🌒 [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]

Patting her chest, getting her cough under control, Hamuko laughed in a bit of shock.

"Gosh... I hate that it's a Persona user thing, or I'd scold you to leave that to the police," she fished for a napkin and wiped her face. "But I understand getting saddled with dealing with what the police can't handle. That's unfortunate..."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki watched her carefully, unsure of how much of her words was her simply coping with the situation with her unfair past or a true resolve like any other. The need to take on burdens after sacrificing herself for the greater good of humanity didn't seem as farfetched then he had originally expected. "Like the textile ruined by my Takoyaki sauce?" He joked carefully in regards to finding opportunity for renewal, trying to wave off the unsettling voice speaking in his head. There were so many things he wanted to dissect in that dialogue, permeated into his head by a deep voice that transcended time and space. "That is a healthy outlook though so I suppose we might be able to make it past the gripes of this place after all."

Meeting your own shadow or the perception of yourself here...could he run into a cognitive double of his own? Shadowed by the echoes of this place?

The gears in his head turned before he focused on Hamuko and his expression stilted. "Technically, I should be paying you back or citing you in my papers but I am not too sure how would I be able to explain that my thesis was ran through a multiversal peer review process if I ever truly brought cognitive pscience into academia..." he furrows his brow as he grips his own chin. "I suppose I will cross that bridge when I get there-!"

With that he digs his hand into his pocket and holds out the same box of Apple juice from earlier, holding it out as a little token of appreciation. "I usually have more snacks on me but if this helps you recover some of your energy, have at it-!"

[wipingallout]

"Thanks," Hamuko took the offered apple juice with a small laugh, balancing her naginata on her shoulder to poke the straw through. "No matter what you do for a citation, I can easily see Mitsuru - my senpai, that is - knocking on your door for answers the second it came across her desk. Tell her I'm sorry for me, if that happens," she laughed lightly as she took a sip. "For leaving so abruptly."

'Leaving', right...

"And that I bet she is SUPER pretty-- actually nevermind, that'd be too weird coming from some man she doesn't know."

[takutomaruki]

Maruki smiled softly as Hamuko took the apple juice, glad he could offer at least a small gesture of help. It wasn’t much, but it was something. He watched as she poked the straw through and took a sip, balancing her naginata like it was second nature.

When Hamuko trailed off with her laughter, Maruki’s brain went into overdrive. Mitsuru... Kirijo? The name immediately rang a bell. He tried to keep his expression neutral, but a flicker of recognition crossed his face.

His mind flashed back to a conversation he’d had on the net. It had been with none other than another Goro Akechi, and though they had spoken only briefly, Akechi had mentioned that a Mitsuru Kirijo had approached him after winning against him. Maruki’s pulse quickened at the memory. The Kirijo Group, a massive trading company, had been whispered about back in Maruki’s grad school days. Rumors of human experimentation had floated around—nothing confirmed, of course, but just enough to make any cognitive pscientist’s ears perk up.

Hamuko’s light comment now seemed anything but.

Maruki blinked, swallowing hard as he tried to keep up. Her mention of "leaving" sounded far too final for comfort. His face paled slightly. He opened his mouth, stumbled for words, and finally managed, "I-I wouldn’t... I mean, yeah, I don’t think I’ll be passing that exact message on. But I’ll keep it in mind,” he said with a sheepish smile, carefully writing down the name Mitsuru on his clipboard. Even though the tragedy woven into Hamuko’s words weighed on him, he tried to push through it for the sake of the conversation.

Testing the name on his tongue, he glanced up at her. "Mitsuru... Kirijo? You’re talking about the head of the Kirijo Group, right? In my world, they’re primarily known as a large trading company. But when I was a grad student, there were... well, rumors. Nothing I ever put much stock into. Something about their family being involved with human experimen—"

He stopped himself abruptly, realizing how that must sound. His eyes widened, and he immediately raised his hands in apology. "Ah, sorry! I-I didn’t mean to imply anything. I don’t know the full context, and I certainly don’t mean to dredge up anything painful."

