This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to events or persons living or dead in your world is purely coincidental.
Together, We Divide The Land
We Are The Ocean, And The Sand
6/22 Monday
Lunch
The reputation and image- many might say infamy- of Benihime Kujou at Koashimizu high hadn't yet faded enough that no one recognized her marching into the cafeteria, a woman on a mission.
It was, however, clear that things had changed a great deal since her time in the sun. While once foreign exchange students would cover their heads hoping not to be recognized at her passing, now the most obvious reaction was one of quiet ridicule, students of every stripe whispering to each other endlessly about the historical fall of Koashimizu's 'demon empress', and how much of a relief it would be when she was finally gone from here. Some of them felt disgust, others pity for her. But the common thread was that everyone knew the truth, and seeing that knowledge in her eyes ramped up her blood pressure enough to turn her footsteps into hammering footfalls by the time she saw her goal at the far end of the cafeteria.
This, too, was a massive and unwelcome change. Less than a month ago, she wouldn't have been caught dead talking to the school's equally legendary 'rumor king', or 'information merchant' as some called him. Shukiji Niyoga, seated alone as usual. Half a foot shorter than anyone else there, and intensely focused on some esoteric book that looked older than the school's foundations.
Now, she no longer cared. There was no reprisal, no condemnation that could be worse than what had already happened to her, no further peril to be feared. The worst had already come to pass. She had lost her position in the SDC, lost Tatsunoko, lost the respect of the student body, and soon would be losing her place in the school altogether.
She was free.
Despite being buried up to his misshapen nose in his book, he sensed her coming some other way, smirking before she was even within sight. "Well, this should be an interesting diversion."
"You're welcome", Benihime remarked sourly as she took the seat across from him, thinking that the dwarf ought to be thanking her for a break from the tedium of that thick tome. On the contrary- for a while he didn't even look up from the pages. "Seriously? Aren't you already like the top graded student here? Why do you need to study for exams so early?"
"These are not for my exams", he countered scornfully, clapping the book shut with the energy and sound of a punch being thrown. On the cover, Benihime could make out the title 'Myths and Legends of the Sea'. The other books he had with him looked similar. "This is... just a little side project that's been demanding my attention, that's all. But by all means, don't let that stop you. I've been hoping you would show up here, before you left."
"So you know", she acknowledged quietly, amazed at how sanguine she felt about the truth coming out in front of so many people.
"Of course I know", his eye twitched in annoyance. "I make it my business to know. That rumor's almost considered stale by now. Half the school knows you're leaving."
A brief flash of Aiko Tsuruga's happy, childlike face flickered across her vision and she nearly crushed her plastic fork into her peas. "And do they know why?", she asked fake-sweetly.
"That would be obvious", he mused, "to anyone who has been at this school for more than a few months. No, Kujou-san. I'm afraid that no one will regret your departure from this school as much as you seem to be now."
That rankled her further, but she reminded herself that this was what she'd expected. His strange appearance and habits aside, Shukiji made a continuous, deliberate effort to push other people away from him, usually with barbed, erudite insults. Only Noel Vitienne had been willing to tolerate him, and from sound of things even he had left him behind now.
Fortunately, over the years she had been able to pick up other things about him too.
"But none of that will prevent a trade, now will it?"
"A trade..." His dark eyes glittered. "Of course not. If you have something of worth to me, I can listen."
"I don't want you to just listen", she protested. "I want information in return."
The 'rumor king' glanced around, knowing without needing to check just how many curious eyes were on them now. They made a very strange pair, with her athletic, gorgeous build and his possessing the body and height of a boy years younger.
"As you wish", he decided. "But not here. Join me at the cliff."
"At the cliff?", she frowned at her phone clock. "But we have classes in fifteen minutes."
"Exactly", he nodded. "It means no one will be eavesdropping on us. Or are you really afraid of a tardy on your record when you're about to be removed from this school?"
He was right, of course. A single tardy wasn't something to be feared any more. He'd certainly earned an impressive number of those himself when he was busy investigating rumors, but his grades made up for it. Some teachers gave him a hard time about it, but he would always smoothly apologize and claim that 'something came up'.
She was free.
The rains from the morning were still clinging to the reeds out there on the scenic cliffside, dripping down with each step she took. The afternoon was likewise cloudy, but rainless, and they hadn't come here for the view. Not this time.
"So", Shukiji began casually, as though they were actually friends, his eyes downcast, "what is it that you want?"
Benihime felt a brief twinge of hesitation, easily crushed before turning to him. "Aiko Tsuruga. Anything you have, any dirt on her."
Whatever interest his small face held vanished as quickly as the rains had. "And here I was, thinking it would be something interesting. You still haven't learned. Your obsession with that transfer student has led to your downfall, and you still pursue her. Might I suggest a book for you to read instead? Moby Dick, perhaps?"
"I don't need a goddamn book!", she scowled furiously, all the stress and fear from earlier coming out again. "I need something I can bury Tsuruga with. She did this to me! She has to pay!"
Something about the round structure of the boy's eyes made them superb for subtle expressions of disdain, or maybe that was just practice. "And what do you offer in exchange?"
Knowing from his own reputation that he held money in little regard, she made a superior smirk. "The truth about what happened at the girls' dorm last Wednesday night."
The disdain parted, his curiosity returning. "Mm. There have been many rumors about that, but I have been unable to confirm any of them yet. I didn't think it worth my time to pursue. Just another hormone-addled teenage boy trying to sneak into the 'forbidden paradise'. It's hardly the first time that happened at this school, and I doubt it will be the last."
"So you don't know", she sighed in relief. So the great genius Shukiji Niyoga wasn't as omnipotent as his reputation made out.
As if reading her mind, Shukiji tightened his gaze. "I know that Aiko Tsuruga was involved, and will be undergoing detention for a week starting today because of it, alongside Rosea."
"Another slap on the wrist", Benihime claimed angrily. "They're always too soft on her, just because she's from the big city."
"I respectfully decline your invitation to join in your delusion", he said, maddeningly polite as ever. "But you were saying there was someone else involved?"
She nodded, grateful to get down to the heart of the matter. "There was. Reiha Hayato."
He went quiet, looking up as if checking the gray clouds for guidance. "She let them in?"
"No", she corrected triumphantly. "Tsuruga let Rosea in. Hayato, though... she attacked me."
"Attacked you?", he sounded less certain.
Benihime reached down, carefully undoing the top button of her shirt. It fell away to reveal a light, partly-healed bruise running down her neck, which until now she had been making sure to wear her school uniform's green jacket collar high up in order to conceal.
