Chapter 4

Author's Note: I just wanted to quickly say something about the last chapter. Firstly, I sorta felt it was a bit rushed so I apologize for that, I wanted to get to the main plot the sooner the better, to not bore the audience or whatever. But since that's out of the way, the real story begins.

Monday, April 11th

''Phew… I can't believe we were asleep for so long…'' said Yoshio, who was in front of Karosu's desk in class, before class started. ''Dude, all this is really strange. I don't even know what to think, anymore. Personas? Unlocking memories? What the hell's all that about?'' Yoshio complained. Karosu sighed, opening his textbook.

''But, to be honest, I kinda' wanna try out this new Persona power were s'posed to have…'' he continued. ''But still… All this is pretty sudden… and I don't even know how to fight or anything. So, when do you think we should go back there?'' Yoshio said, smiling eagerly. Karosu shrugged. ''You okay with Wednesday, then?'' he suggested. ''Sure.'' Karosu replied. ''Awesome, well then I-'' Yoshi couldn't finish speaking…

''Please take a seat, Yoshio-san.'' Said a raspy voice. ''O-oh… Ah ha ha ha…'' replied Yoshio scratching the back of his head. It was the Math's teacher, who had already arrived. Class began, and it seemed to never end.

After school…

Karosu began walking outside the school, but found Akane by the entrance. ''Uh…Hey.'' Karosu said, trying to smile. She looked back at Karosu, but with a straight face. ''Hey…'' she said. Karosu looked around, thinking of what to say. ''Are you going back to the dorm?'' she asked. Karosu nodded a few times. ''Would you like to walk together, Karosu-san?''.

''Sure.'' Karosu replied. She then began walking with Karosu. They stopped by Central Center, at a small café.

''Karosu-san…I feel somewhat sorry for you. You come here to Japan all the way from America and you get involved in all of this…'' she spoke. ''This is very confusing, though. What I can understand is we're supposed to seal away memories to prevent Shadows from… you know, killing.'' She said, looking at the coffee table.

''Don't worry about it, for now…'' said Karosu, trying to calm her down. ''Yeah…'' she replied, sighing. ''Karosu, if you don't mind me asking, why do you want to fight?'' she asked. Karosu stood silent for a moment, staring at Akane blankly.

''Y-…You don't have to answer if you don't want to.'' She commented. Karosu looked down, as a tear dropped from his cheek. ''I see...'' she said. ''Karosu-san… Have you… ever lost a relative?'' she asked. Karosu looked up at her, and nodded his head. ''Then we have something in common…'' she said.

''But I do not feel sad. Nor do I feel happy, mind you. Feelings… I do not understand the reasons anyone would have to be happy.'' She commented.

''I lost my mother, or so I think. I don't really know… One day she was just reported missing, and was never found again… She was so nice… and such a great speaksperson.'' Said Akane. ''But what do I gain by feeling sadness? Nothing. What do I gain by trying to make the world seem colorful once again? I gain nothing.'' She continued.

They shared the Evening together, and eventually arrived at the dorm. Karosu opened the dorm and Akane went in first. Yoshio must've been at his room, since there was nobody at the lobby. ''Karosu-san...'' Akane said, looking at Karosu. ''Thanks…'' she finally said, and so she climbed up the stairs into her room. Karosu decided it was probably time for him to sleep too. The voice rang once more in his head, before he went to sleep…

Thou art I…and I am thou…

Thou hast established a new bond...

It brings thee closer to a new life…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Lovers Arcana

Tuesday, April 12th

''Hey dude, guess what?'' said Yoshio, standing in front of Karosu's desk as usual. ''What's up?'' Karosu replied. ''Well, Kyoko's recently done a HUGE favor for us. She found this place near the school, it was supposed to be a pharmacy, but they never finished it and now it's an abandoned building, soooo, Kyoko went and brought some chairs, a cooler and some snacks to the place so that we can use it as, you know, our 'secret base', haha.'' Yoshio said, laughing.

Karosu was impressed and excited, too. ''Isn't that awesome? We should start thinking of a name for our group… we're like heroes now!'' said Yoshio. Karosu rubbed his chin, trying to think. ''Oh! I know! How about 'Secret Crusaders'! Or, or, or… 'Moden Samurais'… Actually, those two are kinda' lame…'' said Yoshio, sighing.

''Anyways, I should get back to my seat. See ya, dude.'' Said Yoshio, walking off towards his seat.

After School…

''Hey.'' said a guy's voice. Karosu looked up from his seat to find someone in his class. ''My name's Takeshi Haruo. Nice to meet ya.'' He said, bringing out his cellphone. ''I'm Karosu Midori.'' Replied Karosu, looking up at him. ''Hold on, just a second.'' He said, as he began text-messaging. He then put away his phone and looked back at Karosu.

