[IC] Persona - The True Self

[Sho Minazuki]

Strawman Hospital - Head Doctor's Office
31/5/2015 Sunday

Akane cleared through the large group of enemies, though her alone wasn't enough. The puppets would easily encircle on her as she charged in, though she had Chiaki and Leiko's support as Rui swept forward, joining her in the front. The fight seemed to be pretty straight-forward for awhile until...

"No wait! Get away from that puppet!", Rui's blade stopped for a moment, the puppet in front of him didn't look all that different from the others... At least, until its eyes began to glow, and explode in a blast of wind. Rui was lucky, Askr had a resistance to wind, allowing him to easily shrug it off, but this made things more difficult.

"It's not just wind... Some of them have debilitating effects too, I picked them up in my scan, just be careful", the problem was... The puppets all looked the same. Approaching was going to be difficult. Should they take the more direct fight and risk being flanked and swarmed by the puppets? Or fight the puppets themselves? Either way, they didn't seem like a good idea... They simply fought off the puppets while keeping a safe distance as Rui began to think of a plan...

He looked at the Sato shadow, the only thing that really moved were the arms...

"Megumi, what can you tell me about the arms?",

"I've just finished scanning them, they control the puppets",

"I guess that's worth a shot. Leiko, Chiaki, cover our backs, me and Akane will take out the arms", he announced. With that order they may have a better chance if there was a way to disable the puppets, even for a little while, it gave them a chance to approach the main shadow that towered over them.

[I-Am-X]

Akane Hanazawa // Strawman Hospital // Head Doctor's Office
Sunday, May 31st, 2015

With some help from the others, Akane managed to clear a group of puppets. Things seemed to be going well, maybe too well, with the whole showdown being quite straight-forward. Of course, it didn't last, interrupted by Megumi's warning, the puppet's, that Rui was facing, eyes started glowing. The warning was a bit late as it exploded but luckily his persona was resistant towards wind. "So the puppets are kind of like that other shadow's hearts? Great."

Given the latest developments, close quarter combat is probably off the table. Given the fact all the puppets look the same, you wouldn't know what special surprise you'll be getting, the risk is too great. It'll Probably be best to leave it up to the magic users to deal with them... "Definitely our best option at this point, with the puppets hidden surprises and the fact they can put themselves back together..."

After Rui finished, Akane gave an affirmative. Targeting the shadow's right arm, she summoned Setanta and cast Tarukaja before going right. While making a note to avoid the puppets as much as possible as she moved towards the shadow, Akane figured an increase in strength would allow her to stop the puppets before they had the chance to explode, enabling her to get closer to the shadow.

[Sho Minazuki]

Strawman Hospital - Head Doctor's Office
31/5/2015 Sunday

"I-it's working!",

"Of course it is", Rui confidently commented, whilst delivering a finishing strike to the arm, while Akane assaulted the other ruthlessly. Thankfully the puppets didn't reach them. This strategy worked, but it cost their supporting line some of their health, but fortunately with the time gained, Leiko healed them back up.

As the arms bled profusely, the puppets began to cry tears of blood, whilst shaking and rattling erratically, arms and legs moving in almost random directions before breaking apart by the joints. It was a creepy sight to behold, but as this all happened, Sato's shadow yelled in agonizing pain, praising the party. Normally praise was accepted with kindness, but in this case the praise kind of pissed Rui off.

The shadow attempted to get back up, but yet another Gale Slash cleaned up any attempt the shadow made to recover, putting it completely on the defensive, and not even defensive really... It was just vulnerable, heaving back and forth, trying to stay upright.

"Looks like it's our turn", announced Akane.

All-Out Attack
>No
>Yes

>Yes

With great ferocity, the party charged down the lanky shadow, smashing it into a cloud of dust in an almost comical manner, but the damage was no laughing matter. As the dust cleared in a skull-shaped explosion, the team backed away to watch the shadow wallow in self-pity as it melted into a black dust that blew into the wind as it did, until finally it was back to the human shape it was prior to the fight... All that was left now, was up to Sato...

[Leolycan]

Warakuma: Recreation Center
_5/31/2015

"Who the-?" Yamato inquired as he rounded to the origin of the voice, his cousin matching his actions as their eyes fell upon the raven-haired girl that now stood before them. Masa instantly recognized the female, his lips curling into a subtle smile before he did his best to dismiss it, his hands quickly finding their way back into this pockets. Glancing back and forth between the girl and his cousin, Yamato seemed almost in awe before finally setting his eyes upon Shizuka, "You actually know this guy?" With a slight burst of laughter, he'd step back just enough to drape his arm over Masa's shoulders (who let out a subtle growl in annoyance), "You sir, are slacking in the loner department."

"Shut up, idiot." Masahide snarled slightly under his breath, freeing one hand long enough to throw a subtle elbow into the other male's stomache who grimaced slightly and withdrew his arms to cradle his stomache. With a slight sigh, Masa attempted to regain his composure as his attention turned fully to the woman before him, "It's good to see you well, Otonashi-kun, and thank you for your kind words," with a subtle bow of his head, he'd righten shortly after, "Is there something I can do for you?"

"How about provide conversation like a normal hu-" Yamato began to retort, one hand still placed softly over his stomache as his attempt to overexagerate his injury had finally subsided. Before he could finish his remark, he would be met with a glare from Masa, "-man. Is he always this rigid?" The light haired boy would inquire to Shizuka before hearing another voice call out in the background. Both males glanced over to the source, seeing another girl practically sprinting from the pool as she waved for the other females attention. "Ah, I get it. She's the popular one that knows everyone, right?"

Masahide merely shrugged, but his lips curled down slightly into an almost unnoticeable frown. 'Great... More people,' it was then the boy's eyes caught sight of Gen in the direction that Shizuka had approached. His free hand raised to pinch the bridge of his nose as he sighed subtley, 'And even more in the wings. What did you get me into, Yamato?'

[Sen]

Sato Hashimoto // ???

