♛1 (Video)

[penthesileia]

(ooc: Slightly forward-dated to after midnight on 2/9)

[The young woman on the screen is seated with one leg crossed over the other. She looks at the camera and speaks in a very calm voice.]

Bonsoir, everyone.

I'm sure you get countless numbers of these posts from newly arrived imPorts, confused as to their whereabouts, and I'm sorry to add to that number. [She says with a somewhat sheepish tinge to her voice and a matching expression on her face, before both become professional and calm once again.] My name is Mitsuru Kirijo, of Kirijo Group-- not that I expect the name will mean much in this place-- and I'm looking for people I may know.

If anyone knows any young people who have mentioned, back in our prior worlds, either attending a school called Gekkoukan High or living in Iwatodai City, let me know at once, s'il vous plaît. It's really quite important that I contact them as soon as possible.

If you don't, and it's entirely probable that you do not, I apologize for taking your time.

Thank you.

Comments

video;

[homerunning]

[Hi Mitsuru, probably not exactly the guy you wanted to see first, but there's a familiar baseball-cap wearing teen on the other end of the feed, eyes widened and jaw hanging open.]

S-Senpai? You got taken here too?

I...I mean.

[Ahem. Give him a moment to make his voice a little more 'formal'.]

Yes. I "see voo play."

video;

[penthesileia]

Iori?! [For a moment, she seems genuinely surprised to see him, especially before anyone else. In the next instant, she's just as cool as ever... though there's a wry smile on her lips.] I see. I hadn't imagined that this would bear fruit quite so quickly.

Yes, as you can see, I'm here as well. [Beat.] And it's s'il vous plaît. It's French for "please."

video;

[homerunning]

I'll never understand French.--ahem--What can I say? I hear a lady in need of some residents of Iwatodai, and I come runnin'.

[His fingers trail along the brim of his hat, smiling.]

Truth is, I just got here myself.

video;

[penthesileia]

Yes, I recall your grades in foreign languages were never quite spectacular. Or even Japanese, for that matter. [Said matter-of-factly.] What do you mean by "just"? Hours, minutes, days?

[dormition]

[ Wow. Minato really cannot handle getting two castmates in as many days. He's actually openly smiling as he turns the video on. He has no idea what time she's from, so best to play it safe.

It doesn't matter to him, anyway, not really. Not as long as he gets to see her. ]

It's alright, senpai. I'm here, and so is Ken, Akihiko, Shinjiro, and Koromaru. And now Junpei. Welcome to the club.

1/??

[penthesileia]

[Another face she recognizes! Wow, this is something of a pleasant surprise. Her response is automatic.] It's rare to see you in such a good mood, Arisato. You--

[penthesileia]

[You... are dead.

She wasn't there in time, but she saw the aftermath. She saw your body. And yet, here you are.]

[penthesileia]

[Instantly, her face goes pale with shock. With hurt, too. He'd been someone she'd come to care for, after all, and to not be there for him in his final moments is a wound all too fresh. How can this be?]

[penthesileia]

[Instantly her posture becomes stiff. There's no way he can be here, talking to her. This is some kind of trick. Is what she was told, then, also a lie? Has she been kidnapped? Had Nyx won, after all? Is this some strange afterlife? The gears in her head are practically visibly turning.] I--

[penthesileia]

[Then, what he'd said hits her: Shinjiro. Another dead man. Another impossibility. Someone is trying to use her dead friends to manipulate her.]

6/7

[penthesileia]

[And for a moment, Mitsuru Kirijo visibly loses her cool, fury flashing across her face.]

Done!

[penthesileia]

[It fades, but when she speaks her tone is taut and tense, her voice only wavering slightly, as if she's very desperately trying to keep her emotions in check.] I don't know who you think you are. But I assure you, I am not amused. How dare you?!

[locked]

[dormition]

[ Minato's eyes slowly widen through this, and then reverse, face slowly falling. In the end he's not crestfallen but is very quiet, and melancholy.

