WARNING! THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS SPOILERS TO MOMENTO UMBRAE (MY PERSONA 3 FANFIC)!
Okay this is the last time I'm leaving this pre-chapter warning. From here on out I'm going to just assume you have been warned. So no more of this. Anyway if you didn't heed it last chapter then I guess this one is kinda pointless. Haha, anyway, onto the chapter.
Chapter 35 / Movement
March 31st, 2012 / Evening
Korijo Mansion Dining Hall
KANA'S POINT OF VIEW
The dress we had eventually picked out hadn't been nearly as revealing as the one that Hamuko had made me try on in front of Kayane yesterday before he had left. I had never felt more exposed yet excited before in my life. And that completely confused me. Yukari and Hamuko had talked at length about relationships and love before. I learned a lot about Hamuko's twin brother and the relationship he had with Yukari. But Yukari had often reminded me that her relationship with Minato was hardly a normal one. Their first meeting had been during the Dark Hour. Minato had shown up late from his train ride and had walked to the Dormitory during the Dark Hour. He was completely unaffected by the presence of the Dark Hour. And despite Yukari's somewhat hostile actions towards him, he had played it off as nothing.
Naturally he would awaken to his Persona and Minato and Yukari's lives became inexplicably linked together from that point onward. Their relationship became stronger as they faced the Shadows and various other hardships. So what normally took years to have such a deep relationship, it was only months before they were in love. But Yukari also admitted that the dangers they fought and the risk of death had also been a factor in their relationship. This was why Yukari didn't regret anything in the end. Because she knew that she would regret it far more if she had not acted on those emotions. And it wasn't like it had been all easy for them either. Having fought and bickered countless times throughout their relationship.
There was obviously no telling how well that relationship would have been if they had the chance to keep going. Minato died protecting all of them, but the aftermath of his death had reached out to affect several others. More than the people had known him when he was alive. It was his journal that he left behind that would eventually lead to Yukari and the others discovering the existence of Hamuko. That same road eventually led to them finding me. And all I had ever been was a Shadow that was shown kindness by a little girl. And because of that my wish to protect her made me into who I was now. And now I was living as Hamuko's twin sister. Living as a human.
My dress didn't hug my body so tightly as the dress that Hamuko made me wear before. This dress was more sleek. It went down to my ankles with a slit on the side that went to my thighs to allow easy movement. This dress didn't show any of my cleavage and my back was covered as well. The color was a dark red and thankfully I just felt much more comfortable in this dress. Though I think a part of me did like the dress that Hamuko made me wear to show Kayane yesterday. I had never felt so embarrassed while I had been working or anything, even as a model. But Hamuko was probably right and it had to do with my state of mind when I was working. Yukari had always convinced me to not really pay attention to the people using the cameras and just focus on my poses. Then Hamuko had forced me to see someone looking only at me.
I could feel my cheeks heating up thinking about Kayane looking at me, at my legs, my chest and then him telling me all those things. He told me not only that I was beautiful, but also sexy. I wanted to push that off, that it wasn't because of it being me, but that I was basically a copy of Hamuko. But neither Hamuko or Kayane let that stick...instead pointing out what made me different and unique. That it was those qualities that separated me and made me attractive.
"Kana-chan, what are you doing over here?"
I looked up to see Fuuka coming towards me. I guess I had been staying away from the crowd since the event had started. "Oh, Fuuka-chan, I just don't want to get in the way or end up embarrassing Mitsuru-sama," I openly admitted. I was more than aware that my knowledge of etiquette in this place was not sufficient enough to know if I would accidentally offend someone or not. And I would never want to do that to someone that had been supportive of helping me learn how to adapt to society. I owed Mitsuru a lot, along with Hamuko.
"You don't need to be that way. I'm confident you would do just fine interacting with the others. But I can understand that. I'm not really good at functions like this either," Fuuka Yamagishi who was a integral part of the group and the Shadow Operatives was in a forest green dress that went to just past her knees. She also had let her hair grow out and had put her hair in a braid. Which reminded me of my own braid that I still was getting used to having. I liked the way it looked but it still felt like something was constantly holding on to my head.
