P4 Answer Chapter 11
I rushed a bit of the last chapter, but I was not really sure how far to go. Besides, I just wanted to get something out for you the readers while I'm doing all of this work.
Yosuke smirked to himself as he walked away from Hypnos. He still had work to do, though. He needed a plan on how to get the rest of the shards for the sword that was currently across his back. He needed a plan on how to get rid of everyone else. To get rid of Souji, he needed Nanako. To get rid of Nanako, he needed Teddie. To get rid of Rion and Naoto, he needed Kanji and Rise. To get rid of Kanji and Rise, he needed Rion and Naoto. To get rid of this mystery guy, Yosuke really didn't give a shit; he would find a way.
"But who to get rid of first?" Yosuke thought.
It was difficult when you thought about it. Should he go after the easy targets or the hard ones first? Souji would be vulnerable at the moment, Yosuke believed. What better than to take out the leader after you kill his girlfriend? The only problem is that he would be protected by his cousin. Nanako was a wild card. Yosuke could only guess on how strong she would become. Dealing with Nanako meant that you also had to deal with that damn bear. Teddie was a squeaky fool if he wore that costume, but Kamui and Kaguya… he would need to be on his guard. Teddie would give his life for Nanako. Against Gozu-Tennoh, she matched up well against… even Naoto or probably Yukiko when it came to sheer magical power. Nanako worried Yosuke a little.
Kanji would be a pain to go one-on-one with. Take-Mikazuchi against Susano-O… Yosuke would feel safer if he had a few more shards of the Kusanagi on his side if he did have to fight the killer of Ameno-waka-hiko. Otherwise, he would have to use some of his trickery to take on Kanji.
Rise, in Yosuke's opinion was useless and defenseless. She was not even worth Yosuke's time and could be taken care whenever he felt like it. But according to Rion and Naoto, their plan was to send someone else with her to get rid of Gozu-Tennoh. All in all, that would get rid of a thorn in his liege's side, but afterwards…. She could command a great amount of influence afterwards. Besides, Rion and Naoto were counting on sending someone with her. But who? They would not send each other, and he highly doubted they would send Nanako, Kanji, or Teddie. Yosuke believed they would send the new guy, whoever he was. Not even Hypnos had any clue on how strong he was. All Hypnos knew was that this guy took out a few Shadows when his Persona awakened suddenly.
Then there was Chie… Yosuke was not sure how, but he would take care of that bitch personally. She was strong, and she would harness Suzuka Gongen to take him on. Yosuke knew that she would be pissed at him for killing Yukiko, but he would revel in her rage. Susano-O would chuckle at ripping her apart. He was far too powerful now for this bug to be a problem.
Unless Souji made a miraculous recovery, Yosuke needed to get a handle on the most dangerous pair out of the group. The assassin and the warrior made a deadly couple and together would cause trouble for Yosuke unless he did something about it. Rion and Naoto were not inseparable in Yosuke's mind. Maybe Yosuke could somehow use Kanji and Rise to his advantage in a certain way… then Yosuke would not have to fight at all. Yosuke pictured a Yamato Takeru fighting Ameno-waka-hiko. It made Yosuke happy.
The hardest fight would be if Souji was at full strength again. Yosuke did not want to fight the man who took down Izanami with a Persona. If Souji basically became Izanagi, Yosuke would have to do something special to kill him… maybe kidnap Nanako and run her through in front of Souji. Imagine killing both Yukiko and Nanako in front of him. Yosuke knew he would need an all but full-sharded Kusanagi to take Souji on regardless.
It would all lead up to Yosuke's rise to godhood. He would take the Kusanagi that Hypnos gave him to kill the man himself. Yosuke would slay Hypnos with his own sword. It was not Hypnos' sword; it was Susano-O's. Yosuke was Susano-O now. Hypnos deserved to die, no matter what the god wanted to accomplish. He wanted the world to end or something, maybe raise the dead too.
