Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Persona 5: New Testament
Chapter 9
Friday, April 15
Shujin Academy
Morning
Shin was on the roof. He had been waiting for Shiho. Of course, he got here early. It gave him time to reflect upon what happened.
'Shiho… Ann… I'm not sure if what I did accomplished anything…' Shin thought.
Abel appeared before him, ironically doing the seiza. It was the traditional way of sitting in Japan. It was odd to see his Persona doing that.
"Shin, you must not feel doubt. You did what you believed was right. You cannot blame yourself for that." Abel said.
"Was it the right decision? How do I know I only made things worse?" Shin asked, "How do I know I was doing what was right?"
"I'm sure that YHVH would say that you did a good deed." Abel said, "You worry that your good deeds were for naught."
"That's the thing I need to know." Shin said, "Did I do the right thing? Did it accomplish anything?"
"I'm sure YHVH has the answer." Abel said, "We must simply wait."
"I finally found you, murderer."
Shin got up and saw a boy average height or shorter, with spiky, blue-tinted black hair, black eyes and a relatively "average" face that had an angered expression on it.
"Who are you?" Shin asked.
"Who am I? I'm the one who saw what you did." The boy said, "I saw that body out in Shibuya. I saw you run into that alley. I saw one or two people following you."
'Body? Wait…' Shin thought, "Mishima?"
"Who told you my name?" The boy asked, terribly hiding his surprise.
"My brother who works for the police department." Shin said, "Did Kamoshida tell you to call the police? My brother can vouch for me. He knows I'm not the guy who would murder someone. There's no murder weapon. You don't know that I killed that person."
"That 'person' was on the volleyball club." Mishima said.
"Mishima, listen Kamoshida is lying to you." Shin said, "Hear me out and I'll help explain it to you."
"Oh no… I know you did it." Mishima said, "You killed that guy because he was on the volleyball team and you didn't want Shujin to go to the nationals."
"Kamoshida really has gotten into your head." Shin said, "Have you heard the rumors about what happened last night? About Shiho and I getting into a quarrel?"
"What does that have to do with—?!"
"She almost got raped by Kamoshida." Shin said.
Mishima stopped and looked shocked.
"He did what?" The boy asked, "Suzui-san… so that's… I…"
"Now you understand. He lied to you because he wanted to drag me through the mud after I interrupted his little fun time." Shin said, "I just saw the body, that's all. That doesn't make me the killer."
"Wait… if you're not the killer, then who did it?" Mishima asked.
"Oh… Mishima-kun… and… Shin-kun."
The two boys turned to see Shiho. But something was off about her. He could immediately tell. She walked towards the fence of the roof. He saw Jun coming up.
"Brother! Stop her! She's going to commit suicide!" Jun yelled.
"WHAT?!" Mishima exclaimed.
Shin did not even have time to react. She was already over the fence. He summoned Abel and leaped over the fence. He landed right next to her. Shiho looked at Shin.
"Shin…" Shiho said, "I… I'm sorry you have to see this… but I… I can't take it anymore…"
She jumped off. He reached out to her and grabbed her arm. He felt her weight pulling him off the roof. He summoned Abel again. Abel phased through the fence, pulling him up to the roof. He felt his balance slipping. A chain wraps itself around Shin's arm. It was one of Seth's chains.
"I got you, brother!" Jun said, "Pull her up!"
He began to lift her up. He could not get Abel to pull her up. He needed him to pull him towards the roof. The minute he gets his Persona to come to him, he will likely lose his balance. He turned to Shiho, who was looking at him in utter disbelief.
"Shin… my life isn't worth anything. Just… just stop…" Shiho said.
"Your life is worth something immeasurable!" Shin said, "Think about Ann! Would she want this?! Would she want you to take your own life because you feel like you're useless?!"
Shiho looked surprised.
"Hang on man! Hang on!"
"Oh god! Oh god!"
"Someone get the trampoline!"
"Someone get the cops!"
"Mishima! Help me out!" Shin said.
"B-But what if I fall?" Mishima asked.
"Oh, come on! You are not going to let her die, are you?!" Shin exclaimed.
"H-Hold on! I got some people who can help! Lemme just contact them!"
"Well hurry up already!" Shin yelled.
