For all AU information here's how some of it goes: Ken joins SEES far earlier in the game, Shinjiro rejoins right after the beach trip due to Ken awakening his persona, and there's a second wildcard that Minato takes under his wing. Most of this happens in the next few chapters one happens sooner and another much later. I won't give too much information without spoiling everything, so there's that. This fanfic will also go all the way to Persona 5 (royal version with Kasumi because she's adorable af) and ends after that with a small epilogue. I'm hoping to finish this before getting busy in trying to find a job for my chosen field. I'm also not going by game dialogue outside of what I somewhat know, so there's an element to making up most of the dialogue as I go. I've also noticed the spelling errors and stilted writing in some of the previous chapters and even this one. I write a lot of this story on my phone, but I might go back and fix them, or not this is a rather long story.
21
7, July 2009
Iwatodai, Japan
Day of Full Moon
Ken stared at his guardian as she studied at the large table in the foyer. She looked stressed and he was starting to worry about her. One day she had come back from school and had seemed to be distancing herself from everyone. Akihiko and Yukari were starting to worry deeply about her. Fuuka would sigh quietly and go to sit with the taller girl and talk with her. She would usually respond, but recently she was starting to close up a little bit more. No one really knew what happened, but Junpei wondered if it was due to the negative thoughts.
It would be enough to drive anyone crazy, imagine being unable to stop hearing them. She possibly felt depressed. Even Mitsuru was keeping a close eye on her, but he could see that it was starting to really wear her down. She was being suffocated under all the watchful eyes and Ken could see the cracks forming. She was going to bolt off they didn't stop, but he didn't know how to make them listen to him.
"I need some air," She quietly said as she got up from the table and headed towards the door.
Ken expected it and gave her a worried look before the door closed behind her. She really wasn't doing too good. He was starting to worry even more when he saw her schoolwork. It wasn't even finished. She always finished her schoolwork before doing anything else.
Rosemary glared at the ground as she briskly walked with her hands shoved in the pockets of her school skirt. She appreciated the worry from her friends but needed them to stop hovering. She'd be fine, she was working on moving away from those dark thoughts that plagued her due to the negativity sent her way. She needed to deal with it before it truly got out of hand. She felt annoyed when a thought appeared in her head. She wanted to talk to Shinjiro. He would listen and give advice. He'd worry but he wouldn't hover. He would be the best person to talk to, besides Ken. She didn't want to drag Ken down with her problems, he already had so many of his own.
She walked all the way to the strip mall and was continuing her glare at the ground while doing so. She didn't know what to do. It wasn't like she could go and find Shinjiro to talk to him, he was continuously moving. If he had wanted some privacy all he had to do was tell her. She would've left him alone for as long as he wanted.
"Rosemary?" She heard Shinjiro's voice from behind her.
She paused at that and looked at him. The only other person who could pronounce her first name correctly was Fuuka. She gathered it was due to the fact that she shared it with an herb and the teal haired girl had a fondness for cooking, though she wasn't the best at it. She ignored the warmth that began to form in her stomach at the use of her first name from him.
"Hey," She quietly greeted, her frown still on her face, "Doing all right?"
"I'm fine," He answered, and he slouched a bit more, "What's on your mind?"
"It's nothing," She stated, "Besides, you seem busy."
He looked at her and she remained calm. He didn't seem to buy her excuse. He gathered she thought he was mad at her; it wasn't anything like that. He noted that she didn't gain a look of embarrassment when he thought that. It wasn't quite the truth then. Could it be the thoughts surrounding her? He watched as her left hand twitched and gave away her emotions. It had to be bad if she was regressing back into her apathetic self. He had the feeling that if he let her than so many complications would be over with. His feelings could easily be ignored, and he had a good handle on his thoughts around her, but something stopped him from taking the easy path. The fact that she kept looking around for a valid reason to leave.
"C'mon," He said with a soft sigh, "I know a place."
She gave him a small nod and slowly followed him as he led the way to a small garden near the strip mall. It was quiet there, and it was usually filled with the elderly in the early afternoon. It was closer to evening, so it was empty. He sat down on one of the benches next to a few blue flowers. She slowly joined him and looked at the flowers around them with a more relaxed expression. Bluebells and Pansies. Humility, consistency, and thoughts. She felt a bit unnerved by that, it had to be unintentional. No one would willingly plant flowers like that.
"The other students at school giving you problems?" He questioned.
