@Plank Sinatra, @Krayzikk, @Kafka Komedy

---

Hitomi impatiently bounced up and down moving the steering wheel to each side attempting to inch forward towards DRU-kun. "Mush Kazou!" knowing that she had multiple options for arriving. She could believe in the heart of the cards, rely on justice, or follow Daisuke. All incredibly viable and well thought out plans for reaching their destination.

Hitomi, growing more bored by the second began to yawn contemplating falling off the side of the bike in order to nap. It would hurt, but the sweet release of sleep would be oh-so worth it. She supposed it wouldn't hurt that much.

Probably anyway.

"H'yah!" She cried out wipping her hands back onto the bike as if she was tightening the reins of a horse. She kind of heard Kimiko speaking with Kazou. But it was kinda silent.

She just wanted to go.

"Sooooooo boreeeeeeed."

Hitomi groaned. She thought about bringing down the bike with Kazou in tow, but his stupid long legs wouldn't let that happen.

She thought she heard the name Drake, but Kimiko was quick to correct. His name was DRU. DRU was a great name. But she thought on it, didn't Kimiko have a friend named Drake? He sings...?

Probably.

He sounds nice.

@liferusher

Hans raised an eyebrow in confusion he really didn't get what this woman was up to but he figured it couldn't be all good. He was taught to always give someone a chance first but could he really trust this girl? "Norway. Scandinavia. North of Germany, and Denmark. That's where I'm from." Hans managed to get out he wasn't too thrilled at having to use Japanese so casually but he agreed to go here so he knew the risks. How would he exactly go about refusing to get dragged along with this weirdo girl, and her friend. "I suppose I...appreciate the help? Sorry my japanese isn't great. I learned it from shows...and trial and error. But why do you want me?" Hans questioned the young woman as he fidgeted in place slightly. He tried to think over himself...could it be his looks? He wasn't particularly good looking...his muscles? Maybe but he wasn't exactly a body builder? Just by being a foreigner? He suppose that could be it. "If you really want me to I will...but this is out of the blue miss." Hans tried to say casually but he was having issues with the pronunciation his words. "Oh yeah...I am...H-I mean Olsen Hans."

Ryoma watched, no, Judged the strange mockery of a samurai. It pulled at the bow string slowly, in a mocking manner, as if bemused by his miracle. Ryoma glared at the table monsters as well, he knew he could kill each of them with a single blow, but the samurai is a problem, Ryoma knew he couldn't kill it one shot like the tables, even if he got off a direct hit. And they both knew it.

Suddenly, Ryoma was dragged by the great force of the samurai's arrow, and he found himself hanging off a wall by the ruff of his shirt, it was a mocking gesture, the thing could've killed him right there and then but it didn't. Ryoma let out a pained gasp as his body slammed against the wall and his insides rang out with pain again, causing him to let out a bloody cough. Ryoma glared at it with pained eyes but still determined expression.

It wants a game. It wants to show its power, and kill them like a cat with a mouse. Ryoma didn't have the time to waste on playing with this monster. Ryoma gathered his thoughts and replaced an arrow from his quiver and chipped away at the arrow as quickly as he could. Five solid strikes should break the ice.

Ryoma fell to the ground with a thud as he landed on his hands and knees. After catching his breath, Ryoma looked up and glared at the monsters with such intensity that was only seen with archery targets previously. Ryoma stood up, ignoring the pain coming from his gut and then looked at Ai, his expression soften at her, before he let out a breath and he unlocked the visual from within his mind's eye, the number XX. Then he shattered the thought.

"Anubis, give us strength! Diarama!" Ryoma yelled out as he lifted his arm forward towards Ai. Anubis appeared over Ryoma in a blue glow and lifted his arm up gently and a glowing light envelops Ai. The light would feel warm and comforting like the sun in a warm spring day, pain and injury are eased and healed extraordinarily. Ryoma with the help of Anubis had the power of life and healing, while also causing death with Curses.

Ryoma will not squander this gift.

@Bornlucky

Uchima Senior High - 2nd Floor, Classroom Building????????