Fuuka was the one that was capable of gathering and analyzing data on just about anything. Whether it was on people or Shadows. While Fuuka had expressed feeling limited on her data gathering, her power and how she was able to use that data always impressed me. She was very impressive with how she handled herself so she was at the very least more capable at handling this situation than I was. "Mitsuru-sama is really determined to make this work," I said softly as I looked to see Mitsuru with Yukari at her side as the two were talking to what looked to be some important police figure. Everyone was dressed up in their best it seemed.
"Well you remember what happened, and her resolution after the incident with Nyarlathotep," Fuuka added.
Yeah, I remember that day well. And what Mitsuru had said then.
" It is likely that there is many more incidents that are occurring around the world. As such...I see how ill equipped we were to approach problems in other regions. Plus the Kirijo Group is already under constant scrutiny by the public and the police. Our activities were easy to dismiss as the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad...but we're adults now. So I plan to make a new organization, one that is accepted by our government so that we can appropriately handle any situation without worry." Mitsuru's declaration had made it clear after what had happened. The incident with Nyarlathotep was an eye opener for several reasons. The others had thought that it was simply the aspirations of Arisato Yoshimitsu to save his older brother Arisato Kayane. Even if that was the case, he was simply being used to prevent The Fall from being stopped. Kayane...how strange was it that Hamuko's Father and our newest friend had the same name? I mean it wasn't like it was something that never happened.
Seeing how close Mitsuru was to making all of this a reality and make the Shadow Operatives official was definitely great to be witnessed to. Part of it required her to reveal many of the secrets of the Kirijo Group. But she had said it was little price to pay to be able to safe guard people in the future. That she would be doing her best for Minato and her Father and protecting lives that couldn't protect themselves. She had made that her responsibility.
"But you want to see her succeed too, Kana-chan," Fuuka said softly and gently grabbed my arm. "I think we all have our own idea to continue to fight against The Fall. So that maybe in some form we can lighten the burden that Minato-kun carries on his own."
"I agreed to live my life for Oneesama. She was always the reason I was ever even here. So if she is going to support Mitsuru-sama then so will I," I said after a moment. I know that Hamuko was trying to push me to having my own ambitions beyond supporting her. But I felt content with things as they were, that was how I felt right now. Still she always said that things change and that I shouldn't discount that I could change over time.
"Hey you two. What you doing over here by yourselves?" it was Junpei.
"Junpei-kun, I'm surprised you showed up. I thought Yoshino-san had plans with you before," Fuuka smoothly transitioned.
"Nah, Chidori and I just rescheduled for another time, she was cool with it. After she was done complaining about it anyway," Junpei nervously chuckled a bit. "Hey where's Hamuko-san, I haven't seen her yet."
I blinked, I hadn't realized that my sister hadn't made an appearance yet. I just assumed she was helping someone or talking with people under Mitsuru's instruction. "She should have been here already...I arrived with her so..." A thought came across my mind. I knew where she was. "I'll go get her." I quickly bowed to Fuuka and Junpei and headed across towards a place I know she would go...the balcony. It was open to guests but more than that the night was clear. I saw her along the railing and felt something in my heart causing it to beat faster as I approached her. She was looking up to the moon and I could feel the sense of longing as I watched her. I slowed my approach. "Oneesama, are you okay?"
She didn't look to me, "You know it will be a full moon next friday." Hamuko shifted as I looked up to see that currently the moon was only half at the moment. Hamuko got into moods like this on occasion. I never liked it when she did because it always came to a wall where I could no longer find a way to respond.
"The phases of the moon can affect the strength of not just Shadows but Persona as well. People always speculated that the moon greatly affects people and for the most part they're right," I found myself saying. I could only tell her what I knew.
"Yet there is always that nasty thing about science. Correlation doesn't lead to causation, and there isn't any way to realistically prove it. Funny how that all turns out because of it. Yet it isn't like there isn't a cause that connects it, but the fact is humanity can never see the full picture. Even with Persona, or you as a Shadow, we still don't know how everything works," Hamuko was speaking softly, reflectively. Why was she talking like this? Please stop.
"You're thinking of your twin brother again," I spoke without thinking about it. Hamuko looked to me for only a moment before looking back to the moon. Her eyes, she was losing herself to her emotions once more.