"It's something I should be used to," She shrugged, "Really, it's not that big of a deal."
'It is to you.' He countered in his thoughts.
She couldn't respond to that because it was true. She clenched her jaw so that she wouldn't say anything. She didn't want him to worry about her. She'd be fine. It wasn't like people cared about her feelings to begin with. He was starting at her with slight shock on his face. She was confused as to why.
"What?" She asked with a frown.
"You…Did you mean to say that out loud?" He asked her.
He watched as her frown smoothed into her neutral expression, but he could tell by her eyes that she was internally screaming. She hadn't meant to say any of that out loud, but it did help him know what was bothering her. A person shouldn't bottle that up to the point of it spilling over like it had with her. She looked away from him and tilted her head forward to the point where her hair fell over her shoulder and hid her face. He removed one of his hands from his pockets and slowly pushed her hair back over her shoulder. It helped their conversations when he could see her face and could properly gauge her emotions.
"Sorry." She apologized.
"Don't be," He said, and he tried to think of ways to distract her, "What do these flowers mean?"
"They're blue bells and typically mean humility and consistency," She answered as she looked at the flower he was motioning to, "There's some Pansies mixed in as well and those mean thoughts."
She relaxed even more, and he got up from the bench and motioned for her to follow. She did so and was a bit confused when he stopped in front of a different flower bed and asked her again. The different carnations swayed a bit in the summer breeze and she quietly told him. Pink meant I'll never forget you; Red was my poor heart aches and will never forget you, white was innocence, striped was refusal, and yellow was disapproval. He did that with the different flower beds. He found he liked hearing what some of the English meanings were. The red chrysanthemum meant I love you, and she said it was the same for a red rose. She stopped at a pink rose and seemed to think for a few seconds.
"It means happiness or fondness, if I remember correctly," She muttered with a slight frown.
He nodded at that and gave her a slight smile when she looked at him. It was more like a smirk, but it did it's job on making her blush a bit. She needed to take her mind off of things, and she hadn't been able to do that. She looked back to the flowers and gave them a tired smile. She still had those dark thoughts circling in her head they refused to go away. They were so stubborn. She kept it off her face, she didn't want anyone to know she wasn't feeling too good. Well, mentally that is.
"It's not something you have a lot of experience with," Shinjiro commented as she looked at him, "Happiness that is."
"I don't," She agreed, "It's more of my making than anyone else's."
"That's bullshit and you know it," He said, and she raised a brow at that, "Your parents and grandmother tried to take over your life and control it, that wasn't your fault."
"And when I got old enough to get out of their machinations I didn't," She countered as a frown appeared on her face again, "It's all I know so I continue to allow it to go on."
It clicked in his head there. She was afraid of moving away from something she knew, the unknown scared her even if she had tricked herself into thinking it didn't. All the happiness that her friends brought her was buried under doubt and fear. He couldn't really call her an idiot either, none of it was her fault. He was going to say something stupid, and he wasn't going to stop himself.
"Then let us help dammit," He said.
She appeared confused at first before she struggled to say anything. She was searching for what to say before settling on silence. She couldn't fathom why he'd want to help with her issues. She heard his surface thoughts become about the letter her grandfather sent him. She was a bit upset at the old man but found his wording to be kinder than her grandmothers. He just wanted her to be happy, and was willing to beg for it. That's what stopped her from getting angry at him.
"…I can't…" She refused and he narrowed his eyes at her grasping for the right words to use to get the reaction he needed.
"Coward." He watched as she grounded her teeth together to reign in her mounting anger and frustration.
"Fine, you want to know why I don't want anyone's help?" She asked him and he stepped back a bit when she removed her shirt, revealing a tank top underneath, "Really look at what my parents have done to me."
He did, and shit. She was completely covered in scars. He noted the newer ones and grimaced. That had to hurt. She clutched her shirt in her hand and looked towards the ground in slight shame. She was collecting her thoughts.
"I don't want this to happen to anyone else," She softly said, and he moved a bit closer to her, "I already fear what my mother might do to Ken…I don't want anyone else caught in this mess."
"Let us decide that," He said.
She gave him a sharp look at that. He was a hypocrite; he was very aware of that fact. She put her shirt back on, but left it untucked from her skirt. She looked ready to leave, and he faltered for a few seconds. He looked at all the flowers before holding a finger up, asking her to wait a few seconds. She did so, but didn't seem very happy. He left for a few seconds before coming back with something in his hand. He promptly put it in her hair.
