This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to events or persons living or dead in your world is purely coincidental.
From The Other Side Of Fortune
A Negative Rainbow
There's Not One Color Of You
That I Don't Value
6/18 Wednesday
Evening
"Kaneshiro", Julian slowly repeated the name as if testing the room's acoustics. "As in Junya Kaneshiro. We've heard it before. He was that Yakuza guy who the Phantom Thieves targeted, yeah? Changed his heart?"
"That's correct", Dr. Spica said sorrowfully, his hideous palm tree shirt folding and his head sliding down towards the table as he remembered old times.
"It's been almost six years to the day now... back then, Junya was the rising star of the syndicate. He invented new ways of extorting money from the younger crowd in Shibuya that put the old techniques to shame. Far more troubling was the way that higher-ranking brothers who stood in the way of his ascendancy occasionally had strange mental breakdowns that led to their dismissal."
Moving back across the room closer to his 'Sudoku failure' locker, he regarded them with dire eyes, trying once more to bring across just how dangerous the world they were skirting the edge of really was. "And of course by dismissal, I mean execution. The syndicate doesn't leave traces."
Careful not to reveal too much about their connections with the Phantom Thieves, Aiko stared back at him, unflinching. "Yes. We heard about him. For a long time, no one in Shibuya even knew his name. But... I suppose that even fewer people knew that he had a wife and daughter?"
"Very few", Spica concurred. "His marriage was also kept secret, when it was made to the daughter of a rival clan's patriarch, Mr. Azuto, in order to merge them with the greater syndicate." Stepping down, he made a revolted face. "I have no doubt that he viewed her as worthless outside of his bedchamber, and he was certainly not one to show fidelity to a single woman, no matter how powerful her father might have been. Perhaps he might have eventually desired a male heir to his fortune and power, but in that he was disappointed."
Aiko shivered. Even now, with all that she'd witnessed recently, it was still difficult for her to completely comprehend that kind of mentality, that this Kaneshiro would neglect his wife and daughter to pursue money. Not for his family, but for himself.
"Had that been the end of it", the doctor continued gravely, "then young Ruri Kaneshiro might have continued to enjoy a happy life. While Junya himself never provided them with any money, Azuto-san was both protective and discreet, often visiting their house to ensure that Kaneshiro never mistreated them."
"But then something happened", Julian sounded parched, knowing already just how this story would end. "The Phantom Thieves happened."
Spica blinked, momentarily considering the age of his audience, and how old they would have been during that tumultuous time. "Whether those 'Phantom Thieves' were ever real, or merely a collective false identity taken on by various groups of people seeking payback on the corrupt figures who tormented them", he murmured with one hand pressed into the dark stubble on his chin, "what can't be denied is that around the start of July, someone did something to Kaneshiro that completely changed him. Before any of his people could stop him, he turned himself in to police custody, willingly confessing all of his crimes."
Ai studied one of the silver rings tapered to the interior wall of the man's lab, remembering all she'd learned of that particular case from Akira and Makoto's perspectives. Junya Kaneshiro had been a true fiend, a gluttonous mobster with a boundless appetite for money who extorted mercilessly from juveniles and adults alike.
Even the Phantom Thieves had been swept up in one of his schemes, blackmailed into an impossible debt of 3 million yen. Stealing the Treasure from his vast Palace and changing his heart had been just as much self-defense for them as an act of justice.
However...
"That very same day", Spica continued in a low voice like broken glass, "the Syndicate sent their professionals to the Kaneshiro residence in Shibuya. The 'sworn brothers' of the Dragon vow oaths when they join never to speak of clan activities to any legal authority figure... but the countermeasures for those foolish few who dare violate their oaths are swift and lethal. No leaks, no traces can be tolerated."
Having been silent for long enough for the others to forget he was there, Noel gasped in horror. "No... you can't mean to say that...!"
"They didn't kill Azusa-san", the doctor sighed depressedly. "They merely ensured that she would never be able to speak to anyone of their activities. You see, she was younger than Junya. Still young and beautiful enough to be of... use."
"I... I don't understand", Aiko wondered, her eyes hurt and confused and scared all at once. "How?"
Spica regarded her wearily, still not quite able to square how young they all were to the decently convincing plan they'd worked out to make him confess the truth about his former job. He planned out his next words accordingly.
"Are you absolutely sure that you want to know about this? It's not something that I feel completely comfortable telling high schoolers about, even if it wasn't dangerous to you."
"No need for that", Jiachi cut in, his sharp-eyed gaze severe but unyielding. "I don't just watch cowboy movies, y'know. I also watch Yakuza films." Seeing Spica's mouth begin to open in utter contempt for such movies, he held up a hand to stop him. "And yeah, I know they prolly don't get everything right compared to the reality. It's like you said, finding someone in the syndicate willing to share anything with the cops ain't easy... But we've learned enough through the years to know what they do with the pretty girls they lure in."
"There... are a number of powerful drugs which do the job, with various names and nicknames across cultures", Spica admitted quietly, already sensing a growing hostility from them just for his discarded association with the people responsible for such atrocities.
"After repeated forced doses of the drug, the victims become too addicted to break free. To even think about breaking free. Getting their next fix- the threat of losing it and facing withdrawal- means that they will do absolutely anything they are told to by their 'handlers'."
"Sheisse", Noel grunted from the corner, sounding more vocally angry than his friends had ever known him. "Barbaric. Simply barbaric!"
"Yes", the doctor agreed, his voice reduced to a strained whisper, old memories and things he'd seen in his time in Tokyo creeping back in. "Even some of the sworn brothers have objected to that method from time to time. Yet it's so damnably profitable that no movement to stop it ever got off the ground. It's become one of the syndicate's most ingrained traditions, and ripping it out may be beyond the strength of even the most honored members."
"What about Reiha?", Aiko pleaded, trying her best not to let the details of the syndicate's operations curdle her stomach completely. "Please tell me they didn't do the same thing to her!"
Spica remained shattered by the memories, staring at nothing. "They almost did... but she managed to hide from them in the house. After that, I knew we both had to get as far away from the syndicate's influence as we could."
"We?", Aiko asked before freezing up, her stare intensifying on Spica. "You. It was you. You saved her, didn't you? There was no possible way she could've gotten from Tokyo all the way to Tosashimizu by herself."
Looking reluctant to accept any credit, he nodded slowly. "Not without being caught. Before long, my 'sworn brothers' were searching all of Tokyo for Kaneshiro's daughter, as well as the low-ranking identity forger who had disappeared from under their noses the same day."
"So that's what you're doing here", Julian observed, equally absorbed in trying to process the horror that Reiha must have gone through. "Hiding. Don't worry, doc; we won't tell a single soul about this."
"I would hope not", he warned them with a stern finger. "Doing that would put you on their list of 'leaks' as well. I know Mr. Enmikaeda. He's Junya's current replacement in Shibuya. He's very young for his position. Not quite as brazen, greedy or arrogant as Kaneshiro was in his day either... but he can break you all the same, and whisk you off where no one will ever find your body. Just having this information I've shared puts you all at risk."
Not the first time someone wanted us silenced for knowing too much, the thought occurred to Aiko but she dared not voice it for fear of scaring Spica even more. "I thought the Phantom Thieves might have scared them out of doing any more business in Shibuya."
