A/N: Unlike in the game itself, they do not start with weapons or armor. All they have is their evokers. They do, however, have their original levels so all their abilities are still there. I've also been thinking about writing these chapters throughout the week between my schoolwork and posting them on Friday, but I don't want to promise anything. What do you guys think?
31
You in Wonderland 1
Rei and Zen looked around the inside of the booth. The red and blue chessboard aesthetic didn't clash like one would think it would. They turned their attention towards the students that were going to help them leave the place they were stuck in. They all had weapons that differed from one another, though some didn't.
Zen looked back towards the girl who they had waited to come out of a stupor before entering. Some called her May, while the others called her Rosemary. He would admit that he had trouble pronouncing the latter, he supposed that is why some called her the former. She was looking around with a keen eye. She reached out and pressed a hand against some of the playing cards that jutted out from the ground. It reacted to her touch by changing its suit from the three of clubs to the three of hearts.
"What is this place?" Mitsuru questioned.
"I sense a lot of shadows," Fuuka's voice informed them.
"The world of a children's book huh?" Akihiko said as he crossed his arms across his chest, "It seems like the perfect place to run into something."
"There are a lot of books that would agree with you," Rosemary sighed as she brought her hand away from the playing card and rubbed the back of her neck.
Rei let out a soft sound that showed she was scared, and Zen immediately came to comfort her. She didn't seem too convinced, but steeled her nerves to continue walking through the strange area they found themselves. Shinjiro pulled his hands out of his pockets as he remembered something that had been handed to him by Elizabeth. He had been given medicine, so he handed it to Minato. It was the leader's job to be in charge of the medicine. They explored for quite a while, going through a few doors that were designed to look like the keys of a piano.
"Are you going to be all right?" Shinjiro quietly asked Rosemary as they walked together.
"Yes, this is like walking to school," She answered with a tiny smile, "if I need a break, I'll make sure to take one."
He couldn't help but worry. Zen and Rei were close enough to hear the exchange and were a bit curious. There didn't seem to be anything outwardly wrong with the tall girl. She looked towards them with a slight tilt of her head before seemingly growing shy. The corners of Shinjiro's mouth twitched upwards at that. He liked her being comfortable enough to show her shyer side.
They were brought out of their conversation by a shadow appearing. It was a table shadow; one they were quite used to. Rosemary found herself standing behind Shinjiro as he stepped forward. Right, no one except Zen had a weapon. They had lost them when they were all called into the velvet room. She blinked when the shadow seemed to be stronger than what they were used to. It was like they were back to square one in their abilities. She brought out her evoker and easily called upon Themis to protect Mitsuru when the table tried using agidyne on her.
"Is it me or are these shadows stronger?" Rosemary questioned as Minato called on Orpheus to defeat the shadow.
"They're stronger," Junpei agreed while trying to take a deep breath, "man, a weapon would've helped there."
"Yeah," Yukari agreed as she caught her breath.
Minato looked at a small black material that had been left behind by the shadow. He picked it up and placed it in his pocket, maybe one of the velvet siblings would know what to do with it. He had no clue and neither did Rosemary. They continued to walk but were more aware of shadows popping out at them. It truly reminded Rosemary of a children's book. She moved closer to Shinjiro and he discreetly checked up on her. His mind showed his slight worry, but there was a promise to himself that he'd protect her for as long as he can. She frowned slightly. She wanted to keep him safe too.
"I scanned ahead, there's still quite a bit left to explore," Fuuka informed them when they stopped at another door.
"That much, huh?" Shinjiro said as he scratched his head, "Should we head back for now?"
"We should regain our strength before moving on," Akihiko agreed.
"Let's head back for the time being," Mitsuru said, and Minato nodded his agreement.
They turned away from the door they had stopped outside of and made their way to the entrance. It was a bit of a relief to be out of the booth when the smells of festival food wafted their way. It was such a change from the atmosphere inside the booth. Zen's mind was referring to it as a Labyrinth. Rosemary realized that she had missed what the actual name of it was due to the slight haze she had been in. She let out a frustrated sigh before ruffling Ken's hair. He seemed confused by the sudden affection, but not upset by it.
