Thetrueazure: *Holds a Shield* H-Hi guys, sorry for the long wait, writers block and school did a one, two punch on me.
Ritsu: Will you put the shield down! No one is going to attack you!
Thetrueazure: *Lowers Shield* OK, *Hears rattling chains and looks at Ritsu with a dumbfounded look* you didn't.
Ritsu: Oh yes I did, have fun with the Reaper. Disclaimer.
"What I mean is that fateful day where both of my parents were killed in a car accident!"Kurogasa's Shadow said causing everyone but Ritsu to gasp in shock
"How! How do you know about that?" Kurogasa screamed at his shadow who just laughed at him
"How? You can't be serious, I was there."Kurogasa's Shadow said "You won't let go of the past because you're afraid of forgetting them."
"You're wrong! You can't say that with my face! You're-"
Ritsu readied his sword "Hanahime get out of there!" Hanahime ran off the stage and ran to Sarutaro.
"You're not me!" Kurogasa yelled at the top of his lungs
"Big bro!" Hanahime had tears flowing down her cheeks
"Thank goodness you're OK." Sarutaro said "Find someplace to hide OK?" Hanahime nodded as she hid in the stands.
Kurogasa's Shadow started to cackle as a mass of shadows began to merge with him "That's right! I'm me now! My own person!"The shadows dispersed revealing Shadow Kurogasa's true form; It looked like a young man in pitch black armor holding a staff, on his back were two wings, one of an angel and one of a demon "I am a shadow, the true self, I may not be able to let go of the past, but I'll make sure you have no future!"
"Something tells me that this isn't going to be easy." Sarutaro said as he readied his three section staff while Kitsune readied her ax.
"Get ready!" Ritsu yelled as Shadow Kurogasa flew towards the three.
Ch.9 Divine Tactician
Shadow Kurogasa sent out a powerful blizzard at the three persona users, knocking all three off of their feet.
"OK, that hurt." Sarutaro said as they got up. He then grabbed his three section staff as his persona card floated in front of him, Ritsu and Kitsune followed suit
"W-What's happening?" Hanahime thought
"Persona!" All three shattered their cards as their respective personas appeared above them.
"Sun Wukong! Use Agi!" Sarutaro yelled while Sun Wukong's staff became enveloped in flames and threw the fire at Shadow Kurogasa who dodged the fire attack and swung his staff at Sarutaro's persona.
"Lancelot intercept that attack!" Ritsu yelled as Lancelot blocked the attack with his blade, making Shadow Kurogasa smirk
"I got you right were I want you." Shadow Kurogasa said when he raised his other hand "Heaven's Thunder strike!" A large lightning bolt struck both Sun Wukong and Lancelot, making both Sarutaro and Ritsu scream in pain.
Ritsu fell to one knee "OK…bad idea." Ritsu held out his hand towards Lancelot "Change." Lancelot became enveloped in blue flames "Come forth, Jack Frost!" Ritsu crushed the card in front of him as a small chibi snowman appeared in front of Ritsu.
"You have got to be kidding." Kitsune said in a low tone "How is that thing going to help us?"
"Saru, stand back OK." Ritsu said "You're weak against Ice attacks." Sarutaro nodded. Ritsu looked at Jack Frost "Let's see what you can do! Use Bufu!" Jack Frost sent out a small blizzard which made Shadow Kurogasa spin his staff, deflecting most of the blizzard.
"You'll have to do better then that!" Shadow Kurogasa yelled "I can see your every move before you make them!"
