_\_Tonight, I'll introduce a superb site for those searching for sublime love that surpasses the separation of the sexes!_\_
You know, I hadn't realised how cruel the Midnight Channel could be before.
_\_I'm your host, Kanji Tatsumi, serving you this scandalously special sneak-in report!_\_
I mean this one is not subtle. Anyone who watches this would know exactly what it's trying to say.
_\_Goodness gracious! Just imagine the things that might happen to me in there! Oooooh!_\_
This is his shadow. This is a part of himself he is not comfortable with.
_\_Well, let's get the show on the road! Tootaloo!_\_
And before he can even admit it to himself, it gets shown to the whole world.
It's just not fair.
_\_Pi pi pi pi!_\_ My phone. Yosuke.
_\_H-h-hey! I mean... What the...!_\_
"I might kick your ass tomorrow depending on what you say. So choose your words carefully." I warned.
_\_But that was completely over the top!_\_
"If you remember, that's kind of the point."
_\_... Fine. So it really was Kanji, then. I guess our warning didn't really do any good, huh?_\_
"I guess not."
_\_In any case, that place behind him. What kind of place do you think it is?_\_
"I guess you were distracted. He said it himself. It's a 'Bad Bad Bathhouse'."
_\_Wha...! I wasn't distracted! Why would I be distracted? You were distracted!_\_
"Just get some sleep, Yosuke. Tomorrow was already gonna be a long day. It just got longer."
{05/18/11: Wednesday}
The pre-game atmosphere in the locker room is nothing like how I remember it. Maybe it's because before I was one of the least experienced players on the team. Now I'm the guy. The guy with the answers. The guy with the plan. The guy who has to lead this team to victory.
Of course, that means everyone else in this room feels the same way I felt back then.
Nervous.
Anxious.
Excited beyond measure.
Kondo came through the door and gave a nod to signal we're ready to go. Guess it's time for the pre-game pep talk then, eh?
"This is our first game. Tell me, why do you think we're here? This is an exhibition game. In the grand scheme, it means nothing, right? We should consider it a learning experience, right? A chance to see what it's like to stand on the field against an opponent who wants nothing more than to crush us underfoot."
"Right?"
I knocked over a conveniently placed chair. "Wrong! Fuck the grand scheme! Win for the sake of winning! Learning experience? Learn about winning! Those other guys want to crush us? I say we get out there, and we show what happens to teams who call us an easy target!"
A small cheer. "Get out there and beat those Detarame bastards so hard they end up scared to even stand on the damn field!"
27 – 32
Yasogami win.
I'm kind of surprised by the size of the crowd. But then Kondo's plan to get people to come was a good one.
Five extra marks on the English exam for every attendee. He's so freaking shameless.
Still, pretty big cheering section. And now they're all celebrating victory. More subdued than I'm used to but... Well, this isn't America. The applause is nice, even if it does make it feel more like a tennis match than the regulated brawl of a football game.
Trust Chie to be the only one literally cheering, though. She's so awesome.
On the walk back to the changing rooms, I watched the others remove helmets to show grinning faces underneath. Our first game and our first victory.
It feels good.
"We should do something to celebrate. I mean our first win? Pretty big deal, right?" I asked rhetorically.
"I hope you don't mean right now." Yosuke answered. "I can barely move as it is, man! And besides, we have stuff to do today, remember?"
"I know, I know. I meant... How's Saturday? We could head to Okina. Do karaoke or somethin', I dunno."
"Yeah?... Yeah. That sounds like fun! Who's in?" Yosuke asked the room.
I sent a significant glance to Kou. He seemed to pick up on it. "Yeah, Daisuke and I are in!"
"But I have-"
"We're in." Kou repeated, cutting Daisuke off mid-complaint.
"Uhh... Yeah. Okay. Sure."
"I'm game." Juro agreed.
"Mm." Dokuro... I think that was a yes? I... Yeah. I'll take that as a yes.
"... No one else? Ah, well." I sighed. "Nevermind. Our first win, guys! We're gonna rule that tournament in September!"
"Man up, Yosuke! It can't be that bad. Seta looks like he's doing fine." Chie admonished at seeing Yosuke limp along behind us as we walked through Junes.
"Yeah? Well Seta didn't spend the entire game taking a beating from a bunch of meatheads! I'm bruised in places I didn't even think could get bruised!" he whined.
I was actually pretty beat up, myself. I just do a better job of hiding it. No one likes a whiner as Yosuke just proved. "We'll get ourselves fixed up when we're inside."
And that's exactly what we did, Yosuke and I using our own personae to deal with our injuries before we even acknowledged Teddie was... there.
And not alone.
"Uhh, hey Teddie. Who's your new frie-"
"You're here!"
The grey-haired boy turned to face us, showing his solid yellow eyes in the process and ran straight up to me, stopping just barely outside my personal space.
"He appeared just now. He said he was excited because you were coming back. But something's different." Teddie explained.
