Guest: We gotta take her out, she could compromise the mission if she talks about the Dark Hour! In all seriousness though, Natsuki really doesn't know anything about what happened. For the purposes of this story, she doesn't remember what happened, but will have nightmares about it. I'm thinking the Kirijo group had a cover story that some sports equipment fell on her, and that a janitor found her and took her to the hospital, and that Natsuki was told that. It's probably not going to come up later, but yeah, that's what happened.
Chapter Six
Kae woke up in a room in that hotel on Shirakawa Boulevard. She took a look around, the room was light all green, with no electric lights turned on. It was still the Dark Hour, thank god. A voice kept ringing into Kae's head, something about desire, the moment being fleeting, confusing things, things she didn't want to hear right now. Kae fought this voice, clutching her head as needed. The voice eventually went away and Kae could figure out what was happening again. She had just been fighting the Hierophant Shadow, and there was a flash of light after it died. Now, she was in a hotel room, with a voice, most likely that of a Shadow, trying to get her to embrace desire or something like that. Just then, the sound of a shower turning off rang out. Kae flicked open her baton, ready to attack whatever was coming. She didn't end up attacking. It was Erik, a glassy thousand yard stare on his face, dripping wet, wearing only a towel. Yikes, she did not want to think about that.
"Your turn…" Erik mumbled, clearly under the effect of a Shadow.
"Get your clothes on Erik, I shouldn't have to say this." Kae groaned, averting her gaze. Erik made a noise Kae really had no idea how to describe before he realized what was happening.
"OH JAYSUS I AM SO SORRY!" Erik began yelling, rushing into the bathroom to change. Kae chuckled, all that panic and Erik still refused to say God or Jesus. Kae could have sworn she heard Erik crying as he got back into his uniform. Oddly enough, unlike the rest of SEES, Erik had gotten into the habit of wearing clothes that weren't his school uniform in the Dark Hour. Specifically, he'd been wearing a bright blue windbreaker with white reflective bands on it, all marked with white star and Caduceus with the word 'EMS' underneath. Along with this, he'd started wearing a blue quarter zip with the same logo as the jacket, with Reed written above the star and EMS below it. As for pants, he'd gotten to wearing navy blue cargo pants and a pair of black steel toe shoes. Seems he had use for that store's airsoft section after all. Kae kept wearing her uniform, opting to wear her jacket since it got so cold during the Dark Hour, but she did appreciate why Erik might want to wear his jacket.
"Let's never talk about this again, okay?" Erik groaned as he slipped his rush bag on.
"Of course." Kae chuckled. "Just don't let Shadows get the best of you again, don't think 'Jaysus' would like that very much."
"Can you shut up about that? You know I'm agnostic." Erik groaned. The team had recently come to find out about why Erik refused to say Jesus or God. As it turns out, Erik wasn't actually a devout catholic or anything. Erik believed that there was no way to know if gods did or did not exist, making agnostic. He explained it to SEES like this: if they were to ask someone if god exists, someone who says yes is theistic, someone who says no is atheistic, and Erik, who is agnostic, would say 'I don't know'. As for Jesus, Erik acknowledged that he existed, and did great things, so out of respect, he says Jaysus instead to avoid defaming his name. It was also because the rest of his family was Lutheran and he didn't want to be offending them by using Jesus' name in vain. As the two left the room they were in, Fuuka was finally able to contact them.
"Kae-San, Erik-San, I finally could reach you! I had the same issues with Minato and Yukari for some reason…" Fuuka stated. Oh that poor innocent girl, she didn't even know what this hotel was for and she didn't know what that Shadow was trying to make them do.
"It's okay, Fuuka, just give us a sitrep." Kae responded. "Take your time."
"Okay, there's a second large Shadow on the third floor." Fuuka began. "The others are working on defeating it, head up there and help them.
"Copy that, see you soon." Erik responded, flipping the sheath off his tanto. Kae unfurled her baton and checked her arm as they rushed up the stairs. The Kirijo Group had gotten an upgrade for her arm; it had a flamethrower now. Okay, technically, they found a way to make the Plume of Dusk that powered it able to project fire, but it still counted. Kae kicked the door leading to the Shadow in, a chaotic scene ahead. Mitsuru, Akhiko, and Minako were all fighting the Shadow of Lovers Arcana, if Kae had to guess. In the meantime, Minato and Yukari were dealing with Junpei, wildly swinging his sword at the two, hearts in his eyes. Seems he was charmed by the Shadow. Minato smacked Junpei across the face.
