2025-08-13: I Wanted More
- Log: I Wanted More
- Cast: Ichika Kawase, Hyousuke Suzuki
- Where: A park near the Kasugayama Boys' Dormitory, Hirasaka Ward, Sumaru City
- OOC Date: August 13, 2025
- IC Date: June 25, 2012
- Summary: Hyousuke finds himself in the Dark Hour, soon surrounded by Shadows. An Ogre shows up to assist, but something in Hyousuke awakens. ...Questions come later.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
11:58
11:59
12:00
The world has changed. What was an ordinary park near the Kasugayama dormitories is now a horror show; the trees are still trees, but their roots are now dappled in blood. The waxing moon is bright yellow, shining down on the sickly world. The pathways are suddenly ominous, the benches sinister.
And there is movement at the corner of one's eyes.
The Dark Hour can be very disorienting, for a first time visitor. Or even a visitor who's simply slept through it before.
It can be dangerous, too.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
The dorms were stifling. not quite literally - the architecture wasn't so bad as to make breathing a Herculean labour - but each moment there felt like he was being trapped more and more. A school he didn't choose to attend, under circumstances he wished were different... it was little wonder that he decided to get up in the middle of the night, and get some fresh air. He didn't bother dressing up more than was strictly necessary for it, however. Charcoal-grey jogging pants and a plain, black, t-shirt were all he wore, in addition to the hastily-tied trainers he'd wedged his feet into.
It wasn't long before he'd reached a nearby park - a few minutes, by his estimation. Long enough that he'd managed to make it there before the stroke of midnight, at least. There, he leant against a tree, and let out a long, low, sigh into the night air. His breath dissipated quickly in the cool air of the night, and for a moment, he closed his eyes and allowed his mind to focus on something other than his own predicament. The distant sound of cars trundling through the night, the quiet murmur of voices in the middle distance, what little of the skyline could be seen glowing over the nearby buildings...
And then, nothing. Dead silence and snuffed-out lights. Warped images, and shadows creeping at the edges of his vision. Hyousuke righted himself immediately upon seeing it. He didn't realise what was wrong, but with his gut lurching, hairs standing on end, and mind running a mile a minute, he could tell that there was SOMETHING wrong.
"The hell..." He murmured, eyes raking slowly across the park's expanse, hoping to find some clue as to what he'd found himself embroiled in.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
The boys' dorms might especially feel that way. ...but it could just be Hyousuke, too.
But there are no whispers now. The shadows at the edge of his vision become Shadows at the forefront of his vision, melting out of the air.
Little masked creatures, like pools of liquid darkness, emerge and start to show up at Hyousuke. These are no demons, but stranger creatures still.
And there's about five of them.
They start to look around, and then one tuuuurns to see:
Hyousuke. There's a faint susurrus whisper as it starts to advance on him.
"Shiiiiiit!" comes a voice from afar, a girl's voice, though gruff.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
The girl's voice was familiar. Very familiar. Familiar enough that, for a moment or two, it took his attention away from the otherworldly creatures that barred his path. His attention soon shifted back downwards, however, and he backed off a step to try and figure out just what in the hell he was supposed to be looking at. They weren't human, that much was for certain, and he was fairly sure that none of them were a trick of the light or some wayward animal getting a little too curious for his liking. But while he could determine what they weren't, that didn't exactly help narrow down what they were.
He only managed a step or two before his back hit the tree, and with a hissing voice, Hyousuke cursed at his bad luck. He wanted to check out the voice, and if they were in any state similar to his, ask what was going on. But those malformed things seemed intent on closing the gap between them. Hyousuke decided to grit his teeth, and do their job for them. With a roar sent out between clenched teeth, he bolted towards the one furthest to his left, and barged through with whatever force he could muster.
"Out of the damn way!" He shouted, dead-set on pushing through - but willing to throw down if they pushed the matter.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
They are otherworldly; no animal or person moves like this. But when Hyousuke hits the tree, he's trapped... except for the fact that he's willing to push through. Here is how this goes:
His foot brushes one. It is so, so, so cold. A deathly chill threatens to overhwelm him, but his momentum carries him past... for now. The Shadow turns as its goop is puddled around.