"I don't want to accept it, Kana. That with all the power we have...all the power that he had. That this was the end result of it all. And that one day, even with all our best efforts, the world is still going to end. The Fall is still going to happen. And is it really realistic to expect that sometime between now and the day that my Brother's Great Seal collapses that the world will no longer wish for it? No, all we have done is ultimately delay it," Hamuko's words culminated with my fears. That Hamuko, the one I had come to affectionately refer to as Oneesama and who treated me like a real sister, that she would never get over the fate of her twin brother. The brother she never knew until after he had died. And her thoughts kept her perpetually locked into this state. At times it feels like she is getting better...and then this happens. But I knew there was no placating her, yet I would try.
"That isn't something any of us can know. But the alternative is more harsh. Even if all he buys is time, its time that humanity wouldn't have had without him..."
"And what about the time that was STOLEN FROM US! FROM ME!" Hamuko was now yelling and slammed her fist on the stone railing. "WHY DOES MINATO HAVE TO PAY A PRICE FOR ALL OF HUMANITY! Why should HE suffer and sacrifice HIS life, HIS FUTURE for people that will never know, will never RESPECT or HONOR him for the PRIVILEGE to LIVE! A privilege that HE gave them!"
I could see it tearing her apart. I feared more every single day about how she dealt with it. It had never felt like she ever accepted the events that occurred. No, that acceptance was something forced onto her. She had no choice but to accept it as reality. Because it was something that had already happen...something she had no way to affect. "I'm sorry, Hamuko-chan."
She stopped looked to me for a moment. "Sorry, Kana." Her voice dropped to a whisper. I moved next to her and placed my hand on hers on the railing "I don't mean to yell."
There was nothing to be said, nothing that could stop the pain or frustrating about things that could not be changed. Even more when you feel like if you had only known about it you could have made a difference. No one gets to meet people after they are dead, not usually. But Hamuko had met her Brother through dreams and the power of the Pseudo Dark Hour and Persona. Despite him being dead, she had gotten to meet him, and ultimately all it did was add more pain in the end. Hamuko kept up appearances to the others but she was still trying to find a way to keep moving. This was my purpose, to find a way to help her, to support her for as long as she needed me.
I want her to be happy, and in some way, some form, I would do what I can to see it happen.
April 8th, 2012 / Daytime
Takura Productions Studio Meeting Room
Today was pretty important. At least that is what Rise and the other band members of Synchronicity kept telling me. I tried not to think too much about the schedule from day to day and went with the flow. I more or less just attempted to be ready for about anything than thinking too much about anything specific event or activity. It felt like it helped me avoid a lot of stress that would have been mounting up to this point. Well today was something that maybe I should be nervous or stressed out about. We were going to meet with Ochimizu Kyoka. The Producer and one running the Love Meets Bonds festival. She had details and something she wanted to talk about for the festival. And apparently Mom was friends with her. Although she was commenting that she wasn't quite like how she used to be.
"Can't believe we're going to be working with Ochimizu-san. I heard she is a bit of a pain to work with but she almost guarantees that your show will be a success," Tsubasa was settled in at the long conference room table. Next to her was Saya, and Reiko on the other side of her. Taro was sitting next to Reiko and was currently looking through an open text book. He had started taking an online college prep course and had made a habit of studying when he could. Well, I think he was just avoiding dealing with Reiko.
"What do you think this meeting is even about?"Reiko posed the question.
"Likely details on the performance and maybe what she wants us to be prepared with," I gave a shrug, it wasn't like I knew how these events were planned.
"She'll probably also put some guidelines down for the event. These things typically have a somewhat strict time line," Rise said from next to me. "It's strange how close we are. It feels like not so long ago all of this was starting."
"I'm impressed you were able to write so much for the first album though," Saya was saying this to me.
"Well, I only wrote twelve, the other four are just remixes and only some light lyric changes. Nothing too crazy," I scratched the back of my head.
"You are far too modest for your own good," Taro commented. "You do realize most people that have been in the music industry for years don't normally find themselves capable of writing and arranging so many songs in just a couple months, right?"
It didn't matter to me what other people had done. I would likely chalk it up to just me never really doing anything until now. A pent up energy of creativity that finally got to be used. It was hardly impressive after I had essentially wasted my life up to this point. So I took most of the praise people gave me with a grain of salt. "Doesn't matter if it is impressive or not. Our first appearance is more important than that."
"It appears you have a decent head on your shoulders Ikakure Kayane," A new voice entered the room with my Mother not far behind her. This must be Ochimizu. "I half expected you to be arrogant after I heard all you had done thus far. As much as I respect Tsukio I could hardly take her word at face value about her adopted son."
