This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to events or persons living or dead in your world is purely coincidental.
We Cannot See The Way Ahead
Can't Run Clear The Path Of Dead
6/1 Saturday
Evening
She thought that it would feel better once they were out of the suddenly stifling air of the Tenjincho mall. Safely away from officer Makoto Nijima's infuriatingly logical stare and denials that they could look after themselves.
It didn't. A silence had settled down on them all like a giant shared weight, only growing heavier when Pelagio wheeled past overhead on the street.
"Ah, captain. You were inside that mall for a long time. I hope that your meeting with officer Nijima was a fruitful one?"
Nothing. She had nothing. She could say nothing. Nothing fit.
"Captain? Is something the matter?"
Nothing.
"Captain? Saber? My lady? Aiko?"
In a daze, the three of them plodded into the nearby park, where Jiachi took one final look around to make sure Nijima wasn't following them.
"She shut us down", Aiko finally found the energy to give some kind of form to her grief. "I... trusted her. We trusted her, and she shut us down. She... she betrayed us!"
"She took away their weapons", Jiachi explained for an extremely confused Pelagio's benefit. "She's going to have the Yume Bay area blocked off too, so that we can't go in the gate any more."
Perching up on a bald statue head, Pelagio remained unreadable as ever, only the tone of his voice showing how this news was affecting him. "I... do not understand. Why would she forbid us from continuing?"
"She said it's too dangerous", Aiko grunted into wet grass, inwardly amazed at the searing anger she was feeling towards someone she had considered their best ally up until now. "Like we're just some amateurs who just gained our Personas for the first time. If she'd only seen Rosea-kun's Shadow, seen how powerful that thing was, and how we took that bastard down...!"
"She did the right thing."
The others stopped and stared, hearing those words. Mirambela looked embarrassed enough to die.
But neither would she give up, trying to push back against her friend's accusing gaze with the anger that had helped her against Shadows before.
"Please don't hate me for saying this. I think Nijima-san is right. We're too young to be constantly fighting for our lives like this. We're supposed to be going to school, and... and trying to figure out what we want to do with our lives in the future!"
Aiko was naturally more gentle with Mira than she was with others, but even Pelagio could tell she was hurt by the suggestion.
"But we gained this power. How can we just sit back and not use it? If I'd done that earlier, if I'd given up, both you and Rosea-kun would be..."
"I'm not saying that it was the wrong thing to do", Mira implored them with wide eyes. "But now, no one is in danger from the Yume Bay any more. Nijima-san and the other officers will make sure that no one else goes in there. The danger is over. The 'world regression' has been stopped. We won. It's over."
"And what about the Karma club?", Aiko asked. "We know that they're connected to it somehow."
"Nijima-san will expose them and have them arrested", Mira claimed heartily. "I have faith in her."
"I did too", their leader snarled back. "Once. She's the only one on the police force who knows the truth. She's going to try to handle that all alone, instead of letting us help her like we should be doing."
"She was a Phantom Thief", Mira said patiently. "She must have friends, allies who can help her out with that. She won't be alone."
"But we're her friends too!"
Stomping a shoe down as if he'd reaching his own breaking point, Jiachi regarded them both.
"Maybe, maybe not. I'm sure that Nijima-san is a kind person. Way kinder than most of the adults I've met, I won't deny that. But she's still an adult. She doesn't see us as equals. She sees us as kids that she needs to protect. Never mind that you girls beat up a monster that would make adults piss their pants and run away screaming."
"More than one", Mira mused, thinking back to their previous battles, particularly the giant snake which had come after them in Julian's Land. "But she's right. We should just focus on school for now, and let people with more experience handle this."
Exhaling to try and release some of her fury before it scared Mira any more than it already had, Aiko instead gestured over at Pelagio. "What about Pela-tori? If we stop investigating Faraway Lands, we'll never know where he came from, or what he really is."
"I know. But that's still not worth us risking our lives to find out." She bowed a fervent apology to Pelagio, who actually seemed less aggravated by the idea than Aiko.
"Ai-chan... We will never forget what you did for Rosea-kun, or for me. You saved us both from our despair, and you freed us from the false worlds designed to trap our minds. You showed us that life is still worth living in the real world... And now, we value those lives too much to keep putting them on the line this way."
Coward. The horrible thought intruded for several seconds before Aiko banished it.
"I must confess my curiosity about my origins in Faraway Lands", Pelagio offered carefully, fluttering down into the grass so that they could all see the reservation in his piercing raptor eyes.
"However, if the journey to that lost knowledge is truly so perilous as to place our lives in danger, then I would not be so selfish as to demand it of any of you. I will be content to merely remain at your side, captain, and keep you safe from harm. That is all I have wished for."
The vitriolic silence returned. Aiko was staring back at Mira, gentle, meek, peaceful Mira, who seemed all too eager to let someone else take the pressure of decisions off their hands... and then realized that all three of them were anxiously looking at her now, waiting to see what her decision would be. While they had all expressed their opinions in complete honesty, none of them wanted those opinions to drive any kind of wedge into their bonds.
Burying her face in her hands, she raised one of them to try to indicate that they could all go back to the dorms now.
"...I'll think about it."
A thick, insistent rain began to fall as they left the park together.
6/2 Sunday
Morning
She was still thinking about it a day later.
Not exclusively, of course. Just in the times when she couldn't find anything to distract her from that momentous decision. It might have been an excellent day to be in class, and be able to give her absolute focus to any lesson, even Ms. Mattora's or Mr. Niyoga's dry lectures, to the exclusion of all internal debate.
Thankfully, there were more pleasant options for self-distraction around as well.
The reef spread out before her had no name on record, not being significant enough to merit it. She knew that it was half an hour's bus ride away from the city and dropped away very quickly into a deep, sun-limned pit that no human eyes could penetrate until they were submerged.
