One With Nature [Sharaku - ???]

He listened to what Ariston had to say. His fingers gripped together to form fists. That man knew where Rinna was all along. It really ticked him off. Whether Rinna didn't want to be found or not, in the end, he likely didn't like this old man. But, it did make one thing very clear to him. "Good enough for me. I have more questions, but tell me more later. First..."

He turned towards Analee.


There wasn't much point to stick to the gang leader anymore. In the first place, he didn't like him anyway and that guy was rather shady. But since Simon apparently trusted Ariston over him, his choice was self-evident now. While still facing Analee, he spoke, "Ariston, let's make one thing clear. I don't give a shit about the islands nor do I give a damn about both sides. But, at least you have an idea where Rinna is and Simon trusts you. That's all you got going for your side."

At Sharaku, he only said, "You don't need to know."

Well... this wasn't necessarily what Phalanx had expected. Was this woman really that important? To the machine, this was a mystery, but he wouldn't object. He just wanted this man to stay safe. If this was the path he wanted to go, then Phalanx would follow. If only out of curiousity as to why he had made the decisions he had... Zachary wouldn't be too pleased with this, but that was a consequence he was prepared on facing. That's not to say that he paticularly trusted either side of this tussle too much. In the end, he just wanted to see these islands burn.

Ariston smirked. "Actually, I want to know. Rinna is a friend of mine. I won't put her life in danger more than it already is in. Explain why she means so much to you, and I'll consider it." That was all he would say on the matter. Hearing Joshua's declaration to stay from Zackary sent a chill down Analee's spine. Him turning his back on him hurt her feelings in more than one way. She sneered, and gave Joshua an angry look.


"You...you can't turn back on him. He gave you information with the promise of more...and now you're betraying him?!" Soon however, a quake could be felt across the islands as the large figure fell forward, easily seen by everyone anywhere. Irina clutched her chest and looked out at the source. "Tamara was just beaten by whoever was there...and my friend is there too. Those Demons won't be staying here for long..."

Joshua found himself giving Sharaku a deadly glare now that Ariston was interested. But before he could answer, both Analee and the shake interrupted him. The latter was getting worrisome and that sounded as if the demons were going to go on a frenzy now. Great. They will have to hurry this up.


"If it's for Rinna, I'll do whatever the hell it takes. It's just that a new option is now open to me. An option where I don't have to hurt Rinna and Simon by killing their friend. Considering Ariston knows about her and that coincidentally my friend, Simon, can trust him better than a shady drug lord who will backstab us in some way anyway, it's only natural for me to switch sides," Joshua replied back to her nonchalantly with lacking remorse in his eyes, "And besides, all he told me is Rinna visited him. If he simply gave me more than just that, maybe I wouldn't be doing this. And to add to it, I hate his fucking guts in the first place for pulling his bullshit on me back in the Lumiere. If there's anyone you want to blame, it's Zackary for not bothering to put himself in a better light or give a big enough bone for me to gnaw on."

He looked back at Ariston and hesitated. His expression made it obvious that he didn't want to talk about it. And for the love of God, it was taking all he had not to punch him in the face. But Yamato-Takeru wasn't influencing him right now. He's in tip-top condition that he was strong enough to keep the Tainted Persona from skewing his decision-making like last time. After a moment, he started to talk.

Joshua ignored Sharaku, clearly not in the mood to listen to any more drivel from the tanned man. He had other bigger fish to fry, like a former Primordial. He had to admit, even when he just met her today, the Nyarlathotep Child felt bad, especially when she worked for Zachary. But what caught his attention was this supposed promise of salvation that Zachary had. What in the hell did that mean? Before he could even try to ask, she left. Joshua clicked his tongue in distaste and deepened his frown at the incoming demons. Time was the essence, but he needed to know now. For now, he turned towards Ariston to speak, "Are you satisfied with my answer or not?"

Was he going to trust him? Well, who knows? Either way, he'd find out soon.

"Where does Rinna fit in all of this, Ariston?" Joshua began to ask, "How is she related in any of this?"

Joshua felt livid. His fist clenched tightly enough to show whites, his lips pursed in a straight line, and his entire face taking the expression of worry and pain.  If what Ariston said was true, what kind of person would Rinna be now? He felt like allowing his hot-headed self take control, but that would accomplish nothing. The former Philemon-aligned Persona User knew this well and it just caused him to feel even more helpless. But he just couldn't do nothing now, not now especially when he discarded Zachary for now. And speaking of Zachary, Joshua wondered if this was planned by the drug lord? A plan for Joshua to ironically kill Rinna's friend for her sake and in the process, for the benefit of his future goals? This was making him angrier when he thought about it.

Joshua laughed squarely at her face at her response, "Yes, do pretend you're on a moral high ground because you're the "can-do-nothing-wrong" defenders of the Worlds. Must've been great to ditch us in our time of need two years ago, leave people like me to risk our lives to deal with it, and then come back to stir the pot with your colleague's legion of demons on the pretense of saving the World while another with stockings are trying to kill little girls. Yeah, thanks. I really appreciate it."

He gave no shits at this point, she wasn't his focus right now. Rinna was more important than some animal. But there was something about this group that had him interested and wondered about this group. What kind of plans did their leader have and how would he affect Rinna? But right now, Joshua couldn't quite see the connection yet and had other things to worry about. And that Irina probably wasn't that all interested in telling him after his reply.

"Probably both. I wouldn't be surprised. I'm going to need more about this whole shit, get a bigger perspective of your side's view. Then maybe it'll help me get Lune out of there. Is there a way that I can contact Isla? Can I even go through that barrier in San Mal?," he said while giving Ariston a tired look, "Also what did you guys even talk about while I was gone?"