Saturday, April 12th, 2014

…

Yuri awoke to an itchy hand. Scratching it, he cursed and found the source of the itch-turned-pain: he had an IV. He followed the tube up towards the bag hanging near his head. Clear liquid, but the label was turned away from him. He could only see that, so it seemed to be only fluids.

He had a bit of a headache, and now his hand sort of hurt, but otherwise, he felt fine. Unlike before, he recalled everything fairly clearly. His hospital room was empty for the moment, and he didn't feel the need to alert the nurses while he pieced together the story.

They escaped that place, their Personas vanished, and did their effects go with them? Or was something else to blame? Hisako must have gotten them to a hospital, at any rate, and now he just had to figure out how much to tell certainly curious doctors and family. How much had she told them? Surely she hadn't told them everything…

Before he saw anyone else, he had to talk to her. But he didn't have her number, and unless she visited him, he was out of luck. But at least chances of that were high.

It wasn't long before a nurse bustled in, clipboard in hand. He looked surprised at first to see Yuri awake, but then relaxed into a bright smile. "Ah, good, you're up! How are you feeling?"

"A little tired," Yuri fielded. "Thirsty."

"That makes sense. You were severely dehydrated."

"What else?"

"Oh, um. Dehydration was your main issue—your body seemed to be purging itself of something, but we couldn't identify what. Do you remember eating or drinking anything strange?"

"No, nothing out of the usual…" Confused doctors were easy doctors. Or so he hoped. If they hadn't found anything, that was good, although what could they find? Strange injuries? Did Enlil paint his name across his forehead or something? Yuri looked down at his hands, flexing his fingers. A little fatigued, but otherwise, he felt fine. "Did a girl named Hisako Fujihara visit me?"

"Fujihara? Ah, she's next door to you. You two are classmates, correct?"

"Next door?" Yuri repeated with alarm. He hadn't counted on her being hospitalized as well. It would make sense for them both to be affected, but she had seemed fine… Granted, his memories after exiting that place were fuzzy at best, but up until that point, she had been consistently doing better than he.

"Similar symptoms. The school has been contacted, but there is no reason to believe that it's any sort of virus or bacteria. Both of your systems are now clean, of course," the nurse mused aloud as he attached a new bag of fluid to the stand. "We had worried, at first, but given that you had matching symptoms, it ruled out a lot of things."

"Is she awake?" He still had to figure out their story.

"Not right now, although she woke up for a little bit earlier today."

"Can I see her?"

"Not yet. I'm sure the doctor would like to speak with you, and I know she didn't want you up and around until you have some food in your system. And that you can keep it down. Do you feel queasy at all right now?"

"Not right now." As soon as food was mentioned, in fact, his stomach rumbled loudly. The nurse smiled again. "Has anyone from my family stopped by?"

"Earlier this afternoon. You may call them, if you'd like."

"After I eat something, if that's alright," Yuri replied quickly. It'd buy him some time; his parents would be far nosier than the doctors. "Can I give you a note to give to Fujihara?"

"I'm not sure when she'll wake up again, but yes, you may." He retrieved a pad of paper and a pen for him, and then went out to page someone for some food. It would likely just be some broth, but for a moment, Yuri allowed himself to think of something more substantial.

Now, how to give Hisako a note without arousing suspicion.

Yuri scribbled out his best likeness of Enlil. He thought it looked rather good, considering it was completely from memory. Next to it, he wrote out several question marks. If nothing else, at least he'd know where she stood on that issue.

The nurse mused that it was a good drawing, and Yuri could see he was dying to ask about it. He couldn't see how that drawing could result in charges of insanity, so he let him wonder away. And sure enough, Yuri got broth for his troubles.

Hisako was still napping, but he could eat in the meantime. And the staff seemed pleased that he kept down the soup rather well. He was even given some crackers. Since when is not getting sick considered good behavior? Yuri thought sourly. He'd never really been hospitalized before, much less in such a strange situation. And the meager meal had only served to make him hungrier.

As he was pleading his way into more food, an aide ducked her head in and announced that he had a visitor. Yuri had one moment of sheer panic—what am I going to tell my parents oh no—but then that was overwhelmed by a different sort of alarm when his visitor was revealed to be Hisako's father.

"Yuri Kikuchi-san, right?" the man asked politely, sitting with a fair amount of distance between him and the bed. Yuri nodded mutely. "I'm Koichi Fujihara. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Well, he saw where Hisako got her manners. And her wavy hair. "Likewise," he croaked out. If Hisako had been awake, and if she had been talking to him, how was he supposed to know what to say?

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"I understand that you're one of my daughter's friends. A classmate, right?"

"Yes. Sir." Oh yeah, this was going swimmingly.

Koichi regarded him for a moment. Yuri felt like he was sweating bullets. But just as the man opened his mouth to undoubtedly ask something that Yuri would just as undoubtedly incriminate himself with, the nurse came back in with a banana, a piece of toast with peanut butter, and a return note from next door.

"Hisako's awake again?" Koichi asked in surprise as Yuri eagerly unfolded the note. His drawing of Enlil had been firmly crossed out. Definitely no supernatural talk, then. It wasn't a big surprise, but it was a step in the right direction.

"Yes sir. She's feeling hungry again as well, so we'll give her some food. You're welcome to visit her again once you're done here."

"Can I see her after this?" Yuri asked. Talking in front of her dad would be better than not talking at all.

