babermetrics | IC OVERFLOW AND MISC.

[He trusts her to lead them, so he's entirely focused on her story, watching her with interest; even their relative states of undress are temporarily forgotten.]

Yeah, yeah, I promise! Don't worry about it! I've seen and heard tons of weird stuff here . . . I can take it.

[Somehow, she can believe that. They're still alone and it's here she stops him, hand coming up to rest on his chest as a signal for him to halt in his footsteps and she lets go of his hand so she can properly face him. She studies his expression once more (for what, she's not really sure herself) before she closes her eyes.]

Persona.

[There's a sound like something's shattering even though nothing's there and a flash of light that might temporarily blind him, but by the time the whole fancy Persona bullshit's over he'll find that Rise's...you know. Still standing there, just as normal as can be...and Kanzeon's hovering right behind her waiting for instruction. Rise doesn't say anything but she's giving Leon a look that basically says "well????" instead.

So yeah. There's that.]

[Yeah, there's that. But what is that?

He said he wouldn't freak out. And he doesn't; he does take a couple steps backwards in surprise, eyes going wide and jaw dropping. But once he's over the initial surprise . . . it's not like this is threatening in any way. It's just Kujikawa standing there, with—something behind her. Something big, but benign-seeming.

He snaps his mouth shut and meets Rise's eyes again, still looking shocked, but standing his ground.]

. . . Whoa. That's . . . that came from you? This's your power?

[It's roughly the same response she's received from most people who aren't familiar with Personas and she smiles slightly even as she tilts her head back to look at Kanzeon. The Persona also seems amused as she analyzes Leon closely.]

This is my Persona. She's a part of me, kind of a part of my soul? [She would look down but that would just make her even more embarrassed currently so she keeps her eyes locked on his.] Her name's Kanzeon. Everyone on our team can use one, but Yu-senpai can use a bunch of different ones.

[Annnd story time.] What you saw in the mirror was my Shadow. Shadows are born from all of the negative thoughts and hidden feelings people have. My Shadow was created because of all of the parts of me I didn't want to believe were really there, all of the things I didn't want other people to see. The Midnight Channel showed all of those negative parts to anyone who was watching. That's how my friends found me, and that's how we found others. If you don't accept your Shadow as a part of yourself...they'll attack. But if you can defeat it and accept it as part of yourself...[She gestures back to Kanzeon.]

...Yu-senpai and the others saw me and came to rescue me before my Shadow could kill me. The TV world is a pretty dangerous place. Without our Personas we wouldn't have survived at all. It's funny though. We've never been able to summon them outside of the TV world. Cerealia's the first place it's worked besides there.

[He listens to her explanation, mildly astounded . . .

It sounds crazy. But not really crazier than anything else here, and there's an internal logic to it that he can follow and which matches with what he saw of her other self (her Shadow, apparently), which actually puts it a bit above things like wizards refilling water glasses with their magic wands on the scale of things that make sense.

So he nods, slowly, as she wraps it up, still adjusting all of that in his head into a simplified version he can remember easily.]

So . . . that fake bikini you, that was like, your bad parts, but you and your friends took her down and you dealt with all that, and she turned into—this, right? Or, uh, her?

[That's a her, right?]

And now she's on your side?

Something like that. [There's a timid smile. It's confusing, she knows.] All of our Shadows were born for different reasons and all of our Personas are different. When our Shadows were born born and when we were held in the Midnight Channel, a dungeon was created for each of us. [A beat. It's…an awkward conversation. She's alluded to it, she's discussed it with some people in lesser detail, and of course her friends except for Naoto were there first-hand. But it's Leon.

She just has to hope this won't make things weird.]

Marukyu Striptease. That was mine. [Which explains why her Shadow was poledancing in a gold bikini threatening to bare it all.] …I didn't choose to be an idol at first, you know? One of my relatives entered my name in a contest and I won. I guess they were hoping it'd help my confidence. [There's that same weak smile.] I wanted to be a better person. I wanted to be someone people liked and have friends, but people stopped wanting to know Rise Kujikawa. After I started my career, people only saw Risette, the girl on stage and in the magazines and commercials. After a while, I didn't even know who the real me was, so I took a break from my career hoping to figure it out. But the truth is? Everything about me is the real me. Even Risette. Senpai and the others helped me realize that.

