Chapter 43
Week Before Hell; Nanako Dojima Starring in: First Blood; Summer Break!
July 4, 2021; Thursday
(After School)
Mirror Dimension
Nanako POV
*BANG*
The shadow fell down the stairs after Nanako open fired on it. Thankfully, guns didn't have to reload in this strange world, but that didn't make anything easier. Usually, it took about half a clip to down one, but after the few times she was in here, she encountered a few that required a handful of magazines. Checking around, she ducked behind the corner and cleaned her handgun.
"Three whole days of training in here and no results; I wonder if there are some conditions that have to be met… "
"There might be, Nanako-neesan", Toyotama replied, her still being invisible.
"Remember from all those case reports that we read back at HQ? Even your big bro and Aniki-san had to go through something to make it click."
Nanako shook her head.
"That was just a coincidence; Big bro just had a power given to him, not one that he awakened in himself. Although summoning Izanagi no Okami was a part of himself… "
Frustration began to envelope her and she groaned when she saw her watch.
"I don't think we have enough time to keep training. Let's go back, Toyotama."
"Okay Nanako-nee!"
July 5, 2021; Friday
(After School)
Kyuto High; Library
SPT POV
"Please… no more… end my suffering already… "
"I can't go on… leave me here… "
"It was an honor to serve you… Master… Daichi… "
"Do we have to put up with them so much?", Yoichi asked as he pointed to Johei and Iselin.
Kazuhiko sighed as he closed the textbook.
"I guess we could take a short break."
"Alright!" Johei exclaimed as he leapt onto his feet, practically bursting with energy.
"Wow, he recovered quickly", Mikan said as she sipped her milk tea.
The trickster left a dust trail behind him as he ran to the store to buy some food. Everyone else decided to lay back and talk.
"So what should we do about our situation?", Yuriko asked.
Kaz took out the two envelopes that the Harbingers gave to them and laid it out on the table.
"The school picture and the class photo are all we have. We already know it has something to do with the month before I moved to Inaba, but that's where I start drawing a blank."
"Hey guys! I brought some snacks! Who wants the melon soda?"
Johei came back with a small bag of snack foods in his hand and set it down on the table.
"Ooh! Did you get any taiyaki?", Yuriko asked as she dug into the bag.
Johei immediately grabbed the bag from her.
"Hey, the fish is mine!"
"Says who?"
"Now now, Johei, be a gentleman and let the graceful young lady have the snack", Sieglinde told the upperclassman.
"Graceful young lady? You gotta take off the 'mom lens' 'cuz Yuriko's about as graceful as a hippo."
A vein started popping on Yuriko's head and she grabbed Johei's collar.
"Who're you calling hippo, scarecrow?!"
"Scarecrow? Where'd that come from?"
"You're so weak and you're so stupid that I'm willing to bet that your head is full of straw!"
The two continued to bicker as the rest of the group took the snacks.
"Should we stop them?", Daichi said as he munched.
"They'll stop soon", Tyr said.
"Any second now."
The librarian narrowed her eyes at the bickering students and they immediately stopped. Johei sighed as he took his seat and dug into the bag.
"Wait a second, where is it?"
He turned to Yuriko, but she just shrugged. Then, they both turned to Daichi who had the tail-end of their treat sticking out of his mouth.
"Nooo! The last taiyaki they had!", Johei said as he pulled Daichi out of his seat.
Yuriko joined him while Daichi just stood like a ragdoll, still chewing on the desert.
"What? If you wanted it, you should have just taken it first; First come, first serve."
"But I bought it!"
"And I was going to eat it!"
Suddenly, a shadow crept up on them. They slowly turned their heads to face the student librarian who was glaring at them.
"I believe I made myself clear on the first time"
The two cowered back into the wall and nodded.
"Y-yes ma'am!"
"Apologies Saikoji-senpai!"
The upperclassman then calmly walked back to her desk while Yuriko and Johei went back to their respective seats, greatly traumatized. Kazuhiko then continued to look over the photos.
"Johei, do you know anything about our old classmates from Nuzoko Elementary?"
