harmonize_rpg | Discovery (Event)

Sayuri, however, would likely not have made it to class.

The call to the counselor's office had come before homeroom. Again, peculiar, but nothing anyone might find suspicious.

Except, perhaps, Sayuri herself.

Her heart was simply pounding in her chest the entire way to the counselor's office. There's no way she would just have been called over randomly, so was it that she did something wrong? Sayuri couldn't think of anything in particular for the answer to that, but on the other hand, maybe she hadn't even realised it herself. What other reason could there be to just call her in like that, after all?

But even so, she promised that she would come as soon as possible, so instead of making her way to homeroom she instead hurried over to the office once she was done with making herself look proper enough for the day. Not like there was much of an option other than just face whatever was waiting for her, no matter what it was. And no matter how much even the idea of a single scolding or someone telling her she did something wrong already scared her. Casting her eyes downward so she wouldn't seem rude, she summoned all the courage left inside her together to twist the doorknob and open the door, walking in.

"Inoue-san, thank you for coming. I apologize for the short notice, but this is a somewhat unusual situation."

The tiny woman who ushered Inoue into her office had a kind, reassuring manner, but was clearly under a bit of stress.

"Please, have a seat."

"N.. no, it is alright."

As if Sayuri was ever the time to openly mind anything, let alone in front of the school's counselor. So she just nodded politely in return to what the woman was telling her before sitting down on a chair. It was hard to fully surpress her nervousness, so there was no doubt that it did show if not a little. The girl folded her hands on her lap, but a moment later she couldn't help but fret a little nervously with her fingers. For a moment she considered asking if it was anything serious, but then thought it to be too rude. So instead she just sat there and waited for the woman to explain.

Several long, silent moments passed before Sekimiya responded; whether she was trying to make Sayuri sweat or simply weighing her words was difficult to tell from her expression.

At last, she clasped her hands behind her back and took a few steps closer, still retaining a comfortable distance -- at least for now. "You were recently moved into room 413, correct?" she inquired, her tone carefully neutral. "I believe the notice went out during Golden Week."

Don't look up, don't look up - it was the mantra she just kept repeating in her head as she tried so desperately to keep the nervous feeling inside of her in check and not say or do anything stupid. The silent moments did nothing but make the tension build even more though.

That was until Sekimiya finally spoke up. And with the mention of her room number, Sayuri actually felt a little more relieved. Since it was about her room, that actually meant another person was involved: her roommate. So whatever was going on, there was less of a chance she would get scolded for something only she had done. Besides, there had been something up this morning, hadn't there?

"Yes." She politely nodded as she answered, but couldn't stop herself from at least asking-- "Is this about Hazama-san?"

As soon as the question escaped her mouth though, she quickly shut up again with a small squeak, shaking her head. "S.. sorry, I shouldn't talk out of line.."

Sekimiya's expression softened, and she shook her head. "It's quite all right. Yes, it does have to do with Hazama-san."

She paused, pacing another few steps, then turned back toward Sayuri. "Have you noticed anything... unusual since the move?"

Phew.. despite the situation with her roommate probably being serious, hearing this did make her feel quite some relief. Enough to actually make her sigh out of relief out loud, even if it was quietly and mostly meant to herself. So she wasn't in trouble, she was just here to help out. That made things a lot easier, or it at least made her feel a lot less nervous.

"I guess it would depend on your definition of "unusual", sensei. I did think something seemed a little off, but I didn't think it was serious enough to speak up about." And that would mean breaching that polite distance she was trying to keep. Hadn't she always been taught she shouldn't stick her nose in other people's business? It was only the proper thing to do. "Although.."

Sayuri did glance up once she spook on now, but mostly so she could show her brow was furrowed a little at the next thought. ".. She wasn't in our room this morning. I thought she might just have been called somewhere really, really early, even though that seemed very unlikely. Usually she's there in the morning, even though we don't talk much."

From the way Sekimiya's eyes subtly lit up, it was clear Sayuri had touched on something interesting, at the very least.

"How strange. She certainly wasn't called for anything administrative, and we don't have any record of her leaving campus."

She put a hand to her mouth, looking thoughtful. "Tell me, Inoue-san -- are you a sound sleeper? Do you think you might have noticed if anything had happened during the night?"

She wasn't called over and didn't leave campus.. then where did the girl go? The thought did briefly flash through Sayuri's mind, but she quickly tried to mentally shake it off. It wasn't any of her business. She should just answer the question.

