A/N: Wow! Five Chapters! Again! :) Well, I hope you Enjoy these as we finally move into June 2011. Two of my favorite events are coming up in this month. The Camping Trip and Operation Babe Hunt II...Poor Guys. Let's hope Charles's presence will...remix things a little... or not! :) Stay Tuned!
(Oh yeah and some J-Pop Idol named Risette shows up, but she's just a minor Character and won't amount to anything... :) )
That being said, because I wrote 15000+ words the past few days. I'm taking time off. But I promise it won't be TOO long.
A year's short enough, right? Right? :)
(Won't be that long.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Persona. I own Reiko Setsuka
Chapter 54
May 30, 2011
Yasogami High
"So the gang's all here!"
To which Yukiko replied, "But Mina, we were all here Saturday."
Minako just giggled. Then she blushed because she hadn't giggled like that since…
…Her first time with Shinji.
They were all on the roof having lunch again.
"Have you noticed that they've been giving us the long lunch a lot lately…whoa, say that 5 times fast!" Charles said.
"It's because of Kashiwagi-sensei, Charles-chan…it seems that her Biology classes require quizzes and papers as part of their grade. I'm just glad we have Philosophy and Geography as our two elective classes."
"Elective" was a misnomer as the students didn't select the courses, but rather the principal. The required ones were History, Math, English Composition, Gym, and Classic Lit. Geography had been considered by the principal as an "elective" so classes 2-2 and 2-3 got that one, with Yamada-sensei being 2-3's Homeroom teacher. Philosophy was 2-1 and 2-2's Elective…With Moron being the Homeroom teacher for 2-2.
Kashiwagi-Noriko, Sensei for 2-1 and 2-3 on the other hand had barely beaten out Sofue-sensei for 2-1's Homeroom spot. Homeroom wasn't handed out to the "Electives" teachers. Considerations such as job seniority and past performance were considered… However, while Sofue-sensei seemed to have it in the bag, Kashiwagi had apparently lobbied hard for reconsideration. Sofue-sensei decided that since she had 3 classes to deal with, she would step aside…for now.
There was no animosity between the two women. It was all a professional rivalry. In fact, Charles heard rumors that they went and had drinks together sometimes with Mrs. Nakayama even after Kashiwagi received the Homeroom spot.
Charles was glad he didn't have biology…he would have had a hard time being interested in anything biological other than Kashiwagi…and that included Yukiko.
Simply put….The woman was a cougar whose bust was out there for all to see under that tight shirt she wore. Charles had heard a rumor that Kashiwagi was on the wrong side of 40. Charles had seen her and disagreed. She was on the wrong side of 35…but not past 40.
"So… what? She spends her lunch time grading quizzes and papers and it takes her longer?" Charles asked. Yukiko nodded. Her position in Student Council would allow her to know things like that, Charles concluded.
"Anyway…Mina, I'm sorry, but we had some additional questions for you…if you don't mind…" Yu said tentatively.
She looked at you and said seriously, but in a kind voice, "No, Yu. Don't apologize. I figured you would…but please, no questions yet on HOW I woke from my coma/left the Great Seal. I'M still wrapping my head around it and my SEES friends still haven't told me EVERYTHING yet. Except Jun, because he likes to brag how cool he was before turning completely honest and responsible about anything. So yeah, once everybody either corrects him or substantiates what he said…then I'll tell. I'm not playing you off. I just have to work harder."
"Well, I guess the first question is mine, then. Are your friends still called SEES?" Yosuke asked.
"No, Yosuke. SEES disbanded after Onii-chan and I went into the coma. They re-banded as part of…what took place in our revival, but then…disbanded that group."
"But they're still active," Yukiko said.
"Yes. Basically even though we stopped Nyx the fact that Shadows were involved… Mitsuru couldn't just let things lie. So she formed the Shadow Operatives. An organization that works alongside the Japanese Government to investigate and eliminate Shadow Activity."
"So basically they're a cross between the Ghostbusters and The X-Files?" Charles asked.
"Yes, I guess you could put it that way. It's not entirely analogous…but you're close, Chuck."
Charles shrugged.
"But it does more than that. You see. You guys getting your Personas are…aberrations to our expectations."
"Excuse me?" Chie said.
"Sorry, Chie, what I meant was… We search for those who have the Potential to have a Persona. They are detectable, by higher brainwave activity, Mitsuru discovered as time went on. We have…equipment in our cell phones that allow for that activity to be detected…Kanji's brainwaves didn't show anything when I was…doing recon on you guys in Samegawa," She said looking at Yosuke and Chie. "And before you ask, Yu, the range is quite good on our tech. With those who have their Personas, you show up."
Then Minako took out her cell and pointed it at Chie, "You can hear the brainwaves? The hum coming off her…It's reading…Tomoe, was it?" Chie nodded, impressed.
