[He heads on down to pick Erika up, although it's completely without the fanfare of a fancy white gloved event. Ryuji does, however, have his skateboard held firmly under his armpit, and when she sees him, he'll nod down to it.]
Yo. You get two options here. Either you get to sit on this thing and I'll push ya around, or we can cruise in style with you on my back.
[One definitely sounds safer, Ryuji why are you doing it like this!?]
I just spent three weeks in the hospital. [Medbay. Erika had opened the door, listened to his pitch, then slumped against the doorframe on her right side, looking exhausted in the way that only someone who's soared well past exasperation (and abandoned vitriol) can.
She presses her nose into the metal for a moment and just reflects on this whole series of choices?]
[He's not going to ask why in the world someone who's still having trouble moving around wants to go investigate the hangar, but he also kind of gets it. He doesn't like being immobile for too long himself, and once he's fixated on a point, he heads for it, without thinking about how much damage it could possibly do to himself.]
Yeah, yeah. If you fall, don't worry, I'll try to land on my ass first.
[He offers a small smirk as he bends down, offering his back for her to wrap arms around his neck.]
[Physical activity doesn't compel Erika the same way it does Ryuji. She could - and does - stay put for hours, days at a time, in pursuit of what does compel her.
All actions can be in service of accomplishment. If the goal is good, self-deprivation loses its sting.]
I'm good. [All moaning and groaning aside: she climbs on carefully, for his sake and hers. She's bony and light, like a preying mantis...?
She treats her left foot gingerly, but doesn't require too much fussing before they're good to go. Piggyback old hat, even if it's been a while.]
[Can't really argue with that. Even if it's done via different methods, the sentiment is shared between the two. And with his passenger safely buckled in and secured, he makes sure to hold onto her and not let anything happen to her legs. He's pretty careful about these sort of afflictions himself- relearning how to walk on a bad leg was enough in one person's life to ever want to see anyone else ever have to go through it.
And as much of an adventurous spirit he has to take the skateboard and fly through the halls with the both of them in tow, he's careful about it so that it doesn't get too out of control. He knows he needs his arms to help steer him and keep balance, so he keeps it at the slowest pace humanly possible while still gliding down in that horrible X-TREME SPORTS aesthetic that he adored.]
Okay, so it ain't a limo or anythin', but considering the other options on the station, I'd say... pretty stylish, huh?
[Every time they take a corner, she holds her breath. It's audible. Other than that, she stays quiet and still - a bit stiff, holding on tight - so it might be a bit out of the blue when she replies...]
This is fun.
[holy fuck stop the presses that was a compliment
And there's nothing in her voice to suggest it's not genuine, either.]
[Both eyebrows go up in surprise at the remark, and Erika probably can't see from the angle she's at, but Ryuji's smile is wide, obnoxious as it usually is when he's proud of something, and he picks up the speed a little bit. And... passes right by the elevator.
Oh, shit. He lets the skateboard come to a natural slow down before diverting his feet to enact a change in direction, and uses the sole of his magboots to come to a halt.]
Heh- sorry, I got too excited. Not every day I get to say that I made Erika have some fun.
[He presses the button to call their second ride. It's ride-ception all up in this station, apparently.]
[Ryuji does that thing where he pulls his head forward to get away from the ear pulling, which only serves to have Erika's tug get so much worse, and he's grimacing in pain for his (stupid) mistake.]
[Erika can probably see that it's bright red, all the way from his cartilage to his lobe, and thank god it wasn't the one he had pierced a few months back with the wires that were stuck in his, Ren's, and Akechi's cheek, respectively. Yeah, he's gross.
He presses the elevator button down to the hangar floor.]
What're we doin' down there anyway?
["We" as if he was included on this plan and wasn't just a taxi.]
[When he concedes, she lets go, then pats his head like a dog.......]
Research for Project Mnemosyne. That's the memorial. [Gundam doesn't have a monopoly on pretentious naming! Hers are just classier.] For now, I stashed the files we have on Toto [that's one of her stuffed animals] and left her in the Metaverse. The station systems aren't continuous there, and it got me thinking about using physical distance...like, making a time capsule and throwing it into orbit. I want to know what kind of resources that would take.
[Someone with a lot more dignity would be pissed off at that pat to the head, but Ryuji's... pretty... okay.... with it.... (please keep doing that).
