Captain Blues: Time for a new chapter. Let's get in there!
Persona 5: The Darkest Hour
The Leaders of S.E.E.S
[Opening Scene: Wilton Hotel Buffet (Afternoon)
Theme of the Wilton Hotel: Every day from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment]
"So much food…" Minako moaned as she gazed at the buffet with delight.
After waking up and being introduced to the rest of Ren's team, Haru had her limo driver bring them all here to the Wilton Hotel Buffet.
Minako remembered Mitsuru mentioning once how she loved when her father took her here when they were in Shibuya on business but being here; she now understood why Mitsuru loved it so much.
Minako turned around to face the group and asked, "Is there a plate limit?"
"Not at all," Haru chirped. "I rented the buffet out for four hours, so eat to your heart's content. All of you."
"Holy shit," Ryuji breathed out. "Wow, Haru-chan! You're the best!"
Minako watched as Haru blushed at the compliment and grinned before she said, "Wow, I just met you a bit ago, but I'm now calling you my best friend, for life. Thanks, Haru-chan!"
Haru beamed.
"I didn't think you kids liked to eat so extravagantly," Tae muttered with a faint grin on her face before Ann, Futaba and Yusuke rushed past her. "Oh, there goes the blonde bombshell, the hermit, and the starving artist."
"Well, let's not waste any time before these kids eat everything," Sae said as she walked past Tae, who grinned and followed her lead.
"Now, let's chow down!" Minako said as she immediately rushed to the meats, nearly elbowing Ryuji as she passed.
"D-Don't eat it all!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"So, where are Ren, Makoto, and that cat?" Minako asked.
"Oh them? They went to get our other teammate. They should be back shortly. As for Morgana, I have no idea," Ryuji answered as he piled the meat on his plate.
"Hopefully, they arrive before I eat all the food," Minako joked.
"As long as you keep from emptying the dessert section, I don't care," Ann joked as she walked past with a plate full of apple crumble cheesecake.
"No promises!" Minako shouted after her before she snagged a few more slices of meat before her fork stabbed at the big slab of meat, at the same time as Ryuji's fork.
Minako and Ryuji stared at the meat then slowly looked at one another.
"What are you doing?" Minako asked.
"I'm getting this slab of meat," Ryuji answered. "What are you doing?"
"I'm getting this slab of meat," Minako answered.
The two narrowed their eyes at one another.
"Last night was crazy," Yoshizawa Sumire said as she stepped off the elevator in between Ren and Makoto. "These coffins appeared everywhere, and I could feel Freya again. Not to mention the shadows and that tower."
"Yeah, that girl, the tower, our Personas. It's strange," Makoto said.
"Well, hopefully, Minako will give us some answers," Ren said as the three entered the buffet, only to see Ryuji and Minako dueling with forks while Yusuke, Ann, and Futaba cheered them on.
"That big slab of meat is mine!" Ryuji said as he clashed forks with Minako.
"I don't see your name on it," Minako said.
"My fork was in it!" Ryuji exclaimed.
"My fork was in it too!" Minako answered back.
"Fight, fight, fight, fight," Futaba chanted.
Makoto facepalmed while Ren muttered, "I see she's getting along great with Ryuji."
Sumire stared at the new girl and couldn't help but blush at the broad, challenging smirk she held as she battles Ryuji with her fork.
She shook her head and let out a tiny giggle. "It seems they share one brain cell when around food," Sumire noted.
"Let's stop them before they hurt each other," Ren sighed out before the trio walked into the room.
[Scene Change: New York (Nighttime)
Theme of New York: MAP Sumaru City from Persona 2: Innocent Sin]
Kirijo Mitsuru wouldn't have considered herself a lucky woman.
She had been born into a life filled with faceless suits and beings imbued with supernatural powers, and for the love of her father, she made that life, her life.
