Makoto grabbed Akira's hand, drawing him closer to the wall, while Naoto,Yu and Minato were concentrated on the Shadow before them.
Shadow moved closer to them, letting out a small groan. Akira smelled ironic. The smell made him nausea and panic. Covering his nose, he furrowed his brows and looked at the surrounding.
"Niijima-san…" He tackled Makoto's sleeve, drawing her attention to the other side of them.
Seeing the scene before her, Makoto let out a gasp.
"Minato-san! Yu-san!"
The ugly Shadow blocked the road on the other side, leaving the group with no turning back. Minato and Yu exchanged a glance, nodding to each other as Yu quickly shielded Akira and Makoto on the other side, while Minato handled the Shadow at the front. Naoto decided to stay close to Makoto and Akira to make sure they were out of Shadow's touch.
Still, Makoto pulled out a gun for self-defending. She smiled at Akira, assuring him.
"Don't worry, just leave those Shadow to Minato-san and Yu-san."
Her smile calmed him down. He trailed his gaze to the gun she held on hand, asking.
"...What is the gun for?"
"Self-defense, of course. We can't rely on everything on them. We have to protect ourselves, too." Makoto smiled, looking at the gun. "This gun is specially made to fight Shadow."
In Akira's knowledge, a normal weapon wasn't effective on Shadow. If he remembered correctly, Kirijo Group did promote that their weapon was specially made to fight Shadow.
"Here they come!"
Akira had no idea who said that. By the time the voice announced, all the Shadow pounded on them. Akira covered his head, fearing the worst. However, just like Makoto told him, she was shooting the Shadow with the gun.
While the others…
"Come, Izanagi!" Some blue light surrounded Yu when a figure with a metal mask and long spear appeared on top of him.
Dumbfounded, Akira almost forgot to catch his breath.
This was the first time Akira saw Persona, and it was incredibly beautiful. On the other hand, Minato summoned a blue human figure with huge string.
"...Go, Orpheus."
Under their command, Izanagi cast Electric and while Orpheus cast Fire magic, falling on the Shadow directly. Shadow shouted sharply and loudly until Akira forced to cover his ears.
However, some Shadows didn't seem to be affected by the attack and continued to them.
"Sukuna Hikona!"
Unlike Yu and Minato, Naoto's Persona was tiny with a very long blade. Sukuna Hikona cast Megidola, falling onto the Shadows. Unlike element attacks, Megidola was Almighty magic that couldn't be resisted by any Shadow or Persona. The magic attack was incredibly strong against any Shadow.
Light pierced into the eyes, Akira used his palm to cover it from reaching to him. From the finger joint, Akira could see the Shadows started to dissolve into ashes and disappeared.
"That's...the power of Persona…"
"Different Persona has the different ability, depending on each master." Still alerted, Makoto explained to him timidly. Although most of the Shadows were defeated, new Shadows kept coming out.
The trio continued attacked Shadows with their Personas while looking for a chance to get out of this place. However, no matter how many Shadows they defeated, more Shadows were coming out of nowhere.
"This is bad…!"
"...The people that used to gather here seem to have strong dark emotion. That's the cause of this Shadows." Minato caught a sight of the unrecognized corpses aside, summoning Orpheus. "Don't rush. There should be a culprit behind all this Shadow...Makoto!"
Minato's voice alerted Makoto and found a Shadow pounded on her while she was distracted. She quickly shot, but it didn't seem to be able to stop the Shadow-
"Watch out!"
Under the critical moment, Akira rushed toward Makoto and together they fell to the other side. Unable to catch its enemy, the Shadow let out a growl and cast Agi on them.
Minato shifted Orpheus to protect them, but in the cost of being scratched by Shadow while he tried to dodge. He rolled few times on the ground, pulling out the gun and shot.
"Minato-san!"
"Yu, there it is! I saw it!" Catching his breath and retrieving Orpheus, Minato pointed to the deepest part of the alley, revealing the fact that the culprit was there.
"...Got it!" Yu changed his persona from Izanagi to Black Frost. "Naoto, help me!"
"Yes, senpai!"
Both summoned Black Frost and Sukuna Hikona, casting Fire magic at the same time. Like a pillar, the Fire burst out from the underground, spreading to all the Shadows.