Sato managed to get himself back up on to his feet after a while. From the back of the room, he watched the presumed rescue party battle that... that... thing. Bleeding and groaning grotesquely from its malformed body and its puppets, the very sight of it made him nauseous. Was that supposed to be 'him'? Soon, after a few decisive strikes from the group, the shadow seemingly melted away into the air as it returned to its more human form. Back to his face. Sato didn't really need to think about what he needed to say. He knew the truth already.

The teen walked up to the shadow being, stopping a few steps before it. It wore the same kind of cocky grin as it had before, but Sato could feel some kind of melancholy to it now. Perhaps it sensed its end drawing near.

"About what you said earlier, you're not right. Those thoughts, those things you told me... I can't deny that those were my own. I'm not proud of them, and I wish I hadn't ever thought them. But those aren't the only things that define me. I may be selfish, and I may be callous, but I'm more than that. Seeing everyone fight for me today, I realized something. I guess... I had this delusion about myself, thinking that I had to be the best. That I had to push everyone away in case they'd ever drag me down. As cheesy as it sounds, people are strongest when they're with each other..." Sato clutched the dirty bottoms of his mangled uniform coat, knuckles white. The sting of the blows he'd received earlier paled in comparison to this.

"I'm not sure I can repair the bridges I've burned over the past few years, but I can try. It's better than waiting for everything to fall into place like I always have. So that's why you're wrong. Or rather, that's why I was wrong. We're one in the same after all, right?"

The shadow smiled again, this time a pleasant one. Tucking the clipboard under his arm, it quietly clapped for Sato as it began to fade away into a swirl of blue light. Sato watched in wonder as the lights spiraled upwards, transforming into a figure as they rose. A graceful guardian appeared before him, the dull glow it radiated almost calming. As it stood before the teen, words echoed in the back of his mind.

I am thou... and thou art I.
I am Chronos, the ruler of bounded time...

Once the voice had finished, Sato looked back to the light. It began to fade away, a warmth in Sato's chest replacing it. Just as he was about to turn to the others, Sato noticed something was in his hand. A strikingly familiar card had appeared between his finger, but he quickly forgot about it as he looked back at his heroes.

Sato took a few steps towards them, but his vision began to blur again, knees weak. The warmth began to consume him, eyelids slipping shut. After everything that had happened, he felt like he could sleep for a week. Catching himself as he began to fall and lowering his body to the floor gently, he forced out one last sentence. "Thank you, everyone. Thank you, for... everything..."

With that, he was out like a light.

[Sho Minazuki]

Strawman Hospital - Head Doctor's Office > Hospital Street
31/5/2015 Sunday

With Sato's shadow defeated, the events transpired as such. Sato now had his own Persona, and this little issue was resolved, and like always for everyone they have rescued thus far, he fell unconscious. Was it from gaining their Persona...? Or was it this world that made them tired? In any case, the mission was complete, but they had the other dungeon to look to, what was it... Heartbreak Hospital...?

"Good work, Kazuki and his party have also returned, so please return and rest a bit", with that agreed, they headed out.

---

"This other hospital, there weren't many shadows... But it's designed like a maze, you would encounter shadows whenever you reached a dead end, and that happened often", Kazuki described the dungeon they scouted out.

"We've managed to safely scout out most of the dungeon, we didn't go after the final areas since we had no navigator support", Rui thought about that for a moment... What did navigator support give them again...? Directions, enemy scan, and that was all he remembered. It was a wonder Kazuki managed to backtrack, but then he remembered Kazuki's Persona had limited navigation abilities too.

"W-well... In any case, we can take some time to rest, before we go after the second dungeon... You have a route to the boss rooms right Kazuki?",

"Of course. I'll assist in navigation when you all go in, so rest for now, maybe change out party members if you need to", and so with that, they party had time to rest. The food Tadao bought before they entered the dungeon seemed to be doing them good too. It was all food from the convenience store, and mostly snacks, but being able to eat while resting was far better than otherwise.

[Fedested]

Gen Itoshi

Sunday, May 31^st - 2015

Warakuma Recreational Center

And just like that, a simple conversation between two acquaintances became a full-fledge group meeting. Gen was surprised by this change, if only because he came to the recreational center thinking that he would find no one he was acquainted with. Well, in a sense he was right, since there were two individuals in that group that he did not know. One was Masahide's companion, and the other was the girl that waved and called Shizuka effusively. The latter seemed kind of familiar, though, probably from school? Gen could not put his finger on which class she was in or what her last name even was. But hey, meeting new people should not hurt, right?

"Hello-oh!" He said but stopped mid-sentence at the sight of Yamato holding his stomach. Gen took his glasses by the frame to place them on the curve of his nose and directed his next question at Yamato. "A-are you okay? Should we get someone?" He asked the second question to Masahide. As gullible as Gen was, he thought that Yamato was in actual pain and not acting at all. There should be some kind of doctor's office there; after all, it was a public place where accidents were prone to happen. What if someone hit their head with the floor of the pool? Okay, that was an exaggeration, but nobody could object that it could not happen!

[Amaterasu]

Shizuka Otonashi || Recreational Center || May 31 SUN: Morning

Shizuka merely blinked in slight confusion with her soft smile still present at the exchange between Masa and his acquaintance. 'They seem to get along well,' she thought to herself as she giggled softly behind her hand. "I-I assume that was a rhetorical question of sorts bu-but yes, I am acquainted with him. It is delightful to see you faring alright as well, senpai." Once she was asked if she wanted something of him, Shizuka merely shook her head and replied, "Nothing in particular, I had hoped to just greet and congratulate you since it seems you have plans with your acquaintance."