Different is right. I remember my shadow. Really, how could I forget? And he was more like a sinister suited salaryman.
He definitely wasn't a duplicate of my nine year old self.
… I don't like where this is going.
"I knew you'd come back! Or... Or you'd send for me! Because you're the reason I'm here so... so you have to have a reason."
But that's why it's going there, isn't it?
"There's a reason you made me! There has to be! I just... I just want to be useful to you! Tell me what you want me to do! I'll do it! Just don't send me away! Let me stay here! With you!"
Don't...
"Dad..."
"ENOUGH! You're not my shadow!"
"Seta!"
I heard Chie's yell but ignored it. "This is all a lie. It has to be. I know my shadow! Angry. Manipulative. Likes to play with people and watch them dance to whatever tune he tells them! That thing?" I hissed, pointing at the child shadow. "That stopped being me a long time ago. A pathetic mess that just wanted to go home and play happy family with a mother who ignored him and a father who passed the job of raising him on to whichever assistant drew the short straw.
A reason? You think there's a reason they had you? I'll tell you what it was. They had some bad luck with a condom, there's your fucking reason! So if that man wants to tell me to do something, I'll tell him to shove it so far up his ass that he fucking chokes on it! Now get the hell out of my face you worthless, useless, mindless FAKE."
…
"Teddie... get to safety. Chie, Yukiko! Cover me while I get him clear! This is about to go bad!" Yosuke ordered as he started to drag me somewhere...
"Heeheeheehee! Heeheehee!" The child shadow's laugh was... ordinary. No sign of the foreboding atmosphere of Chie's or Yukiko's or Yosuke's...
"Hahahaha! HAHAHAHA!" Oh, there it is. A second laugh. Deeper. Probably closer to my voice as it is now. But something's still... off.
"HAHAHAHAhahahahmhmhmmm, ohhh if you guys could see your faces now! Classic!"
And then he appeared. My shadow. Exactly as I remember him. Same suit, same hair, same sneer. Almost comforting.
"See? See?" I yelled without realising as I pulled away from Yosuke. "I was right! That little brat's a fake! I knew it wasn't me! The suited shadow! That's me! That's my real shadow!"
"Wrong on both counts, I'm afraid. The little one is still you and I'm not your real shadow. Sorry!", my... the shadow said with a grin, proving he was very much not sorry.
"No, wait! You said you were my shadow before! Shadows can't lie!" I pointed out.
"Oh yeah? Who told you that?" he asked, grinning.
"... Oh." Damn.
"Ohhh! I get it!" Teddie announced, suddenly filled with energy. "They're aspect shadows!"
… Eh?
"Uhh, Teddie? Since you seem to know what's going on for some reason, are we fighting or not?" Yosuke asked, still ready for battle.
"Nope! These things could bearly hurt a fly! Heehee!"
I felt my eyebrow start to twitch. The suited shadow's started doing the same.
Huh.
"They're not like regular shadows. They're... It's like each one is a specific part of a person. And denying them doesn't do a thing." Teddie explained.
Wait... 'parts of a person'...
"Ahhh, looks like reading all that psychology stuff paid off for you, didn't it boss man?"
"Huh?"
"Don't worry about it Yosuke. It's just Captain Daddy Issues just figured out some stuff. Unfortunately he's still stuck on hating the little one here to explain." The suited... aspect ruffled the child aspect's hair. Well, since I know everything he knows, I'll stand in for the explanation. Cool? Cool. Okay so I'm part of Seta. So is Short Round here. No. Shut up." he ordered before I could say anything.
"But what that really means is we're a part of his psyche. So far he's guessing that I would be his Thanatos; destructive side, and the little one is his Superego; influence by authority figures. Well, that's his guess if you ignore the 'noooo it can't be true that's impossible' stuff."
"... Eros." I mumbled.
"Huh? You say somethin', sensei?"
"What about my Eros?" I said again, louder. "If there's a Thanatos aspect, there has to be an Eros too. A creative side."
The suited one smirked. "Haven't seen it. Haven't seen your regular shadow either, by the way. One of them has to be Izanagi, though. Since it's already a persona, it would make sense for it to not exist as a shadow anymore."
"I thought you said you were... Oh, right. Lying. Of course." Stupid annoying manipulative... "Okay then. So why the ruse?"
He shrugged. "For funsies. Why else? I'm your inner sadist, he's your inner masochist. So both of us love to see you miserable. And you really should've seen your faces! Priceless! I mean he didn't even have to say that much. I think it might be a new record!"
"... I need a break." I headed for the Velvet Room door. "When I get back you better not be here."
"Welcome to the Velvet Room."
"Does this place have a minibar?" I asked, hopeful.
"Yes. Though most of what we have is of a truly ancient vintage. They should be savoured and enjoyed, not wasted on the drowning of sorrows. Even were that not so, you have come across a near limitless source of alcoholic beverages, have you not?"
I really shouldn't give Igor so much shit. He's alright. And I'll be taking a walk to a certain foggy liquor store later. Heheh.
