🌒 [Open]

[wipingallout]

... ... ... ... ?

What is...?

I shouldn't... be awake...


[In the Velvet Room...]

[It's courteous of whatever's going on with Igor's plan here that Hamuko is dressed. She probably shouldn't even have a body... whatever she has going on now... did her body fall comatose without her? Did it die? If it was alive, she surely should be much older. ... ... ... Maybe that all doesn't really matter, right now. She's here, gifted a chance to be around others again. The pinboard catches her attention first, of course. Signs of other people... so many little notes, talking about multiple versions of the same person running around. That's... that's charming... that's fun. ...Even if the notes about Ken Amadas make her sad...]

Hmm... I don't see any other 'me' off the bat...

[She'll take a few minutes once given a pen and some pink paper to doodle a little version of herself, signed with her name and phone number, and add it to the corner of the pinboard.]


[Inaba, Central Shopping District]

[What a fun little town! A charming place... hey, isn't this the town she went to for the volleyball camp? She loved the accommodations, but it's so nice to actually wander the streets and see the little shops. This place is SO rural, Hamuko had never really visited a place this remote, even when jumping between foster homes.] Let's see... what's the good spot for the locals? [No point being a complete tourist shmuck!!]


[Shibuya, Underground Mall]

[Well, since nothing costs anything here... might as well get some cute new clothes, right? Who knows how long she'll be around here, and 'dreaming up' new outfits didn't seem to be a thing. No lucid dreaming here - somehow, Hamuko felt a lot happier with that in mind. Still... the fashion is so different!!]

I just want one cute orange top...!! Is orange out of style? Dang it...


[Iwatodai Dorms]

[Of all of the places she's been having fun goofing off and exploring in, the dorms... she couldn't quite get the courage to open the front. Not just yet.]

Not even Koromaru is out front right now. ...I've gotta apologize...

Comments

[wipingallout]

"Just Personas and the basics, then," Hamuko laughed a little, though it was a bit less spirited than before. After a beat, looking down the path as it faded into the fog...

"I guess that makes sense. The only thing you take to the grave is yourself, after all. It'll be an interesting challenge, but I should be able to keep us afloat," she said with a confident nod.

"You have a Persona, right? That ought to help too. I'll coordinate us in a fight."

[wipingallout]

"He said it wasn't octopus... I know he tends to overreact on things and usually it's charming. But man... it is not as charming when it's about food," Hamuko muttered, cupping her cheek and sighing, before--

"Wait. You know Theo? Is he your Velvet Room attendant, too?"

[takutomaruki]

The only thing you take to the grave is yourself.

He hated hearing that. So much. Being so accustomed to death, holding its hand and walking down your path nonetheless- it isn't something not many people could cope with. Having to deal with a loss so grave that you will always walk around, losing that piece of yourself with that person, he knew all too well-

"Can’t fall apart like this," Maruki reminded himself silently. His fingers tightened around the apple juice before he exhaled and slipped it back into his pocket.

"I don’t like the implications of this ‘interesting challenge,’" he admitted with a tired sigh.

Maruki muttered before patting his hoodie pocket. "I have… oh, God, I hope I packed those cards. Hold on."

He dug through his hoodie with the determination of a man searching for a misplaced wallet. After a second, he pulled out two Persona Cards and held them up triumphantly. No one has told the doctor yet that you don't particularly lose access to Persona Cards but here we are. On one hand, the other still busy attending to his clipboard as he swipes over the cards with a flick of his thumb.

"So I have two of them- a Nekomata and a TekeTeke. One of them gave me a phone number as I had mentioned earlier and the other..." His smile softened. "Her story was a bit too depressing, so I lent her an ear. She appreciated it."

His fingers traced the surface of the cards thoughtfully. "Funny thing is, a lot of the Persona Users I’ve met here have never heard of this technique. Neither did I until Katsuya-san showed me around. I guess I’m bringing something new to the table."

