The Show's Over!

@unchainedphantom

A battlefield like this was not a place a high school student should be in. Despite his convictions upon joining this farce of a mission, the young Persona user expected fear to sink in once he took in his surroundings. The ringing of metal, the smell of blood, the sound of flesh being torn apart – this was what war was like. Any innocent soul could be driven into madness if they stayed here for too long.

But then, after going through so much grime and rubble, the panic he expected never settled in. It was only then he realized that this was no different than fighting in Mementos. The mazelike tunnels were never of this scale of course, but the concept remained the same – a slew of enemies that would never end. It was a thought both comforting and discomforting at once.

Yet another corpse crumpled against his rapier. Goro was about to wipe the blood on it off when something made him stumble – a draining sensation, less disconcerting than nausea yet it kept him light-headed for some seconds regardless. He knew the source behind it, because it wasn’t the first time that happened today. His mana was being drained at a rate faster than what he was used to back in Utopia. Right now it was something manageable – being a fighter of his own right meant that he had plenty to spare – but the frequency of Satanael’s appearances in their battles have started being overkill.

“Aren’t you overdoing this? Joker.”

If he was aware of his growing instability, he didn’t show concern for it. Maybe it was Satanael’s influence on him, or the fact that he had been summoned into a vessel made to contain malice and grudges, but no matter the cause, the result was obvious.

It was almost as if he had been made to go berserk.

“What’s wrong Crow, can’t handle a serious fight after all this time? This is just like Mementos or a Palace. They aren’t human, so we can go all out.”

Aiming his pistol at the downed knight beneath his boot, Joker pulled the trigger a dozen times in rapid succession, riddling the knight’s helmet with bullet holes. The stench of blood surrounding the pair was cloying...but even more so was the malice that pervaded the entire battlefield and swirled around the Avenger like a tornado of hatred and curses.

“Besides...only a Servant can keep these things down for good, right? Otherwise...”

Turning to the enemy that Goro had just dropped to the ground, Akira raised his gun once more and fired the rest of his clip into their prone form.

@unchainedphantom

       > Huh. 

       > You’d been expecting a number of things when the ‘distortions’ had been brought up. Anything similar to the Shadows you’d faced in life came to mind, and you had anticipated to face some sort of easily identifiable monsters.

       > But, European medieval knights? You almost thought the GRAIL was pranking you, until you saw the entire context. The never-ending war, the immortal soldiers trapped in it–you caught on within seconds. Resolving it was still a big question, but it was one that you could find the answer to later. 

       > Especially when you’ve got several guys running at you, screaming over your music.

       > This wouldn’t normally be an issue, given your status as a Persona-user, but something was off with these knights. They moved faster, hit harder, reacted quicker than what a normal human should be capable of. It was vaguely Servant-like, and you soon realized that, in a straight fight, you weren’t going to be able to just charge through them. Especially when you realized only a Servant could finish these enemies off.

       > Fortunately for you, while Saber wasn’t on standby, another Servant was.

              “Let us end it… Thanatos!!”

       > The otherworldly harbinger of death, sword drawn, let out a bestial roar. He tore into the surrounding knights, striking with a ferocity the already weakened knights simply couldn’t stand up to. Despite your Persona’s fury, that wouldn’t be enough to finish the enemy off. 

       > That job… was up to your current partner. 

              “They’re down, Avenger. Go for it!”

「

       [ Δ ] All-Out Attack

       [ O ] Break Formation

       [ ✖ ] Talk

                                                                                                                            」

[ Δ ]

The setup was perfect, almost too much so. They’d run across each other on accident, purely by coincidence, but the Avenger couldn’t help but feel like this was another one of those fated meetings, even without Lavenza’s voice in his head telling him about his new bond.

“SATANAEL!”

The massive form of the demon lord rose up behind the Avenger as he spun through the air above the enemy, raining bullets down on their heads even as his Persona raised its hand towards them.

The area around the enemy suddenly lit up, the air growing thick with energy as bits of earth and grass began to evaporate from the growing force.

“MEGIDOLAON!”

All at once, the air, the ground, every atom of the enemy and their surroundings, ignited into pure energy. A skill so powerful it could only be called Almighty. When the light and the dust cleared there was no trace left of the Persona users’ enemies, leaving only Joker landing gracefully amidst the carnage with a smirk on his lips as Satanael returned to his mask form.

