2026-03-15: Finding New Strength
- Log: Finding New Strength
- Cast: Kazusa Motojima, Hazuki Nakao
- Where: Shujin Academy - Classroom Building, Aoyama-Itchome , Tokyo
- OOC Date: March 15, 2026
- IC Date: Wednesday, October 10, 2012 (Lunchtime)
- Summary: A lot happened in Kazusa's Atelier, and the next day Hazuki goes to check in on the newly-Awakened Persona User. Some explanations and cautions are offered on one side, and an apology and a promise offered on the other.
(|=================== Shujin Academy - Classroom Building ====================|)
-==================================================== Tokyo/Aoyama-Itchome ====-
Shujin Academy is split between its main classroom building, which faces the
back streets of Aoyama-Itchome, and its practice building out back. The
classroom building is a grim concrete building with sleek glass doors, three
stories tall, with classrooms for the third years on the ground floor, second
years on the second, and first years on the top. The faculty office is on the
second, and the student council room and the library on the third. Vending
machines dot the hallways here and there, and the bathrooms are kept clean. Its
front gates are wrought iron with a circular design, and a stylized clock on the
eastern wall informs students just how late they are.
The foyer is lined with glass cases proudly displaying trophies earned by its
top students, and just past them is the school store, though the yakisoba bread
there is almost always sold out. Billboards across the school announce various
articles and notices of interest. Past there, the walls are gray and white, the
floors are wooden, student lockers line the walls, and the sliding classroom
doors sport diamond windows. The classrooms themselves are rather more sober,
with simple desks and chairs for the students and a taller desk at front before
the chalkboard for the teacher. The windows to the outside seem simple, and even
have yellow curtains that can be pulled shut, but are lined in a diamond pattern
to prevent shattering. We wouldn't want our students to escape, now would we?
There is a fenced-in roof, but the door to it displays a sign stating students
aren't allowed. Despite this, it isn't locked, so nothing stops anyone from
hanging out there anyway--at least, not until they get caught. Oddly, there's
also several small planters there too for growing flowers and vegetables.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa has spent the last month and change trapped in a Cocoon while her body was piloted by an invader. Then, last night, a group of Persona Users arrived to stir her to fight for her freedom, and Kazusa Awakened to the Power of a Persona and brought down a star to fell the invader.
Then she returned to reality to find her life--at least by her standards--in shambles. Wakana had accepted her apology but stated she still wasn't ready to be her friend again, and Kazusa had thought she had lost her studio, the core of her identity and artistic pursuits, only to find out it had been saved by her younger brother KAzuhiro, at great personal risk to himself of incurring the wrath of their father.
Even with that small measure of relief she is tired, struggling under the burden of how to change, and facing an uphill battle for midterms.
But she still must go to school today.
The gossip mill is already churning as Kazusa stepped back into Shujin as herself today. She's not the 'nice' version of herself, but she's also not quite her old 'Demon Queen' self. Cold and sharp, yes, but also keeping her distance more, and seeming to be going out of her way not to interact with anybody or go after any of her old, usual targets.
This includes Hazuki Nakao, who shares a class with both her and Wakana. Hazuki is in a good position to notice how strained things have gotten between Wakana and Kazusa, but the dynamic has flipped. Where before Kazusa seemed to be keeping her distance from a blithely unconcerned Kazusa, now... well, neither of them are unaware, and it seems to be Kazusa walking on eggshells trying to avoid Wakana as much as possible.
Kazusa's mostly kept her head down and focused on her notes. And when lunch started she silently picked up her bag and left the classroom without a word, retreating outside to a bench under a shaded tree.
And there she is now. The pink headband is gone, and she's wearing the Winter uniform with black, opaque tights, silver bracelets, and a pink ombre on her nails. To one side is an open bento box with a quite artfully arranged and colorful lunch, with a pair of chopsticks resting on top. It doesn't look like she's eaten much of it, though.