The upperclassman's acquaintance spoke once more to which Shizuka stuttered slightly to, "U-Uh, I-I wouldn't exactly label him as such." To switch the topic of conversation to something not as awkward, the underclassman figured she should introduce herself to the other male to be polite. "I-I believe I've yet to introduce myself to you, pa-pardon me for my late introduction. M-My name is Otonashi, Shizuka, pleased to be acquain--" Her introduction was interrupted when "Otonashiii-saaan!!" The raven haired girl flinched at the sudden call for her not too far from them as she recognized the voice. Turning to face the source of the voice, her hidden hazel eyes met with Elena's. She returned the enthusiastic wave with her own light wave of her hand as she responded, "It's such a coincidence to meet you here as well, Elena-san. Have you just gone swimming?" Her eyes observed the drenched hair and the towel wrapped around the waist of the foreign girl. My, it was indeed a coincidence to have met three of her acquaintances together at one time. Perhaps there was some sort of link between her and these people... Nah, there couldn't be, fate and some such should remain in the fictional world.

Hearing over the comment of Masa's acquaintance about her being popular, Shizuka shook both of her hands in a negative gesture with a flustered expression upon her face, cheeks tinted in a rosy hue. "N-No, I-I most certainly am not. I-I just happened to be a-acquainted with them. I-In fact, I can count the nu-number of my friends with just my hands... o-or hand." This was because of her shy and soft spoken nature but she didn't really mind, having few close friends was enough for her over having several friends who she wasn't close to.

Once Gen followed suit to the group, he began to worry about the well being of the acquaintance of Masa. Even the fellow classmate knew he was being sarcastic or over exaggerating, but she was unsure if she should break it to him. "Um.... Itoshi-san, I-I think he's alright. I'm sure Saji-senpai hasn't hit him too hard."

[I-Am-X]

Akane Hanazawa // Strawman Hospital // Hospital Street
Sunday, May 31st, 2015

As the brutal battle came to an end, and by brutal I mean them beating the holy hell out of the thing to which lots of blood and screaming was involved, they find had time to rest. Though, it was quite irritating. The damned thing just wouldn't die peacefully. On top of all the bleeding and screaming, the shadow began to praise them. Akane wanted to cleave it's head off and be done with it but decided she'd have to just endure it. What a creepy bastard.

As they made it out of the dungeon and back onto the street, they met back up with the other party that went and scouted the 2nd hospital. While they began talking, Akane found herself a place to sit and rest. Luckily, the guy from earlier, Tadao was it?, brought food, though it was convenience store food but she didn't really mind. She often found herself convenience store food when she didn't have the time to make herself something (or lost the number to her favorite take out joints).

Still one more place to go, eh? I wonder what kind of 'shadows' inhabit that place and who exactly is being kept there. Finished eating, she waits.

[Sho Minazuki]

Strawman Hospital - Heartbreak Hospital - Intensive Care Unit
31/5/2015 Sunday

It was as Kazuki had described to them... It was a labyrinth, rather than a dungeon or gauntlet like some of the dungeons before. The walls pulsed while lined with veins and fleshy texturing. It was like they were walking through blood arteries. They knew when they were getting closer, because the beating of the 'heart' began to become louder. Their break was over just a couple minutes ago, they had set Sato's unconscious body up into a bed in the warehouse, where Tadao kept watch. They planned to take him and whoever was in this second dungeon at the same time. It would be strange to come to the hospital with them one at a time.

As the party moved on through the dungeon, they listened to the directions given by Kazuki, and quickly found themselves at a set of double doors. According to Kazuki, they defeated the mini-boss here, but chose not to advance further. They didn't have the support needed after all. In any case, the party swept through, and fought a small slew of shadows before moving on. Soon... They found themselves pushing through multiple double doors, and the intensity of the heartbeat began to become completely mind-numbing, until they finally opened a set of doors that led into a kind of bloody rope bridge, and a gigantic heart at the other end with another door at the end of the bridge itself. It was a surreal structure to behold, but Megumi confirmed that whoever it was they were rescuing, they were in there, so the party moved forward, and opened the door.

Before them was yet another familiar sight, albeit with a different setting and characters. Their rescue target, and their shadow. Rui did not recognize who this was, but she was in distress. Again, he can only watch the events transpire.

[Leolycan]

Warakuma: Recreation Center
_5/31/2015

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Masa spoke, his gaze settling on Gen for a moment before flickering back to his cousin- who bore a content smile as if he had planned on these events transpiring, "Just has a flair for the dramatics."

"I'm not the head of the Okinawa Drama Club for nothing. Happy to see my talents haven't gone unnoticed," Yamato winked over to his cousin as he stepped forward to Gen, offering a hand out to the male out of respect, "Saji, Yamato. Unfortunately related-" Yamato motioned back towards his brooding cousin.

Rolling his eyes, Masa found his hands firmly tucked away in his pockets as he looked over the slowly accumulating group- all the while attempting to find a reason to excuse himself and be on his way. Still, the opportunity had not presented itself, and it's likely Yamato would just call him out and force him to stay. 'Damnit' the male swore under his breath, followed by a heavy sigh- his eyes settling on Shizuka as he cast a very subtle smile in her direction, "The more the merrier..." His voice intentionally trailed off, hinting at his slowly mounting discomfort that he tried his best to hide, "As for Yamato, I should've aimed higher. Might've knocked some sense into him." At that, Masahide fell silent, merely glancing about those before him. It was then he noticed the girl before him held a subtle blush at Yamato's remark, to which Masa chuckled softly with a shake of his head before falling silent once more.

A moment later, a rather familiar sensation washed over Masahide as he blinked slowly. Seems his mounting fatigue was taking it's toll once ago, making it hard for the male to remain focused and standing. With a bow of his head, he'd merely give a bow of his head as he began heading off to the nearest bench.

Despite his greeting of Gen, Yamato took notice of his cousin attempting to depart as he dawned a devious smirk, "Not getting out that easy. I was hoping your friends would share some of your school-yard antics."

