2025-06-29: Skate or Die!
- Log: Skate or Die!
- Cast: Ririka Kawase, Minako Arisato, Yukari Takeba, Shizuka Kuroki, Minato Arisato, Shuji Ikutsuki
- Where: In the vicinity of the Iwatodai Dormitory
- OOC Date: June 29, 2025
- IC Date: Saturday June 02, 2012 (Dark Hour)
- Summary: Ririka stays out late skateboarding one night, and has the very unfortunate discovery of the Dark Hour. Luckily, SEES shows up to rescue her and escort her to safety. Unluckily, Ririka is saddled with a lot of heavy truths.
(|============================= Iwatodai Station =============================|)
-================================================== Iwatodai City/Iwatodai ====-
The intersection of high speed rail along the coast of Tokyo and Tatsumi Port
Island's monorail line from the mainland across the sea to its artificial
island, Iwatodai Station is the cornerstone of daily life to the inhabitants of
this place. Even the most jaded salaryman could get lost in the experience of
looking out upon the glittering sea as they ride across it to their daily life.
A multi-story strip mall across the street from the station offers students such
selections as Wakatsu for sushi high in omega-3s to increase that brain power,
Hagakure Ramen with all the collagen you could desire for skin care, or even
Wilduck's infamous Mystery Burger for those who desire an impromptu test of
courage. Net cafes selling some of the latest releases and hole-in-the-wall
bookstores give people endless options of what to do with their evening.
With this blend of local flavor and modern convenience, Iwatodai Station truly
is the ideal option to stop by whether you're coming or going home.
BGM - Tranquility - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvvwVzA1z44
-==============================================================================-
(|============================= Iwatodai Station =============================|)
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
It's the Dark Hour in Iwatodai. The moon is large and yellow, in whatever phase its precarious whim has selected. Everything in the city is cast in an eerie green. All the streetlights are out, and whatever people might have been around at this hour have been replaced with coffins. The city is utterly still and silent, a reflection cast through a horrific mirror image.
Except the Shadows move. They creep, crawl, and lurch out of the darkness, roaming the streets for whatever goal or desire it is that they might pursue. An otherwise typical, if not quite ordinary Dark Hour.
But tonight they are agitated. Large numbers of them move, stirred into action by... something. It's anomalous activity, whatever the cause.
A panicked scream in the darkness provides further guidance on what direction to travel.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"I picked someone up. They aren't very far ahead," Mitsuru Kirijo says over the special-made radio that worked in the Dark Hour. SEES never left without one, though sometimes it would crackle. It still needs Penthesilea to work once SEES enters the field.
But enter they have.
"Shadows are everywhere," Minako Arisato says, her expression and tone more business-like now that they're on a mission. Her red eyes cant to the side -- where Shadows move into the darkness, past a few coffins.
Then, to the sound of the scream. "Someone's up ahead! Kirijo-senpai, we're going for them!" Minako turns, looking back at the others. "Minato-kun, Takeba-chan, Kuroki-senpai, let's go!"
She swings her naginata off her back. The blade of it gleams in the eerie, yellow-green moonlight of Dark Hour. Then, heavy footfalls as she starts to run forward.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Believe it... or don't. It's actually rare to have this much shadow activity outside of Tartarus during the Dark Hour. Oh sure, there are random shadows wandering, but to be outside their nest, they need incentive.
Which means, as Mitsuru picks up that activity from the command center and they're dispatched on a mission, only one thought is on Yukari's mind.
Someone is outside of their coffin.
'Shadows are everywhere.' Minako says, and she slows from her sprint, at the cant of her head towards the alley, like she was getting ready to take position. "... There's so many of them." She worries aloud. She wasn't any good at 'Detection' but this close, she could get a feel for them - like a bad smell. To her? It was like a gas explosion or a chemical fire.
Like ten years ago.
She understood just how bad it was, how unlikely it was that they were going to reach that person in time.
The first night she was, she walked through her old dorm, in a daze - the green atmosphere, the pools of blood, the coffins in the lobby didn't much register, until they did!
She screamed like that too.
They all react to the scream, and as Minako urges them on, she says quickly, "Right!"
If Mitsuru wasn't there, if she didn't have the Potential, then- Now she's running, sprinting really, even if she's not much of one compared to Minato, the weight of the Evoker felt against her thigh with every step.
It weighs just about the same putting it to one's head, minus the comfortable baggage of the holster.
There's still a chance, but cynicism takes over-!
"We're not gonna make it!" She reports, breathlessly, as the seconds between the last time they heard a human sound stretch onward but she forces herself to go faster, hastily strung bow still swinging at her side, footsteps landing eerily against the concrete in the Dark Hour.
Right now, as always. She doesn't want anyone to die. Death may be an inevitability, but she never wants to accept it as something to write people off to.
She reaches down with her free arm, unclasping that strap in her Evoker's holster, and bears that weight up, continuing her mad rush. She had to be ready to pull the trigger. Despite the fact she hesitated, again and again in the past.
