War Arc:
Chapter 55: Beloved Son (Part 2)
Rainy - Afternoon - 29/11/2012(Thursday) - Classroom, Koukai School, Koukai, Sumaru City
(1 day until War's arrival)
Mia Kaneda began to hear the sound of bombing on the level below her. She managed to sneak past the enemies for a while, and by the time she realized it, she had already reached her classroom. But after hearing the bombing sound from below, it's clear that she took too long.
"I'm sure Matsu-kun supposed to sit here..." Mia mused, approaching one of the drawers at the back. She recognized Matsuya's bag, but also found another unfamiliar bag next to it. To her surprise, she saw shirts, pants, and some items one would only bring for travel.
'Is Matsu-kun trying to run away from home?' Mia thought, rummaging the bag again before she saw a small, worn-out rabbit doll.
It was then, she felt some sort of nostalgia evoked from examining the doll. It felt... familiar to her, even though she knew it wasn't hers, to begin with.
"Good, I better hurry," Mia said to herself and made a run for it. The building was shaking terribly, but she kept her pace and descended the stairs.
When she reached the first floor, however, a figure caught her eyes, hiding behind a corridor not far from the exit door. It was Lisa, the woman who took care of Matsuya. It seemed as though she didn't notice her, as she too was hiding and tried to make her way out. Curious, Mia decided to approach her.
"Wait, I think I see someone!"
Mia heard a shout at her back and turned to see that a man had caught her in her sight. Lisa, who peeked out of her hiding spot, finally noticed her.
"Mia, is that you?" Lisa asked, "You shouldn't be here! Run!"
"But, what about you?" Mia asked, but Lisa quickly shook her head.
"Just go first! I'll come back later!"
Finally nodded, Mia ran in the opposite direction, running away from the enemies that kept getting closer. She peeked slightly and saw that Lisa had already made her way out of the building, which made her slightly relieved to know that she might bring help with her.
Unfortunately, there was a sudden earthquake from the distance, forcing her to trip and get herself caught.
Maya Amano
Rainy - Afternoon - 29/11/2012(Thursday) - Hall, Koukai School, Koukai, Sumaru City
(1 day until War's arrival)
Maya saw Sudou was checking his watch and tapping his feet impatiently. He was seemingly waiting for her son to come out of his hiding place, but there was another reason for it. There was a small earthquake a while ago, and each time it seemed Sudou was getting more frustrated than ever. The rest of the hostages remained silent, but even they were reaching their limits.
"Your son is truly testing my patience," Sudou said, before he finally screamed at the stage, "Hey! Little boy, if you don't want me to beat your mommy right here, you better come out right now!"
"No, Matsuya-kun! Don't listen to him!" Maya screamed, but she received a huge slap to the face.
"Shut your mouth, b*tch."
"Can't you speak nicely?!" Eikichi screamed in anger, "Or you just don't have a mouth?!"
"Ah, f*ck it. You had to piss me off," Sudou exclaimed, finally loaded his revolver gun, sending everyone into a state of panic, "Let me remind you that with the exception of this woman here, I have absolutely no reason to keep everyone alive. That includes you, Mishina."
He pointed the barrel at Eikichi's forehead.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait..." Eikichi tried to back away, but two of Sudou's men pulled him up, "There are kids here! You're gonna let them watch?!"
"Why should I care?"
Before he could continue, suddenly, from the back door, a few men entered the hall.
"Boss! We found someone!"
"I'll deal with you later, Mishina," Sudou turned to the men and slipped back the revolver gun into his pocket, which Eikichi sighed in relief, "You got the boy?"
"N-No, boss. We-"
"I told you to find the boy, and who the f*ck did you bring?" Sudou approached the men who brought someone with them.
Maya widened her eyes in shock. It was Mia Kaneda. But what shocked her more was that she was holding Mr. Bunbun in her arms. It could only mean that Matsuya was still in school somewhere. Maya turned to Eikichi, where Eikichi tried to look away, making sure that Sudou won't find a connection between him and the little girl.
Eikichi knew if Sudou knew who Mia was to him, Sudou will release his frustration on the girl over Eikichi's mistake. Thus, it's best pretending not to recognize her. Thankfully, Mia seemed to understand this too, as when she peeked at Eikichi slightly, she immediately looked away when Eikichi shook his head.
"We found this girl loitering in the school building," One of the men answered. Sudou approached the girl and crouched down.
"What's your name, girl?" Sudou asked with a strong tone, but Mia remained calm.
"Mia."
"Oh, Mia?" Sudou repeated her name, before his eyes turned to the doll in her arms, "That's a cute doll you have there. What's his name?"
"It's Mr. Bunbun."
"Oh, I see..." Sudou smiled, before his frown turned upside down, "That's the name of the doll Maya had once too."
Sudou was looking at her way. Maya knew there's no fooling him.
"Tell me, Mia," Sudou gripped one of Mia's arm, startling her, "Someone used to tell me that that woman passed the doll to her son. So I need to make sure. This is not your doll, isn't it?"
Mia paused for a moment before she answered, "This is my doll- AH!"
"Liar!"
With a strong force, Sudou dragged her by her arm towards the front of the stage, where Mia tried to rattle away from his hand but failed. She was eventually pushed to the side of the stage with a force that could give bruises to any kids.
"H-Hey, you could..." Eikichi couldn't control himself and spoke, "You could try to be softer!"
"Oh? You're awfully concerned," Sudou mocked, "But an evil witch deserved to be burned alive. That's how the story goes, right?"
Most of the kids had already started crying when Sudou revealed his lighter and pinned Mia hard on the ground. His smirk was terrifying when he prepared to light out Mia's skirt.
"L-Let me go!"
"Now, now, Mia dear. You must have taken this from Matsuya. So, I want you to call him out."
Mia shook her head stubbornly, which Sudou seemed to take pleasure for.
"Suit yourself."
He lighted up Mia skirt on fire, where even some of the adults screamed in panic. Maya didn't believe that a man could be so brutal to set a little girl on fire. The fire spread fast until Mia had to push Mr. Bunbun aside to prevent it from catching fire. Maya could see that Mia had already started crying in pain.
"AH! AH! HOT!" Mia screamed.
"Mia-chan!"
From afar, Hades was activated, pushing some of the guards away. Eikichi unbound himself with his persona and ran towards Mia hurriedly, casting Aquadyne to put out the fire. He reached Mia on time and covered himself on her body to completely put out the fire.
"What kind of monster are you?!" Eikichi screamed as he hugged the coughing Mia, shielding her from Sudou. Sudou was already ready to swing his leg and kicked Eikichi on his shoulder. His force was equal to a boulder, enough to seemly break Eikichi's shoulder.
"AHHHH!"
"Eikichi!" Maya screamed. However, Eikichi refused to budge due to a small injury, but it was breaking his bone.
"You monster!" Reiji, who was trying to remain still, lost his composure and he tried to break free, but again being subdued by Sudou's men.
"I had enough playing games!" Sudou shouted, taking out his revolver, "Matsuya Suou, I'm going to count to 10! If you didn't come out until then, I'm going to f*cking shoot this girl and this man! Don't test me, you little sh*t! I'm going to start now: 1! 2! 3! 4! 5!"
"Matsu-kun, don't come out!" Mia screamed, "I'm fine! Don't let him take you!"
"Just run!" Eikichi said.
"6! 7!"
"Matsuya-kun!" Maya screamed, "You need to run! He doesn't care about anyone!"
"8! You better be f*cking here! 9-"
"I-I'm here!"
A scream echoed from the backstage.
Dressing Room, Koukai School
Matsuya couldn't stand it anymore. He heard Mia's voice at the stage. He heard Mia was about to be set on fire, while it seemed someone was being hit. Mia was captured because of him, and he's still hiding here? Takashi from across the table palmed his face in anger at his useless foot, cursing his inability to help.
