Marlowe

「 Persona: Reflections 」

MENTIONS: Masashi [@Zombehs], Akira [@DJAtomika], Hoshiko [@Fabricant451], Akio [@Lord Orgasmo], Kenzan [@PrankFox]

This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t happening! She had to be in the middle of a nightmare. At any moment, she would wake up, eat breakfast, and go to school. Hell, if this was a nightmare, maybe the whole thing with Okamoto was part of it, too. Asumi couldn’t help but hyperventilate as she raised a hand to her other arm and pinched her skin. No, it still hurt… so, this was all real. Tears pricked the corners of her eyes and within moments, she was crying. She sobbed into her hands, her body overcome with shivers as she tried to calm herself down. Since she was in the middle of an emotional fit, she didn’t notice the approach of the third year who had run up to help them at first.

“I don’t even know who that guy is!” she wailed at the boy who had knelt down beside her. “I was… I was just walking, and then I tripped and fell on top of him! I probably got his juices all over my clothes and everything!” Asumi punctuated her statement with a frustrated squeal, her hands brushing up and down her uniform as she desperately tried to remove the invisible dead-person germs that had undoubtedly soiled her clothing. When Chen showed up and said that they had to leave, her eyes widened to the size of ramen bowls. “D-do you really think the killer’s still around?!” she asked as her voice rose several octaves higher. She leapt to her feet, her body now shaking like a leaf on a branch. “Oh God, what if he comes back and sees us? He’ll kill all of us for stumbling across the scene of the crime! We need to leave, come on, let’s go already-!”

Her hands scrambled towards Kenzan, Akio, and even Masashi as she attempted to drag them down the alleyway by their sleeves and the hems of their shirts. Though, her struggles were thwarted by Hoshiko, who had started to touch the body out of curiosity. Asumi flinched. There was no way that she was actually putting her fingerprints all over the dead body. First off, that was very gross. Didn’t know that bodies started to decompose as soon as someone died?! There were probably all types of weird germs all over his clothing! That, and… “Don’t touch him! You’re gonna get your prints all over–” Asumi began to scold her, but even that was interrupted by a flurry of footsteps from further down the alleyway.

Her eyes snapped upwards to see a pair of police officers had approached, probably having been drawn to the scene because of all the commotion. Asumi held her hands behind her back, intimidated by the police officers’ questions. If only Nagi was here– She would know what to do. Her gaze flicked to the dead body, then back up to the officers, then down at the floor, then back up to them. Just as she prepared herself to explain to the police, Hoshiko said that “she did it”. Her jaw dropped open. Did it? Did what?! “I didn’t do anything! I just left school and was gonna go to Chen’s house to study ‘cause Miss Okamoto said there was going to be a test soon and I don’t wanna fail so I was just trying to be a good student and I cared about my friends so I brought them along with me so they won’t fail the test either and get then we ALL get expelled-” Her eyes flooded with tears once more before the alleyway brimmed with the caterwaul of her frantic weeping. “I just wanna go home!”

“Okay, okay, hold up! This is getting us nowhere,” the police officer said, exasperated. He turned his scrutinizing gaze towards the rest of them that stood in the alleyway. “I think it’s best if we take you guys down to the station–”

“To the station?!” Asumi bawled. “I don’t wanna get arrested!”

The officer let out a long sigh as he rubbed the back of his head. “You’re not getting… oh, forget it. Just come with us, okay?” He turned back to his partner. “Call in an extra cruiser. Don’t think we can fit all these kids in ours.”

As the other officer leaned their face towards their radio once again, Hoshiko’s words echoed in Asumi’s mind. Maybe it was a bad idea to make this study group after all…

---

The extra police cruisers hadn’t taken long in getting there. As both police officers and detectives began to study the body hidden beneath the garbage bags, the lot of them were guided to the two cars that would take them to the station. Asumi whimpered as she was shoved into the car and became smushed between Hoshiko and Masashi. The ride to the police station was uncomfortable, though the warmth of her schoolmates provided her some comfort during the ride. Her sniffles punctuated the quiet that brimmed within the vehicle, which earned her a half-confused, half-pitying glance from the woman that drove the cruiser. Yet, even the cop didn’t say anything the whole ride there.

Being questioned by the police was… an experience, to say the least. One by one, they were taken into a singular room where they were questioned for about half-an-hour before they were cycled out for another member of their group. Asumi had been the last one to be brought into the small, gray-walled room with a big white table in the middle of it. The detective in charge of them was a surprisingly young– and short– woman who was named Saitou Naoko. When Asumi was questioned by her, Miss Saitou’s voice was always rough and overly aggressive. “Where were you earlier today?” she would ask in a snarl, then she would ask, “What time did you wake up?” or “What time did you have lunch?”. Then, she’d ask where she was at a specific time again and again. Sometimes, her questions would even be repeated. This stressed the hell out of Asumi, who hardly remembered what she had for breakfast. It was only when she started to tear up again that Saitou’s confrontational demeanor became somewhat extinguished, and she left the room to bring her back a bottle of water and some tissues. After Miss Saitou asked a few more questions, Asumi was allowed to leave the room, where she met up with her friends back in the spacious lobby of the station. The light of the mid-afternoon sun filtered through the clean windows and soaked the cheap brown leather chairs in warmth.

