15 April 2011, Friday
Tsuna was helped up by Daemon, who looked far too anxious for his own good, but also incredibly relieved. "Time for a pensive memory," his brother declared, indicating the one on the table.
Tsuna smiled and pulled a memory, then placed it in the device.
All of them went in. Once they were back out it was discussion time. Or rather, discussion time for them, because if Tsuna didn't get going, he would be too late to make dinner, again. "I'll open a window tonight," he said, "and we can share anything we've come up with."
Daemon smothered him in affection for a good minute, then let him go.
On the way to the Dojima residence Tsuna noticed a girl with long black hair sitting in a gazebo. She was wearing a pink kimono and had a red umbrella propped against the bench she was on. A closer look revealed it to be Amagi-san.
She noticed him and looked curious, so he checked his watch, saw he had a bit more time yet, and wandered over to say hello.
"Are you surprised to see me dressed this way?" she asked. "My parents sent me out on an errand."
'Which does not explain why you're sitting here instead of doing said errand,' he thought.
"Um, are you getting used to your new town and school?"
"It has a peaceful atmosphere, which is nice. The school? I'm not sure yet."
"Really? But… It must be difficult, moving to a place you know nothing about. I've never been outside of Inaba, so I wouldn't know what it's like to transfer to a new school. Oh! Are you getting along with Chie? I mean, I always leave early, so…"
He wanted to avoid that question entirely, though he wouldn't. "Inaba is a little smaller than where I lived before, and I admit there's not as much to do here. Chie-san seems nice, very energetic."
"I'm glad to hear that. Chie's very supportive, you know. It's always her who gives me the little extra push I need. We had homeroom together last year, too, and I still remember how we'd cut class sometimes. Oh… I should get going. I need to make tomorrow's arrangements with our head chef. Our inn can't function without me right now. Um… I'll see you at school, then."
"I wish you a pleasant evening," he said.
He arrived back at the Dojima residence in time to smoothly start rustling up dinner. Nanako had come into the kitchen area with a look of hunger, but the girl diverted to getting out dinnerware and hashi rather than frying an egg or something.
"Shopping Sunday morning?" he asked her as he prepared a simple stir fry.
"Okay."
As before, he was making enough for three, though he had doubts about Dojima getting home on time to eat any fresh out of the wok.
"Dad's late," Nanako announced as they sat in front of the TV.
"Our next story is an update in our ongoing report on the bizarre murders occurring in Inaba. At around 7.00am, local high school student Konishi Saki was found dead in Inaba's residential area. Since the body was positioned similarly to the last victim, and since Konishi-san was the one who discovered the body… Police are proceeding under the assumption that this may be a serial murder case related to the death of Yamano Mayumi. The coroner's report has established Konishi-san's time of death at around 1.00am last night. The body went unnoticed until this morning as a result of the heavy fog blanketing the area."
"Another incident," Nanako said sadly. "Dad won't be coming home tonight."
"It's unfortunate," he said. "Should we leave the extra in the fridge for him? Or try to eat it ourselves?"
"…I don't think I can eat more than this," she said, indicating her serving.
He nodded. "I'll put it in the fridge, then. If I get hungry again before bed, I can always heat it up quickly."
"Can you help me do some stuff around the house once we're done?"
"Of course, Nanako-chan."
"—Amagi Inn, located upstream of Samegawa River, is the town's oldest historical landmark. Vacationers are known to travel surprising distances in order to visit its open-air, radium-rich hot springs. After the incident with Yamano-san, the manager has stepped aside, leaving her daughter Yukiko to fill her shoes."
The image changed to show Yukiko on-screen, wearing the kimono Tsuna had seen her in earlier. She must have run into a station crew after they parted.
"In other words, she's a manager who's still in high school. Now that has a nice ring to it. Let's see if we can interview her. Excuse me!"
"Hm…? Um… Are you speaking to me?"
"We've heard that you're the new manager of Amagi Inn. Is it true that you're still in high school?
"Oh, well, I'm only filling in temporarily…"
"Someday, though… That aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have a lot of male visitors."
"Huh? No, um…"
Tsuna was more than a little disgusted by the reporter's invasive questions and how they went further and further off the original subject.
"This is boring," Nanako eventually said. "Will you help me with the dishes?"
"Sure. Do you want to wash or dry?"
— — —
"So," he said, taking care to speak in Spanish again.
"The weather report says it'll be raining all night," Ken said. "We need to be watching this Midnight Channel thing."
"I agree." He could hear the sound of rain already against the window and pattering on the roof. "If it keeps happening, we'll at least have a clue who might be thrown in next."
"It also means we gotta keep an eye on all weather reports," Hayato said. "If we ever get notice that the fog is supposed to roll in here…"
"And someone's in there," Chikusa added.
"Again, agreed. We have no idea how these people are being chosen, who's behind it, or if any or all of them would even warrant a death sentence. That being so, I'm going to assume innocents are being targeted and that we need to rescue them. And I have yet to have found a moment to go buy a new TV," he complained.
Xeul rolled his eyes. "I'll take care of it, Heul darling, and have it delivered."
"On a side note, I expect if we all went in, the rest of you would obtain these Persona things."
A round of nods happened.
"I was completely unable to utilize my flames—or, I suspect, my magic—during that battle. I assume you all saw that weird, ah, interface I did?"
"Uh-huh. Looked like something out of a video game," Mukuro commented.
"And yet, I was able to use my flames to check your health," Sin said.
"Out of battle," he pointed out. "I did try using Earth Flames to cushion our landing, but given how weird our arrival is, I couldn't be sure if they actually helped."
"We'll have to test some things," Daemon said, looking resigned, "the next time. Because I've no doubt there will be a next time. Probably plenty of them."
They talked for a while longer, then he went downstairs to heat up the leftovers. He had quite an appetite for some reason, and Dojima had yet to come home. He was just finishing up his meal when programming for the night came to its conclusion.
"In other Inaba-related news, meteorologists are predicting heavy fog throughout the year. The region has seen an abnormal amount of fog over the past few years, and the cause of the climate change is unknown. Whatever the reason, residents of the Inaba area should be extra careful. Our broadcast tonight was extended to bring you up-to-date news on the incident in Inaba. The time is now midnight."
