And we're back on schedule, Persona Fandom! Sorry for keeping you wairting, but I'm trying my best with this fic, and as a apologies, I wrote the longest chapter in this fic so far. I tried to incorporate as many references and mechanics of the game as possible, but since this is a written story, I have my doubts about my success regarding such. Please, feel free to leave your review regarding the text and plot of this story, and thanks for reading the story so far. Don'ty forget to R&R and have a nice day!
DISCLAIMER: Persona and the SMT series belongs to atlus, SEGA, and its respective owners.
4/11(20XX) – Tuesday (Cloudy) – Early Morning(Kobayashi residence)
I snap myself from my slumber with the alarm clock of my cellphone, putting myself sit on my bed as I tiredly sighed and put a hand on my head to get rid of the early sleepiness and think about what happened yesterday and in my dreams. I tried to shake them off as just delusions, just fabrications of my teenage mind going wild in such age, but then I feel something in the pocket of my pajamas, and picking it from there, I saw… I velvet key… I gulp hard this time. So it wasn't just a dream, nothing that happened yesterday was a dream: the velvet room, the ghost class rep, the mirror world and the talking fox, they were all real…
*PI! PI! PI!*
"Huh…?" I couldn't delve much further into my own thoughts since my phone started to ring once again, not because of any alarm, but because I just got a message on my Chatroom, so early in the morning too. I swipe the screen on, only to notice a new message from a new contact I made not long ago. "Renji…?"
Yo! You up? – RENREN
It read, it seems that either he does wake up to early or something is up once again. I started to type a response, and soon enough, our chat through the messages began.
Yo! You up? – RENREN
1KA – Yes. You got up pretty early today. Is something up?
My head was full of stuff yesterday. Couldn't sleep for shit! ~. – RENREN
Hey, it wasn't a dream, was it? – RENREN
1KA – No, it wasn't.
F*ck – RENREN
But anyway. We should go to investigate what is going on back at Kagami – RENREN
1KA –?
If anyone, like our classmates or the teachers, caught us, it would be a problem. – RENREN
Besides, I'm awake anyway. Better take the best op by now. – RENREN
1KA – Good Point.
Neat. Let's up at the backdoor next to the Sports building. – RENREN
There are no students there and no one will see us coming. I'll meet you there. -RENREN
1KA – Ok.
And then I turned my phone off, yawning a little to get rid of my sleepiness and sharpening my senses for what is yet to come. He's right, if we wanna get what is going on with Ishigami-san and what is happening with that mirror back in Kagami High, we must be cautious about our actions and don't draw attention from either the school or the shadow that is taking Ishigami-san's appearance. If that thing goes berserk, seeing what they can do in the Mirror World, I fear for the safety of everyone…
Which reminds me, back when I tried to call for Ishigami-san's attention, the moment I reached a hand for her, I saw from beneath the sleeves of her winter uniform marks that resembled… Cracked glass? Like her entire being was breaking down like a glass statue. I wonder… Didn't that news report say those were signs of the Crackdown Syndrome? Besides, the victims would always present signs of rigor mortis even before the accidents that would take away their lives, and they would always find out after someone has died in a horrific accident… Are those things… Connected somehow? Does that mean Ishigami-san is gonna…
I shake my head in order to get such morbid thoughts out of my mind. No, no, this is wrong, I don't know what is happening, but I refuse to believe someone will die this time. I need to get my head in place or else my heart will faulter, and I won't be able to get past this point. I sharpen my eyes, gulp my last bit of regret and walked towards the light, ready to face whatever shadows or unknowns might pose next…
I walked downstairs, picked my bags and saw on the table next to a small lunchbox a note from Ranko. Apparently, she her way to apologize to me for missing dinner yesterday is to make a small omelet with sausage and rice for me. I looked around the kitchen and saw several empty cans of coffee and energy drinks, plus a few notes spread across the floor and a napping Ranko spread across the sofa, lazily pushing some Z's. I guess… She's also doing her best, more than me, even. I sigh, cover her with a nearby blanket and picked my lunchbox, ready to go to school, or rather, the backdoor of it by the sports building…
Early Morning→ Morning(Kagami High)
"Yo! Took you long enough, Ichika!" I was greeted by the tall brunette, Renji Akabane, with a hand up high as we meet in the marked place, an old rundown door on the wall by the back of the sports building in kagami High. Despite his cheerful disposition, I could see that he had heavy bags under his eyes and even his voice was a bit shaky. Whoa, he wasn't kidding, he really lacks sleep.
"H-Hey, Renji. You weren't kidding about not sleeping… Are, are you okay?" I said with a small hand wave at him to return the greeting.
"I was thinking so much about that Mirror World stuff I couldn't even blink at night! I mean, doesn't thing like this makes your mind goes clusterf? I did tons of research yesterday too, and apparently this Mirror World thingy is also an Alice in the Wonderland stuff! Like, this stuff was already written a long time ago! Ain't that crazy?" He says in a rapid-fire way, picking from his backpack a can of Mad Bull and chugging it down like a pro. I appreciate this enthusiasm of his, but I think he might have a heart attack if this goes on. "Also, I was sure that it wasn't a dream since I didn't even blink yesterday! Also, I brought some goodies from a store next to my house so that we can deal with those Shadow freaks back in that world!"
