Okay, I'll save the authors notes for later. Enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 12
Hisashi Echihiro
(After noon)
April 9, 2021
Shinya Kubo Park
1:42PM
Kazuhiko was sitting at a bench in the park while checking his phone for text messages. Unfortunately, there were none, so the only explanations that his friends hadn't shown up yet was either because they weren't showing up at all, or they were late.
"sigh, See them anywhere, Tyr?" Kazuhiko asked his Persona.
Tyr nodded as he took in their surroundings.
"No, unfortunately. Are you sure they said to be here at this time?"
Kazuhiko opened up the text that Johei sent and saw Mikan's response.
"Yep, it says to meet at the Shinya Kubo Park at 1:30. Unless they wanted to meet this morning, something is up."
Kazuhiko watched some children play at the pond while Tyr took a liking to a plaque.
"Say, Kazuhiko, what's this?"
Kazuhiko turned and saw Tyr admiring a statue of a military officer. The statue was made of bronze and was standing on a stone column with a plaque on it. It read, "In memory of Shinya Kubo; An honorable veteran and a loving father".
"I think it's a memorial of those who served in the military. He must have died doing something honorable on the field."
Tyr nodded.
"I see. An honorable veteran, hm? You said before that people are remembered for what they did, correct?"
"Yeah, if you did something good, you would be praised for it even after your death."
Tyr nodded again.
"I wonder what they think of me now…"
Kazuhiko raised an eyebrow.
"Who are, they?" He asked.
Tyr snapped back into reality and shook his head.
"It's nothing. Oh, here they are!" Tyr said as he pointed to two people walking down the pavement.
Sure enough, Mikan and Johei were making their way to Kazuhiko and Tyr, along with Loki and Skadi. Johei greeted Kazuhiko.
"Sup, Kaz? You ready to go?"
Kazuhiko nodded.
"Yep, but where are we going exactly?"
Mikan fidgeted a bit while Johei scratched the back of his neck.
"Well, we had plans of either going or the arcade or doing karaoke. I didn't know what we should do and neither could Mikan, so we need you to decide."
Kazuhiko looked back at both of them. Johei did sound earnest, but it seemed as if they were on opposite sides of the debate. Johei waqs scratching the back of his neck; he would do that or scratch the back of his head if he were lying. Mikan was fidgeting so she was unsure about this as well. Johei obviously chose the arcade leaving Mikan choosing the karaoke. He could give three answers at the moment, two of them would favor one over the other whereas one would leave the other slightly disappointed. He could either choose to go to the arcade with Johei, go for some karaoke with Mikan, or …
"You guys couldn't decide? Why didn't you do a coin flip or something?"
Johei and Mikan immediately deadpanned and felt a slight breeze pass them by. The thought obviously never occurred to them.
"Well … I have a ten yen coin in my wallet..." Mikan said as she pulled the coin out.
They flipped the coin, which landed on heads. Mikan smiled as Johei sighed.
"Luck just isn't on my side is it?" Johei said as they headed for the Mall.
Nuzoko Mall District, Karaoke Bar
"AND IIIiIIIiIII WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOUUUUUUUU!" Johei screeched into the microphone.
Mikan held her hands to her ears as did Skadi and Loki. Kazuhiko, knowing the procedures of karaoke, quickly bought a pair of soundproof headphones from the closest electronics store. Tyr seemed fascinated by Johei's singing.
"Such an elaborate battle cry! With this tremendous force, we can ensure that shadows within a mile will run in fear!" Tyr said.
The song finally ended as Johei put the microphone back on the stand. He gave his friends a look that clearly spelled, 'I told you so'. Kazuhiko took off his headphones with relief and called the service for an order of Melon Sodas. Mikan rubbed her ears.
"I think I need to get my ears checked after this; They're still ringing."
Johei rolled his eyes and sat back on the couch. Loki's monitor face showed a mute speaker which then turned to his normal face.
"Man, the perks of having a body like a computer."Loki said.
A waiter came by, set the drinks on their table and left them to their business. Kazuhiko picked up his glass and took a sip from it while everybody else did likewise.
"Man, that hit the spot!" Johei exclaimed as he put down his glass.
