way of life.

Vanille’s movements were uncertain, as they skid and stop every so often in her trek around the streets of Terra. It should be day, she hears people speak, but an eternal blackness has encompassed the sky as far as the eye can reach. Holding the phone lit with the message of the Princess Liliana closely to her chest, she wanders around, an earnest expression softened by the smile upon her lips, though that smile do not reach her emerald green eyes, glazed instead with uncertainty.

No one would look her way. No one would heed her, just as it were when she first arrived to Cocoon. She was an aimless soul, invisible in the crowds, and she has to navigate her way through this new world again. Her reverie however would be disrupted when she feels a firm nudge on her side, ensuing a chain of events where she nearly fumbles with the phone in her hands, frantically looking up at the individual who she has clumsily bumped into.

    “Sorry! It’s quite dark here; I didn’t see you!” She promptly puts her phone away, instead focusing her energy to help the girl before her, straightening and adjusting any wrinkles that may have formed in their collision prior. She even reaches to help adjust the ponytail, grinning from ear to ear. “There you go! As good as new! It really hasn’t been my day lately … or night, I should say. Is Terra always like this?”

       kotone walks with a sense of purpose. she’d love to know if there’s been any improvements with... well, with anything, really. she’s sure many other residents of terra have done their part to bringing back the day sky, but with how dark it still is, maybe things haven’t gotten better. the thought distracts her, lips pursing as she loses her mind in thoughts of possibilities and before she knows it she’s... ah, she’s falling ?! 

    it wasn’t anything bad, luckily enough, but the teen that fusses over her sure makes it seem like it is. kotone is fully stunned though, blinking in surprise as her clothes are straightened and her hair is fixed. no one’s ever done something like that to her since... ah. since childhood. it doesn’t make her uncomfortable; it fills her with a wave of nostalgia, and as the girl speaks, kotone smiles and laughs. she didn’t realize she missed it until it happens ! how silly.

“I’m gonna be up front here,” Adachi starts, not even pretending to seem friendly this time, “I don’t really care about ‘everyone else’. I don’t relate to them in the slightest, so how can I give a damn?”

But she’s got him on the ‘darkness’ thing. “Yeah, alright, everything being permanently blacked-out is a pain in the ass. If I have to put up with these monsters every time I step out into the streets, I’m gonna snap. I don’t see why you want to do this with me, though.”

Still, he can’t deny there’s an odd air about her… one that he vaguely recognizes from the IT. And from the SEES members, too, now that he thinks back on it. The same strange feeling…

       the shrug she offers is nonchalant, fingers lacing behind her back as she gazes elsewhere. ❝ it’s not really a matter of i want, but necessity. ❞ the usual friendliness disperses for just a moment, the grin replaced by the stoic expression of duty. in reality, she doesn’t need to go assist the people of terra either. if anything, she should feel irritated at being dragged out of the post she willingly put herself in. the worry bubbles deep within her ( a life for the world; that’s what kotone shiomi had chosen ), and if she were to allow herself to wallow in it, it’d be all she is. but that isn’t who she is. kotone is always one to help when it’s needed and that’s why she’s dragged him with her. 

    he’s like her after all. at least, she thinks he is. the power that sleeps beneath the veil of helplessness imposed upon them... it’s a familiar feeling, but she wonders if he fills the role of comrade or foe ?

With the events unfolding before you and the darkness looming overhead, you too found comfort in the darkness. It was in it you could be your true self and even if you had every reason to expose it, you opted to remain vigilant and in the shadows. You cast light, a spell gifted by your patron sage Lumen, between you and your companion. You offer a slight smile before your expression falls once again, focused on your surroundings. 

“It would do you some good to be cautious. If you’re familiar with danger I would understand but even so–in unfamiliar territory such as this, we can’t afford to falter, wouldn’t you agree?” 

       you’re almost embarrassed, the way he asks for agreement. you know better, really you do. you weren’t a field leader for nothing; tactics and caution aren’t things you’re a stranger to ( and perhaps it’s that confidence in yourself that you’re eager... but you know your restraints — you aren’t the all powerful girl you once were ). nodding, the smile you offer is genuinely impressed.

