Quick A/N: Sorry for the wait guys. The holidays hit me hard and I have spent a lot of that time between the usual holiday madness and being sick. Anyway I'll leave the rest for the end so here is the newest chapter.
Chapter 49 / Redeem
May 5th, 2012 / Time Unknown
The Tower
Making our way up the tower was intimidating when I knew I didn't have a weapon other than my Persona. I could feel Benzaiten ready for my call, to act as my sword and shield but I was still trying to piece all the separate parts of the large puzzle in my head. I knew the answers would be ahead. I moved swiftly but I knew that charging in was reckless. We were losing time, but Yu had already fought a lot to get to this point and I had been trapped. There wasn't any time for me to really warm up my body than running up these stairs to the top of the tower. Getting up here had not been easy, and the hardest part was likely still to come.
The stairs came to an end and we reached the top of the tower. Strange patterns are inscribed into the floor, and all around Yu and I are eerie pillars, each the same distance apart from each other and surround the edge of the roof that is circular in shape. This place had to be the place for the summoning. But the most disturbing image of all is the large vortex floating above the center of the tower, where it appeared Shadows were being pulled deep into its depths. Sitting below it was a giant emerald crystal. It was just out of reach from the ground. Was it a catalyst for the summoning? Those questions would have to wait.
Standing in front of Yu and I was Sho and Adachi. Hold on...why is Adachi on his knees in front of Sho? They haven't seemed to notice us.
"You bastard... What're you thinking? You know how important this thing is! Are you trying to ruin my plan?" Sho yelled at Adachi before hitting him and knocking him onto the ground. Hold on...that crystal had to be the Persona fragments, right? Sho then moves over and kicks Adachi sending him further back from Sho.
"That's what I said. I tried to destroy those Persona fragments by striking when I saw the chance," Adachi called back as he looked back at Sho.
"You worthless rat! I knew you weren't worth shit...but to think you were biding your time for this," Sho hits him again.
Adachi grimaces at the hit but looks back defiantly. So, Adachi wasn't an accomplice then...likely taken from police custody against his will? Sounded strange but it wasn't that outlandish considering everything that had happened. Despite the things, he had done, there had been some signs that Adachi wasn't heartless, but more of a man that had lost way too much. Along the way, he had lost himself, and after what had happened, he felt he could not be redeemed. Still he had attempted to prevent Sho's plan from the beginning, but he needed the right timing to do so.
"You asked me before... You said, 'Don't you hate this world too?'" Adachi spoke up once more as he met Sho's stare with his own.
"Huh!? That's right! Well, you were just trash I was going to use from the start! Once everything was ready and I cut up the rest of them, I was going to kill you slow! Still I at least gave you the chance to have some fun, you piece of shit! I was gonna let your crap slide until I showed you the end of the world you never got to achieve... Why not, right!?" Sho hit Adachi again but Adachi didn't let it push him back.
"Don't think we're the same, you little brat," Adachi's words left no room for question.
"What? What was that!?" Sho glared.
"You think the whole world hates you just because someone didn't treat you, right? You're nothing but a little kid throwing a tantrum. You know, I seriously hate this world... Don't put me in the same shoes as a half-ass brat like you...Please? Haha.." Adachi was probably a little too prideful than he should be.
"You're so finished, you bastard. I'll kill you just like you want," Sho pulled out his swords.
"Haha, sure, I'm lame, whatever. But you don't know yet, do you?" Adachi seemed to know something. Something that either Sho hadn't realized or had pushed out of his head. "Those guys don't play around. You better be prepared."
"Die, you piece of shit," Sho grabs Adachi by his collar and then presses the sword to his chest.
"Stop it, Sho!" Yu comes running to close the gap. Sho glares over straight at him, and I could only see the resolve laced with hate in his eyes. Could I have been this way? To see things so lopsidedly that I would resort to such extremes? I had tried to take my own life...I guess in a way I had been the same.
"Awww...You're early. Way to ruin the moment," Adachi speaks without looking to Yu. Other than the beating he had taken from Sho he doesn't seem in bad shape...as long as Sho doesn't run him through that is. I stepped forward but I keep quiet as I want to close the gap as much as possible. "Just to be clear. I didn't do it for you guys. I just wanted to set things right for myself."
"...I know. You're not that type of person," Yu said but kept his eyes on Sho. I guess in a weird way Adachi was fulfilling his promise of following the laws of this world as he had put it.
"You're such a know-it-all...it's not very attractive," Adachi then collapses back, and I presume its because he has fallen unconscious. Sho allows him to fall onto the ground and keeps his attention on us.
"Ha...Ahahahahaha! Hahahahahahahahaha!" Sho is laughing and it causes me to stop.
"What's so funny?" Yu calls out.
"What're you guys getting all desperate for? It's disgusting! It makes me sick! I hate it when people get all goody-goody!" Sho seems to be slowly losing himself or truly giving in to his anger. "I'll destroy everything...Everything! I'll, I'll, I'll...! I'll destroy every-" Then he stopped like the flipping of a switch and he becomes silent. His body goes limp but after a moment he twitches and straightens himself. Then he looked up at us, a much different look. He's changed, this wasn't Sho. "He's getting too worked up. It's a bad habit of his."
"So, it's you, Minazuki," Yu bring his katana up.
"I didn't think you would put up this much of a fight. Perhaps I should have killed you back then after all..." Minazuki moves his eyes to me. "I suppose you being free means that all the others are free as well."
"Minazuki! You said then that you did all this to grant Sho's wish. But this isn't the way to save him!" Yu was trying to reason with him, but it didn't matter which one was doing the talking, they would both be the same.
"And I said that's your perspective on the matter. All I'm here for is to grant this boy's wish," Minazuki seemed almost bored with the topic.
"Do you still not get it!? That's not Sho's wish!" Yu called back.
"Are you delusional? I know the boy. I know of his hatred and his suffering," Minazuki shook his head.
"You know what exactly? You are something the grew up with him, alongside him. You learned of the world through his eyes and the moments you had control of his body. Sho is important to you right? You want to grant his wish? But how much do you know of the world? How much does Sho know of the world? Both of you have seen so much bad in the world but that doesn't mean there isn't good out there to be found. And if you do this he may never have that chance!" I said as I moved forward.
"His father... Ikutsuki Shuji abandoned this boy. He used the child for his own desires and then discarded him when he was as good as dead. This is the world that abandoned him," Minazuki spoke as if this was all he needed to know. "That's why this boy came to detest everything about this world, and wished for it all to disappear."
"You don't know anything," I moved in front of Yu. I've had enough of this. Idiotic individuals that believe they know everything. That the solution that they come up with is the answer to everything. No matter how much you suffer, you don't have the right to take away the choices of others. Ending the world for such a shallow reason. Get out of my face.
"Silence... I know what I am. I am a shard of one who brings about death... If this boy wishes for the death of all, then I will use my true nature to destroy this world!" Minazuki draws out his other sword. Now with two swords in hand.
"You think that gives you some sort of right? Because you have the capacity to do it means you have to do it? Don't give me that crap. You don't understand anything, not even the heart of the boy that you share that body with. You believe he wants the world destroyed because he was rejected? That he was abandoned? What do you know? The man Ikutsuki Shuji killed my parents! He took away my family, and that man also hurt others for his own gain, even he planned to destroy the world for his psychotic beliefs. Sho is not the only one affected by that man! Yet his abandonment of Sho somehow gives you the motivation to accomplish the same thing as that man?" I couldn't believe how angry I was becoming as I stepped towards Minazuki who stared at me with determined eyes but a flash of irritation crossed them, breaking his calmer demeanor in comparison to Sho. "I'll force you to understand the truth. Let me show you what the consequences of your actions have truly caused!"
"Senpai!" Yu called out.
I turned around as Yu had tossed me his katana. I grabbed the sheath and quickly spun back towards Minazuki and met his swords head on. I met his stare head on and I could see his irritation. I couldn't help myself this time, "Did I touch a nerve?"
"You know nothing about this boy!" Minazuki pushed me away with a show of strength and summoned his Persona Tsukiyomi and it rushed to attack me. I slid to a stop and pulled the katana from the sheath with my left hand. The sheath in my right and blade in my left I summoned Benzaiten and clashed with his Persona while I moved forward again. Our Persona's clashed and then disappeared and Minazuki rushed in to attack me again.
I brought the sheath up using all the strength I could to meet his swords. They both hit the sheath but using strength from Benzaiten I continued the motion and deflected the swords to the side as I spun and brought the katana blade around and attacked. Minzuki jumped back but I sliced his left arm, easily cutting through his uniform and into his arm. He stood back from me as His left arm went limp, still holding on to his sword. "Tell me, Minazuki," I speak after a moment and resetting my stance. I hold the sheath in front of me in a defensive stance and the katana blade somewhat behind me, ready to strike. "Do you understand what it feels like to want to die? To believe that the world is just a joke as it only ever seems to get worse and worse. You hear his thoughts but you don't understand them. You want to grant his wish but why? Because it's all you know? Because you believe it will make him happy? It's obvious that you don't know about a thing when it comes to emotions. In the end, you don't understand the first thing about this world."
