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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 15, 2009 4:50:49 GMT -5
((OOC: Mugen and myself only. If you want to join, you need to ask myself or Mugen, and we can discuss it among ourselves. You need to have a fairly good knowledge of Shin Megami Tensei and Persona to join, and need to be active.))
The sun shined down on the beach at Giant's Lake. The lake, true to its name, was huge. It even had waves, and remembled a sea more than a lake. Most importantly, it was the perfect place for a vacation, which the group definitely needed at this point after the past week. The members of the group who had come from the Tokyo Lockdown especially.
So together, Minato and Souji had rented out a condo for the group to stay in while they stayed at Giant's Lake. It was likely they'd be there for just a few days to allow the group to rest up, before heading back to the appartment. As long as no one started up any "Babe Hunts", they were okay.
Naoto was lounging under an umbrella on shore, reading a light novel and didn't seem to want to be bothered. At the time, he was wearing a t-shirt and some swim trunks, and would not get in the water. At all. No matter how much K1 had pleaded.
So Naoto was in charge of watching the COMPs while everyone else played in the water and all that fun stuff.
Souji and Minato were talking to each other.
"...It was that bad?" Minato asked.
"Let's put it this way. There were things in that curry that should not exist," Souji said.
"...Sounds like some of Fuuka's cooking," Minato said, shuddering.
"Can she make an omelette taste boneless?" Souji asked.
"...No. But she can make it taste horrid." Minato said.
"At least it has a taste."
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Post by mugenginga on Oct 15, 2009 5:11:58 GMT -5
Naoya had been forced to work at not laughing at Keiichi's attempts to get Naoto into the water. He wasn't sure why she (as he was mostly convinced was the case now) tried to hide her gender so adamantly, but the increasing annoyance in her face at his cousin's attempts had fallen just short of priceless. Naoto probably needed to be grateful Naoya had no malicious feelings towards her at the moment. Although he was one more for maiming as opposed to embarassing those he had those feelings towards. Maiming or worse.
At the moment, however, he was having trouble relaxing. It wasn't even the concern over Belphegor and figuring out how to get back to their world. Which he hadn't brought up to Keiichi, but he still wasn't sure exactly how he was going to manage it. He'd run some tests, and the reverse trip didn't seem it would use the same algorithm. It wasn't the teen straight out of some bad soap opera also known as Keiichi's long lost twin, Kaini Kurosawa. It was that Naoya wasn't one to relax. One could almost say he didn't know how. So it lead to him standing against some trees in his dark green trunks, just watching. He had a feeling any second Keiichi would try to pull something to drag him into the "fun".
Atem had been forced into wearing sunscreen by Yuugi. It had been rather cute and humorous. The former Pharaoh kept insisting that he tanned. Even made a point of indicating how obvious that should be. The shorter teen hadn't been willing to listen to a word of it. Now Atem was looking fairly annoyed as he sat in the shade, a large white spot over the bridge of his nose. He had on a black pair of trunks. He was actually still a bit worn from the events in the TV World, but he'd made no objection to the excursion. He was just a bit to the side of Souji and Minato, and was listening to their conversation. He wasn't sure how an omelette could taste.... boneless, but the expression on Souji's face indicated it had. Neither he nor Yuugi had been assaulted by bad cooking from either gender. Yuugi generally wasn't the one girls went after, really. Mai didn't count, she had been after him due to his status as a Duelist.
Yuugi was in the water. He'd just gone in a few moments earlier, and still hadn't adjusted to the temperature. It wasn't arctic by any means, but it was a landlocked sea in the middle of Autumn. Not the warmest thing in the world. He'd told the others he was going to get used to the water before grabbing the beach ball he and Atem had picked up for the trip. Said ball was currently residing next to Atem, and was another source of his mock irritation. Yuugi had insisted he blow it up. It was a fairly simple design. Dark blue and yellow, with the yellow being where white would be on a more traditional color scheme.
He knew Yuugi wanted him to toss the ball when he gestured to him, but he had no intentions of doing so. He was gonna make his partner get it himself. Atem sighed and looked towards the umbrella he was sitting under. Yuugi had gotten past calling him "mou hitori no boku" after the split, but he still had trouble thinking of him as anything but "aibou". At least no one had pressed the issue of their relationship after the TV World incident.
