A/N : That's the disaster party right there, those three.

Chapter 34

Shocked

'It's a full moon tonight,' Pharos said. 'I'll try… not to get in the way...'

Ken shook his head. "I can't find Junpei-san anywhere. His backpack isn't here, so I don't think he's been home yet."

"I don't sense him anywhere nearby," Fuuka said.

SEES were at the Paulownia Mall,

Fuuka couldn't detect the Shadow's location but knew something was underground like a web. Aigis suggested it's the cables.

"The cables run underground in many directions like a web." Fuuka folded her hands together. "The cables themselves have been possessed by the Shadow... A Shadow took control of the monorail. Just like that one, this Shadow must have its own body. Let me see if I can find it..."

Everyone was having doubts, but they didn't talk. One thing Minato told them all the time was not to ask stupid questions.

Fuuka found it after a while. It's in this mall, inside a small chamber underground that is man-made, in another word, a room. Much help, Ken.

"Wait a minute," Shinjiro spoke up. "... I overheard the manager of Escapade. He was saying that the power's been acting up lately... There was a power outage because of it that forced him to cancel some concert event something. The control panel is located beneath the club."

"That's it! Thank you, Shinjiro-senpai." Fuuka smiled.

"Good job, Yamagishi. Alright. Once we're ready, we'll make our move." Mitsuru looked at Shinjiro. "And how exactly did you overhear the manager of Escapade?"

"Work." Shinjiro shrugged. "I need money, you know. And don't look at me like that. I'm not underage."

Minato chose Shinjiro, Akihiko, and Ken. They headed into Club Escapade.

...

"That's the source! It's connected to all those cables… so be careful you don't get shocked!" Fuuka said.

They attacked, defended, healed -

- attacked, defended, healed -

- rinse and repeat.

But, at some point, Minato thought he heard a sound... Chains?

Minato had this feeling a lot for the past four months, the feeling when your conscious slipped away. Everything faded to black.

And in that darkness, he felt a tint of grey.

It tasted like freedom.

...

Minato blinked.

He realized he was standing in the same place, but the Arcana Hermit had disappeared. The room was a wreck, though.

"... That's cool, Minato-kun!" Yukari's here?

"Amazing, Arisato, but I prefer the room with minimal damage." Mitsuru, too?

Minato blinked. The operation is... completed?

Already?

"Congratulations, I no longer sense its presence," Fuuka said. "Aigis-chan and Koro-chan are here with me. Oh, and also… I think I've found Junpei. He's back at the dorm, but something seems strange… The Chairman's there too, so he should be okay. But, let's hurry back just in case."

Yukari looked around. "But where's Shinjiro-senpai? And Ken-kun...?"

Akihiko dashed to the exit.

At the dorm roof, a red haired girl in a white lolita dress was looking into the distance. Her face was with a bored expression, as always. The green sky was the usual view.

"... It seems they've completed their mission."

"You can tell?" Junpei asked. His arms were chained and he was kneeling, yet he didn't feel panicked. He knew she wouldn't hurt him.

"Through Medea's eyes," Chidori said.

"Medea?"

"My friend."

"Chidori..." Junpei whispered.

"That's not important. Why didn't you call off the mission?" Chidori stood directly in front of him. "Is it worth your life? Dying is what people fear most. Isn't it?"

Junpei was quiet for a moment. He decided to be honest. "Ya see. I'm not really the one in charge."

"Of course." Chidori frowned. "You were lying. Of course."

"Chidori, I'm not afraid of you."

The girl widened her eyes.

"And... You lied too." Junpei looked up and met her eyes. "It was all just an act, right?"

"Huh...?"

"Us meeting, your wound, the picture... Were you just setting me up?" Junpei asked. "You befriend me... It was so that I wouldn't notice you're the enemy and let my guard down, right?"

Chidori kept quiet.

"Your cut healed pretty quickly too..." Junpei looked down. "... I see how it is. If it's not that, why would you be friends with someone like me?"

Her chest... It hurts.

Medea... is laughing.

The door was burst open.

Yukari called out, "Junpei!"

Chidori closed her eyes and pointed the Evoker at herself.

Junpei managed to struggle free from the chains and tackled Chidori from behind. "Stop!"

Aigis ran forward and snatched the Evoker from her hand.

"No! Give it back!" Chidori cried.

"I could not let you have this." Aigis gave it to Mitsuru.

Junpei restrained her. "You can't have it, Chidori."

Interrogation. Stares.

