2026-09-24: Shrouds of the Heart
- Log: Shrouds of the Heart
- Cast: Kazusa Motojima, Roger, Umie Akabane, Kasumi Yoshizawa, Morgana (NPCed by Ren Amamiya)
- Where: Shinichi Nagisa's Atelier, Fabric of Reality
- OOC Date: September 24, 2026
- IC Date: Monday, January 14, 2013
- Summary: Kazusa, Roger, and Belle have made plans to explore Shinichi's Atelier, and Umie and Mona also happen to come along. What they find, however, speaks of a horrific incident from long ago that raises many concerning questions...
- Content Warning: Horror, gore, misogyny, verbal/physical abuse
(|========================== Aoyama-Itchome Station ==========================|)
-==================================================== Tokyo/Aoyama-Itchome ====-
A crowded train station leads to sunny streets and colorful businesses, but this
is an illusion of freedom. Your perspective narrows as you continue to walk, no
matter whether you turn down the main walk or cut through the alleyways. Darker
shadows line the way, past the temptation of vending machines, as the gates and
higher walls of the building come into view.
March along with your fellow students to your destination, some few of whom
understand that society forces them to consign themselves each day to
imprisonment. The kanji for 'Shujin' in local prep school Shujin Academy means
'Utmost Excellence,' but it also sounds like the word for 'Prisoner.' That
wordplay is all too apt, concealing in plain sight the fact that you are a
prisoner here for six days a week and the majority of your waking hours...
And then you go home.
AS: Kazusa Motojima has readied for combat as Mina Harker! She is now fully healed!
MONAD: A party led by Kazusa Motojima has begun the event Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho.
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 1 - Challenge Level 2 ===========================================-
| Card: In These Halls, Terror |
| Approach Options: Academics or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2, Shuffle - Draw 1 Minor |
| Arcana., and Stupor - Academics Down L1 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjYxvF-J7Fo
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
You appear in what looks like a darkened school hallway. Shine some light on
a bulletin board though and you can see that this is actually Our Lady of
the Holy Stoat Middle School, in the town of Mikage-Cho.
But it looks like it's been abandoned for months. The only light on down the
hallway flickers pathetically every so often, the classroom doors won't
open, and even if forced open, one runs into a great barricade of debris
behind each of them.
With whispers and whimpers behind them, shushes and calls for quiet. One may
see why in short order. Flegmat Humors wander these halls, mumbling, their
forms taking the shape of huge sickly Oni with unkempt purple manes,
dragging clubs behind them. Dog-headed ones half their size flanking them.
They look like demons- demons from that time, but warped, as if to fit some
half-remembered watercolor of them.
If you listen to their mumbles long enough, you may pick out the words for
'Filial Piety' and 'Divine Punishment' at least, as they wander the
labyrinthine halls, eyes glassy. If one enters their field of vision, then
they freeze, then begin to charge, screaming expletives and swinging their
clubs wildly.
In order to get past them, you must expertly navigate these halls through
the occasionally posted, confusing floor plans, keeping out of sight.
Of course, you could just fight them, but that'd be an exhausting slog, and
energy you can't afford to expend here at the beginning.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa has not been having a great time of things. Finding out, on the last day of Winter Break, that Shinichi's Homunculus was basically just a Serial Killer in the making was... hard.
And then having to walk into that classroom and pretend not to know that there was anything wrong with the Class Representative was even harder.
She'd been struggling to keep herself under control, and outside of class may have been relapsing into some of her worse behaviors. (At least now, she recognizes that she is and gets to hate herself for it, which isn't doing much for her mood.)
Case in point: She'd gotten some intel from Isabeau that she had separately shared with Roger and Kasumi (just don't ask how that meeting ended): a rough map of some of the landmarks, and descriptions of some of the Humor types.
There was some planning involved in this run. Kazusa had arranged a date and time to go to the Atelier with Roger, then shared that with Belle so that she could join them at the same time from a different location, to protect her identity. Of course, now that the Atelier link was active on AtelierNet.jp, it really wouldn't take that much for anyone else to access the Atelier at the same time, whether by intent or happenstance.
However they get there, they emerge into a dark, decrepit school. Dripping water echoes through the halls. A bulletin board identifies the school and the place.
What happened to this place? There are demons wandering the halls, and the classrooms are boarded, with whimpers coming from within.
Kazusa shivers as she steps into the Atelier, seamlessly shifted into her Transmtuation form, the ookamimimi 'Princess' in purple. She shivers, despite the black cloak wrapped around her, as she looks around. "What in the world...?" She quickly looks for Roger and Belle, though she's clearly on edge already.
She checks a map. "Okay... we definitely have to get out of here," she mutters. Peeking from around a corner, her eyes narrow as she scans the details of the Flegmats walking around, then traces something on the map. "Okay, there's a set that turns at this corner, and these are going that way..."
She's using her eye for fine details to try and track the movement of the patrols, to give them a better chance of avoiding a fight.
GAME: Kazusa Motojima sets her Night Princess desc!
MONAD: Kazusa Motojima has acted with Fashion Talk toward In These Halls, Terror! Smarts and Patra!
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
Roger, given his humble and unlikely origins as an uplifted Shadow that has somehow developed a human psyche, is able to hold himself together with the express purpose of stopping the Homunculus and finding a way to allow Shinichi to be who he wants to be! ...But the stakes were ever higher with the threat the Homunculus represented to far more than just the original, rightful owner of the Atelier.
Roger is in his Transmutation form, which is a very strange but earnest and colorful representation of somewhere between a uniformed sports player and a coach. Let it be known. He is here to play.
The game is to Remove The Homunculus!
"...Ummm." He actually looks nervous, pressing fingers together. "Those are Flegmat Humors. They should be mostly harmless... usually...!"
Usually?
"Usually it'd be Colerics running in to greet us, it's their job to keep anything not part of their Atelier... and those aren't Colerics. And I don't see a Sanguin Humor calling the shots..."
As an Atelier-origin entity himself, if Roger is expressing worry about this, that's all the better reason to heed what he has to say - and a good heads-up for what they might expect of the immediate environment beyond this, should they get through without major incident.
MONAD: Roger has acted with Four Temperaments Theory toward In These Halls, Terror! Find and Efficient!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie is a terrible person who let her childhood friend Taro-kun die, after he answered her call and came to her side.
...But Taro-kun was a demon, no different than the half-remembered Oni that lurk the halls. He attacked like a demon, and refused to listen to Umie's calls to hold back.
What makes a demon a demon? What makes a shadow a shadow? Even in this area, with the atelier and its Humors, the lines are blurred as half-remembered terrors become the garments of now.
Umie is not surprised, when she senses some resonances; she is likely inserting herself into business already being investigated.
Counterpoint: she has intel, and there is a Roger here. Umie has a debt to pay.
"The layout's the same as a typical Japanese school, right?" So there, very suddenly, is a person, as if she had been there all along: a young woman of about 155cm, oversized white winter jacket, black leggings, and a red turtleneck, as well as a black and white checkerboard halfmask with poppies, painted on.
... There is also the Badb, floating over her, which is likely the first sign that Umie was there to begin with.
".... Two dangers are turning around a corner to your left. There might be an opening if we go this way, but I won't be able to sense anything that's just sitting pretty until it's activated."
It is a foul fate to befall any party, but:
--Umie Akabane has forced her way into your party!--
(No, you may *not* change her equipment out, player.)
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Bird's Eye View toward In These Halls, Terror! Automap!
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
As agreed upon, Kasumi and Morgana enter the Atelier from a different location, so they can protect their civilian identities, but what they find... Makes Kasumi really want to run. She sticks to the shadows with a hand firmly gripped on her rapier. They slowly progress through the shadows to meet up with Motojima-senpai and her allies.
"Motojima-san! This is terrifying!" Kasumi whispers. Her urgency might be lost by how low her voice is. She does not want to get caught.
Roger chimes in... 'Usually harmless'...? And no Sanguin humours? That's not good!
But... there's no choice, is there? But to continue through the horror school. Ooogghhh... Well, they can sneak along at least, staying to the edges the best they can. As they move, Kasumi can use her gymnastics knowledge to keep everyone to the shadows and teach subtle movement. She is surprisingly talented in sneaking around, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
Now that Belle and Mona are partners, of course Mona isn't letting Belle go by herself (well, with a group, but without him) to a place that apparently is especially scary for women. He's easy enough to sneak into a net cafe, at least, and from there, it's just a matter of Belle clicking the appropriate link and both of them heading into the Atelier together.
