Fools
[Amber]
"Don't."
She looked up. She was tired. She was in pain. She wanted to go home. She didn't know where she was or how she got here.
She was standing over herself, eyes glowing a dangerous yellow.
"Don't ignore me."
[Bare]
Kanji hummed, stepping into the bathhouse before faltering at the sight of just Souji there. A slight blush crept onto his cheeks, his humming caught in his throat. Where were Yosuke and Teddie? At least then it wouldn't be so awkward.
"Oh, Kanji, when'd you get here?" He jumped at Souji's calming voice, the delicate smile on his face before he stood on his toes and peered over Kanji's shoulder. "Yosuke and Teddie aren't with you?"
Kanji scratched the back of his head, awkwardly looking off to the side. "Nah. We split up before gettin' here. Teddie got distracted by some girls and Yosuke followed to make sure he didn't get into too much trouble. Thought they were already inside when I didn't see em in the changin' rooms."
Souji scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Knowing Yosuke, he's doing as much flirting as Teddie is. Well, I don't feel like waiting for them forever. What do you say to getting in the bath?"
Kanji felt his face heat up instantly, and he found himself continuing to look everywhere but at the older teen. He heard Souji laugh, and he twitched when Souji placed a hand on his shoulder.
"There's nothing to be concerned about, Kanji. C'mon. Who knows how long those two will be?"
"Y-Yeah, I-I-I guess... I-If you say, so, Senpai..."
Souji laughed and turned to head into the baths. Kanji stared, biting his lip before looking to the side. Souji had so many scars on his back. He saw them briefly on the camping trip. Had Yosuke noticed too? Did the girls notice? He couldn't have been the only one. They were sharp—they were loud.
"Whaaaat?! Sensei, how cruel! You entered the bath without me?!"
"Sorry, Teddie, I was just so beary tired of waiting."
"Hey! That's my saying, Sensei, no fair!"
Teddie rushed past and jumped into the bath, Souji laughing as Teddie screamed at how hot it was. Yosuke sighed as he stood next to Kanji, muttering 'stupid bear' under his breath.
Kanji gulped, leaning over and whispering, "H-Hey, Yosuke-Senpai, uh... have you... noti-"
"The scars?"
"...Yeah."
Yosuke sighed and glanced at Souji, before looking back at the younger teen. "I won't ask unless he brings it up. You should do the same."
"O-Of course I will! I've been 'doing the same' since I saw them at the camping trip." Kanji huffed, eyeing Souji. "I just... we never saw him get his Persona, right? But he saw all of us... and... he saw it all. It just feels like..."
"Like we don't know anything about him, right?" Kanji nodded at Yosuke's interruption. The brunette shrugged. "He helped save us. I wouldn't be surprised if he saved himself. I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe he'll tell us o-"
"Yosuke! Kanji! What are you two doing? Sensei and I are beary lonely in here by ourselves!"
[Cat]
Dojima groaned in exasperation, cracking his neck as he walked the road to his house, cigarette perched lightly in his lips. First, Adachi was missing nearly the entire day. Then, on the way home, his car broke down and he couldn't get a lift back home. What a shitty, shitty day.
He threw the cigarette to the ground and stomped it out with his heel as he rounded the corner to home. He paused in his tracks at the sight of his nephew with around ten cats meowing at his feet.
"Souji, I, wh-" He squinted in confusion as he walked closer, the moonlight illuminating the scene to be oddly radiant. He stammered with confused words before finally settling on, "What's with all the cats?"
Souji stared, face blank of any emotion as he simple stated, "I am the Cat King."
[Dye]
"Sooo..." Chie started, cheeky grin embellishing her face as she bit into a french fry.
Yosuke cocked an eyebrow, taking a drink of his soda as the others started to sit down at the table. "Soo... what?"
"I heard that's not your natural hair colour." she snickered, shoving a handful of fries into her mouth.
Yosuke glared, face glowing red. "W-W-Who told you that?! A-A-And what does it matter anyway?! I mean, look at Kanji! No way that hair is natural!"
"Hey, don't bring me into this! 'Sides, w-what about Naoto?!"
"Wh—Kanji-kun, don't bring me into this!"
[Escape]
"NO!"
Yosuke recoiled, shaken at Souji's sudden outburst. The teen was sitting on the floor, hugging his knees close to his chest.
"Partner?" he questioned, stepping closer as the others murmured in concern and confusion. "Hey, you okay, man?"
