Chapter 36
Good Old Pals
June ?; 2021; ?
Mirror Dimension; Niflheim, Floor ?
(?)
Yuriko was stumbling around the corridors by herself; half scared to death, half asleep. For God knows how long, she had been walking around trying to hide from the weird reddish-black globs on the floor. Thank goodness there were plenty of hiding spots around her, even some rooms that were devoid of any of the monsters, but they didn't seem to have an exit out. Not only that, but she somehow couldn't go down the stairs. So, with no choice left, she kept on going up.
After what seemed like the millionth time that she dive-rolled behind a pillar, she sat down and took a deep breath for the nerves.
"Jesus, what did I do to deserve this?", she said to herself.
"I think you already know the answer", a voice called out to her.
She jumped a little bit and turned around. Nothing was in sight nor in ear-shot. Yuriko ducked back behind the pillar.
"Oh great, now I'm hearing voices."
"Um, yeah. This is just a voice inside your head. Ooh, creepy voice."
Yuriko rolled her eyes and got up to move.
"Take a right; There's nothing there", the voice said.
Feeling skeptical, Yuriko scooted up to the corner and checked. Sure enough, there wasn't anything in sight.
"Huh, so I am turning crazy after all. Thanks, whoever you are."
"Don't mention it."
June 9, 2021; Sunday
Mirror Dimension; Niflheim, Floor 49
"Crap! She's gone further up!", Yoichi said after blinking out of 'map mode'.
Kazuhiko sighed as he started to move up the stairs. Of course, the one day that they had for themselves, Yuriko wouldn't stop being a good amount of floors away.
"This isn't good", Daichi said.
"The further you go up these steps, the more serious you become about taking your life. At this rate, she'll speed up the process by a week."
"And the last thing we need is a shorter deadline. Say, didn't I say not to jinx it?", Loki said to everyone.
Skadi shook her head.
"No, I believe we said that there would be no obstacle in our way. And I don't see anything."
"Hold up, guys, she stopped at floor 60", Yoichi said.
"Finally!", Loki said as he ran ahead.
"Well then, I'm gonna go ahead and scout out the area."
"Loki, I don't believe that is a go-", Mimir started before Hildr stopped him.
"Don't say it yet. I need something positive for today", Hildr spoke with a grizzled voice.
"Wait, what? What are you talking abo-"
*CRASH*
Loki suddenly fell back and hit the ground, seemingly running into an invisible wall.
"And I am good for the day."
"Um, Iselin? You okay?", Mikan asked the Norwegian girl who looked a little ticked off.
"Hm? Oh, it's nothing. Just on my time, y'know?"
"Ah"
The group walked over to Loki on the ground.
"What did I tell you? What the HELL did I tell you all?!"
Johei sighed as he helped him off the ground.
"Another one of these things, huh? Man they get so annoying."
"And they're a nuisance to get rid of", Kazuhiko said, nodding his head in agreement.
"I expected you all to be here yesterday", a voice called out from the other side of the hall.
Everyone jumped at the sound and looked at two hooded figures.
"Well, I guess we can make do with this. Jujunna."
"At once."
The figure on the right unsheathed a long combat knife and made towards them.
"Guys! Keep your guard up!", Kazuhiko yelled.
The one named Jujunna ran towards Johei, quickly breaking through the reach of his spear. He made a horizontal slash towards his stomach, but Johei quickly dodged back and swung his spear in a downward arc, only for it to stop on the knife.
"Fast, but not enough strength. Not even worth more time."
With lightning fast reflexes, Jujunna grabbed the spear shaft and pulled Johei towards him, sending a left haymaker towards his head. Poor Johei was sent a few feet away from his stance before landing on the ground, unconcious.
"Shit", Daichi said as he poised ready to strike with his rapier.
He sent a straight thrust towards the attacker, but the blow was deflected to the side.
"Duck!", Mikan yelled as she readied Skadi.
