A Prison of Ice
IV.
Makoto knew how to fight.
He had fought through all of the floors of Tartarus after all. He had fought against Shadows, against people, and even against the avatar of Nyx. Fighting had probably been the one skill that he was the most confident in before his death. His weapon of choice had always been a short sword and his style had been self-taught, a make-shift born out of a necessity to survive.
He never claimed to be the greatest swordsman, he was passable at best.
A Persona user never relied on martial skill alone, so there was never a need to be the best. His swordsmanship merely had to be passable, enough to finish off Shadows that had been weakened by his Personas. He was a passable swordsman and a damn good Persona user, if not one of the best.
Marcus taught him hand-to-hand combat.
It wasn't something that he had any experience in whatsoever. He had seen his fair share of hand-to-hand fighters, Akihiko had been one type of fighter. He knew how dangerous they could be in close range and he could see the value in being able to defend yourself without a weapon. He could see that it was a useful skill and it was a new experience for him, so he took the training seriously.
In the first session, Marcus unlocked his Aura.
In this world, an Aura was almost a necessity to have if someone was a combatant. Makoto didn't understand how it worked, but from what he had read, it was supposed to be a manifestation of the soul that protected the user from harm. What would have been fatal blows could be negated by Aura and he couldn't help but think about how useful of an ability it would have been to have when conquering Tartarus.
In the second session, Marcus began to teach him how to fight.
Marcus showed him how to strike, how to use footwork in order to close the ever so important range gap, and all the other necessary skills needed to succeed as a hand-to-hand fighter. The silver-haired man would show him techniques and have him practice them all while Mercury stood off to the side and watched. Marcus had said that Mercury would be his sparring partner, but they hadn't so much as had a single fight yet.
It wasn't until the third session that the status quo changed.
"Alright, that's enough instruction for today." Marcus gruffly stated. "You'll spend the rest of time sparring against Mercury to get some real practice in."
The older man then walked over towards his son and grabbed him by the shoulder, whispering something into his ear. Makoto could see Mercury's eyes narrow in response but begrudgingly nod his head.
"I'm going to go speak to Mr. Yuki now." Marcus simply said as he headed for the door. "Spar for at least an hour before you leave."
That left him and Mercury standing alone in the training room. The other boy hadn't so much as said a word to him yet, so he wasn't quite sure what to expect.
"... Do you want to start?" Makoto eventually asked to break the silence.
Mercury just stepped into the center of the training room in response.
Makoto walked over towards the center of the room as well and got into the stance that Marcus had shown him. Mercury got into a similar stance and it was all quiet for a brief moment as they stared each other down. It didn't come as a surprise that Mercury would have been taught the same style that Marcus had taught him.
After a beat, Makoto slowly moved forward and aimed a high kick at the other boy.
Mercury dodged it by moving his head to the side, so he attacked again with another kick in quick succession just as Marcus had instructed: Remember to always keep up the pressure when you get in close.
Mercury was obviously used to it as he managed to block his attacks or evade them at the very last second. Makoto decided to mix up his attacks a bit and slipped a jab in between his kicks. Marcus had mostly instructed him on how to strike with his legs, but he had seen Akihiko throw enough punches by now to be able to mimic it to an extent.
It seemed to catch Mercury off guard as his punch connected with the boy's cheek. He could see the distortion in the other boy's Aura as it protected him from his fist. He tried to swing again as a follow-up attack, but Mercury, to his credit, managed to recover well enough to slip underneath his next punch.
Something was bothering him though, so he stopped attacking midway.
"Why aren't you fighting back?" Makoto asked the silver-haired boy. "It's not a spar if you're only going to be defending."
Mercury's lips twisted into a venomous frown. "My old man said so."
Makoto raised an eyebrow at that. "Why?"
"Said you're too important." Mercury bitterly spat out. "I'm not supposed to hurt you."
Hurt him?
Did Marcus believe that he couldn't handle a simple spar? It wasn't as if he was some delicate flower they needed to be careful of. He had been in more battles than he could count, and even though Marcus couldn't have known that, it still annoyed him to be treated as if he were made of glass.
"... Your father unlocked my Aura." He pointed out. "It'll be fine."
The silver-haired boy looked unconvinced.
It was obvious that Mercury didn't enjoy being a punching bag, and Makoto wasn't sure, but it almost seemed like there was a sense of fear in the silver-haired boy's eyes. Was he that afraid of disobeying his father? Just what kind of relationship did they have if Mercury looked as if he was always walking on eggshells around his father?
"I won't tell Marcus, I promise." Makoto simply stated. "You don't want to just be my punching bag the whole time, right?"
The other boy seemed surprised at that. "... You really won't tell my dad?"
"You have my word," Makoto replied with a smile as he held out his hand. "Let's be real sparring partners?"
