For Persona related info: megamitensei [dot] wikia [dot] com/wiki/Megami_Tensei_Wiki
For Star Trek related info: memory-alpha [dot] org/wiki/Portal:Main
This chapter took WAY longer than expected. Aside from my usual bouts of ADD (namely P3P and Dissidia 012), I had a really hard time with writer's block as I knew what I wanted to say in the chapter but I had issues with how to say it properly, as well as dealing with excessive though necessary exposition.
I outlined some of the things to come, including a few Star Trek related things. I might change the classification to a Persona/Star Trek crossover around chapter 4 or 5 but I haven't decided yet.
I still don't know about the Arcana just yet, though I kind of wonder how that an overly arrogant and brash Klingon, and an overly logical adolescent Vulcan would work out. Any ideas are welcome.
As for pairings, you will find out this chapter.
RE: Theo and Ryoji; I intend for both of them to stay close friends with the FeMC after the time skip with similar roles as in the game. I haven't thought beyond that just yet though.
Anyway, on to chapter 2.
"Very funny, guys. You just had to bring out the proverbial red carpet," Hamuko said. Her two companions just grinned.
She was referring to a lighted, rainbow coloured staircase that descended from the moon and the Great Seal toward the Gekkoukan High rooftop. She had to admit that it was pretty and dazzling, and made for quite a scene for her awaiting friends.
With Theo and Ryoji leading the way, Hamuko descended the staircase towards her friends. As they got closer, she started to recognize and reminisce about each of them.
The overly precocious junior high school student Ken Amada, whom she helped to accept his child side and not try to grow up too fast. He was like a little brother to her.
The humanoid robot and anti-Shadow weapon Aigis whom she and her brother helped understand what it means to be human.
The tech savvy Fuuka Yamagishi who used her and her brother as cooking crash test dummies. They had made her realize that she needed to be true to herself and not to someone else's perception of who to be.
Strong and loyal shiba inu Koromaru, who fought to avenge his master's death at the hands of the Shadows.
Fun loving immature but dear friend Junpei Iori, who had been heartbroken because of the death of his girlfriend, Chidori Yoshino. Hamuko consoled the baseball cap wearer after that painful event. After Chidori's revival, he re-energized.
Boxing champion and overeager challenge seeker Akihiko Sanada, whom Hamuko reminded him of his late sister, Miki. She helped him cope with his loss and to slow down instead of rushing into things guns blazing.
Ice queen and business heiress Mitsuru Kirijo who needed to escape sheltered life and open up to the world, thanks to her and Minato`s intervention.
Temperamental but caring Yukari Takeba, whom the twins helped resolved her issues with her mother and her issues with getting into relationships. Hamuko was very happy when her brother and Yukari hooked up.
Her quiet twin brother Minato with whom Hamuko loved dearly and shared the Wild Card ability. Truthfully, he could have become the Great Seal instead of her. They both knew what was at stake, that one of them had to sacrifice his or her life and that the other wanted to do it to spare the other from the pain. So just before Nyx`s coming when they got transported to the Velvet Room, the twins had a duel for that right. As they eyed each other, they remembered that duel very clearly.
"Are you two sure about this?" a couple of voices said in unison. The twins nodded.
"Are you completely sure about this?" other echoic voices chimed in. The twins again nodded.
"Very well. Proceed," an older voice commanded.
Minato and Hamuko stood in front of each other while the Velvet Room residents Igor, Elizabeth and Theodore, and their respective Personae Orpheus and Eurydice watched. The twins agreed to have a no Persona, one-handed sword vs. naginata duel that took place in a red coliseum. How Igor fit that into that into the Velvet Room, they did not know but that was inconsequential.
Readying themselves, they ran at each other to start the duel. Minato started with a downward slash with his Lucifer Blade. Hamuko parried that slash with the middle of her Vel Vel Muruga naginata's shaft and followed with a backhand spin slash; her brother rolled forward to dodge. Setting their weapons forward, they traded stab attempts and deflections until she tried for a one-two combo, starting with a jab with the butt of the naginata followed by a horizontal slash with the blade part. He blocked the jab with a forward block then switch to a backhand block for the slash. He then used the hilt of his sword to force the naginata blade from her right side to her left, making her bend over and be prone to the subsequent left cross he threw. As she was falling, she countered by using the butt of her weapon to trip up her brother. Both had to reverse somersault back into a ready stance after falling.