"I had enough playing games!" He heard the leader of the bad guys shouted, "Matsuya Suou, I'm going to count to 10! If you didn't come out until then, I'm going to f*cking shoot this girl, this man, and your f*cking mom! Don't test me, you little sh*t! I'm going to start now: 1! 2! 3! 4! 5!"
His mother and Mia will get killed. He promised himself not to be a burden to anyone else, yet his mother still trying to protect him. Takashi merely looked at him from afar, leaving him to make his own decision.
When the counter near its end, Matsuya knew he had no choice. He left his closet and screamed from the top of his lung.
"I-I'm here!"
"Idiot! Don't scream here!" Takashi shouted.
"Sorry..." Matsuya bowed apologetically.
"*sigh* At least you finally grow some backbone..." Takashi removed himself from the table, "Come on. Let's go together."
"Huh?" Matsuya responded in confusion, "You should stay here! Your leg is hurt!"
"They already entered this room twice without noticing us. Who knows what's going to happen if they didn't find me? What if they bomb this room too while I'm still inside?"
"W-Well..." Matsuya couldn't answer.
"And look," Takashi revealed something. It was a small scissor, "I grabbed this earlier. I will hide it in my sock. So when I meet my dad, I'm cutting myself and him loose, then you and Mia."
"Oh..." Matsuya nodded and was impressed with Takashi's idea.
They both ran for the door and rushed to the back of the stage. Takashi had a hard time walking, but it didn't stop him from keeping up with Matsuya's pace. They emerged themselves from the curtain, where they were shocked to see the feared condition of all parents and their classmates. Matsuya saw her mother's crying face when she saw him, while Takashi began to tremble slightly when he saw his father's bad condition.
The leader of the attackers, the man with a strange mask faced them before he eventually burst into a laugh.
"Hahahaha! Since when did Tatsuya's son turn into a girl?!" Sudou laughed, joined with other men who also laughed at him. At this point, Matsuya almost couldn't control his emotion and wanted to cry, but resisted in front of his mother.
"Ha! Now that I have you... Wait, who the hell are you?" Sudou turned to Takashi.
"I-I'm Takashi, Matsuya's friend... uh... acquaintance," Takashi answered, trembling from his feet.
The moment Sudou walked upon the stage, Sudou pushed Takashi aside like a ragdoll and grabbed Matsuya. A man who resembled older Takashi screamed Takashi's name with worriedness. But that was another matter to be concerned for, as Sudou grabbing his arm so hard, he swore his arm could tear off any moment.
"Blah, blah, blah... I don't care about who you are, kid," Sudou said, "I just need the child of the Suou Devil himself with me."
Followed by his words, a small earthquake erupted from the distance, which seemed to annoy the leader.
"Tch, so soon?" He cursed, before giving his warning, "Prepare to move out! Bring out the trucks and take them with us! Put the bomb at the center of the school!"
Another bomb? Matsuya saw, from the back door, a few men walked into the hall with the largest bomb he had ever seen. He saw his mother and teacher Anna being carried away, followed by Mia, Eikichi, then Matsuya himself. Soon, everyone was carried away before he was shoved into the van, separated from his mother.
Tatsuya Suou
Rainy - Afternoon - 29/11/2012(Thursday) - Red Harbor, Sumaru City
(1 day until War's arrival)
The Red Harbor was not reachable from the main street. Vehicles had to cross a small road in Narumi or moving along the seaside from Koukai. While the path from Koukai was expendable but tangled, the road from Narumi was straight but narrow, making it hard for heavy vehicles to cross. Shops all over the sides of the road welcomed illegal parkers, making it more difficult than it already had.
The police force was taking this narrow route to Red Harbor, as they predicted that Sudou will take the other route from Koukai. Tatsuya Suou was in a van, locking in his bulletproof vest and full gear as he observed a few other officers. He flinched for a bit when the sudden pain from the mark of the Nuclear Chaos stung him with extreme hotness, but he endured and recollected his brother's words a while ago and sighed.
"Katsuya, you better be right about Kirijo's words..." Tatsuya mused before peeking at the front seat and saw that they were very close to the harbor.
"Can you hear me, Tatsuya?" He heard his brother through the hidden mic.
"Loud and clear, over," Tatsuya responded, "Where's Kirijo herself?"
"She's with the 'envoy' from the Velvet Room. We're going to get him, with Kirijo's help. Proceed as planned."
"Today's the day, huh?" Tatsuya smirked, "Then we do it fast and capture Sudou."
As they talked, Tatsuya Suou reached what was the entrance to the Red Harbor. Now they waited...
Rainy - Afternoon - Path from Koukai Ward to Red Harbor, Sumaru City
Eikichi was inside the truck with Mia by his side and Reiji with his son not far from him. Each one of them had been heavily bound, leaving only a few rooms for movement and action. It was crammed, as though they didn't care if anyone would suffocate inside under the short roof. But that was the least of his worry. Before he was thrown inside the truck, Sudou's men inject some syringe on him and Reiji, probably the Limbo Recall. Thus, he couldn't use his persona to escape.
He examined Mia's dress. Half of it was burned to a cinder, leaving almost all of her lower half exposed. There was also a small burned mark on her knees, which Eikichi saw that Mia tried extremely hard to conceal her pain.
"Mia-chan, here," Eikichi tried to remove his blue coat, at the same time tried to hide her body away from the rest of the people behind him, "Take my coat. You must be cold because of the raining outside."
"Thanks..." Mia quietly used her teeth to pull Eikichi's coat and covered her shivering legs.
"Here, let me turn around. I'll tie that for you," With both hands behind him, Eikichi gently pulled his coat off, but the rope binding him blocked the coat from being completely removed.
"Sorry."
"No, it's okay," Mia shook her head, "I wonder if Matsu-kun will get this..."
When Eikichi glanced again at Mia, he saw a doll that Maya always had before next to her. She must have grabbed it back when she was being taken away into the truck.
"I'm sure you will give it to him soon," Eikichi reassured her, "Just hold on to it for now."
"Shhh..."
Suddenly, Reiji who remained silent for the entire trip hissed at him.
"How's your shoulder?" Reiji asked in a whisper as he wiggled his way closer.
"Bad," Eikichi shook his head, "My arm feels kinda numb."
"Need help?"
Curious, Eikichi focused his eyes on him, where his attention was locked on Reiji's hand. It was a scissor.
"What- Where did you get that?" Eikichi almost shouted.
"My son grabbed it during his hiding. Pretty smart boy," Reiji smirked proudly as he glanced at his son, who noticed his stares and turned his face away in embarrassment, "Cut me loose when you're free."
Reiji cut loose Eikichi's rope. Eikichi immediately tried to free Reiji's bind, but he took a while due to his numb left arm.
"Give me a moment..."
Slowly, Eikichi unbound Reiji. Everyone else in the truck began to nag to be released.
Until suddenly, the truck slowed down, as if hit something on the road. They eavesdropped on their conversation.
"What's that?!"
"Don't know, but I think we got a flat tire."
"What the hell? Hey, will you shut up at the back?!"
They felt the truck's slowing down, probably trying to silence them with force. This was the golden opportunity. Eikichi and Reiji hurriedly returned to their spot and waited for the door to open.
The door swung open, revealing a masked man with a gun.
"Who's making that noise just now?!" The enemy reloaded his gun. Eikichi and Reiji glanced at each other and nodded.
"S-Sir, I think that the drug you gave us is bad for him!" Eikichi said with a fake panic, "Look, that guy's sick! He's on a medical pill!"
"Urgh, help me..." Reiji pretended to lose his consciousness, which prompted the guard to angrily pulled Reiji away.
"Cheh, what a waste of my time!" The gunner said, reaching for his walkie-talkie, "Can you tell the boss we'll be late? Some idiot is wasting our time."
From the look of it, it seemed that they were on the last truck, meaning that almost nobody will know what transpired here. Reiji checked around the truck before began his action.
