Author's Note: Hey guys! Hullo! Thanks once again for all the support that I have gotten from this project. So as I responded to a previous person before I have come to terms with some things and ultimately need to make a clarification to them if they are still reading and an announcement to you all. The clarification I need to make is that I at one point had said to them that I was basing this Fic on P4/P4G and not really focusing on the sequels. I ultimately made the decision to include them as part of the canon for this Fic for a number of reasons. However, the main reason is that I am actually working on (on the side) a prequel story to this Fic about the P3 and P4 groups. Now I will probably not be posting any of that story until I am closer to being done with this one, but it is in the works and Kanji makes reference to it in vague terms in this chapter.
Otherwise, I would also like to give a shout out to my newest reviewer Jayelwillow. Anywhoo, thanks for the support again. And enjoy this chapter named after an iconic album. Reviews welcome!
The silence in the room after the announcement was deafening. Yu Narukami, best friend, soon to be husband, and local legend was missing. He was the source of so much focus and attention.
Finally Miwa spoke up and asked, "So we are all thinking that this tied to the Mirror World thing going on, right?"
"Yeah, pretty sure you are correct. Just when having Yu around would be perfect," Chie commented out loud. Nanako recalled the conversation she had with Chie weeks before. She had made comments like that before. Something was sitting in the back of her mind and Nanako was trying to think what it was she was supposed to be remembering.
Yukiko straightened up as she asked Kanji, "So what was it like in there Kanji? Do you think we can handle the situation?"
"Prolly," Kanji responded. "The entities that are calling themselves Reflections are strong. Really strong. One-on-one we would probably have some difficulty, but they seem to be not unlike anything we had faced before. I mean it seems to operate more like our TV World than it does the last time we dealt with this."
"Wait what do you mean last-" Shima started and he was cut off by Yukiko's response to Kanji.
"We'll have to find some time away from work," Yukiko responded somewhat frustrated.
Shima continued to try to interject, "Look, you guys-"
Chie answered, "It will be difficult for me to get time off with the active investigation but I-"
Shima, finally tired of being ignored stood up and yelled, "Hey! Don't you ignore me!" The four adults looked over at him, surprised by his outburst. "We're in this too. You aren't just going to bench us because you accidentally stumbled onto this."
Kanji straightened up and seemed to get bigger in the room. Shiho shrank in her chair as Kanji approached. Shima stepped away from his seat and put himself between Kanji and Shiho not missing her movement. A knock on the door broke the tension as a familiar pair of eyes entered the room.
"Yukiko-san? We have a Ms. Takamari in the lobby wanting to confirm a reservation here at the Inn? I cannot find the reservation," the big eyed boy from the first visit interrupted the group. Yukiko stood up and excused herself from the table. However, Kanji and Shima had not yet moved from their spots and Yukiko ended up having to head back around the table.
However in this delay, the customer in question got impatient, followed the yelling, and decided to follow through to the meeting room to take some initiative on the matter or her reservation. Blonde twintails bounced into the room as she called out, "Hello? I don't mean to be pushy here but I am in a little bit of a… hurry."
For Ann Takamari, the state of this room brought to mind two things. One, the girl at the table looked a lot like Shiho and two, a group of adults armed with a giant seemed to be intimidating High School Students. It seemed the world did not really change, no matter where you were. A flash of an evil man from her past twisted her mouth into a scowl as she stared at the dark haired giant.
"My apologies, Takamari-san. You've caught us at a slightly busy time. It is my understanding that you have a long term reservation? Do you remember what month you made it?" Yukiko offered.
"Uh, January," Ann replied finally pulling her gaze away from the man. "What's, uh, going on here?" She asked gesturing towards the situation.
Before Yukiko could answer, Yuuta quickly answered, "Nothing, we are just leaving. Miwa, Nanako, Shiho-senpai, and, uh, Shima-senpai? We should get out of their hair." The teens all looked at him. They realized that he was right, this meeting was not going well. Shima looked back at the giant Kanji and then clicked his cane on the ground once the others got up.
"He's right, we're done here," Shima confirmed to the giant man in front of him. As they rushed out of the room, Nanako and Shiho both recognized the woman with Yukiko.
"My apologies, it is a long story. About your room-?" Yukiko continued as the teens fell out of earshot.
The teens all made there way out to the bus stop. Miwa could not hold back her outburst any longer, "Called it. We so called it."
Shima looked over at her and asked, "Called what?"
Yuuta explained to him, "Before we saved you two we had debated talking to them. Nanako was pretty sure they were going to try to take over this if we did."