The nurse gave Koichi a look. He understood that he was her father and all, but it felt a little too probing for that to be all there was to it. "I don't see why not," Koichi replied easily, diffusing the tension. "I'll be over shortly."

Yuri chewed his food slowly to avoid having to say anything. Hisako would tell him if there was something else going on, wouldn't she?

"Is Hisako happy at school?"

He coughed on his toast. He had been worried about how they ended up there, and her father was simply interrogating him about Hisako's school life? Oh well, he could work with that. "Yes. I mean, I think so."

"I don't mean to pry, but is she making friends? Is she getting along well with your class?"

"Yes, very well. She has a couple other friends in our class that I know of."

Koichi visibly relaxed back into his chair. "I see. Thank you. I'll leave you to your food, and I'm sure Hisako would be happy to see you."

Yuri managed to restrain his relieved sigh until after the man left. Maybe whatever cover story she had come up with was satisfactory enough to give him something else to think about? He felt better about everything with solid food in his stomach, and the nurse seemed equally happy that he wasn't nauseous in the least. After a little more pleading and a demonstration of how he could stand on his own (although he was a little dizzy at first), he was allowed to visit her.

"Ma-chan, you know I'll worry about these things. If it had been the—" Both Koichi and Hisako jumped at the knock on the door. Yuri almost wished he could have heard the end of the sentence, but the aide probably wouldn't have supported his eavesdropping.

Wait, why am I eavesdropping on Fujihara? Yuri realized with revulsion. Just because they had gone through that together, he shouldn't intrude on her privacy. They hardly knew each other.

Guilt settling in his stomach, Yuri nodded at the equally bright smiles father and daughter gave him. "Yuri-kun! I'm glad to see you're awake," she said happily. He seated himself in the far chair and felt awkwardly detached.

"How are you feeling?"

"Still hungry. But how are you doing?"

"Better," he replied vaguely. She gave him a tiny nod indicating her understanding.

Just as he was worrying about how to start asking her questions in front of her father, Hisako turned to him and asked, "Papa, can I talk to Yuri-kun alone for a moment?"

"...What about?" he asked with amusement. Hisako colored and Yuri shifted uncomfortably in his chair.

"Papa! It's not like that, now shoo before you embarrass me further!" And he actually left them alone. He was far more trusting than either of Yuri's parents, that was for sure. She sighed and folded her hands in her lap. "I'm sorry about that. He likes to tease me sometimes."

"It's alright."

"Are you really doing alright?"

"Yeah, of course. Although, I'm worried about what you've told the doctors."

"I haven't told them much," she admitted as she wrung her fingers, "just that you weren't feeling well so I decided to follow you from the school. It explained why we were together and how you collapsed, at least."

"What about you?"

"I just told them I wasn't feeling well. Honestly, I don't really understand what happened. For a little while, I think they were worried about it being something contagious, but of course we've tested negative for everything…"

He leaned forward in his chair and lowered his voice. "They're going to ask us more questions."

"I know," she whispered back. "What do you want to tell them?"

"What can we tell them? Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll believe it was heatstroke."

"Maybe…"

"We could always say it was stress," Yuri suggested. He didn't know what else they could say it was. "I have an art show coming up, and you just moved. It could work."

"Maybe," she repeated.

They went back and forth on various reasons, but neither could come up with anything more solid than stress. With no other routes, they agreed to be vague and run with it. They didn't talk about anything else that had happened. The staff wanted them to stay overnight just to make sure they were alright, and Yuri finally called his parents to tell them he was awake.

They were naturally worried and fussed over him endlessly. He couldn't answer their questions, which only made everyone frustrated, but he was used to that, at least. His mother even tried to beg the doctors to let him return home that night, but to no avail. He was secretly a little glad. Despite being out of it for a day and a half, he was still pretty tired.

-.-.-

Sunday, April 13th, 2014

…

It was two in the morning, her hospital room was dark, and Hisako had a visitor in the form of the creepy well-dressed man.

She could've screamed. But she didn't. "What are you doing here?" She wasn't sure what had woken her exactly, but she was somehow sure that he had never touched her.

"I've come to make sure you're recovering, my dear," he replied somberly.

"...You know what happened?"

"Of course. I'm sorry it had to happen at all, Inanna." A shiver went up her spine at the name. Oh yes, he definitely knew plenty about the situation.

"What is your name? Who are you?"

A sad expression flitted across his face, but then he just smiled tiredly. "You really don't remember, do you." It wasn't a question. "My name is Dumuzi. It was my sister who tried to take the human."

"Why did she try to take him?"

"She is trying to change her role. She is tired of living in Irkalla, and wishes to be free, to exact her revenge."

"So she kidnapped and possessed my friend?"

"She did not anticipate Enlil's appearance," Dumuzi replied as he ran a hand through his swept-back hair. It only mussed it. "Nor did I."

"How do you know about him," Hisako hissed.

"He appeared, did he not? It wasn't difficult to notice," he deadpanned. She regarded him suspiciously. He was giving her answers, but in a very frustrating manner. And she still wasn't sure where he stood. Unlike his sister, or any of the other inhuman creatures, she had never seen him in Irkalla. Yet he clearly knew about its goings-on.

"Do you know what a Persona is?"

"A what?" he asked blankly. He was either a very good liar, or Hisako had knowledge he did not. Then again, Ereshkigal and Nergal had addressed her as Inanna like he did, but she had never asked them about Personas. She should have asked Nergal on the way out—well, she should have asked him a lot more. Had he known that leaving Irkalla would've nearly killed them?

