This story is a work of fiction. Any similarities to events or persons living or dead in your world is purely coincidental.
We've Come Too Far To Fall
We've Lost Too Many Friends To Give Up Now
The Deeper We Descend
The More We Face What Took Our Leader's Heart
Please Hold On, We'll
Win Your Heart Back
Though Lies That Grew Within Our Team
Through Hate That Split Us All Apart
Destroy The Walls You Shield Behind
And Let The Story Never End!
8/4 Tuesday
Morning
Aiko had been having a good dream. As usual, she couldn't remember what it was, only that as soon as she woke up, she remembered yesterday and groaned, willing to give anything to go back to sleep.
The dream had had nothing to do with Bartholomew, or Igor, or the blue velvet ship. For once.
Tell me God, are you punishing me?
"I recognize that noise!", Mirambela's rhythmical voice came to her from beyond the sheets. "Don't you dare go back to sleep now. I've been waiting. We need to talk."
There was the brief temptation to just not move and try to convince her that she hadn't woken up after all, but then it was Dada Yangyu... "Ugh. Fine. Talk."
Mira took a moment to order her words, waiting as her roommate reluctantly peeled her bedsheets aside. "Look... I know what happened yesterday was awful. For you, having to watch us fight Shadows and get hurt... that's worse than having to fight them yourself, isn't it? And those questions, making your answers the trigger for our pain... That Niyoga... he's a lot meaner than I ever thought he was before."
"Tell me something that I don't know", Aiko grunted, her blood igniting at the mention of the name. "I mean, he was always a grumpy guy before. I didn't exactly consider him a close friend to me. He didn't either. But... I didn't ever think he'd do something like that to us."
"To you", Mira clarified, her eyes glowing with sympathy. "That was the weird thing I noticed, actually. Well... several weird things, really. It was like he was singling you out, trying to tear you down." Rising up from her own bed, she shook her head. "You can't let him, Ai-chan. Don't let what he was saying get in your head and make you doubt yourself like this. You're still the best captain."
"No", Ai responded, hating how whispery and weak her voice sounded this early in the morning. "I was the only captain. But it's clear to me now- anyone else on this team would do better than me."
Mira briefly looked like she wanted to give a different reply, but stopped herself. "We could test that. Let Pelagio be captain for a bit. We can try it. But you have to still come with us, okay?"
"Why?"
Mira blinked in surprised as she realized this might have been worse than she'd believed. "Because you're still the best fighter of us all. If you're there with us, we can beat anything. I know it."
"Not him", Ai lamented. "Not Shukiji. Not in his Land. You saw what he was doing. He has complete cognitive control over that lighthouse, even more than any of the rest of you ever did over your Lands."
"So what?", an edge of impatience began to creep into her best friend's voice. "So we just give up? Is that it? Let him go? Let his soul be lost?" When she tried to turn, Mira stayed with her, sternly refusing to break eye contact with her friend. "I thought that you said you'd never give up on anyone that way, Ai-chan."
"If we had the slightest chance of winning...", she offered up reluctantly, already knowing how defeated that sounded. Had the Phantom Thieves ever run into something like this? A Palace ruler who was powerful enough to simply cast them out after humiliating them? Humiliating Joker? "...That's why I shouldn't go. Without me dragging you down, you have a chance."
"Without you, we have no chance", Mira claimed angrily. "I thought you enjoyed doing this? I mean, not really, but you know what I mean. I've seen when you fight Shadows, more times than I can count. You're not like me. You're more like Rosea-kun. You get a thrill out of all the action. Hayato-senpai too, by the look of it. Not surprising, really, considering her background."
"Yeah", Aiko snorted. "'Cause I don't have to think so much when I fight. Niyoga proved that thinking isn't what I do. I'm not cut out for it."
Anyone else might have snapped at her then. She could sense how badly Mira's instincts were screaming for her to do just that. Instead, she simply turned around for a moment, muttering something to herself before turning back.
"Forgive me, Tsuruga, but... that is just wrong. You are the most thoughtful person I know. You're always thinking about other people, trying to help them, trying to bring out the best in them. Trying to plan our next moves against some really, really wazima adults who've had the advantage over us from the beginning."
"Nice of you to say", she relented, offering the hint of her old positive energy. "But do you know the real reason I came here? It was to try and turn Koashimizu academy into a home for myself. So that I could be comfortable here because I wasn't comfortable in Tokyo. No other reason. Selfish."
That was the final straw. Whispering another quick plea for forgiveness, Mira marched over around the bed to her, taking her friend's head in her hands, much as they had back at the beach cave but far more forcefully this time. Her pale skin felt clammy and warm from the bed, but still oddly nice. Still the girl she'd come to know and respect so much in five months.
"Tsuruga-chan... I am not an oracle. But here and now, I can tell you what is going to happen. You're going to get through this... because you always get through stuff like this, no matter how tough. You're going to rejoin us, and we're going to go and save Niyoga-kun no matter how many Shadows or puzzles he puts in our way. Then, once all this Persona stuff is done with and we can live normal lives again, we'll meet again, and start our next year of school here. Together. Then, in just three years, we'll graduate together. And then... And then...!"
Her grip was soft, and weakened with the advent of tears. "And... I'll watch out for you. The way you watched out for me when I was hurting. Because a bond of Dada Yangyu- of beloved sisters- can't be broken by anything."
It was her turn, now, to close her eyes and not open them until there was a hint of change. Fortunately, she could feel her friend relenting without needing to see despite the sulky tone still in her voice, clutching her temples as she spoke:
"...Alright. Alright. Fine. You win this time. I... I just can't believe how stubborn you are."
Letting out a victorious laugh, Mira released her sister's head. "You're the stubborn one, Ai-chan. That's what I love about you... although sometimes I hate it too, when you act like this."
"Sounds complicated", she joked, and they both giggled again. "I'll come. But not as captain. If you don't want Pelagio leading, then you should do it. You're smarter than me. Or at least, you get better grades than I do."
"If that was the only thing that mattered", Mira folded her arms, "then Shukiji should lead us, like he said he would. But it's not the only thing. A leader..." Shrugging, she exhaled loudly, thought back to all her time spent in the village. "Papa taught me. The village elder has to always be looking out for everyone's well-being, not just their own. They have to keep their heads in a crisis, and not let emotions get the better of them. But at the same time, they have to understand people's feelings, understand why they do what they do."
"Sounds like we should go recruit Ishinagi-sensei", she joked back. "He's a professional psychiatrist, with degrees and everything. He'd know exactly how to cure Shukiji of... whatever it is he's got."
"The word is arrogance", Mira provided, becoming serious again. "I know that he's always believed himself to be superior to all the other students, and with that kind of power in his hands, directed by his own mind... no wonder he thinks that he's become a Godlike being. He also has his Shadow in there with him. Whenever he starts to show any thoughts about wanting to leave that huge tower, his Shadow is there to nudge him away from it. Just like with ours. Just like-"
"Just like that huge evil robot with your face?", Aiko reminded her, carefully keeping any tone of teasing out of her voice. The memory was a striking one for her too- that had been the first Shadow that she had ever seen. It would always be a sore spot with Mira, even moreso than the other 'former rulers'. "Right. It's always the same role for the ruler's Shadow, isn't it? They always pretend to be their devoted servants... but they're actually secretly the masters all along."
