Logs: Encountering Arisa
Mikage-cho W - St. Hermelin??? -
St. Hermelin, on the surface, is identical in Mikage-cho. This notion would be discarded somewhere along
the way of witnessing people not being quite what they were! Between the feared Dean Harding becoming a caring
individual and a popular educator turning into a mute - among other things - it's not long until any sense of
familiarity goes to the wayside.
The school appears as it was in the 2008 school year. The old gymnasium hasn't been expanded as it was
early in 2009, and there's no hole in the wall. Most of the classrooms do not even see use, the school
population notably smaller. The library has undergone the most peculiar change - a foreboding black doorway
sits near the back, the whole room coated in butterfly markings. Nobody is sure as to its purpose, or even
how to open it. A loud heartbeat can be heard if you stand close to it.
People here live in fear of a girl in black, whose influence sometimes rearranges the school into a
twisted set of corridors and dead-ends full of demons. Even a trip to the bathroom, in the best of times,
can spell disaster.
The girl with the headphones isn't thinking that this is a very good prank anymore. After that run-in with the black-haired girl yesterday who insisted on a very nasty joke--even if she maybe didn't quite understand what she's saying, there's a limit to how hard you insist on things like that!--she was in a *terrible* mood. After some sleep at her dorm room and coming back in the morning, it doesn't seem like too much is different... The city doesn't look much different to her, anyway, despite whatever that other girl was going on about it having 'literally' turned into hell. Whatever!
But she bounces back easily, and today, now that classes are nominally over (things *have* been going kind of weird there), she's stalking around the halls with her headphones around her neck and the broom she's more or less claimed as hers, even though it's technically school property. Details! There is a greater *quest* going on here, to find out who exactly thought a joke like that would be funny (because she's sure none of her friends would've done something that mean) and to give them a good thumping!
Everyone that was ported over has migrated over to the not-so-secret headquarters of Captain Rebellion, a person who, from what Arisa's seen, is far too bombastic for her to bear being around for too long. Still, she's been attempting to give them supplies, fielding them over as per Himeru's requests. Chargers, phones, first aid kits, food rations, various other things that would make their life easier.
The strange girl has also been walking the halls of St. Hermelin, walking around with a purpose, or sneaking a nap in a storage room, her naginata propped against one shoulder. She hasn't noticed A-ko much at all; Arisa had made the assumption that mostly everyone who was ported over had a resonance; the rest who didn't went with them so they could be protected. What's left are these people here, non-persona users at the mercy of a mysterious entity named Aki. Arisa plans to protect them and Mai, all while figuring out the mystery of this entire situation.
Sleeping on a bench in an unused classroom, Arisa shifts awake at the sound of someone walking by- hm. That girl. No resonance. Strange, she wasn't around before everyone was ported in- the school population was quite low enough that she'd remember a new face... or maybe she's wrong? "... You there." She stands up, then, in a move that looks a lot less commanding, begins rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "Odd question... were you ported over, or have you been here as long as you can remember?" She shifts, her back aching. "... ouch... slept wrong..."
"Hmm?" Headphones girl stops when hailed, blinking curiously at her fellow student. Her expression clouds with confusion at the question that comes next. 'Ported over'? What exactly is that supposed to mean? ...well, she *did* say it was an odd question. Maybe she means if she's always lived in Lunarvale! Which, well, she hasn't, so she replies, "I moved here a couple years ago."
Hopefully that helps! Her expression shifts, though, to one of concern and sympathy when Arisa complains of a backache. It definitely sucks when you can't get decent sleep.
Ah. So. From this side. Of course, Arisa never considered that some of the people who were 'ported over' might not really understand that the Lunarvale they're in... isn't the same one. Or is it? Perhaps the truth isn't as simple as 'this is a different lunarvale, possibly has something to do with Mai, or someone else'. "... Don't worry about it, then." She winces as she rubs the kinks out of her neck. "... So, ah, you moved here a couple of years ago? Where from?" The tone of these questions, unlike the first, seem far more conversational. "... I moved here about... the beginning of the school year." She pauses. "... If you're going somewhere, don't let me keep you."
It would be interesting to see the histories of these people- maybe there's a break in their past, or something that would suggest that this was, at one time, not normal. "... How long has this Aki person been... terrorizing your school?"
Headphones girl grins and waves a hand dismissively at the suggestion that she can move on if she likes. She's got time enough to do what she has to, and it's more fun to meet new people anyway! Rather than, say, stew on certain mysterious people being JERKS who are AWFUL. This girl seems nice, if a little odd, but then, everyone's seemed a little odd since she woke up.
"Elsewhere," the girl replies, really rather vaguely. It's kind of a long story, and, well... "I'm here on a scholarship," she adds, somewhat more helpfully. "How about you?"
