Chapter 26: Kou´s training
"Whoa, it looks really weird in here!", were Kou´s words when he and Souji entered Yukiko´s castle inside the TV world to train. The Shadows in this dungeon were extremely weak and thus perfect for Kou to get a feeling for what was to come in the near future. Souji had entered the TV world with him alone as a leader; they wouldn´t need anymore people. Of course, he had talked about it with the others beforehand since they had promised never to enter the TV world without the others back then. "Must´ve been some crazy person who´d created this place!"
"Um... You´d better not let Yukiko hear that.", Souji just said while taking his sword out of his bag.
Kou stared at him. "... Yukiko´s created this place?!... You serious?!"
"These places reflect people´s feelings and hidden desires in a rather exaggerated way.", Souji explained.
"Oh...", Kou started to look for his weapon inside his bag. "And what did your dungeon look like?"
"I...", Souji started and contemplated an answer. None of the others in their group knew that he got his ability to summon multiple Personas from the currently useless Wild Card. "I... didn´t have a dungeon. My Persona just appeared like that... Dunno why."
"Whoa... Well, you were always something special.", Kou said, grinning, and took out a basketball from his bag.
Souji raised his eyebrows. "You´re not really serious, are you?", he asked the smaller man.
"Why?", Kou asked and jumped upwards in the next moment when he felt something creeping towards him. "Whoa, whoa!", he shouted in panic, aimed and threw the basketball at the Shadow without thinking. The thing got flattened and degenerated into dark fog.
"What the...?!", Souji stammered, went and tried to pick up the ball. "What?!" The ball weighed like it tons of bricks inside it.
"Cool, huh?", Kou said. "I filled the ball´s inside with cement while staying at my parent´s. I had already decided back then that I would help you, no matter what."
"Well, it certainly has enough clout.", Souji agreed and gave him back the basketball. "But as soon as you´ve thrown it, you won´t have a weapon anymore. Yukiko always has some fans in reserve with her, but you wouldn´t be able to carry more than one of those heavy balls."
"That´s why I´m only throwing it in case of an emergency.", Kou explained and began following Souji through the corridors. "I can use the basketball just fine to punch enemies with it."
"Hm...", Souji suddenly stopped when something round with a huge tongue approached them. "Izanagi!", he shouted and crushed the tarot card that appeared before him. "Okay, I´ll try getting its attention while you try to summon your Persona, Kou!" The silver-haired man jumped forward and fought the Shadow, trying hard not to destroy it with one strike.
"Um...", Kou just stood there.
"Concentrate!", Souji shouted while he let Izanagi blow the Shadow away from them. "Try to remember the sensation you felt when you got your Persona! Close your eyes if you have to!"
"Okay!", Kou said and closed his eyes, the hand which held the ball slightly shaking in concentration. "... SIEGFRIED!!!", he suddenly shouted. And really! A blue tarot card appeared before him that he instantly crushed with his basketball. The Persona Siegfried appeared, shot towards the now exhausted Shadow and destroyed it with its sword.
"Very good!", Souji praised him. "A direct hit with its sword!"
"Uh...", Kou began in embarrassment. "I... I just summoned my Persona. The rest it did by itself..."
"Hm... Then we should try to train you to get control over your Persona.", Souji said, slightly shocked that Siegfried could have killed him instead of the Shadow. "Otherwise we´ll risk killing both of us or one of the others next time."
"R-right...", Kou said and grinned apologetic. "Sorry..."
"I am thou... And thou art I...", a voice began talking in Souji´s head. "Thou hast revived an old bond from the depths of its deepest slumber..." The tarot card of the Arcana Strengthappeared before him. "It brings thee closer to the truth behind truths... Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Strength Arcana..."
"Well, everyone has to start somehwere low...", Souji said, shrugging, and continued wandering through the hallways of Yukiko´s dungeon.
Naoto really had been in her element since the first homicide had happened in Tanaba University, and since then she had always kept an eye on all suspicious people she had set on the list of suspects she had created together with her friends. But neither Mr. Bagman nor professor Yamagishi, Akihiko Sanada or Ikas Ito had behaved somewhat suspicious until now.
The woman Patty Sideu that had shared a lounge with the first victim was currently staying with her parents to recover from the shock. According to Sanada, she didn´t witness anything about the evil deed. Since they were dealing with Shadows here, Naoto wasn´t surprised about that at all. At any rate, she couldn´t observe Sideu for the moment.
Both professors acted flawlessly - well, except Mr. Bagman´s constant drive to follow the students around and scream at them when they had done something that was wrong in his opinion -, and could only do something evil when they weren´t inside the university or when Naoto was to busy observing one of the other suspects.
