Ken's arrival (bis repetita)

[the_ken]

Okay. Well. Ken had to admit that, when he went to bed last night, he did not expect to wake up in a blue room and be welcomed by a long-nosed man. He would have thought that it was a dream, but he's been in enough of them to know it's nothing of the sort. This place had a dinstinct, strong feeling, not quite reality, but much firmer than a dream.

He wasn't certain he could trust Igor-san yet, if he was perfectly honest. But in the case that he was not lying... it was actually great news. The real world was rough, currently, with Yuki-san being...

...

Well, a pause to make new friends couldn't hurt. Especially since he was learning again, learning to be alive, learning to live for himself, like Aragaki-san had asked him to. He couldn't let him down, not in a million years.

Malicious or not, Igor-san was right. He needed bonds. And he would make them.

Someone may meet this Ken...

1) while reading the information board. Even if being here seemed to overall be a good thing, that did not mean throwing caution out of the window. He needed information, and the kind soul having put together this compilation would save him a lot of time.

2) in Iwatodai, Ken being curious to see if the dorm SEES stayed at was still a thing in this strange place.

Comments

2

[fruitknife]

The dorm is indeed still a thing. There are even lights on, like there's someone staying in there.

[the_ken]

Ken politely knocked on the door. As much as the dorm registered as home deep within his soul, he knew that this wasn't his dorm. He had to be mindful of the place's actual inhabitants.

He dreaded a little what he would find inside, but he swallowed his fear.

[fruitknife]

The first answer Ken gets is an excited bark.

But while Koromaru is very smart, he can't exactly open the door by himself, so there's soon the sound of someone telling him to chill.

When Shinji opens the door - not wearing his ever-present coat, which is hanging on the coat tree behind the desk - he just stares for a moment. "Didn't we just do this the other day? Or are you new?"

[the_ken]

Ken would recognize that bark everywhere. Koromaru was here!!! But was it his Koromaru? A cognitive Koromaru? A Koromaru from another timeline?

Only one way to find out, once someone would open the-

...
...
...

Ken's face completely blanched. He didn't even hear the words Aragaki-san enunciated. He took a few steps back, nearly fell-

"Wha- How- No way..."

[fruitknife]

Well, that still answers his question. "Easy, kid, you're gonna hurt yourself like that. You hungry?"

Koromaru comes over for a sniff. Definitely a different Ken, even though Shinji already worked that out. This one just smells like Ken, not Ryoji.

[the_ken]

Ken tried to calm down, he really did, but it was hard.

Rationally... there was this whole different world and timeline business. So the Aragaki-san in front of him was likely not the Aragaki-san he knew. The dead didn't come back to life.

But still... seeing him again... he didn't know how to feel.

He reflexively started to pet Koromaru to try to relax.

"I'm sorry for the question, but... who are you exactly? I mean, you look like Aragaki-san, but I don't want to assume."

[fruitknife]

"Nah, you're right. We're probably not from the same timeline, though. You work with Minako or the blue-haired kid?"

Even if he hadn't already known how things usually seem to go, he startled the hell out of Makoto, too.

1

[tricksterviolet]

Sumire once again finds herself in the Velvet Room after having taken a pleasant walk in Inaba.

There's a pause as she eyes the bulletin board, remembering that she never quite read over the whole thing. Maybe she should fix-- oh, wait, someone else is approaching the board... A boy?

Maybe he's new here? It seems like a lot of newcomers stop by the bulletin board early on, not that she can blame them.

She puts on a small smile, and approaches Ken.

"Excuse me, but did you just appear here?"

She's doing better than the last new person she tried to help out, at least... She had no idea where to lead him, but maybe this will go better? She can hope...

[the_ken]

Ken startled a little at the new voice, as he was too focused reading the board to notice the approaching presence.

"H-hi! That's right, I'm new here. My name is Ken Amada. Are you a veteran of this place?"

[tricksterviolet]

Sumire's eyes widen a bit at the question.

"A veteran? Oh no, I'm still new myself...! I was just wanting to make sure you were all right..."

And cue her feeling awkward now, trying to sort out what she's wanting to say.

"I've seen some people show up here lost and confused before, so um..."

But she manages to smile again, quickly shifting away from that and instead to the introduction.

"N-Never mind. My name's Sumire Yoshizawa. It's nice to meet you, Amada-san. And welcome to the Velvet Room...!"

She looks towards the bulletin board, a bit curious.

"The bulletin board has a lot of information on it... It may seem a bit overwhelming at first, but it's easier to get used to than it seems."