He was beginning to slip. He saw the chains slipping slowly off his arm.
"Jun! Hand Mishima your phone, tell him to get everyone up here!" Shin said.
Jun handed Mishima his phone and he started texting to every single contact on Shin's phone. The chain was slipping even more. The door opened and Takuro was the first one to come up. He saw the situation as clear as day.
"Don't worry dude! I got ya!" Takuro said.
Spartacus came up, but then the Persona went in the opposite direction Takuro wanted him to go in. Takuro was pulled to where Spartacus was.
'What the hell is he doing?!' Shin thought.
"Shin… we'll both fall at this rate… just let me go… stop what you're doing…" Shiho said, sobbing.
Tears were coming out of Shin's eyes. The image of his dead parents' corpses played into his mind. It was like that incident all over again. It was just like how Megumi's brother died.
'No! It won't be like that! I will save her!' Shin thought, 'I must! If I don't then all I did was for nothing!'
Megumi and Kanaru came up.
"Shin!" Kanaru said.
Megumi began to climb the fence. She got over it and reached for Shiho's other hand.
"Give me your hand!" Megumi said.
Shiho was feeling conflicted.
"Why?" Shiho asked, "What makes you want to risk your lives for me? I'm… I'm worthless…"
Megumi stuttered.
"Please! Just grab my hand!" Megumi said.
"Megumi! Your Persona! Bring it out! Hurry!" Shin said.
The suggestion shocked Megumi.
"But… I… I don't… what if I—?"
"Stop thinking about that!" Jun said, "If you keep thinking like that, you'll never be able to make things right with your mother!"
"But—!"
"Megumi! Hurry! I'm… slipping…" Shin said as the chain slips off even further.
The chain completely slipped off. Shin began to fall. Time began to slow down.
'Is this… how it ends?' Shin thought, 'I… I got to shield her from the impact!'
'No!' Megumi thought as her eyes turned wide in shock and horror, 'No… not again… please… not again… god… please… no…'
She heard a ringing sound and her eyes glowed. Time slowed down.
"Please… listen to your true self…"
'That voice…'
"I know how you feel. I understand that you have an apprehension of your true self. But ask yourself this: how will you ever reconcile with your mother if you shield your true self, your true feelings, away from others?" The voice said, "You don't want them to die because you failed them, right? Don't you want them to live? Don't you want to help them?"
'I… I do… I don't want them to die…' Megumi thought, 'But how?!'
"Ask yourself."
'Myself?'
She thought about that. She thought about that day. Did… did her resentment really cause her brother to die? Was her Persona not strong enough? Was there anything she could do to help them? Was she going to let them die? She… she did not want that. She wanted to help them, but how?
"The answer is within you."
'In me?'
Yes… all this time, she has been with her for so long, it was like she never left.
Her Persona…
She never left her side… does that mean—? Does that mean it is still possible?
"Yes. It is."
'But… Can I still do it? Megumi thought.
"Please Megumi, release your inner self." A different voice said.
She saw a blue butterfly in front of her.
"You must believe in yourself once more and be willing to risk your life for the safety and care of others." The voice said, "You are of the Empress, are you not? Is it not your fate to care for and help others?"
'That's right… my fate… it's my fate to help people. I have to guide them! I have to help those who cannot help themselves! I have to do my best!'
"Then let us reenact our contract."
Back in reality, she dove towards the two that were falling. Shin wrapped himself around Shiho, hoping to use himself as a shield.
"I am thou. Thou art I…"
"Megumi!" Jun yelled.
"Kayano!" Kanaru said.
"Meg!" Takuro yelled.
'Come to me…' Megumi thought.
"From the Sea of Souls I cometh…"
'... my true self…'
"Goddess of the Moon and the Hunt…"
'... my Persona!'
Her eyes glowed intensely. A pink aura surrounds her
"... DIANA!"
A flash of light could be seen as a humanoid figure came out from behind her. The upper body was human, and the legs were joined together to make one leg. The head had a huge and round saucer shaped crest above its golden locks. In its arms was a bow. Surrounding the being were maroon colored panels surrounding the saucer attached to the mask. Its red eyes looked towards Abel, now forming around Shin, hoping to be a barrier between him, Shiho, and the ground below. The lines on the saucer and the clothing the being was wearing glowed pink.
