RE: Mario's High School Days

~Vert and Belle's room~

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Noire stood up face to face with her twin before she said sternly and loudly "We were going to tell you, but we needed all four of you together and Ram and Rom away, I'm not going to take responsibility for making my little sisters even more screwed up in the head than what they already were!" with Vert standing up as she calmly said "We had made a single promise that day, that word of what happened wouldn't go outside the family, I don't want them to be bullied because of what happened, it wasn't their fault"​

"You four are our sisters, you deserved to atleast know what happened and why there's no father present, their innocence was taken away" Blanc explained as she looked away from the others looking a little choked up as she heard the sounds of Rom crying in her head, Shiro looked over and gently started to pat Blanc on the back as she calmly said "There there, you shouldn't dwell on what happened before, it's simply human nature to make mistakes" only for Blanc to roll her fist together as she said gritting through her teeth "That ******* shouldn't even return, not after what he did to Ram and Rom, and certainly not after what he did to Mom, I won't forgive him!"​

"Blanc, I know you're angry...I know what you're feeling, but maybe deep down he does feel sorry for what he did, if there is one thing I've learned from videogames it's that sometimes you should give someone a second chance" Vert explained as she gently wrapped her arms around Blanc and embraced her in a gentle hug, Blanc started to grumble angrily under her breath before she admitted "Fine, we'll ask mom to call him, if he acts the slightest bit like a prick towards us then I will not have anything to do with that jerk again"​

The room had become quiet after Blanc's clear tone, it had seemed as though Blanc was acting rather defensive.​

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~Shibuya: The crystal speaks~​

The star crystal that was wrapped around Izaya's neck started to pulsate with an unknown blue light, an unknown male voice started to telepathicly relay the following message into Izaya Orihara's head "Get into an alleyway....now" with a rather stern and forceful demeanor.​

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~Nintendo High: Dorm #5364~​

A rather familiar purple and silver being from the previous night appeared spinning into a purple and black furnished living room annoucing his presence with the phrase "Hey boss, I''ve arrived just like you asked with those layouts" shortly before a round video monitor appeared with an image of a stylized purple P against a black background with a male voice saying rather surprisingly "Already? That was quick" shortly before the man said "Of course, Groove Master-D is rather quick and slick with his dance moves, they didn't see it coming, luckily for you boss I saved all of the layouts on this USB flash drive" as he pulled out an odd black and hot-pink USB drive shortly before handing it over to a large silver robot with red eyes and a red bolt of lightning on his chest.​

 

-Library-

Teddie just nodded, happily listening to Yu and Naoto. Naturally, he didn't have a clue about what they were talking about, having lived in the TV world for most of his life. But he was still very happy to see them again after departing in Inaba. After hearing Yu talk about a girl named Fuuka, Teddie tried to imagine what a girl this Fuuka-chan was like if she was supposed to be Rise.



-Aoi and Clair's home-

Clair took the dress and admired it as she detransformed from CPU Blue Sister. She smiled before stopping and clearing her throat, she said, "Don't think you're off the hook, Oniichan. But this is very nice, thank you for thinking of me." She smiled softly and held the dress in her hands.



-Nintendo High-

Akiza looked at Kazu and noticed Sunset Shimmer who responded to him when she believed he was referring to her. Summoning all her courage, she said, "Sunset Shimmer, I believe he was talking to me. How can I help you?" Akiza calmly walked up to them and kept her cool as she approached them, gripping her coat hem.

Spoiler

-Memorial Site-

Eiji figured what Ankh was doing and not surprised when he came back upset, he said, "It's not annoying. We need to pay our respects for the departed. Remember, if you don't behave yourself here, I won't get you any ice cream." He smiled, knowing he could use Ankh's desire for the iced sweets to make sure he behaved. Sirius and Harry laughed at Eiji's taunt to Ankh. Koyomi sat with Wajima and wondered what was taking Haruto so long and sighed.

Spoiler

-Riders and Sentai-

Sakura smiled and took a calm sip of her drink while Luka took three plates of food to the table, Basco had a plate with a lot of food and ate. Billy didn't take any food and looked out the window, thinking of Tommy, Kimberly, and Thomas. Dante had a plate full of pizza while Kengo had a few food on his plate and sighed.



-Hospital-

"Alright, thank you for everything though it wasn't much, Doctor." Tommy said, holding Kimberly's hand and leading her and Thomas out of the hospital. Stretching, Tommy smiled at them, Thomas smiled and led them to a different restaurant to have a small feast for Tommy's recovery.

 

~Library~

Yu listened rather intently to Naoto's rather deep suspicions, he wasn't surprised she couldn't summon her Persona in the real world, Yosuke tried that during practice for Rise's concert in Junes with those shakers, but the TV World and now that alternate space he was in when those creatures attacked the 109 building had the capabilities of summoning a Persona, however when the words about Adachi came, he too had a shiver up his spine, the man who was the one to start the whole serial case, but he was now in jail and confessed to his crimes.

"That is a good idea, but if she's like Rise, she's the back-up, wouldn't that mean there'd be a team she'd be working with?" he asked and paused for a moment, the Apathy Syndrome was known back in those years, he could vaguely recall that being on TV, but then again, he was transferring schools left and right because of his parents work, staying for like a few months at best, Inaba was the only time he gotten a full year and he made some great memories as well as bad ones.

"Adachi might of witnessed such a thing in theory, I mean, he did have a Persona." One that was the complete opposite of his Izanagi, yet strangely enough, he was able to create that thanks to the Social Link with the man. "But Izanami gave me, Adachi and Namatame the power, maybe there's other beings out there like Sagiri or Izanami herself." he theorized, after all, if Izanami was hiding as a gas station attendant throughout all that time, it wouldn't be surprising if there was another being like that, lingering in their world and Marie was one too, or rather, her name being Mariko on the weather channel, controlling literally the weather in Inaba and perhaps the whole world, one thing was for certain, never mess with her temper.

