expiationlogs | [closed] Special Extracurricular Phantom Thieves?

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[closed] Special Extracurricular Phantom Thieves?

Who: Akechi, Akira, Ken, Kotone, Shinji, Yoshizawa, Astralin
Where: Astralin's farm
What: Meeting of SEES and the Phantom Thieves! (sleepover)
Warnings: blood and violence, thanks akechi

It honestly feels a little overdue to get all of the Persona-users together in one place, but in fairness to them, there's been a lot going on! With Ken's arrival, though, it feels more important than ever to get everyone together -- if something happens again and they need to fight together as a team, it'll be good to have moments like this.

Hopefully.

Also, like, it's a chance to just relax and have fun with the others. Kotone's close friends with all of them, so it only seems natural to invite them to what's essentially a sleepover. There's nail polish, drinks, snacks, games -- it's not a party, but just a chill hangout session to her. An opportunity to sleep out under the stars with her friends while still being close enough to a house that they don't have to worry about monsters outside.

Everyone please be on your best behavior?

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[Listen, Shinji and Akira are the undisputed kings of the kitchen. But! They aren't going to make sweets, are they? She has a rack of sugar cookies cooling on the counter and is whisking milk on the stove in preparation to make chocolate truffles. It smells like there might be something fruit-based in the oven...? Busy, busy, busy! She's got her headphones on and is humming along to a rather upbeat song as she works.]

[Okay, to some people she'd said it was a strategy meeting, to others, she'd said it was just a chance to hang out. You know who you are and which technique would have worked. But if you wanted to chat about the actual nitty-gritty of combat tactics as a team, now's your chance -- she's got her notebook in hand and a pen in her mouth as she looks over her list of her own skills alongside Shinji's and Ken's that she knows from before.]

[Not long after midnight, there's an abrupt shift in her energy. She's still listening to everyone talk and doing her best to keep her eyes open, but while she'd been doing her best to hide exhaustion for the past hour or so, now it seems like she can barely keep her eyes open. Addressing her will be met with a,] Huh? [because she hadn't heard a word of it as she blinks and tries to focus.

If left unattended for too long, she'll simply doze right off sitting there. Look, she's been projecting a lot of energy all evening! She's Sleepy. Surely that's the only reason.]

4. Wildcard!

[get her]

[It's far into the night when Akechi gets up from his sleeping spot. He actually hasn't been sleeping at all, aside from dozing off from here and then. But despite that he's not tired at all. Because he's on a mission.

When Kotone had sent out her invitation Akechi hadn't hesitated to accept. Not that he didn't have anything against with spending time with her, but there had been something more pressing on his mind for a quite while. Ever since of the whole deal with Thanatos, actually.

His rival, Akira Kurusu, had lost to her. And that.. was a hard and bitter pill to swallow. He couldn't just accept that. Not when Akira was the only one who had been able to get best of him, to beat him on all battlefields. That's why they were rivals. So for him to lose Kotone was like a throwing a wrench to this whole dynamic.

Besides, it's not like he hasn't been curious about Kotone's skills without the whole almost killing Akira-incident.

So, after making his bed he quietly moves to where the girl is resting and places his hand on top of her shoulder to carefully wake her up.]

Hey, Kotone. Wake up. There's something we need to do.

[At least he let her get a nap in. When he touches her shoulder, she makes a little noise of distress, squeezing her eyes closed more tightly and scrunching up her face. Normally a rather heavy sleeper, it's his touch more than his voice that wakes her up and leaves her blinking blearily up at him.]

Goro...?

[She's so tired, and it shows on her face as she struggles to bring herself back to wakefulness. It's night... not the Dark Hour, right?

One more time, bud.]

🍛 dinner is served;

[The Farmhouse had a much larger kitchen than was regularly at his disposal. Naturally, he took advantage of it, coordinating with Shinjiro so as not to step on his toes and double a dish, sticking to his strong suits. He made two batches of curry early in the day, letting them simmer while everything else was underfoot-- one was spicy, one was mild. There's otherwise a few colorful trays of veggies for snacking-- gotta stay healthy!! --and some cute fruit arrangements, as well as, of course, an enormous pot of rice for the curry. There's a little sign made of sticky notes and toothpicks that says "help yourself!" in his messy handwriting, as well as one by the spicy curry with a crude drawing of a chili pepper and "not akechi approved".]

