Chapter 37
June 10, 2021; Monday
Yuriko's House; Living Room
(Afternoon)
"Shit! Hide!", Johei said as he ducked into the hallway.
Kazuhiko started to sweat intensely; Yuriko's parents didn't see them yet, but they blocked the one way out of the house.
"Huh? What happened here?", a male voice said.
He hid in a closet door and quietly closed it.
"Tyr!", he whispered.
"Where's everyone else?"
"Johei, Daichi, and Mikan are around the corner in the hallway. Iselin and Yoichi are hiding in the garage, but Mr. Ikebukoro is headed there!"
Kaz cursed and looked through the gap between the door and the frame.
"Can you check if anyone's outside of the closet?"
Tyr phased through the door and looked both ways before returning.
"You're in the clear. Go!"
Kaz opened the door and shut it behind him while he made his way closer to the door.
"Could you get the garage door open? I need to move the car in."
"Son of a bitch!"
Yoichi and Iselin's POV
"Crap! Did you hear that?!", Iselin said to Yoichi.
Yoichi looked around the garage for a way out, but didn't see anything.
"We're gonna get caught. We'll be arrested and I'll probably get raped in jail."
Iselin gave him a weird look.
"The hell are you talking about? My chances of getting raped are higher than yours!"
"Can we save that topic for later Iselin-san?", Hildr said as she came from through the wall.
"He's coming here!"
Iselin made a quick scan around the room for a place to hide.
"Uh, christmas lights, canned foods, hey! A clothes rack!"
"This isn't the time to be going through clothes!", Yoichi hissed at her.
"Just get in Doctor Strange!"
"Don't call me that!"
Mr. Ikebukoro's POV
"Hm?"
Mr. Ikebukoro looked around the garage. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Shrugging, he pressed the button to open the garage door and went back inside the house.
"I could have sworn I heard something."
Johei, Mikan, and Daichi's POV
"Okay, let's move!", Johei said once Mr. Ikebukoro left for the garage.
"But what about everyone else?", Mikan asked.
"They'll get arrested for trespassing and we'll pick them up from jail one Kaz bails them out with all the Niflheim money he's been keeping."
"I knew you were a cowardly swine!", Skadi said as she pointed an accusing finger at Johei.
"YIPES!"
Johei jumped and staggered back into the open way.
"I could have sworn I heard something", he heard Mr. Ikebukoro say.
"Get back here you idiot!", Daichi said as he grabbed the collar of Johei's shirt.
Mr. Ikebukoro passed by them and soon, Iselin, Yoichi, and Kazuhiko caught up with them.
"It doesn't seem like they'll be going anytime soon", Tyr said.
"So, I'm guessing going by the front door is pretty much suicide?", Loki asked.
"Indefinitely"
"So where else do we go? We can't here; they'll find us eventually!", Johei said.
"What about the back?", Hildr suggested.
"There's a wall blocking us; there's no way out", Daichi replied.
"I've got it!", Hugin suddenly said.
"Me too!", Munin quickly replied.
Everyone turned to the crows.
"What, you know a way out?", Kazuhiko asked.
"What? No! The boy in the picture is Soratsu!", Munin cawed.
Everyone stayed silent for several minutes.
*BOP* *BOP*
"Ow!"
"Hey!"
"Way too late you two!", Daichi said as he hit both of them in the back of the head.
"Wait! Our Persona can carry us over!", Kazuhiko suddenly told everyone.
"We'll wait until we have enough time to get into the back and have them carry us over the wall."
Everyone nodded and waited for the Ikebukoros to go out the front door.
"Now!"
Everyone made a mad dash for the backyard and went to the side.
"Alright, set the groceries right over in the kitchen."
The two adults came back into the house with bags in their hands.
"Now or never, guys!"
The SPT held onto their Persona and leaped onto the wall, running towards the front. Once they touched ground, they ran for the mall as fast as their legs could carry them.
Later…
"That was too close! Way too close!", Johei said.
The group had gathered at their usual table at the cafe. Everyone was panting from all the running and were currently taking a break.
"May I be the first to note, as they say, 'I called it'?", Mimir said to everyone.
