001 | action & private text;

[tenoritantei]

[ It’s noon, and Entranceway’s newest arrival is curious as fuck. She’ll be wandering about the gardens, snooping around the mansion, peeking in through windows, staring at the blue skies that make up the entrance hall’s ceiling, sniffing the food in the kitchen, and everything in between.

There are mysteries here, and Naoto Shirogane, ace detective, is on the case. If that means interrogating the shit out of anyone who crosses her path, so be it.

Eventually, she’ll find the communications system and, after spending a while figuring it out (it's not hard to find previous posts and others' conversations), she’ll send out a brief, private message: ]



To Souji Seta & Yousuke Hanamura--
IMPT MESSAGE:
HELLO.
ARE U THERE?
PLZ RESPOND ASAP.

Comments

[action]

[jivitadana]

[Minato saw someone looking into the window of the Music Room that looked way too familiar. He set his violin down and quickly went over to open said window.]

... Naoto?

[action] wait not 1/2 i changed my mind

[tenoritantei]

[ It's uncanny how much the boy in the music room looks like her, so it's without surprise that Naoto fumbles all over any attempt at a response. ]

I, um.

[ It doesn't help that he also knows her name (everyone in town knows her name, but this isn't Inaba, and it's still startling when she hears "Naoto" or "detective prince" whispered in passing). She takes a step or two back from the window to give herself space (and to get a better look at him). ]

Yes. [ Eloquence at its finest. ] I mean, ah, yes, I'm Naoto. Have we met?

[action]

[jivitadana]

[Minato stayed inside, and let her have space. He nodded, having his hands in his pockets.]

You and Sukuna-Hikona.

[action]

[tenoritantei]

[ !!!!!! ]

How? [ She's instantly on the defensive. Naoto can understand people knowing her name. That's normal. However, someone knowing both 1) about her Persona, and 2) his name is dangerous. Only those who have been inside the TV know of the Personae (at least, so says her current working hypothesis), and only her friends know of her own Persona.

Either this guy is the greatest stalker of the century, or he is in on some secret knowledge shit that he oughtn't be privy to, which would involve his ability to enter the TV world. Considering that only her friends and the potential murderer have access to the TV world, her hand lingers by her gun. ]

Who are you?

[action forever]

[akapeanut]

[Unlucky for Naoto, it's pretty hard to walk through the snow quietly. George sits on a bench in the garden reading, and looks up from her book as the crunching comes closer.]

Hello? Who's there?

[tenoritantei]

[ Naoto had been debating whether or not she should interrupt this other girl's reading to question her. On one hand, reading is awesome and Naoto would probably be just a little peeved if she were interrupted, but on the other, what the fuck is going on how many people are here what kinds of people are here what what what so many questions all of which need answers right now thank you. It's a miracle that the other girl looks up and speaks first.

So Naoto approaches. ]

Forgive me for the interruption. My name is Naoto Shirogane, and I'm... [ what was the terminology people used on their network posts? ]... "new" here.

[akapeanut]

Yeah, I thought so.

[George closes the book-- A Christmas Carol, if anyone cares to know --and looks the, uh, girl? Over.]

I'm George. Did somebody fill you in? On like. The stuff that makes this place fucked up?

[masukukunai]

Woah-- Seriously, Naoto-kun? Is that you?

[It's been ages since anyone from Inaba either than Souji and himself have been here; he's actually a little shocked. He just assumed it'd stay that way forever.]

text; 1/2

[tenoritantei]

YES.

video;

[tenoritantei]

[ Wait, give her a second. Activating the the video function of her communicator. ]

Ah, there. It's relieving to hear a familiar voice.

Can you hear me, Yousuke-senpai?

video;

[masukukunai]

Heh, I could probably say the same thing. Yeah, I can hear you. Loud and clear.

[He looks pretty happy, all things considered.]

I guess we can always count on you to figure stuff out fast.

video;

[eatsyourscience]

Naoto. [His smile is just about audible.]

When did you get here?

video; 1/2

[tenoritantei]

Souji-senpai! [ Can you feel the relief in her voice? It is ridiculous. It is ungodly in nature, with all the strength of a child's delight while watching an episode of Scooby Doo (or playing Persona 4, since they are pretty much the same thing). ]

video;

[tenoritantei]

[ Oh, wait, high levels of excitement are embarrassing as fuck. ]

Um, I've only been here a few hours, I think. Not long at all. But I've got the basic story of this place... Wonderland. [ She says the name like she's still convinced it's an elaborate joke. ]

video;

[eatsyourscience]

[A nod.]