"And you shouldn't, all work should stand on its own merit, not by names or legacy," I found myself saying.
"I can respect your common sense and heard you have done your studies in business. That will make this easier on all of us," Ochimizu said simply. "First let me introduce you to the lead performer that happened to be free. Mashita come on in."
I looked to see a girl with long dark hair, it seemed to be black at first glance but I could see the brown in it. She had it tied back to pigtails and had thick looking rectangular glasses. She was wearing some casual blue jeans and white t-shirt. I had seen a couple posters of her before, and this was something completely different. Rise had mentioned that Kanami wore a wig as part of her idol personality. Unlike Rise it seemed when Mashita Kanami became an idol she changed her entire appearance, only after that does she become Kanamin. Still something about her looked familiar, beyond the fact that she was a well known Idol.
"Hello everyone. I'm Mashita Kanami. But my fans call me Kanamin. It's nice to meet you all. Oh its Rise-senpai!" Kanami made her way around the table and hugged Rise and Rise seemed to be perfect prepared for this. "Oh and you must be, Ikakure." She looked over to me and then...
My mind blanked. Something felt incredibly off and neither I or Kanami said anything for a long moment. The next moment Ochimizu was at Kanami's side and pulling her away and my Mom was next to me and nudging me so I would look into her eyes.
"Kay-chan, you okay?" she asked.
"Huh?" I was confused for a moment. "Did I miss something? Something feels off."
Mom shook her head, "No everything is fine. But..."
"There is no point in hiding it," Ochimizu spoke candidly. "Mashita and Ikakure have met before but don't seem to remember it."
"Wait...we know each other?" I asked. "That's news to me."
"Me too," Kanami looked just as confused as I felt at the moment. People don't usually blank out things like that. I've tried to forget things about my past but I didn't think I had succeeded in forgetting something like this.
"It isn't like you two were close. But we were here in town for an extended amount of time while I was working and you had some appointments with some doctors. But we figure it was possible you two might feel like the other looks familiar and so thats why. It's no big deal," Mom explained.
"Well that makes sense," I said scratching my head once more and looking to Kanami. "In that case I guess its good to see you again."
"Um, yeah, you as well Ikakure-san," Kanami gave a small bow.
"Okay moving on, I want you all to support Kanamin Kitchen for the Love meets Bonds Festival. As they'll be the main act. Kujikawa has experience as a performer so I expect her to be the main reference for how I like to run my shows. Rehearsals for the concert will start after Golden Week and then will slowly ramp up as we get closer to the performance date. No solid dates at the moment as there could be a schedule conflict at the desired venue. However I'll be letting Tsukio know the details as I get them finalized. I apologize for not being able to solidify them sooner." Ochimizu pulled out her phone, checking the time. "If you'll excuse me I have a meeting to get to. Sorry about being so brief but my previous engagement took longer than I thought. Tsukio will have more details as soon as I have them. I'll see you later Mashita." Then she was gone.
"I'm guessing she's always busy," Saya said softly.
"She's very dedicated. She can come off as stern or cold at times, but don't mistake that as her not caring. She has her reasons," Mom explained in a soft tone. It sounded like they were close, or were close at some point, but obviously something had happened along the way.
"I'm more surprised that Ikakure could know Kanamin and not remember it," Reiko was quick to switch the topics was just as well but it wasn't like I had anything to contribute to that discussion.
"Yes, I'm sure its because there were a lot of other people we also met at the time," Kanami nervously said and started heading towards the door. "Um, I hope next time you can meet the rest of the girls. I'll see you all later." She quickly made her escape, which I can't say I blamed her.
I scratched the back of my head and sighed, "Anyway, we have sound stage for rehearsal today, so we'll go over the songs again. We still need to be a little better and start working on solid song transitions. Osagawa was saying we should maybe make a couple fillers of just instrument pieces in case we do costume changes which is probably a good idea..."
I pushed us onward into working on our songs. We may be getting steadily closer but that also meant we needed to keep working harder. Plus there was the marketing campaign would be ramping up soon. With the whole band was planned to be in a local TV movie. We wouldn't be preforming a song but we didn't have much more details than that at the moment. Everything felt like it was going so fast.