To her other side is a textbook flipped open to some of the slightly older material from a week or two ago. And in her lap is a notebook, and in theory she's taking notes on the material.
In practice, however... there is a large, detailed drawing of a girl with long hair and a dress, with an oversized feathered pauldron and, of all things, a baseball bat. Kazusa is tending to the drawing with care--no doubt the reason she picked such a remote place to sit--carefully adjusting the details and applying shading.
She should be studying. Midterms are next week and that damned intruder that hijacked her body didn't spend nearly as much time studying as Kazusa would have liked. And yet...
She can't stop replaying the moment in her head. The cold breeze, the moment of overwhelming fatigue, almost falling, and then...
She paused to look at the drawing in full.
... and then her, her warmth cutting against the cold, the strength of those arms holding her up, the feeling of her heart beating in her chest. She felt so solid and stable, and for a moment Kazusa had wanted nothing but to--
"Aagggh, this is stupid!" she muttered to herself flipping to the next page. "I don't have time for this. I'm probably never going to see her again and even if I do midterms are a way bigger deal right now."
She glancesd to textbook beside her, starting to make a few notes...
... and then after a few moments she flips back one page to the drawing, carefully touching up the shading in the pauldron.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
Hazuki gave some space night of. She didn't text Wakana or Kazuhiro because she immediately got home and passed out, but the next morning, she sent them some brief texts letting them know 'it's done'.
The next day was school, though, and she got to hear both the gossip mill and see how her and Wakana are interacting. It's not unexpected, really... Wakana's been through a lot. But it still makes Hazuki a little sad. Perhaps Kazusa can learn from this.
But to learn from this, and to make sure she's prepared for tonight's Dark Hour, she needs help. So after class and during lunch, after grabbing her foodm the English girl finds Kazusa sitting at the bench, drawing... is that her?
"Motojima-san," she decides to say instead of drawing attention to it, knowing Kazusa's relationship with her art and other people. "Do you have a few moments? I wanted to make sure you were okay..."
That same gloomy countenance as usual. It's hard to tell immediately, with all the haze that happened last night, that this is the bat-wielding heroine.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Wakana only sent back a brief 'thanks.' Kazuhiro had sent back a 'Thank you. We actually talked for a bit.'
Kazusa is already learning a great deal of things from this experience... not least of all the consequences of her actions on her friendship with Wakana.
At the sound of Hazuki's voice Kazusa startles, jumping about a foot off the bench and slamming the notebook shut. "What!?" she snaps as she looks up-- and then she tenses as she sees Hazuki.
Hazuki, who hadn't just tried to cover for her with her father at the convention, but had told him, explicitly, what he was doing was wrong. Something Kazusa had never mustered the courage to do. That convention seems so long ago, now...
And she feels that pang of guilt for how she'd treated Hazuki this school year. She should apologize, even if apologizing alone wouldn't be enough. Could she ask the other girl to leave, to spare her any unintended slights? It'd be okay if she just... made sure she was in a better mood for it, right?
The sharpness in her tone dissolves, and Kazusa quickly looks away from Hazuki back down to her lap. "Nakao-san, I'm... fine, I'm just tired." Well she is fine, but that tremor in her voice means she's anything but fine. "Can we talk some other time? I'm trying to study."
There's no barbs, no venom in the way she addresses Hazuki. Just the weariness of the soul.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
Hazuki sees the notebook slam and the sharpness, and nearly alerts herself, stepping back briefly, but she does give Kazusa a moment to calm. As she looks away and is less venomous than normal, Hazuki nods, but frowns.
"...normally, I'd say yes, but after last night... it's important we talk as soon as possible," Hazuki says, trying to figure out how to broach it. Did... did Kazusa not recognize her last night? She didn't ever seem to, or address her by name, so... she does have to confirm.