"Can it; The important thing is that we got what we were looking for, right Kaz?", Iselin asked their leader.
Kazuhiko nodded and produced the photo for everyone.
"It's hard to believe that Soratsu was Yuriko's friend, though", Mikan pondered.
"I wonder what happened."
"Well now, we have the password to get to the higher floors, don't we?", Johei asked.
"What are we waiting for? Let's head over there tomorrow afte-"
"I want to talk to Ryunosuke-kun about this", Kazuhiko suddenly interrupted.
Everyone looked at him as if he was crazy.
"Why? We already know that he's a horrible male scumbag, isn't that enough?", Skadi said.
"Again! Feminazi! I keep telling you guys!", Loki said to everyone while pointing at Skadi.
"Because I want to get a good grip on the situation before we head in there. Who knows, it might be helpful in our fight."
Johei pondered the idea for a little while.
"Yeah, you've got a point, partner. Alright then, we'll help you talk to him tomorrow."
Everyone left after a few minutes of chatting and finishing their drinks.
Meanwhile…
Ken held his phone and pressed it to his ear while he was at the counter.
"Feminazi! I keep telling you guys!... Who knows, it might be helpful in our fight."
Chuckling, he put the phone away.
"And that is how you track someone, Nanako-chan."
June 18, 2021; Tuesday
Kyuto High, Rooftop
(Lunchtime)
"You see him anywhere, guys?"
"He's not in the courtyards or other rooftops", Johei replied into his phone.
"Oh, wait is that… nope, false alarm", Loki said as he looked over the railing.
Johei sighed and continued looking from the rooftop.
"Is it just me or does this Soratsu guy harder to find than usual? He usually sticks out like a sore thumb."
"Huh, now that you mention it, he doesn't seem like the guy to blend in with the crowd", Johei said after putting down his binoculars.
It made sense, considering the fact that Soratsu didn't wear the standard uniform at all as well as having his hair bleached blonde and his posse of grunts dressed accordingly. Now that he couldn't be found was like lady luck punching them all square in the face.
"Ugh! This is driving me crazy! I wonder how everyone else is doing?"
Mikan and Yoichi POV
"Do you know where Soratsu usually goes?", Mikan asked a bunch of sketchy students hanging around the old building.
"Why hang with Soratsu when I'm already here for you, baby?"
Yoichi frowned.
"Hey, we need to know, it's important!"
The student scratched his chin.
"Well, I'll tell you where he is… for a price."
"Why you!"
Yoichi got ready to punch him, but Mimir held him back
Dangstaboy: Yeah, I'm not sure how he does that
"Yoichi, there's no need to get into a fight", Mimir told him.
Yoichi let out a deep breath and nodded.
"Thanks, Mimir."
"Besides, Mikan already has that covered."
"What?"
Yoichi turned to see Mikan rubbing her knuckles after she beat up the students.
"Alright, now are you ready to talk?"
"Mika-san", Skadi said,
"You knocked them out."
Iselin and Daichi POV
"Why are you wearing those?", Iselin asked Daichi.
"Just a little theory I'm working on", he replied
Daichi was wearing a pair of gag glasses, complete with a nose-cover and mustache.
"All of the girls think I'm really 'cool'. By wearing these, it creates a paradox within their mind that makes them think that I'm not Daichi Amasawa."
Iselin rolled her eyes.
"Sure, like that's gonna work."
"The fact that you think women are that simple makes me lose respect for you", Hildr told him,
"Congratulations, you are now on par with Johei."
Daichi looked hurt behind the glasses, but otherwise continued.
"This is bullshit, look, I'll prove it."
She walked over to a girl and waved hello.
"Hey! See who I'm hanging out with?"
The girl looked at Daichi with a puzzled expression and slowly backed away from Iselin.
"Uh, nice. Good for you."
Iselin was dumb-founded.
"Are you shitting me? It's Daichi! Daichi Amasawa!"
The girl looked at Daichi again and shook her head.
"No, that's definitely not him."
"What makes you so sure?!"
"He's wearing ridiculous glasses; Daichi-dono's too cool to wear that."
Iselin clutched her head angrily while Daichi chuckled.