"Tick tock, tick tock. You here that? Its time slowly dwindling down until we have nothing left in our life. We'll fail, the band will break up, Rise will leave and it will be as if nothing in our life has ever changed. Or maybe it will be worse? What do you think, me? The next time around I'm sure we can commit suicide in a way that makes sure it works," My Shadow laughed is the haunting way he usually did.
I ignored him but I knew if my shadow said all that...then deep down in my own mind, he couldn't be that far off from the truth.
April 21st, 2012 / Evening
Outskirts of Yakushima
KANA'S POINT OF VIEW
"Eurydice!" I pulled the evokers trigger and my persona launched forward and smashed the Shadow with her harp, her long auburn hair swaying to the side as she did so. She disappeared as I pressed forward with the attack, bringing my sword up. This was not just any kind of sword, but one that could separate into a whip. I don't know why I had been insistent on using a weapon like this, or being so selfish to bug Mitsuru so much to have it made for me, but I felt very at home using it in battle. And I think everyone that saw me with it in battle had agreed.
I came slicing up and very briefly met resistance against the Shadow, and then it gave way and I cut it in half, it disappearing. I turned to see as Yukari's arrows pierced another Shaodw before Hamuko cleanly cut through another with her naganita. Still, we didn't know what had happened, but after a moment the world shifted back to normal and the Pseudo Dark Hour had ended.
"Can you all hear me?" Mitsuru's voice entered our minds.
"What was that all about? I know we need to do some training to keep up our skills but what's with the Pseudo Dark Hour?" Yukari asked.
"I'll explain it in more detail back at the hotel, but we've been moving a lot of items out of our facility here and we've discovered quite a number of things. Start heading back and I'll make sure dinner will be done," Mitsuru said and cut the connection.
I let my sword turn into a whip and then hit it against my waist, the blade going all the way around and locking into place. On my waist was some protective material and also magnetic that could be turned off and on, so I could keep the weapon hidden underneath me when out in public and working as a Shadow Operative. All of the weapons we had were similarity able to be hidden. Hamuko's naganita could be twisted into two parts and then used to cover the blade. It would appear as more of a cane at that point, but it also had a rope on it that would let her hold it over her shoulder, or strap it to her back. Yukari's bow was collapsible and could be stuffed in her quiver and then that covered up. At the very least they could be hidden enough to not worry people as we walked around in public. That was the intention anyway.
Yukari and Hamuko were putting their weapons away.
"Well when Mitsuru asked us to come to Yakushima...I had hoped it meant she was taking a breather and maybe taking a vacation," Yukari sighed. "But she's working hard as always."
"Has she ever taken a day off?" Hamuko asked.
Yukari shook her head, "No, not really. Not since Minato died."
It was a subject that was difficult for all of them. Arisato Minato. He was an enigma to me but the emotional unrest of the people that knew him said a lot about the person he had been. I had seen him during that final conflict with Nyarlathotep a year ago. But that was hardly enough for me to know him. Well I was still getting to know everyone, even Hamuko. Sure, I loved her and wanted to protect her. But I knew that was because it was only because of her I was a human to begin with. Without her kindness as a child I wouldn't have developed my strong sense to protect her which enabled me to take this form. Love...that was a word I wasn't entirely sure I quite understood. I found myself saying it when it came to regards to Hamuko, but I wasn't sure I understood exactly what that meant.
I still was learning more about Hamuko. Her interests, and dislikes. She liked the color blue and hated that blue was typically a bad color on her. That having to do with her crimson colored eyes and blue just generally clashed with her. At the same time her second favorite color was orange and made up for about half her wardrobe. Right now she was wearing her favorite orange sleeveless top and loose fitting black jeans. She had been increasingly on edge since the Korijo Group event that we attended. She had broken down, and I had been able to comfort her. I didn't know what I could do in those situations. It wasn't something I could ever have a answer for. Speaking from our own experiences, I did know that this life was hardly fair. I thought at the time when I sealed Hamuko's memories that I would be helping her. That by making her forget she would never have to deal with it ever again.
Hindsight seemed to be the worst part in all of this. I had no way in knowing what would have happened if she had remembered what happened to her. Or if she would have been able to lead a normal life. She might have even hated Mitsuru just for her name of Kirijo if I hadn't. If she had remembered, maybe she could have done some digging...and maybe she would have had a chance to find her brother before he died. There was no way I could know that, or Hamuko. I think that was part of the point though, that unknown was what Hamuko was having trouble with. She wanted to know so badly and couldn't let go. And I think if she wasn't careful, she would blame the very world for what he had used his powers to protect.
