Correspondance Interruptus [Alisa]

[Seiji Dalton]

One of the businesses that seemed to be thriving despite the quarantine of the city was the internet cafe located in the White Lion shopping center. Just a bus ride away from most residential areas in the city, those without home computers could access them in public for a small fee. Seiji took a sip of his iced tea as he browsed the internet. Since the blockade of Mosaic City, all sites not located on servers within the city seemed to be cut off. One of the first things he attempted to do the day the announcement of the leak was made was to attempt to e-mail his father. The message was sent but bounced back a few seconds later. It was like there was something blocking off cyberspace itself. The next thing he attempted to do was access an online encyclopedia. While they were still accessible, the pages lingered in a read-only state since the day of the quarantine. The most tragic blow was dealt when Seiji attempted to access his favorite image board board and found that it was inaccessible. Seiji mourned for a week as if he'd lost a dear family member.

Today though, he was looking through local sites. In a city as big as Mosaic, there had to be someone out there that had some idea of what was going on. A few local underground message boards pointed interesting links for people to check out. That was how he first found Ayakuchi.mirrorsaic.net. The person posting the link said it had some interesting stories and art. If the art was good, he figured he'd print a picture or two out to show Takeda. His brother always gave interesting critique on art. When the site asked for his age, Seiji found himself mildly surprised. Very few of the sites left had any NSFW content on them. Falling into his old routine, he specified the month and date as January 1st coupled with a random year that made him seem older than eighteen. The site itself was moderately interesting, the person who made the site seeming interesting enough. She was a good artist in Seiji's opinion. Looking around, he kept seeing references to an information network. That certainly made Seiji perk up. Finding a sudden source of excitement, he took a hearty gulp of his tea and started scouring for a link to the other site.

Finding it took some time, but it had everything Seiji could hope for and more. There were references to the outer circle and all sorts of other interesting terms. He noticed the name of the site's owner and it reminded him of his own. Ayakura Alisa...his parents weren't the only ones who felt that giving their child a name from two different cultures was appropriate. On the front page was a plea for help asking interested parties to contact her. Thinking it over for a moment, Seiji clicked on a link that brought him to an e-mail page.

Dear Miss Ayakura,

I stumbled upon your two sites by accident. I believe I may be able to help you a little bit with your problems. If your experience with the outer circle is as you say, I'm sure you'll understand what I mean when I say I'm good at solving non-standard problems. If nothing else, perhaps we could tell one another what we know. Please get back to me so we can work something out.

Regards,
Seiji Dalton

Reading back over the e-mail, he knew it was brief but hoped it would be sufficient. Hopefully she wouldn't ignore him either given how much he wanted to talk to someone else that knew what was going on besides Takeda.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Beep boop... Got an email notification on my phone on the way. Hmm. Let's check it out.

Dear Miss Ayakura,

I stumbled upon your two sites by accident. I believe I may be able to help you a little bit with your problems. If your experience with the outer circle is as you say, I'm sure you'll understand what I mean when I say I'm good at solving non-standard problems. If nothing else, perhaps we could tell one another what we know. Please get back to me so we can work something out.

Regards,
Seiji Dalton

Kinda formal. I guess this kid lied about his age, or is around the bog-standard. So this guy claims he can help me out, eh? Well, I already have Jonathon... and I could get into contact with Luka if I needed to... But if this Seiji guy was another Persona-user, it would be a good boon to have him on my side, as well. While I'm trying to increase my personal funds so I may arm myself better for a solo outer circle skirmish, more assistance is something I would not like to turn down. Yes. I soon decide it would be a good idea to reply to this young man and get a correspondence. From the way he formulated the email, he must be around 17 or 18, if not younger. An internet-savvy kid would know to be short for brevity. Yeah, sounds about right. Well, I suppose I should get around to that answer, huh?

Hey,

Thank you for your e-mail. It's nice to see some young blood with initiative nowadays; usually I'm the one who does all the hunting and scouring about. I assume you'd like to discuss about the outer circle and the imminent threat at length. I am quite alright with a discourse through e-mail, but there are certainly other avenues available for discussion. You are also correct in assuming we could probably work something out. Though, sometimes, I do wonder... Just what crazy BBSes or boards out there would advertise my place? I'm fairly sure it's hard to find my site through search engines... Anyway, thanks for your time, please get back to me if you would like to meet in person. Otherwise, you are free to keep chatting via e-mail.