"Hayato attacked me that night", she went on. "Tried to strangle me. All this time, I thought she was my friend... but she's actually a total psycho bitch. And Tsuruga put her up to it. I'm sure of it. Payback on me for trying to expose her."
"Hayato attacked you", Shukiji repeated, suddenly deep in thought.
"That's right. And there's more too; she was strong. Like, really, really strong."
"Hayato-san goes to the school fitness club regularly", he pointed out. "Unlike most girls her age, she has no aversion to developing muscle. It's no surprise that she was able to easily overpower you."
"You don't understand", she insisted. "It was like... like she was even stronger than an adult. Maybe she's been taking something?"
"Or maybe you should try working out more?", he teased. "Those chocolate crepes you eat every day aren't doing you any favors, although your body's advanced metabolism seemingly prevents it from going to your hips-"
"S-shut up! I'm telling you, it wasn't normal! Not just her strength, but her behavior. She never acted that way before now."
Instead of carrying on his mockery, for the first Shukiji looked like he was carefully considering what her words meant, pressing one hand to his chin, talking more to himself than to her. "And you believe that Tsuruga is somehow responsible for that change?"
"I know it", she insisted. "Hayato-san was my friend for years, and this is the first time she's done anything like this."
"A complete change of personality", he mused into the breeze. "Just like when..."
"Niyoga?"
His face had gone stiff as the rock face of the cliff. "No. No. Unreliable source. Need to verify first."
"Niyoga? Hello?"
Waving a hand in front of his face seemed to snap him out of his trance, and he looked back at her with slightly less contempt. "The trade is... fair. You wanted information on Tsuruga?"
Benihime's heart fluttered, sensing her triumph. "I did. So spill."
Shukiji took a deep breath. "Tsuruga was born in Akihabara, Tokyo. Premature birth of roughly 2 weeks. She enjoys video games, swimming, face painting, and more recently, fencing. She eats slightly more than is recommended of her age, and is currently trying to learn to cook better by working part time at the Starlight Diner in Tosashimizu city. Her underwear size-"
"Stop!", she cried out, throwing up her hands. "This is all useless to me! I want dirt on Tsuruga! Something bad that'll expose her as the bitch she is!"
Shukiji stopped, eyebrows raised. "...Alright. Her mother took great pains to hide any connection to her father. However, I've determined the truth about him."
Cautiously leaning over, he whispered it into her ear.
The news hardly improved her mood. Just the opposite. "That's it? That's not going to help me! If anything, that'll make people feel sorry for her!"
"Oh?", he acted surprised by this revelation. "I was under the impression that there was a certain school of thought in our country that believes someone raised by a single mother is not a complete person. That Kogaya Tsuruga is to blame for failing to find another man to help raise her daughter properly. I theorized that perhaps such beliefs are prevalent in JCAP as well. Am I... mistaken?"
"My daddy raised me alone", Benihime scowled, easily recalling Daisuke's words to her. "My mom left us shortly after I was born. She was weak."
"And just look at how well emotionally-adjusted you are", his level of sarcasm felt like a living thing, an invisible demon mocking her from the darkness. "I'm afraid that for now, that is Tsuruga's darkest secret that I know. One which she cared nothing to hear. From me, at least."
"That's nothing!", Benihime exploded at him. "You're useless! I gave you valuable information, and you've given me nothing I can use! 'Information merchant'? You're a fraud, Niyoga!"
"Caveat emptor." When those words failed to trigger any recognition in her, Shukiji sighed in exasperation. "I guaranteed nothing as to how much these secrets would help you condemn your rival. The possibility that such secrets don't exist is no fault of mine. Perhaps she is simply what she appears to be."
"And what's that?", she demanded furiously.
Shukiji chuckled. "Someone with the same common weaknesses as any other 16 year old female transfer student from Tokyo. A biological attraction to physically attractive males of similar age that clouds her judgment with excessive hormones. An irrational fondness for cute things, or for fiction that dramatically portrays romantic relationships between people close to her age."
"Not. Helping." Benihime gnashed her teeth, ready to slap him. He was no better than any of the others, all of them hiding their joy behind false pity.
He shrugged. "That's not my problem. But if you feel like you've been short-changed, I can promise you this: when I learn the truth about her connection to the students who disappeared and returned- Sorano, Rosea and Hayato- I will share it with you."
"But... that'll be too late!"
She'd pushed too far, she already knew. Whatever enthusiasm had brought Shukiji out here to talk with her vanished along with his good mood.
"As I said: That's not my problem. My only goal is knowledge. And it's clear to me now that Tsuruga and those others are hiding something from everyone. Some secret that even I can't determine without more information. Adding Hayato-san to my list of suspects is a gift I was willing to give you lot for in exchange, but that's all. I believe we're done here."
The words had barely registered to her when he was already out of his seat, past her and heading back towards the campus, hands in the pockets of his jacket as he whistled some esoteric tune.
"No...", she felt the whisper escape from her lips as she watched his back recede. This couldn't happen. It couldn't end so easily. This was desperation. But is even this desperation not enough to get what I need?
No. Not enough. There has to be a way. Has to be a way to get back at that bitch. At all of them. There has to be...
"Worthless", she called to him, satisfied to see his movement stop before shouting louder. "All this talk of you being the big bad 'rumor king', and you can't even give me what I need!"
Frozen motionless, he let her get within two meters before releasing a deep, mocking laugh. "Oh, my reputation is hardly so sterling as yours, 'Demon Empress of Koashimizu'. I suspect that yours will outlast mine after we both graduate, since you've harassed and bullied more students than I have made deals with. The emotional impact of that will last longer than all my trades."
"How dare you...!"
Hardly cowed by her tone, he turned, a superior smile on his small face. "Ooooh, 'how DARE I', 'how DARE I'? Or maybe you won't graduate at all? You're heading to another school now, aren't you? It could be that without all those foreign exchange students to harass, without your lost authority, you won't be able to find the will to study? Your grades have been dropping sharply since then, haven't they?"
"That... how...?"
"Use your words, Kujou-san", he advised cheekily. "They're useful. But as to your question, that's an easy rumor that's been going around. That one, you can have for free. But if you feel like you've been shortchanged, then... here."
Waiting for her to catch up, he pressed an old-looking scrap of paper into her hands. "What's this trash?"
"It's what you wanted", Shukiji explained. "A number that promises to give you the revenge you crave... If you believe the stories about it, that is. I don't."
Benihime stared at paper, the numbers on it flowing through her memory and failing to stick. She'd heard a few rumors about it as well. A special number not in any phone book or directory that could be called by those who had been wronged, who sought 'karma' for those misdeeds, no matter what the price.