"Exactly", Mira nodded without any of her earlier hesitation. "Mine... The 'head sentry'... She always acted like she was a machine like all the others I'd 'made', programmed only to obey my commands. Yet, she always tried to keep any 'real' being who might try to convince me to leave my dream- you- far away from me. She was never a true 'robot'."
"Yeah. No question about that", Aiko agreed, remembering how the final fight with that one had gone with just as much clarity. "When you tried to leave, she got ugly. Literally. No robot can sound that angry or sad."
"See?", Mira argued brightly. "Niyoga's Land really isn't that different from all the ones we've done before. And we've already accomplished more there than we did in any of the others: we've already located the Ruler. It will fall like the rest too. We just have to make sure we're ready for it next time."
"Alright", Aiko considered, pitching her voice a bit higher, trying to sound like everything was back to normal again. The trials she'd dealt with in Reiha's twilight city of Shirubashiti had taxed her body's endurance, but this was something else entirely. "First step to prepare: we go get some ice cream. Strawberry mint, with extra chocolate sauce."
Mira laughed, happy to have her friend back again. "If you say so. It's still the middle of summer, after all. Even if this summer is going to be a lot busier than we first believed."
She reached for her phone.
Noel stared into the mirror, carefully considering the easily-recognized anchor emblem on his new summer student uniform. The fashionable white-button shirt had a sharp-looking collar along the top that he wasn't sure would last in the wash, and the dark green shorts looked like it was designed for sports. There was also a brighter green sash tie, which he imagined a few of the others might have trouble with running through the collar. He'd been even more surprised to learn that the girls' uniforms also required the tie. Thankfully, it was technically optional. Though that would be taken as a challenge by many.
His friend Shukiji certainly would have seen it that way.
He washed down his breakfast with a glass of sweetened grape juice before heading out of the dorm, no different from an average school day really.
Except for the fact that Reiha was just outside the door, waiting for him with a glare that suggested violence was to come. "Ah", he remarked laconically. "There you are, Hayato. You're too late- Sorano has already yelled at me quite a lot."
"I might do a lot more than just yell at you", she threatened, smacking one dark gloved palm into the other. "You knew all along about Shigetsu and Shikuji, and you never told us? What the hell, Vitienne?"
Hardly surprised or frightened by her aggression, he gestured to one of the embankments along the coast. "Over there. We can watch the ships head out, and I can explain in detail."
"Fine", the tall, muscled girl relented, lowering her glove-clad arms, if only for now. "Heh. You're like Tsuruga that way. You need a nice open landscape for your brain to work properly?"
"It... helps", he considered, not having seen it that way before. Sure enough, before long they were there, a fresh wind tugging at their hair and clothes in summer's light, the various boats already setting sail from the beach. Including, he noticed, the Fiddler's Green.
"Tsuruga never mentioned that to me until I brought the subject of residences up a week ago", he pointed out at the rugged vessel. "That she had already undertaken a contract with that ship's captain, and that when she was old enough, he would will his ship to her once she learned how to properly operate it. We have had neither the time or the interest to share every last detail of our lives with our team, not if they are not relevant."
"That isn't the same!", Reiha protested, still angry- thought not exactly at him, he knew- "As soon as you found out that Niyoga was in Faraway Lands, it was rele... relevant, aight?"
"Please forgive me for my lack of diligence then", he implored, not wanting to fight her on it in any way or form. "I was very... distracted by that Shadow's behavior, and not merely because he had stolen the face of mein freunde. However, the truth is not so relevant as you might believe it to be, Hayato-san."
"Try me", she dared him. "I could use a good story right now."
"The two of them had always been very different", he explained, taking a spot on a rock to watch the ships pass. "I was introduced to father Shigetsu shortly after meeting his son when they still lived together here in Tosashimizu city. Even then, Niyoga constantly questioned the way that his father led the people in prayer and traditional rituals at the shrines, failing to see what the purpose of it was."
More pensive now, Reiha stuided his face closely. She was certainly no stranger to tragic backgrounds. "Was there... a mother?"
"There was", Noel nodded, eyes lowering. "But before I arrived in this country, she... passed. A wasting illness that subtly attacks the digestive and reproductive systems, too expensive for them to medicate by the time they understood what it was. The proper way to react to such an even was another major point of argument between them. Shigetsu would say that she is with God now, and Shu would demand proof of that claim. However, he did not become truly hostile towards his father until after the incident six years ago."
"Right", she remembered hearing the others talk about that legendary event that had struck Japan on Christmas Eve six years prior. According to the Phantom Thieves, a malevolent God had gone so far as to forcibly merge his realm of Mementos with the real world, resulting in the appearance of powerful Shadows in the false guise of angels across the city and beyond it.
That was how Shigetsu had encountered one such creature as it tried to impose its master's will on the altered Tosashimizu. The priest had resisted, trying to drive it back with spiritual symbols, only to lose a leg for his efforts.
For her part, she would have been in the lower decks of a boat then, the ship bringing her from her old home in Tokyo to her new one here. If she'd possessed the ability to see those Shadows, she would never have known it save for a slightly off-putting change in the color of the water and sky around her.
"Of course, no insurer or social assistance program would believe that a monster had taken his leg", Noel continued. "As a result, he was unable to gain any kind of additional financial support for his son, and while he was still able to continue his duties as a priest, his former employer was quick to fire him once he was made a cripple."
Reiha's heavy-lidded eyes narrowed in fury, once again not directed at him. "So they just ditched him like that. No worker's comp or anything. Wow. Just wow."
"There are strong social programs still in place", Noel maintained. "Despite the effort of certain parties within the government of Japan. However, they all required him to explain the way his leg was lost, and when he told the truth, they believed it a lie. You see, they had all somehow forgotten what had happened then. Most of the population had, in fact. While this miraculous encounter with a supernatural being intensified the father's faith, it also seriously harmed his life in many other ways... and cost him the respect of his son Shukiji forever."
"So you took over for him", Rei guessed, dark eyes widening. "You become his new 'son'. You kept on helping him get by when he needed help. You still are."
"Yes", he admitted, leaning back to stare into the clean blue. "I bought him that bronze cane he still carries. It was all that I could afford, as any kind of prosthetic would have been more expensive. Thankfully, that situation has now been rectified."
"Aren't you like, rich though?", Reiha frowned. "Couldn't you have gotten one for him way earlier?"
"Not exactly", he shook his head sorrowfully. "I am sent a certain amount of money each month, converted into Yen, and all of my major expenses are tracked. If my father- my true father- were to discover that I had spent so much on someone else, I would be dismissed from Koashimizu academy and recalled home immediately to face his wrath."