Thanks,
Alisa Ayakura 綾倉アリサ

I sent the message without so much as a second thought, though this Seiji might find out I've sent the e-mail via mobile. Oh well, it's not a huge deal. Anyway, I'll see what this guy has to offer once he checks out my message.

[Seiji Dalton]

Surprisingly, the response came fairly quickly. Usually, people took so long that by the time they gave Seiji a reply, his mind was focused on something else. He already had a reason to like Alisa. Opening up her reply, his dull eyes scoured her words.

Hey,

Thank you for your e-mail. It's nice to see some young blood with initiative nowadays; usually I'm the one who does all the hunting and scouring about. I assume you'd like to discuss about the outer circle and the imminent threat at length. I am quite alright with a discourse through e-mail, but there are certainly other avenues available for discussion. You are also correct in assuming we could probably work something out. Though, sometimes, I do wonder... Just what crazy BBSes or boards out there would advertise my place? I'm fairly sure it's hard to find my site through search engines... Anyway, thanks for your time, please get back to me if you would like to meet in person. Otherwise, you are free to keep chatting via e-mail.

Thanks,
Alisa Ayakura 綾倉アリサ

There was an addendum underneath the message: 'Sent via mobile device'

Parts of her message brought a smile to Seiji's face. The message board on which he found her was in fact one of the more crazy places left. Not quite on the same level of crazyness as, say, one of the chans, but getting there. He also noticed her name in Kanji at the bottom. Thinking on how to reply, he pecked rapidly at his keyboard.

Miss Ayakura,

And thank you to you as well for replying fast. I don't know how close you are to the White Lion mall, but I'm in the internet cafe. It's nice and public, so you don't have to worry about me being some kind of crazy person. As you probably guessed, I'm younger than eighteen. I'm a sixteen year old high school student to be more specific. For what it's worth, I like your art. I'm also fairly good at finding things with a computer. A few years ago, I had a leaked PDF of the last entry in that one popular fantasy series two weeks before it was released. Anyway, if you want to meet, I can stay here or go anywhere in the area you like. It's up to you. I don't know what's on your plate at the moment, but I'm free for the next few hours.

Regards again,
Seiji

Double-checking it for spelling and his 11th grade understanding of grammar, he hit reply again. Hopefully Alisa would have some answers.

[Ayakura Alisa]

He answered again. He was quite an excited guy. Then again, I was pretty excited too, especially if he turns out to be another Persona-user. I could get more of those on my side.

Miss Ayakura,

And thank you to you as well for replying fast. I don't know how close you are to the White Lion mall, but I'm in the internet cafe. It's nice and public, so you don't have to worry about me being some kind of crazy person. As you probably guessed, I'm younger than eighteen. I'm a sixteen year old high school student to be more specific. For what it's worth, I like your art. I'm also fairly good at finding things with a computer. A few years ago, I had a leaked PDF of the last entry in that one popular fantasy series two weeks before it was released. Anyway, if you want to meet, I can stay here or go anywhere in the area you like. It's up to you. I don't know what's on your plate at the moment, but I'm free for the next few hours.

Regards again,
Seiji

Bragging about one's internet sleuthing skills publicly should theoretically be something I'm alright with, being a sleuth myself, but... For some reason, this came off as a kid trying to impress... Especially when he blatantly admits he's a sixteen year-old student. Hum. Whatever. Anyway, I can humor this kid, if he's so close to the Internet cafe, I suppose I'll just drop by. It's not terribly far and out of the way, as I was already in the mall to begin with... Anyway, I decide I'll just swing by the mall and talk with this guy. It couldn't possibly go wrong, after all.

The internet cafe itself actually ended up being an escalator trip, but well, more exercise is good. Hopefully, he wouldn't get distracted by that atrocious piece of bandage keeping my head from leaking out more blood. But fortunately, I had checked in a bathroom mirror prior, and there only appeared to be mild, small spots of blood in my bandage. The internet cafe was close by now, and I had opened the door, which seemed to be a tad hard to open, actually. I think it was to prevent freeloaders from escaping too easily. Anyway, there were quite a few people here and I had no clue which one Seiji actually was.

