Thank you for reading and reviewing! :D sorry for the delay in posting the next chapter. I've been super busy these days. My last exam is coming up so I'm preparing for that. It'll probably take me this long from now on as I'll be visiting family over the summer holidays. But, for those who are enjoying this, I will keep writing, and appreciate every one of you, especially for being patient with me! :)
The Velvet Lake
Chapter Ten
When Akari heard Theodore hang up, she sighed. She quickly remembered Akihiko was standing next to her waiting and blushed. "S-Sorry, senpai…u-um…"
"Don't apologise," he told her. "You ready for me to call you?"
She nodded and waited for her phone to ring. Afterwards, she navigated to her missed calls. She saved his number as 'Akihiko-senpai'. Afterwards, she found Theodore's number and saved it as 'Theodore-senpai'. "Would 'Theodore-senpai' be correct?"
"It depends on how he's related to you," Akihiko explained.
"It's hard to explain…he seems older and wiser than me."
"I'd just go with senpai, then."
She nodded and put her phone away. "Okay. Well, thank you, Akihiko…I suppose I'll see you tonight."
"Yeah…" he muttered. "I'll see you later. Be careful, Akari."
"Don't worry, I will," she promised, smiling cheerfully to hide her nervousness. "Bye!"
When she entered the café, many heads turned to watch her. She tried to ignore them as she walked bravely up to the counter where a girl she was sure was Haru stood behind the display with a sweet smile. "Master Riku has been expecting you! Please go on through to his office."
Akari bowed and quickly went through the door, walking briskly down the corridor. She stopped when she reached Riku's door and raised her hand to knock, taking a deep breath…
"Hello, Miss Rose," Riku greeted softly, opening the door before she could knock.
"H-Hello Riku," Akari greeted nervously.
"Are you ready to begin your first shift?"
"Well…I-I'm pretty nervous…"
Riku muttered something in Japanese that Akari couldn't understand before speaking in English again. "Totemo kawaii desu yo…you have no reason to be nervous, Miss Rose. You will fit in perfectly, I can assure you."
"I don't think so, you see, um-"
"Now now, you must not be so hard on yourself. Your dress is waiting for you in the bathroom. Please, go ahead. I shall be waiting out here."
Akari saw no other option but to put on the dress and do as Riku asked; it was, after all, her new job so she knew she was going to give in. She didn't have the confidence to say no to people in fear of what their response would be and didn't want to let people down or make them unhappy. After she let those thoughts circle her mind for a mere few seconds, she entered the bathroom and closed the door. Once she'd changed into the dress, she took a deep breath and turned the handle. Riku looked up from the paperwork on his desk with bespectacled eyes and a flirtatious smile. Akari couldn't keep eye contact for longer than two seconds and had quickly shied away to look at her feet.
"You are just as cute as I remember," Riku told her softly as he stood up. "Please wait here whilst I collect Haru. She will give you a tour of our adorable café."
Akari nodded and watched him leave. Whilst he was gone, she nervously squeezed her hands and felt her body shaking. She wondered how long Riku was going to be and pondered whether or not she had time to sneak her phone into her apron pocket so the option to text Akihiko was available at all times. After all, they just swapped numbers for that reason. Since she'd convinced herself to get it, she hurried into the bathroom and closed the door so that if Riku and Haru arrived it didn't look suspicious.
"So, Miss Rose," Riku said as he came back into his office, accompanied by a smiling Haru. "I have brought Haru. She will give you a tour and show you the ropes. You will have to forgive me for the wait just now; Haru was serving a customer."
"O-Oh, that's all right," Akari said.
"Don't be nervous, Akari," Haru told her. "Our customers will love you!"
Riku nodded. "She is right. I guarantee it. So, I will leave you to it."
Haru nodded as Riku sat back down at his desk. "Please follow me, Akari! I'll show you around."
Akari followed her out of Riku's office and back through to the main café. She only just noticed that most of the customers were in fact young men and male students. Her cheeks heated up as she stood timidly behind the counter with Haru, who began to describe how she deals with payments and orders.
"Your job is to serve the customers and keep them satisfied," she explained.
"Satisfied…?" Akari wondered.
Haru nodded. "By serving them food and drinks, attending to their needs and taking part in the activities we offer."