[wipingallout]

"Persona cards..." Hamuko repeated, closing the gap between them to peek at them in his hand. Nekomata was... not a very strong Persona, but maybe TekeTeke would do well. "I've never seen them physically like this. I've only ever seen them in visions or working with Igor in dreams," she admitted, admiring it - it felt a little surreal to see them tangible!

Gave a phone number, and lent an ear... neither of those were an 'awakening'. This guy must be from a different circumstance - which is only verified by Maruki's comment about how most people hadn't even heard of this.

"I would've loved if I could've gotten more Personas by flirting, that sounds like a lot more fun."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki blinked at Hamuko’s mention of Igor. "Oh, so that’s how fusion works for you? In my case, we just give the phone number to Igor, and he calls the Persona to summon them to the Velvet Room." He rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly adding, "Though, I’ll admit… I’ve never tried fusing any of them. Just didn’t seem like the right time to ask, you know?"

At Hamuko’s follow-up comment about flirting, Maruki froze.

Maruki turned red almost instantly. "Wh-what?! I wasn’t…! I mean, I wasn’t trying to flirt! I just—she thought I was funny, I guess?" He could feel his face burning, the heat radiating all the way to his ears. He shifted awkwardly, one hand gripping the edge of his clipboard like it might keep him from melting into the earth.

For a moment, he wanted to sit there, thoroughly bemused, as his brain tried to process it all. "Oh my God… did I actually flirt with her?" He groaned quietly, resting his head in one hand. Considering the implications of the joke he had made.

"Katsuya-san really took the brunt of that whole negotiation, honestly but...actually wait-"

"That sounds a lot more fun?" he directly quoted her. "...you would’ve flirted with other Shadows if you’d had the chance?"

[wipingallout]

"I mean, come on! That sounds WAY more fun than just beating the tar out of them. And I wouldn't flirt with just any Shadow! So many shadows are like... tables. I'm not about that," Hamuko laughed brightly. "Plus, almost never have I seen a Persona like Nekomata as a Shadow? They usually just emerge from the sea of souls. At least, that's what I thiiiink is happening when I get a vision of them after battles?"

Hamuko laughed even more at the thought of it.

"If Scathach started bantering though, definitely. She's a cutie. Vishnu? Oh you better believe it!"

[takutomaruki]

Well he won't deny that it was much easier to simply speak to them- acknowledging that they were manifestations of people's beliefs- being reasonable with them was a good enough stance as any. "Being reasonable with them seems like the most humane approch alright." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I’m... not much of a fighter, honestly, so it worked in my favour."

A slow smile forms on his face at Hamuko's laughter. He appreciated it more than he realized.

He paused, the memory of negotiations with Demons resurfacing. “Though from what I understand, the Shadows in Mikage-cho and Sumaru City are often referred to as Demons. And Demons? They thrive on negotiations. But the more you alarm them, the quicker it turns into a fight which seems vastly different from my encounters in Shibuya's Mementos.” He furrowed his brow, thoughtfully tapping his clipboard with his pen. “There was a reason for that distinction, I think? I don’t remember it all too well.” The blush had started to fade as he made a quick note on his clipboard again.

Refer to Katsuya-san about the difference between Shadows and Demons (again?)

The blush that had flared earlier had mostly faded.

Until it didn’t.

When Hamuko rattled off the Personas she’d be willing to flirt with, Maruki felt a little heat creeping back up. He didn’t know the names Scathach or Vishnufirsthand- even after spearheading his way through all the levels of Mementos alone, but something about the mental image of flirtatious banter with mythological figures made his brain short-circuit for a second.

[takutomaruki]

“I suppose I can see the appeal in some Personas,” Maruki said, half to himself. His mind wandered briefly to Personas he had seen before. Parvati... or even Mithras—

He stopped himself mid-thought, realizing the direction his mind had gone. His eyes widened slightly as he coughed into his fist and ran a hand over his mouth. “Wow. This conversation took a whole other tangent.”

He looked back at Hamuko, equal parts sheepish and amused. “I guess you’re rubbing off on me already,” he said, chuckling softly. "Let’s just hope I don’t end up negotiating with a Yaksini using compliments. That’d probably end with me getting viciously stabbed or punted across the nearest courtyard."

