Avatar of Sen
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    1. Sen 11 yrs ago

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@Sho Minazuki Can you update us again? Just assume we all go into the hut and check it out, and then we'll go into battle with the big shadow.
The party quickly engaged the shadows, but upon closer inspection, Sato realized they were still unlike the shadows they'd seen in the dungeons. They seemed to be like the Oni he'd fought before, which made him wonder if they were similarly 'made' of glass. Were they 'reflections' of something, if this was the mirror world...?

Sato ignored the thought, as the Unicorn gave a warning shot in the form of a Zionga. It seemed that they were as aggressive as any other shadow, despite their insistence that they were having a picnic when they were rudely interrupted by the group of persona-users, so a fight was unavoidable. Sato prepared to blast them away with a Garudyne, but stopped himself when Samuru stepped forward in what looked like an attempt to negotiate with the shadows. It seemed like an interesting course of action that Sato had previously not considered, and he almost respected the pacifist line of thinking, but any good will towards Samuru was clearly lost on the battlefield as the shadows merely ignored his pleas and attacked them at will.

Fortunately, though, Samuru quickly realized the fate of the situation and ended up burning down their defenses with a strong Deathbound. The Decarabia was instantly eviscerated by the blast, while the two Unicorns stood their ground despite the damage it inflicted.

"Man, these are some weak shadows," Sato muttered to himself. Was it even worth exerting the energy to kill them...? Probably not. Opting to lower his bow as the Unicorns stood solemnly beside each other, Sato nodded to his team-mates to finish them off for him. It felt like a mob boss ordering his lackeys to cut off a loose link, for lack of better metaphor.

The others seeed to quickly reach a consensus on taking out the smaller shadows first, and immediately after, the group seemed to turn to Sato for further instruction. The sudden thrust into leadership felt jarring to him, as he was unused to not having to listen to Rui, their natural-born leader. Well, he was the most experienced out of his current group though, so maybe that was also only natural. As for strategy, though, he didn't have much of an idea of what to do. They didn't really know much about their enemies, so a broad role-casting was all they could really decide on for now.

"Okay, looks like we're going to clear out the cabin and proceed from there." Sato nodded to the others. "If his persona really is particularly resilient, then it'd be best for Samuru to take the front-lines as he suggested. Mako can take the fight up-front as well, while Ryan and I support from behind. It's our first fight in Seto and Samuru's first time in combat, so let's take it carefully."

With that brief plan, Sato drew his bow and motioned for the group to proceed towards the hut. The group quickly found a good path down from their surveying perch, and slid down the side of the dirt cliff and onto the path that lead to both the bridge and the hut. He didn't know what Samuru's defenses were really like, but he couldn't do much but wait and see as they approached the group of shadows effectively guarding the shack. Summoning Chronos, Sato took a battle stance, ready for the fight to start.

As the group progressed into the initial area of Hyuga, they noticed a mysterious mirror floating in the air, portraying the village square where Sato had fought the oni. The others wouldn't recognize it, so he looked at the rest of the group and nodded. "This should lead us to the last place we've been to in Seto," he said, as he awkwardly climbed through the portal.

Once inside, Sato didn't feel the need to add to the conversation at hand. Mako summed up any point he would try to make, anyway, so Sato focused on carefully watching their surroundings. Ayano didn't seem to sense any shadows in the apparent safe area they had created upon defeating the Oni, but he felt it frugal to keep an eye out, just in case. There was little to note until they managed to exit the village down into an open field. Looking back, they could see the forest they could have passed through, but the mirror had circumvented it completely. If more of these portals would appear, it would definitely make navigating Seto much easier. The question was, though, how big even was Seto...? For some reason, though, upon leaving the safe area, the air suddenly felt heavier-- a familiar suffocating feeling that permeated the mirror world. Except, this time, it felt a lot more drowning... He'd felt it the last time he was in Seto, but it was still a foreign feeling compared to the average dungeon they went to.

Behind them, Zeke screeched as it perched upon a roof, apparently watching over them. Ayano decided to stay near the bird to provide support from a distance as the rest of the team explored. Sato's first instinct was to confirm if there was a shadow presence, and Ayano almost immediately confirmed the suspicion. It was hard to tell where, but there was definitely something lurking around ahead... Cautiously, Sato lead the group up to a cliffside that allowed the team to observe the rest of the paths. The only notable things were a bridge being guarded by a large shadow, and a shack surrounded by some weaker looking shadows. There didn't seem to be anywhere else to go in sight, so these seemed to be the only options they had. Of course, splitting up would be ill-advised, so they were going to have to decide which one to take on as a group.

