Piecing the Fragments

Chapter 44: Without Her

Original Concept: Persona 3 Portable

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Created by: Atlus

written by: wrathie

Author's Notes: Game Spoilers Galore, Readers be warned.


Author's Notes: We're not late!

Thank you, Kaiser Dude for the Beta despite being sick. Thank you so much!


5/23 Saturday (Evening)

Iwatodai Station

..

In the end, even the slums hadn't provided any information or details about Arisato Minako's disappearance, and as the clock struck 6 with the setting of the sun, everyone decided to call it a day reluctantly.

'I guess we'll try again tomorrow...'

Yukari looked defeated while Ken nodded wordlessly as they stood in front of the station. Ken had taken the news pretty hard as no matter who Shinjiro asked, there was no one there who had seen her at all for the past few days, and it really seemed like she had disappeared into thin air.

'Mm, please contact me when you do, Yukari-san, Junpei-san too.'

All of them watched as Ken bowed to them before he stepped the station to catch a train.

Odagiri Hidetoshi crossed his arms before saying his goodbyes as well, not bothering to hide his own frustration at the matter. He had to catch a bus back and he stated that he would continue searching the school network and the blogs for any clues on her whereabouts.

'She is a famous figure, there might be people who are blogging about her right now.'

Hidetoshi stated calmly as he took his leave, not forgetting to shake the hands of all who were present before taking his leave as well. He did pause a little when it was Shinjiro's turn, but in the end he gripped his hands firmly and thanked him for his help as well. It pained him to admit it, but with his help at least they were sure that nothing unsavoury was happening to Minako.

'Odagiri-san is really formal, neh?'

Rio had tried her best to be enthusiastic the whole day, and the effort it took was taking a toll on her as she stood with the rest of them before saying that she had to go too.

'I'll get Kenji to help tomorrow too... after the exams... maybe she'll pop up for the exam just like normal?'

Rio took her leave while the two juniors groaned as they remembered their last exam tomorrow while Shinjiro just nodded appreciatively to the younger girl.

'Minako... she has made good friends.'

Shinjiro commented but then turned away to hide his face as they hung around the station. Yukari nodded while telling him about who they had met so far who had offered their help.

'I couldn't believe how many people she knew in the city... and in the school... and she just transferred here! That's amazing...'

Junpei voiced his agreement on the matter while admitting that he viewed Minako as his best friend too and wondered how many people felt the same way.

'She's a real piece of work, that is for sure.'

Shinjiro said his standard piece while chuckling to himself and the three of them fell silent again as they waited for the arrival of the last person that they had contacted.

In hindsight, they should have contacted her earlier, but as mentioned before, there was a certain amount of risk when you involved Kirijo Mitsuru into anything.

..

'What did you say?!'

Mitsuru screamed over the phone and Shinjiro held it away from his ear till she calmed down somewhat.

'Yes, Minako's gone missing. We've gone round the town looking for her, but we can't find her. We need your help, Kirijo.'

It was short and to the point and after a brief moment of silence, Kirijo Mitsuru gave her full cooperation and she replied that she would head down to the station immediately.

..

'Who would have guessed that the great Kirijo Mitsuru would abuse her authority for her friends in this manner.'

Shinjiro commented but then coughed when Yukari remarked that he had already done the same to which Shinjiro had no answer to.

Yukari was spared from Shinjiro's comments when they heard the sounds of burning rubber in the distance and they got up to see Mitsuru and her bike screeching to a halt in front of them with no regards to the traffic regulations at all. Well, it was an emergency and they just waved it off as Mitsuru climbed off the bike to greet all of them.

'I called Akihiko at the dormitory and gave him permission and he is currently looking through Arisato's belongings now to see if there was a clue to her disappearance. I made a call to Arisato as well, and she seems to be not connected to the network at all. Just to be thorough I still sent a mail to her... All of you are certain that she is not in the city at all?'

Mitsuru's glare was cold and frosty like her preferred element and before any of them could reply, she stated that she would 'execute' all of them if they were playing a prank on her.

