Day 43: Music Room [Fourth Shift]

[fuzzy_diablo]

[For Kitty!]That'd been a good nap, and the conversation with Tony had reassured him a little. It was nice to regularly talk with someone who knew what he looked like without the watch. Bracelet. Whatever

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[no_arcana]

There was a music room? That caught Souji completely off-guard; he hadn't expected a mental institute to have music in it. Of course, his hopes were promptly crushed when he realized there were no trumpets there, but... there was a next best thing. Recorders. Tinny things, not at all as good as what he liked, but they were the starting point for a lot of musicians- Souji included, rather pridefully on his part.

Regardless, he took a seat off by himself and started to play. It was a simple little melody, a lot of drawn-out notes and not as many finger changes on the recorder, but it still sounded decent enough in Souji's estimable opinion.

The problem came when he started playing something else, a tune that he had learned in music club. Normally, that would have caused his mind to drift back, to think of Ayane and the times he'd spent with her. All of the times he'd spent with her. Right now, though, there was nothing. The bond he'd formed with her had been unbreakable, or so the voices in his head had said, but... now he didn't

[foolishmessiah]

Music had always been something Minato relied on. Varied and expressive, it was an outlet for emotions that he oftentimes did not show to the outside world. If he ever felt angry, he could reflect that by changing his music and flicking the volume button. If he needed something to contemplate to, he had instrumentals on his player for those occasions. There really were no situations where music could not be helpful, at least on a personal level

[no_arcana]

For himself, Souji was broken out of his contemplative reverie by the unmistakable feeling that someone was watching him. This wasn't necessarily an unusual thing- he was used to it by now, what with being the New Kid in Inaba- but there was an undercurrent to it. It felt... odd, but at the same time, oddly familiar. Like a subtle tugging, there and yet not in a most odd way.

When he looked up, he found himself taken aback. Few people had the same shade of eye color as himself- a fact he took a little bit of pride in- but when he locked gazes with that blue-haired kid, he knew that was where the odd feeling was coming from. Now he just had to figure out why.

For now, he put the recorder on his thigh and gestured the other kid over to where he was. It was entirely possible that his invitation wouldn't be accepted, but he was certainly going to put forth the effort. Why not do so, after all?

[foolishmessiah]

So it was a mutual feeling, whatever it was that was tugging at the corner of his mind. There was some sort of link there--faint, familiar, and yet new at the same time--that made him want to talk to this boy.

At the silent invitation, Minato walked over to the north side of the room and took a seat near the other, his hands still in his pockets. It wouldn't be proper to stand over the stranger if they were going to talk.

But what were they supposed to talk about?

"Are you new?"

[no_arcana]

What was it that Souji was feeling. It felt familiar, a niggling sense in the back of his mind that told him he should understand it, but it wasn't close enough to make him fully comprehend. But it felt... it almost felt like how it had been in Inaba. Just a sense of a connection that could be formed. But why?

For now, Souji nodded slightly, taking in the newcomer with a casual sweep of his eyes. While he was asking questions, why were there so many pretty boys here? First Jun, now this kid... it was more than a little odd, especially considering how many young people were there. While hardly a conspiracy theorist, that wasn't something he'd expect in a normal mental Institute, or even a good facade of one. Hm. "...yes. You as well?"

[foolishmessiah]

It was hard not to notice that they were both basically sizing each other up. Minato didn't feel particularly suspicious, and he had a feeling the other boy didn't either, but simply being this close reminded him of ... not quite a link that bound them together, as he had felt in the past, but connected them to something else in common.

But what?

With a very faint shake of the head, he managed to refrain pressing a hand to his temple. The returning headache attempted to distract him from the familiarity of this taller, gray-haired boy. "Just arrived this morning." He glanced over in the direction of his nurse before introducing himself. "Arisato Minato."

[no_arcana]

Arisato Minato? Definitely not a name that Souji was familiar with. So it wasn't that they knew each other from somewhere, as even though Souji had traveled a lot in his young life, he'd remember someone like this. Had to be something different... hm...

The more he looked at Arisato, the more he tried to determine what that link was, the worst his headache became. It had started to die off, once he'd gotten out of the noise and chaos of the Sun Room, but now it was starting to return again. Why? It was like a throbbing twinge in the back of his mind, deep down beneath his conscious thoughts. After a moment, he looked away, going to massage his temples in an attempt to relieve the pressure. Sometimes that helped, sometimes not, but it was something to try. For now, though, he forced a smile on his face. "Same here. One moment I had just gotten back home from Inaba, then..."

[foolishmessiah]

Inaba. The name was familiar, but he had never traveled there before, even with his living in various places before school in Port Island. It seemed more and more unlikely that they would have ran into each other at any point, or had any sort of interaction at all that would result in this kind of odd feeling. It had to be something else, something unnatural... Supernatural?

Minato's mind flitted across the idea of Personas, but did not linger there for long. He had never felt such a connection with the other SEES members, even when they stood next to each other in the heat of battle. And it wasn't as if any of his Personas had the kind of scanning ability Mitsuru or Fuuka's did.

A curious light entered his gaze as the boy rubbed his temples. "Headache?"

[no_arcana]

Souji's smile stayed forced as he carefully nodded his head, not wanting to jostle his brain more than he had to. What was weird was that the pain wasn't going away like it had been before; when he'd spoken to Kanji, it had reasserted itself in the Sun Room and then dissipated, and it had faded a little before that... but now it was still there.

At this point, Souji was entertaining the idea of something supernatural, but of what it was, he wasn't certain. It felt almost like what happened when the sea of his soul bubbled over into some new link, but it wasn't like that, either. It was like the flash and the pain when he first walked into the Velvet Room, but it wasn't like it, either. And it was similar to what happened when he'd first had his powers, but... again, not quite the same thing. So what was it?

For now, he simply answered, "It's been off and on since I got here."

[foolishmessiah]

The similarities just seemed to be building up. Perhaps he was reading into it too much now, but the headaches appearing upon arriving in this place seemed ... far too coincidental. Unlike any other time he had spent around the institute's grounds, the headache wasn't fading after a few moments. Here, it was persistent--almost distressingly so, as if trying to coax a response out of him.

"Same here," he murmured, once again glancing in the direction of his nurse before inquiring further. "I get the feeling we should know each other."

If he were more the type to explain his feelings at length, he might have been able to say something more helpful. But as it was, the connection was still indistinct, and he could not understand it very well. Furthermore, he still wasn't sure if he should divulge anything about Personas to a complete stranger--especially without discussing it with the other SEES members first.

[no_arcana]

"Same here. There's something about you that's familiar. Very familiar." But what was it? For that matter, how could he break the subject without sounding completely insane? In the end, his direct nature broke through- Souji was just the sort of guy who could keep secrets forever, but couldn't conceal his own thoughts for long at all.

"Listen, I know this might sound insane, but-"

And at that moment, the intercom went off, drowning out his next statement with the loud voice of I.R.I.S. Then the nurses bustled towards them, motioning for him to leave his recorder behind. Needless to say, this was far too much attention to start speaking about something that was surely insane, so instead, he looked right at Minato, his gray eyes clear and without a hint of malevolence or duplicity. "Hey, try to find me tomorrow, all right?" Hopefully they could find out- Souji didn't like having something that he didn't know, especially when it was something like this.