"All that matters is granting his wish," Minazuki dropped the sword in his left hand. It wouldn't be any use to him now.
"I guess talking about it is useless though. Sorry but things aren't going to go the way to believe. Sho needs help and he'll get it, whether he wants it or not," I went onto the attack now. I wasn't proficient with Yu's weapon, but I was used to a far more punishing weapon where a mess up could be incredibly damaging. Yu didn't use his sheath in his fighting style, but it would feel weird to me if I didn't have something in both hands while fighting. I don't know what Yu meant when he wanted to save Sho, but he needed help, and help he would only get after being taken custody. Well I could think about all of that later. Right now, I had to disable Minazuki without further injuring him. The cut on his left arm likely severed a tendon and was why he couldn't use it. Injuries like that take quite a lot to recover from. He'll need surgery. Knocking him unconscious or unable to fight was ideal. What would be the best method?
Despite his injury, Minazuki pressed the attack but this time leading the charge alongside his Persona Tsukiyomi. Funny...my original Persona had been Tsukuyomi which was a one letter difference. I only knew of the difference because despite the distance it seemed that Rise and Fuuka were feeding me information while moving. Like many of the Japanese Gods there was several spellings and names for one God. He had also been known as Tsukuyumi or Tsukihito Otoko. There wasn't much to the legends of the God of the Moon. The most well-known that he visited the Goddess of Food Uke Mochi on behalf of his sister (and wife) Amaterasu but found himself disgusted by the means of how Uke Mochi procured food. Which involved vomiting up fish and other methods that Tsukuyomi believed to be an utter disgrace and regardless of the quality of the food he killed Uke Mochi. Amaterasu heard of what occurred and then vowed to never look upon her brother again. This is where the explanation of night and day came from. The main personality traits that you can pull from the legend are pride, love, and even loyalty. Eventually it also stood for sadness, loneliness and regret. His actions of killing the Goddess because of the way the food was produced was because he felt it was an insult and unbecoming of a Goddess, especially one under service of his wife and sister, Amaterasu. However, because of it he was cursed to never see his beloved again, as she was so angered with him by his actions that he thought were just. He had made a mistake and forced to live with those consequences. He still does his duty as the God of the Moon but will never meet the Sun again.
Putting the story in such a manner I can see as to why when I awakened to my Persona that Tsukuyomi was the one that came. My own feelings and guilt about what I had done, or rather what I believed I had not done was the reason why Miyuki had died and that I would never see her again. Even in my loneliness I had tried to end my own life by when I was stopped I was convinced of a new reason to live. Even now I move forward because of everyone. And my thoughts began to change. That was why my Persona was now Benzaiten and proof that I was finally moving on with my life and no longer stagnated and held back by my mistakes. Benzaiten is a Goddess of time, water, speech, eloquence, music and knowledge, in a way she is a Goddess that rules everything that flows. My desire to move forward, to no longer be shackled to my past was indication of why she was my Persona now.
Was that it? If there was a way to make Minazuki experience that past...make him see a different side to how he affected the lives around him? What both Sho and Minazuki lacked was a different perspective, a different method in which to see and understand the world.
Minazuki was going to be on top of me in a moment. I gripped the sheath and sword tighter and readied my feet. "Allow me to help peer into their soul. We shall show them a grand symphony of their actions!" This voice was Benzaiten. The thought came to my mind on what I should do. I moved to the side as Minazuki attacked. A wide slash, going from my left shoulder to my hip, but I stepped in and met it by crossing my body and blocking it with the sheath. His Persona struck down at me but Benzaiten appeared and halted the attack.
"If you won't listen, then I will force you to understand," I say as a tarot card slowly floated down in front of me. I pushed Minazuki away and then turned and used the katana to cut through the tarot card. I spoke the name that came into my head, "Last Symphony!" The shattering of the card was accompanied by an intense light that surrounded Minazuki as I jumped back. Minazuki fell to his knees and then screamed.
Yu was at my side as I sheathed the katana. "What...did you do?" he asked.
I could feel it in my head...exactly what was happening to both Sho and Minazuki at the same time. "In a word...understanding," I said as I handed his sword back to him. "Imagine that you are stuck on a train track, you can only go where the tracks lead. But every decision and action you make is the result of you choosing a path at a crossroad. Those crossroads are the lives you affect. They may come with you for a time, but then they could also split off...or sometimes they stop completely. For Sho and Minazuki, they have been moving forward, not thinking about the paths they cross...it would be like obstacles were just cars on the track and they just ram them away, not even giving a glance back at to what they have done. They may be a victim Yu, but their actions hurt a lot of people. If you really want him to be saved, then him knowing the pain he's caused to others and why he ruined those lives is a step he needs to take. Last Symphony was my desire for him to know the consequences of his actions, the reason those people are hurt. So he's seeing it, not just his actions but exactly how he hurt them, the feelings they felt, the pain he inflicted."
Sho and Minazuki was still screaming as the light intensified.
"So, he's seeing the ripple effect he caused...and what he did to all of us, and the other lives he's touched," Yu spoke softly as the weight of what I did dawned on him.
"My Persona is Benzaiten, a Goddess that rules over everything that flows. For a time Sho and Minazuki were trying to change it and ignore the natural flow of time. I simply used that power to force them back into it, to no longer ignore the facts that were inconvenient for them," I say after a moment.
"Senpai...that is a scary power you have," Yu added.
Yeah, that was more than true. And yet the power of Last Symphony...and Symphonic Discord were abilities I had a feeling was what I could always do. Symphonic Discord was a power that didn't allow you to blend in with your surroundings, or hide from your mistakes. It was there as a means that even if you are united for a cause, the reasons are different. Last Symphony was a power of consequence. Every decision influenced yourself and those around you. The secret to overcoming both was accepting your mistakes and the consequences and striving to move forward. But it was something that could not be selfish...after all those selfish reasons are what both of those powers thrive on. Considering how I had been all my life it made sense as to why it would manifest for me.
I had no idea what he was experiencing but his screams seem to grow louder and light intensified further.
"Kayane!" the voice was Rise.
I turned to see a group running up to Yu and I. Rise, Hamuko, Labrys, Yukari and some guy I didn't know. Kana was running up behind them as well. Likely more weren't far off. Rise rand up and then jumped at me. I had to adjust my stance and luckily, I didn't fall over as she engulfed me in an embrace. I don't think I had ever been so welcoming or wanting this contact. I felt as if any tension I had evaporated the moment she touched me and I could smell the familiar scent of her rose scented shampoo in her hair. "Rise, you're here."
"You're okay...thank God," Rise breathed.
"What happened?" Hamuko asked as I turned to Sho and Minazuki as the light died down. His screams faded and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
"He got to feel the consequences for everything he has done," I said simply.
"Kayane-senpai discovered a new power called Last Symphony," Yu expanded on it.
"Either way, he isn't going to cause us any further problems as he is. He'll need medical though. I'm pretty sure I cut deep into his left arm with Yu's sword," I explain as Yukari and the other guy were next to Sho...Minazuki...whichever he is and examined him.
"Geesh, you did a number on him. I don't think he'll be using that arm any time soon," He got up and turned to me. "Name's Iori Junpei. I've heard quite a bit about you from your cousins."
"Nice to meet you," I spoke curtly, but things couldn't be over yet. "Sho might have been part of the hands moving the pieces but he couldn't be the one behind it."
"An excellent deduction," the voice of...General Teddie. "It looks like the P-1 Climax is coming to an end. I'm impressed of the power you used on Minazuki Sho. Ikakure Kayane, you have defeated Minazuki and so you are the champion of the P-1 Climax!" His eyes turned to that of a shadow with its pale gold glow and I felt a chill run up my spine. "Your prize is...your execution."
It happened quickly but something hit me and knocked me away from Rise and I came sliding to a stop at the base of one of the pillars. I looked up at him. I didn't have a weapon, no way to counter him other than my Persona...but...no I couldn't. Last Symphony had taken the remaining power I had. General Teddie didn't move but attacked me...it looked like different attacks...Garudyne? No... that was fire...Agidyne! But the attack never reached me. Standing there in front of me...was Rise?
"You aren't going to have the chance!" Rise stood there with two...wait...that was my weapon...or rather what remained of my weapon. I remember now...the fakes had shattered my blade, and broke the chain. It looks like Rise had been using them as like a baton like weapon? And, she had easily deflected that attack. What was going on here?
"Hehe...well this body had reached its limit anyway. It's only a fake made with Shadows, after all..." the voice of General Teddie became deeper and his body got...larger? This was him...the real one with the power behind all this event. He had likely used Sho to gather what he needed...but now...the mass of Shadows floating in the air and the Persona fragments had been gathered. It was probably too late...everything this entity needed was here. "Fortunately, I have a horde of Shadows to create my vessel and the Persona fragments to control it are at my disposal. Despite Minazuki Sho's shortcomings he has been quite the capable puppet. But he has one final task to complete." The unconscious body of Minazuki Sho then suddenly moved towards the now large General Teddie and he clutched its body by its head.
Everyone readied themselves as the aura around the General Teddie seemed to expand out. "I pay no heed to others. I am the collective will of those who abandon all connections and strive to live only for themselves. I will incinerate everything! I will rob, murder, trample and cast you humans into the depths of despair. My name is Hi-no-Kagutsuchi! One who kills all who live in this world!" Under the intensity of his power we all fell to our knees.
