Takaru

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Corporate War Zone: Floor 2, Warden's Office | Sunday

The combined attacks upon the restrained giant seemed to work to unbalance it and making its attempt at freeing itself that bit harder - just enough time for the group to pour another volley into it whilst Rui kept the shackles bound. The key was precariously close to turning however - but with Alexei's heavy blows, Sato's howling wind and Kotori's lightning strike, the enemy was soon reeling. Rui, however, seemed to see this as a chance and chose to go in for the kill rather than play it safe - which, luckily, paid off as the slashes of both his and Aksr's swords brought the enormous shadow down; much to the relief of Kotori who had been afraid they might have to once again try to dodge an enraged shadow's hefty charges.

Taking the moment's respite to catch their breath - something Kotori was most thankful for - Ayano wasted little time in scanning ahead and soon enough informed them that their target was nearby and up ahead. Though still breathing a little more quickly than she'd have liked, Kotori nodded nonetheless when Rui checked to see if everyone was ready to press onwards - she didn't want to slow everyone down nor leave whoever was caught in this whole dungeon mess to have to stay at its mercy any longer than necessary. As such, the group soon headed out - though not before Ayano informed them that a hallway to their left would lead to the other dungeon. Given the ever more bizarre architecture of these places, it didn't even seem all that strange anymore - instead, Kotori was just glad to have at least some convenience for once which would make it easier for either group to aid the other should the need arise.

Once again, they came to a door - this one leading to the warden's office, according to the words upon it. Peering inside before they stepped through, it seemed rather spacious - not that dimensions seemed to matter or make all that much sense most of the time - and as such they entered the room. Kotori nervously glanced about, though she found nothing to warrant it - before settling her eyes on the person in the middle of the room. The figure seemed familiar once again - but she only recognised the prospective Agriculture Club member on a second glance, seeing as he'd only very briefly showed up before vanishing just as quickly.

However, he was not alone - standing before him was once more a doppelganger of sorts which had just noticed the party's arrival. Much as before, the shadow - which was which was not hard to tell from the sheer venom in its voice - began to speak, nonchalantly speaking of Ryan's past. However, the shadow's voice quickly grew in both volume and anger and before long was practically screaming as it spat out words of resentment at his parents. Uncomfortable at hearing another person's secrets being laid out without their consent, Kotori didn't know whether to listen or not - though the voice of the shadow made it hard not to either way; especially when its words about running away from other people sounded more than a little familiar. However, she looked up again when Ryan suddenly shouted at the fateful words that the shadow was not him.

A dark laugh resonated around the room as shadows converged on the other Ryan; signalling its transformation into a more monstrous form - or rather, the room's transformation. It seemed to draw in the shadows of the office's back wall; tearing it apart in doing so - and revealing behind it an enormous humanoid figure; much like their previous adversary but even larger still. It too was clad in prisoner's clothing and much as before its arms were clasped in cuffs. However, there was little time to be taken aback or wonder about any meaning as the shadow wasted none in pointing at the party - which the giant seemed to take as command and brought a fist crashing down. Everyone only barely managed to get out of the way as the ground itself shook and the huge fist even left a crater where it had struck the floor. Kotori was increasingly anxious whether her healing spells would be able to undo the damage from such a devastating attack - or, for that matter, whether she'd be able to withstand one herself.

However, now was not the time to dither and worry - instead, she simply had to prevent that possibility from occurring in the first place; even if that thought sounded a lot less confident that she might have liked. Rui meanwhile had already ordered Ayano to scan the smaller figure of Ryan's shadow and then told them to split up - not a bad idea, considering the sheer strength and area of attack this giant possessed. Taking up position roughly in the middle left, she quickly glanced about to make sure everyone else was definitely uninjured before focusing her attention on the giant - were it not for the calming presence of both Kikuri-Hime and the other three group members, she wouldn't feel even half as confident. Now, however, she decided to focus on dodging any incoming attacks and, if necessary, heal any incoming damage whilst anxiously awaiting the completion of Ayano's scan.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Corporate War Zone: Floor 2, Solitary | Sunday

Another thunderous crash caused yet more clouds of dust to fall from the ceiling above as the giant shadow rushed down one of the group; only for them to dodge aside at the last moment. Luckily, no one had actually taken such an attack head-on, but Kotori feared that if the fight dragged on ever longer, the fatigue would leave someone to slip up eventually - a prospect she was not very eager to see the results of. This was not exactly aided by the fact that she shadow seemed to be mostly shrugging off their attacks without much sign of wavering, as befit something of its size - at least until Ayano's voice telepathically reached them; her scans having finally detected their opponent's weakpoints.