"Welcome back," Fuuka greeted as she walked up to them, "I searched ahead and picked up on a unique reading further into the labyrinth. I think it might be a giant shadow."
"A giant shadow?" Ken asked, "Is it similar to the full moon shadows, or more like the ones we face at certain points in Tartarus?"
"It feels like a mix between the two," Fuuka answered, "It felt strong."
"That's what I'm talking about," Akihiko grinned and Fuuka smiled at him in amusement as Mitsuru gave him a withering look.
"We should be prepared," Mitsuru said.
"Prepared in what way?" Zen questioned.
"We'll need weapons for one," Mitsuru answered him, "several of our members use melee weapons. Amada and Hanamura use pole weapons while Shinjiro uses two-handed weapons."
"I see, so one similar to my own would be useless to them," Zen said.
"If we cannot update our equipment, I predict we will face heavy odds against us," Aigis chimed in.
"If only we could hit up the Paulownia Mall," Akihiko sighed, and Rosemary nodded in agreement.
"I think I know of a place," Rei said, and everyone looked at her.
"Please, show us," Minato said.
She led the way, munching on a corndog the entire time. No one knew where she had gotten the food, and they felt like the answer they'd receive wasn't worth the effort to ask. She just had it, that was what they were going with. It was easier on them. SEES as a collective whole decided on that. They stopped outside of a workshop and they became a little disheartened. There wasn't much that they could do there. They weren't able to create weapons themselves, but it was nice of Rei to show them.
"Was it always like this?" Zen quietly muttered as he looked around the messy room.
"Zen, look strawberries!" Rei exclaimed with a grin as she held up a strawberry, "They're like berries made of straw."
"Is that the true origin of the word 'strawberry'?" Aigis questioned.
"No, it's a twist of the word strewn berries," Rosemary said with a quiet sigh, "they produce runners and spread so the berries became strewn on the ground hence the name."
Shinjiro looked at his girlfriend and realized just how much she liked plants. She knew so many strange tidbits about plants. It was interesting to hear. He looked away when she looked up at him. She didn't have to know what he was thinking to know that he liked hearing her explain about plants. He believed she was happiest when talking about plants. He hunched a bit when she gently brushed against his hand to look around the little workshop. The weapons were all toys. She gathered they wouldn't do much damage to a shadow, or would they? Something to test in a more controlled environment.
"These are toys," Fuuka gently said, "we wouldn't be able to fight with them."
"It's no good?" Rei quietly asked she sounded like she felt terrible.
"It's all right," Rosemary said calmly, "you showed us a place you thought would help, it was nice."
'…You'd make an infinitely better mother than your mom.' Shinjiro's thought made her stop in her movement of putting down a toy sword.
He watched as she tried to wrap her head around that. She couldn't tell why he said that of all things. It was something she had pushed to the back of her mind upon learning that a marriage contract would require her to have a child. He didn't have any other thoughts on the issues, but he did have feelings of doubt. He tended not to focus on them. Oddly enough, he was optimistic about several things, except his possibility to live a long life. He raised a brow under his beanie, and she felt her cheeks burn as she started to move again. She was flustered. He was good at doing that to her. He knew it too.
"I will give my assistance," Theo said as he walked into the room with Elizabeth, "I can create equipment and items such as medicine for you to use."
Minato looked towards Rosemary. Theo was her attendant and would better at handling him, plus she could tell where he was going with something due to her ability. She blinked and nodded her agreement. She thought back to what Theo had said.
"How will you create these items, Theo?" She asked.
"There will be materials from the shadows you defeat in the labyrinths," He answered, "if you bring them to me, I will be able to create items."
"Materials?" Akihiko questioned.
"May I?" Theo asked Minato.