Anyway, as the elevator begins its downward descent, Ryuji listens in to what her plan is. Yeah, Gundam has some pretty fucking stupid names for things, from attacks to just... titling things in general, but he can't complain too much about it. Considering he screams things when he summons his persona, the shounen protag thing is alright.]
Holy shit. You're brilliant.
[He means it when he says it, it's completely without a lick of sarcasm caked into the comment.]
You gonna be okay to get it out of the Metaverse when you're ready for it?
[The door opens wide with its familiar chirp of a sound, indicating that they've arrived at their destination. He settles his skateboard with a foot so that it doesn't slide, gets his balance again and pushes off.
It's good that she has a plan figured out for all of this. Ryuji isn't much help when it comes to anything involving the Metaverse at this point in time, still, where a shadow inside it wants to go after him at the slightest whiff of his existence.]
You thought of everythin', huh? Who's your inside agent?
[He's half expecting Hajime to be the answer, but the thought of him going in there alone is slightly unsettling.]
[This is, in fact, fun. It's been...years, actually, since she's done anything more physically adventurous than taking the train, unless you count zipping around in VR, but virtual sensations aren't quite the same as real ones. The periodic throb of her ankle punctuates but doesn't diminish the feeling of gliding, momentum pulling when they turn or stop, Ryuji shifting to keep his balance.
It's dangerous, but not probably-fatal dangerous. It feels like sneaking in a victory.]
Hmm. Well, they live there, and they always know what I'm up to.
[Is this going to be a riddle? Yes. From what Wormmon could tell her about what Shadows were and what they did in the Metaverse, she suspects anyone experienced with the place must have certain knowledge about them. No harm in verifying that.
[Again, Ryuji could get by with skinned knees and a bruised arm, but he wouldn't live with himself if he came crashing down with Erika on his back- so he's still careful not to take this too far, even though he really, really wants to go faster and throw caution to the wind. It's still experimental for him, too, since he hadn't really touched his skateboard at all, in years, until it decided to show up one day on the station as a grim reminder of what he was missing back home.
Just a little bit further, and the sight of the hangar's entrance is within view. Admittedly, it is kind of fun, and he thinks for a second about doing a loop around the entire deck just for the hell of it. But Erika has stuff she wants to accomplish, and carefully, he starts letting his board slow down naturally without kicking off more velocity to keep the wheels going.
And it's not that much of a riddle for Ryuji, but the quickness at which he gets it is definitely telling, in a way, since he's slow about a lot of stuff, but shadows? He knows shadows. How to kill them, how to steal their hearts, how ambush them. Not so much what makes them tick- cognitive psience wasn't entirely refined back home yet, but he answers pretty simply:]
You got your shadow holdin' onto it?
[Which is a new piece of knowledge for shadows in general, since he's always known the ones of the personal variety doesn't really cooperate that well with their real versions.
Which means, if Erika is on good terms with it... then it means one of two things. She's persona enabled, or a self-actualized person. He has to ask about the former first.]
Hey... you didn't go in there and find a mask on your face, right? One that was stuck on tight and shit? Can't pull it off without ripping yourself to shreds? I know it's an "out there" kinda question, but... Yeah.
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They don't call me "crouching tiger hidden pogchamp" for nothing
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There's something I want to look at in the hangar.
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Only if you treat this like a limo service though
I'm a classy ride
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[He is absolutely not stuck at a light. He is, in fact, currently leaving his room, but that doesn't make him any less of a little shit about it.]
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[why are her boys all like this.
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Yo. You get two options here. Either you get to sit on this thing and I'll push ya around, or we can cruise in style with you on my back.
[One definitely sounds safer, Ryuji why are you doing it like this!?]
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I just spent three weeks in the hospital. [Medbay. Erika had opened the door, listened to his pitch, then slumped against the doorframe on her right side, looking exhausted in the way that only someone who's soared well past exasperation (and abandoned vitriol) can.
She presses her nose into the metal for a moment and just reflects on this whole series of choices?]
If we go down, you'd better cushion my fall.
[saddle up, asshole]
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Yeah, yeah. If you fall, don't worry, I'll try to land on my ass first.
[He offers a small smirk as he bends down, offering his back for her to wrap arms around his neck.]
You good, or need a hand climbin' on board?
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All actions can be in service of accomplishment. If the goal is good, self-deprivation loses its sting.]
I'm good. [All moaning and groaning aside: she climbs on carefully, for his sake and hers. She's bony and light, like a preying mantis...?