“That was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever gone through! I thought I was gonna say something weird under all of that pressure,” Asumi chirped as she walked up to them. She rubbed her eyes, which were sore from crying for the past two hours or so. How had it gone for everyone else? Had it been as scary as hers?

Before anyone else said anything, a white-haired man in a tan suit and with a clipboard under his arm entered the lobby behind her. Asumi recognized him as Daichi Ishida, the head detective that had poked his head in her room once or twice in order to scold Saitou when she became too hostile. He scratched the side of his stubbly face as he looked at each one of them respectively with tired brown eyes. “Well, your stories all match up, so you’re free to go. We’ll call you if we need to ask you guys any more questions,” he said.

Asumi stared at him, a wave of relief washing over her body. “For real?!”

“Yep. We just wanted to make sure you didn’t have anything to do with the whole fiasco,” Daichi grumbled. “To be honest, I doubted that a bunch of high school kids had the hearts to murder that poor man in the first place, so I told Naoko to keep her questionings brief.”

“Yeah, but you better get home before the curfew!” Saitou’s head poked out from behind the lobby’s desk. Her brows were furrowed as she glared at them in warning. “After what happened, it’ll look pretty bad if the police catches you out and about when you’re supposed to be–”

“I’m sorry for the trouble. Like I said, you can go now. Make sure to get home safe.”

They were sent off as quickly as they were brought in. Luckily for them, it was still early, and they decided to drag Kenzan along with them to Chen’s house with the promise of food. Asumi was disappointed that they probably wouldn’t have time to study, though the mention of a warm, home-cooked meal was quick to brighten her mood. It kind of sucked that Nagi and Munehisa stood her up, but she guessed it was better than them showing up and getting dragged to the police station with everyone else. That, and maybe there’d be leftovers at Chen’s house!

Asumi hummed a tune as she bounced after the group, enjoying the spritely spring breeze that drifted down the street. Their bus ride had taken about fifteen minutes, which left more than enough time for her to chill at Chen’s place before she had to head home. Even though she kept up a cheery demeanor, her mind couldn’t stop going back to what Chen had said back in the alley. Was there actually a killer in the neighborhood? Was it a man or a woman? Why were they killing in the first place? Would they target students from the school or stick to adults? Either way, the thought bothered her and made her a bit afraid. She wondered if Masashi would walk her home if she asked him to...

Asumi realized that her ponderings had made her slow her pace and the group had walked a bit ahead of her in the process. Her heart skipped a beat and she trotted to catch up with them. She was half-tempted to talk about the dead body and what they thought of it, but she concluded that it was probably a bit too heavy to discuss at the moment. They were almost at Chen’s, after all. It would be best to move on and enjoy the rest of the evening.

“Gosh, that made me hungrier than I expected!” she blurted out without thinking. With a broad smile on her face, she turned to look at Chen. “What’s your dad cooking up for us? I hope it’s something yum-my~!”

---

At Fujihama High School...

MENTIONS: Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Munehisa [@Solace]

At Nagi’s question, Munehisa sounded from the hallway without delay. "Yeah, yeah, can we get the hell out of here now? Getting expelled don't hit the same as breaking the law!"

"Yeah, yeah. Now shut up and let's go study with the others. I already told Asumi we're on our way, so no pussying out of this for you."

The two then began to make their way down the hallway of school with the intention of leaving as soon as possible. Their rabble continued between them as they walked, with Munehisa’s voice dinning down the corridor as they arrived at the entrance of the school.

"Not like I'm gonna be able to focus, anyway-- man, this sucks! I can't believe the page tore out, much less Okamoto being the one to find it in the first place! And all those other kids she's got runnin' around like bees in a hive trying to find clues, seriously pisses me off..."

Munehisa’s phone buzzed and let out a high-pitched chirp. At that moment, the atmosphere morphed around them, as if a new realm had been wrenched from a hidden fiber of existence and brought to reality. The school’s floors, once polished and clean, now felt sticky under their shoes. The walls’ panelings were now covered in strange, brownish hexagonal structures that protruded slightly and oozed sticky, golden liquid that was viscous in nature. Even the overall structure of the walls were curved, and the shoe lockers behind them were no longer there. In fact, it seemed that the school itself had grown much larger in size.

A sickly sweet scent beckoned for them to come further inside...

「 Persona: Reflections 」

MENTIONS: Munehisa [@Solace], Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Masashi [@Zombehs], Akira [@DJAtomika], Hoshiko [@Fabricant451]

"Don't worry about it, Nakano. They were actually pretty okay for the most part." Yuri shrugged nonchalantly as she scribbled down their incoming orders. At Munehisa's greeting, she gave the male a small smile. "Awww, hey Nara. Being a sweetie like always, huh?"

Yuck. Asumi grimaced at the exchange. It was very much like Munehisa to flirt with Yuri-- in fact, he always did-- but it was even worse when Yuri kept him at arm's length. Whatever, nothing she could do about it for the time being. She instead chose to listen to everyone give Yuri their orders, only snapping out of her daze when Nagi commented on her appetite and figure. She scoffed at her playfully before she took on an over-exaggerated, offended expression. "Excuse you, but I work out every day before and after school. The walk home's actually a pretty long one!" She held the snobby look on her face for a few more moments before she broke out into a series of childish giggles that were promptly smothered by one of her hands.

