Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4: Pursuing My True Self

by Victorio Osaria

I think this one's slow and conforms a little too much to the game, but I hope it's not too boring for you guys. You might be disappointed; Personas don't talk much here.

Unko- Shit, poop, anything that's feces-related

Keisatsukan- policeman. "Junsa" and "Omawari-san" may be used, with the latter being more friendly, and the former as an honorific.

Yappari- Lots of meanings, with the one used here meaning, "I knew it."

Tantei/Keiji- "Detective."

Sunday, April 17, 2011: Daidara, The Weaponsmith

"You're up early," said Yu, noting that Nanako had been watching TV. Again.

Nanako noticed her cousin's statement and greeted him an "Ohaiyou."

"So where's your dad?"

"Oto-san woke up the same time as me. He said he was gonna be late."

"I see..." Yu held his chin. He had to see Yosuke over apparently "important" business at Junes, but he felt he couldn't leave Nanako alone.

"Why does Dojima-san appear so disconnected from Nanako-chan?" questioned Izanagi.

I'd ask the same thing. Yu tried to be as tactful as possible. "Okay, uh... Nanako. You see, I kind of have to-"

"Oh? You have to leave the house?"

"Yes, that's quite right." Yu's eyes widened. She certainly got her dad's perception, that's for sure.

"I'll be fine on my own. I'll lock the door." Nanako had a look that just bloomed with trustworthiness. Yu took a quick listen to the weather report on TV.

"...so the weather for this weekend will be perfect for going out. As for next week's forecast-"

"The sun's up today," said Nanako. "I should do some laundry soon."

Yu couldn't help but worry for Nanako. He wondered if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Nanako was so disconnected from his uncle, her father. On one hand, Dojima was almost never home during the day anyway and it taught Nanako how to be self-sufficient, while on the other Nanako wouldn't feel the love of a parent that cared about her anymore. At least Dojima did seem to care about his daughter, (unlike Yu's own parents) but Yu knew that Nanako didn't feel that same affection. He had hoped to get away from these same family problems, but he went full circle instead.

It's almost like I never left...

"Aren't you going somewhere?"

"Oh! Yeah, that's right..." Yu waved a hand goodbye and quickly strutted to the door, taking one last concerned gaze at Nanako before completely shutting the door.

"What is taking Hanamura-dasai so long!?" boomed Izanagi.

You're calling him that, now?

"Someone who is late for his own scheduled appointment at his own merchandising complex should be honored to be dubbed 'lame' and not something much more demeaning."

Like, Yosuke-"unko"?

"Quite."

Yu had finished folding an origami crane out of a napkin and placed it right next to a pile of similar cranes on the food court table. After what felt like hours, Yosuke finally showed up, with Jiraiya tailing him, an amused look on his face.

"Sorry I'm late," said Yosuke. "I found some stuff in the closet at my place that we can use."

Jiraiya shook his head with a smirk. "I am very surprised that you did not get caught holding those things on the way over here."

"I know, right?" Yosuke turned to Jiraiya in delight.

Yu raised his brow. "So I'm guessing what you got from your closet is what you're hiding behind your back right now."

"That's right. Now we may have our Personas, but from what I figured, you can't use your Persona too much without getting tired, right?"

"I know that summoning Izanagi and using his powers puts a strain on my... soul, I guess."

"And a golf club's not that reliable of a weapon-"

"You think?"

"*Grr*-so I got us some weapons for us to use."

"So just why are you holding them behind your ba- oh God, don't tell me."

"Guess what's sharper than a golf club?"

Nonononononononono-

"Ta-da!" Yosuke stretched his arms out to reveal very menacing weapons: a katana in one hand and an aikuchi in the other.

"YOSUKE!" Yu propelled himself from his seat, almost ready to punch Yosuke in the face.

"Pretty cool, huh? My dad got us these for decoration, but it was never really used. So you want the katana or the-"

"You are holding dangerous weapons in the middle of a public zone. That could get us arrested!"

"Relax, both the blades are fake."

"The police don't know that! Not only is THAT a problem, but why would you bring fake weapons for us to use in the TV World?"

"I can't get a real weapon! That'd have me arrested."

Yu facepalmed. "*Sigh* Also, the katana's blade is flopping around. The freaking golf club looked more durable than that flimsy thing."