Yukiko's body, or what was left of it, had been carted away, and the team was left there to contemplate their next move. Except there was not much contemplating going on considering the situation. There were a lot of questions that needed answers.
The first question was now that the Inn was a disastrous mess; the group's plan to stay there and make it their base was now moot. There were members on their team that have no permanent residence in Inaba. So… where would they stay? That group included Mamoru, obviously. Rion had given up his place as well, so he would be scrambling for a place. Teddie wondered where he would go, or what he would say to Yosuke's parents if he went back to Yosuke's parents. How do you say that Yosuke betrayed the country and killed one of his best friends?
Regardless, someone would have take initiative and figure things out. Preferably, that would be someone who was not depressed beyond belief. That ruled out Souji or Chie. It would be a good idea to cut out Rise and Kanji. Mamoru, though not involved enough to have an attachment to the situation would not have a solution. Nanako was most likely too young to have ideas to every problem yet. Rion was not depressed, but he was annoyed that he could not stop Yosuke. That left…
"Everyone…," Naoto called out softly from the circle of people that had formed in front of the smoking Inn after the emergency vehicles had left. Nanako and Rise were on each side of Souji, trying to provide what support they could to the shattered boy. Teddie was next to Nanako and the shattered girl, Chie. Kanji was on the other side of Chie, and Naoto. Obviously, Naoto was also next to Rion. Rion had the new guy next to him as well. Mamoru's bird, Dice, flew over Rion's head. None of them were standing on the grassy field they had planted themselves on. Most of them either were either resting on their palms or had their heads in their knees.
It was time to try and bite the bullet and get the group together again.
"Hmm…?" Mamoru raised his head.
"We need to start over," Naoto said, "We have to figure out where to go."
"What do you mean?" Mamoru asked.
"Our base is gone," Naoto explained, "You do not have a place to stay. You would have been residing here except..."
"It blew up," Mamoru finished, "So…"
"We have to figure out where everyone stays for a while, and how to regroup," Naoto adjusted her hat.
Rion grabbed her hat and threw it off so that her blue hair shone freely in the sun. It turned a few heads. Naoto glared at him for a moment. Rion said slowly, "We need to watch out for three threats now. The probable solution we have for Gozu-Tennoh is probably the best we have. For the other two, I don't know. But Naoto is right; everyone must find places to reside."
"That would put families at risk," Kanji shook his head, "That was one of our arguments, remember?"
"Do we have a choice anymore?" Naoto looked at him and Kanji shrunk back.
"Can we shut up right now?" Chie muttered, "I don't want to hear about it. Not right now…"
"I don't know if we should talk about just moving on right away, Rion-senpai, Naoto-kun," Nanako said.
"What if Yosuke attacks again?" Rion asked Nanako coolly, "What if he aims for your head next?"
About five seconds later, Rion was rearranging his jaw from a fist sent by Souji from all the way across the circle. Souji had gotten up from his sitting position and started to do his best to pummel the brown-haired boy. Rion was doing very little to dodge the blows from the slightly younger man.
"Souji-senpai! Stop!" Naoto yelled, seeing a few blows knock Rion's glasses right off his face.
"You're going to hurt him!" Rise yelled as well.
Kanji and Mamoru dragged Souji off of Rion, who wiped blood off of his fists.
Souji said in disgust, while dislodging himself from the grasp from others, "Don't you dare say that to Nanako… you bastard."
Rion wiped his own blood from his nose and mouth while winking his black eye. He said calmly, "I am only telling you the truth. We are going to die if you do not do anything."
Souji knew he was right. He knew that Rion spoke the truth about the dangers, the fears, and everything else. But… Souji did not know what to do.
Souji just closed his eyes. He finally said, "I guess we can take care of Mamoru for the time being."
"Would that be alright? I don't want to intrude," Mamoru asked.
"I think it'll be fine, Mamoru-san," Nanako smiled.
"As long as you don't think your parents would mind," Mamoru said.