Keeping an eye on Ito was just boring and sometimes really irritating for Naoto since that stupid girl always let herself be pushed and bossed around by others. But there was always a possibility that she had started pushing others into the TV to get some kind of revenge. But why she should have had a desire to push Ichijo-senpai into the TV, Naoto just couldn´t tell.
And then there was Sanada. Naoto stared at the young police officer´s name on her list. Honestly, she had lost every will to keep an eye on him. He seemed really angry about the murders that were currently happening throughout Japan. All of those little children... Even Naoto started shaking slightly when she thought about what kind of person that killer might be... No, she was certain that she might as well take Sanada from the list. He seemed completely obsessed to solve the cases concerning the children and the university.
Naoto was thrown out of her thoughts when she had reached her destiny - the office the police was stationed in Tanaba University - , and knocked. The door was opened by an annoyed looking police officer. But when he saw Naoto his whole demeanour changed.
"Good day.", Naoto said, slightly annoyed by the frightened expression of that man who seemed much older than her. "Is Sanada-san present? I´d like to speak with him."
"S-sanada-san is inside the o-office indeed.", the older police officer stammered. "Please come inside, sir!"
Naoto frowned when she heard the word `sir´. Yes, there had been a time when she had wanted to be perceived as `manly´ by other people. Such irony that only now people started to treat her like that more and more.
"Thank you very much.", she said to the man, entered and spotted Akihiko Sanada immediately who was leaning over a map of Japan, probably to study all the locations where the murders had happened.
"Ah, good day, Shirogane!", Akihiko said when he noticed the young detective, the conversation with Mr. Bagman still fresh in his mind. `If they really are like our group S.E.E.S. back then, then I have to...´ He forced an awkward smile. In all of those years he still wasn´t really comfortable showing his friendly side towards other people.
"Good day, Sanada-san.", Naoto greeted the silver-haired police officer as well and looked at the map where all of those locations where the serial killer had killed their victims were marked indeed.
"What can I do for you, Shirogane?", Akihiko asked, absorbed into the map again.
"I wanted to ask if you have found out something new regarding the destroyed PC.", Naoto explained.
"Yes, we did find out something.", Akihiko said. "But I´ve found out something even more interesting. Please take a closer look at the map."
"Hmm... The places where the pedophile murderer has killed all of those children are marked here. Correct?", Naoto said.
"Correct.", Akihiko agreed, took out a red marker and began drawing on the map.
"This is just a copy of the original map, isn´t it?", Naoto asked.
"Of course.", Aikihiko assured the detective since otherwise he would have just ruined important material. "Please take a look at this..." He continued drawing, and the more lines were added to the card, the bigger Naoto´s eyes got.
"Whoa!", Kou shouted when he was thrown out of the TV and landed right in front of Rise who was sitting on here bed. Souji followed seconds later, landing on his feet next to him.
"Welcome back, Kou-senpai! Souji-senpai!", Rise said and winked seductively at Souji. "But could you please move it now? I was just watching my favorite TV program."
"You... were watching TV...? With that?! While we were inside it?!", Kou asked and pointed to the TV.
"Well, for what should I use it then? Should I throw my clothes inside and use it as a new closet?", Rise countered and rolled her eyes.
"... Where´s Naoto?", Souji asked, having looked around the room and not being able to spot Naoto who was normally working on essays and such at this time of day, if they didn´t plan to enter the TV world.
"She´s with that Sanada again.", Rise answered. "I´m actually surprised she hasn´t whacked him with a club by now and dragged away to her bedroom like a cave man." She rolled her eyes again, but jumped up in surprise the next moment when Naoto, completely drenched in sweat, stormed inside.
"Rise! Are our Senpai back by now?!", she shouted, out of breath, and she spotted Souji and Kou. "Senpai! Where is Hanamura-senpai?!"
"Uh, huh?", Souji asked, slightly puzzled. "He´s in our lounge. Why?"
"No, he´s not!", Naoto disagreed. "I´ve been there just now and Teddie told he didn´t see him since this afternoon when we´d agreed that you could enter the TV world alone with Ichijo-senpai!"
"Maybe he´s in the city or something like that...", Souji said. "Why do you want to talk to him so ba--?" But he suddenly stopped and his eyes widened. "Don´t tell me another destroyed TV has been found?!"
Rise looked up in horror. "But... But Yosuke-senpai´s got a Persona! He couldn´t have--"
"No, not Hanamura-senpai!", Naoto said, still out of breath, and shook her head vehemently. "I´m looking for him, because he´s been together with Ito quite often lately!"
"Ooooh, he is?", Rise asked, curiously. "So he really got the hots for Ikas, hm?"
"That´s not important right now, Kujikawa!", Naoto snapped at her. "I´ve visited Akihiko-san a moment ago because of the things that had happened inside the PC and the corpse that was found there, and he has informed me that there are currently two students missing: One of them is a student named Sarastari and the other one is Ikas Ito!"