A/N As promised, here's the first chapter of a two-parter for the festival. The next one will be posted in about three weeks. The holidays may get in the way of that, but it will be out before New Years, so you can count on that.
Disclaimer: I do not own Persona, or any of its characters, and I make no money off of this.
Chapter 35
August 17th – Tokyo: Fukushima Towers
Yu Narukami sat stood in front of the window in his dining area as he continued a tiring back and forth over the phone with a certain Shadow Operative.
"Really though, you should come," said Yu in a friendly manner. "It'll be fun, trust me."
"I see you're in a persistent mood today…"
"Only because you haven't said you'll go," Yu countered.
"Heh, fair enough."
"I take it that means you'll be there?"
"Yes, I'll be there. I might be a bit late, though. I'm still taking care of a few things, but I'll try to make it on time if I can."
"That's fine," replied Yu. "If you're running late, just message me when you get there and I'll let you know where were at."
"Alright, will do."
When the conversation finally come to an end, he put his phone away and let loose a tired sigh.
He wasted no time in shifting his sights to the gorgeous view of the Tokyo skyline, which no matter how many times he saw it always happened to amaze him. Seconds later, however, his attention would get pulled back towards the end of the downstairs hallway as his fellow Fool walked out of his room.
Ren currently wore a pitch-black yukata with imprints of a small number of red roses throughout the garment. Around his waist was a red sash that matched the color of the rose petals, giving him a flashy but classy appearance overall.
The raven-haired teen immediately took notice of Yu's clothing as well. The silver-haired young man sported an off-white yukata with think striped trimmings, while around his waist was a bright yellow sash. In the right lighting, his outfit almost shined as if it had a kingly feel to it.
Each of the two were impressed with the other's appearance, and it showed.
"That's a good look for you," Yu complimented.
"Thanks, same to you," Ren replied. "Anyway, I'm all good to go whenever you are."
Yu nodded. "Sounds good. Let's head out to meet the others then."
Tokyo – Shibuya: Shuttle Boarding Area
"—but seriously, Yusuke, it's freaky how natural you look wearin' that thing," Kanji remarked. "Same to you, Ryuji."
In response to the black-haired young man's praise, Fox smiled pleasantly while Skull clearly got a bit embarrassed.
Yusuke was garbed in a dark blue yukata with silver imprints of what appeared to be paint brushes placed throughout the fabric. The obi, essentially a belt-like sash, that wrapped itself around his waist was a plain gray color. Thankfully, it didn't take the eyes away from the intricate design of the yukata itself.
With Ryuji, he wore a fairly plain-looking light blue yukata alongside a white sash. Although no part of his clothing had intricate patterns like Yusuke's did, the simplicity of the design somehow worked incredibly well for him.
"Thank you," Yusuke remarked. "Although in my opinion, all of us wear yukata quite well."
The artist's words were more than true as each of the Persona users looked just as good as both he and Ryuji.
In Kanji's case, his outfit was a light gray complete with a haori of the same color, each of which were ingrained with a dark-gray floral patterns.
For Yosuke, his yukata was a solid blue held together by a red sash, while Teddie, who was standing next to him, was wearing one that was nearly identical—a fact that clearly annoyed the former of the two.
Lastly was Mona, who although he didn't wear a yukata for obvious reasons, couldn't help but agree with what his teammate had just said.
"For sure! You all look great," Morgana stated in agreement.
"No arguments here," an approaching voice remarked.
All eyes turned to see the much-awaited Wild Cards walking towards the group, though they were already fast at work taking in their friends' appearances.
"Lookin' good, Ryuji," Ren couldn't help but say. "It's weird to think this is the first time I'm seeing you in a yukata. You really pull it off well."
"T-This old thing? C'mon, it ain't nothin' special," he replied, although it was obvious he appreciated the compliment. "If anything, I should be sayin' that to you. Where'd you even find that thing? It looks awesome!"
"Just something I picked out the other day when I was shopping," Ren said with a humble shrug.
"Is that the same for you, partner?" Yosuke inquired. He chuckled, adding, "Although with how freakishly natural you look wearing it, I wouldn't be surprised if you already had it in your closet."
Yu rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "Guilty as charged. This is one I've had for a while. It was a gift I got from Dojima-san, actually."
"Dojima-san got you that?" Kanji asked with a quirked brow.
"Well, Nanako picked it out, but then she had him take the credit for it," Yu explained.
"That seems more realistic," laughed Yosuke.
"Either way, Nanako-chan sure has good taste," Teddie remarked with a smile.
"And this 'Nanako-chan', is she a relative, perhaps?" Yusuke guessed.
"Yeah, she's Yu's cousin," explained Kanji.
"More like a little sister though," Yosuke added. "And Dojima-san's his uncle. But anyway, we can talk more on the shuttle. We really should get goin' if we don't want to miss our shuttle to Kamakura."
"Good call, we should probably get a move on," Yu replied.
"In that case…" Mona trailed off.
The black-furred feline walked up to Ren and leapt into the crease at the front of his yukata in front of his chest. He propped himself firmly within the fabric to the point that the only part of his body that was exposed was his head, which adorably poked out right above Ren's chest below his neck.
"Okay, I'm all set," Mona said, his eyes smiling as he spoke.
"A-Actually, mind if I snap a picture real quick before we head off?" Kanji asked, a bit of a blush on his face. "This is kinda the cutest thing I've ever seen in person, so…"
Both Ren and Mona shared a quick look before the former of the two gave a nod of approval. It went without saying that the brunette wasted no time taking a number of photos that he'd be looking at for years to come.
"Dude, are you really just gonna keep taking pictures?" Yosuke questioned amusedly.
"With something this cute? You bet your ass I am."
"Pfft, Mona? Cute?" Ryuji scoffed. "Maybe if he couldn't talk."
"Don't be bitter just because I'm adorable," Mona replied teasingly. "Although… I do think it's a bit of a waste to just have photos of Ren and I for the occasion, don't you think?"
"Oooh, that's a good point, Mona-chan!" Teddie cooed in realization. "Come on, let's do a big group photo!"
"Sure, why not," said Yosuke with a smile. "We'll need to get someone to take the photo for us though."
"Not a problem. Gimme a sec," said Yu.
The silver-haired young man walked over to the nearest person that he could find, which happened to be a well-dressed and fairly attractive young woman in her mid-twenties. He walked over to her without hesitation, an effortless charm in his step as he approached.
"Excuse me," Yu greeted with a pleasant smile. "Would you mind taking a few pictures of me and my friends?"
The obvious then followed. The young woman fidgeted cutely under the weight of his captivating gray eyes, all the while her cheeks became a bit pink.
"S-Sure, no problem," she replied.
"Thanks," Yu replied.
With that, the Wild Card handed over his phone and the young men moved into position to take the group photo. Everything was all set up, except of course Yosuke, who was busy giving his best friend a look of disbelief as opposed to looking over at the camera lens.
"You really suck sometimes, you know that?" Yosuke asked.
"What'd I do?"
"You know exactly what you did."
"Dude, focus on the photo," Kanji quietly chastised.
In a split-second, everyone smiled and posed. After a number of shots had been taken, the young woman went through the camera role before she smiled and looked back at the phone's owner.
"I think they came out great!" she exclaimed happily.
Second after he took his phone back, the silver-haired lawyer couldn't help but agree.
"Yeah, they look great! Thanks again for helping us out," Yu replied.
His charming smile made an appearance again, which of course was followed by the obvious. Again.
"D-Don't mention it," the young woman stammered cutely.
With that, she waved her goodbyes and walked off, leaving the group of Persona users to go about their business.
Yu quickly returned to the others, thinking nothing of it. The same could not be said for his 'partner', however.
"You really suck," Yosuke stated plainly.
"Seriously, what'd I do?"
Kanji sighed. "Not this again…"
Kamakura: Just Outside the Festival Grounds
The male members of the Investigation team and the Phantom Thieves had arrived in Kamakura without facing any real issues. Traffic was what it was, but they'd planned for that well in advance, so thankfully it didn't affect their plans in the least.
They now walked the streets of Kamakura towards one of the festival's primary entrances, and as they did so they couldn't help but look on in astonishment at just how different the city now looked. Exactly like Chihaya had said, the power to most buildings was entirely cut off to the point that everything looked strangely dark. Even the lampposts were powered down, although each now had a festive lantern attached to it to take its place to make sure there was at least some light.
Then there were the crowds upon crowds of people that flooded everywhere that the eye could see. Many of the people around them wore yukata or a kimono, while many others did not. However, regardless of the clothes on their backs, everyone seemed to have the same excited energy as they made their way towards the festival to the point it was almost contagious.
With the number of people being what it was, it was inevitable that the crowds poured into the streetways. Thankfully though, roadblocks had been set up miles away to ensure no cars would be taking up space as the festival-goers moved towards the venue, and pairs of police officers manned almost every corner to ensure that everything went along smoothly.
It was strange, actually. They'd been to the exact same city and walked down the exact same streetway less than forty-eight hours ago, and yet it felt so different they could hardly believe it.
"Man, they really pulled out all the stops," Kanji thought aloud.
"You're tellin' me," Yosuke said conversationally. "It looks like a whole new city."
"Yeah, for real," Ryuji nodded in agreement. "It's kinda freakin' me out to see everything so dimly lit."
"Although even now, the sight of the sky as the sun starts to set is truly beautiful," Yusuke remarked.
"I'm sure when we get the see the full night's sky, it'll look even better," said Mona.
They walked on for a few more minutes in silence, and as they moved past the main hub area, they came to a stop. It seemed that they'd reached the spot they'd chosen to meet up as a group.
Yosuke turned towards his Wild Card. "This is the spot, right?"
"Yep," answered Yu.
"Any idea how long we're gonna be waitin'?" asked Kanji in a deadpanned tone.
"None whatsoever."
"Sounds about right," Ryuji sighed. "Why'd the girls have to take a different shuttle than us again?"
Mona rolled his eyes. "Gee, I dunno. Maybe it's because they got all dressed up for the occasion and wanted to surprise us with their appearance."
"I knew that," grumbled Ryuji. "I'm just sayin' I don't really see the point. I mean, we've seen 'em all wear kimono before, right?"
"Not Futaba and Haru," Ren pointed out.
It took Skull a second of thinking to realize that was actually true.
"Huh, fair point…" Ryuji muttered to himself. He shook his head, adding, "Well, anyway, they still coulda just shown off how good they look before we left, right? And at least then we wouldn't be stuck waitin' here."
"Well…" Kanji trailed off. Clearly, he didn't disagree.
"They probably wanted it this way because they didn't know when they'd be ready to leave," Yu reasoned. "In my experience, girls tend to spend a lot more time getting ready for occasions that really matter to them."
"Uh…" Ryuji trailed off. His eyes shifted towards his fellow Phantom Thieves. "I mean, I guess that's true for Ann and all of them, but is it really the same with all girls?"
"You're asking me?" Ren responded as if truly surprised.
"I've no idea whatsoever," Yusuke plainly replied.
"W-Well, not as such, no…" Mona uttered. "Although it sounds right, I suppose."
Ryuji slumped his shoulders. "Man, we really gotta meet more girls, don't we?"
Yosuke chuckled. "Don't worry, partner's totally right on this one. I mean, if I had a hundred yen every time a girl kept me waiting while she was getting ready to go out, I'd have—"
"Zero yen?" interrupted Kanji.
"Hey!"
"Sorry, but you made that one too easy."
"He's got you there," Yu remarked.
"Yep!" chirped Teddie.
"All of you can bite me," stated Yosuke.
"See? I told you I could hear them."
"I'm pretty sure all of us could…"
All eyes were quickly dragged once the sounds of familiar voices graced the group's ears. A good number of their female teammates were walking towards them, and each of them, without exception, looked breathtaking.
