@Savo

"Always wanted to get tied up with another dude," rasped somebody's dulcet tones from next to Alexander. "Didn't think it'd be with you, kid. Go figure, huh?"

Though his throat sounded parched and choking, and his words weighed heavily down with fatigue, the hypnotising strength of Hayate Sasaki's voice was still identifiable. The lackadaisical Drama Club member hung bound a mere metre away, the darkness obscuring all features but his silhouette. Yet every once in a while, there was a flash of emerald, and the eerie, shadowy tendrils that enveloped him, slowly crawling up and around his body, pressing coldly against his skin, were very much visible. There was no sign of his neck, not when his prison had chosen to wrap around it, and the very end of that tendril had latched onto a pale cheek.

His exhausted, bloodshot eyes peeked helplessly through every flash of light.

The thing seemed to pulse against his face. And continued moving.

"Yo," he managed to gasp out, even despite his situation. He was resigned. "You finally up, huh?"

---

@JBRam2002@Suku

Kaede Yamamoto could cry.

One student, taken by those monsters.

The other ... Okazaki ... disappeared.

Gone.

The sinking feeling in the black pit of his heart was falling deeper and deeper. Into the morasses of guilt and disgust and sickly hate.

He has to be fine. Has to.

"We're looking for him," he declared. A statement of intention. He couldn't let everything go to waste. "Your friend Alexander too. Both of them. Quickly."

---

@chukklehed@SMS@Sarcelle Renard

Uchima Senior High - AV Clubroom?

Something rumbled.

The ground beneath them shook.

And with the sound of thunder, the door exploded into radiant light.

It roared.

Through the glowing dust and wooden fragments burst the boar. Its single, manic eye of gold zipped around in its socket cage of crushed and splintered white skull, locking onto the trio of teenagers after a final, jerky and wild motion. Its paws pushed against the floor, emaciated, green-furred hooves bending the very planks with its weight. Unnatural blood dripped from its peeling skin.

And light danced around its head, slowly rotating orbs.

They shifted into flames. And then into earth. And once again into the eerie, purple glow.

Its cry sought to freeze them in place.

And it ran straight forth, about to crush their bodies beneath its mass.

They're dead. Kimiko's mind immediately replied the mortal statement to Kaede's hopeful one. There's no way that they survived. Neither of them could summon a Persona, and we barely made it.

Perhaps, Yatsufusa replied in Kimiko's head. But you also had not summoned your true self until after the fight began. Perhaps the potential lies within them yet. They could survive still.

They're dead, and searching for them is hopeless, Kimiko insisted. Despite this determination, Kimiko still could not bring herself to contradict Kaede. The search might be beyond hope, but there was nothing else they could do. They might get lucky. They might find a way out or perhaps find another person who was stuck here. In any case, what harm would searching do?

"I saw Okazaki-san run off this way," Kimiko replied before she also began running down the hallway. "Come on, hurry!" She was well aware that Alexander had been dragged in a different direction, but there was no way they could pursue both of them without splitting up, and she saw the bugs consume him. Okazaki's recovery at least held a glimmer of hope, however minuscule it might be. Besides, if all of the enemies were as wimpy as the fiery fiends she had just fought, finding her former allies would be a walk in the park.

Caution, Princess... you have weaknesses too...

@AGenericUser@Crimmy Hans had finally caught up on his breathing he felt both uncomfortable, and stiff still however as he was still in this god damn awful place. He usually liked exploring...but this place? This whole area? It wasn't natural. It didn't give off a vibe that Hans knew was meant to welcome people. This place wasn't welcoming. Hans heard something from inside as he peered in the door way he looked around, and still saw nothing as his 'friend' Ishido had just vanished from sight. Hans felt worried when he heard a noise form inside, "Hey is anything going on in there? You ok?" Hans called out hesitantly.

@Crimmy @vancexentan

A few blocks away from the park?

Ishido had entered the room, still with a burning curiosity - and 'bravery', merely born from a lack of understanding regarding the situation he'd found himself in. Ishido's goal remained unchanged, too... he wished to find the homeowner, which Ishido thought would answer any lingering questions he had. Was the golden fog truly toxic fumes, or was Ishido mistaken? This was a very viable possibility...

Ishido was lost in thought as he gazed around the dark, decrepit looking house. At first, he thought about things relating to his situation... though in time, he found his mind drifting off to more casual matters.

'I want to be an interesting person,' Ishido pondered. 'When I asked Mr. Yoichi about what makes a person a person... he listed five things. He also said I was weird in the good way, but... What were those things? I'll have to pull out my notebook and see...'