"As she put it at the time, this started as a search for truth, not a chance for more lies," Miwa added.
Nanako finally realized what it was she was trying to remember. "I don't think we were the only ones who thought about discovering the truth about what happened back then," she blurted out. The group looked ot her. "My dad. He was planning on calling my Big Bro when this case first started. I think my dad was suspecting that something beyond his understanding was happening. Also, while we are having revelations and remembering things, Shiho was that Ann?"
Shima, Miwa, and Yuuta all looked at her and did not seem to register who she was talking about. Shiho however replied, "That woman was Ann. My best friend at my old school."
"Oh." "Really?" "Shhhh-eesh."
Nanako simply shook her head and replied, "I thought so. It seems like are only going to get more complicated going forward." The group looked down the street when they heard a motor. However instead of a bus, it was a dark blue car that was approaching. It stopped out in front of the Inn and the back door opened. Stepping out of the car was a raven haired man in a nice looking polo shirt and business slacks. A simply duffle in hand. However most peculiarly was the black cat riding on his shoulder. He thanked his driver and as he passed he gave a friendly smile and wave to the high school students as he passed by. Shiho squeaked as she seemed to try to find her voice. Nanako looked back at her friend and upperclassman.
"Akira-kun," she finally said out loud. "Nanako, that was the guy I told you about. The one who I thought of when you described your Big Bro."
Nanako watched him as he walked away. The cat almost seemed to watch them and then lean into the man's ear. After that he turned and looked at the teens all watching him. "Can I help you all?" he asked out loud.
"Excuse me, Akira-san," Nanako said as she guided Shiho forward. "I think you two may know each other." Nanako needed to confirm what she thought she saw from this cat. So she kept her focus on it with her hearing while trying to keep looking at Akira.
Akira looked at the girls approaching him and his eyes widened when he realized that one of them was Shiho. "Shiho-chan? Oh my gosh, I haven't seen you in years, Um, uh, me and Ann were coming to visit you. She wanted to make up for some of the communication issues that you two had been having and she wanted to bring me along because, strange small town."
Shiho looked at him for a moment before answering, "You guys came to see me? Oh I, uh." The scene between the two was strange and the cat seemed to lean near Akira's ear again.
"...awkward," the cat whispered into his ear. Nanako gasped slightly hearing the cat's voice. Akira seemed to be stopped in his tracks at Nanako's reaction. Shiho also had noticed the words spoken by the cat on Akira's shoulder. She stepped back and slightly behind Nanako. The cat then tried to meow, but it sounded forced. It was like a human just saying the onomatopoeia.
"Morgana, they're not buying it. You're a Persona user… Shiho-chan you're a Persona user?" Akira said finally getting his head around the situation as he pointed to each of the girls as he pieced it together. The silence was palpable. It would be interrupted by the blonde from before.
"Akira! You made it… Shiho!" Ann ran forward and wrapped her arms around her friend lightly bumping Nanako and Akira on the way. Shiho lightly brought her arms up and hugged Ann back. Ann separated and looked over at Nanako and the other teens now making their way over to the conversation. "Are these friends?" She asked Shiho. Shiho was still a bit shocked by the turn of events and simply nodded.
"My name is Nanako Dojima. These are Yuuta Minami, Miwa Ito, and Shima Okazaki. And we have Persona's Ann-san," Nanako introduced them in kind and then decided to just drop a truth bomb on the newcomer. Afterall, she would find out from the cat or Akira anyway.
Ann looked at Shiho who just nodded again. She looked at Akira and then at the teens. "Personas? But, I've never heard of people without access to the Metaverse having Personas," she babbled.
"Metaverse?" Miwa asked. "When did we go sci-fi?"
"It isn't Sci-fi! It is reality!" Morgana screeched from Akira's shoulder. He winced and put his hand over his ear shielding it from the cat's voice.
Shima simply sighed as he turned back to go make sure the next bus did not leave them. He seemed to still be in a sour mood after what had happened inside. Meanwhile, Ann was still stuck on the fact that her friend was there in front of her. However, she could tell that something was wrong. "The Metaverse is a place where people's consciousness takes form," Ann told Miwa trying to translate Morgana's ravings to the new Persona users. "Jeez, could you quiet him down for just a couple moments, Akira?"
Akira simply took the cat off her shoulder and shoved him into a bag. "My apologies for my friend. Morgana is a bit of a pain sometimes. It is nice to meet you all though. Um, uh…" Akira tried to figure out how to proceed. "So, if you guys did not go to the Metaverse, then how did you get your Personas?" It seemed like a reasonable question.