They each tried crazier tactics and attacks as the duel went on. Hamuko attempted a few techniques used in Hong Kong actions movies, such as twirling her naginata around her neck followed by a jump and downward slash. It left her open for a backhand spin slash attempt which she dodged by rolling forward. On the other hand, Minato tried the jumping sword stab he had seen in a few Greek mythology action movies. All he got was the blade of the naginata parrying his sword while the butt punched his face.
It was a good thing that time did not pass in the Velvet Room as the duel went on for several minutes, which in real time would have meant Nyx completing the Fall. As it was, the duel was at a standstill. Although Hamuko's naginata gave her a reach advantage, Minato's one-handed sword allowed quick stabs to keep her at bay. However, Minato was having trouble with her two sided attacks and had to block painful blows from the butt of the spear with his forearms or shins.
Finally, in the midst of a blade lock, Hamuko unleashed her secret weapon. What her brother did not know was that she had been modifying the Vel Vel Muruga to have a hidden quick release mechanism near the middle of the shaft so she could split it in two, the butt end in her left hand and the blade end in her right. The tactic utterly startled Minato, which left him open for the butt end smacking his right knee, the blade end cutting his forehead and a roundhouse left kick nearly breaking his jaw.
Continuing the assault, Hamuko reconnected her naginata, lashed out with a downward slash that disarmed Minato of the Lucifer Blade, added a backhand uppercut slash that tore his shirt, and finished with a jump spinning downward slash that knocked him hard on to the ground. Before he could recover, she already had the blade end over his prone neck. Woozy as he woke up, Minato's eyes widened at his sister standing over him; he then nodded to signal his defeat.
Theo, Elizabeth, Orpheus and Eurydice sighed in relief; they did not want to see either of their masters to hurt each other. The latter two return to their masters' psyches while the former two summoned healing Personae to tend to any wounds.
Hamuko held out her hand towards her twin. "How are you feeling, oni-chan?"
Minato took her hand and picked himself up, saying, "My ego's bruised but otherwise I'm okay. You certainly surprised me by splitting your naginata. Great job, sis."
Her sister blushed, "It was nothing. Just something I thought up that took a while to implement." Her face then became serious and she asked, "Are you okay with this, onii-chan?"
"No I'm not but we did make a deal." Minato said, hugging her sister. He was trying to hold back the tears but then let them fall when she started crying.
"I'm gonna miss you guys."
"We'll miss you too, sis."
An ahem shook them out of their hug and had them turn towards Igor, who was holding a sparkling card in this hand.
"I never dreamt I would see the Universe card, but both of you have grown so much throughout the year to produce it. You two have truly been remarkable guests. Now go, defeat the one who can't be defeated."
The twins nodded and headed out the door.
As she, Ryoji and Theo finished their descent, Hamuko could not contain her emotions. She ran down the rest of the steps, much to her escorts' gasped dismays, and cannonballed right into her twin brother, hugging him.
Minato staggered back, nearly falling over before regaining his balance. "Hehe, we miss you too, sis." Amused at that site, most of her SEES friends gathered around for a group hug.
"So how's everyone been doing since I've been gone?" Hamuko asked.
"I guess I'll start," Ken replied, wiping a few tears from his tears. "I'll be finishing up middle school in a couple of years and will be enrolling in Gekkoukan afterward." Hamuko was very surprised at how tall he had grown.
Mitsuru continued, "As for me, I'm still the head of the Kirijo Group while taking a few university courses on the side. Don't worry, I take my motorcycle out to keep me from being bogged down."
"And I make sure that she takes those breaks, in between boxing practice and studying in the police academy," added Akihiko, his arm now wrapped around Mitsuru's shoulders. Hamuko was giddy at seeing them as a couple.
Minato chimed in afterward, "As for the rest of us, we're all in the same university."
"Yeah even Stupei somehow," joked Yukari.
"Stop calling me that!" barked Junpei. Then he scratched and spoke with a sheepish grin on his face. "Yeah, Yuka-tan's right. Even I somehow finished high school and enrolled into uni. Anyway, I've been helping Chidori regain her memories bit by bit. She's starting to remember about Personas, Tartarus, the Dark Hour and our relationship." Hamuko smiled at that news.
"I'm studying computer technology and programming at uni, while helping out at the Kirijo Group from time to time," said Fuuka. Then she stuttered, "Still working on my bad cooking though."