Nanako frowned. Everyone knew it was because of her mother.
Still she said quietly, "My dad should be okay with it."
"Just keep the bird outside," Souji told Mamoru.
"As you wish," Mamoru answered, reaching into his pouch and pulling out bird seed. He held his hand out and the bird ate it from his hand.
Teddie looked at his feet, "What about me? What if Yosuke comes for his parents or something?"
"You can stay with me, Ted," Kanji said.
"Thanks, Kanji," Teddie flashed a short-lived smile.
"Where will our base be then?" Souji sighed, wiping his eyes on his forearm. He was careful not to get any flecks of blood in them.
"Junes isn't safe," Naoto told them.
"Nowhere in the Shopping District because there is no such thing as a Shopping District anymore," Rise said.
"The Police Station?" Kanji looked at the group.
"A very unorthodox, but…," Naoto started to say.
"But probably the safest," Souji said.
"Or the most dangerous," Rion shook his head, "If Hypnos gets a hold of them. Well, it is all we have at the moment."
"It is a meeting place, not a place to sleep," Rise said, "We'll be okay."
"Yeah…," Souji said and suggested, "I think we need some time… time to think."
Rion breathed deep before saying, "Maybe that is the best idea after all. We can outline our plans after we have a chance to get our heads around the new situation. If they come, we fight and we kill."
Souji nodded slowly and it was followed by others. Souji wasn't going to show any mercy to Yosuke.
"Let's go…," Souji said quietly and he turned away to walk from the group.
"Wait, Big bro!" Nanako exclaimed. She looked at the new guy, "Come on!"
As Nanako and Mamoru chased after the silver-haired boy; the others slowly started to filter out towards their residences. Chie wiped her eyes and Rise got up with her, "I'll go with you, Chie-senpai."
Chie nodded slightly and Rise stayed by her side to make sure she was okay.
Teddie went along with Kanji towards his mother's textile store. Hopefully it was in as good shape as reported. It was a good thing they did not live there.
Soon, there were only two left sitting on the ground. Naoto pushed herself up from the ground and picked up her hat. As she adjusted the brim, she looked at Rion and said, "You're still bleeding… from the lip." As Rion held the back of his hand up to his mouth, she asked, "Why didn't you try and stop him?"
"Why not?" Rion responded, "He was angry."
Naoto sighed in his stubbornness, "Are you coming?"
"You grandfather will be pissed," Rion shook his head.
"He is gone for a few days," Naoto tipped her hat towards Rion; "Yakushiji-san likes you."
"Finally, some good news," Rion almost let loose something that sounded like a chuckle.
"If only we could hear something even better," Naoto frowned.
"Dad, we're home!" Nanako called out as she walked through the doorway. They had made their way through the floodplains at a slow pace. Souji had slowed down after Nanako and Mamoru caught up to him and it seemed that his depression resumed.
Dojima's head popped out from the kitchen, "Nanako!? Where were you?"
"We were at the Inn, don't worry. Big bro is with me," Nanako said as calmly as she could.
"Souji!?" Dojima looked surprised, "Souji is with you?"
Dojima went from the kitchen to the front door and placed his shoulder on Souji's shoulder. "We missed you," he said to him.
"…," Souji did not answer.
"Souji…?" Dojima looked at him.
"We were just at the Inn… Dad," Nanako told him.
"Ohh…," Dojima had heard about what happened, "I'm so sorry."
Souji went straight upstairs towards the guest room without a word being said towards anyone.
"It must have really hurt him," Dojima said quietly.
"It really did, Dad," Nanako replied, "It hurt all of us. It's hard to be strong."
"I know Nanako, I know…," Dojima shook his head. He thought of Chisato right then. How much it hurt, how hard it was to get over it and go back to work.
Dojima looked away from Nanako and his gaze turned on Mamoru for the first time, "Do I know you?"
"My name is Mamoru, Dojima-san," Mamoru nodded politely.