So naturally the next thing I do is send an e-mail to him right back.

Hey, Seiji...

I've literally just entered the cafe. Where are you?

-- Ayakura

It was like a text message, except I didn't HAVE the guy's number. He probably had mine though, since it was like... It was on the site somewhere. I didn't even remember.

[Seiji Dalton]

The minutes ticked by with no reply. Seiji scratched out, leaning to the side slightly. As he waited on Alisa's reply, he browsed her site again for some of the safe for work pictures he particularly liked. Showing Takeda anything approaching pornography would probably only illicit sneers. Looking back at his last message, he hoped that he hadn't came across as arrogant. Idle hands are the devil's plaything, as the saying goes, and his hands were often idle at Okinawa. Eventually, the sound of another message coming through broke Seiji's thoughts as they drifted into all sorts of places again. His brown eyes read the short message carefully and he stood up, looking towards the entrance. There had been a picture of a woman on the blog, a woman that Seiji had to assume was Alisa considering that she was standing near the entrance with a bandage on her head.

Moving to the entrance, he walked in front of her and regarded her as warmly as he could, given the usual trouble he had expressing himself. "Ayakura Alisa? It's nice to meet you in person. Let me introduce myself again, my name is Seiji Dalton and I think we could help each other." His tone was blank. For once, he didn't say any of his private jokes. As he offered her his hand for a formal handshake, he couldn't help but wonder how she'd react to him. He looked much like any other teenage boy with shorts and a t-shirt bearing the name of an old rock band. His features were softer than that of the average boy due to his Japanese heritage. Nodding to a computer near the back with some seats open around it, he said, "We can head back there to talk." It was less crowded than the rest of the store. Assuming she didn't protest, he moved to get back in his seat.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Scrawny 16-year old kid. I'm not sure I like what I'm seeing, but I can't be so quick to judge, not just yet. Definitely a half-breed like myself. I had already taken the formal handshake with a firm one of my own as he already moved back to where he was sitting. I can see where you came from, doofus. I simply nodded and sighed as he made his way back. This place rubbed me the wrong way, but I wasn't particularly one for Internet cafes anyway, especially when I was cooped up back at the apartment either alone or with my parents. Well, usually the former now that my parents are gone... Sigh. I'd hate to think about what Seiji thought of my art. Hope he was okay with it. Ah well. Young people are impressionable. Wonder what he thought of my pornographic material, on second thought... But that's for another time. I briskly made my way to Seiji's seat and sat next to him, using the machine itself be damned.

"Okay, so what do you have? You mentioned in your email that you were good at solving unusual things. That you directly asked me about the circle in conjunction with this, can only suggest one thing - you are one who..." I lowered my voice at this point. "...Uses a Persona, correct? If I am correct in my assumption, then, that is most excellent. I do not have such an ability... Therefore, I feel that it is good for me to cooperate with those who do so that we may uncover and unravel the mystery behind what is 'outside.'"

[Seiji Dalton]

Taking his seat, the young teenager opened his mouth to speak, but Alisa beat him to the punch. Listening to what the older woman had to say, he nodded and felt an odd sort of...contentment when she asked if he was a Persona user. The way she said it made him think that there had to at least be a handful of others like Takeda and himself. Thinking about how best to answer that, he took another sip of the iced tea that sat by the keyboard. Sitting it down and gulping the bitter liquid down gingerly, he opened up. "This might be a little long-winded, bear with me please." After saying that, he leaned forward, talking lower as well.

"Yes, I am a Persona user. My brother is one as well. I'm sure he'd kill me if he knew I was contacting someone else about this." He gave a slight smile at the thought of Takeda getting angry. "Let me start at the beginning. A few months after the blockade, my brother and myself got into an argument and he ran off. For some time, we had suspected there was something more to the barricade. In his angry state, I think he finally worked up the courage to try to break through. He used the sewers to navigate past the barricade, but got attacked by shadows. I don't know what causes a person to awaken to their Persona, per se, but I have a theory that anyone could hypothetically do it if exposed to the right emotional trauma past the barricade. I awoke to my power and I've been exploring the outer circle at night ever since." He paused here for a bit to catch his breath.