"Told you so."
Kazuhiko's POV
"Still no word from the others?", Tyr asked.
"Nothing. I'm surprised he hasn't shown up yet."
Kazuhiko checked the last classroom and came up with nothing.
"And he's not here either. Maybe he skipped class?"
"He does seem the type to do so. But for a whole week? It doesn't seem logical."
"Right now, my entire life defies logic; Having some logic from before we met right now would defy my current life's logic. I wouldn't think too hard about it."
Tyr stopped scratching his chin and sighed.
"Well, we should come up with a better plan. Do you have any ideas?"
Kazuhiko walked into his classroom and sat down at his desk.
"Yes… but… no, not that."
Tyr raised an eyebrow.
"What? Any plan is better than the one we have right now."
Kazuhiko shook his head.
"There's a big risk behind it, one I don't want to take."
"Well then, tell it to everyone at our meeting. I'm sure you're the only one who thinks it's a bad plan."
"And a little while later... ", Kazuhiko muttered to himself.
A little while later… literally…
"This is a horrible plan", Tyr said to Kazuhiko.
"Funny how I predicted this would happen", Kazuhiko said.
Everyone was at an outside table in front of Shigure's; It was an open space with nobody around; A perfect place for a private meeting.
"You're right, Kaz, this is really risky", Mikan said.
"But we could win him over! More allies that could help with our cause!", Yoichi reasoned.
"Our probability of success is in the green, we could pull it off with time to spare", Mimir said after making some calculations.
"It'll go against everything that we fought for up to now", Daichi commented.
"Heed Master Daichi's words!", Hugin cawed.
"For they bear great wisdom!", Munin said.
"I really don't know what to do here", Johei commented.
"Sorry, what did I miss?", Iselin asked as she came back to the table.
Kazuhiko sighed as he repeated his plan.
"Alright, so I came to the conclusion that tracking down Ryunosuke-san is a lost cause. But, his reflection might be a different story-"
"So we're going down to the other world to track him down?", Iselin asked
"It seems more trouble than finding him on this side."
"As I was saying", Kazuhiko continued,
"We'll be searching for him in Niflheim. As for getting his reflection there, we're going to be needing some help from our friends the Harbingers."
Iselin raised an eyebrow and thought for a moment until a look of realization dashed across her face.
"You can't be serious… "
Kazuhiko looked at her straight in the eyes.
"I'm dead serious."
Iselin looked towards everyone else with expectant eyes, but they all met her with the same gaze.
"Well then, since everyone's been properly informed", Kaz started,
"I guess we should have a vote. All those that oppose?"
"I'm against it", Mikan said.
"I think it's safe to say that us Persona will vote alongside our users", Skadi commented.
"I will vote no as well."
"Same here", Daichi pitched in,
"Desperate times may call for desperate measures, but I think we're crossing the line here."
"I shall agree with Master Daichi as well!", Hugin said.
"As will I", Munin chirped in.
"You guys count as one", Kazuhiko said,
"It's the only way to keep things fair."
"Crossing the line?!", Johei suddenly asked.
"We've done tons of shit that was borderline crazy! Besides, if he dies, we're doing everyone he's harassed a public service!"
"For once, I actually agree with him; Let's do it", Loki said.
Yoichi sighed as he stood up.
"I don't approve of Johei's ramblings, but I'm with him on this. We'll send a request and rescue him; I don't plan on failing."
"And calculating our past endeavors, we have a high chance of pulling through", Mimir added.
"Four against four I see", Kazuhiko said.
He turned to Iselin, waiting for an answer.
"Well?"
Iselin turned from Kaz to the rest of the group, and then to Hildr.
"I'll stand by you every step of the way", she told her,
"Your wish is my command."
Iselin looked at the table thinking. Finally, she looked up.
"Using that horrible… request was hard to go through the first time. A second… I don't think I can do it."
Kazuhiko sighed and stood up.
"Then I guess we'll skip Soratsu and continue saving Yuriko the-"
"But", Iselin interrupted,
"I'll agree to follow through with the plan provided that you make the request."
Iselin pulled out her phone and handed it to Kazuhiko. Kaz looked surprised and reluctantly took the phone from her.
