RENEWED BONDS OF AN INCARCERATOR.

I awoke in the Velvet Room.

In my lyre-shaped chair.

And all my Personas were sitting at my side, in their own lyre-shaped seats.

"You've won," the masked man told me. "As I knew you would."

I turned to face him and I gave him a very weary glare.

"Some victory."

"Cheer up. You should be glad none of your friends have died."

"But should I be glad that others had to die? That others had to become Shadows for the sake of winning?"

"As I said, their deaths were paramount to your success. I cannot stress this enough. What happened had to happen. If they hadn't died, you'd not have met up with the High Priest and the Fortitude...and you'd have either lost the battle, or lost your limbs during the battle."

"How do you know that?"

"All of this has happened before. I said it already."

"What are you even-!? B-besides that, it doesn't give you any right to let them die."

"Well, I couldn't afford to let you die. You need to survive if you are going to save this world from the Shadows."

"The world?" I repeated. "Time out; the Shadows are only invading Iwatodai. What's this about the world-?"

"You'll know, in due time."

"I don't want to know 'in due time,' I want to know now!" I shouted petulantly. "You've been keeping me in the dark for so long – all of you! I deserve to at least get some insight in the big picture here!"

"We cannot tell you."

"Why not!?"

"If we were to tell you, nothing would change. If we were to tell you, in fact...I suppose things would end up even worse than they already are. You have to face this by the horns. You have to endure it by yourself – no, not by yourself. You've to face it with your Social Links at your side. Without them, your entire journey will be all for nothing."

I turned away from him and balled my hands up into fists.

"You're really that desperate for me not to know what's going on," I scoffed in disbelief.

"To tell you the truth, my lack of emotion stems from my desperation. My abysmal desperation."

"How very sincere of you," I snarked.

"I'd have saved those poor souls were I in a position to. However, I was not. I am not. I'm quite literally at the most despairing point in my existence, and I am doing whatever is within my power to help you succeed."

I, the deadpan critic of everything around me that I am, pointed out the logical flaw in his reasoning.

"But you can't tell me anything."

"That is outside of my power."

...And that...was the stupidest thing I'd ever heard.

"...Outside of your power."

"Yes."

"...You can show me my friends' past lives, you can make people understand Shadow-speak, and you can predict future events to the point where you can tell what'd happen in advance of it happening – yet opening your mouth and simply telling me what's going on is too much for you!?"

"Yes."

What an asshole!

"Don't use that language on me."

And he could read my mind! He could read my mind...yeah, why not? After everything – why not!?

"Oh! Oh, and you can read my mind, too! Of course you can! But you can't just tell me what's going to happen so that I can fix what's going to happen before it even happens – and I've said happen way too many times in that sentence, but I don't care – just like that!?"

"I'm truly sorry."

"Oh, stuff it," I groaned. "If you're not going to tell me, then just...don't even bother with apologies."

We both stayed quiet for a few seconds before he let out a sort of a brief smirk.

What the hell? I angrily asked myself. People died tonight and he's smirking?

"To be honest...while you lack finesse in dealing with the Shadows, and while you are very temperamental...you are quite possibly the most promising Wild Card I've ever chosen."

"Is that supposed to make me feel happy, or make me cringe?"

"Either one, really."

I gritted my teeth and got up from my seat.

"These are human lives, you bastard!" I screamed. "Even if you feel sorry for sacrificing them – which I seriously doubt – you can't just go throwing their lives away! You can't say one life is necessary for another to survive!"

"Oh, but in a war, you must do whatever it takes to win."

"Would you just shut up on that!" I screamed. "Y-you can't just-!"

"You've no idea how long this has been going on. You have no idea how much has been sacrificed to get this far. Besides, you said it yourself. This is a war. But it's not between you and the Shadows. It's between all of humanity...and the darkness of its own heart."

"...What are you talking about?"

"As I've told you already...you will learn, in due time."

"Damn you-!"

He snapped his fingers.


I opened my eyes again.

