07 November 2009

Kirijo Memorial Hospital, VIP Wing

Afternoon

Chewing on the corner of one of her blankets was a sign of worry that Chidori had thought she had outgrown. When Junpei had told her of the last time he had seen Jin and Takaya, she had felt nothing at the news. Like they didn't concern her any more. She had considered long and hard the unwanted advice from Mr. Komaki, and no matter how she turned it over in her head, no matter how much she tried to justify her own desires, in the end, she had to admit that he spoke from experience.

So when Junpei came by again, she bit down her desire to push him away.

But that was not what worried her right now. She was focused on the empty bed where Midori had spent a night and a day.

Contrary to popular belief, Medea was still active in her mind, though suppressed due to the drugs she had to take. And it was through this suppression that she forced herself to remember what Medea told her about the young girl.

When she had first lain eyes on her last month when Junpei sent her over as a messenger, she had seemed like a normal Persona-user and Chidori could get a feel for the force the girl and her inner self exuded. It was hot and cold and dark, and almost evil. The Persona seemed to have a life of its own, for lack of a better description. It flowed around her like a protective cover and yet stayed anchored in one spot, rooted with force that she couldn't understand.

But when they had wheeled the girl into her room that night, at first she thought a mistake had been made. Midori had no Persona. Not a single trace of it at all. At first, she had attributed it to her injuries, fearing deep in her heart where she would never admit for something she wouldn't wish on anyone – that she had lost her power.

So when Midori had awoken, Chidori kept her peace as the young girl acted like everything was alright. She doubted herself, that perhaps this was just a temporary thing, and that she would recover in time. She couldn't bring herself to destroy these few fleeting moments of happiness.

When it came time for her to leave, however, she had dressed in a new set of clothes delivered by one of her Dorm-mates who came with Junpei. And as she put on the last of her outfit, the jacket she had worn when she came to the hospital, Chidori's senses were filled with the fluid sensations of Midori's Persona again.

But that was supposed to be impossible. One cannot gain or lose a Persona like the snap of a finger! It went against everything she knew to see it happen like that. Oh, how she wanted to talk to Junpei about it right then and there, the only one who would listen to her. But how could she say the words?

Maybe she should reach out to one of the others. With the developments against STREGA, Mitsuru had offered the hand of peace between them, but so far she had not accepted it. But would any of them believe her? No, of course not. Junpei would though.

But then, that ran into the problem of actually talking to Junpei, when she knew that her time was short and every moment meant more pain for the two of them.

08 November 2009

Paulowina Mall, Main Concourse

Daytime

Midori grumbled as she left the pharmacy, bag of materials in her hand. Being cooped up in the hospital meant that time she had planned on buying certain things had gone out the window, and so now she was catching up in addition to getting some things Akihiko had told her to get. He had said something about giving her some personal training while she recuperated, and had flatly told her what to do and not to do.

In the back of her mind, she forced herself to change Akihiko-san to Akihiko-sensei in respect for the effort he was putting into helping her get back into the game.

All that was forgotten however, when she saw Minato and Elizabeth come out of the back hall. Seeing the woman from the Velvet Room outside was something of a surprise. "HEY!" She called out, waving her free arm at the two of them.

Elizabeth saw her and after a moment's hesitation, waved back with just as much arm-waving as Midori, but to the Devil Survivor's eyes, it was without meaning, just a motion copied because she was the one doing it. The three approached each other casually at the fountain to talk without yelling at each other.

"Minato-san, Elizabeth-chan! How are you?"

"I am well." The blonde woman replied. "I am on a... date? Yes, a 'date' with him."

Minato wanted to groan and roll his eyes, but resisted the urge. "It's not actually a date, Elizabeth."

"Oh? But are we not a male and female enjoying each others company and visiting places?"

"Dates are different than that. And why are you laughing?" The last was directed at Midori. "Elizabeth doesn't 'get' humans, so I've been escorting her to various places to show her around and stuff like that. It was all her idea."

Midori stopped her giggling. "Sorry. I just never thought I'd see you outside."

Elizabeth nodded in understanding. "You may be correct. Rare is it when a denizen of the Velvet Room leaves to partake of the human realm. I have lived vicariously through Minato's actions and the esoteric things he has brought me. Every moment I spend in this realm is a moment of wonder."