The fact that it had obviously been given to her as a calculated insult didn't stop her from thinking, running over all the stories she'd heard about the so-called 'Karma line'. She'd dismissed it in the past of course, just another idle legend created by wishful thinking.
But now...
Now, she was desperate.
Desperate enough to risk my life over this? For all I know, this could be some kind of trick. Some trap to get your phone info and blast it with viruses and spam.
She was free.
"It's worthless", she repeated. "Worthless. Just like you, Niyoga."
"You sure like to throw that term around a lot", he observed calmly. "One more bit of information, then; Continuing to cling to your foolish grudge against Tsuruga-chan will only worsen your life. Whatever her numerous flaws may be, she remains a far more admirable person than you."
That was enough. This time, she actually did slap him before marching away, fury cinching her muscles tight. "No wonder you don't have any friends. No wonder the ones you did have left you. The Gaijin, Vitienne. Furusato."
He'd barely reacted to the slap, as if he'd expected it. The last word, though, broke through his seemingly imperturbable calm, his sight suddenly laser focused as he brushed his dark hair back so both his eyes were frighteningly visible, a vein in his forehead above them bulging out, normally abrasive voice becoming tense enough that she actually took a step back despite being a full head taller than him. "Kujou... If you utter one more syllable about Furusato-san, I promise I'll release all your worst secrets to everyone at this school... and to wherever you're going next. That way, you can enjoy the fate you tried to inflict on Aiko Tsuruga."
With threat completed, he resumed his path back to the campus, leaving her to stew.
Stupid, stuck-up dwarf, thinking he knows me better than I do...
Still... she found herself checking her pocket, making sure that scrap of paper was still there before she returned to class to accept the accusing stares of the other students.
Free, huh?
6/22 Monday
After School
The room spread before Aiko hardly matched anything past experience might have suggested. Instead of a garish penthouse on the top floor of the school where its occupants could look down on the 'peasants' in the courtyard, it was on the 1st floor and completely enclosed, easily accessible from the hall leading from the foyer into a row of 1st year classrooms.
Shows what I get, she decided happily, for letting all I've gone through with Kujou color what I think of the SDC.
Only the large table in the center suggested any kind of real organization at work, enough high-backed chairs flanking it to suggest a large committee met there often to discuss things. Already, a girl and a boy she didn't know were writing away on some documents, while the one she did know led her to the other end. Naturally the other two would be staring at them, merely pretending to write, but she did her best to pretend not to notice.
"I have to say, I wasn't expecting this", she confessed at last, letting Kohru Tatsunoko's even eyes perform whatever analysis he felt was necessary. "I mean, you just pulled me out of Mr. Ishinagi's detention room. Why?"
As ever, the boy now considered the most desirable in all of Koashimizu remained a perfectly unreadable stone monolith when he wanted to be, a flat top of dark hair accentuating a crisp school uniform and disciplined mannerisms worthy of a student council president, neither affection or scorn influencing his gaze on her.
"You're complaining? I wasn't expecting that."
Trading one dry, dusty room for another, the remark came to her unspoken. "Just wondering why I'm here, that's all."
"Understandable." His chiseled nod became a sort of half bow, one arm raised over his heart. More than anyone else, he made the bright green blazer jacket of Koashimizu's male student uniform look great, like it had been specially made for him to wear. "First, I wanted to apologize to you, Tsuruga-chan. Gathering the information I did to have Kujou-san removed from this committee inevitably exposed me to a lot about what she did to you. No student in this academy should ever have to deal with such disgusting harassment, particularly from a member of this committee."
"It's... um... fine", the words escaped from her before she could consider how forgiving she wanted to be. Surely, someone who had been a couple with Benihime Kujou might have known sooner? Too late now. "I'd heard you were the one who did that. Thank you."
"Rumors", he said disdainfully. "I suppose they must be right, some of the time. But the ones that Kujou spread were malicious slander. That's unacceptable for any student, especially someone here."
"I'm glad to see that not everyone in the SDC thinks like she does", Aiko emphasized gratefully. As expected, the other two students flinched a little at that phrasing. Not so long ago, they had either been completely in line with Kujou's ideas or too scared to go against her. "But I still don't get why I'm here. Unless... you think the detention isn't enough?"
"No, no", Kohru shook his head in brief amusement. "That punishment is certainly enough, if not more than. You weren't the one committing the crime. You were just accused for being there with Rosea and not stopping him."
"I'm surprised the leader of this committee would say that", she admitted. "Especially you."
Raising an eyebrow, he flashed back to the first time they had met, all the way back when they'd been doing the student roll call before being assigned dorms. Back then, he clearly hadn't thought much more of her than Kujou had, but things had clearly changed in the last few months.
Or maybe it's me. Heaven knows I've changed since I got here, in more ways than I ever though possible.
"Yes. You already know. I can see it. That's the soldier's burden", he remarked solemnly, one hand against a tiny bit of stubble on his chin. "To be forever apart from your peers. To be feared by them, even. I suppose that was why I took so long to remove Kujou-san... I don't have very many friends here, and losing even one wasn't easy." Once again, he gave the half-bow. "I'm so sorry."
"Tatsunoko-kun's family has been part of the military for generations", the pigtailed girl at the table explained brightly. "I guess something must've carried over to him."
Now that she thought of it in those terms, it was easy enough to see. With that crisp flat hair and steel gray eyes, he certainly had the disciplined bearing of someone from that field, even if he remained too young to be recruited just yet.
"But you remembered our first meeting", he appraised. "I guess your memory isn't quite so bad as I thought. That's good. As to why I pulled you out of detention, it might interest you to know that Hayato-san has retired from our group as of today."
"Reh? Hayato-san quit?"
"She told me this morning", Kohru nodded. "A shame."
"You're as polite as ever, Tatsunoko-senpai", the younger boy was more direct, his small nose twitching in the dry air. "But you can't deny that Hayato slept through half our meetings. Her leaving proves that she was only there for Kujou, to be her support."
"No", Aiko found herself protesting, knowing the truth but also knowing exactly how the situation would look to an outsider. "She wasn't..."
"Hayato-san is welcome to make her own choices", Kohru cut off the potential argument swiftly, a foreboding glare shutting the younger boy up. "This committee is a volunteers-only group. If she feels like she needs this time to study for exams or rest up, then who are we to question her choice?"
Content that had been enough to quash any further insults, he turned back to Aiko. "However, it's true that losing three of our members so quickly has left us at a loss for planning the Tanabata festival. While expectations for us aren't exactly astronomical, I think that we should at least try to create something uplifting after the recent tragedies the school has faced."