What Adachi had said before leaving... it was cruel. Sadistic. Villainous in every sense of the word. He hadn't expected it to faze Souji so much—he hadn't moved a muscle the entire conversation—for him to suddenly break down was... shocking.
"Hey, hey, c'mon, Souji, let's get outta here." He tried to reach a hand out, only for it to be swatted away.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"
Yosuke's heart dropped, watching helplessly as their leader scrambled to the corner of the room, clutching his hair so tightly in his hands as he cried into his knees. Yosuke turned to the others, Chie solemnly shrugging and shaking her head, unsure of what to do.
Kanji scratched the back of his neck, coughing lightly before he spoke, "H-Hey, Senpai? Uh... if you want, w-we can get outta here and I can show you more knitting stuff... we can try to make a cat toy like you wanted..."
The atmosphere hung thick in the air, intensified by Souji's choking sobs. Yosuke turned back to the group, everyone shifting around uncomfortably, trying to think of something to say. This was new. Souji had always been the calm one, the collected one, the one with the answers.
The squeaking of Teddie's shoes broke the silence as he headed towards Souji. Yosuke held his breath, hands clenching into fists. Souji didn't react to the bear getting closer.
"Sensei, I'm sure you're not what Adachi said. No, I know you're not what Adachi said. You're my Sensei, you're nothing l-"
"Teddie, get away from him!" Rise suddenly interjected, crying.
The bear turned around, ears twitching in confusion. Yosuke's eyes widened as electricity emitted from behind Souji, growing stronger as Izanagi formed behind him.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
The room was suddenly covered in electricity—the strikes bouncing off the walls, off the floors. The teenagers screamed in pain and agony, Naoto hollering at everybody to retreat. Yosuke quickly fell to his knees, cradling his arms as the electricity ripped through him. He could feel it ripping and surging through Jiraiya as well.
"Shit, come on!" he heard Kanji holler past the currents buzzing in his ears, before he was suddenly grabbed by the teen's arms and dragged away. He squinted past the bright, hot flashes of Izanagi's attacks, watching as Souji looked up before darting away in the direction Adachi fled to.
Then he was outside and Naoto slammed the door shut.
[Fall]
"No! I don't wanna fall" Nanako cried, clutching onto the tree as hard as she could.
"Nanako, you gotta trust me!" Souji called up after, arms outstretched. "I'll catch you, okay? You don't wanna be stuck up there all day, do you?"
"N-No..." She sniffled, looking down at her cousin. "Big B-Bro, I'm scared..."
"I know, Nanako." He smiled. "It'll be okay. How would you like getting some ice cream at Junes?"
"R-Really?"
"As many scoops as you like, okay? You have to jump though, you have to trust me. Do you trust me?"
"Y-Yes!"
"Okay, good. That's good. Deep breaths, okay, Nanako? Breathe in... and breathe out... In and out... There you go. Now, let go of the tree and sit on the edge of the branch," he instructed, reassuring smile never leaving his face as she slowly complied. He could still see that her arms were shaking.
"On the count of three, you jump, okay? I won't let you fall."
Nanako nodded meekly, shifting awkwardly on the branch as Souji stepped closer with his outstretched arms.
"One... two... three!"
The girl jumped, Souji grabbing and hugging her tightly in his arms as he lost balance and toppled onto his back. Nanako squeaked in terror.
"A-Are you okay, Big Bro?" she asked, lip quivering.
Souji laughed, ruffling her hair as he sat up. "I'm fine. Are you okay?"
She nodded, smile falling on her lips as she wiped away the stray tears.
[Grab]
He attacked his friends. He yelled at and attacked his friends. They were only trying to help and he hurt them. His head pounded, tears overflowing as he ran through the barren wasteland of Adachi's world in the TV. He tripped over a heavy gap in the floor, wailing as he landed on the floor in a giant heap. He was nothing but a mess. He was pathetic.
He was everything Adachi had said.
"Aw, I was right. How cute." Speak of the devil.
Souji could hear Adachi's laughter, the skip in his step as he got closer to the teen. Souji made no efforts to move; his body felt like lead, weighed down by emotional turmoil. He shut his eyes tightly when the man kicked dirt in his face, scrunching himself into a ball, trying to ease the pain.
"Oh, sorry, did I kick that in your face?" the detective laughed, and Souji could feel him kneel close to him.
He didn't resist when the detective grabbed his shoulders and forced him into a sitting position. He opened his eyes, blinking away the tears and the stinging pain and looked at the out-of focus image of the man before him. Crooked grin, crooked tie, messy hair, lying eyes.
"You know what you are."
