A/N: MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL! Sorry I couldn't update earlier but I had to study for my exams… I had this chapter finished a bit earlier but decided to upload it now that is Christmas! (or close to Christmas) It might be a bit late for some people or early for others… I don't know, but here in Chile it's already December 24.
WE HAVE OVER 100 REVIEWS! THANK YOU SO MUCH EVERYONE! To be honest, I never thought I'd make it this far. I started writing this story as a way to not forget an idea I really liked, and decided to upload it here just because. I never thought people would like it… All I can say is THANK YOU and expect more in the future. I'm not stopping until this is over. Like I've said before, updates may take some time, but please bear with me.
I want to apologize beforehand for some of the scenes you'll find in this chapter… They may seem awkward but I couldn't find a way to work them. Like Igor, for example. I know how cryptic he is, but I have a hard time trying to be cryptic myself… so Velvet Room scenes are hard :(
Another thing… sorry to break it to you all, but the wolf in the previous chapter has no connection to Koromaru. Like I said, this one is a WOLF, while Koro-chan is a dog (A Shiba Inu if I remember correctly). You'll find out what the deal is with this wolf, but not now.
Now let's answer reviews!
ADeadDiehard: I agree with you on Mei's reaction to her father's story. Once I read it again I thought it was kind of awkward… but then again, that scene as a whole was pretty damn difficult for me. Kaori will get to tell Haru at some point, but I'm still going over the issue. And… yeah, that's not Koro Jr… sorry.
Ice Wolf Fang: Sorry, it's not related to Koro-chan… and the reason for it being able to use a Persona will be explained in the future.
DemigodWitch96: Well, I have a brother myself (though he's 14 years older than me) so I kind of know that sibling get on each other's nerves. Well, to be honest about the characters, at first the only ones that I really put serious thought into were Haru, Reiko and Mei. Then I was like "Wait, the others would've had children as well, right?". I took the idea for Yui from Sword Art Online, Kaori's from and unused design for Rise Kujikawa (Which, I later noticed while playing Persona 2, looks a lot like Lisa Silverman) and Ryu from Shirou Emiya from Fate/Stay Night (although slightly, Ryu is not fully based on Shirou) and once I started writing I thought: "why the hell are they all only-childs?" I had already upload most of the story and it was too late to turn back… Those are the mistakes I make for being a newbie writer and not really planning that much. Oh, and while I'm at it, Haru's name came from the protagonist of my favorite manga series, Rave Master.
RomanceDagger: Like I said before, sorry, not Koro-chan. Oh and all similarities of characters with real-life people are pure coincidence, I swear!
WolfIV: I know it's late, but I told you I would give you a proper reply when I updated, and now I did. Thanks for the words, and I know the description part is lacking, but I'm so bad at it! Even in Spanish (native language) I have troubles. I try my best, but it's so hard :(
I'm glad you liked chapter 18, and my Inner Simon The Digger will come back! Though I don't know when…
Yep, I have no idea why the Yu/Yukiko couple is underappreciated, but hey, that's why I'm here. I'm writing a Yu/Yukiko (and Minato/Yukari) one shot for Christmas but it seems I won't get it ready in time… I have to keep studying for my exams (yeah, I still have a couple more…) I hope you don't mind if it's a bit delayed.
I've been thinking of a prequel, but it's still too early. Although if I do decide to write it I already have a bunch of ideas.
izanarukami818: Like I said, the Nanako/Ken pair was a "Why not" idea that I had been thinking for some time.
Michiyo Makino: You know what? I think those moments are due. They'll come, not in this chapter, but in the near future.
Maict: Haha, I didn't know you'd get so happy over the Nanako/Ken. I think you're right, if Persona games were novels they'd advance slowly, too. Besides, I like this pace, it gives me freedom to add small scenes with simple character interaction.
Guest (from Dec. 8): Thanks for the tips, I'll make sure to have those in mind. Oh, and thanks for telling me about the typos… I can't believe no one told me before! I wrote cheery instead of cherry… I'm stupid. But in my defense, I was really tired when I proofread that chapter.
Well, Haru and Reiko call each other Sis and Brother because of two things. First, I have an older brother and, well… I always call him brother. And second, if this was translated into Japanese (they are Japanese after all) Reiko would be calling Haru Aniki (which means older brother in a friendly way), though I don't know how you would translate Sis into Japanase… but well, that's the reason.
Chapter 20
'Is this for real…?' Haru asked himself. He had seen many strange things in the last few months, but so far, this one took the prize. He was on one knee, in the middle of a dark bamboo forest fighting a blood-thirsty wolf and his left shoulder was bleeding… but the worst thing was that this wolf, an animal, had just summoned a Persona… in the real world… without the need of that strange almighty force field he had fought in a couple of months ago. The sharp pain he felt in his left shoulder reminded him that this was in fact very real. 'I'll have to move fast if I want to survive…' He tried to stand up from the ground, but moving his shoulder caused himgreat pain. 'Forget the pain! Forget it! It doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt, it doesn't hurt!' He told himself repeatedly.
He barely managed to overcome the pain. He stood up only to see a dark magic circle forming around him. 'Fuck! This is mudoon! Dodge, dodge!'
Haru ran as fast as his legs could carry him and managed to get out of the dark magic circle before it was complete. The wolf dismissed its Persona but Haru wasn't safe yet. The fierce animal ran as fast as a bullet towards him. Haru tried to smack him with his bamboo stick but the wolf swiftly dodged the vertical strike and took the opportunity to bite Haru's right leg, but it didn't manage to leave a big wound. Haru quickly kicked the animal on the body, sending him away. Nevertheless, now his right leg was injured too, so he had to put his weight into his left.
The wolf bit his tarot card once again and its Persona appeared once more. Both Persona and host howled as a lightning bolt fell from the sky. Haru managed to dodge at the last second thanks to his senses going faster than ever. But his senses couldn't fix his body. He jumped to avoid the lightning but his right leg caused him serious pain, causing him to land on his back as he fell. He was completely defenseless now.
Haru saw how the giant wolf Persona with pitch black fur and the same red eyes as its host jumped to attack him while all he could do was cover his body as best as he could with his arms.
