鳴上 悠 [Narukami Yu] (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pitiedthefool) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
towerofanimus2012-10-04 09:29 am
pitiedthefool) wrote in towerofanimus2012-10-04 09:29 am
011 | ❝Those long days passing by from that door...❞
Characters: Yu Narukami, and you
Setting: Room 2-02 → Floor 13 → Floor 11
Format: I'll match you.
Summary: It's his cousin's birthday, and while she isn't here... he knows that this date has significance for others, too.
Warnings: Silent protags, all the feels... I'll update later.
Once the pumpkins began appearing in the cafeteria, Yu knew without a doubt which month it now was. Knew, yet as he woke up on the fourth day to notice the date... nothing could prepare him for that sucker-punch to his gut.
The fourth of October... Nanako-chan's birthday. If he remembered right, that would make her eight years old were she here. The thought of her being present made him sick to his stomach, too. For someone so innocent to be subject to the horrors of this place, but at the same time, the thought of her being dead and gone and not even possible to one day reunite with her in Yomi where he would have ended up subject to whatever retribution a certain goddess of death and creation deemed fit for how he handled the life and world he and his friends had brought about...
He only paused to change, stare at the family photo he kept framed even when he carried it around, stuck the sword in his belt, and pick up a small package before leaving the dorm unless one of his roommates stop him.
Floor 13
It's quiet in the chapel as usual, and he doesn't mind it at all as he knelt there on the floor, lighting a stick of incense before his family photo. One was there before, but the other...
Yu closed his eyes, praying what was probably one of the simplest desire any older brother could have.
'Please... Let my little sister be happy and safe on her birthday, wherever she may be. May she never have to experience these horrors...even if it means we never see each other again... her safety is enough.'
If there was just one possibility, please... let her be alive somewhere or in a timeline where the world they fought to protect isn't gone...
For some reason, he felt even closer to his Persona as he stood there, a single tear falling down his cheek before no more could come. ...Probably going to be there for a little while, too... since he's also praying for the others. He doesn't know why, but for some reason Aragaki-senpai's name came to mind.... as did Ken's.
Floor 11
For some reason, should one wander to the eleventh floor, one may find a certain bowlcut leaning against the staircase, eyes closed. Had he fallen asleep listening to the roar of the many waterfalls on this floor?
'Can't get my mind out of those memories...Now time to tell them "Don't take my dream."'
...Not likely. More like he just needed the fresh air, and this... was more serene than the crushing emptiness above.
Anywhere else, you can probably find him wandering. Good luck getting him to say much today, though.
and no one ate dinner that night-- i mean whut
Setting: Room 2-02 → Floor 13 → Floor 11
Format: I'll match you.
Summary: It's his cousin's birthday, and while she isn't here... he knows that this date has significance for others, too.
Warnings: Silent protags, all the feels... I'll update later.
Once the pumpkins began appearing in the cafeteria, Yu knew without a doubt which month it now was. Knew, yet as he woke up on the fourth day to notice the date... nothing could prepare him for that sucker-punch to his gut.
The fourth of October... Nanako-chan's birthday. If he remembered right, that would make her eight years old were she here. The thought of her being present made him sick to his stomach, too. For someone so innocent to be subject to the horrors of this place, but at the same time, the thought of her being dead and gone and not even possible to one day reunite with her in Yomi where he would have ended up subject to whatever retribution a certain goddess of death and creation deemed fit for how he handled the life and world he and his friends had brought about...
He only paused to change, stare at the family photo he kept framed even when he carried it around, stuck the sword in his belt, and pick up a small package before leaving the dorm unless one of his roommates stop him.
Floor 13
It's quiet in the chapel as usual, and he doesn't mind it at all as he knelt there on the floor, lighting a stick of incense before his family photo. One was there before, but the other...
Yu closed his eyes, praying what was probably one of the simplest desire any older brother could have.
