heelturned

[heelturned]

gooselullaby:

         “–Ai-oneechan?”

          What was she doing here? Nanako could only assume she was taken without permission as well as herself, but still…she hadn’t expected to see her here! Nanako expected Ai to be home, where it was safe. Where she wanted to be. If anything, she seemed to be coping well with everything going on. She wasn’t afraid of all the rain like everyone else was, and she wasn’t showing any signs of fear given all the events that had just taken place. Even with the bracelet timer ticking down on both of them.

         “Okay. But Big Bro is here too, so we don’t have to worry. He’ll make everything okay.” If anyone could make anything okay, it would have been him. He was good at that. And with him here, there’d be no need for Ai to worry either. Walking over to her so she was standing in front of her, she smiled. It was the best thing she could do in this situation to let her know she was okay and that she was managing.

“Yu-kun’s here?” Ai brightened visibly. Count on Yu to be reliable. If she had to be stuck here with somebody, Yu wasn’t a bad choice. His presence had a calming effect that Ai was almost inclined to believe he had the power to make things better true to Nanako’s innocent words. If it was anyone else, she would have simply rolled her eyes.

“Of course! Your big bro’s helped me out of a pinch before, you know. I thought he was just like any other guy at first, but he’s surprisingly reliable. I don’t know where I’d be without him.” And that was high praise coming from someone like Ai. Maybe it was their dire circumstances or maybe it was because she was speaking to Nanako, she was more comfortable admitting that he’d helped her a great deal.

 “Where is he, anyway? You’re not scared wandering around by yourself?” Walking alone certainly gave Ai the shivers, and even now she had to glance over her shoulder to make sure that creepy bunny wasn’t around.

[heelturned]

@gooselullaby

“Is that you, Nanako-chan?”

There was no mistaking Yu’s little cousin, though it caught Ai by surprise to see someone she knew here. To think right after that serial killer case had been solved, a kidnapper was now running around Inaba. Seeing someone as young as Nanako taken hostage made her furious to the pit of her stomach.

“God I can’t stand these people! They think they can pick on whoever they want, well once the police bust this place...!” Not that she had any idea who did this, but no way she was going to believe it was the work of a rabbit. She also had to keep convincing herself someone would come for them. “Don’t worry, Nanako-chan. You stick with me.” She’d look after Yu’s little cousin and get him to owe her a favor later. Just kidding. Ai might be prickly, but she wasn’t heartless.

[heelturned]

@gamenu

“Why won’t it work?!” Like any sane teenager who found themselves kidnapped, Ai automatically pulled out her cell phone and tried to dial the police. Normally she wanted nothing to do with them, and was careful to keep out of sight when she was skipping school, but now she desired nothing more than to see a uniformed officer march in here and arrest that talking rabbit.

Of course, there just had to be no reception. Scowling, she turned to the nearest person.

“Let me see your cell phone.”

[heelturned]

@ayumi-yoshida

It was no surprise being trapped here was starting to drive Ai up the wall. Hearing voices in her head had only made her extremely jumpy, which was why she seized up when she heard someone move behind her. 

“Geez, you scared me! Don’t sneak up on people like that.” She ran a hand through her hair, breathing out a sigh of relief when she saw it was only a child. One who looked as startled as she was. Her sour expression softened. “Hey, uh, you doing okay?”

[heelturned]

*dusts off blog* It’s been a while since I touched Ai so I’m in the process of revamping this blog but to kick things off again hit like for a starter!

[heelturned]

Hiatus 7/31 - 8/14

Just a post to say that the mun is alive, just spread thin between blogs. The next two weeks will be busy for me as friends will be visiting and I’m wrapping up my summer job, so I will be taking a hiatus from PCRP. I have plans for the blog in the future and there is so much I want to do with Ai (for one, develop her past the point of her whining to her getting serious). So, I’d like to come back to her when I get time. See you then! 

[heelturned]

“Don’t...don’t come any closer.” 

Ai suppressed a shudder that had nothing to do with the freezing cold ground beneath her. As much as she wanted to be home with a hot warm drink and a change of clothes, forget what had happened here, she didn’t trust Adachi’s intentions and refused to go along with him. But she didn’t want to lay here and die, either! 

That was her dramatic side coming into play. There was little chance of her dying from such a sprain.

“If you’ve really changed like you say then... go call a nurse from the hospital. They can take me there.” Even if it was a demon. She’d concede and trust those creatures over a known serial killer. It was also her way of trying to tell if Adachi had any ulterior motives. He didn’t have to do what she said, but that would prove her suspicions right. 

