[IC] Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

[psych0pomp]

| 𝖣𝖠𝖳𝖤 : 11 APRIL 2018 | 𝖨𝖭𝖳𝖤𝖱𝖠𝖢𝖳𝖨𝖮𝖭𝖲 : NONE | 𝖫𝖮𝖢𝖠𝖳𝖨𝖮𝖭 : HINOTORI HIGH |

At least the clouds obscured the bruises that were slowly starting to form on Maki’s face. Well, that and the makeup that she wore. The morning had begun with a rather startled jerk from sleep. She’d had a dream. It was a recurring one that kept haunting the periphery of her mind. Usually, her nightmares were the usual fare. Falling from an extreme height and being unable to catch herself. Struggling to swim to the surface. Being given a test that she knew nothing about because she’d not attended the class for the entire year. Catching Shiro with Funai, or Nakano, or even the blind girl. It was all self-constructed obstacles that she dreamt about. They weren’t ever about “being awoken,” and they never asked her to take care of herself. Her dreams didn’t give two flying shits about her physical or mental state.

Yet… the whole thing felt real, in the way that an old memory from childhood did. Did your younger mind make it up, or was it real?

Though it weighed heavy on her mind, Maki filed it away to deal with her day. Repetition was beginning to settle in like her spine into a seat. Uncomfortable, but she couldn’t do a damn thing to change it. Sure, she could stand up, but what good would that do her? She’d already rocked the boat with her parents and the school. While Kyoto was fine to turn its head on a lot of things until she was older, she couldn’t keep leaning on the forgiveness of strangers or the law. No, she had to just… exist in that fragile bubble that drifted between utter chaos and choking back the barf of being kind to assholes. Speaking of which…

Maki dallied as she made her way towards the Student Council room, pausing at many a window in hopes that something would burst from the sky and save her from this fate. Nope. No apocalypse or dragon to speak of. She blew warm air into the windowpane and traced a frowny face with her finger. She did that to a few different of them in probably the easiest to clean vandalization she could muster.

When she reached the Student Council room, she hesitated in front of the door. She ran a hand through her short hair, colored chunks shining through the darker tresses. Her black, smoky eye was fully on point because quite frankly she wanted to look as “fuck you and the horse you rode in on” as possible. She loosened her tie and draped her headphones around her neck. To anyone looking on, it’d look like quite the pedantic charade. To her, though, it was what little war paint she could slap on.

Maki opened the door, not showing as much casual restraint as she had with the Teacher’s Lounge. She glanced around quickly, noting the lack of Chicken Guy, and frowned. Really? He was going to be the punk-ass? Dammit. She was assured that the breastbone of his favorite snack would be thoroughly up his butt. But man, she had to give him credit for flaking.

“Howdy,” she said, her inflection filled with boredom. “Here to be locked into the academic stocks and have figurative tomatoes thrown into my face.” She smiled that dark-lipped smile.

^{| 𝖳𝖠𝖦(𝖲) : @Hero|}

[Hero]

---

---

'Don't worry about it' nearly always meant there was something to worry about. While the urge to argue bubbled up like a fizzy soda, Sakuya promptly kept her mouth shut. At least he finally backed away, giving her space to let out a tiny huff of disproval. If he was going to invade her space like that more often, then she needed to better handle it. Strange, she was used to getting yelled at until people's faces were blue, but this kid was...weird. Really, really weird. Admittedly, she wondered why she had such a reputation for being intimidating if an outsider clearly didn't have any issue challenging her.

Though, once again, he decided their conversation was over, capping it off--again--by mentioning lunch. Sakuya's scoff was much more audible, shooting Noriaki a glare of disproval. "I'll have to see what I have in my fridge, you mention food so much that I wonder if you're secretly starving yourself," She huffed out a mediocre comeback. Once he began to walk, however, she made it clear that she was definitely walking with him.

"I'll see you out since I'm going home as well." She stated, not wanting any misunderstandings.

Once the two reached outside, the sun barely hung over them. It looked like there was going to be an early sunset today, the weather turning crisp as a chilly wind blew throughout the town. Letting out a sigh, Sakuya tried to judge where Noriaki would be walking so she wouldn't get accused of following him. However, she came to a stop once she noticed a young girl standing on the sidewalk. Her light brown hair almost looked golden in the sunlight, and as she turned around, her bright, brown eyes widened considerably. Her uniform was that of a nearby middle school, though she didn't look much older than a seventh year.

"Himawari?" Sakuya openly questioned the girl.

Unfortunately, said girl was deaf to Sakuya's call, letting out a gasp. Without warning, she ran over to Noriaki, dropping her bag and hugging him tightly. "Nakano-senpai! You came back! You really came back!" She cried, her tiny voice relieved.

---

_@Asura

---

Anzu let out a small sigh, leaning back against the table as she looked at Yori. She wasn't entirely sure how to reply at first, though she figured she may as well get the second thing out of the way. "I'm not sure we would be able to get much help from any teachers in time. They step in if things are unfair and you have the proof, but generally, they try not to interfere since we students should handle our issues properly."

Her fingers tapped her arm, though she ended up uncrossing them. "That isn't to say I'll be taking a 'no' lightly. But I don't want any unnecessary friction, either," She gave the girl a pointed look. "Diplomacy can take you a long way if you're willing to use it. We go prepared for the worst and hope for the best."

