Chapter 46

Pretty Jewelry; Deja Vu; Missing things;

July 22, 2021; Monday

(Afternoon)

"So, where are we headed?", Kaz asked his red-headed friend.

"The jewelry store; I want to get this charm bracelet looked at"

He pulled the small charm that the two found in the Mirror Dimension a while ago from his pocket.

"The design is a little faded, but I think we might get some clues if we talk to an expert in the field."

"Good thinking."

They arrived to the jewelry store and casually opened the door. A small bell in the corner rang as it was opened, alerting the owner to welcome them.

"Gud aftairnun, genteelmen. 'Ow may I 'elp you?"

The bespectacled man looked about in his late forties and had a heavy french accent that could barely make out the japanese dialect but was enough to be understood.

"Hi, I was wondering if you would be able to help me with this?"

Daichi held up the charm bracelet as the man adjusted his glasses and looked closely at it.

"Eef you don't mind, I vould like to 'ave a look at zis in a clearer space. Please, follow me."

Hey, I get pretty tired of typing in different accents. Don't get mad at me.

The man led them inside where he took out a set of magnifying glasses. Gesturing to Daichi, he asked for the trinket and looked through the lens.

"This is quite a well cut ruby you have in the center. The small gemstones on the side are very well polished as well, quite."

He continued to look at it for a while before he clicked his tongue.

"Although, there is some wear and tear on it; I estimate this to be ¥150000 give or take."

Daichi nodded.

"Thank you, but I was wondering if you could tell me anything about where it might have originated from?"

The man squinted at him slightly before going back to the piece of jewelry.

"I can tell you that it was not made in Japan; Most jewelry these days comes from our Chinese neighbors. However, this was made somewhere in the U.S of A."

"The States?", Kaz questioned.

"Yes, the States. They most likely imported the materials and made the final product there, but I have no idea why it's here; Perhaps some tourist dropped it or something."

The crows banged their heads together (literally) trying to come up with a conclusion.

"Master Daichi! What could this possibly mean?"

"Perhaps the shadows like foreign jewelry?"

"Maybe we walked into America on accident?"

"Shut it you two!", Daichi hissed at them.

The man looked up at Daichi only to see him coughing to cover up his blunder.

"Either way", he continued

"This seems quite difficult to come by in these parts. May I ask how you found it?"

*shudder* *shudder*

Daichi slightly sweated at the comment, not sure what to say, until Kaz jumped in.

"We found it at a garage sale for cheap."

"Ah, I see. Well then, you certainly found a great find."

He handed the bracelet back to Daichi and stood up.

"This is all that I can tell you for now. Please ask me again if you have any questions."

"Will do. Thank you."

They waved him goodbye as they stepped out of the shop and started walking back to the dorms.

"So", Kaz started

"Any answers?"

Daichi scratched his chin.

"Not at the moment, but I get the feeling that the bracelet came from my father."

"And what makes you think that?"

"In my vision, my mother was Japanese and in rags; The shopkeep said that the bracelet was made in America. From this, I can deduct that my one, my father was the one to provide the bracelet, and two, he is either American or a traveler."

"What makes you so sure that those are the only possibilities?"

"... "

Daichi stopped walking and stared at the ground. Kaz noticed after a few steps and stood in front of him.

"Maybe you hit a sensitive part, Kazuhiko." Tyr whispered to him.

Feeling bad, Kaz sighed and put his hand on the red-head's shoulder.

"Hey, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. Let's wrap this up and grab some food, yeah?"

"I don't want to imagine the alternatives."

"Huh?"

Kaz turned back around; Daichi was avoiding his eyes by looking to the side.

"I just… I don't want to end up being the result of a drifter, you know?"

Of course, Kaz thought

He's already done so much in his life that he can't run from, so he at least wants to know that there was somebody that cares about him now.

"I know what you're talking about. I guess, I can even relate a little myself

"But now isn't the time to get hung up about that; instead of focusing on the past, you should know very well that there are people who appreciate you now, me included."

Daichi gave his friend a smile and nodded his head.

"Yeah, thanks Kaz. No matter what I find out, I hope I can trust you guys to stay with me to the end."

"What did you expect? Now, should we go for the Wild Duck or Big Bang Burger?"

"Please not Big Bang Burger, last time I went there I almost puked from the amount of oil in the fries."

The two laughed as they made their way through the mall, not remembering a thing about what happened moments ago.

Rank Up!

The Hanged Man Lv 5!