When Hoshiko spoke for the first time since they entered Obi's, Asumi turned towards the first-year with interest. Others might have been daunted by her storm of words and questions, but she was able to keep up with her well enough. Her eyes widened with surprise as a light blush dusted her cheeks. "Wait, wait, wait, four boys? Really?" she asked in a high-pitched voice. Time to ask the important questions. She leaned forward, her voice a whisper. "Are any of them cute?"

"The better question is if they're interested in a poly-amorous relationship," Yuri corrected as she noted down Hoshiko's order with a flurry of her pen. "God knows Asumi needs a whole harem of men with all of the energy she has..."

"Hey! Not true!"

Yuri waved her off with a leisurely swaying motion of her right hand. "Anyways, I'll be back with your orders soon."

Her blush having returned in full force, she rested her chin in her hand as she glanced outside. The rain had finally begun to let up; the walk home shouldn't be too bad by the time they finished eating their food. Already, she imagined being all warm and fuzzy inside, filled up with ramen to the brim. The proper way to go home and study! As she took in the smell of spice-filled broth, her look drifted across the table to Munehisa. She raised a brow at his antics before pouting at him upon realizing what he was doing. "Jeez, Nara, again? Hasn't she turned you down like, three times already?"

Even if his incessant mutterings over Yuri could get annoying, Asumi couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. Yuri just didn't seem all too interested in her friend, no matter how smitten he was over her. Honestly, it was getting a little too painful to watch. Maybe she could set him up with one of her girlfriends. She leaned back in her seat, rubbing her chin as she sent a sidelong glance towards Nagi. Hmmm...

Before she could pursue the matter, a light tapping sound came from the window. Turning to see what it was, she was surprised to see that the crow with the purple-pinkish leg-band had perched itself on the window sill. The bird stared inside with unblinking red eyes and cocked its head up at her. A low, raspy croak came from its beak, earning a smile from her.

"Awww... hey little guy~" Asumi cooed as she reached forward to rub her finger on the glass. "Didja get to eat any of that birdseed?"

The crow gazed at her, silent. After a moment, it reared its head back and began to rap on the window once again, harder this time. Poor thing's probably still hungry. Asumi thought with a frown. I hope its owner finds it soon.

Their ramen and drinks arrived not long after. Asumi set off on a quest to devour her food, feasting on the triple order of chashu and heaping pile of noodles. The crow's desperate tapping increased in the presence of food all of the while, which only made her feel worse for the bird. Yuri, on the other hand, did not appreciate the creature's persistence, and had gone outside to shoo it away with the bristly part of a broom. Asumi had been quick to berate her, but Yuri told her that the crow was a frequent troublemaker and was far too smart for its own good-- she even explained that it often raided their trashcans in pursuit of food. It was best to scare it away, she said.

Just as Asumi thought, the rain had ceased by the time they finished their meals. The sky was now clear, and a lovely, aromatic breeze swept through the streets. At the end of their feast, Asumi decided that she should foot the bill. It was a decent chunk of her allowance, but she was sure that her parents wouldn't mind. She was making new friends, so there was no way that they'd complain about it. Soon enough, everyone made to leave, and Asumi bid them farewell before she set off towards home. Hopefully she'd be able to complete her chores before she settled down to study.

---

April 24th, 2025.

Classroom 2-B

MENTIONS: Munehisa [@Solace], Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Masashi [@Zombehs], Akira [@DJAtomika], Hoshiko [@Fabricant451], Hakuro [@FalloutJack], Kenzan [@PrankFox]

Asumi's day at school went peacefully... for the most part.

Almost everything went as planned; she arrived at school early, ate lunch with Nagi, and answered her teachers' questions correctly. Things changed in the latter part of the day, however. It all happened in history class. Miss Okamoto lectured the class in her usual way, ranting and complaining the whole while. She topped off the class with an brief announcement about a test a few days from then, which was honestly a little ridiculous. They had hardly learned anything; how could they be tested if they didn't know the subject? Asumi frowned, already semi-stressed out as she went to put her books away in preparation for the next subject. However, Miss Okamoto's announcements of terror did not end there.

"Before we move on, may I please have your attention again? Just for a moment." The teacher's voice was sweet-- too sweet, even.

Asumi was almost too scared to look at her, but when she did, she wished she hadn't. Miss Okamoto stood at her desk, a wicked, strained grin having spread over her lips. Fear crawled through her veins as she watched Miss Okamoto lift a piece of paper for the class to look at. Her heart dropped into her stomach upon realizing what exactly it was that she was looking at. Is that really...?!

"I found this drawing on the floor of the classroom the other day. I think it's a drawing of me," Miss Okamoto snared, her face darkening to match her tone of voice. "Honestly, I'm rather insulted. Does anyone know who created this... this thing?"

The classroom was dead quiet. Asumi swallowed as she fought the urge to glance over her shoulder at Munehisa.

"No one?" Miss Okamoto's eyes became slits. She set one of her hands on her hips, holding the paper up by one of its edges as she stepped out from behind the desk. Slowly but surely, she made her way around the classroom, worming her path around each of the students' desks with deadly grace. "Really? No one at all?"

Asumi chewed on the inside of her lip. Oh God, she was sweating. Thankfully, the history teacher had returned back to her desk after her parade, and too far to sense her sheer discomfort.