With a single swipe of the Persona's paw, Haru was sent flying against a group of bamboo trees, landing painfully. He only managed to sit leaning against the group of trees, having no more strength to stand up. 'This is… Insane…' He thought as his head hanged low, looking at his own legs. He could now feel blood dropping down his face. There was a cut above his left eye.
The grey wolf quickly dashed towards Haru as the latter slowly raised his head. He saw the wolf running at him with the intent of killing him. For a second, he truly thought this was his end… but something inside him wouldn't let him. 'It's not… at least not like this…!' Haru's eyes flashed with an intense red for a single moment and a wicked smile formed in his face. He had stopped thinking. There was literally not a single thought on the black haired leader's mind.
The wolf suddenly stopped in its tracks, its animal instincts alerting it that something was off. The look on the human's face… was scary, if not terrifying. Still, even though it stopped, the wolf didn't back off, but it neither dared going any further.
Haru's thoughts returned along with a surprised expression when he saw fire. A ring of fire was forming itself around him. The wolf had to jump back to avoid getting burned. Something was off and its animal instincts acted again, telling it to leave. The fierce animal ran into the woods, disappearing in the shadows.
The ring of flames vanished as quickly as it formed; leaving not even a trace that it had even been there. The grass was completely untouched. Haru couldn't understand was had just happened, but to be honest, he didn't care anymore… he was somehow alive.
"Haru!" He heard a woman's voice say. He could recognize it, even though he hadn't heard her in a long time. "You're alive! Thank god!" He felt the woman getting closer to him, kneeling beside him.
"Aunt… Marie…?" He asked weakly.
"Yep, the one and only!" She told him with a smile. Haru could barely recognize her since his vision was getting blurry and the blood was getting into his left eye, forcing him to close it, but he saw her short black hair, dark framed glasses and a black suit with a white shirt. Yeah, it was his Aunt Marie.
"What… are you…?" He tried to ask.
"…Doing here?" She finished for him. "I sensed a Persona in here and came to check as quickly as possible. I arrived in Inaba like an hour ago."
"I… see…" Haru smiled weakly. "T-Thanks…" He was lacking energy, even to speak.
"Don't worry, you're safe now." She told him.
Haru believed her and closed his eyes, letting himself fall unconscious.
"Looks like I arrived just in time" Marie said to herself aloud. "I should heal him-" She said, but couldn't do it because she heard what sounded like a lot of people running towards them.
"Brother, are you there!?" That was Reiko's voice.
"Haru, where the hell are you!?" Ryu's voice came from the same direction.
"Sempai!? Say something!" Kaori too… In fact, Marie could feel that five of the seven people coming were Persona users.
'Probably the new kids, but who are the other two…?" Marie asked herself.
"Hey, I think I can see him!" A male voice, unknown to her said. "You said he had a red T-shirt, right, Reiko-chan?"
"Yes! Where is him!?" Reiko asked impatiently.
The huge group of seven people came out from the darkness of the forest. Five teenagers and two police officers. 'Damnit! With normal people here I won't be able to heal him!' Marie mentally cursed.
"Brother!" "Haru-kun!" "Sempai!" Haru!" Came the calls of his friends as they ran up to him as fast as their legs could carry them, followed closely by the two police officers.
"Don't worry, he's alive." Marie told them.
"A-Aunt Marie! You're here? Wait, let's save that for later! How's my brother!?" Reiko quickly asked.
Marie grunted at the impossibility of healing Haru in front of normal people. "He's heavily injured…" She looked at the police officers with annoyance. "What are you waiting for!? Call an ambulance!"
Both rookie police officers jumped at being yelled at.
"Dan-san, please hurry!" Reiko yelled too.
"R-Right!" Dan quickly took out his cell-phone and dialed the hospital's number.
Meanwhile, the female officer approached Marie.
"Excuse me, miss, but I'll have to ask you some questions…" She said.
"Do you really think this is the time for questions!?" Marie asked, still annoyed. "Let's worry about Haru first and THEN you can ask all the stupid questions you want!"
"R-Right! I'm sorry!" The officer straightened up.
"Sempai… what happened to you…?" Yui asked, noticing Haru's bad shape.
"It's not use… he's unconscious." Marie told them.
"Sempai… I told him to be careful…!" Kaori was about to cry.
"You know… I think he was as careful as he could…" Ryu told her. 'What the hell happened, Haru!?'
Mei slowly approached Haru to check up on his injuries. His cuts in his shoulder and leg were quite deep but the cut on his face didn't seem serious. A look of deep concern and worry formed in her face. "Haru-kun…" She said. It was almost a whisper. Low enough that only Marie, who was right next to her, could hear her. "If only I could use my Persona… I'm sorry…"
"You can't, not in front of these people…" Marie answered in the same way, causing Mei to look at her in surprise and confusion. She didn't think she would hear her. "And now that they've seen him in such a state, we won't be able to heal him with magic without causing suspicion…" She grunted.
"We need to get him out of this forest or he'll bleed to death." The female officer said.
"Tora-san! Don't say things like that!" Reiko yelled.
"It's true though, we have to get him out… Hey, you!" Marie called up to Dan. "You and Ryu, carry him out of here! Come on, move!"
Ryu didn't need to be told twice. Just as Marie called his name he was already at Haru's side. Dan quickly joined him and together they grabbed his shoulders carried him out of the forest. Ryu was on Haru's left side, but the blood didn't bother him at all.
The look of worry on the rest of the girls was obvious as they walked behind the two guys carrying Haru. "Don't worry, he'll be fine." Marie assured them. "Come on, let's go. We'll talk when we're in the hospital.
There was silence at the waiting room of the Inaba Municipal Hospital as Haru was being treated in the emergency room. The police officers had just left after asking Marie some questions. For a moment they suspected her of causing Haru's wounds, but they later confirmed they were caused by an animal. When asked why she was there, Marie answered that she saw strange lights and went to check. The officers wouldn't have believed her if it wasn't that the exact same reason how they and the teens found Haru. They left after talking to the doctor, who told them Haru's condition was far from being life-threatening, but that they still had work to do.
