destinystrings | Masquerade [Open to all]

Masquerade [Open to all]

Who: Everyone
Where: Near Scorpio's Central Art District
Summary: You all did good. Halloween is being celebrated in style.
Warnings: Nothing for the moment. Costumes?
Congratulations!

You've proven your worth to the city of Hinoto-Ri and this year the Masquerade is dedicated to you. You deserve the party, considering you saved the city from the Zodiac Monster! Besides, on the most powerful spiritual days, even the demons take a day off and enjoy a time of frightful good times with the humanoids.

The lights are all colored blue and purple, and the streets are filled with partygoers of all ages, in both fantastic and some-not-that-fantastic costumes. Pumpkins appear to be floating in the air, but once you come closer, you realize they are Pyro Jacks attending around. This is THEIR favorite holiday and they wouldn't have let it gone to waste!

Originally the Masquerade was to be celebrated around Scorpio's art center, but with the rebuilding still in process, it was moved close by, with the office of wands preparing all the charms needed. The streets need to be protected, considering the Full Moon was just a few days ago.

If you find yourself without any money, no worries! The Government has given you a bonus paycheck for your hard work last week. Costume shopping should be no problem, and the are still stores nearby selling their wears for last minute shopping!

With a small secure sector, it's sure to be an extra fantastic celebration of dancing, music and just watching both humans and demons going at it without much care. Candy is floating around thanks to the Pyro Jacks, grab something and try not to ruin your teeth. Hey, who IS that guy just passed by? Hard to tell.

After all, with these combination of Halloween costumes and a more high class masquerade ballgowns and masks, who knows is really human and who isn't?

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Yeah, that answer just earned Yu a blank look of confusion.

"...and? I don't see how a spiritual Western holiday requires you to dress strangely," Yamato commented, tilting his head slightly with a frown. From what he recalled of Halloween, it was a day where the line between the realm of the living and the dead was blurred enough for spirits to roam the earth without needing a summoning ritual. It was a powerful day for summons and other rituals, but none of them required dressing up in some bizarre fashion to perform.

"It's not very spiritual in the modern world," Yu explained. At least Yamato knew what Halloween was; it would have been awkward to explain, "This is what it was, but this is what we do." Very awkward, and possibly thirty minute rant inducing. "Most people dress up and celebrate by passing out candy to kids."

"I see..." Yamato said slowly, his expression clearly saying he didn't. "So another spiritual event has been commercialised by the common masses, has it? To be expected. Most festivals no longer carry the spiritual weight they once did nowadays..."

It was a troubling state of affairs - the less spiritually connected people became, the harder it was to find those with the potential for it as new generations were born. There was a reason why the number of JP's employees were shrinking, and it wasn't simply because the job was a high risk one.

"Is this why everyone is making such a ruckus here?" Yamato questioned further.

"That's it, yeah."

Don't feel bad, Yamato; he could feel Izanagi's disapproval in the back of his head too. The only reason he wasn't being louder was because Pyro Jack was having so much fun.

Yu paused at his question, looking out to the other party goers. "Yeah. Most people too old to go out for candy hold parties."

Parties... Yamato knew what parties were, but he had never really attended one before. From his understanding they were where civilians flailed about, got drunk, and wasted a lot of time on something that served no purpose.

Yamato sighed.

"I see... I got worked up for nothing. Very well. I will leave you to your 'party'. My presence is no longer required here."

Yu raised an eyebrow at that, confused.

"Don't you want to have fun too?" he asked. He would have thought everyone would want to unwind after everything that happened in the past week.

~~"I had fun once - it was awful."~~

Yamato's gaze flattened slightly, as if Yu had asked something very bizarre. "I wouldn't know how to have 'fun' in such a setting. I derive satisfaction from doing something that serves a practical purpose, not milling about aimlessly amongst a crowd of strangers."

Translation: he is King Workaholic.

"I see."

...he's getting the feeling he should quit one of his jobs, so he doesn't end up like this guy. Yu paused a moment in thought, before he continued:

"The bonds we form with others help us when it comes to our Personae," he explained. "Perhaps getting to know others while you're here could be considered productive."

Yamato blinked at that. "Is that so? I was unaware that socialising was necessary for the growth of our Persona."

In retrospect, it made sense. Persona were a form of their true selves, or a façade of some sort - it was unclear which it was, really - and people constructed façades when interacting with others, and hid themselves, hm...

If that was the case, then Yamato would be at a severe disadvantage. He didn't know the first think about socialising.

...Yu was familiar with that look, and considering how much this guy wanted to run away from the party as quickly as possible, he wasn't really surprised: he didn't like talking to people. Considering the conversation from back when he read that book out loud, it wasn't hard to see why. He offered him an encouraging smile.

"...I know how it feels," he said softly. "It's not easy to talk to others. To let them in."

