such a good workout since military school. As he got closer to the thief he prepared to tackle him to the ground, the chase needed to end soon. 'I need to start working out again. I shouldn't be this tired this quickly.' Ryan began panting slightly and jumped to tackle the thief to the ground.

Noboru took a second to take in what had happened. He got madder and madder, his vision growing red. He tore his shirt off in his blind rage, throwing it down to the ground. Tearing off the webbing, he grabbed Akane by the arms.

"Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck you, you freaky fuckin spider lady! How about you get a taste...of...this!"

Noboru swung round and round and round, hurling Akane directly on top of the spider to deal critical damage.

Taking the next initiative, Noboru rushed up and unleashed a hail of punches, trying his best to keep it aggro'd on him so it wouldn't attack anyone else if it so happened to escape.



Aiko walked down the uncrowded sidewalk. He had just gotten back from a convention, one which he cosplayed in. It was a dirty secret of his, but that wouldn't stop him from doing it. It was just a matter of not being discovered. Today, he was Ryu, the World Warrior! Thankfully, his training with Noboru had given him muscle, making him look natural in his costume. His thoughts went on until a loud voice interrupted them.

"Someone stop him!"

The idea raced in his head. He could play out his character to perfection! It was a great chance to prove himself. The thief raced down the street towards him and Aiko grinned. He took a stance, ready. 3. The thief sped up. 2. Closer. 1. Now. Aiko raised his fist backwards, and swung it forward and up. The first punch hit the thief in the gut, stunning him. "MET....SUUUUUUUU," His fist now rose upwards right into the jaw of the thief. The world seemed to slow down as the impact of his fist struck the thief. "SHOOOOOOOOOOORYUUUUKEN!" Aiko barely looked behind his punch to see another person diving for the thief. Fuck. Aiko's punch drove the thief backwards, letting this hero-to-be catch him. As the two star crossed rivals embraced, Aiko, looked beyond, noticing some of his classmates, some of which were part of the cafe, heading towards the scene. Double fuck. Despite wanting to be the hero, Aiko took off the other way, making sure his secret ways stayed hidden.

Jun sighed as she sat down at the table with her mother, dressed in an expensive kimono and waiting for her father to see their guests in. Normally her presence wasn't required during her father's business meetings, but the old man had insisted on Jun being home today. It usually meant that she was to be used as some bargaining chip to leverage a deal in her father's favor. It wouldn't be the first time he attempted to whore her out to some rich merchant's son or a young rising politician. It was fortunate then that none of them had insisted on her hand in marriage so far to cement the deal.

She tuned out most of what happened, nodding politely and replying with courteousness whenever she needed to deflect the conversation, but thankfully the young son of Asada Industries' CEO seemed to be nervous and shy about the whole meeting and didn't seem at all keen to force his presence on Jun. When the meal was done and Jun was instructed to "show him around", the two walked silently along the halls of the house with nary a word.

It was a pleasant change, that the potential fiance her parents were trying to set her up with wasn't bragging about his wealth or influence or trying to charm his way into Jun's pants. The young man seemed to be giving her quite the personal space. Jun smiled to herself at that. "Kirigaya-san, you're awfully quiet." She attempted conversation with her guest, deciding to be nice to him since he was being scarily considerate. "When my father tries to arrange a meeting between a young man and me, they're usually a lot more bold."

"Ah, sorry. I'm just not used to this." The boy replied, laughing nervously. He stepped a little closer, no doubt feeling a little awkward to hold a conversation at arm's length. "Truth is, I have a girl I fancy in school already. It's not something teenagers usually talk to their parents about, so..."

"Oh? I'm usually the one doing the rejecting but this time I've been pre-empted, huh?" Jun joked, laughing lightly. "What's she like? Have you confessed to her yet?" As long as the servants saw her chatting amicably with the young man, there would be no drama later. It didn't seem like he would be interested in accepting his parents' proposal for the two of them to get together anyway. She could at least make an attempt at being civil, if for no reason other than to avoid the usual tantrum from her father.

"Ah, not yet." Kirigaya replied as his cheeks went red. "She's the class rep, and pretty popular in the class. She's dependable, bubbly and hardworking. She sits beside me in class, but I don't really talk to her much..."

Jun chuckled. "You should say something to her. Girls like that don't stay single for long."

The conversation continued for the next half an hour, Jun encouraging her guest to make a move on his crush, cracking a few jokes at his expense while hinting at her own orientation to make sure he didn't get the wrong idea. The guy was nice enough not to make a fuss out of it and apologized for how awkward meetings like that must be for Jun. Why couldn't more of the elite's children be like him?

When it was time for them to leave, their guests left without taking any offense from the young girl for once. Her father seemed to think she had finally met a young man she liked, and Jun didn't bother correcting him. He was technically correct in his presumptions, though the nuance was a little different.



Jun hummed a merry tune as she entered the hall, in a good mood for once after her father left the house. It was rare that she was made to attend these arranged meetings and didn't raise hell with her father afterwards. Even her bodyguards were nice enough to give her a wide berth. Still, attending to unwanted guests was tiring, and Jun decided it was time to entertain her own desires.

She entered into the cosplay cafe, in the middle of a performance. It seemed like this cafe spent more money entertaining its customers than it could possibly make in a week. She sat down at a corner table, taking out the latest volume of Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun and reading it while she waited for one of the waiters to get to her. She was quickly becoming a regular here, she mused, if her weekend routine became any more, well, routine. The past few weekends of utilizing this cafe as her own reading corner seemed to have paid off since her guards usually left her alone once she entered.