It's not a pretty sight inside.
"What is this?" Mona mutters, peering at the eerie abandoned school corridors. His ears flick as he hears shushing, and he peeks around a corner with Kazusa just before a Flegmat Humor passes by. He frowns mightily, then leans back.
Fortunately, Kazusa's got a map. "Oh, you've got something good there, huh?" he remarks. He looks over at Roger as he explains about the Flegmats. "They sure don't look harmless now. It's interesting to see these Humour Shadows in person for the first time, though. ...Anyway, what are you? A pig?"
(Mona, be thoughtless to something he'd hate to have said to him? Perish the thought.)
Umie Umies her way in at that time, and Mona flicks his attention over to her. Awkward, considering he's definitely not here with Joker. He decides to conveniently act like everything's normal to encourage her not to ask questions. "Good job scouting, Umie," he says, even if between her and Roger, he's once again getting the distinct sense that maybe his partner wouldn't have needed him after all.
So when Belle whispers about how scared she is, his ears perk. "Don't worry, Belle, I'll protect you. We're partners, after all!" he whispers with a show of confidence. "Let's give these creepy Shadows the runaround!"
And as someone as small and cat-like as he is, Mona is very good at giving enemies the runaround.
MONAD: Morgana has acted with Proficiency toward In These Halls, Terror! Base! MONAD: Kasumi Yoshizawa has acted with I Can Help! toward In These Halls, Terror! Specialty!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== In These Halls, Terror - Round 1 ======================================- Morgana Proficiency Success Proficiency Base Fatigue: 0 Morale: 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kasumi Yoshizawa Academics Success I Can Help! Specialty Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Umie Akabane Academics Success Bird's Eye View Automap Fatigue: 0 Morale: 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Roger Academics Success Four Temperaments Th Find and Efficient Fatigue: 0 Morale: 1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kazusa Motojima Academics Success Fashion Talk Smarts and Patra Fatigue: 0 Morale: 1 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Ineptitude-2, Shuffle: Sword-0, and Stupor-2 Final Conditions: Ineptitude-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 1/6 |= | ===================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- Items: 0, Money: 1, Gear: 1 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Kazusa Motojima has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 2 - Challenge Level 2 ===========================================-
| Card: In The Streets of Our Youth, Peril |
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Guts |
| Conditions: Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, Ineptitude - Proficiency Down |
| L2, Shuffle - Draw 1 Minor Arcana., and Terrifying - Guts Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
Once out of the school, you arrive in what seems like a population center,
albeit one shrouded in morning mist that's turned into pea-soup fog. It only
goes so far up though, and above it, some few may recognize the skyline of
Mikage-Cho's first ward. It does give some visible sense of direction at
least, though one needs to know where they're going, now don't they?
Soundlessly, a human-sized silhouette in the fog suddenly appears. Staring
right at your group from a distance on this road. The silhouette of an
Origami spirit hovering over his shoulder Right before he raises a great
Sledgehammer he has in hand and slams it into a manhole cover, causing it to
rattle and echo like a great metallic gong.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPs_zt4wiP4
And in response, a whole chorus of howls can be heard upon the horizon. The
figure in the silhouette has already vanished, next time you look.
What doesn't vanish, are the sounds of countless humors rushing down your
position. The Coleric Humors take the appearance of rotting, animated
corpses, zombies. However, among them are those taking the appearance of
demons.
Strange gothic angels, Pretas, Poultergeists and Slimes. None of them are
quite right, as if there was something distorted about them. Like someone
trying to draw a picture of something they only glimpsed briefly.
Fighting through them will be a slog, but it's quite possible, certainly. Of
course, you could attempt to navigate the fog and find a place to hide until
the horde loses track of you.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa normally can't get on board with Roger's play-centric worldview. But then again, her life is stressful pretty constantly, for a number of different reasons. The girl never really gets to relax.
But she will get on board with Remove the Homunculus. That is one game she would speedrun if she could.
Kazusa nods seriously to Roger as she listens. Despite how hard she finds it to get on board with his overall demeanor, she is serious about including him and looking out for him. "So Fontaine-san was right, then." Dammit. That makes driving her off feel even worse. "Things must be really bad."
She all but jumps when Umie speaks up, slapping a hand over her mouth to stifle a noie and then whirling around to stare at Umie. "Wha-- who are you!?" she demands in a hushed voice. "You're not the person I'm expecting."
Then she stops, blinking as she turns her head to look at what she cannot see. "Wait, you can track those things?" As much as she hates to say it, that could be useful. With a scowl, she says, "Fine. Then, just stay close and don't do anyting reckless."
But she lets out a relieved sigh when she hears Belle's voice. "Belle-san. You made it." He own voice is kept low. "Yeah, I don't like it much either. Our first step is getting out of here."
At least Belle remembered to say Motojima-san this time, and not -senpai. Kazusa is actually pleased by that.
"It's an Atelier," Kazusa responds to Mona without even realizing it. "And yes, it's a map--" She frowns and does a double take at Mona. "Another one?" she says with an already-exasperated sigh. (She means 'another person joining unexpectedly.) She shakes her head. "Whatever. Roger-san--" she indicates the pig "--is with me. ... What are you supposed to be, anyway, a cat?"
Sorry Mona, but turnabout is fair play.
But, with all of their combined efforts, they can easily make their way through the halls. Roger's knowledge is immensely useful, as is Umie's Navigational ability. Belle's movement tips prove equal to the task, and for the few close calls they do have, Mona proves excellent at drawing away the attention of the Flegmats. (Kazusa is supervising. It's fine.)
But eventually they escape the school confines, and Kazusa lets out a relieved breath. She's actually a fair bit shaken, but she's trying to keep a lid on things. "Now that we're out of that place..." She points to herself. "Kazusa Motojima." Points to Roger. "Roger." And then Belle. "Belle." And then she looks at Umie and Mona. "And you two are...?" (Belle and Roger, at least, she told that each that she had another person coming with her.)
Once that's done she turns to survey the skyline. "Alright. So if I'm reading this map coprrectly," she mutters to herself. "We should be able to go..."
She doesn't notice the large figure with a sledgehammer approaching, so absorbed she is in figuring out the way. "Hey--" she's gesturing vaguely to Umie, using whatever alias she cares to give. "Can you sense any hospitals?"
*CLANG*
Kazusa jumps with a startled yelp. "What the heck--!?" And then the howls start, and Kazusa feels her blood freeze as she whips her head around.
"We're too exposed," she declares as she starts to move forward. She throws her cloak off, revealing her tunic, mini-skirt, stockings, and boots. (And a wolf tail.) On her hip is a whip, and she snatches it up. "Stay together, let's find cover!"
She can use her movement training to navigate the terrain, and her whip will pull triple duty for trying to trip up enemies and slow down the hoard, pulling others out of harms' way, or latching on to objects to navigate obstacles.
MONAD: Kazusa Motojima has acted with Flowing Rhythm toward In The Streets of Our Youth, Peril! Diligence and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
Roger's cheery waving over breaks from the dreary environs, but this tonal shift is short-lived. An Atelier overtaken by a Homunculus is always 'something very wrong is going on.' This feels especially more wrong than usual.
"A pig? Nope!" Roger smiles, rolling back and forth on his feet that are on the verge of simply being too small anatomically. "I'm a Sanguin Humor!" A beat. "Was?"
Then, a tilt of his head, and an inquisitive snort which is always a bit weird on something with a human-analogous appearance. "I decided I want to play with everyone as someone! So I'm here with everyone else now in your world. Though, um," a bit confused, "I don't think I've seen a... cat... like you?"
oh no
There is also suddenly an Umie.
Umie, and her greater sense of perception of supernatural spaces. If Roger is able to get into the nitty gritty about the make of the land, Umie seems to already have her advantage about the lay of the land.
"Oh! Wow, we really almost fell into the mud..."
Belle is right, though. This is terrifying.
Still, they make it, so far.
There's a chorus of howls, and Roger's eyes open. On one hand, he should be relieved... should! Because if the Coleric Humors were all gone, that's bad.
"Watch out! Those are Coleric Humors!" He draws his tennis racquet, squares up, and bounces a tennis ball as he prepares to hurl them at some of the more distant targets with skillful serves!
He looks to Belle with a more determined look on his face. "We're the only ones who can help Nagisa-kun! So let's do this together and save his bacon!"
He adds, a moment later. "Fighting the Coleric Humors won't hurt him any! Go whole hog!!"
