Chapter 9: The Darkest Edge
It's official everyone…I have become addicted to your reviews. It may sound pretty weird, but your reviews are what keep me going. Maybe that's why I abandoned my previous ficPersona: Between Light and Shadows.
XoreandoX: …I didn't mean to make a running joke at all. The opportunity just seemed too good to pass.
Glad you guys like how I turned Rio into a very strong martial artist. But just how strong? Lets just say in an even battle between her and Minato, Rio will win hands down in less than a minute. One of the few people who actually might beat Minato.
On an unrelated note, I need a beta-reader so my story could be more fantastic.
Also check out my one-shot called 'Amusing' with Hamuko being the older sister to 9 year old Minato.
Now to the story!
"Hey, Minato…Akihiko-senpai seems pissed." whispered Junpei as Minato glances to where Akihiko is sitting. He is quietly sewing his boxing gloves…but something tells me he is mad. This got everyone, except for Mitsuru, worried.
Especially to young Hamuko.
"Is Akihiko-san mad at me?" asked Hamuko worryingly "Is it because he doesn't like me?"
"No one is mad at you Hamuko." said Minato reassuringly as he pats his sister's head.
"Yeah, what Minato said!" joined in Junpei to the little girl "I mean, senpai probably had a bad day…or something like that."
Akihiko overheard what they were saying and stops at what he was doing. He walks over while hlding his chest and says, "Hey don't worry kid…I was just…upset…over something…"
Hamuko looks up to the pained Akihiko. "R-Really Akihiko-san?"
"Yeah, but you don't have to call me Akihiko-san, just Akihiko will be fine…"
"…Okay Aki-kun!" said Hamuko. She sits down at the table to do her homework. Once she got distracted Akihiko glares at Minato.
"W-What?" stuttered Minato because he couldn't fathom as to why Akihiko is mad at him.
"I was going to be back in tip-top shape this week." said Akihko slowly.
"Really…that's good news…" said Minato but still doesn't get it…until he realizes what Akihiko just said "Was? What happened?"
"It is because of you that I have to wait until exams are over just so I could train again." said Akihiko calmly.
Both Minato and Junpei were confused…until Minato finally figures it out. "Don't tell me…you were…"
"I got trampled over…just so I could pick up your imoto-chan. They hit all my sore spots…and more."
Minato quickly apologizes for the pain Akihiko had to go through. In that moment, Akihiko lightens up. "Hey, don't worry about it. I figured you might be busy so I could take the pain. Just…warn the next guy next time."
Before Minato gets to answer, the doorbell rings. Junpei checks out who it is, but doesn't see anybody except a police car whizzing by. He looks down to see a rectangular package on the doorsteps.
"Who was it Iori?" asked Mitsuru suspiciously.
"Don't know. Probably one of those pranks…but they did leave us a present." Junpei brings in the package.
"Just what is in it? And for who?" asked Akihiko.
"Don't know…the only thing that said is 'The Evil Smile'."
Minato perks up and says, "I think this is for me. Probably one of my former employers sends me this."
"H-How…?"
"Some of them send me gifts for working so well in their companies." said Minato nonchalantly. He unwraps to see something gleam against the light. He paused to see what looks like a letter and picks it up."
From Kurosawa,
Don't say I didn't do anything for you. I should've been holding onto this but the Silver forced me to send it to you. All I ask is that you stay out of trouble and do NOT say about a word about that incident.
Consider this as a warning.
(Heh heh, Kurosawa you're still with us even after that, huh?) Minato takes out the object…
…to pull out an ornate scythe.
The scythe is a lot sleeker than the sickle Minato was using. The main body is pure black and is made out of stainless steel that is hollowed out from the inside giving it a light weight feel. The blade has some engravings that look like a wing of an angel on one side and on the other side is a devil wing. The blade looks recently made and has that new factory smell.
"Whoa, when did you afford this scythe?" asked Junpei "Because I sure want to know your manufacturer…"
"I recognized this scythe…" said Minato as he puts it back in the box "This is Darker than Dark."
"'Darker than Dark'?" asked Akihiko "Who came up with a name like that?"
"One of my old bosses…" said Minato simply. He grins and asks Mitsuru, "Is Yukari ready to go now?"