"Goodies…?" I murmured back in awe and curiosity, and without losing a second Renji shoved his hand into his backpack again and from it he pulled… A revolver and a pistol! Not just that, but also some bullets and a few cartridges! I jump back a few inches out of fear and scare! What kind of neighborhood does he live in to have a store of that kind next to his house?! "Holy…! Renji, I know it's dangerous there, but I don't think carrying those things is a great idea, specially in school!"
"Huh? Oh wait, it's nothing like this!" He stands up and hands me the revolver, but I lift both my hands in a surrendering position to say I wasn't good with those! What the… Does he think I'm used to those things just because I'm from Tokyo?! He blinks a few times, and then reloads his pistol with a cartridge, making me shiver. "Relax! Those are airsoft guns! Unless you aim at the eye, there is no need to worry! But as you showed me, they are a good thing for intimidation! Besides, just like you, maybe if I aim and shot myself on the head, I can make a persona come out! Heheheh, just kidding…"
"Airsoft…?" A bit less shaken, but still a bit scared, I reached for the revolver he offered me, took a quick glance and weight it a little bit, and yes, it wasn't as heavy as it should be, and I could feel some plastic parts here and there and the bullets were actually BB containers. You can't blame me for that, they do look realistic a tad too much, but I know from where he's coming from. I rolled the barrel a bit and close it. "Thank Goodness. Jeez, you could at least have said it before almost giving me a heart attack…"
"My bad, my bad." He sheepishly scratched the back of his head, and I wondered apologetically if I was too harsh on that. He put a few more bullets into one of his cartridges and put it back on his backpack, picking also the airsoft revolver to put it back and back it up. "Well then, we should get going! The early we deal with that stuff and see what happened to Miss Prim and proper, the sooner we'll find out what the hell is going on and uncover the mystery! So let's go, no holding back now! Let's bust loose some shadow ass and deal what the hell is going on here!"
"O-Okay… But lease, don't overdo yourself…" I said it with a sweatdrop as his droppy eyes were shining brightly but he was as trembling as jelly, probably the lack of sleep catching up with his body. But he's right, we found out something terrifying and if don't do something about it, I doubt anything good will happen to Ishigami-san. He nods at my words, and without any warning he kicks the backdoor open, almost bursting it off its hinges with the impact. What did I say about not overdoing it!
Regardless, he was right about this place: even when the janitors starts to open the front gates and the teachers walk all across the students building, nobody is paying any attention to this direction, to the direction of the sports building. I follow Renji all across the shadows of the second Building, walking all the way to the most deserted side until we found a rusted door that was the farthest from the actual entrance. Renji pushed the rusted handle and with a creaking sound, it opened…
"Truth to be told, I used to come here to slack off when the school was still using the nearby field for P.E., but then they started the renovations around here, so I had to drop it… Never thought I would be using it for that purpose, though." Renji turns to me with a grin, and I gave him a thumb up. Delinquent? Troublemaker? No, he does seem like the slacker type, but I would be lying if I say I wasn't impressed. He peeked a small glimpse outside, and soon hid back outside. "Ah, I knew it. Even being this early, there are still some teachers around. Let's move quickly."
"Got it." I nodded, and peeking inside one more time, he gave me a thumb up to sign it was clear, and so we followed to the upper floors, always taking a quick glance from the corners so we wouldn't be seen. This feels wrong, this feels very wrong, but at the same time, it feels kinda exciting! We finally reached the final, prohibited and last third floor, passing through the stop sign and the chains forbidding our entrance and soon stepping inside, going to the bathroom by the end of the corridor.
"Say, do you think that damned fox will be there?" Midway our way, Renji called for me and asked, my only response being a shrug. "I mean, things were pretty packed yesterday, and he talks much more like an old man. You don't think he got himself into trouble with those shadow bastards, do you?"
"…" I remained silent to his question. Lily-san is small and fragile-looking, but from what he says, I can only assume he has been living or battling inside that mirror world for a while longer than us, so he at least got experience. I nod. "Lily-san seems to be quite nimble and knowledgeable about that place. If we could survive there in one day, he must've something prepared…"
"Yeah, makes you wonder what the hell that thing is." He observed, hands on the chin and closing his eyes to concentrate for a second or two. Huh, that actually makes me wonder as well what Lily-san is. However, our little meditation moment was cut short as he gasps and looks forward with a surprised expression. I turned to the direction his eyes were pointing, and the only thing I could see was the image of Ishigami-san, like always, with her black long hair at the wind, wearing the uniform of blue blazer, white shirt and magenta skirt, turning to us with the same amount of surprise. However, instead of the usual green eyes, I was taken back…
… Before she could hide them, I saw a glimpse of sick golden, glowing eyes.
"…!"
"Ishigami-sa-…?" And I couldn't even sign to grasp her attention, she frowned with a dangerous aura and turned around to flee from our vision, mad dashing to the boy's bathroom and escaping our line of sight!
"Crap, there she goes! Well, she's not getting away this time!" Renji exclaimed, also giving chase to the… Thing that has been taking the shape od Ishigami-san. I hesitated a bit, but soon followed suit, cracking my knuckles a few times and dashing like a madman to the abandoned boy's bathroom. Suddenly, we hear steps getting also closer to the stairs, and giving a instinctual look back, we saw Fujitaka-sensei going upstairs with his wooden sword at hand!
"Hey! Who the hell is up there?! Come downstairs and give a very good explanation why you are there!" He screamed, now also madly running to the floor above while Renji and I started to cold-sweat.
