"Roger!"

She nodded to herself as she quickly got to work. All of her screens began to focus on the giant shadow, getting shots of every nook and cranny of the thing to make sure she doesn't overlook anything important, she looked at it from every angle and the arms were of very notice. Typing a few keys, she initiated a detailed scan of the shadow which thankfully wouldn't take a whole while, and Rui's party was managing to hold up for the meantime. As she pressed here and there, two of her screens-the left and the right-displayed the information regarding arms and its torso. Quickly, she contacted Rui, hoping that they're still holding up.

"Okay get this; It's arms are the source of the shield BUT it doesn't stop the repelling factor. I think your priority right now should be to break the arms. It'll weaken the shield so you guys can have an easier time fighting this thing."

Sato heard Ayano's voice, and Rui ordered a charge immediately afterwards. Keeping up the shield must've been taking a lot of energy, as it was essentially overheating from the exertion. They had to capitalize on the moment before it could regain its energy.

Planting his feet onto the ground, Sato summoned his persona. In a flash of white light, Chronos used Hamaon on the shadow, hundreds of cards erupting around Alexai's shadow. The strength of everyone's attacks together caused the shadow to wail in pain. Rui asked Ayano to scan the arms, and upon hearing that, Sato looked at the shadow's now damaged limbs. Could destroying them be the key to winning this fight? Were they the source if its shield?

It only took a few minutes before Ayano was back to them with data on the arms. They were indeed the source of the shield, but apparently ridding the shadow of them wasn't going to help with the whole repelling thing. Nonetheless, she said the arms were a priority. Sato took his bow off from his back and nocked an arrow. He thought about doing the same trick he'd tried with Ayano's shadow: the Garu-propelled arrow. If he hit a crack on the golem's arms, it would act like a chisel, wouldn't it? He'd never thought about it before. Regardless, Sato had his persona ready for attack in case he decided against it or it failed. He glanced over to the others, watching a flurry of other attacks be launched. Hesistent to try his idea, Sato ordered Chronos to use Single Shot on the arm closest to him.

The fight seemed to be going in their favor.

Masahide watched the girl with a mixture of curiosity and confusion, his subtle smile wavering to a more neutral expression as a brow rose. He didn't know what to think of her reaction, though he merely shrugged his shoulders as he turned back to the counter. Opening his phone briefly he'd thumb over his messages, pulling up Yamato's number. Sure enough, a new message was awaiting him.

Yeah... Look, we're coming down next week. You actually gonna talk to me this time? Or do I need to loosen your thick skull again?. All Masa could do was shake his head with the smile re-emerging, tucking his phone away as the order was delivered. With a subtle bow of his head, he'd take the items after paying, turning back to where Shizuka once was to find her missing. Though it didn't take long, the raven-colored hair gave her away almost instantly as he took a seat on the opposite side of the table, sitting before her as he slid over her cake. As he settled down, his gaze rose to her, taking note of her reddening hue as he rose a brow once more.

"If you say so," Bowing his head slightly in response as he indicated the platter before her, "Enjoy." With that, he took his cup and sipped it's contents. Sure enough, the heated liquid burned slightly upon his tongue, but that feeling in itself was soothing as the taste settled in. With a contented sigh, he'd lean back in his chair and set his cup upon the table. For a moment, he'd glance out the window onto the streets, but his attention slowly drew back to Shizuka. "Thanks once again," Masa stated, drawing up his cup, "Do you make it a habit of consoling the downtrodden?" Masa smirked obviously at this remark, his intention to tease the girl not veiled at all.

"Understood, everyone concentrate fire on the arms", he ordered. Without hesitation everyone blasted down the arms one by one. It took a fair bit of effort to destroy one of the arm's generators. The second one soon followed afterwards with help from Rui, landing a critical strike, not only staggering it, but also breaking the generator. As he expected, the bladed shield was about to come up, and the female figure began to wail in pain to signify it. He immediately backed away, but at the same time called Askr from above. With the shield gone, the party could go wild on it.

With an aerial Zan'ei followed by a Garula broke apart the bladed shield, exposing the shadow. The party quickly moved in with their prime damaging attacks, concentrating it all in the vulnerable spot in the shadow's defenses, the monolithic golem's arms gave in and the figure fell forward, impaling the female figure on the ground as the man on it's back fell hard onto the ground behind it.

It could barely grab a sword before Askr leaped over the golem body, and delivered a swift downward thrust, slaying the shadow. It screamed in agony for a few moments before turning back into the Alexei look-alike... The rest seemed to be up to Alexei.

The fall was a bit harder than he had prepared himself for and Alexei took sometime to settle. He watched on as his doppelganger turned into something grotesque, something he could vaguely figure out. As others fought it off in this bizarre situation. He could make out their faces. They were all from his school and ironically, all of the earlier kidnapped.

Was this some kinda game, or an alternate dimension. What was going on?

Alexei had many questions and as he pondered on them and noticed phantasmal beings work in tandem with his acquaintances, he wondered what this world was. It didn't take long to beat of the Goliath than was once his look alike and upon defeat, astonishingly it turned back to its revious form. The others backed out, making it seem like his job to do this closure.

Alexei got up a bit gingerly, still a bit shaken from the fall. He was in a mental mess, a rather rare occurrence. He usually had this unearthly calm. Perhaps, Elena's absence was still worrying him. As he walked closer to his look alike it spoke up in its shrill voice, the snide grin from earlier absent.

"The world isn't that had a place you think it is, bub." his tone a bit somber and low.

