Shinjiro Aragaki (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
busstopsign) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
towerofanimus2012-05-12 09:30 pm
busstopsign) wrote in towerofanimus2012-05-12 09:30 pm
2ND BUS STOP | MAZES, HEALING & HUNTING [OPEN]
Characters: Shinjiro and anyone else who wishes to interact with him
Setting: Various locations!Fabulous prizes!
Format: Any is fine; I'll follow your lead (I started in prose but do action if you want!)
Summary: A guy who goes around places trying not to think too much about the maze and what happened there.
Warning: SMT is suffering. Persona 3 is suffering.
[DORMITORIES - Backdated to the first day after awakening (Locked to Jin)]
The numbness subsided and he stood up, rubbing his head.
He...wasn't sure what to think, and looked down at his hands, before rubbing his head. Had he really...why was Castor back again it was...
No. No it wasn't Castor anymore. No matter how real everything had felt, those last four days of seeing the orphanage burn again and again, how hurtful it had all been he...he wasn't sure if he wanted to see Minako right now. What if it suddenly...no he needed to stop thinking like that! Concentrate on other things!
There were people to thank, as much as he hated thanking anyone. Shinjiro didn't like to owe favors. Others he needed to talk with. Like that asshole in a bed close to his, still sleeping. How do you even talk with a guy who killed you? Didn't know. Probably was having his own demons to fight off, after all. Maybe it was pity he felt, but...whatever. They needed to talk. He'd wait.
[LEVEL 32 - FLOATING ISLAND (no powers)]
It felt odd, not having the sound of any Persona in the back of his head. Knowing that he was, for a short while, just simply a human. It...felt nice at times, although with the situation, he was getting more and more thankful for the fact he could call upon then.
Regardless, the food this month was a farce. That could not do. A series of bags with him, Shinji was busy gathering roots, fruits and leaves. What he could dry later, he would, but most were going to be used in cooking.
If they didn't provide it, he'd make it himself...maybe a nice mushroom soup.
[LEVEL 25 - FLOWER MEADOW]
Most people only saw them as gifts to give to a beloved one (and to be fair a few of these might be going towards this goal) but for the most part, Shinjiro was picking up roses, clovers, dandelions and lavender. He could prepare tea with some of them, and use the others in his cooking to make a salad.
[LEVEL 15 - WORKSHOP]
For the past few days, Shinjiro had spent most of his time on the 15th level, using the forging tools and materials available to him. That labyrinth had sealed it for him, in a way, and he wasn't going to get caught empty-handed for any reason. If he didn't have his axe, he'd make himself one no matter how long it took. But first, there were a few people he needed to thank, for their help...
[This part is opened to everyone but England, Minami and Minako, if you want to meet him this week, he will have something to give you.]
[LEVEL 11 - OPEN AREA, WATERFALLS, NIGHTFALL]
Floor Eleven. The sound of the waterfalls should be soothing, but Shinjiro wasn't here to admire the view or to plummet himself to death. He was waiting for the night to fall, and the rainbows to flip over. Relenting was hard for him, but he knew he needed to practice fighting more. Was it safe to go by himself? Nope. Did he care? Not really.
He needed the practice and alone or with someone and he was going to do it right here...
[LEVEL 6 - FOREST]
Just eating plants wasn't going to be enough, of course. The animals here might be twisted - the birds might have teeth, but they were still, to their very basic, animals. Meat.
He was a cook, he knew how to cut and take care of one. But he'd never actually hunted for them before. A guy like Shinjiro wasn't the definition of someone who'd be good for that kind of stuff either. Which is why he was using his persona instead. Augustus had a lance. That seemed like the best course of action, in this case.
He just needed to find something large enough so he could feed more of them...but that came with its own dangers, didn't it?
[LEVEL 3 - LIBRARY]
Aki would be laughing at him. Him? In the library? You could almost think he was becoming studious! In reality, he was busy looking at cookbooks, trying to enhance his knowledge a little more - hell if he'd ever be caught dead reading wildlife magazines before, but now they actually were teaching him something.
He sat in one of the chairs, a stack of cookbooks and Wildlife's finest on a table nearby.
[LEVEL 1 - KITCHEN]
The first thing you might have notice, if you were the type to go snooping into one of the fridges was a few animals hung with hooks and dripping blood (but don't worry, he had found a pots for all that liquid to go into). Meat wasn't made to be eaten the day an animal died, but it was still a pretty grisly sight for those unprepared for it. Shinjiro hadn't cut and diced it yet, waiting a day more for the meat to rest.