Mikan nodded in agreement as she too put her glass back on the table.
"So, now that we've had enough singing for the time being," Johei started, "Why don't we talk about our current problem?"
Mikan followed him up.
"You're right. After we found Niflheim, we should explore it to see if we can get to the bottom of those incidents."
Kazuhiko nodded.
"Daichi did say that it was too dangerous for him to explore by himself, especially since he doesn't have a Persona."
Johei looked at Kazuhiko with a confused look.
"Daichi? Who's that?"
"Oh, that's the kid that Hayabusa's based off of so he wanted to be called that. He didn't want to make us think of him as another shadow."
Mikan nodded.
"I see. He really feels like he's not accepted by anyone is he? A shadow that fights other shadows, but isn't human, it's like he doesn't belong anywhere."
The mood began to fall as they all felt remorseful for their friend on the other side.
"Geez, he's got it tough." Johei said.
There was a ring from the phone and Kazuhiko picked it up.
"Yes?… Oh, alright… We'll leave now."
Kazuhiko hung up the phone.
"That was the front desk. The said our time's up."
Mikan nodded as she got up. Johei downed his drink as fast as he could and walked out.
"Ahhhhh, brain freeze!" Johei said as Kazuhiko held the door open for him. The Personas followed their partners, all except for Loki.
"Loki, is there a problem?" Tyr asked when he noticed the Loki hadn't moved from the spot he was at.
"… "
Loki didn't reply.
"sigh"
Tyr floated to where Loki was and waved a hand in front of his face.
"Loki?" Tyr asked.
He then saw the screen. Johei walked back inside.
"Hey, Loki, you coming?"
Johei looked at screen and realized what happened.
"Oh, he's freezing."
(After noon)
4:02 PM
Nuzoko Station
The gang waited for the train to stop while they made small talk.
"So, how did you think you did on the test, Mika-senpai?"
Mikan smiled as she recalled her answers.
"I think I did well enough to get a top ten spot. What about you two?"
"I think I … did okay… " Johei answered, his voice lacking the enthusiasm that Mikan had.
"I'm probably in the top ten as well. The questions were pretty simple." Kazuhiko said.
"Speak for yourself, Kaz! At least you got to have some proficient studying time! I was having enough trouble keeping my mind off of what you two did to me on Sunday!"
"Johei, Johei, Johei. Did you really think that your grade would have changed in a negative way? The way I see it, it couldn't get any lower!" Loki said.
"Shut up!" Johei yelled as he pointed his finger at Loki.
Several people stared at him as he pointed his finger at thin air.
"Right… Man I really need to work on ignoring you." Johei groaned as he tried to look as normal as possible.
"Say, what do you think we'll find in Niflheim? I mean, there are a bunch of awakened shadows there, right? Shouldn't we be worried if we're not able to defeat the weakest one?" Mikan asked.
Kazuhiko frowned when he remembered the shadow that they fought in front of Niflheim. There was no chance of them surviving if they ran into a shadow that was stronger. If only they could get stronger themselves.
"Oh, wait. I think I know how to solve that." Kazuhiko said.
He walked to the Velvet Room door and beckoned his friend to follow him.
"..."
"..."
Mikan and Johei stared at him as if he was losing his mind.
"Uh, Kaz, I know that we can see Personas now and everybody else can't but what you're pointing at isn't there." Johei said.
"Are you sure you're okay? How many fingers am I holding up?" Mikan said as she held up her hand.
Kazuhiko stared back at them.
"I don't think they can see it, Kazuhiko." Tyr whispered to him.
Kazuhiko remembered how Igor said something about him being a holder of the Wild Card.
"Oh, never mind. I'll be right back."
Mikan and Johei's POV
"Whoa, where'd he go?" Johei exclaimed.
Apparently, Mikan and Johei just saw Kazuhiko walk normally and suddenly disappear.
"He… just vanished… " Mikan said, dumbfounded.
They waited for several minutes until Kazuhiko appeared out of nowhere.
"Sorry for the wait guys. Just got a new Persona. Niflheim's got nothing on us now!"
"O… kay?"
