A Kiss for the Petals (Luka;mission)

[Akira Nakajima]

To say that Akira was one to enjoy fetch quests would have been an utterly bullshit lie, and you should feel bad for even thinking he was cool with the concept. Of course, money was money, and this listed mission was the single most valuable one he could find. So, while he hated fetch quests, he could grin and bear it. The blonde had given him a map, and he scanned it while progressing onward. The mines were not too terrible a place to navigate, but having a map that led right to the treasure was a plus. Plus, he wasn't alone. His Vice-President, Rukako, was with him. She had proven herself more than capable against the train. She was a valuable asset during the battle on the night of the full moon. All in all, he felt confident having her as a partner.

As was always the case for these trips into the Shadow-infested lands, the young man was in drag. With his hair tied into pigtails, and his glasses framing his face, he had a younger air about him. Cut his height down by half a foot, and he'd maybe pass for a middle schooler. The more he fought, the more confident he felt in regards to his clothes' safety. For that reason, he had no qualms with dressing nicely, even when going into the depths of the mines. A white blouse peeked out from a mostly-zipped gray jacket. His skirt hosted a criss-cross design of red and black, though. Below that, black thigh-highs. The one thing that stood out the most were the dull brown hiking boots. It was nice to be prepared, but it really stood in horrid contrast to the rest of his ensemble.

If one bothered to look at shoes, anyway.

”Should be there shortly. Keep your guard up.” He noted before looking over his shoulder, nodding at his partner on this mission. The girl had yet to let him down. She performed well- a good, solid magic attack unit. In retrospect, he was a jack-of-all-trades, in some ways, and it somewhat showed. During the battle of some fifteen people versus one Shadow, all he could do was buff the party and attack. Had the enemy resisted or nulled fire, he would have been useless as a healer.

He needed to grow.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Luka was in for quite a surprise when she learned that the blonde woman running The Gap had finally begun to release missions for the various persona-users (and in some cases, non-users) to complete. There was quite a bit of variety to them, with some being as simple as finding a lost item to something like killing shadows. The mission that Luka had taken up today was probably right down the middle of that. Their goal was to find a jewel of some sort as a personal request from the blonde woman. Apparently she and the Shrine Maiden were pretty good friends (At least, that was how she interpreted it.). But while it was a simple delivery mission, Luka knew that the mine from which they would be retrieving it from was crawling with powerful shadows. This wasn't some easy task for just anybody.

Luka was not alone on this mission, of course. Her underclassman and senior in student council, Akira, had taken the mission just a little before she did. Seeing as she might have had to take a mission with a complete stranger as an alternative, she decided to stick with Akira. That wasn't to mention of course, that the reward that they would be getting was negligible. Quite the contrary. It was a simple lump sum for the jewel. Obviously the blonde woman and the Shrine Maiden were really good friends.

Luka was following behind Akira who had the map to the location that they would find the jewel. Before they left, Luka made sure to dress a bit heavier than usual knowing how cold it was in the mines. She wore her usual combo of thigh-highs and a skirt, but opted to wear a slightly heavy hoodie than usual. And of course, she couldn't leave without her black-blue scarf.

She nodded as Akira had told her to keep her guard up. She knew the dangers of this place all too well. It was easy to get cornered here, given it was a network of tunnels. But they should be fine. Akira was able to heal the two of them as well as dish out some damage, whereas Luka was a full assault glass cannon. Something out of a usual RPG, really. The two of them had a decent amount of experience fighting together and solo. In fact, they were probably right around the same level of power. Though to Luka, that meant nothing. She was a screw up by nature. Her abilities were wasted on her, she felt. And yet, she was here completing a mission with Akira. There were contradictions in her actions and thoughts, as she was beginning to notice. These actions had gone as far back as when she had gained her persona. Just what did it all mean?