She spares the other a glance, lips quirking in a faint smile. The other teen was.. fairly optimistic. It was cute even she could admit it. So far she had her own amount of items signed, sealed and delivered. Now? Now Adi was simply questing for spare flora to add to her own stock! meeting another person hadn’t quite been on the list.. but so long as this person could be useful? Well, not the worst luck.

“It would depend on the type of wolf, i’d think. If these are magical ones they might have claws strong enough to grip the bark and come up after us. It’s quite possible.”

Ok, so maybe that was a mite bit mean!

  It really is like old times… the little things that kept them all going even while they traveled the dangerous heights of Tartarus. Stupid jokes told by Junpei, Ken always trying to prove himself, Aigis worrying about everyone’s status… it hasn’t been long at all, but Akihiko already misses everyone - but he’s glad that Kotone is here. He wouldn’t trade that for anything. 

  “Yeah…” He’s a bit startled by her sudden laugh, though he’s soon smiling wider and reaching to pat the top of her head. “Wait - avoid them? Shouldn’t we clear out the ones we see while we look for the passage?” Her method genuinely sounds perfect to Akihiko, why second guess herself? “Doesn’t all the magic make your idea even better? Whoever’s hiding the entrance, or entrances would want us to think they’re hard to find, but maybe they’re even marked somehow. It wouldn’t be a very good safe passage if it was hard to get into, right? You start knocking on walls and stuff, and I’ll look for the nearest one of those big monsters and take it down.”

       the slight ruffle he gives the top of her head has her grinning, hand reaching up to brush her fringe back into place. she missed this; it hadn’t been too long since their parting, but those days of fighting together truly felt so long ago. however, his comment has the grin falling, that seriousness of a tactician blanketing her visage of youth. she understands where his confidence comes from — they had done the impossible ! they defeated nyx ! them, a ragtag group of beings had saved the world ! but this isn’t their world, that much she had to make clear ( if anything, their incredible lack of power should have told him as much ).

    ❝ senpai, i’m glad you’re confident, but realistically speaking... i don’t think we can take down one of those things. not with just us, anyway. ❞ kotone gestures to herself and her pool noodle, the smile she gives one of resignation. ❝ i can’t use my persona here... i have a little bit of magic myself, but without proper weapons, i don’t think even that would do much. ❞ plus, it’s all time based ! she’s good with her tactics, but compensating for their lack of fire power ? she’s having a little trouble figuring that stuff out. perhaps they can outrun a beast, but the truth is... 

@celesnite· liked for a starter.

“Is it always this dark here?” He can’t help but question,concern furrows his brows and causes his lips to purse into a slight frown. No Keybladeto his name and in a realm that he’s having trouble parsing, a world ofperpetual darkness isn’t exactly the first place Sora would have chosen to endup at. Then again, he doubts he had little choice in the matter to begin with. “Imean,” He considers, thinks back to that weird message he got on his phone—one he’spositive everyone got, well almost everyone maybe. “They want us to find stuff,right? So that should fix everything out of balance.” Sora’s worked with vaguerinstructions before, but that seems about the gist of it.

  “Wait, after? You don’t think they’re still open?” He’s genuinely surprised to think that restaurants might be closed. How are people supposed to eat properly and have time to train if they can’t eat out? “I guess it can wait. There are more important things to do for now anyway.” 

  He catches a brief glimpse of her hand raising and manages to catch her wipe at her eyes… did he make her cry? Hopefully tears of joy, at least… given her smile. It’s just like always, that smile bright as the sun that makes his heart race like he’s just jogged through Tartarus. Even now he isn’t entirely sure what the feeling is, Akihiko just knows that as long as she’s here, alive again, he’ll do anything to protect that smile. He won’t fail her again.