She looked at it and felt some of her anger melt. Morning glory, meaning affection. She knew what he was trying to say. A flower that said I love you was too strong for their current situation and feelings. They liked each other but were still friends. She kept the magenta-colored flower in her hair. She ruined the moment when her stomach growled. Her cheeks turned a light pink when an amused glint appeared in his eyes.
"Hagakure is having a special today," He said, "It's half off their sashimi."
"Sounds good," She said, and they walked to the small restaurant together.
He was keeping her mind busy, he needed to. He couldn't help but notice that a few of the stragglers from Gekkoukan were giving her dirty looks. Her expression became slightly strained and he sent them a glare that had them quickly walking away. Rosemary didn't chastise him for it, because it was something he did trying to be sweet. She appreciated it.
"How have you not gotten into trouble for wearing the winter uniform?" He asked her as they took a seat towards the back, the owner giving them a nod of greeting.
"Doctors note, though it has changed a bit so I can take physical education," She admitted, "I get a few looks for dressing in the winter uniform."
He bet. They both ordered a plate of salmon sashimi and he didn't even entertain the idea that they were on a date. It made him feel conflicted, both happy and uneasy. Happy, because he felt normal for once. Uneasy, due to the fact that her and Ken were so close, and he had the possibility of ruining that. She gave him a look of understanding, but remained silent. She wasn't going to say anything that would change his mind and he respected that. He looked to the side when he heard the muttering again. He didn't miss the rumors and gossip of High school students.
"I thought she and Sanada-senpai were an item," One girl whispered to her friend as she pushed her lengthy brown hair over her shoulder.
"No, I think this is the mystery guy," the other girl said shaking her head, her short inky hair following the motion.
"What the shit?" He grumbled and he caught a quiet huff of amusement coming from Rosemary.
"Akihiko and I have been tallying up the rumors," She informed him, "So far, the "mystery guy" one has been the most popular."
"How the hell did that even start?" He asked as he slouched in his seat when the food was delivered to their table.
"Someone saw us talking and decided we were dating," She shrugged as she broke her chopsticks apart, she didn't know the exact reason behind it.
"There goes your reputation," He muttered, and he noted her confused look, "I'm not a nice guy, a lot of people know that."
"That's not true," She informed him before she took a bite of her sashimi.
He wanted her to elaborate on that. Did she think he was nice? She gave him a sharp look and he looked away. She did. Well, he was treating her to food. He guessed that would make him a nice guy from her perspective. He ignored his thoughts for a few seconds and started to eat his own sashimi. It was good, and fresh. It was better for him than the ramen he usually got, or the beef bowls that Aki ate. She finished before him and was looking out the window in thought her chin resting on the heel of her palm. She had a faraway expression on her face, and her eyes were slightly glazed over. It allowed him time to really study her, without her really stepping in and saying something to distract him.
He found that he'd never really paid attention to her profile before. Her nose had a slight bump on the ridge that told him it had been broken before, or she had worn glasses at one point. He sighed at that; she was trouble. But so was he. Maybe he could go for it, he had the blessing of one of her family members that cared about her. They'd go extremely slow; he knew that for a fact. One of them would be holding back, and he knew it'd be him. He didn't want her getting too attached. He was brought out of his thoughts by a hand gently touching his. Rosemary was giving him a concerned look.
"Sorry," She apologized as she pulled back her hand, "You went completely silent, I got a bit worried…it's never a good sign when that happens."
"What usually happens?" He asked and she tilted her head.
"A stroke," She answered, and he nodded his understanding.
"I was thinking," He told her.
"Yeah, sorry," She apologized once again.
"…Idiot…" He said, his tone fond.
Her cheeks turned a light pink. She hadn't been expecting that. How was she supposed to respond to him? "Thanks, I'm your idiot"? She didn't know how well that would go. She felt her face growing hot and slowly hid behind her hands much to his surprise. She was embarrassed and flustered all at the same time, she felt it was better than the dark thoughts that had been prevalent in her mind.
His own cheeks grew warm at the sight. Her face was red, a very dark red. He could tell from the small amount of skin that peeked through near the edge of her hands. He saw her ears and quickly looked away. Was she a full body blusher? She made a small noise that he couldn't decipher, and he tried to ignore it. Fuck, she couldn't be that cute. She shouldn't be that cute.
"You really are shy," He commented.