The doctor laughed in forced politeness. "The clans are older than the concept of democracy in Japan, you silly girl. Their membership in Tokyo alone is five digits or possibly more. They formed their secret pacts and ranks and and traditions back when this country was ruled by a dynasty of Emperors, and even they couldn't destroy the clans. The Phantom Thieves, whoever they may be, could strike down a hundred sworn brothers and still not stop them permanently."
"He's right, sorry to say", Julian frowned. "They've stayed in business for centuries by keeping their secrets real close to the chest, and making any leaks 'disappear'. Their street level dudes are kinda obvious when they're doin' stuff, but the truth is, nobody outside of their organization really knows who the 'heavenly kings', the highest ranks of the Dragon, really are. Or if that's really the title they use any more at all."
Noel shivered in fear. "So, Hayato-senpai never saw her mother again after that. No wonder she despises criminals so much."
"The Phantom Thieves", Aiko clarified hurriedly, rolling one eye towards him to remind him that they couldn't afford to share too much Dream Voyager-related information with this man. "In a way, they're responsible for destroying her old life. Her family."
"In a way", Spica agreed softly over the table. "However, it's also true that Junya was destroying the lives of many others her age in ways nearly as brutal. If someone had the power to stop him doing that, then I don't blame them for using it the way they did. That poor girl and what happened to her mother was merely the fallout."
"What happened to Azusa?", Noel asked, earning a pained grimace from Julian. "You were once a 'sworn brother', yes? Did you ever try to locate her?"
Spica shook his head miserably. "No. I didn't. Maybe I'm a coward. But even now, even with my new identity firmly established, it's far too dangerous for me to ever return to Tokyo, or even to the mainland at all. I would imagine she's in the back rooms of some parlor in Shinjuku, entertaining 'customers'."
"And Kaneshiro's still locked up in a maximum security prison", Jiachi provided grimly. "Not to stop him from getting out- I heard he's actually getting a reduced sentence for good behavior, if you can believe that- but to stop a 'sworn brother' from silencing him."
"Precisely", the portly doctor said, impressed for once by their knowledge. "For our first few years together, setting up my lab in this out of the way town, my only real goal was to keep his daughter safe growing up. To keep us both safe, by any method I could manage." His eyes drooped shut. "I might have saved her... But she saved me first. She made me realize just what my current employers really were."
"It took you long enough", Noel said, his icy blue eyes accusing. Reformed or not, none of them would ever forget that Spica had once been a 'sworn brother' of the Dragon. "Still, I suppose you would never have been able to save her if you hadn't been a part of the organization to begin with. Providence."
"Providence?" He chuckled darkly. "Really? I'd call it dumb luck. Luck that I was already working under Azuto-san, and luck that I was already acquainted with his daughter and his brash son-in-law, and heard the news in time to act to save their child."
Respect tinged Aiko's gaze now, where there had only been resentment and anger before. "You were the only one there who would have risked yourself. And because of you, Hayato-senpai is alive."
"Yes", he grunted, studying the table map listlessly. "Yet, there was so much in her that I couldn't help her with. The pain of losing her mother, her home, forever. For a long time, she wanted to go try to find Azusa-san, but I turned her down every time. I just... I only wanted her to have something close to a normal life."
Whether it was caused by the tragedy that had brought her to Tosashimizu or something in her blood, Aiko knew that Reiha's life was hardly normal. By her own choice.
And here I was feeling empty over my parents.
Recovering when she saw Spica move towards her, she regarded him fondly. "It sounds like you've done more for Hayato-senpai than her real father ever did."
The doctor flinched at that. "Haven't you been listening? Her name isn't Hayato. That's just a false identity that I created for her."
"I know", she nodded. "But that's a secret we've sworn to keep, and using her real name, even in private, might lead to us slipping up some day. To us, she's still Hayato-senpai."
After all, we have enough trouble keeping our own code names straight sometimes.
"That would be wise", he agreed. "Not everyone knows the name Kaneshiro, but it's certainly well-known enough, mainly due to his connections with the Phantom Thieves phenomenon."
"We'll be careful", Noel promised with a focus on Julian that he acknowledged with a quiet grunt. "If any of us made a mistake, even once, we could all be in danger."
"Yes", Spica emphasized, trying to give all three of them one final warning with the stress in his gaze at the mentioning of his old employers. "Films, television and even video games inevitably glorify the clans because the real thing would be unsuitable for any save adult audiences. The truth is, while we-they- have partaken in humanitarian projects such as lending aid during disasters, most of the time it's just as impersonal and cold as any other Tokyo business. A business where the employees have to commit crimes against the law and against humanity as a part of their job. And where dismissal by your manager leads to dishonorable death."
"I know", Julian assured him, unflinching at his gaze. "Some dudes I know at school still fantasize about joining up with 'em and becoming a 'sworn brother' when they're old enough. So that they can feel 'tough' and have power over other people. But they don't really get what it does to you, yeah? Guess that's why my Yakuza impression sucked. Sorry."
Laughing lightly- able to be now that they were past the worst of his story- Spica regarded him kindly, almost back to his normal jolly self. "Oh, you weren't that bad, my boy. I think that a normal citizen would've been completely fooled. Your real problem was that you used such an outdated method of interrogation on me; good boy...", He pointed to each of the indicated parties. "...and bad boy."
"Oh. Oh, I see", Noel joked back, just as glad to have the worst part of Spica's story out of the way so that he could smile again. "I'm 'good boy' now, am I? I suppose I can act the part as needed."
"Notice how Rosea-kun didn't argue at all about being a 'bad boy'?", Aiko teased before noticing a surprised look on the doctor's face. "Oh. Oh, that's right. His name's not really Hiragi, it's-"
Spica frantically held a hand up to stop her. "No! Please don't tell me. That's one less bit of information for me to spill if they ever find me. I know what you mean- you had these two take on false names in case I turned out to be hostile. Good thinking there... but it wouldn't have saved you."
The realization made her sag. Damn. Again. Even when I try not to, I still end up putting my own life in danger to shield them. It's habit by now. One I've got to break.
"I should have stayed outside", she amended regretfully. "Let them do it without me."
He sighed. "Maybe. But that would have made me much less willing to give in, likely resulting in a great deal more damage to my lab. So I suppose I should thank you for that at least. Just promise me that you won't abandon Tawa now that you've learned the truth."
"Abandon her?" She looked confused. "What, you seriously think we'd just run away from Hayato-senpai now that we know about her real past?"
"Some people might", he objected, rapping the table so she might understand the impact of the choice they were making today. "And really, who could blame them for wanting to stay out of danger? But no matter what she may say otherwise, she needs people like you all. People who can support her, who can be her friends. Even in just the last week, she's been... distant. I don't think it's just me."
"We won't abandon her", Aiko vowed, Spica's last two sentences not quite hitting her for a moment yet. "Nothing we learned today changes... wait. Last week? You saw her last week?"
Spica's brow furrowed. "Why, yes. She's growing up, but I still prefer to stay updated with her every few days, just in case she needs anything."
Oh no... A glance from Jiachi reflected the alarm that must have been on her own face as well. "Just like before", he said, knowing he couldn't say much else in front of the doctor.
"We need to go", she announced. "It's getting late."
Hopefully, not too late.