Even if the world did know and respected and praised him, it would hardly change anything. Her brother would still be dead and she would have known about him far too late to do anything. And even if she had been there at that time, and a part of his life...I don't believe the outcome would have changed.
"Kana-chan, you're pretty deadly with that thing. How much have you been practicing?" Yukari's question pulled me out of my thoughts as we were walking back through the forest and to the main facility. We had come to Yakushima but hadn't had the time to spend any time on the beach. Hamuko said we'd have time later either way.
"I got it a couple months ago, so I have been practicing," I admitted.
"She's been practicing almost every spare minute she has. Well, when she isn't working anyway," Hamuko came up to my side and took my arm. "It's fine, and its way better than you having no weapon at all. Plus you being able to be close to mid-range is definitely to your advantage."
"Let me guess, you got inspire after seeing Mitsuru's Persona right?" Yukari asked.
I nodded, "Yes, Artemesia has something like it."
"Well I can't blame you, I thought it was pretty cool when I first saw it," Yukari admitted. It wouldn't be long before we got back to the hotel, where Mitsuru was there to greet us.
"Welcome back. I apologize that you all had to deal with that," Mitsuru was quick to apologize. She often was, but was more likely because of the people she dealt with on a day to day basis. She was used to having to provide explanations and reasons for everything that happened.
"Well I am curious but it wasn't a big deal. We dealt with it easily enough," Hamuko folded in her arms. "We're part of your Shadow Operatives after all."
"Of course, which is part of why I needed to talk to all of you. Follow me," Mitsuru turned and started walking off. Hamuko and Yukari fell into step behind her and I did as well after a moment later. "As you are aware, we've been gaining ground in terms of becoming a recognized organization but there have been a few...requirements on our end."
"They want to know all of the Kirijo Group's secrets," Yukari said plainly.
"Essentially. I informed them I couldn't reveal anything to do with Kirijo Group finances or future plans, I could show them related data to Shadow research as well as let them store some of our items as a show of good faith," Mitsuru led us through a pair of doors which moved us into a smaller room with a dining table and a reasonable spread of food. "I wasn't sure what to order so I had Kikuno order a bit of everything."
Kikuno was Mitsuru's head maid, and one that that I had not originally met before. I had met Kaede on several occasions but at the time Kikuno had been tasked with something related to the Kirijo Group. After meeting Kikuno it was easy to tell as to why she was the head maid. She did everything smoothly and gracefully. And expertly was able to predict Mitsuru and help her in situations that usually were because she wasn't taking care of herself. Either not eating or sleeping properly. I remember Yukari complaining about it off an on. The combined efforts of Kikuno and Kaede were pretty scary actually. From what I was told they were capable of entering the Dark Hour when it was around and still preform their usual duties, even though they did not possess Persona abilities. Still, they were so confident, and strong.
"Looks, like there is pasta, sushi, noodles, burgers, pizza..." Yukari giggled. "I think this is probably a little too much variety."
Mitsuru sighed, "Kikuno..."
"Oh you know she's just trying to make sure you eat. You have been stressing yourself too much on the Shadow Operatives," Hamuko settled in and took up a pair of chopsticks and pulling one of the bowls of noodles to herself. I moved next to her and found myself reaching over to grab one of the burgers.
The burger had caught my attention and when I bit into it, it didn't disappoint. If it was one thing I had found immense pleasure in, it was food. As a Shadow I didn't really need any sustenance. But ever since I had food, I couldn't imagine having a life without it. I mean, it was also super embarrassing because I had to be taught certain...bodily functions that came with it, but now I couldn't imagine living without eating. I'm not even sure how I had gone so long without experiencing it. Still there was a lot to life that I was still earning about. Hamuko's recent lessons, in what she deemed to be important was about my self confidence. And learning how to take compliments about me. And also why she had Kayane come clothes shopping with us when I needed a dress for the Kirijo Group function.
Kayane...I should send him a text. I had gotten his phone number but hadn't really sent him many messages. Though I did send him one of the final dress I picked up and then another picture after I was all dressed up for the event. I knew that Kayane was being polite, but I think I understood what Hamuko meant about it feeling good when someone compliments you.