      A lot of Riruka’s gestures, he’d probably be amused to find, are meant to be just that– showy, usually to draw attention to whatever aspect of herself she’s feeling the most that day. It’s a shameless tactic, but it’s an effective one that she’s honed over a good long time. It’s meant to distract just as much, though really– she doesn’t think this boy needs much more distracting.            “You can find your way around Tokyo, but not a place like this? Isn’t that a little too lame?” Ah, there it is, an answer to whether or not she knows Japan, in a roundabout way. “You don’t look like an idiot– are you one of those airhead types, then?”  In other words, completely spaced out and easy to get lost. What a weird combination; though she supposes with that cutesy appearance, he probably gets a lot of help when he’s out of it. 

          “Geez, are you really sure it’s safe to leave you in charge of a stove then?” Not that she’s got any idea of how good he is at cooking but really. Maybe whoever he lives with keeps him out of trouble? “Well, there’s a grocery store a couple of streets over– I should actually stop off over there before I head home myself.”           Not that she was a very great cook, but still. Pre-prepared meals were better than no meals at all.  

...geez, these insults were just getting personal now. A slight red tinge came to his cheeks as he averted his eyes from the girl. She’d at least confirmed that she was from Japan, or at least knew it well enough to know Tokyo, but did she have to do it in such a mean spirited way? It reminded him way too much of the first few weeks with Boss, if he was being honest.

“...well..Tokyo was a bit rough too, at first...I missed my train to school more than a couple of times after I moved out there...”

He’d figured it out eventually, of course, but mostly because the subway system was simple enough to understand once you learned the stops...and had the route map saved on your cell phone.

He had to admit that it was invigorating to finally cut loose after all that time hiding in the shadows. He’d avoided fights for all of his time in the city, mostly because he knew that in a serious fight he would be at a disadvantage without some more work put into boosting his Noble Phantasm, but now he was free to run wild to his heart’s content.

To kill his enemy however he wanted.

@unchainedphantom

              “Bloodedge!”

       A wide sweep of a crimson blade, an large group of knights sent skyward, yelling out in pain and defeat. Yet, more and more seemed to keep coming. While he’d been able to mostly avoid large packs of the enemy for a while, his luck always made it a habit to shove him into a situation like this whenever things started to go well. 

              “Damn, are you kiddin’ me…?!”

       Holding the blade of blood in his hands, he readjusted his stance as he scanned the enemy around him. While he could fend them off, their superior numbers advantage would eventually lead to one of them eventually seizing an opening and him being overwhelmed. 

       He wondered for a second how well his Regeneration could hold up against that many swords. 

       …Yeah, no, he had no intention of testing that upper limit right now. Where were the reinforcements when he needed them?

This whole thing was insanity, and not at all suitable for someone like him. Standing out was part of being a Phantom Thief, yes, but not in a situation where it was an all out war. It wasn’t even like he had some target to go after, some information to steal or enemy leader to assassinate, it was just a senseless conflict with no clear end in sight.

And in the middle of that melee was a boy that seemed no older than him, though the nature of Servants made that a moot point. Judging by the blade in his hands...a Saber? He’d formed it from his own blood so...maybe a strangely melee-oriented Caster? The ferocity that was being shown was enough that he considered Berserker, even with the boy’s seemingly level head under pressure. He briefly considered staying out of the conflict and moving on to another area...but no matter how much he considered it, his body remained still.

A hand rose to his face, fingers gripping the edge of the mask that hid his identity. Against this many, there was no way that his knife and gun alone would be able to even the odds, so he had no choice. The name of the Phantom Thieves had begun to spread, but not enough to increase his power so it would only be able to do so much but....

In a single motion he pulled, skin tearing away with the mask and sending fresh blood pouring down his face, only to be quickly burned away by the blue flames that burst out around his body as the form of a great horned being manifested behind him, towering over the boy by double his height. This was his True Self. His Noble Phantasm.

“Persona!”

The Fallen Angel of Rebellion -

“Pillage them....SATANAEL!”

