[center][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/684ddb45-4fc1-4da4-89c5-42f0263bd666.png[/img][/center][right][sub]April 13th[/sub][/right][hr]
[color=E5C4CD]“Really?!”[/color] Ueno jumped to her feet after Hinari, but while he seemed alarmed, she was ecstatic. [color=E5C4CD]“That’s Mineri-chan’s house! Oh, this [i]has[/i] to be a sign!”[/color] 

Her cheerfulness was a shock even to her own senses, a stark contrast to the mood of the rest of the room. And despite the foreboding concept, Emi was no less excited for Hinari’s mention of getting dragged into the mirror. [color=E5C4CD]“Do you think so? [i]Excellent![/i]”[/color] she exclaimed in delight. She wouldn’t say fights with Shadows were [i]fun[/i], but she had enough experience that they no longer felt like the death sentence they made themselves out to be – [i]especially[/i] not now that she had new companions to stand beside her.  

[color=E5C4CD][i]I’ll find you yet![/i][/color] she thought to herself, wondering if William and Mineri, through whatever weird dream magic they were using, could hear her. 

Hoshino spoke up then, further confirming her suspicions. Emi couldn’t believe what she was hearing; at long last, [i]finally[/i] some concrete proof that she wasn’t crazy! She [i]had[/i] been getting signs from her friends, they [i]were[/i] still out there somewhere. And now she had a solid lead!

[color=ff9933]"Ueno-senpai,"[/color] Hinari’s voice sounded from a little farther away, his somber tone cutting through Emi’s haze of blind optimism. [color=ff9933]"What- What's the point of all this? Persona. What is it?"[/color]

Emi’s excitement fled her then, the tone of Hinari’s voice and the vibe emanating from him making her feel a little guilty. She hadn’t noticed how nervous he got. Maybe it was insensitive to celebrate so soon. After all her time searching and all her experience with this crazy parallel world, she didn’t consider just how scary this all must be for him. 

She sighed, twining her hands in front of her. [color=E5C4CD]“I’m sorry, Hinari-kun. I wish I could tell you. When it was me and my friends, we thought it was to root out corruption wherever we found it. We felt like characters in a show, vanquishing evil and bringing light to the shadows – we even called ourselves the [i]Torch Bearers.[/i]”[/color] She chuckled darkly, the irony of their childish notions not lost on her. [color=E5C4CD]“But clearly, we were wrong. And now… I don’t know. All this stuff with William is as new to me as it is to you. I don’t know anything about contracts or butterflies or the Velvet—”[/color]

Emi’s eyes went wide. [color=E5C4CD]“The Velvet Room! I forgot!”[/color] she exclaimed, reaching out for whoever was closest. [color=E5C4CD]“If you’re dreaming of William, you must be dreaming of the Velvet Room too. And the music that plays there – that was Mineri’s song! She used to hum it all the time, and she'd only ever say that she heard it in a [i]dream.[/i]”[/color] 

Of course! She’d thought of this before, but now she was certain! Mineri [i]must[/i] be connected to all this Velvet Room contract nonsense – and if ‘Mira’ frequented the place too, then she [i]must[/i] know something! 

Suddenly the door creaked, and Emi felt another living presence in the room. It was strange; small but insistent, she didn’t think it was a person, but it announced itself too loudly to be some common pest. A meow identified the presence as a cat. Was that the one Hoshino mentioned? It must be – no normal animal had a presence that screamed [i]Persona.[/i] 

Emi couldn’t follow its movements by sound, but she didn’t have to. As soon as the mirror was permeated, it was like someone opened a door leading out to a typhoon, the new passage in the room unmistakable to Euryphaessa’s lingering senses. Emi’s heart jumped into her throat, and when nothing came from the mirror to grab her, she approached on her own, reaching out an exploratory hand.

It passed through the mirror unimpeded. 

[color=E5C4CD]“Ha—!”[/color] an astounded sound, like a laugh mixed with a gasp, escaped her throat, and tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. Finally! 

She turned back to the boys, smiling. [color=E5C4CD]“Come on then, I’ll protect you!”[/color]
[hr][right][sub][@Scribe of Thoth] [@Asura] [@Lord Orgasmo][/sub][/right]