Now, only the five newest Persona users and Marie were left in the waiting room, no one saying a thing.
The silence was broken when Yu, Yukiko, Nanako and Dojima entered the room in a rush, all of them with a look of heavy worry on their eyes.
"Marie-chan! How's my son!?" Yukiko quickly asked once she saw her. They had received Marie's call and left the Inn to Minato, Yukari and the rest of the staff while they came to check up on Haru.
"Don't worry, your son will live. He has a few injuries, but nothing too serious." Marie informed. "I could've healed him in the spot, but there were police officers around." She grunted again.
"What!? You could've healed him!?" Reiko asked, extremely confused.
"Of course I could've! You kids could've done it too! But now the police and the doctors saw him in that state, so we'll have to let him heal naturally, otherwise we'll cause suspicion." She answered.
"We… we could have healed him…?" Mei asked.
"Duh, you have Personas, right?" Marie asked rhetorically.
"But… we can't use them in the real world…" Ryu said.
"What? Of course you-" She realized it. Why Haru was in such a state fighting another Persona user in the real world. She looked at Yu angrily.
"You didn't tell them!?" Marie practically yelled.
Yu could only look down in shame.
"So you really didn't!? What the hell is wrong with you!?"
"Marie-chan, please calm down…" Nanako tired to ease the tension in the room. But it was hard considering everyone was worried.
"Tell me; Why wouldn't you tell them the whole truth!?" Marie asked once again.
"We had our reasons…" Yu managed to say.
"Yu, I know damn well you're not stupid, but I can't see your reasoning-"
"Alright, everybody just calm down!" Dojima spoke with an authoritative tone. Everyone stayed silent. "Haru is fighting for his life in there. The last thing he needs is us fighting among ourselves!"
Yukiko sighed in relief, seeing how Dojima was able to manage the situation. "Dojima-san is right, we should be worried about Haru right now…"
"Fine… we'll talk about this later." Marie said.
"Whatever you have to say… Please wait for my brother to wake up." Reiko asked. "This seems to be something Persona-related, and if it is, Brother needs to hear it too."
Marie sighed. At least the atmosphere in the room eased a little bit.
Haru slowly opened his eyes only to see a familiar blue colored carriage room. Three people he already knew were sitting in front of him and he could hear the horses' steps pulling the carriage. He checked his body looking for the injuries. There was none.
"Welcome to the Velvet room my dear guest." He heard Igor's voice. "Do not be alarmed, you are fast asleep in the real world. I have summoned you here within your dreams."
"How-?" Haru sighed. "Fine, whatever." He resigned himself to all the weird things that were happening to him for a long time now. "What am I doing here?" He asked, crossing his arms.
"You seem to have had a dangerous encounter in your world, and just barely escaped with your life." Theodore said.
"Should've figured you guys already knew…" Haru said, to himself, mostly. "Why didn't you tell me Personas could exist in the real world?" He asked calmly, knowing that getting worked up would get him nowhere with these people.
"This journey is for you to travel. We are only here to assist you whenever you need our services." Margaret said.
"I could've died there, you know?"
"Yet you didn't. Isn't that wonderful?" Igor answered with the same creepy old smile.
"Oh forget it." Haru just dismissed it. His father did tell him he would have a hard time getting a clear answer from Igor.
"So? Have you found the answers you sought with your investigation?" Igor asked.
"Not at all… in fact, I have even more questions now." Haru answered. "How can Personas exist in the real world? How is a wolf capable of summoning one? I just don't get it… and that annoys me to no end."
"I'm sure you will find your answers sooner than you might think." Igor said.
"Do you remember? Your journey started when a mysterious enemy attacked you, throwing you into an unknown world." Margaret said.
"From the beginning, you've been nothing but a prey, waiting for your enemy to make their move, and then react accordingly." Theodore said. "So far it has worked, but how long can you keep this up?"
Haru silently gritted his teeth. They were right. From day one they had been the prey. They were thrown into the TV world where he, Reiko and Ryu successfully awakened to their Personas. Then there was Mei's kidnapping where he luckily was able to act on time. Kaori's and Yui's kidnapping happened right under their noses, too. And now there was this… He got his ass kicked by a wolf that could summon a Persona while he tried his best to survive.
"How long? Heh, like I want to find out." Haru said sarcastically. "I think it's time we change things… it's time we take the offensive."
"The hunted shall become hunters." Igor chuckled. "I'll look forward to see your progress. And remember, our services are at your disposal."
"Good, because I need something right now."
"Very well, then let's begin."
The day ended and everyone returned to their respective homes, and Marie would be staying at the Amagi Inn. There, Reiko was standing in front of the cherry blossom tree where Haru spent most of his time. It was already dark outside and the guests were starting to return to their rooms.
'Brother… what happened to you?' Reiko thought. She was worried about her brother, but at least he was free of danger now. What worried her the most right now was not knowing what caused Haru's injuries… "What am I supposed to do now? I'm tired of just waiting…" She said. "What would you do if were in my place? What would you do if I were the one in the hospital and not you…?" She wondered. She wanted to go to that forest and find out who or what did that to her twin brother, but she knew it would be incredibly stupid on her part.
"You know, I think he would wait for you to wake up to ask you what happened, and then make a plan from there." She heard Mei's voice from behind her.
"Hey…" Reiko greeted.
"You still worried about him?" Mei asked, walking up to her side.
"I'm just glad he's fine now…" Reiko answered. "What about you?"
"Me? Well… I guess I'm still a bit worried. I'm glad his injuries aren't fatal, but… seeing him all covered in blood…"
"Right… Eidetic Memory…" Reiko remembered. The memory of Haru on the ground, unconscious and all covered in blood must still be fresh in her head, even to the smallest details. "I'm sorry."
Mei shook her head. "It's ok. At least we know he'll be fine." She smiled.
Reiko returned that smile. "Yeah." She looked down. "But you're right, all we can do now is wait… like always…" She clenched her fist.
Mei slowly nodded. Neither of them liked it, but there was nothing they could do. They would wait once again.