Atem knew if he really felt that way towards Yuugi, he'd have to take the initiative. He'd seen Anzu and Yuugi tapdance around each other far too long to think anything but. As it was, he looked less relaxed that Naoya. Almost worried, even. At least until the beachball he had sworn was right next to him hit him in the head. He jerked to the side and saw Yuugi grinning like a royal idiot to the side.
"Hey, how zonked out do you have to be to miss me grabbing the ball?" Yuugi teased. Atem stood up and got a mischeivious smirk. Yuugi suddenly felt worried.
"You think I'm going to let you get away with that?"
Yuugi looked like one would expect a "meep" sound to look and was making a break for the water. Atem chased after him, grabbing the ball on the way past. He wasn't a Pharaoh anymore, or even simply another soul residing in Yuugi's body. He had to stop acting like an entire kingdom or everyone's lives were on his shoulders. While the Millenium Pendant was resting with the COMPs, Atem had his cartouche on. It moved as he ran after the shorter teen.
It was probably the most relaxed any of them could remember being in some time...
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 15, 2009 5:34:44 GMT -5
K1 had climbed out of the water and was making his way back over to Naoto. He was shivering as the water was rather cold. This was what they got for coming here in the middle of autumn. Naoto looked up as K1 came closer. Oh god, here he comes again.
"Are you sure you won't want to come in?" K1 asked. His teeth were visibly chattering. Naoto lowered the book and groaned.
"Judging by how cold you look, I'd have to say I'm good," Naoto said. Plus, he was at a good part. Raidou Kuzunoha the XIV was about to chase after the Red Cape Kiyoshi Daidouji had turned into.
"Come ooooonnnnnn. It feels great!" K1 said.
Souji looked over at K1. "Keiichi-kun, leave Naoto alone."
"Fine." K1 said, and got back in the water, where he sat down so that the water covered everything but the top half of this head. As it was, Naoto was sitting rather close to the water. It would be easy to splash him...
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Post by mugenginga on Oct 15, 2009 5:46:39 GMT -5
...and its not like anyone was trying to be careful. What exactly is the big about some water shy teenage boy getting splashed?
....nothing when its a boy. When it isn't, however...
Atem and Yuugi were getting pretty rowdy in the water. It was pretty clear Atem had the upper hand in the pseudo fight, even with being far slower than usual due to still being in partial recovery. Yuugi's size was working as an advantage for once. At least until a duck down lead to ill placed footing. Who would have known there would be seashells at the Lake.
The fall back wouldn't have been to spectacular had Atem not seen the surprise spread on Yuugi's face. He seemed to forget he was in water as he threw out his hand to catch the shorter teen. Atem's hand crashed through the water less than a second after Yuugi went under. And what might have been an avoidable splash got a bit larger. And it was headed straight for where Keiichi and Naoto were standing and sitting, respectively...
Naoya looked up at the splash and couldn't hold back the grin at the impending "disaster".
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 15, 2009 5:56:31 GMT -5
Naoto let out a particularly unmasculine sounding scream as the water splashed him and K1. The splash completely soaked both of them, and thankfully, didn't get the COMPs too wet. However, the focus was now on Naoto, who had for some unknown reason had decided it was a great idea to wear a white t-shirt to the beach. And it became very clear that the entire group was not just a group of hot guys.
"N-Naoto, you're a--" K1 stuttered. He was gaping at Naoto. "Oh my god."
Minato blinked, and looked between Souji and Naoto very quickly. That was... he blushed. "I thought you were a guy!"
Naoto grabbed a towel to cover herself. "I-I never said that! W-wait, where were you looking?!"
Souji facepalmed. Oh. They had mistaken Naoto for a boy as well. Granted, it was an easy mistake, what with the fact that Naoto liked wearing men's clothing... but Souji really hadn't thought that was that hard to figure out.
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Post by mugenginga on Oct 15, 2009 6:04:24 GMT -5
Naoya at least had the decency to turn away, but he was laughing. It was a side of himself he rarely allowed to show. Hell, likely the only person in this life who had seen it was Keiichi. Perhaps his parents when he was very little, but certainly not many. It quickly trailed off into a few chuckles and a shaking of his head. His back remained turned to the chaotic scene, however. He hoped Keiichi would have the sense to get himself under control enough to turn away as well.
