I do not own the Persona series nor do I own the Megami Tensei super-series that it is a part of. I do own the ideas, plot, and characters of this fanfic. Any products, services, logos, works, or companies referenced are the property of their respective owners.
This should be going up on the 27th. As such, a quick happy birthday to myself and an assurance that updates will be much quicker. Heck, this one only took about twenty days compared to the six months of the last chapter.
Chapter: Love Interests?
-Wednesday April 22nd-
I stretched as I got up. After a good night's sleep-and the previous afternoon-I feel much better. As such, I got up at my normal time and got to preparing for school. I went about my normal morning routine and was eating breakfast when a thought came to me. I actually have no idea what happened yesterday afternoon. Did Makoto and Itsuki go over to the other world?
After I finished eating, I called Makoto and asked him what happened. He explained what him and Itsuki did, including a run-in with a goddess and fighting a gauntlet.
"Did you ask her about Athena?" I asked as he finished the story.
"Erm, no, we didn't," Makoto replied. "I didn't think about it, sorry."
"It is fine, hopefully we can ask her today after school."
"Actually, I can't go," Makoto said. "Today's my grandfather's birthday. But you and Katsuragi can go."
"Okay, well have fun. Still, see you at school today. Goodbye, Honda."
"Bye." The phone clicked as he hung up.
I put my phone up and finished getting ready. "Mom, I am about to leave!" I called out. "Need me to pick anything up after school?"
"No, thank you, dear!" She called back from the living room. "Are you hanging out with your friends this afternoon?"
"I might spend some time with one of them, but the others cannot make it. So I will probably be back early."
"Okay," she said, coming into the kitchen. "You should invite your friends over here some time, Taro. I'd like to meet them."
"Sure, I might invite them over to study Sunday," I replied. I grabbed my backpack and pulled it on. "Is that okay?"
"Sure," my mom said. "Now get going dear, don't want you being late for school."
"Of course." With that, I left the house and got on my bike. Well, guess I have plans for Sunday now.
After a few minutes, I arrived at school. Makoto was waiting for me at the front gate.
"Hey, Yamada," he greeted as I arrived. "Feeling better?"
"Much," I replied. We walked silently as I locked my bike into the bike rack and then went to class.
"Hey, Taro and Makoto!" Itsuki called as soon as we entered the classroom. He was in the back with Nozomi and Ryoko. Unsurprisingly, all eyes were now on the two of us. Slightly surprisingly, Makoto actually got behind me like a scared child. "Come on over here."
I walked to the back of the room, Makoto shyly following.
"Morning Fukui, morning Sakurako," I greeted the girls.
"Hey dude," Nozomi replied.
"Good morning, Yamada," Ryoko greeted more formally.
"Listen, guys. There's this crazy rumor going around," Itsuki said.
"The one about nightmare world where dying kills you in real life?" I guessed. "I overheard Sakurako saying it on the first day of school."
"No, no, something else. There's a rumor about a crying ghost in the woods outside of town. Some people are saying it's the ghost of Aiko Hoshi. You know, that girl who went missing and her dad was found dead?"
I almost said 'Of course, she almost killed us,' before realizing that would probably be a bad thing to say around people who do not know about the other world.
"Yeah, I heard of that. Interesting. Want to go check it out after school?"
"Sure! The three amigos, checking out a ghost sighting," Itsuki said happily.
"I can't do it, I'm spending time with my family today," Makoto said.
"Fine," Itsuki said as he put an arm around me. "Then just me and Taro will check it out. Unless you two want to go," he turned his attention back to Ryoko and Nozomi.
The two girls exchanged a quick glance before Nozomi replied. "No, we've got other plans. Good luck with your ghost hunting."
"Thanks. I wonder what it really is. Hopefully it isn't just wind making a weird sound as it blows through something." The bell rang, cutting off the conversation.
()()()
During second period, I was called out to answer a question.
"Mister Yamada," Mr. Hanazawa called out. "Say I want to put a nice decorative fence around part of my flower garden. I don't want to use more than 44 metres of fencing, and the fence will be rectangular and a closed shape. What's the biggest area I can make?"
Uh...maximum area comes from getting it as square as possible. So 44 divided by four is 11. Each side is 11, so the area is 11 squared. Which is…
"121 metres squared?" I said.
"Is that a question or an answer, Yamada?"
"An answer, sir. It is 121 metres squared."
"That is correct. Good job, Yamada," Mr. Hanazawa said before moving on.
Hey, good job me. I feel a bit smarter knowing I got that.