"... Thank you, my other self."
Diana and Megumi sped down below Shin. Diana made a sharp turn towards the sky and throttled up. Megumi flew past the two as they were pulled up to the sky with Megumi.
Ren, Ann, and Ryuji made it to the roof to see a girl flying in the air. Ren and Ryuji, however, could see what they immediately assumed could only be the girl's Persona. Below her was Shin holding Shiho as if he were prepared to take the full force of the fall himself! The girl landed while Shin landed on his back with Shiho right on top of him. The girl's Persona landed as well.
"Shin!" Ren said.
"Shiho!" Ann said.
They rushed over to the two. Ann slapped Shiho across the face.
"What the hell were you thinking, idiot?!" Ann asked, "I thought you were going to die! Do you have any idea how worried I was?!"
Shiho took a moment to look Ann in the eye and stayed speechless.
"I… I'm sorry… I just couldn't take it anymore…"
"Shin! Dude! Why didn't you tell us your girlfriend had a Persona?!" Ryuji asked.
"NOT SO LOUD, DUMBASS!" Shin yelled, "And for the last time… I AM NOT DATING ANYONE!"
"No way!" Ryuji exclaimed, "Why would she go so far as to save you with her Persona?!"
"Would you shut up, Ryuji?!" A familiar voice said.
"That voice… Morgana?!" Shin exclaimed, "Ren, you brought the cat with you?!"
"First you don't tell me what happened yesterday and now you're questioning why I brought Morgana here?" Ren asked.
"Fair enough…" Shin said, "Shiho, could you get off me?"
Shiho got off him with Ann lifting her up. Shin got back up.
"Alright, Shiho, you better explain to me what the hell made you do something like that." Ann said, "We deserve to know after everything that just happened."
"Ann… I—"
"Kamoshida… he almost raped Shiho." Shin said.
"HE WHAT?!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"I knew it…" Mishima said, "That's the only explanation as to why I saw Suzui-san getting into an argument, as well as that temper tantrum that I heard coming from the PE faculty office…"
"But… why?" Ann asked, "We… we had a deal!"
"Deal?! What deal?!" Ryuji asked.
"I… I… if Shiho was ever going to stay as a regular on the team, I—" Ann stopped and looked at Shiho, "Shiho… this is all my fault… I shouldn't have turned him down… this is all my fault…"
"Ann…" Shiho said, "It's ok… really… I… you had no idea that he would… I was afraid he would do the same to you, so…"
"Look, what matters here is that I stopped him in the nick of time." Shin said, "Mishima, did Kamoshida really abuse the volleyball team?"
Mishima was quiet for a moment. He breathed a heavy sigh.
"Yes… it's real…" Mishima said.
"THAT'S IT! HE'S GOING DOWN!" Ryuji yelled.
Takuro stepped in front of Ryuji as he was about to head down.
"No way, Fido. You are not going down there." Takuro said.
"Move it afro!" Ryuji said, "Or I'll make you move!"
Takuro promptly punched Ryuji in the face. The two immediately began to grapple with each other. The whole group went in and intervened. The two boys were pulled away from each other.
"You expect us to just let it all happen?!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"You hate the guys guts! We get it! But now you're acting like an idiot right now!" Takuro said, "Be smart for once! You hit him; you give him an excuse to have you sued under assault charges!"
"That and he got to you once already." Ren said, "You can't let him get to you again."
"So that's it?! We let him get away with it all?!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"Enough, both of you!" Shin said, "We don't have time to argue over this! Cool your heads off!"
"Hey, I'm just stopping from doing something that might get us all expelled." Takuro said.
The both of them began to cool their heads off. They heard the door open and everyone saw a girl with brown bob cut hair with blunt bangs and a French braid style headband colored just like her hair was. Her eyes were red. She wore a black halter vest over a long-sleeve white shirt with a turtleneck that was longer than the standard turtleneck most girls in uniform wear. She wore the regulation black and red pleated plaid skirt, black pantyhose, and black-brown ankle boots.
"All of you, off the roof, now." The girl said.
"Mako-chan, what are you—"
"I said off the roof." The girl said, "All of you."