"I'm the only one who used it so I have the link", she explained.
"I'll give you a day to make a decision".
And with that, everyone agreed to disband and left Kazuhiko alone at the table. Now by himself, Kazuhiko looked down at Iselin's phone; The screen was turned off and he stared at his own reflection.
"*sigh*, Tyr, what should I do?"
Tyr remained silent and shrugged his shoulders. Kaz looked back at the phone until he heard someone clear their throat.
"Excuse me, sir, but are you going to order?"
Later…
Matsuhito Hotel; Kazuhiko's Room
(Evening)
"The disappearance of one Yuriko Ikebukoro has left a family of two worried", the newscaster said.
"She was last seen at Kyuto High on- *bzzt*"
Kazuhiko switched off the TV and looked down on his desk once again.
"Still trying to make a decision?", Tyr asked.
Kazuhiko nodded and leaned back in his chair.
"Can't you help me at all?"
Tyr shook his head.
"I am you; If you are unable to make a decision, then I can't do anything."
Kazuhiko turned back to the phone, weighing his options.
"But, if it helps", Tyr continued.
"I think that we won't fail no matter what decision you make."
Kazuhiko gave his Persona a comforting smile. After giving it some more thought, he stood up.
"Alright, I've made my decision."
He took out his phone and opened the chat room.
Kaz: Hey guys, I've decided
Johei: And?
Iselin: Wut did u desid on?
Daichi: Will you please use proper grammar?
Mikan: Guys, give him some space
Yoichi: Well then?
Kazuhiko: I'm making the request tonight. Tomorrow, we're rescuing him.
June 19, 2021; Wednesday
Mirror Dimension; Niflheim, Floor 49
(Afterschool)
"Hikari Amano and Soratsu Ryunosuke", Kazuhiko spoke.
A faint shattering noise was heard and the barrier broke down. Cautiously, Kazuhiko readied his sword for any surprise attacks. When he found the corridor empty, he let a breath of relief escape from him.
"Yoichi, what floor?"
"He's at the next one; Floor 51", Yoichi replied when he brought up a heads-up display of the dungeon.
The team looked around them and realized that their surroundings were different.
"Say, is it just me or is the air more… hostile?", Johei asked.
Everyone checked their surroundings and noticed that the corridor was slightly different than before.
"You're not wrong there", Iselin replied,
"And did it just get a bit darker?"
Yoichi went to work scanning and soon answered.
"It seems we're in a whole new block of Niflheim. To be exact, Block B."
"Right now, we've got bigger fish to fry", Loki said.
As the team rushed past shadows and, occasionally, took some head on, they started to feel some pressure as they found the stairs. After taking a few deep breaths, Kaz instinctively reached out to the door and pushed it open.
*BANG*
A bullet whizzed past Kazuhiko, narrowingly missing his face by half an inch, and embedded itself into the door with a thud.
"Holy-! Get down!", Iselin said as she ducked behind the stairs.
Kaz looked forward and noticed a lone figure in the middle of the room holding a smoking gun. In a nonchalant manner, the person brought the barrel close to their face and blew away the smoke.
"That was just a warning shot", he said,
"The next one's just beggin' for you."
Kazuhiko became wary of the gun and stood where he was.
"I'm guessing it's safe to say that you're the one who ordered Yuriko-san's suicide, right?"
Soratsu's reflection chuckled as it fiddled with the safety switch.
"And what about it? What's so important? S'not like anyone's gonna miss her."
Johei was about to rush towards him, but Mikan held him back.
"And what gives you the right to be the judge, jury, and executioner?", Kaz pressed on.
He slowly started walking around the room, but the reflection didn't seem to care.
"What I don't get is why you're defending her; She's a menace! Just going around being a pervert; Stealing panties. Honestly, between her and me, she's the more dangerous one."
"This coming from a gang member", Johei shot back.
The reflection now redirected its attention to the prankster.
"You want to know the irony? I actually don't kill people; Hurt them, of course I do, but I never killed someone like she did."
Everyone's eyes grew wide at that.
