[IC] Persona - Academic Akrasia

[Crimmy]

@Bornlucky@Mistress Dizzy

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

"We really need to lose it," agreed Ai with a nervous, but vigorous nod. She looked back down the path where they had come from, but there was no sign of that armoured figure in the hazy, monotonous darkness. There was no sound of movement from that way either, indicating that those five minutes had likely yet to run down. "Um, do you think we could find a good hiding place?"

She glanced over at her two companions hesitantly, the question hanging awkwardly in the air. "What about on another floor?" she added, her face tinged with a quiet fear. But that was immediately masked by a grin that was only slightly forced. "What if it's too heavy to go on the stairs? Maybe we'll be safe like that!"

It was almost a joking suggestion, but it was still definitely clear that she was trying her to best to think of ways the group could escape the monster's grasp.

[Crimmy]

@JBRam2002@Savo@Suku@GarlandDaHero

The masked being was unfazed by Kagami's wild charge, stepping right through her like a ghost before she could even land a single strike. She would feel the sudden intrusion of an eerie pain that felt like fire rushing through her veins that immediately disappeared the moment its now-seemingly incorporeal body passed her. It did not engage her, but one of the burning monsters that had heralded its arrival - a charred, lanky humanoid thing engulfed in flames - drew away from the burning walls, and a gaping white maw opened where its mouth would be to breathe out a white-hot stream of fire at Kagami.

It seemed to glance back at the girl's direction for a moment, before immediately tuning its blank, masked gaze upon Kimiko and the newcomer. It stepped forward, and the second of the fire creatures gaggled, leaping forth upon a wave of flames in a bid to close the distance between it and the other two teenagers. The newcomer immediately responded, quickly grabbing Kimiko and pulling her out of the way of the monster, even though the incredible heat singed the very air around them.

Yet as a consequence, Kimiko was pulled even further from the mass of creatures that was rapidly leaving with Alex's body within their grasp.

"We need to run," gasped the other Uchima student, his eyes trained with fear on the gakuran-clad masked figure. He was unconsciously putting himself in front of Kimiko, especially as the fire monster was reorienting itself for another charge at them.

[JBRam2002]

Kimiko Maita

---

@Crimmy@Savo@GarlandDaHero@Suku

Gone.... Kimiko stared after the mass of pink and green and death, nearly every ounce of her will being drained from her. He's... he's gone... She had done what she could, even put herself in harm's way for him, and it was all for naught. She stood still, staring at the evil that surrounded them, unable to force herself to move, even in self-defense.

Whoosh!

Kimiko felt herself being forced aside as a searing wall of flame charged past. For the first time since the insectoid monsters had appeared, Kimiko looked around, finally seeing the full state of the danger they were in. This new arrival had arrived barely in time to keep her from becoming little more than a pile of ashes, while Kagami's aggression held little sway over these foes. Indeed, there was almost nothing that Kimiko could do. They were dead.

"We need to run." The suggestion was simple, especially for one such as Yamamoto Kaede, the President of the drama club. Kimiko expected no less from the head of such an organization, although the exercise would certainly end in futility. If one knew that fighting was impossible, flight was the natural secondary response. What happened when flight also proved useless?

In either case, now was not the time to argue. Kimiko simply nodded and began running, the destination up to Kaede. She cared little about what happened now. Alex was dead. Suzune would follow. And then they would come for her. There was nothing she could do.

They would all die here, immolated, bitten, destroyed.

Defeated.

"What is your name, my child?"

Kimiko glanced around. Kaede was not looking at her. Alex was nowhere to be seen. No other male voices were around. She stopped running, letting the others continue on their path. "My... my name... My name is..." How had she forgotten something so simple? Something her father had called her every day of her life. And her mother... Why couldn't she remember her mother? And her father... he was tall? Kimiko shook her head, forcing the cobwebs away that pulled her from the despair in her heart. "No... I can remember. I will remember! My father is a great priest of the Dawn! I am his daughter, the priestess of Amaterasu! My name... it is...

