2025-12-27: Payback
- Log: Payback
- Cast: Umie Akabane, Noriaki Okaga, Ririka Kawase, Shiryuu Ryouhara, Minato Arisato, Aigis, Reiya Aomori
- Where: Port Island Rooftops
- OOC Date: December 27, 2025
- IC Date: September 01, 2012
- Summary: Noriaki and Umie had made an agreement, and they both intended to pay each other back what they owed. However, on the streets of Port Island, two parties intend to intervene, whether Umie likes it or not: a party of SEES members, and a certain grumpy shihaisha.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Sure, Noriaki (did not) say 'you're (Umie, that is) next'.
Sure, it'd be wise to lay low, heal up, and be glad that he doesn't know her actual identity yet.
And sure, it'd be better to let this Dark Hour pass by from the safety of her apartment.
All of these things are logical approaches for someone trying to simply stay alive.
However, with the pounding drum of late summer refusing to give any refuge to those who seek cooler temps at night, there is only one solution to seeking relief: going outside that stifling apartment and letting the nighttime be your playground. To grow up with the Dark Hour means always being a creature of it, in some way; some part of you shall always grasp towards it like a security blanket, even if it is fully capable of smothering you whole.
Plus, why not honor Umie's own promise to Noriaki? A drum of another kind beats in her head: incessant, demanding, thrilling when acquiesced to.
She can handle this by herself.
Red sneakers leap from rooftop to rooftop; unlike her usual method of sneaking around like a rat in the shadows, Umie's resonance is loud and clear, a beacon of challenge that will be easy to follow for certain people who may have followed. The rain that came earlier tonight has halted, painting the pavement red.
Yesterday's mask is now today's, a blue-green number interspersed with gold 'cracks' reminiscent of kintsugi pottery. It's partially covered by the light grey hood, marred by some red streaks of what was earlier rain. The jacket's sleeves are rolled up, revealing black half sleeves that give the girl a chance to grip from surface to surface, as she stops at a roof edge, summoning Badb to get a larger view of her surroundings.
(This isn't the first time Umie's done this; Noriaki may have noticed the light grey hooded figure doing the same weeks ago, scouting the city in the wake of his attack when SEES was on vacation. She is, however, lacking her nighttime snack of a curry bun and soda.)
AS: Shiryuu Ryouhara has readied for combat as Sarutahiko Okami! He is now fully healed! Hitomi Mandai has arrived from Historia: The White Chronicle.
<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.
"Yo."
That, and the crunch of soles against the rooftop behind her are Umie's first warnings that she has company.
He's a tall one, for a Japanese man: his build is lanky, and he doesn't stand up straight but slouches. He wears a somewhat ratty blue-grey hoodie, the hood raised far enough over his head that his eyes are in shadow and can't be easily seen. Black hair sticks out the sides in a few places to partially frame the lower half of his face and he has a short, chaotically-groomed dark beard. The rest of his attire is unremarkable: beat-up dark blue jeans. A pair of scuffed and stained sneakers.
He's grinning.
"Quicker 'n you thought, right?" says Noriaki, standing there astride the opposite edge of the rooftop. Over one shoulder, he braces the machete. "I was busy then, but I ain't now," he says, stepping down to saunter gamely towards Umie. "C'mon, crow-girl. Let's do this. I ain't the type to forget what I'm owed... or what I owe!" He punctuates this by a brief spray of laughter before swinging the machete off his shoulder casually.
"Nice mask," he remarks, off-handedly.
"So. You wanna do this here? Or down there, with the Shadows?" he asks her, jerking his head towards the edge of the building she perches upon.
"And do you wanna do this alone, or--"
He stretches his arms and weapon wide as if to indicate the whole of the supernatural night enveloping them. "--with those friends of yours lurking out there!"
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
MOMENTS AGO
Unlike yesterday in Mementos, tonight Ririka is with a team. She's with a lot of her team, in fact. And they'd been off to Tartarus to do team things, but then Ririka caught a sound off in the distance.
Resonance, broadcast as a challenge. "Hey guys. I'm hearing some loud Resonance over in Port Island..."
She pauses, a hand cupped to the side of her head. "Wait--two signatures-- and I recognize the second one from yesterday. We should check it out."
OVER AT THE ROOFTOP
From street level comes a cry of "Amphion!" Music plays into the night, and several boulders tear themselves from the earth and float upwards like a large staircase.
Ririka hauls herself onto the roof a moment later, slightly out of breath. She's tall, and in what looks like a Gekkoukan Winter uniform, with a red armband on her left shoulder, an armor plate on her right arm, and boots and gloves with metal plates on them. "That's the guy with the weird Evoker I told you all about," she shouts, her own (normal) Evoker in hand.
She pulls her Evoker up to her head. With a slight tremble she pulls the trigger, a large stone man emerging from blue flame and broken glass behind her. "Analysis!"
Amphion strums, bombarding Noriaki with soundwaves. Ririka clutches the cognitive headphones on her head, listening to them bounce back to filter through the information.
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Almighty skill Basic Analysis on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
"She's been active lately..." he observes quietly, more than a little nettled at circumstance.
The problem with having an injured hand and arm in a sling is that it means literally every kid in gymnastics class can pull a better thief vault than you. Luckily, that's not a limitation for him.
The onmitsu isn't actually following the little catwalker up there on the rooftops, at least not in the 'rooftop to rooftop' fashion, as it might draw more attention than he'd like.
It has nothing at all to do with him not wanting to get yelled at again, certainly.
Ryouhara's eye aches inside of his skull, as the boy's sneaker -- new, greyish Nike -- braces on the rail of a nearby fire escape, on the flank of a building some two, three buildings off. He's absolutely not following her. The shihaisha is merely supervising an asset from afar, from just out of earshot.
Well, right up until someone shows up and literally shouts from the rooftops, waking the dead. Like an offended cat, the grey-haired boy's face screws all the way up. Absent a good frequency or rhythm to settle on, his resonance is not as acute as some of the other trained Persona users. It's expected, given that his skillset is in an enirely different class. What is less expected is that noxious supernatural miasma that nigh-literally slaps him wholesale in the face, on his way up the fire escape to the upper floors.
"iih..." He is almost tempted just to leave on the spot. But...
"who is that guy..."
AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Basic Analysis. AS: Ririka Kawase's Strength Scan! Noriaki Okaga resists Water! AS: Ririka Kawase's Weakness Scan! Noriaki Okaga is weak against Light!
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Let's go," Minato, the Blue Leader, confirms for their team when Ririka senses something amiss. Just like that, a Tartarus Run -- they have them quite regularly, in SEES, they're just not always happening when the camera is looking -- becomes a matter of Dark Hour Patrolling.
This, too, is within SEES's remit.
They're on the streets, of course, not the rooftops. (Well. Most of them. Ninjas and robots built by ninjas aren't really things Minato can account for.)
"He's the one?" He confirms, looking up at Noriaki. "... looks like that woman's in trouble. Let's help her. Narcissus!"
Minato places his Evoker to his temple, and does not flinch as he fires; the beautiful man who rises from his psyche casts a reflective barrier across Umie from below.
AS: Persona! Minato Arisato has used the Almighty skill Tetrakarn on Umie Akabane! AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Minato Arisato's Tetrakarn. AS: Reflect_Phys added!
<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
Aigis often takes to nightly Dark Hour sweeps for Shadows within the vicinity of Iwatodai. It is expressly in her programming, it is a part of her default routine. This is what she does as an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon: 'suppress' Shadows.
Tonight might be a little bit different: Ririka has alerted several within the SEES dorms to some unusual Resonance activity. Tonight's excursion appears to be a group outing.
Ririka relays to the group that the presence is on the roof. "I comprehend." Her eyes glow a bright blue as the (literally) statuesque Palladion manifests on the street. Aigis hops on and steadies herself on -- others are free to hop on, as well -- then Palladion lifts off, propelled by three glowing bright white-pink jets located on its base. As it reaches roof-level, Aigis hops off, leaving Palladion to soar off into the night sky as it fades out of existence.
Aigis lands on the rooftop, positioning herself in front of the others. She stretches her hand out towards Noriaki, all five fingers pointed at him. To Umie, she calmly asks, "Is this man bothering you? Do you require assistance?"
The figure who is clearly a robot, metallic limbs connected to her torso by gunmetal black joints, red ribbon prominently emblazoned on her chest -- operating perfectly fine during the Dark Hour -- just asked Umie if she would like some help.
She doesn't take any offensive action of her own just yet, instead summoning Palladion once more. It glows red, an image of a spear briefly appears in the aura, then the aura spreads to herself and the other members of SEES present.
AS: Persona! Aigis has used the Almighty skill Matarukaja on Aigis, Minato Arisato, Ririka Kawase, and Reiya Aomori! AS: Pressure: Aigis gains 1 Limit! AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from Aigis's Matarukaja. AS: Atk_Up added!
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Reiya's battle attire is shadowed; there's black about the shoulders, black about the sides, places for various throwing weapons on his person, as well of course as the SEES armplate. He has his Persona's shrouding to cover him in the dark. And he might just need it, because Ririka has pointed something out...
Reiya has been down with the others, rather than hopping about the rooftops. But now--
He spots movement from the rooftops above. "There," Reiya points out, and then, he starts up--through the alley, Reiya leaps to the wall, jumping from that wall to the next to the next until he's up on the roof with the others.
Umie might see him behind Noriaki; he lifts a finger to his lips. Aigis's very incredible hop up will probably divert attention from him, as--
Reiya throws a few needles, tipped with glistening liquid, straight for Noriaki's back. It's unlikely to be fatal (Sorry Shiryuu) but it'll sap stamina well enough.
Reiya lands in a three-point crouch. "I will not allow you to harm Akabane-san."
He's glowing from Aigis's buff.
