Chapter 43 / Pause
May 3rd, 2012 / Time Unknown
Yasogami High School Announcement Room?
I threw the door open without much regard and it slammed open as I entered.
"That's enough!" someone said as I entered.
When I entered I saw a collection of people. Labrys, Teddie and Rise were on one side. The other was the fake Teddie...or General Teddie that he seemed to want to be called. Not that it mattered. I rushed over straight to Rise. "Rise! Thank God you're okay," I immediately pulled her into my arms.
She welcomed it, "Kayane, I'm so glad to see you. But we're..."
I knew this wasn't the time, but just having her here was a great relief to me and I felt a lot of tension ease off of my shoulders. "Yeah we're not out of this quite yet." I turned as I looked to General Teddie.
"Well, it's about time you got here, Kay-chan," General Teddie mocked.
"Hey now, you can't call him that," The real Teddie countered.
"Congratulations! How does it feel to have won the P-1 Grand Prix?" General Teddie was smirking but Labrys wasn't happy with this.
"Won? How do you figure?" I mean Teddie was here before I was, and even if Labrys wasn't part of the supposed Grand Prix I don't see how I won anything.
"Want to see your prize?" Teddie smirked as he moved and showed...
"Miyuki?" I found myself muttering as I saw the brown haired girl that had died so long ago. One that I blamed myself for her death for so long. I took a step forward but someone grabbed my arm. It was Rise.
"No, Kayane. It's still him. He has the ability to distort what you see and here. It's the same trick he used to make you fight the others," Rise pulled me back.
The being, General Teddie, gave a distinctly different laugh, "You know its hard for me to show someone who isn't here. But you actually saw this Miyuki girl? You're hopeless."
"Yeah, and who the hell do you think you are? You kidnap Rise, and force me to go through my own friends to get here. And for what?" I found myself demanding.
General Teddie laughed, "You still can't tell? I suppose it would have been a stretch for a three year old to remember who we are. But I think its time we start laying out the truth of the situation. After all I did this for your benefit as well, Oniisan."
The words it spoke threw me off and I couldn't hold back my surprise. Oniisan? What did it mean by that? But then General Teddie turned into a black ooze before reforming in front of me as...a very mechanical looking Labrys. "I am a shadow, the true self..." So that was it? She was Labrys' Shadow? That didn't explain why she had called me Oniisan.
"That's my face?" Labrys said silently moving next to me.
"How about it? You wanted to see what I am, didn't you!?" Shadow Labrys sneered at Labrys and then back to me.
"Why...why does she look like me?" Labrys was going to deny it. I knew what that meant, but there were so many questions now.
"That's its true form. That thing is your Shadow," Rise explained calmly to Labrys.
"This is a Shadow? A Shadow that came from me?" Labrys shook her head as she takes an uneasy step back and closes her eyes. Was this why I had initially been drawn in and felt as if I knew her?
"Oh, but you do know her, Oniisan," Shadow Labrys taunted. "You were just too young to remember. You, your sister and parents. You all know me and her very well."
"What? What are you talking about? My parents died a long time ago and I never had a..." I started but Rise was at my side.
"Not true at all, Oniisan. Seems like someone hasn't been telling you everything. About what really happened to your parents, and what happened to your sister. I know though, and so does she. First thing we did upon reactivation is find out all the fun details we could over the net. A much better and efficient way to gather information than that stupid Kirijo Group database," Shadow Labrys was enjoying this. "Come on, me. Don't you have anything to say? After all we finally got Oniisan back, right?"
"No, no I don't want too, I don't want to be seen...I don't want to..." Labrys was grabbing her head and shaking, stepping away from us.
"Isn't that why you wanted to put Oniisan through the same thing you went through? To show him what you had to deal with? Having family taken away and then us being consumed by a blinding rage only to rip apart our sisters. Come on, tell him! Tell him!" Shadow Labrys was yelling at the other Labrys.
"No! I don't want to remember! I don't want to..." Labrys continued to mutter.
"That sadness and pain and anguish. The all encompassing anger against those people that took everything away from us! And we failed to achieve that, we failed our family. Us! I'm a weapon! A machine that was intended only to fight. That was what they wanted us to be! But not Renji, not our Father! And those sons of bitches murdered him!" Shadow Labrys continued her verbal assault. I couldn't follow along. I was connected to Labrys? My family was? What did that mean?
"No! Stop it! I've had enough! I'm not like that! I'm human, that didn't happen to me," Labrys shook her head.
"Hahahaha...! You're still clinging to that? Then take a look at what you really are," Shadow Labrys moved a hand in front of the other Labrys and like a distorted image becoming clear...her once very human appearance shifted to the more robotic one exactly like her Shadow.
"You're lying. This isn't real. I'm not a machine...I'm not! No...you're...You're not me!" Labrys cried out. I knew what this mean within the TV world. This was what I should have tried to stop, but there was no way I could. Just what happened? What happened to cause her to deny this so strongly?
"Finally...You've finally said it! Now, I can be myself!" Then Shadow Labrys yelled as something behind her gave form...she didn't change but the large beast was with her...like a Shadow...like a Persona. Was this how she was going to go berserk?
"Kayane!" another voice came in through the door. I turned to see...Kana?
"What the hell are you doing here?" I yelled but she came rushing in and slid to a stop at my side, while holding a sword. "Wait, you're a persona user?"
"Kayane-san...there is a lot I want to talk to you about. To tell you about all of this," Kana said but I kept my eyes on the Shadow being in front of us.
"So you know about my connection to Labrys? My parents?" I wasn't sure I could be angry about it either way. It wasn't like I had ever had the urge to look up or ask about my parents. Helps when your Uncle was an abusive asshole and you didn't want to spend any amount of time talking to him. And obviously Mom had simply adopted me so it isn't like she would be in a position to know that. Either way we had to deal with what was in front of us before anything else.
"I'll tell you everything, Kayane-san. I promise," Kana said as Shadow Labrys charged froward and smashed her axe to the ground. We jumped away from each other.
"Come on now, Oniisan. It's been too long since we've played a game," Shadow Labrys glared at me as the large beast of a Shadow came swiping at me. Still did this mean that Labrys considered me her brother? What did that even mean? No, this was not the time to think about it when I was being attacked. I jumped over the large claw of the beast. This Shadow Beast seemed to work similar to a Persona. Maybe this in itself was an indication to something too. I sliced it with a sickle as I did a flip off the claw and landed on the ground. But Shadow Labrys came right at me and swung her axe. Kana however was there and cleanly kicked the axe away and then spun quickly and gave a powerful kick to push the Shadow back.
"I won't let you hurt him!" Kana boldly declared as she brought her sword up.
"Get out of the way! He is my Oniisan!" Shadow Labrys came full force at Kana. I jumped forward and grabbed Kana by the waist and pulled her back.
"Kayane, she seems highly resistant to elements. As difficult as it may seem, beating her in a fight might be the only way to go about this." Rise's voice entered my mind, reminding me she was there. She likely had pulled the real Labrys with the help from Teddie to the side.
"Right. My lucky day as always," I reply back to her in my mind as I let go of Kana and we split apart to either side as Shadow Labrys charged in with the shadow beast behind her.
"Asterius!" Shadow Labrys called out and the shadow beast suddenly charged forward. I quickly threw my sickles up to the ceiling as I noticed Kana did a similar action with her sword...which suddenly fully extended out as a chain. I didn't have much time to react as I pulled myself into the air by the chain and swung over the would be Persona named Asterius and came straight at Shadow Labrys.
