closed

[redsea]

Date & Time: January 7, late morning
Location: city outskirts
Characters: Yosuke Hanamura, Misaki Yata and (later) Kougyoku Ren
Summary: A loser wants a loser to meet a loser.
Warnings: losers and some swearing

[ At around 9am, Yosuke and Yata will get this message: ]

Hello! Will you meet me at the city outskirts at 10? I have something to show you☆

[ At 10, not in 10. Don't rush.

Should they arrive, however, Kougyoku is nowhere to be found. Maybe she's running a little late? No, she's just hiding behind some trees in a forest, close enough to listen in on their conversation. See, she has never introduced friends to other friends before, so she figures that having them meet on their own is the best way to do it...

Ah! Is someone coming? Kougyoku peers in from her hiding spot to see who it is. ]


( OOC: Tagging order is Yosuke > Yata > Kougyoku, but she won't be showing up in a long while so go ahead and skip her for the time being! )

Comments

[juneshero]

[oh man, he was going to have to work on his endurance here. Maybe he should have been a little more gung ho about PE class- oh wait, the guy was talking.

There are a couple more deep breaths before Yosuke stands up and pulls his headphones off. He still sounds out of breath though]

Yeah...? Um... So am I, actually. Or I'm supposed to meet up with her. Got a text about it earlier. [a laugh] I thought I was going to be late too! Talk about cutting it close! [and he looks around... Without seeing Kougyoku] But it doesn't look like she's here yet. Man, I ran all the way here too.

[battering]

[ "Her" and "Got a text"-- Yata was slow on the uptake sometimes, but even he could put two things together. What were you planning, Kougyoku? Was he going to have to fight this guy?

He pulls up his tablet to the text and holds it out. ]

Wild guess here, but was it a text like this?

[juneshero]

[??? oh god, don't fight me]

[Yosuke takes a look... Then notices the name on the message]

Yeah, it is. So you know Kougyoku too? Kinda weird that she's not here though.

[battering]

We're best friends.

[ Yata, you're an embarrassment. That wasn't the question! ]

Probably running late... or she forgot. [ He shrugs before checking his watch-- it was still just barely ten, they couldn't leave so quickly. ]

... what're you listening to? [ He motions to Yosuke's headphones, since someone's got his own red Beats that he was given for Christmas around his neck today. ]

[juneshero]

Whoa, man, chill out. I'm just asking.

[Yosuke no...]

... She doesn't seem the type to forget this sort of thing. I mean, we're friends of hers, so she wouldn't just leave us high and.... freezing. [he was going to say 'dry' but with snow all around them, it didn't seem to work]

Hm? [man, Yosuke's kinda jelly. But he actually purchased these headphones on his own so... Yeah, he's pretty happy with his pair] Just stuff. Pop, rock, hip hop, a bunch of indie stuff... I've been meaning to clear out some of it but I keep forgetting so it's, uh... It's gotten kinda huge.

[/babble]

[battering]

[ It wasn't even cold, geeze-- ]

Oh, cool.

[ Yeah, that's it. Give him a couple of seconds, he's really not that good at small talk where he isn't yelling. ]

Maybe we can trade a list of good shit some time.

[ Cue another quick look around the area, just in case. ]

[juneshero]

[it's meant as a joke! A joke- dammit]

[... well, at least Yosuke seems content to carry the conversation as far as Yata is willing to let him go. Or until Kougyoku decided to intervene]

Huh? Yeah, sure, why not? [a laugh] I was hoping to pick up something new from this place but it doesn't look like there's a lot to choose from.

Name's Yosuke by the way. [he holds out a hand] Sup?

[battering]

[ He reaches out toward Yosuke's hand and closes it into a fist, then proceeds to bump it with his own. Much better, and not as lame as a handshake. ]

Yata. And yeah, tell me about it... I've been dyin' to do something that doesn't have to do with snow. Skateboarding... and surfing, maybe. [ sighs. ]

[juneshero]

[he's okay with brofists. He just... didn't realize that people did those before handshakes. ... Ew, did being 'Prince of Junes' go too far?]

Yata? Hey, Kougyoku mentioned you the last time I saw her. Something about you teaching her to skate. [and not teaching her how to stop?!]

Snowboarding's pretty fun! But I don't have nearly enough money to buy the stuff I need to go do that... [he shakes his head and makes a face] Or want to fight penguins and yetis for the space.

[battering]

She did? [ c-cute, aah... no, wait, focus. ahem. ]

Me neither. I was thinking of making my own board, just something really simple, you know? [ he laughs then, a bit sheepish ] But if I broke something using a board like that I'd never heard the end of it!

And hey, don't knock fighting yetis 'till you try it. It's actually fun.