"So, Mitsuru, what was that whole thing about earlier? I wasn't expecting to run across a Pseudo Dark Hour," Yukari was settling in and looking to be filling a plate with assorted sushi. It was rare for Yukari to spend much time away from Kokoro, but right now Kaede was taking care of her back at our home in Tokyo while we were here.
"I touched on it briefly but the police will be storing some of these items...some of them are a bit more volatile and have some side effects," Mitsuru sighed.
"Perhaps I can explain more in detail," a new voice entered. I turned to see a familiar older woman. It was Arisato Isako, Hamuko's real Aunt and wife to Yoshimitsu who had led the experiments and also the one who kidnapped Hamuko when she was born.
"Aunt Isako?" Hamuko put her chopsticks down briefly only to pick them back up. It seemed like she was okay with this development. "So you are working for the Kirijo Group?"
"Yes and no, I work as an advisor to the Shadow Operatives. Which is still part of the Kirijo Group. Kirijo-san has hired me as the main scientist and researcher for the Shadow Operatives and overseer to anything ongoing in that regard if needed. That being said, as you can imagine there are quite a number of objects capable of producing a Pseudo Dark Hour throughout the company. The research back then was wide spread and not necessarily the best documented. As we know that a lot of the different departments weren't even aware of all the ongoing projects and research," Isako was dressed in a black business casual dress. She looked comfortable, which was a lot better than she had been the last time I had seen her. Her husband was under going constant psychiatric treatment due to the effects of Nyarlathotep's manipulation. Trying to sort out what he did was his own doing and what was done while influenced by the entity. That was unlikely to go anywhere quickly.
"So did someone activate it unintentionally?" Yukari asked.
Isako nodded, "Indeed, not their fault as we're still trying to figure out how they work so they can be properly packaged and with detailed instructions so that the police are plenty forewarned of the dangers."
"Yes, though I suspect they won't follow them to the letter. They will insist on inspecting every package, regardless of the dangers," Mitsuru was clearly concerned about this detail.
"And we will have to allow them to make those mistakes," Isako gave a shrug. "To gain their trust we must allow them to question our words. We simply need to be nearby to ensure nothing bad happens."
"I understand the reasoning. And I can also tell why Mitsuru doesn't like this," Yukari looked over to her friend. "Eat something. Your stack of work isn't going to go anywhere in the meantime."
"Yes I suppose so," Mitsuru sat next to Yukari and looked like she was also targeting some sushi. "Thanks for coming here. I know it was a bit last notice but..."
"You need some company and support," Yukari provided. "I guess that mean Akihiko-senpai hasn't been in contact at all."
"No, the last time I heard from him he was heading to America. He said he wanted to see a few people but didn't really tell me where he would land or where he would go," Mitsuru frowned, clearly irritated at this thought.
"You could call him, you know. He'll answer it if its you," Yukari gave an incredulous look to Mitsuru to which Mitsuru avoided her gaze.
"I know that but, I want to give him some good news when I talk to him next," Mitsuru quietly admitted. "Me calling him just because I want to know where he is would be awkward."
"Wouldn't he like to know that your thinking of him?" I found myself asking which caught everyones attention. It made sense to me. If I was worried about Hamuko I would call her. Even Kayane, I mean I didn't know him that well, but I wanted to see how he was doing I could just call him, right?
"Kana has a point you know," Hamuko giggled before using her chopsticks to take another bite of her noodles.
"I know. Perhaps I will give him a call later tonight," Mitsuru said with a slight smile.
"There is something else I wanted to talk about," Isako spoke up a bit. "It seems like whatever Shadow activity that occurred in the town of Inaba is gone."
"Inaba?" Hamuko immediately asked. Something about that town caught my attention too, but I couldn't quite place why. Had I heard of that town before? It wasn't like I was familiar with many locations.
"I see, so we weren't fast enough," Mitsuru let out a long sigh. "That also leaves a strong possibility that there are other Persona users in that area."
"It's within our expected parameters. It means they were at least strong enough to quell that Shadow activity. But without any details we can't be positive that it can't flair up again," Isako continued. "Either way, once we have the authority we should investigate the area."
"Wait, what? I know someone from that area, and your saying there were shadows there?" Hamuko had put the bowl down.
"Huh? Who?" I asked.
Hamuko looked to me, "You know him too, and the girl."
