Chapter 52 / Breather
May 11th, 2012 / Afternoon
Kayane's House
SETSUKO'S POINT OF VIEW
Yoko and I arrived at Kayane's house without any incident but it was now a few days later. Things had certainly taken an interesting twist compared to how we had been before. We decided today would be the meeting day between Kayane and his friends and then my sister and I. In the meantime we went back and I actually went to school for a couple days. I went this morning as well...which was more or less just prep stuff as my finals would be taking place next week. Nothing like finals in the midst of life changing events. I think the hardest part of the week was probably yesterday though. I had to talk with Kichiro and explain to him that I needed time to think. It was about as good as you could imagine.
"Kichiro, I know I owe you an explanation," I had to force myself to meet his gaze. I know I couldn't avoid this discussion, as much as I really wanted to.
"Yoko-chan did tell me we needed to delay. She said something happened," Kichiro asked the question but his tone sounded like he didn't really care. This is why it was hard to talk to him about anything.
"I found my brother. My real brother," I said and watched as Kichiro's reaction was nothing more than the raising of an eyebrow.
"Your real brother?" He shifted slightly. "Oh, right. I forgot that you were actually adopted. So he's what...your older brother?"
"Younger brother," I answered. "I'll probably bring him around for you to meet after I get done with finals. But I want to have some time to get to know him."
"Yeah I get it," Kichiro snapped and turned away from me.
Talking to him after that had been rather difficult. Not that I expected it to be easy. I'm sure after the fourth time the wedding being postponed had understandably irritated him. But things had changed and I no longer was sure if it was the right choice. I had always believed that going with the flow in my social life was the best way to deal with it. The best way to stop anyone from getting hurt. That just wasn't true anymore. Yoko was making me realize that just going with it wasn't going to make me happy, and it wasn't going to make him happy either.
It was simple common sense, but it wasn't something that I ever personally thought about. I never considered a future where I could be happy. I spent most of my life fighting against Shadows all on my own. I thought that they wanted Yoko, although I never figured out why she was targeted. But I had been just a kid and I was desperate to do whatever I could to survive. Most of that time had been spent on figuring out how I could fight effectively when my prosthetic would break. Even though the power of Persona allowed me to fight without much movement, I knew I needed the mobility if I were to survive against stronger and more agile Shadows. Using my Father's research that I had discovered had allowed me to do that. But because of my focus on it, I had never really considered what I wanted out of my life. I never thought I would have the possibility to choose a future for myself.
Now I knew that the Dark Hour had been stopped by a young man that was actually my cousin, Arisato Minato. He sacrificed his life to save the world. It would sound incredibly outlandish if I had never faced off against Shadows. But I knew full well that the power that Shadows had was immense. I could hardly imagine what Minato had faced down in those last moments...and how hard of a decision it was for him to do what he did. Even knowing he would be leaving his loved ones behind. At the same time I could relate. If I had been given a choice like that in order to save Yoko, I wouldn't even hesitate.
Things were no longer that simple to me anymore. Before now it had come down to only a few things. Study and prepare for the Dark Hour. Keeping myself healthy enough just to be able to fight every night was more than a challenge. Even times when I was sick I still had to be able to defend myself. Thankfully there were only a handful of times when I had been sick enough that it affected my fighting ability. On those nights I simply hid in my sisters room and protected her...some times I would luck out and no attack would come. Other nights I would not be so lucky.
"You made it," A girl with brown hair was the one who was answering the door. "Did you find the place alright?"
"Yeah, wasn't a problem," Yoko smiled and said cheerfully as the girl showed us in. "Hope we weren't late."
"No, no, you two are right on time. Everyone is already here," she quickly assured us.
"You're her, aren't you? Kujikawa Rise," I decide to raise my suspicion.
"Yes, that's right," She nodded as we stepped in and Yoko and I pulled off our shoes.
"You're Ikakure-san's girlfriend, right?" Yoko grinned.
She paused for a moment, "Yes that's right. I don't want to hide that from Kayane's family. But we don't want the public to know."
"Sounds like there is a reason behind that," I noted as we finally stepped into the house. Rise shut the front door behind us and then moved past us.
"There is, but I'm sure we'll get to that at some point today," Rise spoke but seemed somewhat worried of my sisters intentions. Not that she would be a problem. Yoko loved to be in the know and wouldn't let go of information like this no matter what people offered her. She wouldn't give anything away, especially if someone was interested in it. "Everyone is back in the studio, so come this way."
She led us down the hall in front of us. We passed a few rooms along the way. The house was a decent size. His adopted Mother was a pretty big name in the music industry so it made sense that the house she owned was bigger than a typical family home. I was more surprised when we entered the studio. There were a number of individuals already here. Standing in the center of the room was my brother. "Kayane," I breathed in a whisper as I met his eyes for a moment. My heart picked up speed. He was really my brother...my flesh and blood. I guess our hair and eye colors gave it away that we were from the same family.
"Setsuko-san," Kayane stepped forward and spoke my first name as respectfully as possible. "Everyone, I want you to meet my Aneki, Kasamatsu Sesuko. And her adopted sister, Kasamatsu Yoko."
"Awe, you remembered me," Yoko smiled and strolled forward. "Please, call me Yoko. We're basically family."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Yoko-san. I'm Narukami Yu," a silver haired young man spoke up. "We've been excited to meet you since we learned about you Kasamatsu-san."
Ah, I guess I haven't said anything about myself, "Please, you can call me Setsuko. Just don't be surprised if I'm not really used to it."
"Nice to meet you, Setsuko-san. I'm Amagi Yukiko," a girl with black hair who stood next to the silver hair young man spoke next. Actually I noticed all of them were in similar school uniforms. Yasogami High School. Naturally the only one not in a school uniform was Kayane, whom had already graduated not too long ago.
"I'm Satonaka Chie. Its so awesome that Kayane-san's sister is really here," a girl with short hair and a green jacket gave a short bow.
"Hanamura Yosuke. It's good to meet you," a young man standing next to the previous girl.
"Hey, 'Sup? Name is Tatsumi Kanji," a bleached hair young man gave a slight nod.
"Nice to meet you, Setsu-chan!" a rather energetic blond jumped forward towards me but the young man named Kanji stepped forward and grabbed him by the collar. "Hold it up you dumb bear."
"His name is Teddie and he doesn't seem to be able to go without giving everyone he meets a nickname," Yosuke explained while shaking his head.
"Let me go! I want to say hi to Yoko-chan too!" Teddie proclaimed as he was trying to wiggle out of Kanji's hands. But Kanji seemed to be easily holding Teddie in place.
"There are worse habits to have I guess," I comment as I look to the last individual that hadn't spoken yet. It was a young woman that wore a blue cap.
