Four Dudes, One Open Log!

[busstopsign]

Characters: Naoya Toudou, Eikichi Mishina, Shinjiro Aragaki, Naoki Kashima (Demi-Fiend) and viewers like YOU.
Setting: Various! June 27th to July 6rd (I have permission from Mel to do this so if you want to post once your dudes are done the June event, feel free to do so!)
Format: Starting in prose, but I'll follow you if you want to do action.
Summary: Naoya, Shinjiro and Naoki continue to try to survive in the tower for the rest of the month - meanwhile Eikichi finally wakes up and keeps morning the fact his other half didn't come with them...
Instructions: Pick a character, pick a place where you want to meet them and let the CR roll!
Warnings: Considering who is involved it could turn ugly once in a while.

[OOC - These are meant to be log starters - if you have other ideas or other places you want them to meet, by all means please do so, I would love that as well. Also, if you tag with Shinji you may also get a Minako as a bonus! It's like a 2 for 1 deal on Purse Owners!]

♞SHINJIRO

➦ ANYWHERE INSIDE THE TOWER

Minami might be gone, and it certainly left him feeling oddly empty and sadder than he could have thought, but Shinjiro continued to patrol nightly as he had promised her. If anything, it was almost in her memory; the monsters that stepped out would receive a much stronger whack than a few days ago, as Shinji used his anger and frustration out on them.

It might also not be too pretty to see, if this was the first time you were meeting him, his coat covered in monster's blood and chopping away at the foes with only one hand and a giant axe. He wasn't using his Persona Powers as much as he should, but part of him wanted to grow stronger physically, and see just how far he could go--

--Tch! Dammit it. Now he was really getting into Aki's mindset, wasn't he? Idiot wasn't here, and he was influencing him regardless...

➦ FLOOR 1: KITCHEN, FLOOR 6: FOREST & FLOOR 32: FOREST (NO POWERS)

Despite the lack of proper food for the past two months, Shinji hadn't taken this down. There was farmland, which he'd been cultivating with what little he had, and hopefully in a few more months they'd get crops. At least if no one tried to ruin them, which would earn his wraith if he ever found out. For now, however, he'd taken to what he'd learn during his training and was foraging in the two forests areas. Once in a while, he'd use his axe for something other than chopping down a large stalk and took down an animal or two for meat. It wasn't pretty at all.

Logically, then, you could also find him in the kitchen, especially now that the lights and electricity had come back on. With a working fridge, it meant that he could start hunting down more meat than just what could be used for a few days and worry about it spoiling - considering the place it wasn't something he'd want to do. Or the fact he was Shinjiro ; wasting food was something he absolutely loathed.

Sometimes, Minako was with him, eagerly away to see what he'd be able to do.

"Stop looking at me like that," he'd say, once in a while. Not that he minded her company, in fact he welcomed it, it kept him sane during the month. It was just the way he was.

➦ DORMS : PRIVATE TO KEN (Post event, when Ken wakes up)

Upon returning to the land of the tower, Ken would find, placed right near his bed, a long spear made just for his size. The origin might be Korean, but thankfully there were some books in the library Shinji had manged to use, and with that knowledge was able to fashion a Dangpa that was better than the Long Spear he had previously fixed for him. Shinjiro had even managed to do a little frufru shit attacked to it (although that was Minako's idea and not his...in fact he found it a wee bit ridiculous).

The might not be from the same worlds, but, in the end, it was Ken's birthday and for all the things he did...Shinji did care.

Happy Birthday.

Of course there was no name attached, no notes or a wish or anything, but it was pretty obvious who was responsible for this.

♚NAOYA

➦ ANYWHERE INSIDE THE TOWER

The youth ran along the corridors, sub-machine gun strapped to his back along with a line of bullets, and his sword by his side. He wasn't sure what he was looking for, really, but the last few weeks had been hectic - he could almost recall the other world in how mostly dead everything was...and the monsters that roamed around.

He was keeping his gun as a last resort, using his Persona (mainly Vishnu or Amon-ra)and his sword rather than waste what little supply of bullets he had. Idly he thought about making a request for more, but had a feeling any requests here were not going to be filled out as he'd like...