'We wouldn't have called you if we weren't sure, Kirijo... but you'll blame us later for not letting you know earlier anyway... so just for the record, we... no, the two of them went around the town and spoke with everyone to see if they had seen her. It was like she just disappeared.'

'We spoke with Kurosawa-san too, and he is working on the missing persons report now.'

Junpei added while fiddling with his baseball cap and Mitsuru seemed to calm down at Shinjiro's sharp but truthful words.

'I apologize, I was being a little hasty in my assessment myself... let us do our best to locate Arisato...'

Mitsuru was really worried over her junior as she had been nursing a growing doubt in her heart when she heard from Hidetoshi that she hadn't appeared for school today.

It was not like her to skip school but she had shrugged the issue off as she assumed that she had some emergency to take care of. Arisato Minako was one of the few individuals that Kirijo Mitsuru trusted without question, and although there were times where her eccentricity or her actions were questionable, they all turned out to be right in end.

Not to mention how dependable she was in her explorations in Tartarus, and it wouldn't be a stretch of the imagination that the person of choice to take over the leadership of S.E.E.S was only limited to her.

But for her to go missing just like that was very worrying. She did not have any doubts that she would come up tops if they were to duel one-on-one, and perhaps even if she and Akihiko helped each other.

The 'Wild Card' ability aside, Arisato Minako was probably able to defeat all of them while using the weakest summon of all, Pixie.

In the worst-case scenario she might have been kidnapped by someone else. As ludicrous as the idea seemed it wasn't regretfully unthinkable. In the looks department Minako was more than average looking and she was a trusting individual who doesn't know how not to barge into others' affairs. It was this attitude of hers that enabled her to make a lot of friends, but at the same time, might at the same time make enemies as well.

Mitsuru's imagination was getting the better of her and she coughed once to gather her thoughts. She then headed straight for the train station with the rest of the gang following her.

'We should seek assistance with the train operators as well, perhaps they have seen Arisato last night.'

'We did that, Kirijo... she wasn't here last night. She's quite well known here due to the Maid Costume she wore last time; that tends to make an impression on the people working here.'

Shinjiro chuckled while Mitsuru sighed, that was true, Minako wasn't known to be very good with finesse and she realized that if it was an ordinary disappearance, someone should have come up with information by now.

Minako wasn't an ordinary student of Gekkoukan High as from the testimonials of Yukari and the others, she was quite famous throughout the entire Tatsumi Port Island despite being a transfer student. There was bound to be someone, anyone who should have recognized her as long as she was on the island.

Unless she was taken away from the island itself.

'I understand... It seems that I have to... resort to other means.'

Mitsuru sniffed unhappily, and the gang headed towards Paulownia Mall to help file and report her missing while she made a few urgent phone calls of her own to various departments in the Kirijo Organization.

'Desperate times, call for desperate measures.'

She whispered softly even as the other members nodded as well.


5/23 Saturday (?)

?

..

The protagonist of the story on the other hand was trying to find a way out of this endless maze that was Tartarus.

Yes, Tartarus as Theodore had explained, that they were lost somewhere within the dungeon that Minako and S.E.E.S had traversed and tried to explore during the Dark Hour.

As each new floor of Tartarus was generated differently due to the mysterious properties of the place, it was almost impossible to truly map the place. This problem of navigation was compounded when neither of them could make out more than several feet in front of them due to the darkness relentlessly permeating their vision.

That said, the was fact that none of the shadows could stand against the combined might of Theodore and Minako. The two wild cards were capable enough to defeat even the mighty shadows of Monad single-handedly by themselves.

'You're as vicious as ever, Theodore...'

Minako commented softly while Theodore literally squashed a shadow with his compendium and the pale-skin attendant simply smiled while adjusting his collar to emphasize his next remark.

'With the princess by my side, as the knight, why would I not? It is the knight's duty to protect the Princess, is it not?'