To others in the library, they were ignored, after all, they were kids, so no surprise there.

~Aoi and Clair's Home~

Aoi nodded in albeit in defeat, at least he managed to pacify his adoptive sister's rage and crossed his arms. "So, any updates?" he asked her.

~Nintendo High Entrance~

Kazu nervously laughed at the red haired girl's rude answer, learning it to be Sunset Shimmer and that the girl with her took it upon herself to say it was for her, that was probably not the politest thing to say to someone who was in that mood. "It's like Camula all over again... at least she doesn't steal your soul." He thought and gathered himself when the girl asked him how she could help.

"She reminds me of Alexis a bit, at least she has the decency to be polite." He thought and answered. "I'm a transfer here, I believe I need to find the Headmaster's office and get settled in, so perhaps you could help me find it?" he chuckled a bit nervously, putting a hand behind his head sheepishly, he was alight with sense of direction, but this school was big for it's size, so he might get lost and end up in probably on the other side of the school.

~Memorial~

Haruto sat in the free seat next to Koyomi with a bag of donuts on his lap. "Glad I made it in time." he said with a smile and noted his fellow Rider, Eiji and Shotaro in the crowd as Ankh gave a glare at Eiji. "I never should of made that deal." he said irritated. "So, what's the point in all this? You humans are confusing." He asked.

~Sakura and Li~

Li nodded, he scanned his eyes across the crowd, there quite some...interesting people around to say the least.

 

Library:


Naoto's mind focused intensely on Yu's question. A team... It was possible and highly likely. But...who would they have fought against? Everyone on Yu's team obtained a Persona because they were thrown into the TV world. Did the TV world exist outside of Inaba...? "We're not going to get any clear answers with just speculation. I'm hoping Yamagishi will appear at the memorial. Then I can question her." Naoto spoke like it was a matter of life and death to question Fuuka. Sighing, she turned aside, "I wonder what it means... Summoning Persona's outside of the TV world. Does that mean that there's another thing we need to fight?"

Shibuya:


Izaya blinked in surprise and caught a glance at the glowing crystal. He knew it was a good idea to keep it on him. This crystal...his trump card...what was it going to show him? Straightening and turning around, Izaya waved over his shoulder to the group, "I had fun meeting you here, Kumo-ko." Happily skipping off, he slipped the crystal off of around his neck as he rounded a corner and into a darkened alley. Dangling the crystal in front of his face, he grinned, "So you finally speak. It's rude to keep someone waiting for so long, y'know," he shrugged, "Was there something you wanted, Mr. Crystal?"

Spoiler

Shikamaru stared off after Izaya as he skipped away. How could a guy like that be so carefree as to appear and suddenly leave like that? Turning to Fuuka as she sighed in relief. "Sorry about that, Fuuka. Izaya's always been a wild card. I didn't think we'd see him in Shibuya though. He usually sticks to Shinjuku." Shino nodded, "Don't forget, he visits Ikebukuro often also." Neji folded his arms, "That's right... The only thing that often keeps him out of Ikebukuro is Shizuo Heiwajima. But I haven't seen him in a while." Fuuka placed a hand on her heart and tried to calm her frayed nerves. "I'm fine, Shikamaru-san. But that man...his eyes. They were filled with such cold calculations. I've never seen anyone like that before. Who was that?" "Izaya Orihara. He's an information broker that originates in Shinjuku. It's bad news if he's out here. And the memorial is today..."

CPU's House:

Belle opened her mouth to console her sisters when the loud ring of the doorbell interrupted her. "Now who could that be at this time." Kuro slumped to the ground, unwilling to argue. Belle stood and moved to the door to head downstairs and answer the door when she heard the front door open on its own. Standing in the doorway was a familiar blond head. "Ah...Virus...!" Blue eyes lifted to the top of the stairs and met Belle's surprised gaze, "Hello there. I didn't realize you live here... Seems like Histoire has some interesting house guests." Belle scowled, "I'm sorry...why are you here? Mother never told us she was expecting company." Virus' pale blue eyes widened, "Mother...?" He seemed genuinely surprised. He lifted a hand to his face and held his head, "Of course...that makes sense... You were all so small I hardly remember any of your faces. I thought your names were familiar but Trip..." He continued to mumble to himself and Belle rushed down the stairs. Virus felt the sting of her palm against his cheek and his head snapped to the side, his cheek sporting a red hand print. "I suppose I deserved that." "Virus...as my father...!? Unbelievable."

Hospital: Operating room: Minato Arisato:



Yashamaru glanced up at Hu and smiled, "I wasn't expecting you to scrub in....but I suppose I could use all the assistance I can get." He cast a glance at Minato's face, worried, and continued working. Things were progressing well. Yashamaru managed to stem the bleeding with Hu's help and nimbly repaired the damage done when the monitor beeped insistently. Looking up, he noticed Minato's heart rate was fluctuating, drastically slowing down. "What...?" Looking down at his work, there were no leaks...no cuts...nothing wrong with him, yet his heart was stopping. "Start emergency CPR. Keep that heart beating. Stay with me, Minato." Under Yashamaru's palms as he began CPR, black markings snaked out along Minato's skin and wrapped around his palms. Yashamaru stared at the markings, his eyes following the chains of black to a large, black eye marked in the center of Minato's abdomen, directly below where he'd been stabbed. "A sealing jutsu...? But...what could be..." "Nothing. He is the seal. Ignore it. Finish the surgery." Yashamaru looked behind him at the man in the black suit. He hadn't spoken since he'd arrived but now...he was telling him to ignore the boy's failing vital signs? "If I ignore it, he'll die." "No...he won't. Minato Arisato can't die from a seal he created. I'll explain in more detail when you're finished, doctor. Just finish the surgery as if it's not happening." Frightened, Yashamaru hesitated and stopped CPR. It went against his teaching and everyone's medical knowledge but he'd never seen a seal like that before.