"You don't need to give up on your life to let others lead theirs, you feel me brother." this sudden change was certainly perplexing but Alexei could feel meaning behind those words and that meaning seem to hit him like a train. He had been consumed, quiet literally, with the thought of providing a normal life for his sister and mother, it was on a similar path that his father did. Busying himself with work and avoid giving his presence for them to heal them. He had meant well but had gone about it all the wrong way.

"Yeah" he said in his low baritone. "I guess letting your hair down sometimes won't hurt." he admitted.

"No one asked me for this role, I took it up myself. But I feel that I have failed remarkably." he said in a low voice, tears seem to well up in his eyes.

"Nooo! No! No!, you have done a remarkable job but what they want is a man who doesn't treat them like a burden, who has his own life and interests. One, who they can depend upon in their time of need but one who has his own dreams and aspirations."

"Yeah, I know. I think I can still be that if I try hard enough." the other Alexei got up shakily at this and walked on towards the real one, a genuine smile on his face this time. A blue light slowly started enveloping him as he stood closer to Alexei and soon it momentarily obscured it from view as the figure changed to a large man with fiery hair red knightly armor.

Thou art I, I art Thou
I am Prometheus, the ever enduring.
The figure soon dissipated and its place a card was left in the palm of Alexei's hand. He wondered if this was his phantasmal companion, much like others had used earlier. He wondered what he knew about this being and how could he handle it. Perhaps this was best left to the crew who already had experience.

So he turned towards the group and spoke "I am sorry to come across as over-bearing but my sister is still here somewhere. If you all don't mind, could you please lend me a hand once more."

"That was the intention, or one of them, the other was rescuing you... But...", Rui paused for a bit, expecting Alexei to fall to exhaustion like everyone else had... But when it became clear that it was not going to happen, he continued,

"Nevermind...", at that moment, Ayano informed the team that the dungeon wasn't very big at the moment, so they could catch up to Alexei's sister very quickly. With that understood,

"Alright, it doesn't look like I can stop you from going further in with us, so let's get going", he said, turning to Alexei, and then to the door ahead, which with the defeat of the shadow, was now unsealed. Alexei's sister wasn't much further, and not just that, the cultist members were there too... This could be a big break for them, although something bothered Kami, and also Rui... One of the theories was that these cultists were the ones who created the shadows when people were put into the mirror world... But with it naturally occurring, as Alexei had simply pursued... That wasn't the case, so what was the cult really after then? If shadows and Personas were something they were not aware of?

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

As it turned out, Kotori's wariness had been unfounded - Ayano had been scanning their foe the entire time and quickly managed to further deduce a weakness in the arms; prompting the team to attack at Rui's orders. Whilst keeping an eye out for any would-be retaliation, Kotori summoned another Zio down upon a slowly widening gap on one of the shadow's large arms. Though she doubted her contribution was very significant when compared to the other, far more offensively capable members of the group, it was still enough to collectively break the shield generator within. Rushing against time as the shield was about to go up any time now, they managed to repeat the process with the second arm - just in time, as the shield of swords returned just moments later.

However, without anything to sustain it, Rui could quickly shatter this defence; allowing the attack to continue. Kotori still worried about an unexpected desperation attack; ready at any time to quickly cast healing spells as necessary - but ultimately saw yet more use of Kikuri-hime's ability to call down lightning attacks. Under the weight of the entire group's onslaught, the shadow could no longer hold up and came crashing down as Rui's Askr performed a decisive final attack. With an agonising cry, shadows once again enveloped the creature - before dissipating and revealing the more familiar form of Alexei.

Kotori breathed a sigh of relief at the sight - she'd feared the fight might drag on as long as the last, leaving her completely out of breath. Instead, however, she merely noticed how her breathing was a bit quicker after the exertion, but nowhere near the exhaustion she'd felt previously. Just as she wondered if this fight's apparent quickness had something to do with how recently the dungeon had formed, however, Alexei - the real one - approached the shadow. And much like with Ayano, Kotori felt a little awkward standing there and listening to him talk - even if the same had happened to her not all that long ago.

Still, she couldn't quite help but worry what might happed if Alexei didn't accept his other self - but luckily, that did not come to pass. Instead, he agreed that he did not have to sacrifice himself for his familiy - something Kotori, hearing him talk, was sure they wouldn't want - but instead would do what he could for them. Not because he had to, not because it was his duty - but because he wanted to; without losing anything about himself in the process. A small smile came to Kotori's lips at the outcome, even as the other Alexei began to once again change form - but this time not into a monstrous shadow, but rather a fiery torch-bearing Persona.

However, the smile quickly vanished when Alexei then turned to face the group - and asked them for their help in rescuing his sister. "Eh?" Kotori went in surprise, blinking rather quickly. "Dra... uhm, E-Elena-san is here too?" she asked, evidently not having expected that - but she didn't even have to look over to Rui for him to already agree to aid in the rescue; Kotori quickly nodding in agreement. Worry began to take hold once more - not only for Elena but also Alexei as he most likely would be feeling the same wave of exhaustion that Kotori remembered coming over her when she'd first met Kikuri-hime.

However, she wasn't alone in her surprise when Alexei didn't seem to have any intention of just collapsing like she'd done - instead, he remained on his feet and seemed quite determined to get underway to find and rescue his sister. Taking a deep breath - the brief exchange of words having at least served as a small break - Kotori stepped forward, ready to continue onwards. Luckily, Ayano was once more quick to scan the surroundings and informed them that Elena was not far off - though she couldn't quite shake off her ever-present worries, Kotori still remained hopeful that they might be able to finish things off quickly; even more so with the rather unexpected assistance of Alexei and his newly-gained Persona - whilst any thoughts about the rather strange situation they found themselves in and how it reflected on the cult's kidnappings took a backseat for the moment, seeing as there were far more pressing concerns at hand.

