Chapter 36
On the night of the next full moon, everyone itched with anticipation for the next big Shadow they would have to fight. Fuuka scanned the city, extending her reach to Tatsumi Port Island where she detected their next enemy. With the Dark Hour active, there were no neon lights to burn the city with a dull, pink glow. The artificial island was an unearthed graveyard, with coffins clustered on street corners, outside buildings, and in dark alleys.
Fuuka's search led the SEES team to Hotel Champs de Fleurs on Shirakawa Boulevard, a street known by the locals as a place that often incited grins, winks, and nudges. Every so often, Junpei kept elbowing Minato and Yukari before jabbing a thumb over his shoulder at one of the many love hotels on the street. His constant raising of his eyebrows and impish grin almost made even Ryuichi want to trip him in the gutter.
"I sense a powerful Shadow on the third floor," Fuuka said to them all as she scanned the hotel. "Please head there immediately."
Yukari had been adamant about wanting to take part in the fight this time, having missed out on the last one and wanting to redeem herself. Minato had no choice but to take her along, rounding out the team with Ryuichi and Mitsuru. Ryuichi got his shorter sword ready, eager to get in and fight to make up for his shortcomings in the last full moon operation.
The lobby was a narrow hall with a small front desk that had a panel of darkened screens but no coffin to indicate a concierge. Ryuichi thought it was unusual until he remembered that the screens were there to ensure the customer's privacy when they booked a room. His face soured at how pink the halls were, where even in the darkness, they just seemed to radiate a cancerous pink death. The hotel building was designed to have each floor a giant square stacked on top of one another, where they would have to race to the opposite corners of each floor to head to the next one up.
"Turn right," Fuuka told them. Though she remained outside with the others, her voice spoke directly into their minds thanks to one of her Persona's abilities. They followed her directions for the next staircase.
"Wait! There's a Shadow!"
Minato halted. He threw up a hand, barring their advance. Their leader peered around the corner while the others gripped their Evokers, ready for a fight. The little sprite Shadows fired their arrows at them, sticking them into the wall across from them. Minato sent Black Frost to attack, and shortly after, they were on their way up to the third floor.
Fuuka directed them to an ornate door, the only one of its kind in the entire hotel. Ryuichi frowned at it, thinking that whoever paid for that kind of room was probably trying too hard to impress his or her date to make their night of passion more special than it actually was.
...Or maybe the one offering the "services" was just that expensive.
"Ryuichi-senpai, would you do the honors?" Minato asked him. Nodding, Ryuichi dutifully put a hand on the door handle and waited for the order. Everyone did a last check of their equipment, making sure they were prepared for another difficult fight. On Minato's count, Ryuichi threw the door open, and the four charged inside.
Four white pillars surrounded a large, round bed, and sitting before them on a short stool was a rotund Shadow dressed like a king in fine red, white, and gold silks. His big, blue mask was all smiles as his enormous second chin bounced with his belly.
He had a gleaming white female companion that snaked up along his back. She stroked his head from behind with bony arms and fingers, her milky breasts sitting atop his scalp and bouncing merrily with his laughter. Her head wasn't a head at all, but more like a little curved tree with branches that all ended in rounded bulbs.
Standing on either side of them were two towering, human-shaped paper dolls. Both had marks on their chests that looked to be bleeding wounds, one pink and the other black. The two dolls hopped like eager servants, flapping their paper arms as if to fly.
"This thing's the boss?" Yukari scoffed. "Huh. It's more normal-looking than I expected."
Ryuichi cocked an eyebrow at her. "'Normal'?" he asked, trying hard not to stare at the female Shadow's breasts.
"Get ready, everyone!" Fuuka warned. "It's coming!"
Cursing himself, Ryuichi could hear the bad innuendos that Junpei might say at a time like that.
"Ryuichi-senpai, use Tarukaja on us," Minato ordered. "Mitsuru-senpai, focus all your power on ice spells. Yukari, defend and make sure that everyone's health stays up."
Ryuichi raised Mitsuru's attack as Minato lowered the Shadow's defense. The female Shadow let out a loud, derisive laugh, and her paper servants shared belly laughs with their mistress. Together, the Shadows all glowed red, and a bolt of lightning slammed down on Yukari.
"Oh, no! Yukari-chan!" Fuuka cried, but from the ground, Yukari winced and waved to the others, telling them that she was fine. Ryuichi eased her pain with Diarama.