"...I saw your drawing. I really like how you did my pauldron," she says with a soft smile. It's a lot like last night's casual charm, even if her face is shaded by some of that self-doubt she always wears.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
There is a flicker of guilt on Kazusa's face as she sees Hazuki step back, and she can't quite meet the other girl's gaze for a moment. "Look, I didn't mean to snap, I just..." She's tired. She was started. She wasn't expecting anyone. A million reasons, and yet none of them are 'I'm on edge because I went through a hellish experience and my internal emotional state is in turmoil.' "... sorry," she finally says, her voice small. "I should've have snapped at you."
Well the old Kazusa would certainly never have apologized to Hazuki.
Kazusa is absolutely not opening that notebook again, and she sets her notebook down so she can pick up her bento instead. But she freezes as Hazuki mentions 'last night.' How did she know? No, she couldn't know. She wasn't there, was she? Her gaze remains fixed on her lunch. "... nothing happened last night, Nakao-san." A lot happened, but how could she explain that to this girl and expect to be believed? She goes to take a piece of pickle and pop it into her mouth.
'I really like how you did my pauldron.'
Kazusa chokes on that piece of pickle, sputtering and coughing with a wheeze before she manages to cough it out. She immediately goes to dab her mouth with a napkin, but she stops as she looks up to stare at Hazuki, and really look at her.
There is a slowly dawning look of... well, it's a very complicated look, with comprehension, terror, disbelief, and half a dozen other things mixed in. She drops her gaze down to the notebook, as if to open it again and check agianst the drawing but she doesn't need to.
She can see it now.
She looks back up again, her voice hoarse and barely audible. "... that was you?"
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
"It's okay. I startled you. I appreciate the apology, though," Hazuki says, still nursing complicated feelings, but also able to tell that Kazusa, at least, is not the same bully, or trying not to be.
She lets Kazusa go through the process of realizing. As she asks, barely audible, if that was her, Hazuki nods.
"Sorry to dredge up the bad memories, but... Princess's tower? Two dozen people with fighting ghosts?" She doesn't mention the Homunculus, but the fact she almost says something else might make it clear she's thinking about it and trying not to overwhelm Kazusa.
"Persona?" she says even quieter, the word people were saying.
Once they're 100% confirmed, though, she considers. "I'm glad you're okay, but there's things we do need to talk about..."
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
At least Hazuki accepted the apology. Then again, for this one thing, it was a small thing to apologize for. Stiull, she appreciates it. "... welcome," she says, a bit stiffly. Was that like saying 'thank you' and it was something that a 'you're welcome' was expected for??
God, this is awkward. She can't even figure out if she's apologizing correctly.
The Princess' Tower, fighting with ghosts. Kazusa lets out a ery long, slow sigh as energy for denial just drains right out of her. "... yeah..." A silent nod at the mention of Persona, too.
Kazusa is silent for a long moment. She glances back up to Hazuki and sddenly all the wear and exhaustion of the last month are just evident on her face. "... I don't think I'm okay," she admits, looking down again. She'd positioned herself deliberately in the middle of the bench, with her bento on one side and her textbook ont he other, spreading out just enough to make having another person sit there be extremely awkward, at best.
Now, though, she folds her textbook over the notebook and slides it further to the left edge, and then slides further left herself. Hazuki now has plenty of room to sit on the right side of the bench and even put something down on it beside her, like her lunch.
It's a silent invitation to join her.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
As Kazusa admits she's not okay, and makes space for Hazuki to join her, the girl takes a seat, setting her lunch down.
"It's a lot," she says. She doesn't say something like 'it could be worse' because, yeah. Neither does she slam the sympathy. Instead, she just smiles. "But at the least, you're here, right?"
She considers how to begin. She does need to get to some important things immediately, but she starts with a preface. "I'm no expert at this. I only Awakened in July. I've had to learn from experience and some of the others who fight..." A pause. "I wanted to tell you some of the more important things to know, if that's okay? They're not easy to swallow, though..."
