(12/25/10)
When I woke up, the futon we placed in between fell in the floor and Minako was hugging me tightly with her arms and legs.
I expected Minako to look pretty while she was asleep. Let's say it was the opposite.
Her hair was disheveled and she also drooled, but other than that, she was a nymph in springtide.
I swear, the fairy Queen Titania had nothing on Minako's beauty.
Her mouth parted slightly as she breathed periodically. Her long, pretty eyelashes were beautiful as she slept. Her creamy white skin was smooth as she hugged me tighter. I kissed her sweet smelling head while I took one picture and pretended to sleep again.
She opened her eyes the same time I did. She jerked quickly as I did and unlatched her arms and legs from me.
"Um... Good morning." She mumbled.
"Good morning." I said back, "Uh, shall we have breakfast?"
Minako nodded, "Sure."
After doing our morning rituals, we had a box of Froot Loops with Junpei and Chidori, who was looking happy.
"Thanks for the Vita, Junpei." I said in appreciation, "I like it."
"Thanks for the Ty Cobb baseball bat." Junpei said, "Besides, I only used 70,000¥ for it from my Culture club and Tartarus cash."
Chidori's eyes sparked, "70,000¥...?!" She spoke with a dangerous voice.
"It was a steal!" Junpei said in triumph.
"Since when did it occur to you to spend that much money without talking to me first?!" Chidori said with a quiet, but very stern voice.
"It's occuring to me now..." He squeaked.
"Junpei Tiberias Iori..." Chidori thundered.
Minako and I snickered, "Tiberias?" Minako sniggered.
"That's his English name." Chidori said.
"Come on babe!" Junpei said with a nervous voice, "I'm a man!"
"A man who doesn't know how to handle money." Chidori said sternly, "I'm taking your money until you learn the value of money. I'm not blaming you, Minato." Chidori added with a smile, "Junpei drink your milk."
"Yes dear..." Junpei grumbled as he drank the milk.
I took my iPhone and opened an app. I jerked it to Junpei.
Crack!
A whip-like noise cracked, "You're whipped, Junpei."
"Real mature!" Junpei cried, "Anyway, did you play any of the games?" Junpei asked, "I downloaded P3P and P4: Golden, along with other games."
"Personally, I'd prefer P3P." I said, having some experience in Personal 3.
"Dude, that's a load of bull." Junpei said, "Personal 4: Golden is better."
"How is it better?" I asked as I swirled my cereal.
"Well, the cast of P3 is weaker." Junpei stated, "One of the characters, Kanta Jitsumi could kill off one of the senior members, Akihito Sanaga, with his bare hands."
"That's junk." I said, "On what basis? Akihito is an unbeatable champion. He hasn't lost a single match yet. Whereas Kanta is nothing more than a hooligan. A thug. Akihito is a seasoned pro. Hell, Yurika Takeda, the healer, could do him in with her wind attacks alone."
"Well, uh..." Junpei stammered, "Chay Satokana can do a instant kill attack."
"After a critical, even then, there's a 40% chance that she won't prompt it, and a 20% chance that Yukika would do a fan attack. Or god forbid Yoshi's stupid special while Mitsuba Kiriko could do a Mind Charge, armed with Varna Bracers and buffed with Heat Riser, and decimate the entire party of P4 with a Mabufudyne or Cocytus Pain."
"That's not really true." Junpei objected, "Granted, she could kill everyone, but Teddy could survive. And Chay."
"First off, Teddy has weak defense. Chay does have an impressive attack, speed and endurance, and is arguably one of the best fighters in the game, but it'll be unstable with a weaker mage. Besides, if she gets Suzuka Gongen, her ice attacks gets weaker, making her a weak mage."
"Hmmm..." Junpei thought, "Well, Yoshi Hanaruma has a pretty decent speed and magic attack."
"Ho' please." Minako waved, "You better get down on both knees. Hachiko, the pet of the Extraordinary Stellar Seclusion Expedition Club could fight better than him. And he wields the same thing Yoshi could."
"Well, try this!" Jupei said hotly, "Yukika Amada is the best healer. She learns Salvation and has Agidyne, Fire Break and many useful moves-"
"After they past the point of use." I dismissed, "The ESSE could level up on the first night past that group."
