destinystrings | Making new friends

Who: Nano Shinonome and her Personas, Pinocchio and Chirashizushi.
Where: Out and about in town
When: The 13th hour between December 2nd and 3rd
Summary: Nano hasn't had much call to use either of her Personas, so she's taking each of them out for a spin.
Warnings: Nothing, really. She's not fighting terribly difficult demons here. Open to all who want to help her fight things.

Nano hadn't managed to be very useful at all the last time something bad happened in Hinoto-Ri, and she's been feeling rather badly about it ever since. After all, everyone in the town was in the same situation, being suddenly ripped away from their homes and loved ones, so there's no reason she shouldn't be trying just as hard as they are. To that end, even though she's afraid, she's finally resolved to venture out during the 13th Hour to try to get stronger. It's the only way she's ever going to be able to feel like she's earned the power she's been granted in this place, and certainly the only way she'd feel right going back home after meeting so many nice people. To that end, she's out tonight in the streets immediately surrounding the Pisces District housing looking for demons to fight, but also hovering reasonably near the apartment building in case things get too dangerous.

"I hope we can get along and work well together, Pinocchio-san," Nano says with a smile, folding her hands in front of her and bowing her head politely to the smiling ethereal puppet-boy floating behind her. The Persona smiles back, wordlessly nodding its head.

"Matarukaja! Marakukaja!"

As Nano's words ring out through the air, Pinocchio performs a stringless dance behind her before holding its arms out. Energy washes over Nano, bolstering her attack and defense against the demons she's about to fight. Glancing back behind her, she gives a small smile and another nod before dismissing Pinocchio and calling out Chirashizushi, the new Persona she'd fused in the Velvet Room only a few days before.

"Let's be friends too, Chirashizushi!" The little angel enthusiastically grins as it materializes into existence, looking happy as anything to be serving its new master. And with that, Nano and her Personas venture out into the night to fight for the safety of the citizens of Hinoto-Ri.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

"I-I think so..."

Nano slowly exhales, placing a hand on her chest and coming down from the sudden fright.

"Sorry to startle you." Asem walked closer. "What are you doing out alone here, anyway?"

"I thought I'd get to know my Personas," Nano explains, gesturing to the angel floating behind her.

Asem looks at it. It's not the first time he's seen a Persona, but he doesn't see them often, so he's still a little curious. But he sidelines that for now.

"New Personas? You should have come out here with somebody else. The 13th Hour is dangerous. You never know what you'll run into, so you should be with somebody else."

"I thought it would be all right if I stayed near the apartments so I could run away if things got too dangerous..."

Maybe she was wrong about that. From their left flank come two more demons. Nano lets out a shriek, holding her hand out toward them.

"M-Magaru...!"

Fortunately, she's still dealing with some relatively weak demons here, and the razor-sharp winds summoned up by Nano's Persona are enough to dispatch them in fairly short order.

Asem raises his gun again, but Nano's reaction was quick enough to dispatch them before he could fire a shot. He lowers his arms again.

"Tell you what. You stick with me. I'll watch your back, and you can cover mine. Sound good?"

Panic reflexes - Nano would be nowhere without them in a situation like this. Her shoulders slump a bit in relief as the demons dissipate in front of her.

"Yes... that sounds much safer."

Nano nods her head, dismissing Chirashizushi for the time being and bringing Pinocchio back out.

"This is Pinocchio. He was my first Persona. He only has one attack, but he's much better at support."

Asem nods. "I've worked with someone with a support Persona before, so I know what to do." Of course, he was scared out of his wits and acting like a berserker at the time, but still.

"That's why you have two, huh? So you can fight at the front?

"That's right," Nano affirms with a nod. "I thought I would be able to do more if I had a Persona that could attack and one for supporting others."

"And how quick can you switch back and forth?" He had been managing just fine, but that didn't change the fact that Asem's Persona hasn't awoken yet.

"Pretty fast! As fast as I can think about it, almost!"

Well, a little slower than that since she has to physically gesture, but still quickly enough that switching mid-battle wouldn't be an issue.

Asem grins. "Good. We'll need that speed--"

But then he suddenly stops and raises his gun toward the nearest street corner. "Stay there. I saw something move."

"Wait, here, before you go-!"

Nano holds out her hands briefly as the gesture is perfectly mimicked by Pinocchio. Two bursts of golden light envelop both Nano and Asem in turn.

"There. That should help."

"Huh?" Asem looked around, then at his hands, trying to figure out what she did. "What was that?"

"It raises our attack and defense," Nano explains.

"Really? Hey, thanks." Asem flashes a grin then turns back toward the corner. Sure enough, a demon emerges. This time, though, the bullet that Asem fires simply strikes its head and seems to do no damage.

"Hey, what the hell?!"

"Get back!"

Nano dives in front of Asem as the demon prepares for a counterattack, lashing out with its claws. As its hand comes barreling toward Nano, a luminescent shield springs up in front of her, causing the demon's attack to bounce right off. It's still unharmed, but so are both of them.

"I don't think bullets are going to work on this one."

"WHOA!" Asem jumps backwards as instructed. He hadn't been expecting that move from the girl."

"Th-thanks." After uttering that, Asem tries to regain his bearing. "That's okay. I've got another weapon that'll work. Get back -- away from the monster!"

Asem reaches for an object on his belt and removes it. Closer inspection would reveal it to be a grenade. Once there's enough distance, Asem pulls the pin and throws it at the demon. The grenade bounces off its head, diverting its attention for a few seconds...which is all that's needed for the grenade to explode.

"Hit the dirt!" Asem dives to the ground as the grenade goes off.

Nano screams and dives for cover, recognizing the grenade for what it is almost immediately. Once the smoke has cleared and she's gotten back up, she cautiously peers back toward where the demon was standing.

"...Did you get it?"

Asem climbs back to his feet. "I think so."

Then the smoke cleared.

"...Along with maybe three and a half square meters of road."

The asphalt was broken within the blast radius, and chunks had been thrown several feet from the explosion.

"I hope no one else was caught in that..." Nano remarks, cautiously looking around to survey the damage. Thankfully, it looks like they're the only ones around.

"It's okay. I didn't see anybody else coming when I threw it." Asem continues to look at the damaged portion of the road. "I feel kind of bad about the road, though."

"I hope we don't get in too much trouble for that..." Nano remarks, nervously staring out at the damage.

"It was self-defense." Asem seems confident that that will work. "But let's get moving. The explosion probably attracted some attention.

"All right. I'll be right behind you." Nano nods, falling into step and looking around for any other demons trying to blindside them.

Making new friends

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