Persona 3: Attachment
Chapter 1
She swayed steadily over the crimson ground as the chains that held her axe shook in the wind. I felt the steel leave my hand as I tightly held my left arm. She slowly walked closer. I heard every step as I struggled to regain my strength. "Junpei," the girl spoke, "I told you to leave me alone."
The glint of the red axe caught my eye once more. "Just how did I end up here?"
It was an empty week of August for me. The sun demanded attention with its heat and no one could ignore it. Lately, me and the rest of the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad, or "SEES" had been doing a lot of training for the next big fight. Minato, our involuntary leader was bringing us to fight Shadows in Tartarus almost every second day lately. We were preparing for our next big fight since the next full moon was coming up in a little over two weeks. The last time we saw a full moon, we had to fight the major shadows of the Chariot and Justice Arcanas which combined to make a winged tank. It feels stupid to describe it now, but its cannon packed a hell of a punch.
I really had nothing to do. I found myself at Tatsumi Port Island Station when I realized that it was already the 20th and summer vacation was about to end. Unfortunately, I really couldn't think of much to do.
"Get out of my way," a strong feminine voice demanded out of my sight. "I can't see. Move."
I caught my senses and moved out from in front of her. She was holding a large book, so I assumed that she was trying to draw something behind me. "Uh, sorry..." I replied. I began to move along my way when I took a better look at the girl. She had bright red hair that made her stick out like a sore thumb. The girl was wearing a white gothic dress and had matching accessories in her hair. "What's up with that? Maybe she's cosplaying or something?" Oddly, she sat on the side of a flower spot, rather than on the bench right next to her. She definitely didn't look normal. In fact, I was surprised that I hadn't noticed her first.
I guess I had been staring for a bit too long, since she turned to me and asked, "What do you want?" She really got to the point.
I was caught off-guard and had no words. "Uhh, nothing... My bad," I apologized. I must've seemed very creepy to her – wouldn't know, since I didn't notice exactly how long I was staring. I continued to walk on my own when I sensed her turning away. Somehow, she just drew my attention and I had to take another look. "What the hell is she drawing?" I asked myself once I noticed that whatever was on that paper sure as hell wasn't where I was standing. "Man, I'll never understand art", I thought, before I began to walk home.
For the next few days, her image still lingered around in my mind. I considered checking out the station to see if I'd run into her, but decided not to. The return of classes averted my mind from her.
On the 29th I found myself wandering around with nothing to do once again. "Man, this year's going fast. It's already second semester. Next year, I'll be a senior..."
Just then I spotted a familiar shade of red from the corner of my eye. Once again on the same spot at the station, sat the girl with her attention glued to her sketchbook. She seemed to notice me, too, as her head turned to greet me. "You again."
"Uhh... well..." I had to come up with something. "I mean, I'm surprised you remember me.
"Same here," she replied. I was hoping that she was surprised that I recognized her, not that she recognized me.
"Well, you kinda stand out in that dress of yours," I replied. She continued to work on her sketch. "So... what are you drawing?"
"Nothing. Why?" she bluntly responded. It didn't seem like she was too big on talking.
"Uhh, no reason. I was just thinking, it must be nice to have something you're really into", I explained. I knew I didn't have too many hobbies myself.
She turned away from the picture and said, "It's no big deal. I only draw because I like to."
"That so? Still, I'd like to see it when you're done, okay?" I asked as I turned to walk along, knowing that she was busy and probably wasn't too into the conversation.
Just two days later I found her again at her spot in front of the station. I walked up and decided to greet her. "So, we meet again, huh?"
She turned away from her drawing. "That's because you keep coming back." Her tone sounded slightly different this time, almost a little bit playful.
I decided it was about time I introduced myself. "I'm Junpei. What's your name? You live around here?" She closed up her sketchbook and stood up. This was actually the first time I'd seen her stand. That's when I noticed the dark red mark on her sleeve. "Hey, hey, wait. Your hand..." She simply started to walk passed me, almost as if she didn't notice the cut. I wasn't gonna let her ignore me. "I said, wait! You're hurt!"
She turned to me. "What is it with you?" Her eyes seemed a bit annoyed, as did her voice. "Why don't you mind your own business?"