[And she looks up at Kanzeon one more time.] Kanzeon started out as Himiko, but she changed. I changed, too. She helps me keep my friends safe in the TV world by navigating and being able to sense presences and other Shadows. She helps me find their weaknesses to plan the best battle strategies, too, and sometimes she's bailed us out of really bad situations. I never knew I could be capable of something like this, but it's hard to imagine being without her now.

Kujikawa . . .

[That's—intense. It's a lot. The parts about Shadows and battle strategies and the TV World, he doesn't really get any of that, but it doesn't matter; the part that's about her feelings makes sense, and it's obvious that it's a lot of personal information to tell someone.

He's touched, and he doesn't know what to say to it.

What do you do, when things get serious like this? Leon's bad at it—his skin crawls with the urge to lighten the mood somehow, crack a joke or something, but he doesn't really want that, either. She went and told him all of that. She trusts him! He has to say exactly the right thing, something sensitive and cool, the perfect follow-up to all of that . . .

Ah, screw it. Words are really hard. Actions are easier. He takes a step toward her and reaches for her arm—

And then pauses, glancing up at Kanzeon.]

. . . She's not gonna get mad if I hug you, right?

[A smooth follow-up statement. He lowers his voice almost to a whisper, even though he's not sure why he's doing that. It just kinda happens.]

[It's definitely a lot and it's definitely personal. For once she looks very unsure of herself as she waits for Leon to process everything. She knows how he tends to process things, how he tends to brush serious things off for the easy route sometimes, but...that's not happening. That's not happening this time and when he moves closer she watches him carefully.

(The question would almost be funny, considering their state of dress if the situation weren't so oddly serious.) Her mouth tugs into a small frown before there's another flash of light and Kanzeon seems to disappear back into Rise's form.]

Don't think so. She's really only unhappy with enemies. [Her own tone matches his even if she's not sure why. She looks at the hand reaching for her arm and takes a slight step forward to further close the gap between them.] Are you really that worried?

[Whatever she means, he reads it as "worried about me," and so Leon shakes his head as he steps in to pull her into a hug. Their states of dress, or lack thereof, would make this pretty awkward, yep. But for the moment, he's thinking with the right head, and it's not on that. (For the moment.)]

I wouldn't call it "worried" . . . I dunno, I just . . .

[No, he shakes his head again, hair brushing against hers.]

I'm not worried about you! You're—you're totally together, Kujikawa. I mean, all that stuff, that's all really intense, but you're so . . . you dealt with all that.

It's pretty cool. I guess I'm saying I admire you?

[Good job, Leon. As he pulls her into a hug, she finds it's almost too easy to lean into his chest and allow her arms to loosely follow suit. It's nice, she thinks. Yu's hugged her before of course as have other people, but it's still reassuring. Her earring's probably pressing into his bare skin and her hands probably have a little sand on them, but she's concentrating on his words instead.]

...thanks. [What else can you say to that? She hums a little under her breath, like she doesn't entirely agree.] I couldn't have gotten past it without my friends. I still didn't really know what I wanted to do until a few months ago. I missed being on stage and I wanted to make my fans happy again. But I can do that while still being me, can't I? [Another pause.] When I came here, no one knew who I was. That made all of my friendships with people even better.

[She stops again before pulling back just enough to look up at him.] You're one of the only people who knows all of this so...it means a lot that you're okay with it.

[He is willing to overlook just about anything for a hug like that. Leon squeezes her gently, then loosens his grip when she starts to pull back, letting his hands drift down to rest against her sides. And even though he's a bit less starved for touch these days than he was in the months when he first got here—he's got closer friends now, he has people he can sling an arm around as they walk or lean up against on the couch and feel a little less alone in the world than he used to be—he's still reluctant to let go entirely. A part of him still needs more, and it's not even the part of him noticing they're both practically naked and that Kujikawa's really, really hot.]