"I'll give you that," Junpei admitted, "But the MC is the god of Personal."
"On what basis?" I said, inclined to laugh.
"Well, he took put a goddess with the World Arcanum and-"
"And what?" I asked, unable to take it anymore, "The MC of Personal 3 has the Universe Arcanum and defeated a force of nature, one who's appearance alone could desolate the world. P4's MC trashed Izanagi easily. Besides, if not for her, he wouldn't have any power at all, while the P3 MC had that power locked inside ever since he was a child! And he faced Chaos with his own free will, not wanting his friends to die. He faced her alone and it took everything the MC had to seal her, while the MC of P4 had to hide behind his friends before dying. And don't say he was pushed aside, he must've known and could have dodged it, but he only wanted to save himself. Additionally, P3's MC took down Eliza, another Wild Card user, by himself and took her down even though he was alone and she was the strongest while P4's MC needed his entire party to fight her sister, Margaux, supposedly stronger than Eliza, but not at all as hard as Eliza was. P3 has 4 major Personae, Orfeo, Mors and Savior. Plus Cipher, Orfeo's upgrade. The MC of P4 only has two, Izanagi and Izanagi no Okami. And the second one is ceremonial, and when you do get him, he's weak and can't even be registered in the compendium!"
"What about Lucifer?" Junpei said angrily.
"So what?" I said, "P3's MC could summon him too. Plus, he can use the Personae of Kanta and Yoshi."
"Well..."
"But it does have a better gameplay. The experience of it all is so awesome... And the S-link's actually make sense!" I said, "The only thing that sucks is the no new game+... but the gameplay is so good now... The new features are one of the best... no wnder they called it the Evening star of JRPG back then. Not to mention the girls are from Planet Babe..."
Just then, the doorbell rang.
I opened it and the postman gave me a parcel. I signed the paper and went back.
"What is it?" Minako asked.
"It's from Akihiko and Leah." I said as I opened it.
It was a bundle of plane tickets to the resort they were booked in. The tickets were complimentary of the Kirijo Group.
It said we urgently need to go there right away.
"The tickets say we need to go now." I said, "Are they nuts? Go to the Northern Region on such short notice?"
"Well, they say here that it's utmost that we attend." Chidori said.
"It's not like we're doing anything." Minako mumbled, "Let's go! It's gonna be all spontaneous!"
After discussing it excitedly, we decided to pack up and we rode a taxi to the Airport.
We were genuinely surprised that Kenji, Rio, Pinky, Quan, Fuuka and Lee were there.
"What are you cats doing here?" Lee asked. He had a five O'clock shadow, as if he didn't sleep at all.
"We could ask you the same thing, Shaggy." Minako said with a slight smile.
"Hmmm..." Lee grumbled.
"We were given these tickets to go to a Ski Resort." Rio said, "It sounded so romantic... Maman and Peré allowed me to go so long as Kenji comes with me."
"Aren't they worried Kenji might do something?" Minako asked.
"On the contrary, they think Kenji's the last person to try that and they feel assured." Rio said matter of factly.
"I was like, 'Tito, I uh... I hope you're going to be okay with the 'situation' in the Ski resort...?"
"And Peré was like, 'Situation?'" Rio supplied.
"Then, I said, 'the 'me-going-with-her-situation... with Rio and me." Kenji said.
"Peré then said, 'Oh, you mean the two of you being together on a snowy wasteland for a few hours?'" Rio said.
"I just nodded then." Kenji said.
Rio laughed, "Then Peré said, 'Come on, Kenj! You're the last guy in the Universe I'm worried about! The absolute dead last guy. I'd be more worried about that girly kid, Quan, the guy with the lazy eyes and the girlish face came with her.'"
"I don't know wether to be flattered or offended!" Kenji said cheerily, "But Tito should know... I've done things that'd scare him!"
"Like what?" Rio asked.
"Well, for one thing, I could take you rgh here, but I choose not to." Kenji said.
"Oh, really Wildman? Touch my boobs now." Rio said.
"Uh... Never mind." Kenji squeaked.
"Thought so." Rio huffed.