First was Chie, who wore a pale-blue kimono with light-green floral pattern alongside a yellow sash. Her clothing definitely wasn't flashy, and even her kanzashi—or floral hair ornament—was modest, being only a set of three daisies. That simple appearance, however, was amplified tenfold by how feminine she looked compared to how she typically looked.
Next was Yukiko, who like Chie, wasn't wearing anything too noteworthy. Her kimono was a light pink with white and yellow floral patterns, a sage-green sash, and a deep purple wisteria flower overtop a red bow acting as her kanzashi. In her case though, every aspect of her body language breathed so much elegance that despite her humble appearance, she was eye-catching all the same.
Just off to the side of the Amagi heiress was Haru, who's white kimono with purple floral patterns looked so ridiculously soft and well-made that just the sight of it was eye-popping in its own right. She had the appearance of a princess, but her gentle aura made her still seem approachable in spite of that.
Then was Futaba, who was the first among the group thus far to have actually changed up her hair style for the occasion. The ends of her bangs still formed two thick strands of hair that went down the side of her face, but the back of her hair had been tied into a neat bun. Then there was of course her kimono, which was a mix of light and dark green all over, throughout which were strewn a number of daisies with pale blue centers. She, like the others, also had a kanzashi on the left side of her head, though hers was a lone lime-green flower.
After her was Makoto, wearing a simple but elegant blue kimono with white floral patterns together with a red sunflower kanzashi. While her hair wasn't styled any differently, her use of makeup more than made her look different from what most were used to seeing.
Last, but certainly not least, was Sae, who may have been the most eye-catching of the group. She sported a shining white kimono of a peacock standing in a nest of flowers—each of which was a mix of light green, teal, and pink. A black sash took its place around her midsection, which had red floral patterns acting as a backdrop that only emphasized the rest of her outfit all the more. Despite how beautiful her kimono was, even that had nothing on her physical appearance itself. Her hair was now tied up elegantly on the back of her head, and her makeup was so well done it was almost as if she'd had professional help. Quite simply, she was stunning.
"Talk about worth the wait…" Ryuji muttered quietly.
Yusuke cleared his throat. "Indeed."
"What's up, guys?" Futaba asked, sporting a knowing smirk. "Cat got your tongue?"
"Maybe just a bit," Ren replied through a chuckle. "Now I understand why Sojiro was worried about guys hitting on you tonight. You look really great, Futaba. All of you do."
"I can't help but agree," said Yusuke with a firm nod of approval. "You wear that kimono better than I would've imagined, Futaba."
"No arguments here," Ryuji added on.
Futaba blushed. "N-No fair! I wasn't ready for so much praise all at once!"
"Are you sure? We can keep going, you know," said Ren, hiding the amusement in his tone expertly.
"I think she'd prefer to be shown mercy," Makoto remarked.
Over on the fringes of the group, Sae had casually made her way over towards Yu while most of the others were caught up in idle conversation. Their eyes locked, but before he could say anything, she took the initiative to tease him ever-so-slightly.
"I notice you haven't said anything yet," Sae stated with a cheeky smirk.
"Well, do you own a mirror?" Yu asked in a deadpanned tone.
"Hm? Well, yes, of course," Sae answered, her confusion clear in her voice.
Yu's lips curled into a small but devilish smirk. "Then you should already know how great you look regardless of whether I say anything or not."
"Just how long have you been working on that line, I wonder," Sae countered, fighting back a reflexive smile.
"Longer than you'd think," Yu replied jokingly. His eyes wandered briefly, showing a bit of hesitation before next he spoke. "But kidding aside, you really do look fantastic. Not that that's any real surprise."
"I-I see. Good," Sae replied. She could feel her cheeks start to heat up, though she did her best to shake it off. "You don't think it's too flashy, do you?"
"No, not at all," Yu said, shaking his head. "In fact, I think it just about perfect. It really suits you."
At that point, Sae seemed to lose a bit of her composure, and the girlish joy she'd tried to keep contained was starting to show. If it had been a week ago, Yu wouldn't have thought anything of it, but now things were different. He averted his eyes a bit awkwardly, though before anything more could be said between the two, Kanji spoke up to the group at large.
"Hey, where're Naoto and the others?" he questioned curiously.
"They're probably close behind us," Chie replied. She giggled a bit nervously. "We, uh… might've had some issues navigating through the massive crowds."
"So you guys just left 'em behind?!" Kanji exclaimed.
"I mean, not intentionally," said Futaba.
"We should probably go look for them just to make sure they're alright," Haru mused.
"No need, we're right here," Rise's voice called out.
"We got a bit lost in the crowds," said Ann. "Sorry if we worried you guys."
"Yes, our apologies," Naoto added.
"It's all good," Kanji replied. "What's important is that you're here right… now…"
The tall brunette's words were the last sound that came out of the group for some time as everyone, at least the men, were stunned at the sight of the three beautiful young women.
Perhaps the most shocking was Naoto, who wore a surprisingly feminine sky-blue kimono imbued with deep blue flowers. More surprising still was the fact that her hair was now styled in a manner similar to Futaba's, and on top of even that she was wearing makeup. Judging by how embarrassed she looked, it may not have been her choice to get as 'dolled up' as she was, but that shyness only added to her charm.
After her, however, were sights that left a good number of the Persona users absolutely speechless.
Ann was currently sporting a gorgeous deep red kimono held together by a black sash. On the left side of her head was a hair ornament, which appeared to be a trio of what looked like azaleas—one light red, one white, and one pink. While her outfit was certainly beautiful, the real highlight was the appearance of the young woman wearing it. Her hair was now tied up towards the back left side of her head in an elegant yet alluring style, and it went without saying that her makeup was expertly applied.
In Rise's case, she was much the same and wore a kimono that was equally stunning, although hers was a deep purple and had thick clusters of red and pink flowers spread throughout. Her hair was also styled differently from usual, now being tied up in a large semi-ponytail that draped across the left side of her body, which was held together by her floral kanzashi that came in the form of several purple roses.
As the two of them stood side by side, it was almost as if their skin and hair glowed, which seemed all the more noticeable under the dimmed city lights.
To put it simply, they were gorgeous. More than that, even.
"You guys could say something, you know," Rise said teasingly. With a smirk that would've made a devil jealous, she moved over towards her blue-haired friend and moved her forwards just a bit. "How about you go first, Kanji? Naoto looks pretty good, don'tcha think?"
"H-Huh?!" Naoto exclaimed in surprise, her cheeks immediately going red.
"Oh, come on, don't be so shy. You look great, you know," Rise went on. "You're with me on that, right, Kanji~?"
"W-Well, I mean, she, uh…!" he stammered bashfully. When he finally collected himself, he quietly added, "You, uh… you look great."
The shy awkwardness shared between the two was something that was both amusing and adorable to watch. That, of course, was exactly what a certain red-headed devil had been after in the fist place.
"See?" asked Rise with a smile. "I told you so."
"Yes, yes, you've made your point. Now can you please stop teasing me?" Naoto tiredly replied.
"I'll consider it," Rise stated.
"Yeah, well, you shoulda considered wearing something a little more low-key," Kanji uttered firmly. "You stick out like a damn sore thumb, you know. Just don't come cryin' to me when you get swarmed by your fans and your night gets ruined."
It was beyond clear from his tone that Kanji was a bit annoyed from the popstar's teasing, but even so, he did have a point. Even right now, people in the surrounding crowd were stealing glances for one reason or another.
"He's got ya there," Yosuke remarked.
"I'll be fine," Rise stated dismissively. "I think I look different enough that people shouldn't notice me."
"Hey, is that Rise Kujikawa over there?"
"I mean, she kinda looks like it, but…"
The 'I told you so' look from Kanji was immediate, as was the cocky grin that took its place on his features.
"Shut up, it'll be fine," Rise replied. She quickly shifted gears, giving a certain silver-haired young man a sly grin as she moved up against his shoulder. "Besides, I think I look good enough to justify the risk. What do you think, Yu?"
"Well, you do look pretty great," Yu admitted.
Rise's smiled deepened and she leaned in even closer for just a second before pulling away.
"Then it's fine."
"Oh brother…" Kanji sighed to himself.
Teddie leaned in, whispering, "You have a brother?"
Yosuke, having heard every word that was just said by both of them, slapped the palm of his hand over his face almost instantly.
"Anyway, is everyone ready to head in?" Makoto abruptly spoke up.
"I've been ready," Ryuji said excitedly.
"Same here!" stated Yosuke with a grin.
It didn't take long for everyone to chime in to say they were good to go. Even for those that said nothing, it was beyond obvious they were eager to move forward and enjoy the festival to their heart's content.
"Alright, then let's—" Ann began.
A random passerby bumped into her, throwing her off her balance and causing her to stumble a bit. Even though his help wasn't needed, Ren reacted instantly and moved up to make sure she stabilized.
"All good?" Ren asked.
"Yeah, thanks," Ann replied with a smile.
Her blue eyes met his for only a few seconds before he shyly looked away, even clearing his throat in a tell-tale sign that he was embarrassed. A part of her wanted to press him further on it, but she wouldn't get the chance. Not yet, at least.
"Is it just me, or are the crowds getting bigger by the second?" Yusuke wondered aloud.
"It's not just you," said Mona. "There's definitely a lot more people flooding in. Must just be that time of night…"
"With this many people, it's a serious risk that some of us might end up separated from the main group at some point," Makoto grimaced. "Hmm, actually, on that note…"
The brunette took out her phone and texted the main group chat. Some checked to see what the message was, but most wouldn't need to as it was explained beforehand.
"I texted tonight's plans into the chat just in case one or more of us gets lost," Makoto explained.
"Good thinking," said Sae with a smile. "And just in case anyone doesn't have their phones on them, the pan is to meet at the Yaksha textile building a few blocks away."
Haru nodded. "Agreed, and thanks again for getting us such an amazing viewing spot, Yukiko-san."
"It's not a problem," she replied graciously.
"How'd you snag a spot like that anyway?" Chie asked curiously.
"Oh, the owner is a friend of mine. They supply a number of local businesses in Inaba with fabrics and the Amagi Inn happens to be their biggest customer in the town. She was more than happy to lend us the rooftop since they can't really use the space tonight anyway."
"Leave it to Yuki-chan to have all the right connections," Teddie cooed in an upbeat tone.
"And the plan is to meet at midnight, right?" asked Yu.
Sae nodded. "By my recollection, yes."
"Meh, I think all of us have our phones on us anyway, so we should be good go matter what happens, yeah?" Ryuji mused.
"Most likely," agreed Yosuke. "Anyway, let's all head in! The anticipation's killin' me!"
"Geez, dial it back, Yosuke," said Chie with a giggle. "But he's got a point. Onward we go!"
"Just remember to be careful as we enter," said Naoto.
"Agreed," Makoto added.
"I think everyone needs to chill out, honestly," Ryuji muttered.
"It wouldn't kill you to be a bit more on-alert, you know," Mona replied. "Especially with the number of people here. Getting lost is a real concern."
"Oh, c'mon," Ryuji stated uncaringly. "I mean, first off, we're not idiots, and we're not five. It ain't like we'd get lost or separated so easily in the first place."
"Uh, Ryuji…"
"But for real, I just don't get it," Ryuji said tiredly. "Like, we've got our phones, so even if we did get separated, ain't it gonna be super easy to find everyone anyway?"
"Ryuji!"
"What, Mona?" he asked annoyedly.
The thuggish Persona user finally turned around where he found Morgana sitting in place with half-lidded eyes and a deadpanned look on his face.
And that was all he saw. There was a sea of people he didn't recognize, of course, but the other Phantom Thieves and the members of the Investigation Team were nowhere in sight.
"What was that again about 'not being an idiot'?" Mona uttered plainly.