Okay so this next portion is experimental for first person purposes. Please leave a word in the review column if you want this to continue


July 23, 2021; Tuesday

(Morning)

Nanako Dojima POV

I woke up feeling groggier than usual, but that was to be expected; I did stay up thinking a lot after all. I kept getting hung up on the driver in my dream, trying to figure out who he might have been the one responsible.

The rays of the intense summer sun seeped through the cracks of the blinds, making it almost impossible to go back to sleep.

"I guess there's no use moping around in bed anymore. TIme to get up."

As I stood up from my bed, I could feel the stirring presence of Toyotama.

"Morning. Did you get a good night's sleep?"

"Mhm. So, what's on the schedule today Nanako-nee?"

I shrugged as I went to brush my teeth. After making a quick one over for everything, shopping for groceries seemed to be the way to go.

After putting on my casual clothes, I set out for the grocery store.

"It's been a while since we went to the Mirror Dimension, huh?", Toyotama pointed out to me as I grabbed a shopping cart.

I looked down on the ground as she said that, the memories flowing back.

"Yeah, it has been a while. I wonder what the gang is doing?"

I flashed back to when Daichi-kun and Iselin-san were with me, saying how I wouldn't be able to survive on my own in Niflheim. I knew they were trying to protect me, but it still hurt; in the end I was still useless.

"N-Nanako-nee! You're holding up a crowd!"

"Huh?"

I looked around myself to see a bundle of people walking around me and into the store. My cheeks started to burn as I muttered a quick 'sorry' and made my way to the dairy section.

"Thank goodness there's a deal on milk this week; we were running low these last couple days."

"But Nanako-nee, you were the one who drank the most of it. Something about growing your bre-"

"Welp! Let's just get a couple of jugs for now! Onto the eggs!"

A familiar little jingle rang out and I turned to the electronics section to see the friendly mascot of a certain store.

"At Junes, everyday is customer appreciation day! Come see for yourself, and get in touch with our products!"

I couldn't help but smile and sing along to the old tune that I had grown up with in my childhood. Yet another reminder of bad times.

"Ah! I'd better get everything before the milk warms up. Let's go, Toyotama!"

Some time later…

"That should do it for the next two weeks."

I popped open a water bottle and sat on the couch. Reaching for my phone to check for any messages, my heart sank to see that there wasn't anything new. Shouldn't Mitsuri-san have messaged me by now? Or what about Minako-sensei? She told me to take a week or two off so why haven't I been updated?

"Ugh, why can't I get any assignments?"

Now in a position on my back, I decided to do some of my homework to pass the time, but that only lasted for so long. The work was relatively simple with only a handful of topics covering new material.

"Hey, why don't we try hanging out with everyone else? They must be pretty bored right now."

"They have a lot of stuff going on right now; plus Kaz just talked to me yesterday and I'll sound too needy."

Another bunch of wasted minutes laying facedown on my desk. Finally, I jumped out of my seat and started searching through my cabinet. I could feel Toyotama's presence approaching me from behind me.

"Um, what are you looking for?"

"My pistol", I said over my shoulder

"I could use a couple rounds with the shadows."

Toyotama stood quiet for a little while until I heard her affirm my decision. Finding the holster and checking the cylinder of my gun, I put it beneath my clothes and made my way to the front.

"Uh, should we call Daichi-kun and Iselin-san?"

I shook my head as I pulled out the keys to lock the front.

"I think I'll be fine if I stay on the lower levels."

"W-what?! But why?"

"I don't want to be around others when I go full force."


Mirror DImension; Niflheim

Floor 22

"Nanako-nee! Behind you!"

I turned around to see a shadow grab onto my shoulder.

"Ugh! Get off of me!"

Trying to shake it off, I twisted to have it front of me, but its grip stayed true, preventing me from pulling away.

"I said GET OFF!"

Grabbing onto its arm, I turned around once more, pulling it towards me and flinging it off of my hip. Hitting the ground with a dull thud, it started to dissipate a little, but not enough to kill it; that would be the job of my gun.

*BAM* *BAM* *BAM*

"Good job, Nanako-nee. I don't see anything else that will come soon so let's take a break."

I'll admit, I had to agree; as much relief that beating up Shadows gave you it's tough work, not only on the body but also on the mind. In fact, just thinking about it made my head spin. I sat down behind a pillar and downed some water.

"Any changes out there, Toyotama?"

"No, nothing within range. Hm? That's odd."

"What is?" I asked as I sat up and peeked around the pillar.

Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at my one-over. I turned to Toyotama, raising my eyebrow.

"No, do you see that Shadow over there?"

