005 | ❝Come back for the hope that you've stolen...❞

[pitiedthefool]

Characters: Yu and you it will never get old
Setting: Starting in the morning of the return from Infighting on the dorm's second floor, wandering later on
Format: Your choice
Summary: Birthdays were had in Hell, so he decided to celebrate by flooding the dorms with origami cranes and do several other things.
Warnings: I sense a few New World Fools...

Yu wasn't one to say when he was hurting, nor was he the kind of person to simply ignore when others were either. It was hell, the last month... and according to the notes he'd received from Naoya and Zo the main portion of the tower hadn't fared well, either. So for remainder of the first day, all he did was continue making paper cranes in his shared dorm room. If anyone asked, he probably was too absorbed in how calming it was to respond much...

Floor One
After dropping off the little paper figurines at the doors of the other Persona users and his friends, Yu found himself wandering down to the cafeteria. He hadn't eaten much of anything for the last month and barely stomached whatever Ken and the others had brought him from the table, so finding all of these ingredients in the cafeteria?

It was like he was finally back in his element after what felt like an eternity.

The teen soon lost himself in the scents and mundane actions that come from cooking, probably making extra on purpose for anyone who wanted to try something that wasn't guaranteed to poison them. After all, he does know his way with a knife and a stove... even if it was a pain figuring out Fahrenheit-to-Celcius every now and then.

Floor Five
Yu tried to avoid this floor as much as he possibly could for reasons only a select few fully understood. He always ignored the red-collar workers as they went about their jobs, doing what they always did. Yet the sensation he had when coming here...

For once, he could recognize it. That emptiness and the suffocating feeling as though death were clawing up his legs again, trying to drag him down into the pits of hell. The crushing void within his heart to the point where he could almost hear their screams as death claimed them all over and over again.

He almost fell to his knees once or twice, taking hold of something before he could. A rail, someone's arm... he didn't know. All he knew was he wanted out of here before the despair that nearly claimed the spark of hope that still resided in his heart returned once more.

Floor Fourteen
Over the several months Yu'd been here, the media room had become a place of solace where he would meet with his friends and bond. Whether it was over music or video games didn't matter. He just enjoyed the time he spent with them.

This time, however, he was looking for someone in particular... someone he couldn't find at the "wrap-up party" last weekend. After a while of waiting, he sat down and began playing a little game again. Maybe they just decided not to come today...

Floor Twenty-Two
For some reason this week, Yu had begun to frequent the art gallery much more often than he normally did. After all, it seemed to be a place where a certain goddess kept finding him... and all it did sometimes was show him his fears. Oddly enough when he looked at the paintings now, it wasn't mostly his own world he was looking at...

It was of a surgeon cutting open a patient who remained awake, abominations and many grotesque creatures oozing out of the person's abdomen. Yet he didn't flinch, didn't so much as make any acknowledgement of what it was he saw. All he did was keep walking and enjoying the silence all the while hoping someone would soon break it.

Night, Your Floor of Choice
Cooking wasn't the only thing that was cathartic for the teen. No, there had also been a reason he had tried making a weapon for himself only to find a new friend giving him one instead. It had been a month, and his skills were a little rough around the edges, but he'd decided that it wouldn't hurt to stay out until around midnight and fight once the monsters came out.

If you're lucky, someone might even hear a single word being muttered before the sensation of electricity remaining stagnant in the air became more poignant: "Persona."

[ooc note: For Purse Owners Yu's met and seen their Personas, there is an origami figurine of them in their rooms somewhere (more than likely just at the door unless you're his roommate). For close CR, there's an animal other than a crane for them of their choosing. He was in a giving mood. :c

ALSO! If you'd be so kind as to also state the day of the week in the comment as well, it would be greatly appreciated! You can also have your characters wander into him on accident on either lounge floors. It gets old saying "Yu sit here, wat do?" after a while... |3]

Comments

[pitiedthefool]

[He gives her a look. You know the one when a father is looking at a child who has been caught sticking their hand inside a cookie jar? Or perhaps even the one where even though they know they shouldn't be doing something, they've been caught doing so? That is the look written in his face right now, even though he can understand.

Xion add been hurt somehow... hadn't she. Because it's the same tone he'd given Luke not even five days ago, or to Romeo when he helped the child back up when he teetered too far and fell over. That he was fine,, that Isis was merely taking a long time to heal what she'd caused and Lucifer was still kicking him in the spleen.]