"Not now Yamato," Masahide called back, his gaze still focused forward. Withdrawing a hand from it's place in his pocket, he'd provide a dismissive gesture, "I'll catch up in a minute." His words were followed swiftly by and audible yawn, though he did his best to shake his head and dismiss the sudden heaviness to his limbs. Taking a seat, he'd lounge back comfortably, using an arm to prop his head as he merely gazed at heard at the four before him. After a few moments, those who noticed would see Masa had drifted off to sleep.

"My cousin everyone," Yamato let out a rather disheartened sigh, though it was quickly washed away as he bore his friendly smile once more, "So, how's life in the town? Aunite wants me to take ol' 'Lone Wolf' over there and show him a good time." Though his gaze was mostly focused on the male before him, he was more or less addressing the group as a whole.

[Takaru]

Kotori Shirohane - Unknown Place | Unknown Time

A faint... sensation was the first thing that Kotori became aware of as her consciousness slowly returned. Was it a... sound? A feeling? She didn't know - but it was coming to her through the darkness, stirring her. Awareness began to return - numb at first, but quickly growin in intensity and, finally, into a painful prick as she opened her eyes from it. Lifting her head up from the ground, she quickly reached to the side of her head, the source of the pain - which came from having rested against the frame of her glasses, leaving a still slightly painful indentation. At the same time, a spell of nausea came over her from sitting up so quickly; prompting her to close her eyes at the sudden dizziness in order to get her bearings back. After a moment of slow, deep breaths she slowly opened her eyes again - only for her breath to catch as she finally registered her surroundings.

Kotori Shirohane - Heartbreak Hospital: Intensive Care Unit | Unknown Time

Kotori's mouth stammered wordlessly - not a single sound came over her lips. This...? Wha- where? Why, and...

Her mind was racing - it was absurd. It was bizarre. It was completely impossible - and yet despite all this, in all this, a sense of familiarity was about it all; yet twisted in a way which made it all the more jarring. Slowly rising to her feet, she turned about to take in all her surroundings - and stopped mid-turn when she saw another figure standing behind her. But it wasn't just any figure - it was one she immediately recognised, despite it being impossible: It was she herself. Blinking in disbelief, she saw that the figure was doing the same - a mirror? Taking a step closer, the figure did the same. Slowly raising her hand to touch this strange mirror surface, it felt didn't feel cold and hard as she would have expected. Instead, it was actually quite the opposite - soft and warm. Almost as if...

"...it's a real person?" the figure finished Kotori's thought. Kotori practically jumped back at the sound and sight of her own mirror image moving without her doing anything. Wide-eyed she stared at it - what...? "...am I? Isn't it obvious?" the mirror being completed the thought yet again, taking a moment to turn on the spot before fixing Kotori's eyes with her own - their golden sheen being the only difference between them. "I. Am. You." "Bu... how..." Rather than any real words, the only thing coming from Kotori's mouth were stuttered fragments as she tried processing what she was seeing - in spite of its complete and utter impossibility. She... was her? That made no sense! "Oh, but of course it does. Because I'm not just you - I'm the real you."

Kotori remained frozen in place, unbeknownst to herself clutching her hands close to her chest; a shiver going through her body. The real her...? What... "I mean? Exactly what I said: I'm you. The real one, not the little play you like giving."

At that, even the shiver briefly stopped as Kotori's eyes went wide - play? She wasn't doing any plays, she didn't-"Oh, don't give me that. We both know it's not true," the mirror imagine interrupted Kotori's thoughts yet again before stepping closer as she spoke. "Kotori Shirohane, the young and independant woman who got top marks without a problem. Talk of the school, but too modest to engage in any talk herself. Lover of plants and all things flowery - you're really starting to buy it yourself, aren't you?" With that, a low chuckle began in the mirror Kotori's throat - one which quickly rose into full-blown laughter. But this was not joyous laugh - it was a chilling sound which only left Kotori ever more speechless.

The mirror image's laugh was abruptly cut short - and instead replaced by a smirk which had absolutely no place on Kotori's face. "Oh, and what do you know? We've even got ourselves a little audience!" she exclaimed, prompting Kotori to practically whip around - and go wide-eyed at the sight. Through a door (had that been there before?) a group burst in - all of which seemed to be of her own age. A moment later, she even recognised one of them: Akane Hanezawa, her own classmate. The absurdity of the situation didn't even register any longer - instead, she quickly spoke up; her voice panicked. "No! This isn't-!" "Isn't what? The truth?" Frantically looking between the two - the group and her mirror image - Kotori quickly shook her head, though before she could even speak a word in protest, her mirror image spoke up again.

"Did you really think they'd buy that? The whole quiet little girl act? As if! You're not bad with people - you don't want to be good. You're afraid to be good with people!" Kotori's stare was completely fixed on her mirror image - no. No, it couldn't be... that... she couldn't mean-! A wicked smirk appeared once more on the other Kotori's face as she stepped closer yet, barely any space between the two now. "And you even think you're doing them a favour, don't you? What a little saint, trying to save others from yourself. Say, how does it feel, having to hide them for so long?" The mirror image jabbed a finger hard against Kotori's chest - but she didn't even feel it. Her face was as pale as a sheet; all colour drained as she heard her own voice speak those things. No...

"Oh, why do I even ask? I already know! I'm just hiding behind my little façade - not letting anyone near to keep them from suffering the same fate as my poor self!" "...no..." "But we both know that's not true." "No..." "Because really, that's just an excuse, isn't it?" "No, please..." "Because in reality, you're just a scared little girl who's too afraid to speak up and instead use any excuse to keep quiet because it's easier that was - aren't we?"

"No! No, that's not true! How... how can you even say that! You're lying! You're... you're not me!"

For a moment, silence fell at Kotori's outcry - a rarity in and of itself. For a moment, it seemed as if she'd stunned her mirror self - but then, the same wicked grin began to form on her features as a disturbing chuckle grew from her throat. At the same moment, it seemed as if the light within the room grew dim as shadows gathered from all around; converging upon the still cuckling form as she grabbed her glasses and threw them aside.. The sound of it became more and more inhuman - and then abruptly stopped. Through the momentary silence, there was at first only a single sound: A low, ponderous thump. Then, another. Then, slowly, the shadows began to dissipate - and began to reveal the twisted form that lay within.

