Thursday, 9th of April 2009. DH:16
Although the Gekkoukan co-ed dorm was a large building, the building to its right was slightly higher. This gave the lone watcher a rather good view of the events that were currently happening on the dorm's rooftop.
The figure was dressed in a black hooded trench coat, worn over a black suit and white shirt, which had the top two buttons undone. Although you couldn't really tell as it was covered by a long black scarf, worn so that one end passed the figure's knees, a modern-looking scythe was held in the figure's left hand, the blade folded towards the staff in what seemed to be a standby position.
If he was going to use the weapon associated with death he may as well keep things up to date.
Mochizuki Ryoji had considered bringing his usual yellow scarf along instead of the black one he decided to wear. However, Nii-san would instantly recognise the trademark item and who it belonged to. The plan required for his involvement to be hidden until everything had started. It wouldn't do if Nii-san found out too soon. He'd be able to approach Nii-san once the events of tonight had transpired, even so he would have to keep his actual activities from him to prevent it from getting back to the old man.
He watched as the Shadow approached the person he had sworn to protect, resisting the desperate urge to leap from the roof and engage the Arcana Shadow himself. However, there were rules, and as much as he hated it, he wasn't allowed to engage these Shadows himself.
That was the duty of Namikaze Haruto, and those who found the way to his side.
As such he could only watch as his Nii-san picked up the Evoker that the cute brunette had dropped, contemplating for a few moments before pointing it at himself and pulling the trigger.
Orpheus answered his call.
"So this is how you see yourself, Nii-san?" the watcher asked.
Curiosity turned to worry as he watched Haruto stagger as he cradled his forehead with his free hand. Worry turned to shock as he watched the white light engulf the Persona. Shock turned to amusement as he finally figured out what was happening.
"My, my. He's being reckless," he muttered.
Although it would only be temporary: Orpheus had metamorphosed into Messiah.
As he watched, the saviour butchering the Arcana Shadow that had dared face him, he couldn't help but think of the risks. While Messiah was evoked, the power of the seal would be weakened.
There was a slim chance that once the Arcana Shadow was defeated, it would be able to subvert the weakened seal and merge with the essence hidden behind.
His frown turned into an easy smile. Pharos wasn't stupid; he would have weighed the risks before making a move this drastic. Even so it would be up to him to safeguard Nii-san; this wouldn't be over until he had completed his task for tonight.
He chuckled as he watched the white Persona offer its defeated foe as challenge to the full moon. There were few who would recognise the relevancy of such an action.
The Persona threw its defeated opponent to the floor, watching it disappear in a plume of nothingness before it reverted back into Orpheus. He watched his brother gather himself before he started a confrontation with a couple of lesser Shadows. He knew his Nii-san hadn't taken up a sword in anger before, but watched as he, admittedly a bit clumsily, took out the two creatures out with the help of Orpheus. Obviously Haruto had used skills gathered from his Dark Hour reading periods for this battle.
Idly the heir wondered if the white-haired teen recognised his ability to absorb information from books for what it truly was.
He quelled his concern when his Nii-san collapsed; it was to be expected after all. Calling a Persona for the first time was draining. If you added in the drain from the metamorphosis, the physical drain from the combat afterwards, and the effect of the adrenaline leaving his system, it was amazing he'd lasted that long since his body wasn't prepared for it.
There was also a second reason for Nii-san falling unconscious; the old man would want another discussion with him now his Persona abilities had awoken.
He waited for his brother's dorm mates to get him inside before he prepared to make his move.
He removed a small metal object that was about the size of an ice hockey puck. The military division of Mochizuki Enterprises had been very proud of this little creation. For over a decade the Japanese Military had been contracting Mochizuki United Armouries to do research into the Electro Magnetic Pulse technologies. Since the world of warfare was progressively becoming more electronic based, it had been decided that troops would have a genuine advantage if they had some sort of ordinance that could take out enemy electronics without the need for a large bulky generator or setting off a nuclear bomb. The item in his hand was a prototype for a grenade which emitted a small EMP blast that would knock out electrical systems for a short period of time, including systems that had been shielded to work in the Dark Hour.
For example the security camera system in the dorms.
The situation was set and now this prototype would be getting a field test.
Pressing the button, he flung the device over the rooftop, watching it skip from its contract and land near the entrance to the stairwell. Unlike in the movies however, there was no flashy
lightning display. The only way the heir could tell that the device had worked was that the built-in light had gone silent.
He wasted no time, jumping across to the dorm roof, giving his scythe a quick flick so the blade locked into the combat position. He already had the next move planned, moving straight towards the stairwell as he landed, once in range he locked onto his target and released a mighty swing.
Damaging a Dark Hour shielded cable.
He relaxed as a grin lit his face, mockingly wishing good luck to the poor sod who was hired to get that working properly again. He moved over to the small object that had made this possible and picked it up with a chuckle. He had just depleted a prototype worth just over one hundred and twenty seven, million yen and frankly it was worth every single yen.
Now to deal with the reason he was here.
He felt a swell of darkness emanating from the centre of the roof. Turning, he regarded the dark mist that congealed together into a mass. This was the remaining essence of the Arcana Shadow. If fate had remained on course this mass would have waited quietly before it was drawn to the main body within Namikaze Haruto. That would have been him. However his fate had been changed and now he would make sure that the fate this world had been given would be changed as well. The essence started to move towards him, seeming to consider him a perfect vessel for a second assault on the dorm members.
His grin turned feral as he reached into his pocket and drew out a tarot card, so the back of the card faced the approaching essence. How little it knew.
He turned the card to face the remains of the Shadow, the blank side glowed a brilliant white as the card's magic activated. He watched in wonder as the mist was drawn towards the face of the card, like it was the nozzle of a powerful vacuum cleaner. The whole process took about thirty seconds, and would have been quicker but the essence was struggling before the card released a blinding burst of light.
Once it was over Mochizuki Ryoji turned the face of the card towards him and found that he was looking at the Major Arcana card number one: The Magician.
He smirk lit his face; one down, eleven to go.