"Blazing Hell!"
Akira coughed a few times to clear the hot air he accidentally inhaled into his lungs. With the flame, he also saw the culprit that was hiding behind all the other Shadows.
It was a Lion, a pitch black giant lion with extremely long sharp teeth. Its size was three times larger than other Shadows.
Akira gasped, taking a step back, but fell down at the end.
"...A Nightmare level Shadow." Makoto came to his side, alerted. "Are you okay, Kurusu-kun?"
"That Shadow...can they fight against something like that?"
No matter how strong they were, they were human. How could a human fight against the monster like that?
"Don't worry. You'll see." Makoto gave him a smile to assure him.
Without the rest of the Shadow, they could clearly see the Lion Shadow. Minato and Yu stood in front of the Lion Shadow, while Naoto stood a few steps behind them.
The Lion Shadow growled, charging out. Minato and Yu dodged went off separately to opposite direction.
Raising the guns, both of them shot at the Lion Shadow at the same time. Naoto summoned her Persona, casting Garudyne on the Shadow.
Landing, Yu, and Minato summoned Persona and cast Bufudyne and Agidyne on Lion Shadow. As the result, Fire magic did no damage on it, while Ice and Wind did minor damages.
"...What are they doing?" Frowning, Akira asked.
"They are exploring the Shadow's weakness."
"...Weakness?"
"Every Shadow has a weakness. If we can hit their weaknesses, we can defeat them easily. But..." Makoto bit her bottom lips, twisting her brows.
"Fire magic doesn't work on it," Minato said.
"Electric magic does minor damage." Yu dismissed his Persona after several trying.
"Physical attack doesn't work!" Naoto cursed, putting down her gun.
"In other words...it has no weakness." Sighing, Minato rubbed his hair in frustration. "Anyway...we have to keep going on. Yu, I'll summon Thor."
"Sure, Minato-san." Widening his eyes for a moment, Yu immediately understood what's in Minato's mind. They've been done a lot of training and battles together. That's the slightest chance he would mistake. Then, he summoned Takemikazuchi.
"Come, Thunder Call!"
"Watch out!" Naoto pounded on Makoto and Akira, covering them from the heavy electricity. In the corner of his eyes, Akira saw the Lion Shadow screamed, slowly burned into ashes. He smelled burning in the air.
At last, without realizing, he lost consciousness.
In the dark small alley, a boy trembled heavily. He almost died under the ambushed of those monsters. He thought his life was done for now! He ran and ran and ran, finding a shelter to hide. He managed to escape from the monsters, but his friends didn't make it. They all died before his eyes.
What else could he do? The monsters were out there...he couldn't get out of here! Was he destined to get killed here?
He cried and trembled non-stop, covering his mouth. He had difficulty to breathe, but he had to lower his voice. Who knew where the monsters were?
"Shiho..."
He cried for her name. He wanted to see her now. Shiho was his childhood friend, the only girl that occupied his heart the most. She was a nice and lovely girl. She loved Volleyball and joined the Volleyball Club. With Boxing Club disbanded, he didn't see her since then.
He was such a fool. If he was destined to be killed here, he wanted to see her for one last time.
As he kept in this position for the rest of the hour, he heard some voices.
It was humans' voices. They were chatting while getting further into the alley. He remained unmoved, eyes locked at the view outside. Like a century, he saw five people walked into the alley. One of them was wearing Kyoto High's uniform, while the other four people were complete strangers. What were they doing here?
He still remained unmoved for the time being.
If those monsters were nearby, he had no chance to escape. If he wanted to get out of here alive, he needed to wait for the right timing.
The cold air filled his sense as he concentrated on the movement of the five people.
Great...it seemed safe for now. Maybe he should consider getting out of here…?
As he rubbed his numbed legs, he heard the mumble from the group of people.
"Something is over there."
Wait, what!? Were the monsters out there? No, the hell! He shut his eyes and covered his ears. He expected to hear the scream from the group, but instead, he heard nothing.
Maybe because he covered his ears so he couldn't hear a voice?
He didn't know how long he remained there, by the time he re-opened his eyes, the air smelled burn.
He carefully crawled out from the spot, watching around.
"No one…?"