"Shit, is that damned Fujitaka! Quick, we need to reach the bathroom before he gets us!" Renji exclaimed, I nodded back and we took our way to the portal leading to the Mirror World. Having no response on his end, Fujitaka-sensei gave chase, upping the stairs as fast as his sturdy, large body could and swinging his wooden sword to all sides.
"You maggots! I gave you a chance! Now, feel the wrath of my Kyouka and go back to the dirt and shit you belong!" He screams, but fortunately me and Renji were already too far away for him to even try to catch us! Before we could get to the third floor, we already reached the bathroom, facing the abandoned and dirty yet not lonesome water rooms. Renji tapped my shoulder and pointed at the mirror on the counter sinks which were facing the toilets.
"Hey, you know how to go there… Right?" He asks me, a small drop of sweat running his forehead as he looked behind around the corner of the bathroom and made a throat-cutting gesture. I guess it means that Fujitaka-sensei is getting closer.
"I guess…" I murmured back. I turned to the mirror, pointed a finger forward and lightly touched the surface of it. Like it happened the last time, a ripple-like effect happened on its surface, from where I first touched it all the way to the borders of it, but when I tried to force my finger in, nothing happened! I poked and poked, but all that it did was ripple away, no way it was sucking me in like last time! "Oh no… Oh no… I think… It's not working like before! Oh crap…!"
"H-Hey, no hurry now, Ichika… I mean, a bit of hurry, dude!" Renji exclaimed as I could also hear the snapping of Fujitaka-sensei's sword against the hard floor, and his cursed getting louder and louder as his steps! He's getting closer, but this… Portal just wont budge! The Brunette next to me makes a face that mixes urgency and horror. "Oh god, oh God! Not the Kyouka! Not the Kyouka~…!"
"C'mon, c'mon…!" I mumbled, still trying to shove my finger inside the mirror! What did Lily-san do last time too… Ah, screw it! I pulled the sleeve of my blazer uniform and without a second thought elbowed the mirror square in the middle of it! The impact made quite the sound, and as expected it created a huge crack in it! Even Renji stopped for a moment in utter shock, but then, as the reflective shards started to fall, I saw by the other side the same eerie scenario from the mirror world! "I did it! Renji…!"
"I'm coming!" He screamed back, going from the door to the bathroom up to the sinks where I was already climbing and jumping inside the Mirror World, a strange feeling, like going inside water, resonating inside me as I crossed the barrier between the two worlds, Renji following suit! In the end, we finally crossed to the other side, and like before, the mirror behind us started to reform until it was completely unharmed, as if it wasn't ever broken…
Once inside, I looked around: Yes, the eerie aura surrounding everything, the dark corners, moans and groans from nearby shadows, and the sickly pale moon on the sky showering everything in a golden light, the only source of light besides it being the faint blue light coming from a pocket of mine, which I picked to see a glowing butterfly switch knife. Yes, there is no mistaken it…
We're back in the mirror world…
Mirror World – Kagami High(?)
"Well, I guess we're back in this place…" Renji says, cracking his neck a few times and dusting his pants a few times. I look around one more time, take a glimpse at the mirror of the bathroom, then to the light coming from the windows, and concluded that he was right.
"It seems so." I murmur, spinning my switch blade a few times before shoving it back in my pocket. Now we know, ishigami-san, or whatever thing took her shape, is from this world as expected. I put my bag down next to the counter where the sinks are and Renji does the same, picking from inside his backpack the guns, bullets and cartridges and handing the revolver to me.
"Well, we better get going. The sooner, the better. Let's beat some shadow ass!" He exclaims excitedly, and despite my previous hesitation, it seems that his enthusiasm is contagious. I picked the revolver and some bullets he was handing me, and strap it to my belt while putting some bullets on the pocket of my jacket. I doubt they will be useful in the long run, but maybe we can avoid some battles with them.
"Right!" I nodded back. We fist-bumped at each other, and he took the lead out of the bathroom, giving me a thumb up.
"Alright, let's do this! I let's save the princess in this damn castle and see what the hell is happening around her-…!"
"Cease your foul actions and face death, shadow…!"
"GYAAAAAAAAAAH~…!"
"GAOOOOOOH…!"
*BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! Click! Click! Click…!*
"What tomfoolery is happening right now?!" And we didn't even take a step forward, a shadowy figure jumped at us and stood in our way! Renji, who was acting so cool just now, suddenly freaked out and, without any warning, picked his airsoft pistol and fired and entire round against the enemy! Only… It wasn't really an enemy. When the area cleaned after that round of shots and the sudden scare calmed down, we could see that the shadowy figure was actually Lily-san! He looks back at us, and blinks, perplexed. "Oh, so the brats have returned! To think you would show yourselves after the nightmarish experience from the day before… Although your action from now have cemented your lack of courage in the face of the Mirror world."
"S-Screw you, you damn talking fox! Anybody would freak out if something would jump like that like you did!" Renji rebutted, shaking his pistol in the air in protest as the fox would frown at his childish display. I, who was on the back the whole time, tilted my head to side for Lily-san to notice me as well. In response to that, Lily-san started to jump up and down in protest.
"And you see such as a response to try to shoot yourself truly?! Not even a baboon with half a brain would be so trigger-happy in the face of a simple scare!" Lily-san protested back.
"Shut up! You're lucky this is only an airsoft gun, or else that would've capped the hell out of your a-...!" But then Renji stopped right on his tracks and looked at his own airsoft pistol with puzzled, horrified eyes. Out of doubt and surprise, I did the same, and noticed something that made me gasp: there were fumes coming from the tip of the barrel. Not just that, but there were bullet marks and cracks next to where Lily-san was standing, not to mention the holes on the windows in front of us. "W-What the… What the hell…?"