"Go!"
Reiji screamed as he grabbed the enemy's gun, which Eikichi immediately leaped out of the truck and subdued him. The other hostage voiced out in amazement, but it attracted the attention of the driver at the front.
"What's that noise?!" The driver jumped out of the truck, which Reiji wasted no time to catch him and knocked him out as well. During this time, the hostages cheered for them.
"It's alright, folks!" Eikichi proudly raised his hand when he saw Mia among the hostages, "Everything's under control-"
Bang!
From out of nowhere, a gunshot was released and landed not far from Eikichi's feet.
"Don't move!"
He heard the sound of a man not far from them. When Eikichi searched for the voice, he saw another man, probably sniper, emerged out of the bush not far from where the truck was parked. They cursed their plan, failing to realize that it made sense for Sudou to prepared a hidden sniper in case their journey was interrupted.
"Damn it! What should we do?" Reiji cursed, "I knew it was too easy."
"Sh*t, he's already talking to someone on the line..." Eikichi responded before his eyes saw something behind the sniper's back. It was a movement in the bush that anticipated the sniper's action.
"Eh, Lisa?"
With a quick swift, Lisa, bathed in sweat and dirt, emerged out of the bush and swung her handbag at the back of the sniper's head. The sniper didn't even notice her presence when she knocked him out.
"Take that, idiot!" Lisa screamed as she's catching her breath. The rest merely watched her from afar with a shocked expression, which made her uncomfortable and embarrassed.
"You guys okay?" Lisa asked as she approached them.
"How are you here? That's what I want to know!" Eikichi replied with another question, "I mean, where WERE you when Sudou rampaged into our school?!"
"You're welcome," Lisa shoved it aside, proceeded to unbound everyone, including Mia.
"How did you know we were here?" Mia asked curiously.
"I got some 'help', that's all. I keep my words as I said, didn't I?" Lisa said, patting Mia's head with a weak smile before she revealed some nails in her hand. She must have put it on the road without anyone noticed.
Eikichi shifted his eyes to both of them in confusion, but Lisa seemed to be in a hurry when she called for a taxi.
"No time to lose. We need to go to where Matsuya is now!" Lisa said, "Eikichi, you're with me or what?"
"But I don't have my persona! They put the drug in me!"
Lisa narrowed her eyes in confusion before she finally understood. The Limbo Recall was currently the deadliest weapon against persona users, and Eikichi and Reiji had to suffer it.
"You got a plan?" Reiji asked, "I mean, we can't leave these people here, especially with the heavy rain. Kids going to get sick."
"Fine, I'll call for someone," Lisa said, "But afterward, we need to go to where Maya and Matsuya are."
"But where?" Eikichi said, "Where is Sudou's going?"
Rainy - Afternoon - Tatsuya Sudou's truck, near Red Harbor
Matsuya couldn't speak out, not with the masked leader named Sudou sitting next to him, silently cleaning his gun. Only him, Sudou, and two masked men in a van. He kept Matsuya closed next to him, keeping him in his sight to ensure that he would never escape, but only a fool would attempt to do so. He sneezed, seeing as Sudou pushed him into the van under the rain. His silly red dress still hadn't dried, but the man next to him cared not even the slightest to his cold. His mother was in another truck behind him, and he had no idea where uncle Eikichi and Mia were.
Just then, he heard a small chuckle from his side. He slowly gazed and saw the masked leader glaring at him behind the strange mask.
"Oh, boy..." He spoke with a menacing voice, "You do look like your father."
Matsuya remained silent, urging himself to not anger him. Sudou continued.
"Your dad and I go way back, way, way, back when we were young. A strong man, he always was, but he had that arrogance that I couldn't stand," He clenched his fist in frustration, "I want to beat your dad so badly, but there's some circumstance that made me can't kill him. Then, there's you."
He slowly removed his mask, where he exposed his burned-out flesh on half of his face. It was terribly grotesque that Matsuya screamed a little when he saw it. Sudou seemed to enjoy his fear, which he proceeded to lean his face closer.
"Oh, I can't wait to see your dad's face when I'm done with you. Hahahaha!"
"Boss," The driver called out to him, "Are they informed of our plan?"
"Of course they are!" Sudou shouted, "We stick to the plan! Takaya will bring his men to 'save' the hostages. But in truth, all bullets they have are rubbers. Once they 'beat' you all and left you alone, returned to the ship at dusk."
"Boss, is it okay to speak of such plan with him around?" An armed man in front of him asked before turning to Matsuya.
"Nah, you wouldn't tell anyone, would you?" Sudou smiled at him again, "Because I will make sure you can't tell anyone."
The van suddenly slowed down, indicating that they arrived at their destination. Matsuya almost wanted to wet his shorts out of fear and coldness.
Maya Amano
Near Red Harbor
Anna was in the truck with her, with few other hostages next to her. She could feel that they were close to their destination, and her mind worried only for her son, Matsuya.
"I saw Sudou take Matsuya into his van," Anna said. Maya could only nod.
"Please don't let anything happen to Matsuya, please don't let anything happen to Matsuya..." Maya repeated those sentences like a mantra, "If anything happens to him, I will never forgive Sudou..."
"Calm down," Anna wiggled her way closer to Maya, "If he wants to kill Matsuya, he would have done so from the start. He must have his reason."
Then, an old hostage not far from them began to interrupt, "Oh, dear. If only the Messiah can save us..."
"He's not your savior!" Maya raised her voice, "He's manipulating you! He is complotting with Sudou to make himself looked nice!"
"But, Maya..." Anna paused, hesitated to explain without angering her, "Think of all the kids. If they can be saved with the messiah's order, then isn't that the right choice?"
"But..." Maya wanted to retaliate, but Anna was correct. The safety of the hostages must be prioritized. Maya lowered her head in defeat. Unfortunately, she wasn't given the time to lament her situation, as the truck slowed down, and someone was opening the door.
"Where are they taking us?" Anna said, but her question was ignored when an armed man revealed himself as he opened the door, gesturing the hostages to leave the truck and allowed themselves to be drenched in a cold rain. Upon the glance of the sea, Maya finally knew their destination.
The Red Harbor. The vehicles there were few, jammed only with Sudou's trucks filling the parking spot. Due to the rain and the thick cloud in the sky, the end horizon seemed blurred, and Maya could barely see the blinking light at the peak of the tall, red lighthouse not far from their location. Maya immediately searched for her son, where her eyes locked on a small van.
She saw Sudou, still wearing his mask and holding an umbrella, with Matsuya by his side.
"Matsuya-kun!" Maya screamed, loud enough that raindrops won't obscure her voice. Her son tracked her voice and began to cry.
"M-Mommy! Ah!"
"Don't f*cking move," Sudou grabbed Matsuya by the neck and pulled him with a strong force, which made Matsuya screeched in pain. It was too much for Maya to bear and watch.
"Hey, bastard!" Anna, who was standing by her side, screamed, "Are you so scared of Tatsuya that you had to beat his son instead?!"
"The f*ck you said?!" Sudou responded before she felt like he was smirking behind the mask, "Oh, Lady Scorpio! How miserably low you have become. All that knowledge that Lord Nyarlathotep granted you, and you choose to f*ck your life by becoming a teacher."
"Lady Scorpio?" Anna repeated his words, "Why is that word sounded..."
"Don't listen to him!" Maya snapped her out, "You're Anna, and he's a terrorist."
"M-Mommy!" Matsuya screamed, "the Messiah and this man are partners- Hmfff...!"
"Shhhh..." Sudou covered Matsuya's mouth, "Don't spoil the fun. Now move along."
Maya examined around and saw that the rest of the trucks have moved out their hostages. However, there was no sign of Mia, Eikichi, and Reiji among them.
"Hey! Where's the last truck?!" Sudou screamed.
