Aiko stammered. "A...a...are you sure?" Aiko's cosplays weren't perfect by any measure. He had only done one, Ryu. He wasn't ready for a job where it depended on it. He thought hard. It was a job, one where he could have something to do after school.

"Yes." It was something to do. Aiko lit up. It was time to practice his skills finally.

"Hey Noboru, don't you think it's a goo....Noboru?"



Noboru wandered around the shrine, picking up bits of trash. It was disgusting that people would disgrace it like this. He may have been biased though. This place held a lot of memories, good, bad, and indifferent. This was where he ran to shelter when he was younger, finding it a place of comfort. It was also where him and Chiaki decided to go their own ways. Things has been misunderstood, and it resulted in less then stellar circumstances. The last thing he remembered was her angry face. She had slapped him, leaving him at the shrine alone. He now kept his distancd even more than before, barely knowing who she was anymore.

Noboru took a moment of silence at the shrine, before wandering it again, trying to keep it pristine.

Alexei Dragunov | Tuesday, June 9 - After School

Something was amiss. Alexei couldn't exactly pin it down to anything but somehow he had a weird feeling the whole day. Both the kidnapped had joined back school today and though he had thought of going to visit them, he had thought of attending his MMA club for once. For some strange reason, Sagat didn't seem in the mood today and Inoue had to be somewhere.

She rarely missed a chance to spar with the burly boys, so wherever she had to be must have been really important. Alexei had decided to take a day off from visiting any other clubs of his interest and decided to go to the Agriculture Club instead. He knew Harvester had convinced the Kotori to be a part of the club and it was a place where he could check on her again. This whole day had been a bit uncomfortable, perhaps it was worry of some kind eating at his psyche. Alexei wasn't sure.

Slowly, he trudged to the Agriculture room. He could make out two distinct female voices and a male boisterous one. Surely, Matt had a few followers. Seeing how he too was a foreigner. His club hadn't seen the kind of attention some others had shown. Alexei knocked lightly on the door to announce his presence.

"Hello!" his low voice thundered. As the others turned to take notice, his phone beeped.

A message from Elena.

"No practice today. I'm going to see Mom. Love E."

Alexei gave it a glance and slid it back into the pocket. His stomach still rumbling faintly. Something was prying at his nerves. But checking on his benefactor came first.

"How are you, Shirohane-san?" he asked politely.

"It's fine, I don't come around here too often", he reassured Ryan. So Akane was either late or doing something else today, he decided to get one of the manga books that were neatly on the shelf and started reading, though before he could pick, Akane had arrived. It seems today was going to be a pretty quiet club day. The rest of the day went by pretty normally when Akane arrived, mostly just talking about the manga they were reading, or had finished reading, or were thinking about reading. After club was over everyone headed home after saying their farewells for the day.



Today was an early day for school, so Rui decided to head down to the mall area and check out if there was anything new at the shops there. The rest of the week went by pretty unceremoniously, and without much incident, he heard from Kami that police were confused, they weren't sure whether to take these disappearances seriously or not, since some were short enough that it could merely have been a runaway and wasn't kidnapping. Basically, for them the case was all over the place. They think it's not related to the kidnappings last year.

In any case, it was likely Rui was going to just head down to the arcade to finish up the day after browsing the shops in the area.

The rest of the week for the freshman went pretty uneventful, other than the occasional staring towards the agriculture club president during meetings without realizing it herself. Kotori seemed to have caught on without either of them mentioning anything but the raven haired maiden was glad nothing seemed to have changed in the club. Not much changed even with her relationship with the president, though they both knew of their mutual feelings towards one another at least.

Today happened to be a day free from club meeting and part time work at the cafe so the girl found herself at the door to class 2-2. Why, one might ask. While the rest of the week might've gone uneventful for Shizuka, a gossip about a certain person she knew was being spread among the student body. It was not a pleasant one at that. Out of concern, the underclassman decided to pay a visit to that one upperclassman.

Before peeking her head into the classroom, the freshman called out in a hesitant voice as she slid the door, "Is Saji-senpai available...?"

