Chapter 5

Before I start, here's a bio of Natalie's Persona.

Aphrodite

Arcana: Lovers

Affinities:

Strike:

Slash:

Pierce:

Fire:

Ice:

Wind:

Lightning:

Water: strong

Earth:

Nuclear:

Psychic:

Light: weak

Darkness:

Skills so far:

Aqua

Marin Karin

Patra

Thursday – September 4 – early morning

Morning classes were cancelled to hold a eulogy for Mary in the gym. It ended about 45 minutes later and the students were told to return to their homerooms. But Natalie remained there. "If you were still here, you'd probably try to find a way to stop the sickness. You were all about helping people. I'll stop it in your stead. I swear I won't let anyone fall victim to it again. So please watch over me."

Philip put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "You don't have to worry about me anymore. I'll be okay." She said.

"You sure?" Philip asked.

"Yeah. I'm done crying and doing nothing. I'm going to do something. So please, whenever you're going to that old hospital, take me with you." She said.

"Of course."

"Thank you." She said, giving the most beautiful smile Philip has ever seen. Time froze.

I am thou

Thou art I

Thou hast established a new bond

Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Lovers arcana

Time returned to normal.

"Now let's get back before we get in trouble." Philip said, blushing a bit.

September 4 – lunchtime

The three Persona users decided to sit together. "So exactly how are we supposed to find the next sick person?" Natalie asked.

"Alice told us that they don't have the will to live." Philip said.

"But there are a shit ton of depressed people specially teenagers." Vinnie said.

"True, and we can't just go in there unprepared. We were nearly killed a couple of times already." Philip said. "It'd be easier if we had some weapons with us instead of just our Personas."

"I know a place where we can go." Vinnie said.

"There's such a place here?" Natalie questioned.

"Sure is. I can take you dere after school."

"Look, Peter's back." Natalie said, pointing at a student. He was a massive dude. He was an absolute giant. He was wearing a white button up shirt and khakis and was wearing black dress shoes. He had black hair in a crew cut and brown eyes.

"Who?" Philip asked.

"That's Peter Bayley. He's been out for awhile because he had surgery for his gigantism." She said.

People were getting up and walking out of their tables when he went to find one. Philip noticed some of them were calling him a freak.

"Do people always avoid him like that?" Philip asked.

"Yeah. I don't know why. He's a really nice guy." She said.

"People are assholes." Vinnie said, scoffing at them.

September 4 – after school

Vinnie lead the group to a strip mall. All the stores were abandoned except for the store in the middle. There was a large sticker on the window that read Ammu-Nation.

"A gun store?" Natalie questioned.

"Dat ain't all they sell. Come on, I'll show ya." Vinnie said, opening the door.

It was rather surprising. There was a huge variety of weapons on display from katanas to AKs. There was a middle aged man behind the counter. He had a buzzcut and a brown handlebar moustache and sideburns. He wore a white tank top and wearing dog tags around his neck. He had on camo shorts and white sneakers.

"Ah, you're that Italian kid that bought that switchblade the other day." The manager said.

"Yep. They were interested so I brought them here." Vinnie said.

"Well, it ain't my business what you kids do with them. If the cops ask, you didn't get them here, alright?"

The three nodded.

"I'll pick this one out." Philip said, looking at the naginata. "Why dat one?" Vinnie questioned.

"In my second year of middle school, my parents had work in Japan, and I was a member of the school's spear club." Philip said confidently.

"That naginata is able to fold up so you can fit it in a bag or a sheathe or something." The manager said.

"I'm gettin' this!" Vinnie said, picking up a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire. "Lucile and I are gonna fuck up some Shadows!"

"Then I'll get this." Natalie said, picking up a large crossbow.

"That crossbow there actually belonged to Van Hellsing." The manager said. "I'll give you twenty bolts, free of charge."

"You know how to use dat?" Vinnie asked.

"Uh huh. I used to be a part of our school's archery club until the board closed it down due to not having enough members." She said. "Wait, how we gonna pay for all this?"

"We got the money. Those Shadows drop cash all the time. You can also find it in chests." Philip said.

"Oh, really? That's cool. But won't people get suspicious about us spending money all the time?" Natalie questioned.

"That ain't a problem. We'll just say we got jobs." Vinnie said.

The Persona users payed for their weapons. The manager gave them a gym bag to put them in. Philip didn't want Patricia and Stephanie to worry about him. So the three decided to store the bag in the old hospital's waiting room.

The gang had some money left over, so they decided to get some food from Big Bang Burger. Philip also got some burgers for Patricia and Stephanie.

September 4 – evening

"I'm home." Philip said, entering the house.

"Welcome back, Philly." Alice greeted. Wait, Alice?

"Alice!? What the hell are you doing here!?" Philip exclaimed with anime white eyes. She looked slightly different. She was wearing a black short skirt and blue T-shirt. She also had regular human ears instead of rabbit ears.

"You don't want me to be here?" Alice said, giving him the puppy dog eyes. She honestly looked adorable as fuck.

"I-I didn't say that." Philip stammered. "I'm just asking why you're here."

"That musty old place isn't for a girl like me. Besides, I need to keep an eye on you all. You probably won't be able to know who the next victim is. But I can tell right away. You'd be lost without my help. So I'll be going to your school tomorrow."

"How'd you even find out where I live?" Philip asked.

"When I came out, I asked a lady if she knew where Philip Wheeler lived, turns out that woman was your guardian. I told her I was your friend from your hometown and I came here as a part of an exchange program, and she was kind enough to let me crash here. Oh, and I have no idea why I don't know why my rabbit ears are gone. Well, it'll let me blend in easier." She said.

"Welcome home, Philip." Patricia said, walking in. "It must be wonderful to see your friend again. Alice is such a sweet girl and those old clothes of mine look good on her, don't you think?"

"Y-Yeah, it is." Philip said, deciding to play along. "By the way, I brought home some burgers." He gave Patricia the bag.

"That's so kind of you, Philip. Thank you." Patricia said.

"I only got something for you and Steph. I didn't know Alice was coming so I don't have anything for her."

"That's okay, I'm not hungry. Plus, I'm a vegetarian." Alice said.

"I'll buy some vegetarian food the next time I go grocery shopping so don't you worry." Patricia said.

"Thank you, ma'am." Alice said.

"You can just call me Patricia, sweetie."

"Where will she sleep, though" Philip asked.

"She can just sleep in your room."

"W-What!?" Philip exclaimed, his face turning red.

"Stephanie's bed is too small and my bed frame is fragile. It'll collapse with too much weight. You're a nice boy, I know you won't try anything."

"I wanna see what our room's like." Alice said, dragging Philip upstairs.

"This place is pretty nice." She then plopped on the bed. "Ah, this bed is comfy. I promise I won't be a burden on you. Since I'm living here I'll do my share of the housework. And, if it's not too much trouble, maybe you can show me how things work in your world."

"I don't mind. In fact, I'd be happy to." Philip said.

Time froze

I am thou

Thou art I

Thou hast established a new bond

Thou shall be blessed when creating Personas of the Fortune arcana

Time returned to normal.

Alice pointed at the laptop on the table asking what it was. He taught her the ins and outs of the computer and she picked it up very quickly. She managed to pull up RWBY and was completely enthralled with it.

It got really late after a couple of hours. They decided to go to bed. Philip had unfortunately was having trouble sleeping. Turns out Alice is a hugger. She held on to him all night.

Chapter 5 end