"Good for you then," Quan said, "Hwoarang said if Pinky called to complain about me or if I bang Pinky, he knows my address and won't hesitate in burning my house down... With my parents inside!"
"That's terrible." I said sympathetically.
"Terrible?" Quan said in confusion, "It's great! I think he likes me for Pinky!"
At that, we boarded the plane. It turned out to be a Concord type plane. It could go supersonic, said the attendant and we were the only ones there. In the first few minutes we were airborn, Fuuka, Kenji, Junpei and Minako were already filling up the airsickness bags with rainbow breakfast.
"Pussy!" Rio shook her head at Kenji.
"Count the Kirijo Group to make another monstrous mode of transportation..." Minako moaned as she puked.
Though it was indeed an monstrous mode of transportation, and it felt as if we left our innards back in Iwatodai, we arrived in no less than 30 minutes to a snowy landing strip.
"Finally, ground..." Minako moaned, "But it's pretty chilly..."
We rode a car from the Kirijo Group and it headed for the resort.
When we arrived, one of the areas was reserved and was decorated. Mitsuru and Naoto were there, smiling brightly.
"All of you, get dressed!" She urged, "Your clothes are ready and you will be attended to! Please hurry!"
We were ushered to our rooms. Junpei wanted a hot bath, but he was quickly dressed by a group of stylists. They were good, since he looked human. I was dressed too and I did look good.
When we went down, Lee kept mumbling.
"Damn, you should've seen the ones who dressed me," Lee said surlily, "I think he tried to grab my damn ass."
To our confusion, our clothes were identical and we wore white roses. The girls wore matching gowns too.
Again, to our confusion, we were ushered to a small chapel. There, Akihiko was standing with Mitsuru at his side, with Naoto (wearing a tux) standing behind her.
"What's going on?" I asked as I stood behind Mitsuru.
"You'll see..." Mitsuru smiled.
The pianist played Here Comes The Bride. At that moment, we finally caught up with that was happening.
Leah walked on the aisle and after a few quick words from the Priest, Akihiko and Leah exchanged rings and kissed. We were so shell shocked.
It was nearing evening, so we decided to eat at the reception.
"Akihiko, you damn bastard, why keep this hidden from us?" Lee demanded as he helped himself with bibinka from The Philippines.
"Well, after a few days here, Leah and I decided that we were meant for each other. So I called Mitsuru and told her about it." Akihiko said simply.
"And I was more than happy to plan the wedding." Mitsuru said, obviously pleased.
"On such short notice? You guys are the epitome of randomness..." Kenji said.
"Well, true love can wait... But sometimes, it just doesn't want to!" Leah declared as she hugged Akihiko, "I just knew from the moment you guys went on the school trip we were meant to be together."
"Senpai, you idiot, now we have to find a new maid!" Junpei cried.
"Junpei, sometimes I wonder if your dad let your mom drink while she was pregnant with you..." Akihiko said, "She's the reason we don't have to look for one anymore! She's literally the permanent house mother..."
"I see..." Junpei mused.
Since we were the only group present, Lee proposed to tell ghost stories, which everyone, except Fuuka, objected to.
"Okay, there was once this-"
"Eeek!" Fuuka cried.
"Fuuka, I'm not even done saying it." Lee said, "Okay, there was once this inn... It was a first class, five star inn and attracted a lot of customers... But then... one tourist mysteriously disappeared. They couldn't find any form of foul play. The next morning, her body was found hanging on top of an antenna. Whoever, or whatever, did it was probably the haunted tv..."
Fuuka, Quan and Pinky squeaked.
"Me next, me next!" Junpei cried, "There was once a girl... Everyone in her class bullied her, and one time, they locked her in a gym and she disappeared. The end."
"Aahh-" Fuuka was about to scream, "Never mind, I know this story."
"My turn!" Quan cried, "Listennup! There was once this road called the Balete Drive... Any motorist that would pass by would get an extra passenger..." Quan winked.
