Kotori Shirohane - Ferrero Mall: Yoshida Book Café | Monday, July 20 2015 - After School

Kotori cocked her head to a side when Rui concluded the discussion with the resolution to talk to Shizuka about the matter - but her worries that her previous thoughts about the other girl had somehow been so easy to read were quickly dissuaded when she realised that, unlike her, he was still talking about the topic at hand and thus was simply seeking more input on the matter. At least, that's what Kotori took from it, given that she knew little of her fellow Agriculture Club member's exact involvement with Star Drop Café. Kotori still glanced between the others at the table when silence fell upon them once more for a few seconds more to see if anyone would speak up - but when no one did, she let out an inaudible sigh before turning her gaze back on the book before her; even as she felt her guilty conscience creep up once more when she took a sip from the unbidden but not unwelcome glass of water. It didn't take long for this to vanish though when the book's story received her full attention.

Kotori Shirohane - Abandoned Warehouse | Wednesday, July 22 2015

Having spent most of the morning helping her mother around the family flower shop, Kotori had headed to her room to make some more headway on the summer homework. She'd already begun therewith after she'd returned home from her unexpected visit to Yoshida's and was feeling somewhat optimistic that it shouldn't take too much longer to get everything finished up and thus not have to worry about it for the rest of the break. Unfortunately, however, she hadn't even started when she almost jumped out of her seat at the sudden ring of her cellphone. Not a prolific user thereof, she was still surprised whenever she got a message - and given the usual contents thereof, she didn't look forward to seeing who it might be from.

Her fears were proven well founded when saw that it was once more a call to gather up at the warehouse - new developments needed discussing and another expedition into the mirror realm was very likely. Whilst it didn't mention any kidnappings, Kotori couldn't help but feel her worries and fears return anew as got ready to head down the by now worryingly familiar way to the warehouse.

She was neither the first nor the last to arrive, though they didn't have to wait too long. Whilst some had to excuse themselves for various reasons, there were more than enough people present to field a full team or two - but that did little to lift Kotori's spirits when Kazuki and Megumi began to explain the situation. Ayano supported Megumi's findings that an unknown area had been located and that, according to Kaminari's investigations, they might finally be on track to finding this cult's leader. However, the fact that no one was in need of rescuing did at least serve to lighten Kotori's mood, if only a little.

Almost immediately thereafter, a squawk drew everyone's eyes to Zeke. The bird spread its wings and lifted off, wasting no time to push off into the mirror - not exactly an everyday sight when seeing the others passing through was still an uncanny experience. Still, Zeke had proven to be a great help before, so there was little reason to doubt that it was doing this without some purpose - agreement was quickly reached on this before the rest of the investigation team followed suit. As ever, Kotori held her breath in apprehension as she stepped through the mirror; only releasing it on the other side when the surreal feeling that always followed had passed.

Kotori Shirohane - Mirror World: Seto | Wednesday

Zeke lead the group onwards, always flying ahead before perching just within view and waiting for them to catch up. The bird seemed to know exactly where it wanted them to go and, for a lack of any other directions, they were quick to follow. The path they travelled on took them through the many streets of this mirror image of Warakuma; the buildings on either side always seeming just a little bit off as they skirted the verge of mundanely familiar and utterly bizarre - at least until they turned on corner and suddenly found that they'd just stepped off the concrete pavement and onto similarly ashen sand. An unearthly green glow washed over the entire scenery - but Kotori was hard-pressed to say if this came from the light in the sky - whether it was a moon or a sun, she couldn't tell - or the depths of the vast sea before them, flanked all around by tall mountains far off in the distance.

Yet what caught most everyone's attention was the only colour that broke the gloomy scenery in the form of an enormous torii that seemed to stand as a gate between the grey sands they stood upon and the green waters that lay beyond. The fact that Zeke had chosen it as his final perching place only served to further everyone's suspicions that what they were looking on was not just another minor quirk of this mirror realm; the strange ripple in reality - for what it was worth here - immediately bringing a portal into yet stranger worlds to mind.

The sight brought about much muttering among those gathered - but it wasn't until Megumi suddenly spoke up in surprise at sensing another presence that everyone could tear their eyes away from this most strange scenery. Even after delving into several dungeons and experiencing their blatant violation of common sense first hand, Kotori just could not get used to the oddities that made up the mirror world - but she did her best to try to quell the unending stream of questions that sprang forth at every sight that presented itself to her as she gave a slow nod to Kaminari's words.

But even if she agreed with the notion that they had to get to the bottom of this, Kotori could not help but feel a sense of unease at this newest turn of events and most blatant transgression against reality as they knew it to date.

JULY 22TH 2015, WEDNESDAY
Mid-day
After the stress of exams disappeared, Sato realized his life had devolved into two things: sleeping and worrying. He hadn't really realized just how tired he had been from everything. The Mirror World and the cult, Mako and the others, school. It was nice to just relax for a while, even if thoughts of the Mirror World pervaded his every-day thoughts. Yet, he hadn't talked to Rokurou or Mako since exam week, and he felt a little bit of guilt over it... Had they thought about him since the last time they'd met? Well, they hadn't texted yet or anything, so maybe they were recharging the same way Sato was or something.