Daichi, knowing by pure instinct, hit the deck, narrowly avoiding the slash of the knife while giving Mikan a clear shot.
"Bufula!"
"Agidyne!", the other man said as he sent an intense whirlwind of flame to counter the effects of the freezing wind.
*TSS*
"Ah!", Mikan shrieked as she held on the part of her arm where the flame had singed her flesh.
Daichi tried a sweeping kick from where he was, but Jujunna quickly stomped on his leg, clearly breaking the bones. The sound of them breaking underneath the weight of the Harbinger's foot was already painful to hear, let alone experiencing the physical pain.
"HGH!"
By some super-human strength, Daichi was able to pick himself up and try a diagonal slash. Jujunna easily blocked it and shot his hand towards the red-haired boy's throat. Daichi didn't struggle when he was picked up and kept his hands behind him.
"Look out you fool!", the mage Harbinger yelled at his comrade.
Jujunna looked at his feet and noticed a whirlwind of paper charms flying around him. Not only that, but there was also a permeating darkness gathering around him at the same time
"Hama and Mudo at the same time. Dodge this, asshole", Daichi said through his teeth.
Hugin and Munin had finished charging before releasing the attack until Jujunna threw Daichi and jumped out of the way. The attack had grazed his left thigh, but he didn't seem to be affected by the damage.
"Two to go."
Jujunna started making his way to Kazuhiko before he heard a yell.
"HAAAA!"
He turned to meet the full force of Iselin punching him in the face and sending him flying for 20 feet. Iselin rubbed her knuckles and continued to look pissed off.
"I did NOT want to deal with this kind of shit today!"
"Maybe we should do something for her when we get back?", Tyr suggested.
"Why? For saving our lives or to calm her down so she doesn't punch us?"
"Both"
Jujunna looked like he had lost his cool.
"Alright, you're really asking for it you bi-"
"No, I think we've done enough", his comrade said with a raised hand.
Kazuhiko went to check the others.
"Sorry, Tyr, I'm gonna have to switch you out. Hestia"
"Right away. Soothing Warmth."
The group started to come around until they faced the two hooded Harbingers.
"Alright, I'm ready for round two!", Johei said, poised to strike.
"There is no need", the mage said.
"By all means, you may attack us, but it wouldn't end in the best of ways for you."
Johei bit back a few curses, but otherwise lowered his spear.
"First order of business! My name is Kokatsuna, but you may call me Kokatsu."
He waved his hand at his comrade.
"This, as I believe you may have heard, is Jujunna. He prefers to be called Junn. Now that that's out of the way", Kokatsu continued.
"Second order. You may realize that this barrier is quite similar to one that you have faced in the past. Worry not, this one requires only a password."
"Is that so? Then I guess we'll just keep saying random things to it", Loki said.
"Let's see, what's a good one? Oh! How about 'Panties'?"
*BZZT*
"AH!"
Loki was suddenly shocked by lightning. Skadi shook her head as she helped him up.
"Honestly, why do you even do this?"
"Well then, it seems like you'll need a hint", Kokatsu said.
"You… you were just waiting for that to happen, weren't you?", Loki said as he got up to his feet, a few dead pixels sputtering in and out of existence.
"Yes, yes I was. Anyways, here's what you need: The names of her two best friends."
Kazuhiko raised an eyebrow.
"Any particular reason as to why that specific answer?", he asked.
"Oh no reason really, but if you want to understand her struggle, I suggest you find the answer soon."
He gestured to Junn and they both turned around.
"Farewell, SPT. That is what you call yourselves, no? We shall see each other in the near future."
(Afternoon)
Nuzoko Mall Center; Cafe
"Man, he was so annoying!", Iselin said after she demolished a blueberry muffin.
The group decided to finish their excursion and try to calm Iselin down from her rage. Sure enough, the muffins took a few minutes to take effect.
"So, you guys have any ideas?", Yoichi asked.
"I checked the internet, but Yuriko doesn't show up much."
"I don't think we'll find much in the real world either", Tyr said.