"Do you know Ereshkigal and Nergal?"

"Of course."

"Would you do me a favor, Dumuzi-san?"

He smiled sadly at her again. "You do not have to be so formal with me, my dear."

She was momentarily caught between being nice and keeping a distance. "...Alright, Dumuzi. Would you please not visit Enlil?"

"I was not planning on it. He and I have never gotten along."

That kept Yuri in the clear, but it bothered her that he talked about their Personas as if they knew them. Whenever Igor let her back into the Velvet Room, she'd have to ask him about that. "Would you, um, please leave now? I'd like to sleep again." His presence made her feel off-kilter, not to mention the problems it would create if he was found in there with her.

"Of course. Sleep well, my dear Inanna."

He leaned down and kissed her on her hair. Hisako bristled, momentarily frozen in her shock, and he departed. That had been wrong and intrusive, and made her feel even worse.

But why did a small part of her feel so sad?

-.-.-

"I can't believe you were worried about socks!" Suzuka exclaimed between giggles. She had her arms around Hisako, laughing and all but nuzzling her, and Yuri couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable Hisako seemed with the physical contact. "Yesterday I thought you were blowing me off, but I find out you were in the hospital, and you just apologize about the socks!"

"Um, well, they were yours, and the hospital threw them away…"

"The sooner you accept that she was more worried about you than the socks, the easier the rest of this meal will be," Mika said coolly.

Yuri also noticed that Hisako hadn't mentioned that the socks in question had been torn, bloody, and full of paint. The hospital staff had been particularly confused about that. Scraped knees explained the first two, but the paint had been fun to explain away.

It felt bizarre, having lunch like this. In the real world, surrounded by people, under the sun and clouds and eating actual food again. Suzuka and Haruka had invited them both out to celebrate their release from the hospital. Yuri wasn't sure how Mika had gotten invited, and he couldn't tell if she was glad or not he was there, but he felt reassured by her presence.

She looked up from her tea and caught his eye. Yuri quickly looked away. "At least you two managed to get sick close to a weekend. Hardly have to catch you up on English any more than I already had to," Haruka said with a nod, unaware of the tension.

"Oh yeah, when are we going to have that study party?" Suzuka asked and broke away from Hisako.

"I thought it was going to be closer to finals," Mika replied.

"You're supposed to be excited for the excuse for a sleepover," Suzuka replied with fake annoyance.

"When did it get promoted to a sleepover?" Hisako asked, alarmed. "This is sounding less and less like studying will get done."

"Just now, I'm guessing," Haruka replied and Suzuka beamed. All the answer they needed.

Yuri didn't mind being left out. Mika wasn't saying terribly much either, anyway. He was decent in English and had other things on his mind. Like wondering if he could paint Inanna from memory or what Mika thought of he and Hisako being hospitalized at the same time.

"We could have it at my place. We have a big house and okay, maybe my room is a little messy, but there is plenty of room for sleeping!" Suzuka suggested eagerly.

"Are you sure we wouldn't be imposing?" Mika asked.

"Not at all! Haruka comes over all the time and my grandparents love her."

"It's true. They want me as their new granddaughter," she said and swiped one of her braids over her shoulder with faux airiness. Suzuka elbowed her and they both ended up in more giggles.

The food was finished and Yuri had to beg out of seeing a movie with them. He was honestly a little surprised Hisako didn't try to escape as well, but they were friendlier with her than they were with him. Mika declined their invitation too, and after they parted ways, the two were left alone.

"Can I walk you home?" Yuri burst out before he could talk himself out of it.

"Would you like to get some ice cream first? I couldn't help but notice how quickly you ate." She was acting cool towards him, but half of that was her normal nature. As far as Mika went, she was being exceedingly kind to him. Probably because of the whole hospitalization issue, but it was nice not to be shouting at each other.

She paid for both of their cones and they walked along the edge of one of the city's smaller parks. For awhile, they walked in silence. He knew she particularly liked that park, but it had been awhile since he himself had visited it.

As they passed an area with thicker foliage, Yuri paused. The greens and the way the light looked on the trunks reminded him of… something. Someone leaning over his shoulder, him looking at a blank canvas, whispering in his ear, "You can do anything you like down here. You would rule it. You may spend all your time painting only the most beautiful—"

"Are you alright?"

Yuri gave a start and turned to Mika. "What?"

"I asked if you were alright. On Friday, you seemed a little strange, frankly speaking," she said. He blinked and shook his head.

"Uh, yeah. I think so."

"You think so?"

"I don't really remember much of Friday," he admitted. "How did I seem strange?"

Mika's eyes narrowed and he knew he had somehow gotten himself into trouble. It was so easy to do with her. "What exactly happened to you?"

"I collapsed and ended up in the hospital because of dehydration, I told you."

"Why were you with Fujihara?"

"She's the one who found me."

"That didn't answer me—"

"Why are you so suspicious?"

"Why are you hiding things?" Mika finally asked. She had stopped walking and crossed her arms, ice cream dripping down the side of her cone. "I know you, Yuri Kikuchi, and I know when you're avoiding things. Something happened and you don't want anyone to know."

He wavered momentarily between alarm and surprise; he was scared she immediately knew something was up either way. So he did what he normally did, which was blurt out the first thing to come to mind. "It's not like that, Mika. You know it's not, but you just want an excuse to hate me."