Atem's hand was clamped around Yuugi's, but it wasn't pulling the shorter teen up out of the water. Yuugi had to do that under his own power. He'd heard a shrill scream, and wondered if someone hadn't accosted another beachgoer. He hadn't, however, expected to see the source of chaos being centered around Naoto and hi... HER!? His face lit up and he tried to speak, but no sounds came out. That... but the.... it....
Atem was blushing just a hint as well. Well, it seemed he and Yuugi weren't the only ones with subjects that would be deemed as off limits from now on. He'd seen all the reactions, and he realized Souji had known. And for whatever reason hadn't thought it was important to tell the group that the "boku" using teenager wasn't a guy.
So yeah. Short version. Yuugi stuttering with a tomato for a face, Atem facepalming and being rather obvious with his attempts to not look in Naoto's direction, and Naoya chuckling with a relaxed side of himself few ever got to see.
Naoto was probably pissed.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 15, 2009 6:18:28 GMT -5
Naoto's face was a mixture of anger and embarressment. She stuttered out something before running off toward the condo they were staying, taking her soaked book with her. Naoto was very definitely a girl. Well, at least this method was a less embarressing way for them to find out than, rather, finding out through someone's Shadow.
Souji groaned. "...Well then. That was... well."
Minato's brain appeared to have broken. Just as well, his "Casanova Sensors" were going off. He'd have to find out if she was single or not. Souji seemed to have noticed, and put a hand on Minato's shoulder. "She's dating someone, you know, and I highly doubt Kanji would appreciate you trying to hit on her. Oh, and he's probably on the island somewhere too."
Minato sweatdropped. "...Thanks for telling me..."
Souji smiled. "No problem."
K1 seemed to have finally realized that the COMPs had gotten a bit wet in the splash, and ran up to the umbrella to dry them off.
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Post by mugenginga on Oct 15, 2009 6:27:35 GMT -5
Naoya walked over after Naoto ran off. He... didn't seem surprised. In the least. He picked up his COMP as Keiichi got his. He shook it a little, but it seemed it had only hit the outer shell. Their position under the umbrella had probably helped, "They'll be fine," he stated, knowing Keiichi would freak if he didn't confirm it.
Atem sighed, finally removing his hand from his face and glancing over at Yuugi. Who still seemed to be trying to put the situation together in his head, "You okay there, partner?"
Yuugi blinked and nodded, but it wasn't convincing. He finally managed to form words, "I-I think so... just surprised. Seta-kun, mind if I ask why you didn't tell us? We would have been more careful had we known..."
They were still in the water, however, so Yuugi had to raise his voice a bit. Souji would likely be unsurprised by Atem still using "partner". After all, Yosuke had used it on many an occassion towards Souji. Atem glanced towards Yuugi before heading out of the water.
"Is she going to be willing to speak to us again?" he asked.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 15, 2009 19:57:41 GMT -5
K1 still took the dry towel and wiped down his COMP. "If you say so, Naoya."
Souji raised an eyebrow. "I thought you all could tell. She wasn't trying to hide it after all." That sounded like a hastily thought up excuse. "Besides, there wasn't really time to say anything. I had to get her stuff together and get her situated into her apartment before we left."
"Uh-huh..." Minato said. He didn't feel like bringing the topic up any further. Especially with what Souji had said about Kanji. Something about "renovating someone's ass"... Didn't sound very pleasant. And if Kanji was on the island, and found out about this... Minato didn't think it would be very pleasant.
After a few more awkward smoments, Souji decided it would be a good idea to go check on Naoto, and walked off.
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Post by mugenginga on Oct 15, 2009 23:15:47 GMT -5
Atem looked a little miffed. He had noticed something was a little off, but Naoto hadn't spoken like a girl. Granted, it wasn't unheard of for girls to use "boku", but there were other facts to consider. One, her Persona. From what he had seen the Personas had apparent genders that matched their users. Souji, Minato, Yuugi, and him all had male Persona. He realized it was possible they were all male, but it didn't seem likely since they seemed to be based around dieties. Not to mention Keiichi had female demons. Atem's eyes widened. "Atem?" The former Pharaoh shook his head, "Sorry. I just realized a comparison could be drawn between Persona and inner demons, since Souji had said his world has a Persona named Kikuri-hime." Yuugi paused for several moments, "Wait... are you trying to make a joke?" Atem looked over at the shorter teen, "No... why?" Yuugi shook his head quickly, "Nothing. Sorry. Um, K1-kun, maybe we should go apologize... although it was my fault..." Yuugi looked guilty. The whole event had managed to kill the mood, if nothing else. Atem walked over and grabbed the ball, turning a bit towards Yuugi after he picked it up from the water. Naoya said nothing, but he was looking at his trunks. He was wishing they had pockets, actually. (OOC: Feel free to scene jump (within the thread, or course) or time jump at any time.  ) |
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 16, 2009 3:26:10 GMT -5
(TIME SKIP GOOOOOO)
Once at the condo, Souji lightly knocked on the door. "Naoto? Are you inside?"
