004 | ❝I pretend everything's alright...❞

[pitiedthefool]

Characters: Yu and anyone else who is interested in group therapy...
Setting: Dorm 2-2 →Floor 14 → Floor 22 → Everywhere but the music floor for more than PMMM reasons.
Format: Any is fine; I'll follow your lead
Summary: Just a protagonist, seeking his social links...
Warning: Do I even have to warn about SMT shenanigans and them equating to suffering?

Reality and nightmare had begun to blend together at the end of his "punishment" where he had no idea which part had been the truth for a brief moment. Lying there, face down... feeling the static spread as the blood dripped down. He wants to flinch, but even then... he couldn't do that as he lay there, paralyzed for what seemed like an eternity that blended in with the nightmare of being completely alone and utterly helpless to-

The first thing he noticed when he could move was that his face and pillows were soaked in silent tears. It isn't long after that that, unless stopped, he shakily makes his way to the showers in an attempt to calm down...

Floor 14
The first place he even thought about going was the media floor again, knowing with little doubt that he would more than likely run into one of the friends he'd been looking for. Just... any familiar face right now would be a relief to him.

He sat back on a couch, deciding to play a video game for a while. Though just by glancing either at him or the screen, it's obvious his heart wasn't in it.

Floor 22
Yu soon retreats, however- back upstairs to a floor he'd been avoiding ever since their collars had been tampered with not long after he'd awakened here. At first it had been because of what he could remember happening here, but then he learned what had happened when he lost control himself. Realized that he'd been running scared of what could be triggered if he returned here.

Not anymore, though right now he needed the silence. Not so many people visited the gallery with whatever it could show of their fears, and hadn't he just been forced to live through his own-?

He decided to pointedly look away from the image of his world covered in the fog, even as a silent tear fell. Even though he knew at least a few were still here, the crushing despair and emptiness of that experience...

"Damn." How could he ever forgive himself for falling for such an obvious example of false imagery?

Floor 25
This meadow... it almost reminded him of the last time he saw the TV world...

But it and the other floors aren't the only ones he visited, searching for any familiar faces to make sure they're alright, even at the expense of himself. Despite Izanagi's calm presence and reassurance, he needed to see them for himself.

Comments

[imperialsun]

"Hey."

Naoya's sight in the video game room was hardly a surprise; the boy was a gamer at heart and having found himself with a space that had came from the future, he had been splurging a little.

It gave him time to think.

He'd seen everything, of course. When he hadn't been having his own nightmares, he'd watched the grisly spectacle unfold, quiet and thinking like usual. It made him angry.

But how do you tell another guy that? That you saw everything?

Well..he was who he was. Thus, he said it without tip-toeing around the subject.

"Those of us that weren't picked saw everything."

[pitiedthefool]

For a moment, he simply sits there- pausing the game when he heard Naoya's voice. It was directed at him, and that in and of itself was a relief. Especially after that nightmare of the last few days, when no one could hear his screams, could see him. Just that one simple word confirmed that it was just a memory of a painful nightmare, and yet...

The relief almost caused his mask of quiet calm to shatter like the cards he crushes.

"Hey."

It's all he could manage for a moment, and had it not been for helping another accept his fears, he wouldn't know what he could have done to see the bright side in what had happened. Though, hearing that little bit of information- They had?

Not like he could be surprised at the cruelty after seeing his greatest fear realized.

"...You did, huh." Part of him is relieved. It meant that he wouldn't have to dance around the topic. Though, if they'd seen it all, then that meant his cover of being powerless without a weapon was officially screwed over. In a place such as this, he wasn't sure if this was a good or a bad thing. Yu glanced over to the other person who was like him. Hurting he may be, but it was rare that he ever showed his emotions or let them rule him.

It's only who he was, but by the look on his face it wasn't his only concern. "...What happened to those not picked?"

[imperialsun]

He takes a seat besides him and sighs in annoyance, idly cracking his fingers and resting his head on his hand before he speaks again.

"Nightmares, in exchange for sponsorships. Some didn't; they were safe. Those that did also had their powers taken away based on how much they offered. When I saw Shinjiro's Persona going out of control I boosted your powers for a day." He didn't even know their names, and had just pointed on the screen to England and Minami. "In return, I lost all my powers for three days. I know some are still having nightmares and might for days to come..."

It had been incredibly strange, not to be able to call upon Personas at all. Simply being himself. He'd gotten along without them just fine before...but now he simply couldn't imagine himself without them.