Spreading her arms wide for a dive felt like some form of ritual release, closing her eyes until impacting the surface and blasting down beneath it, the pressure and buoyancy simultaneously rejecting and sustaining as it pressed against her body. Warmth in the morning sun as it reflected off the surface and into the depths below. Nurturing. Home.
Only, is it home? I thought home was wherever Mira and Julian and Pelagio are. Or maybe it's that dull condo back in Tokyo where my mom is.
Not home, she decided, quickly opening her eyes and regaining her bearings to dive deeper in. The re-breather was a bit large for her mouth, but it served its purpose. It just makes me feel comfortable, like home is supposed to. If this were my true home, then I would be a fish.
As if to demonstrate, a tiny spit of a cod glided past her vision and towards a mossy cluster of pockmarked rocks. Taking it as a sign, she began to explore around the most plant-heavy sections, coming up for air when needed.
There was enough seaweed down here to fill up a truck, but they weren't what she was looking for. After the fifth trip, the cod swam away, and with it her earlier confidence.
Come on, now. The chart said it was here. Well, around here somewhere. Maybe deeper in?
Surface, breathe, dive.
Further out past the shallow rocks there was another bed of packed-looking sand that didn't seem to hold very much of importance besides the occasional sign of marine life, even smaller than the cod. Past that however, the bed became a rounded slope, dropping even further down into the deeps. And at the bottom of that slope...
Surface, breathe. Going up again made Aiko realize how far away from the coast she was getting, but the brief sight of the bright colors on the rock shelf that anchored the bottom of the slope was enough to try again for.
They hadn't vanished after last time. There was seaweed here too, but not enough to completely choke out the less common plants. And then...
Then there were the plants even rarer than that, if Dr. Spica was to be believed. Only a handful clustered around a hole-ridden bump in the shelf, but they clearly matched the photos she'd seen. Circles of four or five rising petals that looked like colorless slabs of shale, protecting the tiny centers masquerading as lumps of coral. Along each of those petals, thin spiderwebs of bio luminescence, red the dominant color but others branching out into every other shade.
The fish and crustaceans and every other life form in here stayed far away from them. That in itself was proof that these flowers were something else entirely. Something new to a world that they had developed instincts for every other aspect of, falling back on caution when something came along they hadn't spent millions of years adjusting to.
Jackpot. Just have to get down there and try to get one loose.
Unfortunately, this proved much more difficult than it appeared. While the strange sea flowers were clearly young and small, their roots were still buried deep enough into the softer parts of the rock that actually pulling them out took more than the strength of someone who had to expend most of their air just to get down this far.
Surface breathe, dive...
After three more attempts, she gave up. Swimming was a natural talent for her, and she had an impressive lung capacity to go with it, aided by the re-breather- eight minutes if she pushed it- but she now understood why Dr. Spica had never attempted to do this himself.
A shame. I guess he'll have to hire a professional diver if he really wants to get his hands on it.
The less strenuous act of swimming back to shore gave that idea time to expand and compete with the multitude of other nagging voices weighing in on the grand debate.
Mirambela wanted out. That much was obvious. It was exactly as she had said; freeing her from the misery that gripped her for so long had given her back the ability to cherish life again. One that she cherished far too much to constantly be taking the risk that her family might never see her again. She would be completely fine if they never even spoke of it again, kept it as a buried memory shared between them.
Standing in direct opposition to her was Jiachi. His recent experiences had wrought some big changes in him, true, but it would have taken much more than that to eradicate a thrill seeker's nature. Like so many of the younger male students, he found most of his classes at Koashimizu to be boring trials to be endured between periods of finding new ways to have fun. Without soccer or fencing or anything else to fill the void between them, there was little he could do to hide his eagerness to join the latest voyage out into the other world when the chance presented itself.
While it was possible that such a trip might diminish his enthusiasm about it once he got to feel the kind of hideous pain that Shadows could dish out, she rather doubted it. He had already witnessed battles against Shadows up close and personal, and he knew exactly what kind of risk he was volunteering for by going with them. The only thing she could really fault him for there was his overconfidence, a belief that they would never be defeated.
With Pelagio abstaining, the decision was left to her. Just as it had been when it had seemed impossible for them to find the weapons they needed to survive Jiachi's Land.
Just like when I was going to give up on trying to save Mira, and let her die.
She didn't need to consider for long how she felt about this new decision. The initial searing anger towards officer Nijima wasn't quite as sharp as it had been yesterday- anger was usually like that- but her answer and her feelings on the issue remained the same.
I want to continue on.
I want to keep on exploring, and seeing what else is out there in Faraway Lands. Just like only professional divers can go into the deepest parts of the sea. It's exploration that only Persona-users can do, and the ones who run the Karma club don't seem very keen on exploration... just exploitation.
Does this make me just as reckless and overconfident as Jiachi?
Maybe.
But she couldn't deny that belief's existence either. Anne Bonny had taught her better than that. To deny those feelings was to deny herself.
As she returned to the shore, further consideration got pushed aside again by another distraction that was still welcome, even if a surprise that had her staring blankly up at the figure lit by the early sun, the re-breather hanging out of her mouth and dangling alongside her wet hair.
"Hayato-senpai?"
The older girl smiled, reaching down with one gloved arm to help haul her friend out of the water. "I knew you'd at least try it", she remarked as a way of explanation. "And this spot is the closest one to the campus."
Sniffing the water out of her nose, Aiko turned back towards the sea and frowned. "If it's not the deepest one too, it might be a while before we get any samples. I can see the flowers, but they're too deep down to reach easily."
"You look pretty beat", Reiha admitted, offering the towel she'd left nearby. "I just got here when you were going down the last time. Brought lunch too."
The sensation that was aching her joints now couldn't properly be called hunger, but energy was energy and another welcome distraction on top of that. "Um. Thank you. I'm surprised that you came out this far on a hunch."
"A correct hunch. I also wanted to apologize", Reiha shrugged nonchalantly. "I got the sense that we kinda hit a bad patch last time. I know perfectly well that most people my age think that the Phantom Thieves are cool. Not the first time I've gone against the grain. I'm used to it."
