As the girl spoke, Masa's gaze shifted over to her form. Seeing the look that had enraged him early no longer present, he felt a little more at ease... Then the realization that he had devulged what he had began to set in. With a slight sneer and a shake of his head, he'd nod as he returned to keeping his gaze locked upon her. He expected to be angered or enraged, but in fact, he felt a subtle relief settle upon him. So much so that he even cracked a minor smirk at her attempt to find another expression to replace the latter. Nodding his head absentmindedly in thought, he slowly slipped into his own thoughts. Perhaps this girl was right? Maybe he was being to hard on himself? Maybe his efforts were getting the better of him? Whatever the case, it definitely caused a moment of pause and reflection... If only for that moment at least.

'No. I still have more to give. To quit now would just be resigning to my weakness.' His eyes flickered away for a moment, 'No one will remember the weak and useless.' His vision returned to Shizuka, grin fading slightly back to his former expression.

"I don't know." He stated, drumming his finger tips against the wooden back of the bench, "I don't really have a sweet tooth. Maybe another-" At this moment, an audible buzz could be heard from the boys pocket. Sighing slightly at the inopportune message, he retrieved his phone and flipped it open. Assuredly, it was going to be a local shop-keep, or possibly his mother asking when he'll be home.

Hey.

Masa sat there slightly stunned. After days of nothing but silence and the cold shoulder, Yamato had finally gotten back to his cousin. Unsure of what to do, Masa flipped the phone closed as he continued to stare forward into the scenery of the park. His expression bore confusion thinly veiled confusion, and even more obvious joy. Glancing back to Shizuka, he'd raise from the bench, "Sure. Why the hell not?"

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

After assembling they waited a bit but no one else showed. She was a little surprised that Noboru didn't show, after all, you'd think he'd want to smash some faces in. With a shrug, "Well, looks like there'll be more for me." she grinned before adding, "Those pieces of shit won't be getting away from us this time." she emphasized by crackling her knuckles, clearly not forgetting what happened the last time. Unlike that time, though, she isn't a lone and she got more fire power this time around. Not like it'll be needed for something as measly as a bunch of cultists, they only have numbers on their side, that's all.

"Anyways, Doesn't look like the others are going to make it. Don't think we can keep on waiting like this." Akane said to no one in particular as she looked on with a bored expression. Although she can't pin point the exact moment, maybe it was during her persona 'episode', she noticed how much she has changed from the persona she was before. Was 'that' person a fake? Only there to keep the real one locked away? No, 'she' is still there, mixed in with the new, but besides the point, Akane feels so much freer now-a-days. Where she didn't have to, no, force herself, to act that way.

After finally deciding to head off, they headed off into the mirror. It was a bit strange entering the mirror without Megumi who was always the one directing them but she wasn't here yet so it couldn't be helped. As they were going in, Kazuki decided to stay behind in-case the others show up. Entering the mirror world this time was just her, Kotori, Ayano, Rui and Sato. As they got there, Rui started talking to Ayano, mentioning that she and Megumi might have the same ability as a navigator. Which would probably explain them going in and not waiting for Megumi. Hmm....But what if she doesn't? she thought as she looked on at a confused Ayano.

Though, that thought was soon put to rest as she summoned her persona. She seemed to have gotten the handle on her persona quite fast, which was quite impressive given the fact this is her first time summoning it. While it was worrying at first, things calmed down and she started going to work, as if she already knew what she was doing. After a few moments, it seemed like she managed to get something. As Ayano let everyone know, Akane just froze. "Alexei....? Alexei is here in this world?!" she said in surprise. "It's hard to imagine anyone getting the drop on him....Quite a frightening thought really." she laughed before going silent for a few moments.

"Yea, we know him. Like Kotori said, he's a third year at our school. He's the president of the MMA club and is also in our Manga Club. Heck, you've met him. He's that big fella you saw there." Taking a moment, she looked around. "Whatever the case, lead the way. We need to find Alexei. Strong or not, I doubt he'll be able to take on the shadows without a persona and by himself."

This was it, the events leading up to this very moment were one that have changed Ayano into the person she is today, she inhaled deeply and exhaled as they entered the mirror a slight feeling of uneasiness crept up inside of her and she was still shaky. Rui turned to her and asked that she summon her Persona, she blinked once and then twice, staring at him for a few seconds.

"You mean right now?"

There was a lull of silence in the air and it was like she was carrying the entire weight of the Investigation Team on her shoulders for a minute, they were all counting on her skills after all and as she stood in place for a moment to gather her thoughts she sighed, a part of her anxious and another eager to awaken the inner depths of her psyche came boiling into one and without a moment too soon, she did so. The sound of shattering glass filled her ears as the familiar blue flame circled around her, almost as if it was protecting her, she didn't know if it was successful or not, but going by the large computer console appearing in front of her, it would seem as though they have been fruitful. She looked at the console with a stern look in her face as she analyzed it from left to right trying to grasp the functions of her new-found abilities, it took a while but she managed to get the gist of all the information that was being displayed on her holograms and she could feel the presence of shadows in the area as well. She grabbed a pair of familiar-looking headphones and put them on, it all felt slightly nostalgic to her but her reprieve was cut short when the voice of a young girl came through the other line. With a few taps, she had made a path towards where the voice was coming from, as she opened up the map she was startled to see that there were apparently two persons toward the location, and one of them just so happens to be 'Kami-chan <3', the other was 'Alexei Dragunov', the name rung a bell but she decided to let it pass and tried her best to ignore why Kami's name was addressed that way in her console, but she couldn't help but blush and gasp.