The group of people were gone, and too the monster. He wiped the thick sweat off his face, smiling.
Was he safe? He was safe, right? He was safe!
Damn it, he was safe!
He got up from the floor, ran out from the back alley. By the time right after he escaped, the police came and shut the place down.
Light pierced into his eyes, forcing Akira to shut his eyes tied. And then, with a rub, he opened his eyes again, meeting the white ceiling.
Feeling confused, he tried to get up. There's no doubt he was in the hospital...but why was he here?
He didn't remember much about what happened, and how he was hospitalized. He felt stingy in his head. Slowly, he recalled some of them.
He was, together with the Shadow Specialist, heading to the back alley at the Kyoto Shopping District. There, they were ambushed by the Shadow, but the members of Shadow Specialist defeated them. But...why was he here? And where were the others?
"Kurusu-kun?" A voice startled him as he sank into the memories. He lifted his head, meeting the short brown-haired girl. "Thank god, you're awake."
"Niijima-san..."
Makoto Niijima, the apprentice came with Shadow Specialist. She was the one helping him in the back alley.
"...Why am I here?"
"You don't remember? You fainted during the battle. I think it was too shocking for you to face the battle in such a close range." Makoto smiled bitterly, pouring a cup of hot water for him.
Was that so? Damn...why was he so weak? He rubbed his hair in frustration. But...that's no doubt a tough battle. Were they always fought under such condition? Were they always put their life at the front-line, as if not knowing whether they would survive to the next?
His body started to tremble. If he was there without the members of Shadow Specialist, he could never survive. If he took a step wrong, he would end up like Ryuji.
The battle was terrified. The Shadow was terrified. Everything was terrified. He couldn't stop his body from shaking.
"It's okay, Kurusu-kun. You're safe now." Makoto put a hand on top of his trembling fists, trying to ease his terror. "Minato-san, Yu-san and Naoto-san have eliminated all the Shadow at the back alley."
Taking some deep breaths, Akira finally stopped trembling.
"...Niijima-san, can you tell me...who are they? How they obtain such a power?"
The power of Persona. Even until now, the people who awakened with this power were less than expected. There was no requirement to obtain Persona. Kirijo Group tried a lot of experiments, but the outcome was disappointing.
Makoto stared at Akira for a while, remaining silent. She didn't answer him straightly. Instead, she was trying to figure the reason why he wanted to know that.
Both of them stared at each other for a few minutes, until Makoto averted her gaze with a sigh.
"...I don't know how they obtain the power of Persona either. There's no special requirement for that, as you know. But I've heard their stories a lot...I think it wouldn't hurt to share with you." Makoto stood up, walking to the window side. "...One thing I can say about Minato-san and Yu-san is that they are not heroes."
"What do you mean by that…?"
"I think you have noticed it as well...Minato-san and Yu-san's power are special. Normal people can only summon one Persona, but they can summon multiple Persona. Their powers are the treasure of Shadow Specialist. However, this power brings nothing but pain to them."
Letting out a sigh, she looked out from the window and continued.
"Do you remember when was the first Overlord Level Shadow appeared? It was 6 years ago. 6 years ago, it was the year human discovered the existence of Shadow. Kirijo Group gathered some people with the power of Persona to fight against them. It went smoothly at first. Everyone thought that they could eliminate Shadow in no time, and peace would return to the world, until..."
The first Overlord Level Shadow appeared.
Akira remembered it. He was 11 that year. Kyoto didn't receive many damages, but he watched the news on TV. The Overlord Level Shadow - Nyx, was none of the Shadow could compare. It was extremely beautiful yet dangerous at the same time. It caused severe damage to Tokyo, and many people died. He didn't know how they managed to stop such a monster, but Kirijo Group did it.
"...It was Minato-san who defeated Nyx, with the price of his right eye and lifespan. He collapsed immediately after Nyx disappeared. His friends told me...he was almost breathless at that moment. They tried their best to keep him alive. He spent 5 years to recover, in comatose. Although he is awake, his lifespan is greatly shortened."
Akira gulped, knowing it's better not to say anything at this moment.