Johei shrugged as he opened a pack of meat gum. He tossed a stick into his mouth and chewed gingerly, wincing at the taste.
"Most of them moved somewhere else, but the ones that are still here probably don't remember more than what we already do. Geez, why did I buy this?"
"Is that gum?!"
"Eek!"
"Nice going, Johei."
They were forced to leave the library shortly after, and Johei's further punishment was to scrape the gum off the bottom of the tables. Feeling sorry for his friend, Kaz stayed behind as well.
"You are not to leave until every table is spotless. Am I understood?"
"Yes", Johei groaned as he continued hacking at the gum with a chisel.
Kaz worked diligently alongside him until an idea popped into his head.
"Hey, Tyr, could you come over here real quick?"
Tyr knelt beside the table.
"Yes? What is it?"
"Let's try using that trick that Mika-senpai did during the field trip."
Tyr nodded and held his hands together.
"Marakunda"
"Hm? Hey, the gum just got softer!"
"Thanks."
In a matter of minutes, the boys were able to finish up the rest of the work, leaving a stunned librarian.
"So, can we go now?", Johei asked.
The student librarian blinked a few times before nodding.
"Yes, you may leave."
Johei bounced off while Kaz stayed behind to return his book.
"Hm? Ah yes, returned right on time as usual, Sukima-kun."
The girl took the book from him and entered in the book's code onto the computer. As she did that, a flyer caught Kaz's eye.
"Interested in joining the library staff? We could reserve a table for you if you join", she threw in.
Kaz scratched his chin.
"That does sound like a good idea… where can I see the finer details?"
The girl took out a flyer from the desk and handed it to him.
"And a registration sheet in case you want to sign up."
"Thank you, I'll consider it."
"Also, turn it into me when you complete it."
Kaz nodded.
"Will do, Saikoji-senpai", he said after noticing her nametag.
She waved goodbye to him as he left.
"Dude! Were you the one that did that?!", Johei asked as he put his friend into a headlock.
"Yeah, just a little something I wanted to test out after the hot springs incident."
Both boys shuddered at the thought until Loki jumped in.
"Tyr! You gotta teach me how to do that! You don't know how long I've been waiting for something like this!"
Tyr raised his eyebrow.
"What are you going to use it for?"
"Uh, nothing really, I mean, you never know when we could get attacked outside the Mirror Dimension and could use a quick Garu, right?"
"Tyr, don't tell him. He just learned Marin Karin."
"Ah, I see what you mean now."
"Aw phooey, you're no fun."
July 6, 2021; Saturday
(Afterschool)
Culture Club Room
"Alright everyone, gather around! The Drama club is going to be putting on a play of Izutsu for the Culture festival in November and they want us to help with the costumes and props!", Maeko told the entire club.
She walked over towards some members, reading out their jobs while Kaz chatted with Natsuko.
"Natsuko-chan, you seem pretty excited for this", he said.
Natsuko nodded happily.
"This was one of my favorite plays as a child! I hope I have time to see it on the Culture Festival."
Kazuhiko smiled as he scratched the back of his head.
"Too bad this is the last day for clubs this semester. If we had more time, we could have worked on the costumes today.", Tyr pondered.
"Alright Kaz, Natsuko; You guys will be working on the backdrop of the play. After break, we should have the paints that we ordered and the wooden beams to hold up the canvas."
Both students nodded as Maeko walked the next group. Natsuko still appeared to be in her own euphoric state, her hands clasped together as her eyes sparkled. Kaz stared at her and couldn't help but laugh at the spectacle.
"The only possible way for her to be any cuter right now was if she turned chibi."
Suddenly, Natsuko popped back into existence and looked at him.
"Is there something wrong, Kaz-senpai?"
Kaz waved his hand and shook his head.
"That'll be all for the semester. I'll see you all in September!", Maeko said as she set her clipboard down.
They all took their time, filing out of the classroom until Kaz, Natsuko, and a few other classmates were left, Maeko included. Natsuko was busy looking over some designs that she was planning for the backdrop while Kaz finished up the order sheets for the paints.