After going through the last floor and defeating small amounts of shadows, allowing Alexei to exercise his new power a little bit, before they finally reached the last room of this dungeon. The design began to become more derelict, shattered stone coffins laid in the corners and bones and corpses were unkempt and scattered in the catacombs. The final room was similar, tacky, yet depressingly coloured and designed, the brightness seen in the beginning of the dungeon, gone.

"S-s-stay back! Stay back! Y-you... You want this girl r-right?", the cultists were... Not exactly what he expected. They stood atop an altar, and with no other doors, they figured out that there was no way out of here, only the door which Rui and the party stood between was their exit. Though, these cultists... Were just normal people.

"I-I... What is this place?! Is this meant to be the new world?! I-I thought... Lady Asai... Where...?... I...I...", his voice changed mid-way through his speech. His partner holding Elena beside him was visibly distraught.

"AAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH", the man fell to the ground, and erupting from his body was what appeared to be a shadow. In what looked like confused terror, the shadow charged at the party, but was very quickly cut down as Alexei charged in first. The one still awake, fell to his knees, and dropped Elena beside him. They had no idea what just happened...



Rui and Kami carried the cultists away and then turned them into the police, while Elena was being taken by Alexei to the hospital... Rui and Kami returned shortly after, though Alexei remained at the hospital. They got word that he collapsed as soon as he delivered Elena to the hospital. It was likely out of exhaustion. That said... They returned to speak about their findings of all this, and it only raised more questions. These cultists, were definitely blissfully unaware of what the mirror world really was, thinking the mirrors were the way to a 'new world', certainly believable, but with their reactions... They felt it was a paradise, but were betrayed... There may be more to it than that though, or maybe it was more complex.

"Then... What could they be after? If it was delivering people to a new world, like a paradise... Why wouldn't they go in themselves?", he said. Something about the 'Lady Asai' was strange to him though...

"Indeed... One thing stood out, the Lady Asai, they mentioned... It might be their leader... I'll look into a 'Lady Asai', and see what that turns up... For now I think everyone should go rest", Kami seemed to be a bit more focused, now that he had a name to work with it might be easier.

"Agreed, Megumi and I will keep a closer watch over the mirror world then", said Kazuki. With that, everyone present agreed to go and rest for today.



"Welcome, to the Velvet Room"

Alex's eyes slowly opened to a soft somber song, the first thing he thought, was 'blue', as was the colour of this room. The long table before him was a dark brilliant brown with lacquer, placed upon it was blue decorations and silverware. In front of him engraved in front of his seat was "The Hanged Man". It seemed ominous to him, but it was not something he pondered on for long. Though out of the corner of sight he noticed he was in different clothes, a fine suit of navy with a purple-blue tie, as well as a lapel pin indicating his arcana's number. Beneath the suit jacket was a high collar waistcoat as well, matching colour. Then he would remember the voice that lulled him awake here. He turned down to where he heard the voice... An old man, with a long nose, and beside him stood a laid of fair hair, straight and down to her waist in what would vaguely look like a waitress' uniform, but also was designed as a suit.

"This is a place that exists between dream and reality, mind and matter. My name is Igor, and this is my assistant, Henrietta", he began. His voice was punctual, distinct, but not completely smooth, it gave the man a mysterious quality.

"It appears another guest has joined us at the table", as he said this, Alexei noticed in the other chairs, that there were silhouettes... He recognized some of them. He saw them in, 'that place', earlier, whatever it was, helping him rescue his sister.

"You almost tread a dangerous path, in your emotional outburst, you would have never accepted that side of yourself... Still, be at ease, not much harm was done to your sister, she rests in the bed beside you", that's right... Alexei had taken her to the hospital...

"Now then... You have drawn, the Hanged Man... A fitting card for you. It represents being torn between two extremes, and a sense of self-sacrifice, something you feel for your sister... Admirable, but also... Dangerous", he evaluated.

"For now I will leave you this key... And you will return here of your own volition when the time comes", he clicked his fingers, signalling the lady beside him to step over to Alexei, and handed him a distinct key.

"But until then... Farewell", and with that, Alexei's vision faded once more back into reality.

Alexei joined his rescue squad with a silent nod as they went deeper and with Ayano's guidance they were able to reach his sister quickly. Rui also let the shadows up to him, allowing to get practice with the process that others beside him seem to use effortlessly. Seemingly, he knew all the commands to guide this Prometheus Despite its massive build, the phantasm was a powerhouse as it dished vicious fire like attacks.

He was a bit jaded as he reached his sister but was reinvigorated when he saw Elena's limp body in the arms of one of the cultists. Throwing caution to the wind, he ran for her. He didn't remember after that but somehow he had carried his baby sister in his arms to the hospital. He may not admit it but she had grown a bit heavier and coupled with whatever he had gone through, he was a bit tired. What he didn't know, was that he was beyond the point of fatigue. Driven solely through willpower alone as he collapsed as soon as he had rested her on a stretcher.

--

He found his sleep fading as he was called in by a lovely melody, finding himself in a strange room. Blue from top to bottom, filled with a large, rather expensive looking table. He knew straight away that it wasn't his home, not any of his regular dreams. He would never splurge on something so mundane.