Remember Me?

[heelturned]

“Is that so...” For a second there, she looked as if she was contemplating his explanation. But Ai wouldn’t be Ai if she didn’t make a scene. 

“Uh-huh. Yeah. I find that hard to believe. You, a high school student, fighting magical monsters by summoning more magical monsters. Did you play one too many video games?” 

Little did she know, her classmates at Inaba had been doing just that. Talk of weapons and weak points and summoning, he sounded like some sort of otaku. Yeah, this was the kind of call-to-adventure that only a geek would enjoy. It would explain why she felt out of her element in this place. Ai had never cared much for video games.

“But...it’s not like I completely disbelieve you.” Was that surprising to hear? Sure, she was skeptical, but she’d also witnessed the magical forces that surrounded them herself. Her first reaction was to scoff, but Ai was willing to let him prove himself. 

 “Alright then...show me. Do that summoning thing or whatever.”

“I think there are different kinds of trust. It’s not that I think everyone here is a good person, but I don’t think where any of us comes from is why we’re good or bad people. And whatever happens in our daily life here, we all agreed to oppose Shadows. In battle, it wouldn’t be in anyone’s best interests to turn on their allies unless they want to threaten the universe with destruction.”

This girl was a piece of work all right. Minato was used to people who were prepared to fight Shadows, even if it was a little uncomfortable. And Kenji, but well, there had been a reason they didn’t talk as much at the end of the year.

“A Persona is a manifestation of your soul. Once you’ve summoned it for the first time, you can use it to fight Shadows; they can be hit with regular weapons, but Personas are their greatest weakness, and the only thing that’s truly effective on anything but the little ones. You don’t need to be a physical fighter to use a Persona; we all made the contract that allows us to summon one when we came here.”

There was the money question: how he knew everything. And she didn’t look like she liked the fact that he knew it all either, despite how ready she was to hear the information in the first place.

“I had a Persona before I came here; where I’m from, Shadows were a real problem already, so I’ve been fighting them for awhile. You learn a few things.”

[heelturned]

Busy weekend here. I'll get to replies later this week! Same goes for my drafts on Rolo.

[heelturned]

“Liar.” He’d killed a reporter and a classmate of hers. One day Konishi was in school and the next day she was dangling from the telephone poles. How creepy was that?!

“That’s what you want me to think so I’ll let my guard down! I’m not falling for it!” Her voice was still shrill as she backed away.  She’d seen how it happened in movies and she wasn’t going to hang around.

Problem was...the only other law enforcement here were the zombie cops. Ai shuddered. She didn’t want to talk to them any more than she did with Adachi. So what did she do? She turned and ran. Ai wasn’t thinking clearly at the moment, only reacting. That must be why she skid on the icy sidewalk (those two-inch heels certainly didn’t help), lost her balance, and tumbled ungracefully onto the road.

“Ugh...”  Her ankle was throbbing. Was it sprained? No, no, no....this couldn’t be happening.

Remember Me?

[heelturned]

Ai didn’t know what those ‘skills’ were and she didn’t want to find out. “If you say so. I’m going to the banquet instead, I’m starving.” That was where most people were. She didn’t feel comfortable hanging out alone with him.

Most of the Medic’s ‘operations’ definitely looked like they could come straight out of a horror movie, that’s for sure! Not that she had a way of knowing that just yet. “I vill. Hafe to find a place to practice my skills, after all.”

[heelturned]

That was a more subdued reaction than Ai had been expecting from Kanji Tatsumi. He’d even tossed in the senpai, although his choice of words made her frown. What exactly did he mean to imply? That she wasn’t tough enough for this?

“What, are you saying I’m not qualified to be here? Go on and say it, you wouldn’t be the first person to think that. Most don’t have the guts to tell it to my face, but I know what they’re thinking.”

Her standoffish attitude reared its head again. Ai acted nonchalant about it, but in truth, she didn’t know if she was qualified herself. As much as the man in the blue room had touted her ‘potential’, the longer she remained here the less she felt capable of the fighting they’d been called upon to do. The other guests she’d spoken with or complained to must be judging her. People always judged. Look at that pretty and pampered girl who’s in over her head. Ai didn’t let it get to her. Let Tatsumi think what he wanted. She’d received her share of nasty words at school that she might as well be immune.