"My solo expeditions have mainly been to the areas immediately around the barricade. Namely, the executive building. Some types of technology seem to work past the barricade. My brother and I hope to one day make it to the top of the executive building. Since it's so high up, we're hoping that we could jury rig something up there to act as a radio antennae and broadcast a signal strong enough to break through the barrier." As soon as he said it out loud, he realized how silly it sounded. But as Takade and he constantly said to one another, a silly idea was better than no idea at all. "And if I can ask, how many other Persona users do you know?" Their low conversation would get lost in the chatter and the typing of keyboards all around them, Seiji hoped.

[Ayakura Alisa]

As I suspected, this kid was a Persona-user. He didn't need to tell me that his brother was one too, but knowing more of them certainly wasn't a bad thing. Though, the fact that everything I heard about his brother was somewhat negative kind of put a damper to that. He explained his story, and mentioned using the sewers to try and navigate past the barricade where he got attacked by Shadows, and suggested that some sort of trauma might be what triggers the self to awaken, revealing their Persona. Hmm. Interesting. He continued on after recounting the experience of his awakening after a breath. He moved on to recount his travels alone in the outer circle, where he said that certain types of technology actually worked. Probably meant electronic gadgets, because not all of them actually relied on signals to operate. But then he suggested that they could jury rig a ghetto radio antennae to broadcast something strong enough to break through the barrier. What ba-- Oh. That thing Luka-chan ran her face into the other day. Right. Anyway, yes, it sounded silly, but it was a desperate hope. I thought about it briefly but decided it wasn't my expertise, so I couldn't make a good criticism on it, so I left it alone, but he asked me how many other users I knew. He was young and seemed almost naive, so I guess I could trust him... Well, I'll give him a number to work with.

"I've met three Persona users. They're around your age, but a bit older. Two girls and one guy. The guy's workin' with me as well though, he seemed pretty excited about it. He seemed like the kind of guy to swing a sword around nilly-willy. It's thanks to the two girls though I was able to collect enough information on it as I did. However, I do have plans to go back to the outer circle to conduct more field work."

I tapped my fingers subconsciously against the table.

"By the way, is that iced tea any good?"

[Seiji Dalton]

Outwardly, Seiji expressed no emotion at the news that there were three other Persona users like himself. Internally though, he breathed easy. Takeda and Seiji weren't alone in their search for answers, and he knew there were more than just three Persona users now. He'd met another one the other night and remembered how there was a sword pointed at his chest at one point. He thought he knew who she was talking about. Still, the girls were entirely unknown to him. Seiji knew himself well enough to know he'd probably be analyzing every girl he spoke with for a while, trying to figure out if they were a Persona user or not and failing spectacularly. When Alisa asked about the tea, he shrugged, trying to think of how best to describe his tea. Finally, he settled on a simple answer. "Eh, not the best, but it's hard to find bad tea in China." Sometimes, with how multicultural the city was, Seiji would forget he wasn't somewhere very foreign and wax poetic.

"But, if you're going back into the outer circle, I'd be happy to come along, although it sounds like you've got a full party already. My Persona is good with physical attacks and taking a beating." Glancing towards the computer, he remembered the other question he meant to ask her. "Oh, and on a less serious note: with your permission, I'd like to print out a sample of your artwork and take it to my brother. He's an artist as well and appreciates it when I show him good art." Despite giving her praise, Seiji said it with as much enthusiasm as someone having a mildly interesting conversation while he was trying to focus on a book.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Well, it was settled. I was going to work with this kid too. Damn, lots of kids I'm finding myself working with. It must be a sign of the times. Anyway, he mentioned he was also interested in coming along whenever I was going to go to the outer circle. I'm fine with this. As long as he can take care of himself, I don't care. He can or he can not come along as he pleases. He ended up asking me if he could print out a sample of my work. Well, that's a first. Usually people just take it and go. "You don't need to ask. Go ahead and knock yourself out. I look forward to what your brother has to say about it." Actually, I lied. People tend to be... rather hit or miss about my work. I've had people adore it, and others... criticize it willy-nilly without actually telling me what's bad about my stuff. Oh well, it can't be helped. Sometimes the nerve of people...

On top of that, he mentioned it being hard to find bad tea in China. I couldn't tell if he was being serious or if he was being euphemistic. Probably a mixture of both, if I read this kid correctly. Anyway... moving on... What else was there to discuss, anyway? Actually, maybe I could wring some more out of him.

