Disclaimer: Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 and its affiliated characters are the sole property of ATLUS and I claim no ownership of them.
Warnings: Character death.
A/N: A lot of things inspired this fic. First and foremost was probably a heart-breaking series of character-death drabbles I read on the BadBadBathhouse Persona 4 kink meme on LiveJournal. Needless to say, they really touched me, and made me set out to write this. Second reason is that while character death fanfiction is extremely common within the P4 fandom, I rarely ever see it done for P3 within the timeline of the game (With the exception of October fourth, etc., of course), so this is something a little different. The title was originally "Red", but then Michael Wong/Wong Guang Liang's "Tong Hua" ("Fairy Tale") came up, and I found this a much better title.
Also different is my trial with present tense in this one; Difficult as hell, I tell you. The first half is also very stream-of-consciousness and run-on-esque, something I couldn't quite replicate in the latter parts (This was written over about two weeks' time). In any case, I'll cease the rambling now.
Fresh and un-beta'd, so please excuse the many errors that I'm sure will be in here.
Fairy Tale
A Persona 3 Fanfic
By Pikagalmish
It's always worse the second time.
They have been cornered before, so they think they can take it. That's why they run, taunting and dodging, stalling for time until Yamagishi can find an exit.
Then they hear the shot.
She doesn't scream; She never does. After all, it's completely out of her nature to do so. They forget this, and think that nothing's wrong, because the monster is gone and all is quiet.
They also forget that Death never leaves without its prey.
She is on the floor but they don't worry, because a mere knock would never take her down for long. She is surrounded by red, but still they don't worry, because in the dim light it looks like the crimson locks always cascading down her back.
Then they bend down and the red is warm and viscous and they worry because it is not her hair that surrounds her body and stains her clothes.
Akihiko looks up and Shinjiro is pale, pale, a stark contrast to his usual sunbaked skin. He watches silently as his friend reaches out a hand, feeling for a pulse; The look in his eyes tells everything.
He yells for Minato and the boy comes running, but no matter what he does or how many spells he uses, her eyes do not, will not open. Akihiko begins to shout her name, begging her to respond, because they promised to protect her so she can't go now, not when they are so capable of being the knights that they want to be.
Eventually Yamagishi finds an exit but they refuse to move, refuse to believe that Death had shot its bullet straight through the indomitable princess's heart. One at a time, the rest of the team tries to convince them, to coax them away from the lifeless body, but it's not until Minato quietly mentions that they should inform her family that they begrudgingly agree.
Shinjiro carries her, because Akihiko can barely remain standing. The brunet holds her gently, uncharacteristically, and in the distorted darkness she looks no more than asleep in his arms, even as her blood oozes and trickles onto his coat. All around them looms the stench of Death, and it seeps through their nostrils and makes them ill.
They get out of Tartarus and Akihiko is done. He runs to the school's walls and heaves, the sight and smell of her blood fresh in his senses; It's like his sister all over again.
...no, it's worse.
When he comes back from emptying the contents of his stomach, she has been laid carefully against the gate and Shinjiro is walking back from another wall, wiping at his mouth with his blood-soaked sleeve.
It's worse, much worse, because this time they are strong, they are capable, and still they failed. She is cold and limp even though they were right in front of her with weapons in their hands, ready to strike.
Shinjiro picks her up again and Akihiko follows.
They say that, with time, one can get used to anything, and that even Death becomes less painful the second time around.
Bullshit.
The second time around there is already a gaping hole in the heart and it becomes bigger and bigger until it is like an empty pit sitting heavily in the chest, leeching at its host's spirit until it finally consumes them.
It is worse each time, and Akihiko will take a fist to anyone who says otherwise.
- - -
The Dark Hour is over and they are a mess so Ikutsuki drives them. They don't call because it wouldn't have made a difference and neither of them feel up to the task anyway.
Her maid answers the door.
Kikuno takes one look at them covered in blood that is not theirs and breaks down. Her sobs echo off the dark halls even as she is led away by a butler. Another servant leads them to her room and they follow even though they know the way. When they arrive Takeharu is already there, and he simply watches as Shinjiro sets her down on the bed.
The words roll out and seem disconnected and their bodies don't feel like their own as they stare down at their feet and tell her father simply, flatly what had happened. They apologise several times because he had counted on them to protect her and they didn't, even though they could.
They don't look at him.
He listens silently, and when they are done he walks over to them and looks down at his daughter. He reaches out, touches her stone-like face, strokes her icy hand, each gesture confirming the worst.
