Persona Survivor: Dancing Daylight

[breakdancer]

Day 2; Monday

[ A lot's happened-- if Hinako said that, she'd also burst out laughing at just how little that actually encompassed. Because is it ever really that simple? To her, the only simple thing about the situation was that if someone was in trouble, you helped them. You didn't raise your prices during a lockdown where people had no homes to return to. You didn't refuse to help people in danger because you hadn't received orders to leave your post and dreaded getting fired. It's just common human decency, and that's all there is to it.

Which is why, doing a quick sweep of the area to make sure that no more humans were being attacked after thwarting Keita's death clip--

Hinako is now sprinting at full sprint towards the blue-haired guy being surrounded by demons, whipping out her cellphone. So what if she isn't a part of JP's yet? ]

Hold on!!

Comments

[messianic]

[A lot is going on here. Minato was not expecting to suddenly end up somewhere completely different (the setting is...somewhat familiar?) but he doesn't have a lot of time to process it.

There are demons (they look like Personas?), and before he can try to figure out what's really happening?

They're attacking.

And the rest is muscle memory and instinct.

He whips his Evoker from his holster, flicking it to his temple as he backpedals away from the first demon's attack, and--

Pulls the trigger. (Sorry, Hinako.)

A moment later? Surt appears, flinging a fire spell their way and getting the demons to back off a fair bit.

(Sorry, Hinako.)]

[breakdancer]

[ It's not the first time she's seen someone give up. People cornered by demons with no real way to protect themselves, taking their lives into their own hands-- it's a disaster zone right now, in more than one way, but this...

It can't be it. She was so close to reaching him, phone clutched close, one finger poised over the screen, and a scream caught in her throat when she'd seen the gun.

Hinako doesn't know if it's the shock of seeing him whip out the gun so fearlessly and bring it to his head, or the subsequent jolt of seeing something appear and force the demons back, instead of crumpling to the ground lifelessly--

But her grip slackens and her phone clatters on the ground.

Which. Is not the best thing to happen when the demons realize she's there too. ]

[messianic]

[Oh.

He notices immediately when the demons' attention shifts; he whips around with battle-honed instincts, knowing full well that if their aggression has shifted, it's not because they're done being aggressive.

And sure enough, there's a young woman there, staring and standing still, and immediately, Minato's turning to run towards her, Evoker pointed to his temple again (sorry, Hinako).]

Careful--! Persona!

[It's Surt again, another flash of fire incinerating the demons too close to her (but not at all hot to the touch to her, even if it's close to her), scattering the others back.]

[breakdancer]

[ What the hell. What the hell?

This guy's shot himself in the head like, twice now, and he's still alive and kicking, not to mention he's yelling something she doesn't quite understand, and that demon is...

Not one she's ever seen, that's for sure. But she can worry about that later. As a couple demons go up in flames with twin shrieks, and she avoids that same fate, Hinako's making a quick dive for her phone.

One finger swipes the screen, right before she holds it out in front of her. The Hare of Inaba won't be much help in terms of offense, and Kikimora is also more of a healer, but...

Bilwis manifests from the phone with a cackle, lashing out at the demons as they prepare to charge again, with a series of hits that keeps them where they are. It's nowhere near as powerful as... whatever that demon was, but Hinako's not one to sit daintily and wait to be saved.

Especially when she was sure this person had been in trouble first. ]

You wanna dance? Let's dance!

[messianic]

[... Did she just summon demons from her cell phone? Minato wasn't expecting that at all; it throws him off of his game enough that he looks sincerely off-balance, mouth parting in slight shock--

And then he shakes himself, finishing jogging over to her side, standing back to back with her.]

... I'll watch your back, okay? Let's finish them off.

[They can talk about...all of this when they're safe.]

[breakdancer]

[ Damn straight they're going to talk about this. But he's helping out, and as far as Hinako's concerned, the more people to kick demons out of her city, the better. Osaka didn't deserve this. ]

You read my mind!

[ Bilwis goes for another strike before the other demons can recover, and this time, Hinako flicks one hand forward to direct a burst of flame out to assist. She'll choose to trust in this weird guy and his demon-summoning gun. ]

[messianic]

[It's time to kick some demon ass!!

And.

Well, thankfully, they've already destroyed a lot of them. Minato flicks the Evoker to his temple again, facing the remaining demons on his side, and picks Odin this time instead of Surt--some well-placed lightning does a great job of frying demons that thought they could creep up on them.

(Minato's cheating and on ng+ already, apparently.)]

[breakdancer]

[ It does the trick, at least. The demons are vanquished, no one's hurt, and Hinako...

... continues to have about five hundred questions.

But not apparently before turning and holding up her hand for a high-five?? ]

I'm about to grill you like okonomiyaki, but good teamwork!

[messianic]

[Oh my god. That's such an evocative phrase...and also it makes his stomach growl. Minato covers up his stomach with a sheepish expression, and offers her a rueful smile.]

...I'm not going anywhere. You can ask me anything you want, but... I don't know if I'll have all the questions you want, because I'm pretty confused too.

day 2, evening;

[messianic]

[No matter how they look at it, with the blockades in place and the foot traffic and everything going on... they need to camp out. There's no way they'll make it all the way to Tokyo like this without spending at least a single night out in the open.