He thought Aki had been pulling his leg when he told him she was. She was usually good at hiding it, but now it was on full display. He wondered if that meant she was lowering her walls around him. Why did the idea of that make him happy? She let out a short breath and composed herself. Her hands came away from her face. It was still pink, and she was looking down at the table.
"Sorry about that." She mumbled out another apology.
He knew what it was, the excessive amount of apologizing. She was trying to give herself a way out in case things went south. He rubbed the back of his head at that and paid the bill when the waitress came by. Rosemary's face became a light red at something the waitress thought. He would ask her after the older woman was gone.
"What was she thinking that made you flustered?" He asked with a raised brow.
She mumbled something that sounded like she thought we were a cute couple. He couldn't really tell. She was starting to need an out, she couldn't stay in one area with so many people watching them. He could read it in her body language, she was growing uncomfortable with the amount of people in the restaurant. He got up and she slowly followed.
"How does one contact your aunt?" He asked her as they left the restaurant.
"Through phone or letter," She answered as she crossed her arms across her chest, "Though she did tell me she was going to try and make physical visits."
"For the festivals," He understood then.
Her aunt was giving her niece space and privacy. She was given control of her life, but she would have someone to ask for help when she needed it. At least some of her family cared about her. He blinked when she began to search her pockets for something.
"I don't know if it's appropriate culturally, but I do have the handkerchief you lent me," She told him as she found it and brought it out of her front pocket, "I washed it and everything, but I hadn't had time to hunt you down to return it."
He'd be bothered by that phrasing if it weren't true. That's exactly what she does when she searches for him to talk. It was both amusing and terrifying. She gave a smile at his thoughts and shook her head in slight amusement.
"I'm anything but scary," She informed him as he accepted his handkerchief back and put into a front pocket of his coat, "Though, Iori would disagree with me…he's under the impression that I'm hiding my true strength."
"What'd you do?" He asked.
"I flipped a shadow onto its back with my weapon," She answered, and he gave her a look at that, "What? I used its own center of gravity against it."
"Weapon?" He questioned; he wasn't aware that she had a weapon only her persona.
"A Naginata," She said, "The blade helps me gain enough momentum to be of some use during a fight."
She didn't want to add that her persona seemed to increase her strength during the dark hour. Her magic seemed to be doing more damage now as well. Something that Minato had noticed, apparently, she was his go to for exploring. Yukari was his second. The way his thoughts worded it was a bit weird. She was their direct support and Yukari was their healing support. Her head hurt just thinking about it, she was going to stop.
'What a cute dog.' Shinjiro's thought got her attention.
It was the dog from that morning. She blinked when he came barreling towards her and she readied herself to catch him. She was knocked off balance and fell to the ground her arms around him. The moment she contacted the cement her face was quickly covered in dog slobber. She felt a grin slip onto her face as the dog decided she was worthy of his affection. She started to pet him back and that increased the licks coming from the dog.
Shinjiro stared at the scene before him. A Shiba was being affectionate towards Rosemary and she was happily returning it. The grin on her face was extremely bright and didn't carry that slightly forced look to it that some of her smiles did. She let out a light laugh when the dog licked under her chin. It was rusty and unused, but still pleasant. He blinked and his slouch increased. He liked her, a lot. He'd see how things played out. She gently pushed the dog away and went to get up from the ground. He moved forward and helped her up without thinking. She seemed a bit surprised, but happy judging by the soft smile that appeared on her face. It was soon followed by a soft blush on her cheeks.
"I wonder who he belongs to," She quietly said as the dog sat down next to her and looked up at her, "I can't exactly take him with me if he has a family."
"You'd take a stray with you?" He asked.
"My cat was a stray before I took her in," She answered in an off handed manner, "All animals deserve a home."
"If I hear anything, I'll let you know," He said with a quiet sigh.
He looked away when she gave him a thankful smile. God, it was like staring into the sun. She turned to the dog and gave him a pat on the head. He seemed to happily accept the petting before taking off. She worried for the dog, but there really wasn't much she could do.
"I'll see you around?" She asked Shinjiro.
"…Yeah…" He answered and her smile softened a bit.
She gave him a small wave before walking off towards the dorm. He watched for a few seconds before heading back to the alleyway. He would have to think more on the situation before even thinking about making a move. For now, he needed to take his pills. He could feel Castor trying to tear his way through the artificial control, it was an unpleasant sensation.