[wipingallout]

"She's SO PRETTY... So many of the Empress Arcana Personas are really cute," Hamuko giggled a bit, leading down the path. It felt like the path was floating in the fog, making everything serene... one thing she noticed was a lack of Shadows along that path.

At least that made it a little easier to chat, for now. The first fork wasn't a massive one - in front of them was a distorted stack of old fashioned high school desks, and to the left...

A shimenawa. Hamuko hesitated before going forward, trying to see further past the rope for signs of Shadows... but all she could see was that stone path twisting and fading into more fog.

"Can you sense anything? I'm not really able to use navigational skills like that."

[takutomaruki]

“Cute, huh?” Maruki’s smile twitched slightly at the corners. He could hardly picture Yaksini blushing at such a description. “I think ‘fierce’ might be a safer bet, honestly.”

They keep walking ahead as Maruki promptly follows her around. He wasn't really the type to lead someone else, usually finding comfort in supporting someone (nor did he really trust himself when it came to such things...he could easily lead them off into a ditch elsewhere if he wasn't looking-)

He hesitates for a moment as he sees the distorted desks, the old sign posts that he's seen standing at other corners of Inaba. Such quiet.
The path felt suspended in the fog, the strange, dreamlike scenery stretching endlessly. Whoever’s cognition had conjured this place was clearly powerful—or perhaps their psyche was being influenced by an external phenomenon. He had seen cognitive distortions before, but this was on a different level..

Lack of items or healing...person of interest being the self-sabotaging type?
Grave motifs?
Suppressed memories or guilt?

He nearly dropped his clipboard and pen when Hamuko’s voice called out, snapping him out of his mental analysis. Realizing he’d fallen a few paces behind, he quickly caught up to her.

She stood at a fork. Directly ahead was the stack of desks, and to the left, a shimenawa rope stretched across the entrance of a twisting stone path that faded into more fog. The air around the rope felt... charged. Maruki’s brow furrowed as Hamuko spoke.

"Even with the glasses, we can’t see much past this," he murmured, eyes narrowing at the shimenawa. “Whoever governs this place clearly doesn’t want us here.”

"Let me see..."

He closes his eyes for a moment, drawing onto Azathoth as the persona stirs within him. When he opens them, his left pupil is outlined by a faint golden hue as he looks directly into the fog.

"There doesn't seem to be any immediate...wha-!" His eyes widen, finding some sort of disparity in the way he could almost feel something constricting into the air. Like an existence which stubbornly kept out of sight. “I can sense something,” he said, his tone more urgent. “I can’t see it, but it’s close. Closer than I’d expect for something keeping this low a profile.”

Maruki blinked, and his eyes returned to normal. He clutched his clipboard and carefully tucked his pen into the ‘v’ of his hoodie. There was no point in taking notes mid-battle—not unless they survived long enough to reflect on the experience.

“The shimenawa may be functioning as a gate,” he said softly, glancing at Hamuko. “Or a barrier. I’m not sure what’s beyond it, but... I don’t think it wants to be disturbed.”

He adjusted his stance, his expression serious. “I’m ready whenever you are.”

[wipingallout]

"Shimenawa acting as a barrier for 'evil spirits' or Shadows..." Hamuko hummed in thought, reaching out to touch the rope, and then the space above it.

No luck - there was a firm, solid block, the physical shimenawa expanding to completely and wholly block progress forward. They weren't evil spirits (as far as Hamuko knew) but... with Maruki's assessment, evidenced by the glow to his eyes, she knew there was something beyond the shimenawa.

Was it there to keep those spirits in?

"...This person might have more in common with me than I thought," she remarked. "Let's be extremely careful. This is only supposed to be a memory or a dream, right? But we might not go all the way in if this is meant to seal something away," Hamuko explained, lining up the shoddy naginata blade with the rope. "Ready for a battle?"

