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Rednal generated a random number between
1 and 100 ...
41!
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 Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 7:51 pm
 KisaOnce was quite enough to recognize an attack and prepare for it to happen again... or at least something close to it. A small portion of damage got through and knocked the girl's breath out of her for a moment, but she was too resistant to physical attacks to take anywhere near the full force of the blow. Flying through the air was another matter... but she'd already set out to correct that, and before she'd gone far at all, a manlike fish entity burst out of the air and caught her, then tossed her towards the street. A bike emitting blue flames roared out beneath her as she came towards the ground, and the girl landed on the seat, gunning the acceleration without a moment's hesitation. As she reached where she wanted to be, the girl reached out and swung the bike in a sharp swerve, grabbing Soji as she went and pushing him towards the back of the vehicle. He could hang on... somehow... but more relevantly, there was no way that the creature was going to catch them just by stampeding down the road. It was going to prevent melee attacks, but she wasn't planning to get hit by that charge, and she wasn't going to let Soji be struck either. "I'm not sure what, but something's happening with those pillars!" the girl called as she dodged obstacles. She was matching her speed to the creature's, staying away from it but not moving so fast that they'd be taken out of range, either. The girl nodded to the creature she'd summoned as she passed it once more, and it flicked out of the path of the rampaging enemy, firing a powerful burst of water as it did so. The girl held her hand to her mouth for a moment, and a parasitic demon insect crawled down her throat and wrapped its many little legs around a certain part of her spine. Something shifted within the girl, and a moment later, power surged through her body. "Where do you want me to go?" she added. If it was towards those pillars, she was fairly certain she could dodge the creature and take at least one of them out. She had a lot of tricks it didn't know about, and those ought to suffice. Quote: Kisa's Actions:Counter roll for Hallowed Curveball (1-15 = Success): Fail -Exhausted (2/3 - Reduce SP each turn) -Resist Physical (Phys -50%) -Divine Pillar (Damage -50%; Cannot Evade) -Gungnir: Increase Attack Speed -Deathstone (15% chance of countering Physical attacks) Summon: The Drowned God Magatama Change: Gehenna -> Kamudo Skill Change: Tetraja -> Power Charge TDG's Action: Fear Torrent (Target: Orochi Priestess) [Very High Water Damage to 1 Foe] (Water Amp) Action: Power Charge (Target: Self) [2.5x Power to next Physical-type attack] [Kisa is using her bike to keep herself and Soji away from the charging Orochi Priestess!]
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:34 pm
Soji Seta, Investigation Team Leader
"Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy""You just told me..."
The silver-haired teen deadpanned rather bluntly at the shadow, whose protestations that he had no right to ask questions of him, to demand anything of him, and that there was generally no reason for the creature to tell him anything about its origins, seemed rather emphatic...couldn't keep a secret to save its poor, shadowy life. Hearing how it had come to be, where it had come from, and why the shadow of his friend had been living inside of it all made a lot more sense when he thought about what this thing had said and what Minato had told him about Tartarus before. So this thing was an amalgamation of a shadow bonded to a living host and combined with a mass of the twisted beings from inside of the Tower; the process of the bonding stealing the life of the one who had been the base to give rise to an abomination...and Naoki's shadow's strong will and attachment to the world had allowed him to come to the surface, albeit in an incomplete and suffering state, for a short time. ...It was crazy to say, but given the context, he could see how it was possible. Hadn't Orochi-Hetero done the same thing when he was reborn without his human host, demonstrating the Will of Shadows could surpass that of man? Hadn't...wait, Orochi-Hetero...? The Will of Shadows? Could it be that whatever this thing was, it had been created by the Serpent of Lore? Standing before this Goliath of a shadow, things were beginning to make sense...the creature that SEES had reported encountering not so long ago, this monster standing in front of him, and it had been Naoki's appearance that had helped him begin to put the pieces together. And he had seen him, heard his friend's voice...heard him say that he was still his friend...was it possible that in some way, the spirit of the boy had hung on just long enough for him to give his friend a proper farewell? No, it was probably all a coincidence...but nonetheless, he was grateful. And that thought alone was enough to steel his spirit in the face of the creature's boasting, its arms recoiling to cover its chest as it made itself into a formidable battering ram. ...That didn't make the prospect of being crushed by this thing's charge any less intimidating, however.
"...Run? Yeah, run..."
Even with the added speed his Persona Fusion afforded, this shadow was far quicker than its immense size would have indicated; turning smoothly, his legs pumped into a jump over a toppled car behind him and used it to hop a ways down the street, ignoring the sound of metal crashing behind him and the shadow that was hot on his heels. Wind whipped past his face beneath the golden moon, the unnatural feel of the hour not lost upon him as he moved, but in this form he could at least move with an ease that he couldn't have imagined in his normal form. Still, getting out of this thing's path took skill, and in flashes he moved down the long street away from his home, glancing over his shoulder only when the sounds of crashing grew dim enough that he felt he could spare the time for it. It was in this mad dash that his comrade returned to him, offering him a hand to help him onto the back of her bike, only for the hand to feel a rather lighthearted sensation...a high five as though he were tagging her into the battle before letting her bike pass him by and continuing down the street on foot. He knew that with her heightened senses she could hear him speak, so he called out to her as he ran to let her know what he had in mind. He was flying by the seat of his pants, but then again, when wasn't he? Over time, he thought, he had become rather quite good at it. Or at least passable enough that people were willing to follow him, right? "I'll keep him distracted and on the run! Pepper him with spells from out of range!" the Senior called out, hoping that the wild shadow wouldn't catch their strategy as they moved. Sure, it would have been safer from the charge to get on the bike and ride, but he had an inkling that dividing its attention while keeping it in this headlong dash would be a more effective strategy. Perhaps she could land a few more punishing attacks and open it up for a counter and a finish? And well, it wasn't as though he hadn't been through enough dangerous situations to last a lifetime. He had fallen from the top level of Tartarus and lived...what was a merry chase down the road where he lived? ...And with that thought he nearly hit a car, not watching his step, before leaping deftly onto the roof and hopping through the air with his blue wand summoned back into his hand on the fly.
"Bufudyne!"
