Open Post - Persona 4 AU!Akechi

[fogboundcrow]

A. A Boy Jumps Out of a TV, When...

[For reasons you're not too sure about, you are in the Junes Department Store's electronics department.

Maybe you live in Inaba. Maybe you just walked through a door and ended up there. Regardless, there is a twelve year old boy climbing out of one of the TVs, with the screen rippling black and white, and it's probably all very unsettling.

He did not expect to have company, and so when he drops to the floor, he stops and stares.

He wanted recognition, but not like this.

He straightens his stance, removing his thin, brown-framed glasses, and blurts out a snappy-]

Don't mind what you just saw! It's all an elaborate magic trick.

[...That's a terrible excuse. More likely, he's going to have to explain.

Lovely.]

B. Damn it, Teddie! Where the hell are we?!

[Akechi meant to go into the TV to try and bribe Teddie with more snacks and perhaps, maybe, finally get a better feel for the TV world.

One problem: He did not end up in the TV world. He ended up where your character is, and now there's a very puzzled tween glancing around with thin, brown-framed glasses and a middle school uniform.

But he lifts the glasses. There's no fog. Everything's clear.]

What the hell is going on here?!

[Did he go in the wrong screen? But that makes no sense. He knows which screen to use!]

C. Wildcard

[Got another idea? Have at it!]

[ooc: This Akechi is from my currently ongoing fic. More info on his profile!]

Comments

B

[belheir]

[Where Akechi lands is... Tokyo, surprisingly. Next to the Roppongi Hills building, a place that's been clearly police tapped and cordoned off, and it's not hard to see why:

It's a mess. Cars have been over turned, buildings have been crushed and crumpled and there's debris everywhere. Further inspection reveals long, jagged claw marks in the ground, across cars, along walls. Like a terrible beast came through. There's more though, unfortunately: A few bodies, strewn haphazardly around and...

Being eaten. Chewed on by various kinds of monsters. All of which look up from their respective meals at him.

None of them move, though there's a sound of shuffling off to the side, and a turn of the head will reveal he's being watched on all sides apparently, though this time it's by a boy in a cape, who's eyebrows are lifted in surprise as he watches from his seat on the hood of one of the few cars not overturned or on its side.]

You're not supposed to be here. [And of course, there's the how he had gotten so close to the Hills building without being ushered away by someone else or another demon.]

[fogboundcrow]

[Is this even the real Tokyo? Surely he would have heard of this...

Because the sights, the sounds, everything is so unsettling. The cars, the damage, the claw marks, everything. The stench of death everywhere, and yet the monsters don't attack.

It takes a few moments for Akechi to speak up, too startled by everything. He's not one who enjoys showing fear. Even if he's accepted his Shadow and some degree of vulnerability as a result, this is just...

He gulps, then clears his throat. Composure. He needs to be composed.]

...Is this another dungeon? Are those--

[He gestures to the monsters.]

Shadows?

[But they have no masks. They look more like genuine monsters, more akin to Personas, if anything.]

[belheir]

Dungeon? Shadows? [There's a note of confusion in his voice as he watches the kid stand, remain composed in spite of the situation he's in. Most people would have run screaming in the other direction by now. Kazuya wouldn't have blamed them.

But this kid does not.

How strange.]

They're demons. [Kazuya waves his hand dismissively at them, and they lower their heads, going back to consuming the bodies as if commanded to do so.]

You're in Roppongi Hills, how did you get so close here? Did someone send you? [Was it the angels? It feels like an underhanded trick they'd pull, sending in a child to try and either kill him or make him kill the child, to make a martyr.

It's sickening.]

[fogboundcrow]

No, actually. It was my intention to travel into the TV world from Junes, not return to Tokyo in what looks to be an apocalypse.

[Seriously, what is going on here? This is the kinda setting he would completely believe was in a "TV world," had he not experienced the genuine article enough to know how it works.]

I suppose I somehow got thrust here instead. The how and why, I couldn't tell you.

[belheir]

[The answer isn't what he's expecting. TV world? Junes? Apocalypse?

He looks around, as if for the first time taking in the damage. He'd sort of just grown used to how things had looked here, that he hadn't considered what it might look like to someone else. Especially a kid.]

The damage is mostly contained here. I swear it's not like this outside the Hills area. [Kazuya replies, a little defensively.]

But you're going to have to explain more to me, sorry. What's this about a TV world?

[fogboundcrow]

Of course.

[This would be the part where he whips out his highly meticulous notes, but perhaps a simplified explanation would do best. He cups his chin in hand, contemplating.]

