Takaru

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School | Saturday, July 11 2015 - After School

As the bell rang, the usual hectic hustle and bustle broke out - even if everyone seemed a little more apprehensive given that it was the last day of regular school before the finals began in earnest next week. Whilst some had already given up hope of avoiding the remedial classes, others seemed to have taken a particularly keen interest in their studies - some had adopted meticulous note-keeping, much like Kotori had been doing all year round, whilst others seemed to be rushing off to the library or other study group - at least, that's how Kotori interpreted the odd change in habits of some of her classmates including Mako.

As for herself, she mostly kept up her usual routine - including today, as she finished her notes from the last class and began packing her things in the by now noticeably emptier classroom; albeit whilst glancing about to see if any more of her classmates or even students from other classes happened to be approaching - with the exams drawing ever nearer, not one day went by without someone asking her for help in their studies. Much to Kotori's chagrin, she'd had to apologise and explain that that was unfortunately - mostly citing things like club activities or helping out at home.

Though these weren't untrue, in truth she also felt far too nervous at the prospect of actually trying to teach someone else - which only served to give her more of a guilty conscience every time she declined such a request. It was a times likes these that she really wished that the results from the mid-terms hadn't been announced for everyone to see - perhaps then she might have been able to stay unnoticed more easily. A small sigh escaped her lips as she headed out of the classroom - thinking on all this wasn't exactly going to help her in any way, she realised and tried to push the thoughts to the back of her mind, limited success though she may have with it.

As she made her way to the school entrance, Kotori passed by several other students who were still hanging about. Though she didn't mean to eavesdrop, it was difficult not to hear the occasional words of ongoing conversations - but unlike at the start of the week, it seemed that the kidnappings had been dropped out of the pool of topics in favour of the upcoming exams or the summer break thereafter. Pushing open the main door, Kotori slowed after just a few steps as she thought on what to do with the rest of the day - besides having set aside some time later in the evening to keep up with her regular studies, she realised that she didn't have anything planned.

Thus Kotori found herself standing not far from the school entrance, internally debating whether to pop into the local library or to head home and hopefully finish the novel she'd been reading for the past few days.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School | After School

The bell signalled the end of the lesson and beginning of the usual commotion as many of the students practically fled the classroom; eager to meet up with their friends, clubs or just getting home after a Monday. And, much as usual, Kotori was still in her seat finishing her notes for the day as most everyone filed past her; occasionally looking up and giving a passing greeting if anyone happened to speak to her as they went by but mostly focused on her writing. The classroom was mostly empty by the time she was finished and finally packed her things too - though not with near as much enthusiasm as those before her as a sigh escaped her lips, and not for the first time that day.

Exiting the classroom, she glanced up at the clock and, seeing as there was still a little time before she'd have to head out, decided to at least pay the Agriculture Club a visit - whilst she wouldn't be able to stay for long today, she might at least be able to help with checking up on the by now dozens upon dozens of different flowers and plants that were growing in the clubroom alone. That thought at least brought a small smile to her face as she headed down the hallway - only to abruptly halt in midstep when she heard a familiar voice. In particular, it was Matthew's - and it came in the form of a yell that could be heard down the hall even as she was only approaching the clubroom.

Her pace slowed, Kotori dithered on whether to draw closer to inspect - but after a few moments of deliberation, bit her lip and slowly turned back around. Between having been reassured that letting whatever it was that was happening between her two fellow club members best be left for them to work out between themselves and not knowing what to do or say even if she were asked, Kotori saw this as for the best - even if it didn't feel like it. As she passed through the main entrance, Kotori saw the other half of this predicament, Shizuka, currently preoccupied with the outside garden in the school courtyard - but for much the same reasons, Kotori continued on with but a small wave; unsure whether the other girl would actually see her as she did.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma Hospital | After School

"Take care," the receptionist said cheerfully with a smile as Kotori gave a quick bow and hurried back outside whilst trying not to look too rushed doing so. It was only once outside and taken a seat on one of the benches along the path leading up to the hospital that she took a deep breath and started to feel her inner tension slowly loosening up again. No matter how many times she went, she just never could get used to hospitals - they always gave her an strange feeling of unease, even though she knew rationally that there was no reason for it. Still, at least the check-up had shown no sign of a worsening condition and indeed been mostly positive - but at the same time, she couldn't help but feel a ill at ease knowing that this meant that her forthcoming operation was getting ever closer.

