Minato | Souji | Akira | 097

[messianic]

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[messianic]

[Yeah, Souji and Akira are probably both going to bounce off of some invisible wall if they try to talk in.

Let's try!!

So.

Minato just walks right into the room, expecting the other two to be able to follow.]

Right... this is mine.

[purrtagonist]

[huh]

I guess that's one way to do things. We all need a space where we can--

[-- CRACK]

[annnnd before he can finish his statement, Akira totally walks face-first into that invisible wall. he reels back quickly, hand shooting up to cover his poor, sore nose, glasses sitting askew on his features]

[behind them, Tama-chan mews peacefully]

[sworders]

... Ah.

[ Well, good thing Akira went first!! Souji stretches out a hand and indeed, encounters resistance. ]

Arisato-san only, huh?

[messianic]

... Oh.

[Minato turns around to look at Souji and Akira with a blank look.]

Are you okay...?

[He'll come back, though, obediently, stepping through the doorway as easily as that.]

[purrtagonist]

[LOOKING. . . KIND OF PUT OUT, as he rubs his nose]

. . . I'm okay.

[narrows his gaze at Minato's doorway. from here, he can't see the details of what lies in the Velvet Room beyond because the lighting is too dim, which only adds insult to injury]

Arisato only, it seems. Which probably means we're all only allowed to enter our own respective Velvet Rooms.

[he steps away from the elevator door now and turns towards the two others-- one that looks like thick, iron and heavily locked containment door, and one that looks like. . . well. it's shiny and blue and chrome and metal]

[sworders]

... [ And he's just going to point to the shiny chrome door. ]

I'm pretty sure it's mine.

[ And sure enough, when he tests it, it swings open. From here, he can see the plush upholstery, the side bar with the drinks he's never even glanced at... ]

[messianic]

[Huuuuh...

Minato walks over, carefully reaching out with his hand--and sure enough, he touches solid air right there, stopping him from going closer.

... He can definitely see something that looks like velvet in there, but it's hard to see from here.]

... I guess this all makes sense. It's the insides of our hearts, and all of that, right?

[purrtagonist]

Mmm. It's more symbolism.

[. . . Akira squints past Souji's doorway into the room beyond. like Minato's, he can't make out the details, but. . .]

Is that a drink bar?

[sworders]

[ Gently closes the door!!!! ]

Anyway, it looks like we've figured out a little more now. Whatever we're here for, we're going to need help from the Velvet Room.

[messianic]

[...Anyway...?]

... Hm.

[...

Glancing to Akira's door, and then back to Akira.]

... You don't want us to see yours?

[purrtagonist]

[. . . . . . . jiiiiiiiiii @ Seta. . . but when he speaks, it's directed at Minato]

I already know what's inside. It's not important.

[like hell is he showing two strangers his heart prison. even if he's no longer locked up like an inmate in it]

We should focus on figuring out where we go from here. Did either of you find anything else suspicious while looking around?

[sworders]

[ a very calm jiiiiiiiiiiiii right back. ]

-- Ah, no. I was just starting to look around when I heard you calling.

[messianic]

[Minato glances between the two of them and just.

Kind of silently sighs.

Okay. So that's how it's going to be.]

... No, but I get the feeling if we go looking, we'll find something now.

[Clearly they had to get introduced to the Velvet Rooms first? That's how these things work.]

[purrtagonist]

[A VERY CALM JIIIIIII IN RETURN]

[yeah sorry Minato, this is how it's gonna be]

Naturally. We've got to discover the important things by narrative significance, right?

[well. they may not have to wander too much, because Tama-chan is slinking towards the exit now, stopping there and meowing at the three boys insistently. follow the cat!1]

[sworders]

-- Oh. Tama-chan's volunteering to show us the way.

[ Well, how could he avoid the cat!! He's coming! ]

[messianic]

[Convenient!]

Ah... plot convenience wins again. [Dryly.]

Let's go, Tama-chan.

[purrtagonist]

I, for one, am not complaining about plot convenience.

[following the cat it is! once all three wild cards file in behind her, Tama-chan darts out of the velvet room and into the station again. which looks. . . exactly the same as it did before, but-for one difference]

[a train has pulled up to the platform just outside the velvet room, the engine rumbling as it stalls on the tracks. it's an old-timey passenger train, although the windows are all fogged up with mysteriously blue and swirling clouds, so it's impossible to see what's inside. Tama parks herself right outside the entrance, tail flickering]

[it's clear what she wants them to do]

Oh. Are we going on a trip?

[sworders]

Well. Now we're making progress.

[ And instead of stopping to stare at the windows or try to see if there's anything to be investigated about the outer appearance, Souji is giving Tama-chan a quick pat of gratitude and just striding on in. ]

[messianic]

[... Well. Okay. Minato glances from Souji, just STRIDING ON IN to Akira talking to the cat.]

... Yeah, I think we are. I was just starting to get used to this place, too. [That is A Joke.

ANYWAY!! Onto the train, he supposes, hands still tucked into his pockets.]

[purrtagonist]

[a soft snort, and Akira also crouches down to give Tama-chan a scratch behind her ears (she darts away from him before he can, like a JERK), before he sighs and follows his senpais into the train entrance. ONWARDS. . . !]

[entering the car feels much like entering a dungeon, or the Metaverse, or the Dark Hour. the world seems to pulse and shift around them, the station surroundings fading into nothing, only to be replaced by. . . . . . the interior of an old fashioned, extremely fancy dining car. wao!!]

[EXCEPT THE WHOLE THING IS A MESS]

[tables are upended, chairs are splintered in two, glass is broken and shattered on the velvet-carpeted ground. . . it looks like this place was ransacked, or something?? everything is silent, except for the sound of the rattling tracks outside. the car is on the move, and at a brisk, quick pace]

[the exit behind them is open, but swirling with white mist to obscure the station that must lie beyond. huh!!]

Sooo. . . we're not riding first class?

[says the guy in a leather jacket and white mask who was not standing there mere seconds earlier. but hey, he sounds an awful lot like Kurusu]

[sworders]

[ What the--

Why is everything such a disaster zone? Was the train robbed? Did someone get in a bar fight in this particular section?

And-- ]

... Kurusu-san? Did you seriously change outfits in under three seconds?

[messianic]

[Yeah, this entire place is trippy. Minato's left looking around, hands tucked into his pockets as he does. This place definitely feels like the Dark Hour, and while he seems as chill as ever... he's definitely on high alert now.

... ... ...]

Nice coat. The mask too...

[Akira's costume is awesome. Minato's peering at it, expression very curious.]

[purrtagonist]

[. . . ah, right. now that they both mention it, the other two wild cards are still dressed in their normal clothing. weird!!]

Oh. Thanks.

[that’s directed at Minato, to whom he gives a cheeky fingerguns. and then, to Souji—]

It’s for the aesthetic.

[that does not explain how he changed in like five seconds]

[sworders]

The... aesthetic.

[ He's giving Minato a slightly confused look now, because maybe Minato will understand it slightly better?? ]

[messianic]

[Minato just...shrugs...

He has no idea, Souji, sorry.]

... So.

We're on a moving train.

Can we start figuring out what we're here for? [The last time he was on a moving train and Shadows were around, he was on a Strict Time Limit. This is not how he wants to die (again).]