Chapter Six: In the Labyrinth of Loneliness in This Much Too Narrow Town
For a single moment, a cold, sickening moment where everyone's breathe was drawn, where the room stood in abject silence, the party stood frozen in solidarity. Not as a cohesive team of vigilantes set out to rescue the needy, but as a group of terror-stricken teenagers, who had gotten themselves involved in a fight far beyond their capabilities. The massive bestial shadow leered at the team, the sharp and jagged mouth on the torso gleaming in the darkness unnaturally, as it towered up.
You already failed.
Chie slid into a defensive crouch on pure instinct, her face gaunt and bleak at the sight of the impossible beast.
You didn't plan it out. You rushed in, didn't think things through. You didn't plan enough. You made assumptions; you thought you'd just be able to summon Izanagi just because you could before. You truly are a fool.
Souji opened his mouth, only to make a cracked and deep gurgle in lieu of any actual words. He stared away from the beast, holding his hand to his throat. Not again. He couldn't break down again, not like this. His voice was dying in his throat, the tremulous thoughts pounding in his brain so horrifically loud he was shocked that a golden-eyed Souji hadn't burst forth and started strangling him.
Yosuke's Shadow began to crouch, the long arms of the lanky top body going stiff, the eyes of the lower body gleaming. An unnatural gust, originating from no discernable location, started to draw close to the shadow. As if any stray wind in the room was drawn to the bestial abomination. The shadow chuckled deeply, "What? Giving up already? It's no fun for me if you just lie down and die."
It was a waste, after all, trying to save Saki only for her to die like this. Not only that, but now Teddie, Chie and Yosuke will die here too, and so you will.
Souji finally eked out something, eyes still wide with sickened horror, stomach still burning with acid, throat still so goddamn tight he could barely talk. He mumbled a command, low and muffled, so low that Chie couldn't even hear him. "D-g-"
"What?" She asked, turning her head towards him.
Everyone will die, once again, and you failed to stop it. Even worse, Nanako's going to die alone and scared in this terrible place, not even by her daddy's side at the hospital. And it's all because you couldn't just stand back and let one person die.
"DODGE!" Souji screamed, suddenly turning his back towards the shadow as he dove at Chie, shoving the teen girl to the side forcefully as the Shadow's lanky arms suddenly swung together into a forceful clap. The aberrant torrent of wind slammed against Souji, sending the teen flying into one of the numerous glass-case walls with enough force for the glass to audibly crack.
As he slid down against the wall, streaking blood from his shoulder once again, Souji coughed deeply. He slumped on the ground, thankfully still conscious, but gagging something hot, coppery and thick. "D-damn..." he mumbled as he attempted to steady himself, wiping away the blood from his mouth, before feeling a hand shake him hard on the shoulder.
Souji looked up to Chie, her prized green jacket scuffled and sticky, her cheek and leg scratched up, her eyes wide with shock, and surprisingly watery. "Why did..." She asked, as she motioned at Souji, the smear of red running down the Kevlar vest.
"It's charging up as we speak," Souji said, before pulling himself to his feet. His mouth still felt bloody, as he could feel a welt on the inside of his cheek, not the most pleasant feeling but a hell of a lot better than a pierced lung or internal bleeding. "It's going to be a while before it goes for a wind attack again, but it's physical hits are going to be stronger this time."
She gave an aggravated whine and motioned towards the beast, "You have got to explain how you know this when we're done fighting!" She snapped, motioning towards the beast as she spoke, only for a heavy barrel to fly by and smash against the glass case wall hard enough to shatter, barely missing her and Souji but still coating both in a layer of wooden shards and sake. As they stumbled back, a pair of bloated hands slammed into them, snatching them from the ground and slamming them against the case with enough force to crack the glass. Both gasped in pain, Chie's legs flailing wildly against the beast as Souji wriggled an arm free, sword mercifully still in hand.