"Don't worry about me." piped in Yukari just as she is coming downstairs. "I'm feeling much better."
"Good…because now…stuff will die…"
After tucking Hamuko into bed and doing some light studying, Minato is sitting down on the bus while listening to some Advance Wars: Days of Ruin music (specifically Hope Never Dies) to get his adrenaline going. Finally…Tartarus, again.
Like last time, Minato, Junpei, and Yukari are going to explore Tartarus even further while Mitsuru gives them intel. Meanwhile, Akihiko will try to do some homework.
All is going well. The trio takes out several Shadows, despite not unlocking their Persona. They were having a stream of good luck.
This, unfortunately, pours into a basin of misfortune.
Junpei got ambushed by some sort of Tiara thingy and soon it called reinforcement in the form of Cowardly Mayas and Magic Hands.
"Oh for the…TAKE THIS! Orpheus!" shouted Minato as he summons the Master of Strings to send out a barrage of fire balls…not enough to do some actual damage. The Cowardly Mayas got smart and dog piles on Orpheus.
"…Can't…breathe…"
Minato flashes his new scythe to take out the three right in front of him. However…his lack of focus to the rear will cause him.
The Magic Hands decide to punch him with his back turned.
"Minato!" cried Junpei as he takes out another of those Cowardly Mayas. He sees more coming their way and shouts "Shit!...Well….here goes nothing!" Junpei pulls out his Evoker from his pockets and aims for his head. He flinches when he feels the gun in his hands and the barrel touching his cranium. He bites his lip and was about to pull the trigger when…
Bam! A Magic Hand punches him into the cheek making Junpei lose his balance, but with his Evoker still in his hands. He gets pissed, growls in pain, and shouts out,
"Persona!"
Junpei shoots himself with the Evoker to let loose of the blue shards. The shards start manifesting itself to a humanoid figure with razor sharp winds attached to his feet, wearing bronze armor, and those knight helmets. You could see the bright yellow eyes through the helmet.
"Thou art I…and I am thou…from the skies above…I have been awaken…"Junpei's persona does a spin kick on the Magic hand "I am Hermes, messenger of the gods!"
"Whoa…this is my Persona?" said Junpei in awe "…Sweet." Hermes punches a Shadow right into the mask and does a roundhouse kick to the one behind him. Soon more Shadows start appearing. Hermes focuses a little bit and unleashes a fireball against three Shadows at once.
"Iori, it seems your Persona knows the fire skill, Agi."
"Now that's what I'm talking about!" said Junpei as he swings his katana around.
Yukari briefly stares at Hermes, then to Junpei, and finally to Minato. She looks at her Evoker and bitterly thinks, (I'm being protected again…why? Minato did it and Stupei did it. Why couldn't I? Am I'm afraid?)
"Yuka-tan! Watch out!" shouted Junpei as he blocks a strike from a Shadow.
Yukari pulls out her Evoker and points it to her forehead, whispering "I can do this."
Once again, the blue shards appear, manifesting itself into a giant bull skull with a priestess with cloud-like hair chained to the skull.
"Thou art I…and I am thou…from the chains that bind me…I've been released…" the priestess sends a strong gust to give everyone room to fight "I am Lo, priestess of the mighty gods." Lo raises her hand onto Hermes, who had took some damage from slaughtering Shadows, have his armor fix.
"Hello…I'm the one who could use healing…"
Just then, Minato feels a cooling sensation to his body as his muscles dramatically relax. For once, he feels like his back isn't so jacked up.
(Good to know that the best that psychopath's Persona could do is summon wind and heal…) he thought to himself as he and Orpheus continue on with their carnage.
"Hey, save some for me!" shouted Junpei.
"Wait you two! Hold on!" shouted Yukari.
After a while, the trios along with their Personae are breathing heavily. There doesn't seem to be anymore reinforcements coming along.
"Hey…Kirijo-senpai…didn't you mention there's a guardian?" asked Yukari as she breathes deeply.
