A/N: Reading back I noticed that one of the sentences in the previous chapter repeated itself. I didn't catch that at first. My bad.
34
Group Date Café 1
"Who the hell decided that a group date café was a good idea?" Shinjiro asked as he looked at the entrance for the next labyrinth.
"I suggested it as a joke, I didn't expect it to win," Yosuke defended himself, "it wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Be glad you've never been on one, May."
"I haven't been on one either," Mitsuru admitted, "Are they any fun?"
"I don't wanna think about it," Kanji muttered as he glared at the floor in discomfort.
Yuu had a small smile on his face as Yosuke shot him a dirty look. Something had transpired between the two of them that Yosuke hadn't liked. It was quite amusing to see. Yosuke stopped his glaring and they looked back up at the display. Rosemary seemed a bit on edge about it as Rei asked Teddie what a group date was and got an answer that was nonsensical, and a reply that was just as bad. Chie sent the bear a glare and chided him. Rei brought up something about a red string that tied people together and Rosemary tilted her head in thought. She believed that everyone wanted to believe that, and Yukiko said that out loud. Shinjiro didn't know about that and spared his girlfriend a look, he'd like to believe it but didn't give much thought to destiny. The velvet room was slowly making him revaluate that opinion.
"It's still not noon yet, I guess it really is stopped," Chie muttered.
"So, can we ask about the clocktower?" Yukari asked Chie.
"Can we go take a closer look at it?" Naoto asked.
"You think it might tie into what's going on?" Rosemary quietly asked and she got a smile out of the other girl.
"It's possible," Naoto confirmed.
Those two quietly conversed in English, much to the surprise of everyone there. Rosemary had been a bit surprised at first until Naoto explained, her cheeks a flushed color due to her embarrassment, that she had learned English and was thankful for someone to help her practice with it. Rosemary smiled slightly; Naoto was an overachiever but her reasons behind it was understandable. She was a young woman making a name for herself in a male dominated career. She hoped that in a few years she'd be reading about a strong woman that'd show girls in Japan not to simply be housewives but women with careers. She blinked and realized that's what she was doing. Psychology and Computer science was still male dominated, yet a career path she wanted to go into. No wonder they got along.
They soon found themselves standing at the base of the clocktower. There was a slight wind going through the area and the Yasogami High students looked around the grounds with miniscule frowns on their faces. The grounds weren't that big, and certainly weren't nothing but a dirt path. Aigis tilted her head at the clock tower.
"A clock tower in the center of the schoolyard, would it not be too obtrusive?" Aigis questioned.
"Usually, schools will plan around a clock tower like this," Rosemary informed her, "my old one did, it was built into the cathedral."
"Most schools don't have cathedrals," Yosuke added, "but I remember the one you're talking about."
Rosemary shook her head at her cousin in amusement. He would remember bits and pieces of England. He'd only visited once or twice to see what it was like. Her parents chased him away and he refused to go back. She sometimes wondered if he was like Admon, an empath. Yet, the way he kept joking about Kanji made her rethink that, he'd know that he was bothering the taller boy.
"There's no door that would lead inside, how is it maintained?" Naoto questioned.
"Could its mechanism be inaccurate because of a lack of maintenance?" Aigis suggested.
"The thing is, we never had anything like this at Yasogami," Yosuke said as he peered up at the clock tower.
"You don't?" Akihiko questioned.
"There was one on the information they sent Aunt Naomi and me when we were trying to figure out what school to go to," Rosemary said as she tiled her head, "it might've been an old picture."
"The principal once told me that there had been a clock tower at Yasogami High at one point, though I don't know what it looked like," Naoto admitted, "did the picture resemble anything like this?"
"No, it was squarer in design," Rosemary answered.
"It was also a small monument, not a huge tower," Yukiko stated in thought, "it was demolished before I started elementary school."
"That would place it over ten years ago…" Naoto muttered.