He hit the off button on the remote and waited. Seconds later an image appeared, that of a woman wearing a kimono, but the image was so out of focus he couldn't pinpoint who it represented. He thought he saw the barest hint of pink, but that might be wishful thinking considering his encounter on the way home.
As a test he touched the screen, and as his fingers sank into it the image disappeared.
"Something to talk about tomorrow," he decided, then bussed his dishes downstairs, quickly washed them, and went to bed.
— — —
16 April 2011, Saturday
"Welcome … to the Velvet Room," he heard, which cause Tsuna to open his eyes to the sight of that limousine again. "Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world. I have summoned you within your dreams."
'Which makes me think alarmingly of Kawahira.'
"And so we meet again. This is a space that only those who have, in one way or another, entered into a contract may enter," Igor reminded him. "In your daily life, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow the destiny of your inner voice … thereby enacting your glorious awakening to your power. Hold on to this," Igor said, extending a key toward him.
Tsuna took it; it was blue. What a shock.
"From this night forth, you are our guest in this Velvet Room. Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably need our help. There is but one price for this assistance. You must abide by your contract and assume responsibility for all decisions you may make." Igor and Margaret both looked at him expectantly.
"I understand."
"Very well. The Persona you have acquired… It is a side of yourself that shows itself when you face the world around you. Perhaps you can think of it as … a façade of determination you wear to face various difficulties in life. Your Persona ability, however, is that of the wild card. Compared to that of others, it is very special. It is like the number zero, empty, yet holding infinite possibilities within itself."
"…Special?" And where was Sin or Hayato when he needed an explanation about mathematics?
"The Persona ability is the power to control one's own heart. And the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities."
Tsuna blinked. "Control one's heart?" he asked in disbelief.
"Social Links are necessary for more than strengthening your Persona," Margaret said. "At times, they will help light the way to the truth you are searching for."
"Where will your awakened power of the wild card take you?" Igor said. "I look forward to traveling the road of your destiny together." The creepy man chuckled, as if over some private joke Tsuna was not going to be clued into. "Until we meet again…"
— — —
When he woke up for real it was perilously close to when he would have to leave, so he booked it to the bathroom to get in a shower, opening a window long enough to let the others know he was running late and wouldn't be over that morning. Nanako had breakfast ready by the time he got downstairs, so he ate, helped her clean up, and booked it to the usual meeting point.
His family shot inquiring looks at him.
"Another dream," he said quietly. "Which sucks, because, no homemade bentos."
They sighed unhappily.
Along the way Yosuke caught up to them on his bike. "You saw what was on last night, right? I couldn't tell who it was, though."
"I'm afraid I went to bed early," Tsuna blatantly lied.
"Oh…" Yosuke looked at the others, but they shook their heads.
For a diversion Tsuna engaged Yosuke in a discussion of his adaptation to Inaba and how it fared compared to his previous residence. They were nearly at the school when he heard that damn voice again, right after Yosuke declared he was going to try harder to accept the good aspects of living in Inaba.
Thou art I, and I am thou. Thou hast established a new bond. It brings thee closer to the truth. Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Magician Arcana.
'Right,' he thought. 'Am I wrong to think that was somehow connected to the kid's declaration of resolve?'
Chie dashed over once they were at 2-2 and stared at Yosuke. "Is Yukiko still not here?"
"Huh? Yukiko-san? Uh, no? At least, I haven't seen her yet this morning."
"Oh man, what should I do?" Chie said, working herself up to a fine panic. "I'm starting to worry that stuff is real!"
"What are you talking about?" Yosuke said.
Tsuna settled in at his desk and did his best to blend in and be uninteresting.
"You know. All that about how people show up on the Midnight Channel? The person on the TV last night… I think it was Yukiko. The kimono I saw looked a lot like the one she wears at the inn, a-and she wore it during the interview the other day, too. I got so worried, so I emailed her last night, but she hasn't responded. I called her earlier in the evening, though, and she said she'd be at school today. I…"
"Didn't she say in that interview that she was filling in?" Hayato said calmly. "Maybe it's been crazy over there and she just hasn't had a chance to check her email. Did she say she'd be in for morning classes specifically? Have you tried calling this morning?"
"Uh…" Chie lost some of her look of panic and whipped out her phone, then dialed. Thirty seconds later she said, "No good, her voicemail picked up. She's not answering."
"And if she's working at the moment?" Hayato said, clearly trying to lead the girl to an answer on her own.
"Yeah, she wouldn't be able to pick up her cell phone if she was. Let me try the inn phone. I have it here somewhere…" She dialed again, restlessly shifting from foot to foot. "Oh, is this Yukiko!? …Uh-huh. …Uh-huh. …I see. …Hm? …Oh. Nah, it was nothing. I'll email you again later." Chie disconnected and tucked her phone away. "Yeah, she was over at the inn. She said they had a big group reservation and she had to help out. Yeah, now that I think about it, this has happened before. At least once a year. She said she'll be at the inn tomorrow, too. Uh-oh, King Moron is coming…"
— — —
He brought the others up to speed about his dream after school, at the Rokudo house.
"That guy is super creepy," Mukuro opined after watching a pensieve memory. "And the girl? She's a cold fish."
"Mm, but considering we don't know what they are, that almost makes sense. Also, I somehow managed to initiate a Social Link with Hanamura on the way to school." He got a number of disbelieving looks for that, then confused shrugs. "I think it might have been his resolve. Not sure why him, aside from the fact that he's been, presumably, deeply affected by the object of his affections kicking it. Which then leads me to wonder if Social Links are more about me playing therapist than…"
Sin wrinkled his nose at the idea. "Well, you are a Sky, tesoro. It almost goes with the territory."
"I had a thought," Ken said. "You three gained Personas. Try poking your fingers into the TV, see what happens?"
A look bounced around for a moment, then everyone got up and trundled over to the television. One by one the three tried, and one by one each of them managed to sink their fingers in.