A rapping on the door roused Benihime Kujou from sleep.
She cursed it as she had come to curse most things outside of sleep these days. They inevitably reminded her of her current situation.
No longer on the committee. No longer holding any power at all. No longer with Tatsu-kun.
No longer going to Koashimizu academy at all, soon enough.
But the knock was insistent, continuing while she rose up off the bed, grumbling as she made her way to the door. "Yes, what?!"
"It's me, Ku-chan. It's Hayato."
She froze. The voice was muffled by the door, but unmistakable. Hayato...
Hayato, who had paid only lip service to the SDC's grander goals- former goals. Hayato, who had done nothing in the last two years but undermine her, whose lack of enthusiasm for her company could be felt as a taste in the air, because the opposite had been such a comforting presence. Hayato, who had betrayed her.
But... it was also Hayato who had voted against her removal from the committee. The only one, beside herself.
She still didn't reach for the door knob. Not until after Hayato's voice returned.
"I saw what happened. I thought maybe you could use someone to talk to."
"Not to a traitor", she rasped into the door before immediately reconsidering. No. She doesn't deserve that. This isn't her fault. She's always been there. She supported me. The only one who did. This is all Tsuruga's fault.
She couldn't even look Aiko Tsuruga's direction at school any more. Thankfully they didn't share the same classes, but when the risk came of them encountering each other in the hallways, she went the other way. The shaking anger, the hate for the person who had taken everything important away from her and acting like everything was normal felt like it was its own separate being sometimes. It was too much to stand, not without some way of venting it that wouldn't get her expelled... or arrested.
There had been chances for the more subtle forms of revenge, of course. But even that had ended in failure when she discovered that trying to deface Tsuruga's locker or sabotage her fencing club practices or anything like that wasn't so easy when she was acting alone.
It inevitably led to her earlier trembling escalating into paralysis. The time she'd spent agonizing over the reason for it was just more time she'd vowed to one day take out on Aiko Tsuruga. Some day... some day, you'll pay. For everything.
But Hayato, now... she'd used the old name. The name they'd used back when they were together. When they were friends. Sometimes, more than friends.
What do I have left to lose?
She reached for the door.
Beyond it, Reiha Hayato stood, dressed up like she'd stepped through a time warp from years prior and looking for all the world like she was ready to act the part as well. She still wore the long leather gloves, her face the shade of ghostly pale only possible with enhancers accentuating black eye shadow and lips. Her hair looked a bit more organized than usual, pulled into a lustrous coif, but aside from that it was exactly the same. She even managed to make the standard green and white student uniform look like so much more.
Hayato made sure to close the door behind her before speaking. "I'm sorry. I couldn't stop them."
But Kujou was beyond words then. Her usual practiced sneer at all who were beneath her could no longer be maintained. She needed someone now. Anyone. And as luck would have it, that anyone was a friend. A true friend.
"I'm sorry. I know it's not your fault, Hayato-san", she took her by the arm, further into the dorm out of some strange fear she might vanish from sight. "It's Tsuruga. She's the one who turned that committee of cowards against me. Even... Tatsu-kun."
It was amazing really, just how much that loss still hurt. She felt so tired. Tired of experiencing losses. Tired of trying to stay strong through it all. Daddy...
Fortunately, this was one person she didn't completely mind seeing a brief moment of weakness. Not if she had somehow reverted to being the friend from three years ago, instead of the sulky, unruly child she became.
For the first time she could remember, she sniffed, holding her head in her hands. "They all turned on me. Everyone. They're all cowards. All of them! I hate them!"
For the space of a breath, a strange, undefinable look flickered across Hayato's face before sliding back to a more relaxed, welcoming expression. "Everyone except me, Ku-chan."
Joy. Faint and coppery, but it felt like water after a journey through a desert. Yes. That's right. Hayato... Maybe I was wrong about her all along.
Maybe Hayato's lack of enthusiasm for her duties over the last two years had been merely imagination. Or, perhaps...
"I didn't want to distract you", Hayato added, as if reading her mind. "You had your duties, your goals that you'd set for yourself. You said you wanted to 'keep the gaijin in line'. And honestly? I really wasn't interested in that, except as your friend. But now?"
Now? Now those goals might be forever unattainable. Her father was taking her away from here in the summer, already searching around for a better-funded Tokyo high school that would accept a third-year student for her final term. Taking her away from Tsuruga... but also taking her away from Hayato and Tatsunoko.
"Now?", she chuckled sadly into her hands. "To hell with my 'duties'. No one ever showed gratitude for it anyway." Let Koashimizu be overrun with wild gaijin and fall into chaos for all I care any more. Tokyo can stand strong as a bastion against them.
Looking up, she noticed that Hayato was actually dragging a heavy box over to the door to barricade it, dispelling any lingering confusion as to what her intentions were here.
Kujou smiled. That settled it. The old Reiha Hayato was finally back, coming to her in her hour of need. All it really took was her forsaking her goals... but there could be other goals, other dreams to pursue. More achievable ones.
And for my thankless efforts for all these years, I do think a little reward is in order.
"Just relax", her old friend suggested, smiling in the near darkness of the dorm room now that all the lights were out, the door blocked and the window shut. "It'll be like old times, I promise."
Old times...
Hayato came on just as she wanted, a strong and dutiful gaze precluding a strong and dutiful hand. Hayato worked out at the fitness club more than any girl Kujou had ever seen, and it showed on her body. Briefly, she wondered if she might actually be more fit than another common sight in that cluttered room- Tatsunoko.
No. Forget about Tatsunoko. He's not your friend any more. He's just as much of a weak, useless coward as the rest of them. Forget him. He's completely worthless. What good is a king who doesn't protect his queen?
After all it was Hayato, not Tatsunoko, who had introduced her to love.
Imagine her surprise when they'd introduced each other, simultaneously. Both of them had been young, unsure of what their feelings meant back then, both of them already knowing that having those feelings was considered unusual. That some might actually resent them displaying those feelings for each other publicly. Imagine her dismay to learn that her father Daisuke was one of those who held only scorn for the idea that she might spend the rest of her life together not with a strong rich man who would help advance his career, but with Reiha Hayato, who was stronger than any man she could name.
Together, they'd come to the decision that it didn't matter. The rushing sensation that hit her whenever they touched was something that defied all restriction, or so she had felt at the time. It had been electrifying. Mesmerizing. And having to go for years without that touch now felt like it, not Aiko Tsuruga or anything else, was the primary cause of her crankiness.
"I hope you don't take offense, Ku-chan", Hayato sauntered closer, "that I'm glad. Glad that you're done with that now."
"Not done", Kujou corrected her hastily, leaning back eagerly on her bed. "I'm just... taking a break, that's all. Summer vacation's coming up. Then..."
Closing in, Hayato hushed her, pressing a finger to her lips. "No more of that for now. Just relax. Let me take care of you. It can be the way we used to be..."
Leaning all the way back in a way that felt like it would be difficult to get out of, Kujou sighed happily. "Should I...?"
"There's no need, Ku-chan", Hayato assured her smoothly, gliding behind her to take a seat on the pillow, her hands moving down to touch her shoulder muscles in a wonderfully delicate way. "We are still at a school dorm, after all."
"Screw school", she growled, inwardly surprised to find out just how much she really meant those words. "It doesn't teach what people really need to know."