"I am Maita Kimiko, Dancer of the Dawn, and Bringer of the Sun! You shall know my name!"

She shouted, the anger, frustration, and despair all leaving through her words. She stood facing the creatures that followed, steadfast in the hallway, her resolve once again returning to her. Unbidden, she spoke the words at the same time she heard them, as if reciting a phrase she had learned long ago. Her body moved, her feet taking the stances she had practiced so many times, wielding the practice blade before her.

Tei. I AM THOU... Shin. AND THOU ART I.
Chi. A PROMISE UNFULFILLED Rei. SHALL BE REALIZED IN THEE.
Ko. WELCOME ME INTO THY HEART, Gi. FOR I AM YATSUFUSA
Chu. THE POWER OF SATOMI Jin. RESIDES IN THEE.

[Kafka Komedy]

Kazou - Sasori and Co. Investigations

^{Current Group:@Krayzikk@Write@Plank Sinatra}
Kazou attempted to follow the conversation Kimiko and Sasori were having, after following everyone inside and closing the door behind him. He was definitely failing in that regard, but he did manage to get that someone or something got away, including every pizza-bot sans DRU. Apparently what had allowed them to destroy 50 pieces of advanced electronics was a little too unbelievable for Kazou, which he was frankly inclined to believe.

"Hmm. Why attack a public street with such expensive and non-combat oriented tech?" Kazou asked himself, pacing around the office. "And they got away almost scott free... Do you think they might want to 'reclaim' DRU?"

[Crimmy]

@Kafka Komedy@Krayzikk@Plank Sinatra@Write

Sasori and Co. Investigations

"It's the flat," replied the shamus, shaking his head as he plonked himself down on a chair. "Bots took a bunk and ain't no copper was able to drop the hook. We got the real Chinese angle here, and boy, do I feel like a dumb onion."

He wasn't going to grab air yet, but right now the caper was seriously behind the eight-ball. Yoshinori Sasori hadn't expected it to be pretty pat, but with the bot hooey and signs of foreign mitts slinking around town, there were going to be some white nights in his future. It was a real stuss-game of a bajoomah - Chūō Shinkansen brand of stuss-game - and if he made a beef in any way, both him and the kids could end up in a jam.

"The queer-looking sap's still here," he continued, reaching over to his table and pulling the blue cloth off the strange shape that had been sitting upon the wooden surface. Bam. A shrivelled-up mess, a facsimile of something human, entrapped within a device that seemed to have once glowed and pumped. Its "flesh" was a freakish, pale white, and the disembodied arms sitting on the table next to it where too. A face covered by a mask that had cracked recently. It was something that looked like it'd once been a floater downriver. "No soap with him though. The bird's gone off like some fairy and hasn't dropped a dime, so she hasn't helped me rat anything either."

He immediately threw the cloth back over. Kids didn't need to see the ugly mug for too long. He didn't want to either.

"Been thinking of nabbing my contacts for their brains," Yoshinori said finally, scratching the back of his neck. "Because I'll be level with you kids. This dingus has to be the work of 'the foreign talent'."

[chukklehed]

@SMS@Crimmy@Sarcelle Renard

Tsubaki turned to the other girl, though her eyes barely saw anything. Her attention was zeroed in on the monster still staggering. It would get up soon, but now they could knock it back down again. She saw the way.

"Forget me for the moment, this is the best chance we have to kill this thing. Both of you, hit it with everything you have! Once it's down, we'll have time to talk."

And they did have things to talk about. Now that she was connected, Tsubaki could see there were others trapped in the school with them, struggling to survive themselves. Most seemed to be doing well enough, others... not so much. They would need to meet up before too long and work together.

Still, one thing at a time, and there was still something pressing right in front of them. "Go all out! Hold nothing back!"

