[o5] ♪ Death's icy breath.

[fractus_animus]

Characters: AU Minato Arisato & people, then later AU Jin Shirato and more Persona users.
Setting: Early Afternoon on July 3rd, toward the afternoon/early evening; all over-ish -> cathedral.
Format: Action. Prose will be far too slow for this, sorry.
Summary: Minato goes crazy thanks to finding his sister gone and falls victim to a certain Cerulean blood's mind control.
Warnings: If you confront Minato after a certain point, your character WILL have a VERY HIGH CHANCE of dying! Here is the OOC info post. Feel free to backtag into forever if you like once I get this up.

[ The floors he visited had begun to ice over. Anyone who wandered near where Minato was would find it almost unbearably, bone-chillingly cold.

In fact, the walls froze around him as he walked, searching.

For what?

People. People he thinks he can... 'fix'. Or save. Perhaps his inability to do so during their time in the Pods had gotten to him.

... He had Thanatos, didn't he? Why not listen? Why not let him go? After a month of enduring Thanatos and Samael's persistent voices, he no longer had any desire to be what he now viewed as cruel. Killing people was a niceness, here. Surely, it was nice. A kindness. They'd thank him. Even if they didn't realize it. Dying was better than that. It would be better to die. If he killed them, with Thanatos, then perhaps they'd stay dead. Perhaps they'd no longer suffer...

... He was prepared to do it by whatever means, and however much pain had to be caused. Pain was good, too. Pain told them they were people, you see? That they had personalities...

Yes, he did like people.

He liked them enough to freeze them slowly and let his Persona rip them apart... ]

[ OOC: LET ME GET THE COMMENT HEADERS UP for the sub threads first, then you can reply. POSTING DONE, go reply to the sub threads and have fun. :) Be sure to verify a location on the first one! Some responses may be from deatharcana, by the way. ]

Comments

[fractus_animus]

[ Of course Minato does get hit, but not before he fires two bullets at Kanji from just a few feet away. The Persona distracts him from the headshot he'd been attempting, however, and thus the bullets end up one in his chest and one in his leg.

Unfortunate, that. One probably punctured something, at least, but it meant he wasn't going to take him out as cleanly or as quickly as he'd liked.

The Persona's hit sends him reeling backwards; it's painful, but nothing he can't endure. Minato has to take a moment to recover himself; that attack had taken the wind out of him. He isn't even sure if he hit Kanji or not. ]

[get_bent]

[No matter what the tower did to him, nothing could prepare anyone for a shot into the lungs. The pain that grips and tugs as it fills up with blood and he struggles to stay alive with only half of it still working.

He falls from the second shot, his leg twisted upon itself with a loud crack. There is no way he could run away now, but the pain is nothing compared to the flames in his chest. And yet, he is a Tatsumi. Even with so much going against him, he grabs his now bloodied hand, and crushes with great pain his card again, the Person appearing fizzing in and out in static as it tries to attack the other user with a lightning attack before ramming into him.]

[deatharcana]

[ Minato has finally caught his breath. Just in time to summon Thanatos who will take the brunt of that head-on attack as he moves as quickly as he can out of the way of the lightning from the Zio skill.

Kanji's Persona couldn't possibly hope to overpower a fragment of death. Probably not in the state its wielder is in, either. Minato, however, only barely gets past the Zio skill and is left slightly singed and a little shaken by it.

But he's fine. It's fine, he's fine, so--he looks down. ]

You know, I was going to make this quick and painless. You didn't need to drag it out like that. I've done this plenty of times before. Guess it would've been easier if you were asleep... but nothing will ever be the Dark Hour, I guess.

[ His tone is very... cold, and not at all like you would expect him to be, given how nice and caring most see Minato. ]

Your Persona can't last forever. How bad do you want to make this? I'm going to get us out of this place...

[get_bent]

[There's so much blood rushing into his mouth, salty, thick and obtrusive. Minato's words sound from a distance, another universe, echoing into his head that keeps throbbing in pain. His foot is in shambles; even if he could survive this lung bleeding, he wouldn't be able to walk for a long time with all the torn and broken ligaments and bone.