If someone was in trouble, he'd step in to protect them, that was certain.

➦ FLOOR 19: 2ND LIBRARY

This was a plae that Eriko would love, and he knew it. She had shared some of her knowledge with Naoya and it had served him here; now it was time to do a little on his own, despite how dangerous this place was. Amon-Ra kept the place illuminated as he walked around, ready to spring for and protect him should there be a need.

Books on the occult would be a good start. It was just a matter of finding them.

➦ FLOOR 4: GLASS WINDOWS

Now that the tower was springing back to life, he could rest a little - so to speak, and took time from patrol to just gaze outside in quiet thought, sitting on one of the couches that filled up the area. He could have done this in the other area upstairs, but this place was less visited and despite being the leader of his team - sometimes even Naoya enjoyed a little quiet time to himself.

Of course, that could not last forever, and eventually someone else would come.

➦ DORMS: PRIVATE TO YU (post event)

When Yu would wake up, he would find on his bed, a letter written in Japanese and clear handwritting (Naoya was actrually pretty proud of his writing abilities)

Yu,

I have no idea what has transpired wherever you are, and I can only imagine what might have happened, but when you return, we have much to talk about. During this month the entire tower was in a state of degeration until electrity returned on the 25th. You need to seek me out as soon as possible. I should be either in the dorm, 4th floor, or in one of the libraries.

Your uncle is here, and I think I might have felt someone like you as well, only...you know who I might mean, but to be honest, I could be wrong....and then...there is someone else you need to meet. It's...You. Well not Yu, Yu, but You...You...

...just come and speak with me, I'll explain more.

-Naoya Toudou.

♫EIKICHI

➦ DORMS

You could say that Eikichi was a great motivator for his team, for better or for worse.

So what happened when he lost his will to do anything? With Miyabi still there with those...with those MONSTERS, the guilt Eikichi had felt was far too numberous to be able to put into words fully. Doomed if she had come with them - he didn't want her to suffer like he had...doomed if he hadn't...now he was here and she was there and he couldn't protect her if something happened. He had stayed in his room for the rest of that week, quiet since awakening, some bones still broken due to the terrible regenerating process. He'd done nothing to fix it, accepting it as punishment for not protecting her.

Eventually his stomach gave out, and he decided to go look around, but his mood was definately un-Eikichi-like.

➦ ANYWHERE INSIDE THE TOWER

The guitar slung and held with one hand, Eikichi walked the corridors with a strange look upon his face - one filled with sadness, but anger and frustration as well. Alright. If he couldn't have his day on stage right now, he'd teach all of the monsters what it meant to mess with the Great Michel. There was a lot more cursing involved than usual, as if yelling at them would help ease his own pain.

Sadly, it didn't do much, really, apart from causing quite a spectacle for anyone that happened to watch.

➦ FLOOR 28: MUSIC ROOM

He couldn't bring himself to sing - in a way Miyabi was his muse for that, and without her around, after getting her back, after everything that had happened, it just tugged too much at him.

Thus, the drums. Those, he could hit well, and after a while, he appeared lost in the rhythm, letting the beats take him away from the reality of the situation right now...

✦NAOKI-DEMI

➦ ANYWHERE INSIDE THE TOWER

Considering the trouble some of the others had had in the tower during this month, Demi had been quite lucky. His powers had become stronger and he'd become almost feral-like but he'd kept clinging on to his humanity regardless of what had happened. Now that Futomimi had shown up, he was able to calm down even more.

If you saw Demi walk the corridors this week, he seemed somewhat more...sure of himself. Maybe it was the way he was moving, or the way he hit a hellhound with such force it sent the creature smalling into a wall before he burnt it into a crisp, but there was an almost regality to him. He walked proudly, happy at who he was. Was it pride or acceptance at all that had happened in the Vortex World? Who knew. But regardless, if he'd been able to bring the world back there, he'd do it now here too. That was his new plan.

Also he needed to find that guy he'd sniffed at and apologize. He stilled remembered that and groaned. Urgh. What had he been think--oh right. He hadn't.