"Why would the paints take so long to be delivered?", Tyr asked with earnest curiosity.
"They're just going to arrive once vacation starts, but the school will be closed, so we'll have access to them after break."
"Ooh! Hey Kaz-senpai! I've decided on the scenery we can do! I've got all the plans drawn out!"
Kaz took a look at Natsuko's drawings and whistled.
"Wow, you're really good at this kind of thing, aren't you?"
Natsuko nodded happily.
"I'll be counting on you to help me with this!"
Kaz nodded.
"So am I. Let's do a great job together!"
Rank Up!
The High Priestess Social Link Lv 3!
July 7, 2021; Sunday
Public Gymnasium
(Daytime)
Mikan Echihiro's Social Link
"Thanks for hanging out with me, Kaz!", Mikan said as she got out of the locker room.
Kaz nodded.
"So, why exactly did you want to go to the gym?"
Mikan pointed over to the boxing bags.
"I decided that I want to try protecting myself for a change. Maybe if I practice self-defense, then I won't be harassed!"
Kaz nodded.
"Well, I can kind of see your point there. Let's get to it!"
He walked over to the punching bags and put on some gloves until he noticed that Mikan wasn't there with him.
"Hey Kaz!", he heard her yell.
Turning around, he noticed her in the ring with some headgear and gloves on.
"I suddenly have a bad feeling about this… ", Tyr muttered.
"Yeah, same here", Kaz gulped.
An hour later…
"Alright! Let's take a break!", she finally said.
Kaz flopped onto his back once she finished speaking and crawled to his water bottle. For a girl of a smaller build, Mikan sure did deal out some heavy punches.
"I might have to apologize to Johei for all the times I put him in senpai's crosshairs… ", Kaz muttered.
Tyr, on the other hand, went to talk to Mikan and Skadi.
"So how do you think you did?", he asked them.
"Mikan seems to have an affinity to this type of combat, but it could use a little more fine-tuning. All-in-all, it's effective for self defense.", Skadi replied.
Mikan nodded.
"Yep! It feels like second nature! Maybe I'm just naturally talented with this"
Several images of Johei getting punched by Mikan flashed into Tyr's eyes, causing him to shiver.
"Maybe it's because you've had a lot of practice… "
"Huh?"
"Never mind"
Kaz finished chugging his water and got back onto his feet.
"Okay, maybe for Round 2 we could go a little easier?", he suggested.
Mikan saw the bent-up shape that Kaz was in and laughed uncomfortably while scratching the back of her head.
"Oh yeah, heh heh. Sorry."
The two got back into their stances and continued sparing for another two hours before calling it a night. They both walked out with their bags and continued chatting.
"Man, that was really fulfilling! I feel like I could take on the world now!"
Kaz chuckled to himself.
"Well, if the world consisted of people like Johei, I wouldn't be surprised if she did and won", he thought to himself.
"Thanks again for coming with me, Kaz. I really felt that I couldn't have gotten this far without your support."
She gave him a sideways smile before diverging onto the path that took her home.
"Later!", she said as she waved goodbye.
Rank Up!
The Empress Social Link Lv 3!
July 8, 2021; Monday
Mirror Dimension
(After School)
Nanako POV
"Fwah!"
Nanako flopped onto an arm chair in one of the safe rooms found in this strange tower. The Sheer amount of training that she did was ridiculous.
"Honestly, I should be studying with finals just around the corner… ", she muttered, sipping a Cielo Mist that she brought with her.
Then again, it wasn't like she had to study; She knew the curriculum inside-out and would probably just need an hour to refresh herself.
"Nanako-nee! I hear someone coming!", Toyotama suddenly alerted to her user.
She spat out a little bit of her drink and turned to the exit door. Sure enough, there were voices just outside.
"Crap!", she whispered to herself and made her way back into the tower hallways until she heard two voices.
"So what do we have to get again?", an annoyed voice asked. It sounded like a female to Nanako's ears.
"So far, we need a few cans of Crush, half a dozen vanish beads and goho-m's, and four Revival Beads", another voice answered; This time, it was a boy.