---

_@RiverMaiden

---

[Asura]

HOSHINO NORIAKI

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx D A T E April 11th 2018 L O C A T I O N Hinotori Highschool T A G S @Hero

"I'm just making your job easy for you. What kind of senpai would you be if your poor underclassmen go without a homecooked meal?" It wasn't exactly his best banter, but the little huffs and puffs that his words garnered made it clear he was achieving his goal. If he managed to worm his way under Nakano's skin, maybe she would stop showing up to pester him about this and that for her own self-satisfaction. He had enough women to answer to as it was, between the cat-girl and his parole officer, so he certainly didn't have the patience to placate her desire to live up to expectation. His japes must not have been sharp enough to see her off entirely, as he found her trailing after him, although she made some lame excuse as to why she needed to do so. It was almost lame enough as to be believable. The outside world provided a much needed reprieve, thankfully. It was unusually cool for a spring day, an unfortunate affair after the previous day's incessant down-pour. He could at least be grateful that chill of the air helped him clear his head; something Noriaki found himself sorely in need of, his week having been what it was. As the two of them cleared the school's gates, he briefly wondered whether or not they would be walking in the same direction—the absolute last thing he needed was the president tagging along on his daily commute home. It was bad enough that the little white she-devil from the mirror world would inevitably be accosting him on the route more often than not, and he didn't want to explain the cat's strange attachment to him to his huffy upperclassman. In lieu of the cat, it seemed another would be accosting him that particular day. He didn't think too much of the middle schooler until she took to staring at him with wide eyes. Nakano seemed to call out to her, but it fell on deaf ears. Before he knew it, the girl was throwing herself into his chest and squeezing him with all her might. It was certainly a bizarre happening, and the only clue as to why lay in her muffled cries. Nakano-senpai? If she had meant to hug the class president, she had missed by a country mile. Of course, it didn't seem at all like this Himawari was calling out to the irritating girl who had made herself his companion for the afternoon. It stood to reason that she may have mistaken him for another Nakano—a brother, perhaps—but that would mean bearing a familial resemblance to his tag-along, and that was not something he wanted to ponder on for too long. Not with how often people pointed out his grim expressions. But those thoughts were secondary to the situation at hand. The poor girl currently clung to him seemed to exude an awful amount of relief, and while he certainly wasn't the person she was looking for, he couldn't exactly rebuff her immediately. He instead opted to place a hand atop her head, gently patting it as he spoke. "Fond as she is of me, I don't think we're quite ready for marriage yet, kid," He said, if only to earn Sakuya's ire, "I think you've got the wrong guy."

[Hero]

---

---

Sakuya's expression went from concerned to irritated in record time, the girl throwing yet another scathing glare at him. He sure liked to get under her skin, didn't he? She bit her tongue for the moment as she focused instead on Himawari, who seemed surprised to hear Noriaki's voice. The realization hit her as she looked up at him, backing away with her hands raised to her chest. The change from surprise to disappointment was as quick as Sakuya, albeit she took it much harder.

"I'm sorry for my rudeness," She apologized in a quiet, exceedingly formal voice, losing all her previous energy as she gave Noriaki a polite bow. Once she straightened, however, she looked up at him with teary eyes. "I thought you were Nakano-senpai..."

Sakuya pulled out a handkerchief, offering it to her. "Silly," She gently chastised her. "Why would you think that?"

Letting out a hiccup, she took the handkerchief and held it for a moment. "They're both tall, and they both have dark hair, and blue eyes," She finally spoke, looking back at Noriaki. "My name is Natushime Himawari. I thought that...that Nakano-senpai came back, and that meant..." She trailed off, dissolving into tears.

Sakuya's expression softened, though she pinched Himawari's cheek. "Nii-san wouldn't want you crying like this," She said gently, straightening up.

Surprisingly, Himawari's tears ceased immediately, albeit she was still a little sniffly. She stared at Noriaki for a moment, frowning. "I'm sorry, Senpai," She apologized.

"Apologize to Nii-san, Hoshino doesn't resemble him at all. Come on, I'll take you home, pretty sure your mother's wondering where you are," Sakuya replied, taking her hand before deciding to address him. "Don't think too harshly of her, she's been through a lot."

---

_@Asura

---

Both Oka and Sora were talking when Maki entered, albeit the pair fell quiet. Letting out a sigh, Oka gave Maki a wary look, unimpressed by her words. Sora was more open-minded, though he did throw Oka a look before deciding to greet Maki. "You must be Ito-san," He assumed. "Thank you for coming! Nakano-senpai had a previous engagement, but we're here to welcome you regardless!"

"I'm surprised you bothered to show up at all," Oka outright admitted, though she didn't linger on the thought for too long. "Going forward, you'll be part of the Disciplinary Committee. This includes logging and responding to students' complaints when it comes to issues that may arise."

Sora tried not to laugh but instead decided to err on the side of caution. "So, basically, you patrol the halls and if anyone comes to you, you try to help them," He explained. "Simple, right?"

---

_@psych0pomp

---

[Scribe of Thoth]

_{April 11th - After School}

---

Of course, the moment it seemed Daigo was in the clear with Genki, some weird girl showed up and made the situation awkward in totally different ways. She was definitely the blind girl, judging by the way she waved that cane around, and unless Hinotori had multiple blind third years, this had to be the student council... something. Vice president, maybe? Someone important, given how nervous Linda seemed at her presence. Seems the council was on the warpath today, with the president pouncing on Hoshino for some reason and the blind girl harassing clubs for their paperwork.

