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[icecution]

Before I start, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Mitsuru Kirijo and, as the rest of this message will doubtless betray soon enough, I have only recently arrived. I apologise in advance if any of this seems overly blunt or harsh. This isn't like any situation I'm accustomed to so I ask that you forgive any breach of personal or local etiquette and trust that it isn't intentional on my part.

That being said, I do have some questions concerning our job assignments - not the job we were brought here for, I understand that, but the employment we are granted in order that we are able to support ourselves financially. While I don't wish to seem ungrateful, I'm not certain I'm entirely cut out for the role I have been assigned to and, truthfully speaking, I have to question how it is they determine who is given what job. Is it entirely random? Or are we supposed to consider it a challenge to test our adaptability?

And following on from that, how would those who have already done so advise that I go about seeking employment I feel I am more suited to? I am happy to expand on my skillset should the need arise but I feel that is perhaps better suited for private conversation where it holds relevance.

Thank you in advance for your time and your assistance.

Comments

[icecution]

[All right. He is definitely him and definitely alive. Those two points, she is clear on.

What she's not so clear on is how any of this is happening. The introductory pamphlet made mention of time not progressing in her world while she's here but if that were true then this shouldn't be possible.

Unless she's missing part of the story, which is possible. Only one way to find out.]

How long have you been here? And what's the last thing you recall?

[Will this help? She's not sure. But it's somewhere to start.]

[axeboyfriend]

[ There's a lot of fun things Mitsuru's going to learn that the pamphlet didn't brief her on. On the other hand, he's not at all surprised she wants to figure out what's going on. Mitsuru's not a lady who likes being uninformed. ]

About... [ He pauses to consider that. ] ...eight months now. It'd been about a week since I woke up from my coma.

[icecution]

Coma...?

[The timespan, while perhaps a little longer than she might have guessed, almost makes sense. That last part is something she's taking a lot longer to process because that is not a thing she remembers.]

Then...but that doesn't make sense. If there had been any chance at all, we would have known about it. Waking up...that shouldn't have been an option.

[Is it the most tactful way she could have handled it? She's not sure; there's never been much call for her to think about how to tell someone they're supposed to be dead. Still, she's pretty sure that's not a mistake the hospital would have made, though his words now do cast the very faintest shadow of doubt.]

[axeboyfriend]

[ Now Shinjiro's transitioned from uncertain to full-blown confused, his eyebrows drawing together in a way that's visible despite his beanie covering most of his forehead. ]

They'd said they didn't expect me to wake up, but.... I was under the impression Kirijo was footing the bill.

[ How else had he been kept on life support for months? ]

[icecution]

We would have, had we thought it would make any difference.

[She would have personally made sure of it, and no doubt Akihiko would have stopped any chance of second-guessing she may have faced.

Something's not adding up. And so far, she's not seeing anything that would serve as explanation for this. Still, they can argue this in circles or she can put that on hold and maybe find some answers in whatever else he has to say.]

Putting that aside, for now...when did you wake up?

[Maybe she just hasn't got that far yet, though she doubts it's as straightforward as that with all else she knows.]

[axeboyfriend]

[ Shinjiro's also got the impression he's missing something, but he's not really sure what "something" might be just yet. ]

March fourth. Just in time to watch....

[ ...the leader die, but he doesn't finish that sentence. ]

[icecution]

[He doesn't have to. Mitsuru understands what he means, or at least she thinks he does. She's still not sure how when he was supposed to have been dead, but the rest is clear enough. And heck, for all she knows someone within the Kirijo Group might have decided to keep him for monitoring after death, especially given his involvement in some of the Group's experiments.]

Well...supposing that something was done without any of our knowledge that would make something like possible, it does make sense that we wouldn't have noticed you while we were so focused on him.

[axeboyfriend]

[ Wait a minute. ]

"Him?"

[ There's this feeling that he might have figured something out, but he needs to make sure first— ]

[icecution]

You know who I mean, if you were there.

[But she'll give way on this one, even if just saying the name is an effort. This is the last thing from home she remembers too, after all.]

Yuki.

[axeboyfriend]

[ The name means nothing to him— but it does seem to confirm what he's been suspecting. ]

We.... might be from different timelines. The person I met up with up there was Arisato. Minako Arisato.