"I'm Shirogane Naoto," she gave a small bow.
"Oh? It's the Detective Prince. Oneechan, it looks like Otouto keeps very interesting company," Yoko giggled.
It certainly was quite a wide array of individuals in this group. I wasn't sure what to say in this situation. "These are all your friends...the ones you fought with, right?"
"That's one way to put it. They all rescued me, in more ways than one," Kayane looked away from a moment but I could definitely tell a tinge of sadness in his voice. "Everyone let's sit down. I want to tell her everything about what happened."
There were already chairs situated in the room in a circle. After a few moments we all sat down.
"Kayane, if you don't mind, let me start," Yu spoke after a moment.
"Yeah, please. And thanks for taking the journey out here today," Kayane spoke.
"It isn't a big deal. Besides when I told my parents that one of my best friends had found and was reuniting with his sister they supported me. And one day won't be the end of the world," Yu gave a smile to my brother before looking to Yoko and then myself. "I heard you both are already acquainted with the concepts of Persona and Shadows. And that Setsuko-san has extensive experience in fighting them."
"Yeah, that's right," I nodded. "I use the Persona Kishimojin." Despite the fact that they all had likely been told this before I showed up they still look surprised to hear me say it. I could relate...it wasn't until recently I even considered there were other Persona users.
"At the beginning of my second year I had no knowledge of any of it. All of us here were unaware of Persona and Shadows. I came here to Inaba while my parents were working outside of the country. The plan was for me to stay with my Uncle for the year. However, shortly after I arrived was when the first victim of the serial murder case happened."
"Oh, I remember seeing that in the news all the time," Yoko commented. I do remember seeing it as well...so that was all related to Shadows?
"I started school the day after I arrived in town and that is when I met Yosuke, Chie and Yukiko. After the first victim appeared we tried to distract ourselves with local rumors. And Chie mentioned something called the 'Midnight Channel' that when you look into a turned off TV at Midnight when it is raining you will see your true love. I believe that was how the original rumor went," Yu looked to his friends.
"Yes, that's right," Chie nodded. "We were way off the mark though."
"The second victim was Konishi Saki. But before that, Yu had an interesting experience when he watched the Midnight Channel. As surprising as it was that the Midnight Channel turned out to be true, he reached out to touch the TV screen but his hand actually went into the TV," Yosuke spoke up. I raised an eyebrow.
"It was pretty unbelievable at the time. Actually saying it out loud still sounds ridiculous no matter how long its been," Yu shook his head with an amused look "I told Chie and Yosuke the next day but they didn't believe me. I can't say I would blame them...so jokingly Yosuke said we should go to Junes and see the big screen TV's so that I could actually go all the way through. It was quite the shock to them when they saw me do it."
"Seriously I thought I was going to have a heart attack," Chie added. "Yosuke panicking certainly didn't help things."
"Well excuse me," Yosuke and Chie shared a glance. Okay, there was definitely something more to these two. "I started freaking because there had been customers coming."
"You both panicked and then we all three fell into the TV," Yu supplied. "We found out that there was a backside of the TV. Basically, a whole different world completely. And considering how tired it made us, it was obvious that the rules were not exactly the same. It was also when we first met Teddie."
"You met him in the other world?" Yoko was curious and then looking at the boy named Teddie. Something seemed different about him. And I think that was what they were indicating.
"Could it be that perhaps you've fallen for me Yoko-chan?" Teddie was looking at Yoko with hopeful eyes. Yet in a lot of ways he came off like a child.
"You are pretty cute, but I'm pretty high maintenance you know," Yoko winked at him which made me roll my eyes.
"I'd watch yourself. She's chewed through some of the richest of boys entire life savings in mere weeks," I comment and gave her a glance.
"Yikes! That's terrifying," Teddie immediately jumped back. "How about you, Setsu-chan?"
"Teddie, I'm hurt," Yoko acted hurt with a gasp.
They all laughed which made me surprised. I guess I'm just not used to it. Still Teddie did seem to be a special existence.
"At any rate, after Konishi-senpai was found dead we went back to the TV World and did some investigating," Yu started the explanation again. "That was when we first came face to face with the true nature of that world. I had awakened to my Persona already but Yosuke had not. We came across a section within the TV world that mirrored the shopping district here in Inaba. In that place we found the alcohol shop that Konishi-senpai's family runs and inside we heard thoughts left behind by her after she had passed. But then someone appeared. It was another Yosuke, specifically his Shadow."
"His Shadow?" I find myself voicing after a moment as I recalled my Father's research. "I see, so this TV World is almost like direct access to the Sea of Souls...or perhaps a means of accessing it. That would mean you experienced a confrontation with suppressed will and desires and it showed itself as a Shadow. More than likely it's a vessel it inhabits to be able to interact on this side. I presume there are also rules that the Shadow had to follow?"
My statement caused all of them to look to me.
"Sea of Souls?" Yosuke repeated.
"So did your Father's research cover that much?" Naoto asked. She was the detective but also Kayane likely informed them some of the basic details. Such as the fact that I held all the research done by our Father.
"A lot of Father's research involves recorded incidents in the past. Some which are more well recorded than others," I wasn't sure how much I cared to share. Some time with Yurika and some additional research on the Nanjo Group allowed me to find out that incidents in Sumaru City had occupied the company and so the death of our Father went unnoticed due to the turmoil. Reaching out to them would likely only result in them demanding back their research and property. And I didn't feel like giving up my Father's research or Yurika. "The terms from the research were supposedly taken from ones used by Persona users in those incidents that gave some insight in the possible origin to not just Persona's but Shadows as well."
"That's...amazing," Chie grabbed my attention. "You probably know leagues more about Persona's and Shadows than we do."
I stiffened a bit, not really sure how to handle that reaction.
"She has been dealing with it since she was seven years old. She is far more experienced than any of us. Plus with our Father's research she at the very least had a good working knowledge. But I'm sure it took her time to figure it out herself. That isn't why we are here though," Kayane interjected this time and looked to me. "I'm sure we would all like to hear how you came this far on your own. That isn't why we are here today though. And I don't think that is a time that she looks back at fondly."
I took a deep breath. Thanks, Brother.
"Let's get back to it then," Yu followed up only a beat later. "Yosuke faced his Shadow and had to overcome his own suppressed emotions. By facing it head on he gained the power of Persona. And then we promised Teddie that we would find out the truth. To find the individual that had been throwing people into the TV with the intent of them dying there."
"By their Shadows killing them," I finished the question I'm sure Yoko wondered. "I'm imagining it was more or less a crime they couldn't figure out. The powers of Shadows and how they kill their victims often does not leave any...obvious evidence."