As the command was given, the demonic form raised its weapon towards the sky and pulled the trigger a single time. The earth-shattering blast rang out over the battlefield as the shot soared skywards, splitting in mid-air before beginning its descent. The fragments of the blast rain down on the knights surrounding the white-haired boy, tearing through their armor and bodies as if they were paper and leaving them as bloody messes on the ground scattered in every direction.

Jumping down from his vantage point, his demonic Persona returning to the mask that began reforming on his face, Joker slipped his hands into his pockets as he approached the other Servant through the carnage he’d created.

unchainedphantom

“Hmm. You’re awfully fluffy, boy. If you’re looking to compete with me, that’s fine. Just as long as you keep your fluffiness away from my master. I don’t take kindly to rivals in love, you know?“

      The change in demeanor isn’t mentioned, and she hopes it’s because he didn’t notice rather than him trying to spare her. As much as Riruka hates being embarrassed, she hates being pitied more, and the very idea makes her want to clench her fists. Managing to hold herself back from doing so, she simply gives him another brief once-over and then sighs, as if even more put-upon than before.            It ends in a flick of the wrist and a swift about-face, skirt flaring around her thighs in a whisper of fabric. Riruka makes a noise, long-suffering, and motions at the rest of the city with a turn of a thin wrist. 

      “Riruka,” she replies, haughty and reserved, slanting a look at him from the corner of her eye that would, in most circumstances, make a non-protag lesser man tremble. “I was…” A gang-member, technically. “Home-schooled. Well, more like privately tutored but…” A dismissive motion, prior residence unspoken, her other hand settling on her hip after smoothing down her skirt. “Anyway, where are you trying to go? Can’t take you anywhere otherwise.”

...her outfit certainly moved a lot when she did. If he didn’t know better, he would’ve thought she was a Phantom Thief herself, with the flashy outfit and the flashy attitude. Still, there was a certain charm to her standoffish nature.

Riruka...the name almost sounded Japanese, and she didn’t seem confused by the mention of Tokyo. Was she from Japan as well? It was hard to tell with the Grail system translating everything into Japanese in his head, and she didn’t have any hint of an accent either...oh well, questions for another time he supposed.

Alright, let’s get back in the swing of things. Like this post for a starter. 

If you have any ideas or premises for the interaction that you want to share, feel free to like and then shoot me a message. Also feel free to mention whether you want to interact with Akira in his Servant form or his disguise/NPC form.

“Did you? I knew I asked for the house specialty, but I don’t remember the blend itself. You already know this, but I only went to Leblanc because of Sae-san’s recommendation.”

Despite all the plans the Conspiracy had, his appearance on the coffee shop on that day was mere coincidence. Their false Medjed had been taken down unexpectedly by an outside source, but they had no way of figuring out that Futaba Sakura was behind it by then. He also suspected Kurusu’s involvement with the Phantom Thieves by that point, but him living there had been a genuine surprise.

But he wasn’t there for the coffee, either – at least, not at first. He just wanted a place where could find some peace and quiet, where he didn’t have to be a celebrity or a hitman. In the end, he got something more. Sojiro didn’t treat him any different than another customer, and that comforted him more than he expected.

“You know how Boss is like when it comes to coffee. The way he talked about the brewing process made it sound like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Before I knew it, I got hooked.”

Goro looked at his companion with a challenging smirk. Knowing the Boss, he would have been a strict mentor. Leblanc was an important place for both of them, so anything half-hearted in its name would just be disrespectful.

“I have high expectations of your coffee, Kurusu. I will accept nothing below the Boss’ standards.”

Under different circumstances, we could have been great rivals… Or perhaps even friends.

He said that back in the cruise ship, before trying to take Kurusu’s life for the final time. Maybe this had been those circumstances they needed all along.

It was odd just how easy it was for him to fall into step beside Goro, like it was just natural for the two of them to be walking side by side. He returned his partner’s smirk with one of his own, just as challenging and confident. If the other Persona user knew him half as well as he thought he did, then he’d know that a challenge simply meant that Joker had to step up.

“Just who do you think you’re talking to, Akechi-kun? Even Boss has admitted that I’ve surpassed his skills. I’ll give you an experience you’ll never forget.”