Midway through drying off, Aiko narrowed her eyes. It wasn't hard to pinpoint what might have changed her own opinion about the Phantom Thieves between the last time and now. You can't trust the Phantom Thieves...
It couldn't be called hate, not even close. But the more she thought about it, the more accurate Julian's earlier appraisal of Makoto seemed.
"I know. I wasn't thinking very much either. I just assumed everyone who wasn't a criminal didn't like the Phantom Thieves."
"The police, naturally", Reiha pointed out, unaware of the irony in that statement. "But that's all in the past. Nice try, even if you couldn't get any this time."
"It's frustrating", she confessed in irritation. "Being so close to it. Dr. Spica is right. They're definitely not normal flowers. They're recent. Has he tried taking this to a bigger organization, someone who can hire some real divers to pick those up? I'm not exactly a professional or anything."
Reiha gave her a pitying look. "He did. Brought it before the JSF actually. And the EPA. Both times they turned him down. They think he's another Fukurai, y'see."
She didn't, actually. "Huh? What's a Fukurai?"
Reiha looked disdainful. "Oh, come on. You come from Tokyo and you don't know that? Yuichi Fukurai, a master con artist. Ex-head of the ADP, the 'Assembly of Divine Power'. Turned himself in and confessed all his crimes six years ago, considered another 'success' by the Phantom Thieves."
"...Oh."
She had the distinct impression that Reiha was trying not to sneer. "Hey, credit where due. The guy was a real bastard. He made more money off scamming people, exploiting their superstitions, than either of us will make in our lives. But now the doc's got a similar rep attached to him, and he can't seem to shake it. Maybe chalk that one up to JCAP's influence too."
"So they don't believe him", Aiko considered regretfully. "Maybe if he wasn't so..."
Just a second too late to stop herself, to consider what exactly she was saying and avoid Reiha's pitying look.
"Wasn't so what, Tsuruga-chan? Eccentric? Madcap? Weird? Everyone at school thinks that you're weird. They think I'm weird too. Like Niyoga-kun says, normalcy is overrated."
"Except when you're trying to get a group of other scientists to trust you, apparently", Aiko remarked, though her tone was apologetic.
Reiha barked a nasty laugh. "Scientists? If more than half of the people on the JSF's board of directors are actual scientists, I'll eat my gloves." Softening after, she glanced out at the open water. "At least, that's what the doc says. He calls 'em leaves, 'cause they always blow with the wind."
"He would have spares in case he lost that bet", Aiko joked back. "I just wanted to know the reason he left something like this to a high school student."
"Because adults would demand more money that he doesn't have", Reiha smiled before taking on a more reserved expression augmented by her pale face. "Seriously, though. It's because he trusts you. Don't get me wrong- the doc hates people. Never goes anywhere if there's a big enough crowd. Individuals, though, he can learn to like. I owe him a lot, actually."
"'Tawa.'"
A shudder of exasperation ran through her body. "Yes, enough to even forgive that nickname. Please don't use that. It's embarrassing enough when he does."
Comprehending her tone instantly, she nodded compliance. I certainly wouldn't want anyone calling me 'Crybaby Ai' any more. 'Aiko the Psycho' is bad enough.
Reiha seemed to sense where her thoughts were going just by looking at her too. "Right. The other reason I stopped by is that Kujou is going to have someone tape your dorm room door shut tonight."
It wasn't the realization of the prank itself that made her pout, but merely Benihime's dogged persistence that infuriated her. "I've been here a whole two months and she still won't give up trying to get me?"
"Because you still haven't given up", Reiha explained with a helpless shrug that did nothing to hide her inner admiration of the younger girl's resolve. "The awful rumors online and on campus, the pranks... You never let any of it get to you."
"Because you keep tipping me off so I can avoid them", Aiko smiled back at her gratefully. It wasn't fun to imagine how she might feel if she actually had been successfully hit by each of the disgusting mockeries. An 'accidental' food fight targeting her, a pelting of tampons, several attempts to deface her locker, and now this.
She might have almost considered giving in, giving them the public meltdown they wanted, just to make it finally stop.
But not quite. In fact, the more effort Kujou and her friends put into breaking her, the more satisfaction she got out of avoiding each pitfall, and the more resolute she was not to let any stress show.
And the less effort she puts into tormenting other students who don't have my advantages, like Mirambela.
Still, her tired sigh felt reflexive at this point. "I so do not have time for this juvenile crap any more."
Not when she had to worry about things like Faraway Lands and the Karma club. About the future of their little team, if there was to be one.
"If it helps", Reiha encouraged her, "Kujou is getting just as upset by this as you are. It's actually cost her some of her friends, the way she's been constantly obsessing about beating you. Tastunoko-kun has started a vote to select a new head of the SDC."
Another sigh, this time one of relief, coming across almost like a swoon. "I always knew that boy had a good head on his shoulders. Do you think...?"
"You'd have to get in line", Reiha informed her. "No offense, but I doubt he'd be interested in a first year."
"Rosea-kun's a second year", she protested. "That's only a one year difference."
Of course, she knew that the real obstacle was much more than a matter of age. Kohru Tatsunoko wasn't only an incredibly handsome third year on the student council, but someone who constantly exuded an air of strong self-discipline about him that suggested little patience for any kind of nonsense.
Which made it all the more puzzling to her that he had put up with Kujou for as long as he had.
Even more than Shukiji or some of the other more mature third year boys, Kohru gave the impression that he was already an adult in many ways beyond the physical. Naturally, girls from every year and class gushed over him endlessly, and Aiko had to admit that if she hadn't had so many other things on her mind, then she would have been a part of that crowd as well.
Handsome and he knows it. Doesn't let it go to his head though, which of course makes him even cuter. A boy like that would be absolutely perfect for our team, but he'd probably blab to Yumika instead.