"We got a report that it was stranded on its way here. We can't confirm if it's Suou Devils or not," One of the high ranking guards answered.
"What about our snipers?"
"No response."
"F*ck..." Sudou pulled Matsuya, "Let's go to our rendezvous point fast!"
Maya felt like she wanted to break free and punched Sudou for treating her son like that, but she knew her choice when she's at the gunpoint.
"Wait!" Anna stopped him, "It's raining heavily! The kids can't be out here! They'll be sick!"
"Then you better tell them to start moving, b*tch," Sudou said, where Maya could sense his smirk behind the mask.
They began to walk, crossing the parking lot and entered deeper into the harbor, with the strong smell of sea engulfed the air.
Tatsuya Suou
Red Harbor
More than 50 men working under Sudou were monitoring the harbor; all scattered throughout the place as they patrolling around carelessly as intended. At the same time, they all forced the hostages to form a line and followed from behind. Sudou himself was searching for his escape boat, just itching to run away. The plan was to have Takaya's hired men to wipe out Sudou's men, saving the hostages while Takaya gained the credit. In truth, the bullets used by Takaya's men on Sudou's men were rubber, non-lethal gun. Fake blood will be slotted in their suit to give the impression that Sudou's men will die in their pool of blood.
Of course, Sudou considered the possibility that the Suou Devil will intercept their plan and took the credit instead. Thus, Takaya's men must wear a white scarf that is visible from the distance and gave the three-hand signal to confirm that Takaya was the one who sent them. If they did not give the hand signal on time, Sudou's men will immediately open fire and kill the intruders and the hostages, thus shifting the blame on the police department.
Takaya was hiding in Mount Iwato to avoid Babylon's reach, but Katsuya Suou's speech should relay to Takaya, sending him into motion and instructed his followers to save the hostage. With the broadcast of Takaya, there's a high possibility that Babylon will come after them, but Sudou was already bored with her service and would not hesitate to kill her on sight.
But in the end, Sudou was fully convinced that although Babylon will interrupt his plan, she would never lay her hand on him.
As Sudou walked along the harbor at the front of the long lines of hostages, Matsuya was sneezing non-stop. The earthquake that frequently occurred around the city seemed to happen again, but Sudou didn't let it bother him.
"Now, where's my boat?" Sudou said, searching among the abandoned ships before his eyes locked upon a small, white boat with a few armed men waiting for him. Delight, he fastened his pace.
Bang!
From out of nowhere, a shot landed near his feet. Sudou and the men immediately entered their stance and searched the target. From the distance, they saw a sniper on the building not far from their location. Sudou's men examined carefully to see if there's a white scarf that identified them as Takaya's men.
The sniper had it. He raised his arm and pointed forward twice and shoot again.
Bang!
That was the cue. It was Takaya's men.
"Attack!" Sudou commanded.
From behind the cover, a few gunners wearing white scarfs emerged from their hideout and began shooting. Sudou's men returned fire but purposely missed their shot. The hostages all crouched down to avoid the shot.
That was supposed to be the plan. But as one by one of Sudou's men fell, Sudou felt that something wasn't right. Their tactic was too aggressive. Matsuya, who was next to Sudou, was dragged away from the scene and hid inside one of the boats. From the distance, a woman figure in a thick white robe approached the shooting ground and aimed her gun.
Sudou never expected the second waves. After taking out more than half of his men, the rainwater somehow spread the smell of the fallen bodies. With just a quick sniff, Sudou immediately realized it was real blood. They used a real gun.
"Fall back! It's not the Messiah's force!" Sudou screamed.
Aigis
Rainy - Afternoon - 29/11/2012(Thursday) - Red Harbor, Koukai, Sumaru City
(1 day until War's arrival)
"Aigis! Tatsuya Sudou knew! Full force ahead!" Mitsuru Kirijo's voice rang through her mic. Aigis, dressing in a thick robe, quickly undone her robe and released her machine gun.
"On it!" Aigis responded, "Tatsuya-san, Katsuya-san! I saw them dragged the hostages into the boathouse!"
"Don't let them kill the hostages! Take out the ones outside!" She heard Tatsuya responded. Seeing as there's no need to use the disguises made by Kirijo, the rest of the men with white scarfs revealed themselves to be Kirijo's force.
"Don't let a single one escape!" Aigis said before marching headfirst into the enemy's zone. There were not many of Sudou's men left at the harbor, seeing as they were tricked into believing that the fallen men were faking their death. Enemy's force was torn apart easily, but the mission was not done until the hostages are saved.
Sudou, who was carrying Matsuya on his shoulder, quickly hid behind a small boathouse on the east side. His eyes turned towards his escape route, the boat that was ready for him.
"Just let me go!"
"Shut up, kid!"
Matsuya cried, begging to be released, but Sudou needed the boy for the final trump card. That was one of the goals for this mission after all. As if he will let Matsuya go without torturing him first. While Aigis and the police force were distracted by the other, Sudou had to force a reinforcement.
"How the f*ck did they knew?! How?! Takaya, what the f*ck are you doing?!"
Mount Iwato, Rengedai
"Hmmm... That's strange. He should have broadcast it by now..."
Takaya was resting in his safehouse, overseeing his hidden camp as he watched his followers armed with a weapon and white scarf. He glanced at the wall clock in his small room before resting his head on his chair. The broadcasting room in the next house was waiting to be used. But oddly, Katsuya never made the announcement as Sudou planned. He turned to the screen of the small TV in front of him, searching for the face of the Suou Devil.
"Sir!"
"Ah, you have arrived."
Takaya turned to the door, where one of his servants whom he ordered to scout the outdoor to find any news was kneeling on the floor, wearing an anxious expression.
"S-Sir! I believe that someone sabotaged our network system! The news of Katsuya Suou was made hours ago!"
"What?!" Takaya shouted in shock, "I thought nobody should be able to find our network, not even Babylon! Quick! Bring me to the broadcasting room! I need to give Sudou his order."
"B-But sir..."
"What is it?"
"You- I mean, your voice- had already made the broadcast shortly after Suou gave his speech!"
"What nonsense are you talking about? I never made any broadcast on the radio! Who else can have my voice?"
Red Harbor
"Don't tell me, Babylon f*cking screw us all?" Sudou gritted his teeth, "You f*cking bitch..."
He turned to his walkie-talkie, before noticing that Matsuya Suou who was being dragged by him was panting his breath in exhaustion, where he couldn't even speak out.
"Cold... Cold... Mommy, Daddy..." Matsuya muttered under the rain. His eyes nearly closed, while his lips were red. The make-up he wore dirtied his face by the rainwater, which Matsuya attempted to wipe it clean. The wrist that Sudou grabbed to drag Matsuya around was red with bruises.
"Hey! Don't faint on me! Ah! I can't take it anymore!" Sudou screamed on his walkie-talkie, "HQ! Bring out reinforcement! Bring out the big gun! F*CKING USE THE R'LYEH! I'm blowing Koukai now!"
What followed after was the biggest earthquake.
Tatsuya Suou
After he and his brother knocked out the guards outside the boathouse, the Suou Brothers entered the building, where all the hostages were locked inside. One guard was preparing his machine gun to kill all of the hostages as he lined them up, but he too was knocked out by Katsuya by a flying knee. The moment he saw Maya among them, Tatsuya let out a sigh of relief, where he hurriedly rushed to her.
"Tatsuya!" Maya cried in joy, "You came..."
"Quick! Help me untie them!" Katsuya skillfully cut all of them loose, which Tatsuya immediately noticed.
"Is someone's missing?"
"They said there's a truck left behind," Anna, who was standing next to Maya while scratching her binding marks, informed him, "I think Eikichi might be in that truck."
"I'll have someone look for them later," Tatsuya replied. Maya quickly pulled him to her side and begging him.
"Tatsuya, our son!" Maya said, "Sudou has our son with him!"