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

You make it a good ways into the mine with little difficulty. In fact, you haven't run across any shadows yet, alerted or no. But just as you think things are going smoothly, you run into trouble. More specifically, it runs into you. From all sides.

Upon reaching a 4-way intersection in the tunnels a shadow drops down in front of you. Then another to your side. Then to your other. Looking back for good measure, you better believe there's another one staring right at you.

Dusty Hand

• Agilao
• Cleave

Absorb: Repel: Null: Fire Rs: Wk: Ice
Ancient Relic

• Zionga
• Skewer

Absorb: Repel: Null: Elec Rs: Wk: Wind
Forgotten Relic

• Bufula
• Diarama

Absorb: Repel: Null: Ice Rs: Wk: Fire
Wise Idol

• Garula
• Tarukaja

Absorb: Repel: Null: Wind Rs: Wk: Elec

[Akira Nakajima]

As the pair progressed further in, it seemed that nothing was going to bother them. Then, as if out of a game, enemies dropped from above. How the hell did they just get up there? They didn't dig, did they? Even if they climbed, with those shapes, some of them shouldn't have been able to hang on for a prolonged period of time. Once again, Shadows proved to the boy that logic was not to be counted on outside the lockdown. With a click of his tongue, he gave the enemies a look over, then chose the two closest to him. One was a hand. The other was a particularly old-looking. . . tombstone-thing. Hopefully they wouldn't provide too much trouble.

”I've got these two! Please get the others!” He requested before readying his shears in his left hand and his evoker in his right. ”Rakukaja!” He ordered as Imp appeared and bathed both the crossdresser and the girl in a defense-boosting aura. The statue tried to run him through, but he shifted to the side and, shooting forward at the hand, prepared an attack. Diagonally down, to the left, he swung, following with a straight right-to-left slash. In response, the hand fired off a fire blast. It was too strong to be Agi. Had to be Agilao. And he took it pretty well. Behind him, he could hear the crackling of electricity. Twirling to the side, he sent his foot into the back of the hand and nudged it into the incoming lightning attack. The thing was persistent. He'd give it that. Spreading the scissors wide, he caught one of the fingers between the blades. With the full force of his arms, he slammed the shears shut, cleaving the finger from the hand. It squirmed and flopped to the side, “bleeding” blackness as it slammed into the walls. Even if it was temporary, it gave him a chance to focus on the other target, who was preparing another lightning blast.

Kicking the dissolving finger to the side and quickly grabbing Imp, the boy tossed his Persona into the lightning blast. A wave of pain spread through his head, but his body was fine for the time being. He charged, swinging straight down while giving Imp a mental signal to follow up with Agilao. After the slash stunned the target, he shifted to the side, allowing his Persona to get a clear shot. The burst of fire cracked the target slightly, but it was still in the fight. Of course, Akira whirled right back into range with a full-body swing, slamming his scissors into the statue and slicing across it. It managed to poke alongside his head with a sharp edge, piercing the flesh. With a click of his tongue, he deigned that the statue needed to be demolished- immediately. Shifting away, he walked towards the hand.

”Agilao. Shatter it.” Imp sent off a burst of fire, the explosion doing just as the boy ordered before the pieces dissolved. Then, with a casual swipe of his scissors across the surface of the limp hand, the boy put the second Shadow down. Imp had already cast Dia, the boy rubbing the damp blood from the now-gone cut on his face. No scarring, fortunately. Dia was cool like that. He then sent a look to his partner, making sure all was well on her end.

[Luka Kurokawa]

The mines were a lot peaceful this time around. Luka figured that she would have run into something by now, going on her last few treks into the place. Either they were getting very lucky or something was up. She remained positive for the time being, not thinking about it too much. And for a time, everything seemed okay. When the first shadow appeared in front of them, she wasn't in the least surprised. They had to find something sometime. But there was only one, right? They were fine. But that wasn't right, was it? There was two, three, no, four enemies. All of which, were surrounding the two of them now.