It'd be pretty fucking awkward if Daigo walked all the way up here just to watch the club be shut down before his eyes. Is it because they thought no one would argue with the cripple? If she was, then that would put Daigo on the spot, wouldn't it? His deliberation would kill their club if they only had seconds left to find a final member. He hated watching things people care about end, it was like being at home - which he came here to avoid thinking about, idiot. Plus, it was his fault, so they'd all hate him and Genki would send his headless monster after him for it- he wasn't supposed to think about that either!

"It's fine," Daigo called as he raised his hand in the air, though he stupidly lowered it again as he realized Ueno-senpai wouldn't be able to see it anyway. "I'll- I'll join! If you need a person, anyway. You said you needed one more, right?"

Unless Ueno wasn't there for the Cooking Club. The redhead's outward enthusiasm faltered briefly as the fiasco with the mirror crossed his mind again. They went somewhere they weren't supposed to yesterday, and Hoshino wasn't exactly subtle when he rushed in. Maybe someone ratted them out. Ueno could be here for him. He was so preoccupied with avoiding Hoshino that he likely slipped past Nakano-senpai too, so the council could've dispatched the next in line to drag him off for punishment. No, they wouldn't send the blind girl to look for someone, that was silly. Unless she was here for Genki and already knew without a doubt he'd be here. Daigo shouldn't have said anything; he gave himself away.

Wait, there was hope! She probably didn't know his voice.

"Uh. If that's actually why you're here. I mean," Daigo mumbled soberly as he toyed with his glasses. It didn't seem to occur to him that he didn't need to bashfully avoid eye contact with a blind person.

---

@Lord Orgasmo@Obscene Symphony

[Obscene Symphony]

_{April 11th—Afternoon}

---

Emi didn’t really hear much of the responses she got until a few seconds after they were said, her mind still reeling from the shock to her senses. But the feeling didn’t fade, like she hoped it would; instead, it grew sharper, pinpointing the locations of each potential Persona user—if that was indeed what she was feeling—and differentiating them from the other two people in the room. There could be no doubt: something was special about those two. Whether or not it was Personae was something she supposed she’d have to figure out herself.

She blinked a few times when the occupants’ words finally reached her, realizing only then how much silence had stretched between the five of them while she was trying to work out up from down. Behind the doorway, she fumbled for the sign on the wall: Cooking Club. Right, right, that explained the smell of pastries, and she did recall Mizuame’s voice.

Clearing her throat, she moved to stand properly in the doorway, shaking her head. “Oh, no, pardon the intrusion Mizuame-san,” she managed awkwardly, clutching her folder to her chest. Goodness, no wonder it looked like she was here to collect on Student Council matters. “Club forms aren’t due till the end of the week—although if you need an extension, please see Kinoshita-kun, the new secretary—I just wanted to make sure no one was hurt in here.”

She offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile in Mizuame’s general direction, but stayed in place in the doorway. Dammit, she couldn’t just leave with those other two oozing Persona vibes! But what was she going to do, join the club to figure them out? No… wait, she didn’t have to!

“But before I go,” she added quickly, “Mizuame-san, would you be so kind as to introduce me to your new members? I’d hate to take up too much of your time, but I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that I have a bit of a… soft spot for this club.” She gave Mizuame another smile, turning to face the direction of the two mystery students. That much was true, at least; poor Mizuame sounded a little freaked out about the club’s prospects, but after all the love Makoto put into the Cooking Club, Emi had no plans to let them lose funding anytime soon. Of course, her intentions weren’t quite pure, but she knew that Makoto wouldn’t mind her using his connections to aid in her search for him and the rest of their friends.

---

_{@Hero @Scribe of Thoth @Lord Orgasmo}

[RiverMaiden]

---

| April 11th, 2018 | Hintori Highschool - Archery Club |@Hero|

---

Yori took in the captain's explanation silently, slow to respond with multiple thoughts swirling behind the dour gaze that met Anzu's pointed one. Though she did eventually speak, her unwillingness to do so was clear by the sour expression on her face. "...Right."

Intellectually, she understood that the various clubs and the Student Council had different priorities and that a compromise needed to be made in order for both parties to benefit from what was left of the budget. That the Student Council probably had bigger problems than any financial shortages the smaller clubs needed to fix in order to stay afloat, such as the Archery Club. That she probably didn't even understand the full situation and that she was stepping into a field she had no expertise in.

Emotionally, however, all she could feel is that the big bad group of student leaders was bullying the smaller clubs into either shrinking even further or disappearing entirely. Her first instinct is to deal with problems immediately, not to bargain for little bandaids. Maybe it was just the rumors finally getting to her, or just seeing her former vice-captain running around to deal with the problems herself, but Yori couldn't help but blame Nakano, a girl she'd never even met.

"I'll follow your lead, Kogoro-senpai. I offered to help, after all, not to muck things up for you," she continued, clearly unhappy with the situation, but willing to put her personal methodology aside to reach the compromise Anzu wished for rather than the clear cut solution she wanted.