  And then Kotone’s back to being his leader, and Akihiko is back to being a member of SEES. “I don’t know whether to be glad that I haven’t seen any coffins, or nervous… this isn’t the Dark Hour, is it?” He adjusts his mittens, prepared to use them (after using mascot gloves, what’s a pair of cat paws) if they come across one of those beats he’s heard about. “Passage? No… I heard about some kind of giant beasts and something about a temple, but no passage. Just that warning to travel in groups. That’s why I came out, I figured I might be able to help protect some people. That passage would make keeping people safe easier… should we look for it, leader?”

       somehow, in her wave of emotion, she had failed to register his cat paws and a breath resembling the softest short laugh slips out of her before she shrugs. nostalgia does well to keep her grounded — a part of her is always floating, somewhere far, far away ( because kotone shiomi shouldn’t be and perhaps a part of her soul knows ), but the amusing image before her helps her stay in the here and now. it may remind her of scenes engraved in both their memories, but it’s different. new experiences remind her she’s in the present and not daydreaming of the past. 

    she hums thoughtfully, head shaking as fingers drum upon her noodle. ❝ it feels different than the dark hour and the things crawling around aren’t exactly shadows, so... ❞ and then suddenly, kotone laughs, because look at them ! the warning to travel in groups, and yet they were both alone. perhaps split up in tartarus became something they were used to. most people wouldn’t be wandering the dark alone. ❝ two heads are definitely better than one ! i bet they’d definitely make it easier to avoid these monster things too ! ❞ 

       ❝ huh, so you’re saying your team leader’s used to chatting with shadows ? ❞ she hums thoughtfully as grass crunches beneath their feet, kotone’s head tilting to the side. in her memory, shadows were more mindless things rather than chatterboxes. single-minded things they were, focusing solely on relentless assault. vaguely, kotone wonders if the usage of negotiation worked, then how much would their fire power increase with things like a gigas on their side ?

   Kagome had never been a fan of the darkness. prior to her time in the Fuedal Era, it was chalked up to an overall creepy feeling she got from it. but then she learned of what can lurk in the darkness, how even that can move and shift despite nothing being there. when Terra was submerged into an eternal night, she was harshly reminded of her time spent inside the jewel. how, despite it only feeling like minutes, she was in that eternal night for three days. it dredges up feelings she’d rather not experience once again, but she chooses to work past all of that.

         something was happening here. and she was determined to get to the bottom of it, even if it felt like something was watching her every move.

    “ Are you ready, Kotone-chan? “ she keeps her voice low, gaze moving towards the teen beside her. Kagome had a plan to check out this Awesome Blossom place, to follow up on the rumors circulating around the city. she really did wish she had her bow in the event they run into one of those creatures but at least she had some of her powers. that should be enough. “ The bar isn’t far from here so it shouldn’t take us too long to get there. “

@celesnite· – event starter call.

       kotone has lived most of her life with eerie darkness creeping at her back. a bright yellow moon, coffins reminding her of impending death and monsters creeping around the halls of tatarus... this is the exact same thing ! er, the misplaced night and beasts lurking about, that is. she isn’t particularly bothered, though she recognizes the foolishness in wandering too far from her apartment room without another person with her. if she had her personas and the abilities that came with them, it’d be a different story. unfortunately, she’s been reduced from all powerful messiah to... to, well what she always had been underneath all that strength: a regular high school girl. 

    however, lack of power does nothing to quell the curiosity that burns within her. while kagome has a shred of her original powers, kotone has a wait time on hers, so she can’t use them as freely ( it’s lucky she has some tactical experience under her belt ).

  There’s a kind of pain in his chest like he never thought he’d feel. Worse even than that day. He remembers what came after, the arguments about whether they should all try to bring her back. Even seeing her like this again, some part of it feels wrong - what about her sacrifice? She’d given everything for them, for the world and Akihiko’s so glad to see her again… maybe that’s enough for now. It’s selfish, but he can’t help it when her arms are around him.