[juneshero]

Yeah! Though what were you thinking, letting her skate around without teaching her how to stop? Sure, snow's a better cushion than nothing but still, dude.

[Yosuke thinks about it a bit, then laughs too because boy wouldn't that be embarrassing] Wouldn't you need wax and stuff too? Maybe someone has a 'D.I.Y. snowboard' book somewhere we could borrow. [a shrug, then a lightbulb goes off] Maybe we can go back in time and get a snowboard that way. I mean, who's going to suspect a couple of teens getting snowboards? Totally 100% normal.

... And I don't know, dude. I'd probably get my ass whupped-- Wait, what?! You fight them for fun?!

[battering]

[ ... "dude". That sounded so weird. ]

I was right next to her! I wasn't really gonna let her fall. [ he shakes his head at the memory. it seemed like ages ago yet they'd only known each other for a little over a month. ]

Mm, yeah! I'm really strong! [ so don't look down on me, is what he means, just in case. ] Yo, if we go get those snowboards, when we get back we can use 'em while fighting yetis! You can do stuff, right?

[juneshero]

And what if she went skating on her own? Friends are supposed to be there for each other, but that's still not cool. [he worries because Yukiko would probably trip and fall on her face and then he'd have to face Chie's wrath for not catching her or a slap for catching Yukiko. The girls Yosuke knows are scary dude, he's just thinking of your safety as well as Kougyoku's. 8C ]

[everyone's stronger than Yosuke in the real world c'mon look at this scrawny kid] To fight yetis- wow, seriously?

... What do you mean stuff? Fighting's not really common where I'm from. Kanji could probably take one out though, crazy guy.

[battering]

[ Why would she go ice skating alone?? Oh, right, Kougyoku has other friends. Yata just waves it off and shifts the focus to something more important. Like fighting yetis. ]

Don't you have some powers or something? Why would you get brought here if you're useless?

[ Harsh, but so far he's only met people that can fight or have abilities in some way. ]

[juneshero]

[oh my god, Yata, don't turn into one of those boyfriends that's bad 8C ]

Oh. That. I uh... [he looks to a side as he crosses his arms because... He still couldn't easily summon Jiraiya]

Sort of...? I can't really use it here. Not well anyway.

[WOW, YATA, WAY TO MAKE THE GUY WITH SELF-ESTEEM ISSUES FEEL TOTALLY USELESS AND SELF-CONSCIOUS 10/10]

[battering]

[ OOPS.

"Not well" was at least better than nothing. ]

But you do have something! What is it? Is it cool?

[juneshero]

[well, Yosuke thinks his disco ninja frog is grand but PFFFT]

It's... [awkward because self-conscious] It let's me use wind magic. When I can call him out, at least. Just... general stuff. A healing spell, a speed buff... [laugh as he waves his hands (a little frantic)]

Nothing really useful in the snow. Which kinda sucks since we're totally stuck in it now.

[battering]

Nothing useful? That's fucking awesome!

[ ah, he's excited. healing, increases speed, and wind magic? come on. ]

We're definitely gonna go fight yetis. You can blow them up into the air and I'll burn 'em with my fire!

[ cue an amicable punch to yosuke's shoulder. the whole "when i call him out" bit kind of went over his head. ]

1/2

[juneshero]

[aslkdgjas;dlkfjsadl;kgjasd aaaaaaaah so he's a little red now and looking... hella validated WOW DON'T MIND HIM BEING ALL POKA POKA NOW ] ... Haha. Thanks?

[most well rounded Persona on the team!]

[juneshero]

Wait, wait, WAIT! [he holds his hands out in front of him]

I mean, I totally could, but that means I need to get this thing to work first, all right? I can't even summon Jiraiya normally right now!

... Oh, so you've got fire? That's way more useful here!!

[battering]

Mm! I'm part of a clan called HOMRA, and we all get really cool fire stuff.

[ He nods, looking proud for a moment as he tugs his shirt collar down to show Yosuke the bright red HOMRA insignia tattoo. Are you impressed, Yosuke? Be impressed.

Yata tugs his shirt back into place then, ] What's Jiraiya?

[juneshero]

[it takes a couple of seconds for the name to sink in, because that tat looks super legit whoa. When it does, Yosuke looks back at Yata] ... Oh, so you guys are the HOMRA that Kougyoku mentioned! Does the fire thing come with membership or something?

... Speaking of Kougyoku, where is she anyway?

[he's about to start looking around for her when- ofux he mentioned his Persona again. Maybe he didn't have to worry so much about keeping it on the downlow here since... crazy timey wimey adventures]

He's my Persona. [he winces] He's how I use the stuff I told you about before, but I can't... really summon him here? It's a lot harder here than back where I normally fight with him. Honestly, I didn't even know I could summon him without being there.