[Asura]

HOSHINO NORIAKI

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx D A T E April 11th 2018 L O C A T I O N Hinotori Highschool T A G S @Hero

"Don't worry about it." A small bit of reassurance was about all Noriaki could offer the young girl. It seemed as though he found himself in the middle of an exchange that he almost certainly did not belong in, considering his own very recent history with both this school and its inhabitants. Through context clues he could ascertain that Nakano's brother had gone on some kind of leave, and it was upsetting this child something severe. He felt rather uncomfortable, being privy to what ostensibly was a very private moment between the two girls, whose familiarity was readily apparent even before introductions. His tag-along had mentioned a Natsuhime just about every time he had heard her speak, although in the context of an upperclassmen, so this young girl was undoubtedly a younger relative. Awkward as his presence was, when offered an opportunity to speak, he kept things relatively short. "I'm Hoshino Noriaki. It's nice to meet you, circumstance aside, Natsuhime-san," He had never been especially good at consoling people, let alone people he had just met seconds beforehand, but the look on the girl's face was pathetic enough that he scrounged up the necessary condolences. The president's little jabs and insistence on taking control of the conversation gave him an out, although he was never one to forego returning fire. Especially against such a very flammable target. "I should hope I don't look like your brother. That would make your little crush a lot more awkward to deal with," He declared nonchalantly, "If you're going to walk her home, then I'll leave you two to talk. I'm sure you'll make a point of seeing me tomorrow. Goodbye, Natsuhime-san, Senpai." With that, he was off.

[Hero]

---

---

Hoshino Noriaki was the actual worst.

Caught between an exasperated sigh and the urge to yell, Sakuya bit down on her tongue so hard that she was sure she was going to accidentally cut it off any second now. He was definitely trying to get to her. That part wasn't worrying, though; what worried her was that it was working! Maybe it was because she was so used to getting insults hurled at her about her father, her appearance, her personality--she had to admit, no one really used the middle school crush equivalent, and she didn't really know how to handle it.

"Crush?" Himawari looked up at Sakuya. "Does that mean you like each other?"

The sweet girl was innocent in all this, but she didn't appreciate the comment. Inhaling sharply, Sakuya forced a grin as she tugged Himawari's arm, signaling for them to get going. "Hoshino is just making a really, really, really unfunny joke, Himawari," Sakuya replied, keeping in mind that he was walking ahead of them. Annoying, but she was sure that they would split off sooner than later.

Himawari pondered over Sakuya's words but didn't make any further comment. Sakuya leapt at the opportunity to ask how her day was instead, all too happy to hear literally anything else. As their conversation continued, however, she noticed that Hoshino was still in front of them. Truly, God had a wicked sense of humor if he just so happened to live in the same direction as the Natsuhime household.

Unfortunately, Himawari seemed to notice, too. "It looks like we're following Hoshino-san, doesn't it?" She asked.

"Maybe he's your neighbor," Sakuya tried not to react too much, but she was obviously unamused.

"Then we should walk together," Himawari suddenly dropped the gem of a line. "What do you think, Hoshino-san?"

---

_@Asura

---

Anzu studied Yori's expression, thinking for a moment. Ultimately, whatever concerns she had seemed to have been put to rest; once again, with vigor, she picked up the paperwork with confidence. While she was aware that it wasn't a guarantee of their success, she hoped that Nakano would see the facts objectively. It wouldn't do to get overly emotional, but if she would at least hear them out, then there was a chance. She just hoped Yori's support would help more than harm.

With that in mind, Anzu led the way to the Student Council Room. Once the pair entered, they were greeted to the scene between the two council members and one third year student--but no sign of Nakano herself. Shoot, even the treasurer wasn't here.

"Excuse me," Anzu frowned as she looked around. "I was hoping to talk to Nakano about the Archery Club."

"She wasn't feeling well, so she left for the day," Oka stated.

---

_{@RiverMaiden@psych0pomp}

---

Hinari Daigo was a good kid. Unfortunately for him, Linda was not nearly as kind.

While her nervousness around Ueno evaporated as she revealed her intentions, her eagle eyes were already locked on their potential new member. Kaito could see it from a mile away, letting out a quiet sigh as he joined the group. "I'm sorry for the disturbance. My reaction was a little over-the-top," He admitted, tapping his cheek. "But I was so sure I had it right this time..."

Linda waved Kaito's concerns away, all too happy to cater to Ueno. "Oh, of course. I almost forgot you were good friends with Makoto-kun," She stated, understanding. "I don't know if you remember Kinoshita Kaito, but he was here last year, too. Mori Genki-kun just joined us, and our newest member is Hinari Daigo-kun." She radiated joy, her previous meek self a memory by now.

---

_{@Obscene Symphony@Scribe of Thoth@Lord Orgasmo}

---

[Asura]

HOSHINO NORIAKI

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx D A T E April 11th 2018 L O C A T I O N Residential Kyoto T A G S @Hero

Noriaki's parting shot had been made significantly less cutting by an act of fate—he could hear the idle chatting of the two girls he had left behind trailing behind him for the better part of the journey. No matter which turn he made or street he walked, they seemed to continue following along behind him. He had to catch himself from thinking accusatory thoughts towards the president, overly pushy as she was, but he doubted she would bring a sniffling middle schooler on whatever self-imposed quest she had to live up to her fore-bearer's memory. Which meant that the Natsuhime household was more than likely near his own place of residence. The teen had hoped, very briefly, that the duo wouldn't address the unfortunate happenstance, and he would be free from them for the day. Hell, his legs were a lot longer, and he was probably in better shape. If he just sped up a little bit, then inevitably he would outpace them entirely. Unfortunately, the younger of the two decided to squash those plans with an innocuous request. He had half a mind to deny her outright and save himself the trouble. However, he couldn't help but recall the melancholy look on her face as he stopped. With the tumultuous nature of his prior few days, the last thing he needed on his mind was the guilt of causing a child to cry. Not that he expected his absence to inspire such dramatics. "Well, we've all but been walking together so far. What could making it official hurt?" He asked, turning to face them with his best impression of a smile given the circumstances.