Well, nobody outside of the Investigation Team was relaxing quite like Sato, who was waiting around in abandoned warehouse for the other members to arrive. He was out in town already, about to do some shopping for dinner, and he had made a B-line for the warehouse as soon as he got the text. He had shirked both responsibility and the unpaid items in the grocery aisle of the superstore, but hopefully they'd understand. After all, the Mirror World excursions usually were live or death. Even if jeans and a white t-shirt didn't exactly scream serious.

Soon enough, though, everyone who was gonna come arrived and the group huddled up in the center of the room. Sato stayed leaning against the wall, though, as he was an edgy prick.

After briefly discussing the fact that that a new area had appeared in the Mirror World and how nobody knew how to get into it, the weird bird they were harboring suddenly freaked out and flown directly into the mirror. It was a surreal experience. They walked through the glass all the time, but to see a hawk do it... Sato had gotten so used to just entering the Mirror World like that, that it made his mind wandered a bit. They'd proven they could use any mirror to enter, and that it was dangerous to not use one that lead to somewhere relatively safe, but what would happen if he just jumped through the mirror in his bathroom? Where would it lead, and could he get out easily? Questions, questions. Regardless, the group quickly realized they had no other lead than to follow the mysterious persona bird, so everyone entered the Mirror World as well without delay.

The group followed Zeke (who had named it, again?) down the corrupted Warakuma roads until cutting a corner revealed to be what looked like a sickly green sea, and, apart from the sand they now stood upon, only an ominous torii that Zeke now perched upon. The only thing they knew about it was that it was named Seto and that, as revealed by Megumi, someone was in there... Under the water? Sato shook his head, it obviously wasn't water. Whatever was under the surface, though, wasn't going to be too different from what they've known thus far. Another person, another dungeon... Was he really that used to the Mirror World now? How many times have they saved someone's life with some big bombastic battle? Something in his head reminded him that whatever was going on wasn't quite normal, and the realization instilled that old feeling of anxiety in him. He hadn't quite felt the same queasiness since he first went into the Mirror World after getting his Persona, but hopefully it was unfounded worry.

Kami cut through the mumbling of the group through with the order to group up and prepare for the upcoming dungeon, a notion Sato found comforting. There was nothing to gain from conjecture outside of Seto, so Sato wasted no time in making sure he had all his equipment and confirming with Rui who was going with who.

"I'm ready to go whenever everyone else is," Sato said once finished with preparations, trying his hardest to project an aura of confidence. Or was his forced stalwart gaze just weirding everyone out...?

Even before a light refreshment course, Akane knew that she did enough to pass. The question was, what was the final result? She didn't want a sudden drop or that'll bring some unwanted attention, namely her father. Sighing at the thought, she hurried through the crowd when she heard quite a loud commotion. Getting in closer to check it it, she found at the source of the matter was Kotori and that Katsuro who was not only their classmate but the recent kidnappee. Apparently he was overreacting about his score and was hounding Kotori to teach him. Curling her lip, Akane could only give Kotori a salute in her heart as she wished her luck and surviving her ordeal.

She can't stand perfectionists, especially those who whip out such sums like that like it's no big deal. Chill out, it was only 5 points. He should be happy with what he got. Granted, given her upbringing, one might call her a hypocrite if they found her family out but it's not like it was just given to her. Writing Katsuro off as another spoiled, sheltered rich kid, she finished checking her grades and moved on. Her grades stayed around the same, so she could be happy with that.

---

It was 2 days into her summer vacation and yet, she found herself in the warehouse once more. Akane spend her days like usual, drawing and reading countless amounts of manga and watching what she could while doing both. After all, an artist must always find many different resources to draw inspiration from. Today is another such day, of course, but as per usual, these little 'trips' to the mirror world have been a chance for her to unwind and relax. After all, drawing all the time and cutting yourself off from human contact or odd amounts of time, would tend to draw one crazy.

Nothing like pummeling mobs and beating down bosses, it's quite fun. It started out solely for saving others but over the course of these trips, gradually, she stopped caring and it's been more about who to pummel and how many times. Anyways, they find themselves here today because they sensed a new area. So in short, it's an information gathering trip, hearing that, Akane's face showed a bit disappointment. With how they've always been coming in aiming to save someone, a fight was guaranteed to happen but today it's a bit different.

Though she hoped something would happen, she kept her thoughts to herself while they were discussing the plan. Soon afterword, the bird started squawking and flew into the mirror, naturally, everyone decided to follow it. Going through the mirror, they found Zeke perched above the arch of a giant torii. The surroundings were grotesque as usual, but still quite the view. Akane's mood picked up when Megumi immediately sensed something, no, sensed someone. Grinning, she knew where she was heading.

"Let's get the show on the road, yea?" She was clearly motivated now, she was more than ready.