Shiho finally spoke up and replied, "We went into something we call the Mirror World and um… face dark parts of ourselves. When we accepted them, we acquired our Personas."
Yuuta interjected, "Well that is the tame version. We have to fight 'em. They tried to kill us." Ann and Akira simultaneously looked over at Shiho and then remembered themselves.
"Like 'kill' as in…?" Ann asked drawing her finger across her neck.
Shima simply announced from the bus stop, "Exactly like that. Textbook definition." The whole group looked over at him. "Imagine every little thing that you despise about yourself turning into a goddamn monster out for your blood, because you had the gall to try to hide it from the world. Sure sounds like as much fun as a Metaverse, I'm sure."
"Shima? What's wrong?" Nanako asked him.
Shima just shook his head, "It's nothing, just getting real tired of waiting for the bus because our meeting with a bunch of assholes went immediately off the deep end." Shiho however saw the grimace that was trying to slip through his slightly angry looking expression. He was hurting.
Miwa turned her attention back to the two visitors to their town, "Yeah, I can't exactly say it was our best moment. We're not the first Persona-Users from around here."
Ann perked up to this knowledge recalling what she had just walked in on. "You mean those people are… just how many are there?" Ann asked Morgana who was trying to fight his way out of the bag.
"Well, Lady Ann, I can say honestly that I don't know," he replied upon emerging from the bag. "I am Morgana by the way. You could call me, Mona though."
"Mona?" Yuuta asked the cat.
Akira just chuckled. "It is an old nickname. We all had 'em," he told him as Morgana allowed himself to be scratched behind the ears by the curious Yuuta. Shiho separated from the group to go check on Shima. She had so much to say to Ann, but a small angry piece of her wanted to demand information from her about why she could not hold a conversation over the phone. No, that could wait.
"Are you ok, Shima?" Shiho asked him as she got to where he was standing. "I saw the pain on your face. What can I do to help?"
Shima looked at her and offered her a small smile, "There really isn't much to do, Shiho. But thanks for offering. Makes it a little easier to ignore. What about you? You gonna go talk to her about back then?"
Shiho shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know," Shiho told him quietly. "I want to, but I also want to be angry at her."
"Eh, I'd say be angry for a little," Shima told her with a small scoff. "It's the only way she'll know that she hurt you, y'know?"
"C-could you be there when I do? I think having you and Nanako there will help," Shiho asked him. Shima simply nodded. "Thank you."
Another motor could be heard. Looking down the road, the next bus was on its way. Shima whistled out to the group. Nanako turned to Akira, Morgana, and Ann, with a polite bow she said, "It has been interesting meeting you, but we need to head back into town. However, if you find yourself in need, I can help you along your way."
"Thank you very much, Nanako-chan," Ann replied and made her way over to Shiho. "Shiho, I will meet up with you a little later. We need to catch up, yeah?" Shiho nodded.
Akira simply sighed as Morgana seemed to be getting uppity about something again. "It was nice meeting you as well Nanako-kun. I look forward to meeting you all again."
The High School students all filed onto the bus and as they rode away Shiho asked Nanako, "Nanako, would you be willing to help me with something? Shima is helping too, I just need some support with talking to Ann." Nanako nodded.
Yuuta looked over at her and asked, "Do you need me and Miwa to be there too Senpai?"
Shiho smiled lightly but shook her head. "I don't want her to think I am having us gang up on her. But thank you very much for your offer," she replied gratefully. The bus ride went uneventful. Yuuta and Miwa separated from the other three and began walking to the residential district.
"I can't believe we just got swept off to the side by Narukami's friends," Yuuta commented as the two of them walked.
Miwa was tempted to agree with him but something was nagging her. "You know I don't think they were doing it maliciously. I mean if you think about it, they went through something like this before and they didn't have any predecessors. They probably just went into some kind of serious business mode because that is all they knew from before. Especially if it is going to involve Nanako," she explained to him.
"I guess that makes sense," Yuuta commented. "But if you really think about it, they are also down a leader. I mean you heard the way that Satonaka-san talked about him. They needed him now like they probably needed him back then. I can't blame them though. We could probably use him here too."
"Hey Yuuta, can I ask you a serious question?" Miwa looked over at him.
"Uh, sure, I guess. What's up?"
"If Narukami-san led a group of Persona users, and we know that those three we met today at the Inn were part of a group of Persona users… well, do you think there are others out there like us? Likes ones that came before us and maybe even before Narukami-san?" Miwa asked.