A long sigh left the teacher's lips. "Well, if we aren't doing this the easy way, then I suppose we'll have to do it the hard way..." Miss Okamoto's smile returned to her face, though it was practically demonic at this point, almost as if she was relishing the fact that she was in control of the whole classroom. Her venomous leer did not falter once as she placed the drawing back on the desk. "Since no one wants to fess up, I'll have to bring this up to the principal. I'm sure I can convince him to come up with an appropiate punishment for the class. Hmm... expulsion, maybe?"

Asumi bristled in her seat. EXPULSION?!

"I'm giving you lot a week," Miss Okamoto hissed. "If no one confesses by then, this is going straight to the principal's office and the entirety of Class 2-B will be removed from Fujihama High."

Asumi couldn't believe it. It wasn't even a week into the new semester and already she was being faced with a test and getting kicked out of school?!

The school day might have ended an hour later, but that granted her no respite. As the class chattered among their separate cliques, her mind wracked for solutions. There was no way she could solve the situation with Miss Okamoto-- not yet, anyway. Munehisa was her friend. There was no way she was going to rat him out to her. She only hoped that someone else did, or he manned up and turned himself in. As he should-- if she was expelled from high school because of Munehisa of all people, she would likely murder him. That left the other issue: the history test a few days from then. She could fix that, at least.

Her eyes drifted across the class in search of something– anything– that could help her out. That was when her gaze fell on one of her classmates, Chen Akio. He was doing what he did best, reading a textbook. Not just any textbook– a history textbook!

“Hey!” Asumi called out and got up from her seat before she walked over to his desk. Even though she was right in front of him, she gave him a small wave and a tender smile. “You’re Chen, right?”

Chen visibly recoiled at the sound of his name. Someone was talking to him? Why would anyone want to talk to him? Was he about to get mugged? He looked up from his history textbook to the girl who had called his name. She looked harmless enough. Wasn't her name… Asumi something? Maybe she was looking for something?

"Uh, yeah, that's me." Chen closed his textbook and began to put it into his bag. "Do you uh… need some help with something?"

Asumi perked up when the boy affirmed that it was actually who she thought he was. Okay, perfect, step one was done. “Well…” she began, swaying her hips side to side bashfully as she dipped her head at him. She glanced up at him pleadingly, trying to pull off the best puppy-eyes she could.

“I don’t really get what Miss Okamoto teaches most of the time. I’m so lost in the class, I’m starting to worry about my grades dropping because of her! So, I was wondering, would you be willing to tutor me and some friends? We could go to your place or something, and I can bring along some snacks to get us through the study session!”

As if that wasn’t enough to convince the studious boy, she leaned forward and gave him a sugary smile. “Please, please, please help us?” she asked. “I’ll do anything!”

Chen leaned back from the girl as she leaned in, the grip on his textbook growing tighter. She seemed… a little too enthusiastic about all this. Was this some sort of scam? Then again, she was right about Miss Akamoto. They had to have been some of the worst "lectures" he'd ever had the misfortune of sitting through. Maybe she was just really, really desperate. Well, helping others is a good way to make new friends right?

"Well, uh… Yeah, sure, I don't see why not. We can study at my place. Mom is supposed to be out on a girl's night out and dad has today off--"

Wait. Shit. His dad was home. That might complicate things. His dad probably wasn't opposed to the idea, and probably even liked the idea of him studying. There was just one ever so slight problem. "Uh, so if you're coming over, I'm just going to warn you now, my dad might not let you leave without staying for dinner. Not literally, of course, but you get the idea. Where he's from, food is kind of important."

Chen realized he had a death grip on his textbook this whole time. He let go of the book and zipped up his bag, before turning back to the girl. "I guess I need to call dad at let him know I'm having people over." He pulled out his phone. "Any idea how many of you there'll be?"

No way! He was actually going to help them and give them food! It was a miracle! Asumi grinned as she bounced excitedly on her toes. “Thank you so much! And no worries about the dinner thing! I’m sure everyone’ll love to stay and try out your dad’s cooking!”

That left one last question. How many were going with her? Well, grades were important, so she might as well invite everyone. “Maybe like…” She thought for a moment as she pulled out her own phone. “Five or six, including me. Mind if I give you my number so you could text me your address?”

Well someone was certainly excited. Maybe this whole Okamoto thing was worse than he thought. On rare occasions he was ever called on in class the questions were easy enough to answer, but that might have just been because he had read the textbook so much. Chen grabbed his notebook and began scribbling down his number on a corner before tearing it off and handing it to Asumi. "Alright, there you go. If you need anything else, I'm going to head over to Wantanabe's first to check out some stuff. Send me a text when you're on your way incase I need to cut my trip short." Chen looked down at the phone in his other hand. Time to make a call.

---

It wasn't long after her conversation with Chen that Asumi gathered her friends-- Hoshiko included, for some reason --and they set off together. Asumi thought it was the least she could do; she didn't only care about her grades, but theirs as well. Nagi agreed to meet them at Chen's place, promising to drag Munehisa with her. She kept their pace slow and leisurely to provide their savior with enough time to go to Watanabe's and back. The spring breeze was very lovely that day, backed by clear skies and a warm sun. Their first stop was a small, not-very-well-known corner shop that sold all types of snacks and candies. Asumi bought a ton for herself and for her friends and shoved them all into her schoolbag. The sweet, bitter, sour, and salty snacks rested comfortably in her bag as they set off in the direction of Chen's house. Oh right, she almost forgot! She pulled out her phone and sent a text message to Chen.