So, he was an entity...like Izanami. Answers began to fall into place in my head. Why it all happened in Inaba, the connection to the Shadow Operatives and to us.
A scarlet fog began to leave the body of General Teddie, and pour into Minazuki's body in anyway it could. His eyes, ears, mouth and injuries had no choice but to accept it in his unconscious state. Although even if he was conscious I'm not sure he would have had the power to fight it. We couldn't get close...and after a moment Minazuki's body stood...alone. The body of General Teddie was gone...and when Minazuki opened his eyes, they glowed a fierce shade of red. He smirked, "So what do you think? I had lent this brat my power, but my full presence is a bit different. Don't worry I won't let you all die so quickly. You will all witness my advent, and will be the first lives sacrificed to my power."
"This...isn't over yet!" Hamuko stood up.
"We didn't come all this way to be defeated!" Kana yelled back.
"You stole me just so you could hurt Oniisan! I won't let you get away with it!" Labrys also stood in defiance.
"My husband died to save this world. I won't allow anyone to wash away what he gave his life to protect!" Yukari also stood at their side.
Rise then stood up, "I resolved to fight, to protect Kayane, to rescue him. There is no way I'm going to let it go your way!" I blinked as I stared at her back. Rise...she gained a new power, didn't she? I could tell in just the way she stood, her confidence, her faith in not only herself but the people around her. This was the woman I loved...the one behind the voice that always seemed to shake me to my very soul. I felt myself smiling but more than that the last of my strength was giving way. Last Symphony really did drain me with all I had left. Well, if Rise was standing like that I could leave it to them.
I collapsed fully to the ground and felt my vision beginning to blur and it was hard to keep my eyes even open. "Give him hell...Rise." The darkness quietly overcame me and pulled me to a deep slumber.
May 5th, 2012 / Time Unknown
Top of The Tower
RISE'S POINT OF VIEW
I wanted to go to Kayane's side, but I could still feel him. Kouzeon assured me that he was simply unconscious. Inahime however, was ready to fight. Hi-no-Kagutsuchi openly grinned at us why we stood to defy him.
"You all fought so long within this red fog, just as I planned, and all of you are exhausted to your very souls. You have no hope of defeating me now. Originally, you, my first puppet was quite useful for that purpose. I had directed you at the rest of them with the aim of harvesting your Personas, but..." his gaze lingered on Labrys.
"You used me for that?" Labrys was angry, as she should be.
"I realized later that it had been a mistake to begin with. Had I been successful than the Shadows own free will would have made them less obedient than I required," Kagutsuchi averted his gaze for a moment. "Well I can deal with the few rogue elements due to another's intervention, but that is hardly something that should concern you all now. I was more than able to get the materials needed for my plan. To suppress the will of Shadows I will use the Persona fragments to that end. After all Persona are the suppressed strength of heart. Now is the time for despair. This new form you have given me... Behold it!"
Then Sho lifted from the ground and raised up into the air. The swirling vortex that had been amassing the Shadows then lurched out a massive body surrounded by fire. Then it swallowed the body of Sho whole as it descended towards us. The whole tower is shaking as wind circles around in increased speeds, all the while this giant Shadow seems to be spewing out fluids that look like red, stagnant blood. This was the true form of Hi-no-Kagutsuchi that had formed by the countless Shadows. As he fell it also swallowed up the Persona fragments and then he landed on the top of the tower.
"Junpei! Grab Ikakure and pull back! We'll take care of this!" Yukari yelled out.
"You got it! Good luck!" Junpei moved past me and grabbed Kayane. As much as I wanted to stay at his side...facing Kagutsuchi was the number one priority. Okay so big looming colossal size Shadow that was named Hi-no-Kagutsuchi who in Japanese mythology was the God of Fire. He also named himself that collective will of those that strive to live only for themselves and abandon all connections. In the myth Kagutsuchi kills Izanami when she gives birth to him...and in Izanagi's anger he in turn killed Kagutsuchi. Not even giving him a chance to live. Thinking it that way...him representing that part of humanity made a lot of sense.
"Can everyone hear me?" it was Fuuka. The others must have been able to find a good choke point to battle against the Shadows. With that she could focus on being support. "Whatever was blocking me is gone now. I sense a massive Shadow."
"Fuuka-san, I'll connect you briefly so you can see," I say as I summon Kouzeon and send the images of what it is to her. "He's the reason behind everything. He's swallowed up the mass of Shadows and the Persona fragments along with Minazuki Sho to be able to control all of it. His name his Hi-no-Kagutsuchi."
"Understood. You six must defeat him. I'll give you as much support as I can," Fuuka quickly relayed to everyone.
Kagutsuchi didn't waste any time as he sent out a wave of fire in all directions. As a reflex I summoned Inahime and used her to counter with a mabufudyne and the clashing spells was enough to prevent it from reaching me. If given the time Kagutsuchi would make it impossible to approach him. That wasn't a situation we could let develop. As soon as I could, I began to rush forward. Kagutsuchi didn't waste any time as he began throwing fireballs indiscriminately in all directions. He seemed that he didn't even need to look to know where we were. Charging in different angles wasn't going to be helpful. Going it separately wasn't going to get us anywhere.
"Rise-san!" A voice called out and I hadn't realized that one of the fireballs was coming towards me...I prepped a counter but it wasn't needed. Labrys appeared in front of me and cut through the fireball with her axe. "Are you okay?"
"Labrys...yeah I'm just fine. I think the only way we can get close to attack is by going together and trading off blocking his attacks. The final blow will likely have to be decisive..." I find myself unsure of the best way to go onto the offensive but there had to be a good way to do so. I haven't fought as much as the others so I needed to make sure I could cover them if they were feeling sluggish.
"Be careful. He does not appear to have any weaknesses but is highly resistant to most attacks. You'll have to to keep attacking to get through his defenses," Fuuka warned us as Kagutsuchi looked like he was going to strike again.
Only way to make progress is to just go. No other choice and no time to feel out a strategy. I started moving with Labrys at my side. I hope she was doing okay after everything that had happened. It was still so odd to think about the fact that Labrys was a product of research done by Kayane's Father. She was only here because of him. And she retained the memories of that time where Kayane had been with his real family. It had all come to an end before Kayane was even capable of remembering anything. He had only been three years old when the car accident that claimed his parent's lives had occurred. That was also when he would be separated from his sister and Labrys. Just how different would his life had been if he had his parents? Would his life have been a normal one? But...would I have never met him?
It was a difficult thing to think about when it came to potential scenarios and outcomes. It was a rather pointless thing to do to begin with, it wasn't like we could change what had already happened. The real reason I even entertained the thoughts was thinking that maybe Kayane would have been happier. At the same time things had to happen as they did for us to meet. It was just one of those situations that couldn't be avoided.
Now the priority was taking Kagutsuchi down. I know that this was only one fight though. I find it hard to believe that my new power was awakened only for this situation when I had barely had to fight at all to get here. No, something was likely going to happen in the future. Something I know I needed to be prepared for.
I rushed forward with Labrys at my side. Kagutsuchi launched fireballs again but as he did Labrys leaped forward and deflected the fireball off with relative ease as we pressed on without breaking stride. The next moment he launched a wall of flame in all directions. I summoned Inahime and cast mabufudyne to clash with the fire. Doing this protected us a bit more as we continued to shrink the distance to Kagutsuchi. We came into his range and he swiped at us with a whie open hand towards us. Likely meaning to attack with the large claws on his hand. His attack didn't hit as another individual appeared and met Kagutsuchi's fist with a God's Hand. It was Hamuko.
"Keep up the attacks. The rest of us will try to keep him from hitting you," Hamuko said as she jumped across and hitting Kagutsuchi's left wrist with her naganita as we kept moving.
Labrys jumped forward and towards Kagutsuchi's face. She brought her axe around to smash it against him. As she did I charged more towards his chest and summoned Inahime to slam mabufudyne directly against him. He groaned at our efforts and he was bringing his right hand in to try and swat us away. But just as it was coming in his hand was hit hard by an arrow. The force behind it was unnatural, powered by a Persona. The one behind the attack was Yukari. That had to be a difference in experience, just in her ability to transfer power to her weapon in such a manner. It was incredibly impressive. Well I also had only just started to fight as a Persona user. Compared to being a navigator it was a huge difference. Not to mention that I could still get all my usual information that I use to get at the same time. I was used to juggling the information so it didn't make much of a difference to me. That was likely my advantage here. And we needed to use the opportunity that the others were giving us.
Labrys was attacking again with her axe, this time putting more power into her swing with her Persona. I quickly used another mabufudyne while also putting my strength from my Persona into my arms to strike him with the batons as well.
"Enough!" Kagutsuchi growled and a force of hot air forced us back from him and sliding away. I tumbled and went into a roll for a moment before I was able to stop and get back up.
"Rise-san, are you alright?" Yu asked as he helped me to my feet.