Realizing just how feverishly warm all this thinking about Tatsunoko was making her, she shook it off. What was it I was just saying about not having time for stuff like that right now?
Still, it had given her a new idea.
Once she'd changed behind the rock, she faced Reiha anew. Reiha, who had come to her from the very start and offered to help her by warning her of the pranks in secret, and who had even gotten her the very side job she had just attempted and failed. Whose only motive seemed to be wanting to see her be happy.
If she couldn't trust Reiha, who could she trust?
"Let's go back to the mall", she offered, sounding as if it wasn't a spur of the moment decision. "Anything you want to do there, we'll do. My treat this time. And after that... I have something I want to share with you."
6/2 Sunday
Afternoon
Days like this, she decided, was what malls were invented for.
Aiko had witnessed at an early age that there was a certain sensation of heady freedom that lay in the kind of reckless spending that she normally fought to hold back from. The feeling was euphoric- doubly so with friends along for the ride- and she had seen it overpower the will of others her age.
It had been impossible in Tokyo's malls, having never had an allowance. Only now that she was away from her mother and given her own income could it be done. For today only, the Tenjincho mall would be their personal playground, catering to their every whim. Face painting, hair salon, lunch, massage, trying and buying new clothes, arcades... until finally they were both feeling fatigued enough to stop.
On reflection, she calculated that she had just blown through just over three weeks of pay and this month's money from her mother. She was, however, proud to note that the money earned from fighting Shadows and exploring Faraway Lands had not been touched.
Not that we'll need that if I decide not to continue. Guess we can use it for a group vacation at Cape Ashizuri since it technically belongs to all of us equally.
Which brought her back to the present. Out of some niggling superstition after last time, they had avoided staying in the food court, instead taking seats at a table on the second level overlooking it.
Staring a face newly-patterned with brilliant multicolored star marks contrasting with her usual paleness down into the pit, Reiha raised a cup of some kind of juice, doing an excellent impression of someone who was slightly tipsy. "Ahh... urp. Here's to the man who invented the double chocolate crepe."
Raising her own cup up in response, she laughed back. "And here's to whoever invented Masala Chai tea."
Slamming down her cup in mock outrage, Reiha raised an eyebrow. "No fair! You're still young, you should be into ridiculously sugary carbonated drinks, not tea."
"Masala Chai tea with two spoons of sugar. And chocolate syrup mixed in if I'm in the mood."
"That's better." Finishing up, she cast an eye across the spread of the mall, then back onto Aiko's smaller form, clad in a new dress, dominantly white to contrast her black. "Gotta say though, for someone who eats as much as you do, you're in excellent shape. Is your fencing club really that good?"
Here we go then. No turning back. "I... get some good exercise in at night. Actually, that's why we're here."
Reiha raised a brow, not comprehending. "To get exercise? I mean, I know there's a rental gym here and now's the perfect time to work off the calories, but..."
"N-no", she stammered awkwardly. Of course Reiha would know about that kind of thing. Between the school gymnasium and whatever else it was she did, her arm and leg muscles looked like liquid rock beneath their leather coverings most of the time, only accentuated by how tight they were.
"I wanted to share something with you. Something important. Please listen to me, and... no more jokes until the end, please."
Regarding her with a mixture of appreciation and real, unfeigned curiosity, Reiha leaned back, arms folded. "I promise to try."
Aiko took a deep breath.
It was much easier once she got started. One thing led to another in a flow that only stopped when she had to stop and drink some of the tea. Against any other ideas she might have had for how to get her points across, it inevitably resolved to the same abbreviated form as Bartholomew had used to explain to her the stories of Tartarus and the Midnight Channel as well.
She kept all mention of Makoto Nijima and the Phantom Thieves out of it completely.
When she was done, Reiha took an exhaustively long swig to finish her own drink, giving her time to brace herself for mockery, for accusations of drug use, for a complete rejection of everything she had just said. No matter what happened next, the sensation of invisible weight leaving her was unmistakable.
Taking several minutes of silence to formulate a reply, Reiha regarded her carefully, tapping the side of her left eye with her index finger. "It if was anyone else except you who told me that, I'd say that your medication isn't working. But it fits everything that's happened this year perfectly. Better than any other reason. The rumors. The disappearances. The people who came back with a changed perspective on life. Your amazing talent at the fencing club."
Her eyes widened at the flattery. "You know about that too?"
"I asked Umaeda-sensei how you were doing", Reiha explained hastily. "He likes you. No surprise, since you're the one who helped him restart it in the first place."
"And I like him", she confirmed, beaming. "I wish I could be in his regular math classes too, even if he coughs a lot. He'd be way better than Noriyama."
"...Does he know about this?"
"No. No teachers. Only me, Rosea-kun, Mira-chan, and-"
"And the falcon who talks to you", Reiha finished, her face expressing all the skepticism that notion deserved. "And transforms into a boat in this 'other world'."
"Okay, I know it sounds crazy, but-"
"Yeah. Several hundred miles past crazy", Reiha agreed, smirking. "But sometimes the world is crazy that way. And like I said, it makes more sense than any of the other explanations I've heard. Suddenly, Sorano-chan is standing up for herself. Suddenly, Rosea-kun is no longer acting like he's God's gift to the world. Welcome changes, both times, both for us and for them."
Aiko stared into the hands draped over her legs. They felt shorter than usual next to Reiha. "I hope so. It wasn't easy, either time. And now... I don't know if we should continue with it."
"The police have blockaded the Yume Bay", Reiha murmured. "Reasonable, since all three disappearances were around that area."
"Yes", she acknowledged. "Hopefully, that will stop anyone else from entering Faraway Lands. But that's not our next target. If we decide to keep going, anyway. Next target is the Karma club."
The older girl's eyes narrowed. "Now there's another place that's had a lot of nasty rumors swirling around it. For example, I heard that before the current management took over and renovated the place, it was an S & M club."
"Huh? What's that stand for?"