'Please... Let my little sister be happy and safe on her birthday, wherever she may be. May she never have to experience these horrors...even if it means we never see each other again... her safety is enough.'
If there was just one possibility, please... let her be alive somewhere or in a timeline where the world they fought to protect isn't gone...
For some reason, he felt even closer to his Persona as he stood there, a single tear falling down his cheek before no more could come. ...Probably going to be there for a little while, too... since he's also praying for the others. He doesn't know why, but for some reason Aragaki-senpai's name came to mind.... as did Ken's.
Floor 11
For some reason, should one wander to the eleventh floor, one may find a certain bowlcut leaning against the staircase, eyes closed. Had he fallen asleep listening to the roar of the many waterfalls on this floor?
'Can't get my mind out of those memories...Now time to tell them "Don't take my dream."'
...Not likely. More like he just needed the fresh air, and this... was more serene than the crushing emptiness above.
Anywhere else, you can probably find him wandering. Good luck getting him to say much today, though.
no subject
Hey, sounds like his relationship with his step father. s'all good. :|a He nods again, but this time he actually turns to face her.]...I'd say 'I'm used to it' or 'it gets easier,' but it depends on us.
[After all... how many times had he been left behind? He's lost count.]
At least we have our friends, though. ['I'm glad to count you as one.'] ...I'd like to meet her someday. What's her name?
[Because they must be pretty lucky. Kind of funny how his mind just bypasses 'omg robot' and 'wait robots have families?' when he's like this.]
no subject
[Labrys shifted a little uncomfortably. He didn't know her yet, so...]
I...used to have a lot of 'sisters', I guess y' could say.
no subject
'A lot of sisters'... 'used to'... Well, damned if he hadn't picked up his uncle's 'detective's intuition' as a certain backstabbing asshole had once put it.
You know that curious but understanding look? Yes, that is the one he is giving his friend, now. if she wanted to tell him about it, he'd listen. Would probably be a good distraction.]
1/2
[Labrys shifted her weight from one foot to the other, hands fidgeting. She hadn't really talked about it much herself as much as it had been her Shadow, so words were a little difficult.]
There was a whole series of us--I was Unit #031. And the thing is, I guess to determine which of us was most suited for fightin'...
[Fidget, fidget. Labrys didn't seem like she quite wanted to make eye contact, though she was making an effort not to look away.]
...I destroyed 'em without even really thinkin' about it back then. But there was one who was always really nice to me, #024. Her personality was developed way more than mine was back then, and every evenin' we'd meet up and just talk about stuff. Nothin' huge, just...about the sky or the water or a dog she found walkin' around.
no subject
It wasn't too long after that the scientists in charge a' the whole operation called off the testing. Guess they musta come to a conclusion, 'cause they named me Labrys after that.
I told #024 the next night, 'cause I thought she'd be happy everythin' was over. I was--I thought it meant we wouldn't haveta run into each other in the testing chamber. Thinkin' about it now, she musta known how it was gonna go after that. I was kinda...stupid.
[She looked at her own restless hands, unable to keep eye contact after that.]
...The last experiment they did was to get rid of the extra units. The ones that weren't gonna become Labrys. So they...stuck us back in the combat testing room. And it just came down to...me and #024. I begged 'em to knock it off, but nobody listened to me. And she knew it'd haveta be one of us, s-so...
[Funny, really. She had to admit the scientists almost had a point on one thing--heart or not, why build a robot with the capability to cry? Labrys's vision blurred and she quickly wiped at her eyes; he at least deserved to know who he was friends with. So she had to finish.]
So it was me. It was always me, y'know...? I killed all my sisters, even #024. Until I met Aigis when she came t'get me outta the TV, I thought maybe I was the only one left at all.
I guess what I'm tryin'a say is...I dunno. I ain't really got any idea what it's like to have a real family, but I guess I know what it's like not to.
1/2
But because of a labyrinth and being forced to kill one another. Watching friend after friend die right in front of him, being forced to defend himself over his friends. Of feeling the blade and magic strike in from behind. Yet... that wasn't all...
