◎ Bout 1: Impromptu walkabout [action]

[thunderfists]

[arrival]

[...The TV world was very strange.

Akihiko found himself waking up on the forest floor, stripped of his normal clothes and garbed in ... white pants. Fortunately, his pants, red cape, and boots were nearby, and he found himself a bush to discreetly change in -- just in case Mitsuru or Aigis showed up somewhere close. Calling out for them was out of the question; they were on a mission after all, and he didn't want to cause a ruckus if he didn't have to.

There was a book beside him when he woke up, and he blearily looked it over before snapping it shut and concentrating on the odd feeling of pain and strange sounds around him. No time to read.

The fully-functional wings were a surprise. The talking animals were even more of a surprise. But they were easy enough to dismiss as parts of the TV world, and he pushed them to the back of his mind as he started to explore. Forest, forest, forest... Were those mountains in the distance?

It was like globetrotting all over again. Before heading out, he ripped up the white pants he had woken up in, using the shredded parts to bind the book to his side; unfortunately, his pockets weren't big enough for a book. He also wrapped up his knuckles, since his gloves were missing.

And off he went in search of Mitsuru, Aigis, and Labrys. Never mind that he had no idea what the latter looked like.]

[/arrival]


[For the entire week of September 9 through 15, a young man in odd clothes can be found traveling out in the forests and as far as the foothills due east of the village. He gets his water from the rivers and carries whatever food he comes across (such as apples and mikans) in a shredded white sack that once was a pair of pants. When he's not traveling, he does some shadowboxing in the occasional clearing while it's light out.

Nothing serious, though; he wasn't getting enough protein to repair his muscles if he did any serious training.

The most rigorous of his training he'll allow of himself happens late at night in the forest behind house 21. While he tries to avoid the TV world village and its inhabitants, he can't resist the temptation of an outdoor training space complete with training dummies. He uses his Persona to charge his punches with electricity, leaving marks on the some of the dummies before he heads off again.

He may even be caught napping in a tree once in awhile. Or listening to talking bears from a distance.]

Comments

[emp3thy]

[For a second, Minato and Akihiko are staring directly in each other's eyes. He looks older, Minato has time to realize. It's surprising. He'd been so used to being, ironically, the only one who ages as the others appear and disappear. The other thing that's obvious is the recognition. This is his Akihiko and he's as surprised as he should be. Thirdly -

Akihiko jumps.]

Senpai! [Where is he even going - and what was that distance?! Had he become an Olympic athlete in however many years it had been -] Wait!

[thunderfists]

[As he touches ground, Akihiko considers running. Running would be a good idea; getting far away from here and getting some time to sort through his thoughts...

But no. He couldn't run -- even if he seriously considered it, he'd be sniffed out by that Koromaru TV ... version. Taking off running would also make him easy to track through the brush, with his lack of experience with making a noiseless retreat.

He didn't make it a habit to run away, after all.

He pushes back his hood and raises his clenched fists, taking on a fighting stance. Embodiment of regret, TV personification, or whatever it was, he was expecting a fight.]

Come on, then! Let's do this!

[emp3thy]

[Minato is even more confused than before. What exactly had happened in Akihiko's life? The cloak and shirtlessness, the giant scar he can now see across his chest, suddenly running away from him and Koromaru and now this - preparing for a fight? Even if he's obviously surprised to see him alive, he can't understand why Akihiko would decide he's an enemy...

Koromaru is whining, looking back and forth between Akihiko and Minato, seemingly just as confused as his master. Minato raises his hands.]

I'm not going to fight you.

[thunderfists]

[Though he hears 'Minato,' Akihiko doesn't relax. He steadies his breathing and keeps moving, his guard up as he studies his opponents. Neither of them were moving towards him, but that didn't mean anything; they didn't have to get in close to call upon a Persona -- if these TV personifications could create them, of course.]

Luring me in with the promise of a beef bowl. Pretty clever. You tipped your hand a little too early, though.

[emp3thy]

I really will make you a beef bowl.

[come on, Akihiko, seriously? Does he have to actually fight to bring you to your senses?]

[thunderfists]

[It's hard to fight that urge to say "Really?" in response; he's seriously craving a good protein boost, and bringing it up again was a mistake. He didn't need a reminder of that succulent beef, delicately-simmered onion, and that sauce...]

Yeah right, imposter. You expect me to believe something like that in another world?

[Never mind that he was totally ready to do so just a little while ago.]

[emp3thy]

You did five minutes ago.

[yep he'll go there.]

[thunderfists]

[.........

There's a very slight pause in his movement when 'Minato' points out his contradiction, but that's all.]

I'm not falling for that again. [He acknowledges.]

[emp3thy]

[sigh....

It's too late at night for this.]

What do you want me to do?

[thunderfists]

Are you going to keep up this charade?

[There's that challenging tone in his voice again.]

I know where he is. Not here.

[emp3thy]

[that's a strange way to phrase it... but regardless.]

Neither of us is where we should be right now, senpai. But I'm as real as you.

[thunderfists]

[Even calling him Senpai. Now he was curious how this TV world created these manifestations of the past.

But he had a point. The food he was eating was real, the days and nights he spent outside were real... So this 'Minato' was real, too.

A real fake.]

Obviously. But this isn't my first time around the block.

[He knew what he had to do.