"Speaking of which," Tsuna said. "Let me try something." He stuck his hand in and made a beckoning motion, hoping to attract Teddie's attention. He knew he had succeeded when something bit him. He snatched his hand back and stared at it; there were bite marks. Sin quickly moved to fix that.
"Oya!" Mukuro said at the TV. "What's the idea, bear?"
"Oo! Is this a game?" issued from the screen.
"No, it is not a game," Tsuna said. "I was trying to get your attention so we could ask a question. Can you sense anyone over there right now?"
"Who's 'anyone'? I'm a lonely little bear like always. This land feels so bear-ren."
Tsuna rolled his eyes, which was slightly hypocritical, because he loved puns. "You haven't sensed any person being thrown in, correct?"
"My nose is as good as ever!" Teddie declared proudly.
"All right. We have reason to suspect a person might be thrown in soon, so we'll get back to you."
Tsuna headed to the kitchen to make himself a snack, mostly to compensate for having to eat lunch bought from the school cafeteria. "Hopefully I can be here for a good part of Sunday so I can spend some time baking," he muttered. He was very annoyed that one of his primary relaxation activities was mostly denied to him.
"A good part?" Daemon asked, having sneaked up behind him to see what he was doing.
"I told Nanako-chan I would do the shopping with her in the morning, probably every Sunday morning, since that's the only free one. I can come over after, relax, spend time with all of you…"
— — —
It was raining again. If there was one thing truly odd about Inaba, it was that weather forecasts so far had been dead on. That night's image was startlingly clear, like an actual show. Yukiko was there, dressed in a pink ballgown, holding a pink microphone, and looking like she was hopped up on happy drugs.
"Good evening," she said. "Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise. I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud! Welcome to 'Not a Dream, Not a Hoax'. Princess Yukiko's hunt for her Prince Charming. And I came prepared!"
Tsuna's eyes went wide when the camera cut to a shot of her pressing one hand against her nether region.
"I've got my lacy unmentionables on—"
The camera cut to her cleavage.
"—stacked from top to bottom. I'm out to catch a whole harem of the best. The lot is gonna be all mine! Well, here I go!" The camera cut to a shot of her dashing toward one of those black and red portals, set into a massive building—a castle? The path was lined with rearing horse statues. For some reason.
The image winked out and Tsuna was left with a cold, dark screen again.
"Well, that happened," he said to the window that winked open.
"We'll discuss it tomorrow, after you're done shopping?" Sin asked.
"Yep. See you then, schatz."
Sin blew him a kiss and the window winked out again.
— — —
17 April 2011, Sunday
"Oh, good morning," Nanako said as he hit the bottom of the stairs.
"I almost didn't expect you to be up so early today."
"Dad woke up early, and I woke up with him," she said.
Tsuna nodded. "Let's get breakfast, then do the shopping." He was not the least bit surprised when Sin showed up to smoothly blend into their expedition as they walked through the doors to Junes, ostensibly to help carry any purchases back to the Dojima residence. Nanako, after being introduced, gave Sin the same kind of dubious looks as she had Tsuna originally, but refrained from commenting.
Once Nanako was safely escorted home and the groceries tucked away, he and Sin set out for the other house and arrived in good time (mainly due to ducking into a blind corner and stepping over).
"I think what we saw last night strongly suggests that Amagi was tossed in," Chikusa said. "The sheer clarity of the 'broadcast' has to mean something, after all."
"Do we all go in this time?" Xeul asked. "Or stick to the original four? My preference is that we all go in, so we're all capable of dealing with this … situation."
"Did anyone get a weather forecast this morning?" Tsuna asked. "It would help if we knew when the next fog bank is going to roll in."
"The normal conditions which produce fog might not work the same way here. There's clearly something supernatural going on, which potentially changes the rules," Hayato pointed out.
"So far," Daemon said, "we've had fog after a rainy night. That being said, we should be clear for at least the next week. We'll still need to keep a close eye on what the news has to say, though."
"I vote we all go in," Ken said. "If we can all fight under these peculiar circumstances, we can switch around to conserve health and, ah, whatchamacallit … Spirit Points. We don't know what the rules are with regard to topping those off, except for any past experience in turn-based games. So, generally speaking, items rather than a constant regenerative effect."
"Excellent point," Mukuro said. "I also vote we all go in. And, since Sin was able to use his Sun Flames to check your health out of combat, Heul darling, he might be able to heal out of combat, as well as Ken, which would certainly help."
Tsuna nodded. "Right. Let me prepare by making up some food to take with us…"
While he was doing that his twins decided to give him a summary of what they were calling CSI: Inaba, having been following Dojima around with a window and spying on the police station.
"To date: there is no known cause of death for Yamano, and likewise nothing on Konishi. To them it was like the two simply stopped living, or to a magical that they were hit with the Killing Curse. It's been established that both Hiiragi and Namatame had solid alibis, with eyewitnesses placing them well away from Inaba at the time of Yamano's death.
"There's also nothing to show that Yamano contacted Namatame before or after her disappearance. On a side note, Namatame has been fired from his position as secretary, which isn't all that surprising.
"Dojima doesn't believe the motive behind Konishi's death had to do with Yamano's killer trying to shut her up, but his kohai, Adachi, hasn't ruled out that Konishi saw something on or about Yamano's corpse that put her at risk. The only link so far, aside from the two victims being female, is that Konishi attended the same school as Amagi and that Yamano stayed at the Amagi Inn."
"Pretty damn thin connection," he commented.
"Falls under 'grasping at straws' I'd say," Xeul replied. "We'll continue to keep an eye on things, since we're not the ones stuck being students."
Tsuna pouted at him, then finished up his work. "Right, let's go."
Those who could (enter the TV on their own) dragged along those who could not, and shortly thereafter all eight of them were picking themselves up off the studio floor.
His twins, Chikusa, and Ken looked quite annoyed at the oppressive fog, whereas Tsuna noticed he was wearing the glasses Teddie had given him without even noticing, which begged the question: did they go into a pocket dimension while he was in the real world, only to pop into place once he entered the TV World?
Teddie was there, but he was facing away and seemed to be deep in contemplation of … something.
"Hello, Teddie," Tsuna said. "What are you doing?"