But the voice gets louder. "HEY!"
That's when Hyousuke will see it: a girl in riot gear over the clothing of some kind of modern onna musha, with rose patterns and thorns wrapped about her armor. She wears a sturdy mask, which covers her eyes and nose, with a crack near the 'eyebrow' and two long horns sticking out. She carries a heavy shield--
And batters another Shadow with it as she comes into view.
"Hyousuke-kun!?"
He may not recognize her; she's masked, and there's power in that mask.
Either way, she comes to her senses and shield bashes the Shadow to knock it away from her.
"Get back! You can't fight these!"
...But the truth is, it would be helpful if he could; there's a couple more coming from behind her. This, he has no way to know, is a very uncommon gathering of Shadows outside the Tower...
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Cold. His foot was cold. The fabric of his trainer and the accompanying sock weren't especially thick, but it felt like he'd steeped his foot in icy water, rather than exposed them to a stiff breeze. More, while he hadn't expected his attack to do much more than knock them out of the way, there seemed to have been astonishingly little reaction. No backing off to survey him, no guarding or charging forward like any other creature might - they seemed to simply keep advancing on him, ready to do whatever misbegotten deeds they pleased to him. His adrenaline began to build, but Hyousuke didn't care to flee. Between his balled fists and lips curling into a snarl, it was clear from just a glance that he intended to fight.
Before he had the chance, the sound of a shield beating one of their number into submission ripped through the otherwise-still air, and before him was a masked warrior. Again, the voice seemed familiar, but he couldn't place just whose it was. Was it bad memory? Emotions running high? Something else? He cared not. All that mattered to him was that they'd told him he couldn't fight.
"Like hell I can't!" He roared, charging forward again. "Watch me!" Whoever the stranger was, their visiting violence upon the creatures was all the invitation Hyousuke needed to do the same. He lashed out, and with a cry of effort, struck his foot down into the nearest enemy's chest.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Of course he intends to fight. Ichika's somehow not surprised by that--but 'Ichika' doesn't appear to be here. The girl dressed like an Ogre is here. And she's bashing a Shadow.
"Damn it!" she calls. "They're going to kill you if you fight them like a normal person!"
The Shadow the Ogre hit lashes back out at her with hands that turn to claws. They batter against her shield.
His foot is cold again--and this time, the Shadow lashes back out, the same kind of 'claws' rushing forth for him. If they should hit, that cold feeling will spread--an assault on the psyche, more than the body.
"Fuck you!" the Ogre calls. "PERSONA!"
The one that was advancing on Hyousuke suddenly takes a blast of sheer force, tinged in green, as a bigger ogre in a maple-print kimono appears and roars at it.
This gives Hyousuke a moment to recover--but unless he can draw on some Power of his own, it doesn't look good.
...For either of them. There's a lot of these guys.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke's cry of pain lasted for only a split second. The force of the blow was enough to beat the air from his lungs, leaving his reaction as little more than a strained, wheezing, gasp. It was only after the dull thudding of his body against the ground that he managed to recover some air, and funnel much-needed oxygen back into his lungs - but even that was barely enough to force him back onto his feet. What tore through his veins and fuelled his muscles as he staggered upright and met his enemy's eyes was rage. Red-hot and flaring like a wildfire, anger dominated every other feeling roiling beneath lending his eyes a malicious glint, and contorting his face into a bestial snarl.
A voice gave him pause, however. Not hers, not the Shadows', but one that came from within him.
"Your enemies mock you." It said, each word echoing through his skull, clear as a bell despite the adrenaline surging through his body. "The filth stand against you, and seek to lay you low. Are you not insulted? Are you not enraged?" He gave no answer. None was needed. The clenching of his fists, so tight that it turned his knuckles as pale as death, spoke for him. The voice, whether continuing on, or answering him, spoke again. "Strike back against them! Stand against them, invincible and unyielding, and unleash your fury! I am thou, and thou art I!"