She promises herself that she won't this time.
She hopes she doesn't break that promise.
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
Shizuka adjusts the holster strapped over her shoulder, making sure her Evoker is still in it. She was still not entirely used to the Dark Hour, even after some time with SEES. The air was heavy, and she could almost feel herself breaking out in a cold sweat.
But her mild discomfort paled in comparison to what could happen if these Shadows got their way. She grips the the carving knife in her hand, ready for the worst. She had... liberated the set of knives from her father's studio, initially bought for a whittling phase he had gone through, but had gone unused for quite some time, so he likely wouldn't miss them.
"Got it!" She replies to Minako's call, running forward to follow behind her kohai.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Commencing the operation," Minato confirms. Shadows are everywhere. Someone is in danger. He is part of the Track and Field team; he knows what it is to run, though he'd struggle to truly beat the Star on the opposing team.
Faster...
(But you were always too slow to stop the fire; you were always too late to stymie the smoke. Death smells like something gone bad in the fridge, left out to mellow in the heat of the night. Here they lay, as they lie.)
Fast enough, at least, to run to the head of the pack, to sight the Shadows there. Minato is the leader; the first to trouble. He was placed here for one reason.
An Evoker, in his hand.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Luckily for SEES, Mitsuru is right--whoever this is, isn't terribly far away. And, for Yukari's sake, they will make it. Both of these are for the same reason: SEES and the Shadows aren't the only ones on the move.
As SEES advances through the darkened streets, a multi-story building looms on the right. Then, cutting through the stillness of the night a quiet scraping sound cuts through the air. It's all the louder for the quietude of the street, and the unnatural pitch contrasts sharply against the growls of distant Shadows.
Shhhhk. Shhhhhk. Shhhhhk.
Right as the third sound ends a figure comes flying through the air from behind that building. They're exploding with speed, and even so there is a single, gravity-defying moment where they almost seem to hang in the air. They're crouched in midair, holding onto a skateboard with one hand, wearing a helmet, pads, a light gray windbreaker, khaki canvas cargo pants, and white skate shoes. Nice bright colors for better nighttime visibility.
They didn't help with escaping from Shadows, though. Nor did the reflective strips on the windbreaker.
But as SEES might take in the figure in midflight, so is the figure taking them in. Red eyes, focused and determined but still wide with terror, quickly pivot to check if the street is clear--and that's when they spot SEES. The immediate reaction is tension--but then recognition and surprise. But there's so little time to process as their board is coming down fast on the asphalt.
Polyurethane grates on asphalt as the skateboarder attempts a sharp turn towards SEES. But the wheels hit a pool of blood--missed in the precious moments spent recognizing the other students. The board slips, sent skittering in a wild spin. The figure's legs suddenly have no purchase, and down they come. Several uncontrolled bounces on the asphalt are punctuated by grunts before the figure rolls to a stop. Laid out, it becomes clear how tall they are, and without moving it becomes clear who: Ririka Kawase, class 2-F, 178cm, musician, band leader of Polychord, apparent skateboarder, and way out of her depth right now.
But as she lays there groaning and panting for breath, more pressing matters emerge. What Ririka flew out of was a long stairway running up the side of the building to a higher plaza level, one with a long segmented handrail running down the middle. Shadows are now pouring down it in pursuit, and further down the street are more. It doesn't look like there'll be any getting out of here without a fight.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
It's the job of a leader to charge in. A co-leader, in this case. And that includes charging ahead of a senpai.
But not ahead of her brother. A slight frown crosses her face as he charges ahead; she should be in front. She--
'We're not gonna make it!'
"We can do this, Takeba-chan!" Minako calls back, without looking over her shoulder. She runs as fast as she can, towards the building -- even as the skateboarding figure goes flying into the air. Red eyes meet red eyes, until Ririka wipes out in that pool of blood.
"Kawase-san!" she calls out, recognizing her from school. She looks at the Shadows, hurting down the stairway, and Minako swings her Evoker up. The barrel goes against her temple -- her finger squeezes the trigger. Blue light and glass explode out the side of her head.
"LINOS!"
And a golden-bodied, feminine=shaped thing appears. It look almost mechanical. Her long red-brown hair flutters out after her, as adoes a crimson scarf, and the harp-on her back holds strong. Linos thrusts both hands out at Minako's cry. Then, beads of blue-white light appear, scattered amidst the Shadows.
One blink, and they bloom into blue-white nuclear flame. The fireballs erupt, one after the other, scattering the first wave of Shadows into darkness. But through the shadowy remains and the drifting motes of blue, more Shadows are rushing forward.
"Kawase-san, get behind us!" she says. "Kuroki-senpai, help her if she needs it! Takeba-chan--" She looks at Yukari. Yukari knows what to do, if she is injured. Minako doesn't need to say it.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhk. A blade across the grindstone. Or...