Akane Hanazawa // Cave Of Solitude
June 6th, Sunday, 2015
Dungeon

Sure enough, her taunts had managed to get through and work. However, it didn't go as planned as the cliche spider dungeon boss managed to trap Akane in a cliche dungeon trap. Usually in dungeon crawler H-Games, this would be where the hero(ine) gets raped by said monster. "Well, fuck..." she grunted in annoyance as she tried to break free from the strong spider web. Don't worry, he said, I'll take the hit, he said. She gritted her teeth as she swore to punch Noboru's face in when this is all over and done with.

Luckily, Rui managed to stop the stingers from beheading her by summoning his persona, though, it didn't seem like he'd be able to hold them for long. Then she heard a ripping sound. Don't tell me... Sure enough, it was Noboru ripping off his shirt. But more than that, he managed to rip apart the web with his hands and grabbed Akane with his hands. Staring at him with a blank expression, she kind of figured what he was going to do. "You Bit--" He then started to swing her round and round and round and flung her right ontop of the spider.

"NOOOOBBBOORRRRUUUUUU!!!" She yelled mid-air as she managed to re-adjust herself and deliver a punishing kick to the shadow. I'm definitely kicking his ass after this. In the meantime, this 'thing' needs some punishment. Summoning her persona, she went in with a Cruel Attack.

Despite their best efforts, the shadow kept repairing the web even as it attacked them. Splitting up their attacks hardly helped too. They were clearly outsped, with the spiders lightning-fast movements a blur as they maneuvered heavy-footed across the web. Sato's flexed his hand out, cramped from the white-knuckled grip he had on his bow for the past while. There was no way they'd win at this rate...

That just meant they had to change it up. Or rather, another factor had to be introduced. Said factor took the form of the door to the room bursting open. Noboru and Akane ran in, followed by the sounds of communications being restored. Sato gave a sigh of relief, even if the fight wasn't over yet. With Megumi back, and the backup team joining, the tides of battle might be in their favor now.

Noboru shouted a bunch of obscenities and insults at the shadow, which provoked a very confused look from Sato. What... was he doing? Trying to piss it off more? Was this some obscure way of getting it to stop repairing the webs or something? Regardless of what Noboru's intentions were, the spider's attention was now directly on him and Akane, who had joined in on the 'roasting'. Sato might've laughed at some of the things they were saying, had the situation not been so serious. It irked him that they were playing around the way they were when they fighting for both theirs and Ayano's life. Sato glanced over at Kotori, who seemed similarly puzzled yet relieved, and then to Matt and Leiko, who guarded the door from any additional shadows. Without any orders, and no attacks directed at him, Sato stood where he was cautiously, watching Noboru's plan unfold.

The two continued taunting, though after a bit of approaching and watching, the shadow slung some web at them, catching Akane and pinning her to the ground as the shadow spider crept onto her. Again, unsure of what to do, Sato merely watched as the shadow's hand things turned into giant blades, rearing to slice at Akane. But before it could do anything, Rui thankfully did something, summoning his persona to hold back the shadow momentarily. He shouted, "Take it down! Give it all you've got!"

Sato's attention snapped back to himself, nodding even though nobody noticed. Rushing forward, Sato summoned his persona again as he aimed another arrow. Aiming straight at the shadow's most sensitive looking part, the figure on top, Sato fired the arrow. As it flew from the bow, Chronos generated another blast of wind, this time propelling the projectile at blurring speeds. Combined with he force of the gusts, the arrow hit hard. Sato smiled to himself over his own cleverness.

As he went to do another Garula, Sato looked over at Noboru. To his surprise, the second year suddenly ripped off his shirt before ripping Akane out of the webbing. Grabbing her by the arms, Noboru began to swing the girl around like some kind of human merry-go-round, before launching her straight at the shadow. Akane did a powerful aerial kick and then quickly followed it up with her persona. Noboru started pummeling the shadow with his own fists, only adding onto the list of mind-numbing things Noboru had done in the minute or two he'd been in the fight.

Pumping more wind attacks into the shadow, Sato stood on the side, exhausted from the exertion of the mirror world. Using his persona so much was starting to be a mental strain, his head throbbing as his persona swung at the shadow with its scythe. With the end of the battle in sight, Sato forced himself to give it everything he had left until the spider was stomped on.

Kotori Shirohane - Cave of Solitude | Sunday, June 7 2015

It was astonishing how quickly relief could turn into fear when the dynamic duo's entrance was cut short by a blast of web being flung in their direction, catching Akane and pinning her down before she could even take a single action. Worse yet, the Shadow rapidly scittered across the web, pouncing on the helpless girl. Out of breath and too confused at the whole event, Kotori was too slow to mount any effective help as the Spider-Shadow raised its vicious stingers for an undoubtedly heavy blow.

"Kikuri-Hime!" Kotori called - but even as she feared that any help may be too late, Rui proved to have kept his cool and summoned Askr to step in and hold the creature in place for at least a momentary respite as he orderd everyone to attack right away. Seeing that several of the group were rather battered by the lengthy ordeal and the new arrivals had already had to contend with an attack themselves, Kotori used the opportunity to let Kikuri-Hime cast Media to make sure no one would be taken down by any unexpected counter-attacks.