...It was pretty crazy where I was, too.

[The food preparations were left forgotten for now. Instead, he's going to show her something only other people like him, Riku and those who were trapped with him the entirety of last month knew of.

A card appears in his hand as blue light begins swirling around it and them both from the blue summoning glyph under their feet. Without a second thought, his palm closes into a fist and the card shatters like glass. A brown-skinned woman slightly taller than him appears, dressed in all white and gold; Isis, the goddess of death. With a single movement from Isis, a small part of his own energy is used to cause the blue to be replaced with white as it descends around them both. Those aches and pains? They're likely almost as nonexistent as Isis' is in sight since she vanishes from sight soon after.

There's no pain in summoning her... That's gone, too...]

... It doesn't take much to notice an injury, Xion.

[attheclocktower]

[Well, having never had a father or any sort of parental figure - save Axel sometimes - she doesn't recognize the look outright, thought some part of it does make her pause, guiltily.

Then that pause turns to surprise and a bit of wonder at Yu's actions. She takes half a stumbling step backwards in shock as the glyph flares to life beneath their feet. That's the only time she shows anything close to fear though, and it fades fairly rapidly as she realizes that whatever was happening... Yu was doing it. And she trusted him.

As the healing energy descends over them, she closes her eyes. The feeling is an odd one, almost like a dozen Cures in one shot. And all of the bumps and bruises... even the deeper ache in her side all but vanish. She looks up just in time to see the second person - whoever they were - vanish.

Curiosity and guilt are battling in her mind. In the end, his words are what make guilt win out. She looks down.]

Sorry. It... really isn't near as bad now, though... [Especially now that several weeks worth of healing was just condensed down to a few seconds] Thanks.

[pitiedthefool]

[He noticed the surprise. To be honest, he couldn't blame her for being so. After all, he'd given little warning... and it wasn't like many knew what he was capable of.

Part of him is relieved to hear that, even though he's sure there's still some lingering pain. After all, Yukiko was the one he often turned to as the team healer. He, Teddie and Yosuke were merely back up to her healing prowess and powerful fire spells. The other part of him? Still a little worried, because it's him and he always worries about his friends.]

No problem. Hungry?

[Because it would probably be a good distraction and make it easier to catch up. He goes to get two plates down. After all, Xion's probably hungry right now. Yu's stomach can't handle much after a month of seldom eating, but he knows he has to or he could get sick again.]

[attheclocktower]

[She frowns, still thinking about what she saw, until she realizes he asked her a question. Glancing back at him, she bobs her head up and down.]

Oh! Yeah, a little... There... hasn't been a lot of food here for a while.

[So... if she's looking skinnier in addition to any other visual differences... well, that's why. And frankly, her stomach's probably in a similar state as his, though she's much less aware of the proper way to reintroduce a malnourished body to food.]

You could find stuff on some of the floors, and some people had some of the bars from May, but... until a week ago there wasn't anything down here at all.

[pitiedthefool]

[He can see it, and though he doesn't look it... Yu's still surprised he can even stand in the first place. He plates the rice before placing the actual curry over half of it, putting some cut up fruit on the opposing sides. It's slightly smaller portions than normal, mainly because he knows trying to eat too much at once is a bad thing for people who haven't eaten well in such a long period of time.]

Sounds better than what we had for a while. [Medical waste-laced water and food bars... ick.] The group I was with didn't have anything for two weeks, and we were locked up so no one could really scavenge. Yesterday was the first time we actually had anything.

[He hands her a plate and a spork. bon apetit.]

Let's go sit down. The rest will be here if anyone can stomach anything.

[He made plenty, after all.]

[attheclocktower]

[Her eyes widen, even as she takes the plate and utensil.]

That sounds awful...

[... there's a question now, one that'd been lurking in the back of her mind, though now with that bit of information, she's suddenly more nervous about asking it.

What had they done to those who'd disappeared?

She doesn't ask it outright, but goes to a nearby table and sits. Once he's seated too, she takes a sporkful of food and tries it. And it tastes good, it really does. Enough that she's momentarily sidetracked as her body's demand for nourishment partially overrides her worries about her friend.

She'll be coming back to that later though.]

[pitiedthefool]

It was... but it could have been a lot worse.

