2025-11-21: Who is Responsible

• Log: Who is Responsible?
• Cast: Yukari Takeba, Minato Arisato, Shinjiro Aragaki, Hitomi Mandai, Suzume Fukura, Koh Katsuhiro, Minako Arisato, Reiya Aomori, Fuuka Yamagishi, Mitsuru Kirijo, Ririka Kawase, Takeharu Kirijo
• Where: Yakushima, Okinawa Islands
• OOC Date: November 21, 2025
• IC Date: August 14, 2012
• Summary: Mitsuru's father has called all of SEES together to set the record straight on who is truly responsible for the creation of the Dark Hour and Tartarus. Some of them may come to very different conclusions than the answer he gives.

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<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

A blue-haired woman in a labcoat sets down a final card upon the table in front of her.

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| MAGICIAN |PRIESTESS | EMPRESS  | EMPEROR  |HIEROPHANT|  LOVERS  | 
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| CHARIOT  | JUSTICE  |  HERMIT  | FORTUNE  | STRENGTH |HANGED MAN| 
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This is Dr. Aomori, Reiya's mother, who met all of SEES here tonight in this office, after Mitsuru asked for them all to gather here. Couches are arranged around her with seating space for everyone, with an imperious hardwood desk sitting empty across from them, with a floor lamp of a tower of alternating perpendicular blocks shining near the desk.
 
There's a scent of high quality cigars that's unmistakably permeated the other side of the room, like an extra layer of lacquer on the desk. Behind it, the curtains are drawn back, allowing the light of the crescent moon to pour in.
 
"As some of you already know, our research has revealed there are twelve large Shadows that will appear when the Moon is full during the Dark Hour. Your group has already encountered the first four."
 
With that, a gesture towards each of the cards as she speaks, "Magician, Priestess... Empress and Emperor. Each Shadow corresponds to one of these Major Arcana." She pauses. "At this time, we can only speculate as to why they do, and why they appear in that order--but we believe they do... because they must. Because it is their nature."
 
She looks up. "By destroying them, you will erase the Dark Hour from this world."
 
Yukari Takeba has been listening, with an expression that isn't as neutral as she's trying to force it to be, "The Chairman said that as well. But how do we know that's the case?"
 
Dr. Aomori looks at Yukari, and there's a small frown, "Well-" But she's interrupted by the footsteps of Takeharu Kirijo entering the room from a side door, "As for that, allow me to explain." Walking in with him is his daughter, Mitsuru.
 
He looks much the same as they did the first day they came to Yakushima, a man in his mid-forties, wearing his well-tailored three-piece suit. An eyepatch is worn perpetually over his right eye due to some mysterious injury from his past.
 
As he makes the walk across the room to his desk, Dr. Aomori explains, "I believe you are already acquainted with the current head of the Group, Takeharu Kirijo. All of our equipment and whatnot comes from his sponsorship."
 
She remains seated, comfortably, as Takeharu moves to the desk and takes a seat in his chair. He takes a seat, then peers towards a certain girl. "Are you Yukari Takeba?"
 
This causes Yukari to sit up straighter in the moment, with a confused expression, "Uh, yeah." Certainly she's not certain why he's asking.
 
"It is my understanding that your mistrust of the Group led to Mitsuru recently giving some of you the short version." He looks at her with a single eye, expression grave before he looks to the rest of SEES, perhaps lingering a touch longer on Fuuka and Shinjiro, "I did not bring you here to claim your suspicions of the Kirijo Group are unwarranted. In fact, I would say they are wholly justified. Nevertheless-"
 
His eye moves away from her, to everyone in SEES, "-it is time that all of you learned the truth. And now that more people are abusing the Dark Hour to their own ends, it becomes all the more imperative that I do."
 
Reiya interjects quietly, "You mean this 'New World Order' and 'Strega', sir." The man looks at Reiya, and nods, "That's correct. You must be the Aomori clan's current heir. ...Our family is hardly worthy of your service, after the way our actions have harmed your own..."
 
If anyone looks at Dr. Aomori as Takeharu says this, they'll notice she says nothing. Not even showing any sign of reaction at all.
 
Whereas Takeharu's eye finally settles upon Koh, expression grave, before looking forward and reaching towards a series of buttons on his desk. "The Shadows have many mysterious abilities."
 
As he hits a button, the lighting in the room begin to dim until extinguished, and behind him, the light of the crescent moon begins to shine all the more brightly through the window as the only lighting within the room. "Our research even indicated that they can affect time and space. In the past, one man pursued this line of thinking..." His eye settles upon Mitsuru again, "... that was Kouetsu Kirijo, my father, and Mitsuru's grandfather."
 
Taking a weary breath, he looks upon the rest of SEES, "My father wanted to create something truly extraordinary... a time-manipulation device."

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    Minato was called here, with the others, by Mitsuru.

    He's been thinking, you know... what is a field leader doing, anyway? Everyone looks to him for steady direction, even when the guys (and Suzume) are just playing around. He thinks his sister is better at this -- well, perhaps not at Operation: Babe Hunt -- and so he's been trying his best to learn her social ways. How to be good at people. In some ways, he's improved; in others, he might never.

    But he's wondering... whether it's his very stoicism which had Mitsuru pick him out, beside Minako.

    Still... there are a lot of things he doesn't know. How can he lead his team if he doesn't understand how some Shadows can be friendly pigs, and some don't even comprehend human speech...?

    He wonders this, as he watches Dr. Aomori dole out her cards.

    He wonders this, and he wonders what Dr. Aomori's connection to the girl in blue is, too.

    That's not to say he isn't listening. He still remembers looking out at the Full Moon in the Dark Hour, Pharos's words echoing in his skull. Because it is their 'Nature'...

    ... well. Never mind that; Takeharu's arrived, with Mitsuru in tow. Minato looks to Yukari, as Mitsuru's father calls attention to her. Her suspicions...

    ... she's always cared about the cost.

    "Abusing the Dark Hour..." Minato reflects, as Reiya asks the question. His tone is as mild as it's always been; it's difficult to tell what he might be thinking about it.

    As Takeharu moves from the Aomori's service (...?) to the Kirijo's legacy, Minato's muted gaze settles on him, once more. He is silent, as Takeharu introduces an impossible idea.

    But the boy who sits nearby is not. Junpei Iori exclaims, raising a hand in alarm, "D--damn... manipulating time?! That's insane!" The way his eyes widen and his teeth grit, he's getting freaked out on behalf of all the stoics in the room.

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

Shinjiro Aragaki was summoned to the office. He's standing not far from Fuuka, one of his co-conspirators... he's got a serious expression on his face as he listens.

So far, he knows all of this. The Shadows gets a nod. He told Myunghon they had found a way to possibly remove the Dark Hour, though not what - infosec of a kind.

As Kirijo's gaze lingers on him, he tenses up slightly, which might be a tell to anyone paying attention.

"...it is insane," he tells Junpei with all the calm of someone who's heard and had to swallow this already.

"Why?" he asks Takeharu Kirijo, firmly, though he isn't quite rude about it. "What did he want to change... or control?"

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
Hitomi, too, was called into the room. She has put on the dress she wore on the ship over -- it's probably the nicest thing she brought with her. She has left the hat, at least, at home. It makes her feel a little off key from the luxurious vibe.

After that, she sat on one of the couches. Leaned back, really. She seems less slouchy here, but perhaps that's just the benefit of nature.

There is a truth being offered. Hitomi frowns in thought for a moment. Has she suspected the Kirijo group? No, Hitomi reflects inwardly; I just thought it was lucky, or that they were looking for people like me. Dr. Aomori speaks of the phases of the moon, and the Shadows, and that...

Destroying them will erase the Dark Hour.

She scratches her cheek... even as the lights dim. Shadows have mysterious abilities, sure, that's right --

Hitomi stops scratching her cheek.

Her eyes widen enormously behind her glasses.

"Manipulating time itself...?? Is that even possible?? I thought that was something from manga and stuff," Hitomi says, incredulously. "Even if Shadows are doing it, they're only doing it in those weird places, right?" After that, she settles back, and muses more quietly, "Though I guess the Dark Hour itself is kind of a manipulation of time, isn't it..."

She trails off, her eyes flicking over others in the room, then focusing back on Takeharu.

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

Suzume was not anticipating work to intrude on her vacation but she wasn't, you know, entirely expecting work to NOT intrude. She'd figure she'd deal with it if she had to if it came up and otherwise not really worry about it.

So when it came up, well, she came for the meeting. Of course. You can't really say no to that kind of 'invitation', anyway...

Suzume is not a field leader, even if she's been spearheading efforts to explore Mementos. (And she almost did THAT while she was here too, but she decided not to try the Mementos rumour at the bus stop. Maybe tomorrow.) But as she's been told before, SEES' priority is Tartarus.

And now she gets to know why.

She glances over toward Reiya when he speaks, then back at Takeharu when he says 'clan'. She'll ask Reiya later. They're friends, right? And anyway -

The reasons she's just been given are not what she expects. At all.

"What the hell?" Suzume blurts out, almost in time with Junpei. Perhaps not the most polite choice of words, but she bulls ahead anyway because once she's gotten going the easiest way out of a problem is through it:

"What do you mean, 'manipulating time'? I guess - if Shadows affect time, and they made the Dark Hour because they live in it, then getting rid of them will get rid of the Dark Hour - " This sounds like science fiction. Suzume almost drops her train of words, but continues anyway: "But what about the OTHER Shadows? Mementos and Palaces? And the demons in Sumaru?"