Everyone began to get off the roof. Ren saw the girl stopped Shin.
"Oh no, you and I need to talk." The girls said.
Ren kept moving. He didn't want to get involved with whatever was about to go down on the roof.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Makoto asked, "Do you have any idea how worried I was when I saw you almost fell twice?"
"Mako-chan, I—"
She punched him in the face, forcing him down.
"Ten years. That's how long it's been since I last saw you." Makoto said, "I see you ten years later from when we met and here you are risking your life for some girl that you hardly even knew…"
"Mako-chan?" Shin asked.
She grabbed him and forced him up against the fence.
"Damnit, Shin! I've been thinking about you for ten years!" Makoto said, "Ten years! For ten years I could never stop thinking about you! I—! I love you, Damnit!"
Shin was shocked, surprised even.
"Makoto…" Shin said, "I… I don't know if can—"
"Can what?!" Makoto asked, "You don't know if you can return my feelings?! You don't know if you can make me the happiest woman alive?! You don't know if we could ever have children together?! Grow old together?! Tell me?!"
He saw tears in her eyes.
"You… really do love me…" Shin said, "I get how you feel but… Shiho… I… I have to make sure she can get through all of this…"
"So that's it? Do I mean nothing to you?" Makoto asked, "Am I just a burden to you too?"
"Makoto… you know I don't think of you like that." Shin said, "I still feel the same way about you ten years ago…"
"Then why the hell were you so content with dying just so someone else could live?" Makoto asked, "Why? What am I to you?"
She lets him go and runs off.
"Makoto! Wait!" Shin said.
She ran down. He quickly went after her. By the time he got down, Makoto was gone. Everyone else was present.
"Mako-chan…" Shin said.
"Dude, you hurt that girl's feelings." Takuro said, "That wasn't very smooth of you at all."
"I… I didn't know that she loved me…" Shin said.
"Shin…" Shiho said, "I…"
"No." Shin said, "I should have known. The blame is on me."
"Shin..." Jun said.
"We should all return to our classes." Megumi said, "Shiho, you should probably just…"
"I know…" Shiho said, "Can anything be done about Mr Kamoshida?"
"I… I don't know." Shin said.
"Shin," Ren said, "Meet me after school."
"What for?"
"I got something that might work out for us."
"You do?" Shin asked.
"Yup, just meet me after school." Ren said, "I'm sure you know someone who can help Shiho."
A name came to mind.
"Yeah… I'll have my brother handle it. He can take her to Eiko Nikaido." Shin said, "She's known my brother, I'm sure he can explain it to her."
"Can you trust her?" Megumi asked.
"She's a great doctor." Shin said, "And she's a good psychologist."
"Well… we should go back to our classes…" Takuro said, "Come on, Shin."
The group splits off. Shin looked at Shiho. Shiho looked at him.
'Shiho…'
Afternoon
"That's the girl who tried to commit suicide, right?"
"Do you think it was that argument she was having with that Kanzato guy that forced her to do it?"
"But why would he go so far to try and save her?"
"Maybe it's because of that rumor about her and Kamoshida."
"I heard the student council president went up there and got into an argument with Kanzato."
Shiho just sat in her seat, ignoring everything that was going on around her, thinking about Shin. He risked himself for her again and again. And yet, she never paid him back for those times. She felt so useless. It was like she had no purpose.
'Shin…' Shiho thought, 'Will I ever find a way to repay you, at least? Will I ever find myself a purpose in life?'
She saw that girl in the room again.
The one that looked like her.
"So pathetic. First, you turn to that man and now you have no one else to go to? Pathetic." The girl said, "You're just a waste of space."
'But… Shin… he helped me…'
"What could he possibly do?" The girl said, "He saved you twice and you think he'll help you? He hasn't done anything to that man, so what's the point?"
She tightened her fists.
'No… you're wrong… he helped me… I…' Shiho thought, 'I want to help him!'
The girl looked surprised.
"You want to help him? What could you do to possibly help him?" The girl asked.
"YOU WHAT?!" Kamoshida exclaimed.
"That's right, starting now, you are no longer the coach of the volleyball team." Kobayakawa said, "That boy was right about you. You failed to meet the school's expectations. You failed to meet my expectations."