➦ FLOOR 25: MEADOW

Of course that never stopped him from stopping inside the floor field to appriciate the flowers. Nothing could stop him, really. He'd bury his face inside a bunch of daisies or daffodils, roll around for a few seconds and then sitting and just stare at the non-exsistant sky, sighing almost happily.

If you were lucky, you might find him more talkactive that day too. As his days went on into the tower, he was slowly coming out of his shell, so to speak. Of course if you thought of him as a monster and screamed at the sight, he wasn't going to say much.

➦ FLOOR 10: AQUARIUM

He wasn't here to catch fish this time. No, this time Naoki had one thing on his mind, and it was to get Forenus out for a bit of hunting itself, as he rode on the top, perhaps to the slight annoyance of the demon, but at least Demi was letting him go wild...which he was.

Besides, the feeling when you rode a giant demonic manta ray as it sped in there terrorizing everything was pretty exhilarating.

You could even say fun.

Comments

[sukeban]

Yeah, I heard you were taken somewhere... I should've stopped to consider what might have happened there.

[She lets him take the lead, shadowing just behind him once they started their descent.]

What the hell did they do to you guys, anyway?

[pitiedthefool]

It's alright; you didn't know.

[He keeps looking straight ahead, though her version of Izanagi-no-Okami can probably tell... his soul was slightly corrupted despite the remorse that seemed to hang around him.]

The first day, about sixty-two of us were rounded up, carted off into the elevators and to another part of the Tower for a little... competition between three of the five known "administrators" of this tower. We were split among them, Yosuke being lucky for a change and being sent off with Dax - the nicer and more humane of the three. Kanji, Naoto and I... weren't as fortunate.

Jason, the one in charge of that group, likes to conduct experiments on his charges and did so to cheat so things would go in his favor. The first week, many of our powers were either sealed away or our Personas were corrupted to the point we began acting the way he wanted... But by the middle of week two... things grew even worse.

[Yuko should know what makes them snap the easiest, and by the look of pure detest in his eyes it should be easy to figure out what happened after that.]

He literally ripped my Personas from me after a few of us destroyed any chance of him winning one portion of the challenges. [And oh... there was a rather devious smirk.] ...Ever hear of the fastball special in your world, Yuko?

[sukeban]

[She can tell, and frankly, she's a little disappointed in him.]

Yu, this isn't exactly the time to talk about comics. [So basically, she has.] There's something else you're not telling me, and I deserve to know what that is.

[She'd be able to tell if she could see his face from back here, but regardless, she'd still want to hear it from him, and she'd expect the same in return.]

[pitiedthefool]

...A rewind, then. [He stops at the elevator, hands both deep in his pockets now. He can practically feel the disappointment coming from his other self despite trying to ignore it the best he can. In doing so, he was focusing on the words he picked for when he spoke to Yosuke about it.]

The first week... we were all forced to watch no matter how much we struggled or tried to stop them from getting to our friends. Kind of hard, when you're locked up inside a cell. When we were selected for 'surgery', the retrieval units paralyze us ahead of time. All they did was drill a hole in my forehead and inject me with something. That's all.

[The tone is eerily familiar to Adachi's little 'explanation' now, isn't it... He seems to realize it and shakes his head.]

But then... all of them began to whisper, to say things were fine. Everything was acceptable; the numbness and pain caused by hearing their cries was reality and we had to accept it. ...I couldn't, and it drove me over the edge to see another person barely being able to breathe when all I had to do was try and tune them out.

[Now that time had passed and there was time to contemplate his actions, he knew how much he fucked up. He didn't need anyone else to tell him that.]

I did my best to make up for it, in spite of Alice wanting to "play" with the others... in spite of Lucifer whispering words of doubt and Izanagi's disapproval. I was about to burn everything but the people trapped with me when the retrieval units came for me again.

...And on the contrary, I think it is time to talk about comics.

[He glanced back to her, and while there was pain in his eyes... the resolve behind it was much more fierce.]

