The Fall of Pride

Naito sat outside the Satoshi Market with a stern expression on his face, and his arms crossed upon his chest. He leaned back in the chair with a leg folded over the other with class. Even without noticing it himself, he seemed to be complete brainwashed in having an appearance that set him apart from most. Hayabusa was a reserved town that was quite quiet when compared to the bustling streets of Shibakuzoi or the rowdy streets of Nadashiki. People were laid back and live average lives with almost no sense of spontaneous spurts within them. Naito respected their quiet lifestyles. They found a place in their lives they were content with, and chose to live it out in peace. Not as ambitious as he would like for those he wished to lead into a brighter future; but if they were happy then he himself, would have to be happy. That was just how the world worked. After diving into Limbo alone, and missing a few days of his life in school, the silver haired student was finally back to his old life. He had contacted the one named Genji, who he had a previous meeting with, and had informed his fellow scholar that he wished to exchange information and words with him. Naito had planned on contacting Ejji aswell, but he thought it was best to work with someone he was more compatible with first, before involving someone who could be his death in the near future. Naito figured you could work with someone without needing to actually be associated with them. He wasn't ready to form any official teams, and was more focused on obtaining the truth behind the world of Limbo. Perhaps if his connections with others were strengthened, there was a slight chance he would help lead them to the truth aswell. But for the time being, he was hesitant. After that last failure of working with Ejji and Genji, it certainly set off the mood of wanting to work with them. It was suicide. Technically he had been fighting Shadows longer than both of them, so he had some more experience. Perhaps it was his duty to share with them his knowledge. To lead them. But if he did that, then his vulnerabilities would be out in the open. Out where it could ultimately send him in a downwards spiral to failure and weakness.

Taking a sigh, Naito would shake his head at the thoughts. Why was every predication he made about Limbo ending in such a tragic end? The silver haired student would open his eyes slowly and look towards the Market in thought. From his point of view he could see the couple doing some crazy shenanigans while their daughter stared at them in embarrassment. Life surely was carefree here. They hadn't had the slightest clue that there was a fight for everyone's survival going on in their own backyard. "Heh.. Life has a unique flavor those of the sheltered life will never know. If someone had extreme depth perception of Naito's face at this precise moment, they'd see his neutral expression give a hint of happiness. Something he didn't show to those around him. Not even his own siblings.

The silver haired student slowly closed his eyes while tilting his head to the side. He took in his fellow classmate's words and simply nodded in response. "Well, I wouldn't call them gifts per say. I'd think of this power as a curse. Though we retrieve great power, we trade in the innocence we once had. Now we can't play ignorant and turn a blind eye to the disappearances and dangers happening behind the scenes of Ueitawa." Naito's words were calm, as he opened his eyes and looked towards the one named Genji. "Have a seat. We have a few things to talk about. I'm not going to beat around the bush: we all did horrible working together." Right off the back, Naito started off with the cold honest truth. "I'm not one to take failure so easily, so I went into Limbo alone to start training. However, the longer I was in there the longer I had the opportunity to think to myself. Though I may be okay, I'm sure the troublesome one and yourself may be having some difficulties. I'm not sure if you both have noticed this, but it seems the deeper you go into Limbo, the more difficult the opponents. Coming from someone with abit more experience, heed my advice and stick close to the doors for now. There's an off chance you can die alone with no one there to help you." Such grave sayings behind calm words.

This was Naito's version of helping those around him without being so blunt about it. Having their deaths on his conscious would probably make him lose some sleep. "...I want to find the person behind Limbo, and I know I can't do it alone now. However, something is holding me back from working with you and Ejji. Whether it be pride or mistrust, I do not know." The calm faced boy would tilt his head back. "Perhaps both, simply because I know neither of you. I do have a proposition though. Perhaps we can traverse Limbo together every so often, seeing how we don't share the same weakness. And when we're not traversing Limbo, we can atleast meet here and exchange notes and information when we find something out."

Basically what Naito had said was- "Let's work together without actually working together." Boy was he a difficult one. For someone who was supposedly a genius that could lead people to the promised land, he surely had problems when getting too close to others. Perhaps this was his way of working with Genji without revealing too much about himself in the process. If one was to think about it, Naito had been present for each of the Shadow operations that consisted of someone facing themselves. He saw the deep dark truths of Genji and Ejji and said nothing scathing about them. He understood them, even though he never showcased this. At the same time, no one was there for his own Shadow encounter. They had no idea what demons he was facing within. Perhaps things would have been much easier if they had seen his Shadow... Maybe those around him wouldn't be put through such odd situations in an attempt of getting closer to him.