"Actually, on the topic of your brother... You mentioned he also has this power. He kind of gruff about this sort of thing, then? Would it be worth also partnering up with him, or... Is he that kind of guy?" I asked, not fully sure if Seiji could catch my intonation, but if he did, he was... smarter than he made himself out to be.

[Seiji Dalton]

Pondering how best to describe Takeda to a total stranger was odd for Seiji. They'd spent months together and the little things Takeda did gave him more insight into his character than direct interaction. "He's not really a hard case if that's what you're getting it. It's more like...he armors himself in cynicsm. He wants to find out what's going on as bad as anyone in the know. I'm sure you've been to Mimoza Corner. There's this game shop called Manga-Max, it's where he works. Coincidentally, that's also where we live, so chances are you'll find him there." He left out the part about how they were cramped into a rinky-dink apartment stacked on top of the manga shop. With his mind still on the tea, he took a sip, finding that that the taste had been watered down by the melting ice. At least his explorations with Alisa would have something approaching a tangible goal. He still couldn't get his mind off of the other Persona users though. "If there's three other Persona users, perhaps we should all form into some sort of group." Of course, wording it like that made it seem like he wanted to be the leader. Leading people was never really something that interested him.

"But I guess that's an idea for another day. It just seems practical to not go into hostile territory overrun with weird shadow creatures alone, you know?" He liked to think he had a point. Turning towards the computer, he found a few pictures that he felt would please Takeda and hit 'print'. The sound of a nearby printer murring to life was heard as it spit out the freshly done pictures. As he sat back down in his seat, he pulled out his cell phone, a newer model of an off-brand smartphone. "If you ever feel like exploring while I'm not at school, you're free to call me." Seiji gave her his number. Normally, he didn't give his contact information out to strangers, but Alisa would be a big help with her information network, and might even help get his foot in the door with the other Persona users.

[Ayakura Alisa]

He seems pretty fixated on the fact he's not the only Persona-user out there, but I'm not about to play matchmaker with some kid; that's off the job description. I might bring everyone together, yeah, but he can decide what he wants to do with the others himself. I should send messages to everyone to gather on a new section of my website which I will create, password-locked with SHA-256... Yeah, that sounds fair. A place for them to talk with each other about their experiences? Maybe. Just maybe. Anyway, I might have to spend some time with Seiji, see how he fares. "...Yeah, I'll think about it. That's a long-term goal. Gathering everyone to work together to achieve a common goal, isn't that ideal? Of course it's harder than it sounds, but I think I can try to work out something along the way. I'll give you a call and find out when you're free then." I continued, yoinking Seiji's number before giving him my own. I don't know what he wants to do, but I hoped I wasn't misplacing my trust. If I find out he has his own agenda, I'm going to be pretty mad.

"...I think that should do it, that's my number. Anything else we need to discuss?"

[Seiji Dalton]

"Yeah, I'm pretty certain that's everything....kind of anti-climatic for you I'd bet. I'm sorry I couldn't really tell you anything useful." Sincerity had weaseled its way into Seiji's tone. "And thank you for coming and talking to me about this." Standing up, he finished the last of his tea and threw it into a nearby trash can. Scooping up her artwork, he gave a short, polite bow that could probably just be interpreted as a nod that pulled his upper body down slightly. "I'd better get back home, my brother's closing up shop a little early today so we can catch a matinee." Unless she had anything else to say, he'd walk out of the internet cafe into the general mall...clearing the search history and logs on his computer, first. It'd be silly if he didn't considering the next person to come along would have learned all about Personas and Alisa's...tastes if they saw the NSFW art.

[Ayakura Alisa]

"Okay, that's fine." I stretched and nodded, I already briskly made my way out as he mentioned that he needed to leave. He had already printed some of my crap and he needed to help his brother. Well, fine with me. I'm going to take a break somewhere. "Well, take care. I'm going to go as well." I said as I left the premises. I had nothing much else to do right now so perhaps I'll go kill some time at the arcade, or some crap like that. I don't know. I'll think about it. My wound still needs to be healed... Doctor? Nah, just painkillers and a fresh change of bandages will do.