Rui immediately put himself forward to take care of the literal key component of this fight whilst everyone else should ready themselves to exploit the opening thereafter. Though she thought that deliberately putting oneself in the path of this giant did not exactly sound very healthy, it seemed the only way - and just in case things didn't go to plan, she kept herself and Kikuri-Hime ready to cast a healing spell should the need arise. Luckily though, Rui managed to slip out of the way of the charging shadow and instead bring himself into a prime position to strike at the key. Between the strikes of both him and Askr, the key was driven into the shackles; causing the shadow to briefly tense up as the restraints tightened around its arms and legs before falling forward with yet another crash.

Rui barely even needed to call out for the rest to press their advantage before a barrage of attacks was loosed upon the prone giant as Alexei, Sato and Kotori all turned their focus on it. "Kikuri-Hime," Kotori called as she extended one arm toward the exposed back of the creature. A bright flash and roaring thundercrack immediately followed her next word as she cast what offensive magic she had: "Zionga." But despite the evident increase in strength compared to Kikuri-Hime's initial offensive capabilities, she still remained worried whether it would really be enough to put down the giant for good; readying herself to either heal any would-be retaliation or quickly vacate the path of yet another charging attack.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Corporate War Zone: Floor 2 | Sunday

With an echoing bang, Rui and Alexei slammed the door shut as Sato and Kotori ran through; the former having arrived just moments ahead of them. As if the loud noise had drowned out everything else or perhaps even deafened them, Kotori only noticed the odd silence after several sharp breaths from the run up to the door. Furthermore, she was worried at first that the shadows might try to break through the door - but not a sound came from the other side or, for that matter, this one. Glancing about did not exactly serve to lift her mood however - instead, she saw that they had gone from a wide open battlefield to a somewhat dimly-lit prison complete with cells all along the walls.

Peering inside the cells, Kotori immediately feared that the shadows within might come out and attack them - but instead, they barely even roused themselves from their sullen demeanour as the group slowly started traversing the prison. The uncertainty of what to expect combined with the dreary grey that was all about them left Kotori nervously looking about - the fact that this place was rather sparse on lightning not at all helping her nervousness; to the point that she even started imagining faint sounds. However, when she realised that the others seemed to be looking around confusedly too, it became apparent that those faint noises - children's voices, on closer inspection - weren't just in her head. That, however, was not very reassuring; even if Rui gave to command to continue onwards.

Despite the rather creepy atmosphere though, nothing ever seemed to come of it - even as they arrived at a door leading into what looked like a large room. It was difficult to tell though, as there were no lights whatsoever illuminating it; only the barely-sufficient light of the hallways they were still in shone some clarity on the immediate entrace area. Taking a deep breath and stopping her hands from nervously fiddling as she clutched them to her chest, Kotori followed the others into the room - after all, there was no other way forward, no matter how little she liked the look of it.

She almost jumped in frightened surprise when the lights flickered to life with a loud clacking sounds - and again when she saw the huge figure standing in the middle of the room. Clad in black-and-white striped prison wear and enormous handcuffs binding it, it was certainly fit its surroundings - but there was no time to think what it might mean as the creature did not take kindly to its surprise visitors and immediately started to charge at the group. Kotori hastily ducked and ran aside as did everyone else - before a thunderous boom echoed throughout the room as the giant collided with the wall; unable to correct its path or come to a stop with the hindrances that were its cuffs. The impact was so great, Kotori could even feel it - though she wasn't certain if it was the sound resonating or the floor had actually shook a little. Either way though, that was not an attack she wanted to get caught in - or anyone else, for that matter.

"Kikuri-Hime," Kotori called even as she ran in the opposite direction of this giant - she didn't want to stay too close to it after seeing its destructive strength after all. Rui called for Ayano to begin her scan whilst Sato used the brief moment the giant needed to recover from its own attack to loose an arrow at it - Kotori however hesitated to attack; first checking to see that everyone else was still in good condition whilst keeping a nervous eye out for any attacks from the enormous shadow prisoner.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Corporate War Zone: Floor 1 | Sunday

Still cowering behind the crates and reflexively ducking even deeper whenever a shadow bullet whizzed by or struck the wood with a loud crack, Kotori was trying to tell herself that those weren't real guns and 'just' shadows which wouldn't really be as dangerous as the real thing - but the success thereof was leaving a bit to be desired as she recoiled yet again at the cracking sound of a strike against the crate. Luckily though, it seemed that with Sato and her attacking the shadows, Rui and Alexei had enough of a distraction to charge in and take out the soldiers with their close ranged attacks. Their attack thus lulling, it allowed for both Sato and herself to peek out again and use their respective attacks to take care of any stragglers; making short work of the entire squad.

