destinystrings | Free Battle: Capricorn

Entry tags:

Free Battle: Capricorn

Who: Atsuro Kihara, Open
Where: Leo -> Capricorn District, night
Summary: Skill cracking, magnetite-farming, and leveling up. Atsuro's no stranger to training...
Warnings: None

[private, voice to Ludwig Beilschmidt]
Hey, ah... Ludwig. ...Do you mind if I call you that?

We're getting close to another full moon. ...That's when they said the demons came out in full force, right? I think we should try and get a handle on summoning our Personas before we have to face something else like last time. I've tried to call Enki a few more times; I don't think it's possible just to do it for fun - it might not work unless we're really in danger.

Can we meet tonight by the town hall in Leo? Let's say... about 11:30. I saw you were asking about Personas; I can fill you in on what Enki can do then before we head out.

[public text]
Hey! I'm heading out to do some training tonight. Free Battles are a free action, right? Don't wait up; I won't be getting back until after that 13th Hour.

Feel free to join me if you want. I'll be outside Capricorn.

[action, town hall]
Half an hour to go.

Atsuro shuffles nervously in front of the hall, his fingers toying with the adjustable strap on his bag. The text had essentially been spam; he wasn't sure why he'd felt the urge to announce his plans to the whole city. He'd met maybe ten people here. Probably three or four of them actually cared. Naoya, of course, would want to keep tabs on him, but Naoya kept tabs on everything without anyone needing to check in, anyway.

The real reason, of course, was so that someone would come looking if he ended up dead or unconscious somewhere. He wasn't afraid of the demons... Not really. A pack of Waira were nothing in comparison to Belberith or Babel. But he'd been shaken; the idea of being plucked from the verge of defeat by what was essentially a happy coincidence didn't sit well with him. What if it'd been a one-time deal? What if his Persona just... never came out again?

Thou art I and I am thou. He'd never thought of himself as a great fighter. All he'd ever wanted to do was survive. No one had asked him to join a team or become a part of something greater - He, along with the rest of Tokyo, had simply been thrust into a situation where they had to pull out all stops if they wanted to live to see the next sunrise. Of course, he'd given it his all. But after living through those seven days of terror and panic, these three weeks of leisure had reminded him... This was what he'd been fighting for. So that the world would go back to normal and he could resume his normal life. Did he really want to stay here and keep on fighting? For some purpose he didn't even fully understand? Yeah, it was neat and exciting and novel. But so was the thought of playing an MMO with his forum buddies again, cramming for placement exams, and hanging out with Yuzu and Kazuya at the mall.

...He sighs slightly and shakes himself out of his thoughts. The important thing at the moment was to gain control of this power he didn't understand. Making a decision when he still felt lost and confused... Probably wasn't the best idea.

Atsuro finally stops fidgeting and seats himself on the steps of the building, watching the nightlife die down as the 13th Hour rapidly approaches. Ludwig ought to show up soon. ...Maybe some others would too. He finds himself scanning the faces of those passing by, hoping to find someone familiar.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

wat

"I have a shield," he says, blinking furiously. In truth, he has more than a shield (he's a Link; he's got a damned arsenal on him, even if you can't see it). But, well. A strange creature in red robes just appeared in front of him and made fun of his clothes.

He doesn't know what to think right now.

"Ah, ah. A shield. Sorry 'bout that, my mistake. I'm sure a shield'll do ya lots of good when your fancy duds're set on fire."

Seiten Taisei snorts and adjusts the tasseled cap on its head before it throws itself backwards in a sudden motion. Right before it strikes the ground, a thick fog gathers together and cushions its landing. The monkey king yawns as it reclines back on its portable cloud.

"You humans're a lot of fun. Going up against demons with those bits of iron and steel you call weapons. Demons've gotta fight demons. It's the only way."

Link sighs.

"I don't have time for this," he mutters.

He briefly thinks about asking the creature if he's seen someone else roaming around, but he's fairly confident all he's going to get is sass. And he's had enough sass to last him a lifetime (thanks, Ghirahim).

Seiten Taisei laughs. It's an entirely unpleasant, cacophonous, screeching sort of noise. The monkey sits up after a few moments with a toothy grin stretched from ear to ear.

"You've got all the time in the world, my antiquated friend! This is the time of demons - The time humans were never meant to know! Don't worry. Whatever you're here for... you'll find it soon enough."

It shrieks a howl of laughter once again before performing a smooth backflip onto its feet. ...Onto its cloud, actually, which now hovers a good five feet up in the air.

"...It's here. Midnight."

Such an ominous and melodramatic announcement of a fact he could see for himself. He pulls out his sword, glowing bright in the dark of the 13th Hour. He glances at the demon, determining that it's not worth saying anything.

Thus he proceeds into the park, looking about for any stragglers, keeping his eye out for shadows.

He doesn't take more than a few steps before another voice calls out in the darkness.