The Dark Hour
Akihiko retired his ribbon around his neck as he checked over his equipment before they went into a dangerous situation. He could hear Rosemary muttering 'it just had to be a love motel' and huffed in amusement. She wasn't amused by the lair of the next full moon shadow; in fact, she seemed a bit uneasy about it. Such places had a stigma surrounding them, he understood that. He had an inkling that some of the religious teachings of her previous school had been effective in their mission. They entered the motel and went up the stairs.
The tension in the air was thick and it was followed by a strange musty odor. None of them could really put a finger on the smell. It did have a hint of sweat to it, so they could easily guess what it was. They were searching for the shadow, Fuuka's information was that it was on the third floor. The exact room was unknown.
Fuuka and Rosemary quietly catalogued that information and decided to revisit it during the weekend. The fact that their personas that were made for a specific task had holes in their abilities. She could sense all the shadows and easily pinpoint them, but the large shadows were a different story. It made little to no sense, and it was something that Fuuka wanted to work on.
Rosemary was pulled from her thoughts when one of the Cupid's appeared. Mitsuru easily handled it with a well-timed stab with her rapier. The shadows were too easy, either that or they were too strong. Minato remained silent as they entered a room on the third floor, the door was ornate and had gold around it. She guessed that it was a designed to be ostentatious, but instead it seemed tacky. She was putting too much thought into it.
The large shadow looked like a costumed woman with a man in front of them. It had a hand stroking the man like a cat, and it seemingly tilted its head at them. It gave her a strange feeling and she frowned when words began to go through her mind.
Play. Heated. Sinful. And lust.
She blinked when the words began to repeat themselves, getting louder with each repeat. Were those the shadows thoughts? She noted that the incomprehensible screeching was still there, but it was muted. Icarus let out a sound in the back of her thoughts and it dawned on her. The stronger Icarus got the stronger her ability became. She needed to start writing this stuff down, just in case one of her possible children inherited an ability like hers. She paused at that as everyone got into fighting position. Children? Did she even want any? She was afraid of turning into her mother, but Ken was doing just fine. It was something she needed to talk about to someone, in the future.
"It repels lightening and is unaffected by darkness and light, good luck."
Did any of them have light moves? Minato might due to his repertoire of persona, but he hadn't used a skill to exhibit it. Rosemary called on Icarus and formed shields around everyone. They were getting stronger and lasting more than one hit. They lasted two before breaking, it was a good move. Tuitio, a shield or to protect. The name for the move was fitting. Her Bufu had turned into Bufula a while back and she had learned Mabufu. She had Scutum which was Icarus being a physical shield. It was the name for the Roman legionaries shields. She found it pretty cool. It made her wonder about her grandfathers' side of the family, if there was any Roman blood in the line. Seeing as her family was rather old it wasn't that unlikely.
"May-Chan, duck," Yukari warned the slightly distracted teen.
She did so but it didn't stop the attack from the shadow. She felt her body heat up and found the shadow to be…attractive? Her heat sped up at that thought and her mind was screaming at her to snap out of it. It made no sense. Her head was so foggy, she couldn't think clearly. Icarus gave its agreement with her sentiments and she felt something smack her face.
"Live long," Minato's voice said in a deadpan, her head clearing.
"There had to have been another way to snap her out of it," Yukari hissed at him as Rosemary gently rubbed at her cheek.
"It was effective," Mitsuru countered, "Its an example to the rest of us what this shadow can do."
"So, what happened?" Rosemary questioned Minato as the two of them went back to fighting.
"It can use Marin Karin and charm us," He answered, "Mitsuru-Senpai can use it too, but I don't think she's ever gotten a shadow with it."
"Be glad she didn't hear that," Akihiko commented as he dodged to avoid a charm spell from the shadow and ended up next to them, "She'd execute you on the spot."
Minato nodded slightly at that before sharing a look with Rosemary. He wanted to do an attack together? She had no problem with that. She readied her naginata and he readied his sword. She charged ahead first and stabbed the blade into the shadow and used the last of her momentum to make it tilt back. Minato ran up and slashed at the shadow's bottom half, which caused it to fall completely. The ground shook at its weight. She removed her naginata from its body and jumped back as the other ran forward to add their own attacks while it was down. It vanished into small particles of darkness. It was the first time Rosemary had noticed what they became.
"Hey, we did it!" Junpei cheered as he took off his baseball cap to try and remove the sweat from his forehead.