"Huh. She really doesn't get out much. Where you two going?"

"To the school, actually."

"Wait, isn't it closed? It's Sunday!"

"There's a sports event going on this weekend for the Track and Field teams. The gates are unlocked and people can come in."

"Alright, but come on, she's Elizabeth! How are you going to explain her presence?"

"Well, it's sports right? Just play the 'she's a foreigner and I was asked to show her around by Mitsuru-senpai' card and things will work out."

Looking back and forth between the two as they quickly conversed, Elizabeth was struck by a radical and revelatory idea. "Perhaps Midori can come with us?"

The two humans looked at each other, then back to Elizabeth. "Actually, that may just work. It'll be a better sell if it's both, rather than just you." Midori agreed, shifting her shopping load. "If you'll have me of course."

Minato thought about it for a moment before agreeing, hoping that Midori could keep up with Elizabeth's antics.

Then he had a second though. What if he couldn't keep up with the two of them?

Gekkoukan High School

"This is my classroom." Midori announced as she slid open the front door. "I sit there" she pointed to a seat near the back of the class. Walking over, she put down the bag of stuff she had been carrying since the Mall. "Just leave this here. We'll pick it up on our way back. Uh... Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth was looking in rapture at the room. "Such order! Is this where you learn as well, Minato?"

The boy shook his head. "No, I'm in a different class, one upstairs. Classrooms like this are divided by the year of the student, and then students are sorted semi-randomly into the various classes. Midori is a First Year, Class C." He stepped out to point at the sign on the wall above the door. "I'm in the second year."

"Ah. So if she is first, and you are second, and education begins then... does that make you seven or eight years of age?"

Minato shrugged off the usual Elizabeth-ism. "No. There are also levels of schooling. Elementary, Middle, High. This is a 'High' school, and as such, we are older."

"Wheels within wheels..." The blue-clad woman pondered this. "Does this facility have facilities for training all ages, or just yours?"

"No. Just for three years encompassing the ages of 15 through 18.

Midori watched the interplay with avid interest. Seeing Elizabeth outside of the Velvet Room was, to be honest with herself, somewhat hilarious as she measured up to the most stereotypical actions of tourists, in addition to her in-human misunderstanding of everything around her. "Shall we show you to my class?"

"Yes! Please!"

Upstairs, the three entered Minato's class, and he showed them where he sat, in addition to the seats for Yukari, Junpei and Aigis. Elizabeth took the opportunity to sit in Minato's chair, and look around. "How does this work? I do not feel like I am being schooled."

Midori hopped up behind the teacher's podium, enjoying for a moment the feeling of power that had to come with the location. "That's because when a class of many people is ready, a single person called a 'Teacher' stands up here and gives lectures and lessons about stuff."

"Much as you are doing now?" Elizabeth asked, making Midori realize just what she was doing. "Are you a 'Teacher' as well?"

Midori laughed. "Oh! Me? Never! I couldn't do that. Ever."

The door to the class opened sharply, causing Midori to jump startled. Mr. Edogawa, the school nurse looked in and saw the three of them. Recognizing the older student, he addressed Minato. "And what are you two doing here with that woman?"

Minato stood and bowed, then gave the teacher the prepared excuse for their presence. Edogawa mulled it over, then seemed to accept it. "Very well. But let the President know that the faculty can arrange for proper tours." He turned to leave. "Actually, Arisato-kun, could you assist me for a few minutes? I have need of another set of hands to move some supplies out onto the field in case I need to respond there, but no one else is available. Will you?" The request wasn't.

"Can the two of you stay here? I'll be back as soon as I can." Minato hoped that Elizabeth wouldn't wander off, nor would Midori take it upon herself to continue the tour.

"Sure! We'll wait!" "Of course."

"Thank you." Minato left with Edogawa, hoping for the best.

Midori sat in the seat beside Elizabeth. A few moments silence hung between them. "So, you get out often?"

"I do not know how often is 'often'. I come into the human world as often as you go into the Velvet room, but more...?"

"More often? Makes sense. What interests you about our little corner of reality?"

"I read much about your world in books, and with the permission of my Master, I asked Minato to guide me. I have learned that I know so little. Before you came into the Velvet Room, I did not know of the proper existence of the Demon World; to me, they were simply fables drawn into power to create Personas in my Compendium."