She didn't look completely convinced by his argument, placing an arm to her chin. "What? You're afraid of him? Too afraid to help someone you care about?"
"Afraid of losing this", Noel confessed, gesturing to the picturesque land, sea and sky around them, dorms and all. "Afraid of being stuck in my family's old house forevermore. Afraid... of losing my freedom. Besides, father Shigetsu made it very clear numerous times when I asked that he did not desire for me to make that sacrifice for him."
"I still think you should have", Reiha insisted, pressing a hand to his chest. Despite the heat, it felt slightly cold against his shirt and tie. "Just do it and face the music later. Maybe tell the rest of your family why you did it and they can try to help you. They can't all be assholes, aight?"
"They are most certainly not", Noel agreed. "They are all very kind. However, they defer to mein vater. His word is law in such a situation."
"That sucks!"
The look on his face from her more passionate reaction was just too much, and he allowed a mocking, almost ironic smile back. "...Indeed."
"Don't let anyone say you've got no sense of humor, Vitienne", Reiha chuckled. "At least, it's def better than Niyoga's."
"Yes", eyes closed, he chuckled. "Hmhmhm. Tsuruga-chan did tell me something like that, once."
"So... what happened after?"
He shrugged as if the answer were obvious. "Shukiji... he became increasingly estranged from his father, until he refused to even see him any longer, preferring to take up in a school residence. Instead, he threw himself ever deeper into his studies, into using his eidetic memory to master every subject in school he possibly could. Though he remained friends with Furusato-san and myself alone, in the last year he became distant even from us."
"And the result... is what he have now", she growled, boot kicking a clump of grass like it was Shu's own messy black hair. "You were hoping to help mend that, right? Get the son and the father back together again? Always Mr. Nice Guy, huh?"
"Well... I could not help but feel that I was slightly at fault for their separation in the first place", he admitted awkwardly. Wanting to hear more, she yanked at his tie like it was a pull string to trigger more info. "However, Shukiji refused any efforts to reunite them. He even once stated that he was content with my supplanting him as Shigetsu's son, though in a far more sarcastic way that I cannot quite remember word for word, you understand."
"Unlike him", Reiha considered more calmly. "Eidetic memory, huh? So he can actually remember everything he's ever seen?"
"Not quite everything", Noel corrected her. "Mainly images, though he always showed a much better retention rate for facts than most of the other students in his grade as well. He became particularly adept at discerning things about other people by small changes in their appearance, such as clothing or body language."
"And that was the start of his time as the feared 'Rumor King of Koashimizu'", Reiha recognized sourly. "Trading information for other information, private information that people wanted to hide... I can definitely tell you he wasn't exactly popular with the SDC either."
"He certainly made no effort to make any further friends at school", Noel pointed out, clutching his left shoulder for a moment as if shoring up an old wound. "It is only natural. When I asked Shu about his loneliness, he always told me that he didn't want to make friends with any 'imbeciles'. Which... he apparently considered most of the school's student body to be."
"Including Tsuruga-chan", Reiha recalled, releasing his tie and growing angry again over what had happened yesterday. "Seriously. We def have to make him pay for doing that to her. No offense."
"None taken." Raising his head back up even with hers, he sighed. "I had hoped that he would embrace the truth of Faraway Lands, but so far he is reacting very badly to it. The only possible way to get him to repent will be for us to prove ourselves. To show that we are not the 'imbeciles' that he sees us all to be."
"You think we're gonna have to answer those questions?", Reiha shuddered at the thought of it. "Sorry, but I'll be leaving that part up to you and Sorano-chan. That's not my strength, y'know? I just hit stuff and use those curse skills."
"You see?", he nodded back without accusation. "Your knowing the truth about Shukiji and the father won't help us to accomplish our mission at all. In fact, just the opposite; I would imagine bringing the subject up with him will only aggravate him further."
"Maybe we want to aggravate him?", she suggested, slowly shifting closer to his warm body. All her earlier aggression had ceased for now, to be replaced with a strange affection for their handsome healer. Despite the vast contrasts between the two of them, she couldn't help but admire his dogged determination to seek out the good in people, particularly in Shukiji.
"Um... Look. Sorry about all that stuff earlier, ok? I didn't mean to go off on you or anything. I was just so pissed off about how yesterday went. Here I am with my brand new powers ready to go help you guys beat down some Shadows, and instead we all get our butts kicked in hard. And now Tsuruga's gone all hashtag emo teen, saying that she's quitting the Dream Voyagers? Hell of a first day on the job, aight?"
"Mm. I wouldn't worry too much about that last part", he stood, grinning more confidently now. "As I said before, Sorano has already talked to me. She told me that she will be spending this morning talking to Tsuruga, making her see sense. Seeing those two together, I have no reason to doubt that she will succeed, and we should be able to resume our journey shortly. Perhaps even today?"
"She damn well better", Reiha gritted out. "I sure can't imagine anyone else leading us."
8/3 Tuesday
Afternoon
All clad in the new summer uniforms wishing to get comfortable with them, the five of them gathered together in the beach cave from before, wishing to prepare before the sun began to set.
All the better, so that no passerby might hear Reiha's shocked shout: "You're making WHO captain?! You've gotta be kidding me!"
The others all looked surprised in their own ways, if not quite so vocal about it. "I must agree with Hayato. This is quite an unexpected shift, Tsuruga", Noel remarked. "Pelagio has declared himself to be a guardian, yes? A protector? Why would you entrust him with a leadership position?"
"I am concerned with this sudden change of strategy as well", Pelagio spoke down to them from a stalactite perch, his raptor's eyes seemingly just as stunned. "I am your sworn protector, captain. While none here can doubt my prowess as a warrior, I consider myself unsuited for a leadership role. My place is between the rest of you and the enemy, so that their blades and claws might shatter into pieces upon my shield and armor."
"My decision's made", Aiko told them all, unable to meet their eyes directly save for Mira, who remained silent behind her. "I'm better on the front lines anyway. And of all of you, Pela-tori is the one I trust to see the big picture in a battle. Like when we were fighting Hayato-senpai's Shadow, remember? Even when she bit my neck, vamped both me and Mira... Pelagio kept on going, exploiting her openings until we won. Or at least until Hayato-"
"Threw myself off the zeppelin, yes", Reiha cut her off with an annoyed snarl. "It looked like the only way we could win at the time, aight? I wasn't planning on a fucking suicide or anything. I already knew that my Shadow wouldn't let me die. And what do you know, she didn't."
"That was still a very reckless move of you though", Mira advised her worriedly. "What if the Shadow hadn't been able to catch you safely in time?"
"If, if, if, if", Reiha mocked her. "Whatevs. Point is, I'm not so sure if bird-boy's the best one for captain. Especially where we're headed."
"Your worry is noted for the log", Aiko announced. "But for this Land, I think him being captain might be a good asset. Niyoga seemed to take a shine to him when we visited, or at least more than he did any of us."