Reiha broke off into light laughter at that. "Sorry, Tsuruga. It's amazing to me that after all you've seen and done, you're still so blissfully innocent in some things. It's, uh... complicated. Let's just say that no one our age would be allowed in there."
"We're not supposed to go in there now", Aiko pointed out. "I mean, I know that some under age students still go in there, keeping it a secret from their parents and teachers, but..."
"And either they have good fake IDs", Reiha carried on, "or else the club just doesn't give a damn. Either way, they're definitely suspicious."
Exhaling, she nodded. "So, do you think that we should keep going? That we should investigate that place, even if it might be dangerous?"
"Hold up", Reiha halted her with a gloved hand. "I didn't say that. I don't quite get everything you've told me, but it sounds like you can't summon those Persona thingies of yours here, right?"
"N... no", she confessed glumly. She dearly missed being able to do that- being able to vault across distances and eviscerate Shadows on her cutlass and use magical skills- more than she would ever admit to anyone, even Reiha.
"Meaning you'd be just as helpless as anyone else if they caught you. And Rosea-kun said that they have Personas of their own, and they figured out a way to summon them in the real world, right? That would be like trying to take on a fuckin' modern army with sticks."
Aiko sagged back in her chair. "So you're saying that we shouldn't act?"
"I'm saying, think it through. Still way too many unknowns by the sound of it."
"I... see." Knowing that the dejection gripping her heart wasn't Reiha's fault did nothing to stop it. Of course it's not. You wanted an absolution, didn't you? Someone you respected to make the decision for you, and lift the responsibility from your shoulders.
Idiot. This choice is yours to make, no one else's.
"I'll check it out", Reiha broken into her recrimination. "I look older than I am. I can pass for a guest, and even a showgirl applicant if I really need to."
The words alone, truthful as they might have been, set her alarm senses ablaze, and Aiko shook her head in fright. "No. Please don't risk that, Hayato-senpai."
A rude snort answered her. "Oh, so it's okay for you to take that risk, but not me?"
"I've seen Personas and Shadows", she argued anxiously. "You didn't know they existed until I told you. If they found out that you're investigating them-"
"They'll do what? Kill me? You really think they could get away with that?"
"They got away with nearly killing a Shadow who looked like a human", Aiko maintained, remembering what Jiachi had said. "And whatever it is they're doing to their staff to keep them in line, it's probably against the law."
Quietly acknowledging the danger involved, Reiha glanced over to the northwest, as if she could somehow peer through the concrete and brick of the mall and the other buildings and see the club from here. "Wait, is that why you took that part-time job at the Starlight? So you could stake out Karma?"
She chuckled back. "I suppose that would sound pretty impressive, like I had a plan all along", she considered. "But no, it's just a coincidence. Actually, I heard the rumors about the club when I applied for the job. As soon as I said I might go work there instead, the owner relented and let me sign up with him. I guess that was my first clue that something was off about them."
"Then let the cops handle it. It's their job."
Of course, it was easy to see that line was merely for show. Reiha had never been one to trust in authorities at school or otherwise. She hadn't even needed to tell her anything about Nijima yet to figure that out.
"They checked, and found nothing."
"Of course they found nothing", Reiha nodded. "You don't even know what it is they should be looking for, do you? What crime could they possibly charge? The crime of having Personas? Of beating up a Shadow? You'd all be guilty of that too."
Pausing, she shook her head. "The crime of knowing that Rosea-kun had been replaced by his own Shadow, and not telling anyone. The crime of trying to recruit that Shadow, instead of reporting it."
"But those aren't crimes", Reiha reminded her forcefully. "Because they don't know about that stuff. There's zero laws regarding the trafficking of Shadows. If what you're telling me is true, Personas are more dangerous than guns, yet there's no laws banning them. It's uncharted, unmapped territory we're dealing with here... in more ways than one. Until more people are willing to accept that it's real, the police won't be able to help us there."
"And.. are you?"
Reiha snorted in amusement. "If this is actually a fucking prank, then it's the most elaborate one I've ever seen, and whoever thought it up deserves to see it through after all this time and preparation. I'd like to see it for myself, of course. It sounds amazing."
Aiko smiled, eyes shut as she reflected back to the various scenery of Faraway Lands. If you put aside all the dangers, it really was a visually astounding place. An ultra high-tech forest where floating walkways took people and robots where they wanted to go. A sepia-toned western town, old-fashioned rail lines spanning a vast desert. The dark sea of stars, backlit by the orange light of the afternoon's demise. All of it lying through a gate of brilliant green light that parted the water before it.
"It is. I'd love to show it to you, but we can't right now."
"Convenient", Reiha teased before becoming serious again. "Then let me do this for you instead."
"No." Before she even realized it, she found her hands reaching out to grip Reiha by the tips of her gloves, as if afraid that she was going to fly away never to be seen again.
"No. Please, senpai, don't. We don't know what they can do. If..."
If something happens to you.
If it's something I would have been able to deal with.
If they turn out to be more than we can handle.
If.
Surrounded by the images of potential disastrous futures, she came back to reality in time to see that in pulling free of her grip, Reiha had accidentally spilled her drink. It wasn't tea like hers, but a boiling hot espresso, the spill emitting stream as it splashed across her lap.
But there was no sudden yelp from her friend, no flinch of pain. She merely looked down, let out a mild curse, and began to clean it up. "No big", she blurted, sensing a frantic apology coming on. "My fault."
"If you say so", she muttered, not caring about her words so much as how it was that Reiha could be so uncaring about what had to be a painful coffee burn. Or how she'd been so calm about practically crushing her hand in a door a few days ago.
Standing back up, she gave a wan smile. "If something happens, you'll know. The worst they can do is kill me, right? And that's only if I screw up."
"No! Why are you so...?" So reckless? Like Julian?
No. A chill ran through her arms and she let go. This was a different kind of recklessness, different from Jiachi- or her- being too confident in their success. This went beyond Reiha placing her needs below the needs of others, as a 'defender of justice'.