The word came to his lips slowly, but naturally. He knew what to speak, as if it had been branded into his mind from the moment he could first think.
"Per... so... na...!"
Light, bright enough to blind, seemed to rip itself from every inch of his body. Its overwhelming brightness was backed by a scream of agony, so loud and so potent that Hyousuke felt as though his throat would tear itself to shreds before his lungs were emptied of what little air they had left. But then, as the light subsided, so too did his scream.
The light cleared, and against the backdrop of murky blackness, stood Hyousuke - and a general of ages past. A mighty hoplite stood tall and proud, spear brandished in one hand, shield in the other, each wrought from bronze that seemed to gleam with radiant light. The man himself was wreathed in armour of that selfsame bronze, his breastplate adorned with markings of some kind, while a blood-red cloak billowed out behind him like a trail of ichor. No face could be seen beneath his helmet, save for the scarlet glow that formed his eyes, glinting amidst the blackness above his neck. Hyousuke did not turn to look at him. He knew this man - this THING - that lent him power.
"Come forth... Achilles!"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Ichika's eyes under her mask dart to Hyousuke, but there's nothing she can do from this side of the battlefield; somehow, she knows that there's no point in using her healing on a normal person. But to her surprise--she doesn't just see a normal guy getting mobbed by Shadows.
She sees rage out of him. And that surprises her.
He calls forth his Persona... and Shadows shrink back or long enough for it to appear.
"Holy shit," the Ogre says when the scream fades and Achilles is there. "...Yeah, I guess you can fight them," she says.
"Momiji!" the Ogre calls. "Shield us!"
Green, healing sparkles descend onto Hyousuke and Ichika both, restoring their vitality. From there, Ichika grins--and there's a sense of motion, as she looks to Hyousuke.
The world Shifts.
"You're up, guy. Tear them apart!"
The Shadows rush Hyousuke, three at once, the back line of two already coming up behind them.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
No words were given as a response. No witty repartee was sent back, nor any grand speeches - simply a short, sharp, warcry, tearing into the night like a thunderclap. The sound of metal embedding into one of the shadows followed a moment later. Achilles, quicker than a blink - certainly quicker than any mortal eye could follow - had tossed the spear like a bolt from the heavens, and struck a Shadow through its chest. Hyousuke himself surged forward with blinding speed, guard up and body low, the very image of a boxer going in for the killing blow.
His fist struck first, the impact drawing out a dull thud as he beat against the mask. Achilles attacked after, striking down into that same spot with the point of a razor-keen xiphos. The force alone would have sent the creature back, were it not for the fact that it was impaled halfway down that length of steel. It was only freed when Hyousuke cannoned his foot forward into a push-kick, while Achilles withdrew his blade with a single, clean, motion. The third advanced - but moved no further than what Hyousuke allowed. A deafening clang rang out as shield collided against shadow in a brutal mirror of the Ogre's opening blow.
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
One, two, three--a Shadow speared through, and followed with a punch. A spectral sword comes down. Two Shadows burst into nothingness. The third is backed away from Hyousuke forcibly. While the next two advance, the Ogre takes advantage of the fact that they're all focused on Hyousuke now--and calls forth her Persona again. This time, Momiji hoists a scroll, and green-tinged force slams down into each Shadow all at once, taking out the third and knocking the last two off-balance, ready for Achilles's weapons or Hyousuke's fists or even Ichika's shield. Or all three. That works too.
"...I can respect a focused approach," Ichika says. "C'mon. Let's mop them up."
It's time for an All-Out Attack...!
And when they are gone--there will finally be silence once again.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
No longer was a snarl carved into Hyousuke's features. Instead, a grin had replaced it - some jagged and sadistic thing, bare-toothed and glinting like steel in the moon's pale light. He'd never worked with the stranger before, but even so, he understood what they asked. Another spear replaced the xiphos in Achilles' hand, its point sharp as any beast's talon, honed and ready to strike out at whatever unfortunate enemies found themselves in its path.