"Yeah, this guy is tough. I'll need to use something to get through the defenses...wait I think I got something for that," I had remembered when I was with Igor and Miyuki that I had gotten some skill cards from her as a 'starting collection' as things that could be useful...that way I could change Inahime's skills without having to find a Velvet Room door...although I'm not sure if the Velvet Room for me was a fixed location or not. Well that wasn't important now. I pulled out the card from my pocket and closed my eyes. I could envision Inahime's skills within my mind and I thought about what I wanted to overwrite and the next moment the card was gone and I knew that the skill had taken hold.
"When did you awaken to your new power?" Yu asked after a moment.
"When I got back into town I was attacked by Kayane's Shadow. He taunted me and even tried to rape me," I sighed as I watched the others still continuing to attack Kagutsuchi. "I realize that after all this time that I can't keep going like this. I needed the strength to protect Kayane. I needed to be able to act. And being unable to fight by his side was something that I feel was holding me back. Kayane didn't want to be protected, I knew that. It was about finding a balance when it came to Kayane. Maybe not making it obvious that I was out to protect him...instead being with him by his side, fighting with him. He wasn't defenseless after all but he couldn't do everything on his own. And there was no telling what we would have to face next. "Kayane was taken while I wasn't around. I'm sorry Senpai but I don't have the patience or the heart that can just sit by while someone else goes off to save the man I love. No matter what I'll save him and protect him from now on."
Yu chuckled a bit, "I thought it would be something like that. I'm glad to see you so determined."
"We need to push the attack," Hamuko called out.
Kagutsuchi was now holding a hand over his head as a massive orange and red ball was forming in his hand. Even after being blown away from him, the heat coming from him was immense. He kept up his attacks with his right hand which was still free for him to use. So, his plan was to take us all out at once and use his right hand to make sure we can't get close to stop him. Well...there was another method. But there was no way of knowing of sabotaging his own attack would hurt him...
"Labrys, we should hit his left hand. At the very least we could cripple him and stop his attack," I step forward and tighten the grip on the baton like weapons in my hand. There wasn't time to think about it.
"Let's move!" Labrys called out as she jumped forward. I quickly moved to run behind her. Kagutsuchi was certainly doing all it could to keep the others away from him. Yukari was launching arrows but something was stopping her arrows from reaching the hand gathering the massive attack. He sent out a wave of fire but his aim was reckless and we could easily slide underneath the attack. But he didn't relent and a collection of fireballs were right behind it.
"I don't think so!" Yu came sliding across and knocked the fireballs to the side as Labrys and I kept charging. "You got this."
"Enjoy your last moments humans. This world is going to be my own personal playground soon enough," He laughed as he swiped down at Labrys and I as we got close. But his hand was stopped.
"We won't let you!" Kana's chain blade was wrapped around his left wrist and halting his attack just long enough for us to keep moving. Kagutsuchi was about to throw Kana but Hamuko appeared at her side and added her own strength to hold his arm back.
"Show 'em hell you two," Hamuko added.
Kagutsuchi panicked and then opened his mouth and we could see him gathering even more fire.
"Choke on this," Yukari spoke and I looked only for a moment as I saw an arrow fly directly into his mouth. He cried out in pain but my focus went back to the task at hand.
I jumped into the air and felt Inahime at my side helping me. I needed to figure out the optimal place to attack his hand and quickly and... "Comparing attack to previous enemy data, analyzing potential weak points...calculating probabilities based on current information..." Inahime was speaking in my mind and quickly broke down Kagutsuchi's right hand and the massive energy gathering for a weak point. Everything was pointing to one of his fingers...his index finger. Inahime calculated over a 88% probability that the attack was controlled by it.
"Labrys, the index finger, I'll create an opening for you," I said as Inahime appeared at my side as a tarot card appeared in front of me. "Primal Force!" A force came from Inahime and ripped through the air and towards Kagutsuchi's index finger. The attack was like a ray of light and it pierced through the fire and slammed against the giant index finger.
Labrys bolted up and brought her axe around with a powerful swing and slammed its blade right onto the exact spot I had hit the index finger. As soon as she connected the booster on Labrys' axe activated. Kagutsuchi lost control. I had still been moving forward and grabbed the wrist of Labrys and pulled her back using Inahime to increase my strength. We flew back and landed on the ground.
The attack exploded...or I assumed it did as a massive light covered the area and we could feel the head of the attack.
"How? How is this possible? How can the power of mere humans be enough to best me?" Hi-no-Kagutsuchi growled in pain. "No I won't be defeated so easily!"
I was then pulled back by...I looked up to see Kana. "Don't worry, Oneesama has it now."
"Heat Riser! Mind Charge!" Hamuko stood there front and center in front of Hi-no-Kagutsuchi. "There is no place here for someone who forsakes the bonds of others. All of us are here because of someone else in our life. Even if we lost are way and strayed for a time, there was always someone to help guide us back! So here, feel the power given to me by all the people that came before me! Morning Star!" The image of six-winged Persona, massive in size appeared and brought forth an intensive light onto the creature of fire.
"No! Impossible! Impossible!" He yelled. The light was too intense to see. I covered my eyes instinctively as I could hear the pained cries of Hi-no-Kagutsuchi. The whole area shook violently and as the light faded we could see the last of his body crumbling away and as it did the red fog disappeared just as quickly...the night sky turning back to its usual color...and the full moon shining a pale blue in the sky.
The shaking hadn't stopped. My eyes widened. The tower! I quickly connected to Kouzeon and contacted everyone. "We need to get out of the tower now! Without the red fog it is going to disappear." Wait...I still had use of my Persona? So, did that mean I could still use all my abilities? There had to be something I could...wait my skill cards! I pulled them out and checked them. This could work. "Is everyone down below?"
"Everyone is here. Junpei just arrived with Ikakure-san," Fuuka quickly reported.
"Everyone just wait right there, I have a way out of here," I got to my feet. "We have to move now."
"Labrys can you help me with Sho?" Yu asked.
"Yes, of course," Labrys quickly went to his side.
"Kana, help me with this guy," Hamuko must have been referring to Adachi.
There was no time to waste and the others were already up and good to go. I took off as I made my way to the stairs. I started to head down them as fast as I could. I knew this would work. It had to be part of the reason that Miyuki had given me all these skill cards to begin with. So, that I would be better prepared for what I didn't know. Even still I had to be the one to realize it was what I needed. Not too far behind was Labrys and Yu, who had been at my side since that fight had started. I knew she was Kayane's sister. Maybe not a normal one...but she was created by his Father and so she had every right to claim to be his daughter and Kayane's sister. Yu and Kayane seemed to have a disagreement of sorts when it came to Sho but I think in the end Yu realized that Kayane was right. He needed to get help that he wouldn't get if they had just let him go. Him being a victim didn't excuse his own actions. Then there was Hamuko, who was Kayane's cousin...and I think I could place Kana in that same boat as well. With everything that had happened, there still hadn't been enough time to really adjust to the new people that had appeared in our life. Hopefully now everything would start to settle down.
"There they are!" Yukari called out as we got to the bottom of the stairs and saw where everyone else was gathered.
"Quick, everyone gather around!" I called out and quickly replaced one of my skills with the skill card. "Alright, let's get out of here! Traesto!" As I said that a warm golden light surrounded all of us and then we were gone.
May 6th, 2012 / Time Unknown
TV World Entrance
Waking up after something like that wasn't exactly the greatest feeling in the world. I guess there were probably worse ways to feel after expending all your energy. I opened my eyes and found them considering familiar brown eyes who stared back with obvious concern. "Hey there," I said after a moment.
She smiled that usual dazzling smile of hers and bent down and kissed my forehead, "Thank goodness. How are you feeling?"
"Sore and really tried. Thankfully that's all," I smiled and ventured sitting up. Rise helped me and I noticed that everyone else was here too. Mitsuru looked at me and looked relieved.
"I'm glad to see you are alright, Ikakure. I wish I could have done more for you while we were in the tower," Mitsuru did seem to look a bit regretful but I don't think it was really merited in this instance.
"Says the one who had been in a car wreck, kidnapped, tortured and put on a crucifix," I said somewhat flatly before laughing and shaking my head. "Believe me I've been through a lot more painful experiences than that one. I'm just glad we all managed to make it through it without the world ending." This is when I notice that we were in a very familiar place... "Hold on...when did we get into the TV world?"
"Your girlfriend used her Persona to transport us all and we all landed here. Better here than in a disappearing tower," Hamuko commented from not to far away. "She's quite the fighter."
"It was incredibly impressive," Labrys nodded. "She was also able to find out the weak point in Hi-no-Kagutsuchi's attack while we were under fire."
"If it wasn't for all of you I wouldn't have had the chance. It was a group effort," Rise was basically shoving away the focus from herself. She had awakened to a new power, I think that was more than evident with how confident and boldly she had charged in. Seeing Rise rush to my side had been so comforting. I wish I had been able to fight at her side, but that was hardly important if we had all been safe in the end.
"Still, well done everyone. I'm sorry for all the trouble we caused. I didn't think that the enemy would attack so soon after the first incident and because of that it caught us off guard," Mitsuru wasn't wasting much time.
"We were all targets, so in a way there was nothing to be done about how it all went down," Yu shook his head.