As soon as he saw her reaction, he wished he could take it back. Mika turned completely from him but Yuri reached out for her all the same.

"Wait, I didn't mean it like that."

"No, you did. You always say the things you mean," she replied stiffly. "You don't have to answer me, you already did. I hope you're happy with her."

"It's not like that!" Yuri repeated as she began to walk away.

"Isn't it? You skirt-chaser. I'm surprised you didn't want to go to the movie with them. Surrounded by cute girls, a dream come true for you," she tossed over her shoulder.

"Am I ever going to be anything but a pervert or a jerk to you?"

"I don't know, are you?"

"She doesn't want me to paint her!" Yuri exclaimed and Mika stopped walking. He groaned; of course that worked. "Fujihara and I are just friends. Friends who happened to get stupidly sick together. She's not like you—" He cut himself off before he had to shove his foot further down his throat.

"...Not like me how?" she asked, turning back around to face him.

"She doesn't call me a pig on a regular basis."

"You jerk!" she all but shrieked and resumed her storming off.

"See?! All you do is yell at me."

"And all you do is insult me! Now stop following me you dishonest pig!"

Yuri let her walk away. Watching her storm off into the greens and browns of the trees, he remembered two things. He remembered when they used to be best friends, and he remembered that he had tried to paint her in Irkalla.

-.-.-

Monday, April 14th, 2014

…

"Ohh, this is an interesting one. No base sketch?" Yuri didn't bat an eye when Shunya leaned down into his personal space. The third-year student was always doing that, and he was president of the art club, anyway. It wasn't like Yuri could complain.

"This is from memory. Stress relief." He was seeing if he could paint Enlil, but it wasn't working out too well. Granted, all he had was some white blobs in the vague shape of a man against a swath of dark grey, but it already felt off. He could tell he wasn't going to be happy with the end product.

"I heard you were sick over the weekend. Feeling alright now, right?" Shunya asked cheerily and leaned back out of Yuri's bubble.

"I suppose."

He had hoped that he'd just leave, but to his dismay his elder just sat down on the nearest stool, leaned forward, and did that watching thing of his. Yuri didn't particularly mind when people watched him work—certain people aside—but he really didn't like Shunya's watching thing. He'd just sit there with overly wide eyes and a little smile and it was like he was absorbing everything he could.

Yuri resisted the urge to flick paint at him.

The absolutely worst part was that he very rarely asked any questions. Yuri could handle questions. He could not handle silence in company. The quiet stretched between them, and grew until it muffled out the chatter of the couple other students in the room.

He struggled to concentrate solely on painting. Try to remember Enlil's headdress, he told himself, but Shunya's eyes on him seemed to be burning holes into his shoulder.

"His name is Enlil and he has this dumb headdress," he blurted out and immediately after clapped a hand over his mouth. Shunya cocked his head to the side with a cheery smile.

And still didn't say anything.

Yuri nervously swallowed down more confessions. Between Mika extracting information via arguments and Shunya getting it via Yuri's inability to handle silence (and keeping secrets), he had a sinking feeling about the whole Irkalla ordeal. His hand shook as he blocked out where the headdress would roughly go. He could do it later. That jaw needed work, oh yes it did. No—the eyes. No, those were behind the mask, but his upperclassman's eyes were boring into his side.

"I normally like painting faces," he said, but unfortunately followed it soon after with, "but his was always half-hidden from view. It was frustrating, almost as frustrating as you're being right now."

"But I like watching your creative process," Shunya replied brightly.

"Senpai, you're being really invasive about it." Nevermind the fact that he was sweating bullets. Normally, his presence wasn't so off-putting, but when he had a secret weighing on him, matters worsened.

"He just seems like such an interesting character. You look like you've put a lot of thought into this." The club president mercifully stood up, however. Patting Yuri on the shoulder, he told him, "I'm sure I'll like the final product. Good luck figuring him out, Yuri-kun."

Yuri flicked paint at him as he departed. He missed, but it made him feel better. Stupid invasive upperclassmen. Stupid Shunya for showing interest in the one personal painting he didn't want to talk about. Stupid Shunya for always being the one to show interest, anyway.

He slashed across the canvas with a dark green. Enlil's face was entirely covered.

He had to talk to Hisako.

-.-.-

Tuesday, April 15th, 2014

…

Mika's glare was particularly sharp that morning. He had no idea if she and Hisako had talked, or whatever girls did, but they both seemed unusually distracted in class. Twice he caught the blonde's head bobbing like she was struggling to stay awake.

At lunch, he swooped in and separated her from Suzuka before the latter could drag her off. "We have to talk."

"I agree," she replied with a yawn.

Yuri deflated. He'd had several reasons built up for why they had to discuss what had happened, and maybe he was just unused to people agreeing with him right away. He trailed behind as she strode out into the courtyard. She sat primly on one of the further benches and gestured for him to join her. And, irrationally, he wanted to refuse. What if Mika saw them together?

"It's almost amusing, you know," Hisako said with a wry smile. "You two are so hypersensitive to the other but can't stand being in the same room."

"Well, she certainly can't stand me…" She made a noncommittal sound in reply and pursed her lips. Yuri switched gears, not really wishing to talk about the other girl right then, and said, "I think we should visit Irkalla again."

"So you can't stop thinking about it, either?"