Minato brought out the strange object he had gotten from the shadow and handed it over to Theo. Theo was impressed by the quality of the material but quickly focused on the task at hand. He brought his hands together over the material and thought about what it could end up as. He'd make a sword. It was relatively simple. He went over to one of the workbenches in the room and started to hammer out the piece. It created more than just a sword; it also created a small material that would clear the shadows out areas of the labyrinth they had recently traversed for an easier exit. There would be weapons for the entire group. if he could get more material.
"What do you think?" He asked as he handed over a short sword to Minato.
"It's a well-balanced sword," Minato said, and Theo smiled at the praise.
At that moment it made sense as to why he was Rosemary's attendant. She was always polite and thanked people when they helped her. He wondered if Igor did that to boost Theo's self-confidence. It was a distinct possibility. He watched as Elizabeth tilted her head.
"We will need payment for them," She informed the two wild cards.
"We will?" Theo questioned.
"That is how a contract works," She answered, "it's a means of compensation so you don't slack off…to put it simply a give-and-take system is a requirement."
"I see!" Theo exclaimed before turning to the two with an apologetic expression, "Well then, though it wounds me to do so, I will now charge a suitable price for these items.
"I will do my utmost to be of assistance to you. I hope we get along well."
"There is one other thing," Elizabeth piped up, "carrying all your things will get tiring after a while, please leave what you don't need here. Just hand it over to Theo and he will store it for you."
"Most thoughtful of you, Elizabeth," Theo complimented.
"But she's still forcing her brother to do all the work," Junpei muttered in sympathy.
"All his siblings are girls, the only one who doesn't treat him like this is the youngest," Rosemary quietly told him, "I feel bad for him about it."
He winced at the thought of having siblings treat him like Theo all the time. That was not a comfortable thought. Rosemary agreed with him but moved around the room to look at more items. Yukari was a bit curious as to what she was looking for. She picked up something from a corner and studied it with a blank expression. Backpacks would be dead useful, yet they were stored in a corner. She didn't even want to contemplate the strangeness of this place and handed one of the two backpacks she found to Minato. It would help them carry materials around the labyrinths. She put hers on and found it to be highly comfortable. She would like something similar for her school items.
'I don't think sis could pull off that apron.' Ken muttered in his thoughts.
She had to agree with him. The apron that Elizabeth had given Theo was a bright red color and inspired by strawberries. It had frills along the bottom hem as well as a kangaroo pocket in the shape of a heart. He looked extremely uncomfortable. She felt bad for him, but he didn't want anyone else to incur the wrath of his sister. She'd respect his wishes, but wouldn't be happy about it.
"You need a place to recuperate, correct?" Elizabeth questioned Minato, "That can be easily arranged. I have a place in mind, please follow me."
She took them to a nurse's office. Shinjiro was less than amused by the velvet room attendant and found himself feeling bad for Theo. At least the male attendant was moderately normal compared to his sister. He also seemed ready to help them without a second thought.
"It's an ordinary nurse's office," He commented.
"This is slightly disappointing," Aigis said.
"It's a relief," Rosemary muttered under her breath.
"With more time I could've made adjustments for comfort, but it will have to do," Elizabeth informed them, "I will set things up so that your stamina will heal here. Whenever you return from a labyrinth please come here."
"You have some amazing skills," Minato informed her in a monotone.
"Your praise is heartwarming," Elizabeth smiled and gave a slight bow, "it is our duty to help a guest no matter how tiresome the work or how busy we may be.
"That is why I insist on taking payment for my services."
"A give-and-take system?" Rosemary asked.
"I cannot go against such laws," Elizabeth answered, "in any case, it should be able to prepare you for battle. I bid you good luck on your way."
Minato sighed quietly as they exited the nurse's office. There were varying levels of disbelief on his friend's faces, but Rosemary seemed resigned. She knew exactly what Elizabeth was doing and so did he. Elizabeth wanted to run things by a human standard and he honestly didn't blame her for that. It was something they were used to. He did realize that they would need more materials to make weapons for the rest of their members. He was the only one with one. It was going to take them a while to gather up materials. He almost felt like he was playing an RPG, something he'd have to introduce to Rosemary. She'd be good at them. They headed back into the Labyrinth and he looked around the starting point with a tired expression. They hadn't been able to sleep yet.
