[h2]Mako Moritomi//Moritomi Home for the Disturbed[/h2]
[h3]Sunday, June 28, 2015[/h3]

==~==

Mako stood, shakily, looking out over the carnage that that... creature had wrought. The flames slowly died down, leaving nothing but char and embers in their wake. He walked through the haze of smoke, eyes focused on the collapsed form before him as it stirred, beginning to force itself to its feet. It finally rose, looking Mako in the eyes, though differently than it had- where once there was malice and vitriol, the thing's gaze now seemed appraising. Perhaps even anticipating something.

[color=0076a3][i]Heh. "Creature." "Thing." Am I still that much of a coward? Can I still not see what's happening here?

No. Not anymore.[/i][/color] Mako stared himself in the eyes, unwavering. Himself. His doppelganger, his... Shadow. Everything he'd run and hidden from. Everything he hated or feared about himself. His hands curled into fists as he tried to order his thoughts, trying to find the words he needed to say to his other half.

[color=0076a3]"...Fine. Goddammit, fine, okay? You win. I admit it. You... you are me."[/color]

He raked his fingers through his hair, still trying to calm down. [color=0076a3]"I... I was scared. Who wouldn't be? When Haku died, something... something broke inside me. The feelings I had- the rage, the frustration, the [i]hatred[/i]- I couldn't make them stop. I couldn't make it go away. I wanted to- to hurt them. Make them suffer. Can you imagine...? Me, a kid, wanting to kill his own parents he was so angry. Can you imagine looking inside of yourself and seeing this, just itching to come out? It was horrifying.

"So I ran. I just ran. My parents were deemed unfit to keep me around after Haku died, and I was sent to live with my uncle here in town. I was... relieved. Ecstatic, even. Here was my chance- to flee those thoughts and feelings, to start anew. I tried to throw myself into my new life as much as possible. I ignored... all of this, burning and festering and growing inside me. I thought that if I could live hard enough, run far enough away, pretend I was happy for long enough, that maybe you'd just... go away."[/color]

He laughed. A bitter, joyless sound. [color=0076a3]"What a fucking joke, right? Problems don't go away if you ignore them. They just... get worse. And every time I lost control, it was just another reminder of what an idiot I was to keep part of myself locked up, hoping I could pass as normal for just one more day. You just kept building and boiling and... I could never keep you down for long. No matter how hard I tried, you were always there. And I'm an idiot for not admitting this sooner."[/color]

His face hardened, then, a look of resolve passing over his face. Despite the pain and exhaustion, he stood straight and tall. [color=0076a3]"You know, you're not wrong... But you're not exactly right, either. You're a part of me, yeah, but this isn't everything that I am. I... [i]We[/i] can be so much better than this. We can be the person I was trying to be. For real, this time. Because now that I can face what's wrong with me... Now I can finally change for the better. The right way.

"So here it is. The truth. I am you. You are me. And... we can be so much better than this."[/color]

The Shadow stood silent for a moment, then grinned, much warmer than before. He clapped, a look of pride on his face.

[color=fff200]"Well said."[/color]

And then the Shadow changed, but differently this time. Instead of a twisted version of Mako's flaws, the Shadow became a being in green and gold samurai armor, wielding a long trumpet like a lance or spear of some kind. Mako winced as a voice suddenly thundered in his mind.

[i][b]I am thou. Thou art I.
I am Israfil, the Trumpeter.
Harbinger of tidings both glad and ill.[/b][/i]

The being vanished, and Mako felt a warmth suffuse his chest. That being... it was like the ones he'd seen being used earlier- the beings they called forth to fight his Shadow. Persona...

[color=0076a3][i]So... This is mine, then? My power? Heh. So... this is that destiny... she talked about...[/i][/color]

His thoughts slowed to a crawl, exhaustion suddenly hammering down on him like the weight of the world. He fell to his knees, already pitching forward onto his face. He laughed internally.

[color=0076a3][i]Haha... Gonna have... one hell of a headache... when I wake up.

...All of you... I'll see you guys later.[/i][/color]

And then, there was nothing but the black of unconsciousness.