Reiha didn't respond to that. That was one of the things that made them so good together- she knew when her friend was merely talking to herself rhetorically, not requiring a two-way conversation. Reaching down further past the back of her neck, she began massaging Kujou's shoulder muscles in a way that elicited sporadic purrs of pleasure from her.
"Koashimizu is too far away from real civilization to know how discipline is supposed to work", she went on, enjoying herself in a way she couldn't remember doing since the start of the year, when she'd met...
No. I won't say her name. I won't even think it. She who must not be named doesn't deserve a place in my mind. Just forget her. Forget about all the useless peasants, and leave them to their deserved chaos.
"Tokyo schools are way better", she decided. "They make sure their students understand that harmony is important, and they make sure to punish problem students who disrupt that harmony. More importantly, they try to keep the gaijin away, instead of inviting them in."
Reiha's hands traveled up her shoulders to reach the neck muscles, performing the same duty for them. "Koashimizu does have student uniforms though."
"They do", she admitted. "But they're green and white, for pity's sake. What kind of uniform makes you look like fresh asparagus? Our national color is red after all, and black is always in style. Shujin Academy might have a quilt pattern on their pants, but at least they show their pride in their country."
"Will you be going there then?"
Her laugh mixed mockery of that school with delight at Hayato's warm touch. "Not a chance. That school's got a bad reputation ever since that incident six years ago. No, daddy will definitely be looking for a better-funded school with a strong reputation for honoring our culture and having a high discipline standard. Some place better suited for me."
Reiha's wonderful tender fingers glided further up, perhaps in preparation to start braiding her hair the way she used to...
"A jail, then."
She had half a second to be shocked by that sudden statement before Reiha's hands locked themselves down on her neck like a steel vise, pressuring it until she could barely breathe, never mind talk.
Those fingers, those impossibly strong hands forced her down into a helpless prone position as Reiha's head rose up, positioning itself over her so Kujou could see the completely wrong look on the taller girl's upside-down face. Far from the passionate serenity that had brought her in, she looked more like a hungry animal perching over its prey, its grip just loose enough to allow her weakened gasps just above asphyxiation.
"For years you spread false justice at Koashimizu", Reiha rasped, drawing nearly close enough to kiss. "Endlessly persecuting those whose only crime was being foreign exchange students, and gathering power to yourself, undermining teachers and students with whom you disagreed, even getting one of them fired from their job."
Kujou gaped emptily in horror. Among the hundred other things that came as a shock in this moment, she had never heard Hayato use the phrase 'whom'.
"You've lived a soft life of privilege. You've never known the pain which you have caused to so many innocent people less fortunate than you", Reiha decreed, her fingernails digging into Kujou's neck like thorns. "If you had, you'd never continue. Pain educates, far better than any school. It humbles, instructing us in the need to serve the cause of justice. Pain is a God. A God of justice."
"Y-y...you...!"
That was all she could manage to get out before Reiha's grip tightened further, somehow far stronger than even her fit body should allow, even more irresistible than Tsuruga's grip had been during that spiteful confrontation they'd had in the restroom months ago.
Tsuruga... Did Tsuruga put you up to this?
There had been rumors making the rounds. Rumors that Hayato and Tsuruga had been secretly meeting up off campus, that they were actually friends. Kujou had known the value of rumors, and carefully left it alone.
"Don't talk", Reiha ordered, dark lips grinning insanely, her eyes glimmering in the dim light. "Criminals don't have the right to talk. And make no mistake; you are a criminal, Benihime Kujou, for you've bullied and hurt countless innocents. Fortunately for you, bringing criminals around to the cause of justice- teaching evil ones the error of their ways- is my specialty."
"N...no...!"
"No no no, you dirty little bitch. Hush now. The first step in the process is to make you feel the pain and humiliation that you have brought to others, until you're ready to confess all your sins with your own mouth."
The way that Hayato gave a sudden, vicious bite at the tip of her nose cemented the truth, allowing Kujou to simmer in her growing fear. This wasn't the Hayato she'd been friends with. This wasn't any kind of Hayato she had ever known.
This girl was like a savage animal, someone who should have been locked up in an insane asylum long ago. Her grip suggested lengthy expertise with the 'art' of personal torture, leagues beyond anything Kujou herself had ever planned for a gaijin or a student who became friends with gaijin.
This realization- the sudden terror clawing at her stomach made her try to scream for help, but without enough air the sound was weak and useless, unable to escape the dorm room. Her own arms tried to pry the grip loose, but it was like trying to dig through concrete. Her legs spasmed, banging on the bed cushion, desperate for any kind of escape.
"No one will come and help you now", Hayato whispered breathily, drawing even closer. "No one will believe you if you speak of this. No one truly likes the self-proclaimed 'queen' Koashimizu. The others- Sonoka, Fushima, Tarutami- they only obeyed you because they were attracted to your power and authority, to the opportunity you gave them to torment others, venting their own insecurities. But the truth is, they all secretly fear your wrath. Or rather, I should say, feared. No longer."
And as crazy as this psycho bitch was, Kujou knew that was the absolute truth. Why else would they have voted against her when the tide turned?
Why else would they abandon her as soon as she was no longer in the SDC?
It was true. And in that brief, agonized moment, she hated them all even more than she hated Tsuruga.
She hated Fushima.
She hated Sonoka.
She hated Tatsunoko.
Those fair-weather friends... she hated them all.
That hate burned in her blood. But it wasn't enough to free her.
"Don't worry", Hayato cooed into her ear, gentle as though they were actually still enjoying each other's touch on the bed. Perhaps one of them still was. "They were merely your minions, carrying out the crimes that you ordered. But they will receive proper punishment for those crimes as well. Justice must be served, after all. Will you continue to be a criminal or accept rehabilitation, and aid in theirs?"
Daddy... Anyone... Please... Help me... Help...!
Wracked by the pain, Kujou couldn't understand what exactly the psycho bitch wanted of her. Fear flooded her being, blocking out all sensation of time until a loud crashing sound broke the trance.
"Let her go!"
That voice...
Blurred noise, which her oxygen-starved brain couldn't properly interpret any longer. Then, the asphyxiating vise released her and vision came flooding back.
It was Tsuruga. Tsuruga, and Rosea standing just behind her looking like he was ready to fight. Tsuruga... always Tsuruga... always ruining everything...
Standing up off the bed behind her, Hayato shrugged innocently. "I'm only following the dictates of justice. Kujou is a vile criminal who must be taught the pain she's caused others. You object?"
"You're damn right we object!", Rosea shouted, looking an inch away from jumping in to forcefully separate them.
"Even Kujou doesn't deserve what you were doing to her!", Tsuruga agreed. "Let her go!"
Dizzy and feverish, Kujou knew she had to be misunderstanding something. Tsuruga and Rosea, coming to her rescue? Hayato treating them like they were old acquaintances?
So it was true. All of it.
"Y-youuu...", she managed to slur, weak from oxygen deprivation. "Traitor."
But Hayato merely smirked sadistically, an energy in her poise that had never been there before. "I told you. There was never a time when I was on your side."
"You were never on anyone's side. You're a Shadow", Tsuruga remarked harshly before turning to her victim, much less certain about what to say to her longtime nemesis. "Kujou... I can imagine what this must look like. Just know that Hayato's not herself right now. This isn't her, okay? It's not her. It's something else."