His observation was interrupted by a strange small man. He shared his Granfather's name and had a quiet long nose but something about how he dressed and talked meant that he was the one in-charge of this place. He then looked closely at the table to find a number before him and the name of the card that was kept beside it. The Hanged Man , sure sounded ominous. As if noticing his reaction the old man spoke with sagely calm that belied a bit of forewarning. Perhaps, the way he has been living would be considered dangerous or something but he didn't seem to care about it. He'll face his demons when the time comes but he nodded at the old man, more out of respect than agreement. He also noticed a beautiful lady stand next to the man, she had pale blonde hair much like his mother and looked a foreigner too.

On the old man's signal, she moved towards him and handed him a key to whatever this place was and the old man bid him farewell. Alexei found his conscious waning at that moment and soon there was nothing but darkness. But he was content with one thing, his sister was safe and next to him. That's all that mattered, apart from allaying the concerns of his mother.

Akane Hanazawa // Crypt of Hopes and Dreams
June 13th, Saturday, 2015
Floor 1 -> Empress's Tomb

"Well obviously..." she muttered in response to Rui's obvious order, which was to go on an all out attack and back off when the shield comes back on. Then again.... if he was here, he'd probably charge in regardless of the shield and blast way like an idiot. She sighed as she recalled the muscle bound moron, who was a no show for this trip. Following Rui's lead, She went in with Setanta and began striking the shadow relentlessly with Kill Rush and Akane, with her Katana, as the others also joined in on the attack. As they carried off their assault, Ayano managed to scan the shadow's arm as ordered and found a weak spot that would get around that pesky multi-shield crap.

Without any hesitation, they all barraged the shadows with a torrent of blows and managed to destroy one of the arm's generators with the second one following soon after. Breaking through this recent obstacle, they managed to beat down the shadow and rendered it unable to fight back. It was then left up to Alexei to finish it. While the opponent wasn't strong in the least, it sure was an annoying one with those shields it had. Once those were dealt with, the fight was a cake walk. I thought it would've had a bit more stamina than that... she shook her head in disappointment. With this case out of the way and another member added to their team, they can now focus all of their attention towards their main objective, the cult.

Well, that was until Alexei revealed that his little sister was missing and that she was still somewhere within the dungeon. It was strange, in the previous incidents, all of them have been attacked and abducted but it was his sister that was taken, not him. She wasn't sure exactly what was going on but whatever the case was, those cultist scumbags decided to go after a little girl, not to mention the sister of a friend. Extra punishment is in store for them. Placing her hand on Alexei's shoulder....well, she tried to anyways, in the end she settled on a pat on the back. "No need for that Alexei, Let's go save your sister." she smiled reassuringly, not surprised in the least, unlike the others, about Alexei remaining conscious during this fight. After all, no one has worked as hard and tirelessly like Alexei. She was sure of that.

Anyways, with the shadow gone, they were now able to go deeper inside the dungeon. After taking a slight rest, they pressed on through the now unsealed door and dealt with all the shadows that got in their way. Reaching the final floor, they entered the final room and found Elena, along with the cultists. Glaring and ready to fight, she moved forward before stopping as she took a better look at them. Are these....really the ones responsible for everything? These pathetic cowards? They're much too weak. Clearly disappointed in the sight, Akane dropped her arms to her side and found her rage subsiding. Well, normal or not, they still decided to kidnap a poor girl and will need to be punished for it, However, this time....it's not her place to do so. It was Big brother's time to shine.

And shine he did, though, in a different way than she imagined. And Not just her, but the others as well. Just as they cultists began their empty threats as continued to cower, the man's voice began changing as he fell to the ground with a loud shriek of pain as a shadow began emerging from his body. "What in the hell...?!" she yelled. Without any warning, it charged in and before they were able to react, Alexei beat them to it and charged right past them, and quickly destroyed it. The cultist that was still conscious, dropped to his knees, dropping Elena in the process while the other remained motionless, clearly confused as to what just happened before them.

---

Abandoned Warehouse

Just what in the hell is going on? This has been quite a common recurring thought throughout her mirror world 'adventures'. With each encounter, it gets even stranger. Though, admittedly, Akane found it all quite exciting and thrilling. But, she decided to keep this thought to herself as they made their way back to the warehouse. Once back, she sighed. "Were they seriously the ones going around nabbing. To think I, of all people, were overwhelmed by the likes of them. Even if they held the advantage in numbers." she snarled at the insanity of it all, veins on her forehead ready to burst. Even though they had more people, which would overwhelm anyone, she couldn't help but feel her pride being damaged at the thought of being abducted by such weaklings. Though angry at it all, she instantly calmed down once she glanced over at Alexei carrying Elena, before looking apologetic, muttering a "Sorry."

After the awkward then then proceeded to discuss what they've found out and experienced in the mirror world before concluding with Kami suggesting that they go home and rest. Though she doesn't like agreeing with him, she thought that was the best course of action at the moment. They can't do nothing all worn out like this, especially with Alexei and Elena's situation at the moment. With that, they went their separate ways.

Kotori Shirohane - Crypt of Hopes and Dreams: Empress' Tomb | Saturday, June 13 2015 - After School

The rest following Alexei's acceptance of his other self was a brief one - unsurprisingly, given that he seemed rather anxious to go after his sister and because no one was quite sure if he'd hold on for that long. The latter of those concerns would turn out to be unfounded - whilst the former was quickly alleviated when the group carried on; guided once again by Ayano along the shortest path. Much like before, the shadows didn't seem very numerous or dangerous - not that Kotori would complain about that of course. Instead, she was far more preoccupied with the increasingly bleak setting that the dungeon was taking on - where previously at least some colour had been sprinkled about, the final stretch was devoid of all that and managed to still feel unsettling despite its tackiness.