They find an easily defensible spot on a rare patch of grass, and Minato, digging out blankets from their makeshift bag of things they've grabbed along the way, looks at the buildings at them, tilting his head.]

I never thought I'd ever go camping in the city...

[breakdancer]

[ Is she a little bummed that they couldn't just blitz through straight to Tokyo? Maybe. But Hinako had spent the first day at a shelter, so she can't sigh too much. Instead, she's focused on pulling out tins of food and drink cans. It's not much, but it's passable. ]

Today's probably been a day of firsts for you overall, huh? Getting teleported here, camping in the city with demons roaming around, meeting a pretty girl in glasses...

[messianic]

[... Oh my god. Minato actually pauses and thinks that through very seriously, brow furrowed slightly as he lifts a hand to his chin contemplatively.]

Hm... I guess that those are all firsts, you're right.

[Minato why.

It's true that most of the pretty girls he's met haven't been wearing glasses somehow. Huh!!]

[breakdancer]

-- Actually, that's surprising. You've never met any girls in glasses?

[ maybe everyone in Iwatodai had amazing vision? Hm.

But here, Minato, have a can of beans. Keeping your strength up is important! ]

[messianic]

[He accepts the can of beans, handing over a blanket in return, and blinks at her.]

Oh... no, I've met girls with glasses who were cute, but... you're right that this is my first time meeting a really pretty girl in glasses.

[he doesn't even mean that to be a smooth thing, he's just being matter-of-fact.]

[breakdancer]

[ And that-- makes her laugh, brightly, as she unfolds the blanket and shakes it out. ]

That's incredibly smooth! But if that's the case, then I'm glad I was able to be your first. I'll have to make sure to set a hard-to-beat impression.

[messianic]

[Oh my god. He doesn't even realize until she says that, and then he blinks.]

That's-- that's not what I...

[Meant...

Oh well.]

You've already made a pretty striking impression, Hinako-san.

[He shakes his head.]

You're very...strong-willed...?

[breakdancer]

I get that a lot! Well, and "argumentative", "thick-headed" and "loud".

[ She shrugs easily enough. ]

I don't really feel like those are bad things, though. Not when it helps others.

day 3; afternoon

[breakdancer]

[ It's a busy day already. Yamato had been curt but had ultimately accepted them both into JP's, with the terse reminder that if they couldn't pull their weight, the organization wouldn't support them. It's not a threat that makes Hinako feel any sense of dread, but while everyone else is running about, discussing quelling riots in Nagoya, she's taking matters into her own hands.

Because... Minato is probably fine. He's strong. But...

Well. The instant she catches sight of him in the hallway, she's calling out. ]

Minato! Hey! Got a minute or twenty?

[messianic]

[It's been a few days now, and Minato's a little concerned about his team. They had some important things to handle... though it's true that they should be okay for at least a little while.

He can't help but worry.

Still.

One thing at a time. He said he would help here, and he honestly can't leave such a desperate situation alone even if he did know how to get home.

It'd be...too cruel. So when Hinako comes up to him, Minato lifts his head, offering her a faint smile. It's good to see her here, especially with all of the strangers he's recently been introduced to.]

Hey, Hinako-san... of course.

[For her, definitely.]

What is it?

[breakdancer]

[ Truth be told, she'd been a little worried about Minato. Not that he couldn't handle himself, but he was quiet and nonassuming. She wasn't sure if that meant he'd be overwhelmed or not, but in a sense, seeing him now does wonders for Hinako's own sense of comfort. He and Keita are familiarity. So is Hiro, of course, and the others, but right now, the connection feels stronger with Minato. ]

So, I was thinking, everyone's had a chance to improve their skills, as summoners and fighters... and as much as I'd love to just jump into the fray, I should use the time I have to get better. Would you mind training with me for a little while? Full permission to try knocking me around.

[messianic]

[... That makes sense, he thinks. In truth, ever since that first fight with Hinako, Minato's been... trying to keep his stronger Personas on the down low. There's something about Yamato that puts him on edge, and he doesn't want him to know just how strong he really is--

So Hinako's really the only one who's experienced any of that.

He looks a little amused, though, in a deadpan sort of way.]

To "try"...? You sound pretty confident.

[But you know? Her goal's good, and he'll feel better too to be doing something.]

It's a deal. Let's do it.

[breakdancer]

No one ever got anywhere being bashful.

[ Well. True enough. But Hinako brightens exponentially, reaching for his hand because of course she doesn't think to ask first. Dragging is easier. ]

But great! They've got a few training rooms here we can snag, since practicing outside will probably just attract demon attention.

[messianic]

Sure.

[WHY NOT...]

I'm honestly pretty curious about what you can do, too.

[!!]

I think there's a lot I haven't seen about demon summoning.

[breakdancer]

I was going to say the same for you. You really scared the crap out of me when I saw you summon.

[ seriously. a gun. ]

[messianic]

... Yeah, sorry. I didn't really have time to warn you.

[Would it really have helped, though.....]