( closed ) senpai trio scavenger hunt

[icequeenly]

Who: Mitsuru, Shinjiro and Akihiko
Where: The Beach!!
What: The senpai trio attempt to have a nice and normal time at the beach (again) and join in with a scavenger hunt...
Warnings: Stupidity? Will add to if necessary.



[ Mitsuru is holding a piece of paper with a list of around ten tasks on it. It's a list for a scavenger hunt one of the locals had decided to organise and apparently the redhead can't just let people have a nice, chill day at the beach... They have to be doing something, working towards a common goal, together! What better thing to drag involve her fellow senpai in now that they've been reunited.

So they hadn't managed to get beyond the first couple of floors of Tartarus, that doesn't mean they aren't an exceptional team!

Of course she hadn't warned either Akihiko or Shinjiro they'd be doing activities when she invited them to meet up at the beach. Obviously they're getting absolutely no choice in the matter now. She peruses the list, before reading aloud the first "task". They don't have to be completed in any particular order but it makes sense to start from the beginning. Besides, the first one doesn't seem that difficult... ]

It states here that we must keep up a casual conversation with a stranger on the beach for a minimum of five minutes.

That sounds easily done. [ Does it though? ] Should we approach someone individually or collectively?

[ Because there is nothing more reassuring to a person than being surrounded by three weirdos all at once, obviously. ]

Comments

[drugsnotclubs]

[Of course she would surprise them with plans. It's the Kirijo way. And equally as expected, Shinjiro has no inclination towards being actively helpful towards completing the activities that Mitsuru has produced.

...That said, he's not going to shut them down, either. There's something nostalgic about the three of them huddled, both guys peering over Mitsuru's shoulders as she reads off their first instructions, even if they're used to it in a gloomy, bloodstained city or an impossible tower, and not standing around in flipflops at the beach.

But then the instructions sound terrible, and he's never been afraid to say so.]

That's stupid. Just mark that we did it, no one's gonna check.

[A suggestion he's sure Mitsuru will take swimmingly. He lifts a bottle of water to his lips, before shrugging.]

What's the one after that?

[marakunda]

( It's not such an unusual thing that the redhead of the trio has found something for them to work on, and in a small way it's kind of comforting to be glancing over Mitsuru's shoulder at the list, a familiar thing in a strange world.

Akihiko can't help the small grimace at seeing what the first thing is. Talking to strangers for five minutes? It sounds simple enough and on paper it is, but he's in his speedos and t-shirt and already the flashbacks to trying to talk to people on the beach are too much. )

I spoke to someone about swimming earlier, that should count. ( It's not skipping per say, but maybe it counts for something. Akihiko peers at the next item on the list, reading it out loud. )

Dig for or catch ten crabs and put them in a bucket?

[icequeenly]

[ Is Shinjiro's reaction to this a surprise in any way? Nope. But there's something just as nostalgic about that as there is to the rest of this, the way they're huddled around the piece of paper with pretty much no clue what they're going to be getting themselves into.

Mitsuru frowns with disapproval. ]

We will do no such thing, Aragaki. We will complete each task properly and will only mark them off once they have actually been successfully completed.

[ When Akihiko mentions talking to someone about swimming she can't help but raise an eyebrow. She might not have observed Operation Babe Hunt but she has a pretty good idea of how Akihiko's Small Talk about Sports Things usually go...

Wait. Crabs? ]

...Catch them? Not with our hands surely? Do we not need specialised equipment for that?

[ She does not have a clue. She might have spent many summers at the Kirijo residence on Yakushima but evidently she hadn't been spending that time chasing after crustaceans. ]

[drugsnotclubs]

Sounds like Aki already got it done. Good job, man.

[He's sure it was actually a disaster and probably didn't last that long, but this is the sort of thing he will back up his bestie about forever: getting out of shit.]

...Crabs, though?

[Okay, but making crab legs would be a great end of the day? But then again-- the crabs at the shore are going to be small. And the beach is busy enough that it might be hard to find....]

Nah, you just pick 'em up. From behind, though, so they don't pinch you. I bet if we got farther from the party and found some rock pools there'd be plenty.