"And you insult another Junes-exclusive..." Yosuke lowered his head in disappointment.

"You must admit that those weapons are in fairly poor condition, though," noted Jiraiya.

"Shut the hell up, I know..." Yosuke lowered his head in disappointment, then took a closer look at the bladed weapons in his palms. "You think I'd look cool holding both of these?"

Yu rolled his eyes. "Yosuke, the weapons have to function, not simply look cool."

Yosuke didn't seem to hear Yu's statement. "Hwaaa-taaaa!" He started swinging the katana in one direction and stabbing an imaginary attacker in another direction with the aikuchi. He continued making various ridiculous poses until he almost fell over, with Yu commenting on Yosuke's inept combat ability.

"That's NOT how you f*cking use them!"

"It still looks pretty cool, right?"

"NO!"

Izanagi intervened. "Local authorities approach the premises."

Keisatsukan. Just fan-freaking-tastic.

CRACKLE "Two suspicious young males found, one armed with multiple weapons. Requesting immediate backup."

Yu immediately stood up, ready to raise his hands when he needed to. Yosuke poorly and frantically hid the weapons behind his back as the officer approached them.

Yosuke immediately tried to come up with an excuse. "T-T-This isn't what it looks like! We didn't steal them!"

"That's not what matters," Yu whispered.

"A-Anyways! We're not doing anything bad at all, really! We're just two ordinary students who like weapons!"

Jiraiya couldn't help but laugh at his own host's stupidity.

"I am almost prepared to disembowel that boy," near-threatened Izanagi.

The officer, trying to look assertive, placed his walkie-talkie on his belt and put his arms to his hips. "Put the weapons down now! We'll listen to your story at the station."

Yosuke then held out the weapons in a futile attempt to show that they were not real. "Omawari-san! These aren't-"

"A-Are you resisting an officer of the law!? You're under arrest!"

Yu made a 90-degree turn to Yosuke on his left. "Why the HELL would you swing those swords around!?"

"I thought he would see the flimsy blade!"

"THAT'S F*CKING STUPID! YOU MIGHT AS WELL HAVE SAID, 'HEY EVERYONE! I LOVE SWORDS'!"

More police officers showed up, passing right through the invisible Jiraiya and Izanagi. "Tawashi-junsa! Backup has arrived!"

Yu raised his hands in defeat while Yosuke trembled. The multiple officers surrounded them, with one of them handcuffing both boys and another confiscating the weapons. An unusually large crowd gathered in the food court as the officers escorted Yu and Yosuke into a police vehicle.

"...You didn't seem the type to pull off a stupid stunt like this."

Yu and Yosuke held their heads low as they stood in front of Dojima in the police station's entrance hall.

Yosuke, baka, Yosuke, baka, Yosuke, baka...

B-But... they were cool swords... Junes originals...

"You know what's been going on around town," scolded Dojima. "We've got men stationed everywhere. This would have ended up on your permanent record if it hadn't been for me."

"Gomenasai," apologized Yu.

"...Sorry," apologized Yosuke. Just as the two of them apologized, a pair of officers were passing by, having a conversation.

"The one that disappeared was the Amagi girl?" asked a surprised one.

"Aa," confirmed the other. "But she's only a high schooler. It could be she just ran away from home."

A drop of sweat trickled down Yosuke's brow. "Did she say Amagi? Yappari!"

"Hm?" Dojima scowled. "'Yappari'?"

"It's nothing, Oji-san," assured Yu.

Dojima shook his head. "Yu-kun, Hanamura, you both know there's an investigation going on. We're sensitive about these things." He waved his hand in a shooing motion. "You're free to go, but this better not happen again."

"Yes, sir."

"Hai, omawari-san!"

Dojima left, walking past the two with a coffee cup in hand. Yosuke and Yu were free to leave the station and started walking until they bumped into a young detective that was not much taller than Yu.

"Hey, you're Dojima-san's nephew aren't you? The one staying at his place?"

"Yes I am," confirmed Yu. Seeing as how the man seemed to know his appearance, Yu surmised that this man was Dojima's partner, Adachi Tohru, whom he had often seen and heard his uncle talk to.

"A detective like your uncle, na?" Adachi gave a wry smile, Yu doing the same thing after.

"Mind if I ask you a question, Adachi-tantei or do you need to be somewhere right now?"

