Persona: Darkest Hour (Private Roleplay)

[Akira.S]

Everything seemed such a blurr that passed by so quickly, and before she knew it the two of them had returned to the Cafe in the Mall, sitting as if they were just about to open their text messages which had now been completely erased.

"Hmm..."

Yuki had been rather phased, looking around for a moment before putting her hand on her chest, something about her feeling quite heavy. A moment after they had returned Takuto stood and placed his money down on the table for what he ordered and left without another word. The young girl, stood to stop him, her mouth opening to call his name but retracted as she sat down again and sigh heavily, twiddling her fingers and thinking about how the weight of the world was now on both their shoulders. Staying about half an hour longer in the shop, Yuki paid for her drink, picked up her bag and put her cellphone away.

Every minute spent walking to the train station seemed like an internity longer, and even the walk home which was five minutes seemed more excruitiating. She ignored her parents and ignored her sisters when she arrived home and went straight into the bath, standing in the hot shower with her face plastered against the wall. Nothing about her body had changed but her mind felt rather cold as everything felt distant...
She thought about asking Takuto how he really felt about the whole thing, saving the world, personas, shadows, the Velvet Room...everything. How the two teenagers supposed to pull that off? Thinking much too hard on the topic Yuki had fallen asleep after her shower without any dinner, curled up under the sheets until the following morning.

It was the first time in a long time that Yuki had slept without having nightmares which now seemed like an odd thing. She got up before her alarm, and before her sisters since she had to go to school early to clean the Archery Club room before they began practice after school. She hadn't been particularly close with any of the other members but she was the best, and had been even in her first year. To her it just seemed like another way to releave her stress and to keep her mind off those shadows and such.

As she arrived at school bright and early, she went into the back room, changed into large pleated dark navy pants and the white rob top, tying her long dark brown hair into a high pony tail, grabbing the broom to begin sweeping dust and the cherry blossoms that had fallen onto the front of the archery club door way and to their shooting range. There wasn't much to clean inside but outside in the front was usually quite messy, so she focused more on the outside with her bow strung onto her back to practice before class started, when she had finished.  

[Introverted Insanity]

That night, he rode home in complete silence as he paid the cab driver and made his way into his home without a word. His cat hid within the living room to allot him space to think to himself and he took a bath instead of a shower to wash himself because he didn't feel like he had the strength to stand. When his bath was done, he felt even weaker than before as his muscles completely relaxed and he passed out as soon as he threw on a pair of shorts to sleep in. He slept soundly enough, but he didn't want to wake up in the morning at all.

Takuto didn't like the thought of going to school directly after the ordeal he'd experienced, but he rose all the same. He took his sweet time getting dressed and let out a sigh of disappointment when he saw his parents weren't home, again. The more things seemed to change, the more things stayed the same for him as his normal routine just seemed utterly mundane, even to him, as he made his way out the door with not an ounce of energy to his movements.

Boarding the train, he seemed to be in a bad mood as he managed to take a seat, some junior-year kid trying to race him to it, but Takuto didn't seem to be in the mood for games and tossed him into a group of his friends. It wasn't like him to have an outburst like that, but he wasn't feeling too good as of last night and nothing was really feeling right inside of him. When the train finally came to his stop, he disembarked the train and made his way along the road to the school with a vacant expression, not caring who bumped into him or anything as he simply made his way forward. He had Kendo today, so he wouldn't be taking the normal route home, he'd have to wait for the late train meaning he'd be hanging back with whoever was left. He never chatted with the remainder, he usually just helped the manager handle equipment instead to keep himself occupied.

Changing his shoes, he didn't look for Yuki, he simply made his way along like today was a normal day in the life of a kid destined to save the world. That thought forced him to stop and cringe as he made his way into his homeroom, class wouldn't start for a while, but the male simply seemed too dead to realize and was just going with the flow. He didn't want to make any decisions, so he simply followed a schedule that he'd created for himself for this school year. It made things a lot easier, aside from the weakness he felt and the complete apathy he endured for the sake of keeping up face.  