Did they say where we can get a bucket or do we gotta find one?

[don't make them steal a kid's sand bucket.....]

[marakunda]

(Akihiko gives a small nod at the praise, not at all bothering to think too hard on it. Shinji could be pulling his leg but at the end of the day it's small fry compared to the current challenge that stands before them.

Catching crustaceans with...what? Their hands? There's no sign of equipment to be used and the teenager is already looking around and downwards as if expecting a myriad of crabs to suddenly appear. Were they buried? Or did they sit in the ocean? Having eaten enough of them, Akihiko realises his knowledge on where his food comes from is alarmingly low.

It's the ocean, he's sure of it, an exam question most likely presented the same conundrum.)

Not seeing a bucket or a net. I think a mazio should do the trick.

[icequeenly]

Akihiko.

[ Ah. There it is, that tone. They both know it, along with that look of clear disapproval. She hadn't gotten to use it in a while. ]

Are you seriously suggesting using electricity? [ She crosses her arms still holding the piece of paper with the list on it in one hand. ]

Do we even know how far the charge will carry? What if you electrocute more than just crabs?

[ Fish, dolphins, people... Who knows? ]

[drugsnotclubs]

She's got a point.

[Though maybe the point isn't exactly what she was expecting because he follows it up with:]

Ice would be better.

[Is using a Persona to catch seafood absolutely insane? Sure. But it's also hilarious. And it's easily turned the topic away from chatting up strangers (for now), so why not continue.]

That or we can each see how many we can get in like fifteen minutes and then move into the next one.

[marakunda]

( The tone of voice from Mitsuru freezes Akihiko better than any bufu could and he reluctantly shelves the idea. Plus, being a killer of all sea wildlife so soon after arriving wouldn't be a good look either. )

It would need to be a really strong ice skill to freeze salt water. ( There's no doubt Mitsuru can manage it, Akihiko just hopes a small challenge will help convince the redhead only to be outshone by the one Shinjiro puts forwards. The teenager practically perks up, shoulders straightening as he glances over. )

You mean a challenge.

[icequeenly]

Are you implying Artemisia wouldn't be capable of that, Akihiko?

[ Totally ready to demonstrate her terrifying icy power right now even if that wasn't what he was implying at all and conveniently forgetting that Shinjiro doesn't know about her but hey, the subject change has her intrigued...

Mitsuru always feels slightly torn in these sorts of situations with these two. On the one hand she always wants to present herself a certain way and that most certainly does not involve charging around a beach trying to grab the most crabs... on the other, she does really want to charge around a beach and grab the most crabs. And win the "challenge".

She still looks somewhat disapproving, but the glint in her eye kind of wrecks it. ]

We can use Shinjiro's hat as a substitute for a bucket.

[ Look, who doesn't hate the beanie?? ]

[drugsnotclubs]

Who?

[He starts looking to Mitsuru with a suspicious sort of curiosity at her casual mention of her new Persona-- but then she suggests that and he makes a face, thoroughly distracted.]

Piss off and get your own. Or use Aki's shirt so he doesn't look like he just rolled outta bed in his panties.

[though let's be real, that hat has already been through the wringer. It's surprising that he even has it on, really. It's almost like it's just convenient for the narrative.]

[marakunda]

( The realisation that Shinjiro knows nothing of the newer persona is sudden and Akihiko looks over at Mitsuru, challenge forgotten as he wonders how to approach the subject. How did one go about such things? "Sorry, after you died our persona changed into better ones you never got to see"?

Thankfully Mitsuru's mention of the hat changes the flow of conversation perfectly, the teenager scoffing at the mention of his own attire. )

This is swim attire and it's fine. ( Except now Shinji has said it, Aki will forever wonder about it when left to his own devices. )

Your hat will be perfect, or do you want us to fail this mission?

[icequeenly]

[ It does occur to her that while she might have told Shinjiro that her persona had gotten stronger, she hadn't quite made it plain that she had actually changed in such a drastic fashion. The boys might have been distracted by the subject change but Mitsuru hasn't exactly forgotten - something to make a mental note of to bring up another time.