The attention would quickly shift elsewhere as they reached the final room - wherein they finally managed to catch up to the kidnappers. Kotori's steps slowed for a moment when she recoginsed them - not the cultists themselves, but rather their clothing's general appearance - being the same as the ones responsible for her own kidnapping. However, she quickly caught herself again as she saw one of them carrying Elena in his arms. With a weak voice, one of the kidnappers warned them to stay back - an order summarily ignored by Alexei who pressed on unabatedly - whilst at the same time they seemed quite unnerved. It wasn't until one started to ask where this place was that it became apparent that they were rather confused - something which, in turn, confused Kotori who'd expected these kidnappers to know exactly what they were doing.

A moment later, she flinched when a sudden cry interrupted the man's questioning - as a shadow poured out from his body before their eyes. His partner was a lot more horrified than the rescue team - including Kotori, who, whilst she hadn't actually seen a shadow emerge from a person, likewise knew that such a thing seemed to be commonplace for anyone caught in this world. However, there was little time for any analysis - such things could be left for Ayano now or everyone later while they dealt with the immediate threat. "Ki..." Kotori started - but before she got any further, Alexei slammed the shadow into the group; leaving it an easy victim for the others to quickly dispatch. With the other cultist falling to his knees at the overwhelming confusion at what was unfolding before him, the fight came to a rather rapid conclusion as Alexei wasted no time in picking up his sister.

Despite the rather strange circumstances, Kotori was still relieved to see that things seemed to have turned out well after all.

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

With Alexei taking care of his sister and Rui and Kaminari delivering the cultists to the police, they'd agreed to return to the warehouse - leaving a not unwelcome break for Kotori as they waited for the others to return. Though it had been an easier dungeon - perhaps due to its very recent formation - she still had to catch her breath once the pressure and anxiety she'd felt inside washed away. It did leave some time though to think about the events that had just transpired - in particular the rather strange way the cultists had reacted to the other realm. They placed the kidnappees there, so why would they be surprised at it?

Unfortunately, she didn't have any answers before Rui and Kaminari returned - bringing news that Alexei had dropped his sister off at the hospital and himself dropped just a moment later. Those present discussed the same events Kotori had just pondered - but no one seemed to be able to make any sense of it either. Soon enough, they concluded that there was little use in trying to brood about something they knew too little about and decided to end things here for today; Kaminari promising to look for leads whilst Megumi and Kazuki would keep an eye on the Mirror World.

With that done, the group disbanded as everyone headed off in their respective directions - home, in Kotori's case. The oddness surrounding the day's events still lingered in her thoughts even once she'd arrived. Once she'd placated her mother's interest in these friends of hers and returned to her room, she found her school bag laying atop her bed where she'd hastily placed it when she'd received the message about a new kidnappe just after school - left there precisely to remind her that she still had her homework to do after all. She'd almost forgotten about that in all the rush - but thankfully, her note-keeping made doing said homework quite a simple affair.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Hospital | Sunday, June 14 2015 - Afternoon

As ever, Kotori felt somewhat uneasy as she walked down one of the hospital hallways. She was of half a mind to turn around and leave - but quickly shook her head at the thought. After all, it's not like a hospital was something bad, so there was no reason to dislike it - at least that's what she told herself, but to little avail. Looking over the room numbers, she was getting closer to the one she was lookign for; as per the instructions of the lady at the reception. She'd seemed rather surprised to see Kotori - and even recognised her, but was quickly dissuaded from any worries about sudden emergencies when she saw the flowers she was carrying.

These same flowers - two small bouquets of a few pale green peonies and blue hydrangea as get well gifts - were carefully moved over to one arm as Kotori used the other to raise a hand to the door in front of her - though she hesitated to knock. Much as she had about even coming here in the first place rather than just asking her mother to deliver the flowers, Kotori mulled over whether she really should go - wouldn't just showing up unannounced with flowers in hand be somewhat awkward when the one doing so wasn't even more than a fellow student?

However, much like before, Kotori once again shook her head to get rid of those thoughts - after all, she'd been somewhat surprised but ultimately glad to have received as many visitors as she had during her stay in the hospital after her kidnapping ordeal. With that thought in mind, she gave a faint knock - it was doubtful as to whether it would even be heard on the other side - before waiting for a second or ten and then slowly opening the door. Peering inside, she saw that the room was a double room with two beds - upon each of which one of the Dragunov siblings lay.

Stepping inside, Kotori quickly gave a bow in greeting - which turned out a little difficult to do while carrying the flowers in her hands; all the while giving a strange feeling of déjàvu, except with the roles of patient and visitor reversed. "Uhm, g-good afternoon," she quickly said in her usual quiet voice; a little unsure about what to do at that point - whilst she'd been to the hospital a few times, she'd never been here as a visitor before. "Uhm..." Kotori went, eyes quickly glancing about the room behind her glasses before coming to rest on a small cupboard - a likely place for a vase of sorts. "I-I brought some flowers," she said, slightly lifting the mix of blues and greens for emphasis - realising a moment later that she was merely stating the rather obvious; leaving a wry half-smile on her face at that.

"Ah, unless it's bother?" Kotori asked, as it occured to her halfway to the cupboard that perhaps neither of the two might actually want any flowers by their bedside, seeing as no one had actually asked for them - just because she liked them didn't necessarily mean the same for everyone else after all.

"Sorry, Ni-san!" a faint voice broke Alexei's calm siesta. It was nice to relax a bit sometimes, now that he had done nothing but rest for full sixteen hours. No chores to run, food to make or things to fix. It was a welcome rest and he needed it but what he didn't need was her sister's voice filled with guilt.

"For what, Akachan!" he said in his deep grumble, eyes still closed but he moved his torso to the side to face his beloved sister.