"No. I've even been having dreams about it." More like nightmares, but those would pass. He hoped. He continued, "We don't know what that place is, but there's obviously something going on with it. I think—I mean, there had to be a reason I ended up down there, and we both received this strange power…"

"...There is something going on," Hisako said in a small voice. Yuri sat down beside her and leaned in as she continued to speak in that same low tone. "I'm sorry, but I haven't been completely honest with you, and there have been some, um, developments."

"Developments?" he echoed in surprise.

She launched into a tale of a strange gentleman who had called her Inanna before any of that started, and how he had admitted that it was his sister behind Yuri's abduction, and that he had visited Hisako the past several nights to make sure she was feeling okay. "And honestly, he's really very strange, but at the same time, I'm not really afraid of him anymore. Every time he leaves, I just have this sorrow in me that I can't explain or understand," she concluded, breathless from her explanation.

"Wait, so… Dumuzi's sister was the one who dragged me into Irkalla, and he thinks she's trying to swap places with me? How is he wandering around up here if she's stuck down there, then?" Yuri asked, still reeling.

"I have no idea. He mentioned something about a deal. But Yuri-kun, you're not realizing the problem here."

"Beyond the obvious?"

"If she's trying to find someone to take her place in Irkalla, how did she get up here to find you?" Hisako asked solemnly.

He had no answer for her, but it made him feel uneasy.

"I would like to try to return to Irkalla again. We can ask Nergal or Ereshkigal about it, and hopefully they can answer more of these questions. I just don't feel that this has ended, even if you are safe."

"Yeah. I think I want some closure with this whole Persona thing, too. I feel like Enlil is still… there, somehow, and it's not always a reassuring feeling." From her expression, he could tell that she knew what he was talking about. Which was a relief, because he had no idea how to explain the feeling any better. It was as if some part of him had been taken out, reformed, and placed shoddily back in, but yet wasn't in him at all, but he wasn't empty, either. Yuri rubbed his temples just thinking about it. "But what if we wind up in the hospital again?"

"I was thinking we ought to do it reasonably soon, because of that. If we do, then we can just say it was more stress, or we weren't over it completely. It would be better now than in a week or two."

He could see the logic in that. "Alright, so when, then?"

"...Well," Hisako began with a too-innocent look, "I don't have anything going on after school today."

"...I don't have art club," Yuri agreed reluctantly.

"And if we're both free, and we're both willing, and we both think that no more time should pass…"

"Let's just go today."

While he had been willing to go again, actually acknowledging that they were was another problem. She had described so many monsters, and that guardian still didn't have his trust. He could hardly concentrate on his afternoon classes. They had ended up hospitalized after the last trip. The prospect of facing that again warred with his desire for closure.

Yuri was simply not an impulsive creature by nature. But putting it off would make it worse, so he waited for Hisako by their lockers. Mika miraculously didn't catch him. The blonde soon appeared and as they took cover in the crowd of departing students, he realized he didn't remember which way he took. He remembered being there, and he remembered some sort of trip, but the memories themselves came and went, fuzzy all the while.

Hisako was lost in thought for most of the walk. Silence was alright in reasonably small doses, but not when he was feeling so jittery. That corner seemed familiar, but he recalled it being saturated with the sense of freedom. The street they were on, darkened by the tall buildings on either side, seemed overly bright compared to his memory.

"Your father visited me in the hospital," Yuri said suddenly.

Hisako turned to look up at him, looking absolutely horrified by the prospect. "He—what?"

He regretted his big mouth and had to avoid her gaze. "It was just before I visited you. It was a short conversation."

"What did you two talk about?" she asked and she still sounded scared.

He thought about trying to crack a joke but he had a feeling it would backfire. He shouldn't have brought it up at all. "He just asked if you were making friends. If you seemed happy at school. I said you did."

"...He worries so much." He risked a peek down at her and she had relaxed into a smile and a sort of wistful look. That was infinitely better. "I'm sorry, Yuri-kun. Papa tends to dig into my life at times. But thank you."

"It wasn't a problem. I just, um, thought you should know," he said and the lie tasted bitter. It was harmless questioning by her father, and he hadn't meant to bring it up at all. He was just trying to keep an eye on her. He knew the feeling.

"You're a nervous talker, aren't you?"

"Wh-What?" he asked, taken aback.

Hisako squinted up at him, but she was still smiling. "Mika-chan mentioned it, too. She said you don't know how to handle silence."

"I can handle silence," Yuri replied tersely.

"Sorry."

Half-memories of walking up that hill surfaced and he shook his head to clear them. They still left a heavy feeling in his stomach.

"It's just my father and me right now, which is why I think he worries so," Hisako said without warning. It took him a moment to realize that she had changed the subject back for his benefit. She didn't look at him and instead fiddled with her sleeves. "You're the first classmate of mine he's met from this school, so I think he was a little desperate to find out how I was adjusting."

"What happened to your mother?" he asked thoughtlessly. Life needed an undo button and Yuri fought with himself for asking as well as the creeping sensation of dread as the cemetery came into view at the top of the hill.

"She's still alive. She just left us when I was younger. She's actually a very good fashion designer, she has two of her own lines." Her voice was tinged with pride, not sorrow. Hisako gave her mother more credit than Yuri could. But he didn't want to pry any further into private matters.

"My parents are protective of me just because they like all the awards I win. At least your dad actually cares."

"I'm sure your parents care about you!" Said the girl whose mother left. Yuri at least was able to keep that remark to himself.

"You're a lot less cynical than I am."

