Yu Narukami (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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dramadramaduck2013-03-12 12:47 pm
yumadbro) wrote in dramadramaduck2013-03-12 12:47 pm
Entry tags:
[video] ⚡ shin mitsuo tensei
[ooc: i am so sorry this is so unbelievably long.]
[September twenty-fourth.]
[Some quality of the video seems wrong as it broadcasts, somehow. But there's nothing unusual going on; just Yu Narukami and Yosuke Hanamura walking through Inaba's shopping district.]
['Due to lack of business, we are shutting down. Thank you for all your years of support. Sincerely, Marukyu Tofu.' The sign taped to the storefront was clear as day, yet it left both Yu and Yosuke confused.]
Dude, is this legit? So the rumors that she'd moved were true... Did Rise say anything to you?
No, nothing at all. [Narukami knocked on the door all the same, voice ever so slightly unsteady with concern.] She hadn't been coming to our group meetings lately, so I thought something might have been up. [He dialed her number on his cellphone...no response.]
I can't believe she took off without telling us.
I'm sure she had her reasons.
No, [Yosuke sounded dismissive as he turned away, having deemed Marukyu and Rise a lost cause,] it just goes to show we were the only ones who thought we were friends.
[Unseen by his investigation partner, Narukami's mouth hung open in shock as he slowly closed his cellphone.]
[Static interrupted the broadcast, picture and audio alike choppy and unintelligible for a moment.]
[October fourth.]
[Alone this time, Narukami again found himself wandering through the shopping district. The complete loss of contact with Rise had shaken him, but there was really no choice save for carrying on. He approached the front door of Aiya, hand inches away from opening the door when he heard Kanji's voice from within, speaking to Naoki Konishi over lunch.]
We keep meeting over those murders, but there's nothing to talk about. Sometimes I think talking and trying to be all nice is exhausting.
You're like a couple that's grown bored with each other.
Moron, I was seriously asking for advice here! What the hell?!
[He didn't stay to hear any more, hand withdrawing from the door as he turned and left in silence as static cut through the video again.]
[October thirteenth. Narukami sat at his desk, laptop open. Even if he did drift apart from everyone in Inaba, it couldn't be so bad. There was still an impossible multi-world community waiting for him, right? The four-eyed black cat he'd gotten from Roxy curled up on his lap as he turned his computer on with every assumption the community would be there when he opened it.]
[...Nothing. There wasn't the slightest thing unusual or universe-connecting about his desktop. And no matter how he searched through each and every program, it was gone as completely as though it was nothing but imagined in the first place.]
[Narukami said nothing. Why would he? No one was around to listen. The video skipped, sights and sounds of a quiet bedroom cutting in and out before being momentarily being replaced with white noise.]
[November eighteenth.]
[Sitting in the Junes food court under an overcast sky, a faintly distressed-looking Narukami spoke to Yosuke with quick and almost desperate words.]
Don't you want to go back inside the TV?
I'm done with that crap. [He sighed, exasperated.] More importantly, we should seriously start thinking about college and stuff. Shouldn't you start thinking about that now for when you go back to your old school?
[The question cut deeper than any knife or sword ever could. There had been moments where he had forgotten, but Yu Narukami's life in Inaba was only ever temporary. No matter what impossible things happened or how many friends he thought he had, come spring he would have to leave all the same.]
[That night, he sat alone in his room, staring at a darkened TV screen. The clock ticked its way from 11:59 to midnight, yet...nothing. No Midnight Channel, no hint of anything whatsoever. Standing up and crossing the room with quick steps, Narukami put his hand to the screen with every expectation it would go straight through...but met solid and tangible glass.]
I have nothing. [The voice was foreign, echoing with the ethereal quality only a Shadow's voice could have. In shocked disbelief he turned to regard the otherworldly figure in the room as it continued to speak.] Everything is 'nothing'. Friendship is an illusion...you are alone.
[Narukami raised his hand; if a Shadow was here, then it stood to reason he could call his Persona. The blue card floated down as it always had, yet instead of the emblem of the Fool...it was blank. White and featureless.]
You are empty.
[He crushed it in his hand, but when no Izanagi answered his call, he tried again. The Priestess, this time...but it was as featureless as the last.]
You have no bonds. You have nothing at all.
[Frantic, he tried again and again. Card after blank glowing card appeared, with no Persona coming forth when they were broken.]
You're just like me.