To say that Kanji was surprised to see Ai Ebihara would be an understatement. This was the kinda place for fighters, for people with Persona–and in his mind, she didn’t exactly fit the bill. He really only knew of her from that weird time she and Yu-senpai dated, and when they were kids. He remembered feeling sorry for her, but getting involved wouldn’t have helped Ai’s case at all. In fact, trying to get in the way of bullies often escalated into a worse situation when it was Kanji Tatsumi.

Still, in retrospect, he feels pretty lame for it.

“–Yeah, what of it?!”

Her tone isn’t one he’s unfamiliar with, and he at least handles it better than before. It’s the “shrill girl noise”, the one that meant someone was disgusted or fearful. It still cut into him, made him go a little tense, but he knew better than to lash out. Kanji takes a measured, purposeful breath. He wasn’t scared, he reminds himself. This was gonna turn out alright.

“…didn’t expect to see anybody from school. Definitely not you, senpai.” that was probably the wrong implication to make, but Kanji suffered at times nearly as bad as Yosuke-senpai with foot-in-mouth syndrome. He shoves his hands into his pockets, eyeing her with knit brows. What the hell was with this place? Was he supposed to expect his teachers next?!

[heelturned]

character development asks.

1: Which is worse, failing or never trying?

2: Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?

3: If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?

4: Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?

5: If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?

6: Would you break the law to save a loved one?

7: Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?

8: Do you push the elevator button more than once?  Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?

9: Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?

10: If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?

11: If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?

12: What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?

13: What do you love?  Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?

14: If you were stranded on a desert island, what three items would you want to have with you?

15: If you had a time machine that would work only once, what point in the future or in history would you visit? Why?

[heelturned]

“You’re a detective? It’s not like me to say this, but thank goodness there are policemen here.” Ai thought of herself as someone who could look out for herself, but in the middle of a blizzard with monsters lurking on all sides? She felt safer in his presence. If the police saved the world like they were supposed to, she could go home.

“Wait...I’ve seen you somewhere.” He’d said he was from Inaba. Both his name and his face rang a bell in her mind, and that bell soon turned to alarm. “You were on television and-- oh my god you’re that serial killer! Who let you out?! You should be behind bars!” 

News circulated fast in their small town and the infamous detective that had deceived the police for nearly a year had been the talk of the town. Now that she knew his friendly smile was fake, she started to panic. Who could blame her? He was a killer! Ai stepped back and raised an accusing finger. She was about to make a scene. 

“Some-- Someone! Arrest this man!”

Remember Me?

@heelturned

Oh man, what another boring day in town. Nothing much for Adachi to really do other than walk around in the streets, observing all the demons and other persona-users in their daily lives here.

Wait, was that…

In the midst of a few scattered people, the detective recognized the familiar uniform of a yasogami highschooler. It was a teenage girl, huh. Maybe she was a friend of Narukami’s.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to be from Inaba would you?” Adachi approached the student and tapped her shoulder rather gently.

“I’m Tohru Adachi, I used to work there as a detective!” He smiled, hoping they wouldn’t recognize him as something else…

[heelturned]

Watching the interaction from a safe distance, Ai found the demons less intimidating than she’d imagined and more... well, annoying. They sounded like sneaky little brats playing a game that would have you tear your hair out. She lost her patience just listening to the exchange, so she had to give the guy credit for playing along until they had their answer. 

"Finally! Who put them in charge of this place? They’re no help at all." 

She’d gone back to the sniping, but at least that meant she wasn’t scared of them anymore... With the directions, they soon reached a room with a flickering fireplace and Ai took off towards the flame to soak in its warmth. Then she sunk onto one of the lounge chairs with a content sigh. "Much better." 

Now that her needs were taken care of, Ai began to take notice of the man who'd asked for directions. For one, he wasn't Japanese.

"So, who are you and what's with that getup?"

Having just arrived Daylen was still under a few assumptions. Some of them would ring hollow in the future, like the Velvet Room recruiting those who had fought beforehand. It made sense right? Why would they fish out someone with no real experience in fighting much less against strange creatures?

Ai might have been around while Inaba went to hell in a hand-basket but she’d never had to fight a shadow directly. Perhaps if information like this was privy to the Commander he could obtain a better sense of their enigmatic hosts.

Even with it being a rhetorical question he was still tempted to answer her anyway. There must at least be somewhere out there. Honestly the mage would sit in frustration without any source of constant work to do. Like it or not, it had become his routine by now and breaking it would prove difficult.

Following her lead was easy enough. The two had proceeded down the hall until coming across a Jack Frost in the hallway. Compared to some of the waiters it didn’t seem too threatening but one could never be too sure.