"A trifling fancy, I assure you", Pelagio ruffled his feather coat as they looked up at him. "That young lad merely respected my human-level intelligence, that is all. In his overbearing pride, he clearly considers my mind to be vastly inferior to his own. I certainly doubt that I will be able to successfully answer the questions he likely to test us with upon our return."
"We're not expecting you to", Aiko pointed out. "You haven't ever gone to school at all. What you'll need to do here is guide us, coordinate us in fights and figure out who should try to answer those questions if we do run into any."
Their falcon friend still looked uncertain, but buckled up when he heard Aiko's words. "Hmph. Very well. I promise to do my utmost as the captain, for the sake of you all."
"First time that the captain also transforms into the ship", Julian muttered behind him. "This... is gonna be really weird."
"What's weird is you", Reiha snorted, folding her arms. "You've been so freakin' quiet, Rosea! It's not like you! Almost forgot you were there for a minute."
"Yeah... well... whatevs."
Distracted by his strange shortness but not enough to question it further, she shrugged. "Well... if you really think it's okay. I'm the new meat here, so I shouldn't question it."
"What about the 1st mate?", Noel wondered. "The secondary leadership position. Will that be yours now?"
"That will be for Mirambela", Aiko said softly. "Of course, Pela-tori is welcome to change that if he wants to."
Pelagio, too, looked like he wanted to say more but then refocused on something else. "That's quite alright, in fact. Miss Sorano will be acceptable as a 1st mate, leading in the event of my absence or incapacitation."
"I'd be happy to", Mira agreed. Despite her usual good cheer, she'd been adamant in backing all of Aiko's declarations without questioning them. "And I promise to do my best to answer those questions if we have to deal with them."
"Yes. You, or the Vitienne lad", Pelagio nodded. "Still, considering the penalties involved for answering incorrectly, we should try our best to avoid them if possible."
"Somehow I doubt it's gonna be that easy", Reiha lamented. "Still, we have to try."
"We do", Mira echoed. "Niyoga-kun might not be the most likable person, especially now that he's gotten all this crazy power from his Land... but he's still one of us. He's Vitienne's friend."
No one questioned the fact that she was specifically looking into Jiachi's hazel brown eyes as she spoke, their dialogue a silent one.
He didn't wait for very long. They had only just returned to the tempestuous ocean of the dimension beyond theirs, heading through the gate as usual, when Jiachi took one last check to ensure no Leviathan Shadows were present before speaking out: "One sec, Guardian. Can you head for that island over there first? Won't take long."
Pelagio hesitated to change course, but then remembered that he was technically the leader now, and didn't require confirmation from Aiko. "As you wish, though I don't see anything over there worth investigating."
There wasn't, of course. The island was one of the larger ones at least fifty meters across, but still nowhere near the size of a true Land. Faraway Lands seemed to be riddled with these smaller islands in places, for reasons that the Dream Voyagers had tried to guess at but never been able to confirm. While the places often seemed desolate, the Shadows that collected on them were usually weak.
In this case, Mira saw that there were no signs of any Shadows here at all. Instead, the sweeping curve of the island was littered with slabs of buildings that looked like they'd been scooped up from a Tokyo neighborhood and dumped there. Their incompleteness and advanced states of ruin created a foreboding feeling in her she knew might be shared by the others, but it was too late to change destinations now.
"I don't see anything here", Noel wondered once they'd all safely debarked. "Is this another one of those buried treasure chests you spoke of earlier?"
"Not exactly", Julian confessed, waiting, letting the others spread out and observe the various bits of masonry in their curiosity. "Although we haven't searched this one yet, so it might be. Just 'cause we never got that out of a Shadow doesn't mean there's nothing here."
"But we are not here to search every single island, Gunslinger", Pelagio accused. "Perhaps it might be of some help for us to pillage the surrounding locales, gain more supplies and gear to better fortify ourselves for the battles ahead, but this island doesn't appear to have anything of value worth taking. There are not even any Shadows here. Hmph."
"Yeah", Julian confirmed, carefully studying the expanse of the area despite their new leader's words. "That's good, really. This way, they won't interrupt us."
"'Interrupt us'?"
It took a moment for the words to register with Aiko, and slightly longer for her to process what she was seeing happen next.
A single revolver, shiny with its constant polish and care, the circular barrel an unbreakable-seeming cylinder of metal. Pointed not at a Shadow, but at her.
"Oh, and Captain?", Julian called out over the others' shocked speechlessness. "I wish to report a mutiny."
"Tell me you're joking", Aiko asked, staring with disbelief into the barrel of Jiachi's weapon. "Tell me you got fake-drunk at a restaurant again. Tell me this is some crazy scheme to cheer me up. Also? It's not working."
But no. This wasn't another dream. It felt far too real, the shine of the pistol and the breeze from the dark ocean drifting through her hair beneath her cap too authentic, to be otherwise. Only the Velvet ship could duplicate such substance, and she clearly wasn't there now.
Even if Jiachi's aggressive stance was reminding her a bit of the attendant, Bartholomew, right now.
"Oh? I thought you'd be thrilled", Jiachi remarked, forcing himself to look up into her accusing green eyes with his own resentment to match hers. "No more of that nasty responsibility weighing you down, right? If we lose or we get hurt, it won't be your fault any more. It'll be mine."
"Enough! Drop the bullshit, Rosea!", Reiha shouted, ready to charge him but not quite there yet. Not with a weapon trained on Aiko. "This isn't the time for your games!"
"Gunslinger, if you please", he replied smoothly, spinning his weapons in threat. "And this isn't a game. I told you already. This is a mutiny."
"This is a betrayal!", Pelagio snarled with just as much vitriol, ready to strike at him until Mira moved one arm to block them, shaking her head in a wordless denial. "You took advantage of our good faith to seize the position of captain for yourself? What makes you think that any of us would go along with such a dishonorable act?!"
"If Saber says it", Julian countered without flinching, "then you'll go along with it. Goes double for you. So if she says 'Gunslinger is captain now', then you'll follow me, yeah?"
"I won't be saying that", Aiko claimed, the shock wearing off and giving way to her own private fury. You're my friend. I trusted you. "Not ever. Not to you."
"We'll find out", he claimed. "This is the problem, y'see? When the position of team captain starts to get passed around so easily, everyone knows the reason why. Because the original team captain's lost their confidence in the team's ability to win games. They don't want that weight, having so many losses placed on their account. So they find someone else to pin it on."
"I chose Pelagio!", she snarled back. "He's the better choice! Better than me or you!"
"If you go with seniority rules, sure", Julian shrugged, his eyes growing colder. Merciless. "But y'know, I've never really believed in seniority rules. Me? I always believe in meritocracy. The best player should always be the team captain, so that they can show the others how it's done, and lead the team by example. So... Draw your weapon, Saber. We'll fight. Whoever wins becomes the new captain. Got it?"