"You guys are from two years in the future," Junpei sighed, "would that mean that this place exists outside of time?"
No one knew how to react to Junpei saying something like that. Naoto gave him a slight nod before narrowing her eyes at the tower. Something about the building bothered her, and she couldn't put a finger on it. She quickly observed those around her to figure out who else was feeling the same way. Yuu and Rosemary were trying to hide their unease around it, but it was easy to see if one knew where to look. She watched as Shinjiro sighed and scratched the back of his head in thought before glaring at the tower, that was an interesting reaction to it.
"This place is too weird," Chie stated, "we didn't even have to go through a TV or wear our glasses."
"We didn't have to wait for the dark hour," Mitsuru quietly added.
"This whole thing doesn't make sense," Rosemary said getting everyone's attention as she frowned in thought, "forgetting everything about how the world of shadows work would be best here, this world is different from the ones we are used to."
"This doesn't seem to be a world of a collective conscious," Fuuka added as her brows furrowed, "could this be something else?"
"It is possible," Zen quietly agreed.
They headed back inside and slowly traveled to the group date café. Yosuke stared at the display before sighing. He really didn't want to go inside of it and relieve the bad memories. Yuu fought against the smile that threatened to appear on his face. Messing with his best friend had been so worth being dragged into a beauty pageant. The fact that he got full permission from Rosemary had nothing to do with it.
"Why'd they have to drag out such bad memories?" Yosuke grumbled.
"Let's get on with it." Shinjiro said as he frowned slightly, "We've got three big ones left, right?"
"That should be the case," Zen confirmed, "it is also possible that I will regain my memories."
"If your memories return, we might be able to learn something about this world," Fuuka quietly said with a tiny smile.
"All right, let's get going leader," Mitsuru said before looking at the wildcards, "there's something important we need to decide on. Since we are a combined unit now, we should decide who our leader will be."
"The best candidates would be the senpais and your leader, right?" Kanji asked and Mitsuru gave him a curt nod.
"I don't mind leading," Minato shrugged.
"I think that would be better, too," Yuu agreed, "you guys meet Zen and Rei first and then got them on board to fight through the labyrinth."
"Would May-senpai also fit into that category?" Rise asked with a tilt of her head.
"I would, but I'm not a leader in this group," Rosemary answered with a nervous smile.
"Then it's decided," Mitsuru said, "Minato will be our leader, Narukami will be Vice Leader."
"Sounds good to me," Yuu nodded.
He found it weird to be the vice leader after having Rosemary be his. He rubbed the back of his head in thought before softly smiling when his friends looked at him in worry. He wasn't the least bit upset at being a vice leader. He'd perform his job with as much passion as he usually did. They headed into the labyrinth and everyone looked around with a frown. Dark pinks and purples decorated the entire area and lace hung from the ceiling. It didn't feel like a group date, but something far more intimate. Rosemary found it to be a bit cute, she would never say it out loud due to the negative thoughts around her.
'Gotta love how we end up somewhere like this after "snogging",' Shinjiro mentally teased Rosemary and she flushed slightly, 'it looks like a child's idea of a date.'
"Then what's your idea of one?" She quietly muttered.
'A movie and a home cooked dinner, something simple,' He admitted, embarrassment shining through his thoughts.
"Sounds nice," She mumbled, he smiled at that.
"This doesn't look like our group date café," Yosuke informed them.
"This is kinda cute," Kanji said, and Rosemary was happy someone agreed with her, Yukari stared at him until his face was a bright red, "What?"
"It's just…I'm surprised you called it cute," Yukari quietly admitted.
"I'd say he has the most girl power out of all of us, but May takes the cake," Yosuke teased, and his cousin simply rolled her eyes.
"There's nothing wrong with having life skills," She muttered.
"You took up amigurumi," He countered, "that's less a life skill and more like a hobby."
"Are they cute?" She asked in genuine curiosity.
"Yep," Kanji confirmed for her and she gained a happy smile.