It was decided that there would be two teams, or technically three if you include the base team. One team will be lead by Rui who will go and investigate and rescue the person trapped here, while the other led by Kami would be focused on securing the surrounding area and scouting out what this dungeon is actually like, so that they may handle it better in future endeavors. The role of scout and information gathering seemed perfect for Kami, considering what he was doing most of the time. The composition was Rui, Katsuro, Kotori, and Akane, while Kami would bring along Shizuka, Jun, and Sato. Both had agreed they should give both Jun and Katsuro their first spin in this place and using their Persona.

For now, Rui's party had reached their destination, it was... A church, it had a huge mix of religious symbols along the stairs in a symmetrical fashion, but one studied on religious figures would notice that a bunch of these were 'martyrs', people who had suffered for their faith, almost every single one having died. The church itself seemed rather normal, though the stained glass depicting many religious punishments was a little unnerving. Whoever they were here for, was clearly very religious.

As they climbed the stairs, exiting the 'underwater'-like area of main Seto they could hear talking, and sure enough that should be their target speaking with their shadow.

---

After splitting up with Rui's party as they arrived to their rescue target, Kami led his party further down the road and around, which opened up to what looks like a mountainous forest, with a bunch of winding paths. The area they stood in now had a Torii to signify the entrance. Just a little beyond the woods they could see what looks like an old Japanese village, but given the empty nature of this entire area, it was simply an unsettling sight. They wouldn't notice it immediately, but if they also looked up, they would realize the sky looks like beneath the surface of the water, which gave the lighting of this area an otherworldly feeling.

"I guess first order of business should be to check that village out", Kami stated. When everyone was ready he led the way.

Samuru Amakusa

"This isn't the Amusement Park," Samuru muttered to himself, hoping that the sound of his own voice would distract him from his fear and uncertainty. "Is this an Isekai; am I in a fantasy world, or about to end up in one?"

He listened to the sounds of the beach, and the rippling portal. The boy wished he had his Chinese Monk spade, but there was no justification to bring it to a public place. Looking around, and not seeing any means of going back to the 'normal' world, Samuru took out the Monk Spade from its leather package slowly and calmly, his dark eyes gazing at the 'temple gate' as though it was challenging him somehow. Then, he would walk through the portal, passing through into what can be charitably described as a wide, circular chamber.

This chamber was dotted with statues of the Virgin Mary that looked like Kannon, crosses hidden behind mirrors and Buddhist symbols, and, from an unseen source, echoing mantras of Latin words converted to Japanese pronounciation. This place was tailored to his psyche, it seemed, as the walls were painted with the sufferings of Japanese martyrs who had died for his faith, while the ceiling was decorated with pictures of hellfire and brimstone, where naked men and women were tormented by also naked devils, all with lithe, well-built bodies that made Samuru uncomfortable.

There was no comfort in the sounds and sights of the room. Samuru knew, or rather, thought, that damnation had come for him.

"Are you terrified, Samuru?" a voice spoke, the tone just like the eighteen-year old's own, but with a ringing, eerie quality in it. "A shame to your family, a traitor to your faith, one whose attempts at reconciling religion and personal happiness are patethic and scriptually unsound." Each word hurt, each word stung.

"Don't you wish you can shrink down and cower in fear, Samuru Amakusa?" the other self laughed, the echoes reverbrating all across the chamber. "Or even worse, lash out in anger at the faith that doomed you to this life of pain and suffering?!" A grin at that, before the upper clothing of 'Samuru Two' burnt away in a flash of yellow fire, revealing an upper body covered with wounds and scars.

"You like men, men as well as women!" the Second Samuru laughed and gloated. "You think it's all right because you can have 'hetero relations', and do what is right and proper, while, deep in your heart, fantasizing about other guys, guys like me!"

"That - that's not true!" Samuru tried to find the words needed to refuse the harsh words coming from his copy's mouth. But the laughter and mockery from the other self just increased, before the insults and demeaning rhetoric continued.

"You hate yourself for feeling this way. You hate yourself for thinking, no, knowing, that your happiness is with another man, more than it is with a woman! You hate the part of you that you think is utterly perverted, you hate the people who preach at you and make you feel bad about yourself, and you hate the God who has proclaimed a law that is against what you think is good!"

"Stop!" Samuru said, "there can't be good without God! God provides the promise of absolute good!"

"Then why do you suffer, just for something you are born with?!" the other self said. "Why does authority say you are perverse, because of something that harms no one unless it is repressed?!"

"Authority is right!" Samuru shouted.

"You don't believe that!" the other self now had an aura of power about him, and the air reverbrated with energy. "You are afraid that you don't actually believe in anything! You fear that you lack a foundation for your life!"

"SHUT UP! You're not me!" Samuru screamed, rushing at his 'other self' with his fists, intent on beating this thing to a pulp.

@Sho Minazuki@Takaru@Floodtalon@Vulkan

The group soon decided to split the team into two parties: one to go investigate the presence they detected, and another to go explore the actual Seto. Sato was paired with Kami, Jun, and Shizuka, a fact he wasn't too sure about. He didn't remember working with them much before, and Jun was completely new, so Sato decided he'd proceed with extra caution than usual. The whole of Seto was different from what they usually dealt with as well, so it was... mysterious, to say the least.

