[IC] Shin Megami Tensei: Persona (To Save What Remains)

[Pudding]

As Seto turned back at Momo, she quickly made her decison.
Conflicted she looked back her parents quickly, they were chatting away, not at all aware that she had left.
Nodding, and grabbing a baggette. Momo quickly ran up to Seto.
"Oh please, don't go home! Not yet" She said with sincerist voice possible.

She waved the baggette in his face, before snapping it in half to share with him.
"I invite you to have eat a sandwich with me! Lets take it outside too, perhaps we can talk more, I have a good idea to share with you!"

Seto walked out, fairly quickly, as if he had been waiting for this moment to get away from everyone.
As the two stepped outside, the scenery was beautiful, there were trees lit up with pretty lights, a pond with a glowing fountain. The area was beautiful.

"So, have you considered making a camra before? Like, an old one that prints out the photo instantly, they're fairly old ya'know. Try as hard as I may, I've yet to find one, only a really skilled crafter, like yourself could make one, perhaps one like yourself?" Smiled Momo.

[Side Character G]

Seto Nanzo

---

It was true in a sense, that even if he had left Momo and went home it would have been okay. He did invite her to join him, but it wasn't difficult to make up an excuse. She did, however, risked her position and reputation as a member of the Society in order to converse with him; he had to give credit for that. Who could resist such pleads from a damsel, anyway?

And so, unlike his expectations of mere minutes ago he found himself being accompanied once more. This time though, he was surrounded by the scenery of the evening rather than by deceitful interactions of people. While he was not one for admiring his surroundings, it still felt like a relief to be outside and to feel the night air against his cheek. The way voices and music lazily drifted from the doorway he had just crossed, though failing to reach Seto's ears any stronger than a mosquito's whining, gave an illusory impression that the boring ceremony was just a dream. An impression which quickly melted away by Momo's cheery voice. He gave himself a moment to think about his past tinkering, a hand going up to his chin and mumbling to himself as much as answering.

"Ah, I believe we are referring to a type of Land Camera. It is not impossible to find a seller, but perhaps they may come to be quite... lacking, shall we say, in appearance and originality." He absent-mindedly nibbled at the piece of baguette he received to his mouth, then spoke directly to Momo.

"Very well, does Lady Momo have a particular device in mind? for example its appearance or added features; perhaps one built-in to a handbag, or something resembling a mobile phone?"

[Theorist]

Just as the assembled Paladins disbanded, a very regal-looking Templar sauntered over to Yoromatsu. "Yoromatsu." He was shocked by the man's presence; it was Chairman Ryota. Yoromatsu stood at attention.

"It's an honor, Mr. Chairman." Yoromatsu was standing stiff as a board, eyes straight ahead. Ryota waved him off, letting him know that there was no need to be so formal. Yoro's shoulders relaxed, but he still stood up straight. "What do I owe the honor, Yuudai-sama?"

"We've just received reports of Shadow activity in the refugee settlement of Dust Town on the southern tip of Japan. You and two other Templars will investigate. You will be leading the squad. I have already briefed the others. A craft is prepared and will take you there now."

"Yes sir. I will head to the hanger right away."

"Dismissed." With that, Yoromatsu walked briskly to the hanger.

[Lenaya]

"Friends? Nah, probably idiots who've got sore hides about me killing their friends." Aera replied offhandedly before wiping a bit of sweat off her brow. "We've been gettin' reports of children going missing, and those kind of people have no business snooping around these parts...and well, as for you, you looked decent. Not like those Invoker scum." Aera then gave a short, dry laugh after hearing Youhei's request, and then looked through the broken doorway into the shack. "Distraction? Sure, I got ya covered."

Before the woman could even raise herself from her crouched position, a black blob was right in her face. "Shit!" she yelped, falling back as Cerberus once again bounded out from her chest. She wasn't even sure how her persona managed to make himself appear without her command, but she wasn't going to be ungrateful. Cerberus did it's best to swipe at the blob on the floor, which was now attempting to crawl up her leg. "Youhei, careful!" she cried out as she turned to look at him, but to her dismay he was dealing with his own blobby beast.

Aera hated shadows. She was frightened of them and fearful of what they could do to her, and she'd already witnessed her companions dying from these creatures. There was no way in hell she'd let that happen to her, and with a growl the woman yanked her leg free from the shadow's grip and scooted away until her back was against the far wall of the shack.

[Lennon79]

Youhei went silent for a moment, ruminating on that particular revelation. Disappearances were hardly rare in the outer slums, but multiple instances of children going missing implied something more. He had heard rumours... Once, years ago he had helped bust a snuff ring in inner Tokyo and it had started the same way, with children disappearing in the night. None of the perpetrators had made it to court... he had seen to that. If the Invokers were running a similar operation here, then there was bloody work to be done.