"Welcome, stray lambs," A mechanical voice announced and the all looked around with frowns on their faces, "this is the second-year class two's display."
"You had an announcer?" Rosemary asked as Mitsuru narrowed her eyes in a dangerous fashion.
"No, this is new," Yuu answered.
"Hello to everyone, both those I'm meeting for the first time and those I'm not meeting for the first time," The voice continued, "this display uses state-of-the-art technology to find your destined partner with a few simple questions."
"You can participate if you wish, or you might choose not to."
"We have no choice but to participate," Yosuke stated with an unamused expression on his face.
"So, we're going to find out who our destined partners are! Zen! Hey, Zen!" Rei called and the dark-haired teen turned to her with a curious gleam in his eyes, "U-Um, about my destined partner…Who do you think it is? Who could it be?"
"We'll find that out in this display, won't we?" Zen asked and Rei's hopeful expression fell at that.
All the males who were in a relationship winced slightly, even Ken winced. That's not something that Rei had wanted to hear. It was obvious that she liked him. Zen was just extremely dense, to the point where it was painful to those watching. Zen gained a confused look before teddie tried to step in. Yukiko sent him a cold look and he cowered at it.
They decided to head deeper into the labyrinth, their navigators informed them of shadows behind the first doors and Akihiko got himself pumped to fight. He was ready to take down plenty of enemies, but the newcomers asked him to be cautious. They didn't know if the shadows were going to be stronger than the ones in the previous labyrinth. He had to agree with them. Their weapons may have been a bit below the new area, but Theo hadn't been able to make anything stronger with the material they had brought him. They went through the doors and were attacked by shadows.
Two snakes and a woman floating on a triangle sitting in lotus position. Lustful Snake and Tranquil Idols. The idol was taken down by a Bufudyne from Mitsuru, it seemed as though they had found one of their enemies' weaknesses. They took down the snakes with their weapons and continued on their way. Mitsuru questioned how the investigation team was able to summon their persona's without evokers, but ignored the thought process with a frown. She could ask when they went to update their equipment with the new material they got. They came across a room with spikes sticking out of the floor.
"These look like they're straight out of a video game," Junpei commented with a wince as he poked one of the spikes.
"That's a niche example, but you aren't wrong," Yosuke muttered.
"These don't usually hurt you too much, so I usually walk right through," Junpei admitted.
"We should take the shortest distance across!" Teddie exclaimed as he grabbed onto Yosuke and Junpei's arms, "Let's go!"
"But this is clearly a trap," Naoto pointed out with a frown, "wouldn't it be more prudent to walk around?"
"It would, but I'm guessing there's a lack of common sense," Rosemary sighed.
"It's too late for us to stop," Teddie said as the three stepped onto the spikes.
He was even able to drag Minato onto them. It looked like they were winded the second they hit the spikes. Rosemary frowned in thought and looked at them. It seemed like they were a trap like Naoto had pointed out. It just wasn't one they were expecting. Instead of physical damage, was it spiritual? There were too many inconsistencies with the spikes. She couldn't help but wonder how they even came to be. Was it something created by the labyrinth to impede their progress? She rubbed the back of her neck in thought and ignored the slight twitch of her left hand. She couldn't figure it out.
"What the hell, Teddie?" Yosuke snapped at the blue bear.
"I'm sorry," Teddie apologized in a tired tone.
"It looks bad, but this floor doesn't hurt a bit," Junpei commented.
Rosemary heard the questioning thoughts from the investigation team. If Teddie was being affected by the spikes than how was it that Junpei barely even noticed them? It was obvious that it slowly drained those that stepped on them, but he was still standing barely looking tired. Naoto wondered if everyone from SEES would be like that, she was aware that they were stronger then the Yaso group. She was glad they were on their side.
"It feels like I just summoned my persona," Junpei commented.
"I would avoid those spikes whenever you can, they seem to be draining your energy," Fuuka informed them.