[Akira.S]

Yuki arrived to class just a minute or two before the morning bell rang and the teacher arrived to home room, seating herself in the corner, two desks behind Takuto without another word. Even throughout the day the two kept some sort of distance from each other. During break, lunch, even after school. They were still together, just....neither of them decided to strike up a conversation. To the two of them, everything had changed when to reality, nothing had changed at all. This awkward silence to the towards each other was just another daily routine the two pulled while to them it just seemed...more and more awkward.

After school, the two skipped cleaning duties to head to their respective clubs. Yuki outside and Takuto inside to resolve the matter of Kendo Team Captain. Last years previous members attened as did newer freshman students to watch and decided which school teams they wanted to be on. Even within the Archery Club, the old and the new members gathered to decide which clubs to join that year. All members were really enthusiastic, except the two team captains, or rather almost team captains. Both Yuki and Takuto were known for their stern and in a way calm composure during their club meetings, it was what they were famous for. Although Yuki didn't have anyone to compete with for title of Team Captain she did however have new members to welcome and train.

"Okamino-sempai!!!"

A voice was heard behind the crowd of new freshman and new students in general interested in joining the club while some of the older members were already getting to practice on the range. Yuki turned to look behind the crowd to see a young girl with short black hair and vibrant green eyes approach the crowd.

"I'm so sorry I'm late for the meeting, I sort of got lost on my way here...the school is so big, I accidentally went to the track team meeting outside instead..." she laughed nervously behind the rest of the girls that were there.

She seemed so bubbly and happy...and.....definately not a freshman. 'She's probably a transfer in another class....' Yuki thought to herself, wondering how the girl knew her name, greeting her, advising her not to be late before continuing with the meeting. Many student left after an hour or so, probably deciding the club wasn't for the, but for the ones that stayed behind the Archery Club welcomed with open arms.

"Konnichiwa minna-san, my name is Hotaru, Fujigawa and it's an honour to be able to join such an amazing team! I hope we all get along well." The girl introduced herself along with the other new members, still smiling and sticking close to Yuki. She'd probably ask questions later but decided then and there to continue showing them around the club facilities before pulling Hotaru aside.

It wasn't just the Archery Club that was getting new members. There was a large crowd even for the Kendo Club, even though they hadn't officially picked their team Captain. Among the crowds watching the deciding match was a proper looking student, in perfect uniform, a smirk on his face, slicking his jet black hair back, watching Takuto intensely as he faced off with another Kendo Club member for the title of Captain.  

[Introverted Insanity]

The final bell rang as Takuto made his way towards the events building where the Kendo Club had their practice. There was a larger crowd than usual as prospective members took their positions along the wall as some of the students were already practicing their striking posture. Moving into the club area, he was greeted by a few of the students who weren't practicing just yet and as he made his way into the back to change, everyone stopped their training and cleared the floor to prepare for what would transpire. Changing into his bogu, he placed a headband over his brow to collect perspiration before placing on his helmet with care to assure that it fit properly and all his armor was in place.

Coming out of the changing room, he grabbed a Bokken instead of a Shinai from the rack of training weaponry, it was the bokken that would work for this match instead of the Shinai as it was for a serious occassion. His opponent stood ready as he waved to the crowd and made a bit of a spectacle of himself as he made it seem as if he'd already won the match. Takuto didn't pay attention to much of anything as he simply stood across from the other male and made sure his gloves were on properly before gripping the wooden sword with both hands.

"So, this is what it's come to, eh Takuto-san? I hope you're ready to accept defeat because I've been training extra hard just to take you down."

As he got into proper form, Takuto rolled his eyes and let out a sigh as the coach stood between the two and signaled for the fight to begin. The opponent was brazen, to say the least, charging forward without the slightest hesitation at all to be seen, but that fact made it simple enough to lock blades with him and side stepped quickly to cause him to stumble forward. It was obvious the teen was riled up by this because he emitted an aggravated groan before charging again, this time missing completely and the side of the blade smacking him directly in the back.

"Are you prepared to surrender yet? At this rate, you'll only be making a fool of yourself and I don't have time for fools."

"You'll pay for that one!"

