Modernism Street x Recollection (Open)

[Ayakura Alisa]

I needed some time to think about the previous events that occurred over the course of the month. Most of it formed depressing prospects that usually landed me in hot water amidst my own thoughts usually leading to the idea that I was weak. What is strength, and what is weakness in this context? I coughed as I drank some coffee while leaning against a simply plain lamp-post out in the middle of the area. The landmark that overlooked most of this place was quite overbearing on my current location, but I suppose that just added to the life of this area. There was a fancy fountain nearby, too. Something deep down inside my person kept tugging at me, telling me just to drop this trite. She's right, what you're doing is the wrong approach. You're risking your life over nothing. I didn't want to accept it.

How could it be true? I had no other choice but to undertake these tasks. What other possibility was there for action? Was I lost? ...Maybe I was. For the longest time, my hands were held by my parents, and we always operated as a team. But now that they're gone, I don't have any direction. Even if I was old, I didn't really get any chances to develop on my own. Maybe that's why I seemed abhorrent to some. Even with my talent in some fields, it did not mean anything in the grand scale of things with how misplaced it was. Ultimately, why am I fighting? Is it because I wanted to find closure for the disappearance of my parents? Or was that just an excuse? Did I just want to chase for a chance for things to be just like they were before this whole mess?

I hung my head low while still drinking my coffee, leaning and loitering about. It was a depressing thing to think about. I coughed and looked straight ahead again. These Shadows were dangerous; I lacked the power to properly fight them, yet I force myself to continue driving forward. I was fighting for the wrong reasons. Was I hiding? Should I just throw everything away and start from scratch? I am confused... Maybe my parents' disappearance was a sign. A sign that I needed to sacrifice. Now wasn't the time to long for a hand-holding. That girl... She must certainly have a low opinion of me. I clenched my fists. I don't want to accept it. I sighed and almost crushed the coffee cup I was holding, but I hadn't finished drinking yet.

Sighing, I looked straight ahead and wondered out loud to myself... "...Gee. Talking to someone right now would be pretty swell right about now."

[Ayakura Alisa]

Taking a sip of my coffee, I coughed and looked about and saw a young lady with a very recognizable diadem. Oh. Fancy young woman from the other night. Sure. Just what I needed. A Day with a Princess. I can tell this was going to turn out swimmingly. "Oh. You're that fancy young woman from the other night," I said in an unusually deadpan manner. "What of it, Princess? What would you like to talk about, hmm? I'm just a plain old investigator, Ayakura Alisa." I shrugged. Nothing special about me. Not like all these god-freakin' Persona users. Field work served more valuable in the line of duty than collecting information. It was a depressing prospect to think about, but it was the truth. Maybe I had to resign to it after all - more would be accomplished with inaction than action, sacrifice was necessary, to "let go" of my mission? I do not know.

[Ayakura Alisa]

So, this princess says her ancestry dates back to the Holy Roman Empire... Is she high or something? Eh, who am I to question such things right now. I'll do some digging around for dirt sometime, but this is not important information for me to have right now. She also said that her grandfather is the current emperor of "the realm" and is the "patriarch of her family." Alright then. I'm just going to keep sipping my coffee-- oh, I've finished my coffee. I coughed again and blinked once or twice to make sure I wasn't talking to a complete nutter. "Uh, maybe I should see your family tree or genealogy or something, Lady," I shrugged. "Sometime. So what brings you here if you're from such a... er, prestigious family? Surely you have some... uh, royal duties to attend to, or something." I'll play along for now and see what she comes up with.

[Deleted]

"Well, I came here to mostly go sightseeing, but to also make some friends while I'm at it. I believe I do have some royal duties to attend to, but I'm simply taking a break from royalty." she responded. Well, this lady was good at playing along with her bold claim. Well, anyone could just hear her bold claim and just dismiss it as hogwash. Alisa was strange, indeed. Most people would say that the young princess was lying, but every word that she spoke was true. Besides, Alisa looked like she needed a friend. She asked, "So, what brings you here to this city, Madam Alisa?"

[Ayakura Alisa]

Sightseeing? Friends? What is this, something out of a slice-of-life animation? I'm just going to pretend she's living her own fantasy for now. If she can procure proof of her 'lineage' then I would like to see it. Otherwise, I'll just play her little game. I'm quite frankly tired of having to play around at this point. "No need for formalities, miss. 'Alisa' is fine. Or, if you are so insistent, call me by my surname..." I sighed. "Moved here a few years ago when my dad got a work transfer. My parents are gone now, so I am investigating their disappearance. That's all." I wasn't lying, but I felt like leaving some of the details out. Yet, I knew she was a Persona-user.

My mind flashed back to the fight with the reaper. I had jumped in front of the Chinese boy, to help him from skeletal assault. This 'princess' was literally there in plain sight at the time. She saw me. She must have recognized me, unless of course she has poor memory, something I am not entirely sure about dismissing. She was also present during the bar party, where she got hilariously wasted, and I wouldn't be surprised if she recognized me from then instead...

Simply taking a break from royalty, huh?

"...It must feel good to let go once in a while, huh, miss..."

[Ayakura Alisa]

What did I do for a living? Well that was an innocent enough question. "I work as a writer and an artist. Freelance. I also work as an information dealer and investigator." I coughed and shivered in place. I didn't really have anything else to say aside from that. "That's all. I'm nobody particularly special." I shrugged. Again, the common theme of weakness was beginning to bleed into my speech. Well, that wasn't particularly pleasant. I hoped it didn't show too much, or I'd have to do some weird things. I sighed and looked about for a trash can, before idly throwing my empty coffee cup into it, which I had been holding for the past few minutes.