Casually, Ishido leaned against one of the house's walls as he pulled out his notebook, along with a small blue pen from his pocket. Immediately, Ishido flipped through the pages of the notebook - to the first page that wasn't filled with writing. But upon laying eyes on this page, Ishido found that what he sought was not present... he'd neglected to write it down! That, or he'd written it on another page... this was a very plausible explanation.

As Ishido held his notebook in place and prepared to write, however... he found himself faced with a conundrum... he didn't recall the date. This irritated Ishido. He couldn't write a diary entry if he didn't know the date! Never, ever had Ishido seen a diary entry without the date... it was simply not a thing that people should do. Everyone else signed the date onto their diary... evidently, there was a reason for it. Ishido didn't know why, exactly, but he did it anyways. Besides - it was useful, in that it allowed Ishido to remember what happened on what day. How convenient!

With a sigh, Ishido stepped away from the house's wall and looked around. His curiosity still remained, though he had previously grown sidetracked... thought it had passed. What was in the room? It was up to Ishido Yoichi to solve that mystery.

The very first thing that stuck out to Ishido was interesting, no doubt. There was something that Ishido spotted on the floor's carpet, something darker than midnight. In shape, it looked human - but it seemed to lack some of the features that a human would possess, at least in Ishido's experience. In a way, it seemed almost... blank to Ishido. And, this resonated with Ishido Yoichi, the self proclaimed blank slate.

'Blank... that's a lot like me, isn't it?' Ishido thought, stepping closer and closer to whatever it was on the floor. 'I... I don't want to be some blank slate... but I don't have my memories, if I even had any. So that's what I am, a blank slate... for now.'

'But Mr. Yoichi and Mrs. Yoichi told me something. Everyone starts off as a blank slate! And when you've got a blank slate, there's one thing to do...' Ishido continued to think. 'You can add to it. That's what I want to do with myself.'

Ishido's train of thought was swiftly brought off the rails by a vaguely familiar voice... as familiar as a voice he'd heard once or twice could be, anyways. If Ishido remembered correctly... the voice was from the boy Ishido had encountered earlier, known as Hans. From the sound of it, they'd asked if everything was alright... nothing was particularly out of the ordinary to Ishido at all.

The figure on the ground - that was the homeowner, wasn't it? Ishido thought they were sleeping on the ground... this was something of note to Ishido. Mr. and Mrs. Yoichi always slept in a bed, and so did Ishido. But perhaps they were doing it all wrong? Perhaps it was best to sleep on the ground? Perhaps the Yoichi family were outliers regarding sleeping style? When Ishido got home, he had a plan. That plan was to sleep on the floor.

Ishido placed a hand onto the figure, then replied to Hans's question calmly, as if nothing was out of the ordinary. After all... nothing was out of the ordinary! Right?

"I'm okay." Ishido replied, with his usual calm, unfazed demeanor, oblivious to the situation around him. "I found someone, though. I'm going to wake them up."

@AGenericUser@vancexentan

A few blocks away from the park? bGuREjBEyQ qhATrbA

The figure was cold to the touch. It was an unnatural cold, and though it was similar to the sensations of one of the deceased, there was a certain ... otherworldly nature to it. As if something inherent to all things had disappeared, as if the body beneath Ishido's hands no longer existed.

It would not wake up.

It did not stir even with a touch.

@SMS @Crimmy @chukklehed


Saturday Morning – Practice Building?

---

Despite the all too life threatening situation that Yuuhei was once again finding himself in and the fear that was threatening to freeze him in place, the blond couldn’t help but crack a small grin. Whether he cared to admit it or not, the adrenaline and excitement that this insane world was providing him was simply intoxicating to him. It was a rather troublesome realization to be sure, but one he figured he would worry about after surviving Piggy-kun.

Speaking of which, the all too worrisome vibrations running up the boy’s legs reminded him that he wasn’t dealing with just any mundane pig. But before he could react, Yuuhei was briefly blinded by the impossibly bright light that blew the door to pieces and ground his teeth as the crack of thunder that accompanied it rang violently in his ears. The thing didn't give him any time to process what was happening, as it let out a vicious roar that drove him even further away from the broken doorway, now next to his two companions as it burst through the opening.

Terror gripped him once more as that unnaturally frenzied eye locked onto them, its intent clear well before it started moving.

’Now would be a good time to start moving, my dear actor’ Prospero’s voice dryly murmured in his head. Obnoxious, sure, but his persona’s words had managed to momentarily cut through the cold dread locking him in place and remind Yuuhei that there was an urgent need for him to do something.