"Wish I could have joined in on the battle at the top myself. If there hadn't been so many Shadows trying to rush to the top it might have made things easier," Akihiko nudged Yu's side. "Oh well, good job you guys. All of you."
"Like I keep saying! This is my world! You have to go through this TV to get out of your world, Junpei" Teddie's voice came from over near the stack of TV's that was the exit. Well I suppose sticking around here to talk probably wasn't ideal.
"Huh? We go through a TV to get out of the TV? C'mon, blue daruma, quit kidding around," Junpei shook his head.
"It's for real. But...huh. Now that you mention it, that is kinda weird, isn't it? Going into a TV leads you our of the TV?" Chie stopped and thought about it.
"After all this time and now you're gonna make that realization? Don't over complicate it. It's fine. The TVs are connected, simple. These things only get confusing because you overthink them," Yosuke sighed it looked like he was pretty exhausted.
"Ugh, I don't believe this. Look, you just gotta show 'em," Kanji shook his head. I guess Junpei wasn't getting the concept of where we were. But Kanji made it simple by sticking his head into the TV.
"What the...!? Dude, what're you doing?" Junpei was alarmed at the sight.
"Whoa, crap," Kanji says and quickly pulls his head out.
"What's up Kanji?" Yosuke asked.
"I stuck my head out and I saw a security guard making the rounds," Kanji answered.
What time was it? It had to be early in the morning if the whole incident had started at midnight and was only supposed to last an hour.
"You saw a security guard?" Chie pressed.
"Umm...yeah," Kanji wasn't sure what she was getting at.
"Then that means the town is back to normal. The people who disappeared must be safe now, right?" Yukiko spoke up and I finally noticed her. It been a while since I had seen everyone. Not since everyone had been at my place when Mitsuru and the others had explained the situation.
"Alright! It finally feels like we won! We saved the town our very own selves," Yosuke called out. It was a relief to hear that things were back to normal but that didn't really change out current situation. We would have to come out into Junes in the dead of night without a real good explanation as to how we even got there.
"Honestly, I just feel like it's the end of a long day of work," I sigh as the others were smiling with our victory. I turn to Rise, "You'll have to tell me all that happened, I have a pretty one sided view on the events."
"I'll tell you whatever you want to know," she smiled.
"I notice you found my weapons. I hope they were useful to you," I comment and she nodded.
"Of course, because of these I was able to fight...but seeing them like this made me so worried about you. I thought you were gravely injured..." Rise was grabbing my arm.
"Well you try taking on five of those fakes on your own," I shook my head. "I guess it isn't all over yet, is it?"
"No, I'm afraid not. It appears that the one masquerading as your Shadow had a will of its own and used his power to take control of several of the other fakes. Our priorities made it impossible to go after them," Mitsuru spoke as if it had been her decision. But she hadn't been down there with the others when that confrontation had occurred. I guess that was just how it was when you were a leader. You took the responsibility even if the fault did not lie with you.
"Stopping the end of the world understandably gets top priority in any case. I guess that means it will just give you something to keep you busy. And a reason for all of us to stay on our toes," I shook off the topic. I didn't want to think of the implications of this...of maybe it being connected to me seeing my Shadow all this time. Being able to talk to him when no one else could see him...and it not mattering where we were when it happened. "How's Sho?"
"His vitals are stable. However, I do not believe he will wake for some time," Aigis who had now restrained the red-haired boy reported.
"Even if in the end, he is another victim of Ikutsuki Shuji...he still attempted to destroy the world. As such he falls under our jurisdiction. But maybe with time and proper rehabilitation he might be able to move past all of this. I don't know what this power of Last Symphony you used against him does, but it appears that the Plume of Dusk that inhabited him has disappeared," Mitsuru seemed to smile a bit. "But I feel like you may have helped him take a good first step towards recovery. You have my word that I will give him the chance to see a better life. And perhaps one day he'll be able to live a normal life."
"That's great...I know he needs the help," I smiled.
"We all know what it's like to feel alone, to feel like no one understands us. I know that with help Sho can overcome his past and finally move forward," Rise added from my side as she snuggled up closer to me.
"Even if it's hard, sometimes the best medicine is tough love. So, don't make it too easy on him. He's got to learn what it means to have people he can depend on," Kanji spoke as he approached the group.
"They say that the most important time in developing is when you are a child. Sho missed a lot of crucial experiences that many of us take for granted. But it isn't impossible to recover, although it will take patience and time. I am glad you'll use your resources to help him," Naoto was standing next to Kanji. She glanced at me for a moment and offered a smile. She must have been worried about me as well. I know I had made a lot of them worried.
"I think in a way Sho was trying to understand us. He is wearing a Yasogami High uniform after all. I think he just needs to have the time to realize what he really wants," Yukiko took Yu's hand and stood at his side. I could see the relief in her face as she felt him at her side. Sometimes that was often the best feeling.
"I didn't understand who or even what I was for a long time...I'm sure that Minnie's just trying to figure that stuff out too," Teddie added. Wait...Minnie was supposed to be short for Minazuki? Oh geesh.
"Dude... Will you stop giving everyone and everything those weird nicknames?" Yosuke shook his head. I'm not surprised for him to be vocal about it.
"Given what Kagutsuchi was after, I suppose it makes sense why he used Sho. Someone who had a connection with the Shadow Operatives that pulled in even more Persona users," Naoto shifted the conversation a bit.
"Kagutsuchi was connected to us, likely born when we defeated Izanami. Like the myth. A collective will of those who forsake bonds and determine to live on their own, with no one's help," I shook my head. "What a hypocrite."
"In truth, his plan could only ever work with the co-operation of others. However, it was his mistrust and end goal that made it impossible for him to really achieve it. Even Adachi, who had no benefit in this stake decided to go against him," Naoto words brought my attention back to another figure who was standing close by.
"Oh please, don't lump me in with you kids. I'm not going to be associated with some brat who claimed to hate the world for such a weak reason. And that Kagutsuchi guy? I think he is an insult compared to the battle we fought. You have your pride, and I have mine," Adachi scoffed and looked to the TV exit.
"Thanks for keeping your promise, in your own way," Yu said after a moment.
"Shut up, you're making me sick with all this optimistic bullshit," Adachi shook his head. "Not that I'm in a rush or anything but shouldn't you go and call the police to pick me up?"
"I'll take care of the arrangements," Mitsuru assured. "We should return. We can reconvene in the morning. Amagi-san, do you know if there are free rooms at the Inn?"
"Well it is Golden Week, so it might be a bit crowded..." Yukiko seemed unsure.
"If it comes to it, some of you can just stay at my place. I have a few extra rooms. And I think my place would likely work better as a meeting place in the morning. If that is alright with you Kirijo-san," I suggested.
"I wouldn't want to impose but there might be little choice," Mitsuru sighed.
"It's going to be pretty cramped," Rise commented.
"Better than the place being empty," I shrugged and for some reason Rise smiled.
May 6th, 2012 / Morning
Kayane's House
It had been quite the event returning from the TV world at about 1:30am in the morning. Junes had been locked down and we had a small altercation with Security. It hadn't been too bad because of Yosuke and Mitsuru being able to smoothly play it off, though I'm not exactly sure how they had been able to do it. After leaving, Mitsuru arranged and had a helicopter land not too far off and the personnel on board took Minazuki Sho into custody. Then police showed up after the helicopter had departed and took Adachi into custody. There wasn't much of a fanfare to the whole event. Even after the craziness that we had been through it just ended with a similar ending like when we caught Adachi the first time.
This wasn't the end of things though. There was still danger out there and what was worse...we had no idea exactly what that danger was even going to be. Only that it was being led by a supposed Shadow of myself.
After all of that had been arranged, Yukiko managed to get rooms for a few of the Shadow Operatives. Aigis, Fuuka, Mitsuru, Yukari, Akihiko and Junpei would share two rooms but I still offered space for individuals that I feel would be better at my place. Hamuko, Kana and Labrys came back with me along with Rise. We split up that night and all of us agreeing to meet up at my place for breakfast and a meeting of what our future actions would be. I guess it was a topic that needed to be talked about sooner than later. Fortunately, there was no rehearsal for Synchronicity to worry about for today.
We didn't talk too much. I was too exhausted to do that. I set the others up in the guest rooms, even opening the bonus guest room that was hardly even opened for them. I let them all use the bath and I passed out in my bed before I got a chance to take one myself. It was just as well anyway, I would have likely fallen asleep in the bathroom if I had ventured to do so. Still I woke up with a blanket over me and all evidence showing that Rise had sneaked into my room to check on me before going to sleep herself. I really loved that girl.
I slept long enough. I think it was around 3 am in the morning when I had finally put my head on my pillow and I woke up just after 10am. In general, it was about as much time as I usually slept. And really there was just too much on my mind to stay in bed. So as soon as my body seemed to recover enough energy I had woken up. The house was strangely quiet so I had taken a moment to peek into the guest rooms and saw most of them asleep. Kana was snuggled up against Hamuko just like you would expect a little kid to do when they think someone is going to leave in the middle of the night. The two of them had likely stayed up and talked for quite some time I would imagine. The two of them had been separated throughout the whole incident so I imagine they both had been worried about each other.
