Destiny's Restaurant [Awakening]

     Destiny’s eyes fluttered open, her vision obscured by a tangle of blonde hair that had fallen over her face. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she sat for a moment on the floor with her head bowed, trying to shake off the fog in her head. She must have been sleeping for a long time to feel so sluggish. Had she really been that tired? Maybe all of the hype lately had been getting to her. Stress did show up in funny ways, after all.  Yet the girl frowned lightly at the ground, momentarily confused as to why she wasn’t staring at the fabric of her couch at home or a blanket on her bed. There wasn’t any flooring like this in her house. …Wait…had she…fallen asleep in public? Was it possible that she’d passed out on the floor? Her face heated at the thought, and she quickly scurried to her feet, brushing off her skirt and mentally fumbling for an excuse to give to anyone who might question her behavior.

     …But after a minute, no one spoke. There was no whispering, no snickering, not even a concerned remark. Were they staring at her instead? Destiny didn’t like the thought one bit, but the silence was unnerving. Besides, her neck was getting sore from keeping her head down and her hands were growing tired from picking at the nonexistent lint on her clothes. Trying to appear nonchalant, the blonde lifted her head, only to blink at the darkness that greeted her.

     // What…? // the girl squinted lightly, trying to adjust to the lack of light. This was odd. Had she fallen asleep somewhere and gotten locked inside? Was it nighttime? It was hard to tell. She could make out vague shapes, but it was hard to tell what exactly they were.  The red haze wasn’t doing one good thing for her nerves, either. It had been strange that she’d fallen asleep in such an odd place, but this was bordering on nerve-wracking. What in the world was going on…? She wrapped her arms around her waist as if hugging herself, trying to block out the rush of panic threatening to overrun her thinking. It wouldn’t do any good to do anything stupid; overreacting to the situation and making a fool of herself would accomplish nothing.

     Still, leaving was starting to sound like a very pleasant idea. Intent on finding an exit—or even just another person—she started moving forwards slowly, cautious due to her limited vision.

     The blonde perked at the sound of her name cutting through the thick silence, and her lips twitched upwards in a small, relieved smile at the familiar voice. “Kari!” Of course Kari would have come to find her. The rest of her family must be worried sick. Destiny started to walk just a bit faster, trying to figure out exactly where her sister was. “I’m sor-”

     The stinging remark cut off her apology and made her pause mid-stride. Breath hitching for a moment, the girl tried to understand why her sister was throwing such comments at her now of all times. They hadn’t been fighting recently. At least, she didn’t think they had been. At the muffled whispers, Destiny’s heart dropped. Kari must have been with friends, sharing her thoughts. So all those comforting words Kari had fed her through the years about how she was just fine the way she was…had those been lies?

     …No. No! That couldn’t be true. Others could be as cruel and callous as they liked, but Destiny reminded herself that her family—most importantly, her sisters—had been the only group of people that had always been close to her. They wouldn’t say such awful things…would they?

     This must have been one of Kari’s occasional “moods”. The words didn’t mean a thing…not one thing. Best to leave her be for now, best to get out of this place and wait for her sister’s funk to pass. Swallowing the hurt and turning to face the way she’d just come, she tried to walk away, her pace a little quicker than it had been, this time reaching out a hand tentatively to make sure she didn’t run into anything. Tripping over something, hurting herself and being stuck listening to this for who knows how long wasn’t high on her priority list right now.

     The appearance of her Shadow was inevitable as her doppelganger appeared and began to berate its original. It laughed at its other, called her pathetic; and even revealed the truth of her inability to confront things head on. This Shadow was everything she attempted to hide. Everything she wanted to deny about her past, present, and coming future. However, no matter how much she ran, it would always be there. It was a part of her that lived in the dark corners of her mind, and grew in power the more she curled away in her corner. Her weakness became its strength; and that's why it could stand so proud with a callous grin while looking down upon her with two golden globes for eyes.

    // Who…? // The blonde’s hand stilled on a smooth, polished surface—must have been a table, she reasoned—as that eerie voice started speaking. Yet as familiar as it sounded, it was hard to place where exactly she’d heard someone speak that way before. Destiny turned her head, her brows furrowed in confusion as she peered into the shadows she’d intended to leave behind, only to connect with a pair of gold eyes.