Thankfully however, Kotori and Akane decided to shed some light on their plight and give her some information on Alexei, third year? The brunette couldn't help but feel that from somewhere she must have at least seen the man in question at least in the hallways or something. Akane gave her some more information and when she mentioned the blurb about him being the 'big fella' it all started making sense to her, he was the one who led her into the Anime and Manga Club Room! To think that a wall of muscle like him being captured in here just made it apparent that the one who is conducting these kidnappings certainly don't pick any specifics. Nodding to herself, she began typing away at the console, trying to pinpoint his exact location and after a few seconds she proclaimed,

"Done!"

Giving the group directions on where to go, but she was still dumbfounded as to why Kami was here...

"Welcome to the Velvet Room."

Mako sighed as the same dream started once again. He tuned out the woman's voice as he glared at the congregation of shadows by the door, seemingly beckoning him, but always leaving him behind. His mouth twisted as the doors opened and the woman droned on, as the same sequence played itself out again and again, the only difference being the number of silhouettes admitted to the "Velvet Room" beyond.

Why me? Why this dream? If this is supposed to be telling me about some destiny of mine, why won't you elaborate any further? I want to help. I want to do something. He scrutinized the silhouettes, begging them to become more distinct, but as always, they flitted onward, their shapes hovering just above his comprehension- unreadable, yet tantalizingly familiar.

Bullshit. I call bullshit. You say this is my destiny, but you're not telling me anything. Well, fuck you, too, cryptic lady.If you really cared, you'd give me better than Shadow Puppet Theater. Throw me a bone- something, anything!

She was winding down her speech even now. The last of the silhouettes was just about to leave him behind. His fists clenched.

Give me an answer! A sign, a hint! JUST FUCKING TELL ME SOMETHING--

The last silhouette stopped, turning toward him. He quirked an eyebrow as the silhouette continued to look at him(? He couldn't really tell without seeing its eyes), until something changed. Barely perceptible, but for a moment, the edges of the shade sharpened, became more distinct. Instead of a hazy representation of an anonymous someone, it became more solid. More recognizable. Mako's eyebrows shot up. He knew them. He knew that stance.

...Sato?

And then the dream collapsed into the sound of his alarm.

==~==




It just made sense, if he was being perfectly honest.

Mako tapped the pencil against his head, looking the notes he'd written down. It wasn't much, considering he didn't have much information- everything he did have filled only one page, and barely, at that. Still, it was a start.

Mako pondered everything he'd found out so far. As far as he knew, Sato had quit... well, everything save school, really. He didn't know much about his extracirriculars, to be honest, but Sato hadn't shown up to drama club since his kidnapping, and the only other club of his he knew about- archery- had told him he was similarly AWOL. Curious.

Huh. I didn't know he did archery. That's... pretty cool, actually. Okay, focus, Mako.

Moreover, there was that conversation they'd had during their do not call it a date, Moritomi, I swear to every god there is lunch. He'd seemed... passionate about this. What was it he'd said?

"...I'm confident that next time, if someone gets kidnapped, they'll come back just like I did."

Why did he seem so sure about that? Like he absolutely knew- not hoped, knew- that the next victims would be safe. Which could mean one of two things. Either he was in on the whole kidnapping conspiracy- unlikely, since he was one of the victims, but still- or he knew something about the people who were doing the saving lately.

And that led to the whole linchpin for his argument- the dream. He was fairly convinced now that whatever destiny the woman kept referring to had something to do with these kidnappers, and, more explicitly, the ones who were saving the victims. Sato, and whoever the other silhouettes represented. And him too, he guessed, since he was the one who kept having the dream. Maybe that's why he never got a clear answer from any of it- maybe this was a test, or something, to see if he was worthy of getting involved.

...Which all sounded fucking retarded, now that he was putting it in plain sentences, but it was all he had. It really wasn't much to go on, having nothing but hazy dreams, and a sneaking suspicion that one of those silhouettes absolutely looked like someone he'd only spent, like, an hour in total with. But he was still pretty certain, and he'd never been one for rational thinking, anyway. Far too many constraints.

All of which just begs the question... where the hell do I go from here?

Shizuka Otonashi || Warakuma Park => Shinza Shopping District || June 13 SAT: After School

The clear change of mood, for the better, from the older student brought a small smile upon Shizuka's lips. While she might've made a fool of herself, seeing Masahide out of his glum expression was relieving. But soon after a pause from any conversing, that same expression returned to his features. It isn't easy to change one's mind after all, the dark haired maiden thought to herself.

Before Shizuka could enumerate any more suggestions to do to treat one's self, the upperclassman suddenly changed his mind after glancing at the message he had just received on his phone. Tilting her head to the side in curiosity as to what its contents were, or from who the sender was, Shizuka kept her curious questions to herself. Since he had revealed some truly personal information, the underclassman believed prying too much wouldn't be polite. Either way, it was settled that the two were to depart on their way to the girl's favorite shops.