[Scribe of Thoth]

_{April 11th - After School}

---

Who has a soft spot for a club they aren't even in? Who randomly asks about members of a club that they're not in?! This visionless villainess really was here for him! Why else would she ask such a weird question? Daigo stood motionless as Linda ratted him and Genki out, both utterly stunned by her candidness and completely unsure of how to proceed. No, it wasn't Linda's fault; that seemed an innocent question. She couldn't have possibly known those words hid the fangs of a vicious predator waiting to pounce on misbehaved students who dared trespass in haunted gymnasiums. Maybe he'd at least get lucky and she'd simply haul Genki away without much thought to him.

He should probably just remain really still. Or, no, stay quiet, she wasn't a dinosaur. Did dinosaurs actually sense movement or was that a movie thing? Wait, no, if he was suddenly quiet after being noisy earlier, he'd look suspicious - he needed to talk more! But what was he supposed to talk about?

The redhead lifted his gaze from the floor, pupils blown out in abject horror. He didn't have time to decide. "H-hello," He awkwardly greeted the girl at the door, though he quickly scampered off toward Kaito before she could respond, in hopes he'd appear distracted and unworth focusing on. She was likely sent up with Genki's name in mind; that would be her priority. Hopefully the dastardly lawbreaker Hinari Daigo would slip her mind, since he was probably assigned for someone else to track down. Wait, that meant he'd have to dodge another council member later! And then he'd have to do it again tomorrow!

"So! Uh. I don't know much about pastries. What'd'you think you did wrong?" Daigo questioned with a fake cheeriness in his voice as he leaned on the counter next to Kaito's discarded dessert. His fingers clenched the edge of the countertop harder than any reasonable person should've been, but that was the only way the fidgety boy could think to keep himself from drumming out an anxious rhythm that might catch Ueno's ear. Not that it helped much - Daigo was bad at sitting still under the best circumstances; once he was nervous, all he could think about was a way to burn off that pent up energy. Quite frankly, he was so distracted by the electricity swimming in his veins that he'd forgotten why he was even so intent on stillness in the first place.

He kept his gaze focused on Kaito, though his feigned smile grew less enthusiastic with each passing moment, until eventually the boy caved and started shifting his leg side to side at an agitatingly fast pace. The relief was both instant and written all across his face, though quickly replaced by a bashful frown as Daigo refocused on the other second year in front of him. If Kaito was talking, Daigo didn't process any of it, and it only now occurred to him how pointless that entire discomforting ordeal had been.

Plus he definitely looked like a weirdo in front of his new maybe-clubmate. So that was always nice.

---

@Lord Orgasmo@Obscene Symphony

[Hero]

---

---

Sakuya was less than pleased at the agreement, albeit she did her best to keep her face neutral. Himawari, on the other hand, was happy with Noriaki's response, releasing Sakuya's hand and sprinting forward to catch up with him. She had to crane her neck a little to look up at him, her eyes examining his face. Part of Sakuya wondered if the girl had just let her wishful thinking take over, especially since Hoshino didn't really resemble her brother at all. Judging by Himawari's expression, she came to the same conclusion. But she went from inspective to curious, and soon enough, she seemed over her previous tears.

"I think walking together is a lot better," She agreed with his statement. "For some reason, everyone I used to walk together to school with wanted to walk on their own. They said it was something the other students did, but I don't like it. We're all going to school, why can't it be together?"

She didn't seem to expect a response, simply voicing her displeasure with her classmates before deciding to be a little more direct. "If we live near each other, how come I've never seen you before, Hoshino-senpai?" She outright asked. "Mama knows everyone from the neighborhood. Do you know my Mama?"

---

_@Asura

---

[Obscene Symphony]

_{April 11th—Afternoon}

---

Emi offered a reassuring smile in Maeda’s direction, but quickly returned her attention to Mizuame, nodding along as she listed off her new members and committing the names to memory as best she could. Hinari and Mori, both first-years most likely. She made a mental note to look up their class numbers and any other information that might be relevant should she need to track them down again, just in case she didn’t get all she wanted accomplished before she left.

Now just to figure out exactly what she wanted to accomplish.

Something bothered her first, though. She wasn’t sure why, but Emi felt a little insulted to hear Mizuame call Makoto by his first name. It shouldn’t have been unreasonable; it wasn’t like there was anything going on between them if Mizuame was so seemingly unaffected by his disappearance, and they probably worked on club matters together a lot last year. Emi supposed it might have been a little tasteless, but she could just as easily be accused of the same thing. But wouldn’t a little formality be polite considering everyone thought Makoto was dead? Did common courtesy just go out the window once someone was no longer around to hear it? Jeez, first with Ito jabbing at Nakano about the fires, then the student council carrying on as if they weren’t missing a vital member… that lump in her throat started to grow again, and she had to quickly blink away a few tears threatening to form. It never got any easier, did it?

No, no, she had to focus. The whole reason she was here was for her friends, after all. But what to do next? She couldn’t ask any of the questions she wanted to with Mizuame and Maeda around; besides, if she came right out with it and she was wrong, there’d be no closing that can of worms. Oh God, she’d probably be referred to the school therapist, marked as crazy and sent to some institution where she could never hope to find her friends! Could she hint at the issue? Would they even know what she was talking about? If they just Awakened, they probably had no idea what was going on; besides, until now Emi thought there weren’t any other Persona users in the world. The terms she and her friends used would probably be gibberish to anyone else. William seemed to use them, but did these boys even see them? She hadn’t even ever dreamed of the Velvet Room before now, and she’d been Awake for over a year!