I was beyond infuriated and I wanted to strangle that masked bastard with everything I had. Even though he looked like me.

What right did he have to throw away lives so carelessly? What...what made him so superior?

I sighed, This...this is too much.

I was the one who declared 'war.' I was the one who was willing to sacrifice everything to win.

Hell, that guy – that masked asshole – he was the one who brought me out of my need of victory. He was the one who told me that what I was doing was wrong.

And oh, the irony was stunning to the point of soul-crushing hilarity. That freaking hypocrite!

So he can go all, "the ends justify the means," while I have to put up with the hells I'm handed to on a daily basis and not break out of it?

I groaned in rage.

I hate hypocrisy! I hate it more than I hate the freaking-

...Huh.

The realization that I was lying in my bed suddenly hit me.

I stared up at my featureless ceiling in physical, mental, and...I guess emotional exhaustion.

We won the battle. But at the cost of twenty lives. What kind of victory was that?

"You're awake!"

I turned my head to find Fuka in my room with a tray in her hands. The tray had a bowl full of rice, some seasonings, and a roll of...something. I don't know what it was.

"Um...how exactly do you feel?" she asked as she took a seat by my bed and laid the tray near me. "We had to carry you here, you were so unconscious."

"Not surprised," I chuckled. "Thank you for the food."

"I cooked it myself...," she blushed. "I hope you like it."

...Oh no.

...You know what? Screw it.

I dug into it with the hunger of a lion and ignored the fact that it tasted like roadkill that'd landed in the sewer. Or rather, into a large pile of feces that'd landed in the sewer. After last night, I was willing to eat ramen again – anything, so long as my stomach would get filled.

It was both nauseating and satisfying to eat.

I wiped my mouth with my hand as Fuka looked on in disbelief, either shocked that I ate that fast, or shocked that I was willing to eat her food that fast.

...Too harsh.

"Thank you, Yamagishi," I sighed. "It was...delicious."

"...It was terrible, wasn't it?" she chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head with a smile of embarrassment.

"To be honest, it wasn't that good, but it could've been worse," I told her. "After last night, it's a pleasure."

"...Thanks, I guess," she laughed a bit. "I'm glad to see that you're alright. Everyone else will be, too."

"How are they?" I asked her. "How's...?"

"Yukari-chan is still sleeping. But Kirijo-senpai is working in the command room, Sanada-senpai is with her and giving the report of what'd happened last night to Ikutsuki, Aegis is stationed up there along with them, Narukami-kohai has left for her home, Iori-kun is also still asleep, Ken-kun...won't come out of his room, and Aragaki-senpai has left as well. He said he was going to get breakfast at a ramen shop."

"Aragaki-senpai?"

"Oh! Yes, I almost forgot...that man who helped us against those two Shadows; his name is Shinjiro Aragaki. Kirijo-senpai and Sanada-senpai seem to know him..."

...I grunted.

"What is it?" she asked me. "What's wrong?"

"...Things are going to be horribly awkward. I just know it."

"You'll be fine," she told me. "I promise. Everyone...everyone's willing to talk to you now. They understand what you've been going through."

"...What do you mean?"

"...They...we...okay, I know this will sound a bit strange, but...we can understand the Shadows now."

"...Oh."

I almost forgot. Crap.


Fuka and I talked for a bit before going up to the command room.

And when we entered, the painfully crushing air of awkwardness filled the room. True to my words.

Mitsuru was sitting on the couch with Akihiko at her side. Ikutsuki was in the armchair. Aegis was next to him, with that same blank expression that she'd always wear.

I let out a sigh as I turned to Fuka. She gave me a nod and I turned back to the rest of them.

"We have to talk," Mitsuru began. "We all have something we'd like to say to you, Yuki. I'll start it off."

"Actually," I began, "I'd like to say something as well."

"...Really, now?"

"Yes, but...I suppose you can go first."

"...Thank you. Now...I...I would just like to begin by simply saying...that I'm sorry," she admitted. "I sincerely, deeply apologize for my actions towards you. I was completely unfair to you."