Ice smashed into the creature, and with any luck it might freeze or slow the thing down just a little. It didn't pack quite the same wallop as his Megidolaon did, but the added chance made it a worthy gamble. If nothing else, it let him save a little energy for a really devastating attack on his next turn...granted he could avoid the thing's charge for that long and get a shot at its opening. If it had an opening, and, well...his feet landed on the blacktop as he darted smoothly between a pair of coffins on the road that he hoped would remain unharmed as the monster blasted over them....maybe those cracking pillars meant something, eh?Quote: Bufudyne - Heavy Ice Damage to one target. [Target: Orochi Priestess]
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:05 pm
'Who am I...?'  ~::Orochi Priestess::~"You won't escape." The creature let out another roar as the ice struck dead on, matched with a watery spell from the demon above. Black fingers were pried apart by the attack, and underneath it's body began to be exposed again, only this time a light seemed to be glowing between the cracks between the hands, although it was dim and hidden within the shadows. Still, it was there, and that was something they could say was different than before, although it's guard was not yet willing to give way. "Why won't you die!?" If they thought it's wrath had subsided, they were in for another surprise; one that was, this time, tied with a bright red ribbon known as shadows wrapping around cars, and throwing them in the air as they hurled directly at the two. Each time the creature passed near one it's long cylindrical arms stretched out towards the vehicles and black whips tangled around it, only to pull back and thrust it at them with comet like force. "Already, your friend's shadow begins to dissolve within me. Soon, I shall have torn it to pieces, and even those remnants will fade into nothingness. Then...he will truly be nothing. Gone, and with it his existence shall be forever extinguished. Are you enough of a coward to watch this with patience? Or did you value him so little?" Whatever the true nature of the Shadow, it seemed that it was more animated than those Soji had met before, in verbal banter at least. But despite it's verbose nature it didn't seem like these two were willing to give in and submit to it's trickery as easily as it would have liked, and for that it had to bring out the big guns; as a hand wrapped around the nearest vehicle, a pickup truck this time, the vehicle passed through the air with fluttering ease as it came down near Soji...only for a light to shoot out of the area where one would guess it's face to be, striking the truck just overhead and setting to to fire, as the explosion and debris rocked right over Soji's head in an attempt to kill him with even greater, fouler effect.I am...Nobody. Quote:
The pillars are damaged! A few fingers are pried open...Chucked Cars: Deals high car element damage. Agidyne: High fire damage. Combines with Chucked Cars to deal High Fire + High Car elemental damage. Eclipse Charge: The Shadow charges down the street at you with it's immense size and power. The arms pillars are stretched in front of it to create a bulldozer-esque form.
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:37 pm
KisaKisa's bike twisted around, and the girl shot towards the Orochi Priestess, moving closer and closer until she suddenly executed a sharp turn just before she would have hit the opponent head-on (or perhaps been grabbed by the creature). Instead of ramming into a wall instead, though, the girl shot down an alleyway, and re-emerged further down the street a few moments later, curving around to head away from it again. She hadn't just been playing a game of chicken, though; instead, she'd let loose with an intensely powerful blast of flame as she passed, aiming to pummel the pillar sections as hard as possible while continuing to stay out of the range of its charge. Her natural power wasn't quite on the level of Soji's, but her spell was a top-class technique designed for major damage to the enemy. Plus, I don't need magical power to use it. The girl thought sourly, noting her moderately depleted reserved of power. Just as Soji had asked, she was blasting the creature from out of its immediate range. It was starting to show its pain, so just a bit more force... Meanwhile, the girl's Summon was acting largely independently, floating along above the roofs on the opposite side of the road and occasionally flinging a powerful blast of water back towards the Orochi Priestess; with its talent for water attacks added in, its magic might just have exceeded Kisa's own spell in power... Quote: Kisa's Actions:-Exhausted (3/3 - Reduce SP each turn) -Gungnir: Increase Attack Speed -Power Charge (2.5x to attack power) Magatama Change: Kamudo -> Gehenna TDG's Action: Fear Torrent (Target: Orochi Priestess) [Very High Water Damage to 1 Foe] (Water Amp) Action: Magma Axis (Target: Orochi Priestess) [Severe Fire Damage to 1 Target] (Gungnir) [Kisa is using her bike to keep herself away from the charging Orochi Priestess!]
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 9:45 pm
Soji Seta, Investigation Team Leader
"Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy"While it would have been easy to buy into the strange shadow's taunts that what he was doing was only allowing his friend's shadow to die away slowly inside of it, in the back of his mind the silver-haired young man knew that it would do no good to simply stand in place and take this thing head-on in the way that it wanted him to. Playing chicken with a monster of that size was suicide, and even if it was more than just the shadow lingering inside of it with whatever was left of the issues that tied his friend to the world, he had faith that whatever Will allowed him to remain clinging to this life would do so long enough for him to finish this battle. He believed, and so he did not break his stride even as the words passed over his ears, no answer from his own lips entering into the space between them to give it the satisfaction. Rising to its taunts would only make the thing more satisfied, give fuel to the already-malicious rage that drove it to chase him, to attack him, to try and bring him down and kill him. He couldn't do that...and with a glance over his shoulder he did not miss the cracking of the pillars, the fingers that have begun to split away from the rest of its guard. It was beginning to become clear now that in spite of its great size and tremendous power and durability, his own power was significant as well...chipping away the life of this fiend with each blow that he could land. At any moment it could hit him with a blow that sent his eyes swimming and maybe even kill him, but if he could maintain this current pace, perhaps he could threaten the immense shadow with his own power. Of course, to do that he had to stay alive...and with the thing growing all the more upset with each move, he couldn't say with absolute certainty that he would survive that long.
..Ah, the thrill of a life-or-death battle...somehow, he didn't exactly like how easy this was all becoming for him to accept.
"I've met pushy car salesmen before," the silverette muttered under his breath as a car flew at him, bursting into flames just as he bounced off the hood of another car and to the far side of the street, avoiding the exploding vehicle by few enough inches that the heat made him sweat, "but this is ridiculous." He could see as he moved that the monster was in no hurry to stop its assault, reaching and picking up another pickup truck to toss in his direction with the flaming sort of end in mind for it. Seeing a mailbox not far up the street, he made a bee-line for it and bounded on top of the thing, using it as a springboard to thrust himself forward and away from the truck...turning with his blue wand in his hand to unload another full-powered spell of blue, almighty energy in the direction of its foe. He had tried to pour enough energy into that one to finish knocking those fingers open, but the effort had distracted him just enough that he hit the ground awkwardly and had to roll to his knees, skidding to a halt at a moderate distance ahead of the shadow. It was already creeping up on him again, but if his attack worked somehow, he might finally get a chance to bring this thing down to size. ...Or maybe it would hit him and toss him about fifty feet down the road like a hard line drive at a Tokyo Giants game. Either or...but apart from that thought, it was at that moment that Kisa flew past him and made her own move, driving just close enough to drop her attack before making an attempted getaway. Between the two of them, that had to be enough to finally create the opening he needed...right? He hoped so...because running away from this thing, while effective, was probably causing way too much property damage to keep the whole thing off the local news.