"Already?!" He called out. His face may have changed, but there was still a growl to his words - some animalistic rumbling, like a predator bearing down upon its hapless prey. "Damn it, I was just getting started!"
What might have been a wry remark, coming from some, was a genuine expression of displeasure from Hyousuke. He masked it with bravado, but these things had given him a chance to cut loose and unleash every mote of wrath that he had suppressed. To be told that it was ending so quickly was nothing if not disappointing. Nevertheless, Achilles raised his shield, and Hyousuke bellowed out again - another cry of anger. In that moment, he seemed more beast than man. The only difference was how he focussed his savagery, and by extension, Achilles'.
One Shadow was knocked back by a ringing shield strike, only to be run through by a spear a heartbeat later. Hyousuke ducked in low, weaving around a clumsy blow levelled at him by the nearest monster, before countering with a lightning-swift uppercut. The force behind it could not kill in the same way that Achilles did, but even so, it knocked the thing's chin up high enough that Achilles could ram his spear through its throat. A sickening squelch sounded its end, and with only the largest lumbering thing left, Hyousuke pointed forward.
The spear seemed to leap from Achilles' hand once it was thrown, a gleaming blur of metal streaking into the beast. There it stuck, sending the thing staggering backwards, before it finally collapsed into a crumpled heap. It was a decisive victory, of that there was little doubt. Yet Hyousuke still held that furious expression.
"More..." He grunted, chest heaving between his every word, breaths taken through tightly-grit teeth. "I wanted more..."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
It's a little frightening, that grin--or it would be, if the Ogre weren't caught up in the battle, too. There is another spear--
"It's like that!" Ogre calls. "With these things, it's over quick if you're lucky!" She's experienced that so far, anyway. But he was just getting started... Hmm.
There's a lot of wrath to go around.
But the monsters, in short order, are all gone. Their victory is absolute. Just a few scratches and bruises are all the evidence of the battle on them--and those disappear as Ichika in the Ogre mask lets loose with her healing once again.
The silence resounds, after that.
The Shadows are nothing now.
"...Man," the Ogre says. "You're pretty bloodthirsty, huh?" A grin. "That's not a bad way to be around these things. ...They'll kill you as soon as look at you. And demons aren't much better."
She approaches, stowing her shield on her back. "...That's called a 'Persona', though I think you know that now. And if you want more..."
She considers. "...I know a place where you can get it. But it's a while off."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke turned slowly, his demeanour shifting as he came to face the stranger. Achilles relaxed his stance in turn, standing straight instead of tensing into a battle-ready position, and holding his spear up straight. Whether this was a conscious decision by Hyousuke, or simply as result of his mind slowly beginning to wind down once the action had drawn to a close, was unclear. He didn't bother to take any time to think about it, instead choosing to respond - and with actual words, no less, rather than dumb grunts and a few monosyllabic demands for blood and skulls.
"Whatever it is," he said, eyes now firmly on the Ogre, rather than darting around in some unfocussed search for potential targets, "I'm in." His breathing had slowed noticeably in that short time between the last blow and his first real response. Though his voice was a little hoarse from shouting until his throat threatened to give out, his words flowed freely, rather than each one being punctuated by a laboured breath. Finally, he held out his hand towards her, once he managed to pry his fingers out of that white-knuckled fist. An offer of a handshake, ostensibly.
"Suzuki. Pleased to meet you."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
Whatever it is...
"Hope that's true," the Ogre answers. Then, she sees his hand, and reaches out to shake it. There's spikes on the back of hers, but they're not razor-sharp; they're easy enough to avoid, just the backs of the base of her knuckles. Fingerless gloves.
"Ogre," she answers. "And likewise. ...Not my real name, obviously. But it's what I go by in stuff like this."
She looks him over. "...Hell of a time to be taking a walk," the Ogre says.
"The world'll go back to normal eventually, and you can't use your Persona--that guy there--in the 'normal' world. But every night, around midnight, this will happen again."
"...Hey. You know a girl named Kawase, right? Ichika Kawase?"