Minato beholds the skateboarder, illuminated in the sickly greens of the Dark Hour, with a dull lack of surprise.
He isn't shaken by seeing such a thing. They knew someone was out of their coffin. Why would they not utilise their method of transport? It's only logical. It means --
Ririka skids out on the blood, and Minato keeps running forward, ahead of her. He doesn't stop to recognise her. She will die if he does not --
"Orpheus."
A gun, to his temple. The cold, hard metal jams against the side of his head; glass rather than bone shatters to the other side of it. Blue casts over the green, as a bard in a deep red scarf rises, metallic and doll-like, grasping a lyre in his hands.
He strums that instrument, and a dissonant chord crashes over the entire throng of Shadows, draining all their strength with his Matarunda song.
(He works in tandem with his sister; where she brings might to scatter the Shadows directly, he drains their foes to aid his team. He does not need to ask her what strategy she'll take. He simply, easily, unnervingly knows.)
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
Shizuka lets out a yelp as the scene suddenly becomes totally radical, then totally gnarly as the skater beefs it. "Trying to bail only to end up bailing... Looks like that's our gal!" She hops in front of Ririka, pulling her up and looking her over. "Listen, I know this is all kinda scary, but we gotcha. We'll a-vert disaster!"
With a small snicker, she turns towards the shadows, using her free hand to pull out her Evoker, shoving it under her chin. The cold metal makes her shiver a bit. It always did. You never really got used to staring death in the face, and to be fair, that was kind of the idea with the Evokers.
It's okay, it's okay, she'll protect me... She thinks to herself and pulls the trigger.
"Galatea!"
Her protector emerges behind her, a spectral slab of marble with the form of a woman half-carved into it, a faceless mirror of Shizuka herself. The mask that she wore, a shield from the horrors of the world around her. Her Persona.
"Let's do it!" The statue slams onto the ground, causing pillars of stone to ripple out in front of it and slam into a line of Shadows, snaring them in place, perfectly primed for a few precise knife throws.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"That's-" A familiar sound hits her ear, puzzled, as she tries to make something of it, even as the figure comes into sight, "-a skateboard!?" Yukari seems somewhat nonplussed by the idea of someone skateboarding during the Dark Hour.
Her mind comprehends the next moment the person is sensate enough to do so, which has their own meaning, as they wipe out. "Whoa- hey! You okay? Can you stand?"
Maybe that's all that saved them. At least temporarily, instinctually she tries to close the gap, it's second nature to check on someone to be sure they're okay, but she stops when , she sees the Shadows coming down the street.
Minako calls out a name, and Yukari eyes her as if to say 'You know her', but she doesn't voice it, there's not that time.
With that weight in her hand, she knows what to do. She repeats it like a mantra in her thoughts. 'Just put it to your head, and pull the trigger.'
She almost never does it with one hand. This act requires both to her, her arm bears the weight of her bow as she puts her finger to the trigger.
"Please help- Io!"
Click.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/2/22/Yukari_Takeba_8Cut-In9.png/revision/latest?cb=20240206021342
You descend through the barriers of dimensions, consciousness like so many fragile little bubbles, and you shatter through them like glass.
A shortcut down from the ego, into the sea within, blue power erupting from her feet like she opened a portal to the underworld, and summoned the demon within.
The effigy of a Bull's head, hollowed out for a lovely girl, otherwordly of feature - chained to her coffin prison, blonde hair flying. Arms crossed, she spreads them wide.
The winds rise, and surround Shadow after Shadow, buffeting their black ichor with dizzying gusts, slamming some smaller ones away to splatter, while giving larger ones to pause.
Time bought by that and Linos, Yukari rushes closer to Ririka, her eyes still glowing blue as the Persona she summoned turns, and Io spreads her hands out towards her.
Energy floods her, and suddenly all that pain doesn't seem quite so debilitating any longer. "Come on, up! We gotta move!" As she tries to offer her a hand, unslinging her bow from her arm to have it ready.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Ririka is winded, but uncontrolled as her fall was she did manage to roll with it a little bit, tucking her arms in. It's not the first time she's wiped on her skateboard. It is the first time she's wiped while fleeing for her life, though. "Y-yeah," she answers to Yukari's question, her breath shaky. "I don't think I broke anything."
She gladly takes Shizuka's hand up, struggling but steady on her feet once she's up. She's clutching her arm, but seems able to move. There's a blank stare at her for the pun--whether she gets it or not she doesn't seems to have the spoons to deal with it. "Look, we gotta get outta here, those things--"
'Linos!'
Ririka gapes as the doll-like thing appears, and keeps gaping as blue-white nuclear flame erupts in the supernatural darkness. "What the--" Minako shouts for her to take cover, and she only needs to take a quick glance at the encroaching shadows to be convinced. "Yeah okay." She scrambles to grab her board and then getting behind the rest of the group.