"What exactly do you mean by attending to their needs?"
"Socialising with them, entertaining them and making sure their eyes have something to undress."
She blushed furiously. "W-What?"
"Your personality is important when you're in front of customers. So even if it's an act, you must be cute, attractive and happy at all times."
Akari didn't know how to respond. "What about the activities you offer?"
"Customers can take photos with their chosen maid for a fee, play games with the maids, have a date with their maid…"
"Date…?"
Haru nodded. "We also hold special events. For example, last Christmas we held an event that lasted throughout the twelve days of Christmas…it was very fun! I hope you will still be here to enjoy the holiday season with us this year. Oh, look! We have another customer. Why don't you take this one?"
Akari wasn't ready to be thrown into the deep end. Her knees felt week and she looked to see who had just came in. A young boy with jet-black hair had entered and nervously walked up to the counter. He greeted them in Japanese with a timid smile and Haru attended to him since she knew Akari couldn't speak much Japanese.
"This is Master Hiroki," she told Akari. "Master Hiroki, this is our newest maid, Akari-chan! Today is her first day, so please be gentle with her."
"D-Don't the customers get to choose their maid…?" she wondered.
Haru made a noise of agreement. "He chose you straight away!"
"W-What am I supposed to do?" Akari asked in panic.
"Take Master Hiroki to a table and serve him. Most importantly, have fun!"
Akari watched Haru walk away to help another maid, leaving Akari to deal with the customer. "H-Hello, Master Hiroki. U-Um…please follow me to a table."
Hiroki shyly followed her to an empty table by the window. "Arigatou…"
Akari bowed as he sat down and nervously pulled her dress towards her knees after offering him a menu. "Is there anything I can get you?"
"I'll have a melon bubble tea, please."
"Of course," she replied. "Anything else?"
He shook his head. "'sank you…"
Akari smiled at his accent and nodded. "I'll be right back."
Hiroki nodded and returned the smile as he watched her walk away. Akari found Haru and gave her Hiroki's order. Haru showed Akari how to work the bubble tea machine and explained how the maids personalise the food and drinks with various decorations. She told Akari to just do as she feels when decorating a customer's order, since it would be more personal that way. Akari didn't know what to do with the melon bubble tea since there was no frothed milk to write in and her mind was too nervous to be creative, so she just brought it straight to Hiroki and sat down opposite him.
"I hope you enjoy it," she said, giving him her cutest smile.
"Arigatou…" Hiroki was blushing as he took a sip of his drink. "Oishii desu ne…"
Akari giggled nervously. "I-I'm sorry, my Japanese isn't very good…"
"Oh," he said quietly. "You are not Japanese. I can teach you, if you like."
"Really? That would be wonderful!" Akari replied.
Hiroki looked up and smiled. "Eto…konnichiwa, watashi wa Hiroki desu."
Akari stared blankly. "U-Um…"
Hiroki chuckled. "I said 'hello, my name is Hiroki.'."
"O-Okay…um…konnichiwa! Watashi wa Akari desu."
"…You aren't like the others."
"Huh?"
"You seem different. Your personality…you're quieter than the others. But…it makes you cuter, totemo kawaii."
Akari's cheeks turned bright red, now understanding what Riku had said earlier. "N-No…that's ridiculous."
Hiroki smiled and took another sip of his drink. "Can I…play a game with you?"
"O-Of course," she replied automatically, but had no idea where this was going to lead.
Hiroki decided on karaoke. Akari was horrified, but forced herself over to the machine anyway. She let him decide on a few songs and they waited for the first one to load. When he was about thirty seconds into the first song, which was from an anime Akari didn't know, they appeared to have already drawn a bit of a crowd. A few customers and maids were watching. Neither Akari nor Hiroki realised this since he was too busy looking at the screen and she was watching him sing, but once the first song finished, the few people that had been watching cheered and applauded, making Akari and Hiroki turn around in surprise. Since they were speaking in Japanese, Akari couldn't understand what they were saying.
"They want us to duet," Hiroki translated in a quiet voice as the next song finished loading. "We can get the lyrics in English."
Akari swallowed nervously. "Really…? Wouldn't it sound weird if you sang in Japanese and I sang in English…?"
"I think it would sound beautiful."