Aiko stared at him, not quite comprehending. "So... that's why? You actually want me to...?"
"We're offering", he amended. "Like I said; gathering all that information showed me almost as much about you as it did about Kujou-san. Two minor transgressions aside, you've been a model student. Your grades have been good lately, and I heard you're the one responsible for helping Sorano-chan with some of her problems, and now she's at the top of her class. To me, that's a sign. A sign that you have the rare skill to support others, and help them overcome their personal difficulties."
The small-nosed boy looked like he didn't agree with this statement either, but he kept his mouth shut. "This year has been a difficult one for many of our students so far", Kohru continued. "And despite some recent cuts in our funding, it's been our tradition to arrange some kind of celebration of our own for Tanabata, usually on the beach. The fishermen there often contribute as well, but what's most important now is that we have something planned, so we can make our arrangements with them early. We would like your input, Tsuruga-chan. Then afterwards, if you're interested, you can join us full time if you like."
She couldn't think of what to say. Naturally, an offer like this wasn't what she'd expected, considering her past contacts with the SDC. Kujou's old friends sure won't like it... but maybe that's the point. Some kind of open statement, declaring our feud over now that she's gone. And...
And somehow, the more she looked back at Kohru, the more she wanted to trust him. Trust that this would be a good idea, and contribute to a dream she'd once nearly given up on.
Wasn't it just a few days ago, she acknowledged with a quiet smile, that I was talking to Reiha about the importance of letting yourself feel happiness again?
"I'd be happy to", she announced at last, taking in the way Kohru beamed and the short-nosed boy turned away to hide his own disdainful expression. Clearly, not everyone feels this is a good choice. Well, I'll show them I'm capable.
All thoughts of what she wanted to suggest for Tanabata were suspended as soon as she returned to Mr. Ishinagi's room, however.
The room's population had nearly doubled while she was gone. None of the previous residents had moved from their seats, but now three other people had taken desks along the back wall of the room, looking quite satisfied to see either her, or the sheer surprise on her face.
"It seems you have guests, Miss Tsuruga", their guidance counselor remarked from behind his desk, too amused by the sight to dispute it so long as they didn't talk. "Believe it or not, this isn't the first time I've seen this happen, students showing their support for their friend in detention."
Mirambela, Noel, and Reiha all looked quite pleased with themselves as well, despite the brief explanation Reiha was allowed: "We thought we'd surprise you by coming in one by one. But you weren't there."
Julian's gradual smile made clear his thoughts on the matter, and they were all content to sit there for the last twenty minutes.
It didn't feel like a punishment at all, any more.
6/23 Tuesday
After School
AT: so you all actually planned that?
NV: Hayato's idea, really
AT: genius
RH: thanks
RH: was worried that Mr. Ishinagi might not like it
RH: but he's actually a pretty chill guy
MS: shouldn't you know him better since you've been here 3 years?
RH: not really
RH: didn't pay much attention and I sure didn't want to talk to the guidance counselor
JR: that was cool, thanks so much guys
NV: but we missed Tsuruga-chan...
NV: I wanted to see her reaction when we came in one at a time to have a seat
JR: well I was sure surprised
JR: never seen that before
JR: Rurichiyo was surprised too
AT: now that's a reaction I want to see
MS: we thought about doing it for the whole week, but...
AT: that's fine
AT: once is enough
NV: but we missed you...
JR: it's fine
RH: moving on, do you want any help planning the trip?
AT: that's fine. Besides I have something else to work on first
JR: huh? Planning another trip to Faraway Lands?
AT: no
AT: actually, Tatsunoko-kun just recruited me to help out with the Tanabata festival 2 weeks from now
JR: whoa srsly?!
MS: congratulations Ai-chan!
AT: yeah, I was shocked
RH: prolly 'cause I left around the same time as Kujou
RH: that made an impression but I didn't care, just wanted out of there
RH: better watch out tho
AT: ?
RH: Tatsunoko's a decent guy, but lots of other people there who think like Kujou, just not as loudly
AT: yeah, I know
MS: ...is Sonoka-san still there?
RH: last I checked
AT: doesn't matter, won't let Sonoka get me down
AT: or any of them
JR: if they give you trouble...
AT: i'll be fine
JR: promise?
AT: promise
Mirambela felt her guest coming before seeing him, turning away from the omnipresent sight of the shore to meet a single curious, brightly golden eye, parallel to an eye patch marked by a butterfly.
The boy before her was undeniably handsome, far more attractive than Aiko's earlier words to her about him could have possibly portrayed. Curtains of light sandy brown hair cascaded down from his strange dark blue naval cap, its stiff black bill accentuating a face seemingly accustomed to expressions of curious innocence.
Or at least, curiosity. "Where is your captain, Dancer? She said that she wanted to meet with me here today."
Mira shrugged, regretting the deception. "I'm sorry. She couldn't be here. She's in detention right now. She only asked you here so that we could meet."
Simply as that, the boy's mask of affability was dropped, replaced by irritation. Aiko had warned her that as attractive as he was, the mysterious blue-clad attendant had a mean streak that tended to manifest whenever he felt his guest wasn't showing suitable amount of ruthlessness in their situation. "I had assumed", he glowered, "that she had wanted to speak with me about something related to Faraway Lands. Not introduce me to a friend. This is a waste of my time."
"I don't think it is", Mira countered, also remembering Aiko's advice to her that Bartholomew didn't take apologies very well either, or at least the garden-variety type that people dropped a hundred times a day to be polite to each other. "We set this up for a reason."
"Explain it then", the blue-clad attendant asked. "I have no time for frivolities, and you are not the wild card. You're merely one of her crew, one of the ones who owe a blood debt to her."
Mira gulped. Phrasing it that way made her relationship with Aiko sound very different than she thought. "A b-blood debt? Deni la damu? Sure, I definitely owe her a lot for helping me, both in this world and the other one... but I wouldn't go that far. I'd definitely never kill a person, even if she asked."
The attendant spread his arms. "And yet, how many Shadows have your daggers, and your Persona's lightning and winds destroyed?"
Reflecting his seriousness now, she nodded back. Bartholomew's ideas and concepts were frightening, but that wasn't why she was here. "Enough. I wanted to ask you... About your plans for her."
His single eyebrow shot up, the patch-covered hole tightening. "My plans? She's told you nothing of us after all, then- my designs are merely in service of my master's."
"Igor", Mira remembered the other one Aiko had spoken. "Big long-nosed man who can't come visit us the way you do, right?"
"That's correct", he sighed, rolling his one eye. "Regardless, I suppose that your suspicions of our goals aren't entirely without merit either."