"What's with this mirror?" Yukari questioned as she stared at the ornate mirror with a frown.
"While it does add to the ostentatious décor of the entire hotel it does stand out," Rosemary agreed.
"Did you swallow a dictionary?" Junpei quietly asked her as everyone began to study the mirror.
"No, I just read a lot," She answered with a slightly amused tone, "Why?"
"It sounds like it sometimes," He muttered as they all looked into the mirror.
They didn't have any reflections. It was so odd. Rosemary heard something thump and looked to see that Yukari had fallen to her knees. She began to panic a little as everyone else quickly followed suit. She looked back at the mirror and darkness filled her vision.
When she came to, she was on a bed. She tensed when she noticed she wasn't alone. There were three coffins in the room with her. She didn't want to know what was going on. That was a lie, she really wanted to know the story. The way the coffins were angled was more like someone had walked in on a couple than a threesome, but it was hard to be sure.
'Rosemary-Chan,' Fuuka's calm thoughts hit her, 'Everyone is regrouping on the second floor, there's a second large one but it seems to be sealed.'
"Understood," Rosemary confirmed, and she got the distinct feeling that Fuuka had heard her.
She got up from the bed and looked down to make sure she still had her clothes on. She had everything but her bow. It was missing. Why out of all her clothing was that missing? She shook her head at that and quickly headed out the door, naginata in hand. She didn't run into any shadows, but she did run into Akihiko. She almost tacked him to the ground when he appeared. He caught them before they did, and he steadied her before stepping back.
"Where were you?" He asked.
"In the possible threesome room," She answered as she hitched a thumb behind her, "That's what I'm calling it."
He stared at her for a few seconds and she tilted her head at him. He didn't have anything to say to that because she had a point. He shook his head before motioning for her to follow. They regrouped with the others. Rosemary wanted to ask why Yukari was wet, but refrained from asking. She was glaring at everyone who even looked like they were about to ask. She turned her gaze to Minato and noticed the fading handprint on his face. Even he didn't want to think about it. It must've been bad.
"Let's get this shadow," Yukari grounded out and everyone nodded their agreement.
"Oh, I noticed that the mirror that split us up didn't show our reflections," Rosemary quietly piped up, "Maybe the seals are other mirrors similar."
"That sounds plausible," Mitsuru agreed before looking towards Minato.
He gave a small nod before hurrying out of the room. Yukari dragged Rosemary with them, and she raised a brow at that. It was like she wanted there to be equal amounts of boys and girls on a team. She looked to the side at Junpei and noted the ease on his face. He didn't seem too bothered being inside the hotel, more like the idea of being seen going inside bothered him. He was easy going, it made it hard to dislike him sometimes.
"Found one," Junpei stated as he saw a mirror that didn't show them.
Minato swung his sword at it and broke it. The shattered glass started to secrete an inky darkness through the cracks. It held the slight odor of sulfur and made them wrinkle their noses. The varying levels of disgust on their faces would've been humorous if the situation was different. Minato looked towards his friends and noted that Rosemary had covered her nose and looked like she was going to be physically ill. The smell really bothered her.
"Woah, you going to be all right, May-Chan?" Junpei asked her.
"I'll be okay…it's just the smell…urg," She answered before swiftly leaving the room for some fresh air.
"I don't blame her," Yukari said, "Let's Just break these mirrors and get it over with."
They all headed up the stairs and searched the third floor. Junpei raised his brows when they came across the possible threesome room and coughed quietly when Rosemary nodded her agreement. They were probably thinking about two completely different things. She didn't confirm or deny it. He didn't want to know.
"Found the last one," Yukari called, and Minato broke this one as well.
"Everyone a large shadow just appeared on the third floor where the previous one had been!" Fuuka informed them.
"Let's go," Minato said, and they all nodded.
They met up with the two third years and headed back into the shadows room. This one was shaped as a heart- the cartoonish caricature of a heart that is- with flesh-colored wings coming out of it. It was covered in a pink substance, either that or it was filled with it, that dripped to the floor. It had the same sulfuric smell to it that was mixed with the scent of cheap perfume. It was pretty in sight, but nasty in smell.
"Second Verse same as the first Fuuka-Chan?" Rosemary asked as she pointed her blade down towards the ground.
"Yes, though this one is not weak to lightening."
