After School Gossip [Open/Yukari]

[Hiromi Sakata]

Hiromi did her best to hide her impatience as she was forced to walk slower than her usual pace. School had just ended, and there were three students walking side by side, covering the whole hallway as they gossiped to each other. She tried to go around them earlier, but the three were spaced out so perfectly (or imperfectly) that you couldn’t move in between them, nor was there enough space to go around them. So she’s was stuck behind them, practically at their heels, as the three gossiped. Hiromi forced to do nothing but listen.

“So did you hear?” said the first year girl, which Hiromi thought was the loudest whisper she ever heard. “About Shinjuro-san?”

“Shinjuro? What about him?” asked the second year boy on the first year’s left. He looked startled by the subject. Almost, Hiromi thought, a little unnerved by it.

Hiromi was behind the girl and couldn’t get a good look at her face, but even she could tell the girl was excited to tell the story again. Probably told it as often as she could thought Hiromi judgmentally.

“He didn’t come to class today. In fact, he hasn’t been to class all week.” Said the first year.

The other second year boy to her right now spoke up. “Really? You don’t think-“

“-missing?” interrupted the first year girl. “That’s what I think.”

The boy on the right made a soft ‘woah’ sound as he processed this new information. The boy on the left stayed silent. Unlike the boy on the right, this information didn’t seem to reveal any sort of shocking reveal. The small pause in the conversation didn’t last long. The girl in the middle continued. Hiromi, stuck behind the trio, could do nothing but roll her eyes and do her best not to listen to the nonsense.

“I always thought Shinjuro was suspicious,” continued the gossiper. “Especially since last year. He always found reasons to not spend time with anyone. And he always muttered to himself. Talk about a creeper.”

The boy on the right continued to nod his head, paying attention to everything the girl said. While the boy on the left just continued to look forward. Hirmoi wondered what everyone said about her when she wasn’t around. She doubted it was full of compliments about her sunny deposition.

“Plus, Shinjuro always-“

“-I saw him.”

The gossiping girl paused her story long enough to look at the second year boy on her left. “You saw him?” she repeated. “What does that mean?

The second year swallowed hard, and now all eyes seemed to be fixed on him. Hiromi herself couldn’t stop herself from staring. The second year boy looked terrified.

“I…saw him.” He repeated again. “A few days ago. He was just…walking in that alley. You know the one. In between that bookshop and that bad café? He was just walking and then he just…stopped. He looked around. Than he just took a step and…he disappeared!”

Hiromi herself scoffed at the story. Enough for the boy on the right to look behind him, see her, choose not to acknowledge her without so much as a hello, and then back at the other second year. “Disappeared? In thin air?! Don’t be stupid!”

“It’s true!” said the second year on the left. “I saw it! One minute he was there and the next…gone! I thought I was just seeing things! But maybe…”

“You WERE just seeing things,” interrupted the girl. She looked at her one friend like he was crazy. “People don’t just vanish.”

The trio continued walking forward, the two telling their one friend that he must have been imagining it (now finally talking in hushed voices so others couldn’t overhear. Hiromi wished they had done so for the entire conversation.). Hiromi stopped to give the trio more room. It would take more time to get to her destination…but it was better than hearing such nonsense. Disappearing in thin air she thought to herself in disbelief? Ridiculous!

[Deleted]

The realization that the magic rips in reality weren't just her going crazy had been both a bad and a good thing for Yukari. She'd heard the rumors, the mysterious happenings around town. She'd seen the rifts in the places that some of the rumors talked about, felt the aura of death they gave off. She just hadn't expected to find out all she did. It had only been a few days, but she knew that no matter how bad it was she couldn't ignore it. The entire city was being threatened by those monsters! And they seemed to be the only people who could see the rifts. If they didn't try, who would?

To that end, Yukari had been scavenging more supplies from the junk bins of the A/V club. Her bag was now home to wires and circuit boards and a few other components lying around. She didn't have the money to buy a real short wave radio, but she had the components and the base technical know- how to build a rudimentary one. She was leaving the club room when the three friends passed by, one of the boys giving her a wave. She only heard part of the conversation, but the reminder of how real what she experienced tugged the corners of her lips down and coaxed a crease out of her forehead.

