Asura

A Hero's Training!

yeah i've honestly been wondering too

Midnight Sun: Last Song Over the Horizon

Sirius Leverant

"They succeed in spite of their trying, then."

Sirius was quick to retort at the intruder to his reprieve. After all, she surely hadn't set off with the intention of gaining his ire, but her incessant giggling and airy demeanor had managed it all the same. The way she winked at him only stoked his anger all the more; had she really come all this way just to flirt with him and make vague innuendo? If he hadn't been in such a foul mood he might have admired the initiative. However, he had arrived at Taiyōtawa to dominate the rankings of the ICW course, not the first airheaded bimbo to come drifting his way after class. A firm rebuke was in order, to make this fact clear.

"We all have things we'd like to do," he mused coldly, "A tragedy that more often than not they don't come to pass."

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

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

Even if the venture had done little to endear Nakano's perpetually sour self to him, at least Natsuhime seemed to come away from it happier. He half expected the former's fixation on the house to imply she too could see it in all it's phantom glory. It was more likely she was just ruminating on its destruction—the younger of the two had mentioned that her brother disappeared shortly after the fires, and if not for the middle schooler's insistence that he could somehow come back, Noriaki would have assumed the elder Nakano had perished in them. Some levity was introduced to the oppressive atmosphere by Natsuhime's concern for the cat. That was something he could provide a defined certainty to, unlike the fates of mysteriously missing siblings. "The cat's fine. I found him wandering around a few days after we move in," He told the concerned tween to assuage her worries, "I guess he's mine now? He's been sleeping with me these past couple nights, and I bought him a collar and all."

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

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 wasn't entirely sure whether he should have expected Nakano's rebuff or not. Sure, she was renown as something of an ice queen, but shooting down the plea of a lonely child just seemed particularly cruel, especially with how melancholy she had been prior. It was true that trying to maintain a friendship with someone who didn't attend your school was somewhat difficult, especially with the age gap, and that having a thirteen year old trailing after him wasn't exactly the kind of attention he had wanted to cultivate, but there was no need to actually crush her hopes like that. "I'm sure we'll see each other around the neighborhood," He offered the girl in consolation, "We could always talk then." The topic of conversation had abruptly shifted after the trio arrived on Noriaki's street. After his first run in with the shadowy mirror world, he had done all he could to avoid the house on the corner. Unfortunately for him, that place was exactly where his two companions decided to direct their attention. They spoke about how it would soon be reconstructed—all but confirming a suspicion he had done his best to avoid ruminating on too long since that fateful Sunday. The younger of the pair addressed him shortly thereafter, giving him a convenient out to not look the way of the illusionary structure and whatever unwelcome inhabitants it held. "I've heard a little here and there. Pretty sure the real estate agent mentioned rents have been down since the arson. Probably why we could afford to live this close to the school."

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

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.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

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."

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

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.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

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.

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

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."

Shin Megami Tensei: Persona

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

If he received nothing else from this rendezvous, Noriaki at least learned that the president was not entirely imperturbable. He idly wondered whether or not Nakano was used to people challenging her like this, given her reputation. Of course, not many people could remain unflinching when someone got up in their face like that—which was the entire point of the exercise. She would be less likely to lie if she was too concerned with his proximity to come up with a convincing cover. His eyes searched her face once she had given him her motives, as if to seek out traces of the deception he had already deemed her guilty of. With a sigh, he pulled back, returning to his full height and turning to retrieve his bag from where it hung on his locker door. "Don't worry about it." It was a rather dismissive thing to say, considering his own actions only moments prior, but if he was to take her word for it, then she had no knowledge of his circumstances. There was no point in drudging up history he had gone to great lengths to bury, and besides, he had plenty to deal with as it was. Not least of which was Nakano's insistence on being a "good senpai". Even if he buried the hatchet with her over the misunderstanding on the first day, he was unlikely to shed himself of her if she was half as persistent as most overachievers. Still, he could at least try to dissuade her. Given how a little breach of comfort had managed to crack her cool, collected facade, he had just the idea of how. "I'm going now, so unless you intend to treat me to that lunch you owe, I think this is where we part."