With that, the opposing student struck forward, landing a light blow on Takuto's left shoulder but the blade was shrugged off as the male went toppling to the ground. It seemed that Takuto had used a thrusting technique and knocked the wind out of the loud mouth, it was quite a defining moment indeed. For someone with so much to say, one would assume it would be much harder to knock the wind out of his sails, but the phrase 'All talk and no walk' certainly had a nice ring to the situation. Standing up, Takuto put his blade back on the rack and took his helmet off as students gathered and took the other member to get checked for injury.

It was the usual, people chanted, people cheered, and people began to speak amongst themselves at how quick that seemed for Takuto dragging that battle out as long as he did. Truthfully, Takuto put much more emphasis on his speed than he did his power, so it was only a matter of time before that guy wore himself out anyway, it was all a battle of tactics. Takuto knew his tactics well from years of practice, so of course his technique would easily outdo someone of that guy's calibur.  

[Akira.S]

"You're pretty good." One of the newest male students, greeted him while he was putting his blade back on the rack. "I could tell there was something different about you which was my assurance that you'd win." he held his hand out to shake with a grin, "Haruka, Aota I'm here to join the club, and it'd be an honour to train along side you." it wasn't that he was being cocky or that he was kissing up, Haruka was just being a nice guy as a new student and senior in another class who just happened to have an interest in Kendo.

"I look forward to the year ahead." You could say that Haruka had admired Takuto for his strategy and strenght in this sport, idolizing him to be his mentor for the year. He spoke respectably, unlike many of the rough types around school, before putting his hands back in his pocket to give their new Captain some space to retreat and glorify himself over his win.

Takuto continued to be congradulated upon for his new title with students coming and going to join the Kendo Club, though the slight celebration didn't last long until it was time for the last train to arrive and the students who had stayed behind for club to head home. Haruka tagged along side Takuto, asking him questions about the club, training, the school, begin a new student and all...the two seemed to be getting along...as...well as Takuto could really get along with anyone who wasn't Yuki, not that those two really got along in the first place.

Their conversations were interrupted with Yuki, sitting by the school gate on a bench with her bow on her side, almost as if she was waiting for him before getting on the train. She looked rather tired, her right arm bandaged again from practice and her bag lying on her side while she sat with her eyes closed.

"Who's that?" Haruka asked while the two were stopped at the entrance of the school building, seeing the sun go down.  

[Introverted Insanity]

Takuto didn't really care that the boy followed him around, he had an obligation to be a good captain as the rest of the day went pretty uneventfully. As practice ended and Takuto helped clean up before leaving, he walked along as he usually did without much of a word spoken from him except to answer questions, which was all this guy seemed to do. Running a hand through his platinum hair for a moment, he looked up upon being asked who that was awaiting them.

He had a good guess right off the bat who it probably was, but he looked anyway to be certain as he stopped and looked at Yuki for a moment. As he pondered for a second who this girl was, he knew they didn't have anything to really define them as anything more than acquaintances, but his words came long before his mind could instruct him otherwise. "....A friend of mine." he blurted out, immediately feeling awkward about saying those words as he began to walk once again, not speaking a word to her, but merely delivering her a passing glance to alert her that he at least noticed her there. They had to take the same train home, so she would follow him as per the usual routine, but despite the monotony of the schedule, the undoubted sense of awkwardness was apparent in the invisible tension only felt between himself and her.  

[Akira.S]

"Okamino-sempai!!!!"

Hotaru's voice resonated from the side of the school as the second-year student ran towards Yuki, who had just been passed by Takuto and Haruka, holding two cold drinks from a vending machine. It was then that Yuki took notice of Takuto, but said nothing while standing, gathering her things and looking at the girl while she handed her a drink.

"I didn't know what to get you so I hope juice is okay. You were wonderful at practice! I just hope I can become as good as you at Archery." she exclaimed as the two began to walk off to the station a good amount of space separating them from the boys and other groups of friends that were heading towards the same train station.

It wasn't odd to have a conversation with another girl, it'd just been so long someone had the courage to tag around her before. Many of the students in the school and the team praised Yuki for her skills, and Takuto as well but that was to be expected as the two were team captains. While walking and talk to Hotaru, Yuki also made notice of the male who was hanging around Takuto on the way to the train station. It was good he was finally obtaining some same sex contact, however she still eyed the new male oddly and this was something even Hotaru had noticed.