Spoiler

Minato's Dream:

Touching his chest, Minato shut his eyes. "Aigis... I can't believe she'd go so far just to help me and Minako. Thanks...Aigis. I'm...sorry I put you through such pain. But telling you all about what we'd done...what good would it have done? We still had to prevent everyone's combined desires from bringing Nyx to the world. No one should have to die like that. Not knowing why..." Turning away from the pulsating egg-shaped light he knew as Nyx, Minato held his left hand aloft at his side as if he were holding someone else's hand as he faced the darkness. "Sis and I chose this. Because I want to keep everyone safe. Right, Minako?" Almost as if on cue, Minako appeared standing beside him, holding his hand tightly. "Right! Um...when do we get to eat?" Tilting his head, Minato allowed a small smile to curve the corners of his mouth up, "Soon..."

Operating Room:

The black markings faded away and Minato's vital signs returned to normal. It happened almost as quickly as it had started. Surprise....confusion...suspicion...and relief filled Yashamaru as he finished his work. Closing, there were surprisingly no problems. It wasn't like he'd wanted a problem to arise, but it was strange that after that frightening incident nothing else had happened. Stitching him up, Yashamaru half turned to question the man in the black suit, but he was gone. "This isn't normal... This kid can't be normal..." Young Lord Gaara appeared in Yashamaru's mind as he thought about the seal. Gaara had once had a Tailed Beast sealed inside him...it caused a lot of problems for him, his father and the village. Though he was told Minato didn't have anything sealed inside him...it still seemed like he felt another presence within the boy...or a few of them.

 

~Vert and Belle's room~​

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Spoiler

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Blanc stood up with her face scowling as she thought "I knew I shouldn't have trusted him" shortly before she walked out the door with Noire, Neptune, Vert, Nepgear, and Uni following as Noire said sternly "I'm going to have a talk with mom about this" leaving Shiro and Pururut behind in the room with Pururut placing a finger on her chin asking "Are you really our father like Belle said" rather slowly before Shiro yelled at her "Weren't you paying attention to what he said, he said something about seeing you when you're little then he has to be the father!" in anger.​

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~CPUs' House: Living Room~​

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Histoire was calmly sitting down in her chair breathing a sigh of relief before her eyes widened to hear loud footsteps heading in her direction, after a moment Vert, Noire, Blanc, Neptune, Uni, and Nepgear stood in front of their mother with stern and confused expressions on their faces, Noire was the first to speak up as she said loudly "Speaking on behalf of all of your kids..but, why is that cheating ******* in our house!?" in confusion and anger before Blanc asked "We also want the honest truth, don't hide a damn thing from us" shortly before Histoire silently stood up on her feet and said "Fine, get your sisters in here, it's time you all learned exactly what happened" rather forcibly and sternly.​

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~Shibuya~​

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"Ahh yes, the legendary Information Broker of Tokyo finally notices, well we need to spawn a couple of entites, so if you don't mind standing still then this can be done as painless and quick as possible" the male voice from inside the crystal explained just as the crystal shined with a black/dark blue light before firing two shots of freezing electricity that made a strange spiked ice cocoon on the wall "Leave the cocoon as it is and do not disturb it, the ones inside will hatch soon"​

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~Nintendo High: Princpial's Office~​

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"Ahh yes, Mr. Mualim, we flew from Scotland and we want to apply for this school, also we would need a dorm room as well" Morrigan explained as she sat down in a chair before Lilith asked "Also would it be possible for us to have the more physical-oriented classes?"​

 

-Library-

Teddie looked down and said, "It's because of that memorial thing, I'm wearing my bear suit. To cheer up the little children who are sad about what happened yesterday. Nao-chan, Sensei, if there is anything I can do to help, let me know." He looked up at Yu and Naoto, smiling.



-Aoi and Clair's home-

"Nothing, just the same old paperwork and all that." Clair said, looking at her brother and sighed. "That paperwork is so boring. I wish we had a Oracle so I could have gone with you, Oniichan." She sighed and went to put her new dress away.



-Nintendo High Entrance-

Akiza guessed Sunset Shimmer would get her later or something, but she wasn't sure. With a sigh of relief, Akiza turned to Kazu and said, "I'm a transfer student myself, just recently transferred here. But I think I can show you the way." She began to walk to the school. Swallowing a lump, Akiza shyly said, "Um, sorry about my roommate's rudeness. I just hope I'll manage this school year with her. I noticed you look like a duelist. You like to duel?"

Spoiler

-Memorial-

Sakura and Kero also looked around at the interesting people who had come to the memorial. Eiji sighed, "I know it's hard to understand, considering you're a Greeed and can't die easily, but us humans can't ingore the dead. So, just please, behave." He sighed, leaning back into his seat. Sirius patted his head while Harry sighed and looked toward the stage as did Esmeralda from behind the stage.

Koyomi sighed a breath of relief and nodded at Haruto, hesitant but she slowly touched his hand and smiled, knowing that he was alright and she didn't have to worry at the moment.

 

~Library~

Yu looked at Naoto as she asked if they had to fight again, he had to sag his shoulders at that, the battles they experienced were something no teenager would have to go through, especially the dangers of the Shadows and how close they came to death at times, Rise's Shadow being a prime example had it not been for Teddie, not to mention every fight they had against Shadows was one for life, had it not been for his ability to house various Personas on the fly, they'd have a tougher time with the dungeons.

"Maybe, but even so, we can't just ignore this when people's lives are in danger." He said with certainty in his voice.