[Suku]

@JBRam2002@Savo@Crimmy@GarlandDaHero

Kagami stared hard ignoring the outside world this was something personal to her she would not falter! The creature of fire looked at her its maw open like it was going to spout fire like some primordial beast of legend. Staring it down she felt a beat of sweat go down her brow this was bad she wasn't sure this was something she could take down. "I can't do this I really can't this this is beyond my abilities" She said as her legs started to quiver. It was taking her everything she had to not drop the sword and run she wasn't brave really or strong she was in over head. "I'm sorry I failed." She muttered once more she collapsed to her knees and let the sword clammer onto the floor next to her.

[Sarcelle Renard]

@SMS @Crimmy @chukklehed

Yuuhei Seiho

Saturday Morning – Practice Building?

---

Eventually, Yuuhei’s involuntary rolling came to a much welcomed stop, much to the blonde’s relief. Dizziness and exhaustion were both fighting for his attention, but he knew it would be far too hopeful to believe that Prospero’s attack had put the thing down for good. And from what he could hear from his companions, his suspicion seemed to be correct.

A small grunt came out of Yuuhei as he attempted to pick himself up, but it was quickly followed by the soft sound of his body dropping back to the floor. An annoyed grimace filled his expression, as his body obnoxiously refused to listen to him due to the pain that was lancing through his arms. But as tempting as it was to just let his face enjoy the feel of the cool floor, he was still needed.

”Get up,” he muttered, even though he knew it wasn’t going to happen any time soon. So instead, Yuuhei craned his neck and shifted his muddled sight to his shabby looking partner who had just joined him. ”Hey Prospero,” his voice was hoarse, but still had a hint of his trademark confidence, ”Blow this jack ass away.”

The president could have sworn that the red clad demon smiled at his order, the white orb practically humming with excitement. Once more, a noisy tempest was balled up between Prospero’s hands, as the demon turned toward the aforementioned jack ass. It appeared to still be all too literally picking itself back up from the last attack, but Prospero had no intention of giving it any time to recover.

The micro-tempest was launched straight at those golden eyes again, as if Prospero was making a game out of how many of them he could pop in one go.

[Crimmy]

@Suku@Savo@JBRam2002

"What?"

The manifestation of Kimiko's miracle - an intense tempest of energy rolling off her body in powerful waves - drowned out Kaede's incredulous exclamation, its roars resounding throughout the burning hallway that the students occupied. And as Yatsufusa rose from her psyche and into the world itself, the two monsters of flame took note, with one even stopping its assault upon the vulnerable Kagami to turn its attentions upon the priest's daughter.

For a single, tiny moment, nobody moved.

Then chaos broke loose.

The closest of the fire monsters, its humanoid, burning shape intensifying in seeming rage, rushed forth, burning hands reaching out for her face. A white-hot stream of flames came from a distance, bursting free of the second monster's maw as it moved its attentions away from the girl it once menaced for a second and onto the one with potential it could destroy.

And Kaede immediately burst into action, every other thought disappearing from his mind as he ran straight for Kagami (even if his body chilled with fear as he brushed carelessly against the outstretched hand of the masked figure) and hurriedly to her side.

"We don't have time for this!" he cried in a mix of fear and frustration, grabbing at her arms and trying to pull her up. "You need to get away!"

His eyes glanced around wildly for the final monster, but the masked student was already walking away, moving further into the distance. Away from them. Heading in the same direction as the monsters that had carried away Alex.

Conflict fell over his face. He couldn't decide whether to chase after that creature or stay with Kagami. To try and get her further away from the monsters or to pursue the monster that now wore the body of a student.

The latter won.

"Damnit," he could only mutter only his breath. "Come on get up, we need to-"

The creature of flames closest to them had launched its attack on Kimiko from a distance in a single moment, but now its attentions were once more turned upon Kagami - and now Kaede.

He didn't need to think.

He threw himself in front of the nervous wreck of a girl, and the flames slammed right into his body.

