[Open] From the Shadows

[not_that_sasuke]

[The first day the dungeon appears, Sasuke doesn't get far in his attempt to check it out thanks to his inability to breathe underwater. Fortunately, the day after is when he receives the feather-shaped stone bequeathed by a crow, kept on hand because although he doesn't know what it does, all gifts from the crows in this world seem to be important somehow.

It's once he's returned to the Velvet Room for the day that he begins to hear it. A voice in his head he can't block out, calling to him.

"She's here. She's really, really here.”

“She can finally lock everything away."

He leaves Kurou behind in the Velvet Room, shutting the door behind him in spite of the cat's cries. Lucky him he's already outside once he's out the door, heading once again to the dungeon, puzzled, yet no less determined. It's a surprise when he's able to breathe underwater, but not at all unwelcome given the situation. The rest of the journey, he spends trying to be as stealthy as possible, avoiding fights in favor of speed.

And so, he eventually makes it to the forest on the third floor. Or at least, what was once the forest.

Instead, the floor is shrouded in darkness, countless drawers appearing to form "walls" in a slowly spinning spiral. However, a quick examination proves they are no more than illusions, all centered around one person:

Himself.

Indeed, a golden-eyed Sasuke stands in the midst of it all, completely unperturbed by the surroundings. It's enough to make the real one stop in his tracks, staring in confusion.]

Who-?

"Yuusuke was right, you know."

[He gapes at the- illusion? Impostor? Before replying flatly:]

What-

"You're such an idiot. No, worse than that."

"You're nothing."

[OOC details about this can be found here! The attendants will also be letting people know that Sasuke’s disappeared, if a reason to venture that deep is needed - or if they just want to talk with the attendants about what's going on.]

Comments

[not_that_sasuke]

[I can't believe Sasuke's dead, good job team.

He doesn't cry out as his Shadow continues to bear bite after bite, claw after claw, topped off with a frozen spike piercing through it. But there is a rather distinct thud as his knees hit the ground, collapsing not for the first time in this world.

They might want to do something about that before they really do end up with a corpse on their hands.]

[overstrain]

Kido! Make Nekogami stop!

[ He's gonna hope she does, because Terry's suddenly alarmed even further when he sees Sasuke collapse. Vassago sure isn't stopping even after numerous telepathic commands, so Terry has no choice but to rush in there and kick his own Persona off Sasuke's Shadow. He put in so much power behind the kick too and Terry definitely... doesn't feel the damage?

...

Oh.

Right.

He has Absorb Phys. All he managed to do was make Vassago back off, but that's good enough for him. The dragon doesn't charge back in, but he does roar defiantly. Terry doesn't have time for that right now and he gets out the life stone that he got from the Attendants back then and throws it at Sasuke's leg. Maybe it'll hurt the least. ]

You need to accept that thing before it gets worse, Sasuke! Don't go dying out already!!

[reveilation]

[ Kido looks up in time to see Terry stone Sasuke, wtf...

Nekogami backs off but doesn't disappear, parking himself in front of the Shadow that he doesn't trust to start attacking again, and casts three Dias in quick succession for each person here so nobody dies.

That thing tried to kill us, Terry, what are you talking about, how could anybody accept that?? ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Healing helps, thanks for not murdering him today, Kido. Between the dia and the life stone, he's able to get back up into a crouch, but he still looks- afraid?]

But it's...

[It's everything he hates about himself. His weaknesses, his failures, every part of him he despises, every bit he wishes would just disappear.]

[overstrain]

[ At this point, Kido and Terry are essentially holding Sasuke's Shadow hostage while Sasuke needs to think of a good reason to accept all of his life's negativity into him right now. It probably put Sasuke on the spot really badly, but Terry doesn't know how else to deal with this. Thinking isn't his strong suit and violence carries him through whatever he deals with at the moment, but he understands, at the very least, that this is essentially the harder part. ]

Not everything... is your fault.

[reveilation]

[ Things suck. People suck. But not everything is their fault and Kido knows that very well too; the person she hates more than anybody else in the world has a spark of humanity in him too, and she can't forget that.