"OOH, do me! Do me!" Yosuke said.
The hum for Yosuke was a little higher pitched. "The more powerful the Persona is, the higher in pitch the hum is."
She then pointed it at Yukiko, whose pitch was higher than Yosuke's, then Charles…where the device seemed to be straining, before pointing at Yu, where the hum was little lower.
"Whoa! Chuck's is powerful, then...!" Chie said.
"Are you sure that thing's working?" Charles asked.
"Positive. It's sensitive enough to figure out who's hot for whom, too."
Charles and Yukiko & Chie and Yosuke looked at each other.
"Kidding!"
"Oh, ha ha!" Charles and Yosuke said. Yukiko and Chie just blushed.
"So, basically there could be people all over the world who could potentially be Persona users, then?" Yu asked.
"That's right, Yu. However, the best way for us to determine was during the Dark Hour, because those who had the potential didn't turn into coffins."
"By the way, what's with that...? How is it that normal people could turn into coffins?" Charles said.
"Since you're good with references, Chuck… Remember Doc Brown's test of the DeLorean with his dog Einstein in Back to the Future?"
Charles immediately got the reference. So did Yu, Yosuke, and Yukiko. Chie on the other hand…
"I don't get it."
"May I, Mina?" Minako nodded, and then Charles looked at Yosuke for some reason. Yosuke just smiled and did a "be my guest" gesture. "You've never seen the movie, Chie?"
"No, I have Chuck. But it's been years…."
"Basically, Doc had his dog Einstein in the time machine. Once it approached at 88 MPH, it went into the future for a minute. There's some small exposition and when the minute's up Einstein reappears. .For him it felt like an instant."
Chie then got it. "So you're saying Mina, is that for those who were Persona-users or had the Potential…they experienced the full Dark Hour…like Doc and Marty McFly experienced the full minute…but regular people…they were like Einstein?"
"Yes, 'blink-and-you-miss-it' quickly."
"That's weird."
"Not as weird as Fuuka's best friend Natsuki, who apparently had been under the influence of Tartarus and the Dark Hour, but she didn't have the Potential…but that's a story for another time."
"Is Koromaru the only animal to have the Potential?" Yukiko asked.
"As far as we know in terms of CONFIRMED cases, yes. Mitsuru's still tracking down rumors when she can."
"Mina…Why don't you talk to your brother anymore?" Yu asked.
Minako was shocked. While she had only explained to Yu that she and Minato that she had a falling out with Minato when she had kicked him out of her hospital room…she was surprised Yu wanted to bring it up again…
But before she got angry, Yu had this look in his eyes…that made her feel like he was desperate to know…
…so he could comfort her if she needed it.
"Yu…that's a hard question to answer…but I guess, you should know…After…our…'wake-up call' Basically, Onii-chan felt betrayed by his friends…he had felt that he had been dishonored by us being revived, because his wish was that we protect the world. We signed a contract and Onii-chan believed it should have been honored."
"I, however, disagreed with him. I felt that we had honored it too the letter. It said 'I chooseth this fate of mine own free will.' It said NOTHING that stated we were 'locked-in' permanently to being part of the Great Seal."
"Suffice it to say, Minato was shocked. He thought I was being selfish… I told him that I wanted to live MY life. I wanted to, as much as I miss Ryoji, and I still miss him, because he was a good friend, not be stuck in some Damned Seal, especially since I didn't have to any more, thanks to my friends."
"That's when he got mad and left, but before he did he called me a fool. I replied…'we're a pair of Fools, Minato, but right now, you're fooling yourself."'
"That doesn't seem, no offense Mina, something acidic to not speak to your brother or him not speaking to you…" Charles said kindly.
"None taken, but you see… He did something before that that was the breaking point. He DEMANDED I agree with him…"
The others were shocked.
"I think, though, he had been scared of the thought of him being revived and me still hanging out in the Great Seal…so that's why I wasn't that mad at him at the time…"
"But then, as time went on…I felt that, maybe I was a disobedient sister. Because for all intents and purposes, my parent from 1999 until a few months ago WAS Minato. And maybe…as feeling as an appendage… I also felt that I was an ungrateful wretch…after all he did for me."
Yukiko looked sad, "Mina…you don't have to think that…I think, while justified, Minato handled his fear in a manner that leaves you torturing yourself. He probably was being a little selfish…but not one where he should be condemned."
"Thanks, Yukiko…but I can't help but still that way."
Chie had something to ask, "What is the Wild Card, anyway? And why do you think Yukiko has it?"
"Oh, she doesn't, I thought she did, but Yu actually does," Minako said. "It's what allows for multiple Personas to be used."
"Why did you think I had it?"