"You know," Shadow Yosuke growled, the lanky top form leaning towards the pair as it spoke, the glass cracking further as it smashed them both further, "There's nothing I hate more than people talking shit about me while I'm standing RIGHT." The monster slammed them both again, emphasizing each word with physical pain, "FUCKING." Souji swore he saw a stream of blood running down Chie's cheek and the cracked glass by her side, as he heard a cry of pain. He wasn't sure if it had come from Chie or himself. "THERE." A trail of blackened slobber dribbled through the teeth of the lower half's mouth as the independent mouth growled deeply, twitching as a warning for the incoming bite.
Instinctively, Souji immediately slashed his sword at the beast with his free hand, dashing against one of the frog's eyes. The shadow shrieked two-fold, releasing them to clutch it's wounded eye. No blood or other fluids leaked out from the wound, instead a small stream of motes floated upwards from the injury. Grabbing Chie's wrist and dragging the disoriented girl along, Souji made a break for it, limping past the small opening before the Shadow had a chance to counter.
As the two staggered away, both heard the sound of a light thunk and a popping noise. Souji turned, only to nearly stumble over at the sight of a firecracker exploding into a small puff of flame and light at the floor, entirely missing the Shadow but rather bouncing against the blood-streaked wall. Oh… Oh, he had lost track of the bag. He silently cussed, as the Shadow's attention sharply turned to the small patch of fire, then to the overturned table, running for the sudden flash of blood-streaked long, brown hair rather than the two weapon-wielding fighters who had attempted to run.
"Come on, Saki-chan!" Teddie said, kneeling on the ground and cradling Yosuke's head. The little bear didn't have a lot of words to describe this grizzly scene as it erupted. It was bad enough when those two humans got slammed into the wall, getting their red smeared along the wall by the Shadow…
Heck, it was bad enough when Yosuke went down like that…
He was still reeling from the idea, of humans and their Shadows and…
And his little heart couldn't take the unbearable pressure! But no! He would endure, just as the skinny girl Saki-chan would endure! She needed help, and he would help to the beary furthest edges possible, even when he was scared! "We need to make things hot here beary soon!
The brunette girl nodded, supporting her weight against the side of the table as she rooted through the bag. Her leg ached, the pain screaming at her to lie down, or at least to rest instead of to stand. Her head throbbed, even with taking Han- Yosuke's glasses from his comatose form. Her swings were wild, barely hitting anywhere near her target, but she needed to try, especially with the pools of booze the Shadow was standing in. Just one good hit… Just one good hit, and maybe she could make up for… She looked down at the collection of items in the bag, "Maybe I should try one of the other things in here?"
It was a strange compellation of things though, she thought as she rooted through the bag. Unmelting, glass-like ice… Ten pinwheels, why… One last first aid kit, the other one already lost from the mad scramble to hide away from the shadow… What were they even planning when they came here? She frowned, "What am I supposed to even do with this?"
"Well, don't use the pinwheels! He'll be immune to wind attacks!" Teddie said, pointing out the brightly colored decorations. "He's already casting wind. Wait, he might even absorb them and get stronger! No, we gotta knock the breath right out of him!"
"Are the puns… Necessary… You know what, never mind that, I'll just keep trying with the-" She silenced, at the sound of thundering, flat footsteps approaching quickly. Shit. Shit shit, she couldn't run, not with her leg like this, shit. "Get Yosuke and get out of here!"
"What?" She heard the deep voice booming behind her, right by her ear as a massive hand grasped her torso surprisingly gingerly. Saki turned, the blood draining from her face to come face-to-face with the Shadow's upper body. Even with the black stocking blocking out its face, she was sure she could see the cold glare in its eyes, the vicious scowl painting its lips as the hand swiftly tightened around her ribs and arms.
As Chie and Souji turned to see the Shadow dash up and grasp Saki, the panic in Souji's mind dulled down. He looked at the ground, where three small fires still burned from Senpai's attempts at distracting or attacking the Shadow, one firecracker still not yet activated after snuffing out on it's own in a failed toss.