"I dreamed that my friends were turned inside out in a completely destroyed world. It was....disgusting." For a lack of better word. "It felt like their fates was all my fault each night as they screamed my names before being drowned out..." He looked down at his free hand and turned it idly, before closing it into a fist. Naoya appeared to be much more angry than frightened by the images.

Floor 22

[doublechecks]

[He was just walking around, noting on how... morbid some of the paintings are.

Especially that of Nunnally being... hated by the people he sacrificed himself to save. But nonetheless, seeing parts of his home, despite some of the more grotesque paintings involving his worst fear, made him feel relieved, in a sense.

...And then he saw Yu.]

...Hey.

[Judging from the tear that just fell? It seemed like the experiment was over, and something... else had happened during it. (He was never one for watching displays of allies turning on each other)]

[pitiedthefool]

[The morbidity was merely a part of the problem, though the silence was welcomed for the brief stint of time it existed. Images like this were a far cry from actually witnessing events, because in the end that's all they really are: images. Something that can be faked, created to play with the hearts and minds of others. It disgusted him, and yet...

Yet he'd found himself drawn to the place. More than likely because of his last memory here, and the fact that some images from home weren't so grotesque. That in and of itself was a relief.

That's when he heard his- no, someone else's voice. The only person he knew who sounded similar other than Adachi-san was...]

Hey.

[Yu both pinched the bridge of his nose and wiped his tear away in the same motion before turning to face the other, giving a faint nod. His mask slipped right back over his expression, but he'd never been that good at hiding the emotion in his eyes.

Also no, he wasn't mimicking his voice-twin. A greeting was better than staying silent... like he had in that nightmare.]

[doublechecks]

Had a bad dream?

[Well, that's definitely one of his guess, judging from the way Yu's acting. Not to mention that he's really familiar with the act of putting up a mask to distance himself from the others.

And really, perhaps at the very least, he could be of help to him. Even if he will deny that he's helping anyone.]

Floor 25 --> 11th

[busstopsign]

"Tch. You're damn hard to track down." Oh look, it was everyone's super-special ray of sunshine, looking like worse for wear. The blackness under his eyes told a tale that he hadn't slept much the last three days, and he's carrying that hammer with him in one hand...the other holding a metal scabbard with something inside. Without warning, he tosses it to the other.

"Here."

[pitiedthefool]

Well, so much for just taking in the scenery and enjoying the calm for a moment. Though he didn't seem to mind that so much as Shinjiro's appearance when he turned to face him. Of course, Yu caught it with little difficulty, the weight of it feeling... familiar to say the least. He blinked at it a moment, before the realization struck him. A hammer... Had he been working on it since they all woke up after the hell of a labyrinth?

"Aragaki-?" One would say 'congratulations' for making him speechless, yet since he is normally quiet in the first place, he couldn't help but... old habits are still hard to break, especially after the tower briefly reinforced them.

Floor 14; time for awkwardness!!! \o/

[mutab1e]

Video games were mindless. Everyone knew that. And to be honest, between what had just happened and what he had received afterward, Equius really felt that he needed to be mindless for a couple of hours. Just... he didn't want to be anywhere near that damned place anymore. So he made his way to the media room, jumping at every sound, and focused only on what he needed to: picking a random game. Only then did he realize the console was occupied, and a second later he realized who it was occupied by.

His heart plummeted into his stomach. Oh god, no, not him. Equius wanted nothing to do with that place right now, and that included the people who throttled him in it. But, of course, by that point it was too late to run. So he just kind of slowly... backed... away, with his expression stuck in a form akin to a deer in the headlights.

~*~all~*~ the awkwardness, you mean!!! \o/

[pitiedthefool]

Who in their right mind would even want to be near that damned maze in the first place? At first he doesn't notice who was standing nearby until the moment he noticed the footsteps slowly moving away from him. Maybe it was because of the labyrinth, but he couldn't help but... recognize...

Well, this was awkward.

Yu's eyes narrowed slightly as he put down the controller. He hadn't had access to his Persona when he'd throttled Equius before, and right now he didn't plan to repeat it. Especially since he didn't believe in killing in vengeance and was still too emotionally and mentally exhausted to call forth any of them. The other lucked out in that regard.

He sighed, getting to his feet. If the troll wanted to play, then he'd let him. He couldn't focus on it, anyway.

9th @ The Meadow / VOMITS WORDS AT YOU.