Hiroki had chosen to sing 'Mr Rock 'n Roll' by Amy Macdonald as a duet. Akari thought it was a little romantic but realised it probably fit the theme of the café, so she went with it because it was now her job. She watched the screen as music started to play, lyrics started scrolling in Japanese and Hiroki began singing…
Suddenly the lyrics were in English. Akari almost didn't realise she was supposed to be singing since she was used to reading English anyway…"Rock chick of the century is acting like she used to be, dancing like there's no one there, before she never seemed to care, now she wouldn't dare, it's so rock and roll…to be alone…"
The lyrics for the chorus came up in both languages, so they sang in unison…"And they'll meet one day far away and say…'I wish I was something more'…and they'll meet one day far away and say…'I wish I knew you…I wish I knew you before…'"
By the end of the song, Akari's cheeks were burning. She wanted to run and hide as everyone applauded and cheered for them, but she was forced to stay to make the customer happy…
"That was fun," Hiroki said as they walked back over to their table. "I enjoyed hearing you sing in English, too. It was nice."
Akari giggled nervously. "Heh…I had fun, too. I liked listening to your singing…the Japanese language is beautiful."
Haru appeared at their table. "Konnichiwa! Sadly your time with Akari-chan has come to an end…thank you for being such an exquisite customer, Master Hiroki! As a token of appreciation for being Akari-chan's first customer, we will allow you to have a photo with her for free! This way, please!"
Together they followed Haru to the photo booth. She ushered them inside and got the Polaroid camera ready. Akari swallowed hard and felt her legs turning to jelly as Hiroki put an arm around her. He smiled at her before turning to the camera.
"How about like this?" Haru suggested, posing examples for Akari, making the cute 'V' sign with a wink and one leg bent behind her.
She gave it a go, feeling a little silly but left out the leg part since her balancing skills were awful and probably nonexistent whilst feeling nervous. Her cheeks were pink and Hiroki stared at her. Suddenly he kissed her cheek; Akari was frozen in her pose, in shock more than anything but this made her able to freeze-frame for Haru, who snapped a shot quickly. They took another photo, but this time they both posed with cute 'V' signs whilst embracing.
"Here are your photos!" Haru announced excitedly. "Akari-chan, this is a souvenir or your first customer!"
"T-Thank you…" she whispered, blushing furiously.
"Which one do you want, Akari-chan?" Hiroki asked.
"I don't mind. You should pick, Master Hiroki. You're the customer."
"I will take this one then," he told her, taking the one of him kissing her cheek. "It's so cute. Well, then…arigatou gozaimasu…kyou wa tanoshi katta desu. Mata ne, Akari-chan."
She watched him leave, feeling confused. "What did he say, Haru?"
"He said 'Thank you, I had a great time today. See you next time.'."
She smiled broadly. "H-He really said that…?"
Haru nodded and smiled back. "You satisfied your first customer."
"Hehe! I'm so happy! I'm just going to the toilet before I serve my next customer," Akari squealed before hurrying across the room and locking herself in the toilet. She pulled her phone from her pocket and selected Akihiko from her list of contacts.
Hi Akihiko-senpai! It's Akari. ^w^ I just served my first customer and he wasn't weird or perverted! I just thought I'd let you know because I don't want you to worry about me. Anyway, I have to get on with work...I'm so nervous though. It's crazy how busy this place gets…hehe. I hope you're having fun. See you tonight~
Akihiko had only been back at the dorm for about ten minutes before his phone vibrated. He stopped punching his punch bag in curiosity and grabbed his phone from the bed. Whilst reading Akari's message, he could hear her voice in his head as though she was reading it to him. He breathed a sigh of relief at her words, soon immersed in boxing again and the angst he felt about perverts got smaller and smaller with each punch.
The clock read ten minutes to eight. Akari had just finished her last customer and was helping the other maids tidy up when her phone vibrated. Her heart skipped a beat in excitement and she pulled her phone out quickly in hope that Akihiko had replied to her text.
Hey Akari. Glad to hear your first customer wasn't some weird pervert. I just hope the rest weren't, either. Sorry I didn't text you back straight away. I thought it might distract you from working so I waited. Speaking of waiting, you should look outside.