"You guys have to tell them because if you don't I will!" Marie said to the four veteran Persona users in front of her. Yu, Yukiko, Minato and Yukari were in the living room of the house, discussing today's events. "I mean, look what happened today!"
"You think I don't know that!?" Yu almost yelled. He was having a hard time remaining calm. "My own son is in the hospital, and I know damn well it's my fault, but…!"
"But what!?" Marie yelled.
"We just wanted our kids to live normal lives…" Yukari said. "Is that so bad?"
"When we awakened to our Persona, we decided we would fight. It was our own decision." Yukiko said. "We could've easily turned away and continue our lives like nothing had happened, but we didn't, yet they don't get a say in any of this."
"They're being hunted and we thought we could protect them and end this ourselves…" Yukari said.
"But you can't. Not anymore." Marie told them.
"We were naïve." Minato said, looking down. "We thought we could still protect them, but we hadn't realized that our time was over…"
"I think it's more like we didn't want to realize…" Yu said. "I didn't want my own children to carry the same burden we did, and they didn't even get a say in all this." He clenched his fist. "We taught them what they needed to defend themselves in case of an emergency, but we didn't anticipate something like this."
"You can never anticipate what life has in store for you, and I think that's what makes it interesting." Marie's expression turned soft. "If you really want to protect your children, pass on your knowledge to them, let them become strong and surpass you, and more importantly… trust them."
Silence filled the room.
"Oh come on, cheer up! Haru-kun's alive and I can give you some info that might help the kids!" Marie tried to lift their spirits.
"We'll tell them everything when Haru wakes up." Yu said. "And we'll train them differently from now on."
"This is their fight. It's time for us to step aside and let them take the offensive." Minato said. "We'll teach them everything we know, and trust they can and WILL succeed."
"Yeah! They're our children after all, right?" Yukari said.
"If we could do it, I'm sure they'll have no problems!" Yukiko said.
"Yeah, that's the spirit!" Marie said, cheerful. She had things to tell them. Things she noticed the moment she stepped into this town after many years, but that could wait for a while.
And the next day…
"Huh… why are you all here?" Haru curiously asked.
"We need to talk, son." Yu answered. "There are things we need you all to know and can't wait any longer."
"Well, ok but… why does it have to be in my hospital room while I'm still in bed!?" He asked angrily.
Like Haru said, Yu, Yukiko, Minato, Yukari, Marie, Reiko and Mei were in his room at the hospital while he was sitting in his bed, covered in bandages and wearing his hospital robe. Not really a pleasant situation for him.
"You might not be in fatal danger, but you're still healing. Like your father said, we can't wait anymore." His mother told him. "I'm sorry Haru, but we have no other choice."
Haru just grunted and accepted it.
At least the others weren't here. It seemed that Ryu, Kaori and Yui were at their own homes with their parents. Apparently whatever information they were passing on to him, the others were receiving it from their own parents… seemed like the right thing to do.
"First of all, Haru, we'd like you to tell us what happened in the forest." Minato asked.
Haru sighed. "Fine… I was with Kaori. We were asking around the hills about the shopping district's meat thief," He began. "A friend from school told me he thought he saw something like a big dog in the bamboo forest. When we were there, I decided to go in." He put a hand in front of Reiko to stop her before she could talk. "Don't ask why. Looking back on it, it was a pretty stupid decision and I can't remember my thought process at the time." He sighed again. "Inside, I felt a presence," He continued. "…Like someone was watching me. Long story short, it was a wolf, at least a meter high. Its fur was of a very dark grey and had red eyes. We fought, it kicked my ass. Aunt Marie then arrived to save me and the wolf left. The weird thing…? That thing had a Persona, and it used it in the real world without any difficulties."
Haru could hear the two girls gasp in shock, but he was more interested in the adult's reactions. Like he expected, they only narrowed their eyes.
'Yeah, they already knew it was possible…' He thought. "So… Why not tell us it was possible?" He calmly asked.
The adults were slightly taken off guard. They expected him to be mad at them for hiding information, like he was when Kaori and Yui were kidnapped. Instead, he was calm, and if he wasn't he was damn good at looking the part. But in reality, Haru really was calm. One of the good things of being called to the Velvet Room while you're unconscious is that it gives you time to sort out your thoughts.
The three teens waited patiently for their parents to give them an answer, and so did Marie. She would stay silent and listen to what her friends had to say.
"Let me start from the beginning." Yu said. "Yes, Personas can exist in the real world. The problem is that we lost that ability many years ago."
It was Haru's time to narrow his eyes.
"But you can summon your Personas in the TV world…" Reiko said.
"The TV world is different." Yukiko explained. "That is a place where Shadows and Personas can easily exist. It's a friendly environment for them. You've felt it too, right?"
The three teens nodded.
"When you two and Ryu were thrown into the TV, we panicked." Yu admitted, referring to the twins. "Then we found out the three of you awakened to your Personas. As your parents, it's obvious that we wanted to protect you." He looked down and clenched his fist.
"Yes, we hid information from you. We didn't want you to get involved into this fight." Yukiko said. "We thought we could take care of everything without you having to fight, but…"
"But Mei's kidnapping happened." Minato said. "When Yu told me about the Shadow attack and the use of the TV world, I feared something similar could happen to my daughter. I feared that, if something like that were to happen, Yukari and I wouldn't be enough to protect her, so we moved here hoping to get help from Yu and the others, and help them fight in return."
"But in the end it happened anyways." Yukari said. "The enemy managed to get into her mind and tried to kidnap her right under our noses in the middle of the night! If not for Haru-kun, who knows what might've happened to Mei…"
Haru looked down at his bed sheets, clearly remembering his fight against the Shadow Horseman. He had been lucky in that fight, but he somehow managed to win. That same night he also formed a Social Link with Mei… 'Wait, what does that have to o with anything!?' He quickly dismissed that last thought.
"According to what Haru told us, the battle on the hill took place under some kind of almighty force field where Shadows and Personas can easily exist, just like in the TV World, so we thought we could still somehow make it work…" Yukiko said.
"But we never thought that there was another Persona user in this town… an animal at that." Yu said.
"In my life, I've only ever met one animal capable of using a Persona." Minato said.