Light enveloped Ai, the warm, revitalising energies of life that Anubis had called upon soaking deep into her pores. The bloody cuts shrank, knitting back together as if they had never been, and the pain in her ankle rapidly disappeared, her sprain healing as the Diarama washed over her entire body. She shifted her leg, not convinced that its recovery was a dream, but none of the expected soreness arrived. The girl tried not to let her enthusiasm bubble to the surface. She didn't have time for that. No time for any explanation to what had even happened either, because the two remaining table creatures were still skittering towards her.

The third-year stumbled to her feet, hurriedly running across the wooden floor to Ryoma's side. Even though there were still threats in the area, a clear expression of worry was evident on her face, one that only grew as she noticed the pain he was in from having collided with the wall.

"Ryo-kun, are you alright?" she babbled, the words leaving her mouth at a rapid pace. "Can you do that heal thing again to yourself? There's more of the tables coming! We need to run!"

Ahead of them, the armoured being gestured for the two table creatures to charge towards the duo once more. Its motions were half-hearted, as if it considered its minions entirely an afterthought.

Obviously the stranger which they approached was quite uncomfortable with their company. Of course, Blair was entirely against talking to new people, especially strangers. What good could there come out of it? The feeling appeared to be mutual as the boy tried to slither his way out of the situation but poor him didn´t know Enju. She wouldn´t let him get away that easily. Just when he was walking away, or at least attempting to, Enju stopped him in his path and claimed how Blair wanted to go eat icecream with him. With a shocked expression Blair faced both Enju and the boy.
"W...what? I never said-"

Blair was baffled to say the least. How could her own friend backstab her like that? Here she was, hoping that they could eat icecream together only Blair and Enju, now she drew some random stranger into this! This is not the way Blair imagined it at all! Even worse, the boy who introduced himself as Hans still seemed like he was not convinced. What good was Enju getting out of this?
"Enju are you sure...?"

The pink-haired girl still had not say a word to Hans. The only thing Blair did was sometimes stare at him, probably making him uncomfortable because her expression wasn´t the happiest. If it was for Enju, Blair would go with them of course even though it was not really what she wanted.
On the other hand, a foreigner like Hans sure was interesting to some extend. Such a different culture and language, it would be a worthy experience. Too bad Blair didn´t care about any of that! She just wanted to spend a good day with her bestie.
Blair turned back to face Hans too this time, giving him a sort of expecting look to say something.
@vancexentan @liferusher

God hath given you one face, and you make yourself another. (2)

Something was intruding on its territory.

Their odour wafted upon the currents of humid, stale air, the traces of a familiar scent floating through the dusty, long-forgotten air vents to its nest. A low rumble built in its throat as it pushed down upon soft fabric with powerful, meaty hands; the rusted springs creaked obnoxiously, and the moment they were released, the ungainly, black shape that had been resting frozen next to it toppled over, dropped onto the moldy tufts with a dull thud. It snorted, foot squashing against the black with a wet pop as it lumbered towards the drywall upon which its companion rested. The fluids stuck to its reddening feet, but it paid that no heed.

It wanted to know what had dared to enter its domain.

It sniffed heavily. The scent was weak, too faint to identity, but it was familiar. It gnawed at the back of its small mind, a muddled memory in a sea of opacity. That thought instigated something in its mind. Why did it choose to make its nest in this disgusting place? What was it doing? Where was this ... place that it had found itself in? Discontented grumbling left it. There was unease. What was it? Who was it?

A toiling sound, electrical and dim, rang out through the nest. This was not new.

Then a high sound. Speech. Talking. Something was talking.

The intruder.

Instincts kicked in. It didn't know why, couldn't understand why, but it was moving, moving back through the darkness of the nest to the barrier. The glass. It tapped lightly. Glass. The window. A source of blinding glare that it battered. The glass - the window, it shattered. There was no sound.

Why would there have been sound?

It ignored that strange thought.

It entered.

Everything was bright.

It was late.

Late? What was it out of time for? The glare of the sunlight was painful. No cry left it. It would alert the intruder to its presence. The intruder would know from the sound? How? The instincts kicked in. It clambered upon maroon brick, crumbling with age. Quietly, grains digging into meaty hands as it shuffled. It knew where the intruder was. The intruder was not far.

That intruder, that something, was in its territory.

It needed to find the intruder. The intruder's scent was familiar.