Ice blasted the Shadow next. It shivered, and Minato seized the opportunity to strike thrice with his blade before retreating. The Shadow's laughter filled the room, and Ryuichi dodged a lightning bolt before raising Minato's attack next, then his own.
The Shadow laughed again, and the pink room disappeared to show a fog-covered graveyard overflowing with chipped and faded headstones. Each breath Ryuichi took in froze his chest and paralyzed him with terror that pierced his mind and shut all rational thought down. He saw Minato cower behind one of the pillars while Mitsuru dropped her sword to grasp both sides of her head. Her breath became rapid gasps.
"Someone, use a Me Patra Gem!" Fuuka advised, and Ryuichi spotted Yukari digging into her pocket. She held up a glittering stone that shattered in her hand. The tightness in Ryuichi's chest faded, but a bolt of lightning nearly blew him apart a second later.
"Penthesilea!" came Mitsuru's vengeful command. Ice burst against the Shadow, followed by Minato's blade flashing in rapid strokes. Yukari's Garula shredded the Shadow as Ryuichi cast Diarama on himself.
"Are you all right?" Mitsuru called to him. His body loosened up just enough for him to flash her a thumbs' up.
The Shadow cried out when Minato struck again. While it was distracted, Ryuichi ran around behind it and slashed at the female figure. She arched her back and shrieked, then laughed to make the graveyard appear again. Ryuichi returned to the others to see them all cowering and shaking with the same terror that had gripped them before. Fuuka's shouts were drowned out as a lightning bolt speared Mitsuru. She remained on her feet, wincing as she raised her Evoker to her head. She shuddered and gripped her elbow, unable to summon her Persona.
The Shadow cackled again as it prepared another spell. Yukari's stray arrow missed her target, and she was struck down by lightning. Ryuichi quickly healed her as Minato used a Patra Gem on himself.
"It's getting weaker!" Fuuka told them all.
"Unload on it!" a recovered Minato shouted.
The Shadow was quickly lost in a haze of ice and wind. Craggy ice bashed into the Shadow, and powerful winds launched the miniature icebergs back at the enemy for a second attack. With wide, terror-filled eyes, Yukari repeatedly squeezed her Evoker's trigger to summon a tornado that filled the room. Ryuichi pulled Mitsuru behind one of the pillars as ice and hotel goodies swirled and battered against furniture, friend, and foe. As he held a fearful Mitsuru with one arm, he frantically searched his pockets for a Me Patra Gem but fumbled the stone and watched it get sucked into the vortex.
Their combined spells knocked the Shadow off of his little throne, crushing the female shape beneath him. The paper dolls bent over in anguish, flailing in silence. When all became dark smoke, the fear in Mitsuru's eyes disappeared instantly. They had won.
"Good job," Fuuka said, sounding breathless. "You succeeded once again. I'll be waiting outside for you."
"We did it," Yukari gasped, grinning. "I knew it would be no match for us."
Minato was the first to reach the door. He gave the handle a tug, but it wouldn't budge. He stuck his foot against the wall to brace himself as he pulled even harder.
"Weird. It won't open."
They all heard Fuuka gasp. "I still sense a Shadow in that room!"
The team whirled around with weapons and Evokers drawn, squaring their shoulders for another fight. The room was just as they left it: the sheets and pillows strewn all over, little bottles of gels and shampoos smashed and splattered, along with all the other free goodies also flung from the dresser. As far as they could see, there was no Shadow in the room with them.
"You sense anything?" Ryuichi asked Mitsuru.
"I do, but I can't tell where," she said in a low voice.
"It's not the same one you defeated!" Fuuka told them. "But, where is it hiding?"
"Split up and search," Mitsuru ordered.
The four checked behind curtains, inside the bathroom, under the bed, and behind the pillars. Ryuichi looked up to see a large mirror on the ceiling above the bed, but found no Shadows lurking there.
"Hey, is it just me, or is there something strange about this mirror?" Yukari called to the others.
At first, Ryuichi thought she was talking about the one on the ceiling. It took several seconds of him with his head craned upwards to realize that the others had gathered around the large octagonal mirror next to the bathroom. He joined them there, noticing that there was no reflection of their group at all. All they all stared at the mirror, a bright light in the back engulfed them. Ryuichi felt his feet leave the ground as he was sucked into the mirror.