Pulling my sickle free from the light rig above us, it sent me into a spiral as I wielded my other sickle and came slicing down at Shadow Labrys. Kana came down hard as well with her chain reverting back to a sword as we both struck Shadow Labrys hard. She slid back due to the force of the blows and Asterius appeared back behind her. Well this certainly wasn't getting us anywhere fast.
"Kana-san, I'll leave the attack to you. I'll cover you," I said as I shifted and a tarot card came floating in front of me. There was no need to hold back now. This was a Shadow and I was sick and tired of not understanding why Shadow Labrys was calling me Oniisan.
"You got it, Kayane-san!" Kana leaped forward to attack.
I shattered the tarot card as Benzaiten appeared and unleashed a frigid cold bufudyne at Shadow Labrys. She used her axe to shatter the attack. I then launched agidyne right behind it giving Shadow Labrys only half a moment to block it, and leaving her completely open to Kana's attack.
"Eurydice!" she yelled as a beautiful persona appeared with a harp in hand and smashed it it into Shadow Labrys, but then followed it up with a massive collection of ice and lightning came down onto Shadow Labrys. It happened so quickly I don't think I had ever seen anyone, even Yu summon her Persona so quickly. But before Shadow Labrys could even continue she extended her chain sword out and swung with deadly intention towards her target. Kana was making use of her extra space and didn't have to worry about me getting in the way. She striked back at Shadow Labrys again and again. The attacks so fierce that it was hard to get a clear look at what was happening.
Then the tables suddenly turned.
Shadow Labrys came from the midst of the attack and directly connected her double sided axe with Kana's midsection. Then the axe seemed to have some sort of propulsion system because she then flew across the room and slammed Kana hard into the wall. I didn't have time to think, I moved to act. I threw my first sickle to which Shadow Labrys turned and deflected it off to her left, its blade buried into the wall. She went to attack once more but I went into a slide, the chain that connected my sickles sliding along the ground. Her axe hit the ground, missing the chain by mere inches. This gave me the best opportunity.
I jumped into the air and pulled hard on the chain as I went past Shadow Labrys. It caught underneath the axe and I forced her to put her axe up in the air, but as I yanked harder she had to switch her footing as she seemed unwilling to let go of her weapon. But Kana was back in the fight. Her chain sword swung around Shadow Labrys' feet and yanked the Shadow out from underneath her. Asterius attempted to push back both Kana and I and protect Shadow Labrys but this time we were a step ahead. We both leaped over Asterius attack and both came landing right on top of Shadow Labrys. Kana's sword straight through Shadow Labrys' chest and my remaining sickle the same.
After only a moment, Asterius disappeared and the intense Shadow aura around Shadow Labrys dissipated. We had done it, somehow.
I got to my feet and collected my weapon. Kana did as well, as the shell of Shadow Labrys stood there, saying nothing. Just like all the times before, the Shadow was waiting for her real self to accept her.
"Labrys," I said softly as I walked over to her. "It might be hard, but you can't turn away from the truth. It's something I had to learn to. You can do it."
She looked up at me, as if she was finally seeing me. "Oniisan? You're really alive? It's really you?"
"Labrys, he doesn't know. He was only three years old back then. But I'm going to tell him," Kana said at my side.
Suddenly a rush of footsteps could be heard coming up. A bunch of individuals appeared in the doorway as they came in. "There they are! Ikakure, Rise-san, Teddie and Labrys-san!" It was Chie.
Then another individual stepped in, "Sister! Kana-san!" She was...a robot too?
"Thank goodness, everyone is okay," Yukiko said coming in behind them. Along with Yosuke.
"Man, as soon as that invisible wall thing disappeared, I knew I had to get up here. Nice job Takahashi-san. Oh and Kayane-senpai," Yosuke said with a grin.
"Good to know I have your confidence, Yosuke," I found myself saying dryly.
"Hey, hey, hey, you know what I mean," Yosuke and I laughed a bit.
"We got caught up by Mitsuru-san and Aigis-san," Yukiko added a quick explanation.
"It was a little late if you ask me," Kanji added with a grunt as he gave me a nod. "Good to see ya, Senpai."
"Likewise Kanji-san," I wondered how bad it had to be to be stuck back there knowing others were fighting. Yeah that would not be fun.
"Hmph, at least Kay-chan didn't fall into the TV when he was half asleep like somebody I know," Teddie chimed in, who had been strangely quiet as all the things had come down.
"I highly doubt that this is the time to discuss how we all got into this predicament, accident or not," Naoto said as she walked into the room.
"Huh? Naoto? Why are you here?" Yu asked as he entered.
"Yeah, we were surprised too. The job she was on turned out to be related to all this," Yosuke gave a half explanation.
"Well I filled everyone in the best I could and connected with the other group that Aigis-san and Takahashi-san are connected to," Rise said as she stepped in next to me and took my hand.
I looked to Labrys once more, "These are all my friends. Everyone of us had to face this kind of situation. We had to face the part of ourselves we never wanted to admit to ourselves. We all faced our own Shadows within this place."
"Something you never wanted to admit? Even you, Oniisan? You all faced your Shadows?" Labrys said as every came around her and then Rise stepped forward and away from me.
"Sheesh, enough doom and gloom! If you don't hurry and accept her, she'll get lonely," Rise directed Labrys to her Shadow who stood there silently.
"I'm a weapon," Labrys said softly. "I lost something important and because of that I lost control of myself. I didn't want to remember and because of that I dragged all of you into this, even Oniisan."
We all shared a look. I think everyone was interested as to why she kept calling me her brother but that could wait a bit more. Kanji stepped up to speak.
"You're still hung up on that? It's over already, dummy," Kanji waved it off like the whole ordeal we had gone through had been just a minor inconvenience.
"You're jumping skills were amazing, but you're surprisingly sensitive, aren't you?" Chie seemed amused.
"Uh, what does that have to do with her jumping skills?" Yosuke eyed Chie from next to him. Despite that the two eagerly took the others hand.
"You're really cute, Labby-chan! You're so...metalluring!" Teddie chimed in. I had to suppress an audible groan.
"Are you all listening to me? Labrys needs to face her Shadow, now and..." Naoto was trying to get everyone on topic now.
I sighed a bit as Yu moved forward along with Aigis.
"Nice to meet you, Labrys...or rather, Sister," Aigis said. "I am Aigis-the 7th Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon. I am your successor."
This didn't seem to put Labrys at ease, instead it seemed to put her on guard.
"Huh, wha...!? Um, excuse me, but you're...? I mean, are you also...?" Yukiko struggled to find the right words to say.
"Yes, I too, am a robot," Aigis responded.
"It just occurred to you now?" Chie eyed Yukiko.
Yu silently moved to Yukiko and seemed to be amused on how his girlfriend could have been with Aigis and yet not realize something like this.
"My mission to retrieve you has brought me here. My colleagues are waiting for you," Aigis said.
This provoked a much different response than what everyone was expecting, "Ya mean the Kirijo Group? Where they will just lock me up again?" Labrys had a very obvious anger in her tone and her accent thicker than before. It was hardly time to think about why a robot had a kansai dialect.
"We can discuss that later. Right now, there is an important task you must carry out," Aigis immediately retreated back. Something about this situation didn't sit right with me at all.
Labrys looked at her Shadow and then at me. "You can do this. Trust me."