"Can't you tell?" the bear said as he turned around. "I'm thinking about stuff. I've been deli-bear-ating over it for a long time now." He giggled like Lambo on too much sugar. "Hey, that wasn't a bad joke!"
"Did you figure anything out?"
"No." Teddie's expression switched to downcast. "I try and try but nothing comes out of my head." Then he realized that someone was different. "Oh! More of you?"
Introductions went around.
"It'll take me some time to make more glasses," Teddie informed them, to no one's surprise.
Tsuna nodded. "Someone came here yesterday, right?"
"I think it happened a little after I talked with you guys. After that, it felt like someone was here, but I haven't gone to look yet. The presence is over that way. That's probably where they are."
"Will you show us the way?" he asked.
"Sure!" Teddie said cheerfully and skittered off.
— — —
The castle was the same as from the "show", and it was impressively large from the outside. Inside was a hallway. A standard red runner carpet (edged in gold), marble flooring underneath, with plenty of wood accents and gold-edged red curtains or wall hangings. There was enough fog inside to obscure any distance. They didn't get far before they ran into more of those amorphous Shadows, which made a beeline for them the second they were noticed.
Tsuna was graced with that set of brass knuckles again, without him having to do a thing, much like his glasses. Sin had a gun, Hayato had throwing knives (that never seemed to run out), and Mukuro sported a trident. Tsuna shrugged and set to bashing in the faces of the enemies. Based on what little Teddie had said, he had to assume Shadows were the negative emotions or desires of human beings manifested into dangerous "creatures" of a sort.
Shades of Jung and Freud and all that came to mind. In a way, it was rather like they were wandering around in the collective unconscious of humanity.
It was interesting, he thought, that each of his companions had distinct abilities. For example, Mukuro had a skill he could use called Pulpina, which apparently had a good chance to "confuse" an enemy. Considering that Mukuro was a Mist primary…
Sin had access to Mudo and Hama, attacks with a chance for an instant kill, which were Dark and Light attacks respectively. They learned very quickly that Sin could tear through normal encounters, with a major downside of quickly running out of "Spirit Points".
It was also interesting that some of the enemies they encountered, once brought low enough on health, would initiate a conversation in an attempt to escape "death". Negotiations could bring about several results: money, items, or a new Persona for Tsuna's arsenal.
Considering that both Igor and the interface kept yammering on about Personas plural with regard to him, Tsuna did not find that aspect of things to be particularly surprising. It made him, once he had gathered up enough of them, incredibly versatile in battle within the restrictions placed upon them what with being able to swap which Persona he was using at the start of his turn.
Tsuna let his intuition guide their path, which led them to various chests to open, and which contained items, weapons, or armor.
It wasn't all that long—for a given definition of long in a place where the perception of the passage of time was wonky as fuck—before they entered a room on the second floor and were confronted with four Shadow Selves. Once that was cleared up (Daemon: Nōgami Neuro; Xeul: Suzuhara Satoshi; Chikusa: Toma So; Ken: Kudō Shinichi) and Tsuna saw that half his family was looking quite peaky and prone to something unfortunate, he made a command decision to retreat for the day.
"It's not supposed to rain for some time," he said, "so we have at least a few days to handle this." He was gratified that no one outright objected, though it was clear his fellow "students" would have preferred to continue on.
Sin did his best to ease their nausea on the way back to the studio exit, with only fair success.
"I think I'm going to have a lie down," Daemon declared once they were back at the house.
"The rest of us could go check out that metalworks shop," Sin suggested. "They might have something interesting for sale. If not we already know where we can get better weapons than what we were given on the other side."
"Starter weapons never are all that good in video games," Hayato said. "But let's have a snack first. Going by the time we weren't there all that long, but I'm surprisingly hungry."
Daemon waved absently and wandered off, followed by Xeul, Chikusa, and Ken, so Tsuna and the rest ate and headed for the shopping district.
Daidara's Metalworks was brimming with weapons and armor of all kinds on racks, shelves, and in display cases. They also had accessories, and through the lens of Protagonist Powers—for Tsuna that meant seeing all sorts of additional information about various items, like little notes written in runes—he was able to determine the best of the lot to purchase, and did so, for all eight of them.
Sin, of course, was very put out. He could not just use his favorite gun and be done with it, no.
A quick step to Italy revealed that the weapons there had no such "tags" and counted as bog standard starter weapons.
"Maybe there's a god involved," Mukuro mused. "How else could rules like this, and Social Links, bleed over into the normal world?"
"Given that there's no quantitative proof either way, it's as good an explanation as any," he said. "I admit, I have yet to get around to checking if I can access my storage on the other side, so for now, let's leave all this at the house, ready to go for the next time."
It was about then that he noticed an odd, glowing blue door, right next to Daidara's. "I'm the only one seeing this, aren't I."
"Considering I have no idea what you're talking about, I'd say yes," Sin said helpfully.
"Yeah, figured as much. Hang tight for a few. I'm gonna check this out," he said, then approached the door. Lo and behold, he needed that blue key from earlier to open it. He stepped through, straight into the limousine known as the Velvet Room. 'I'm starting to wonder if at this point I could actually deliberately step between dimensions without harming myself or others.'
"So it finally begins," Igor said in his creepy too-high-pitched voice. "Now, if you'll give me a moment of your time, we have been expecting you. The catastrophe that is headed your way… It has already taken human lives in its approach toward you, but you have nothing to fear. You already have the power to fight against it. It seems that the time for you to use your Persona has come." He chuckled, which made the "man" seem like something straight out of a horror movie involving creepy clowns.
"Your Persona ability is that of the wild card," Margaret helpfully reminded him. "If you strengthen your bonds properly, their power will help you overcome any ordeal. Our role is to facilitate that."
Igor took over again. "My contribution … is to give birth to new Personas. By mixing together multiple Persona cards, I can transmute them into a new form. This, in other words, is the fusion of Persona. You have the power to hold multiple Personas and to use them accordingly.
"When you defeat an enemy, the seeds of possibility you attain will appear before you as cards. At times, they may be hard to grasp, but you must master your fear and reach out to them. When you obtain new cards, please do not hesitate to bring them here.