"I know! I saw them!" Tatsuya said, "I'm going after Sudou! Katsuya, take them to safety-"
Suddenly, there was a huge explosion sound, followed by a big earthquake coming from the outside. He and the hostages lost their footing and fell on the ground, but Tatsuya quickly regained his balance and rushed outside.
"What the hell is that?!" Katsuya shouted, "Go outside! Check what's going on!"
"On it!"
Tatsuya opened the door and exited the boathouse, and his jaws were dropped.
In the direction of the Koukai Ward, smokes engulfed the sky. Flames enveloped the entire ward. Everything; the aquarium, the school, the restaurants, the residential buildings. All of it was gone in flame. What followed after was the collapse of the ward itself. The steels that supporting the ward crumbled apart like glass. It wasn't long until almost everything sank into the water. Nothing left. They were lucky that the ward was evacuated in time, otherwise, thousands will sink into the water.
That day, Koukai Ward disappeared from the map. The people of Sumaru was reminded to never add another ward in the city again.
"What happened?!" Katsuya emerged from the boathouse and widened his eyes. Soon, Maya and Anna exit the building and saw it as well.
"He did it..." Tatsuya said in a weak tone, "He blew that ward to nothingness."
"No, we did manage to disable one bomb near Konan," Katsuya said, "Though, we only managed to disable only one. Still, people are saved."
"But there's nothing left..." Anna muttered as she fell to her knees, "Where do we go from here?"
"Wait," Maya voiced out, "What's that?"
But that wasn't the end of it.
From the fragment of the broken ward, one massive silhouette was seen amidst the rain emerging from the water surface. It took them a while to comprehend what they're seeing as the sky was dark. But once they understood what they're seeing, they couldn't believe their eyes upon the gigantic thing that emerged from the remained of Koukai.
A war submarine.
Causing a huge wave to the harbor, the huge, black submarine emerged itself from the middle of the sea roughly less than a kilometer away from the shore. It had cannons, rocket launchers, and a heat sensor. It was a war submarine that appeared to be vintage, possibly straight out of World War 2. As the submarine grew closer amidst the rain, Tatsuya was able to read briefly the weak painting on the side. Painted in red, the letter spelled out...
"R'lyeh? Cthulhu's sunken city?" Tatsuya mused, "Don't tell me... That's Revelation's true base? No wonder we never found it. He was hiding in a submarine all along, causing small earthquakes as it hides under the city!"
"The destruction of Koukai Ward was mean to create an opening for the submarine!" Katsuya shouted, "If that thing launched its fire at the city, thousands will die!"
"Tatsuya, go get Matsuya!" Maya faced him, "Don't let him escape to that place with our son!"
"I know!" Tatsuya reloaded his gun and ran straight for Sudou's location. He saw that Aigis was nearly done with the enemies.
"Tatsuya-san, what is that submarine?" Aigis asked.
"Don't tell me Belladonna didn't predict this?"
"No, but there's nothing to worry about," Aigis responded.
"Which part of 'nothing to worry about' is that?!" Tatsuya replied, "Goddammit! Evacuate the Harbor, now!"
The submarine R'lyeh, Revelation's Base
Karu Juugo was surveying the control room in the submarine, watching the servants controlling the machine board that operated the cannon. He received the news about the failure of the operation from Sudou a while ago. The resurface of R'lyeh was minutes earlier than planned, causing some damage to the submarine by the carcass of Koukai Ward, but it was minor damage, and would not defect arsenals on the submarine. After all, the durability of the cannon, the rocket launcher, and everything in the submarine was a gift from the rumors and Nyarlathotep's power.
"Aim cannon C at the harbor and waited for my mark," Juugo commanded. His surveillance camera searched for Sudou. He found the leader carrying a boy in his arm, chased by Tatsuya Suou not far behind.
"I told you not to send Takaya to that mountain, but you reap what you saw," Juugo equipped his black hat, "Not yet, not yet..."
When Sudou was close to his escape boat, Juugo believed he was far enough from the cannon's aim.
"Fire!"
...
But nothing happened.
"What's wrong? Fire," Juugo repeated his sentence.
"M-Mr. Juugo," One of the servants who managed the button faced him, "We lost control with the submarine! Someone hijacked our system!"
"That fast, with such a complex system?" Juugo changed his hat into a purple color and deduced it. There's only one answer.
"Babylon..."
Tatsuya Suou
"Freeze!"
Tatsuya aimed his barrel at Sudou when he was on sight, but held his fire because his son was literally on Sudou's shoulder, and the rain was obscuring his aim. He chased after them again, where Sudou made a sharp turn at the narrow wooden pier, where Sudou's boat was waiting for him. Just less than 100 meters away, Tatsuya knew he had to stop him there and now. Trying his luck, Tatsuya aimed for his leg.
Bang!
"Gah!" Sudou dropped to the ground, clenching his bleeding left leg. Matsuya, who was hanging on Sudou's shoulder, was dropped on the ground, where he almost rolled over into the water.
"It's over, Sudou!" Tatsuya screamed as he rushed towards him.
"No! I'll always win! Always!" Sudou slowly stood up and faced him.
After closing in, Tatsuya eventually paused his steps.
His enemy was finally in front of him. If not for Mitsuru's help, Sudou would have killed the hostages and caused more death on his force. Sudou, however, did not show a distress expression, possibly hinting another trick up his sleeves.
"How did you know?" Sudou asked, "How did you know about the signal from Takaya? How?!"
"We had a little help from the Velvet Residents," Tatsuya said.
Aigis
Kirijo's hidden hideout
(hours earlier)
Aigis and Mitsuru in the room could only stare in shock over the news brought by a member from the Velvet Room, Belladonna. After arriving at their quarter, Belladonna began explaining the secret plan they planned together.
"Father Time masterminding this plan?" Aigis asked again, which Belladonna nodded.
"Me, Nameless, and Father Time all contributed to this operation," Belladonna said.
"So, you are saying that Father Time peered into the future to predict this outcome?" Mitsuru responded, "We could rely on his power more times than we could count in the past."
"It's not that easy," Belladonna shooked her head, "Father Time must conserve his power for future events and avoid looking into the future, but this situation was desperate."
"Okay, so I'll revise this plan that you gave us again," Mitsuru said, "First of all..."
For the past few days, Nameless had gone undercover and hid among Takaya's men, gaining information about his plan with Sudou. Due to their distrust of Babylon, the main informer of the Revelation, added with his home being invaded by Aigis, Takaya had hidden in Mount Iwato, far from network reach. But this proved to be a mistake, as Nameless quickly used his detachment from the network to carry out another plan.
Belladonna was the one who gave the speech on the radio, using Takaya's voice. With this, Belladonna will pretend to send Takaya's force to attack Sudou's men. In truth, however, they will use this event to let Suou Brothers save the hostage and gain the credit, which Belladonna will one more time use Takaya's voice to announce that 'Takaya' was leaving the fate of the hostages to Suou Devils all along.
Of course, with the higher-ups being manipulated by the Revelation, Kirijo herself had to use her army to attack and took out Sudou's men. All in all, this battle benefit Kirijo and Suou Devils greatly, as even if Takaya tried to convince the city that someone was using his voice, the act had been done. Plus, Nameless gained a lot of information from how Babylon's network gathering works. He even revealed that Babylon was someone who was closed to Tatsuya and Maya.
Tatsuya Suou
"No wonder..." Sudou clenched his teeth, "You f*cking cheat!"
"I don't want to hear that from you," Tatsuya gripped the gun in his hand hard, "It's over."
"No, not yet..." Sudou took out a walkie-talkie in his hand and shouted, "Juugo, fire the cannon at the enemies!"
"!" Tatsuya immediately released his shot, which landed on the walkie-talkie in Sudou's hand.
"Urgh! Ha, but it's too late! Hahaha!" Sudou laughed, "Say goodbye to Kirijo and your force!"
