[Open] Live in the Moment

[moribound]

Who: Minato Arisato (With a Koromaru cameo) and you!
When: 6/2 to 6/9 IC
What: Minato has a new companion, and he decides to show him around the block and kick back a little
Rating/Warning: None.


[Minato's not the most avid ViViD player, but he's saved up points here and there having nothing to spend it on, and he can't say he expected his single request to be fulfilled.

At least not by finding it barking from the top of a tree. How did Koromaru even get up there?

Seeing his old friend reminds Minato of happier times right when things don't seem to be looking up regardless, and in taking delight in something as simple as touching Koromaru's fur he feels as if his troubles have lessened- they're not gone, but they feel less like a burden.]

A - 1. Around the city

[Minato's only been able to take Koromaru out at night most of the time before this, and it feels like a nice change of pace taking the Shiba Inu out for a walk in the morning and afternoon whenever he doesn't have work. Those who have spoken to him recently might notice that he seems more energetic, more like his usual self than a few days before this and being unusually chatty with Koromaru.

Approach?]

A - 2. Around the city...park

[That being said Minato might be surprisingly energetic for someone who looks on the verge of falling asleep all the time, but keeping up with Koromaru constantly is tiring and some of their walks take them back to the park where they found each other. The warm weather is inviting and one might find Minato dozing off below the shade with a dog beside him, ears pricking up and getting up when he hears someone approaching.

He tilts his head and watches curiously- what will you do?]

B. Little Sister Cosplay Cafe

[Work still calls though, and Minato's nothing if not efficient even if he has his doubts about two accessories that come with the job. Those visiting the cosplay cafe will find him donning a waiter's outfit, along with a pair of black cat ears and a black cat tail if they look closely. For the most part he's polite and calm, bowing his head as he welcomes visitors.]

Good afternoon...let me show you to your seat.

[But one might wonder if he's a little too quick to get out of sight. Is being formal part of his job?]

C. Arcades

[Last but not least Minato's always been more comfortable with traditional arcades than ViViD, and he might be found here occasionally. He can be seen being intensely focused in trying not to crash a train playing one of them, only to stare flatly at the screen when he fails and mutter something that sounds like it's been the fifth time. Should your character approach he'll sit up, as if he has something to ask of them.]

Do you want to give it a try? There's other games too...we could play together.

[OOC: This is a general catch-all post for March. If your character has significant CR with Minato feel free to discuss other thread ideas if you'd like!]

Comments

[moribound]

Arf arf! [Minato's unfortunately a killjoy at times, and that's Koromaru taking in the new stranger and returning his greeting politely before the pair come to a stop.]

Hey, Hiro. I didn't know you like dogs too...this is Koromaru, and he's a part of my team from home. [His own smile is subdued but he's clearly quite happy to see Koromaru wagging his tail at Hiro.

Hello, new friend.]

[theshiningone]

Ah... Bunnies are my top favorite, but I doubt there's anyone who hates dogs!

[If Minato is friends with a dog, then he clearly wasn't a bad person. That was more than enough for Hiro's case. Really, Hiro loved anything that was cute and fluffy.]

What kind of team are we talkin' here? Superhero team?

[moribound]

More like an execution squad. [That would sound wrong coming from anyone, and Minato's complete sincerity doesn't help things either.]

That's part of the name, anyway...the full name's the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad or S.E.E.S., and we pose as an ordinary high school club. [Which invites the question of what a dog was doing in it in the first place.]

[theshiningone]

Sounds pretty badass if you ask me! ♪

[Being the eccentric "My Pace" oddball that he was... Hiro doesn't even bat an eyebrow that he name and looks more amused instead. It certainly did sound like a superhero group!]

I feel like it's always up to a bunch of high schoolers with attitude who need to go out and do cool stuff. Can't say that I was officially a part of a group, but I did help out this government team called JPs with supernatural incidents.

[moribound]

Oh, we had our fair share of supernatural incidents too. It kind of feels like the world's on our shoulders sometimes, doesn't it? [Minato nods sagely- he might not have watched much anime but it always seemed as if teenagers were doing all the world-saving.]

None of us were working with the government though. It was important to keep everything a secret, since we didn't want people to panic.

[theshiningone]

For us... It was happening all over the world. Stuff like demons killing people was outta of the bag before anyone could make up a cover up story for it. There wasn't even time to do a lockdown since it was happening all over Japan.

[At the very least, Hiro would've assumed that they could've easily make up something like a 'gas leak explosion triggered hallucinations' to explain the demons and the Septentriones attacking people. But when he thought about in hindsight... The world was already nearly eaten away by the Void before they reached Polaris.

Lives were already lost before they finally gotten an idea on what was going on.]

If you don't mind me asking... What kinds of things did you have to fight?

[moribound]

[Minato considers this for a moment before responding with a nod. There's things he's absolutely not going to let on but something like Shadows was hardly classified over here in Cerealia.

Judging by Koromaru's tilted head in their direction he doesn't mind either.]