"I'm studying to become a doctor and helping improve the Kirijo robot technology," said a fully clothed Aigis, which Hamuko found a little odd. That was until the blond android then rolled up one of the sleeves of her blouse to reveal a more human looking arm in the colour of pink flesh instead of pale white. "Considering it me growing up," Aigis added with a smile.
Koromaru yipped afterward, prompting Hamuko kneel down the shiba inu. "He said that he still hangs around the shrine helping his canine friends, keeping them strong and healthy," translated Aigis.
Yukari spoke next, "I finally resolved the issues with my mother and with the help of your brother. I'm also studying to be a doctor."
Minato spoke at the end, "As for me, I'm studying engineering at uni, in between making a lot of love with Yukari here." He earned a blushing face and a hard jab to his shoulder from his red haired girlfriend.
However, the one person Hamuko was extremely eager to see was not amongst the crowd of SEES. She looked elsewhere on the roof until she found him, a tall, longhaired male wearing a beanie and a burgundy pea coat, standing alone. He grinned and started walking towards them. She, on the other hand, could not wait and ran to tackle him. He must have figured out that she would do that as he caught her and then started spinning together with him, like a scene out of the romance movie. At the end of the spin, she kissed her boyfriend Shinjiro Aragaki, the gruff loner and atoner who showed his hidden caring side to her.
"Tch, idiot. Always making a big scene," Shinjiro said, laughing at her pouting face and as she punched his shoulder.
"So mean. Is that how you treat your girlfriend?" the auburn haired girl whined, still pouting. Everybody else laughed at this.
"Anyway, how have you been doing? You look really well," asked Hamuko.
"Well, I'm not taking those damn suppressants anymore and they have been completely detoxed out of my body. Now, I'm working at a restaurant, apparently being the best cook in town," he said sheepishly. "Everybody's telling me, including the head chef, me to start up my own restaurant. I'm not so sure about the idea yet but Kirijo has said that she would fund it if I ever decide to. I'm also taking night classes for my high school diploma, as well as learning about you from other people."
With an eye cocked wondering what he was talking about, Hamuko looked in the direction at which he was staring. What she did not expect were a few other faces amongst her friends. The first two she recognized immediately as Yukiko and the new Wild Card, a silver hair young man with an athletic build. She wondered who told those two about this meeting until her eyes fell onto the third newcomer, a small slender figure with blue hair wearing a cabbie cap. Hamuko thought it was a boy until "he" got closer and…
"Nao-chan?," gasped Hamuko.
"Onee-chan!" Naoto shouted as she ran up to hug her.
"It's been so long." Hamuko hugged her back and started patting her head while the younger one sobbed.
"Um, I thought you guys said you were friends," said the new Wild Card.
Minato answered, "Yes we did. We aren't actually kin but our parents, when they were alive, and her grandfather were very close friends and thus we grew up together. Naoto used to treat us like older siblings so the titles stuck. After our parents died, her grandfather lamented that he couldn't adopt us, but he made sure that we were taken care of very well wherever we went."
"Anyway, how've you been?" Hamuko asked.
Releasing their hug, Naoto answered, "I've been good. Just finished solving another case with my friends here." She gestured towards Yukiko and the Wild Card, both of whom bowed.
Hamuko returned the bow and then said, "Yukiko, it's so good to see you again. You've grown up quite a bit."
The raven-haired girl gasped. "You remember me from your school trip to Inaba?"
"It's kinda hard to not remember a mature young girl being a junior manager of a famous inn." Yukiko blushed at that comment.
Hamuko turned toward the silver hair teen and said, "You must be my successor. Thank you for discovering the true world in people's hearts"
"Souji Seta at your service. And you're welcome. Yukiko told me a lot about you," the new Wild Card responded.
"Sorry to interrupt the reunion but can you tell us why you sent Theodore and Ryoji to tell us you can't come back?" asked Mitsuru.
The auburn haired girl frowned with downcast eyes before answering. "I wanted to come back, really I do. I was ready to come back to the world of the living. Then I started to have these painful visions. I saw so much death, despair and terror in people's eyes. Even worse, I witnessed these huge dark mushroom clouds bursting from the ground, like in those old vids of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. I don't think I have to tell you what that means."
Hamuko's reply startled everybody. The thought of another deadly world war on the horizon just chilled everyone to the bone, especially it possibly being a nuclear war.
She continued speaking, determined eyes looking at her friends, "But there is hope. I also saw a suzaku rising from the ashes to propel humanity to a greater age. I don't know when these will happen. They could happen in a few years, a few centuries or even tomorrow. All I know is that I could never forgive myself if I released the Seal for my whims if it meant that humanity would fall. I can't let that happen!"