Yamato stiffened slightly, and he crossed his arms over his chest with a quiet snort. "...I am simply ill-equipped to connect with others. My personality doesn't allow it."

He said this flatly and honestly. He knew the shortcomings of his own personality, and how it drove away others. He was rude, harsh and blunt, and was an abrasive character that pushed away people without him being consciously aware of it.

Sorry, Yamato, but that gets another smile out of Yu. Yup, he knows man. He knows.

"...sometimes people connect with you, whether you want them to or not," he replied. "Eventually, you find yourself letting them in without realizing it. It isn't a bad thing."

Okay, that actually touched a very painful area for Yamato because-

Alcor and Kaito. Two people he had allowed to get close to him, only to be betrayed by them utterly. Well, they had buried the hatchet as it were when arriving to this world, but he still found the feeling highly unpleasant. What is the point in bonding yourself to someone if they eventually weaponised that against you...?

"Letting them in allows them to know and exploit your weaknesses."

Okay, Yu couldn't really relate to that... well, sort of. He had never formed a bond with Adachi, but his betrayal still hurt, especially with what happened to Nanako. If he had formed a bond with him, would he have felt this way...? He couldn't say for sure.

"Maybe... but I feel it's worth the risk," he finally said after a moment. "It's not just for the sake of helping out personae grow, but to help us grow as people as well."

"Is that so..."

Yamato simply frowned, his gaze flickering away as if in thought. "I have always believed that if one is strong, then it is unnecessary for them to rely on others for things like success or growth. Personal strength and achievements are a sign of one's worth."

He slipped his hands into his coat's pocket, letting out a wry chuckle. "However, many, like yourself, seem to disagree with such a philosophy. I always thought it was just the chattering of incompetents, who have to join forces to survive because of their weaknesses, but..."

Kaito and Ronaldo defeated him while spouting their philosophy on ~friends~ and ~working together~, and he had encountered several strong people in this world who followed the same creed. He didn't quite understand it. He was taught that you could only rely on yourself, that your personal strength was the only thing you could trust.

To make friends, to trust them, to make yourself open and vulnerable to them - was it truly a weakness reject such things? It had brought him nothing but betrayal and anguish whenever he tried (which was only twice, but still, once bitten twice shy).

Yu nodded in understanding; funny, he could relate to this guy on a small level. He could feel the stirrings of a Social Link starting but... it wasn't quite there yet. Just a little more of something; something personal...

"Before coming to Inaba, I never wanted to let anyone in," he began. "I felt that it was pointless to have friends; my parents moved often because of work, and any bonds I formed would just disappear as soon as I left. That's not something that goes away; I don't doubt your self reliance is the same way."

Well, it wasn't that personal, but it was enough. Yamato was probably already hearing that mysterious voice in the back of his head:


Thou art I... and I am thou... Thou hast established a new bond... A new friendship that transcends even time and world boundaries themselves... You shall be blessed when fusing Personas of the Fool Arcana when thou is able...




>	You have established the Yu Narukami Social Link of the Fool Arcana!




>	You can't combine new Personas yet...




>	Yu's determination in battle has been enhanced...




>	He will now help you see the truth when enemies make it difficult to see.

Hearing that voice never got less disturbing in Yamato's opinion - although it disquieted him for another reason; despite his struggling and resistance, he was bonding to people. It was a little frightening and confusing. He had no idea how to handle these bonds, neither did he want to deepen them too much in case they became another Alcor or Kaito.

It was almost disgusting how frightful he was of such a weak thing. Kuriki was right to call him so.

"..." Yamato sighed, shaking his head as if trying to fend off an irritable fly. "Another friendship foisted upon me. Very well," he was suddenly all business again, crossing his arms over his chest and pinning Yu down with a scrutinising look. "It gives me ample opportunity to see what benefits this has. Repeated experiments are required for reliable results, after all."

If this sinks though, he's swearing off friends forever because they're just more trouble than they're worth.

Repeated experiments? Reliable results? Yu couldn't help a bit of an amused smile; he sounded like some kind of evil genius out of a movie.

"Good luck with your analysis, Professor Yamato," he replied, ever the smart ass.

Yamato simply raised an eyebrow at that smartass comment.

"I may have a Ph.D but I do prefer 'Chief', if you insist on a title," Yamato said, missing the joke entirely. His sense of humour is...skewed, okay. "Or at the very least 'Director'."

Yu snorted back a laugh. He had a feeling he was going to help this guy learn more than just what friends were... oy.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said instead.

Yamato nodded. "In any case, this was an interesting meeting."

And with that, Yamato abruptly turned on his heel and stalked off without another word, melting into the crowd. Yeah, he doesn't know how to leave a conversation either. He just...leaves.

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Masquerade [Open to all]

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