2025-11-20: Nightmare of Sojiro
- Log: Nightmare of Sojiro
- Cast: The One in the Black Mask, Sojiro Sakura's Shadow
- Where: Mementos
- OOC Date: November 20, 2025
- IC Date: August 13, 2012
- Summary: For years a certain someone has been making the Metaverse his playground. This is merely a single example of one of his playground games...
- Trigger Warning: Extreme Graphic Violence against a Person's Shadow, Torture.
<Pose Tracker> The One in the Black Mask has posed.
A portal of track, twisted like a rollercoaster leads one inside a part of Mementos. And in it, a Shadow. Day in, day out, ever focusing on a distortion.
Perhaps Sojiro Sakura's distortion can be said to be less extreme than most. After all, he's here, rather than in his own Palace.
There's something akin to a chill that goes down his spine from the sensation of someone's hot breath as someone's resonance can only now be felt.
"Oh Sojiro~"
He says playfully, as the left arm of Sojiro's Shadow is shorn off at the shoulder joint in an explosion of searing crimson.
A silhouette upon a field of red, a spray of ichor.
I DECIDE
-|===>x_x
WHAT JUSTICE IS
He casts it aside, as the severed limb dissolves into black and red particles. It's the one in the Black Mask, he's been here before. Several times. Now he's here again.
"You've been a very bad boy, haven't you?" Beneath the mask with tinted red lenses, he grins, "No need to worry. You already know it grows back."
Downright flippant before, his voice drops to something low and dangerous, whereas before it'd been downright flippant, "Assuming you survive the hour." In his hand, a firearm, pointed directly at the Shadow's face.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Somewhere in the real world Sojiro is taking a nap and his face makes a distorted look of pain as if he just started having a nightmare.
Meanwhile Sojiro's shadow lays on the ground gripping where the arm was and slowly turning around. His face grows pale (pale for a shadow) as he looks at the masked figure, terrified. "I-I-I haven't done anything wrong. You can't do..."
The shadow shuts up at the appearance of the firearm and he scrambles back trying to push himself away from the attacker. "Ju-Just let me go, please. I didn't do anything."
<Pose Tracker> The One in the Black Mask has posed.
He does rather enjoy this part, the part where they start to blubber, as he walks up, and questions, "Is that really so?" He raises the gun away from his face, "Well that changes everything."
And then, he unceremoniously kicks the Shadow where the ribs would be in reality. "You must think I'm an idiot. Leaving Futaba home alone for this long to go do whatever clever thing you think you're doing."
He crouches down over him, and presses the gunmetal to his head, "Now tell me everything - or, after you fall over in front of a speeding car- just like Wakaba did- I'll make certain that Futaba is next."
Underneath his beaked visor, he grins at him, "Like mother - like daughter~ Maybe if you're fortunate, Futaba will be motivated enough to make arrangements for you to be buried at the same plot, before she keels over in front of that computer of hers. Wouldn't that be something?"
He looks up and to the side, "Say, how about a gentlemen's wager? How long do you think it'd take before anyone finds her body?" As he presses the gun further against Sojiro's temple as he growls out the words, "... I think my money's on six months."
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro's shadow oofs at the kick and doubles over on the ground as he rocks a bit back and forth in a fetal position. "I didn't do ANYTHING!" He shouts as he tries to stop the abuse on himself and protects himself with his one arm.
The shadow of Sojiro goes quiet as he feels the gun pressed against his head, and stares at the figure. Not even breathing, or simulating breathing, or whatever shadows do. A fly would happily land on Sojiro right now.
That is until the threat to Futaba, Sojiro's head turns and his tormentor could easily catch it as defiance and resistance. The gentleman's wager is given and the shadow leaps at the masked man trying to tackle him to the ground, which with one arm would be quite a feat. Meanwhile he is shouting, "She doesn't know anything, so leave her ALONE!"
<Pose Tracker> The One in the Black Mask has posed.
Goro Akechi doesn't want Sojiro Sakura to die.
Black Mask may absolutely be called upon to kill him one day.
Two things can be true, when you're a contradictory mess. It's why he hasn't reported his doings to Shido. It's why he doesn't want to report it to Shido.
"You are so- very stubborn."
Black Mask says to his insistence, but then - he tries to tackle him, and perhaps to his surprise, he'll find he manages it- with even less resistance than one might expect.
Because the one in the Black Mask just lets it happen, "Ahahaha-! What even was that? Oh Sojiro- you're always such a treat whenever I come calling~"
You might wonder why Sojiro doesn't have time to follow up, with a brutal ground pounding. And it's because he grabbed his wrist on the way to the floor.
"What next? Are you going to try for the headbutt?"
As he twists his wrist brutally enough that if this were a person rather than a Shadow, his wrist would be shattered, then, he unceremoniously uses that moment to roll and reverse positions, his opposite hand-'s clawed grip clinches around his throat.
"... You can't protect her from me." He says, as if clinically dissecting the person Sojiro Sakura with his words as sharp as a scalpel, "Didn't you learn years ago you can't save anyone you care about when it truly matters, old man?"