She walks over to Sasuke, and sits down next to him since he's in no condition to shove her aside and she can easily snap his arm anyways, probably. ]

Are all those things he said, things you thought about yourself...? Not everything is your fault, and not everything is true, either.

[not_that_sasuke]

[She's correct in her assessment of him, even as he goes right back to avoiding her or Terry's eyes.]

...You don't know all the things I've done.

[All the things he's screwed up beyond repair.]

I'll never be able to make up for it all...

[overstrain]

You have time!

[ He's not going to outright say that he knows all the things Sasuke has done, even though he knows some of the things that happened through pinpointing. He's not patient enough to pry answers out of Sasuke through his mouth. ]

Some things are out of your control! You can't help it when things happen--isn't that what you think? All the bad things that happen to you, you just shrug it off and think "it can't be helped", so why can't you do the same when it's the other way around?! You need to find some balance in there! And you have your entire life ahead of you to figure that out!

[reveilation]

Yeah. That kind of pisses me off, you know? "I'll never be able to make up for it all," so you give up and don't bother trying.

[ Kido is not as nice about this, I'm so sorry. ]

Shitty people do shitty things, but they can get better. Accepting your bad traits is one thing, but there's no point in stewing in them. More important is: what are you going to do about it?

[not_that_sasuke]

[She sure isn't, and he winces.]

...Is there anything I can do?

[Like he said, he can't make up for it. And like she said, when it's too hard, he just gives up.]

[overstrain]

... That's something you'll have to figure out on your own, Sasuke.

[ He thinks back to what the Attendants told him. Haha, thanks guys. ]

It means more when you arrive at the answer yourself, doesn't it? You'll have friends that will support you too. Instead of locking things away, you can share your problems. Sure, we don't have solutions to all problems--nobody is a solution dispenser, but sometimes having a person who'll listen is good enough.

When things get too hard, you'll always have someone to lean on. You have Kurou too, don't you?

[reveilation]

[ Sasuke: what can i do?
Terry: idk, you're on your own, bro

At least he's understanding why the Attendants are so evasive about this sort of thing, why they didn't just storm in here after Sasuke and put his Shadow into the ground. Kido sure hopes that Terry means what he says, and applies it to himself too and shares his problems, because she's looking at him more than she does Sasuke, and she's going to hold him to all of that.

But, with a glance towards Sasuke, she has to suggest this: ]

A good first step will be accepting that Shadow. Think you're up to talking to it? Terrence and I will be here.

[not_that_sasuke]

[She won't be the only one looking at Terry, because at the mention of "locking things away" he's definitely giving Terry a sharp look.

Did he read that, too...?]

...I can try.

[He sounds so, so reluctant, though.

By now, his Shadow once again resembles him instead of a ghost, though its eyes are still golden in color. Are the other Personas going to give it some breathing space, or are we still ready to fight it again?]

[overstrain]

[ Vassago definitely looks like he's itching for round two, but Terry won't have it. He doesn't have any more healing items on him and he wouldn't want to strain Nekogami for all the Dia spells. Terry is standing near Sasuke's Shadow though, but it's mostly to get in Vassago's way of attacking the Shadow even more.

Also why are you two staring at him... this is Sasuke's Shadow thing, not his. ]

Yeah, we'll be here. Do your best.

[reveilation]

[ Nekogami goes back to sitting on Kido's shoulders but he's also ready to shoot the Shadow down at any given notice. Kido is also ready to punch the Shadow in the face if it starts spewing any bs.

Ganba, Sasuke. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[This is... so awkward. He knows what his Shadow's saying, and he still wants to reject all of it, especially in front of people, but that's just going to start the fight all over again, isn't it?

He hesitates for some time before getting up properly to approach the Shadow.]

...What do you want me to say?

[He doesn't even know what the right answer to give is, and the Shadow picks up on that, eyes narrowing in a mild annoyance.]

"You're so useless. You hate everything you are, but you aren't doing a thing to change any of that."

[He bites back whatever retort first comes to mind at that.]

...I know.

"Yuusuke's gone, but you still pretend like you aren't getting hurt, or like anything affects you. You aren't really strong at all. You're just good at acting like it because you don't want to cry in front of people again."