If she doesn't end up having to summon her during one of these beach challenges.

Mitsuru folds her arms. ]

While Akihiko's choice of attire may be somewhat questionable... his shirt isn't going to work as well as your hat, Shinjiro.

[ It stands to reason, it's closer to the shape of a bucket! Also, yeah, Shinjiro, do you want them to fail the mission?? As though they've both forgotten that he likely doesn't give a damn and this is just a stupid scavenger hunt. ]

It's true, we'll fall at the first hurdle without it.

[drugsnotclubs]

[This is why, as good as they are as a team, they have trouble actually accomplishing things. There's so much here. Mitsuru mentioned her Persona by a new name ( and he's absolutely going to ask about that at a better time). He's being challenged with not being the weak link here and destroying their chance of success. They want to stuff his hat full of crabs. The other option is trying to chat up strangers, which is basically his job now and he doesn't feel like doing it on his time off.

There's a long moment of suspicious, annoyed glaring from one of them to the other. But despite as cool and unaffected as he acts, man does he hate losing or being the first to give up.

With a token snarl, he reaches up and pulls off that stupid beanie, thrusting it out towards them.]

You both owe me.

[He's gripping that stupid hat so hard, okay, it has been WITH HIM through a LOT. And now he needs to swallow his damn pride (to recover his pride in another way? Look don't ask how teenage guys think-) and accept the fact that it will likely be ruined.]

[marakunda]

(There's an overwhelming emotion that threatens to overtake Akihiko's usual, neutral expression as he takes the offered hat. It's a foreign feeling, one he's not used to and for the briefest of moments he wonders if he ought to simply let it take over, give in and deal with the consequence as it happens. People did these things every day, lived at the behest of emotions and did just fine. But Akihiko knows those were the ones who died first in battles...

No, he won't surrender to random emotions, and the overwhelming and sporadic urge to launch the stupid beanie far into the ocean swiftly passes.)

We do. Look at it like an upgrade; you can get something better now.

(Though it is nice seeing Shinjiro without the hat and Aki gives a small smile and an awkward shrug before looking around again.)

So do they live in the water or the sand?

[icequeenly]

Tres bien.

[ It's not often that Mitsuru supports Akihiko's more impulsive decisions these days but, well... if he did decide to launch that beanie into the sea it's not likely she would raise much objection. Still, the handover is good enough. ]

It's nice to see you without it again.

[ You know, like the good old days. Not that any of the three of them will probably say those exact sentiments aloud.

...Hopefully they don't need to.

Right, crabs. They're supposed to be catching crabs....... and putting them in a beanie. ]

I believe they inhabit both, do they not? [ Turns out Kirijo heirs don't spend a whole lot of time learning about crab habitats. But she does remember seeing the odd one on the beach on Yakushima now and again. ]

I believe I saw some rock pools earlier. Those might be a good place to look?

[ The best place to find crustaceans just seems like a Shinjiro thing to know though so he does get something of an expectant look, as if she expects him to offer some kind of crab whisperer pearl of wisdom. ]

[drugsnotclubs]

[He gives a dismissive noise to Akihiko's suggestion of an upgrade and Mitsuru's pleased words, because it's better than getting weirdly nostalgic and emotional. It's just a stupid hat, but it's also a relic that reminds of how his retreat and how the suppressants had fucked him up: left him freezing all the time, hiding away from contact or attachment.

Ugh. Nope. Shutting any of those thoughts and feelings right down. Instead they are hunting for crabs.

He glances from Akihiko to Mitsurus before sighing. Of course he's the only one with any real-world knowledge as per usual....]

They hunt and scavenge, right? So they'll be shuffling around looking for food. They just bury themselves in the sand to hide. So yeah: rock pools and under any seaweed beds and shit is probably best. Maybe under some rocks. If you wanted to get some kinda meat and toss in in the water I bet a bunch of shit would come crawling out...

[when did he become The Crab Guy? Is this really better than chatting up strangers? He just lets that thought trail off before shaking his head, bringing up one hand to try and take some of his hair out of his face now they it's been freed.]

Well-- let's just get out there and start looking. C'mon.