Mikan rubbed her eyes and opened them again, as if she had something in her eye. Johei, who felt it best not to ask, walked into the subway cart. The three/six took their seats as they talked amongst each other. Tyr looked strangely relieved.
"Thank Odin, you finally got rid of him." Tyr said.
"Yeah, well I fused him to get another Persona. You remember how I got his brothers?" Kazuhiiko asked.
Tyr sighed as he remembered Jack Frost and Jack the Ripper; He had to endure long nights of 'hee-hoos' and horrible puns.
"Where are you going with this?" Tyr asked.
"Well, I kinda fused them all together and got something that might be less to bear, but still a handful." Kazuhiko said.
"I'll just take a look for myself." Tyr said as he disappeared into Kazuhiko's head.
"I do believe that some renovations are in order. Where is the throne room? The grand hall? Is there any place fit for my royal behalf?" King Frost said.
"Oh no."
Back in Reality
"Well, at least he doesn't make bad puns." Kazuhiko reasoned, but he knew that his situation wasn't getting any better.
"He looked kinda strong so I just went with it."
Tyr pressed his palms on his face as he writhed in agony.
The subway cart stopped and the three got off. Johei and Loki walked off to their home while Mikan and Kazuhiko walked in the opposite direction. Kazuhiko's mind drifted for a while, trying to find a topic for a conversation.
"Mika-senpai, you said before that something happened to a person that protected you. Who was that person?"
Mikan sadly nodded.
"You remembered, huh? Well, I guess there's no point in avoiding the subject. That person was my older brother."
This was a first for Kazuhiko; He never knew Mikan had a brother, let alone any siblings, he might have been sure that Johei never knew about this either.
"He protected more than once before. He was always kind and supportive about what I did, but when I was forced into that affair, he could never allow that to happen… "
Mikan closed her eyes and hung her head. Tears started to well up at her eyes. Images flashed before her. Kazuhiko decided that he shouldn't press on the subject anymore.
"Well, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to Mika-senpai."
They stopped in front of her house while they sat on the front porch. Mikan was struggling to keep her tears from falling while Kazuhiko was next to her, lending her his shoulder to cry into. Tyr and Skadi watched from a distance.
"She really does relate to you in many ways, doesn't she Skadi?" Tyr asked.
Skadi remained silent as she watched Mikan. She wasn't the original Skadi; that one had died many ages before, but she retained memories from the original one. Those memories were painful; the gods had killed her father and she was promised a husband who was later killed as well. It was as if she was dead weight, useless.
"Yes, she does."
Mikan had finally wiped her tears away as she walked back inside.
"I'm sorry Kazuhiko. You didn't have to stay there for me but I very much appreciated your company." Mikan said as she looked back at him through the doorway.
Kazuhiko shook his head.
"You don't have to apologize, senpai. I was willing to do that. Take care." Kazuhiko said as he walked back to the hotel.
Mikan waved as Kazuhiko turned around the corner. When he was out of sight, Mikan walked back inside with Skadi in tow.
"So, what happened to him?" Skadi asked.
Mikan sighed as she went to her room.
"Sorry if I seem rude, but I really don't want to talk about it." Mikan said.
She sat at her desk and pulled out her homework. She answered some questions while Skadi watched her.
"I have had the same problems that you had. Believe me, talking to someone who has the same experience helps."
Mikan stopped for a moment, then she set her pencil down. She leaned back in her chair and held the bridge of her nose with her thumb and index finger.
"Alright… that pervert teacher pulled me into his car… "
Flashback
"I believe this means we are in an agreement?" Mr. Damosaba asked.
Mikan nodded and awaited the teacher to open the side door of his car. He reached for the handle and gestured for her to take a seat. Mikan was trembling, not only was she asked to do this for the first time, but it wouldn't be the last. Mr. Damosaba would hold his end of the promise, but only for so long. She stopped and tried reconsidering her choices. The teacher began to scowl at her.
"You know what you need? Motivation."
Mr. Damosaba reached for his belt and pulled out a snub-nosed revolver, which Mikan took several steps back in shock.
"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you. Your grandparents, let's just say that they won't know what hit 'em if you don't cooperate."