An odour that attracted its attention.



The glare blinded. Flesh was burning.

There was no smoke. There should have been smoke?

It didn't understand why that was a necessity. It didn't care.

It had found the intruder.

The intruder hadn't seen it yet.

The intruder was human.

Human.

The word was important. Familiar. Rotting teeth quietly gnashed in thought. Yes. Familiar. Homo sapiens sapiens. The dominant species on this world. This world. That was a strange phrase to it. But it ignored it. The light was powerful. It shifted its frame. Hid under the shadow. Yes. In the shadow of the gutters. And watched the intruder. The familiar-smelling intruder. The human.

Human?

The human was standing in front of its nest. In front of the door. The source of the toiling sounds. The doorbell. That was what that sound was. It strained its senses. There was a certain smell to the human. The human's words were low, but even so, it could hear.



A name. A human name. A name of a man.

The intruder was a human. But not a man. A woman.

It couldn't help but grin.



The human, she was dressed in black. A suit. A professional-looking woman. She pressed the doorbell once again, letting the toiling noise resound throughout the building. Yes, the building. Where it had chosen to nest. Nesting in the building, the core of its territory. She seemed curious about something, and even in the darkness where it was hiding, it could that she was very intent on getting inside the building. Inside its nest.

Into its territory. The territory where it hunted.

She had pink hair.

Strange hair, it thought. It ignored that thought.

She was human. A pink-haired human woman in its territory. A relishing thought. They were always the most fun.

She did something. It couldn't see.

The smell hit it immediately.

A delicious smell.

It held in its urges. Its desires. The odour was so tempting, a powerful, musky scent that was more than enough to drive it wild. It was blood. Yes, human blood. More than mere human blood. There was a greater power to it. Yes, the first human blood it would take in a long time. Delicious.

And from such a tender-seeming woman too.

They were always the most fun.

It knew what its purpose was.

It began to move.

The woman seemed to be trying to cover the bleeding cut on her finger with paper. Slick paper.

Useless. It had already smelled the blood.

Her flesh would be its soon enough.

Finally, it was time.

She hadn't noticed.

It pounced with a roar. Its entire body rocketed forth with unstoppable power.

Its chosen prey turned. Her eyes were red.

@SMS@Sarcelle Renard@Crimmy

People, actual living people, were here in this nightmare with her. Tsubaki would have cried if she wasn't practically crying already. Instead she tried to move to them. Surely she would be safe if she was with other people? She tried as hard as she could, but Tsubaki had never been a strong girl. With the air in this place clinging to her lungs and her heart beating like a rabbit's, the effort of running was too much. Gulping in ragged breaths, she fell to her hands and knees.

Then the terrible cry reached her ears. Looking back, she saw the monster she had just escaped headed right for her, and her heart fell like lead. She couldn't move, her legs wouldn't work now, and despair had sapped the last of her strength away. She closed her eyes and felt a surreal acceptance steal over her.

She was going to die here. That was practically a fact already, she had just been delaying it.

---

@Crimmy @JBRam2002 @Savo

---

"There is two windows in the kendo club room but most of all is a actual emergency exit." Kagami replied back the situation was getting worse a sense of dread building slowly on her back as they moved forward. "Let's think positive" She repeated outloud mainly for her own benefit as right now she was close to falling to despair on the situation her brave front was slowly but surely breaking this was way out of her comfort zone that she didn't know how to feel exactly at the moment. "Were almost to the kendo room so lets try to keep this pace." She replied out loud once more if anything and the exits and windows failed she could at least pick up her armor and people can borrow the kendo sticks and if anything she would say drama needed them for a moment.

@Sarcelle Renard @chukklehed @Crimmy

Natsume; Saturday Morning - Practice Building?

---

Something inside of Natsume stopped working the second she laid eyes on whatever the hell was chasing the girl that was desperately running for her life. The sight of it defied anything and everything that the girl knew. "T-that can't be real, right?" With a sound that was disturbingly inhumane, all of the red pools of liquid on the walls suddenly made a little more sense.

Blood.

She started to feel sick to her stomach and she began to tremble. Short strained breaths. Her weapon suddenly starting to feel useless in the face of this monstrosity. Fear enveloping her entirely. Her eyes wide open, with diluted pupils, couldn't tear themselves away from the being that was in front of them.