Akihiko stared at the floor and finger tented as Ikutsuki twiddled his own fingers in what seemed to be impatience.

"Senpai, I...I just..."

I couldn't find the words. What could I say? After everything...nothing would ever really be the same anymore. Not since what'd happened at Shirakawa and last night. As a team, S.E.E.S. was practically ruined for months. And now, things were going to get patched up so suddenly?

None of them even knew of what I'd done to them. They didn't know of how I'd violated them. How, out of spite, I chose to probe their pasts. I could barely even face these people. They also didn't know of what the mask did to me last night.

He...he made me watch as they struggled. He made me watch them. He made me watch those innocent people get converted. He made me watch those Shadows curbstomp S.E.E.S. into submission.

She and I had both done terrible things to each other. But the reason I didn't deserve to be apologized to...it was because I was not willing to admit what I'd done. Not to them. I could never admit it to them.

"I know this might sound strange to you...," Mitsuru said, "it must all be so sudden. It's been months since we've spoken without hostility. However...I am ashamed to admit it, but...with the advent of certain-"

"Yamagishi has already filled me in," I said. "You can...understand the Shadows now."

Mitsuru gripped the hem of her skirt and let out a heavy sigh. One of defeat – one of surrender.

"Yes," she told me. "It just...suddenly happened. We could understand what they were saying, and – and it was so...so jarring that I still can't believe it actually happened."

To see Mitsuru actually in disbelief – frazzled over something – was strange, to say the least. When I wasn't the calm one, she was. I guess. But then...judging from all the times I myself would get a bit stressed, calling me the calm one would be a huge stretch.

It was about time, though, that I got to see a different side to Mitsuru. One apart from the cold, determined, and downright Machiavellian Shadow hunter that she was. Seeing this...human side to her was actually fairly refreshing. It was like finding a rose bush had suddenly grown in your garden after a long, cold winter.

"The Shadow taunted us," she continued. "It exploited our cowardice and selfishness to degrade us. To shame us into doing what it wanted us to do. Its claims, however...were very true," she closed her eyes. "We never should have – no...I never should have mistreated you the way I did. It was immature, selfish, and cowardly."

...Damn. She really was sorry.

"...Senpai..."

She opened her eyes and turned to look me dead in mine.

"You've aided us so much these past few months. We'd have never gotten this far without you. And my distrust of you had driven this team into the ground. But, no more."

She got up from her seat and marched over to me, holding out a firm right hand.

"I would like for us to start anew, Yuki. After everything that's happened...I believe this is the best course of action to take."

I was silent, taken aback by this very sudden proposal. Proposal. Not a good choice of words. The feeling like she was asking for my hand in marriage was all-too awkward for me to take her hand in mine and shake it.

"I understand if you're rather apprehensive about this," she continued. "I'd be, too. But I'm not asking you this as the leader of S.E.E.S. I'm not asking you this out of necessity. I'm asking you this because...I have been horrible to you, and I want to make it up to you. I want to know you. I want to understand you, because my lack of understanding nearly had us killed."

I shifted my gaze to the floor.

"I'm asking you this, as...a friend," Mitsuru's normally convicting voice turned unnaturally...warm. "Can we start over?"

...Dammit, I can't resist it whenever a girl uses that tone of voice on me.

I turned to her.

She had a smile on her face. While it may seem strange to point that out, considering that Mitsuru has smiled in the past, this smile was...different from the others. It was...endearing. Sincere. It was completely different from how stoic and to-the-point her expression would normally be.

She wasn't being manipulative in any way. She was legitimately making an attempt at friendship.

...What the hell.

I took her hand and shook it firmly, accepting her proposition. There. That's a better word.

Fuka and Ikutsuki looked on and smiled. Akihiko let out a grunt, and Aegis had the blankest of looks she'd ever had on her face.

"Makoto Yuki," I said.

She smiled, "Mitsuru Kirijo."

*SMASH!*

Ow!

"Thou hast established a new bond..."

...Well, that's acceptable, I shrugged.

