[Kazuya didn't immediately respond, still glaring at the spot where the shard had been. It was only when another piercing throb of pain lanced through the left side of his brain did he wince and shift away. What was with this friggin' headache? Every time he saw a glimpse of that field, he felt like something was trying to...]
Unstable... cursed, I'd say. What type of place shows fucked up images like this?
[But he did as he was told. He began to carefully move, but he was beginning to regret his earlier decision of impulsively kicking the shard, because now its pieces were everywhere, and whenever Kazuya's eyes glanced over each tiny, glinting surface, that fucking field kept flashing up.
Though... was it getting darker? The field, darker, and redder, and more distorted, and the pain in his head was getting worse with each showing and... that dreadful feeling of something looming kept creeping up on him, like he was on the cusp of some terrible discovery. He hated that feeling. He didn't like it...]
But, you're right. Let's go. [He reached out, grasping Minny's hand without thought, genuinely unsettled by this whole situation. Maybe he should just close his eyes and try to blindly walk out the door?] It's... [Scary] ...creepy here.
[The wince alerts Minato to his friend's situation, recalling what Kaz had said to him before about losing control. He's clearly in pain now from seeing whatever that field was supposed to mean, and while Minato doesn't believe Kaz will hurt him he'll still reach out to place a hand in front of Kaz's eyes even as his other hand is grasped.]
You should close your eyes, Kaz. ...I'll lead you out of here. [It means exposing himself to more potentially bad memories, but he's not going to leave Kaz in this state.]
[He reached up to push his friend's hand away, but the moment his fingers closed around Minny's wrist, he... hesitated. There was a part of him, a very loud part, that was berating him for putting Minny in that kind of position. What, he was going to let Minny stare at the cursed mirrors instead? What if that image came up? Him getting eaten?? No, Kaz wouldn't allow it!
Yet... yet... a smaller, quieter part wanted to go with it. 'Don't open your eyes and look,' it said, fearfully, 'don't look, don't remember, you can't remember.' But remember what? The more he tried to understand this feeling, the more he tried to think what that field meant, the more his head hurt. It was like he was trying to mentally shove his entire self through a solid brick wall and was... slowly getting there, but...]
H-Haha, only if you close your eyes too. [Kazuya tried to aim for light-heartedness, but his wobbly voice betrayed him] Blind leading the blind, yeah? You shouldn't have to deal with the mirrors by yourself...
[For what it's worth Minato doesn't try to shake Kaz's hand off when it closes around his wrist, regarding the way his friend tries to brush things off with a smile that can't be seen in this dim light.
He glances off to one path before responding, head tilted as if he's trying to re-trace where they came from.] Then we'll just have to use another way to find our way out. [And Minato does just that, staring down at one of his hands before pressing a finger to his lips and holding it up.] There's a little wind coming from this side...let's go this way.
[Kazuya released Minny's wrist when he spoke, keeping his eyes shut as his friend tested for a draft. A strange feeling was scrabbling at the insides of his ribcage now, but Kazuya couldn't identify it, only that it was making his whole body tremble with...]
...alright, but, make sure you don't look at any mirrors, okay?
[There was no shame in being scared, he told himself, like he had told Yuzu all those months ago. There was no shame in it, yet still, Kazuya felt something like mild embarrassment in the way he shuffled close to Minny, gripping his hand tight with his eyes squeezed shut. He should be the one protecting Minny here, that's why he tried to find him, goddammit, but instead it was Minny protecting him from just some stupid image of a field.
'It's not the field,' something muttered, and again, that looming feeling of dread pressed on him, like he was on the edge of a realisation. This time Kazuya didn't try to push for it. His gut feeling was telling him he didn't want to know, and his guts had never led him astray. He kept his eyes shut, he tried to ignore the fearful panic clawing against his breastbone, and squeezed Minny's hand as tight as he could without hurting him, casting for a way to distract them both from... this]
L-Let's talk too, about, uh, so, h-how've you been? Here? I mean, it's pretty barren, huh? Difficult to find food and stuff, yeah?
