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Going over notes.; [Literally anyone and Ren.]
Topic Started: Jan 10 2017, 08:28 PM (171 Views)
Wagoo

What of that one, passing through?

Please stop this.

Come now, aren't you at the age where you should be sowing your wild oats? Do yourself a favor, and enjoy the... landscapes before you, if you refuse to be personal with them.

Come on, this is important.

That is true. But you cannot deny my truth, and my truth is a sibling to time. It shan't wait for you.

Ren Taira tried to sigh, but instead yawned. Judging by his Persona's behavior, Aesop also seemed to represent a more delinquent side of him. The boy's current state of tiredness was proof of that, but in order to safely look at Bedlam, caution had to be put first. As of now, the teen was looking at screenshots of various threads of the forum, and was starting to rapidly put together a picture that told all too well that Ren was dragged into a mess fit for an Atlus game.

In the 2000s, Nagashima had issues with the disease of Hoculus. In 2003, that all went dormant, and the facility transformed into what it was today. The head scientist, Yoko Yamaguchi, had gone and turned into a very powerful monster, and seemed to have two other lackeys (Aesop was disappointed when Ren googled a revolver for the Persona, expecting something far cooler for one of the lackeys). There were also two others that had been transformed- a swordsman named Tsurugi, and a lady that Ren could only remember the nickname of- a Ms. Gold (though he was fairly sure the two were in a relationship at some point). Now, it seems like the Persona users could dig down into the bottom of the facility, but multiple deaths and the general danger of all sorts of unstable people gaining superpowers had halted progress for the most part. One of the former leaders (Ren still didn't understand why Kaede put the name right there online) was apparently still around, but refused to lead for one reason for another.

Yamaguchi was doing a good job. Whatever was going on in the facility that caused people to wind up in parallel universes, the Persona users had only found scraps of logs. They didn't even find out Yamaguchi's name until just before the school year started!

That was what worried Ren the most. The majority of people involved were still in high school, with college students and actual people with jobs being spread out thin. Ren wasn't sure what to do about it all. It seemed like he could walk away, but the moment the thought entered his mind, Aesop belittled and berated him. And if he did decide to investigate, he would have to get out under the thumb of his overprotective parents for good in the daytime.

So as the boy leaned against the wall that Sunday next to the women's restroom (Ren's mother was currently dealing with some particularly nasty issues), looking cleaner than usual but still with heavy bags and untamed hair, he yawned. He couldn't focus, and it wasn't just because Aesop was ogling the occasional passerby, regardless of gender.

He was alone, and didn't know the first thing about how to make contact with the others beyond that Kaede either was or still could be a student at Taiyoutono High School. Everything else was a roll of the dice.
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Sylia
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Alien Lifeform

"You look like someone with the weight of the world on their shoulders, Nanashi Fate-kun." Came a voice from his side.

Standing there with a smirk on her face was the woman he met before, Reika. She seemed to be staring through him for a moment before her eyes focused on him. "Anything interesting happen recently?" She asks, then tilts her head for a moment. "Also, why are you waiting outside the women's bathroom? Waiting on your girlfriend maybe~?"

She chuckled lightly, but she was mostly curious if her guess was correct about him. Maybe he's been to the ruins already and is trying to come to terms with it? She mentally thinks. It'd be interesting for sure and make her consider that her hypothesis was mostly correct. Somehow.. people are drawn to Nagashima and even then, they end up in the ruins before long.
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Wagoo

Hm, this one seems interesting.

Please Aesop, I need to go over this, it's important. I'm not going to learn more about pathology or Personae by ogling someone.

Ah, but she is ogling you.

What?

Ren looked up, left hand falling to his side. The grip it held on his phone was firm, but that didn't stop Ren from inadvertently letting it go and having it clatter to the floor, only avoiding damage courtesy of its case. The reason for this slip-up (combined with his expression being akin to when one learns their spouse has an unwanted pregnancy) came in the form of Reika Kurenai. The very weird counselor lady was right there.

Warning bells went off inside Ren regarding the lady calling him no-name. It took a few seconds before Ren responded, first sputtering out, before his tone settled into someone that really did not want to speak to them, and was probably somewhat concerned to be near their presence, despite Ren putting on another all too fake smile. "Ah! Ehm, Kurenai-sensei! Interesting to meet you here... again," the boy finished timidly as he ran over everything in his head. Aesop could be heard making an annoyed sound, and a gulp came from somewhere in Ren's mind. "Ehm, what are you, uh, doing here... today?" His smile couldn't look any more fake as Ren forgot his phone, lying right up front of his left foot.
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Sylia
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Alien Lifeform

"Oho? Did I catch you browsing porn?" She jokingly asked as she leaned down and picked up the phone. She took a second to tap open an unusual folder, her eyes narrowing when she realized what she was seeing. "Aaah.. so you've been there, I see~"

She smiled sweetly; almost like the cat that cornered a mouse. "No need for fake pleasantries as I know exactly where you've been." Reika speaks as Fafnir shimmers into view briefly before vanishing. Handing his phone back to him, Reika continues to speak. "I take it you're doing your research? That's good. Not many do."

"You could say I'm doing some research of my own." Reika says, leaning in close as her hand presses against the wall behind him. She was close. Uncomfortably close when you get right down to it. Her smile and her eyes seemed to tell him he was wrapped up in something he might not be able to get out of. "Y'see, I've been watching all the new arrivals as well as people who lived here for a certain time. It seems that people are drawn there.. how? I've not figured that out aside from the butterfly you might remember seeing."