Elena was pleasantly surprised, she hadn't seen her dear brother smile in god knows how long and for him to call her 'baby' meant that there was a change that she may have missed in their last harrowing experience together.

"Nothing!" she whispered quietly as she turned to face him, looking at his visage carefully. She had always felt protected and nurtured but something was different today. Her brother wasn't know for open display of love, well if you discount the flowers and the pains he goes to in making her lunch but smiling together and other non verbal communications were rather limited. She couldn't place it but she was happy if things looked like what they were.

A faint knock caught his attention, it was a bit too light for a hospital staff and the fact that almost everyone knew him because of his mother here. They could openly announce themselves and enter. Perhaps, the news may have caught on to Inoue and Sagat. He didn't expect any others.

So he was pleasantly surprised when Kotori opened the door after a brief pause. Carrying two bouquets for the siblings, this was certainly unexpected.

"Ah! Shirohane-san!" he said, a bit surprised, as he sat up in his bed.

"Kotori-chan!!" Elena almost screamed in excitement as she too noticed the flowers. Kotori wanted to place it on the side table but hesitated. Asking whether it was okay. It was Elena who tried to put her at ease.

"Thank you!! They are beautiful. I'm so happy you came to see me." she carried in her excited tone,perhaps making the other girl a bit embarrassed.

"So? How did you know, we were here?" Elena asked.

"Calm down, sis. It was through Shirohane-san's help that I was able to rescue you." Alexei finally said. "I don't know how I'll repay your debt, but I'll try, Shirohane-san." he added sincerely. Elena's eyes just widened at his response as she motioned for Kotori to sit next to her on her bed trying to make her feel comfortable with the two foreigners.

"I see you're doing well", said Rui as he entered. He expected Akane to be here considering she had friendship with him. Maybe she was late? Likely slept in. In any case, he was going to speak about the dungeons and shadows with Alexei, but his sister was here... She didn't have the power, and involving her might not be the best idea.

"And hello to you too Kotori... Alexei, we met once, outside the manga club room, when do you think you can be discharged?", he asked. Alexei was likely going to be discharged tomorrow and allowed to attend school again as his condition had improved... But his sister on the other hand was still experiencing nausea and a bit of trauma from being kidnapped. It probably would've been worse if they didn't rescue her sooner, but she ought to be fine by the end of the week.

At least that's what the nurses had told Alexei earlier this morning before visiting times began. Still, this was a better result than expected, but it only raised more questions for Rui and Kami in their investigation...

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Hospital | Afternoon

As it turned out, her worries had been unfounded - Elena, who seemed rather elated about her visit, was quick to show her appreciation. With a small smile of relief, Kotori said "Ah, that's good," as she placed the flowers in their vases - though her relief wasn't just about the flowers not being unwelcome, but also to see that both of the two Dragunovs were awake and well; or at least appeared as such. At the very least, Elena was still showing as much enthusiasm as she had back at the library - even as she asked how she'd known that they'd been there.

"Eh?" was Kotori's first response, having just placed the flowers on the small table, as she really didn't know how to respond to the question - should she outright tell them? Should she try to talk her way out of it - even if she heavily doubted she'd be able to do so? However, before she could even say anything further, Alexei spoke up to try and calm some of his sister's excitement - and quickly making Kotori rather surprised when he said she'd been of such help. "Eh? Ah, I..." she began, trying to say that she really hadn't done very much, before he continued to say that he'd try to repay this debt.

"Ah, n-no, no, there's no need for that, really!" Kotori quickly said, shaking both her hands before her and her head for emphasis. "T-the others did a lot more, so..." she began, embarassment rather evident in her voice - not only didn't she know how to answer the previous question, but also not how to dissuade him from seeing it as a debt to be repaid when it was far from her alone who'd been there to help. Luckily though, a distraction presented itself as Rui stepped into the room; prompting Kotori to stand back up after she'd only just sat down on the edge of the bed at Elena's motioning to give a bow in somewhat thankful greeting: "Ah, good afternoon, Shinichi-san."

Seeing as he'd been the one to tell her of all the details after she'd been rescued and subsequently gained her persona, Kotori assumed - or rather, hoped - Rui was here to do the same for Alexei; though it was a slightly different situation with his sister in the know but not having gained a persona - either way though, Kotori sat back down for the moment to take a momentary breather and hoped that Rui would be able to clear up some things.

Alexei Dragunov | Warakuma Hospital

For a moment he could see Kotori turn red as a tomato, perhaps she wasn't expecting such reactions from either of the two siblings. Alexei wondered why a helpful and studious girl like Kotori had such timidness or perhaps it was just a little discomfort. He tried to allay her the best he could, "Okay, we'll talk about it later."

He took an apple from the fruit basket and offered it to her, "Sadly we aren't at home so this is the best I can do, why don't you come over our place on a Sunday? you may like it." he said lightly just as then Rui entered.

"Yeah it seems, all I needed was a shut-eye." Alexei said in response to his observation. Before the junior began how he knew of him. "Well we have crossed paths more than once but those are insignificant details. I'll be discharged tonight,if you gotta talk about something you can give me your number, I'll ring you up." he said.

"Help yourself to the fruits if you feel like, I could really use some needless sweet drink at the moment but the nurses said No!" he finished.

Business at the cafe was as usual on a weekend noon, filled with customers thanks to being the only cosplay cafe in town. Warakuma was a rural type of town not too long ago; it was slowly developing like the neighboring big cities. That aside, today was the day a new waiter had come into work and Kenji was just in the middle of instructing Aiko Yamamoto on how to brew a hot cappuccino when the doors slammed open. By instinct, the waiters and waitresses dressed in prince/princess outfits greeted in chorus, 'Welcome home, master!'