Mercury eyed his outstretched hand for a moment, as if unsure what to do. After a beat, the silver-haired boy eventually took his hand and gave it a firm shake.
"Alright, partners then," Mercury replied as his lips curved up into a smirk. "If you want to get your ass kicked that badly, that's fine by me."
Makoto just raised an amused eyebrow in response.
"We'll see about that."
They both got into their stances again, only this time Mercury actually attacked him first.
Makoto ducked underneath a high kick and swept at Mercury's legs with a low one. Mercury avoided it and they traded some more blows with each other. It was an actual spar now, and he couldn't help but reminisce about the practice sessions he used to have with SEES. Mercury eventually managed to catch him off guard with a rather clever feint and clipped him in the cheek.
He felt his newly awakened Aura block most of the damage, but it didn't stop him from falling back due to the momentum.
Mercury seemed to freeze in place. There was almost a look of sinking horror on his face as his eyes widened and his brows knit together; as if he had just something terrible. Was he really that afraid of his own father?
Makoto stood back up and brushed himself off before offering the other boy a wry smile.
"That was a good feint. Do you want to go again?"
Mercury blinked at that.
And then ever so slowly, Makoto could see the other boy begin to relax a bit again. His face finally settled back into that laid-back smirk from before.
"Yeah, sure."
His sparring session with Mercury had been a rather enjoyable experience.
It reminded him of the times when he would spar with Junpei to get some extra practice in before challenging a particularly difficult Arcana Shadow. The way Mercury seemed to act around his father disturbed him a little bit though. A father and son relationship where the son was that afraid of the father wasn't normal.
It probably wasn't any of his business, but there was an annoying feeling in the back of his head that wouldn't let him leave it alone.
Makoto decided to do some research on his father's 'associate' and from what he managed to find out about Marcus Black; it only led to more questions. Why was his father in contact with an assassin of all things? The more he looked into it and pieced the clues together, the worst it became.
Makoto knew his father had unsavory business practices.
He just never realized the extent of it.
Or perhaps he had an inkling about it the whole time and simply pretended otherwise. He was still his father after all, and no one wanted one of their parents to be a murderer. His father may not have committed the deeds himself, but putting a hit on someone was just as bad.
Makoto didn't know how to feel about it.
He and his father weren't very close, but their relationship had always been cordial enough. Father had still provided for the family, even if it was through unsavory means. They were still a family bonded by blood.
It was a complicated situation and it was one that he had never had to deal with before.
Should he speak with Father about it? Would Father even acknowledge it? Would he even care? Father was obviously a rather cutthroat individual when it came to the family business.
The whole situation just gave him a throbbing headache every time he thought about it. Makoto was all too glad when his scroll started to ring, grateful for the sudden distraction.
"Hello?" He softly answered.
Weiss's familiar face soon appeared on the other side of the screen.
"Makoto." She greeted with a light smile. "Are you doing well?"
He just gave a wry smile in response. "Could be better."
There was a concerned look in her eyes. "... Did something happen?"
"Rather than something happening, it's more like I came to a startling realization about someone I know."
A brief moment of silence passed by as neither of them said a word.
"... Why do you always feel the need to do this?" Weiss replied with a groan.
"Do what…?"
"You never want to elaborate! It's like trying to pull teeth with you." She explained with a frown on her face. "You always listen to my problems but you never want to talk about your own."
Makoto blinked at that.
She wasn't exactly wrong. Even in his past life, he had always been the one to listen and very rarely was the one to speak. Even among SEES, the only person he had ever really confided in had been Aigis.
"Makoto Yuki, you're going to tell me what's wrong." Weiss continued with a fierce look in her eyes. "I'm going to listen and we're going to fix the problem, alright?"
He couldn't help but chuckle a little at that.
Weiss was normally so cool and collected, but there were always certain things that would rile her up enough to break the facade. She could be really passionate about things that were important to her and he couldn't help but admire her for that.
"H-hey! I'm being serious here, Makoto!" Weiss stammered. "Really, what's going on?"
The light laughter soon faded as he schooled his features back into a more somber expression.
"... I've come to realize that my father is a criminal, Weiss."
"What…?" Her brows furrowed. "Did you two get into a fight or something?"
He just gave a wry smile in response. "If only that were the case."
"Then what?" Weiss asked again with a frown. "What happened?"
He didn't say anything for a moment and took the time to gather his thoughts.
"... I've always known that father operated his business through unsavory means," Makoto eventually replied with a sigh. "I supposed that I simply underestimated the extent of his moral bankruptcy." He gave Weiss a sad smile. "My father is a murderer, Weiss."
And he had no idea how to feel about it.
Author's Notes- Ahhh, no flames please, it really hurts! I'm trying my best :'(