She glances over toward Shinjiro, who is able to ask the question she probably can't quite get away with. (Which wouldn't stop her. She was working up to it. But now she doesn't have to!)

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.

Koh has assembled along with the rest of SEES, island vacation temporarily paused for serious things.

Sunk into one of the couches amidst his peers, he looks unusually uncomfortable. He's still got the island wear, shorts and shirt, but also a jacket with sleeves that his hands are currently tucked in to.

His eyes are on Mitsuru's father, until their gazes meet. Koh looks away.

Apparently today he's decided to become one of the stoics in the room, because his brows only furrow in thought as Takeharu explains the situation. He listens.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

A way to remove the Dark Hour from the world.

It's what SEES has been fighting for. It's what Minako has been fighting for -- a life free of that time when it's just her, that sickly green light, and all of the fears and doubts that could define her -- but it has always felt far away. It has felt like a goal without a means; a hope, more than a plan. And now, suddenly, there is a plan.

And Mitsuru's father comes in. Minako looks at Yukari -- knowing full well what they discussed, what Yukari pretends to raise -- and then looks back at Takeharu Kirijo. She takes a deep breath, and she waits for a moment.

She sits next to her brother. Her eyes shift from Dr. Aomori's cards and up, to Takeharu again. "What... what did he want to do with that power?"

There is a glance at Koh. He looks uncomfortable. A far cry from their earlier outing. That makes her worry, too.

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

Reiya and Suzume are friends! At least, he hopes so, given her reaction to everything back at the beach.

Reiya is mostly stoic, except for the occasional comment--he looks to his mother, now and then. Those who look to him get a nod.

He won't be sharing now, but..

Perhaps later. Perhaps even tonight, if someone asks.

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

They've been asked to gether for a meeting. Fuuka sits settled into one of the couches, her attention focused on cards laid out on Dr. Aomori's table. The cards of the Tarot... And the Shadows corresponding to them. Yukari asks an important question - how do they know?

Takeharu Kirijo offers to explain... Mitsuru's father.

When his eye drifts toward her Fuuka sits up a little straighter she looks away awkwardly, briefly looking toward Shinjiro before Takeharu's gaze moves elsewhere.

She listens, though - and she doesn't seem surprised when he ultimately mentions that his father wanted to create a time-manipulation device.

She still looks unsettled, though. Such a thing is straight out of science fiction... and yet, the reality can't be denied.

She stays silent, for now - for now, focusing on listening.

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.

Mitsuru Kirijo was her same professional self as she gathered the other members of SEES. Cool, aloof, but not in an unkind way -- just distant enough to keep whatever might be swirling around her thoughts solely to herself as she tracks down the disparate members of her vacationing club-slash-extermination squad.

She has a way of issuing orders that makes herself be heard; an enduring and commanding poise that maintains itself even when her interior world might be a buoy sloshing in a maelstrom.

But it's nothing compared to her father's. At least... she still, very much, thinks so.

She arrives in her father's office when he does, walking behind him, to his right. Dressed in a billowy poet's shirt, a pair of black riding pants and matching boots, she strikes that same eloquent facade she always does -- but she is completely quiet as her father speaks, all the same.

She lingers for a moment, standing still as Takeharu settles into his seat. Her lone visible eye tracks towards Yukari as he addresses her.

"..."

Her eyes shut for a moment, before she simply exhales, and moves to take a seat on the far side of the office, at a chair set aside for her. One leg crossed over the other, arms folded against her abdomen, she says nothing as the others express shock over, or question her father's words.

What can she say right now? To avoid something that might have just been inevitable to begin with?

No; she just resigns herself in the moment.

Why did she pick out Minato? Why Minako? Just for their Wild Cards?

She has her reasons, for both. ... And those reasons may be something she has to rely on, now.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Ririka leans in, frowning, as the card is set out listing all of the Major Arcana Shadows. She recognizes some of them, of course, but her gaze lingers on the last one for a moment.

Hanged Man. The one those... fortune tellers? Sppoky women identified for her at the Pandemonium Pavillion. Hmm...

Her fingers tap rhythmically on her thigh as she listens. She glances at Yukari as she asks that question. How can they be sure, and she thinks back to the conversation they had just before they left.

He sits up straighter as Takeharu enters. There's... a lot to take in, but she stays silent as she listens to it all. She frowns as certain of their number are called out, looking at them in turn, but then looks back to keep listening.

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

Yukari sneaks a glance at Mitsuru as Takeharu speaks, studying her expression, as if to find some element of deceit beneath the surface, before her attention turns wholly back to him.
 
"If it sounds too fantastical to be true, you should know that it's exactly what it sounds like." He looks at Minako, at her question before his single eye lands upon Suzume at her outburst, "His proposal to our executives was that it was an unexplored frontier of science which we should invest in for the benefit of mankind."
 
He considers his wording for a moment, to figure out how one might explain the original proposal of the project, "Imagine if you could control the flow of time. Eliminate unwanted events before they occur. With such a device, you could shape the future to your liking."
 
Shinjiro asks him a question the man looks troubled, "I know of no specific event he desired to change... it is my belief that my father didn't mean ill, at least at first.. But the longer the project went on... he became affected by the presence of the Shadows. It wouldn't be inaccurate to say that they drove him to insanity... a near-religious fervor."
 
The man needs a moment to gather his thoughts as he recalls those times- those final years his father was alive, perhaps considering his many regrets at not stopping him before things went too far, he then looks towards Suzume again as if to answer her, "It would only affect the Shadows of the Dark Hour. The phenomenon you speak of- their origin is a mystery even to our experts."
 
He then says, "If you'll indulge me in allowing some further explanation... I believe your questions might better be answered with more context." Then, after a pause, he picks up where he left off, "To create this device, my father assembled a team of scientists, and over several years, collected a significant number of Shadows. However, ten years ago, during the final stages of the experiment there was an accident, and they lost control of the Shadows' power. Consequently, the nature of the world was altered, giving us both the Dark Hour and Tartarus. The site of that experiment was... what is now Gekkoukan High School."
 
Yukari still looks uncomfortable at this, despite already knowing it, shifting in her seat, but she doesn't interrupt him. Perhaps it would have been better for her if she had...
 
"There is something I'd like you all to see." A button is pressed on his desk, and a TV descends from the ceiling of the room. A test pattern of color bars appearing. Dr. Aomori looks towards Yukari in this moment, and says sympathetically, "I'm sorry that we have to show you this, Takeba."
 
She looks at the woman, as if she were bewildered by it, before turning back as the screen erupts in static, a blurred outline of a man in hues of red and black.
 
"I... ... ...pray... ... ... that..."
 
The audio is distorted, as if it were slowed down to a fraction of its speed, before the image becomes clear, a gaunt man of brown hair, sunken cheeks, with dark sleepless circles under his eyes, palms down on the table in front of him.
 
Monitoring equipment, currently turned off is all behind him, rows of television like boxes stacked atop of radio like knobs..
 
Brown eyes. Brown hair. It's not impossible to guess who else in this room looks like him even before she speaks. "Wait a sec"
 
Yukari lurches forward in her seat, eyes suddenly go wide- her expression bewildered, desperate, yearning and sorrowful all at once as she's taken off guard by what she's spent years looking for - being handed to her like this "...Dad?"
 
And the audio appears to rebound as if to make up for lost time...
 
"... this video reaches someone with a conscience. My employer has become obsessed with a loathsome idea. This experiment should have never been conceived. I'm afraid what I've done will result in an unprecedented disaster. At this point, it's unavoidable... But... I didn't have a choice. If I didn't do this... it could have destroyed the entire world!"
 
A jagged line of distortion slices the man's body and background in twain as the image hitches, and stays frozen on that gaunt mask of desperation, and resolve. The look of a man who knows he's about to die.
 
At the abrupt expected stall in the footage, Dr. Aomori breaks her silence, to explain to the group in a carefully controlled tone, "This is the only record we have of what occurred during the events of that day. A video recording of the final words of the head researcher of the facility... Eiichiro Takeba."

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    "No kidding, Aragaki-senpai!" Junpei exclaims, looking to Shinjiro. "Time manipulation?! That's manga stuff -- YEAH! That's what I'm saying!!!" He gestures to Hitomi, palms flashing.

    He's loud enough that Minato can sink into the silence, a little, looking over their team. Suzume and Junpei are neck-and-neck for blurting out exclamations, and Hitomi's incredulous... but a lot of them are quiet. Fuuka doesn't look surprised, he notes, with interest; neither does Reiya, but that one he expected a little more. Ririka's listening intently. Mitsuru seats herself at the far side, and Koh's sinking into the couch, and they both seem... uncomfortable, in their own ways. Perhaps Koh a little more loudly, he thinks; Koh isn't usually this quiet. And Yukari was just picked out of the crowd, so...

    Minato looks to Minako, after his silent assessment of the team. His own eyes are searching for something, truth or meaning or logic or kinship -- before he nods, slightly, to her, a gesture he can offer instead of grasp.