()()()
After school, I walked out with Itsuki and Makoto.
"See you later," Makoto said as he grabbed his bike and left.
"So, ready to go see a ghost?" Itsuki asked me. "Do you think it's actually Aiko?"
"I do not know, but if it is then this might be the chance we need. Hopefully she is like us and cannot summon her Persona in this world. And if it is not her, then we should still check it out."
"Yeah." Itsuki put a hand on my shoulder as I grabbed my bike. As he did, everything darkened except for him. I guess it is about time for this to happen, he has been my ally for a while now.
"Thou art I...And I am thou...Thou hast established a new bond...It brings thee closer to thy goal...Thou shalt be blessed while creating Persona of the Lovers Arcana."
As the voice finished, things went back to normal and I finished pulling unlocking my bike and pulling it off the rack. "Well, let's get going."
"Sure." Itsuki got on his own bike and we set off.
About twenty minutes later, we got to the woods outside town.
"Is there a certain spot the rumor says the ghost shows up?" I asked.
"Yeah, at the campsite Aiko and her dad were at. The trees have some damage near there from the attack, and it is near a clearing for their stargazing. It should be easy enough to find."
Easy my ass. We were in those damn woods for forty minutes before we started seeing the damaged trees. It took another ten minutes to find the clearing. When Cernunnos attacked, he caused damage for a good distance. Thankfully, it was much easier to hear the crying as we came into the clearing.
Following the crying, we found a girl our age, leaning against a tree as she sobbed. She had long black hair and wore a white dress. She almost looked like a teenage version of Aiko.
I put an arm up to stop Itsuki from approaching her. It does not seem like she has noticed us yet, and I did not want to spook her. I leaned in towards Itsuki and whispered.
"Do you recognize her?"
"Yeah, that's Megumi Hoshi. She's Aiko's older sister. It must be hard, losing her father and sister."
Oh. I remember hearing about her, but I did not think I would have to face her. I want to comfort her, but I also do not want to let her know her sister was still alive just in case we cannot save her. Dammit, what an awful scenario to be in.
"Here, let's say hello," Itsuki suggested. "No point in standing here like creeps."
"Fine. But you do it, you are friendlier."
"Hey, Megumi," he called out to her. She froze and slowly rose her head to look at us. "We heard rumors about a crying ghost and came to check it out."
"Pl-please leave," she replied. Her voice was very uneasy, it was obvious she was just a few words from breaking down into tears again. "Leave me alone."
"Sorry, not gonna happen," Itsuki replied as he walked closer to her. I followed a bit behind him. "I can't see a cute girl crying and just leave her be."
"I swear, if you hit on me again…" Megumi looked around quickly and grabbed a stick. From how wildly it moved around, it was obvious she was shaking. "If you hit on me, I'll hit you back with this. I'm not in a good mood."
"Understandable," Itsuki replied as he took a step back.
"That goes for you, too," Megumi added as she moved the stick to point at me. Well, I think that was her intention, but it was still shaking too much to say it was pointed at something.
"I would never think of it," I said.
"So, are you two just out here to laugh at me or something? Maybe look for something new to add to the rumors. Hell, there's people saying my sister's ghost is out here!"
"No, we just wanted to see who was out here," I said, walking closer to her. "I swear, we would never make fun of a girl who lost so much."
"F-fine." She dropped the stick and I could see that she was shaking hard. "Well you can leave now, you saw that it's just me."
"Not yet. I may not be as...forward as my friend, but I agree with him. I cannot leave you out here like this. Especially since you have been doing this long enough for rumors to pop up about you." And because I know more about your sister's current situation than you do. And depending on how things go, I may get killed by her or be forced to kill her.
"Oh, so noble," Megumi spat. "But I don't need people being noble. I need my dad and my sister back. I need my mom to go back to being happy. I need for the hole in my heart to go away!"
"I see. I am not going to pretend to understand your pain, I do not. I have never suffered like you have. Maybe your pain will never fully go away. Maybe it will always be there. And that's fine as long as you don't let it consume you. Always try your hardest to rise above it. Maybe not get back up to 100%, but reach back up as far as you can."
"Shut up! Stop trying to do this whole motivational speech thing. Everyone does them, like they actually mean something."
"Fine," I replied, doing my best to stay calm. I had gotten within arm length of her and could see her face clearly. Her eyes were puffy and red, and it looks like she was not wearing any make-up. "You can let the sadness sit with you for as long as you want. Forcing the wound to heal will just leave it scarred and ready to burst open again. Nobody can force you to be happy, and I'll admit there is probably a good bit of selfishness and egotism in people who expect you to get better just because of a speech. You need support over time. And, if you don't mind, I can be part of that support."