"If you have been developing your Social Links, then your Personas will gain even more power. They will be one of your chief sources of strength. You would do well to take this to heart."
Tsuna shook his head and finally said something. "You make it sound like a Social Link will directly buff a Persona I already have."
Igor smiled. "That explanation is a discussion for another time."
"The tome you see in my hand," Margaret said, briefly shifting the thing, "is the Persona Compendium. Registering the Personas you hold will allow you to recall them at any time. Please see me when you wish to use it."
Igor chuckled again. "Do you recall my words to you before? 'The coming year is a turning point in your destiny. If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost.' I meant precisely what I said. Defeat in battle is not the only way your journey may come to an end. Please do not forget this. When next we meet, you will come here of your own will. I look forward to it. Until then … farewell."
The next thing he knew he was back outside Daidara's, and his family was looking at him expectantly. He shook his head and said, "Let's check on the others first."
The others had recovered, so it seemed, so Tsuna shared his memory of the his visit to the Velvet Room.
"Nice dodge there," Sin said. "I'm going to vote no on direct buffs. I expect it comes into play during this fusion process he speaks of."
"So Magician right now," Hayato said. "You'd get a boost fusing new cards in the … Magician Arcana?"
"We'll find out soon enough," Daemon said. "So, are we all resolved to do this? Save the girl?"
"I am," Ken said. "True, we've not poked around in her head or anything, but I doubt she deserves death for some instance of youthful stupidity."
"Yeah, I mean, the chick's kinda distracted and shit, but that's not a crime," Hayato opined.
"So, all in favor?"
Hands went up, and Tsuna promptly face-palmed when that voice came to him again.
Thou art I, and I am thou. Thou hast established a new bond. It brings thee closer to the truth. Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Fool Arcana.
"Which one?" Chikusa asked.
"Fool Arcana."
"Hey, wait a minute," Hayato said, frowning thoughtfully. "What arcana is your starting Persona?"
"The Fool," he said, wondering what his Storm was getting at.
"I'm going to assume you never bothered reading up on that stuff, but with this evidence…"
"Get to the point," Sin said testily.
Hayato scowled at the Sun. "The major arcana tell a kind of a story: the Fool's Journey. The Fool is the card of beginnings. Along the way he meets various people—the other major arcana, like Magician for Hanamura—faces various trials and hazards, supposedly learns things about himself, has to make decisions, sacrifices, accept change, resist temptation… There's some shit at the end about how the Sun dispels confusion and fear, brings enlightenment, and the Fool is reborn, and gains the World.
"Isn't it interesting that the first Social Link you got was Magician, when that's one of the first two people the Fool encounters? And of course, your starter Persona plus the link that apparently has to do with us as a group is the Fool? I'm going to assume in this case that the World represents success, and that obtaining it means we'd have to figure out who's behind all of this and deal with it."
Sin preened briefly over the Sun description, being the vainglorious bastard he could be at times, then said, "It's certainly a thing. How many major arcana?"
"Twenty one, technically twenty-two. The Fool is considered zero, since it's the starting point."
Tsuna groaned at the very idea of establishing links or bonds with so many new people. And what if—
Xeul seemed to know where that line of thought was going and said, "I doubt any of those links would have an impact when we next get shuffled, darling. Think of it like… Well, like how in some cases belief trumps truth, or how belief makes so many things possible with flames or magic. A bolstering effect, if you will."
"Still doesn't change that I might end up having to navigate my way through therapy sessions with a bunch of strangers," he complained. "And I'll say it right now, next dimension had better be a fucking holiday. I'll have more than deserved it if this is what I have to look forward to. Fuck. Well, I need to get going if I intend to make sure my cousin eats a decent dinner. We'll go back in tomorrow."
Sin walked back with him so they could have some alone time of a sort.
"That reminds me, with all this weirdness going on, has anyone had a chance to take a look at the usual?" he asked.
"I think that pretty well flew straight out of everyone's minds," Sin replied. "I'll bring it up when I get back. We really should get an update on various defects, but until we take care of this other thing…"
"Yeah," he said with a sigh. "I suppose it can wait, but some of us do have time during the day to at least peek in. Mention it, anyway, please. I'm tempted to start using my, ah… Doubling up, shall we say," he amended, as there were there other people out walking around who might overhear.
"Not sure I want to know of the possible complications of secondary time on extracurricular activities, but I suppose if we did the one, then doubled back for the normal stuff…"
"It's a thought. See what the others think?"
— — —
He got back in time to start dinner, and was amused at just how attentively and seriously Nanako watched him cook and absorbed what he was saying about why he did things a certain way. Surprisingly, Dojima showed up in time to eat with them, so they settled in at the living area table to watch the news.
"That's all for world news tonight. Coming up next, the local news."
Dojima shot him a look he couldn't for the life of him interpret. "Hey, mind if I ask something? I do feel bad that I've been too caught up with work for us to have time to talk. Are you … settling in all right? Any problems? Things I should know about?"
Tsuna blinked in confusion. He had already taken to thinking of his uncle a bit like the way he did his mother—that was to say, as some alien species or robot—so this concern was coming out of left field for him.
"No, it's not terribly different, and my friends are here."
"Friends?" Dojima asked, frowning. "What friends?"
"We went to school together in Namimori, before their father moved them to Tokyo because of his work. He later moved them all here, so we can hang out again rather than always using email and texts. Nanako-chan met Sen when he decided to come help us carry the shopping this morning."
Nanako nodded, attention mostly focused on the TV and whatever local minutiae the reporter was droning on about.
"…I see. I agreed to look after you, so don't go getting yourself involved in anything that could get you in trouble. Got that?"
"And now, our weather forecast," was said into the ensuing silence. "Due to high-pressure fronts from the west, that sunny spring-like weather will stay with us for a while longer."
"Is this lady the one who decides the weather?" Nanako asked. " 'Cause when she says that it'll be sunny, it always is."
"Uh, she's not really deciding it… Never mind," Dojima said lamely.
'How adorable. Not only does it seem like I'm suspect for being a bastard, but my friends are suspect for what? Being friends with a bastard child? Or having lived in Tokyo? Kami-sama.'