AS: Take! Reiya Aomori takes 0 Almighty damage from Aigis's Matarukaja. AS: Atk_Up added! AS: Weapon! Reiya Aomori has used the Pierce skill Venom Throw on Noriaki Okaga! 2 Hits! AS: Ruin: Reiya Aomori gains 1 Limit! AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Aigis's Matarukaja. AS: Atk_Up added! AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from Aigis's Matarukaja. AS: Atk_Up added! AS: Block Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 45 Pierce damage from Reiya Aomori's Venom Throw. AS: Poison added! AS: Counter Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 54 Pierce damage from Reiya Aomori's Venom Throw. AS: COUNTER! Reiya Aomori takes 38 Pierce damage in return for his attack!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Unlike those other nights, Noriaki finds Umie. While her senses aren't as sharp as someone like Ririka, due to her talents being shaped towards a different end, Noriaki's resonance is loud and clear.
He's being about as brazen as she is, right now.
"I'm impressed," she cooes, turning to Noriaki. "I figured after that beating, you'd go home to rest yourself, but I guess you're just as reckless as I am." Umie slips her hands into her rainjacket, grabbing the handle of the bladed end of her kyoketsu shoge and twisting it around, yanking out the rest of the weapons length with a few practiced movements of her right arm. "Rooftops are fine. I'm not here to fight Shadows, I can do that at *home*."
'--with those friends of yours lurking out there!'
"... Eh?" Brown eyes blink from behind the mask; Umie looks around.
Ririka's resonance is familiar, but the earthen staircase is certainly impressive. (.... Man, Umie should've chosen the street if they were going to attract more people.)
Reiya's entrance almost is spoiled by Umie's eyes, but she looks to Aigis instead, completely baffled at what is apparently a.... robot(???) asking her if she'd like any help. "... Uh..."
Minato's shield shimmers in front of her in that moment, the distorted lens briefly framing Umie's flummoxed face, caught between trying to decide if this is a good thing... or a bad thing.
Nope, Umie didn't plan this at *all*. That's not even sarcasm, she really did come here alone, as Shiryuu could attest to!!
Why, oh why, is a part of her... _disappointed_?
(Noriaki, you should show Umie the error of her ways.)
AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.
It's bad, as Ririka will find and Shiryuu has already noted. The vibes coming off this guy are real bad. It's like the worst person in the room is coming to talk to you. It's like nails-on-a-chalkboard bad. It's like opening a yogurt container and finding it had a turn for the worse months ago. There's a reason he's able to commandeer his resonance to attract violent Shadows--
But tonight, it seems, he's intending on making this all about him.
"Tch. I've had worse'n that," he tells Umie, shrugging his shoulders at the mention of the last night's activities. "I'm surprised about you, girly. Here you are, strutting around in my turf, like you ain't got a fear in that pretty little head! But that's just fine," he says, shaking his head. "Saves me the trouble!"
But just as he'd said, she's not alone, now is she?
"Well, well-- looks like the gang's all here!" crows Noriaki, his gaze sweeping the space atop the roof as, within short order, others do indeed appear on the scene. "Come on down, don't be shy now!"
His gaze flits towards Aigis, taking her in. She's a robot alright, and more importantly than that, she's not just any kind of robot. Noriaki pauses for a moment as if regarding her more critically now than before. He gestures towards her with his free hand. "And what's this? A Kirijo-made toy? Well, ain't that a--"
Like rain, needles fall from the sky. Noriaki whirls about sharply after the first few strike, his Evoker coming easily to hand. With practiced speed, he fires a shot at his own head, and there, Efnysien manifests to catch the last scattered darts, repelling them in kind.
"Hitting a man in the back?" he says to Reiya, waggling his Evoker at him like he's not mad, he's just disappointed. "What are they teaching the kids these days?" Over-dramatic, he shrugs towards the sickly sky hanging overhead. "Well, it doesn't matter to me. Come on, then! If you're fighting alongside her, then you're in my way!"
His gaze snaps to Umie, marking well the barrier that's been set upon her. "Ready, crow-girl? Let's dance! Efnysien!"
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3y5xBDNVuo
Jamming the Evoker up under his jaw, he fires, once; in his skeletal cauldron-bath besides him, the shadow-figure that is his Persona slowly clenches a fist in empty air; pressure and weight coalesce about different points near and far. Someone he didn't quite see summoned that barrier around Umie and thwarted some of his ambitions, after all. Someone's over there in the distance. Umie, herself, is out of reach of his blade. And then there's Ririka who has done something he can't see or feel but doesn't care for.
"Now, kiddo, let's see how you like this!" He fires a second shot; Efnysien launches that broken rocking horse-a-string towards Reiya and breaks into a run for Aigis.
"Let's see what kinda shit you're made of, eh--?"
He swings, again and again, with that chipped machete, as if to see how well she was assembled in the first place.
AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Earth skill Magry on Umie Akabane, Ririka Kawase, Shiryuu Ryouhara, and Minato Arisato! AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Strike skill Swift Strike on Reiya Aomori! 3 Hits! AS: Weapon! Noriaki Okaga has used the Slash skill Well-used Machete on Aigis! 3 Hits! AS: Aggression: Noriaki Okaga gains 1 Limit! AS: Noriaki Okaga: Loses 60 HP from Poison! Poison removed! AS: Block Worst! Aigis takes 18 Slash damage from Noriaki Okaga's Well-used Machete. Block Slash! AS: Block Best! Aigis takes 6 Slash damage from Noriaki Okaga's Well-used Machete. Critical Hit! Block Slash! AS: Counter Best! Aigis takes 49 Slash damage from Noriaki Okaga's Well-used Machete. Critical Hit! AS: COUNTER! Noriaki Okaga takes 32 Pierce damage in return for his attack! AS: Block Worst! Ririka Kawase takes 23 Earth damage from Noriaki Okaga's Magry. Resist! AS: Avoid Worst! Minato Arisato takes 47 Earth damage from Noriaki Okaga's Magry. AS: Paralyze added! AS: Avoid Neutral! Reiya Aomori takes 24 Strike damage from Noriaki Okaga's Swift Strike. Critical Hit! AS: Avoid Best! Reiya Aomori takes 5 Strike damage from Noriaki Okaga's Swift Strike. AS: Avoid Worst! Reiya Aomori takes 32 Strike damage from Noriaki Okaga's Swift Strike. AS: Avoid Neutral! Umie Akabane takes 21 Earth damage from Noriaki Okaga's Magry. AS: Avoid Neutral! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 36 Earth damage from Noriaki Okaga's Magry. Weak!
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka suggests, but it's Minato who confirms it. "Alright, Arisato-san."
"That's him," ririka confirms to Minato moments later. "I don't know his name-- I just heard someone call him Hoodie-san. But--" Ririka wices, rubbing at her ear. "That's definitely the same Resonance."
But she keeps listening, despite the nails-on-a-chalkboard sound. "He's strong against Ice attacks, and... weak to Light!" she announces.
Ririka... wasn't expecting a rocket-powered Persona. "Whoa. That's... handy." But she feels the empowering magic settle on her, giving Aigis a sharp nod. "Thank you, Aigis-san!"
She can't match Reiya's acrobatics either. (Maybe if she had her skateboard on her, but she tends not to bring it on missions.) She can't match his resonance hiding, either.
"Akabane-san! Are you okay?" Ririka asks, taking up her position behind Aigis, ready to provide support. "I'm glad we found you in time!"
Pressure and weight suddenly shift, and Ririka's not prepared for it, getting swept off her feet. "Woah--" She hits the ground, but thankfully she's a bit sturdy, so the hit could have been harder. She grunts as she pushes herelf backup, shaking her head.
"Alright. Amphion! Let's go! Give me Marakukaja!" Amphion strums his lyre, and vitality flows up from the earth... through the roof. (Look don't question it, the point is you're buffed now.)
Ririka gestures, like she's conducting a song. "And now-- give him a dissonant song!" Really Ririka is just redirecting the sound of nails on a chalkboard back at Noriaki, via Amphion's strumming.
AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Exploit! Ririka Kawase can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Almighty skill Marakukaja on Umie Akabane, Aigis, Minato Arisato, and Reiya Aomori! AS: Take! Reiya Aomori takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Marakukaja. AS: Def_Up added! AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Almighty skill Dissonant Song on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit!
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
"SEES...?"
He recognizes the bands. Among other things. The onmitsu blinks, eyes snapping down despite himself, taking his eyes off of the rooftop for an unexpected second. A grim line sets in his mouth as he spots the arrival of the machine and an Aomori, among other things. Are they in league with the noxious person? It doesn't really matter.
Shiryuu has roughly the same antipathy about all of them.
"No matter where you go, there's always some unsanctioned Kirijo garbage to clean up..." Sliding his sheathed sword out of his belt, his finger braces against the guard. He breathes, slightly, and then pops the sword loose from the sheath's fitted mouth with a muted sound.
It just takes that single click.
The sound of old wood boards clamoring against eachother resounds and cracks against concrete facades as they unfold from nothing at all, slapping into the helical wind and creak of taut and ancient hemp. Like the haphazard hang of wires off of a messy A/V rig, bridges stab through the air, a spray of paths going off in a cellar spider's web of directions: Up, down, left, right, north, south, east and west. Some of the bridges seem not to hold any physical mooring at all, stabbing off at almost 90 degree angles from nowhere to nowhere. Irrespective of that, the bridges are solid, and no matter how steep, it seems like gravity is entirely on the side of anyone standing on them.
Sound, on the other hand, is another story entirely.
A machanical kami alights on the edge of the rooftop he's on as soon as Ryouhara clambers over it, Bankasoujin unsheathed, the saya rammed into the opposite side of his belt. The arrival of that Persona brings with it a curiously intense flange of air pressure, a single harsh beat laid down on the clouds. At first, the sound is distant, a chime of good luck, broken just at the end by a massive clash of percussion following it. An ambient tapping of wood on brass, following the sway and pitch of those bridges in the wind in an anxious, steady tempo. Tap tap tap, ta-tap tap tap. Slowly, the percussion cycles to a stop.