⛺ country is as country does;

[Okay so maybe knowing how to pitch a tent that isn't one of those fancy pre-wired pop-up ones isn't strictly a country boy aesthetic, but Akira is Excited. The moment Kotone suggests a sleepover, he loses every possible brain cell he's ever had and excitedly asks if they can camp in the back yard of the farmhouse. He'll handle all the camping stuff!!! So he gets supplies, pitches a tent more than big enough for the group, and makes little fire pits and everything. He's bustling around with marshmallows at some point, with the intent of roasting them after dark.]

[Need something? Let him know, or feel free to assume he's brought it to you like an insane person without asking.]

💅 girl's night?;

[He has never had the patience for painting his nails. Ann got him to do a modeling session with her once, specifically advertising a jewelry brand, and the lead had been absolutely ecstatic that he'd been open to having his nails done for the photos-- Ann had subsequently insisted they have girl's nights where they all painted each other's nails. She'd even gotten pet-safe polish to decorate Morgana's claws, but..., Akira had forgotten the lengthy dry time on enamel and gone to fiddle with something, destroying the hard work.]

[So suffice to say, he's staring down the little cubby space of nail polishes with absolute trepidation, looking like he's about to face down his mortal enemy.] Okay so where's the Quick Dry stuff.

💤 sleep is for-- the protags, actually.;

[He was obsessive about making sure everyone was having a good time, situated, fed. Sleeping bags were laid out, he's sure at least one person was complaining (it was probably Akechi), but he's too busy laying on top of his own sleeping bag watching everyone to care.]

[Or he was, until the evening caught up with him and his head dropped onto his arms and he zonked the fuck out, still in his day clothes.]

[He needed to make sure that everyone else was asleep. Speaking of which:]

Get up. Let's talk outside. [The expression he's wearing is a rather serious one. He means business!]

[She makes another little groaning noise, but alright, alright, she's getting up. Slowly. Painfully. The look on his face is serious enough that she doesn't ask questions, though she does glance toward the others, wondering if she should wake them up.

Nah. Best to let at least someone sleep. It's with a little bit of a stumble that she follows him out of the tent -- at least the cool night air helps with her residual grogginess as she rubs her eyes.]

What's up...?

Are you using the oven?

[From behind him, Kotone goes on tiptoes so she can rest her chin on his shoulder and take a look at the curry he's cooking on the stove. Hey bud! Whatcha doin' there? Can they share?]

[Shinji didn't want to come to this thing, but since it's at Astralin's house that makes his options either a) show up or b) go sleep on a couch at the inn for the evening, and well, here he is. He doesn't want to talk strategy, he doesn't want a new team, he doesn't want to paint his fucking nails—

Here he is, though. He's present. No one can ask anything else of him, he showed up, that's enough. So,

A. You can tell he's in a mood because he only makes one dish, a chicken dish he would have made anyway just to eat normally at normal dinner without guests and board games, and then he Just Leaves the Kitchen to lurk somewhere else with his trusty cookbook and Look Busy.

B. When it comes to the Fun Activities and Real Camping he remains sullenly off to the side... At best he will make s'mores. In silence. I'm sorry he is this way.

C. He straight up refuses to talk strategy and will suddenly "remember" he has to "get something" and just get up and leave if someone tries, Truly Sorry about this one.

D. In the morning he leaves the tent early to go make breakfast, which he just sort of leaves out to be found (but politely covered so it stays warm, you're welcome), and then he again vanishes but this time it's to feed farm animals. Thank god these cows and chickens don't want to talk about teamwork or paint nails together... truly a relief.....

He showed up and no one can judge him, thank you.]

[Once they're out Akechi looks over Kotone, from the head to the toe, all while weighting her in his mind. She looks so small and all sleepy while standing out there in moonlight wearing her pyjamas. He knows that this might not be the most ideal timing for her but it needs to be done.]