Akira gave the signal to split up the enemies evenly. Nodding, Luka responded. Got it. Akira faced one way while Luka had his back. She decided to open with something simple for the fight. Yuki Jyorou! Tarukaja! This would increase the attack of both of them. It only seemed worth using when there was more than one person with her. In this case, two was sufficient; especially since this may not be the last fight that they have to win while in the cave.

The first enemy sent out an ice attack that Luka managed to dodge with a modest amount finesse. She was given enough time to react to it accordingly, making it rather easy. The second shadow simply stayed in position, mimicking Luka's own skill. These guys would be hitting hard she supposed. In that case, she would have to hit harder. Mudoon! Her signature dark based attack went for the one that managed to buff the two of them. She didn't need a repeat of that happening. Immediately, the shadow was torn apart by the black void that hit it. Truly, Luka was glad she was more or less resistant to such an attack.

But with her focus on attacking the first enemy so critically, the other enemy managed to land an ice attack. Luka herself had control of ice as well, though she was seemingly not resistant to it. Moreover, this attack was more powerful than her own, even if hers was capable of hitting multiple people. It was time to finish this one as well. Mudoon! Her beautiful blue persona swept forward in Luka's place, projecting yet another Dark-based attack. The attack landed, beginning to consume the shadow slowly.

It didn't seem to be finished off yet though. In fact, it seemed to be healing itself as the darkness ate away at it. That wouldn't do at all. Focusing mentally, Luka had her persona increase the intensity of the attack. The darkness soon consumed the shadow, overriding the healing it had been doing. And soon the darkness left along with the shadow. With that taken care of, Luka turned back to the other end of the battle, giving a small nod of affirmation. It was time to move on.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

With the battle out of the way, you are now free to continue down the path you were following. Actually, you don't exactly have very far to go. Looking past where the first shadow ambushed you, the dig-site is in plain view. You know just where to dig thanks to the map, so you may as well get digging!

Well, upon further inspection, you notice that there are some shadows in the side corridors from that room. There's quite a lot of them too. It would be advisable to simply dig for the jewel rather than fighting through all of them. But its probably best that you keep quiet!

[o] Dig for the jewel but remain undetected. (Roll D4)

[Akira Nakajima]

”Good work. Lets carry on.” He nodded and dismissed Imp, turning to face the path ahead. He smirked slightly, pushing his glasses up. Seemed their trek was nearly over. Cautiously, he pressed forward, making as little noise as he could before surveying their surroundings. Looked good on a first survey, but, upon pressing further, he saw some opening along the sides of that room- mines were nasty for being like spiderwebs, after all. Within, figures shifted about. Nasty little Shadows. He would have clicked his tongue, but he didn't want to make any more noise than necessary. His free hand shot up, signaling that the girl was to stop.

He looked over his shoulder and put a finger to his lips, shaking his head. Then, pointing at both openings, he held his hand out, fingers wiggling around like legs. It was his way of telling her that Shadows were in this pathways. And, of course, to stay the hell quiet. Hopefully, even with her lack of common sense, this would be obvious. Carefully pressing forward, he got to the point in question and began to dig with his hand and scissors. He wasn't really in a rush. Slow and steady was quiet. And it also won that one race that everybody referenced. Supposedly.

Really, he was going to have to clean under his nails after this crap. And probably file them, too.

FDoX8sAU1-41-4

[Luka Kurokawa]

Luka followed Akira a little ways down the hall until the boy halted to a complete stop and raised his hand to her. He turned back, issuing a gesture of silence to her. She could understand that much about what he was saying. He pointed down the two halls that seemed to be connected to the next room. Examining them further, Luka could plainly see that they were filled to the brim with shadows. She was completely clueless as to what the wiggling fingers were suppose to mean. She contained her laughter for the time being.