Three... two... one.
Ground zero: A bridge -snaps- through the crenellations of the building behind Umie, wood smashing bits of concrete as rippling boards resound and the bridge, at least the seventh such structure, stretches off into the sky somewhere.
That's when Ryouhara arrives, stepping blue-eyed out of a whirlwind itself to reach out. Two fingers, hand still holding his sword. Index and middle, to hook Akabane mid-threat by the back of her hoodie. It'll take just that much.
To flick her onto a bridge that's going diagonally all the way up.
He looks back. "Don't ruin your shoes on that guy...SEES is not going to pay to replace them... - eh?"
He really should be paying attention to the reprobate. Shiryuu looks back at the banter, just in time to raise his sword and -- get blasted by a crushing burst of pressure. He can only kick back so fast, and the boy almost sails right off the building edge from the crushing blast that re-sets every one of his previously earned injuries alight.
Thank goodness for sneaker traction.
AS: Persona! Shiryuu Ryouhara has used the Recovery skill Track 5: Bridge of Shinra on Umie Akabane! AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Marakukaja. AS: Def_Up added! AS: You have 1 more attack in queue! AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Track 5: Bridge of Shinra. AS: Eclipse and Regen added! AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Marakukaja. AS: Def_Up added! AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Dissonant Song. AS: Spd_Dn added!
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
Minato...
... is not the kind of guy who can climb up onto the rooftop from the outside of the building. "I'd appreciate it if you could come on down," he calls, subsequently, up to Noriaki.
Luckily, between Ririka's stone staircase and Shiryuu's bridge, the people down below have plenty of options for getting up. And so he does! "... precarious," he notes, on the roof tiles.
He hop-steps back from the crushing pressure of Magry, though he's not quite fast enough to evade that terrible pressure; perhaps he's being careful now he's on the rooftop.
"Strong against Ice... got it," he nods, firmly, as he supposes Apsaras will need to wait for another day. "Good followthrough," he adds, to Ririka, seeing her encore.
"Since I've been strengthened... it's time to change tactics. Naga!" Minato fires on himself, again, as a twisting snake-man -- the very same side of himself which he came to understand through his relationship with Reiya -- emerges from blue flame. He lifts his spear, and three more spectral spears plummet down into Noriaki's space.
He's not the kind of Piercing Specialist that Aigis is... but he still does pretty well.
AS: Persona! Minato Arisato has used the Pierce skill Arrow Rain on Noriaki Okaga! 3 Hits! AS: Minato Arisato: Paralyze removed! AS: Minato Arisato regains 3 SP from Invigorate!
<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
'A Kirijo-made toy.' Apparently, Aigis doesn't take umbrage to the description and has no retort. To her ear, it's accurate.
'Unsanctioned Kirijo garbage', on the other hand, doesn't fit her. "I assure you, Kirijo knows about my manufacture." aigis no that's probably not what Shiryuu had meant. The possibility that he meant Noriaki, not her, doesn't cross her mind.
Noriaki comes in swinging at Aigis, putting her chassis to the test. She blankly stares at him as he approaches, her face devoid of both the anxiety and thrill of combat. To her, this is a clinical affair. The first two strikes ring out, chipping away and denting her forearms where she had held them up to block his slashes -- and the third more firmly connects with her torso as she takes the opportunity to fire a round of less-than-lethal munitions from her fingers to repel his advance back and reset position.
She staggers back upright and calmly requests, "Please desist from this assault."
Aigis nods to Ririka after they've performed their combat support handshake. "My thanks." Aigis' eyes glow blue once, signalling Palladion to separate the machinery behind its torso and extend a long drill bit in Efnysien's direction. A series of red lasers emerge from the tip, but they cause no harm on their own: they highlight the spots where he may be most vulnerable to ranged weaponry.
She points one index finger at one of those red points on Efnysien, taking careful aim. "Please recognize the position you are in and cease hostilities." Then fires.
AS: Aigis spends Limit on Exploit! Aigis can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Marakukaja. AS: Def_Up added! AS: Persona! Aigis has used the Almighty skill Pierce Break on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Pressure: Aigis gains 1 Limit! AS: Weapon! Aigis has used the Pierce skill Precision Shot on Noriaki Okaga!
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
The gang's all here. Reiya, as it happens, can't read disappointment in Umie's face. But he can hear--A 'Kirijo-made toy'. That's a very specific identifier on Noriaki's part. But Reiya has his own problems to deal with a moment later, throwing out his arm to catch the needles on his bracer instead of being poisoned himself. "Efficiency," Reiya answers Noriaki.
Reiya has to dodge next--but the rocking-horse catches him on the leg even as he does, sending him down to the ground. He rolls out of the way of the next strike, and jerks out of the way of the third in a way that jars muscles--but he ends up on his feet. "Hmph," Reiya says. "I wanted a chance to see one of these Evokers up-close," he comments.
As Shiryuu speaks up though, Reiya looks towards him sharply. A Ryouhara--and not just any Ryouhara. "You're the one who's unsanctioned here," Reiya says. "...Shiryuu Ryouhara."
This battle just got much more dangerous in his estimation; Noriaki is a powerful foe, but Shiryuu could be an ally or an enemy in this moment, and in Noriaki's case at least they know he's the latter. Chime, chime... three two one.
"So you care about Akabane," Reiya notes to Shiryuu. For his part, Reiya runs up a bridge and appears at the far side of another as he does, ninja-running forward, forward--
"Sorry, Leader!" Reiya calls of not coming down. But it is precarious. Especially as Reiya leaps upward from the sideways bridge and--
Gravity reasserts as he gets past its influence, leading him to fall straight towards Noriaki, Evoker in hand. "Hup--"
BANG. Reiya's spectral display shatters glass as his eyes breifly go completely wide and he summons his Persona. "KUNIMITSU!"
Falling, Reiya's Persona emerges, slashing down, down, down towards Noriki. His blade emerges, and cuts in passing; mist blossoms in all directions from that cut as Reiya rolls to the side on landing, kipping up to start pressing Noriaki with his sai one-two-three with stabs and twists to try to keep him off-balance. "Now, identify the source of your Evoker!"
AS: Reiya Aomori spends Limit on Exploit! Reiya Aomori can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Reiya Aomori has used the Slash skill Mist Slash on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Weapon! Reiya Aomori has used the Pierce skill Powerful Combo on Noriaki Okaga! 2 Hits!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'... like you ain't got a fear in that pretty little head!' "Don't talk like you weren't looking forward to this," Umie boasts, pointing the main blade of her weapon towards Noriaki. "I bet you were up all night just--"
'Akabane-san! Are you okay? I'm glad we found you in time!' Ririka's concern is hard to snark back at, as much as Umie really, really wants to. "... I was doing just fine," the blonde tries to weakly protest, as a hand goes to adjust her mask to avoid looking at Ririka. _Was she_? She doesn't even know how Noriaki fights aside from the glimpses she caught across the arena they were in.
'Ready, crow-girl?' Oh, that manages to get a better response from Umie. "My _name_ is--" oh, Reiya and Ririka just said it-- or, at least, her surname. If Noriaki could remember the name of a random convenience store clerk he met a few times back in Sumaru City, this may complicate Umie's attempts to it secret, if Umie hadn't nearly done so herself a second ago. (This is what happens when you make up your opsec plans as you go along.)
That strange Evoker goes under Noriaki's chin, Umie feels pressure go off nearby her, cutting her next quip before it could even leave her mouth as she's forced to dodge back, conveniently in Shiryuu's direction, as well as Shiryuu's bridges, in turn, as Reiya says Shiryuu's surname aloud.
"Ryouhar--ah?!" Umie's too shocked to offer any sort of greeting or scolding when Shiryuu pulls on her hood, instead letting out an awkward 'EEP' as Shiryuu flicks her onto the bridge rapidly rising up. "I said I had this handled-" (Sorry, Umie, it's going to be harder to hear you as you go up.)
'So you care about Akabane.' Umie tries to fight the heat on her cheeks.
?... How pitiful... to be shoved off the stage like some wilting flower. She could do so much better.)]
The blonde gathers that heated impulse, a pulse of anger quaking in her mind like a fuse about to pop, and channels it into the grinning blackbird of a woman that appearings twisting overhead, framed by the green moon.
A taloned finger points *downwards* Noriaki as Umie winces, one hand clasping onto the bridge tower she currently stands on. A portent of doom, as befitting a false oracle.
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Bad Moon Rising on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Umie Akabane takes 50 damage from Stress! AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit! AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 61 HP from Regen! AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Block Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 34 Pierce damage from Minato Arisato's Arrow Rain. AS: Block Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 14 Pierce damage from Minato Arisato's Arrow Rain. AS: Block Neutral! Noriaki Okaga takes 41 Pierce damage from Minato Arisato's Arrow Rain. Critical Hit! AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 0 Almighty damage from Aigis's Pierce Break. AS: Pierce_Break added! AS: Avoid Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 82 Pierce damage from Aigis's Precision Shot. Weak! AS: Block Neutral! Noriaki Okaga takes 78 Slash damage from Reiya Aomori's Mist Slash. AS: Avoid Neutral! Noriaki Okaga takes 68 Pierce damage from Reiya Aomori's Powerful Combo. Weak! AS: Avoid Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 95 Pierce damage from Reiya Aomori's Powerful Combo. Weak! AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 0 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Bad Moon Rising. AS: Omen added!
<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.
"Maybe I was, maybe I wasn't!" he grins nastily at Umie. "Ain't for me to tell! Now, come on--"
But they have company, and some of that company is very interesting indeed.