"So! What will you do with the information you have now? Walk away? There's still time for that. You could forget everything you saw and never set foot there again." Reika says, almost whispering in his ear. "Or.. you could stay and see how far this rabbit hole goes~"
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Wagoo

"E-excuse me!?" Ren offered, flustered and really not wanting this weird lady to see his blatantly open screenshots of Bedlam a swipe away. Then, Kurenai knelt down to pick it up. W-wait, don't! Eh-I cahn geht it!" he spouted out, his accent slipping and turning into definitively Okinawan.

Unfortunately, it was not to be. Reika didn't find the porn that she teased, but she did find the Bedlam screenshots. And from there, things changed. Kurenai knew what Bedlam was- and then it appeared, briefly. Ren's face could not get any paler in that moment, and his theater mask ended up being held in his left hand, gripped so tightly that blood was starting to trickle down. His expression was of someone awaiting crucifixion, and seeking some sort of answer to a prayer, neither of which would do anything.

Aesop's response was decidedly more to the point, and the Persona seemed to view it all as an eventual joke. If both are who I believe they are, then you have nothing to fear. I have dealt with that before, albeit I was not the first. Now, respond to her compliment about research.

"I, Ah- Ah dohn't knohw anything. Allh this coulhd geht me killehd... I think." Ren was struggling to return to his Tokyo dialect as he shakily took his phone and brought it to his pants pocket, far too unable to focus enough to get it back on track for awhile. Her smile came across as too creepy, like a hunter who had just caught it's prey, and it left him feeling as if he had to run, but refusing to do so in order to avoid trouble with his parents.

Then, Kurenai moved close. Too close. Ren's eyes darted about. Some passers-by did turn their heads, but nobody was going to stop to help him. Ren was stuck here, and he would have to continue this conversation. What Kurenai stated told Ren his clumsiness had put him into a pit that he would have a hard time climbing out of. "There... the reahson forh Philemohn seehms to be frohm something... Yamaguchi-sensei?" Ren shakily stated. "Wha... whateverh she did, I dohn't think Personae woulhd be parht of it." His voice was continuously shaky, and perhaps the boy was starting to feel weak in the knees, if his wobbling form seemed to be a sign for anything.

A needed choice of words, yes? Either Aesop was all too glad to be vindicated, or Ren was relieved to have an excuse to confront the issue head on via Kurenai's question. But the rest of Ren had something break at that line. "I... Ah, I.... The boy slid to the ground, starting to cry. Ren clearly couldn't handle the pressure of the decision, all things considered. Aesop, for his part, stated a few choice words that made it very clear that Ren needed to man up and pick.

"I... I want this gone. I never wanted Aesop here. I don't want to know that monsters live in a mountain next to this city. I want it gone and forgotten, stripped away...." Ren had managed to slip back into a Tokyo dialect, but he looked like a crumpled scarecrow with nicer clothes. The question may not have been the smartest to bring up, it seems.
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Sylia
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Reika casually watched as the boy seemed to literally come apart at the seams due to her words. Even his dialect changed for a bit to an okinawa one, making her raise an eyebrow curiously. Stepping back away from him, Reika chuckled lightly. "There is no shame in running away." Reika spoke, her tone growing soft but firm. "If you wish to flee from all of this, by all means do so. But some things are just fate. No matter how far you run and how much you clog up your ears.. you may have to stand and face it."

"Your's is an unknown fate right now." Reika continued with a rather calm expression should he look up at her. "What you do to change it is your issue. Even if you ignore the ruins, you are still a persona user and thusly warned to not use your power in public lest you be lynched or worse. Hahaha, that'll be the day! Though.. being vulnerable to physical attacks? Ouch."

Turning her head to a girl down the hall after being called to, Reika waves to her and holds up one finger to gesture that she needed a minute. Should Ren look, he'd notice that it was Sanae from school. What was she doing with Reika? Who knows? "Mark my parting words well, young man. What you do from now on will not only shape your fate, but the fates of those you meet." She says, smiling a little. "Change your Nanashi Fate into a known one. We'll be in touch."

With that, Reika walked off towards Sanae, whom if he looked, she gave the girl a kiss on the cheek and walked off holding hands with her. Was she...? Nah, couldn't be! ...Could it? Either way, she left some interesting food for thought for the young man. What did she expect out of him? Something? Anything? Or was she merely toying with him?
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Wagoo

"What is going on here?"

Before I return to this line, it must be stated that if not for the timing of actions, Kurenai would have been in deep trouble for giving someone's kid a breakdown. Ren would also have been in trouble due to having to explain the facility and all manner of wrongness within to his parents, but the tradeoff at the time would have been worth it. There likely would also have been, among other things, a loud argument, a scene made in front of the bathroom, and Sanae would have been left wondering why her therapist was in a shouting match with a random housewife.

Of course, Reika walked away after the damage had been done, and avoided getting into an altercation with Mrs. Taira. So when Mrs. Taira walked out and saw her son on the floor crying, Ren still was able to keep secret about what had happened.

So, when Mrs. Taira questioned "What is going on here?", Ren answered that he swore he saw someone that looked like one of his mysterious kidnappers. The day became a slog, with Mrs. Taira phoning the police, and the two immediately going to the apartment, where the police took a statement from both of them.

That night in bed, Ren lay thinking, not knowing to do with himself. He did know one thing however.

He was not cut out to receive a Persona. All he was cut out for was learning as much of the story as he could.
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