"You are correct. The victims had no clear cause of death. No expert could identify a possible reason. The only similarity between the reports done by different experts is that it appeared as if they had simply died. Like their bodies had simply ceased to function," Naoto more or less confirmed what I suspected. It went close to Dad's research and what I observed over the years.
"As you can imagine it caused quite a stir. With no cause of death and increasing focus from the media it caused things to become complicated around here. And we had already noticed a connection between the Midnight Channel and the victims. So we kept our eyes on the Midnight Channel...and unfortunately only days later a new incident occurred," Yu kept the discussion focused.
"I was the next victim to be taken and thrown into the TV," Yukiko spoke up from next to Yu. "I couldn't really remember how it happened. Only that I had been at the Amagi Inn and then I had answered the door. After that I woke up inside the TV World."
"I kinda freaked out," Chie was a bit hesitant but spoke up.
"Kinda? You nearly had a complete breakdown," Yosuke commented.
"Shut up, you jerk!" Chie smacked Yosuke's arm. Despite their back and forth the two of them sat just as close to each other as Yu and Yukiko. They definitely had to be a couple. But maybe they hadn't been together that long. Yoko was a lot better and sniffing out these things.
"Along the way, Chie awakened to her own Persona after facing her own Shadow. Mostly because she wouldn't let us go back into the TV World without her," Yosuke was half smiling towards Chie as he then refocused on the tale. "With the help from Teddie we were able to track down Yukiko-san in the TV World...in an area created by her suppressed feelings."
"I think you can see where this is going," Yukiko spoke up. "They rescued me and I also awakened to my Persona."
"For a time we got into a rhythm. We would watch for the Midnight Channel and do our best to prevent that individual from being thrown into the TV. All while trying to narrow down the culprit's modus operandi and catch them. At the very least we had prevented people from dying. Along the way Kanji-kun, Rise-san and Teddie would all awaken to their Personas and joined out team that we called the Investigation Team. Our theories changed and evolved over time, but we still didn't have a solid line. Then the status quo changed and there was another victim. Our homeroom teacher showed up dead, similar to the other victims. So we immediately linked it to the others. The only thing was, the Police had problems nailing down a suspect," Yu took back over.
"All we could do was watch the damn Midnight Channel. But our number one suspect showed up on one of those rainy nights. Police can't do shit about the TV World. And it isn't like they were about listen to us about it so we went into action just like we had each time before. This time we were going in to snag that bastard and bring an end to it," Kanji added.
"Everything we saw in the TV World only made us believe that he was the culprit. So when we captured him and turned him over to the police...we thought it was over. That has more to do with the fact that any possible hints had run dry. But we had been wrong," Rise shook her head and obviously remembering the associated memories so far. "That's when Naoto showed up."
"There were inconsistencies with the case. And the death of Morooka had something the previous victims didn't have. A clear cause of death. The suspect they had caught was a killer but he was just a copycat killer. He was not the one who killed the first two victims. However, the police were determined to close the case and pin all of it on the boy. I was quickly dismissed off the case that I had been brought in to help with. I wasn't satisfied and my previous investigations had me running into the rest of them on multiple occasions. I had pieced together that they knew something about the case and they might actually hold information that for one reason or another they couldn't tell the police. Considering the abnormality around the case I didn't discount the possibility," Naoto had stepped forward to speak. This obviously had to do with her introduction to the Investigation Team. I think that was what Yu had called their group. "The only way I could prove that the killer hadn't been caught was to put forward a theory and test it. But after being put off the case I had no choice but to take action on my own. So I used my theory of the killer's would be MO and put it into action...painting myself as the next victim."
"It was a stupid idea," Kanji interrupted and got to his feet. "What did you think was going to happen? Dumb ass."
"I had no idea, but I was desperate to not let the case be closed. I wasn't about to let a killer get away," Naoto glared over at Kanji and got to her own feet.
"You should have talked to us instead of trying to take it all on yourself, idiot," Kanji raised his voice.
"Talk to you? I didn't know you. All I knew was that the rest of you knew something I didn't and you treated me exactly like you always do! Like I'm some little kid that needs to be coddled!" Naoto raised her voice in turn were basically shouting at each other.
"It's better than getting your dumb ass kidnapped, don't you think?" Kanji stepped towards her.
"Anything that could happen to me is better than there being another victim for a killer that no one was looking for!" Naoto shouted back. I was surprised at the quick rise in tension. I'm guessing there was still some unresolved tension.
"Cool it, both of you," Yu stood up.
"We get it, Kanji. You don't like the fact that she put herself in danger with no real back up plan, right?" It was Kayane who was speaking and he had put a hand on Kanji's shoulder. "Except you surely realized something, right?"
"Huh? What?" Kanji looked to Kayane with a blank look.
"All of you was her back up plan. She did everything to the letter to set herself up as the victim. Then to ensure her back up plan was in place, she confronted all of you and did one simple thing," Kayane seemed composed. Obviously it had been a critical moment in the case. "She planted doubt. To make sure all of you would be paying attention. She had already figured out that all of you knew the signs and MO of the killer...so you looked into it and realized that Naoto had personally checked off every requirement on the list."
"I told you didn't I?" Naoto spoke but was shaking somewhat. "I had been scared...no terrified. But it was never a game to me. I was out to save lives. So I did what I could and hoped that maybe I was right and you guys would be able to back me up. It was the only thing I could think of."
Kayane crossed over to Naoto and he put a hand on her shoulder as he had done to Kanji. But the motion was softer...somehow seemed more intimate in a way, "Relax, okay?"
Naoto looked away from him and quickly shoved her blue cap down as Kayane stepped away from her. That was...interesting. The tension in the room was a lot more than I expected...and not really sure what I should do or say. So I just waited. After a moment Naoto sat back down but kept her gaze on the ground...but Kanji was sitting again and staring at Naoto. Seemed like the interpersonal relations here were far from simple. Considering what they had told me so far it certainly didn't sound simple in the slightest.
"Sorry about that," Yu apologized.
"I can tell it was rough for all of you," Yoko said. "But when does Kayane-san enter?" I raised an eyebrow. That is my sister for me...she was sneaking in his name to see his reactions.
"He comes up soon actually," Yu answered and took the chance to settle the tension in the room. "Just like Naoto suspected..she was targeted and she was thrown into the TV. We went after her as soon as we could and we rescued her. Naoto awakened to her Persona in the process as well. When the dust settled we were left with some uncomfortable truths. That the killer was still at large and still trying to get another victim. That was when Naoto shared her requirements that had to be met for an individual to be a victim. One, it was someone that had recently gained a level of renown within the are of Inaba. The other is that the Midnight Channel would only gain a clear image when the victim was already in the TV World. So the only way to determine the victim was by paying close attention to the media and the Midnight Channel. At that we were still missing vital pieces of the puzzle. But we didn't have much time."