And maybe make some curry at the same time. He found himself wondering if they had been provided with a pot as large as the one he was used to at Leblanc...well, if they hadn’t then he’d just have to get one. He wasn’t sure he knew how to make small servings of curry after all this time.

      Of course she’s immediately smug about catching him in the excuse, though she also thinks he might just be absurd enough to not have thought about the map. Either way, she’s got one up at him, and she’s about to gloat when he tugs off the glasses to clean them as he speaks, and she’s unfortunately close enough to spot the change when it happens, her words faltering out of something like shock.            “I– uh–!” 

          Son of a bitch, he’s cute! is the first thought that runs through her head as he peers at her with those wide eyes, suddenly much less plain without the blocky frames and large lenses blocking a good portion of his face. Clearing her throat, she puts a couple of steps of distance between them now, dropping gently to the ground and huffing, head turning sharply away from him as she responds, words coming in a flustered rush. 

          “W-well, if you’re that hopeless that you can’t manage by yourself, I guess I can take some time to get you wherever it is you’re going. Just… don’t waste too much of my time! And don’t think it’s gonna be a regular occurrence either! I’m not a tour guide and I’m not an assistant, so if you need any more help in the future and I’m around, don’t go assuming I’ll just help you out again…!” 

...huh. Well that was a change in atmosphere. She had gone from invading his personal space without any regard to keeping her distance like he’d become radioactive. Finishing wiping the lenses of his glasses, he replaced them on his face and tilted his head.

“You don’t have to go out of your way for me like that...but if you insist, then I’d appreciate the help. I’ll be sure to pay close attention so you won’t need to help me again.”

Something told him that she didn’t honestly mind helping him that much, but he wasn’t about to call her out on it during their very first meeting. Whatever her reasons, and whatever her circumstances, all that mattered right now was that she was offering to help, and that it was a genuine offer.

Alright, let’s get this return started.

If we had a thread going before my drop and you’d like to continue it, feel free to message me and let me know, or reply to this post.

He had to admit, there was a certain intoxicating effect of being able to throw large amounts of money around.

Sure, it was mostly on important things like medicine and equipment for the Phantom Thieves, but he always seemed to have cash to spare after the necessities were done. So...he might have gone a little crazy. An old TV set here. A retro game console there. A busted up old laptop and the tools to fix it...

      As much as she is rude, Riruka is also painfully aware of her own (many) weaknesses– cute boys being among them. If she can convince herself that he’s not worth her time, at least, she’ll have an easier time of dealing with him. Which is just what she does, wrinkling her nose at his turtleneck and giving him a ‘really’ sort of look as her eyes flick from the object of clothing in question to his face. 

          “Yeah, cause that’s totally believable,” she scoffs, but she can’t really deny that it’s a reasonable enough explanation. Except… Shaking her head, she huffs and then takes a step up onto seemingly nothing to peer a bit more closely at him.            “You know we’ve got maps, right? On those totally un-cute triplicata things. If you haven’t bothered much with it, I’d suggest trying it out. You’d be surprised what you can learn from it.” Less advice than warning, because certainly Riruka herself has made an excuse or two that could likely be explained by the triplicata if anyone thought to call her on it. “If you’re crap with it though, I guess I could be bothered to teach you,” she adds, a sly smirk edging the offer. “But you look smart enough to figure it out by yourself.” 

Damn, she had him there. Honestly, he hadn’t even thought about his Triplicata and the map on it. He was just so used to having to find his own way around an unfamiliar city that he’d just...fallen into the same old habits. He’d even started looking around for part-time work.

Sheepishly rubbing at the back of his head, he gave a quiet, embarrassed chuckle in spite of himself. In the process, he accidentally bumps the arm of his glasses with his wrist, knocking them crooked. Frowning, he moved the hand from the back of his head to remove the glasses from his face, checking the lenses for smudges. Removing a handkerchief from his jacket pocket, he began to wipe the lenses as he responded to the girl. She was a little rough around the edges...but she was nice underneath it all, wasn’t she? After all, she was offering to help someone she had no reason to help.

Akira likes sweet things as much as the next teenager, but there are definitely people he knows that enjoy them a lot more. As a result, he tends to put aside the majority of whatever sweets he may end up having so that he can share them with those people later.