And Minako's not the only one. She stares as 'Orpheus' appears."Arisato-san...?" That strume of the lyre--there is some part of her that wants to twitch her finger to it, to sit there and identify the tune. But she doesn't, because her attention, for once, is firmly focused on the danger. (And her hands are firmly grasping her skateboard like a makeshift club.)
There's a small, started jump to the size as Shizuka summons her Persona behind her--which is where Ririka is camping out. "Ahh!" More shadows knocked back by stone pillars erupting, as Ririka just stares in shock.
And continues gaping as Io emerges last, calling forth buffeting winds to knock back shadows. But her attention is quickly drawn to Yukari, with those strange glowing blue eyes. "Move where!? Those things are everywhere!" But she blinks and draws in a breath as energy flows through her, and suddenly the ache in her arm doesn't seem quite so bad anymore. She moves it, experimentally. "Okay. Magic healing. That might as well happen."
But between all of their efforts, they've fought off at least one wave of shadows. There are more out there, restless, and probably still advancing on the defenseless human, but for the moment--they can make their escape.
She looks between her four schoolmates. "Okay, I appreciate the rescue, but where the heck are we supposed to go!?"
MOMENTS LATER
Ririka doesn't walk into the Iwatodai Dormitory so much as she stumbles, still holding her skateboard like she could use it as an improvised weapon. "Is this really safe...?" she wonders out loud. "And what the heck is up with all of that?" She turns and gestures outside the door.
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Still at it, huh?" Minako asks Shizuka about her pun, shooting her a quick glance -- and then she looks back at the line of Shadows. Yukari is already with Ririka, which leaves handling the immediate danger.
Danger that SEES handles, proving the 'Execution' in their squad's name is not just for show.
Minako looks at Ririka, lowering her Evoker. She flashes her that warm smile. "We've got a place. Don't worry."
BACK AT THE DORM
Minako walks in and breathes out a sigh, as she steps inside. She looks around for a second -- and then she looks back at Ririka. She considers her question for a moment.
"Well..."
Someone might need to step in, here.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"Behind the girl with the Naginata and the Boy with the sword, Obviously!" Is her quick response to Ririka, rather than a place. Because where they are Shadows will soon not.
It's only once they're running that she replies on the 'magical healing.' "... I wish it didn't."
The pun is... ignored, for now. Now is not the time.
-=-=-
"Great questions." Yukari notes, before striding on by towards the other side of the dorm, "And someone else will have to get them while I secure the back."
She sure remembers the Magician Shadow and what happened when she tried to go out the back.
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
"Service with a smile, that's what I'm about!" Shizuka pops her Evoker back into the holster and... quickly runs over to pick up her knives. Didn't have an endless supply of these, y'know... Gotta figure out some way to get these back easier... Maybe a wire? That'd be pretty cool! She returns back to the rest of the group. "It's probably the safest place you could be, even!"
BACK AT THE DORM
Once back at the dorm, Shizuka immediately makes for one of the lounge chairs, slumping down to catch her breath as the last of her adrenaline flushes from her system. "Well, it's, uh... It's a lot to explain. What were you doing before we ran into you?"
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
The Shadows fall.
More will come.
But, for now...
"This way," Minato says, responds to her question before he even turns to face...
He looks to Ririka. He recognises her. He does not gasp, or point, or exclaim a single word.
It's not that he expected her to be here.
He's just... disaffected.
He protects her, on the way back to the dormitory.
And there, coming down the stairs... is an adult. No, the adult -- the Chairman of Gekkoukan, Shuji Ikutsuki. He wears a grey turtleneck under a brown coat, and his long brown hair is combed back on his head, making room for the eyeglasses on his face.
"Ah, Kawase-kun," he smiles, to her. "You were in a pickle, but it looks like SEES got you out of the jam! Strange sandwiches aside, please, sit down," he gestures to another of the couches, in the common room, as he sits down on a chair himself. "You must be terribly shaken. Or stirred?"
He's a supportive figure, despite his apparently terrible sense of humour. Minato duely takes a seat, too.
"What you've just experienced," he explains, "is the Dark Hour -- an extra hour which exists after midnight, inhabited by hostile creatures we call Shadows. Most humans don't have the knack for it, but occasionally, someone wakes up... it's lucky that SEES was able to detect the Shadow activity and find you before anything happened."
He pauses, for a moment, looking over his glasses at Ririka.
"I can see it on your face," he decides, "you saw their Personas, didn't you? Drawn out with silver Evokers, these are the powers which SEES uses to protect people like you in the hidden hour. The young men and women of SEES use these Personas to defend Tokyo." He smiles, waving a hand. "Of course, someone like me can't summon a Persona, but I'm still able to stay awake during the Dark Hour! So I'm rather more base operational support, you see!"
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Somehow, in this environment, a warm smile doesn't quite put Ririka completely at ease. It's still appreciated, though.