Hey! On our way! Bringing a lot of snacks too! :)

Asumi tried to relish the spring breeze as they walked down a small street that people hardly used, though it was to no avail. Her mind was bitter, and she was practically frantic as she led them down the path. It wasn't wide, but luckily it wasn't extremely narrow. Some trash cans lined the small side street, though they were kept in place for the most part. Once they made it down the street, they'd be near Chen's neighborhood. "I swear, that whole thing with Miss Okamoto was such B.S!" she whined. "Can she actually expel a whole class?! Is that even allowed?" Knowing their luck, it probably was.

"This can't happen. If it does, it'll ruin my reputation! There's not going to be a single university who wants a student who was expelled from school..." Asumi said, continuing her tirade as she glanced over her shoulder at them. "We gotta do something, and qu-- AH!"

Her foot snagged against a stray garbage bag, sending her tumbling onto a pile of other bags. Groaning in complaint, she struggled to pull herself to her feet, her face burning a bright red. Of course. "Damn it, she whimpered, "people really have to mind where they throw their... trash..?"

There was no mistaking that smell. She had smelled it before, when she accompanied her parents to the hospital when they weren't able to find anyone to take care of her. It wasn't even a smell, to be fair-- it was more like a stench, one of decay and blood. Panic ran through her as she stared down at the trash bags, her eyes growing wide upon further inspection. A older man with grayish-black hair was sprawled on his back beneath the pile of trash, his eyes wide open and staring up towards the sky. His sightless gaze was covered by a glossy film, and a ragged gash spread from one side of his neck to the other. Old blood had pooled beneath his head. Asumi stared, her face becoming paler by the minute. Then, her throat released the most guttural screech that it could manage, her scream rippling up and down the pathway and bouncing off the stone walls.

When she her lungs were emptied of air, she let out a series of dry gasps as she rolled off the pile of bags. A rush of adrenaline pulled her back onto her feet. "B-b-bo-" she stammered, shivering all the while as she backed up against the wall. Her eyes were wide, her lips hanging open as she tried to form words. "Th-that's a- a-... that's a dead body--!!!"

A Dinosaur-themed Monster Girl/Boy RP!

Its been two years since the last post my friend.

「 Persona: Reflections 」

MENTIONS: Munehisa [@Solace], Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Masashi [@Zombehs], Akira [@DJAtomika], Hoshiko [@Fabricant451]

Oh yeah, ramen was a great choice for dinner. There was nothing better than eating a steamy bowl of it when it was a gloomy, rainy day. Her stomach growled loudly at Masashi's question and Asumi rubbed it in complaint. "With the day I had, I think I'll have two of them," she whined. Maybe she'll ask for extra toppings this time around. She'll need it if she wanted to get a good night of studying down. God knew that she had to, at this rate.

Their little group finally made to leave, with another student in tow. Even though Akira was in their class, she didn't know much about her-- Akira, however, probably knew a lot about her, since she didn't sit far from her. However, before she could move too far, Munehisa brandished what he had been drawing. It was a caricature of their darling Miss Okamoto. The drawing's crudeness made her roll her eyes, though she couldn't help the crooked grin that teased the corner of her mouth. "No wonder. You actually did a pretty good job at capturing her likeness, that's for sure," she giggled. Credit had to be given where it was due.

And so, they were finally off. They meandered down the halls, gathered their belongings, and set off outside. Asumi frowned at the downpour. The storm looked pretty bad from inside the classroom, but being outside in it was much worse, even with umbrellas. She chatted with Nagi as they walked-- her topics of interest were always the same. School, their teachers, what she was going to do when she got home, and what boys looked extra cute in class today. She always worried that she spoke a bit too much for Nagi's liking, though she was glad that she was a good listener. In the midst of her spiel about Miss Okamoto, they came across a waterlogged girl who traveled without an umbrella. Asumi didn't know her personally, though she did recognize her as one of the first-year students at their school. Upon her request, they slowed down upon their approach.

"Hey, wanna come with us for ramen? I'm sure someone will share an umbrella with you!" Asumi called out over the rain. With a kind smile, she added, "Better than walking in the rain by yourself, right?"

With yet another student added into their mix, their entourage walked the rest of the way to the shopping district. She thanked her past self for at least choosing to wear rain boots. Asumi couldn't imagine splashing all the way to Obi's in water-filled shoes. She breathed a sigh of relief once they made it to the storefront. A flock of assorted birds huddled underneath the red cloth canopy as they pecked at a bunch of bird seed strewn on the floor. Water rolled off of its edges as a crow landed beside a group of pigeons and attempted to garner its fill of food, though the pigeons chose to peck at it instead, drawing out an exasperated squawk from it. It fluttered off to perch at the top of the roof, its black feathers all fluffed up and its small body quivering under the torrent of rain. Poor thing, she thought, her eyes drifting down to its right leg. A bright purple band was wrapped around its scaly ankle. Is it someone's pet..?