— — —
18 April 2011, Monday
Chie, after her panic on Saturday, was calm in class. Odds were she had assumed her friend Yukiko was still swamped at the Amagi Inn and hadn't thought twice about not speaking to her recently. To further distract the girl, Tsuna said, "Have you ever gone into that store in the shopping district, Daidara's Metalworks?"
"Huh? Why?"
"You seem to be a fan of martial arts," he replied. "He's got some interesting things in there, like shin guards, fist weapons…" He went on for a while, describing some of what he had seen in there, much to her obvious interest, and the next thing he knew he had initiated a Social Link for the Chariot Arcana.
He shrugged it off as something he would simply have to get used to, but felt a sense of conflicted relief when Morooka-sensei stormed into the room for yet another round of ranting about idiot children and "back in my day" speeches.
Thankfully the day passed quickly—half-zoning through most of it helped—and they convened at the Rokudo house. Once again, Tsuna prepared bentos in case they got hungry, though he hoped he would be able to access his storage on the other side.
Teddie had more sets of glasses to pass out before they returned to the castle and, once they arrived and stepped inside, the bear made an odd sound. "Sensei, can I bother you for a second?"
Tsuna nodded, curious as to what was bothering the bear.
"I'm sensing that the path here seems different from yesterday, so this place might get pretty tricky. I'll do my best to remember where we've walked, but try not to get lost. Anyway, I don't sense anyone around this area. If you get higher up, we might be able to find something."
He looked over his shoulder. "Sounds like a procedurally-generated dungeon, which kinda sucks."
"No help for it," Ken said.
"Mm. Let's go, then." Clearly, Teddie was not aware that Tsuna had the advantage of interface maps to give him some sense of where they had yet to go.
The ground floor layout was indeed different, which made him wonder if it changed—no, it could not change once exited and re-entered, because when they retreated previously the ground floor had no surprises. So, the trigger was leaving the castle? Or possibly leaving the TV World.
2F had something new where they had previously had a Shadow Self confrontation. Princess Yukiko was there, facing away from them.
"Amagi-san?" Tsuna asked carefully.
The girl chuckled in a disturbingly mature way and turned to face them. "Oh my! Special guests? I wonder how they'll play into all this!" She chuckled again. "Things are really heating up! Okie-dokie! I'm going back to the hunt for my Prince Charming! Ohhh, where could he be…? This place is huge! It's sooo exciting, but it makes it so hard to find him! Ooh! Maybe he's playing hide-and-seek in the fog! Ready or not, here I come! Let's go further in, shall we!?"
Tsuna blinked when an overlay popped up showing off a rainbow swoop, too much glitter, and the words: Princess Yukiko's Hunt For Her Prince Charming!
"Where is the other Yukiko?" Chikusa asked mildly. "The one who was thrown in."
Teddie squeaked. "The Shadows are getting agitated!" he warned.
"Well, I'm off again!" Shadow Yukiko chirped, then giggled. "You'd better be waiting with bells on, my dear Prince!" She turned and dashed off.
"If what Teddie says holds true, the real one isn't in danger, yet. There's no sense in blindly chasing after her Shadow and running into kami only knows what," Tsuna said.
"I don't think she was excited for nothing," Teddie said. "The real Yukiko wants to show us something. I can feel it. It's hard to explain… It seems like she has a strong connection to this castle. This is a lot more dangerous than I thought!"
The next floor up brought more from Princess Yukiko, though she was nowhere to be seen.
After another of those disturbing chuckles she said, "My Prince will soon come for me. I'll always be waiting… Forever and ever…"
"How strange!" Teddie said. "I hear voices, but the only things I sense here are Shadows and you guys. Sensei and Shadows… Oooh, there we go!" Teddie paused to make a snuffly-snorty sound of amusement. "Hey, sensei! Listen to this. When you attack Shadows from behind, sensei will have a sensei-tional advantage! Sensei's sensei-tional advantage!"
While Teddie was busy giggling himself silly over his sense of humor, they decided to start moving again.
"Maybe it's just me," Mukuro said, "but I'm getting the feeling that Amagi is unhappy with the whole of idea of inheriting the inn, and desperately wants someone to spirit her away. But a lot of kids aren't especially thrilled when they realize their parents have expectations of them they may not want to adhere to."
"Hey! Wait up!"
4F brought another round of commentary from a disembodied Yukiko.
"Welcome. Thank you for coming to the Amagi Inn today. Your room is right this way. If we can help you in any way, please let us know immediately."
"…What's this voice talking about?" Teddie said. "This place isn't an inn. It's totally a castle!"
Tsuna shook his head slightly and said, "Are you all good to keep going?"
"We've been shuffling in and out of combat enough that we're all still fairly fresh," Xeul said. "Right?"
Everyone nodded, so on they went. Most of the floors seemed to consist of endless hallways—Tsuna was reminded of Resident Evil for some reason, with its very skewed ratio of hallways to rooms—the odd chest, and a hunt for the staircase upward.
The next floor, however…
"Where is she?" Teddie growled, looking adorably ferocious.
The voice came back. "Hmmm. Ohoho!"
"I can sense her! She must be on this floor!"
"Wow! By any chance, are you … my Princes? I'm locked up here… Please save me! Hmhmhm… I'm sure my Princes can do it. I'm sure they'll brave any danger to release me from this place. I'll be waiting for you… Ohoho…"
"There's something very strange about this floor," Teddie warned them.
He was right. Moving over certain spots saw the group teleported, and basically prevented them from making any progress. It wasn't until Chikusa remembered an old riddle and suggested that once they were teleported, they backtrack, that they started getting somewhere.
By the time they made it to a suspicious door Tsuna had maxed out the number of slots he had for Persona cards and still had at least two he could get, once he had room for them.
"I sense someone beyond this door," Teddie said. "It's that girl's scent!"
Beyond the imposing door was Princess Yukiko, but she was not alone. Beside her was a massive, mounted knight-type, carrying a lance.
Shadow Yukiko chuckled on seeing them. "My Princes wouldn't lose to guards such as this, correct?"