Kaede Yamamoto bellowed in pain.

But he wouldn't budge. His arms were held in front of him. They were peeling away as the heat grew. Golden light boiling his skin. Impossible pain as nerves melted. It hurt. He wanted to run.

But he wouldn't. Not when Kagami was behind him. Even if hurt.

of course it hurts, you're not invincible, you're not a superhero

[DELETED7282737]

Enju

The weird freerunner boy was quick to leave again after catching a call from his dormmate. Enju gave a short shrug and glanced the other way. It was to try but he didn't seem all to interested in their activities so she just ended up ignoring it in the end. Enju went back to the conversation between her, Blair and the other new generic boy. Blair seemed happier after the boy left and the new one arose. Enju stared at Blair for a few seconds before her smile broke into a somewhat more sinister smirk. So did she like this one instead? Once Blair looked her way everything seemed normal again with Enju. Blair made sure to get the point across to get ice cream as soon as possible, right! She had to get this boy to join them so she could get Blair a little bit closer to him. She was happy to know Blair finally found the one!

"We would be happy for you to join u-"

Rikka was stopped by the shock of the explosion coursing through her body. Her mouth agape at that immense feeling just now. Staring towards the sound made her realise her vision began to blur and twist.. no it was the air itself. Rikka staggered backwards a few steps taking speechless by the moment. What was happening? The sudden pull on her arm forced her to run but unfortunately she couldn't get grip on her feet and instantly fell making a short ow sound.

Hider

At the moment Rikka didn't concentrate on the pain, she was freaked out by what was happening, did someone give her some drugs or something? An uncertain voice stuttered out of her mouth, what was she to say in a situation like this? It didn't seem like she was in this alone though...

"W-what is happening..."

A loud booming voice erupted from nothingness, a creature slowly formed in front of her giving itself unreal combinations of various things and animals. Her face was that of one in disbelieve.. Everyone would have had this weirded out look on their face if they experienced the same... some sort of new creature or deity?

"I-Is this a joke? D-damn this i-is a good joke..."

[Bornlucky]

^{Icy Hallway, Second floor of Classroom building}
@Crimmy@Mistress Dizzy

Ryoma listened to Jin echoed about the ice samurai quietly, before they started talking about how they didn't want to deal with ice anymore for today. Worryingly Jin said they can still feel crystals in their blood, that monster they dealt must've messed them up good. It was strange to see this side of Jin, not in a bad way, but nevertheless strange. Jin then asked Ryoma to lead the trio, Ryoma nodded before pointing backwards where they come from, "That's the direction it was last at, so we can't go that way." Ryoma spoke before walking past Jin a few feet ahead before looking back at the other two.

Suddenly, Ai spoke up asking if they can find a hiding spot to avoid, Ryoma shakes his head, "I doubt we can just hide from it with the three of us together, I say we find others like Jin and myself and fight it off... if there are others stuck here..." Ryoma spoke bluntly, besides the three of them Ryoma hasn't heard or sense other people, rather they are elsewhere or there's no one else at all both are worrying Ryoma grimly wondered if anybody else ended up like Jin, or worse. Ryoma shakes his head as Ai spoke again. Forcefully joked that the samurai couldn't go up stairs, Ryoma let out a gentle smile of his own it wasn't as forced, "If only we are so lucky." Ryoma replied back with a lighter tone of voice, before his expression turned serious and he spoke up again. "I think we should head back to the practice building, and the archery field if we can, I'm getting low on arrows and summoning a persona is getting tiring." Ryoma explained, his quiver is nearly empty from the last fight, and it might be a smart plan since the monster wouldn't expect them to go backwards from its direction. And honestly summoning a persona constantly is making emotionally tired, everytime he summons Anubis it feels like his ego's getting stronger but his soul is getting tired from the act of forcibly summoning the representing of his ego to confront actual demons. God this is a strange day.