"Shut it," Ryuji said as if his response was automatic. "Also, you're in the same boat I am, so what's that make you, huh?"
Mona nodded his head along. "Fair point. Anyway, mind getting your phone out so we can—"
"Already on it," Ryuji stated. "There, I just texted Ren and Ann. Those two almost always answer messages in like… Wait, huh?"
The sheer confusion that came from his voice almost immediately had Mona start to worry. He began to mess around with his phone, and with each passing second more and more frustration started to show on his expression.
Mona sighed. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say something's wrong with your phone."
"I mean, it looks like it's workin' fine, but I'm not gettin' a reception," Ryuji answered. He kept trying to tinker with his phone but didn't get anything out of it. "Hang on, lemme go ask someone else and see if they've got any bars."
"Oh hey, look over there! It's Ryuji and Mona!"
The voice that called out was clearly Yosuke's, and as the two moved their attention towards him, they saw that he was walking towards them alongside Yukiko and Chie.
"Aw thank god, at least we didn't lose everyone," Ryuji sighed in relief. "Anyone else with you guys?"
Chie shook her head. "Nope, it's just us."
"And even we barely managed to stay together," said Yosuke tiredly. "One second we're walking through the main entrance, and the next a swarm of people came outta nowhere. Next thing ya know, the three of us are just standing around wondering what the hell happened."
"Well, anyway, are any of your guys' phones workin'?" Ryuji inquired. "Mine's not getting any reception, I'm hopin' one of you has better luck."
"Oh, so it's the same with you too, huh?" Yukiko mused.
"Guess that answers that," Ryuji muttered. "But damn, for real? What are the odds, huh?"
"Better than you're probably thinking," said Mona.
When he received a few confused looks, the black cat gestured a paw towards a nearby warning posted that had caught his eye. It read as follows:
Valued Festival Goers,
Due to the meteor shower, it is expected that cellular phones will experience a high degree of interference. This will affect internet connection, wireless calls, and messaging services. Please be aware and exercise appropriate caution.
"…yeah, that sounds about right," Ryuji sighed, his shoulders slumping forward.
"Huh, I was about to say the same thing," Yosuke remarked. "But it's not that big a deal, right? Worst case scenario is that we don't meet up with everyone until midnight."
Mona nodded. "True. I guess we may as well enjoy the festival while we can."
"Now you're speaking my language," Ryuji stated eagerly. "Plus, who's to say we don't run into some of the others while we're off havin' fun?"
"Well, it's definitely possible," said Yosuke with a chuckle. "But anyway, let's just stay close together, yeah? The last thing we want is for the five of us to lose one another. Ain't that right, Chie, Yukiko?"
When no response was given, he turned around to see that somehow, someway, the two young women were nowhere to be seen. Even Mona and Ryuji were looked around like something supernatural had just happened considering that they too had just been looking at the pair until just a second ago.
"Yep, saw that coming," said Yosuke, nodding with a bitter expression of disbelief on his face.
"This will affect internet connection, wireless calls, and messaging services," Yu read. "Guess that explains our phones not working."
"Yep," said Ren plainly. "So, any ideas of how to find everyone?"
"Well, I…" Yu said. He paused as something caught his eye. He laughed slightly, saying, "Actually, yeah, I think I do."
He pointed over towards none other than the Nijima sisters, who had also noticed the two of them in turn. They were walking up to them in a hurry, almost as if they feared losing them again if they didn't.
"Thank goodness," Makoto said, clear relief in her voice. "If nothing else, at least we've managed to find someone."
"My thoughts exactly," said Ren.
"I take it that your phones aren't working?" Sae questioned.
Neither of them replied and instead Yu gestured a hand towards the notice that he and Ren were just reading. It didn't take long for either of the two sisters to finish reading it.
"And I take it neither of you have found anyone else?" Makoto pressed.
Ren shook his head. "Nope."
"Sounds about right," Makoto muttered. "So, um… what now?"
"I imagine this is the part where we start to enjoy the festival," Ren answered cheekily.
"…I beg your pardon?" asked Makoto confusedly.
"Actually, I think he's right. Not much else we can do at this point," Yu chimed in.
"True," nodded Sae in agreement. "Although we may end up running into some of the others while we're moving through the festival area, I don't think it's a wise use of our time to walk around randomly in the hopes that we find them. Besides, we all know where and when to meet up, so it isn't as if we'll all be separated for the whole night."
"Couldn't have put it better myself," replied Yu with a smile. "So, shall we?"
With that, the four of them started to walk off into the nearest festival section. They quickly found themselves walking down an isle of booth games that was crowded with people.
"It's really amazing to see the festival attract such big crowds," Makoto said as if in awe. "With so many people, it's no wonder we got separated so easily."
"Honestly, I still can't figure out how that happened," said Sae, cupping her chin in thought. "I mean, even after we got swept up in that flood of people, for us to lose each other so easily literally doesn't make any sense."
"Try not to think about it too much," Yu stated. "We are here to have fun, remember?"
"True," Sae said. She inched a bit closer towards the tall young man as they walked. "So, was there anything in particular you wanted to do first?"
"Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing," Yu replied cheekily.
"Too bad," Sae shot back. "I beat you to it, so that means I expect an honest answer instead of a 'what would you like to do, Sae?'."
Yu flashed a playful grin. "Hey, how'd you know what I was going to say?"
"Call it a lucky guess," Sae replied, rolling her eyes as she did so.
Makoto looked at her sister with skeptical eyes as she continued to chat up Yu. She had a sneaking suspicion that despite her earlier words, the entire reason she wanted to go out and enjoy the festival was so she could get some quality time with a certain Wild Card. The smile on her face all but screamed as much.
'I wonder just how much she intends to push the issue tonight,' Makoto thought with a sigh. 'If she gets the opportunity, then would she—?'
"…Makoto?" came Ren's voice, breaking her out of her thoughts.
"H-Hm?" she stammered cutely, appearing as if she were a deer caught in a pair of headlights. "Oh, um… yes?"
"I was just checking to see if you were all good," Ren said, stifling a chuckle. "You looked really lost in thought there for a second."
Makoto shook her head, managing a small smile as she replied, "Oh, I'm totally fine. In fact, I—"
In a turn of events that took Makoto completely by surprise, Ren lightly grabbed ahold of her shoulders and pulled her closer towards him. Her eyes went wide and her face started to turn the same color as her eyes, though her embarrassment quickly died down when she realized he was only pulling her out of the path of a couple of drunk young adults.
"Thanks," Makoto simply replied.
"Don't mention it," Ren said pleasantly. "Try to stay as close as you can to me, okay? At least until the crowds start to thin out."
Makoto nodded. "R-Right."
She knew that Ren probably didn't mean anything by that. He said it too casually and so innocently that it was impossible for her to misinterpret why he'd said what he had. However, Makoto still felt her heartbeat quicken as she leaned in closer to his side.
They were so close to one another that she could feel his hand moving through the air next to hers. The brunette couldn't stop herself from sneaking a few glances every now and then, and every time she did so, she got the sudden urge to reach out and grab ahold of it as they walked. She knew she shouldn't and so she tried her best to get that thought out of her head, but that turned out to be easier said than done.
Whether it was lucky or unlucky, a distraction quickly came up.
"Aw, damn! Almost had it!"
"Yep, almost. But hey, even if you didn't get top prize, you've still got all this to choose from!"
Hearing the booming voice nearby happened to draw Ren's attention towards one of the nearby stands. It was a gun-shooting game with rubber pellets that were meant to be fired at a set number of targets.
"Ah, must be a shatkei booth," Makoto mused observationally.
"Have you ever played?" Ren inquired.
"The last time I've even seen one was when I was six or seven years old, so no, not really," Makoto admitted.
"Then let's change that, shall we?" Ren said mischievously. "Hey, Yu, Sae-san, feel like making our first stop?"
The two silver-haired young adults looked back to see the Wild Card gesturing to the shooting stand, which was at the moment completely open.
"Sure thing," Yu replied.
"No issues here," said Sae.
With that the four made their way towards the festival game while a crowd of people were freshly exiting. The owner of the booth, a cheerful middle-aged man of average height, greeted them with a wide grin.
"Perfect timing," said the owner cheerfully. "So, what'll it be?"
"One round for the two of us," Makoto replied, pointing to herself and her former underclassman.
"Sounds good," the man said with a nod. He looked towards the older duo. "And for you two?"
"I'm game," stated Yu.
"I'll pass, actually," Sae uttered politely.
"Not interested in playing, sis?" Makoto inquired.
"Not particularly."
"I see," Yu said with a calm nod. "It's just as well. At least now I don't have to worry about one-upping you."
Although the Wild Card's voice had been perfectly calm and ordinary, beneath it was somehow a cheeky undertone. He knew exactly what he was doing, and so it came as no surprise to him when Sae glared at him with a deep fire burning in the pits of her beautiful crimson eyes.
"Is that so?" Sae shot back, crossing her arms annoyedly. "In that case, how about we make this interesting? Whoever scores lower pays for the winner's entry fee."
"And if we tie?" Yu asked.
Sae's glare deepened. "Then we keep going until one of us loses."
"Sounds good to me."
Of course, that wasn't really how the game was supposed to go, but the owner of the booth was too intimidated by the competitive aura burning off of the elder Nijima to argue with her.
"Ehem, right," the middle-aged man said. "The fee is five-hundred yen per round. The goal is to knock down each of the cups, and you'll earn a certain number of points for each cup you knock down."
"Understood," replied Sae.
With brutal efficiency, she put the money on the table, took the nearest gun, and started blasting each of the targets from left to right. Every one of them was knocked down flawlessly—each falling one after the other without missing a beat.
Although Yu was slower to start, he was no less impressive. In no time flat, both of the two had cleared out their first set of targets, each earning a flawless score without breaking so much as a sweat.
The display was so eye-catching that even random people walking by had frozen in place, staring wide-eyed at both Yu and Sae as the waited patiently for the targets to be lined up again.
Meanwhile, both Ren and Makoto were just standing off to the side, having barely just picked up their guns before the older pair had started off again.
It came as no surprise that the intensity, particularly from Sae, only escalated from there.
"…and I thought you were competitive," Ren whispered.
"Well, I am, but sis is on another level entirely from me when it comes to that," Makoto grimaced. "Honestly, Yu-san is either a complete idiot for getting her riled up like this, or he's just braver than anyone I've ever met before."
"If he's anything like me, it's probably a bit of both," Ren said jokingly. "Speaking of which…"
After he trailed off, the raven-haired teen brought up his gun and effortlessly took down all of his targets in five seconds flat. When he was finished, he looked back over towards his former senpai and gave her a subtle but clearly taunting smirk.
Even if the Wild Card's display hadn't been as flashy as the clash of the titan's going on right next to him, it didn't need to be. Clearly, he only meant for one person to see his display of skill, and she'd seen every last second of it.
Makoto shook her head amusedly. "I know what you're doing, you know."
"Oh, do you now?" Ren asked playfully.
"Yes, I do," Makoto stated. She gave him a pleasant smile, then adding, "Which is why I hope you enjoy losing, because that's what's about to happen."
In the minutes that followed, the game's owner continued to go back and forth setting up row after row of targets only for them to be almost instantly mowed down. He'd have stopped and just declared the whole thing a draw, but even he himself was curious to see exactly how this would all play out.
Eventually, the first of the two competitions came to an end, with one of Sae's shots just barely missing its mark by hitting the rightmost side of her target. Whether it was the wind throwing the rubber pellet of course or her own error was impossible to say, but the end result was for one of her targets to be left standing while Yu had downed all of his.
"Damn," cursed Sae under her breath, clenching her teeth at the anger-inducing sting of defeat. She took a deep calming breath before placing her gun down and turning her sights towards Yu. "Looks like it's your win. Congratulations."