"I've always been more of a motorcycle person, anyway," the silver-haired student added as he came to a halt for just that moment at the end of his skid...before picking himself and moving away again, waiting for the chance to turn and make a move, 'Speaking of, I really need to get myself one of those bikes she's got...that's badass.'
Boys will be boys, after all.Quote: Megidolaon - Heavy Almighty Damage to all targets. [Target: Orochi Priestess]
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 10:32 pm
'Who am I...?' ~::Orochi Priestess::~"How foolish..." The Shadow could have made a crack about the idea of the girl rushing at hit like a drugged up adrenaline junky in their prepubescent rebellion phase...could have, and it wouldn't have covered half the stupidity. It was not a slow creature, nor had it hidden it's powers even once this whole battle. Instead, it had laid the consequences of approaching it while it's guard was up out plain for all to see, and as a result there were two Demi-Fiend shaped holes in the upper floors of Babel about now, which Shadow Soji was doubtless going to very pissed about in the morning...woe be unto whatever contractor he employed in order to handle the mess. Was Junpei's company still in town? The Shadow was going with Junpei. Junpei was definitely going to get stuck with that job. And woe unto him. But as for Kisa! Hands shot outwards, strength renewed as the auto-countering system struck back again, palms open and ready to play some more summer sports with her, since she hadn't been satisfied with her former job as a basketball. It was then though, that an intense heat, like a blowtorch burned through it's arms...and it's right hand was almost completely melted through as the girl unleashed a fire who's intensity few could match. Even as one of those cars she hadn't been paying attention to, what with her emphasis on this little game of chicken, against a creature that she wasn't running circles around nonetheless, suddenly smashed into her head and sent her veering down an alley. One could argue that she had intended to steer down the alley and away from the Shadow, since if she didn't turn out she would have crashed into it. Well, that was probably true...but the blood probably dribbling from her forehead (no one could see, what with her leaving the battlefield...again) was probably a good argument that it wasn't exactly what she had planned when she decided on this plan, smoking that ol' pipe weed or whatever it was biker punks did these days."Aha..." Silence followed as Soji had stumbled, and Kisa had vanished...until the girl finally made her appearance, head popping out of an alley to the side as she attempted to re-enter the battlefield. And if she thought she had the torque to drive in the opposite direction, pull a 180, and then pop in far ahead of the Shadow seconds later in the midst of a high speed chase where she had probably at one point hit a legitimate 0 miles per hour...she was wrong.
Well really, even that might not have been true, if the Shadow had been as confined as she thought. Sticking to the streets because it's girth couldn't pass through any of the smaller alleyways? It was sound judgment, if you didn't stop to consider that it had no sense of collateral damage preservation. Instead as she began to re-emerge, in that split second if she could turn her head, it would only be greeted with the sight of an enormous form rolling her way, one half of a bulldozer's front end intact, the other greatly damaged...and the body behind it, as massive and laden with power as it was, did not even lose a tick as Demi-Fiend and motorcycle whole were swept under it's front end, which smashed both through the building and then down into it's foundation, crunched underneath the unbearable weight of it all, enough even to make the girl think twice about what her demonic strength meant, and as spinning shadow and broken, splintered asphalt surrounded and pounded down on her on every side, demonic metal bending, wrenching, stabbing into her legs as the motorcycle as well was taken under in what could only be described as the very definition of "not knowing where the bike ended, and her legs began"...well, if all of this was taken into consideration, those few seconds as her body was pinned under the rotating shadow and drug behind, had to have been the closest thing to hell on earth the girl had ever experienced. Except of course, for that one time...with Lucifer...and hell was probably involved...you know the one we're talking about. >.>
Kisa's body drug for a second or two more behind the creature as her arm unfortunately clung to the wheel, last to go, spit out finally as it roared on after Soji. If it had cared about her from the start, it might have stopped to finish the job. But as it was, she had no quarrel with it in the first place...just as an ant has no quarrel with a boot. And this particular boot was going places. Okay, end of metaphors! "We're finished!" The Shadow raised it's arms again for another onslaught...just as a Megidolaon, mighty as it was, crashed into it's chest and sent the final shards of the other pillar scattering about, both now blown off of the creature like doors from hinges when Zeo was anyhow involved. It's body lurched backwards suddenly, knocking over more of the ruins of the house as it attempted to stand, failed, and fell to a knee amidst the rubble that Kisa was inevitably mixed into somewhere. All you really had to do was look for the bright red spot, or the loooong trail of Demi-bits and blood that preceded it. Either way, the emphasis now was on the Shadow, whose darkness spread away for the first time, revealing it's primary body completely open, along with a dim light shining from the center. "Y...you can't...he's mine..." The Shadow muttered, unable to move for the moment, brought to knee by Soji...and that other person, who really was very integral to bringing it down, just she would have been a lot more useful if she were conscious, which would have happened if she'd done anything else besides play chicken. Like, she could have stood on the back of her motorcycle, pulling a Titanic, and thrown fireballs from there while the wind took her where she would, and woulda been safe. But chicken was involved...and thus, we all know what's for dinner.
And now this post I just can't take seriously, has totally come to an end. Imagine Bill and Tedd saying "Excellent". I am...Nobody. Quote: The enemy is down! Lets strike! >Yes >No Eclipse Charge: The Shadow charges down the street at you with it's immense size and power. The arms pillars are stretched in front of it to create a bulldozer-esque form. Failing to outrun the Shadow causes one to be run over, and instantly KO'd.