"It's pretty tough to know what you're talking about."

"Oh, right. I meant the one near the left turn and the pillar."

My gaze fixed on a Shadow. True enough, it was a bit strange; while all the other Shadows were crawling around, this one stayed put, staring at… something.

"I guess it is, but that just makes it easy prey, doesn't it?"

Not too far, a shot like this is simple. I prepared to pull the trigger until the shadow leapt out of the way.

"Wh-it's getting away! Let's go after it!"

"Yes Nanako-nee!"

I turned the corner and trained my gun at the shadow, only to find what it pounced on.

"What?!"

I couldn't tell what it was exactly, but the figure was mostly human and struggling to get the shadow off of it. To its avail, the shadow completely enveloped it and the figure stopped moving, falling to the ground.

"Wait! Don't go near it!"

But I couldn't hear a thing; I was already moving towards the misshapenned shape lying on the ground.

*nudge* *nudge*

No response from the thing so I guess it's dead, but it hasn't dissipated yet. Putting my fingers to its neck(?), I felt no beating at all.

"Don't worry, it's dead… probably"

"Is that a 'probably' in a good way or… "

"It's already dead, Toyotama, don't be a fraidy cat."

Taking out a swiss army knife (hey, you never know when you need one), I cut through the veil that enveloped the shadow. It was pretty tough, however, so after a few unsuccessful tries I opted to cut off a piece of the skin(?)

"Maybe we'll find something about this if a put it under a microscope"

I turned around to hold it up to the light.

"Um, Nanako-nee-"

"Just a second. This stuff is really versatile; I don't think we have anything like this in the records at HQ"

"N-n-nanako-nee!"

"Hold on! I can't really tell what this stuff is, but it's almost like squishy tar or-"

"Nanako-nee! It's back up!"

I whirled around only to get decked in the face and sent flying into the wall.

"OOF!"

Opening my eyes, I looked at the shadow only to see it charging towards me again.

"What the-"

"Nanako-nee!"

I snapped back into reality and dodge-rolled out of the way.

"No way, it can't be… "

The shadow's growl could have been a trick from the adrenaline I was feeling, but it didn't matter. All I was thinking was that it was the roar of an engine, just like the one in my dream.

"YOU BASTARD!"

*BANG* *BANG* *BANG*

I fired endlessly at the car shadow, unloading as much as I pleased. It did nothing, though, as the car still drove around taking every hit before coming right back to me.

*click* *click* *click*

"Huh?"

I can't believe it. Now of all times?!

"Toyotama, my gun's jammed!"

"WHAT?!"

Opening up the chamber, I noticed the unused powder gumming up the barrel preventing any bullet from firing.

"Toyotama, we're getting out of here!"

"Roger!"

I was always confident in my running, but outrunning a moving vehicle wasn't so reassuring to my chances.

"Damnit! Which way was back to the staircase?!"

A right, a left, another right, another left; at this point I'm already lost but running is the only thing I can do to keep my life.

"Look out!"

I screeched to a stop to find a giant wall in my path.

"A dead end… "

Like a feeling of dread, the shadow closed in on me, blocking my only chance of backtracking. It stopped right there, revving its engine as if it was taunting me before running me down like my mother.

"Nanako-nee, what will we do?!"

"Nothing… "

"Okay good pl- WHAT?!"

There was absolutely nothing to be done in this kind of situation; I was utterly hopeless.

"Nanako-nee! What about Dad? Won't he miss us? Wouldn't Minako-senpai miss us too? What about Kaz? Didn't we make a promise with him?"

"Huh… "

*SHINE*

A bright light flashed before my eyes and for a split second, I saw a person protecting me; they were much taller and had one hand on the hood of the car, stopping it in its tracks.

"What… is happening… ?"

Later…

Nuzoko Shopping Mall

I stumbled my way back into the real world and sat down at a chair near the cafe. For some reason, I was completely safe and fine, that is, all except for a splitting headache and fatigue that I had.

"Owww, what just happened?", I asked Toyotama.

I could feel her presence near me, but I strangely could not hear any response.

"Why have you been silent this entire time? I know you're there."

"I… I did it… "

"Huh? Did what?"

"I was able… I was able to-"

"Excuse me, ma'am, but these tables are reserved for paying customers", a waiter told me.

He stood right next to me, holding a menu tucked under his arm.

"Oh, I'm sorry; I didn't know. On the other hand, a cappuccino sounds pretty right now… "

He nodded and handed me the menu.

"Feel free to call one of us down when you're ready to order."