He knows 'whose' Aigis must be, even if the rest of the matter is more up in the air. After all, there's only one group around that's able to make technology that functions in the Dark Hour. "--Not bad, ain't a piece of crap at all. Looks like they pulled out all the stops here!" he declares after taking a go at Aigis directly. It's hard to read the expression on half a face, much less the way his mouth pulls here. It's like a smile, but even a battle-ready grin isn't quite...
A couple of them are down below; one of them calls back up to him. Can't he come down there? "Ain't doin' that! I'm perfectly happy taking potshots at ya from up here, kiddo!" he calls down to Minato. "Come up here if you wanna fight me," he continues, jabbing a thumb at his own chest, "or stay down there and get rained on! Or run away to your mama! I ain't picky!"
No sooner has he taunted Minato than Ririka responds by giving him a taste of his own medicine. Reeling back, that grin on Noriaki's mouth turns into a grimace. "Shit, what's that-- hey, girly, same to you!" he shouts down from the rooftop once he's managed to get his metaphorical feet back under himself again.
His head moves, as if to track in the next moment the arrival and spread of all those myriad rope bridges. "What's this shit?" he wonders aloud. "Some kinda-- well, do whatever, kiddo!" he barks at Shiryuu as he pulls Umie to a sort of momentary safety. "It ain't the battle, it's the war!"
Of course, it's the same trick with the bridges that lets Minato (and maybe, Ririka?) access the rooftop. Is Noriaki regretting that earlier taunt when Minato's serpentine Persona rains spectral spears down upon him in a torrent? "Hff--" Noriaki approximates, Efnysien's presence sheltering him at least some of the incoming blows. But while Minato's not a Pierce specialist, well.
Don't worry, Minato, Aigis has you covered. "--Shit was that?" Noriaki calls out when something happens to him courtesy of Aigis's Persona. And speaking of that Persona--
"So, you've got one, too." He laughs after that, a deep rattling chuckle that would sound more at home in the grave.
Desist, Aigis says, not once, but twice.
"Yeah? And if I don't, then what? Gonna go back and tattle?" he asks of her, toying absently with his Evoker as that one shot comes in and strikes his Persona with a glancing blow. Given by the way Noriaki recoils, he felt that one at least in sympathy, while Efnysien twitches in his weakened state from even the grazing shot. "Cute, real cute. Armin' their damn attack robot with shit like that--!" he snaps back in reply. That grin has been absent a moment long from his face by now. When it comes back, it's almost manic.
"You curious? Come and see for yourself!" he taunts Reiya. His attention is on Reiya as the boy's Persona closes, slashing then stabbing at Noriaki as Efnysien's various skeletal slide from the cauldron to attempt to block or deflect the incoming blows. One scores a cut against a sleeve. Another is battered away with some effort from the Persona. A third hit clips Noriaki's shoulder and he drops back, wincing as he tests his range of motion. That grin has again vanished into the aether.
Insult to injury occurs then: Noriaki is presented with a Curse.
"...So 'Akabane', eh?" he says, rising as that portent of woe clutches to him and won't let go. "Fair's fair, crow-girl. I'll give you a name in return. It's 'Okaga'!"
Either it's another part of the game to him, or he just doesn't care at all about opsec.
Standing there then atop the roof, Noriaki's gaze scans the crowd he's been presented with. "Went fishin' for one, and got a whole half-dozen," he says, throwing up his arms as if in disbelief. "Heh. Looks like I gotta get serious!" Noriaki adds, his grin returning. Again, he fires that shot right into his brain (supernaturally, that is) and Efnysien manifests to his side; both him and his Persona begin to glow briefly with a reddish light. Has he bolstered himself somehow through his Persona's power?
(Yes. The answer is 'yes'.)
With a crack, Noriaki again pulls the trigger on his Evoker, jamming it once more up behind his chin. "Efnysien! ...Give 'em something to chew on!"
With one hand the Persona bears a blade, which bursts into flame. He cleaves through the air once, twice before that fiery 'X' roars for the place Aigis stands. But in the other, the Persona brandishes a card of darkness which he crushes, evoking falling javelins of shadow for the place the young SEES ninja stands. While this happens, Noriaki himself rushes for Minato in much the same way he did with Aigis. "Decided to come on up, eh? Bad move!" he tells him, which is rude because he's the one who invited him up in the first place! Well, or invited him to get attacked from above or to run, but.
He jams the Evoker up against his jaw one more time. "Let's see how you like this!" he barks, and the aura that washes across the room courtesy of Efnysien's skyward silent howl, may be one that suggests that their ability to attack might well be lessened.
AS: Noriaki Okaga spends Limit on Psych! AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Almighty skill Rebellion on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 0 Almighty damage from Noriaki Okaga's Rebellion. AS: Crt_Up added! AS: Tandem! Noriaki Okaga has used the Fire skill Firebrand on Aigis! 3 Hits! AS: Weapon! Noriaki Okaga has used the Slash skill Well-used Machete on Minato Arisato! 3 Hits! AS: Aggression: Noriaki Okaga gains 1 Limit! AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Dark skill Eiha on Reiya Aomori! AS: Persona! Noriaki Okaga has used the Almighty skill Matarunda on Shiryuu Ryouhara, Ririka Kawase, and Umie Akabane! AS: Noriaki Okaga: Psych removed! AS: Block Worst! Aigis takes 28 Fire damage from Noriaki Okaga's Firebrand. Critical Hit! AS: Block Best! Aigis takes 4 Fire damage from Noriaki Okaga's Firebrand. AS: Block Best! Aigis takes 4 Fire damage from Noriaki Okaga's Firebrand. AS: Take! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 0 Almighty damage from Noriaki Okaga's Matarunda. AS: Atk_Dn added! AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Almighty damage from Noriaki Okaga's Matarunda. AS: Atk_Up removed! AS: Block Worst! Minato Arisato takes 48 Slash damage from Noriaki Okaga's Well-used Machete. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: Block Neutral! Minato Arisato takes 30 Slash damage from Noriaki Okaga's Well-used Machete. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: Block Neutral! Minato Arisato takes 16 Slash damage from Noriaki Okaga's Well-used Machete. Weak! AS: Block Best! Reiya Aomori takes 15 Dark damage from Noriaki Okaga's Eiha. AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Almighty damage from Noriaki Okaga's Matarunda. AS: Atk_Dn added! <Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka blinks as bridges suddenly appear from nowhere, crisscrosing all over the place. "What the--" She reaches out with her senses to try and find the source. But the source comes to them a moment later.
SEES won't pay to replace their shoes. This has been a topic of much debate before, but... "... and you are...?" Ririka asks warily.
"Thanks, Arisato-san!" Ririka says, when he compliments her followthrough.
Support handshake! "Welcome, Aigis-san!" She will take umbrage at that 'toy' comment, but she's also busy monitoring the battlefield right now.
And Reiya makes an identification. "Wait, you know this guy, Aomori-san?" (Also keeping her busy with battlefield monitor? All of those dang bridges which are going to make her head hurt if she thinks about them too hard.)
aUmie insists she was fine, and Ririka... believes her. "Oh, then... good! But we still need to investigate that guy over there." (Sorry, Umie, if you have an alias she doesn't know it.)
Ririka is on the roof, thanks to an earthen staircase. Noriaki asks what that noise was. "Just a little number Amphion knows-- sorry, but he's not taking requests tonight."
"Okaga..." She'll file that away for later. But she grits her teeth and clutches her chest as she feels that aura wash over her, stripping away the empowering buff Aigis just palced on her. Rude.
"Alright... Amphion, let's give everyone a pick-me-up!" Amphion plays, invisible strings turning to light under his touch. Strands of music in an upbeat tempo weave their way around herself, Reiya, Umie, and Shiryuu to help keep their energy up.
"And now..." Ririka gestures at Noriaki. "Let's soften him up a bit!" The music from Amphion shifts, becoming powerful and deep, as a fissure of energy opens up beneath the enemy evoker user, trying to render him weakened to her favored element.
AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Exploit! Ririka Kawase can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Recovery skill Energizing Song on Ririka Kawase, Reiya Aomori, Umie Akabane, and Shiryuu Ryouhara! AS: Insight: Ririka Kawase gains 1 Limit! AS: Take! Ririka Kawase takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Energizing Song. AS: Vigor added! AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Almighty skill Fissure on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Ririka Kawase: Gains 10 SP from Vigor! AS: Take! Umie Akabane takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Energizing Song. AS: Vigor added! AS: Take! Reiya Aomori takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Energizing Song. AS: Vigor added! AS: Take! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 0 Recovery healing from Ririka Kawase's Energizing Song. AS: Vigor added!
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
"Mm," Ryouhara notes wordlessly, as Umie is taken on a trip into the sky. Her protests are growing dimmer in volume to him every second she's lost up there on an Itano elevator ride. It may be as he entirely planned it to be.
"I thought I told you you'd be under my watch..." He's talking to the air that used to be a very determined-looking masked woman a second ago. "What made you think I'd let you fight someone 'like that' alone... oh, bye. I guess." She's out of earshot of his quiet voice. He definitely doesn't seem to be as polite. If you look really quickly, you might be fast enough to catch him looking grimly satisfied for about half a second.
Nope, that's too slow, you missed it.
[fight's humming now...] The moment absolutely does not last. As he recovers from almost dying, one derisive look stabs out at Reiya as the boy recognizes him. Bristling, Reiya can feel the surge of rhythm beneath his feet. Resonance? "Put that inane drivel back in your mouth," Ryouhara counters, "and swallow it down before you make the fatal mistake of assuming what authorities a shihaisha has, Aomori.. I alone determine the sanctions of the steel dark."