[Kaz's hand-holding reminds Minato a little more of a death grip than friendly hand-holding but he keeps quiet and bears with it as they fumble through the building, pressing his free hand against the wall carefully to avoid cutting his hand on any possible shards of glass from broken mirrors.
His reaction to Kaz's question might not be visible, but a drawn-out sigh and what sounds like shoulders sagging is pretty telling of how he feels about this impromptu trip.] It's terrible. At least there was food in the jungle if it didn't eat you first...The monsters in the lake seem to be the only fresh source of food here. [And he's clearly displeased with that, judging by how he's slightly slowed down.]
[Kazuya hadn't gone down, so this was news to him. It was sufficient enough to distract him though, as he briefly went over the ground he had covered recently to see if he had been so out of it that he genuinely had missed the presence of a lake. If there was one, that'd be good though. Kazuya was starving right now, and...]
Ahh, do you need help in catching some of those lake monsters, then? I don't mind helping! I'm kinda hungry too. I haven't eaten since before we got dragged here, so... ah, but I'll let you have some first. You need it more than me. Well, actually, you just plain need it. I can survive without food for... forever, I guess. It just, y'know, I just get hungry, but- anyway, yeah, the lake...
I think you need it more. [Minato's feeling hungry too, but he's at least had some scraps here and there even if the monsters tasted worse then the kraken at the beach.] Let's hunt for them together...they're pretty tough, but we should be able to get a few by using our powers. [His curiosity is also piqued at the thought of joining forces with Kaz- what sort of powers did he have?]
[Kazuya made a small noise that said he totally disagreed with Minny's statement of who needed what more. However, he wasn't going to pick fights... if they hunted these monsters down for food, Kaz would just refuse to take a bite until Minny had his fill. See, he could be subtle and sneaky when he wanted to! (Yes, he genuinely believed he was being devious...)]
Nothing's too tough for me. I'll take one down for you no problem. [He went quiet for a moment then, listening to the slight crunch of broken glass beneath their feet. His grip had loosened slightly on Minny's hand too, no doubt to the relief of the persona user's fingers] Other than the food situation though... are you okay, Minny?
[The food situation is only one of many things weighing on Minato's mind (And his rumbling stomach besides), but while his lips are pursed and his demeanor a little cold, that question is still answered with a nod.]
I'm fine. ...Your grip's pretty hard, you know. [So he interjects, by way of injecting a little dry humor into something that's anything but.]
[The fluster was clear in Kaz's tone, and there was an awkward moment where his grip slackened enough that he was practically a second away from completely letting go. Kaz found it hard to judge his strength sometimes - like, some days it was easy when he wasn't really thinking about it, but when his attention was brought to it, it was like... was it too strong? Too weak? And he felt sort of weird about how easily he had forgotten what a normal human's grip and hand was supposed to feel like]
It's just, I'm a little... [He carefully firmed his grip again, tentatively judging that to be the correct pressure for handholding] Do you want me to let go? I'll hold onto your shirt instead or something.
It's alright. [He responds without hesitation, recognizing that Kaz's grip must have been that strong due to his identity as a demon rather than just being on edge due to the mirrors.]
We're almost outside, anyway...let's just keep going. [Minato's voice is soft and soothing, his pace slack in keeping with how calm he is now.]
[Minny's calm helped Kaz's rattled nerves, to be honest, even if he was privately envious of the persona user's ability to keep his cool. Oh, Kaz was still on edge, and he was fairly certain that if a monster or something surprised them he'd probably end up blowing up the entire building without thinking, but Minny's presence and calm kept him focused, at least. A bit more... on stable ground. Sane. Yes, let's go with sane.]
Be careful. Horror movies always have the monster pop up when the heroes are close to the exit. [He was partially serious, but mostly trying to lighten the mood via morbid humour, even letting out a small laugh that was a little on the nervous side] You know, for extra drama.
[There's no disputing he's the calmer of the two, but Minato's also shut down his emotions to get by for a long time and desensitizing himself to what they're looking at is easier for him.