And then, a gesture. "You could also always go to Peacock Silk for help too, if you needed. They'll probably ask for something, but they're reliable. They helped last night..."
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
It's a lot. "... yeah." Kazusa can't quite bring herself to look at the other girl, instead focusing on her lunch for the moment. But at least she's here. Kazusa grows still for a moment.
'Here' is not how she left it, and she's not sure she'd set things back to the way before even if they could. Still, that doesn't make 'here' any less complicated of a subject. "... I guess."
There's a part of her that wants to chew out Hazuki for not being experienced and offering advice. That's not a kind thing to say, and even if it's true... any experience is still more than her less than 24 hours.
Finger fingers tense around her chopsticks. "... I can't go back there again. There's nothing for me there, remember?" 'Back', which means... she remembers the last trip. That might be a wrinkle.
STill, Hazuki wants to offer advice, and even if Kazusa isn't going to deride her for her inexperience, there's something else bugging her about this moment. "... why," she asks, her voice sounding drained. Here she finally does look up to Hazuki, guilt and shame warring on her face. "... why would you help me? I've been nothing but terrible to you. And yet, you--you stood up for me at the convention. You... you were leading the others last night. You're here to give me advice, now, but..."
Kazusa slowly shook her head, looking the other way. "... you shuld spend your energy on someone else who deserves it."
It's maybe not... quite an apology in as many words, but at the very least, it is an acknowledgment.
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
Hazuki tilts her head at 'can't go back there again'. "I agree, but... that's not all there is."
But before she can elaborate... Kazusa asks why. Hazuki frowns briefly, before shaking it off.
"...I believe everyone deserves a chance to change. And even if you hadn't... I couldn't let you die. That's not who I am."
A small glance to her. "...the problem is that's not the end of this, now that you're Awakened. There's... more supernatural phenomenon than just your Atelier. The biggest one is called the Dark Hour. At midnight every night, there's... how do I say this?"
A pause.
"Another hour hidden in the margins. It's called the Dark Hour. Monsters roam, and everyone transforms into a coffin for reasons I can't even imagine. The only other people out there are Persona users like you and me. If you go out at night, try to be careful, okay?"
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
'...I believe everyone deserves a chance to change.'
Change. It's such a heavy word, isn't it?
She wants to change--she knows she has to change--to undertake the 'great labor' and become someone worthy of being saved.
But then Hazuki says she couldn't leave her to die, and Kazusa somberly continues to stare at her bento. "... I think that makes you a better person than me, Nakao-san," is all she can say to that.
"'My' Atelier..." Kazusa repeats, mostly to herself. Then, louder, but still mostly talking to herself, she says, "... I felt... a connection to that place. Like it was familiar somehow. The Court of the Princess of the Night Sky, in the Neo-Lunar Palace..." She winces and looks away. "N-not that I-- it was probably just-- something I drew when I was younger, that's all."
Why so defensive, Kazusa?
Midnight, and a hidden hour. Kazusa just stares at Hazuki for a moment, and it might be hard if she's trying to process what's been said, or if she's getting to ridicule Hazuki for saying something so strange.
And she's warring with herself, too. Finally, she says, as if convincing herself, "... you're... not the kind of person to make something like that up, are you? Honestly, by the time I gto back home last night, I was... exhausted. I can't imagine why I'd ever go out at Midnight, but... fine. I'll keep that in mind."
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
"...I'm doing my best," Hazuki admits, unwilling to call herself a better person. She's got her demons, too.
But as the Court of the Princess is mentioned, Hazuki remembers two things she should mention. Kazusa at least believes the Dark Hour, but...
"Ah... I have to collect them, but... to get into your Atelier at all, we needed to go to your studio and borrow some of your... most important belongings. Your projects, specifically. I'll make sure they're all returned to you safely, don't worry, I just... didn't want to keep that a secret."