The next instant, Ryuichi opened his eyes. He was flat on his back, his body feeling light and too comfortable to even want to move. As his vision focused, he saw that he was staring up at a reflection of himself lying on a circular bed. He blinked a few more times when he noticed that Mitsuru was in the reflection with him. She lay next to him, curled on one side, looking to be at peace as she slept. Her bangs drew a small curtain over her face.
Embrace your desires. It wasn't a voice, but an idea that manifested within Ryuichi. His head felt foggy, but the idea echoed clearly in his mind. He rolled onto his side towards Mitsuru and reached over to brush her bangs away from her face. With a wisp of a smile, he admired her peaceful expression.
Embrace your desires, the thought said again.
Something stirred within him. He felt oddly detached from his body, as if he was watching a scene play out on a large screen and he was actually sitting in the front row of a movie theater. His body moved on its own, but for a brief second, he regained enough control to touch a hand to his forehead and try to shake off the fogginess that clouded his thoughts. When Mitsuru hummed softly in her sleep, he lowered his hand and his body took over once more. He scooted off the bed, hat in hand and, taking one last glance back at Mitsuru, he crossed the room to get to the door on his left.
Ryuichi entered the bathroom and quietly closed the door behind him. There, he shed his uniform jacket and neatly placed it on the counter. Each article of clothing he removed, he folded or smoothed out before setting them down one layer at a time, topping the pile with his fedora. He nudged his shoes over to the door, far away from the shower. Soon, he stood underneath the running showerhead, the steam fogging up the mirror over the sink in mere seconds.
Near-scalding water ran down his pale body, taking with it his sweat, grime, and filth, but leaving behind all his scars. No matter how hard he scrubbed, the mars on his body wouldn't come off. But, there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't keep her waiting.
When he finished, he dried off with one of the luxuriously thick, white towels folded on the rack. He wrapped it around his waist, then wiped off some of the steam on the mirror to examine his reflection. His silver-gray hair had darkened with dampness, and when he tried to towel it off, it became a shaggy mess. He found a comb provided by the hotel to rake through his hair, smoothing it back to show off his plain face. He thought he didn't look so bad, even with his sickly pale body practically glowing. Before heading out, he straightened up, flexed a few muscles to show off his chiseled physique, and then snatched up one of the cologne sprays from the sink to spray under his arms and beneath his towel. Now he was ready.
Ryuichi returned to the room. Mitsuru remained on the bed asleep, still laying on her side half-curled. Her bangs had fallen back over her face, with her gentle breath slightly ruffling just a few of the strands. Standing at the foot of the bed, Ryuichi observed her as she rolled onto her back with a soft hum. One of her hands came up to rest on her pillow next to her head as she slept.
Embrace your desires. The thought returned, bringing with it a sensation that stirred beneath Ryuichi's towel.
"Better get in while the water's still hot," he said to Mitsuru. Groggily, Mitsuru sat up and shook her head, her body appearing to sag beneath a great weight. When she smoothed her bangs out of the way, her mouth fell open and her eyes bugged out at the sight of him.
"What are you doing?" she yelled as she reached for her Evoker.
Ryuichi took a step back. "Me? What are you doing?" he shouted back, eyeing her Evoker. "Put that thing away!"
She pressed the muzzle to her temple. "Put your clothes back on before I execute you!"
"The hell are you—"
He looked down. His heart thudded against his chest when he saw his scarred body on display. Swearing, he gripped his towel as he fled back to the bathroom.
She saw everything! The thought haunted him as he threw his clothes back on. And worse: What was he about to do to her?
He kept his fedora low over his face when he came out of the bathroom. "I'm, uh, for the record, uh—"
He heard bed springs creak. "That Shadow must have muddled our minds somehow," came the grit in Mitsuru's voice. Yet, there was a slight waver that he could hear as she spoke. "We have to eradicate it before it resorts to such shameful tactics again."
"Y-Yeah." Ryuichi's humiliation fueled his rage towards the Shadow. In the back of his mind, he worried that Mitsuru would ask about what his intent was mere minutes before, and then about his scars.
She said nothing. Neither of them spoke as they left the room.
"Oh! Ryuichi-senpai! Mitsuru-senpai! Finally!"