He does prepare his Evoker once monsters are mentioned though, having sustained a few injuries earlier that he's yet to heal. It's perhaps the only sign that he's not quite as collected as he seems to be...]
We should be prepared for anything then. Those monsters are tough...they just re-form after being defeated. [He's also taking this too seriously, it looks like.]
[Even the paranoid Kaz was a little taken aback by how his comment was taken so seriously, cautiously cracking an eye open to catch sight of the Evoker. He pulled a face, squeezing his eyes shut again before he accidentally caught a glimpse of the mirrors]
Those junk-freaks are too big to be in this sort of building without me hearing it, anyway. And, 'sides, they're stupid as hell. No concept of object permanence whatsoever. No, if there's one thing that I'm worried about bumping into, it's those killer ghosts. I mean, this is where we holed them up, after all...
[Which begged the question of "where the fuck are they?" but Kaz was so far happy that they were staying out of the way and not pestering them]
[What Kaz might not know is that the Evoker's also a source of security of comfort for Minato, even right now when the mask is taking a toll on him and he's finding it difficult to value either himself or his own abilities. A few seconds pass before there's the sound of something being tucked back in- he was reluctant, but Kaz did have a point about the monsters they had encountered so far.
But wait, junk-freaks?]
It's kind of strange now that you mentioned it...could they be possessing the machines? It might explain why they tried possessing the robots at the Pleasure District before this. [As for what Minato was doing there and why he knows this, that's a mystery for the ages- a noodle mystery, if one would.]
If they're possessing the junk-freaks, then I hope they stay in there forever.
[Because Kazuya is not having a repeat of the Ghost Incident where he ended up suffering from partial possession from Bel. He could feel his forearms aching from the memory of how the demon clawed his arms up just to snap him out of the hypnotic haze those ghosts put him under... plus the truth curse. The Truth Curse.
Hm, speaking of, he still hadn't paid Mimi back for her silence...
...wait a minute]
Did you just say... huh. For some reason, I didn't peg you as the Pleasure District type. [There was a brief pause, one where Kazuya tried to figure out how he could miss Minny frequenting that place - especially since he went there every so often] Do you go there for the romance books too?
[...a bit of a silly topic in their current situation, but silliness was kind of what they needed right now, right?]
Hey, it's okay if you go there for the romance books. It's why I go there. Y'know, there's a new series out if you're interested, kinda explicit in some parts, but the plot's really good. A sort of "sci-fi mystery" thing...
[Sit back Minny, Kaz is indeed giving the cliff notes on a homoerotic novel he picked up from the Pleasure District. But he couldn't help but let his mind latch onto that topic - it was safe, completely removed from anything upsetting, and interesting enough for his mind to turn its full attention to. Mirrors? No mirrors here. Nope. Just walking through a random house with his eyes closed holding hands with his friend. No stressful elements here]
[It is an evasion tactic, just not for the reasons he's expecting. At any rate the constant chatter is slowly getting on Minato's nerves and he has no way of conveying this quietly while they're still closing their eyes.
That being said he's completely quiet until they're out of the maze, at which point Kaz can see that Minato's absolutely not amused with what he was talking about.]
Kaz. [It's said in a pained and exasperated manner, which basically translates to "Please stop talking".]
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[Kazuya didn't immediately respond, still glaring at the spot where the shard had been. It was only when another piercing throb of pain lanced through the left side of his brain did he wince and shift away. What was with this friggin' headache? Every time he saw a glimpse of that field, he felt like something was trying to...]
Unstable... cursed, I'd say. What type of place shows fucked up images like this?
[But he did as he was told. He began to carefully move, but he was beginning to regret his earlier decision of impulsively kicking the shard, because now its pieces were everywhere, and whenever Kazuya's eyes glanced over each tiny, glinting surface, that fucking field kept flashing up.
Though... was it getting darker? The field, darker, and redder, and more distorted, and the pain in his head was getting worse with each showing and... that dreadful feeling of something looming kept creeping up on him, like he was on the cusp of some terrible discovery. He hated that feeling. He didn't like it...]