@Leolycan

The past few days have been rather uneventful, after getting her bearings together, Ayano's life slowly returned to normalcy, well as normal as one can get when they just experienced something that was quite literally an out-of-world experience. If it was something worth mentioning though, the girl found herself acting quite more happy and upbeat after the experience, making a small number of friends in the process as well as spending less of her time in the web, although she does spend still quite a hefty amount of time on the web, it wasn't as bad as before. As the day came to a halt, she looked out the window and pondered to herself...What should she do after school?

Humming to herself, there wasn't particularly anything planned at this time, so maybe she'll just lounge around and browse at the mall or something. There wasn't a meeting with the club today, she did miss out on the past meeting though. She shrugged, saying that she'll attend next time.



The girl's eyes dart from left to right, looking at various book titles. A new, good book would be nice, but she didn't exactly have some money with her, so she might as well scour for it and plan to buy it in the near the future. Although right now though, not a lot of eye-catching of titles, it might have something to do with the fact she's in the Romance section and romance is something that she tries to distance herself from, the girl was stumped for a minute, why did she even think of browsing this section? She shook her head and quickly moved to another section, continuing her search.

Alexei Dragunov | June 13, Saturday - After School

He couldn't shake the unease he had felt this whole week. It was like some ghost was sitting on his shoulder, whispering malice in his ear. Not even regular puffs of his favorite Luckies could soothe his brow. He had nothing to do for the rest of the day as Saturday was service day at Sagat's restaurant and Inoue had strangely been busy whole week. His meeting with Kotori too had not revealed anything new.

He felt a strange itch, a forboding of something bad about to happen. His first priority was Elena. He rushed out of the school, sprinting his way to the parking lot to pick up his bike and zoomed to his sister. He was at the site within a few moments. Waiting a bit impatiently at the gates as juniors came out. Some giving him a sidewards dismissive glance, he glared back at them to make them skittle away like rats.

Soon Elena appeared, seemingly busy texting. Not watching where she walked. Alexei watched her calmly, holding back his first reaction to warn her of misstep.

His phone buzzed as she looked up, a palm coming over her lips to show her surprise. She started into a light jog as she saw him soon coming up to the gates.

"You came here, Ni-san!" she asked surprised.

"Yeah! had nothing to do. Thought, should take you for some shopping." he replied.

A small gleam appeared in her eyes before she asked in a half smile, "What's the occasion?"

"Nothing. One of your dresses has faded quite a bit, thought you needed one." he said non-chalantly. As the one who washed the clothes at home, it was not surprising that he was aware of the wear-tear of everything that was in Dragunov household. Elena shrugged at his response, trying her best to hide her delight. It was always good to go shopping with Alexei, he wasn't a bit hurried and allowed her ample time to try almost the whole shop. With a spring in her step she followed him to his ride and they were off to the mall.

--- Warakuma Mall: Shopping Center.

Alexei had thought that keeping her in front of his eyes would calm the foreboding he felt but it had only worsened. He felt a bit weak, thinking about what if she got taken in front of him. As he walked a pace behind his kid sister, he warily looked around, hoping to catch anything out of order before it became a problem.

He asked her to try different dresses as he went to check in to his workplace in the next building. Surely, nothing would happen inside a crowded mall.

Alexei and his little sister spent quite some time picking out a new dress, but eventually she decided on one, it was much like her other dresses in colour, but it seems this one was suitable for the upcoming summer. Alexei's unease lightened a bit as they stepped out of the store with the dress. Though he was a bit more at ease, he was still on alert, he was tense, and Elena felt it.

"Is something wrong nii-san?", she asked with innocent curiosity?

"Huh? Uhh, it's nothing", he responded. She simply tilted her head and smiled.

"Well, if you say it's nothing, then it's nothing", she was a bit more cheerful than usual today. It must be the shopping. The two began to walk their way home, though Elena wanted to check the other stores too, since she hadn't been to those places before, and being the loving brother he was, let her. Though as she decided to run ahead a little, he brotherly smile slowly turned to fear as two men popped out the corner and grabbed her swiftly. Before he could run on ahead, he felt a smack on the back of his head... There was a surprised groan that followed, but it was not Alexei's, as he turned and punched the attacker, knocking him off his feet before he ran in hot pursuit of Elena and her kidnappers.