At first, a vaguely humanoid shape could be made out - but larger than any human should be, even though it was kneeling upon the ground. Long, shadowy-black hair flowed from its head, giving the creature a female appearance. Its golden eyes soon fixed the group that had entered the area - only for them to begin to tear up, leaving golden streams to pour from its eyes as shadows closed in on the figure's mouth, leaving no sound to be heard. The shadow was clad in what appeared to be a gown - a hospital gown, in fact. However, this one was drenched in a dull reddish colour - except for her chest. Here, instead, the colour was bright red - if the the rest of the creature's gown was caked in dried blood, this appeared fresh - if only for a moment before a tear appeared. From this, a strange something pushed through - something which only became evident when, after shivering in the air for a moment, burst open into the shape of a blood-red flower's petals.

And at the very center of the flower, there rested a faintly glowing object. An object which slowly moved in time with the same low thumping that was heard in the silence - a heart. A moment later, three poles grew from the ground behind her - and, hanging upon visciously barbed hooked at their tops, hung bags of yet more bright red blood; long tubes extending from them. For a moment, they seemed completely inert - but then, they suddenly began to twitch as if coming to life. The ends of the tubes began to rise into the air - and then, in a lightning-fast motion, wrapped themselves around Kotori, who had remained completely transfixed at the shadow's feet, and flung her across the floor behind the shadow and out of reach of the intruders. But with that, they weren't done - instead, they quickly released her - and plunged themselves into the shadow's arms.

The Shadow convulsed as if in great pain, its golden eyes still pouring forth silent tears - and then, the heart's faint glow, accompanied by the thumping sound it made with every contraction, suddenly grew in intensity before a whole host of glowing vines grew out of and around it; rapidly slashing through the air before the shadow and themselves giving of a sickly red glow. With another odious thump the convulsions subsided - and slowly, the Shadow straigthened its back, leaving its exposed heart in full view of the intruders.

And after another thump, its golden eyes fixed themselves on them.

[I-Am-X]

Akane Hanazawa // Heartbreak Hospital // Intensive Care Unit
Sunday, May 31st, 2015

"Heartbreak Hospital, huh?" she mumbled to herself as they continued through the labyrinth. What a fitting name...it's like as if this place is the heart itself, heh. Well, the walls were at least. Which seemed almost alive the way the veins and what not along the walls pulsed. The closer they got, the louder the noise. How convenient...

Within time, they found themselves amongst a set of double doors. Apparently, the other group encountered a mini-boss here before heading back. I wonder what kind of 'shadow' it was... As they made their way over to the doors, they encountered a small group of shadows, of whom they took out quite easily, before pushing through the doors. Going through the doors, they were hit by an intense sound-wave, no doubt the source of the heartbeats being so close. The place kept getting stranger and stranger, as they went through another set of doors that lead them to a bloody rope bridge before another set of doors brought them infront of gigantic heart which lead them to another set of doors. Too many goddamn doors, seriously...

Entering through the last set of doors, she found a scene almost exactly like the one before, though the characters differ. As they got a better look at the figures and beside the shadow was someone she knew, her classmate Kotori Shirohane. As they watched the scene unfold, the shadow began to take a different from. While it wasn't as creepy as the other guy's shadow, this one was still quite freaky, especially with the exposed heart. Oyyy It got even stranger as 3 poles rose from the ground, assorted with bags of bright red blood hanging off of them with long tubes extending from them.

It looked exactly like an IV/Blood drip and seemed as such until they came to life and began wrapping themselves around Kotori. "......!" Just as Akane was about to act, Kotori was flung far behind the shadow and far from Akane and the others reach. "Kotori!!!!" Seeing her flung like that, the incident at the amusement park briefly flashed through Akane's mind. While they weren't particularly close friends, she was still Akane's classmate and ones she's acquainted with/on good terms with. Building with rage, she summoned Setanta. While still quite angry, she retained enough calm to turn to Rui seeking what he had in mind in regards to this fight.

"Well?"

[Sho Minazuki]

Strawman Hospital - Intensive Care Unit
31/5/2015 Sunday

It seems Akane was a little fired up as she looked to him for commands... It seemed obvious that the heart was the weak point, but what worried him was the blood red vines that not only encircled the heart, but come out of it. Those were likely defenses. On the other hand the IVs seemed to be a weak point. Cutting the blood flow and all that, and stopping the main body from getting a supply for awhile.

"Aim for the IVs first. Megumi, run a scan on the main body for capabilities, back line support with healing and spells, let's move", his first order given, it was him and Akane in the front line, so naturally they went forward to try and take out the IVs. As expected it wouldn't be that easy, the vines whipped around them and repelled them a little, but they managed to get a few hits in on the IVs. Unfortunately just a few wasn't enough and the party backed away. It turns out the hair could also attack, but this all seemed rather basic... It must have another trick, but they'll have to wait until Megumi completes her scan before they can advance properly.

[I-Am-X]

Akane Hanazawa // Heartbreak Hospital // Intensive Care Unit
Sunday, May 31st, 2015

As orders were given, they were to attack the IVs while Megumi does her scan. Just like the last dungeon, it wasn't as easy as it appeared, well, she wasn't expecting it to be easy but she didn't want to get pulled into a long drawn out battle. The vines whipped around and repelled some of their attacks. While they did manage to get some hits in, it doesn't seem like they did anything before pulling back. Attacks not strong enough? she wondered. She wondered what that thing was hiding. Every of these 'bosses' are supposed to have some kind of unique ability or something right?

Exchanging looks with Rui, it was decided that they should wait for Megumi to finish her scan before proceeding properly. In the meantime...If those previous attacks weren't enough..."Setanta.....!" summoning him again, she cast Tarukaja on herself. She'll just have to up the firepower!