Mikan shuddered. She had no choice now. If she went with him, she could save her grandparents for a few more days. If she left him, she wouldn't have a home to go back to. Life as an orphan child would be difficult; girls always had a better chance of getting out, but that was only for vulgar reasons. The same fate would await her for every decision she would make, but one guaranteed the least amount of people getting hurt.
Slowly, Mikan nodded. Mr. Damosaba smiled.
"Alright then, was that really so hard?"
Mr. Damosaba opened up the door to his red Toyota. Inside, Mikan could see the car cleaned, as if he were asking her out on a date. She ignored this and walked in, but as soon as she put her foot in the doorway…
"Mikan! Don't let that bastard do that to you!"
"Huh?"
Mikan looked back to the front door of her house and saw a boy, just 2 years older than she was, standing on the front porch.
"Hisashi?!"
Mikan panicked and tried to get out of the car but was pushed back in.
"Get back in the car, bitch!" Mr. Damosaba said as he closed the door.
Hisashi ran towards Mr. Damosaba, his fists raised.
"You asshole! You try to force yourself on my sister, you'll die!" Hisashi yelled as he charged.
He was either very brave or he didn't know about the gun that Mr. Damosaba had in his hand. Either way, Mr. Damosaba smirked and held out the revolver.
"I can do whatever the hell I want, kid! Now get the hell outta here before I start to feel less merciful!" Mr. Damosaba said as he aimed the gun at Hisashi.
Aiming the gun at Hisashi only made him even more angry and his speed doubled. Mikan tried to pound through the door, but the teacher held it closed.
Hisashi was now 5 meters away from Mr. Damosaba.
4 meters
3
2…
*BANG*
Mikan screamed as she saw her brother go down on the ground. Mr. Damosaba stepped forward to admire his handiwork. Looking down on Hisashi, the teacher spat on his body and turned to the car, his eyes on Mikan.
"See, this is what happens when you don't do as I say right off the bat. Next time, don't hesitate."
Mikan looked at the body of her brother on the ground and turned away with tears in her eyes. Mr. Damosaba smiled cruelly as he made his way to the car. But before he could reach the driver's door.
"Didn't I say that if you mess with my sister, you'd die?"
Mr. Damosaba's face went pale as he turned around and saw the sandy haired boy standing right behind him. Blood trickled down his shirt where he was shot, but he acted as if nothing happened. He pulled back his fist and sent punch at the speed of sound to the pervert's face.
"Ah! God, son of a bitch!" Mr. Damosaba said as he held his mouth.
A tooth flew out and several others snapped in his skull. He reached for his gun again and tried to aim it at the boy but he soon found it flying from his grip. Startled, Mr. Damosaba tried throwing a punch but it was intercepted by a strong grip on his wrist. Hisashi held onto his wrist tightly, not allowing any movement from it, whereas Mr. Damosaba was writhing in pain.
"Ah… AH!"
*snap*
"AAAAAUUUUUUUGGGHHHH!"
Mr. Damosaba fell to his knees as he held his hand which was broken beyond repair. He continued to scream on his knees, Hisashi in front of him with a neutral look on his face. Hisashi pulled up the monster by his neck and, with one last ounce of strength, threw him to the side of his car knocking him out. Then, Hisashi fell forward.
"Hisashi!"
Mikan finally got the door to open and ran to her brother's side. She turned him around and tried to feel his pulse, but she felt nothing.
"Hisashi… Onii-san… "
Present day
"And that's what happened."
Skadi looked at Mikan with a whole new light. She lost her older brother because of a selfish adult's demands.
"What happened to the man?" Skadi asked.
Mikan sighed.
"I'll never forget him. He tried to sue my family for assault but I was able to make my case as a witness along with proving his history of sexual assault of other female students at Kyuto. He's in a place that he deserves to be in for the rest of his life, but even that won't make me the same again."
Skadi sat down and took in all the information.
"You wish to see your brother again, do you not?" Skadi asked Mikan.
Mikan nodded as she let a few tears slide.
"*sniff* but it's not like I can bring back the dead. He would have wanted me to be happy. I have to strong for him."
Mikan wiped her tears away and stood up from her desk.