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Without anything to cover his hand, the texture of Hyousuke's palm was laid bare. Leather-tough and pockmarked with calluses, countless hours of training had drained it of almost anything resembling gentleness. Even his grip seemed to be more force than formality, going a little beyond the usual firmness one might expect out of a handshake. He might have blamed it on the aftershocks of the fight, and the last dregs of adrenaline still residing in his system, he moved on before he had a chance to think about it - assuming he would have cared enough to in the first place.
He shrugged at the mention of the time he was taking a walk. He didn't owe anyone an explanation, and if he was to be frank, doubted that they would care too much to hear it. The more salient point was that the whole ordeal was apparently something that happened regularly. If the slowly-appearing look of confusion on his face - underscored with no small amount of surprise - was anything to go by, their explanation had raised more questions than it answered. Such questions were left on the backburner when the question of Kawase came up.
"Why're you asking?" He questioned, seeming markedly more suspicious once the name of someone he knew came up in conversation. "And how'd you know I- Wait, didn't you say my name before? Just who the hell are you?!"
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
That's a firm hand. Ichika, especially in her outfit of Rebellion, can stand up to that--but she sure notices it. It seems to track.
She's not going to press too hard on the walk; it was just funnier to her. She spots that confusion, and--
"I do," she says. "..." She considers it. She could make up a story, or...
"I go to your school," she says. "I..."
"Two options. I can tell you a secret, which you can tell me you can keep, or you can just accept that I'm a friend of hers and I want to protect her from stuff like this. Either way: I go to Kasugayama, when I'm not masked up like this."
"I bring her up because she can tell you the details about that 'opportunity'."
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
Hyousuke was dense. Abnormally so, in some cases. It could be like talking to a neutron star given human form at some points, given his propensity for not getting the point of something. But even he could tell that there was something bigger at play. Where the Shadows came from, what a Persona was, why they were all kitted out while he was in an outfit little better than loungewear - it all screamed of there being layers to the whole ordeal. He stood on the precipice of something big, and he feared if he took that step, he'd never be able to go back.
Part of him wanted to take the plunge, and be part of something bigger than himself. To escape the humdrum of daily life, and indulge his anger in ways he'd never been allowed to before, perhaps even unravelling some kind of mystery in the process. but another part of him was scared. It was easy enough to be brave in a sparring match, but in a life-or-death match against those oozing monstrosities? He didn't know what frightened him more - the prospect of an ignominious death at their hands, or the idea that someone might be around to watch it happen, and remember him forever as a fool and a coward.
He hesitated. He thought. Then, finally, he spoke.
"I'll talk to your friend." He said. He had chosen to back away from that precipice, and not question it further. Perhaps one day, curiosity would overtake him. But for now, he wished not to be embroiled in something that was likely far beyond his understanding. "Just make sure she knows I've got questions for her. Lots of 'em."
<Pose Tracker> Ichika Kawase has posed.
There's definitely something bigger here. But Ichika--the Ogre--doesn't know all of it herself. She's still working on that. But she sure knows more than Hyousuke at the moment.
So, when he speaks up...
"Cool," the Ogre answers. "She doesn't know everything, but she knows some. She can explain more. ...But it looks like she doesn't have to tell you how to fight."
"I'll let her know. But... good work. That was too many for me to take care of alone."
"...I'm gonna go," she says. "They don't usually wander around that much in Sumaru... so you should be OK to go home."
"...Good luck. This stuff is weird, but..."
"I think it's possible to do some good, like this. To make the world better."
She starts to turn to go.
<Pose Tracker> Hyousuke Suzuki has posed.
"...Good. Sure."
Hyousuke spoke the words, but they rang hollow. It sounded as if he meant them - that he thought good was possibly, and that his curtness was simply a result of his brain trying to process a conversation at the same time as a fight for his life - but his eyes told a different story. Focussed on a spot where a Shadow had once been, the embers of rage and bloodlust still smouldered within his expression. He was glad that the Ogre had turned away from him, and he from her. Even in the dark, there was no hiding the part of him that'd clawed itself free that night.