011 | ❝Those long days passing by from that door...❞

[pitiedthefool]

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

Comments

[fuhgeddaboudit]

[She already knew he wouldn't reject her once he knew the truth--there was no fear of that. What made her nervous and uncertain was actually speaking of the past her Shadow had taunted and provoked her with.]

[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.

[pitiedthefool]

[He blinked when he felt and then saw the two met hands placing them over his own of flesh and bone, recalling the time he felt two other metal hands had draped their cloak over his shoulders. Back when he had to face the consequences of his actions... Oddly enough, it's still just as comforting as a human hand.

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.]

[fuhgeddaboudit]

[Labrys didn't answer for a long time. Really, what could she say? That seemed even worse than the kind of things she went through, and for some reason the word 'labyrinth' made her visibly wince. But...no, it was okay. They could find their way through the literal and metaphorical labyrinth that was this tower as long as they were together--that must have been why she had Ariadne.]

...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.

[pitiedthefool]

[The tower has a history for making things seem worse. Really though, he tries to stay more on the positive side... It's just hard to on days like today even though he shared the same thoughts on making it through that Labrys likely did. She just seems like that kind of person, with such a warm heart - literal or mechanical didn't matter.

...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...

[fuhgeddaboudit]

...Even if we're together, what's it mean if we might end up hurtin' each other? It'd be easy for the people runnin' this place to do somethin' like that.

So what if it happens again? I'd rather be a pile a' scrap metal than kill anyone else.

[pitiedthefool]

[It's a good thing that she can't see his sad smile right about now, because the only thing that is crossing his mind right now is that she's kind of lucky. Because even if he had to, he can't. Literally. He can't hurt someone else unless they threaten the safety of others. Stupid. absolute. orders...]

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.

[fuhgeddaboudit]

Wait, you had t'-...

[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 ;__;

[pitiedthefool]

...Sort of.

[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.