[Sho Minazuki]

Strawman Hospital - Intensive Care Unit
31/5/2015 Sunday

Akane upping the fire power didn't work too well against the defenses, but once Rui added a Sukukaja buff to it, Akane was managing to get around them and deal even more damage to the IV bags. It seemed to be working, but as she beat at it, Rui spotted small surges going through the IV straws. Just as he was about to warn Akane, Megumi had warned them instead.

"Akane! Back away! Hurry!", whether or not the warning made it to her in time, the Sukukaja cast upon her should allow her to run away quickly enough to avoid major damage. Right on cue, the shadow erupted in red lightning, and screamed in agonizing pain. Thinking they figured out a pattern, continued their assault, but the lightning surges came more quickly each time. The shadow seemed to be accumulating.

Rui tried a new approach, and struck the Shadow all over with a Gale Slash, but he didn't manage to do more than clear the vines for a brief moment. They needed a spell to follow up from that... The shadow seemed to be very protective of that heart, as when the vines regenerated, they created a shell or cage around the heart before spreading out again once all the vines had regenerated... This was going to take a bit of coordination. He ordered Akane to buff herself up again, while Rui gave her a Sukukaja, and turned to their back line.

"When I use Gale Slash again, focus all your powerful spells on the heart, at the same time, Akane charge any of the IVs with me", he ordered.

Once again, he unleashed a Gale Slash, slashing away the vines, and timed just right, was a barrage of spells. It seemed he was on the mark. The shadow heaved backwards, and Akane had enough time to take down one IV.

[I-Am-X]

Akane Hanazawa // Heartbreak Hospital // Intensive Care Unit
Sunday, May 31st, 2015

Akane's thought was that if she increased the power of her attacks, she could break through it's defense and smash those IV bags but it's defenses were better than originally thought. Damn. She muttered before Rui aided her assault by casting Sukukaja on her and working in tandem with her Tarukaja spell. Thanks to the assist she was able to get around the vines and its defenses and smash those IV bags with her increased strength. Just as she continued to wail on it, unbeknownst to her, something strange was occurring. Right before it erupted, Megumi warned her of something big and, thanks to Rui's Sukukaja, she managed to retreat and avoid major damage. "That was too close of a call...."

After testing out something, Rui came up with a new plan. Acknowledging his new order with a "Got It", she once more summoned Setanta and cast Tarukaja. After casting Sukukaja on her, she waited for her time to strike. When the time came, she charged in with Kill Rush and was in time to take out an IV Bag.

[XLegs]

Toma Tanaka - May 25th | Warakuma High - Main Entrance

Toma stared at his exam score, unfeeling. He felt like he should care, or be disappointed, as it was far below his usual, but he just couldn't. It wasn't really a surprise, either -- while he would never admit it to himself, he had been falling apart the past month, his obsession with the kidnappings consuming him. When he wasn't at school, running, or working at the book cafe, he was wandering about, keeping an eye out and questioning others. He was going home late every night, always telling his parents he was spending time with friends -- something that wasn't entirely untrue sometimes. Toma was sure they knew something was off, but they never pressed the issue, probably not wanting any sort of confrontation. As a result, he had gotten very little studying done.

A bump from the crowd of students jostling to see their own scores brought him out of his thoughts. With a heavy, labored blink, he turned away from the board to head to class.

---

May 28th | Warakuma High - Track Field, Evening

The red-haired boy lay on the cold metal bleachers, staring at the ugly, gray sky as he did his best to slow his panting and heart rate. Whenever he ran himself ragged, he came as close to being happy as he had in the past while. Though it wasn't really happiness, but more like a sense of grim satisfaction, like he had done something that needed to be done. Whatever, it was good enough.

Swinging himself into a sitting position, his muscles cried out in pain -- as they should, considering he hadn't given them a day off in weeks. Toma knew that that wasn't good for him, but he didn't really care. He eyed the door back into the school, and decided it was finally time for him to change and head out into town. He was the only member of the track club left outside, as their meetup had ended half an hour ago. Wiping his brow with his shirt, Toma stood up, allowing himself to wince from the pain as no one was around.

---

Late Evening

Toma began the long trek home, rain already falling. Not that he minded in the slightest. Another night of absolutely no leads; at this point he couldn't even feel disappointed about it. He did, however, feel like something was off, or at least more than usual. He brushed the thought off to the side, and focused on getting home, pushing his wet hair off his forehead.

---

May 29th - Warakuma High

It was right at the end of the day that Toma overheard some second year students talking amongst themselves and mentioning that Kotori hadn't been at school today. The red-haired boy's stomach instantly dropped as he immediately feared the worst, considering she never seemed to miss school. He approached the second-years to confirm what they had said, which they did, while not being subtle about giving him strange looks.

After giving a quick nod of thanks, Toma turned on his heels and broke into a sprint, weaving through the crowd of students, and definitely bumping into and pissing off more than a few.

His exhausted mind was a jumbled mess of thoughts as he ran, heart-pounding not from exertion but from panic. Panic. He actually felt panicked and scared. It had been a long time since he had felt any emotion as intense as this fear.

Fears that were soon confirmed. In the distance, Toma could see the unassuming flower store and an out-of-place police car parked in front of it.

The boy flew up to the door and tried opening it, only to be stopped in his tracks upon realizing that it was locked. Forced to pause, he slowly came off his fear-driven auto-pilot, eyeing the inside of the store and seeing no movement. Swallowing hard and taking a breath to compose himself, he finally let go of the door handle and moved to the side, pressing his back against the building and sliding down onto his rear.

Several anxious minutes passed before the door was pushed open, snapping Toma out of his daze and prompting him to climb to his feet, coming face to face with two police officers. They both eyed him up and down.

"Sorry, boy, this store's closed today," said one of the cops, noticeably older than his partner.

Toma's brow furrowed as he swallowed again. "She's missing, right? The girl who lives here."

The two policemen threw each other a quick glance, before the older one replied. "Unfortunately. Are you a friend of hers?"