Souji inhaled sharply, the sentence stabbing through him like fire. He bit his tongue and lowered his gaze. He shakily lifted his hands to hold onto Adachi's, which had remained on his shoulders. He pushed his head into Adachi's chest and stared blankly at the ground, words falling numb out of his mouth.
"I know."
[Hello]
"Introduce yourself."
Souji winced at the tone of Mr. Morooka's voice, body tense as he scanned the faces of his new classmates for a year, scanned the faces of people he'd have to avoid, scanned the faces of the people he'd push away and ignore. He moved too much. Nobody stayed in contact with him after a couple of months. This place would be no different.
There was no point.
He stayed quiet.
[Introduction]
"I'm Chie Satonaka, and this is Yukiko Amagi!"
The girl who sat next to him bellowed at the last bell of the day. He glanced over, eyeing the girl and her friend as they packed their bags.
The brunette continued, "So, you didn't really... say your name up there. I don't wanna be calling you 'new kid' forever. So, what's your name?"
She turned her head, brown eyes gleaming in curiosity and wonder. He looked back blankly, before looking to his books as he stuffed them into his bag.
He could hear Chie sigh, "Hey! I know I might come on a little strong, but I'm really nice once you get to know me! No need to be so shy, I just want to know your name. We are gonna be classmates for a year, after all! Who knows, maybe we'll even be friends?"
Souji sighed and bowed his head. He roughly pushed himself out of his chair and threw his bag onto his back.
"My name is Souji Narukami. I'm only here for a year. Don't get used to me."
He didn't give the girl a chance to respond before he walked out of the room.
[Jokes]
"Oh, come on! That was hilarious!" Teddie huffed, crossing his arms and scowling.
"Not really, man," Yosuke grumbled as Chie rolled her eyes.
"Yeah, seriously," she scoffed, flicking a crumb of food at Yosuke's nose. "Yosuke's jokes are terrible, but even they're better than that was."
Yosuke glared. "Hey! My jokes are hilarious!"
"No, they aren't," Yukiko stated bluntly as she flipped to the next page in her math book. "Chie, what'd you get for question number seven?"
"What?! You're already there?! Aw, man, I'm only on question number two..."
"Jokes on all of you." Souji smiled as everyone looked to him, the leader closing his book triumphantly.
Yosuke stared on in horror. "Y-Y-You're already done?!"
Souji glanced at him, eyes sparkling with delight. "I've been done for forty minutes."
He laughed while Yosuke and Chie cried into their books.
[Listen]
"What are we going to do?!" Rise sobbed, wiping her eyes furiously with her sleeves. "S-S-Senpai was... he was..."
"Calm down, Rise," Naoto said, placing a hand on the idol's shoulder. "He was scared. Panicked. Adachi's words affected him greatly, but-"
"No! Y-You don't understand! You didn't see what I did! I-I-I don't know h-how to explain it! I... But it wasn't... He wasn't... I-I..."
"And now Sensei's stuck in there with Adachi-baby alone!" Teddie cried, holding his paws over his ears. "We have to go back and help him!"
Chie chewed on the inside of her cheek, hand stuffed into the pockets of her jacket. "Well, yeah, but... he attacked us... and it sounds like Rise's saying he might do it again... So maybe-"
"Are you just saying we leave him?!" Kanji hollered, stamping his foot on the ground. "Fuck that! He's our leader! We can't just leave him there! I'm going back in to save him right now!"
"Kanji-kun, no!"
"Don't try to stop me, Naoto!"
"I wasn't saying to leave him, Kanji-kun!" Chie yelled back as she ran in front of Kanji, blocking him. "I was saying, before you cut me off, that maybe we should go back and rest up. Prepare! You know, what he always made us do when we knew there was a big threat. He might try to attack us again, and..."
Yosuke watched the girl trail off, tears rising in her eyes. His lip quivered at the unfinished sentence. Curling his fingers into tight fists, he grit his teeth before finishing her thought.
"We might have to fight him."
Yukiko gasped from behind him, "Yosuke-kun, you can't be serious!"
"No!" Rise cried, falling to floor as she sobbed into her hands. "I-I don't w-want us to f-fight! I d-don't want t-t-to f-fight Senpai!"
"None of us do, Rise-chan," Naoto sighed, tipping her cap as she sat next to the idol, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "But Yosuke's right. We may have to fight him. Or, perhaps, we may have to fight his Shadow. As it stands, we should listen to Chie's suggestion. We go home, we get rest, and we... prepare."