No… No, he thought, looking at the barrels of liquor and the pool of sake that had been slathered from the failed toss. Souji knelt down and grasped the firecracker. "I think I might have a plan…" He said, as he caught onto Saki's idea. "Do you think you can distract it?"
"I'll do you one better!" Chie shouted, as she started running right up to the lumbering beast, "I'll bring it down!"
"Do you think that will make it right?" The Shadow gave a vindictive squeeze as she yelped in pain, her hands blocked off from tossing a single item. As she attempted to wrench away, the little bear looked to the pained girl and the comatose boy, at a loss of who needed the greater amount of help, scared out of his mind, and sure he couldn't do anything to even help. Still, the Shadow ranted, voice tinted with a bitter sadness as it spoke, "Or are you just too scared to let the money train stop? You know, get the boss's son killed… That sounds like a firing offense, totally… Tell me, Saki-Senpai, was it always about the money?"
"It's not… It's not like tha-" Saki gasped in pain, sure she could hear a rib cracking as the Shadow slowly crushed her in its massive hand, even as a second, tiny pair of claws squeezed into the clinging grasp and helplessly attempted to yank the fingers closed. As she kicked at the massive shadow and squirmed, as she felt Teddie attempt to pull her out, screaming her name in terror, she felt her vision going blurry, before falling haphazardly to the floor. The Shadow went from taunting her to shrieking out in pain, at the sudden sharp pains against its lower body.
Chie smashed at the back legs of the Shadow, twirling and kicking with all of her strength at it. It had to have knees, didn't it? It had to have some nerve cluster somewhere, some weakness that she could topple it over. She continued her furious assault of the Shadow's back limbs, even as it turned to her, a massive hand just narrowly missing her by inches as she weaved back.
She didn't think of the inherent danger, of the blood still running down her face or the possibility this thing could crush her like a cricket or blast out that unnatural wind again. Chie's mind was all in the combat, the rush of energy she gained from each motion, each bob. Later on, she would compare the moment to one of her movies, or perhaps even one of the cheesy Sentai shows she'd watch as a kid. At this point though, she didn't think. She just focused on the movements, the feel of the Shadow's surprisingly rubbery flesh against her calves and feet with each attack.
The Shadow leaped back, as far from the enraged girl in green as he could in one motion, only to yelp in pain by the feeling of sudden jagged shards of ice erupting against its face. The Shadow attempted to tear away the crystals, before turning to Teddie who was holding a second fistful of the ice in the bag.
"I… I'm not strong enough to fight," Teddie said glumly as it ran over, dropping the ice back into the bag as he helped Saki stand back up, "But I couldn't let the Shadow attack you or Chie-chan again!" She nodded in surprise, leaning her body against the bear and giving him a light pat on the head.
Meanwhile, Yosuke's Shadow puffed in rage, as the ice melted away with streams of darkness puffing out with each movement. Its lower left eye was still molting, its back legs were stiff and worn from the abuse that damned bitch with the green coat gave him. It looked like, as the beast reared up for another Wind of Oblivion, crouching down as the air began to coalesce around his arms, he'd have to resort to killing them all with magical means instead of his own bare hands.
Then a wooden cask smashed into it, sending its upper half lurching sideways. The wood splintered, sending a gush of cheap alcohol up and down the shadow's form. For a moment, it lingered there, then slowly, menacingly, turned its gaze towards its attacker. "You… are going to regret that."
There stood Souji, the grey-haired madman, a firecracker in one hand, a silver zippo lighter in the other, and a manic grin on his face. "So… I'm guessing I've got your attention now." Souji kept a careful watch of the Shadow, flicking on the lighter. He kept walking along the edge of the wall, attempting to keep the focus of the Shadow towards him. "I wonder… There's a lot of booze around… And you must have soaked yourself too before, when you tried to crush Chie and I against a wall, remember when you tossed that barrel?"