"Huh? Why do those voices sound familiar?"
Before she knew it, she was hiding behind the couch, waiting to eavesdrop on their conversation. She could hear the door opening and a few footsteps.
"Let's take some of these materials back, we could probably sell them for something later", the male voice said.
The sound of several trinkets hitting each other was heard.
"Sir! We have found several missing items in the storage!", a voice called out.
"Indeed! We may have a European blond girl on our hands!"
"What the hell?", Nanako thought to herself.
"Guys, what the heck are you talking about?"
"You know very well who we mean, Sir!"
"The girl who robbed that family of bears! They must be avenged!"
"That's just a fictional story, you stupid crows!"
"Crows?", Toyotama quietly asked Nanako.
"Wait a second, could it be them?"
While the two pondering their own thoughts, some more ruffling could be heard.
"Wait a second, they're right! There are a few missing things here", the female voice remarked.
Nanako cursed herself. She had always meant to replace those items that she 'borrowed', but never really got around to doing so. Either way, this could cause some problems.
"Yes, and somebody's been eating my porridge!", one of the (presumed) crows spoke.
"And somebody's been sleeping in my bed!"
"Will you two stop your shenanigans?! That's not even the right order!"
"But it's the only way it could be in order!"
"What do you guys mean?", the male voice asked in annoyance.
"It's supposed to end with, she's still here!"
"And she's still here behind the couch!"
Nanako quickly looked above her, coming eye-to-eye with a white-eyed crow. She fumbled for her pistol before hearing a tired sigh.
"How many times do we have to tell you? SHUT! UP!"
"But she's really here!", the crow exclaimed, flapping its wings.
"Come on, Munin, we don't have all day."
The crow named Munin sighed and leapt off its perch. The door began to swing open, and Nanako finally made her decision.
"Alright! Hands where I can see them!", she yelled as she drew her pistol.
A surprised looking Iselin and Daichi turned around, fumbling for their weapons. Their respective Persona leapt in front of them to protect from any oncoming attack.
"Nanako-san? What are you doing here?"
"I-I could ask you two the same thing!"
"I told you, there was a girl there!", Munin shouted.
"For the Bear Family!", the white crow shouted as he and the black crow flew towards her.
"Wait, guys, stop!"
Nanako then proceeded to unload an entire clip on the white crow.
"Brother! Noooooooo!", the black crow screamed.
It rushed to his brother's side, picking him up.
"Whatever you do, brother, don't go into the light!"
The white crow coughed.
"I'm sorry my brother… I couldn't keep that promise with you… "
"You do realize these are rubber bullets, right?", Nanako asked.
The white crow stopped coughing and looked at itself, just noticing that there were only a few bruises on its body.
"Oh… CHARGE!"
Sighing, Nanako pulled out a second pistol and unloaded the clips of both guns on the attacking crows.
"Owowowowowowowowow!", they both cried.
"R-retreat!"
They hid behind the couch as Nanako finished reloading while Toyotama was cheering in the back.
"Don't underestimate Nanako-nee!"
Daichi's eyes looked around the room.
"Who's there?", he asked, brandishing his rapier.
"Oh, I'm right here. Sorry, but I'm invisible."
Daichi had a confused look on his face. Iselin, on the other hand, jumped in front of Daichi.
"Noooooooo! Oof!"
Nanako stared at her classmate as she just laid down on the floor.
"Like I said before; Rubber Bullets! Non-lethal!"
Once the entire situation was under control, Nanako explained everything to them.
"Alright then, I think I have the gist of it", Iselin said.
"Now while we're on the subject of Persona… ", Daichi started.
"Could you please stop holding mine at gunpoint?"
Nanako lowered her pistol but kept a trained eye on the crow brothers.
"Well, now that everything's out of the way, you two have to help me."
"Wait a second, why do we have to help you? If anything, you owe us for the stuff that you took!", Hildr exclaimed.
"Yeah! And you even snuck into this place without conse-", Hugin started.
*CLICK*
Nanako pulled out her pistol and pointed it at the crow.