"Thou shalt be blessed when thou imbue thyself with the power of the Empress Arcana..."

"Now," she turned to everyone else, "I think Akihiko here would also like to say something. Don't you?"

Akihiko sat still for a second or so before getting up and off his seat. He took in a deep breath and crossed his arms, as if preparing himself to do something he wouldn't normally do.

He fumbled over a bit with his words before sputtering out an, "I also apologize."

Mitsuru raised her eyebrow at him and gave him a bit of a smirk.

"Akihiko."

"Don't give me that," he groaned.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not good with this kind of thing, okay?" he muttered. "I was never good at this kind of thing..."

She said it again, "Akihiko."

He let out a big sigh before turning to me.

He then marched right over and stared me down.

"Look. There are some things you're hiding from us. I know there are. Mitsuru knows it, and Ikutsuki knows it, too. And I know that what you're hiding is...for lack of a better word, important."

Mitsuru's face turned stoic and she shifted her gaze to Ikutsuki, who adjusted his glasses.

"But...," his tone became less accusing, "I was wrong to ostracize you. After everything you've done for us against the Shadows, I shouldn't have been so distrusting."

"...I understand, though," I said. "I'd be afraid, too, in your shoes."

"I was...weak," Akihiko seethed, his hands curling up into fists. "It's just...whenever I think about what you'd transformed into, I had this sort of feeling overcome me. I suddenly – the feeling that you were dangerous just crawled up my spine. Just being next to you would make me uncomfortable."

The idea of death has sent even the most courageous of people to their most vulnerable and fearful. And I had the God of Death in my head. An entity like that – transforming into an entity like that is something that would horrify anyone.

"I get why you acted so irrationally," I breathed. "You don't have to apologize."

"No. That's where you're wrong," Akihiko told me. "I misjudged you, I mistreated you, I treated you like crap. You deserved none of that since you've saved my life more than once, now. Hell, you've saved all of our lives by now. You've done great."

I blinked. I was surprised at all the attention I'd been getting. First Mitsuru, then Akihiko? I never even expected all this.

...Well, maybe I did, a little...you never know.

Akihiko finished with this, "And while you're still hiding things from us, I think it's safe to say that you're not planning anything harmful with it."

...I...didn't quite know how to take that. For all his eagerness to fight, he wasn't the best at wording. But I took it for what I thought it was worth.

"Thanks...I suppose."

He snorted, "I'm keeping my eye on you, though."

"Not surprised."

*SMASH!*

Urggh.

"Thou shalt be blessed when thou imbue thyself with the power of the Star Arcana..."

Well...it was expected, not gonna lie.

"I'm glad that everybody's finally made up with one another. Well, so far. It was rather strange to see you all so hostile."

For once, Ikutsuki and I agreed on something. Although, "strange" is an understatement.

"As am I, Mr. Chairman," I smiled. It was weird, smiling at Ikutsuki, but whatever.

"But the fact that you can all understand the Shadows now...it's rather horrifying. I can't even imagine what that must be like. All so suddenly...you said once that Personas of the Death Arcana had an affinity for Shadows, but judging from how everyone else now has this ability, everything is much more complex than it originally seemed. It appears that other forces must be at hand here."

...He wasn't exactly wrong...

Change the subject, Yuki. Now!

"What happened with the dog?"

Yes, the dog. Th-the dog could summon a Persona. Surely, that would be something to steer the conversation into a new direction.

"About the dog...Koromaru, wasn't it?" Mitsuru asked Fuka, who nodded at the name. "We are...actually thinking of inducting him into S.E.E.S., however, before doing so, we actually want your opinion on the matter."

"You want my opinion?"

"When we had Amada join S.E.E.S., I was in a moment of stubbornness and desperation. Now, I'm having second thoughts on him joining us. You were right when you and Narukami berated me for allowing him in the team."

"Glad that you agree," I mirthlessly deadpanned.

"But...Koromaru shows exceptional strength, even amongst normal Persona-users. He's just gotten the potential, yet he showed incredible prowess in controlling his Persona the other night. While that fact is very impressive...I'd like your input. Should we let the dog join S.E.E.S.?"