"She doesn't seem to interact with anyone. I really doubt she has any friends."
"And all of a sudden this feels like Mission Im-freaking-possible", Johei said.
He sipped his coffee and let out a deep sigh.
"I'm so glad they brought some LeBlanc coffee here. It just makes everything so much better."
Everyone agreed with a nod of their heads before returning to the topic.
"Still, school is our best bet for now until we find out where she lives", Mikan said.
"Yeah, and how are we gonna find out where she's staying?"
"If you get me close enough to the teachers' computers, I can bypass the security and access some of her files", Mimir said.
"Wait wait wait, can you clean up computers?", Loki asked.
"Shouldn't be too much trouble", Mimir said
"Why do you ask?"
"Um, hold on, Johei can I see your phone?"
Johei skeptically gave the trickster his phone who, in turn, showed it to Mimir.
"So, um, I was just browsing until the phone said I had a virus. Can you do a quick cleanup?"
"Hold on a second, what were you doing on my phone?", Johei asked.
"Ask yourself the same question. I am you after all."
"Alright, just hold it for a little bit and I'll… what the hell? Oh GOD! WHAT THE SHIT IS THIS?! AAUGH! I CAN'T PAUSE IT!"
"Mimir? What's wrong?", Yoichi asked.
He changed to his Persona's view and quickly recoiled.
"Oh, uh, Johei, um, I didn't know you were into this kind of stuff."
"Jesus Christ, I was just curious on that last one. It's not like I'm into Yaoi or anything!", Loki quickly said.
Everyone stared at the two and scooted away from them; That is, everyone except for Iselin and Hildr.
"Let me see that. Wow, Johei, you got good taste", Iselin said as she watched the screen of Johei's phone.
"Although it is quite more erotic than what Iselin usually sees", Hildr commented.
"Hold on a second, I think I just went partially deaf for a moment. You actually watch this stuff?!", Johei said to Iselin.
"Well, let's just say that it's a big fantasy of a lot of girls in my dorm."
"Let's not", Daichi said as he scooted away from Iselin.
The group continued to talk over strategy, then eventually changed to a casual conversation until they decided to take off for the day.
(Evening)
Matsuhito Hotel; Lobby
Kazuhiko walked through the doorway and bumped into a certain someone.
"Yo! Kazuhiko-kun! How ya doin'?"
Ichiwa was pushing a luggage cart and positioned himself next to Kazuhiko.
"I'm doing pretty well. Any mistakes that you just made?"
Ichiwa laughed nervously.
"No, surprisingly. Huh, maybe today's my lucky day!"
Kazuhiko gave him a sideways smile and stopped at the front desk. He picked up the check-in sheet and signed his name as well as the current time. He made for the elevator until he heard a familiar voice.
"Boy! You've got a family of twelve's luggage ready for you when you clear that rack!", Takai said.
"Yes sir, Takai-sensei!", Ichiwa replied as he pulled the luggage cart into the elevator.
"The hotel sure seems to be understaffed these couple of days", Tyr pointed out.
"Well, they're usually part-timers in High-school. Besides, nobody seems to have the time to work late."
"Except for you."
Kazuhiko thought for a moment before replying.
"Yeah, I guess you're right. And I might as well get a job for extra funding; We only go to Niflheim for rescues and training."
Kazuhiko rang the bell for the front desk and Takai came up to him.
"Ah, Mr. Sukima. How can I help you?"
"I see that you're a bit understaffed at the moment. Mind if I pitch in?"
Takai raised an eyebrow at his offer.
"Well, what makes you want to work here?"
"I've been looking for a part time job for some spending cash; It is the city after all."
"Hmm… ", Takai thought to himself as he skimmed the employee records on the computer.
"I'm most in need of some bellboys and your grades are in good condition, so I'll tell you what."
"Since you're a resident here and you want to work, I'll let you decide your own hours; Don't need to work at all during the week if you don't feel like it. Plus, if you see Kawahara working by himself at any time, help him out. I don't want him to break something again and paying a compensation fee to the customers. Deal?"