"You're not all that bad. I think you're actually very hopeful," Hisako said brightly. He could tell her cheer was forced. He was fairly certain her hands were shaking as she pushed the cemetery's gate open.

"How am I hopeful?" Yuri felt anything but hopeful as she led him through all of the graves. Something pressed on the back of his mind.

"You still try to maintain some sort of speaking terms with Mika-chan. You wanted to decorate Irkalla and keep the monsters away. You think we're not doing something really dumb right now."

"I do think we're doing something dumb."

"You're still doing it with me," she said with a wry smile. She stopped them in front of a large stone sarcophagus of some sort. They both stared at it. Neither moved.

Yuri forced himself to move first. He placed a hand on the lid and it glowed briefly, making them both jump, and then slid open. Hisako was still frozen to the spot so he grabbed her hand. "We've already come this far. We may as well get the answers we want while we're at it," he told her with a bravery he certainly wasn't feeling.

She stared at him for a long moment, and then flinched back. She shook her head without explaining and followed him down the stairs.

They were nearly at the bottom before he remembered to let go of her hand.

The pressure at the back of his brain intensified, and when he turned back to ask her about it, he found her staring at a blue card. "What's that?"

"You didn't hear that, did you," she said sadly.

"Hear what?"

"I think it's yours." She showed him the front and he realized it was a tarot card. It depicted two hands holding an open flame way too close to someone's face for safety. "It's the Magician."

"Are you into tarot?"

"...Not yet," she mumbled with a frown. She stowed it in her jacket pocket and while he was incredibly curious about that, he let the matter drop. They needed to answer the older mysteries before pursuing the newer ones.

Yuri jumped when the giant lion-headed guardian swooped down to land beside them. And he might have hid behind Hisako. Nergal cocked his head with what looked suspiciously like a smirk. "I had not expected to see you again so soon."

"Well, we hadn't, either. But we have some important questions to ask you," Hisako replied.

"I will answer to the best of my abilities," Nergal said with another incline of his head. He folded his massive wings and sat stiffly on the ground. Hisako followed his lead and Yuri was left standing awkwardly. He wanted to be able to move quickly, just in case, but he wanted to be the odd man out even less.

"It's Dumuzi's sister who took Yuri-kun, wasn't it?"

"It is very likely."

"Dumuzi told me himself that it was," Hisako said darkly and Nergal's eyes widened.

"You have spoken to him recently?"

"Yes. He keeps visiting me, apologizing, and he mentioned that there was a deal that should be keeping his sister trapped down here."

"...There is." Nergal was on guard, Yuri realized. His posture was even stiffer than before, and the way his wings kept twitching, he was agitated, too. "Dumuzi as well. Ereshkigal keeps one in Irkalla at all times."

"I saw both of them up in our world, fighting. Something's gone wrong if she's broken it."

"She has not broken any law!" Nergal roared and both kids tensed up. Hisako's nails were digging into her leg.

We summon our Personas through blood, Yuri recalled and chewed on the inside of his cheek. He didn't like the thought that Hisako—who was supposed to be the clear-headed interrogator—was preparing for a fight. He also didn't like that Nergal was yelling at them to begin with. They just wanted some answers, and they were the victims there, not the monster.

"I would know if Ngeshtin-ana or Dumuzi had been freed from their bonds. Neither have escaped their fate," Nergal growled. The two stared at him.

"...Ne—what now?" Yuri asked dumbly.

"Nu-gesh—I don't know," she tried to correct, but failed as well.

"Ngeshtin-ana," Nergal repeated. "Dumuzi's sister."

They continued to gape at him.

"Do you have any other accusations to make of me, or did you have further business here?"

"Where is Ereshkigal?" Hisako asked. Yuri was surprised she could pronounce that one so well, too. He wisely did not try.

"She is busy."

"What are Personas?"

"I have never heard the term before. Could you elaborate?" Nergal asked politely.

Hisako and Yuri exchanged a glance. She dug her nails into her leg, and he bit down on his cheek, both hard enough to draw blood. With a flash of cold and a gust of wind, and most curiously of all a strange tug at the back of his mind, the two giants appeared behind them. Yuri couldn't help but rub his arms; the temperature was dropping at a shocking rate, and he had a feeling that was Inanna's doing.

Hisako scowled as she fixed her hair and clothes. "Is the wind thing going to be recurring?"

"How are you not shivering?" he asked in return.

Nergal's bright green eyes were still on both of them, however. "I do not understand how demonstrations of magic pertain to 'Personas'. That felt like basic magic, something far beneath the both of you, unless aging has not been kind."

"Did you just call us old?" Yuri asked before he could stop himself. From behind them, Enlil gave off a feeling of amusement. That would take some getting used to.

"I don't think they can actually see the Personas," Hisako whispered to him. "The same thing happened with Nergal and Ereshkigal before I came to find you."

"But they are real, right?" he whispered back.

"I think so. Dumuzi didn't know what they were, either, so I think it may be a human thing."

"But that means we can't ask it anything about our Personas."

"I have someone else I may be able to ask about that."

"What else can we ask it about, then?"

"Him, Yuri-kun," Hisako corrected and straightened once more. Inanna paced with annoyance behind them, and Yuri could feel her bubble of cold whenever she neared him. Enlil knelt directly behind him, using his cloak as a blanket for the both of them. He stiffened at the contact, everything in him shouting to simultaneously reject and embrace his Persona's touch, and it took too long to calm his nerves.