    But there -- Takeharu's speaking of laboratory experiments. Dr. Aomori, Minato reflects, though he does this to himself. Changing the flow of time... it's certainly something out of a manga, isn't it? Still,

    ten years ago.

    Minako will feel Minato's leg jerk in, just a little, from where she's sitting beside him. He looks to her, again; he says nothing, again. Ten years ago -- on Port Island.

    He doesn't need to say anything.

    For just an instant, his distant gaze looks harried; blink again, and it's gone. Mild as a still ocean, he turns his attention back forward, back to the others. To Yukari, as Takeharu apologises to her, with the ghost of a frown.

    "What's this...?" Junpei wonders, as the recording begins in all its struggles.

    The audio is scratchy, piecemeal, and Minato looks to it -- only for his attention to come back to Yukari, when she interjects. The resemblance is uncanny. He listens to the audio, as it plays, but his gaze keeps coming back to Yukari.

    Her father... they're listening to her father.

    Her father... ten years ago.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

Minako tenses when she feels her brother's leg jerk. She is still -- quiet -- and tense. She bites her lip.

"That's... horrifying," Minako says, quietly.

Even if she can see uses for it. Perhaps because she can see uses for it -- she could take away some of the most painful things from her past. She tenses, though. What if everyone could do that? What if only a few could? She frowns, as she looks down at the ground.

But then she looks up. Her eyes widen. It's the very thing that Yukari told her about, except with more detail. She looks at Yukari, her expression worried for a moment. She sucks a breath in.

Then, she looks at the television.

And she watches.

She stares as she realizes, a moment before Yukari says it. She draws in a sharp breath as the video plays out -- as it freezes. And then she looks at Yukari, her eyes wide. "T-Takeba-chan..."

She bites her lip, before she looks at Mitsuru. Her eyes are wide. She knew.

And she begins to think her silence might have been a mercy.

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

Shinjiro gives Fuuka a sympathetic glance in return as she looks to him, before listening to Kirijo's response to their questions.

He exhales to Junpei, but doesn't reply. He has enough tact to let Kirjo finish, though, he's not surprised by any of it, clearly. This is all Familiar to him in the same way it is Fuuka and Yukari.

And then, Yukari is called out, and the video is shown. Shinjiro watches it keenly, listening to the words of the scientist inside.

His eyes trail over to Mitsuru. Is this why she was being so reticent? It makes sense. She didn't want to hurt Yukari. Mitsuru does, in fact, care, and does, in fact, mean the best for them.

Even so, he's getting angry again. His temper's never been something he could really control, even if he can keep it cool.

"I've said this before... but I'm not going to be quiet. I don't think it's fair to ask that of us right now. Your company's hubris destroyed lives."

Takeharu Kirijo might understand the firm stare Shinjiro gives him and Dr. Aomori at that.

"What are we supposed to do now?" He doesn't say it, but he feels so powerless again. Minako might understand that feeling, given a past discussion of theirs.

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.

This, at least, is news to Koh. His eyes are on the screen, and then on Yukari as she rises to her feet.

"Takeba-san..." He begins, but finds little after that seems appropriate or helpful.

Shinjiro, at least, says something that Koh hadn't been brave enough to. The boy shifts a bit on the couch, a short not of his head indicating agreement.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
Suzume mentions demons and Hitomi's jaw tenses, though she doesn't speak up. She doesn't give Suzume a look; it's an unwelcome reminder, that's all. She exhales a little after, but then Minako raises a solid question. In the word of a bard yet to fall: no one man should have all that power. Perhaps. "It's crazy to even think of," she half-echoes Minato.

Their purpose was to shape the future. Hitomi frowns. She is perhaps creative enough to see both the many funny and the many good uses to which one could put such a device; and yet she is worldly enough to see the cruel and wicked uses as well. Hitomi brings up a hand, biting lightly on her thumbtip to dissipate a little of her tension.

They are being offered context. But at least they didn't create the Shadows.

how did they collect shadows

A beat passes. Her lips part as if she's about to say something -- but this realization is tempered when they begin playing a recording. Hitomi looks at it.

Yukari recognizes them. Her eyes turn to Yukari. Then back ahead. Her father. Her father... They could've destroyed the entire world. For some reason, Hitomi feels her heart beating faster. Stress, potentially. She looks to Yukari again, afterwards. Her father.

Hitomi drums her fingers on the arm of the couch she's sitting on. She doesn't... really realize she's doing it. "..." Her own attention tracks past Yukari towards Mitsuru, for several moments.

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

Suzume ...

...would like to say that she restrained herself until she had a great and clever, or failing that at least witty, comment.

She does not.

"That's nuts," she says, and only *then* remembers that she is talking to Takeharu Kirijo, to his face, about his father. Her face reddens slightly, but she doesn't drop it: "To think you can control time like that - I mean, even if you want a good thing, that's - "

She trails off. And then there was an accident... ten years ago.

Nothing much happened to Suzume ten years ago. She remembers, very vaguely, the stories of a gas explosion. She was six, so she doesn't *really* remember it, but it's come up a time or two. It didn't touch her family once her dad returned to work (he wasn't directly involved, but he did, and does, work in the industrial sector).

Except...

This time, she remembers something. It doesn't last; it slips out of her grasp like a melting snowflake. But she feels unsettled, on edge... a flash of deja vu, that she's talked about this before, that she should be remembering that something happened even though nothing did. Ice in her chest, just thinking about... what? Thinking about what? It's gone.

(To her, anyway. It's different for the others. It's different for Yukari, who's seeing the recording from her father. It's different for Minato and Minako. It's different for... Koh?)

Suzume is bad at controlling her facial expression and a whole variety of emotions cross it. She looks at Minako and then Minato, uncertain, and then Yukari; for an instant, there's sympathy there, or something that passes for it, before it's replaced with anger directed elsewhere.

"So this is what you want us for? And you didn't say anything about it? Because all I heard when I volunteered," which she emphasizes, "was that you wanted to end the Dark Hour, that you wanted to fight the greater Shadows! You never said anything about Kirijo making a disaster, about - " She wants to wave at the video but she's practically sitting on her hands so she doesn't do something with them she regrets. "But apparently SOME of us got told, at least a little bit."

"What else don't I know?" What else is there? Maybe THIS is why Yukari said she shouldn't be involved. But she's acting like she hasn't seen it before either...

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

No, Reiya is not surprised by all these--he doesn't pretend to be. Not...

Not until the video. Then he looks surprised. His eyes widen, almost but not quite imperceptibly, as he looks between the man on the screen and Yukari Takeba.

And his hand curls into a fist on the arm of his chair.

Reiya knew. But he doesn't feel like answering at the moment.

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

Fuuka looks toward Mitsuru, for just a moment - and then Shinjiro's sympathetic glance before looking back to Takeharu, as he speaks.

...Truthfully, she can see how it'd be alluring. To be able to prevent tragedies from happening... Who wouldn't want to do what they could? But the risks involved...

...Well, that's something she can only say with hindsight.

The effects of the shadows on his father's mind... Fuuka shakes her head sympathetically. ...It's tragic.

Takeharu continues... and Fuuka doesn't seem surprised by this either. She heard this part before... Though it's still hard to imagine. Going to that school the whole time...

There is one thing that does surprise her. However. The one thing that she wasn't told, when they brought their findings to Mitsuru.

Eiichiro... Takeba.

Fuuka clasps her hands over her mouth with a gasp.

"Yukari-chan..." Fuuka murmurs sympathetically. Her attention turns back to the screen.

Destroyed the... entire world...

...She flinches and feels somewhat guilty when Suzume points out that some of them got told already.

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Ririka is silent but not stoic. She wears her concerns plainly--and there's that everpresent tapping on her thigh that she can't seem to stop herself from doing. Even if she isn't talking, her feelings are clear.

She was shocked to hear mention of time manipulation, but couldn't figure out the right question to ask, or what to say.

But that description--

'Eliminate unwanted events' 'reshape the future to your liking'

"What!?" She blurts out. "You can't just... rewrite time like that! How could anyone--" What she wants to ask is 'How could anyone be trusted with such a power?'

She falls silent again. But then her eyes grow wide as more information is revealed. An accident, the world was altered... The Dark Hour and Tartarus, and the lab...

Yukari had suggested that maybe the Kirijo Group wasn't as benevolent as they seemed, and Ririka had readily agred at the, frankly, pretty damn obvious notion. But this... She turns pale, and looks to Yukari. The words die on her lips, formed but not voiced.

'Did you know?'

But that's not all, as Yukari reacts to the video, Ririka gasps softly. Her father tied up in all this...

She wasn't affected by the events of ten years ago. She wasn't in Iwatodai then--her family moved here after that had happened. But one of her close friends was affected... but she won't voice that thought.

"So-- so you guys made this mess and now we're all just-- cleaning it up for you!?" Her fingers are drumming harder on her thigh. "What else haven't you told us?"

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.

Uncomfortable.

It's not a bad way to describe Mitsuru in this moment, if not a detail that only the observant might clue in on: she's always distant, after all. Always a little aloof. But it's still there, in the subtle ways her body language seems to draw in on itself -- in the way her stare focuses on some corner of the office, wondering over a space of this place she had never seen before, then the content of her father's words she already knows much too well.

Words she shared with Yukari, Fuuka and Shinjiro, not too long ago.

... it is my belief that my father didn't mean ill, at least at first.