"He found Souji when he disappeared," Nanako told him, "He has a chance to fight with us."
As Mamoru nodded, Dojima looked aghast, "Fight with you? Who said you could fight?"
"I can fight!" Nanako frowned, "Don't tell me I can't!"
Dojima sighed, "You aren't going to give this up, are you?"
"I don't plan to," Nanako almost gave a smile.
"I don't want you to do this," Dojima pleaded.
"It'll be okay. Big bro will be with me," Nanako said, "The others too."
"Souji… I don't think Souji is any shape to protect you… right now," Mamoru chimed in. Dojima nodded in agreement.
"That's what everyone else is for," Nanako retorted.
Dojima shook his head. The Shopping District was blown apart and the Inn was set on fire. Now Nanako wanted to fight whoever was causing all of this? He must be going crazy.
She said to her dad, "It'll be okay."
Dojima sighed before he said, "Mamoru is it?" The guy who had let the bird fly outside before he came in nodded. Dojima explained, "We don't have a lot of room for you. You can either bunk up with Souji on his couch or in our living room."
Mamoru nodded, "I'll share space with Souji-san. If I keep all of my stuff here; it will be a distraction."
"Okay… I have to go to work to try and sort out these messes that keep popping up all over the city," Dojima said, adjusting his tie "Then there are the people who seem to be running rampant."
"Uhh… be careful, dad," Nanako said.
A voice rang down from the 2nd floor, "If you see Yosuke Hanamura… shoot him on sight."
Dojima looked confused and somewhat appalled. Why would Souji want Dojima to shoot one of his friends?
"Dad… according to Rion and Naoto, Yosuke killed Yukiko," Nanako told him.
"Yosuke killed Yukiko!?" Dojima looked confused.
"Right in front of Rion," Mamoru said, "Cut her head off…"
"If that's true, we will make it a high priority to apprehend him," Dojima assured him.
"According to Rion, you will have a hard time doing that," Mamoru said.
"We'll be careful," Dojima nodded.
Dojima grabbed his jacket and headed out the door.
"I hope dad will be okay," Nanako shook her head.
Mamoru gave a small smile of reassurance towards Nanako and grabbed his small bag so he could put his stuff away.
When a large crash was heard upstairs, Nanako gave a worried look and Mamoru rushed up the stairs.
Mamoru headed up the stairs and into a war zone of smashed objects. The table was overturned and the TV had been smashed in. The TV table was being ripped apart and the desk had gouges in it. In the center of the room, Souji had his sword out and the god-like Izanagi was standing next to him. Souji was breathing heavily as he prepared to swing again. His sword was pointing at the intruder in his room.
"Am I going to need to summon to protect myself?" Mamoru asked softly. His "Kirin" was a lion-like Persona as long as a giraffe was tall. He felt like he could hold off Souji long enough to call for Nanako.
"Souji!" Mamoru yelled.
There was no answer, only an empty gaze from the darkened eyes of Souji. Mamoru drew his card at the fear of being attacked by either Izanagi or Souji. He only then noticed his nunchaku were in his bag. He was defenseless. As the bancho of Izanagi readied itself…
A very beautiful woman entered the room. Neither Souji nor Mamoru had seen her before. Mamoru's eyes shifted from the impending sword to the young woman and his jaw dropped. Izanagi lowered his bancho as the woman with in a white shimmering kimono with long black hair placed a soft and silky hand on Souji's cheek. She smiled at Souji.
Souji's eyes lowered and drifted in pain. "Yukiko…?" he asked in pain.
The woman said nothing, but gazed into Souji's eyes as Izanagi disappeared.
"Who are you?" Mamoru asked.
"Her name is Kaguya… and she is my Persona," a young girl whose hair was growing longer by the second said. The young girl had just entered the room as well, and stood beside Kaguya. The young girl was… Nanako.
"This is your Persona?" Mamoru asked, "She's beautiful."