~Aoi and Clair's House~

Aoi heard his sister's complaints of finding an Oracle to bear the brunt of the work, he did want one as well, but you can't just put an advert saying 'Oracle Needed!" and rubbed his forehead. "I swear, we need to find someone's whose competent but there's nothing like that around, not to mention what this place undergone, and that memorial being held." he muttered.

~Nintendo High School Entrance~

Kazu listened to the girl's apologies and simply waved it off as he started to follow her but then came a rather shy question, he had to hold back a chuckle at this sudden change in personality but he simply let a smile form on his lips, it seemed like there was a fellow player of the game he loved in this school after all. "Of course I do, I am a graduate from Duel Academy." he said and decided to see what this girl was wearing, it seem it was based after the Victorian style of dress, quite unique he to admit, but he was never one for fashion these days, but from what it sounded like, that woman, Sunset was going to be a strict room-mate for this girl, obviously wanting to be charge.

"Reminds me of that stupid Dorm complex of Obelisks looking down on Slifer's." He thought to himself, granted, there was some Obelisks who were friendly to other students, and the Academy quite possibly changed for the better after what it went through. "Oh that's right, how rude of me, I'm Kazu Tokura and you are?" He asked rather politely.

~Memorial~

Ankh merely waved it off as Haruto felt Koyomi's hand on his own, smiling at the girl.

 

-Nintendo High-

"Oh, introductions. I'm Akiza Izinski. Nice to meet you, Kazu." Akiza said, introducing herself to Kazu. "Sorry that I'm so shy. It's just there was a incident at my old school and I don't want to talk about it much." Akiza turned away, looking embarrassed and walked to the principal's office. She wanted to ask him if they could hang out for awhile because she didn't want to return her dorm room for awhile.



-Aoi and Clair's home-

Clair walked back to her brother and asked, "Should we go to that memorial thing today? I know it's important, but should we go to it?" She looked at her brother with innocent and curious eyes as if her anger to him earlier was never there and completely forgotten. While waiting for a answer, she messed with one of the pom-poms on her hat.

Spoiler

-Memorial-

Yuna sighed and took a sip of water to calm herself, Eiji sighed and looked at the stage. Ron stretched and noticed Haruto in the crowd, gripping the ring he had been asked to make. Koyomi smiled and looked away, unaware that Fueki was watching while Namine was sketching something to pass the time. Kazari wondered if any of his Yummies would appear during the service and yawned.

 

Hospital:

Akihiko stood as soon as Doctor Hu entered. When asked how he found Minako, Akihiko paused. If he told an ordinary human that Mitsuru had located Minako's presence using a Persona...he wouldn't believe him. "I... You wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Brushing strands of brown hair away from Minako's forehead affectionately, Akihiko firmly kept his grip on her hand, "Minako and I went to school together a few years back. I'm...um, her boyfriend." His face turned scarlet as he spoke and subconsciously squeezed her hand tighter. "Mmm...Aki...you're hurting my hand." Startled, Akihiko loosened his grip and smiled brightly as Minako woke up. "Minako...! You've no idea how happy I am to hear those words." She smiled before noticing Doctor Hu. "Oh, this is Doctor Hu... They're going to keep you for observations for a while. You really scared us, Minako. Oh, right..." Akihiko returned his attention to Hu, "This white haired man had kidnapped Minako. At least...that's what I was told. I didn't get there soon enough to be of any help. There were other kids in this old building and --" "I'm sure it'll all be in the police report." Turning to the door, Akihiko's gray eyes landed on a sophisticated red-haired young woman wearing a school uniform. "Mitsuru! Why are you here? I thought you said you couldn't leave the company yet." Mitsuru folded her arms under her chest, "I managed to finish thing up quickly when I heard what happened. Minako...I'm glad you're safe. You look well." Minako smiled at her red-haired senpai. "Senpai...Thanks. You told Aki where I was, didn't you." She blushed, hiding behind her red hair, "W-Well...when I heard you were back...and alive but kidnapped right away, I just couldn't sit still. Akihiko's been worried sick about you. Everyone's missed you and...um..." "Minato was...hurt. Ah, Doctor is he alright? My brother...he came for me...he's alright, isn't he?" Mitsuru turned around and waved a pair of nurses wheeling a bed into the room, "Minato sustained an injury..as you're aware, but his surgery was a success. The doctor in charge of him said he was in no danger now." The bed was set up next to Minako's, but the patient lying in the bed was fast asleep. Mitsuru gently brushed blue hair out of his eyes and sighed, "I should go... Minato won't wake for a while and I still have a lot of things to arrange with the Group. Doctor," Mitsuru turned to face Hu, her attitude completely business, "Please send the bills for both Arisato siblings to the Kirijo Group. Be sure to give them the best attention available." Akihiko shook his head as she turned on her heel and left the room. "Same Mitsuru..."

Yashamaru quietly entered the room after Mitsuru left, followed by Jushiro and Kakashi. "Oh...Hu, wow...there's a lot of people in this room. So...let's see if I have everyone's names straight. I know our patient, Minato..." He patted Minako's head, "You must be Minato's sister....you two look so much alike." She rolled crimson eyes and Yashamaru scratched his head as he stared at Akihiko, "So you're...a friend of the family?" "Uh...something like that." "I'm Aki's girl." Akihiko blushed and scowled at her, "Don't say it like that!" Smiling gently, Yashamaru quietly admired their bond, "Ah, young love. It's nice." Kakashi set a hand on his shoulder, "Yashamaru...you're getting off topic. Miss Arisato, do you remember what happened before you were taken to that building?" Akihiko stood up, already on guard, "You can question her later! She needs her rest." Kakashi ignored the boxing champion and focused on Minako's thoughtful expression, "I...was unpacking in my new dorm. Minato was going to come by later to do the same. I got a funny call before hand... This guy said he understood my pain and that we should disappear together...and then hung up. Then that guy wearing black kidnapped me. He didn't sound the same as the one on the phone so...I don't think he knew who I was." Kakashi rummaged through her clothes before pulling out her red cell phone and flicking through the recent calls. It was the only unnamed call in her history, but it was familiar to him. "Izaya Orihara...that b@stard."