Moving closer, desperate to make sure he didn't notice Pelagio until they were sure it was safe, she nodded, her concerns spilling forth faster than she'd wanted. "...I'm sorry. That does seem to be my role on this team: The worrier. The one who always frets over the insane risks that Ai-Chan and Rosea-kun don't seem to mind wading into, not even seeming to realize how dangerous it all is... and I rather doubt that Hayato-senpai will be much different, after seeing her in action."
"There's no need to-"
Turning her stare back on him, she shook her head. "I worry. I worry about so many things. Why were we chosen for this? What exactly is this other world? Will we win? What's our mission here? And... what will happen when we achieve it?"
Against her initial impression, the blue-clad attendant didn't scoff at her softly-voiced concerns, instead studying her more closely. "That fear is only natural, Dancer. Just because your friends don't flaunt it, that doesn't mean they don't feel it."
Mira froze at that, and knew Pelagio would be watching her just as much as he was their mysterious guest. Had it really been just a month ago that he'd been suggesting she wasn't suitable to be part of their team, since she worried so much? But only I show it, she acknowledged. That addictive habit, and the nervous mannerisms that made it so apparent to the others, had been born from a year spent in mortal terror of other students, believing them all subscribers to Benihime Kujou's beliefs.
When? When will I be able to let go of that fear? I know things are getting better- my mind does. So why won't my body drop this instinct?
When could she hear the terms 'Faraway Lands' or 'Shadows' or even 'Persona' without feeling her stomach drop?
"The last Shadow we fought", she said in an attempted defense, "she was a waking nightmare."
"One that was formed from the mind of a human, as they all are", Bartholomew reminded her. "It's amazing, really, just how horrendous some of them are, and I'm not merely speaking about their appearance. I've witnessed some Shadows which would scare even your captain, all of them formed from the hidden selves of seemingly normal people."
"The Reaper", Mira guessed, remembering well how panicked their chases with that dreaded Shadow had been. Hopefully now, they could go for some time without having to return to the sea of souls, and the Reaper would give up on catching them.
But Bartholomew mere gave a polite chuckle, as if mocking her hope. "Oh, no. That one... is something of a joint effort. It's formed from humanity's collective fear of- or perhaps desire for- death. It's extremely rare to see a Shadow or anything else formed from a collective effort, yet that fear is synchronous enough across billions of minds to work. Naturally, any such creature formed that way is phenomenally powerful."
Fear of death? She considered carefully. Is it really such a simple cause? Or...?
"In my home country", she explained, "I lived in my village, surrounded by death. Leaving the village alone was not allowed, because at night you could very easily run into a predator. Yet... why am I the one most scared of what might happen if we lose a battle in Faraway Lands?"
"Perhaps you should find out", he suggested in a voice that fought hard not to sound like mockery. "You're not going to Tokyo with the others, are you? You were returning home for the summer?"
"Yes", she nodded with a note of regret. "I promised papa that I would return then, to see him and the others. My family. Maybe then, when I'm there... I can try to figure that part out." As if snapping out of the trance, she noticed for the first time the way he was studying her reaction. "A-and anyway, that wasn't what this was supposed to be about! I wanted to know for sure that you don't mean Ai-chan any harm!"
Smirking, he gave a mock bow. "Ah. From the start, then. My name is Bartholomew Roberts. And I can assure you that I mean no harm to your friend, Aiko Tsuruga. I only wish to help her bring out her latent power- the power of the wild card."
"So you want to make her a stronger Persona-user?", Mira wondered. "Why? What's the end goal of that?"
Bartholomew blinked. "Ah. Of course you'd be upset at that idea. The stronger she and the rest of you become, the more dangerous waters you shall travel. The end goal, you ask? Are you sure that you want to know?"
Making one last check to make sure Pelagio was watching as well, she regathered her courage- if this reluctant sensation of wanting to see it through to the end could be called courage- and stared back. "No. I don't want to know... but I need to know. The better prepared we are for what's ahead once summer vacation is over, the more time we can get ready to handle it. That... yes. That's my repayment to Ai-chan. To honor this 'blood debt', I need to ask the questions no one wants to ask. And give the answers to my captain."
The attendant nodded his approval. "Very well, Dancer. Listen, and learn."
6/23 Tuesday
Evening
"I warned you not to expect too much", Noel preempted their guest once they were safely within what he would hesitate to call a 'temple'. Even when it had been visited by regular patrons beyond himself and Aiko, it had been a restrained affair of wood and rock, though he was pleasantly surprised to find that his pastor, father Shigetsu, had cleaned the place up before their arrival.
Shigetsu was outside now, busily tending to the seedings in the soil outside the building that he insisted was 'blessed', leaving the two of them alone among the rows of empty seats.
Far from intimidated by the emptiness of the space, Reiha studied the altar curiously before picking a spot to sit. "I'd be annoyed if it was much", she pointed out casually. "Even the Shinto temples in Tokyo aren't exactly castles. And they shouldn't be."
"No", he tried not to sound too somber about it, inevitably drifting back to the times when this place had been a place of warmth and safety, more of a home for him than the boys' dorm in Koashimizu. "I'm sorry if you find the temple depressing. That wasn't my intention."
But the tall girl smiled back, showing off her practice. "It's fine. Honestly, this is exactly the kind of thing I needed right now. A bit of peace and quiet, far away from the city and the school. You're sure the father won't mind?"
"Just the opposite", he snorted. "I think that he was looking forward to meeting you."
"Until he actually sees me, of course."
Surprised by that, he took a seat beside her, studying her dark eyes for whatever disquiet still lay hidden there. Certainly, quelling one's Shadow isn't the resolution to all of a person's problems. Rather, it is merely the beginning of the journey to resolution, the recognition that there is a problem and the desire to solve it. "Why would that be?"
Her reply came as an annoyed grunt, her long gloves folding against each other- she had discussed it for a while with Spica and determined that it was necessary to wear them for a while long until the injuries faded. "Oh, come on. You've seen me. You've seen my scars, my tats. And I just so happen to be blessed with this wonderful hair that looks like I haven't washed it in months no matter how often I actually do. I'm like the freakin' poster child for 'street trash punk Goth girl'. All I need is a nose piercing."
Hardly thrown by that scathing self-immolation, he shook his head. "Please. None of that disqualifies you from finding your own peace and sanctity in this place. That was a part of why I invited you here, Hayato-san."
"...Oh." Looking a bit deflated after her rant, she stretched, leaning back to look into the arced ceiling. "Well, I... uh... thanks."
"I wouldn't recommend that you get a nose piercing though", he prodded. "Those things are terribly difficult to clean, I hear."