"Hayato-senpai", she tried again, dead serious as well now. "I want you to promise me right now that you won't try to infiltrate the Karma club."
The older girl looked offended, and for a moment Aiko thought she might refuse until her hands dropped back down to the table to grab the cup. "...Alright. I promise. If it's too dangerous for me though, I don't think you should either."
"We'll do it together", Aiko promised back, fighting off the images of Julian and Mira and Pelagio getting hurt that suddenly assailed her. "All of us who know how to use Personas and fight Shadows ourselves."
Brightening, Reiha nodded. "Good. If all four of you watch each other's backs, it should be fine. Assuming that talking bird is as loyal as you say."
"Believe me", she rolled her eyes, "he's been so loyal that it's kind of annoying sometimes. He doesn't like when I go indoors, because he can't see me there." Then there was the time when he attacked Byzael out of paranoia. Good thing he got over that. "Still, I trust him completely."
"You trust a talking bird", Reiha observed glibly. "Well, I knew from the moment I saw you that you were different. I just didn't know how much until now."
"I am, aren't I?" And I wouldn't trade it for anything.
6/2 Sunday
Afternoon
The seemingly inexhaustible June rain appeared to be finally weakening as Noel Vitienne approached the abandoned-looking temple, though the general consensus was that this was merely a gap before the downpour would resume, stronger than ever as it drummed against people's roofs and windows.
He had to confess a certain horror for that kind of rain. One situation which had always spurred him to remedy it by whatever means he could was the feeling of being alone in a building while cold, heavy rain poured down, a machine gun noise that only called further attention to the fact that he was alone. As though he were the very last morsel trapped in a container which a giant beast sought to reach.
Were it up to him, no one else would ever have to experience that particular sensation, and so he ignored the lack of exterior lights and powered through the front door into near darkness beyond. However, the one person he expected to see among the benches and altar was gone.
"Father? Father Shigetsu?"
He'd started to get worried by the time he saw the robed figure standing outside, knelt down and thankfully in a spot covered by the building's awning so the rain would not reach him until it resumed full strength. The grass outside looked moist, but the man's bronze cane looked equally sturdy in it. Still, Noel found himself unconsciously preparing in case his pastor fell.
"Father", he called once more, glad to see the man's quick response. Whatever else might have happened, he had not lost his wits yet. Hopefully. "Why are you out here, father?"
Turning, the man gave a pained smile back. "Is that not obvious, my son? I'm gardening. I'm making sure my barricade is secure against the rain, so that the soil is not flooded. Even for plants, too much water can be fatal."
Following him, Noel noticed the set of small, foot-high wooden blocks that had been set up to form a protective rectangle around a fifteen-foot patch of soil running alongside the temple.
"Gardening, father?"
"I was sitting there in my temple", the priest noted pleasantly without looking back. "Bored out of my skull, if I'm to be honest. Wondering how I might repay the girl who saved my life."
"Wondering...? Who?"
"You might not know her", Shigetsu acknowledged, smiling slowly. "She was not a part of our lost flock, but a friend of miss Samesaji from what I understand. An angel who hauled me free of a dark pit. Now, you and her are the only ones who come to visit this place. I've been hoping to introduce you."
Noel paused, uncomprehending. Returning to the shrine had caught him up on what had befallen the man since then. While I was off feeling sorry for myself over Furusato, my pastor was dealing with something far worse.
Considering what had already befallen Shigetsu, feeling guilty over not being there for him felt inevitable. That guilt had kept him coming back whenever he could, though apparently not enough to spot this other girl who had been helping... or to spot the small garden his pastor had been building up until now. He was just as surprised to see a rain barrel off to the other side of the building, junky-looking but functional.
Spotting his gaze, Shigetsu nodded towards the raw unpainted wood. "I won't need that for a while, but I'm glad to see it works. Put it together myself from scraps."
"You've been busy, father", Noel said with new admiration.
"The Lord did not give us limbs so that we could sit idle", Shigetsu remarked back, tapping his cane against the barrel for emphasis. "One door closes, another opens. I could sit here in my lonely shrine and bewail the fate which has befallen me, or I could seek out some other way to make myself useful."
Easily recognizing the paraphrasing, the blond boy sighed. "Es tut mir leid. If I'd had the same inner strength as you, I would not have left you when you needed me."
As expected, there wasn't a hint of reproach in the man's reply, nor the hand clasping his shoulder. "Du wurdest mich nie verlassen. Sometimes, personal troubles can seem too great to bring into this place. But I am here for you now, child. Speak. Tell me what has befallen you since last we saw each other."
Despite everything, he felt himself brightening up. Even to the death, Shigetsu was a natural for the role of parish, receiving any confession someone cared to give without judgment or bias, and usually able to provide more wisdom than a mere quotation. Remembering all the times he'd seen this made it seem all the more incredible that he'd refused to bring his recent troubles in here.
"You're... sure the garden doesn't need you right now?"
Gesturing to the rectangle of soil and the tiny green sprouts visibly coming up through it, he beamed. "Long ago, when I first arrived here, I was told that the soil around this shrine had been blessed by the Kunitsukami. Until now, I never gave the idea much thought, but somehow, the seeds I have planted are already showing signs of growth here."
"Perhaps they sense your frustration", Noel replied without any hint of teasing. Others, he knew, would have scoffed at the notion or merely remained politely quiet.
"Perhaps they do", Shigetsu considered as they returned to the shrine and the rain began to pick back up. "Perhaps they sent that girl to me as well. You really should meet her, since you two are now my only visitors."
Sitting down on the main dais with his leg folded and the cane positioned across it as if in meditation, he stared back into Noel and nodded. "I sense you've been through just as much of a trial of faith as I have in these last few weeks."
"Not even-", then Noel caught himself. Shigetsu never failed to make him look foolish, but it was the good kind of foolish. "...I would say so. Do you remember the girl I talked to you about before?"