He found himself crashing through into a vacant house, small, cheap, and looked ready to fall apart, it was obviously going to be destroyed and a new house be built there based on the sign in front. He stormed into the next room hearing the footsteps of the kidnappers and their voices.

"What is he a monster?! How are we gonna... What?! Get in?! Are you cra-",

"There's no time!", Alexei could hear almost all the exchange, but as he entered the room, the men were gone, and with them, Elena... "Get in"... He would remember. Standing in front of him was a big mirror. Literally the only thing in the room besides the dust and some dead bugs. He felt a beckoning and a voice as he inched closer to the mirror, first placing his hand upon it, to his disbelief his hand went through, then his arm, and between the strange beckoning call of this mirror, and his desire to save his little sister, he disappeared into the mirror too.



Rui was panting a little, standing outside the old house, the kidnappers? The cult... This was a rare opportunity. It seems someone was in pursuit too, though he was unsure of what happened, since he no longer heard any noise, so he decided to follow the other boy's (or man? He was huge) tracks, stepping over the destroyed door and stepping into an empty room after the main entrance room. There it was... A big mirror. It was a cheap mirror, but it was big enough to use as a portway into the mirror world... He sent a message to everyone, to meet at the warehouse, today, and sent Kami the location of this house to investigate.

This was a good chance. They had to seize it. This was the best chance they had at catching any of the cultists, and maybe get some information. After sending the messages, he decided to head back towards the Abandoned Warehouse. It didn't matter who was or wasn't ready, they'll go in after the cultists and the boy and his sister with whoever they can. This was also probably a good chance to have Ayano try her Persona out too, if she was available.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | Tuesday, June 9 2015 - After School

With the rather sudden departure of both Shizuka and just moments later Matthew too, Kotori had turned to gather her things seeing as there was little left for her to do alone in the clubroom. However, she wasn't quite alone - though in the other two members' haste, a knock on the door had been drowned out, leaving her instead to nearly jump in suprise when a voice suddenly called out a greeting from the door to which she'd had her back. "Eh?" was the only thing she could bring up in her surprise as she quickly turned to face the source of the voice - though with the initial unexpectedness quickly fading, Kotori realised that she recognised the voice at the same time as she recognised the person whom it belonged to.

"Ah, Dragunov-senpai" With a bow, she returned his previous greeting before looking up at the noticeably taller third year student as he put away his phone. His following question was quickly met with a raised hand on Kotori's behalf: "Ah, I'm fine," she said, shaking her hand to assuage any doubt. "Uhm..." Kotori started, glancing about the room as she did - before realising a bit too late that that would usually be the moment she'd return the question. "H-how are you, senpai?" Kotori asked, a bit belatedly.

"Do... you need anything?" she then added when she further realised that it was somewhat unusual to have guests at the Agriculture Club - the president of which, unfortunately, was not around if that had been the reason for his visit.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Classroom 2-2 | Saturday, June 13 2015 - After School

With the usual ring, the bell signalled the end of class and the start of the weekend - which most of the class were rather eager for and quickly headed out to meet up with their friends or other appointments. Kotori meanwhile, much as usual, remained seated as she finished her notes for the day; brief though they were considering that school ended somewhat early on a Saturday. Quickly reading her notes over, she gave a satisfied nod before packing her things. As she did so, she thought on what to do with the rest of the day - there wasn't any shopping that needed to be done today nor was there a club meeting.

That last thought brought a small smile to Kotori's lips - though they hadn't said a word about it, there had been some very subtle exchanges between the other two club members. Not exactly noticeable, but if one knew to be on the lookout, it wasn't much of a stretch to know what that was about. When Kotori picked up her bag though, a voice could be heard - and an oddly familiar one, given her previous thoughts. Turning to look, it was indeed Shizuka; the younger girl standing in the classroom's door and peering inside as she asked whether Saji was around. Schoolbag in one hand, Kotori walked over before giving a small bow in greeting: "Hello, Otonashi-san."