"Aiko! Hey Aiko I need your help!" It seemed that the boy was not a customer but an acquaintance of his new trainee? Kenji lead his new waiter to whoever it was that was looking for him before the manager's eyes quickly scanned the boy. A grin replaced his curious expression as the older male started, "Are you related to my new waiter here? You two resemble each other!" Noticing that he might've interrupted something between them, he bowed slightly before deciding to leave them. "Sorry about that, I'll leave you two to your business but if you have time tomorrow, could you drop on by? Your build has potential to be popular among our female customers just like this boy here." His thumb pointed back towards Aiko before offering another bow and leaving their side.


After the attempt at regaining her composure, Shizuka gratefully bowed as she received the cake from the upperclassman. "T-Thank you, Saji-senpai." Flashing a soft smile in appreciation, that smile became brighter as her hazel eyes sparkled at the marvelous pastry. With her habit to eat her favorite part first, the younger student picked up the fork and poked at the chestnut atop the cake before plopping it into her mouth. The satisfied expression upon her face made it evident that she was enjoying the mont blanc until Masahide thanked Shizuka once again for introducing the shop to him. But before she could reply, he continued and ended with a teasing statement. Being how she was, the female teen took the question seriously and averted her gaze to the side as she spoke in an embarrassed tone, "Um... No-Not as often as you think I do."

A curious question relating to the topic at hand had formed in Shizuka's mind as she turned her gaze back to the upperclassman in front. "I-Is it strange? Do others not offer help to strangers evidently in need? She supposed not everyone would be as kind as to give their concern to strangers but being raised in an environment that encouraged such, the maiden grew up to act in such a way. Though with her shy trait, Shizuka couldn't bring herself to approach strangers unless she felt that they were in dire need of help.

Time seemed to pass quickly as the two continued occasionally conversing while enjoying their coffee and cake but as the sun seemed to be setting soon, Shizuka thanked once more for Masahide's time and for the treat he bought for her before excusing herself to start heading home.


WHACK, followed by the sound of a bouncing tennis ball. And another WHACK. Ponytailed dark tresses danced in the air as the girl rushed from left to right. Sudden movements caused her sky blue pleated skirt to flutter around with each movement, flashing a peek of her upper legs.

After the last WHACK, Shizuka released an exhausted yet satisfied sigh, lowering the tennis racket in her grip as she walked over to the bench by the court. The neatly folded towel atop the bench was picked up by the tired tennis player, before being gently tapped along her face. Having the need to see properly to accurately hit the tennis ball, the long, dark bangs were pinned up by simple, white hair pins. Her eyes were clearly visible for anyone to see but fortunately for the timid teen, she had yet to see anyone she recognized today. The towel was then tapped along her slender neck to wipe off the perspiration while Shizuka decided to buy a drink from the vending machine at the main lobby.

Out of the tennis court and into the recreational center's main lobby, Shizuka walked as she dried herself with the towel. She was still in her tennis uniform, white polo shirt with a pleated sky blue skirt, since it could pull off as casual clothes anyway. Dropping a few coins into the vending machine, the teen pressed the button for a refreshing sports drink before taking a seat at one of the benches to take a sip of her drink.

Masa merely smiled at her response, falling silent for a moment as his gaze shifted slightly downwards. Mulling over her words for a moment, he'd begin to wonder about the truth to her words. Sure enough, no one aside from his family ever stopped to check on him, no one ever asked or was concerned about his well being. How long had this cycle been going on? Shaking his head free from the thoughts for a moment, he'd return his gaze to her, continuing a casual conversation all the while pouring over his thoughts from a moment before. The meeting came to a close, Masa bowing politely as Shizuka left. Sitting down to his empty cup, he'd withdraw his phone as he flipped it open once more. He continued to stare at his phone for just a minute longer before dialing something in.

Yeah... Sorry. Just not very used to having others to count on. His message to his cousin sent, and his gaze now staring out of the shop; and his mind lost in his own thoughts. Masahide was never a very introspective person... But now he actually stopped to think about it all.



"So, how's things since I left?" Yamato asked tentatively, his voice resounding from Masa's cellphone as the dark haired male traversed the city streets. Having blown off several requests, Masa had decided to take the evening off to just relax for the first time in awhile. The city streets didn't seem to have much to mention, just scattered people walking to their venues all seeming to be distracted just as Masa was. Still, he took no notice beyond that as his attention was focused upon his cousin.

"Going alright. Taking the day off, probably going to hit a shop I was introduced to." Masa replied, scanning the streets for the familiar sign.

"Introduced to? You actually went out with someone?" The shock in Yamato's voice was hard to miss, "So how sick were you?"

"Wasn't. A friend of mine wanted to show me." Masa retorted, a faint smirk forming on his lips.

"I see. Which one? The dark haired girl, or the fidgety guy with the glasses?"

"Her name is Shizuka. But yes, her."

A devious chuckle resounded from the other end of the conversation, "So your first date."

Masa rolled his eyes in annoyance, "Not exactly. Had a blow out in the park, guess she wanted to lighten the mood."

"Yeah? What about?"

"... Don't worry about it." Yamato could be heard sighing on the other side, but didn't seem to want to push the issue. The back and forth continued for some time, Masa just wasting time as he roamed his city.