"As I was saying, be mindful of your actions, for this world does not have the same applicability as yours." The little auburn fox said, and for that we could only nod in agreement, despite the fact that we both were very lost regarding everything that has been happening so far. Suddenly, we hear hurried steps coming to our direction, and soon enough like last time we saw a bunch of shadows coming, wearing the male and female uniforms of Kagami High but hiding themselves behind blank-colored masks. "Curses, your little display of foolishness had drawn the attention of the nearby shadows! Now we must fight them off before they call for backup!"
"L-Like I was the only one screaming like a little girl! You screamed too, didn't he?!" Renji looked at me with irritated eyes, like he was searching for proof or witness in me. I made a face and a shrug, but said nothing as we turned our attention to the shadows that has spotted us. "Ugh, whatever! Let's give those shadows a piece of our mind! Maybe like that I can blow off some steam!"
'Humans… Humans… HUMANS… HUMANS…!' The shadows we were up against growled in our direction, soon exploding in black goo like last time only to morph into small, fairy-like being with crimson hair and insectoid wings wearing blue leotards, being tiny as such! The started to giggle and flew towards us! 'Heehee! You're, like, so screwed! We're gonna screw you up!'
"Damned shadows! Very well, come forth and face your demise!" Lily-san screamed with the screech of a warrior, picking his kodachi sword to slash the air in front of him only for his Persona to open a space rift and come in action, charging against those fairies and splashing them on its hull like flies on a car window! Even so, they didn't stop, instead charging at us!
"Ah hell! They are coming towards us!" Renji said, reaching for a nearby trashbin and picking its lid to defend himself, while I could only try to reach for my knife, only to stop… Wait… Renji did say he give me an airsoft gun… But then why did that happen… I reached for my own pistol, aimed the barrel at one of the fairies, pulled the hammer, pulled then trigger and then…!
*BANG!*
'Kyaaah~! That was so, like, not cool! So uncool…' And it happened! Just like what happened to Renji, the revolver which still weights and feels like an airsoft gun shot a real bullet out of it, hitting that fairy right in the stomach and making it disappear in black dust. So, for some reason those weapons shoots like real guns here?! That is… Really frightening, but at the same time, so badass! I shot some others more, and like before, they disappear in thin air after a fatal shot in their bodies!
"Renji! Use your pistol to shoot those fairies! They can shoot real bullets in her-…!" And I dodged for a nail a bullet coming from his pistol, as he shot another one of those fairy shadows and turned it to dust! It seems that he figured it out too! I could only hear him laughing as he disposed of another cartridge to load another one into his pistol and resume his shooting!
"Hell yeah! I don't know what is going on, but you're going down, you damn pixies!" He declared with his determination back, and I let out a small chuckle for that. However, those fairies are too many for all of us, and I am running out of bullets to even reload it in time! So I shove my hand into my pocket and pick a glowing butterfly knife on my possession, cutting the air in front of me and opening a rift in it!
"Come, Persona!" I commanded, and soon enough Nero, the father of abominations and sinners of Earth, came forth with his black and red musician attire and flaming head with a golden halo crown above his head! I heard a laugh coming from him, and in one smooth move, he opened both his hands and let his bow-like fingers run across the strings on his arms, producing a despairing, deranged sound from which fireballs came from, burning the remaining pixies in the air!
The area was finally clean from those swarm of fairies, black dust dancing around the onslaught as air wasn't as heavy and silence came to reign supreme again. Once everything qas done for, Nero turned to me, laughed and turned into a blue flame once again to come back to my knife. I sighed in relief, but ended up coughing a bit. I feel… Tired, both mental and physically. Does… Does summoning this Persona thing is that tiring?
"It seems that you two have shown yourselves to be quite reliable in a pinch. I constructed the wrong impression out of you, after all." I heard a squicky, high-pitched voice call for our attention, so both Renji and I turned downwards for the source of it, looking at the orange fox in naval military attire, which wasn't frowning anymore. To be honest, his expression was quite relaxed and upbeat. In the end, he bowed. "I shall apologize for my previous behavior. It was not only uncalled for, but rude as well, my frustration for losing grasp of a shadow not being an excuse for such. As for that, I humbly offer my gratitude and apologies."
"Hah! Now that's more like it! Maybe you see now that we can hold on our own here, right foxy?" Renji laughed mischievously, supporting himself on my shoulder as he let out a devilish smile to the fox under us, but soon jumping out of the way once he accidently pulled the trigger on his pistol and almost shot his own foot! I jumped away to avoid that one bullet, and Lily-san's expression soured, like he just regretted everything said so far. Once things calmed down and the brunet remembered the first rule about gun safety (if there is no intention to shoot, never rest a finger on the trigger or point it at someone), we started to share some things with each other.
"So, you're back. Even when humans were not supposed to come to the mirror world, you still return. Any reason as for why?" The fox asks as Renji starts to reload his gun and clean it a bit, having only me to answer for both of us to the small animal.
"Uh, sorry about everything, Lily-san. It's just… We think a shadow might've taken the appearance of a classmate of ours, and… I'm fearing that something might have happened to her…" I said. The little fox was taken back for my sentence, but soon nodded back.
"I see… A woman. How novelistic." He declares. I can feel my cheeks heating up a bit as I start to shake both my hands up in a negative sign.