He squeezes harder, his claws digging into the flesh, enough that little wisps of red and black start to drench them, "All you can do is confess to me what happened that caused you to leave your cloistered little nothing of a life in Yongen-Jaya- and brought us where we are now... with my hand around your throat. And maybe if I believe you- I'll let you and your little shut-in live."
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro is more shocked then anything that it worked, and that he is being pulled down with the attacker. He is about to headbutt the mask, squarely in the center when his next move is predicted and this causes him to hesitate. That hesitation is all that is needed to end up with the claws of the masked person to be around his neck and his wrist in shadowy pieces.
The shadow coughs as he feels the claws dig in, the broken wrist being used to try to shove the masked man off of him. "She came to me! She came to me with the questions and brought this whole thing to my doorstep!" Sojiro is scrambling to try to get a knee or a whole leg even away as he coughs more. " They found Wakaba's research and it led to me. It's not my fault." More coughing as he is trying to push the masked man off with every ounce of strength he can muster.
<Pose Tracker> The One in the Black Mask has posed.
As he uses the broken wrist to try and shove him off of him, the one in the Black Mask lets him, "This must really hurt." He says, as if sympathetic to his broken wrist, but- "Having me come here again and again and again. The man who killed one of the only people you ever cared about."
He whispers it with a certain edge of cruelty, "And being able to do nothing." He knows the pain of being helpless in the face of someone you care about dying.
And he inflicts it upon his Shadow anyway.
Then Sojiro speaks up, and his grip loosens just a little, "Who came?" He asks, quickly, his heart pounding in his chest faster and faster.
This is the most dangerous situation. One which Shido would order him to do this, to know the knowledge only he has is under threat of being less than exclusive.
"Who found her research!? That's impossible!" He starts shouting in a sudden fury, "There's only ONE copy! ONE! No one could have even TOUCHED it!"
As his claws once more begin to squeeze.
"TELL ME YOU INSIGNIFICANT LITTLE SHIT!"
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
The shadow begins to hack and cough, even if they may not breathe the entire consciousness thing forces him to think he should and therefore is trying. Sojiro struggles with it all before he hacks out the word, "Wata...*cough* nabe and Uch *cough* ida . " Sojiro chokes out the names before he chokes out, "Not sure where ..."
More pushing and struggling from Sojiro as he begins to panic for air and tries to force Black Mask back. " It was online." More flailing and panicing from Sojiro as he tries to get free. "Someone found the research, posted it online. Detective found it."
An attempt at a deep breath is made before looking at the man behind the mask, "Please."
<Pose Tracker> The One in the Black Mask has posed.
Watanabe... Watanabe...
"Could it be?" He actually says, sounding surprised beyond measure. How would she find it?
But the second name? "... Kuzunoha..." His eyes narrow dangerously behind the crimson lenses.
"They posted it ONLINE!?" He shouts, in a frustrated rage in this hollow of distortion. "GOD-DAMNIT!"
How the hell is he going to fix this!? His online resources required him to go to a certain IT President, and if he does - it means Shido will find out for certain.
Don't panic.
Find it. See how much actually got out.
Go from there.
He eventually releases his grip and stands up, "... Go home - crawl into your hole and stay there this time." As he looks down on the maimed Shadow, "If you don't - then next time I'll pay Futaba a visit first."
The One in the Black Mask begins to step away slowly, considering how many people he'll have to kill, before this is over.
<Pose Tracker> Sojiro Sakura has posed.
Sojiro collapses on the ground. "Not Kuzunoha, Uchida, Tamaki Uchida. " Are they connected, Sojiro has no clue and does not want the Black Mask to come back better to give as much information now as he can. A dirty look is given at the mention of visiting Futaba, but he doesn't move this time. Just a dirty look.
"The papers, I was told were early research papers. Theories. " Reaching into his pocket he pulls out a wad of paper and tries to hand it, but drops it instead. Thats what happen when your one arm has a broken wrist. The paper contains the url to the file.
The Sojiro shadow slowly backs away before saying, "Have to protect her." Is it acknowledgement that he will do what the masked man wants or is it that he is about to go on a war path. It's probably fine, he is just an old man after all.
<Pose Tracker> The One in the Black Mask has posed.
Black Mask stops, he doesn't snap at Sojiro's Shadow for not realizing Kuzunoha and Tamaki are connected. There's no point in giving his Shadow more information after all.
It can only hurt him.
As he drops it, the one in the Black Mask turns around towards him, walks up, and grabs the wadded paper. "Early research papers. Theories."
...
"Is that all?" He says, as he meets him in the eye.
Sojiro doesn't know, can't know that the last thing he wants to do is kill Wakaba Isshiki's daughter - or the man who takes care of her.
But it doesn't mean he won't.
"... Good." He straightens back up, and turns around, but before he takes more than three steps, he stops then looks over his shoulder.
"And by the way if the Phantom Thieves of Hearts do show their faces around here... tell them nothing about me... or you know what will happen."
He then looks forward, and begins to walk away, "They can't protect you either."