All of Natsume's being was screaming to get away from it.

She wanted to scream. But no words came out.

She wanted to move. She wanted to run.

But her body wasn't responding.

She was frozen in place. Not even a scream could escape her.

"I'm... going to die here?"

The inhuman figure got closer and closer.

"I'm going to..."

...

...

"Change of plans, Natsumi-chan. Take the girl and run."

"-uh?"

"N-Natsu...mi?" Wait. Was that her name? Was the blonde talking about her? "Y-yeah, I think that was my name." Her neck barely turned to look at the person beside her, as her eyes finally managed to pry themselves from the horror in front of them. From the corner of her vision she could see a smile on his face. "Why does he-?"

Her eyes went back forward, and the girl from before was now on the ground.

"Move."

The monstrosity was getting closer to her.

"Damn it, move!"

Without so much of a resolve, the white haired girl found the strength to push her legs forward as she let out an undignified desperate battle cry.

This is stupid. She will die against that thing if this charge with a broom was all she had. She probably wouldn't even faze it. "But I have to do something!" Somebody needed help, and as futile as it might be, she had to at least try.

Once she felt the distance was right, she stopped beside the black haired girl and gave a wide swing from the side using her broom towards the monster. While she wasn't aiming for anything in particular, she tried for the head since it looked like the most logical thing to aim for when you're trying to kill something.

The punch that Etsu threw earlier had not achieved the results that she needed it too. True, it was a strong punch; there was no denying that. And it must have had enough of an impact for the attacking creature to feel that, surely. But it didn't even bring the creature down, much less out. For something so frail, it was evident that this... thing, had an inhuman amount of resilience.

Etsu had prepared for that and had already reared her first for another punch, but it was too little too late. She hadn't noticed the tightening on her leg, but she would indeed notice that the creature had begun to strangle her, using that same appendage that she only just freed herself from. All the while, the creature allowed its jaw to hang loose, waiting for the opportunity to bite into her and rip a nice chunk of flesh from her. Her face whitening from the pressure on her airways, Etsu tried her damnedest to wrest herself free, clawing away at the appendage in hopes that she could ascertain some form of grasp on it that would help her pry herself free. She put up as good a fight as she was ever going to be able to... but in the end, her strength slowly declined, and the world as she perceived it faded into oblivion.

...

'A simple test. Can you state your name?'

"Huh?" Etsu snapped herself awake, only to see herself standing in what appeared to be an abyss of pure darkness, with no source of light to be seen for miles. Was this her subs-conscience? And if so, who or what was trying to reach out to her? She hadn't the slightest recollection of who that voice could belong to. All she had to go on was what it just said.

"My... my name?" she wondered aloud, still confused about this whole ordeal, "I... Izumo... Etsu?"

Silence ensued for a few seconds, as all that could be done was to wait for a response. Etsu bit her lip. This was a trying time, and her nerves were fraying by the second. She looked around, on edge due to the attack on her earlier.

"I... I'm scared. I don't know what happened to me. I don't know where I am and I have no idea where I'm meant to go. If you can hear me, then... please, tell me..." she shook her head mid-sentence, "No. Show me that everything's going to be OK."

Kimiko followed the other two in silence, her hand tightly entwined with her friend's. She had said her piece, and nothing more needed to be said. Nothing would make this better, especially not mere words. Everything had turned into a nightmare, and she could swear she heard screaming from every angle. Or was it... howling?

Kimiko shuddered as they approached the kendo room. "I've got a bad feeling about this," she muttered, barely audible at their quick pace. There was nothing else she could do but be swept along in the tide. She hoped this would not be her end.

Ryoma looked relived when Ai stood up without his support and made to him with no issues. Anubis' healing spell is powerful. Ai looked at the Persona summoner with a worried expression asking if he was okay. Honestly? Not really. He's in pain, his soul is still recoiling from the trauma of summon a metaphysical representation of his mind, and his mind is still reeling from all the new information it had generated without a word due to the creation revolving around his new supernatural abilities, and not to mention the fact he still hurting physically due to the direct hit from the table just moments ago.