As they're running back, though, Ririka glances to Yukari. She wishes 'magic healing' didn't exist. "Yeah, I think my weird meter is prettyu topped out right now."
But she looks to Minako expactly for answers... but it looks like someone else might need to field them. And Yukari doesn't seem like she'll answer either. Ririka doesn't know about a Magician Shadow, but 'secure' seems good to her.
Is she allowed to sit in the longue chairs? Ririka doesn't know and right now 'decorum' isn't really the highest priority on her list. She slumps into another chair and looks at Shizuka, blinking once. And then she holds up her skateboard.
"Skateboarding," is her answer. Beat. "Well, I was heading back to the station, but before that I was skateboarding."
But she's winded and sweaty, and so she sets the board on the ground next to the chair, and then takes off her helmet. Her long brown hair falls down over her back. Next is the windbreaker and pads, everything dumped on top of her skateboard. Underneath she's wearing a bright purple long-sleeved shirt underneath.
She blinks and looks at Shuji Ikutsuki as she's addressed. "... That's Kawase-chan." It's... mostly polite. But she doesn't have a lot of energy for manners. She blinks a little at the sandwich joke. "Um... SEES...?"
She decides to ignore the next pun. "Yeah," she says of 'shaken'. "I'm still not sure this isn't some kind of crazy nightmare." Now that she's done removing her pads, though, her fingertips tap on the arm of her chair to some rhythm only heard in her head.
She's quiet, though, as she listens to the explanation of the Dark Hour. And the Personas... "Linos, Orpheus, Galatea, Io," she says, quietly. She was paying attention, at least. Defending Tokyo. "So--wait, how long has this been going on? Why don't more people know about it?"
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Good idea," Minako tells Yukari. For her part, she glances at the front door -- because she also remembers where she was that night. Her eyebrows knit for a moment, with the memory. Then, she looks at Shizuka.
She nods, once. It is a lot to explain.
But thankfully, Shuji Ikutsuki is here. She looks at the Chairman and smiles -- and then her shoulders sink a little and she sighs at the pun. She looks back at Ririka, though, with a smile.
"You can trust Ikutsuki-san. He's helped us a lot," she says. She considers her question, for a moment. "Most people can't perceive this stuff. What you were in is called the Dark Hour. Most people don't know about it. And what we had--"
She looks at her brother, then the others. "They're called Personas. We can... call on them, with our Evokers. It's a bit hard to explain exactly what they are. When you were skateboarding, did you notice everything get kinda weird?"
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
"Good one, sir!" A good gag does not go unremarked on.
She turns towards Ririka at her last question. "Most people don't know about it because they sleep right through it. Do you remember seeing any coffins in the street? Those are people. There's usually not any trouble with it unless, well..." She shrugs her shoulders. "You somehow find yourself outside of your coffin. Like...well, like you right now."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari returns back a few minutes later.
"Phew. All clear."
-=-=-
~Three Minutes Ago~
Yukari opens the back of the dorm, and peeks out back-
-and locks eyes with the lowliest of all Shadows, a Cowardly Maya, blue mask, marked with the Roman Numeral one out of a puddle of shadowy black and spindly limbs.
THE FIRST FEW SECONDS OF THIS THEME PLAY - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0GgBcNKK5g
Yukari almost screams, loudly, but she bites her lip, muffling that reaction from her surprise. She's - got to be strong! She's come a long way from screaming whenever she sees a Shadow coming! She can take out a Cowardly Maya without the rest of SEES, right? And if she screams, she just proves she can't.
She nocks her bow and the Shadow spots her, suddenly becoming swift like lightning and...
Pap.
Her arrow takes it through one of the Eyeholes, as it melts on the spot.
"Yeah! Take that-!"
She does a little celebration on the spot, before hurrying over to pick up her arrow in what she imagines is a dignified manner, puts it back in her quiver, and closes the door, barring it.
-=-=-
... And then she hears Ikutsuki make a pun, and Shizuka compliment it soon after. "Please don't encourage him."
She then takes a seat, not inserting herself back into the conversation immediately, her eyes assessing Ririka's reaction, as if to try and figure out what kind of person she is.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"You like the more familiar term of address?" Ikutsuki laughs. "Most students would wither and die to be called 'Kawase-chan' by the Chairman!" -kun, after all, might be a word for boys in their age group -- but it's also a respectful term for young women which isn't seen as patronising while still reflecting their position, in the adult world. "But let me introduce myself -- I'm Shuji Ikutsuki, the humble fellow who brought SEES together."
"But all right, all right, Kawase-chan," he's kind enough to let her choose her own honourific, and even sounds a little impressed that she'd insist, "it does seem like a nightmare, doesn't it?" Concern crosses over his good-natured face, as he adds: "But if you pinch your arm, you won't wake up. I'm afraid this night-mare is far too wild to ride into the next morning! Ah, the Dark Hour has been going on for years, now... though it's been slow going, getting a team together to face it. Kirijo-kun and Sanada-kun have been here the longest -- they're in the Command Centre keeping an eye on the situation outside right now," he adds, aside, "and then we were able to add people like Takeba-kun, Iori-kun, Kuroki-kun, Mandai-kun, and the twins, here," he nods, to Minako and Minato.