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'Wha-- who are you?' Umie gives Kazusa a cheeky little grin. "No time to explain~"
Oh, she *should* introduce herself. "I'm--"
'Good job scouting, Umie.' As if she finally noticed Mona there, the confident blonde immediately jumps back on one foot, her lips biting back a loud gasp. "... S-sorry, I... didn't, ah, realize you were there." She clears her throat, trying to regain that cool guise of experienced confidence, "Keeping me on my toes, as expected."
However, for Belle, Umie doesn't have much comfort to give, now that she notices her. "It won't get any better from here, if this is what I think it is," Umie says to Belle quietly. "Do the names on the map ring any bells with any of you?" Better to ask first, than present what you know, especially as it may or may not be applicable to what's happening here. Oh. Right. Belle is a Phantom Thief, right? She's seen her with at least Joker a few times, so... (Thankfully, because of Umie's assumptions, it seems natural that Mona would be here with a fellow Thief.)
She looks at Roger, and Mona, then back to Kazusa. ".... They're who they say they are," she says, a touch defensively. "No different from us. As for me... well, since Mona-san's already said so, I'm Umie." She glances down to Mona. "This is the guy I mentioned a bit back," she says, motioning to Roger.
But, scouting. Umie looks back at Kazusa. "I can only sense some things. I'm not a navigator." But obviously, if Umie is able to see where danger is coming, they'll be fine, right?
Exhibit B. as to why they are not fine: a being that is simply out there to ring a manhole cover to alarm the troops? Not technically something the Badb is interested in, so Umie only spots it the same time everyone else does.
"........ There's.... uh... danger, coming," Umie mutters flatly, as the many Humors, donning their costumes of trauma and fear, come to collect.
"I'll take responsibility." She frowns, and drawing her hand, summoning the gleeful Badb, who shrieks her joyful call for blood, hopefully scattering the horde into far more easily evaded, confused groups.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Blackbird's Bite toward In The Streets of Our Youth, Peril! Bravery and Focus! MONAD: Roger has acted with Guts toward In The Streets of Our Youth, Peril! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
Morgana gives out some boasts in defending Kasumi, which does get her to smile a little. "Don't get separated, okay, Mona?" She asks instead of praise. "We should stick together for situations like this." (She means hell schools).
It's a relief to leave the school and into the open air of a population center. And this fog, it reminds Kasumi of some game she's seen before. The skyline... Where is this? Belle crosses her arms... "Where are we? It's...not Tokyo, that's for sure."
As Kazusa introduces everyone though, Kasumi gives a small wave as her codename 'Belle' is called. "It's good to meet you properly, Roger-san, and... Akabana-san." She'll finish, as Umie introduces herself. "This is Mona." A beat, as Kazusa hits on a sore spot. "Who's not a cat." She corrects. "We need to stay stealthy, Mona...!"
Although... Stealthy quickly goes out the window as a big gong gets hit, startling Kasumi pretty badly as she nearly drops her rapier. "Gah~! What the-" Oh. Oh, she can see the horde awaken. Roger calls something, and Kasumi nods! "Yes! Let's do our best!" Kazusa charges forth, and Kasumi follows! She grabs her gun and shoots any that get too close, to protect everyone. Maybe, just maybe, they'll be able to dodge through the fog well enough!
MONAD: Kasumi Yoshizawa has acted with Beauty is Devotion! toward In The Streets of Our Youth, Peril! Diligence and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
Umie jumps and gasps at Mona! He's not thrilled about that, as the look on his face and the folding of his paws attests. "Right. Exactly it," he says anyway. He recognizes when someone's trying to protect their pride, and his needs protecting now too--especially when Belle tells him not to get separated. A sweatdrop beads down his giant, cartoonish head. "R-right..."
"That's right," Mona tells Kazusa more brazenly--of 'another one,' that is. When she asks him if he's a cat, he glowers, ears flattening. However, he knows a pointed snipe when he hears one. (At least when Roger says it, it's clearly a question.) "Ugh. I guess I was asking for that one... No, I'm not a cat; I'm a human, just like you. I only look like a cat for reasons. And if Roger's with you, I'm with Belle. Deal with it."
He knows that Kazusa isn't as bad as she seems sometimes, but she's got a Vibe to her right now and he's in no mood to put up with it.
Roger says he's not a pig, though with considerably good cheer. Instead, he's-- "A Sanguin Humor? You mean you're a Shadow?" Mona utters, surprised. He adds a very key word, and Mona echoes it: "Was? ...Never mind. We can talk about it later. I want to hear about that, though." Umie mentions that this is the guy she mentioned before, and he frowns, but says nothing more about it for now.
Regardless, once they're all through and out of the school, Mona gives the group a satisfied little nod. "Not too shabby, everyone. I can see why Belle wanted to work with you all." Umie technically excluded, but Mona knows her well. "Like she said, you can call me Mona."
And he is indeed not a cat! Good on Belle for mentioning it.
Where is this though? Mona can't say he recognizes this skyline, but with amnesia, maybe that only makes sense. As Kazusa inspects the map, Mona turns his attention around, searching for any threats. Boy oh boy, does he ever find one. Tension fills the foggy air as he stares down the shadowy figure, leering at them all in silence. There's no doubt about it: this is a massive threat. The shiver running down his spine and spiking the fur on his back can attest to that.
"Hey, over there," he hisses--and he's already leaping in front of Belle when the figure with its strange little origami companion swings its sledgehammer. However, it attacks--the ground?
A second later, Mona understands why. "Woah!!" he utters as a localized earthquake not only upsets everyone's footing, but also summons a horde of howling Humours. Kazusa directs everyone to run for cover. Mona instead draws his cutlass from thin air.
"I'll hold 'em off! Go, go!" he urges the others as he leaps forward towards the horde of Colerics, heart hammering. "Come on, you zombie freaks! Just try and eat me!" he taunts, more bravado than anything else. He knows he can't take on a swarm of this size all on his own.
Fortunately, he doesn't have to. Pretty much the entire group besides Kazusa chooses violence. On the one paw, Mona appreciates how reliable they seem to be in a pinch, but on the other, c'monnnn, he was trying to be cool...! Oh well. He'll call up Zorro to summon windstorms to blow the enemies back along with Umie's Badb while Belle and Roger get in those ranged hits. At least Kazusa will have plenty of time to inspect the map and figure out their route out of here!
MONAD: Morgana has acted with The Essence of Gentleman Thievery toward In The Streets of Our Youth, Peril! Bravery and Patra! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== In The Streets of Our Youth, Peril - Round 2 ==========================- Morgana Guts Success The Essence of Gentl Bravery and Patra Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kasumi Yoshizawa Proficiency Success Beauty is Devotion! Diligence and Focus Fatigue: 0 Morale: 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Umie Akabane Guts Success Blackbird's Bite Bravery and Focus Fatigue: 0 Morale: 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Roger Guts Success Guts Base Fatigue: 0 Morale: 2 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kazusa Motojima Proficiency Success Flowing Rhythm Diligence and Focus Fatigue: 0 Morale: 3 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Clumsy-2, Ineptitude-1, Shuffle: Sword-0, and Terrifying-2 Final Conditions: Terrifying-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 2/6 |== | ===================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- Items: 0, Money: 1, Gear: 1 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Kazusa Motojima has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 3 - Challenge Level 3 ===========================================-
| Card: To Gamble on Your Future, Know What You Are Willing to Lose |
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Academics |
| Conditions: Bless - +1 to Group Roll (Per Character), Ineptitude - |
| Proficiency Down L2, Shuffle - Draw 1 Minor Arcana., Stupor - Academics |
| Down L1, and Terrifying - Guts Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
While traveling the cognitive Mikage-Cho, you pass through the Atelier's
version of the Mikage Sun Mall. The exterior is dilapidated, and within,
most of the stores have been looted and burned out. Hostile Humors lurk, but
there's one storefront that's still solid and thus defensible: the chain
casino, Judgment 1999. You sneak in to wait for a chance for the enemies to
thin and pass through the mall.
As you wait, you see inside that most of the gambling machines are broken,
save one: Code Breaker. In this game, you guess numbers for prizes, and the
more you guess correctly, the better the prize you get. But beware, for if
you fail to guess /any/ numbers correctly, you'll have to fight through a
swarm of Coleric Humors to flee the mall...
Use your smarts to calculate the odds. Otherwise, luck is also a skill!
OOC: The "numbers" are based on total successes vs. failures, including the
overall success/failure! The prizes can be items, money, weapons, or armor,
based on your preference; feel free to use this to justify an upgrade.
Contact Shinichi's player for a guideline of what you might win, or else
just go for money.