"At the dorm we had a dog named Koromaru. He was a very smart dog…" Yukari smiled sadly, then sighed. "I'm sorry… we were naïve, thinking we could take care of things when we've lost almost all our power… And we put you in danger in the process…"
"How did you lose your powers?" Reiko asked.
"Simply put: age." Marie finally said after staying silent for so long. "As you grow up, your body gets weaker, and so does your mind. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying they're senile old fools, but there's a point where your mind can't take the strain of summoning a Persona."
"Everyone loses it at a different age." Yukari said. "I lost it at 32, like Yukiko. Minato did at 34 and Yu did at… 33 if I remember correctly."
Yu nodded. "As much as we'd like to protect you all, we lack the power to do it. I'm sorry to say this but… from now on, this is your fight." Saying those words hurt… not only Yu, but the others as well. Somehow, it felt like they were… abandoning their children.
"Good, because I was getting tired of just waiting." Haru spoke calmly, to their surprise. "Up until now, we've been sitting on our asses waiting for the enemy to strike. Well, I say it's time we take the offensive. We'll investigate and get to the bottom of whatever this mess is." The determination in his eyes could only be matched by the seriousness of his voice.
Reiko was happy to hear her brother say that. "Yeah! That's what I wanted to hear!" She said, cheerfully.
"If things don't go right, we'll make them right, isn't it?" Mei said, laughing.
"… that's my line, you know?" Haru told Mei with a bored expression in his face.
Their parents were… surprised, to say the least. Their children were ready to fight, ready to go all out. Maybe they had been ready for a long time, but they had been too busy playing the overprotective parents to notice. A smile formed in their faces. They were proud of them.
"Alright, good to see you're in good spirits, but I want you to know that this means training is getting even harder from now on!" Minato said with a grin.
"Heh, bring it on!" Reiko said, caught in the heat of the moment. Well, she would regret saying that later… maybe.
"I'm sorry, but visiting time is over…" Said a nurse as she walked into the room.
"Sorry son… seems we have to go." Yu said.
"Don't worry. It was getting crowded here anyways."
Yu only shook his head at that.
"Get better, son." Yukiko told him and kissed his forehead. "We'll come to see you again, I promise."
"Yeah…" Haru blushed a bit.
Everyone started to leave the room and Reiko was the last one.
"I'll come see you again tomorrow, ok?" She told her brother.
"Actually… I'd like you to take Kaori and Yui into the TV world to train tomorrow." Haru told her.
"Huh? What did you just say…?" His sister asked.
"Neither of them has much combat experience, if any. Sure, Yui helped us in the fight against Kaori's Shadow, but that's not enough," Haru explained. "Besides, it's been some time since we all had some practice. I think it's time to get back to it."
"B-but you're still recovering… and besides, who's gonna lead the team?" She asked hesitantly.
"Huh? You of course, who else?"
"ME!? But I can't! I-I…"
"Hey, you pushed me into the job, so you do YOUR job as the second in command."
"Who said I'm the second in command!?"
"It's like an unspoken rule, ask anyone…" Haru dismissed with his hand. "You'll be fine. I'll even give you some pointers, so listen."
Reiko nervously nodded.
"Ryu's strong, but he doesn't really know what to do in the middle of battle, so you have to stick with him and tell him what to do from time to time. Let Yui feed you information; ask her anything you have doubts about. Knowledge is half the battle. Mei is our main healer, protect her. If any of you gets injured, she can heal you, but if she gets seriously injured, then you better have a Persona that can use healing spells, otherwise, you're screwed."
Reiko nodded again but a bit more confident now. She had just realized how well Haru knew them, and getting his advice gave her a lot more confidence.
"I don't know about Kaori though…" He continued. "Let her try her Persona first, and if she doesn't know what to do, ask Yui if she can scan her and see what her abilities are."
"Alright, I think I've got it… somewhat…"
"Don't worry, you'll do fine." He smiled at her. It was a small, simple yet genuine smile rarely seen in him. "I trust you Sis."
"R-Right! Ok, I'll do it!" She was determined now. "You can count on me! I promise to do my best!"
"Good. Now get out of here before they kick you out."
"Fine, I'll go! Get better Bro!" With that Reiko left.
Outside, though, she found people she didn't think she'd see.
"Ah, Reiko-chan!" Tora said. "We hoped we'd found you here."
"Tora-san, Dan-san! It's good to see you." Reiko said. "What are you doing here?"
"We came to ask your brother some questions, but the nurse said his family was visiting, so we didn't wanna bother." Dan answered. "How is he?"
"Oh, he's fine. He covered in bandages but free of danger and in good spirits." Reiko said, smiling at them. "Thank you for worrying. Oh, but the nurse said visiting time was over…"
"Really? Damn, we should've come sooner." Tora sighed. "Oh well, we'll ask the questions some other day. Good thing he's ok, though."
"Hey, if you need anything don't hesitate to give us a call, alright Reiko-chan?" Dan told her.
"Whether is an official matter or personal matter, we'll be there if you need us!" Tora said.
*SMASH*
I am thou… Thou art I…Thou hast established a new bond.
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Temperance Arcana.
"Thank you very much. I'll keep that in mind." Reiko smiled even wider at them.
"Well, we have to go now. We still have a lot of work to do." Tora said. "Let's go, Dan!"
"Coming! See you later Reiko-chan!"
"Bye!" Reiko waved them off.
Mei arrived right after. "Hey, your parents sent me to see what's taking you so long…" She said.
"Sorry, sorry! I'm done now, let's go!"
The two girls walked out of the hospital and returned to the Inn along with everyone else.
Just like she promised, Reiko took the whole team, with the exception of Haru, into the TV world for a training session. This time, only Minato and Yukari were supervising their training since this was only for the two newest members to get used to the feeling of battle. To Minato's suggestion, the group was in the middle floors of the Steamy Bathhouse and they would move up if they did well.
"ALRIGHT EVERYONE, FOLLOW ME!" Reiko yelled to her friends as she took the lead. Yes, she was yelling but that was only to hide her insecurity. She mentally sighed. 'I know I promised I'd do my best, but…' She quickly dismissed that thought. 'But nothing! I promised I'd do it and that's exactly what I'm gonna do! How hard can it be?'