Kotori's malaise was not helped either by the face that she also knew that the two most recent kidnappees were currently in the hospital - and that she hadn't visited them despite having every opportunity to do so. She felt no small measure of guilt at that, but she really didn't want to spend more time inside than she had to. Looking back up at the hospital, she gave a small bow of her head and whispered an apology - it seemed like the least she could do.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Sapphire Inn: Royal Suite Main Room | Sunday, July 5 2015

In the opening wrought by Akane's assault, Sato managed to deliver the decisive blow - his arrow loosened the large Shadow's grip on its sword further yet and the follow-up wind blast finally struck it clean out of its hand. With the knights stunned from the heavy bombardement, everyone was quick to realise that this was their opportunity - and thus all attention was focused on the main opponent. Momentarily unable to strike back, the attacks poured in from all sides - magical and physical, the Shadow came under heavy fire until it was reeling. It attempted to fight back even as its princess was slain, a certain distress audible even through its twisted voice - until a choice arrow fired by Sato finally breaking its desperate defense - and making the fatal opening which allowed him get a clean hit with Chronos' wind magic. He seized the opportunity to lay down a final follow-up together with his Persona to put the Shadow down for good.

Kotori, meanwhile, kept an eye out throughout it all - ever wary for any would-be surprises from either the Shadow or its knights - but also doing what she could to aid the assault with her Kikuri-Hime's help, lending her lightning strikes to the assault. It was only when the Shadow finally began to flicker and disperse that Kotori gave a sigh of relief - and the fatigue of the fight made itself known in full, even as the armour surrounding the knights began to dissolve in flakes and gave way to the unconscious prisoners therein. Kotori took a moment to catch her breath - even as she felt the almost familiar uncomfortable feeling as the shadow, now in its original form, began to speak.

As ever, it unashamedly spoke of the feelings that had been suppressed and locked away - a look at another person's inner thought which was no doubt embarassing for them, but also for Kotori who still didn't know how to balance wanting to help the conflicted kidnapees and also respecting their privacy in such moments. As such, there was little choice but to listen though - even as Jun stepped out from the protective circle that had been formed around her by the party and confronted her shadow. Kotori didn't recognise the girl - at best, she was vaguely familiar much in the vein of other schoolmates whom she might have seen but never talked to before.

Much like the times before, she couldn't help but feel some measure of worry about what might happen if Jun didn't accept this turn of events and denied her other side - but much to Kotori's relief, this did not come to pass. Instead, Jun acknowledged that, though she may not like it, she was acting in a manner that she herself no longer knew the real reason for - and instead chose to live her life according to her own choices and on her own merits. A small smile came across Kotori's face at those words - which in turn marked the transformation of the shadow; a bright light cast across the entire room as a new figure took its place: Mordred, Jun's persona.

The girl turned to face the group, evidently full of questions about what had just happened - but those would have to be answered at a later time as the tell-tale signs of fatigue made themselves known; forcing Jun to sit herself down lest she fall - which immediately preceded the loss of consciousness. Though she'd seen this pattern repeat several times now, Kotori still couldn't help but worry that everything was alright; even as everyone else started to get ready to leave the mirror world behind with Jun being carried and headed for the hospital. Having used the brief exchange as an opportunity to catch her breath, Kotori accompanied the others - at least until everyone went their separate ways from the warehouse that marked their entrance to the mirror realm.

It would be with no small amount of relief that Kotori arrived arrive at home - both knowing that another kidnapping victim was safe but also to be able to lay down to rest; even if it didn't last too long before she recalled that the finals were coming up soon and she still had some studying to do for the day.