To make a painfully long story short, there is a supernatural phenomena in Yasoinaba. Those with the power to wield Personas can enter TV screens, where they'll find a world that seems to mold itself to the subconscious desires of those who are trapped within it.

As for Personas...

[He's not sure if this will work, but at worst, he'll just look like an idiot. So...]

Come forth, Robin Hood!

[To his relief, Robin Hood does appear... as a buff, superhero-like being.]

Huh. So it does still work here...

[belheir]

[Kazuya watches him, listens to the explanation, and...

Just doesn't seem even remotely surprised when the kid can summon a demon. He hadn't seen him use a comp, but the demon looks to be... A Genma, maybe? If it's calling itself Robin Hood.

The demons once more look up from their meals, this time growling in agitation, a few pawing forward incrementally as if they've been threatened. This time he doesn't stop them.]

That's quite the story. [But then again, demons invading Tokyo, mythological deities coming to life. Angels attacking. That'd all sounded like a story too. A plot of some new anime.

He's not inclined to disbelieve, not yet.]

So, to get this straight, you somehow managed to find yourself here after crawling through a TV screen, because you can summon a demon. Because?

[fogboundcrow]

Apparently? Believe me, I'm just as confused as you. The television I used always leads to the same place. It's why we use it at all- for an easy entrance and escape, but this...

[For now, Robin Hood just hovers behind him, simply watching the demons. He won't attack unless attacked first.

But this is all so strange. Demons, instead of Personas?]

I'm not sure if I'd call Robin Hood a demon, though. He was born from my Shadow- my most repressed feelings, and upon accepting him, he transformed. It's closer to Jungian psychology, if anything.

[belheir]

[What an incredibly weird day.]

Looks like a demon to me. [He replies with a shrug.] They can take all sorts of forms. Animals, goddesses, deities. Pretty much anything they want to.

[It's only fair that he gives some sort of explanation here, since the kid is being so kind and doing so on his own. Is it out of fear? Who knows. He's still keeping just enough distance, hasn't moved from his seat, just in case.]

But, I didn't see you call it with a COMP, so I guess it's probably not a demon.

[fogboundcrow]

Fascinating. That does sound remarkably like Personas...

[Hmmm, that earns a thoughtful chin tap. His teammates all wield Personas based off of the Japanese creation myth. Yu wields other Personas of all sorts...]

Though I can't say I've heard of "COMP" before. Care to elaborate?

[belheir]

Communication Player.

[Is the explanation, and Kazuya reaches into his back pocket to pull one out. It's a modified one, so he's not keen on letting it go considering the damage it could do in the wrong hands, but...

Well, the kid has been forthcoming enough that maybe he can exercise a little trust. While he doesn't doubt that the angels would send a kid against him, it doesn't seem like this particular one is one of their lackies, willing or not.

He hops down from his seat, and strides over, finally closing the distance between them, and holds it out.]

Only modified ones like this one have the demon summoning program installed. It's best not to touch that though unless you're looking for a fight. New users have to best the summoned demons in order to contract with them, or they end up getting killed and eaten.

[At which point he tilts his head in a gesturing manner to the bodies on the ground where the demons are still watching, waiting.]

[fogboundcrow]

...It looks like a handheld video game console.

[Interesting. Then again, with TV worlds and all that, it's not the strangest thing he's seen, and... ah. His attention shifts to the bodies and the demons devouring them.

Quite the morbid sight. He winces, but otherwise remains his composure.]

So, if I understand correctly, these corpses were sorry souls unable to tame the demons.

[belheir]

Only some of them. The rest of them- [He pauses, furrowing his brow as he looks back at the demons, then to the kid. Who is incredibly well spoken, shockingly.]

Well, they shouldn't have been here to begin with. Dying because of failed contracts isn't exactly the norm here anymore, since most modified COMPs have been destroyed. There's still a few out there, though.

A

[liedol]

[ Of all the tiny hole-in-the-wall places Saitou could have picked out for her, Ai could have ended up somewhere worse than Inaba... probably. The hospital had been a dour sort of place, but it'd been quiet and she'd been left alone and on the nights she managed to sneak up to the roof, the stars had been more lovely and vivid than anything she'd seen in Tokyo. And the little apartment she, Aqua and Ruby had been squirrelled away into until they could return to Tokyo for real... well, she's lived in worse places. So long as there's a roof over her head and everything works as it should, Ai's learned not to be picky.