Her mind boggled at the thought that Elizabeth knew nothing about demons, Midori then sought to put her confusion into words. "You knew... nothing? But how? Why? I mean...!"

"My Master never told me of such things, and my enquiries after your arrival led me to discover that which I had first assumed was superstition, myth, and the supernatural creations of man were more than that. He also said that he was not the best person to learn about such things from. So I have to ask of you this: tell me about Demons and Angels."

"I don't know... I mean, I know, but I know I don't know a whole lot." Midori pulled her COMP out of her coat pocket and felt its rough surfaces. "I think I can tell you a little bit, but someone like Edogawa-sensei would be better."

"I want to hear it from you. You who have encountered them yourself and forged contracts with them."

"I don't know if I'm allowed too. I mean, I made promises."

"You need not speak of details. I want to hear from you about the Demons themselves. Perhaps you can start with Jack Frost? I asked Minato for a doll of him and he provided. I think he is quite a unique specimen."

"That he is! Well, even when there's more than one of them!" Midori began to speak about her encounter with a very unique Jack Frost, answering Elizabeth's questions as they expanded out into her encounters with them and how she grew to accept them as people, rather than as Monsters.

"But what about your personal creed? How can you account for the change of the Jack Frost you befriended into the Black Frost you now claim as your own?"

Midori thought hard about this. "As near as I can tell, it's a matter of ethics. Now, I didn't learn much about it directly, but I did learn a bit from hearing others talk and from some conversations afterwards.

"You see, Demons tend to believe in what we would call 'chaos'; that being an existence without firm order, and only those with the power to do or take what they can can have those things. The King of Bel being one of the stronger ones. Angels believe in 'order'; that being everything in its place with everything being governed by rigid laws. When the Bels came to Earth, the Angels created the Lockdown to try and force 'Law' onto humanity in the face of the 'Chaos' of the Demons.

"But humanity is different. We are not creatures of 'Law' or of 'Chaos'. Even though in a school like this, in a culture like mine, total rigidity is impossible. Exceptions exist, leeway occurs. Humans are creatures of... freedom. We are capable of choice. To follow the dictates of Law, or of Chaos, or of neither.

"I am a person of Love and Justice. I taught this to that Jack Frost and he changed his nature. He changed of his own free will, becoming something more and greater. That's why a human now sits on the Throne of Bel – we can change. For the better, for the worse, it doesn't matter. What matters was the change was done."

Elizabeth replied seriously. "So your stance is that power comes the capacity to take ones fate into ones own hands, to act in the neutral balance between the rigid demands of law and the unpredictable measures of personal disorder?"

"Maybe. I'm just a Magical Girl of Love and Justice. I try not to think too hard about this sort of thing."

"You will have to explain what that means to me as well."

"Another day."

They sat in silence for a while, waiting for Minato. When he finally returned, he apologized. "Sorry. Sensei had a lot of stuff to help with. Then I got sidetracked by some people I know. Did you two keep out of trouble?"

Midori nodded. "Yep! We talked about girl stuff! Elizabeth seriously needs to get out more often."

The Velvet Room

Having returned to Paulowina Mall, Elizabeth and Minato entered the Velvet Room while Midori waited outside. "Thank you again for showing me your world. I was quite enlightened, and thought I would like to share some of my results with you."

"Oh?" Minato responded, pleased that Elizabeth enjoyed her time in the real world.

"Yes. At first I thought that by asking you to take me outside, I was connecting to you and your amazing existence." She paused. "I was wrong. Not only am I learning and connecting to you but through you I am learning about and connecting to other people. Is this the measure of your Social Links – the actions that give you power? To reach out not only to those around you but to reach into their own links, and the links of their links?"

"Probably." Minato replied without much thought. "I gain power for my Personas not only through being friends with individuals, but also by being part of the group. My links are unique to me, but if everyone built up their own capacity for such things... I don't know what would happen."

Elizabeth gave a faint smile. "Then perhaps we both have things to think about. Until we meet again."

Paulowina Mall, Main Concourse

"How was Igor?" Midori picked up her bag as Minato came back into the human realm.

"Not bad. I think he enjoys Elizabeth's walks as a much as she does." The two of them started to head back to the Dorm. "You sure Akihiko won't mind you taking so late?"