'Aww shucks, you're making me blush, Theo~'

It was all Minako could do to keep joking with him as they dispatched another group of shadows that had popped up in front of them. The monsters were strong, making it clear to her that they were in the higher levels of Tartarus. Still, they were not as strong as those in Monad and Minako reckoned that they were stuck around the 120-140 floors. Since S.E.E.S barely cleared the double digits during their last exploration attempt, they had no hope of rescue from them at the moment even if they were to figure out they were here. The floor teleporters themselves were down too and so they'll have to go down the hard way and it wasn't going to be pretty.

Theodore had told Minako that he had been stuck here for a few hours and since one hour in Tartarus would only equal to an hour in the real world, Theodore had gone missing for a few days already...

That said, with the two wild cards together they were making fine time, and after an hour they have descended 5 floors. It would be easier with Mitsuru or Fuuka around and it was only with their absence did Minako realize how important they were in their team. None of them can be excluded from the party and she hoped and prayed that they were trying to search for her as well even while she was trying her best to get out of this place even if a day had barely passed for them.

'We'll find a way out... right?'

Minako asked anxiously as they marched forward and she was relieved seeing Theodore nodding his head.

'Naturally, a maze wouldn't be complete without an entrance or an exit.'

'That's so right!'

..

It was only by spending time together with Theodore, alone and with him watching her back, did she realize how she much she had taken him for granted as well. He was always the silent hero behind the scenes, working hard and patiently with her to result in the best possible Personas for her excursions. The many failures and repeated trips to the Velvet Room to check her compendium or summoning her past Personas would have tested anyone's patience, but not his, he always welcomed her with the same small smile along with a cup of tea.

'Neh Theodore...'

Of course the most important thing about Theodore that Minako admired and liked was his detachment to the world and as a result, his childish acceptance and sense of wonder to everything that she found ordinary.

It reminded her of the childhood that she never had, the things that she wished she could rediscover and the things that were lost to her.

She … wanted to say that she had no regrets but that would be a lie. Would Theodore have any regrets as well? She asked that question and was rewarded with a perplex expression appearing on Theodore's face.

'Regrets? Do you mean things that I've wished I had done differently?'

It was a crude way to put it, but it was true and Minako nodded while bashing another shadow to the side with her naginata.

'Perhaps there were things that I have done that I wished I have done differently... but I do not believe that it is something that I should be concerned about, valued guest...'

'Please, Theo, call me Minako.'

'Then, Minako-chan it is then.'

Theodore blushed as he caught her eye, but the attendant turned serious again while summoning another Persona to bash away the mob of Shadows that threatened to engulf all of them.

'There might be things that might have been better if I had handled things in a different manner. Things that might have developed if I had been a little more courageous... Things that could have been avoided if I had stuck to my resolve... However, that is in the past and all that is set in stone for us now. We are beings of the present and as such I believe we should not look behind us unless to reflect.The things that we have experienced and learned from the past should never be completely forgotten. Harsh lessons, good lessons... memories, events and important bonds that we have now is only due to the past. If we change the past, would we have the same things now? That is why I won't regret, and I would not change anything.'

Theodore paused before turning to look at her in the eye and slowly, ever so slowly, he reached out to hold her hand in his while blushing.

'If everything I have done up till now is to meet you in this instant, for you to ask me that question, Minako-chan. Then I do not regret any moment of it.'

It was enough to make any girl blush and even Minako was not immune to his charms, it was a real love confession was it? A real... confession from Theodore and Minako's heart felt like it would burst out from just staring at him.

There had been signs that Theodore wanted more from their friendship and the bond that they shared, and Minako always wanted to steer clear from that relationship for one good reason.

Arisato Minako was probably the first girl in his life that was not his sisters and she was afraid... that Theodore's feelings for her was misplaced. In many ways Theodore was similar to Ken as she probably was the first person of the opposite sex to treat them seriously in any way.

'… Theo... do you really mean what you just said?'

Minako finally asked after what seemed like an eternity and Theodore nodded his head slowly in reply.

'Yes, I'm glad to have met you, Minako-chan.'

'T-That's... all?'

'Was there something else that I should say?'