"You are acting very strangely, Inanna," Nergal said. The real Inanna silently snarled and ice shards branched out from her staff, making Hisako jump and glare at her. Enlil leaned further over Yuri (forcing him to bend nearly in half) and the air around them both seemed to vibrate.

Nergal was the only one who didn't seem fazed. Yuri didn't like that. Had their Personas been that agitated the last time they talked with him? No, they had all been mostly tired…

"Is Dumuzi's sister still a threat? When I fought with Yu—Enlil, I think she appeared, but she simply vanished. Was that enough to stop her?" Hisako asked and brought them back onto the interrogation track.

"Ereshkigal is looking into it. Nothing in this realm can hide from its ruler, and she will discover what has happened soon enough."

He didn't say that the sister wasn't a threat, Yuri noted, and he knew Hisako had, too. She pressed, "In the meantime, what if she kidnaps someone else? Why did she target my friend? Was there something that made him an easier or better target?"

"Her logic is as cloudy to me as it has always been. I will question her once she is found." Nergal cast a thoughtful eye over Yuri, ignorant of the giant crouched man behind him. "Perhaps it was an old grudge that caused her to choose Enlil. Perhaps it was something else. It has been many centuries since Enlil was worshiped, so perhaps she sensed the weakness in that."

Enlil practically boiled over with fury, rising to his full height, and whipped out his fan brush. But there was something bubbling beneath the rage, something that Yuri couldn't quite identify. While he puzzled, Hisako intervened. "If you figure out anything of her motive, please tell us. We would like to prevent any further crimes."

"How would I inform you?"

"Well…"

Yuri really hoped she was not going to say what he thought she was going to say.

"...I suppose we—I—could visit."

She said it. And Yuri hated himself, but he couldn't let her do that alone, no matter how much he distrusted Nergal. "We'll both visit. Provided we don't end up killing ourselves on the exit this time."

"You are both still here. You have been given the permission to come and go from Irkalla freely. You are not dying," Nergal said, clearly confused.

"We got very sick the last time we left. Do you know why?" Hisako asked with a grimace.

"You have permission," the monster repeated and he still sounded just as lost as they were.

Hisako and Yuri sighed in unison. He realized he had pinned far too much hope on this trip as far as getting answers was concerned. He flopped onto his back and stared up at Enlil, who caught his eye and looked away immediately. It felt like a blessing and a curse to have his Persona out and about again. Mostly a blessing. He studied him, trying to memorize as many features as he could. The least he could get out of this was a decent painting.

"Any other questions?" Nergal prompted. Enlil still bristled whenever he spoke, and Yuri agreed with the sentiment. He didn't understand why Hisako was so nice to him.

"...About Ereshkigal," Hisako started cautiously, "I'd like to know what happened between her and Inanna—ow! Stop that!"

Yuri raised his head to see Hisako rubbing her head and Inanna snarling mutely at her. The Persona raised her staff again, but instead of hitting her, she just pointed at Enlil.

"Yuri-kun is our friend. I'm not sending him away."

Inanna crossed her arms. Hisako mirrored the movement.

"...Apparently, this is a touchy subject. Nergal, if you'd be willing to discuss it with me, I'd like to pursue this. ...Yuri-kun, could you please start heading back?" She turned to him with big, pleading eyes. He cringed, but how could he say no? "I promise I will make this quick, I just want to clarify a couple things. If you have Enlil with you, you should be fine, and there are no monsters out here, anyway. Right?"

"That is correct. This area is mine and no spirit dares try to escape Irkalla."

Yuri looked up at Enlil. His Persona pretended to be very interested in the bristles of his paintbrush. "Yeah, we can go. Just make it fast, please?" Enlil immediately gave him a pang of sulking, of all things, and moodily picked at the brush. Yuri began walking and his Persona trailed after. He waited until they were out of earshot, halfway back to the stairs, and said, "Fujihara will probably tell us all about it. What's the issue with Inanna and Ereshkigal, anyway?"

Enlil frowned beneath his mask. Yuri received the impression of familial love, a gust of wind, and then the faint taste of blood at the back of his mouth.

"...That was incomprehensible. But I wish I could create something in the way that you communicate."

They reached the stairs and both looked back. The other three were still deep in talks. So Yuri sighed and started climbing. If Inanna was that testy, they may as well be out of sight to give her some peace of mind.

"So, why did you appear? Why are you mine?"

Enlil tilted his head.

"Fujihara said you saved me. And now you appear whenever I bleed, or something, and for the most part, you've followed orders. What are you?"

A flash of gold and then a pang of loss.

"I take back what I said about you. This is frustrating. Almost as frustrating as talking to Mika, but it probably involves just as much paint." He cast about for some mark on the wall, and, not finding one, simply had Enlil make one. "You're a warrior? Attack that."

Enlil swiped his brush and released a gust of wind. It cracked the stone wall.

"Can you do anything else?" The reply of irritation was almost immediate. "Okay, fine. That's good, anyway. Good enough. Magical paint and wind powers, I'll take it. Do you paint because of me, or was that something you had before?" He wasn't sure how far one had influenced the other—he certainly did not want to think that Enlil was the one influencing him.

But Yuri felt normal. Shafts of daylight reached them from the exit, and he slowed his pace, but once he'd had the thought, it wouldn't leave him. How much of Yuri did Enlil actually reflect, and was there anything from the opposite angle? He reached the exit, turned, and stared down at his Persona.