A sense of revulsion came over him, quite apart from the sickening sensation his memories evoked; something else was coming. Youhei barely had time to leap back and draw his bilhook before the Shadows were upon them. He shot a glance toward Aera, deciding that between Cerberus and herself, she could handle her opponent. Of more concern was the mass forming before him, raising itself into an attack position. Normally he would greet the Shadow with 40mm of lead at close range, but he had just loaded explosive rounds... Instead he went immediately on the offensive, hacking and slashing with the bilhook, not giving the Shadow a chance to use magic. In the close confines of the old shack, even a weak Agi spell would destroy enough cover for that damn sniper to have a clear shot.

[Pudding]

Hearing his answer, Momos' eyes lit up.
"Nonono! Please, just a regular camera, that's all I want!"
With a big grin, she grabbed his hands in a flash and said "I can't thank you enough! But, I have to go now..." Scribbling her contact details onto a pink sheet of paper. She quickly dashed up to the ceremony which seemed to be ending.
"Thanks for coming! I had a great time!" Momo shouted before disappearing into the crowd.

Arriving back to her parents, they briefly questioned and bugged her about her absence
"Don't act so concerned, I wasn't anywhere I wasn't supposed to be" She said with a smirk.
"I also met some Faragil guy, said he was a duke?" Her father has an expressionless face on, his fake mask of a persona had been ripped off. He hurried his wife and child to leave the ceremony as everybody else did.

Leaving the ceremony through the proper entrance led down a red carpet, with an ocean like wave of paparazzi, thousands of cameras flashing off one after another. They weren't anything like the ones Momo like though, they were more modern and white, very regal. The family entered a white Limousine and drove off back to there mansion.
Momo felt awful about having to ditch Seto in such a flash, but there was nothing she could really do about it, as far as she knew.

[Theorist]

The Shadows went down rather easily. It was rather surprising; they seemed to be aiming to kill after all. As soon as the last Shadow fell, Aera and Youhei saw two men and a woman in glittering silver armor approaching. Templars. The man at the head, Aera would notice. And he would notice her. They made eye contact and they instantly knew. This was Yoromatsu. He and Aera had... history.

Yoro quickly regained his composure. Is that her? No... no it can't be... no, you fool. It is her. Damn... what do I say?

"A... A pleasure to see you again. I'm... here on Paladin business. We've received reports of Shadow activity. But I see you had no trouble beating them. However, i'm going to have to ask you two a few questions."

[Lenaya]

"I..I think it's over.." Aera sighed as she pushed herself up. Both her and Youhei had managed to kill the two shadows, without destroying the house (a plus), but it seemed fate wasn't done toying with her plans for the day. "Nope, seems I spoke too soon." Aera then turned her attention to Youhei. "Pretty yourself up, stranger. We ought to look our best for these pretty little Templars." The sarcastic undertone in her voice was impossible to miss, and before she had another moment to spare, three Templars were at the door of the shack, effectively blocking them in.

Cerberus still remained outside of his host, choosing to rub up against his master's side like a cat. He was her persona, a facet of her emotions, and the antagonistic glare he focused on the "head honcho" was nothing short of scathing. Aera's gaze settled on Yoromatsu's face. The Yoromatsu from her memories years ago was nothing close to the man she stood before now, but even so, she had changed drastically as well. No longer was she the straight-edged, by-the-rules warrior she'd met him as. No, she was different, from the way she let her hair loose to the way she held herself, she had changed. Time wasn't kind to anyone, and both of them had grown as each year had passed.

Even so, it was impossible for her to ignore or deny that the man in front of her was the same one she shared history with, and she scoffed at his choice of words. "I wish I could say the same, and I figured this was nothin other than "Paladin Business". Dust Town isn't exactly a resort scene, and we don't take kindly to strangers." She then heard his request for "questions", and Cerberus voiced her annoyance with a rumbling growl. "Right, well, you see, me and my friend here--" She motioned to Youhei and slipped him a wink, hoping he'd catch on,"-- were just about to cozy up in the tavern and fetch ourselves a beer. You're free to join us in there, I'll be more than glad to answer whatever questions you may have."

[Theorist]

-No Faction, Paladins-
Aera, Yoromatsu, and Youhei;
"Hmph." Yoromatsu stared Aera down. Then, the female Templar with them spoke up, clearly angry at the insolence of these "lower" beings.
"Who do you think you are? We're here on the authority of the Prime Minister of Fra--"
"Lead the way." Yoromatsu interrupted. "But know that I do not mix business with pleasure... normally. But i'd be willing to have a drink. Old times and all that."

-The Society-
Momo and Seto;
After about midnight, Seto and Momo would both receive a message on their cell phones;
"Your presence is requested at White Rose Hall right away. We havea mission of great importance for you."

[Lenaya]

"Well then, I'd suppose it'd be best that we start makin' our way." Aera snorted, her eyes bemusedly lingering on the riled up Templar. She took Youhei's arm and led him forward, mostly for his sake than hers--it'd be strange to see a man walkin around at night by himself, but dismissed once they saw who was on his arm-- and led the group to the local tavern.