The Shadow growled, adding the newest threat and the crush of the wooden cask into the list of slights to its reasons to kill everyone in this entire goddamn room. As the winds began to kick up, Souji kept along the wall, still holding the burning firecracker as the wick shrank down so rapidly, the worry in the back of his mind that the plan would go wrong, or that he would time it badly and lose a finger. "Come on… Come on, you stupid-looking frog monster… You're going to let me just light you on fire like that?"
His attention snapped fully to Souji, the airs of Wind of Oblivion focused against the wall and towards Souji. Immediately, the grey-haired boy tossed the firecracker and the cask aside, instead bearing down against the ground as close as he could to guard the burst of wind. The biting air stung against his face, as his fingernails and feet dragged against the floor. He couldn't hear anything, nobody screaming his name in horror nor the sound of the firecracker popping, uselessly, against a glass wall… But he didn't need to. Even if they didn't know it yet, Souji had faith in them, the entire team, even those who couldn't fight or didn't know him yet.
Meanwhile, the Shadow just flung as much power behind the gusts, extending the energy of the gales as hard and as long as it could. It didn't matter all of his its attention was focused on Souji now, that he completely ignored his host, the girls or the little yuru-kyaru-esque Shadow beside them… It didn't matter it could still feel the liquor running down it's side, as it kept trying to bash him, crush him with the force of the hurricane-like winds, smash him into a wall and watch the blood run down his heroic goddamn face.
It was that point when it heard a popping noise right by his ear and felt perhaps the most searing hot pain it ever felt in its existence.
The Shadow looked down, to see the plumes of flame running along the top of its lower half, the upper body switching from blasting the wind to immediately attempting to smack away the flames, only achieving in enhancing them with the tail end of his magical gusts. The remaining eye of the lower body looked up, staring at the party. Chie supporting Saki against her, Saki still holding up her lighter, the flame still flickering as the Shadow howled in rage and pain.
The errant pools of liquor began to catch fire as well, lighting up magnificently as Souji ran up to the rest of the group, "Chie, keep a hold of Senpai, Teddie make sure we keep the supplies, I've got Yosuke, now hurry-" He chanted, as already Chie started tugging the stumbling Saki along and Teddie pulling the lightened backpack along behind him as best as his empty frame could manage.
He knelt down, pulling Yosuke's limp arms around his neck as he pulled the boy up. He winced, surprised at the weight, and just thankful that Yosuke was still breathing lightly, even with as pale as his skin became, as cold as his felt. He glanced up to the shrieking flaming Shadow one last time, the flames already consuming and bursting bottles and crates of liquor way too terrifyingly close. The smells of fumes, the smoke and the burning alcohol and reoccurrence of the ozone-like smell as the Shadow fell, were sickening, as he proceeded to carry the unconscious teen out, making a break for the door.
Out of all of the lights in the dilapidated version of the Shopping District, the brightest and clearest came from the fire of the fake Konishi Liquor Store. The tiny shop, barely two stories on the outside, was almost entirely consumed by the flames, the surrounding shops impossibly flame-free as the fire otherwise devoured everything within.
Watching it like this, standing outside on a cold foggy street, as her underclassmen and the little Bear mascot were busy huddled over Hana-chan… She almost felt sick watching this. She didn't want something like this to happen to the liquor store not truthfully. But… This whole day felt like it was about taking every bad thought she ever considered, every little mental sin she had and forcing her to stare at them on a silver platter, forcing her to accept. Saki turned back to the rest of the group, wiping away an errant tear from her face.