And as the head of the Kirijo Group and leader of the Shadow Operatives, her life was still filled with faceless suits and fierce battles. But unlike in the past, where she felt that she would go through it as the cold, lonely empress, she was proven wrong.
Mitsuru's brown-red eyes watched as her wife, Kirijo-Takeba Yukari, slept and gingerly brushed a strand of the woman's hair frown her face.
Wife.
That simple word seemed to breathe new life in Mitsuru every time she referred to Yukari by that title.
She hadn't expected to fall in love with her, especially not after the rocky start their meeting had. But bit by bit, Yukari had chipped away at the cold exterior Mitsuru had put up, especially after her father's passing.
In Kyoto, it was that day where Mitsuru's feelings for Yukari had blossomed into something more, but she kept it hidden. She knew that Yukari had feelings for Minato and was envious of his bond with Aigis, which only grew worse when Aigis took over his special gift after his passing.
But it was after their battle with Aigis and her Shadow, Metis, where Yukari finally let her affections for Minato go, but Mitsuru still hid them to give her time to grieve.
It was only after their adventure with the Investigation Team where Yukari admitted her feelings for her.
Despite the anguish, the endless nights, the battle scars, and the nightmares, Mitsuru could never regret taking the road she did, as long as it ended up at this single moment.
"You going to keep staring?" Yukari asked as her cheeks reddened.
"Maybe for a little while longer, Chérie," Mitsuru replied.
"Flirt," Yukari mumbled as she nestled close to Mitsuru and smiled against her neck. "I still can't believe this is real," Yukari whispered as Mitsuru felt the shorter girl's arms slink around her. "I keep expecting to wake up back at our dorm and complaining that this is all a dream."
"Admittedly, I had that same thought when you walked down the aisle," Mitsuru told her with a kiss to Yukari's head. "But this is real. We're real…"
"We're real," Yukari agreed as Mitsuru felt her smile widen against her neck.
(Soon, I'll smile for you
Soon, I'll sing for you)
"You made the song from our wedding your ringtone?" Yukari questioned, her voice soft.
"Of course I did. It reminds me of you. With how busy our schedules will be when we return to Japan, I'll need to keep another reminder of you nearby at all times," Mitsuru replied as she turned away from Yukari to reach for her phone, which sat on the drawer on her side of the bed.
(Gazing at a dream that shines forever
So that I can keep walking and living)
But as she grabbed her phone, Yukari's hands found her face, and before Mitsuru knew it, her new wife's lips were on top of her own in a gentle kiss.
(Soon, I'll smile for you
Soon, I'll sing for you)
Mitsuru shut her eyes and allowed herself to fall into Yukari's affections, returning her soft kiss with one filled with warmth and devotion.
(In that moment when a girl becomes a woman
To keep the light from going out)
Yukari was the first to break the kiss as she mumbled, "You should get that."
With a deep blush on her face, Mitsuru nodded, cleared her throat, then answered the phone with a crisp, "Kirijo."
"Good Afternoon. Or should I say good evening? I'm not sure about the time in New York," Fuuka's voice chirped out.
Mitsuru smiled and said, "It's "Good Evening," here, Sanada-chan."
"Hi, Fuuka!" Yukari exclaimed.
Fuuka laughed and said, "Tell Kari-chan I said hi!"
"Sanada-chan says "Hi" Chérie," Mitsuru told her.
Yukari beamed.
"But it is late here, Sanada-chan. Is everything alright?" Mitsuru questioned.
"Well…I feel bad because what I'm about to tell you is going to ruin your honeymoon with Yukari," Fuuka said.
Mitsuru instantly frowned.
"What is going on?" Mitsuru asked, keeping the edge from her voice.
"Tartarus has returned," Fuuka answered.
Mitsuru's eyes widened in disbelief.
[Scene Change: Wilton Hotel Buffet (Afternoon)
Theme of the Wilton Hotel: Every day from Persona 2: Eternal Punishment]
"That certainly hit the spot," Minako sighed out as she leaned back in her chair and tapped her stomach. "And yet I could still go for three more plates."
