Persona 3
Chapter 2
S.E.E.S
"How long will it take to recover?" Akihiko Sanada politely asked the doctor. He was in Tatsumi Memorial Hospital, sitting on the white bed in one of the rooms. In the back of his mind, he noted that the new student, Shujinko Arisato, was staying in this hospital too.
The doctor faced him as he held up Akihiko's medical records and X-ray results. "Hm… perhaps a month or so. It's not as bad as you seem to think."
"Ah…good." But he slipped on his shirt with some difficulty, despite the doctor's assurances. He then looked around the room. "Doctor, where's…?"
"Oh, you mean that pretty redhead? Is she your girl friend?"
Akihiko, who was usually unaffected by these sorts of comments if not vehemently against, blushed a deep crimson shade. "I… we – she's not…!"
The doctor laughed. "Don't get all flustered. She told me that there's a friend she wants to visit while she's here. Eh… Shu… Shujinko Arisato, if I'm not mistaken."
The other's heart sank all of a sudden and a frown marred his face. "…Arisato? Again…?" a bitter feeling, one that perhaps resembled jealousy, filled him. He stood up from his seat and tried to control his emotions. "I see. I'll be going then."
"Aren't you going to wait for your girl friend? She said she's going to come back…"
A bitter laugh escaped his lips. "…Mitsuru never goes back."
Only forward.
"She always leaves me behind."
Never lets anyone catch up.
Akihiko approached the door and just as he closed it behind him, the doctor heard him say:
"And she's not my girl friend."
oOo
A week or so passed before Shujinko Arisato actually woke up from his slumber after the battle, that night of the full moon. The Dark Hour occurred every night; never ceasing, never changing. On the day that Shujinko went back to school again, Yukari informed him that there will be a meeting at the dormitory after school.
Sure enough, he went back early and went to the 4th floor lounge, with the big screen and computers. Yukari had been waiting for him and once they were inside, he saw three other people. One was, of course, Mitsuru Kirijo, the charismatic Student Council President. There was a middle-aged man, Shuji Ikutsuki, who he met some time ago. He was supposed to be a chairman of some sort.
And then there was a third; a handsome, confident–looking boy with silver hair and glaring eyes. Shujinko somehow felt very uncomfortable under his gaze. It was as if… he was hated already.
"Ah, there you are." Shuji Ikutsuki said, "I'm glad that you're okay. The reason I asked you here is because I needed to talk to you. Please, have a seat."
He did as he was told and sat down, a chair away from the silver-haired guy. "Oh before that. I believe I mentioned him earlier, but this is Akihiko Sanada." Now that he thought about it, Shujinko did remember the chairman mentioning something about another occupant of the gloomy dormitory.
"How ya doin'?" Akihiko greeted casually, as if he hadn't been glaring at Shujinko a while ago.
The latter did not reply, but Shuji started speaking again. "Okay, let me start off by asking you this: would you believe me if I said that a day consists of more than 24 hours?"
"…excuse me?" what nonsense.
In her seat across Akihiko, Mitsuru chuckled. "I'm not surprised by your reaction. However, you've already experienced this truth first hand. Do you remember the night you came here?" he remembered it very well. That had been one creepy night. "You had to have noticed the signs….the streetlights went out… nothing was working…there were coffins everywhere… didn't it feel like you were in a different time? That's the Dark Hour – a time period hidden between one day and the next."
Shujinko blinked. "I don't get it."
Ikutsuki smiled good-naturedly. "I know how you feel. Who would believe such a story? But the Dark Hour occurs each night, right at midnight. It'll happen tonight and every night to come."
Then came Akihiko's deep, smooth voice, "Normal people don't realize it since they're all sleeping inside their coffins. But that's not what makes the Dark Hour so interesting." He smirked, standing up and gesturing enthusiastically to emphasize his point. "You saw those creatures. We call them Shadows. They only appear during the Dark Hour and attack anyone not in a coffin. It's our job to defeat them. Sounds exciting huh?"