It wasn't much but an oversized shack itself, but the atmosphere was contagious and widespread. Once Aera walked in, she was greeted with multiple hollers and greetings which quickly tapered off once the gleaming Templars stepped into the bar. Aera waved her hands up, sheepish grin painted on her features as she got comfortable on a rickety barstool, and she merely said, "They're here to investigate the happin's round here. No harm, no foul, i'll keep an eye on 'em..." she dwindled off as she poured the contents of her bag onto the bar table, for all to see. "I've got some nibbles here that'd probably taste lovely in that kettle of yours, Nan'. Mind firin' up that thing and gettin some chili cookin'?"

As Aera expected the folk were pleased upon the sight of a gun, knowing that it must've been taken from someone not worth having it, and with the presence of food, be it canned or fresh, they were even more elated. The rag-tag band went back to picking their strings and howling out their tunes, and the booze was passed out with even more fevor than before. The red-haired woman then motioned for her companions to join her, and took the time to inform them as to why it was so festive around here. "It's not always like this. You just missed out on a wedding, so they're still celebrating it a day after. Traditions and all, but enjoy yourself and enjoy the booze....cept you, cutie." she motioned to Youhei, "You owe me a drink, eh?" a mischievous twinkle settled in her eyes, as she playfully nudged him, but the glint of armor that caught her eye soberly reminded her of her other companions. "Oh, right. Well then, Mr. knights, ask your questions. I promise I'll answer them as best I can, I suppose."

[Side Character G]

Seto Nanzo, lost in thought.

---

As far as Seto's concerned, the Dark Hour was a godsend. It allowed an extra hour of each day to be spent with machinery when there weren't anything drastic happening or was 'requested' to be somewhere by others, namely his parents or close acquaintances. And that was exactly how he spent it after departing from the ceremony; came straight home and after a quick shower went through various mechanisms and methods.

His place in Japan wasn't all that far away from the White Rose Hall; perhaps a twenty-minute ride. Admittedly it was his parents who had gotten this two-bed apartment complex on the third floor while he was still in Birmingham, but at the very least the prerequisites of an 'acceptable' room he had requested to his parents weren't ignored. the previous complex he was forced to stay in due to his parents renting the place without consulting him, it was needlessly huge with a spactacular view out the window wasted for a single person with absolutely zero interest outside the veranda. Not to mention housekeeping who kept putting away the screws and bolts somewhere obscure, taking his precious time away from enjoyment.

Seto was in the process of configuring his pocket watch when he realized that his phone was flashing with a light indicating there was a message. He chided himself for not paying more attention; if that was his parents asking him to come somewhere urgent, it could've been used as an excuse to drag him away from his safe shelter of his machinery. That boy is escaping reality, as his father would put it. sometimes Seto wondered if in their minds, he was still the inexperienced boy he was before his own ceremony.

The message was indeed urgent, but thankfully it didn't seem to be from his parents. It was just as frown-worthy, however; obviously this was sent by a representative of the Society which meant he could not just ignore it, but to leave his place at this hour? ridiculous.

With a sigh, he left the half-opened pocket watch on the table and leaned back on his chair, closing his eyes. For some reason, a blurry image of Momo came up in his mind when he thought of the Society; was she also summoned to the Hall? he mused. Another sigh left his lips as he got up. He was the type who dressed nicely even while at home, with a formal beige shirt and dark pants in this case, so it only took him seconds to put on his holster, a vest and coat to be ready to head out to where he was needed.

A reason he avoided night-travel, apart from his reluctance, was due to his vehicle. It was a second-hand Mercedes-Benz which, he had to admit, didn't tell him much of the car. It was quite hard to pin-point the exact model from the countless amounts of manual repair and replacement of parts, but the frame was no doubt that of the 300 SL Roadster. The engine was not... exactly the quietest in the suburb. He made a silent apology to anyone brutally woken up by the monstrous sound of the engine as he headed to the hall.

[Theorist]

No Faction, Paladins
Aera, Yoromatsu;
Yoromatsu tossed a couple of gold coins on the bar once he was seated. "Whiskey." The gold coins were the currency of the New French Republic, but they were solid gold. Worth far more than a bottle of whiskey. The barkeep, the one Aera called "nan", gave him a surprised look before scooping up the coins and giving him a bottle of whiskey and a dirty-looking mug. Yoromatsu poured himself some whiskey and took a long swig. "Down to business." He cleared his throat. "First, I would like for you to explain what happened; from the appearance of the Shadows until you beat them."

The Society
Seto, Momo;

Seto and Momo arrived at White Rose Hall. A man in an elegant suit awaited them. "Good evening. I have been appointed by the Chairman to brief you on your mission. If you will follow me..." He led them to a large room with a long, rectangular table. On one end of the table,there was a keyboard and mouse. This is where the suited man sat. He pressed a button on the keyboard and a large screen on the other end of the room flickered to life. "We have reports of Shadow activity in the area known as "Dust Town." The Paladins have already responded, and since we are keeping a close eye on the Paladins, we need to send a couple of operatives to the area. Your mission is to stick close to the Paladins and help them complete their mission. But keep an eye on them. Take notes, record conversations. Any questions?"