"Medi-ah?!" Kotori's voice rather quickly peaked upwards in tandem with the how red her face turned as, for no apparent reason, Noboru suddenly tore his shirt off himself; leaving him bare-chested and madly tearing at the webbing surrounding Akane. Torn between trying to preserve some sense of decency at the sheer absurdity and keeping up with the fight, Kotori half-covered her face with one hand as Kikuri-Hime cast the healing spell even as Noboru flung Akane directly at the shadowy figure atop the spider; much to the displeasure of the flingee judging by the sounds being made by her.

Taking a deep breath - the exertion of it reminding Kotori that she couldn't continue this for too long - she focused (or at least tried to) back on the shadow itself. Between the barrage of Akane's attack, Noboru's punches and Sato's persona-assisted arrows, she wasn't very confident that she'd be making much of a difference - but Askr seemed to be struggling harder with holding the creature in place, so there was not time to waste in this opportunity.

"Kikuri-Hime," Kotori called - her voice only barely not wavering from either embarassment or exhaustion - as she held one hand out toward the shadowy figure atop the spider's body. She didn't even need any words as her persona turned the unspoken command into a bolt of lightning which struck the shadow - even as Kotori herself was left feeling ever more drained by the lengthy fight.

The followed up barrage of attacks relieved significant pressure from the shadow's fangs, allowing Askr to convert the defense into a slash, before Rui ordered out a Zan'ei. They did some major damage to the shadow, but it didn't look like enough as it rapidly scurried away. Great, now it was going to be difficult to catch again...

"I've finished scanning, watch closely how the lightning moves on the webs, that should give you an idea where it's going to move, the less web there is, the easier it'll be to read it's movements", she informed Rui of this. Although due to limitations, only Kami, Kotori and Sato also got this message. Akane and Noboru were still left in the dark.

"Watch the lightning on the webs. That'll tell us where the shadow will be next", he said... Oh only if it were that easy.

The spider shadow began disappearing from sight completely... In fact... The whole cavern was. The only thing they could see was the ground where which their feet stood, if they were too far away, they wouldn't even be able to see each other... But there was one thing they could see, and it was the lightning moving about the cavern... The cavern was now filled with darkness, the mad cackling of the shadow, and occasionally it would take a pot shot at the party with it's webs again.

"Look out!", Rui heard the warning in time to jump back away from his left, as he spotted two familiar fangs, and blank yellow eyes from the darkness... So not just webs... It might appear to try and make a killing blow... This meant Akane and Noboru were at a big disadvantage here, without navigator support to warn them of attack. They had to pinpoint the shadow's movements fast.

The lightning was moving around the web again, but now that it was dark... It was easier to see the pattern. They had a good chance if they could coordinate an attack in this darkness.

With all their attacks combined, the shadow recoiled away, having had major damage done to it. Sato flashed a thumbs up to his party members, a quick celebration for finally having gotten some good hits in. The joy was short lived, as the spider was back to doing its obnoxious scuttling thing. Megumi informed them of what she had found out through scanning, and Sato nodded subconsciously. His eyes focused on the webs and the electricity flowing through them, though he had to keep moving and watch out for any shots aimed at him. As he scanned for these things, Sato took a minute before he noticed the cavern began to fade into the darkness, the webs and spider disappearing into the black.

Sato's eyes followed bursts of electricity running through parts of the webs as he stepped back onto a thinner area of webbed flooring. The cackling of the shadow filled the room, before he heard a rush of air and a crash. The shadow had probably attacked someone, lunging at them. Knowing it was getting up close to attack now was frightening to say the least. If it caught them, it'd be next to impossible to help another team-mate in the dark like that.

At least the flow of the electricity was easy to see in the dark, meaning they could better predict where the spider was going to be. Assuming Megumi was right. She was always right though, right? If the shadow leaped right from where the electricity stopped, wouldn't it be almost easier to dodge than before?

Whatever. Either way, it would take a good guess and some precision to hit it again. Summoning his persona for one last time, Sato watched the lightning rush through the webbing, the yellow sparks the only light in the room besides the faint glow of Chronos behind him. Holding his hand out, he traced the path of the electricity with a finger. Sato suddenly clenched his fist, and Chronos did a quick spin of the scythe before slashing, sending a wide blast of wind straight at where Sato thought the shadow was going to be.

Kotori Shirohane - Cave of Solitude | Sunday, June 7 2015

The heavy assault seemed to be working - the shadow was reeling under the many direct hits with no way to use its usual speed to dodge out of the way. But just as Kotori began hoping that they might be able to finish things here and now, the creature broke free and quickly scuttled away - meaning that the fight was going to drag on even further; an unappealing prospect to say the least. Still, if they managed to hold it down once, then maybe-

Before Kotori could finish the thought, Megumi's voice sounded in her head - a concept she still found a little odd - to inform the group of the purpose of the webs and the surges of electricity that went through them. Looking at the spider-shadow and its movements with this newfound knowledge, things did indeed become clearer - with the speed of their opponent, it might not be much of a warning, but every little bit would help. Rui called the information out loud - directed in Noboru's and Akane's direction it seemed; Kotori only then remembering that Megumi had mentioned there was a limit to her telepathic abilities.