"Um, never mind… *GULP*"
"The thing is, even though I was ordered not to intervene, I still want to help you guys. I have the potential, so please help me get my Persona!"
"Yeah! I'm tired of being non-existent except for my voice and vision."
Despite not being able to see her, everyone in the room could sense that Toyotama was sulking.
"Alright, alright, we'll help you", Daichi said.
"EH?!", Iselin exclaimed.
"But why?! I mean, she is a good friend and all, but this is just getting her into more danger!"
"Because it's what we did for everybody. Besides, she'll just keep coming back here, regardless of what we do and maybe get herself killed."
Daichi looked up and crossed his arms.
"We agree to help you."
Nanako smiled.
"Thanks! Also, one last thing. Could you not tell anyone else in your group? Especially Kazuhiko or Arisato-sensei.; I don't want them worrying."
Daichi sighed again and nodded.
"Alright, we promise."
Nanako smiled, then bowed as she excused herself from the room. Meanwhile, Iselin and Daichi were alone by themselves, besides their Persona who were bickering again.
"Do you think we can keep this a secret from the others?", Iselin asked.
Daichi shrugged.
"I personally have no idea. Yoichi might find out with his scan ability, and Kazuhiko might discover it because, well, it's Kaz."
Iselin nodded.
"For now, I guess we're going to have to train her."
"Yeah, let's get out of here and report back to Kaz. Want to go grab a bite to eat?", Daichi asked.
"Sure."
July 15, 2021; Monday
Kyuto High
(Morning)
Kazuhiko POV
The sound of pencils scratching on paper and the ticking of the clock was the only thing that could be heard. Kaz, however, was taking a nap, having finished his exam early.
"Man, I really over studied", he muttered to himself.
"Well, you know the old saying: Better safe than sorry", Tyr told him.
In the table next to him, Johei was furiously scribbling down answers.
"Alright, this goes here, and that goes there… "
"You got number 16 wrong", Loki told him.
"Did I?! I was sure I got that one right!"
"You did. I was just messing with you. Geez, it's no fun doing nothing while you have to take a test."
"Please be quiet! Iselin-san is trying to concentrate!", Hildr told the prankster.
"Wow, that's a first."
Yuriko stifled a laugh as she looked over her previous answers. Nanako set down her paper and yawned.
"Man, that took longer than I expected"
Daichi was the next to finish and put his paper face-down on the ground.
"Master Daichi, please tell me it's almost over."
"This is beyond any kind of torture possible"
"Will you two shut up? Why don't you guys go fly around the school or something? Or pester the other Persona?"
"I'll take them off your hands", Tyr said as he ushered the crows out of the classroom.
"Are we doing something? Can I join? I'm bored too", Loki said as he followed them out of the classroom.
A relieved Johei went back to his paper while Sieglinde and Hildr joined everyone outside. Meanwhile, Nanako sneaked a peek over to Kazuhiko who was already asleep.
"Geez, no wonder I fell for him. He looks so cute when he's sleeping."
Suddenly, a cough resounded from the front of the classroom. Nanako looked up and saw Minako cover a mocking smile. Turning bright red, Nanako face-planted into her desk, swearing not to see the light of day until the school day ended.
July 20, 2021; Saturday
Kyuto High
(Morning)
"I can see the light… "
"Come on, Johei, it's not that bad", Kaz said, consoling his friend after they finished their history test.
Iselin was in a similar state, having her soul exiting from her mouth. Yuriko quickly caught it before it could vanish.
"Don't worry, Iselin-senpai! I've got your soul!"
Yuriko was happily skipping around.
"I compared my answers with everybody! I definitely got to the top 15 this time!"
"Good for you… ", Johei said as he shook off his somber attitude.
Mikan and Yoichi walked into the classroom chatting with each other, until they saw the damage that was done; Iselin's and Johei's damage, to be more specific.
"That bad?", Yoichi asked.
"They're just exaggerating", Daichi told them with a wave of his hand.
Yoichi sat down at one of the nearby seats and let out a deep breath.