The fuzzy image of the thing was approaching frighteningly fast. The floorboards creaked terribly with every footfall of the massive thing, sounding as if at any moment it would break through the ground. Yuuhei knew it wouldn’t happen, but a guy could dream, right?

”Get to the side!” the blonde yelled over the roar of Piggy-kun, as he himself charged straight at the thing, hoping to get its attention.

Every step he took caused his body to scream in protest, but he really didn’t have the luxury of taking it easy on his body that was still battered from their last encounter with one of these things. With a quick jerk of his arm, the dart in his hand was sent flying towards that unnerving golden eye.

While he doubted it would do any serious damage, Yuuhei hoped it would at least distract the thing momentarily. Because at the last second, just before the lumbering mass crushed him under those grossly gaunt legs, the blond dived out of the way.

’Hey Prospero, now would be a good time for you to start helping!’

@Crimmy@JBRam2002

"I agree things dont add up we should go look though we also need our rest as well." Kagami said her voice firm she was all for searching for the others it was better this way after all. Though rest was just as important she thought to herself that was indeed the main factor she was tired already while the fight can be called easy it was taxing on them everyone had their own limits after all. "We need rest." Kagami said once more with emphasis as things were pushing themselves to the breaking point would do them no good they needed to be at their best and pushing themselves wouldn't be them at their best.

@Crimmy @vancexentan

A Few Blocks Away From the Park?

The strange being on the floor was cold... surprisingly so. While a slight shock for Ishido Yoichi, this was not where his concern lied. No - his concern lied regarding the figure on the ground.

They didn't react to Ishido's touch... as if they were in a deep sleep.

'... This man's asleep... or he's broken.' Ishido thought, removing his hand from the being on the ground. 'Wait... is it a man or a woman? Perhaps I'll check...'

Ishido leant down slowly... but clumsily, he managed to slip once more, causing him to fall onto his knees.

'No... that can wait for later. I'll have to find something to wake up this man... or woman. Mrs. Yoichi occasionally slaps me across the face to wake me up... maybe that'll work? Or... or a bucket of water. That always wakes me up... I'll see what I can find. If I can't find anything, then... I'll slap the person awake.'

Ishido knew the figure didn't even react in the slightest to his touch, or the noise of him falling onto the floor knee-first... but he still felt as if the figure was in a very, very deep sleep... or they were broken. Ishido leaned towards the former... and planned to wake up the figure.

He had questions, after all.

With that, Ishido slowly pulled himself to his feet and scanned the room for anything else of note.

@Suku@JBRam2002

"Rest where?"

His words were quiet, but the question hung in the air, waiting for an answer that would never come. Kaede Yamamoto looked at the younger girl, his face having set into a pall of exhaustion and despair. Yet there was still enough in him to ask that rhetorical question, to question whether or not his underclassman knew the situation they had found themselves in.

"Nowhere near here," he said, the tinge of exasperation in his tone fighting with his tiredness. "Nowhere safe."

His safety was not that important at all.

He needed to find Okazaki.

That was all.

"We ... we can't stay put," he managed out with a sigh, before beginning to jog after Kimiko. His body still ached with the pain of that battle, but he ignored it. Pushed it to the side.

@Sarcelle Renard @chukklehed @Crimmy

Natsume; Saturday Morning - Practice Building?

---

Natsume's instincts told her that standing where she was wasn't a good idea. A feeling that was emphasized as she felt the ground shake just before the door was destroyed.

She shielded her eyes from the debris, and after a moment, the boar was once again in her sights. Its unnatural look twisted her stomach ever so slightly, especially when its eyes locked onto them. She barely heard Yuuhei telling them to move. It took Natsume all of her willpower to step away from the monster's charge. She hurried to the wall, hoping that she was no longer in danger of being in its path.

Despite all the dust and debris, she saw Yuuhei dash forward towards the boar despite his warning. As if on instinct she cried out, "Byakko!"

The white tiger once more appeared beside her. As though they were on the same wave length, the tiger rushed forward and slammed itself into the monster after Yuuhei had dodged out of the way.

Although she wasn't sure if the tiger getting hurt would result with Natsume getting hurt as well, the thought didn't really cross her mind until the tiger collided with the boar.

@SMS@Sarcelle Renard@chukklehed

Uchima Senior High - AV Clubroom?