The memory of the prison cells was the strongest. Because he had to sit back and watch day after day for nearly a month straight as, one by one, they were pulled out and paralyzed just to be experimented on. Watching little kids be turned into monstrous forms, seeing his friends (no, family) suffer, and trying to do all they could to struggle and fight it...
And then... his own sins...]
no subject
After all those people you saved, now you know what it's like to take a life. You enjoyed writing that name down, reveled in the sickening crunch as metal met skull. After all, they took away a friend... and you cut them down with ease. You won... It doesn't matter because death's temporary here, right?
...Finally, he finds his voice again.]
... Before I first came to Inaba and moved in with my uncle and his daughter, I moved around to many different cities because of my parents' work. Usually in spans less than a few months at a time. I'd just start getting settled when it was time to leave for the next relatives' house. So before I met the Dojima's... I didn't really have anyone I could call 'family' or somewhere to call 'home'.
I didn't know what it was like for a long time, either... and when I finally did and was forced to leave them behind...
[He remains silent for a moment longer, fists clenching into tight fists before he can practically feel Sraosha and Kohryu nudge him into saying it. And it hurts to, but he knows... he has to say it after what Labrys said.]
...I know what it's like. To have to kill someone you view as a friend because someone decided to play 'god' with your lives.
[To kill... or to be killed...]
This place... is the sight of two of those murders.
no subject
[Maybe here he understood better than he would have back in Inaba--she was both grateful and regretful when it came to that. While she did want someone to understand her, Labrys didn't want anyone else to have to live through the same kind of things she had. It was a heavy weight to carry even for an artificial heart.]
[She reached over hesitantly and delicately put two metal hands around one of Narukami's own; that was something people did to show support, wasn't it? It seemed right, at any rate. Her touch was artificial but not unfriendly, cold without being icy. They were gentle and caring hands that just happened to be made of red and silver metal.]
...I'm listenin', if you wanna tell me.
no subject
He nods once, taking one breath to calm himself.]
...Four months ago, the administrators decided that they would have a little 'competition' to see which of them was the best to 'watch over us.' They rounded up sixty-two of us and led us like cattle into the elevators that first day before abandoning the tower completely. After Ruana, the one in charge for that month, had given us a brief explanation, the sixty-two of us were split into three groups. Some were sent to Dax, some with Riki, and the rest with Jason. Dax's group was the least scathed while Jason's... well, you saw what he caused last month. Though... that was tame compared to that month.
[He frowns.]
You see, Jason enjoys experimenting on the body, altering it to suit his own needs. He did countless surgeries on all those in his 'care,' all while they were still awake and partly able to feel it...most of the time.
[Labrys can likely sense his fist clenching even tighter underneath her hands, but other than that he doesn't allow his emotions to rule him and his tone remains the same. He remembers it all clearly still...]
The others were forced to watch as it all unfolded if they refused to either close their eyes and look away, but when two of our friends were brought to the table... there was no way I could look away, even as I tried to break through the cell bars holding us back to save them. Jason took notice, and he had it so that they modified the way my power influenced me.
"It is alright," they whispered. "It is reality, and you must accept it." ...but I couldn't. I couldn't stand the sight of what they were doing to the others, and when another came up with the idea of death bringing an end to it, I hesitated... because I remembered the story of my own Persona and his sister-wife even in midst of the temptation. I couldn't let Alice kill them all.
...That was when I saw what Jason did to an acquaintance I met in the labyrinth. At that point, I couldn't drown out their voices anymore and when the time came to vote someone off... I wrote a name down. His.
[There is nothing but regret and begrudged acceptance in his voice before he pauses.]
...That was all in the first week. The second was even more horrifying for those unlucky enough to be in Jason's pod. We'd all had enough by that point, and some of us who still had a shred of self-awareness and free will organized a rebellion. It cost me what was left of my power except for the one faint spark of life, and it cost another his entire mind.