Akihiko grinned triumphantly as he summoned Polydeuces and used the persona to hit the shadow with some lightening. It did quite a bit of damage to it, but didn't knock it down enough for them to go after it in an all-out attack. Minato's label for it, not her's. She jumped to the side to avoid getting hit by a Marin Karin and used her evoker to summon Icarus. The shields were ineffective against Marin Karin, but the shadow wasn't strong against ice. A Bufula damaged it further as Junpei slashed at it with his sword. They were putting quite the dent into its health, but it wasn't enough.
Akihiko felt the sweat going down his face as the shadow let out an attack. He dodged to the side and the wall behind him was destroyed. It wasn't treating them like an annoyance anymore, it was aiming to kill. He didn't have the energy to summon his persona anymore. They were all running low on energy, well Rosemary still had some left. Even she was running low. He watched as she sent Icarus to attack the shadow and flinched at the sound of flesh being hit.
It was something she'd never make note of. The fact that she slightly flinched when hitting something. She did it in boxing as well, he never brought it up. He knew it would take her time to get used to the sound, maybe she never would. He couldn't really say. He was pulled to the side by Icarus and he blinked at the strange sensation that went through him.
Sisterly love. He wondered if that would happen with all of their personas. Did they give a glance into the persons deep feelings? He'd have to tell Rosemary that she had something new to add to her queries about personas and the dark hour. He turned his attention back to the shadow and rushed forward to punch it. He got it onto the ground and that allowed them to do the all-out-attack. It didn't completely finish the shadow off, but it was trailing closer to the ground its wings beating slowly.
"May, send a Bufula with Mitsuru-senpai," Minato ordered, and the two girls nodded in unison.
The twin Bufula was enough to finish the shadow off. It caused them to all breath a sigh of relief before heading out of the hotel, they didn't have much to do now but get some sleep. Minato watched as some of his friends shared looks as Fuuka congratulated them on a fight that was won. There was a tense atmosphere surrounding them, mainly centered around Mitsuru and Yukari. It was like the two had trouble being in one another's presence without an enemy around. Minato looked down at the ground with a slight frown. It was odd, but he was advanced enough in their links to know. Hell, he hadn't even started Mitsuru's. Ah, there Rosemary was giving him a strange look again.
"Want something to eat?" She asked him.
"Sure," He gave a quiet answer.
She gave him a slight nod and the two of them began to leave the others behind and head towards the dorm. They weren't needed anymore, the only reason why everyone was still there was to make sure that Mitsuru and Yukari didn't fight. Akihiko sighed as he gently nudged Fuuka. She looked up at him with a slight blush on her face.
"Go ahead with them, I'll keep an eye on these two," He said.
"A-All right, Akihiko-Senpai," Fuuka nodded and she rushed after Minato and Rosemary.
Junpei followed her, he didn't want to be around such tension. Also, he wanted free food. If it was homemade then it made it better. She'd possibly make a quick dessert as well, most likely cookies. His stomach was growling in response. She let out a soft sound of amusement before turning to him.
"I would've made cookies if you asked," She informed him, "Ken would've liked some as well."
Ken had started to stay in the foyer to watch her cook. He seemed to want to learn how, but was too shy to ask. He didn't want to push his guardian too much, especially when it was obvious that she was in a bad headspace. She felt bad about that, he deserved better than her. She needed to do better. Cookies would be the first apology she'd make. She didn't really know what else she could do to show she cared.
She was good at giving him head pats to show affection, but for the most part she was at a loss. She'd ask the others, but only one of them had a younger sibling and she didn't want to bother Akihiko. He was already one of Ken's favorite people. She'd rather he be inspired by Akihiko than Junpei. Junpei was a nice guy, but his behavior shouldn't be imitated. Ken was a good kid, polite and kind. She hoped that he'd stay that way. She looked down at the hand on her shoulder and raised a brow at Minato.
"Don't think so much," He muttered.
"How could you tell?" She asked him as they entered the dorm, cool air hitting their faces.
"You get a faraway look on your face," He shrugged, "Besides, I know brooding."
"That's fair," She said with a soft laugh, "I'll try not to."
He looked at her when his social link increased. Rank six. He was moving fast with their link for some reason. Was it because he didn't really tell her what she wanted to hear and instead gave advice. He knew she appreciated honesty, and could tell when someone was lying. He looked towards the teal-haired Fuuka as the shorter girl began to discuss cooking techniques with the taller girl. Both were very similar in temperament if he thought about it, no wonder they got along well. Fuuka had Rosemary's loyalty and didn't even realize it.
It was sweet.