[the_ken]

"It's also nice to meet you, Yoshizawa-san! And maybe you're not a veteran, but you clearly have more experience than me here, so your help is appreciated."

Ken then took a closer look to the bulletin board, and started reading it.

"It's still a bit hard to believe I was just taken to another world... was it like that for you too?"

[tricksterviolet]

Sumire actually seems a bit flattered, a small blush appearing on her face along with a smile.

"I'm glad to help, if I can! And yes, it was really hard to understand at first. It takes some time to adjust. I'm still not entirely used to all of this, hehe."

She actually seems to be relaxing a bit now, trying to think of what else she could offer some advice on.

"Oh, through the doors there's various different places. There's Mikage-cho, Sumeru, Iwatodai, Inaba, and Tokyo. I visit Tokyo a lot because that's where I'm from."

Of course, the board talks about the areas, but she's trying.

[the_ken]

"Well, I'm from Iwatodai myself! I've never been to Tokyo before, so that's neat. Is there like, the whole city there? How large is this place exactly?"

Ken would have felt bad about asking that many questions usually, but Yoshizawa-san's mood seemed to have improved from helping, so why not let her?

1

[fogboundcrow]

...Was that another Ken?

Certainly not the Ken he knew, especially in light of recent events. He seemed relatively composed, all things considered. Taking in the board, which...

Damn it. This was going to be awkward no matter what, wasn't it? That note regarding Crow's connection to his Ken...

Who was also Raven's Ken.

Whatever. Perhaps it was best to investigate, lest he be interpreted as rude. "Ah. Hello there."

[the_ken]

"Oh, hello!" he answered the boy next to him, who seemed slightly older. "I'm Ken Amada, and I'm new here. Are you by chance experienced with this place?"

[fogboundcrow]

"Goro Akechi. ...The one that goes by Raven." Since he'd already looked at the board, he probably already figured, but it never hurt to be specific. "But yes. I'm actually the one that maintains this board, so you could say I'm an old hand by now."

[the_ken]

"Oh, you are the one who wrote all of this? How nice of you. I'll admit that it's a lot to absorb at once, but your summary really helps."

He kept reading the board, and then...

"Oh. Well, err... I have no idea if this is true in my world? But, err. Hm."

[fogboundcrow]

"...We don't have to treat it as a universal fact. Multiversal fact? Regardless, there's a world where I'm some kind of Persona-wielding robot, so the room for variance is certainly vast."

It'd be awkward to just assume with someone he just met. Plus, the other Ken may not take kindly to him suddenly acting all brotherly to a new version of him.

[the_ken]

"So... sapient robots are real? That's pretty cool. And yes, I totally understand! Before figuring out anything else, we can start by becoming friends, right?" he added with a smile. "You seem pretty cool, too."

2

[burnmydreadbabe]

Patching himself up after that fight with the Persona user wasn't great, so Makoto went back to the dorm to rest for a while. What he wasn't expecting to see when he decided to leave afterward was Ken standing around outside of it. Did he just get here?

Probably best to approach him. "Did you just get here Ken?"

[the_ken]

When he approached the dorm, he didn't expect someone to leave it at the same time. It shouldn't have been surprising, but... he didn't think about it.

And he certainly didn't expect-

"Aaaahhhh! Yuki-san!!!" he shouted, jumping backwards, face pale as if he just had seen a ghost.

[burnmydreadbabe]

Huh. Ken was surprised to see him. Not just that he seemed downright afraid with how pale he looked. Oh. So nobody had explained things yet.

"I'm fine," he assures Ken. "I'm here from November 2009. When are you from?"

[the_ken]

"But- but- but-"

Remember what they taught you? If you are panicking, deep breathes. Deep breathes. In... out. In... out.

"I mean... sorry for having reacted like that! It's just that..." you are dead. "Well, it's a bit hard to adjust to everything! All these worlds and timelines..."

November 2009... oh.

"To answer your question... I'm from March 2010." His voice was small and quiet, and he was still slightly shaking.

[burnmydreadbabe]

March 2010. He's heard what happened from Crow but that seems so...soon. "I've been told." There's no need for Ken to worry about sparing his feelings when he was so young. When he's seen more death than anyone his age should. "You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to."

[the_ken]

Oh, he knew. That was a huge weight lifted off his shoulders: he really didn't know what he should have done if that wasn't the case.

"I will admit that this is a bit hard..."

It was too soon. It was too raw. But he couldn't step away. He couldn't make himself leave while he finally saw his face again.