As you would expect though, Labrys was up...she didn't really sleep but she explained it as entering a state of inactivity. She would run self-diagnosis and all things related to her maintenance. I went out to the front room before I headed to the bathroom.
"Good morning, Oniisan," Labrys greeted me.
"Morning. I guess we have a lot more to think about," I wasn't sure how to talk about all this. "I'm guess you want to find our sister at some point, right?"
"Finding her isn't the issue. I want her to know about everything that has happened. What do you want? I want you to be okay with this too," Labrys accent kinda threw me off but at the same time it was something distinct about her. It had been odd learning that the accent she had was something she had picked up from my Mother...someone I could never remember. Despite everything and it being easy to see that Labrys was not human...still not sure how I was going to introduce Labrys to my adopted Mother. Speaking of which she wouldn't be back until late tonight, if at all. I guess her meeting got held up for some reason.
"I don't know what I will even say meeting her, much less about telling her about Persona and Shadows. My gut instinct is to say that yes, we should tell her. I guess the only way to do this is just to meet her and see what happens from there. I'm worried though...she should have remembered me, right? She's what...three years older than me...so she would have been six and old enough to remember the whole event. So, it was either so traumatic that she pushed out even her memories of me...or she choose not to find me or reach out to me. And maybe that is what I'm really worried about," I admitted out loud for the first time.
Labrys was quick to assure me that everything would work out one way or another before I finally left to go to the bathroom and finally take a bath. After undressing and stepping into the bath I ran the water and took a moment to settle my thoughts.
Father had been a researcher for a company called the Nanjo Group. It was the company that the owner of the Kirijo Group had split from to create his own group so that he could strive for his own goals. That man was named Kirijo Kouetsu. His ambitions were what led him to be aggressive in business, expanding out to become a large conglomerate to gain a major amount of capital to use on his various projects. His success did not tell of his desires which led to a lot of experiments leaning towards a subject he learned about while he was within the Nanjo Group...Shadows. The power and potential of Shadows had more than made him ambitions, it drove it to a sole reason of his existence and his actions after he could accumulate the wealth needed were proof enough of that.
I stepped into the bath and let the hot water surround me. It felt probably better than it should...just showed how sore I was from yesterday. I sighed as my thoughts drifted back to what I had learned.
My Father, Ikakure Renji, had been a scientist and researcher for the Nanjo Group, his most prominent discovery was that of an item known as the Plume of Dusk. The real impact of this discovery came later when my Father apparently implemented the Plume of Dusk to a computer when analyzing it. The computer in turn became self-aware...but one that was like a child. Curious he began several experiments to test implementing it in another form. Eventually leading to a theory that if given the proper body and environment that an android with a Plume of Dusk could potentially gain a Persona and legitimately be a new form of life. The Nanjo Group was hesitant to venture further on his theory. The leader of the Nanjo Group was hesitant to do anything more related to Shadows and Persona, but was also fascinated by the potential of such an outcome. Somehow this theory landed on the desk of Kirijo Kouetsu.
As one could imagine, the applications of a Plume of Dusk became apparent to the head of the Kirijo Group and lined up with his Anti-Shadow weapons he had been hoping to develop so that he could safely visit Shadow dense locations as his goals would eventually lead to such an outcome. Several meetings and negotiations happened between the two groups and came to a decision. Ikakure Renji would lead a project that was renamed to the Mechanical Maiden project and would use the Kirijo Group resources to develop his theory into practice. The end goal was that at the end the Kirijo Group would be able to use the Maidens created to protect its researchers and then the Nanjo Group would also have that knowledge to implement as they wanted when Ikakure returned to work under the Nanjo Group. The conditions seemed to make sense for both parties and even my Father seemed to find the terms agreeable.
About a year or so later, after the family had moved to an island of Yakushima where the facility was, the first android integrated with a Plume of Dusk had successfully awakened. This only happened after the specifications for the body had met a certain requirement. My Father then welcomed Labrys to the world. It's hard to say the plan that my Father had to develop Labry's...but it was obvious that the Kirijo Group wanted to make more to quickly make improvements and come closer to having the Mechanical Maidens. However, this is also where the clash in priorities between my Father and the Kirijo Group became increasingly evident. In his time he took time to make sure that Labrys learned a lot of different things...and was only maintaining control of Labrys in the experiments, as the other researchers took my Father's knowledge to make Labrys' sister units. My Father became increasingly concerned at the method that the Kirijo Group went about in their development. He tried to educate them in how Personas worked and the best method that would be able to nurture one. It was clear they did not care for methods only results. Taking a more inhuman approach as they saw the Mechanical Maidens as objects. My Father saw all of them as people.
Labrys spent a lot of her time with my family. From what I had been told she would even spend weekends with us. Often with just my older sister, Setsuko, and myself and would just play with us. Maybe it was an odd thing to see, but I'm guessing that it had been normal for us. She had been welcomed as part of the family, with my sister even informing Labrys on how she had to refer to both herself and me. Oneesan and Oniisan since we were older than her. Despite me being three years old, she hadn't been wrong. At that point Labrys had only been "alive" for a few months. In that time was also when Labrys picked up her accent from my Mother, Ikakure Arisa. In this time was also when things got more tense, especially when my Father seemed to be unable to contact the Nanjo Group. Plus, on top of that there was a lot of additional experiments happening without his input. It seemed more obvious what was happening, and so my Parents prepared for the worst.
A few more months would pass, in that time Labrys was taught a lot in a small amount of time. My Father didn't want to leave her behind to these people, but without being able to contact the Nanjo Group the options were limited. He kept up an illusion of being content but eventually told Kirijo Kouetsu that he had accomplished his goal and that the rest could be left to his own researchers. So as the terms of the contract he was to leave and go back to the Nanjo Group. We had to say goodbye to Labrys. This was when everything came apart.
Ikutsuki Shuji was the one who took over the Mechanical Maiden project and was the one responsible for arranging the truck driver that would ensure the car my Family had been traveling in would meet an accident on the way to the dock. All before we could reach a means of contacting the Nanjo Group. Both my parents died, only my sister and I surviving. It was deemed and accident and my Sister and I were separated within the month after returning to mainland Japan. That was when our relatives decided it was best to split us up. Setsuko was put up for adoption and my Uncle took me in. All so that I could carry the name Ikakure. After all my Uncle's wife had died before then due to some complications in a surgery. The death of his brother must have been hard on him as well...either way that was how I had ended up with him.
I was spending too much time soaking in the bath so I got out to quickly wash myself. It had been so much to take in, but everything I had seen only supported it. Labrys herself confirmed what Mitsuru had told me. There was no benefit to any of them deceiving me, and it seemed important to Hamuko and Kana to have this connection. Hamuko was my cousin...and while Kana was a Shadow...she existed as Hamuko's double...and called her sister so I had no issues seeing her as a cousin as well. It wasn't too complicated to think about really. Now that I had some time to process it, I found myself happy about it. I had family. Not just my Uncle who was now incarcerated for what he had done to me as a child, but actual family that cared about me. Not only that but I had a sister...who was alive. I knew I wanted to meet her. I don't think I could convince myself otherwise. I just have no idea what would happen when I meet her. I guess that was part of what made me nervous. I had no idea what I would say to her.
I finished cleaning up. Washing my hair and all that business and I felt oddly better than I had in quite some time. Maybe it was just because of everything that had happened in some way felt like it was over. Even though I know it wasn't. Now there was a lot more to consider and deal with. That was why we were all meeting up here this morning at my place. What happened from here was something that needed to be considered. All of this on top of Rise and I entering the music industry...yeah that was going to be quite a lot to think about. Although at this point, music was the more soothing and less stress inducing part of my life. Even with the thought that we would be in front of tons of people when preforming. At this point in time it just seemed less of a factor I should even be worried about at this point.
I got into some fresh clothes. This time all black clothes, with a long sleeve turtle neck and all of it made me feel more at home than I had in a while. When I left the bathroom, I went to the front room where I noticed some people had already arrived and Rise was acting as hostess. I shouldn't be surprised considering this place was basically her second home. Honestly, I can't imagine this place without her. I moved into the dining area and the large table and saw that most of it had already been cleared and cleaned up.
"Oh, Senpai, Good Morning," Naoto had just finished wiping down the table. She dried her hands and stepped over to me as I casually took a seat at the table. "How are you doing?"
"Not nearly as overwhelmed as I was before. I heard from Kana that she was with you when this whole mess started yesterday," I figured it was a good place to start. I didn't talk too much with Kana before the girls went to the bath and I passed out in my room.
"Yes, I ran into her as she was in town and she was undecided as to what she wanted to do. She came to town to see you," Naoto looked like she had other questions she wanted to ask but was going with the conversation.
"I was kind of a mess yesterday...plus it all worked out. I don't know what would have happened if Kana had been with me when those fakes attacked me," I shook my head not wanting to really entertain the thought. The fight had been more than rough...it was obvious that incapacitating me had been their goal...but I hadn't made it easy for them.
"What did they do to you? It seemed like Kirijo-san was concerned about your wellbeing when we were in that tower," Naoto would definitely pick up on small details like that. I frowned a bit as parts of it came into my mind.