"Wait, Yuriko killed someone?", Yoichi asked
"But if that's true, why wasn't she arrested? Let alone, why wasn't it in the papers?"
"Because he's lying", Johei said,
"There's no way Yuriko-san would do something like that. There's no evidence of something like that happening in here so he has to be lying, right Loki?"
Loki, however, remained silent.
"... Loki?"
"…"
Johei looked up at his Persona, but the only facial expression that was on the monitor was a loading screen.
"Come on, man, say something. He's gotta be wrong."
"Wouldn't you like to know?", Soratsu's reflection mused.
"Well, I suppose I have no time for that. Time to finish you guys off before you reach her!"
Soratsu aimed his gun at Johei and started to pull the trigger until-
*SHING*
"AUGH!"
Soratsu's reflection held onto its severed hand and glared at Kazuhiko who had took the advantage of moving around the room and his anger focused Johei to close the distance.
"Word of advice next time, don't monologue", he told him.
Soratsu's reflection started to fume with rage as it grew.
"Why you… I'll… I'LL KILL YOU ALL!"
The reflection started to swell up to a larger size, as if he was a balloon being pumped up with lots of air. Then, it reached its climax and caused a large explosion, spraying black shadow gunk everywhere. Everyone looked back once the ooze had finished spewing to reveal a hulking giant before them.
"You all never saw Yuriko the way I did… she deserves to die! If you get in my way at all, then you're sure to suffer the same fate!"
The giant had four arms, the top two each holding a weapon while the bottom two held leashes for…
"Holy shit, are those wyrms?!", Iselin asked in amazement.
"Worms? What are you, blind? Those are dragons", Loki replied.
"Shut up, Windows XP!"
The two dragons were attached to very long chains. They seemed to be quite powerful, but their range was restricted from the leashes. Soratsu had transformed into a frost-colored giant with bright red eyes. In his other hands, he held a double bladed axe and a hammer with a short handle.
"Thunderous Strike!", Soratsu yelled as he held up the hammer and charged it with lightning.
Once thunder had struck the hammer, he smashed it down towards Kazuhiko.
"Tyr!"
"High Counter!"
Tyr blocked the attack and absorbed the lightning damage only to shrug the hammer away and fly up towards Soratsu's face and send a right haymaker to his jaw.
*BAM*
"Hm?"
Tyr looked in confusion as Soratsu took the attack head on. A split second later, Tyr was flying back down to the ground.
"What happened up there?", Kaz asked his Persona.
"Some kind of… barrier; I'm not sure."
Kazuhiko changed his shackles to new ones and summoned Virtue.
"Alright, if physical won't work how about some wind?"
"In the name of the lord Jesus Christ, son of God, Savior of man, I cast Magarula!"
The powerful wind struck Soratsu head-on, but he seemed to not have taken too much damage.
"That all you've got? This'll be easier than I thought it would be. Mighty Swing!"
The giant swung his axe in a wide arc, narrowly missing Johei's head.
"Alright, time for a counter attack!", Johei yelled as he used his spear as a vaulting pole and launched himself into the air.
He poised the spear head down, ready to strike.
"W-wait! Johei sto-!"
*TING*
Johei was sent backwards and feel towards the ground. Yoichi sighed as he continued.
"He's using Shell, a physical defensive skill. We won't make a mark on him with direct attacks."
"He also has an Absorb Lightning as well", Mimir added.
The wyrm dragons started to make their move as they aimed their sights at Iselin, gnashing their teeth. Daichi realized what was happening.
"Iselin, get down!"
He tackled her to the ground as the crow brothers did the same to Hildr.
"Get down, Mr. President!"
"I'm a woman!"
The dragons spat out a glowing green liquid that landed behind the group and started melting the ground.
"What the hell was that?!", Iselin asked as she got back from the ground.
"Wyrm blood", Daichi answered,
"Really acidic; would have melted through you in two seconds."
The team regrouped together behind a pillar to talk strategy while hiding from the giant and his pet dragons.
"Okay, Kaz, idea time! Go!", Johei said.
"I've got nothing yet."
The group waited for a little while longer until Kaz replied after thinking a little more.
"... Still got nothing."
"There you are!"