Kisa is KO'd. (As well as probably having every bone in her body broken. Thank goodness for that Demi-Fiend healing factor, right? 8D
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Posted: Thu Jul 26, 2012 11:15 pm
Soji Seta, Investigation Team Leader
"Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy"He had only just begun to move again away from the shadow when he heard the sound of bones crunching...or maybe it was the sound of her body changing and adapting to avoid the damage of a full-blown house-sized shadow crushing the ever-living daylights out of her. Maybe, but that would do little to explain all the...bits that made him wonder if she could survive and attack like that. The wince in his expression as he turned to view what was happening behind him couldn't be hidden, and in an instant he knew that whatever was going on there, he had to intervene as best he could lest another of his friends' lives be put in immediate danger. Why hadn't she stayed at a distance and used her magic? He wondered frantically, but he knew that just thinking about it wasn't going to do any good right now. All he could do was be thankful when her incredible attack and his own blue-tinted magic smashed and burned into the creature's shadowy flesh enough that the pillars that had fueled it finally shattered and gave way, stopping its forward advance (not before poor Mt. Matsuhashi's House...and car...and truck had all been wasted, though) and crumbling down to a knee, the core of its body opening up for him to see at long last what lay within. It was...a person, a body that had once been living, now sacrificed to create the monstrous being that had been chasing him down the street near to his home. Clouded eyes struggled to hold back their horror at the sight of it, shadows clinging to its limbs, swallowing its eyes, wondering in the back of his mind how the life had been drained from within...had it died of suffocation? Had they died of something more painful? Was it slowly driven insane by the voice of the shadows, by the monstrosity, or had it been something...worse? He couldn't imagine, nor could he leave the body there any longer when he knew the sort of awful fate it must have been to be stuck inside of a living incarnation of darkness and hatred. All of his hesitation vanished, and now was the moment that he was waiting for...the moment when he could put Naoki's spirit to rest, when he could end this contest. His feet skidded atop the blacktop as he came to a halt, turning in one jerking motion back towards the shadow in a mad dash. His white coat trailed behind him in a streak as he made directly for the core of the shadow, the black ooze already trying to creep back to close the hole.
...He dove just as the shadows began to cover the body again and landed with all of his power dead into the center of the immense creature, swallowed within its mass in a matter of moments.
And then for a second there was silence, the shadow perhaps thinking that somehow the boy had just condemned himself to die at its core like the other host within. Until a blue light began to shimmer from the core, piercing through the darkness, beaming out of its eyes and its mouth and changing its very obsidian body into something of a dark blue. The thick, gooey flesh of its body began to boil as though it were being melted from the inside, stretching, expanding, a power growing inside of it that even it with all its strength couldn't contain...
In a flash of blue it happened, an explosion from within the shadow...black gooey bits of its body erupting and scattering into every direction from a blast, the white-coated and silver-maned Senior with arms spread at the epicenter!
"Applesauce, b*tch."
...He couldn't tell you why he shouted that no more than he could tell you much of why any of this had happened, but as he stood at the center of the street where the shadow's body had been only moments earlier, he could see the scattered remains of what had been a truly gigantic shadow sizzling and boiling into nothingness upon the houses nearby, the cars, the streets themselves...his All-Out Attack and brazen gamble at killing the monster from the inside having managed to pay off somehow. And in that one heaving move, it was fallen...and he stood at the center of the street alone, the shadow defeated, surrounded by so much collateral damage he could only hope that the local media was all that would come by to see it. Idly, he hoped that he could convince his uncle not to brush the scene for fingerprints. 'That...was disgusting,' the silver-haired boy thought with a mildly unpleasant shake of his hand, removing a bit of shadow goop from his gloves as he slowly turned and surveyed the battlefield until his gaze fell upon a familiar form, beaten fairly badly by that shadow's uncanny physical defense...just what in the Hell had it been doing with that, anyway? "Kisa, hang in there," his smooth voice muttered as the blue wand within his hands appeared, twirling once before the crown touched the ground and a wave of incredible healing power began to wash over the Demi-Fiend at his feet, "Aeon Genesis." It wasn't something he could do often, but as awful as that last attack had looked, he knew he needed something strong to help her restore. Even if it hurt him later, this would have to do the trick for now...he couldn't keep pouring smaller healing spells into her with his friends still in need no more than he could bring himself to doubt her own durability and regeneration. She had proven before, after all, she was still more than capable...he just hoped that his little bit of help this time would be enough to help her shake the cobwebs (and the broken bones, etc.) from this one.
...Whatever the case, the battle had ended, and his ally was on the mend. Eyes looking down the battered street, he could see the smoking cars and the debris all about him and felt at once responsible. Why couldn't he have saved Naoki? Could he have stopped this thing from transforming? Even having won the battle, it didn't feel much like a major victory...but then, he had at least learned something, hadn't he? Hetero was making monsters for whatever purpose, and it was their duty to stop them...his duty to stop them. To that end, there was now one down...he could only hope the cost would not be this great every time. He wasn't sure the town could take too many more of those. Or his friends, if they were to come upon one...a thought that reminded him of their presence out there somewhere, fighting against that horrifying power he could see feel far off, probably on the outskirts of town. Were they doing all right? None of them had died, had they? How was Genji? He could only wonder as the Dark Hour loomed near to its end, knowing that even if he were to leave now it would be too late for him to be of any use to them. This time, truly, they were on their own...he just hoped they were up to the task.
"Be strong, guys..." his words whispered into the eerie wind, Persona Fusion fading as he cooled down slowly, "It's up to you, now..."
Quote: All-Out Attack! - Finishing Blow on the Shadow! [Target: Fallen Orochi Priestess]
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 5:50 am
Kisa"...You don't need to worry about me." the girl said. She'd revived herself even before the creature had been blown to bits. More directly, though, there weren't very many blows that she couldn't recover from given enough time. Sleeping did wonders, but even on top of that, the cursed parasites that fused with her body were capable of accelerating her recovery out-of-battle big time with their potent restorative abilities. She rotated her arms experimentally, winced slightly, and pounded herself with a Diarama. Aah, that was better. Hers was a body that could drop down from a skyscraper and survive more-or-less intact... in fact, her teacher had once mentioned a time when an old traveling companion had watched another Fiend do just that. Demons were tough creatures all-around; she rather suspected that any of them with a respectable amount of power could survive just as well. It wasn't really an indication of unique durability on her part or anything. She spat out the parasite a moment later and dropped another one onto her mouth, throat bulging slightly as it made its way into her body. Life Refill and Mana Refill would be quite sufficient to take care of her remaining injuries. "More importantly... if you want to see how your friends are doing, I can take you there."She wasn't going to cry from the pain, she wasn't going to cry from the pain, she wasn't going to cry from the- darnit.