"Sempai..."

Yuki snapped out of her phase and looked back at the second year with a slight smile before sipping her drink.

"It's nothing, forget it." she shook her head and boarded the train with her, sitting with her and continuing to chat on the way back.

She seemed to get along better with Hotaru then Takuto did with Haurka, not that he didn't try or anything. Yuki just....didn't like opening up to people, not that she was opening up to Hotaru, maybe the same sex relationship between them was also a nice break from being around Takuto all the time. Regardless of how she felt, the moment she began to depart from the train she couldn't help but glance to where the two were standing before continuing off onto the station, and leaving Hotaru on the train with a few other students and Takuto on the end with Haruka.

Whether or not he caught that last glance, Takuto wasn't the only one to notice Yuki's final stare before getting off the train. Haruka checked the look on his captain's face before nudging him with his elbow, his head tilted down, looking as cool and sharp as ever.

"She was giving me the dirtiest look...either that or she's just that into you..." he laughed to himself quietly, leaning against the back of the train with his arms folded across his chest.

"You two don't seem like good friends. If you are you should have said something or at least introdced me." he joked around. "Then again you must get girls falling for you all the time with that rebellious look of yours." he framed Takuto's face with his fingers like taking a picture with a mock camera, still laughing at him to see if he could get a reaction out of him.  

[Introverted Insanity]

The ride was semi-boring as Takuto stood with the addition to his little routine, Haruka seemed to think they were pretty tight for only just meeting after school today. While it was a change of pace to have someone talking to him, he rarely responded aside from the occassion that a topic caught his attention for more than a couple of seconds. As the train pulled to Yuki's stop, he looked up just in time to see her disembark the train with her glancing back at the two of them, which didn't escape him not Haruka as the male nudged him with his elbow.

"Yeah...well, Yuki and I aren't as close as you may think...I'm sure if she was glancing back, it'd be because it's odd to see me hanging around anyone aside from her..."

He said it more to himself than to Haruka as he lowered his head again, with Yuki they were merely acquaintances, but this guy tried a little too hard to make friends. But he supposed it was alright considering most people were afraid to speak to him because he seemed the type to rough up anyone who looked at him wrong let alone ask the wrong question. He constantly seemed in a bad mood and didn't speak unless addressed directly by a teacher or someone it was required to converse with, so this guy did bring a new spin. But at the same time that she'd noticed his little tag-along, Takuto had noticed hers as well...  

[Akira.S]

After a bit of a train ride away the rest of the student departed to their own stops, tranfers and to their own homes. Leaving Takuto, the walk home to himself and his thoughts.

Almost every Friday night meant that Yuki had to take care of the twins while their parents went out and usually didn't come back until late. Not that she cared about what her parents did, or that fact she had to take care of her hyper active twin sisters, she just wanted some peace and quiet for a little while to think about what Igor had said about the Velvet Room and her decisions....things like that. She seemed a lot more distant than usual; even her twin sisters noticed as Yuki sat on the couch hugging her knees with black shorts and a black tank top while her sister sat on the floor, had ice cream for dessert and played while the TV was on.

"One-san..."
"One-san..."

The two of them looked up at their sister from the floor dressed in their matching blue and red PJs, staring up at their sister with concerned eyes. Although they were only about five they were still pretty smart.

"One-san looks sad."
"Looks really sad...."

Miki and Miyu climbed up to the couch and sat beside their older sister, sandwiching her in between them, hugging her in the hopes that she'd feel better just as their mother did to them or when Yuki did to them if they were sad.

Noticing the concern and worry she was putting her sisters through, Yuki wrapped her arms around them with a slight smile and pulled them into her lap, patting their heads to reassure them she was alright.

"Daijoubu. Miki...Miyu. One-san just has a lot on her mind."

Turning off the TV, Yuki picked them up and carried them to the bathroom and had them wash up and brush their teeth for bed, tucked them in and sat on the floor in between their beds, waiting for them to fall asleep. It was still pretty early but the two needed their sleep to be hyper the next day so it was a routine. She sat on the floor, hiding her face in her knees with that solemn look still broading over as she sigh heavily, closing her eyes for just a second. She thought deeply about the creature, or rather her persona that entered her, about the shadows and about how they would save the world from the shadows....well she didn't even know where these shadows were and where those coffins from her old dreams appeared.