"Like hell!", Reiha yelled, readying to attack. "She won't fight alone! I'll beat your face in for that, Rosea!"
But Aiko, finally seeing what Julian wanted, nodded. Reached for the hilt of her rapier. "No, Witch. It's alright. I can do this alone. I'll win. I'll beat him. If you help me, nothing will get solved."
Though she did stop again, Reiha clearly wasn't satisfied, looking over at Noel. "What about you, 'Mender'? Are you seriously going to just stand there and let this shit happen?"
Noel looked just as despondent, yet also resolved. "I can't say I support this. But I can't do anything to prevent it either. At the very least, I can use Dellingr's power to guarantee that neither of them inflict serious injuries on each other."
"That's fine", Jiachi gave him a thumbs up and a cocky grin. "Not like I wanted this to be to the death or anything like that. This is just a friendly little spar, right?"
"A friendly little spar that decides who gets to be captain", Aiko accused, preparing herself mentally even as she spoke. This is it. This is really happening. I actually have to fight him now. And if I lose... "Your timing really couldn't be worse, Gunslinger."
"Nah", he claimed. "Just the opposite." Seeing her ready to fight, he lowered his weapon a notch. His red bandana now covered one of his eyes just as Aiko's hat always veiled one of hers and the others' headwear did the same for them; it was an interesting pattern that she'd noticed but hadn't paid much mind to until now. Yet, the sorrow and regret in the one hazel-colored eye that she could see was clear as day, and she couldn't help but think back to when they'd first met...
Back when he'd shown off his skills on the soccer field, pretending to be an authorized player.
Back when his manual dexterity- his natural talent for quickly spinning pencils, pens, revolvers or any other handheld object in his hands- had been an impressive display.
When he'd offered for them to officially become boyfriend and girlfriend, a bold act that showed her another side of him, even if it had ultimately been for selfish reasons.
Meeting his family, and trying to understand the longstanding grudge between him and his Japanophile father. The grudge that had been transformed by grief into hate that locked him into a desert town of his own creation.
Experiencing the revolting lust of his own Shadow... and yet, knowing how strong the rest of his instincts must be to keep such a monstrous thing in check. And, ultimately, to reject its claims that he was better off all alone and embrace both his American and Japanese names, both sides of himself. Julian and Jiachi.
Attending his birthday party, and watching with pride as he'd made the first unsure steps towards reconciling with his father.
Seeing Wild Bill come to him, the unshakable grit and determination of the western spirit seeing him and his new team through countless battles against Shadows. The Persona gave him a unique fighting style, a cocky smirk and a penchant for lightening the mood with a joke... even his jokes weren't always good. His was a sly confidence that couldn't help but inspire the same in others.
Because he knew- he'd always known- that this contagious confidence was his true gift, his greatest contribution to any team.
That was why Aiko knew that accepting Jiachi's challenge to her was actually the best thing for her to do right now. Even if she didn't exactly know the reason why yet.
Because he, the Hanged Man, wouldn't do this without a good reason to.
"I have a kid brother now, Saber", he murmured lowly before raising his voice along with the power of Wild Bill. "And the more I see of him, the more I know... That I'd do anything, anything I had to, to protect that kid from harm. And right now? The biggest threat to him- to everyone- is the Masked Circle. Taurus, Scorpio, and Leo. If we lose, and they win? Well... we haven't really wasted too much time dwelling on that outcome yet, have we? Kinda obvious, ain't it?"
Relenting slightly as well, content that her friend hadn't entirely flipped his lid yet, Aiko nodded back, sighing. "Right. I know. That part's easy enough for even me to tell. If absolutely everyone has a Persona, and they can use its power freely in our world? If the cops or the SDF can't stop them? Then we'd have absolute anarchy in Japan. Everyone using their new powers to settle old scores with their enemies. Lady Scorpio or King Leo doesn't want to admit it, but that's the most likely result of their 'salvation'... and near as I can figure, Prince Taurus might actually want that."
She neglected to mention how much the current situation was a demonstration of that, and didn't need to.
"Yeah. That's just what I thought", Julian agreed with her, his grin becoming fierce as Prince Taurus' own. "We've got to make sure that we kick all their sorry asses long before that shit happens and hurts more people... so we need to make sure we've got the best person for the job as captain."
Returning to the subject at hand, he made a revolted face. "But just look at you, Saber! You're shaking like a leaf before we even get started. You're afraid! Your vest is in tatters, and your hat looks like it's about to fall off. We can't go into a mission when you've got all the self-confidence of a..."
Trailing off, he realized he had no suitable metaphor to offer and gave up, grunting in exasperation. "...Of a... a...a person who isn't confident. Whatevs! Point is, I think I'd do better. Meritocracy. Prove me wrong, Saber. Prove me wrong, and I'll never try anything like this again. Promise."
"Glad we're in agreement there", she snapped back at him. Despite her words, she couldn't help but look down at her long vest, noticing how worn all the threads looked, how rusted the buttons. It confirmed something she'd only suspected until now; the captain's vest was a reflection of her confidence, changing its quality to match her mood.
But there was no further time to dwell on that either- Jiachi was already raising his hand, concentrating: "Now... Let's saddle up and ride, Wild Bill!"
Quick to follow his move, she adjusted the weather-beaten hat: "Rise up and shine, Inti!"
By now, the others had taken up positions around the makeshift 'dueling ground', far enough away to prevent any chance of being hit by a misfire. While the hat-clad specter of the old Western legend was by now familiar to them all, the Persona that Aiko brought forth was not. It bore a tall, bipedal shape, arms and legs clad all over in bright golden metal and culminating in an enormous sun-shaped headpiece, greater even than Oya's, gleaming spikes extending out in all directions. An impassive, genderless face stared out from the center, somehow radiating warm sunlight even in this place.
"Inti?", Mira observed, curiosity overcoming whatever outrage she might have felt at who had caused this fight. "That's a sun god, right? I see what she's doing."
"Yeah", Reiha commented, folding her arms in reserved indignation. "Doesn't mean we shouldn't rush him from behind though. Just throw one of your knives at him-"
"I don't think so", Mira looked offended by the suggestion. "Like Saber said, us jumping in like that won't solve anything. This is something that they have to resolve between the two of them." Desperate to prevent the others from stepping in, she shrugged helplessly. "This feels like it's been coming down for a while now. I didn't want it to happen this way. But... I knew it was only a matter of time until they..."
Across the other side of the dueling ground, Pelagio looked equally frustrated, but kept his hand on his sword hilt, refusing to draw it yet. "Hmph. I should never have trusted that brat. His pride is just as bad as the Niyoga lad's, that he would betray our Cap- Saber this way. If he dares to harm her..."
"Just let them fight it out already", Mira pleaded with him. "I'm sure they won't overdo it."
The two of them moved simultaneously then, Aiko breaking to the right, Julian to the left, both firing their ranged weapons, dodging through the volley of opening shots before calling on their Personas as they drew closer. "Rejesho!", Ai cried out, calling on the sun god's power to continually restore her energy. As the member of the team who had first developed that skill, Mira looked impressed.
