[OPEN] you will be given one day

[compendiem]

WHO: Minato & OTA
WHERE: around the city
WHEN: noon 2/15-noon 2/16
WHAT: packs for a camping trip two weeks late bc this is his life
WARNINGS: none

i. around town
[ Minato wants to sleep so, so, so, so bad, and looks like he needs it— dark circles under his eyes, disheveled hair, feet that drag and wear down the bottoms of his shoes when he makes a beeline straight for home. First things first, check that the cat's still alive. Second, resist the siren call of bed so he can take a quick shower, grab some clothes out of the closet, empty the cupboards and set aside some bags next to the front door to pick up later. Zee had called it a vacation, and he knows he should try to get some proper rest, but he can't. It's a supply run day, and he needs to make every minute count.

Grocery store for food. The pharmacy for meds. Charger, battery, extra socks, a package of Kobe beef that he weighs in one hand and deliberates whether he should buy this (he buys this). Both sleeping pills and energy drinks, as if he can't decide how to live, and honestly, he doesn't.

It feels like end times, a little, him way out of his element and wondering what is he even doing? Why is he doing this? What's the point. Everything gets dumped into the trunk of his car, but then he just. leans back against it, hands smothering his face and looking like he wants to scream or cry but can't do either, so he just hisses a long sigh through his teeth. He wants to sleep, but he can't. Not yet.

ii. velvet room
[ When he does sleep, it's past midnight and he doesn't go home. He goes to the Velvet Room next to Pizza Port so he can crash somewhere that's hopefully deserted like it's always been the handful of times he's gone inside, the elevator music being all that lifts his feet from step to step as it fills his soul with calm.

He's walking right past that dinky little chair and crashing on Igor's couch; he's not here, he can't stop him. ]

(note: only Persona protags/Liz may enter the Velvet Room, but those with high spiritual sense can notice the door and call out to Minato trying to open this fake door at the dead end of an alleyway)

iii. waffle house mailbox
[ The first afternoon was a supply run, thrown together feverishly but it'd gotten done, so the next morning, Minato makes sure to drop off his apartment rent for the next two months in case Zee needs them held hostage for that long, and his last stop for the day is the mailbox in front of the waffle house. He looks at the ticket in his hands:

"bat with nails driven into it"

and prays this isn't a live bat. He gets his wish, but who knows if this is any better? Those sure are nails jutting out of the wooden bat, rusted but sharp when Minato almost drops it in surprise, covered with so much blood that it's soaked into the wood and the cloth grip and would be impossible to wash out.

A smarter person would stick this right back into the mailbox before somebody can see. Minato is not that smart a person, so there he goes dragging this bloody nail bat throughout town, head bowed with his hair overshadowing dark eyes and looking very much like he's out to kill. He just. Really wants to go home and sleep. ]

wc.
[ general meetings; he can be found anywhere around town, so feel free to make up a location ]

Comments

[compendiem]

[ Minato takes the bat, hauling it up and letting it rest over his shoulder. ]

Yeah, we're almost there. Down the street and up the hill.

[ But he slows to the stop where he is instead of continuing on, turning and facing the alleyway. He's tired of running; if somebody's really after them, he thinks he'd rather deal with them, even if it is the police. ]

[reaquila]

That's not too bad. At this rate, we can make it. [Nanashi takes a few steps back to ensure that the coast is clear. Luckily for them there's no one in sight. He returns back to Minato after a brief moment.]

Looks like we lost 'em. [Of course, there's no way to be absolutely sure of that. At least Nanashi bothered to check with his own two eyes.]

So hey, do you live alone? [Is coming home with a giant bloody bat going to be problematic?]

[compendiem]

[ There's a mix of relief and disappointment when nobody steps out of the shadows to confront them. Perhaps they've hidden, or gave up, or are biding their time to ambush them, but either way, Minato falls back and starts down the street back home. He'll put his hopes on their stalker having given up, though he doesn't really like the idea of leading somebody sketchy to his apartment building, especially since he doesn't live alone. ]

One roommate, and his cat. He probably took today to rest too, but I'm not sure.

[ Maybe he's home, maybe he's not. Minato doesn't sound too worried about what his roommate might think about the bat, though. ]

[reaquila]

I'll trust you to work things out with them. We're almost out of the woods! Sorry about that detour.

[Nanashi makes a noticeable frown.]

When you get home eat food and wash up or something. You don't look so good.

[There's a bit of emphasis on Nanashi's words when he says "eat food" because he knows Minato doesn't eat properly at times. ]

[compendiem]

[ Work things out = not mentioning it at all and just tossing the bat into the storage closet along with his other 2345896 weapons, most likely. The emphasis does its job, though, because Minato would have just gone home and collapsed on the couch for a few hours until his watch alarm wakes him up to head back to the forest, forgoing meals entirely. ]

I will. ...I promise. [ he adds, as if that makes him sound a little more believable. ] Thanks for the escort back.

[reaquila]

[Minato?????? Wow. Nanashi was right to worry!]

No problem. Try not to take that road back home again. Part of that area's gang turf at night.

[He should have said that earlier. There was a lot going on back then so Nanashi just forgot to mention it entirely.]

People don't go there unless they're looking for a fight. We're lucky we didn't have to beat up anyone!! [Or get beaten. ]

[compendiem]

[ squints at Nanashi, please??? Why do you know that shortcut and why do you know about gang turfs... Minato thought he was just involved in schoolyard fights. ]

Are there a lot of places I need to look out for? Sometimes I walk home late at night instead of driving... I think I have a map of the city in my desk somewhere, if you can draw it out for me.