[He can't even say what happened to Sayaka... he could still see it in his mind's eye.]
It wasn't long before we tried again, when everyone was gathered. A fellow Persona user and I tried to assault Jason for what he'd done to the others before Ruana intervened. Another friend wasn't far behind, trying to kill one of her friends to spare her from further torment. It got Jason's group disqualified, but the damage had already been done... It only got worse when Ruana assumed control and the others returned to the tower. All but the psychological damage was reversed when we returned as well.
[At last, he finally makes eye contact again.]
That friend who had suggested killing everyone so they could be free from the horrors of that experiment... he lost his only remaining family while we were there and unable to stop her from disappearing. When he left me, he ran into someone else who manipulated his raw emotions and desire to free everyone from the torment of this tower and turned him and one of his team members into his own puppets. I have no idea how many people they succeeded in killing or incapacitating, but we eventually found them here and the only way to stop them...
[Well... Labrys could likely figure that one out on her own.]
no subject
...it really ain't fair.
[Her response was muttered in a quiet and somber undertone, Labrys pausing again before continuing.]
Why's it gotta be like this? What the heck could you've done t' make anyone think you deserve this kinda thing? Why's everybody gotta suffer like this, it just ain't right!
[There was a very specific word choice there, one Labrys probably didn't even notice she'd made. There was a flash of anger in her words, temper flaring in frustration before visibly calming.]
I'm...I don't wanna be an experiment again. I don't wanna hurt anybody anymore, I d-don't...
[She let go of his hand, instead reaching over and putting her arms around his shoulders. Why? Was that something people did? Labrys really wasn't sure, but some basic part of her wanted--needed some form of contact, needed to be able to give and receive some measure of reassurance and comfort. Her vision was turning blurry again, but she didn't bother trying to hide it this time.]
...I'm scared. I'm really--I'd rather just deactivate myself than hurt anybody I like again.
no subject
...Especially with that outburst, holy-]
...It isn't-
[Yes, he did catch that wording... and it makes him wonder just what all his future self said to her before they had to part ways back home. Yet he doesn't voice his curiosity, instead deciding to focus on her emotional and mental state. Especially if she was clinging to him now, and with her choice of words in confiding in him...
He doesn't hesitate to wrap his arms around her, either.]
I don't know, and I know there are some choices I've made that I'm not proud of... but whether it's wrong or right, I'd rather face it than live a lie.
[Like he nearly chose once by throwing Namatame in...and not telling the others he suspected Adachi.
'No one said reality was fair... but that's what we chose.']
It's alright to be scared. ['I am, too.'] Just don't forget you aren't alone, here. We'll all face this together.
[Like they faced every challenge that came their way... and he'll count whatever their future selves went through to save Labrys with what he remembers. They were friends, after all--it counted in his book. Though what she said last weighs heavily on him, and while it may not be exactly the same as death- it scared him that she would do something so drastic.]
Don't deactivate yourself, Labrys...
no subject
So what if it happens again? I'd rather be a pile a' scrap metal than kill anyone else.
no subject
There's always a way to fight it. What we all managed last month said that much, and you know... I'd be willing to bet that if another situation like that arrives, we'll find a way out of it too. We were able to do so much already, right?
[He loosens his grip slightly, mostly in an attempt to look his friend in the face.]
...We did it last year, too. Back in Inaba.
no subject
[There was a sudden expression of guilt on her face. Her Shadow had put them through all that, and...it was something they'd already done?]
i thought i tagged this, sorry ;__;
[Kunino-sagiri was a bitch, and he does try to explain that, as he retells the circumstances calmly as he can. How he was the only one unaffected, how the others couldn't control their bodies and that he had to keep fighting as he dodged their attacks. Not an easy feat with Yukiko's Agidyne, just saying.
Don't give him that look, Labrys. They all had fights similar to what may come about in their futures, yes... but every fight is different.]
Please don't give up because of people like those in charge.