Minako paused when she saw the stunned expressions of everyone around her.
"What?" Minako asked. "Never seen a girl put away a big plate like that?"
"Not a skinny girl," Futaba quipped.
"Do you eat like that all the time?" Yusuke questioned.
"Hm…Not all the time," Minako answered. "When the mood strikes me, I guess."
"Perhaps I should test you for a tapeworm," Tae muttered.
"I'm almost envious of the way you put that plate away," Ann muttered, with Makoto, Haru, and Sumire nodding in agreement.
"Alright, now that my stomach is temporarily satisfied, I guess I should fully explain why that shadow was chasing me," Minako said as her gaze turned serious, which Ren and Sae matched. "But afterward, I need a few questions of my own asked."
"Deal," Ren said.
"Good," Minako said.
"I introduced myself back at the café but allow me to do it again. My name is Arisato Minako, and I go to Gekkoukan High School."
Tae hummed at this.
"I am a second-year student, and I transferred there recently," Minako continued.
"Recently?" Futaba questioned.
"Yeah. I arrived at Gekkoukan on April 7th this year," Minako said.
"This year? It's February," Ren said.
"F-February? You must be joking. that's not possible," Minako said.
"No, he's telling the truth," Tae said as she held her phone out to Minako. It was then Minako read the date.
"February 14th….2017?!" Minako shouted in. "T-That can't be!"
Ren and Sae exchanged a look before Ren said, "It's true. What date did you think you were in?"
"December 31st, 2009," Minako told them, her voice stunned. "We, my team and I, we had a decision to make, and…It can't be…" Minako became lightheaded.
It couldn't be true.
She couldn't have missed it.
Images of her friends, both S.E.E.S and all-around Iwatodai, flashed through her mind as she got up out of her chair. "No, that can't be," Minako repeated, her voice frantic as her breathing became shallow, her steps jerky and her vision blurry.
"Hey, calm down. It's okay," Sumire said, but Minako shook her head.
But it was one person that flashed through her mind. The one person that had wormed his way into her heart and buried himself within it.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but I've already decided on my princess for today."
"You're…The only one there is for me."
"You shouldn't give so much of yourself to me. I'll…Probably make you sad."
"The only one I want."
"It brings tears to my eyes…Why is that? Please tell me…"
"So please…Stay with me."
"I want to be more sincere with you..."
"You're the most precious person in the world to me."
"You'll have to…Kill me."
"More Precious than my own life."
"Ryo…Ji…." Minako breathed out before she fell backward, losing consciousness before she hit the ground.
[Scene Change – The Velvet Room
Theme of the Velvet Room– Velvet Room from Persona 2: Innocent Sin]
"That's not possible," Margaret said.
"It is true," Morgana said to the group of attendants. "This green tower came out of nowhere.
"Tartarus should not exist. Minato became the seal, didn't he? The tower should be gone," Theodore said.
"He did," Margaret answered. "And Yu-kun defeated Hi-no-Kagutsuchi, so it can't be him doing this. Could it be Sho?"
"Sho?" Morgana asked.
"He's someone that is after Yu-kun," Margaret said. "But he vanished a long time ago. I'll have to locate him."
"Either way, this spells a lot of trouble. Has anyone gotten ahold of Elizabeth?" Lavenza asked.
"I did," Theodore answered. "Thankfully. She's on her way back here now."
"So, Tartarus appearing like this is bad?" Morgana asked.
"The last time it appeared, all life on Earth was in grave danger," Theodore told him. "We will need to look deeply into this. I just hope Master Igor awakens soon. We really need him."
"So what should I do?" Morgana asked.
"Bring Ren-kun here," Lavenza said.
"And if possible, bring this mysterious girl as well," Margaret told him. "Something is going on, and her appearance must be the cause of it."
Captain Blues: And that is the end of this chapter! I hope you guys enjoyed it. See you next time.