Kotori Shirohane - Warakuma High School: Classroom 2-2 | Monday, July 6 2015 - Morning

This time around, it seemed that the usual rumour mill surrounding the kidnappings was quite a bit quieter - which didn't come as too much of a surprise, seeing as the events had occured over the weekend and thus couldn't cause quite as much of a commotion as some of the previous incidents when the victims didn't show up for class. Still, Kotori still heard her fair share of stories being murmured on her way to her classroom - and not few of them were quite clearly being told as second-hand accounts or worse, seeing as there would have to have been at least a dozen kidnappings all over town for all the things she heard to be true.

Stymying the usual spread too were the not upcoming finals which hung over the whole school - some seemed to have already given up hope, others were just putting things off until whilst Kotori couldn't help but feel the usual pre-exam worries, even before the immediate tests began. In fact, she felt even more thereof as she had to regretfully decline multiple requests from other students that she helped them study - between her own studying, helping out at home, occasional forays into the mirror world and club meetings, she wouldn't have much of a reliable schedule; not even taking into account the fact that just imagining herself somehow trying to teach others made her nervous at the prospect.

Taking her seat in the classroom toward the front, Kotori gave a small sigh - but this time because she had inadvertantly reminded herself of the Agriculture Club meeting that was to take place later today. Whilst the colourful sight of the many flowers was always welcome, the same could not be said for the strange mood that hung between her fellow members, Shizuka and Matthew. Both seeing them as they were and also not knowing whether or how to help would do ittle to raise her mood for the rest of the day - which she already wasn't looking forward to, as she'd have to be paying a visit to the hospital later.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Sapphire Inn: Royal Suite Main Room | Sunday, July 5 2015

With the preparations complete, it was time to spring into action - Sato had managed to evade notice from the large Shadow and thus position himself for a sneaky attack upon the sword hand. Akane and Rui charged forth to engage it before Akane unleashed a Kill Rush upon the foe - which was met with a veritable barrage of blows in turn. Kotori winced at the sight as not all blows could be entirely averted whilst keeping up the assault - but luckily, Sato was ready to back up the frontal assault with a decisive strike to disarm the Shadow. Kotori meanwhile was far more preoccupied with the immediate aftermath of the assault; calling Kikuri-Hime to her side before using her to cast a healing spell on Akane: "Diarama," she said, her persona following suit as the wounds and fatigue sustained from the Shadow's counter-attack quickly began to fade.

Still, this was little relief for the bespectacled girl as she quickly looked around to see if anyone else was sustaining any attacks whilst she was focused on healing just a single person - but just as she did, a series of explosions tore through the knights and scattered their menacing assault in unison; Zeke's cry ringing out as the briefly stunned knights were easy targets for the other half of the group.

For the moment, they had the upper hand it seemed - if they could press their advantage now, they might just be able to use the momentum to carry themselves to victory. At least, Kotori hoped that was the case as she was starting to feel the strain of a prolonged tense battle setting in once more. With a quick shake of her head she tried to clear herself of it - succeeding only partly - before focusing on the others who might be in need of her healing.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Sapphire Inn: Royal Suite Main Room | Sunday, July 5 2015

Everyone seemed to be reeling under the effects of the princess' scream - but luckily, others were more capable of at least mitigating some of the effects. Sato and Akane both raised everyone's defensive and offensive abilities; somewhat offsetting the previous setback. In further good news, Ayano had managed to complete a scan of the shadow - but that good news quickly turned sour when it turned out that this particular shadow had no apparent weakness to exploit; instead being equally resistant to all elemental spells and physical attacks. On the other hand though, Ryan managed to help out with healing duties - albeit leaving Kotori feeling a little bit guilty for not doing as much on that front as the knight-fighting half was evidently hoping - whilst Kaminari was leading the charge against the knights quite capably it appeared.