She twitched. Not the real Hayato? As usual, Tsuruga made no sense. "Haaate... Youuu..."
But Tsuruga wasn't facing her. It was like she didn't even care. Her eyes were focused on Hayato, poised as if preparing for battle.
Hayato seemed to think the same, her smile almost euphoric. "That wouldn't be fair, now would it? You can't use your power in this world, after all. No. If you want to stand against me, against justice... then come to my world. Come to Shirubashiti! We can settle things there... and I'll teach you all a new symphony of glorious agony."
"Looking forward to it", Tsuruga replied icily, and Kujou froze up in confusion. It felt like she couldn't understand what she was seeing any more than the words they were saying. She seemed so... different. Maybe this wasn't Tsuruga. How could someone who broke down and cried so easily when they'd first met seem so fierce now?
Then the lights in the dorm corridor flickered on, and the spell was broken. Kujou saw several other girls in the hall staring at them, attracted by the commotion until they saw Rosea, at which point some of them pointed and shouted. That went on until Ekuya appeared, at which point everyone went fearfully silent. Even Tsuruga.
She didn't get to see much of the wrath that followed, or watch Rosea getting dragged out of the building by his ear.
By then, she'd fainted.
I hate you, Tsuruga.
Hate youuuu...
6/19 Thursday
After School
"Sooo", Jiachi concluded in front of their rapt audience, firmly seated on one of the damp rocks in their new 'hideout'. "Not exactly our finest moment, yeah?"
None of the Voyagers who this was news for looked like they completely agreed with him, or at least they wanted to do something to soften the blow. Instead, it was Noel who spoke first, if dejectedly. "So Ekuya-san saw you. What will your punishment be?"
"One week of detention", Jiachi replied, waiting for the others to hold their breath in worry before finishing, "-starting next week. And they'll call my folks and tell them I was caught sneaking into the girls' dorm."
"The same for me", Aiko surprised everyone. "Apparently, it was my fault for letting you into the dorm."
"That's not fair!", Mira pouted. "It wasn't your fault he insisted on coming with you, and you even saved Kujou's life from the Shadow!"
"True", she acknowledged, "but who's going to tell them that? I think it was more because Ekuya-san was upset she had no way to punish Kujou herself, or Hayato. Honestly, one week is better than I thought it would be."
"Hey, cheer up man", Julian called after seeing how dejected Noel was about the entire mess. "It's not so bad. This'll actually be my first time this year. Considering all that's happened lately, that's a miracle."
Noel winced, withdrawing further into the wall of the cavern. "No, it's not that. Just the opposite, in fact- I should've gone in there with you. I shouldn't have even hesitated to follow you. Someone's life was at risk, and I was still worried about breaking a mere school rule."
Julian shrugged, clasping his hands behind his head. "Take it easy dude. You're the 'good boy', remember? Besides, I don't think you being there would've made a difference; that damn Shadow was too strong for any of us to actually stop."
"But she did stop", Mira reminded him. "She stopped torturing Kujou when you showed up. And now Pelagio's watching her, right? I assume that's why he's not here with us today?"
"That's right", Ai nodded solemnly. Considering how unprepared they'd been for last night's events, the end result could only feel like a good omen. "We can't let her hurt anyone else. After what I heard, she'll probably go after other members of the SDC who helped Kujou bully foreign students."
Mira shuddered in fear for their safety. Certainly, those students had been her tormentors for years, but they didn't deserve the kind of torment that Hayato's Shadow was more than capable of inflicting. No one did.
"Kaneshiro's Shadow", she corrected, remembering the other shocking revelations they had shared with her so far. "Baiba. I can't believe she was actually descended from a real Yakuza boss!"
"We don't get to choose our family", Noel remarked. "My grandfather, and some of my uncles back home... Well, let us merely say for now that they are not the nicest of people outside of Berlin's public eye."
After wandering into their cavern without the ceremony from last time, Morgana had remained fairly silent until now, equally astonished by the fallout from the Kaneshiro case that he had never even known of. "I know it sounds harsh... but we had no choice but to change Kaneshiro's heart. We couldn't let him continue extorting Shujin students, and he would have exposed us all as well."
"Yes. Dr. Spica said the exact same thing", Aiko agreed morosely. "Kaneshiro had to be stopped back then. All we can do now is try to save his daughter."
"How?", Noel wondered. "We cannot travel to Faraway Lands without Pelagio, and he must keep a watchful eye on Hayato's Shadow now, yes?"
"Yeah", Julian admitted quietly. "Just like when my Shadow ran wild in the real world, hurting..."
"Me", Aiko provided, eager to move on from that horrible memory. "And I doubt the Masked Circle's going to give us another opening by trying to recruit that one to their side. Dealing with Rosea-kun's Shadow would have taught them that type of Shadow doesn't side with other people."
"That's right. They won't", Morgana concurred. "Those kinds of Shadow- the rulers of Palaces or Lands- are focused entirely on their own goals and belief systems. For example, the elder Kaneshiro's Shadow was singly obsessed with acquiring money. Anything else, they don't care about at all, to the point that we actually used that to our advantage a few times in his Palace."
"And Hayato-senpai's Shadow is completely focused on justice", Ai replied sadly. "Her kind of justice. That makes it even more likely that she'll try hurting people she sees as 'criminals'."
"Still", Jiachi pondered out loud, "she seemed to be okay with having a straight-up showdown with us at the end. Like she was going to get her Land all set up for us to return."
"Well we did do a lot of damage to her city last time we were there", Aiko considered with a sly grin. "But we can't take that chance." Standing, she turned imploringly to their feline guest. "Will you help us, Mona-chan? I know you're also guarding the hospital in case the Masked Circle attacks, but all we need you to do is watch that Shadow for a few hours and make sure she doesn't hurt anyone while we're gone."
"It'll prolly be safe as soon as Hayato decides to return to the real world", Julian added quickly. "That's how it was with mine. As soon as I started thinking about leaving my Land behind, my Shadow went totally nuts, and he had to rush back to my Land try and stop us from leaving."
Morgana's tiny whiskered face didn't reveal much, but his voice sounded thoughtful. "Hmm... Yeah, I guess that would make sense. As soon as you started getting away from the mental state that drew you in there to start with, then the Shadow would feel it, and know that they were in danger. Because if you actually left that Land and what it represents behind of your own will? Then that Shadow would just disappear completely!"
"That's... interesting", Noel wondered, impressed by how quickly Morgana had deduced the relationship between original and Shadow despite only visiting once. "Is that like a change of heart then?"
"Sort of", Morgana sounded less assured about that relationship, the connection between person and Shadow. "It's a bit different. In Palaces, we always had to send a calling card to the real person first, threatening to steal their Treasure... but that isn't an option here. You guys have to actually journey into the heart of a ruler's Land, and convince them to leave it before it's too late. That is what draws out the Shadow to fight for their own existence."
"'Fight for their own existence.' The way you put that", Mira pondered, moving over to carefully pet him. "It almost sounds like you sympathize with them."
"Hah! Never", he snickered. "Shadows aren't even human. They're just a person's distorted heart brought to life. Destroying them completely is a no-go- that just causes a mental shutdown- but getting the person to see; to accept how awful their Shadow really is? That's usually enough to get them to give up. It's never easy though."