Looking about the classroom to see if her classmate was still about, Kotori quickly found Masahide's seat before pointing it out to the enquiring girl. Though she was a bit curious about the rare visit, it seemed a bit rude to ask; leaving Kotori to give another bow before heading out of the classroom.

Kotori Shirohane - Abandoned Warehouse | Saturday, June 13 2015 - After School

A little out of breath, Kotori arrived at the warehouse following the message from Rui - she'd only just gotten home when he'd urgently called for a meeting. Kotori had said she'd made some plans for the afternoon with some friends from school - not entirely a lie, really - and had headed straight for the warehouse where she'd met the rest of the group last time when Ayano had been kidnapped. She was feeling a little uneasy - the prospect of the kidnappings continuing still was not a very enjoyable one.

Furthermore, there was the rather real chance that they'd have to once again fight those shadow creatures - an equally unpleasant thought, though she hoped she'd be able to at least try to help out. As such, Kotori tried to stymie her nervousness as she waited for the group to arrive and Rui to divulge all the information once they were assembled.

As class had come to an end and the others were gathering their things to leave, Masa did the same; though without the enthusiasm. This week had been dragging on, and he still hadn't been allowed back into the kendo club. To make matters worse, it seems that the events have trickled out of the dojo and into the school's populous. Even now, a few classmates had cast some suspicious glances and whispers, all directed towards the raven haired male. He did his best to pay them no mind, attempting to ignore all the unwanted and unwelcome attention, but in the back of his mind he couldn't. First Yamato, then his club-mates, even his own mother had gone silent...

It was then a familiar voice came from the doorway, causing Masa to turn in it's direction. Sure enough, it was the raven haired girl he had met on a few occasions before, and it seemed she was asking for him. With a slight sigh, he made his way forward, stopping just before the door frame as he bowed his head in respect, "Otonashi-kun. Surprised to see you here all the sudden. Something I can do for you?" All the while he spoke, he could hear the hushed whispers as the students began to cluster about the interior of the room.

JUNE 13TH 2015. SATURDAY
Afterschool

It was a peaceful Saturday afternoon, class had ended not too long ago, and Sato had been out grocery shopping. Normally his mother did it, but she seemed tired, and Sato felt like getting some fresh air anyway, so he offered to grab what they needed. The sun was shining, the breeze was blowing, and Sato was doing great, even if a sense of melancholy persisted in the back of his mind. Something was missing, but what he had was enough. Or something like that. It was a hard feeling to place for Sato.

But, of course, it "was" a peaceful Saturday, until Sato received a text from Rui. Rui didn't really casually text to him, so upon seeing it was from him, Sato's mood died instantly. He could already guess what it was going to be, his suspicion confirmed upon reading the summoning to the warehouse. Sato ran back home as fast he could, ignoring the looks from strangers as he bolted through the thin crowd. Groceries could wait.

It didn't take long before he was standing in the abandoned warehouse, desperately panting for air. He'd been running from the moment he got the text until he got there. Kotori, Rui, and some others were already there. Another meeting meant another kidnapping, but who...? They didn't know the victim yet (at least, Sato didn't), and were basically going into this next dungeon blind. Or had they been blind the last time too? He shook his head, unable to figure it out in his panic.

Sato made sure he had everything he thought he'd need, double-checking to make sure he had all his arrows. His brow furrowed when he realized he'd forgotten to retrieve the ones from when they were fighting Ayano's shadow. There were still a half-dozen left though. If he fought like last time, he'd mostly be using his Persona anyway, so Sato simply shrugged it off and stood by the others. Regardless, they stood before Rui as they waited for anyone else to arrive, ready to be briefed on their next mission.

When he thought of it like that... it sounded pretty cool. It was serious, but cool.

After a good fifteen-minute browse, the girl found a book that whose premise was quite interesting-for her anyway-and decided to make her purchase, it was on sale so she was lucky. As she made her purchase and walked out of the establishment, her phone began to rang and she immediately took it out to see who it was. It was a message from Rui to meet at the abandoned warehouse...The girl looked at the message for a while, trying to figure out what it just meant...Abandoned Warehouse? It's like one of those doujin plots full of blackmail and drama and all the bad stuff happens inside the warehouse. Although that was probably a far-fetched way of thinking, whatever it was, it seemed pretty urgent, with no further delay the girl made her way to the warehouse...Assuming she can find it.



