◎ 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]

Not recently... [He looks a little... melancholy at that?] But they still might come soon. People arrive in groups.

[thunderfists]

[He briefly wonders if that means he can run into a TV version of himself or the other operatives, but dismisses it; he'll deal with that if the situation arises.

So Aigis and Mitsuru were keeping low profiles, too. At least they all had the same idea there.]

That's funny. I woke up alone.

[emp3thy]

I meant in general. People come in 'cycles.' They last two or three weeks, every other month.

[not that this will make much sense to him, off in his TV version of reality, but...]

[thunderfists]

[Cycles. He wasn't familiar with how television studios worked, or how the TV world apparently processed that information, but he did know a few things about computers. Maybe these cycles were like periodic data uploading times.]

That's a long time for people to trickle in. Do a lot of people arrive at once?

[emp3thy]

[He shrugs.] Anywhere from fifty to a hundred total.

[thunderfists]

[That ... suitably surprises him. From what he'd seen, the village didn't look big enough for those those kinds of 'cycles.']

Are people removed from captivity? This place isn't large enough for cycles like that.

[emp3thy]

[...yeah.]

Sometimes people go home, but we can't control when that happens.

[and this is getting to be complicated, so...] Did you bring your journal with you?

[thunderfists]

...Journal? [That rings a bell. Probably because said journal is still strapped to his side.]

[emp3thy]

[He nods.]

There's a guide inside.

[thunderfists]

[A guide for this world. A TV guide. That made sense.]

I'll give it a look over later. Good to know it'll be helpful for more than kindling.

[emp3thy]

[.....]

Please don't burn it. It also works like a phone.

[thunderfists]

[...Huh.]

That's a pretty high-tech book.

[emp3thy]

[Yep.] So try not to lose it.

[thunderfists]

You think it'll still work even though I tore out a few pages? [Or two dozen pages.]

[emp3thy]

[.................]

You tore out pages but didn't read it?

[thunderfists]

There wasn't actually a lot on the pages I tore out -- just some pictures of people's faces. [He had no idea that was how pages would capture voice recordings.]

[emp3thy]

[akihiko........ you're supposed to be more observant when you're on a secret mission]

That's how it works. The pictures were recordings.

[look ok he'll take out his own journal and open a random voice entry on the first page.]

[thunderfists]

[It's amazing anyone actually figures out the journals are supposed to be pressed and prodded -- it's so out of the norm with books.

But Akihiko watches as Minato opens up his journal and shows one of the kinds of pages he had seen before.]

Recordings... Right.

[emp3thy]

[Minato closes the book again. Actually... he's begun to notice something. Akihiko is acting strange.

It's not just the obvious, the lack of shirt and camping in the woods for a week instead of finding an apartment. And it's not big, either. Most everything he's doing and saying is undeniably Akihiko. But his reactions to some things... they just aren't what Minato would have expected to see. And the more they talk, the more he wonders.

Just what happened to him after graduation?]

Senpai... [another pause.] How long has it been since we last saw each other?

[thunderfists]

[He doesn't say anything immediately; he's getting that trap feeling again, and he has to push the thought away. This wasn't sensitive information about the mission.]

Two years. The year is 2012. [So, if they were really counting days here, he wouldn't be the senpai between them.]

[emp3thy]

[two years.... Well, it's still a better age gap than it could be.]

For me, it's been three and a half.

[thunderfists]

[.........]

You don't look that different.

[He's not saying he hasn't changed, but. Yeah. Are you growing at all, Minato?]

[emp3thy]

[hey he grew like... one centimeter...

shut up senpai]

You do.

[thunderfists]

[He glances down at what he's wearing. Hey, he's used to it...]

I've been traveling. [Like that explains everything.]

[emp3thy]

[That's not what people wear when they travel.]

Where?