"If something big or loud happened, then I'm pretty sure I would have noticed it." There was no way she could have slept through that. But on the other hand, something that sounded a little more likely to happen than something over the top.. "If Hazama-san snuck out quietly though, then I think I probably wouldn't notice." For a moment she paused, but then the girl bit her lower lip lightly. "I apologize. If I had been a little more attendant, I could've been of more use to you.."

"Please, don't worry about it. You can hardly be expected to watch your roommate constantly. Besides that..."

She paused, gaze flickering back to the closed door before coming back to regard Sayuri carefully. "We suspect there may be something... unusual involved. Can you promise me that nothing you hear here will leave this room?"

At that she couldn't help but slowly blink. "Unusual" in itself made it sound like something dangerous. And serious. Did Miyume have some kind of big problems she never knew about? Maybe something involving big money and debt or illegal business, or... well, it wasn't like she had bothered to ask the girl.

Sayuri nodded. "I.. I promise to not tell anyone anything.." As if she ever would have, either way - even if she hadn't been told to keep it a secret, it wasn't like she blabbed to people a lot in general.

Sekimiya finally settled into her own chair, facing Sayuri. Her linked hands rested in her lap, and she leaned forward just slightly.

"There is," she began, "another world outside our own.

"It's shaped by our unconscious, and has the same dark places and dangers. Sometimes, those dangers come here."

As insane as what she was saying may have sounded, she seemed dead serious.

"Some of us at Chitoku are working to protect the world against them. Hazama-san was one of them. You have the potential to be another."

She had been expecting a lot of things. Even near-outrageous stories. But nothing like this even crossed her mind for a single moment. If it wasn't for her complete belief in what anyone with even slight authority told her, she would have sworn this was all some really weird joke. Another world, people in this school protecting the world from dangers that no normal person could probably even imagine to exist.. that was all real? Moreover, it was happening here? It had been happening here and she hadn't noticed a single thing. Not even from her roommate. Even if they didn't talk much at all, surely she would have noticed if Miyume was someone who fought things from another world or anything of the sort..

And if all that confusion wasn't enough, there was the bit at the end. Sayuri's eyes already grew in size at the whole story, unable to hold back her emotions, but at the end she certainly looked even more shocked.

"What..?" Her voice was tiny, little more than a squeak, as her brain tried to process all this information. Sekimiya was saying it, so surely it must be the truth, but.. even so...

The girl hardly even noticed she was holding her breath, her hands fretting nervously in her lap even more than before.

".. Um.. I-I'm.. terribly sorry, sensei, but.. are you sure you aren't making a mistake..?"

Miyume had seemed fairly sickly, to put it that way, and even if the part about that was true, there was no way that Sayuri herself of all people could have some potential to do something like that, right? Still, she could hardly even force the sentence out of her mouth. It felt terrible to her to even ask that, but she had to know for sure.

"I'm certain. It's part of why you were brought to Chitoku. The Potential--" you could almost hear the capital letter "--can crop up in unexpected places."

Her attention remained fixed on Sayuri, her manner still deadly serious. "We think the other world may have had something to do with Hazama-san's disappearance, and I'd like to ask for your support. With this, and with the rest of our mission as well."

Unexpected places would be putting it lightly. If she would have known that answering the phone this morning would mean going in here and hearing all this and being asked to help out with another world and dangers.. well, then she still would have been pretty much just as nervous as she actually was when she came in. But for a different reason, at least.

And to be entirely honest, Sayuri didn't quite know what to answer. It sounded scary, but on the other hand, despite not knowing Miyume well it felt cruel to just abandon her. And then there was a large part of her brain that was telling her she had to do it, either way. It wasn't a matter of choice. If she had been giving some sort of weird potential (Potential?) for something, she had to use it for the greater good. No matter what she herself thought about it.

".. I get it." Slowly the girl nodded, her eyes cast downwards a little once more. "If it's what sensei wants, then I'll do whatever I can."

"Thank you. I'm glad to hear that. Ah, pardon me a moment."

It was only then, after Sayuri had given her consent, that Sekimiya allowed her attention to shift elsewhere, picking up the phone that had been quietly brightening and dimming on her desk.

"Yes, this is Sekimiya. ... Yes, it's taken care of. ... Now? She does work quickly, doesn't she? Yes, I'll be with you shortly. Good luck."

When she turned back to Sayuri, she seemed almost apologetic. "We'd normally provide a training and adjustment period, but with Hazama-san's disappearance, we're basically in a state of emergency.

"Right now, we're trying to find whatever information we can. We've sent two of the other students to the dormitory to investigate. For now, please go assist them."