"Bridge, or the hut..." Sato posed the question, thinking to himself quietly. The only real path seemed to be over the bridge, so someone would probably have to take it out sooner or later, but exploring around the hut might reveal either another way to go or something that could prove useful in future battles. All in all, though, Sato figured it would be good to be thorough when exploring Seto as to not miss anything potentially important, so they were probably going to do both anyway. "I'd say we should take out the weaker shadows first, and then see if we can handle the bigger one afterwards. What do you guys think?"

Before long, Sato heard another person enter the warehouse, and he turned around expecting Mako. Instead, though, was the latest addition to the team, Samuru Amakusa. Sato nodded a greeting to the younger boy, and opted to listen in on his and Ryan's conversation. Though he apparently came to clean out the warehouse, Samuru instead decided to join the team going in Seto. It was a welcome addition, seeing as Seto was still a pretty unknown place for the team. Plus, it'd be interesting to see Samuru in combat for pretty much the first time.

Soon enough, though, Mako arrived, and Sato was the first to meet him by the door, but what he had expected to just be a casual greeting turned into Mako embracing him. "Um," Sato muttered, unsure of the precedent being set. It wasn't that he particularly minded the contact, but it felt like the first time others had really witnessed their intimacy. Well, it shouldn't matter, seeing as being honest with themselves was kind of the whole reason they got their personas anyway. "It's nice to see you too." Sato replied, trying to hide a pleased smile.

Sato turned to the rest of the group and nodded, now that Mako was there. "Four-- cough, five-- of us should be enough for a safe expedition into Seto," he said, fidgeting with a part of his long bangs as he noticed Ayano in the corner apparently, "so we should be good to go. I believe it's Samuru's first time in real action, though, correct? Let's all be careful, since we don't have much back-up going forward."

Having acknowledged Samuru's official participation in the team, Sato turned to head into the mirror world, but he stopped at Samuru's question(s). "I guess you've never actually done this before..." Sato scratched at the side of his face. He pulled out his phone to exchange numbers with Samuru as well as he spoke. "Just walk into the mirror, and since we have our personas, it should just work. I would recommend against trying to enter any mirrors besides this one... It might have dangerous results." Sato cocked his head a bit. "And, I don't think bringing supplies is going to be necessary. This shouldn't take too long, and if worst comes to worst we have your guys' healing spells."

With that said, the group continued any conversation into the mirror world...


The quartet of teens emerged onto the strange corrupted streets of Mirror Warakuma, and Sato was relieved to find that the Mirror World was somehow cooler, though muggy and suffocating. Sato lead the group down several familiar-looking roads before they suddenly found themselves on the shore of sea of Seto. The torii that marked its entrance towered over the group, and Sato turned towards the group once again.

"Here we are." He said. "The steps beyond the torii should lead us into the first area of Seto. Exploring there should be our first priority, but don't stray too far from the group. Ayano's navigation can't save you." The group then went down the long staircase into what lay beneath the surface of the sea, entering the same Japanese-esque forest and village as before. It seemed odd to be back so soon, after having only been going once every week or so. It was all fairly familiar to Sato, though, so he simply walked along with the others as they journeyed into the depths of Seto.
Now that everyone seemed to be conscious, the attendant Henrietta gave a bow and began explaining the momentous 'feast' that they were apparently all a part of. How would they eat while unconscious though...? This wasn't 'real', was it? As if to answer the question, Henrietta suggested they browse the menus that Sato noticed were in front of them. Curious, Sato opened it and skimmed through the contents. Obviously the most notable thing was the main course section. They briefly describe what sounded like a battle between the customer and some mysterious forces. All together, things on the menu seemed to just be new ways to harness the powers of their personas...

Regardless of whether Sato even wanted to 'order' anything, Henrietta then informed them that they had all been called there just to announce the beginning of the services for now, and that they could apparently come back to the Velvet Room of their own accord from now on. It's then that Sato remembered the key that he had found with him when he had woken up in the hospital. It had to be the key to the Velvet Room, but, where would they even be able to use it...?