"Gyaaaaaah! I've never seen such a strong one before! I-It's attacking us!" Teddie cried as he scrambled back a bit.
Mid-Boss was immune to physical strikes, which pissed Tsuna off something fierce, as he'd been having a lovely time punching the shit out of things as a method of stress relief. They had been saving their Spirit Points for battle healing, as much as possible, as while they were all skilled fighters, the restrictions on them made everything linked to their Personas to some degree, as best they could figure out. Mid-Boss came as something of an unwelcome surprise.
By the time the thing was dust Shadow Yukiko had vanished, but her voice rang out again. "If you really are my Princes, then surely we will meet again. I am but a trapped soul… I cannot leave this place even if I wished…"
"…I don't sense her anymore," Teddie reported.
"Okay, break time," Tsuna announced. "Teddie, let us know if you sense any Shadows headed this way, please."
"On it!"
"And now we find out…" He reached into his storage and removed the bentos. "That's a relief." He handed them out and sat down to have a meal.
"Now that's interesting," Sin said once they were done eating. "I feel fully healed and, uh…"
"HP and SP are full again," he said, collecting the boxes and tossing them into storage. "I will definitely be bringing bentos along every time, then, and enough for several meals for each of us. Something tells me we'll be rescuing more than just Amagi-san."
"Any bets on it being Heul's cooking specifically that manages this?" Daemon said, smirking. "I rather doubt pre-made stuff bought at the store would work so well."
"We can always try it," Hayato said, "but why would we ever turn down Heul's cooking?"
"There is all this stuff we keep finding or getting as loot," Tsuna said. "It doesn't seem very effective, though. I wonder if Daidara's could use some of the non-food stuff. Maybe melt things down or use parts for decoration or something. The worst that happens is he says no, and then we turn around and find our own uses for the stuff."
"We ready?" Chikusa said.
"Let's mosey."
Tsuna noticed that the fog kept getting more and more red as they ascended the floors of the castle. It had started out nearly the normal white-grey, only barely stained with pink, but it was starting to look like someone had suspended blood in the air by the time they reached 7F.
"In other words, she's a manager who's still in high school," came a voice he remembered, that one reporter. "Now that has a nice ring to it. Let's see if we can interview her. Excuse me!"
"Shut up!"
"Someday, though… That aside, wow! You're looking gorgeous in that kimono. You must have a lot of male visitors."
"Leave me alone! I'm sick of everything! I'm sick of it…"
Teddie huffed and said, "I don't get what's going on with all those voices, but I can sense that we're getting closer. Hang in there!"
8F brought Shadow Yukiko's voice again. "Hasn't my Prince come yet? My dear Prince… Please hurry and take me away! Somewhere… To a world where no one knows me…"
"It's like parts of the girl's psyche were scattered all over this place," Daemon said, "and the fog is a conductor."
"How are we doing, guys? Do we retreat for the day and finish up tomorrow or…?"
"See if she's even on this floor?" Hayato suggested. "If she isn't, definitely take a break and stock up for another few floors. If she is, I'd say still retreat, just so we're fresh for what I expect will be a classic boss battle."
"And also get a chance to test out stuff we could actually eat in battle, as opposed to a full bento," Chikusa said, "to see if those would at least partially replenish us. The weather is holding, so we should be all right to delay one day."
Sin nodded. "Once we really get the hang of how all this works, we could easily clear a place like this in an afternoon, but this first one? Without knowing if things get even more weird the higher we go?"
"…All right," he said. "Let's determine whether she's on this floor or not, then head out."
She was, as it turned out. There was an absolutely massive set of doors on the floor, and Teddie got excited again. "It's close! She's just beyond here!"
"Right. Who has that escape skill again?" It had been a pleasant surprise when they realized that whatever floor they'd been on was the one they could teleport to from the entrance, so long as they used a skill to retreat. They had also stumbled over an item by the name of Goho-M that would do the same thing, but there was no point in using one if someone had enough SP left to use the skill.
Back at the studio they said good-bye to Teddie and exited through the TV stack.
"That is way more tiring than it ought to be," Ken complained.
Tsuna sighed wearily and nodded. "Any thoughts on how we'll handle things when we find and rescue the girl? Do we have anything that would leave traces in her system that would suggest she's been kept unconscious during her time missing? Something like that? I can't be seen with her. My uncle started prodding the other day, making it clear he expected me to stay away from trouble, so—" He stopped when half the room started snickering or otherwise expressing mirth.
Sin enfolded him in a hug from behind and kissed him on the cheek. "Like that's ever gonna happen. We'll talk it over tonight, okay? You need to get back to the Dojima house, unfortunately, make sure your cousin isn't eating that trashy instant ramen or whatever."
He nodded and turned his head so he could get a kiss, then headed out.
For dinner he made okonomiyaki and fell into bed a bit early, happy to get a little extra sleep.
— — —
19 April 2011, Tuesday
He was about to head downstairs to have breakfast when his phone rang. He couldn't think of a single person who would be calling him so early, and when he picked up it was Margaret on the other end, which begged the question of how she got his number, and how that even worked that she could call him from the Velvet Room.
He absently listened as she rabbited on about bonds and Social Links and not doing things too hastily, and gladly tucked his phone away once he hit the bottom of the stairs, really not having appreciated being told (essentially) that they assumed he had the memory of a goldfish and really needed to be reminded of things so damn often.
On the way to school he overheard some girls talking about how applications would be accepted, starting that day, for sports clubs.
'Yeah, so not happening,' he thought.
It was mildly of interest that one of them mentioned a shrine near the shopping district that people rarely visited.
He was even less inclined to join a sports club when he learned that Morooka was the faculty overseer for them. School was the usual bore that only required about five percent of his attention, and they stepped over to the Rokudo house the second they were free for the day so that Tsuna could prepare for their next foray into the TV World by making plenty of food to take along, including muffins, because those were dead simple, delicious, and could probably be eaten mid-battle.
Back in the TV World, at the castle, they came to a stop at those massive doors on 8F and checked their gear and supplies, then entered.