Akari looked up from the table she was wiping and gasped because Akihiko stood outside. He waved at her; she blushed and waved back, smiling uneasily as she realised he'd be watching her clean the rest of the tables in her maid outfit.
What are you doing here! Are you waiting for me…?
She watched Akihiko look down at his phone and read her message, then look back up and nod. She swallowed nervously and subconsciously gave him a sheepish grin before getting back to cleaning the tables. She noticed Haru was the only other person still there, diligently sorting out the till. Realising the other maids must have finished their tasks, she hurried to finish her own.
"Sorry for surprising you like this," Akihiko apologised as they started walking towards the exit.
"O-Oh, i-it's okay," she told him tensely as the glowing blue alleyway caught her eye. She debated with herself whether or not to explore it, but came to the conclusion that she was better of trying another time when she was alone. "What are you doing here?"
"Mitsuru and I agreed that it would be best if I walked you home since you leave so late and the existence of Shadows in our world makes it even more dangerous for a young girl to walk home alone at night."
Akari wanted to defend herself, but she knew Akihiko was right and gave in. "You're right."
"…So, how was your first day?"
"Um…successful…?" she replied, questioning her own answer. "It wasn't exactly what I thought it would be…"
"Yeah, when you said you were a maid I didn't expect it to be that kind of maid…"
Akari blushed and stared at the ground as they walked towards the bridge, which is pretty much how it was for the rest of the journey home, too. She felt extremely awkward the whole time so she couldn't think of anything to say, but whenever she glanced at Akihiko he didn't seem to show any signs of discomfiture or embarrassment; instead he looked calm and content.
Not long after they'd arrived back at the dorm, Yukari dragged Akari upstairs to her bedroom. She closed the door behind her and looked at Akari with an excited, expectant expression. It turned out she was eager to know how her first day of work at Chagall Café went. After Akari had given her every detail she could remember, Yukari was finally satisfied.
"Some coincidence that we ended up in the same tutor group, huh?" Yukari pointed out, stretching her arms.
"Yes it is," Akari agreed.
"Funny, huh? You know, the first time Junpei saw us together he got jealous and wondered how we knew each other. It's fun to tease him sometimes."
Akari merely giggled. "I should probably let you get some sleep…"
"Yeah, now that you mention it, I am pretty tired," Yukari realised. "By the way…you don't have to be formal around me or anything. We're friends now, right?"
She nodded in response as Yukari turned on her television. Akari watched as a reporter spoke swiftly in Japanese about something to do with someone in a hospital. The man who was being admitted looked blankly as a doctor attempted to question him. His responses were confused mumbles and groans…
"Y-You don't want to see that…" Yukari trailed off, changing the channel.
Akari assumed it was someone who'd fallen victim to Apathy Syndrome and become one of the Lost, judging by his current state. She was relieved that Yukari had changed the channel, but she still felt horrified after seeing the person act like a zombie. It was hard to accept the reality of it all…
She returned to her own room and collapsed on her bed, letting out a sigh. A sudden rapping on her door made her jump back up and hurry to answer it. "Oh, hello Mitsuru-senpai."
"Good evening, Akari," Mitsuru said with a serious expression.
All of a sudden Akihiko appeared behind Mitsuru. "Mind if we come in?"
"N-Not at all…is something wrong?"
"No, we just want to talk to you," Akihiko explained, closing the door behind him.
"We wanted to know how you felt about continuing to be the leader during our explorations in Tartarus," Mitsuru told her.
"At least until I'm fully healed."
"Akihiko and I were the only members of SEES until just recently. I understand that asking you to join was a big enough request to begin with, but we need all the help we can get."
"I-I understand what you're saying, but I don't think I'm the right person to be the leader-"
"Akari, you're the only one who can summon your Persona without difficulty. It makes sense in the current situation for you to be our leader."
"W-Wouldn't it make more sense for either of you two to be the leader? You both have far more experience than I do."
"See? I told you, Mitsuru."
Mitsuru sighed and folded her arms. "I'm aware that I cannot force you into being our leader, but I want you to at least think about it before you make such a snap decision."
Akari swallowed nervously, feeling as though she'd just been scolded. "O-Okay."
"Thank you. Oh, and there's one last thing. If you want to train in Tartarus, let me know. You never know when a powerful Shadow may appear. Well, I'll leave you to it. Goodnight, Akari."
