Free Battle: Capricorn

[otakuro]

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.

Comments

[sky_child]

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.

:|

[otakuro]

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."

[sky_child]

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.

[otakuro]

"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."

[sky_child]

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."

[otakuro]

"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?"

[sky_child]

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

[otakuro]

"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.

[sky_child]

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."

[otakuro]

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?"

[sky_child]

...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.

[otakuro]

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."

[sky_child]

"Are those your companions?"

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

[otakuro]

"...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.

[sky_child]

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

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

[otakuro]

"...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."

[sky_child]

"...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.

[otakuro]

"...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.

[sky_child]

Hylian ears: they do a hearing good.

Link shakes his head, then draws his sword.

"I think there's a shadow nearby."

[otakuro]

Atsuro glances around in the darkness at the environment lit by the pale moonlight. There were lots of shadows nearby. Atsuro mentally adds a capital letter.

"...You mean an enemy?"

((Just a heads-up, I actually just talked to the mods the other night and there are no Shadows in the game yet! Just normal demons.))

[sky_child]

"A monster, yeah."

[ "SHADOW" IS HYLIAN FOR "DEMON" >_______________> ]

[otakuro]

((Haha, it's cool, don't worry about it!))

So much for patrolling. Atsuro makes a 'tsk' noise as he wonders where his wayward demons have gone before he quickly draws an electronic device of some sort out of his pocket.

"Deathbound, Holy Strike, Pierce... Right. I should be good. Are you ready?"

[sky_child]

“That’s why I came here,” he says, looking about for the demon.

It’s not hard to see it, not with the light coming from Link’s sword. Without warning, he lifts it skyward—and a gleam of light runs down it, illuminating the sword even brighter. He swings his sword in the direction of the beast, a thin sphere of bright white light rolling towards it.

It of course does nothing.

Link sighs.

Stupid useless hama skills.

[basically I am just winging this so whatever ideas you have for this thing is fine by me too :|b]

[otakuro]

Atsuro watches expectantly for whatever was off in the distance to explode in a beautiful shower of sparks. This was the kind of thing one expected to happen with a sword that shot energy beams. Holy energy beams, from the look of it.

"...............Um."

He coughs slightly and holds up his COMP. With any luck, this would be one of the ones that had been present back h --

"Oh crap no."

The screen displays a petulant looking lizard of some sort. Atsuro hisses sharply.

"Alright, don't look it in the eyes! And don't breathe in any fumes it spits out, either! ...Let's get through this guy as soon as... as............." Atsuro's voice trails off as the enemy skitters closer into the light of Link's sword. His expression drops even further.

Enemy Group: Basilisk x5
Basilisk Level 39: 382/382 HP
Basilisk Level 37: 364/364 HP
Basilisk Level 40: 394/394 HP
Basilisk Level 34: 322/322 HP
Basilisk Level 35: 359/359 HP

[sky_child]

[ ooc: arg sorry, linkmuse is being slow and stuff ]

"What is it?"