Chapter 10
Knight-Light
(Disclaimer: We own nothing)
Yukari's POV
It's raining.
That's all, really. Wonder if it'll let up. Maybe tomorrow there will be sunshine. Yes, it's very humid. Oh God… I'm having forced weather small talk with myself now.
…
…
Well, I have to think about something. Step. Step. Step. If I stand still and wait for the gravel to stop crunching underneath my feet I can hear myself breathing through my nostrils, the rain, the blood pounding through my head. Maybe… that's my heart beat, down there somewhere.
"Come on."
A familiar but alien voice. Crunch, crunch, crunch, foot forward, shift weight, progress. Rain hammers down on my head, my eyelids blink instinctively to protect my eyes. The world keeps spinning without me. Guess nothing waits.
The crunching of gravel is replaced by the click of my shoes on hard pavement. I keep my head down to watch my feet and protect my eyes from the rain. I don't know where I am. I could be anywhere. But there are my feet, still moving though I can barely feel them, and the road that keeps going on. Maybe it will never stop. Maybe neither will I. And some day I'll lift my head up and be somewhere I don't recognize.
…
…
…
"When I was a kid," ….. …. … … .. Was he ever a kid? … … .. "I was afraid of the dark."
… Breathe. Step. Rain. Heart. Breathe. "Oh."
"Had a night-light. Couldn't sleep without it. I remember going somewhere once and I couldn't sleep because it was too dark. I… dunno. It was scary. Thought creatures were waiting for me to let down my guard and then they'd rip my arms off. So I never let down my guard."
This should be registering with me. I think… was I ever afraid of the dark? No that's stupid. Why is he telling me this?
"Had to sleep sometime though. So what? Can't let the monsters get me but I have to let my guard down sometime. Aki got me a night light… er, well. A knight-light. With a k. It was… shaped like a knight. Couple a months later it broke but it didn't matter. I trusted the knight to keep the monsters away."
…. "Oh."
"My point here is that I learned to trust in… well, not someone, but something. I learned trust. And because I trusted it I was able to sleep and get over my fear. I could never have done it alone."
…
…
I look up. It's still raining. Maybe… it will be sunny tomorrow.
"Hey." There's a hand on my shoulder. It squeezes me. Hurts a little. "You payin' attention?"
Look at him. I recognize him. Shinjiro. Oh… "You're asking me to trust you."
"Yeah. Or someone. Mitsuru, maybe."
Mitsuru… who… no. I shake my head. I'm so tired. "Can't."
Shinjiro shrugs, takes his hand away. "Well trust me then."
… "OK."
"Do you trust me?"
"I trust you."
"Then let's go."
The road has stopped and there are a few steps. Tiles. Doors. The rain is distant here. More stairs. And more and more.
"Look up."
I do. My knees feel weak before it even registers what I'm looking at. Of course, I knew somewhere that this is where the road was leading me. I wonder… if the road leads out of it too. That hand is grabbing at my elbow again and I'm being dragged forward.
A shadow, ahead. Black, miserable, some form of… melting and reshaping. Bones forming and then twisting horribly… becoming… becoming… liquid… ugh… "Nngg, Let me go." I struggle with the hand. He shoves me forward roughly.
Sockets form in the liquid mass and the spot where eyes are supposed to be peer at me blindly. A hand forms and reaches for me… slowly…
"Persona." I whisper hoarsely.
The strong wind cuts through the shadow as a thousand blades might and I am lifted to my feet as the liquid loses shape and becomes a puddle at my feet.
I stare down the hall. There are more of them. Countless thousands more of them, even if I can't see them now. "I want to go now." I murmur.
"OK." Shinjiro says, and leaves without waiting for me.
"…OK." I echo him, and take a deep breath. "It's Ok. I'm Ok."
The myriad weights tugging at my heart groan as I turn my back on Tartarus but it seems… as though my heart is a little bit lighter. Even if it is just a little. When I walk outside I am able to focus on the world above the road.