CPU's Residence:



Kuro dragged Belle forcibly away from Virus and into Histoire's room. Unfortunately, Virus followed them, still smiling happily. "Hello Histoire, it's nice to see you again. I'm actually glad you called....I thought I'd lost you long ago." Belle scowled at him. "Maybe I should leave it to Histoire to explain...my memory's a little iffy..." His phone started to buzz and Virus sighed. "I'll be back..." Flipping open the light green phone, Virus began to quietly speak as he left the room.
Shibuya:

Izaya stared a the cocoon for a while, his hands hovering around it, "This is freaky. These will also be S-Types... Born from a cocoon-egg. I didn't actually question how an S-Type was created...I just figured it was some black magic ritual, but now that I think about it, it does sound a bit far-fetched." He glanced at the crystal in his hand, dangling from the brown string he'd wrapped around it in a makeshift necklace, "I don't suppose you're going to talk anymore, are you? Not that I'd like to stand around chatting with someone as predictable as you." Sliding open his cell, Izaya scrolled through the numbers until he found the one he was looking for and pressed call. The other line picked up almost before the first ring could even begin, "As prompt as ever. I'm impressed." Of course, he was lying. "You're lying, again." Izaya blinked a few times and sighed inwardly. Hiding any sort of lie from this person was difficult...perhaps because he wasn't human. "Heh...color me embarrassed to be caught in such an obvious lie. I need you down here in Shibuya." Silence. "Don't sound so worried. It's not like I've planned anything dangerous. Honestly, all I need you to do is guard something of mine for a while." "Something of yours?" Izaya smiled and in a few short seconds, his pale white guest stood in front of him. Ulquiorra Cifer, dressed in pure white and black, stood before Izaya, one hand in pocket and the other holding a black cell phone at his side. His green eyes landed on the cocoon, "Is that what you were referring to? I didn't think this was how you humans reproduce." Biting back a clearly annoyed retort, Izaya slid his phone back into his jacket pocket,"I have something else to attend to... Oh...this might sound a little out of character for me but...that thing won't be human, so naturally you'd assume it held little interest to me. But it does. These little crystals play a part in eliminating some key players in my war." Disappearing into the crowded streets of Shibuya, Izaya happily hummed the theme from One Piece, leaving Ulquiorra standing quietly beside the cocoon. "For a human...his psychological barriers are strong...but his obsession with these things seems like it would hinder him more than aid him."

Shepard's Apartment:

Nihlus caught Wrex's stare and returned it, lifting his chin with the old authority and confidence of a Spectre. "Something you need, Krogan?" Tali and Thane fell silent. The Krogan had a long standing hatred of Salarians and Turians but that semi-ended when Shepard cured the Genophage. Mordin, blind of the tension as he focused on his work, wandered between the two and lifted one finger into the air, "Ah-ha! Found common similarity. Should've noticed sooner. Dual-patch type scan. Not found in human or Salarian database. Ran search through broader range. One name found with matching medical procedure. Senjumaru Shutara. Old human...classified as Shinigami. Hmm...can't be right. Shinigami not exist in this plane of existence. Must be flaw in system." Tali leaned against the counter, "Of course that's a flaw. There's no way a Shinigami would save someone. They don't even exist...right?" At that moment, a voice came from the speaker on Shepard's land line, "That's not entirely true." Thane tilted his head, "Doctor T'Soni...a pleasure to hear from you." "As to you, Thane. My network picked up information regarding a Turian Spectre on Earth. Naturally I assumed Shepard would be there. When I dug further for information, I found an info broker relatively close-by that knew quite a lot regarding his condition. Soul Reapers...that's what aided your Turian Spectre. Not exactly the kind of Shinigami you read about in folklore. If you want to find Senjumaru Shutara, you'd have better luck locating another Soul Reaper. I've already uploaded several coordinates to your phones. As for my absence...I'm sorry, Shepard, but there is still a lot for me to do before I meet up with you again. Earth is one of the planets my connections run low on. Establishing connections in Tokyo is proving rather difficult. There is someone named Izaya Orihara who is blocking me. Alien agents are found easily and human agents all seem to fear this man for some reason. Perhaps you'd have better luck helping me out by finding a man named Shizuo Heiwajima and asking him to bring you to Mr. Orihara. If it's you, Shepard...I'm sure you can reason with him into giving me a little space."

 

~~Demolition Yard~~

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Roughly forty minutes later, having all eaten their orders in a cornered-off area that was scheduled for demolition and reconstruction in the upcoming weeks due to the Abductor incident yesterday, the DigiDestined, finally satisfied from having eaten a delicious meal at Subway*, began to go over again about what had happened so far in their journeys.
So far, Tai and his team had come back from the Digital World after being stranded there at Summer Camp, but time didn't seem to have moved on from that moment at all in the real world while they had been away.
Takato's group had been fighting rogue Digimon that had somehow crossed over to the real world in secret, and Takato had most recently fought off one of Myotismon's pet Devidramon, by having Guilmon digivolve to his Champion level for the first time.
The two teams explained how they had both come together in order to fight Myotismon's army, and eventually, Takato and the others had all been there for when Agumon and Gabumon warp digivolved to their Mega-levels, WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, in order to defeat VenomMyotismon. It had been a hard fight, but eventually they had managed to win together.
Now, though, they were having a well-deserved break. It had been several days since then, and normal life was beginning to reassert itself in their schedules.
That was, until today.