Yosuke began to stir, still keeping his eyes screwed firmly shut as he felt the cool, dry ground underneath himself. "Wha… What just…"
"Come on, save your strength," Chie said, as she stroked her friend's hair gently, going as kindly to Yosuke as she could at the moment. Her high from the fight had run dry, leaving her… Surprisingly empty, at this point. The monster was dead, it had to be with all of the fire just now. And Yosuke was alive, and Saki-Senpai was alive and… They were alive… The relief was just a thin, frail little twig of an emotion at this point, but she still clung to it tightly. "You gave us a really bad scare back there, you know… You just… Up and fainted when… Well, you're okay now. That's what matters."
Souji kept staring at the fire of the building, still tense as he held Yosuke up with one arm, sword tightly clenched in his free hand. He watched the door, expecting it to emerge at any time now… At least, he assumed it would have to emerge. It wasn't dead… At least, he didn't think it was dead. Shadows weren't frail like that, being lit entirely aflame shouldn't really kill it, just… Get it to stop for a little while.
Yosuke eased his eyes open, wincing at the loss of his glasses before he felt them settled back into place. He glanced up to see Saki, who glanced away as she stepped back. For a second he attempted to speak, an apology or a cuss or a reassurance, only for the words to die in his throat. He wrenched his eyes closed, still that sick, empty feeling in his head and throat.
"… Oh no…" Teddie whimpered, as he slide back from the group, "Something's coming from the fire..."
Everyone turned, Yosuke's eyes flying open as they looked at the door of the burning liquor store. Even as the flames licked off its form, the Shadow Yosuke seemed immune. He stumbled out the doorway, less… Stoic than Souji remembered from last time. If anything, he looked downright miserable at this point.
Apparently, he had been effected worse this time, he though as he looked down at the shocked Yosuke. "That's not…"
"You'll have to accept it." Teddie interjected. Yosuke looked up at the bear mascot as he spoke, "You… You need to accept it. It will just go wild again otherwise. I mean, we bearly got out of it last time too. I don't think we can do it again…"
Yosuke winced, as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. He looked at the Shadow, who just stood a few meters away, staring at the group… No, it was staring at him and Saki. He could accept that much, at least. Still, the idea of having to agree… After everything that Shadow must have done… Chie's face was slashed; Souji's Kevlar was streaked with more blood, while a thin stream of red still leaked from under his sleeves when he moved too quickly.
He didn't have to think to hard, staring at how abused his friends were and the burning liquor store, that whatever the Shadow did had to be severely fucked up.
As he looked down, he felt a hand rub his back. He turned, to look Souji in the face. "Look…" Souji said, keeping his expression as neutral as he could despite the waver in his voice and the obvious tension in his frame, "I know... I know it doesn't mean as much to say something like this now, especially with just being… Well, just me. A crazy, strange guy who knows way too much about this weird TV World stuff."
"You're not crazy-" Yosuke attempted to interject, only for Souji to hold up a hand at that.
"No… You're right about that. It's nothing to be ashamed of… I am crazy." Souji chuckled slightly to himself, "A different sort of crazy than you meant, but still… You're a really good guy, Yosuke. A much better person than you probably think you are, especially right now, so… I guess what I'm trying to say is even if that's part of you, that's not all of you."
"Part of me…" Yosuke mumbled to himself, looking away from the group to think as he absorbed the situation. Teddie nodded as well, while Chie and Saki stood in confused silence, not sure where Souji was going in this speech. Chie watched the Shadow carefully, ready to shift back for a counter attack at any point, while Saki just leaned back, still too injured to do much more than hobble away slowly yet sure she would need to dash away as soon as possible.
Yosuke stood up, his body feeling like his clothes had been replaced by a thousand steel chains and weights, his head still burning with acid and fire as he approached his Shadow self. As he got up closer, he noticed the redness around his Shadow's eyes the way its hands clenched closed and relaxed. "Look…" He attempted, rubbing the back of his head, standing in front of the golden-eyed Doppelganger, "You… You are a part of me. It's hard to admit, and… I'm not proud to admit this, but you are me." With that, he patted the Shadow on its shoulder, "I… I guess it does hurt, doesn't it?"