"N-N-No! It's nothing like that! I mean, it might look like it, b-but it's nothing like that…!" I start to sweat, Lily-san having something akin to a ghost of a smile on his black little lips! Me, stuttering? So uncool. "She's a classmate of ours, and we don't want her to get hurt. Besides, we think her shadow might be around and going back and forth to our school, and if shadows can do there what they can do here, everybody might be in great danger."
"Yeah, it's not we care about her or something. Miss Prim and proper is pain in the ass, but better her than some shadow asshole wrecking our school." Renji concluded the only way he knew how, and I scratched my rosy cheeks, feeling a bit of warmth coming from them still. Lily-san looked at us, one at the time, and sighed.
"I see, so the Demon King started acting as for now. The cognition and fame of that woman of yours must be quite a big one for her Shadow self to be of such strength." Lily-san said, his stare becoming serious and quite menacing as his eyes turned to the students building. Wait, so is he saying that big brain by the other side of the school is actually a creation of her Shadow?
"Lily-san, when you say things like 'Demon Lords', 'shadows' and 'cognition', you mean that this place is a creation of what people by the other side think about this school?" I question him one more time, and he turns to me with a nod as Renji blinks a few times.
"Correct, young man." He says with a serious tone, pointing his nose towards the black brain pulsating by the other side of the school buildings. "This place is indeed a Mirror World because it superficially reflects everything from your side; not just images but thoughts and lingering feelings as well. That's why the shadows are wearing the same uniform as you and your partner here, since they captured their image from the thoughts from the other side, same goes for those weapons of yours, which while they might be like toys, as long as they look realistic enough, the work as just normal here. The demon King, the king of this Kingdom, who took the appearance of that woman of yours grew exponentially stronger since her 'image', her imprinting on the place known to you as school, is exceptionally concentrated and dense."
"I don't get it." Renji faults a little, his head hanging low for thinking too much, making me chuckle a bit, while a red vein popped on the fox's head.
"I figured you wouldn't." The fox concluded. "Basically, this woman of yours has a fame, a mark in your school, and for that her image is clearer in here, and thus gives a more powerful identity for a shadow to take over and grow stronger, thus creating a Demon Lord."
"You did say she was known as quite a Miss Prim and Proper, Renji…" I turned to him, and he nods a little. I think he is starting to get it a little. "but to think it would end up like that… It must be hard for her… I bet we're not the only ones who think her as a teacher's pet."
"…" Renji says nothing, only gulps hard, his eyes starting to get a little cloudy. He turns back to the fox. "Hey fox…"
"You know my name, scoundrel. To refer to me as such knowing such is beyond rude."
"Okay! Okay… Lily." Renji grunts, but then turns serious. "And how… Those Persona thingies you and him can call forward? Are those shadows as well? Like, they seem pretty chill for shadows…"
"Yes… And no." The fox answered, but I could only get a dumbfounded expression coming from the brunet. "Shadows and Personas… They are both creations of cognitions and identities, and you can say they are the opposite sides of the same coin: opposites yet equals. However, unlike Shadows, Personas are created when one's inner self subdues their 'image', and comes forth anew against the thoughts and distortions of others…"
"…"
"Oh, for the Love of… A Persona is created when one's own self-worth is stronger than others think of him or her, and it serves as an armor against those thoughts, which are basically what shadows possesses!" The little fox started to jump up and down in frustration, explaining as simple as possible for us what those whole concepts were, all while we both finally snap in realization, hammering a hand on our palm to show that we finally got it. Wait, this is what Igor said back in the Velvet Room, right? 'A mask that I use in order to confront with life's hardships', was it?
"Huuuh~, I see, I see." Renji then crosses his arms and nods like he is in deep thoughts. "But how do you know so much about those things, Lily? I mean, are you a shadow or a Persona or something like that Demon King?"
"Huh~, you hurt me by categorizing me in such lower ways, you brat." The fox pouts. "Lily is Lily, no more nor less. There is only one Lily, and it is I, Lily."
"Right, if that makes any sense…" Renji grunts. We in the end got nothing out of the fox, but for a moment, even after answering that, he looked a bit… Concerned? He shakes his little furry head and turns to us with a determined look.
"Just accepts things as they are, and keep a firm grasp on everything, including yourself, otherwise you might end up swallowed by this version of your Shadow and possessed by it." He explains. So the process inverse of one getting a Persona can also happen, and a shadow might end up possessing us… Wait.
"Does… Does that mean ishigami-san might be possessed by a shadow? Her Shadow?" I question the fox with urgency, and he looks at me at first surprised, but then frowns.
"Certainly. Shadows' first and foremost objective is to cause havoc and feed on the darkness of the human heart in order to grow stronger, and they can take the shape of humans by feeding on their image, but a demon lord might be able to possess a human in a process similar, yet reversed as one acquires a Persona. If they were to spread more fear and despair on your side, they might be able to grow even more than just this school." He concludes. I share a stare with Renji, who's also starting to put the pieces together, his lips trembling a little.
"H-Hey, you don't think those shadows… Have something to do… About those incidents back in our side… Right?" He asks, and since I got no answer for my own, I shake my head negatively, my expression showing that I didn't know the answer for sure. But Ishigami-san… I mean, Ishigami-san's shadow did have those broken-like wounds on her body, the same as those victims of those Breakdown syndromes, so does that mean… It has been happening for a while. I let out a moan of nervourness, a chill running down my spine, but then a small glimpse of light came from the back of my head… No, I mustn't lose heart.