The giant knocked the pillar to the side and swung his hammer down on the place they were about two seconds ago.
"What do you mean?! You've gotta have something! Masukaja!"
"You just can't rush things like this! The last plan I came up with was so crazy that I'm still not sure it might work!"
The battle continued on with the SPT dodging the several attacks until they were exhausted. For the time being, they decided to try and take out the wyrms to even the odds. Wherever they were hiding, the shadow always seemed to find them.
"That's it! Mikan, freeze the ground!"
Mikan did so and held the dragons in place. Kazuhiko quickly followed up with an Agi gem at their feet.
*HSS*
The intense heat of the fire spell caused the ice to turn into steam which shot into the dragons' nostrils. The team quickly hid under the cover of the makeshift smokescreen while the dragons recovered their sense of smell.
"You can't hide forever! Come on out!"
*THOCK*
"Hm? AH!"
The wyrms suddenly jumped on him and started attacking him, spitting their acidic blood all over him.
"Hey! Down! Off! Get off!"
His pets seemed to intent on attacking him that they didn't even hear a word of his protests. With no other choice, he swiftly removed their heads with his axe.
"Big mistake, shit-head", Iselin said as she stepped out of the hiding spot.
The blood of the now deceased wyrms had spilled onto him, melting through his skin and decomposing the outer shell that he had formed.
"AH! AAAAHHH!"
Johei patted Kazuhiko on the back in congratulations.
"Nice job, partner!"
"Thanks. If they couldn't see anything, they would go straight for their sense of smell. By the way, thank you for your contribution."
Daichi looked annoyed, seeing as how his shirt was first skewered through by Mikan's arrow, but now also melted by the acid.
"Whatever, you guys owe me a new shirt."
"Well then, next time, remember your own deodorant", Johei shot back.
"You took my deodorant yesterday during Gym!"
"..."
Iselin, however, remained silent.
"Uh, Iselin? Are you alright?"
"..."
More silence. Mikan looked in the boys' direction and quickly turned back with a flushed face. Daichi, on the other hand, remained oblivious.
"What, what's wrong?"
Sighing, Yoichi gave him his jacket to put on until they found him some more clothes. Soratsu's reflection laid face-down on the ground, trying to push himself up.
"You… you haven't beat me yet!"
It started to run at Kazuhiko with its fist raised. He readied himself for the impact, but Johei moved in front of him and slammed the thug onto the ground.
"Hgh!". Johei's hand kept a firm grasp on his throat, causing the reflection to fight for the smallest of breaths.
Only until Kaz tapped his shoulder di Johei relent.
"Alright, so what's your deal with Yuriko-san? Spill it all."
Soratsu breathed in several gulps of air before responding.
"Piss… off!"
Johei then set his foot down on Soratsu's ribs, which made him cry in pain.
"Please! Stop! It hurts!"
"Huh, bet you didn't stop when she begged for you to. Why should we?", Loki asked with a dark tone.
He looked around with pleading eyes at everyone, hoping to find some pity, but he found none. Giving up, he replied.
"Alright, alright, you want the story? You got it!"
Johei gave him a few moments to recover before answering.
"It was quite a while back; We were in Junior High with our friend Hikari Amano"
(Flashback)
"Geez, what's taking your boyfriend so long?", Yuriko asked.
She and Hikari had been waiting at the station for almost an hour.
"Do you think he forgot? He has been busy lately", Hikari suggested, but Yuriko shook her head.
"Nah, even a numbskull like him wouldn't forget today. That concerts all he's been talking about for a whole week."
"Sorry, did I keep you waiting?", a voice called out to them.
A younger, more sophisticated looking Soratsu appeared out of the crowds with three tickets for a Risette concert.
"Finally, you could have at least given us a call or something; You got Hikari-chan worried over nothing", Yuriko said out of annoyance.
The three got onto a train and made their way to their destination.
"What took you so long?", Hikari asked Soratsu.
The boy was nursing his arm and didn't respond. Yuriko, who noticed the action, suddenly grabbed his hand and rolled back the sleeve.
"*gasp* What happened to you?"