There wasn't really anywhere to go, as far as Sato could see, so the party took cautious steps forward. While it had looked like water, putting his foot in it instead revealed a staircase that lead down below the water. It was hard to see where they were going with the ominous glow and translucency of the veil they descended through, but the broad steps brought them through to a wooded road soon enough. The light filtering down from the surface ominously flickered and flowed across the ground, and the air was hard to breath. It would feel like drowning, if it wasn't for how utterly serene yet out-of-place everything felt. It was more like some surreal fever dream more than anything...

The presence seemed to be coming from the towering church they encountered on a fork in the road, but Sato wouldn't get the opportunity to check it out as he and the others headed off the other way while Rui's group took it on. Instead, Kami lead them down the main road, which soon started taking a more winding path through what appeared to be a rocky trail through a forest.

Soon enough the group found themselves standing outside some Japanese village, another torii serving as another entrance. It was mysteriously void of any life or movement, which was in of itself unsettling, but something in Sato said that it would have been worse to have seen anything in such a weird place. Everyone seemed to agree that their only real course of action was to investigate the ghost town, and as such Kami took point again with the rest of the group trailing behind as they started searching the village for anything of note. Sato tried to peak through windows and into buildings, even working up the courage to try to open a door, but the ones he tried by the entrance torii were blocked by something on the other side. Perhaps there was some other house they needed to check... Or was there something waiting for them further in?

Kotori Shirohane - Mirror World: Seto | Wednesday

With the presence of another person made known to them, though nothing beyond this mere fact, it was quickly decided that one team should head there immediately. Rui was quick to volunteer himself as that team's leader and soon after, Kotori found herself, together with both Akane and Katsuro, elected for this purpose. Knowing how well the former two worked together in battle, Kotori was glad to be by their side - and, even under the circumstances they found themselves in, she couldn't quite help but glance nervously over to Katsuro; not because she was worried whether how he'd hold up in his first exploration of the mirror world, but rather hoping that he wouldn't bring up the topic of the exam results again.

Either way though, given the rather odd circumstances that surrounded this newest location, it was equally quickly agreed upon that some further exploration should be done - for which Kaminari stepped forth, soon after assembling a group consisting of himself, Sato, Jun and Shizuka. The remaining few meanwhile would stay put, both to act as backup if needed and to make sure that the coast was clear for Megumi and Ayano to keep use their navigational skills undisturbed. With the plan thus formed, the groups split up and headed towards their respective destinations. As they did, Kotori quietly wished Kaminari's group to stay safe - particularly her fellow Agriculture Club member, given how the recent events in the club had made things a little awkward as of late.

Kotori Shirohane - Seto: Chapel of the Martyr | Wednesday

No matter how many times she came to the mirror world or ventured into a dungeon, Kotori was still as perplexed as ever at the sheer oddity of the place. The unnatural pale green illumination of the whole area seemed to serve only to cast a surreal light and deepen shadows because of it, leaving her to glance about in fear of any shadows using this to sneak up on the group - even if their navigator did not pick up any sign of hostility around them. In such a state, Kotori followed as Rui lead the group onwards - until they reached the location of whomever Megumi had sensed a while ago.

As it turned out, the sight that greeted them was a church of all things. Though she didn't know what to expect, the location once more took Kotori by surprise. By now, she'd all but given up on trying to somehow map these places to their counterparts in the real Warakuma - mostly because the fractured geography of this realm just refused to make sense to her. However, they were not here to make sense of this place - at least not primarily - but instead to investigate this presence. Starting up the stairs, much like everyone else, Kotori's eyes passed over the carvings and etchings that adorned them. Not a particularly religious person herself, she did still recognise the occasional symbol - though that did little but reinforce the notion that, for whatever reason, this place seemed to be primarily christian in origin; if less the forgive and turn the other cheek sort but rather the eternal punishment kind, if the various depictions of torture were anything to go by.

After noticing those, Kotori tried to keep her eyes firmly on the stairs in front of her - even if the slight movement of her head betrayed her glances that would otherwise make for a rather blurry picture without the aid of her glasses. However, it was not long before they shot up to the door at the top of the stairs as a voice drew everyone's attention to the same place. It took her a moment to realise what she was listening to - and barely an instant for her cheeks to take on a tinge of red which she could only hope was being masked by the green light when a second, almost identical voice yelled about... certain preferences. Even as her fears of yet another shadow encounter rapidly rose, Kotori still felt the almost familiar unease at being an unwitting witness to someone's best kept secrets being revealed without their consent.

The group quickened their pace, hoping to interject before anything worse could happen - but just as they reached the top and Rui threw open the church doors, the fateful words were yelled out. Inside, they saw a uncomfortably familiar scene: two people stood apart from each other; twins in all things but their eyes - which were of an unnatural golden colour in the one facing them. The other, meanwhile, was charging at his counterpart with a weapon in hand - disregarding the sudden rush of shadows into his intended target that told them that they had truly arrived too late to prevent the shadow from gaining power through denial.

