Aftermath [Open to all]

[imperialsun]

Characters: Naoya Toudou and you (all of you)!
Setting: Various Floors, the Dorms
Format: Starting with prose, but I'll match you
Summary: Naoya has his own ideas about the tower, makes plans, goes patrolling, is a typical protagonist.
Warnings: PROTAG.

Dorms & Note

There was a single piece of paper taped over the lowest level, just before you entered the tower levels:

If you want to join patrolling, please leave me a message in room 01-08. If you need weapon practice, I can aid you there as well.

-Naoya Toudou

If you went to talk to him in his dorm, you'd notice that the room was cramped; for some reason there were five of them along with a large arcade machine in the back. Usually, he'd be playing if he wasn't sleeping and happend to be in his room.

Night Patrol (any Floor)

Despite the events that had happened the last week and the talks with Jin, Naoya was still dutifully doing what he could to aid the others. The year he had passed in the tower had strengthened him in ways he hadn't truly realized until the month hit him; and he realized how much lighter his sword had become over time.

When the night creatures bumped, Naoya simply bumped back as best as he could. Rather he have to deal with his own death by the tower hand's, than someone else's if he could help it. Jin had been right in that respect. Once you accepted that death wasn't completely permanent, it did open up a lot more possibilities; both trivial and allowing for plans that could be considered borderline insanity.

But he was who he was. He'd continue to have hope, no matter what the tower tried to throw at him. Even a year later, he was still a wall. And with both a long katana in one hand and a submachine gun slung over his other shoulder, he looked ready for war.

Floor 29: Maze (Closed to Chidori)

Even Naoya could appriciate a little piece and quiet. The twisting hedge maze meant that most people favored the meadow rather than here, and after fighting the Night Queen, Naoya was rather patient enough to know when to enter here (early morning) and how to get out.

For now, he was content sleeping outside of the maze, in the large garden.

Floor 77: Sauna

While he had enjoyed being here before, Naoya had noticed the increased watchful eyes of the worker units. Well, he had his own thoughts about that, and wasn't going to share them here, that was for sure.

At least the sauna still made a good place to relax, despite the increased "security". If you saw him, he was in the mixed sauna, busy counting up to a hundred...and when that was over, he'd simply do it again.

Floor 73: Snow Castle | OPEN TO ALL

It was cold. That was alright. He had a persona that could help him with that, along with his outfit. The Snow/Night Queen had turned his entire school into a walking glacier before, this was just a little harsher.

Once he got closer to the building, Naoya began to explore the castle in earnest, least he find a clue of its origin, or at least interesting places that could aid him out later...

Floor 19 & 3 - Libraries | OPEN TO ALL

While already have a few books about 3D programming (once again), one could find Naoya looking over the books in deep thought.

A detail he should have noticed that before, and he mentally kicked himself that he had not. In many ways, this was making him even more suspicious...

Floor 14 - Media Room | OPEN TO ALL

There really was no way to remove the nerd from him.

Come inside, and you would easily find one(1) Naoya Toudou busy playing a fighting or an action game of some kind. Modernity had no more secrets from him, now he was used to all the newer games that were after his time, and would gleefully play a racing game whenever he could.

OOC
You are free to bump into Naoya in other levels if you'd like, I am open to anything!

Comments

Floor 29

[floreatnoctem]

After a while, the tower had become too crowded for the relative quiet of the meadow to also guarantee a measure of solitude- so Chidori too had taken to the maze now and then when she wanted someplace quiet and relatively relaxing to sit. It's the first time she's run into anyone else here, and while she'd been supposed to meet Naoya soon, it was an opportunity now for them to talk without any interruption.

How to wake him though...?

Before that though, she considered where they were and what had been going on recently- and she came to a decision. Moving closer, she settled down next to him, knees close to his shoulder, and reached down to touch her fingers to his arm. She closed her eyes, concentrating, and with a deep breath blocked them both from notice. That done, she leaned forward some, her shadow crossing Naoya's sleeping face as she shook his shoulder lightly.

"...Naoya?"

There were other ways to wake him, of course- but this seemed the most sensible.

[imperialsun]

For all the dangerous of the tower, sometimes Naoya managed to slip into a full sleep, dreaming of the days with his friends and the scenarios his mind would come up with. Then the realization that he was still in the tower would wash him over as he awoke. Disappointed, yes, seeing Chidori's face when waking up wasn't a bad thing at all either, he had to admit...

When he looked up, he gave her a smile.

"That was careless of me, I felt into a deep sleep, lost in my dreams. I'm lucky it was you and not someone who would have killed me for the day."

Yeap. For the day. He was basically at that stage in the tower, now.

[floreatnoctem]

The smile was unexpected, but not unwelcome, and she found herself smiling a little in return, fingers lingering on his shoulder where she'd shaken him awake.

"Perhaps next time I'll singe you a little then, so I don't disappoint in regards to the ambiance of the tower."

Though the fact that he's already becoming accustomed to death in the tower doesn't sit well with her- but she brushes it aside for the moment, fingertips trailing idly over his shoulder.

"You should be more careful though. It wouldn't do to have you die an undignified accidental death."

[imperialsun]

"I'll make sure to have Succubus equipped," he replied back, then realized she might not completely understand. "She is immune to fire attacks. But you're right! I didn't realize I had been this tired, I think I've been sleeping for a good four hours."

And considering the tower, this was a breath of fresh air. He did feel a lot better! Sitting up so he was no longer lying down, he looked over to her.

"How are you feeling?"

[floreatnoctem]

"I thought it might be something like that," she murmured, and shifted to one side a little as he sat up, retracting her hand and settling it in her lap.

"How long has it been since you had a decent rest?"