   But it was only when the speaker stepped just a little closer did Destiny recognize the person. The blonde’s own blue-green hues widened slightly, her mouth opening a fraction as she let out a quiet, surprised gasp. This…was insane. Impossible. No one could look so startlingly similar to her own appearance, could they? The girl seemed to pause for effect, that grin only unsettling Destiny more. Why was it that her own face scared her?

    The doppelganger seemed content to throw more insults, almost…happy about it. Such a twisted sense of amusement. Destiny was reminded immediately of a school in America she’d gone to, where a particular girl had been intent on calling her “Queen” because of her “pretentious” manners. Whoever this was—Destiny couldn’t accept that this was her, no matter what this person said; that was just impossible and defied all sorts of logic—she was just like that girl, trying to weasel a reaction out of her. Tears. Anger. Something like that.

    But all of those things were childish reactions. Crying did no good, so Destiny had stopped a long time ago. Getting angry usually just led to physical confrontations and made the situation so much worse. For a moment, Destiny opened her mouth to argue that she wasn’t pitiful, only to snap it shut a moment later. True, she relied on her family. And she’d thought on more than one occasion that she wasn’t as strong or independent as Kari or Lissa, and her parents were on a different plane altogether.

    There was only one logical thing to do now: walk away. Destiny didn’t need to hear this. She didn’t need to hear about all of the little insecurities she’d kept locked inside. So turning away from the girl, the blonde took a deep breath to clear her head, then peered up ahead. Her vision had adjusted to the dim light well-enough; it was a little easier to make out the furniture in the room. So many tables and chairs…a restaurant?...ah, but that didn’t matter now. Spying what seemed to be something close to an entryway, Destiny started off in that direction, pointedly ignoring the girl behind her.

The Shadow began to laugh as the girl shut her mouth and kept her comebacks to herself. It seemed to be delighted in the fact it was attacking its other side with nothing but malicious intent. “You can't run from this, coward. You ran from America just because you're weak, and now you're trying to run from this? Haha, that's the reason everyone pities you. You lack your own voice! Too scared for altercation and too weak to defend yourself. You don't deserve the life given to you... That's why I'll kill you and become the only Destiny Endeux. Hahah!” A dark aura surrounded the Shadow as it bent over and gave a distorted laughter. The Shadows within the area began to surround the Shadow, and she'd soon be swallowed by a red mass of energy. No matter how much the real Destiny attempted to run, there was no exit to this building. She was stuck there to succumb to her fate... Death.

The Tsurinai received the call from William during Kendo practice. Excusing himself, he'd head towards the Men's locker room and head to a secluded area. Listening to the message from the bored sounding Attendant; his eyes would narrow at the name of the person who was put into the strange world of Limbo this time. Someone he had recently met, though he couldn't call her anything more than an acquaintance. With a sigh, he'd change out of his kendo gear and get dressed back in his Kizuna Academy Spring uniform. Once getting dressed, he'd leave the room nonchalantly and head down towards the bowels of the school. The basement held a door that led right into the dreamscape aberration; so with luck he would appear right in Destiny's current nightmare. It wouldn't take him long to make his way infront of the crimson door that led into Limbo. Locking the doorway into this specific area into the basement, the silver haired teen would turn back towards the door and give a sigh. Whoever killed the Principal was probably behind this nonsense aswell. It had been a few months since last someone was taken into Limbo from the school, so why now all of a sudden? Using his phone, he'd send a message out to a few people. Though he was the type to work alone, he figured if they were to grow in strength from this they'd be more useful later.

Without further thoughts, Naito opened the door and was dragged into the crazy delusional world of Limbo. The next time he opened his eyes, he was standing in a dark area that appeared to be some sort of restaurant. His eyes were getting accustomed to the darkness, and his ears twitched when he heard the familiar voice of someone he knew. However, this voice was cold and calculating which probably meant it was the Shadow. Summoning his O-katana to his gloved right hand, the silver haired Tsurinai took a confident stride forward to let his presence be known. "Alright, that's enough.." The teen spoke with an indifferent expression on his face and a calm manner. Holding the sheath of his blade before him, he'd use his free left hand to grasp Destiny by her arm and pull her behind him. Now he was acting as a barrier between herself and the Shadow that was currently masked in darkness. Without looking back at the female, the young man began to speak to her. "Enduex, I'll get you out of here. I'll assume this act will be enough to pay back my debt to you for showing me around. Just stand back and I'll explain things once this Shadow is taken care of." Naito spoke in a reassuring voice as he kept focused on the creature, awaiting to see what form it would be taking. After all, these Shadows all had some sort of transformation they undertook before attacking. They all ranged, but he hoped this one wouldn't take long. He had somewhere to be, after all.