"Barely, yeah," Yu replied.
His humility fell on deaf ears.
"Perhaps so, perhaps not. I'm just surprised that you didn't throw away a win. You know, like you normally do."
"Well, if I had, you'd never let me hear the end of it," Yu stated, and correctly so.
Though it had taken up until that point, the booth's operator finally snapped back to reality. He cleared his throat, ready to address his customers.
"I, uh… I can safely say I've never seen anything quite like that before," said the owner. He scratched his head. "As far as prizes and your fees go, I don't even know what to say. I lost count of how many targets you'd hit, so… W-Well, how about this: You can have your pick of the prizes, but I'll only charge you for the one round. Sound good?"
"Yeah, sounds good to me," said Yu.
As the winner, he would of course be the one to get the prize. However, before he even started to go over his options, he stared back at Sae and took a good long look. He saw exactly what he was expecting to see—a very annoyed Sae Nijima trying desperately to keep her bitterness from showing. She was trying too hard, actually; it got to the point that she didn't even notice that he was staring at her in the first place.
Yu inwardly sighed, knowing that doing what he was about to was perhaps not the smartest thing to do with all things being considered. Still, he knew he was going to do it anyway, so there was no use dwelling on it.
"I think I'll take this," Yu said plainly.
As the owner nodded, a curious Sae watched as the Wild Card picked up an intricate-looking bookmark. Although it was simple, it was incredibly well made.
"Well, even if I lost, I'm glad you at least have good taste in prizes," Sae said half-jokingly.
"Glad you like it," Yu said with a chuckle.
He looked at the silver-haired young woman with a gentle smile as he held the bookmark out towards her. Even if it couldn't have been more obvious what he was doing, she was confused, at least at first.
"This would be the part where you take it," Yu stated cheekily.
Sae sighed, her lips curling up in an amused smirk. "Since I know you'll end up giving me that bookmark no matter what I say, I'll skip to the part where I say 'thank you'."
Despite what she'd said, when she took the bookmark into her hands and looked down on it, there was a soft look in Sae's beautiful crimson eyes. It was obvious she'd wanted to accept it the second she realized what he was doing.
"I'll make sure to take good care of it," Sae remarked as she placed it within the interior of her kimono. "And I'll also try my best not to remember the loss that led to this gift in the first place whenever I use it."
"There really is no winning with you, is there?" Yu uttered half-joked.
"Don't let that stop you from trying," Sae replied playfully.
Off on the other side, the match between the younger pair had also come to a close. A frustrated Makoto released a deep sigh as she placed down her toy gun, having fought a closer than expected match, but still losing out to Ren.
"Well won," Makoto said, her words gracious but her tone completely defeated.
"Oh, come on, cheer up. You did great," Ren stated.
"I suppose…"
It didn't take a genius to realize that Makoto was a bit deflated after the loss. Of course, Ren had expected that and already knew what he needed to do to lift her mood. He took a look at the prizes and immediately spotted something that would do exactly that.
"Excuse me, boss," said Ren, addressing the owner. "Am I good to take that right over there?"
The raven-haired teen pointed to a stuffed panda bear and the middle-aged man politely nodded in response. After it was in his hands, he wasted no time in turning towards Makoto and holding it out towards her. Although she was completely confused at first, it didn't take her long to realize what he was doing.
"You do like pandas, right?" Ren asked.
Makoto cleared her throat a bit nervously as she replied, "Y-Yeah, just a bit. I hope you know that you didn't have to get something for me, you know."
"I know," Ren answered. He smiled charmingly as he added, "I wanted to."
On reflex, the brunette felt herself squeezing the stuffed animal tightly, which thankfully helped her remain calm. She looked back at Joker, a warm look on her face that she simply couldn't have changed even if she tried.
"Thank you, Ren. It's perfect," Makoto stated.
"What's perfect now?" Sae inquired as both she and Yu joined the two.
Barely any time had passed before the elder Nijima noticed her younger sister holding a large panda bear stuffed animal. That at least explained why she'd sounded so happy.
"…your consolation prize, I take it?" Sae asked amusedly.
Makoto averted her gaze. "W-Well, I wouldn't put it like that, but… Hey, wait, how'd you know?"
The silver-haired young woman took out the bookmark from the inner-pocket of her kimono and showed it to her sister.
"I'll give you one guess," Sae stated in a playful tone.
"That's one more than I'd need," Makoto said through a laugh. "Looks like the Wild Cards won this round, doesn't it?"
"Don't worry, all that means is the score's tied up one to one," commented Ren.
"And let's keep it that way, at least for tonight," Yu said. "We are here to have fun, after all."
"True," Ren stated with a nod. "Anyway, where to next?"
The four of them started walking off side by side, leaving the owner of the booth to watch with a nostalgic smile. He couldn't help but chuckle as he noticed Sae inching closer to Yu as they continued to move away, and of course Makoto was doing the same with Ren.
"Those two were smooth operators if ever I've seen one," the man chuckled. "I just hope it doesn't land them in a world of trouble one day…"
Futaba Sakura was not having a good time.
The orange-haired teen was completely on her own, having not found a single one of her friends after they'd gotten separated at the entrance. She had no internet connection, her phone couldn't even call anyone, and then, to top it all off, her situation was only made worse by the large crowds that seemed to follower her everywhere. Then there was the fact that she had absolutely no idea whatsoever where she was.
'There's got to be a map around here somewhere,' Futaba thought. 'Okay, think: If I were a map, where would I be…?'
Her train of thought was rudely interrupted by a drunken college student that almost walked straight into her. Futaba had managed to avoid a collision, but the person that'd nearly smacked into her didn't even notice and just walked away like nothing had happened at all.
She was really, really not having a good time.
"Ugh, this sucks," Futaba groaned.
The hacking prodigy started to look around in frustration, her heart still set on finding a map.
Thankfully, she found something even better. Or rather, someone.
"Futaba…?" Yusuke spoke up.
When the aspiring artist's voice graced her ears, Futaba instantly turned towards him with relief shining through her expression.
"Oh thank god," Futaba practically exhaled. "Yusuke, you have no idea how happy I am to see you."
"Actually, I think I can imagine," Yusuke said with a friendly smile. "I take it you've been on your own until this point as well?"
"Yep," Futaba said bitterly. "I thought I saw Naoto and Kanji a few minutes ago, but that was only for like two seconds before they vanished into thin air again."
"Hmm, I see," Yusuke muttered somberly. "I also haven't had any luck finding anyone else. Although at the very least, we've now found each other."
Futaba nodded. "True. So, wanna just walk around a bit? Maybe see if we can find some of the others while we're at it?"
Although it was a very simple suggestion, it seemed to force Yusuke into a state of deep consideration. That of course confused Futaba, who had no idea whatsoever how saying something so basic would've gotten such a serious reaction.
"Uh, you good?" Futaba pressed.
"I'm perfectly fine. I was simply wondering if that would be the best use of our time," Yusuke explained, his expression returning to normal. "Unless you'd prefer to wander around aimlessly in search of our friends."
"Well, it's not like I'd prefer it, but…"
"Then there you have it," Yusuke said with a solemn nod. "In that case, is there anything in particular you wanted to do? Perhaps you have a specific festival game in mind?"
Futaba looked at him strangely. "What's with you being so considerate all of a sudden?"
"Well, you see, I truly don't have a preference so long as we're having fun," Yusuke stated matter-of-factly. "With that in mind, I think it only makes sense that we do something that would bring you the most joy."
The aspiring artist didn't think for even a second that he said anything odd. However, despite that, he noticed that Futaba was giving him an odd look. At least odd in the sense that he didn't understand what kind of look it was.
It was too blank for him to read.
"…have I said something wrong?" Yusuke wondered aloud.
"No, not at all," replied Futaba, shaking her head as she came back to reality. She averted her gaze a bit shyly. "Well, um… if you're okay with it, I kinda wanted to try goldfish scooping."
"That's perfectly fine with me. By all means, lead the way." Yusuke said with a small but warm smile.
A sea of people continued to flood every which way around Yukiko Amagi as she tried her best to find Chie in the crowds. However, it was like finding a needle in a haystack.
"—and he was like 'wooooah~'."
"Hahaha, no way!"
"—and they just—!"
Scratch that; it was even worse.
'Come on, Chie, I was just with you five seconds ago,' Yukiko thought with a sigh.
A random festival goer suddenly bumped into her left side, and it was rough enough that she quickly found herself losing balance. Although she tried her best, she started to fall over onto the ground, and she'd have landed chest-first on the dirt were it not for a certain someone grabbing ahold of her and helping her up.
Yukiko half-expected it to be Chie, but when she looked up, to her surprise, it wasn't. In front of her was none other than Akihiko Sanada, though instead of his usual suit and gloves, he wore a bright red yukata with black trimmings.
Despite that being a surprise, it wasn't an unwelcome one.
"Wow, you really do have perfect timing," Yukiko said jokingly as she was fully helped to her feet.
"Sadly, this is what I'd call fashionably late at best," replied Akihiko with a chuckle. He fully helped the raven-haired heiress to her feet. "I'd intended to meet up with all of you at the entrance when you first got here. Yu invited me and was pretty insistent that I come, but I got held up for a bit. That, and traffic was more brutal than I thought."
"Well, fashionably late or not, I appreciate the save," Yukiko stated with a smile.
"Anytime," Akihiko stated cheerfully. "So, where is everybody? Or did you get separated from the rest?"
Yukiko sweatdropped. "Funny you should ask that. You see, all of us got separated shortly after walking through the main entrance. I'm not even sure quite how it all happened, to be honest…"
"Hmm, I see," muttered Akihiko in understanding. "That's pretty hard to believe, but I guess I've seen stranger things happen. So, you haven't run into anyone else yet?"
"Well…"
As if on cue, Chie appeared out of nowhere through a small gap in the crowds. She had an urgent look on her face at first, but it was replaced with an expression of relief the second her eyes landed on her raven-haired best friend.
"There you are! I've been looking all over for you!" Chie exclaimed. She released a frustrated sigh as she dusted off her kimono. "I turn away for two seconds and you vanish right out of thin air. How'd you even manage to do that?! Ugh, whatever, it's—wait, is that Akihiko-san?"
"Yep," Yukiko replied. "I'll explain that as we move though. Come on, we haven't gotten to see any of the festival so far!"
"Okay, but if you wander off on your own again, I'm gluing our hands together."
Yukiko nodded. "That seems reasonable to me. Although where would we get glue around here…?"
"Actually, I may know a place nearby," Akihiko remarked. It was unclear if he was joking or not.
"I was being—you know what, never mind," sighed Chie.
The group of the Nijima sisters and the Wild Cards were casually strolling down one of the many sections of the festival. They rounded a corner, and an all-too familiar sweet scent caught their attention.
"Ooh, I smell candied applies," Makoto cooed pleasantly.
"Same," said Ren. "Feel like getting one?"
"Yes! I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but for some reason I've always loved candied apples."
"Sounds good to me," said Yu casually. "How about you, Sae?"
"Well, I used to like candied applies…"
There was a bit of an awkward silence as Sae gave a slight glare towards Makoto while she in turn looked away out of embarrassment.
"I feel like we're missing context here," Yu commented blankly.
"I-It's nothing," Makoto replied. "She's just talking about a time when we were kids where I may have made her drop a candied apple while we were at a festival."
"You smacked it out of my hand," Sae stated pointedly, her eyes narrowing more so.
"It's not like I was trying to!" Makoto stated defensively.
"Oh, I agree," Sae replied, her voice heavy with sarcasm. "You were trying to take it for yourself and in the process smacked it out of my hands."
"Wait, really?" Ren asked, chuckling at the thought. "That doesn't sound like something you'd do, Makoto."