"I was told that in order to achieve the Wild Card, you must have balance…I thought it was the balance between one and their Persona… Yukiko seems most comfortable with her Persona. But Charles told me the other day it was Balance in the soul…"
They all looked at Charles, "What?" he said
"How would you know that?" Yosuke said.
"Yes, I'd like to know that myself," Yu said, with a slight edge.
"Ummm, Igor told me, Yu."
They all looked to Yu now.
"Partner…Who's Igor?"
"He's…this guy who helps me out with advice and… other resources so I can use the Wild Card."
"What…'other resources'?" Chie asked.
"What Personas I can make by fusing… Registering my Personas…" Yu stopped.
"What else?" Yukiko asked, curious. She was not annoyed, unlike Chie and Yosuke.
"He also helps keep track of our bonds through Social links…" Minako said.
"Social Links…?" Yosuke asked.
"Yes, Yosuke…through the bonds I develop. I can fuse stronger Personas and my Personas' power grows."
…
"So basically…you're just using us to become more powerful?" Chie asked hurt.
"IIE!" Yu said, shocked. "No…it's not like that, Chie"
"Then what is it like, Narukami…huh? Just being our friend and you just happen to get something under the table for it."
Yukiko wasn't looking at Yu…but she wasn't looking away completely either…
"And you, Arisato…doin' the same thing with your SEES friends…?" Chie spat out.
"And what about you, Chuck…you seem to know about it…you their inside man?" Yosuke asked.
"THAT. IS. ENOUGH!"
Everybody looked shocked at the source of that last exclamation…
Because it came from Yukiko.
"Look, I'm not happy with the fact that we weren't told about this…but is there ANY WAY possible we could have known without overreacting? Or this actually BEING our business."
"Yukiko…" Chie said.
"Yuki…I'm sorry…" Charles said head down.
"Yosuke, Chie… There are stories and testimonials on the Internet that if you have a friend, you can benefit from it…your physical and mental health improve, have you not heard that? In addition, the other person can receive a similar benefit. Did you not hear of that?"
"Well, yeah." Chie said.
"I guess so," Yosuke said.
"Well, then we may not be benefitting the same way as Yu-kun, but we ARE benefitting. Because I feel that the stronger the bond of these 'Social Links' the stronger our Personas are in battle. Take me… I was angry at Yu for something wrong he did to Charles-chan…. Konohana Sakuya may have been firing rubber bands, for all the effort she put in. But when I forgave him…She was strong…though she was somewhat ineffective against that one Shadow…"
"And I disagree, you look good in red," Charles said.
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Mr. Waldo…or did we forget I'm a little mad at you too?"
"I did apologize. I should get a LITTLE credit for that."
"Why do you think I responded in English?" She said with a coy smirk.
"…Thank You."
"Okay, so I guess we owe each other an apology then, Partner."
"Not until Charles explains…" Yu said, with a smirk the spoke volumes.
"All right, I didn't know about the Social Links… At least how they were strengthened. I knew that there WERE Bonds formed and apparently we're all part of Tarot Arcana for those bonds."
"Arcana?" Chie asked.
"Basically, Yu is the Fool… that's the #0 card. Chie, you're the Chariot, Yukiko is the Priestess…" Charles said.
"Yosuke is the Magician and Mina is the other Fool. #22. The Trump Card. "
"And Charles is the World…" Minako said.
"Why do you sound all bothered, Mina?" Chie asked.
"Because…That's the Arcana that could have the power of…Death and Rebirth…" Minako said. "That's why I was here…"
They all looked at Charles…
"You know… I've concluded that this whole worry is due to the fact I'm an American…because hey, we're good at wrecking things!"
"That's not true!" Yukiko said sharply.
"But, What IS your involvement, Chuck?" Chie asked
"There's a place that Minako used to be able to go to and I assume Yu can go there now…" Yu nodded. "Called the Velvet Room. Igor only summons me there just so he can answer my questions…about these "trials" I'm facing."
"What trials?" Yu and Minako asked.
"I don't know…they're just random things… But I knew about the Wild Card, because I was told that I had been expected to be a Wild Card…but apparently, I don't have that balance and therefore suck."
"Maybe the purpose of the trials is to test if you can be awesome enough for the Wild Card, Chuck," Yosuke said.
"Thanks, Yosuke…but while I think that's the case…it's like there's something more to it than that… I don't know"
"Well…we probably wouldn't even know about things if it weren't for Mina coming in and watching us," Chie said, though she was more tongue-in-cheek about it.
"Be as that may…I …AM sorry I was spying on you guys. I DID and DO want us to be friends…I just….had an extra ulterior motive and I'm sorry…"
Everybody apologized to each other at that point, their questions for the moment satisfied.
"You know what we should do after school?" Yosuke asked.
"Yes, I think it would be a great idea!" Yukiko said, figuring what Yosuke was getting at.