The old caretaker chewed on a quid of tobacco, "I reckon you folks ain't too familiar with these here parts... You know, there's a story about that there saloon..." He points to an abandoned saloon behind him, "20 years ago, two outlaws took the old town over... Sheriffs couldn't stop 'em." He spat outside, leaving a dark, wet quid on the snow, "Quickest damn gunslingers I ever did see! Made Johnny Dillinger and Baby Face Nelson look like law-abiding citizens! But they got murdered in cold blood... That saloon there was their little home away from home... They say the ghost of those mad gunmen still haunt that tavern and on quiet nights like this, you could still hear the footsteps of Slim Shady and Royce da 5'9."
"They don't speak, they float in the air wrapped in a sheet?" Quan asked, "Now that's a ghost story!"
"Why don't we check it out?" I asked.
"Good plan!" Everyone cried.
Naoto, Fuuka and Quan looked hesitant, but didn't feel like objecting.
We walked the short distance to the abandoned saloon.
"This is 'bout as far as we'll go." Mitsuru, Fuuka, Pinky and Naoto said, "Just so you guys can have a clean getaway."
"Riiiiight..." Lee said as he out an arm around Quan, "Let's go."
"Uh..." I began, just noticing for the first time how sinister the house is.
"Don't be a chicken!" Lee sneered, to which I conceded.
We entered the musty saloon. It was really abandoned and all. We checked the ground floor and nothing much to be found, although Lee did find a few bottles of moonshine.
Then, we heard footsteps. Everyone huddled together.
It turned out to be a bunny.
"So, it was actually a jackrabbit?" Quan said in disbelief, "It's so cute!"
"Mission accomplished." Lee said.
Just then, we heard a distinct 'WHOOOOOSH!' and Lee jumped.
"Let's check it out?" Minako asked.
"Okay, Lee, lead the way." I said.
"N-No thanks, man, you go ahead. I'll follow." Lee quivered.
I picked up a wooden board, "Who's calling who chicken now?" I asked as I went upstairs.
"J-Just kidding?" Lee said.
I looked everywhere. Nothing to be found. Then, I noticed a broken window.
"Hey, guys, look!" I cried. Everyone converged to me, "This is what's making the noise. The wind blew past these empty bottles and made that noise."
"Well, wasn't that a doozy?" Lee said, "Let's go."
We went out and the resort rewarded us with free passes tomorrow.
Just then, I saw a cloaked figure. I rubbed my eyes and saw he was real.
Elder was here.
I quietly moved from the group, saying I needed to use the bathroom and ignored them when they said I was going the wrong way.
I followed the figure, who was gradually running away, until we reached the peak of a snowy hill.
"Nowhere to run now." I growled as I summoned my sword.
"Who ever said I was running?" He smiled evilly.
"Who are you?"
"I think the question here is..." Elder growled, "Who are YOU!?"
"I'll be asking the questions here." I said, "Who are you?"
"Hmph." He scoffed, "I am the Spawn of Evil, the recipient of the Soul of Satan. I am the sword winner, the soulstealer, the stinging fly. I came from underneath, yet nothing came over me."
"Such riddles and lies." I growled, "I hope you're prepared for Death."
"Just as prepared as you." He summoned Lucifer's Blade and attacked me.
I parried each blow and whenever we'd lock swords, the very air would become so unstable, the ground would crack.
I kicked him and dodged rolled away. I felt scared for the first time. He was good, but I felt the Sword he wielded to have an internal struggle. If I slashed him, he would bellow in pain, whilst when he struck me, it felt like a caressing finger.
Eventually, I disarmed him and dual wielded the swords. His eyes, gleaming beneath his hood, sparked. He deliberately walked towards me with a malicious grin.
"Stop!" I yelled, "Stop!" He had me backed against a tree.
I transformed the Blade into a katana and vicously impaled him with Lucifer's Blade.
"Nngh!" He winced, "Cockroach..." He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me closer to him, causing the hilt of Lucifer's Blade to sink past his stomach.
The sword suddenly felt hotter as I dropped it. It was forced out of Elder.
The blood of Elder splattered everywhere, but when it touched the sword, the sword began to change.
Instead of a one handed sword I was accustomed to, it began to grow into a golden double-edged longsword, with the hilt becoming a more sinister devil skull and the crossguards becoming two curved spikes. On the base of it, two separate blades, making it look like a zwëihander and a glaive. It shone and was inscribed with very evil runes, and encrusted with myriads of jewels whose compositions probably weren't even in the periodic table.