[to be continued in The Hero of Time's post]

 

~CPUs' House: Living Room~​

​

After dragging Shiro and Pururut into the living room, Histoire sighed as she said "Alright, this is going to be a long story so pay attention to the details, the man you saw...is my former husband and your father" causing Shiro to yell aloud "Then why is he even here then, he's a good for nothing *******!" shortly before Blanc held her back commenting "Let's listen first, continue" "Thank you, now everything began when I arrived to Japan by boat, when I got here I didn't exactly have any sort of good income, so I had to get myself a job in order to sustain myself and live, now as I worked hard and gained my promotions I ran across a fellow worker who would eventually become your father, we of course got along pretty well and even helped each other out of some tight spots"​

​

"Eventually we started dating before finally getting married and moved in together, it was then nine months later I had given birth to two adorable little girls with blue eyes" Histoire continued before Vert said "That was Belle and I correct?" only for Histoire to frown as she said "Yes....but we didn't exactly have enough funds or a way to handle two kids at the time....so.....I had to give one of you away..." with tears in her eyes.​

​

"Oh, and lemme ****ing guess, you and him eventually had more kids and had to give some more away!" Shiro yelled aloud in anger and frustration before causing Histoire to start crying as she said "Yes! I had more kids, and three more were given away, I'm not a irresponsible mother!" before slamming her face in her hands as she weeped muttering "I didn't want to do it, I really didn't...I love all of you and I couldn't bear to lose any of you, but I just wanted you all to have a good home and a good family and a roof over your head and to be happy!" shortly before she stood up and ran off with tears in her eyes away from her kids​

​

There was complete silence among the girls, none of them really sure on how to interpret what their mother had told them, Nepgear was the first to break the cold silence as she said "I'm not sure what to feel right now...anger because our siblings were given away or sadness because of what she had to do" shortly before Shiro rubbed the back of her head and sighed "Maybe I was a bit too hard, she ran off crying because I yelled at her" with Vert crossing her arms as she said "Technicly you did want the truth, and we did find out more about what happened"​

​

​

~Shepard's Apartment~​

​

Wrex said aloud as he noticed the turian spectre "Hey Shepard, I thought you told me this guy was dead" shortly before she calmly said "I'll explain later Wrex" shortly before she spoke up aloud "Yeah, seems like we can hear you just fine Liara. We'll be sure to find Mr. Orihara and have a word with him" "And if talking just won't cut it, then we'll just use brute force" "Okay Wrex, but let's simply try to talk it out first, if it doesn't work then we'll use force, we'll also go look into that Shinigami as well"​

​

It was at that moment a small round camera on top of Shepard's television beeped and turned itself on causing a trio of holograms to appear on the floor, on the far left stood a turian with white markings on his face and odd clothing in shades of dark-blue, red, and white, on the far right was a gray male salarian wearing a a long dark-blue and red robe with a hood over his head, and finally in the middle was a purple asari with white marks on her face wearing a long red and white dress.​

​

Shepard's eyes turned noticiing the active holograms before she told Liara "Yeah, I'm going to have to take this call, The Council's waiting" shortly before she turned to face the Council and said calmly and officially "Hello there, is something wrong" shortly before the Salarian Councilor was the first to speak up "Yes, rumor has been going around Citadel space that Nihlus isn't dead" "Yes, that is true Councilior Valern, Nihlus is currently in the same room as me" before pointing at Nihlus and said "Allow me to send you the medical information from the Omni-tool data of Mordin Solus" as she brought up her own Omni-tool and proceeded to download and send the data.​

​

A moment later Valern and the other two members of the Council were reading the medical data shortly before the Turian Councilior spoke up "Soul Reapers, prepostorous, it would be impossible for something like that to even exist let alone somehow keep a Spectre alive" shortly before Valern turned to face him and said "Look at the facts Sparatus, you can see that Nihlus is clearly walking around as though he wasn't dead at all" "But by Soul Reapers? There's obviously something clearly wrong here" "Yes, but even you cannot deny something that's clear in front of your face" shortly before the Asari Councilior spoke up "Let us just agree that somehow Nihlus Kryik is alive, however based upon the records shown he would still be a liability to go rogue like Saren had before, so I hereby suggest that we revoke Nihlus' Spectre status until his mental health returns" "I agree with Tevos, for the safety of the entire galaxy and all of Citadel Space, Sparatus?" "I also have to agree, this wouldn't be a problem if he was a Vorcha, or a Volus, or something small and not as threatening as a Turian" "Then it is agreed, by order of the Council the Spectre status of Nihlus Kryik has been revoked, good day to you Commander Shepard"​

​

​

~Nintendo High: Princpial's Office~​

​

"Uh thanks?" Morrigan said as the two girls took their schedules and quietly walked out the door and started to head toward their dorm before Lilith commented "Did you hear what he said?" "Yes, it was clear, apparently I reveal too much skin, you'd think though it would be a good thing" "I guess so"​

​

Palutena stood up and walked into the office before she said "I would like to enroll my son in to this school" rather calmly​

 

Library:

Naoto smiled at her senpai's old unfailing confidence. "Of course, Senpai." A thought dawned on her and she turned to Teddie, "That's right...Teddie, if you would do me a favor. While I was researching the school's history, I found something interesting about those Apathy cases. There's a guy that was involved in the cases that was hospitalized. He recently was released but I haven't been able to find him and question him. His name is Shinjiro Aragaki. If my hunch is correct...he's also a Persona-user like us and Ms. Yamagishi."

 

~Nintendo high-

Kazu nodded at Akiza's introduction, if she didn't want to talk about her past, that was alright in his book, besides, would she believe the things he went through on Duel Academy? "Probably not." He concluded as they reached the principal's office and Kazu was about to knock on the door until it opened when a girl with green and another with pink hair themed after devils walked by. "That was... an interesting sight to see." he thought to himself, it was their attire to more precise.