Heh . . . did you think I was gonna freak out? I guess that's fair, 'cuz I was pretty surprised! I probably would've freaked out a few months ago! Stuff like this, it doesn't happen in my world. But since I got here, a lot of people have showed me a lot of weird stuff, so I'm starting to get used to it. . . . And it's pretty cool.

[He smiles down at her, warm. (Not as much down as usual. He's starting to notice that; it feels weird.)]

Uh, so how does she work? That's how you track people, right?

[To her credit, she's also not entirely pulling back either. She's still in his grip and she doesn't seem uncomfortable in the slightest. It happens when you're used to dishing out casual affection. If Leon can hang with that, then it's for the better.]

A little! It's still pretty weird. When I first saw Yu-senpai and the others using their Personas it was really hard to understand what I was seeing until Himiko was born. But I guess you're right. There were even other Persona users here that we didn't know about until we came here! And other people I've met have really different powers, too. [Kaz…Merlin…Kashuu being a sword. They're all different.

But that expression definitely helps and she laughs gently, pushing at his chest just a bit in a way to suggest she doesn't want to move but she has to to show him how Kanzeon's powers really work. When they're separated again it takes no time for her to summon the Persona once more.]

Kanzeon sort of works like a satellite. Since I can pick up on energies of people and everyone's energies are different, she helps me track them down and see what direction they're pointed. [She perks up a bit.] Since I know what to look for with Yosuke-senpai and Teddie, it should be a piece of cake! [She gestures to the gold headband in her Persona's hands, too.] It's like having a third eye…she expands my vision and allows me to read energies and monsters really easily. That's how we beat a bunch of the Shadows we had to fight and how we found people in the Midnight Channel. Before I joined the team Teddie was helping since he can sniff them out, but as my Persona got stronger it was easier for me to help out.

[She pauses before she remembers something.] Oh! Those are the friends I'm looking for. Yosuke and Teddie. [Obviously.]

[He steps back when urged and watches her do the summoning thing again; now that he's expecting it, he's mostly surprised by how effortless she makes it look. It's just like, bam! Suddenly there's this goddess behind her. A crazy techno-goddess. Leon nods when Rise mentions she works like a satellite, because she also looks like one, and it's . . . weirdly comforting. He can't even begin to imagine how it must feel to have your vision expanded or read energies, but he knows how a satellite works. (Kind of.)]

So . . . she like, picks up on their signals, and you can feel that yourself? Inside you? People's energies, huh . . . it sounds pretty cool.

[And he can't resist being curious about this:]

You oughta tell me what I feel like sometime! Maybe when we're not lookin' for your friends, though.

[She pauses, half-nodding in agreement to tell him he's on the right track but mostly rewarding him with a smug little smile.]

Are you really sure you wanna know what you feel like? It might surprise you a little bit.

[Is Kanzeon smiling too? It's entirely possible that the Persona's floating behind Rise with a closed-lip smile and watchful eyes.]

. . . Is it a good surprise?

[This is the problem with surprises! He only wants them if they're good! Though his curiosity has the better of him now anyway—still, it'd be ideal if it were a good surprise!

He laughs it off, waving his hand.]

I definitely wanna hear it if it is!

[She throws in a playful wink, but she's not verbally responding.]

Someday, okay? [She taps a finger to her chin.] You'll help me look for the others, won't you? I think you might like them.

'Course I will! They're not gonna get all defensive of you on me, right?

[But he's just kidding, and winks right back, heading down the hallway again—slowly, not exactly leading the way here. He's still not the navigator of this little party. But what would his Persona-thing be like, he can't help but wonder . . . ]

C'mon, we'll find 'em in no time if you can do all that!

I think you and Yosuke-senpai will have more in common than you think. [That is to say that Yosuke kind of acted like an idiot around her at first too before they actually became friends. It's still endearing and it's still fun to flirt with him, too. She follows along, already having a sense of where to go and she'll only summon Kanzeon when needed. They have a hallway and a few turns ahead that she can go solo.

It gives her enough time to turn her head to face him again.]

So...baseball? [Yeah, we're going back to that.]