The room was fairly large. At the far end was a set of steps leading up to a throne where Shadow Yukiko stood. In keeping with the rest of the décor there was a gold-edged red carpet runner cushioning those steps, and a hanging similar to the ones in the hallways was displayed behind the throne, though that one had a ruler-type symbol on it in gold.
At the base of the steps was the real Yukiko, still wearing that pink kimono, which meant she had been taken either while on another errand or from the inn directly, and he already knew she'd disappeared from the inn based on what his twins had uncovered.
"Oh? Oooooo, what's this?" Shadow Yukiko said. "So many Princes here to see me!? My my! Are you the surprise guests who came in late? Awwwww… I wish I'd gotten a better look at you! My, it's getting crowded in here. Why don't you and I go somewhere else? A land far, far away, where no one knows me. If you're my Prince, you'd take me there, won't you? C'mon… Pretty please?"
Tsuna heaved a quiet sigh, just knowing he would end up with a Social Link to the girl, because she clearly had a lot of issues that needed working through.
"I'm surprised Chie isn't with you. Yes, she's my Prince… She always leads the way… Chie's a strong Prince… Or at least, she was. When it comes down to it, Chie's just not good enough! She can't take me away from here! She can't save me!"
"S-stop," the real Yukiko said ineffectually.
"Historic inn? Manager training!? I'm sick of all these things chaining me down! I never asked to be born here! Everything's decided for me! From how I live, to where I die! I'm so sick of it! To hell with it all!"
"That's not true…"
"I would complain about the girl not acting on her desire to take charge of her own life," he said to Sin in a quiet aside, "and try to find a way out of this place, but if this is reality to those who get tossed in here…"
"I just want to go somewhere far away, anywhere but here. Someone, please take me away. I can't leave here on my own. I'm completely useless."
"That begs the question of why we weren't affected the same way," Sin replied just as quietly. "But I could easily see why not, based on the evidence."
"Stop… Please stop…"
"I have no hope if I stay, and no courage to leave, so I sit on my ass hoping that someday my Prince will come! I don't care where we go! Anywhere's fine! As long as it's not here, I don't give a damn! Historical tradition? Pride of the town? What a bunch of bullshit!"
"How dare you…?" Yukiko couldn't seem to even raise her head to look at her Shadow Self, she was that much in denial of her feelings.
"That's how I really feel. Isn't that right … me!?"
"N-no… No! You're not me!"
And then shit got weird.
Shadow Yukiko started cackling and raving and laughing like a pre-sanity Daemon, then transformed into what could only be an exercise in symbolism: a caged bird.
Yukiko let out a pained cry and slumped again.
"I am the Shadow, the True Self. Now, my Prince… Why don't we dance and make merry together?"
"Backup, get her out of the line of fire, then be ready to swap in as necessary," Tsuna said, making sure his spiked gloves were set before moving up to face the threat.
The first round of battle was an exploration of sorts, and Shadow Yukiko proved to not be weak to anything they threw at her. Second round had her summoning a Charming Prince to fight at her side, and the odd little fellow promptly healed some of the damage she had taken.
"Right, that's bad," he muttered, then obeyed his intuition when it nudged him and swapped to a Persona with Ice skills so he could nail it with Bufu, which it turned out to be weak to. Thankfully, the Forneus Persona was not weak to fire, which seemed to be Shadow Yukiko's element.
"I'll stand watch on the girl," Chikusa said from the back. "No point in me being front line and having to guard the entire time."
Charming Prince was taken out in short order to minimize the chance of healing, and when Shadow Yukiko attempted to re-summon him, she failed and wasted another turn lamenting that fact, which simply gave them more time to take chunks out of her health.
The battle after that was a rhythm of saving SP for healing skills (because why waste them on elemental skills that did not do much more damage than simply attacking Shadow Yukiko), healing when necessary (or popping a muffin, which seemed to do the trick, even if not completely), and otherwise attacking her relentlessly.
Shadow Yukiko reverted to her human form once defeated and just stared at the real one, waiting, probably for another opportunity to transform and attempt to kill them all.
"Our goal here is to get her out of this place," he said, eyeing the Shadow. "So let's all link up and use that skill to retreat. It's entirely possible that the Shadow can't leave this castle."
Xeul promptly sent the girl to sleep and hauled her up over his shoulder in a fireman carry, then waited for everyone to grab hold. Once Traesto took effect they hauled ass back to the studio and were gratified that Shadow Yukiko either could not follow, or could not follow fast enough.
A quick trip through the exit and they were home.
Tsuna blinked when Fool Arcana Social Link Rank 2! flashed by, then shook his head and said, "So…"
"I say we leave her at that shrine, toss up a weak Bounding Box so that she's not harassed by anyone with dishonorable intent, and call in an anonymous tip to the police," Daemon said.
"After making sure this is all a bad dream to her," Ken said.
"That's a given," Mukuro replied. "Our faces and that whole fight should be removed entirely or blurred beyond recognition."
"Her memory of being thrown in is already so blurred that I can't make sense of it," Xeul reported, frowning in frustration. "I think there's something in that fog, plus the mental shock of being there in the first place. People like us, augmented and incredibly strong mentally, aren't affected the same way, presumably."
Tsuna broke out the bentos and set them on the table, then settled into have a snack to tide him over until dinner. After taking the edge off he said, "Sounds like a plan. I lean toward blurring the fuck out of what memories she does have, to make it seem like a nightmare she was having while she was out. She doesn't know who took her, why, or to where. It's not outside reason that her subconscious would produce something outrageous as a way of expressing her fear and sense of helplessness. So long as the police don't decide she's mental and ship her off to a facility, it should be good."
Mukuro snorted. "If they start that line of thinking, we can always subtly correct them."
"We'll keep a window on her, and on the police," Xeul said. "Do you want to do the Bounding Box yourself, or…?"
Tsuna shook his head. "I know you guys are good for it, and it's only temporary. I suppose one of you could be standing by invisibly until the police arrive to collect her. Maybe… Maybe keep her unconscious so they're forced to deliver her to the hospital, to delay things a bit more. Ugh, the food has helped, but I'm still feeling a bit dragged out."
"I'll walk you back," Sin said.