Fortunately the next person to wander by was a sort-of friend that she'd met during the summer out taking pictures. "Hey, Sakata-San! I haven't seen you in a while," She greeted with a warm smile. Just how friendly the two of them were Yukari didn't know, best to keep it polite. "Have you taken any interesting pictures lately? I'd love to see them if you have, and you have the time."

[Hiromi Sakata]

Hiromi was allowed to forget about the nonsense the trio were talking about when she heard a familiar friendly voice. She recognized it almost instantly. It was hard to mistake the cheerful, almost constantly optimistic Yukari Hamada as anyone else. Pretty and likable were practically synonyms to Yukair's name. To Hiromi, Yukari was the type of girl who could go to and from a lot of different social circles at Kanehira High with ease and stay on good terms with all of them. It was one of the reasons Hiromi felt a little uneasy talking to the girl. It wasn't the fact that they ran in different social circles. It was the fact that Yukari was the circle, while she was just a... dot. They were rather different after all.

Hiromi however didn't let that show. She simply let out a small resigned sigh and pushed a few strands of hair behind her ear before turning to face Yukari.

"Oh. Hey Hamada-san," said Hiromi rather wearily. She remembered briefly their small interaction over the summer. Hiromi had taken a picture with her cell phone. That act alone had caused Yukari to share with Hiromi (who was basically a stranger) her obsession of photography. Hiromi could remember feeling almost overwhelmed by the second year's photography interest. 

Hiromi's eyes quickly glanced down to examine the bag Yukari was holding. It seemed to hold more then simple school supplies for the average Kanehira High student. Her eyes didn't linger lone however. After all, it wasn't any of her business what Yukari did in her spare time. Though it was perhaps easy to guess considering it was Yukari Hamada.

"Not really." answered Hiromi rather dully. She glanced back down at the bag Yukari was holding. "Although I'm sure you have a bunch."

[Jonathon McDowell]

"What do you possibly think you can accomplish by spending all your time in Inverse. The longer you're in here the weaker you get and the stronger I become! What would you hope to gain?" Jonathon's shadow mocked as he ran through the inverse, looking for a way out.
"If I find out how this place works and how it got here. I can get rid of it, and you." Jonathon said with a pained expression as he rounded another corner and stopped, seeing a rift. "There we go..."
"Oh how noble of you, or should I say selfish. You don't want to save the world. You just want to save yourself" The shadow said, asserting control for a moment before Jonathon regained himself, gasping as he did. He jumped through the rift, landing in a roll in an unfamiliar place, as he stood and looked around, he realized he was underneath some bleachers. Stepping out he saw a sports field, currently empty, as he made his way towards the nearby building, what he assumed was the school and nearly fell, catching himself on a window with a thud, he glanced up and saw some students inside, talking about something or other. He tried to play it off and start walking away, hoping they didn't notice.

[Deleted]

Yukari was happy for the chance to forget the other world for a little while and just engage in some normal conversation. From what she remembered, Sakata-san wasn't the most talkative of people, but she wasn't particularly rude or anything. Just kind of reserved. She got that. She wasn't like that, but she got it. ”It's good to see you again, it's been half a year since then,” Yukari replied, noting the sigh and the tiredness in her voice. Apparently she hadn't been on quite as friendly terms with the young girl as she'd thought. Oops. Well... Maybe this was the chance to bond?

No pictures? Darn. ”Oh, you know me. I'm always working on my photography skills. I'm aiming more for the video side of things with my career, but if you can take a good picture you can catch a good scene!” She replied, pantomiming taking a picture with her hands despite her camera hanging in its usual spot around her neck. She didn't notice that Hiromi was looking at her bag suspiciously, so animated. ”I don't think I have any prints to share with me though, I got a new picture album the other day and cleaned up a little. Everything's neat and tidy again in my bag, as it should be. So what have you been up to lately? Signed up for any of the after school clubs yet? There's always an opening in A/V club if you're interested~.”