"But what if Adachi gets to him?!" Kanji swirled around on his feet to stare down at the detective. Tears were in his eyes as well. "What if we're too fucking late because we left him there?! What if he's strung up on some fucking building tomorrow morning?! What if-"
"We have no choice, Kanji-kun!" the detective raised her voice, glaring up at Kanji, who fumbled in surprise at the reaction. "Do you think I want to do this, to just leave him there?! With a murderer?! I want to do everything but that, but as it stands, we have no choice!"
A heavy air filled the area, the group all but silent except for the hiccups and cries from Rise. Yosuke clenched his teeth, tossing his weapons to the floor before sitting down harshly, gripping his head in his hands. He wished Souji was here. He'd... know what to do...
[Maze]
"Big Bro, what's that on your back?"
Souji looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't see anything out of the ordinary... He stretched his arms at awkward angles, trying to see if something was stuck to his shirt. Nothing he could feel... He strained himself trying to reach he ended up spinning himself into a circle. He paused, blinking as Nanako laughed.
"It's not on your shirt, Big Bro! It's on your back!"
Not on his shirt? On his... oh. Those. She must have saw them when he stretched. This shirt was a bit small.
"Those are just... injuries. Old injuries," he explained, kneeling down to her level. Her laughter and smile disappeared, face immediately flooded with worry.
"D-Do they hurt? D-Did a bad guy hurt you?" her voice quivered. "Daddy's a cop. He can catch the bad guy."
Souji smiled softly and shook his head, lightly holding onto his cousins arms. "They don't hurt, Nanako. Not anymore. The bad guy's been taken care of. It's okay. I'm okay."
He heard his voice quip on the last words. He knew what Kanji and Yosuke had been muttering about at the baths. He knew they discussed it with the others sometimes—the way they would suddenly hush and try to quickly change the conversation when he got close to the table of their "headquarters". The forced laugh from Yosuke, the loudness from Chie as she tried to think of something new to say, Kanji's averted gaze, and Naoto's cap tilted over her eyes. He would pretend not to notice. He didn't want them to worry, but he didn't want to explain. He didn't want to relive it.
Maybe now was a time to start.
"Do... do you want to see them?" his voice was so soft, so quiet, even to himself. Nanako looked at him with her innocent eyes. She looked to the floor, humming for a moment, and then looked at him again.
"Okay."
Souji nodded and raised his shirt up and over his head, turning around and sitting as he could feel Nanako standing behind him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clutching his shirt tightly in his fingers as the air snaked down his skin. His body involuntarily tensed as he felt Nanako poke his back lightly with her finger.
"It looks like one of those games in the newspaper. The maze things!" She started to drag her finger along his back, the teen biting his lip.
"Nanako," his voice cracked as he spoke, body trembling. "I'm sorry, but... please... don't do that."
Her finger was gone, and she was sitting in front of him in an instant. Tears welled up in her eyes and she grabbed onto his hand with hers, gripping tightly.
"D-D-Did I hurt you?!"
"No, but... I thought... I could get out of the maze but... I guess I'm stuck in it." He paused, the expression on his cousin's face clear that she didn't understand. He slowly placed his other hand over hers and squeezed.
"But I'm okay."
His voice quivered with his smile.
[Noise]
The station was always filled with noise. Cops laughing in one corner, cops talking in the other, cops yelling on the phone, and cops shuffling papers and walking around.
Adachi rubbed his temples as he leafed through the files of papers on his desk. He was just adding to it. He was just adding to the gnawing headache that had persisted for two days.
"You look like shit, Adachi," Dojima commented, placing a mug and a bottle of pills onto his desk.
"Feel like it." Adachi glanced at him, squinting tiredly as he grabbed the bottle and examined it.
"For the headache. Take two. They ain't very strong."
A smile fell on his lips. "Thanks, Dojima-san."
[Open]
"Nanako, why is the door open?!"
"It's for the cats, Daddy!"
Dojima peered into the room quizzically. "Cats?"
There was around thirty cats surrounding Souji in the middle of the kitchen. He looked at Dojima blankly.
"Cat King."
[Persistent]
"So, what are you doing after class?" Chie whispered as Morooka continued with his talk. "Yukiko and I were going to Junes and we were wondering if you would w-"
"Satonaka, Narukami, you are disrupting the class with your flirting! See me at lunch!"
Chie squeaked and slid down in her seat, Souji shooting her a glare as he slammed his pen down on his book. She looked at him apologetically, mouthing 'sorry' as she sunk further down her chair. She could hear Yosuke snickering behind her. She'd have to remember to kick him later.