[That one gets a slight flinch, but again:] ...I know.

[overstrain]

[ Watching this is somewhat painful for Terry. He frowns and just wants to yell that Sasuke doesn't have to just take that shit, but. That's what he told him to do, right? But still, there has to be a better way. ]

... Sasuke, it's okay to cry when you want to. But remember to keep your resolve close to your heart.

[ You know, so that the Shadow can see it since it's a part of you and all that stuff. ]

[reveilation]

[ Nobody likes crying, especially not Kido who denies it with tears streaming down her face, but maybe it's worse for Sasuke who... it doesn't even look like it's the tough act. It looks more like he hasn't done it for so long— cried, or laughed, or screamed, or any of that- that it's so hard to show unbridled emotion again.

It's tough, and she doesn't know what to say, so she just claps him on the back and stays by his side. At the very least, she can do that. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

[He shoots a glance at Terry and Kido, grateful, yet still ashamed. The Shadow just keeps talking.]

"You've been ready to disappear for two years already. The only reason you came back is because that girl got pulled in because you were using that spirit for her powers."

[He shuts his eyes tightly at that.]

...I know.

[overstrain]

[ With all the stuff he's extracted out of Sasuke so far, he feels like he gets the gist of what they're talking about. He stays there, silent, in hopes that things will be okay. That things will turn out well. That he won't have to attack Sasuke's Shadow that's right next to him. That they can all have a happy ending. ]

[reveilation]

[ Kido has no idea what's going on, but the hand on Sasuke's back freezes when she hears that bit about a girl, and it sounds like something bad happened to her because Sasuke was abusing some sort of power. Kido being here is probably doing the opposite of helping, sorry. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

--There was an ancient snake spirit. She was on the verge of fading away.

[Sasuke cuts in abruptly, not willing to let the Shadow explain this part.]

She had incredible power, but she didn't seem to have a name - or feelings. She found me when I collapsed in the forest trying to run away from home, and she took me to a place that looked like... this.

[A quick gesture at the walls. The thousands and thousands of drawers, all spinning in a spiral, seemingly endless.]

I realized that she had the power to lock things away. People or things, or even stuff like memories, or feelings. So... I had her lock away things too. Pain, heat, cold. It was easier for me if I couldn't feel those things anymore.

[The Shadow watches him levelly, even as his own gaze dips to the "floor."]

...One day I noticed she was watching a girl in the human world. I didn't mean to, but... I thought to myself that she was so powerful. If she really wanted that girl, it would be so easy for her to just... take her.

And then she did. That girl started failing all her tests, even though she shouldn't have. Everything conspired to make her come to the school where the snake spirit was enshrined.

...Why did I have to think that for even a moment...?

"She kept trying to thank you for helping her at school. She never even realized it was your fault she was there to begin with."

"She hates it there. There's no other humans for her to meet. She has to keep her humanity a secret from everyone else."

"It's all your fault."

[overstrain]

[ Species trouble is such a bitch, huh.

Hearing it out loud is different from knowing the information by pinpointing, and Terry hopes that by letting out all those words into the air, Sasuke will have a clearer head. ]

It's not like... he controlled her.

[reveilation]

Yeah, you're just a kid, Sasuke. If she was some all powerful being, that one thought of yours shouldn't have had that much weight.

[ Essentially, it doesn't matter what you think, Sasuke!! Again, she could have worded this better, but it all boils down to this: Sasuke made a suggestion, but it was the spirit that acted on it, and that's where the responsibility ultimately lies. ]

[not_that_sasuke]

"The spirit was barely aware anymore. She'd do anything you suggested in a heartbeat." [The Shadow coldly counters.] "It's so easy to manipulate people like that. Fukuta was the same, too - it didn't take much for Yuusuke to make her think she actually cared about you."

[And we're back to a look of panic, because for all his faults, he wasn't expecting that name to come up.]

...Leave her out of this.

"You'd rather run away from everything than deal with someone who cares. Push them away and they'll get hurt, or let them in and they'll still be hurt anyway - just because it's you."