I smiled and pretended to look at the menu until he left my line of vision before turning to Toyotama.

"Sorry. You were saying?"

"... I think I should tell you at home."

"Why not here?"

"You probably wouldn't contain yourself."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

At the Dojima Household…

(Evening)

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!"

"I kind of expected that reaction"

"Okay, sorry, but you said that you were the one that stopped the shadow?"

"Yup! It was only for a second but I was definitely in a physical form!"

I put my hands to my head as I leaned over the desk.

"Oh my gosh… ohmygosh ohmygosh ohmygosh it worked!"

I couldn't contain myself; I jumped onto my bed and hugged a pillow to my chest, squealing in glee. I knew that I looked like a five-year-old kid on Christmas, but who cares? Besides, I still have Loveline stuff in my closet after all these years.

"Okay, so now that we know it's possible, we just need to pinpoint what made it possible. What were we doing at that point?"

"Um, not to be a wet blanket, but you were just doing nothing Nanako-nee."

I felt my cheeks get hot and face-palmed.

"Right. Nothing there about overcoming my dark self or whatnot. What were you doing?"

"Hm, I was just talking to you about Dad, Minako-nee, and Kazu-nee"

"Oh yeah, I believe that I felt something click when you said… "

Never mind, I was not going to have this conversation. I buried my face in my pillow again but for a different reason entirely.

"Is something wrong Nanako-nee?"

"Ugh, not that I'm sad about it, but why did it have to trigger because of him?"

I felt like I could just die of embarrassment in my bed. Wait, what did she just call him?

"Toyotama, what did you call Kaz?"

"I called him Kazu-nee"

"And why?"

"Well, he would be my brother in-law when you two get married."

"MARRIED?!"

Okay, I know that suicide is what he's trying to prevent right now, but I think I'm pretty obligated to do this right now.

"Okay let's call it a night, Toyotama", I said as I turned off the light at my bedside lamp.


July 24, 2021; Wednesday

MIrror DImension Floor 65

(Afternoon)

SPT POV

"Let's finish it, Yuriko!"

"On it, Johei!"

"Magarula!"

"Tempest Slash!"

Loki unveiled a large tornado that sucked all the shadows into its eye of the storm while Yuriko charged in with her scythe for the finishing blow. A couple of drops fell to the ground along with some cash, which Kaz deliberately picked up.

"Not bad; I could definitely make some upgrades with this scarab piece."

He sheathed his Raider's Scimitar and led the group to a nearby door.

"Well, now that Yuriko's able to handle these guys, we can probably start progressing again tomorrow."

Everybody nodded and moved into the room. While taking account of supplies, however, Kaz took notice.

"That's strange,'' he muttered.

"What is?", Tyr asked him.

"Take a look"

He pointed towards the log that had all of their supplies as of lately and pointed to the actual supplies.

"According to the record, we should have 8 SP patches, but we have 7 right now."

"How long has this been happening?"

"For some time now. At the very least, about two days ago."

"Do you suspect someone is stealing this from us?"

"Not from our group. I thought it might be from the Harbingers, but with their strength right now, I doubt they would need this or they have something even better."

"Then who could it possibly be?"

Kaz shook his head as he closed the closet and took out his phone.

"For now, all we can do is wait. Besides, I've already got something up my sleeve."

"And that is?"

"You'll see."

Outside…

"A good haul today, maybe we can get some of that new armor and scythe for Yuriko soon."

"Aw man! That was the best workout I had in awhile! What about you guys?", Johei asked.

"I'm just glad that I was able to get in on the action for once", Yoichi said.

"It shocked me too how I was able to attack, but it appears that it pales in comparison to everyone else. I believe the supporting role suits us best."

"Oh can it, Mimir, give the guy his moment in the sun," Johei told the floating head as he patted his senior on the back.

"Oh, hey Daichi," Iselin started

"Want to go grab a bite before heading back to the dorms?"

Daichi shrugged.

"I guess I'm pretty hungry now, so why not?"

The two broke off from the group while continuing their conversation.

"Have you been talking to Nanako lately? I haven't heard a single request to go into the Mirror Dimension for a while," Daichi asked.

Iselin shook her head.

"Nothing on my end. Maybe she's still coping with stuff?"

"That's just wishful thinking and you know it, Iselin-san," Hildr chimed in.

"Nobody asked for your advice!"

Daichi rubbed his forehead as the owner and Persona bickered. He then turned to his Personae, noticing how he hadn't heard a single thing from them.

"Strange to see that you two are silent for once."