"Well, we should head down the stairs down this way and make our way to the practice building." Ryoma pointed up ahead as he took a few steps ahead making sure Ai and Jin can keep up with him.

[Crimmy]

@Sarcelle Renard@chukklehed@SMS

Uchima Senior High - Hallway Outside Newspaper Clubroom, Practice Building???

The explosion of energies detonated upon its knee, and the metallic pistons creaked and screamed one last time as they crumbled, taking the beast's attempts to escape the ground alongside them. It staggered as it wildly sought stability, but none would come. Prospero's sphere of wind, a rotating tempest that careened through the air and into the Mykálfr's torso.

Black sloshed and sprayed.

Eyes popped.

Gears and pistons pushed and creaked.

Then they stopped.

The luster of the gems disappeared.

And the Mykálfr collapsed backwards, torso dissipating into inky vapour. The rest of its body soon followed, dissolving and fading into nothingness before the very eyes of the three teenagers.

The battle had been won.

---

@vancexentan

A few blocks away from the park

"Yeah yeah, let's just keep going then."

The woman turned her eyes back towards the direction that they were walking in.

"Hata Express better be close," she seemed to mutter to herself as she continued to make her way up the street.

If Hans were to pay attention to the houses along the street they were walking along, he would be able to make out that one of them seemed to have a pink, sparkling light that pulsed regularly from its door.

---

@Mistress Dizzy@Bornlucky

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

Ai nodded as firmly as she could. She still seemed to tremble slightly in the fear at the thought of fighting that creature of ice they had just barely escaped from, but she was putting her faith in Ryoma's plan.

"Let's hope there aren't any more monsters," she chirped, trying to add a bit more levity into things.

She scratched the back of her head, shooting the brightest smile she could at her two companions as she followed them.

If they were to head down the stairs, they would emerge into an empty hallway, similar to the one that they had just left. The world was still a dull monotone of grey, black and white, and deep crimson liquid streaked across the bleak walls. However, there was one difference that stuck out, a something that was present in this hallway that wasn't in the one on the floor above.

Of the classroom doors that sat against the walls, the ones that none had sought to enter, one near the far end was barricaded, a plank of wood holding the locks shut.

[vancexentan]

"Um hey do you see that?" Hans said as he pointed towards the direction of the pulsing pink aura. He wasn't sure if he was tired or not likely he was suffering from a mixture of heat exhaustion, and dehydration making him see stuff. But he was usually good about that sort of thing...was he really seeing things now? "There's this pink thing over there? Just want to make sure I'm not going crazy here." commented Hans in his slow Japanese he hoped he wasn't going to sound too nuts at worse he was seeing things so he'd need to find the nearest vending machine to get something to drink and sit down for a moment. At best he was seeing some sort of flicking neon light, and he was just having his eyes fool him into seeing something.

[Krayzikk]

"How foreign d'you think? Compared to the 'backup' we had yesterday?"

All things considered, Daisuke was in a bit over his head with the occult knowledge. Had never really been his thing. A few tries at searching the internet hadn't really produced anything useful, either, so this... This was the best source of knowledge he had. Even if Sasori didn't know much, he was still dialed in better than the delinquent.

The face didn't bother him. Much. He wouldn't let it. It was simple enough to confront if he accepted simply that it had been defeated. He and Kimiko'd done it once, and they could do it again if they really had to. Even if it was uncomfortable, it was better to try and understand it. So he committed as many of the details as possible to memory during that brief look.

"If it vanished fifty plus DRUs, took over them in the first place, and didn't leave a trace... Well, this thing's dead. I'm as sure as I can get about that with all this. But if it's up there with whatever made them disappear, that's pretty foreign. Even compared to Benkei." He gave Sasori a thoughtful look.

"Got a guy you'd talk to for that? 'Cause I've got a lot of questions, and not that many answers."