Minato nods back. He's been silent throughout this. Silence is his native element, apparently.
"They'll be able to protect you during this hour," he adds. "Well, it may be that you'll go to sleep after this and forget it ever happened... but in case you remain aware of the Dark Hour, I'd like to arrange for you to have a room here in the dorms, so that we're able to keep you safe. Would that be all right with you?"
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Evokers... the... gun things?" Ririka asks Minako. "... Hah. That should be... a way weirder question right now. I think I'm topped out on weird." But as to Minako's question, she nods. "Well--I'd finished skateboarding, I was walking back to the train station, and then... yeah. All the power went out, everything turned green, there were coffins everywhere... And those... monsters..." She shivers. "I think my skateboard was the only thing keeping me ahead of them. And they just kept coming, at every turn."
She looks to Shizuka next. "Yeah, a bunch of them, kinda all over. I didn't really have time to stop and look at them..." She blinks, and blanches a bit. "Wha--!? I'm not dead, why would I have a coffin!?"
She's utterly unaware of Yukari's mini-adventure, but she does offer her a small smile as she speaks up against puns. Ririka's doing her best to ignore them, but it'd be nicer if she didn't have to devote so much mental energy to doing tht right now.
Honorifics. She'd responded sort of on instinct, she's not really all here with it right now, still trying to get through the impnding adrenaline crash. Likewise, she doesn't have the brainpower to course correct again, so she's willing to roll with it. "... Sure."
Punching her arm. "I'm pretty sure it was bruised a moment ago..." she says feeling her upper arm gingerly. But she stares blankly at that night-mare. "... Ikutsuki-san, no offense, but I'm pretty sure I almost died out there. Could... we skip the puns for now? Please?" There's a plain note of distress in her voice.
"Years!?" She sits up straighter. "What? But... I've gone out skateboarding, or up late playing video games, and nothing like this has happeend before."
She does look to Minato, for a moment. She's wondering, just a little, what he's thinking about, but... well, she gets it if he wants to stay quiet, too.
But she looks back to the chairman. "Wait, a dorm? But--I already have a dorm at the school. Are you telling me that isn't safe?"
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"Yep!" Minako answers Ririka. "What you saw is the Dark Hour. Like the Chairman says... most people can't perceive that."
Minako waves at Yukari, as she comes back in. Then, she looks at the Chairman. She considers what he says for a second -- but she looks back at Ririka. She nods, seriously, then.
"We'll keep you safe," she promises. "You... you probably awakened recently. I didn't see it until April. But..."
She smiles. "We're a fun bunch in this dorm!" Then, she looks at her brother.
"Right, Minato-kun?"
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
Yukari at least would definitely wither and die if he called her Takeba-chan. Turn to dust, and blow away on the spot.
Fortunately, he hasn't tested that with her yet. Instead just making a discomfited groan when he calls attention to that with the girl they saved.
Ririka's reaction is... understandable, she at least feels solidarity with her lack of puns, but also the familiarity of experience.
"You don't. ...Until you do."
She answers her, gently on the matter of noticing. Rather than trying to shock the poor girl on telling her what state she was in for years during the Dark Hour...
... she decides to let her put two and two together.
She doesn't object to the protection detail part of it. It's only natural until they know. She hopes noone knows how long that technically she was being protected by Akihiko and Mitsuru and...
... Minato...
... while she couldn't pull that trigger.
...
"Right... fun." She agrees with Minako verbally, but obviously not in spirit. "It's not exactly what we're here for though."
She definitely didn't join SEES to have fun.
"... Most of us."
She corrects, as she thinks of Junpei.
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
"Yeah, I only awakened last year. It just... kinda hits ya. I'm still not 100% used to it, really." Shizuka pulls her holster off, placing it in her lap. She remembered being in the same situation. She thought she was even in the same chair when it happened.
"And think of it like this. If you're here in the dorm, you'll be closer to us, and we'll be able to take care of any Shadows. I wasn't lying when I said this is the safest place to be. 'Sides, the accomodations here are a lot better than the general dorms. Place used to be a hotel."
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Puns are proof we're alive," Ikutsuki says, gravely. "It's relieving to focus on my stellar sense of humour instead of the abyssal bunch out there, isn't it? Though," he sighs, "I don't mean to distress you, of course."
He's... trying to help?
Well, if all the teachers in Gekkoukan are weird, no wonder the chairman is weird, too. The quirkiness is coming from the top.
Minato returns Ririka's look, and speaks up, finally, in that same disaffected voice he always uses. "It happened," he says. "You just didn't realise. In a coffin, no one knows what's happening. The Dark Hour passes as if it wasn't there at all."