"It started on October 8th," Rise spoke up.
"I'm not surprised, but I guess you would remember all of this, wouldn't you?" Kayane was shaking his head. "I'll let you tell this part."
"Well I just thought your Sister would want a more detailed account of your own experience," Rise got up to her feet. "I hope you don't mind as I might indulge myself a bit."
"Fond memories?" Yoko asked.
"Fond is likely not the right word. But they are days I will never forget. After all, its what brough Kayane into my life. All of our lives here. And I think without him there would have been something missing in my life," Rise held a smile but I could see the conflicting emotions...some that looked back with respect, and the other more than aware of what events had led up to Kayane being in this place. No doubt if the TV World brought forth a suppressed of ones emotions then Kayane had more than anyone here had been ready for. "On October 8th we all met on the roof in response to Hanamura-senpai. I found out that another Idol was supposed to preform at Junes but due to her change in schedule she had to cancel. And the police were less inclined to allow an event when Naoto-chan went missing. So all things pointed to the event being canceled. And that left Hanamura-senpai's Dad with a lot of money spent on an event that was no longer going to happen. As a result it was possible that his job was on the line. So I agreed to do a performance...with some conditions."
"We totally rocked it," Teddie exclaimed.
"Don't get ahead of me," Rise shook her head. "After I roped everyone into the performance we split up and met back up that night but before I returned I saw a news special that really got on my nerves. Actually, I ended up watching the whole segment before I had realized it and I was just angry about it. It was about troubled teens and signs for people to look for. On that special they showed Kayane but dressed all in black. It's attire that he likes to wear but the news people didn't even properly investigate his life or how he interacted with others or..."
"Rise," Kayane said simply.
Rise looked to him for a moment and then her cheeks briefly flushed red, "Sorry I get worked up when thinking about it."
"Oh...yeah I did see part of that. It got a lot more attention when someone connected the special to the one who did a certain performance with Risette at their High School Culture Festival," Yoko just had to comment.
"Yoko," I looked at her. "She's obviously going to get to that part eventually."
"Onee-chan, you have to admit you want to get to it too," Yoko looked at me and winked.
"Same as always..." I shook my head and looked back to Rise. "Sorry. Please, continue."
"Okay, well...after we me met up to do our first rehearsal I told them all about the special I had seen. And considering the way things were...we were immediately concerned. Plus I just couldn't get it out of my head. While the special didn't give us any indication of who it was I had seen it was still concerning. We checked some of the posts on the Internet after the special ran. What we learned that while no one seemed to knokw who it was, there was enough that linked him to Inaba. After all in some of the shops parts of the Shopping District could be seen in the background. We did manage to rehearse but we kept it in mind. But that night...only a few minutes before midnight it began to rain. In a matter of moments it became important to watch the midnight channel. I quickly spread the word to the others and saw the Midnight Channel. His image wasn't clear but I recognized the silhouette right away. It was the same as who I had seen in the special report," Rise dropped her gaze for a moment. "The problem was, we didn't have a name, only a mess of comments for the website that indicated he was a senior at Yasogami."
"It was likely the least amount of information we had to go on for a few reasons. We still had the performance as well. However, in those two days we were unable to learn anything. It wasn't until the night after the performance that we found out it was too late," Naoto seemed to have regained her composure and spoke up.
"I remember how he appeared on the Midnight Channel and the words that came with it. Seeing his black hair and vivid blue eyes made my heart sink to my stomach. After all, seeing him meant we had failed to find him in time. He had already been taken and thrown into the TV. It felt like he was looking straight at me, but there was no emotions there. It was harder to watch than any of the ones I had seen before. And I think it was mostly because the others referred to a problem...and some means they were determined to overcome it. For Kayane...his Shadow declared it was an execution. He was simply going to die. Our hint was that he felt guilty, responsible for something that happened to someone else," Rise said this and I felt my own heart tensing up and beating faster. I had read about it already...but to think he carried it with him for so long...
"I found out the next day that it was Kayane," Yu interjected to keep the conversation moving. I could tell that Rise had a lot of emotions tied to it. "I heard his homeroom teacher by chance and noted that he was not at school. And that he had a perfect attendance record so it was not normal at all."
"With that we were able to find out a lot about him pretty quickly. I can't say if we were actually ready for it or not," Naoto shook her head. "I recognized the name but I had to be sure. I was right though. I found investigation files related to Kayane-san's cases from when he was a kid. I suspect you're already aware of what I'm talking about."
"I am," I looked to my brother. "After I found out I had a brother...I decided to look online to see if maybe I could find a social media account or something. Instead I found a lot of references to both cases he was tied to. The abuse from our Uncle...and the death of the girl, Miyuki."
"Yeah putting my name in a search engine will do that. There was significant media attention at the time. But kids our age wouldn't really take note of it. I'm sure Naoto-san only saw it due to her studies in becoming a detective," Kayane shrugged as if the discussion wasn't a big deal. But it was an aspect of his life he had always dealt with so I guess I could understand it. Still, something about it just frustrated me.
"My Grandfather helped with the investigation in that trial. Kayane-senpai's Father was a well respected man. So they brought in my Grandfather to ensure that the investigation was done right," Naoto gave a quick explanation. "We all met up and I told them about what I had found. About both cases. The death of Fujikara Miyuki...and the physical abuse done to Kayane-senpai. His records I was able to get because of my own work also showed of continued therapy and record of his suicide attempt. We realized that it was a possibility that he wouldn't want our help. But we resolved ourselves to do it anyway."
"We entered the TV World...and armed with the information I found him almost immediately," Rise spoke.
"Just so you know. Initially, Rise's Persona was a support type. She could scan and keep us all connected through her Persona," Kayane clarified, which I was thankful for because it made her words make a bit more sense.
"Yes," she nodded. "For me...when I look for someone in the TV World, it is like me connecting with the very nature of that world and asking it where what I was thinking about could be found. But when I summoned my Persona this time...it came to me. I think I could have found him without even needing my Persona. It was cold...and the emotions that continued to wash over me were regret and hatred. I couldn't stand it. I had to find him."
"To be honest, I was concerned. Up to that point Rise was able to be objective and focus on just supporting us as we go through the dungeons. It was the first time I ever saw her so affected by a dungeon," Yu was looking to Rise as he said this.
