Night of 4/23
Akira awakens to find himself once again not in his bed, but in the Velvet Room. Caroline's baton taps the bars of the cell door rhythmically and softly.
"It's been sometime since we last spoke, Inmate," Justine says.
"Indeed," Caroline agrees, "It was quite rude of you to not come and visit us for so long. YOURISKHURTINGJUSTINESFEELINGS!"
Akira stands as his ears ring from Caroline's outburst. He moves to the door of his cell looking at Justine to see no evidence of hurt feelings. Justine stares back at him, her face emotionless as always.
"Our master wishes to speak with you," Caroline says. "He's got something to show you, something to give you, and something to ask you."
"Trickster," Igor says from his desk in the middle of the cell block, "how are you?"
"W-what?" Akira asks. The question catches him completely off guard.
"OURMASTERASKEDYOUHOWYOUWEREINMATE! LISTEN!"
"I-I'm fine…" Akira responds.
"Good. Good. I understand you have found a use for your powers, Trickster. Infiltrating a palace and finding allies to assist you in doing so. My, my. Barely a month and you've already begun your rehabilitation swimmingly."
"You know about my friends?"
"We know everything that goes on in your life, Inmate," Justine explains. "We don't need to physically watch you to know what you're doing or who you're doing it with."
"Invasion of privacy much?" Akira retorts. Akira sucks in his breath as knuckles are rapped against by Caroline's baton.
"Watch you mouth, Inmate," she growls.
"Hehehe," Igor chuckles, "Trickster, try to understand that we're here to assist you in your rehabilitation."
"Will you tell me what I'm being rehabilitated for?"
Igor looks around the room as he stands up from his desk. He walks to different cells and peers inside their empty chambers. "Do you remember what I said about this room Trickster?"
"You said it was like my heart. That this is the representation of my heart."
"Correct. Do you understand what you're being rehabilitated for now?"
"No. That didn't clarify anything for me," Akira tells him.
"Perhaps it is too early in your rehabilitation to explain at this time," Justine says.
"Perhaps you are right Justine," Igor agrees as he takes his seat again. "Well Trickster, it seems that you've made some confidants along the path to your rehabilitation. It seems you've found the Chariot confidant—"
"The Chariot?" Akira asks.
"DONTINTERRUPT!"
"Justine…" Igor says.
"The Chariot is the persona of victory, conquest, self-assertion, self-confidence, control, war, and command," Justine explains. "You, Trickster, are unique in that you can control many Personas of many Arcanas. Most individuals only have a single Persona from a single Arcana that embodies them most."
"Many individuals express characteristics of many Arcanas, but their heart shows the one they resemble most," Caroline continues. "Individuals of the Chariot Arcana display personal tendencies toward a specific goal. They are individuals who are driven to a goal that they aim to reach at any cost. It is not uncommon for these individuals to be short-tempered or aggressive. Can you think who that might be, Inmate?"
"Ryuji," Akira answers without hesitation.
"Correct," Igor says. "Young Sakamoto is your Chariot confidant and he shall aid you well in your rehabilitation."
"So, are all my friends confidants of a given persona?" Akira asks.
"Do you share a personal connection with every individual you're friends with?" Justine asks.
"No," Akira replies.
"Then not every friend is a confidant. Conversely, not every confidant need be a friend. It's not so much how well you get along with an individual, but how much you understand their heart," Justine explains.
"Who're my other confidants then?" Akira asks.
"You've made contact with a Magician confidant," Igor says.
"The Magician," Justine says, "is the Arcana that embodies magic."
"Obviously," Caroline tuts.
"Individuals of this Arcana tend to be fiercely loyal to their friends while also having a rather large ego to hide personal insecurities. Strong desires shape who they are as individuals that can manifest in a variety of personality traits. Do you know who this would be, Inmate?" Justine asks.
"Sounds like…... Morgana?"
"Correct," Igor smiles. "The next Confidant you have acquired is the Hierophant."
"The Hierophant Arcana is the Arcana that represents education, authority, and obedience to rules. Individuals of this Arcana tend to be older in years, wise, and logical. They remember the past vividly, if for no other reason than to learn from it," Justine explains.
"Sojiro," Akira says.
"You pick up on this quickly, Trickster," Igor says. "and finally, the Lovers Confidant."
"The Lovers Arcana is representative of love and romantic relationships. It can also symbolize agreement and a desire for understanding of another's heart," Justine explains again. "Individuals of this Arcana are typically those who are popular, cheerful and social. Some we have seen can also be more spirited or spunky. We know you know who this is."
"Ann?"
"Yes, your heart seems to be bridging to hers. We can sense it from here," Igor says.
"I don't understand," Akira says. "I like Ann and all. She's very pretty and everything but I'm not in love with her or anything."
"HAHAHA!" Caroline roars with laughter.
"Hehehe," Igor also chuckles. "You can lie to yourself, Trickster, but you cannot lie to this room. Your heart has begun to bridge with hers whether you know it or not."
Akira feels his cheeks warm as the blood rushes to his face. How could they know?! I've never even told anybody out loud.