[He follows, taking his own plate and a spork with him. When she sits down, he sits across from her as usual while he contemplates things. He knew the basics of what happened here from Minato, but he had no idea what had caused Xion's injuries... or how he would explain Isis. One would think he'd have some experience in it after explaining to someone else, but no... it's still confusing yet ever real.

He has a feeling what will eventually be asked, but he notices her pacing.]

Careful. Eating too fast after being so long without can make you sick.

[He's following his own advice, pacing himself as he eats. After the second week... it's tempting to eat far too fast, but his ungodly amount of willpower keeps him from wolfing it down like it was Yukiko's fried tofu.]

[attheclocktower]

Huh? Oh...

[She looks down at the food for a moment before slowing her pace down, chewing each bite slowly before swallowing. She's thinking too, about what he said. She can only guess that everything that happened to him happened to all the people who'd disappeared for a month.

The thought of anything else happening to Sora made a sick pit form in her stomach.]

That's good.... that it... wasn't worse.

[She still isn't sure she wants to ask questions, though concern and a sort of morbid curiosity are starting to overcome her fear about what she might discover.]

[pitiedthefool]

[Yu is eating for a brief moment longer before his own worries began to pile up in his mind again. Maybe later he'd tell her what happened, though right now he doesn't know if anyone else she knows was a part of that madness. For their sake, he hopes not. IT was hell for some of them...

He waits a bit longer before speaking.]

...May I ask what happened? [Because his hell was, for the most part, over. But if someone had done something to a friend and they are still here...]

[attheclocktower]

[At Yu's question, she freezes, about to lift some more of the curry and rice to her mouth. She sets the fork back down, face set in something like a grimace. It's not hard to guess what he means, given how he noticed she was hurt and healed her. And it's not that it was the worst thing that ever happened, by far. But it sounds like he'd had a bad enough time as it was.

Except another part of her suspects that she and Vanitas aren't finished. Maybe they'll never be, so long as they're both still in the Tower. And if Yu ever runs into him, she didn't want him to get hurt too by being unprepared, like she had the first time she'd met Vanitas.]

There's a boy here named Vanitas. [...] Be careful if you ever see him. [He's dangerous.]

[pitiedthefool]

[Yu raises an eyebrow, automatically concerned just with how she freezes, later grimacing. Something had indeed happened while he was gone, he's sure of it.

The name, however... Vanitas. For some reason it strikes a chord; maybe it's because of the meaning? Either way, it's obvious how much it affects her. It was the same look Nanako had given him when she was scared but didn't want to admit it. He pats his sword on the hilt, trying to silently give her a hint.]

...I will. Besides, Isis isn't the only one I can call forth. [So am I when a friend's in danger.]

[attheclocktower]

[Instead of being reassured by his statement and gesture - though she can guess what he's trying to say - a look of alarm crosses her face.]

D-don't fight him!

[After a moment she blinks, seemingly surprised by the intensity of her own outburst. She ducks her head, looking away, speaking more quietly.]

Please, don't. He's... [Brutal. She'd fought him twice, once at a disadvantage, and once now with what she would've thought was an advantage. A hand comes up to cover the parts on her side where Vanitas had hit hardest, where there was still a faint ache, even after Yu's healing.]

[pitiedthefool]

[That reaction alone is enough to give him pause. Really, he hadn't implied that he was going to seek out a fight. In fact, he rarely does unless it's Adachi, then he's probably going to end up kicking his ass at some point. So when she says it, he calms slightly... giving an understanding look.]

I won't seek a fight. It isn't my style. However...

[His gaze goes distant for a moment, like he's recalling something.]

If all he does is hurt my friends, then I can't forgive or condone that kind of action. Should he start something again, I more than likely won't be holding back.

[The next part is quiet, like he knows some piece of truth that he has never revealed to anyone but his closest friends...]

There has been enough suffering in the world... yours, mine, and this tower.

[attheclocktower]

[Xion watches him, eyes wide. His conviction is... compelling, for lack of a better way of putting it. Somewhat assuring and comforting, though not completely, in either case. And enough to make her think.]

You're right... There has.

[She pauses, then sighs]

I just don't want anybody to add to it, all because of me.

[It was right now, times when the idea occurred to her of others sacrificing for her sake, or getting hurt because of her, that she remembered who and what she was, the problems she'd caused back home... how undeserving she felt she was of that sort of thing her friends might try and do for her.]

[pitiedthefool]

[It's his high Courage stat, not going to lie. However, that last sentence was enough for him to show a side he only showed the people who needed that extra push. Even in his tiredness, he didn't care about himself. Xion is hurting.]