[fogboundcrow]

"Not quite. Rather, Igor-san allowed other residents of the Velvet Room to connect with me, since I'm younger than Yu and don't have the same independence a high schooler would." Hmmmm... Time for another bite. It's probably cooled enough by now.

"Unlike Yu, I can't work, and I'm not particularly inclined to join clubs when we have a serial murder case to solve."

[wipingallout]

It was an ill-timed bite on her end - of all of the things that she'd anticipated hearing, hearing that a middle schooler was tracking a SERIAL KILLER had Hamuko aspirate at the wrong time.

Excuse her trying not to die now that she's desperately attempting to NOT inhale fluffy fried potato.

1/2

[unit_8910_wolf]

At Hamuko’s explanation, Zenkichi’s brow lifted—impressed despite himself. While the mental image of a middle-schooler headbutting a creep into next week was a little alarming, he wasn’t going to lie—he respected it. He did deserve it.

And if she’d busted his kneecaps? Yeah, no tears would’ve been shed either way.

When Hamuko flashed him a grin, he gave her one of his own, equal parts proud and rueful. “I approve of that life lesson. Though…” His grin softened into something more earnest. “I’d like to think you won’t have to worry about those circumstances here.”

He and Akane shared a glance, and even though their visors were opaque—hiding everything—their understanding was clear.

“Heh,” Zenkichi muttered under his breath. “Cosette would give ‘em all hell to pay.”

2/2

[unit_8910_wolf]

Akane straightened at that, a quiet pride thrumming in her. Cosette(??)—a persona she crafted with her own hands, her true self. That was who she wanted to be when she protected Wolf and if he believed she was strong… well, maybe she could be.

Hamuko continued, speaking about her naginata, and Akane leaned forward intently. She nodded along, absorbing every word. “Maxing out leverage, huh? Makes sense. That thing’s not just dramatic—it’s got reach.” She filed that away, determined to show off for real next time.

Then—without a word—she reached into her belt and pulled out a small knife.

No. Not just a knife.

It was a dagger—thick and rugged, its worn handle wrapped in cracked leather like it had been carried through an apocalyptic wasteland. The blade gleamed under the Velvet Room’s eerie light, chipped in places but still sharp as hell.

“I’ve got a trick with this,” Akane said, holding it up with a grin that could’ve been described as mildly unhinged. “But for now, I really wanna see your naginata. I love a good polearm. Fun fact—they were originally used by women in Japan to defend their homes while the men were off at war.” She twirled the dagger between her fingers with effortless precision. “You could say it’s got girlboss history."

Zenkichi exhaled through his nose, crossing his arms. “Why am I not surprised you know that?”

“Why are you not surprised I’m holding a knife?” Akane shot back, deadpan.

“That I’m trying not to think about.”

[wipingallout]

"Honestly? You ask me, and knives are great - you can hide 'em in your purse!" Hamuko laughed jovially. She didn't know 'girlboss', as a term, but it did pretty much speak for itself. Heheh. Akane was full of all kinds of trendy new terms she'd have to catch up on.

"Okay, give me a second - Igor gave me my evoker, but lemme see if I can get my other equipment!"

She'll go to Igor - politely sitting on the chair in front of him, hands in her lap. After a few moments of quiet chatter, Igor sounding relaxed and mysterious as ever, and a little sheepish giggle and whisper from Hamuko while she shoveled other things into a bag, she brought over the naginata she'd last been relying on.

"Here we are! This is the naginata I got after fusing my Persona, Kartikeya, into it. The peacock feathers are such a nice touch, super show-off-y, but they never ever got messed up no matter how many Shadows I swung this thing at."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki blinked at Hamuko, caught off-guard by her remark. His lips parted slightly, a mixture of surprise and curiosity playing across his face. Did she just imply that she might share a connection with whoever’s mind had formed this place? Or was it related to Nyx and the moon and god knows what- He wasn’t sure what surprised him more—the insight or the casual way she dropped it.

Before he could fully process it, Hamuko turned to him.