"Girls," Igor says, "Ensure he doesn't remember that last comment when he leaves. Best we don't interfere with the rehabilitation further than explaining his confidants to him."
Caroline and Justine nod at the command. Akira feels a sense of dread pass over him. Can they just decide what I do and don't remember from this room?
"Yes, we can," Igor says. "It is not a power we use often. The more you learn here and take into the real world, the better your rehabilitation will go. Now, one final thing before we show you what you've been brought here for. You've made contact with many individuals who could serve as confidants to you in your rehabilitation. Ensure that you continue to meet new individuals and build bonds with them to assist you."
"We believe you've made contact with individuals of the Moon, Temperance, Priestess, Empress, Strength, and Fool Arcanas," Justine says.
"We cannot tell you more about them until you've begun to build your relationship with them, Inmate," Caroline continues. "If you do this however, we will tell you if you wish."
Akira nods to the inhabitants of the Velvet Room. So, confidants are individuals of a given Arcana, and by understanding who they are as a person, I can build an understanding or relationship with them that will assist in my rehabilitation. If they ever tell me what I'm being rehabilitated for.
"Now, Trickster, what I'm going to give you is the power to harness more personas at a single time," Igor says. "That is because you will need it for this gift, I'm about to give you. Girls get the guillotines, it's time we explained fusion," Igor says, that large smile continuing to be plastered across his short face.
XXXX
4/24
Ryuji grumbles as Akira pulls him off the ground.
"Damn, that guy really got me there," Ryuji says.
"Here," Akira says as he tosses him a bottle of painkillers. Ryuji pops the lid and takes a couple and feels the effect almost immediately. His pain in his shoulder and knee don't disappear but become a bit more tolerable.
"Man, I thought those bastards in the main castle were bad. But the ones in this tower are even worse," Ryuji says. Akira nods in agreement as Ann and Morgana join them.
"We're getting closer to the treasure," Morgana explains, "so we need to stay vigilant and keep moving forward. I can just feel it that the treasure is here."
"I hope so, I'm exhausted," Ann says. "The shadows are also getting really tough and indecent."
"Hate to break it to you," Ryuji begins, "but everything is indecent in here. Look at the statues and shit around us."
"Another byproduct of the desires of the heart," Morgana explains.
"Enough chit-chat. If we're all still good to go let's see if we can find another safe room further up the tower," Akira says with a small wave. The group all nod in agreement and fall in line behind their leader.
Ryuji lets his mind wander a bit as they progress through more rooms and floors of the tower. Some are empty and while the others loot what they can find, Ryuji meanders about thinking about the past couple of years.
He'd always been a bit of an outcast. Even back before he dyed his hair blond. There was a period of time when he had friends from the track team but that was all gone now. Since then, Ryuji has just kind of existed. He was never very good at school, but his mother had insisted that he go to high school and eventually university to get a good paying job. But the truth was, that while Ryuji's mother wanted him to get a nice job and move away and live a happy life, he didn't want to leave.
Ryuji knew that his mother would be alright without him but the thought of not being able to see her when he wanted and to go home and spend time with her bummed him out. It was just another reminder of how much getting older sucked. Without a father in the picture it had always been him and his mom. And while he obviously loved her, he couldn't just say it or show it all the time. She knew this and knew that teasing her son in public with childhood nicknames for him and kissing his cheek would embarrass him. But she also knew Ryuji would always agree to go shopping with her again the next time.
It was a bond that not many teenage boys got to have with their mother, but Ryuji was glad he did. With only the two of them, they were able to form a stronger mother-son relationship than some get to.
Ryuji knows he's not the easiest person to be around. Sometimes his anger gets the best of him and can really drain those around him. A lot of things made him angry too. Angry over what the 'system' did to his friend Akira. Angry over what Kamoshida has been doing. Angry over what the lack of shitty adults decided to do about it until now. But these friends seem to look past it. Ryuji thinks that they might be willing to give him a chance and see him for who he really is, not just who he appears to be.
Ryuji smiles a bit as his recollection of everything that's changed in his life in the past few weeks comes to an end. Things were getting better. We'll change Kamoshida's heart! And we'll make him confess his crimes to all who will listen. The world will know what kind of a scumbag he really is! Ryuji glances at Akira as they finish looting the room they're in. I gotta be more like him.
He's been screwed over by the system, abused by the people around him 'cause of his record. Outcast and ostracized by his peers when they don't even know the whole story. But if I didn't know any of that earlier, I don't think I'd ever know. He hasn't let any of it slow him down or beat him into submission. I know he can hear the rumors as we walk through the halls, but it never seems to phase him. How does he do it?
"H-hey guys," Ryuji says. The others turn to look at him, "I… uhm…" Ryuji stutters out. He'd opened his mouth without really knowing what he wants to say.
"What is it Skull?" Morgana asks.
"I think we should all go out and get something to eat after we're done here today. You guys down?"
"That sounds nice," Ann replies. Akira nods in agreement.
"As long as we can get some kind of fish for me," Morgana says as he continues to climb the stairs to the tower.
Ryuji wants to say more, but now doesn't seem like the time.