As Shizuka rose to her feet with her school bag in hand, she spoke, "Splendid! I have quite a number of places to show, all of which are places my friends and I visit." Her soft voice had a tone of excitement about it, being able to share the treats she and her friends found around town. Before walking ahead, the teen abruptly turned on her heel to face back towards Masa. "...I appreciate the fact that you've shared something perhaps, uncomfortable to talk about, Saji-senpai. But I do feel apologetic for seeming to pressure you to do so." With a slight smile of guilt, Shizuka bowed as an apology before continuing on their way towards the shops.

-----

Due to the fact that it was a weekend and time after most classes are out, Shizuka predicted that the mall would be flooded with people. As such, she decided to lead them towards the shopping district instead. There were a couple of shops she would visit here and there but the first one she stopped over for was a cake and pastries shop. "This shop is one of my personal favorite! While they offer a variety of cakes, they do not fail on making each one equally satisfying and appetizing."

Her hazel eyes sparkled as she explained to the older student and continued while they were entering the establishment, "It's not just a shop but a small cafe as well! Ideal if the customers prefer to consume the pastry with a naturally brewed cup of coffee." Sparkling eyes glanced about the cakes being displayed in the glass case, hands ready to take her wallet out anytime.

"Lead the way." Masa replied, following in behind the girl without so much as a second thought. As they continued their venture, Masa took a moment to remove his phone, opening it to the same message he had left not even a few moments before.

Hey. Been busy?, he briskly typed in, pausing a moment before sending it on it's way. All the while, his face bore an smile -an odd occurance for the stoic faced youth- but it seemed not to bother him in the slightest. Instead, he actually made an effort to converse with the raven haired girl as they continued. Once at their destination, Masa made it a point to gaze about, taking in the venue's appearance before entering shortly behind her. Sure enough, you could smell the coffee the moment you stepped through the door, which was all that Masa needed. Secretly, coffee had been an addiction of his for some time now. What else was going to keep you alive after a full day of school and working on the side?

As he noticed Shizuka reaching for her wallet, Masa reached a hand out and shook his head, "Whatever you want, it's on me. I owe you for introducing me to this place." With that, he walked up to the counter and briefly looked over the venue's offerings. It didn't take him long to come to his decision, ordering a double-shot expresso as he motioned back to Shizuka, "Plus whatever she'll have." It was then Masa turned his gaze to Shizuka, a small grin with an expectant look shot in her direction.

With Alexei identified, and the route decided, the party headed on to the next dungeon. It was not quite what they expected, but then again, they never were. The gothic architecture against the bright yet restrained colours, like that of a little girl's dreams were fitting for the banner up top, 'Crypt of Hopes and Dreams'. Now that he thought about it, it looked almost like a tomb. Standing in front of it was Kami, when he noticed the party, he turned,

"I may have watched something important... I saw someone before the dungeon literally formed right before my eyes...", he said. The someone might be Alexei... Still, dungeons just form spontaneously like that?

"I also see we were right, Ayano does have the same power as Megumi", Kami turned to Ayano as he spoke.

"Still... We don't know the full capabilities, I will stay here with Ayano, Rui, you take everyone else into the dungeon and go after the kidnappers, and rescue whoever is in there", with that agreed, Rui picked his party and headed in. The ones he would take with him were Akane, Kotori, and Sato.

"Right, if anyone else arrives, make sure they're ready to back us up. It'll be even easier if Megumi gets here too, we can safely have two teams in there", and with that he set off.



The first floor, the interior was as expected, discarded possessions inside of tombs, they seemed to each have their own themes, and toy candles lit the hallways. There were no shadows, but once they saw some, they were so weak that they ran at the first sight of them... Kami said this was a newly formed dungeon, so perhaps it was smaller, or had weaker shadows. Still, they came upon a clearing, and standing within it was Alexei. He was staring down someone who looked just like him, by experience, that was his shadow... But this wasn't his dungeon, or was it...? It was confusing, but they would have to set aside those thoughts for now.

As Elena's cries grew more distant, Alexei wondered if the distance was actually shortening or not. The whole view around him seemed to warp into something else, like a bad sci fi movie. What was stranger though, was the form the whole surroundings around him seem to be taking. It slowly started resembling like a crypt as he continued his chase for the attackers.

Eerily resembling the one back in Tokyo where his father rests. Alexei felt a knot forming in his stomach as inexplicable events were happening. It was as if he was inside his own mind or his sister's as both of them quiet similar memories of the place. But the whole scenario was a bit weird, the crypts weren't clean and well organised and a strange black grime stuck at most of the epitaphs. There also seem to be minor rodents running around in darkness as he moved deeper, no one approached him with malice like the kidnappers but they always remained on the fringe of his peripheral vision.

Then, in a distance he saw a figure or rather a Doppelganger. He looked starkingly like Alexei or rather he was Alexei. Dressed in a full sleeved shirt and warm trousers he stood near a grave that resembled the one of his father as he had a strange expression on his face. Alexei stopped before him and questioned "Who are you?"

"Are you always so obvious?" he quipped back, his tone much sharper and high pitched.