"I'll search ahead," Fuuka informed them, "I can't get a grasp on the shadows and this area is more complex than Tartarus."
"We'll find another way to stop ourselves from getting lost," Mitsuru said in thought.
"Would this help?" Zen questioned as he held out a clipboard with a notebook on it, "I made it by putting the student's day planners together. I originally made it to write down where Rei's favorite shops were, but I have them memorized now."
"Ah, Minato's the mapmaker," Rosemary said, and Zen gently nodded, "you'll be good at it."
"You're the one who can draw," Minato muttered as he was handed a pencil.
"I can't draw a map to save my life," She admitted, "my spacing is always off."
"There seem to be several strong shadows, please be careful," Fuuka told them.
"Sounds great to me," Akihiko said, ready for a challenge.
'He does enjoy fighting,' Fuuka said in Rosemary's thoughts, she was feeling fondness towards the silver-haired teen.
Rosemary believed the two of them were good for each other. Fuuka was gentle and could balance out Akihiko's brasher nature. He enjoyed a fight and that always circulated in his thoughts, but he did have moments where he was worried about the future. It would be nice to have someone who was generally optimistic on his side to help him through his darker thoughts. She came out of those thoughts by Koromaru growling his agreement.
"There are a few stronger ones that stand out, I believe I'll call these by a different name," Fuuka said.
"Fysis Oikein Eidolon," Zen offered
"What?" Mitsuru blankly asked.
"Fysis Oikein Eidolon," Zen repeated.
"Saying it twice doesn't help," Junpei sighed.
"Oh, is it an acronym?" Rosemary questioned.
"Yes, FOE," Zen confirmed.
"Foes, huh?" Rosemary said in English, the humor in her voice was hard to misplace.
Her accent caught Shinjiro's attention, and a few of the others looked over as well. It was a treat when she spoke in her native language. She looked at him and gave him a slight wink. He narrowed his eyes as his cheeks warmed up. Why'd she wink at him?
"You'll be able to tell them apart from the other shadows, if you see one please do not fight it," Fuuka said, "for now they are much stronger than we are."
"You're telling us to run from them?" Akihiko asked in a put-out tone.
"Going into unnecessary danger would be reckless discretion is the better part of valor," Mitsuru informed him as she raised a brow, "if you find a FOE, take pains not to fight it, understood?"
"Well then, please be on your way," Fuuka softly said, "and be careful. I'll do my best to back you up."
Akihiko deflated at that and slightly nodded. Shinjiro smirked slightly at the sight. Their girlfriends had them wrapped around their fingers without meaning to. His looked at him with a raised brow and his smirk dropped. He didn't mean anything by it. She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck in thought.
"We'll be following your lead," Mitsuru said to Minato.
Minato sighed and began to walk through the labyrinth. He made sure to make a map the entire time he walked. It was odd. The labyrinth was built out of squares. It wasn't just the aesthetic of the area, but the entire thing seemed to be made of a chessboard. He paused and noted that on a far side of the page away from the map he was making. Fuuka might want to know that but if knowledge.
It felt like they'd been walking for ten minutes when the first shadow popped up. There were two of them. A table and one of the shadows that reminded Rosemary of a blob. She frowned when she heard Themis whispering. Laughing table and Cowardly Maya? Was that what they were called? She supposed it fit. She got ready to fight alongside the others. She had her fists to use, she wasn't completely useless. Still, magic would be her best bet. She summoned Themis and sent a bufudyne at the cowardly Maya. It was obliterated by the ice spell. It must've been weak to it.
"Way to go, May!" Junpei cheered with a grin before dodging out of the way of an attack.
Minato sighed and summoned Orpheus. The fire took it down. The shadows were stronger, but they also seemed more susceptible to their weaknesses than usual. It was interesting. Minato paused as he noticed something on the ground. Two blank cards? He picked them up and placed them in the backpack. They needed to keep moving.