Because if he was tired enough to be sleeping for hours on end in open and possibly dangerous areas of the tower, he might need to reconsider his sleeping patterns. She starts a little in surprise at his question, and takes a moment to think about it properly before asking.

"I'm... alright, I suppose? This last week has made me start to reconsider a few things, but otherwise..." She shrugs, and honestly, it says a lot about her time in the tower that even a week that makes her reconsider her time here only gets that kind of reaction. "Surviving is, I suppose, the best way to put it. But then, that's always been my life, so nothing new in that regard."

[imperialsun]

"All too long," he admitted. Not that he would have ever bothered hiding it. He didn't complain about lack of sleep, just trucked on. "But I'm glad you are alright."

Really glad.

"It's made me think as well...especially with what happened." He left that somewhat deliberately in the open, least they were being listened on again. At this point, he was going to take all the precautionary measures possible.

[floreatnoctem]

"You should take care not to go so long without," came the quiet admonishment, though it's said lightly- much more of a suggestion than she would give to any of the members of Strega. Her legs drew up, arms curving around them, fingers smoothing her skirt over her knees idly as she considered how to continue.

"Things happen here all the time- after a time you try not to show how much it affects you. Sadly, one does not always succeed..."

But it would probably be best not to dwell on that too much at the moment, all things considered. There would be plenty of time to wonder how much things had gotten under Naoya's skin later.

"What about you? How are you feeling- besides sleepy, that is?"

Floor 93

[miseris_socios]

Ken huffs in annoyance at the pack of Neoshadows around him. One leaps at him, but he skewers it mid-air with his spear. He presses his Evoker to his head.

"Dike!"

The armored woman appears, and five of the Neoshadows are surrounded in seals. Three of them disappear, and the rest scatter. He carefully pries the dead(?) monster off of his spear, and kicks it away.

[imperialsun]

Naoya had just been passing nearby when he sees him finishing the creature. He runs down and gives him a small wave, keeping watch around them.

"Good work, Ken."

[miseris_socios]

Ken looks up and nods, putting his Evoker away.

"I wanted to ask you something..."

[imperialsun]

Another look, making sure that there wasn't another monster nearby.

"I remember that conversation. What did you want?"

[miseris_socios]

He's quiet for a long few moments, and then he just blurts it out.

"I need help protecting someone. Nanako Dojima. She's... she's Yu's little sister... but I was trying to protect her when Chidori was... changed... and I... I wasn't strong enough to protect her. So please... please help me keep her safe!"

[imperialsun]

Somehow he should have expected it to happen one day. It was strange to think that just two years ago, before coming here, before he even had a persona, he didn't even know how to move a blade. Now he'd been teaching what he knew to others, but something like this? He had never seen himself as a teacher before...

"Wouldn't it be a better idea to ask Yu?" he replied quite frankly. "I'll do it, but I'm just wondering why you are asking me instead of him."

Third floor

[tohko_amano]

[While recovering from the event and the fact that the Administrators knew about their rebellion plot had been tough, one eventually had to brush off the dust and get back to everything. After all, wallowing in despair wouldn't help anyone, and nor would ignoring library duties.

So, Tohko was back at it, working at organizing the shelves and cleaning up any messes the patrons made. When she saw a boy with black hair looking over the books, she couldn't help but talk to him.]

Good morning! Need help finding anything?

[imperialsun]

[Naoya was idly looking at all the sections when she saw her and gave her a small polite bow. He'd seen Tohko cleaning when he came in, but had gone his own way.]

I'm just looking, thank you.

[He taps the book he's already holding; its a version of the Snow Queen story.]

Do they employ you to work here, or is this on your own time?

[tohko_amano]

[Tohko nodded in return as he spoke and tapped his book.]

Ah, alright then. I'm employed..but I can be found here even after I finish working. The library is one of my favorite spots in the Tower. After all, I am a book girl.

[imperialsun2]

It's best to do what we like here.

[He points to himself.]

Before arriving here, I was studying programming in video games myself. When I'm not patrolling at night, I'm usually in the media room.

[tohko_amano]

[While Tohko didn't know much about video games or technology, that sounded amazing to her.]

That's great! I don't have much skill with programming or video games, so it's good to see someone who does. Hopefully you're able to keep up with your talents here, despite everything.

[imperialsun2]

[Ironically when he first came here, Naoya hadn't known that much either; coming from 1999, what would pass now was still strange to him. But he had been learning for over a year here now.]

I've been for over a year, yes.

[You know, he should actually introduce himself.]

My name's Naoya Toudou.

[eldork]

[ Yeah, there's one teenager who have never witnessed that kind of a game.

Don't mind Els as he eyes you mashing buttons at what seems like a fighting-genre game. Damn, it looks fun! ]

[imperialsun]

[Naoya does play for a few minutes more; just enough to pass the combatant. Once that is done, however, he stops and looks at him, smiling.]

It's a two player game. Do you want to try?

[eldork]

[ Never mind that he actually have no idea about how this thing works, but it looks hella fun SO WHY NOT!? ]

Sure!

[imperialsun]

[Don't worry, Naoya's already way ahead of you and loaded up the tutorial level. You're quite lucky; he's a really patient guy who doesn't complain so take all the time you need to learn the basics.]

Here. This will help.

[eldork]

Cool. Thanks!

[ Wow you're such a bro, Naoya! Els' just going to follow the tutorial step by step patiently. Except his short attention span is quite amazing so by ten minutes he would already forget what's what.

Maybe after the tutorial's done along with Elsword's Chronicle of Buttons Mashing, the guy'll stare with full glint of hopes by his eyes at Naoya. LET'S GET THE PARTY STARTED, BRO. ]

[imperialsun]

[...well he'll find that out later. The tutorial over, they go at the player selection screen.

Naoya couldn't be more ready for this. LET LOOSE THE DOGS OF VIDEO GAME WAR!]