"Quit joking around, who are you?" he continued.

"Man! you really are a musclehead aren't you? I am you, of course?" the figure said with a shrug.

"What Nonsense, how can this be? What is this place." he inquired further, taking no offense of the way the figure talked.

"This is your reality and I am the real you. You faker." The figure seemed to get angry all of a sudden. All Alexei could do was get taken aback as the figure began his tirade.

"Always burdened with taking care of that entitled slut, strutting around carefree while I work myself to the bone. What right to they have to entitlement when I who is worthy get nothing and that weakling who has been nothing but a constant strain on finances. Why doesn't she kill herself already if she can't come over the loss of this good for nothing." he said kicking the stone of the grave.

Alexei just flipped a switch as he went for a tackle. Taking him down, the figure did nothing but give a chilling laugh.

"Oh so Mr.Good is scared that his true feelings have come to light." he said as he gave him a snide grin. Alexei just punched his face in reply.

"I have never felt that way, I am just doing my duty." he said, a little winded from all that chase.

"Is that so? Still paying the model son and brother. Quit the act, will you? you can't fool me. I am the real you, that suppressed desire that you have, to get rid of your responsibilities and finally be able to relax and live a life you desire. This is all rather convenient, isn't it. With your sister out of the way, your life can be simpler. Now, only if the old hag can bite the bullet." he mocked.

"Watch. Your. Mouth. Asshole!" Alexei growled as he rained punches, his rage certainly getting the better of him, a bit. But it seemed that the other Alexei was perhaps tougher than the real one as he did nothing but laugh eerily while being punched.

"You are not me!!!" Alexei shouted for perhaps only the second time in his life, he couldn't remember the first time. Just then it seemed that gravity had been reversed as he was thrown flying from his position above his doppelganger. It's shaped begin to change as some others came into view, he wondered if they were more accomplices,but he'll deal with them later after he was done with this schmuck. Alexei landed on a crypt a bit heavily. The figure before him continued its unsettling laughter as it turned into something grotesque. He was a bit relieved to know that that wasn't truly his self as he held his head to shake out the shock of the landing.

As the party reached Alexei, it appears the predictable has happened and they immediately braced themselves for combat. The shadow of Alexei took on a monolithic visage, covered in blood. Though as much as Alexei might believe this isn't him, as the shadow began to take form and do it's thing, he began to doubt that optimistic belief. The figure below the sword stuck in the shadow's belly began to cry out in Alexei's little sister's voice for help.

"Shut up shut up shut up! Stupid bitch! Look at what you've done to your brother! Me! Look at how much I've suffered! This body here bleeds for you and what do I get in return?! Nothing!... Well, no more! You lot there! I'll start with you then, if you're going to tie me down with some shitty 'duty' then get the hell out of my face, or I'll make you!"

With little warning the shadow with one hand grabbed a couple blades off the back of the monolithic body it stood on, grasping at the swords in-between it's fingers and threw them at the party, doing all of this alarmingly quickly. Rui and Sato darted to the side while Akane using Setanta blocked the swords, with Kotori behind her.

"To get a fight like this so early... It seems to have trouble turning, try and get onto the flanks", he ordered.

Kotori Shirohane - Mirror Warakuma | After School

Luckily for Kotori, Akane too knew Alexei and took over explaining about the third year. She was a little surprised herself to learn that he was part of the Manga Club - something which, apparently, he had in common with not only Akanae but also Rui. Meanwhile, Ayano hadn't been idle and just moments later announced that she'd managed to plot a route for the group to find Alexei. Rui wasted no time in ordering the pursuit and they set off - even if Kotori still had a sinking feeling about this cult, considering that they had somehow managed to subdue someone of his size and stature.

Kotori Shirohane - Crypt of Hopes and Dreams | After School

The sight of the dungeon was... odd. Not that the previous one had been any better in that regard - but even while Kotori hadn't known what to expect, it likely wasn't this. It was a building of sorts, but with some rathe strange architecture which looked more at home in some medieval story of knights and dragons - yet at the same time, the colours clashed more than a bit with that image. However, before the dungeon - helpfully named by a banner as the 'Crypt of Hopes and Dreams', for whatever that might mean - could come under closer scrutiny, the group's attention was drawn to the figure standing outside: Kaminari.

After explaining what he'd seen - including the dungeon forming from thin air in front of him - he suggested that he stay behind with Ayano to guide any belated arrivals and serve as backup. Due to their already reduced numbers, this meant that the group was already decided - Ayano would be their guide, Rui would lead and Akane, Sato and Kotori would be following him. Kotori took a deep breath before nodding to acknowledge the decision - even after already having braved a dungeon previously, it wasn't exactly a prospect she was looking forward to repeating. Even less so now that she was standing right in front of the, at closer look, somewhat foreboding dungeon. Still, she was here to help anothe kidnapping victim - and the others were heading inside, leaving little time for any doubts as she followed them in.