"U-Um." Kazu's thoughts were brought to a stop when Akiza's voice, barely audible to his ears spoke. "M-Might I join you after you're done?" Akiza asked rather shyly and he smiled gave a smile. "Sure, why not?" he answered and Akiza nodded meekly as Kazu entered into the office, his back slung over his shoulder, taking in the view if Ali Mualim.

"Either this school supports all clothing styles or it'll be a rather interesting time here." He thought to himself and spoke. "Kazu Tokura, Silfer Red Graduate of Duel Academy." he answered as a student would, question is, did this Headmaster know the strange occurrences that happened at Duel Academy, well the fact there was Shadow Riders, Sacred Beasts sealing underneath it, a religious cult that attempted to take over. Duel Academy being transported to another world for a few days only to return of course the Nightshroud incident where people were disappearing from all over the world, his mind then focused on the female woman in the room, a green-haired one wearing a white dress that seemed almost fashioned as roman's while she held a strange staff.

"Something tells me, it won't be a peaceful time here." He thought and waited for the man to speak.

~Aoi and Clair's Home~

"I suppose we should." He answered and Clair nodded in response at that answer. "We'll close up here and head down there." AOi said as theyd id just that.

~Library~

Teddie blinked. "i'll try my best, but my nose isn't all that good, I think Rise-chan would have better luck." Teddie pointed out which was true to Yu, teddie was more of a frontline fighter after Rise's Persona proved to be better for recon and Teddie decided to train while Rise was healing, and from it, he grew an inside. "Aptahy Syndrome?" Yu took this moment to think, he recalled that, apparently, people were becoming unresponsive and it happened in Tatsumi port if Naoto wasn't able to find him or locate him, then teddie's sniffing abilities wouldn't be much help and even if Rise were here, they couldn't use their Personas outside of certain conditions.

"It might be best to locate Yamagishi-san first and ask her directly, either that or Uncle might have some information to go on." he said to the two of them, he didn't want to involve his Uncle in their business, especially since he wa sjust an innocent bystander and the results of Nanako being kidnapped were there too, but then again, Dojima did start to believe him and his friends, especially when saving Nanako.

"Unless..." He took a moment to think, Tatsumi Port had a school there, Gekkoukan High and it has it for children Nanako's age, the Apathy cases happened there and the Persona-users were stationed there too... maybe... "The school there was founded by the Kirijo Group, and the syndrome occurred on the island, what if Yamagishi-san was a part of that?" he asked Naoto

 

CPU's Residence:

Virus watched Histoire run away and frowned. Returning to the room, he tried not to bring his usual attitude with him as he addressed the girls. "It's not entirely your fault. It was my idea to give one of you away each time." Kuro glared at him and he met her glare with a cold stare, "I've never been good at handling children...I'll admit that much. But I screened each and every one of the people that offered to take you three. Smoking, drinking, gambling, any sign of future lay-off and they were out of the line-up. I did what I could to make sure you girls had a safe home to grow up in. I knew you'd come back here so I kept them in touch with Histoire. After...that incident with Croire...I didn't hold on to a false hope that I'd be allowed into your lives when you returned so I didn't bother to keep with the updates." Adjusting his glasses, Virus sighed, "My brother, Trip, doesn't know any of this...so I'd appreciate it if you kept this family business on the down-low." He checked to make sure Histoire wasn't coming back any time soon and cleared his throat, "There's quite a bit I never told Histoire. Such as how we met...it's not as fairy-tale as she makes it sound. The company she worked for was a branch of Toue Inc. that I was briefly assigned to watch over. I frequently traveled to and from an island off the coast of Tokyo to check in with Trip and Mr. Toue. Naturally I kept my relationship with the company a secret from Histoire and my relationship with Histoire a secret from the company. The rest is as Histoire remembers. Though it was a bit more taxing on me than her. My advances towards your mother were made in jest...which she took seriously. Imagine my surprise when a few nights turned into a relationship." "Is this supposed to make us like you?" "Absolutely not. I lost any chance at having you all "like me" when I agreed to have coffee with Croire. For a primitive woman she knows her way around a deadly herb garden. Of course, I don't remember any of what happened that night. But you girls probably aren't interested in my explanation for the reason Ram and Rom are so-called "scarred for life" and Histoire hardly trusts me." He gave up when neither of the girls batted an eye at his story. Turning on his heel, he followed after Histoire. Finding her, he searched for a way to talk to her. "I figured you only called me because you wanted more money...or something the company had denied you. I didn't imagine they would be here when I arrived....let alone that you hadn't told them. Histoire...I don't remember what happened and I don't expect you to forgive me. Toue Inc. no longer exists...and I no longer work for a company like that. I work as a head of Morphine now...with Trip. With Toue Inc. gone, the name on the checks will be different...if you hadn't noticed already. Seregaki Inc. is...very different." The reason he'd started rambling on about the company was...to justify himself, wasn't it? He didn't want her to believe the rumors that the news spread about Toue Inc. and Morphine when Platinum Jail was destroyed.

Shepard's Apartment:

Nihlus listened quietly and obediently to the Councilors and even after the transmission ended, he was left silent and in shock. His pride hurt, Nihlus turned away from Shepard and her companions and quietly left the room to contemplate in Shepard's room. He didn't quite see the space around him as his thoughts ran around in his head. If Shepard's summary of the recent events were true...then how long had he been out? Three years...maybe more? And now with his Spectre status revoked...he had no choice but to return to Citadel space...
Liara's voice came quietly through the speakers once more, "That sounded rather harsh... For a Turian, a demotion like that has got to hurt. I know Turians are proud and fond of their military achievements. To come back from the dead and have everything stripped away...it's worse than dying. Shepard...I recommend giving Nihlus a purpose. Even a once-Spectre Turian still packs a punch if he were to become like Saren." Thane looked up to Shepard, "You should consider asking him to join us on our mission that Peppy Hare has given us. You seem to...have some unrequited feelings for Nihlus that I believe would be best worked out before he keels over again." Tali chuckled, "That sounded like a joke, Thane." The drell shrugged, "Perhaps."