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:31 pm
Soji Seta, Investigation Team Leader
"Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy"She was tough, he knew that much. And during the battle he had trusted her individually as much if not more so than the majority of his own usual companions, at least, in her ability to endure whatever the enemy might throw at her. Seeing the result, however, even the coldest of hearts and the most trustworthy of friends (and friends especially) couldn't help the worry creeping into their body. No matter how hard she tried to shrug off what just happened to her, he had witnessed it and knew that such a brutal pounding, grinding, whatever else the shadow had done, and could conclude with certainty that it was nothing to be ignored. It had to have hurt, to have been immensely painful, and pulling herself back to her feet again, switching the magatama to mend her body a bit more swiftly, there was an unspoken admiration for her durability. Even so...he worried. Whatever this girl was, whoever she was becoming, she had become his friend in her own strange way; her troubles he would not hesitate to make his own, the same way that she had come to his aid when his own enemies caught up with him. It was just a part of who he was...something she should have known by now. "Sorry, but you know I can't do that," the Senior replied with a half-smile, using the pad of his thumb to brush away the pain-induced tear that managed to squeak past her impeccable poker face, "Worrying about my friends...is probably my only strong point. ...Aside from my charm and good looks...and my terrible sense of humor."" A sheepish chuckle escaped him, knowing that it was a sad attempt at cheering the girl up and helping her focus on something other than the pain she endured in her recovery. Which shouldn't take too much longer, if he gauged her regenerative abilities well enough. Didn't mean he would feel any less upset until the moment she was finally free of pain, though.
But even if he had wanted to waste a few moments longer here helping the half-demon girl to know that there was still a human inside of her, that she had allies, he knew that he didn't have the time to spare right now. Not when that massive power was still lingering over on the edge of town and his friends were still in danger. He knew that even with that bike of hers, they wouldn't likely make it before the end of the Dark Hour. Winning the fight would still be up to his friends...surviving as well. He could only hope they were in condition to be saved when he arrived...and that he would be fast enough to make a difference if any of them were truly critical. To that end, he glanced around and wondered if she would still be able to call out that bike...or if it had been trashed by the monstrous shadow as well. Idly, he wondered if she would let him drive on the way over while she recovered from the damage...
"Anyway, let's go..." was his response to her offer, a few moments later perhaps, but it was better now than never, "...because if I'm right, what they're fighting now isn't so different from what we just fought a few minutes ago. And that...is bad."
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 3:45 pm
KisaDriving while her body was all beat up could be a little bit... awkward, actually. The turns she could execute could be incredibly punishing on a human's body, and her various breaks were still mending... anything too ridiculous might actually end up hurting her again, at least until she'd finished recovering. The girl put two fingers in her mouth and blew a sharp whistle. Hellfire formed a circle on the side of a building, creating a portal to who-knew-where, and the bike shot out of it and came to a stop in front of the girl, its motor purring happily. It wasn't really apparent if the bike had any kind of mind or not... if it did, though, that mind probably loved speed, and might have been a little bit sheepish for not having remembered to outrun their previous foe. The girl took a seat on the back of the bike a moment later. "You can probably find your friends better than I can." she said by way of explanation. She lightly kicked the side of the bike, and a helmet popped out of the top and towards Soji. The part she wasn't telling him was simply that it was safer for her; she was still on the mend, and it was highly unlikely that Soji would do anything that could actually hurt her if he decided to drive the bike. It wasn't going to go all-out for anyone except its master and, well... she loved riding the bike. A lot. Putting her hands on the steering and her foot on the acceleration might just be enough to make her forget about her injuries, and that could be kind of bad. "I'll be fully healed by the time we're there." she added. Just a few minutes... a few minutes of safety... it was all she'd need.
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Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2012 5:12 pm
Soji Seta, Investigation Team Leader
"Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy"Ask and you shall receive? He couldn't deny there was a hint of excitement at the blue flaming motorcycle that descended out of nowhere in front of him and the girl at his side hopping on the back of the machine, leaving him to be the one to take them to their stated destination. Oh, Yosuke would have been so very jealous if he were to see him now...the boy who had been saving for all of this time to buy a motorcycle of his own and was nowhere near the amount that he needed (though he could have just asked for a loan from Soji...he had gathered so much loot during their journey inside the TV that he could more than afford several) would likely swallow his tongue if he saw his 'Leader' pulling up to greet them on a motorcycle wreathed in blue flames. It was an image that might have brought a small smirk to the silver-haired Senior's lips if it weren't for the significant danger that they still faced in the situation. He supposed he could bask in the pure swag of the motorcycle later, after they had made their way to the Amagai Compound to check up on the situation. ...Yeah, just the thought of what was going on there was enough to chill his mood, but even then, he was determined, confident in the ability of his friends to hold their own until he could arrive...to defeat this enemy like they had defeated the Shade months before. After all, if this was truly the darkness within them that they couldn't accept, then they would have to face it and overcome it themselves. He could only help them so far...a distressing fact that he was learning more and more by the day. It was simple math, really; the more members the team took on, the less that he could help on a regular basis. But that didn't mean he wouldn't try...
His leg swung over the seat of the bike and his hands settled onto the bars, a sense of satisfaction filling him at how right it felt to be behind the wheel of a vehicle like this one. Oh, yes, he was definitely a 'wind on the face' person when it came to vehicles...motorcycles, convertibles, those types. He only wished that his companion was healthier so he could really see what this thing was capable of doing. "Hold on," was the only warning he offered before the bike jerked into motion, a streak of blue fire lingering on the pavement behind them as they rode. It was fast with loose handling, but that was just the type you needed for the wild stunts he had seen this thing pull in its owners hands. And it was fast, quite fast even when he was barely feeding it any torque to move faster.
...Oh yeah, this was riding in style.
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Posted: Sun Aug 05, 2012 9:10 pm
Minori Koroko  Sleep...had been impossible that night. It had been an exhausting ordeal, but despite her aching body and tired mind, she hadn't been able to close her eyes and rest. Time after the Dark Hour passed by quickly...or perhaps impossibly slow, as the blond stared at a fixed point of the ceiling in her room, all kinds of mangled thoughts and raw feelings running through her mind and body. She had won over the darkest part of her soul, but somehow the encounter had left her quite uneasy instead of relieved. Still its contorted grimace as the spear ran through its body burned at the back of the girl's mind; still the weight against her frame, the soft brush of the doll's head on the curve of her neck could be felt...Still, she shivered at the icy but warm feeling of the dark droplets falling on her shoulder and the strong pang felt when the flashes of confusing images took over her. A hand brushed over the skin softly, a troubled sigh escaping her lips. “What does it mean…?” Did Rednal feel this way when he fought his own Shade? She couldn’t remember ever having asked him about it…and in that instant, she regretted it.