"I still remember it," Rise was hugging herself now as if the thought had brought it back to her. "It was cold and I could feel such intense anger but it was directed at himself. And there was an underlying contradiction. He wanted to be saved, but he also didn't. His Shadow appeared to us right at the start of his dungeon. He didn't really taunt us, instead he was genuinely confused on why we were there. Yu-senpai made me realize why it affected me so. Because in a lot of ways I was similar to Kayane. That some of the fears we had were the same. For me, I was surrounded by people but felt isolate and alone...for Kayane, he was isolated and alone because he feared being close to someone...that he could fail them or betray them. Because that was what he believed happened with Miyuki."
"So you connected with him...even while he was in the depths of the TV World," I think I understood. "Even if it is created from him...in a way it was all a part of him."
"Exactly," Yu smiled. "I believe they were kindred spirits in a way."
"Yu...there is a reason I still believe you are a dangerous individual. Keep going, Rise. We still have a lot to get through," Kayane sighed and I could imagine he wasn't 100% comfortable with them talking about this but also wanted me to know.
They had to deal with a realm that exposed their secrets and inner thoughts. That meant in order to get as far as they could they couldn't turn away from the truth. That meant that this group was close because they all knew things about each other that normally they would never share. Honestly, because of that it wasn't surprising that some of the have become more romantically involved. Seeing my brother sitting next to Rise was comforting in a way. I certainly wished he hadn't gone through the abuse he did at the hands of our Uncle when he was younger but now he seemed to have really good friends. I wanted to know more.
"We progressed through the dungeon at a slow pace. Not really by choice but because the Shadows within the space made by Kayane's suppressed emotions were exceptionally powerful. It was clear that we had to be more cautious or we wouldn't have any strength to save Kayane when we finally got to him. Still we did make it to him the day we went in after him. His Shadow taunted us as we made progress. Trying to convince us that there was no reason to try and save him. But it just made me more desperate to get to him. And when we did he was already locked in an argument with his Shadow. But just like we all had before him...he rejected his Shadow. And so we had to tame the wild Shadow. After that he woke up and faced his Shadow," Rise looked over to Kayane.
"Obviously I gained my own Persona after it was all said and done," Kayane spoke somewhat dismissively but I could tell that he had a number of emotions related to the event. Well that was fine. I didn't expect him to tell me everything right away. We were siblings but at the same time we were no less than strangers right now. "There is still a lot more for us to cover."
"After that incident we fortunately had time to recover. And had the culture festival coming up," Yu pushed the discussion forward.
"Things did happen pretty quickly," Kayane scratched his head. "After a few days of rest I went back to school. And joined their group to solve the serial murder case. And because of everyone's insistence I agreed to do a performance at the cultural festival with Rise."
Rise started giggling, "You were so resistant to using my first name for so long. And now look at you."
Kayane sighed, "Let's not get distracted. I did grow closer to them over the Cultural Festival and the events after it. There were some complications in the TV World when they took me there to get used to my Persona but those events aren't related to the serial murder case we were worried about. But it was only a matter of days before the Midnight Channel began to show someone else. And so another victim would be thrown in soon. But there wasn't enough information. In that time I had also been discussing other possibilities with Rise about the future. In particular related to the music industry. I had recorded a version of what we performed in the Cultural Festival and also added additional instruments..." He stopped and chuckled a bit. "That isn't important. At any rate I had actually become close friends with Yu's younger cousin he was staying with Dojima Nanako. I was at her house to let her listen to the music I made. And I was with her, when she was taken, right from the front door. As it turns out it was the delivery man...he had been the one taking people and throwing them into the TV. Because in the back of his delivery truck was a large TV. So I took the scooter from the front of his house and chased him down. Yu's Uncle had also been chasing him. Likely after fitting the pieces together himself from what Yu had told him. There was a wreck and in a desperate move the culprit dove into the TV along with Nanako. I didn't hesitate and went in after them."
"Hey, um...Kayane why don't we take a break?" Rise said after a moment.
The two shared a glance before Kayane nodded, "Alright. I'm guess you want to talk to her about the next part then?"
"If you don't mind...if its okay with everyone," Rise looked to the others.
I was curious but they all seemed to agree. I got to my feet. "Well I think I'm going to go get some fresh air before we continue." My sister got up as well.
"Hope you don't mind if we step out for a bit," Yoko added.
"If you want you can go onto the back porch," Kayane said.
"We'll do just that," I said and then left the music studio behind us. We both took a wild guess and went back towards the kitchen area we had passed before...and sure enough there was an exit to the back porch just past the kitchen. We stepped outside and into the summer air. It was warm, but not that hot today. And the few scattered clouds on a mostly clear sky brought some pleasant shade. A light wind blew so it was nice.
"Beautiful day," Yoko commented as the two of us sat on the edge of the porch that looked to the backyard. It was simple yet elegant. A gravel path through the middle and a water feature at the end. The grass seemed to be well maintained. Maybe they hired someone to do their yard work? "So your brother hasn't had his Persona for very long. Sounds like they've barely scratched the surface of what they have gone through though."
"It certainly feels that way," I admitted and let myself have a rather long sigh. "He's so tense its starting to get to me."
"I figured you would notice. Your brother is likely just worried about your reaction. And just as conflicted as you are in knowing he has a flesh and blood related sibling. No one ever said it would be easy," Yoko was smiling at me but I looked back up towards the sky.
"Has anything ever been easy? For either of us? My Otouto..." the term for little brother felt odd to say in a way. To say it in reference to my own younger brother.
"Not even a little bit," Yoko put her arm around me. "You both suffered on yohur own for different reasons. Isn't that why all of this feels so surreal? Aren't you glad that you've only really had to listen instead of talk up to this point?"
"It isn't over yet," I found myself saying. "I don't know why but I feel like the worst of it is yet to come."
"Then we'll do all we can to be ready for it. And that starts by learning everything we can," Yoko didn't dismiss what I said as paranoia. No I think she believed that my instincts had been what allowed me to survive for so long up to now.
What exactly haven't you told me yet...little brother?
May 11th, 2012 / Late Afternoon
Kayane's House - Guest Room (Rise's Room)
RISE'S POINT OF VIEW
Maybe I should be more nervous but I felt more at ease with it only being Setsuko and Yoko with me in the guest room. Still I guess this might be a little much but Kayane agreed to it when Yu decided to back me up. "You want to tell her everything that I've been leaving out, right?" Kayane had asked me with a look that was more understanding than I initially thought. "Alright. In the meantime I'll go to the store and get something good to make for dinner." He was the same as always. It wasn't that he didn't want his sister to know the whole truth...he just didn't know how to say it himself. I knew better than anyone how hard it was for him to express himself without song.
"I hope it isn't weird of it just being us girls," I smiled as I sat at the small circular table in the guest room. Well, it was more my room now than a guest room.