If Enlil had felt any of Yuri's confusion or fright, he didn't show it. It may be a good idea to see if they could pick up on emotions like they utilized. Although, what did he even know of Enlil? The man kept his eyes from view with that headdress-mask, and most of the rest of his body was hidden with his cloak. Aside from the brush, Yuri didn't see many similarities.

"Why are you mine?" Yuri asked again.

Enlil smiled.

He didn't want to wait with his Persona any longer. Not quite sure how to make it disappear, he turned again and left for the exit—or tried to. He knocked his head on something invisible, some sort of barrier right before the edge of the tomb. Yuri placed a hand on it, amazed and scared. "...What did you do?"

He felt Enlil's perplexed presence behind him, looking over his shoulder at the exit.

"We should have permission to come and go. Last time, you just disappeared when we left. You're not keeping me here, are you?"

The bulky Persona growled at the offense taken.

"Yuri-kun?" Hisako's voice drifted up to them from below. "Who are you talking to?" she asked as she came into sight.

"Enlil. That doesn't count as talking to myself."

"...No, I suppose not. Have a nice talk with him?"

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" he asked with a raised brow.

"It was… enlightening. I'll talk to you about it later," she replied, glancing back at a sour-looking Inanna.

Enlil jabbed him in the side and Yuri gestured at the sunlight just out of their reach. "We may have a problem. We can't get out."

"What?! Why not? What happened?" She was immediately beside him, turning from him to the exit and back again so fast it was a wonder she didn't give herself whiplash.

"I don't know. I've been trying to figure out if anything is different, but aside from being healthy this time, I'm lost."

"There must be something else—" She placed her hand up against the exit and went straight on through. She was up to her shoulder before Inanna flickered out of existence.

Yuri, scared that he'd be left behind, tentatively reached out as well. But he was free. There was a vague feeling of annoyance, or disappointment, or smugness from Enlil, a confused jumble of emotion, and then he disappeared, too. The two kids climbed up out of the tomb and stared at each other. He didn't know what to say. He had tried leaving and it wouldn't let him.

"...Maybe when we're together?" Hisako asked.

"You got in alone the first time."

"Technically, so did you. But Nergal was upset about that. Oh, how are you feeling?"

Yuri placed the back of his hand against his forehead. "My heart is still racing, but I feel fine."

Hisako mimicked the motion and frowned thoughtfully. "Me too… Yuri-kun, will you humor me a moment? Since we're feeling okay?"

"Uh. Sure." He watched as she stepped back down into the stairwell. She got down far enough to summon Inanna, and then went back up without issue. She gestured for him to do the same. He took a breath to steel himself, and then walked downward, alone.

And it was fine. He could summon Enlil again by biting his lip, and while his Persona acted curious, he turned and went back up the stairs.

And ran into the same invisible wall as the last time.

Hisako jumped down with him before he could panic, and that dispelled whatever force was binding him there. So she had no issue, but he did. "You led the way down into there today, so I thought it was strange, but I-I think this means… Maybe you can't leave alone? But that doesn't make sense, Ereshkigal gave us permission..."

Yuri realized at once, miserably, what it was. They sat down on the path, not acknowledging that they were waiting to get sick, and he drew his knees up to his chest. "No, you were given permission. I've never met her. It's just like you said: anyone can enter Irkalla, but they're not supposed to get out again. You're the only one who can take them out."

"D-Don't worry!" Hisako squeaked in alarm and he looked up at her to let her know he wasn't about to start sobbing over the revelation. She smiled sheepishly. "It just means we'll go together, and I don't see how that's any different from what we were planning."

The logic comforted him. Slightly. But he still had to rely on her in a way that he hadn't counted on, and that made him uneasy. "...How are you feeling?"

"I still feel fine."

"Me too."

They cautiously stood up and Yuri waited for any signs of dizziness. He didn't feel nearly as hot as last time, and while he was thirsty and a little tired, he didn't feel sick at all. They began walking back at a slow pace, testing the waters.

But they made it all the way to the nearest bus stop without incident. Neither spoke about it, not wanting to break their lucky streak. It wasn't until they boarded the bus and managed to find a relatively quiet section that she broke into the largest grin he'd ever seen on her. "We're alright," she whispered.

"Maybe it was because we didn't get hurt."

"But our injuries came back with the other effects. I don't think it was that. My doctor said it was as if our bodies were purging themselves of something—Yuri-kun, what if that was a one-time deal? What if we've gotten used to the place, or our Personas, or whatever went wrong?"

He could see why she was so excited, but he thought it was a bit of a leap to make it to that point. But they were already tied into another visit to get information from the guardian, so perhaps it wouldn't be a bad thing to hope for. "Maybe," Yuri eventually mumbled.

Neither felt any ill effects for the ride. Yuri left first, and she waved to him with the same cheer she had maintained since she decided they would be fine, and then he was left alone with his thoughts. She seemed happy they had gotten some answers, however. And they weren't hooked up to IVs again.

Maybe it was okay to count it as a win.

-.-.-

Knowledge: level 2/5 (+4)
-Average

Confidence: level 2/5 (+0)
-Secure

Charm: level 1/5 (+0)
-Awkward

Empathy: level 1/5 (+0)
-Tolerant

"Thou art I... And I am thou... Thou hast established a genuine bond..."
Hisako Fujihara has established the Painter social link of the Magician arcana!