Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty-Nine
A Genuine Bond
Hello guys! How are you all doing? Welcome to the Forty-Ninth chapter! We're almost at FIFTY! So sorry, once again, that this chapter took so long to get out – Things at my University are getting very busy now after getting a promotion at my student radio station, and chapter production is going to be much slower as a result. Don't you worry though, I'm going to see this story through 'til the end! But for now... LET'S GT-R-DONE!
08/10 - Morning - Tatsumi Hall - First Floor
Yu continued his ascent towards the Tatsumi Hall's second floor, thinking back on what he had said to S.E.E.S before going up the stairs. He couldn't help but think that he may have been a little too harsh after all that had happened. At the same time though, he felt that it was something that they all needed to know, especially when it came to their most precious friend; he knew fully well about what friendship truly is – his last adventure had taught him that much – and it was almost as if he had gotten something off his chest. However, as he climbed higher and higher, he could just imagine what they were thinking about at that moment.
08/10 - Morning - Second Floor
Eventually, he reached the girls' floor and headed straight for Yukari's room. He remembered that the doctor had said that Minato was going to visit Yukari for a short while and he was certain, if not somewhat expecting, that he was going to be there. He approached the door, and with quiet steps and a slow turn of the handle, walked inside.
He stepped inside, keeping his body close to the edge of the door as he entered. His eyes scanned from left to right, but strangely enough, there was no sign of Minato anywhere. The only moving thing in the room was Yukari, still unconscious, but breathing. The heavy atmosphere hit Yu as he came in, and just for a moment, he forgot how silent it was between the room and the hallway. It was an unsettling feeling.
"Minato?" he called, keeping his voice down as he looked around himself. There was no response. "Hmm… He's not here." he then thought to himself. The room was quite small, and Yu knew that he could've spotted anyone in this small space, especially Minato. With that in mind, he decided to leave the room. But before he did, he scanned the area one last time. As he did, he suddenly noticed a note on Yukari's bedside table. He walked slowly towards it, trying to keep his steps light, and extended his arm to grab the folded piece of paper. He opened it and scanned his eyes across the large words that were neatly scribbled onto the note.
It read, "I'm on the rooftop if anyone needs me – Minato." It was a very brief note, but Yu knew that any member of S.E.E.S would've thought that it was very much like him to write something so short and to the point. He could only wonder why Minato had gone to the roof, especially in such weather. However, he could remember the guilty look in his eye that he only saw moments ago, and could only imagine what Minato was going through. Many times had S.E.E.S told him about Minato's usual demeanor as the silent, nonchalant leader, never talking about his past and keeping all feeling, if any, to himself. Seeing him display his emotions to Yu was out of the ordinary, even if it was his first meeting with him.
With a sigh, Yu quietly left Yukari's room and headed for the rooftop. The more he climbed the stairs, the more he could hear the echoes of rain coming from the small door that stood at the very top of the staircase.
08/10 - Morning - Rooftop
Yu placed a hand on the doorknob but stopped in hesitation. One last flurry of thoughts whizzed around his head before he finally opened the door.
The rain had seemed to have let up a bit, but it was still coming down at a modest rate. The storm still made it hard to see anything around him, but in the distance, Yu could see Minato sitting down. His hands were in his pockets, and he could only just make out the blue hair that hanged from his lowered head. He was still, and didn't even shudder.
"Minato…" Yu said in sympathy.
Before stepping outside, Yu grabbed an umbrella from the clothes rack that stood at the side of the door and opened it up from the outside. He began to approach Minato, trying not to let the overwhelming noise of the rain cloud his thoughts. He thought of what to say and what to do, but after putting so much thought into it, he decided that it would be best to just let it happen. Yu hesitated slightly at the last few steps after a slight change of mind, but with a quick fix of resolve, he pushed forward. In no time at all, he was stood next to Minato.
Yu looked over the edge at which Minato was sitting on and immediately felt a sudden strike of vertigo. "Whoa…" Yu thought to himself, feeling as if he was teetering. He had never thought that the rooftop was so far up, and when he looked over to Minato, he was utterly baffled. He was sat on the elevated edge as if it were a park bench, and even though he was looking down towards the concrete below, he was completely neutral. The height didn't faze him, and there was no fear in his expression. If anything, he looked as if he didn't want to come away from the edge anytime soon.