"Goodnight, Mitsuru-senpai…"
Once Mitsuru had left, Akari looked at her feet and held her hands together, feeling uneasy now. "I-Is there something else you wanted…?"
Akihiko almost didn't hear her; his thoughts were back at the café…"O-Oh, I…um…did you finish your homework on Ise Monogatari?"
She nodded. "Yes…how do you know about my homework?"
"Oh, Junpei told me about it. He said you wanted help with it, but since you've finished it maybe I should read through it for you instead, since I studied it last year."
"Really? That would be really helpful."
Akari gave him a nervous smile as she waited for her laptop to start up and Akihiko stood patiently behind her. After loading up her article, he rested his hands on the back of her chair and began to read through it. She began to bite a nail anxiously until she accidentally bit too hard and squealed in pain, making Akihiko look down at her.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"Y-Yeah…" she lied, putting pressure on where she'd accidentally pulled skin away to stop the bleeding.
"What happened?"
"N-Nothing…don't worry…" she told him, checking her finger. "Carry on-"
Suddenly he was bending down next to her and saw her finger bleeding. "You're bleeding. How did that happen?"
"Akihiko, please-"
"Akari, how did you start bleeding?"
She stayed silent and pressed the cut firmly, only feeling able to manage a feeble apology. "I'm sorry, senpai…"
"What are you apologising for? It's not like it was deliberate or self-harm, is it?"
Akari didn't reply; over the past few years, biting her nails had become a habit she'd gotten into when she was especially nervous, but it usually ended up resulting in making herself bleed. She'd gotten used it being painful, but not used to the actual feeling of pain itself so it still hurt when she did it. She genuinely didn't do it deliberately, though; biting her nails was such a habit now that it would happen automatically when she found herself in a daunting situation.
"It's not deliberate…" she told him after a while. "It happens when I get too anxious…"
"What are you anxious about right now?"
"…" Akari made a noise, but no words came out. "B-Being around you, s-senpai…"
"Huh…? Being around me is making you anxious right now?" he repeated, unsure if he'd heard her correctly.
"Y-You know I'm not so good around boys…"
"You say that, but…you seem fine around Junpei," he pointed out. "Are you sure it's not me…?"
Akari realised he may be right. She was less nervous around Junpei than Akihiko and the only reason she could think of was that she might be developing a crush on him…and she could never tell him that…but how could she be sure it was a crush instead of her being tense in the presence of boys? She still felt nervous around Junpei but found it easier to talk to him because he was a confident person himself and usually does most of the talking. She didn't feel the butterflies and tension in her stomach like when she was with Theodore and she was pretty sure she had an instant crush on him.
"I-I'm sure," she told him after a minute of silence. "Junpei's a confident person, so he usually does all the talking…"
Akihiko looked unsure. "…All right. You shouldn't bite your nails, though. I don't want you make your fingers bleed all the time. It's not good."
She nodded. "I realise that…I'm sorry, it really does just happen though. I try my best not to but it's like an automatic reaction to my anxiety…"
"Well, as long as you try your best there's not much more you can do. Actually, come to think of it, I could punish you…"
"B-But you still haven't punished me for other things-"
"You want me to punish you for everything now?" Akihiko chuckled. "You should be thankful I'm being so lenient with your punishment. Back in the day, I never used to be this soft. Maybe it's because you come across as fragile…"
"I'll get stronger though, right?" she asked warily.
"Of course you will," he assured her. "It'll be a slow process, but you'll get there."
"Maybe I'll challenge you to a boxing match when I do."
"Haha…I couldn't accept that challenge."
"Why not?"
He felt his cheeks go red. "B-Because you're a girl…a-and you're my friend. I don't want to accidentally hurt you…"
Akari blushed at how it almost sounded like he'd called her his girlfriend. "I'll be okay…"
Akihiko shook his head. "No. I'm not risking it-"
"I might not give you a choice," she said, feeling a surge of courage.
"Was that another threat?"
"Yes," she told him, clarifying it properly this time.
"I see," he said with a smile. "Do you plan on acting on your original threat first?"
"Perhaps." Akari's voice was now almost a whisper and she turned to face her laptop. "U-Um…so how much have you read?"