Theodore asked while tilting his head and Minako immediately released his hand and turned away from him, her face burning red with embarrassment and shame at thinking along those lines earlier.

Had she been the only person treating him seriously after all?

'AHHHH! I hate my life!"

Minako screamed and vented her frustrations on the nearby shadows while Theodore simply looked at his hand, the same hands that had held hers earlier before keeping the gloves and putting a new pair in place.

'I'll treasure that memory as well, Minako-chan.'

Theodore muttered while smiling and looking at the back of the girl that had wormed her way into his heart.


5/23 Saturday (Night)

Dormitory

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'… It's really like she disappeared.'

Junpei declared again for the umpteenth time after Mitsuru told them that Minako was not sighted on any of the trains the day before as well. Knowing that left the Kirijo heiress perplexed and in disbelief at how thorough her disappearance was.

By pulling connections within the organization, she had gotten the video tapes from all the stations in Tatsumi Port Island, and after scrutinizing every second and every meter that the tapes captured, Arisato Minako was nowhere to be found.

All of them were currently in the control room, and although they told Ikutsuki Shuji, their chairman about what they were doing, he did not know that she had disappeared. It was something that Mitsuru agreed with as it was blatant abuse of her own powers for personal use.

'It is like she never made it out of this dormitory at all.'

'She couldn't have jumped out the window right?'

'She could... but we would have heard her right?'

Yukari was running of patience and she snapped at Junpei who was throwing ideas randomly in hope in hitting the nail on the head by sheer luck.

'Everyone please stay calm.'

Mitsuru snapped at the juniors and they fell silent after seeing how Shinjiro and Akihiko was still staring silently at the footage that was displayed on the control room.

Besides the tapes from the train stations, they had gotten the surveillance tapes of the cameras around the dormitories as well and after kicking the boys out, the tapes that recorded activities on the second floor where the female rooms were.

..

'No, we don't install cameras inside the rooms.'

Mitsuru's glare was so cold that Junpei shivered and he got onto all fours to beg for forgiveness for even suggesting that idea in the first place.

'But perhaps we can make an exception and put one in yours, Iori. I still find it amazing the way you could still find common objects in your room. Not to mention... how you manage to make such a mess of your room.'

Junpei shivered and begged her not to do that while Yukari and the others simply sighed at their little exchange. It was really not the time for such trivial matters but Yukari herself found it a little heartening as well.

Even if they haven't found Minako yet, S.E.E.S was getting closer together just by the act of trying to find her. It was amazing to see so many people willing to put in so much effort and time to help Minako, not to mention the amount of people that she knew around town. Even if Minako had proven to be paranoid when she said that there were cameras in their rooms.

'Minako-chan, I hope you're fine, no matter where you are.'

..

'You were onto something there, brat...'

Shinjiro scratched his head he as pointed at Junpei before elaborating.

'From everything that we looked at it, my guess guess is that she didn't even made it out of her room in the first place...'

Shinjiro growled as everyone else said that was impossible but he simply shrugged and asked them to present a better explanation for the current series of events.

'She wasn't seen leaving the dormitory on any of the cameras, on any of the trains and there is no way you could swim all the way out of the island to the nearest shore, can she, Kirijo?'

'No, it is unlikely that anyone could make the journey due to the currents around the island. As the train is the only way out of the island, it's logical that she should be here in the island still.'

'Tartarus.'

Akihiko suddenly spoke and the rest of them turned to look at him while he tended to the dressings on his arms.

'That's the only place that we didn't search yet in the island. Tartarus... she could be there... no, she must be there if she's still on the island.'

The realization that missing link left everyone speechless for a moment before all of them said that it was impossible.

..

'Tartarus is the school, there's no way Minako could be there... the police is looking at the videos surveillance of the school as we speak, if she had entered school, we would know...'

'Nothing electronic works in the Dark Hour, remember?'

Akihiko's response was quick and well-thought, and even Mitsuru paled and she hit herself on the forehead for forgetting that detail.

