Chapter 6
"You're kidding… right?" Minato, a man a just bit smaller than Yu, was wearing a dark green long jacket and black pants. His expression was serious as he asked.
"Does it surprise you that much?" Yu asked back to his friend.
Minato sighed "I guess not… it's just that it's been a long time since they last appeared…"
"15 years ago, was it?"
"Yeah… Shadows are the suppressed feelings of people, so we'll never be able to truly take care of them. We've known that for a while now…"
Yu nodded at his friends words. Indeed, Shadows can never be truly erased from existence, so their job as Persona Users might only end with their deaths… but even knowing that, they have decided by their own free will to not look away and fight. Over the years there have been a few more incidents regarding Shadows, but those are stories for another time…
A waitress arrived at their table and took their order. Yu just ordered a cup of coffee and since he was paying, Minato also ordered a cup of coffee but added a small chocolate cake.
"Well then… tell me what happened now."
Yu took a deep breath and released it, then he spoke. "My son and daughter, along with Yosuke's and Chie's son, were kidnapped and thrown into the TV World…"
"What!?"
"Don't worry, they are safe now. In fact…" He sighed. "…They gained their own Persona"
"…"
"Let me start from the beginning."
Yu told Minato what happened as told by his son and even how the twins met Igor and the possibility of them being wild cards.
"So, any ideas? Did Igor ever spoke to you about his master Philemon?" Yu finally asked. He took a sip of his coffee that had arrived in the middle of their conversation.
"No, he didn't … I'm just as confused as you are." Minato simply told him.
"And what about the gargoyle, what do you think?"
"Well, at first I thought it could have been a Shadow… but it sounds too smart to be one, since Shadows act on pure instinct."
"I thought the same… I mean, he literally kidnapped them and even spoke to me."
"What do you think its plans are? Why target them specifically? Was it its plan for them to get their Personas?" Minato asked. He couldn't see the logic in the gargoyle's actions.
"I don't know… but before we got to them inside the TV World it seemed to be testing them, making them fight even more Shadows."
"It might be too soon to say this, but…" Minato's expression turned into a mix of seriousness and concern. "Could it be targeting the children of Persona Users?"
"It's too early to reach such a conclusion, but it would be safer if we think that way…" Yu said. "Three of them were thrown into that world… we should be careful or it could happen again. The last thing I want is to put THEM in danger."
"…" Minato stayed silent.
"We might be getting a little over our heads with this… I mean, this is the first case but I don't want to take any risks. We might not know what this thing true intensions are, but I'm sure this isn't the end… it's never that simple." Yu said a bit sarcastically.
"…" Minato continued like that, he didn't say a word. He was looking straight at his cup of coffee. It was like he was in deep thought, which he was.
"… Minato?" Yu tried to wake him up, but he didn't answer.
Finally, Minato looked up and turned to Yu. "Remember what you've been offering me for some time now?"
"Yes, of course"
"Is it still available?"
Yu smiled at his friend "Of course it is. You and your family will always be welcomed at my house"
"Just let me talk about it once more with my wife..." Minato said.
"Sure."
Minato sighed "…If shadows are really coming back, we have to do something, we can't sit still." He said. "But it also scares me to think what could happen to my family… especially to my daughter."
Yu nodded at him, knowing full well what Minato was talking about.
"The threat of shadows now it's not only in Inaba... it's just a TV away. If this thing really is kidnapping the sons and daughters of Persona users… even if we are not sure about this I don't want to take any risks. If we move in with you, then not only we can work on this incident together… but it would make me feel a lot safer since all of you are in the same town…"
"That's right… the members of 'SEES' are all in different parts of the world…" Yu said.
Minato nodded. The members of the 'Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad' were currently attending to their own business in different counties, so his team has split. But even so, he knew he could count on the 'Inaba Investigation Team' as well, and he trusted them just as he did his old dormates.
"I understand, don't worry." Yu smiled at him once again. "Go, talk it out with your family and we'll have everything ready for when you come. Just give me a call when you've decided so we can start the paperwork to get your daughter into Yasogami High."