"No matter. We should go and help Ishigami-san now that we have more than one reason to save her. Those shadows… They do want to mess around." I am still a bit trembled, but I stomp hard on the floor, flip my switchblade a few times and started to walk towards the students building. We must continue before things get out of hand. The fox smiles confidently seeing my newfound courage and walked to right beside me.
"Nice eyes, young man. For your display of courage and resolution, you shall become my apprentice. That we walk the path together to uncover the false world." He says, and despite the absurdness of the situation, I couldn't help but smile. "On the other hand, I apologize for not asking for your name. Mind sharing the name of my apprentice, young man?"
"Sure, my name is… Ichika Amano." I answered the fox, and with a happy pout, in nodded back at me. It took a while, but apparently the fox is getting used to me. Man, to think I would be able to think something like that… But not time to waste, we should go and help Ishigami-san.
"Hey, my name Renji Akabane, by the way!" Renji entered the moment between us with a smile and showing his face towards the fox. "Now, you have no reason to call me 'scoundrel' ever again, right? You say so yourself!"
"I see… Renji Akabane… Not as impactful as young Ichika's name, but it is to be expected from a monkey." The little fox noted. Renji was now fuming.
"Oh screw you, you stupid fox! Give a break for once!" He whines, and I let out a small chuckle for this. Even in a place like this, I think there can be some moments of levity.
"Alright, I shall 'give you a break', Renji Akabane." The fox smiles, and satisfied, Renji crosses his arms and lets out a grateful sigh, wordlessly saying he's okay with that for now. I guess we should go on with our quest, as fast as possible…
*TING!*
"…?" However, we couldn't take the first step, by the end of the dark corridor, I saw… A small glint of light? Suddenly, all the fur around Lily-san's body got up, and he shot his body to a direction, reaching his teeth to his kodachi.
"Akabane! Young Ichika! Watch out, there is a shad-…!"
*BAAAAAAAAM!*
"GYAAAAAAAAH…!" And fast as lightning, there was a shock, there was a powerful blow on all of us, that blew us away from the corridor and away from the sports building! The hard concrete couldn't withstand us, and we ended up breaking through and falling to the lower grounds, our bodies them slamming against the rooftop of a new place and into the darkness! It took a while for me to found some ground to stand up on and finally for my eyes to get used to the darkness, but then lights came from the ceiling, almost blinding me, but when my eyes got also used to it, I found myself in a new location. "The… The gym…? No, an arena?"
And I wasn't even joking: we were in a gym, or rather, an arena shaped like a gym, the ground floor with chalk-like drawings resembling laps, an entire lake surrounding it and weapons spread across the floor together with typical P.E. materials like balls, weights and nets. I looked up, and in the stands were inhabited by those same masked shadows, but now wearing gym clothes.
"U-Ugh… What the hell…?" I look down next to myself, and both Renji and Lily-san were also on the floor, trying to get up. I tried to reach a hand for him, but then from the ceiling something heavily landed next to us, blowing both me and Lily-san away, as it grabbed Renji by the wrist to face it in the eye. He tried to fight, but the moment he did, only one word escaped his lips. "F-Fujitaka…?!"
'You… MAAAAAAAGGOOOOOOOOT…!' And that voice, despite being quite distorted, was from Fujitaka-sensei, but the being using his form was completely different: instead of the slightly overweight, shaggy-haired teacher with gym clothes, it was instead a gigantic humanoid abomination wearing only a battle thong, golden greaves and a red cape, a gladiator helm showing only his squarish facial features and sick golden eyes. However, the most dreadful thing about his image was his left-arm: instead of a hand, there was a massive, claymore-like rusty blade with the words 'Kyouka' craved on it! Without losing a second, it lifted Renji up and pulled his bladed arm for a strike. 'AKABANE… YOU… YOU… MAGGOT…!'
"Gyaaah…!"
"Persona!" I screamed as I cut the air with my switchblade and Nero manifested to cleave a wound on Fujitaka's… Shadow? Wounding his arm with a superficial cut, but enough to make him let go of Renji and scream in pain. Once away from his grasp, Renji pulled out his gun and ran next to me and Lily-san!
"Holy shit! What the hell is this?! Is he… Is he really Fujitaka?!" Renji asks, Nero trying to cleave another wound on Fujitaka's arm again, only to be hit away by his massive arm and the wound in it heal after being covered in black goo. Lily-san summons his Persona and charges the shadowy Fujitaka-sensei, tossing him to the other side of the gym.
"No, this is the shape of this Fujitaka takes by your school, this is the way your school views Fujitaka. His Shadow self… By the heavens, you have such figures around." Lily-san said, his Persona Jason trying to make Fujitaka-sensei stay in place, but then he uses his sword to cut the small toy-soldier at the top of the toy ship, making it lose control and clash! So… Not just Ishigami-san, but Fujitaka-sensei has a reputation, which gave birth to this… Shadow Fujitaka!
"You… You bastard!" Renji exclaims, pulling the trigger on his revolver and unloading his bullets against Shadow Fujitaka! The golden gladiator, however, only smiled, and charged against us! Bang! Bang! Bang! The bullets wouldn't stop, but neither would Shadow Fujitaka! Not only that, the projectiles would bounce off his skin and hit elsewhere, but never leave a mark! "W-What the hell?! What's going on?! What doesn't it hit him?!"