"As for 3 years ago...you know it, right? The second Overlord Level Shadow - Izanami appeared in Yasoinaba. From what I've heard, Kirijo Group tried to contact with the members in the town but failed due to the mysterious fog that covered the town. It was Yu-san and his friends who stopped Izanami."
From the previous story, Akira knew it wouldn't be that easy to defeat Overlord Level Shadow without any scarification. He waited for Makoto to continue.
"Yu-san did defeat Izanami, but in the exchange of his uncle's family. His uncle Ryotaro Dojima and cousin Nanako Dojima were dead in the incident. His girlfriend fell into the coma in the cost of saving him from fatal damage."
Hearing that, Akira let out a gasp. What a price to become a hero? How they survive after such a tragedy?
"When I first joined Shadow Specialist, Yu-san just recovered from his trauma. He almost gave up his life, trying to suicide but failed to die. Just like Minato-san, his friends tried to keep him alive. Even losing all the one he loves, Yu-san still stands against Shadow. I think aside from fighting Shadow, he had no motive in life."
What's the life they had spent in the past few years? Was that what people called heroes? Aside from seeing them as heroes, how else people looked at them? Some pathetic guys that lost their loves and lifespan in fighting Shadow?
This was...too heart wrenching.
Now he understood why Makoto said so. They weren't heroes. They're no different than anyone of them. They deserved a better life than anyone of them.
He clenched his fists tightly. Letting out a shaky breath, he lifted his head and looked at the girl.
"...Where are they?"
"They're investigating the cause of the Shadow." Makoto lowered her head. "Do you remember the corpses at the back alley? After some investigation, we found out that they're students from Kyoto High. Naoto-san assumes there must be some connection to this, so they went to the school."
"Kyoto High…? That's the school I'm attending." Akira frowned. He started to have a bad feeling.
"Really? Do you find something unusual at school?"
"Unusual…?" Akira frowned, trying to search through his brain. For what he could consider as unusual...could that incident consider as one? "I don't know if that considers as unusual, but the atmosphere at school seems to change due to the Boxing Club disbanded. How should I put it...like everyone is feeling suspicious toward each other or disliking each other. And...the fighting activities are getting hotter lately."
As if comprehended, Makoto widened her eyes. Just as she's about to say anything, the door slid opened. Both of them shocked, jumped up.
"...Is that true?" It was the blue-haired boy. His face clearly darkened.
"Minato-san!"
"It's true. If you don't believe me, you may ask other students from Kyoto High."
Minato hesitated for a while but making the decision without wasting any time.
"Makoto, contact Naoto and Yu at once. Akira, come with me."
"Y-Yes."
"Why are you here?" Following behind Minato, Akira asked. He thought the blue-haired boy should be out there with Naoto and Yu.
"...I just come to check on you." Minato said without looking back. "Did Makoto tell you about me and Yu?"
"You heard that?" Flustering, Akira didn't deny.
"No, I just guess from that look of yours." Minato grinned. "You're too easy to see through."
"... ..."
Akira sighed. In the end, he was simply a kid to Minato, and he seemed enjoyed toying with him.
Still...was he really okay? He remembered Minato did say he was far from recovered...meaning that his condition didn't allow him to fight?
Akira suddenly bumped onto Minato back, hitting his face and his glasses almost dropped. He opened his mouth to complain but was shocked when he saw Minato's smile.
"...You don't have to worry about me. I know what happens to my body."
Akira scratched his face in embarrassment.
Was Minato a mind reader?
"Where's Minato-san, senpai?" Looking around, Naoto asked. If she was right, Minato should be with them a moment ago.
"He went to check on Kurusu. He seems to concern about the boy a lot."
"Yes...that's kind of rare for him." Naoto chuckled. "How about you, senpai? Are you feeling okay?"
"I'm fine. Thanks, Naoto."
Seeing the smile of Yu, Naoto blushed. It's been awhile since Yu smiled like that.
She and Yu knew each other at Yasoinaba, where Izanami appeared. Yu was her senpai at school, and she used to call him that, even they're graduated. Yu was the first awakened the power of Persona and helped to fight the Shadow appeared at the town. Later on, the other friends awakened their powers as well, including her. With the guide from Kirijo Group, they managed to defeat the Shadow and protect the town people. When they thought the fight was over, Izanami emerged from the Inner World, and her power was so strong that she managed to destroy half of the town in one strike.