She averted her eyes as quickly as she had glanced over to the two though, given the still shirtless state of one of them - Kotori did wish he'd put a shirt on, if only for some basic decency. Unfortunately for her, however, her wish was granted - but not in the way she would have liked as a darkness descended upon the cave, obscuring anything further than a few meters away. It was hard to make out any details - but at the same time, the lightning contrasted more noticeably. Still, not being able to see the others if they were too far away made Kotori more than a little nervous - not only because she was afraid she might accidentally hit someone but also because she wasn't sure if she'd be able to accurately pinpoint them if they were in need of healing.

With a lot more uncertainty than before, Kotori followed the patterns of lightning streaking through the dark - the lack of any real visible surroundings throwing of her sense of perspective a little, leaving her to wonder if it hadn't just become even faster - as she whispered her persona's name once more; not only because the fight was proving to be most arduous but also because it just seemed natural to not speak too loudly when it was dark. Said darkness was briefly illuminated when the next command was spoken as she took aim at the moving lightning pattern: "Zio."

"Ayano, everyone is here for you, despite your feelings, watch how hard Kami fights. This is your shadow, a part of you that you don't want to see... But it is still you. Whether your hidden feelings are hate for everyone or an unhealthy desire for isolation, know this... It's not the only part of you, so long as you remember that, the rest comes easy", addressed Rui towards Ayano, cleaning his blade and sheathing it again for the next part.

The various spells were hitting the right areas, with Kotori's Zio lighting up the area, giving the party a brief glimpse of the shadow, and that was all they needed. Grazed and slowed by Kami and Sato's spells, the shadow approached to try another killing blow more slowly than before, allowing Akane to intercept and hold it down, with Noboru immediately following up with an uppercut, causing the shadow to start capsizing backwards, chained into a flurry of punches and thrusts on the soft underbelly as a combined effort from Akane and Noboru. As Rui charged, the shadow flipped itself over again, and relit the room akin to that of a disco, before unleashing a blast of multi-coloured energy at the party.

Responding to the attack, Rui refined a Garula right through the middle, letting him slip in-between the waves, with Kami following in single file behind. Now they had a chance to deal a decisive blow. Rui started with the overhead slash as Kami followed with a horizontal swipe, and the two would keep alternating between their strikes and their Persona's attacks, before sending the shadow away in a pillar of wind and lightning with some help from Kotori and Sato.

Before the shadow even hit the ground, wailing in agony as it was defeated, everyone knew the result as the shadow landed, dissipating into a black mist and revealing the shadow's original form below. Now the rest was up to Ayano.

Kotori Shirohane - Cave of Solitude | Sunday, June 7 2015

Despite being the cause of the bright flash, Kotori still flinched as the Shadow was momentarily illuminated - even in the brief time that the cave was in darkness, though it hadn't felt like such a short time, it had thrown off her sense of distances so that the creature appeared far closer and bigger than she'd expected. But that wasn't the only cause - though it was only visible for a moment, the spider-shadow was cleary preparing to lunge once more; targeting Akane once again. "Ah...!" was all that Kotori could bring out, a mix of surprise and a fearful warning, before things went dark once more. Starting into a run, despite her body making its protests known, she got close enough to barely make out the silhouettes in the dark against the electricity running through the cable-web - and breathed a sigh of relief when she realised that it wasn't the sight of the Shadow preying upon Akane but rather her classmate hold her own and a smaller silhouette punching the enormous Spider.

"Ki... Kikuri-hime," Kotori spoke, out of breath, intent on preparing a healing spell - but even as she did, the punches were making enough of an impact to cause the spider to flip over and suddenly brought light back into the cave in a disorienting fashion after everyone had just started to get used to the darkness. Covering her averted eyes at the unexpected brightness, Kotori was caught by surprise when the Shadow proved itself to be no less dangerous just because it had been thrown on its back and unleashed a many-coloured attack. Crossing her arms in front of her reflexively, she closed her eyes tightly in expectation of the incoming hit - except that it never came as upon gingerly opening one eye and peeking out through her glasses, she saw the backs of Kami and Rui charging straight at the shadow; having rushed right past her and somehow deflecting the attack.

Rather than relief, however, worry overtook her as she hadn't seen if the others had similar luck - and ordered Kikuri-Hime to cast "Media" just to be safe as the group pounced upon the seemingly helpless Shadow. A quick glance to each of her companions showed that they were indeed still standing and fighting - so Kotori returned her attention to the Spider. Despite feeling rather weary at this point, she summoned Kikuri-Hime's assistance yet again as she called down a bolt of lightning to aid in the onslaught - in the hope that this really was the final push; a hope which was slowly starting to take a turn for the desperate.

Under the heavy assault of blade, fist, wind and lightning, the Shadow was toss up - and with an anguished cry that resounded throughout the whole cave fell to the ground; bursting into a quickly-dissipating black cloud at the heart of which lay the form of the original Shadow Ayano before the transformation. Rui had spoken words of encouragement to her before - but neither knowing the right words to say nor enough breath to speak them, Kotori's wish to help the girl through the ordeal remained merely a wish. Everything rested on the girl now - even as Kotori sank to her knees trying to catch her breath after the sheer exhaustion of the fight took its toll. If the Shadow transformed into its twisted combat form once again, she doubted she'd be able to put up much of a fight - even as she also doubted the wisdom of sitting out of gym class so often.