''So anyways, I saw you walking with Akane yesterday. Haha! I see you've got your eye on someone already.'' Said Takeshi. ''W-welll… You see, it's not like that…'' said Karosu, trying to explain himself. ''Just teasing you. Don't worry. But if you do like chicks, I'm the guy you wanna hang out with.'' He said, smiling. ''So, anyways, wanna go for a walk or something? I could teach you a trick or two.'' He commented. Karosu remembered what Igor said about the Social Links, and decided to tag along.

They eventually ended up at the arcade, and they were hanging out at the bar, not yet playing. ''Hey, little fun fact for ya, did you know that before Central Center there were two other malls people used to go to? But with the new islands and all, things have really changed. The only shopping district left is here.'' Explained Takeshi.

''But nevermind that… about the chicks. Dude, I've gone out with so many girls at this school… Seriously. I don't usually last more than two weeks with each, though. But there's this girl like no other… I have my eye on her. Thing is, she's so pretty I get really shy around her…'' he said, chuckling.

''I should show you her, some time… But you gotta promise not to fall in love with her too, 'cuz then we'd end up in some kind of love triangle.'' Takeshi said. ''Just kidding. But we should go play already, before there are no games left.'' Said Takeshi, moving towards the arcade machines. They spent until about evening playing, and Karosu heard the same voice in his mind…

Thou art I…and I am thou…

Thou hast established a new bond...

It brings thee closer to a new life…

Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Wheel of Fortune Arcana

The day went by calmly and with no trouble, and so the day passed…

Wednesday, April 13th

''Today is the day, man. You ready?'' said Yoshio, punching the air. Karosu shrugged, unamused. ''Come on, don't tell me you aren't the least bit hyped up about this?'' said Yoshio. Eventually, he went back to his seat, and the school day started…

After School...

''Phew... That took forever! Let's get going, dude.'' Said Yoshio, walking outside. ''I've already talked to Akane and Kyoko, so let's go.'' He continued, practically running around the school.

They went inside the basement, and sure enough, Akane and Kyoko were in front of the door already. Karosu unlocked the door and they all walked inside. ''Greetings. You've come back sooner than I had expected'' said Igor, grinning widely. ''Rose, take them to their first door.'' Said Igor. Rose began walking towards the white door, and led them inside. She was mostly looking at Karosu. She then brought out a key, unlocking the first door.

Naoya Todo, it read.

''These will be the memories of a High Schooler who was a Persona-user, just like yourselves. He went to St. Hermelin High, and with the help of his friends managed to save the world.'' She explained as she slid open the door. Karosu, Akane, Yoshio and Kyoko were engulfed in a white light, and they eventually came about.

They were in a white room, similar to that in which they each spoke to Philemon, only this room had three doors. They were all locked up with chains except for the first one. ''Pretty strange, huh? Who do you think this Naoya guy is?'' said Yoshio. ''I… do not know. Yet the name sounds very familiar…'' said Kyoko, thinking.

They all walked inside the only unlocked door, engulfed by a white light once again. Yet this time, they were in what seemed like a rural area. ''W-what the? Where are we?'' asked Yoshio, looking around. ''This isn't Tenshi, is it?'' said Karosu. However, something seemed strange. ''Hey Karosu, why don't you go ask someone where we are?'' said Yoshio, looking at Karosu. ''A-alright…'' he said.

Karosu would approach the people, but they would seem to go past him… It was as if he didn't even exist… ''W-what the?'' said Yoshio. ''It seems nobody can see us here…'' affirmed Kyoko. ''H-how can you be so calm about this? We're practically invisible! Hellooooo! Heyyyy! Yoooo!'' Yoshio was shouting in an attempt for someone to hear him. ''Quiet down, you idiot. I think it's pretty clear they can't hear you.'' Just then, they heard something that caught their attention.

''Alright , I'll see you at work tomorrow.'' Said a man, waving off to what seemed to be another adult walking off. ''Alright, take care.'' The other replied, moving along.

''N-Naoya…?'' said Karosu, under his breath. ''H-hey! He just called that guy Naoya!'' shouted Yoshio, loudly. Eventually, they all began following him, until he was stopped by someone. It was a robot, who looked a lot like a human, with short blonde hair.

''Greetings.'' She said, standing in his way. ''Woah! What a babe'' said Yoshio, blushing. ''Quiet, you pervert.'' Replied Akane. ''Hey, you think she'll notice if I…'' Yoshio said, turning red like a tomato. ''S-shut up!'' said Akane, blushing herself. ''Keep quiet, you pervert!'' she shouted. They went back to looking at Naoya. ''Yeah, what do you want?'' said Naoya, with a serious face. ''My name…is Aigis.'' She explained. ''What can I help you with?'' Said Naoya.