Megumi looked like she was about to yell at me again, but broke down crying again.
"There, there," I awkwardly said. I looked around and saw that Itsuki had disappeared from the area. Where the hell did he go?
I stood there as she kept crying, too awkward to really do much. Finally, after-honestly, I do not know how long. It felt like hours, but it may have just been ten minutes and I did not feel like getting out my phone to check. But, she eventually stopped crying and stood up straight.
"I'm sorry you had to see me like that," she said. "I don't even know your name, and you stood here with me as I cried. Even after I yelled at you."
"It's fine. No need to apologize. Things must be really rough for you after what happened, so you should cry whenever you need to without worrying about what others may think."
"Thanks," Megumi said. She actually managed a smile. It looked a bit forced and it held back a lot of pain, but she still did it. "You probably already know who I am. Everyone does after the incident. Megumi Hoshi, third year at Okako High. You're wearing the uniform, so I'm guessing you are too."
"Yes, I am." I held out my hand. "I am Taro Yamada. My friend, wherever he went, is Itsuki Katsuragi."
"I knew that, the Katsuragi family is well known in town. But still, nice to meet you, Yamada." She was still trembling, but Megumi took my hand. For the second time today, the world around us dimmed as a new social link was formed.
"Thou art I...And I am thou...Thou hast established a new bond...It brings thee closer to thy goal...Thou shalt be blessed while creating Persona of the Star Arcana."
The Star Arcana...fitting.
I kept hold of her hand for another second after things went back to normal, before letting go.
"Here, let me walk you home," I offered.
"I'm fine. And what about your friend?"
"He probably left us alone on purpose. Most likely, he is already home and doing homework. Okay, probably procrastinating, but still at home."
"Fine. Come on, and I hope you didn't get spooked too badly by the mysterious ghost girl." Megumi still trembled some and her voice still quavered, but she already looked better. She started walking, and I followed her.
After walking Megumi home, I went back to my house when a thought struck me. I totally forgot to invite Makoto and Itsuki over for Sunday. Oh well, there is always tomorrow. For now, I have homework to do.
-Thursday April 23rd-
When I showed up at the school gate, Itsuki was waiting with Makoto.
"Hey, Taro," Itsuki greeted. "How did things go with Megumi yesterday?"
"Pretty good," I replied. "I walked her home. But here is a very important question: Where did you disappear too?"
"Well, I got a feeling that I should leave you two alone. So I went home. Nice to see things worked out, though."
"Yeah, nice to see. I would not suggest doing that again, though. Got it?"
"Sure, sure, whatever you say, leader," Itsuki replied flippantly. "You'll thank me later."
"Whatever. Also, I have kendo today, so I cannot hang out after school. Oh, but my mother asked me to invite you two over Sunday. Probably around noon. Will that work?"
"Sure! Sounds great," Itsuki replied.
Makoto gave a nod. "Okay."
"Good. Here." I sent them both a text with my address. "And we should probably meet up Saturday to go back to the other world. I want to ask Fortuna some questions."
They both agreed and we went to class.
-Saturday April 25th-
We were back in the Library Maze, and went up to the second floor. The vase that Itsuki and Makoto told me about was still here, and I went up to it.
"Fortuna, are you here?" I called out.
Golden dust came up from the vase and took the form of a rather odd-looking woman.
"Here I am! The beautiful Fortuna!" A hammy goddess, just what I didn't need. "And who are you? You radiate power."
"Taro Yamada," I replied. "And that power is probably the wild card."
"Wild Card? Well this won't do at all. That power takes the luck out of my precious gauntlet and gives you far too much flexibility. I'm sorry, but you are denied entry from my gauntlets. Your friends are still free to enter, though."
"I see. I did not come here about some gauntlet. I want to know what information you have on Cernunnos and Athena."
"Well, they're both elders," Fortuna said. "I don't really know either personally. Athena's like Minerva, though, right? Minerva is all about strategy and hates my randomness, so I doubt I'd like Athena. And I'm just here because I felt the presence of suckers-err, contestants, not like I make deals with Cernunnos to set up shop here." She grinned as she spoke. "And if I did, I'd probably outwit him and get away with him owing me."
"Is that all? Have you seen anything weird in these woods?"
"I don't really look around. I spend very little of my time in this area, which is why I have a vase for fast travel. Why? Did something happen?"
I explained to her what happened with the girls, Aiko and Tallie. And how they kidnapped Athena.