Yuuta hummed in thought. "Well I guess it would make sense. Why?"
"Well I just got to thinking, that there has to be a reason that these things happen right? The existence of the Mirror World for instance. Our ability to freely move in and out of it. Our Personas?"
"I mean, yeah. But what can we do about that?" Yuuta asked as he continued walking. Miwa however slowed to standing.
"What if we tried to find out what happened back then? What's that saying? Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it? What if we could stop anyone else from ever having to take up fighting Shadows like us?" Miwa suggested.
This stopped Yuuta in his tracks. "Are you thinking what I am thinking?"
Miwa closed her eyes in thought and then mockingly guessed, "Miwa would sure look good without a shirt on?"
Yuuta blushed heavily as Miwa began to laugh. "Well now I am, but what I was thinking before that was looking up the Inaba Murders from way back. They may have some clues," he retorted. "Let's start looking into this tomorrow. Meet at library after school?"
Miwa, who finally had stopped giggling at her own joke, nodded.
Shortly after Yuuta and Miwa had left, Shiho got a text from Ann asking to meet her somewhere. Shiho asked her to meet up at the Samegawa Riverbank.
"Ok, so when she arrives," Nanako began explaining to Shima, "we need you to help separate Ann from Akira."
Shima nodded. "If you can get just a little fire started here Shiho, getting him away should not be any problem. Guys just don't wanna get involved in girl fights. Trust me on that one."
Shiho nodded. "Then Nanako could stay and be some kind of mediator," she suggested. Shima nodded in approval again. The three of them started heading to the Samegawa area to prepare for the meeting. The entire walk through, Shiho began having doubts. "I don't know if I should do this anymore."
Nanako looked at her and gave her a supportive smile. "You know, I generally don't like the idea of friends being mad at each other. But I do agree with Shima on this. Ann needs to know that she has hurt you. Friends need to be able to let each other see when they are hurting. But more importantly, friends need to know when something they are doing is hurting the other. Ann may not realize just how much you had been depending on her messages," Nanako reassured her as the three of them walked.
"You don't have to be angry for long if you don't want, Shiho," Shima added. "It doesn't need to be long term. But it does need to be communicated. Simply telling her isn't enough. She has to see it. The only thing that is really going to put it into a real life context. Seeing is believing and all that shiiii-. I mean craaaa-. I mean stuff."
Shiho nodded slightly more confident about the plan. They got to the Riverbank and there the three of them waited. Shima sat down on a nearby stump with his eyes closed. The two girls could tell he was holding back pained expressions but they remained silent. However, shortly after the two newcomers arrived. Shiho looked over at Shima who simply nodded as he stood up.
"Shiho, I am so glad to see you," Ann said going over and hugging her friend again. Shiho however this time did not return the hug. Ann stepped back with a concerned look as she definitely noticed this. "Shiho? What's wrong?"
"Ann," Shiho started. Inside she was desperately trying to grab onto that spark that had made her so mad at Ann. She finally found it and her expression hardened. "What has been keep you from just returning a text message more than a few times a month?" Her tone was scathing. Beyond what either Shima or Nanako were expecting and it caused Ann to visually shrink back from her friend. Akira looked like he wanted to say something, but a quick look from Shiho seemed to extinguish that need.
"Hey, uh, Akira. Maybe we should um…" Shima said gestured back towards the floodplain.
Akira looked at the situation and felt like he should stay but then Nanako stepped closer to him and with a gentle look told him, "I'll keep an eye on them. I think it might be best if you two stepped away. Girl time."
Shima and Akira both nodded, thankful for the opportunity to leave.
"Shiho, I-" Ann stuttered trying to say something.
Shiho looked at her and the spark she grabbed was further igniting. "So what happened Ann? You promised me you were going to stay in contact with me. You promised."
"I-I-"
"I needed someone, Ann. I have only recently been blessed with the friendships I have made. But I have been alone for almost two years since I moved. You apparently became a Phantom Thief and a Persona User and disappear for months at a time," Shiho continued.
Ann was surprised at Shiho's mention of the Phantom Thieves. But she could not necessarily deny anything. "I can't say anything that can excuse it. But I will explain it. About the Phantom Thieves thing, I certainly did get involved in that. We were the ones who punished Kamoshida. But I couldn't do it before that monster had done his damage. It was a full time gig. The only time off I really had, you were in recovery. Then after you left, you always seemed so sad when you talked with me. I thought, maybe, that being in contact with me just reminded you of your past. I thought I was hurting you. I don't know, I just got it so far in my head that all I could be doing was hurting you, I thought if I could leave you be for a while it could get easier for you. I see now that I was wrong, but… I am so sorry Shiho."
