<strong>Chisato Arikawa<br/>Time: June 5th, 2018. Monday.<br/>Location: Mirrored Dojo<br/>Tagged: Old / New Investigation Groups</strong><br/><br/>Chisato's head was beginning to hurt. Not ache, but,<em>hurt</em>. It was a sort of pressure, an inwards-directed pain. Perhaps the weight of the situation catching up with her. Increasingly, she didn't know whether to be in awe of these people, or terrified of them. She knew, rationally, that it was the former; they were trying to<em>save</em>someone, and they were protecting her and the other... non-powered people. Still, there was some... part of her, some primal fear of things that were strange and powerful and inexplicable, that was nagging at her. These people had that kind of power, what good could come of it? Why were they worth trusting with it?<br/><br/>Those thoughts, those dark, persistent thoughts that wouldn't stay gone no matter how many times she ushered them out, followed her through the corridor. She stopped for a moment, placing a hand on the side of her head and drawing in a deep breath. She just needed to calm her mind. She looked up, flashing Shine a smile, should he have stopped as well to check on her. "I'm fine," she'd mutter--or, if he'd kept going, she'd let out a sigh of relief. Better that she not hold people back with her... her...<br/><br/>Seriously, what was she,<em>five</em>?! She was being childish! She needed to get her act together, to stop mentally<em>whining</em>, stop being a drain on Shine's attention, and...<br/><br/>She<em>felt</em>it, rather than seeing it, a sense of building dread, a prickling rising along the back of her neck.<em>Danger</em>.<br/><br/>And suddenly, everything was moving... very... slowly. She felt like her arms and legs were made of lead as she turned. One of those...<em>things</em>, had gotten behind them. How? Hadn't they all been destroyed?... She didn't know. It was close--too close. Much too close. She had to...<br/><br/>...To what? To run? To warn the others. She... shouted, something, she wasn't sure what, maybe a 'Help!' or a 'Watch out!' or just an inarticulate cry. Why wasn't she<em>doing</em>something, why wasn't she<em>moving</em>?! She should be--<br/><br/>Her eyes went wide when Satoshi flung himself in the way of the... the<em>thing</em>, the<em>monster</em>, and he just... went down. Crumpled almost too quietly, too easily, like some kind of movie reenactment, not anything<em>real</em>.<br/><br/>That snapped her out of it. Her locked muscles suddenly became mobile again, the cacophony of frantic thoughts were swept from her mind. She drew in a deep breath, and stepped back, away from the...<em>thing</em>. The young man who'd just leapt in front of it had gone down, maybe he was alive, maybe he was dead, but there was nothing<em>she</em>could do for him. "There's one of them back here!" she yelled.<br/><br/>Almost reflexively she shifted her weight, adjusting her stance, raised her hands. She knew a little about martial arts, self-defense, and even if it wouldn't be enough, it didn't<em>have</em>to be enough. She just needed to... stay alive, until one of the people with the... magical powers arrived. They'd deal with it, they'd know what to do about the person who'd just collapsed after being hit. And...<br/><br/>...And nothing. Thinking too much just kept making things worse.