But, you're right. Let's go. [He reached out, grasping Minny's hand without thought, genuinely unsettled by this whole situation. Maybe he should just close his eyes and try to blindly walk out the door?] It's... [Scary] ...creepy here.
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You should close your eyes, Kaz. ...I'll lead you out of here. [It means exposing himself to more potentially bad memories, but he's not going to leave Kaz in this state.]
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[He reached up to push his friend's hand away, but the moment his fingers closed around Minny's wrist, he... hesitated. There was a part of him, a very loud part, that was berating him for putting Minny in that kind of position. What, he was going to let Minny stare at the cursed mirrors instead? What if that image came up? Him getting eaten?? No, Kaz wouldn't allow it!
Yet... yet... a smaller, quieter part wanted to go with it. 'Don't open your eyes and look,' it said, fearfully, 'don't look, don't remember, you can't remember.' But remember what? The more he tried to understand this feeling, the more he tried to think what that field meant, the more his head hurt. It was like he was trying to mentally shove his entire self through a solid brick wall and was... slowly getting there, but...]
H-Haha, only if you close your eyes too. [Kazuya tried to aim for light-heartedness, but his wobbly voice betrayed him] Blind leading the blind, yeah? You shouldn't have to deal with the mirrors by yourself...
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He glances off to one path before responding, head tilted as if he's trying to re-trace where they came from.] Then we'll just have to use another way to find our way out. [And Minato does just that, staring down at one of his hands before pressing a finger to his lips and holding it up.] There's a little wind coming from this side...let's go this way.
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...alright, but, make sure you don't look at any mirrors, okay?
[There was no shame in being scared, he told himself, like he had told Yuzu all those months ago. There was no shame in it, yet still, Kazuya felt something like mild embarrassment in the way he shuffled close to Minny, gripping his hand tight with his eyes squeezed shut. He should be the one protecting Minny here, that's why he tried to find him, goddammit, but instead it was Minny protecting him from just some stupid image of a field.
'It's not the field,' something muttered, and again, that looming feeling of dread pressed on him, like he was on the edge of a realisation. This time Kazuya didn't try to push for it. His gut feeling was telling him he didn't want to know, and his guts had never led him astray. He kept his eyes shut, he tried to ignore the fearful panic clawing against his breastbone, and squeezed Minny's hand as tight as he could without hurting him, casting for a way to distract them both from... this]
L-Let's talk too, about, uh, so, h-how've you been? Here? I mean, it's pretty barren, huh? Difficult to find food and stuff, yeah?
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His reaction to Kaz's question might not be visible, but a drawn-out sigh and what sounds like shoulders sagging is pretty telling of how he feels about this impromptu trip.] It's terrible. At least there was food in the jungle if it didn't eat you first...The monsters in the lake seem to be the only fresh source of food here. [And he's clearly displeased with that, judging by how he's slightly slowed down.]
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[Kazuya hadn't gone down, so this was news to him. It was sufficient enough to distract him though, as he briefly went over the ground he had covered recently to see if he had been so out of it that he genuinely had missed the presence of a lake. If there was one, that'd be good though. Kazuya was starving right now, and...]
Ahh, do you need help in catching some of those lake monsters, then? I don't mind helping! I'm kinda hungry too. I haven't eaten since before we got dragged here, so... ah, but I'll let you have some first. You need it more than me. Well, actually, you just plain need it. I can survive without food for... forever, I guess. It just, y'know, I just get hungry, but- anyway, yeah, the lake...
[Ah, he's got the nervous ramblings...]
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[Kazuya made a small noise that said he totally disagreed with Minny's statement of who needed what more. However, he wasn't going to pick fights... if they hunted these monsters down for food, Kaz would just refuse to take a bite until Minny had his fill. See, he could be subtle and sneaky when he wanted to! (Yes, he genuinely believed he was being devious...)]