"Kikuri-Hime," Kotori was quick to call, knowing from experience that this was very likely not going to end without a fight. She wanted to give a warning not to attack the shadow - the danger thereof still fresh in her mind after what had happened when Jun had done the same - but the others were quicker in acting upon this; leaving her to instead cover them if the shadow decided to attack either them or its own progenitor. As such, Kotori was ready to cast a healing spell at a moment's notice as, with the help of the calming familiarity of her own persona, she pushed her worries to the back of her mind and instead focused her attention fully on what lay ahead.

Katsuro kept pace with the rest of the group, remaining completely silent as he took in the world around him. He had seen it before, and thought he had come to terms with it. He was half wrong, it still stunned him as he looked around, although he was able to compose himself in front of the others. When Rui had said that they were going back in, he had very nearly told him to fuck off.
A whole new world...they could learn so much from it. If only he could tell everyone about it...
That would be folly, of course. People would just exploit it. He would know that better than anyone. Idiot.
Katsuro shook his head, and looked around at the..church? Is that what it was? He had never been to one before, but all these strange symbols and pictures...it certainly looked like one, from what he had seen in books. What the hell was going on...

He was so occupied with what was going on around him, he fell behind slight and didnt hear the yelling straight away, but when he did, he almost tripped and fell, only managing to save himself at the last second. He ran to follow the others, reaching them to find...

"What the hell..."

Shizuka Otonashi || Seto: The First Step, Hyuga || July 22 WED

This was the third time Shizuka had entered the strange world unlike their own but no matter the number of trips she were to take, she figured it was something not easily adjustable to. Being on summer break, the maiden was dressed in one of her casual summer outfits, a simple, white summer dress with a baby blue ribbon around her waist matched with a pair of heeled sandals of similar shade as the ribbon.

Approaching the area with a seemingly deserted, traditional Japanese village which gave off a ghostly vibe about it, Shizuka gripped onto the metallic cosplay prop staff in anxiety. It seemed every time she was chosen as one of the party members, it just so happened that her party was to explore the unsettling areas. Was it a coincidence? Or were areas in the mirror dungeons​always creepy?

Putting that thought aside, as Kami, their party​ leader, gave his order to his members, the younger teen hesitantly nodded in response. Searching alone in this sort of environment was not an option. Keeping that in mind while trying to be of help to the group, Shizuka kept in close distance to Sato, who was the most familiar to her among the group members, during the search. "I-It's awfully unsettling here, isn't it Hashimoto-senpai? Do you ever get used to this sort of dungeon environment?"

"Wait!", as soon as he yelled the warning, Samuru was thrown back as a dark energy burst and rose from his shadowy self.

"I am the shadow, the true self", it spoke, the reverbating distortion in it's voice as it soon faded as the black energies enveloped it. Soon emerging from it, large wings and a devilish appearance, all while adorning parts of a priest's attire. Rui led his party to position themselves between Samuru and his shadow.

"We'll take care of this, just stay calm and stay put", he said, before turning back to the front.

"It looks mobile...", maybe even some magic. He looked around at his team, "Let's start with slowing it down then. Katsuro get on that. Akane and Kotori, standard. Megumi, run a scan on it", in short, what they always did, attack, and heal, respectively. Meanwhile Rui called forth Askr, pretty soon the whole party was enshrouded briefly by a green aura, signifying his use of Masukukaja.

---

As the party walked towards the village while chatting, Kami looked to the air upon hearing the cry of a hawk. Eventually Zeke would start circling the village and they soon found out why. As they reached what would be the village square they witnessed what looked like a pillar of mirror shards. As Kami stepped closer to it he could see glimpses of Warakuma, however there was a lot of farmland in all these glimpses, he only recognized it as Warakuma due to some old yet familiar locations.

"What is this...?", he pondered.

Ayano as the team's navigator is detecting a great source of power from it. However as soon as Kami took even a single step, away or towards it, it began to pulse, the floating and slowly hovering mirror shards began to speed up, swirling and spiraling until it began to form something, like a puzzle, except for a statue. As everyone backed away and positioned themselves, they beheld what appears to be the spitting image of an Oni, not some strange being like a shadow, this was... Strange, but it bellowed before raising it's spear, ready to attack.

"Alright... Shizuka, get the buffs, Sato hit it with magic, me and Jun will keep it busy", he ordered, summoning Zeus and starting the line of buffs with Marakukaja, before getting in there himself.

Kotori Shirohane - Seto: Chapel of the Martyr | Wednesday

Too late to stop the transformation, the group could do little more than watch as the shadows from every corner and crevice of the chapel seemed to darken before being drawn into the golden-eyed boy being charged by his other self - who was almost immediately flung back as the Shadow called out its nature. The darkness gathered around it, forming a pitch-black shell which, just moments later, was pierced by a red claw of sorts. Tearing its way out of the by now fading darkness surrounding it, the Shadow revealed itself in its transformed state - a red-skinned demon, clad in a rather odd-looking set of clothes. Horns sprouted in between its blond mane, claws formed where feet should be and from its back grew a set of leathery wings and boney arms ending in yet more wicked claws. A tail uncoiled itself out from beind the shadow, the pointed tip swishing through the air even as the Shadow's golden eyes locked onto the group.