"I'd hate to have to pass up a good fight," Akihiko muttered.
Minato was amused by that as he stepped away from the spikes and moved around the floor where there weren't any. His head was starting to pound at the astounding amount of pink surrounding them. It was in the walls, the floors, and the ceiling. It even reflected off of the hair of everyone around him, the light from above them tinted that bright color. He closed his eyes for a few seconds before turning his attention to the map. He narrowed his eyes in annoyance, even the white of the paper was pink. He'd be happy when they finally finished this labyrinth. He opened a pair of doors and inside was a large room, they'd take a short break.
"It's not here," Yukari muttered as she searched her pockets.
"What's the matter?" Akihiko asked.
"Looks like I dropped the resin I use for my bow," She sighed before giving him a small smile, "I'm going to go check the last place I took it out."
Yukari quickly ran off and they all took a seat to wait for her to come back. The shadows were sparse, seemingly afraid of their larger numbers. Ken tapped his fingers against his legs as they waited. She wasn't taking too long, but there was a sense of urgency while in a labyrinth. He looked towards his guardian and blinked at the contemplative expression on her face. She was trying to figure out the labyrinth. He was used to that look on her face when she was thinking about Tartarus. The investigation team was quietly talking amongst themselves and SEES let them be, they were welcome to their privacy. Yukari headed back in and put something into her pocket.
Everyone stood up and felt a bit energized due to the break. It was needed after those spikes. They came across a dead end and everyone glared at the wall. Naoto looked at it and noticed that some of it was peeling off. She knelt and looked down at it. Koromaru came up to her with something in his mouth, it was shaped like a heart. She accepted it and wondered how the small Shiba got it out. It was given to Minato to hang onto. Rosemary scratched the back of Koromaru's ears for a job well done. She got a happy face in response. They got into a battle with a couple of rock shadows, but took care of them quickly. It seemed as though they were weak to electricity and Kanji was more than happy to take them down.
"It seems as though we're fighting against some strong shadows," Yosuke quietly said to his cousin.
"Seems like it," She agreed, "but they feel weaker than those we've already fought back in our time."
"No wonder you don't seem to struggle when we fight," He muttered before smiling, "you got stronger."
"Not intentionally," She grumbled, and he grinned at that.
He knew now that he had SEES to thank for the surprising growth in his cousin. She had mellowed out since she started going to school. She wryly smiled at him as they hurried towards another door. This one was different, it looked as though it was completely pink compared to the others that had a small part of it in purple. The fact that it had the silhouette of a boy and girl kissing lit up wasn't lost on them. They had been ignoring that little detail on the doors as they walked through them. They didn't need to be reminded that it was a group date. They went through them and were welcomed to a light orange room with teddy bears holding onto chains that restricted access to the door in front of them.
"What the hell?" Shinjiro grumbled as he stared at the bears.
"We can't go this way," Junpei sighed.
"There may be a trick to it, but it's also possible that this could be an enemy trap," Naoto muttered.
"Welcome, stray lambs," The mechanical voice greeted them, and everyone made faces of disbelief, "this is a selection room of destiny."
"I can't believe this," Rosemary mumbled as she wondered if she was amused or annoyed at the situation.
"Is this that "finding your destined partner" thing you were talking about?" Akihiko questioned with a frown.
"Questions of destiny will be presented for you to answer with your intuition, or however you feel like," The voice continued as if Akihiko hadn't spoken, the offended expression on the older boys face was understandable, "there will be multiple questions. Answer them all and you'll be united with your destined partner. Well then, let's get started."
"Question number one. Does a difference in age or sex not matter as long as there is love?"
"It doesn't matter," Minato answered.
"Really?" Yosuke and Yukari asked in surprise.
"I have to agree with him," Rosemary said with a slight shrug, she was as nonplussed as he was.