"Oh, go ahead", she snorted into the ceiling. "Mock."
"Not mocking", he maintained vehemently. "Observing. And for the record, the ones that I disdain merely adopt that look in order to get a rise out of other people. Your pain, though, your desire to find solace in dark places... that's completely genuine. Those gloves of yours actually serve a purpose."
"Yeah", she shrugged innocently. "They do. Man, you wouldn't believe how far Spica went to make the school let me wear these in class. One more thing I owe him."
"Yes. And that's partly why I wanted you to be able to meet my equivalent of your Spica. In many ways, they are alike. Both of them have faced terrible situations without giving in... and that strength has been a leading example to each of us."
"More like Spica ran away from a terrible situation", she commented, folding her gloves together. "But yeah, you're right. I'm seeing the doc in a different light now." Vaulting off the seat, she surprised him by removing her gloves, revealing the mangled skin beneath. "He told me a little about it last night, actually. How he fled from famine in his home country, hoping to find a better one here... but the person who created his identification and helped him make the trip was actually in the syndicate. He used that to force him to join up, little more than a slave until Mr. Azuto hired him."
"Yes, he did mention that name before. He sounds like he's-"
He stopped when he saw the disgust forming on her pale face like a thundercloud, twisting her thin lips back. "Mr. Azuto is no different from the others. He's a criminal. A very rich, influential criminal. And he should be punished as a criminal. Just because he doesn't do graft or drug smuggling himself any more doesn't get him off the hook. He could get a bunch of the heavenly kings arrested and stop a lot of crimes if he was willing to confess what he knows to the police."
"You do judge your grandfather quite harshly, Hayato-san", Noel considered. "I suppose you would be our expert in criminal matters. But this is not a place of judgment."
Realizing herself just how much her words frightened him, she relented, dropping back. "I suppose in a way, I really should thank the Phantom Thieves for what they did. If I'd continued on, if Kaneshiro hadn't had his heart changed... Then I'd have grown up under the syndicate. A Yakuza princess, they call it. The granddaughter of a respected heavenly king... and maybe eventually the daughter as well."
An impressive imagination, he considered quietly, for someone so brutalized by life. "And that path of life is one to be dreaded? It would have made you far wealthier than even I."
The sour expression on her face said all she needed to. "It is. The syndicate's codes on loyalty aren't just for active members, y'know. If I'd stayed there, like that... I'd definitely have ended up loyal to them. To the syndicate. To Kaneshiro, too."
"...Perhaps. But that wasn't your life. There's no point in living in fear of what might have happened now."
"No", she studied the wooden floor, just as surprised as he to find it so clean. "No point in being scared of stuff that didn't actually happen. Maybe I would've been happier in that life, or maybe just more ignorant about how awful Kaneshiro and people like him really are... but it doesn't matter now. You can't un-ring the bell, as they say."
"No", he echoed, now looking more crestfallen than she did. "No matter how we might wish to."
"Furusato", Reiha guessed, snapping back to him. "Right? Tsuruga told me about it. She fell victim to that place the same way, right? Only, it was too late for anyone to save her... I'm so sorry, Vitienne."
"It's alright", he rubbed his chin absently. "I've made my peace with it. Actually, I wasn't thinking about Furusato-san."
"No? About what, then?"
Noel grimaced. Intentionally or not, he'd succeeded in his goal, diverting Reiha's attention away from her own sorrow and pain. And into mine. Best to keep this brief.
"Coming back here to visit the father in his time of need", he explained carefully, "reminded me of how I was when we first met. You see, there's a reason why I vowed to never harm another being, not even Shadows."
"I honestly don't get how you can do that", she shrugged helplessly. "But good on you. Your self-control must be way better than mine."
"It is now", he admitted. The lit candles now cast his face into sharp relief. "But it wasn't always. When I was young, back at home... well, I would say that I had far more in common with Rosea-san back then, or even Samesaji. A simmering kettle of violence, dissatisfied with most everything I laid eyes on. Eager to prove I was 'a real man'... whatever that means."
"That is the mystery for the ages, isn't it?", she joked, returning to her seat beside him. "I've seen that type. They're so eager to sign up for associate work with the syndicate. Makes 'em feel big. So... what changed?"
Taking so long to come up with an answer to the question made him realize that he couldn't actually say for sure. "Hm. Destiny, maybe?"
Hearing it from anyone else, even Aiko, she might have mocked the use of 'Destiny'... but here she simply nodded. When Noel used that word, it felt wrong for her to argue the point, especially after the supernatural feats she'd witnessed mere days ago. "It's fine. I get it. We don't have to share everything. Some stuff's just too difficult to let other people see, even if they did save your life."
Getting no answer to that, she brought a hand to his chin to lift it back up. "...Heeey. That's why you brought me here, isn't it? Haha! Pretty slick there, Romeo! Even got me to a church and everything, though I hope you don't expect me to accept a ring just yet."
"Not yet", he agreed, brightening. This was the Reiha Hayato that Aiko had told him about- the positive one who put out a never-ending stream of crude, adult jokes... but they were jokes. "Forgive me. Hayato-san. I just find you fascinating, especially after everything we saw in your Land."
"Well it's not like my schedule's clogged up or anything, with how scared Kujou is of me now", she snickered. "Sure, why the hell not? If you don't think it's an insult to Furusato-chan's memory, then neither will I. Your call, assuming that father Shigetsu doesn't faint dead away at the sight of me."
"He won't", Noel promised. "He's seen far worse, in his time."
"Indeed I have", the cloying voice from the entrance agreed, still brittle but sounding stronger than he'd ever been since losing his congregation. He had already warned Reiha that the old man would be missing a leg, using a bronze-headed cane as a bracing in its stead, and she tried her hardest not to stare. "Whatever monster you might wish to make yourself out to be is but a pale imitation of the true demons lurking out there, young miss."
That statement shocked her more than his leg, and she turned to stare at Noel. "Wha... He knows?"
"He knows about Shadows, yes", he acknowledged. "He knew about them before Tsuruga-chan did, if you can believe it. Before any of us did."
"It was during a time of cataclysm, six years ago", Shigetsu explained calmly. "A time which most of humanity has now forgotten. Yet let us not dwell on that tragedy, but rather celebrate that another one has been gifted with the power to sense and battle the demons."
"She has", Noel agreed. "And she's already said that she's going to join us help destroy them."
Making the connections, Reiha could only smirk at the situation. "Well, yeah. 'Course I am. I can't let Tsuruga-chan and the others go off and fight Shadows without me, right? That would hardly be-"
Seeing the way she'd suddenly halted, he knew what word had been coming next. He drew closer to her, pressing up against her gloves so that she could feel his warmth. "Justice. That was what you meant to say. To battle for justice."