Nanako blushed as Souji kept his head down. "Why does she have to look like Yukiko?" Souji muttered.
"It's not her fault," Mamoru said, "It's just her Persona."
"I just want the violence to stop," Nanako told the two. Her Persona smiled and bowed.
Souji's eyes widened in shock, finally raising his eyes and gazing upon the carnage that was his room, as he muttered, "What have I done…?"
Kanji called out for his mother as he walked into Tatsumi Textiles. He was wondering why the spools and fabric was all over the place because there was very little damage to this part of the Shopping District.
"Hey Mom! Where are you!?" Kanji yelled out. He said to Teddie as they went through the doorway, "Come on Ted! Follow me!"
"Mom!?" Kanji exclaimed, looking around. Not seeing her… He mumbled, "Where is she and why does this place look like crap?"
Teddie turned his head from side to side and looked in the far right corner behind the counter. He saw a disheveled lady with her bun of grey hair undone and in disarray. Her eyes were glazed over.
"Is that your mom, Kanji?" Teddie asked, pointing her out.
"Mom!?" Kanji rushed to her. He went to his knees and asked, "What happened!?"
"Kanji…?" His mom looked at his worried face and said, "What are you doing here? You died."
"We died?" Kanji looked at his mom like she was crazy, "We didn't die!"
"I saw you and all those big explosions," Kanji's mom explained, "You died in the blasts."
"But we're right here!" Kanji exclaimed.
"Are you?" Kanji's mom held her hand out and moved it around, eventually touching Kanji's cheek. "You stole Kanji's voice, whoever you are."
"She's gone down right crazy!" Teddie said. The boy with the frilled shirt walked up next to Kanji.
"Teddie?" Kanji's mom looked at the boy, "They took your voice too."
"What are you talking about, Mom?" Kanji asked, exasperated, "I'm your son and this is Teddie. No one stole our voices."
Kanji's mom shook her head, "Poor Kanji… You died and then someone stole your voice. If only Dojima-san was still here... he could stop you."
Kanji and Teddie looked at each other. Kanji whispered to Teddie, "My mom… something has happened to her. We need to get her some help."
"We'll call an ambearlance," Teddie said.
"Right…," Kanji nodded, trying to hold back a tear. She was all Kanji had.
Teddie pulled out his phone, "What's the number?"
Kanji shook his head as wiped his eyes.
Rise had her left arm over Chie's shoulders as they walked back into the far end of the Residential District. Rise knew Chie was still a wreck. She had been in tears the whole time.
"We're almost there, Senpai," Rise said, "Only a bit farther."
The white and blue houses they passed went unnoticed by Rise and Chie as they reached the grey home of Chie's. They were greeted by Chie's big and stinky golden retriever. Rise shrunk back at its presence, but Chie just let it slobber all over her.
"Eww…," Rise muttered, "That dog needs a bath."
Chie patted the dog on the head lightly without care and shrugged off Rise's arm. She walked up to her door and opened it to go through, leaving Rise behind her.
"Chie-senpai?" Rise called out.
Chie's door slammed behind her. If Rise was inside, she would have heard a locking sound as well.
"Chie?" Rise called out again, "Chie!?" There was no answer… "Great…," Rise muttered. She was alone. "Now what do I do?" she pondered.
Chie, meanwhile, had gone straight to her room and shut herself in. She sunk to the floor in despair. She swore she was going to be the one to kill Yosuke.
Yakushiji-san was greeted by not only Naoto-sama, but also a bloody Rion as he answered the front door. To say it was a bit of a surprise was an understatement. The last time Rion came to Naoto's home was on Christmas Eve. Though he liked Rion much better than Naoto's grandfather; he was not sure he normally would have let Rion in looking like that.
"Yakushiji-san," Rion bowed, "I'm sorry to intrude like this."
"Yakushiji-san," Naoto said, "You must be aware of the situation that we are in. It has now become dire."