Julian moved just as quickly, gathering Wild Bill's own dusky energies before unleashing a skill none of them had ever seen before: "Hydrocaras!"
Aiko had never heard the skill before, and had no way of anticipating the sudden half gallon of black sludge that engulfed her. Though it didn't seem to have any lasting effects, it still felt disgusting, soaking through her Voyager costume. Expecting a follow-up attack, she turned back with a response: "Mazanma!"
Again, Mira winced at the familiarity. The wide-area version of the wind skill couldn't be easily avoided, its storm gales blasting Jiachi further back away and ruining his aim. Instead, he spread his hands before sharply clasping them together, countering with an elemental skill of his own: "Agilao!"
The resulting blast of fire battered against the Inti in a way that made even the sun god's imperturbable face look mildly surprised. To say nothing of the one who had summoned it. "But... but... how?! Inti is totes immune to fire!"
"Not this kind of fire", Julian mocked, unleashing another spray of shots to keep her dodging. "Hydrocaras covers the target in oil. And with that oil on ya, even immunities aren't enough to take the heat." Pausing a moment, he looked briefly apologetic. "I made sure to test it out that combo before on some Shadows, to make sure it worked like that."
"You... you've thought of everything", Aiko growled, rolling to try and clear the remaining embers off her vest. The oil didn't just pierce immunities, but it magnified the damage as well. Fortunately, the fire had also burned most of it away. "Just how long have you been planning this anyway?"
"Not as long as ya might think", he noted casually. "It just started buggin' me, that's all. The way that everyone just assumed you were the strongest of us. That we-I- could never surpass you. Sounds like you made that mistake too, Saber."
"Maybe", she pulled up, ignoring the shots to draw even with him as he moved with her rapier already prepared. "But I do remember that you're not exactly great at close-range fighting either."
"Oh really?" He met the blade with both revolvers spinning like blades, using them just as Mira used her daggers to block and counter until he was able to focus another fire blast to drive her back again. "That a fact, now?"
"Here's another", Aiko claimed, switching her Personas now, exchanging Inti for the smaller, more familiar, and cuter Jack Frost. Without hesitating, the tiny fanged fairy unleashed its Bufula power through the hail of bullets, the sudden shock stopping most of them from connecting. "You're still weak against the cold!"
"Sure", he confirmed. Momentarily stopping the hail, he generated another, wider fire wave to collide with the encroaching ice blast and leave behind nothing but rising steam. "If it actually hits me. Have another!"
Before the next fireblast could strike, she'd switched back to Inti, this time absorbing it without any pain at all. Hydrocaras dropped on her again though, still too quick to dodge, but she took that moment to switch out once more, this time calling on a skeletal swordsman in a green cornered hat similar to her own. "I know you always were faster than me on average", she observed. "But so's this Persona: Matador!"
As expected, the change didn't affect Julian's plan at all. His flames gathered again, seeking to ignite the goop that covered her and blow her away again, but with the new agility boost she was able to leap clear in time, unleashing more wind skills in retaliation from behind the Persona's bright red capote. That long sweeping cloth soon found itself perforated with shots as well, but it was better that than her.
Spinning, dodging the shots a second time, she was able to get close enough to launch a jumping strike, rapier flashing down. Even properly blocked, it sent him flying back to slam into a dusty wall.
"You can't heal either", she recalled, her sword's position mirroring Matador's expert stance. "But I can. You can't win this fight!"
But the brash teen's voice hardly sounded defeated. If anything, he sounded happy. "Sure? You wanna bet on that? Oh wait, did that already!"
Rapidly, before she could react, he pulled out a strange-looking vegetable, some kind of light-toned radish, before scarfing it down whole. In mere moments, his entire posture seemed to change- he no longer looked hunched over with mental exhaustion, the Persona floating at his side instantly restored to its complete strength.
"Where...?", Mira wondered, genuinely confused for the first time.
"The vegetables that father Shigetsu grew for us in his garden behind the temple", Noel explained. "He said I should give some of them to each of us, so that we can all replenish our strength whenever needed. I didn't think he'd use it here though... or that they'd have that much power!"
Grinning, Julian leaped up onto the ruined wall, unleashing a spread of shots to distract Aiko until he could land, steepling his hands in focus once again. "AGIDYNE!"
The impact of the resulting fireblast seemed to shake the entire island for a moment, a molten detonation that briefly seemed to be shaped like a wild rose before incandescing, lifting Aiko up and back like she'd been thrown by a cart, its power amplified even further by the earlier use of Hydrocaras.
"No way", Mira commented, the first hint of true fear creeping into her voice. "That... That's the third level of that elemental skill! Just like what Prince Taurus used, only with fire instead of ice!"
Equally thrown by the explosion, Reiha stared at her in alarm. "Whoa, for reals? You haven't learned that one yet?"
"No", she shook her head in worry. "I thought for sure I would be the first one to, or that Saber would with her Wild Card, but..."
Their captain stood, surrounded by the resulting smoke and grit. The signs of damage were obvious, but she wasted no time on her injuries, calmly changing Personas once more, this time invoking the golden divine bird that had proven so useful against Reiha's Shadow, Simurgh. "Dia", she whispered, relieved as the green light erased enough of the pain to let her breathe properly again. "You've really grown, Gunslinger. In power, at least."
"You too", he praised her. "What was it that Kurusu said to us? The more we use our Personas in battle, the stronger they get? I just couldn't let that bastard Samesaji stay ahead of me in power forever, y'know? Or you."
Repeating the healing skill again, Aiko blinked. "Wait. So that's why... You used that medicine too, didn't you? The one we got at the pharmacy that's supposed to help with muscle control?"
"Good eye", he smirked. "The power boost is only temporary, but it's gotten me this far, yeah? You're welcome to take some for yourself, of course."
"I would", she considered, reaching for her pack of restoratives, "but I'm pretty sure you're not going to just sit there and let me take it, are you?"
"Nope", he shrugged apologetically. "But I was kinda hoping you'd try and take some medicine anyway, try and get your lost energy back... then I could shoot it right out of your hands, all dramatic-like."
Despite the situation, they were both smiling at each other now; on the verge of laughter even, and he let that continue for a few more moments before resuming his more fierce 'battle grin', spinning his revolvers confidently as ever. "Come on, Saber. I'm just gettin' 'warmed up' here!"
"I'm going to kill him for that joke alone", Reiha glowered.
"Indeed. I will not allow any more of this mutiny madness", Pelagio seconded, summoning Galahad and gathering its power. "Praesi!"
The spherical shield covered Aiko, blocking the triple barrage of gunshots Julian had fired. "Hey", he remarked in annoyance. "I thought we agreed this was gonna be one-on-one? No helping from the peanut gallery!"
"If you wish for me to stop", Pelagio claimed defiantly, "then you shall have to make-"
"Guardian."