I didn't understand how she could be focused on that right now. "Don't give me that! You're bleeding!" I ran up to her to get a better look. "C'mon, show me your hand. You need to put some pressure on it."
She looked at me, seemingly confused. "Why are you in such a panic?" she protested.
"Are you crazy? Anyone would freak out over this! You need to see a doctor – you want me to go with you?" As forward as I was, I was more concerned about her health than my impression.
The redhead glanced at the wound and scoffed. "You're weird," she icily stated. She began to walk away before stopping once more. "Chidori," her voice calmly said.
"Huh?" I replied in confusion, given the whole situation.
She explained, "That's my name. You asked, right, Junpei? I'm almost done with the picture. I doubt you'll understand it, but if you want to see it, you know where to find me." Her voice was almost friendly. She was then on her way, paying no mind to her wound.
Four days later, I ran into her at the station again. "Yo, Chidori," I called, still adjusting to the fact that her name made me think of electrical ninja powers. "How's your hand?" I asked. She wordlessly raised her right arm. There was not a sign of the cut from four days earlier. "I don't see anything, not even a scar... Did it really heal that quickly?"
"Hey Junpei – what do you do to make yourself feel alive?" She ignored my question and changed the subject.
"Hm, I dunno. Breathing, I guess. Y'know, I never really thought about that before. How 'bout you, Chidori? Is that why you're always drawing?"
"Maybe," she replied, "but most of these are just scribbles. You see, I don't understand myself very well."
"I see," I said, trying to find some insight. "Mind if I sit here?" She nodded, so I took the invitation and got comfortable next to her. "To tell you the truth, there is one thing that makes me feel alive..." I thought I'd try to make her laugh. "...When I get to play hero."
Chidori turned to face me with a look of interest. I felt the need to raise my voice a little. "In the darkest hour, unknown to all but few, the chosen ones stand against the forces of evil! Our hero, Junpei, fights to protect the world from these terrifying monsters!" I thought that would have been enough. "Heheh, well, you get the idea. That's when I feel most alive!"
"...?" Chidori's face made it seem like she was either perplexed or disappointed.
"Um... you're supposed to laugh," I explained, admitting the failure of my joke.
"So, do you fight all alone?" she asked, completely serious. That surprised me. That really surprised me.
"H-hey, I was just kiddin' around."
"You fight during a time that no one knows about, right?" Chidori asked, straight face and all. "...So then, no one knows what you've been doing, either. That means you'll never receive any recognition." Unfortunately, she was completely right about that. "I'm impressed. I didn't know you're that kind of guy."
The compliment was new. Very new. "For real? You... actually believe me?"
"Tell me more," she eagerly asked. I found this to be my time to shine.
"You really wanna know?" I asked. I stopped to think about any possible risks. "Wait, there are no possible risks! There's no way Chidori has the potential." I had my story ready. "Okay, but don't tell anyone, alright?" I doubted that this would hurt. "Ya see, there's this special power that we call 'Persona' and only those who have it can defeat the monsters. That's what I meant by 'the chosen ones'. My friends are fighting, too. And ever since I joined 'em, we've been kickin' some serious ass!"
Her small lips formed a smile, something I wasn't used to seeing. "Sounds like fun. Are you the leader? Because it sounds like you're pretty strong."
I wasn't about to let her down here. "Uh, yeah. I guess you could say that. I mean, without me, things would just fall apart." I was lying through my teeth, but at this point, it didn't matter. "Actually, if I really wasn't around, Minato would probably hate being a leader. He wouldn't have a real bro to hang out with! Akihiko's alright, but he's always got that pole up his ass." I retrained my focus on Chidori. "Someone's gotta be in charge, after all. It's pretty tough being a leader."
Chidori looked up and saw that the sun began to set. She closed her sketchbook and stood to face me. "Thank you, Junpei. I had fun today."
"Y... you did?" I stammered. Chidori might've been strange, but that didn't mean she wasn't charming.
"It's time for me to go. I'll see you tomorrow, right?" She left and I felt the heat leave my face.
"Tomorrow, huh? All right!" I was glad that I had been able to leave an impression. After all, she was the one looking forward to seeing me this time.
Telling her about the Dark Hour really helped make that connection. Little did I suspect, Chidori knew a lot more about it than I thought...