"Alone with the idol Risette. This certainly has been quite a day," Yoko was giggling. "I have to ask because it's been driving me nuts. When did you fall in love with my Onee-chan's Otouto? Was it love at first sight?"
I found my cheeks warming up. I wasn't really embarrassed about it but it was quite a topic to get to at first. "I don't really know to be honest. I was attracted to him right from the start. I'll admit that. But I think it all happened the first time I heard him sing. After that, it was impossible for me to get him out of my head."
"I could see that. Evening hearing just the recording of your performance at the culture festival is certain an indication of his talent. But likely only a small part of it," Yoko shifted slightly and glanced at her sister. "I have to say, I certainly didn't expect a well known idol to somehow be caught up in Shadows and Persona."
"They seemed to indicate that originally you were solely in a support role. From the way it sounds...that has changed," Setsuko was pretty observant. Just like her brother.
"It has," I nodded but averted my eyes for a moment. "My power changed in response to my own desires. Because I'm worried about Kayane." This alarmed Setsuko.
"I get it. That's why you wanted to talk to us alone. Not everything you want to say is something you've even told him about," Yoko smiled a bit. "I think we should dive right back into this then."
She was probably right. It would be a good idea to get into this sooner than later. "Last we left. Kayane had dived into the TV to save Nanako. By doing so he was able to protect Nanako in a way. Probably from incurring any real psychological damage from the effects of the TV World. Instead Kayane opted to take the full brunt of it and also made sure that the anger of the culprit was on him and not on Nanako. The culprit had tied Kayane up but when we showed up he used his body to free Nanako and somehow manage to free himself...but not before getting himself pretty injured. There wasn't much time though. We were fighting against Namatame Taro...who's desires was taken over by a collection of Shadows and attacked. So I was watching over both Nanako and Kayane when the fight began. After I freed him...Kayane charged back into the fight. And he unleashed a new power against the mass of Shadows. It's called Symphonic Discord."
"Symphonic...Discord?" Setsuko was obviously intrigued.
"His power caused the unified mass of Shadows to separate and he used it to pull the man Namatame from the mass of Shadows. And then the others were able to deal a decisive blow to the Shadows. Namatame was unconscious and we had won. We left the TV World as fast as possible for the sake of Nanako as we were unsure of what her being there could possibly do to her. After we exited we were on our way to turn in Namatame and take Nanako to the hospital. It was stupid on our part...we assumed since Kayane had been able to fight that he was okay. We were horribly wrong," I unconsciously formed a fist in my right hand. "Kayane collapsed after we arrived at the hospital. Maybe it was a blessing that he collapsed at the hospital but that was only the beginning of the longest month in my life. You see, he had fallen into a coma."
"A coma? But how?" Yoko's surprise was more than evident.
"Not sure. Even now we only know from what Kayane has said. That someone...some being had held him there," I wasn't sure how else I could phrase it.
"So you still don't know now who was responsible?" Setsuko asked a more pointed question.
"That's right. It has more to do with what is still going on now. Or rather I suspect its all related," I answered honestly.
"Okay then keep going please," Setsuko insisted.
"He was in the hospital for a month...and he kept slipping in and out of the coma. I spent every moment I could at the hospital. Some times skipping school and pretty much everything else to stay here with him. I couldn't stand the thought of him waking up and me not being here. I didn't want him to be alone. Especially sense I began to realize my own feelings for him," I found myself admitting. "It all led to the night of December 3rd...where everything changed. Suddenly his condition got worse...in my desperate pleas to keep him here...I told him I would marry him. That I would do anything if it meant keeping him here and alive. But he was proclaimed dead."
"Dead?" Setsuko's eyes widened.
"Yeah," I nodded grimly. "When I stepped out...all of us were devastated. But then we heard something else...that Namatame was in the hospital. Kayane's Mother heard and set out to his room. We followed. We found her trying to get past the police guard to yell at Namatame. I couldn't let her do anything like that so I persuaded her to let the police take her back. But it left us alone with Namatame. So I went into the room, determined to kill the man that had taken Kayane away from me. However, amidst the chaotic emotions we all felt at the time we instead found a moment of clarity. And realized there were inconsistencies in the case and until we knew Namatame's side of the story. So in the end...even as much as I wanted to...we left Namatame as he was. As we left a nurse came back to find me. We rushed back to Kayane's room. He had suddenly made a full recovery."
"Just like that?" Yoko seemed concerned. "How long was it before he was revived?"
"It was around ten minutes. However the doctor made an extensive list of tests and studies it seemed like he hadn't suffered any loss in motor skills or knowledge," I answered.
"What is it Yoko?" Setsuko maybe didn't understand the significance.
"Well, it isn't unusual for an individual to revive after death. However there is a rise in potential mental damage after the time passes over eight minutes. Every five seconds past that marker steadily climbs the chance for permanent damage. It is a miracle that Kayane not only was revived around ten minutes but that he didn't incur any mental damage. Perhaps the power of Persona could account for it," Yoko was speculating. And actually maybe it was true. Persona did seem to keep us healthier and I certainly felt more energetic now than I ever had before in my life. Even more so ever since I had awakened to my new power in Inahime.
"That is likely. The power of Persona strengthens the human body. More than people are aware of," Setsuko seemed to confirm it. "My Father's research notes indicated that those who awaken to their Persona live long healthy lives. As long as they don't do anything that would diminish their power."
"I think that makes sense. Once a Persona user you can't ever forget about it...or turn your back on how and why you got that power. Still, when Kayane came back to life it wasn't over. The next day we talked with Namatame and got his side of the story. Then we put all the pieces together over the next couple days while Kayane was somewhat recovering. And it turned out we finally had everything we needed. Tohru Adachi. When we put his presence into the different parts of the case, it made a sickening amount of sense. So we confronted him and we were right on the money. But he managed to escape into the TV World before we could catch him," I was pushing us back on topic. "Although it was so soon after Kayane's recovery we had to go back into the TV World. We found him and followed him into his own section of the TV World. It was different than anything up to that point though. Instead he embraced his Shadow and had already gained a Persona...but he was twisted and because of it it seemed like he actually controlled his section of the TV World. But it wasn't that simple. As it turns out Adachi had something else residing in him. It was a being called Ameno-sagiri. He called himself one who ruled over the fog. The fog that meant to make us all the same by giving no distinction to ourselves. After all, even if Adachi was the one behind the murders...the TV World and the Midnight Channel were still a mysterious power in which he had taken advantage of to do so."
"I get it. So you had found more of the mystery behind why everything had been possible to begin with," Yoko nodded.