It was the time Dojima family died. Yukiko Amagi, Yu's girlfriend was there to protect Dojima family, yet failed. Yukiko-senpai fell into the coma while Dojima family died. Yu collapsed right after that. Without Yu, they tried to fight Izanami but their powers were too far to defeat the monster. When they thought everything was going to end, Yu suddenly showed up and encouraged them to get up. It wasn't easy even Yu joined the fight, yet they managed to defeat Izanami in the end. However, the cost was too high.
Naoto had no idea why Yu suddenly showed up in the battle. Since he collapsed, everyone tried to comfort him, yet he rejected them. He pushed them away from him. She didn't know what made him stood up to fight against Izanami. If she must guess, she could only say Yu was fought to revenge. To revenge for Dojima family and Yukiko-san.
After the fight with Izanami, Yu was hospitalized right away. He shut himself up for two years, trying to suicide a few times. They had to send people to watch over him every day to avoid it from happening again. It was painful, but they had to do it. They had lost Dojima family and Yukiko-san was in the coma. They couldn't afford to lose Yu.
Even he was now right in front of her, this was simply a broken part of Yu Narukami. The real Yu had long gone together with Dojima family, while part of him was stored within Yukiko-san. The one she's seeing was simply a doll who wanted to fight Shadow.
It was their selfishness that turned Yu into the one he was.
She bit her bottom lip secretly. Sometimes, she felt it was best if Yu died in that battle so he wouldn't suffer so much, but that was ridiculous. She knew she relied on Yu so much. Yu was their mind pillar. Without Yu, they could never defeat Izanami. They could never awaken to the power of Persona. He was way too important to every one of them.
They were selfish.
"Naoto?"
Naoto startled as Yu called her.
"Y-Yes?"
"Are you okay? Come on, we're going."
"I-I'm coming…"
Pushing her feeling to the back of the head, Naoto quickly caught up her pace.
After the incident at the back alley, the appearance of Shadow exposed to the public. The police shut down the place for further investigation. The case panicked the people for now, but it also helped them easier in the investigation.
After having the clues of the corpses, they immediately headed to Kyoto High to further investigate. There were other high schools nearby this area. However, the students that went missing or dead only focused on Kyoto High. from experience, Naoto knew that the school smelled something. If it connected to the Shadow, they had to settle it as soon as possible. The longer Shadow exposed to the negative emotion, the more dangerous it would turn out to be.
"Here are the records of the dead or missing students." A female teacher Kawakami handed some documentation to Yu and Naoto. She sat down opposite them, clearly uncomfortable.
That was understandable. Where Shadow Specialist was, where Shadow was. To normal people, Shadow Specialist was no different than Shadow. Both were terrifying.
"...According to the database, they are mostly problem students with bad records. Let's see...some of them are from Boxing Club, huh?"
Naoto raised a brow at that comment. The teacher was clearly surprised by the fact, and more should hide behind the statement. Naoto remained silence, flipping through the records.
"...Pardon, the record here shows the Boxing Club was disbanded. May I know what happened?" Yu voiced out his question after reading through. They needed the hint. Any hint that would help.
Kawakami averted her gaze from Yu, lowering her head as if trying to hide something. Seeing that, Naoto quickly approached her.
"Please tell us whatever you know. We need to find the reason why Shadow appears in Kyoto."
Kawakami bit her bottom lip and struggled for a while. Then, she covered her face with both palms and exhaled deeply.
"...Alright, I'll tell you." Sighing again, she murmured under her breath. "Geez...why am I the one responsible to this…?"
Hearing that, Naoto exchanged a gaze with Yu, both let out a bitter smile.
"Actually, those students with bad records...they aren't really bad. They were champion, the star of the ex-Boxing Club." Kawakami folded her arms together. "However, everything changed when Volleyball Club advisor Kamoshida joined into the school. I don't know what he had done, but Boxing Club disbanded not long after that because of the attitude problem."
"Attitude problem?"
"...They hit Kamoshida." She ran her hand through her black short hair. "I've only heard from other teachers. When I was there, Kamoshida was bleeding and hospitalized for one whole week. Because of this, Boxing Club disbanded immediately. The one replacing Boxing Club is Kamoshida's Volleyball Club."