"We'll see about that!" Jack Frost disappeared as Lancelot reappeared "Lancelot! Power Slash!" Lancelot flew towards Shadow Kurogasa with his sword ready
"Alice! Use Zio!" Kitsune yelled as Alice sent a lightning bolt towards Shadow Kurogasa as well
"Sun Wukong! Back them up with Swift Strike!" Sun Wukong swung his staff at Shadow Kurogasa
Shadow Kurogasa smirked at their attempts and closed his eyes "First the knight's sword will be aimed at my left shoulder." Shadow Kurogasa sidestepped to the right making Lancelot's Power Slash miss "Next the girl's lightning strike will be aimed at my torso." He then slammed his staff in the ground, the lightning struck the staff and went into the ground "Finally, ape boy's staff will be coming down on my skull." Shadow Kurogasa took his staff out of the ground and sidestepped to the left, avoiding Sun Wukong's staff strike.
Sarutaro looked surprised "How did he dodge all of our attacks!"
"I have no idea." Kitsune said with equal shock "It's like he anticipated our attacks."
"I'm not surprised." Ritsu thought while he tightened his grip on his sword "Kurogasa always had a strategy up his sleeve whenever we battled."
"Why so shocked?" Shadow Kurogasa mocked "You should already know it's useless to try and attack me. I'll always be fifty steps ahead of you!"
"Kitsune." Kitsune looked at Ritsu "Keep him busy, I'm going to Kurogasa."
Kitsune nodded while Ritsu ran towards the stage where Kurogasa was with complete shock on his face.
"Kurogasa! Are you alright?" Ritsu asked Kurogasa who didn't respond "Kurogasa!"
"I-I don't want to forget them." Kurogasa muttered "They were my entire world and in a single car crash, it was ripped away from me."
Ritsu clenched his fist "Kurogasa! Get ready!" Kurogasa looked at Ritsu only to have a fist slam against his face sending him back a couple of feet "Have you snapped out of it yet? Or do you need another punch."
"W-Why did you do that?" Kurogasa asked while he was holding the place where Ritsu punched him.
"Has it sunk in yet?" Ritsu asked as he walked over to Kurogasa "You don't want to forget your parents because they were your world. I may not know what it's like to have parents, but I do know what it's like being alone." Ritsu knelt down in front of Kurogasa "You have to remember that they will always live on inside of you, even if you forget about them."
Their conversation was cut short when Shadow Kurogasa appeared above them in a weakened state with his staff above his head.
"You will not forget about your parents!" Shadow Kurogasa brought his staff crashing down on Ritsu and Kurogasa
"Ritsu! Kurogasa!" Kitsune yelled
"Watch out!" Sarutaro yelled as well while Hanahime squeezed her eyes shut.
Ritsu ran in front of Kurogasa and brought his sword up to block the staff that was coming down on them. When the staff connected with Ritsu's sword, Ritsu felt pain ignite in his arm that brought him down to his knee in intense pain.
"Lancelot! Garu!" Ritsu yelled through his teeth as Lancelot sent a tornado at Shadow Kurogasa, making him stumble.
"Alice! Zio!" Alice sent a lightning bolt at Shadow Kurogasa, electrocuting him. She then turned to Sarutaro "Saru finish it!"
Sarutaro nodded "Ready Sun Wukong?"
"Ready when you are boss." Sun Wukong nodded
"Right, use Agi!" Sun Wukong sent a blazing fireball at Shadow Kurogasa making him revert back to his original form. Everyone ran over to Ritsu and Kurogasa.
"Ritsu! Are you OK?" Kitsune knelt down in front of him.
Ritsu gave a weak smile "I'm alright, other than having a broken arm." They then looked to see Kurogasa's shadow standing in front of them. Kurogasa then stood up and walked in front of his shadow.
"I guess I didn't want to forget about my parents because if I were to forget about them I would really be alone." Kurogasa explained "I get it now, you're me, and I'm you." Kurogasa's shadow disappeared and transformed into an angel with red wings and wielding a staff. He then disappeared inside of Kurogasa "So, this is a Persona. It's incredible."
Ritsu cringed in pain as he tried to move his broken arm, Kitsune sighed and tore a section of her skirt, turning it into a makeshift sling for his arm.
"Better?" Kitsune asked
Ritsu blushed and stood up "Yeah."