"If we stay, I don't know how long it will be… but she still needs to study. Fighting Shadows didn't stop us from having a normal-" Minato paused a second. "Ok, Semi-normal life…"
They both laughed at this. They knew how hard it was to mix fighting Shadows and school life, but they managed to do so.
Minato then turned a bit more serious. "…Sorry, I don't want us to be a burden in your house."
Yu smirked at this. "Don't worry, you won't be. Don't think you'll be staying for free… You'll be helping us out at the Inn while you're there."
Minato smiled at his friend and told him "I wouldn't have it any other way."
Meanwhile, At the Amagi Inn, sometime after Yu left the house, Yukiko and the twins were alone once again. It had gotten late, so everyone left for their houses. Good thing for everyone it was a holyday, so they all had the day off of school and work… except of course the Amagis… a holyday means extra work for them since they receive even more guest.
Normally the twins would be helping with chores around the Inn, but given the recent events, their mother gave them the day off of work, too.
Each of them was in their respective room, thinking about the stuff that happened the day before, and what the adults told them today. It was complicated, yes, but the things they've seen and the people they've met made it all seem more believable.
Suddenly a big outburst came from Reiko's room and she came out of it running as fast as she could.
"MOM!" She screamed. Reiko found her mother in one of the hallways in the house. Yukiko noticed how agitated her daughter was and hold her tight.
"Reiko, what's wrong!? Are you ok!?" She asked concerned.
"Mom, please tell me I'm not going crazy!"
"What? What happened?"
"I heard a voice! It sounded like a woman but the sound came out of nowhere, like it was coming from inside my head!"
"Oh, that! No, honey, don't worry, you are not crazy." Yukiko told her daughter with a calming tone in her voice.
"Then what is it…!?" Reiko asked, a bit more calm to hear her mother's answer but still agitated.
"That's just…"
"Our Persona, isn't it?" Haru interrupted his mother. He was coming from the same direction his sister did, but he was walking, instead of running.
Yukiko smiled at her son "Yes, it is."
"You heard a voice, too, Brother?" Reiko asked him.
"I did. Though it was a man's voice in my case…" He answered.
"How did you know it was your Persona speaking?" Yukiko asked him.
"Unlike my sister, I decided to talk with the voice, and wanted to know what it was or where it was coming from" He answered. "When he said 'I am thou and thou art I' it was clear enough, I was talking to my Persona, Arthur."
"Wait, we can talk back to them?" Reiko now sounded curious instead of worried.
"Apparently we forgot to tell you that one little detail…" Yukiko laughed lightly. "But the hallway is no place to talk. Let's go to the living room."
And so they did. They all sat in at the table to begin their conversation.
"Ok, so…?" Reiko asked, impatiently.
"Yes, it is possible to communicate with your Persona, it's not very hard and it's something all of us know how to do."
"So, how do you do it?" Haru asked this time.
"All you have to do is reach a certain level of concentration. Think of it as simple meditation."
"I guess it makes sense…" Said Haru.
"Well, I WAS in deep thought when I heard Arthuria…" Reiko said, too. "But wait? What are we hearing from our Persona? Aren't they our other self? Does that mean we are hearing ourselves?"
"In a way…" Yukiko replied. "Yes, a Persona is your 'other self', another side of you. What you hear are indeed your thoughts, but those you would not be fully aware on your own."
The twins gave her a look of confusion.
"Hmm, let's see… oh, you saw Ryu's Shadow, right?" The siblings nodded. "We don't need to get into details there. All you have to know is that a Shadow is a person's hidden thoughts, feelings and emotions this person is not aware of, or is not willing to accept. When you accept your Shadow, which is mastered by your ego, it becomes a Persona. And once you've obtain your Persona, this one becomes some sort of 'reminder' of who you really are, so you won't tell lies to yourself and your Persona becomes a Shadow once again."
"I see…" Haru said, while nodding.
"This gives a whole other meaning to 'talking to yourself', doesn't it?" Reiko said, laughing.
"Hahaha, I guess it does." Yukiko laughed along with her, and so starting one of her long famous laughing fits. Haru could only sigh at this.