Labrys approached her Shadow now, "That's right. You're me. You're the way I was at the end, when I lost all my composure and reason. All I wanted was to make that bastard pay! And what did he do? He forced me to rip apart my sister units! My family! After that bastard murdered my Father. But then when we were woken up again...I found out that Oniisan was alive, and so was Oneesan. But how could I ever face them after what I had done? How I had lost control of myself. I just thought that maybe if I could find a way I could have them understand why I did what I did. Then maybe, just maybe I might be worthy enough to uphold my promise to them. But I tried to forget it all, because it hurt so much. But the truth is, you are me and I am you. And I can't keep running from the past. I'm going to face my pain and my future, together with you." Labrys then hugged her Shadow. Then a light surrounded her as her Shadow disappeared and the being that appeared above her was her Persona. She stopped, "This is my Persona?"
She turned back to me, "I did it, Oniisan! If Renji-sama was here..." She stopped reading my expression and came up to me. "That's right, you don't know. You were so young then."
"Why do you keep calling me that?" I asked somewhat frustrated by the continual sidestepping of the topic. If she had her Persona now and the Shadow wasn't a danger then I wanted to know.
Labrys hesitated for a moment, I think I might have hurt her with the way I phrased it. "I am Labrys, prototype of the 5th Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons, or the Mechanical Maiden project. Due to an incident that resulted in the death of over 40 Kirijo Group employees they brought in outside help to continue the project. Ikakure Renji was asked to help from the Nanjo Group temporarily. Shortly after the discovery of the Plume of Dusk, a discovery accredited to Ikakure Renji, he continued his research in a means to create a Mechanical Maiden capable of summoning a Persona."
"Wait, my Father created you?" I felt overwhelmed and a pain went through my head but Rise was at my side to stabilize me. Having her so close made me realize how much I missed her. And how I wish I could just forget all of this and just leave, but I couldn't. I knew I couldn't.
"Yes, I was one that he personally created. While the other sister units were based on a different design than my own. However, I was fortunate to be able to spend a lot of my time outside of the facility with you and your sister," Labrys said it with a shakiness in her voice. "I was at my happiest when I was with the two of you."
"Sister?" I blinked. "Since when do I have a sister? If I did why wasn't she with me at my...no scratch that if she wasn't at my Uncles then that's fine with me. That means we were separated."
"You're sister is now known as Kasamatsu Setsuko. It was decided that only one of you would go to your Uncle as the court didn't believe he could take care of more than one child," Kana quickly provided. "We haven't had a chance to speak with your sister yet but records indicate that she has gone to therapy for most of her life for what happened to your parents."
"Right, Labrys said that someone had murdered Father," I looked back to her for a moment. A robot capable of summoning a Persona? I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't just witnessed her getting it. Calling her a robot seemed somewhat insulting. And likely my Father had been the same way, if she often brought her to play with my sister and I...then she likely was very much a part of the family. It isn't like I had a frame of reference for how I would have acted when I was just three years old. The events that happened after made it so I never cared to know what my past was. My parents were dead and I had ended up with an abusive Uncle that didn't give two shits on if I was alive or dead after he beat me every night.
"A man by the name Ikutsuki Shuji arranged an accident to occur with a 3rd party. When Father was supposedly let go to return to the Nanjo Group, he was ran off the road and killed as he was traveling to the port. The only ones that survived were Ikakure Setsuko and Ikakure Kayane, his children," Labrys emotions were plain for everyone to see. Even I could feel the pain behind it as she said it. "I found out a month or so after it happened when I managed to hack into the Kirijo Database and find the correspondence related to it. It had been deleted so I had to piece it back together. At the time though I thought all of you had died. I thought I had lost my family. So I did the only thing I thought I could. I went to attack Ikutsuki Shuji. But instead he had my sister units get in my way. So I...fought. And I destroyed all of them. I was just so angry, I had to get to him no matter what. All I could think about was how I would never see Oniisan or Oneesan ever again."
No one knew what to say. I sure as hell had no idea what to say.
"Senpai, perhaps this would be a conversation best made once we return?" Naoto stepped up and looked at me. I nodded.
"Yeah we can head to my place and talk there. Honestly, I've never thought about my parents. I definitely didn't expect them to be connected to research related to Shadows and Persona," I scratched the back of my head with Rise at my side. "And I have a sister?"
"Yeah, it was all part of what I wanted to talk about with you. I had hoped to tell you before all of this," Kana said.
"Hold it, I ain't going back with da Kirijo Group," Labrys said glancing to Aigis.
"Labrys-san, a lot of things have happened since then. The Kirijo Group isn't the same as it was then..."
"Ya think I bloody give a damn? I made a promise to my Oniisan and Oneesan and I'm going to keep it. If I'm going anywhere, it's with Oniisan," Labrys cutoff Aigis and moved to me. Aigis looked more dejected now than before. "Plus you called me sister, but would you really want to be sisters with someone who destroyed so many of our sister units?"
"You weren't the only one that was manipulated by the man Ikutsuki Shuji. Thanks to him, I had raised weapons against the people I considered my family," Aigis spoke softly.
Labrys blinked but didn't say anything more.
"We should head to the entrance," Yu prompted.
Everyone started to head out but I didn't move until it was me, Rise and Labrys left.
"Oniisan, sorry if all of this is too much to take in," Labrys apologized.
I shook my head, "I mean if I had done a little digging on my part I could have easily found out I had a sister. I have the family record for the Ikakure's after all. I inherited it when my Uncle was put into jail. I literally only had to open the damn book and I would have known. I just never thought to do it. And my sister hasn't come looking for me either. I dunno, there is a lot of questions but answers won't be so easy as to just have you tell me. But still...why Oniisan?"
"Oh why do I call you that?" Labrys smiled a bit. "Its what Oneesan said I had to call you, since you are my older siblings."
I found myself chuckling. Setsuko huh? I guess life is about to get a bit more complicated.
May 3rd, 2012 / Time Unknown
Studio Backlot TV World
Two other individuals awaited us at the entrance. Rise had briefed me a bit of the craziness that had been going on. While I had charged in after her the others had been a bit more cautious and approached it like they would any other victim thrown into the TV. Several people had disappeared on them. Me included. Well I wasn't exactly going to just sit by when I had been hot on the tail of Rise's kidnapper.
"I'm Sanada Akihiko. Sorry for all this trouble," a man with a red cape, and bare chested with a number of scars on his body. He seemed quite comfortable in his somewhat lack of attire. Judging by it, he had likely seen more than his fare share of combat. His silver hair was something that caught my attention as well. I guess Yu was the only silver haired person around.
A woman with elegant red hair and wearing a black bodysuit with a fur coat stood next to him. Aigis quickly moved next to her and she exchanged a glance before she introduced herself, "I am Kirijo Mitsuru."
I quickly understood the hesitation, before I could do anything Labrys was in the air, her axe moved from her back and into her hand. She slammed it hard towards Mitsuru but both Aigis and Akihiko stepped forward and blocked her attack. Mitsuru didn't move as the blade of the axe was only a mere foot away from her head.
"Kirijo! You can rot in hell for what your family did to Renji-sama and Arisa-sama!" Labrys anger was more than palpable.
"Labrys! Relax! She had nothing to do with that! She's been spending the last few years cleaning up after what her Grandfather Kouetsu has done," Kana stepped in and pulled Labrys back. Eventually she relented.
"Labrys, there are no words I can express that can ever undo what has been done to you, or Ikakure Kayane. If my death could ease that pain then I would willingly..." Mitsuru started.