However, there was little time for them to breathe easily - as just a moment later, Ayano sent her rather worrying telepathic message; informing them of the very real threat they were facing. And indeed, a quick peek out over the trenches did reveal a sizeable number of shadowy enemies rushing towards them. Though they'd managed to take out the previous group, Kotori too had strong doubts whether they'd be able to take down so many more - but luckily, Ayano had already mapped out the way for them; leaving Rui to press onwards immediately. Given the sheer number of enemies, Kotori didn't have any intentions of sticking around any longer than necessary and was quick to follow; running as fast as she could as she frantically looked about to see if any shadows were trying to attack them and, between sharp breaths, calling out for Kikuri-Hime to send down a bolt of lightning onto them as Rui and Alexei cleared the path immediately ahead of them of any would-be obstacles.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Corporate War Zone: Floor 1 | Sunday

Proceeding further through the dungeon - it was strange to call it such when it wasn't an enclosed building of sorts as those before - seemed to get everyone on edge; perhaps even more so due to the strange presence of these shadowy soldiers that seemed to ignore them instead of attacking them, given that previously every creature had always been immediately hostile. No one seemed quite sure if they might not suddenly turn on the group - a tension which only grew further when it seemed that those shadow soldiers were too getting more distraught as they continued.

Finally though, they came to an area where the trenches widened into a storage area of sorts - at least, that's what Kotori assumed given the large number of crates, boxes and occasional office chair all about the area. Again, they found the area to already host some shadowy figures - but again, thankfully, they seemed to ignore the group. However, just moments after their arrivals, another group of soldiers crested the top of the trench sides. These were different from the others in clothing and colour - perhaps soldiers of the other side, whoever these sides might be? This suspicion was confirmed when these dozen soldiers made short work of those in those in the storage area - Kotori winced at the sight, even though they were just shadowy figments of another's imagination.

However, any concern for the soldiers quickly turned to concern for the group and herself when these soldiers turned out to not be inclined to ignore them. Running behind the nearest sturdy-looking crate, Kotori hid behind it for cover; much like the others. Rather than just sit things out in relative safety though, Rui quickly took charge and ordered an attack - Alexei and he would go left whilst Sato and Kotori were to take the right side. "Eh?" was Kotori's immediate response - before she remembered that these really were just shadows rather than real men with real rifles. Quickly she then nodded before taking a calming breath - and then extending an arm: "Kikuri-Hime she called as she clenched her hand into a fist.

As ever, the presence of her persona seemed almost calming. Looking over to Rui and Alexei, the former was just about to give the signal to charge - leading Kotori to glance over to Sato to see if he too was ready before they started their attack. As Rui's Askr led the attack, Kotori peeked around the crates; picking one of the soldiers for a target before speaking: "Kikuri-Hime..." She hesitated for a moment before calling for the attack - but then spoke anyway: "Zi... onga!" And with that, Kikuri-Hime drew the flower in her hands close to herself; her eyes briefly flashing - before a thundering boom washed over the area as a wide streak of lightning crashed into the soldier; more powerful than her previous uses of such a lightning attack - leaving Kotori herself surprised long enough to look between the smoking ashes and Kikuri-Hime only to remember just in time to duck back behind the crates as the soldiers in turn brought their attacks to bear.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Corporate War Zone: Floor 1 | Sunday

With some of the group making their preferences known - even if there was little to go by besides the outer appearance of the places they were going to head into - Rui soon came to a decision on who would go where. Megumi would oversee the group heading into the theater, consisting of Akane, Matthew and Noboru whilst being led by Kazuki whilst Ayano would watch over the Rui-led Alexei, Sato and Kotori group that would take on the ominous tower; leaving anyone else to remain behind as backup and protection for their two guides. With the preparations completed thusly, a last few wishes for good luck and the like were exchanged - in Kotori's case a quick "Stay safe" - before they split up to head for their respective destinations. As they drew near, Kotori's eyes wandered up the enormous and ominous tower; her previous fears welling up once again.

However, with a quick shake of her head, Kotori instead looked between her three companions - Rui, who had already led them safely through several dungeons, Sato, who had fought through at least as many dungeons as herself, and Alexei, who had already proven that he could handle his persona and himself during the rescue of his sister. Furthermore, Ayano was there to guide them, warn them and keep them up to speed on everything - so as long as she did her own part, things would work out just fine. At least, that's what Kotori told herself as they reached the tower's base. Rui pushed open the doors which would lead into the dark tower's interior and the start of a massive climb to the spire, somewhere high above the strange clouds of this mirror world.