She started with an exacerbated-sounding sigh, but it merely came out sounding relaxed. Tranquil, even. "Y-yeah... To fight for justice. Even if it's dead in this world."
"It's not", Noel promised, holding her close. Her declaration had been heard on the lips of her Shadow more than once, but the purpose of this trip had been to take her away from the despair that had given birth to that Shadow. "I swear to you, it's not."
The moment he opened the spiral-emblazoned chamber door, Ryuken Samesaji remembered why it was that unlike with Lady Scorpio, he only went into King Leo's private chambers when he had no other choice. The place gave him the chills, with or without its owner inside of it.
Until recently, his own room had been equally elaborate, covered and crowded with Phantom Thieves' memorabilia- posters, calling cards, paper mache masks... an impressive tribute that had now been torn down following his fight with Joker. Lady Scorpio had continued her existing theme with her quarters, merely adding additional mirrors to a dressing room so that they would cast multiple reflections on any who entered. A disarming effect to be sure, but it could be gotten used to.
But King Leo's chamber was completely different. Dozens of slender metal pipes lay suspended flush along the walls, occasionally opening up as tiny flute-shaped valves looking like slitted eyes at each end. Taurus had no idea how exactly he'd managed to craft such decoration any more than why he desired it at all. The valves were unsettling enough, but behind that came the effect; any sound above a whisper made in the room would inevitably find its way into one or more of the pipes and travel its length before finding release at the next aperture, being distorted during the transition in various unpredictable- and often disturbing- ways.
At the central nexus of this maddening pipework was Leo, content to stand in the center of all the valve openings around him. He looked fairly content compared to some days, but Ryuken knew that to be just as much of a pretense as the kind he used to rope in young girls to sing for them. Looking old enough to pass for his father and garbed in a chic red business attire to match, he smiled up at his young guest, the glass eye focusing several seconds after the real one before his deep voice billowed forth, shaking the valves around him.
"Prince Taurus. The voices told me that you would be here tonight. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
As usual, though never any less unnerving, the valves at the other end of the room released an eerie patchwork rendition of the man's words, some at varying levels of tone and pitch, others so warped that they sounded like the words of some other creature while others repeated themselves, the noises echoing within them endlessly: "Tonight, tonight, tonight, tonight..."
Be strong, he ordered himself. Don't run. He's on our side. If he's a little crazy, so what? None of us are completely what a doctor might call 'sane' any more.
Trying to look dismissive, as if he was merely conveying another message from Scorpio, he acknowledged the man's bifuricated gaze. He had to talk. Whispering only earned Leo's disdain, which for once would be a problem. "I suppose you've already heard of how my battle with Joker went?"
"Joker, Joker, Joker...", the pipes echoed back, the last utterance only getting as far as "Joke."
"I did", Leo nodded, the strange formal calmness in his tone completely at odds with everything else about him. "It seems that the legendary trickster of the Phantom Thieves hasn't lost his touch after all."
"Lost, lost, lost", the pipes moaned, lamenting Ryuken's defeat.
"Did you know that Makoto Nijima was one of them as well?"
As usual, Leo ignored the eerie sounds the question created, his look of surprise seeming genuine. "I did not. I was asked to target her because she was investigating us too closely. Seems as though that's backfired, hasn't it? Not that they can stop us. I'd have heard if that was true."
"Stop, stop, stop..."
"Glad to hear you're just as confident about this as Scorpio", he admitted, trying to shift over to one side so the echoes weren't quite so loud. It didn't help. "It still pisses me off though."
Leo nodded in sympathy before speaking again. "You've never lost before. For the holder of a war god Persona like yours, that's particularly frustrating, I'm sure."
"Persona, Persona..."
Just the reminder made him grit his teeth. Certainly, the voice of his Persona- his true self- had been beyond agitated about the result of that fight's final round, even if it had been two against one. He'd kept to his duties, running the Karma club like everything was normal... but no amount of money or songs could truly ever silence the voice of his inner desires, the one that was telling him to head over to the general hospital and beat Akira Kurusu's head in with a pipe. And do the same with Makoto Nijima for good measure. Bitch shouldn't have even been there. Would serve her right.
"Legem Naturae", he named the greatest revelation of Mithras. "How can we call our cause worthy, if we can't beat Joker? If he's stronger than us, then his ideals should win, not ours."
"Worthy, worthy..."
Blinking once, slowly, Leo stepped forward past the locus of the pipes. "You're mistaken, my friend. Don't worry so much about Joker. He's abandoned his ideals. We won't need to deal with him again."
"What?", he yelped, immediately regretting the way the pipes returned the noise in a howling crescendo that he waited to die down before speaking again. "But Lady Scorpio said he refused our peace offer."
"He won't bother us again", Leo maintained firmly. "The voices told me. He stepped in to fight you when the Dream Voyagers were in danger, but he believes his work in the cognitive world is finished now. He's reluctant to continue on with it."
"Finished, finished..."
Ryuken mulled the idea over for a moment. Lady Scorpio hadn't mentioned this to him, but then she rarely shared anything beyond what he needed to know to perform his duties, perhaps sensing that he would be disappointed not to have another crack at Joker.
"His comrades then", he suggested hopefully. Surely, the others would be a challenge as well. "The other Phantom Thieves will try to stop us once they hear about what's been happening in this backwater without them knowing."
"They won't", Leo repeated in absolute confidence. "Like Joker, they believe their powers are unnatural. They're out of practice, drifting into normal lives for the last six years. Returning to this is something they would only have the confidence to do together, and they will not."
"Together, together..."
"So", Ryuken grunted, trying not to let his dismay show. "What will they do then?"
"Nothing we have to worry about", the older man promised him, his words ringing with the unshakable confidence of the true fanatic. "But I heard the voices speak. I know why you came. You want to beat Joker, don't you? Even if he won't pose a direct threat to our plans again, you want to be stronger than him."
He grunted. This was one more reason why he hated to have to come in here. At least Lady Scorpio was polite about predicting his actions, often even showing compassion for his well being. "...Yeah. Even if he decides not to mess with us again, I want to beat him. Legem Naturae. If I don't get stronger, how can I expect our plans to work in the future?"
"Stronger, stronger..."
"Our plans will work, Taurus", Leo affirmed, clapping a confident hand to his shoulder. "I haven't heard anything about anyone being able to prevent them yet, and we'll even be getting a new Queen Aquarius soon. But your goal is admirable. Certainly. Come here whenever you have some extra time, and I'll help you get stronger."