The sound of shredding skin, of rotting flesh being punctured, ran out across the hallway as the boar was struck. It suddenly jerked, growling in pained frustration and throwing all its attentions upon the fleeing Yuuhei. Its wounds were light, but unlike what had occurred with the previous monsters the group fought, the injury was clear. The injury was present, and its intensity ... it had increased significantly from before, when the student was merely just another human.

Yet the injury was not enough.

Nor was Byakko ramming into its side, sending the boar crashing into the wall. Though rubble and aged planks crashed against its mighty, disgusting mass as the ethereal feline faded away in a quick rush of blue, the beast looked more irritated than hurt. Pain was evidently wracking its body, particularly from the strike to its eye, but it looked healthy. It looked willing to kill.

It screamed.

And the wave of energy pulsed out towards Yuuhei and Natsume.

@AGenericUser@vancexentan

A few blocks away from the park? bGuREjBEyQ qhATrbA

In the dilapidated room, there was something else that seemed to unfitting, its shining form almost foreign to the muck that was where Yoichi had found himself. A simple, gleaming blade, poking out from underneath an overturned basket of clothes. Its hilt was hidden under the darkness of the fabric, but the metal object was unmistakable; an old, traditional weapon that would have been owned by only traditional families in this day and age.

In the hallway outside the room, however, something was slinking towards the door of the house.

Quietly clicking against the wood.

@AGenericUser@Crimmy "H-Hey is everything alright in there I hear something downstairs!" Hans called out in a hurry he wanted to make sure his companion knew something was up. Hans had been quietly sitting down restoring his stamina by resting on his own accord. He hurriedly got up and tried to look in towards the doorway. Hans had only heard what he had because he had been keeping as quiet as he had been. Not wanting to panic he tried to calm himself if he needed to he could run. Whatever his buddy was up to in there he'd be on his own. Hans couldn't do anything too drastic he wasn't an amazing fighter, and more over he was indeed scared of what might be in that house.

@vancexentan @Crimmy

A Few Blocks Away From The Park...?

After Ishido Yoichi's attempt to awaken the seemingly asleep figure on the ground, he felt it'd be best to do something else. Perhaps he'd find answers to what he'd been seeking? Once more, Ishido recalled that the whole 'golden fog' situation was seemingly rather odd... and now that Ishido thought about it, it certainly was odd. Being teleported wasn't unusual at all - Ishido had seen that on TV a few times... but he'd never seen the people on TV get teleported to what was basically the same place... only with a distinctive golden fog and no people in sight.

As Ishido scoured the room, a possibility made itself clear. What if he and his new friend from earlier hadn't been teleported? What if... what if the light from earlier was harmful? Perhaps it knocked them out, and they awoke later... and in that time, perhaps the fog rolled in?

However, Ishido's theory was interrupted as he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. A distinctive glint of a metallic object peeked out to Ishido's eyes from underneath a basket of clothes. It seemed to have a sharp edge to it.

Ishido wasn't completely a fool, though. Even with his dodgy memory, he knew what this was - it was quite evidently a weapon, judging from the metallic appearance and the sharp edge. All this brought to light a worrying possibility, regarding the figure lying on the floor.

However, Ishido was certainly not a fool when it came to the Tarot Deck. After all, the strange fortune teller had picked the Death card for him, which briefly surged into Ishido's mind. But, more or less - the issue of the unmoving figure was on Ishido's mind instead.

A figure, seemingly a person, found lying on the ground... not reacting to anything. While Ishido Yoichi himself was a heavy sleeper, even he would've woken up from the noise he caused in the presence of the non-moving figure. He'd tripped and fell, and even touched it, yet still it showed no sign of movement. Before, Ishido Yoichi considered dumping a bucket of water on the figure, just as Mrs. Yoichi occasionally did to him, but... he doubted it would work. Besides, it would be a waste of good water.

So that left one possibility. The figure on the floor was not asleep... they were broken. And now, Ishido had plausible evidence for this hypothesis. He'd found what seemed to be a knife.

'This knife must've been used on that person... and now they're broken, I'm guessing. Though, I drew the Death card earlier... did I cause this? If I didn't draw that card, that person would still be alive, wouldn't they? The fortune teller said something about Death not actually meaning you'll get broken, but it's still a card called Death... but maybe I don't understand that stuff so well. Mr. Yoichi calls it 'breaking', but nobody else does. They call it dying. It's a little weird.'

Ishido squatted down and went to grab the blade, but he then overheard a fairly loud noise... a familiar voice that asked if everything was alright downstairs. This was Hans, if Ishido's memory served.