"..."
"Sorry about what happened out there," he said. "I didn't think that would happen."
"..."
"Y'know, I thought you said you were going to stop hiding it."
"..."
"Well, if you feel like coming outside, we'll be at the beach still." Souji said before turning around and seeing K1, Yuugi, and Atem walking his way. "She's inside. I don't think she wants to be bothered at the moment. And she's probably changing out of her wet clothes right now, judging by how the door's locked."
He walked past K1, who sweatdropped. Once Souji was gone, he said, "He didn't even check the door..."
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Post by mugenginga on Oct 16, 2009 3:37:18 GMT -5
Yuugi turned and watched Souji walk off. Atem crossed his arms as he came to a stop, "If she didn't respond, she might not be in there..." It wasn't directed at anyone in particular, but was spoken a little loud to just be towards himself.
There was a distinctive lack of offering to check from the tanned teenager. It wasn't like they could exactly barge in on some girl if she was in there. Yuugi turned back towards the door and turned a little red as he rubbed the back of his head. He wanted to apologize too, but he didn't want to upset Naoto anymore than he already had. He'd ran into her, and hadn't known her real gender. Maybe it really was the fault of the group for not noticing.
Atem turned towards K1, "Do you think Naoya knew?"
As it was, the trio had come to a stop about five feet from the door. Souji had left the group standing there.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 16, 2009 3:53:19 GMT -5
K1 groaned. "I bet he knew this whole time. Ugh, no wonder they were getting along so well..."
"I wouldn't call that getting along with each other. It was more of a sharing of interests." Minato said, who was leaning against a wall. "Oh, I'm just here to watch the show."
"You're an asshole."
"Eh." Minato put on his headphones, and some particularly loud song could be heard from where K1 was standing.
"You're going to blow your ears out that way," K1 said. Minato didn't respond, so K1 walked up to the door and knocked.
"Naoto-kun-- er, crap... I guess it would be Naoto-chan wouldn't it..." K1 said.
There was silence before Naoto finally responded. "Yes, what is it, Keiichi-kun?"
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Post by mugenginga on Oct 16, 2009 4:00:53 GMT -5
Atem was about to open his mouth to agree with Minato when he turned his music on. He winced, and Yuugi plugged his ears as he turned his head. He'd made out more words this time, but it was the same song from before. Was Minato addicted to that "Burn my Dread" thing? He was focusing on Minato as K1 walked up to the cabin. Atem tried to focus on the situation, finding it harder than usual with Minato's music. He heard Naoto respond.
"At least she's in there..." Atem said. He glanced over at Minato again. The blue haired teen wasn't showing it much, but he seemed extremely stressed. Atem thought back to what Yuugi had been told about his past. It was possible he was trying not to stress out over the Dark Hour being back.
"We're sorry!" Yuugi shouted, hoping Naoto could hear him over the sound coming from Minato's headphones. He wondered why the teen was trying to block things out all of a sudden. Oh, right. His Persona. Yuugi sighed, the whole "relaxation" thing wasn't going all that well.
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Post by Firebreath Fishslap on Oct 16, 2009 4:18:44 GMT -5
On the other side of the door, Naoto groaned. "Keiichi-kun, could you please tell Minato-kun to turn that down?"
K1 turned around, and looked at Minato, who had finally changed songs... this new one was just as obnoxious sounding as the last. Something about shadows and destruction. It sounded like Minato needed some new music by this point. He only ever listened to those same songs over and over again. "Hey, Naoto-ku--er, chan wants you to turn that down."
At least Minato heard that one, as the sound very audibly got lower. K1 had to wonder how it was possible that Minato's ears didn't get blown out by all that.
"...It's fine, everyone. I'm... not very proud of my gender, so I tend to hide it through my clothing choices..." Naoto said. There was hesitation evident in her voice.
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