If everyone succeeds, you win a super premium prize! If there are more
successes than failures, you get a good prize! If there's an equal number of
successes to failures, you get a decent prize! If you get more failures than
successes, you get a mediocre prize! And if everyone fails, well... Better
hope you don't...
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Is Roger a Sanguin Humor still? Does he count as something else? Kazusa does not know the answer to that question (she's still kind of catching up on some aspects of the supernatural, not having been at this as long as some others.) "We can figure that out later," is all Kazusa has to say on that. (It comes out a little meaner than she'd intended; she's just trying to stay focused.)
But Roger calls out that they can fight the Cholerics as much as they want without harming Shinichi. "Got it!" That is actually helpful to know--Kazusa's gotten the rundown but hasn't been in an Atelier yet.
At least Kazusa wasn't the only one surprised by Mona. But when Umie asks if any of the names ring a bell, Kazusa nods. "It's Mikage-cho, right? There was some.... chemical spill or a gas leak or something there a few years ago." She says it so matter-of-factly, it's clear she doesn't really understand the significance of what she's just said.
And why would she? Whe wasn't even Awakened then.
"... Just 'Umie'?" Kazusa says, skeptically. "Fine. Umie-san, then." She's not in a mood to argue about manners.
Belle makes the introduction. "Mona-san," she says. She arches an eyebrow at Belle next as she says Mona... is not a cat. A statement that Mona also backs up, with the additional clarification of being a human. Kazusa stares at him for a moment, but then nods. "Fine. But just so we're clear, I'm not a wolf. Or a wolfgirl."
And he's with Belle. Kazusa looks at Kasumi for a moment but then nods. "Fine. I don't have time to argue about it anyway."
(Kazusa definitely has a vibe, and she definitelyisn't handling it well.)
The hordes come, and violence seems to be the order of the day. Umie's Badb helps scatter the crowds into smaller, more manageable groups, which helps Roger and Belle with picking them off from a distance. Mona is still very cool in dispatching his own portion of the horde, which helps with keeping the long-range support from being overwhelmed.
Kazusa isn't using no violence, but she's much more focused on finding a safe spot, (and the others clearing and scattering the crowds helps her advance), and she eventually returns the favor by calling everyone into cover, which happens to be a still-defensible Judgement 1999 in the abandoned Mikage Sun Mall.
After rebarricading the entrance Kazusa pants heavily, leaning against a wall after coiling her whip and hanging it off of her belt. "Okay," she says in between pants, "I am so not playing Quiet Valley anytime soon." She shudders, hugging herself before pulling her cloak back on. "Please tell me my Homunculus didn't mess my Atelier up anywhere near this bad."
The bad news for Kazusa is, this may not all be the Homucnulus' doing.
But the storefront is in realtively good condition, and Kazusa starts to look around. "Well, since we're here..."
Lots and lots of games. And most of them... Kazusa frowns as she pokes at one after the other."Busted, no power, no screen..." she mutters to herself. "Hang on-- Hey, check this out."
It's Code Breaker, and Kazusa is already studying the ruleset. "Hrrmmm... look at the materials on... that one, and that one," she remarks of the prizes. "Those look pretty high-quality. So maybe..."
She'll start trying to figure out the number sequence, and accept anyone else's help who cares to give it.
MONAD: Kazusa Motojima has acted with Fashion Talk toward To Gamble on Your Future, Know What You Are Willing to Lose! Smarts and Patra! <Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
Umie groans, her hand in one hand, as Mona folds his arms. "I can't help it if you guys always get by my senses..."
As for their party, Kazusa was not known for being the most amiable person before her transformation, and right now, the reins of leadership seem to be pulling tight. Then again, it's not as if she asked for the amount of people the party's swelled to. She was likely counting on just Belle, and now, with Mona and her own self... Ehhh. A little bit of experience hurt no one. Umie'll just need to stay sharp; Mona is clearly here for Belle's support, just as Roger is for Kazusa's.
'Just 'Umie'?' Umie gives her a sharp smile. "It keeps things easy, right?"
'It's good to meet you properly, Roger-san, and... Akabana-san.' Ah. Belle must have heard her last name from the others. "... Umie Akabane," Umie relents, with a forlorn sigh. "It's good to meet you as well, Belle-san."
-=-=-=-
'Please/ tell me my Homunculus didn't mess my Atelier up anywhere near this bad.' "It was only as messy as it needed to be," is all Umie says, as they rest, holed up inside the Mall.
"... Mikage-cho, if that map was any indication. And yes, there *was* something like that, wasn't there?" She tilts her head towards Kazusa. "But, when have they ever openly talked about supernatural things in the press?" She walks with the group. "It would be very strange for nothing to have happened until recently." A pause. "Because, there *was* an incident." Which is an understatement of the year. Umie shrugs. "Can't tell you much else, though; I wasn't there."
Actually Umie *could*, but that information is not hers to share, nor would it help any, in this case. The Atelier tells the story well enough on its own. "Supernatural things happen, without us necessarily knowing about it. And afterwards, life goes on, even for the people who were caught up in those events."
As Kazusa pokes through the games, Umie's curiosity is piqued; she peers in. ".... Huh... Well, I mean, it won't hurt to try, would it?"
There may be some significance here, as well, if this game is still able to run.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Academics toward To Gamble on Your Future, Know What You Are Willing to Lose! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
"A human...?" Roger echoes the assertion by Mona with a thought. "Okay! There's very small humans out there too." Children. They're called children. Mona is not children. (probably)
It's chaos getting to somewhere that at least has the air of something approaching safety. At least, a place they can barricade, take in some deep breaths and consider themselves and their next move, and...
"Even with the Homunculus, you had Sanguin Humors still doing everything you wanted to do and be," he says, but he's not making eye contact because Roger is transfixed at the Code Breaker machine and is already punching in numbers without much care or thought outside of just enjoying putting numbers onto a provided metal card. (They probably don't make this kind of metal card any more.)
The talk of Mikage-cho goes over his head.
MONAD: Roger has acted with Game Skills toward To Gamble on Your Future, Know What You Are Willing to Lose! Specialty!
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
"Oh! Was that supposed to be a secret, Akabane-san?" Kasumi clasps a hand her mouth. "Sorry..."
"Mikage-cho, huh...?" Kasumi wonders aloud. "Oh yeah, I remember hearing something about that." She crosses her arms, as she wonders. "There's some Demons out there too. So strange..." She doesn't know what it is either.
Wait. Kazusa was worried about hurting Shinichi? That suddenly clicks for Kasumi, and as she shoots one more humour, she yells a loud "Sorry!" Now she just feels bad...
They make it through thankfully! They create a fighting retreat and land at a Judgement 1999, and Kasumi is happy to help set up a barricade. "I don't think Quiet Valley has hordes like this." She replies with a little laugh. She's doing better in terms of stamina. "No, your Atelier was nice. It was like Akihabara, mainly." She's not a nerd, so she doesn't know what a convention is, really.
Kasumi does however, take the opportunity to follow Kazusa as she looks through the selection. "It's a shame there's nothing good... Ah!" There's one!
Kazusa might go straight to analyzing Code Breakers, but Kasumi... "This one, this one, and this one!" Well, luck is always a skill, and Kami-sama does have favourites. "Mona, do you have any picks too?~"
MONAD: Kasumi Yoshizawa has acted with Proficiency toward To Gamble on Your Future, Know What You Are Willing to Lose! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
"Riight," Mona says to Kazusa, humongous eyes narrowed, of her being neither a wolf nor a wolfgirl. He'd just called her a human, so he thinks she's trying to make fun of him. He's choosing not to pick a fight over it though.
...any more than his tone already would, anyway. At least Umie's reason for why she didn't notice him brings back some cheer. "Heheh~ I guess you can't, huh?"
As for small humans... Well, there's small humans out there that aren't children too. Mona gets the feeling that's not what Roger's thinking, and he only sweatdrops again. "R-right... Sure."
Same goes for Belle and Umie's last name. He'll stay out of that one.
The fight goes well, at least. The group still has to retreat, but they retreat without taking any serious injuries and find a place that's well-defensible while more Humours stalk around outside.
"Whew. That was a rough one. Nothing we couldn't handle, though, right, Belle?" Mona smiles over at her. To the others, he adds, "If anyone needs it, I've got healing magic."
He'll heal the others as needed, too--and while he's not familiar with Mikage-cho, he notes the name and what Kazusa and Umie say about an 'incident,' both the public-facing news and the implication of what lurks beneath. Supernatural things happen, and afterwards, life goes on...