Ryoma looked at Ai with an exhausted but nevertheless hopeful expression. "Not by a long shot Ai-chan, but I will make those things feel a lot then me right now; And I can heal myself, fracturing my mind by forcibly confronting my whole social facade gave me a few pointers on how to fight... lucky me..." Ryoma grimly joked, he didn't want to filter his words anymore, he's tired of controlling his every word and action with nothing to get out of it but wariness in return. He wants to be free of the chains that chained him to a lonely adolescence.

Ai said the pair need to run away, Ryoma shakes his head, they need to stand their ground, at least for now, "I have to fight them, our backs are to the wall, or spikes in this case, and our only escape is closed off by that samurai and I can tell he won't let us run by... even if he's toying with us... especially because he's toying with us." Ryoma said with a clear voice, its hasn't been this clear in years.

Ryoma looked at Ai with a gentler expression compared to just moments. "We made a promise, we will both get out of here, let me help us keep it." Ryoma spoke hopefully, he can't remember the last time he was hopeful for anything, expect, maybe earlier today. Today really seems to want him to change, even before this whole mess started.

Ryoma expression steeled when he glared at the tables and samurai. His mind cleared. The number of XX appeared again. He shattered it with his mind's eye. Ryoma glared at the nearest table demon, "Come out! Anubis!" With his master's call Anubis appeared above Ryoma and pointed at the nearest Table demon and a black and red cloud surround it and if it hit it would proceed to rip it apart more violently compared to it's it earlier ally.

Ryoma felt a ting of pain shoot up his abdomen as he cast the spell, but he has to beat the tables first. If he heals it would give them enough time to attack him or Ai. Once its just them and the Demon samurai, he can heal himself enough to deal with it more conventionally.

Pain.
Cold and pain.
Jin moaned in anguish, and rolled onto their side. Or rather, tried to. But their whole body felt like it was weighted by lead. The pain was the only thing letting Jin know they were still alive.

“Can you state your name?”

“What? My name?” What the heck kind of question was that? “My name is-“ Suddenly, inexplicably... there was no answer.
.

.

.
“My name is… is... I- I know this, I-” Jin fumbled for words, trying again in English. “[My name is-]”
-

"FOREIGNER!"

Jin was eleven; standing in front of a middle school class, picking at the hem of her uniform skirt and praying to any god, American, Japanese or otherwise, to kill her in this moment. The teacher had introduced her as a transfer student. That wasn’t really true – Jin had attended elementary school even if she hadn’t been present for the whole of it. But her looks alone marked her as other. There was no escaping it. Flustered by the mistake, Jin had panicked and reverted to English when introducing herself. “[Hello, my name is- no, wait… um…] My name, my name is-”

And then the laughing started. It was not the first time Jin had been called “gaijin”. It would not be the last. But this one hurt, because of how quickly it was echoed, in endless reverb and stereo, surrounding her. She had no allies, no help, everyone was an enemy…

-

“I don’t know. What name do you want? The name here? The name back home? Do you want it in Japanese? English? What about the name when I was little, after... my parents...”

-

"Luna! Luna, we got a hot one."

She was eight, small and starving, and looking at a fat man with a hopefully fatter wallet. She could see the liquor in his step, and knew stealing from him would be easy. That was good - if she didn't steal, she didn't get her share of food. Tonight's lookout was Ice, which was cool. She was an older girl, but they always got along decent.

"I see him, Ice. Shit, he could pay our take for a month. I see a watch too. Need it?"

"Nah, Luna, don't bother. Sometimes they look shiny, but they're fake as hell beneath the paint. Don't risk yourself for anything but a sure shot, 'kay?"

"Kay."

The man stumbled closer, belched, leaned on the brick like he wished it was his bed.

"There's your opening. Go."

Luna went.

-

"I mean, no one calls me that name here. I left that name and that life behind. Mostly." Aside from the occasional konbini lift to keep their hands sharp, Jin hadn't stolen anything from anyone personally in years.

"The only other name is the one my parents gave me..."

-

"Jinny? ...Jinny? Jinayah?"

Jinayah was five, snuggled up in her favorite pink blanket, and watching her favorite movie again. Her daddy had been calling, but she'd been too busy humming the Totoro song to pay attention.