"Umm… what are you two planning…?" Chie asked.
"MINAKO MEETING TEDDIE!" They both said.
Yu and Charles both looked at Minako with worry. They seemed so happy about the idea, they forgot how Teddie could be.
Charles whispered to Minako, "What you're about to meet is 73 times the flirt Junpei was…if what you told us last week was accurate…"
Minako gulped. Junpei WAS a flirt, especially to Yukari who he had a crush on… but he was just being playful…not mean…unless his feelings got hurt.
Charles reminds me somewhat of Jun… Both are very sensitive souls…and have to act playful to cover their hurt…Charles though covers less often.
*sigh* I miss Jun and Yukari… and Suru-chan…
…
And Fuuka and Aigis and Ken and Koro-chan….
…
I miss Aki…
…
I miss Shinji…
…
…
But I miss Minato the mos…
Then Minako started to cry
"Mina…what's wrong?" Yu said.
"I-I miss… M-M-Minato."
"Shhh, I know you do. He told me he wants you to be happy as your own woman…and I really think he misses you too," Yu said while hugging Minako.
"Umm, it's 15 minutes till Kashiwagi-break…I mean lunch is over….so let's leave those two be," Charles said.
Yukiko, Chie, and Yosuke just nodded and the four of them went downstairs.
Leaving Yu and Minako on the roof by themselves…
Mayonaka Entrance
"I admit… it's a little unusual being back here." Minako said. "But at least I'm glad I'm sober…"
"I bet the fog was a lot of colors for you…" Charles said in a polite teasing manner.
"You would think, but it was all Mauve…" Minako said in reply.
Charles sweatdropped because he knew Minako just delivered a comeback to him.
Minako just chuckled… so did Yukiko and Chie.
"Can't believe she knew that I was getting at that she wasn't really on an acid trip…which was the joke…and turned it against me…" Charles muttered.
They heard the squeak of Teddie's feet.
"Mina-chan! You came back!"
"Hello…Teddie, I'm told you help the others out."
"I'm a BEARY helpful bear…they would be no-bear without me!"
Minako was not sure how to respond with a straight face to those bear puns.
"I have something for you…" Teddie said, unaware of Minako's discomfort.
"Oh?" Then he gave her glasses that were amber frames with an orange-ish tint to the lenses.
"Glasses…so I can see in the fog?" Putting them on, she said…"The fog's gone with these things!"
"Do you like them? I worked beary hard on them…"
"Yes…I like them very much, Teddie! Thank You."
"OOOOOHHH! Can we score now?!"
"Must we bring that up?" Yukiko said, annoyed.
"Way to rub it in there for me, Ted," Charles muttered.
Yukiko looked sadly at Charles. He still feels the pressure of wanting to have sex… I feel bad for him… he wants to experience it on its most innocent level…as an act of love, intimacy, and trust….and he has to keep fighting his desires.
"Try not to think about it…" Yukiko whispered to Charles and squeezed his hand affectionately.
"Sorry, Teddie, but your fur would chafe me." She said with a wink to Yu.
"Ohhh. I'm beary sorry to hear that."
"It's okay…I really like the glasses, though!"
"I also made a new pair for Yuki-chan…these have the beary special lenses in them.
"Oh Really? Awesome!"
"C'mon Yukiko…You don't have to wear those things, just 'cause Teddie made them."
Yukiko put on the Gag glasses.
"The fog IS gone with these!" Yukiko said excitedly.
Chie sweatdropped.
"Do you have a pair for me, Ted?" Charles asked.
Teddie did.
"Snrk! HA HA HA! You still look awesome, Chuck!" Yukiko said.
"I would have to agree, love…These are quite…SMASHING!"
Yukiko had paused momentarily at the British slang, "love!"
He really means it when he says it… WHY does he have to be scared…? He could tell me "I love you" right now and I could tell him "I love you" back in a heartbeat.
"Something wrong, Yuki?" Charles asked.
"No…I was just thinking…how sad it is that we're the only two who like these glasses."
"Meh! It's the others' flaw."
"I don't know. I happen to like them."
Charles and Yukiko turned…and saw Minako wearing gag glasses too.
"How do I look?"
"SMASHING!" Yukiko said….before she AND Charles collapsed into laughing fits.
Minako just shook her head and smiled.
Those two are SO right for each other…Just like Onii-chan and Mitsuru were… They just need to get over their fear.
Teddie looked politely confused…
"Sensei…why are Yuki-chan and Charles laughing?"
"Because they both thought what Yukiko said was…beary funny."
Yukiko was HOWLING now. She didn't expect for Yu to use a bear pun.
"Stop! My stomach!"
"Yukiko!" Chie said.
"Never a dull moment, eh Partner?"
"Not since I moved here," Yu smiled.
Charles and Yukiko laughed for several more minutes…