Agh, this was so frustrating! She was the Navigator, of all people she was supposed to be the one who knew what she was walking into! She couldn’t even go into the mirror and hope to meet them on the other side; besides the fact she’d probably get herself killed all alone, the mirror still wouldn’t let her pass. Dammit, she was so useless alone!

A weird wave of tension, not unlike what had drawn her over in the first place, pulled Emi out of her frustrated reverie. Was Maeda trying to do something with his pastries again? No, that soft, boyish voice was absolutely dripping with awkwardness. That had to be it. One of the suspicious new students—she couldn’t tell which one—was growing more and more nervous by the second. It was downright odd; not only were there those distracting vibes that screamed “Persona”, but she also wasn’t used to sensing feelings as well. Did a Persona amplify them somehow? It was worth puzzling out in the future, but for the moment, bigger things took priority.

Clearing her throat, Emi finally offered a short bow in the general direction of the new students, forcing a smile. “Pleased to meet you, Mori-kun, Hinari-kun. My name is Ueno Emiha, Student Council Treasurer. Once more, I apologize for interrupting. I suppose I should explain what I’m talking about.”

Hugging her folder to her chest, she took a deep breath, letting her expression get a little more sincere. “I wasn’t personally a member of the Cooking Club—for obvious reasons—but I did have a pretty close connection with it last year. A close friend of mine, Chousuke Makoto, was an active member of this club. Cooking was his passion, and he worked very hard to keep the Cooking Club afloat with Mizuame-san here. Unfortunately, he was one of the students who went missing in those fires last year.”

Emi was silent for a moment, a wave of emotions washing over her, before she straightened from her rather somber posture, heaving a deep breath and forcing some energy back into her voice. “Anyway, for the sake of his memory, I won’t let the Cooking Club lose funding while I’m Treasurer, so there’s no need to panic. But regardless, I’d like to thank you both for joining; I’d be very sad to see this club die for lack of members as well.”

Getting an idea, she turned to Mizuame, her fake energy quickly becoming real as she finally got a glimpse of a way she might be able to make things work. “But, with that said, I have high expectations for the club, Mizuame-san! I hope you won’t mind if I check in on you guys from time to time to see how you’re doing?”

Ah, finally! If she had an excuse to drop in on the Cooking Club, she could keep an eye on the potential Persona-bearing students without drawing too much suspicion! Ah, it was as if Makoto pointed out the obvious solution for her at long last, just like he used to. Their Magician working his magic from the other side!

---

_{@Hero @Scribe of Thoth @Lord Orgasmo}

[Asura]

HOSHINO NORIAKI

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx D A T E April 11th 2018 L O C A T I O N Residential Kyoto T A G S @Hero

While he couldn't exactly claim that walking home with this kind of company was something he was used to, being the subject of a certain level of curious scrutiny was something Noriaki was rapidly becoming accustomed to. He had hoped that the new school year would make being a transfer student less of a spectacle, but it seemed that even in cosmopolitan Kyoto a new additional to a class was something to buzz about. He wasn't entirely sure whether or not that was a welcome change to being ostracized as he was in Osaka, but there was little he could do about it. The middle schooler who had extended his exposure to the class president seemed chatty enough to fill the void left between her two upperclassmen, and with little else to do, Noriaki listened intently. It seemed the poor girl herself had been made the black sheep of her class. He wasn't entirely sure why—the air around school did have a certain amount of tension, and there seemed to be the occasional reference here or there to some tragic happenstance. If he hadn't been so busy burying his head in the sand and keeping a low profile, he might have learned exactly what it is. For now, he was content to simply assume it wasn't particularly pertinent to his situation. The young girl didn't seem to expect a response regardless, simply venting her frustrations towards her isolation. She did eventually bring up something Noriaki was expected to respond to, though. "I just moved here last week. Didn't have a lot of time to go around introducing myself to the neighbors, so I don't think I've had the pleasure of meeting your mother," The teen told her as they walked, "Although, admittedly, it doesn't seem like people around my place are very talkative."

[Lord Orgasmo]

April 11th. Hinotori High School.

---

Genki let out a sigh as he realized that the club wasn't being shut down. Looks like Linda had until the end of the week to get those club forms done. And now with Diago's spontaneous joining, looks like the club would be getting funding, and everything would work out fine. Hopefully. As Ueno continued talking, she mentioned introductions from Linda, followed by the confession of a certain soft spot for said club. How interesting. Perhaps she'd be a little more lenient with getting the club more exotic ingredients or something. Or, maybe she'd just end up getting the club some random item, like a waffle iron. Money probably wasn't something the school had a lot of, considering the recent renovation.

As Genki's mind wandered about the potential future, he quickly realized that he should probably be paying more attention. On the tail end of Linda's introduction, Genki began to listen more intently. It would've been pretty embarrassing if he had been asked a question and had just stood there drooling.

Daigo let out a relatively meek "Hello" before awkwardly wandering into the room itself. Guy seemed scared of his own shadow. Though given the recent "adventure" they had gone through, shadows were definitely something to be wary of. Looking back towards Ueno, she was mid bow, introducing herself as well. Ueno Emiha, student council treasurer. Well, that certainly would explain why Linda seemed so scared of her.