Before Sato could muster up the will to ask any questions, Igor dismissed everyone and Sato's consciousness quickly faded again. The entire room seemed to melt into a blue nothingness as he felt his thoughts slipping away...


JULY 23RD 2015, THURSDAY
Noon


The summer day was sweltering, and as Sato walked into the abandoned warehouse, he couldn't help but wonder if the Mirror World would be as equally miserable. The thought begged a question: was it a 'true' mirror of the real world, or was it merely a messed up distortion that coincided with the real world? Regardless of the answer, Sato had talked to Mako about the short-lived trip into Seto the team had last night, and they soon decided to investigate it together now that there was no target to save. Sato informed the rest of the group that they were planning on going into the mirror world and that anyone else come at the specified time.

As he walked into the warehouse, though, he noticed that Ryan had already arrived. "Hey," Sato acknowledged him, giving a small nod. "Are you going into the Mirror World as well today?" He'd be a valuable asset, especially if nobody else showed. Neither he nor Mako had any means of healing themselves should something happen, so having support in the form of Ryan's Persona was very much welcome. "Say, do you have my phone number yet? It'd probably be a good idea to exchange numbers, seeing as we're stuck relaying messages through Rui to the others."

With that, though, they had little else to do, lounged around in the warehouse for Mako and any of the others who had RSVP'd. Looking around as he waited, it occurred to him that while they had been using the warehouse as their base of operations for quite some time, they had never really done anything to it. Or even clean it up, much. He considered clearing some of it out while he was doing nothing, but the sheer scope of the task was daunting. Maybe they should organize a group cleaning day or something...
Nikou - Hyrule Castle City, Main Sewers
Nikou skidded to a stop and hid behind the corner of the wall when he heard voices come from a little further down the hall of the sewer system. Peeking around, Nikou observed the two dirty men covered in what looked like rags. It looked as if they had been living amidst the sewage for months... Chances were much confirmed that one of them was the elusive 'Sewer Steve', if the name was literal at all. Their conversation about the guards also placed heavy suspicion.

It was pretty obvious at that point, but right as Nikou started to move, he noticed the water stirring before the men called out in surprise. Nikou ducked back into cover and watched the situation unfold carefully. Surprisingly, a water Dodongo slithered out from amidst the murky water, softly growling as it stepped up the ramp. How it had gotten so far upstream, or why even, was irrelevant at the moment, as it seemed to be menacingly approaching the two men, brandishing its fangs at them. Normally, Nikou would've left it alone as it wasn't attacking him, but letting it rip apart his only lead on the case was far from optimal.

"Let's go," Nikou nodded, as took his spear off his back and assumed a combat position, but before he could lunge forward, Kibbe conjured up a circle in the air, and after a brief moment, a triad of ice shards launched into the Dodongo's side. A trail of blood leaked from its scales as the ice lodged into it, and as result, the attack seemed to finally shift its attention from its prey and instead to the real threats. "Nice shot," Nikou growled. He couldn't complain about the efficacy of Kibbe's magic at this point, but he still hesitated to put much trust in a street magician like him.

Now that they had caught its attention, Nikou dashed around to the Dodongo's side and dug the blade of his lance into it as best he could. It snapped back at him quickly, pushing him away. Nikou kept its bite away with careful positioning, well-timed stabs slashing the Dodongo whenever it tried to lunge for him. "I got it busy, so do that magic thing again," Nikou called out back to Kibbe as he tried to keep up the game of keep-away with the giant lizard.

I'll update for the tournament soon. It's kind of the only thing ready to update.

Sho bb pls

I need ur halp
Nikou - Hyrule Castle City, Main Sewers
Nikou nodded in appreciation when Kibbe agreed to his proposition as impromptu partners... for justice. He wasn't entirely sure how great an idea it was to work with some random sketchy street magician, especially considering Kibbe hadn't even shown any kind of proof that he'd be useful in any kind of altercation, but again, it was better than nothing...