The two froze as Fuuka's voice called to them. Ryuichi shared Mitsuru's fearful expression, both clearly wondering the same thing: Had she seen what happened to them?
"I'm sorry I couldn't contact you sooner," Fuuka said. "The Shadow was interfering with your thoughts and you all got separated."
They both visibly sighed with relief. Neither Ryuichi nor Mitsuru could look at each other as Fuuka added: "The enemy is still in the same room. Please regroup and hurry there."
"We're on our way!" Mitsuru barked a little too loudly.
"On it!" Ryuichi blurted out, flinching at his own voice.
Fuuka remained silent for a moment. "Um, did something happen?"
"Nothing happened!" the two blurted out in unison, and Fuuka said nothing more.
"Ryuichi," Mitsuru murmured under her breath, as if afraid that someone might overhear. "Tell no one of what transpired here. Understood?"
"S-Sure thing, Boss," he answered nervously, and followed her down the hallway.
Fuuka informed them that the Shadow seemed to have sealed the door and that there should be a way to break the seal. They hurried down the hall in time to see Minato and Yukari coming up the stairs.
"I can't believe there was another one," Yukari grumbled. "That was the worst."
Minato eyed the stiff seniors carefully. "Did something happen?"
"W-We're fine!" Mitsuru snapped.
"Nothing happened!" Ryuichi shouted again in a cracking voice.
It was clear that even Minato and Yukari couldn't look at each other. They all muttered their agreements to take down the Shadow and end the mission, but after that, no one spoke. Ryuichi suspected that the two juniors had the same encounter that he and Mitsuru had when he took notice of the few wet tips of Yukari's hair.
"I got it!" Fuuka announced, shattering the tension. "It's the mirrors! They're giving off the same energy as the Shadow! Maybe the seal will vanish if you break the mirrors."
"Let's check all the rooms," Minato ordered, and the four went around in search of the strange mirrors.
On the first floor, they entered rooms with glowing coffins in all sorts of strange positions. One was on the bed while the other leaned against the foot of the bed in front of its partner. Another room had the two coffins lying on the bed, one on top of the other. Another room had one on the bed while the other stood by the bathroom. They soon came to a room with another pair of coffins, one laying on the bed while the other stood on top of it, but it was the mirror that caught their attention. Looking at it, they noticed right away that there was no reflection, just like the one they saw before getting separated. Minato smashed his sword into the glass, shattering it, but no mirror shards fell. Instead, a black void appeared, looking as if it wanted to suck them in.
"You weakened the seal," Fuuka confirmed. "But, there seems to be another mirror on the floor above you. Please, find it."
The team hurried up to the next floor, finding more coffins in compromising positions. The first room they entered had one coffin face-down on the bed while the other one stood behind it.
"Everyone, split up," Minato instructed. "Remember: we're looking for a mirror with no reflection."
They separated, everyone taking a different room. The second Ryuichi saw his reflection in a mirror, he hurried to the next one at the end of the hall. Just as he stepped inside, Fuuka announced that someone had found the mirror they were looking for. Ryuichi glimpsed the empty room before slamming the door shut to meet up with the others.
With Fuuka's announcement that the other mirror had been found, the team regrouped. They all returned to the grand room on the third floor, finding a large, purple glass heart with metal rivets patterned like suspenders. It had five pink stones laid down its center, four of them hearts, and the one diamond by where Ryuichi deemed to be its belly button. It had gelatinous wings coming out from its sides, two stringy arms and two stringy legs that looked more like the Shadow was melting. Two spiky shoulder pieces sat on either side of a tiny head covered by a mask with mournful eyes and a downturned mouth. A pair of male and female symbols spun inside its transparent body in a languid waltz. The Shadow weakly flapped its gelatin wings, unable to do more than bob uselessly in the air. It was as if it knew it was doomed.
Ryuichi opened his mouth to curse at the Shadow when Mitsuru beat him to it.
"How dare you trick us!" she threatened in a low, icy voice. Ryuichi could feel the frost coming off of her words. "I'll make sure that you are thoroughly punished for your actions!"
"We can defeat it this time!" Fuuka reassure them all. "Hang in there, everyone!"
Ryuichi didn't wait for Minato's orders. He quickly gave everyone a boost of strength and defense while Minato switched his Persona to Pyro Jack to lower the Shadow's defense. As he switched back to Oberon, Yukari hit the Shadow with Garula and Mitsuru struck it with Bufula. The Shadow released a neon pink arrow from its chest that struck Ryuichi. He turned to their leader and unsheathed his sword.