A breath, after that's said. "I don't know what you're going to do next, if you're going to fight or try to live a normal life or what. But... if you ever need help, in this realm or another, please let me know. My group will have your back."
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazuisa can relate to having... a lot of demons.
Kazusa stiffens, and she feels that rancor want to rise up and bite back as Hazuki mentions going to her studio, and her... 'projects.' "You mean my games," she says without looking at Hazuki. "Kazuhiro-kun mentioned it last night. He mentioned a little, but... said he was trying not to know too much about the details."
She closes her eyes. "... I appreciate you telling me, though."
As for what she's going to do... "... I don't think Mina will let me stay out of things. She's too... proactive, for that. Her abilities are meant to support others, which means... well, I need to support others. Though right now I'm just... trying to survive midterms." She takes a few more bites out of her lunch before continuing, looking at Hazuki with some surprise. "... you have a group?"
But at the offer of further help, Kazusa looks pained. "Don't offer me more help when I haven't even thanked you properly yet! I--" There's a sharpness to her town, frustration leaking out, but she immediately draws away from Hazuki. "Sorry," she says quickly. "I'm-- I'm angry at myself, not at you. I just-- I'm kind of a mess right now."
A hand goes up to her forehead. "And for some reason I'm saying that out loud and I still haven't apologized, gah."
She turns to Hazuki again. "Look. I... thank you. For what you said at the convention, and in the Atelier. Those were both really brave things to do, and... I want to become the type of person who deserves that kindness. But... I also need to apologize, for how I've treated you. It... it was a way to protect myself from my father, to show that I was better than everybody that was different, but I... I can't go back to being like that. I need to work on being stronger, so I don't carelessly hurt others. You don't have to forgive me, but... I still wanted to make sure you knew that."
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
Hazuki reaches into her bag, pulling out a game. It's Pocket Fighters, kept in the same condition as when she got it, in a little plastic bag to prevent dust. "Here."
And then, Hazuki's about to start about the group, when Kazusa gets pained and frustrated. Hazuki winces, but says nothing, giving Kazusa the time she needs. She still hasn't fully processed it herself, but...
She'd be a hypocrite if she didn't give her this chance.
When the apology comes out, though, Hazuki's eyes brighten, just a little. It's not a bad one, in her eyes, as she nods.
"...I'll be honest, I still don't know how I feel about... everything. Not entirely. But I do accept your apology, and I do want to help you in any way, if I can. My group, In Unizone... we help the people who need it, no matter who they are. There's just a couple of us... but I want to make the world a better place, okay? So if you feel you need to support people, then I can introduce you to them."
A pause. She suddenly hangs her head as the weight of a million worlds hits her, as if she hasn't even been *thinking* about it while dealing with this.
"...after midterms, of course."
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa's eyes widen, as she sees that CD, and she has to visibly restrain herself from just snatching it out of Hazuki's hands. Instead, she takes it, looking over it fondly for a moment before she hugs it to herself. "Thanks." There is a pause, a moment of internal deliberation as she looks at the CD, and then glances sidelong at Hazuki. It's almost a shy look she gives the other girl. "You, uh... didn't play it, did you...?"
There is a large part of her that definitely isn't ready for anybody to have seen her art... but there is also a part of her that is dying to know what Hazuki thought.
She catches that wince and feels a fresh pang of guilt. She can't even apologize correctly, it feels like, and and she's starting to feel like the decision to keep herself from others might be the right idea, until... well, until she fixes all these stupid things wrong with herself.
She can do that alone, right?
But when she sees the way Hazuki's eyes brighten, she pauses, and something seems to loosen inside her chest.
Hazuki doesn't know how she feels about everything. Kazusa just nods a little. "That's fair," she says, her voice quiet and hushed, and a bit haunted by her experiences. "I'm... still kind of a mess. I'm really trying not to lash out, it just..."
But Hazuki accepts, and Kazusa takes in a long, slow breath to try and ground herself. "... thanks. I'm going to keep working on it."