"Let's get going then," He said, pulling open the gate of the sewer entrance. The incredible reek of the sewers sparred no time before hitting Nikou, but they had little other choice than to go in. It was his only lead, and they were already there, so... Albeit a bit tentative, Nikou started down the stone stairs that lead them into the main sewer system. A primary channel of sewage water ran down between two walk-ways, occasionally connected by bridges. The thought of getting into the sludge that they walked by sent shivers down his spine, but he couldn't help but wonder if it would have any kind of strategic advantage in a fight... No, there was no way he would even if it did. Regardless, Nikou and Kibbe continued down whatever passages they could in some attempt to find a sign of activity, Nikou all the while shooting down any attempt at small talk Kibbe might try to start up.

Eventually, though, Nikou stopped abruptly in his tracks, holding out his arm to stop Kibbe as well. He knelt down and observed what he had spotted: someone had dropped a vial of... something, on the ground. He tentatively brushed aside some of the broken class and touched some of the powder spilled on the ground, rubbing it between his fingers. He'd seen it before; a ground-up dust of a rare mushroom found in southern forests. While it wasn't hard evidence, it was an important component in making quite a few very illegal drugs. It was probably pretty recent as well, seeing as neither it nor the glass had decayed or been disrupted...

"Come on," Nikou said, stepping over the mess as he started to hurry down the walkway. This was a lead he couldn't ignore. "Follow me."

With one last collective strike from everyone, the Oni was finally defeated. With its strength faded, each repeated blow of magic sent a dust of glass flying, ripping away parts of its body like parts of a figurine. Before they could go in for another all-out-attack, though, the Oni evaporated into a mist of glass dust that flew away in the breeze. A flash of glass reflection revealed a quick image of a smiling couple, but it was far too glimpse and it didn't seem to stir any kind of memory within Sato, so he opted to ignore it for the time being.

Suddenly, presumably because they had defeated the shadow, the oppressive air of the village seemed to lift. Sato smiled to himself as he breathed in the fresher-seeming air. It felt a lot more like the real world, which was quite a relief when coupled with the fact that Megumi shared of how the area seemed to be completely absent of shadows now. The group decided that they were pretty much done after dealing with that mess, and opted to head back out and rendezvous with Rui's group-- they had little doubt their team had overcame whatever challenges they had met. Sato walked over to Shizuka's side after, offering her his help if she wasn't feel well enough to walk all the way back out. She had taken quite the hit, after all.

Outside, back at the warehouse, the group waited for a few minutes before Rui's group emerged as well, revealing that they had managed to save another victim from the Mirror World. Kami offered to carry them over to the hospital, but with that they had nothing else to do or discuss, leading to a quick disbanding of the group. It was already getting late, so Sato decided he should head home, but not without walking Mako home first. They went down the streets a little slower than usual, and when the time came for Sato to part ways, the moment to take those parting steps felt like an hour.

Once home, Sato decided to try to study for a bit, but the fatigue of their Mirror World weighed on him heavily. It felt like a drug was slowly pulling away from the world of consciousness, so for the sake of his back, Sato slinked away from his desk and fell into his bed. Though his body seemed to melt away into sleep, his consciousness felt like it was still alive, something beckoning his mind...


JULY 22TH 2015, THURSDAY
Middle of the Night

Sato's senses slowly came back to him, gradually becoming aware of his surroundings. Once the black faded from his vision, Sato looked around, quickly realizing that he had found himself in the Velvet Room once again. Sato found himself getting frustrated with the familiar murkiness and droning music that characterized the place, but he tried to ignore it and realized that all of the seats had finally been filled, even if he couldn't quite make out who each of the silhouettes were. Though, just as Sato's consciousness began to fade, a clapping sound resounded throughout the room. The room suddenly lit up, the lights piercing through the fog that had previously obscured the room. With the new-found light, Sato found himself finally able to make out everyone else in the room. His fellow guests turned out to be nobody else but every other member of the investigation team. Rui, Mako, Shizuka, Matt-- everyone was here, all corresponding to a tarot arcana, even the last couple of victims they had just saved the other night (and the hawk?). Though, for some reason, all of them were also in overly fancy outfits. Some of them were impressive, actually, but that wasn't the point.

Like always, Sato's body felt disconnected from his consciousness, and he could only manage to move his head, unable to rise from his chair no matter how much he wanted to. He briefly wondered if he could try to talk to the people that sat next to him, but before he even bothered trying, he decided that it would be better to just listen to the man with the long nose.

"Welcome," Igor said, with a deep drawl, "to the Velvet Room."
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