And only seconds after saying that there was a loud Whap! on the window where some guy ran in to the window, causing Yukari to jump at the sudden sound. Fortunately Yukari had a mind like a steel trap and recognized him; he was the guy with the glasses from the other night, in the other world. What... what was he doing at Kanehira High? Hadn't he said he was way too old to be here? Whatever the case he got himself up and started walking away so he must not have been too busted up. But she felt like something was wrong with him, a... a premonition. Like she'd felt there. Was her persona trying to tell her something? "Geeze! What's with that guy? Scaring people like that! But what's he doing here? That's not a Kanehira High uniform..."

[Hiromi Sakata]

”It's good to see you again, it's been half a year since then,”

Then why are you suddenly talking to me now?

That was what she almost blurted out, but managed to keep from voicing it out loud. Hiromi believed it may have been because she was still a little surprised that Yukari decided to start talking to her now. Or maybe it was because she was still in disbelief at how stupid that trio of students in front of her were being. Hiromi couldn't be certain, but it did spare the awkwardness that would have followed had she spoke up.

"Mhm," she said simply, shifting her school bag to her other hand as she nodded at Yukari to show that she was listening. From what Hiromi heard, it seemed Yukari's love for A/V was still a constant in this world. Her nodding seemed to be enough to move the conversation forward, until the end.

Join the AV club she thought to herself. That didn't sound like anything she wanted to do. While it might make various Kanehira teachers happy hearing that she joined a club (teachers kept hounding her to join a club to help her 'socialize' better), it was not something she was interested in doing. Even if she were forced to join a club, the AV was not in the top....20 contenders. Especially since she heard that there wasn't anyone in the club but Yukari. Hiromi imagined day after day being forced in a small room with the bright cheery girl as she talked enough for both of them. Day after day, after day, after day....

Hiromi immediately took a small step back.

"I don't think-" she started

Whap!

Hiromi was stopped from finishing her response when she heard the loud sound. She jumped right along with Yukari, her eyes widening in surprise until she turned to see the older boy. She immediately coughed in her hand and tried to hide the fact that she was startled. Yukari didn't seem to know the man, and Hiromi knew for certain she didn't recognize him-

Click.

Hiromi thought back to the book store. How an older boy, just as tall as the one who had crashed into the window, had distracted her long enough to lose her chance at the register. She was surprised how she remembered such a small event. Still. What was he doing here? He wasn't wearing a uniform and he looked to old to be a high school student at another high school. Her first possible answer was pervert. Hiromi knew that kind of thing was possible. But he didn't look like a pervert. Than again its not like they wore signs on their backs.

"No good...' was all Hiromi answered to Yukari's question. 

[Jonathon McDowell]

Jonathon recognized two of the students, it took a minute but then he remembered, from the book store, he'd seen her there, briefly. The other had been in Inverse, at the factory. He sighed and gave a wave before he started trying to find a way off the field, it seemed to be gated on all sides. He decided that, if he needed to, he'd go back through the rift until he could find another one not on school grounds. Before he could get in however a giant hand burst from the rift, knocking him to the ground a good 10 feet away. "Oh no..." Jonathon said, watching a shadow pull itself out of the rift. This close to the school it could cause some serious havok and Jonathon had no way to stop it. He jumped up and waved his arms, yelling run before the shadow hit him again, sending him the ground with a heavy thud. The shadow looked at Jonathon for a moment before turning its attention to the school.

(It's a Gigas, if you're curious.)

[Deleted]

Yukari had to agree with Hiromi's sentiment. Whatever the guy was here for couldn't have been any good. Was he the kind of creep who snuck around to spy on pretty girls? Was that why he was out by the field? Had he snuck looks in to the girls locker room on track team's days?! Maybe she was just being paranoid but she felt like the little wave he gave them before running away was suspicious. She just shook her head and started down the hallway again.

"Ugh, what a weirdo. Anyways, you don't have to join A/V, I just like to try to get more people where I can. If I can't get our membership up the school might not keep it open, then what am I supposed to do Thursdays?" Yukari said, paying no more attention to John-boy outside. She needed to interact with somebody normal. She didn't want to think about him running around the school. "There's always the track team too, I don't know how much you like running though. I could help you find a club, if you wanted; it's a great way to meet people!"