"If you mean the people who have disappeared and gone crazy, I understand the situation, Naoto-sama," Yakushiji answered.
"I'm afraid it is much worse than that," Naoto said with a mix of worry and sadness in her voice.
"If believable, one of our own in our group of "detectives" has defected and another was killed by the defector," Rion added.
"Killed?" Yakushiji was astounded to hear that the person that had been recorded killed earlier today was one of their friends was killed, "How did this happen?"
"He cut off her head," Naoto said, "We tried to stop him, but to no avail."
"And now you are here," Yakushiji looked Rion in the eye.
"Well…," Rion started to say when Naoto intervened.
"The Inn exploded and Rion was staying there," Naoto said quietly.
"You know your grandfather will have a fit, Naoto-sama," Yakushiji told her.
"I know, Yakushiji-san, but… I was not sure where else to take him," Naoto responded.
Rion would have blushed at the fact that Naoto took him with her instead of forcing her indomitable will to make Kanji or Souji take him in; even if there was not room for him.
Yakushiji gave the smallest smile possible, "He's not home right now. Your grandfather will not be back for a few days while he's dealing with a client."
Rion gave a sigh of relief at the news. Neither Naoto's grandfather nor Rion could stand each other.
"Well… hurry in so we can clean you up," Yakushiji said, taking a look at Rion's shoulder.
Naoto smiled at Rion as they walked in, "We have a guest room for you."
Yakushiji could not help but glance at Naoto's hand as they passed by, which was currently interlocked with Rion's. Her grandfather would not like this at all.
The night passed fitfully for Souji. He dreamed not just of Yukiko, but of Nanako's Persona. Oh, how Nanako's Persona looked just like Yukiko.. Some of his dreams were filled with pleasure, but others were filled with terror and pain. Souji remembered the night they spent together on Christmas Eve. Souji could imagine Yosuke slicing right through Yukiko's neck, right in front of him. Souji still could see Kaguya walking in front of him, causing his heart to drop to his knees.
The morning was not much better for Souji when he was seeing Nanako get taller day by day. According to Dojima, she would turn into the spitting image of Chisato Dojima when she got older. An 8 year-old was not supposed to turn into the most beautiful woman in Japan in only a few days, however. "Damn this mythological crap," Souji thought, "How am I going to keep pedobear away from her?"
Indeed, Nanako's hair had grown to her waist when she came down that next morning. It messed with Mamoru's head as well. No one exactly what was going on anymore. Mamoru wondered if he was going to grow a mane and a tail if Nanako was turning into an adult.
While they were eating breakfast, the Dojima household received a phone call.
"This is Nanako speaking," Nanako had picked up the phone. She was a little surprised herself that her hair had grown even longer overnight.
"Nanako-chan?" a man answered. It was Rion. He asked, "Are you speaking for all three of the people in here the house?"
"I can," Nanako replied.
"We are having everyone meet at Junes to discuss our plan to get rid of Gozu-Tennoh," Rion said. He added, "Can you have Mamoru pack his bags?"
Nanako shook her head, "That's forcing him to…"
Rion answered, "Yes I know it's pretentious… But we have no choice in the matter if we are getting rid of Gozu-Tennoh."
"What will he have to do?" Nanako asked.
"We need him to go with Rise to summon an equal to Gozu-Tennoh," Rion responded, "We just need all of you here so we can go over the plans and get them on their way." Rion took a deep breath, "Besides, if Yosuke shows up for some reason…" Rion did not sound so sure of Yosuke showing up.
"Okay…," Nanako said, "I'll let them know."
Nanako hung up the phone and turned towards Souji and Mamoru. She grabbed the toast out of the toaster that had just popped up and placed it on a plate. She placed it in front of the pair and said to them, "Here you go."
"Who was that?" Souji asked quietly. His head was down.
"Thanks…," Mamoru said before Nanako responded.
"It was Rion-san," Nanako answered, "He wants us to meet at Junes."