Nothing's too tough for me. I'll take one down for you no problem. [He went quiet for a moment then, listening to the slight crunch of broken glass beneath their feet. His grip had loosened slightly on Minny's hand too, no doubt to the relief of the persona user's fingers] Other than the food situation though... are you okay, Minny?
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I'm fine. ...Your grip's pretty hard, you know. [So he interjects, by way of injecting a little dry humor into something that's anything but.]
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[The fluster was clear in Kaz's tone, and there was an awkward moment where his grip slackened enough that he was practically a second away from completely letting go. Kaz found it hard to judge his strength sometimes - like, some days it was easy when he wasn't really thinking about it, but when his attention was brought to it, it was like... was it too strong? Too weak? And he felt sort of weird about how easily he had forgotten what a normal human's grip and hand was supposed to feel like]
It's just, I'm a little... [He carefully firmed his grip again, tentatively judging that to be the correct pressure for handholding] Do you want me to let go? I'll hold onto your shirt instead or something.
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We're almost outside, anyway...let's just keep going. [Minato's voice is soft and soothing, his pace slack in keeping with how calm he is now.]
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Be careful. Horror movies always have the monster pop up when the heroes are close to the exit. [He was partially serious, but mostly trying to lighten the mood via morbid humour, even letting out a small laugh that was a little on the nervous side] You know, for extra drama.
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He does prepare his Evoker once monsters are mentioned though, having sustained a few injuries earlier that he's yet to heal. It's perhaps the only sign that he's not quite as collected as he seems to be...]
We should be prepared for anything then. Those monsters are tough...they just re-form after being defeated. [He's also taking this too seriously, it looks like.]
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[Even the paranoid Kaz was a little taken aback by how his comment was taken so seriously, cautiously cracking an eye open to catch sight of the Evoker. He pulled a face, squeezing his eyes shut again before he accidentally caught a glimpse of the mirrors]
Those junk-freaks are too big to be in this sort of building without me hearing it, anyway. And, 'sides, they're stupid as hell. No concept of object permanence whatsoever. No, if there's one thing that I'm worried about bumping into, it's those killer ghosts. I mean, this is where we holed them up, after all...
[Which begged the question of "where the fuck are they?" but Kaz was so far happy that they were staying out of the way and not pestering them]
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But wait, junk-freaks?]
It's kind of strange now that you mentioned it...could they be possessing the machines? It might explain why they tried possessing the robots at the Pleasure District before this. [As for what Minato was doing there and why he knows this, that's a mystery for the ages- a noodle mystery, if one would.]
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[Because Kazuya is not having a repeat of the Ghost Incident where he ended up suffering from partial possession from Bel. He could feel his forearms aching from the memory of how the demon clawed his arms up just to snap him out of the hypnotic haze those ghosts put him under... plus the truth curse. The Truth Curse.
Hm, speaking of, he still hadn't paid Mimi back for her silence...
...wait a minute]
Did you just say... huh. For some reason, I didn't peg you as the Pleasure District type. [There was a brief pause, one where Kazuya tried to figure out how he could miss Minny frequenting that place - especially since he went there every so often] Do you go there for the romance books too?
[...a bit of a silly topic in their current situation, but silliness was kind of what they needed right now, right?]
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Uh...no. I don't remember how I got there either...don't worry about it. [Are they almost outside? He hopes so.]
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Hey, it's okay if you go there for the romance books. It's why I go there. Y'know, there's a new series out if you're interested, kinda explicit in some parts, but the plot's really good. A sort of "sci-fi mystery" thing...
[Sit back Minny, Kaz is indeed giving the cliff notes on a homoerotic novel he picked up from the Pleasure District. But he couldn't help but let his mind latch onto that topic - it was safe, completely removed from anything upsetting, and interesting enough for his mind to turn its full attention to. Mirrors? No mirrors here. Nope. Just walking through a random house with his eyes closed holding hands with his friend. No stressful elements here]
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That being said he's completely quiet until they're out of the maze, at which point Kaz can see that Minato's absolutely not amused with what he was talking about.]
Kaz. [It's said in a pained and exasperated manner, which basically translates to "Please stop talking".]