Deep in thought she lost track of time and awoke from deep thought, wondering what time it was.

"I must have dozed off...." she muttered to herself while standing and looking to the clock, on the night table between the two beds. Her eyes widened as the time on the clock was rather strange. She hadn't noticed till now but everything around her was a different colour, a tinted greenish, redish, blackish....It was sort of freaky, not to mention the clock time read 0:00. Fearing for the worst she turned to the beds to wake up her sisters, only to find they were replaced with two coffins, with a strange red glow coming from the inside. Panicing she tried to open them, tears almost forming in her eyes while she tried to open them without much success.

"Miki! Miyu!"

She cried as her attempts failed in opening the coffins. She ran out of the room to see if she could call her parents on their phones, only to pick up the phone and notice there was no tone, what scared her even more was that there was a strange glow coming from the kitchen, at least that was what she could see from upstairs by the stairswell. Running to her room she grabbed her bow and blunt arrows, wondering if maybe there was some sort of theif or someone who had broken into the house and put her sisters into the coffins....at least that's how her imagination ran it's course.

Slowly creeping downstairs, she turned to the kitchen and pulled back on her string and arrow only to find another set of much larger coffins, standing upright in the kitchen.

"W-What's going on...."she knocked on the coffins, trying to open them with again not very much success.

Putting on her shoes she ran outside with her bow and arrows, only to find the entire world completely changed. The sky was a greenish black, the moon was red, and there were a couple of coffins upright in the streets. This was definately not normal...and she'd never noticed this before either. Wandering the streets she thought perphaps she was dreaming, like the times she was caught sleep walking and found by the police, brought home or even brought to the hospital if she had gotten hurt. But this time she was concious, fully aware of what was going on around.

As she continued wandering her neighbourhood, her heartbeat began to increase. She felt like someone was watching her like something....was around. Coming around to the temple, she climbed the hill, then the steps still bow in hand and a bunch of arrows in a container slung around on her back, slowly walking up the shrine steps hearing a strange...buzzing sound. Leaning down against the stairs, she peered up slightly to see a giant beetle walking across the temple grounds, towards the shrine to a coffin that was standing upright by the offeratory box. The large beetle began to crawl up on it as if attacking it and perphaps...even eating it.

This was definately not normal! No way! People were replaced with coffins, the timing was 0:00, the moon was red and there were giant beetles walking around eating the coffins. If coffins really were people she had to stop that beetle from attacking that coffin.

"I hope this works."

Grabbing an arrow from behind she aimmed it at the Giant beetle, held off her shot for a moment and released, having her blunt arrow fly at it quickly to hit a perfect bullseye...only to have the arrow reflect off the beetle's shell...none the less getting it's attention, having it turn around and have it's small beedy red eyes stare at her, release the coffin and crawl towards her.

"I didn't think this far!" she yelled to herself, getting up and running back down the steps as fast as she could while the beetle still chased her into the dark night.

Clearing the steps she ran a bit before kneeling and trying her attack again, hoping to do some damage to the creature just like Takuto did a few nights before. It may not have been a goo like shadow creature but it was still not a normal creature. Even hitting it again, hoping it would cut through, did nothing and she was forced to run.
Yuki ran as fast as her legs could carry her, down the hill, still being quickly pursued, trying again and again to shoot the beetle down, wondering why her attacks were doing no good against the creature. As she ran without looking where she was going she tripped on her feet and fell, landing sideways on the decline close to the bottom of the hill. The time it took her to shake off the fall was enough time for the beetle to approach her at full speed, it's horns ready to attack, but Yuki sat there on the ground paralyzed, shutting her eyes tightly and covering herself for impact. She muttered to herself before impact, then a flash of dark light errupted and then...the world became black....

'Help me...'

The next time Yuki had awoken she was in a hospital bed that Saturday morning. Bright sunlight shining in through the windows. There was a bandage on her cheek, her left arm, her left thigh and her right wrist. She woke up, remembering nothing after the fall, and her mind was just completely blank. She was even surprised she survived...an attack by that giant beetle. Sitting up with her hand to her face a nurse walked in with some of her belongings and a smile on her face.