And with that, he sprints at Minato with every intention of hitting him, covering that gap he had just jumped in a matter of moments.]

[emp3thy]

[Not good. Minato knows he can't take Akihiko in a fistfight. But running is a bad plan, too - Akihiko would just take that as an admission of... whatever he thought Minato was really doing.

Minato sidesteps as his senpai charges, his hand digging into the bag he's carrying. He's not unprepared for this, either.

He draws the Evoker.]

Persona!

[Yurlungur, appears, coiled around his feet... and unleashes a torrent of ice straight at Akihiko.]

[thunderfists]

[Swing and a ... miss? Akihiko hisses as his opponent dodges, correcting his stance to lunge at 'Minato' again.

This plan is derailed by the icy counterattack that assaults him, and he finds himself quickly encased.

...Damn it. Why did his Persona's weakness have to be ice, of all things? He focuses on breaking free, ignoring the sparks of pain from his still-sensitive wings.]

[emp3thy]

[Not if Minato can help it. Yurlungur disappears in that moment, but the Evoker is raised again immediately.] Thanatos!

[The black-robed swordsman roars into being, metal carapace 'grinning.' He's going for a three-strike out.]

[thunderfists]

[Thanatos. He recognizes that monstrous Persona even through the haze created by the ice. Gotta move, gotta move.

The ice shatters as he finally manages to break free, and he backs up as quickly as he can to avoid the Persona's huge sword. He had to fight back. Now.]

Caesar!

[Even without aid of his Evoker, he could draw upon Caesar for a moment. His armored Persona appears, sword and the world in hand, swinging down on Thanatos immediately.]

[emp3thy]

[...No Evoker. Minato is surprised, but he doesn't let it show. Thanatos blocks with his own weapon, then launches immediately into a spinning slash designed to drive Caesar back - Brave Blade.]

We don't need to fight, Senpai!

[he can at least try to keep reasoning with him.]

[thunderfists]

Let your fists do the talking!

[Or, you know, your Evoker.

He shakes off the disorienting feeling of Thanatos striking Caesar out of existence, knowing that he had to take the blow in order to get behind the swordsman and out of his wide range. He couldn't stop now. Attacking Personas head-on was a new idea for him, but if they could attack Shadows, why not Personas?

As long as he stuck close to Thanatos and didn't let up his punches, he'd be okay. It's not like he hasn't faced certain death before.]

[emp3thy]

[just like Akihiko, even if it's not helping things at all. Now he's inside Thanatos' guard, and he knows the Persona can't turn in time to counter. Letting him be destroyed would be even worse - Minato isn't sure he could summon again quicker than Akihiko's fist. So he makes a tactical retreat.

Thanatos disappears just as Akihiko's punch connects, but the Evoker is back again.] Norn!

[He's not about to use fire skills near his friend and the house, but wind should be acceptable....]

[thunderfists]

[And there goes Thanatos. Akihiko spins to again face 'Minato,' ready to make use of the moment where both of their Personas were gone. Though he covers ground quickly, he can't outrun that Evoker going off.

He's thrown backwards by Norn's wind attack, his cloak providing extra lift that sends him further back than he'd like -- almost all the way to the treeline. He kneels on the ground, staring intensely across the dimly-lit backyard.]

Fine then.

[He arcs a hand to one side, summoning Caesar again. Caesar appears and holds the world aloft, effectively creating a gravity pull towards Akihiko -- with 'Minato' as the target.]

[emp3thy]

[This is getting more and more irritating. But Minato isn't about to let himself get sucked in further.]

Messiah!

[The silver being replaces Norn, raising all four of its 'arms.' And then a golden fist, or God's Hand, plummets to the battlefield, aimed directly at Akihiko.]

[thunderfists]

[From his kneeling position, Akihiko is in the perfect stance to spring forward and out of the way of the falling fist, though he staggers as the ground quakes behind him. Luckily, Caesar was just far enough away to not get hit, so the Persona disappears unharmed while Akihiko again launches himself at 'Minato' to punch him.

If he thought about it harder, he might wonder if he had seen Messiah when they fought the Minato Shadow in the abyss. But that wasn't on his mind now; all he saw was an opponent he had to take down.]

[emp3thy]

[There's nothing for it now. Akihiko is fast and only seems to have gotten faster in the time apart. He just has a second to raise his fists and cover his face, bracing himself for the inevitable impact and possible broken nose -

Only for Koromaru to launch himself at Akihiko from the side, dog slobber flying everywhere.]

[thunderfists]

[The small, soft body against his side effectively knocks him off balance, and Akihiko has the briefest moment to scold himself for forgetting about the other manifestation before he crashes to the ground.

Then he's overwhelmed by the assault on his face in the form of dog licks. His fists reflexively uncurl as he tries to push Koromaru away, but the shiba inu is insistent on keeping him pinned to the ground.]

Now this is just fighting dirty. [He grumbles. He didn't want to hurt the dog, as much as he knew the real Koromaru could defend himself. This wasn't fair at all.]

[emp3thy]

[Koromaru wags his tail frantically as he continues to coat Akihiko's face in very realistic-feeling dog slobber.

Minato sighs, and tosses his evoker on the ground a few feet away from both of them. Then he sinks onto the grass to catch his breath. He may have avoided being hit physically but he'd still felt that punch to Thanatos, plus the headache from summoning so many different Personas in a five-minute window.]

...That good enough?