"As long as you don't get cursed, that is," Mona mutters, though his demeanor's more forlorn than bitter.
However, when Kazusa notes that there is a game to be played, and it has some pretty sweet prizes, Mona scurries over and hops up nimbly to get a better look.
"Huh. You've got a good eye," he remarks, nodding approvingly. (Based on what he knows about her and has heard about her Atelier, he's not surprised.) "All right, leave it to me! I'll have this code cracked in no time! ...Probably!"
Well, at the very least, he'll contribute towards crunching the numbers and figuring out a likely sequence. And also towards going, "Hey, HEY!! You can't just punch in random numbers! That has no delicacy!!" and attempting to reel Roger in from his random number-punching.
Of course, Belle's little better with her cheerfully picking at random. Mona deflates with a heavy sigh. Luck really is a skill, though, so he nods. He'll have his analysis ready in a moment!
MONAD: Morgana has acted with Here's How It Is! ...I Think! toward To Gamble on Your Future, Know What You Are Willing to Lose! Smarts and Focus!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== To Gamble on Your Future, Know What You Are Willing to Lose - Round 3 =- Morgana Academics Success Here's How It Is! .. Smarts and Focus Fatigue: 0 Morale: 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kasumi Yoshizawa Proficiency Success Proficiency Base Fatigue: 0 Morale: 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Umie Akabane Academics Failure Academics Base Fatigue: 1 Morale: 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Roger Proficiency Failure Game Skills Specialty Fatigue: 1 Morale: 3 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kazusa Motojima Academics Failure Fashion Talk Smarts and Patra Fatigue: 1 Morale: 3 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Bless-0, Ineptitude-2, Shuffle: Wand-0, Stupor-2, and Terrifying-1 Final Conditions: Stupor-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 3/6 |=== | ===================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- Items: 0, Money: 1, Gear: 1 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Kazusa Motojima has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 4 - Challenge Level 2 ===========================================-
| Card: In This Place of Healing, I Know Only How to Harm |
| Approach Options: Guts or Proficiency |
| Conditions: Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, Stupor - Academics Down L1, and |
| Terrifying - Guts Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
Eventually you come to a towering hospital, shrouded in mist. A single
window on the third floor flickers with a glowing shade of crimson,
eternally lit in the night.
Pushing into the lower floor of the hospital are Coleric Humors, in the
shapes of zombies, easily dispatched. What's more disturbing though is what
occurs as one pushes into a treatment room, or an operating theater.
Hulking Melanc 'Orderlies' wearing purloined patchwork pads that look like
sporting equipment are merciless torturing Sanguine Humors strapped down to
some treatment tables, every single one a girl dressed in patient gowns,
missing some part of their features.
Some their eyes, some their mouth. Inevitably something is missing upon
them, as if lost to time. They poke and prod, and sometimes beat them with
sticks, injecting them with chemicals, or even just emotionally berating
them.
Under the influence of the Homunculus, the Melanc Humors have become barely
articulate monsters, who grunt out only single word invectives against them.
"Stupid."
"Bitch."
"Parasite."
The Sanguine Humors, once powerful beings in their own right are mostly
barely sensate from the pain of their torment, but some of them manage to
turn their heads your way, pleading without words- not for themselves, but
for the salvation of this place from its new master.
It would be simplest to just use the fact the Melanc Humors are preoccupied
to sneak by, these are only Shadows after all. Saving the Atelier will save
them right? That is, if you can manage to look the other way...
But if provoked to try to save them, the Melanc Shadows howl like beasts,
more vicious than they ought to be slavering as they pounce onto you,
swinging a stick the size of a person like a bludgeon.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
Kazusa definitely isn't known for being the post patient person, no. But at the very least, her impatience is directed towards keeping everyone safe, actively looking out for the party (even as she complains about the extra members.)
It's progress?
(Plus, if Umie knew exactly what this threat meant to her, it might be all the more understandable why she's so on edge.)
"Akabane-san, then," Kazusa says firmly, once the last name comes out. "Even simpler."
Only as messy as it needed to be. "That's reassuring," Kazusa says in a way that indicates it isn't. But Roger actually has something more reassuring to say, on that front. "They were, huh... those were the owlgirls, right? They were the palace's... advisors," she muses, a bit distractedly. She only got a little bit of time to be in there.
But she stops and frowns as she looks at Umie. "... what was that about supernatural things in the press?" There was an incident, but Umie doesn't have anything to share. Kazusa frowns, and she looks out towards the mall. "... it was about..." Her eyes widen in shock. "Wait-- the middle school. Was he there!?"
Belle mentions demons, and Kazusa frowns towards her. "There's demons out that way? And they're in here..." she mutters. "Weren't there... some in Hana Fukami's Kingdom, too...?" Is there a common thread? Probably not.
Quiet Valley doesn't have zombie hordes, says Belle. "Maybe not, but I won't really be in the mood for a horror game for a while..." Which means she plays horror games. Ssssh, don't point it out that she just said that.
Kazusa might have missed Mona calling her a human. She's a bit stressed and distracted. Sorry, Mona.
But Mona has healing magic! "Oh, me too," Kazusa says, a bit distractedly (still.) "Good. Then that means we can share the healing duties."
But then Mona compliments her, and Kazusa blinks a little, looking him over. Okay, it's nice to be recognized, even if she won't say that part out loud. "... Thanks." Maybe her voice is a touch softer, at that.
'Hey, HEY!! You can't just punch in random numbers! That has no delicacy!!'
"Right? That goes for you too, Belle-san." Okay, Mona appreciates Mona a little bit more now. Cat or not, he's at least trying to be sensible with the code breaking.
And unfortunately for her sense of inner peace, hers, Roger's, and Umie's efforts don't bear as much fruit as Mona's code-breaking and Belle's cheerful picking. Kazusa crosses her arms, frowning. "... well, at least we got a decent prize out of it."
"... whatever. We should keep moving."
Luckily, the time it's taken them to play Code Breaker means that the zombie hordes have settled down by now, and they can sneak out and keep moving forward... right until they get to a tall, towering hospital.
"... this is the place Fontaine-san told me about," Kazusa says, referencing the map. "Everyone, stay on your guard."
Only a single light on the third floor flickers. "... why do I get the feeling I'm really not going to like what's in that room?" And yet, it's the most obvious plce to go.
Choleric Zombies are easily dispatched, but as Kazusa peers into a treatment room, it's not a pretty sight. All of the girls in pateitn gowns are missing some part. Some are beaten, some injected, others berated.
Her hand flies to her mouth and she yanks herself back, looking upset. "I th-think those are the Melancs--" she says in a very hushed whisper. "And they're torturing... Sanguins?"
She looks to Roger for confirmation, a chill running down her spine. "Didn't you say the Sanguins fight back? This is--really bad, isn't it?"
It would be way easier to sneak on by, it's true. The Melac is distracted, but... Kazusa's jaw sets, as she looks back in the room. "... Roger-san. If we free some of them, will it help?"
Hopefully the answer is 'Yes', because it's clear Kazusa intends to try and do something. The Melancs may be brutal, but Kazusa will try to use her gymnastics-given agility to dance out of the way of blows and attack with her whip.
And also hopefully someone sees fit to give her backup.
MONAD: Kazusa Motojima has acted with Flowing Rhythm toward In This Place of Healing, I Know Only How to Harm! Diligence and Focus! <Pose Tracker> Roger has posed.
The joy of play does not win the day. Code Breaker is not a button masher. (Sudoku is not a strong suit, apparently.)
"Eee! What? But, if we don't know the numbers, it's random anyway!" There may be sound logic to the thought only when it comes to the first guess, and it is maybe for the best he's not the one who does the future guessing!
Soon enough... a hospital. Going beyond the established particulars...
The aesthetics of the offputting hospital are one thing, but Roger freezes when he first starts hearing the terrible words, and seeing the sights of the altered Melanc Humors has Roger snort and hold up a hand.
"Those are Melanc Humors!" Roger snorts out, stomping a foot. He turns around. "Melanc Humors are part of an Atelier too! They're the ones that reflect things you don't like about yourself. And, um, they moderate Sanguin Humors."
'Didn't you say the Sanguins fight back? This is--really bad, isn't it?'
"Uh huh!" Roger confirms. "A Homunculus always overtakes the Melanc Humors and makes 'em their lackeys! Then they turn around and make an even bigger mess of things!" Roger says, a bit too spirited for the environs. "They're still part of the Atelier, so that's why Coleric Humors won't go after them." He lightens some, as if ready to go to tears. "If it weren't for friends like you, I wouldn't have been able to help save the Atelier I came from..."