A purple bruise was starting to form on his arm and he winced in pain at the sudden movement. Hikari looked at his arm as well and quickly looked in the small cooler they were lugging around.
"Here, this should help. Besides, nobody drinks Diet Pepshu."
Sorry, just gonna butt in. If you didn't notice, that was a reference to Diet Pepsi. The only thing worse than regular Pepsi is the diet version. If you didn't realize it, I'm a Coca-cola lover.
Yuriko still looked unconvinced.
"It's them again, isn't it?"
Soratsu chuckled nervously as he weighed his options until…
"Ah! It's our stop! Let's go, don't want to be late!"
He rushed out of the train while the two girls followed him in pursuit.
A few weeks later…
"Are you sure he's alright? He hasn't been skipping classes on purpose, has he?"
Yuriko shook her head and tried to reassure the teacher.
"Of course not! He's just… feeling a bit under the weather! That's all."
The teacher look unconvinced, but let her out of class. Yuriko let out a deep breath.
"Jeez, you really owe me Soratsu. What are you up to anyway?"
A week later…
"You're part of the Yakuza?!"
Yuriko stared at the new Soratsu in disbelief. He was now in a Yakuza Enforcer garb with his hair slicked back in a pompadour. Soratsu nodded in response.
"Yeah, I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but this is who I am. I never realized it, but being in this seat of power has changed everything for me! Even the bullies who beat me up in Junior High are too scared to even look at me!"
"But this isn't you! You know it!"
Soratsu shook his head as he turned around.
"There's always a price we pay for peace of mind. Anyways, I'll see you later!"
Yet another week later…
"What? But you don't like how I am?"
Hikari shook her head.
"I… I thought that… I thought Yuriko was joking… "
"But I'm a lot tougher now! You don't have to deal with all those guys teasing you for dating me!"
"It was the old you that I loved!", she said back to him.
"You've changed for the worse; I never wanted to see you like this."
Hikari walked off as Soratsu watched her go.
The next day…
"I need to talk to her! Let me go!"
The student shook his head as he blocked the staircase to the roof.
"She doesn't want to see you. Can't you take a hint."
In a fit of rage, Soratsu grabbed the student by the collar and threw him out of the way. He made his way up the stairs and saw Yuriko and Hikari sitting next to each other. Yuriko turned around and shot him a glare.
"You don't know when to quit do you?", she asked him.
"Shut up! She's my girlfriend! I have a right to talk to her."
Hikari looked at Soratsu and turned away, crying.
"Hikari… please, let me talk to you."
"Leave her alone! She's… she's not your girlfriend any more!"
"Says who?", Soratsu snarled at Yuriko.
A good deal of students and made their way to the roof to break up the fight, but Soratsu threatened them to stay back.
"Says me… her… girlfriend… "
Everyone gasped as Yuriko said that; Hikari looked shocked as her friend stated something she was so certain was a lie. Soratsu just shook his head.
"You're bluffing! There's no way in hell that she'd go for you."
Yuriko looked hesitant, as if she had been backed into a corner. Then, before she could think clearly, she turned to Hikari and held her cheek. She stared at her other best friend and closed the distance between their faces. Another round of gasps emerged, but Soratsu just stared in shock at what was happening. After they finished, Soratsu clenched his teeth and stomped off.
A month later…
The school was assembled in front of a casket being lowered into the ground. A few were crying, but mostly remained silent. Yuriko looked at the portrait of Hikari as the dirt was being filled over her coffin. After the ceremony, she stayed behind, just staring at the grave.
"This is your fault, you know?", a voice said to her.
She turned around and saw Soratsu glaring at her.
"Everything I did, I did for Hikari. And you just had to ruin it."
(Flashback End)
"She was always being picked on because of me, and I couldn't stand it", Soratsu's reflection said to everyone.
"I tried to get tougher and ran into the Yakuza who gave me a position. I accepted and eventually the bullying stopped. I thought she would be happy, but it was the exact opposite."
He stayed silent as the group digested the information.
"Later, after Yuriko pulled her stunt, Hikari couldn't take it anymore and hung herself from the ceiling at her house. Her parents didn't want any of this news being leaked out so they stopped the newspapers from questioning as well as tearing down web-pages of the incident. Only a few students from Kyuto High know, the others had moved."