“Very well then. We seem to be able to understand them so this didn’t take too long.”

Politeness never hurt anyone. For now, rather than asking about stores outside he only wanted the fireplace information. The conversation between the two was short but introduced a few facts about the Jack Frost. Number one: they liked to say hee-ho a lot at the end of sentences. Daylen had to assume it was some kind of weird verbal tick.  Number two: they liked to play games. He needed to phrase the same question in a few different ways before actually getting an answer. The demon seemed rather amused by it all.

Even with that frustration he would turn back to Ai, the demon now passing them to go from where they started.

“Down this hallway and to the second door on the right is a smaller room where a fireplace is. There are other such rooms in the lodge, but the creature didn’t know if they were also in use. There do seem to be quite a few of us in number already. Anyway, I’m ready to proceed whenever you are.”

[heelturned]

“I’ve already met one creep that I want nothing to do with. You’d have to be stupid to trust everyone you meet.” Ai scoffed. He was telling her she should work together with a bunch of strangers she knew nothing about? No thanks.

“Personas...I keep hearing the word but it means nothing to me. Besides, how do you expect me to fight? I manage a sports team, I’m not an athlete.”  

And half the time, she wasn’t even doing that. Ai didn’t know martial arts and couldn’t see herself learning anytime soon. She’d get nowhere and ruin her perfect nails. Defending the peace should be a job left to the police. She paused suddenly, eyeing him with a suspicious look. 

“How do you know all this, anyway?” 

Did he really believe all that talk about saving the world? As for Ai, she was still skeptical. What if, instead, this was all an elaborate kidnapping plot? Perhaps that was stretching the imagination, but it could happen. Her parents were wealthy. 

“Does it matter where they came from?” he challenged. “Everyone is here because we’re protecting something. We’re fighting together; everyone’s personal reasons and history is unimportant.” Though even he could admit some of these people (and he used the term loosely) were pretty ugly to look at, that didn’t mean he expected them to stab him in the back without reason.

Minato fiddled with the cord of his headphones, but decided it probably didn’t matter if he shared the fact that a good portion of all of this wasn’t exactly new to him. The attendants of the Velvet Room would have warned him if it would… probably. It was hard to tell with them.

“We’re supposed to fight Shadows and establish social links to make our personas strong. Fighting Shadows isn’t as complicated as it might seem when you first start. Once you summon your persona, it’s almost like you always knew how to but never realized it. And establishing social links is only making sure you have connections with the people around you, which can be tiring but is generally pretty rewarding.” He paused, trying to think about if he’d missed something in his overview, but he wouldn’t exactly call himself a good teacher. “I could explain further, if you’d like.”

[heelturned]

Who was he to take such a high and mighty tone with her? Ai didn’t care for lectures, especially from someone with an inflated ego the size of his weight. Sure she had much to complain about, but that was only because they hadn't bothered to explain anything properly!  

Ai was without a doubt acting childishly. She hadn't accepted the reality of what the contract entailed. She could have used her free time to learn more about the details of their mission, but she spent it groaning. Now that someone was offering to explain things, because of the attitude he’d taken with her Ai refused. 

"I know what's going on. It doesn't mean I have to like it." 

Her tone was snappish, but her hands fidgeted with her hair, hinting at the discomfort she felt inside. The whole situation was a little overwhelming to her, and if she wasn't distracting herself with her complaints, she might start to fear what was lurking beyond the veil.

"If you’re so interested in making progress what are you standing around here for. I don’t see you going after the shadows." 

irrationality (Closed - Ai Ebihara)

The hand that had been gently resting on the lodge’s doorknob to open it - to gauge the snowstorm outside for themselves - halted in any efforts to turn it at someone who did not look too pleased stomping out into the lobby. The stranger seemed fairly irritable, something about ‘how calm everyone was taking this’? She’d signed the same contract they all had, surely she could figure out the specifics, right?

They had been brought to this hotel to help save the world as they promised in the signed contract, simple as that. It was evident the girl saw something suspicious about the matter, with the amount of incessant noise that came out of her mouth. Here they thought Souda was noisy enough, sigh.

“Complaining about this situation in such a childish tone isn’t going to accomplish anything: other than making the other hotel-stayers annoyed, you know. If you absolutely must gain a handle on this situation - I can do you a favour and explain it in a way even the most confused mind can understand.”

Adjusting their glasses with a silent move of confidence, there. Not an ounce of hesitation, either. 

(Thank goodness for all the practise they’d put in on this disguise.)