It took a while, but Ayano managed to reach the warehouse and as she entered, numerous familiar faces were already inside. Kotori, Sato and Rui...Wait, does this mean it was time for another dungeon?! Her eyes lit up and anxiety and excitement filled her from the inside out, she was finally getting to experience the action and use her Persona! It's like a nerd's wet-dream come true.

Shizuka Otonashi || Classroom 2-2 => Warakuma Park || June 13 SAT: After School

While nervously peeking into the classroom, a familiar face approached the freshman with a greeting. It was Kotori, who would've known she would be a classmate to Masahide, the other upperclassman she was familiar with. With a polite bow of her own, Shizuka returned the greeting with a less anxious tone, "Oh! A pleasant afternoon to you, Shirohane-senpai." Just as they greeted each other, they bid farewell soon after as Kotori left the classroom.

Just as Shizuka was left to her own, the older teen she sought for stepped towards her and greeted with a bow. Once again, she lowered her head to a polite bow to return the gesture. "I do apologize for the sudden visit. I had wanted to speak to you about something but..." Looking around the room and finding themselves being watched and whispered about, the young maiden thought it inappropriate to talk about it in such an environment. Bowing once more, this time as an apology, Shizuka continued, "I-I apologize once more for another inconvenience but could we perhaps speak outside the school...?"

----

The nearest area out of school with a quiet setting just so happened to be the Warakuma Park. There were other park goers around but it was calmer compared to the more populated areas of the town such as the mall or the shopping square. Finally taking a seat upon an empty bench after the walk from school with occasional casual conversation, Shizuka wore a concerned, worried expression as she started to speak.

"Saji-senpai, um... I-I'm sure it must be a mere rumor but I've heard some... awfully ill things about you being passed around." Shizuka hesitantly spoke, her gaze being lowered towards her hands, resting atop her lap. "I-I suppose I'm being unnecessarily worried but if there were some truth to it... Is... Is anything the matter?"

Masa made no objections to following the girl outside the school. Between the constant whispers and stares, he would've taken an invitation to hell just to be free from the public eye. Still, he bowed his head graciously and followed along, but he couldn't help but notice something... That face. He's seen that face more often recently, and he could only guess as to what she was after or wanted from him. It was that tinge of concern that was evident on many faces that seemed to speak with him recently, and how he hated it... For a moment, he thought of making some excuse and bolting off to one of his odd jobs- or just to walk towards his estate without saying another word to Shizuka. The thoughts continued to follow him as they entered the park, but Masa eventually gave in with a slight sigh of annoyance. As Shizuka sat down and looked towards him, there was that expression again. This time, it wasn't masked, it was evident to anyone looking. Cutting his eyes to the parks interiors, Masa gave pause before answering.

"I'm fine," His gaze settled back upon the girl, a mix of agitation and mild annoyance evident, "I thank you for your concern, but it is misplaced. The club president is fine, and I'm on temporary suspension. Everything is being sorted out." At this point, the urge to walk away resurface as Masa shoved his hands in his pockets and turning from the girl... Yet he gave pause. A sudden spark of confusion shown upon his face as he turned to face the girl once more, seeming to lack the words to speak for a moment. Why? Why the hell did she care? Why did anyone care? He was fine on his own. He had always been! He was self-sufficient, punctual, intelligent, respected, and a well-known member of the community... Why the hell was everyone worrying?!

After an awkward moment of pause, Masa spoke again, "Why are you looking at me like that?" His voice was starting to lose it's professional demeanor, "Why the hell do you care, huh? Why the hell does anyone give a damn? I'm alive, I go to school, and I help out around the town like I always do. Why is everyone suddenly concerned now?" Turning to face her fully, he waited in silence for her answer.