Maruki let out a soft huff of a laugh. “I think I’m more ready to face whatever’s behind this rope with a peashooter than I am to hear anything else coming out of your mouth,” he teased lightly, shaking his head.

With that, he instinctively backed away a step, his gaze flicking from the rope to the fog beyond. His expression grew more serious. He could feel Azathoth stirring deep within him—the Persona’s presence almost overwhelming, as if it were trying to reach out and grasp the unseen force beyond the barrier.

[wipingallout]

"Hah! You're only saying that because I'm gonna carry you," Hamuko teased back, lightly, lifting her naginata and swinging it down with the force to slice through the shimenawa.

With the swift slice, the barrier dissolved immediately and something felt freed - even Hamuko realized it in time to not get caught off guard by the pack of Shadows pouncing on them.

She winced at them - eugh, floating balls with mouths and giant tongues?? Shadows never stopped being weird and gross - but she didn't get a sense of imminent danger from them beyond what was to be expected from dangerous Shadows in general.

So Hamuko pulled her Evoker from its holster - mercifully it had not been taken from her - and pressed it to her temple. Messiah stirred in her even before she pulled the trigger, before her head snapped from the shock and the euphoric rush of unleashing her inner self realized. Morning Star - Messiah raised an arm heavenward, and from a light above, Almighty damage practically exploded downwards.

[takutomaruki]

Maruki’s eyes widened when Hamuko pulled out her Evoker. The moment she pressed it to her temple, his stomach dropped.

His mind flashed back to another time, another person. That Ren Amamiya. He had pressed an Evoker to his head too.
Summoned Raoul—that ghostly phantom.
And then the bullets had rained down. Maruki clenched his fists as the memory burned into him for just a second longer than he’d like.

Not now, Maruki. Focus. He shook his head, dispelling the past from his mind. Its been months since that attack and he's fought far tougher enemies before so why should he be-

Hamuko’s Messiah materialized in a burst of radiant energy. The sheer light from above was blinding for a moment as her Persona raised its arm heavenward, summoning the full force of Morning Star. A pillar of light exploded downward, disintegrating all of the grotesque, floating Shadows on the spot.

"My god."

Maruki couldn’t help but gape for a second. There was even some black goo from one of the shadows that made its way onto his hoodie before it outright disappeared.

"...I see what you meant by carrying me." He evenly says, his mind still catching up with how he swore he saw literal stars as he tried to get away from the attack.

[wipingallout]

"We had to bring our best to fight her at... hmm..." Hamuko started to reply, eyes closed as she 'saw' shuffle time, trailing off the sentence as she gleaned the strange new rules to it. After a bit she coaxed extra insight (EXP) and a few coins (funnily useless, but she'll hoard them just in case).

As the battle faded, an oppressive heaviness weighed down over them. Hamuko was left almost breathless, pressing a hand to her chest - not for inability to breathe, but for the painfully familiar feeling.

The weight of Nyx's sheer presence crushing them to the ground with dread. The terror of realizing their imminent death. Climbing the stairs knowing that they would likely never be descending them ever again. Staring into the alien heart of the creature in the moon, feeling in every cell of her body the promise of death.

...Half of her stamina was gone... wicked away by this forest, this grave - the only reason to be in here was to die.

"Hohh... are you... are you okay?" Hamuko asked, regaining her composure.

[unit_8910_wolf]

“Inventory space is a weird one for me,” Akane admitted, her voice deadpan but serious. “You’d think it’d be easy for me as a digital entity, but no. I’ll keep your advice in mind, though."

Zenkichi watched her quietly from the sidelines. His gaze lingered a little longer on the hat perched on her head—still my hat, he thought wryly—but his expression sobered as he turned to Hamuko. The way she joined Igor’s space so lighthearted struck a chord in him.

When Akane’s voice piped in through his neural server again, he bristled slightly.

Akane: You doing okay?
Wolf: I'm fine.
Akane: ...
Akane: It’s weird seeing someone so…bright around Igor. Most of the people I’ve seen here feel like prisoners.

