Making new friends

[all_wound_up]

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.

Comments

[greatergone]

While Nano was having fun, Kais was treating this as seriously as possible. He refused to even use his persona, seeing it as a extension of the Chaos thing he had learned about back on Dolumar IV. He didn't want daemons and the mont'au in his mind, causing him problems. So it was only there for emergencies.

Besides, he was in a hurry. Kais wasn't fast but his short but powerful legs carried him along at a pretty good clip, his hooves noisily hitting the ground as he ran past Nano. Behind him followed something that looked like a tan colored dinner platter and it stuck with him fairly well and even seemed like it could move much faster.

Once he passed Nano, though, he dropped to one knee in an awkward pose that human anatomy might be pained to mimic and brought up long rifle up to his shoulder, using the scope to scan ahead for enemies.

[all_wound_up]

"Oh, Kais...!"

Nano scarcely has time to look behind her to see what all the noise is before he's already passed her by. Taking a few steps forward with Chirashizushi still floating protectively at her side, she walks up to stand next to him.

"Are you fighting demons tonight?"

[greatergone]

He didn't turn to look, mostly because he knew she was there. He didn't run past her blind like an idiot. Still, Kais waves at her to get down. No matter the enemy, digression should be the better part of valor.

"I always fight these daemons. They are a blight upon the world for everyone, Tau and gue'la included."

[second_destiny]

Suddenly, from down the street came a shout.

"Cover your eyes!"

A small black canister flew through the air, and landed at the feet of two demons roughly thirty feet away from Nano's position. Then the canister burst, and a blinding light was unleashed. Once the light died down, two gunshots rang out, and the two demons collapsed and dissipated.

Looking toward the source would reveal one Asem Asuno, standing with feet apart and both hands holding a pistol in front of him, pointed where the two demons were.

[all_wound_up]

Without even giving it a second thought, Nano crouches down, covering her head with her hands. She's pretty easy to influence, really.

"Aren't you using your Persona...?"

[all_wound_up]

"Aaaaaah!"

Nano lets out a surprised yell, backing away quickly from the canister and closing her eyes. She wobbles backward, almost falling over but catching herself at the last moment, cradled in the arms of her Persona.

"W-whew..."

[greatergone]

Looking back at her, he was kind of incredulous. Of course he wasn't going to use his persona thing. Not unless he was in such an awful situation that was life or death.

"A soldier has to rely on himself before he can rely on other...beings. Especially ones that are dangerous."

[all_wound_up]

Nano blinks in confusion for a moment before looking up at his Persona and her own, and then back to Kais.

"...But aren't they part of us? I thought that was what Caroline said..."

[second_destiny]

Asem lowered his gun, then looked over. "Hey, sorry about that. I just saw those demons come almost out of nowhere. You all right?"

[greyerrant]

Loken doesn't bother with adorable personas. Loken just straight up leaps on the demons from about midway up the side of a building, landing with all the force of a meteor slamming into the ground, standing from the cracked pavement crater he has made and laying about him with a combat knife that would serve anyone else as a broadsword. He hasn't even drawn his bolter or chainsword yet, the only sounds the wheeze of the air exchangers on his armor, the whistle of his knife as he fights, and the deep purr of his armor's servomotors.

[celebrity_commentator]

Rise had been carefully and quietly - I know, right? - observing the demons messing around so late at night. This strange 13th Hour felt very different from the TV World, but it did have one thing in common: Kanzeon was almost singing inside her head, telling her there were people in danger. Now that she had a combat Persona too, she had ventured out to check on one of the disturbances near the other apartments*, only to find one of her new friends flailing away at some of the crazy demons with her own Personas.

"Nano-chan?" she called out from under a nearby awning when Nano was between fights.

*Rise may live in Libra, but like hell she wasn't going to take an excuse to use the teleporters on "official business".

[greatergone]

"It's evil."

No matter how innocent and angelic Nano's persona may look, Kais was fairly certain. He had dealt with voices in his head before and ended up the worse for it. He didn't want to have to deal with all of that again.

[all_wound_up]

"How do you know? Have you tried to understand it...?"

Nano was afraid of her own Persona at first, but once she'd taken the time to get used to it, it felt more like an old friend than something threatening.

[all_wound_up]

"I-I think so..."

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

[all_wound_up]

Now that is impressive. It's even more amazing than the sentai shows she's watched on television! Nano watches the tall armored man raptly, eyes bouncing back and forth as she tries to follow the action.

"W-wow...!"

[all_wound_up]

Rise catches up to Nano just as she's dispatching her very first demon - a low-level imp. Nothing special, of course, but it's a big step for the nervous little robot. It isn't often that she does things entirely on her own without the support of at least one friend, so she feels very accomplished. Chirashizushi seems to be echoing her enthusiasm, happily floating up and down as her wings flap behind her. At the sound of Rise's voice, Nano pauses in her celebration to look toward her friend.

"Rise-san...?"

[greatergone]

"I don't need to."

Suddenly, he turned his head back, moved his rifle a little and fired. The blue plasma shot and slammed into a demon. Whether it was stalking them or not was moot. Kais wanted it dead.

[second_destiny]

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

[all_wound_up]

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

[all_wound_up]

Nano winces as the rifle goes off, ducking her head down again momentarily until she's sure nothing is there.

"But there has to be a reason we were given this power, isn't there?"

[second_destiny]

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."

[all_wound_up]

"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.

[greatergone]

"Believing in reasons we get power is trying to justify that gods exist."

A straight rule of the almost atheistic Tau society. You make your own reasons, not rely on what's told you to.

"I don't believe in that kind of thing. They were given to us by some powerful being who wishes to use you to their own ends."

[otakuro]

Rounding a corner, Nano and her Personas will run, almost literally, into a tall demon wearing a floppy white hat. Clearly a mark of demonic superiority. The enemy staggers back in the darkness and instinctively thrusts out a hand as he spots the three obviously extremely dangerous small children/angels/puppets floating before him.

"Enki!"

A perhaps familiar Persona will materialize... A young man wreathed in streams of water, holding a long staff in his hand.

[all_wound_up]

"Not everyone in the city came here already knowing how to fight on their own..." Nano says, looking a little downcast for a moment. "My Personas are the only way I can help against the demons."