Her father came in and scooped her into his strong arms, blanket and all, before taking her place on the bed. Jinny snuggled up to him happily. "Hi daddy. You missed the song! You want me to play it again?"

Her father chuckled, his rich deep laugh that always made her feel safe, and Okaachan all pink-faced. "No, sweetheart. You've got to get ready for bed. Don't you remember? Your mother and I promised you we would go skating once the first snow hit, and look." He picked her up and went to the window, pushing aside the curtain to reveal the first snow. Fat flakes drifting against the night sky like a thousand falling stars.

"Ooooh... YAY!!" Jinny pressed her small hands to the cold glass and grinned. "I'm gonna go sledding, and build a snowman, and we can have hot cocoa, and a snowball fight and-"

"Settle down, sweetie, settle. That's tomorrow. You can't get to tomorrow unless you go to bed."

"OH! Right." Jin wiggled her way out of her father's arms and darted to her dresser, pulling out her pajamas and putting them on with surprising speed. She dashed over the pile of clothes on the floor (and pretended she didn't see her father's mild look of disapproval) before going to brush her teeth.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, Jinny?"

"I get sad when the snow melts and spring comes. But we can do it next year, right?"

"Of course, sweetheart. Every year."

"Promise?"

"Promise."

--

Jin was crying, and the tears hurt worse than everything else.

"Which name do you want? Which one? I've got a half dozen names and none of them matter! Which one do you want me to be, huh?"

@Melpaws@vancexentan@liferusher

Jack was up bright and early on the weekends, most days actually, and already was out for a morning jog. The usually chill air on the early AM made things pleasant enough and there were so many places to go and people to see. Mom and Dad weren't going to be up for another hour but their breakfast was already made and wrapped waiting for the two, an alarm on the coffee maker would make sure they both were greeted with a bit of a morning kick they needed.
His usual school outfit had been left to dry after being washed the night before, so now he was just in a tight A-Shirt with 'Victory' emblazoned across the back like a jersey name. As a bit of a fitness nut, he was in excellent shape. Not excessively muscled but it was obvious just from looking that he lifted weights and ran a fair bit. His adventure today wasn't a specific destination or person, instead it was just other students. The closing of his club after a member had a breakdown over the missing students had started a chain reaction that forced the Club president to shutting down the after school practices until the incidents had stopped completely. A logical choice but not one that Jack could agree with at all.

His was a will to persevere in the face of total destruction.

By the time he got to the park after taking a long winding route, there was a few recognizable faces milling about. Not any he knew personally but had merely seen around from time to time on the way to school. Didn't even know their names but.. Not that it mattered.
Slowing down from a brisk jog to a normal walking speed, Jack made his way towards the group with a friendly smile as he wiped the sweat from his forehead off with a towel resting on his shoulders. Having just arrived he had no idea what the trio had been talking about, but that wasn't going to stop him from joining in!

"Hey! I couldn't help but recognize you all from school somewhere. What brings you all to the park today?"

@AdmrlStalfos19

Uchima Senior High - Hallway outside Faculty Office, 3rd Floor, Classroom Building???

For what seemed like an eternity within the darkness, nothing responded to Etsu's demand. No wise voice to teach her the truth behind her doomed fate. No saviour to sweep her away from the foul appendages of the beast slowly draining her lifeblood. No torch to illuminate the black pit inside the very depths of her weakening heart. There was nothing. Nothing that would give Etsu comfort, that would give her even the slightest sign of everything being fine.

There was nothing.



Then there was something.

A single point of light, faint in the distance.

A faint blue.

Another point of light.

Another. And another. And another.

They grew in number, each little glow accumulating one by one, stabbing through the darkness with warmth and light. And they grew in size, the black void retreating before them. No, not growing in size. Far from it.

They were coming closer.

Butterflies.

Blue butterflies, the servants of Psyche herself. A beautiful cloud that approached, each flap of their fragile wings graceful.

And before Etsu, they began to coalesce.



The world snapped back into detail.

The fearsome golden eyes of the beast stared down at her.

Its ignoble scent.

The choking sensation of its claws upon her throat.

Yet now ...

@Bornlucky

Uchima Senior High - A Hallway, 2nd Floor, Classroom Building???

"But ..."