Luka followed Akira into the room, making sure not to trip on anything. She held her breathe as she walked. It was more of an instinctive thing rather than something she did purposely. Not that it helped her any. She crouched down next to Akira, watching him dig for the gem that was -hopefully- right there. Occasionally she looked to each side to make sure that they weren't spotted yet. It was a little nerve-wracking to do this. Then again, at least she wasn't the one digging. That must have been even worse.

Akira seemed to be taking his time with the digging. It was probably better that way as to not alert the shadows with a bad move.

bvABrwTF1-41-4

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

You managed to stay quiet with a shocking amount of success! You dug for a little bit, finally revealing the gem that you were looking for! Deciding to place it somewhere safe, you manage to get out of the dangerous situation and head back the way you came.

Unfortunately, it would seem that there's something new in the room just previous. They haven't spotted you yet, but they're blocking your only way out. You're going to need to fight your way out now. You have the jump on them.

Mythic Gigas

• Gigantic Fist
• Revolution
• Soul Break

Absorb: Repel: Null: Ice, Light Rs: Wk: Fire
Blood Minotaur

• Auto-Tarukaja
• Rainy Death
• Poisma

Absorb: Repel: Null: Fire, Dark Rs: Wk: Ice

[Akira Nakajima]

With the gem found, revealed to Luka, and pocketed, the boy gestured for them to return the way they came before noticing the figures in the last chamber. Great. Between a rock, a hard place, and golem, it seemed. He quietly sighed and shifted closer to his partner. They would have to work together pretty well to take the two giants out without alerting the bunch behind them. More than that, they'd still need to make it out of the caverns safely. This fetch quest turned into more of a “monster rout” than anything. While a monster parade was all well and good, he really would have preferred a simple exit.

”I'm going to have Imp max out Rakukaja on us before we charge them. You should do the same with Tarukaja. If you weren't aware, vocalized commands aren't necessary. Simply willing for an attack to be used will work- if you think you'd be too loud, try that. Anyway, I'll take the wrestler. You can try the minotaur. I played an RPG with demons and angels that had one. Its weakness was ice. Maybe you'll get lucky here, too.” The full monologue was whispered. So silent, it likely wouldn't have reached the girl had he not been so close. He brought out Imp and had Rakukaja max out on the both of them. Only needed to use it twice more after the first battle. Once the same had been done by Luka, he nodded, hefting his shears up while Imp mounted his shoulders.

”May fortune smile on us both, then.” He pressed on quietly, taking the side of the chamber in which the Gigas was. Then, figuring it would be best to try his fire before trying to out-punch a gigantic, bulky tank-looking thing, he directed Imp, mentally, to fire off an Agilao. Frankly, he hadn't expected too much. However, he was pleasantly surprised when the giant flailed about, trying to put itself out. Seemed to be the thing's weakness. That was. . . exceptionally coincidental. And highly convenient. When the wrestler pointed at him and gave off a strangely unique wave, the boy just stared. Then pointed at it again, which led to Imp firing off another Agilao.

And then a gigantic fist flew at him. If someone told him that was what being hit by a car felt like, he would have believed them. The blow sent the boy in drag into the wall, knocking the breath out of him. Luckily, he buffed his defense prior to the fight. On top of that, he had his armor. But, shit. That hurt. Fortunately, that mental link gave him the chance to communicate with Imp, even if he couldn't speak just that second. The third explosion of fire burned the giant to nothing, leaving a pile of dissolving mass. Shakily, the boy stood, coughing and rasping as he tried to suck air into his lungs. All the while, he commanded Imp to repeatedly cast Dia on him while trying to get a grip on Luka's situation.

. . . he really needed better healing capacity.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Luka went back and forth between looking up at the shadows in the nearby corridors and down at Akira's hands that were digging in the ground. Her heart rate was just a tad fast, knowing that they could be spotted at any moment. Regardless, she kept her cool with ease. When she noticed the sparkle in the ground where Akira had been digging, she nodded at the boy. Watching him pocket the gem, she followed him back to their original location.