Shiho felt the flame in her mind become extinguished. To be honest, she could completely understand where Ann was coming from. Afterall, had she not tried to avoid becoming too close to Shima for exactly that reason. "Ann, I am sorry I snapped at you. I just have been so angry when I think about you that it just boiled over," Shiho said quickly as she felt herself start to become upset, mostly at herself.
Ann stepped forward and embraced her friend again, "Shiho, let's start over. Clean the slate. Now that I know this, I don't want to let myself fall out of touch with you." Shiho returned the hug this time. Nanako simply sighed with relief that they were communicating like this. Meanwhile, Shima led Akira to a nearby gazebo. The two remained mostly silent until they got there and Shima sat down immediately with a grunt.
"You ok, uh, Shima-kun was it?" Akira asked him.
Shima just nodded. "It hurts from time to time. Don't bring it up the girls when their done, I don't want them to worry about it," Shima replied. Akira nodded. "So, can I ask you a question about them?"
"I may not be the best person to ask, but I'll try," Akira replied.
"The asshole, uh, Kamoshida. Did he ever actually acknowledge what he did those two specifically?" Shima asked him.
Akira gave a light scoff. "Not exactly. However, it was implied as part of his confession. Not exactly ideal, but that was the only way we would do anything about it," Akira explained.
"When you say 'we' then I assume you are referring to your group of Persona using vigilantes?" Shima asked with a hint of a joking tone.
Akira did get a chuckle out of this. "More accurate than you would think," Akira replied. "Have you ever heard of the Phantom Thieves?"
Shima nodded. "I found out about you guys shortly after Shiho and I met. I had suspicions about where she had come from, but I never wanted to ask her about it. You guys were very busy weren't you?"
"To put it lightly. So what is happening around here that is causing two generations of Persona-users to meet?" Akira asked.
Shima just sighed remembering the meeting from earlier, "Well most simply put, we don't rightly know. But we have a Mirror World here and it started sucking people into it and they were winding up dead. Nanako started going into the Mirror World to save us. Those people just stumbled onto it recently and seem to have the intention of uh, taking over this investigation."
"I see, seems adults still don't take teens seriously, huh?" Akira commented idly. "Question about you and Shiho if you don't mind?"
Shima nodded. "Only fair."
"She stepped away from a conversation with Ann earlier to check on you. You two an item?" Akira asked. Shima at first thought maybe he was trying to press a button for a reaction, however the look in his eyes reminded him of Nanako. He was genuinely interested.
Shima was quiet for a moment. "Well to be honest, I don't really think either of us is really in a position to be ready for that. But over the last year or so, we have been talking a lot and kinda being outcasts together. But no, not an item," he finally replied. Akira simply nodded understandingly. "Y'know you seem to be the leadership-type. Do all of you Persona leaders come across the same way? Because you and Nanako are really, really alike."
Akira simply sat down next to Shima as he considered his words carefully. "Well you know about Arcana right? The basic classification of our Personas fall under them. If I had to wager a guess, I would probably assume that you are of the Emperor Arcana. Am I right?"
Shima, legitimately impressed, replied, "Yeah. How did you know?"
"Well the Emperor in fortune telling is generally characterized by a need to control one's surrounding and when it appears it can often show that one is trying too hard to do it. As it pertains to Persona Users and people in general however, I have observed that those classified as Emperor are troubled by something very personal, and don't know how to deal with it."
"Holy shit…" Shima said. "You just tore me open and read pieces there now didntja? How about you and Nanako then?"
"Fool Arcana. Though, something makes me think that she only recently became more like me. In fortune telling it was a symbol of innocence, divine inspiration, madness, freedom, spontaneity, inexperience, chaos and creativity. Seems like a lot, but I think the best way to describe it is like being a canvas to be filled in. Which people like us find that the most paint and color we get in life comes from the bonds we make with others," Akira explained.
"And if you had to guess what Nanako was before she was a Fool Arcana?"
"If I had to guess, probably Justice though I do feel some of Hierophant in her. Though I assume she was a close relationship with her parents which would probably explain why it feels like her metaphorical canvas is partially filled in," Akira suggested. "Sorry about all the canvas talk, my roommate is a painter so it is basically on the brain all the time. Possibly even literally if I had to guess." The two of them had a good laugh.
The two them felt the conversation die down and were glad to hear the sound of the three girls approaching them. "How did it go?" Shima asked Nanako.