Meanwhile, he was making what looked to be a few vegetarian dishes, and quite possibly cursing the lack of well...ANYTHING this month. At least his chest had come with some salt for his cooking. Next month he'd seriously have to think about stealing things from here or at least drying and smoking it so it could be preserved for later when they decided to pull stunts like this.
Setting: Various locations!
Format: Any is fine; I'll follow your lead (I started in prose but do action if you want!)
Summary: A guy who goes around places trying not to think too much about the maze and what happened there.
Warning: SMT is suffering. Persona 3 is suffering.
[DORMITORIES - Backdated to the first day after awakening (Locked to Jin)]
The numbness subsided and he stood up, rubbing his head.
He...wasn't sure what to think, and looked down at his hands, before rubbing his head. Had he really...why was Castor back again it was...
No. No it wasn't Castor anymore. No matter how real everything had felt, those last four days of seeing the orphanage burn again and again, how hurtful it had all been he...he wasn't sure if he wanted to see Minako right now. What if it suddenly...no he needed to stop thinking like that! Concentrate on other things!
There were people to thank, as much as he hated thanking anyone. Shinjiro didn't like to owe favors. Others he needed to talk with. Like that asshole in a bed close to his, still sleeping. How do you even talk with a guy who killed you? Didn't know. Probably was having his own demons to fight off, after all. Maybe it was pity he felt, but...whatever. They needed to talk. He'd wait.
[LEVEL 32 - FLOATING ISLAND (no powers)]
It felt odd, not having the sound of any Persona in the back of his head. Knowing that he was, for a short while, just simply a human. It...felt nice at times, although with the situation, he was getting more and more thankful for the fact he could call upon then.
Regardless, the food this month was a farce. That could not do. A series of bags with him, Shinji was busy gathering roots, fruits and leaves. What he could dry later, he would, but most were going to be used in cooking.
If they didn't provide it, he'd make it himself...maybe a nice mushroom soup.
[LEVEL 25 - FLOWER MEADOW]
Most people only saw them as gifts to give to a beloved one (and to be fair a few of these might be going towards this goal) but for the most part, Shinjiro was picking up roses, clovers, dandelions and lavender. He could prepare tea with some of them, and use the others in his cooking to make a salad.
[LEVEL 15 - WORKSHOP]
For the past few days, Shinjiro had spent most of his time on the 15th level, using the forging tools and materials available to him. That labyrinth had sealed it for him, in a way, and he wasn't going to get caught empty-handed for any reason. If he didn't have his axe, he'd make himself one no matter how long it took. But first, there were a few people he needed to thank, for their help...
[This part is opened to everyone but England, Minami and Minako, if you want to meet him this week, he will have something to give you.]
[LEVEL 11 - OPEN AREA, WATERFALLS, NIGHTFALL]
Floor Eleven. The sound of the waterfalls should be soothing, but Shinjiro wasn't here to admire the view or to plummet himself to death. He was waiting for the night to fall, and the rainbows to flip over. Relenting was hard for him, but he knew he needed to practice fighting more. Was it safe to go by himself? Nope. Did he care? Not really.
He needed the practice and alone or with someone and he was going to do it right here...
[LEVEL 6 - FOREST]
Just eating plants wasn't going to be enough, of course. The animals here might be twisted - the birds might have teeth, but they were still, to their very basic, animals. Meat.
He was a cook, he knew how to cut and take care of one. But he'd never actually hunted for them before. A guy like Shinjiro wasn't the definition of someone who'd be good for that kind of stuff either. Which is why he was using his persona instead. Augustus had a lance. That seemed like the best course of action, in this case.
He just needed to find something large enough so he could feed more of them...but that came with its own dangers, didn't it?
[LEVEL 3 - LIBRARY]
Aki would be laughing at him. Him? In the library? You could almost think he was becoming studious! In reality, he was busy looking at cookbooks, trying to enhance his knowledge a little more - hell if he'd ever be caught dead reading wildlife magazines before, but now they actually were teaching him something.
He sat in one of the chairs, a stack of cookbooks and Wildlife's finest on a table nearby.
[LEVEL 1 - KITCHEN]
The first thing you might have notice, if you were the type to go snooping into one of the fridges was a few animals hung with hooks and dripping blood (but don't worry, he had found a pots for all that liquid to go into). Meat wasn't made to be eaten the day an animal died, but it was still a pretty grisly sight for those unprepared for it. Shinjiro hadn't cut and diced it yet, waiting a day more for the meat to rest.