"You fool! Shadows have different properties, weaknesses and resistances from one to another! This one seems to be able to reflect projectiles!" Lily-san concluded, his Persona again charging against Shadow Fujitaka, and locking each other in a Sumo grip! "Run as you can, Akabane! You don't have a Persona, you wont be able to withstand a full-force of a Shadow!"
"B-But…!" Renji takes a step back, and I was about to summon Nero once again to help Lily-san, but then Shadow Fujitaka let out a scream, and soon enough the shadows which were just cheering and watching from above started to jump into the arena.
'FOUL GAME! FOUL GAME! THREE AGAINST ONE IS FORBIDDEN! CHANGE!' He screamed with all of his strengths, and so the shadows would jump, turn into blobs and then into those monsters from before. This time, however, they all took the shape of floating pumpkins wearing a witch hat and carrying a small lantern!
'Hee-ho, hee-ho! Burn it down, hee-ho, burn it, hee-ho, down!' They would laugh, and from their lanterns, a true inferno of flames came forth. Renji, who couldn't move out of desperation, was almost caught by the fires, but before that could happen, I shoved him elsewhere, for a nail also escaping the flaming nightmare!
"Damn it… Come forth, Nero!" I summon my Persona, and like before, the King of Abominations appeared and casted his agi spell from his fingers, burning those pumpkin monsters in pillars of fire… But then, from the heart of the pillars of flames, I heard a ring of a bell, and out of the sudden the flames started to get absorbed! In the end, those Jack o'lanterns absorbed all of Nero's flames, only laughing maniacally. "What the…?!"
'Hee-ho! Bad move, bro!' One of them laughed, and just like before, I heard several rings of a bell, and from their lanterns, those hellish pumpkings summoned several, innumeral fireballs from within! Nero was fast enough to try to shield us, but the massive barrage of flames was too much for it, and it ended up disappearing after a few hits, my hurt starting to burn by feeling that! I cough a bit of blood. Is this… The damage I took after my Persona? More and more fireballs started to rain on us! But then suddenly… Jason came and shielded us all! 'Hee-hooo…?'
"True cowardice is shown when facing a fallen foe. Scum like you has no place in this world!" From the upper part of the Ship jumped Lily-san, eyes burning intensively as the toy-ship opened some windows on its hull to show several cannons from within. "Jason! Triple down them!"
The toy ship seemed to laugh, and then rained cannonballs onto the cursed pumpkins, making them scream in agony as they turned back to ash and disappeared completely! Once the shower of fumes and ash ended, Lily-san landed next to me and started to limp as Jason vanished in thin air… Damn, he's tired as well. In the end, there were still a bunch of shadows around, not to mention Shadow Fujitaka… And he turned to us with a smile from inside his helmet.
'Maggots… Maggots weak… Specially Akabane… DIE…!' he screams, not losing any second to charge at us with full speed! Without losing a second, I picked Lily-san and jumped to a side while Renji also rolled away from harm's way… But Shadow Fujitaka was too fast! He ended up kicking Renji to a wall and pinned him there! 'WEAK, WEAK, WEAK…!'
"Renji…!" I exclaimed, but then those Jack o'lanterns started to gang up on us, and before I could stand up, a massive bipedal horse stomped on me, pinning me to the ground. As for Lily-san, those fairy-like shadows picked him up and started to harass him, pinching his cheeks and toying with his fur. However, the one who was in more danger was Renji, who was at the mercy of Shadow Fujitaka.
'Weak, so weak…' Shadow Fujitaka said, a grin never leaving his lips as his gigantic, massive hand holding and pinning Renji to a wall started to turn black, and then ooze a dark, disgusting goo from within, which started to crawl onto Renji's face. 'Always so weak… So pathetic… never listens…But… Good… Since you are always like that… No need to change… Right…?'
"What are you talking ab-…?" Renji tried to protest, but the black goo started to crawl all over his face, going inside his mouth, ears and then eyecorners, to the point it spread all across his body little by little, like a sick black ink. He started t o kick, but then… His struggles died down, and he grew more and more apathic... Oh no, it was exactly what almost happened to me the other day! "Yes… I am weak… OI am lazy… And weak… And don't like school… I should just… Accept it…"
"Renji! Fight! Don't let it get to you! You know you're more than that! Who was the one who got all excited about helping Ishigami-san?! Who got all trigger-happy back there! Don't give in1" I screamed in protest! Like Lily-san said, this place is moved and works due to cognition, but inside and outside! If he can fight it, maybe, just maybe…!
'Down, you maggot! Coach Fujitaka is on command!' But that same bipedal horse forced me down, making me eat dirt. I shot my eyes back, and little by little the black ooze was covering all of Renji's body, and his eyes started to glow yellow. Oh no…
"You're right, coach… I am… A lazy… Unispired, good-for-nothing slacker… And I shouldn't change that… I just should… act as I am told…" He says, a small smile forming on his lips. "After all… I should just stay here… Its calm… And quiet… A nice place for a slacker like me… Yeah. I deserve… To be here…"
'Yes… YOU MAGGOT!' The shadow declared, forcing his hand against Renji's neck like he was about to break it, but he didn't react to anything, only nodded… And let it happen…
…
"This... Is what you wanted me to say… Right?"
'…?!' But then, out of nowhere, Renji shot his head back at Shadow Fujitaka, eyes turn back to their normal brown, and a new flame burning from within! He grabbed the gladiator by the hand and started to twist it, so much that he was forced to let of go Renji, whose entire body was now clean of shadows as Shadow Fujitaka took a few steps behind, surprised and horrified.