Hearing Aiko's voice, he turned back to her. Their leader looked battered, burned and weary... but hardly beaten. Far from it, in fact. She looked as though she had just made some kind of breakthrough, like she'd guessed the answer for the final, single most important question on the last, most crucial test of the year, smiling and serene in her silent victory.
"It's okay", she told him. "You don't need to help me. I've got this. I can do this. Believe in me."
"M-my... Saber, I...!"
"You heard the lady", Jiachi followed up. "No more outside help, for either of us. We finish this now, yeah?"
"Like you read my mind!", Aiko grinned back at him. It was her old grin, the one that terrified Shadows by channeling the wrath of a savage, centuries old spirit, the one which she had Awakened to when all hope seemed lost, and she had been about to die like a dog.
It was Ann Bonny's grin.
Charging across the ruined field, Julian gathered Wild Bill's power for another use of Hydrocaras. The dark blob of crude descended... on nothing. It merely left a quickly-absorbed puddle where Aiko had been a second before, moving with the brisk speed Simurgh allowed and firing back with her heavier but much more powerful flintlock pistol, tagging her target several times before he grunted in frustration and took cover behind a pillar.
Before he could sense it- before he could down the medicine he had brought specifically for this fight- a crown of frost erupted from the top of the pillar, gliding down to freeze him until he could roll away, struck by several more shots before he could bring out the healing medication to soothe the chills.
He countered with a less-powerful fire skill, but his target had already gone back to the Persona of Inti, and the blaze dissipated against Aiko's slender body harmlessly. Refusing to yield, they both closed on each other, both now firing all they had left until the deafening noises filling the air were replaced with a sudden rapid clicking sound... somehow even louder.
And their captain chuckled knowingly. "Good. You're finally empty. Even you have limits on how many shots you can carry at once."
Then the pistol in his left hand seemed to glow for a moment, unleashing a narrow, seething stream of condensed heat that blasted past her shoulder to melt a rock down into smoking gravel.
"There you go again, Saber", he chuckled back. "Underestimating me. Bad habit, y'know. Bad for your health."
"And addictive", she replied easily before dodging away from a quick follow-up shot from the right-hand revolver, invoking Matador to block while she focused a current of hurricane-force wind to retaliate, to prevent him from focusing enough to cast another Agidyne- while the streams were dangerous, they were nothing compared to the heat of an actual fire skill.
All she needed was a moment to get close one last time. Then...
"Andalucia!"
Seeing the skill and the gleam of Aiko's rapier, Jiachi's cocky eyes became huge with fear. He rolled back, but it was too late. The Spanish swordsman's blade struck in a frenzy of hundreds of tiny slashes, driving him back until he fell over, helplessly staring up at what looked to be the coup de grace.
But their leader did not raise her sword. Staring into his frightened-seeming hazel eyes as if seeking one final confirmation, she nodded, adjusting her cornered hat one final time. "Time to go, hee-ho! Jack Frost!"
And Jiachi smiled, and gathered up Wild Bill's searing power, released the last of it at the new target. "Agilao!"
She didn't even try to dodge it. She allowed the stream of fire to strike down Jack Frost and burn into her, causing mild pain but hardly the agony one unfamiliar with their powers might expect. Still, it was enough force to roughly knock her down to the ground, leaving her to watch Julian pick himself back up and walk over to her, his hand extended out to her.
"You... win", Aiko whispered up at him. Grinning still, even with a fresh scratch on her cheek.
"Yeah. That's right", Jiachi smiled in deliberately exaggerated triumph. "I win. I beat you, fair and square. I'm the better fighter. In a meritocracy, that means that I'm the team captain now."
The raging cries of denial from both Pelagio and Reiha were completely expected, but they were surprised to hear Noel voice his dismay as well, if not quite so vigorously. "Incredible", he stepped forward, calling on Dellingr's powers to heal them both without being asked. "I was so sure that you would triumph over him in the end... but then, I'm the farthest thing from an expert in matters of combat, no? No helping it now. Congratulations, Gunslinger. The captain position is yours. I certainly hope you have some kind of plan in mind for dealing with our current problem."
"Something like that", Jiachi promised, seemingly awash in the sensation of victory. "Come on, Saber. Up ya go. You're still on this crew, after all. Just like you wanted, yeah?"
"Yeah", snickering at their private joke, she accepted his hand, letting him haul her back up. "Just like I wanted."
"You're listing to the left, Pelagio. Here, I'll trim the sail for you."
He didn't respond. His mind felt as blank as though he truly were a lifeless ship of wood.
Perhaps that would be better, now. Then, these sensations of unreality and horror running through him now could be safely ignored.
The captain had lost. The captain had lost. Lost to this impertinent child who deserves no leadership position whatsoever, who seized his position through betrayal. Through mutiny!
He had, by chance, learned of the term by reading one of the books Aiko had been reading from the window in his ongoing efforts to learn more human terms and ideas. Mutiny meant for a crew to turn upon its captain, and install some usurper among them as the replacement. It also usually mean that the previous captain would either by killed or abandoned on some deserted island, but of course, Julian had at least known enough to recognize that none of the others would ever agree to such a thing.
How? How had this travesty happened? Now this... this... BOY was their new captain. Their new leader, instead of him. Instead of Tsuruga, the one to whom he had pledged his eternal service.
Which meant... that he could potentially retire from that duty now? Was that it? No. Aiko would remain on the crew, still serving them in their missions. And without him, those missions would be nearly impossible to accomplish. He had to remain on, had to continue to take orders from the usurper. No matter how much doing so might privately infuriate him.
Aiko would desire it thus. He knew that much without having to ask.
Another surprise followed shortly after, as Julian issued his first command. "For now, we retreat. Sail back to the gate. We need to make plans on how to reach the top of Shukiji's lighthouse."
"I thought you had plans already", Reiha grumbled behind him. Like Pelagio, she was only barely restraining herself from violent action against him.
"Yeah", Jiachi rounded on her, refusing to back down from the hate in her gaze. "I do. But the first part of that plan means we have to go back and prepare. Got it?"
His answer seemed to satisfy her for now, though no one there doubted there would be more to come on that account. The goth girl's anger felt like a tangible thing in the air, a scent of warning that stayed with them even after they crossed the threshold, passing back onto the familiar sands of the Yume Bay.
His wings thus regained, he glided past the others, surveying them in his pass. There were a wide variety of expressions on their faces, though he could at least take some comfort in the relaxed, even carefree look on Aiko's. If the one he had sworn to protect was secure and happy, should that not be satisfaction enough for him?
This was going to be a very different time, he reflected. Different from Aiko's time as captain, and different from anything he'd had planned as the 'acting captain'. At least Mirambela might have been an acceptable substitute, but Rosea?
He had no idea what to expect now. Only that his expectations of whatever came next were revoltingly low.
Then, casually, the hated usurper stopped, his arms dropping down to his sides in weariness. "Phew... Am I ever glad that worked out."
"What worked out?", Noel asked. "Your takeover of our team?"