Kotori Shirohane - Crypt of Hopes and Dreams: Floor 1 | After School

Thankfully, the dungeon turned out to not pose much in the way of danger - the few shadows that did cross the group's path were quickly annihilated with little to no damage incurred in return; something Kotori was rather thankful for. This in turn meant that the group quickly progressed through the dungeon floor - but despite the only very light resistance, Kotori couldn't help but feel a little uneasy about the dungeon itself. The tombs and candles, even if they seemed almost comically toy-like, still gave off an unnerving vibe to her - and she half-expected shadows to suddenly pop up from unexpected angles to scare them, though that never came to pass before they arrived at a sort of clearing - upon which stood a somewhat familiar figure. Or rather, two - Alexei and, if the previous dungeon and her own experience was anything to go by, his shadow.

The two were already engaged in some sort of fist fight and shouting match - though most of the punching and shouting came from only one side whilst the other seemed far more calm. Just as they managed to get close enough to clearly see the two and easily follow the conversation, the group realised that they were too late as Alexei uttered the fateful words of the shadow not being him. "Ah!" came from Kotori as one Alexei - the real one - was thrown heavily into one of the tombs. The other one, meanwhile, transformed before their eyes - turning into a strange creature. One girl laying upon the ground. The shadow itself, retaining much of its apperance. And the creature upon which it stood - which caused Kotori's eyes to briefly go wide behind her glasses at the sight.

An enormous masked humanoid creature, encased in some sort of armour, was hunched over the girl. However, this armour was pierced by dozens of huge bloodied blades - in fact, the whole thing was covered in bloody splatters. And to make matters worse, the girl began to cry out - in a voice which Kotori again recognised as being that of Alexei's sister, Elena. However, this sound was cut short by the shadow's voice - no longer calm, it shouted down at the girl before turning to address the group with its words and making clear its intent to make them disappear.

It didn't give more than that for a warning before immediately wrenching some of the bloody blades out of the creature's back - and hurling them at the group. The attack happened so quickly, Kotori barely had any time to react - but thankfully, the others had been more ready for such a thing and already sprung into action. Rui and Sato quickly dashed off to the sides to avoid the attack whilst Akane, using Setana, put herself between Kotori and the shadow; blocking its barrage with ease. "S-sorry," Kotori quickly mumbled out of guilt for having forced the othe girl to have to throw herself in the way of an attack because she hadn't been quick enough herself.

Rui, meanwhile, had already begun putting his experience to use and noticed that attacking from the sides would be their best bet as turning seemed to be a little difficult for this shadow. "Right," Kotori said, nodding to affirm the command, as she already raised one hand. In her palm floated an ethereal blue card - which was shattered with a single motion and a word: "Kikuri-hime." Kotori's persona emerged, allowing her to fight with its assistance rathe than having to rely on just her physical abilities. The presence of Kikuri-hime once more had an almost calming effect on her - taking a deep breath, she immediately began to head off to try and follow Rui's order of flanking the shadow; keeping a close eye on it to try and avoid any subsequent attacks instead of having to burden the others whilst at the same time keeping Kikuri-hime ready to heal any sustained injuries at a moment's notice.

Akane Hanazawa // Crypt of Hopes and Dreams
June 13th, Saturday, 2015

Life in the mirror world is as mysterious and unexpected as ever, take their latest adventure for example. Here Akane stood before the latest 'dungeon', trying to make sense of the sight. "I know gothic buildings in this world is popular, but really?" her face twitched in disgust as she shook her head. Gothic architecture and bright colors should never go together. It was just strange, especially considering it looks like a tomb. Then again, it kind of adds to the creep factor, now doesn't it?

It was just like the last dungeon as there were barely any shadows inside this one as well. It's kind of strange really, you'd expect a whole mess of them inside a place like this. "Kind of boring as well..." she had muttered after going through the first shadow in what seems like forever. Boredom truly does make things seem longer than they really are, huh? She began hoping that the boss of this dungeon would help alleviate her boredom and not go down so easily. It was a simple thing to ask for, right? She thought as she continued running to the final destination with the others.

When they finally got to the boss room, it seems the usual is starting to take place. The big bad shadow acting all tough and scary while going on about how he's the real one. They sure take on some 'interesting' appearances, huh? She looked on at it's monolithic visage with blood and all. The swords were a nice touch. "So this is Alexei's shadow, eh?" After gazing on in wonder, that wonder was destroyed as soon as she began hearing 'that thing' speak. "What a whiny emo bitch you are, seriously..." she said with obvious irritation at the shadow. Though, it would only prove to agitate the thing further.

Which didn't take long as it grabbed a sword out of the monolithic body, grasping it in-between it's fingers and threw it at the party. The other darted to the side but Kotori remained there frozen in fear. "Shit!" Without much time to lose, Akane immediately summoned Setanta and managed to easily block the shadow's barrage. After breathing a sigh of relief, she turned behind her and asked Kotori if she was alright only for her to apologize with a guilty look on her face. Akane responded by patting her on the head and telling her it was alright. After all, everyone gets scared at some point in their lives, right?

"Trouble turning, you say?" she pondered after Rui's order. Then the choice is obvious....! Calling upon Setanta, she ordered out a kill rush on the sides.

Akane's counter-assault with Kill Rush seemed to work for awhile, but after a few seconds, the arms on the beast began to glow red hot, and then soon, it became clear that Akane's Persona was merely striking a magical shield. An invisible dome around the shadow became visible as the assault continued. Though Rui was observing this, he used this chance to get behind the shadow and attack with a Mudo skill, a wave of black energy gathered in Askr's hand and was physically thrown at the shadow. It seemed to do something at least, but there was no significant damage. The shadow merely turned around, and smiled right at Rui...