"Mitsuru, what are you saying?" Akihiko was shocked.
I moved up next to Labrys, "Look Labrys knows that killing you would hardly amount to any sort of satisfaction. The one who arranged it was Ikutsuki Shuji."
"Yes, perhaps you might feel at ease that he died a couple of years ago," Mitsuru added.
"She won't say it but her own Father was killed by him," Aigis added
Labrys slunk back next to me and put her axe in its place at her back. "How many lives did that man ruin? And now ya tellin' me I can't avenge Renji-sama?"
I moved in front of her and looked into her eyes, "I don't know anything about my Father but if he was the one who created you then wouldn't you know best if he would even want you to avenge him? I'm sure he had some idea that something like that could happen when he left the Kirijo Group."
I could see Labrys diligently searching my eyes for some sort of answer. I couldn't even imagine what it had to be like for her. From the way she spoke, she had been treated like a member of the family. No different than anyone else. As if she truly was my sister. She was looking at me for an answer that an older sibling should have. And then something changed. Every muscle in my body screamed in alarm as I saw her eyes shift from the vibrant red to a flat gray. I jumped back as her axe was suddenly swung down at me. Everyone was suddenly taking defensive positions and Rise scrambled to my side.
"It's not over yet," A flat and different voice came out.
"What...!? It's the same communication system as ours!" Mitsuru warned.
"I cannot gain access. She is being hacked!" Aigis warns.
Hacked? But in order to do that, they would have had to know intimate knowledge of the Mechanical Maidens right? This was hardly the best time to think about this.
"It isn't coming from inside this facility...The signal originates elsewhere," Aigis quickly reported.
"Form outside the TV?" Akihikio took the more aggressive stance of the others.
Of course, the one who had thrown Labrys in here to begin with and taken Rise. That had not been Labrys. No someone else was the one pulling the strings of this event. This wasn't over yet at all.
"This is just a little extra resistance. Now, entertain me!" Then Labrys jumped at me and I had little time to react, I shoved Rise away towards Yu and then rolled forward out of the way. I sprung up to my feet with my sickles in hand. Someone was going to force Labrys to fight again...potentially adding even more scars to her.
"You've put my sister through enough you bastard," I growled as the controlled Labrys turned and attacked me again.
"Oh dear, the son of Ikakure Renji, reunited with his Father's creation? Weren't you but a small child then? Why would you have any sort of attachment to a mere machine?" the voice directed towards me as it forced Labrys to continue to attack me.
I moved quickly back and forth to avoid strikes which might have only been aggravating the situation further. "If Labrys calls me her Brother, do you think I would just let anything to happen to her? I may not know anything of my parents or my family. That was a choice that I made, not her. So until I know the truth, I will do all I can for her."
"Hey, I got an interesting idea," the controlled Labrys stopped. "You could instead work with me. I mean, you have no reason to trust the Kirijo Group. They are responsible for the death of your parents."
That caught me off guard and I jumped our of range, "How can you know that?"
"Oh ho, caught your interest did I?" the controlled Labrys spoke. Then suddenly jumped back as a new individual entered.
A weapon slammed blade first to the ground. At glance it looked like a spear, no that wasn't right. It was a naganita. A young woman with red hair appeared, in a outfit of black and red, she pulled her weapon from the ground and spun it in her hand and pulled it back to an aggressive stance. She was clearly a seasoned fighter. Then I recognized her. It was Takahashi Hamuko, Kana's sister. "Manipulating others to do your work? Show yourself coward. Besides, you're time for controlling Labrys is over."
"You?" the once controlling Labrys glared.
"Fuuka-chan!" Hamuko called out.
"Severing connection. Now Kujikawa!" A new voice entered my mind. It was similar to how Rise used her power but it was different.
"Right! You will, never control Labrys again!" Rise's voice came through right behind her.
"I suppose that's it for now. See you soon, Ikakure Kayane," the voice spoke quickly before Labrys stumbled and fell to her knees.
"Guess it would be too much to hope all of this madness was over," I muttered to myself as I moved to Labrys' side.
"It would seem whoever our adversary is, they're connected to the Kirijo Group," Mitsuru spoke but didn't move. "And this matter concerns you as well, Ikakure-san."
"Obviously," I saw Labrys rebooting, or something close to it. As soon as Labrys was functioning she stood up and then ripped off something from the side of her head. "I'm guess that was how they were able to hack you?"
She shook her head. "Hacking wouldn't be the correct term. It was an override device. My black box makes it impossible for the Kirijo Group to control me. So instead they implanted a device that would circumvent the black box and go around it. Unfortunately or fortunately in this case, it slows my reaction time and amount of force I can use. The researchers thought it was a good trade off considering my physical abilities were already significantly more than my sister units." Labrys said with her kansai dialect. It felt strangely comforting to me.
"And that black box was something my Father created?" I looked at her and she gave a nod. "And the accent?"
"Oh...um...its something I picked up from Arisa-sama, I mean Mom," Labrys actually seemed embarrassed about it. "I thought it would better show that I was connected to your family, you know."
"So my Mom was from the kansai region?" I scratched the back of my head and sighed.
Rise was next to my side and she took my arm. "Kind of an odd way to find out about your parents. Who would have known your Father had been a part of making anti-shadow weapons."
"Seriously. Though from the way Labrys talks about it, it seems his ideals about what he wanted them to be conflicted with the ones in charge," I noted as I looked past Labrys to where Mitsuru approached with Akihiko and Aigis at her side. Kana was standing next to me, but both her and Hamuko were obviously with the other group.
Hamuko looked to me, "For a future singer, you sure seem to have gotten yourself in a load of trouble." She gave a smile as she flipped her naganita around and stood it next to her.
"No more than the usual trouble that seems to find me," I replied. "I guess that means you and Kana-san are part of this group?"
"The Shadow Operatives is our official name," Hamuko stepped toward me but Labrys took a half step in front of me.
"It is a group I created to prevent Shadow related incidents. It was recently sanctioned by the Japanese government," Mitsuru was explaining. "Part of the conditions was letting the police inspect and secure the more dangerous of the Kirijo Groups objects. It was around that time we found Labrys who had been sealed for an unknown reason. It took a significant amount of digging through correspondence and the old Kirijo Group database to even find anything. All we found were vague reports. That Labrys had been forced to destroy her sister units and that my Grandfather had ordered the death and cover up of the death of Ikakure Renji. Going down the list of possibilities, Labrys hating my name or the Kirijo Group was in that list."
"So ya understand that I want nothin' to do with the lot of ya?" Labrys stood half in front of me, protecting me.
I sighed heavily. "Look, I've had enough of this tension for today." I stepped around Labrys who objected at first but relented. "We have a much different problem here. The one behind this not only had intimate knowledge of Labrys and her circumstances for being sealed, but was also aware of the abilities of me and my friends. That's why Rise was taken captive after all. They knew of her power and that there would be no way he could force us to fight each other otherwise. Like it or not, this involves all of us."
Mitsuru nodded, "I agree, this day has been a lot more complicated than we initially expected. And it doesn't seem the matter is solved either. So for now we should leave here and perhaps break for food. Then we can all reconvene to discuss the details of what we know on both sides."
I looked back to Yu, "That fine with you."
He nodded, "That works. I think we all could use for a brief reprieve from these events. Plus we've been in here since the early morning. Teddie, think you can make another exit?"
"You got it!" Teddie tapped his foot on the ground a couple times and another set of TV's appeared.