Kotone Shiomi. [He starts voice deep and serious as he turns his body to left to create more dramatic effect.]

I hereby officially challenge you into a duel. I shall be waiting you at the hill near the windmills in an hour. Bring your weapon of a choice with you.

Huh?

[Huh.

She lowers her hands from her eyes, tilting her head with the most befuddled expression imaginable as she tries to figure out what the heck he'd just said. Is she she still asleep? No, definitely awake.

He woke her up in the middle of the night to challenge her to a duel. Make it make sense. Then again, he'll probably make explaining one of the conditions of winning if she tries asking questions, and he really does seem serious about this, so...]

Okay...? [There's still a questioning lilt to her voice as she rubs her eyes again, slowly waking up a little more from the sheer mental effort of trying to figure out what the fuck is going on.] Do I need to wake up the others...?

[This is absolutely serious and very important to him, thank you very much.

He shakes his head at her question.]

No, I prefer to keep this just between two of us. We are probably done before any of them wakes up. Depending on your skills, of course.

[A small hint of smugness slithers to his voice during the last bit. It's not that he doesn't think she can bring a challenge but he's not going to sell himself short either.] I'll see you at the promised spot.

[And with that he turns to leave. So dramatic. Anyway, he's going to go fetch his own weapon. A sword with a sawtooth on the sharp side that he commissioned from the local blacksmith not too long ago. It's not quite the same as the one he used in the metaverse but it's close enough.

Aaand just as promised he'll be waiting for her near the mills.]

Okay...

[She still sounds so confused, but. Alright. She squints up at the moon as if that might help her figure out what time it is -- usually on a full moon, they'd need to fight Shadows, but apparently this one, she has to fight Goro? It definitely does feel like a key social link rank, though, so she just blinks a few more times and heads back into the farmhouse. A few splashes of water on her face and a change of clothes later, she's pulling her hair back and grabbing her feathery green naginata to head toward the mills.

At least by the time she arrives, she's fully awake again, a jolt of adrenaline at the sight of that brutal-looking sword helping with that as she realizes in a moment that he really is very serious. Her grip tightens on the naginata as in a moment, she's falling back into the habits that had carried her through Tartarus for countless hours, gaze sharpening as she studies his stance.

She doesn't say anything to announce her presence, though. She's not exactly sneaking up on him, and she's certain he must have something dramatic prepared.]

[While Ken wasn't surprised that Kotone would pull something like this at the last minute, he was a little suspicious that it just so happened to land on his birthday. He wasn't complaining but he couldn't help but wonder...

That said, as he started to wander around the farmhouse, he spotted one Akira laying on his sleeping bag.]

Uh...are you okay?

[Please tell him you're alive.]

[The night is so quiet around the mills, save for the sound of softly rustling leaves in the nearby trees and occasionally hooting owl. So he notices her footsteps breaking the silence immediately. He turns to face her, eyes immediately focusing on that big weapon she's carrying.

What an interesting choice, not one he had expected to see. He would've seen her more as someone who'd prefer weapon that'd allow her maximize her agility and speed. Because those were the traits she seemed to lean against during their friendly water balloon match.]

Glad to see you. Now, I want you to come at me with everything you have. Otherwise you won't stand a chance against me and I'll slice you into two. [He assumes his battle pose, leaning down with his legs spread and holding his weapon low and behind.]

I won't go easy on you. Any questions?

Will you tell me why we're doing this after we fight?

[Like, she's just accepted that this battle is important to him, but she'd at least like to know his reasoning eventually. She has to believe he doesn't actually want her dead -- like, if he did, there'd be no point in this kind of fight, he could have just killed her while she was sleeping, probably.

But she twirls the naginata in one hand, the ease of the motion hinting at long hours of practice. Either the weapon is lighter than it looks, or she's stronger than she looks, because for its length, there's no visible exertion behind the movement before she drops back into a guarded stance, gripping it with both hands.]

Whenever you're ready.

Hm? Oh, no, all yours,

[He stoops, just enough to let her rest her chin on his shoulder, by way of bending his knees a little and leaning backward. It makes stirring his curry Very Difficult, but it's fine.]