He is still an Investigation Team member no matter what. When Minato looks down, the fear he might have felt earlier has disappeared and he glares back at him. Because he can't speak due to so much blood in his mouth, he does the only logical thing and spits out a large part of it, aiming for the other teen's face. THAT's what he thought of your words, asshole.

Rokuten Maoh stood above him, like a cocoon that protected from Thanatos' attacks. It wouldn't last long, no. But it sure as hell was going to be defiant and there until both their bitter ends.]

Naoto can hop in after this!

[deatharcana]

[ Wow rude.

Minato just wipes it off his face and watches, falling silent. Why do they have to make it so messy? ]

... You really have no one to blame but yourself.

[ He waits, though, because he wants to make sure Kanji IS dead. Can't have him running off to ruin his plans, right? ]

OH BOY OH BOY

[detecting]

[It's cold. Why is it so cold? Naoto wraps her arms around herself as she walks, trying to keep herself warm. The further she walked, the colder it got and the reason was soon more than obvious.

Ice.

The floor was iced.

She followed the source and it wasn't long before she saw it. Saw them. Saw him. Kanji. Kanji Tatsumi collapsed in a heap and laying in a pool of blood -- his own blood -- and there was someone else there. Another persona user. He's making no move to help Kanji, he's just watching silently, wiping blood off his face.

Her face pales, her hands begin to shake, her mouth hangs open in shock. Kanji...]

K-Kanji...

[Kanji was... Kanji was going to die like this. She couldn't let him. She couldn't. She wouldn't. After everything that happened... it was her turn to be his knight.]

KANJI-KUN!

[What happened next was pure instinct. She had her gun, but this was not a place she wanted to waste any ammunition, so instead her card materialized in front of her and she reaches out, crushing it in her hand.]

Persona!

[Sukuna-Hikona appeared before her and rushed towards his target. Minato was about to get a face full of Vorpal Blade.]

[get_bent]

[No!

No no no nonononononono dammit no why was Naoto here, Kanji's face changed from defiant to pure horror as he willed himself to twist his body running on adrenaline to be able to face her, uncaring of the other shot him in the head at this point, barking out as loud as he could, coughing blood at the same time;]

NAOTO! G-GET AWAY...HE'S GONE INSANE!

[The last thing he'd ever want was to her to get injured as well. At this point, he knew there wasn't much life left in himself...but he could only watch as she unleashed a Vorpal Blade at him. He knew she was strong...but an insane man had an edge that could give him the upper hand and...]

DAMMIT! JUST...GO AWAY!

["I don't want you here, I don't want you to get hurt..."]

[fractus_animus]

[ ... Thanatos just barely takes the brunt of that Vorpal Blade even though Minato tries to get out of the way. Sukuna-Hikona is quite fast, after all. He only barely fires the Evoker in time to summon. Unfortunately for Naoto, the large Persona made something good to hide behind, and was resistant to most physical skills, except Pierce. Thankfully for Minato, however, this leaves him probably nowhere near as hurt as Naoto would like, and he just turns to her, a sort of manic gleam in his eyes.

... Actually, come to think of it, his eyes look really--off. If anyone manages to get a close enough look, there is something odd about the tint to them. ]

Now it's getting interesting. My turn, then.

[ And then he fires his Evoker. ]

Thanatos.

[ ... And Thanatos is now after Naoto with its giant, gloved hands, attempting to pound her with a Gigantic Fist. But he's just getting started. ]

[detecting]

[That didn't do nearly enough damage. He should be showing some signs of wear, but both Minato and his persona were relatively untouched. Was he able to resist physical attacks...?]

I see, so it won't work...

[He turns to face her and she practically freezes in place. There was something very wrong here. His eyes. There was something.... something distinctly not right. The look seemed to be almost unnatural.

She hears Kanji calling out to her, screaming at her, coughing and choking. Choking on his own blood. Blood that continued to fill his lungs. Blood that would take his life if she couldn't get to him in time.]

I'm not leaving you here, Kanji!

[Thantos appears before Minato and before she can so much as blink his persona is after her. She can't dodge it and Sukuna-Hikona could only take so much of the damage for her.

The fist slams into her chest hard, knocking the wind out of her as she struggles to stay on her feet. No, no, no. It's ok. She was ok. She'd be fine. She could take it.