"Oh no… what started it this time…?" Yu, who had just arrived at the house, asked.
"What I think must be an overused joke…" Haru simply answered.
"Mom was telling us about how we can talk to our Personas!" Reiko managed to stop laughing and told her father.
"Oh, that's great! Why don't you give it a try later? It helps a lot to clear ones thoughts" He told them. "But before you do… we need to have a family reunion."
Yukiko also managed to stop her almost infinite laughing fit when she saw the mood was a bit more serious. Yu then took a seat beside his wife and in front of the twins.
"Ok, this is what's happening. An old friend of ours has been having some… financial issues because the company he worked for went bankrupt." Yu Began. "But that's not all. Since had an important position in the company, he had to deal with a lot of things… like people suing the company and such. We've been offering him and his family to come stay with us for some time, while they fix things, but he has refused every time… but things are different now."
"Huh? What is…?" The siblings asked, confused.
Yu sighed. "He and his wife… are also Persona Users."
"What?" Asked Haru. "Really?" Asked Reiko.
"In fact you know these people" Yukiko intervened. "Or it might be more precise to say that they know you."
The twins tilted their heads to the side showing how they were still confused.
"Although we've kept in contact with them we haven't seen them in a long time. They came back to Japan just this year." Yu said. "But before that, when you two were around 3 and 4 years old, they used to come here more often with their daughter who is you age, too."
"You might not remember much from that time, but you three used to play quite a lot in the garden." Yukiko said.
"And you say her parents are also Persona Users…?" Reiko asked.
"Who are they? Maybe I can remember something if you tell me their names…"Haru said.
"They are Minato and Yukari Arisato and their daughter's name is Mei" Yukiko told them.
"Hmm… not much comes to mind…" Haru said.
"I think I remember uncle Minato having blue hair… but that's it." Said Reiko.
"Well, the thing is…" Yu continued. "With what happened yesterday, we have to start investigating what's really going on here, fast, and Minato wants to help, too. So, if things go well… they will be living with us for some time."
"Wait, but their daughter, Mei… She's not a Persona User…" Haru said.
"We'll have to tell her at some point… but don't worry too much about it for now. If they do come, they'll be moving in a few days." Yu said to his son. "But I need to know what you two think."
"Your father and I have talked about it many times, and we both agree that it would be good for them to be here. But in this family we are not two, but four people and we need to know what you think." Yukiko told them.
"I have no complains. If uncle Minato and aunt Yukari are Persona Users then that's great… But its Mei the one I'm worried about." Haru said.
"We'll just have to be quieter about it when she's around…" Reiko said. She didn't like having to lie to someone, but the circumstances were… special. "But having more people here could be fun!"
"I'm glad to hear that." Yu said.
"Thank you for agreeing with us." Yukiko thank them with a smile.
"Oh, and one last thing" Yu said again. "Don't schedule anything for tomorrow after school."
"Huh? Why?" Reiko asked.
"Since you got your Personas, you might as well learn to use them. You two and Ryu will be getting special training with Yosuke, Rise and me."
"Does that mean we're going to the TV world again…?" Reiko asked.
"I know it's sudden, but you need to be able to protect yourselves in a case of emergency." Their mother told them.
"All right, I'm up for it." Haru said, smirking. "And I'm sure Ryu is, too."
"Good thing I don't have drama club tomorrow…" Said Reiko.
"All right, you better go get some more rest. Tomorrow will be a tiring day." Yu told them.
And so, the twins said goodnight to their parent and left for their rooms.
Time passed and everyone was asleep… or at least everyone should be at 1:30 AM. The twins were, in fact, awake. They decided to take some time and talk to their Personas, but before they knew it, it was already past midnight. Now, even if trying, none of them could get any sleep.
Haru was in his bed, eyes closed and body still as it could be, but sleep did not come to him. At one point he decided he had enough.
"Screw it!" He rolled quickly out of bed and headed to the Inn's garden, still in his light black pants and red shirt for pajamas.
Reiko on the other hand was moving way too much from one side of the bed to another.
"sigh… I need a walk." She got out of bed and headed to the garden, as well.