"You mean...he used the trick to pull Boxing Club down from the stage?" If that's true, this Kamoshida was a real jerk.
"I didn't say any of that." She shrugged. "The back alley is where the ex-Boxing Club members usually gathered after the incident. None of the teachers wants to get involved with them since then, including me."
Kawakami tried to show that she didn't care, but her expression betrayed her. Naoto took note of this, decided to keep it for herself.
More importantly, they knew the reason for the Shadow at the back alley.
The negative emotion of the ex-Boxing Club members was mostly the main reason behind the incident. Akira and his friend were unlucky to be dragged into this.
"Then, how is the Volleyball Club?" Yu asked.
"Under Kamoshida's training, the Volleyball Club is more than a star now." She opened her arms, shrugging. "However, there are non-stop bad rumors about this club."
"Bad rumors…?" Naoto raised her brows.
Kawakami adjusted her pose, looking uncomfortable for the question.
"...Hitting, sexual harassment, violence...sort like that. When we tried to dig it out, the club members deny them."
"What about the principal? Does he know about this?"
"He cares nothing but the performance of the school. He is the one bringing Kamoshida into the school, too." Talking about the principal, Kawakami frowned deeply.
It seemed the problem was deeper than they thought. If this situation continued, even they managed to eliminate all the Shadow by now, more Shadow would appear in the coming future. There's no end of this. The only way to eliminate Shadow was to solve the problem in reality.
Naoto rubbed her head. Things were complicated than they thought. However, without evidence, they could do nothing to Kamoshida.
"May I talk to the member of Volleyball Club?"
Kawakami pondered for a while, giving them an uncertain look.
"...You may try, but I'm not sure you'll get what you want."
"Don't worry. We just ask a couple of question." Yu assured her.
"Alright, give me a moment." Kawakami walked out of the room. A few minutes later, she came back with a boy. "You're lucky that Mishima is still at school. I'll leave him to you guys."
"W-Wait! What is this!?" The boy, Yuuki Mishima tried to get Kawakami back to the spot, but she simply flicked his hand off, leaving him in the room.
"Have a seat." Yu stood up, gesturing him to take the chair. "Don't worry, we'll just ask a couple of question." He smiled, trying to ease the boy's worries.
"Let us introduce ourselves. My name is Naoto Shirogane, a detective from the Shadow Specialist."
"Yu Narukami, from Shadow Specialist as well."
"Shadow Specialist!?" Mishima gasped loudly. "So the rumor is true? Shadow appeared in Kyoto!?"
"Calm down." Yu put a hand on Mishima's shoulder. "It's just at the beginning. Don't worry too much. We're here to prevent it from happening."
"I-I see…"
"What's your name?" Yu led the topic. Naoto remained silence for now. She knew Yu was the best person to handle this.
Although she hoped she could do that behalf of him, she wasn't suitable to deal with this at all. Among all the people she knew, she always not the better one.
"Yuuki...Yuuki Mishima."
"Did you hurt?" Yu was talking about the bruises on his face and arms. Mishima quickly covered his bruises and extremely afraid.
"N-No...I was rolling down from the stair a few days ago…"
"Is that so?" Yu stared at Mishima. "You know you can talk freely here. There are no other people here except you and the two of us."
"I-It's true! I…!"
"Mishima-kun, this is to prevent Shadow from emerging to our world." Following up on the topic, Naoto pressed purposely. And well, the boy was clearly shaken.
"I…"
At the same time, Naoto felt her phone vibrated. She excused herself, walking to the room corner.
"What is it, Makoto?"
"Naoto-san, is everything okay at Kyoto High?"
"Everything is fine. We got new information about the school, and is questioning one of the students from the Volleyball Club." Was it she, or Makoto sounded urgent?
"Actually, we're heading to Kyoto High now…"
"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!"
A scream cut the place out.
Okay...first, let me apologize for the late update. I lost the motivation to write anything recently due to stress and everything. Life really makes things difficult sometimes, huh?
Well then, chapter 2 is up. I want to continue writing, but that will make the chapter extremely long, so I have to pause here. Hope we can see each other in chapter 3 soon.
Thank you.