She treats her left foot gingerly, but doesn't require too much fussing before they're good to go. Piggyback old hat, even if it's been a while.]
Thanks.
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And as much of an adventurous spirit he has to take the skateboard and fly through the halls with the both of them in tow, he's careful about it so that it doesn't get too out of control. He knows he needs his arms to help steer him and keep balance, so he keeps it at the slowest pace humanly possible while still gliding down in that horrible X-TREME SPORTS aesthetic that he adored.]
Okay, so it ain't a limo or anythin', but considering the other options on the station, I'd say... pretty stylish, huh?
[His ego is way too high right now.]
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This is fun.
[holy fuck stop the presses that was a compliment
And there's nothing in her voice to suggest it's not genuine, either.]
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Oh, shit. He lets the skateboard come to a natural slow down before diverting his feet to enact a change in direction, and uses the sole of his magboots to come to a halt.]
Heh- sorry, I got too excited. Not every day I get to say that I made Erika have some fun.
[He presses the button to call their second ride. It's ride-ception all up in this station, apparently.]
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are they stopped yet?
Are they - okay good because as soon as they're stopped Erika's pulling his ear.]
Who said you had to say anything?
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OY!!!
[THOSE EARS ARE SEMI PRECIOUS MATERIALS.]
Alright, alright. You win. I'll shut up! I'll shut up, c'mon, leggo.
[Erika can probably see that it's bright red, all the way from his cartilage to his lobe, and thank god it wasn't the one he had pierced a few months back with the wires that were stuck in his, Ren's, and Akechi's cheek, respectively. Yeah, he's gross.
He presses the elevator button down to the hangar floor.]
What're we doin' down there anyway?
["We" as if he was included on this plan and wasn't just a taxi.]
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Research for Project Mnemosyne. That's the memorial. [Gundam doesn't have a monopoly on pretentious naming! Hers are just classier.] For now, I stashed the files we have on Toto [that's one of her stuffed animals] and left her in the Metaverse. The station systems aren't continuous there, and it got me thinking about using physical distance...like, making a time capsule and throwing it into orbit. I want to know what kind of resources that would take.
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Anyway, as the elevator begins its downward descent, Ryuji listens in to what her plan is. Yeah, Gundam has some pretty fucking stupid names for things, from attacks to just... titling things in general, but he can't complain too much about it. Considering he screams things when he summons his persona, the shounen protag thing is alright.]
Holy shit. You're brilliant.
[He means it when he says it, it's completely without a lick of sarcasm caked into the comment.]
You gonna be okay to get it out of the Metaverse when you're ready for it?
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It's good that she has a plan figured out for all of this. Ryuji isn't much help when it comes to anything involving the Metaverse at this point in time, still, where a shadow inside it wants to go after him at the slightest whiff of his existence.]
You thought of everythin', huh? Who's your inside agent?
[He's half expecting Hajime to be the answer, but the thought of him going in there alone is slightly unsettling.]
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It's dangerous, but not probably-fatal dangerous. It feels like sneaking in a victory.]
Hmm. Well, they live there, and they always know what I'm up to.
[Is this going to be a riddle? Yes. From what Wormmon could tell her about what Shadows were and what they did in the Metaverse, she suspects anyone experienced with the place must have certain knowledge about them. No harm in verifying that.
Get to riddlin'!]
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Just a little bit further, and the sight of the hangar's entrance is within view. Admittedly, it is kind of fun, and he thinks for a second about doing a loop around the entire deck just for the hell of it. But Erika has stuff she wants to accomplish, and carefully, he starts letting his board slow down naturally without kicking off more velocity to keep the wheels going.
And it's not that much of a riddle for Ryuji, but the quickness at which he gets it is definitely telling, in a way, since he's slow about a lot of stuff, but shadows? He knows shadows. How to kill them, how to steal their hearts, how ambush them. Not so much what makes them tick- cognitive psience wasn't entirely refined back home yet, but he answers pretty simply:]
You got your shadow holdin' onto it?
[Which is a new piece of knowledge for shadows in general, since he's always known the ones of the personal variety doesn't really cooperate that well with their real versions.
Which means, if Erika is on good terms with it... then it means one of two things. She's persona enabled, or a self-actualized person. He has to ask about the former first.]
Hey... you didn't go in there and find a mask on your face, right? One that was stuck on tight and shit? Can't pull it off without ripping yourself to shreds? I know it's an "out there" kinda question, but... Yeah.
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