His laugh was light and easygoing, far from mocking. "Wow. You actually believed that? Guess I really do have some crazy talent as an actor after all, yeah?"
Sensing the confusion in the group only growing at his words, Mira made a more anxious smile. "Sorry about all that. We had to make sure that your reactions were genuine."
"Our reactions were genu...? What the... what?"
Joining them, Aiko shook her head to clear it, droplets of stray water falling clear of it. "I sort of figured it out back when we were fighting. Rosea-kun wasn't actually trying to take over our team. He was just trying to make it look like he did."
Reiha frowned, not understanding. "Make it look like...? What? Why?"
"Niyoga", Mira explained quickly. "Shukiji. His lighthouse. That big ray of light at the top can view a huge part of Faraway Lands. That includes the area we were just in. He would have been watching us, checking our decisions." Pausing, she gestured back to the fading light of the gate between worlds. "Actually? I know for sure that he was. The rest of you were so focused on the fight that you didn't notice, but I saw that ray of golden light cast across us a few times. He was definitely spying on us."
"To trick your enemies", Julian seconded. "You first have to trick your allies."
"So... he saw that duel between Tsuruga and Rosea?", Noel pondered. "Why does that matter?"
"Because now he thinks that I'm the new captain", Jiachi chuckled mischievously. "And just for the record- and those of you who might be a little slow- I'm not."
Pelagio stared down at him now, his previous fury blunted by his further confusion. "But... Did you not defeat her in battle? Was that not your goal all along, Rosea?"
"Nope!", he gave an impish look before transitioning into genuine worry at the look of shock that was still on Reiha and Noel's faces, while Pelagio remained inscrutable as ever. "Uh. I mean... I, uh, I definitely gave it everything I had back there. Trained like mad for it, too. I had to make it look authentic and all, y'know... But I was pretty sure she would have won in the end, if she'd really tried."
"But she figured it out", Mira beamed. "Remember what happened at the end there? How she hesitated, changed to Jack Frost instead of just attacking Rosea-kun to win?"
"Yes, I'm so very glad that everyone noticed me messing up", Aiko commented sourly between them before snickering wildly. "That was deliberate, okay? It took me a while, but I finally caught onto what you were trying to do. And..." Reaching up to touch the spot where the scratch on her face had been earlier only to find pristine, clean skin, she smiled. "...Well done. Both of you. I never thought you'd do something like that."
"Thanks", Mira accepted the praise calmly, refusing to release their leader from her most concerned gaze just yet. "Then... have you also caught onto the reason why?"
"I sure hope so", Julian chipped in, his own nerve regained enough to look directly into Aiko's eyes as well. "This... is kinda getting old, Tsuruga. It just keeps happening. Something bad happens to us- something that you couldn't have possibly expected to happen- and afterwards you go and have a freak out, cry, claim it's all your fault and tell us that you're quitting. Again."
"N-n-not that we don't appreciate a leader who thinks of us first!", Mira stammered next to his bluntness, empathetic yet firm. "But he is right. This routine is getting annoying, for both of us. You were like this after we nearly got killed in Rosea's Land. Then again after you tried to infiltrate the Karma Club. It has to end. Now."
The transfer student from Tokyo grew silent then, seemingly absorbing everything that her friends had just grown and shared with her... and realizing the stark truth of their words to her. It was worth more than any supportive words from Joker could have been.
"Wait, wait, wait", Reiha interrupted in an apparent panic, looking at Mira's satisfied face, then back at Jiachi's smug expression repeatedly. "You're telling me that you two planned out this whole thing, that entire fake mutiny, the fight... all just to help Tsuruga get her confidence back?"
"And to fool Shukiji", Julian reminded her. "Now he'll expect me to be leading the team, and for Tsuruga to not be on it. That's part one of the plan for us to get him."
"Shuikiji is very smart", Mira seconded, shrugged as if she was embarrassed by the attention the two of them were getting- awestruck looks from the others, even Pelagio. "It's just like Vitienne-kun said earlier. He was watching us the entire time. If we want to save him... then we have to outwit him first. Use misdirection, trick him into believing things that aren't actually true. Make him think that he has us beat."
Still agape, Reiha sputtered, all her earlier anger towards Jiachi dissipated. She stared at his satisfied smile, then at Mira, then back again. "You... You... You two are evil masterminds!"
If anything, Jiachi looked complimented, looking back at Mira. "I don't think I'm evil. Am I evil, Sorano-chan?"
"Well. You pull off 'evil' pretty well", Mira grinned back at him. "Me? I could never fake that. Pretending to mutiny against Tsuruga-chan, and acting all arrogant? That's not me. No one would ever believe it. That's why it had to be you who was the 'bad guy' here. I just had to make sure she came along with us."
"Heheh. Yeah", he reached up, parting his hair in embarrassment. "Starscream taught me well. But, um, right..." Growing serious again, he turned back to Aiko. "Um. Just want to make sure you know. All that nasty stuff I said earlier? I didn't actually mean..."
But the look on her face made it clear that his worries were completely unfounded. She looked alive again, for the first time in two days, the light of hope in her eyes shining once more. "Don't worry about it. I know why you did it. And... I know what I have to do now. I'll never quit on you guys again. Ever."
He looked appeased, but spoke up again right after. "Of course, I did mean some of those other things I said, Tsuruga-chan. I still haven't given up, y'know? I can't just let you stay ahead of me, and trample all over my pride as a real man. I'll keep on fighting, always getting stronger. Then, some day... the two of us can have a rematch. This time, with no last-minute mistakes, yeah?"
There was the brief temptation to laugh at his blunt earnestness... but that same honesty was what made her smile and wink back at him. "Sure! Sounds fun. Great. Now I have a rival. A rival other than Kujou, I mean."
Despite her resigned sarcasm, everyone could tell she was actually looking forward to delivering on that promise. "That's for later though", she continued. "One more time... thanks so much. To both of you. You totally saved me. I assume that this crazy plan of yours has a second part to it?"
"Of course", Mira sounded mildly insulted at the suggestion otherwise. "Next, we need to go find a costume similar to Vitienne-kun's outfit. You know, a priest robe with a big hood you can hide your face in."
"Ten thousand yen to anyone who guessed that's what she was going to say", Jiachi joked back. "We're also gonna need some signal flares. Colorful ones. And the best gear we can buy, naturally."
"I'll check our funds", Aiko promised eagerly. "Anything left over, we'll spend on more medicine. We'll need it."
"We will", even Jiachi had to admit, though his eyes darkened dangerously. "Then, when that's all done, and we're all prepared... We start putting that snot-nosed little punk in his place. That's step three."
Aiko's sleep was a dreamless one that night, but the best she'd had in weeks.
A/N: I was originally going to save the reveal for later, but didn't want to give anyone the wrong impression about Jiachi/Julian.
Oh and hey, it looks like the actual P6 is starting production. Naturally it will be a few years before we see anything concrete, but more inspiration for me to finish 'first'.