"I was five!"
"Be that as it may, my candied apple was no less ruined," Sae went on. "And to this day, I can't help but think of that memory whenever I see a candied apple. It sours my appetite immediately."
"It wasn't that bad though!" Makoto exclaimed. "Ugh, but then you started crying, and I started panicking. Then dad came back, and—!"
"Makoto," Sae uttered forcefully. "Stop. Talking."
The brunette hadn't realized what she'd done wrong until she remembered that Yu was standing right next to them. She didn't need to be a genius to know that Sae probably didn't want him to hear such those embarrassing details. Sadly for her, it was clear by the look on his face he'd heard every last word.
"Is that actually true?" Yu asked, doing his best to hide his amusement.
"What of it?" Sae shot back, her tone clearly a bit annoyed.
Yu held his hands up defensively. "Sorry, it's just that I can't really picture it. You crying over something like that, I mean."
"In fairness, I was nine years old at the time."
Makoto crossed her arms at her sister's words. "Oh, so that's a valid excuse for you, but not for me? And you were practically ten, by the way."
Yet again, Sae sent a death glare to her younger sibling, who, to her credit, didn't back down. That wasn't a good thing for those around them, though.
"I think we're getting a bit off topic here," Ren said, sweatdropping at the intense aura coming from the two sisters.
"Agreed," stated Yu. "How about we get some candied applies and try to make a memory that's a bit less traumatic."
"…fine," the two answered in unison.
The edge to their tones wasn't exactly comforting to hear, but at least they weren't directly at one another's throats. With that, they started off towards the nearest stand, and although the crowds were still a bit in the larger side, they managed to move around without much issue.
That was until they abruptly heard a loud scream.
"KYAAAA!"
"Gah—HOLY SHIT!"
Hearing those fear-filled shrieks caused all four of the Persona users to jolt. They looked around in search of what on earth could've caused something like that, though when they did, they quickly found the answer.
A short distance in front of them was a test of courage attraction, and an incredibly well made one by the looks of it. On top of being incredibly large, it definitely had a vibe to it that made the skin crawl.
"Huh, that's weird," Yu thought aloud.
"Agreed. I can't imagine why there'd be a test of courage here of all places," Sae stated.
As they walked past the small building itself, they heard another scream—this one far louder—alongside a demented laugh. Even though they were all more or less expecting it, somehow it still managed to catch them off guard.
'That's rather annoying,' Sae thought in agitation.
The crimson-eyed young woman tried to shake it off and keep moving forward, but she felt a noticeable weight suddenly hold her back. She was surprised to see that it was Makoto, who'd suddenly reached out and grabbed onto the sleeve of her kimono.
"…Makoto?" Sae uttered curiously.
"Yeah?"
Sae just looked at her sleeve and then back towards her sister, which seemed to get the message across. She pulled her hand away, giving off an awkward laugh as she did so.
"Sorry," Makoto said bashfully.
"It's fine, no need to apologize," Sae replied. "To be honest, I'm more concerned with the way you reacted just now. At your age, you really should be better at dealing with things like this."
"…I know," Makoto quietly admitted.
"Also, I still can't understand how you're able to fight Shadows effectively, and yet in the real world all it takes is a spooky-looking building and a scream?" Sae went on. "It really doesn't make any sense to me."
"I've actually thought about that before too…" Ren chimed in.
"It's not the same thing!" Makoto stated pointedly. "And I've been getting better! Honest!"
"At least she's been trying to," remarked Ren. "Haru mentioned there were mixed results."
"You're not helping!"
"Hmm…" hummed Sae in thought. "Alright then. In that case, why not put your progress to the test?"
Although her voice was plain, there was a bit of a sadistic glow in Sae's ruby-red eyes as she gestured towards the test of courage. It went without saying that Makoto immediately froze, and it was clear by the look of her ruby-red eyes that she didn't exactly love the idea.
"Um…" Makoto trailed off.
It was clear she was trying to find a way to worm her way out of her sister's suggestion, but for some reason, she was drawing a blank.
"Come on, it'll be both fun and good for you. I'll even do it too," Sae firmly stated. "In fact, I'll go in first."
Before Makoto could even say so much as a word, Sae marched directly towards the entrance of the test of courage. The brunette extended a hand in a pointless attempt at getting her to stay put, but of course it did absolutely nothing.
Makoto let loose a deep sigh. "I guess we're really doing this…"
"Looks like it," said Yu.
The Wild Cards walked up towards Sae alongside a very deflated Makoto. Soon enough, they caught up with the elder Nijima at the entrance to the test of courage, where they were greeted by a kind young woman with a bright and cheerful smile that seemed a bit ironic given what her job was.
"Ah, welcome," said the young woman. "So, which pair will be going in first?"
"Actually, it'll just be me at first followed by my sister," Sae replied.
"Oh…" said the woman, clearly about to give a bit of bad news. "Uh, you see, the thing is I can't really let you do that. We only let people do it in groups of two."
It didn't take long for Sae's eyes to shift over to a certain silver-haired, gray-eyed young man sitting off to her side. Of course, she could have just gone with Makoto instead, but she had a feeling this way would work out better for both of them.
"In that case, would you like to go in with me, Yu?" Sae asked, keeping her voice as casual as she could manage. "Unless you also don't do well with horror, of course."
"No, I'm totally fine," Yu replied. "But are you sure? I mean, it's kind of a 'couple thing'."
"If you're talking about the optics, it doesn't really bother me," Sae stated, yet again keeping an even tone. "So, unless it bothers you…"
"Not at all," Yu replied, shaking his head.
Of course, he really couldn't give any other answer even if he wanted to.
"Good, then it's settled," Sae remarked.
"Well alright then. Please go right ahead and follow the path laid out inside," said the young woman as she opened the front door for the pair. "Oh, and of course our rules are listed off just inside, though they basically boil down to 'don't touch anything'."
With a nod, the silver-haired duo walked into the building with the door closing behind them as they did so. A somewhat surprised Ren and Makoto were left behind, though two very different things were going through their heads.
"Guess that means the two of us will be going in next," reasoned Ren.
"Yep, looks like it," Makoto said. "N-Not that I'm relieved or anything. I could've handled it just fine by myself."
"Oh for sure," stated Ren, trying and failing to hide the sarcasm in his voice. "By the way, do you think that was weird just now?"
Makoto looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"
"Just that your sister seemed to totally forget we were here for a second," Ren explained. "I mean, she just went in with Yu without saying anything to us. You didn't think that was weird?"
The former Shujin class president visibly froze for a second.
"Not really," Makoto replied stiffly, avoiding eye contact as she did she did so. "S-Sis just probably thought she didn't need to explain that the two of us would head in after. I mean, you know how she hates to explain obvious things."
"Well, that's true."
A short distance away, both Yu and Sae were getting read to enter the haunted house. However, before they finally stepped foot inside, the Wild Card had to get one burning question off his chest.
"So…" began Yu, eying the silver-haired beauty skeptically. "Is this really about helping your sister get over her fears, or is this about the candied apple thing?"
"Who says it can't it be both?" Sae countered, trying to play innocent.
"I get the feeling it's more one over the other…"
"I can neither confirm nor deny said allegations."
"…of course."
The test of courage that both Sae and Yu had walked into was nothing short of a house of horrors. It was obvious even from the first few rooms that it both had an incredible budget and a team of highly dedicated people that had worked to set it up.
From the blood-spattered walls, to the animatronics, to the eerie sounds that seemed to jump out from every direction every ten seconds or so—every last detail of the display was ridiculously well done.
If it had been anyone other than Sae and Yu walking through it right now, the sound of horror-filled screams likely would've sounded off every other second.
"How're you holdin' up?" Yu asked conversationally.
"Please, this is nothing," Sae replied emotionlessly. "Although I will say that the animatronics in here are more advanced than I'd expect."
As if to prove her point, another jump-scare in the form of a large extremely realistic spider jumped out of a cabinet as they crossed the threshold of the kitchen, and with it came an ear-piercing shriek.
Neither of the two were phased whatsoever.
"Clearly not enough to scare you though," Yu commented.
"You're one to talk," Sae countered with a sly smirk. "You look even less afraid than I do, and that's saying something."
"I don't actually think that's possible," Yu joked back. "Seriously, is there anything that scares you even a little?"
"The only thing I'm afraid of is working overtime on holidays."
"How adult of you."
As they entered the next room. Sae turned her head and was ready to continue their back-and-forth, only for her to jolt when she felt something rub across her legs through her kimono. The fleshy and furred sensation caught her so off guard that she quite literally jumped into Yu's arms.
She didn't scream, but her startled face said it all.
"What's wrong? Are you okay?" Yu asked urgently.
"S-Something just moved across my legs. It felt alive, so…!"
When the crimson-eyed beaty looked down at the floor, she saw a black cat looking up at her with a pair of adorable, shining eyes. For a second, it looked almost like Morgana, though its fur was a bit lighter and its eyes were green instead of blue. Its tail waved back and forth playfully as it scratched its ear, and all-in-all, it couldn't have appeared more friendly even if it tried.
"Meow~"
"…a cat?" Sae uttered confusedly.
"Looks like it," said Yu. "Although if I had to guess, it's probably not a part of the display. It must've just wandered in on its own."
As Sae turned to respond, she realized that she was currently grabbing onto Yu so tightly that her body was practically smashed up against his. She pulled away slowly, doing so with an impressive amount of dignity.
Sae cleared her throat. "Sorry about that. Also, please don't tell Makoto."
Yu nodded. "Got it. I'll make sure not to mention you got scared by a cat."
The glare he received was almost immediate.
"I'm serious," Sae stated.
"I was too," Yu said reassuringly.
"And for the record, I wasn't scared. I was just startled."
"I don't know about that," Yu said, unable to hold back a cheeky smirk from showing itself across his lips. "I mean, the way you latched onto me really made it seem like—"
"Well, you're wrong, I wasn't," Sae interjected firmly. "And I might have separated sooner if you hadn't wrapped your arms around me. For all I know, you were just as startled as I was! You were certainly held onto me tightly enough."
"I mean, yeah, of course that's what I did," Yu stated in a plain tone of voice. "When I saw you react that way, I thought something seriously bad had happened. I wanted to make sure you didn't get hurt or anything like that."
Even if the Wild Card's reasoning was predictable, it somehow caught Sae completely off guard. She could feel her face start to heat up, and in that moment, she was just thankful the lighting was so terrible that there was almost no way he would be able to notice.
"That's sweet of you to say…" Sae uttered cutely.
She hadn't meant to say that out loud, but thankfully it had come out in a voice below even that of a whisper.
Yu raised a brow, having not heard her clearly. "Hm?"
"I-I was just saying that what you did was unnecessary," Sae replied. "However, be that as it may… thank you."
"Don't mention it," Yu said.
Although the silver-haired beauty couldn't properly see it, she was sure that he had a warm smile as he'd spoken just now. Of course, she was right.
"Anyway, let's continue on to the end. I'm sure Makoto and Ren will get worried if we stay in here too long."
"True. We should be fine though, as long as we don't run into any more cats of course."
Somehow, someway, the glare that Sae then gave Yu shined through even the near-total darkness of the room they were standing in. In fact, her fierce, glowing crimson eyes were probably the scariest thing he'd seen so far in the haunted house.
"Not funny?" Yu asked, stating the obvious.
Sae glared at him even more so. "I'll pay you back for that later."
"Yep," announced Kanji with a firm nod as he looked at the surrounding booth areas. "I've got no idea where the hell we are."
"Sadly, neither do I," sighed Naoto.
"How'd we even end up over here anyway? It feels like one second we were walkin' in next to everyone, and then bam, they're gone, and we're here."
"Agreed. It certainly doesn't make any sense even at face value, and it makes even less so the more you think about it," Naoto grumbled. "Fortunately, I think I see a map over there."