"We defeated it and so with Adachi apprehended we returned to the real world. We celebrated and left it to the police. And while the mystery of the Midnight Channel and the TV World hadn't been completely answered we were back to just a regular school life for a while. Months went by and Winter came. Our life began to change too. You see, in that time we decided that we would both go into the music industry. I wouldn't be just an idol...but we would be a band. With Kayane and myself. It required a rather extensive negotiations and some complications with getting my Mother to sign off on the deal. In the end we were able to get it all approved. Even though we felt like the struggles against Shadows was over, our power still changed. Kayane's Persona changed from Tsukuyomi to Benzaiten. And Even my own Persona changed from Kanzeon to Kouzeon. Then a friend of ours named Marie went missing. There was only so much we could do to try and find her...but that all led to a head in February when we all took a ski trip," I summed it all up pretty quickly.
"Wait, you and my brother are going into the music industry?" Setsuko was alarmed.
"Yeah, our debut is set for July actually," I said and wasn't sure how to describe it. "After our performance together...I just got attached to the idea. And he deserves it too. Despite his reluctance and knowing the problems he would have to face, he agreed to it. It is definitely more than I thought he would ever be willing to do."
"That's...impressive," Setsuko said in a low tone.
"Let's not get completely derailed. Back to the main story," Yoko pushed.
"Right. When we were on the ski trip...the two of us got into an argument and as a result we spend the second day of the trip mostly away from each other. Then a storm hit. Nobody had seen him for a couple hours as he had been by himself. The storm had already started but I lfet to go find him. Even though I went out to find him I got turned around and lost my balance. I was already pretty exhausted. So I couldn't move. All I could think about was how stupid I had been with our argument. As it turns out Kayane returned the the resort just a few minutes after I had gone out to search for him. So he ended up saving me. And with the blizzard in full swing we had to take shelter in a small cottage we had found. Inside was also a TV. Kayane and I made up and the others showed up at the cottage not too long after. And then someone pulled us into the TV," I couldn't help but giggle. I also remember how close I had been to getting really cost to Kayane. We haven't had much time for that lately. All our free time was basically going to our music. And it was only going to be getting busier. "What we found was a place called the Hallow Forest. And inside was where our friend Marie was."
"That seems like a hell of a coincidence," Yoko raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I can agree with that. But apparently this place was a limited access point to the Hallow Forest. But it was also more unique than anything we had faced before. It was connected to the TV World but also far removed from it...and we had a limited time to save Marie. We found out that Marie was an aspect of Ameno-sagiri, or rather another part of a whole. She was Kusumi-no-Okami, the one meant to find out the wishes of humanity. When Yu-senpai had met her, she had lost her memory, something that was intentional by the third party that I haven't gotten to yet. The reason she went to the Hallow Forest is because she had been absorbing the Fog that was being released from the TV World. What Ameno-sagiri was releasing. It was technically working as intended. Even though we had defeated Ameno-sagiri...Marie would eventually unleash the Fog and the world would be covered in Fog and the original objective would be obtained and the world would end. So we had Marie release the Fog and we destroyed it. After that we were able to save her and bring her back."
"So next was the last aspect?" Setsuko assumed. "It seems like it wasn't any normal Shadow behind the TV World and Midnight Channel."
"That's true. It was Izanami-no-Okami. The Midnight Channel as it turns out was simply a window in which it showed the collective wish of Inaba. So that was why the person that showed on it was someone that had recently become big in the media. It wasn't necessarily because they were on the media, only that they were the big talk of the town. She was also the one that gave three individuals to enter the TV. Adachi, Namatame were two and the last one went to Yu-senpai. Then she pretty much wiped her hands of it and sat back and watched," I could still remember that horrifying battle...and how we thought we had died. Somehow it had all come to an end. "Yu-senpai has the ability to use a lot of different Persona's and it was because of his power that we won out over her. So with her defeat everything had been settled...the Midnight Channel and the TV World."
"Just the end of that incident anyway," Yoko was likely reading my expression. "Your music career stuff started ramping up right?"
"Well, Kayane also graduated on top of us forming a band for our debut and filming some guest appearances on a couple TV shows. More or less to get the rumor mill going before we actually officially announce anything. Which all of it is supposed to be a huge surprise," I explained.
"People are going to flip...I imagine a lot of people assume that you and Kayane are a thing," Yoko seemed like she really enjoyed this topic.
"Probably but we plan to keep it ambiguous and not confirm or deny anything straight out. I'll probably lose a measure of my fan base but that is what we expect to anyway. I imagine we'll have a wider fan demographic overall in the end," I grin a bit.
"So when did that whole mess stop?" Setsuko spoke up.
"That was towards the end of March. And Kayane graduated shortly after that. But everything else happened only a few days ago. During Golden Week. Two different incidents that had revealed a lot...about Kayane's family," This was probably what was the more relevant of the stories but it was important for her to know everything that had happened. "It started when someone stole a shipment from the Kirijo Group while using a hostage situation as a smoke screen. Did you see the plane hijacking from about a week ago?"
"Oh yeah, I remember that. I doubt Onee-chan does though. She tends to not register that stuff," Yoko glanced over at Setsuko.
"That isn't really important is it? Let me guess...that shipment had Labrys," Setsuko likely knew that the moment I had said it.
"That's right. It was a complicated situation. Kirijo Mitsuru had just gotten the Shadow Operatives the official go ahead to start operations. So Mitsuru-san first few acts she wanted to do were related to dangerous items that had been in the Kirijo Group's possession and figure out safe ways to dispose of them. That was her intention at the very least. Though it would be on a case to case basis. However, various facilities no longer had the proper equipment to deal with them, so they were shipping them to the new Shadow Operative Headquarters to deal with it there. They found Labrys by chance but she had been deactivated and placed in a capsule. They were shipping her as well as they were unsure what to do with her. Most documentation on her was completely missing from the Kirijo Group database," I was essentially telling them what I had basically learned about it recently. "Someone with knowledge of Labrys stole her in the transaction and then brought her here to Inaba. Then they re-activated her and tossed her into the TV."
Setsuko's eyes widened. "Wait...so they knew about the TV World as well?"
"More like the individual helping them had informed them of the TV World. But that was how Kayane and the rest of us became involved with the Shadow Operatives. What happened is similar to what we went through before...but there was more involvement from an outside force. So it took Labrys' suppressed emotions and used the setting of Yasogami High and got us all connected to create a fighting tournament. As it turns out most of that was based on Labrys being forced to destroy her sister units. So we were all forced to fight each other. Still in the end we were able to get to Labrys and she confronted her Shadow," I still remember how tense all of that had been...especially with how useless I was considering I had been kidnapped.
"So...she awakened to her Persona then?" Setsuko was thinking about this seriously. "How long was she kept operational after the accident? Did she learn about it?"