@Crimmy @Plank Sinatra @Kafka Komedy

[Melpaws]

Blair

Just when Enju was about to ruin the day more for Blair by inviting yet another guy, she obviously didn´t quite get Blair´s true intentions behind her words, something quite out of the ordinary happened. This lovely morning and beautiful start for the day turned into something much more sinister quite quickly. When it happened, Blair grabbed her own head for a second, thinking that it might had something to do with her psyche. When she realized that she didn´t have a headache though, it hit her like a brick. She saw and heard the... ungodly creature right in front of them and her mouth fell wide open.

It was as if her body was frozen from the shock, the poor girl could barely breathe and didn´t say a single word for a couple of moments. Everything after the first shock happened very quickly though, as the other boy that was with them who seemingly got sucked into...whatever this was too. He lifted her up on his shoulders and pulled Enju with him.
It was when poor Enju couldn´t keep up and fell down that Blair finally overcame her first shock and the fear in her eyes disappeared for a second. She jumped off of th guy´s shoulder by wiggling herself to freedom. Once her feet touched the floor, she quickly ran the short distance to Enju and tried to pull her up. Blair had finally regained her senses, although fear was still flowing through her body mixed with adrenaline.

"Get up! We need to get out of here! Enju!"

@liferusher @Zelosse

[SMS]

@Sarcelle Renard @chukklehed @Crimmy

Natsume; Saturday Morning - Practice Building?

---

As their attacks hit the monstrosity before them, Natsume had started getting a feeling of hope. Maybe they can actually beat this thing.

It was staggering, and it was in pain.

The girl had prepared herself to use the same attack as she had before, but Yuuhei's wind torrent had practically ripped it apart when it connected with its large body.

The following seconds were as tense as it had ever been for her. She carefully watched the monster fall, and eventually dissolve into vapor.

...

More seconds passed.

"...Is it gone?" A few deep breaths. "Did we beat it?"

There wasn't any trace left of the abomination that had terrorized them in the past minutes from the hallway.

As the adrenaline in her body settled down, she felt the strength in her legs slowly give out. In an attempt to balance herself, she ended up stumbling backwards a little before she found herself sitting on the ground to regain her bearings.

"What just happened?" She turned to Yuuhei and the black haired girl. Although she had expected that neither one would have an answer to her question, it wouldn't hurt to throw it out there.

[chukklehed]

@SMS@Sarcelle Renard@Crimmy

"It's done. You beat it." Tsubaki's eyes were unfocused as she tried to sort all the information she was still getting. Images of other groups flowed into her from her cables, but she could only get a vague idea of where any of them were. Still, a vague idea was better than nothing.

"I don't mean to rush either of you, but there are other people besides us trapped in here. Some of them need help, and we're in a better position than most to save them. I could go alone but I... can't fight, not really. Please, I need your help." Tsubaki's eyes refocused as she bowed at the waist, holding her breath as she waited for a response. Nobody would ever accuse her of being a hero or selfless, but even she couldn't just stand by and watch her fellow students die in this horrid place.

[JBRam2002]

Kimiko Maita & Yatsufusa

---

@Crimmy@Savo@GarlandDaHero@Suku

As if watching a movie, Kimiko stood resolute as she drew the attention of one of the fire monsters, unable to do anything more. Her life might be over. The fire would come and consume them. But Kimiko would die so her friends could live.

Friends?

I know. Shut up.

Kimiko waited for the searing heat to wash over her, for her distraction to be of value and draw away the monsters' ire as they tore into her lifeless and charred corpse. The flames drew near, crashed into her... and washed over her harmlessly, the power of her Persona reflecting the attack back at the enemy.

I... I live. I'm alive! Kimiko was exuberant, but it seemed as though the monster had some intelligence about it as it retreated to attack the others. Ok, so that worked, but only temporarily. What else can I do, Yatsu?