"Of course. Ayano Furusato, wasn't it? Charming girl. You seemed very taken with her."
"I was. And now, she is gone."
Freezing up as he processed then, he regarded Noel with grieving eyes. "Gone? Just like your-"
"No", he quickly corrected, trying not to be led into even older memories. "It was not like last time, father. Her death was not my fault this time. At least, that is what I believed at first."
Concerned, Shigetsu ran one hand along the length of the cane, never losing his focus on Noel's eyes. "At first?"
"Yes", he said, wondering not for the first time how much he could really share, even with the man he trusted the most in the world, who was more of a father to him than his own. "Later on, I visited the hospital. The doctors were all trying their best to raise her, but all in vain. An older woman visited me there. She said..."
The priest waited patiently for him to finish the sentence, and Noel suspected he would wait to the end of days if he had to. No going back.
"She said that Furusato-san had lost her soul. That it was trapped forever in a dream world. She also told me that it was a world Furusato-san could have only entered if she had wanted to."
To his relief, Shigestu's face remained free of any hint of mockery or humor. "Another world, you say... who is this other woman you spoke of?"
"Cecille Yumika", Noel explained, grateful to have the hardest part- the opening- done with. "She's principal Yumika's younger sister, though they don't get along well. She normally teaches at a primary school here in the city."
Grasping for any degree of levity to brighten things up, he walked over to take a seat next to his pastor. "Though she was very quick to let me know that she got that job entirely on her own merits, not her brother's."
"Of course", Shigetsu nodded back gratefully. "And do you believe her? Do you believe that there is another world that your friend was lost to?"
Staring up into the windows being pelted with rain, he felt his fingers knotting together. "Yes. I do. Because, father... Cecille also showed me some things. Things which I have never witnessed before, which support her claims... and yours."
Eyes widening in shock, the priest turned his head to face him. "My claims?"
Noel smiled back wryly. "You can't tell me you've forgotten. No one else believed you. And... To be honest, father, I didn't truly believe you either, until I saw it for myself. The demon that you spoke of. The one which took your leg."
The reaction was much more restrained than he'd expected, possibly because on some level, Shigetsu had begun to believe that he had hallucinated it after all. Difficult to hold onto a truth that only you accept.
"The demon", he repeated numbly into the carpet. "The monster who..."
"From what I have learned", Noel said, "they are called Shadows. And they normally dwell in that other world."
"Then why", Shigetsu whispered quietly enough that the sound of the rain nearly drowned him out, trying to stand before remembering himself and grabbing his cane just in time to prevent himself from falling. "Why did they appear here six years ago? Why?"
The imploring noise echoing in the empty temple ended when Noel stepped around to help him up. "I do not know. Not even Cecille knows... or at least she was unwilling to tell me. She's very secretive about these things."
"I can understand why", Shigetsu agreed sadly. Years spent unable to make any listen to the truth, and at the cost of so much. "However, I hope to be able to speak with her myself some day."
Noel shrugged uneasily. "She doesn't want me to share this with anyone else either. If she hears that I told you, well... I don't really know, do I? There are still many things I don't yet comprehend about the other world."
Which stopped his sudden curiosity as quickly as it had come, reverting back to his normally reserved self. "I understand. We can't risk anything happening to you. For now, it's enough that you and I know the truth."
"For now", Noel agreed, trying to sound more upbeat than his sudden exhaustion allowed. There was so much more he wanted to discuss about the other world, most importantly what it meant for them... but not at the expense of his pastor's health or anything else.
"If ever you are feeling threatened by that woman", Shigetsu pointed out. "Or by Shadows, or anyone at all for that matter, you will always have sanctuary here. But enough of such talk."
Rising once again, and properly this time, he regarded Noel with a calm that didn't quite hide the new shine in his eyes. "Instead, please tell me of my son."
6/4 Tuesday
After School
"Akechi Mitsuhide", Mirambela murmured into the dry dorm room air.
Her essay on the famous historical general was now complete with a final stroke of her pencil, but as always, her thoughts on the subject continued roaming on long after they had been committed to paper.
That was probably the reason why history was her best subject. She never ceased to be fascinated by the men and women from so many different countries and eras, and the choices they each made, which could now be viewed and analyzed by her retrospectively like some omnipotent observer.
Which wasn't to say that she enjoyed the number who inevitably became entangled in some awful war, or all too often singled out for persecution by a powerful ruler. The legend Oda Nobunaga's insults and threats towards his general Mitsuhide remained documented even to this day, and considered to be a part of reasoning behind Akechi's eventual betrayal of his warlord at Honno-Ji.
It made her wish she could travel back in time, and truly understand what drove men to such mad displays of power and arrogance. Or at least comprehend what truly drove the Legion of Light's leaders, so she might figure out how to stop them from taking more lives.
A natural death is tragic enough, yet some always seek to cause more. Why?
I don't get it.
But then there was the sneaking undercurrent of it, the worry that if she ever actually managed to understand the warped mentality that drove people like that, then she might become more like them. If that was the trade, that she was fine with being kept in the dark.
Aiko's entry interrupted her musings. Her roommate had been very busy in the last few days, always finding places and people to visit after school. Mira respected her enough not to entertain the suspicion that she was doing it in order to avoid her after their disastrous meeting with Makoto Nijima.
Still, the stiff look on her friend's face stirred those unspoken fears.
"Welcome home, Ai-chan", she nodded, packing up her paper for Saturday. After the incident that had driven her to Faraway Lands, she no longer risked writing her assignments electronically, even if the grand majority of students did. "How was the fencing club?"
Aiko's smile felt distant and distracted, but enough to soothe her fears. "It was fine. We got some new people joining up to replace Rosea-kun. Two boys and a girl, all second-years."
Mira gave an impressed noise. "That's six now, right? Umaeda-sensei must love you."