Asumi's attention was drawn back to the store once they stepped inside. Fortunately for them, Kuro-Obi's was not yet full, and there were several tables that sat vacant. The warmth coming from the kitchen and the smell of broth ebbing with spices made her stomach growl loudly. "Ah, it feels like I stepped into heaven!" she chimed, a pleased expression washing over her face.

"Oh, Asumi," Katsuragi Yuri, one of the servers, greeted her as she approached. Her soft smile wavered slightly once she turned her eyes to the rest of the students that filtered inside. "Wow, you sure brought a whole army this time."

Asumi beamed up at the other second-year. "Hi, Yuri! Nice to see you again!" she chirped as if she hadn't just seen the girl in school. "Yeah, everyone was pretty hungry, so we decided to come here for a bowl of hot, steamy ramen! It's the perfect weather for it, isn't it?"

Yuri nodded, the small smile still on her lips. "I guess you can say that."

The lot of them chose a table by the window, and Asumi chose to sit right by the window itself. The rain didn't seem to let up; it was like someone had set the rainfall to "extreme" and forgot to turn it off. She leaned towards the window and peered at her reflection. Her hair was even worse than it was before! Curse the April Showers... "I look like I've been struck by lightning!" she whimpered as if she had been mortally wounded. "I should really bring a hat with me on days like this..."

"I think I had too high of expectations thinking you'd learn from the last time this happened." Yuri told her as she once again approached them, this time wielding a pen and notepad. Her grayish-brown eyes scanned their table, her thumb pushing the button at the top of the pen in-and-out. After a series of rapid clicks, she rested its tip against the paper. "What'll you have?"

"I'll have the challenge bowl, please! With two extra eggs!" Asumi answered jovially.

"Got it." Yuri scribbled something down on the paper before she turned to the rest of the group. "What about you guys?"

PMD: Explorers of the Unknown

She felt like she had been running for forever. By the time she made it to the cave's entrance with Sora, she felt like she couldn't take another breath. Lumi flopped onto the ground, her mouth gasping for air. Even though her legs ached, they still trembled beneath her form. Her ears strained for any sounds that came from beyond the cave's entrance in hope that they weren't being pursued. Thankfully, she didn't hear the thump of large paws against the ground or the fierce snarls that had previous filled her ears. She wrapped her paws around the top of her head and curled her tail around her form. The shivers came even more now, accompanied by the fresh onset of tears.

"I d-dunno..." she sniffled. Her tears pattered to the stone right in front of her face. It was dark out, it was cold, she was scared-- and she was left with two siblings left than before. Never had she felt so small in her life before. "I... wanna go home..."

Home. That was right. What were they going to tell Sable and the rest of them? That it was their fault that Cane and Storm died? She couldn't imagine the look on their father's face. What would he do, what would he say? Would they be kicked out? Would Sable or Toffee or Fawn even talk to them again? "We can't tell dad about what happened," she whimpered as she raised her head to look at Sora. "They'll never talk to us again if they find out it was our fault. Maybe they'll even... they'll even make us leave town!"

Clans of the Coast

Her ear swiveled back at Lionpaw's approach, turning soon after he asked his question. Her tail lashed once, his very query making her pelt prickle with annoyance. She was never an unkind cat-- many of her Clanmates would say that she could be a little hot-tempered. "No, I haven't. I don't even know where she is." she said with a downwards twist of her maw. Despite her age, Lionpaw seemed even bigger than her. While she usually liked him no matter how cotton-brained he could be, she preferred to be alone at the moment. She signaled her annoyance with another flick of her tail, her icy glare focused on him like she blamed him for her troubles. Before she could say anything else, she caught a flash of black and reddish fur pass by. Her fur bristled with alarm.

"What is Brightflow doing in camp?" she hissed.

The FireClan cat strolled up to their freshkill pile, cast a bemused glance at the fresh-caught fish, then looked up to the top of the pile. He licked his lips as he took the seagull she had just caught and trotted off without a worry in the world. What was worse was that the cats that laid around doing nothing didn't seem to be bothered by his bold behavior. Frostpaw turned her head to look at Lionpaw, her jaw half-open. "He just took my seagull!"

「 Persona: Reflections 」

MENTIONS: Munehisa [@Solace], Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Masashi [@Zombehs]

Despite everything, it comforted Asumi to see at least one of her friends were bothered by Miss Okamoto's strange way of teaching. Especially when most of the complaints came from Nagi's side. At least she wasn't the only one that was out of the loop during history class. The two boys that sat with them seemed to be almost carefree regarding the matter, which irked her. It turned out that Masashi was just listening to music the whole time, while Munehisa had been preoccupied with something obviously not school-related in his notebook. They were supposed to be there for moral support, not shrug their shoulders and pretend it isn't a big deal. Asumi finally lifted her head off of Nagi's table and placed her chin in her hand. At Munehisa's reply, she couldn't help but scoff. "I rather just... not imagine anything like that, thanks. I think I'm gonna get a heart-attack if I have to deal with any more stress."

Then came the topic of what to do next. Her stomach grumbled at the mention of food. A warm bowl of ramen would surely hit the spot after she had to deal with such a rough school day. "Yeah, let's go get ramen. I'm starving," Asumi agreed with all of the energy she could muster. She got up from her table and pulled on her pink schoolbag, making sure that none of her pins had fallen off. Nope, every single one was still on there, including her newest and most beloved one-- a chibi black wiener dog stuffed into a hotdog bun and lined with ketchup and mustard. She smiled at the sight of it, though the throng of rain against the windows brought her back to the present.