A frown settles on scarlet lips, pensive. Distantly upset. Her fingers curl a bit more tightly at her elbows. But otherwise, she fails to say anything, fails to really react in that carefully controlled way of hers --

At least until that screen sinks down, and Doctor Aomori says those fateful words to Yukari.

Dark red eyes widen slightly as they turn to the screen - to Yukari.

"A video--?" she begins, reticence clear in her fair features as she looks towards her father. "I don't think--"

It's too late for objection.

*click*

The video begins. And as the throbbing red light of a research facility on dangerous alert, as the familiar face of a man she knows - and knows Yukari Takeba will instantly recognize - fills the office with color and a decade-old portent of doom, Mitsuru can only watch for a precious handful of seconds before she shuts her eyes and looks away.

"..." An exhale of discontent flits past her lips.

Uncomfortable.

It's not quite the best way to describe Mitsuru now, as her arms coil more tightly around herself. As her jaw clenches tighter. She knew. It's clear to look at her. Information she might have supplied to all of them...

If not for one name on the roster.

She's silent, for a time after that, as the others begin to accuse, and question, and rightfully vent frustration. For a moment, she just looks Takeharu Kirijo's way.

"... Father..." she starts to protest, as the video stalls. But it's too late now.

Maybe it always was.

No. There's little she can do now. And little she can say. She might well have fallen silent completely once more, were this not the point that Suzume and Ririka's rightful venting and criticism reaches her ears.

So this is what you want us for? And you didn't say anything about it?

What else haven't you told us?

Her jaw clenches to a trembling point. It's her fault. Not her father's. Not anyone else's.

It's hers.

Scarlet lips part.

"That wasn't--"

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

Takeharu Kirijo's single eye looks upon Shinjiro, and despite sporting the visage of a seasoned businessman well, there is a world weariness from the weight of it all, the burden of their sins.
 
He doesn't respond with words, but in that eye Shinjiro might see that his answer would certainly be, 'More than you know.'
 
And then at Suzume and Ririka's outburst- 'That wasn't' he bears that too by cutting the response from Mitsuru to the quick with, "Mitsuru." Her name, before he faces down each of them in her place, "I take full responsibility for your ignorance on the matter." It may have been Mitsuru's decision, but he was not there to guide her.
 
While she must learn to stand on her own two feet, he is the adult, and she is the child.
 
"That is why I am correcting that now... because I know it is unfair for me to ask you to continue fighting, without a clear picture as to why the world became so damaged as to require you to fight in the first place."
 
There is a grave solemnity to what happens next, "I will answer whatever questions you have but I ask you to wait another minute." His eyes look up to the video, "The video is not yet over... it was heavily damaged from the events of that day- but it is not yet over."

'T-Takeba-chan...'
'Takeba-san...'
'Yukari-chan...'
 
Her fingers curl up into her clinched hands, pressed against each thigh. Yukari doesn't even react to her name being called several times. Her expression, fixed to the screen, almost makes it clear she wouldn't react if Minako and Minato suddenly began a Persona variety show hosted by the Jack Brothers in front of her.
 
She can't look away.

It would be a mercy if it ended there - at Mitsuru's objection, but the footage grinds its way out of a stall, continuing. Would you stop this now, if you could, Mitsuru Kirijo?
 
Could you stop her damnable need to pursue the truth of that day? To know everything this tape contains?
 
If your positions were reversed- would you?
 
"Whoever is watching this, please... I need you to listen to me very carefully. The Shadows that were amassed here have been dispersed as a result of the explosion. In order to end this, you have no choice but to eliminate all of them! I am the one responsible for this."
 
Right beside him, something that cannot be seen explodes, and the man recoils as a gout of black smoke floods his space, coughing he tries to wave the smoke away.
 
"I knew the risks, but I was blinded by the promise of success... And so I chose to continue without objections. I am... responsible."
 
There is another explosion, and the man cannot be seen anymore. But a dying scream can be heard, as Takeharu presses the stop button, freezing the footage as it devolves into static.
 
And then nothing. With another click, the TV raises back into the ceiling, and the lighting in the room begins to come on again.
 
Yukari has her eyes on the screen for a few moments longer, like she's in a state of shock, before placing her hands on her thighs, arms stiff- like she's taking a moment to catch up to it. His final words, his scream ringing in her ears as a dull throb of realization rises
 
I am... responsible.
Eiichiro Takeba is responsible.
 
Years of denial, years of believing in him so strongly. Years of knowing in her heart that the kind and gentle man she knew in her earliest years would never do anything to hurt anyone.
 
She'd tempered that belief into something that she thought was unbreakable
 
"So that means... my Dad is responsible for it all? The Dark Hour, Tartarus, the people who died? All of it?"
 
She's so quiet at first, as she articulates this realization aloud, like the video had been a hammer strike against a pane of tempered glass that was that belief. That the cracks were forming, spidery-webbed, pervasive. The pieces readying for the inevitable separation and fall.
 
Dr. Aomori frowns, and looks at her as she says nothing, whereas Takeharu tries to 'correct the record', "The blame falls to our family, for what happened to him."
 
That doesn't get through to her though- like it doesn't matter that he admitted as much with his own confession in her ears, as she looks towards Mitsuru, "You knew about this... didn't you? This is why you were really hiding all of this, isn't it?" Her words become more venomous by the second, as she abruptly stands up, hands balled into fists at her side as she shouts, "I DON'T WANT YOUR PITY!"
 
Then, whirling around, she begins to run to the door of the office, throwing it open, and continuing to run, head bowed.
 
Takeharu could have had the door locked with a single button, but he didn't. This is a reaction he expected- and one he might allow. Dr. Aomori makes a motion for everyone to stay seated, "Don't run off after her haphazardly. ... She'll only see it as pity, if you do."

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.

She tries to protest--

Mitsuru.

But that single, pointed invocation of her name cuts her off before the truth can leave her lips.

Is Takeharu Kirijo responsible for this, even though it was her actions? She is his daughter. His responsibility. Maybe it could be said that her choices and their consequences fall on him to weather.

So why doesn't it make Mitsuru Kirijo feel any less responsible? Why does it make her feel worse?

She settles back into her seat, eyes downcast even as the video resumes. She knows she can't stop it now. If she could, she might just bring down the entire power grid of the estate - of the island - to prevent this moment.

But she knows well enough...

Could she stop Yukari's pursuit of the truth? She's failed to, every step of the way.

... just as she knows she wouldn't ever stop, if it was her father.

"..."

So she falls silent. She listens. Her eyes shut tight. And when it ends -- she doesn't have to look to know the complex cocktail of emotions painting themselves on Yukari's features, or how her own father's attempts to reassure her, to take on the blame, will do nothing but fall on deaf ears. She can only imagine how the blood is pounding so loud that everything feels numb and muted for her. How...

You knew about this... didn't you?

... she needs someone, anyone to blame.

This is why you were really hiding all of this, isn't it?

Mitsuru's eyes fly open. She looks Yukari's way.

"Takeba, no," she starts, because she can see what's coming, "that's not--"

I DON'T WANT YOUR PITY!

"Takeba, wait--!"

... even if she has no idea how to handle it, or solve it.

Mitsuru Kirijo surges onto her feet; too late. She's left hanging there, one hand extended towards open air as she stares, wide-eyed and helpless, at that open door. Her father provides his words of wisdom. Don't pursue her. She'll think it's pity.

She can't help but feel those words are directed at her.

She stills. Her hand falls. And for a time, she just feels so... powerless. So helpless. So... so...

Hands tremble in fists at her sides. She bites the inside of her cheek. She can't do anything about this.

You must learn to rely on others.

You're not an island.

There are some things you can't do...

"Arisato."

Dark red eyes open. And her gaze falls on--

"... Minato-san."

The sullen, stoic boy she elected as field commander, with his sister. There is a reason she chose them. They both have their strengths. She wished she didn't have to foist so much responsibility on either of them. But for this...

"Will... you go after her? Make sure she is safe."

She decides, for once...

"... Please."

To rely on someone.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

Minako's crimson eyes turned towards Shinjiro, and she hesitates. She knows -- from a past talk -- what's going through his mind. She feels that same powerlessness, too. She glances too at Fuuka, and sees the way she gasps. She knew, too. She hesitates, hearing Suzume's anger.

She looks down for a moment. She only knew because Yukari told her.

She looks up at Yukari, though, as she reaches a conclusion that -- that isn't the one she was sure she would reach. A conclusion that hurts to consider. She looks at Takeharu, as he tries to correct it, but it's too late. Yukari shouts and Minako rises up.

Her hand, at her side, shakes. "Takeba-chan!" she calls after her. "Wait--"

But it's so easy for that desperate call after her friend to sound pitying. She seems to realize it. She deflates, then, and her fingers uncurl. She turns her head, when Mitsuru says her name. And, then, she realizes it's her brother.

"You... you should go check on her, Minato-kun," Minako says, quietly.

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

Shinjiro grits his teeth at that non-verbal answer, but he remains silent as Suzume and Ririka do their outbursts. It's Mitsuru who gets a sharp raction, a swivel of the head as she starts to take the blame, but her father intercedes in that...

As he watches the video finish, Shinjiro is silent. Yukari gets upset, freaks out, shouts at Minato, and runs off.