Blink. Blink blink. "Who's Aki?"
Uh.
"I won't judge you for coming from a certain school, if you're afraid of that. I came from one where a lot of students were kids of important politicians and the like, and most judge people from that school as being rather snotty." Arisa'd like to think *she* isn't, but, her attitude probably only enforces this concept. "I moved back here for various reasons. Nothing interesting, however."
Nothing interesting for A-ko. And..... uh indeed. "Aki is a person everyone has been talking about since I arrived... here. Specifically. Funny, you're the first person who hadn't arrived just a few days ago that hasn't heard about her." Or him? She was assuming it was a 'her', for some reason. "None of your friends have mentioned her?"
"Why?" Headphones girl actually seems to *mean* that question, too, as she looks at Arisa with open curiosity. Why would people judge kids from that school as being snotty, she means--though Arisa may interpret it any which way, potentially. The girl didn't exactly specify, after all!
She pauses to think about the question about Aki. She's talked to a bunch of the local students, and she *thinks* she remembers that name, but... "I haven't seen my friends around, actually," she admits after a moment, frowning. "I've been trying to find them. I thought they were playing a prank on me, but now I don't think it was them after all."
".... Why? Well." Arisa frowns. "... Lots of rich kids. It's a private school- they're not used to being around anyone that isn't like them, and they usually hold themselves in higher regard than everybody else."
She hasn't seen her friends around lately? "..." Maybe they're missing, like that one girl? "Is one of your friends named Chisato?" Maybe this person is a bit of a space cadet? It can be possible, even here. The girl has to be a little out of it, if she's thinking this to be some sort of prank. ".. If someone's playing a prank, it's being played on all of us." Arisa frowns. "And it's a dangerous prank, at that. You'd seen the outside, right? The demons? The fact that there's a superhero's base nearby? It sounds like a prank, but the amount of effort that would go towards making that happen is beyond anything a bunch of students can do."
"Oh. But you weren't like that?" Headphones Girl asks curiously.
She then frowns, shaking her head when asked about Chisato. The demons... that girl from yesterday was saying the same thing. She deleted her number out of anger afterwards, but... "I just went to my dorm nearby and I didn't see anything," she replies, touching a hand to her face as she tilts her head to one side, "but... I think I slept through a day? And when I woke up yesterday, I was in the school."
Maybe she just got lucky? Though what exactly is she talking about...?
".... I'd like to think I'm not." This girl... really *is* a bit dense. "Some would disagree. I'm not the nicest person, I know, but... I try not to be mean because of reasons like that." She frowns, a little sadly, even as her eyes keep hawk-like on A-ko. "It's not fair, to do that. I want to be able to stand by my actions." Dense, but... friendly enough. Could Arisa really fault someone for not wanting to accept the dangers around them?
.... What Arisa didn't count on was the girl being so dense that Arisa overestimated her ability to answer her first question directly. The pieces come together finally, a new light sparking behind the dusky-skinned girl's dark gold eyes. "Did you notice things being different after you woke up? Like, the fact that your friends are gone?" She thinks of something else. "Your cell phone. Is it a new one? If so, have you been unable to find a charger for it?" But... if she went to the same school as Arisa, why can't Arisa remember her? Granted, that could be excused as Arisa just being... oblivious to any presences outside of people she needed to deal with. "..."
She looks down. ".... Sorry. It's rude of me to ask these questions and not tell you my name, right? I'm Arisa Shiratori. First year at Hermelin High."
Headphones Girl gives a serious nod when Arisa talks about wanting to stand by her actions. "I agree," she says, before giving her a sparkling grin. "You've got to treat people like people!" Well, it might explain a little why she thought of her friends first when she woke up, and why she's looking for them... And even if she's dense, she seems sincere; she doesn't flinch in the slighest from Arisa's hawk-like stare. On the contrary, she even seems relaxed. A new phone? She blinks, then pulls her phone out of her pocket. She flips it open, looks it over, then gives Arisa a confused look. "I don't *think* so... Why?"
The girl brightens when Arisa introduces herself as a St. Hermelin student. "Oh, hey! Funny, I don't recognize you, but I *am* a second-year here." If they're in different years, they certainly wouldn't be in the same classes, and they probably don't traverse the same halls. St. Hermelin might not be a big high school, but even so, you're going to have only so much exposure to classmates from a different year. "Nice meeting you, Arisa-chan! My name..." Her grin turns mischievous, and she winks, striking a pose with her broom. She's gotten messed with enough! Why not mess with others a little too? She likes Arisa, but teasing your underclassmen is one of the great pleasures of being a senpai! "You can call me A-ko~!"
