Suprised to See Me? :: Night [Captain Caliber]

"W-wait, I-"
Before he could muster the energy to finish his statement, the masked user had dragged him by his arm further into the woods. He kept in time with her footsteps and used his open hand to check his phone, making sure Sumi didn't start calling to check up on him. Satisfied with no missed calls or messages, he looked back up to see that the woman was slowing down as they approached a silent campsite. The darkness seemed to teem with unseen dangers, which wasn't helping Lui's unbalanced train of thought. Likely making sure they were out of earshot of any outside forces. As she sat down on the stump by the tent, he sat on a bumpy log set near the fire pit.

"Alright... I guess I owe you an explanation to all this, aside from your own powers... From what I've managed to gather myself, those fiends we just fought show up only during the night... I haven't seen them at all during the day, even after I gained my powers, and I've had them for a good amount of time now."

"So, how did you get yours? I mean, call me crazy, but you seemed to be struggling with yours, minus the time you started panicking all of a sudden. Don't tell me you had to fight these monsters on your own. Can't imagine how dangerous that could've been for you..."

"I know this is a lot to take in, but please, bear with me..."

"Oh, believe me. I'm trying to! Look, who are you, even? Why are you wearing that... Wait, is that your costume or something, like my mask? Seems like it; you've got some kind of voice changer active or something. Does my voice do that too?

Also, may I ask why you dragged me out here instead of running out of here? I know this girl with a house nearby, so she could probably let us talk inside."

He kept his focus on the masked figure, inquisitively staring at the cat-shaped ears on her helmet.

Lui lightly nodded to the mention of Suzie Q. While he didn't often enjoy visiting due to the blaringly loud "never-ending" party Suzie Q was known for, he had enjoyed seeing the interesting attractions they had to offer. He had gone to the Karaoke Bar with his sister and her pals once before, but he wasn't one to sing and instead enjoyed watching everyone else go at it. Then he got kind of shanghaied into a duet with her friend. Either way, his eyes fell when hearing that her friend had lost her life. It was an all too familiar feeling for him. After all...
"...you lost someone to these things. Like me... Like my brother, all those years ago. Is that why we can summon these things?"

Mentioning the Cadets, Lui noticeably shifted uncomfortable in his place. Cadets... He had figured that they would've been involved, being the watchdogs of the Queen. Would they have killed him if they found him in the costume? Plus, if Sumi was dead-set on becoming a Cadet, what would this mean for their relationship?

"Oh, right! I guess it's only fair you get to see who I am..."
Lui could only watch as the woman pulled her helmet off her head. His eyes widened as he recognize her familiar features. The long black hair, the familiar little smile, her eyes... It couldn't be...
"B-Batilde!
He couldn't stop himself as he lunged forward and gave her an enormous hug, a sincere grin stretching across his face. The friend that he had met only earlier had come to save him, and they both managed to live through the encounter. If she'd died, Lui wouldn't have known what to do. After realizing his actions, he shot back up and faced her.

"I-I'm so glad you're safe. Thanks for what you did back there. If I had lost you... I don't know how I could've survived those things. I owe you so much. But, what were you doing back here? Did you know something was up?"

"God, why did I do that?! She's embarrassed enough in the outfit. Why get even near her? Besides, she looks spent as well. Not much energy in either of us. Just need to get some sleep..."
"Methinks the young master finds a sort of camaraderie in his rescuer."
"Shirokishi? You're still there?"
"As I said, I would remain at your side. We can speak freely in your mind, and none would be able to hear unless I reveal myself. Also, I would advise you to apologize to the young lady."
"Yeah, yeah... And she's frowning, too. Great. I'm officially a perv to her. Just fantastic."

After the mental conversation he had, appearing to Batilde as Lui simply staring at the sky, he scratched the back of his head and folded his hands in pensive worry.

"S-sorry. I got carried away there... Please don't smite me. But yeah, that event from 5 years ago was terrible. I don't fully remember what happened, but I remember the city being sieged by these monsters, thousands of different versions of them. My family narrowly escaped getting slaughtered, but my brother... he was two years older than me. He was outside when it went down. As soon as it went down, he threw me inside and barricaded the door. He was just finishing when... this long, red arm smashed through the door and grabbed him. I wanted to save him, but I got dragged away by my sister before I could. Once the smoke cleared, we couldn't find his body, but the amount of blood on our back door told us enough. We... we lost him to those things."