[drknss_bnd_lght]

As soon as he'd woken, Ventus had made a bee-line for the meadow-floor, not even stopping to listen for his roommates - or find the 'gift' that the tower had given him. He didn't want to face them - hear anyone ask if he was ok. He didn't want to know if they'd seen what he'd gone through after his death. He didn't want to know if they'd seen him kill an innocent. He felt enough guilt from that without anyone poking at him.

He was far from ok, and he knew it. He needed to calm down and the meadow was the safest place, oddly enough. It wasn't so much the open space as it was the silence and what the floor meant for him.

Yet not today. Today, Ventus was curled up into a tight ball, keyblade flung as far away as possible. While it wasn't That Thing, Wayward Wind was, for all intends and purposes, a substitute that was bearing the brunt of his own emotions - his own fears.

The memories - the pain and fear he'd felt... it was easy to pretend that his weapon was that Thing that had brought it. And his eyes still hurt, his head still spun and he could still smell blood.

He would and would summon it if needed, but for now...

He wanted nothing to do with it. He just wanted to curl up and be miserable right now.

Somewhere, some part of him was crying.

NOT AS BAD AS WHAT I DID DOWN BELOW. D:

[pitiedthefool]

Unfortunately, Ventus was not alone in the meadow. Though this one was certainly just as quiet and trying to gather his thoughts... sort through his emotions and discern truth from lies. That, and the peace of this floor made it possible for him to just... quietly let it all out without being heard by many others. Something he couldn't bear to let the others see even though he couldn't help but gravitate toward anywhere there was people.

He couldn't stand being alone right now. He needed the company of others so badly right now the need was almost literally stabbing him in the heart.

That is when he noticed that he wasn't alone, wasn't the only one who wanted to or literally was curled up into a ball. Ventus... As odd as it may seem to others considering what had happened, he was... relieved to see the other. Yes, even if it didn't show in how he carried himself. Still with pride, with the same weight he and Izanagi were burdened with. The only difference was his footsteps were heavy, just like his shoulders were as he seemed to carry the pain of his inability to protect the ones he cared for.

"...Ventus."

It was hard to speak still, having screamed so hard in an attempt to get others to hear him to no avail, tone hushed as his concern was much more apparent.

Fortunately for Ventus, he knew when to be silent. So if he were allowed, Yu would sit beside him- or as close to beside as permitted.

[thousandcurses]

[Of course, if he wants to find her, he's come to the right place. Izanami spends most of her time here as of late, gazing upon the old paintings and losing herself from the thoughts of the dreams she had been plagued with until Yu's death in the labyrinth. So when he arrives, she'll look over to him and then almost glide down to him. But it's obvious from her face she's had trouble sleeping.]

You are back.

1/2 I think...

[pitiedthefool]

[A part of him - and for once, it isn't Izanagi - certainly wouldn't have minded her company. To be honest, anyone's company (especially from their world) was welcomed at this point. Just someone, anyone from home that would see or hear him would be such a relief after what he'd witnessed. Lie or not, it still hurt no matter how hard he pushed the feelings aside. In fact, when he hears those three words, he nearly falls to his knees then and there.

Yet he continues to stand tall, focusing on his breathing and the quiet hum of the voices within. All their links were still here, in his heart just as they'd been that final day. All of them were alive or present, and this one, though it was still faint...

He manages a stiff nod, acknowledging that he at least heard her. To be honest, he isn't sure at all that he'll still be standing if he turns around to face her. It's taking most of his willpower to continue standing.]

nope I lied, one moment-

[pitiedthefool]

[Deciding he didn't care if he ended up on the ground, weakened from both the mental and physical fatigue of the week before and the emotional pain he knew so well how to stomp out, he slowly turns to face the goddess who chose him all that time ago. Gave him the push he'd needed to learn to accept others, to grow instead of stagnate like the other two had... Even if a part of his heart still hated her for her actions nearly causing the end of their world, just seeing one (far too similar) familiar face caused the wave of relief to wash over him once again.]

[pitiedthefool]

[T-this was real. He wasn't having some dream, wasn't alone in the fog has he faded in and out of existence. Static wasn't overtaking not just his form, but his mind as well... He was standing there with those emotional ties to others strong as ever. Yu nearly stumbled, barely catching himself in time. Though he doesn't quite meet her crimson gaze just yet.]

[pitiedthefool]

I-

[...His voice betrays him. Even though he wears the mask of 'everything is okay, I'm alright', he couldn't keep the pain from his voice. Not just because of what he'd seen, what he'd felt, but he knew that everyone he was close to suffered during the week he barely managed to survive until Kuja-

The boy couldn't even finish the thought, having felt the pain of that bond practically severing with the final blow. Though, at least he was spared from having to handle the agony had it been even tighter.]