Even having seen multiple such transformations up close before, Kotori still couldn't help but feel unsettled at this sight - to know that such a twisted creature seemed to lurk inside everyone served as a reminder that the same had been true of herself. But luckily, thanks to the efforts of her now fellow group members, she instead had Kikuri-Hime at her side - and together, they could help others in the same way. Rui, meanwhile, showed no such brief hesitations - instead, he was quick to order the group in between the shadow and its progenitor; leaving it little choice but to engage them if it wanted to get at its real target. As Rui and Akane took up the front line, much as usual, he gave out immediate orders - though knowing nothing of this Shadow's capabilities, there was little else to do but attempt the usual method of engagement.

Kotori gave a quick nod in agreement. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she kept her eyes on the Shadow even as Rui's Askr cast a spell upon the party. She could feel herself become lighter on her feet, every movement seemingly easier than just a moment ago - this would make both evading enemy attacks and landing one's own a little bit easier. Megumi was quick to respond to the request for a scan - likely having already begun even before Rui asked this of her - whilst Akane seemed only to pleased to have an opportunity to take down yet another large Shadow in order to rescue someone from their inner demons - literally. As Katsuro's persona, Giley Corey, was more adept at magical combat than up front fighting, he too took up position behind the other two in order to take the fight to the Shadow.

This left Kotori to find herself once more behind Rui and Akane as they would lead the attack. With so little yet known about this Shadow, she opted to stay put for the moment; prepared to cast a healing spell at a moment's notice rather than risk springing some unknown trap by going for a first strike and calling a lightning bolt down. As such, she closely watched any move the Shadow may make - whilst also being sure to keep an eye on the other three members of the group in case they needed healing.

As the group continued through the village, nearing the town square, it surprised Sato when the first-year Shizuka sidled up to him. They knew eachother, of course-- Sato distinctly remembered the few times they'd met at the library, and they'd interacted as part of the team, but it didn't really occur to him that he was her senpai both in school and in the team. The Mirror World seemed to melt away any identity he felt in the real world, perhaps a side-effect of the surrealism of it all. Regardless, it'd be damaging to team morale to avoid her, so he tried to come up with something... comforting to say.

"This is different from even what I'm used to," Sato said, hardly looking at Shizuka as he kept walking. "This whole world is already bad enough, so it's only natural to feel disconcerted with something like this... You have to wonder how Rui feels about it, don't you? He was on the team from the beginning, and he's always the leader of the frontlines. It's impressive how unfazed he seems sometimes."

There wasn't enough time for either to say much more, as the group soon stumbled upon what looked like a pile of broken glass. Instead of reflecting the surroundings, though, Sato saw glimpses of country-side, which was presumably Warakuma due to the presence of a few notable landmarks of the area. The pile was the first notable thing they've found thus far however, so naturally one of the first things they did with it was try to touch it. Upon trying to approach it, though, the shards suddenly flew away in a hurricane of glass, forming a loose circle around them in the sky. They continued spinning around and increased speed as the team backed away, Sato instinctively keeping Shizuka behind him. He wasn't much of a wall for her, but he was a senpai. The circle of flying glass soon broke away, though, as they started converging back in the center of the town square, this time forging what looked like a glass statue. The reflection, however, turned from rural countryside and into parts of skin and flesh. In between a single blink, the statue of glass transmogrified into what looked like an oni from folklore.

"What the hell...?" Sato muttered, drawing his bow. The creature started moving, almost immediately raising its spear for battle. Kami ordered the group into combat, and with little delay Jun and Kami were already forming the front-line with Sato and Shizuka behind them. "This thing doesn't look like any of the shadows we've seen before. Be careful, everyone." Sato said, notching an arrow. As he watched it from behind the fletching, it occurred to Sato how 'real' it looked. The shadows they'd been facing thus far had all been weird, well, shadows. They moved with what looked to be an unfiltered darkness and they all had the same kind of aesthetic to them, but this monster seemed to move with muscle and tendon. Yet, it came from that pile of glass... It couldn't be real. Could it?

Sato let the arrow fly. It lodged itself into the oni's left arm, but it acted as if nothing had even happened. It was clearly stronger than it looked, so Sato quickly summoned Chronos. For all intents and purposes, it was just another shadow for now. With only its spear and nothing else shown, it seemed to be physically powerful. Even a glancing blow would probably hurt bad, so maybe it'd be best to avoid using brute force to win. Though, if they could use its own strength against it...

"Tetrakarn!" Sato called, and Chronos started to spin its scythe in front of it for a moment, a blue haze forming around them both. Suddenly, a translucent barrier in front of Kami appeared, rigged to explode if the Oni would try to hit him. "We have you covered, Kami! Hit it hard!" Sato felt the drain of using his new-found ability immediately, but he shook it off like nothing. With out delay, Sato immediately prepared to start throwing out Garudynes at it. The range of Sato's attacks was definitely the best asset he had at the moment.