"Yes, just the next floor…but I advise against it since you might be fatigue…"
"Nonsense Mitsuru-san!" shouted Minato "We're feeling great…huh?" Minato suddenly sees cards floating in air. One holds a picture of a red sword, the second seems to appear to be coin, the third has a skull mark on it, and the last has a fairy on it. (Something tells me I shouldn't get the skull marked card…despite that itlooks so cool.) The cards shuffle themselves, but Minato picks the one with the fairy on it.
You have welcomed the Persona, Pixie, into your heart.
(What the hell? But I thought my Persona was Orpheus…wait…that kid did say something about my powers…)
But what an unusual power it is. A power that could take many forms, but is bound by none.
(I wonder…maybe he was referring to the idea that maybe I could multiple Personae. Igor said something about my power being like the number zero.)
"Come on, lets keep going!" yelled Junpei.
Minato, Junpei, and Yukari walk up the stairs feeling confident. For Yukari, she feels like she could do this now. Junpei is eagerly waiting for what's next. Heck, even Minato is humming the instrumental song "We Will Prevail". To say Mitsuru is impressed was an understatement. It's like saying Akihiko being a good boxer but have difficulty with his homework.
Too bad their confidence got shot down again.
Without warning, something whizzing by hit Junpei quite hard, causing him to fall off from the stairs. Minato and Yukari look as to what's going on, until Minato feels like being lift from the ground. Yukari looks around to see what the heck is going on."
"Come in…do you hear me Takeba?" asked Mitsuru, who was taken aback by the surprise attack.
"Something…WHOA!" Yukari feels a gust of wind hitting her. She could barely keep her eyes open, just enough to see an eagle carrying some sort of lantern.
Back to the previous floor, Junpei is nursing his leg…with some bandages he always carries around. "Freaking Shadow with his stupid sneak attack…" He grimaces in pain as he stops a minor, but potentially serious bleeding. "Come on out there and fight like a man!"
Minato falls onto the floor quite hard. He grumbles that those Shadows don't seem to have any decency. He tries to get up but stumbles.
(Shit, not now…I can't black out now…) thought Minato as he grips onto scythe
Junpei is swinging his katana around like a mad man, but the Venus Eagle (according to Mitsuru) kept dodging his swings. To make matters worst, the Venus Eagle keeps sending very powerful wind. Even the slightest wind can make Junpei lose his balance.
"Damn it, this thing is tough," said Junpei as he rubs his rear end "Screw this…LETS GO HERMES!"
The armored messenger appears and starts chasing after that poultry. The Eagle counters by sending a gust against Hermes…back to Junpei.
"Ouch!" shouted Junpei, for his Persona is quite spiky…and the spikes are pointing to his ribs. Junpei gets up and tries swinging his katana against the Shadow. Needless to say he misses several times, while Hermes tries chasing it. Unfortunately, Hermes crashes into a wall every now and then.
"Oh, this is really burns…and I don't know how much heat my body could take…" mumbled Junpei as he applies some ointment. All of a sudden, he has a brilliant idea…and Hermes knows it too.
Hermes sets himself on fire causing the room to significantly warm up. He starts spinning around…so fast that the embers are coming in from all directions. Several of them catch onto the Venus Eagle and it starts trying to put out the fire. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Hermes flies toward it while spinning around for a critical Cleave attack.
The bird shrieks in pain as it fades away.
Yukari isn't doing so well. Even with Lo's healing abilities, she's taking more damage than she could restore. Her Garu skills won't work since it's highly resistant to wind. If she could just shoot even one arrow…
Yukari barely dodges the airborne attack from the Shadow, though it's not easy when you're in a staircase. More often then not, she almost slipped, only to grab hold of the railing. At this rate…
Yukari tries to calm down a bit…and figures out how to take it down…
She pulls out her Evoker to summon Lo…and hides within the skull part. The Shadow tries to get into the skull, but Yukari snipes it, causing some massive damage.
"It's working…" whispered Yukari "I can't believe Personae are good at being walls." She gasps for breath all of a sudden "No…just a little longer…one more hit…and it's down…" She inhales the air deeply, trying to calm her heart down.
3…
2…
1…
Yukari dismisses her Persona and rushes off with her arrow ready. Perfect timing, since the Venus Eagle is coming at full charge. In all honesty, Yukari never fired an arrow while running before, but right now, she doesn't care.