Hospital:

Akihiko frowned, "It's not that simple." Kakashi showed the phone to Hu, on the screen it read: "History Deleted". "I'm lucky I even got to look at it before he deleted the call history. Ordinary police aren't going to cut it. Don't worry about the formalities, Doctor Hu. I'll take care of it. The Soul Reaper Punishment Squad is already looking for the man who kidnapped Minako. The guy who actually took her from her dorm room seemed more like he was pushed into this. Izaya...leave him be. We've no evidence that connects him to this case anymore. As for the hideout...I'm afraid the place was wrecked. Our kidnapper fled the hideout before we could take him into custody. I doubt he'll return there. Anyway--" "Pino told you it was easy." "Yeah, yeah...you also said you knew your way around this place. Huh? Hey, that guy's wearing a white coat. I'm going to say...doctor. C'mon...we'll get this guy checked out and head home." A black haired boy wearing a cap and some raggedy clothes and a little girl wearing a pink bunny suit dragged another boy behind them as they pushed their way into the room to stand before Doctor Hu. Pulling the boy in front of him, the black haired bow winked deviously, "I'm Crow, this is Pino and this is our friend. He got a bit scratched up so...we tagged along in the ambulance. He's been kinda dazed for a while... I, uh...didn't want to leave him that way." Kakashi bowed slightly and took his leave. Akihiko returned to silence as Yashamaru checked over Minako, probing her stomach for soft spots or pain.


Library:

Naoto nodded before pulling up a picture of a red-headed woman on the screen of the computer, "My thoughts exactly, Senpai. The current head of the Kirijo Group is Mitsuru Kirijo. She was a student during the time the Syndrome really took off. All the news reports say her father, the former head of the Group, died of sudden illness. Locating someone as famous as her isn't difficult...but getting close to her to ask questions would be. Since I have all the necessary information about Yamagishi-san, I'm going to head to the memorial and see if she's there." She hesitated, letting the little fox run up her arm and settle around her shoulders, "Senpai...um...I don't know if you changed your mind during our time apart...but my feelings haven't changed."
Memorial:

Shikamaru, Choji, Neji, Kiba, Shino and Fuuka arrived at the memorial site and quietly took their seats beside Shikamaru's father, Shikaku Nara. Fuuka's thoughts rode heavily on the presence she'd sensed during the battle against the S-Types earlier. She'd felt it again while passing by the library. But with Shikamaru and his friends with her, she couldn't check it out. How was she to explain herself to the person even if she found them. But another who felt like they had the same power as Minato, Minako and Aigis...it couldn't be coincidence that the person was in Tokyo. Was the seal wearing off? Had Erebus succeeded in breaking through? Was Nyx going to come back and another person was to be sacrificed to stop the Fall?

 

~Library~

Yu listened rather intently as did Teddie, listening and hanging on each and every word that Naoto spoke and said she was going to attend the memorial before Naoto personally told him her feelings, it was no small secret in the Investigation Team honestly, sure Chie had a fiery determination to protect those she cared about or protecting the weak, desiring to become a police officer, Yukiko having a hidden resolve and conviction to protect the place she lived, as well as inheriting the Amagi Inn which she initially denied, RIse was an Idol and have such a bubbly personality but was conflicted as who she really was but even though her Arcana is Lovers, he didn't see her that way, not to mention the press and fans would be outraged and who knew what else could happen as Idol business is very dangerous grounds but Naoto, something about her sparked something in him, maybe it was because of her trying to discover who she really was by trying to cross the gender wall while having such a intelligent mind if not, comparable to his own and finally, she gave helpful insight into the Investigation when they discovered the Killer was still at large despite having caught Mitsuo Kubo along with Adachi being the true culprit later on, she truly was a Fortune.

"My mind hasn't changed a bit since that day." He said, looking back on that fond but saddening memory, the day he had to leave Inaba due to his parents work and having to bid farewell to everyone, but as Yosuke said, distance didn't matter between them all, they would always be a apart of each other's lives and that bond would never sever from it, he had to chuckle in his head, in a way, it was like a Social Link, in fact, it probably was, he forged an unbreakable bond with everyone, if he had to be honest, Inaba was and always will be, his second home no matter where he was.

"Well, let's get going then Sensei, Nao-chan!" Teddie said to them and Yu gave a small nod, getting up from his seat, pushing the chair back in the process. "Alright, let's go, although Ted, you might want to change out of that." he said, it was kind of true, Teddie wearing his bear suit would be seen as strange to onlookers, he only prayed he wore something underneath that hot suit, most likely he did.

~Headmaster's Office~

Kazu merely shrugged and exited the room, Akiza being surprised. "That didn't take long." She said and Kazu sighed. "A meeting's held there, most likely, it'll take a while." he pinched the bridge of his noise. "And knowing Headmaster's, it'll involve something like 'saving the world', it better not be a repeat of the Shadow Riders or Nightshroud with his Trueman lackeys, what I wouldn't give for one year free of saving the world from disaster." he thought with a sigh. "How about you show me to the local cafeteria? I haven't eaten much from my flight." He asked Akiza who nodded shyly.

"T-This way." She said and walked down a hallway with Kazu following behind her. "I pray to the Gods, there better not be a random box of Sandwiches and finding out what you get after you bite into it, those Godlen Eggwichs are a nightmare." He prayed.