Mitsuru stood up abruptly, highly irritated. "Akihiko! Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!" her voice cracked a little.
Akihiko flinched, seemingly offended as he glared mildly at her. Shujinko figured that he was like that to everyone. "Now, now. He does his work well." Ikutsuki cut in. Then to the new student, "Long story short, we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad – S.E.E.S for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating shadows. Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club advisor."
"A shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; the victim becomes a living corpse. They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them." Mitsuru said.
"But…" he started. "How do you fight them?"
"Although rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour." The chairmand explained. "Some may even awaken to a power that enables them to fight the Shadows. That's a Persona – the power you used the other night. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona users. Which means it's all up to you guys."
"I see…"
"I'm glad you're quick to understand."
Mitsuru stood up and approached the table in the center of the room. It was then that Shujinko noticed a silver case placed on top of it. The redhead bent to open it, only to reveal a silver handgun with the engraved letters S.E.E.S. It was similar to the one Yukari had… the one he used to summon Orpheus…
"What he's trying to say is that we want you to join us. We've prepared an Evoker for you. We'd like you to lend us your strength." She said, looking him straight in the eye.
As he found himself drowning in her gaze, he knew he wouldn't be able to say no. "Alright." He could feel a burning glare directed at him; perhaps it was from Akihiko…?
Yukari, whose existence he once again forgot about, sighed. "I was afraid you'd say no!" then the brunette smiled happily. "Welcome aboard!"
The chairman spoke, "Thank you so much! I'm really glad! Oh, I almost forgot, about your room assignment… why don't you just stay here, in you current room? I don't know what the holdup is, but I guess it worked out in the end."
Yukari seemed uncomfortable. "Holdup? But wasn't that…oh, never mind, it doesn't matter anymore."
oOo
Further into the night, when Shujinko lied in bed while he stared at the ceiling, he heard his name being called. "Hey! It's me! Can you come down here for a sec?" It was Yukari, calling from the first floor. The next moment, he was already standing beside her by the front door of the dormitory building. Akihiko was there too... "Okay, he's here now. What's this all about?"
"There's someone I wanna introduce." Akihiko said, "Hey, hurry up," he called, as he pulled the door open.
"Hold your horses, this is freakin' heavy." The voiced sounded familiar… sure enough, a classmate of his entered the door. A tall, grinning boy with a small goatee and a cap arrived, pulling with him his luggage.
"J-Junpei?! Why is he here?!" Yukari exclaimed in disbelief. Her eyes widened. "Wait, don't tell me…"
"This is Junpei Iori from Class 2-F. He'll be staying here as of today." Akihiko said.
"Wazzup?" Junpei greeted cheerfully.
"He's staying here? You've gotta be kidding me!"
"I bumped into him the other night. He has the potential but he just awakened to it recently. I told him about us and he agreed to help." The silver-haired boy explained.
"You have the potential? Really?"
"He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store, surrounded by a bunch of coffins." Junpei recounted. "I don't remember much, but…man, that was embarrassing. He said that's, ya know, completely normal… in the beginning. Like, being confused and not remembering anything. Did ya guys know that?"
"Didn't happen to me." Shujinko couldn't help but say.
"Big deal. It happens to everyone else! But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys. I had no idea. I'm glad I'm not the only one. It could get kinda lonely, ya know. I bet you're stoked too, right? Having me join…"
"Huh? Uh… y-yeah!" Yukari didn't sound so convincing.
"Well, enough with the introductions. I think we're about ready…" Akihiko interrupted with a stern, but slightly anticipating voice.
"Oooh, we're gonna go do something? Sweetness!" Junpei said.
"With this many people, we can start exploring that place."
The brunette looked skeptical. "You mean…Tartarus?"
Junpei looked at her with a questioning look on his face and asked, "Tartarus? What's that? It sounds like toothpaste."
"We believe we can find the reason for the Dark Hour there." Akihiko explained.
"I hope so." Yukari murmured.