Mitsuru asks Minato to go after her. Shinjiro, for his part...rises back to his feet. His anger is dwindling at the shock, but it's not gone. Even so...

"I'll ask again," he says *to the room*.

"What do we do now? I don't mean how do we end this. But what, exactly, are our options here?"

He turns to Mitsuru... his glance is actually sympathetic moreso than angry.

He assumes it was hard for her to reach out.

And if anyone attempts to follow Minato after Yukari... he's considering stopping them.

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    "You've never visited," Minato remarks, mildly, to Takeharu. He says he's correcting their misconceptions now, but... "It's the Chairman who's supported us this long."

    He doesn't say it's unfair; not directly. But it does strike him... that Takeharu, knowing this information, could have shared it with them at any time.

    ... if he expected his daughter to do it... Minato will count that as another silent burden, draped over Mitsuru's shoulders.

    But just as Takeharu asks -- he asks not one single question. Not even Junpei, though the boy in the baseball cap can be heard to utter, "holy crap..."

    (Junpei and Suzume could probably win a world championship in opening their mouths and just having things fall out. Under different circumstances, Minato might even keep score.)

    Minato looks to Yukari -- to the video -- and then his gaze freezes, a little to the left of the screen.

    the Shadows were dispersed
                                      as a result
                                                                  of the explosion
                                   you have no choice

    What surfaces him from that strange feeling -- it's Yukari. Yukari, whose question comes so quietly; who proves that a quiet voice can shatter a dynasty. Her venom comes as no surprise. He blinks, anyway.

    "Yo, Yuka-tan!" Junpei calls, as Yukari whirls around -- but Takeharu's warning has him settling his weight back down on the couch, a frown knotting his features. "Damnit, you're right..."

    Junpei's expressiveness might showcase more than his feelings... but Minato remains still, as he watches the place where she left.

    He's thinking of the way he left, too. He wonders if this is how they felt. He looks from the place where Yukari was to Mitsuru, and reflects on the way her hands tremble. It's unlike her.

    When her eyes open, she will find his.

    And he nods, solemnly, as he rises. "... sure."

    He doesn't understand everything. Even now -- he doesn't understand everything -- though he knows more keenly that he doesn't.

    "Leave it to me," he promises his sister -- and his team -- with that same mild tone he always wears.

    ... because he doesn't need to know everything to know what he can do right now.

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

Suzume actually meets Takeharu's eyes (eye) without flinching when he takes responsibility. She does blame him - it's hard not to - but not just him, either. Mitsuru despite her objections. Some of the others, who seem better informed. If she'd known...

If she'd known, would she have done anything differently? Would she have tried to strike out on her own? Or would she still be here, in SEES?

Well, she might know her answer soon enough, at this rate...

But the video restarts. It was damaged but not over. Suzume reflexively looks at it when the voice of the dead speaks again, her heart feeling frozen once again as her mind focuses on the explosion, and the greater Arcana Shadows... getting free. He knew the risks. He's responsible. He's -

An explosion cuts him off. It's an old recording - there is obviously nothing Suzume can do about it - but she automatically half-rises at the scream anyway, dropping back down a moment later just as someone else rises up. Yukari...

Suzume doesn't like Yukari. The two of them simply do not connect; they have very little in common. But even so she feels *something*, because if Suzume has a flaw with her emotions it's that she feels them strongly, and does not really stop herself from acting on them.

She's already figured *something* out, though nowhere near all of it; a different conclusion than she's probably expected to reach. She'd like to speak to her again. Not now. This isn't the time. So as she runs off... Suzume hunches down in her seat. She's certainly not going to run off after her. She'd only make it worse. Especially as Takeharu speaks and tries to correct Yukari...

He's an asshole, she thinks, but - miracle of miracles! - does not say. Instead, all she does is look over toward Minato, then back. He's got it, she thinks. He's dependable. That's fine.

She's not sure what she thinks of the rest of the Kirijo family, or of their corporation, right now. She's pretty sure they pay her parents' bills (do they own the factory her dad works at? probably, she never checked). They're certainly helping her family by letting her stay at the dorms, and helping her too - she does not want to live with her parents. But even so...

"This sucks," Suzume says, leaning backwards enough she can look at the ceiling. A moment later, and she swings back to a normal sitting position: "I don't know what to think. You wreck it - you wreck everything - and you want a bunch of teenagers to fix it? And you said you don't know about Mementos, or Palaces, or anything. What is going to break if we tell you?"

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

There's more to the video. It might have been better if that was all of it.

She can see where the footage is damaged - she's surprised they were able to salvage anything, given the scale of what happened.

Yukari's father says that they must eliminate all of the escaped Shadows... and that he's the one responsible.

And then, a scream. Fuuka flinches.

"Yukari-chan..." Fuuka starts, hesitantly. She's not sure what to say. What can she say, when Yukari is suddenly faced with... this?

...She doesn't get much time to think, before Yukari leaves the room.

"Shouldn't... someone go after her...?" Fuuka asks nervously, starting to stand up. She's about to go herself, when Dr. Aomori warns them not to run off haphazardly.

...She's right. That would only upset Yukari further... Fuuka sits back down, clasping her hands in her lap. It does make her feel a little powerless, though - but at least Mitsuru asks Minato to go after her. ...It can't have been easy to ask. But she's glad he agrees to it.

Fuuka looks toward Shinjiro, as he asks an important question.

What do we do now?

"...I don't know." Fuuka admits. "...But I still want to support everyone, whatever we decide."

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
Others raise understandable, valid, completely legitimate and genuine outrage, and Hitomi looks at them. She seems tenser. She keeps chewing her thumbtip, a little obliquely, as her eyes turn from one to the other. She doesn't speak up.
    They're upset.
    They're right, shit. This could've ended the world.
    Mom, Dad, Rei, everybody, ME. just gone.
    So why...

Hitomi hunches over slightly. The chewing gets more intent. She looks back towards Takeharu for a moment, or perhaps more accurately towards the television. The record of Yukari's father; the bald statement of the facts.

    ... why am I feeling like it's a battle
    what the hell is wrong with me
    is it the Persona? do I have a tumor or something??

Takeharu speaks to his daughter. He has enough authority in his tone that this brings Hitomi out of her little reverie. Her focus turns from him (for a moment) to Mitsuru (for longer). It lingers. And he's taking responsibility. So is the dead man. So is Yukari's father.

The tension crackles. Yukari speaks. And then she flees. Hitomi bites her thumbnail a little more. Dr. Aomori says they shouldn't follow her... Mitsuru asks one of the Arisatos, no, both of them, to go after Yukari. To ensure she's safe.

    So she's given them a mission
    Which means we can't just walk out, huh.
    Not that we'd get far on this island.
    Are we trapped?

For some reason this makes Hitomi shiver a little. She thinks she can taste blood. She makes herself uncurl; she takes the hand she'd been chewing on away from her lips and puts it in the pocket of her dress, already curling it around the thumb. Did she taste blood? She doesn't know.

    This is horrifying, but...
    I'm more scared they'll hate each other.
    That they'll leave.
    Because I want...

Hitomi's eyes close, and she breathes out. Shinjiro asks a real important question: what do they do now?

Hitomi adjusts her glasses. Her lips purse.

Hitomi leans back. The anxiety seems to have eased somewhat. Not really looking at anyone in particular, she answers Suzume first when she says 'this sucks.' "... yeah," she says to her, "it does." THEN she answers Shinjiro, looking at him.

"Win," Hitomi says.

Back to Takeharu. "I have conditions."

    haha
    geez I'm messed up
    but maybe...

The momentary tension eases (at least for *~her~*) and Hitomi keeps talking even so: "I guess we all do, but, uh, I don't want to speak for anyone else but I think I *can* when I say, one of those is, tell us everything. If it doesn't make sense, explain it... I guess if you're capturing Shadows and trying to control time, it's got to be really advanced science, right?"

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

"Sir," Reiya says, starting to stand--but not to chase after. "That man--her father--"

"Reiya," Dr. Aomori says sharply. "I was a part of that team once, too. I don't hold him responsible for what happened to your father."

"But--"

"Reiya." Her gaze is iron--and for once, Reiya has lost his cool, turning to the side with a, "Tch."

Himari--Dr. Aomori--continues, "Our duty is to end the Shadows that did this. To unmake the ambitions of the men who orchestrated this atrocity. And that will be our focus. A man does not neglect duty due to sentiment."

"..." Reiya turns back to her. "Yes, Mother." He bows, but his expression is still tighter than the group has ever seen it.

But he looks to Shinjiro, at that answer. "...I have sworn to end the Dark Hour and gain vengeance for my father."

"That is what I will do. And if necessary, I will do it alone."

He manages to relent, after a moment, the anger in his voice fading as he allows, "...But I hope that it will not be alone."

He looks after Minato and Yukari--and then shakes his head, turning back to the others. He looks to Suzume. "Do you think they want to be in a position where we're the only ones who can do it?"

He doesn't sit back down, yet. Instead he looks to Fuuka. "...I, for one, would appreciate that."

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

The explosion.

Minako notices it, of course. But it's too much to consider -- too much to think about, too much that hurts. So she does something that she does very well; she ignores it. The explosion ten years ago -- the car crash. They might not be related. They might not have any connection. They might not...