Meanwhile, he was making what looked to be a few vegetarian dishes, and quite possibly cursing the lack of well...ANYTHING this month. At least his chest had come with some salt for his cooking. Next month he'd seriously have to think about stealing things from here or at least drying and smoking it so it could be preserved for later when they decided to pull stunts like this.
no subject
Sort of.
Mostly just things he'd... actually gathered the same way Shinji had. He's pretty knowledgeable about cooking, and it isn't the animals that had bugged him, it was just too much like--
... Let's... not go there, s-sob.
By the time he comes back into the kitchen he is... desperately hoping Shinjiro won't be there still. Unfortunately, he is, so Minato is thinking his muffins will have to wait (he knows there's stuff to make batter and dough and whatnot, so...)
... What he was going to bake. DON'T YOU JUDGE HIM!!! ]
... Why'd they have to make the cafeteria as bad as that place?
[ Finally speaking, yeah. He's stuck with Shinjiro if he wants to make these berry muffins, he supposes. ]
no subject
By the time he comes back, Shinjiro's been boiling and defeathering one of the first pheasants. The feathers are being dried - he'll make something with them later or give them off for crafts. Could be nice on a weapon. There's no blood, just cold, calculated cuts like he's been taught by the chefs he worked for. Even the organs are getting saved, especially in this place and month. He can probably make something with pheasant liver. The only thing he's throwing out is the stomach, bile and that head. The beak with teeth isn't going to be useful in anything.
Also have you seen him with a hairnet and headband before, it's quite a departure from his usual hobo look.]
...hell if I know.
[These are gonna be the most awkward conversations. Good thing there are different tables to work on.]
no subject
Finding a spot and washing his blueberries and whatnot. ]
... I just feel bad for everyone, so I thought... it wouldn't hurt to make something to cheer everyone up.
[ Like muffins! Muffins are cheery, right? He's going to try to make enough so that everyone can have at least one, so he'll probably be here for awhile. ] At least we've got the means to make it, now.
[ Street kid he may be, but he's cooked enough to have gotten decent at it. Not quite the Master Chef, but still fairly good.
Also he likes baking with Chidori, it is something they share. ]
no subject
...Right.
[He looks at how much flour is remaining.]
Just..make sure you don't mess it up. We're getting short in ingredients and they ain't appearing to be restocking.
[He goes on to the next bird and repeats the movements in silence before speaking again.]
They don't know about you and Minami being siblings, do they.
[Shinji, you were asking not to mess up his cooking and then you laid on him a bombshell. In truth, he's had an idea that this might be the truth ever since the Maze and what the other Minato had told him about having lost a sibling during the accident. Everything seems to line up...]
no subject
[ He's actually a fairly conservative guy.
And he's trying to just......... not flinch sob. Why did he have to bring that up? ]
I didn't know until she told me. She'd... it had been covered up. She didn't know, either. A man named Shuji Ikutsuki told us both that our entire family had died. He was also responsible for the Strega Project.
[ He's not sure how to tell them... ]
no subject
Figured it out from the way you looked at her. The other Minato mentioned having a sister that died in the crash. Just a question of realizing you were in the same world.
[He sighs and stops talking for a few seconds. Minami leaves him confused in general. Better switch the subject.]
I know all about that bastard. Asshole's responsible for all the shit in my world too. [He thinks about something again, recalling a few memories.] The longer you hold it up, the angerier Jin's gonna get. Damn too stubborn about everything even as a kid. He'll be pissed off regardless.
no subject
They'll get over it. I had to.
[ Honestly? They hate her as much as he did. But it was the truth. They'd have to accept it. ]
... I plan on telling them soon. There's no sense in hiding it after all that's happened. I don't intend to continue a war that makes no sense here, however much I dislike the idea of her being in SEES, she's still family.
For what it's worth, I'm sorry about what happened down there.
[ Honestly, all of them sort of just--lost control, it seems. ]
no subject
...or Jin in general.]
Tch. Never thought I'd hear something from Strega apologizing for a hit. Ain't the first time I died by your hands.
[Really when you find out that all the other yous died, and that you only survived because of a small pocket watch, you have reason to believe it might just be universal forces that conspire for you to die at their hands.]
That war's gonna do no good to you anyway, even if you could return home. It's pointless after all that happens...
[In other words, if you want answers, he'll give them to you.]
no subject
... We do a job. That's all. Some people don't deserve to be around. ... I just don't happen to think you're one of those people.
[ He just shrugs. It's probably a good thing he'd ended up not getting a chance to use the ingredients he'd gathered before all hell broke loose.