[Narukami staggered back, genuine fear written across his face. No sooner had he managed to say 'you're wrong' were the Shadow's hands around his throat. So this...was it? This was how it was going to end? Was there anyone left that would care if he was gone? Of course not. There was no one. No one cared. No one would be there. No one--]
[--...who was calling his name?]
[All at once Narukami was aware of a great many things. Yosuke had grabbed his arm and pulled, and in a moment he was back on his feet by the side of all his friends facing a monstrous Shadow.]
[It had all been a lie, he understood as reality set in all at once. The case wasn't over. They weren't drifting apart.]
Is everything okay? Are you hurt?
...No. Let's take him out.
[And boy was he angry.]
[Narukami spun around and raised his hand; the arcana of the Fool descended to his hand and was shattered, Izanagi responding by striking out at the Shadow's outer shield. As it began to reconstruct its defenses, the Personas of all his friends moved into action, holding its shell back and leaving an opening.]
[This was it. It was all down to Narukami...and now for the first time, there was something he truly understood.]
I...am not empty!
[Izanagi rushed forward, met with a wind attack. To avoid its weakness, the arcana of the Hanged Man descended with an attack from Makami; the symbol of his bond with Naoki Konishi. This continued on; as Mitsuo's Shadow blocked and countered attack after attack, Narukami responded with one Persona after another. King Frost: the Emperor, Kanji Tatsumi. High Pixie: the Priestess, Yukiko Amagi. Pyro Jack: the Magician, Yosuke Hanamura. Yamata-no-Orochi: the Moon, Ai Ebihara.]
How many Personas does he have?!
[Oblivious to Yosuke's shock, the assault continued. Leanan Sidhe: Lovers, Rise Kujikawa. Rakshasa: Strength, Kou Ichijou and Daisuke Nagase. Ara Mitama: Chariot, Chie Satonaka.]
[And it didn't stop with his friends in Inaba. Far from it. From there came Yatagarasu: the Sun, Tails. Garuda, the Star, Utena Tenjou. Alraune: the Moon, Roxy Lalonde. Orthrus: the Hanged Man, Mami Tomoe. Hua Po: the Magician, Ezio Auditore da Firenze.]
IZANAGI-!
[With that final Arcana, the one Persona that was entirely his own sprang forth, blade shining silver to deliver the final blow to their enemy.]
[Hours later, a simple text message was posted to the community from Narukami's computer:]
Thank you.
[September twenty-fourth.]
[Some quality of the video seems wrong as it broadcasts, somehow. But there's nothing unusual going on; just Yu Narukami and Yosuke Hanamura walking through Inaba's shopping district.]
['Due to lack of business, we are shutting down. Thank you for all your years of support. Sincerely, Marukyu Tofu.' The sign taped to the storefront was clear as day, yet it left both Yu and Yosuke confused.]
Dude, is this legit? So the rumors that she'd moved were true... Did Rise say anything to you?
No, nothing at all. [Narukami knocked on the door all the same, voice ever so slightly unsteady with concern.] She hadn't been coming to our group meetings lately, so I thought something might have been up. [He dialed her number on his cellphone...no response.]
I can't believe she took off without telling us.
I'm sure she had her reasons.
No, [Yosuke sounded dismissive as he turned away, having deemed Marukyu and Rise a lost cause,] it just goes to show we were the only ones who thought we were friends.
[Unseen by his investigation partner, Narukami's mouth hung open in shock as he slowly closed his cellphone.]
[Static interrupted the broadcast, picture and audio alike choppy and unintelligible for a moment.]
[October fourth.]
[Alone this time, Narukami again found himself wandering through the shopping district. The complete loss of contact with Rise had shaken him, but there was really no choice save for carrying on. He approached the front door of Aiya, hand inches away from opening the door when he heard Kanji's voice from within, speaking to Naoki Konishi over lunch.]
We keep meeting over those murders, but there's nothing to talk about. Sometimes I think talking and trying to be all nice is exhausting.
You're like a couple that's grown bored with each other.
Moron, I was seriously asking for advice here! What the hell?!
[He didn't stay to hear any more, hand withdrawing from the door as he turned and left in silence as static cut through the video again.]
[October thirteenth. Narukami sat at his desk, laptop open. Even if he did drift apart from everyone in Inaba, it couldn't be so bad. There was still an impossible multi-world community waiting for him, right? The four-eyed black cat he'd gotten from Roxy curled up on his lap as he turned his computer on with every assumption the community would be there when he opened it.]