Even as further information - apparently the Shadow prince and princess were separate entities - poured in from the ongoing detailed scans, the large Shadow went on the offensive and swang its blade at Akane - only for an arcing wave to follow the wide strike that seemed to miss her by far. Keeping an eye on her classmate, Kotori was prepared to cast a more powerful, albeit single-target, healing spell in the form of Diarama should she get hit or else continue with keeping everyone at peak performance with a wide-spread Media heal.

However, this particular exchange of blows proved to be exactly what Megumi needed to pick up on a small detail that they'd noticed earlier - specificially, the fact that the Shadow's grip was weak on its sword and thus provided an opportunity for disarmament if they managed to strike a well-timed blow. Needing to devote her full attention to ensuring everyone's well-being through healing - which kept Kotori on her toes and nervously looking out to see if anyone get seriously hurt whenever an enemy shadow made a move - she was a poor choice to make the strike. Meanwhile, Rui was providing and receiving cover for and from Akane - the two giving each other openings and stopping would-be hits as much as they could - which left Sato to go for the disarming shot, receiving the order from Rui to that effect.

As he moved out of line of sight from the large Shadow, Kotori hoped that it didn't have some additional trick up its sleeve that would endanger the current plan - taking away the Shadow's sword, even for just a few moments, would after all seriously reduce its offensive abilities and open up the chance for a hopefully decisive blow. And that was something which would be very welcome at this point, Kotori thought as she felt the by now familiar mental fatigue of the constant spell casting starting to creep up on her once again.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Sapphire Inn: Royal Suite Main Room | Sunday, July 5 2015

It seemed that the inital strikes were being successful - no one took any immediate retaliation and some hits could be landed on both the knights and the larger Shadow, albeit none decisive enough to take any of them down. Furthermore, their support was still analysing their foe, which meant that they still had to be weary of any surprises it might have up its sleeve. Unfortunately, the Shadow decided to reveal one such surprise as the princess in its grasp suddenly shrieked oxymoronically; a sound which carried all throughout the room and shook everyone. Not only that, but Kotori could feel her strength being sapped by the noise; much the opposite of the feeling whenever another persona-user cast a fortifying spell on the group. Unfortunately, though Rui called for anyone who could to dispel the effects of the scream, Kotori could do little against such magic; limited only to healing direct damage or ailments rather than debilitating effects.

Still, at least with her current role as the group's healer she was little affected by the actual weakening and thus could still continue on as before. Though she couldn't help but feel a bit nervous at the sight of the knights drawing ever closer, her worries were quickly done away when the knights came under a barrage of hits from the other half the the large group. One in particular went down hard after a devastating blow by Kaminari that followed Mako's debilitating spell; Ryan following up with a wide slash to drive the knights back for the moment whilst Matthew's flames kept them further at bay.

With Rui, Akane and Sato focusing on the large Shadow, they had all managed to avoid taking any direct hits for the moment - which Kotori was rather thankful for, seeing as that not only meant that no one got too hurt but also that she could instead once more cast "Media"; her word quickly followed by action as Kikuri-Hime once more recovered some of the strength of everyone fighting - and hopefully allowing them to continue the fight with exhausting techniques and avoiding any small scrapes from accumulating too much over time. Once more, the increased strain of the more widely-cast spell became noticeable for a moment - but Kotori bore with it as she made sure to keep her eyes on both the team, ensuring that she'd be able to intervene with a healing spell if anyone took a hit, and the enemies, hoping that she might avoid any sudden spells or other surprise threats being thrown her way - whilst hoping that someone else could deal with the weakening effects of the princess' scream, even though she felt a small measure of guilt at not being able to help with them.