"I didn't expect it to rain, so I didn't bring an umbrella..." Asumi laughed nervously as she glanced between the three of them. "Anyone mind sharing theirs with me?"

PMD: Explorers of the Unknown

Lumi was glad that her brothers thought the same. She was worried they'd ignore her all throughout the trip to the cave system just because she was smaller than they were, and frankly, the only sister there. Already, she craved the warmth of her nest and the safety of her home. Hopefully no one noticed them gone yet; she wasn't in the mood to be yelled at by Sable or Toffee, much less their dad. She began to pad over the way that they came, the smooth stone cold against her pads. The cold had even worked its way into her bones and between her toes. She'll have to lick and rub them once she got back home. Guess that's karma for going against what dad and Sable said, she thought to herself, rubbing her pads together even as she sat to wait for her brothers. For some reason, they were taking too long, and that in itself made her fur prickle with annoyance.

"Hey, are we going or not?" Lumi called over her shoulder.

But her question was only answered by Storm's desperate scream, along with an overwhelming heat that pressed against her back. Shrieks of pain, originating from where Cane was once standing, echoed through the cave. The sound hurt her ears, and she pressed her paws against them in order to shield them from the screaming. Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she watched Cane's form twist and morph behind the glow of the light. His screams had become growls and snarls of desperation, and as the bright light slowly dimmed, more and more of Cane's form was revealed by its recession. Lumi's eyes grew wide with a mixture of fascination and fear as a giant beast, similar in appearance to a Vaporeon but not quite, now stood in front of them. Its thick neck hung low as its jaws, lined with pointed teeth, parted to release exhausted heaves.

Lumi glanced at her brothers, filled with fear. But this was Cane they were talking about. No matter how big he was, they had to take him home, right? Not to mention, this was their little brother they were dealing with. Well, he wasn't so little now, but... "C-cane..?" she murmured, taking a step close to him. "Are... you okay? Is that really you?"

Cane's eyes snapped open, revealing yellow orbs that held no semblance of their little brother. The beast tossed its head back and let out a howling, pained roar that shook the very cave itself. Lumi fluffed herself out in fear, her paws now planted in place. She watched as it raised one of its thick legs and slammed its claws into Storm, sending him arching across the air. Her panic turned into terror as she watched the gray furred Eevee slam against the wall right beside her, a sick snap emitting from his spine, before he tumbled to the ground and laid still. She rushed over to his side without a second thought, her eyes wet with tears as her paws pressed against his limp form. The beast roared again as she shook him violently.

"Storm... Storm! Wake up, we need to go home!" Lumi cried.

The beast-- Cane, whatever it was-- turned to look at her. It snarled and lowered itself to the ground as saliva dripped from its fanged maw. Lumi bristled in fear as its yellow gaze seared into her pelt. In her frayed mind, she knew they had to run. But what about Storm? Cane had to be brought back too, somehow. She watched in horror as Cane charged at her, his long fangs bared with the intent to kill. Though he was big and strong, she was still small and nimble. She slipped between his forelegs and dashed towards the cave entrance as Cane slammed into the wall behind her.

"SORA!!" she half-screamed, half-sobbed as she rushed to the entrance as fast as she could. "RUN!!!!"

Clans of the Coast

A wave of relief washed over Albatrosspaw when Embersky said that they were to leave for him. Dawnstar and his mentor looked as tired as him, if not even more so. The twitching of his tail stopped as they started their trek back home. The cats of BreezeClan were not happy about what transpired that night-- even now he saw Goldensight whispering something to Beetlestep with such a spiteful intensity, he thought that he was going to start yelling. Swiftwind's eyes seemed distant even as she picked over the terrain with her long, slender legs. He hoped that his Clanmates wouldn't cause any problems with DarkClan or RainClan during the border patrols. He was sure that no one was in the mood for war, but he heard stories about border spats from the senior warriors. Sometimes they became very bloody.

He perked up when Embersky spoke again, his eyes wide. "I was guessing it was something like that..." Albatrosspaw replied. His shoulders relaxed as he offered the other tom a smile. "Cats talk about stuff all the time, so it was bound to slip if Dawnstar or you had said anything about it."

Albatrosspaw found himself walking at a less burdened pace, turning his gaze back to the front of their Clan. Yeah, he guessed everyone was unhappy for the time being. But things were going to get better. The coast would never be the same with FireClan and BreezeClan side by side. Even now, the moon remain unclouded above their heads. StarClan had to be proud of them.

The morning sun shone bright above the clouds as the ocean's waves licked the sand. Frostpaw watched the foam bubble on the shore as she remained crouched behind a rock. The sight of the water was peaceful, though she know how deadly it could be if she chose to dive down into its depths during low tide. Her mother had told her stories of the strongest of swimmers being taken by the ocean or what lurked beneath the current. But it was just so warm, so much so that her pelt was growing warm beneath the golden rays of sunlight. She shook out her fur before she once again allowed her gaze to drift towards the sporadic movements on the shore. A small flock of black-tipped seagulls were scoured the sands in search of crabs. It was amusing to her to see such slow-brained birds work so hard for their food. On the other paw, they knew exactly where to look for their prey. Maybe it was instinct rather than smarts?