As she seemed to compose herself, she began her connection to the club. Apparently, a close friend of hers -who was also one of the missing students- was a member of the club, and to preserve his memory, she was adamant on keeping the club up and running. Genki suddenly realized he had been very quiet during this whole conversation. As Ueno finished speaking, insinuating that she'd be keeping an eye on the group, Genki finally spoke up.

"Well, hey, if you're not to busy," He spoke, slowly entering the room, taking in its many shiny utensils. "Maybe we could all make something together? Although..." His voice trailed off for a brief second. "I don't exactly have a lot of cooking experience, so maybe something simple like uh..." He looked down and to the side as he searched his mind. What was something simple that they could easily make here? He then thought of the waffle iron idea from earlier. That's it! What are pancakes but flatter and arguably worse waffles? "...How about pancakes? Those are simple enough!"

---

Interacting with/Mentioning:@Scribe of Thoth@Hero@Obscene Symphony

[psych0pomp]

| 𝖣𝖠𝖳𝖤 : 11 APRIL 2018 | 𝖨𝖭𝖳𝖤𝖱𝖠𝖢𝖳𝖨𝖮𝖭𝖲 : COUNCIL MEMBERS & THE HAWKGUYS | 𝖫𝖮𝖢𝖠𝖳𝖨𝖮𝖭 : HINOTORI HIGH |

“Wait,” Maki said, holding up her finger. “I had a chance to not show up?” She gave a faux look of shock. It quickly faded as her sense of humor was brushed away easily. Duty was important to these kids. Duty. Doodie. This was just a pile of shit—honestly.

“Simple as sugar.” She crossed her arms. “So, I’m basically a helpline, but physically there?” Oof. Maki was about to make a remark how it would be hard not to roll her eyes in the presence of people complaining at her, only for her to bury it on her tongue. Because honestly, she shouldn’t joke about such a thing, because she would probably be rolling her eyes and making slight gagging noises every time someone made a complaint. The Student Council members’ only direction was that she had to listen and file. That didn’t mean she couldn’t react to people’s petty issues. So, Maki gave a salute. “So, I return this information to you guys? Or do I get to go full vigilante and enact justice myself? If so, I demand a cat-a-rang.”

It was then that their meeting was interrupted. Maki glanced behind her to see two students that she wasn’t familiar with. Apparently, this school was run by second years and their inability to keep their nose out of their own business. Her eyes scanned over the green-haired girl. “Did you guys run out of apples to shoot off of people’s heads?” She tsked. “Then it is too bad that Nakano isn’t here because she’s probably taken all of them to shine them up real good. Gotta make sure that all the teachers know she’s their favorite su-student.” Maki turned her attention back to the two student council members with a look on her face that simply said you’ll regret allowing me here.

^{| 𝖳𝖠𝖦(𝖲) : @Hero @RiverMaiden|}

[Hero]

---

---

Himawari slowly nodded in understanding, albeit she seemed a little confused by what he meant by the last part. She thought to herself for a short moment, trying to choose her words carefully. Sakuya chose to stay back and observe, though she was a little curious to see why Himawari was so keen on talking to what was essentially a stranger. She wasn't exactly a shy kid, but it was still a little weird. At the very least, it was nice to see her almost back to her old self.

"That must have been hard," Himawari finally broke the silence. "Do you miss your friends?"

---

_@Asura

---

Anzu didn't have much of an opinion on whatever they walked into. She was disappointed to hear that Nakano wasn't around, but she supposed it couldn't be helped. Placing the papers down on the desk, she took another quick look around. "I don't suppose Ueno-san is around, either," She guessed.

"Not today, no," Sora frowned.

Tapping her fingers against the desk, she tried to think of the next best course. They could technically try to convince the vice president, but it was pointless if she couldn't get either president or treasurer on board. However, she wasn't entirely appreciative of Ito's comment, letting out a small sigh.

"Sorry to disappoint, but we prefer training to make it to Nationals instead of wasting fruit," She replied. "Though if Nakano-san is in the Faculty Room, I suppose we can catch her there."

"I...don't think she's here..." Sora muttered, looking to Oka for help.

The older student shook her head. "You can come back tomorrow, Kogoro. We'll make sure to let Nakano-san know," She said before turning to Maki. "And I'll ask that you have some respect for Nakano-san. Isn't slandering her the entire reason you ended up here in the first place?"

---

_{@RiverMaiden@psych0pomp}

---

Kaito perked up as Daigo approached him, a more serious look on his face as he looked down at the trash. "I want to say that there's a very real chance I left it in for too long. They usually collapse when they're too dry," He speculated. "When the souffle is in the oven and bakes, a lot of hot air gets trapped inside. Once it reaches the much-colder outside, the air escapes. That said, I thought I had everything perfect, so I'm a little stumped."

Once he finished, he noticed that Daigo looked a little off. "...Hinari?" He waved his hand in front of his face. "Are you okay? I know Linda can be...a lot, but she means well."

Meanwhile, Linda waved off Ueno's concerns, practically beaming. "Of course not! We could always use a taste-tester," She joked lightly, walking over to the cabinets as she thought over Genki's suggestion. "We could very well try pancakes. I need to see where your skills are at, anyway!"