"Wait," Hamuko said and facing me. "There is something I want to say first." She then walked right up to me. She looked me in my eyes.
"So you know something that can change someones life but aren't allowed to say it, huh?" I called back to our conversation back at my house not so long ago. "I'm guess all of this was part of that."
"Kayane-san, I went through my life believing I had not family. Then one day, Yukari, Mitsuru, Aigis, Akihiko and my other friends showed up and saved me and my only friends at the time from Shadows. And they told me that I had a twin brother," Hamuko's usual comfortable gaze held a much more serious one. "And he had died saving the world from a much bigger threat. But I found out something recently. That my Father's Sister was named Arisa, she married Ikakure Renji."
I blinked, "Wait, really?"
"It's nice to meet you cousin," Hamuko smiled.
May 3rd, 2012 / Early Evening
Kayane's House Music Studio
I sat down in front of the piano for the first time in what felt like ages ago with all that has happened. I was also hesitant to leave Rise on her own because of it, but I was hardly the only one in the house right now.
Rise was with Yukiko and Chie in the kitchen. Rather than separating and then meeting up here they opted to all come over and just buy something at Junes to cook there. Since we had all appeared out of the TV at Junes. Which fortunately the girl named Yamagishi Fuuka had been able to determine the best place to enter the TV world and where we would exit without even asking. It seemed Yamagishi was much more apt as a navigator than Rise was. Though I was suspecting that Rise's real power wasn't specifically navigating related.
Yu, Yosuke, Kanji and Teddie were setting the table, and probably just lounging about talking. Then, in here, in the music room was Naoto and Labrys. I understood that there was a lot of tension as a result of Labrys refusing to even get close to the Shadow Operatives because of the direct connection to the Kirijo Group. After all, Labrys had every reason to distrust them more than anyone.
What kind of day had it been? Not only did I meet Labrys, but I learn I have a sister. And learned about my parents. I didn't have all the details yet, but that was why the others would be arriving here in about an hour. After we all had a chance to catch our breaths and maybe recover our composure. Yu had made a comment to me on the walk over to my place. "Be calm, take in the facts, then we decide from there." It was simple and might as well listen when both parties are weary and willing to talk.
Aigis, she seemed so dejected because of Labrys' reaction to her. To know that Labrys came before her, was created for the same purpose as her, yet that there was a tragedy surrounding that. How hard would it be to outstretch your hand wanting to help, only to be rejected? Yet, I could not fault Labrys because of the pain she went through to not trust anything attached to the Kirijo Group. But those were actions done by men long ago. People that were dead. Even the one called Ikutsuki Shuji.
That frustration...I understood it better than most. In the end, everyone had their reasons for the decisions they make, the people they are cautious of.
I ran my hands over the piano and closed my eyes as I started to play. I could feel it in Labrys' emotions over what had happened. Anger, hate, fury, rage, frustration, helplessness, despair, fear, sorrow, pain, disgrace, reverence, admiration, trust, love and hope. The myriad of emotions that came from being loved as a member of a family, having to accept them leaving but then the betrayal and having to accept the loss of a loved one. And then trying to avenge them. I would take all of this and pour it into my music.
"I don't belong here
I can't keep my head clear
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
I don't belong here
I can't keep my head clear
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight"
I found myself singing and playing a song that had probably become a favorite of mine since I had written it. And I felt these lyrics and song fit this situation the best.
"It started with a push and a shove
Falling in the dark
I now stumble along the way
Just trying to find my way
Tonight, Tonight
It's so hard sometimes
In this life
Finding the place I can stay
Finding the place I can stay
Tonight, Tonight
I can't stand the dark of the night
Sick of the night
Sick of the night
Trying to find my way
Trying to find my way"
Years and years alone where it felt your only solace was in the dark of night, when no one would bother you. Yet at the same time that place of solace can turn into a prison. You don't want to remain there, but it has become the one place that you can run to and feel safe. But it doesn't make you happy, it isn't living, its just safe. I let my hands fly over the keyboard as I upped the tempo of the song.
"You can never be safe
Just when you find your light
It's gone and it leaves you blind
Impossible to find a place to call home
Even just for Tonight, Tonight
Lost in the dark
Can't find the light
It always happens to me
But it can happen to you
Tonight, Tonight"
A feeling of helplessness against the elements you can't possibly control. It's in this moment that you start to feel hopeless. Like there is nothing that can ever make you feel happy ever again. Down against despair in which you believe there is no hope.
"I don't belong here
I can't keep my head clear
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
I don't belong here
I can't keep my head clear
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight"
But this is simply one song about that loneliness. It is an overwhelming emotion that is hardest to shake when you are in the depths of darkness with no way of knowing how you are going to get out.
"It started with a push and a shove
Falling in the dark
I now stumble along the way
Just trying to find my way
Tonight, Tonight
It's so hard sometimes
In this life
Finding the place I can stay
Finding the place I can stay
Tonight, Tonight
I can't stand the dark of the night
Sick of the night
Sick of the night
Trying to find my way
Trying to find my way"
I pounded my hands against the keys of the piano as I felt myself being overwhelmed by the emotions. I no longer could see the world around me as I lost myself in the song. Everything, I needed to pour out all of my frustrations. My confusion, all the crap I didn't know or understand. My parents? Dead? Why? Because it was arranged by the Kirijo Group? My Uncle was only allowed to take one of us, so of course it would be me, the male and the only one able to carry forward the name Ikakure. My sister, shuttled off to be an orphan. All while she had been traumatized by the event resulting in her taking years of therapy. Labrys, a robot that was not a robot. Created to be summon a Persona and fight Shadows...but not with the way she talked about my Father. No, she had not been a simple tool created to destroy Shadows. No, my Father, Ikakure Renji, created her to protect people. But that wasn't how it was seen at all.
"I don't belong here
I can't keep my head clear
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight"
They wanted them as weapons that would obey orders without questions. They wanted to develop them in a way in which they could use Persona to a degree that would allow them to defeat Shadows but not so much that they would defy them. But Labrys was created to think for herself. To make her own decisions. When Father was supposed to leave and return to the Nanjo Group...it must have been in such a way that Labrys knew to protect them it was best to stay with Kirijo Group. No not protect just my Father but my Mother, my Sister and me. She protected all of us by sacrificing herself and her own future.
"I don't belong here
I can't keep my head clear
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight
I don't belong here
I can't keep my head clear
Tonight, Tonight, Tonight"
The emotions overwhelmed me as I was almost slamming my hands on the piano. Then suddenly I was pulled away. I lost myself and fell to the ground. Then the next moment I felt familiar lips crashing against mine. I tried to push her back but she shoved my hand out of the way and pushed the kiss deeper. Pushing her tongue into my mouth and enticing me to react. My emotions were bubbling up and the sudden change had confused me, but I found myself responding back. Her long hair free from its usual pigtails momentarily hid us as I kissed her back. The kiss more passionate than any we had shared for a long time. I found my hand moving to the back of her head to push deeper, but then suddenly Rise stopped and pushed back. She was straddled on my waist, having pulled me to the ground away from the piano.
"You idiot!" Rise yelled at me. She reached down and wiped away the tears from my eyes. "Why? Why do you always do this? You hold everything in for yourself! What did I tell you? How many times do I have to tell you to come to me?" I hadn't even realized that I had been crying, or how wrapped up I had been in that song. Now Rise was frustrated.