And that was about when she felt something evil nearby, looking behind her out the window to see a big ol' monster and that idiot leading it to the school! She whipped out her phone and sent out a group text to the little crowd of persona users she knew to come and bail him out. Spencer's boyfriend brought a Shadow to the school, out on the track field headed this way. Help needed ASAP. [/i]It wasn't like she could do anything but analyze the thing...

She did her very best to keep her worried expression off her face, continuing down the hall by Hiromi. "Sorry, I'm kind of distracted today. What were we talking about?" Yukari asked, praying that the younger girl didn't see the eight foot giant stomping towards the school. Idiot! Use your Persona, what are you doing?! she thought angrily, glancing back over her shoulder at Johnny. And she didn't know it, but he could hear that thought pushed in to his head too...

__________________
Yukari continues to develop her abilities, but none of them will help here. Stay calm and keep moving away, Yuki-chan...
Also I hope he's toned down cause Yukari is essentially a non factor on battle, I think you're on your own.

[Hiromi Sakata]

Hiromi lingered for a moment by the window before walking beside, yet slightly behind, Yukari. The weird tall man aside, she didn't want to linger any longer at Kanehira High. She had a few chores to do at home after all. The trio by itself had already caused her a long enough delay. She didn't have time to worry about possible perverts.

"You don't need a club to take pictures." said Hiromi indifferently.

Hiromi was not going to be the +1 to Yukari's A/V club. Hiromi knew clubs 'died' when they lacked members. Kanehira had only so many space and funds available to clubs. It couldn't exist just to help one person. If no one was joining the A/V club, then Hiromi was under the opinion that Yukari should just let it die, and she can focus her hobby by herself. Other clubs desperately (with members) needed what she wouldn't give up.

"And I'm not...a runner." she said simply, only giving a small look at displeasure at the idea of her joining the track team.

The two continued their walk walk in silence. Yukari pulled out her phone and typed a quick message, and Hiromi assumed that Yukari was finally bored of her. Made sense to Hiromi. Their personalities were rather opposite from each other. Though Hiromi couldn't help but detect a sense or urgency from her. Hiromi inwardly shrugged and continued her walk. She also thought about slowing down slightly so she could put some distance between her and Yukari...

"Sorry, I'm kind of distracted today. What were we talking about?" Yukari had asked.

Hiromi exhaled softly in frustration. Yukari simply forgetting everything they had talked about (not ten seconds ago) made her a little angry. Sure Yukari was talking to her just to pass the time (let's be honest, why else would she bother?), but did she have to be so rude about it?

"Nothing important, obviously," she said rather cooly back to Yukari.

She was completely ignorant about what was going on outside...

[Jonathon McDowell]

Idiot! Use your Persona, what are you doing!?
Great, now Jonathon had more voices in his head, this one wasn't a shadow though, it sounded like Yukari, so that's what her persona let her do, speak telepathically, great just what Jonathon needed, more voices in his head. Jonathon struggled to his feet and turned to the shadow that was still lumbering to the school. "Hey! Big guy!" He yelled at the monster, causing it to turn back to look at him. "Why don't you pick a fight with something more your league." He said, focusing and holding a hand out, there was a roar as Seth materialized over the field and started to circle around Jonathon. "Get over here." Jonathon said, glaring at the shadow which began to charge at him and his persona. "Seth now!" He shouted, and the dragon lunged, launching a gust of wind at the monster which pushed it back towards the rift. "Keep it up. Send it back from whence it came!" Jonathon yelled, not realizing that his shadow had taken over. Seth kept blasting the creature with garu spells, pushing it further and further back until it finally was pushed back through the rift. Jonathon, or the shadow controlling him, looked at the field, the turf had been blown up and there was now a large dent in the bleachers from the bursts of wind. "As fun as it would be to just keep in power, I feel I can do even more damage to you if I leave you to have to explain how and why you destroyed this field. Good luck" The shadow said before letting the drained Jonathon resume control, Seth vanished immediately and Jonathon collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious. Sure the shadow that had been about to attack the school was gone, but now Jonathon was alone in the middle of the destroyed track field.