Akihiko smirked to himself and had a feeling she wasn't going to act on either of her threats. When he'd finished reading her article, he praised her work and left to get some sleep, letting Akari get ready for bed too.
In the morning there was no sign of Akihiko or Yukari, so Akari journeyed to school with Junpei. Her mind was on Akihiko, so she didn't really know what Junpei was talking about. Now and again she heard parts of his apparent conversation with her and could just about make out that he was complaining about coming to school being a job itself, let alone fighting Shadows in Tartarus with everyone…
"…Not that I'm complaining," Junpei chuckled. "I do feel a lot more satisfied these days."
"We've only just started though," Akari said, feeling she'd zoned out for long enough.
"I know, but I already feel a buzz of excitement when I think about Tartarus. Don't you feel it too?"
"Not really…I…"
"Are you going to be okay? You shouldn't push yourself too hard and get sick."
"Don't worry, I'll be fine," she assured him, but he didn't look like he believed her; she didn't blame him, though. She didn't believe herself, either.
Junpei sighed as they walked through the school gates. "Man, I don't know how I'll pass the time until after school. SEES is all I'm going to look forwards to now…"
The final lesson of the day ended and students hurried out of their classrooms in groups to get to their after school clubs, but in Akari's classroom Junpei approached her with a grin on his face.
"Man, napping in class is always more refreshing! Hey, want to grab a bite to eat at Hagakure? My treat," he asked eagerly.
"Are you sure?" Akari wondered in surprise.
"Yeah. C'mon, let's go. I'm starving."
Akari followed Junpei out of school and onto the train at Port Island Station. It was a quick trip to the Strip Mall; when they arrived and began walking through it, Akari was instantly reminded of her shopping trip with Akihiko where she met his friend 'Shinji' who accused them of being on a date…
"Akari! You coming?" Junpei called, waiting by the staircase.
"O-Oh, sorry!" she stuttered, rushing across to him.
"Something on your mind?" he asked.
"Coming here reminded me of when I went shopping with Akihiko-senpai," she told him quietly, following him closely as they started going upstairs. "Mmm...what's that smell?"
"Oh, you like fast food too, huh? That, my friend, is Wild-Duck Burger. It's so bad for you but sometimes I get a craving. Man, Hagakure is crowded…I hope we can get in."
Luckily they managed to get in without much waiting and were seated at the bar at the back of the restaurant. Junpei ordered two specials, not giving Akari any choice but she didn't say anything since he was paying for her. "The special…?"
"Yeah, well the normal meals are good too but the special is pure awesome," he explained enthusiastically. "You'll be glad you had it, trust me."
They hadn't waited long for their meals. Akari had no idea what was going to appear on her plate- or bowl, as it turned out to be; two large bowls of soup and noodles were placed in front of them, making both of their stomachs rumble from the delicious smells wafting from the ramen.
Suddenly it hit Akari that she hadn't had much practice with chopsticks and she didn't want to make a fool of herself in front of people. "Hey, Junpei, I don't suppose they have forks here, do they?"
"You're in luck there, Akari! Hagakure is used to the occasional tourist," he replied happily, before realising what he'd said. "Not that you are, I mean-"
"It's okay," she assured him with a smile. "B-But…would you mind asking for one, please-?"
"Sure. Hey mister, can I get a fork please?"
Akari felt an abrupt vibration in her cat purse, making her jump slightly. She immediately pulled out her phone and checked her messages, noticing straight away that it was from Akihiko.
Hey Akari. I just wanted to wish you good luck for work. I hope today is as successful as yesterday was. Remember to text me if one of your customers turns out to be a weird pervert. See you later.
"Judging by the smile on your face, I'm going with Akihiko," Junpei smirked.
"Huh?" Akari wondered, looking up from her phone. "O-Oh…"
The man behind the counter handed Junpei a fork. He gave it to Akari, who took it with gratitude and put her phone away in embarrassment. Junpei watched her as she stabbed the noodles and swirled them around her fork, not taking her eyes off of the bowl. She silently moved the fork to her mouth and ate a small mouthful.
"So, are you enjoying the ramen?" Junpei asked, deciding to change the subject.
"It's delicious," Akari admitted. "The soup blends well with the noodles. They're really thick too. I've never seen these before."