[icecution]

Different timelines?

[She's not sure whether to feel more or less confused by the fact that those two words make an odd amount of sense. It's the most logical answer, if she ignores the countless questions it raises, and even for the fact that the portal has managed to bring her here she's not sure she can quite believe it.

But then, what are the alternatives?]

Then...is this something you've encountered before? For you to have come to that conclusion so readily...

[She'd buy it as an outlandish suggestion from some but she's always figured him to be one of the more sensible ones.]

[axeboyfriend]

Not quite.

[ He should probably explain. ]

Sometimes... people can show up and then come back with no memories of their previous time here. There was another "me" here previously, and I met up with one of that Shinjiro's friends. We'd assumed it was the same thing at first, but it turned out that.... someone in that Shinjiro's life had been different.

[ Talking about SEES more openly than that, even if their mission was done, still didn't seem right. ]

A guy with blue hair instead of a girl with brown hair. I don't know what other differences there are, but...

[icecution]

[She appreciates the discretion. Really, this whole conversation should have been locked down but chalk that up to shock and then confusion on Mitsuru's part, clouding her judgement.]

It sounds like this...other you had more in common with what I recall than you do. But perhaps...if that can be different, perhaps that had something to do with your fate being different...if it isn't just coincidence.

[But all things considered, she finds coincidence to be hard to believe.]

[axeboyfriend]

A different fate...

[ He's got some questions to ask Jaime, he thinks. ]

It's probably more than just a coincidence.

[icecution]

That does usually end up being the case.

[Heck, she's known damn well that certain "coincidences" have turned out to be more than that. Why start believing in them now?]

Still, as confusing as this all is...I can't say I mind a familiar face around here.

[Even if he wouldn't be her first choice, she can definitely think of worse outcomes.]

[ Video → Private ]

[axeboyfriend]

Can't say I blame you.

[ ....He should probably warn Minako, now that he's thinking about it.

He's switching the feed to "private" now. ]

There's other Persona users here.

[ Different timelines or not, Mitsuru Kirijo is the same person. Which means she'll definitely want to know. ]

[ Video → Private ]

[icecution]

[She'll give him that, he knows her well enough to know what she would consider to be important information.]

Other Persona users that we know?

[She doesn't think he would word it the way he did if that were the case but she's leaving it open for him to expand on that.]

[axeboyfriend]

One other that I know, but other than that....

[ He shakes his head. ]

Most of them are from "after" us. 2011 and 2016.

[icecution]

Hmm. How much do you know about them?

[Because she has a ton of questions but she is at least aware that she'll only be wasting his time and her own by asking things he can't answer.]

[axeboyfriend]

[ Shinjiro shakes his head. ]

Not a lot. Mostly that they exist. There's at least one guy from 2011, two from 2016, and a guy from 2000. That last one can sense other Persona users.

[icecution]

Well. If that's the case I don't imagine he'll be hard to find. As to the rest, I suppose I'll have to find out for myself.

[Which does leave just one question.]

How many of them know about you?

[axeboyfriend]

[ Shinjiro grimaces. ]

Most of them. Mishina - the guy from 2000 - is the one who called me out. Narukami, the guy from 2011, recognized Koromaru. Apparently, he'd met most of you guys at some point before he got here.

[ Time travel is weird. He still remembers the description he got about how Mitsuru and Akihiko were dressed. ]

Kitagawa knew someone who knew the other "me."

[icecution]

[Surely not-dressed is more accurate for Akihiko.]

Excellent. Then you can introduce me. I imagine there's no sense hiding it considering where we are.

[And she definitely wants to know about people who she doesn't remember meeting but know who she is.]

Does Koromaru still have his abilities?

[axeboyfriend]

[ TRUE. ]

Probably not.

[ Not that he talks about his Persona much anyway, but she's aware of his issues there.]

Some of 'em. He doesn't have his full range here. Mostly just his agi skills.

[icecution]

That's better than nothing. How has he been adjusting to being so far from home?

[She's thinking mostly of the whole, being a world away from the shrine part. And this is totally not her trying to play down wanting to see them both and maybe make sure Shinjiro is actually real despite this whole conversation.]