"Shoot."

Yosuke joined in. "It's about Yukiko-san- I mean, Amagi Yukiko of the Amagiya inn. Did something happen to her?"

Adachi's eyes widened and sweat started pouring. "Eto... am I allowed to say?" He then shrugged. "Whatever, since you seem to be friends with Amagi-san. Keep this between us, okay?"

Yu and Yosuke nodded.

"See, we got a call from Amagi-san's parents yesterday evening saying they couldn't find her anywhere."

So she is missing, thought Yosuke.

"Since it's the weekend, the workers at the inn were extremely busy, and no one saw Amagi-san at the time."

The perfect time for a kidnapping, Yu thought.

Adachi's pupils were completely surrounded by white. "T-That doesn't mean that this is a case yet!" He sighed. "Though people have turned up dead on foggy days... so we're really sensitive to stuff like this." A light bulb popped inside Adachi's head. "By the way, did she say anything to you guys about maybe going through some hard times?"

"Like what?" asked Yosuke.

"She certainly looked like she was exhausted," answered Yu. "Those nosy reporters on the news didn't help."

"I want to let you know," Adachi informed. "That when Yamano-san was staying in the Amagi inn before the first murder, she had some harsh words about the staff's attitude towards guests. The stress of it all caused the manager to collapse."

That's why, thought Yu.

"Amagi-san must've felt pretty strongly about the incident, so..." Adachi leaned in closer to the two, whispering. "Did she say anything or hint that she may be leaving the house?"

"Why would she do that?"

"There's been some theories lying here and there saying she's laying low for some reason or another-" He backed away. "Crap, I said too much... You didn't hear a thing, okay?"

As Yu and Yosuke nodded, Dojima's voice was heard booming through the station's entrance hall.

"Oi! Where's my coffee, Adachi!? And stop chatting with the civvies!"

"Forget what I said!" told Adachi. "C-Coming right up, sir!" He power-walked through the hall with a coffee cup in hand.

"There you are!" Chie yelled at Yu and Yosuke as the two boys exited the building. "What the hell were you guys doing? I've been looking all over for you, and you turn out to be here!? What the HELL did you guys do?"

"Long story," said Yosuke. "Anyways, something's up with Yukiko-san!"

"You know already? I tried calling her cell, and then I went to her place and-"

"She was missing from home," assumed Yu.

"Yeah..."

"It looks like we have no choice," Yosuke said, hesitant. "How come the cops said that Yukiko was 'lying low'? Yukiko took over the inn after the Yamano lady bitched her mom out. The cops think that's a motive, and the fact Yamano died right after makes her more suspicious..."

"WHAT!?" Chie growled. "What the hell is wrong with those cops!?"

"Which is why we shouldn't trust the rushing, idiot cops that make up the majority of this whole force," Yu said, skeptical. "Clearly, the small, gentle high school girl did it; the cops just want a culprit to get this case over with and restore Inaba to its former peace."

Yosuke nodded. "We know that Yukiko's the victim, not the suspect."

"We all need to save her as soon as we can."

Chie gave a hard nod and pulled her arm down in an approving gesture. "Right!"

"Since most of the police are completely useless," Yu snarked. "We have to do it ourselves."

"I'm going too, and that's final!" asserted Chie.

"You sure?" Yu tilted his head.

"You might get hurt," warned Yosuke. "And the cops confiscated our weapons."

"Your useless weapons," said Yu.

"Shut up."

"Confiscated weapons!?" Chie held a surprised expression. "Yosuke, what the hell were you thinking!?"

"I just wanted to show them to Narukami!"

"Yeah," Yu scoffed. "Smack in the middle of the Junes food court."

It was then that Chie kicked Yosuke in the gut and called him a dumbass.

"Anyways," Chie retained a normal stance. "If it's weapons you need, I know just the place."

"Hm?" Yu raised a brow while Yosuke still writhed in pain at the station door.

"Follow me!"

Yu, Yosuke and Chie stood in front of a strange store unfamiliar to both Yu and Yosuke. The shop heading was named, "Daidara Metalworks."

"Here we are!" Chie held her arms out, as if revealing the store to them.

"I don't recall ever seeing this," stated Yu.

"Me neither," said Yosuke. "What kind of shop is this, anyway?"