Naito was silent through Genji's words. His face displayed a slight frown, but it was more of a neutral expression than his actual true emotions. Now that that was out the way, and Genji basically repeated his proposal, the one named Naito would raise a hand to brush his hair out of his eyes. "Atleast that part is settled. There isn't much to talk about right now without having our hands on atleast one clue. Whatever is behind those golden doors in the sewers must be rather important for such a buffed up security. Once we do get our hands on it, we'll have some solid evidence of finding this person or persons responsible, and putting them to justice. It's obvious that this comes down on us. The police can't help us. Not like they're competent enough to help in the first place.." He muttered the last sentence beneath his breath. Naito had a certain distaste of authority figures that were above him. The case itself would be difficult. Naito was smart but he was no detective. He had no evidence, no suspects, no motives. Why would someone deliberately throw people into Limbo? He would have guessed it had something to do with himself, because two people he knew was thrown in, but that wasn't true. Even before he obtained his Persona, people were disappearing in the region. Whoever was doing it must have been busy this whole time.

"Somethings been bothering me about Limbo.." The silver haired student would finally begin to talk again, once pinching his chin between his thumb and index finger. "Doesn't it seem to be alive? Or atleast a sentient being? From the messages to the change in overall structure each time we go in, it feels like it's trying to keep us out itself. I was already aware that we were dealing with the supernatural, thanks to the Shadows and demon like enemies we have faced so far. I wonder if those of the Velvet Room know more than they are telling us about that place... They should know something." At this point he was more talking to himself than anyone else. Thinking out loud was another term for it. "There's far too much we don't know about this case so far... There's one thing for certain, though. Whoever this culprit is, they seem to have the same potential we do. That's the only way they can see the doors of Limbo and throw them in. We may be dealing with another Persona user."

Naito would raise a brow at the proclamation of a God or Goddess being behind the madness that was Limbo. The silver haired student wasn't religious simply because he didn't believe some all-knowing being was sitting on a pedestal somewhere while calling the shots on life. There was no such authority or power in his world. However, just a few weeks ago he believed monsters were something of movies. Now he was fighting them on a daily basis. Anything could be true, and Genji could most likely have a point. The real question was what came first? Limbo or the ability to use Personas on a whim... Perhaps a human wasn't behind its creation. Perhaps they were playthings in a God's game of chess. If that was the case, then the opposition had already made the first move by tossing people within Limbo. It was their turn to strike back. Taking a short breath, Naito would finally part his lips to speak. "A God or Goddess, huh? I guess I can't say that's completely impossible at this point. Perhaps the culprit or culprits throwing people into Limbo are working for this God or Goddess... Or perhaps maybe they are just pawns in the bigger scheme of things. There are too many questions without any answers. We need that first clue.. One thing is for certain. When man comes to power, they will most likely abuse it. These Limbo incidents are proof." The complex student let out a sigh under his breath. "It seems like this is the beginning of a very unfortunate journey. There's a chance we may die through this... We'll need to go in with a steel resolve. I we falter in our progress, Ueitawa will never be safe from this menace preying on their innocence. And if it's a God behind this world of Limbo putting us through some ordeal; I'll reject their existence wholeheartedly. The human race isn't a toy to be messed with on a whim."

With that said, Naito would uncross his arms and place a hand on the table. Tapping his finger, his eyes would look back towards the market. Peaceful lives were soon to be over. It was their job to help the innocent ones survive. "Once I unlock my next skill with my Persona, I plan on going back into the dungeon to get the first clue. You are welcome to join me. However, if you bring Ejji along, he will simply follow behind us. If we're in the same battle at the same time, there could be consequences I don't wish to suffer. Such as death.." With the last word, he shot a serious glare towards Genji before narrowing his eyes. "Either way, atleast we have a game plan. From now until further notice, this will be our meeting place. Any objections?"

More people? Was he implying what Ejji spoke of? Tossing people in and forcing them to face their Shadows themselves? That would make them no different than the culprit behind this mystery. Naito figured that wasn't what Genji meant, so he would brush that off and speak lightly. "Excluding our adversaries, the only one we know who can use a Persona aswell is Ejji. Who's to say there are more out there? The disappearances up to this point haven't been solved, so I think it's obvious those people were killed. Though perhaps we could look up who had gone missing and see if someone had turned up... Hmm, but doing that for the whole region wouldn't work to our advantage. That's because people go missing almost every day. How do we pick and choose what missing person case is related to Limbo and which ones aren't? How troublesome.." Naito let out a grunt and pushed himself to his feet. Putting his hands in his pockets, he'd begin to head towards the market. "Well either way, Kano, I'll keep in touch. Just be wary.. If our adversaries learn of our involvement in their affairs, they may come hunting us in the real world aswell. From now on, we need to be on our toes at all times." With that said, Naito gave one last nonchalant wave before heading off into the market for groceries. He had alot to think about, and he didn't feel like heading straight back to the dorms.

[Exit]