"And I should be strong for others as well, including the guys. I can't let myself be a burden to them!"
Mikan walked out of her room with Skadi right behind her.
"What are you going to do?" Skadi asked her.
Mikan walked down the hall and turned to the right and opened a door.
"You know, my brother also was into hunting. Especially bow hunting."
Mikan walked into the room and opened the closet and dug around until she found a quiver full of reinforced arrows.
"He wouldn't mind if I used this. He might have even used this if he found out I was helping those two."
Skadi smiled.
"You know, I always thought that letting weapons stay on display would have been a waste. They were made to see action but never accomplish anything." Skadi noted.
Mikan nodded.
"This is different; This way, he'll always be with us."
Mikan finally found what she had been looking for. It was in an old case, but it still looked as good as new. The limbs were made of light yet strong steel with a hunting scope attached. The body of it was ebony yet shined in the light that came through the window.
"I won't have to rely on others to protect me. I'll protect myself and them."
Skadi smiled as she took more time to admire the custom made bow.
"Your brother would be proud."
So, sorry I'm late guys; I was working on my new fanfiction for High School of the Dead and just released the chapter a little while ago. Thank you for all the support that you guys give me and this fanfiction. If you're into HOTD, try to check out my new fanfic, HOTD: Onslaught. Please give both of them a good review and leave some comments on what you want to see. Just as an after thought, Who is your favorite Persona character of all time? Mine is a tie between Makoto Niijima of Persona 5 and Nanako Dojima from Persona 4. Both have the best social links and are really cute, Nanako because she always calls you big bro and Makoto because of her awkwardness and personality. (I have a feeling either Dojima or Sae will beat me up after reading this). Anyways, I'm making more characters for interviewing so please comment on who you want to interview next. I kinda stole this idea from Persona 4 spd so don't get mad at me if I didn't do it right.
Johei Shiroka: Hey, I'm Johei Shiroka from the Fanfiction spin-off, Persona: One Last Promise.
Junpei Iori: 'Sup? I'm Junpei Iori, the secret weapon of SEES in Persona 3!
Johei: SEES? What's that?
Junpei: Well, in my game, there's this club were people with Personas fight shadows during a hidden 25th hour.
Johei: Oh, in my story, there's a world in the mirror where everything is backwards and looks all messed up and dark.
Junpei: Not too bad. I used a two handed sword to fight in Persona 3 and a baseball bat in Persona 4 Arena Ultimax.
Johei: Oh yeah, now I know who you are.
Junpei: You do?
Johei: Yeah. The creator of this fanfic played P4AU before and highlighted you-
Junpei:Yes? Yes? Go on!
Johei: As one of the worst characters to play as.
Junpei: WHAT?!
Johei: Yeah, he said that your move set was too easy to use and you deal very little damage.
Junpei: Well, at least I was in a game!
Johei: Wow, are you going for a low blow there? Fine, at least I was a social link in my first appearance.
Junpei: Hey! I did appear as a social link.
Johei: When you first appeared?
Junpei: … no, but I was a social link in P3FES!
Johei: Still pretty sad. You're one of the only people who is a playable character and isn't a social link to begin with. Not to mention that you were only brought in by Akihiko Sanada when you were out late at night.
Junpei: Alright, I admit that I didn't have a strong bladder at the time, but at least I'm an official part of Atlus!
Johei: In your reboot, did anybody want to spend time with you because of how interesting the social link was?
Junpei: …
Johei: My point exactly.
Junpei: But hey! You were based off of me!
Johei: What?
In Real life
Dangstaboy: Hm, I wonder what I should have for lunch.
Johei: Hey!
Dangstaboy: Augh!
Johei: Junpei told me that you based me off of him. Is that true?
Dangstaboy: Well, I, um, I, he, what, how, I, well.
Johei: Oh well, you said you wanted something to eat right? Well here you go.
Dangstaboy: Oh, pancakes? Thanks man! I love pancakes.
The author of this fanfiction takes a bite. Why am I referring to myself in the third person?
Dangstaboy: Oh God! Ah! Hughhhh…
Johei: Loki sends his love.
Geez, I wonder how the creators of Deadpool are still alive.