"Let's go in!" Chie quickly pushed the doors to the shop open as Yu and Yosuke followed her inside. Immediately the trio was met with multiple weapons and armors of many kinds: axes, swords, knives, clubs, shields, chain mail, plate mail... the list was endless. Standing across the room was a grizzled old man wearing a towel around his head and a large X-shaped scar branded on his face. Apparently, this man was the "Daidara" that the store was talking about.

"Irraishaimase!" welcomed Daidara. "Come take a look at my magnificent art!"

"Suuurrrre," Yosuke gave a nervous smile and leaned near Chie. "Why do you know a place like this exists, and why does it have a creepy old man in it?"

"I overheard some guys in our class talk about it."

"Well, those guys are weird lunatics."

"You aren't any better. You swung your swords around in public like an idiot."

"Look, I don't know if you'll be okay from this. I know how you feel, but-"

"You don't know SHIT how I feel! Yukiko might DIE from this! I'm going, and that's that!"

Yu and Yosuke glanced at each other. Yu sighed. "Fine, but I think you should stay behind us."

"Pshhaw! My reflexes are second to none! I'll be fine."

Yosuke gazed at Chie seriously. "Listen, Chie. We're not kidding around, here. You don't know how dangerous it actually is in there. If you're not gonna listen to our warnings, we're leaving you here. Buy something to protect yourself."

"Yosuke's right," agreed Yu. "The Shadows are a great danger in Mayonaka. You need to have a special power to be able to properly battle them, which Yosuke and I received recently."

"What special power is that?" Chie tilted her head in response.

Yu took a brief glance at Izanagi, who was examining the weapons alongside Jiraiya. "It's a long story," Yu answered her.

"Alright, whatever..." Chie quickly picked out a pair of gauntlets and wore them under her sleeves, hiding them. She handed the old man 800 yen, paying up front.

"That was quick," said Yosuke. "You sure you're gonna be okay wearing only those gauntlets as armor? No weapon like an axe or a club of some sort?"

"Nope. I just want to protect my arms. My legs need to do some hard kicking and I can't have any greaves weighing them down."

"Don't you think your kicks will be harder if you do?"

"I don't need any leg armor! You should know how hard my legs are."

"They're certainly some fine-looking le-" Yosuke was not given time to finish his sentence.

"I'll wait for you guys outside." Chie stepped out of the store.

"These are surprisingly high-quality blades," stated Izanagi. "Even by pure, ancient standards..."

Anything really good, Izanagi?

"I sense a great power coming from this katana."

Katana, huh?

"It costs 5,000 yen."

"Hey, partner," Yosuke walked up to Yu, rubbing his right face-cheek. "You need some money to buy these things? These things are surprisingly cheap for quality weapons."

"You got 5,000 yen?"

"C'mon, really?" Yosuke took out his wallet. "I have 6,000 in 1,000 bills. Don't spend all of it; forget about that katana."

"Thanks anyway... You're pretty rich."

"I'm the Junes boy; Gotta buy what'cha gotta buy. Get something for me, too."

"Sure." Yosuke handed Yu the 6,000 yen and walked alongside Jiraiya to look for weapons. Yu walked to where Izanagi was and placed his hands onto the said katana. It felt... familiar. Almost as if he were meant to wield the blade. He took it off of the rack of other swords and unsheathed it slightly, observing the metal like a painting.

Old man Daidara seemed to notice Yu almost ogling the sword. "I see you have good taste in swords." Daidara exited the counter near his workshop and stepped near Yu, educating him on the blade.

"Did you really make this katana?"

"Indeed I did." Daidara gave a proud smile. "It's known as the Kage-Dachi. Although I made the weapon itself, the metal used to create it was not." Daidara held his hand out, with Yu complying to handing him the sword. Daidara unsheathed it and held the blade close to his eyes. "The metal 'provided to me' was used in many swords in the past that were similar to this one. Legend has it that blades such as this were so precise, so wonderfully sharp, that they were used to cut Shadows..."

"S-Shadows?" Yu stuttered briefly. Daidara smiled.

"Of course, that's just a hyperbole. There's no way an actual sword can cut through shadows."

"I'm aware." Yu raised a brow. "Were you listening to our conversation?"

"Well..." Daidara sheathed the sword and handed it to Yu. "Whatever shadows you need to cut, this thing's the best there is at it."