She watched as one of the seagulls walked closer to where she lay crouched. Its beady eyes were focused on the ground for a moment before it bent over to stick its beak into the sand. That was when Frostpaw sprang out from her hiding place and leapt upon the occupied bird. It scrambled to get away, squawking all the while, but Frostpaw was big and strong enough to pin it to the ground and kill it with a quick bite. The taste of its blood made her stomach growl, but she resisted the temptation to eat right there and then. Nightwater would have her tail if she scented prey on her breath.

Frostpaw walked back to camp, the seagull hanging limply from her jaws. I wonder when Nightwater will tell Dawnstar I'm ready to become a warrior, she thought. It had been moons since she was made an apprentice, but she never really had any outright combat experience outside of sparring with the other apprentices. Either way, she had to be ready enough-- she could feel it in her claws. The striped she-cat trotted to a wall of rocks that were reinforced with shells and ivy. The edges of the shells glinted in the sun, their cracked edges practically daring anyone to try and climb over them. That was another thing about living on the shore-- it always provided the Clan everything it needed.

She walked over to an entrance tunnel, which had been hidden by a small outcropping of rocks and seagrass, and slipped inside. The Clan's camp was nothing special. The sandy beach floor rested beneath an open sky, and each den was built out of a combination of driftwood and stones that were able to be pushed through the tunnel. Frostpaw felt lucky that it was her ancestors that had built all of this for them-- she couldn't imagine pushing and pulling stones all day under the sun. Many of her Clanmates were already awake by now, talking among themselves as they basked under the sun. The Gathering last night really was something, A bored sigh left her as she padded over to the fresh-kill pile and dropped her catch at the very top. How come when I go to the stupid things, they're always boring?

「 Persona: Reflections 」

MENTIONS: Munehisa [@Solace], Nagi [@Psyker Landshark], Masashi [@Zombehs]

April 21st, 2025.

Classroom 2-B, 3:35 p.m.

If Asumi had to describe how was her day, she would say that it was... pretty interesting. First off, it had rained the entire day, and it was still raining. She could hear the tip-tap of yet another passing shower rattle against the windows. The skies were overcast, and the streets outside were covered in lukewarm puddles. Not only that, but the rain brought along a desperate chill, which had forced her to wear her fuzzy gray sweater the entirety of the day. Hadn't winter gone away like a month ago? she had asked herself, but apparently that wasn't the case. Then again, she might have been exaggerating; she had never tolerated the cold well. The humidity made her hair frizzle the entire day, and she had to pat it down and smooth it out on more than one occasion. It had been a very uncomfortable experience, to say the least.

Then there was their history teacher. At first, Asumi thought she was going to like Miss Okamoto. She was young and very possibly in her mid-twenties, and her golden plumes of hair were never out of place, not even once. She had a petite body, and her make-up was always on point. Some of the boys in class often ogled her as if they had never seen a woman in their life, and even though it annoyed her a little, she couldn't blame them. Asumi thought that it was insane that she had become a teacher at a boring high school instead of landing a job as a model or idol. She probably had her reasons. Maybe she really liked teaching the younger generation.

While Miss Okamoto had started off as someone that Asumi looked up to, her opinion of the teacher went south very quick. She tried to understand her-- she really, really did. But the woman often took breaks in the middle of lectures in order to text on her phone and complain nonstop about her problems with her boyfriend. And when she did teach, she'd often go off on wild tangents about what she did over the weekend or how kids should respect their teachers no matter what. Her "lectures" made Asumi very uncomfortable at the best and extremely frustrated at the worst. No matter how hard she tried to pay attention and impress her, her efforts were always met with a look of sheer disdain. Asumi really hoped that she hadn't started off on the wrong foot.

Then there were the stupid videos. Asumi had only seen Prime Minister Satoshi kill himself on television once-- that was enough for her. How many times did people have to watch the same broadcast? The video was passed around more times than a bottle of booze between swanky high school students. She hoped that the principal would catch the people that still had the video saved on their phone, because every time she heard the beginning of his speech it made her stomach churn. The whole fiasco exhausted her to no end.

At least it was the end of the day. It was time to finally unwind and spend time with her friends, which was usually a pleasure... but right now, she just felt empty. Were they just as tired as she was? Or was she just being dramatic?

Asumi had been silent for the span of the five minutes after they were dismissed by their homeroom teacher, Mister Itoh. Her upper body was sprawled upon Nagi's desk with her arms dangling from the sides and her head turned towards the wall. It was like one of the rain clouds outside had flown into the classroom and currently loomed over her. Her clouded mind weighed heavily on her shoulders, but after a few minutes of sulking she finally forced herself to turn around and face them. To anyone that didn't know her well, it seemed like she was on the verge of tears. To them, it was just her having a moment.

"Am I the only one who didn't get Miss Okamoto's lecture today..?" she whined. "To be honest... I kind of blanked out after she started talking about the show she watched last night..." She punctuated her statement with a wistful sigh. After a moment of quiet thought, she turned her gaze towards Munahise. Sparks of exasperation lit up her blue glare. "And on top of everything else, your dad looks like he's a hell of a grader. It hasn't even been a month into the semester and I'm already stressed the hell out."