Well, she's dense, but she's not that bad of a person, enthusiasm-wise. Probably would get on Arisa's nerves if she didn't seen earnest enough. "... Well, if you have trouble locating your charger, or anything else, you might be in the same position as me and a lot of people who came here recently. This place runs on a slightly different timeline- things are a little bit outdated here. Not enough to be obvious to someone not paying attention, but." She flips open her own phone, as if in dimenstration. "I found a charger for mine, so I'm fine." She looks at A-ko's model. "Let me know if you need to find a charger. You might want to stay in touch with people as best you can."
".... A-ko." Arisa itches her head, a little confused. "... .... What's your last name? I don't want to be that familiar when we just met..." This A-ko... she can stay here. She seems safe enough. A non-persona-user'd be better here than exposed to everyone else, where they might just become more frightened and confused. She's... happy here. "Do you want me to give you my number? If case you ever get into trouble. Maybe you'll never have to think about having to call someone for help- in fact, I hope you are able to just continue as normal like you're doing right now until someone gets to the bottom of things- but, if you might notice, there's no police stations. Call me- I'll help you."
Either A-ko doesn't notice Arisa's jab about her not paying attention, or she just flat-out ignores it. It's not difficult to guess which the case might be. She looks thoughtful at the younger girl's remark that things are kind of outdated here thanks to it being a year ago. Come to think... there *was* something like that, wasn't there? They were talking about it being '08 when she knows it's supposed to be '09... but she kind of wrote that off as being part of the joke. She's not entirely sure what's going on here, but she likes Arisa--she's leagues better than the black-haired girl from yesterday!--so she's willing to go along with it.
"Sure," she replies--well, she'll need to use a charger *eventually*, right? A-ko's phone is indeed an '09 model, so it does seem like she *is* from the original world... The teenage girl giggles, then, when Arisa takes her seriously, and holds up a finger to her face as she winks again. "Don't worry, just A-ko's fine! I don't mind if you're familiar~"
The suggestion of swapping phone numbers seems well received, too, given as she grins, pulls up her number on her phone, then holds it up for Arisa to see. She'll hand over her phone to let the other girl program her number in in kind, too, and nods in agreement when Arisa offers her help. At least she's easygoing, huh?
It's probably a good thing A-ko didn't notice it- it's a case of Arisa's bluntness striking again, rather than any real need to point it out for A-ko. The girl is safe here, and, for now, that's probably a lot better than being unable to make much sense of your current situation. There were many who were throwing up at the realization that they were in an environment that was completely and utterly *wrong*. A-ko's found a way to make peace with it, for now.
Exchanging phone numbers feels... strange to Arisa, who is rather used to being the sort to be tricked or otherwise refused when it came to cell phone numbers. Not that this is the case in the 'real' Hermelin High, of course- Arisa just still has some.... residual feelings of being bullied.
But someone as nice as this, even if they're a little dense? Arisa can live with that. ".... Give me a moment." She moves over to where her naginata and her duffel bag lay, digging into the latter. "Here." She takes out a cheap phone- something that looks rather used and battered. "I bartered for this from some demons outside. I found this works with this charger." She fishes that part out, and turns around. "Use this, if your other phone runs out. If it's an emergency and you don't know where to go, go to the secret hideout of Captain Rebellion. There are others there in the same situation as you- you should be able to find out the location from anyone here. However, I'll be continually checking here and around, so... if you feel safe here, stay here. These things are in case something really bad happens, and... well. Perhaps, nothing bad will. If you meet anyone named Aki, just run."
She pauses, then gives A-ko an awkward smile. "... I know I sound crazy, but, if it helps you believe me a bit better, I'd rather none of these things happen at all. In a situation like this, I wish that I was the crazy one, just so all of this can be in my head." She sighs. "Anyway. Don't let me keep you. You need to get on with your day, right? Maybe I'll see you again." Hopefully, it will not be because A-ko is in danger.
The... Captain Rebellion hideout? Ugh, didn't the girl from yesterday say something like that...? A-ko doesn't look all too thrilled about that, but she nods all the same. Hmmm. It might be worth it to check out that place after all, if it means she can get to the bottom of what's going on here! Arisa seems a lot more sincere than the other girl, who just seemed like she wasn't totally getting it at all, and also said some pretty nasty things to her, even if looking back A-ko doesn't think she really understood what she was saying.
She accepts the new phone with good enough grace, smiling her gratitude at Arisa. A nod. Stay here? Sure, why not? If she decides she'd rather go somewhere else, she can always do that then. She grins brightly in the face of Arisa's awkward smile and gives her a wave and a jaunty little salute, before heading off on her own.
It will occur to her later that she doesn't know quite what to do if what that first-year told her is right.