She swallows. Suzume asks what they do now. She looks around -- at her brother, as he starts off. Then, at Fuuka, as she speaks up, saying something she thought. Something she said to Yukari just recently.

She looks at Mitsuru, and sees her looking hesitant. It's a new look; it's a terrible one. She glances at Shinjiro, and she remembers what she promised. Minako sighs, then she stands up.

"...We keep at it," Minako says. "I want answers, too. And I don't want them to hide it from me. But... the things we saw. The way people got lost in Tartarus. The way the Shadows hurt people."

Her eyes close. "...The people we've lost." She exhales. "Maybe we're cleaning up this family's mess. Kirijo-senpai... I bet she has been for longer than we have. But it's a mess that has to be cleaned."

She looks around the room -- at Koh, then Ririka, and then everyone else in turn. "I don't want to look away. We joined this to help people. To stop Dark Hour," she says. "I'm not stopping, just because I know a truth that's painful."

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.

Fingers shift from Koh's jacket to press against his forehead in attempt to soothe the budding ache there.

His eyes move between Shinjiro, to Suzume, to Ririka as they all voice their understandable unhappiness.

And back to Yukari again.

Takeba's father is responsible, he said. It'd be nice if it was that easy.
 ut Dr. Aomori is right. Yukari and the rest of SEES, they're all processing something Koh has had, in some way, more time to internalize. And not something he can help with.

How unfair.

Minato goes after Yukari, and Shinjiro asks what comes next, and this finally gets Koh to voice an opinion: "Nobody can take the Dark Hour back, no matter what happens here. And Minako-san...is right. The only choice is to fix this, or to ignore it."

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.

"So, I'm going to do what I can to help."

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Takeharu cuts off Mitsuru, and then takes the blame. Ririka looks to their leader (and student council president), and blinks, frowning. Did she know, too? Ririka puts that in her bucket of 'things to consider later'.

It's getting to be a pretty full bucket pretty damn quick.

But the video keeps going, and Ririka almost stands up. "Hey-- you can't just spring that on her--" But the video plays, and Ririka reluctantly falls silent.

She is angry, when the video finishes, but she doesn't know what to say for a moment. Yukari leaves, and Ririka gives a thought to checking on her, even though they've never been on great terms--

Would it just be pity? She turns her attention to Dr. Aomori. "... you apologized to Takeba-san right before the video started. You knew what was on it and you played it anyway. Are you really going to speak for her?" But she's not getting up to follow, either.

She looks to Suzume as she asks about Mementos and Palaces. And Shinjiro asks where they go from here. Ririka is silent for a moment, and as she thinks, fingers still tapping on her thigh, she hums for a moment to center herself.

There's one thing plaguing her she wants answers on. "What's the deal with the Evokers we keep seeing? Strega and that Yumi woman had them. Is the Kirijo Group responsible for that, too?" It's a more specific question, but in essence, she wants what Hitomi says. To be told everything.

She regards Reiya. Vengeance... so that's his reason...

But others want to help. "... I want to know more about what we're dealing with."

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    "Reiya-kun...?" Junpei asks, as he adjusts his cap. "C'mon, man... I get you're mad, but it's not Yuka-tan's fault!"

    He frowns, looking after Yukari and Minato. "I'm worried about her, man..."

    But his attention falls to Minako, when she rallies them with her words. He hasn't lost anyone; not directly. The man he can't find any more disappeared down the neck of a bottle, and if Junpei ever cared to look, he'd still be there. Still -- Yukari and the others -- they have.

    "Yeah! You're right, Leader!" He insists, grasping his hand to a fist. He nods, firmly, to the boy who's finally managed to speak up. "Yeah, Koh-kun! We gotta do somethin'!"

    See, this -- this is language Junpei speaks. Thank God for Minako!

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

Minato's words do sting, because they're correct. He hasn't visited SEES, even if he left a reliable man to watch over them. "You're right. ... I have not." He has his duties as the head of the group, and he didn't want to step on Mitsuru's toes- but now, he regrets that he hasn't been there to guide her as a Father should.

Takeharu watches Mitsuru closely during the events that follow. He doesn't interrupt her again, and as she makes her decision, there is something like approval on his features. He understands how difficult it is for her to leave it to another... but some lessons are hard won. So too does he watch the Aomori heir react, sees his resentment simmering under the surface. It reminds him once again that even the heir to a ninja clan is still yet a child.

Then the man looks at everyone else within the room, some are despondent, others resolved, some have conditions, he looks towards Hitomi as she has conditions, "I can grant you that much. I am not a scientist, so unfortunately I'm incapable of explaining everything, but yes. That was in the past, unfortunately much of our technology- our research was lost in the incident. We've had to rebuild with what we had, to tackle the problems we created with new technology made specifically to combat the Shadows of the Dark Hour."

It's now that he looks towards Suzume- who looks as if she's sulking to him. It's difficult to watch for him, because it makes it abundantly clear that these are children in front of him, "... You make a fair point. However, I can tell you that the current group has no stomach for further research into new realms of the supernatural. Our intentions are mostly to support your battle, as best as we can in your mission of erasing the Dark Hour. But, your concerns are warranted. If you are worried-" He looks then at Ririka, for she asked about the Evokers, "-then I'll tell you what I do know about such things."

Folding his hands together in front of him, he places them to a rest on the desk. "After the events of the disaster ten years ago. I was approached by a man that some of you may have heard of... Tatsuzou Sudou, this country's current foreign minister. He proposed that I throw the weight of the group behind his organization- this 'New World Order' based out of Sumaru City. His aim is nothing less than using the 'power of rumors' in order to reform the world wholesale into 'one without sin'."

He pauses, frowning, "I wanted no part in creating a world where we held no responsibility for what we had done; and declined his offer. Unfortunately, after my father's death, we were forced to let many of our scientists go who no longer agreed with the direction of my leadership and the new mission of the Group. It is my belief that many of them are now under his employ- and stole property we'd considered missing, to their benefit... and those Persona Users you know as 'Strega'."

A shake of his head, "Perhaps it was short-sighted of me to allow them to leave so readily, but the alternative was tantamount to slavery, or execution. But now we are faced with the prospect of an organization that can perhaps attempt to change the nature of our world, in ways far worse than the Dark Hour."

With a grave expression, he says, "But I will not order children to wage war against these people. I'd like for your focus to remain upon the Dark Hour, but if it would be your own decision to oppose these people with the powers you have then know that my daughter has my blessing for all of you to do so."

His daughter, not 'Mitsuru'. He is letting them all know just how much he is risking by sending her into battle. How much he stands to lose.

"I thank those of you who are resolved to remain, to fight... even knowing these difficult truths. If any of you have further questions or would like to voice your misgivings, then now is the time to do so." And he adds, "No matter what you ask, or wish to say- I promise that it is safe to do so. And even if it is your choice to leave as a result of what you have heard, then you will have my support in returning to the life you had before. ... As much as one can, that is." He adds, regretfully, knowing that none of them truly can return to how it was before.

However, Shinjiro asked for options. He can't take back their Awakening. He can't remove the Potential. He can only offer for them to stay and fight, or to leave on the best terms possible.

For him, it is a simple matter if he desires not to experience the Dark Hour- or the supernatural. For these children, it is not.

<Pose Tracker> Suzume Fukura has posed.

Suzume is not sulking. It's a real question: if with one kind of Shadows they broke time (!!), what would they do with another? But hearing that Takeharu does not intend to research it... Well, she's not *entirely* sure she trusts him one hundred percent, but if she doesn't trust him at all, there's no meeting here, is there? She nods, slowly.

The only choice is to fix it.

"Well, duh," Suzume says, as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

She was found in Mementos, without an Evoker, before she'd even awoken her Persona at all - just her and a pair of sticks. (She still has those old tonfa, though she no longer uses them for anything but practice.) But even then, she was trying to protect someone who couldn't protect themselves. Even when she had no hope at all, she was trying to hold back the Shadows...

Is it childish to want to be the hero?

Is it reckless to want to be able to stand on her own two feet?

Is it dangerous to try to handle things herself, so that other people don't need to suffer?

Is it mature to want to be the someone that everyone can depend on?

Suzume doesn't know the answer to any one of those questions. She is not that philosophical; she probably wouldn't put it any of those ways if you ask her. But she does know one thing:

She does not give up. No matter what.

"I'm in. I'm not just going to - to walk out and go back to school and sit by myself in the Dark Hour! I'm not going to let those Shadows push me around, or anyone else." Suzume slams her fist into her open palm, loud and sudden. To Reiya, she says, "Obviously not. Who would? But if you knew..." Why didn't you tell me anything? she thinks. They're friends. "...We'll talk later." It's less a request and more a promise.

Of course there's more, though.

"Sudou?" Suzume recognizes the name only very vaguely. She is not exactly the most attentive to politics, and it's not like she's being asked to recognize the Prime Minister's name (she could do that). Her brow furrows.

"Wait, the New World Order? Like in comics? For real?" Suzume steals Ryuji's line without even meaning to, that's how serious this is. "They're, like, always the bad guys," she explains to some of the less media-aware others, a little sheepish at knowing. "The Illuminati. The secret people running things in the background... or they want to be."