"I’m just trying to keep up here. Cognitive psience has its complexities, but I’m a little out of my depth when it comes to corporate conspiracies."

[unit_8910_wolf]

Zenkichi and Akane both froze, the air around them suddenly awkward.

Zenkichi blinked once, then twice. “Did—” He pointed at Hamuko and turned to Akane as if the gesture would help process what had just been said. "Did she-"

His lips part in shock. “Did you just seriously ask me that??"

Zenkichi’s blush went from faint to full-on cherry red. “Oh my god. What? Why would you—?! Out of all things you could have questioned you decide to say that? His hands flew up in exasperation before bringing one up to his face as if reconsidering ALL of his life choices.

Akane made it exactly three seconds before she completely lost it. She doubled over, laughter spilling out in full force. “Y-You—!” she gasped between wheezing breaths. “You really walked into that one!” “Akane, don’t laugh!” Zenkichi spun toward her, face still blazing. “You’re supposed to have my back!” “I can’t!” Akane managed. “You—you looked like she just made you short-circuit!”

"You damn brats," Zenkichi groaned. "I swear..."

[wipingallout]

Despite laughing, herself, Hamuko's face was ALSO beet red. She made a few attempts to speak, to justify herself - but just laughed harder, let alone from how Zenkichi seemed the most devastated out of anyone in the room.

"Hahah!! I-I mean, come on, I gotta know!! Especially if I ask can I get them too - maybe that's a huge deal-breaker!!" she cackled, laughter squeaking louder and getting away from her.

[wipingallout]

"No, you're right, that is something that was being done under her grandfather and by her grandfather's co-conspirators. She didn't say how much her own father knew, but by the time I knew him, he had resolved to change things a lot - and Mitsuru took over."

She shrugged a little, but her expression was a bit severe. What the Kirijo Group had done was horrid. Mitsuru carried a heavy burden, trying to right the sins of the past.

"If the Kirijo Group is under Mitsuru, then it's trustworthy. Without her, I can't be certain. Before her, it was horrible - and it's her grandfather that had captured Shadows in an attempt first to figure out time travel and later, to summon The Fall. There's a good chance that in your time, Mitsuru is still working on understanding Shadows and keeping people from being harmed by them - I believe completely in her integrity."

...

"And her ability to crush dissent in the group under heel. No way she will tolerate another incident like Ikutsuki."

[takutomaruki]

Oh, there was a lot shared in that single moment. Maruki quickly extended the name Mitsuru up with a placeholder to a grandfather, as if mapping out a quick family tree. Taking up notes was something he really did particularly enjoy and that trait had really come in handy during counselling sessions too. His mind whirred. Time travel. Summoning the Fall. Capturing Shadows. The sheer breadth of Kirijo’s past dealings staggered him.

To hear other people researching into cognitive psciences, to hear that he might not have actually been the first perpetual psicentist in anyway...still considering the fact that those researchers brought about the Fall- "Hm...time travel and then? Calling onto the harbinger of death...right..." he nods ever so slowly as he makes notes while his mind wanders. "That is certainly a jump from one goal to another-" he couldn't help but honestly be baffled by the sheer possibility of it.

Time travel...could very well be possible though. By rewriting certain events into cognition metaphysically, we could change perception to the point of exemplifying the effect into the material world. He knows Azathoth was capable of it, judging from how it created cognitions and other copies readily.

Still, something in Hamuko’s words made him uneasy. She’d mentioned Mitsuru’s integrity and her ability to crush dissent in the group. But what really drew his attention was the way she said...

“‘Another incident like Ikutsuki,’” he repeated slowly, as if turning the phrase over in his mind. “Did he do something in particular outside of dabbling in these phenomena?"