"...I was against allowing a ten-year-old into the group, and now you're asking if I'm willing to allow a dog?"

While Koromaru had indeed shown that he was a force to be reckoned with...he'd just awakened to his Persona. It, however, still might be a little irresponsible to have him in the group, considering he's a dog. Dogs don't really think, they're animals! They don't follow orders unless they've been trained, and I doubt any of us have the time to train the mutt.

Besides, dogs are scary.

But then again-


"The High Priest and the Fortitude will prove most useful to you in the future."


...Well, crap.

"...I'll think about it," I said to Mitsuru. "I'll probably have an answer by Sunday."

"Very well," she said. "I'll let you think on it further."

"Personally, I think we should let the dog join," Ikutsuki piped in. "Judging from your reports, he was very formidable in battle. Plus, he gives us an excuse to have a mascot!"

"By Sunday, I'll make my decision."

The masked douche, while being a masked douche, was a very on-the-spot masked douche. He was very good at deducing what would happen and making changes and alterations accordingly. So...he was probably speaking in broader terms when talking about Shinjiro and the dog.

...We really might need him...

"...I'll see you later," I told everyone. "I'm going to make rounds at the mall for a bit."

"Are you sure? It's been so soon since you woke up."

"I'll be fine," I told Yamagishi with a smile. "Trust me, I can make it."

"It's good that you're already in good shape," Mitsuru said. "However, I do urge you to rest for a bit."

"I'm...honestly kind of tired of rest," I told her. "And yes, I'm aware of the oxymoron. I feel like just going out and taking a stroll is fine enough as a form of relaxation."

Mitsuru raised an accusatory eyebrow at me and jutted the left of her lip to the side before sighing, "If you say so. But make it home quick."

"Thank you."

"And one more thing."

"What is it?"

"A few days from now, you'll have summer school."

I blinked in utter disbelief.

"...What."

"Your rather subpar scores in your exams last semester prompted me to enroll you. I know how difficult it is in Tartarus and how stressed you must have been from all the trouble we'd put you through. So, I felt it necessary to give you a summer school session."

"...Thanks...I guess...?"

I just didn't care at that point. School didn't trouble me so much anymore. What with the Shadows, you know?

"Besides, you won't be taking the class alone. Takeba, Iori, and Yamagishi will be with you."

"They didn't do that badly in exams," I said. "Well, excluding Junpei, but..."

"Yukari-chan and I asked if we could. We weren't satisfied with our current grades."

"Huh. Alright, then. But what about Junpei-?"

"Look at me in the eyes and tell me he doesn't need it."

"...Point taken, senpai."

Mitsuru certainly had a way of winning the audience over...


Now, after that conversation, I made my promise of making a few rounds over at the mall.

I didn't want to go anywhere near the Velvet Room.

I had enough of them for a while.

I just strolled by, walking amongst the different shops and stores, hoping to find anything worth of value to buy.

Maybe a new mp3 player. The one I had was getting rather old and it'd have this tendency to stop playing every once in a while.

But I will never exchange my silver earphones for anything. Why would I remove the closest thing I had for an actual trademark? Aside from the hair, of course-

I saw a familiar face enter this one antique shop. And the reason that face was so familiar was because that face was associated with so many snarks.

"Narukami..."

As I neared that antique shop - as I neared that place - something overtook my senses and gave me warning signs.

It was like something weird was inside. Something...not exactly non-human, but certainly more than something normal.

Uh oh.

So, of course, I had to check it out.

Might as well.

How bad could it be?


AUTHOR'S NOTE:


There will be a second part to this.

And the other characters will be apologizing to Makoto in those parts.

Wait till we get to Yukari's scene.

To be honest, the song I found the most accurate to the P3MC's personality as a whole is Your Guardian Angel, by Red Jumpsuit Apparatus. It just fits, really well. His care for his friends and his love for humanity as a whole just really fits in with the lyrics.