"Yo, Reiko!" Ryu called from behind and she turned her head to see him. "Let's kick some ass!" He said as he punched his left palm with his right fist. This only worked to further improve her determination.
Reiko nodded. "Now, let's move- Wait!" She suddenly remembered something. "We need to know what Kaori can do! I can't believe I almost forgot about that!"
"Oh… alright," Kaori said. "What should I do?"
"We need to know what your Persona can do… Uh… what did Brother tell me about this…? Oh, right! Yui-chan, can you scan her Persona?"
"I don't know, but I can try." Yui answered. The blue card of the justice Arcana fell gently on Yui's hands. She joined them in a praying-like manner and called the name of her Persona, Igraine. The Persona in the purple silk dress was surrounded by many small spheres of lights. Some of these lights moved towards Kaori and started to circle around her, sending every bit of information Yui could need. "I've got it," She said after a moment. "Her Persona is Guinevere of the Sun Arcana; it's very strong with and against fire attacks and it seems to know a variety of support skills. It's also weak against ice, so be careful. I'd say she's very strong with magic, like Mei-sempai but Kaori's Persona seems to be more battle oriented while Sempai's Persona focuses more on healing."
"That's… a very detailed description…" Reiko said.
"Yeah… right up there with Rise-chan's or Fuuka's…" Yukari added.
"Okay then, how do I summon my Persona?" Kaori asked.
"How do I explain it… you just, well… feel it." Reiko said. "Just think about calling it and it'll come! Let's see…" She started to look around the area, looking for a Shadow so Kaori could try her powers. "Ah, there! Try using a fire spell on that Shadow!"
The Shadow in question was one of those fat policeman-like ones with a huge hole in their stomachs. They carried guns with them, so they were Shadows you should be careful of.
"Alright…" Trusting Reiko, Kaori closed her eyes and thought about summoning her Persona. The blue card of the Sun Arcana fell from above and she pierced right through it with her naginata. "Guinevere!" Kaori called. Her blond haired Persona appeared with her white and golden dress. She joined her hands and then separated them, creating a medium sized fireball and launched it at the target.
The fireball hit dead on the Shadow's back, but it wasn't powerful enough to take it down. The enemy looked angry as it turned to look at the group, aiming its revolver at them.
"It's going to attack!" Yui quickly yelled.
"Ryu, your shield!" Reiko ordered.
"Right!" Ryu punched through his card and Lancelot positioned himself before the Shadow with his shield raised.
The Shadow fired three shots that were blocked by Lancelot, who then countered with his lance and pierced through the enemy, making it disappear in back fog.
"Phew, that was close!" Ryu said.
"Are you ok, Ryu-san?" Mei asked.
"I'm alright, Sempai, don't worry. Lancelot is quite sturdy!" Ryu said, giving her a thumbs up and a grin. He was proud of his Persona's qualities. He felt that Lancelot's strength and endurance were perfect for his fighting style, although it made sense, considering a Persona is your other self.
"Sorry… seems I screwed up…" Kaori apologized.
"Don't worry, you'll get the hang of it," Mei encouraged her. "Right Reiko?"
"Y-yeah!" She answered nervously. 'Was that my fault? I shouldn't have told her to do that… if we had all attacked at the same time we wouldn't have had to take such a stupid risk… Or…'
"Sempai, we have a group of strong Shadows coming our way! Three to be exact!" Yui informed. The lights around her were moving quickly and different directions around her. "It seems they come from the upper floors! They'll be here any second!"
"W-what!?" Kaori was starting to panic. "W-What do we do!?"
"I-I…" Reiko was panicking too. 'What do we do!? Should we fight? Should we run?'
"They're here!" Yui yelled once more.
Coming at an incredible speed there were three large crow-like shadows with black and blue feathers.
"Be careful, here comes a lightning attack!" Yui warned.
"Lightning!?" Ryu and Mei yelled at the same time.
"Scatter!" Reiko ordered again. Everyone did as told and moved to different places. "Raja Naga!" Reiko cut through the card of the Aeon Arcana with her sword. The snake-tailed Persona was summoned just in time to block a triple Zio spell. "Tentarafoo!" Reiko's attempt to make the foes panic was ineffective.
Noticing they wouldn't be able to do much to her, the three Shadows changed their target. They looked around and noticed Kaori trying to get a hold of her weapon which she seemed to have dropped in the confusion.
"Aaaah!" Kaori screamed in fear as she saw the three Shadows charging at her at full speed.
"Kaori!" She heard everyone calling her name, but the fear made her unable to react.
Minato had already drawn his evoker when he saw Ryu positioning himself in front of Kaori.
Not having enough time to summon his Persona, he shielded her with his own body, crossing his arms to minimize the damage.
Everyone wanted to help them but the Shadows were moving too fast and they were too close to Ryu and Kaori. If they used a spell they'd get hurt, too.
"Urgh! D-Damn It! Get off me!" Ryu yelled as he received constant attacks from the flying enemies. 'Damn it! What do I do!?' He thought. 'I have to protect Kaori, but I can't think of anything! AAARGH!' He was getting frustrated and the pain he felt wasn't helping. 'WAIT! Remember what mom always says…'
'Don't think, feel!'
Ryu suddenly dropped his guard, leaving everyone surprised. Just as one of the crows was about to hit him in the head with its beak, Ryu ducked to avoid the attack. He saw a second attack from the second crow coming his way, he clenched his fist as hard as he could and threw a powerful uppercut at it, hitting it hard and sending it to the ground. He then noticed the third crow charging at him at chest level, and as soon as it was close enough, Ryu, for the first time, gave a round kick with his right leg and sent the Shadow flying in the opposite direction with so much power that it hit the ceiling.
Ryu was panting heavily now, but none of the Shadows were done with the attack. The crows resumed flight and prepared to attack once again. "ARTHURIA!" But before they could, they got hit by a blizzard so powerful that freeze them in midair and made them fall to the ground.