The names of spells appeared in her mind as words on a grimoire's page: Dia, Agi, Sukukaja. Meaningless terms that somehow were already defined in her mind. Fire will be useless against them. No one is seriously hurt yet... Kimiko rushed forward, stepping between Kaede and the flaming figures. "I believe I can be of assistance," she said calmly before placing a hand on her ally's shoulder. "Sukukaja!" she called out, feeling a bit silly. Yatsufusa's form rose from behind her and, with a mighty howl, bestowed the hastening spell upon the drama President.

"Please tell me that worked..."

[Sarcelle Renard]

@SMS @Crimmy @chukklehed

Yuuhei Seiho

Saturday Morning – Practice Building?

---

The harsh grinding of machinery came to an abrupt halt. Even though he had to squint pretty hard to see it, Yuuhei watched the thing fall backward and begin to disintegrate all too quietly into a puff of black fumes. A tense handful of seconds passed as the trio watched the last bits of the thing finished fizzle into fumes. The silence that followed was heavy, but for once, Yuuhei simply could not think of anything to say.

"...Is it gone?” His attention turned to the fuzzy outline of Natsumi. ”Did we beat it?"

An odd cocktail of emotions washed over Yuuhei as he rolled himself over onto his back, his subordinate’s words bouncing around in his head. They had taken on something straight out of a twisted nightmare with nothing more than a broom and a handful of darts. By all accounts, it should have been them fading away from this world, but somehow they were the ones that came out on top.

"What just happened?"

Yuuhei had to stifle the urge to laugh, as the question was just impossible to answer in any kind of rational manner. Things had gotten so absurd that he would have gladly accepted that he had gone crazy and was hallucinating it all, yet the painful throbbing in his arms told him that was unfortunately not the case.

Before the blond could get a quip in, the dark haired girl, who was taking the whole cables-coming-out-of-her thing rather well, revealed that there were others trapped in the school. The revelation hardly surprised Yuuhei, but it did cause an odd grin to worm its way into his expression. Because despite the obvious danger that was engulfing him, there was no way he could be anything but excited to watch such an incomprehensible story unfold.

”Right then,” he muttered more to himself than anything, the novelty of being on the floor having well worn off for him. With clenched teeth and a small grimace, Yuuhei managed to pick himself off of the floor. With the strenuous part out of the way, it didn’t take long for the teen to meet up with the two girls.

”Sounds good to me,” he said perhaps a bit too simply, but now was hardly the time or place to deliberate on what they should do next. ”But before that, I’m Seiho Yuuhei,” he introduced himself, jerking his thumb at his mug for emphasis, ”And that’s Ishikawa Natsumi.”

As the name left his mouth, Yuuhei felt his his brows furrow a bit. 'Wait… It was Natsumi, right?’ A second passed and he turned his head towards the white haired girl in question, his expression beyond sheepish.

’Right…?’

[Mistress Dizzy]

Jin walked with the others, their knife at the ready and their eyes constantly scanning for danger. If Jin was a bird, their feathers would be standing on end. Despite trying to tell themselves that this wasn't real, that this was just some horror movie nonsense, the memory of pain was far too real to really convince them otherwise. The only thing keeping them from blind panic was the fact that there were two other people now.

Ryoma-senpai could handle himself, but Jin wasn't about to let the girl - Ai, wasn't it - get hurt. That was one of the few things Jin held dear- people who weren't involved in the fighting shouldn't be dragged into it. And if Ryoma had the same thing Jin had, but Ai didn't, then obviously she was just an unlucky bystander.

Speaking of...

"Here." Without preamble, Jin closed up the knife and offered it to Ai. "You need to be able to protect yourself. Just in case." They demonstrated a quick jab, as if holding an invisible weapon. "Do it real quick, like you're throwing a punch." Pausing for a moment, Jin looked Ai up and down. "You don't look like you throw many punches. Um." This was harder to explain than Jin realized. "Strike like you're trying to touch a hot stove. Don't let your hand linger, just... Jab, just like that."