"Is that wall different?" Mitsuru questioned as they came across a pocket watch hanging against the wall.
"A clock?" Akihiko muttered.
"Is it a sign of some sorts? Or perhaps there's some kind of mechanism," Mitsuru said as she tried to figure it out, "let's move on, for now, we might learn more about it later."
They walked around for a good hour. They found that the longer they fought the shadows, the more they got used to relying on their personas. Minato noticed one thing; the shadows didn't drop yen as they did in Tartarus. He didn't know how they were going to pay for new armor and weapons. He'd ask when they returned. There was a plan forming in his mind. They'd clear the floor and head back to restock on items and rest for a bit before clearing the next one. He knew better than to push his friends further than they could currently handle. They hadn't had any sleep since the night before and were more than tired, and some of them had health conditions. Shinjiro acted like he had plenty of stamina, but there were times in Tartarus where the older teen seemed winded. He wouldn't even get started on Rosemary.
"May I see the map?" Mitsuru asked him as they paused next to another hanging pocket watch, he handed it to her, "This is the other side of that same wall where we previously ran into a hanging clock, there may be something here after all. We should-"
Junpei had found a switch and pulled it. He had done it on impulse and the minute he released it his mind was screaming at him. Rosemary sent him a surprised look as he began to sweat. Mitsuru may be mad, but it wasn't like she was going to execute him. They were all fine, the switch didn't seem to do anything harmful. They seemed to have appeared back where they had previously found the hanging watch.
"We seem to have emerged where we were earlier," Mitsuru muttered, "that would suggest that the clock is a sign for a mechanism that lets us pass through walls."
"I see, but would the opposite be the same?" Rosemary questioned, "Like it becomes a pathway you can only traverse one way?"
"That could be possible," She agreed, "we should be cautious and mark which way they go."
"Right," Minato nodded, "please let me know if any of you see anything strange on the walls."
"Of course," Junpei nodded.
They passed through the passageway again and continued to explore the floor. Minato made careful markings on the map and scanned the area ahead of them to jot down what was there. It was quicker that way. They fought a few more shadows, mainly the table variety, before coming across another door. He could tell that his friends were growing more exhausted the longer they fought. He hoped that they found the stairs, and soon. Even he was needing a break. They went through the door and came across a large shadow. That must've been a FOE.
It was shaped like a card and holding a strange scepter. It hopped from spot to spot and went around a small pool near the end of the room. It was such a strange sight, but he felt a hand on his shoulder. Rosemary had gotten his attention. She seemed a bit curious about something.
"It's thinking about its rounds," She informed him, "unless we get right in front of it, it won't notice us."
"Rounds?" Akihiko asked before it dawned on him, "It's patrolling the area?"
"Only that small area, I've never come across a shadow with such a solid thought process before," She admitted, "granted there is the screeching I'm used to."
"Thought process?" Zen questioned, "You speak as if you can hear them."
"I can," She admitted with a nervous expression on her face.
"She's good at respecting privacy," Junpei informed him before Zen could be negative about learning such information, "I don't think she's ever purposely delved into our thoughts before without permission."
"How does one learn such an ability?" Zen asked.
"I was born like this," She admitted, "I can't turn it off."
Rei looked at her with a small smile and she received one in return. Maybe the taller girl wasn't so scary after all. She had been nervous around her due to the blank expression that was always on her face. Their leader had one as well, but his was softer. Rei couldn't explain it. She watched as the bluenette moved back to her spot next to the tallest person there. It reminded her of Zen and herself. Did the taller girl like him?
"Let's give it a wide berth instead of fighting it," Mitsuru said to Minato.
He nodded and they started to walk towards the FOE's area. They waited for it to hop past their position before following it around to a door. They went through the door and relaxed a bit. It seemed true that the FOE wouldn't bother them if they didn't get in its way. The same couldn't be said for two tables and a cowardly Maya. They made quick work of them, knowing the shadows' weaknesses made the battle easier. Yet, it seemed there was a bigger drain on their energy than there usually was. They received three more blank cards and Minato placed them in his bag, it was slowly filling up with materials from the shadows they defeated.