"We know it is," Munin answered.

"I think it might be the effect of your own thoughts reflecting on us," Hugin replied in a mature manner.

Scratching his chin, Daichi nodded.

"You two might be right. I don't know; it feels like I'm changing little by little on the inside."

He turned to Iselin and Hildr who were still fighting and let out a deep sigh.

"Guess we're going to eat somewhere more private. You guys feel up to that family restaurant?"

"Sounds good to me."

"Can we get the order of honey-glazed calamari? I've been craving that for a while."

"What?! But I just got my paycheck yesterday!"

"Ooh! Did somebody say paycheck?"

Iselin hopped next to Daichi and grabbed a slip of paper out from his pocket.

"Not bad! ¥27000 should definitely pay the bill!"

"Hey! Give that back!"

The two ran to the restaurant for entirely different reasons: Iselin to order all she wanted to eat, and Daichi to save his hard earnings.

"Normally, I would be against doing something like stealing, but I think I'll get over it this time," Hildr chuckled.


Aaaaaaaaaaaaand we are BACK! So many new things in gaming right now, such as the new characters to be added to Smash, FE Three Houses, and also in anime like The Rising of the Shield Hero (my new favorite anime), Dr. Stone, and RWBY coming in October (I think)! Like last time, I know this is a long delay, but I have had a lot going on for me like getting a new wifi system, getting my wisdom teeth pulled out, graduating and getting into college in the fall, and also getting a PS4! Not online yet, but I'll let you guys know when I will be. Special thanks to you guys who just joined the favorites/follow list; tl34lt12, The Ghostgamer, Guadalupe Rosas, and RougeDragonKing. So Nanako has finally manifested her Persona, or at least temporarily, but still a win. Strap yourselves in, boys and girls, because this is going to be one hell of a ride, and I'm not talking about just our characters; I'm also going to pick up on one of the most imaginative and plot-twisted theories of all time in the Persona universe. But that's for later. In the meantime, enjoy the omake!


Kazuhiko's Bizarre Adventure

"Hey guys, so there's a meme thing going on recently called Jojo posing," Johei says to everyone while scrolling on his phone.

Kaz raises his eyebrow.

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It's basically overexaggerated posing. Plus, the anime's premise is pretty similar to our Persona powers."

Everyone looks confused until Daichi shrugs.

"Well, it couldn't hurt to try this meme out. Johei, could you show me a picture of a pose?"

After showing him a picture, Daichi tries out the Jotaro pose. Somehow, he turns into Jojo art with Hugin and Munin posing behind him in the background.

"What the hell?!"

Daichi gets out of the pose and returns to his normal art.

"What just happened?", Yoichi asked.

"I-I don't know! I just decided to do a pose and I just turned into that!"

"Wait wait wait."

Kaz looked up a pose on Johei's phone and does a Jonathon pose.

"HM!"

And turns into the Jojo-fied art form.

"Whoa! It happened to him too!"

Kaz turns back to his regular art form and chuckles.

"I've heard of the anime and the meme before, but I never knew this would happen."

"Ooh! I wanna try! Hey, Johei, help me out here!", Yoichi beckons his kouhai as they do a Caesar and Joseph pose.

This goes on for a little while, Mikan and Iselin doing a Giorno and Gold Experience pose and Yuriko doing a Jolyne pose.

"Okay okay, guys, this is cool and all, but couldn't you feel a bit of a power boost when we did that?"

Everyone nods.

"What if we do this in the Mirror Dimension," Kaz suggests.

"*GASP*"

In the Mirror Dimension…

"RA… wr?"

"Prepare yourself, Fenris!" Kaz states as he and the SPT Jojo poses; Kaz in a Jonathon pose, Johei in a Joseph pose, Mikan in a Josuke pose, Daichi in a Jotaro pose, Iselin in a Jolyne pose, Yoichi in a Johnny pose and Yuriko in a Jolyne pose.

A blinding wind blows around them as power courses through their bodies.

"*whimper*"

After the battle…

"Wow, that actually worked!" Johei exclaimed

"Albeit weird but it worked!"

"Wait, guys! I sense a shadow ahead of us! Get ready!"

"Everyone, positions!"

They all pose as something approaches them.

"Hm hm hm. You thought I was a shadow… "

"What?!", Daichi exclaims.

"OH NO!", Yoichi cries out as he slaps his hands to his cheeks.

The figure in the middle of the hallway smiled as she lifted her head and pointed her thumb to herself.

"BUT IT WAS ME! NANAKO!"