"...anyway," Shiryuu continues to Reiya's summary, tilting his head down and pointing his eyes flat against the ground for some reason, brows more knit than a blanket. "You're mistaken. I'm only here to assert my claim on 'that girl's life'..." There's really no point in hiding it at this juncture. Literally everybody's trading their names. Even so, Shiryuu doesn't add to the problem. Wait. 'Okaga.' Mmm.
"I have to bring the moon down on her skull, later. Nothing more."
Reiya's already gone, bolting across the ways and paths he dictates, corkscrewing into an interwoven dual attack against the disheveled looking butcher.
It gives him a second. The onmitsu's eyes trace over to Aigis, the grey-haired young man annoyed with the prospect of her voice. He points at her with his only functioning hand, his sword hilt still tersely gripped. His response, equally chilly:
"...You, are something I'll also dismantle later."
Shiryuu glances back, as the killer winds up. Flickering air sits out of phase between them, and Ryouhara can feel the way it drags on him, slows him down. He frowns, and looks up.
[everybody's running now...] As if to illustrate the earlier point, he points to the sky with his sword, as if calling a shot. As if on cue, a halo floats overhead. Red bars stab like spokes from the moon, a hostile paraselene wheel of gradients ranging from pale blue to harsh red. The bridges scattered to and fro seem to coincidentally form some kind of spidery frame around the cognitive visualizer, the BPM surging as the young man becomes aware of something a shade..softer.
[what did I say???]
The boy looks back at Noriaki, one empty sleeve of his white haori drifting in the wind. Energy made of gossamer strands and music cascade around him, the young man looking up in derision. Almost by force, his tempo causes the music surrounding him to speed up, a harsh, electro-industrial beat matching the pop core, like a snake slithering out of a hovel. He seems grim about the whole matter.
"For now, a sacrifice in blood needs to be made here..."
In the next instant, Shiryuu is in the air. Noriaki is charging off towards Minato to engage. Legs curled almost to his chest and haori sleeves spread behind him like great white wings, Shiryuu punches through shifting layers of dragging, ill aura. The gleam of his sword is black underneath the pulse of artificial neon light.
The beat drops like a meteor, as Shiryuu tries to run down and kill the man with a katana to the back right where he stands. Goddamn, he's so serious about these things.
AS: Shiryuu Ryouhara spends Limit on Exploit! Shiryuu Ryouhara can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Shiryuu Ryouhara has used the Recovery skill Track 3: Lock TF In on Shiryuu Ryouhara! AS: Take! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 0 Recovery healing from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Track 3: Lock TF In. AS: Regen added! Atk_Dn removed! AS: Weapon! Shiryuu Ryouhara has used the Slash skill Shurengiri on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Aggression: Shiryuu Ryouhara gains 1 Limit! AS: Shiryuu Ryouhara: Gains 60 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor!
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
Minato has no opinion on the bad reputation of SEES, apparently. He is a rock past which all this hearsay flows.
He's also dissociating. Don't worry about it.
"That's unlikely," he replied, to Noriaki, when he suggested he run home to mama.
"You won't be dismantling Aigis-san," he says, to Shiryuu, with that same distant confidence.
But Noriaki introduces himself, and Minato replies, quite politely: "Minato Arisato. I'm one of the leaders of SEES."
Pause.
"Please address your complaints to us at a later time," he adds, as mild as he's ever been, to Shiryuu.
Minato draws his shortsword, bringing it up against Noriaki's machete. That bloodied, worn instrument screams against Minato's distinctly unbloodied steel; but Naga's way of thinking is vulnerable to these kinds of blatant assaults, and so Minato goes sprawling across the tiles of the rooftop.
He slides down, precariously; he catches his foot on the gutter, and grasps a tile in his hand.
"Sorry. I'm not quite done just yet."
With that same tone, and that same expression, as he picks himself up moments before he'd go tumbling down to the streets below.
"Dangerous... but for now, I'll be aggressive. Naga!"
Naga appears, again, to lift his spear -- as another crashes down to pierce into Noriaki's space from above.
"Aigis-san!" He calls, as he turns to her. "Show them why you're our teammate!"
AS: Minato Arisato spends Limit on Shift! Aigis can use another Weak skill this round! They both receive 8 SP and 25 HP! AS: Persona! Minato Arisato has used the Pierce skill Dream Needle on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Minato Arisato regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Take! Noriaki Okaga takes 0 Almighty damage from Ririka Kawase's Fissure. AS: Earth_Break added! Crt_Up removed! AS: Block Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 20 Slash damage from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Shurengiri. AS: Avoid Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 104 Pierce damage from Minato Arisato's Dream Needle. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: Exhaust added! [OOC] Minato Arisato says, "blu-ray *I'm one of the field leaders of SEES."
<Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
Before Aigis fires her shot, she replies to the question of 'then what?' with: "This." Her eyes are on Noriaki, even as her finger points at his Persona, not him. "I do not intend to harm you directly unless you force me to do so. Neutralizing you by exhausting you enough so that you can no longer summon your Persona is enough."
"Someone," she corrects Shiryuu. "Someone you'll dismantle later." Her hand spins where it meets her wrist. Minato cuts her off from inviting him to try, and she instead acquiesces. She gestures as such: redirect your complaints to him and his co-leader instead.
She holds up her arms to guard against the X-shaped blast beneath her. Some of her external components melt and will require maintenance and repair after this, and if she were made of flesh and bone, it's possible that she would be much worse for wear, but she emerges from the flames, undeterred, expressionless, until --
The first thing to cause Aigis to express anything resembling an emotion tonight is when Noriaki cuts up Minato while he's most vulnerable. (Your complaints, not your armaments.) It's clear that threatening Minato has unsteadied her: fear and fury contort her artificial face. This is no longer a request, but a declaration: "You WILL stop."
'Show them why you're our teammate!' "Acknowledged. Entering fully autonomous mode."
The mechanisms on both sides of her head begin to spin up, Palladion vanishes from the field, and instead, streams of bright blue light spray out behind her from her exposed shoulder and leg joints. Propelled by this, she jets forward to tackle Efnysien, striking him with her limbs to get him in an advantageous position, finally stopping to unload one final blast of gunfire from her hands.
AS: Aigis spends Limit on Psych! AS: Persona! Theurgy! Aigis has used the Pierce skill Orgia Mode on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Pressure: Aigis gains 1 Limit! AS: Aigis: Fast Heal! Psych removed!
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
Thanks to the defensive enhancement Amphion applied earlier, Reiya is able to block with both sai the blast of darkness Noriaki sends at him next. He's largely left intact, thiough the shadow traces up his arms and makes him feel cold, even as the javelins disperse into dark explosions.
"The 'war'," Reiya repeats. "And what war do you fight, Okaga?" He's rude! but this is his enemy. Even though Umie seems to think she had this handled, it's out of her hands, now.
Instead, it's in many more. Noriaki taunts Reiya, and Reiya does come closer. "I'll do that," he says, and strike, strike, strike. His grin may vanish, but Reiya never had one. "Leader!" Reiya says sharply.
But... he's got it. His easy confidence is always reassuring. He's not quite done... and he's going to be aggressive.
Ririka asks a question. "I do," Reiya answers Ririka. And to Shiryuu, "The Aomori does not recognize the authority of lawless rogues." He feels the rhythm, all right; Reiya reasserts his own silence in turn.
But his 'correction' on Umie. "I should've known better than to ascribe chivalry to you," he admits, bringing out his arms with his sai in hand in a mock bow. "But I will remember that instead."
"But you won't be harming Aigis-san. She too is under the protection of the Aomori."
...Though it would be fair to wonder in what universe Reiya is protecting Aigis, it would seem he thinks his family has a stake in the matter. Besides--
Aigis clarifies. Someone. Reiya nods firmly--and thenw atches her enter 'fully autonomous mode', and how powerful Aigis can be, going directly for a Persona that way.
"Leader," Reiya says, and throws out his hand. "I'll back you up."
Reiya jumps up again, landing sideways on one of the bridges--and Kunimitsu lifts his hand, blowing forth a mist that covers and infuses Minato with protective might.
"We operate as a unit for a reason."
AS: Persona! Reiya Aomori has used the Recovery skill Shroud on Minato Arisato! AS: Reiya Aomori: Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Atk_Up removed! AS: Take! Minato Arisato takes 80 Recovery healing from Reiya Aomori's Shroud. AS: Eclipse added!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Efnysien's howl drains a bit of the edge of Umie's force, while Ririka's song energizes Umie magic, turning it into a proper wellspring. Umie sighs. ".... Thank you," she groans, reluctantly, through gritted teeth.
Sorry, Ririka. While Shiryuu's survived his fight with the Old Maid, the feeling of people throwing themselves into danger just because of her feels...
....
"Okaga, then." Umie's response is quiet; with how high she is, Noriaki may not even see or appreciate it, especially when there's so many that have come in. (One day, someone will figure out it's quite ironic that Efnysien is Welsh, while Badb is Irish, and.... yeah it's complicated.)
'I have to bring the moon down on her skull, later.' _What's also complicated_ is whatever the heck is going on between Umie and Shiryuu.
"_I heard that_." Sorry, Shiryuu, the sky heard your response to Reiya, and no one is fooled.
Turning her attention back to Minato now, who identifies himself as a field leader, Umie kneels down on the bridge edge, trying to get a closer look. He summoned more than one Persona, didn't he? Same as that girl (Kanae), Joker, and... Minako Arisato.
"... Do you have a...." No, Umie, don't reveal the presence of another possible family member in front of Noriaki Okaga, aka 'a man with a machete'. "Nevermind." Same with the question about this strange person, Aigis, being possibly a robot. Robots like this don't exist, just like ninjas.
... Just like Personas.
One of which arcs her back over Umie's head, body curved in a turning sickle shape as her wrists twist together, clawed fingers splayed. It's the last warning Noriaki may receive before Umie hooks her blade to the top of the bridge, abandoning her 'nest' of safety for a cloak of dark.
She's just not there anymore, the next time anyone looks.