Even so, things weren't looking too bad for the moment - they were keeping the shadows at bay whilst not taking much in return. If they could keep this up until they knew what the deal was with the larger Shadow, they might stand a chance of getting through this relatively unscathed despite the number of unpleasantly powerful foes. At least, Kotori started to hope so.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Sapphire Inn: Royal Suite Main Room | Sunday, July 5 2015

As everyone started engaging their targets, things were immediately looking somewhat shaky. None of the shadows, neither the three knights or the primary shogun, were pushovers and were putting up quite a fight. Whilst Akane and Rui could at least hold their own against a single foe, covering for each other and using openings from Sato's spells, having to take on a knight alone was proving to be no meagre task for Kaminari's team. Luckily though, they managed to avoid taking any direct hits but it seemed that working in real hits of their own rather than just glancing blows would take some time.

However, considering that they still had to hold out for their support to get a hold on these shadows' weaknesses, it wasn't all bad. Using Ryan's Gale Slash as an opening, Kaminari brought down a heavy lightning bolt upon one of the knights - which didn't get more than a moment to recover before a duplicate strike followed, courtesy of Ayano. Kotori meanwhile kept her eyes closely following everyone all around her - but with no one having suffered critical damage, she opted to instead recover the little cuts and scrapes that could easily accumulate from close calls and last-second parries.

"Media," she called and just a moment later, Kikuri-Hime obliged. A gentle golden glow momentarily enveloped the flowery shrine maiden that was Kotori's Persona - and then the same glow surrounded all of the fighters; lending them warmth and respite as their strength recovered. The by now familiar fatigue that accompanied any spell settled in her mind, albeit slightly stronger than usual - but though it was a bit more taxing to heal such a large group, Kotori had little time for such concerns and kept her thoughts focused on the present. For the moment though, it was still manageable - and she'd been in such situations a few times now; albeit this time around even more people were relying on her - a fact that brought both worries about their safety but also a redoubled effort to ensure it to the fore.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Sapphire Inn: Royal Suite Main Room | Sunday, July 5 2015

As everyone finished their preparations in their own ways - some speaking to each others, others impatient to get going already whilst Kotori herself just took the opportunity to catch her breath - Rui and Kami called upon everyone to get ready to proceed onwards. Though they didn't know what awaited them at the end of the hallway, Megumi had already picked up a formidable presence ahead - and having delved into enough of these placed before, most everyone knew what that meant. As such, Kotori was on edge all the way through; glancing about for any signs of shadows suddenly pouring out of previously unseen crevices - but to no avail as the now merged group continued unaccosted on the long walk. The tension did at least save Kotori from focusing too much on the particular choice of decoration that accompanied the climb - and before the halfway point, she was instead worrying far more over the rather excessive length of the stairs.

As they drew closer to the doors at the top, muffled voices could be made out - which sounded similar but just slightly ajar of one another; a dissonance that undoubtedly rang a few alarm bells for all those present. Pushing onwards with varying degrees of fatigue at the stairs they'd just climbed, Rui pushed open the doors to finally reveal exactly what they were dealing with: Standing in the centre were two girls - or rather, the same girl twice, save for a scant few details being just slightly off. One of the two was talking down to the others in a tone which would have betrayed her nature even if it weren't for the unnatural colour of her eyes - it was a shadow; the secrets locked away inside oneself somehow made manifest through this strange mirror realm.

Even as she caught her breath, Kotori couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed at hearing someone else's inner thoughts, worries and hidden feelings being laid bare - but before she or anyone else could interfere, the real girl instead yelled at her mirror self; decrying her shadow as not herself. Kotori winced as laughter erupted from the shadow's throat at those words - a mocking tone which began echoing all around and becoming more sinister as darkness surrounded the girl's shadow; coalescing into a far more monstrous form. Much in keeping with the place's traditional Japanese feeling, so too did the shadow take on such a shape as it emerged from its shroud of blackness as a armour-clad demon; an evil caricature of a shogun of days long past, albeit one which had somehow become intermixed with a medieval European knight's features and at the same time still retaining an air of femininity about itself - which was unsettling in its own way to see in a shadow, even as if was gripping both a sword and a figure clad in a pretty dress.