Her voice strains when she speaks and she gasps to catch her breath, her hands clenched at her sides.]

I am not going to leave you alone.

[The card shimmers in front of her and she crushes it in her hand once more. Physical attacks were a no go, but there was not a single thing that could resist an almighty spell -- Megidolaon.]

[fractus_animus]

[ The Megidolaon HURTS, enough for Thanatos to at least dissipate for now. It hurts bad, and if not for him being smart enough to have cast Rakukaja prior to doing anything like this, he'd be floored right now. As it is, he is hurting, and winded, and it takes him a moment to regain himself.

But not long enough for Naoto to run. He raises his Evoker again, and this time summons Samael, letting the Serpent heal him as needed before he switches back with some pain in his head to Thanatos. This will not do, no, not at all, and instead, he uses a Soul Drain on Naoto.

And he will keep using it, until she is exhausted. Because this fight will be more difficult than Kanji's. Though even as that is happening, he raises his own pistol.

Kill them.

He will. He will kill them. ]

[detecting]

[Now that actually did some damage. Thanatos was gone, Minato was weak on his feet. Good. This was progress. This meant she had a chance.

At least she thought she did.

He raised his Evoker once more and she was greeted by an entirely different persona. Suddenly Minato didn't look all that hurt anymore. He.... he healed himself? He healed himself and summoned Thantos again.

So he was like Senpai. He could summon multiple personas, too.

Her breath catches in her chest, something pulled at her, tore at her spirit and ripped a piece of it away. It took her by surprise and left her breathless.

And then it happens again

And again. He's reaching for his pistol now.

And again. Oh. Oh this wasn't good. At all

She reaches for her revolver. She needed to do some real damage. Something that would completely incapacitate him and she had to do it fast. She had to get to Kanji.

She staggers forward, her breathing heavy and forced. Slowly she raises the gun and takes careful aim. Just one shot. If she could do this right, if her aim was sharp enough...

She pulls the trigger --

BANG.

-- and misses.]

[pitiedthefool]

[...but the unmistakable sound of gunfire hadn't been missed. Not by a long shot. He heard the first few shots a few floors above him and took to running, taking two steps at a time. There was no way of telling just what was going on until he reached the same floor, newly acquired sign still tightly clenched in his grasp. Something was wrong... Something was horribly wrong.

Without even thinking on it, he called forth Izanagi-no-Okami half-way there and had him use Mind Charge. For some reason, he felt as though it would be necessary.

It's a good thing he had.

The moment he reaches that landing, he could see it; the effects and scars of a Persona battle, but more importantly... two of the people he never wished to see so injured after the events of the previous month. Kanji lying there and bleeding out fast, Naoto growing weaker due to Spirit Drain. Yes, he knew those effects well...

He's there just in time to see them both raise their guns, and it's then that something in his mind shifts. No questions, just survival and protecting and a card appearing in his rapidly clenching fist and oh gods he needs to act and now.]

IZANAGI!!!

[He clenches the card tight --

CRASH.

Izanagi-no-Okami comes to life with a roar, his cracked mask showing the same concentrated frown on his lips Yu's wearing as he hovers right toward Naoto, shielding her while twirling the oddly-shaped naginata in his hands. All of this is just-- is just too...

... Yu holds out his hand toward them, guiding his Persona to using Megidolaon. Whether it hits or not, he won't let this continue. Not when--]

What the Hell do you think you're doing?!

[...he's so livid, he's cursing and raising his voice into a scream almost exactly like he had at Yosuke a grand total of once before. And yes, he is indeed seething... almost asking for one more reason why he should strike again before thinking better of it and taking several more steps closer.]

[get_bent]

Dammit get--

[He can't say more as the shots begin to fire from both sides and he clasps his chest, trying to somehow move the blood away from his lungs so he can get a few more precious minutes of life just to know that she'll be safe...that she'll be okay...somehow he's managed to drag himself by sheer determination close to her. If he has to use his lifeless husk of a body so she doesn't get shot he'll...]

S-senpai?