What we fought were monsters known as Shadows. They're capable of bending space and time, and they were linked to something known as Apathy Syndrome...people would end up being robbed of their will and unable to care for themselves, and only Persona users could fight against them.

Demons, huh...now that you mention it, I wonder if Shadows existed outside of Japan. They usually only come out during a time known as the Dark Hour, and not everyone experiences it- that's why we had to keep our mission and the Shadows a secret at all costs.

[theshiningone]

Yiiiiikes. ♪ That sounded like a hassle to deal with. I'm guessing you were like the Happy Syndrome to cure everyone!

[It was probably more horrifying to example than to speak it. Granted, Hiro was always the type to play down sad or traumatizing things by being silly as always.]

But it sounds like you still had time to do fun things like play video games and chill out. My friends and I crashed at a military base since we were considered 'special', but it was still rough! [As long as they pulled their weight, then they could get luxuries like food and a bed. Even if Hiro thought JPs food was stale on the tongue.]

Just when you thought you had time to relax, we were on the clock again with fixing an issue happening. And don't get me started with the rioters knocking on our doorstep... [Personally, he thought dealing with angry humans were scarier than demons.] JPs wasn't exactly popular with selling girl scout cookies.

[moribound]

They should have sold chocolate then. That makes everyone happy, doesn't it? [Everyone except for Koromaru it seems, who can't have it and is consequently issuing a tiny whine while Minato tries to keep in stride with Hiro's light-heartedness.]

We could fight Shadows and lead normal lives because the Shadows don't attack people as openly as demons do. All the public knew was that cases of Apathy Syndrome would rise and decrease sometimes...what they didn't know was that it was related to the appearance of giant Shadows that appeared only during the full moon. Beating them reduced the cases, but only for a while. [He can hardly imagine how it was like for Hiro...something like that sounds so much worse than what SEES had to deal with.]

[theshiningone]

[Hiro certainly did have a lot of feelings towards those events, but as per usual... He's keeping all the negative feelings boxed in where it couldn't pour out. Though whenever he hears Minato's side of the story... He doesn't feel jealousy or any anger. In fact, he's actually thankful that his world didn't go too down south like his own.

After hearing about events from Naoki's world, he couldn't help and become more interested in how other worlds were liked.]

Correct me if I'm wrong... But it sounds like humanity was going stagnate due to the Shadows being around. [Hiro's voice shifts slightly to a more Saiduq-esque tone. Clearly he's been hanging around his alien bro for a little too long.] While we're at it... Do you know where the origins of these Shadows are?

[Everything had a source. The demons had came from Demon World. The Administrators had came from other worlds and dimensions that Hiro probably couldn't comprehend through his human thoughts... There was one place that Hiro was humoring, but he wanted to hear Minato's thoughts first.]

[moribound]

You starting to sound like Saiduq. [Minato's usually deadpan even when he's joking, but there's little mirth in it considering they were talking about worlds being destroyed and he understands better now why Saiduq has constantly been talking about the potential that people had.]

I think these Shadows come from ourselves. [He pauses thoughtfully, looking at Koromaru from the corner of his eye- he's solemn too, tail still on the ground.] They can only be defeated by a Persona, and a Persona comes from within ourselves...it'd also explain why people with Apathy Syndrome improve whenever a giant Shadow is defeated, wouldn't it? [That had always seem pretty strange, but less so if the Full Moon Shadows were attracting Shadows from people and these Shadows were released again when the giant Shadow was defeated.]

[theshiningone]

Am I? I think he's more confusing in a casual conversation, though. [As if Hiro wasn't confusing and annoying in casual conversations too. For a moment, he stares at Minato and Koromaru with a ghostly smile on his face as he felt a little good that he wouldn't have to break out a horrible truth. Either way, Hiro still sounds lighthearted as if he's solved a puzzle... Though there's some sympathy in his tone.]

... So you were thinking the same thing as I was. Don't you think that's interesting? [Well, interesting to him given how he's been walking among humans and observing them for only a little bit. Hearing this was sad too, in a way. He's seen the darkness in humanity even within the closest of his friends and allies.] The monsters that you've been fighting come from the darkness within a person's heart. If heroes like you weren't around, I'm sure your world would be in a far crappier position.

[In fact, Hiro had to wonder if it would've become the "hell on earth" that Yamato mentioned if they had gave six billion humans the power of the Administrative Authority. For sure, Hiro knew that there were some good people in the world. But he wasn't oblivious to the bad ones either...

"If a human became a Shadow, then wouldn't that make them no different from a demon?" is what Hiro thinks, but doesn't voice out right.]

So don't make such a sad face. You've already accomplished a lot with your friends, haven't you?

[moribound]

Is it? I just thought that the Shadows had to come from somewhere, and there had to be a reason why only Persona users could defeat them. [He smiles faintly then, a wry and subtle quirk of the lips.

He remembers what Ryoji had said, that The Fall might not have happened were there more people like him and his friends...regardless of how things have ended, he'll never regret the time spent with them or what he did. Koromaru seems to think the same too judging by his affirmative bark.]

But it's true that we've accomplished a lot together...and I'd like to do it with all of you too.