"Deal", Kazuhiko said with an affirming nod.
"Good! I'll have someone send a uniform to your room and you can start whenever you want."
Kazuhiko went back to the elevator and retired to his room.
Kazuhiko's Room
"Just like that?!"
Kazuhiko nodded when Ichiwa asked him about the interview. The bellboy was sent to drop off the uniform at his room and decided to stop for a little break.
"Yeah, no formal background check or whatnot and he just hired me then and there."
"Wow, he must really trust you", Ichiwa said.
Kazuhiko looked over his uniform. It was a standard bellboy uniform, red with bronze buttons, a cap, and white gloves.
"But man, I can hardly believe that he's that desperate for work. He's usually a stickler for the rules."
Ichiwa made his way to the door.
"Well then, I'll go back to my shift. Check in with me if you want to work for the day, alright?"
Kazuhiko nodded.
"Alright, got it Ichiwa-san."
"Call me Ichiwa; We're working together, after all!"
After the door closed, Kazuhiko put his uniform into the closet and decided to wash of the sweat of the day's work in the shower.
Tower Arcana Rank Up! Level 2!
June 10, 2021; Monday
First-years classroom
(Lunchtime)
"Are you sure she doesn't have any friends?", Kazuhiko asked.
Ms. Kimura shook her head.
"I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about her. She hardly speaks in class, let alone to anyone else."
After thanking her, Kazuhiko walked out of the classroom to face everyone else.
"No dice?", Loki asked.
Kazuhiko shook his head sadly.
"We've hit a dead-end here. How about the student records?"
"I've got her address, but it's kinda far from here. We'll have to take the subway there, but it's not one of the student tracks so we'll have to pay a fare", Yoichi said.
"Not a problem, I'll cover everyone", Kazuhiko said as he checked his wallet contents.
"I did find something interesting, though", Mimir suddenly stated.
"Checking the student status history, I found that she had changed her sexuality a few years ago; During junior high."
Mikan raised her eyebrow.
"Maybe something happened to her then that made change?"
"Also, during the same year, it seems that her grades were dropped down. She had to repeat a year, but it was a bit strange considering she skipped a grade."
"What? She jumped a whole grade?", Johei asked.
Mimir nodded.
"I checked around for headlines, but nothing popped up."
"Something to take note of, then", Daichi said as he scratched his chin.
"Well, let's head back to class. Rendezvous afterschool and we'll hit up her place."
(Afternoon)
Yuriko's House
*ding* *dong*
Nobody came to answer the door. Kazuhiko looked behind him and everyone shrugged. Sighing, he rang the doorbell again.
*ding* *dong*
Again, nothing happened.
"I guess nobody's home?", Johei suggested.
"The driveways empty and Yuriko's in the Mirror Dimension. Nobody would be home with those standards", Skadi said.
"Well, what do we do now?", Mikan asked.
"We don't have enough time to wait for her parents to come back."
Everyone stared at each other until Daichi sighed.
"I wish I didn't have to do this, but we don't have a choice", Daichi made his way to the door. "Hugin, do you have it?"
The white crow nodded.
"Absolutely! I most certainly have it! I would dare say that I have had it all my life! Nay, all of my existe-"
"Just give me the lockpick!"
"He doesn't have it", Munin replied.
"Brother! How could you betray me like that?!"
"It was taken by a thief in the morning. We shall pay recompense!"
Daichi groaned and turned to the girls.
"Senpai, do you have a hairpin you wouldn't mind doing without?"
Mikan handed him a hairpin and he went to work on the lock. A minute later, there was a clicking sound and the door opened.
"Wait wait wait, isn't this breaking and entering?", a frantic Yoichi asked.
"Yes, indeed it is, Yoichi-san. According to the government constitution, there are 15 more felonies possible , should we continue. Would you like to hear them?"
"Shut up, Encyclopedia Brown, we've got work to do", Loki said.