He saw one of the cannons on the submarine was aiming at the harbor.
"Sh*t!" Tatsuya screamed on his mic, "Katsuya, tell everyone to run! A cannon is aiming at you!"
"Are you kidding me?!" He heard Katsuya responded, "We can't! We won't make it in time!"
"No!"
From the distance, a loud sound of moving machinery was heard from the submarine. He knew he couldn't make it in time to warn the rest of the people. He could only watch in horror.
...But after a while, nothing happened. The cannon didn't release any shot. Sudou's laugh faded into confusion.
"...What? What's going on?! Juugo?!" He ran towards the walkie-talkie but was frustrated to see that the device was broken.
"I don't know what happened, but it looks like it'll buy them some time to escape," Tatsuya said, "I guess... I guess this is really the end of the line."
"No..."
"!" Tatsuya widened his eyes upon Sudou's action, "Stop!"
Sudou was dragging the weakened Matsuya back into his arm, where he took out a small gun from his coat's pocket. He aimed it at Tatsuya with possibly a raging eyes behind the mask.
"This gun..." Sudou spoke, "This gun has a bullet of highly dosed Limbo Recall. Put it in normal people, and they will die in less than 5 minutes. Put it in Persona user and you can give your Apollo a holiday until the prophecy is over."
"I don't need my persona to kick your *ss," Tatsuya replied, "It's me you want. Don't touch my son."
"D-Daddy..."
He heard his son's pleading.
'I'm coming, Matsuya-kun. Just give me a moment...'
"Oh, yeah? Would you prefer a real bullet instead?" Sudou taunted, but Tatsuya didn't budge. Instead, he took a step closer and shortened the distance.
"You can't kill me. You're not allowed to kill me. That goes against the prophecy."
"..." Sudou turned quiet, seeming disbelieved of what he heard, "...How did you know? Juugo and Lord Nyarlathotep are the only ones who know that."
Sudou gritted his teeth.
"F*ck you! F*CK YOU! Whatever I attempted before was to hurt you, but I'm not allowed to kill you, even though I want to tear you and Maya apart so bad! But I can't! But that only applies to you and Maya, Lord Nyarlathotep said nothing about your kid..."
Sudou shifted his barrel at the temple of Matsuya. Tatsuya knew Sudou would not hesitate to pull the trigger. Matsuya, who was dangling in Sudou's arm, cried in fear.
"Matsuya-kun!" Tatsuya tried to rush towards them, but he was in a dangerous position, "You get nothing from killing him!"
"But I do! I get to see you f*cking break!" Sudou was ready to pull the trigger, "Any last word, Matsuya boy?!"
"D-Don't shoot my daddy!"
Suddenly, with full force, Matsuya bit Sudou arm that grabbed him, where Sudou let out a small scream. It was a foolish decision to make with the barrel on his temple, but Tatsuya knew his son was only trying to help.
"Ah! You little sh*t!" Sudou screamed.
"Matsuya-kun, don't do it! It will only make him- Stop!"
As Matsuya struggled to escape, Sudou re-aimed his gun at Matsuya. Tatsuya took this opportunity to shoot. It was nearly impossible, especially with the weather condition. Tatsuya could only pray that he landed on the mark.
Bang!
He released the shot, and it landed on Sudou's right side of the head. Blood splattered across the pier, his mask flew off his face and broke in half, and Matsuya managed to break free as Sudou fell to the ground. At that moment, the place was quiet, only the sound of the rain was heard. Tatsuya reassured himself that he didn't miss his shot, and he didn't. Matsuya was laid sitting on the ground, watching in horror at the fallen Sudou.
It's over.
"Matsuya-kun!" Tatsuya rushed towards his son and hugged him, "Oh, you're safe. That's all that matters..."
"Daddy..." Matsuya still shocked by the event, finally let his tears loose, "Uwaaaa! Daddy!"
Matsuya let out a huge cry as he's shivering in Tatsuya's shoulder. He was only a child, yet he had to go through such terrible incidents in such a short time. He shouldn't be at the center of this. He was never part of the prophecy. Because of him, Matsuya was almost killed.
"Matsuya-kun!"
Tatsuya and Matsuya turned to the voice to see Maya at the far end of the pier. Next to her, to his surprise, was Eikichi and Mia, who seemed to come all this way in a rush.
"Sorry, we took a while!" Eikichi said, "Lisa's here too! She's with the rest of the hostages! Oh, Kido-san is here, over there!"
"M-Mommy?" Matsuya widened his eyes, before his attention focused on the doll in Mia's arm, "T-That's Mr. Bunbun!"
"Matsu-kun, I got your doll!" Mia raised her arms happily. She turned to Maya and Eikichi and nodded. Without skipping a step, Mia was handed an umbrella and ran first towards Matsuya.
"Come on, let's go home," Tatsuya said, gesturing his son to run towards Mia. Matsuya nodded, slowly broke into a run, and wanted to reunite with his doll. Tatsuya finally smiled, satisfied to see the sadness in Matsuya's eyes had slowly disappeared. Matsuya and Mia both ran towards each other and closing in. Then, Eikichi screamed.
"MIA-CHAN, MATSUYA-KUN, WATCH OUT!"
Bang!
The sound of the shot came from behind him. The bullet itself landed on the back...
...of Matsuya. He fell straight into Mia's arm. Blood was dripping non-stop from his already red dress. Mia herself was so shocked that she appeared paralyzed.
...
...Tatsuya almost couldn't believe his eyes. He quickly turned to his back to see Sudou, who shouldn't be alive with clearly a hole on the right side of his head, was holding the gun with Limbo Recall bullet.
"MATSUYA-KUN!"
He heard his wife's screamed echoed through the rain. Sudou quickly jumped into his escape boat, but not before giving one last glare at Tatsuya while clenching his right face that wouldn't stop bleeding.
"Hephaestus!"
Sudou summoned his persona and shattered the pier, sending a chain reaction and crumbled the entire piers apart as he wheeled his boat away. Maya and the rest had already escaped on land, but Tatsuya had to run to save both Mia and Matsuya, who were still on the pier. But he knew he couldn't make it in time to either chase Sudou, or taking them out of the water as the pier fell, sending all of them into the cold water. Only then that a few officers arrived and empty their guns on Sudou's boat, but they were too late. Sudou's fast boat had already marched towards the submarine.
Tatsuya dove through the cold water and find Mia and Matsuya. Luckily, the seawater was not deep to miss them. He saw Mia was trying to pull Matsuya up, but she alone wasn't strong enough as she's struggling to hold her breath.
From the other side of the water, he saw Eikichi diving in and grabbed Mia. Taking this chance, Tatsuya grabbed Matsuya, whose blood was blending with the water.
"Matsuya-kun!" Maya screamed as both Eikichi and Tatsuya left the water with Matsuya and Mia. Matsuya was not opening his eyes, while Mia was still holding onto Matsuya's doll.
"Mia-chan, are you okay?! Did you get hit?!"
"N-No, but Mr. Bunbun was hit in the chest. See?" Mia revealed the bullet hole that went through the doll chest.
"Matsuya-kun, stay with me!" Tatsuya performed a CPR and pushed out the water from inside his lung. But while the breathing sound was heard, his pulse was weakening on drastic speed. Tatsuya turned him around to see the wound on his back, but it seemed Sudou was not bluffing when he said the dose was high. The nerve mark was visible all over his back, plus Matsuya eyes were dark and his lips red. It was the symptoms of Limbo Recall.
"Tatsuya, what's happening to him?!" Maya asked as she's trying to hold back her tears. Eikichi was calling for Katsuya for an ambulance, but it seemed that the drug was spreading too rapidly.
"No, no! He won't make it! GODDAMMIT! SUDOU!" Tatsuya screamed, "It's Limbo Recall! He can't take the dose! He'll die in minutes! There's no way the ambulance will make it in time! Only a persona user-"
One dangerous thought crossed his mind.