"Seiten Taisei! What the heck're you doing?! I need you!"

This one seems to be human. The person it belongs to, however, doesn't yet seem to be visible under the uneasy light of the half-moon. Behind Link, the monkey king gives an audible groan before it speeds off on its cloud into the depths of the park.

As reluctant as he is to be within even a foot of this cursed creature, that was a human voice he just heard. It's probably the person he's looking for.

So he'll... He'll follow the monkey. At a safe distance. Quietly.

:|

A boy looking to be about high school age will dart out of the shadows soon enough, meeting the demon halfway.

"Ah, my worthy master..." The demon is cut off before it can launch into any more of its trademark sass.

"Quit fooling around - the 13th Hour's already started. You're with me on frontal offense. Shiisaa will back us up with Mazio and Switch if we get in trouble." Atsuro's gaze slides over to the boy in green trailing at a distance.

"...Not that you aren't already getting yourself into trouble."

stupid sassy monkey sasses everyone like a jerk he's like ghiramonkey :||

"Are you the one who posted on the network?" Link asks as he catches the boy's eyes. He's not surprised he was seen so easily. His sword is kind of bright.

"Ah - Yeah. Sorry. Has this guy been giving you trouble?" Atsuro glances towards Seiten Taisei with narrowed eyes and thrusts a hand straight through the cloud. It promptly dissipates and leaves the noble monkey king to crash to the ground.

"He's actually with me, not an enemy. I'm glad you didn't get into a real fight or anything."

Link almost laughs out loud at the monkey's fall from grace. He stops himself just in time, though the mirth is still present.

"He didn't attack me, so."

"If he had, I'd be using him as a fusion ingredient for a Pixie." Still, the demon was an invaluable asset to his team regardless of how obnoxious he was. Atsuro will sigh slightly and poke the dazed monkey with his foot.

"Try to behave yourself. ...Go find Shiisaa and keep an eye out for anything that gets near."

Too prideful to clumsily get to its feet in front of the two boys, Seiten Taisei vanishes once more with the use of its Phantasma skill. Atsuro turns back to Link with a shrug.

"Sorry... Demons can be a little hard to work with. But, um - did you want to come out here to train, too?"

He places his sword back in its scabbard. "I was just making sure it was safe," he says.

It's okay Atsuro he's a knight

"Er." Atsuro reaches up to readjust his hat with a slightly anxious laugh. "...It's not, though, right? We're already past midnight. I'm surprised nothing out of the ordinary has shown up yet."

Besides a guy dressed vaguely like a cross between a tree elf and a knight, anyway.

um rude hes not a tree elf hes a sky elf

i mean human

He shakes his head, then scratches the back of it. "Sorry. I... I was training to be a knight back at home and... That kind of... Sorry."

Silly sky elves and their fashions that get passed down in Hyrule for thousands of years. Atsuro refrains from mentioning that the guy bears a faint resemblance to the protagonist of a game he used to play: The Legend of Seluda, a title he always thought had lost something in translation. The main character, Interconnection, had always worn bright blue, though.

"H-Huh? ...What for? Did something happen already?"

...Interconnection...

"Um. No. It's just dangerous to go out alone like this."

Unfortunately you can't have his sword. He's busted his ass too much to just give it to any random child about to throw himself into danger.

Atsuro casts a glance towards where his demon had assumedly gone traipsing off into the darkness.

"...I'm still not sure why you're apologizing, but you don't have to worry about that. I actually wish I had more alone time."

"Are those your companions?"

And people say Fi is annoying. At least she gives him hints!

"...You could say that." Atsuro looks slightly surprised for a moment. Demons weren't friends so much as they were... things to use to help him survive. He brought them with him into battle, relied on them to fight off the enemy, and fused them into something more powerful. He'd never had the heart to fuse away his first demon, but the others, generally...

"Since I don't have access to the server here, they're going to be all the help I can get. I should try and get a better relationship with them, huh?"

Heck, he'd already spent three weeks with these guys, which was way longer than the single week he'd spent with the knowledge of demons back home.

"I don't know about that...whatever that was."

He would like to skyward strike that monkey into next Monday.

"...Seiten Taisei." Atsuro helpfully fills in the blank, though the name probably didn't mean anything to Link. "He's... pretty famous for this kind of behavior. He's a total jerk, but he can actually be pretty loyal to the people he wants to defend."

Given that the demons had no choice but to be under his control, Atsuro was the lucky recipient of that loyalty at the moment.

"Anyway, yeah. These guys help keep me alive."

"...did you hear that?"

He was paying attention, the narration swears. It's just that the sound of movement had interrupted that whole "paying attention" thing.

It doesn't sound human, either.

"...Me talking?"

Atsuro sincerely hopes they are discussing the sound of him talking. ...Even if he'd come out to train, initiating combat was still a bit unnerving.

Hylian ears: they do a hearing good.

Link shakes his head, then draws his sword.

"I think there's a shadow nearby."

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