Rosemary frowned in thought and went into her mind to ask Themis if something was wrong. She blinked when she noticed the lonely feeling coming from her persona. Wait, where was Anubis? She couldn't hear or sense the other persona. Where did it go? She didn't like that one bit.
"There's something up with that wall over there," Shinjiro commented as he motioned towards a nearby wall.
They moved a card and saw that there was a pocket watch hanging there. It brought them back to the room with the FOE. It was a new shortcut to the entrance. It even showed them where the stairs down were. Ken was the one to point it out and felt proud about it. His guardian ruffled his hair, and he smiled at the familiar sensation. She moved back as they headed out the door. The labyrinth was strange. They found a dead end and had a quick rest before continuing their exploration. Minato stared at the treasure chest with a disbelieving expression on his face. All of his RPG skills were screaming at him to open it, there had to be something good inside.
Chainmail. There was a single thing of chainmail inside. They drew straws to see who would get it until they could get more armor. Akihiko seemed uncomfortable wearing it but knew that it would help keep his body protected from most attacks. Granted, he didn't need to worry with Rosemary around, she was quick with putting up shields. They continued onwards and soon came across something strange. It was a glowing circle in the middle of the floor.
"The grounds shining?" Yukari questioned as she stared at it with a frown.
"Isn't that some kind of aura?" Junpei questioned, "Y'know, all that spiritual stuff."
"You mean the sacred locations known as "power spots"." Aigis said, "There are tourist sites where people, primarily women, gather to receive good fortune."
"…What?" Rosemary muttered as she tried to follow the remnants of Aigis's thought process.
"I don't think this and what you were talking about is the same thing," Yukari muttered.
"If we call the large shadows FOES, then we would call these power spots PSTs for short," Junpei said with a grin.
"PSTs?" Akihiko asked with a frown.
"What's the T for?" Yukari questioned.
"Power…spo…t?" Junpei said before growing slightly embarrassed.
"I'm sorry. I should have known I would regret asking," Yukari stated.
"Hey, don't apologize all nice like that," Junpei said in slight fear.
"Let's just get going," Shinjiro sighed before noticing something inside the power spot, "I think there's something in there. Maybe we should check out this Power Spot closer."
"So, we're going with that name?" Yukari sighed.
"It fits," Rosemary shrugged, "and it's easy to remember."
Minato looked at her and she walked into the power spot and picked up something off the ground. She blinked at a piece of paper with a cake on it. She could even smell the cake. She didn't know what to make of them but decided to put them in her bag.
"Seems like there's a couple more here," Shinjiro commented, "should we pick them all up?"
"Might as well," She shrugged as she picked up the last two and put them inside the backpack.
One smelt like a tart and she realized it had been far too long since she's made one. She'd have to make one when they got back. She let out a quiet yawn as they went back to exploring. She hoped that when they took their first break, she could kip for a couple of minutes. She could do with it. The constant use of her persona was starting to wear her down, it was wearing everyone down.
"You going to be all right?" Shinjiro asked her as they easily maneuvered around another FOE.
"Yeah, I might try to grab a few winks when we go back to restock and rest for a bit," She admitted.
"I'll wake you when we're about to return," He muttered, and he looked away when she sent him a smile.
"Thanks, love," She quietly said to him.
He was happy about the fight that happened that he could ignore the sudden warmth in his chest at being called that. It was a British saying, he needed to calm down. Still, he liked being called it by her. Rosemary blinked when Koromaru let out a happy bark and jumped into her arms. She smiled at him and brought him into a hug.
"I don't think anyone who's that nice to animals can be a bad person," Rei said to Zen.
He nodded his agreement. They continued onwards once again. They came across a strange colorful box in a dead-end and found that putting medicine inside of it and spinning it around made a second one appear. That had been stumbled upon by Junpei, he had Rei put her corndog inside of it and had created a second one by spinning it. It was such a strange thing to find. They continued to use it until it stopped working and vanished the medicine instead.