More than the shoulder tap, it was the abruptness of it that caught him off guard, and he stared at their strongest member, not quite sure if he was being played. "Really? That easy, huh?"
Finally showing a bit more of the humanity he'd once held, Leo grimaced. "What? You thought I would say no? You forget, Taurus- with Dagon, I can hear the voices of the other self calling out. I've heard your Persona's screaming anger for some time now, its frustration at losing a battle to someone you believed to be inferior to yourself. I knew that you would try to find a remedy to that problem sooner or later. Unlike most people, you know better than to deny your true self what it desires for long."
"Remedy, remedy..."
"All this time", Ryuken acknowledged distantly. "Huh. And I thought Lady Scorpio was creepy."
For once, Leo's disturbing serenity was broken and his binary stare intensified. "Lady Scorpio is what humans have turned her into, nothing else. Just like me. We're the same, her and I. She might be better at working out the details of our plan, but we all share the final goal."
"Final goal, final goal, fin-"
Ryuken knew what the red-clad man wanted to hear from him now. An acknowledgment of their plan, showing his own willing acceptance of it even if he hadn't discovered his Persona the same way as the two elder members of their little group had. Naturally, Leo would occasionally ask for these confirmations of commitment to their cause- he'd been very suspicious of the former Queen Aquarius, and rightly so it seemed.
But he needn't have worried this time. All Ryuken had to do was shut his eyes and think... and commune with his Persona. Mithras, who had been born from an inner scream that only grew louder the more society tried to stifle it within him. The more he tried to deny the way he really felt, the more he tried to pretend he wasn't disgusted by the civilization around him, the stronger Mithras had become, until it could no longer be suppressed at all.
Until they had unleashed Mithras within him, and he'd finally realized the truth.
That he had spent the first two decades of his life trying to drown out the most powerful part of his own psyche. Because that part wasn't what people wanted to see from him. It made them uncomfortable. If any cop could have seen his inner thoughts, he'd certainly be put on some kind of watch list at the least.
And it was all so... pathetic. Pathetic, the way these people pretended to have a clue what they were doing, the way they tried to constrain forces more powerful and righteous than they were. Pathetic, and sad. Legem Naturae.
"The final goal", he repeated, shaking off any earlier reluctance. "The final goal to bring out as many Personas as we can find, to free the people from these awful cages society has built to contain their spirits. Doing that will help tear down the veil, and one day we can live in a completely honest world. A world with no masks. Salvation."
"Salvation", the pipes chorused.
"That's the final goal", Leo agreed. "But that's not why you came down here tonight, is it? This is something more personal, isn't it?"
That was also true, he knew, but it was the reminder of just what kind of reward lay ahead of him that had brought back his drive, dispelled his earlier awkwardness and allowed him to give Leo a smirk equally deranged while he spoke the words he'd been too afraid to say. "Yeah. It is. Joker discarded his superior self, discarded his ideals. For that, he has to pay. I want to be the one to punish him for it. I want to make him hurt. I want to see the anguish and tears in his eyes when he realizes just what he's earned by betraying himself... I want him to beg us to restore him to what he was."
Satisfied with what he heard and felt from the younger man, Leo's eyes curved into a sanguine expression not unlike the one he'd worn when throwing Makoto Nijima off her balcony. "Then you do understand the reason for your hate. Come visit me when you can, and I will show you more effective ways to transform that into power for your Persona. Dagon knows... and before long, you will too."
"Got it." He knew without having to check that it was too late to start right away, and waltzed back to the door without issue. None, that is, except the hollow metallic echoes that continued to follow him out of the room and the dark hallway beyond as if they were persistent ghosts instead of sound:
"Salvation, Persona, Powerrrr..."
At some point, she'd had to concede, and eat. Whatever the fruit of this island might do to her couldn't possibly be worse than starvation, and Manan seemed able to prepare it well when he could have simply kept it raw and feign a lack of those skills if the intent had been to poison her.
"An entertaining tale", the strange bearded hermit remarked as she finished the disarmingly fresh coconut broth- somehow, it grew on this island just fine. "You've met both allies and enemies here, and become a legend in your own right."
Tipping the last of it down her throat, Aiko raised an eyebrow at how well-informed the man seemed to be, wondering for the hundredth time who exactly he was. Certainly, Igor had been equally unnerving, but Igor made such little pretense at being human that it no longer bothered her. This one, though... he was something else entirely. Not human, certainly, or he would never have been able to survive here. What, then?
"I do have to admit", she conceded, "I was totally amazed when some Shadows started running away when they saw our ship coming. The strongest ones always stayed, thinking that they could take us, but as we won more and more battles, we saw the effects of our reputation spread across the sea."
"The sea of human souls", Manan corrected her kindly. "And have you seen that effect in your world as well?"
"No", she shuddered. "And I don't want to. That's why we stuck to our code names and masks. Even if people only caught little glimpses of us when they sleep, that might still cause problems."
"Perhaps", he considered, stroking his beard to clear it of leftover coconut. "Still, it seems a shame to not do anything else with this fearsome reputation you've created. That's not an easy thing to make."
The hospitality he'd shown her so far didn't stop the acid glare descending on her face, the one that had intimidated hundreds of Shadows into submission. "When people started to fear the Phantom Thieves, that was nearly the end for them. I wanted to avoid taking that risk with the Dream Voyagers. It's enough to scare off Shadows."
"Shadows are human, lass. In part."
Smirking back, she stood. "I know. That's why it took a long time before I noticed we were having a very different effect on humans. At first I chalked it up to luck, or just my own perception... but looking back on it now, it makes sense. We were beating up literal manifestations of people's repressed thoughts, and scaring a lot of them. How could a person not get changed by that kind of nightmare?"
"Not a nightmare", Manan suggested, eager as always to see more of her memories coming back. "A guide. What you wanted to be, isn't it? A beacon of light for mankind?"
"Not then", Aiko protested, staring down into the fire's dying embers. "Then, I just wanted to live my own life, with no more disappearances. So I planned a vacation for everyone who could come, to help us try to take our minds off it before we got back to dealing with the Masked Circle. Of course, it's never quite that easy..."
A/N: As predicted, this capper to Reiha's arc took a while. Hoping to start the next one soon, but no guarantees thanks to work and a persistent cough.
Elsewhere, the fanmade Persona 6 proposed by Crosspaw games that helped inspire me to write this has found a writer of its own on Wattpad. Definitely go check it out if you want more Persona action (under 'Persona 6: Fanmade). I particularly like the idea that the people in distress are put in the hospital by a massive surge of whatever illness they are suffering through.