---

_{@Obscene Symphony@Scribe of Thoth@Lord Orgasmo}

---

[Asura]

HOSHINO NORIAKI

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx D A T E April 11th 2018 L O C A T I O N Residential Kyoto T A G S @Hero

It was difficult to talk to this kid, in truth. Noriaki couldn't decide whether it was because his atrophied social skills made the long pauses between her words all the more poignant, or because she had a habit of poking at his wounds with those words when they finally came out. Maybe he was just still raw, but he had spent a long time coming to terms with his flight from Osaka and pushed many of the resulting thoughts on the matter to the side. He had done a great deal to try and clear the slate, but it seemed everyone around him wanted to drudge up that past. Still, he couldn't exactly rebuke the poor girl—she had been on the verge of bawling just ten minutes ago, and he didn't want to see those waterworks any more than he had to. "Yeah, I guess I do," He eventually decided, "But it couldn't be helped. People have to move on. No point in lingering on the past." An ironic thing for him to say, seeing as though he was so wound in a knot over his own history. But, he could at least say with confidence that he had been trying to live up to that principle. Success was another story entirely, but he had been trying.

[Scribe of Thoth]

_{April 11th - After School}

---

Daigo sheepishly shrunk down as Kaito stole his attention back. "Huh? Uh, yeah. I was just... distracted. Something on my glasses," He lied, reverting to his tried and true method of cleaning the lenses on his shirt as an excuse to avoid eye contact. Maybe he should've just said he really had to pee; then he could've escaped into the bathroom until Ueno left. Wait, bad idea; it'd look like he pissed his pants if he said that. She had a decent enough alibi that he supposed he didn't need to hide anymore, though he still thought her intrusion was weird. If his friend died in a freak accident, stalking his former clubmates wouldn't have been very high on Daigo's priority list.

Then again, if she was here for him or Genki, she probably would've hauled them off by now. Maybe blind people just got their entertainment vicariously from other people's activities since they can't go watch movies or something. Either way, if she wasn't there to actively accost them, Daigo could focus on what he actually came for: cooking. Genki's suggestion of pancakes was a bit boring, but they were sorta close enough to a souffle that the redhead could follow the train of thought. At least, under the assumption that he intended to make typical Japanese pancakes and not some godforsaken American monstrosity with fifteen layers of chocolate.

"I dunno, Mori-kun, you can still mess up a pancake," Daigo chimed in, "The first one, anyway. I think everybody gets the pan temperature right after that." Honestly, he'd probably be the only one dissatisfied with an improperly cooked pancake anyway. People really would eat just about anything, especially when it came to sweets. His ancestors no doubt rolled in their graves with the knowledge he'd lowered himself to cooking in a kitchen like that, but Kaito seemed dramatic enough about his poor cake that the redhead could be mistaken. He hoped he was mistaken, lest he suffer through a year of corndogs and dry chicken.

"Oh yeah!" Daigo nudged Kaito slightly, "I dunno if it's the same for a souffle, but with pancakes you have to be gentle when you're beating the eggs or they deflate afterward." He really, really hoped Kaito hadn't just finished explaining the intricacies of souffle meringue creation while Daigo was spaced out, because that would be super awkward.

---

@Lord Orgasmo@Obscene Symphony

[Hero]

---

---

Move on? Sakuya frowned a little at that, though she wasn't sure why. Maybe he had a falling out with them before he left and didn't get the chance to make up with them. At that, she felt a pang of guilt at being so stern with him. She supposed she never considered he may have had a rougher time. Thena gain, she would probably be nicer if he wasn't such an ass.

Himawari, on the other hand, didn't seem to pick up on Noriaki's worries. Instead, she nodded in approval. "Yeah, you're right. There's always new friends to make anyway," She ended up replying. "If you want, we could be friends!"

At that, Sakuya tried not to laugh. "Himawari, I think you have too much energy for him..." She finally spoke. "Besides, you don't go to the same school. When would you see each other?"

Apparently she hadn't considered that. Letting out a tiny sigh, she came to a stop, frowning to herself for a moment. Across the street was the house that, to Noriaki, had just been rebuilt. That conflicted greatly with Himawari's sad look, her shoulders slumped a touch. "This is like your old house," She said quietly.

Sakuya looked over in the same direction, patting Himawari's head. "Yeah. But they're going to rebuild this one soon," She said.

Himawari didn't react much, though she continued to stare. From within the house, unbeknownst to her, a figure moved from behind a curtain. Eventually, she tore her gaze away, looking up at Noriaki. "Did you know about that, Hoshino-san? About the fires?" She asked him. "There was a fire in our house, too. Then Onee-san and Nakano-senpai disappeared..."

---

_@Asura

---

Kaito's jaw dropped for a moment, though his gaze went back down to the trash. "The eggs...they betrayed me...?" He uttered, completely shocked. "It would make sense, everything else was perfect, but..."

Clearing his throat, Kaito knelt back down and rummaged through the cabinets until he pulled out a mixing bowl and a whip beater. He placed them both gently on the counter, leaving Daigo for just a moment as he searched through the small fridge. Coming back with a carton of eggs, once again he placed them delicately on the counter, though he would then slam his hands down.

"I'm not going to lose to eggs of all things!" He suddenly declared. "We're going to make the perfect pancake right here, right now!"

He paused, losing some of his manic energy. "Oh, actually, I'll need milk, too," He remembered, snapping his fingers. "Let's see...eggs, milk, sugar, flour...I think we might have some vanilla extract, too, somewhere," He knelt back down, opening the cabinet and pulling out ingredients. "Ah, Hinari-san, I'll make sure to follow your lead and watch you. I clearly still have much to learn if I let something as trivial as eggs get the best of me."

---

_{@Obscene Symphony@Scribe of Thoth@Lord Orgasmo}

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