"A persona user..." Tatsuya widened his eyes, "Yes, of course!"
Tatsuya lifted his son's head and screamed as loud as he could. This might be the only way to save his son. Even though it was a burden too big for someone as young as him, as long as he lived, it's all that mattered.
"Philemon! I beg you!"
Tatsuya screamed.
"Please make my son a persona user!"
Maya and Eikichi gasped hard.
"Wait, are you serious?!" Eikichi said.
"It's the only way, it's the only way he'll make it!"
"Matsuya-kun..." Maya let out a cry before she too begged, "Philemon, please don't let my son died!"
And, before he knew it, the world around him changed, as though he had entered a deep sleep.
The realm of consciousness and unconsciousness of all soul
He was sitting on the ground with Matsuya in his arm. This is Philemon's realms, but Tatsuya noticed that the surrounding area had crumbled apart, with light dimming out from the distance. It was clear that something sinister had happened here, although he couldn't guess it.
"Philemon?" He searched for Philemon's presence in that place, where his eyes immediately locked upon a figure not far from the center of the realm.
"Hello, Tatsuya Suou."
He heard Philemon's deep voice.
"Philemon, please!" Tatsuya carried his son and approached him, "You need to help him! Please make him a persona user-"
Tatsuya paused with his mouth opened a gap when Philemon turned his face towards him.
Half of Philemon's face was filled with cracks and dust, like a status waiting to break apart with a mere touch. The left half of his mask was missing, while Philemon was tightly holding the right half of his mask with his hand. His left face was also marked with red symbols, almost the same as the one on his body. From the way he swayed around his body, Philemon was losing the grip of himself.
"...What happened to you?"
"With War growing stronger, my power grows weaker," Philemon answered, "But I do hear your pleads. I do not have much power, but granting him a persona should be within my capabilities. But know that it's for the best that I will not see you again."
"Is that so..." Tatsuya responded, "Answer me, Philemon. War is Azathoth, isn't he? What relationship he has with Nyarlathotep and you?"
"I believe you will find the answer yourself," Philemon approached the unconscious Matsuya, "About the boy: Are you ready to plunge his life into the world of Persona users? Are you confident that he will like the life you force into him?"
"No, he won't," Tatsuya answered swiftly, "I know I'm just being selfish. But I don't want him to die thinking that I don't care about him. It's a harsh world, but I know he can achieve greater than me. He will resent me, but I will not blame him. As long as he lives, there's still a chance for him to see great things in life. I will not let him die like this."
"I see that you have made your choice," Philemon responded, "However, you must do one more thing."
Philemon rested his left hand on Matsuya's forehead.
"Dive into his heart and personally force the Shadow inside him to accept your son. Succeed, and your son will gain his persona."
"Thank you..." Tatsuya bowed. He rested his hand on his forehead and closed his eyes.
...
Matsuya Suou's Heart
Tatsuya opened his eyes to see a familiar place. He was standing in front of Koukai School's front gate. The sky was dark and red, and there's nothing visible outside of the school, only black void and emptiness. He slid open the gate and entered.
This is Matsuya's heart, taking the form of a school. He observed around, trying to find any possible place that Matsuya's Shadow will go. However, probably due to the perspective of a child, the school was twice as big. Most of the building was empty, the hallway seemed to extend infinitely, a huge bell was hanging at the top of the school despite there was none in real life, and the structure was confusingly different from the real one. It was obvious that Tatsuya would rush to Matsuya's class first.
"Matsuya-kun?" Tatsuya called out but saw that no one was inside, except for one. A small figure was sitting on Matsuya's chair, where it was staring intensely at the blackboard at the front. On the closer look, it appeared to be a rabbit doll. It was Mr. Bunbun itself, seemingly alive, and remained still in Matsuya's chair.
"Mr. Bunbun?"
Suddenly, Mr. Bunbun pointed at the blackboard.
"You want to show me something?"
Tatsuya turned to the blackboard and was shocked and baffled at the repeated words.
"IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT. IT'S MY FAULT..."
Those words written with red chalk repeated itself like a mantra as its handwriting slowly became unreadable as it reached the bottom.
"It's 'my' fault...?" Tatsuya approached the blackboard, "Is this Matsuya's emotion?"
He suddenly heard the sound of a chair being slid behind him. He quickly turned around to see that Mr. Bunbun had left Matsuya's table and ran for the door.
"Hey! Stop! Where are you going?" Tatsuya shouted, chasing after it. But it was as fast as a rabbit. It quickly extended the distance between them, but Tatsuya wouldn't give up.
Tatsuya eventually saw the Mr. Bunbun entered the hall on the other building, where the theater was usually held. He hoped that Matsuya will be inside because the sight that he's seeing around the building was extremely unsettling. Many dark roots covered most of the walls and roof outside as it continued to expand like a parasite. The roots reminded him of the spreading nerve effect caused by the Limbo Recall. Was the Limbo Recall slowly consuming the heart of Matsuya?
He ran inside and entered the big hall, where Mr. Bunbun was seen running to the stage, and he widened his eyes in shock upon the view inside.
All the audience seat, nearly a hundred of them, was filled with kids, who were excited to see the show behind the red curtain. Mr. Bunbun itself talked with a feminine voice, which eerily similar to Maya's voice. The rabbit doll landed itself on top of the stage and talked like an announcer.
"Matsuya Suou has committed an unforgivable sin of being alive," Mr. Bunbun spoke, "It is only right that we punish him by locking him up so that he may not harm others!"
"Yeah! Yeah! Punish him!" The kids all cheered for the doll happily. But Matsuya was still not in sight. Mr. Bunbun continued.
"Now, we present to you, the prison of Matsuya Suou!"
The red curtain swung open. At the center of the stage was a boulder of stone with a shape of an egg. The kids cheered even louder. Mr. Bunbun bowed before it continued. Matsuya was inside that thing?
"As long as Matsuya is inside this, then he won't hurt anyone anymore! Rejoice, for this is our payment!"
"Yeah!"
While the kids were cheering, the dark roots from the outside had slowly made its way inside and formed a block spot to everything around it. If his guess was right, Matsuya didn't have much longer, even in the dream. He needed to free Matsuya.
"Enough!" Tatsuya finally raised his voice, "I need to save him. He doesn't deserve to be punished!"
The cheers stopped instantly. All the kids in the hall stood up and finally turned around to face him. Tatsuya stumbled backward in horror upon the sight.
Every kid there was wearing Matsuya's face. Every personality of Matsuya was here in this very hall. There were cowardly Matsuya, female Matsuya, police Matsuya, princess Matsuya, nerdy Matsuya, sleepy Matsuya, rage Matsuya, and more so outfit of his son that was difficult to describe. They all glared at him with hostile intent and a pair of yellowish eyes.
"He's trying to wake up Matsuya!" Mr. Bunbun screamed, pointing at him, "Stop him! Don't let him get near!"
About a hundred of Matsuya were swarming towards him. Despite him being twice their size, their overwhelming number easily drowned him and pushed him to the ground.
"Go away!" Tatsuya struggled to push them away, "You're not my Matsuya! Go away!"
"Leave us alone! Leave us alone! Leave us alone!"
They all piled up upon his body, trapping him. No adult could push away the might of countless kids. His vision blocked, his limbs were pulled, his chest was sat upon, and he couldn't breathe.
But Tatsuya had no time to lose.
"Apollo!"
With a blast of blue flame, the fake Matsuya's scattered throughout the hall and dispersed into dust. Tatsuya regained his stance and ran towards the stage, where the stone egg and Mr. Bunbun was. The rabbit doll transformed itself into a giant slime with fangs, but such shadow was easily crushed next to Tatsuya's power.