"Oh, you know, nothing we haven't been dealt with before...being taunted by my fake and the fake Rise trying to rape me. And then watching our fakes making out...you know the usual," I was saying it dryly but Naoto's eyes widened at my words.
"Kayane-senpai...that's horrible. No wonder she was worried about you...you didn't tell Rise-chan yet have you?" Naoto sat next to me.
"Tell her what? They also re-opened some of the cuts on my arm to affect Mitsuru more. We all had a rough time yesterday...what I went through isn't any worse than the others, including yourself. I was just tied up for most of the time. They were trying to get to me...just like all the other ones were trying to get to the rest of you," I was quick to dismiss it, if only because I didn't want to think about the subject.
"But why take you to begin with? It seemed like too much effort..." Naoto was theorizing already.
"Because it was the fake Shadow of myself that was behind it. The one who obviously had a different agenda and likely used Kagutsuchi's plan to move his own plans forward. Taking me and all of that was likely a part of it. For what reason? We don't have enough information to even start, that's why it's pointless to think about right now," I say after a moment and felt myself slightly annoyed by it. I know she was worried about me...and probably wondering if the experience had negatively affected me. Of course, she did, she was a good friend of mine. If anything, I was closer to Naoto than even Yu. Not sure why though.
"Even still...Senpai...don't try to handle all of that on your own. Rise is there for you after all...so am I. You know that Rise can see when something is up with you. Do you really think you should do that?" Naoto wasn't letting it go. But she was right. Especially after all I had said against Minazuki in that fight.
"No, you're right. It's just me thinking about not worrying her...but she'll only worry more if I don't tell her..." I sighed. "Thanks Naoto-san."
"You can always talk to me about anything. And I am worried about you too, Senpai. That Shadow masquerading as you chose you for a reason. Whatever it is planning, you could be the main target," Naoto's voice was full of concern...emotion that I often didn't hear in her voice when she spoke. Something seemed different...
"Hey guys, everyone is here," Rise came walking into the room and Naoto's face changed ever so slightly but it was gone after a moment. Naoto...
"So, should we have the meeting in here or the music room? We don't have enough seats in here so maybe the music room would be better. Thanks for clearing the table and such Naoto-san," I said as I got to my feet.
"Of course, no problem. I'll just go on ahead of you two," Naoto quickly excused herself and left. I could hear her directing people towards the music room.
I scratched my head for a moment and looked to Rise. I felt my other thoughts melt away when I saw her. "Rise..."
"Hmm?" She gave me a questioning look.
I took a step forward and then in a swift motion I kissed her. She was confused only for a moment but then in a welcome moment our lips and tongues danced together for what felt like a minute or more. With everything that had happened I don't think I had kissed her in days. This familiar contact...this comfort felt more welcome than it had in quite some time. I remember when such contact was impossible for me. Meeting Rise and the rest of my friends had changed all of that. That doesn't even count what ups and downs that Rise and I went through to get to this point.
My first time meeting her, she was crying. No one had ever cried about me...at least that was what I had believed. I didn't think anyone cared about me or could besides my adopted Mother. Mom had always done what she could for me, even if I didn't see it. My suicide attempt had proved that to me. But Rise showed me something new...and that didn't stop. I thought that after everything they would all disappear, but Rise kept showing back up. Not just her...but Yu, Naoto and all the others took time to see how I was. Yukiko had been very motherly in the way she approached me...even with her other quirks she was always very conscious of my mood.
We finally stopped and I looked into her gorgeous brown eyes. I never really realized how much I loved looking at them. Something about all of this made it all more apparent just how much she meant to me. I truly loved her...I didn't want any day to go by without her. I gave her a grin, "Good Morning."
"Ooo...I could get used to that greeting every morning," her face lit up as that amazing smile of hers made me smile a bit more. "Come on, Kayane. We shouldn't make everyone wait."
"Hey...after everyone is gone...we need to talk. Alright?" I said after a moment. She looked concerned for a moment but she smiled once again.
"Of course, we can talk all night if you want," Rise winked before she quickly kissed my cheek and then bounced off towards the music room. Well...Naoto was right...there was no point for me to hold it all in. It was best that I put everything on the table and then she and I could handle it all...together.
After a few moments, I followed down the hall to the music room where everyone was gathered, plus a few I didn't recognize. They stood somewhat silently near Mitsuru who had set up a table and was using a laptop. I could only assume that the two of them were servants of her. It seemed Yukari had her child Kokoro...who last time I had seen had been with Hamuko. I guess yesterday had forced Yukari to take time away from work. Everyone was here crammed into the music room. This studio had never had this many any it. Man, life had changed. I figured I should take charge, though I'm sure Mitsuru or even Yu was easily step up to lead the meeting. But I feel considering what this was about I had a little more weight in this than anyone else. Either way part of what needed to be addressed was about myself and Labrys.
"Thanks, everyone for coming here this morning. I hope everyone got some decent sleep. I know I passed out as soon as I laid down," I said as I got everyone's attention. There was no point in waiting or delaying the subject. "So, following last night, Minazuki Sho is now being held by the Shadow Operatives and we defeated Kagutsuchi...who was the one behind the whole event. But we also learned that there is someone else planning something beyond this incident. So, the real question we need to figure out is what we do from here. Kirijo-san, I assume you have a general idea as to what the Shadow Operatives are planning to do."
"I do, although most of it is based purely on conjecture as we don't have any real clue as to what this Shadow that acted independently is aiming for. Especially since it isn't as simple as finding a place a Shadow could be. Tentative actions do involve all of you. I don't think you should all be too surprised, but I would like to put you all on watch just in case. And what I mean by this is simply give you all an easy way to be able to contact us. And on occasion one of us will come by to see how you are doing. Nothing invasive or anything like that. Its only so we can also take measurements for Shadow activity around all of us to see if maybe this Shadow is following us in any way," Mitsuru quickly explained and then clarified it a bit further. "I had considered making you all Shadow Operatives temporarily for the purposes of this investigation. But honestly it would be better if you focused on your school lives."
"That isn't to say we are going to leave you out of the conflict with this Shadow, only that you can leave the grunt work and finding the Shadow to us," Akihiko added.
"What you aren't saying is that Kayane-senpai is likely the target or there would have been no reason for him to take his form during that whole incident. Not to mention that the Shadows that he all controls are all in some way connected directly to him," Naoto spoke up adding a bit of caution and hostility to what Mitsuru was saying. "What is the plan for when Rise-chan and him start their careers? They have their debut concert in just a couple of months. The Shadow could be waiting for such a time when none of us are around and..."
"Naoto, that's enough," Rise was the one to speak up this time. "We can't jump the conclusions and we can't push the responsibility of any of our safety onto Kirijo-san. We managed just fine before then."
"No! It isn't fine!" Naoto suddenly yelled before covering her mouth with her hands. The room was silent. "I...I'm sorry." Naoto shrunk back. What was up with her? What was going on in that head of hers?
"Naoto-san...is this about Kayane being taken again?" Yu spoke up.
Naoto took a step back but Kanji silently put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at him for a moment and then over at me, her eyes lingered on me and all I saw was a mass of emotion looking back. She then looked down, "When Senpai was first taken it was when we were putting on a concert as a favor to Yosuke-san and Rise-chan's stipulation to perform in it. It was after I had gained my Persona and realized my deductions were on the right track. I was confident that with all of us we could finally prevent any further kidnappings...and so when Rise-chan saw a TV special that included a local teen from Inaba...we were all alarmed. But Senpai was a senior and so most of us had never seen him. Not to mention the TV special showed him in distinct goth clothing which looks a lot different than in his school uniform. So when we asked around at school, nobody knew who we were talking about. It wasn't until it was too late where everything finally fit together. He had already been taken and I had failed to stop another kidnapping. I hated it. I was confident we could do it...I didn't pick up on the other details needed to figure out Senpai's identity in time and he was taken. We managed to save him...but after all of that...it happened again anyway. Senpai put the pieces together before I did...Nanako was with him. He didn't hesitate and chased after the culprit and went after Nanako. If I had put it all together sooner, then I could have been there with him...and then I could have prevented both Nanako and Senpai from being in that situation."
It would be pointless to point out how I had barely figured it out myself...only that I had other reasons to be with Nanako at the time. Mostly to tell her about Rise and I... our plan to enter the music industry together...and that I had accepted the fact that I had fallen for Rise. Though I didn't understand my feelings that well at the time.
"It might be childish for me to think this way, but if I had been a better detective I could have found the missing links and determined the identity of the targets sooner. Both times I failed and Senpai got taken and had to endure being held against his will. I didn't want that to happen again. I felt if I did I would be failing him. I needed to be a better detective to prevent it...so I promised myself that I wouldn't allow it to occur ever again. I failed. Every time I look I feel like I had the answers but I didn't put them together in time," Naoto was clenching her fist. "I'm sorry I'm being unreasonable and I'm sorry for my unprofessional behavior but if I can't prevent it then I want to find a way to stop it."