She hesitated. Emotions seemed to war with one another across her pale face. There had been a complicated note to her tone, but it was clear that she was incredibly worried for Ryoma. Yet at the same time, she could see his resolve. She could see the changes that were occurring in him. She didn't know what was going on, or what this strange power he had gotten was. She didn't even know if it really was a power or if everything was a hallucination! It could've been, but it wasn't. Because the reality was that there were tables advancing on them, and the only way out was for Ryoma to fight.

Except the other choice ...

Her eyes suddenly seemed to sharpen.

Ai nodded firmly.

"You c-can do it, okay? That's another promise!"

She would place her trust in him once again.

The second of the tables was annihilated, its frame torn to shreds by Anubis' powers, leaving not even the slightest pieces of a corpse behind. Those clouds of black and red were greatly effective against the monsters, but the armoured, icy figure beyond them did not seem bothered at all by its minions' destruction or the effectiveness of Ryoma's attacks.

It simply gestured once again, and the final table monster leapt forward with a shriek, seeking to succeed where its compatriots had failed.

@SMS@chukklehed@Sarcelle Renard

Uchima Senior High - Practice Building????????

The blow never connected. The shaft became slick, its strike stopped by the strength in merely one of the tongues, greying like mould. And then came the pain. A powerful, desiccating arm, bleeding drops of fading jade from splinter-filled wounds, lashed out in a sudden, uncaring motion. Knuckles slammed against Natsume's body, and she flew. Slapped away, a pest that the beast spared no care for.

It kept charging.

Chugging pistons shrieked and groaned as it stomped rapidly through the hall. Earth plodded and pattered against wood. Every eye, slick and jittering, shone their eerie golden light upon Tsubaki. Yuuhei, everyone else, everything else ... they were nothing to the long-eared creature. Black ooze sloshed and squeezed. Its ever-shifting torso launched something emerging from its body. A mass of black, a tentacled appendage. It cracked through the air with a boom.

It sought to grab Tsubaki.

Cogs and gears screamed in exertion.

The tentacle rapidly shot towards her waist.

@JBRam2002@Savo@Suku

NPC: Jihei Okazaki - Near Kendo Clubroom

"Is the emergency exit inside, or next to the room?" asked Okazaki as the aforementioned kendo clubroom came into sight. The hallway had not, despite any of their wishes, changed from the same monotonous grey that was accompanying the overwhelming and suffocating atmosphere. The air was heavier than usual, and he could feel the beginnings of a headache emerging once again.

It wasn't a particularly nice feeling, but Okazaki was trying his best to avoid letting it affect him, not when they were in the middle of finding an escape route and any of their fellow classmates who could have been thrown into this strange realm as well.

---

@Mistress Dizzy

Uchima Senior High - Another Hallway, Classroom Building, 2nd Floor???

No answer came.

And that something that had stolen them away was still moving.

Going somewhere. Taking their hazy, pain-wracked body along for the ride.

@SMS @Crimmy @chukklehed


Saturday Morning – The Bad End Hallway

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’What’s the play?’

Amber eyes darted back and forth, looking for any miniscule detail that the blond could use to his advantage. After all, as soon as Natsumi and the other girl were safely out of the way, it would just be Yuuhei and the… well whatever the dried out mass before him was. The blond had no intention of dying here, yet killing the thing was obviously out of the question. Maybe there was a way for him to stun the thing long enough for him to get away himself?

’What’s the play?!’

The dart that he was gripping just a bit too tightly had lost whatever small amount of comfort it had previously offered him. It might be good for poking out one of those golden eyes dotting the thing’s torso, but finding a way to get that close was no small task in itself. Besides, he didn't even know for certain if those eyes even could be hurt yet, a thought that did little to embolden the club president.

Yuuhei’s teeth ground together. Not only because he was working with less than a quarter of a plan, but also because the black haired girl had just hit the ground, adding yet another complication to the whole ordeal. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that Natsumi also hadn’t started moving yet, but he really didn't have time to give that detail much thought.

’What’s the-‘

Yuuhei was ripped violently away from his thoughts, his face a mask of horror, as his kouhai let out the saddest excuse for a battle cry he had ever heard and charged forward.