I had no excuses, she was right. Instead of going to her when I had the chance, I held it all in and did the same thing I always did. I let it bubble up until I bursted. My music must have sounded horrible, along with my singing. I could have tried to recover, but I did the opposite. My emotions overflowed once more and I sat up and put my head against Rise's chest, "I'm so sorry, Rise. I was so worried about you. I couldn't think straight no matter how much I tried I just had to get to you no matter what. I can't...I just can't keep moving without you." I cried. Tears were streaming down my face as I finally took this moment to reaffirm that she was here, right in front of me. "Seeing you get taken like that, I couldn't bare it...I just..."
"Let it all out, my love," Rise spoke softly as she wrapped her arms around my head and pressed it firmly against her. "I'm here now."
I hadn't realized I was even shaking until this moment, but the warmth of Rise and having her here made me grasp onto her tighter than before. I don't think even I had realized how much I had been bottling up. Of course, it was always Rise. She always knew. She always saw what I needed the most. I love her. I love Rise more than any amount of words could say.
After all my bravado and false presentations to the others, when all I had felt like doing was collapsing. I had just wanted to run. Rise knew. And she waited, waited for it to catch up to me so she could be here. Letting me get out all my frustrations and emotions. The rest of the world could wait. All I needed was Rise for right now. Without regard to anything around me, I let out all the emotion and frustration that was left in my heart to the girl that owned that heart, Kujikawa Rise.
May 3rd, 2012 / Evening
Kayane's House Dining Room
Somehow I was able to calm down before the Shadow Operatives arrived. After I had managed to somewhat compose myself, Rise led me past all the others and to the bathroom where she helped me clean up. I really am hopeless without her. She made me take a quick bath and then a change of clothes, and now I felt a lot more clear headed than I had been before. I sat at the end of the long dining table that I had put both extensions in to increase its length. Next to me was Rise, but standing just over my left shoulder was Labrys. She had seemed unsure of what to say to me after seeing my breakdown.
"As most of the fault in this incident lies with me, I want to first extend an apology," Kirijo Mitsuru who sat at the other end of the table spoke in a professional manner. More than that she was definitely uncomfortable with this situation.
"Considering we were all a part of this mess, I don't think there is any one person that can take the blunt of the blame," Yu spoke up. He was the more diplomatic of us. "Instead I think it is more prudent that we lay all the facts we can on the table and proceed from there."
"From the beginning huh? I suppose that would have to start back further than when most of us were even born," Mitsuru sighed. "I hope you understand my hesitance but after learning your connection to this, Ikakure Kayane-san, I feel it is my duty to do so. Kikuno, if you would."
"As you wish, Kirijo-sama," A woman with violet hair placed something on the table. It then projected images on the wall on the side of the dining room. "The Kirijo Group was one apart of a large conglomerate known as the Nanjo Group. However after a time the man named Kirijo Kouetsu split off with a portion of the Group to form his company. I doubt I need to tell you all what that was." The image of an older gentlemen came up, and it did not exactly evoke the best of feelings. It must have been Kouetsu because when I glanced at Labrys I could see the anger in her eyes.
I noticed that Aigis was off to the side and not paying attention. Obviously all of this was stuff she would know intimately. But I knew that wasn't the reason she wasn't being attentive. I hadn't even spoken to her, but I couldn't put the first meeting between her and Labrys out of my head. It hadn't gone the way Aigis wanted at all.
"Kouetsu began to gather many brilliant minds together. Some of them being, Arisato Miyuki and Kayane," Kikuno continued by the names jumped out at me immediately. How could they not?
"Your Aunt and Uncle," Labrys said from next to me. "Arisa-sama named you after her brother. She liked to complain about never being able to see her brother."
"I know your confusion as to the other name, perhaps I can enlighten you on that front," a woman with long black hair and piercing blue eyes stepped forward. "It's been a long time, Kayane-san. I'm Arisato Isako. But my maiden name is Tsukio. Nanase is my sister."
"Your Mom's sister? I mean she's mentioned you before but..." I stopped when Isako raised her hand.
"Obviously I kept my Sister out of the loop when it came to Shadows and Persona, as well as the particulars as to what I did as part of the Kirijo Group. But that doesn't mean we never saw each other. You see when we were in college we had a a group of us that all came together. Miyuki, Kayane were part of that, along with my would be husband, Yoshimitsu and myself. But also Ryouka and Eiichiro Takeba. Well our group were mostly all in different fields but fledging scientists. But Nanase would often end up tagging along with me, especially since Miyuki and Ryouka would force her to come along. And she was very close to Miyuki." Isako sounded like there was a lot of memories there. "Well on occasion even your parents would come by. It would be odd if he hadn't since Renji was Kayane's best friend and childhood friend. I heard quite a number of stories about the fights the two had when Renji started dating Kayane's younger sister, Arisa."
"Sounds like a fun time," I said.
Isako knew that I had no means of feeling anything on the matter, "I apologize. I know you haven't known about your parent up until now. But the events that occurred are tied to all of this. I'm sorry Saikawa-san. I'll allow you to continue."
Kikuno switched the images on the projector the image was of a large collection of people, "As indicated by Arisato-sama, this is the group recruited by Kouetsu to start his research. They would be separated into different areas. However, Kouetsu had them all do so in secrecy. Each research head had no knowledge of what the others were researching. Instead Kouetsu played the middle man and arranged the pieces as he saw fit."
"So he was the only one that knew what was going on? So he could direct it all without anyone knowing the greater picture of what he was aiming for," Naoto was sitting at the table theorized.
"Correct. He had several experiments and research going into different directions. One focused on the power of Shadows. Another on Persona. And then several experiments focused on how to bring about the potential to use Persona. Then, of course, the Mechanical Maiden project that was meant to be his protectors and enforcers. One of them was also in development using the power of Shadows to make a time manipulation device," Mitsuru said evenly.
"I'm guessing this is leading to how my Father ended up working on the Mechanical Maiden project?" I figured this was hardly a simple subject to broach.
"Indeed. At first the project was simply developing autonomous robots capable of fighting. That was an accomplishment in itself. However they soon found that against Shadows, they could do nothing against them. The first two generations had make a lot of strides forward in the development of their frame and maneuverability. But fighting against Shadows was useless. That was why they changed their method when they came to the third generation," Mitsuru said grimly. "They instead tried to power them, using Shadows."
"Using Shadows? Why would you think to do that?" Yukiko was just as shocked as the rest of us.
"Logically, it probably made sense of the time. Fight Shadows with Shadows. Obviously, we all know this was precisely what they should not have done. The result was a massacre, the entire facility was lost, and over forty Kirijo Group employees died. All that was left was the research of the first three generations. Kouetsu took the records and sealed the facility and then assembled a new team to continue on. This time taking place at the island resort of Yakushima that he had recently acquired and built a new facility to continue the research. Around this time was the discovery of the Plume of Dusk. What would become the basis and core of what makes the Mechanical Maidens who they are. But the discovery was made within a rival company the Nanjo Group. We don't know the particulars of the discovery, other than it being made by Ikakure Renji. Somehow, Kouetsu heard about it and immediately contacted the Nanjo Group after learning the possible applications of the Plume of Dusk. They had described it as an artificial soul." Mitsuru looked to Kikuno.