Everyone walked inside the house and, much to Yoichi's relief, there were no security appliances.
"So, what should we look for?", Johei asked.
"Anything that has Yuriko-san and two other people", Kazuhiko replied.
"I found something!", Munin quickly said.
"Really? That was fast", Kazuhiko said.
Munin came back with a picture in his beak. In it was Yuriko with a man and a woman on either side of her.
"This is her parents", Kazuhiko told the black crow.
"I see… "
"What about this?", Hugin asked.
Kazuhiko looked at Hugin's picture and sighed.
"These are the same people."
"No they're not. Look, it's a different person!"
"Hugin, they just switched sides. They're the same people."
Sighing, he went back to searching the photo albums.
"Hm? That's curious", Tyr said.
"What?"
Tyr came back to the ground floor and held something in his hand.
"This photo; She's with two other people."
Kazuhiko took the photo and looked at it. In the picture, there was a boy and a girl on either side of Yuriko that looked around her age; They were all smiling and having their arms over each other. The girl, Kazuhiko had no idea who it was. The boy however…
"That guy looks a bit familiar; I can't put my finger on it, though," Kazuhiko said.
He called everyone over to the stairs and showed them the picture.
"This guy ring a bell?", he asked them, but everyone shook their head.
Sighing, he told everyone to keep looking.
"I've checked everywhere, but we can't find anything!", Johei said as he set down another photo album.
Kazuhiko, however, was still sitting at the staircase, staring at the photo.
"I swear I've seen this guy before, but where?", he said to himself.
Sighing, he turned it around, as if searching for a clue. To his surprise, there was writing on it.
"Huh, Yuriko Ikebukoro, Hikari Amano, huh, must be the girl. As for the guy... "
Kazuhiko stared at the boy's name, not believing his eyes.
"Guys! Get over here, quick!"
Everyone rushed to the staircase to see what happened.
"Kaz! What's going on?"
"Here, this is the name of the guy", Kazuhiko said as he passed the photo around.
"What?!"
"No freakin' way!"
"That's him?"
Suddenly, the door swung open.
"Huh, the doors unlocked, honey? Did you forget to lock when we left?"
Everyone turned to the direction of the voice.
"... oh shit."
Aaaaaaaand we are back! Sorry for the late post, I have no excuses. You guys saw what's coming up at E3? So many to choose from, but Square Enix is finally making Kingdom Hearts III! No more beating around with bush with Kingdom Hearts 2.999999 and so on! Square Enix has not become Valve! Anyways, I hope you all are having a wonderful week. So who is the boy in the picture? How is the SPT gonna make it out of this mess? Wait until next week to find out. Read, review, follow, or favorite this story if you haven't already! And if you're an artist, please follow my Google+ page for this story. If it's not too much trouble, can someone post some fanart of the characters? You don't have to, but I suck at art. Anyways, here's the short story. See ya!
What It Means To Be a Game
"Brothers! Sisters! Whatever you are, hear my cry now!"
"We are mocked for our immaturity, criticized for our violence, even shunned for our effects on health!"
"But shall we stand for this? No!"
"We shall face those critics head on! We shall ready ourselves for the battle and fight!"
"Because it does not matter what game we are, be it the bloodiest Mortal Kombat or the most innocent Harvest Moon, we are all family in this world!"
"So raise your laser-katana! Embrace the sun! Tear off your mask and summon your Persona! For tonight, we will show every single one of them!"
"We do it not only for that one special person or the entire world. We don't fight just merely to be greatest in the world, nay the universe, nay the entire city!"
"What connects us all is that we know that this isn't just a game to us! It is our entire world! And we will not let them take that from us!"
"Now, CHAAAAAAAAAAAARGE!"
"Johei, what the heck are you doing?", Kazuhiko asked.
"Trust me, dude! We're gonna be a game some day! I can feel it!"
"But, really? We're in the middle of a meeting."
"Fine, killjoy"
So happy for E3!