When they returned to that location, the first thing Luka noticed were the new additions to the room. Luckily, neither one seemed to be aware of their presence. Akira moved in closer to Luka, beginning to whisper something to her. It seemed he had an idea. Sounds good. Getting some air space, Luka began to boost both her and Akira's offensive capabilities until she couldn't any more. They had the jump on the two of them after all. It was smart to make the best of it. They seemed like powerful enemies, so it was good to prepare as much as they could.

When they were finally ready, Luka opened up with an ice attack just to do a bit of extra damage to both. Her persona went forth sending a powerful bolt of energy to the two enemies before her. That would have certainly gotten their attention if Akira hadn't gotten it first. The larger, more humanoid one didn't seem effected by the attack at all but the other one seemed to have a certain distaste for the attack. Huh, you were right Akira. She spoke to herself in an open voice from which Akira may or may not have heard. That being said, she had captured the attention of the beast as at came running at her.

Luka braced herself, waiting for the perfect opportunity to dodge. As the Minotaur neared, Luka dive under its legs escaping the attack. Yuki Jyorou fired off another ice attack at the large creature as the two of them ran past it. The Minotaur needed a moment to turn around, but once it did, it charged straight for Luka again.

There was likely no dodging this time. She would need to halt this thing's charge with force. Yuki Jyorou used a dark attack this time, which managed to slow the beast down long enough that it couldn't charge. Unfortunately, it has an alternative to charging. The Minotaur sent out a large array of arrows Luka, from which she could only partially dodge.

Powering through the pain, the girl decided to end the creature with another dark attack. Ice may have been the weakness, but her dark attacks were far stronger than her ice ones. And so the darkness began to slowly envelope the large creature. It was always satisfying to see large enemies dissolve into nothing like that. Perhaps that was something she picked up from playing too many different video games. Regardless, the battle was won, and it seemed that Akira had won on his side as well. Though he was clearly not doing so well. Ah, Akira! She ran over to the boy who seemed to be having trouble breathing. She began to examine him, half clueless as to what was wrong with him. Are you alright? From what she could guess having not seen the fight, he had the wind knocked out of him. He should be fine given that nothing internal was bleeding. Imp was healing him, so he should be fine, she supposed. More importantly, the both of them succeeded. At least, it seemed that way right now.

[ChromaticTruthsayer]

Mission accomplished!

You received your reward: 2,000 FP

[Akira Nakajima]

Still coughing lightly, the boy in drag nodded at the prompt from Luka. He'd be fine. Just a freaking powerful blow to the chest was all. Once he had a mental note that he was “fine”, he had Imp swap to using Dia on his partner. He could feel his body in its entirety. He took a deep breath. Everything was right for the time being, fortunately. That was not something he would want to deal with overmuch in the future. He stretched slightly, then nodded to himself. Finally, he nodded to his partner.

”Yeah, I'm good. Just took a blow to the chest. Nothing surprising. It'd happen if a person did it. . . just not with the wall-hitting. You seem to be mostly good, too. Surprisingly good fight, overall. We should leave before others filter in here, though. No need to run, but don't be afraid to power-walk.” He let out a slight sigh before inhaling again. Nodding, he began to pass through to the path out. He took a good bit caution while proceeding. Only natural, considering he was just wall-bounced by a giant wrestler. Could've been a better outcome. But it could've been much worse, too.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Luka sighed in relief when the boy said that he would be fine. He was probably too sturdy for anything major to happen, given that he was a persona user. That, and he had healing capabilities. It was those very healing capabilities that began to heal Luka now, having fully healed Akira now.

Luka felt her fatigue slowly fade away as she was healed.Alright. Let's get out of here soon then. It's a little chilly down here. The girl shivered a little before turning around and following Akira. They had the gem in their possession. The only thing stopping them was reaching the exit now. After that, they could claim their reward and call it a day. That wasn't too bad for a fight, now that she thought about it.