Minori’s thoughts wandered away from her own troubles and to others that made her stomach churn just the same just then. The team had been left in a terrible condition after the fight. Genji was the most gravely hurt…and even if Nix and Zeo had been swift in tending to him and taking him to the hospital, the blond couldn’t help but remember the limp body, the strawberry hair shadowing closed eyes and bruised skin…the life escaping him so very quickly. But…she couldn’t forget about the others either. They had received quite a beating…all of them. The silver haired junior had looked really bad at the end of the fight… Amelia looked so pale and weak, but somehow, Minori couldn’t wonder if it was merely a physical ailment or something else. Nix had been able to keep standing until the end, and despite her wounds, she had taken care of others first. Faust, Kusuri, Karu…they had all stood up after all that…and walked home to tend to wounds and rest. ‘I just hope they are doing okay…’ she thought as she smoothed down her legs, feeling them getting numb for keeping them in the same position close to her chest for so long.
Long slender fingers curled around the shaft of her spear contemplatively, green orbs shifting away from the ceiling and to the weapon a moment after. She frowned, her eyebrows knitting together in thought, almost as if there was something there that she couldn’t quite decipher yet. All night her thoughts had circled around that line...and now with the sunlight creeping inside the dark room, she couldn't help feeling frustrated. The weapon had always had the feeling of being incomplete, hollow…but now, she could almost feel a faint force radiating from it, calling out for something. Then there was the [Starlight Sigil] she had collected after the Shade dispersed, which glowed warmly. And perhaps it was the exhaustion getting to her, for she believed she was hallucinating things when she felt another force, albeit weak, beckoning. Not whispers or voices…but… it was calling. Standing up slowly, using the weapon as support, the girl walked over to her desk, opening a drawer to find an item that hadn’t received much thought when she had gotten it back then. The [Starlight Crest] reacted just as the other items…and a fearful curiosity took over the girl then. What if she…
And without thought, the blond combined each item with her spear…almost as if she knew they were just pieces of the same puzzle.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 4:47 am
Quote: [Starlight Sigil] and [Starlight Crest] fuse together with the [Mysterious Spear]!
...
Something is happening with the spear! A strange light appears! There are images inside of the light! Quote:  Memories of Soji Seta...? There were sirens in the distance, but for once, they weren't calling out for the police, his uncle, to abandon his home and report to the scene of the latest tragedy. Fire engines were hidden away in their stations, and their drivers remained safe from harm. It was a routine test of the National Emergency Broadcast System, and in a few short, albeit audibly painful moments it would be over. He had that long to collect his thoughts before he had to speak his piece and convince a notoriously stubborn man to accept a decision he had made on his own weeks ago, but only now had to face up to the consequences of with the one person with the power to veto him. He had just those few precious moments to consider how he was going to navigate this minefield without the whole deal blowing up in his face, leaving him charred and disappointed, looking for a way to break the news to the Dojima Residence's new resident that she was going to have to look for somewhere else to lay her head for the night. And the next, as well as every one after. He could feel those dangerous cobalt eyes staring down at him, strong fingers worrying over the stubble he hadn't had the time to shave in the few days he had spent at work becoming reacquainted with his routine following an extended stint in the hospital...and then that craziness in Okina City he could scarcely remember now. Yet even after all that, not quite recovered as he could have been, his Uncle was as intimidating as ever; the sirens died slowly in the distant recesses of the rural township, those eyes hardening from the far side of their shared coffee table. His own, personal mug...a gift from the man in front of him, nearly shook in his hand. Facing down goddesses? He could do that without blinking an eye. Telling his Uncle and surrogate father-figure that he had invited a girl...a teenage girl and a classmate...to stay in their home without asking permission? And trying to convince him not to send her away? He could keep the panic out of his face only with the utmost concentration, but could do nothing to quell the nervous, piston-like shaking of his leg beneath the table-top. How strange...
"...Well? Are you going to tell me what you were thinking, or aren't you?" the detective's expression remained hard, a mixture between disappointed and irate, but there was something in the look that didn't scream quite so loudly as he might have wanted it to. Even if he was sympathetic to the girl, however, that didn't mean he could simply accept what was happening behind his back while he was in the hospital. He wanted to trust his nephew after everything they had been through, but how could he begin to accept something this scandalous? And from a couple of high school students? It was...difficult! And if people were to hear this and assume the worst, knowing she was staying in the house of the town's lead detective, it was only going to get worse! Didn't the kid think for a minute about the consequences this might bring about not just for himself, but for his uncle and his 'Little Sister' as well? "Damn it...Soji, I expected you to act more responsibly than this! Not only is what you did inappropriate, but it was irresponsible! If the school knew what you did, they could have you both expelled...and I could lose my job! ...And did you even stop to think about Nanako? I'm sure your heart was in the right place, but you have to think about the consequences..." This wasn't the first time that the silver-haired teen had heard these lines from him tonight, but they didn't ring any less true. He knew that what he had done was impulsive, and he knew that they had consequences that couldn't be ignored so easily. With his uncle spending so much time injured and on leave, they had no bonus money pouring in...paychecks were mere compensation, and if it weren't for his own ludicrous amounts of money from part-time jobs and TV runs, he knew they would have been going hungry with even one extra mouth to feed. Perhaps now that his Uncle was back on the job it was different, but was it right to put that kind of strain on him? He knew it wasn't, but still...how could he not extend a hand to her? How could he leave a friend to fend for themselves, to refuse to lift them out of the streets, when they had lost so many things in so short a time? "I know she's your friend..." his uncle chimed in after a sigh and a breath, having calmed down a little with his lectures mostly out of the way...it wasn't as though he wasn't sympathetic to them. Far from it! But some things were better left to the proper authorities...you couldn't take every single problem upon yourself or you would buckle under the weight of it! "...But you should have thought it through. ...What if you ran out of money and you couldn't eat? What if someone were to break in, and she was hurt because she was here when she shouldn't have been? What if your school found out she was living here and not at the Inn with the rest of the refugees from the fire? I know that if she's your friend, she must not be a bad person, but we can't afford to carry another burden..."