Kamoshida looked at the principal with disbelief.
"No… you mean—"
"I gave you all that freedom and all you did was do one stupid thing after another." Kobayakawa said, "I can't believe they called you an Olympic medalist. Truly, you are the biggest disappointment this school has ever seen."
"You… you son of a bitch… you can't do this to me… you can't—!"
"Listen here Kamoshida, I told you not to do anything that might get that boy's attention, and what do you know, he catches you red handed trying to rape a girl." Kobayakawa said, "You're so incompetent that it hurts to even look at you."
Kamoshida felt betrayed. He was infuriated. He wanted to punch the principal for his betrayal.
"I'm giving you one last chance Kamoshida," Kobayakawa said, "you cause more trouble for this school, and you're fired. End of story."
"You… you'd fire me?!"
"I'm serious." Kobayakawa said, "And don't you even think about trying to go against my orders again. I'll have the police on speed dial and have them arrest you with the snap of a finger if you try to pull anything."
Kamoshida stormed out enraged by all of this.
'Well… better find a new coach for the volleyball team…' Kobayakawa thought.
"Mr Kamoshida's no longer the coach of the volleyball team?"
"Yeah, he looked pretty upset about it all."
"It's probably got something to do about the attempted suicide."
"Guess the team ain't going to nationals this year…"
'Now that's interesting…' Ren thought, 'What could this be about?'
Courtyard
After School
"So, let me get this straight, you're going to steal Kamoshida's treasure in order to make that castle disappear?" Shin asked.
"Exactly." Ren said, "Without his distorted desires, he'll become an honest man bearing intolerable amounts of guilt from all the crimes he committed."
"The only risk involved here is that he might die." Ryuji said, "And if that fat man has a Palace, he's gotta have a treasure as well. Take that, and we can expose them both!"
"It's the only way we can take down Kamoshida and Kobayakawa." Ren said, "Tell your guys about this."
"Y-Yeah, sure…" Shin said.
He walked off. As he did, he saw Ann and Shiho.
"Shin? What are you doing here?" Ann asked, "Wait, are you going to take Shiho to that doctor your brother knows about?"
"Yeah…" Shin said, "Come with me Shiho."
"Y-Yeah… sure…" Shiho said, "Can I hold your arm?"
"Sure…" Shin said, blushing.
Shiho took Shin's arm. The two began to walk down the courtyard. Shiho sighed.
"You know Shin… I… I want to thank you for… what you did for me…" Shiho said, "I… I want to admit to something… about what happened before I tried to…"
He saw Mishima ahead of him.
"Mishima?" Shin asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Well… I should have mentioned this earlier, but Suzui-san bumped into me yesterday when she ran off from you." Mishima said, "When I looked at her eyes, they… they were golden."
"Golden?" Shin asked.
He looked to Shiho, who looked shocked.
'No… that can't be… her eyes were golden… just like when I saw Ren's awakening…'
Could it be that… that when he saw those golden eyes… Did Ren's Shadow merge with him? And if so, did it become Arsene? Is the same happening with Shiho? Was her Shadow merging with her? Now that he thought about it, when he did Kagenuki with Takuro, his eyes glowed and his Persona appeared.
Shiho was looking at him.
"Shin…" Shiho said, "I saw a girl who looked like me and her eyes… they were golden."
Shin became even more shocked and became even more curious.
'Could it be that she's…' Shin thought, "Thanks for telling me, Shiho."
"Eh?"
Shin walked with Shiho. He kept moving until he saw…
Makoto.
"Mako-chan… I'm…"
"No. I should be sorry." Makoto said, "I… I should have come clean with you when all of that has happened."
"What are you—"
"I knew about the abuse." Makoto interjected.
Shin held back his anger. He did not want to yell at her. He took one deep breath.
"But let me take a wild guess, you couldn't do anything about it." Shin said.
"Yes… it's true… I—"
"You can do something." Shin said, "The Principal has connections to some criminals. You can threaten legal actions against him if he doesn't lift the gag order on Kamoshida."
Makoto looked shocked.
"He… what?"
"Jun's got a whole list of names. He got them out of the Principal's mind." Shin said, "I gotta take Shiho to this doctor I know. Later."