[Quite]
"Adachi-san, you have to help me!"
Adachi jumped, whipping around as Souji ran up up to him, breathless and pale-faced. "W-What's wrong, Souji-kun?! What do you need?"
Souji lifted a finger, coughing as he rested his hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. When his breathing calmed after a moment, he straightened up and cleared his throat.
"Do you think I'd look sexier in a nice dark red or a nice dark purple?"
The detective faltered, absentmindedly fiddling with his tie as he squinted in confusion. "Um... a dark... red?"
Souji pursed his lips and rested a fist to his chin in thought, staring off into the distance. He nodded and hummed to himself, before finally giving a definitive nod.
"Quite," he said simply, before running off. "Thanks, Adachi-san!"
[Rare]
"You know, you're one of a kind, Souji." Adachi sneered, before it turned into a wicked grin. "Too bad your Izanagi isn't."
[Suffer]
"It... was my mom."
"Your mom did this to you?!"
Souji breathed in deeply, tilting his head back as he closed his eyes. "Yeah... after my dad left. Cheated. He left a note, saying he couldn't keep up with her illness anymore, saying he needed someone 'normal'. She... stopped taking her pills. I tried. I tried so hard to get her to take them. She knew when I would put them in her drinks or in her food, so she wouldn't eat. I couldn't force her to, so I stopped trying to give her the pills."
"Senpai..."
"Shit, man, that's... That's rough..."
He took another breath. His chest felt heavy, and his arms and legs felt numb. His voice shook as she spoke, "I didn't want her to hurt herself, so I asked her to... to hurt me instead. She would always refuse. We would always fight and scream and cry. I didn't want this, she didn't want this, we didn't want this, but we couldn't stop it. Eventually, I managed to convince her."
He paused, dry lump in the back of his throat as his hands curled into tight fists. He lowered his head, hot tears sliding down his face as his voice cracked.
"Either she hurt me, or I hurt myself."
[Weapon]
"They're here," Adachi quipped, shoving the teen with his heel. "You know what to do."
Soundlessly, Souji left the detective's side and wandered into the maze of Magatsu Inaba. His movements were sluggish, his legs dragging as the long-sword dug into the ground the entire way. He couldn't hear anything past his distant footsteps. This world was empty; this world was dead.
"Senpai! Senpai, can you hear me?! We're coming to get you, don't worry!"
Rise's voice suddenly echoed in his mind. His lips pursed and he continued his walk. He said nothing. She called out to him again, trying to urge a response. He couldn't say anything. Wouldn't say anything. She went silent after another attempt.
The black and red sky spiraled around, disorienting those who stared too long and lighting the scenery with an ominous glow. Twisted and mangled stop signs littered the roads, destroyed and decrepit buildings tossed around carelessly. Police tape was ripped and shredded. The ground was cracked, caving, contorted. The shadows ignored him as he stalked past, the silhouettes sometimes vaguely resembling people until he got close to see them for what they actually were.
"There he is! Sensei! Sensei!"
He turned his head to look down a long stretch, his friends running towards him.
"Wait, no, stop! Something isn't right!" Rise hollered, grabbing Kanji's sleeve as she skidded herself to a stop.
"Holy shit, what happened to his arm?!"
"Souji-kun, are you all right?!"
He remained quiet. His steps were heavy as he advanced, the long-sword that had been fused to his arm dragging behind him. Their faces were petrified, their bodies trembling.
"W-We have to leave! Th-This isn't Senpai! This isn't right!" Rise screeched, tears streaking down her face. The group nodded absentmindedly, some more hesitant than others as they turned to run. Souji grunted, effortlessly lifting his weaponized arm and slamming it into nearby debris.
His friends screamed as the area opened from a long stretch of road to a field, closed off from the rest of Magatsu Inaba.
"W-What the hell?!"
"The exit's gone! H-He got rid of the exit!"
Yosuke turned to look at him, face pale and expression tinted with a hint that he was close to throwing up. The brunette stared him up and down, shaking his head furiously.
"I can't do it! I won't do it! C'mon, partner, you can snap out of this! What Adachi said wasn't true! You're not... You're not some kind of tool! You're not some kind of killing machine! You're not! You're just not!"
Souji cocked his head to the side and lowered his arm, the sword crashing to the ground with a bang. He curled his tongue around his teeth and took another heavy step forward. The group twitched, their weapons in hand, but not brandished for a fight.
He felt himself crying, but he couldn't stop. It was too late. It was too late...
"Izanagi."