The Shadow self stared at him, before giving a mild smile as it began to shimmer into a faded blue light. At first, most of the group figured it was going to be absorbed right into Yosuke or perhaps just phase out of existence like a nightmare or a bad memory. Instead, as it floated up, the form shifting, everyone gained a mild shock. Everyone, save for Souji.
The Shadow transformed, the Yosuke-esque figure becoming the sleek Persona for an instant, before it faded into a bright blue Tarot card that floated into Yosuke's hand. He stared, mind surprisingly accepting of this, as he caught the small card, flipping it in his hand. Jiraiya… My Persona…
There was a moment of silence from the party, as everyone took the time to absorb the situation, before Yosuke looked up, making an attempt to speak before he fell down to his knees in exhaustion. Immediately, Chie and Souji both dashed up, Teddie following along as he supported Saki along side.
"I'm… I'm fine…" Yosuke muttered, as he attempted to pull himself up, only to be dragged up to his feet by the sudden feeling of the taller boy leaning in and pulling him back up. He leaned into the hold, feeling so close to fainting again, as he attempted to explain, "It… It's just… Turned into… I have no idea what just happened… But it's good."
"How can you be so sure?" Chie asked as she looked Yosuke over, shocked at the proceedings of what just happened, "I-I mean, his Shadow just… It poofed! And turned into a disco-ninja-frog-thing and then poofed again!"
"It's not a disco ninja frog thing," Yosuke grumbled with annoyance, "It's Jiraiya. It's… My Persona." He gave a wry smile at that, "I don't even know what that means… But it sounds right, you know?"
Teddie marveled at the group, these strange and curious beings… Filled with red, so smart about his world, so brave fighting Shadows even when they were injured, who had Shadows of their own and yet could make them into… He wasn't sure what he could say about Yosuke at this point, the silly skinny guy who apparently now had a Persona of his own! "Gosh almighty!" The little bear mascot said, as it approached, "I've never seen something like that before Aniki, a person taming their Shadow like that!"
"Aniki… What, really?" Yosuke asked, not sure if he was pleased by his new nickname or surprised the bear decided he wanted to sound like a tough guy all of a sudden. Still, he couldn't complain about it, oddly pleased at how impressed the bear was... At least he did something kind of impressive, even if he screwed up a lot before. Yosuke frowned to himself, glancing at the group. Teddie seemed alright, no worse for the wear…
Souji was bleeding all over again though, and looked like his hands and face were scraped up as well. Chie had a massive dash along her cheek and bruises along her face and side. Saki-Senpai… She barely looked like she could breathe, instead taking ragged, pained breaths as she clung onto Teddie's fur. Yosuke winced in shame, "What… What can I do… With Jiraiya, I mean."
"He casts wind-based magic," Souji said. At this point, the party were beginning not to question him when he began to expound on things he shouldn't know, besides the quiet long stares. "He's also quick and… I believe you have minor healing magic too."
"Healing magic?" Yosuke asked, his voice thin and dry with his exhaustion and stress. He thought quietly, bizarre and yet intensely meaningful words playing in the back of his mind, as Yosuke pressed a hand against Souji's shoulder. "…Dia."
As a gleam of greenish light shimmered, the wound sealed shut, absorbing some of the blood as it streamed out. Souji reached for his shoulder in surprise, before attempting to stop Yosuke, "You need your rest-"
"I'm fine." Yosuke said, holding up his hand. "And besides… After everything… It's the least I can do for all of you."
The group walked back in silence, except for the occasional mumble from Yosuke of that almost sacred word, the shimmering light sealing up wounds with each step. Even as the rest of the party found their steps less haggard, their breaths less ragged and pained, Souji found himself practically dragging the exhausted Magician as he still insisted on casting.
If anyone heard the long, enraged, and feminine shrieks along with the sound of the roaring fire, as the Liquor Store was entirely engulfed in flames, no one chose to say anything.