"Never easy", Jiachi shook his head, flashing back for the hundredth time to how the showdown with his own Shadow had gone. If he concentrated on it, he swore he could still feel the heat, inhale the ashen smoke rising up from the buildings his Shadow's mad rampage had burned down. A part of him would always remain back there, in that sepia sun-baked town... but it was a part that he didn't exactly mind losing.
Mira looked less sanguine about it, however. "She was awful", she noted, referring to her own Shadow, a hulking cyborg who was ruthless in keeping intruders out of her 'Princess's' Land. "Horrible. But... she was also me, too. Me changing the way I did means that she vanished. Forever."
"No", Julian walked over to her, putting a hand up to clasp hers, surprised to find it very warm even in the chilly sea breeze. "That's not something that you should mourn, Sorano-chan. I mean... when we grow up, the people we were as kids start to slowly disappear too, yeah? You never forget 'em, but you'd never dream of acting the way you did back then. Like a little kid."
Having actually seen home movies of what Julian was like as a child, Mira giggled shyly, her cheeks lighting up for a moment. When neither could think of anything to say, Aiko stood and nodded at Morgana. "Thanks for that. I was so worried about how awkward it would be, asking these two to share information about what they were thinking when they went through the gate originally. But now you've done it for me."
"You're welcome", their feline guest remarked bemusedly, leaping off his rock to give Julian and Mira more room. "Honestly, I'm kind of interested to hear about this kind of thing myself. The Phantom Thieves all had to awaken to their Personas, but they never had to deal with their Shadows directly the way that you two had to. Humans are just so... fascinating!"
"Glad you're so interested, kitty cat", Julian grunted in annoyance before turning back to Aiko. "I guess it can't be helped, yeah? We need every possible edge we can get to persuade Hayato-senpai, and we only get one more shot at this."
"Maybe two shots if we go on the weekend", Ai amended. "Still, it would be better if we can get it done tomorrow. That's when I planned to go back."
"I don't know how much it will help though", Mira sighed alongside him. "Neither of us have gone through anything close to what Hayato-senpai has endured. Watching her mom get taken away by gangsters like that, having to flee her home so they wouldn't catch her..."
"Can you imagine it?", Noel asked, moving up beside Aiko. "More importantly, we don't need to imagine what her reaction to that tragedy was. We already know that it was. It changed her entire life. She grew up hating criminals of any type."
"Even the Phantom Thieves", Morgana noted somberly. "We knew we were going to earn some people's hatred, doing what we did, but they're in the minority compared to the people we helped."
"Especially the Phantom Thieves", Aiko added, carefully considering their plan. "Vitienne-kun, can you accompany me to the mall tonight? There's something I'd like to look into before we set sail."
"Of course, captain", Noel nodded. "Father still needs my help sometimes, but I was deliberately keeping my schedule as open as I could, knowing that we would need to head back to that Land before the end of the week."
"Thank you." Returning to the matter at hand, she could see in Jiachi and Mira's eyes just how uncomfortable talking about the mental states that had created their Lands and Shadows they really were. "I can tell them if you want. I have a pretty good idea, and you can stop me if I get anything wrong."
"We'd... appreciate it if you could", Mira admitted with a nervous smile. "Go ahead."
It only took a few minutes each- both of them were unwilling to interrupt with corrections even after being invited to. Naturally, the person who had saved them from those self-created prisons would know them, and the doubts and fears that had plagued them, fairly well.
When she was done, Morgana looked more perturbed than she figured a cat's round face could be, his worry coming across more in his voice and mannerisms.
"Kurusu would never admit to it. Not even to me", he began cautiously. "But... he worries about that stuff sometimes too. This whole JCAP thing that's been driving people into a frenzy, with laws getting passed to make life more difficult for citizens who aren't 'full-blooded' Japanese and turning a blind eye to violence and bullying against them. I really don't get it, and I know that it's caused no end of problems for Lady Ann's career as a model."
"Yeah well, we don't really get it much either", Jiachi grimaced. "I'd say go ask Kujou, but all she would hear from you is meowing. Oh, and also she'd probably lie 'cause she's a bitch."
"It's depressing", their guest remarked, eyes lowered. "The Phantom Thieves took down Masayoshi Shido and exposed his crimes to the world, and a lot of other high-ranking people in his party got arrested too... but the United Future Party still won the re-election. Man, Ryuji was so mad when he found out about that I thought he'd hit someone."
"Because of Tamagami", Noel offered quietly. "That's what I heard from others, anyway. He might be old for his line of work, but he's also very smart; as soon as Shido confessed and turned himself in for his crimes, Abe Tamagami started a new movement within the United Future party that distanced itself from Shido and his conspiracy while still holding onto the ideal society he promised the people of Japan."
"Uh-huh", Jiachi grunted angrily. He could still remember seeing the campaign ads on television and online. "It's called a 'splinter group'. He and all his guys kept on saying that Shido was to blame for the crimes, not his ideas. That's when they started this whole 'gaijin are the cause of all our problems' shit show. Shido promised everyone a lot, but he was never exactly clear on how exactly he was going make Japan an 'ideal society'."
"He was far from alone in that practice", Noel remarked sheepishly. "Remember, I do follow my home country's politics a bit too. The leadership there is just as big on words and little on action."
"Of course, we all know what Shido's actual plan was", Morgana lamented. "Using the Metaverse as a weapon to strike down anyone who stood in his way. We later found out that there were even plans in store to start causing mental shutdowns internationally. That way, any country that caused a problem for him could be disrupted to the point that they wouldn't be able to function properly."
"Causing mental shutdowns in anyone in the world, at any time, anywhere...", the sheer implications of what that meant took Aiko's breath away for a moment, and she felt faint. "Hey, Mona-chan... do you think that Tamagami's party could be using the cognitive world as well, to brainwash people? Maybe that's why so many people believe in what he and the JCAP leaders say."
"I don't think so", Mira argued. "I think it's just good speechwriters and desperation. There's still so many people living in poverty. The shining future that Masayoshi Shido promised never appeared, and Tamagami's redirected the blame for that to, well... us."
"I suppose it could be possible", Morgana considered more carefully. "It is a world formed from people's subconscious, after all. There's still a lot about this new Faraway Lands incarnation that we don't know about yet. You haven't seen any other Persona-users in there, have you?"
"No one else besides Prince Taurus", she confirmed. "I know the rest of the Masked Circle could prolly do that too, but nothing they've said or done told us that they're interested in helping the Prime Minister. They're focused on recruiting more Persona-users to their side."
"I see. It's a pity I don't have a human form yet", Morgana pined. "I could pretend to be interested in joining them, and then infiltrate their ranks like a meow-velous secret agent!"
Aiko shook her head. "Bad idea. I tried that already and it didn't go well. At all. Lady Scorpio's Persona- Cleopatra- lets her look into people's minds, and learn their secrets."
"But... she might like me!", Morgana protested halfheartedly. "After all, Egyptians worshiped cats. Joking, of course. Looks like we'll have to find another way to deal with them."
"When we can", Aiko promised him. After their earlier encounter with Prince Taurus, and experiencing his mad lust for violence firsthand, no one here would ever again doubt that the Masked Circle was a group that needed to be taken down by any means possible. "Right now, we have a friend that we need to save from themselves... and not much time left to do it."