Shizuka Otonashi || Seto: The First Step, Hyuga || July 22 WED

Walking along the deserted village with a watchful eye on their surroundings, Shizuka glanced back and forth between her upperclassman and the dusty house before them. Giving an occasional nod to show that she was listening, she pondered on what Sato had said about their team leader, Rui. Despite how everything about the Mirror World and the cult kidnappings felt unreal and right out of a fictional fantasy game, he seemed... too calm about it all. The younger student was snapped back into reality without taking a moment to reply when their current party leader spoke not too far off from where the two were.

As if approaching the glass shard triggered some kind of trap, it transformed into a Japanese mythical creature, oni. Shizuka's hidden eyes blinked, then blinked once more to see if she were seeing things. This might have been her second trip as part of the investigation group but if she recalled the last time, were there solid (?) hostilities like this one? She figured if things like personas were not merely a work of fiction, why not youkais or the like too. Whether it be a black shadowy blob or a threatening ogre, the oni seemed to be hostile so the group went into battle stances. The maiden just realized the upperclassman standing before her in a defensive manner as she felt a slight sense of security.

Feeling a little more confident with another by her side, she responded to Kami's order by bringing forth Inari with a swish of her magical girl staff onto the glowing Temperance card. "Inari! Matarukaja! Masukukaja!" The colorful cloak of her persona spread itself above the group as the team was enveloped by a strengthening aura and a speed boosting aura. It being the first time to actually use her persona abilities and using two of them simultaneously on the whole group, Shizuka felt a mental strain causing her to stagger a little.

Samuru Amakusa

Samuru's 'other self' had transformed into some sort of...demon, while a band of other kids, led by a person the boy recognized as the sharp-faced Rui Sinichi, had summoned their own 'spirits', in order to save him. For a brief moment, Samuru felt gratitude, gratitude replaced by fear for himself and the people who had come to save him. He turned towards Katsuro, surprised to find him as part of the band, and gave a nod of thanks, a nod that may not be noticed.

"Be careful, everyone!" he ended up shouting. "And, if you've heard what I and that..person were saying to each other yet still stood up for me anyway, then I'm grateful all the more!" He would then look at where the group was fighting his 'suggestive' other self, facing it down, and the old fears and anxieties returned. He questioned himself again, he questioned his faith and his place in Creation.

Can't I just cast my faith aside? he thought. But no, if I do that, if I stop believing, then I admit that there's only one correct interpretation of my faith - the leadership's! But people - potential friends as well - were now at risk, had put themselves at risk because of him. He cannot allow them to die because of his issues, not when they had come forward for his sake. So, he would just keep watching the battle, hoping they would win before this can escalate...

@Sho Minazuki@Takaru@Floodtalon@Vulkan

While it was a good thing that she was apart of the rescue team and thus again on the frontlines, she really hard to wonder about the team and whether they'll get along. It has only been a few days since Katsuro's little outburst over the exam results and already him and Kotori have been placed on the same team. Well, honestly, that in itself isn't the issue. It's more along the lines of whether they'll be able to work together or not. Not like it matters, as long there's something for her to hit and Rui's leading the way, so things will be alright.

After some walking the group reached another one of Akane's least favorite places, a church. Just like any other place in this world, it wasn't exactly normal, with the 'abnormal' part being the depictions of some kind of religious punishment all over the church's stained class. "Religion at it's finest, huh?" she muttered to herself with a cheap laugh. To her, Religion was just a load of shit. The world's oldest and longest running scam and profession next to prostitution. Religious fanatics are definitely on the top of her 'punch on sight' list.

Soon enough they found a set of stairs and climbed to the next area where they heard voices talking. Sure enough, it was their target and yet another 'shadow moment'. When they arrived, they were treated to the sight of the said target trying to pummel his shadow. "He sure flew, didn't he?" she looked on, trying to stifle a laugh at his failed attempt to hit the shadow. Once Rui gave out the usual order, she summoned persona. Like she has in many other battles, she called forth a Kill rush at the target. Ignoring the words of the target, she raised her Katana and charged in herself.

With a smile radiating bloodlust.....Well, let's see what this one has.

Rui and Akane charged in, weaving between the shadow's blood red magical blades flying at them, appearing in front of it before being fired off. Rui called for Askr to mount a counter-attack, striking it with a Mighty Swing, before immediately darting off to the side. Akane's standard charge alternated, while Katsuro struck the shadow with a hit of Ragnarok, causing it to stagger a bit.

"I've completed the scan. It's arms control it's attacks, the bone arms are physical, while the regular arms are magical, watch for how they move", Rui gave an affirmative. As he did so the shadow taunted the party before it took to the air. The shadow began to cast magic from above, raining fire and light upon the party from above. The concept of formation was now useless as the back line was suddenly just as vulnerable as everyone in the front.

"Switch to ranged, avoid it's attacks", while they can't reach it with melee, they can't dodge this barrage of magic forever... He prepared to counter attack with Garula soon as he got an opening.