"Nah, I'll just tell him I helped you with something. He'll understand."

09 November 2009

Kirijo Memorial Hospital, VIP Wing

After School

Junpei knocked, then entered when Chidori gave her permission. She wasn't on the bed, but rather standing beside the window, surrounded by a warm glow of sunlight that caused his breath to catch. Setting down his school bag, he asked "How are you feeling?"

"I am well, thank you for asking. How is Midori-chan?" Having all weekend to think about how to approach the questions she wanted answered, it seemed that the best approach was to affect the role of the 'concerned roommate'.

"Oh, Midori?" Junpei didn't expect to be used as a means to checkup on the younger girl, but just shrugged it off. "She's doing all right. Not taking the recovery easy, I can tell you. Poor Akihiko-senpai has his hands full just keeping her from doing something to aggravate her injuries."

Unbidden a small smile almost crept onto her face. She could almost see that. Her encounters with the bluenette definitely showed an over abundance of energy. Being told to take it easy would be against her nature. "I ask because I was concerned about her power."

Junpei leaned back against the wall beside her. "You mean the head injury? Yea, I can see that. It was pretty much the first thing the Senpai's did when she got back was to check it out. Frosty looks good according to Aigis and the equipment we have. Or at least as normal as he usually is. But I'll let her know you were concerned."

"No, it's not about that, Junpei..." Chidori tried to get the conversation back on track, but found she couldn't while under Junpei's eager gaze. So she shied away from the questions she wanted to ask, and instead went with the one easier to ask. "How was your day?"

Minatodai Dormitory, 1st Floor Lounge

Evening

Junpei, sitting beside Akihiko, waved Minato over as he came in for the evening. "Hey man, grab a seat. We got some good news and some weird news."

Minato did so, noting that no one else was downstairs at all. "What's up?"

Akihiko took the lead in answering. "First of all, I got a message from Mitsuru. Seems she's done down at Yakushima, and will be coming back tomorrow. I don't know if you want to go back into Tartarus, but it may give her a good excuse to divert her attention to something else."

Accepting the suggestion, Minato turned to Junpei. "Anything else? You mentioned weird news. Is it about Chidori?"

"No. Well, it's about her. Midori I mean. You see, Chidori is kinda worried about her Persona. Seems like while she was sleeping, Chidori couldn't sense Midori's persona, and thought it may have been lost, or damaged. But then as she was leaving the hospital, apparently her Persona came back at full force."

Minato looked at Akihiko, the questions evident in his eyes. "I don't know," he said, shaking his head ruefully. "Head injuries are hard enough to predict the outcome in normal people." He took a deep breath. "But she's under doctor's orders to have little physical activity for at least a week, so I would keep her out of fighting in Tartarus for at least ten days. We can give her a practice run in a week on one of the lower floors to see how she's doing, and make a more accurate judgement then. And it will give me time to develop a training system to build up her endurance."

Minato nodded, though he felt like he was missing something from the conversation that he should have picked up.

10 November 2009

Gekkoukan High, Rooftop

Lunch

Midori didn't come up here often, preferring to lunch with her friends in the classroom, and Aigis didn't eat at all. But the two of them were up here so Midori could enjoy the fresh air and the two could enjoy each others company. Then the new boy in the school showed up, Ryoji. And things went down hill very fast.

He immediately turned on the charm and Midori reflexively tuned him out. Although she did pay enough attention to him to determine when to make some noise. Midori could see, once she was done with her lunch, how he had managed to blow past pretty much everyone in the 'hotness' quotient to come up near Akihiko – that scarf was amazing!

Although when Aigis had enough and she froze up like a predator ready to pounce, Midori reached into her experience with dealing with fans who annoyed her and adjusted her body language to say "we're out of your league, so don't even try".

And yet he persisted! So Midori had to play dirty. "Aigis? I'm feeling a headache coming on." She faked a wince, and held her head away from where the bandages used to be. "Could you help out?"

Nodding, Aigis knew that the best thing Midori needed was quiet and water according to Akihiko. And with Ryoji being by far the loudest thing on the roof, she forced him back into the school through inexorable robot strength. And some part of her appreciated the excuse to man-handle the young man.