The arrow was released…the Shadow went through Yukari…everything went silent…
The Shadow crashed into the stairs and degenerates into some black smoke. Yukari gives a sigh of relief as she sits down…
Minato's luck is pretty crummy. Not only does he have to deal with an annoying Shadow, but he also has to stop himself from blacking out. He also took some blows into the stomach and feels like his lunch is trying to get out. What's stopping this from marking the 'Worst Moment of his Life' was that the Pixie he picked up could heal…kinda like those fairies in the Legend of Zelda series. Except…they don't revive you when you die…and they cost some energy.
Minato tries for the wait-and-counter approach. He could doge it perfectly…it's the countering that's difficult. The last time he tried it, his scythe barely graze the Shadow's wings...which is basically the best he got so far. He took another hit and feels the pain.
"Damn…this thing is just too fast for me…unless…" Minato pulls out his Evoker to bring forth Orpheus. (I'll have to sacrifice healing at some point and I can't stay on the defensive forever. If I hope to clip this bird's wings, I'll have to get slap around a feel times now.) Orpheus sends out a single Agi spell, but it misses entirely. Minato attempts to predict where the bird is going as he tries to pin point its location.
Unfortunately, the more Minato tries to focus, the more dangerously close his blackout will happen. He really has just one chance…
"Ah, screw this; I'm going for a reckless kill…" Minato sprints toward to just where the Venus Eagle is about to make a corner turn. Orpheus follows Minato as they are about to collide with their opposition.
…Clang…
That…was the sound…Minato's scythe…falling to the ground…and there's another sound that could be heard…
The sound of Orpheus beating up the Venus Eagle with his mechanical fists…and Minato holding his victim down…
"Heh…when in doubt…a properly planned…reckless attack…is…the…way…to" Minato passes out just before he gets a chance to finish his sentence.
Shortly after the fight, Junpei and Yukari rush to Minato's side, not knowing if he's faring well against those Shadows. Once they get up there, they see Minato's lifeless body.
Yukari hesitates to check if he's alive or not, and Junpei is scared to know.
"…How's…Arisato?" asked Mitsuru nervously.
"I…I don't know…I'm not sure…if I want to know…" replied Junpei.
All is silent…until…
He starts tossing and turning like he's in bed. The others give a sigh of relief when they hear him grunting and mumbling "Why is it so cold?"
"He's fine Mitsuru-senpai…" said Junpei "He probably just fell asleep."
"…The Dark Hour does have that affect on everybody…it seems perfect to turn in for the night…"
"Yeah…I feel exhausted…hey wasn't there an Access Point on this floor?" asked Yukari.
"Indeed Takeba."
Junpei carries Minato over his shoulder…though trying to lift Minato was like trying to lift up a concrete block.
Later that night, Akihiko and Junpei had to drag Minato into his room, trying to very careful as not wake up Hamuko.
After all, how are you supposed to explain why you are dragging her aniki to an innocent, yet perceptive 10 year old girl?
Orpheus is dragging himself to the apartment, when he gets an unexpected surprise. A new roommate, the Persona, Pixie.
Orpheus: WTF…get out of my house!
Pixie: Tee hee, sorry, but can't do that. Here, let me help you…RELAX!
Orpheus feels pretty sleepy and collapses on the floor.
Pixie: Ha ha ha, that was funny…Hmm? What's this? *Picks up a piece of paper* "The Observer 00 doesn't own the Persona series." Who the heck is the Observer "Also s/he apologizes for the conclusion of this chapter. They didn't know how to end this and felt a little drained. Also they apologize for how late this chapter went up, since s/he kinda got stuck. However, they will keep working on it until the very end. Also s/he saw the trailer for 'Shin Megami Tensei: Catherine" and might just reference it in future chapters."
Pixie: Sheesh, doesn't guy…er, girl…have a life…well, better drag this guy's body upstairs…*sigh* man, those Shadows were pretty tough though...i mean, they just seperated the group, just so they could take them out cheaply...like 'Left 4 Dead' where zombies try to seperate the group. Makes you wnbder how the other Shadows will try to seperate the group. OMG, this guy's body is so FREAKING heavy!