"Junes?" Souji did not look up from his toast, "That's dangerous."
"Does he have a certain reason for us meeting?" Mamoru asked.
Nanako nodded and looked at Mamoru, "Rion wants you to bring your stuff. I think they want to you to go with Rise and do something to stop Gozu-Tennoh or something."
"So… they are just sending you away?" Souji looked at Mamoru, "No wonder Yosuke rebelled."
"Come on…," Mamoru shook his head, "I'm sure there are good reasons for this idea."
Any other time, he would be thrilled at the prospect at meeting and spending time with Rise Kujikawa. This probably would not be the best time to get to know her.
"I'll just make eggs, and then we can worry about it, okay Big bro?" Nanako told them.
"Okay…," Souji nodded slightly before spreading butter on his toast.
The fact that they all met at the covered table at Junes brought back a lot of sentimental memories. The fact that they were missing two members of the group made some of those memories very painful.
Rion and Naoto were waiting for the others as they slowly showed up. Souji gave a condescending glare towards Rion when he came to Junes. He was followed by Mamoru and Nanako, of course. Mamoru had his pack and Dice on his shoulder. Nanako was at Souji's other side. Chie was the next to come to Junes. She looked as depressed as she did the day before. Rise had a backpack with her as well. She must have received that call as well. Kanji and Teddie were the last to arrive, but their eyes were bloodshot.
As Kanji took a seat next to Naoto, he murmured, "Has it really been so long since we've been here last?"
It was something that everyone involved in the first murder cases could think about.
"You look like shit, Kanji," Rion told him. He was wearing his glasses at the moment, a pencil and something else in hand.
"Yeah…," Kanji responded, "We didn't sleep much."
"What's up you guys?" Rise asked.
"It's my mom," Kanji sighed, "She's gone crazy. That attack on the Shopping District made her lose touch with reality. I don't know…"
Naoto placed her hand on Kanji's shoulder as he was about to lose it.
Teddie said as Kanji was unable, "We spent all last night in the hospital. There was nothing we could do for her."
"I'm sorry Kanji-kun," Rise said sympathetically.
"Our group is falling apart," Naoto murmured to herself as she looked over Kanji. It made Rion nod.
"What did you want us here for?" Rise asked, "Is this about Gozu-Tennoh?"
That question made Kanji look up from his depressed mood.
"That's the main idea," Rion nodded, "I know it's sudden, but I called you here for Gozu-Tennoh."
"What do we do?" Kanji stared straight into Rion's eyes. If Gozu-Tennoh messed up his mom… he'll deal with him.
"You need me, right?" Rise asked.
"Yes… you're important," Naoto explained, "You are Himiko to us, the prophetess."
"What is the supposed plan?" Souji spoke for the first time. He stared straight into them, "You must have some sort of master plan that is bound to work. Why did you have Mamoru bring his stuff too?"
Mamoru looked at Rion expectedly, and he was not the only one wondering what he and Naoto had cooked up. She looked at him and as he took a deep breath, "Rise would travel from Inaba to the Kansai region. You would go in between the Kyoto and the Shiga prefectures and travel to a Buddhist monastery. Then, just pray for the coming of Huang Long…"
"Huang Long?" Rise asked.
"You mean Kohryu?" Souji inquired softly.
"Yes…," Rion nodded, "We need something powerful enough to dispel Gozu-Tennoh."
"Something real… you mean," Teddie shook his head.
"How do I fit in?" Mamoru asked.
"Your Persona is Chinese-based," Rion said, "Besides Kanzeon, which is heavily Buddhist; we have very little to help support Rise in summoning Huang Long."
"My Persona is…?" Mamoru started to say.
"Your Persona is based off a giraffe found by Zhang He in Africa in the Ming Dynasty on expeditions that may or may not have reached America decades before Columbus," Rion said.
"Well… okay," Mamoru said, "But… if you think all of this will help Rise."
He gave a small shrug and Rise tried to smile back. This was a daunting task to say the least.