"Ooh, the girls sound dangerous. If I see them, I think I'll skedaddle away. But I haven't seen Athena or these girls before, sorry."
"It is fine," I said with a sigh. "But if you do see anything, please let us know next time we come into this world. Can you do that?"
"Sure," the goddess said. "But only if you come up here and summon me. Otherwise, I wouldn't know if you were in this world or not. Well, anything else?"
"No, that is it."
"Okay. Well, adios amigos." She turned back into the golden sand, all of which went into the urn.
I let out a sigh. "Dammit, another dead end. Let's go."
-Sunday April 26th-
I finished straightening up my room as my mom called to me.
"Taro, dear, your friends are here!" She called. "They're going to your room!"
"Okay mom, thanks!" I called back as I looked around. Everything on my bookshelves and desk looked neat, and my bed was neat. I opened the door as Itsuki and Makoto got to it. "Come on in, guys."
"Thanks, dude," Itsuki said as the two came in. I closed the door and sat at my desk. Itsuki plopped himself down on my bed and Makoto stood there.
"So, how are you two?" I asked. It has been a while since I hung out with others at my house, even a good bit before I moved to Okako.
"I am amazing!" Itsuki replied. "I got a date tonight. If you guys want, I can see if she'll hook you up with some of her friends."
"No," Makoto replied bluntly.
"Yeah, count me out too," I said. "What about you, Honda?"
"I'm okay. I've been looking into a lot of things recently."
"Oh, like what? Have you found anything helpful?"
"Possibly. I think I found out who the second girl is. Her name is Natalie Hamm, and she's from America. Her dad is a magician who entertains at parties. Back on the 11th, there was a party that Natalie was supposed to attend and her dad was supposed to be the entertainer at. But neither showed up and the people throwing the party couldn't get hold of her dad. The next Monday, Natalie didn't show up for school so some worried parents went to their house. They found her dad, dead with his throat slit open, and Natalie was missing."
"That is a lot, thank you Honda." I sat for a minute and thought about what he said. "So, Cernunnos is getting these girls from all over the world. I wonder how he chooses them. And do the dead dads mean anything, or were they just in the way so Cernunnos killed them? We have some answers now, but also more questions."
"Ain't that how it works?" Itsuki spoke up. "The mystery keeps deepening until finally, you get that one piece of information that breaks it all down. That's how it happens in books and video games and stuff. But enough worrying about that. We came over to hang out, so let's hang out."
We spent the next four hours just talking and playing video games. Finally, Itsuki left for his date, leaving just me and Makoto.
"Finally," Makoto said as Itsuki left. "He's finally gone."
"What do you mean? Do you have something against Katsuragi?"
"Of course. Don't you remember his Shadow? He's greedy and indecisive. I don't trust him."
"The Shadows are exaggerations of flaws, you cannot use them to judge people. Are you as weak and shy as your Shadow was?"
"Of course I am." He said it so simply without any hesitation. Whatever happened to him, it really destroyed his sense of self-worth. "It's why I always rely on you. You are the strong one, the one who saves lives. Without me, you'd go on fine. Without you, I'd die."
"I didn't know you felt like that," I said as I put a hand on his shoulder. "That isn't true, not at all. You are just as strong as I am. Itsuki said that you saved him during Fortuna's gauntlet."
"Because I got lucky and learned Maragi when I did, it wasn't actual skill," he countered.
"That doesn't matter, it was still you who did it. And besides, I would be dead if it wasn't for you."
"How? I've never saved you."
"Of course you have. Remember the fight against Shadow Itsuki? Your Tarunda and Agi both saved my life."
"No they didn't. We don't know if either of the attacks I affected would have killed you. Maybe you would've survived and beaten him anyways. What can't be argued, though, is that you saved me by killing my Shadow."
"But what if they would have? You can't make up what ifs just to make yourself feel weak."
"And you can't make up what ifs to make me seem stronger. Look, I'm happy even being able to be your helper. At least it means I get to pay you back for saving me. See, I'm fine." He managed a smile. It looked forced and it held back a lot of pain, but he still did it. "Now, can we drop it?"
"Fine, whatever," I said.
I may have hit a barrier for now, but I can still feel our bond growing closer. And besides, it would be selfish and egotistical of me to expect one speech to help him get over his problems.
Magician Social Link Rank Up to Rank 2.
It was the same voice that I heard when I establish Social Links. Rank 2, huh? I wonder how high these ranks go. I will ask Igor next time I see him. But for now, I went back to playing with Makoto.