"Huh? Where?" asked Kanji.
Naoto just pointed directly next to him and he immediately wondered how he'd missed it. You didn't exactly need to be an ace detective to notice it in such an obvious place, after all.
It took them almost no time at all to find where they were on the map, which though not exactly massive, was at least well-marked.
"Okay, so we're here," Naoto began. She pressed her finger down on the surface and moved it from their current location towards the entrance they'd walked in from. "Although how we managed to get so far away from there, I have no idea."
"You and me both," Kanji remarked. "Anyway, where do you think the others are?"
Naoto cupped her chin, humming in thought for a time.
"That depends on who they wound up with after we separated, if anyone at all," she reasoned. "For example, if Chie and Yukiko are together, I'd say they'd be making their way towards the 'test of strength' games right about now. But if either of the two were on their own, then—"
The detective's analysis was cut off by the cries of a sobbing child close by. It was so loud that it immediately grabbed both her and Kanji's attention, leading them towards exactly what they'd expect to see: a boy, probably around six or seven years old, standing a short distance away bawling his eyes out.
Their first instinct was to see if his parents were anywhere near by, but when they notice that no one was at the boy's side, it became obvious why he was crying in the first place.
"That kid over there must've lost his parents or somethin'," Kanji stated.
"My thoughts exactly," agreed Naoto.
They waited a few more seconds to see if maybe the kid's parents had just stepped away for a second, but again it became clear that wasn't the case. No one came to his side—in fact, person after person, mostly young college students, passed the kid by and avoided looking or moving near him as if he were the plague.
Just the sight of that boiled their blood.
"Dickheads," Kanji grumbled.
Without giving it a second thought, he took it upon himself to walk over towards the crying child.
Kanji knelt down by his side and did his absolute best to appear as friendly as he possibly could. He smiled warmly, and when he did speak up, he did so in as comforting a voice as he possibly could have.
"Hey, kid, did you lose your parents?"
The boy stopped crying for a moment and looked at Kanji with his tear-soaked eyes. Seconds passed and he was quiet, but then it happened…
He started crying even harder than before.
"B-BWAAHAA!"
"W-Wha?!" Kanji exclaimed in shock. "Um, hey, kid, come on, I'm tryin' to help you out here."
"BWAAAH!"
The level of awkwardness that Kanji started to feel in that moment was probably greater than anything he'd ever felt before in his life. He had no idea what he had to do to calm the boy down and by that point he was just softly moving his arms around like an idiot because he literally didn't know what else to do.
"U-Uh…." Kanji trailed off confusedly.
Abruptly, Naoto knelt down next to Kanji before reaching in to the inner pocket of her Kimono to take out her badge. She looked at the child softly, perhaps even more so than Kanji had before.
"Excuse me. My name is Naoto Shirogane, and I'm a detective that works with the police. Your parents did tell you to always look for police officers if you need help, didn't they?" Naoto began.
Yet again the boy stopped crying, though this time it wasn't temporary. When he understood what Naoto had said and looked at her badge, he nodded meekly as if to answer her question.
"Good," Naoto stated.
"…do you always carry that badge with you?" Kanji asked.
"Yes, of course," Naoto stated as if the answer were obvious. She turned her attention back to the young child. "Would you mind telling me your name?"
"K-Kozue," he replied.
"Did you get separated from your parents, Kozue-kun?"
Again, the boy nodded.
"Do you remember where you last saw them?"
Tears started to fall from his cheeks again as he shook his head, but that was all.
"That's okay. We'll… hmm."
The detective's humming was a sound that Kanji knew could only mean one thing: She'd found something. He was about to ask exactly what it was, but she found the solution before he even managed to speak.
"That wristband on your left hand," began Naoto, "Did you get that recently?"
"Huh?" muttered the boy. He looked back down at his own wrist as if he were shocked to see that the band was there in the first place. "Hey, yeah! Y-Yeah, I did!"
"From a nice-looking older man with short gray hair?"
"Um… yes, definitely! For sure!"
"Alright, good to know," Naoto said, a confident smile now showing across her features.
"Uh, okay, now I'm the one that's lost," Kanji remarked. "Why's the band and the old dude important?"
"The band was given out for a small flower maze we passed a short while ago. I noticed it while I was scanning the area for the others. As for the elderly gentleman, he was the one giving them out," Naoto explained. "Since it's nearby, and since our young friend likely hasn't been separated from his parents for too long, it's a safe assumption that the last time he'd seen his parents was then. My guess is that he ran out of the maze thinking his parents were right behind him, only to then find out that they weren't a short bit ago."
The boy tapped his chin in thought, his eyes eventually lighting up in realization a few seconds later.
"Y-Yeah! That's what happened! I was with mom and dad, and then I left the maze, and then I wasn't!"
"How you managed to remember all that for him is unreal to me," said Kanji with a chuckle. "So, what's our next move?"
Naoto stood up, cupping her chin in thought. "Well, if his parents saw what direction he ran off, they'd probably have found him by now, therefore we can assume that they didn't. That means their next move would be to seek the nearest assistance center."
"Yeah, that makes sense to me," agreed Kanji. "I'll go find the closest one on the map."
"No need for that. I know the location already," Naoto replied.
"Guess I shouldn't be surprised," Kanji uttered amusedly.
Naoto looked reassuringly towards the child. "My friend and I are going to help take you to your parents, okay? We know where they're likely to be, so just stay close to us and we'll make sure you get back to them safe and sound."
The boy nodded, but as Naoto started to turn away so as to lead them towards his parents, he suddenly latched onto her leg as if she were one of the parents, he was trying to find in the first place.
A stunned Naoto looked over towards Kanji, though the only thing he did in response was laugh.
"Um, this isn't exactly what I meant when I said to stay close," Naoto uttered awkwardly. "You might actually be better off hanging on to my friend over there. Besides, I have to lead us anyway, so—"
"I don't wanna! The tall man is super scary!" the boy exclaimed.
Now it was the brunette's turn to be stunned.
"Wha…?" Kanji uttered in disbelief.
And now it was Naoto's turn to laugh.
"…typical," Kanji huffed. "I mean, I kinda get it, but still!"
Insert Festival Name Venue: Test of Courage Front Area
Ren and Makoto continued to stand in place, waiting for Sae and Yu to finally come out. However, only one of them was calm, cool, and collected. The other started to look worse and worse with each passing second.
Of course, that person was Makoto.
'I kidna feel bad for her,' Ren thought.
The former Shujin council president looked tenser than maybe he'd ever seen her before. It was starting to genuinely worry him.
"You holding up okay?" Ren couldn't help but ask.
"Yep, all good," Makoto replied. "Couldn't be better. Yep, totally okay. I can definitely do this."
If he hadn't been so concerned, Ren might've busted out laughing at hearing her say that. She sounded like Futaba did whenever she was about to walk through a crowd of people to get to something she wanted in Akihabara.
Before he could say anything else, however, something incredibly random happened to tear his attention away from Makoto. A black cat casually walked out of the haunted house's exit before it ran off towards the festival.
"…was that a cat?" Makoto uttered confusedly.
"Yeah, and for a second, I thought it was Mona. Clearly not though," Ren commented.
Seconds later, the two older members of their little group made their way out of the display's exit. They made their way over towards them, and they greeted them cheerfully.
"So, how was it?" Ren inquired.
"Really well put together. More so than you'd expect," said Yu.
"Although it doesn't look like it managed to scare either of you two even a little," Ren said with a wry grin. "Oh, did you see a cat while you were in there? We randomly saw one come out and run off over that way."
"You could say we ran into it," Yu stated.
The joking nature of his tone almost immediately caused Sae to stealthily plant her foot over his own. She pressed down hard enough for him to feel it but also made sure it was light enough to let him know she'd do worse if he kept running his mouth.
"We saw it for only a split-second, but then it ran off," Sae stated. She looked up towards the silver-haired Wild Card, and, taking a page out of Rise's book, she gave him a sickeningly sweet smile that masked killer intent. "Right?"
Yu nodded. "Yes. The cat was definitely not important whatsoever."
The robotic way that he spoke more than raised a brow on the parts of Makoto and Ren. They just had no idea why on earth he'd be talking like that.
"Ignore his odd sense of humor. He was cracking jokes the entire time we were walking through—probably because he was bored to seeing things that didn't even come close to scaring him," Sae stated. "Anyway, I'll hold onto your stuffed panda, Makoto. Then the two of you are free to head in."
"O-Oh, um… sure," Makoto stammered.
The brunette gave her stuffed animal to her sister before she and Ren headed for the entrance. The way she moved though made it seem as if she had an anchor tied to her feet. Still, inevitably, they were in front of the young woman manning the entrance to the test of courage.
"Okay, are you two ready to go?" asked the attendant.
"Yep," said Ren plainly.
"As I'll ever be," Makoto uttered quietly.
"Awesome, then please follow me!"
As the young woman guided the pair towards a torn-up door leading into what was clearly a dark room, the sight of which had already started to give Makoto goosebumps. She continued to take deep breaths to get herself under control as best as she could.
'Relax, you're probably making it out to be scarier than it'll actually be,' Makoto thought. 'It probably won't be that bad.'
It would, in fact, be 'that bad'.
When Makoto and Ren crossed the door's threshold, they were greeted by a sight that took both of them by surprise. The room was somehow darker and more ominous inside than it appeared on the outside, and that was to say nothing of the blood-spattered walls, the torn-up furniture, or the random sounds that suddenly came and went from every corner of the room.
'Crap,' thought Makoto. She squeezed the palm of her hands together, taking another deep breath. 'It's okay, you can do this. I mean, Ren's here too, and—'
"Hehehe…!"
A raspy laugh came from a nearby wall, where a number of bright-red eyeballs opened up from the wallpaper and looked directly at Makoto. She immediately jolted backwards and latched onto Ren's arm. When the embedded eyes closed up, she breathed a sigh of relief, now no longer afraid after the initial shock had passed.
That was when she realized how she was holding Ren's arm, and of course on reflex she let go and stepped away a bit awkwardly.
"S-Sorry about that," apologized Makoto.
"It's fine, I get it," Ren stated. He looked back at the wall, saying, "And Yu was right, this place is really well put together."
"Lucky us," Makoto grimaced.
They walked into the next room where three mannequins that sat at a table off to the side as if waiting for a meal to be served. Each of them was completely faceless and plain white in color, though bits of red clearly meant to be blood covered parts of their bodies. At first, Makoto thought they weren't all that scary—at least until their heads started to move. Even though the plastic figures didn't have eyes, they looked directly over at both she and Ren as if they did.
Yet again, Makoto could feel herself starting to freak out, but yet again she kept herself together. She looked forward and took a deep breath before she started walking again, only to freeze as she noticed something out of the corner of her eye.
She could've sworn that as she took a few steps forward, the heads on the mannequins started to move. As if to test out whether or not that was true, she took another couple of steps forward, and then a few steps back. Each time, the heads moved with her.
"Why are they only staring at me?!" Makoto shouted, her voice holding both fear and annoyance.
Without any hesitation, the brunette started to walk towards the next room, only to end up heading straight for another jump scare. As she neared the exit, a skeletal hand pushed one of the cabinets open from the inside, revealing an incredibly creepy-looking skull within it that was peeking out at her from just a few feet away.
She almost immediately jumped back towards Ren for cover.
"Okay, who comes up with this stuff?! And why is it even an attraction at a festival in the middle of summer?!" Makoto exclaimed.
"…you know, I was kinda wondering the same thing," Ren said with a sigh. He looked sympathetically at one of his closest friends. "We could just head back now, you know."