"'If we free some of them, will it help?'"
"That's right!" Roger says. "It's not easy to get to the Homunculus as long as they're working for 'em... and it'd help make it easier for everyone else who's come to play on our team too. Even so, seeing the Flegmat Humors like they were..."
This is falling off, verbally, as if Roger acknowledges they are running out of time. He shakes his head. "Never mind that! We gotta buy Nagisa-kun as much time as we can! No Sanguin Humor would ever want to stop doing what they want to do on behalf of an Atelier's rightful owner!"
From there, as Kazusa takes to battle, Roger follows after, swinging his tennis racquet into a passing blue butterfly. It shatters, and the colorful form of Kamapua'a shows, backing Kazusa up with an array of watery magics.
MONAD: Roger has acted with Guts toward In This Place of Healing, I Know Only How to Harm! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'Was that supposed to be a secret, Akabane-san? Sorry.. Umie's expression falters as Belle expresses regret. "No, it's..." She sighs, rubbing the side of her neck. "It's fine, really. I can trust you all." Like Kasuza and her reasons for the party's numbers, Umie's own reasons for her half-hearted protest are shrouded.
'That's reassuring.' Unlike with Belle, Umie seems to just smirk at Kazusa's sassiness, though, for the sake of group cohesion, she *doesn't* say anything back. (It's not that she'd say something bad, but she knows herself.)
Umie's gaze travels back to Roger, as he mentions his own experience with Kazusa. She smiles, a little. Really, she wasn't needed her at all, was she? Roger's been there, for all these Ateliers, helping all these newly formed Persona Users, despite having to figure out everything himself.
If it weren't for him, would they really have been able to help save people like Kazusa? And she, in turn, is here, helping here.
And Umie... "That was due to the the Order. One of their agents may have used their abilities to summon demons." Well, she can help, at least, to bridge those gaps. "As for the middle school, it's very likely. Persona Users were even less common then, so... if demons were lurking around, all people could do was hole up and hope for the best. Afterwards... well... if you told anybody you were attacked by a demon, would anyone believe you? Especially when the more logical explanation is right there."
She knows that feeling well.
Later, letting Mona heal her (as Umie lacks any abilities of her own), the blonde squints, concentrating on Mona. "Curses, huh..." She reaches out, hovering her finger in front of Mona, as if trying to sense some invisible, magical seal that only she can see.
It's just for show, though. "I can't sense good luck, but. I'm not sensing bad luck, either," she says quietly, trying to keep her words for Mona. It's difficult, however, given their surroundings. "But maybe your luck's wearing a mask too." She failed to connect the dots: Mona, saying that he is a human, and his 'curse' being what makes him a cat.
-=-=-=-
Now, as they approach a hospital, Umie gestures. ".... Well, there's the hospital."
-=-=-=-
The insides.... less so. Umie's been no fan of hospitals, and her experiences with cognitive ones have not helped any, for that. She finds herself focusing on Roger now, using that confidence as a means to stand as well.
'We gotta buy Nagisa-kun as much time as we can!' It brings to mind Yanagi Nagisa.... but surely, they're not related, right?
'Stupid.'
'Bitch.'
'Parasite.'
Right? Yanagi Nagisa is 'not doing well', but she's turned '20'. She went to the izakaya bar with Umie, Remi, Shinobu, and Shiryuu.
"Don't look," she whispers, and it's as much a plea to the 'younger' Persona Users (even if it's only a few years at most) as it is for Badb's powers, which extend a weaker, more shallow shroud over those who attempt to free the Sanguine Humors.
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Blackbird's Bite toward In This Place of Healing, I Know Only How to Harm! Bravery and Focus!
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
"Right, Mona!" Belle pumps her arms with a smile. "We did a good job!"
Kasumi also lets out a laugh as Kazusa replies. "Yeah, I don't think I can look at them the same way either now."
Kasumi additionally beams as Mona and Kasuza seem to get along, so she gives Mona some good work pets. Especially now that he's taller now!
She might get yelled at moments after, but it works out okay on her end! "See?~ You can't overthink these things sometimes!" If only she'd take that advice for her real life... It's nice to see a decent prize pop up though!
"Fontaine-san's our information?" She remembers the mean French girl-and her unfortunately pick in beaus. She tightens her hand instinctively. "Are we sure our information is solid then?" She asks, not... meaning to shade Isabeau, but ends up doing so anyways. Well, if Kazusa believes it... And it is the most obvious option...
The feminine sanguins... Being tortured by some Melacs... Kasumi too, claps a hand over her mouth to keep her from attracting any attention. She has a sickly feeling collecting in the pit of her stomach. Once she trusts herself to not say something too loud... "That's... so awful..." She murmurs as she lifts her hand off of her mouth.
Saving the sanguins will help. That's a major relief. Kasumi can't overlook this either. "On your mark, Motojima-senpai."
Kazusa charges, and Kasumi follows up fast on her heels. "Let's go!" She tears her rapier from her sheath, as she attempts to slash through!
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
Kazusa has a shocking revelation: could Shinichi Nagisa have been there for the Mikage-cho Incident? Mona's shocked too. "So then that means this horror show's what that was like?" He grows grave and folds his paws as Umie includes more context on the matter. "Makes sense... What we've seen so far would mess anybody normal up. He's probably got a lot of leftover trauma from it."
When Umie points a finger at him, Mona recoils. It turns out she's trying to sense 'bad luck' from him, which trips him up mentally until he realizes she's misunderstood what he meant about curses. "No, no, that's--never mind. We've got things to do," he murmurs back to her, somewhere between embarrassed that she overheard and touched that she tried to do something about it.
~ * ~
So Kazusa can heal, too... Figures, Mona does not say out loud. The two even get a tiny bonding moment at Judgment 1999! Will wonders never cease? He's rewarded with good-work pets from Belle, which also gets a similar mixed-embarrassed-and-pleased reaction that may or may not involve chirruping meows.
...even if they all did only get a decent prize out of it. What kind of prize? ...Well, anyway!
"Just because it worked out for you doesn't mean it was right. Roger didn't have any luck, did he?" Mona points out to Belle. Of course, neither did Kazusa using the same approach he did, but shhh. "Though, I guess you're not wrong either," he concedes.
He frowns thoughtfully when Belle expresses her doubt about how good that map really is if it came from Isabeau. "It's given us solid intel so far," he points out.
~ * ~
Onwards they go to the hospital that sits at the heart of the Atelier. Mona peers up at it, and especially at that one red-lit window, with a grimace. It's got an ominous air to it, even by the standards of this Atelier.
"Because you've got some common sense," Mona remarks to Kazusa, tail flicking. (Unlike SOME PEOPLE, ROGER. He doesn't care what you say about the randomness of the numbers!!) "Let's go."
The Melancs' torture of the Sanguins really is horrible. Mona peeks in and recoils in horror at the sight, much like Kazusa. "What the hell is this?! Is this what's in that Nagisa kid's heart?!" he whispers harshly. Roger explains, though, what the balance of the Humours is supposed to be like--and how the presence of a Homunculus upsets it. He also implies some things about his own past. "I see... Then we've got to save those girls," Mona says firmly. Not that he doubted this crowd would be on board.
It's too late not to look now, Umie. Mona will charge in with the rest of them, taking advantage of his small and Umie's shrouding to dash across the floor and under the beds to reach the other side of the room and create an artificial pincer attack with Kazusa, Belle, and Roger on the other side via slingshot ammo.
Whoever it's actually directed towards, it's clear there's a lot of hatred in here. They need to seize any advantage they can get.
MONAD: Morgana has acted with Proficiency toward In This Place of Healing, I Know Only How to Harm! Base! MONAD: Kasumi Yoshizawa has acted with Beauty is Devotion! toward In This Place of Healing, I Know Only How to Harm! Diligence and Focus! (|============================ Monad - Results =============================|) -==== In This Place of Healing, I Know Only How to Harm - Round 4 ===========- Morgana Proficiency Success Proficiency Base Fatigue: 0 Morale: 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kasumi Yoshizawa Proficiency Success Beauty is Devotion! Diligence and Focus Fatigue: 0 Morale: 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Umie Akabane Guts Success Blackbird's Bite Bravery and Focus Fatigue: 1 Morale: 5 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Roger Guts Success Guts Base Fatigue: 1 Morale: 4 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Kazusa Motojima Proficiency Success Flowing Rhythm Diligence and Focus Fatigue: 1 Morale: 5 -============================ Party Conditions: =============================- Starting Conditions: Clumsy-2, Stupor-1, and Terrifying-2 Final Conditions: Clumsy-1 and Terrifying-1 -====================================== Party Result: Success: Reach Up! ====- -==== Reach: 4/6 |==== | ===================================================- -==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================- Items: 0, Money: 1, Gear: 1 (|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Kazusa Motojima has drawn a new Challenge!