"Sorry, live strong." he grumbled as Junpei fell to the floor. "Kae, go fight the Shadow, Yukari and I will join you. Erik, Junpei has a few injuries, treat him if you can."
"Yes sir." Kae smirked as she rushed at the Shadow. Kae figured it was time for a trial run of the fire mode of her arm. She raised it at the Shadow as she pulled out her Evoker, a jet of fire wrapping around the Shadow with a noise like that of a jet engine. Kae pressed her Evoker to her chin.
"PERSONA!" she yelled as she pulled the trigger. Atlanta materialized, wrapping the Shadow in a small twister. Minako smirked and activated her own. Making what appeared to be a Pixy of some kind materialize. Surly, she was joking, that thing had to be too weak to do anything. Nevermind, it was way stronger than she thought, launching an Electric storm into the Shadow that severely weakened it.
"NOW, FINISH IT OFF KAE AND YUKARI!" Minako yelled. Kae and Yukari obliged, summoning their own Personas to send a piercing attack accelerated by a wind attack directly into the Shadow's mask. The Shadow let out an agonizing scream before dissolving into the air.
"Whew, that was a close one, glad it's over." Yukari breathed with relief before slinging her bow.
"At least most of us didn't fall for it's charms." Minako teased, looking directly at Erik and Junpei. "By the way, why is Erik dripping wet?"
"Uh, the sink went wild." Erik bluffed. "I woke up in the bathroom and the sink just started spraying at me." Junpei woke up as Erik said this.
"Ow, my cheek is killing me, what happened?" Junpei asked. Erik answered without missing a beat as he pulled out a bottle of pills.
"Shadow brainwashed you, Minato knocked some sense into you." Erik explained. "You're heart's racing, probably from that brainwashing, take two of these." Erik handed some pills to Junpei who took them.
"What is this anyway?" Junpei asked.
"Diphenhydramine." Erik stated, Junpei sputtering. "Relax, it's allergy medication. It just has a side effect of calming the body down, you'll be sleeping like a rock tonight, Junpei."
"That's reassuring." Junpei sighed, already feeling the medication kick in. "Let's head back, I'm exhausted."
"Agreed, we fought hard tonight, we deserve some rest." Mitsuru responded, a smile on her face. The members of SEES chatted amongst themselves as they left the scene of their battle. Kae couldn't shake the feeling they were being watched, however.
Minako could have been studying or watching the meat Erik was smoking, but it seemed that Ikutsuki, Mitsuru, and Kae all wanted to talk to the rest of SEES. It was apparently urgent, since they were meeting in the control room. Minako took a seat between Erik and Junpei, noting the concerned look Mitsuru had as she sat down. Soon enough, the rest of the group arrived, Yukari bearing a smug expression on her face and posture. Kae opened the briefing.
"Good evening everyone." Kae stated, standing at a military parade rest. "We all have some matters we want to discuss with you. Chairman, if you will?"
"Thank you Kae." Ikutsuki began. "About the Dark Hour and Shadows, we have been keeping information from you as of recently." Yukari scoffed.
"Yeah, like that accident ten years ago." Yukari stated. "Especially about how it was so close to the school, and why it happened." Minako winced, Kae seemed to as well.
"That's what we were going to discuss." Mitsuru responded, her composure strong, but slightly wavering. "All of this happened because of the Kirjo Group. Fourteen years ago, my grandfather pursued research with Shadows after he discovered their time altering abilities. He had become obsessed with them, and wanted to make something great with their powers, we didn't know what. Some thought he planned to use it for good, some thought he wanted to weaponize it. Over the years, he gathered countless Shadows, researchers, and other personnel who aided in his endeavors."
"He what!? Damn, that's freaking crazy…" Junpei marveled. Erik was relatively silent.
"Ten years ago, however, he lost control of them, altering the nature of the world." Mitsuru continued. "This resulted in the creation of the Dark Hour, and Shadows, including the 12 Arcana Shadows, and even Tartarus."
"Wouldn't that mean our school was where all of this happened?" Erik asked. Kae nodded.