After Kami had swept her away to a safe spot, Ayano couldn't help but watch in dead horror as the battle raged on. That thing...That terrifying amalgamation of limbs and heads was a manifestation of her, one that she didn't want to admit, one that she had kept hidden for so long. The words the two said, it was spine-chilling how hard they hit her, but all of it was true. In those heated moments she could see how hard everyone fought, with vigor, with resilience, especially Kami...The way he battled and pushed onward, almost as if it was...She shook her head, how was she able to accept this thing if she can't even accept her feelings first? The quarrel dragged on and the words that Rui said, it made something inside of her tick, as if a button had been pressed or a trigger had activated, she knew what she had to do now, especially since that the battle had been won.

Her two doppelgangers appeared once more, beaten into a sitting position, themselves facing away from each other but back-to-back. The White Ayano heaved and glared at her original, frowning and with her shrill voice said,

"Haa...No fun, your piece of shit friends are no fun, Ayano!"

It slumped it's head backwards, arms flailing, hitting her twin on the head and demanding her to speak on her behalf. The Black Ayano turned it's head to the original, her eyes still closed and an indifferent expression cast upon her face.

"I'm tired, Yanary...What about you, Ayano? Are you tired yet?"

The monotone voice it echoed reminded the girl of herself, but now things will change. She looked down at the two, it was her, both of them. There was no denying now, she knows for a fact that these two mirror images are nothing but her own reflections given form. Now was the time to say it, to accept these two and start anew, the future looks bright after all.

"Yeah...I'm tired. Tired of wasting my life behind a computer screen. Tired of pushing away the people I call friends. And most especially..."

She cast a quick look in Kami's direction, giving him a hopeful smile before returning to her shadow.

"Tired of running away. What you guys said, I won't deny any of it. They were all true, even if they were kind of exaggerated...I guess the online world just ate away at me..."

She sighed, kicking her leg slightly as another thought consumed her, a soft blush emanating from her cheeks as the two doppelgangers smiled and grinned respectively, the original's speech patterns quickly became hesitant and she fidgeted here and there.

"A-And...besides...I, no...We have a few loose ends to tie up with a certain someone."

The girl scratched one side of her cheeks as they flushed once more. The two mirror images stood up on wonky legs and faced each other, their hands clasping one another, and slowly they were engulfed by a blue light. It almost seemed sinister but no, it actually felt quite calming. The lights surrounding each of the two Ayano's and before they faded, had a message to say to their renewed original.

"Y'know...I guess our friends aren't absolute pieces of shit after all, right Ayano?"
"Quite. It feels nice to have people you can depend on..."

The blue light intensified as the two dissipated and a new figure made itself welcome before the girl. She stood in awe as the humanoid spoke to her, ones that would etch themselves in her memory for times to come.

Thou art I, and I am thou.
I am Dantalion. One who is of a million faces.

The figure soon disappeared and Ayano could swear that the words were still echoing inside of her head. The blue light faded and everything fell silent for a moment. This...Was this one of things things that the others were summoning earlier? And now she can do it too? She stared at her empty hand half-expecting something to come out or pop out due to the power but nothing came to fruition. Remembering that there was a search party that actually took the time to look for her, she turned to them and gave them a light smile, although that smile was quickly replaced with a scowl as a sharp pain coursed through her head and soon, her entire body. Everything spinning again, she tried to concentrate and stand on her legs but that simply worsened the situation, causing her to stumble and eventually fall to the ground. Her vision was starting to cloud, her eyes straining to keep things focused on her surroundings but to no use. Everything eventually faded to black and all but the faintest of sounds were nothing to the girl.

Kami was naturally the one to catch Ayano and carry her out of the dungeon this time. With the rescue being a success, everyone began to exit back to the normal world. Kami went off to deliver Ayano to the hospital, but Rui and Kazuki and the rest stayed for the time being to discuss a few things. It was mostly about Megumi's navigational powers, but also something she noticed as she would say.

"That girl, Ayano was it...? She's... She's like me...", she began.

"She has the ability to be a navigator, I sensed it the moment you guys went into the dungeon... My power can't normally be blocked, the only way I can think of is if they had a similar power. I won't know for sure until she's able to show us her Persona next time but... That's what I noticed",

"I see... This would be very useful, we can have two teams enter dungeons safely then, if she chooses to help us",

"Yeah... It'd be nice to have a bit more help. I sometimes get antsy, since sometimes, four people doesn't look like enough, like today...",

"Yeah... But there's no use mulling over this now. We'll need to wait until Ayano is okay again", with that settled, Riku was more than happy to finally leave, while everyone else bid farewells as normal.

"I'll inform Kami when I get the chance", he said before finally leaving for home.



"Welcome, to the Velvet Room",

Ayano's eyes returned to focus... She expected the ceiling of her room, that her experience was some kind of bad dream... But it was not. What she saw before her was a long table, herself seated in one of the seats near the front. Upon her table was inlaid, "The Hermit", with the number of that arcana below it, as well as the card's appearance. She looked down and noticed she was wearing some rather formal wear. It was akin to that you would find in an office worker, short tight skirt, leggings, blazer jacket and a blouse shirt with a tie, and noticed that she was looking through a pair of glasses. She seemed to still have a pair of headphones though, but their design was completely different. She pulled it up towards her ear, and could only hear a particular melody. It sounded pretty nice, but then she noticed the headphones weren't actually hooked up to anything, so it was quite peculiar... In any case, her attention would move to the very end of the table, the source of the very voice that awoke her to this room.