Where are you? I'll come meet you.

action;

[seekingsanity]

[Fuminori does not like other people. So running into someone while he's trying to find food is not what he wanted.

He stops in the doorway while Naoto's sniffing at some food in the kitchen and watches her for a minute. Since she doesn't even look human to him, he can't tell anything about her other than that she's there, and he's not sure he's hungry enough to deal with that.]

action;

[tenoritantei]

[ how did this food just appear whaaaaat this is not real life.

Needless to say, Naoto is a little distracted. When she does notice Fuminori, she startles. ]

Wh-- Oh! I, ah-- Do you need something?

action;

[seekingsanity]

To eat.

[He at least hopes this is the kitchen. He thought he had the right room...]

action;

[airshipswank]

[ When Naoto approaches one of the windows on the first floor she will be greeted by a majestic horse.

So.

Maybe that is not on a par with other pets one might have, such as, just to name a random example, a large crocodile, but it is still a very fine horse that is very curious about the new arrival snooping about by the window.

Hello, its face seems to say as it approaches Naoto, except that in reality it does not say anything at all.

Because it is a horse.

(Were Naoto to look past the horse and further into the room then she would also see a man in the process of hanging a saddle on the wall, but why would that matter when she has a perfectly good horse to stare at right here?) ]

action; 1/2

[tenoritantei]

[ why is there a horse inside a mansion
why is horse
why horse here why is this horse here
is it a fancy horse?
is this horse worth 1 million dollars??
is this horse all that will be left of the amerian enconoym after 2012 the coming of the mayans and their apocalypses???

Naoto will never know. The world will never know.

Instead, in a distant part of her mind, she replaces the horse with a beautiful crocodile lady, and relives the good ol' days. ]

That's a horse.

[ That most certainly is a horse, Naoto. Good job. ]

action;

[tenoritantei]

[ Only after getting over the heart-breaking fact that the horse is, not in fact, a crocodile named Amy, Naoto notices the man in the room.

It is time for interrogation. Of the equine variety..

She knocks on the window. ]

fashionably delayed action;

[airshipswank]

[ The man in the room also disappoints, being so very not Bhamba with his luxurious head of hair and his elegant clothing that is so clearly not a lab coat unless lab coats have become considerably more silk-embroidered and diamond-studded as of late. ]

Good day to you.

[ On the bright side, he is considerably more welcoming than a Bhamba in the middle of his work might be and opens the window with a broad grin.

...Well, he actually opens it with his hands, but he grins quite broadly while doing so. ]

[Action]

[pottershotter]

[Walking around on the ground is for people who don't have magic. Which is why James, bundled up in his warmest winter robes and scarf, is hundreds of kilometers in the air, taking himself out for a ride on his broom. There's never really anywhere to go, of course, but it's still fun to feel the rush of speeding around in circles, doing loop-de-loops, racing as fast as he can.

James slows though, as he spies someone out on the grounds, in a hat. The guy (forgive him, but it's a little hard to tell from kilometers in the air) looks pretty new, or at least James doesn't recognize him. So, that makes him a perfect target.

He gets himself ready, starts off slow so that he doesn't get too noisy. But then he quickly picks up speed, aiming right at this new person. He gets closer and closer and just when it looks like he might actually collide into him, he pulls up and flies in a speedy straight line, just above his head, blowing wind around everywhere and hopefully scaring the crap out of him.]

[Action]

[tenoritantei]

[ Naoto does what any self-respecting Japanese person would do in this situation. In fact, any self-respecting and nonself-respecting person from any and all nationalities would do this. It's only proper.

She straight up DROPS THE BASS. The bass of her entire body. Into the nearest snowdrift. Needless to say, when she peeks out (de-hatted), she is an agent of fury, with a rage that could fuel the fires of Colgate University when I eventually burn it down. ]

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?

[Action]

[pottershotter]

[James just laughs at that for a good couple minutes or so, and turns around on his broom. He's not far away at all, just hovering there.]

Ffff! Oh Merlin, I wish I'd come at you from the front so I could've seen your face! It must've been great.

[What a great first impression James makes, as an odd British jerk on a flying broomstick. He's not a complete asshole though, so he does lean down, pick up his (...her? Oops) hat, shake the snow off, and gently toss it back at her. He's still laughing a bit, but he's clearly trying to calm it down into silent chuckles.]

Sorry, I couldn't really help myself. You were right there and it would've been a crime not to.