"Kouetsu made enticing offers to the Nanjo Group which the leader at the time eventually accepted, and forced Renji-san to work temporarily and develop a means to integrate a Plume of Dusk to make an artificial being capable of summoning a Persona. All things that Renji-san had already theorized," Kikuno explained as she showed a few more images. One of them left no doubts as to who it was. My Father. Black hair, and seemingly fit. He was in his older twenties it seemed like. It was hard to tell. Still it was hard to believe that my Father had been involved with research about Shadows and Persona.
"Kayane-senpai's Father essentially had no choice in the matter then. It became a matter settled by greed...with Kouetsu sparing no expense to use his expertise," Naoto added.
"It is as you say," Kikuno nodded. "In the interim, the 4th generation had been completed but despite the advances in robotics it was still not close to what they wanted to achieve. That was when Ikakure took over the project. He then spent the next month going over all the data as well as the different aspects of robotics. He increased the efficiency of each part while he began his own research in secret. The culmination of which was the creation of Labrys. Within her contains the first Plume of Dusk he discovered. Surrounded by a black box that no one in the Kirijo Group has ever been to decipher."
"A black box? So Labrys was intentionally made different? Sounds like he didn't trust the Kirijo Group at all from the beginning," Yu spoke up this time. "I am guess they never did figure it out. Yet Aigis seems to be more than capable despite this."
"It took them a great deal longer to finally achieve a Mechanical Maiden without a Persona. Labrys had only halfway awakened her Persona at the end. Which we all know was not under the best of circumstances," Mitsuru briefly elaborated.
"After Labrys' creation, Renji kept a close training schedule for her, which also involved taking her out of the lab. And spending time with his family. We only know about it due to the correspondence between Kouetsu and some of the research team. They felt it was irrelevant to the development of a weapon. So obviously tensions began growing and a rift was slowly creating between Renji and the research team. That was when Kouetsu brought in the man to take over as lead. Ikutsuki Shuji," Kikuno said the name and I knew Labrys reacted to it.
"I don't think you need to elaborate much more than that. After that Ikutsuki arranged an accident for my parents because my Father knew too much than Kirijo Kouetsu wanted to let return to the Nanjo Group. And they managed to hide it from Labrys for about a month before she found out by hacking the Kirijo Group Network," I supplied. "After which I was placed with my Uncle and my older sister was put up for adoption. But what happened with the Kirijo Group after that?"
"There were several other experiments. I was a test subject at a facility in Inoto. They exposed me to Shadows trying to entice a natural way of gaining a Persona," Hamuko spoke up.
"They were idiots," Kana folded her arms from next to her.
"Wait, you were experimented on?" I asked.
"I have plenty of scars to prove it," Hamuko said dryly. She shook her head, "That leads me to Kana. She's..."
"...a Shadow," Rise said from next to me. I glanced at her. "I sensed it from the beginning but it is a lot like Teddie. I just never felt it was important to bring up." That sounded just like Rise. After all Kana was one of the sweetest girls I had met. That might explain why Kana seemed to be lacking a lot of experience.
"So Kana-san is a Shadow?" I looked to her and she looked to the floor, obviously blushing.
"Kana is the only reason I was able to escape that place. And she stayed there, protecting me for years. She is very much my sister to me," Hamuko said as she put her arms around her sister who was shrinking away. "Come on, Nee-chan. You always wanted to tell Kayane-san the truth right?"
"Yes but..." Kana shook her head.
"We can talk later, okay, Kana?" I said looking to her.
She nodded, "Alright."
"Let's cover the unasked question in the room, and that is how us of the Shadow Operatives came to this point," Mitsuru spoke up.
"Mitsuru, are you sure?" Akihiko asked.
"As Ikakure-san pointed out, we're all involved in this incident. And with the culprit at large they need to know the whole picture," Mitsuru glanced at her silver haired companion. "Besides as Persona users that means they've already gone through their fair share of troubles themselves. Likely related to the possible Shadow activity we had detected from here not too long ago. But considering everything, I assume that is no longer a problem."
"You could say that," Yu said. "The serial murder cases had to do with using the TV world."
"Hmm, we were told a police report to that effect. After witnessing the power of that world it is hard to discredit its validity, not that the police themselves would ever believe it. Leaving that aside for the moment, do you all remember the wave of sickness from a couple years ago? It was called the Apathy Syndrome," Mitsuru seemed to jump right into it.
"It was hard not to hear about it from that time. But you are to say it was caused by a Shadow related incident?" Naoto asked.
"Indeed it was," Mitsuru nodded. "This happened due to my Grandfather when he amassed a large number of Shadows for a singular goal. A goal that all the different research he had been doing was meant to accommodate. His aim was to achieve an event call 'The Fall'. Something that would amount to the end of the world."
"The end of the world? What kind of wacko would want that?" Chie suddenly let out in a burst.
"It does sound outlandish. But that is why things turned out as they did. My Grandfather did have his followers that believed in his vision. But they were few, so not many knew of the prophecy that my Grandfather wanted to fulfill. By gathering Shadows he would bring about 'The Fall' after which the one entitled 'The Prince' would rise up to rule the world. It's about as melodramatic as you would expect. One of those followers was Ikutsuki Shuji. However, there were those within the Kirijo Group that managed to figure out what was planned, and took a stand. Takeba Eiichiro with the help of Arisato Kayane and Miyuki were able to cause a chain reaction that would split the mass of Shadows. This came with a heavy price. That night those three lost their lives, and because of it, it made the creation of something called, 'The Dark Hour.' A moment in time unknown to all but the ones with the power of Persona. Every night at midnight the world would freeze for one hour. The very nature of the world changed. The Shadow mass was split and the end of the world averted. Among those that died was my Grandfather. My Father took over and immediately suspended all research or projects related to Shadows or Persona and spent the rest of his time cleaning up and trying to pay back for the damage my Grandfather had created. However, the creation of 'The Dark Hour' created a new mess of problems," Mitsuru stated.
"I get it. The Apathy Syndrome," Yukiko said.
Mitsuru nodded, "Shadows were able to attack people freely because within the Dark Hour normal people were transmogrified to coffins."
"So victims of Shadow attacks fell to the Apathy Syndrome. But that would be as if, their minds were destroyed," Naoto got to her feet. "That was the cause? Shadows all over the world?"
"Yes, the Dark Hour was not a local phenomenon, but something the whole world was affected by. Although most attacks occurred closer to Iwatodai and Tatsumi Port Island because it was the epicenter of the incident. And also the location we called Tartarus. Or as it was referred to by an adversary, The Tower of Demise. It was the location at which 'The Fall' would occur. It was ten years after the explosion that claimed the lives of the Arisato's and Takeba Eiichiro. I awakened to my Persona along the way, and then in order to do something I created the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad or SEES for short. We started gathering more members in hopes that we can find a way to combat the Apathy Syndrome. We knew nothing of the truth. Or the intentions of the man that was the clubs advisor, Ikutsuki Shuji," Mitsuru said it so effortlessly but I feel like I knew where this was going. She kept going before anyone could respond. "The group eventually was made of Sanada Akihiko, Aragaki Shinjiro, Amada Ken, Koromaru, Yamagishi Fuuka, Aigis, Iori Junpei, Takeba Yukari and Arisato Minato. All of us had our reasons for fighting. But the fight did not come without its prices. I won't give all the details as it in itself would take days to explain. But over time large Shadows began to appear and we defeated each of them as they came. 12 shadows in total. Along the way we lost the life of Aragaki Shinjiro. But when we thought it was all over, Ikutsuki Shuji showed his true colors."