But there actually IS a New World Order. In the government, if he's the Foreign Minister. It sounds ridiculous. Using rumours - well, Suzume has met a rumourmonger, but she didn't entirely believe. "What the h - "

She cuts herself off this time rather than swear, again. "I've already fought them! The people with Evokers. Remember?" she asks Ririka. "At the Sumaru TV station? If they're going to attack *us*, then - "

Well, they *definitely* can't run away now. Suzume looks more determined than before, almost amped up as she leans forward. She's in, for better or for worse.

<Pose Tracker> Shinjiro Aragaki has posed.

Ririka gets upset. Shinjiro can't blame her, but... he doesn't like some of what she says to Dr. Aomori. Yukari needed to know.

But as Minako glances to him, and Takeharu Kirijo speaks up... he listens, intently. He doesn't speak until he's done.

"I'm familiar with the NWO. A group I'm allied with is opposing them." He won't say more than that. "Sudou's got his hooks all over Sumaru and beyond."

He considers the part about Strega, and the lack of information on them... he knows Strega has the same medicine as him. The question now is: why did they need it?

"Not all of us can return to our old lives," Shinjiro says, voice edged and jagged, even if he doesn't mean it to be. That very remark hurts him to his very core. If only he could accept, because it'd be better than what he has.

"I'm not going anywhere. I have something I need to take care of. But I will speak my mind."

He loosens the tension in his body a bit, tries to get that edge out of his voice.

"There's things you *cannot* fix. People have died." He's not referring to the Kirijo employees, but the SEES members might think he is. "I'm not able to give any of you except your daughter my full loyalty. That's just not possible. So if you want us to do this your way..."

He turns, trying to get the venom out. Trying not to hurt *Mitsuru*. "That's not happening. But I will do this. For the three of us who started this fight, and for those who have been lost."

<Pose Tracker> Mitsuru Kirijo has posed.

... sure.

"... Thank you."

There's a lot of things in this world Mitsuru Kirijo can't control, even though she desperately would like to.

She can't control the way Yukari Takeba feels -- she can't deliver the magical series of words that will salve the way she hurts.

She can't control the actions of her family in the past -- she can't board that mythological time manipulation device and undo the events that led them all here.

She can't manage her people -- she can't give them hope in a hopeless situation.

She can't even control her own emotions, the very moment she needs to most.

There are too many things that slip out of her grasp the moment she thinks she's secured them. It's all so... overwhelming. Frustrating.

But where she lacks, perhaps others can compensate.

She doesn't like it. Even when Minato agrees, something about it just chafes against every primal nerve in her being compelling her to fix this, fix this all, fix this immediately, fix this herself. And yet -- she hides it very well (perhaps one of the few things she can control), but the feeling of relief welling from deep within her gut is practically overpowering as Minato leaves to pursue Yukari.

She might chafe against it.

... But she knows that doesn't change the fact that she can trust him.

Just as much as she knows, too, that she can trust Minako. There's a reason she asked her to take up that role with her brother, after all -- and it wasn't simply because they were siblings, just because it wasn't simply because of their strange powers. The other Arisato rises to the occasion, even without Mitsuru's prompting. She rallies them with a call to action, and Mitsuru's gaze turns with a single blink, regarding the other twin with quiet consideration.

As the others talk, she catches Minako's eyes, and mouths two simple words to her, sincere even if not wholly voiced:

Thank you.

They make up for what she lacks.

... Even if she hates that she lacks it.

Guilt is the understated undercurrent of Mitsuru Kirijo's expression as she leaves Minako to be that clarion call of hope for the others, with Junpei and Koh - who has, until now, been unusually quiet, a fact that Mitsuru still subconsciously clocks even as the events of the day emotionally overwhelm her - rallying soon behind her. Her gaze lingers for a moment on that door that Minato and Yukari left through, until--

I have conditions.

Now it is Mitsuru's turn to turn a lingering stare Hitomi's way: dark red eyes fluttering out a blink, she looks at Hitomi - not for the first time - with a bemused expression, as if not having expected Hitomi to turn all of this into a negotiation. But as she continues...

... tell us everything.

"..."

Mitsuru's gaze hoods, and she glances aside, breaking that entrenched silence finally.

"That is... more than fair." A second passes. And then she tries, in her own way, to reach out to Hitomi, to answer at least one of her questions:

"... You are right. The technology involved is... extremely advanced. And involves resources that cannot be accessed easily."

Like Shadows.

... Or... like what she and Fuuka discovered...

The others speak. As Reiya speaks on his need for vengeance, guilt once more flickers across her features, but she says little else. Not until her father does what she thinks is his best to answer them. And what he says is...

"--Tatsuzou Sudou? The Minister of Foreign Affairs?"

She is, obviously, familiar with the name. She is even familiar with the name 'New World Order' (she wouldn't be much of a student council president if she didn't (i can still make jokes in tense situations, shush)), but the idea that Tatsuzou Sudou is backing them - leading them? - is a startling thing. It suggests an immensity to the conspiracy she wasn't aware of; that their influence exceeds even her predictions.

It opens up new possibilities, new avenues of thought, that she might well get lost in--

-- but something doesn't sit with her right.

Something about this all... disgruntled scientists of the Kirijo Group left for the New World Order, and that is where they developed their Evokers? She could understand that. In fact, it aligns very well with the files she and Fuuka discovered with the blueprints for the Group's older Evoker models, so reminiscent of the revolver one used by that woman.

It would naturally follow that Strega could just be catspaws, too, supplied with Evokers all their own.

...

... but is that really it? Does that actually hang together well?

The technology involved in making Evokers and Kirijo tech. The resource used.

The model of the Evokers Strega make use of. ... the medication they supplied Shinjiro.

Isn't this all too neat and tidy an explanation, when you think about it, even for a fraction of a second too long?

But, then, what is the alternative? ...

She's lost in her thoughts for some time, after her father speaks. And then--

"I know it's unfair to put all of this on you," she says suddenly. "... It's unfair to ask this of any of us. I know that there are things we cannot undo. You're right, Aragaki. We can't turn back the clock, save the lives that were lost. ... and it would be folly of the highest caliber to even try. None of you should be asked to give up your lives for the mistakes of some greedy men and their inability to restrain themselves. It is undeniable." Minako suggests Mitsuru has been at this for some time now; it's a suggestion that Mitsuru doesn't confirm -- yet the way she carries herself, the way she looks, the experience she has, how driven she is...

How long has she been doing this?

"... But it is also undeniable that people like us are the only thing that can meaningfully affect the strange world we now find ourselves in. We are the only ones who can deal with the Shadows. Deal with the Dark Hour. ... Deal with those who would abuse this world and the ones who can't defend themselves within it. I will not blame any of you if at any point you decide you must stop, decide this is a fight you do not want. ... If the secrets that have been unfairly kept from you get to be too much. But I will not stop fighting to fix this mess my family has left us with. And I will not abide people who would try to follow in their misbegotten footsteps, either."

Her hands clench. Her eyes narrow.

"If it takes me to my dying breath, I will never stop fighting greedy men like them."

She can't control everything. Even if she wants to.

But she can, at least, do this much.

<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.

    "Wait... so Strega, they're like, guys who left the Kirijo Corporation?" Junpei blinks, Stupei-ified by the realisation. (It sounds like they jumped ship, certainly.) "And... the foreign minister's in with the New World Order? Ain't that a politician?! What the hell!" It's all news to him.

    "So that means... there's way more stuff that needs us than the Dark Hour, right? Well -- never fear! Your hero, Junpei, is here!" Junpei declares, boldly, thumping his fist to his chest. "There's no going back for Junpei Iori... no way."

    And if that's a little more honest than he intended in his boast, well, never mind that.

<Pose Tracker> Hitomi Mandai has posed.

 
"You wouldn't be alone," Hitomi tells Reiya, "because I'm not going anywhere either." Another fiddle of her glasses. "So that's already a team, right?"

    I guess I gave up some leverage.
    oh well~

Hitomi looks towards the others. Koh seems on board. Ririka... less certain, but at least she's here, she's not yelling. Points in their column. Junpei too (and for however impossible the dude can be, Hitomi has no complaints about his battle potential).

Takeharu is speaking at some length, though, so Hitomi straightens up and leans forwards, her hand not in her pocket on her knee. She actually slides it so she can lean a bit further forwards. And then he mentions... the foreign minister, who Hitomi did not know the name of because in Japan you can easily just tune this out. She does grimace at the mention of some kind of New World Order in Sumaru (???) Without sin (?????) "So those Evokers were stolen, or else they made new ones in a workshop somewhere," Hitomi concludes.

It was that or execution. Hitomi thinks of Mitsuru, but doesn't look.

"Oh shit, you're right," Hitomi then says as Suzume brings up that they've already fought them! Which them? She can't clearly recall, but it makes her laugh for a moment. "I guess we're in deep, huh! Even if I believe you, Kirijo-shacho," that to daddy of course, "and I do, like, haha, you sure can't speak for THOSE guys, can you."

Hitomi leans back against the couch with a faint fuff of displaced cushion-air. "We're in pretty deep..."

"Yeah," she echoes when Shinjiro says they can't all return to the old lives. Now her eyes turn back to Mitsuru, and whatever strange joie de vivre she had gained seems to recede. Then Mitsuru speaks. At length. Hitomi's eyes slowly widen. Then she smiles again--

"It's exactly the kind of thing a politician would think of," Hitomi tells Junpei. "People who seek secular power are usually not doing it out of the goodness of their hearts, you know. If you're lucky, they just want to be cheered and admired..."