"Fresh egg udon noodles are the way to go!" he told her enthusiastically, digging into his own food and eating noisily, clearly enjoying his ramen. "Hey, um…do you feel okay?"
"What do you mean? Of course I do."
"Well…Akihiko-senpai told me that you were in hospital for a while, but I don't really know the details and I completely understand if you don't want to talk about it. It's just…you always seem so full of energy at school and these past few days you've been a little out of it."
"Y-You mean…you were worried about me?" she asked, feeling heat in her cheeks and keeping her eyes focused on her bowl.
"Heh…yeah. I had some problems when I transferred too, but you have all the fighting stuff on top of that."
Akari remembered how badly Junpei wanted to be the leader in Tartarus. "Thank you…"
"I was getting worried that you weren't accustomed to school, this culture or everything that's been happening, but I think you'll be just fine."
"I hope so," she agreed, giving him a smile; abruptly she felt herself zoning out and turning back to her bowl of ramen, where her stare fixated on a single piece of meat…
Master Akari Rose…" Theodore's gentle voice came from nowhere. "This is the first step in your new found friendship with the Magician arcana. As you become closer to him, the power of the Magician arcana will grow inside of you, enabling the ability to hold stronger Personae of that arcana…well then, good luck, Akari-sama…"
"Yo Akari, you okay?" Junpei asked, bringing Akari back to reality.
She looked up instantly and smiled sheepishly. "Y-Yeah…say, can you do magic tricks?"
"Magic tricks?"
"Sorry, that was pretty random," she realised, swirling more noodles onto her fork. "Hey…did I eat that piece of meat…?"
Junpei chuckled. "…Sorry. I stole it since you were staring at it so much but it would seem that attempt at getting your attention didn't work. I guess you could say it was a magic trick."
"Oh, that's not what I meant…"
"Heh, I'm sure if I summoned my Persona right now, most people here would think it's a magic trick."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," came a gruff voice from Junpei's left. "With people turning into zombies these days I don't think there's much else they won't believe."
Akari gasped as she recognised him as Akihiko's friend 'Shinji', wearing the same maroon pea coat and black beanie hat as before. He looked at her with a knowing smile and rested his arms on the bar.
"W-What are you talking about?" Junpei questioned.
"Sorry, just ignore me. I shouldn't be butting into something that's none of my business," Akihiko's friend said roughly. "Hey, can I order one special over here, please?"
Akari and Junpei left the young boy to it and silently resumed eating their ramen. Soon enough, a smirk emerged upon Junpei's lips and Akari wondered to herself what he was thinking about.
"What's with that face?" Akari asked, unable to hold in her curiosity.
"Oh, a thought just crossed my mind, that's all. I noticed our dorm seems to be unisex. That can't be good, right?" Junpei replied casually with the same smirk, noticing Akari's blushing cheeks. "Don't worry. I don't drag love into my work. I can't guarantee I won't fall for someone though! Haha!"
They chatted about school life for what seemed like hours before going their separate ways and after a busy evening at work, Akari returned to the dorm too and took her usual place on the sofa.
"Akari, have you been monitoring your condition since you left the hospital?" Mitsuru asked.
"Um…of course. I feel fine…I haven't noticed anything different. I'm starting to get my energy back, too," Akari replied.
"Good. Anyone who is sick or injured will not be permitted to enter Tartarus; it is important for us to train as much as we can to become stronger."
"I completely agree," Akihiko chimed in.
Mitsuru raised an eyebrow and simply looked at him disbelievingly. Akihiko avoided her eyes and turned to look at Akari instead. Yukari was staring awkwardly at the floor and Junpei was in a world of his own.
"Hey, Junpei, want to go to Tartarus tonight?" Yukari asked him.
"Haha! I'm already there!" Junpei laughed.
"…What are you talking about?" she asked him with raised eyebrows.
"He's daydreaming about Tartarus," Akari explained, not realising she'd spoken.
"Akari gets me!" Junpei grinned. "Wasn't it obvious, Yuka-chan?"
Yukari sighed and closed her eyes. "I should have known."
"My Persona seems to only learn physical skills so far," Junpei noted. "Makes sense though. Men are supposed to fight with their fists, mano a mano, like Akihiko-senpai!"