Shinjiro gathered that she believed that with all her being. Then again, she had her limits, and he knew that. The chains broke and the bears vanished in a similar manner to shadows. Koromaru gave a happy bark before sitting down. He got a treat from Shinjiro, who usually carried a small baggie with him for the Shiba. He caught the fond smile on his girlfriends face and looked away in embarrassment.
"It seems we only need to answer the question to open the door," Naoto commented, "it feels as though there will be many more like this."
"It shouldn't be too bad," Minato said with a shrug.
"If we keep going on, I'll finally find my destined princess!" Teddie said with a large smile, he looked at all the girls there.
The boys weren't too amused by that. The girls sent Teddie a collective cold look and he backed down; he wasn't stupid to go against girls that could easily take him down. Mitsuru sighed at the commotion and turned to Minato with a nod. They needed to continue moving, standing around like this was just asking for shadows to attack. They moved through the door, Yukiko dragging Teddie behind her like he weighed nothing. It was quiet for their excursion and no one complained.
Until they came across an FOE. It was shaped like a baby on a horse. The problem was the horse had human arms and legs. It caused a few faces to turn a light pink at the insinuation that it might be a person on all fours. Still, it did make them wonder if it was as strong as the card soldiers. It wasn't moving from its spot, but it was rotating in a pattern. It'd be easy to get around it as long as they made sure not to disrupt it. It was as easy as it sounded, and they headed through the door it was guarding.
"I don't like how simple that was," Shinjiro said.
"I agree, it seems like the next FOE's we run into will be stronger," Naoto commented before sighing, "this place doesn't make the most sense."
"Is that a tea set?" Yosuke questioned as he squinted his eyes, he was looking at a dead end.
"Looks like it," Rosemary nodded, "strange place for a tea set."
"Could there be anyone nearby?" Ken asked.
"I don't hear anything human," Rosemary quietly answered, "it's mostly shadows who are too nervous to jump us due to our numbers."
"Could it be that thing from earlier?" Yukiko questioned with a worried expression.
"I don't think so," Chie answered, crossing her arms across her chest.
"This is eerie," Akihiko stated.
"Let's hurry onward," Mitsuru said as she eyed the table with dislike, "we don't have time to waste on something so clearly suspicious."
"It's in a man's nature to want to drink something once they learn it's suspicious," Yuu said before picking up the tea and quickly drinking it.
"No wonder you and May get along," Yosuke muttered before shooting his friend a dark look, "Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I don't feel any different," Yuu confirmed, "does anyone else want some?"
"Might as well," Minato said with a shrug.
They all sat down with cups, save for Rosemary. She didn't trust tea that had been sitting out for a while and was made by an unknown party. Rei brought out some doughnuts and everyone had a snack. Minato noticed something, there were more stops for rest than there had been previously. Could it be that the labyrinths were aware that they were growing exhausted? He sipped at the tea and found that his friend made a far better cup, this wasn't horrible, but he'd had better. That got a smile out of her.
"I think I like May's tea better," Ken said as he drank from his cup.
"I haven't tried it yet," Junpei said, "but from what you guys say it has to be good."
"It is," Yuu nodded.
They finished up their tea and snacks, though Rei still had more somehow, and continued to explore. They came across another room with the spiked tiles. And two FOEs. It was difficult to maneuver around them, but they did it and reached a safe room where there were some passageways. Mitsuru was glaring at Rosemary who was holding one of the arrows that the FOEs used. She had stopped and yanked it right out of the wall.
"While I agree that they'd make a good weapon, pausing like that was foolish during such a dangerous situation," Mitsuru said to her.
"Okay," Rosemary nodded, "I won't do it again."
'I hope so,' Shinjiro thought and she felt a little guilty.
"It was well times, Theo had just asked Elizabeth to send you a request to pick up an arrow," Fuuka said and Rosemary felt like her out of character move was vindicated.
"That is quite timely," Mitsuru muttered.
"Let's just head into the next room, it looks like the one where we had to answer that question," Rosemary sighed.