"I'm so glad you're awake Okamino-san. I was worried you wouldn't wake up, your parents suddenly brought you in an hour after midnight with a few serious and minor injuries. What were you doing that could have injured you like this?" she asked sitting on the chair beside the bed while Yuki removed her hand from her face to answer her. Knowing she wouldn't believe the real story she once again told a half truth as she usually did with Takuto.

"I fell..."

Which again wasn't the complete truth but wasn't a complete lie either.

Shaking her head the nurse put her school clothes, shoes and school bag on the edge of the bed and stood. "You're allowed to leave if you wish, the doctor says your fine as long as you don't reopen those wounds. Your mother's gone to take your sisters to school and your father's gone to work. The doctor also put a doctor's notice in your bag to give to your teacher. I know you only have half a day of class but it's still early, I'm sure you can make it before lunch, oh and your mother packed you a lunch too so you don't get hungry." she smiled and waved before leaving to attend to the other patients in the hospital.

It was nice enough for her parents to take her to the hospital but she was worried about how they had found her in the first place....whether she got home or not was still a mystery. Regardless, none of what happened last night was a dream, and after quickly changing into her school clothes, she grabbed her bag and left the hospital to head for whatever remained of the school morning.

Yuki arrived in the middle of her second class, as normal as she could look with all those bandages and such. Walking to the teacher and handing him her doctor's note before taking her seat at the end of the class. There was a little bit of discussion as she walked in but she ignored it, knowing there would be more during lunch hour.  

[Introverted Insanity]

Arriving home as normal, Takuto made his way upstairs to change without much word spoken even to himself nor his cat. Sitting around in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt, he checked his mail to be certain nothing had appeared, and sure enough, there was none of the type that spouted cryptic nonsense. Letting out a sigh of relief, he turned to look at the Television and began to watch a few of his basic shows before moving over to his bed and laying there with a bored expression across his face. Soon enough, he was passed out on his bed, sprawled out on the mattress as he slept soundly.

Nothing awoke him, though some sounds occuring around him and the feeling of a slight chill ran down his spine as he did sleep. He didn't rouse from his slumber, but something strange appeared in his dream...a crimson moon, it wasn't a dream, more like an accessory to his black abyss. It seemed to appear out of the blue and hover over his head, illuminating the darkness with a tinge of crimson as he looked around and felt uneasy, but unable to awaken either.

Awakening the next day, the awkward feeling of being watched lifted from him as he looked around cautiously, wondering what had occurred while he was sleeping the previous night. He was forced to shrug it off otherwise he would have been late for classes, so he hurried to the bus stop and found himself riding alone. For some odd reason, Yuki hadn't made the train...but she rarely missed school, which meant she was either sick or something happened to her. Unable to make a clear decision one way or another, nor should he think it wise to visit her to be sure, he simply wiped it from his mind and determined to simply ask whenever she returned.

The day seemed...oddly longer without Yuki's presence, classes seemed to drag on much slower and at a nearly agonizing pace. He couldn't tell whether it was first or third class at this point as he simply kept his head directed to the window, copying down every other word he heard. For someone who didn't seem to pay attention, he caught the jist of the lesson fairly easily as he sat his pencil down and turned quickly when he heard the familiar sound of the door sliding open. Sure enough, Yuki came into the room looking a bit of a mess to be sure as he found his mouth slightly agape before turning his head towards the window again to keep his uninterested appearance. Thoughts flooded his mind as to what had happened, but there was no way to be sure until he actually asked her himself at the next available moment...  

[Akira.S]

Lunch came a lot sooner than expected, seeing as Yuki missed half the day's class, she'd probably use the rest of the afternoon to catch up and maybe go home and sleep away her worries...sure like that was going to happen. During their lunch break everyone had been whispering and talking about her. Although she wasn't the most popular student she wasn't perticularly invisible. They even talked about Takuto on the train and whispered in class if they could about how different he seemed without Yuki around.