Haru was faster and got there first. The lights in the hallway besides the garden were always kept lit at night so he had no problem seeing and the summer heat was still present. He made his way to his favorite spot, the sakura tree right beside the koi pond.
The reason Haru loves this spot so much is because it helps him relax in a strange way no other place can. This specific spot is surrounded by a strange aura… or that's how he feels when he's here.
Haru sat on the grass and rested his back on the tree. "Why am I so agitated…?" He spoke softly. His eyes were closed like he was trying to relax his body.
"You too, huh?" A feminine voice spoke. It was, of course, Reiko.
Haru looked at her. She has standing right in front of him, just a couple of meters away. It was no surprise she'd found him here at this time of night. They had grown accustomed to the 'coincidences' that happened to them, like making the same decisions sometimes without even talking about it first.
"Yeah…" That was his answer.
"I couldn't sleep ether…"
"I can see that, Sis." He said teasingly.
"Ha ha… very funny. So, what's keeping you up?"
"After talking to my Persona, I reached the conclusion that I'm really nervous."
"Nervous? About what?" Reiko was surprised. Her brother was always calm… or rather, was always bored.
"Maybe that's only half true… I'm both nervous and excited" Haru broke the poker face he had until this moment and replaced it with a smirk.
"Excited?"
"Yeah… tomorrow Dad's going to teach us how to better use our Persona. I'd be lying if I said I don't find that exciting." Reiko shook her head in resignation. Of course her brother would be excited about this… he must see it as if it were a game. "But at the same time…" Haru continued. "I'm aware of the dangers of what's going on… or at least I think I am." His face turned serious now.
"I guess it is kind of exciting…"Reiko said. "I don't know, though, it scares me… not knowing what's gonna happen." She closed her eyes. "I don't even understand what's going on… Everything's happening so fast. At one moment we just wanted to play a game and at the other we are fighting for our lives!"
"I know… but don't worry; everything is going to be ok."
"How do you know!?" Reiko asked angrily.
"Because we'll make sure of it." Haru replied, calmly. "We are not alone, Reiko. We have our parents, uncles and aunts… Heh, even Ryu. And even though Kaori and Yui don't have powers like us, I'm sure they'll be supporting us, no matter what." He smiled at his sister. "If things don't go right we'll make them right. That's how it should work."
Reiko smiled at her brother's words. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks." He just nodded at her in response. "We should go in… it's late and like you said, Dad has training for us tomorrow."
"Yeah… I wouldn't want to fall asleep in the middle of it." This made Reiko giggle.
As they started to make their way towards the house, they saw a blue light shining from behind a couple of smaller sakura trees in the garden. The twins were surprised, but not scared. The light seemed familiar to them.
Looking at each other and exchanging knowing glances, the sibling decided to approach the place where the light came. Once they reached it, they saw a strange, large, blue door.
"Well… this wasn't here before." Haru said. Reiko nodded her head at this.
Suddenly, another blue light shined. But this time it came from each of the twins right hands.
After the lights went down, they saw a key in their hands. The door flashed in blue light once more, as if telling them to get in.
"Who goes first?" Haru asked.
"You." Reiko answered.
"Fine by me." And he used his key to open the door. A second later Reiko used hers.
Both saw a bright, white light that almost blinded them. Moments later they found themselves at the Velvet Room once again.
"Welcome to the Velvet Room once more, Haru and Reiko." Igor spoke to them in that unique voice of his.
"Hello. Um… before we begin, may I ask what's with the big, blue door at the Inn's garden?" Reiko asked.
Igor chuckled. "Don't worry. That door is the means for you to come into this room whenever you want, and it's only seen by those who are currently guests here."
"I see… and the key?" Haru asked this time.
"My master, Philemon watches over you. He gave you those keys because you will need them from now on."
"Is he always watching…?" Haru asked.
"Creepy…" Reiko said.
Igor only chuckled. "I believe it's time for me to tell you about your powers as Wild Cards"
The siblings nodded at him.
"The Wild Card is the power to wield multiple Personas." Igor began. "Every Persona is represented by an arcana. Your current Personas, Arthur and Arthuria, are both from the Fool Arcana."