Outside the cavern, the waves lapping at the shore had begun to fade.
6/19 Thursday
Evening
The Tenjincho mall's main court seemed unusually crowded, people from both ends of the city and outside it coming together in a sea of activity that always seemed a few spaces away from becoming a frenzy.
Being accustomed to forging through far more imposing crowds however, Aiko navigated it with ease, Noel following after her with a bag full of their purchases, careful not to lose sight of her until they reached the safety of the tables lining the upper mezzanine.
"It seems that once again", he remarked pleasantly, "you are our guide through troubled seas."
She smiled back as they dropped the bags off to rest, trying not to let too much of her worries show through the veneer just yet. "There's a reason Rosea-kun calls me 'Tokyo girl' sometimes. Living in that city definitely forces you to adapt to it."
"I must admit, I sometimes feel anxious around so many people", Noel said, taking a seat and the caffeinated drink he'd bought. "It makes me wonder how many in such a crowd believe in JCAP's words, and despise me."
She shook her head. "You shouldn't. It doesn't matter. Anyone here who hates you for that isn't someone whose opinion you should care about. Furusato-san didn't care, did she?"
The blond boy lowered his eyes, remembering. "No. She treated it as an annoyance, nothing more. Just as Niyoga does."
"See?", she assured him, easily remembering their earlier talk about the strange distance Noel had developed due to his family's wealth and position. "You're fine. And you're definitely more fun to be around than Niyoga."
"Shu-kun..." he offered up an apologetic smile about his oldest, and shortest, friend. "Believe me, I know as well as anyone how much he tends to rub other people the wrong way. If my social skill is rated 0, then his would likely be a negative 5 at best."
"More like negative 20", Ai suggested, not bothering to hide her disgust. "What's his deal anyway? I can't believe anyone would hate manga and cute things as much as he does."
Noel shrugged helplessly. "Niyoga does what works for Niyoga. He's actually surprisingly sensitive about his height, and how people often mistake him for an elementary student. But so long as he can claim to be the number one student, the most knowledgeable person in the room, nothing else matters. To him, anything that might make him feel emotional or sensitive is the enemy."
"For reals", she sighed, looking back at the bag full of costumes they'd just bought. "I'd share everything with him if he wasn't such a jerk. He could help us plan stuff like this better, I'm sure."
"No", Noel surprised her by shaking his head. "I know him. He doesn't take anyone's word at face value. Not even mine. He would want to view the other world for himself, to confirm what you say."
"Which would be bad", she leaned back in defeat. "You know why I was so reluctant to let you in. Or anyone else, really."
He nodded. "Of course I do. The same reason that Yumika-sensei was. It's a dangerous world, yet it piques our curiosity. You don't want anyone else dying in there. Neither do I."
Feeling the pressure of her role resume, stronger than anything the crowd around them could manage, Ai stretched out, regarding their newest crew member fondly. "Pretty much. You know, I'd appreciate it if we could get away from that stuff for a while."
"Suggestion noted", he cracked, raising his straw. "Is that what troubles you now? The way so much of our lives has become dedicated to these dangerous missions?"
Looking into her own fruit juice drink, she chuckled. "Sometimes. Actually, I was thinking about what we saw in that costume shop just now."
He nodded slowly, pretending that he knew exactly what she meant. "Indeed. Those prices are practically criminal. I hardly noticed it when I bought that 'senshi' costume, but-"
"Not that. The one running it. She can't be much older than us, can she?"
He raised an eyebrow. Certainly, the sole employee of the mall's costume shop had looked young enough to be a Koashimizu student. Equal in height to him, she bore long curly hair in a light mauve color suggesting the use of dye, but less carefree were the bags beneath her eyes and the tiredness in her expression as she rang up the bill for the costumes. "I wasn't going to say anything, but..."
"And I don't recognize her from school", Ai continued, her concern only growing with Noel's acknowledgment of it. "Do you think she works full time there? They're open pretty late."
"No way to tell", he sighed. "She was there on my first visit. Perhaps she's merely a dedicated employee."
"The only employee there", she pointed out. "Even when it's this busy. Something fishy's going on at that shop, and I'm not talking about the mermaid costumes."
"Why not?", he shrugged. "The others I understand, but why did we need to purchase one of those as well?"
Looking nervous at the admission, her mouth tightened up. "It's, um... nothing. Just a little side project I'm working on. Nothing we need right away."
He brightened, leaning back into the glossy metal chair. "That does seem to be your default, doesn't it captain? Always working on something or another. A part-time job, the fencing club, or training with that fisherman you met, or trying to reach out to a friend in need. If anything, you should have larger bags under your eyes than that costume shop worker. To be honest, I'm amazed you have any time left to complete your schoolwork."
Momentarily thrown off by his bluntness, she blinked before nodding back. "It's close sometimes", she admitted warily. "Fortunately, I do have Rosea-kun offering to help me out with English, and Sorano-chan to help me with anything else. Sometimes, I wonder if my Persona- my original Persona, Anne Bonny, not the others I've made- isn't helping me too, sending me some kind of special energy so I don't just collapse."
"If nothing else", he suggested after a pause of consideration, "it might grant you a strong will not to give up. Dellingr has helped me as well, if not exactly with fatigue."
He was surprised to hear a giggle from across the table, Ai looking back at him with a lopsided expression. "I'm sorry. Did I say something funny?"
"Not really", she relented. "It's just... the way you said that. Like you still think you're separate from the rest of us. You're part of our crew, Vitienne-kun. You're one of us now. You even called me captain."
Trying not to look too flattered, he took a long sip, feeling the mixture of energy-spiking caffeine coursing down his throat. "That's comforting. As expected of you, Tsuruga-chan. However, I must wonder about its validity. I am the only one here with my own agenda, one I plan to pursue after our current crisis is resolved. I'm also surprised that no one has become upset with my reluctance to fight Shadows directly, even when our lives were in danger."
Their team leader listened in silence before responding. "Rosea-kun might have, if you hadn't saved us all back there. I just assumed you had your reasons."
"My reasons, eh..." His mouth turned. "I know my vow is an oddity. I've known that from the beginning. It's something you'd expect to see from some wise old monk or sage, not from someone my age, right?"
"You said it, not me", she protested, waving both hands amiably. "I don't like to pry."
"No", he teased. "That's why you've dived so far into the minds of so many of your friends, and seen their darkest feelings."
She scowled. "Cheap shot!"
"I know, I know", he surrendered. "I suppose it'll just take time before I really feel at home among the rest of you. And more time before you all can be relaxed around me. That much, I'm used to."
Understanding what he actually meant, she studied the opulently tiled floor. "...You're right. I told you, I don't like to pry. I'm sorry. We don't need to see your Shadow or a Land to know that we can trust you. I've already seen your pain up close. No one who loves another person that much can be bad."
"A large assumption to make", he warned her, sounding triumphant despite his caution. "Contrary to what some children's shows may profess, love alone can't solve all the world's problems. In fact..." Thinking back to images of Ayano Furusato, he found himself unconsciously reaching down and clutching his heart, "...love can be a pain greater than any other."
She smiled deviously. "So you have heard of those shows. Well, that settles it then. As captain, I hereby appoint you our morale officer."