"The Chairman will give us the details tomorrow night, so be ready."
oOo
Gekkoukan High – it was a large, prestigious school that ranked to be one of the top schools in Japan. It held many activities and facilities, together with a wide variety of club choices for the students. Its teachers were known to be a little odd, but highly knowledgeable and skillful in carrying out lectures. Not only this, the Kirijo Group was the school's sponsor; a powerful, international corporation which boasts innovation in many industries.
Of course, it would only be natural that the Student Council President would be a member of the Kirijo Group: Mitsuru Kirijo. However, this was not the only reason she was elected.
Beautiful, charismatic, passionate and benevolent – she could only be described as 'perfect'.
Even when she only passed by, people would take the time to look at her, to at least get a glimpse of her stunning presence. She was calm and composed, firm and hard-working. Whenever anyone saw her, they would sense an indescribably aura – sort of calming but authoritative, charming but demanding, confident but humble.
However, all of these seemed to be thrown out the window whenever Akihiko Sanada was concerned – no one knew about that, of course, is what she liked to think. Akihiko always seemed to be able to break her composure… to pull down the walls she had built up… to open up the heart she had closed down…
"Argh…" she mumbled to herself, irritated, as she walked briskly towards the 2-F classroom. "Where did he run off to? I told him to rest at home…"
But before that, she burst into the classroom and was grateful to find that who she was looking for were gathered right there in the center of the room. All heads turned to her almost immediately and all activities stopped just to watch her. "Can I have a minute?" she asked, as she approached the threesome – Shujinko Arisato, Yukari Takeba and Junpei Iori – who were there.
"Come to the lounge when you get back to the dorm. I have something to tell everyone." Her voice was hasty – she had to find Akihiko right away before he got himself into trouble.
"Oh, are we having…" Junpei said. "…that talk?"
"I'll save the details for later. See you there." and with that, she hurried out of the classroom. Now, the only place left…
She went down the staircase at the southern end of the corridor. She exited the door at the foot of the stairs, which led outside by a garden and to another corridor where most of the athletic club meetings took place. There were two doors on each side of the wall and she entered the one on the right.
As Mitsuru entered, all heads once again turned to her, even the two students competing in the boxing ring. There was silence as she scanned the crowd. Then she saw the unmistakable silvery hair among the group of boys. "Akihiko!" she called, almost angrily.
Akihiko jumped a little in surprise and turned towards her. It was only then that he realized just why the club had suddenly fallen silent… "Mitsuru?"
"They're on first name basis, aren't they?" someone in the crowd whispered.
Mitsuru stomped towards him and poked his shoulder. He winced, but did not make a sound. "You! I told you to stay at home." She said through gritted teeth, with a voice low enough so that he was the only one who could hear. "You should be resting like the injured man that you are!"
He scowled at her. "…Mitsuru, I was only watching."
She folded her arms over her chest, as a worried look took over her usually calm face. "But still, I…" she turned her eyes away and her next words were barely audible. "…I only want you to… heal as soon as possible, because I…"
There was silence in the room, as everyone seemed to be watching them even though they couldn't hear what the two were saying.
Akihiko stared at her, observing every detail of her troubled face, searching, hoping. "Because you what?" he tried to fight away the urge to reach out for her, to pull her into his arms and never let go… but if only she would continue that sentence the way he wanted her to, perhaps he need not fight his desires…
All of a sudden, as if coming back to her senses and gathering her composure, all emotion drained from her face and back into a strict, no-nonsense look. She was back in business. "The Tartarus must be investigated as soon as possible. I do not want to hold off the exploration just because of your carelessness."
A vein popped and Akihiko glared at her fiercely. But she stood her ground and did not falter.
However, when she turned to leave, Akihiko unconsciously reached out for her hand. His fingers brushed against hers lightly, but he quickly withdrew it. Mitsuru stopped when she felt his soft touch and she glanced back at him. But he had already looked away, with a pained expression on his face.
Deciding it had just been her imagination, Mitsuru left, despite her galloping heart.