With a quick intake courage, Yu crouched down and shifted himself towards the edge so that he was sat on the elevated stone. He held the umbrella between them, shielding Minato from the rain – even though his hair and face was completely drenched.
Upon realising this, Minato looked up and saw the shade of yellow that loomed above him and looked towards the one who was keeping him dry. "Oh… Yu…" he said quietly, looking back down at sidewalk below, "… What are you doing here?"
"I saw your note. I figured that coming to the rooftop while it was raining was a cause for concern as well…" Yu replied, hoping that a friendly joke would've changed Minato slightly.
"Hmph," Minato chuckled dryly, "I guess I am prone to colds in this weather."
"… That's not what I meant."
"Don't worry. I've been higher than this…"
Yu could see that Minato was trying to avoid the conversation completely. He wanted somewhere secluded; somewhere cut off from the people who really mattered to him. That worried him greatly, especially when he was only one foot away from falling off the Tatsumi Hall. Yu decided that he needed to get to the heart of the matter.
"Minato… I can't imagine what must be going through your head right now. But… you have to come downstairs. Everyone is waiting for you." Yu explained, hoping that anything he was saying was getting through to Minato. However, Minato didn't even look at Yu and only responded with very few words. "Are they?" he asked him, somewhat hinting that he was seriously doubting was Yu was saying, "Even if they were… I wouldn't be their friend anymore…"
Yu was taken aback. It was as if Minato had sensed his bonds fading away from him. Yu knew how that would've felt, being a wielder of the Wild Card as well. He understood the gravity of the situation, but he knew that there was no reason not to fix it, even if it was almost damaged beyond repair.
"How could you say that?" he said boldly, managing to get Minato's attention. "You were close to them, weren't you?"
With a sad look, Minato gave a slow nod of his head, but kept his eyes on him when he saw his mouth open. Yu continued, "I was in the lounge with them just now. Sure, they were wondering about why you didn't come to them… But the reason they are wondering is because they still care for you. More than any friend could love a person."
"How could they care?" Minato then asked, turning his head away, "I've put them in danger. What kind of person would want to be friends with someone like that? Someone who… may have let Nyx out…? Who could want that from me?" Yu's first reaction was that of fear. Fear that Nyx's second coming might've been the product of Minato's return. However, there's no evidence of it happening, and even Minato didn't know if it would happen. All Yu could do was shake his head, and Minato could see it in the corner of his eye. At first, he just wanted to ignore it. But nevertheless, Yu needed to prove him wrong.
"Look, Minato. You sacrificed your life for them; they haven't forgotten that and they never will. Deep inside, amongst all this madness, they're glad that you're here. They missed you so much, especially Yukari," Yu explained, attracting Minato's attention once again, "Maybe Nyx has been let loose… but we don't know that. Maybe you have put your friends in danger, but didn't you before? When you became their leader and held their hand as you all climbed Tartarus?"
Minato's head lowered slightly at Yu's words, but even though he silently admitted to some things, he still didn't want to believe that the tension between him and S.E.E.S had been lifted. The strain in his heart was still there, and it only encouraged him to keep denying. "They still got hurt, every time we went in there…" Minato said, somewhat sternly, "… I couldn't prevent the harm then and I can't even do it now… What's the good in me being here?"
"Stop that." Yu suddenly spat, cutting Minato off from saying anything else. There was a long pause for a moment, which discomforted Minato. Before he could speak, Yu calmed himself down a bit and looked at Minato dead in the eye. "I've fought with your friends. Even though they got hurt here and there, they always got back up. They're able to take care of themselves and you should know that… Surely there have been times when they've had to help you get back on your feet, right?"
All of a sudden, a stunned expression radiated from Minato's face. He was rendered speechless by Yu's words, and although the thoughts of denial were swimming back into his mind, Yu was still there to quell them. "Your friends are much stronger than you think. But maybe you just need to remember that strength of bonds… It has been a while since you've spoken to them properly…"
Minato turned his head away once more, not making a sound. Yu could only sigh at how this conversation turned out, and even though he could've gone on for the rest of the day, he knew that Minato wasn't going to speak. "Listen… I'm going back inside now," Yu said, standing up to his feet and backing away from the edge, "Just… just think about this, okay? Nothing good comes from just being stuck and doing nothing about it. If we don't do something, we'll never get answers; about the culprits, about you… about Yukari… Your friends need you, Minato. They need someone to guide them. They need you to let them know that everything will be okay and that we can all get through this together… They need their friend back."