Not being picky doesn't mean she can entirely forego standards, though. She has Saitou's credit card and a very strict warning not to go too wild with it, but she's found herself drifting over to the electronics even so. She might be on hiatus right now, but it's only right that an idol should keep up with what's going on in the entertainment world, right?

Which means she's just in time for Akechi's grand entrance and his not-so-grand excuse. Ai blinks at him, then casually pops off her shades just so the total lack of conviction on her face is nice and visible.

Casually: ] If you're going to lie to me, have something better prepared in advance. 'Magic trick' isn't going to stand up to follow up questions at all.

[fogboundcrow]

[Oh, that's... Hasn't he seen her before? Akechi's memory is razor sharp, especially when it comes to people who are not, in fact, complete pieces of shit.

His wide-eyed stare gives way to a more focused, narrow look, not quite a scowl, but sharp all the same.]

Follow up questions such as?

[Best to let her lead, so he can try to assess how to best steer the conversation.]

[liedol]

Well, I'd probably ask you to explain the trick. Or I'd get you to repeat it so I could try and work out how it was done. And once I realized it wasn't a trick, I'd start asking 'how' and 'what'. It's better to have answered for all that lined up instead of coming up with them on the spot.

[ The irony of this turning into a lecture about how to lie is apparently lost on her. ]

Anyway. I'm pretty behind when it comes to technology but I'm pretty sure even the really fancy TVs in Tokyo can't do that.

[fogboundcrow]

Congratulations. You passed my test.

[It was absolutely a test. No, he totally didn't slip up and bluff because he wasn't expecting company.]

I suppose I could give an honest explanation, but I fear that such a thing may be too mind-shattering to grasp.

[liedol]

Hmm, do you think?

[ She takes a moment to look him up and down in a searching, curious sort of way.

She doesn't think he's that much younger than her - or at the very least, not young enough to be playing pretend with such shamelessness that he'd let an older kid he didn't know come along and join in. Even if he was, though... well, she could play along enough to assuage her curiosity at least. ]

Try me. If my mind gets shattered, I promise you can say "I told you so".

[fogboundcrow]

[Akechi shrugs, trying to play it off like it's no big deal.]

Suit yourself.

[So he turns to face the TV again and then casually sticks an arm inside.]

Watch and be amazed as I defy the laws of physics and all rational logic.

[His tone's a bit dry, perhaps a tad bit ironic. Perhaps if he spooks her enough, she won't press the subject. The TV world is hardly safe, after all.]

[liedol]

[ She's doubtful even up to the moment the screen turns pliant and gives under the touch of his hand. She thinks it's probably a prank or a ploy to turn her away – she's certainly not expecting it to actually work – so when his hand slips into the TV as casually as someone waving an arm through an open window, she's... agog. Agog is a good word for it.

She stares at him for a long, long moment, her eyes running up and down what's left of his arm outside the TV, clearly trying to pick out the trick she's missing. Then she promptly hurries over, peering as close to the TV as she can get and flaps a hurried hand at him. ]

Pull your hand back and do it again! I want to see how it works up close!

[fogboundcrow]

Ah, so I'm a living spectacle, am I?

[Well, this is amusing. So amusing, he withdraws his arm and then sticks his head in instead.

Because that's obviously more unsettling, which makes it more fun. He's allowed to make a little mischief.]

[liedol]

Wh–!?

[ Ai makes a sort of spluttery sound very unbecoming of B-Komachi's beloved center and grabs at his arm in an admittedly slightly pathetic attempt to haul him back. What if she dislodges him and his head doesn't come back???? ]

Wh–what're you doing, you can't just stick your head in – what if it stops working while you're in there?!

[fogboundcrow]

[He pulls his head out, grinning. Oh, this is fun.]

You saw me crawl out of the TV already. Is sticking my head in really that much worse?

[He taps the screen a few times. It goes from its ordinary surface to black and white ripples with each tap.]

[liedol]

Well, that's...! [ ...

She doesn't have a retort, does she. Ai huffs and smoothy blusters on in the manner of one used to losing arguments with kids serving Annoying Younger Sibling Energy. Occupational hazard of being a care home kid. ]

Anyway...! How are you even doing this? What are you even doing in the first place?

[fogboundcrow]

I shook hands with a weird gas station attendant and obtained unusual powers that allow me to enter a frankly dangerous world beyond the TV screen so that I may pursue the truth regarding the recent serial murders.

[It's all said almost flatly, almost like it's the most mundane thing on the planet. Like there's nothing weird. Just another day in Inaba.]