[pitiedthefool]

[Yet his heart ached, having already heard that so many had seen what happened, had done what all they could to help him and the others and paid a terrible price. Judging by Izanami's face, she too had been suffering. ...She was one of them, right? The one who'd sponsored him all six days he survived?

'Why... Why would she, when we tried so desperately to-'

He doesn't fully understand (probably never will), but she's been nothing but cordial since Izanagi took over and they had spoken during that week. And now he could tell that he wasn't the only one hurting, even though he has no idea what they caused her to see.]

done. ;__;

[pitiedthefool]

...We are.

[He nods again, speaking for both of them because he can tell Izanagi is hurting just by seeing her in the state his Persona's twin and wife is in. Can feel it, too. Yu keeps it bottled up for now, putting on his mask again. It's funny, because he knows Izanami is probably better at handling these terrors than he'll ever be. Thousands of years, after all.

But there was a time and place for everything, and their mutual concern outweighed their own agony.]

...You saw it, didn't you. [He schools his voice to a careful neutral, not letting his emotions rule his actions just yet even though they're almost to the point of overwhelming him. Because he remembers... what Naoya-san said...] I'm sorry.

[For so, so many reasons.]

2-2 ROOMIE

[evokingfool]

Whenever Yu finished in the showers and leave, he might see Minato sitting on a chair.

"...Yu."

Without looking up, he said just his friend's name. In the privacy of their own dorm, Minato's voice betrayed his exhaustion and hidden pain. He would hide it better, but with someone he considered as his friend and a fellow participant, Minato's guard lessened.

Roomie... ;__;

[pitiedthefool]

To be honest, his throat was still sore from screaming. Yet upon seeing his friend was also awake now, he couldn't help but at least nod and attempt to speak.

"...Minato."

For someone who very rarely ever lost his temper or let others see much of his own emotions, Yu didn't bother to hide his own very well; only just enough to keep from falling apart at the seams. It wasn't healthy, and they both had gone through the same thing- if not one of them for a longer period of time. So without thinking any further, he took a seat nearby. After all, they were friends. Regardless of his usual guarded stance even in casual conversation, he waved it for this.

"-I take it you survived longer than I did." Didn't get betrayed like he had, either...

media floor

[complementing]

[She looks up when she sees him come in, taking off one of her headphones. Even without doing that, Yu can hear that the sound is on full blast. Seeing his expression, Minako's softens.]

...Yu.

[pitiedthefool]

[That he can, but he doesn't comment on it (she has good taste, though). Instead he looks over, a little numb at first with his throat still sore from the unheard screams. Yu was never one to take death well, especially after arriving in Inaba. Maybe it was something he and his Persona agreed on, or maybe Izanagi only made it worse.]

...Minako? [He coughs a little bit, trying to clear his throat before walking over. She... has no idea how relieved he is to see a friendly face, even if it isn't as familiar as others he's come to recognize.]

Floor 14

[princeofjunes]

[With his own punishments to face for his excessive sponsoring, it hasn't exactly been easy being Yosuke. The lines under his eyes and his comparatively sullen expression are fairly telling, and he's really just been trying to keep to himself. Best not to make anyone worry, not to let them know what he's going through]

[Not to let them know he wakes up in a cold sweat, half convinced that the world really did end. That there's some apocalypse he's just on the verge of remembering, and that this place really is all that's left]

[So Yosuke is fully set on just taking up residence in a corner and listening to his headphones full blast - and then he sees his partner and plans change, especially when he sees the look on Yu's face. So the headphones end up around his neck and Yosuke ends up next to him on the couch]

I'm not a huge fan of this one.

[pitiedthefool]

[That they are, but all the same...it didn't seem like it'd been anyone's week or two thanks to this. After speaking with Minato, part of him was glad to have known what would have been, had they not done exactly what they did and stopped Izanami. The other part, however, was still hurting.

He's never been that easy of a read, keeping his masks strong and present so no one would worry about him unless they'd gotten close enough to be able to read his behavior. His best friend just happened to be one of the few who could, so when Yu heard and felt someone sit down beside him--stupid labyrinth, training him to be more sensitive to that--he didn't do the skittish action and jump slightly.

They all knew each other too well for that.

Instead, Yu nodded faintly, throat sore from nearly--silently--screaming his lungs out. He could be seen, could be heard... and that-]

I'm not, either. [Oh look, there's a two-player option.]