  “That’s no excuse…” He tries to play it cool, not because he doesn’t want her to see him cry, but because the last thing he needs is to completely let his guard down when they’re still in danger. Reluctantly, he pulls away and turns from Kotone to the pool noodle. He lifts it up, swings it firmly once, then manages an amused grin. “You’ll need a lot of training to be able to use this as a weapon… So we’d better get started right away. I have some protein powder, and it goes great on beef bowls. You have to eat right before exercising, or your muscle gain to time spent ratio will be way off.” Akihiko extends the noodle back to Kotone, heart still pounding away more than it has any right to. He should say something cool, right? But… what can he even say? “You’re, uh… well, I mean I’m…” He sighs, adjusts his gloves, then looks off into the distance feeling his face considerably warm up. “Welcome back, Kotone.”

       she doesn’t even bother to hide the soft sniffle as he turns away, her own amused grin spreading across her lips. it’s comforting, she thinks, of how so much can change yet still remain the same. protein this, beef bowl that — if they weren’t prone to being attacked out of no where, perhaps kotone would tease him more on the topic. instead, she simply reaches out to take her makeshift weapon back, a fond sigh exhaled through her nose. ❝ then, after this night problem is eventually solved, we’d better find a nice beef bowl place, huh ? ❞

    but then she pauses, brushing away whatever dirt managed to cling to her noodle because hearing welcome back brings that sting back to her eyes, and forgive her ! she knows now isn’t the time to get sentimental, but she needs just a moment. it’s such a simple, every day phrase, and she thinks it’s almost funny how swiftly it can bring her to tears ( how easily such mundane things can be taken for granted and how easily one can forget how it sounds ). a finger is raised to the corners of her eyes and the forming tears are wiped away and then...

    and then kotone smiles. it’s bright, genuine and warm. it’s one of gratitude and joy, the younger giggling softly at how her upperclassman glanced away. ❝ i’m back... thank you, akihiko-senpai. ❞ with her chest filled with warmth, she’d like more than anything to stand around and catch up with whatever had occurred once she was gone, but they don’t have that luxury. later they can chat all they’d like, maybe even cry a little more, but kotone would like to do that after they’re safe. gaze once locked upon akihiko turns elsewhere, surveying their surroundings and ears perked for even the slightest bit of off noise. 

  And, as his luck would stand, Akihiko’s immediately bonked square on the noggin by a pool noodle. He staggers back in surprise (who can blame him when he’s just been attacked by the very person he wanted to save), and raises his fists - mittens and all - in self defense.

  “You got one hit in, but you won’t have time for a —” As soon as his eyes land on her, Akihiko’s heart drops to his stomach. The anger in his expression drops, and he goes stiff as a statue. No way… this has to be a trick, right? Some kind of… adverse effect of whatever’s going on with this place. A Shadow, maybe, or so he tries to justify what could bring the dead back to life. But she’s real, and definitely not a Shadow. Her eyes are just as full of life as ever, and Akihiko immediately turns his head down, hiding his face from her as his fists fall to his sides. He can almost hear Shinji laughing at him for the tears stinging his eyes, but Akihiko pushes every single thought aside in favor of moving in to wrap his arms around her. She’s warm. She’s here. “You… you need more training, leader. That didn’t even tickle.”

       the sound of his voice is what catches her attention before the actual sight of him. it causes her to freeze, gaze trailing from where her noodle landed to his features. her heart twists and turns, thumping in her chest so hard she feels as if it’ll burst out of her chest. that day, already feeling years ago, she had resigned herself to being apart from those she held dear ( because that’s simply how it goes, doesn’t it ? one life for the world ). but, being here, alive and breathing... it gave her hope for reunion. even if it were impossible she should be alive; even if it a meeting would rely simply on chance.

@celesnite·! It’s you!

  One look around this place, and Akihiko is certain it’s the Dark Hour all over again. There are no Shadows from what he can tell, but that doesn’t mean anything. First and foremost, he needs to look for people to help - whether he has proper weapons or mittens, it doesn’t matter.

  There! He nearly jumps when he sees movement further ahead, and he’s certain that was a person, not a monster. There’s no hesitation at all as he rushes forward, eager to save the day.

       kotone wasn’t on edge, per say. it’s more accurate to say she was on guard. she’s never been the type to jump at even the most terrifying of encounters, surprisingly keeping a cool head ( though, that’s probably attributed to living with the dark hour at her side for so long ). she’s quick to react the moment she hears the sound of rushed movement, and while it’s not as effective as she would like it to be, perhaps a hard hit would momentarily confuse whatever’s coming her way ?