The blond opened his mouth to yell at her to stay back, but nothing came out. It was as if he had momentarily forgotten how to speak, which wasn't helped by the tightening sensation he felt in his throat that made his breathing come out a bit more ragged. He could feel his thundering heart beat all the way in his ears. There was an unsuccessful attempt made to swallow down the terror that had finally started to surface. It was painfully obvious that Natsumi had no real plan in mind. She was just rushing off to an early grave.

Yuuhei wanted to catch up to the white haired girl and yank her away from the thing. Or even get in front of her and take the blow for her. But he did neither of those things, as his body refused to listen to him.

Instead, he could only watch as the unnaturally white, desiccated arm casually sent her hurtling through the air.

It wasn’t until he noticed just how heavily the air seemed to cling to his lungs that it occurred to him that he was running. And even then, it wasn’t until he realized that the unnatural form of the creature was getting larger that it dawned on him that he was running towards it. His hand reached into his pocket and fished out his camera almost unconsciously. The hold on his dart somehow found a way to tighten even further, his knuckles turning a worrisome white from the force of it.

Yuuhei was past the point of thinking. His hesitation in search of some grand plan had resulted in Natsumi getting the ragdoll treatment. The fear that had resulted from it was still there, in fact he could feel it grasping his heart at the moment, but for now it was being tuned out with the rest of his thoughts. All that remained was an overwhelming need to do something.

Unfortunately, that “something” was likely going to be the death of him.

A small beep came from his camera as Yuuhei finished messing with the settings. If he were to be honest, the blond hated everything about the absurd stunt he was about to try and pull, but he had passed the point of no return three strides ago. His only option was to continue to go forward.

He was close enough now to really appreciate how grotesque the thing was. Close enough to almost gag on the sickeningly familiar scent that it gave off. Close enough to hear the disturbing grinding of cogs and gears coming from within it. But, perhaps most importantly, he was now close enough to gouge out those bright golden eyes.

Yuuhei heard the air crack as the thing shot something at the black haired girl near him.

Well, it was either now or never.

The president shoved his fist forward, extending his arm as close to the thing’s many eyes as he possibly could. Except it wasn’t a dart in his hand, but a beat up digital camera.

The shutters clacked noisily in rapid succession, each one accompanied by its own bright flash of light from the small device.

Now he just had to get ready to stab those ugly eyes with his other hand should it be blinded. He didn’t particularly care to consider what he would do if his simple ploy proved to be ineffective.

Ai's hesitance, cut deeper then any monster's fist. But luckily for Ryoma, it only lasted for a few moments before her expression became more knowing, and her motions were firm, compared to the previous fragility of her motions just moments ago. With another word of encouragement and another promise, Ryoma's resolve stayed fortified, at least for now. Ryoma nodded confidently at Ai's word. "I swear to keep that promise." Ryoma responded firmly.

Ryoma's Eiha tore the monster apart as viciously as he thought it would, it left no body, nor even its greenish goo for blood. It was at this moment that Ryoma noticed Samurai monster's level headed observation of his spellcasting, if its not attacking or even considering of dodging, it must mean it can brush off this particular spell's element. Ryoma couldn't in a hundred years understand how a monster can resist or be immune to being ripped apart from the inside by a swirling void of cursed destruction, but this place seems to defy all understanding. Its an enigma laid on top of a mystery.

The frozen samurai gestured and the final table monster leap forward with a horrid shriek, with it's limbs ready to tear him apart limb from limb. Ryoma would barely have time to dodge, let alone summon Anubis. Ryoma dodged to the side with one of its wild limbs to scratch his upper arm deeply, if it wasn't for his Diarama, he would've worried about infection, but he knew if he heals himself after this it won't get infected, he hoped. But his dodge got him behind the table monster and while from this distance the table monster has a clear shot to kill him before he could summon Anubis he has to think fast.

Ryoma recovering from the attack as quickly as he could pulled his still uninjured arm and pulled out a bamboo arrow and he would use it to stab the table in its large back and then proceed to kick it with his strong leg if he got the stab off. Ryoma doubt this pair of attacks will kill it, but it will give him some much needed breathing room. Ryoma abdomen ached but he has to wait a bit before he can ease its pain. But Ryoma hopes for the best, this is only chance to get this attack off without risking a Persona summoning so close to the monster.