@Amaterasu

Akane Hanazawa // Warakuma high -> Abandoned Warehouse
June 13th, Saturday, 2015
After School

It was a quite the dull day, to be honest. With Alexei acting off all week and the others being gone, the mma club was nowhere to be found. After a few warm-ups, she decided to bail and head to the manga clubroom so she could at least use her time wisely and draw a few pages. With this whole 'persona' business she and the others been up to lately, there hasn't been much time to draw. When there was time, there was simply no energy or motivation to, so she's stuck to reading manga, hoping to come across something that'll re-spark her motivation.

After some time, her drawing was interrupted by the sound of her phone going off. A text message? Checking to find out what it was about, it was from Rui. Another incident had occurred and whoever was available was to report to the abandoned warehouse. Given the sense of Urgency of the message, she didn't exactly have time to head back to her apartment to grab her katana but that didn't matter. The Warehouse, which served as their storage and base, was filled with usable weapons. While the others kept saying that it would be easier to keep her weapon there and all but considering the importance of the blade to her, there was no way she'd leave it in some abandoned warehouse, especially with people she hadn't known for long.

Arriving at the warehouse, she entered and could see Ayano near the entrance. Looks like she also just arrived, hmm? "Would of gotten here sooner but was in the middle of a drawing and dont like leaving things half-finished." she said while she walked past Ayano as she headed over to grab herself a Katana, while stretching her arms after spending the last while drawing. Despite the ordeal she went through, Ayano looked awfully into this whole thing. Not like she could say anything, after all, she was looking forward to some action herself.

Alexei Dragunov - June 13th

All it took was a moment's lapse. His senses had been tingling the whole time and sudden haplessness waded over him but a blunt strike reminded him of his surroundings. Unfazed by the weak attempt he turned with a drawn punch that welded itself into the chest of his assailant, letting out a weak squeak as he was sent flying.

Alexei turned with remarkable alacrity and began his chase. Heavy, long steps as he shouted his sister's beloved name. There was no panic, just plain rage. He had been upset about what happened to Akane and Kotori but they had enough courage to assault his family. Things were way overhead. As he could see her large form flailing and giving them a hard time, they disappeared into an abandoned house sitting at the edge of the district.

He had been involved in restructuring of the whole place. His employers being one of the contractors assigned the rebuilding process. So he felt nothing about trespassing, plus his protective instincts had arisen. He smashed through the door like it was made of paper. Hearing a few cries of his sister.

He shouted her name and followed into a large room which was suddenly devoid of all activity. Nothing but a strange body length mirror reflecting his image back at him. He inched closer to the mirror. It was beckoning him to come closer. As he touched his surface, he could fell it shimmer. His hand phased through as if dipped in water. He took a deep breath and went inside.

It was all dark inside, as if he has walked into a dark pit but he could hear distant cries of Elena. He shouted her name but only sobs returned. Angered he started in the direction of the cries, wishing to rip off whichever fool who had dared lay a hand on his sister.

It might just be her imagination but Shizuka felt as if her presence and inquiry were unwanted by the irritated expression upon the upperclassman's face. No surprise there, she did bring up a possibly unpleasant incident for the older male and she was hesitant to do so. Her response to the unconvincing assurance that he was alright was a hesitant nod. If the other didn't wish to delve too deep into it then the underclassman had no choice but to comply. It wasn't polite to be too nosy into other people's business after all. But her concern remained on her featues.

A moment of silence, then something caught Shizuka off guard. The sudden change of tone from Masahide. The poor girl flinched, averting her gaze away as he pointed out the way she looked at him. Was there something wrong with the way she looked at the upperclassman? But it didn't end there, the way he spoke lost its formal manner as the hazel eyes of the younger teen started to moisten from how hateful the other was starting to sound. Her hands and lips shook as Shizuka mumbled in a soft, shaken voice, "...I-I didn't mean to upset you, I-I'm truly sorry... It's... It's just that.. while you say you're alive, yo-your face um... sort of te-tells me other wise." While trying her best to hold back from tearing, the freshman collected her belongings and spoke once more without turning to face Masa. "I-I truly apologize for robbing you of your time... I-I'll be taking my leave if my presence is unwanted."