"The resulting fight ended with the death of not only Ikutsuki Shuji but also Kirijo Takeharu, Mitsuru-sama's father," Kikuno took over with no protest from Mitsuru. "It was also shortly after they found out the truth about The Fall and the being known as Nyx. In that fight, Arisato Minato lost his life."
"My twin brother was able to use his power as a wild card to prevent Nyx from arriving, but he had to sacrifice himself to achieve it," Hamuko added. "I'm sorry, saying all of it like this frustrates me because what my brother did was hardly simple or something to be a footnote on a page."
"Oniisama, don't worry about it. Everyone knows we aren't going past it because we don't care its just..." Kana was placating Hamuko.
"There is another problem here," I stood up and grabbed everyones attention. "If Ikutsuki is dead, then who is left that has knowledge of not only the history of the Kirijo Group but also that of our own struggles in Inaba? Whoever did this has a reason for stealing from the Kirijo Group, but you weren't the targets here. We were."
"You're right. I believe that video that played at the beginning was indication of that," Mitsuru nodded. "But now that we have a working knowledge base I believe the real discussion can begin."
May 4th, 2012 / Late Evening
Kayane's House
How many hours had passed since the ordeal had been over? And I felt like there was still too much I didn't understand about the situation. Rise was taken to keep us all out of contact with each other. That way we couldn't easily see past the deception, although in the end we all knew each other too well to be fooled by it. Even me, and I was probably the most likely to believe people saying crap like that to me.
"What a boring way for the day to end. And here I was hoping you might actually get angry for them throwing a bus of information at you. A pain in the ass, all of them," My Shadow commented from the corner of my room. I ignored him as I usually did, although I couldn't not hear him so I still registered the words he spoke.
"I have a sister huh?" I whisper more to myself as I stare at the ceiling from my futon. What was I supposed to do with that knowledge anyway?
Well, then there was Labrys. After I noticed that Labrys was not exactly in the best of shape due to the fighting and the sudden stress of being reactivated after being dormant for so long it was clear she needed maintenance. So I had some help from Yamagishi who seemed to be quite knowledgeable about Mechanical Maidens and engineering in general, and we convinced Labrys to go with her to a nearby facility to get maintenance and get her to full working order. Labrys was naturally hesitant. She had wanted to stay with me. Honestly I wasn't sure how I was going to explain to Mom all of this. Still in the end Labrys went with them, but said she would be returning as soon as maintenance was done.
The Shadow Operatives...everything felt like it had gotten complicated so fast but in reality it was no different than before. Shadows and Persona had existed for a long time, right? I mean probably ever since mankind was self aware. As humanity rose up as a society and cultures and everything else around the world developed, so did the Power of Shadows and of course the needed power to fight them, Persona.
Our fight against Adachi, the fight where we saved Marie and the one against Izanami, all of those were just more fights against a power the majority of humanity had no idea existed. Yet it was a power that was fueled by humanity. It was a circle...or maybe more akin to a snake eating itself. Either way it was easy to tell that fighting against Shadows had been something the world had seen long before any of were born.
Hamuko had been caught up in a incident only a year ago. And in that incident they found themselves a step behind the culprit along the way. Mitsuru decided then that she was going to find a way to ensure they wouldn't be stalled from acting again. The problem being that places outside of the Kirijo Group's influence would definitely raise alarms if they suddenly came into an area. That was also why they hadn't shown up in the serial murder case when it had happened in Inaba. Although they had evidence showing that Shadow activity had grown in the area.
That was a somewhat comforting thought. We had faced a power capable of enshrouding the world in a fog that would turn everyone into Shadows. Maybe if we had them show up then it wouldn't have been such a dire situation. Although it was really a journey that only Yu had been able to finish. Still...I guess all of that was in the realm of possibility. But still they were only alternate takes on what could have happened. But you can't change the past.
I guess that was the real question for me now. What was I going to do from here? I mean, do I look her up? And then what? How could I contact her? I mean that would be kinda rough, right? I couldn't just show up and tell her that I was her brother and that be the end of it. Kasamatsu Setsuko was her name now. But I couldn't tell her without explaining our parents and how I found out about her. And was telling her about Persona and Shadows even an option? I mean it would all just sound crazy to her. I mean, maybe. I don't know what her life had been like, but she might know about me already and had opted not get in touch with me, right?
All of this was more complicated than I cared for it to be.
"Who gives a damn. It wasn't like she looked for us when we were on the news right? I mean there isn't a way she couldn't have heard about it, right?" My Shadow was trying to steer me in a direction to be angry still.
"She is only three years older than me. And even if she did she would have been at the mercy of her adopted parents. They could have been the ones that stopped her," I said dismissing the Shadow and put my arm over my eyes as I closed them. I was exhausted, but I knew things were far from over.
Rise was still planning to go to practice tomorrow but I think I'll opt out of it for once. I just wanted time to think and clear my head and decide what it is I wanted moving forward. It was all a mess. Labrys, Setsuko and the truth of my parents and family. For the first time in my life I knew something about my parents, about the people that had brought me into this world. Then there was the matter of the band and us being a couple months away from our debut concert. Yeah, just more fuel to the fire.
I felt myself shake slightly and then it slowly built up more. An anxiety attack. I felt my mind close down as I clutched my head and I attempted to focus on my breathing. Taking as big breaths as I could but I still degraded into hyperventilating. A few minutes later I heard my door slid open and then someone move next to me. As soon as her arms wrapped around my head I knew who it was. Rise pulled me close to her chest and I felt her warmth and scent envelope me completely. I felt myself ease as soon as she did that.
"Shh...don't worry, I got you, Kayane," she whispered as I settled against her. If I didn't have her, I knew I would lose my mind. At the very least no matter how difficult it became, I had Rise here with me.
A/N:
So that's the end of Arena, but we'll be jumping right into Ultimax next chapter. So no time to catch our breath or think too long about the information dump that happens here. If you thought that was a lot to take in, then just imagine how bad it is for Kayane. At the very least as a reader you're already well informed about the origins of Labrys and the fact that Kayane has a sister. Well most of these facts may not immediately play a factor for Ultimax, they will certainly play a factor on Kayane's state of mind, if the end of this chapter isn't a indicator how precarious his state of mind is at the moment.
It's hard to accept change. That's true for just about everyone. But its harder when you live your life thinking your life is a certain way but only to find out that it wasn't completely true at all. Then again life does that to us all the time. Things can change in a instant and the only thing we can really control is how we react to it. Reality is not kind. Every time we leave our homes there is always a chance that we might not make it back. It's an absurd thought because we expect things to be the same. We expect our drive to work or school to be the same as it was yesterday or the day before. Yet, you never know when an accident can happen. Strangely I compare Kayane's current position to be something like that. He had just figured out what he was going to do, he was working towards that goal, but then all of that changed when the cast of Persona 3 and Labrys appears. Now he is probably more lost than even he realizes.
With Ultimax and Dancing All Night left to cover we still have a ways to go. Not to mention there will be a number of events that happen between Ultimax and Dancing All Night. So I'm not sure exactly how long we have left, but I hope you'll enjoy the journey.
Hamuko also has her own issues having to deal with Kayane or just the fact that she has a cousin. Well it is complicated for all of them involved. Kana is dealing with having her first friend and what that means. Then we have Labrys who is trying to adjust to how things are...plus the fact that she doesn't trust the Kirijo Group at all, even if Mitsuru is obviously much different.
I hope you'll stick around to see where this leads. Let me know what you think and I'll see you with the next chapter.