He just sort of stops what he's doing and looks over at Shinjiro quietly, eyes... searching, for something. It's hard to tell what. They're giving him a knowing look, though, despite his face not having any real expression to it. ]
... Nyx, right?
no subject
GDIT SOCIAL LINKS.]...right.
[If you wanted the look of a guy who hadn't been there but heard everything, you were looking at the right guy. There was a bit of sadness in them, knowing exactly what had happened, but being powerless to stop it.]
It ain't just that. Strega's made up of only three members were I'm from; Takaya, Chidori, Jin. Figured you might wanna know how that turns out...
[> You tell the alternate universe Strega leader the entire story. Chidori being taken in by SEES, Junpei falling for her, Takaya killing Junpei at one part later and Chidori sacrificing her life for him, her coming back to life without her memories of the past few years or a Persona, Takaya and Jin starting a cult of Nyx and trying to delay the team from stopping Nyx, Jin dying in the tower first, Takaya dying of his wounds later...
> In the end Strega either didn't remember who they had been, or were dead.]
...The two tried kept trying to block 'em from stopping Nyx...
[> The way you speak, it's pretty obvious to notice that you're speaking as if you weren't there yourself. It doesn't answer much about Nyx herself, but you figured he would probably be interested to know what happens to his teammates.]
no subject
He is good at hiding how he feels, but he cannot help the open frown on his face.
Sakaki.
How did he know. ... He's quite frankly disgusted. ]
Sakaki... will never cease to piss me off.
[ Finally, he just sighs, and washes his hands. God, he just... it hurts to hear that corroborated from Shinjiro, because he'd heard it from Minako, as well, earlier.
... Bah. ]
He's like poison. He seeps into things and ruins them slowly. Manipulates them for his own ends. He wasn't always like that, at least, it didn't seem that way when we were kids... it was really only because of him that we escaped. But the experiments changed him permanently, though it wasn't immediately apparent. It happened over time, I think.
He's like a plague... he tries to spread his 'ideal'. I'm hardly surprised he amounted to becoming a cult leader.
[ Takaya had once been his friend. But there is a certain point where you cannot consider someone your friend or forgive their transgressions any longer. ]
no subject
[Oh that is surprising information that Minato might not know. Doubtful that Jin went around going 'So Shinji and I used to go in the same orphanage and ran away from it all the time to live in the streets before the Kirijo Group pick them up. And then he shot Shinji in the back later. GOOD TIMES.' The brutal tragedy of orphanages and shadows...
He sighs again. Those memories always pissed him off. ]
no subject
[ YES he has to think about being angry, okay?
Like he wanted all of this dragged up and brought in front of people. "Here, see all the baggage I have wide and open on the Network!"
Fuck this Tower. ]
These things shouldn't happen. It's why I... have never liked adults who will separate themselves from their kids, or kids that end up separated from their family. It's why I'm looking after the others. We might not be... normal, but someone has to look after them.
Most adults won't.
So how bad and dramatic do we want to make this because I can make it really bad soon.
Can't judge the reasons why it happens, even if...tch. Still pisses me off the bastard left me in that orphanage without relinquishing his rights.
lets make it AWFUL duh
... So, you knew the others then?
[ He's... surprised, but somehow not? And a little curious. ]
I... never really pried. It's hard for them to remember. Hell, it's hard for ME to remember anything.
FULL SPEED AHEAD TO AWFUL EXPRESS
...yeah. At least from my world. Dunno if your Jin or Chidori were in the orphanage. Grew up there for most of my life. Broke a kid's nose when I was six ended up being part of their shit list for a while. That's when they made me join the problem group. Met 'em through that. We kept running away to live in the streets. Better treatment than that overcrowded place...
[The next part, he stops carefully before speaking, because it's making him remember things he hadn't thought about for a long time and realizing details he never noticed before...wait...]
...I was supposed to go with 'em wasn't I.
[He...wow. That makes sense. He always wondered why he was the only kid from that group who didn't end up leaving.]
DAmmit. So the old man's thick-hardheadedness is the only reason I stayed back. They couldn't legally let go of me like the others...
[Now it's his hand punching the table. When he continues, his voice is a low growl.]
Minato...did they tell you what age did they come into Kijiro Group's care?
[The fact he's call you by your name without any bullshit snows how deadly serious he is suddenly.]
CHOO CHOOOO
He doesn't like... where this is going. This is foreboding. ]
I--really young. I don't know the exact age, but we were all pretty young. I know I was the last one to arrive, though; they'd been there for... a long time. I don't know how long. No one can really remember.