---

The solid lineup of buffs made the back line completely impenetrable, with Tetrakarn to persist for a small while until it was triggered, however unfortunately Sato was not quite protected from it. On the other hand, the Oni was pretty preoccupied with everyone in front already, immediately lashing at them with an Atom Smasher, forcing Jun and Kami to go into defensive to brace for the attack. Even with resistances, the force of the blow still meant they were forced to back away. The Oni didn't waste it's opportunity to charge the two bracing, although Kami managed to speed out of the way, Jun braced the attack, however upon closer inspection, thanks to Marakukaja, she was easily able to brush it off.

Although Jun wasn't the only one to brush it off. Kami and Jun's attacks didn't even put a scratch on Oni. It seemed resilient to physical attacks...

"Switch to magic", he commanded, before summoning Zeus to dole out some lightning.

Kotori Shirohane - Seto: Chapel of the Martyr | Wednesday

As the shadow stirred from its post transformative lethargy, a voice called out to be careful - but though he raised his voice, the boy seemed to understand that as far as fighting this shadow, matters were out of his hands. Kotori was glad for that - she wouldn't have looked forward to trying to keep an eye on yet another possible target for the rearing shadow. Akane meanwhile merely let out a hollow laugh at the whole scene, not perturbed in the slightest - in fact, she even seemed to have look forward to it as she charged together with Rui, their personas forming behind them to aid in the attack.

With a scan still oustanding, Kotori kept a close eye on the two as the Shadow began to swing at them; sending deep red blades slicing through the air towards its attackers. However, her worries seemed unfounded at the two had enough experience to see such an attack coming, leaving Rui to go for a counter-attack whilst Akane was free to charge in under his cover. Katsuro meanwhile had an easy time striking the distracted Shadow with an enormous lightning bolt that roared down with a deafening thunderclap. To Kotori's relief, however, none of the attacks seemed to cause any unforeseen consequences - for the moment at least.

Just a moment later, Megumi announced that the scans had been completed - and immediately warned them of the Shadow's arms. It seemed that they were the key to its attacks; always preceding a strike of either physical or magical nature. Knowing what to look out for would hopefully mean that they'd be easily able to avoid any attacks - only for the shadow to give a condescending chuckle as if to taunt that very thought. The next moment, a loud crack echoed throughout the chapel as its leathery wings stretched and flapped, a gust of wind blowing across the area as it lifted itself airborne and thus out of reach for any would-be attackers at close range.

However, their troubles did not end there. Immediately after, the Shadow begun to swing its arms wildly - which caused a rain of magical projectiles to fall toward the group on the ground. Some left a fiery trail, others glowed with an unsettling light from within - but all exploded when the hit the chapel floor and gave everyone all the more reason to dogde the incoming attacks. Kotori, more used to being covered from attack by the front line - and ever thankful for it - suddenly found herself coming under direct attack as well and was only barely able to avoid being hit in the initial attack.

It was a rather stressful experience to have to divide her attention between the inbound magical attacks and the status of her fellow group members - but luckily, they seemed to have been more alert to the Shadow's moves and did not seem to be in immediate need of healing. As such, there was little else left for Kotori but to aid in the offense - whilst also hoping that perhaps they might be able to interrupt its magical barrage in doing so. "Kikuri-Hime," she called, keeping the shadow fixed in her sight behind her glasses to be ready for any magical projectiles being cast her way, "Zionga."

Another, albeit smaller, bolt of lightning crashed into the flying Shadow. This would grant the others an opening they could use for heavier attacks that in turn might just be able to force it back onto the ground - or at least, that's what Kotori hoped in between quick breaths as the by now almost familiar fatigue once more started to make itself known.

With both Sato's and Shizuka's buffs place on the two frontliners, the group felt nearly invincible. However, the Oni quickly countered this by whipping out an even stronger attack, breaking through their forces through sheer force. Their defense buffs mitigated a lot of the damage from the blow, but its strength was unparalleled. Well, Sato assumed. He was pretty much safe a little ways behind Kami and Jun, but relative safety wouldn't last when the frontliners couldn't even manage to scratch the thing. While the mage he and Shizuka were throwing out seemed to work, physical attacks seemed to do next to nothing. If there was nothing they could but effectively tickle it with their weapons, magic was the obvious choice.

Kami commanded Jun to stop trying to slap it. Sato merely nodded at the statement and summoned his persona again, casting a Hamaon on the Oni. Maybe excorsing it would be better than blowing it hitting it with wind.

"Ranged, huh?" she muttered. All her 'attack' skills were close combat skills, in other words, support duty. With a sigh, she was left with no choice. While the others focused on the attack with their ranged skills, she'll give'em more firepower. "Setanta, Matarukaja!" They couldn't keep evading forever, they'll get tired and slip. If they couldn't dodge, then it just means they'll just need to defeat it quick. For now, the battle is up to the ranged attackers.

Shizuka Otonashi || Seto: The First Step, Hyuga || July 22 WED

Startled at how much power the Oni had from its display of strength, Shizuka took a step back despite being at the back row with Sato. Seeing as their tactic of using physical brute force was not enough to give enough damage to their target, Kami, their current party leader, decided it was wise to go about it differently. It might have been just one target but seeing as she had no other damaging magic type spells, she summoned her persona once more, "Come forth, persona! Mabufu!"