"This, is a place between mind and matter, dream and reality. My name is Igor, and this is my assistant, Henrietta", he introduced. There was a tall blonde girl standing beside him, she looked quite professional, with long hair streaming easily to her waist.

"It appears you have been... Rescued, by your friends", Ayano as he said this, would notice that there were silhouettes seated at particular positions at the table.

"It would have been an unfortunate fate, had they not intervened...", he continued, shuffling around a few cards.

"You, represent the Hermit Arcana, it seems. You are the type to support from the back, behind the scenes, out of sight, the spotlight is not your home... For now, you will be left with this key, and return to this room at your own accord", as he finished speaking, the lady Henrietta had already been walking over to Ayano's seat, and handed her a peculiar key. As she picked it up, her vision began to slowly fade.

"But until then... Farewell"

As Ayano's vision returned to her... She was introduced to the white ceiling of a hospital room.

Ayano slowly opened her eyes only to be greeted with a clear white ceiling, she looked around to see figures gathered around her but her blurry vision could barely make out anything. She was able to hear them murmuring something...Waking up? Alive? Okay? What was that all about? Rubbing her eyes with her palms, her vision started to get better and she soon realized that she was in the hospital! That must explain why everything was white, the brunette looked around her and saw her family all huddled around her, with her mother almost looking like she was about to bawl into tears any second now. Before she could reassure everyone that she was fine her mother suddenly embraced her in one tight hug, tears streaming down her face as she told her daughter that she, her father and brother went around looking for her during the day she went missing. The violent rain didn't stop them from trying their best to look for her, and even when the police started scouring as well, they never stopped their search. Hearing this, it made Ayano feel a heartwarming sense of emotion, there were no use for words and she simply hugged her mother back, thanking her and everyone else for their hard work. It had actually been such a long time since she actually hugged her mother, it was a refreshing experience...

Their reprieve was disturbed however when a knock came from the door, her little brother opened it and it was none other than Kami. Quite frankly, she was actually glad that he came to visit, it made her feel better. Her brother pointed out that it was actually Kami who delivered Ayano to the hospital and has been keeping a watchful eye over her up until her recovery now, if she wasn't in her current predicament right now she would've smacked her bratty sibling for even saying that, making her feel embarrassed and feel like a burden to the boy. She looked at him and lowered her head, repeatedly apologizing to him for causing so much trouble, if she would've just accepted his offer back then, none of that whole horror-fest would have happened in the first place. The boy scratched the back of his head, saying that she shouldn't worry about it, what mattered now was that she was safe. There was a pause as the two looked each other in the eye, a silence looming over the room before Ayano laughed.

"Wow...That was incredibly cheesy, did you get that from one of your manga's or something?"

Soon her laughter died out and her parents were escorted outside by Kami, saying that he and Ayano have important matters to discuss. Ayano's mother looked completely mortified, a shocked expression arose from her face, saying that he better take good care of their daughter or else. Overhearing this, the brunette's face instantly became beet red, shouting to her mother,

"MOM! IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!"

She hid under her covers the moment she said that, unable to reveal her embarrassment from both her family and her friend. Kami hurriedly dismissed them, sheepishly nodding to them and when they were gone he let out a sigh, telling Ayano that the others would soon explain everything to her.

No news of Ayano's disappearance was announced, likely due to how brief it was, like a bad weekend, as far as her family was concerned, albeit an alarming and possibly life-threatening one. Today Rui was at the hospital, expectedly Kami was there, it also appears her family was here too, likely she had only just awoken. After Kami had his moment with her and her family, Rui walked in as if on queue on explanations about strange worlds and supernatural powers.

"Good afternoon, I'm here to talk to you about the Avengers Initiative",

was not how it went at all.

"Yeah, although Kami should be enough to explain it all to you as well, but I'll keep it brief...", Rui then went to spend the next few minutes summing up what was happening, and the world and the power of the Persona.

"If you have additional questions, you can come to me... Or Kami, if you prefer", he finished.

"For the time being, I should leave you my contact number should you choose to contact me instead of Kami... You already have his phone number right?", he inquired.

Ayano waited there in her hospital room, her only company being Kami and while he certainly did fill in the void, the awkward silence looming between the two of them just made conversation stale. She shuffled here and there, and looked out the window, trying to avoid eye contact and focus her mind on something else, her reverie was disturbed however when another visitor came through the door. A person who she swears she had seen before...

"Wait...Aren't you that Shinichi guy from the club?"

She blinked once and twice without even getting a response. He said something about the Avengers Initiative which just made the brunette roll her eyes and fold her arms, one of her eyebrows raised and her face adorned with an unamused expression. Really? He looked suave and cool but that line really killed the mood. After a long-winded explanation and exposition class about the strange world she was sent to, the investigation team, and the inner manifestation of oneself, the girl stared with a wide-eyed expression, the gears of her mind slowly trying to process what had just been said to her.

So...Those phantasmal-like images that they summoned in that battle, was Persona? She raised her hand as if to ask a question, her mouth agape, but she slowly retracted it and put it to her mouth, her head slowly nodding.

"Persona? As in...Like that movie that was being shown a while back? That game? Do we like...have to shoot ourselves with guns to summon them?"