"Matsuya-kun!" Tatsuya reached the stone egg and began touching its texture. It was solid hard, but Tatsuya had to try. With a powerful swing, he sent Apollo to punch the stone. The surface cracked only slightly, and the dark roots in the hall were spreading faster than one could anticipate.
"Matsuya-kun, come on!" Tatsuya screamed, "Get out of there! We need you! I need you!"
Rapidly, Apollo attacked the stone eggs, making more and more cracks until the upper half of the stone was fully broke open, where Matsuya's head, seemly sleeping, was exposed. The dark roots already reached the stage, and Tatsuya could see that the rest of the place had been eaten by darkness.
"Just a little more! I got you!" Tatsuya pulled out Matsuya from the stone egg, where almost his entire body was exposed. He was wearing a school uniform, but it was dirty and rumpled. This should be enough.
"...Daddy?"
The Shadow Matsuya slowly opened his eyes, revealing a pair of yellowish eyes. He appeared confused and afraid to see him.
"Matsuya-kun, it's me," Tatsuya comforted his son, "You can't die here. Everyone will miss you. I want you to come back."
"No..." Shadow Matsuya shook his head, "Everyone will be happier without me. Is it not better if I'm gone?"
"No! Don't say such a thing!" He gripped his son's shoulder, "Nobody will be happy with you gone! Your mother will cry and saddened if you stay here!"
"No... You lie..." Shadow Matsuya pushed his hand away, "If she's happy with me around, why does she look so sad when I see her?"
"No, she would never-"
"But she did. I heard she said it. About how hard it is to take care of me. How much she and you suffered because of me..."
His son had cried many times in the past. But this time, his desperate cry was the one that struck him the most.
"I know... *sob* I know you two were busy. That's why I tried my best to not burden you... *sob* I don't want you to be sad because of me... But I can't! I'm not strong like you! I'm not smart like mommy! I know mommy stayed at home because of me! I know you got busy because you're trying to spend more time with me! But I'm not happy. I couldn't be happy. Not with everyone's sad..."
Why? Why must Matsuya blame himself for everything that happened? Why must he take on everything as if it was his responsibility? It was Maya and him who picked this path. Matsuya deserved no guilt from this.
"If I stay away from mommy and daddy, then perhaps you'll be happier? Why keep things that hurt you?"
Ah. He felt like he was looking at the mirror. It was Tatsuya himself. He was always the one who blamed himself for everything. Was this not the trail that he possessed? Yet he failed to notice that his son suffered the same guilt? Like father, like son; what kind of answer he could give?
But he did know the answer. He was old enough to know now. Tatsuya reached out his arm and hugged Shadow Matsuya with the tightest hug he had ever given. He kissed his son on his forehead and answered...
"Because it is worth it."
"...Eh?"
The Shadow Matsuya voiced out his confusion.
"You ask why do I keep things that hurt me. You may not understand now because you're too young, but one day you will. Today, you heard me first. Because everything was worth it. I won't deny that I had to work extra hard for the family, that I had a lot of stress of my own to keep our family happy. Life was hard, and it would be a lie that your mother and I didn't share the same thoughts all the time. But..."
He smiled towards his son.
"But every time I reached home, I looked at both of you and feeling satisfied. If all I need is a little hardship to enjoy this happy moment, I would do it every day, without a second doubt. I'm sorry if I made you feel like you're at fault, but you never were, and never will. You don't need to be strong or smart. Just be kind and brave, and believe me, you'll be a better man than I ever was. You're my beloved son, and I love you."
Shadow Matsuya stared intensely at him before his tears came pouring even more. Truth to be told, he wasn't sure if his son understood every word he said, but as long as he understood that he loved him, that's enough.
"I-I love you too, daddy..."
...
Maya Amano
Red Harbor
"Tatsuya? What happened to you?! Are you listening?!"
Eikichi tried to wake up her husband when Tatsuya suddenly closed his eyes and lost consciousness. Maya took Matsuya from him and checked his pulse again to see that it had weakened, but Matsuya was still alive for now. Mia at her side was watching quietly with extreme worriedness.
"Maya!"
She shifted his attention to the voice and saw Katsuya running towards them with Aigis by his side. Katsuya appeared shocked to see the state of Matsuya.
"Is he..." Katsuya spoke, but Maya shook her head.
"Not yet, but he's fading!"
"The ambulance is on its way," Aigis said, "But you are correct. The boy's pulse is weak and... Ah? He seemed to stabilize at a sudden rate?"
Following Aigis curious analysis, Tatsuya suddenly opened his eyes and stood up.
"Tatsuya?" Maya called out.
"It is done," Tatsuya exclaimed, "I met Philemon. Matsuya-kun is now a persona user."
The look on everyone's face was to be expected.
"No way..." Katsuya widened his eyes, "Why?"
"It's the only way, but we still need to hurry!"
Tatsuya and Katsuya were too exhausted from the operation. Maya volunteered to carry her son to the arriving ambulance. She saw Kirijo talking to the officers in charge to direct them straight to Nanjo's Memorial Hospital.
"Tatsuya-san is right..." Aigis examined Matsuya one last time before Maya jumped into the ambulance, "Although the reading is flickering inside him, the boy does possess the 'potential'. Still, he is weak. You must hurry! I pray for the best for you!"
Maya bowed in gratitude and entered the ambulance, and was surprised to see a familiar face.
"Maki?"
Maki Sonomura was sitting on the opposite side of the ambulance with a doctor uniform, where she hurriedly examined Matsuya.
"Surprise?" Maki chuckled a bit, "I heard of what happened and requested Katsuya to let me and a few other doctors treat the hostages, but I see that Matsuya need treatment the most."
"Oh, thank you so much," Maya said, "Please, save my son."
Maki said nothing but nodded.
Evening - Nanjo's Memorial Hospital
"You're going to be okay, Matsuya-kun! I'm here for you!"
Maya said as she followed Matsuya. He was being trolled to the emergency ward, with a gas mask covering his mouth. Matsuya was not opening his eyes, plus he was pale as white. Maki was assisting the doctor to lead them to their destination before she stopped in front of the emergency ward.
Maya was stopped by Maki before she too entered the ward. And so Maya waited.
And she waited...
Before long, many others arrived to hear the news. Kirijo and Aigis weren't there for a personal reason, but Katsuya sent their regard to her and Tatsuya. Eikichi, Lisa, and even Jun rushed to them from school upon the news. There were also Yukino and Reiji, but Eriko Kirishima wasn't there for some reason. Mia was there as well, apologizing for damaging Mr. Bunbun, but Maya lacked the strength to blame her.
But Tatsuya and Maya were the ones impossible to sit down to calm themselves. Hours passed back, but still no news from the doctors.
And they waited...
And they waited...
And they waited...
...
"Mr. and Mrs. Suou?"
Everyone stood up and faced the doctor who exited along with Maki. Their expression was heavy as if wanting to drop some difficult news.
"H-How's my son?" Maya asked. But the doctor hesitated. Maya felt like her heart had just broken apart as if she knew something bad had happened.
"Please, let me tell them," Maki told the doctor to his job. All eyes were locked on Maki.
"Maki, tell us," Tatsuya's weak voice begged. Maki examined each of their faces before she took a deep sigh... and shed a single tear.
"Matsuya Suou is..."
...
Maya couldn't hear the next word. She didn't want to hear it. But it was a lie. She knew and heard. The moment Maki dropped the news, she passed out immediately and fainted. Tatsuya dropped onto his chair, and several cries were heard across the hall. They were too late.
...
On 29 November 2012, 3:12 p.m, Matsuya Suou passed away due to heart failure.
A/N: Damn... This is the longest chapter I've ever written so far. Sorry for the late update, but we're closing into the climax of this long arc. Koukai Ward is gone for good, a war submarine emerged from under the city, and Sudou still alive after everything that happened.
Matsuya Suou is dead. How are Tatsuya and Maya are going to survive the emotional torture?
Please wait for the slow update.