"We just finished our tests as well. You guys wanna go somewhere to celebrate the beginning of break?"
*FWOOSH*
Johei had somehow changed into a beach attire, sporting a hawaiian shirt, straw hat, swimming shorts, and a pool tube. The same went for Iselin with her signature floppy hat and a fruit cocktail drink.
"They recovered fast", Mikan said as she picked up her bag.
Kazuhiko turned to his childhood friend.
"Hey, Nanako, wanna come along?", Kaz asked.
Nanako nodded and packed up her things.
"Sure! Just give me a second."
As the group walked out of the classroom, Nanako was stopped by Minako in the hallways.
"Well well well, what do we have here?", Minako asked.
"Eep! Minako-senpai!"
Minako patted her subordinate on the back.
"You've fallen quite hard for one of the top bachelors of Kyuto, haven't you?"
Nanako shifted uncomfortably as Minako laughed.
"Don't worry, he's not in any hurry to get into a relationship, so take your time. It's Summer Vacation! Not only that, but you're still in your youth! Enjoy it while you have time!"
With that, Minako went back to the teachers' lounge, leaving Nanako by herself.
"Nanako-nee, maybe we should take a break from all this Shadow hunting. At least, maybe a few days.", Toyotama suggested.
Nanako smiled.
"Yeah, besides, like Minako-senpai said, it's Summer. We've got more than enough time."
DangstaBOI: Aaaaaaaaaaand we are back! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Whatever you guys celebrate! And also a Happy New Year! The very first chapter of the year and- HAAAAUGH! ImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorryImsorry Please don't hurt me!
Hokano Dangsta: Well, you kind of deserve it.
DangstaBOI: Wait, who are you?
Hokano Dangsta: I'm the other you. Or at least a part of you. I'm just here to correct you.
DangstaBOI: Okay then? Well, I was pretty busy for the first two weeks of my bre-
Hokano Dangsta: That's wrong. The first week was the only time you were busy. The second week, you were reading manga and watching anime all the time.
DangstaBOI: Hold on! That's not true! Please stop pointing your guns at me! (dashes off)
Hokano: You there? No? Okay, guess I'll take care of the rest of this author's note then. The story is going okay, all with Nanako getting serious in her training and summer vacation starting. Thanks for FanQuiet1991 for following us on this story. Blah blah blah. Oh, and I'm here to stay, so this isn't a chapter exclusive. Enjoy the omake, I guess.
Fun with the Fans
DangstaBOI: Finally, I've finished building it!
*BAM*
Johei: Oh, hey Dangsta! We just wanted to spend time over here for a change. Sorry about the mess.
DangstaBOI: … Sure… go right ahead…
Kaz: Oh, you guys want to check some stuff out on the computer?
Iselin: Alright! Let's have a go!
(Iselin logs in and starts surfing)
Nanako: Ooh! Hey look, it's me!
(Everyone looks at an image of a teenage Nanako)
Johei: Isn't that fanart from when you were in Persona 4?
Nanako: Yup! Say, why don't we look for fanart about ourselves?
Daichi: I'm game. Let's see what we got.
Several minutes later…
*TWITCH* *TWITCH*
(Everyone is in shock of what they find)
Johei: Um, well we should have expected this. If it exists…
Mikan: This kind of thing is just terrible! I would never do something like that!
Daichi: We have definitely crossed a line that was not meant to be crossed…
Yoichi: I, I think I'm gonna be sick… HUGH!
Iselin: Eh, not the best I've seen, but, then again, not the worst.
Yuriko: Embarrassingly enough, I think I've done this a few times…
Nanako: I can't believe they would do this kind of thing… especially with m-m-me and… K-Kazuhiko…
Kazuhiko:...
DangstaBOI: Oh, hey guys. Whatcha looking at? Whoa! There's already cosplay based on my story?!
DangstaBOI: Yup! It was cosplay! Although there actually isn't anyone cosplaying my characters because they have no idea what they look like. What? What were you guys thinking it was? Damn perverts
Hokano: Yes, we made it specifically to juke you guys. Also, no lewding anything! Something are meant to stay pure!