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     // What…? // Destiny froze at the mentioning of America. Not many people knew she’d lived there. Even fewer knew of how many places she’d actually lived in, the many times she’d moved. How did this girl, this person who she’d never seen before—unless you counted the times she’d looked into a mirror—find that out? Turning back towards her with a newfound sense of apprehension, she listened closer to the double’s words, immediately regretting the decision. Why was this person so intent on criticizing her, making her feel small and hopeless?

    Goodness gracious, what was this girl? Insane? It was creepy enough how much she seemed to know about Destiny, and even more unsettling that every single remark was true. But now…now she wanted her dead? This…this was crazy. Impossible. The blonde’s voice, soft with disbelief and uncertainty, quavered as she murmured, “I…I don’t know you. I don’t…I don’t know who you are. You’re…you’re not me.”

    Next thing she knew, there was a tugging on her arm. She stumbled backwards and behind someone else, wobbling for a moment in her stunned state before she managed to right herself. Who was this now? It took her a moment before she looked up slightly, catching a glimpse of silver hair. When the newcomer spoke, it took her only a moment to recognize him. What in the world was Naito doing here? And…goodness gracious, was that a weapon?

    Destiny only half-listened to his few words. First off, he had no debt to repay her. And secondly…what in the world was a Shadow? Why did he speak that so…casually, like it was everyday knowledge? The girl couldn’t resist pinching herself to make sure she wasn’t still asleep and just having some crazy, awful dream. ...Ouch. No, this—no matter how horribly insane it seemed—was real. Mind spinning from this sudden turn of events, she managed to nod lightly despite him not being able to see it. “I hope you do.” She meant provide an explanation, of course. Still, it was a relief to have someone there say something comforting. Right…just stay calm. That’s all she had to do. Naito could handle the rest. …Couldn’t he?

When the Shadow finally revealed itself, the Tsurinai's eyes would narrow at the form it had taken. It appeared to be a tree, which made him first think its weakness could have been fire. Such a shame he didn't have such skill when it came to the flames, even though his family were high believers of the Phoenix. Whatever the case, he would raise his scabbard and grasp the hilt of his blade with his left hand. In a single motion he would draw his blade from the sheath. "Endeux, just be sure to stay behind me. I wouldn't want you to get caught in anything dangerous." With those final words, the card of the Emperor descended down before him. With a swift slash, he'd slice through the azure card and cause it to burst into what appeared to be pebbles. In that moment, the Samurai Clad Persona, Baal, would erupt from its owner's body. Lifting its massive blade, it would slam it downward towards the ground twice and release two shockwaves toward the Shadow; almost as if trying to cut down the tree itself. Once the Persona performed its attacks, it would vanish in a blink of an eye, and the Tsurinai would sheath his blade back within his scabbard. For now he was just testing the waters to see how strong this enemy was. To play it safe, it may have been better to rely on his own swordplay and not the swordplay of his Persona.

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Tsurinai Naito smiled at the Shadow's comment about wanting a different Destiny. "You may be right about that. I despise people that fold themselves backwards to accept the whims of other. I also find that pathetic. However, I can't allow something like you to run free. Endeux will change by herself. She doesn't need your ugly head showing her how she needs to change." The teen was blunt with his words as the card of the Emperor once again descended upon him. Extending his left hand, he'd crush the card with one firm grasp and summon that of Baal once again. The Persona erupted in a bolt of lightning before performing the previous attack it had before. And like before, once its purpose was complete, it vanished back within the subconscious of the Tsurinai where it had previously come. "Now enough talk. Let's get this over with already. I have things to do."

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The teenage Tsurinai raised a brow at the Shadow's current condition. It was quite a pushover when compared to the previous he had fought in his past. Though it had been some time since he had faced someone's other self, this was almost laughable. Was it because the Shadows were getting weaker, or was he getting stronger? No matter, Naito would once again crush the card of the Emperor and send Baal on a frontal strike to hopefully end this annoyance of a Boss Battle. Once finished its attack, the Persona would vanish in an azure light. And if the Shadow was defeated, the Tsurinai would spin his blade upon the palm of his hand before sheathing it in a single motion. Once this was done, it would also vanish. "Another to add to the body count."

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