In Unizone. Kazusa makes a face, as she mouths the words. There's something about that name... But the offer is made. "... I'll... think about it."
The weight of midterms settles on her, too, and Kazusa suddenly looks very weary as she nods. "... yeah. That... other me didn't study nearly as much as I would've wanted her to."
She's quiet for a long moment, looking down at her textbook once again. "... sorry if... dealing with that thing kept you from your studies."
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
"...maybe a little," Hazuki admits. "Just... to understand, better, in case it was relevant." It could have been! That place was weird.
A brief pause. "...you've got talent. The frame data was actually pretty good for the scope." Now's not the time to gush about everything she noticed, but she'll leave her with that.
Kazusa's going to do her best, t and think about it. Hazuki nods. "Take your time! No rush."
But then, STUDY HELL. Hazuki whines slightly, taking off that serious face. "I did so bad last term... I'll have to work harder this time."
Though Kazusa's words get a shake of the head. "Don't apologize. You're not responsible for the Homunculus's actions, or for me choosing to help."
She'll leave Kazusa be soon, since she gave the info she wanted to. But for now, she's just glad she's trying.
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Hazuki did play it. Kazusa has to fight back the sheer panic of somebody else other than Wakana or Kazuhiro having seen one of her creations. "... I see."
She wants to ask so badly what Hazuki thought.
"...you've got talent. The frame data was actually pretty good for the scope."
... and then she says. Kazusa looks a bit startled to hear that. "Oh. Um..."
o/~ o/~ o/~
She carefully tucks a lock of hair behind her ear, still not looking directly at the other girl. "... thanks. I'm... glad you thought so."
There might be just a hint of a smile. Just a little, if you look for it.
Hazuki did so bad last time. "... yeah." Kazusa is wincing. It's a simple fact! They post the scorings! She's not trying to be mean or dismissive and it's an empirical fact so that's okay, right? Right??
Whatever forces control how the cosmos works, she's not trying to be mean about it, honest.
"Homunculus..." But she's not responsible. "I dunno. Maybe if I'd done something different, or... something."
Kazusa takes a deep breath, "Hey. Even if it wasn't my fault, you did still have to take time out to come rescue me, and I also need to study a lot, and we're in the same class, so... if you... want to study together, or something, let me know."
You say, "... it's the least I can do.""
<Pose Tracker> Hazuki Nakao has posed.
Hazuki gives a little bit of a smile back, and doesn't actually react much to the affirmation of her bad grades, just exhaling her soul metaphorically from her mouth instead. "Uuuuugh."
But then Kazusa wonders if she could have done something different. Hazuki won't press on her, but she hopes she can realize that there's no 'too late' to change in her eyes.
The offer of studying, though...
"...I'd like that. I'll let you know! Right now, I should scarf down this lunch as quickly as possible before next class, so... take care, Motojima-san. I'll see you around."
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Hazuki will let her know. "Okay." But then Hazuki gets up to leave, so she can scarf down her lunch. Kazusa blinks for a moment. "Oh, um... right. I should eat, too."
She's been picking at her bento box, but hasn't been really eating it in earnest. It's a really nice bento box!
.. but it's a really nice bento box because her mother made it. She can't exactly turn it down, but...
But as Kazusa watches Haruki leave, she feels her chest tightening. She wants to call out, to say something--
But what would she say? Ask her not to leave? Ask the other girl to stay, and to eat lunch together?
After a moment, Kazusa closes her mouth and shakes her head to herself.
Stupid. You don't like her. She's still scared of you. Why would you even think that was a good idea?
She looked at her notebook one last time, envisioning the sketch of Hazuki in that other form, that she'd spent so much time detailing...
With a heavy sigh Kazusa kept eating her lunch. You're just lonely because you don't have Waka-chan to eat lunch with. It's better if you don't drag anybody else into this.
Still... she did make a note to give Hazuki her phone number when she got back to class. Just in case.