"Yeah, I think we should get out of here." Kurogasa said "I sense a really deadly presence."
"Alright, let's go." Ritsu and the others ran out of the circus tent and stopped at the entrance.
"Hm, I need something stronger." Alucard said will Lester stood in front of him
"Don't worry Alucard, even if we don't succeed in killing them, they will eventually fall." Lester said and walked away.
At the hospital
Ritsu was sitting in a hospital bed checking his phone for a couple of things when he heard a knock on the door.
"Yes?" A nurse walked through the door and walked to Ritsu
"You have a visitor, someone by the name of Kitsune." The nurse explained
"Bring her in please." Ritsu told the nurse who walked out of the room to get Kitsune. A few minutes later Kitsune walked through the door and in the chair beside his hospital bed. "Hey."
"Hey, how's that arm holding up?" Kitsune asked, making Ritsu laugh slightly
"Well the doctor said it'll take a few weeks for my arm to fully heal. Ritsu explained as he had his arm in a sling.
"That's good to hear." Kitsune said and lowered her eyes.
Ritsu noticed this "What's the matter Kitsune?" Kitsune didn't answer "Kitsune."
Kitsune snapped out of her thoughts and turned away "You know, when Kurogasa's shadow attacked you two, I thought you were-"
"Kitsune, I'm tougher than I look." Ritsu explained while Kitsune looked at him
"I know, I just can't help but worry because I-"Kitsune stopped herself "Never mind, I'm going to go help Hanahime at the shop. Bye." Kitsune left the room and walked through the halls.
"Why didn't you tell him?" Alice asked Kitsune "It's obvious you like him."
Kitsune blushed at Alice's comment "I don't like him! I just can't help but worry, he's like a leader to us."
"You can't hide it from me, you love him!" Alice said which made Kitsune angry
"I don't love him!" Kitsune screamed in the halls which made everyone look at her. She laughed nervously "Hehe, sorry, just rehearsing a line for a play." Kitsune speed walked out of the hospital with a deep blush across her face. "You're lucky you're my psyche."
"Whatever~" Alice said before she vanished in her head.
At the shop Kitsune walked through the door seeing Hanahime, Sarutaro, and surprisingly Kurogasa taking people's orders
"Kitsune! You're here." Hanahime said "How's Ritsu doing?"
"He's fine; the doctor told him it would be a few weeks until his arm is fully recovered." Kitsune looked around "Um, do you guys need any help?"
"Yes, I asked Kurogasa for help as well and he said it was OK. We need you to help those tables over there." Hanahime pointed at the tables while she handed Kitsune an apron "Big Bro! We need more coffee!"
"I'm on it!" Sarutaro yelled and went into the back of the shop.
Hanahime noticed that Kitsune was troubled "Kitsune, what's wrong?"
"Oh, it's nothing; I'm just worried about Ritsu." Kitsune looked away form Hanahime when smiled slyly at her "What?"
"You like him don't you?" Hanahime asked as she picked up some coffee mugs
Kitsune blushed "N-No I don't"
"OK~" Hanahime said as she walked into the back of the shop, causing Kitsune to drop her shoulders
"Come on! I don't like him…That much." Kitsune thought while she laid her head on the counter and sighed, today was going to be a long day.
Ch.9 End
Thetrueazure: *Pokes head out of an air vent* I'm hiding from the reaper.
Ritsu: He's in the air vents!
Thetrueazure: Damn you Ritsu! *Jumps out of the air vents and starts running* Kurogasa has his own persona now, and we learn that Kitsune likes Ritsu, how will this play out, stay tuned.
Ritsu: OK, my arm is broken, but I'm not worried, we can finally relax for a while because I got a call from a friend telling me that I can bring my friends on a little trip, where you may ask. That's for me to know and for you to find out.
Next Time: Relaxing Trip
"I need a vacation."
Kurogasa has faced his other self, he has obtained the facade to overcome life's hardships. He has obtained the persona Michael the Archangel!