"Precisely right, Arisato-kun!" Ikutsuki praises him, smiling. "And normally, if you were in your coffin, the Dark Hour would be safe for you. But if you stay awake during it without a Persona... you're vulnerable to attacks by Shadows. And I have reason to suspect that you might remain aware of it tomorrow, Kawase-chan... since you weren't lost in Tartarus." That's not exactly why he suspects it -- but it's true enough.
He is a man who keeps secrets, sometimes. He has to, in an organisation like this. It's to keep everyone safe. "Kuroki-kun is right," he adds, nodding to her. "The members of SEES have Personas of their own -- they'll be able to summon them and protect you if a Shadow attacks."
"We're super fun," Minato backs his sister up, blankly.
He doesn't seem affected the way Yukari might be, though.
That's just... his all-the-time face.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
Another brief smile, this time for Minako, to express her gratitude. "Thanks." After seeing what they can do, she can believe that she'll be protected. But she looks at Minako quizically on that term. "Awakened? You don't mean, like... when I got out of bed this morning, do you?"
"I went skateboarding to try and have some fun," she grouses quietly. "And look where it got me."
She looks to Yukari next. "... until you do," she repeats quietly. "Ugh..." She slumps down in her chair, bringing both hands to her head. "This is kiiiind of a lot to take in."
"Last year?" she asks of Shizuka. "Well if it's still taking you this long to djust, I feel a little better... kind of. Less worse?" She looks around. "A hotel, really...? They went all out for you guys, huh...?"
Well now she feels bad about asking him to stop with the puns. "Sorry, I'm sure I'll appreciate them another time?" she says with an apologetic smile.
She looks at minato, just kind of staring. "Oookay. I'm... not sure if that makes me feel better or worse right now," she says with a slow shake of her head.
And there's more things that keep coming. "Tartarus...? You know what, let me safe that one," she says with a shake of her head. She goes back to tapping her fingers, this time on her thigh. "Okay, so if I don't remember this tomorrow, then this is just... what, you guys all act like you never met me tonight? And if I do remember... you want me to move in here. To protect me." She rubs at the back of her neck. "Um... so my parents are probably gonna wonder if they don't see me at home in the morning..."
She looks to Minato and nods. Well, hanging out at the mall was one thing. Living in the same dorm...
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
Minako glances at Yukari, when she says that fun isn't the main reason that they are here. But, notably, she doesn't disagree.
She looks at Shizuka, then she nods. "It is pretty nice!" she says, cheerfully, before she looks at her brother. She smiles at him -- and gives him a thumbs-up.
Successful sibling team-up!
Then, she looks back at Ririka. "That's the long and short of it! Once the Dark Hour ends, you'll be able to go home. It'll be perfectly safe then."
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"... Yeah." She agrees with Ririka sympathetically, on it being a lot to take in, her hands folded on her lap, with her Evoker not far away, strapped to her right thigh. "That's how it is for everyone. We all went through this."
While it DOES vary how people react, she can't imagine it not being a lot to take in, even for stone-faced Minato over there who is definitely having loads of fun.
Shifting uncomfortably at Ririka's suggestion of what might happen if she doesn't remember this. "It would be for the best, really. If you don't remember, then- you don't want to remember."
It's a suggestion that Yukari makes... not coldly, just - matter of factly. "It would be dangerous for you if this kept happening in the future, and you had no way to prepare for it."
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
"Yeah, it sounds pretty cold, but you not remembering is the best case scenario. Just leave tonight as the nightmare that it is."
To be honest, sometimes Shizuka wishes that had happened to her. The knowledge of the Dark Hour is also a heavy responsibility, one that as many people as possible were better off not bearing.
"Anyway, we'll be staying with you the rest of the night. No need to worry." She gives a reassuring smile and a thumbs up, holding up her Evoker with her other hand.
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Probably worse," Minato suggests, blandly, when Ririka isn't sure about how his information about the coffins makes her feel. "Most people feel worse."
He didn't feel much of anything about it, when he learned about it. He walked through the streets, lined with coffins, shoes splashing in the blood... and didn't react at all.
... but he understands enough about how people reacted to his reaction to know that he was supposed to feel badly about it.
"I'll arrange everything with your parents," Ikutsuki assures her. "This isn't our first rod-- ee, uh," it takes REAL EFFORT for him to arrest his joke, but he makes the effort to try for Ririka's sake, "that is, you're definitely not the first person we've arranged this for! And Arisato-kun is correct," in context, that's Minako he's talking about, "as far as tonight is concerned, once the Dark Hour ends, you can go home without any trouble if you'd prefer. There's no second Dark Hour to worry about!"
(Well, there are other spooky places to worry about, but none of them are defined by being an hour in time. The Chairman is saving the revelation about the subway being spooky for after she's digested all this.)