Except that instead, they found themselves standing on a wide open field. Kotori gave a few confused blinks at that; even stepping back to make sure she wasn't somehow imagining things - but to no avail. On the outside, it was a door which in the tower's massive walls - yet on the inside, it was a door in nothing with no walls for kilometers. Once the confusion over this impossibility subsided - at least partially - they proceeded onwards and into a trench. As they headed through it, they passed shadowy figures who would occasionally jump up out of the trenches but seemed to completely ignore the group.

Looking about, it was almost as if they had landed in the middle of a reenactment of a battle from World War I that they'd learned about in history class - with the minor differences being a lack of real people, the ever-present feeling of strangeness that accompanied the mirror world and the occasional out of place objects such as a filing cabinet among wooden crates or a modern folder laying next to some maps on a table they came across. As they walked through the trenches, Kotori glanced about; wondering if this place was supposed to somehow represent someone's mind - and if so, who would hold so much conflict inside them that it would turn into an entire battlefield.

With no immediate resistance making itself known, there was little left for the group but to advance through the trench and to worry just what they would be facing - at least, that's what Kotori was doing.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | Thursday, June 18 2015 - After School

With the departure of the two unexpected visitors, a brief but profoundly awkward silence suddenly entered the room - it seemed that everyone was simultaneously trying to say something whilst also avoiding doing so. Luckily though, Matthew soon spoke up - asking how things were today. "Eh? Ah, uhm, q-quite fine," Kotori said before glancing over to Shizuka - for all their attempts, it seemed that the three of them weren't going to be getting rid of the stiff atmosphere quite so easily. That thought in turn brought back to memory Matthew's previous mumblings; leading Kotori to wish she knew something to say - or an excuse to leave the two of them alone. Either way, it looked like it was going to be a long club meeting.

Kotori Shirohane - Abandoned Warehous | Sunday, June 21 2015

Kotori was just catching her breath after having rushed over when the last of today's group arrived. She'd felt a bit uneasy when she'd gotten the message from Rui - though a small part of her always hoped that he was instead just letting everyone know that the case was solved and the kidnappings stopped, Kotori wasn't all that surprised, if a little disheartened, to see that instead another meeting was being called. Arriving at the warehouse, it once again turned out that yet more people had been kidnapped - and this time, two at a time.

That did seem even more worrying - Alexei and his sister being kidnapped at the same time might be explained as an accident, but every other kidnapping, excepting Sato's and her own, had been a single case. Kotori just hoped that this didn't mean that the kidnappings were increasing from now on - or that perhaps another perpetrator had stepped up. However, now was not the time to try and figure things out - Kaminari was going to follow a lead whilst everyone else would focus their efforts on rescuing those in the other world for now.

Kotori Shirohane - Mirror World: Crossroads | Sunday

Rather than arrive at a single dungeon as had been the case with the Dragunov siblings, the group instead came upon a crossroad. One path lead to an incredibly tall and rather ominous tower of concrete reaching into the sky further than the eye could see, even after quickly wiping her glasses. The other road meanwhile lead to another large building, but this time no tower but rather a theater. That much was evident just from looking at it; the façade looking like those of old-time theaters. Glancing between the two, neither struck Kotori as very appealing - theaters usually meant stages and spotlights and audiences whilst the tower looked to be an endless climb, if the kidnapped person happened to be at the top, as would probably be the case with her luck. Furthermore, there were two dungeons - leaving Kotori a little worried that she'd be able to keep up with everyone when she'd already had some trouble at the end of the Ayano rescue.

With a quick shake of her head, Kotori cleared herself of those increasingly negative thoughts and instead focused on the fact that they were here to rescue the kidnapping victims. A bit of nervousness still remained, but she'd calmed herself enough to look over to Rui as he selected the members of the rescue team - or teams, rather, given that they now had two telepathic navigators on their side.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | After School

As it turned out, the boy who had entered the clubroom together with Shizuka was looking to join the Agriculture Club; however usual a time it was to do so, given that most clubs fill their ranks early in the year. Hearing him clearly and on a second glance, Kotori only now noticed that the boy appeared to be of foreign descent; much like Matthew or Alexei - leaving her to briefly wonder if Warakuma was secretly a famous exchange school. However, seeing yet another person around to take an interest in plants, flowers and the joy of growing them was still a pleasant thing - even if Kotori had to briefly shake her head when asked whether she was the club president. "Ah, no, that would be Harvester-senpai," she said, taking a half-step aside and gesturing toward the third year.