Igor then spread 23 tarot cards in the small table in front of him. One of them was repeated.
"I said before that you two possess half of this power. What I meant was that each of you can only summon Personas from certain arcanas."
He separated eleven cards to his right, where Haru was, and twelve cards to his left, where Reiko was.
"Haru, you are able to summon Personas from the following Arcana:
Fool, Magician, Emperor, Lovers, Justice, Strength, Death, Devil, Tower, Sun and Judgment.
Reiko, you on the other hand are can summon Personas from: The Fool, Priestess, Empress, Hierophant, Chariot, Hermit, Fortune, Hanged man, Temperance, Star, Moon and Aeon"
"I can use one more arcana than my brother. What does that mean?"
"You've always been better at acting than me." Haru said.
"Hey! What's that supposed to mean!?"
Haru just smiled and shook his head, then asked: "You said my father is a full Wild Card. Does that mean he can use all these Arcana?"
"Precisely"
"Wow… Dad must be really strong!" Reiko said.
"He is…" Margaret chuckled.
"So, how is it that you are going to help us use the full potential of the Wild Card?" Haru asked again.
"A good question indeed!" Said Igor. "I am capable of giving birth to new, more powerful Personas! But to do this I must fuse 2 or more Personas which you must bring to me."
"How are we going to find new Personas…?" Asked Reiko.
"Once you've defeated your enemies, you'll see the faces of possibility appear before you as cards. At times, they may be hard to grasp… but you must master your fear and reach out to them."
"Another thing is…" Margaret said. "Your Persona ability is strengthen as you become involved with others and create bonds with them. These bonds are called 'Social Links'." She opened the new, big book on her hand. "It seems some Social Links have already been established, but there is still space for them to become stronger."
In the book, pictures of some of their friends could be seen. Ryu represented the 'Chariot', Kaori the 'Magician' and Yui the 'Justice'. The three of them together formed the 'Fool' Social Link. It seemed natural that this Social Links already existed. The five of them had been together since birth; they knew each other very well and were almost like sibling. But apparently there was still room for improvement.
"The road up ahead will be difficult. But believe in yourselves and continue without faltering." Said Margaret.
"Now, it would be best if you two go back and get some rest. You will need it for what is to come."
The twins nodded again. "Thank you" They both said.
"Now then, until we meet again." Igor said.
After a few moments, the twins found themselves in the garden once again.
"Let's go to bed…" Haru said. "I think I'll be able to sleep now."
"Yeah, me too."
They left for their respective rooms and finally feel asleep.
A/N: There are some things I'd like to say in about this chapter and the story in general. First… I didn't believe much when people said that college took so much time from them… but now I do! It's horrible!
Second, I was writing this and realized that today should be Monday in the story… so I had to say it was a holyday (please, don't ask).
Third, since I'm using Philemon as the reason the twins have their powers, I also had to go with how Personas worked in previous games (Persona 1 and 2) which I honestly haven't played, but still. This means, half the arcanas each.
Another thing is that I've read in many fan fictions that personas can talk (If you haven't read Split Personalities then you should! It's great!) But I didn't want to make them appear in the real world and all that 'cause it would make things more complicated for me, plus, this way, I can explain my vision of what having a Persona means.
For Social Links… this gave me a little headache. At first Arthur and Arthuria were going to be from the Emperor and Empress arcana, respectively… but the Social Links would've been screwed. Also I don't want to show 'RANKS' for them, I don't think friendship can be measured that way, nor am I going to say when a Social Link becomes stronger (maybe at the final 'Ranks' but we'll see).
I'M ACCEPTING IDEAS FOR SOCIAL LINKS BTW! Keep in mind that Haru and Reiko will be making Social Links with people of the arcanas they can use. That doesn't mean they won't be friends with the people they can't make Social Links with. (For example: Haru and Ryu don't have a S.L. but they are still very good, if not best, friends. Like In Persona 3 with Jumpei, Akihiko, Ken, etc.)
And one last thing is… Yeah, Minato is married to Yukari. Some people might not like this but this is how envisioned this story.