Akihiko stared at the door that had closed behind her. The door that had closed in front of him.
Again, she had left him.
And as always, he let her leave him behind.
oOo
"Okay, everybody's here." Chairman Shuji Ikutsuki said, as they gathered in the lounge. "I'd like your undivided attention. For a long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only persona users we had. But that number recently jumped to five. Therefore, starting tonight at 12:00 am I'd like to commence the exploration of Tartarus."
Junpei scratched the back of his head. "Sorry, I asked this yesterday, but what's this Tartarus thing again?"
Yukari looked at him. "You haven't seen it, Junpei?"
"Hm?"
"It's no surprise. Since it only appears during the Dark Hour." Ikutsuki said.
"The Dark Hour?"
"Just like the shadows… interesting, huh?" Akihiko said, smirking smugly. "And it's the perfect place for us to train. You can think of it as a Shadow nest."
"Whoa…their nest, huh?"
"But what about your injury?" Yukari asked worriedly.
"Since Akihiko hasn't fully recovered yet, he'll only come as far as the entrance." Mitsuru cut in.
Akihiko looked dejected. "Yeah, I know."
Ikutsuki laughed. "Well, I'm sure he won't complain as long as you don't go too far in." and in a more serious tone, he said, "Since we're dealing with Shadows, Tartarus isn't something we can avoid."
Junpei stood up and punched the air excitedly. "Relax, I've got your backs!"
"I'm not so sure about this..." Yukari said.
"What about you, Mr. Chairman?" Shujinko asked, speaking for the first time.
"I'll stay here. As you know, I can't summon a persona."
oOo
Shujinko Arisato could not believe where they were being led to by Mitsuru and Akihiko. They had left the Dormitory Building, past the Nakaganaki Shrine, from Iwatodai to Port Island Station… the exact path taken to Gekkoukan High. Sure enough, the five of them arrived in front of the high gates of their school.
"This is it? This is the place? Why here?" Junpei asked, obviously shocked.
"Just wait a few minutes… it's almost midnight." Akihiko replied patiently, watching his wristwatch run.
12:00 am. The darkened sky became a haunting greenish shade, a dark mist rose to surround them and all was still. So silent. Suddenly so lifeless.
Then without warning, the school buildings of Gekkoukan High started swaying. At first, it looked only as if it was being shaken by an earthquake. But after a while, its walls started bulging, and throbbing, almost as if it was alive.
And it grew taller, higher, into a tower of unbelievable heights. It seemed endless, as the top of the majestic tower was hidden from view, concealed by dark clouds. It loomed over all of them, like a haunting menace waiting to be awakened.
"This is the labyrinth that reveals itself during the Dark Hour."
"Labyrinth? What are you talking about? What happened to our school?!" Junpei was panicking.
"Once the Dark Hour passes, everything returns to normal." Mitsuru assured him.
"This is the nest you were talking about? But why? Why'd our school turn into a giant tower?!"
But the reply was only silence.
"You don't know either?"
"I'm afraid not."
"I'm sure it's complicated. Who cares anyway?" Yukari interrupted. "It's not like it would change our minds about fighting."
"Well, maybe now we'll find out. Mitsuru and I have only gone in to take a peek; this will be our first time exploring it. Exciting, isn't it? There has to be some sort of clue in here about the Dark Hour." Akihiko voiced out, almost excitedly.
"Akihiko, I respect your enthusiasm, but you won't be accompanying us today." Mitsuru said.
He scowled disappointedly. "I know. You don't have to remind me…"
oOo
Their steps echoed as they walked inside. The room was large and incredible to behold. The floor was checkered and there were decorated marble pillars supporting the arched ceiling. The walls appeared to be constantly changing... In the center of the room was a high, golden staircase that led to an open door. From where they stood, what seemed to lie beyond the door was endless darkness…
"Whoa, it's just as cool in the inside…" Junpei mumbled in awe.
"But it sure is creepy…" Yukari said, folding her arms around herself.