Umie Akabane is instead a weight that is now swinging towards Noriaki from above, becoming noticeable the second she lands on him, blade drawn.
AS: Umie Akabane spends Limit on Exploit! Umie Akabane can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Final Warning on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit! AS: Tandem! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Seeker in the Dark on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 65 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Reflect_Phys removed! AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Block Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 245 Pierce damage from Aigis's Orgia Mode. Weak! AS: Avoid Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 10 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Final Warning. Critical Hit! AS: Block Neutral! Noriaki Okaga takes 22 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Seeker in the Dark.
<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.
"Tch. Then what good are ya?" he growses at Ririka, rolling his shoulders languidly. She says she'll soften him up, though, a remark that's met with a glance (insofar as one can tell, with the hood) in her direction and a slight flagging of that seemingly omni-present grin of his. "What're you at?" he wonders, right before she shows him. "Hey, you little--!"
What war is he fighting?
"Tch-- that's for me to know, and you to find out, kiddo!" he spits back, answering the boy's question. "What is this, 'twenty questions'?"
"Dibs, eh?" Noriaki wonders at Shiryuu's alleged claim, even if it's spoken to Reiya. "Well, you ain't doin' such a great job, now are ya!" he says, shaking his head and waving his Evoker at the two of them (yes, him and Umie) as if to dismiss the matter altogether. "And who even are you, anyway? You ain't one of ours," he remarks, looking Shiryuu up and down (you can tell by the way he moves his head, that is) as if to take him in anew. "Some kinda," he gestures, then gestures again, "whatsit? Playin' for the other team?" ...It's really not clear what he thinks he's talking about, though.
With what authority, Noriaki asks, to which Aigis replies in the only way she can. Noriaki's response is an insouciant shrug. It's almost like he was expecting something like that, maybe?
"SEES, eh? Ain't you with... aha, guess that's why you're traveling with Kirijo hardware! Those little toys," he says, directing at them with his machete, "and her." The last is him jerking his head in Aigis's general direction. "Eh, I'd like to file a complaint right now, actually!"
Which is when he has a go at Minato, and things are almost very bad indeed for Minato.
But the thing is, he's moved to engage Minato, and it means that in the moment after, Noriaki's not paying attention to Shiryuu at all. Let alone where he goes.
Like the air above him. Or that he lands behind him. Or that--
One skeletal arm snaps out from Efnysien, still present in this space along with Noriaki. The blade is neatly caught between radius and ulna, the arm twisted as if to just deflect the edge away from Noriaki's body. The young man himself turns his head and for a moment, Shiryuu will mark the white of an eye in the shadow under Noriaki's hood.
"Well that," Noriaki declares, "could have been bad."
That's when Noriaki eats a spear. If it weren't for the general weakness that had been drilled into him and his Persona, it might have been 'nothing' at all. As it stands, he reels from the hit in the moment. "Tch-- brat!" Noriaki hisses back at him.
Aigis does as directed. She will stop him. Her Persona vanishes and Aigis herself launches herself at his Persona with enough force that he'll be surprised if he isn't still feeling it next week. A half-dozen metallic skeletal arms attempt to grapple Aigis, who burns with a deep blue flame, but it's of no use. One round of gunfire follows as the Persona is forced into a particular position, and with the sound of breaking glass, the Persona vanishes from sight. "You-- piece of junk!" Noriaki snarls at Aigis, rounding towards her. He's, by all appearances, no longer having a good time.
His hand holding the Evoker shakes.
Reiya attends to Minato in the moment after, but it's the least of his concerns as from the sky above him, Umie descends like a dark weight, crashing into him with her blade drawn. He'll meet her with the flat of his machete, but not before she scores another notch on his shoulder. There's stain growing along the edges of the tear. He works his arm once, twice, then grimaces.
One moment of silence passes, then another.
"That's it-- that's enough!" Noriaki belts out at last, snapping his Evoker up now to rest against his temple. A ruby light has begun to glow near the Evoker's 'barrel'. His teeth are bared, his lips curled in a grimace. "Efnysien! Let. Them. Have it."
The Evoker cracks with a report like a gunshot, the bulk of the cauldron-bound Persona surging again to appear far more solidly in this world in a burst of red shards. The shadowy figure that rests in its cauldron has no features: it's only the outline of a person, a man, in darkness against the heat that rises from the skeleton-filled waters in which he rests. The figure plants both hands on the metallic rim of the cauldron and with obvious effort
begins to tear what binds him apart.
The cauldron comes apart in a burst: from within, the tides it had once held back surge like a tsunami to try and wash away all before Noriaki. The Persona, having torn himself apart, vanishes from sight, leaving only Noriaki.
AS: Noriaki Okaga spends Limit on Blood! AS: Noriaki Okaga spends Limit on Exploit! Noriaki Okaga can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Noriaki Okaga spends Limit on Reach! AS: Persona! Theurgy! Noriaki Okaga has used the Water skill Paroxysm of Denial on Reiya Aomori, Umie Akabane, Shiryuu Ryouhara, Ririka Kawase, Minato Arisato, and Aigis! 3 Hits! AS: Noriaki Okaga: Omen and Reach removed! Omen: 100 damage! AS: Block Best! Aigis takes 8 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Block Neutral! Aigis takes 14 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Block Best! Aigis takes 9 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. Critical Hit! AS: Avoid Worst! Reiya Aomori takes 62 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Block Worst! Reiya Aomori takes 37 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Counter Worst! Reiya Aomori takes 90 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: COUNTER! Noriaki Okaga takes 22 Water damage in return for his attack! Ririka Kawase says, "That is a big bright Theurgy indicator alright."
AS: Counter Worst! Umie Akabane takes 91 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: COUNTER! Noriaki Okaga takes 22 Water damage in return for his attack! AS: You have 2 more attacks in queue!
AS: Counter Worst! Umie Akabane takes 91 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: COUNTER! Noriaki Okaga takes 22 Water damage in return for his attack! AS: You have 1 more attack in queue! AS: Counter Worst! Umie Akabane takes 91 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: COUNTER! Noriaki Okaga takes 22 Water damage in return for his attack! AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 19 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Block Best! Ririka Kawase takes 19 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Block Neutral! Ririka Kawase takes 36 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Block Neutral! Minato Arisato takes 15 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Block Neutral! Minato Arisato takes 15 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Block Worst! Minato Arisato takes 37 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Avoid Best! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 10 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Avoid Neutral! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 34 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial. AS: Avoid Worst! Shiryuu Ryouhara takes 63 Water damage from Noriaki Okaga's Paroxysm of Denial.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Shiryuu has some unkind words for Rieya. "Hey," snaps Ririka. "Lay off my teammate. We're after the same thing here, right?" Okay, at least the part about helping Umie, maybe not so much about checking out Noriaki.
And then Aigis. Ririka adds her support to Minato's and Aigis' statements. "You're gonna have to go through the rest of us to get to her. She's our teammate, too."
It's amazing--and terrifying--to see Aigis at work, but at least Ririka's scene it once before, now.
Ririka casts a glance in whatever direction it is Umie's went off to. "Welcome," she says. Did she hear Umie? Apparently. She's trying to keep tabs on the entire battlefield.
What good is she, Noriaki asks. "Sorry, I only take requests from people I like." But she grins just a little as her attack lands. "Show 'em, Amphion."
There's red light-- "Look out!" Ririka shouts. She's drawing her Katana as she shouts her warning, and she jams it into the rooftop (sorry, roof), clutching to it as the tides come surging for them all. She grits her teeth as waves crash against her, arms trembling as she tightens her grip, and when they pass she sags, panting for breath.
"Alright then. Let's show him some of our teamwork. Arisato-san! I'll try to make an opening for you!" Ririka pulls her katana free, pointing it forward it Noriaki. "Amphion! Magnara!"
Amphion strums, a deep, grounding tone washing out. From below the roofline, Ririka's stone staircase surges up, the boulders swiftly circling each other before they're sent plummeting at Noriaki to try and make that opening.
AS: Persona! Ririka Kawase has used the Earth skill Magnara on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Ririka Kawase: Gains 10 SP from Vigor! AS: Ririka Kawase spends Limit on Shift! Minato Arisato can use another Weak skill this round! They both receive 8 SP and 25 HP! <Pose Tracker> Aigis has posed.
Aigis is definitely a robot, Umie. Not possibly -- definitely. Observe:
Heavy as it is, her assault against Efnysien has a timer. Her systems can't sustain being overloaded for too long. The steady streams of wing-like blue sparks give way to intermittent, sputtering white sparks and rising smoke as she vents heat to regulate herself again. For a few moments more, all she can do is slump over and recover with a pained expression on her face.
In this state, she can't even lift her arms to fire another shot. 'Piece of junk', indeed.
Noriaki seems to have gotten the message with that very pointed Persona Break, seemingly rattled as he is, but given what Shiryuu had said earlier, she warily gazes at him for a few moments.
Aigis keeps the rest of her attention on Minato, planning ahead to ensure his safety at whatever personal cost she may incur.
She shouldn't have looked away from the former, though. Efnysien reappears with redoubled effort as his cauldron bubbles and boils and shatters and floods, knocking her to the ground in a helplessly supine position as the tide sends her further away. The protection afforded to her from Amphion at Ririka's behest does help to blunt the damage, but it does buy Noriaki time and put her at a distinct disadvantage.
It's the indignity of it all that hurts the most.
At least the water's cooled her systems off by now.
AS: Item! Aigis has used the Recovery skill Overheated on Aigis! AS: Pressure: Aigis gains 1 Limit! AS: Aigis: Fast Heal! Atk_Up and Def_Up removed! AS: Take! Aigis takes 0 Recovery healing from Aigis's Overheated. 12 SP regained!
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
"There's no point in being kind at war, Aomori," Shiryuu says, before glancing to Ririka. "I would fight all of you," Shiryuu tells her, "For a chance to right... eh?"