... Why?
[ He has a feeling why, but... ]
no subject
Tch. They left when I was six. Said they were going to give them private funding and...I remember cause Aki showed up a few weeks after with Miki and...[Miki...and the fire.]
WAIT!
[The way he speaks, there is an emergency to it. The color drains from his face, and the anger is changed with fear and pain. Minato can't see it, but Shinji's mind is playing back that fateful, awful day. When everything burned down in front of them. It's made worse thanks to the nightmares he had after the maze...unconsciously, it continued to plague him.]
Miki...the fire...there was a fire....maybe eight or nine months after they left...
[A terrible puzzle that is slowly piecing itself together. It is grotesque on every facet and its tearing his heart into two. Everything was so clear it was right in front of him. The clue. The clue all along had been that damn fire.]
The fire! It...burned down everything to the ground. Miki lost her life...others did too a-and...
[At this point he's just so sick to his stomach he takes a step back, stumbles and slams into the wall before sliding down, hands over his face. The sound that escapes from his mouth is a mixture of sadness, painful realization and shame before he can even speak again.]
I-I could never remember everyone's name who'd been taken after that...cause...everyone's files were gone...
[Aki and him...they had promised each other to become stronger and to protect everyone.
...and yet they'd never noticed the danger right in front of them until it was too late.]
no subject
He didn't have all the pieces, but he had--some of them. The way Shinjiro says it... "everyone's files were gone."
This had been like his realization that, all along, Ikutsuki was the "Nice Scientist" he'd met. Ikustuki was the "Nice Scientist" who'd told him his family was dead. Ikutsuki was the one to take him in to somewhere "safer".
...
Minato is silent during all of this. What can you even say? That, if he hadn't been so lucky... he and one of SEES would likely have died too? ]
... You never realized it was the Kirijo Corporation, did you.
[ It's a simple statement, it isn't... scolding, or anything. Sympathetic, perhaps. ]
... They were the ones who funded project Strega and handled rounding the kids up off the street for it. But...
[ He never expected... that they would go that far. There was truly nothing they would not do, was there? ]
no subject
Not for that no. But the rest...
We found out when Ikutsuki betrayed us. He used SEES...and Strega to destroy the twelve Arcana Shadows saying it would end the Dark Hour. Got you guys riled up to make us speed up I bet. Truth is, it just melded the shadows together to form the thirteen Arcana. To be able to summon Nyx. He didn't want to end the Dark Hour. He wanted to prolong it forever and end everything on earth...
He reprogrammed Aigis to sacrifice the team as offerings but she managed to fight him off...he killed Mitsuru's dad...that shithole was controlling everyone like puppets by himself...he died, but it was too late. The Fall had been called out and we ended up fighting Nyx when Minako, she...
[You know that part. He takes a deep breath before speaking again, realizing there could be even more.]
...when you escaped. How easy was it?
[1/... idk something, it was coming]
He deflects the question, first-- ]
No, that's...
[2/?]
Bites his lips, and his eyes just... stare at Shinjiro with the same sort of impossible realization the other is having, too. ]
Bullshit. There's no way... I... we...
[3/?]
All that they'd been fighting for, every fucking Full Moon, trying to protect the Shadows-- ]
Are you saying if we had won that... if the Shadows hadn't been destroyed, the Fall wouldn't have happened?!
[ And then... it turns to anger. Cold anger. He's really fucking pissed. His voice is barely raised, but anyone who knows Minato knows this constitutes for mad enough, for him. ]
... No, we--we were trying to keep them intact because we thought you guys would END the Dark Hour, it was the only way we'd been able to live!
[ ... Breathing heavily. God... dammit. ]
[4/5]
God... dammit... we were... we were used... again...
[ If Minato was more emotional, he'd be really upset right now, but after that outburst, it turns to... emotionless forced calm.
Fuck.
He, Minami, all of them were fucking PUPPETS. Ikutsuki went farther than anyone had known. ]
[5/5]
Those rotten bastards...
He is quiet, for a moment longer. Before his fists clench again, and he forces himself to talk through it. ]
We... we originally only risked ourselves going to Port Island again because a hit had been taken out on Mitsuru Kirijo--you know, the heiress, and... we couldn't pass it up. It was high risk, high reward...
I mean, I wanted to investigate, first. That's how we... found out about you guys, and that's how we heard you were trying to end the Dark Hour.
[ Another pause. Finally, he answers: ]
... Too easy. It was... We should have been caught and killed years ago. They could have easily tracked who was buying Suppressants.
(no subject)