Akihiko tore his stare away from Akari, who didn't even seem to notice that he was staring at her in the first place. "Exactly. However, it's your Persona that uses its fists. You use a sword."
Akari looked at Akihiko as he spoke. She saw his facial expression; it was full of determination and excitement. Junpei, however, looked embarrassed as he realised what Akihiko said was true.
"I wonder why you don't notice you've been infected by an enemy until after the battle," Akihiko wondered.
"Maybe it's because you're concentrating so hard on fighting," Akari suggested.
"You're probably right. Well, I don't want any of you guys to come near me if you get sick. If I catch something, I won't be able to fight for a while again and I haven't even recovered from my broken rib yet."
"We understand, senpai," Yukari muttered. "Hey, I've been thinking lately that maybe I should use something other than a bow and arrow to fight Shadows with. I mean, it misses a lot and doesn't do a great deal of damage…"
"I think you should stick to what you're used to," Akari told her. "Since you're in the archery club it makes sense to carry on using the bow and arrow."
"That is true, I do prefer it…"
"Akari's right," Akihiko said. "If you prefer it and are used to using it, don't change to something else unless you have to."
Their discussion about Tartarus and fighting Shadows led to agreeing to train tonight. In the meantime, Yukari turned on the television as a newsflash was showing. "Over ten thousand carp were released for the official Spring Carp Release Ceremony today into ponds and park rivers across the country. We interviewed a few passersby on their thoughts about the next ceremony in June..."
Akari listened vaguely to the story to try and take her mind off their impending plan for tonight, though she knew the imaginary pictures at the back of her mind would be brought to reality in less than a couple of hours.
Akihiko had again decided that he wasn't going to let Akari explore Tartarus tonight without his supervision, much to Mitsuru's displeasure. She ignored him for the entire train journey and right up until they entered Tartarus where she addressed everyone, although it seemed like she was directing her speech to everyone except him.
"Penthesilea has discovered that there is a fixed barrier somewhere in Tartarus that will prevent us from progressing any higher once we reach a certain level. It would also seem that the temporary teleporters are randomly distributed too and not on every floor," Mitsuru informed them.
"That doesn't sound too promising," Junpei said. "But with most of the incidents on the news being unknown Shadow attacks, we have to do our best."
"The Shadows are usually responsible?" Akari asked in disbelief. "Yet people don't realise it?"
"That's correct," Mitsuru said.
"It's like the night before you saved me. A random man in the street was preyed upon because he didn't transmogrify. The next day he was found exactly where the Shadow left him, except he wasn't normal anymore; he'd become one of the Lost and left to wander the streets soullessly," Yukari told her. "The police don't know what's going on but they're attempting to find out."
"They won't get anywhere. Officer Kurosawa is the only one who knows that we're doing something about it," Akihiko assured them.
Without any further delays, Mitsuru urged everyone into Tartarus; everyone except Akihiko. He went against her wishes once again as he led everyone through the doors at the top of the staircase and through the first labyrinth on the first floor. There were only a couple of Shadows to defeat since they had battled a few last time, so they quickly proceeded to the second floor. Akari wondered how long Akihiko and Mitsuru's dissatisfaction with each other would continue, worrying about it affecting their training in Tartarus…
They'd only just begun exploring the fifth floor when Yukari pointed out that it was strange for no enemies to be lurking about. Akihiko agreed and told them to up their guard; that was, until they found a rather large Shadow blocking their path. Just before the Shadow, there was a turning that emitted a green glow. Curious, Akari took a step closer to peer around the wall-
"Akari!" Akihiko yelled, pulling her back. "What are you doing? This Shadow is huge! I'll go first-"
"But your rib-" she started.
"Stay behind me and- Akari, wait!"
Akari ignored him and ran forwards, disappearing around the corner. "There's a teleporter here!"
Everyone appeared behind her and gathered around the glowing platform. Mitsuru's digitalised voice informed them that this teleporter was different to the others they'd encountered before; this one appeared to be permanent. Akari felt the Velvet Room calling to her so she leaped onto the platform and teleported back to the entrance before anyone could stop her. Mitsuru watched in surprise as Akari dashed across the hall. She stopped in her tracks and stared at the door, wondering how she could get the key to appear. Just as her mind began to think of possible ways of summoning it, the door opened and she took a nervous step forwards.