[Oh man, he thought he'd gotten away with it! Whoops. It could be a lot worse than talking baseball shop, but he's still a bit embarrassed, laughing and rubbing the back of his neck.]

Yeah . . . I-I mean, I don't play anymore! I totally quit! But that was my talent, y'know? That's how I got into Hope's Peak in the first place! I was the best there was in Japan. If I'd stuck with it, I probably would've gone to America after school and raked in millions.

[If he'd lived to see that, along with not having turned his back on it before all that went down.]

Really? [It's not so much the fact that it's baseball that she's impressed by but more the notion that he was the best. She has to wonder what kind of school Hope's Peak was that it had that much talent, and yet killed its students.] But you quit because you wanted to start your band, huh?

[Yup. She sure does listen to him.] What changed?

Heh, you remembered!

[It's such a little thing, she remembers! she listened! but it means a lot to him; he can feel his cheeks flush pleasantly and his heart rate pick up just a little. She'd paid attention. Does that make him easy? Who cares? Everyone likes to be listened to, right?

These topics aren't easy for him to talk about anymore—even though he once spouted off about them at anyone who would listen, or even people who weren't—but she makes it easier. It's always easier with Rise. So despite everything, he's pretty much at ease, and grins over at her with obvious appreciation. Thanks.]

It's just, baseball's what I'm good at, yeah, but . . . it just ain't me! It's not my style! I'm not just some sweaty jock, right? Can you even imagine me standing out there on the pitcher's mound in some boring uniform with my head shaved, throwing balls at other sweaty dudes?

[Ha! Ridiculous! How silly!

And yet he keeps going, and the longer he talks, the more some fondness creeps into his tone:]

Not that they could ever hit them anyway. Not like I could hit theirs! Then they'd make me run the bases anyway even though it was just another homerun, like, what's the point when you send the ball flying out o' the park like that? There is no point! It's totally pointless! And it's always all hot out there in the summer, and your feet send up dust in your eyes, so you can't even see the whole stadium cheering for you . . .

[He's still smiling.]

Heh . . . so uncool.

[Wait, he was supposed to be complaining! That was definitely complaining! Right?! That was all one big complaint!]

[The look she gives him in return is enough to imply "I always listen" even if she rolls right over it. She's more than happy to listen to him, let him talk as they make their way through the first part of the castle.]

Your hair looks too good to imagine you with a shaved head. [It's just a brief comment before she allows him to continue, becoming less and less convinced that he's really that over it. Instead, she's content to hold his hand and let him talk even when he finally slows down. She still doesn't quite know enough about how baseball feels, but she kinda gets it.]

...but I don't know. It kind of sounds like fun? Being part of a team and having people cheer for you and people counting on you to be the best. Even if the lights--the sun is really hot and you can't see it, you hear it and you feel it more than anything.

But if you really think it's that uncool...

. . . I dunno, you think it's cool? Cooler than being a musician?

[She's not wrong about any of those things, and it gets to him a little—like he needed more getting to. Actually, baseball as a whole gets to him these days. He doesn't like to admit how much he misses it, but it's always somewhere in the back of his head. Hence little displays like earlier's ballway session . . .

But admitting that to someone else? Ah, it's her, though! And she's even being encouraging! She wouldn't be tricking him, right?

Damn, he's so easy. He can already feel himself crumpling.]

I—you don't think I'm a dumbass for missing it after I made a whole thing out o' quitting, right??

I don't know. You don't think I'm crazy for having an entire televised press conference announcing that I was quitting my idol career for a while only to come back a year later? [Think about it that way, Leon. Maybe she gets it a little more than she's letting on.]

Besides! I am a musician, remember? I think they're pretty cool but I've always thought it's even cooler when my friends do really different things, too.

Kujikawa . . . anyone ever told you before you always know exactly what to say?

[Heh. That whole press conference thing puts it in perspective a bit, yeah. He's the last person to judge her for it; it's nice not to feel so alone, even if he's still embarrassed.

He reaches over to gently tug the end of a lock of her hair; it's the safest place to touch when they're in this state of undress. (Sure, they full-on hugged earlier, but that was an emotionally charged moment!)]

IC OVERFLOW AND MISC.

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