"Something like that, I guess."

"Hm. Well, we'll be working hard to find her, so rest easy, son."

Toma felt his eye twitch as he fought to keep himself from snapping. "Work hard? That's not enough. You useless lot haven't found a single one of the kidnapped -- they all just turn up with you guys having no fucking clue or explanation about what happened!" His frustration stained every word he spoke as he stared down the older man.

The cop blinked in mild surprise, but didn't lose any of his composure. "We don't know for sure the exact reason for her disappearance yet, so there's no need--"

"Bullshit!" Toma yelled, cutting him off and stepping forward, causing the younger cop to do the same and reach down to his waist. "It's obvious that she was kidnapped! The fact that you can't even confirm that proves how fucking useless you all are!"

The younger cop gripped Toma's shoulder and pushed him back firmly. "You need to calm down right now, man," he said, looking the boy in the eyes without falter.

The action helped bring Toma back to his senses. Mildy shocked from the realization of how he had just confronted and spoken to these cops, he looked away gruffly and shook the man's hand off his shoulder before taking a step back.

The older cop studied the boy's exhausted face, feeling a measure of pity for him. He sighed softly before speaking. "I'm sorry. You're right, we don't know enough about the recent disappearances. But I promise you, we are doing our best. It might not be enough right now, but it's all we can do, and it's what we'll continue doing."

Toma looked back over at him out of the corner of his eyes, expression softening slightly as the man's sincerity got through to him. He gave a slight nod as he looked away again, shoving his hands in his track jacket pockets.

The man gave him a reassuring tap on the shoulder. "Take it easy tonight, son," he said, before turning to his cruiser, the younger cop following suit.

Toma watched the pair drive off, before turning back to the flower store and looking solemnly through the window. Kotori's mother must have been worried sick. But even that wouldn't compare to how she'd be affected if she lost her daughter. Toma had seen the depressing, ugly transformation occur to his own parents after his brother's death -- both being changed in different ways, but both also for the worse. He couldn't let that happen. Despite how helpless and lost and useless he felt, he had to do absolutely everything in his power to not let that happen.

And not just for Kotori's and her mother's sakes. For his own, too. While he refused to acknowledge it, failing again would break him.

'Take it easy tonight.' Toma snorted softly to himself as he pulled up his phone and texted his parents, telling them he'd be sleeping over at a friend's house.

[Sho Minazuki]

Strawman Hospital - Intensive Care Unit
31/5/2015 Sunday

The battle raged on, and the shadow was finally down to the last set of IV bags, the vines were slowing down. It seemed to be receding, and they were able to get more attacks in... But something didn't feel right to Rui, he asked Megumi too, but she said she couldn't find anything. Each time the IV bags were destroyed, they would burst in blood, and spew like a hose all around the shadow, it extended the electricity range, but that was it. No more.

The party began to charge in for the final push and end this, but as soon as they did, the blood all on the floor began to rise enter the heart, it began to swell in size and the shadow began to laugh maniacally.

"W-what?! Quick! Stop it! It's healing itself!", she urged. The party's plans had not changed then, they charged and concentrated fire, and concentrated fire, and... and concentrated fire... They realized they were fatigued, they couldn't keep up a large onslaught. The last IV bag was destroyed in the midst of that too, but that only gave the shadow more blood to heal itself. On the bright side, it wouldn't have the IV bags anymore, but now the vines were active again...

"It's... It's ki- just keep fighting, but don't push yourself. It's health is deteriorating",

"How long until it's vulnerable again?",

"At this rate... Five minutes", that was too long... The entire party felt almost ill from the exertion. Rui's and Akane's body were feeling their limits, while Chiaki and Leiko were starting to become mentally fatigued. Kotori was visibly frightened, and with the party in a tough spot... He had to try something.

"Kotori... There's nothing wrong with hiding away, when you're afraid... That's what we do", he panted. He lifted his sword again, and took slow deep breaths, recomposing himself... Trying to squeeze out ever second he could.

"But isn't it sad? To hide away alone like that... You need to get out there. I'm sure Akane would like that of you too", he continued.

"So watch, watch what you can do when you're not hiding away", as he spoke those words, the party advanced in formation again, Rui taking care of the vines from reaching the back line. They were already mentally drained from casting, they didn't need to be physically drained too, but the reality was they needed to start using their weapons too, and the party was pushed back again. It was a grueling and long five minutes, before the shadow began to simple fade away... The battle didn't end in a bang, it just withered, and like the battle, so did the petals around the shadow's heart wither, and soon it began to fade away, turning back into the familiar humanoid form.

[Takaru]

Kotori Shirohane - Heartbreak Hospital: Intensive Care Unit | Unknown Time

As the shadows gathered around her mirror image, Kotori remained transfixed by it - what was this... thing? Was it... her? Was that what she really was? Her thoughts were circling all around her mind, leaving her entirely dazed and unable to even react as she was thrown across the room by her other self as it engaged in the intruders. 'No... no, it's not that, I... I'm not afraid of what other people think; I've got a reason to keep my distance...' Unbeknownst to her, Kotori's further denial only served to sustain her twisted other self as it took the fights to the four intruders. 'I... I can't help it, really. It's just that... what if they get hurt? I don't want that - no, never...' Through misty eyes, Kotori slowly lifted her head up - just in time to see her other self blast its attackers with bolts of lightning. For a moment, hesitation entered her thoughts. 'No, please... stop! You're just getting hurt over me! Stop... please...' she pleaded silently - but the four did not even falter; instead even redoubling their efforts. 'Why... why won't you stop? You don't have to do this, I... I...' Blinking slowly, it was only now that Kotori realised that she could feel something on her cheeks - tears that had unknowingly started to form.