He picked up the sword and admired it, "Thanks for the upgrade, Messiah..." He winced.
With a scared battle cry, I drew Deus Xiphos and lashed out. The blade should have sliced his neck, but he was astronomically fast now. He dodged and parried and the trees behind me were cut to pieces, even though he hadn't physically touched them.
I hadn't crossed swords with anyone this powerful, with the exception of Musha types in Monad. Elder was definitely THAT good. I knew I grew powerful over time, but my swordsmanship wasn't that developed.
I was a bit rusty, at least in front of Elder.
We battled back and forth. Whenever I'd hit him once, he'd counter with three, and using a large broad longsword against my shortsword.
His bloodspattered appearance was unnerving. It gave him the aura of a reaper.
I faked left and hit right, but he knew it and countered with an upward curved shot, disarming me. My sword fell off the mountainside.
He pointed the sword to my throat, while I raised my hands in the air in surrender.
"A good try, my friend." He whispered and limped towards me, "But now, I will send you to Hell, where the minions of my lord will torture you."
I was doomed. Due to the adrenaline, I was steadily losing consciousness as Elder raised his sword.
Then, I heard several wolf cries as Elder looked surprised. A pack of white wolves drove him running, leaving a trail of blood in his wake, as a familiar looking white dog poured some kind of liquid in my mouth.
I was losing consciousness, but how could I not pet the redeyed white shiba-inu that had rescued me?
After all, he was my trusty, stalwart comrade last year. With a smile, I thanked him as my vision darkened.
A/N: Do you guys know that dog? I based the argument with a convo I had with my friend. We were both pro-P3 though. Not dissing on Yu or anything. I loved both gamed equally.
Well, at any rate, same deal as last time! Please review!
Q/A:
Riv: Thanks! It was supposed to be a lemon, but I decided not to anymore.
FES: Yup. I kinda thought fluff meant lemon, but nevermind. You were right about action though.
Night: Junpei cockblocking is sorta a running gag. Probably cause he doesn't get any these days, but looks like he did now. Also, Junpei does have some 'lewt' from is Tartarus days, along with the money he had from Culture Day.
Radektor: Yup. Grandma plays a much bigger role than you might think.
Hoshi: Thanks! They would continue that awkward phase until they're both ready. And thanks, I did try to up it with the description.
Starseeker: 'I'll pay my rent when you FIX THIS DAMN DOOR!'
I absolutely love Spiderman, but I hate the new one they made. Totally butchered it. But enough about that, thanks for reviewing!
Ace: Of course we do. After all, Minato is still human...
MoM: Yeah, but Minako's Orpheus has brown hair, while Telos has blonde hair... Well, I guess he can have any sort of hair, or did he go to a salon? :3
Kazuya: Thanks, although I'm not from Japan, I remember they do this at the Philippines before, only they go to mass every night instead. On the 24th, I'd have a date with my sweetheart. Good times.
Yes, the presents are symbolic in the later chapters. And I agree. The game does bully Junpei too much.
He also has Tartarus cash, and you made me remember about the installing P4 there, so thanks.
Oh, no problem. I'm not really from Japan, as previously stated, so I'm not too sure how they do things there. Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep that in mind.
Fluff Master: Thanks. Although prior to this chapter, I didn't even know what that meant.
Guest for now: Thanks. Which collegue? It's always nice to meet fellow MinaxMina fans, though they rank almost as low as MinaxFuuka and Lord forbid MinaxChihiro! Nah, not that far.
Guest(1): Agreed. Based after my own kooky granmaman.
Ari: Thanks! Granmaman's are pretty cool, no?
Text User: Thanks! And I do hope you'll review again!
Guest(2): thanks. Yes, it will blossom quite soon... They're both interesting. Thanks for reviewing! Feel free to ask anything.
Lumiclipse: thanks. I will definitely keep up the stories.
Anonymous: I don't quite get what you're saying. You're not making any sense. And I'm really confused, can you tell me what you were trying to say?
Happy Fourth of July everyone!