"The thing is… Coach… I don't have any interest in your stupid classes, nor want to spend the rest of my evening hearing you scream on my ear. You might think I am a slacker because of that… but you're wrong!" he screams, his eyes shining confidence as a strong gush of wind starts to blow onto every direction. "Think whatever you want about me… I'm not like that at all! I am ME!"
'You… MAGGOT!' He Was taken back a little, but then shadow Fujitaka let out an animalistic roar and charged against Renji. But what he didn't notice was that Renji pulled from inside his sleeves something that… looked more like a curved blade! He aimed at his throat, turned the sharp edge to it, and smiled.
"I am no maggot, Fujitaka… I am me! And I will show you… Right… Now!" And then, before Shadow Fujitaka could even touch him, Renji made the edge of his curved blade run across his throat and cut down his flesh to shower everything in red! "I summon thee… [KIPPOUSHI]!"
*BAAAAAAAAAM…!*
'Wha… WHAT IN THE WORLD…?!'
*BANG!*
'U-UWAAAAAAAAH…!' And just like last time, Renji was surrounded by a massive pillar of blue energy, forming a tornado of pure velvet glow with him in the center, blowing everything in sight! Shadow Fujitaka tried to shake off this display of power, but before he could act, the sound of a shot was heard, and within it, he was blown away by a greenish tornado that seemed to have come out of nowhere!
From inside the mist, the shots didn't stop! Bang! Bang! Bang! Shots and more shots were coming from inside blue aura in which Renji was engulfed, and one by one the shadows around were blown away by strong gushes of wind that came out of nowhere, leaving only me and Lily-san unharmed. I stood up together with the fox, and looked forward to seeing the silhouette that little by little was showing itself across the arena…
And there was Renji, standing up and tall, a massive black scythe at hand and spinning on his fingers, while a new figure was standing behind him: clad in complete black and gold stood a massive samurai armor with long tengu-like sandals, but instead of a kabuto-helmet, there was a black military cap with the shape of a rising golden sun at the cap! Tubes shaped like industrial chimneys spelled a greenish smoke from the tips, and instead of katanas, the figure had long-barrel muskets with golden details and a mask covering its face shaped like something I can only describe as a space opera villain face smoking a Japanese pipe! Renji looked to behind himself and grinned…
"Holy shit… WOOHOO! Alright, I got a Persona of my own! Freaking badass!" He cheered, and I couldn't help but chuckle while Lily-san rolled his eyes in disbelief, but I could sense some pride coming from his eyes. The fox lightly jumped to tap him on the head.
"I see… So you did have potential to awaken a persona as well… Very well, make good use of it!" The fox demanded, his voice sounding more like a light scold than an order. Recovering from the small attack, Renji grunted, but then smiled and spun his scythe again.
"You don't have to tell me twice!" He answers. I stood right next to him, and so we shared a stare at each other, grinning and turning back to the recovering shadow Fujitaka. "Let's do this, Ichika! Full speed ahead!"
"that's right!" I nodded back, picking my own knife and gun to then summon Nero one more time while Lily-san summons Jason again to stand right next to both my Persona and the new one. Shadow Fujitaka, who could only save himself from the hole he created with the impact, jumped back to the arena with his shadow lackeys and grunted, teeth and golden eyes showing only hostility.
'Maggots… Maggots… ALL OF YOU MAGGOTS!' He screams with his entire lungs, more and more shadows gathering around. 'I WILL SMACK YOU ALL LIKE THE BUGS YOU ARE…!'
"Bring it on… I'll show you who's the real maggot…" Renji says, pointing his finger forward with determination in his eyes. "Alright… KIPPOUSHI, SHOW HIM THE POWER OF A TRUE DEMON!"
Character Sheet UPDATED!
*Name: Renji Akabane(赤羽蓮司; Akabane Renji)
-Age: 17 y/o
-Arcana: The magician(I)
-Persona: Kippoushi.
-Weapon of choice: Scythes.
-Bio: The first friend Ichika met during his first days in Mizuzuki, and his first partner regarding the discovery of the Mirror World, the son of the owner of a coffee shop. Despite his laidback attitude and his tendency as a jokester and a hothead, Renji sticks to his guts and lets his heart guides him towards anywhere, and while that might become a problem sometimes, it is also what makes his spirit strong and the bonds he makes in his life, specially regarding Ichika, stronger.
Compendium UPDATED!
*Kippoushi(Arcana: The magician): Renji's persona. The childhood name of Nobunaga Oda, previously known as the Fool of Owari and self-proclaimed Demon Lord of the Sixth heaven, one of the three unifies of Modern Japan and the most successful japanese warlord, known for his modernization of japanese army by the use of gunfire, his mastery of tactics, devil's luck, as well as his brutal and ruthless nature against opposition, one of his most infamous tales regarding the campaigns of Mt. Hiei and his subsequent death by his own hands in the burning of Temple Honnoji. A Persona of the Magician Arcana, Kippoushi is well-versed in support and garu-based skills.
-Resistant against: Garu-based Skills; Hama/kouha-based skills.
-Weakness: Agi-based skills.
What are your thoughts?
Maybe the end of the chapter was a bit too rushed for the awakening, and all things considered the cliffhangers might start getting annoying, but I promise next chapter things will start getting smoother. The full party is on, and now things are really looking up to happen! So wish me luck, thanks for reading and have a nice day!