The smile faltered. "Oh, come on. I really don't think they're joining up just for me. At least, I don't want to think that. We're not some kind of freak show here."
"Of course not", Mira agreed quickly. More than anyone else, she knew how sensitive her friend was to that kind of implication. The idea that people were only joining up so they could see 'Aiko the Psycho' in her 'natural environment'.
If any part of that notion was true, it was the final one. At times, she'd been forced to stop her friend from pantomiming the fine details of her lessons with Umaeda; swordplay and violence held no real interest for her, and she could only pretend otherwise for so long. Pelagio would be willing to listen forever, but that could have been because of his loyalty or genuine interest in the subject.
Collapsing dramatically onto the bed to get Mira's attention, Aiko began to stare into her friend's eyes, trying to gauge her reaction to the next words to come: "I've decided."
Naturally, Mira's first impulse was crippling fear. Fear that this day would come, and fear that the decision would be made against her. Aiko's own impulse was to shut down the conversation right there, or maybe lie about the decision, but those worries were squashed easily enough.
"I talked to Hayato-senpai. I told her everything."
Naturally shocked, Mira stood up from her chair. "Whoa, seriously? I thought you said we shouldn't share this with anyone."
"I said we shouldn't share it with Niyoga-kun", she corrected. "They're different. In fact, she took it even better than I thought. She didn't call me crazy even once. More importantly, she didn't demand that we take her to Faraway Lands... not that we could, now."
"No", Mira agreed, trying to mask the relief she'd felt seeing the yellow police tape and orange wooden blockades around the Yume Bay. It was no mere gesture either; she'd seen that there was always at least one cop on duty there, making sure no one got in.
"But she did say we should go after the Karma club."
"Oh." Disappointment, worry, the vision of discovering one day that her friend was gone from this world... "Did you agree with her?"
Reluctant to make the final reveal, she leaned back into the pillow. "Not right away. I wanted to hear opinions from everyone I trust before I decided. I didn't tell the secret to anyone else. I had to use analogies with Umaeda-sensei and captain Byzael."
"And?"
Aiko shrugged in apology. "Sorry Mira-chan, but they said yes too. And you can probably guess what Bart-kun said."
"The assistant of the long-nosed man who lives in your head when you sleep", Mira remembered out loud, hoping that the ridiculousness of the statement might give her friend a reason to doubt Bartholomew's words. "Can I meet him, some day?"
"Of course you can. Name a day, and I'll ask him." Stretching, she returned her eyes to Mira's smooth-skinned face. "In the meantime though, I've decided. I've already texted Rosea-kun about making our plans. We're doing it."
Mira tried not to let despair crush her into the dorm room floor. Her friend deserved more than that, after all she'd done. "...I see. Will you at least tell Nijima-san before you do?"
True sorrow and regret stained the younger girl's face now. Can't trust the Phantom Thieves...
"Sorry, but we can't do that. If we did, then she would act to stop us. Maybe even make an excuse to keep us under watch after class."
"Then don't do it", Mira pleaded with her, drawing closer so she would see the expression of terror in her eyes better. "If you have to keep something a secret from Nijima-san, then you shouldn't do it! It's too risky!"
"I'm sorry", her friend muttered regretfully, eyes lowered until they were overshadowed by hair. "I've already made up my mind. We're the ones who have the best chance of shutting the Karma club down. If we do nothing, who knows what they'll get up to? We know that they're trafficking in Shadows. I don't like doing nothing and hoping for the best, Mira-chan. Not with you, not with Rosea-kun, and not now."
"Cheap shot", Mira accused, momentarily at a loss for what to say that would make her friend reconsider this suicide mission. "So much for the unanimous agreement rule."
Aiko shook her head, alternatively imploring and dismissive. "That was a Phantom Thief rule, not a Dream Voyager rule. But... we won't make you do it if you don't want to. I understand, really. All we ask is that you don't tell Nijima-san that we're doing this."
"And what if I do tell her?", Mira argued back tearfully. "What if that's the only way to keep you safe from yourself? Don't you get enough adrenaline rush at the fencing club? Do you really need to keep looking for more trouble out there?!"
Suddenly feeling like Pelagio in her phrasing, she nodded back sadly. "I'm not looking for trouble. Trouble is looking for us. The only decision to make is if we meet it on our terms, or theirs."
"It's not our fight, Ai-chan. It's not our problem!"
"No", she said more confidently. "It's everyone's problem. We're just the only ones who can do anything about it."
"Nijima-san can. The Phantom Thieves can."
You can't trust the Phantom Thieves...
"The Phantom Thieves didn't help you. They didn't help Rosea-kun. They didn't help Furusato-san. They're retired, remember? They did what they had to do six years ago. Now, we're doing what we have to do. We can't pass this off on them. It's our responsibility."
The look on Mira's face suggested that was very much what she wanted to do, and Aiko rose off the bed to meet her outstretched arms. She looked taller, ganglier than normal, but Aiko didn't feel it was much of exaggeration that she knew more of her true feelings than anyone outside her family. And even then...
"Mirambela Sorano. You're still my best friend. Please don't cry. I'm not asking you to help us if you don't want to. Just... don't stop us. We'll do our plan, and after that I'll tell you everything we learned, and we can go from there. We'll even tell Nijima-san after if you want. 'Let's think positive'... Okay?"
Mira could say nothing. Her eyes were shut, her head withdrawn downwards.
"Okay?"
"Yeah... yeah, okay. Promise."
She didn't want to tell her that the feel of wrongness was still there.
Persona Profile #2: Galahad
A knight of King Arthur's Round Table fabled for his celibacy, and one of the three achievers of the Holy Grail. The illegitimate son of Lancelot, and is renowned for his gallantry and purity as the most perfect of all knights First appeared in a 13th century French Arthurian epic called the Vulgate cycle.
Arcana: Strength
Abilities (so far): Frei, Lunge, Praesi, Rakukaja, Mafrei
Strength: Nuclear
Weakness: Psychic