Much how he'd looked through those last few days leading up to facing Nyx. He reaches out to private the thread before responding, because he's aware that once again there's someone to hide this from: Junpei. ]

Mitsuru. [ No honorific, no pretense, just speaking softly, eyes compassionate. ] It's me, I promise. This is a place outside of time. I'm alive, as long as we're here.

video;

[amadaman]

[Oh, it's senpai. First Junpei-san, and now... maybe they really do arrive in twos. But wait, he and Koromaru arrived at the same time as Minato-san, so that was three, right? There goes that pattern. But this is more important, so Ken snaps on the video as Koromaru jumps on to the bed next to him.]

We're here, Kirijo-senpai!

video;

[penthesileia]

[In complete mood whiplash:] Ah, Amada. So you are. [She says with a soft, wry smile.]

It's fascinating. A world that can exist outside of time, if what they tell us at our initiations is true.

and then privated;

[amadaman]

[In the moment it takes her to reply Ken has already whipped through her videos and he sees the start of Minato's; clearly it had been locked, the way it cuts off.]

Ah-- yes. Um, senpai.

[He's pretty expressive, more so than he ever was back home. His expression changes a million times until it settles on a conflicted, but determined look.]

... Please believe Minato-san. I swear. It's him.

video;

[helpline]

Bonsoir! [ the Doctor waves at the camera, giving Mitsuru a small little smile. ] I'm not from Gekkoukan or Iwatodai, but I am someone who's good at answering nonsense questions if you have any about this place.

video;

[penthesileia]

[His cheer is almost infectious. Unfortunately, after certain other conversations, she's been at least temporarily inoculated.]

I suppose many of my smaller questions can be rolled into a larger one: How can I believe that this place is truly what it claims to be?

video;

[helpline]

I suppose that all depends on which bits you're interested in. 2016? Definitely that, even if some differences are a bit odd. At war with the Soviets? Considering some Russians kidnapped imPorts a few weeks ago, definitely that. The government can't bring us back? Has yet to be determined.

video;

[hoboagogo]

[Less than a week apart. It had been hard to figure out what to say to Akihiko, initially. Minato was easier. Ken, he hadn't had the time to think or plan ahead, having run into him at the train station in Nonah one morning. With Junpei, and now Mitsuru, it hadn't gotten any easier.

There's no good way to break a silence brought about by death, after all-- and with the perspective afforded by the distance of an entire multiverse, as well as the span of two years, it's only made that much harder.

So just as before, he just shoves whatever feelings aside and goes for it. Video on, and he's at his house in De Chima- dressed in a loose t-shirt for sleeping, but very much awake and alert, eyes sharp behind those ruffled bangs.]

-You too, huh? At this rate, the whole team'll be here.

[It's said a bit quietly- a bit dryly. Because he knows it's not a good thing for them all to be pulled out of their universe... but selfishly, it's good to see them.]

Hey, Mitsuru. You just get here?

video;

[penthesileia]

[Her reaction at that face-- that voice-- is certainly less drastic than how she'd reacted to Minato. Having already seen a dead man walking helps, certainly, but Minato's death had been a far fresher wound in her heart... even if she hadn't been as old a friend.

As it is, her reaction is mostly limited to a sudden, sharp intake of breath and her posture going rigid. She doesn't look fully at the screen.] Yes, just a few hours ago.

It seems I'm late, Shinjiro.

[hoboagogo]

[Usually he just stonefaces and pretends to ignore those faint, pained reactions: after all, he responded to Junpei with nothing but silence and a neutral expression. But as her eyes dip down, so do his. Again, there's that feeling of guilt like tar in his chest, clinging to the inside of his ribs and lungs, thick and heavy.

But if she won't bring it up, neither will he. Practical as always, emotions can come after.]

You're up late, too. [Says the guy who has to be at work in 5 hours. But the habit of staying up passed midnight, staying alert until after? It's hard to break.]

You find your place and settle in okay so far?

[video]

[timecapture]

Who do you know? I might know a few, and I'd be happy to help.

[She knows how scary it is to end up in this place alone.]

[video]

[penthesileia]

I was Gekkoukan's student body president, so I'm at least cursorily familiar with almost everyone who attended it.

Can you give me any names?

[timecapture]

Well... I know a lot of people. [Mostly online.] And I'm not sure what school they attend.

[She hasn't exactly asked anyone about their old schools, after all.]

But as far as people go, there are a whole lot that are high school age. [Including her. Maybe if Mitsuru gave her some names, she could give her answers without scouring her brain.]