Tears streaked down Lui's face as he struggled to remember the dividing day in his family. From then on, Sumi dedicated her life to joining the demon-slaying Cadets, hoping to defend others. But Lui... Lui felt little drive to join her. He felt little drive for anything else, having the source of his aspirations and drives plucked from him forever. Sniffling and raising his head again, Lui tried to calm himself for his next request.

"S-so you train here? Makes sense... It would be dangerous for your only battle experiences to be on the field. I need to find a place to do the same. Sorority Hall has too many observers, and my house doesn't have a lot of space to accommodate. Would you mind if I... used this area for training? I understand if you refuse, but give it a consideration.

So, what do we do now? Wait for the cadets or just lay low for right now?"

As Lui felt the grief of his moment disappear from his mind, he felt himself be pulled into Bat's embrace in return. She was genuinely feeling guilty for bringing it up. While she expected him to cry over her shoulder, Batilde could hear no more crying. Only a sniffle escaped him as he sat back up to break their hug. He forced himself to give a convincing smile and distract Batilde with a concern of his own.

"Yeah, the event was a shock to everyone living here. But the strange part of the whole event was the clean-up. It only took a matter of a few years to make the whole thing practically disappear thanks to the Queen. But that's why I don't entirely trust the Queen; to clean something of this level up entails some outside help. With how paranormal this situation was, the kind of help they would need would be dangerous to keep secret. That's why I think these so-called "terrorists" know more than the Queen would like. Maybe I can find my answers... with them."

When discussing the potential of their Persona and personal abilities, he reflected on the ice strikes and enhanced awareness he had in battle. When it seemed he would take a massive hit, he managed to dodge out of the way. He could even focus on Batilde and defend her while attacking. Maybe he could manipulate ice with Shirokishi following his move. This would indeed require training in a secluded spot.

"Right. It would be best to keep quiet and figure out what my guy can do. Know anybody else who might give some guidance on what to do next? Because I think I may have an idea of where to start..."

With this, Lui glanced at the time and realized that he should be heading home to avoid further suspicion. He got onto his feet and glanced at the way out of the woods.

"Sorry, but I may need to go. Sis might be suspicious if I'm out 'looking for my phone' this late. You still have my number, so let me know if there's anything else to know. Until then, stay safe. And well...

Thanks for being there for me. It's not something I get to see that often."

"If it's not with the Queen, then this force may be playing both sides. Maybe all this thing wants is war on both sides. Whoever wins just gets the rug pulled from under them. But yeah, since I already got this power outside the government's watch, terrorists are the only ones with the resources to figure out more. Need to watch my step, though. I don't want too much attention..."

As she referred to the stubborn mule that was her electric accomplice in battle, Lui glanced behind himself as he considered his own Persona's behavior.
"I can see that. Shiro here is pretty chill, pardon my puns. But the whole "traitor" part has me a bit concerned for what he did."
"...Says the child who planned on tossing the Queen off her high horse for so long. There's a perfect reason for what I did."
"Touché."

"Oh, don't even mention it, Lui. I'm sure you would've done the same for me."
"Certainly would've. If I was as strong as you, I'd have made some dramatic entrance, but that's just me... Good night, then. When next we meet."

As Lui trotted away from the site, waving goodbye as he marched out of the brush and into the open plains. He suddenly felt his phone buzz quite loudly, and suddenly his walk turned into a sprint as he answered to hear his sister shouting in both worry and anger over where he was. He gave a sigh as he explained some made-up story of getting shanghaied into some goofy activity with his unnamed pal, still within earshot of Batilde.

"Well, tonight's been a thrill. Nearly died, got saved by a French lady in a biker outfit, and now I've got some crazy demon-slaying powers. And now, the worst part of the night... is surviving Sumi's interrogation."

--Lui has left the scene--

Lui's arcana is Magus, actually