"I think we should stop messing with it," Rosemary commented, "no telling what it might do now."
"Right," Minato nodded.
Mitsuru was starting to think that having them lead SEES through the labyrinth was a good idea. Rosemary was taking a more levelheaded approach and Minato seemed a bit relieved to have someone else to share the mantel of leader with. Sometimes she worried that she had pushed too much onto him. He looked at her and gave her a tiny smile and her cheeks heated up. Well, he seemed happy and that was all that mattered.
"I hadn't expected you and Mitsuru," Minato heard Rosemary quietly admitted, "as long as you two are happy that's all that matters."
"…Thanks," He said with his tiny smile still on his face.
A supportive friend is exactly what he needed. He got that with his Judgment social link and fellow wildcard. They walked to the room with the stairs and saw a strange treasure box. It looked like his map. He placed it on the small marker and a click sounded through the area. Shinjiro helped open it and inside was a strange stone. It went to Rosemary to hold onto.
"Should we head back before continuing?" Rosemary questioned.
"Yeah, we'll rest between each level of the labyrinth, so we don't get burned out," Minato answered.
It wasn't that long of a walk back to the entrance. They had found a shortcut to a room near the start. Rosemary was surprised that the shadows were leaving them be, and wondered how long that would last. She missed the simplicity of Tartarus; it at least made more sense in that the shadows were easily seen and could be battled against without wondering where they were coming from. Here it was a guess to see what was going to attack them. They made it out of the labyrinth with ease and were soon inside the workshop.
Theo looked at the items presented to him, both Minato and Rosemary had materials in their backpacks. Her's seemed to be the lighter items due to not having much, and his was the heavier stuff. He looked at each material and began to make weapons and armor. Soon the entire group had weapons to use and armor under their uniforms, he had a small changing area inside the room to let them put it on. He watched his guest as she tested out the naginata he made, and she sent him a smile.
"Its wonderful craftsmanship," She told him.
He bristled in pride that he could help his guest in such a way. They all left him after thanking him. He found that they were different compared to his sisters. Only one of his sisters treated him with any kind of dignity, it was nice that others did. He smiled to himself and went about cleaning up the workshop so that things were easy for him to find.
Elizabeth helped them heal from their injuries in the labyrinth, sometimes a simple diarahan couldn't heal everything. Rosemary could be found sitting on the ground, sleeping. Junpei contemplated waking her up, but couldn't do it. He understood that everyone was tired. He shrugged and sat against an opposite wall, he might as well join and get some shut-eye before they went back to exploring the next floor of the labyrinth. That's how Yukari and Shinjiro found them. Junpei snored when he slept, and Rosemary was curled around her naginata.
"I almost don't want to wake her up," Yukari stated.
A sound of agreement came from Shinjiro before he knelt next to her and gently shook his girlfriend's shoulder. She blearily opened her eyes and sent him a sleepy look, he wondered if she was going to be functional after waking up. He had seen her stare at the cupboards before with a glare when she couldn't get them open. She allowed him to open them for her. According to Aki, she didn't even let him help.
"We need to get going," He informed her as he helped her stand.
She muttered something in English and leaned against him. He gathered her leg was hurting her now that she wasn't experiencing any adrenaline. He spared a glance towards Yukari and noted she was still trying to wake Junpei up. He brought a hand up and gently patted her back. Rosemary moved to look up at him.
"I'll be okay," She grumbled.
"Say's the person who can't function after waking up," He pointed out.
"…That's fair," She muttered as she slowly stepped back from him when Junpei woke up.
She seemed a bit out of it as they returned to the labyrinth entrance. Minato was double-checking his inventory and quietly talked to Mitsuru as they waited for everyone else. Ken and Koromaru came up and waited patiently. They had been checking out some of the students, it was so strange to watch people go about their day without having a single thought. He stared at Shinjiro for a few seconds before looking away in thought, he still didn't know what to make of the older boy.
"Let's get going," Minato said, and they all nodded.