The girl, however, did not seem to grasp the gravity of the whole situation as she picked up a sword laying upon the ground and raised it in defiance - but without the protection of a persona, doing could only spell danger for herself. Kotori feared what might happen if the shadow turned upon the girl; reflexively reaching out with one hand even though they were too far away to do much of anything - remembering a moment later that she had something on her side that would be far more capable of stopping such a thing from coming to pass. However, even as she called upon her Persona, "Kikuri-Hime," the shadow raised its sword to strike at what it seemed to perceive as an insolent if insubstantial attack by the girl - which left Kotori to fear that she would not make it in time.

Luckily, however, Rui was ever vigilant and Askr's blade intercepted the Shadow's just in time to deflect the blow away from the girl. Several group members had rushed to her side in order to get her out of harm's way - no matter how much she could or wanted to fight, this was one foe she was helpless against. With the girl in safety for now, the group quickly got into position to take on the warrior-like Shadow - but just as Kotori began to hope that for once they might an advantage with the numbers on their side, the shadows off to the sides began to move as three more enemies stepped from them. Knights, similar to the ones they'd already struggled against before, strode forth in their armour; ready to join the fight - and making Kotori's confidence take a dive, seeing how even one had already been a struggle even without backup or an even stronger shadow behind them all.

However, before her worries could overtake her, Kotori took a deep breath as she felt Kikuri-Hime's presence calm her thoughts. Though the enemies were numerous and strong, they too had strong fighters on their side. Kaminari sprang into action, ordering his half to engage the knights whilst leaving Ayano to figure out the Shadow's weakness and Rui to occupy it for the moment. A brief acknowledgemenet followed before Rui in turn addressed his team - much like before, Akane and himself would take point and go about striking and defending whilst Sato would be lending fire support from afar. Unto Kotori fell the role of making sure that everyone stayed alive and fighting with her healing spells - including Kaminari's group.

Though she felt her heart sink at the responsibility, given the odds they were facing, Kotori still nodded - a quiet "right" thereafter spoken more to herself than anyone in particular. However, these doubts only lingered for a moment before she quickly shook her head as if to rid herself of any stray thoughts - pushing her glasses back in place after doing so - before focusing at the task at hand. Even if she wasn't exactly the model of confidence, she knew that the others were counting on her at this moment - and wallowing in worries would only lead to them coming true.

Her confidence somewhat regained, Kotori took a quick note of who was engaging what and where everyone stood. They found themselves encircled by the three knights and the shadow, even as each knight in turn was engaged by one of Kaminari's group whilst Akane and Rui faced the Shadow itself; a loose formation being established which left Kotori with the other spell-casters on the inside together with the probably slightly confused girl. Before moving in to take on the Shadow, Rui told her to think upon the Shadow's words - after all, those were essentially her own and realising this would likely prove crucial further down the road.

For the moment, however, Kotori could pay little heed to the girl as she focused all her attention on the group - ready at a moment's notice to cast a group-wide healing spell should multiple people get struck or a more powerful singular heal if someone took a heavy hit instead, leaving the offensive magic entirely to the others.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Sapphire Inn: Floor 2 | Sunday, July 5 2015

The lightning bolt struck home and the monkey was sent to the ground - which proved to be just enough time for the others to finish things up. Already weakened by the previous bombardement and Sato's spell-slinging, Akane and Rui rushed in for a final assault which that left the large shadow monkey roaring - before dissolving into black dust that was swept away into nothingness by an unfelt wind. However, there were still several smaller shadowy monkeys scattered throughout the hot springs - survivors or newly arrived reinforcements after Zeke's area-clearing attack - but they seemed more than a little hesitant after seeing their leader fall and beat a shrieking retreat - a fact that Kotori was only to happy about, seeing as it gave everyone a moment of respite after that fight.

Kotori Shirohane - Sapphire Inn: Royal Suite | Sunday, July 5 2015

As soon as Megumi confirmed that the area was now clear of any foes - and oddly silent due to this - Rui pressed onward, leading the group to the next area. Following the hot springs, they arrived at a courtyard of sorts that preceeded a rather large entrance which was immediately obvious the moment they set foor in the place, given the sheer amount of decorations and colours surrounding it. Whilst it seemed that the general theme of this place was staying consistent, it was getting ever odder the further they got - though Kotori was a little more preoccupied with worrying about any new threats which might be creeping around any shadows or hiding just out of sight.