''It is something I cannot discuss here… Yet it has something to do with… your Persona.'' Aigis said. The word Persona echoed in Naoya's mind, making his face look worried. ''H-how the hell do you know about that?'' said Naoya, amazed.

''I posess the power of Persona too.'' She said, and stopped talking for a moment. ''I am similar to you. I also used the power of Persona for the sake of humanity… and my…'' she struggled to say the next word, but finally came out with it. ''My friends… and I made a promise to live life to our fullest… for him.'' She explained. Naoya was confused, but wanted to know what was going on.

''Yet I'm going to have to break my promise… A greater evil is forming, and I need to speak to you about this… privately.'' Aigis explained. ''W-what the hell is she talking about?'' said Yoshio. ''I'm not sure… but they're both Persona-users, like ourselves…'' said Kyoko, staring at them. Suddenly, the world paused. It completely stopped, everyone stopped moving.

''W-what the hell is going on?'' shouted Yoshio, looking around. The only things moving were the Shadows. Naoya became tied up by metal chains, completely filled with locks, as if he was being sealed away. ''W-woah! What's happening to him?'' shouted Akane. Kyoko was looking at this calmly, thinking about what could be going on.

''Perhaps these are the memories that have been forgotten… the memories that we need to recover…'' deduced Kyoko, biting her thumb nail. ''Are you serious? What're we supposed to do now?'' said Yoshio, looking around as the group was being surrounded by Shadows.

Suddenly, a black orb emerged from Naoya's body, and hovered just above the group. The Shadows stopped moving, and were all around the group. ''H-huh?'' said Karosu, looking up at the orb. The orb then suddenly began to speak in a deep, echoing voice...

''I am Regret. I am one of the feelings locked inside Naoya's heart that are making him forget. I am what makes a human want to forget. I am what makes a human want to change the past.'' The orb said with a holy-like voice. ''Naoya's memories shall not be unlocked.'' Said the orb, and the ground began shaking. All the Shadows began morphing together with the orb, making a monstruous being.

''W-what the hell? Regret? What's going on?'' said Yoshio, backing up slightly. ''Perhaps if we defeat it, it can be used to unlock a memory…'' said Yosuke, calmly. She wasn't backing up, like the rest of the group. ''P-p-p…'' Karosu was filled with fear, he was in so much fear he was struggling to say the word 'Persona'. ''So what, we use our Personas?'' said Yoshio.

''It is useless to resist. Every human being feels regret in their hearts… there is always something you wish to change that cannot be changed… and for that reason you feel regret.'' Said the Shadow approaching Karosu.

Kyoko then backed up, with Yoshio and Akane. Karosu was the one left in front of the Shadow, as it stared down at Karosu. ''You will die. Why do you not run?'' said the Shadow, moving its arm back to send a massive slam at Karosu.

''K-Karosu! W-what the hell are you doing?'' shouted Yoshio. ''Karosu! Don't be an idiot! Move!'' shouted Akane. Karosu then looked up at the Shadow, before it would slam down its fist. ''You're wrong.'' He said, with a serious face. ''You insolent being… You are being nothing but a coward by denying the fact that you do not feel regret!'' shouted the Shadow, making the earth shake.

''You're wrong.'' He repeated. ''You're a coward! You do not even deserve the power that you deserve! You only deserve to die!'' shouted the Shadow. ''I… I can admit there are some things that I would change in the past… But by accepting the fact that they may never be changed I can focus on what I can do now rather than what I could have done then…'' he said, looking down.

''What you feel is regret! Do you not understand you inso-'' the Shadow was interrupted by Karosu. ''No. That is not regret. I do not cling to the past, wishing to change something. I focus on what I can do now so that it may never happen again.'' He said.

''You… You idiot!'' shouted the Shadow, sending a massive fist towards Karosu. He closed his eyes in reaction to the sudden movement, and his life flashed before his eyes…

''Karosu…You…You idiot!'' shouted Yoshio's voice. Karosu then opened his eyes to reveal Yoshio and his Persona holding the giant Shadow's fist to prevent it from hitting Karosu, You could tell his Persona was struggling.

Yoshio's Persona was very skinny, and completely black except for its face, where it wore a disturbing white mask with a long red nose. Karosu then moved back, and the Persona let go of the fist, making the Shadow hit the ground in reaction to the sudden movement.

Karosu looked back to see Akane covering his eyes and Kyoko looking back. ''Karosu… do you not think? How do you think we would've felt if the Shadow killed you? You're wrong too Karosu!'' shouted Yoshio. The Shadow ran at Akane and Kyoko, trying to go past the arguing Yoshio.