"Naruhodo..." Yu beheld the sword in its scabbard one more time.

"I do not think the man is joking," said Izanagi.

He sure isn't. Yu took out 5,000 yen. "Thanks for the hyperbole."

"Anytime."

"WHOA, WHOA, WHOA!" Yosuke stomped towards Yu. "I DID NOT JUST SEE YOU BUY THAT KATANA!"

"These weapons are REALLY damn cheap compared to what I see online, Yosuke." Yu shrugged, katana in hand. "I couldn't pass this up."

"I gave you 6,000 yen, and you spend most of it. WHAT LEGITIMATE WEAPON HERE COSTS A THOUSAND YEN!?"

"What about the pair of fairly large kunai over there?"

"Ano?" Yosuke about-faced to where Yu was pointing: a pair of large kunai were hooked onto a nearby weapon rack. "Say... these might do some damage. And they cost exactly 1,000 yen..." Yosuke held his chin, trying to consider this.

"You know you want it," Jiraiya pressured. "Maidens adore a man with kunai. I should know."

"I'll take it." Yosuke swiped his 1,000 yen bill from Yu's hand and placed it on Daidara's counter. "Boy, am I going to cut somebody up!" Yosuke made some idiotic poses and made ridiculous stabbing motions, much to Yu and Izanagi's chagrin. Yu turned to ask another question for Daidara.

"How come you sell these weapons at such a low cost?"

"I care only for my art," answered Daidara. "I'm not looking to make a profit; just enough for supplies and to keep the store running."

"You're a fairly generous man."

Daidara smiled. "Now it's time for me to ask a question; what's your real purpose for buying these nice, artistic devices of war?"

Yosuke stopped showing off and gulped. He glanced at Yu, hearing his hopefully legitimate response...

"Cosplay."

Yosuke was ready to cut himself.

"Kosupurei?" Daidara gave a questioning stare. "Really?"

"Yes." Yu immediately put on his fog-repelling glasses and practiced multiple kata with his new Kage-Dachi. He hummed notes from a guitar riff. "F-F-G#-D#-D#-C#-"

"C'mon, really?" Yosuke scoffed.

Look who's talking, Yu remarked in his mind. "At least I used legitimate kata."

"Like you're actually going to convince this guy we're only using this for-"

"HAH!" Daidara gave a hard laugh. "I'll take your word for it, kid! That was hilarious!"

"Wait, what?" Yosuke's mind seemed to flip upside-down. He turned to Yu in amazement. "How did you-? Never mind. The important thing is how you're going to hide that sword."

"What sword?" Yu grinned. Yosuke's jaw dropped at the fact that the katana was suddenly missing.

"Where did that sword go?"

"I dunno."

"Yeah, you do! Where'd you put it?"

"Nowhere."

Yosuke gave his attention to Daidara. "Hey old man, you see this guy's sword anywhere?"

"It's right there," Daidara pointed past Yosuke, who turned around to see the katana suddenly in Yu's hand again.

"W-What the-?" Yosuke yanked the sword from Yu's hands and examined it; it was the same sword that had suddenly disappeared. "Dude, how did you do that? I thought I was the Magician!"

"The Major Arcana represents one's inner self, not one's actual abilities," Yu corrected. "You could not be a great magician if you tried."

"Y-Yeah, I could!" Yosuke reached into his pocket, being careful not to cut his hand with the kunai, and took out his tarot card. "Uh... is this your card?"

"You're a dumbass." Yu shook his head as he walked to the exit. As Yosuke was following him through the door, Yu waved goodbye to the old man, who in turn gave a thumbs-up.

I'll see you later, you suspicious weaponsmith.

Not my best chapter, I'm aware. Things will pick up soon enough. I'd also like some suggestions as to when the Daisuke's dungeon should show up. I'd like to get him in between Kanji's and Rise's dungeons. Don't worry, I'll let you know how it'll work when that chapter comes.

By the way, due to lack of enough votes, I decided for Yu to join the baseball team later, considering he has a baseball bat as a weapon in the game.

UPDATE: Sorry guys, I'm giving this up for lent season. Don't think this is just laziness; this story means a lot to me, and giving it up to God just shows how much I care about you guys (no homo). Don't worry. I'll make it up with a long and meaningful chapter. Hopefully.