Looking on, there was nothing she could do to stop the four of them from throwing themselves at the cruel shadow that was supposed to be herself - even if her voice would have obeyed her, she wouldn't have any words to make them stop; nothing she could say would have made them abandon this fight. But why would they do that for someone they barely knew? A sense of helplessness overcame Kotori at that realisation - and at the same moment, her shadow hesitated for just a brief instant; barely noticeable. Here she was, wanting to stop four people from throwing themselves into a life-or-death battle and she couldn't even get a whisper out. She had a reason, didn't she? She didn't want to see others get hurt over herself - and yet here they were, doing just that without even being asked to do so. People she wanted to 'protect' - what good would that be, what could she really do? People were going to get harmed, one way or another - and they were going to live their lives how they saw fit, no matter what she said or did.

Closing her eyes as her thoughts slowed down, the shadow began to become more frantic; the prolonged fight taking quite a toll on the party. '...what good is it if I keep people away and it just hurts them anyway - and... me? I... I don't want that. No, I never wanted that, but... but what should I do? I... I don't know anymore. I just... I...' "Kotori... There's nothing wrong with hiding away, when you're afraid... That's what we do."

Her eyes blinked open and turned toward the speaker - who kept on talking, asking her if it wasn't sad. He didn't even know her - and yet, he was risking his and his friends lives for her sake; even trying to help her through her inner turmoil. Kotori opened her mouth, as if to respond - but to her bitter realisation, she didn't have any words. It was at that moment - even as the boy told her to watch - that her shadow's words finally reached her core. She was right - of course she was. She had been right all along - and she'd known as much, but she just didn't want it to be true. Of course she had a reason to keep people away - but how long had it been since that had been the truth and not just a lipservice of an excuse toward herself?

She wasn't doing some noble deed - she was really just a shy girl who covered up her insecurities by clinging to something as an excuse. But what good was an excuse if it failed to even prevent exactly what it was supposed to guard against? And with that admittance, an unfelt wind swept across the battlefield, sweeping up the shadow as it wilted; leaving instead the once-more human form of Kotori in its wake. Looking at her, Kotori herself slowly pushed herself up from the ground; hands clutched before her chest as she closed the distance between them. The golden eyes fixed themselves on Kotori's own behind her glasses. There was still a wetness about her cheeks, but no longer did any tears gather in her eyes as she knelt down in front of her other self. And then, with a small smile, she extended her tightly-grasped hands out toward her shadow; revealing within her palms the previously discarded glasses of her golden-eyed self.

"I'm sorry," Kotori said, her voice still quiet. "You're right. You really are. I'm not helping anyone by hiding away - in fact, I'm even hurting them." Her shadow-self took the glasses wordlessly, slowly putting them on as she watched Kotori's smile dim for a moment. "And you're right about using an excuse - it had been the truth. But that was three years ago. It was just too much - he was gone from one moment to another, and then to hear that my heart was the same; that it might stop at any moment - I was scared of dying, I was hurt. I didn't want to hurt anyone else - so I kept my distance. But at some point... I stopped being afraid of dying and instead became afraid of living."

Kotori's smile had vanished; instead giving way to sorrow as she spoke to herself of her own memories. "But..." she then said before taking a deep breath. "I also realised that no matter what, I can't just avoid people entirely - no matter what I do, I will still affect others. And what if..." Kotori paused for a moment - as a small smile began to form again on her lips, "what if I can affect them positively, in the here and now, instead of only negatively?" With that, she slowly put her arms out to her sides - a rather awkward attempt at a hug, if there had ever been one. "So let's not be afraid of our scars. If we're broken hearts, who's to say we can't still be happy?"

At her words, Kotori's mirror image blinked slowly - before shaking her head. But not condescendingly or even denying her words - rather, in incredulity at her real self's words in conjunction with her silly gesture. A small chuckle began in her throat - but this time it was neither cruel nor disturbing. No, it was simply the laughter of an amused girl who'd just witnessed herself making an incredibly embarassing speech - before throwing her arms around her real self. And with that, a faint glow began to emanate from the smiling shadow as she faded once again - but this time into light rather than shadows. The light grew in intensity - yet somehow never becoming painful to the eye - as it floated upwards. At its very peak of brightness, the mass of light then gave off a brilliant flash - and began to morph into a new shape even as an object began to slowly descend from its core.

Kotori, who had watched the whole thing still kneeling on the ground, had fixed her eyes on the entire process - yet despite being just as inexplicable as anything that had happened since she had awoken in this strange place, she felt none of the fear. Instead, it felt... familiar; like the warmth of a home on a cold winter day. Above her, the flash faded - and revealed in its stead a new figure; clad in robes of white and red. Within its hands it grasped the stem of a blooming rose - yet its thorns made no attempt to sting her. The figure was evidently both human and female, even in spite of the flowery outgrowth that were her hair. Kotori, meanwhile, had extended her hands upwards toward the object that had come floating down from above: A card which came to rest in her hands. Holding it close to her chest, Kotori looked up again at her persona - a word which came to her inexplicably yet completely naturally - she smiled as her voice filled her mind.

"I am thou. Thou art I.

Kikuri-Hime was her name - something that Kotori knew just as naturally as the fact that she was smiling back at her before slowly fading away. Yet she didn't feel saddened by the departure - because she wasn't really gone when she was her inner self after all. Slowly getting back up on her feet, Kotori turned to face her saviours - and immediately bowed deeply. "Uhm, imsor-" She jumbled her words as the full embarassement of having the four of them hear all her previous words to her herself; her face taking on a quickly deepening red colour - but then she stopped, took a deep breath and stood up straight again. Kotori's cheeks made evident that she was still quite embarassed as she spoke again: "I am sorry to have caused you so much trouble and am really grateful for what you have done for me." Though it took her full concentration to do so, Kotori spoke without a hint of hesitation; no small stutter and in a clear and audible tone instead of her usual quiet voice.

A small smile accompanied her words - but before she could say anything more she blinked once, twice as her mind became clouded. All the fatigue came pouring over her as she began to sway on her legs - and then finally collapse into unconsciousness once again; without even being able to mumble another 'Sorry' for troubling them even further.