"Pardon?"
Finishing the drink first to build his suspense, she folded her arms in satisfaction. "It's true what you said. All of it. They're dumb kids' shows. They don't have much basis in reality. But, when I saw you in that getup, it brought me back to how I felt when I watched those shows when I was little. They inspired me back then. They still do now. That's the point, I think. Besides just making money. We need people to hope still, even with all the horrible stuff that's going on in the world. In both worlds."
"I... see", he said by what seemed to be reflex action, clearly not understanding at all. "Well... I'm glad to have helped anyway."
His confusion only seemed to make her sound more appreciative, leaning in closer. "You know how to deal with emotional pain. That's good... because I need your help with that now. Dealing with pain. The thing we're dealing with- the thing that's trapping Hayato-san in that other world- is really nothing more than a great big load of emotional pain. So much of it in fact, that she hurts herself, and other people, just so she can block it out."
"Back to business already, I see." Seeing the jest fail to break her even stare, he finished his own drink before deciding on an answer. "Father Shigetsu has helped me with it, back when he was more stable. He taught me ways to help accept it."
"So that's why you're..." Catching herself, she groaned.
He smirked back. "Go ahead. It's fine. You can say it. The reason why I'm 'good boy'. The reason why I'm consider 'stoic', or at least not as openly emotional as most people my age." Suddenly thoughtful, he reached up to tap his forehead. "Hm. Maybe that's why I'm the only one that Niyoga-kun was willing to be friends with. A kindred spirit, so to speak."
"Maybe", she allowed, not wanting to talk about Shukiji Niyoga any more if not necessary. "But you're way warmer than him." And if being friends with him means you need to stifle your emotions, then it's not worth it. Nothing is worth that.
"Thank you." Waiting for a particularly dense band of crowd noise to pass over them gave him time to think before speaking again. "Pain, now... pain is the most powerful driving force of this world. It dominates animals even more than humans. Fail to eat enough food, and you feel pain in your stomach to instinctively command you to eat. Fail to exercise right, and your bones begin to ache with atrophy. Touch something too hot, and pain will tell you to release it before you're too badly burned."
Ai listened patiently. As obvious as his words might have sounded, it was a new perspective, which was what she was looking for.
"Though many people choose to view pain as a curse, or a slave master", he continued dourly, "because of these things and more, I say the opposite. Pain is a gift granted to us by God, an invisible protector watching out for us. Not unlike a Persona in that regard, though far less unique. What differentiates us from animals is this: Sometimes, humans will willingly tread a path of pain and strife, because we know it will be worth it in the end. Your own suffering is a type of coin that you can spend investing in long-term efforts. I've even heard it suggested that you can't be completely proud of an accomplishment unless it's been purchased with at least some of that universal coin."
"'If it doesn't hurt", she quoted from some book she couldn't completely recall, "you're not doing it right', huh?"
Akira had talked about this too, she realized. It wasn't quite the same words, but the message was the same.
He'd suffered a lot from taking up the mantle of the leader of the Phantom Thieves, perhaps more than anyone else on his team. There had been pain before he'd arrived at Shujin academy too, visited on him by the greedy distortions of Masayoshi Shido.
But the least painful path, for him...
The least painful solution for Akira, the path of least strife, would have been to ignore that woman's desperate cries. He could have avoided the entire mess of dealing with a stacked trial, facing an assault on his permanent record and the ostracism that came with being a 'dangerous delinquent'. He never would've had to leave his home town, never gone to Shujin at all...
And the Phantom Thieves would never have existed. Their targets would have escaped judgment, continued on with their wicked deeds, always camouflaged by society and their own calculated lies.
And Masayoshi Shido would rule Japan. Possibly the world, if what Morgana said was true. The avoided pain would not disappear. It would be magnified and passed onto every person who suffered under the reign of Shido. Which would be many, if the stories were true.
Perhaps even she might have been one of those victims. After all, as many had pointed out, her hair color left her nationality uncertain. Without access to any information regarding her father, 'pure' status would be impossible to prove. It went without saying that Noel, Mira, and possibly even Jiachi would also pay for Akira's inaction as well, experiencing a far greater torment than anything they'd known.
He's right, she decided. We do need pain in the world. We need it to be able to feel empathy for other people. Avoiding it, pushing it off onto others... that's what the distorted people did. Kamoshida, and Madarame, and Kaneshiro and the rest. It turned them all into monsters 'cause they couldn't face it head on.
She snorted. "I've been an idiot. Thinking I could heal other people's pain alone, just so I'd be more comfortable at Koashimizu."
Noel didn't seem surprised. Like Mira, he rarely seemed to have anything bad to say about someone. This time though, his normally handsome face seemed paler, hardened with the same resolution he'd 'let go' of Ayano Furusato earlier.
"You can't do it for them. All you manage to do that way is make them dependent on you. What you can do, though, is be there to help them face it. Sometimes, just having a shoulder to cry on can make all the difference in the world. I've had a great deal of experience myself."
"Uh-huh." She felt thankful then. Thankful to whatever Gods there really were that neither Mira or Julian had become too dependent on her the way Noel said. She and Pelagio had beaten up their Shadows... but they'd both found their own resolve to fight back first. Even then, she'd sometimes wondered if Mira could function well without her. "So have I. And tomorrow, we'll go get some more... Lucky us."
"The familiar voice of someone overburdened", Noel commented, clasping her open hands sympathetically. "When this is done, we should have a break."
She winked back. "No argument here. Actually, we were gonna go visit Tokyo for our summer vacation. By we, I mean me, Rosea-kun and prolly Pelagio too. Interested in joining us?"
His own smile widened. "Schon. It would be... my pleasure. You see? Something to look forward to when our job is done. A promise. A bright light just beyond the painful path. That's what keeps people moving forward when everything seems dark."
"Always the poet, aren't you?", she snickered back. "But you're right about one thing... We'll definitely be earning this summer vacation. So it's time we got started."
Persona Profile #14: Arsene
Arcana: Fool
Strength: Curse
Weakness: Ice, Bless
Abilities: Eiha, Cleave, Sukunda, Dream Needle
Background: Fictional gentleman thief created by Maurice Leblanc. He was known for targeting criminals or those who were much worse than himself, making him an anti-hero of sorts within his own stories. Believed to have been partly inspired by the French anarchist, Marius Jacob.
A/N: So it probably won't come as a shock that I've been playing Persona Q2 quite a lot lately. It seems to be drawing on a few themes I planned on using later on in this story. Oh well, rewrite time. I do feel like there's a bit of an imbalance with the bosses being massively more difficult than regular battles, easily beating any FOE in their dungeon and requiring grinding, but maybe I just need to learn to fight them better.
Kabuto S. Inferno: No need to apologize. You called it- I do indeed have a grand overarching plan in mind for some more elements of Persona 2 to emerge as the truth is revealed. The new Masked Circle is intended not only as the 'inheritors' of the tiles from the previous one, but also designed to have some similarities to the Divine Powers from SMT4: Apocalypse. In the short term, my plan for them is to create a group of powerful enemy Persona users more memorable than Strega.
EnPassant4264: Glad to see you're enjoying it. I would never be bothered by too many reviews, feel free to say as much as you like, it keeps me productive.