If so, what a morbid way of unleashing a power! Granted, the ones in the movie weren't actually guns but still...She's played the games, but to actually experience it upfront. Talk about a nerd's dream! But all of this was still quite a lot to take in. She grabbed her head and groaned as Rui explained more and gave his contact number to her, when he inquired about her having Kami's contact she blushed lightly. Her speech becoming sullied again and her voice becoming soft.

"O-Of course I do!"

An intriguing thought crossed Ayano's mind, with both Rui and Kami here, maybe this would be the best time to gather information on the cult happenings around Warakuma.

"So, you guys are part of this Investigation Team, right? Have you found anything about these cultists? What their motives are, who they are?"

She had inquiries on the cult, which was normal... Though it would be up to Kami whether or not he would share information about that here. He turned to Kami who began to speak on this matter. He didn't seem happy about it though...

"Unfortunately... I haven't figured out much... I found that they've been infamously hard to track down, this is just the most active they've ever been, even more than last year it seems... Their motive is unclear too, but considering it's a cult, it's likely they believe in something, but it's been almost random. Only now it looks like they've only been taking high school students", he explained. So there wasn't much just yet...

"Though... Since they're more active, hopefully they'll slip up at some point, and we get a more solid lead", he finished. So he decided to speak about it here in the hospital. That really must mean there wasn't much information at all. Kami was very close to managing a lead with Ayano's capture, but he knew his limits and didn't chase after that... Rui wondered what would happen if it was someone far more physically capable than Kami instead... Would it have been different? Well, there was no use thinking about it. It seems there wasn't much else to talk about, other than her ability.

"So, we'll need your help. We feel your power of Persona may be a little different from ours though... It'll be easier for us to try it, but that'll have to wait for another time", he mentioned.

Flashes of lightning and gusts of wind kept pelting the shadow, though only grazing it. After it had enough, the shadow crept in for another lunge. Though, their magic attacks weared it down enough that Akane was able to intercept with Noboru doing an uppercut follow up. Sato watched, eyes adjusted to the darkness, as the spider fell back, exposing its vulnerable underbelly. The two physical attackers continued to assault it with punches and such, but before everyone else could capitalize on the moment, it flipped itself back over and emitted blasts of colorful energies at everyone.

Rui responded with a precise Garula, allowing him and Kami to unleash a sword combo. The two's personas filled in the gaps, making it one big seamless attack. This time, Sato wasn't going to let them do it all. Though he previously thought himself at the limit, the thought of protecting Ayano and winning the battle, against the odds, filled him with determination. Chronos appeared in front of him, spinning its scythe. Combined with everyone else's efforts, a electric tornado blew the shadow away.

Screeching, the shadow soon hit the ground, its body dissolving into a black mist upon contact. Its previous form was all that was left after: two monochrome Ayanos. They sat near the real Ayano. Realizing the battle was actually over, Sato almost stumbled to his knees, his body felt so weak. But he caught himself, and stood tall. Maybe the others were confident, but to Sato, fighting that big shadow was a gamble of their lives. Or maybe, it was just destiny that they'd win. Sato shook the thought away. Destiny or not, they'd carved their own path, and Ayano was safe now. Or... was she? She still had to accept her shadow, or everything they'd just done would all be for naught. Standing as tall as he could, Sato whispered, even if she couldn't hear it. "This is you, Ayano... But it isn't all of you. We're all here for you."

Sato listened to the conversation between Ayano and her shadow(s), breathing a sigh of relief as she came to terms with herself. A blue light soon covered the two shadows, reminding Sato of his own persona. Right on cue, a feminine figure appeared before Ayano, encircled by what seemed to be screens. It faded away as quickly as it came, and expectedly, so did Ayano's consciousness. The girl collapsed to the ground, and they rushed in to help her, but it was obviously Kami who caught her. The rescue was a complete success.


Back at the warehouse, Sato felt he could breathe easier in the real world. Kami left to go deliver Ayano to the hospital, while everyone else stayed behind to discuss Ayano briefly. It seemed Megumi thought that Ayano had the same navigator ability as her, which was agreed to be pretty useful. Rui decided it was fruitless to try to discuss it before Ayano was awake, so everyone decided to call it a day.

Sato stepped outside. The sun was starting to set, though the orange over the horizon still burned brightly. It was probably dinner time, but he didn't think to check neither his phone or watch as he walked home. Whatever time it was, Sato felt liked he would pass out just like Ayano.

---

It was the end of the school day, and Sato Hashimoto was leaning back in his seat. Normally, he waited for the rush of students to clear out before he got up. That was still the case, but it wasn't to avoid getting pushed around and the like. He felt dumb for being so happy about saving Ayano, but that was exactly it. They'd saved her from essentially some kind of pseudo-suicide. Ayano wasn't actually at school yet, obviously, seeing as she was administered to the hospital. That was why Sato decided to check in on her, to see how she was doing. He technically had archery practice to attend, but they'd understand if it was to go visit someone in the hospital. Sato shot Rokurou a quick text about it (purposely leaving out the name), and also noted how he was resigning from his "co-prez" status. It didn't actually hold any weight in the books, but it still meant he was dedicated to helping out at the club. And Sato was, just... with all this persona stuff happening, he knew there was no way he could always have time for club meetings. He had quit Drama for the same reason. They had enough males anyway.