Immediately he jumped far back, and his instinct was right on the mark, Akane's Setanta was suddenly repelled by an array of swords, damaging Akane a little, with the assault off, the shadow immediately looked to a target to attack, and spotted Sato lagging behind in flanking it, his advance was stopped by a hail of swords, a few of which striking him, flinging him back.

"This is a pain... A repelling shield too...", though as he said that, he was realizing that the shadow began to smoke steam out of it's back, and the monolithic body hunkered down a little, as if it was tired.

Ayano would with her scanning abilities would pick up that the shield from earlier seemed to cost the shadow a lot of energy, while still able to fight, he was now vulnerable to attack. Rui was starting to pick up on this, but unlike a support, he wouldn't be able to figure all that out immediately.

Kotori Shirohane - Crypt of Hopes and Dreams: Floor 1 | After School

Spreading out seemed to work to some degree - the shadow didn't seem to know immediately who to focus on as the group of four swarmed around and into attacking position. Rui's Askr fired an attack at range whilst Akane's Setanta closed in for a melee attack to the shadow's side. Kotori meanwhile was about to call upon Kikuri-hime to aid in the attack when things started going awry. Rui sprang back when the shadow suddenly launched a counter-attack at him whilst a veritable wall of swords repelled Akane's Kill Rush. Sato meanwhile had not managed to get quite into position and got struck in the side by a number of swords being tossed his way; a rather painful sight that caused Kotori to give a worried wince as he was thrown off his feet. She herself managed to avoid getting anything thrown her way and was thus immediately free to counteract the damage that had been taken.

"Media," she called - and just a moment late, Kikuri-hime raised the flower in her hands and brought it closer to her chest as a faint light emanated from her. This same light began to glow around all four of the group; a healing warmth soothing the worst of the pain from any sustained wounds and healing some of the damage caused. Seeing as the shadow seemed to have a penchant for countering attacks, Kotori warily kept an eye on it for any potential retribution; hesitant to yet engage in any offensive actions as long as the others might still require her aid.

Noboru sighed as he kicked pebbles along the sidewalk. He had tried all afternoon to find any clues or hints of the kidnappings, but he had found nothing of importance. No one even knew what he was talking about. The pebbles rolled along the ground, bouncing the more he kicked them. It was a boring day and all Noboru had left to do was sit and wait for Aiko to get done with his job so that they could hang out the rest of the day. Noboru figured it'd be a little bit longer so he decided to do what any normal person would do and run a few laps, possibly a mile or two. He paced himself, starting his run up quite well. He took off in a flash, bounding down the street to wherever his feet took him.

Noboru was making good time. He felt fast and free, with nothing in his way or holding him back. His head was facing down the entire time, so he decided to raise it just a little bit to get a fresh breeze in his face. It felt slow-mo. He lifted his face and she was there, running the exact opposite of the way he was running. She was a medium distance off, so maybe she hadn't noticed him yet. Now was his chance to get away. He lifted up his shoes to pivot on the balls of his feet so he could get away. A view of the sky came first, followed by the wind being knocked out of him as he smacked into the hard cement. He was probably quite visible to Chiaki by now. He hustled to his feet, charging the way back from where he came. There was only one way to make a smooth, or rather what could be counted for smooth after that fuck up, escape. His feet pounded the ground faster than they ever had before. only a short distance away. So short. His feet pivoted correctly this time, positioning him for a straight shot into the Cafe. Right into the Cafe he went.

"Aiko! Hey Aiko I need your help!"

Akane Hanazawa // Crypt of Hopes and Dreams
June 13th, Saturday, 2015
Floor 1

Luck seems to be in short supply for Akane lately. Why might you ask? Well, as the usual with her first strikes on the bosses, it always starts off well, only to crash and burn. Upon seeing that her attacks were meaningless, she could only grind her teeth in frustration. A magical shield....that goddamned thing has a magical shield?! Rui, upon observing the exchange, tried his own hand, though he did manage to inflict damage, it wasn't enough. As evidence by the shadow's irritating smile. It's got quite the nerve....
Rui then jumped back as Setanta's Kill Rush was suddenly repelled by an array of swords, causing some damage to Akane. It wasn't a major blow, but the fact remained that he was able to repel Setanta and in-turn, damaged her in the process. Though, Kotori was there and used 'Media' to patch them up. Whew. With a magical shield on-top of a repelling one, Akane just couldn't recklessly attack as per usual, and until they can figure of it's weak points, they had no other choice but to be cautious.

Until Ayano manages to identify its weak point and they can formulate a plan, it looks like they'll be on the defensive for now. In that case.....Summoning Setanta once more, "Rakukaja!" she called.

Rui and some of the others quickly discussed what they were going to do, and not a moment later Rui addressed the rest of the persona users. "We're going to head on in," He said, and, without a word more, stepped into the mirror world. Sato followed suit, going through the tall mirror. Immediately after entering, he could already feel the familiar pressure of the mirror world. It dug into him, and he wasn't sure if it was a physical or mental heaviness.