"Hopefully, you don't need us," Ikutsuki adds, on the heels of Shizuka's reassurance, even though he isn't hoping for that outcome at all. "But if you remember all this tomorrow, SEES will be here to help you, Kawase-chan. I'm quite proud of everyone and the help they offer here..."
... and if Ikutsuki is emphasising SEES's noble mission a little, well, he just said he's proud. Surely it's pride.
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
She nods to Minako as she says it'll be safe after. "Do you know how long it'll be until it ends? My cell phone-- Oh, shit." She's got a crossbody bag strapped snugly to her chest that she opens up to remove a cell phone. "Somehow it's not cracked... maybe that means it's okay."
But she nods to Yukari next. She winces a little. "Is it bad to admit I'm kiiiinda hoping I do forget? I kind of have a lot I'm dealing with already..."
She shakes her head to Shizuka. "No, I get it. It... still feels kind of bad wanting to ignore something like this though..."
"Then I guess I'm most people," Ririka says to Minato. At least on that one topic.
Ririka sees the effort the Chairman makes, and does smile, just a tiny bit, in appreciation. "So the Dark Hour ends, I go home, somehow fall asleep, and in the morning... we see if I remember this happening." It'd definitely be better to save the Subway for later. She still needs the train to get home once the Dark Hour ends.
Definitely pride and nothing else, surely.
She sits up a little straighter. "Oh, right. Um, since I forgot to say..." She bows deeply. "Thanks for coming to save me, and for watching over me, all of you."
<Pose Tracker> Minako Arisato has posed.
"It's... well, it's about an hour. But time always feels weird in the Dark Hour, and it's kind of hard to keep track of time. Electronics don't work," Minako says, with a look at her cell phone. That would explain that.
She looks around the room -- and then back at Ririka. She nods, when she says that. Maybe she won't remember...
But somehow, she doubts that.
At the thanks, though, she smiles -- and gives Ririka a nod. "Don't mention it. Protecting people from the Dark Hour... that's what SEES is here for."
<Pose Tracker> Shizuka Kuroki has posed.
"That's right! Whether you remember us or not! Now, do you need anything to drink?"
<Pose Tracker> Minato Arisato has posed.
"Most electronics don't work during the Dark Hour, that is," Ikutsuki appends. "There are some devices which still work fine... but you'll see those later, I'm sure."
She's dealing with a lot... Minato looks to her, intently, and it surely just seems like he's staring. "...", he says, as a complete sentence.
And then, to her gratitude, he says: "You're welcome."
"We'll escort you back, when the Dark Hour ends," Ikutsuki assures her. "You won't be in any danger from Shadows when the lights turn back on... but it's safer to have someone with you when you've been through such a shock. And you're quite right, Kuroki-kun!" He adds, smiling warmly. "Until the hour passes, we can at least get you something to eat...!"
When the Hour does pass, they'll help Ririka get home. It won't be the first time schoolmates have escorted a Kawase home at the small hours of the morning, though surely, hopefully, it will be the last.
<Pose Tracker> Yukari Takeba has posed.
"No, not really." She replies with continued sympathy for that perspective, "It's not like you really have a choice about this happening to you."
Yukari doesn't say everything about how she feels to Ririka, that experiencing the Dark Hour is like trading innocence for power.
How you can never get that side of you back.
She doesn't enjoy this life, even if she's committed to it.
Ikutsuki thankfully holds back some (that he can DO THAT is something Yukari notes, to give him less charity when he chooses not to.)
But - it is their mission. In exchange for that power, they need to be saving girls like Ririka, or else what even is the point?
She can't just say she's here to find out what happened...
... and she doesn't want anyone to die...
"You're welcome." She replies to her thanks, gently after Minako and Shizuka's own version of it, "If you do remember, well - guess I'll be seeing you around, but... part of me really hopes I won't..."
Nobody should be doing this, unless it's what they want - and awakening to this, feels like it boxes you into a corner. Those who think they have a choice...
... don't really, do they?
"... not because it wouldn't be nice having you around. Just... it's easy to get sucked into this before you have time to really think about it."
<Pose Tracker> Ririka Kawase has posed.
"Yeah, I kinda noticed that..." Ririka says to Minako, of the electronics. "... They make watches that wind up, right? Oh but you'd have to keep resetting the time. That sounds like a pain."
She gives Shizuka a grateful smile. "Water would be great. I was skateboarding pretty much until I ran into all of you."
Ririka looks at Minato, blinking a little. He doesn't say anything, so... she doesn't say anything back.
She nods to Ikutsuki, at the offer of an escort. "Thanks. I'd appreciate that. Something to eat might be nice, too..."
She nods to Yukari, taking a deep breath. "No, I understand. And... I guess we'll see in the morning."
But for now, she's going to hopefully get some water or something to drink... and then maybe she'll see if someone has a guitar. She needs something to keep her hands busy, after all, as she waits out the rest of the Dark Hour.
And as for tomorrow... she'll just have to see.