'Akihiko is right, there is that crucial one hour when everything shuts down. The Dark Hour, she could have slipped out during the Dark Hour and have gotten trapped in Tartarus by herself. The cameras outside of the dormitory would not work during the Dark Hour... our special equipment would only kick if if we detect a shadow!'

As dire as the situation seems to be before, it had gotten indefinitely more so if they consider the implications of Minako or anyone being stuck in Tartarus alone for a long period.

'Why would she do that?!'

It was Shinjiro who lost his temper first and he slammed a fist on the table in anger while Junpei and Yukari jumped in shock at his violent reaction to the news.

'… Whatever the reason, we should search for her tonight. I assume all of you have no objections to this, Takeba, Iori?'

Mitsuru made up her mind almost immediately and she offered Shinjiro a rare smile as he demanded that he go as well.

'Right, let us all go then.'

Even Akihiko echoed his sentiments and despite her reservations about him doing that, she agreed nonetheless.

'Yes, let us all meet in front of the school later tonight.'

'Why would you do that today, Mitsuru?'

All of them jumped again as they heard the chairman's voice from the door and they turned to see him walking over casually.

'All of you can't be thinking of going to Tartarus tonight would you? All of you have one more exam tomorrow, no?'

'Well, Yes... Sir.'

Mitsuru looked awkward as the chairman stared at Akihiko too, and the champion boxer looked away even as Ikutsuki scrutinized Mitsuru as well.

'May I know the urgency of the matter for you to decide to visit such a dangerous place during your exams, Mitsuru?'

They had not informed the chairman at all on their plans to search for Minako and the reason being was that all of them were concerned and worried that she might be kicked out of S.E.E.S if the chairman finds out about her playing truant or trying to run away.

'Well... we wanted to take our minds of our revision for a while, Ikutsuki-san. All of them have been working hard, Akihiko wanted to work out a little and with Aragaki volunteering his help, I believe that they would be fine.'

'Ara ara... Aragaki... I didn't see you here, it has been a long time, haven't it?'

The chairman offered a hand to Shinjiro, which the boy totally ignored, Ikutsuki shrugged as he forbade them to do that, at least for today.

'Even if you want to take your mind off the exams, there are plenty of other things that one can do. I know, how about all of us catch a movie today? I heard there was a good one showing right now. It'll be my treat!'

..

As the chairman coaxed all of them to agreeing to his plan, all of them looked troubled when he casually asked them about Minako.

'I heard that she did not turn up for the exam today, is she ill?'


5/23 Saturday (Night)

..

Elsewhere, another girl who had awakened to her memories of having the same powers hugged her pillow uncertainly while looking at the ceiling of her room.

'… Minako-chan, where... exactly are you?'

Yamagashi Fuuka asked herself again before closing her eyes and recalling how she heard Minako's voice in her heard throughout the entire day. No, not the entire day but only when she was in school.

It had been the barest of snippets, like the sound of her crying out names that she swore remembered but she seemed to be listening through a pair of very very bad earphones and she could barely make out what Minako was saying.

It was Minako's voice though, Fuuka was very sure of that, but even after concentrating very hard, the teal-haired girl could not make out what she was saying. What she did know was that it was disjointed... almost as if it was being played out in a very very long stretch of time.

It hadn't made sense to her, but after remembering what Minako had told her before, about S.E.E.S in particular, the names that she was calling out finally made sense. They must be the Personas that Minako was talking about, Ishtar, Scantach and of course Pixie.

In a way those facts about S.E.E.S hadn't struck her fully as they seemed to terrific to be real.

But the S.E.E.S were real, the powers they were wielding were real and most importantly, the monsters that they fought were all real... That was why Fuuka was unable to tune out the muffled cries in her mind to be just a mere hallucination or her being too tired after finding out that Minako had literally disappeared by eavesdropping on Takeba Yukari and Iori Junpei.

Fuuka felt a little guilty at doing that but she told herself that this was all to make sense of her environment.

If Minako had disappeared, it was possible that she, and only she alone could find her due the apparently uniqueness of her ability.

'… But what do I do now?'


Author's Notes: I think I found my second wind, am writing much more easily now~