She could tell that her actions weren't going to be forgotten anytime soon and she rubbed the back of her neck in thought. It wasn't like she was in that much danger, still, she couldn't fault them for worrying about her. She felt fingers wrap around her free hand and spared a glance towards Shinjiro. She had worried him more than he'd admit. She knew that he still had to come to terms that he couldn't protect her from everything, though he wished he could. It was a small part of him that existed and would most likely always exist. She wouldn't yell at him; she knew his thoughts. She just wanted the others to see her as a competent fighter.
"This again, does that weird guy have more to say?" Kanji grumbled.
"That is likely," Aigis said.
"Well, hello," The voice greeted, and Rosemary let out a strange sound that resembled a laugh, and choking at the same time, "I heard you talking about me, so here I am."
"Well, hello, indeed," Aigis greeted.
"He heard that you were talking shit," Rosemary couldn't help but say to herself in English.
"Is he a Hollaback Girl?" Yosuke questioned with a slight grin, a sharp look from Mitsuru made them clear their throats and try to contain their humor.
"After much anguish, you succeeded in breaking through the first room," The voice said, "but your path seems as though it might be endless…yet the choice that determines your destiny is approaching quickly."
"And so, here is your long-awaited question number two. What's your idea of a good time together?"
"Positively indoors," Minato answered.
They headed through the newly unlocked door and heard a large crash from the other side of the wall in front of them. Ken gave it an uneasy look and moved a bit closer to his guardian, he wasn't scared. Not in the least. Rosemary had a tiny smile on her face, he was scared but would never admit it to anyone. He got teased enough about his height and age, he wasn't about to admit to being scared about something.
They had to retrace their steps until they were close to where they had started, a dark door stood out to them and they slowly walked towards it. Rosemary narrowed her eyes as she heard shadows screeching behind them. It wasn't a trap; she knew that much. It was more like a checkpoint for them before they could go in deeper. Rise and Fuuka warned them about the shadows and they all shared a look. It would be ideal to head back to update their equipment, but it would have to wait until they found the stairs. They walked through and got into a fight with an army of stone opponents.
"That's a lot," Yuu commented as he got ready to summon his persona, Izanagi.
"Yeah," Minato agreed.
Rosemary summoned Themis and erected shields around everyone to keep them safe. This enemy put her on guard like it could do something dangerous. Well, all shadows could do something dangerous to say they couldn't, would be idiotic. No, these ones felt like they had an ability that was unique to them. Her attacks weren't doing much damage, so she stepped back to be support. Yukari joined her and so did Yukiko. She may not have any healing abilities, but she could keep up her shields. The fight went on longer than usual, but eventually, they were able to beat them.
"Let's keep going," Minato said, and everyone gave him a tired nod, "the stairs shouldn't be too far from here."
They weren't. Thankfully, they were hidden behind a passageway and they all slumped in relief at the sight of the stairs. That meant they could head back up and get some extra rest after updating all their equipment. They headed back and was greeted by a surprised Theo who was handed the arrow by Minato. He looked at all the material they brought him and went to work making weapons and armor. He hoped that no one noticed the extra care he put into creating the weapons that his guest used, she was his responsibility and he'd perform to the best of his duties. All her weapons were something that had a bit more weight to the blade, something that helped increase her attack speed without being too heavy for her to carry.
They left and made a quick stop at the nurses' office to get everyone fully rested and patched up. Elizabeth informed Minato that she had read about love potions and wanted to see if it was something that truly existed. It would have to be something they kept an eye out for. They left and went to relax in different areas of the festival. Ken and Rosemary ended up at the doughnut stand trying some of the pastries out. They did prefer the plain doughnuts, though she did like the jam-filled ones.
It was nice to have that small break after exploring, though they felt like it was going to be a long one. The labyrinth was already showing that it was going to be bigger than the previous one. The questions were going to make it take longer. No one was looking forward to it.