The words cut deep into Minato, and all he could feel was guilt and anger at himself, although he didn't show it. After saying so much, Yu made one last attempt before going back into the building. "So please… come back downstairs…" he pleaded.
He waited a long while for a response, but Minato never moved an inch. He didn't even turn to show his recognition. With a sad sigh, Yu lingered there for a moment just staring at the still Minato before finally turning slowly towards the door. He walked slowly, as if completely drained of energy and enthusiasm.
As the metal door creaked open, thoughts began to spin and whir around Minato's head. The guilt grew, and the urge to speak overtook him. Just as the door opened, it was as if Yu's words were finally getting through to him; his thoughts were slotting in the right places. Eventually, he came to a realisation and quickly lifted his head up.
"Idiot…" Minato thought to himself, recognising his fault.
"Wait." he said, almost in a yell. He turned himself around and looked towards Yu. He was halfway through the doorway, and his head turned round to Minato with a look of hope. Minato stood up and stepped away from the edge of the building, walking towards Yu with, what looked like, confidence in his posture. Yu took a step back so that he could let Minato into the room and watched as the blue-haired boy lifted his head up to him so that he could see his eyes.
"Yes?" Yu asked, hopeful that Minato had a change of mind, even though he knew that it was evident at this point.
Minato sighed, as if dropped a few weights off his shoulder, before replying. "You're right… We'll never get anywhere without answers. If we're going to find them, we'll find them together. All of us." He responded, as if experiencing an epiphany. And in that moment, the atmosphere began to pick up; Yu smiled knowing that Minato had finally come to his senses, and Minato had even managed to offer one of his timid smiles. Though only slightly, the strain in his chest had recovered, as if he could feel the tension of his bonds easing bit by bit.
Yu held his hand out, offering his handshake as a friendly gesture. "It's nice to finally meet you, Minato Arisato." He greeted jokingly, acting as if the two had only just met. Minato could only chuckle slightly before holding out his own hand to shake his. "A pleasure, Yu Narukami." He replied, feeling warm as he gently greeted him. They had shook each other's hand for a long while before finally pulling away. But it was just when they did that something suddenly quaked in their minds.
"Ugh!" the two cried out in unison, feeling the sharp pain enter their brains at the same time. Everything around them became quiet, but the familiar voice in their head that followed was as loud and proud as ever. At first, they didn't know what was going on, but after concentrating on the situation, they realised.
Thou art I… and I am Thou
The meeting of equal power; A bond measured to infinity
Both together, but separate
Thou shalt have our blessing when one Fool resonates with another
Thy power grows endless…
The voice slowly draws away back into the subconscious, and everything starts to become audible again. Their blank faces look to each other as if silently asking if they had just experienced the same thing; their expressions to one another confirmed it though. They both heard it. And that could only mean one thing.
"A social link…" they both thought. They smiled to each other, not needing to say anything about what just happened. They both knew what was going on, and that was enough for them. Casually, they both began their descent down the stairs making their way towards the lounge where everyone was waiting with bated breath.
One resolve was fixed, but there were many more that needed attention. Minato was more than determined to make amends, and even though he was nervous, he knew that it was the best decision. It was the right decision.
Well, you all waited for it for SO long, and here it was! REALLY sorry that haven't heard from me in a long, long, long while, but as I said, things are getting VERY busy where I am. But if this chapter is anything to go by, we might be in for more chapters! Thank you very much for reading guys. Keep reading and reviewing and I shall see you for the big milestone! Onwards to Chapter FIFTY! CYA!
Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]
BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST
Teddie: So, we've got the whole group now, huh?
Minato: Not the whole group...
Yukiko: Are you both suggesting that we go back into the TV world?
Akihiko: But where did the dream come from in the first place if it wasn't like a normal dream?
Shadow Yukari: Minato... Please... answer me...
Yu: We should go.