"It still sounds like crap to me", Johei spat at him.
Soratsu flinched at the insult and didn't answer.
"Johei, you shouldn't be too rough on him", Mikan said, but Johei shook his head.
"If she said that she already liked you before, then why did you change? It's obvious that you already were worth it if she went through the teasing."
"I didn't want her to suffer-"
"And she wasn't; She loved you the way that you were. That was more than enough for her. And then you blame Yuriko for this when she was trying to make you realize it. It was because of your pig-headedness that made her take drastic measures and led to Hikari's death. Her blood is on your hands just as well as Yuriko's."
Reflection Soratsu closed his eyes and rubbed his eyelids with his fingers.
"All this time… why didn't I realize it?"
He looked up and nodded to everyone.
"I'm sorry for everything I've caused you guys; I don't think I deserve your forgiveness"
"Damn straight", Skadi said, but Mikan shook her head as if to tell her to save it for later.
"But please, save Yuriko. Right now, it's what Hikari would have wanted as her friend."
Kazuhiko nodded.
"Don't worry, she's not going to die on our watch. You rest up now."
Reflection Soratsu gave them a sad smile and slowly disappeared. They all watched him leave until Loki broke the silence.
"Please don't tell me he's gonna join us."
"It depends on whether he has a Persona or not", Kazuhiko answered.
"Dammit!"
Kazuhiko chuckled.
"Although something tells me he won't be", Tyr spoke,
"He asked us to save Yuriko, not let him help save her; He doesn't want to get involved but still regrets his mistake. I guess it's a win for everyone here."
Loki let out a sigh of relief as Yoichi butted in.
"So, we're going back on schedule tomorrow, right?"
"Right", Kaz answered.
They all made their way back to the safe room and stockpiled supplies for the next time they would return.
Aaaaaaand we are back! Sorry for the much later than usual update, guys. I had a pretty hectic beginning of the week. Not only did I have a behind-the-wheel test for my license (Which I passed!) and a job interview (still undetermined), I also had a really short draft for this. I thought to myself, "I can do better than that", and continued longer than I should have. I just didn't want to give you guys more cliffhangers! Anyways, introducing Staffthebest, DarkFenrir215, and Ford1114 in the new favorites list. You guys are beyond awesome! Also, read and review when you can, plus the TV tropes and Google+ page. Happy July 4th! See ya!
The "F" word
Kazuhiko: What's Yuriko's status?
Yoichi: She just moved up another two floors.
Johei: What?! Are you kidding me?! What the *beep*?!
Kazuhiko: Uh, what was that?
Johei: I don't know. Something just happened when I said *beep*
Mikan: It happened again! What were you trying to say?
Johei: The "F" word. Wait, can I still cuss? Son of a bitch! Holy shit! Yeah, everything seems to be alright.
Dangstaboy: Actually, little known fact, nobody has ever said the "F" word in a Persona game for a looong time.
Johei: You're serious?
Dangstaboy: Dead serious.
Iselin: There has to be at least one person who said it.
Dangstaboy: Actually, yeah, you're right. Hey! Ryuji, come over here for a second.
Ryuji Sakamoto walks in while audience applauds
Ryuji: Huh? What's up?
Dangstaboy: What are your thoughts on Kamoshida?
Ryuji: Who, that shit-head? Fucker's still rotting in jail at this point
Johei: Whoa, whoa, whoa. You can do that?
Ryuji: Do what?
Johei: Say the word *beep*, I mean the "F" word
Ryuji: Yeah, I guess. Something wrong with it?
Atlus Security: Pardon me, are you Ryuji Sakamoto?
Ryuji: Uh, yeah.
Atlus Security: I see. Take him down!
Ryuji: Wha- Hey! What the fu-
Atlus Security: Gag him! Take the glitch back to HQ! I really apologize for what he has done. Excuse me.
Everyone stares at each other, not sure what happened.
Oh yeah, if you don't know, Ryuji does say the "F" word in Persona 5 somewhere in Futaba's palace. Check it up on NicoB's videos or something.