Without Megumi with them, they had to rely on Ayano to navigate them. Sato was skeptical about having someone so new to it take the reigns so soon, but part of being a team was having faith in each other. She summoned her persona, the ethereal flames not failing to impress Sato. More importantly, Ayano located both Kami and another as well. To his surprise, she listed Alexai as being the other presence. Could he be the victim? Of all people, Sato didn't expect him to be kidnapped. "He's in my class," Sato concurred, nodding to what Kotori and Akane said.

It only took Ayano an impressive few seconds to get directions to Alexai's dungeon. As the group made their way there, Sato considered Ayano's innate talent as a navigator. Megumi seemed nowhere near Ayano's level of ability. Did Megumi have something to make up for that relative weakness, or was she just inherently worse? Sato was distracted from his train of thought when they approached their destination. Gothic architecture rose above dull neon colors, bright enough to be obnoxious yet restrained in nature. A banner was strung up, with the name "Crypt of Hopes and Dreams" on it. If this dungeon was like anyone else's, there was some kind of meaning to it all. Sato tried to think back on any kind of hints as to what it meant, but he came up blank. He'd only met the dude once or twice, and even then he seemed to have the emotion of a watermelon. Biceps the size of watermelons as well.

They caught up with Kami, who told the group what he'd seen before they got there. Sato was once again chosen to enter the dungeon out of the limited party they had. Sato took a deep breath, inhaling the weirdly lacking scent of the mirror world.

Entering the first floor, Sato quickly found out the name was rather literal. Tombs filled the interior, each one holding sets of items. Candles lit the crypt, and it was all pretty eerie. Walking down the halls, they soon came up to a clearing. Expecting some random shadows ambushing them, Sato was surprised to see Alexai standing before someone who looked just like him... His shadow, no doubt. Kami had said the dungeon had only just formed, so maybe that was why it was such a short trek. They only watched as the two Alexais begun their back and forth, the shadow bringing out hurtful exaggerations and demons better left secret. Even with barely knowing the guy, the shadow's words stung Sato. Cringing from the rage the tall man had, Sato and the group stayed silent as Alexai uttered that sentence.

Sato took a step back as the shadow transmogrified into a bloody monolith with blades sticking out of it, lashing out with one final threat. A masculine figure stood on top of it, a sword through the monolith's midsection pointing at a feminine figure. It didn't take a genius to get the symbolism. Sato was barely prepared when the shadow threw blades from its back at the party. He and Rui split to the side to avoid the attack, while Akane shielded herself and Kotori with her persona. "It seems to have trouble turning, try and get onto the flanks," Rui ordered. Sato followed suit, and as he dashed to the side he watched as Akane tried to retaliate, the attack almost seeming to work. It was only after a few moments did a molten shade of red reveal that she was merely striking some kind of shield. A dome around the shadow. Rui attacked with a mudo from the back, turning around to face Rui. He avoided the attack instinctively, repelling Akane from the side as well.

Sato got caught up in watching the others that he neglected to watch himself. He'd slowed down unconsciously, and was too far from the shadow's side to be able to avoid any attacks. The boy made a mad dash to get away from it, but a rain of blades halted him. He skidded right to a stop just before the bulk of the shot, but he still felt several of the swords ripping through his flesh, knocking him away. The wall caught Sato, slamming to the ground. The pain was worse than anything he'd felt before, an testament to his sheltered upbringing. Looking up, Sato looked through his disheveled bangs to see a rush of steam coming out of it's back. That had to mean it was cooling down. What was the trick? Did they have to overheat it somehow?

A warm light suddenly enveloped Sato, a majority of his wounds disappearing and the pain subsiding. He looked over to Kotori to see her persona casting a healing spell over the party. His energy restored, Sato leaped back to his feet, his now partially ripped clothes a reminder to stay cautious. Everyone remained cautious, hesitant to try to attack lest it counter-attack like it just had. Akane had the right idea, as she summoned her persona to cast a defensive spell on herself.

He could do one better than that. Sato summoned his persona, Chronos appeared before him. "Marakukaja!" With a flashy swing of the scythe, shields of light appeared around the whole party. It wouldn't stop against anything strong, but it would definitely help. Sato dismissed his persona, making sure he kept a low-profile at the shadow's flank. He braced himself to make any kind of attack or movement. If any of them figured out some kind of opening, Sato had to be ready to capitalize on it.

As the group headed towards the aforementioned route, Ayano followed suit and what greeted her was a building that reminded her of Castlevania series. It had that whole haunted and dark vibe that also seemed to resonate an artsy kind of feeling inside of her, but it wasn't a good one. The bright colors definitely looked out-of-place for the whole area, the whole clashing of it all almost made her eyes bleed. Kami was nearby and gave Rui an assessment of the area, apparently this is where he was, which made Ayano's suspicions of him in the map fade away. Although she was doubtful, she was glad at the same time that Kami decided to stay with her and with that, the party went in.