Margaret coughed to get my attention. "You may want to put on your gloves."
… I sighed. Great, I'm clawed again. Friday. Two days. I can handle two more days of this. "Is Jack Frost done yet do you think?" I asked as I covered my changed hands.
"I would assume so. Would you like the connection restored?"
"Please." -You were mercifully quiet, Eligor. So thanks for that.-
=When in the presence of a lord, it is improper to speak unless spoken to.=
-... Huh?-
='Huh' what, boss? Hey, did ya miss me?=
-Yes and no. Is it set, then?-
=Someone'll come find you on Friday. When they do, drop what you're doing and go with 'em.=
-Got it.-
=... It happened again, didn't it?=
-Yes. Long story.-
=Your shadow pissed you off again.=
-... Okay, it's not that long.-
"Thanks again, Igor."
"They gone?" I asked, not turning away from the Velvet Room door.
"As soon as you stopped talking they just vanished. I guess they don't exist when your mind isn't here. Also?" I felt a stinging pain on the back of my head.
"OW what the-! Did you just slap me?" I squeaked as I turned around.
"For denying your shadow." Yosuke explained. "Even if it wasn't quite a real one."
"... Yeah, okay that's fair. Erm... could someone remind me why we're here?"
"Kanji-kun." Yukiko supplied.
"OH! Right. Yes. Teddie, there's someone else in here, right? Can you take us to him?"
"Eheheh... Well... No."
… "What do you mean 'no'?"
"I sniff and I sniff but I still can't tell where the smell comes from." Teddie said, looking... sullen? I think that's sullen. It's hard to read emotions on a bear costume.
"Maybe you're pushing yourself too hard. I mean you've been spending all your time thinking, right? It's not like you can come up with the answer just like that. Especially with that empty head of yours." I chuckled aloud, trying to lighten the mood a little.
"... You're right." he answered, and turned away.
"Whoa, he's really down about this." said Chie.
"Teddie, if you can't find where Kanji Is, we're in deep trouble. We can't just wander around aimlessly in a place like this." said Yosuke.
Teddie jerked and turned back around. "I know what might help! You should give me a clue about this Kanji person! It's just a feeling I have. I think I could concentrate better with it. Do you have anything that could give me a good understanding of him?"
"Something about Kanji, huh? I can't really think of anything besides all the rumours about him..." Yosuke admitted.
"Yeah. It's not like we know him that well." Chie agreed.
"I just need some sort of hint. Something that tells me what he's really like."
Heheh. "Well, then. I guess it's time for us to live up to our name and do some investigating!"
"We have a name?" Chie asked.
"Since when do we have a name?" Yosuke near-echoed.
"Didn't I tell you guys about the name? Oh. Okay. Well, er-her-hem, we are... the Investigation Team!"
…
"You are such a dork."
"Can't believe he picked a sucky name like-"
"I like it!"
"Oh, yeah? Well screw all you guys... Most of you guys. You made me leader so I pick the name. Besides, you're one to talk, Miss 'Secret Headquarters'!" I said as I glared at Chie.
"Wha- That was Yukiko!"
"Yeah, well... You liked the sound of it!"
SMASH!
What, seriously?
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Fool Arcana.
Well okay then.
{05/19/11: Thursday}
No football practice today. So we have all the time in the world to learn all about Kanji.
And this is where I will shine.
I spent eight years learning how to imitate personalities down to the tiniest detail. To mess with people, to see how people react to certain personalities, to simply pretend to be someone else...
The reasons aren't important.
But in order to properly imitate a personality, I needed to learn about the person it belonged to. And to do that I had to learn how to learn about people. And that is how I learned... to profile.
You hear that, Jack? It's going to get fun!
=I hate you sometimes.=
### PROFILING START ###
A/N: I had plans for the football game. I really did. It just never came together how I wanted it to. Those plans may come back when I get to September. So two cool things in this chapter, eh? Aspects (see FEStorms chapter 3, I think). And profiling. You'll see what that involves next time.
I have a new beta after going without for months! Yay! Have a Little Feith is awesome for volunteering and is also awesome in general. Yay Feith! Woo!
Stay thy course to indulge an old REVIEW.
Kjman456: FESverse canon. Persona users can use persona abilities in the real world. Chie already has once. Though it would be hard to do without someone noticing. His arm thing? … No comment. Answer is two chapters away.
MagnusRagnar: That very much depends. Seta won't be taking control of any clans, or even fighting on behalf of any clans. In fact, he's pretty much dead set on keeping that stuff as far away from his friends as he can. Certain elements will show up but it'll be rare for any of it to take centre stage.
Kisdota: Yes, it'll be in the Jakkai nation. But only because Serph and co. are still there. If they'd signed up with the Tyrants instead, Seta would be crashing at Lucifer's place.
Mangagor: I love being told I'm awesome. Thankee.
REVIEWS done.
I got not much else to say. Soooooo...
Thanks for reading.