"FATAL END!" Reiko called with a firm and angry voice and her Persona charged with her sword high and slashed with great strength, making one of the Shadows shatter like an ice cube. A card of the Chariot Arcana fell from above and Reiko slashed it with her sword without hesitation. "ARES!"
"What!? That one again!?" Mei asked to herself.
Indeed, there it was again, the Greek god of war, Ares. A Persona so powerful that Reiko still had troubles controlling and had serious side effects on her when summoned.
"GALE SLASH!" Reiko commanded and her Persona cut through the other two Shadows like they were nothing.
Now, the Shadows were gone and Reiko dismissed Ares. "Mei-chan…" She said in barely loud enough for her to hear. "P-Please… heal… Ryu…" She said, panting heavily.
"R-right…" As much as Mei wanted to heal her too, she knew this was out of her abilities as a healer. There were things that magic could not heal. Mental stress was one of them.
She ran over to Ryu and healed his wounds, which were deep but not fatal. He really was sturdy. Kaori on the other hand was in a state of shock. Her mind couldn't process all that had happened in so little time. One thing was clear, though. She was not yet ready for battle. It would take her time to get used to this.
On her side, Reiko was on the verge of collapsing, but Minato held her by the shoulders.
"Thanks… Minato-san…" She said.
"You overdid it there…" He told her with a smile.
"It seems like… that's the only… thing I'm… good for… haha…" She laughed weakly.
"Don't worry, you did well." Minato told her. He was actually amazed by her demonstration of power. 'A bufu spell that could rival Mitsuru's power when she was her age and brute strength that's on Junpei's level… maybe even Shinjiro's…' He thought."I don't think we should continue, though. You don't look like you can even stand on your own."
"I'm… sorry…"
"Don't apologize. You protected your friends when they needed you. You're all ok and that's what matters."
"Hehe… thanks…"
The walls and the ceiling were white, just like the bed-sheets, the curtain on the left side was beige color and it prevented him from completely seeing the only window of the room, there was a blue colored chair on the corner of the room, a drawer opposite to the bed and a clock just above it, hanging on the wall.
Haru had spent enough time in the hospital room to memorize that much and remember it with his eyes closed. That was sort of a game he played with himself so he wouldn't get bored, but really it didn't help at all. He asked for the TV in his room to be removed, so he didn't have anything to do. He preferred being bored than having the potential danger of a Shadow coming out of it and attack him while he was injured.
But yeah, being in the hospital sucked. While Haru didn't like to do anything in particular, he hated even more not doing anything. Hell, he would rather be studying right now instead of staring at the ceiling.
He looked at the clock and noticed that visiting time wouldn't finish in at least another hour. Not that it mattered though. Him being in the hospital was being kept a secret to avoid the details of HOW he got there, and his friends were probably still in the TV world training. His parents stopped for a quick visit, as did his friends parents, his aunt Nanako and her father. Two police officers called Tora and Dan came to question him, but he lied saying he was attacked by some wild dogs. It seemed they believed him.
'Well, I doubt anyone else will come…' He thought. 'I'm so bored…'
His thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Huh? Yes, come in." Haru said.
The door opened and Mei entered the room. Although surprised to see her and confused as to why she was here, Haru was actually happy she came.
"Hello. How're you feeling?" Mei greeted.
"I'm good. The doctor says my injuries are healing quickly." Haru answered. Maybe his Persona was acting up? "What are you doing here? I though you guys were training…"
"Well, let's just say the training session was far shorter than we imagined…" She answered.
"What happened?"
Mei told him what had just happened inside the TV and that no one was in condition to keep going.
"Ryu-san was really tired, so he went back to his house. Kaori-san was really shocked and Yui-chan had to help her to her house. And, well… I helped Reiko to her room and she fell asleep as soon as she hit the futon…"
Haru just sighed, but he didn't know if he was doing it out of relief that none of them were seriously hurt or out of frustration for his sister overdoing things again.
"In the end we didn't get much out of today's training…" Mei said.
"Well, at least Kaori knows what we'll be dealing with. She would've found out sooner or later, but it's a good thing she did now. She can start working on it from now on." He stayed silent for a moment and frowned. "She'll have to… if she wants to survive…"
Mei didn't like the sound of that, but she had to agree. Sadly, it's not like they had much of a choice. Now it was either fight or wait for the enemy to come for them again. She didn't want to think about that now though.
"But Reiko on the other hand, she's so strong!" Mei said. "As soon as there was an opening, she was able to take down three strong Shadows all by herself!"
"Yeah… Sis's strong… far stronger than me, even." Haru said with a small, honest smile. "When it comes to raw power, she surpasses me by far and is able to control Personas she should not be able to at her current level, like Ares. But she lacks concentration and the ability to make quick decisions in the heat of battle."
"But those are skills you posses, right? That's what makes you two such an awesome team." Mei said.
"Heh, I guess." He sighed again. "I want to get out of this place! I'm gonna die of boredom here."
"Oh yeah, I brought you something." She told him.
"Huh? You did?"
"Yep. I figured you'd be bored, so I brought you a book." He searched her bag and took out said book. "Here you go." She said as she passed it to him.
"Wow, Thanks." Haru look at the book and remembered seeing it at the bookstore recently. It was a new release called '101 New Ghosts Stories'. He had been meaning to buy it but hadn't had the chance to. "Did you just buy this?" He asked.
"Well… yeah…"
Haru felt like saying that she didn't need to do it, but he was so bored that this was the best thing anyone could've brought him. "Thanks Mei. I'll be sure to repay you one day."
"Don't worry about it. Just… don't tell me any of the stories in that book…"
"You don't like ghost's stories?"
"Nope, not at all, not even a little, don't even think about it." She quickly answered furiously shaking her head.
"Oh, alright." He started eyeing the pages of his new book. "Then I really shouldn't tell you what happened in the room you're sleeping…"
"…eh?" Mei was paralyzed. "W-Wha… what happened…?"
Haru slowly turned his gaze from the book towards Mei. "Do you really want to know?" He asked in a very serious tone.
"NO, I DON'T!" She yelled and left the room as quickly as she could.
"…" Haru sighed once again. "Sis is right; I do have a terrible sense of humor… I should apologize next time I see her." With that, he started reading his new book.