[...Nothing. There wasn't the slightest thing unusual or universe-connecting about his desktop. And no matter how he searched through each and every program, it was gone as completely as though it was nothing but imagined in the first place.]
[Narukami said nothing. Why would he? No one was around to listen. The video skipped, sights and sounds of a quiet bedroom cutting in and out before being momentarily being replaced with white noise.]
[November eighteenth.]
[Sitting in the Junes food court under an overcast sky, a faintly distressed-looking Narukami spoke to Yosuke with quick and almost desperate words.]
Don't you want to go back inside the TV?
I'm done with that crap. [He sighed, exasperated.] More importantly, we should seriously start thinking about college and stuff. Shouldn't you start thinking about that now for when you go back to your old school?
[The question cut deeper than any knife or sword ever could. There had been moments where he had forgotten, but Yu Narukami's life in Inaba was only ever temporary. No matter what impossible things happened or how many friends he thought he had, come spring he would have to leave all the same.]
[That night, he sat alone in his room, staring at a darkened TV screen. The clock ticked its way from 11:59 to midnight, yet...nothing. No Midnight Channel, no hint of anything whatsoever. Standing up and crossing the room with quick steps, Narukami put his hand to the screen with every expectation it would go straight through...but met solid and tangible glass.]
I have nothing. [The voice was foreign, echoing with the ethereal quality only a Shadow's voice could have. In shocked disbelief he turned to regard the otherworldly figure in the room as it continued to speak.] Everything is 'nothing'. Friendship is an illusion...you are alone.
[Narukami raised his hand; if a Shadow was here, then it stood to reason he could call his Persona. The blue card floated down as it always had, yet instead of the emblem of the Fool...it was blank. White and featureless.]
You are empty.
[He crushed it in his hand, but when no Izanagi answered his call, he tried again. The Priestess, this time...but it was as featureless as the last.]
You have no bonds. You have nothing at all.
[Frantic, he tried again and again. Card after blank glowing card appeared, with no Persona coming forth when they were broken.]
You're just like me.
[Narukami staggered back, genuine fear written across his face. No sooner had he managed to say 'you're wrong' were the Shadow's hands around his throat. So this...was it? This was how it was going to end? Was there anyone left that would care if he was gone? Of course not. There was no one. No one cared. No one would be there. No one--]
[--...who was calling his name?]
[All at once Narukami was aware of a great many things. Yosuke had grabbed his arm and pulled, and in a moment he was back on his feet by the side of all his friends facing a monstrous Shadow.]
[It had all been a lie, he understood as reality set in all at once. The case wasn't over. They weren't drifting apart.]
Is everything okay? Are you hurt?
...No. Let's take him out.
[And boy was he angry.]
[Narukami spun around and raised his hand; the arcana of the Fool descended to his hand and was shattered, Izanagi responding by striking out at the Shadow's outer shield. As it began to reconstruct its defenses, the Personas of all his friends moved into action, holding its shell back and leaving an opening.]
[This was it. It was all down to Narukami...and now for the first time, there was something he truly understood.]
I...am not empty!
[Izanagi rushed forward, met with a wind attack. To avoid its weakness, the arcana of the Hanged Man descended with an attack from Makami; the symbol of his bond with Naoki Konishi. This continued on; as Mitsuo's Shadow blocked and countered attack after attack, Narukami responded with one Persona after another. King Frost: the Emperor, Kanji Tatsumi. High Pixie: the Priestess, Yukiko Amagi. Pyro Jack: the Magician, Yosuke Hanamura. Yamata-no-Orochi: the Moon, Ai Ebihara.]
How many Personas does he have?!
[Oblivious to Yosuke's shock, the assault continued. Leanan Sidhe: Lovers, Rise Kujikawa. Rakshasa: Strength, Kou Ichijou and Daisuke Nagase. Ara Mitama: Chariot, Chie Satonaka.]
[And it didn't stop with his friends in Inaba. Far from it. From there came Yatagarasu: the Sun, Tails. Garuda, the Star, Utena Tenjou. Alraune: the Moon, Roxy Lalonde. Orthrus: the Hanged Man, Mami Tomoe. Hua Po: the Magician, Ezio Auditore da Firenze.]
IZANAGI-!
[With that final Arcana, the one Persona that was entirely his own sprang forth, blade shining silver to deliver the final blow to their enemy.]
[Hours later, a simple text message was posted to the community from Narukami's computer:]
Thank you.
Re: [Text]
Sometimes you have to learn things the hard way. At least now you're not alone anymore.
[Text]
[Text]
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