It was just past lunch when Rui made it to the warehouse. He wasn't the first one there though, Kazuki was already here. He also got a message from Kami that he was at the vacant house with the mirror now. Shortly afterward, Sato and Kotori arrived, and then Akane in suit. They had just enough for one party, and then soon panting her way in was Ayano. This was getting better, since they could finally see if the suspicions were correct about her Persona.

"Megumi isn't here right now though she said she was on her way, and Riku said he's sneaking out of detention, and Tadao said he was still working... So I guess it'll be just us for now", that said, Rui felt Noboru should've been here by now... Did he not get the message? Well, in any case, they had a big enough party to move through.

"Right... Well we can't wait, in case the cultists find a way out of the mirror world. Catching them inside the mirror world is our best chance", he said. Though shortly after saying that, he got a call from Kami.

"I'm going to go on through this mirror over here",

"Are you sure...? There's no telling where you'll actually appear, not to mention, you're alone on that side. If shadows attack, we can't help you",
"I'm counting on Ayano to find me when I'm in", Rui looked at Ayano for a moment, then back to the big mirror in the warehouse.

"Alright...", he responded, he understood. Putting his phone away he turned to the whole group that was here right now.

"We're going to head on in",

"I'll stay out here in case anyone else arrives while you're in there, good luck".



Rui, Kotori, Sato, Akane and Ayano stepped through into the mirror world. It was a familiar feeling for all of them but Ayano, although as they stepped in, everyone but Rui and Ayano realized they needed directions now to their destination. They always had Megumi to give the directions, though Ayano simply didn't know all of that whatsoever. Though Rui turned to Ayano.

"Ayano, I want you to summon your Persona right now. If me, Kazuki and Kami suspect right, you have the same ability as Megumi, to communicate and observe others from long distances", he explained.

Ayano looked confused, but the desire to want to try the 'Persona' thing overtook that, since it seemed so cool to her, and so she did. As she summoned her Persona, a blue flame enveloped her with the sound of shattering glass, and soon appearing behind her was a woman robed in gray, with a face that looked like a cylindrical electronic display, the display seemed to change randomly. In front of Ayano however, was a large console, as she looked upon it, familiar functions came to her, as she reached out, an abundance of floating holographic screens appeared in front of her, giving her information of the entire area, maps, the presence of shadows...

Although this wasn't all she found, she moved her hand to where her headphones are, and suddenly she could hear vivid sounds in the distance... "nii-san...!.... i-is he gone...?!.... That kid is crazy....!". Those voices... That must be who they're after. Sounds like they kidnapped someone too, by the sound of it, a very young girl.

Instinctively she reached for the screens in front of her again and immediately knew what to do, and within moments she made a route towards the dungeon she heard the voices from. Almost like natural, she hit the scan function beside the map, and there appeared two blinking strobes. The names for the two were 'Kami-chan <3', and 'Alexei Dragunov'. Upon seeing the special note for Kami, she blushed and gasped in embarrassment for a moment.

"Are you okay?",

"Y-y-yeah... Yeah I'm fine... Uhhh, I have a route to the next dungeon. Kami seems to be there too... And another, an 'Alexei Dragunov', do any of you know him?", in the process though she found the route to her's and everyone else's, but that wasn't important right now.

At first, the anger swelling within Masa took hold, causing the young man to swear beneath his breath as his hands tightened to a fist within his pockets. 'What the hell?! I just want answers!' He thought to himself, slowly making his way to the younger female. However, during the short trek, his anger subsided to annoyance laced with pity. Quickly the annoyance faded as well as he softly patted her shoulder, steppin past just enough to take a seat opposite of where her belongings sat shortly before. His traditional moment of silence passed as he sat there, broken by a heavy sigh as he looked up to her. It was clear was something was bothering him, though he attempted to keep his complacent expression.

"I've been getting that look for days now. Yamato, my mother, the president, and now you. And it pisses me off," his voice contained a subtly hint of anger at his last remark, quickly fading as he faced forward, "Since my father died, I've been trying to live up to the family name. Near perfect grades, working myself to the bone, and doing my best to give back to the town. I've been doing this for awhile, and now suddenly everyone is worried. Why?" At this point he'd lean back against the back of the bench, "It's not like I'm out partying; getting drunk, high, or doing something stupid. What the hell do they think I'm doing?"