"Ikakure and Kujikawa?" my eyes widened as I made the connection. That was right, they had casually mentioned that they were from Inaba. Was that it? Was that what had felt so familiar or comfortable with him?
"Yes, those two. Do we know anything about the incident?" Hamuko turned back to her Aunt Isako to press her for details.
"A little but we don't know much as the police haven't released any details. But likely the serial killings that happened last year is related to it. Along with a string of missing persons cases. All that seem to have markedly similar circumstances," Isako put a folder on the table in the small space that didn't have a different food dish on it. I was closer so I quickly opened it.
"Amagi Yukiko, Tatsumi Kanji, Kujikawa Rise, Mitsuo Kubo, Shirogane Naoto, Ikakure Kayane and Dojima Nanako are listed here as people that went missing. Both of their names are here, Hamuko-chan," I felt my heart beating faster.
"That can't be a coincidence," Hamuko scooted close to me and flipped through what information they had. "Okay so this Mitsuo kid turned out to be the killer of Morooka, a local teach in a copy-cat killing. He was initially turned away when he confessed to the crime. But except for the young girl, all of these people here are around the same age, all in high school."
"Around the same age we fought our own fight against Shadows. If I were to guess, I have no doubts that they were involved," Yukari commented from across the table.
"Yes, that would make sense," Mitsuru added.
"I should call Ikakure, if I talk to him I'm sure he'll..." I started but Hamuko stopped me with shaking her head.
"No, we can't. Not until after the Shadow Operatives are official. We don't know enough and for all we know all of this is just coincidence," Hamuko was being realistic. I knew that but I felt like this was right. I felt that I knew that Ikakure Kayane was a Persona user, along with his girlfriend Kujikawa Rise.
"But what if it isn't over? What if they could use our help and..." I found myself pressing the subject.
"Kana-chan," Mitsuru spoke softly. "I understand how you feel, that's why I've been pressing for this. But if we overstep our bounds along the way, it will take even longer."
"But I..." I stopped seeing everyone's eyes. They understood, I knew they did. I could see it in their eyes. But we couldn't do much until after the Shadow Operatives were official. we had been fighting against time. I just hoped something didn't happen along the way. "I'm sorry."
"Still as far we can tell the immediate danger is over," Isako spoke up once more. "I simply wanted to make you aware of the situation."
"Thank you, Arisato-san," Kirijo nodded. "I'm sure you know why I wanted us to stay in top condition."
"Yep, as soon as we get the green light. We got work to do," Hamuko stated simply. "How long till we know?"
Mitsuru looked away, "Tomorrow."
A/N:
So I think its obvious the biggest difference here compared to what happens in the games. While it is never stated when Mitsuru creates the Shadow Operatives, it appears in Persona 4 Arena that they had been around long enough to have members beyond the Persona 3 crew. Although that may not be true because all we see is silhouettes of the rest of the members. When Persona 4 Arena first came out, it was easy to assume that the rest of the members included Junpei, Ken and Yukari and even Fuuka, just because they were obvious answers. But my desire to tie in Momento Umbrae (which ends with Mitsuru referencing creating the organization) means that the creation would likely be closer to the events of Arena. Hence things happening like this.
Likely the next few chapters will focus on the Persona 3 crew with some things from Kayane and Rise to break things up. This is mostly because we got a lot of ground to cover and not everything is the same leading up to the events of Arena. Well it will be more obvious as we get closer.
Kana has really grown on me. Funny because she was created for Momento Umbrae to create a parallel in Hamuko's Journey and Minato's. Both had their early lives involving Shadows, and both their worlds are eventually changed by a truth they didn't know but had affected their lives. Minato learned of the Dark Hour when he moved to go to Gekko High. Hamuko learned it when she chased after her friends. Both had been adopted, and both awakened to the power of the Wild Card. Though Hamuko managed to prevent Nyarlathotep from breaking the seal it didn't mean she had accepted it. I think this chapter clearly shows that Hamuko isn't happy with how things are.
Kayane is also having doubts on the future as he gets closer and closer to the start of their music career. Plus Rise learns that there is more that could cause problems that even Kayane himself doesn't know about. Well we also got the chance to meet Kanami as well...
Things are building and building...I hope you stick around to see exactly what it is building to. Let me know what you thought about the developments for this chapter. Thanks for reading and I'll see you next week!
