[EVENT] THE GREAT MADNESS SALE

[soul_mods]

Characters: OPEN to all agents taking their missions in America
Location: All over the United States of America
Rating: PG
Time: December 20
Description: America is in the grips of a special sort of Madness. Event Summary Here

Comments

C15: Oak Park Mall -- Naoto and Minato

[arisatominato]

It's Minato's second time out of Death City. Second time in two days. It feels strange to abandon his former convictions about leaving the city undefended when most of the others are gone, but it was a conviction formed in an earlier time when there were less of them to spread about.

Or so he told himself. He couldn't help but worry and feel like he had somehow shirked that old, self-imposed responsibility, but the fact was that he also had to consider his new obligations to his partner. Naoto was the reason he was here, and he still owed her a larger debt than he was accustomed to owing.

"We're here," he announced after they cleared the mirror. Were they, though? This mall looked a lot like the one he went to yesterday...

Re: C15: Oak Park Mall -- Naoto and Minato

[pishirogane]

Naoto had been out of the city herself just recently at another mall. She wasn't expecting the holiday season to get this hectic, but it was America she supposed. Still, it just had to be made several times worse due to Madness and Kishin Eggs.

"Ah... so we are." Naoto adjusted her hat once out of the mirror and glanced around. Really, all the malls looked the same.

"Well, let's not waste any time and proceed. Which way should we head first?"

[arisatominato]

Another shared feature of American malls was how spread out they were. A mall like this could stretch for miles sometimes, built horizontally instead of vertically. It made for a lot of ground to cover when you weren't sure what you were looking for, which was the case here. They were told to find people, but the section of mall they were in was eerily abandoned.

Minato tensed as he peered into the empty stores through their decorative storefronts; it felt just like the Dark Hour did in here. "We need to find where everyone is first. Let's head to the centre of the mall."

[pishirogane]

Naoto nodded. "Hopefully, we can find the center."

Her guard was up and she was alert, trying to listen for anything that could possibly alert them to humans or Kishins. Pretty much she was treating this like any other day in foreign territory, real world or TV world; prepared to handle any threat and take command if necessary. Minato would probably have better luck calming down any panicked people they came across.

[arisatominato]

If they came across any. "We'll find it."

The twisting corridors seemed to snake more than they ought to have, sometimes bending at illogical angles that made some stores appear much smaller than they should have been. Still, nobody. Was this just a case of bad design or something more sinister?

"Wait..." Minato warned and held out his arm in a signal to stop. His expression hardened as he looked about warily. Just where was everyone?

[pishirogane]

This mall was confusing, sending them around this way and that. It just remained eerily still where ever they went.

At Minato's signal, she came to a halt and peered around. "... The shoppers were being lured into a trap, correct? The Kishin Eggs could be aware of our movements and coordinating according to such..."

It was just a suggestion.

[arisatominato]

"Moving the shoppers away from us..." It was possible, but without a larger team, how were they supposed to counteract that? He had a single, simple idea, but maybe Naoto would have better. "What's your suggestion, Naoto?"

[pishirogane]

"... If I knew the layout of the mall, I could formulate a proper plan. Of course, the theory that they're luring the shoppers from us it's simply that: a theory. For all we know, we could simply be running in the opposite direction."

Naoto crossed her arms and brought her thumb to her chin as she thought. Quickly... they couldn't afford to waste too much time.

[arisatominato]

Minato reached for her hand and made ready to run. If the trap was a moving one, barring any other suggestions, they'd just have to move faster than it. If that didn't work, they could form a new one with a map. "Then keep your eye out for a directory, Naoto. Let's go!"

[pishirogane]

Naoto blinked as Minato physically touched her. Ugh, he knew she hated that, but this was urgent. She just nodded as they took off, keeping an eye out for the directory as well as any possible shoppers.

[arisatominato]

Nothing yet; the endless corridor stretched before them unnaturally. His grip on her tightened. "If you see danger, transform immediately."

[pishirogane]

"Right...!"

She wouldn't waste any time. If he needed the sword, her shifting time should have cut back enough now.

[arisatominato]

He saved his breath for the run now. The exertion bestowed upon him a clarity of mind that he had not experienced in a long time--not since he had fended off frogs with Haruhi and learned his new limits without Persona. Real danger... real tension... As he felt the hard ground impacting under his sneakers, Minato's mind was cleared of the residual thoughts, anxieties, and guilt that had no place in the moment. He pressed forward down the lone corridor, Naoto in tow, finding no intersection or exit; instead, they passed by stores and stalls they had already seen before...

It was like the mall itself was keeping them where the two of them would be the most ineffective.

[pishirogane]

Minato wasn't the only one noticing that. Naoto was getting a prickling feeling on the back of her neck. It irked her each time they passed one of the electronic shops and the revolving shops, but that one store in particular.

"... Arisato-san, stop..."

She shifted into her Weapon form, gun appearing in his grip. "We're being watched."

[arisatominato]

Not even hesitating to question or second guess, Minato spun around and assumed firing stance, lifting Naoto to scan the storefronts through her sight reticle. "Where?"

[pishirogane]

"The electronics store... the cameras are following us..."

There was something else in the shop, but she wasn't exactly sure what it was...