Shin walked forward. Makoto grabbed his other arm. He looked to Makoto.
"Shin… I… I'm sorry for hitting you earlier…" Makoto said, "I was just—"
"I know. Upset." Shin said, "Wait, did we exchange contact info?"
"..."
"..."
"Of course…" Shin said, raising his phone.
He exchanged contact info with Makoto.
"I'll contact you when I can." Shin said.
He got out to the school's entrance and saw Ryo's car. He got in with Shiho.
"Could you take us to Eiko's place?" Shin asked, "You got my—"
"I did." Ryo said, "Honestly, I thought you would talk her out of it. Not that it matters anymore."
"Yeah… I guess you're kinda right. I could have, but…" Shin stopped, "How was work?"
"It's been fine." Ryo said, "Have you been experiencing headaches?"
"Um… Yeah… I think I have been getting migraines just recently, why do you ask?" Shin asked.
"No reason in particular." Ryo said.
Shin scratched his head. He was not sure what was going on today. His brother never asked him about stuff like this. Something was odd with his brother.
Eiko looked at Shiho. There were bruises on her body.
"I see…" Eiko said, "I suggest you rest a lot more, get some more exercise, eat healthy, and I'll prescribe to you some sleeping pills in case you have any problems sleeping."
"R-Right." Shiho said.
"I'm sorry for what happened to you at school." Eiko said, "I can't believe the school would even hire a guy like that and all just so they can be popular. It's like they don't care about the students' welfare."
She looked at Shin.
"As for you young man, she's your responsibility." Eiko said, "You know, since you stopped her from committing suicide and that you managed to save her from getting raped."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Shin asked.
"It means that since you helped her, you're making sure she isn't thinking suicidal thoughts again." Eiko said, "Until she no longer displays any suicidal thoughts or behavior, she's staying with you."
"Um… is that ok with her parents?" Shin asked.
"I already told them this." Eiko said, "You better not do anything funny with her while she's staying with you, got it?"
"No funny business… got it." Shin said.
"I'm glad we got that out of the way." Eiko said, "Could wait outside?"
"Uh… what for?" Shin asked.
"Just wait outside." Eiko said.
Shin left the room. She turns to Shiho.
"Is… Is there a reason as to why you made him leave?" Shiho asked.
Eiko sighed.
"Did he happen to have any strange… episodes? Did he have migraines? Did he exhibit any strange behavior?" Eiko asked.
"Well, remember when Ayanagi was hit by a terrorist attack? He doesn't remember any of that."
"Well he was young; I doubt he would remember." Eiko said.
"Oh…" Shiho said, "Well… thanks, Ms Nikaido."
"Just call me Eiko." Eiko said, "Now go with Shin."
Kanzato Household
Evening
Shin and Shiho were in Shin's room. Shiho looked at all the models Shin had made. She was amazed by how they looked.
"They look so amazing up close…" Shiho said.
"Geez Shiho…" Shin said, scratching his head, his cheeks flushed.
He never had a girl enter his room before. It felt really embarrassing. Shiho turned to Shin.
"You really are amazing, Shin." Shiho said.
"Yeah… I really am." Shin said, "And… um…"
He swallowed a lump in his throat. He tried to avoid looking at her chest.
"You know Shiho… I was wondering, w-would you like to study with me?" Shin asked.
"Uh… y-yeah! Sure!" Shiho said.
The two began to study with each other. They began to solve problems together. As they did, Shin was having trouble focusing. He was having trouble looking away from her chest. But… then again… she had a really nice pair of… a nice... pair of…
'N-No! Don't get distracted by her boobs!' Shin thought, 'But…'
"Is something the matter?" Shiho asked.
"YOU GOT A NICE PAIR OF BOOBS!" Shin exclaimed, "Ah! I mean—?!"
"W-Well… they are um… big… and they'll um… get even bigger as time goes by… um…" Shiho said, "B-But you got a nice pair of eyes!"
"U-Uh… brown is a very common eye color as far as I know…" Shin said.
Shiho puffed her cheeks and pouted. The two finished studying and the two got in bed with each other. They simply rested next to each other.
'Shiho…' Shin thought, 'If… If I take her to the Metaverse, will that cause her to awaken her Persona?'
Perhaps it might…