Xion. Don't think like that.

[He knew it too well as of late, but Yosuke's words had snapped him out of the 'because of me' mentality. There is a quiet determination, maybe someone else's presence being actively drawn on. He didn't know.]

We have all been through our hardships, but that doesn't mean we need to keep them to ourselves. That's what friends are for, to share the burdens in our lives and to pick us up when we fall.

[attheclocktower]

[For a long time she looks down, unsure what to say or do. She never has been, in situations like this. There's a tiny reminder of Roxas and Axel though... that time she'd lost her Keyblade, and Axel had told her what friends were for...

She smiles helplessly]

I have good friends.

[That's what friends were for, huh? She hesitates, the smile slipping.]

Vanitas is from my worlds... But a long time before mine, I think. He knows other people from my worlds too. I met Vantias when he first got here.

[She hesitates. She's talked about this to Ven and the others, but never to an outsider.]

I'm not sure if you've ever seen it but... sometimes when people look at me, they see someone different. Vanitas saw another boy from our worlds named Ventus and even when I told him I wasn't... he attacked.

[And judging by her expression, the altercation didn't end well.]

[pitiedthefool]

[There's always a first time for everything. This was no exception. He's quiet as she explains, nodding faintly for her to continue when she mentions where Vanitas is from. The same ones, huh. He stops himself from overreacting to that expression, internalizing it. Yu has always been good at that and guarding himself from emotional pain, sealing it away to add fuel for his own power.

But this is pushing it. He loathes people like what Xion is explaining.]

Ven-? [Why yes, yes that name is familiar. Huh.] ...All I see is a girl with black hair and vibrantly blue eyes.

[He gives her a guarded smile. One that still offers the sincere warmth of his true smile, but also keeping his outrage sealed away.]

[attheclocktower]

[Xion's hands tighten convulsively. People... seeing someone else, other than her... it bothered her sometimes, more than she probably let on. She wanted to be herself, nobody else. And when other people saw her, the way she saw herself... It meant a lot more than she could say.]

Y-yeah... I'm... not quite sure why. [It's a lie, and she doesn't look at him as she says it, but it's something she promised Namine she'd keep a secret, not something she's just keeping to herself.]

It... That was a few months ago, though. Other... other things have happened since.

[Her hands tighten again, though this time with something more like anxiety. This is a lot harder to talk about than she would've thought.]

[pitiedthefool]

[He had a feeling, because someone he knew was the same way. Their appearance never changed, but people would see her for the roles she played and never the shy girl who'd been abused and neglected as a child. but the lie...

He wasn't going to ask if she didn't want to tell, but she didn't need to blatantly lie about it. It stung a little, but that wasn't the point of the conversation.]

... I'm here to listen, if you can talk about it.

[That goes with everything; not just Vanitas.]

[attheclocktower]

[Maybe she didn't, but... she didn't realize she probably didn't even need to bring up the possibility of why at all, and just let it pass without comment. And she's also a horrible liar.

Yu's words made her duck her head, fighting to keep her mind from going blank. There were so many awful things that'd happened Vantias was just one of them. Axel leaving, her absorbing the memories of so many others... Reno dying... and that was just in the past month or so. Beyond that... and especially concerning Vanitas...]

He hates me. I don't know why but he does and... [How does she just talk about this, really? Or maybe it's easier to just not think about the hows and keep going] He's used me to hurt my friends, and... [her fingers are fumbling with the bag and after a few moments, she picks it up, opens it and lays it on the table so he can see the contents - the shells (both whole and broken) and the paper bird he'd made her] He stole these a few days ago, and... and when I found him...

[Well, you can guess, given her injuries.]

[pitiedthefool]

[It's made worse by the fact that he has the ability to dispel lies in general.

Yu stands, says nothing about what was said. In fact, there's probably nothing he can say that would make it any better for her. All he does is move so that he's sitting beside her instead, staring at the broken shells for a moment before wrapping an arm around her.

...He loathes people like that. Despises people who hate for seemingly no other reason than 'because I can'. It's infuriating to think his new friend had gone through that on her own, to be used like that- Well, it strikes a rather painful cord with him.]

I'm sorry I wasn't here to help.

[He squeezes tight. Not enough to hurt, but enough to show that he's a lot stronger than he seems to be for someone who looks like a really tall toothpick.]