He doesn't speak to them.
Takeharu calls a maid and leaves. The maid hurries in and tells them to go home and rest because they are tattered and tired, and that the servants will take care of cleaning her up. They argue, they want to stay, but the maid is insistent and they end up agreeing. Their feet take them back out to Ikutsuki's car and they return to the dorm and it's too quiet, too empty, even though everyone's still awake and waiting for them in the den. They ignore the attempts to talk to them and go up the stairs to their rooms and collapse, bloody clothes and all.
- - -
Her family is high-profile so there is trouble fabricating a story for her death, but they manage and the morning papers are filled with news of the car accident. There is a large memorial service at the school and the students and teachers and principal all speak but their words are empty, pointless, because they only ever saw the side of her that she wanted them to see, and never her true self. Their speeches are littered with hollow praises and trite phrases and sound rehearsed and artificial and nauseate those who knew her.
Akihiko and Shinjiro skip.
They spend the morning at Hagakure. The chef knows them and the situation and gives them some space and extra beef in their noodles. They eat but they don't taste anything but blood -- her blood -- and after a few bites they give up. They while away the rest of the day in the alleys of the city, avoiding the crowds and newspaper stands that constantly remind them of their failure. By the time they get back to the dorm the Dark Hour is long over and only Koromaru is still awake enough to greet them. He leads them to the covered dishes on the table and will not let the men leave until they force down some of the cold dinner. The food sits like a stone in their stomachs and that night they dream of red hair and red blood.
- - -
When they approach Minato and tell him their plans the second-year doesn't look surprised or try to stop them. He nods and agrees calmly, and that night Junpei, Takeba, and Ken go with him while the two remaining third-years take their communication devices and head into another section of Tartarus. The first time they stay so long the tower disappears and they are forced to climb out a third-story window. They end up bruised and scratched but the next morning Akihiko still makes a beeline for the gym.
Shinjiro goes with him.
- - -
She is buried on the family's private grounds, barely a stone's throw away from Kirijou Hanae. Akihiko and Shinjiro sit at the front at the wake, far apart from the rest of SEES. They are seated next to Takeharu and this time they are forced to look at him.
It is the face of a man who has lost everything.
He thanks them for all they've done over the past few years, for protecting his daughter and being her dear friends. They nod stiffly and try to reply but no words will come out, and eventually they all fall into silence. After the incense is lit and the flowers placed and the casket nailed Akihiko and Shinjiro ride with Takeharu to the crematorium. The place is like a dungeon and their footsteps echo off the walls, and even with the heat of the cremation chamber rushing over them it's cold as ice.
An attendant opens the hatch and the fire lashes out like a bloodthirsty dragon waiting for its prey. They watch silently as the casket is placed into the flames, her body consumed by the very element she feared. When the final sparks die down the seniors help Takeharu pick the bones from the ashes and into an urn, the clicking of their chopsticks the only sound breaking the silence.
When they walk through the front door of the dorm later an altar has been set up in the den. Akihiko manages a strained smile as he thanks the younger students for making it; Shinjiro doesn't say a word.
That night a fresh vase of flowers appears in front of her picture.
- - -
The two men stare down at the tattered remains. They are covered with wounds and blood and splashes of black pus but they don't care.
It's over.
Shinjiro kicks at the chained mess at his feet and spits, as though daring Death to try and break them up again. Akihiko contacts Minato and he arrives quickly with the rest of the team. They all shudder at the horrible sight and quickly leave after taking care of their teammates' injuries. The seniors tug a bloody button from the disheveled corpse and the next day, place it at her grave.
But the pain doesn't change. Even if they avenge her, it won't bring her back. In fairy tales all it takes is a well-timed kiss or the princes defeating the dragon, and the princess will be revived.
But this isn't a fairy tale. In real life, the dead will never come back, no matter what happens.
This isn't a fairy tale.
Fairy tales have happy endings.
Real life never does.
- FIN -
…the pre-note was long as hell, so I'll spare you guys an extensive endnote. Just for clarification, yes, Mitsuru's mother's name is "Hanae". I listened to the drama CDs several times without hearing "Eimi", so I checked with the original poster of the names on L.J. who confirmed that her original reading of the kanji was in fact incorrect, and provided me with the actual name.
Still waiting on the CD translations so I can incorporate them into Stopwatch, ho-hum…
Please review if you liked.
- SAKU