"The enemy can use charm attacks! Please keep an eye on each other!" Fuuka announced just as Ryuichi took a swing at Minato.
He dodged, and as Ryuichi ran around their leader, Minato thrust the flat of his sword between his legs, tripping him. He fell hard against the floor while Yukari cast Charmdi to heal his confusion. His head cleared, his embarrassment fueling his desire to thrash the Shadow in retaliation.
"Sorry! Thanks!" Ryuichi shouted to both Minato and Yukari.
Ajax rammed the heart next, knocking it down. The Shadow fired another arrow as it got back up, this time striking Mitsuru. She turned to Ryuichi and thrust her weapon at him. She slashed and swiped her blade at him with a cold glare in her eyes that clearly wanted him dead.
"Hold still!" Yukari snarled. Her Charmdi spell missed, and Mitsuru lunged at Ryuichi. He dodged, and her sword nicked his sleeve.
"Mitsuru! It's me!" When Mitsuru lunged again, he caught her wrist and twisted her down to the floor, keeping her pinned. While he apologized rapidly to her, he fought to keep her on the ground. His Tarukaja spell gave her monstrous strength, where she almost broke out of his grip twice until Yukari finally landed her spell on her.
"My apologies!" Mitsuru yelped to Ryuichi.
The Shadow stirred. At the last second, Ryuichi covered Mitsuru with his body as he summoned Ajax to take the brunt of two fiery blasts meant for them. He felt a searing pain on his body from the damage his Persona took from them, but both he and Mitsuru were unharmed.
"Enough of this!" Mitsuru got to her feet and unleashed frigid bombs onto the Shadow while Ryuichi cast a quick Diarama spell to rejuvenate himself. Mitsuru's spells left the tiniest crack in the Shadow's glassy body, and that was all it took to encourage everyone to fight harder.
Ryuichi and Minato ran around the Shadow to distract it with their attacks while Mitsuru and Yukari concentrated ice and wind spells on it. A strong Garula spell slammed the Shadow up into the ceiling. Bufula exploded, and the Shadow crashed against a pillar. Minato switched Personas again to cast Zio, sending a sizzling lightning bolt down on it, and Ryuichi used a powerful gale that blasted the Shadow right at Ajax to smash into his shield. The crack grew larger, and soon, the Shadow fell at the mercy of the four teenagers, shattering into tiny pieces that dissipated into smoke and faded away.
"Good job, everyone," Fuuka said to them all. "Come back now. We're waiting for you."
Their victory put the four in a good mood, save for Ryuichi. He was quick to remember his mistake earlier, shuddering when he remembered the horrified look on Mitsuru's face when she saw his body. Shame turned to disgust when he wondered what would have happened, had Mitsuru not freed him from the Shadow's grasp. When they all returned downstairs, Ryuichi brought up the rear, lagging behind the group with his head down.
Outside the hotel walls, the rest of their team members greeted them, wanting to know how it went.
"I'm glad you're all safe," Fuuka said to them with a relieved smile.
Thanks for your help," Mitsuru replied, smiling. "The enemy was sly, but you did well."
Fuuka beamed. "I did what I could," she said humbly.
Mitsuru turned to Minato. "And you, too," she said to him, "for withstanding the enemy's mental assault."
Ryuichi winced, for he couldn't do the same.
"All right," a grumpy Akihiko grumbled from not having been able to join the battle. "Let's call it a night."
The three seniors headed back towards Moonlight Bridge ahead of the juniors. All the while, Akihiko kept pestering them about what had happened when Fuuka lost connection with them, to which Mitsuru would only say that they were separated and left disoriented in different hotel rooms.
"Sounds rough," Akihiko murmured. "Hey, Ryuichi. Why's your hair wet?"
"I woke up with my head in the shower," he lied.
"That Shadow did a number on you, didn't it?"
"Nothing that we couldn't overcome," Mitsuru answered.
When Ryuichi glanced at her, he nodded as thanks for covering for him, but also to apologize for what happened. She gave him a look that seemed to forgive him for his mistake, and for the rest of the evening, he felt like he could rest a little easier, though his stomach was still clenched with the fear of what could have happened.