"She's not!" his own vehement protest surprised himself. His clouded eyes were apologetic almost instantly for his outburst, but the steel beneath that look belied his lack of true remorse for defending his friend in the face of a claim that he knew to be untrue. "Dojima-san...Uncle...I'm sorry, but you don't understand Minori at all if you think she's a burden. I accept that what I did was impulsive, and that I didn't think it through the way that I should have. I accept that I acted on emotion, and that what I did could have had consequences for not just myself, but for you and Nanako. I'm sorry for that, but even so...I'm not sorry for bringing her here. And if you think we've just been pampering her, you're wrong..." Clearly, his outburst surprised his uncle, but no sooner had the look of confusion graced the older man's features than he seemed to shift into a strange expression, as though perhaps he were backpedaling on his thoughts a little while maintaining ab it of his indignant anger. "I didn't mean it like..." he sighed, running long fingers through his hair...why was it so hard to talk to kids? And why the Hell were they so damn perceptive these days? "Look, I didn't mean it like that. ...I know she's lost a lot since the fire...a lot of people in this town have. And standing back up to live your life in the wake of all that isn't something to look down upon. But think of the logistics...of the emotional needs of a young woman in mourning. Do you think that you and I...are equipped to give her the support she needs? It's not as simple getting up from something like that as you think..." It was a complex thing, recovering from a trauma as deep as the one that had rocked Minori Koroko's world; losing her parents, losing her home, losing her brother to madness...he knew that with this his nephew would have to see the light. He would have to understand that there were more elements to this, things that they simply couldn't provide for the girl. Was she happy here, really? Could she be healthy here? He had enough trouble maintaining his own family, managing the needs of his daughter in the wake of his wife's death...managing his own grief still lingering. Was he fit to be a father figure to a teenage girl in mourning? Did Soji even know what he was asking? Warm coffee slid down his throat and he gratefully accepted the burn. It was coarse, the way this conversation felt to him. It wasn't pleasant, but it had to be done, didn't it? And just when he was sure that he had stricken gold and his nephew would sigh and see the light, the silver-haired teen surprised him with the last reaction he had expected in the wake of his elderly wisdom...
Soji laughed, a small chuckle beneath his breath...before offering an apologetic half-smile and running his fingers through long strands of silver hair.
"Dojima-san, you're underestimating her. ...I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but if you really knew Minori, you would understand. Minori is..." he paused a moment to gather his words carefully, taking a sip of coffee thoughtfully before continuing, a calm, analytic voice that surprised his uncle...when had his nephew become so damn insightful? Or, no...he had been this way all along, hadn't he? "Minori is stronger than you think...the ability to stand on her own two feet and walk forward, even when it hurts, she's got all of those things already." He was speaking from the heart, but even with his silver tongue it was hard to find just the right words to say what he meant to make his uncle understand. There was nothing burdensome about having her with them, and whatever extra resources they might spend, he could easily cover the difference. She could cover the difference, and when you considered how much she could contribute on her own...his uncle's eyes were surprised but unconvinced. What could he say? How could he make him see? Logic was on the side of his uncle, but at times like this...who could rely on logic alone to make such an important decision with someone's life at stake? He didn't know...he knew his uncle would understand if he could just say what he knew to be true...reach the man inside of him who had made this house a home for him when he had been thrust upon him! ...His lips curled into a soft smile after a moment, and he knew that all the planning in the world wouldn't have made this talk any easier. Did it matter? His ashen eyes seemed to come alive at that, and his uncle didn't miss it when his lips curled into that confident look his nephew got at all the strangest times. "Dojima-san, Minori doesn't need us to hold her up, and she doesn't need us to tie her down, either. She's lost a lot, but she's still moving forward...she's strong, independent...in willpower, she's way stronger than I am. All that she needs is," his wrist twitched and his fingers touched his chin for a moment thoughtfully, before his voice caught up with his thoughts again, "...Someone to stand beside her, to watch her back. Someone who can catch her if she falls, to remind her of just how strong she already is...and how much stronger she can be. What she needs are the bonds, the ties that link her to other people and let her know that she's not alone. Just let her know that she's not alone...and she can do anything...Uncle...there's no one left but us for her. We can give her that...and I promise you, she will be all right."
For a moment his uncle seemed stunned, a rock of hard lines and dark hair framed by his gray shirt and red tie, a mixture between consideration and exasperation on his face. Breath escaped him in a huff as he finally regained himself, expression dipping...coffee forgotten on the table as a deep, thoughtful reverie came over him that made his nephew think that perhaps he had reached the humanity inside of him and convinced him to forget the rest of the logic working against him. He knew that his uncle had become more responsible since last year...but he also had a heart that he had touched inside that chest of his. And when a few beats passed before the man spoke, he was sure that he had reached him, at least made him consider what he was proposing on a level beyond the cold, stone wall that he had put up at the outset. He was right...but only partially. "I get it...I didn't realize you felt that strongly about it. But you know, I thought you were involved with that Rise Kujikawa..." the detective sighed, a bad attempt at humor that still somehow forced an awkward glance to the side from his nephew that might have made him laugh at any other time. "It's not like that..." the silverette waved a hand with a nervous chuckle, finding a spot on the door interesting...looking far more like the teenage boy that he was for a change than the insightful, clever, and serious young man that he was becoming, "I am with Rise now...kind of...it's complicated, I guess. ...But Minori and I are friends. She's kind of more like a..." His uncle's warm chuckle interrupted him, but as soon as the soothing rumble had come it was gone, an exhausted and sympathetic expression coming over the detective's face as he fingered the handle of his coffee mug. "I know, I know...but Soji, you know...I still don't know if I can just go ahead with this. ...Even if she's eighteen now, do you know how much it costs to support a teenager these days? I just..." It was a turn for the worst, Soji knew it...and his expression changed from hope to something a little sadder for a moment, a sense of resignation about to fill his heart when the most melodious and angelic of sounds filled the air...a sound of innocence that instantly pierced through the veils of logic and made all the difference in the world.
"...D-dad?" came the little girl's voice, tired and sad from the stairwell...had she been listening the whole time? "...You're not going to send Big Sis away...are you?"
"Nanako, I thought you were..."
"...But Dad, she promised...we were going to go to Junes tomorrow..."
"But...Nanako...!"
"Daaad..."
...The poor guy didn't have a chance. A sigh escaped him...and in a moment he was out of his chair and across the room, lifting his young daughter into his arms and carrying her back towards her bedroom with the promise of a story to help her sleep. From his chair in the kitchen, a strangely relieved smile curled the lips of the young man...his own sigh escaping him just a moment too soon, his uncle turning at the stairs to glance over his shoulder and call out.
"...You're going to have to keep up those part-time jobs you've been working on if you're going to pull your weight on this."
...His evenings in exchange for another 'sister'? Fair trade, he supposed...
...
More than fair.
...
"Minori, you're stronger than you think..." suddenly the memory flashed, and the clouded eyes of the Senior seemed to be focused on her, a message to her directly, even as the memory began to break up, his voice patchy...audible in spurts, "Your bonds...make you stronger...and your heart..." A flash of light, a soft smile. "Your capacity for love...for forgiveness...they're not weaknesses..."