"I think I found the homeowner, but he's asleep or broken!" Ishido replied, pulling himself to his feet and walking back over to the figure, to check out the situation once more.

@liferusher@Crimmy@Melpaws

Jack had no way of expecting what came of the plan. Dentatus had taken the blow himself, to Jacks thinking it would have been a meaningless attack that bounced off harmlessly on the iron-bound warrior. Instead the attack hit hard enough to be felt through him as well as the metal warrior. It was fortunate that they possessed a strong body and a will to match the metallic shine of the soldiers sword!

Thats right! I have to fight, protect them, and win! DEFEAT IS NOT AN OPTION!

Stubborn to the bitter end. Dentatus personified that very trait. Bravado wasn't enough to stop the soldier from being blasted clean off his feet and past the two girls in a heap upon the ground.

"DENTATUS!"

Fear not, Jack! I will never know defeat!

Despite the hard blow Jack could feel the wound on Dentatus go on the mend somehow, a slow but gradual constant. With Jack rooting him on, the Iron-clad fighter was back to his feet and charging.

With that Hitomi nodded a content nod. It wasn’t her usual chipper affair, but it’d do for the others. She didn’t feel like it was time to answer Kazou’s question and Daisuke seemed fine with the matter. She knew that Kimiko had some trouble with the request, but less due to the nature of it and more than her own disposition. Hitomi chose not to ignore it, but didn’t give Kimiko much, simply nodding to her commander and taking her snug seat in the back of the van.

She waited patiently to arrive at her family home, she felt her phone which was pressed tightly in her pocket against Kimiko’s thigh buzz a few times. Once or twice she swore she caught a glance from her commander, however Hitomi knew what was more than likely being said and decidedly didn’t answer the phone.

“This is it Sasori-San.” She said quietly and only as loud as she had to. He pulled the van over and she glanced at Kimiko who was looking at her with some suspicion, but not of any malicious ilk. Rather, it was perhaps concern, curiosity, or candor. But the girl knew what happened when people saw how her family acted.

Still she was not one to refuse her commander.

“Any and all of you may come inside, or at least up to the door, but I should only be here briefly.” She said quietly. But glanced at Sasori. “Well, not you. You might scare them.” She added before exiting the van.

She entered her house and her mother’s ire lashed out immediately in the way Hitomi was looked at. It caused her to flinch as she noticed the open window. She knew she had to speak first and set the volume of the conversation.

“I’m sorry some friends held me up after work, I’ll empty the dishwasher and I’ll find my own dinner tonight.” She said aptly, before immediately making good on her promise. But her mother did not move, simply shaking her head in the corner of the kitchen.

It looked nice enough, white cabinets, a marbled grey island that stood in the middle of the room and added a feeling of separation to the doorway and the kitchen. The dining room and kitchen had a grey stone tiling on the floor, whereas the entryway and den were both a beautiful hard wood. Hitmomi’s father had spent many summers perfecting their home’s appearance.

“You’re leaving your father and I for dinner?” Her mother scoffed, her lips curled into a snarl. "If you're like this now, how will it be when you're moving out? Leaving your father and I for dead as soon as you can leave."

“If that’s alright, yes.” Hitomi replied ignoring the latter part of her mother's statment, the only noise whenever one of them wasn’t speaking was the empty clatter of chinaware against the wooden cabinets.

“Who are these friends of yours? You didn’t have friends yesterday.” Her mother said blankly. Not removing her gaze from the back of Hitomi’s head.

“I just met them when I was coming-“She started.

“Speak to your mother when you’re addressing her.” Hitomi’s mother snapped, taking a single step to affirm her point, loudly colliding her foot with the tile.

“I’m sorry mother,” Hitomi said bowing slightly after turning to her mother. “I met them when I was coming home from practice.”

“Are they men?” She asked her daughter. Hitomi winced a little, but didn’t show it on a surface level.

“Two of them are, yes. But there is a girl as well, and we should be going to her house, her parents will be home.” Hitomi said, waiting while her mother silently judged her.

“Well you be home before the street lights are on,” was the only reply she got.

“Of course, mother.” Hitomi said quietly closing the dishwasher with a gentle touch and immediately gathering up her things to leave. She snagged her phone off the counter, the small bird bauble that hung off of it gyrated around the phone and wrapped around her thumb as she reached out to the door and heard her dad call out to her from the upstairs.

But she pretended not to hear it and ran outside of the house all the same, hiding behind a small half-wall and leaning against it. She took a shallow breath before closing her eyes and adopting the same smile they had all become used to.

“Sorry for the hold up!” She said retaking her place in the van.