It honestly does look a little bit like a war, right now. Personas streak through the sky, firing energy blasts at one another, while a man with a machete throws a bucketful of awful-colored shade at literally everyone. Not that they're not doing a great job of that themselves, with the open feud between Ryouhara, SEES, the Aomori, Kirijo, people with poor taste in music, and literally everything and everyone else only being quelled by .. one of the field leader's casual mien and penchant for taking command.
"It's an admirable trait, to lay your life down for your subordinates," Shiryuu seethes coolly. "Let it be known that as shihaisha of the clan of Ryouhara, I recognize you." He looks to Reiya, to Aigis, suppressing any further urge to deal with them personally. This also means that Aigis' polite correction is left, for the most part, to stand on its own, with a tiny, begrudging nod.
He honestly didn't even realize the boy had exhibited that same ability as Kanae did. He will, in time. Right now, he's trying to kill someone. Hopefully not Akabane --
_She heard that._ "...." Shiryuu makes a face, his mouth pressing down in a thin line. "Quiet, Akabane. This doesn't concern you." Well, for one, it absolutely does --
And then Noriaki starts accusing him of things. Like doing a poor job with Umie. "She's not the easiest person," Shiryuu turns away from his argument with the sky to explain things to Okaga. The part about who he is doesn't seem to really bother him as much, evoking a swift, sharp blink from the Ryouhara, as reality settles in. "--wait. Why am I answe... you're not fit," he shoots back, nettle. "Who are you to talk to me, with that shabby, beat up cutter of yours.."
And then Umie swings down from the bridge, which Shirogarasu disapproves of even further. "Hey.." he objects, but doesn't really find the rest of his words, lest the snippy Aomori take advantage and cause Shiryuu to break his word.
...More important things to do, right. Shiryuu does, absently, wonder about the surging beat beneath his shoes as his assassination attempt fails, caught between the two long bones of an arm. The signal's rhythm allowed him to punch through the hostile frequencies, but there was a cost to the harmony, limiting his ability against the ghastly man.
Two differently colored eyes burn, one brown, one burning blue as he meets the whites of Noriaki's eye, hidden in that dark. The onmitsu leans into the steel, trying to keep it bound in the beast's arm. It is a colossal effort. "Don't get cocky," the onmitsu seethes, holding his weight against the Persona. It's very hard to keep his sword bound, forced to press the weight of his slung off hand elbow into the spine of his blade. It's only just before the mechanism's Persona attack that Shiryuu is deflected away, the hold broken for just long enough.
And then the man's Persona tear itselfs entirely apart. That's new.
Shiryuu's eyes suddenly widen, his first impulse to dart towards Noriaki and Umie's position, only to be hit by nothing less than an entire wall of water, the blast of the shattered cauldron hitting him like a sledgehammer, and sending the grey-haired boy tumbling end over end off the building. It takes him a second, one kick to right himself in the air, another to smash -through- a bridge, sending the entire ropebound affair flying. Another, the last, to get his eyes ahead of him, to get an 'eye' on the man.
Suppressing his first instinct, Ryouhara forces himself to reason, causing the bridges to tighten, to move, to shift. He can be both.
And flits out of existence for one solitary instant.
There is not interstitial space. No wind up. No telegraph. One instant here, one instant there. And then he's right in front of Noriaki again. He's already moving to slam his sword down roughly, to batter the man's Evoker before he can raise it. "I am ..."
He never gets around to saying anything cool.
He forgot. He's too busy trying to cut into Okaga's body.
AS: Shiryuu Ryouhara spends Limit on Psych! AS: Weapon! Shiryuu Ryouhara has used the Slash skill Setsuna on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Aggression: Shiryuu Ryouhara gains 1 Limit! AS: Shiryuu Ryouhara: Gains 60 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Psych removed! AS: Block Neutral! Noriaki Okaga takes 124 Earth damage from Ririka Kawase's Magnara. Weak! AS: Bind added! AS: Avoid Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 81 Slash damage from Shiryuu Ryouhara's Setsuna. Critical Hit! AS: Aigis spends Limit on Shift! Reiya Aomori can use another Weak skill this round!
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"As you can see," Minato turns to Noriaki, in the wake of Orgia Mode, "Aigis-san is a valued member of our team. Please respect her going forward."
At least Shiryuu might respect a request (it's not a request) like that. Is Minato borrowing that consideration against a check his ass will struggle to cash, later on?
... well, that's for later. "All right," he nods, to Shiryuu. "... I don't understand all of this, but I can see you're a Leader, too."
The person who does understand is -- "It's fine," he assures Reiya. "We'll talk later." This... does seem to be his business.
(He is, though, indeed one of a pair. He is wise enough not to say that out loud.)
"Thanks," he nods, to Reiya, as his shroud falls over him, protecting him from that machete. (Well, so long as Noriaki doesn't doggedly continue his attack long after the shroud wears off...) "He's right," he adds. "We're a team. And she's good for many tactical situations," he adds, in defence of Ririka.
The waters of Efnysien's rage pour out, though, as Minato beholds the way his Persona seems to tear himself apart in his rage. What implications that might hold aren't for him to parse today; thanks to Ririka's warning, Naga is able to appear before him, raising his shield to absorb the bone-shattering force of that cauldron's contents. If not for his Persona, Minato would surely have been blown off of the side of the rooftop; if not for the force of his bonds, strengthened by all their spells, he would be dead.
"Understood," he nods, to Ririka, as she calls to him.
He has a responsibility as Leader, if this is to be a war.
... Aigis has overheated. He can't leave her vulnerable around people like this.
"I'll agree with Ryouhara-san on one thing," Minato says, as he lifts his Evoker again. "I don't think you're fit to judge us. Though... I'll admit I'm not fit to judge you, either. There's more I need to understand... later."
He lifts his Evoker to his temple, and insists: "Now: Orpheus!"
And anyone who hasn't seen the shift in Personas before may well see it now, as that man with a lyre rises up -- and strums a funeral pyre upon Noriaki, blazing and terrible in its force.
AS: Persona! Theurgy! Minato Arisato has used the Fire skill Blazing Soul on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Pressure: Minato Arisato gains 1 Limit! AS: Minato Arisato: Atk_Up and Def_Up removed!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'She's not the easiest person.' "Like you're any better?" comes Umie's sharp retort back to Shiryuu.
Umie, for once, puts her money where her money is, and takes it on the chin: literally, as water buffets her small soaked body back onto all fours a distance away. Red nails chip on the roof's surface as her slide comes to a stop, contributing to an overall feeling of 'ickiness' that is furthered by her soaked rainjacket being practically now stapled to her body as she straightens.
Oh yeah, the water's red now. Red looks good on Umie, but not like *this*.
Still, as that hood sags on her head, it's easy to see where the Badb gets her smile: Umie herself. She may as well be a shorter mirror of Noriaki right now, as the hood obscures her eyes.
Also, her mask is missing, likely lying somewhere on the wet roofing right now. ... okay, she's *really* beyond caring right now.
That grisly aura she's giving off is briefly disturbed (ha) by that searching gaze, as if looking around for something, noting each and everyone that's on the rooftop with her with a certain gravity. Due to her timing, she finds one missing.
If Reiya ever had a question as to how Umie feels in this strange link between her and Shiryuu, it may lie in how her eyes quickly redouble their efforts, lips tensing slightly to show a hint of clenched teeth underneath.
She finds what she's looking for as she glances back towards Noriaki now.
In that moment, Umie seems to heave a small sigh of relief, the blade in her one hand changing positions as she summons Badb, seeking to capitalize on Shiryuu's attack.
The Badb shrieks the call of the damned; while Noriaki is the intended target, there's something unnervingly familiar with how sickly he seems, just now. This, combined with the different looking Evoker that Reiya was interested in looking at... As Minato seems to also pick up on.
For some reason, Umie feels a chill, as Shinjiro's face comes to mind.
AS: Persona! Umie Akabane has used the Dark skill Pale Shriek on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Ruin: Umie Akabane gains 1 Limit! AS: Umie Akabane: Gains 56 HP from Regen! Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Def_Up, Eclipse, and Regen removed! AS: Umie Akabane regains 3 SP from Invigorate! AS: Avoid Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 314 Fire damage from Minato Arisato's Blazing Soul.
<Pose Tracker> Reiya Aomori has posed.
"Hmph," Reiya answers Shiryuu. "To call principle pointless is to reveal yourself as empty."
Umie and Shiryuu seem to have some kind of complicated relationship to Reiya. He can't identify what it is. But... He doesn't ahve time to worry about it, either. Not yet. Instead--
Reiya keeps fighting with Noriaki. "No," Reiya says. "'Twenty Questions' is a children's game. War is very serious."
But wondering who Shiryuu is... "I'll explain later," Reiya says to his own team. "Not now."
But SEES is with Kirijo, that much is true. And Minato is a fine leader; it seems that Shiryuu recognizes him... Reiya has no cool retort for this one. It's respect, and he won't get in the way of it. Instead--
Aigis is stuck. "Aigis-san!"
He will appreciate Ririka's defense of him later. Right now, he must conted with... 'it'. Efnysien tears itself apart, and the cauldron bursts; though Water is the element that Kunimitsu finds strong, he is sttruck hard. An attenmpt to avoid the tide fails; an attempt to block it is for naught. Finally, his attempt to send it back does the worst, and soon, Reiya is on one knee, remaining after the attack recedes. "Gh..."
But Minato's still up. Reiya looks to him, as he looks to Aigis, and immediately jumps up, sprinting to Aigis's defense, just in case. While she's overheating, he will place himself in front of her. "...I will not speak of judgement today."
"But I promise this: we will meet again."
KUNIMITSU!"