"Yes, they ran experiments there, horrible things, things that should never have happened." Kae explained.
"How do you know about this?" Yukari asked. "Are you hiding things too?"
"I'll take this, Kae, I know it's painful to talk about." Mitsuru stated. "Kae's parents were the lead researchers. They were the horologists in charge of researching time, alongside Takeba's father. They died in the accident, they were killed by a Shadow that had escaped while they were driving home with Kae."
"That was when I lost my arm." Kae added, raising the Shadow Breaker. "If I had decided to stay home instead of coming with my parents, I would still have my arm."
"Damn…" was all Erik could bring himself to say.
"So we're just cleaning up your mess?" Yukari spat at Mitsuru. "That's why we're fighting to end the Dark Hour!?"
"No, my father truly wants to atone for the actions of the Kirijo Group, that's why we're ending the Dark Hour." Mitsuru answered.
"When we defeat the twelve Shadows, the Dark Hour will end, and this will be over." Ikutsuki explained. "We can only do this with your help."
"I already know all of this…" Fuuka admitted, fidgeting with her thumbs. "Yukari asked me to hack the Kirijo Group's records, that's why everyone is explaining all of this."
"Actually, it's because Yukari confronted me about all of this." Mitsuru corrected. "We didn't know you hacked us until now. I'll have to ask you for some help later."
"Regardless, I hope you all will stay with us." Kae added. There was mumbling, most of them wanted to stay, get rid of the Dark Hour, and help the Kirijo Group attone. Yukari, however, voiced doubts. Erik was the first one to step up and talk to her.
"Yukari, my dad always told me that when you have a mission, there will come a point where it goes against your values, and you'll want to stop it." Erik began. "But you have to keep doing it. He never said to just ignore your values, or not let your feelings get in the way of the mission, but instead, he said to take those values and feelings, and use them to keep you going. To keep going for what's bigger than yourself, to keep going because you know it's for the greater good."
"And how would you know, huh?" Yukari asked.
"Because that's why my dad wasn't at my birth." Erik stated. "He was in Kosovo the week I was born. He was fighting off a terror cell that had plans to bomb the US for their involvement in the civil war. He kept fighting, even when he disagreed with the methods, because he knew he would make sure I wouldn't be born into an America fearing attacks. So if you won't do this for the Kirijo Group, then do it for the people affected by them, or leave."
"Okay, but I'm only doing this for the people affected by the Dark Hour, Like Erik said." Yukari sighed.
"That's all I ask." Mitsuru stated. Everyone went off to study for finals of sleep on what just was revealed to them.
"Guess you're freezing that meat then." Minako chuckled, addressing Erik. "Was all of that true, about your father?"
"Yes." Erik stated. "I hated him a bit for it for years. I thought he decided the Army was more important than me, then I learned why he wasn't there. Now, if I blame anyone, I blame the military and those terrorists."
"It must have been hard saying that in front of everyone." Minako stated. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." Erik responded. "I just couldn't stand to see Yukari like that, I hated seeing her acting so selfishly. We can only grow as a species if we help each other, if we act for ourselves, we're going to tear each other apart. That's why I want to do what I want to do with my life." Minako could feel Erik's resolve, his reason for being on this planet, his calling. She felt like she was getting closer to Erik.
SOCIAL LINK UP
EMPEROR RANK 4
+EXP BONUS WHEN FUSING PERSONAS OF THE EMPEROR ARCANA
+ 5% BONUS TO HEALTH VALUE VALUE OF HEALING ITEMS USED BY ERIK OR MINAKO
ERIK WILL NOW BE ABLE TO CURE RAGE IN BATTLE
"Good thing I won't sign up for wars and shit." Erik spat under his breath. "Well, I better go put that meat away and clean up the smoker, good night, Minako." Erik ran off to go do as he said, leaving Minako to head to her own room, now knowing that Erik may not be the soldier boy his father wants.