Rui meanwhile seemed far less tense and instead joked about how this whole thing would be if it were a game of sorts - which might have eased some tension if it wasn't for the fact that as Kotori's eyes followed his extended finger from behind her glasses, a sudden sound echoed across the courtyard as a wall began to slide aside. The unexpectedness of it caused Kotori to almost jump in surprise as she turned to face this unknown threat - at least until she realised that said threat was simply the second group which found its path converging with that of hers. Breathing a sigh in relief as the two group leaders exchanged some words, Kotori was glad to see that all of them were still standing and didn't seem hurt in any serious manner.

However, relief was only short-lived as Megumi spoke up once again to inform of what was coming up - as Ayano confirmed, there were several knights ahead, or at least something similar to them, which meant that they would have a serious fight on their hands when just one such an enemy required a whole team to efficiently take down. Even with her worries returning at the prospect of what they had to face, Kotori was nonetheless grateful for a moment of rest before they would head out; taking the opportunity to catch her breath - both from the previous fight and the sudden fright that had been the hidden door.

As she did so, Kotori glanced over to the second group - though seeing as they had linked up, it was rather more a singular if larger group now - only to notice that by the looks of things Matthew had tagged along to take Shizuka's place; though any worries Kotori might have had were quickly quelled when it turned out that this wasn't due to any harm coming her way. Similarly, none of the others - Kaminari, who was discussing matters with Rui, Ryan, who still looked a little nervous, and Mako, for whom this was the first time willingly entering the Mirror Realm - were injured even on closer inspection, putting her somewhat at ease - both because she didn't need to cure any ills that had come their way and because it meant that they had not been met resistance that was too much to handle and instead made it through safely.

Still, given that everyone was gathering up before they made their way onwards as a full group of eight Kotori took a deep breath as she prepared herself for the upcoming fight that Megumi had already announced - though she did feel some confidence with their own increased numbers, it also increased her worries as that meant there were now twice as many people who might get hurt in the fight as well.

Persona - The True Self

Kotori Shirohane - Sapphire Inn: Floor 2 | Sunday, July 5 2015

Megumi's warnings about the protective veil surrounding the shadow monkey leader were only reconfirmed whenever a gap in the shadowy attackers allowed for a brief attack on it - but to no avail; the attack glancing off the nigh-invisible shroud and the superficial damage being healed just moments later. As such, there was little more for the group to do than holding on until a chance to strike back appeared - not exactly a situation that Kotori was fond of finding herself in. Still, grouped up close together, Rui and Akane were able to hold off any shadow monkeys trying to get too close whilst Sato and she could thin out the incoming numbers with arrows and spells - and if any attack did manage to get through, Kotori was ready to cast a healing spell at a moment's notice.

Fortunately though, this turned out to be unnecessary - though with a seeming endless number of foes, the monkey were getting a little closer every time, the other team managed to disrupt whatever was powering the protective veil in time; a faint shimmer around the larger shadow monkey intensifying before fading into nothingness. Still, even with that gone they still had to deal with the large horde between them - unless they called for aid. And call they did - a call that was answered with a hawk's cry moments later as explosions ripped through the hot springs, sending up fountainous sprays of water and blasting dozens of shadow monkeys away, all the while leaving both the shadowy leader weakened and a path to it clear.

The group had fought through enough of these dungeons to know an opportunity when it presented itself, even before Rui ordered a full-on assault. As such, Kotori was quick to nod in acknowledgement as she called upon her persona's powers once more. "Kikuri-Hime," she said as she aimed for the large shadow monkey, "Zionga." Her words were immediately followed by a thunderous roar; the lightning crashing down and striking the shadow leader - and hopefully keeping it in place long enough for the others to deliver the final blow.