Just as she did, a familiar face poked through the door in the form of Rui as he made an unexpected visit. "Ah, good afternoon, Shinichi-san," Kotori said with a bow. However, he wasn't going to stay for long - instead, merely noting that he too might be joining the club before leaving once again for the manga club. Said announcement came as a bit of a surprise - Kotori hadn't thought such a thing would be of interest to him; though on second thought she realised that a lot of the people around here turned out to be more than their first glance might suggest. However, Rui wasn't the only one to make a quick retreat - the other boy suddenly announced that he too had to go.

"Eh?" Kotori blinked in surprise at his sudden words, just as he turned to leave; apologising for wasting any time and promising to return another time. With that, both unexpected visitors were gone as quickly as they had arrived; leaving just the usual three in the clubroom. Kotori looked at the door for a moment before glancing over to Shizuka and then Matthew - only to remember the latter's mutterings from before now that the immediate distractions were gone. Neither knowing what to say to such a thing nor whether she should say anything at all left her to instead give an awkward half-smile as she took her seat once again - though not without a brief glance to the door just to make sure that there weren't yet more unannounced visitors about to pop in.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | After School

It was astonishing just how quickly one could regret as simple a thing as sitting down. Such was the case with Kotori at that moment when, just as she did so, Matthew muttered to himself - most likely unaware of her presence given the lack of his usual exuberant greeting - about exactly what one was meant to do in a relationship. Realising that she'd just heard what probably wasn't meant for her ears, Kotori sat rather stiffly in her chair as she quickly tried to think of some way around this situation - announcing her presence would, at that point, be rather embarrassing. Trying to answer the question as if it had been directed at her would be an option - if she actually had an answer. She briefly considered slowly standing up, sneaking out and then entering again; sure to announce herself more clearly this time whilst pretending not to have heard anything concerning such private matters - except that at that moment, a knock came from the door.

"Ah!" Kotori went in surprise - not necessarily at the knock, but rather the fact that, instead of the door opening, a voice spoke from the other side. In particular, not Shizuka's voice, whom she'd have expected, but instead a male voice that called out for the club president. Standing up, Kotori hoped that the unexpected appearance was perhaps a friend of Matthew's who had come looking for him and would prove to be a distraction - even as the door was opened just a scant few moments later when Shizuka had seemingly arrived to and entered the clubroom; an unfamiliar boy standing behind her. Kotori quickly glanced between all three before giving a bow in greeting to the two new arrivals: "Ah, good afternoon, Otonashi-san..." she said before readjusting her glasses that had slightly slipped in the surprise.

Unfamiliar with the other boy - the previous glance revealing his uniform to be that of a first year much like Shizuka - Kotori didn't know what to call him nor how he related to either of the other two; leaving her to nervously glance between Matthew and Shizuka as to whether they would instead take the lead in such a situation - even whilst she couldn't quite help but worry slightly if everything was alright between the other two club members, given what she'd inadvertently overhead before.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Classroom 2-2 | Thursday, June 18 2015 - After School

Once again, the schoolday came to an end with the bell being the signal for most of the students to quickly vacate the classrooms and head off to their activities, whatever they may be. Kotori, much like usual, finished up her notes for the day before rechecking them. Once she was satisfied, she packed her belongings together - though not before passing a glance through the quickly-emptying classroom. Perhaps it had just been her imagination, but occasionally throughout the week it had felt as if someone was watching her during class - though when nothing looked out of the ordinary, Kotori quickly shook her head at her own silliness. Perhaps the whole cult thing was getting to her and she was starting to imagine things. Unfortunately though, there hadn't been any progress on the investigation - leaving a small, barely audible sigh to escape her lips. However, a moment later she decided to focus her attention on today rather than the strangeness that surrounded the kidnapping cases - specifically, club activities.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Agriculture Club | After School

Arriving at the clubroom of the Agriculture Club, Kotori found the door closed. With a faint knock, she made her presence known - if only barely - before slowly opening the door after a brief pause of a second or five. Stepping inside, the colourful sight that greeted her brought a small smile to her lips much like it did every time - dozens of potted plants were strewn across the room; on the table, on the window sill and on just about every empty space available, flowers were to be found in plenty of different colours. It was quite a contrast to how the room had started out, having only been home to a scant few flowers and by now looking like it was halfway to becoming a small greenhouse.

Only after a moment of taking in the sight did her attention instead wander about the room; looking to see if any of the other two club members had arrived before her - and if the daily watering of the plants was still in need of doing - as she set down her schoolbag next to the table in the room.