"Are you really sure about this?" Yukari cried.
"Not gonna change my mind about it."
Before his girlfriend could answer back, Minato cut in, "Yukari, remember what happened in the Abyss of Time. I don't want to lose my sister again, but we can't let our emotions control us and make us do something rash. Besides, my sister is too stubborn for anybody to change her mind." Shinjiro snorted in agreement, Hamuko stuck out her tongue and everybody laughed.
Then silence filled the rooftop for a while to mull about what to do. None of them liked this at all, but they knew that the Great Seal and thus their friend just yet. Finally, SEES, Souji, Yukiko and Naoto looked at each other, then back at her, and nodded. Naoto was the one to break the silence. "We better prepare for that inevitability."
"What should we do?" Ken asked.
"Preaching about it won't work. The public will think we're like those Nyxism lunatics," Junpei said.
"Especially if it came from your mouth, Stupei," Yukari snarked playfully. Everybody laughed at the mock surprise on the cap wearer's face.
"I'll have the Kirijo group secretly set up bunkers like the one we fought two of the Full Moon Shadows to help prepare for the worst. We'll start by restoring that one," Mitsuru said.
"I'm gonna train even harder in the event that I have to not fight again, but to protect dear to me again," added Akihiko.
"Although I'm a weapon, I think I'd rather be a healer this time around and continue with my doctorate," said Aigis.
Before anybody else could say anything, Theo said, "Hamuko, it's time we returned to the Seal." Everyone gasped at that announcement. He then added, "I wish you could stay with your friends as well, but we can't leave the Seal unattended for too much longer."
Hamuko could tell that everybody's hearts fell, hers included. It took a few minutes before the auburn haired girl sadly nodded and broke the silence. "It's been fun seeing all of you again. I just want to make one last request to all of you. Please live for me. Don't go and fight in that war. I want to see you all die of old age and not from fighting. Do go and teach, prevent and heal, but not fight please. It would just break my heart."
Her teary-eyed plea really hit home with everyone. They all silently nodded to her and to each other to attempt what she asked. Finally, she gave everyone a very big hug and a few kind words of goodbye.
To Souji and Yukiko: "Thank your friends for me for helping your journey and for finding their true selves."
To Ken: "Keep growing up strong and remembering to be a kid once in a while."
To Mitsuru: "Take time to walk out of the busy life and smell the roses."
To Akihiko: "Remember your sister and me but don't let them haunt you. Learn to let go and live."
To Koromaru: "Protect the shrine and friends with all your might."
To Junpei: "Love Chidori with everything you got."
To Aigis: "Keep living and learning as a human. Don't worry about your promise to protect me."
To Fuuka: "Always be true to yourself but also keep improving as well."
To Naoto: "Be strong as always but also embrace your feminine side as well."
To Yukari: "Take care of my brother, you hear?"
To Minato: "And you better take care of best friend, onii-chan."
And finally to Shinjiro: "Don't always be alone. Live for me and live your life to the fullest." They shared one very long, final kiss goodbye before she left once more.
Walking away from her friends with watery eyes, Hamuko waved goodbye before ascending the stairs to return to the Great Seal. Midway up the staircase, she turned around and stared at her departing friends. "I hope I can see them again," she said.
"I hope so too. But if not in this lifetime, maybe in the next one," replied Ryoji.
"We'll make sure that happens," Theo agreed.
Hamuko turned to look at both of them with a sad smile.
Afterthoughts:
As always, any constructive, non-flaming reviews are always welcome. I really want to know what I'm doing well and bad.
I realize that Theo and Ryoji weren't really in this chapter that much but they pretty much knew that this was for Hamuko and her friends and didn't want to interrupt.
I'm not fond of the anime name for the P4 MC, Yu Narukami (roughly translates to "thunder god"). Sounds too "theme-y" for my tastes. At any rate, my plans already had the Souji Seta name set in stone and you'll see why in a couple of chapters.
I changed Naoto's origin from the typical Arisato kin to family friends because it was getting a little clichéd. Not that what I'm doing is any more clichéd, mind you. Also, I had issues with whether I should add ideas like this (namely Naoto appearing) when I don't have any plans set in stone. I hope that I can think of something coherent for her and the other characters' successors.
Hopefully, the next chapter won't take at long to do and will be much easier to write. See you then!