"No, I'm good," Makoto instantly replied.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
Despite her response, she started to hold onto his sleeve even tighter than before. It couldn't have been more obvious that she was scared, but at the same time she had her classic Makoto stubbornness that simply wouldn't let her back down.
'There's nothing I can say that'll get her to change her mind,' Ren thought, and correctly so. 'Still, I don't think I can really take seeing her like this for much longer.'
At that point, all he wanted to do was to try and make it easier on her in any way he could. So, with that in mind, Ren made a gap between his arm and his body for her to latch on to. However, things didn't go exactly as he'd hoped since Makoto instead got the impression that he was trying to shake her off.
"Hm? What are…?" Makoto trialed off. She soon let go of his sleeve, her eyes now fear-stricken for an entirely different reason. "Sorry, I didn't mean to bother you by grabbing on just now! I-I was just—"
"What? No, I didn't mind that at all," Ren stated firmly. "I just figured you may want to stay a bit closer since… you know."
When the Wild Card pushed his arm out towards her, Makoto finally did understand what he was actually trying to do. Her face started to heat up and her eyes went wide, but she kept herself composed. After all, even if he was offering his shoulder for her to lean on, it was clear he was doing it out of concern—the look in his eyes was proof enough of that.
"Thanks," Makoto simply replied.
As Makoto wrapped her arms around his, she couldn't help but feel just a bit guilty. Ren had offered what he had because he wanted to help her feel less afraid. In a way, he was doing just that, but it definitely wasn't in the way he'd intended.
The truth was that when she squeezed his arm tight and leaned her head on his shoulder, she wasn't doing either of those two things because she was afraid.
She was doing it because she wanted to.
"…Makoto?" Ren uttered.
When she heard her name called, Makoto realized that her surroundings were entirely different from what she was expecting. In front of her was now the literal light at the end of the tunnel in the form of the haunted house's exit.
'What?' Makoto wondered confusedly. 'But when did we get here? We were just…'
The more she went through everything in her head, the more Makoto found herself able to vaguely picture the rest of the test of courage they'd just gone through. However, she couldn't picture any of the finer details at all. She could remember maybe a jump scare or two—and something about a spider—but that was it.
'It's like I mentally checked out the second I grabbed onto his arm…' Makoto thought, feeling more than embarrassed as she realized just how true that was.
"Are you okay? You've been a bit quiet for a while now," Ren stated.
"I'm fine. I was just spacing out a little just now," Makoto said, almost laughing at herself. She let go of his arm before turning to give the Wild Card a wide, appreciative smile. "Looks like we're just about done now though. Thanks, by the way. I don't know if I would've survived all that without you."
"Don't mention it," Ren replied. "And I do mean that literally. If you told your sister about what happened, I'm pretty sure she'd get the wrong idea and immediately kill me."
"I'll keep it to myself then," Makoto said amusedly. "Come on, let's get out of here."
As the two of them made their way back to the front area of the haunted house, Sae took notice of them. She seemed to be pleasantly surprised by how unshaken Makoto appeared to be.
"So, how was it?" Sae inquired.
"Not as bad as I thought it would be," Makoto admitted. "Although it probably would've been worse if I didn't have Ren with me."
"I really didn't do much," Ren said with a shrug. "To be honest, I was impressed with how well Makoto did. I mean, she never once grabbed onto my leg calling out your name, so I consider that progress."
Sae eyebrow raised curiously. "And this is something that's happened before?"
"Several times."
"I-It was just twice!" Makoto quickly exclaimed, her cheeks now bright red.
She looked back at her sister, who for a short time was giving her an expression that was a mix of pity and disappointment. Thankfully for her, Sae decided to show mercy.
"Well, regardless, I'm glad you managed to overcome your fear and go through with it," Sae stated. "Speaking of which, why don't we go get some candied applies? It'll be my treat."
Makoto smiled, saying, "You know what, that sounds great."
"Agreed," uttered Yu in agreement.
As the four of them started to walk away, an astoundingly bright light shined in the skies. They looked up to see a pale-blue fiery trail dance across the sky, clearly the result of one of the meteors racing by.
"Is the shower starting already?" Yu wondered aloud.
"No, I don't think so," Sae commented. "It's probably just a stray meteor by the looks of it."
"Someone should tell everyone else that," Ren thought aloud.
True to the Wild Card's words, all around the area, couple after couple had stopped dead in their tracks to look up at the night's sky. For them, it clearly didn't matter whether the meteor shower had started or not.
They just wanted to believe that 'destiny' had already spoken.
"Did you see that, honey?"
"Hehe, yep! Guess that means it's meant to be after all, huh?"
"This totally means we're meant to be!"
"Fuuka-san, did you see?"
"Darling, look!"
"Good grief," Sae stated, rolling her eyes dismissively at the outcry of whispers. "Let's pick up the pace. The less I have to keep hearing this, the better."
'Easy, easy…!' Futaba thought.
The young orange-haired teen was busy maxing out her focus. Her eyes were zoned in on her thin paper scoop as the large goldfish continued to steadily move around in the water directly in front of her.
Then the moment came: she pounced.
"Gotcha!" Futaba exclaimed.
She did not, in fact, get anything.
Her scoop managed to get under the goldfish just fine, but when she tried lifting it up, it squirmed enough to rip through the paper lining and started to swim away.
Futaba hung her head and let loose a deep sigh. "So close…!"
"Yes, you nearly had it this time," said Yusuke as he looked on from her side. "If nothing else, you've improved dramatically over the course of your seven attempts so far."
"Ugh, has it really been that many already?" Futaba groaned. "I suck at this worse than I thought I did."
"I wouldn't say that. In fairness to you, the fish in here are larger than you'd normally see at a festival, so therefore it's much harder to catch them. If not for that, I'm sure it wouldn't have taken you anywhere near this number of attempts," Yusuke replied.
"Oh, so you've done Kingo Sukai before?" asked Futaba.
"Yes, several times. I've been to numerous festivals over the years and so I've had plenty of opportunities to try my hand. As a result, I'm actually quite good at it," Yusuke explained.
"Damn, I'm jealous," said Futaba with a cheerful grin. "This is the first time I've even tried it. Although in my defense, I've also only been to like one festival before."
"And you didn't try it then?"
"Well, I wanted to, but mom said I was too young to take care of pets, even if they were tiny little goldfish," Futaba began. She laughed at what seemed to be a pleasant memory. "I tried to convince her I wouldn't take any of the goldfish I caught home with me. She didn't believe me though, and of course she was right. I was lying through my teeth."
"Hmm…" Yusuke muttered in thought.
Soon after, he knelt down at Futaba's side and started zoning in on the water and the fish that moved within it. Of course, this confused the orange-haired teen, who was given no explanation whatsoever as to what he was doing.
"What's up?" Futaba inquired.
"Apologies, but a thought crossed my mind: Perhaps it would benefit you to see my method since you're a… what would you call it? A newb?" Yusuke replied.
Futaba's mouth literally hung open.
"Did you just call me a newb?"
"Indeed. Have I used the term correctly?"
"Just show me how to catch the damn fish," Futaba muttered annoyedly.
"Of course," said Yusuke with a nod. "First and foremost, you must decide on your target. Let's go with… that one."
The aspiring artist pointed to what appeared to be a perfectly random fish in the pond. It seemed so random at first that Futaba thought he was just messing with her, but at the same time she knew he wasn't the type to do that. Even if he was, the serious look on his face made it clear he wasn't.
"Why that one?" a confused Futaba inquired.
"Because it's within reach of my dominant hand and positioned in such a way that the scooping motion will be assisted by the small current in the pond. It's also close to the water's surface, and since the paper breaks quickly when exposed to water, it's important that you not submerge it too heavily," Yusuke explained. "Next, you simply need to wait for the right time to strike, and then…"
As Futaba saw the steely look in Yusuke's eyes, she found herself shocked by just how focused he appeared to be. The only other person she'd ever seen have a look like that was Ren, who was of course impressive company to be in when it came to just about anything.
In a literal flash, Yusuke moved with the speed and poise of a master duelist drawing his blade for a single, powerful strike designed to end a match with one slash. The goldfish was swept up by the paper scoop, and he quickly dumped it in the water-filled container in front of him.
'Holy crap,' Futaba inwardly uttered.
The orange-haired teen was astonished. She didn't think Yusuke had that level of coordination in the first place, and yet here he was proving her completely wrong. He moved with so much poise and confidence that it genuinely took her by surprise.
'He… he even looked kinda cool just now,' Futaba thought absentmindedly.
"And there you have it," Yusuke said, sporting a friendly smile as he looked back towards her. "By all means, please give it another go."
"Well, there's no way I'll be able to do it as fast as you did, but the rest I think I can manage," Futaba replied.
She did exactly as Yusuke had done, first identifying the best target, then positioning herself accordingly. Her expression was determined as she waited patiently for the fish to near the surface just enough for her to move in, and then when the time seemed right, she made her move.
Futaba had half-expected the fish to have moved away at the last second, and even then, if by some miracle it hadn't, she was sure the paper in the scoop would break. However, neither of those two things happened and she'd actually managed to catch the fish, which completely caught her off guard.
"I-I got it!" Futaba exclaimed, shock clear in her voice. "Wait, what do I do now?! I totally forget!"
"Don't panic. Simply bring the fish back and put it in the bowl in front of you," Yusuke calmly instructed.
She did just that a split-second later, and luckily the paper held long enough for her to actually get the fish into her bowl despite the fact that she'd hesitated for a good amount of time beforehand. It took a few seconds after for everything to set in, but once it did, Futaba smiled brightly and nearly leapt up into the air.
"Yes! I did it!" Futaba exclaimed proudly.
"That you did. Well done," said Yusuke, chuckling amusedly at her enthusiasm. "Shall we conclude our time here?"
The orange-haired teen nodded before she went to the games owner and got what she needed to seal up the container that held her two goldfish. She did so with a sense of childish glee that brought a smile to the owner's face, and as they walked away, he kindly waved them a goodbye.
"So, what attraction would you like to visit next?" Yusuke questioned. "Or perhaps you'd prefer to bask in your victory for a bit longer?"
"Well, I do like to bask every once and a while," Futaba replied, after which the two shared a brief laugh. Her expression shifted, becoming much softer before next she spoke. "Thanks, by the way."
"Think nothing of it. I'm sure you'd have done the same for me if the roles were reversed," Yusuke said pleasantly.
They walked on in comfortable silence, that was until a light in the sky abruptly caught their attention. Their eyes shifted towards a blue fiery glow that raced across the stars, and clearly, they weren't the only ones. All around the festival for as far as the eye could see, everyone had stopped dead in their tracks to gaze at the sky as the meteor flew by overhead.
"Did you see that?"
"So pretty!"
"Guess it's really fate after all, huh?"
"G-Geez, you're making me blush~!"
"Darling, look!"
Similar whispers and shouts coming from all around them started to sound off, and hearing them almost immediately reminded Futaba of the festival's theme. Almost everywhere she turned her head, all she saw was a sea of couples standing side by side as if tied together by the hip, each gazing up at the night sky.
'Legend or not, I guess something as pretty as that really sets the mood, huh?' Futaba internally reasoned.
She made to speak to Yusuke, but the words died in her throat the second she caught sight of him. He was looking up at the night's sky just like everyone else, but as her eyes landed on him, she could swear that the fiery blue trail of the meteor was outlining the entirety of his face. His eyes glowed with a pale blue and his hair shined like the purest of silk.
Even as he turned towards Futaba with a soft but pure smile, his form remained coated in the radiant light. He looked her straight in the eyes, capturing her attention completely in that moment.
"Simply beautiful," Yusuke stated.
"H-Hm?" Futaba squeaked.
The orange-haired teen's face immediately went crimson, her eyes went wide, and her heart started to race so quickly that she actually thought everyone in a twelve-foot radius around her could hear it beat.