Reiya's Persona re-emerges, thrusting his sword towards the shadowy figure that was Noriaki's Persona--and needles start to rain down upon Noriaki's shadow in the Dark light.
Reiya, for his part, just throws a few more knives to try to drive Noriaki off, lowering his Evoker long enough to use both hands.
AS: Persona! Reiya Aomori has used the Pierce skill Cruel Attack on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Ruin: Reiya Aomori gains 1 Limit! AS: Block Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 17 Dark damage from Umie Akabane's Pale Shriek. AS: Reiya Aomori spends Limit on Exploit! Reiya Aomori can use another Weak skill this round! AS: Persona! Reiya Aomori has used the Pierce skill Darkness Nail on Noriaki Okaga! AS: Weapon! Reiya Aomori has used the Pierce skill Rapid Throw on Noriaki Okaga! 3 Hits! AS: Reiya Aomori: Gains 10 SP from Vigor! Def_Up removed! AS: Block Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 125 Pierce damage from Reiya Aomori's Cruel Attack. Weak! AS: Block Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 69 Pierce damage from Reiya Aomori's Darkness Nail. Critical Hit! Weak! AS: Block Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 25 Pierce damage from Reiya Aomori's Rapid Throw. Weak! AS: Block Best! Noriaki Okaga takes 25 Pierce damage from Reiya Aomori's Rapid Throw. Weak! AS: Block Worst! Noriaki Okaga takes 51 Pierce damage from Reiya Aomori's Rapid Throw. Weak!
<Pose Tracker> Noriaki Okaga has posed.
"Tch, you ain't no fun, are ya?" he shoots back at Reiya, who takes his statement very seriously.
"Ha!" he barks at Ririka. "Bet you think you're clever, don't ya!" He doesn't seem like he's mad about it. It seems, if anything, a little more like something he 'expected'.
"Heh heh, I'll keep that in mind if it goes south today." He pauses, as he asks a question and doesn't receive an answer as such-- instead, Shiryuu has taken issue with the weapon Noriaki wields. "Shabby, eh?" Noriaki lifts his machete as if to take it into account for the first time. Then he shrugs. "Gets the job done, don't it?"
"Respect, eh? I'll show you respect--" Noriaki answers Minato.
Maybe if he were in a less furious state he might have even asked what was up with Shiryuu's eye.
The tide from the shattered cauldron Pair Dadeni washes across the rooftop, and alas, while her initial assault against Efnysien was fierce, it comes at a price: Noriaki, though worth, grins nastily at her as she's knocked down by the tide. But this isn't an insult Ririka is apparently willing to bear, and she responds accordingly. Stone meets him, and while Efnysien has his own affinity with the earth, it's nothing quite as deep as Ririka's Amphion. Forced back by the barrage, even absent his Persona's presence, he's able to at least keep his footing while deflecting with his machete. But, Ririka was trying to make an opening--
He's not fit, Minato says, agreeing with Shiryuu. "What are you on about? I ain't finished," he growls at Minato.
And then everything burns. Caught in flames that envelope and roll over him, it's only the passive presence of his Persona -- neither weak to nor strong against fire -- to save him from a terrible end. But he yells, oh yes. And the fire does end.
And, that's not the only person that Noriaki has to deal with. He doesn't summon his Persona again, instead rounding seemingly by chance towards Shiryuu as the latter closes, lifting that cheap and chippy chopper to match the younger man's blade. "Fast, ain't you--"
Maybe it's luck. Maybe it's animal instinct. His blade, though it waves a moment, a moment more, holds against Shiryuu's for that too-long instant.
He takes, when the moment breaks at last and the latter slips past his guard at last, a clean shallow cut along his left upper arm. He staggers. He recovers.
Aomori and Ryouhara may be enemies. Tonight, the fight the same foe.
He does his best, armed as he is with his weakened Persona against such strikes. The machete moves to take or try to redirect each of the many blows Reiya delivers right to him. But he's on the back foot, and keeping his pace is taking its toll at this point. "Ain't you kids-- got something else to do?" Noriaki, flagging, wonders.
And he's there to meet Umie as her Persona screams. If there's anyone in this world damned, it's certainly him, isn't it? "You--" he starts to say, lifting his Evoker to press against his jaw. He shudders, involuntarily.
Umie thought he seemed sickly. There, atop the roof, at that critical moment, Noriaki sways, as if afflicted by something. "Ugh... not now," he growls, before pushing himself properly 'upright' again. The Evoker is shoved away into his hoodie's front pocket.
"Show's over, kiddos," he tells them, jerking that machete in the general direction of his collected opponents. "I'm outta here. But if you think this is settled, well, you've got another think coming! Anyway... I'll see ya around!"
With that he takes those two steps closer to the ledge and then simply... pitches back over it. His fingers cling briefly to that edge and then... he lets go.
But there's no sound of a sudden and terminal stop at the end. A rattling of metal and another clank simply suggest that Noriaki has found an alternate route to the street below, and one that doesn't result in traumatic injury.
Then, in the stillness of the Dark Hour, it is quiet.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka holds her katana up in a wary guard as she watches Noriaki just... pitch over the side of the roof. "WAit--" But she doesn't hear anything fatal, instead, she hears...
Ririka puts a hand to her ear. "... he's moving away..." She sighs and moves to stand in front of the overheated Aigis. She's looking at Shiryuu rather pointedly.
"Aigis," she says quietly. "... you okay?" If Aigis is still overheated, she can offer a Bufu to help her cool off... or a Diarama for her teammates who might need it (like Reiya.)
She'll follow Minato's lead for what to do next, though.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Let's retreat for now," is the Leader's advice.
"More importantly... our mission now is to exit this roof."
Yeah, he still can't just jump off this thing.
It's fine, they'll figure it out.
<Pose Tracker> Shiryuu Ryouhara has posed.
The awe-inspiring power of SEES finally reaches the grey-headed boy's notice, as a column of absolute fire pushes Okaga to the stress point. Though it may gall him, Ryouhara can't argue against the undeniable power of the Field Leader. But the work.. isn't finished. It doesn't take much for Ryouhara to follow up, for Aomori to. They boy are fast, and it takes nothing for Shiryuu to slip between the blades, between the needles, to try and land that mortal blow.
For a second, it's easy to notice that their styles complement one another, despite being mortal enemies. But the hooded man is much, much stronger than he lets on, and that blade, as tawdry as it is, proves to be an able opponent against even the exquisite power of Ryouhara ko-ryu steel.
But he's focusing on too many things. His eyes dart up, as the shriek of a hooded Persona makes her presence known. The sound is eerie, stabbing into and scrambling, distorting the little neon level tracers that rocket along in his wake, along with his pulse. The water is everywhere, the seething intersect of intense flame and power. His response is immediate.
And there's Akabane. She's off to the side, grinning like a woman possessed and having lost her mask somewhere. One shimmering, bloodied eye starts flicking across the ground, picking up on every 'eye' here. He spots the wet, soaked little bit of board, teetering precariously on the opposite side of the roof.
Shiryuu's brow knits in angry concentration as he notices Okaga's eyeline stray off of him, off of Reiya. His heart stops, as that man turns.
One instant. One second. Two 'steps.'
It's a race against the moonlight itself, then. The grey-headed boy skids out of the wind, having skipped an entirely unfair amount of terrain in snatching up the mask just before it tumbled off the edge of the building, all the way to the mad gremlin, where he can _smak_ the mask over her face with his good hand.
"Straps," Ryouhara reminds her at once, just as his sneakers squeal to arrest his momentum against the wet roofing. One eye is closed -- tight, a lip bit in frustration to hold a -single- throwing needle in his teeth. Bankasoujin is laying on the opposite side of the roof, twirling in place on its handguard. Over his shoulder, he's watching the man with the machete, -entirely- too close, especially for not having a weapon or hands.
Ryouhara will hold the mask there with his good hand until she's reminded to strap it in place. ... and then Noriaki tips over the edge. Shiryuu doesn't move, pensive. If Okaga didn't just fall, he'd be tempted to push Umie over the edge too, to be sent downtown on one of his bridges. The boy gives a long, slow sigh. He looks up at Minato.
".....yeah," he agrees with the judgment.
"....hey, uh.." Is he afraid of heights, Shiryuu wants to ask..?
"...nevermind." Always respect the enemy leader, if the situation calls for it.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka nods. "Hai, Arisato-san." She'll get Amphion to bring up another set of floating rocks for them to leave the roof with.
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Could Noriaki have the same thing that plagues Shinjiro? Just because something rhymes doesn't make it the same; being ill, having a non-SEES Evoker... that's it.
Noriaki is gone, slipping away.
Umie lets loose a small sigh, as she looks back towards Minato. "I caught him ripping someone out of a coffin, one night. The man is fine. I've been trying to keep tabs on things since then, but, it's likely going to be a lot easier if SEES is making sure it doesn't happen. I know with Tartartus and everything, SEES' hands are full, but it's something to be aware of." She looks over, briefly distracted by Aigis, Reiya, and finally Ririka, before looking back to Minato. ".... Thank you." She bobs her head down.
.... Wait, where's Shiryuu, she should probably thank him too--
SMAK. The wet mask leaves red splash marks around Umie's upper face as it makes contact. "Gk..."
Straps. ".... I'm not a Mask-san, my mask's going to get blown off when there's a firehose aimed at me." The hood is tugged down, revealing ash blonde hair in two now sagging buns, positioned near the nape of her neck. Her fingers, chipped nails and all, attempt to tie the mask's ripped straps on. "I can't exactly *staple* the damn things on..."
Red water drips down from the wet misshappen mask as Umie ties a knot; she attempts to wipe the streams off, but they just further redden already pink cheeks. "... Thank you too, Ryouhara-kun."
(The moment is ruined, as Umie begins to walk towards the fire escape on the side of the building, her clothing making audible squishsquishsquish noises. Umie is not thrilled by this.)