[His voice is weak, questioning. He can't really see Yu anymore, just hear his voice. His leader's arrival couldn't be timed better. He was starting to panic, not wanting to have Naoto die here as well. She was very strong, but along against him...

He feels dizzy. Kanji's vision is getting blurred and he can't raise his hands as high enough anymore to wipe away at it. Yet he forces himself to cough again as fresh blood lands on the floor so he can laugh, attempting to look at Minato.]

Heh heh. Now you're screwed. N-naoto and Senpai on you? Y-you ain't got a chance in hell, asshole.

[Kanji's trust in his friends is absolute. That's about as much as he can say before he feels a cold chill in his body and his hands start to shake. Damn it! Must be all the blood loss finally catching up to him. His brain is struggling keeping oxygen in his entire body. The pain in his leg feels like a footnote now that his entire body is both shivering and burning up.

But he doesn't mind dying if the both of them get away. Feebly he raises his hand again and orders Dairoku Tenmaou forward to just tackle at the other's persona, unsure where it is, but hoping his own brute's weight and eyes can do it on its own. Dairoku Tenmaou looks like a silhouette in static by now, reflecting Kanji's own remaining strength.

Yet both user and persona won't stop until until they draw their last, painful breaths.

The cry that they give out sounds like a warrior's swan song.]

[deatharcana]

[ No, he didn't need words; at this point, if he died, he would be unable to continue doing what was necessary. He narrowly avoids the bullet Naoto tries to fire into him before he finds himself assaulted by Izanagi-no-Okami's Megidolaon. It sends him damn near FLYING into a wall and it's a good thing his Persona is what it is or he would probably have passed out had it not caught him. The pain is something else, though. Unfortunately he seems to be quite close to dying. Yet he stands.

Again, and again. Though he does not heal himself this time--

Oh dear.

... He's hurt, but he just won't give up. If he hadn't been wise enough to make sure he'd gone into this well-equipped and ready... he'd probably be dead. Yu will be a tough opponent; his cold gaze settles across the hall as he recovers from the Almighty spell, somehow still determined to just get back up every single time. When he finally makes his way back to his feet, he doesn't smile. His expression is almost... lifeless. There's an overwhelming tingling sort of feeling in the air, the sort of thing that makes your hair stand on end.

For now he's observing the situation, dull, emotionless. The odds aren't in his favor, here...

He should retreat soon. Thanatos assures him he is doing what is right and so he speaks through it-- ]

... Everyone's time is running a bit thin...

[ ... Someone being off Suppressors hasn't helped his situation much, either. ]

Are you afraid of what lies beyond that badly? Childish. It's only... what has to be done. It could have been peaceful, that end.

[ But Kanji ruined that himself. ]

[pitiedthefool]

[Yu nods faintly at the quiet questioning, not stopping as he moves ever closer to the two present members of his team. With a flick of his wrist, Izanagi returns to being a card and changes to the form of Isis. He has no idea if it'll work, but he has to try a Mediarahan spell while they were all still breathing. (Too bad he doesn't have Samarecarm right now... shit.) ]

Kanji, don't-!

[The silent horror in his face isn't so silent anymore, and there is something rather deadly and cruel about the look in his eyes when he hears the thud of the Strega leader hits the wall, how much outrage there is he stands anew. Though he can sense it even against the sparks of electricity threatening to overtake him. With a flick of his wrist, Izanagi-no-Okami returns to being a card and changes to the form of Isis as his own words come to mind...

'...No one else is going to die because of me.'

Because he'd made a promise to the others once... and now it looks like he wasn't going to be able to keep it. He has no idea if it'll work, but he has to try a Mediarahan spell while they were all still breathing (Too bad he doesn't have Samarecarm right now... shit.) before turning to Arisato with the same look he'd given Adachi all those months ago.]

It's only running thin because of your own actions, Arisato. [Was that a flicker of worry-?] Tell me; have you taken your pills since we returned?

[Forget answering the question, because now it's Mada's turn and with it, the threat of Agidyne.]

No one has to die; we'd all come back the next day, anyway!

[The only fact that is likely keeping him from completely losing it, and even so... that cry... Yu nods for Naoto to watch over Kanji, because he wasn't about to let Arisato hurt either of them anymore.

'What's gotten into you...?']