Sato rose from his seat, shoving his phone in his back pocket. He felt it vibrate as he did so, but Sato decided against checking the text. Getting his stuff together, Sato made his way out of the classroom. For once, the hum of fellow students bustling and chatting was a pleasant sound. He couldn't really word in his head why it was different now, or why he was in such a good mood, but it all just was.


Nobody seemed to be at the door, and it wasn't locked. He'd been allowed in on basis of being a concerned friend from school. Minus the friend part, it wasn't a lie, and Sato crept open the door to make sure there wasn't any personal moment going on. Seeing Rui and Kami inside, he took a step into the hospital room. He waved to Ayano, other hand clutching the strap of his school bag. Their conversation seemed to have come to the end. "Sorry for barging in like this. I just wanted to make sure you're okay, Ayano. The whole persona thing is kinda rough at first."

She sighed, a sullen expression on her face when she found out that they too were in the dark about info on the cult. With them being a cult, they might been thinking up a way to summon this demon or monster by gathering sacrifices to appease this being, the thought made her spine shiver...What kind of eldritch horror would they conjure up if they become successful? And what does this spell for Warakuma or the world? The simple fact that they exist makes her reel in horror.

"So, we'll need your help. We feel your power of Persona may be a little different from ours though... It'll be easier for us to try it, but that'll have to wait for another time"

Her help? Different? That doesn't make sense...Does this mean that Personas have different capabilities that vary from each person? What did he mean by different? The choice was pushed on to her so suddenly, a part of her just wanted to forget all about what happened and simply return to normalcy, but another strived to use this power and unleash her potential...It would be a waste not to use a gift such as this, not many people can be granted with such a power...She looked at Kami with an uncertain look in her eyes, but after mulling over it for a few seconds a small smile rose from her lips, nodding in agreement and having made her choice.

"I'll do it...If it means finding more about this cult and for the better of Warakuma...I'll do it!"

Just then, another stranger popped up, it certainly wasn't someone she had met before, so she turned her head to the side, examining him as if he was an otherworldly specimen. She blinked once and twice, uttering the words,

"I'm sorry but...do I know you?"

She didn't mean any ill-will to that comment but as her train of thought began to turn its gears once more, she noticed that it was actually Sato Hashimoto. One of the few who put an effort to save her from the monstrosity that was her inner self. When she realized this, she quickly bowed her head repeatedly and began to mutter apologies several times, excusing herself for her mistake.

"We don't have to shoot ourselves, right? Because I'm not sure I'm prepared to commit to that kind of thing..."

She asked the three.

Kotori Shirohane - Cave of Solitude | Sunday, June 7 2015

Kotori followed the events that unraveled closely - not only because she was afraid of what might happen if Ayano did not accept her other self, but also because her own memory wasn't all too clear on what had happened to herself immediately after the same incident. As she spoke on, a small smile came over Kotori's lips - the words Ayano was speaking sounded familiar in a way. Though she couldn't hope to think she'd understand another person from so little, she still felt something almost like pride for having been able to help her find her own resolve, no matter how small a contribution it may have been.

A short while later, back in the real world - it still felt a little strange to refer to it as such - Kaminari immediately excused himself to bring Ayano to the hospital. The rest remained behind, at the behest of Megumi - who informed everyone of the fact that Ayano's Persona, into which the twin shadows had transformed, had similar abilities to her own. However, with nothing more than a preliminary scan, they had little more to go on and thus decided to leave all that for another time as the group split up; no doubt glad to be able to head home for some rest - at least Kotori knew she was.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Classroom 2-2 | Monday, June 8 2015 - After School

As the bell rung, signalling the end of classes and the start of the usual race for the classroom doors, Kotori once again remained at her seat as she finished up the day's notes; letting the room begin emptying out in doing so and only briefly looking up to give a small bow of goodbye should Akane happen to walk by. As Kotori put her pencil down, she stifled a sudden yawn before briefly lifting her glasses to rub her eyes for a moment - after the events the day before (and making up a story about a study group with a classmate or three for her mother once she got home), she'd felt like little more than taking a shower and then just laying down in bed until she quickly drifted off to sleep.

Unfortunately for her, however, the sheer heart-pounding excitement had still been far too fresh in her mind as that she'd have any chance of actually getting to sleep at any reasonable hour; instead laying awake for hours - the consequences of which she'd been feeling the whole day now. Putting her notebook together with her writing utensils back into her school bag, Kotori thought about what was still to do for the day. Her mother had said she didn't need any help or shopping done today, so she was free for Agriculture Club - or she could visit the girl, Ayano, in hospital. A wry half-smile came across Kotori's face at that thought - whilst it would perhaps be both polite and a nice thing to do, she already knew that she didn't actually want to go near the hospital if she didn't absolutely have to; even as she already headed out of the classroom.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | After School

A faintest of knocks resounded from the door to the Agriculture Clubroom. A second or five passed before the door slowly opened and Kotori peeked inside in her usual way of entering. The room itself, meanwhile, was a similiarly usual sight by now - with dozens of potted plants and flowers of various sizes, shapes and colours strewn about the room. "Good afternoon," Kotori greeted whilst looking about for the usual occupants of the room, even as she already made her way to the table in the middle of the room; placing her bag besides the chair she sat down in - not just coincidentally the one before one of the newest additions to the veritable greenhouse of a floral panorama the clubroom had acquire.