You see, when you're trapped in a literal hell, being forced to watch and listen as even kids only a couple years older than Nanako being experimented on and mutilated, you tend to draw back on ideas when your powers are stripped away. One of those kids and I tried to replicate it on Jason's face and got our group disqualified along with someone else who killed one of her friends to try and spare her from further torment. Not that I agree with it now that I'm lucid again, but I can understand why she tried.

[sukeban]

[As the elevator door opens and the two of them step in, there's nothing but the ambient mechanical sounds inside the elevator shaft to break the silence. She doesn't have any words she thinks can even begin to help. This is so far beyond what happened in Inaba that she can hardly wrap her mind around it.

So, as the door slides shut, she instinctively does the only thing she can think of that might help. She wordlessly wraps her arms around Yu, holding him in the sort of comforting embrace that normally only a brother and sister could share.]

[pitiedthefool]

[He doesn't say anything further for a while. In fact, he doesn't often speak so much at once because he prefers listening to speaking unless something has to be said. To think he never mentioned what happened on weeks three and four. Then again, compared to the first two weeks, the last half of the 'competition' was oddly quiet for most of them.

Yu blinks at first, but soon enough he too wraps an arm around Yuko. When all that was going on, all he could think about was how disappointed Nanako must be with him for giving in so easily at the sights and horrors of the last month. The silence continues until near the end of the ride up to the first floor of the dorms. There's no tears, no quivering. After all, he promised his team that he'd stay strong for them regardless of circumstances.]

Please don't think any less of me for my moment of weakness. [It's just barely over a whisper, but... she deserved to know what kind of horrors this place could hold.]

[sukeban]

[He can't see it, but she takes on a sympathetic smirk.]

There's no way I could. Whatever you might've done, whatever drove you to it would have done the same to me, after all, wouldn't it?

[She pulls back to look him in the eye, still wearing the same smile, a calm, welcoming look in her eyes. He'd probably given that same look any number of times, it must have been strange to be on this end of it for a change.]

After all, you're me, and I'm you, right? Was that how it went for you, too?

[She was well aware of how cheesy it sounded, and really, she made it so on purpose. The least she could do was make him smile a little.]

[pitiedthefool]

[Well, maybe not see it... but he can swear he feels it through his uniform jacket.]

I'd like to think one of us has a bit of common sense left.

[He's teasing again, which may well be constituted as a good sign. That look, however... Man, was it peculiar to be on the receiving end of it for a change. Also, that phrase- he can't help the chuckle escaping him at that.]

"I am thou. Thou... art I. Open thine eyes." [He shook his head.] Kind of weird, being the only formal one of the bunch with no Shadow self. ...and just how long were you waiting to say that?

[Darn you, futago. Your plan succeeded...]

[mysteriousvoice]

[Damn it what am I even supposed to do in this situation?! You guys wanna stop tossing me oddballs in this tower?]

[pitiedthefool]

[Hey, so long as it ain't the Pierrot Arcana, some creepy voice twin doesn't have to get his boxers all knotted up in his heyo~ I mean, OH HELLO VOICE. HOW'S IT GOING? 8D]

[mysteriousvoice]

[Man, why they gotta me bust out the Thoth Arcana deck anyway? Pretty chillin, last month. You ain't gonna put me in overdrive right? Heard rumors Naoya's gonna be doing that with me and when he was young I wasn't even working around yet! How's that shit supposed to work?]

[pitiedthefool]

[Talk to them, not me. Also glad you got the break for a short while when all I had to do was rank up with Ken and Strega... which was pretty dang creepy, btw. How the heck does that happen, anyway? ...Also, no idea about Naoya. I'm going to be a little busy trying to Upright a few Social Links instead, man.]

[sukeban]

Well, we can't learn from each others' mistakes until one of us makes them, can we?

[She pats him on the back, gently guiding him out as the doors open to reveal the dorm level.]

Just now thought of it, actually. Hadn't quite planned ahead on any of this.

[pitiedthefool]

Fair enough, I guess.

[He lets go, if only because going up one more floor would be awkward like that. Yu shakes his head, though.]

Who ever does plan on meeting themselves? [Yep, now he's teasing again.]