It wasn't long before the giant fell with the combined efforts of the team, Ayano was glad and sighed with relief. All that was left now was for Alexei to accept his true feelings. Watching the scene unfold, the girl is reminded of her own experiences and silently cheered on Alexei, if all of the others could accept themselves, then he should too! Suddenly, a familiar blue light began to envelop itself around him and a smile formed on Ayano's lips, thankfully he was able to realize that he and the shadow were but one being and the monster from earlier transformed into a new source of power.

There was a brief pause and Ayano was half expecting Alexei to fall down and faint like she did but that never happened, which struck her as odd. Another that struck her odd was the fact that there was another person in the dungeon, Alexei's sister. She scratched her head, it seemed like their little expedition wasn't over just yet. The party raged on, the dungeon becoming dull and bland as they advanced and Alexei had certainly gotten the hang of using his persona in just a short while. Finally, they reached the end point of the dungeon, a feeling of uneasiness coursed throughout Ayano's body...What was waiting behind this door? Some kind of super boss that you always encounter at the last minute? And if it was Alexei's sister, whose to say she doesn't have a shadow of her own? The thoughts just made her shudder but the party moved on regardless and what greeted them was something unexpected, to say the least.



With what little information they knew about the cultists, Ayano was just in a state of shock and awe...These are the guys that were responsible for kidnapping all of them? But, they looked just like your Average Joe's...Were these really the ones behind all of the terror surrounding Warakuma? She couldn't believe the feed she was receiving on her screen, the other's were just as shocked as she was, if not disappointed. One of them ordered to stay put but Alexei rushed recklessly to save his sister but Ayano's attention shifted focus to a disgruntled voice in the same room, it was another cultist, his voice shaky and looking like he was about to convulse. With an agonized cry, the man fell to the ground and what erupted was a shadow?!

"What the?"

The thing charged at them but was quickly struck down by Alexei and the other cultist and Alexei's Sister fell to their knees. Ayano blinked once and twice, looking at her screen and trying to process the events that just transpired but nothing made sense anymore...



The two cultists from earlier were escorted to the authorities by Rui and Kami, and Alexei's sister was delivered to the hospital. After a brief moment of respite, the two returned to report that Alexei stayed in the hospital as well, collapsing from the exhaustion as well. With the formalities over the group began to discuss what the hell just happened earlier in the dungeon. Sure, this was a huge step forward for the team in terms of investigating the cult but all it did was just raise more questions...

What were these cults after? What is their real motive for kidnapping them? Is it some sort of philosophical or religious quest about teaching people to look inside of themselves and accept that they truly are monsters inside and learning to overcome this? All of it was just too much to handle, thinking about it more just caused Ayano's head to hurt. The day concluded with Kami telling everyone to go rest and Ayano couldn't be more glad to hear that. Still, it wasn't bad for the first day on the job.

==~==

Mako paced around the hallways of the hospital, trying to work out his next order of business. He'd finally established that he needed a broader perspective on his hunch, which was why he was here- he needed to find out who else was involved in this business of saving the kidnap victims, if indeed it was as organized as he assumed it to be. Without enough evidence, Sato- and anyone else whose involvement he'd uncovered- could just dodge his questioning all day long. Which would be a downer, to say the least.

If this really is the destiny that that Blue Lady keeps talking about... if I'm meant to help save these victims, then I need to prove I can handle it, first. And therein lay the real reason he'd been pursuing this so doggedly. The slim hope that this was actually something to do with that dream he'd been having since he first got to Warakuma. The chance that he wasn't just incomprehensibly crazy, that there was actually something greater past all this dream fuckery. So, he waited. Thankfully, he didn't have to wait long. Shirohane-san, from his class, had just arrived at the latest victim's room. Dragunov was his name, Alexei Dragunov. She was carrying flowers. Without even noticing he was there, the girl opened the door and hurried inside.

After another short while, someone else arrived. Shinichi-san, from Drama Club. Mako raised an eyebrow, still watching the room as the boy went inside, greeting both the victim and Shirohane. Weird. So they knew each other, too? His interest was piqued, but he held it in check. He didn't know either of the victims well, nor their visitors. They could all be old friends with one another and there was no way for him to know. Still, it bothered him- Shirohane had also been a kidnap victim, abducted the same time as Sato. And speaking of Sato, hadn't he seen Shinichi at the hospital when he went to visit Sato?

Not enough to confirm out of hand, but... not enough to deny it, either. Mako crossed his arms, still thinking. He'd need a lot more information before he could prove he'd be of use to these people (if indeed, they were what he believed them to be).

But it was a start.

Akane Hanazawa // Warakuma Hospital
June 14th, 2015

Given what down in the dungeon last night, needless to say, Akane was quite tired. Though, that's just her excuse for arriving later than she had planned. Well, she did waste a lot of energy there, but what really did her in was the fact that she stayed up past midnight drawing. With a big yawn, she made her way through the hospital entrance. Just before entering his hospital room, something came to her. Come to think of it, she was also late when she visited Ayano as well. Hmm... Hopefully Alexei will forgive me for being late. Akane laughed nervously to herself before opening the door and walking in.

In the room, she saw Kotori and Rui, along with another guy, who looked like he just got there. Rui again... I seem to have a knack for coming in at 'that time'. Saying her greetings to Kotori and Rui, she ignored the other guy and turned to Alexei. "The giant is already up and about? It's as if nothing ever happened. Talk about stamina!" she looked on amazed before digging through a bag she brought along with her. "Well anyway, brought you something to help pass the time until you get out." She beamed as she pulled out a couple of manga magazines. Knowing Alexei liked Berserk, she brought a few volumes with her so he can read them. You can never go wrong with the classics.

"You seem like you're doing fine, but what about your little sister, how is she doing?" Akane asked, remembering the state Elena was in last night.