Finals were tough, Erik knew that much. Back in the states, it was usually very easy to figure out the answers based on context and the structure of the problems and questions. Not with this, however. All this did was test memory, and Erik's sucked. Fortunately for him, he did well, mostly because he had a goal to push forward to. As it turned out, the team would be going to Yakushima after finals. Erik was rather excited, he was worried that with SEES duties and his student visa, he wouldn't be able to take any kind of rest, but fortunately, his visa allowed him to be anywhere in the country, and it was Mitsuru's idea to go to Yakushima anyway. Apparently the last living witness to what actually happened during the accident that created the Dark Hour was living in Yakushima, and he just so happened to be Mitsuru's father. So the plan was to go to Yakushima and stay at the Kirijo's vacation home there, and confront Takeharu Kirijo about the Dark Hour. Erik didn't really care about that part, he was just happy to get some time away from academics and SEES for once. In fact, he would only be bringing a basic first aid kit, no designated medic bullshit on the island. The rest of SEES were certainly excited too, even Yukari was excited. The girls ran off to go buy swimsuits, literally having to drag Kae to come with them, as she was adamant about being fine with her school swimsuit. That left the guys of SEES in the dorm all awkwardly trying to find something to do with their free time until the next day when they would be leaving.
"Uh, what's everyone excited most for?" Erik asked, clearly struggling to find a topic to discuss.
"Resting on the beach." Minato stated.
"Dude, all you freaking do is sleep, yet you somehow have perfect grades and combat form, how?" Junpei asked.
"Secrete." Minato answered.
"I'm looking forward to training." Akihiko added to the conversation. "Already wrote up a regiment made around the beach."
"I'm excited to see the girls in their swimsuits." Junpei chuckled. Yep, Junpei was fun, but he always managed to say something perverted at the right moment. "What about you, Erik, is there someone you want to see? Maybe someone with a certain appendage?"
"W-what the hell are you talking about!?" Erik responded, stuttering subconsciously.
"Dude, you spend so much time with Kae, the first years are already putting bets on if you two are gonna start dating." Junpei stated. "You gotta admit, there's something going on."
"Yeah I gotta agree with Junpei on this one, you two spend a pretty suspicious amount of time together." Minato added.
"Shut up you two." Erik groaned. "She's just a friend, you got it?"
"I don't know, Erik, Minako seems to think you two should be dating." Akihiko stated.
"Yeah, she would say that, it's Minako, she somehow managed to pair up that creepy girl who stalks Mitsuru and that guy who was taking pictures of Minako in her gym uniform." Erik retorted. "She just ships people, that's her thing!"
"She was pretty adamant on you two needing to be an item." Junpei teased. "Maybe some magic could happen on the trip, if you catch my drift."
"Haista paska." Erik spat at Junpei.
"Tiedät että rakastat minua." Junpei responded as Erik got up and left. At least Junpei still knew his Finnish. Erik groaned as he shut the door to his room. Why the hell was everyone thinking he and Kae were an item? They weren't, they were just good friends, that's it, there was no romantic interest at all. At least that's what Erik told himself, one of them would realize the truth soon enough.
A/N: You expect time between the last full moon battle and this one, but it was I, time skipping! I am so sorry for that awful jojo refrence I swear it wont happen again. But yeah, I really really want to get to Yakushima, because that's when shit gets real between our cyborg tomboy and Finnish medic boi. Next chapter or two will cover summer, and Erik's family will be visiting soon. Something I want to address real quick, as much as I want to, I won't be covering anyone else's Persona evolutions, excluding Junpei, the twins, and, of course, Erik and Kae, sorry. There also won't be much of a focus on Strega, but I do have some plans for them, mostly just for the final confrontation. That's it for now, as always, hope you enjoy and have a great day!
BONUS! PERSONA ABILLITY CHARTS
User: Kae Maeda
Persona: Atlanta
Arcana: Temperance
Level: 32
Skills: Garula, Magarula Tarukaja, Matarukaja, Torrent Shot, Cruel attack,
Shadow Breaker Abbilities: Beat Down (Heavy strike damage to one foe), Exciting Current (medium electric damage to all foes w/ charge time), Hell
User: Erik Reed
Persona: Hipocrates
Arcana: Emperor
Level: 29
Skills: Getsu-Ei, Gale Slash, Diarama, Mediarama, Enradi, Hama, Mahama, Charmdi
Special Abbilities: Medical Training [SL 4] (healing items heal an additional 20% of their base value when used by Erik or Minako), Calming Talk (Erik may give a talk to an enraged foe at the beginning of his turn, curing them without using his turn or SP)