Leaving them to their gossip the first chance she got, Yuki stood from her seat, grabbed her bag and walked out the door without another word to Takuto or to anyone in the class. She headed for the a dark corner on the roof top and sat against the cement wall, sighing heavily and opening her bag for her bento. Being injured and sleeping the majority of the day actually made her hungry so it was good her mother packed her a decent lunch, although....looking down at her injuries she felt pathetic and frustrated, placing a hand over her face to try and hide her shame from the world. She secretly worried for whoever that coffin actually was, at the temple so late and being attacked by that strange giant beetle.

Thoughts of last night rushed through her head, all the strange things that happened probably happened for a reason and the reason for her survival was probably her persona. What else could it have been?

'I'm such an idiot...'

She hung her head low, wondering if she should bother Takuto with the situation. She felt odd...always having to think about him and having to feel about certain situations. It's like he had become a part of her daily routine that had just morphed into a mission. Then again, he'd always been part of a routine just...having the two of them enter into something only they could handle was just plain odd. Or maybe it was something more about him....something she just didn't like or dislike about him that made her feel uncomfortable about the situation or even telling him anything about what happened with that strange 0:00 hour, coffins and monsters and the red moon.

Yuki just really sat there a moment with her bento on her lap and tea in her container on the side, just thinking aimlessly in the shadows of the roof top.  

[Introverted Insanity]

Lunch came soon enough, everyone was in an uproar about Yuki's condition as he even heard his name thrown into the mix for good measure. Taking a deep breath, he looked out the window as people seemed to glance over at him, thinking he couldn't see them at all. Rolling his eyes for a moment, he couldn't help but feel a bit angry at them for chatting so callously about a girl getting injured, as if not knowing her was cause enough to begin speculating. Not to say he knew her either...but dammit...he was trying, wasn't he?

More likely than not, his routine and hers ran parallel and didn't intersect aside from the business regarding persona and the event at the cafe. Why he cared so much, he'd never comprehend it...in all the time they'd known each other, they'd never butted into each other's lives outside of school. He wanted to chalk it up to the situation they found themselves in, but was that the complete story? 'Something only the two of you can accomplish', certainly did seem like an easy enough scapegoat to blame, but that fact that should have brought them closer was making it more awkward. Thinking about such matters seemed to drive him insane as he found himself suddenly standing on his feet, slamming both hands atop the desk and catching the students off guard as they stopped their gossiping.

"Dammit, I'm sick of this..."

He grunted to himself as he shoved a hand in his pocket and picked up his bento before quickly leaving the room. Storming up the stairs, he shoved the door open and walked out to the edge where it was fenced off to prevent anyone falling off. He growled solemnly, not noticing Yuki there as he sat down facing the fence and put his box lunch before him and opening it. Chomping down on his onigiri with a grim expression across his face, he ran his free hand through his hair and looked up at the sky without much said aside from his low grunts of uncertainty.

"What's happening...Why the hell can't they leave things be, maybe she doesn't want to talk about it, what should I care?! I'm just...an acquaintance. It's not like we're good friends or anything...she just...makes it easier to cope with the constant bullshit. Why am I freaking out like this? It's not like even if I did care about her well-being, it's not like she'd tell me. We don't go into details about anything that's outside of these grounds...once we leave this building...once we set foot off those trains everyday...we are just strangers..."  

[Akira.S]

From the corner of her eye, Yuki could suddenly sense the air on the rooftop get colder, and it definately wasn't the temperature up on the rooftop getting colder. Sipping her hot tea, she could see from the corner of her eye that Takuto had appeared on the rooftop looking rather flustered. He sat away from her, on the edge where ti was fenced off to prevent anyone from falling, and facing the fence he ate in silence, at least from what she could hear. This really wasn't the first time the two didn't eat lunch together, but maybe her presence made things awkward between them, maybe it would have been better if she had just stayed home until her injuries healed. At least then people wouldn't ask questions or talk about, and maybe it wouldn't bother Takuto so much.