"Then… say we send them off to Kyoto and they even get rid of Gozu-Tennoh," Souji told Rion. He stared him down, "Then what about our other issues? Hypnos? Yosuke?"
Rion sighed, "I wish I knew what to do about that right now."
Nanako looked at the group, "We just have to fight them when they come, right Big bro?"
"She says it best," Naoto nodded.
"Well… what about some ideas on Yosuke, then," Souji said, "Let's figure something out, okay?"
Souji had lost the complacent look and it had been replaced by a determined one for the first time since Yukiko's death.
Dojima's white vehicle made another slow patrol down one of the streets on the outskirts of the city. He sighed as he waited at the crossroads. Everything his nephew and his friends were saying… could it be true?
The stories about townspeople going around and doing… well acting insane, were becoming more and more frequent. Then, the Shopping District was destroyed… and Souji's friends were right in the center of it. The force was calling it an earthquake. Souji's friends were calling it a deity from the past was trying to kill them. Dojima needed a drink. Then there was the fact that Souji's girlfriend was murdered. The autopsies gave no clue on who may have killed her, but Souji and the others seemed to know. The idea that one of their own friends killed Yukiko was disturbing, but… after the last murder case. Dojima would be on his guard.
It would be then that he saw it. Dojima saw a blue compact that had smoke coming out of its hood. Dojima slowed his vehicle and rolled down his window so he could check up on the driver and/or passengers. Ryotaro did not see anyone in the windows, so he kept going and what he saw next made him screech his car to a stop.
"What the fuck!?" Dojima murmured.
In front of the car was the driver of the vehicle, a young man, but he was being enveloped by a creature. The creature was pitch-black and shaped like a panther. But, unlike a panther, it was oozing and dripping with what looked like slime. It was also two to two and a half times bigger than a normal panther.
"Hey!!!" Dojima yelled, trying to get its attention, "Get the hell off!"
The panther looked up and let loose a guttural growl before returning to whatever it was doing to the man. Dojima revved his engine, drew his gun, and fired a warning shot in the air. The panther thing looked up and ran away from the young man.
Dojima was at an impasse. He could either go after the panther thing, or help the young man. The detective looked at the young man and saw that his eyes were lifeless. Dojima started chasing down the panther in his car. Unfortunately, the panther was incredibly fast.
"They were right…," Dojima said to himself. These monsters that Souji's friends described… they were real. He had just seen one of them eat someone. Now it was his job to take it out.
"Hello… I need you to send an ambulance to the…," Dojima was trying to call for help for the young man when he caught up to the panther.
He hit the panther thing in the back and instead of the panther stopping; its tail whipped around, struck the car, and spun it. Dojima regained control of the vehicle and as he started forward again; the panther was looking straight at him and unmoving.
Dojima stopped the car and got out. The panther did not move as Dojima drew his gun and pointed it at the panther. The two stood off, the only movement was the sweat rolling off of Dojima's face.
Suddenly, the panther thing let loose a growl and coiled up to spring towards Dojima. Dojima's eyes closed and his pointer finger closed on the trigger. As he waited for the sound of the bullet, he heard a ripping noise.
Dojima opened his eyes to see a woman with stringy grey hair in a long drab robe. From underneath this woman's robe extended a long red claw that pierced, ripped through, and destroyed the panther. Dojima was even more in shock.
She said with a commanding voice, "Tell Souji that this was not one of mine."
"Not one of yours?" Dojima asked, "What the hell are you talking about?" He looked at her sideways, "Who the hell are you? How do you know my nephew?"
"We've met…," the lady told Dojima. She gave Dojima a small smile, "My name is… You are not worthy of hearing it."
She disappeared from Dojima's sight.
"I really need a drink…," Dojima muttered.
I just finished all of my other papers for school a few days ago. It has really slowed me down. You know… 6-8 term papers. If I'm not overrun with studying in summer, I will try to update regularly.