[reaquila]

[It's schoolyard fights and sometimes gangster fights!!! They're related at times. The bullies call for reinforcements who end up being more powerful than a regular high school student. Nanashi tracks them down and then the rest is history. ]

Yup, there's plenty of places you should watch out for. I could draw it out for you. Is there any reason why you walk instead of drive? That doesn't seem safe.

[says the guy who knows about street violence. it takes one to know one!! ]

[compendiem]

[ Keep that up and Nanashi will be history... ]

It's icy in the winter sometimes, so I don't feel like it.

[ Some other reasons. But nevertheless, Minato points them towards towards the apartment building and gets his keys out to open the door. The lock opens with a click as he turns it, but he stops there and hands the bat back to Nanashi. ]

Hold this again, real quick?

[reaquila]

Okay, I can do that.

[Nanashi lets out a sigh and takes the bat. Minato's free to move around since he no longer has extra weight. This is Nanashi's first time at the apartment so he's checking things out a bit. ]

Nice place, Senpai. Hope you don't mind having me hang out here.

[He sort of did come all this way without an invitation. Things just sort of happened.]

[compendiem]

[ The first thing he does when he goes inside is to find the cat and corral her into one of the bedrooms so she can't run out the door and make a break for freedom when Nanashi leaves. Only then does he return and take the bat off Nanashi's hands, and goes to toss it into a closet where there's definitely the gleam of other weapons in there that Nanashi might catch a glimpse of before Minato closes the door. ]

It's fine. You helped me out, so... Anyways, my room's this way.

[ Down the hall, last door on the right. ]

...Do you mind cats at all?

[reaquila]

[He follows Minato down the hallway and deadeyes the pile of weapons hidden in the closet. Unfortunately, Nanashi doesn't know how to keep himself quite and points it out like it is. ]

You're keeping other weapons here? Senpai...??? [Why????]

Nope, I don't mind 'em. They make good hunters and friends too. Cats are okay. [Nanashi isn't allergic to cats either so he's fine with them for the most part. ]

I read about how they have nine lives. Is that actually true? [It sounds fake.]

[compendiem]

[ Minato glances back at the closet as they leave. ] Yeah. [ YEAH. He offers no explanation, otherwise. Better he keep them instead of using them, right? ]

I dunno if that's true. If it is, they probably get their extra lives leeching them from others. This is Kitty. I think that's her master plan. [ The bedroom door opens up to reveal a very large Norwegian Forest cat that Minato grabs before she can run out the door, and only lets go of until Nanashi is also inside and closes it behind him. ]

Was wondering if you could come check up on her when my roommate and I are gone. Once a week or something, not that often. If it's not too much trouble.

[reaquila]

It's no trouble. I can drop by on the weekend to see how she's doing.

[That sounds reasonable enough. Sure, no problem. Nanashi crouches down and takes a better look at the cat. It's really big. Kind of makes him wonder what they've been feeding her.]

Gotta let my guardians know that I'll be visiting. Do you have a number I can call in case I see something off?

[Having another way to contact Minato would be nice. ]

[compendiem]

[ Great. Minato rattles off his phone number while he digs through the drawers of his desk, full of papers and folders and probably isn't organized in any systematic way because he needs to rifle through all of them before he finds what he needs.

He lays the map of the city flat on his desk. To Nanashi, it might look off at first glance— all the streets are in the right places, but certain buildings have been shuffled around from their current addresses, some having disappeared completely and others replaced. The date on the lower right corner of the map shows that it was printed in October 2017.

Weird. But all he needs is the streets to know where to avoid at night, so Minato makes no comment as he fishes a marker out of a cup on his desk and hands it over. ]

[reaquila]

[This map feels out of date even though it's not all that old. How bizarre. There probably isn't much of an answer for the discrepancy. Nanashi takes the marker and underlines the names of dangerous streets. Then he circles places that look desolated and unmaintained. By the time he's done with it there's plenty of markings all over the map. ]

That should be all the places I know of.

[Nanashi places the marker on the desk and stretches his arms out.]

Just avoid places that no one really uses anymore. Walk home with a friend if you can too. You should be fine with this.

[compendiem]

[ The answer is Retrospec, but that's hardly a satisfying answer at all. But man... that really is a lot of the map that's marked now. Usually, he sticks to the main roads anyways, so he should probably be fine, but he also has a friend with a sleepwalking problem with whom he makes a mental note to share it so she can... at least subconsciously be aware not to go into those places. That won't help. Minato will probably end up wandering the streets anyways, just in case. ]

To think I moved here because I read the city has a low crime rate... This is helpful, though. Thanks for it.

[reaquila]

I heard that too, but it seemed too good to be true. Crime can happen anywhere.

[He frowns and looks down at the markings on the map as proof of this.]

No problem, Senpai. I should get going. I didn't think we'd be out for so long.

[Getting back home shouldn't be an issue or anything. It's nothing Minato needs to worry about. ]

[compendiem]

[ Maybe Nanashi should take one of the many weapons Minato has in his closet... but no, that would be dangerous for other people instead, so he just walks Nanashi to the door to see him off. ]

Yeah. Take care.

[reaquila]

[Before leaving Nanashi puffs up his cheeks at Minato.]

Remember your promise!!

I'll see you later. Watch yourself, senpai.

[compendiem]

Yes, sir. I'll remember to eat.