Unfamiliar faces.

She cried.

...

Ikutsuki arrived at the rooftop. He said he didn't know Chidori was here. Fuuka couldn't sense her, too.

Mitsuru scolded Chidori right away.

The red haired girl sniffed. "I'm not... afraid..."

"Ch-Chidori?" Junpei called her.

"Sorry... M-Medea, I'm..."

Mitsuru shook her head. "Clearly, she's emotionally unstable. We'll let her rest, and save our questions for later."

Junpei was angry that Mitsuru shouted at her. Just look at her! She's crying... He was worried about her well being, even more because no one else seemed to care.

Is there anything he can do...?

Among the unfamiliar town and rows of coffins, Shinjiro was nowhere to be found. The boxer didn't even know where he was, but that guy headed here. He was clenching his head. Wonder what's wrong with him… This earthquake... Where did he go just now?

Akihiko stopped to catch his breath. Then he saw a faint purple light not far from him. Persona… He continued running.

"Yes... It really is him," Ken whispered to himself before he walked away without looking back.

...

Lucky that the parking lot was empty.

Castor stomped and stomped the ground, making the street collapsed and the lampposts fell down. Its hand was wrapping around a man's neck. Shinjiro's neck. Shinjiro grabbed Castor's hand. Dangling five meters from the ground was not fun. He groaned and reached to his pocket.

Akihiko arrived in time to see Shinjiro gulped down the pills.

"Shinji!" Akihiko ran forward and faced the guy sitting on the floor who had just fallen from midair. "What the hell is that? What did you eat just now?"

Shinjiro looked away. It was no one else's business, Shinjiro kept telling himself that. No one should be tangled in his mess. His friends kept coming back. It was their fault when he had told them to go away.

"Shinji!"

"It's nothing."

Akihiko grasped the metallic content in his friend's hand.

"Hey!"

"I've heard about these..." The boxer opened the lid and looked inside. "They're taken to suppress a Persona when you can't control it." He looked at Shinjiro. "But..."

Shinjiro stood up with a frown. Why does Aki have to make it complicated?

"You took them." Akihiko closed the lid. "How long? Since when?"

Shinjiro groaned.

"Answer me! Why, Shinji?"

"I don't owe you anything."

That sentence was replied with a left punch to the face, the strongest left hook Shinjiro had ever experienced in his life. Shinjiro balanced himself and touched his cheek. It hurt. He deserved it. He knew. He knew how he had messed up. He knew he should have trusted his friends.

"You don't get it!" Akihiko shouted. "You know the reason... Ten years ago. My sister. The fire."

Shinjiro had heard them all before. A waste of power would be how Akihiko interpreted it. It was not like that for Shinjiro. Akihiko was too much of a thick head to get it.

"I didn't even have enough strength to save her. They held me back, while she…" Akihiko took a deep breath. "That's why I try so hard, for the power. You should have felt the same. We promised, remember? To be strong enough to do what we think is right-"

"Two years ago on that day," Shinjiro said. "I did something I'd never be able to take back."

"That was an accident!" Akihiko argued. "It wasn't your fault."

"Not my fault, huh? That's bullshit. It's a fact that because of me, some kid's life was completely fucked up! And there's not a damn thing I could do!" He could have stopped it there. He could have tried. It wouldn't be a problem again if he had trusted his friends.

But he felt guilty.

Shinjiro blamed himself. He didn't trust himself. He chose the wrong path. It was done and in the past. His silly friend just didn't get it. Shinjiro snatched the suppressant back.

"... So the reason you came back was really for Ken."

The pills were back in his hand. The suppressant. The medicine. The drugs. It was mostly like drugs. You could get addicted to the momentary escape. The temporary solution.

"You shouldn't have left." Akihiko grabbed Shinjiro's collar. "You shouldn't have relied on drugs! Why? Why suppress your own strength?"

Something he could have stopped and tamed became something truly out of control. His own damn fault and he knew it. Shinjiro had done that mistake. He needed to face the consequences. And that was that.

"So, why the drugs?" Akihiko's grip shaken. He let go of his shirt. "Why didn't you come talk to me...?"

"It's in the past." Shinjiro looked at his friend. " I'm back in the fight now... So let it go."

Akihiko sighed. "And, the side-effects...?"

"I have responsibility. Can't go without taking care of that first."

"What do you mean?"

"Not your business." Shinjiro walked away and pulled his beanie down. "Don't worry about me."

Akihiko watched his best friend walked away.