''P…Per…sona…'' whispered Karosu, and his Persona emerged from his soul. The Persona sent a wave of fire at the Shadow, as if it were linked to Karosu's thoughts. The Shadow fell forward, and Akane and Kyoko managed to move out of the way in time with a shriek.

''K-Karosu! You're okay!'' said Akane. Kyoko let out a very small smile. The Shadow was slowly getting up.

''Karosu… What would you have felt if you had died like this? Regret, that's what! There's a difference between facing life with courage, making the past the past, but then there's being reckless… Killing yourself for a not needed reason comes to mind!'' shouted Yoshio. He seemed to be angry. Karosu looked down at the ground.

''You have to live life… You have to make the past the past… But with the experience you gain from past mistakes you use that… to not make them ever again.'' Said Yoshio, breathing heavily. Karosu looked down at the ground…Yoshio was right.

''Regret… is the feeling of a coward. Regret is the feeling of a fool.'' Yoshio said. ''L-look out!'' shouted Kyoko's voice, as the Shadow sent down a fist at Karosu and Yoshio. They managed to move in time. ''You are fools… FOOLS, FOOLS, FOOLS, FOOLS!'' shouted the Shadow, sending a bunch of punches at Karosu and Yoshio. The Shadow was being reckless, so they could dodge them easily. ''I… I feel so helpless…'' whispered Akane.

''Do not. I'm sure even if you could help, it's not what Karosu-san and Yoshio-san would have wanted. This is a fight that… adresses them personally…or Yoshio-san at least.'' Explained Kyoko. ''Yoshio-san…'' whispered Akane. ''You understand what I mean…'' commented Kyoko. Akane nodded.

Yoshio and Karosu were giving it all they've got, hitting the Shadow with various elemental attacks. The Shadow was then laying at the ground, and they both approached it. ''I-is it... is it dead?'' Said Yoshio. Karosu approached the Shadow, curiously. The earth then began to shake again.

''W-what now?'' shouted Akane, trying to maintain balance. The Shadow then disintegrated, transforming into a glowing blue orb. ''I am Courage. I am what a human being uses to face the future. I am what a human being uses to forget the past.'' The orb said, with a mystical voice. It then hovered over to where Naoya was filled with chains.

''W-what's it doing?'' said Akane, walking beside Yoshio and Karosu. Kyoko followed along, looking at this curiously. The orb then fit into one of the locks, sending it open. It seemed to slowly fall to the ground, shattering as it hit it. However, there were two other locks. ''I see… This is most interesting.'' Commented Kyoko. Everyone turned to look at her.

''It seems each lock represents a feeling that is making Naoya's memories of what we're witnessing now… forgotten.'' Explained Kyoko. ''So, most likely, what we're supposed to do is follow Naoya, and destroy the feelings that are making him want to forget this memory, so that it may be unlocked… and replaced with good feelings.'' Deduced Kyoko. Everyone seemed amazed, but then a familiar voice was heard…

''Yes… but not quite.'' Said the voice. They all looked to see it was Rose approaching them. ''R-Rose?'' said Yoshio, looking back. A smile back on his face. ''You see, it's not as simple as following him and destroying all his negative emotions…'' Rose explained.

''You see… the Shadows that you saw devouring the residents… those are also forming negative emotions, and some manage to escape to the real world… You must defeat as many of these Shadows as you possibly can, so that you are able to face off against Naoya's feelings…'' said Rose, struggling to speak.

''I see… So we've got to keep coming back here, to Naoya's memories and defeat these demons… and then, when we're ready, defeat Naoya's actual feelings, right?'' asked Akane. ''Correct.'' Said Rose. ''I see…'' whispered Kyoko.

''Aw, man… This is awesome!'' said Yoshio, cheering. ''I'm…I'm like a hero! Wait 'til I tell everyone about this!'' he continued. ''I'm afraid you mustn't. You can't tell everyone in the real world about this… I'm…I'm sorry.'' Said Rose. ''W-what? T-that sucks! So after all this... Nobody will remember what we've done?'' shouted Yoshio.

''Why do you wish to be known? Is it not enough to know that you stopped a terrible fate from hitting your race?'' said Rose, weeping. ''…Y-yeah…'' Yoshio said, the smile wiping off of his face.

''I guess you're right. But this is still pretty awesome!'' said Yoshio, smiling once more. For some reason, Karosu smiled… it was as if he could do nothing to prevent it, the smile just… appeared.

''H-hey! Karosu, you don't smile like that too often! Oh! And I've never seen you speak so much before, man!'' said Yoshio, laughing. ''I guess all that stuff about regret got to you, man… I'm sorry for shouting at you… '' apologized Yoshio. Karosu nodded in acceptance to the apology. ''It's time to head back to your world. A new day awaits.'' Said Rose. ''Y-yeah…'' said Akane. For some reason, she seemed to be rather sad.