At least the momentary phone call gave her more time to think about everything she had been told. But of course that little time wasn't enough at all. Sayuri didn't even have time to fully process everything she suddenly learned, especially with a lot of the details still missing. All she knew was that she had to do her best at whatever was being asked of her.. thankfully trying to find information didn't sound too difficult. Even she could do that, right? So she nodded.

"I understand.." Usually a training and adjustment period, but not for her.. that sounded about like her kind of luck. That just meant she'd have to work even harder, huh.. "Would that be all, sensei..?"

"Yes, for now."

Sekimiya stood and opened the door to usher Sayuri out. "I'll provide a proper introduction at a more opportune time."

As though remembering something, she walked briskly to her desk, retrieved something from a fingerprint-locked drawer, and offered it -- though the authority of the gesture seemed to make it a little less than voluntary -- to Sayuri.

It was a peculiar-looking thing -- a simple metal hilt with no blade, a small recessed button, and thin lines running down both sides that looked oddly like shut-off lights. If she looked on the bottom, she would see the name "Inoue" embossed on it in neat characters.

"Take this, and keep it safe. I hope you won't need it, but it's better that you have it in case things go wrong."

The girl stood up to receive the object, although she wasn't entirely sure what it was supposed to be. Sure, it did look like some sort of hilt, but without the blade it was hard to believe it was supposed to be any of the sort, especially with the strange lines on it. Was this some sort of valuable object related to that other world business..? Sayuri didn't decide to question it though - she shouldn't speak up when she's not being spoken to, after all. Even if all of this was confusing, if she wasn't supposed to know more than this, then that was it. So instead she safely held it close to her as she bowed.

"Thank you, sensei. I'll go to the dorms now then."

With a last nod after standing up straight again, she tucked away the object safely for now (since she supposed it most likely wasn't something she should be showing off to other students publically) and turned to leave the office through the door that had already been opened.

Few people are happy to be told there's extra school activity like Minoru. Ever since they were called for a mandatory lecture, he looked positively radiant.

Edited 2013-12-24 02:29 (UTC)

Mirai produced the school-issue tablet from his bag. He found the space to study it by himself and found a quiet corner of the auditorium. He stood watching curiously with the tablet held before him to await critical class members one by one, and the open laboratory door clicked and glided to reveal the pathway beyond.

This made the second person who came into the room even more remarkable. Suzuki Minoru. Meddler. Busybody. A boy who playacted subserviently with the backing of the teachers behind him. A creep who was so far into the whole patriotism thing he smelt of shit. And didn't deserve to be his natural enemy.

He took the chance to read in quiet, and returned his attention to his tablet.

Edited 2013-12-24 02:52 (UTC)

Eventually, the two in the gym would hear a familiar tapping into the room, echoing throughout the space.

Haruka tilted her head slightly, trying to identify who was around, but it didn't sound like many people were there yet but there were a few people, or at least one person, it sounded like.

"Hey. Anything start yet?"

With the holiday done and over with, regular school had started again. The whispers had been somewhat quieter, what with a lot of students going home for the holidays. Now that they were back? The whispers were back in full force. Not that she wasn't used to them by now, but it was still annoying none-the-less. The giant of a student made her way into the auditorium after homeroom, just like the announcement had asked. Not many folk were there yet, but she noticed Haruka was among those present. Chloe took a spot against the back, somewhat isolated, but her piercing blue gaze swept slowly around the room, waiting for whatever was wrong to make itself known. She had a bad feeling about this... then again, she was just a bundle of bad feelings, wasn't she? Miyume hadn't been in homeroom... worry was trying to rise in the back of her mind, but she forced it down. Perhaps... she was ill today. She HAD been looking worse for wear last time she saw her...

Edited 2013-12-24 03:08 (UTC)

Chloe wasn't the only one with a bad feeling.

As always, Kisa was punctual, but there was a quickness to her stride and a faint air of tension and worry about her that the situation didn't necessarily merit on its face.

When she saw the open lab door and a grim-looking Horaoku beside it, her stomach sank as her suspicions were confirmed. This was no "guest lecture". The only question, then, was what had happened to call them down so suddenly.

For his part, one Taue Shinichiro looked fairly serious as he stepped into the room. Being quiet was rarely one of his strong suits, but SOMETHING was up. He was fairly sure of that.

Opting for the wall, he decided to lean against it, waiting to see what sort of fun was in store today.

"We are expected to sit," Minoru said, even-spoken and even downright sympathetic. Almost condescending, as if Taue didn't know better and Minoru found it in his Mercy to educate. "To show proper respect for our teachers and speakers."

Shinichiro barely looked up at first, not batting an eyelash at the lecture. After Minoru was finished speaking, he waited ten more seconds before looking at the young man and smiling.