"Yes," I interjected. "She learned that your parents were killed on the orders of Ikutsuki Shuji and launched an attack at him. However he forced the sister units to defend him. Labrys had no choice but to cut through them to protect herself. But when it was over they sealed her up because Ikutsuki realized he couldn't control her for any significant amount of time. Her black box interferes with the interface they put on her after your Father was forced to leave."
"That makes sense. Father would have taken counter measures for that eventuality. Turns out Father was paranoid and didn't want them using his research completely after he left. That is why Labrys' Plume of Dusk is covered in the black box. The encryption would be impossible for them to break. So I take it after the incident you had a pretty big discussion with the Shadow Operatives...and Labrys," Setsuko was being pretty level headed but I think it was pretty easy to guess how it went from that point onward. "Labrys didn't forget us after all."
"And she doesn't trust Mitsuru-san or the others very much at all, but it still hasn't been very long. That was just the first incident though. The next one happened only a day later. This time Mitsuru-san, Aigis-san, Fuuka-san and Akihiko-san were all lured back to Inaba and kidnapped by the real culprit. Kayane was also attacked and kidnapped as well," I jumped back into it. No point in dragging it out any more.
"They took him? Why?" Yoko asked.
"That's a bit complicated..." I avert my eyes. "The true culprit was Hi-no-Kagutsuchi. He manipulated a young man named Minazuki Sho...he himself was the result of a Kirijo Group experiment where they implanted a Plume of Dusk into him."
"They did what!?" Setsuko was standing on her feet. "What kind of idiot would do that to somebody? It's basically two people fighting over the same body! It could cause deterioration of the body and unstable psyche."
"I'm sure you know more about the subject than any of us would. I presume Kayane and your's Father had notes or research about those kind of things. Likely research he would never share with the Kirijo Group. And even if he had I doubt it would have stopped the man Ikutsuki from doing it. It seems he is responsible for a number of rather inhumane experiments within the Kirijo Group. Minauki was about what you would expect. It worked more like a split personality. They were working together. To further complicate the matter...the one born of the Plume of Dusk could use a Persona." I didn't want to let Setsuko focus too much on it. I'm sure she could offer a lot of insight to the whole ordeal. "They were simply being used by Hi-no-Kagutsuchi. They created Shadows...copies of all of us to gather Persona fragments. Using these fakes they slowed us down from getting to the tower they created by essentially wrapping the town in red fog...and from what the Shadow Operatives have said was similar to the Dark Hour."
"Hi-no-Kagutsuchi...another name from Japanese mythology. So...what was his goal? World Destruction?" Setsuko seemed like she noticed where it was going.
"Yep. As it turns out Hi-no-Kagutsuchi was the collective form of all the people that abandon their bonds. It was part of the reason he used copies of us masquerading as Shadows to try and get us to fight each other. While he mainly was using it to stall us he wanted to prove that our connections to each other weren't that strong. It was why he was able to manipulate Minazuki Sho. Since he had never known that kind of connection he convinced Sho that he wanted the world to end," it had all been rather stupid looking back at it now. But Sho didn't have any sort of support structure...in a lot of ways he was still like a child. "We defeated Hi-no-Kagatsuchi but as it turns out he wasn't the only one that was making movements. There was also another being posing as Kayane's Shadow that gathered a bunch of the other fake Shadows and took them for himself. And then he left, indicating that we would see him again."
"A Shadow posing as Kayane?" Setsuko looked down at her hands. "So that's what happened up to this point? And then Kayane decided to join the Shadow Operatives..."
"He did graduate from High School and also he was sure it be the only way to get Labrys to cooperate enough so that he could take advantage of their facilities so that Labrys could be properly maintained," I explained.
"Makes sense," Setsuko let out a sigh. "Even if it was me I wouldn't have the power supply needed to make the necessary diagnostic gear for her. Sounds like I showed up in the mess of a time."
"As if your own life isn't already a mess itself," Yoko commented. "There is never really a right time for anything. But I would say that there is never a wrong time. Especially for being reunited with your brother."
"I've spent my life forgetting my past. I was afraid of remembering. And all that time I had sealed away even the memory of my own brother..." Setsuko shook her head.
"Would anything have changed even if you had remembered?"
I turned to see Kayane walking in from the door. Well, I'm not surprised to see him. "Kayane, just be..."
"...careful?" he smiled at me. "I don't think much would have changed. Other than maybe you being worried about me in the years you had to worry about the Dark Hour."
"You are...probably right," Setsuko sighed.
"It certainly wouldn't have helped anything if you disappeared to go look for him. It isn't like Mom and Dad would have helped you see him. I would have though. Not that you would have gone to me for help. So in the end the way it happened is probably the best," Yoko was smiling. She was a very supportive sister. She had a unique kind of strength. Even though she herself didn't have a Persona she had taken all of this rather well. Then again from what Kayane said she had seen a Shadow in person. With Setsuko more or less taking care of the situation all on her own. Thinking of the years that Setsuko fough on her own only made me imagine that she was incredibly strong.
"Any way, let's take a break from all this serious talk. Dinner should be ready soon. And then Labrys should be here soon," Kayane said.
"Labrys is coming?" Setsuko seemed to perk up.
"Believe me, she wasn't happy that she couldn't be here earlier but she needed to get some maintenance done. Apparently that business the other day did more damage to her legs than initially thought," Kayane shrugged.
"Really? I can't wait to see her!" Setsuko was smiling now.
"Onee-chan...please tell me you aren't thinking of pulling her legs off to look for yourself," Yoko shook her head.
Wait really?
"I...umm...look I know her original design better than anyone. If anyone should be fixing Labrys its me!" Setsuko got to her feet.
I could see that we had a lot to learn about Kayane's older sister.
A/N:
A quick apology for not getting this up last week. My inspiration for writing has been somewhat diminished due to personal reasons but I won't bore you with them. At any rate it is here now.
I realize that this chapter is essentially a re-cap chapter but that is also because we are about to get into the thick of things from here on to the end of the story. We are in essence heading into the final act of Last Symphony. Next we will be going to the lead up to Dancing All Night. The presence of Kayane and all the other things that have happened up to this point are going to greatly affect the events of Dancing All Night. Plus Rise is a lot different than how she is portrayed in the game as well.
An easy difference between the game of Dancing All Night and Last Symphony is the fact that Rise and Kayane are part of a band named Synchronicity. And we also have the Shadow of Kayane who is planning something as well. I got a lot planned for this section so I hope you are looking forward to it.
Thanks for taking the time to read my small corner of fan fiction. I hope you enjoy it! I'll try not to let the gap be as far from this chapter to the next. Thanks again and see you next chapter.