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 5 - Challenge Level 3 ===========================================-
| Card: Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder |
| Approach Options: Proficiency or Charm |
| Conditions: Annoying - Charm Down L2, Boss - Add 1 Fatigue on failure., |
| Clumsy - Proficiency Down L1, Ineptitude - Proficiency Down L2, and |
| Terrifying - Guts Down L2 |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
The elevator is out of order, forcing one to use the stairs to get up to the
third floor.
Once in the hallway, you can see the crimson glow of room 302 peering
through the cracks of the door.
Unfortunately, there's a Melanc Humor in the hallway, nearly three meters
tall, long spindly arms, holding a clipboard, and wearing a white coat- as
it stands over a Faceless Sanguine Nurse, still twitching upon the floor.
Upon his face is a perpetual, tired, apathetic look. "Time of Death, Fifteen
Thirty Two." As he casts Mudoon, and the Sanguine Nurse erupts, becoming a
pool of shapeless Ichor.
He then turns towards your group.
"So sad. So heart-breaking. I need to go on break... but I shouldn't. It's
so busy right now. So many patients are dying who need me to call them. So
little time. So little time."
He then moves forward, creeping on far too long legs, as his eyes glint with
the barest sliver of malice behind their sorrow, "Time of death, Fifteen
Thirty Three." And begins to cast Mudoon at one of you.
A direct fight is extremely dangerous, but unavoidable it would seem. Or is
it? There may be hope in convincing this Melanc Humor to go on break rather
than continue 'working'.
Of course, if you do fight it, it's not so much a matter of powering
through, as avoiding the dangerous Mudoon spell, cast repeatedly long enough
to score a decisive blow.
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
The Order used their abilities to summon Demons. "The Who? And-- wait people can do that!?" That is a hell of a gap to bridge. But as for the middle school... "... if they said anything, it'd just get written off as a hallucination from a chemical leak. Wouldn't it?" But then she frowns. "... but aren't normal people not supposed to remember the supernatural?"
She nods to Mona. "Yeah, it must have been... so all of this... Wait." Kazusa frowns, as she tries to recall. "--wait. He was there. That's what Nagisa-san said at Peacock Silk." That's Yanagi. "They lived in the Mikage-Cho neighborhood several years ago."
'See?~ You can't overthink these things sometimes!' Kazusa turns to give Belle a flat look, but doesn't say anything in the moment.
* Kazusa will remember this. ... so she can repeat it back to Kasumi later.
But when Belle asks if Isabeau's information is reliable, Kazusa huffs. "It's fine. She knows what she's doing. Do you think I can't evaluate the information I get?"
Bonding moment!
In the hospital, though, Kazusa's frown only deepens when Roger confirms what the Melancs are... and that they're still a reflection of an saspect of Shinichi.
... Oh no. That's what Isabeau was saying, wasn't it? Why was she even picking such a fight with her in the first place???
But Roger says it'll help. "Good. Then I intend to do something about it." But when he trails off... Kazusa looks subdued. "... I know. But you know what's happening to him in that Cocoon. If this gives us more time to reach him, we have to try."
Four of them opt to go in, and the last of them provide cover. It's a tough, grueling fight (and all the better that they have two healers, then), but eventually they can put down the Melancs, and then help free the Sanguins. Only, when they're let up...
Kazusa goes a little pale, as she realizes. "Th-they're all...!" She draws in a sharp breath as she looks towards the front doors. "mikage Hospital. That's where Yanagi Nagisa-san was hospitalized." Roger was there, but Kazusa looks to the others, trying to explain quickly. "She was hospitalized, and took up a lot of the family's time. One day, Shinichi Nagisa-san went to her hospital room and said..." She shakes her head. "... that's not important. The point is, something happened, she... appeared to die, I guess? And after that..."
She sucks in a sharp breath as she looks up vaguely in the direction of that one lit room. She has a sickening feeling she knows what they're about to find. "And all of this is..." His trauma, as Mona said.
She gives the Not-Yanagi Sanguin a concerned look. "Just... do what you can, okay? There are people trying to help. We... have to keep moving."
Getting to the third floor is a trek, but maybe it's for the best: you're supposed to avoid elevators when there's an emergency, right? (And who wants to be trapped in one right now anyway?)
Oh no. This is the spindly Melanc Isabeau wanred her about. There's a faceless nurse, too, that gets reduced to a puddle. And it's blocking the door, to boot.
Anmd he's looking at them.
"So sad. So heart-breaking. I need to go on break... but I shouldn't. It's so busy right now. So many patients are dying who need me to call them. So little time. So little time."
But there's a lot more apathy than menace, as it starts to cast Mudoon. "I'm going to try and talk it doesm," Kazusa hisses to the group. "Back me up if that doesn't work."
Kazusa steps up, arms crossed beneath her cloak. "Excuse me," she says sharply. "But what kind of sloppy work is this? You're not even going to call an orderly to clean up that mess you just made?" She gestures at the liquified Sanguin for emphasis.
"If you can't keep your standards up, I'm going to file a complaint. I insist you go take your break right now."
She looks cool and composed but under that facade she's sweating bullets.
MONAD: Kazusa Motojima has acted with Demon Queen toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Patra and Efficient! MONAD: Roger has acted with Proficiency toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Umie Akabane has posed.
'No, no, that's--never mind. We've got things to do.' Umie nods, relenting in her magical finger pointing. That part wasn't really needed; if he had the sort of bad luck she could sense, she would have been able to do that just fine without any added theatre.
But sometimes, she thinks it helps just a little bit more, with the power of belief.
'The Who? And-- wait people can do that?' "At least, with Fukami-san's Kingdom, that's the case," Umie clarifies, while not clarifying anything else. Huh, people who can summon demons. ISN'T THAT WEIRD.
Later, as she watches the group do that pincer maneuver, Umie's eyes widen. As scared as some of them may have been, when lives are on the line, they work together, eh?
Maybe she should have had more faith.
-=-=-
Going further in, Umie is forced to make a correction: she can sympathize with the silence that had to be kept, but there's a point where she has to admit she's left lacking.
Umie, at the very least, had a Persona, and had that Wall that allowed her to keep the night and the day separate. No one in Mikage-cho had that.
Kazusa brings up a good point, as well. "... Yeah, they wouldn't remember, would they? Usually, anyway. But we don't know what happens in cases like this." She doesn't know Shinichi at all, so it's easy to accept all of this without the foresight of context.
So... Yanagi and Shinichi *are* related. ".... I see..." Umie says, quietly. "Then... maybe this place is conflating those parts together."
-=-=-
Kasuza goes first, but Umie, not willing to wait, approaches behind as soon as she's managed to compartmentalize the spindly nurse's appearance. "No, I'm afraid we're not dead yet."
"You'll just waste your energy," she continues, taking another step ahead. "And besides, they really work you to the bone, don't they...? You look half dead yourself. No one's going to mind if you just wait a little, right?"
What's the difference between winning someone over and actually understanding them, in this case? Charisma, in Umie's mind, is about a battle. You work your way into an opponent's mind, get them on your side, and use that to your advantage.
"If we're dead by the time you're done, no one's going to tell, right?" She leans in, her eyelids lowering. "What's fifteen minutes to a dead person?"
This is how someone deals with demons. Can the same work here?
MONAD: Umie Akabane has acted with Cheeky Gremlin Talk toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Focus and Find!
<Pose Tracker> Kasumi Yoshizawa has posed.
"Nagisa-san?" A bit. "Oh. Yeah... No wonder, this would have been...very traumatic." Kasumi bites her lower lip. "Poor Nagisa-san..."
"You did do a good job, Mona.~" Kasumi replies to the reproach with kindness. "It worked out well enough, after all."
Kazusa's memory is gonna be a problem for future Kasumi. Future Kasumi is going to hate Past Kasumi, who's Present Kasumi right now.
"Yeah, I guess so..." Kasumi replies again to Morgana, on the topic of Isabeau's map. Then, she shakes her head. "That was mean, wasn't it? I'm sure it'll work out well!"