"Correction," he stated, voice firm but amused. "You are expected to sit. I am not expected to sit. They might WANT me to sit, but surely by now they don't expect me to do so."

Cue shrug. Cue grin. Cue stare that said "mind your own fucking business."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Suzuki-kun, but I'm afraid there's no time to sit." Horaoku adjusted his glasses with a sigh. "Come up, and we'll explain the situation."

***
It wouldn't take long after entering the lab for the Persona-users to realize that something was very wrong.

Suwa, Takaoka, and Sawatari stood in the back, going back and forth between camera feeds and consoles blinking with incomprehensible data with varying degrees of urgency, while Maehigashi's gangly form towered over them; Horaoku was quick to join them. Ishichi, Sekimiya, Araragi, and Komatani were nowhere to be found. Yachiyo stood at the center in her usual spot, an eye of calm at the center of the storm, lips drawn into a thin line, keeping one eye on the tablet she was holding as her other hand fiddled with an earpiece.

The portal was open, and the awful twisted aura of the other world lent the whole scene a malign air.

After a sharp exchange with whoever was on the other end of the line, Yachiyo looked up at the group; her gaze, usually hard, was downright steely now.

"You're here. Good. Let me cut to the chase:

"Hazama Miyume is missing."

There was no time given to process this fact. Yachiyo simply plowed onward.

"According to our best information, she simply disappeared last night. Her roommate found her missing this morning. There are no video records of her leaving the room. And there's been no sign of her in the other world."

Edited 2013-12-26 01:13 (UTC)

Quick to understand the severity of the situation given the tension among his senior officers, Minoru, with brows furrowed, asked: "What can we do to help?"

Mirai seemed troubled by this. He drew his hand down his chin and stared ruminatively at Suwa, Takaoka, and Sawatari. He kept imagining he could see Miyume looking at the blinking lights of consoles, or the portal that led inward to the other world. The loss was hard. He hadn't forgotten about her completely - her disappearance was bringing their last days together back to him so forcefully that he sidled away from the group before the explanation began.

He had no intention of letting anyone see how the situation was making him feel - and with utmost carefulness he did actually cut off around the back of the group. Or at any rate, he skulked over to Takaoka and Sawatari. Found what they were doing interesting and kept his back turned to everyone else.

Haruka's eyes fluttered. Her grip on her cane tightened.

Other than those actions, she was completely still. When she spoke, it was devoid of her snark...and much of anything, except a hard undercurrent.

"Then you don't even know if this is like something out of a closed room mystery or if it's other world related or even if Miyume-chan found a way out from under your noses?"

If that last one was the truth, Haruka'd find some cheer in that.

Miyume was missing. There was no record of her having of left her room, and there was no sign of her in the other world either. Her expression was... hard to decipher. The German's gaze was just as cold, just as hard... but there was an almost franticness to the way her eyes remained focused on the same wall. After a few moments, she spoke up, her voice a growl.

"Was her roommate the last to see her?"

There was a slight rushing in her ears. She was right across the hall from Miyume, and she hadn't heard a thing. She was RIGHT there, and she wasn't able to stop it. They needed to find the sickly girl. NOW.

The look of cold disdain Yachiyo regarded Haruka with showed... well, showed everyone else, at least, what she thought of that comment.

She looked to the others, who were at least trying to be more constructive. "Yes. Sekimiya is talking to Inoue-san as we speak, but doesn't expect anything useful."

She paused at put a hand to her earpiece, looking over at the quiescent portal with a frown. "Imaizumi-kun, go meet Araragi in the other world. You may have better luck than our equipment. Suzuki-kun will escort you.

"We also need to examine her last known location for clues, but sending a group of adults would cause unnecessary concern. Abendorosu, Saiga-san, go and meet Ihoji outside the dorm building. I expect Inoue-san to be there shortly.

"For now, the rest of you will remain here. If we find anything, I want to be ready to act at a moment's notice."

Mirai looked neither thrilled nor dismayed by Yachiyo's assignment of a classmate. He could only see that Minoru might keep him on his toes because he was a meddler. He could imagine how his classmate would take to the other world, as though he were on some mission. He could hear Suzuki talking about the emperor now. He hoped he wouldn't.

He hoped simply that Minoru would be a good thick wall. He could see how he could convince the other boy it was his civic duty. So would the adults with the guns, he thought. And so he had Minoru ready to wrap around his finger and ready to do anything in his defense.

But the part he had to play forced him to stay calm all the same. He walked through the portal with a frown and cast Yachiyo a glance. His half-closed eyes turned on the group - then he was gone.