"This is only the entrance. The labyrinth lies beyond the doorway at the top of the stairs." Mitsuru said, moving to the foot of the staircase.
"First, we'll have you 3 get a feel of this place. Why don't you go take a look around?" Akihiko said.
"What?! By ourselves?!" the brunette squeaked fearfully.
Mitsuru smiled comfortingly at her. "We're not asking you to go very far and I'll be feeding you info from here."
"So you two never didn't plan on coming in the first place?" Shujinko asked.
"That's right. We're also going to appoint a leader to make any necessary decisions."
"For real? One of us? Oh! Oh! Me, me, me! Pick me!" Junpei enthusiastically volunteered, jumping up and down on his feet.
"…. Uh... You're in charge." Akihiko acknowledged Shujinko Arisato, despite his dislike of the kid.
"W-wait, why him?! He doesn't look like a leader!"
"But he has fought them before…" Yukari said.
"Seriously?"
"That's true but there's another reason…" Akihiko took out his gun and pointed it right at his temples. "You two, can you summon your Persona without any difficulties like he can? These are Shadows we're talking about here. Without your persona, you're screwed."
oOo
They were alone. Akihiko Sanada was sitting on the last step of the staircase while Mitsuru stood guard by the entrance door. His eyes were fixed on her, watching, observing. "Can you all hear me?" she asked aloud.
Out of nowhere, Junpei's voice could be heard. "Whoa… is that you?!"
"I'll be providing audio back up from here on out."
"Wait, ya mean you can see inside here?!"
"It's my persona's ability. I'd like to join you but the structure of Tartarus changes from day to day. That's why outside support is imperative." She explained, pacing around the room.
"Well, that makes me feel a whole lot better." Yukari mumbled to herself, but she was heard anyway.
"Now based on your current location," Mitsuru continued. "You can expect to encounter enemies at any minute. They shouldn't be too tough but proceed with caution. Practice makes perfect."
"Right!" and the three were off, exploring the first floor of the gigantic labyrinth they called the Tartarus.
As the two of them were left there, silence reigned. It was not quite awkward, but not exactly comfortable either. Still, Akihiko continued to watch the redheaded beauty in his midst. "Aki… why are you staring? Is there something on my face?"
"Ah… maybe." He stood up from the stairs and approached her. She watched him as he drew near, wondering what he was up to.
Finally, they stood face to face. "What?" Mitsuru could hardly suppress her blush, as he was standing so closely that she could almost feel his breath.
He raised his hand and reached out for her. "There's something…" he put his hand on top of her head, entangling his fingers through her soft, red locks. Then slowly, as he stared into her eyes as if in a trance, he slid his fingers down her hair.
"Aki–" she could hardly breathe. They were lost in each others' eyes, drowning in one another's presence, succumbing to their desires…
"…on your face…" his voice was low and husky, almost seductive. He caressed her soft cheek, tracing her jaw line; slowly, he bent and leaned his head down towards her, to meet her lips into what he hoped to be their first kiss…
"Mitsuru, are there any more shadows in the area?" it was Shujinko Arisato's voice, resounding throughout the room. Akihiko's lips had been mere centimeters from Mitsuru's. But the interruption had caused her to abruptly break away, shattering the moment, missing the opportunity.
"Wait a moment, I will scan the area." She spoke in her usual voice, as if nothing had happened.
Akihiko watched her, hand still in midair where it had been caressing her just a moment ago. His face remained stoic, but his eyes were raging with so many emotions… he closed his open hand in disappointment and withdrew it back to his side.
He had let her slip away again.
Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. School's back here, you see. So I've been quite busy. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter! And I swear, something should have happened to Akihiko and Mitsuru during the time that they were always alone by the entrance of Tartarus!
If you want to, skip the parts where I just copy the dialogue from the game. Be careful though, 'cause there might be variations sometimes.
Summary: Mitsuru could have just been less stubborn, Akihiko could have just been more honest. Perhaps their story would have been less painful, more definite.
Persona 3
Unseeing Eyes
By: Pretend.Existence