He didn’t know the full story, but Hamuko’s tone had been heavy with past betrayal. And if he were to bring up his own research to Mitsuru... was there a comparison being drawn?

[wipingallout]

"He was a loyalist to the group that wanted to bring The Fall. He posed as our mentor and guide, a supporting researcher, and both withheld information and manipulated it to cause us to accelerate The Fall, making us think we were working towards ending the Dark Hour."

He was dead, fallen off of Tartarus' impossible heights, but the betrayal still hurt. No one likes to be played for the fool, let alone what he'd done to doom all of mankind.

"He thought he'd be a part of a system of control over the world of The Lost. He attempted to sacrifice us all on one of the roofs of Tartarus and he shot Mitsuru's father dead. So, needless to say... if your world's Kirijo Group doesn't have Mitsuru at the head, there is a long history of violence, fanatical nihilism and manipulation in the group that needs someone with the resolve to actually purge it out.

"To put it more succinctly: I trust Mitsuru. I do not trust the Kirijo Group, especially without her."

[warped_ken_amada]

"Why? I owe nothing to a broken world. Or do you expect me to single-handedly fix it? Besides, all those that view the world as more than relationships of power ultimately lose to those who don't. Removing the shackles of expectations and morality, letting everyone in full control of their destiny, that is the fairest outcome."

[wipingallout]

"No one can do anything alone... of course you couldn't singlehandedly 'fix' anything. But that doesn't mean you can't... make a difference. It doesn't mean that you couldn't protect someone that matters to you," she protested, weakly.

Idly, she stirred her rice with her fork.

"...It's scary to lose people you love. But you should still cherish them while they are alive."

[warped_ken_amada]

"There isn't anyone I love who is alive," he answered dryly.

[wipingallout]

"...Are you afraid to love anyone else?"

[warped_ken_amada]

"That's not it."

It was, in fact, part of it, at least before. But Ken himself wasn't aware of that.

"Is it so hard to believe that I just don't care? I don't care about what happens to this stupid world. I will have my fun, and if in the end I get tired of living then everything will end. It's as simple as that."

[wipingallout]

"It is hard to believe. Because I remember, after losing everyone, thinking 'what's the point?'..."

Before ever becoming a member of SEES, after that wreck. In those homes full of warmth for everyone but her.

"I don't understand what's supposed to be fun, thinking about killing other people. Even if you decide to die."

1/2

[takutomaruki]

Maruki listens intently, one hand gripping his chin with the clipboard now tucked underneath. His gaze shifts to the side, carefully adhering to the description she laid out about the rather...strange man. "I am really sorry to hear that," his eyes soften.

“Of course, my experiences weren’t anywhere near as harrowing as yours. But… I do understand the pain of being betrayed by someone you trusted.” His mind drifted briefly to his own past—his college professor, the mental shutdown cases, and how his research had been exploited by people with dark agendas. Even though he hadn’t physically taken part in those horrors, it still stung.

Ikutsuki’s actions, though, seemed like the stuff of dark fiction. A mentor posing as a guide, leading those who trusted him straight to doom. “He sounds like a rather despicable man,” Maruki said with a faint frown, his expression clouded. “All that effort—just to bring about the Fall? What a… dismal, meaningless cause.” Perhaps he misintepreted her or she still had reason to suspect him. Either way, Maruki didn't have any hidden agenda as melevolent like that.

He adjusts his glasses. They click on the bridge of his nose.

Still, the mention of Mitsuru Kirijo gnawed at the edges of his mind. He couldn’t say for sure who led the Kirijo Group in his own world—he had heard of her, but only vaguely, and many years ago. But Hamuko’s trust in her spoke volumes.

“I can’t say for certain where Kirijo-san stands in my world,” he admitted. “But if she’s as strong-minded as you say she is—carrying the weight of her family’s past while fighting to right those wrongs—then I believe she’s more than capable of steering the Kirijo Group down a better path.”