[Ayakura Alisa]

Now, she asked me for my hobbies. What, is she giving me a job interview or something? Sigh. Well, she seemed nice enough anyways, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to divulge more information on myself. "Hobbies? Well... like I said, I fancy myself an artist, so sometimes I do like to find a quiet place and draw or paint something. Rarely, I go out for a trip to a boxing gym or something. But very rarely. I mean, I need to release stress sometimes. Stuff like that. But how about yourself, ma'am? Do you fancy yourself doing the things of the masses? You seem like that kind of girl." Not sure why I said that, given she was wearing a freaking diadem, but... Well, I guess something about her gave me that impression.

[Ayakura Alisa]

"That's a bit of a random question, but if I don't use my fists I'll use a knife and a bow," I shrugged. "Why do you ask?" I also kept to mind that she likes fencing and cooking. Well, like, using the rapier that night totally didn't clue me in to that particular tidbit. Nah, she couldn't possibly be asking me for some favours or anything, right? Nah, that seemed rather improbable. I'll waste myself tonight if it actually happened. Yeah, she has her own guards and bodyguards and knights or whatever the hell you call them, so...

[Ayakura Alisa]

Then, she dove straight into it and asked me about the outer circle. Having seen her get involved with a Shadow before, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell her what I knew. "It's probably nothing you don't already know - you and I probably have had our fair share of run-ins with Shadows, though I suppose you folk..." I coughed. "Have it a little easier than myself. You don't need to ask me about it, you can figure it out. Anyway. It looks like most of the things on the outside are the doings of these 'Shadow' things. That giant Shadow the other night was no mere random happening. It seemed to be planned. It wanted to take you guys down. I should know, I was there when it happened. I saw you."

[Ayakura Alisa]

"What will I do when this is over? Hell if I know," I shrugged. I hadn't really thought about that, to be honest. I didn't even know if I'd ever find out what happened to my parents, presuming they were even alive. Was I stupid for clinging to a tiny glimmer of hope like that? Praying that they might be alive? They were probably dead, those Shadows were truly vicious things. I sighed and looked up at the sky. "I didn't really think about what would happen when this is all over. If this goddamned hell even did ever end." I rubbed my hands together. I still found it incredibly hard to believe this young girl was a princess, but I guess she must have gotten that a lot, so deep down I guess I felt a bit sorry for her. "I might just continue my own business as usual, going on my life as if nothing had ever happened. If I could still live with myself, anyway."

[Ayakura Alisa]

The self-proclaimed princess began to talk about the Shadows I had encountered during my investigations and field work. These were rather specific questions but since she was also on this path of fighting off Shadows I suppose it wouldn't have hurt to indulge her on this as well. "Well, I've encountered a few types. A lot of them appear to take on the shapes and forms of things we've encountered in daily life. For example, I encountered masks, hands, tiaras and small angels. On the flipside, there was the giant reaper creature thing we fought that one night, and I also got into a scuffle with some sort of talking sewer alligator shadow." I deliberately left out the part where I was with other people for the sewer alligator fight.

[Deleted]

"I see. I encountered a few shadows like that myself." she responded. There was a certain diversity with shadows as there are different types of them. Yesterday at her recent exploration, she had encountered a hand and a table and at the day before, a cupid and another table. The shadows that this woman encountered were of a different variety and one that she had mentioned was a sewer alligator thingy. And those shadows were part of what Alisa does with her investigation and field work? How very interesting. She asked, "And what topics do you investigate in your line of work, Ms. Alisa?"

[Ayakura Alisa]

"Depends on what gets me money, and of course, right now, I am trying to get behind what's going on outside, if only because my parents had attempted to do the same," I coughed. "Of course, they're gone now, and I'm trying to see what happened to them but nowadays, I wonder if that's really the best thing for me to do." I tapped my foot on the ground idly. "Anyway, that's personal business. The bulk of my investigations have been in pursuit of the truth behind things, for the most part." I tried to drop a hint that I was suspicious of her heritage and that she was a princess or something. It sounded like the story of a young girl who had been raised in a nice, rich family. I was also fairly serious about my doubts on continuing this pursuit of my parents. I think I know who to blame for that.

[Deleted]

"I see. Your work is purely confidential, so I won't pry further." she responded. Well, she figured that this lady must report on topics she finds interesting. And from the look on her face, it sounds like she was still suspicious of her heritage. Most people would never believe her unless she had proof to back it up. Then again, Alisa was very suspicious at the start and would demand proof of any kind. What kind of proof would she want? A family tree? Either way, she'll have to tell her about her heritage nonetheless. She spoke, "If you are suspicious about my heritage, I can tell you more. I was born to relatively normal parents, both of them who were detectives at the time. I was unaware of my royal lineage until I was fourteen when my great grandfather told me of his ancestry."

[Ayakura Alisa]

I shrugged as she explained herself to me, but I still didn't really have much physical proof... Meh, I'll just take her word for it for now. "But your parents are, as you say, relatively normal. I won't ask what happened," God this young woman had some imagination alright. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to know either, but there are some things you just have to do in the name of finding out, well, if something's actually true or not. I looked up again. "Yeah. I'm sorry if I sound suspicious. But it just sounds pretty weird to walk up to someone you barely recognize and then tell 'em you're some kind of princess or noblewoman or something."