[battering]

If you're able to pass the test, yeah, joining HOMRA comes with those powers.

[ the words are a bit distracted due to yosuke's following question, and Yata does look around for a second before giving the other male his attention.

... though that explanation really didn't help much; it actually opened up even more questions. what's a persona? how do you summon it? what does it look like? can yata have one?

but he feels that's a conversation for another time they were just hanging out, not when they were waiting on Kougyoku. or whatever this was. ]

D'you think we should look for her? Maybe something happened...

[redsea]

[ Kougyoku thought that Yosuke talked too much and Yata was a little harsh but we did it folks. Her friends are getting along! She places her hands on her cheeks to keep herself from smiling too much. Maybe they can even hang out together! Like normal people her age!!

But, ah, she almost forgot she was making them wait. She so wanted to hear about how to get into HOMRA, too... ]

I'm already here!

[ She emerges from her hiding places, apptoaches the two and attempts to make it look like she wasn't hiding there the whole time. The snow on her head and how she has to get her clothes loose from some tree that snags onto her give it away. ]

I mean, sorry for making you wait. And Yosuke, don't lie. I saw you summon him the last time we trained... [ don't change the subject ]

[juneshero]

[...]
[...]
[... Kougyoku, that's not classy also possibly dangerous what even?]

Kougyoku?!

[then he jumps] Only because you would have killed me otherwise! And it's not that easy! I've been trying to call him out since then and all he's been doing is giving me funny looks.

[or what Yosuke assumes is funny looks. It's hard to explain how it feels to try and drag out your other (true) self.

Hey, wait a minute]

Did you set us up?!

[what's that about talking too much again?]

[battering]

[ How is he still surprised at this happening.

... Kou-chan, what did I say about hiding in weird places?!

[ He shakes his head and sighs, eyes on Kougyoku after Yosuke asked the million dollar question. This was a really weird meeting. ]

[redsea]

[ She turns away as she stifles her laughter. Poor Yosuke...

But then they figure it out and now she's a little embarrassed. They were supposed to go with the flow, it made better sense in her head... ]

Yata! [ Hits his arm! ] Don't tell Yosuke about that!

...I didn't know how to introduce you, and I was afraid of what would happen if you didn't like each other. And I [ looks away again ] wanted to watch.

[juneshero]

Hiding in weird places? [then he winces when Kougyoku hits Yata. Welp, forget bringing that up again]

... You could have just introduced us? I mean, I'm not picky. [though Yata looks and sounds like he's from a gang. It's fine though; Kanji was the same way and look at how he turned out! What a bro]

Wait. [Yosuke turns red because WATCH WHAT?! A fight where Yosuke gets his ass grassed? frantically whispering no homo] What is there to even watch!?

[battering]

[ Wow, harsh. Yata rubs his arm when she hits him, even though it's really nothing major. ]

Wouldn't it have been worse if we didn't like each other and you didn't come out fast enough?

[ He doesn't want to scold her too much, though... and they're in front of someone else and he's too shy to pat her head and tell her it's okay, so he settles for the next best thing-- ]

Haaaa, whatever, I guess it doesn't really matter now! Your plan ended up working since Yosuke and I are friends now after such a short time. Right, Yosuke?

[ read: if you don't agree and end up hurting Kougyoku's feelings, i'm gonna punch you in the mouth. ]

[redsea]

Mm... [ They had a point. It was just her being dumb again. Also she wanted to watch them be friends but that was embarrassing to say. ]

Really? Is that true, Yosuke? [ ...yeah, she's hoping for a yes. ]

[juneshero]

Wha-? Of course. [he wasn't paying attention - learn to read the atmosphere, Yosuke! - but he was as much of a loser with regards to friends as Kougyoku was so really]

I mean, I've had weirder starts to friendships. First time I met Partner was when [uh...] he pulled me out of a trashcan I crashed into. And now we're best friends.

[YEAH, LOSERS]

[battering]

[ They were stuck in a triangle of loserdom and there was no getting out. ]

That's almost too weird... mm, but not a bad thing either! [ shrugs; friendships happened in a bunch of different ways, so who was he to judge if Yosuke liked to crash into garbage cans? ]

[redsea]

[ Kougyoku covers her mouth when she laughs. ]

Haha, yeah! Yata and I became friends because of a misunderstanding, but it worked out.

I'm glad you're friends now. It would be awful if you didn't get along... See, Yosuke, I knew you could do it! [ Because this was all really a plan to help Yosuke make friends in the first place. ]

[juneshero]

Knew I could do what?

[HE HAS FRIENDS!! They're just... not here. And he's kind of useless without the protagonist's reassuring presence]