Wolf: Maybe having your life revived after a...destined passing changes your outlook. Maybe she’s just grateful.

Was he...grateful?

He didn’t say who he was thinking of, but Akane knew.

Akane: I wonder who the spirit attached to my CCAI would’ve been. Maybe I’m living through her.

That quieted Zenkichi. He finally stepped away from the board he had been pretending to focus on, moving just a little closer to Igor’s table—but watching, not approaching.

Meanwhile, Akane lit up at Hamuko’s mention of Kartikeya. “Wait—Kartikeya?” Her AI systems raced as she searched for the Persona in her internal database. “I can’t even match that one. Maybe it predates our year, huh?"

"Huh.”

Curiosity thoroughly piqued, she reached out with her free hand, fingertips brushing the edge of one peacock feather before she froze and pulled back, flustered.

“Um—can I…hold it?”

[wipingallout]

"Of course! Here, stand over there where there's a little more space, you can even give it a few swings. It's fun!" Hamuko cheerfully passed the weapon over. It was deceptively light, thrumming with power - it really was powered mostly by the Persona fused within it.

"Kartikeya is one of the Personas of the Star Arcana. A pretty strong one! His spear is from myth, too, so I guess it makes perfect sense that he would embody his weapon when fused to one. Metaphorically speaking? Or metaphysically? I can't really tell!" Hamuko laughed jovially.

"Maybe I'll see what the antiques lady knew about this. If the version of her around here can remember that, I mean."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki didn’t catch Hamuko’s words at first. Something felt off. His body suddenly betrayed him, doubling over as he hunched forward with one hand clutching his chest. His hoodie shifted over his dark brown hair, casting a harsh shadow across one side of his face. He sucked in a sharp breath, feeling like he had just run a marathon. His heart pounded erratically—not fear exactly, but exhaustion so overwhelming that it felt like it had dug into his very soul.

What the hell... Why now?

He squeezed his eyes shut, grounding himself as he’d done countless times before after grueling battles in Mementos. A brief mental acuity check. He slowed his breath. In. Out. Measured. Steady. He was good at keeping a level head in moments like these, but even so, his mind still felt like it was drifting.

When he finally straightened up, he glanced over at Hamuko. He barely registered her outstretched hand or her expression of concern.

Maruki immediately took note of the pale tint to her skin and the tension in her frame. She was drained too.

Maruki’s clipboard had already slipped from his fingers, clattering to the foggy ground. Without hesitation, he rested a steadying hand on her shoulder as if worried she might trip, his gaze soft but full of concern.

“I’m... okay. Physically,” Maruki said slowly. His voice was steady but tinged with uncertainty. “But my spirit feels... drained. Hollow. Like whatever energy we had, this place is sapping it away.”

His eyes widened slightly as a sudden realization struck him. Heavy Almighty attack. His mind flashed back to that blinding light Messiah had summoned. The devastation of Morning Star. Almighty energy demanded quite a lot of stamina and vitality before but Hamuko-san wouldn't have landed the attack if she couldn't handle it. Hell, Maruki has used those attacks too and he never-

“Wait—what about you?” Maruki’s hand tightened just slightly on her shoulder. He searched her eyes, the fatigue still weighing on his chest like an anvil. “You just unleashed one hell of an attack too. Are you really okay?”

[wipingallout]

With a slightly frazzled laugh, Hamuko placed her hand over the one on her shoulder - not pushing it away, just holding it, getting herself back under control. "Physically okay," she repeated back to him, chest tight but gradually unwinding.

...Physical touch helped. The warmth of another hand, a kind gesture from a stranger. Concern and the warmth of that worry in their tone.

People really were wonderful.

"I felt that too. I think-- bah... it felt a little too much like a few things I've experienced before. The person that went in here.... they didn't expect to ever come out again. It is a very horrible feeling," she admitted, dabbing at her eye. "I'll have to be a lot more conservative with my stamina use, though. Hah."

[fogboundcrow]

"Are you all right?" That looked painful. Maybe he should help her? He rises from his seat, inching closer.