Seeing the united agreement to end the Melancs torture makes Kasumi very, very happy. They put it to rest thankfully.% (Also, three healers actually Kazusa- Kasumi was just being polite earlier, but she'll use Diarama if need be.)
t "Yanagi Nagisa-san...?" Kasumi asks. "Oh, Nagisa-san's sister...?" She looks at the patients, and bites her lower lip How awful... She'll use a Diarama on one. It doesn't matter if healing magic doesn't work on humours, or normal humans, it's the meaning that counts "We're doing our best to help. We'll get you all back under control," she promises.
That poor nurse... And then the doctor turns his attention to the group. "Woah!" Kasumi lets out a yell as the doctor casts Mudoon, just barely dodging it. Oh no. Oh, no, no, no. "Um! I'm weak to dark! I really don't want to die...!"
Kazusa opts to try and talk them down, and Kasumi readies to back her up. Ready to cast her own light magic to hopefully cut the doctor off.
MONAD: Kasumi Yoshizawa has acted with Proficiency toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Base!
<Pose Tracker> Morgana has posed.
It did work out well enough, didn't it? Belle really is a kind person, Mona reflects.
"Nagisa-'san'? Not Nagisa-'kun'?" Mona usually doesn't bother with suffixes, but that doesn't mean he's unaware of them and what they imply. Sure enough, Kazusa later explains another epiphany she's had about Yanagi and Shinichi Nagisa. Mona doesn't know who this Yanagi person is, but if she's connected to this Atelier... and if she seemed to die... He looks around at the dingy, gloomy hospital corridors. "I get it. It's not just the Mikage-cho Incident. He's got trauma about that girl dying, too--and he blames himself for it."
Who wouldn't, if they seemed to die right after you said something horrible to them? (Kazusa didn't specify that much, but Mona can read between the lines.) In fact... Mona considers the general vibe of the Atelier. Even if a lot of this is due to the Homunculus messing things up, and it's definitely not the same as a Palace, it's still a cognitive world, and Mona's got lots of experience with those. If all this reflects a part of Shinichi--if Umie's right and he's conflating those incidents together--then...
"He thinks he's a monster," he concludes.
...Though it's definitely true that a normal person usually wouldn't remember an experience like this. Clearly he does, though. Mona tucks that thought away for later.
However the others take this, they all head up to the third floor. There's a creepy-looking Melanc there, bemoaning indifferently about how overworked he is while murdering a nurse. Mona's about to take it on, but Kazusa hisses she's going to try to talk it down. Considering it's about to turn a Mudoon on all of them, maybe she's got the right idea--especially if Belle's weak to Dark. Mona shoots her an alarmed look before stepping forward next to Kazusa and Umie, in front of Belle.
"You know you need a break, but you're going to work yourself to death anyway? What's even the point, then? Who's going to see after all these 'dying patients' if you kick the bucket?" he chimes in. "Go and take your break already. Maybe pet a cat and soothe your nerves. They've got therapy animals in hospitals, right?"
(He doesn't want to imagine what the therapy animals in this hospital would be like, though. Mona might not be a cat, according to him, but he still cherishes them.)
MONAD: Morgana has acted with Kitty Talk toward Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder! Amrita!
(|============================ Monad - Results =============================|)
-==== Before the Apathy of the World, I Shudder - Round 5 ===================-
Morgana Charm Failure
Kitty Talk Amrita Fatigue: 2 Morale: 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kasumi Yoshizawa Proficiency Failure
Proficiency Base Fatigue: 2 Morale: 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Umie Akabane Charm Success
Cheeky Gremlin Talk Focus and Find Fatigue: 0 Morale: 5
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Roger Proficiency Failure
Proficiency Base Fatigue: 3 Morale: 4
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kazusa Motojima Charm Failure
Demon Queen Patra and Efficient Fatigue: 3 Morale: 5
-============================ Party Conditions: =============================-
Starting Conditions: Annoying-2, Boss-0, Clumsy-1, Ineptitude-2, and
Terrifying-1
Final Conditions: Ineptitude-1
-================================================= Party Result: Failure ====-
-==== Reach: 4/6 |==== | ===================================================-
-==== Loot So Far: ==========================================================-
Items: 0, Money: 2, Gear: 2
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
(|============= Monad - Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho ==============|)
-==== Round 6 - Challenge Level 1 ===========================================-
| Card: While Suffering Abounds, I Force Myself To Rest |
| Approach Options: None |
| Conditions: Passage - Completion. |
-==== Challenge =============================================================-
The fight against the Melanc Humor was fierce, but eventually, it falls. But
as it does, part of the Shadow seems to persist, a name badge which states
'Dr. Chihara' on the back of which is a barcode.
While Door 302 looms ahead, there's a badge reader for 'Physician's Break
Room' Nearby and maybe a break is in fact warranted. Within are coolers of
ice cream, numerous instances of convenience store food, a cappucino
machine.
And more importantly a talking closet-!?
"Heyyyyyyy~"
Oh wait no, it's just Trish.
"Now just where are you gonna fence all those goodies, if not with me? Come
on, let's talk business... that Cappuccino Maker and those Freezers over
there for starters."
All of the food in here are perishable cognitive healing items, but with
enough haggling, Trish will FINALLY fork over some Skill Cards in exchange
for the whole haul, and a book of discount tickets for her spring.
"You bastards are gonna put me in the poor house, cheating me like this! I
hope you all die!'
Unfortunately, the discount tickets are only for a 2.5% discount, one use
per visit. Still, you have time to at least heal up and refresh yourselves
before the battle ahead.
What's behind that door ahead is certainly nothing good.
"Please come again~ But bring a fat wallet with you next time!"
But somehow you think whatever is behind that door though is less scary than
what you faced behind this one.
OOC Note: This set of Skill Cards can be used to justify a Tier 2 Card Set
of your Choosing! And a very minor discount at Trish's Spring.
Super, super minor.
Final Loot: 4 boxes of Money and 2 Pieces of Gear!
(|=========================================================== Monad 1.1 ====|)
MONAD: Kazusa Motojima rolls for Loot from Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho! It may include: Gear: Alchemy Armor, Gear: Horror Accessory, Money: Cash, Money: Horror Art, or Moneymoney: Death! MONAD: Kazusa Motojima rolls for Loot from Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho! It may include: Gear: Alchemy Weapon, Gear: Death Armor, Money: Alchemy Art, Money: Cash, or Money: Death Art! MONAD: Kasumi Yoshizawa rolls for Loot from Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho! It may include: Gear: Alchemy Weapon, Money: Cash, or Money: Death Gems! MONAD: Umie Akabane rolls for Loot from Shinichi's Atelier: Cinvat Mikage-Cho! It may include: Gear: Alchemy Armor, Money: Alchemy Art, Money: Alchemy Gems, or Money: Cash!
<Pose Tracker> Kazusa Motojima has posed.
"Yeah. I'm still not sure what was going on in that place," Kazusa says of Hana's Kingdom.
It's fair if Umie had doubts. Kazusa hasn't always been the most reliable. (And still has some pretty bad day, as it turns out.) But she's trying.
Usually, they do forget. "... maybe it sticks around in the subconscious somehow, or something..." But they are, in fact, related. "... yeah. Maybe so."
(Kazusa wasn't trying to be mean to Mona earlier by noting her own healing magic--just to take stock of their capabilities.)
Kazusa nods to Belle. "Yeah. She works at Peacock Silk. She has her own plan for dealing with the Homunculus, but I'm not sure what it is." (This will also help explain for Mona.) To Mona, though. "... he's in my class butr we're not particularly close."
Kazusa doesn't specify, but Mona guesses the punchline anyway. "... yeah," says Kazusa quietly. "You're... probably right. And the Homunculus is turning that against him, too."
("I'm strong against Dark," Kazusa comments quietly to Belle. "So I'll go in first.")
Kazusa and Mona try to talk the Melanc down, but it's not exactly effective. Belle's light and Roger's racket are both sorely needed here as a brutal battle breaks out, with Kazusa finally calling Mina Harker out.
But even as they battle, Umie's words keep working, and eventually she proves enough of a distraction that they're able to put it down.
Whereupon it takes the form of a doctor, and they gain access to a barcoded badge. "There's a card reader this way," Kazusa says, when she picks it up. The door is straight ahead, but... they need to recover after one too many close calls.
And right when they're trying to rest their weary bones they get to deal with Trish. At least they get some skill cards and some (very very monir) discount coupons for Trish's Spring.
Kazusa looks through the skill cards. "... some of these could be useful..." She'll share them around, but she's pocketing a few for herself.
But as they rest, she can only hope that their efforts will help forestall the Homunculus' takeover.