◎ 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

[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?

[thunderfists]

[This is just torturous after the lack of protein the entire week. His body hadn't been sufficiently repairing itself after his training sessions, and now the sudden stop to the fight was turning all of that energy into lactic acid.

...And now there was that dizziness from all of the blood rushing from his head to his legs. Great.

He sighs when there is no follow-up attack from 'Minato,' trying to focus on what was said between Koromaru's happy licks.]

What?

[emp3thy]

Will you listen to me now?

[the way you just didn't?]

[thunderfists]

[Did he really have a choice at this point?]

All right. Let's hear it.

[Koromaru continues to sit on his chest, the continuous licking slowing down.]

[emp3thy]

[Good dog. Keep him there.

Important things first.]

Do you know where you are?

[thunderfists]

[What, are they going to do twenty questions now?]

Of course I do. This is a different world.

[emp3thy]

[You know that much, and you're still trying to punch him?]

Yeah. And this village is called Luceti.

[thunderfists]

[Was this supposed to mean something to him?]

What's your point?

[emp3thy]

People are brought here from different worlds and different times. Not just Earth. And not just the living, either.

[thunderfists]

[For awhile, Akihiko is quiet. He could have guessed that. A lot of things showed up on the television, after all.

He was just so thrown by the sight of Koromaru and Minato that he didn't consider the possibility that they might have been on the TV some point. Koromaru, sure -- it was possible that there was some news coverage about his dedicated protection of the shrine. But Minato?

...Maybe he was caught on video in the crowd during a local news report or something.]

Makes sense, I guess.

[emp3thy]

...So, I'm the real Minato. And I'd rather not have to fight you again. [He'd definitely get punched.]

[thunderfists]

[Real fake television Minato. All right, he could live with that. It seemed like he had to be really open-minded when it came to things in the TV world. He distantly thought that it was funny how the TV world seemed to lack TVs.]

So then this is... [He trails off, reaching up to pat Koromaru with a bandaged hand.] Come on, boy, let me up.

[emp3thy]

[Koromaru relents, but he stays sitting next to Akihiko for a moment, and then goes to pick up the discarded evoker in his mouth. The message is clear... no fighting.

Minato offers his senpai a hand.]

Still hungry?

[thunderfists]

[Akihiko starts pushing himself up as soon as Koromaru is off of him, but pauses when Minato offers him a hand. He frowns at it. Should he treat this as a concession or something?

...Well, this Minato was ready to stop fighting anyway. It was a draw, at worst.

He accepts the hand and climbs to his feet, reminding himself this wasn't the real world.]

Still offering?

[emp3thy]

If you'll talk to me while I cook.

[Maybe starting with explaining that scar. Or why there's no shirt to cover it.]

[thunderfists]

[Nothing sensitive, he told himself.]

Sure. I can do that.

[emp3thy]

[Wow, how rude is that? He's making you beef bowl. He's had 3 years to improve the taste of his recipe.

He opens the back door. It enters into the pantry, so they have to walk past the laundry machines and storage shelves before getting into the kitchen.]

[thunderfists]

[After checking over his cloak and dusting some grass off of his pants, Akihiko follows after. He glances at the various utilities, keeping his voice low as he speaks.]

Pretty big for two people. [Well. One person and a dog.]

[emp3thy]

Three people and one dog. ...And the birds.

[He glances at the nest perched on the top corner of one of the shelving units, but fortunately the sparrows don't seem to be awake right now.

Once they're in the kitchen, Koro drops the Evoker into his dog basket and then sits on top of it. Minato's going to have to rescue it later...]

[thunderfists]

[A short laugh escapes when he notices what Koromaru did with the Evoker. Well, that was one thing he didn't have to worry about.]

Anyone else from Japan? [He was about to ask if they were people he would know, but he didn't watch that much TV in comparison to others ... despite having a big TV in his room.]