<Pose Tracker> Fuuka Yamagishi has posed.

Minako says they keep at it. Fuuka looks toward her. Despite everything, she still doesn't want to look away... She's... really strong, isn't she? Now more than ever, she's glad to be working with her.

Takeharu explains further - about Tatuszou Sudou and the 'New World Order', and his goals...

It does connect a few dots with the research she did for Mitsuru. So that's the who and why... It's... dizzying, to know people like that actually exist.

And so, the question remains - what's she going to do about it?

"...I'll stay. I meant what I said." Fuuka agrees, with a nod toward Reiya. "Knowing what I know now... I couldn't forgive myself if I tried to shut my eyes and pretend I didn't see it, and leave you all behind."

...Particularly when she helped uncover some of those secrets, herself. It was on request - but that doesn't mean she isn't responsible for what she found, and for not telling anyone.

Maybe that feeling is why she has the powers she does. She couldn't look away even if she wanted to.

<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.

"She deserved to know," Dr. Aomori says to Ririka. "Was there anything I could've said that would've made you feel better, if it were your father? ...I'd feel the same in her shoes."

Junpei looks to Reiya, and Reiya's expression is stony. He has to take a long breath, to keep trying to calm down.

Dr. Aomori looks to Takeharu. He isn't a scientist, but...

She is.

Reiya relents a little further, as Hitomi says she's with him. "I'm... glad to hear that." Reiya looks back to Suzume. She's not going to go away... "I'll be waiting," he says to her, somewhat more calmly than before. After all, she found his statement obvious; they can agree on that part, even if more things are in question.

Dr. Aomori adds, "I'll lend what expertise I can to you all. I have my work here, researching anti-Shadow countermeasures, but the Chairman has my number; if he arranges a time, I'll come by and explain more of what we know for you." She looks to Takeharu. "Acceptable, sir?"

She assumes so; he just said he wanted them to know stuff.

Reiya looks to Shinjiro. "That's true. There are many things that cannot be fixed."

"...My father did not work for Kirijo, not directly. He was a teacher at the school."

"He succumbed to Apathy Syndrome, after that day. Ten years ago." Reiya turns to Mitsuru, and nods. "...You have my support, Kirijo-senpai. Not just because of my oath. ...But because of what I've seen of your resolve. ...And because I feel the same way. I have this power and I have these skills, and I will use both."

Dr. Aomori has looked down at this, but finally, she looks up again. "In the interest of that transparency..."

"I'm one of the scientists who didn't leave the Kirijo group. As my mother served, so do I. So does my son. And I'm lucky to be alive and relatively sane today."

"...So I'm going to offer you one caution."

"...Dealing with Shadows, even with the protection of a Persona, is dangerous. Not just to the body--but to the mind. 'When you gaze into the abyss, the abyss also gazes into you.' ...Don't give up your normal lives if you can help it. Fight, by all means. Fight, and win. But keep something to fight for."

Reiya looks down, at that. he seems troubled, until he looks up to Fuuka again, and Minako. "...Yes," Reiya says. "I understand."

"..." He quiets again.

<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.

Minako keeps the nervousness from her face as they respond to her impromptu speech. She squares her shoulders, meeting Suzume's eyes. There is a nod of her head -- it's good enough. They're on the same page. Then, she glances at Junpei. She smiles -- and it becomes a grin when Koh speaks up in support her.

And Fuuka, and Hitomi too. They're all in this together, then.

"Thanks," she says. "I'm glad you're all with me. We couldn't do it alone. But together, we can."

She catches Mitsuru's glance -- and her mouthed words. Minako smiles at her, giving her a quick nod of her head.

Her eyes are on Takeharu, as he explains more -- as he answers questions, even if it puts him in the line of fire. She is quiet as she listens. Her eyes blink, though, at the mention of this 'New World Order.' A frown crosses her face, then.

She listens as Mitsuru speaks on the matter -- though her eyes meet Shinjiro's People have died. And what they have to do, now, is try to make the best of the future.

Dr. Aomori gives them a warning. Minako looks at her -- then she glances downward, and nods. There is a glance at Reiya, for just a moment, and then she frowns thoughtfully.

"I can't ignore a group like that," she says. "So... I'll fight them, too. Like I said, when I joined up... this problem won't solve itself. And that's true of this NWO, too."

<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.

Ririka looks to Dr. Aomori again. "... well of course she deserved to know. But not like that! Just... blindsiding her with it." She looks to Reiya for a moment, as he explains about his father...

'unfortunately much of our technology- our research was lost in the incident.'

Ririka looks to Takeharu. "... don't forget the people that died," she points out, darkly. They just watched one of them on a video, after all.

But explanations are promised, and Ririka nods once. Scientists left, a connection--even if inadvertent--to the New World Order. Strega... and Kirijo's technology got out there, too...

The power of rumors...

"... whether you ask us to wage war with the New World Order, or Strega, or not, some of us have already fought them several times. They're just as much a threat to people as Shadows are." Rirka's encountered them four times, total, and that's not counting other incidents others may have been at. She nods to Suzume. "I remember." That's where she Awakened, after all.

She's quiet, for a long time, as the offer is made. To leave.

Could she leave? She could move back to a regular dorm, hang out with her family and friends... but even if she wanted to give up fighting the Dark Hour... her sister still needs help dealing with Eiji. And her instinct, when she and Emi had been threatened... was to protect Emi by taking up her Evoker.

There had been a chance for her to forget, that first Dark Hour, when everyone came to rescue her in the dark. But she didn't.

There was something else she tried to forget, but in the end...

There's no way she can turn her back on those in need, is there? And not only that, she's a Navigator. Doesn't that make it her role to guide others? Just like her musical talents make it her role to be a musician?

The elder Aomori tells them to have something to fight for. Ririka hopes that will be enough.

And as Mitsuru says... they are the only ones who can affect things for the better.

She's silent for a long while, fingers tapping, humming quietly to herself, eyes closed. It feels like there's no time to think but she has to come to some kind of an answer.

... presently, she opens her eyes. "... I'm staying. Because I can't forget all of this. And because I think my powers were meant to help people. But..." She looks at her fellow SEES members. "It's all of you I want to help. And the people we can protect." Or in other words, she's not doing it for the Kirijo Group's sake.

<Pose Tracker> Koh Katsuhiro has posed.

Koh has a small smile for Junpei. They are kindred spirits, in some ways. Maybe lots of ways.

And Takeru talks about Strega and the New World Order. Suzume mentions the people at the studio, and thenKirijo's Corp's property.

Does that mean?

Koh lets out a breath, trying to ignore the throbbing in his temple.

"Thank you, Kirijo-san." He says it to Misuru, because she's the one he can believe.

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

Mitsuru answers to some of their concerns, and he lets her without interruption. It is her that will have to lead them into battle, not him.

He listens to the Aomori heir speak of Yukari Takeba- and he at least agrees with him in that respect- despite the dispute between Ririka and him, nodding towards Dr. Aomori in gratitude. And his eye lands upon Koh, and in them are... regrets, and gratitude.

"I haven't." Takeharu says simply to Ririka's conversation, "My father died during the incident..." He makes it clear, if it wasn't obvious enough, "... which means that it falls to me to take responsibility for those lives in his place- to atone."

"Something like that." Takeharu says to Suzume calling them the Illuminati, sounding a touch awkward, "They wield considerable influence, that such a name wouldn't be... inappropriate. All I can say is: Be circumspect in your actions against them. The Group will do everything we can to protect you from them wielding the levers of government to make your lives difficult- but even we can only do so much against men at the highest levels of government."

Takeharu nods at Shinjiro's statement, "I won't deny your words." And he tries his hardest not to look at Koh in this moment. "I am well aware that we cannot truly ever undo the harm that has been done... we can only try to atone."

He will not say it- he knows it would hurt Mitsuru for him to say so. But the worst day of his life was not the day of that incident. It was the day when Mitsuru awakened to this power. It was the day when he knew she would be condemned to a life of battle to atone for the sins of her Grandfather- and his own well.

There was no one else.

Mitsuru answers to Shinjiro's concerns. And he waits, patiently, because she answers so admirably- however, even he must take a breath when she says she will fight to her dying breath.

He wishes he could offer his breath in her stead, should that day ever come to pass. It is least a Father should be able to do, for their own daughter.

"It was never my intention to assert control over those who can do what I cannot. If my daughter has earned your loyalty, then I will not ask for it." And now he addresses more than Shinjiro, but Minako, Koh, Suzume, Hitomi, Junpei, Fuuka and Ririka- everyone who has shown the will to fight, despite the horrible truth, "But if you will remain at her side in the battles to come... then I would be grateful."

<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.

And then...

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. TOCK.

There is a transition to that hour between ticks of a second. The hidden time that exists every night at the stroke of midnight.

The room floods with green light of a sickly sky, the moon casting a more baleful light. Outside the window, one can still see the waves of the ocean forming with the tides...

... but the sea is the color of blood, churning with foam.

The man looks out the window. "Is it already that time?" And then a realization occurs to him. "Those two..." He looks towards Mitsuru in alarm, "... they didn't have their Evokers with them, did they?"