"It's astonishing what nature is capable of, don't you agree?" Yusuke continued solemnly.
Futaba blinked several times. "O-Oh, the meteor. Y-Yeah, t-totally beautiful."
"I can tell you found it a bit overwhelming," Yusuke said with a chuckle. "That's perfectly normal. It just means you appreciated the true value of its beauty."
Futaba hadn't heard a word that he just said. She was too busy taking deep, calming breaths in an attempt to stop the near-panic attack that she was having. Her heartbeat had calmed down well enough, but she knew for a fact her face was still bright red.
'T-This atmosphere really is something else. My heart nearly exploded just now, and it was only Inari!' Futaba thought. A spark of anger soon lit in the pit of her soul. 'Also, mental note: If Inari chooses his words that poorly again, I'm skinning him alive.'
Naoto and Kanji were nearing the assistance center that they'd been walking towards for quite some time. As they were in the final stretch, however, Kozue was starting to snivel every so often.
"Everything okay, kid?" Kanji inquired.
"Yeah, I'm… I'm fine," he replied.
After a few more seconds, Kanji noticed that he was starting to stumble as he was walking. He put two and two together pretty quickly.
"Hey, Naoto, can we stop right here real quick?" Kanji abruptly asked.
"Of course," she replied.
"Thanks."
In the seconds that followed, Kanji squatted down towards the ground and faced his back towards Kozue, who was clearly confused in response.
"Uh, what're you doing, mister?"
"Giving you a lift," Kanji offered. Looking over his shoulder, he asked, "Your legs are gettin' kinda tired, right? Come on, it'll be easier on ya this way."
The boy was hesitant at first, and he cutely looked up at Naoto as if to ask permission. She held back a laugh and nodded, which seemed to give him the small push he needed to move up and accept the piggy-back ride.
"Upsie daisy," Kanji muttered.
"Woah, haha~!"
The boy laughed and smiled as he was lifted up into the air. Kanji couldn't fight back a smile of his own, and even Naoto could be seen doing much the same. It was just too adorable for them not to.
"Everything all good up there?" Kanji questioned.
"Yeah! Um… t-thanks, mister," Kozue said.
"Good."
Naoto and Kanji shared a look before they started to move again, and before they knew it, they had arrived at the assistance center. They walked up and observed the people standing in the line, finding it a bit shocking that there were so many.
"Hm, I hadn't expected it to be this crowded," Naoto thought aloud. "Kozue-kun, do you see your parents in that line up ahead?"
With focus that was shocking to see on someone so young, the brown-haired boy looked through person after person in the line just as he was asked. However, he came up empty.
"Hmm… I don't think so," Kozue replied.
Kanji gave the blue-haired beauty at his side a deadpanned look. "…should you tell him he's lookin' at the wrong line, or should I?"
"Kozue? K-Kozue!"
A fairly young couple raced off of one of the benches around the assistance center and made a hard line towards both Naoto and Kanji. If the fact that they'd screamed his name wasn't proof enough of who they were, Kozue himself started to squirm on Kanji's shoulders.
"M-Mom! Dad!" the boy cheered
"Hey, easy there, kid! Here, lemme put ya down," Kanji said.
The second that Kozue's feet hist the ground, he ran as fast as he could towards his mother, who wrapped her arms around him with all the strength that she had. The father joined in soon after, though he didn't have tears streaming down his cheeks like his wife. He was just doing a better job at holding them back.
"My precious little angel…!" the mother whispered. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"
"No mom, I'm okay," Kozue replied, giving his mother a small smile. "These two nice people found me, and that lady is a super smart police officer! She said you'd be here, and she was right!"
"Thank you. Thank you both so much," the woman said, the gratitude in her voice showing more than words ever could.
"Yes, thank you," added the man, giving a small bow of his head. "If there's anything we can do—"
"I'm gonna stop ya right there, you don't owe us anything," Kanji stated reassuringly. "Just keep a closer eye on your kid, alright?"
"My thoughts exactly," said Naoto.
The man rubbed his neck a bit sheepishly. "Are you sure? I feel a bit guilty just letting this kindness go unrepaid."
"Please don't. We were simply doing what anyone else would and should have done," Naoto replied.
"Alright, if you insist," the man said, albeit a bit reluctantly. "Thank you again."
The family of three gathered and walked off with the mother noticeably holding onto her son's hand so as to keep him close to her side. Soon enough, they were out of sight, leaving a relieved Kanji and Naoto behind.
"So, when were you gonna tell me you were so good with kids?" Kanji inquired.
"Frankly, I wouldn't say I have."
"Oh come on, you can't be serious. You handled things great with that kid back there," Kanji stated pointedly. "The kid was straight up terrified of me, and then you came swoopin' in and got him to stop cryin' in no time flat. I don't even think Yu could've done a better job if he were here, and that shit is straight up his alley."
"You're exaggerating. I didn't handle myself anywhere near that well," Naoto said dismissively. "I'll admit I've gotten better at talking to children recently, but the reason has been work-related. I'm sure you take my meaning."
"Bit of a dark turn there, but yeah, I get you," Kanji muttered. "Do you really hate dealin' with kids that much?"
"Well… it's not that I hate it, it's more that I just never know how to talk to them," said Naoto, her shoulders slumping as she spoke. "To be honest, if I were given the choice between dealing with a serial killer or a child, I'd likely pick the serial killer."
Kanji sweatdropped. "That's a bit extreme."
"My point exactly."
"So if you hate kids that much, do you…"
Kanji stopped speaking entirely then and there, and there were only two obvious reasons as best Naoto could tell. One, that he caught himself before asking something that he believed he shouldn't, or two, he was too nervous to finish his question.
Given how much he was fidgeting, she came to believe it was option number two.
"What?" Naoto pressed, raising a curious brow.
"Forget it, it's nothin'. I was just… you know," Kanji began awkwardly. He averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his neck shyly, saying, "I was just wonderin' if you'd ever thought about having kids even if you don't like 'em all that much."
Suddenly it made sense why Kanji seemed a bit awkward asking the question. Still, Naoto wasn't embarrassed or offended by it. She'd arrived at her own conclusion to that question years ago.
"Whether I want to be a mother or not doesn't really matter," Naoto stated.
That was the last answer that the brunette had expected, and it showed.
"Wait… huh?" Kanji uttered confusedly.
"It's simple, really," began Naoto in an emotionless tone. "On any given day, I'm investigating any number of serial killers, hitmen, mass murders, drug traffickers—the list goes on and on. My work also takes me abroad more often than not, and even when I'm back in Japan, I'm typically never in one place for very long. Does that sound like a life that could handle a child being thrown into it?"
The answer was so obvious that Kanji didn't even feel the need to respond to it. He almost looked as if he regretted bringing it up in the first place.
"Not that it matters, but… for what it's worth, I think you'd make a great mom," Kanji stated.
"And where's that coming from?" Naoto asked, smiling at the compliment but nearly laughing it off.
"Just… you know," Kanji went on. He chuckled at how little sense he was currently making. "I can't really explain it, really. I just think it, that's all."
"I'll most likely never find out either way," Naoto replied. "For starters, I don't even have a romantic life to begin with. I'd have to first find the father and somehow fall in love first."
Kanji smiled, saying, "Never say never, right?"
"True. That's why I said 'most likely' when—"
A bright glow from above caused the blue-haired detective to pause in her speech. Both she and Kanji watched as a comet flew overhead, and it went without saying that it captivated everyone who caught wind of it.
"Woah…" Kanji uttered in awe.
"Looks like everyone else has a similar opinion," Naoto remarked.
"Looks like it. But, uh, I'm thinkin' a bit more's goin' through their heads right about now," Kanji stated.
The area around them was filled with couples, most of whom had started to affectionately cling to one another as they looked up at the sky. They could hear whispers about 'destiny' and 'fate' nearly every second, whether they wanted to or not.
"People believe in the strangest things, don't you think?" Naoto inquired.
"…yeah," Kanji replied, a solemn smile marking his lips. He looked back towards her, appreciating her beaty in the moment as he added, "I think most of 'em know it's dumb. It's just nice to think it's real every now and then, ya know?"
"I suppose."
"Hayaaaa!"
Chie's battle cry resounded as she slammed the hammer down on the pressure plate in front of her. The weight then shot up the pole and right into the bell at the top in three seconds flat.
"Aaaand we have a winner!" the game's operated declared.
"Looks like I still got it," Chie uttered proudly.
A number of people watching started to clap, clearly impressed by what Chie had just done. She smiled sheepishly, but it was clear that she enjoyed the attention.
"Nice job, Chie!" congratulated Yukiko.
"Great work, and perfect form too. I'm impressed," Akihiko complimented.
"Hehe~, thanks!" Chie replied.
"Would you like to give it a try, Akihiko-san?" asked Yukiko politely.
"I don't think I'll be able to follow up a performance like that," he humbly responded.
"Oh come on, I'm sure you'd do just as well as Chie," she pressed.
"Well, maybe I could—"
"Hold that thought! Look up, you two!" Chie exclaimed.
The brunette leapt to the sides of her two friends as the three of them gazed at the captivating sight of a meteor racing across the stars up above. Each of them watched with smiles on their faces, their eyes never leaving the sky until the pale blue light faded.
"Do you think it's starting already?" Chie wondered aloud.
"It looks like it was just a preview," Yukiko remarked. "And thank goodness for that, otherwise we might not get to enjoy the sight with everyone."
"Still a hell of a preview though," Akihiko reasoned.
Yukiko nodded. "It makes me wonder what the real show is going to look like."
"You and me both," said Chie.
Out of curiosity, the Amagi heiress looked at her phone.
It seemed they still had quite a bit of time left before the meteor shower was meant to kick off.
A/N There you have it. With that, we're half-way through the festival chapters, and the second part will be posted likely in three weeks (give or take a few days). Bottom line, it'll be out before the end of the year.
Explanations:
Next Chapter: That'll be a bit more of what we've seen here, though the central 'romance' focus will be on the Lovers side of things as opposed to this chapter which focused on the Nijima sisters.
Separating the Groups: There's the comedy aspect of 'how tf did this just happen?!' but more so than that I just wanted to play with smaller groups in the festival setting for a bit. It's got a big romantic theme, so separating the characters out the way that I did was mainly for that purpose. Speaking of which…
Character Pairings Outside of Wild Cards: So yeah, this is the first chapter where I'm basically confirming this will happen. Not everyone gets a ship, but I can say most of the main cast do (P3 peeps included). Where and with who the cast will end up with will be revealed as and when the ships set sail. Speaking of which…
Futaba x Yusuke: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Naoto x Kanji: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Actual Comments on Futaba x Yusuke: By this point, I'm sure people have picked up on a few subtle hints that Futaba has started to see Yusuke in a certain way. I will confirm that this ship will be a part of this story, and it will get some genuine focus in the future. I'm not the biggest fan of this ship as far as the game presents it, but I think that with the right level of development, it can work out pretty well. Hopefully people enjoy the way I write it in.
Actual Comments on Naoto x Kanji: Kidding aside, this ship won't happen anytime soon, and that's even if it happens at all. It likely will, but this is a loooooong term one. Like, I'm talking won't happen until the very end long-term. That has a lot to do with Naoto as a character, since it is hard for me seeing her in an actual relationship with anyone given her career choice. That's hinted at largely in this chapter, and since the two do walk in different lanes of life, it's not an easy ship to set sail in my mind. I do think it's adorable though, and while I do think Yu x Naoto is a cute ship, I also happen to think Kanji x Naoto is a cute ship, too.
The Candied Apple Bit: That's something inspired by Persona Strikers, for anyone curious. You absolutely do not need to play the game, but the scene of Sae dropping her candied apple at a festival while she was watching Makoto is brought up, as is the fact that after that, she cried.