After getting a bottle of water, she returned to the roof and offered it to Midori. "He's dangerous."

"Well, I get that. Guys like that, they don't know when to stop. One of these days, he'll do his thing to a woman who will respond by kicking him in the balls." Midori completely missed what Aigis meant by 'dangerous'.

"That was a viable response? I was under the impression that violence was forbidden on school property."

"Oh, it is. But there are plenty of places not on school property."

"I see. I will file that away for future reference."

Something clicked in Midori's memory, from the days previous. "He hit on you in class, didn't he?"

"I believe that is the correct term, yes."

"Oh." Midori could only look on in personal horror as the sheer gall displayed by the newest student would only lead to tragedy. Comedy, certainly. But mostly tragedy.

Minatodai Dorm, 3rd Floor, Mitsuru's Room

Evening

Midori knocked, but no answer came. She wasn't opening the door for anyone, and Midori doubted that anyone was actually willing to kick down the door to talk to her. They all wanted to give her some space, that much was obvious, but she couldn't do that to Mitsuru.

"Open up, Senpai!" Midori banged on the door again. "You can't hide!"

She saw someone come up the stairs out of the corner of her eye, but ignored them. Instead, she waited for Mitsuru to give some sign of life.

The Dark Hour came and went before Midori ceased her vigil and crossed the hall to her own room.

14 November 2009

Tartarus, Lobby

The Dark Hour

"I do not appreciate being the Club Manager now." Midori grumbled as Minato led people higher into the tower, a new Block having appeared. On Minato's orders she had left her Evoker at home, though she still had Frosty on her, in case of emergencies.

At first, people had tried to keep her away from Tartarus in the first place, to let her go home and sleep, but she pointed out that the walk from the Dorm to Tartarus was a good one, and even if she wasn't going to go fighting, the exercise would be good for her.

That, and they really couldn't stop her unless they locked her in her room.

So she sat on the stairs, playing with her COMP, and occasionally breaking out a deck of cards to play a couple rounds of go-fish with Ken or whoever else wanted to join in.

"It's too bad first years can't go on the School Trip." Fuuka spoke during one of the lulls in battle.

"Don't remind me. Kyoto! I wanted to go there!" Midori griped as Ken won. Again. She looked behind her to make sure that Koro wasn't spying on her hand, but she just readied the cards for another game.

"I tried to talk Mitsuru-senpai into making an exception for you, but she... well..." Fuuka tried to apologize for her failure.

"Don't worry. She's had a lot on her mind, and if she did me a favour like that, it could compromise her own positional integrity. Besides, someone has to keep an eye on Ken and Koro-chan. Who knows what they'll do with the Dorm to themselves for so long?" She smiled, eyes gleaming at Ken, who only shook his head.

"Akihiko-san has already given me a list of things to make sure you get done, Midori-chan." He asked for a Queen, which Midori dutifully handed over. "You're supposed to take your medication, do the exercises he's got planned, clean your room and stuff like that."

"KEN! How could you! After all the Featherman R stuff I've shared with you, you repay me like this?" Midori shot back as she failed to take a Three from him.

"It could have been worse, Mitsuru wanted to leave Koro-chan in charge."

The two youngest humans in SEES turned to look at the dog, who only tilted his head to one side, pretending to be innocent of all things.

"You realize that we're going to have to walk him every night, right? And he'll do that thing with his eyes to make us do his bidding."

Ken nodded. "That's your job. Long strolls are part of Akihiko's instructions."

Midori fake-wept at the injustice of it all. Ah well, there was always next year.

20 November 2009

Minatodai Dorm, 1st Floor Lounge

Evening

Midori held the door open as the older girls came back. The Kyoto trip did them good, and she could see that they were all refreshed, especially Mitsuru who actually smiled at her! Midori of course, welcomed everyone back, but once Minato, Akihiko and Junpei reached the steps, the ice in Mitsuru's voice came back with a vengeance.

"Be very glad that Midori didn't come with us," she said from her imperious place at the door. "I would have had to have been stricter with you, given the age differences involved."

Confused, Midori asked what had happened, and Fuuka responded with three phrases. "Hot Springs. 'Accident'. Execution."

A moment to understand what just happened, then Midori slammed the door in the boys face. "STAY OUTSIDE LIKE THE DOGS YOU ARE!"