The entire time he spoke, it was obvious it was uncomfortable divulging this information. A recluse by nature, the only people he trusted with his inner-most thoughts were himself and Yamato. But Yamato hadn't spoken to him in sometime now... Not since he struck Masa and left him at the shrine. 'I'm pathetic,' Masa thought to himself as his eyes fell slightly, 'Is this how everyone will remember me? Being a man who can't handle himself on his own? Worthless.' With that, his gaze flickered to Shizuka as he awaited her reaction.

Having not expected a less heated reaction, Shizuka jumped slightly from the gentle touch upon her shoulder before turning to face Masahide with an evident confusion upon her face. Curious brown eyes stared in awkward silence as the upperclassman paused, then sighed. Having been revealed the reason for his irritation, Shizuka panicked a little, shook her head and attempted to change her expression to a dead pan serious one as he continued. The belongings which were collected were rested atop the bench once more.

The raven haired maiden listened intently as the older teen narrated on about what had been bothering him, giving occasional nods to show that she was being attentive to what was being said. Shizuka waited for him to finish his piece before parting her lips to reply with a soft smile, "I'm well aware of bits and pieces of your achievements, Saji-senpai. I'm sure the others are aware of them as well. There is nothing wrong with what you seem to be doing."

At this point, she flashed something comparable to that of a gentle mother's scolding look as she continued. If Masa didn't appreciate the worried expression everyone seemed to aim towards him, then the freshman figured she'll try a new approach with the help of her Shizu-chan acting skills . "But I believe you lack concern and appreciation for yourself. Have you set a certain limit to how much your body can work? When was the last time you rewarded yourself to a treat?" Shizuka giggled softly at the silly attempt at a scolding tone and gazed towards the park's scenery. "I can't speak for others but I'm simply just worried that one day you might breakdown, or find yourself being unable to enjoy life."

There was a dramatic pause after her last statement before Shizuka turned to the upperclassman and changed the topic while asking, "Um... There are some shops I can introduce to you which have some delightful treats like cakes or Japanese sweets if you might be interested...?"

Kotori Shirohane - Mirror Warakuma | Saturday, June 13 2015 - After School

As it turned out, the rather short notice did seem to have its downside - a few of the team were not yet here, leaving just five of them to actually enter the mirror. Kazuki remained behind to guide any late arrivals and possibly act as backup whilst Rui had just come off the phone to Kaminari who had entered the Mirror World elsewhere. And with that, the five of them entered the other side.

The transition was... strange, even if it wasn't the first time experiencing it for Kotori. She quickly looked around for any sign of trouble - but luckily, their arrival didn't immediately herald any shadow attacks. She wouldn't have been very confident in her abilities to drive them off though - but luckily, the others were here too and had already proven to be quite capable combatants. Rui quickly turned to Ayano and explained his suspicions about her persona's abilities - rather than specialising as a fighter or supporter, he believed that she would be able to guide others from afar.

For a moment, Ayano seemed a little hesitant - understandably, given that such a task was just thrust upon her. However, this quickly turned into eagerness as she took but a moment to summon her persona. The rest of the group watched as her other self formed above her - a humanoid figure which held a display of sorts in front of Ayano. Much like the others before her, Ayano seemed to take to controlling her persona as second nature within moments - though a worried expression came over Kotori's face as the other girl gasped briefly.

At Rui's question though, she reassured everyone she was alright - and that she had both the route to take and the locations of Kaminari and another: Alexei Dragunov. 'Ah...' Kotori thought, recognising the name - only for it to fully sink in a moment later. "Eh?" was the first sound she made, blinking at the realisation that she actually knew the person they were looking for. "Ah, uhm, y-yes," she said, a little hesitantly as she noticed several of the others turning to look at her as she spoke. "D-Dragunov-senpai is, uhm, a third year at our school," Kotori vaguely pointed toward the direction of the mirror they had come in from; her eyes behind her glasses having steadily decided to focus on some remarkably interesting part of the floor rather than any of the others' eyes.