"Yes, sensei," Minoru replied, marking his obedience with a salute, though not as cheerful as he may have been. Not because of the company, he seemed indifferent if not dispassionate to be with Mirai, but the task at hand, a disappearance, was serious, and he seemed capable of regarding it as such.

He did, however, scowl a bit at the frown Mirai gave to his teacher.

No respect in this world. Perhaps in the other one, Imaizumi would prove to have some redeeming qualities.

Chloe merely gave Yachiyo a resolute nod, her piercing gaze flickering to Kisa for only a moment before she strode from the room at a very brisk pace. While not technically jogging or running, her long legs meant she had long strides, and that gave her speed. As she passed Mirai, the look she gave him was a strange one. It was not a look of hostility, as one might expect after the Archery incident. It was actually more akin to an uneasy 'Be careful.' than anything. They didn't know much about the other world yet, and with this weird stuff happening and this bad feeling in her gut, they all needed to be careful.

Meet Ihoji at the dorms. Find Miyume. With those instructions all but burned into her mind, Chloe was on her way as inconspicuously as a ridiculously tall German girl in Japan could be towards the girls dorms. She tried to keep her stride steady but looked back to make sure Kisa was keeping up alright.

With most of the rest of the student body dutifully in class, Yanagi dorm was exceptionally quiet.

The lobby only held Aya, whose height and casual dress would likely have set her apart from most of Chitoku's inhabitants even in a crowded room.

"Hey." She greeted the newcomers with a quick bow, her casual manner belied by the tension in her shoulders. "413, right? Let's go. Don't wanna keep 'em waiting."

Upon arrival, it was empty save for one person, who Chloe quickly hurried up to. At her words, the German merely grunted once and bowed her head as politely as she could in greeting before looking back at Kisa for only a moment. She then continued on. Miyume's room was pretty much right across the hall from her own, so she knew the place very well.

Sayuri arrived a moment later than the other two, having just come back from the counselor's office. There were still a lot of questions in her mind, but one thing was for sure - she was told to assist two other students with investigating her and Miyume's room, so that was what she had to do and she knew it. Even when, upon arriving, she managed to see that one of said students was a tall and obviously non-Japanese person. Though it doesn't take a whole lot to intimidate someone like Sayuri, those qualities even seperately, let alone together, will surely do the job.

"Um.. Sekimiya-sensei told me to help." That was all she said with a short bow before she followed with her eyes cast to the floor as if her gaze was glued to it.

The usual scene awaited Mirai and Minoru beyond the portal. Ishichi, seemingly too engrossed in her task to notice the new arrivals, was manning the equipment, which was alive with the same unearthly blue light of their Evokers.

Araragi and Komatani, on the other hand, were all too alert. Both wore the full Demonica suits, helmets down and weapons at the ready. No Shadows were in sight, but under the circumstances, they had to play it safe.

The smaller of the two suited figures -- Komatani -- took a step forward. "Was wondering when she'd finally send someone. No sign of Hazama and the Shadows are way too quiet -- that's all the intel we've got. Imaizumi, see if you can do any better."

The sound of the woman's voice snapped Mirai to attention. He directed his gaze thoughtfully from the knee-length grass and red sky, where it settled on Araragi. He hurriedly sized the older man up. Both personnel were dressed like they were expecting trouble, face masks down and guns pointing at the grass. So he would be well protected then.

In the relative quiet, he was able to stare at the structure in the distance and wonder if Miyume was there. There was a confused look on his face as he tried to deal with all his emotions at once. But all he said was, "Fine," and his Evoker plunged downwards into his stomach, where it was painful simply to think of pulling it out.

He was struggling, but his Persona came, forcing its way into the world to circle its body around him tightly, like a ball puffed with air. He directed its gaze outward, always remembering his experience from the last time he'd been told to 'do any better'.

Then he began searching with his eye. Shadows were lurking all around! He learned from Varsavarti, and when he saw through his Persona's eyes he saw where they walked, slow and cautious. He had no doubt that every nook, every hole had been seen and wanted to study them so much that he spent some time hovering overhead.

He took notice of the sight in front of him and relayed it back to the group, "They don't seem interested, really." He sort of lost his usual verboseness, because where Miyume was was much less obvious than that. The tiny outline of her figure was somewhere so near yet beyond his sight. He turned this way and that, with his eyes beginning to fix on the scientists at his back, back at the laboratory, and closer yet in the other direction. "... Hmmm."

Edited 2013-12-29 19:59 (UTC)

Discovery (Event)

Side thread: Sayuri

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Dorm investigation

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Other world investigation

Re: Other world investigation