"They're strengths..."
...
A warm feeling...an embrace?
...
"I love you...and I'm counting on you..."
...
"Big Sis..."
...
The images were gone. Quote: [Mysterious Spear] + [Starlight Sigil] + [Starlight Crest] have joined together!
...
[Mysterious Spear] has become [Vega]!
...
[Vega] - Heavy Light/Phys Damage (Target must Null BOTH to block strikes) with each strike; 50% critical hit rate with successful rolls knocking down enemies to set up an extra 2-hit combination. All Light/Magic Boosts apply to damage from Vega.
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Posted: Mon Aug 06, 2012 4:17 pm
Soji Seta, Investigation Team Leader
"Show me a hero, and I will write you a tragedy"Yesterday had been a nightmare. To be more accurate, it was like the beginning of a new nightmare for all of them. Sleep had come for him eventually, but it hadn't been easy, knowing that the images of what he had seen when he finally pulled Kisa's motorcycle up to the home where the berry-haired boy had lived. Wreckage of a fallen home, his teammates battered and bruised, lumbering off individually towards their homes without a second glance at their friends behind them. And there was no sign of the teen they had come to save, except for the disappearing helicopter in the distance that he guessed belonged to the Kirijo and their android of dynamic entries. Had they used that to get him out of here? Was his condition that awful? A journey to the hospital when the Dark Hour ended with a few of his teammates said that it was, but that by the time they had left their friend was stable...for now. It was a small weight off of his shoulders, but the guilt stayed with him even on the journey home. If he had only been able to defeat that strange shadow sooner...if he hadn't been so wrapped in finding out the truth about his friend's spirit sealed away within it. Could he have made a difference? With his power he knew it should have been possible, but he had become lackadaisical, complacent...even though he told himself he was ready when the incidents started again, when the Messiahs made their move, none of them could have been ready for an incident like this...a two-sided surprise assault by a monster like a Shade and the similar Fiend before his home last night. ...It all weighed on his mind and by the time he awakened he felt no less heavy, though he was beginning to come to grips with the situation. They had more business to take care of, and there were enemies making moves even as they spoke. Morning crept on and his long legs finally lifted him from the futon where he had laid in-thought, towards the stairs and down into the kitchen with a weary yawn.
Horrifying as it all was, it felt more normal like this than it had for the past two months. He hated that feeling...and it made him worry that something very important inside of him was changing for the worse. When chaos was becoming the norm and peace made him uneasy, no matter how desperately he had fought for it...what did that say about him? What would become of him when the fighting was over? Would he still be the same Soji Seta that he had become since moving here, or would he...change into someone different? Someone better? Someone worse? The Senior ran long fingers over his dreary eyes and pushed the thoughts aside; there was still a battle to be won before he thought about what came next. And bacon to be made. Delicious bacon...his hands moved automatically through the shelves and the refrigerator, and within moments the satisfying sizzle of meat against heat began to pop beneath his skilled, culinary fingers. Maybe he couldn't predict the future...but he could still make a damn good breakfast.
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Posted: Fri Aug 10, 2012 5:02 pm
Minori Koroko The light had blinded her... the sudden brightness disoriented her. Minori didn't even have the time to realize or wonder what she had done, and what had happened to her weapon when flashes of images and voices echoed in front of her, this time much clearer and understandable than the night before when the Shade had passed over the hidden memories and power. Voices that were familiar...faces that she had gotten used to see each day for the past few months...people she had grown to appreciate and care for. Though, the tones weren't light, and the atmosphere around the two men was tense, and somehow, she couldn't say she had seen the silverette as nervous before. Words broke the silence, and it took the blond only a moment to understand what was going on, and what and who the detective was talking about. Her stomach churned for a moment, and she couldn't help the feeling that she was observing something she shouldn't...some private conversation about, well...her.
She remembered that time clearly. That night after the school's festival, when Soji had offered her to stay for the night and for the nights to come. She remembered being hesitant about it...not wanting to be any trouble for anybody, but it had been his words that had put her at ease. He had reassured her, said he would be there for her...and that was what he had done all this time. The conversation going on between the silverette and his uncle...probably not long after she had arrived at the house, the blond guessed, only proved that Soji completely believed in her...he trusted her, probably more than she did for herself. And somehow, that warmed her inside, leaving a small seed of strength and confidence inside of her. The bonds and ties she had with others...they had always been there, helping along the way, making her to urge forward, to fight for what she wanted. They weren't...like her darker self had sadly believed...what a small part of her had believed... a burden, they weren't strings controlling, pulling down.
The blond felt herself smiling fondly as the memory's Soji defended her, unknowingly encouraging her. She would be alright. Because she had him...she had all her friends. And she had little Nanako. It was her voice that made green orbs to snap back up, the figure of the girl melting her inside with her sad pleas and innocent look. Nanako had been the needed push to tip the scale...and she was really thankful for that to the girl.
The change on images and the warm voice addressing her made the blond to look up, kind ashen eyes boring into green ones. The message was short, but it moved everything inside of her, hot tears gathering at the back of her eyes as the images faded, leaving her with a warm feeling of an embrace and with words of trust and love. She was breathing heavily, the girl noticed, emotions welling up to the surface. Still, a soft smile never left her lips as she rubbed her stinging eyes to avoid spilling tears. She nodded, a soft whisper escaping between her lips. A promise..."I won't let you down...Big Bro." The weapon held close to her chest seemed different...and it felt completely different as well. It had a name now...it was whole...it was stronger.
Despite herself, a chuckle and a sniffle escaped her mouth, the blond putting down her weapon delicately before spinning on her heels, rushing out of her room and down the stairs. The wariness that had kept her awake all night was gone, along with the lingering tiredness that had stopped her from doing anything else. There was just one thing on her mind at that instant, and after seeing no one in the room right to the stairs, she had to look downstairs. And there he was. She paused only for a moment at the end of the stairs, looking at the young man cooking breakfast, at his tired frame, at the silver head tilted slightly as he worked on. She saw him, he who had given so much to her...who had worked so hard for her and all the others...who had sacrificed himself and come back to them. And in that moment, she couldn't have been more grateful for having meeting him. The girl was already halfway towards the kitchen when she realized what she was doing, legs taking long strides to reach the silverette. And in a beat of a heart, she was crashing against him, arms wrapping around him tightly. She didn't stop to think how strange it must have been... or to be completely honest, she wasn't thinking at all. But... she just shoved that to the back of her mind, and tightened her grip around him. "Thanks...Thank you for believing in me...Soji."
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