I swear to fish I'm not God, [Eloquent,]

[Anyway that's what he slurs as he lifts his head abruptly, his glasses all askew, and squints at Ken for a while.] Muh?

[She giggles lightly and bonks her head against his before retreating. She has a bowl of cookie dough chilling in the fridge to fetch, so she sets up a station close to him to start rolling it out in preparation for the cookie cutter.]

I finally get to try your famous curry, huh?

[Blink. Blink. Blink.]

...I'm guessing you really want fish?

[How else was Ken supposed to respond to this?]

[No, he doesn't want her dead at all. But for this battle to have any real meaning he can't hold back exactly, which means that he'll be fighting with lethal intentions. And luckily for her it truly seems like she can hold herself up against him just fine.

He pays great attention to the way she handles the weapon. The way she spins it makes it rather clear that he can't understate her either if he wants to stay in one piece. Good, just like he wants it.

A brief and heavy silence falls between them as he waits for the right moment, eyes narrowing a bit while listening to her breathing, reading her body language. While he can't summon his personas he can still reach for their power and influence. This time he settles down on Robin Hood instead of Loki, tuning into that precise aim and accuracy. Robin is a master of his craft while still allowing room for more spontaneous acts.

A moment passes, then another. The third one rolls and -- that's when Akechi lunges forward. He's fast with his feet and he brings his sword down on her with a force, the sharp end aiming at her head. He fully expects her to block the attack with her weapon, which is why he's prepared to sidestep around her to move behind her back to launch another hit.]

[Okay, thanks for the non-answer, Goro.

It's almost funny, the way she can feel her pulse picking up, her breathing coming a little faster to accompany the jolt of adrenaline from before. SEES doesn't really fight people. Even when they were fighting Strega, they were fighting Persona to Persona, not hand to hand. But long nights in Tartarus meant they couldn't only rely on their Personas -- more often than not, it was more efficient to fight enemies with weapons to save their stamina. Hopefully Chuuya's training has helped her become better at reading people, and not just Shadows.

Mentally, she switches to Helel -- logically, she knows it won't make a difference, but he's quick, strong, and resistant to physical attacks, as well has having some of his own. It's more habit than any actual belief that it'll make a difference.

The logical thing to do would be to block. He has to be expecting that. When they fought on the beach, he'd liked feints, hadn't he? So instead of blocking that initial strike, she dives forward and to the right in a roll to dodge whatever attack he had planned. She comes up onto her knees in the dirt and whirls, snapping her naginata around in an attempt to catch him at the ankles and sweep him off his feet.]

[He blinks slowly, shaking his head and sitting up, stretching his arms over his head.]

I like to fish, [Scrubbing his hands over his face, he finally fixes Ken with a curious look, more focused. Mostly awake.] ...sorry, I don't think I know you. [He offers a hand.] Akira Kurusu.

[Standing upright again (but not straight-- his posture is too awful for that), he grins down at the two pots on the range.] I dunno that I'd call mine famous-- it's a slight adaptation of Sojiro's. You like spicy?

Depends, is it tasty-spicy or like, Megido-spicy?

[She leans past him and sticks a hand between his belt and the stove to turn the oven on to the proper temperature, don't mind her and the complete lack of personal space in front of a hot appliance. Humming a little, she resumes rolling out her cookie dough.]

I'll try it either way!

[Ah, that's a move he didn't see coming. Still, Akechi reacts just as fast and jumps backwards so that he's out of the weapon's way.

Her weapon does give her an upper hand when it comes to range. His own blade is long but still definitely meant for the more close combat. Meaning that he needs to pass the sharp edge of her naginata and get in her personal space, that way she can't touch him all that easily.

With the plan fresh on his mind he comes tries again, moving close and totally trying to take an advantage of her being down on the ground. Because this time he circles around to behind her and striking down from the above. She either needs to stand up very fast or block]

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[closed] Special Extracurricular Phantom Thieves?

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Wildcard (hah!)

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pre-dinner

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Sleep

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i'm sorry this is how you're meeting him, ken

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Poor Ken

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