As Rui, Akane, Kotori and Sato trudged forward into the dungeon, the feeling of watching it all in front of her very eyes in a screen like a livestream of some sort gave her a feeling of surrealism. Virtual reality was one thing, but this is a whole new level entirely...The interior was creepy to say the least, it Ayano feel unnerved as she never really liked tombs and crypts. Who would? Beyond the distance, she and the party saw Alexei, and it seemed as though they were just in time to see him confront his other self. Small flashes of the same experienced rushed back inside Ayano's mind but she shook it off, trying to focus on the mission at hand...The doppelganger began to speak, spewing the brutal and honest truth about Alexei...She knew that trying to stop him from saying those words would only be in vain and as the shadow began to reveal its true form, a grim expression spread throughout the girl's face.

The battle raged on, Ayano quickly started to scan the shadow for any sort of weakness and trying to sense a pattern with it. You never really know with these battles. She typed in a few buttons but it would seem that scanning would take a while, she looked at one of her screens, trying to observe the enemy as it deflected Akane's and Sato's personas, she squinted a little but she swore she could see puffs of smoke emerging from behind the thing. It was slumping a little too...That shield. She mulled over it for a few minutes and as if on cue, her scan was complete. As she looked it over, she began to contact Rui,

"Quick! It's tiring itself out, now's your chance to strike back before it brings back its shield again!"

Before she could locate her wallet in her school bag, Shizuka was stopped by the upperclassman and was offered to be treated to whatever she wanted. "E-Eh, bu-but I couldn't. I-I'm able to pay for my ow--" While the freshman attempted to hesitantly reject his offer, Masahide had already made his order and directed an expectant expression with a small grin towards her. The thought of rejecting and paying for her own item crossed her mind but as she paused for a moment to think, Shizuka decided that if he seemed insistent on it and he had already informed the clerk, might as well gratefully accept the offer.

After releasing a defeated sigh, the dark haired teen parted her lips, "T-Thank you, Saji-senpai. Ju-Just this once, I'll accept. " Her half hidden gaze directed itself towards the glass case of cakes again. "Well, tiramisu is one of my favorites... Or perhaps I shall try a slice of millefeuille..." , she mumbled to herself as she excitedly decided between the little treats sparkling with appetizing aura. "I suppose I'll take a slice of mont blanc." Shizuka spoke shyly, still hesitant about having Masa pay for her cake. Before heading towards an empty table by the window side, she waited for the transaction to finalize.

Upon taking her seat and settling herself down, a sudden realization struck the younger student, from an outsider's point of view, this looked like a date. Spacing out towards the window, she shook her head and convinced herself that it wasn't, it's merely a 'hangout with a friend'. I mean, she visits this shop with her friends all the time, this was probably similar to that. But why did this scenario have to remind her of a certain shoujo manga she read recently? The boy treats the female protagonist to a cake and tea, almost like what Masa had just done for her! At the end of the cafe scene, the female protagonist confe--

SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE. Shizuka comically and violently shook her head to get rid of her usual silly shoujo fantasies and paused. Oh no. Does she look stupid right now? Did she get any weird look from the upperclassman? "Um..... Do-Don't mind me, senpai. T-There is nothing wrong.", she softly whispered with cheeks tinted with a bright red hue from embarrassment.

_________

((Kenji part coming soon))

Hearing Ayano feed them the information, Rui made the order to charge. They had to be swift, in case they didn't manage to defeat it in that charge, they needed to be able to back away when the shield came back up.

"Give it everything you've got, but be prepared to back away when it's shield comes back", he ordered. Leading the charge he went straight in with his Persona, striking it with a Zan'ei while charging in with his own sword. The shadow wailed in pain as it took attack after attack, it also appeared the figure on the back was the one that took the brunt of the damage, furthermore the arms of the monolithic golem body seemed to be able to be damaged.

"Ayano, scan the arms specifically, I think there's something about them...", he asked.

Kotori Shirohane - Crypt of Hopes and Dreams: Floor 1 | After School

Kotori glanced between the steam-spewing and her teammates; unsure of whether this was some form of attack, a cover or just a harmless venting of heat. She was, however, at least a little relieved to see that both Sato and Akane seemed to have recovered from the respective hits they'd taken; particularly after the former had been thrown to the ground by strike. The others, meanwhile, seemed similarly wary of the shadow after its initial attacks and sword barriers had prevented any real damage being done to it. Instead, they'd opted to go for a defensive approach as Akane used Setanta to summon a shield of her own. Taking inspiration, Sato then too used the same spell - but this time being cast upon the whole group, enveloping them all in a faintly glowing shells. Whilst they didn't feel impervious, it did seem like they'd take the worst of any attack and at least make strikes easier to take.

Meanwhile though, Ayano hadn't been idle either - instead, she'd been scanning the shadow and finally managed to get a read on it. Relaying anything she'd garnered to Rui, he was quick to order an attack - it seemed as though the steam really was due to it using up too much energy to shield itself, needing a brief pause to recharge. Looking between the others as they got ready to attack, Kotori couldn't see anyone in further need of healing; leaving her to instead face the large shadow. Taking a deep breath, she once again raised a hand with a low "Kikuri-hime" - before clenching said hand as she called her first attack on the shadow: "Zio." A bolt of lightning crashed into the creature; further adding to the damage it was taking from the others - but rather than get too hopeful, Kotori couldn't shake the worry that it wouldn't go down quite that easily; keeping her distance and trying to stay on the shadow's sides as Rui had ordered.