It was already 22:13 when the phone in Haru's room ringed, waking him up. He grunted but answered anyway.
"Hello?" He said sleepily.
"Hey… um… about my room…"
"Mei, there's nothing wrong with it. I was just joking."
"IDIOT!"
With that, the line was cut. Haru sighed and went back to sleep.
The next morning, Haru was finally ready to leave the hospital. His injuries were still not 100% healed, but he insisted so much that the doctor let him go on the condition that he should rest as much as he could.
He was dressed in his usual red T-shirt and black trousers and ready to go. There was a place where he needed to go first, but he had to do it secretly.
There was a knock on the door.
"Damn it!" He silently cursed. "Yes?" He asked with his normal serious/bored tone.
"Hey," It was Mei again. "They sent me to help you return home, just in case. Your injuries haven't healed completely, right?" She said.
'Help me return home my ass. They sent her instead of Sis to make sure I don't go anywhere else since I'm sure she's still sleeping…' He thought. "Don't worry. I'll be ok on my own. I need to go some place first." He told her.
"It's ok, I don't mind going with you. Where do you need to go?" She asked.
"I promised I'd meet someone today. I need to go alone." He said. Technically, that wasn't a lie.
"You should go home first. Everyone's waiting for you."
"Mei, I really need to do this." His voice became more serious.
"Then tell me who you're meeting." Hers did too.
"Tsk!" He ignored her and walked out of the room. She wasted no second in following him.
The two exited the hospital without saying a word to each other and took the bus headed towards the hills. They sat together in complete silence until Haru finally said something.
"Hey, about yesterday… Sorry. I didn't think you'd get so mad…" Haru apologized, but he kept looking out the window.
"I accept your apologies." She said without looking at him.
And silence hit again until they exited the bus. They were very close to the hills but more importantly, Mei noticed, the bamboo forest.
"Mei, I really need to do this alone." Haru told her.
"I can't let you go. They told me specifically not to let you go there!" Mei almost yelled.
"I'll be fine, don't worry." He started walking off but Mei grabbed his left wrist, stopping him.
"I can't let you go!" Mei was putting all the strength she could in her hand, but it didn't hurt Haru. "You ended up in the hospital last time! Do you want to die!?"
"…" Haru turned to her and looked her in the eyes with an expression softer than usual. "I promise you, I'll be fine. Nothing's gonna happen."
"How do you know!?" Mei asked with a mix of anger and concern.
"I just know, alright?" He told her. "I fought that wolf before and I know things are gonna be different know. I can feel it…" He lightly hit his chest, indicating his heart. "…here."
"…" Most of her anger was gone now. For some reason it was like she could completely trust the things he said. "Why do you even need to go…?" Now she spoke only with concern.
"I need to confirm something." Haru answered. "If you go with me, I fear the wolf may attack you. I promise you. I'll be fine."
Mei's gaze was casted downwards, not looking at him anymore. "Ramen…" She whispered.
"Eh?"
"I said ramen." She now looked at him with a face of fake anger. "If you get a single scratch you'll have to buy me all the ramen I want for a month!"
Haru was deadpanned for a moment, but then couldn't help but give a small chuckle, which actually surprised Mei. This was the first time she heard any sort of laughter from him since she arrived in Inaba.
"Alright, you got yourself a deal." He said with a smile.
Mei slowly released the grip she had on Haru's wrist. He turned around and started walking in direction of the forest with his hands in his pockets.
"But I want you to know one thing though…" Haru said as he walked off. "I don't bet unless I know I'll win."
It had already been ten minutes since Haru entered the bamboo forest. Right now, to say Mei was just worried was an understatement. She couldn't take it anymore; she had to know what was happening in there.
She walked into the forest and immediately regretted her decision after the first three steps. The place was dark even with daylight. Even the softest of breezes made the bamboo trees give small cracking sounds which creped her out. She had also heard the rumors from Reiko that a lot of spirits lurked around here. Right now, she wasn't scared, she was terrified.
"H-Haru-kun?" She called his name, hoping he would answer and they could just get out of there, but she got nothing.
She kept walking at a very slow peace, step by step going deeper into the forest without finding Haru. At the same time, there was no trace of any kind of confrontation around. Maybe they were lucky and the wolf wasn't even in this forest anymore…
She jumped in fear when she stepped on a tree branch. "I want to get out of here…" She whispered to herself. "Haru-kun?" She tried calling again.
"Mei?" She heard his voice coming from somewhere, but she couldn't tell where.
"Haru-kun? Where are you?" She spoke louder.
"Over here." She could now hear him to her left, so she walked in that direction, passing through a lot of bamboo trees. As she walked she could see light. She was nearing an exit. She kept walking until she was finally out of the forest… except she wasn't actually out.
Once her eyes accustomed to the light, Mei noticed she was at a clearing in the middle of the forest. There was nothing around except a very small shrine and…
"Haru-kun?"
He sighed in annoyance. "Sorry I didn't come back, but it doesn't seem like this guy wants to let me go yet…"
He was sitting with his leg crossed in front of the shrine and at his side… a wolf that fit the description he gave them was comfortably resting its head in Haru's lap.
"See? I told you I don't bet unless I know I'll win."
A/N: I'm gonna end it here this time. Don't worry though; I'll explain what happened with Haru and the wolf next chapter.
Have you guys noticed that I'm not writing chapters or scenes with a certain character's POV anymore? Well, that's because I noticed that my problems with tenses, which most of you guys pointed out I had and maybe still have, were coming from those types of chapters/scenes. So, until I understand why I make those mistakes I doubt I'll be writing chapters like that again.
Another thing, I decided to work around the problem of Personas being able to exist in the real world and I hope the explanation I gave made sense…
Question: I'm currently writing a Yu/Yukiko and Minato/Yukari one shot for Christmas but I doubt it'll be finished any time soon. When I'm done I will upload it since some people have requested more Yu/Yukiko. The thing is, how many of you are interested in it? Should I upload it in this story as an intermission or as a standalone one-shot? Tell me what you guys think!
Well, I guess we'll meet again next year! Happy holidays everybody!