I didn't know she had taken those incidents as personal failures. Was that what earlier had been about in the dining room? "Let me be the one to say there isn't anything that you have ever done to be responsible for what has happened to me. For one, me being thrown into the TV was really what made me who I am now. As strange as it may sound...or how dangerous it might have been I am glad that it happened. It forced me to wake up and start living again. And if you had all approached me or even prevented my kidnapping then I likely wouldn't be involved with any of you. I would have never given you guys the time of day. And for Nanako-chan... that was my failure too. If I had realized it just a few moments earlier then I could have prevented it from happening, and even maybe catch Namatame in the process."
"But because of that you were in that coma for such a long time," Naoto commented.
"And you thought that it was your fault...I... Wait hold on...the coma. The Velvet Room...is that it?" My thoughts came to a stop. "Wait...the coma. The man I met in the Velvet Room was named Philemon...he said that an entity had been responsible for keeping me there..."
"An entity? So, the Shadow using your form might be the one responsible for your coma?" Yukiko who was sitting next to Yu in a couple of chairs spoke up.
"If that's true then...Kayane..." Rise looked at me. I knew what she was thinking...and I had thought of it too...the Shadow I had been seeing all this time...it was never my real Shadow. No, more than likely that was just the entity that was somehow hiding within me. Maybe it was why only I could see him. But this time everyone had seen my Shadow.
"If that is the case...I might not have come back alone from the coma. More than likely the entity had been trying to take over my body but because I was fighting him and won I came back...but it didn't get rid of him," I shook my head. It couldn't be that easy...could it? Was that the real answer to what had been happening with me? Was there any way to figure it out?
"This entity tried to take over your body?" Hamuko spoke up.
"Yeah, that was the general idea I got when I was in the Velvet Room while I was in that coma," I quickly answered her.
"That sounds close to another body controlling Shadow we dealt with before. Nyarlathotep," Hamuko said a name that sent a chill down my spine although I had never heard of the name before.
"But Oneesama, we defeated him," Kana added.
"His existence wasn't that simple. He referred to himself as the manifestation of mankind's destructive side...that he could never truly be defeated as long as mankind existed," Hamuko spoke but shook her head. "It just sounded the same but I saw that Shadow of you...and he felt a lot different than Nyarlathotep was. I would remember that feeling if it had been him."
"Still that does give us a bit more information than we had before and a possible lead for us to follow up on," Mitsuru added.
"Naoto-san, please don't blame yourself," I brought the conversation back to the girl in blue. She looked at me once more and it was obvious that a few tears had escaped her eyes, she didn't bother to hide them.
"I know this last time there was no way of predicting his movements...none of us knew who was behind the attack and made it impossible to predict his actions. It isn't that I'm blaming myself...I'm just frustrated. I apologize to you all with my behavior. There was lingering thoughts that would not leave my mind and I let them build up until I allowed myself an emotional outburst. Please forgive me," Naoto bowed, and this time keeping her eyes to the floor.
This conversation wasn't over...I would have to talk to her later about this. I noted even Rise wasn't going to let her out of this easily. It could wait until later. The others were quick to assure Naoto that it was okay. Emotions had been high for all of them, but all of that could wait till later.
"Labrys, what do you want to do now?" I changed the subject and looked to the Mechanical Maiden who had remained silent this whole conversation.
She seemed surprised but then answered me, "I'm going to stay with you and reunite with Oneesan."
"Alright, the only problem being that Kirijo-san and her Shadow Operatives are the ones with the equipment to properly maintain you. I don't have anything like that here...so here is my suggestion. Labrys and I will become Shadow Operatives," I said it so easily but the mood in the room shifted a bit after the words came out. Still I was okay with that. I had talked with Rise about it briefly last night before she joined the girls in the bath so she wasn't caught off guard like the others.
"Considering the new information, I think it is a good idea," Mitsuru nodded. "We can keep Labrys well maintained and we can be faster to act if Ikakure is the one being targeted by this entity."
"My conditions for this are that the rest of you are not going to join the Shadow Operatives until after you graduate High School. If that is something you want to do. Another one is that any mission I may have to do...I'll do so with Labrys," I figure it was the best of both worlds in a sense. Labrys would have access to what she needed to function and she wouldn't be opposed to it if I was with her. And well...she was my sister, I wanted to have time to get to know her.
"That sounds like a good idea," Yu agreed. "That won't stop us from helping out if you need it though."
"No, of course not. But you can't prioritize this and forget about your grades. We all have long lives ahead of us," I say this and it brings smiles to the faces of my friends.
"You and I...Oniisan?" Labrys looked to me.
"Yeah, together," I confirmed and Labrys smile lit up. I could see why my Father believe what he did. How could anyone look at Labrys and not see the soul of a beautiful girl in front of them? She had spent so long missing her family...me...and my sister.
"Alright, I think we can arrange it this way," Mitsuru smiled. "I know that the Kirijo Group has wronged you in the past, Labrys. I hope that over time you can see that I'm doing my best to change all of that. So, it's a name that not just me but all of us can be proud of. Even if it's only by fixing one thing at a time."
"I have seen how you have all acted in this incident. I know things are different," Labrys accent might have stuck out a bit more in this case. "If I'm working with Oniisan then I'll be more than willing to see how ya all continue to act."
I know there were a lot of details to discuss but now it was about moving forward. The past about my own life that I hadn't been aware of was now here for me to face. I had a Mechanical Maiden as a younger sister and my older sister was now out there for me to find. The events of the coma may be linked to the appearance of my Shadow appearing only to me and maybe that same Shadow using the events set forth by Kagutsuchi to control even more Shadows. Was it all connected or was it just leaps in logic? I guess there was no way to know right now. This whole mess with Kagutsuchi might have been ended but it seemed like the fight with Shadows was hardly over. I guess my Persona Benzaiten and I would just have to be ready for whatever would come up next.
A/N:
So...where do I even start with what happened here? I guess lets start with the fact that we have finished the fighting games arc. Ultimax is over and now things are going to be a bit different. Obviously there was a lot of differences over what happens in the games so I'm going to talk briefly with what those changes are...if only for the benefit of those that haven't played it.
The game has you face against Hi-no-Kagutsuchi on your own. Makes sense after all its a fighting game and you can't have like four of them fighting him at once. Which he works like a big screen filling boss much like the big Marvel Vs Capcom bosses when you reach the end of those campaigns in most cases. Either way it just wasn't something I felt made any sense in terms of this story. The game split it into two sides and basically tells two different stories depending on if you choose the P4 side or the P3 side. It does offer a lot of information you can only get if you play both sides to fully understand what is going on but considering my story is meant to focus on the Persona 4 crew and Kayane I pulled the majority from it but I did split up characters differently and changed fights to go with the bigger over arching story that is slowly beginning to reveal itself here. So lets go back to the differences here.
In the game Yu faces Sho but in the end Sho gets away to fight another day as it were in both endings on the P4 side. With Kayane in the mix I couldn't let that happen. Kayane just doesn't have the same mentality as most of the P4 crew...he knows that sometimes you need help to truly get over something. Plus I can't stand loose threads. So in this instance we do a couple things...Kayane learns the skill in which the fic is named after, Last Symphony, and Sho is taken under custody and given to the Shadow Operatives. He believes that doing this is the best way to truly help Sho deal with what he had to face as a child. We'll likely check in and see how Sho is doing at some point down the road.
The other change was that the big fight had six people against Hi-no-Kagutsuchi...don't know why I split this from when I brought it up a couple paragraphs ago but here it is. I just thought it was a bit crazy how much Yu fights to take on a fight of that magnitude on his own. And plus I wanted Rise and the other girls have a moment to bond together and mostly it was because out of everyone they were the ones that hadn't been in as many fights or gotten injured in some way up to that point. I probably could have had others but having Rise work with Labrys, Hamuko, Kana, and Yukari was kind of something I just wanted to happen. All of them are important in one way or another not to just Rise but Kayane as well. Although we haven't seen too much of Yukari...as a matter of fact I think her toddler Kokoro has been in more scene than Yukari at this point, haha. That will likely change here in the future.
The epilogue here is naturally different. Obviously there is still a threat and now they are starting to connect past events and finding that it might all these events that have happened might be more connected than they all realized. Then again solving the murders and everything else has consistently placed these odd complications and conflicts on the back burner. All of that now has been brought up and the possibility of it all being connected has been brought up...even with Hamuko suggesting a possible suspect. Well I'll leave the speculation as to what it could be to you guys. Lets talk about whats coming up now.
With Ultimax and Arena behind us...we only have Dancing All Night to cover but it will have significant changes to how that story will play out and some of that has already been foreshadowed. You'll be getting a reminder of it in the next coming chapters but we aren't going to go straight into Dancing All Night. We have other things to get to. Next chapter will be a bit of a change of pace. Exactly how will it change? Well I'm hoping to get you the next chapter sooner than later. Considering I broke my schedule and took so long to deliver this chapter I'm hoping to make it up to you guys very soon.
Thanks for reading and sticking with me for so long. I've broken 100 followers now for Last Symphony, which is really awesome. I'm so grateful to you guys for checking out my small corner of the internet and taking time to read my ridiculously long story to follow the adventures of Kayane and his relationship with Rise. Lots of things were sorta teased here so let me know what you think of this development...maybe what you think will happen next. So please leave a review, I greatly appreciate all of your support.
See you all soon in the next chapter.