There weren't really many students on the rooftop to begin with but it somehow felt crowded, almost as if the two of them were being pressured by something. It was strange because the only reason students stayed behind was to use the facilities, study, have what few club meetings they had, otherwise they'd go home which was what made their meeting on the rooftop awkward for the lunch period. She could feel their tensions colliding while the two sat on different parts of the rooftop, for the first time in a while feeling distant from the only person she had real contact with at the school which was sort of strange...seeing as the two weren't close....or were they?

As quiet as she could possibly be, Yuki stood and walked across the rooftop of the school, stepping ever so silently like she wasn't even there...dropped down to her knees and ever so slightly leaned forward, wrapping her bandages arms around Takuto's neck gently while placing her chin just gently on his right shoulder. She did it in one swift motion so he would't notice it was her until she was resting against him.

"You're not going to say anything...no smart remarks...no questions...it's like...I don't know you anymore...that we're complete strangers all over again."

She whispered ever so softly, while her body also trembled ever so slightly maybe in fear, in doubt, in question, or just because too many things were changing so quickly, neither of them had time to account for it or adjust. It was quite odd, from maybe their point of view for them to act like that but if anyone else was watching they might have let out a sigh of relief or one of those 'finally' or 'it took long enough' remarks; however there really wasn't anyone at a close enough distance to few their activities, even from the ground it was too high up.  

[Introverted Insanity]

Finishing his onigiri, he picked up a juice box and stared out at the cityscape before him. He could see everything from the school's boundaries to a stretched out scape of various buildings, the mall, and the train route that stretched over the water to lead back to the mainland where their homes resided. He felt the breeze on his face and despite this, the serene setting did nothing to calm him from his current state as he grabbed another piece of onigiri and shoved it in his mouth, finishing off his bento and sitting in silence now.

As he sat there, he suddenly felt the tension rise as he curled his hand up into a fist and folded his arms, clenching his own biceps in a vice grip. He felt angry and worried at the same time, for what reason could it mean other than he worried for Yuki, but just as that thought circulated through his mind, he suddenly straightened up and his eyes grew wide as a pair of arms wrapped around him and someone's face was near his. The arms were bandaged, so he had an idea who it could have been, but he tilted his head as he heard that voice and seemed to relax as he released his arms from his tightening grip.

"Yuki-san...I don't want to go back to being complete strangers. You're the only person I can trust..."

He said under his breath as he closed his eyes for a moment and leaned his head to the side slightly, his cheek brushing against hers for a moment. In all the time they'd known each other, physical contact was at a minimum but now Yuki had her arms wrapped around his neck and he couldn't help but crack a smirk. His face had a tinge of red to it, not too much so to be completely obvious, but it was there nonetheless as he brought an arm up and placed a hand atop her shoulder lightly. Closing his eyes and taking a deep breath, he felt better now, and it was obvious by how his shoulders relaxed and he leaned forward slightly.

"Yuki-san...we're not strangers...we've known each other all our High School lives...But it took us this long to become 'closer'."  

[Akira.S]

Seeing Takuto calm towards her sudden change in attitude, made her feel sort of nervous but at the same time ridiculously relieved. It was as if a heavy burden (other than the world's) was sort of lifted off her shoulder, just as Takuto brushed his cheek against hers and placed a hand atop her shoulder lightly. The feeling of relief came from being able to breath and finally not have to be so strong in front of Takuto...being old friends she'd created this image from the day they first met in first year orientation up to now, that she was always so strong, and didn't need anyone or anything to keep her going when that was a definate lie. She wasn't weak but she did need help once in a while or encouragement.

Tightening her grip gently, still far enough not to suffocate him, she nodded her head lightly while keeping her eyes closed, "hm..."
Why it took the two so long to get closer was a real mystery...or maybe because there had always been something seperating the two, and it had to take something as mind bobbling as the end of the world to help them get closer.

"I always knew that I hated you...but I also hated hating you, I just couldn't stand myself falling for you...and because of that I started hating myself..."

Slowly releasing him she sat behind him still with her head down, her left hand reaching up to feel the square bandage on her left cheek, thinking about last night and how weak she really was in comparison to him and his use of his persona and where her place in this mission was. Last night maybe was a bad show of her strenght but at the same time she'd never summoned her persona at will like Takuto which was why she felt sort of useless to the whole saving the world deal. At the same time...she wasn't even sure how she got out of that alive...