A faint smile touched his lips, lighter this time. “Honestly, I might refer to her for a citation if I ever make it back.”

That small levity didn’t last long.

Something shifted. The hairs on the back of Maruki’s neck prickled—a sudden, involuntary reaction, as though the air had changed. His breath hitched. He felt a strange pressure coil around him, like a low hum vibrating through his chest. Then, faintly…

2/2

[takutomaruki]

Listen...
To my voice

He froze, one hand instinctively flying to his neck. His eyes widened behind his glasses. “I—did I hit my head or something? I swear I just heard—”

....bellowing voice...

He blinked rapidly, as though trying to clear his vision or shake off a dream. His brows knitted together. “I think I heard a girl’s voice,” he murmured, more to himself than to Hamuko.

[wipingallout]

Hamuko halted any response, quieting to turn her head, try and catch the voice on the wind. There was a subtle shift, wasn't there...?

Voice...? Bellowing...?

"...I think... we can go deeper. Let's see what that is. We have more battles ahead of us - I'll focus on physical damage, if you can try for elemental. Do you know how to do an All Out Attack?"

[fogboundcrow]

"My guardian is a police detective, but we decided it was better not to inform the authorities, given their likelihood of intervening." Which... obviously, it stings. Dojima has been nothing but kind to him, but this is something only they can do.

He takes a small bite of his meal, sighing softly. "Only Persona users can enter the TV world, anyway, unless you're pushed in by one."

[takutomaruki]

Azathoth would have been able to easily cover all of those attacks.

This place means nothing to us, doctor.

Why?

Are you ashamed of yourself? I am you after all.

For a split second, Maruki gritted his teeth a little before schooling his expression back to normalcy.

"An all-out attack?" he frowns, a question mark hanging off on his head. "I have... no idea what that means-! Is that some sort of fighting strategy?" he laughs in hesitation.

[warped_ken_amada]

"Killing other people isn't fun in itself. What matters is that absolute freedom... it's not really something you can understand without having experienced it. You are still imprisoned. I was still imprisoned for the longest time. You just have to let go of all those silly notions holding you back..."

[wipingallout]

"That's right. When all of the enemies are knocked prone, a team can rush in and gang up on them - you hit them with everything you've got, pummel them while they're down! You can do a TON of damage that way, sometimes even killing the whole lot of Shadows," Hamuko explained with a nod.

[unit_8910_wolf]

Zenkichi dragged his hand down his face, groaning like a man utterly defeated. “This girl’s questions, man... I’m emotionally exhausted.” He cast Hamuko a long-suffering look.

"She's thorough with her work-!" Akane remarks lightly, snickering still as she now chooses to look away. The mask can only hide so much of her grin.

Zenkichi shot back. “This is mutiny.”

Her follow up question doesn't make it any better.

Zenkichi blinked, then winced like the words physically hit him. “Insane. You’re insane,” he muttered before shaking his head. He turned serious, his tone softer but firm. “Listen. Microbots are not a toy, Hamuko-san. They take months to get used to. When they first start crawling through your system, it’s... uncomfortable. Like fire ants under your skin.”

“If handled the wrong way—if your system doesn’t adapt or if the bots malfunction—they can shut down your human organs,” Zenkichi continued. “That’s not a fun science-fiction quirk. That’s a comatose state.”

[wipingallout]

"See? HUGE deal-breaker!" Hamuko gestured at him, as if to say 'my point exactly!' "And I could see a lot of people considering it really seriously for the sake of living for hundreds of years. Or if they might die anyway. Right?"

They're dangerous, then. Zenkichi had to go through something truly harrowing to get them, to become a 'weapon', to be able to fight. He could've died.

So the fact that he was still here, still standing... that was pretty cool.

"You have a really admirable resolve, Wolf-pop."

[wipingallout]

"Silly notions? Like... caring for others. Seeing the good in those that are good. Enjoying time with them, for however long or short it lasts. I don't think I will, Amada-kun."