Guiding Star
Written by Aiyumi
Disclaimer: Persona and all related characters are property of Atlus, Inc. Any trademarks that may be referenced in this fan fiction are properties of their respective owners. I am just a fan and do not have any relations to said people/companies.
Chapter 13: The Fourth Flower
The following Dark Hour, Pharos stayed close to Minako while she did the remaining homework.
"Done! Finally!" Minako finished the homework and closed her notebook.
Pharos stood up from his sitting position on the bed's edge, and hopped on his feet happily. "This was fun! Don't you think?"
Minako chuckled. "I think you're the only one who thinks homework is fun. But yeah, I have to admit that it was much less boring than it'd have been if I had done it all alone. Thanks, Pharos-kun."
"You're welcome!"
Pharos approached her and looked at her pleadingly. By now, Minako could tell what he wanted. As soon as she hugged him, she was able to see the satisfaction in his eyes. He gently hugged her back, and they remained silent for a minute or so.
"Minako, there's something I'd forgotten to tell you." Pharos spoke once they had broken apart. His expression was serious. "The other day I had a strong feeling. It's like those feelings I have about the full moon creatures. I think it was a premonition."
"A premonition?"
"Yeah. What I can say is that... The poisonous flowers are about to bloom. One on your garden, and three on the garden opposite yours."
"... Huh?" A memory from the other timeline hit Minako immediately. Pharos had given this warning back then as well, but she hadn't understood it and hadn't given it much thought. Even now, she had no idea what it was referring to. "... What does this mean?"
"It means that you need to be careful."
"Careful about what? I still don't get it. How am I supposed to be careful about it if I don't even know what it is?"
"Oh. You really don't like this kind of phrases, huh?" Pharos heaved a sigh. "Alright. I didn't want to put it like this, but you leave me no choice. The flowers represent people. Four people you need to be wary of. Three that oppose you, and one person that seems to be on your side but isn't."
People, Minako thought. Three that oppose me...! Her eyes widened in realization. Now that she had the knowledge about what was going to happen, it made sense. The three flowers from the opposite garden could only be Strega, and there was no way she would have guessed that back then. When SEES had run into Strega for the first time, they had only noticed Takaya and Jin. Chidori had yet to show herself to then, and no one could have guessed that Strega had three members. But what about the flower on her side of the garden? "Do you mean... there's someone in the group that will betray us!?"
Pharos flashed a small and sad smile. "I definitely didn't want to put it like this, but it's exactly what I mean. Asking you to be careful is all I can do, though. I have no idea who those people are. I only have a strong feeling that indicates three people are against you, and that someone's going to betray your group in some way. I wish my intuition were wrong, but this feeling is too strong to ignore. It's sad to think that someone might be planning to betray your group. Your friends are so nice. I can't imagine any one of them turning against you..."
So, this was why Pharos hadn't elaborated in the other timeline. He didn't know who the four "flowers" were, either.
"It's okay. Thanks for the heads-up. I'll stay alert."
... ... ... ... ...
That night, Minako had trouble to sleep. She kept tossing and turning in bed while she wondered who the poisonous flower from her group might be. The only traitor she could think of was Ikutsuki. He would betray them no doubt. To think she had even gone to the movie festival with him in the other timeline!
When Minako was finally able to sleep, she had a nightmare where Ikutsuki invited her somewhere at night, but when she arrived at the address he had given her, Dark Hour suddenly struck, and she realized too late it was a trap. Ikutsuki found out she was aware of his plans, and intended to kill her.
X:X:X:X:X
"You c-can't kill me j-just like that!" Minako said in panic.
Ikutsuki laughed. "Oh, of course I can. I don't know if you realize, but I actually don't need you. I only wanted you here because Death is inside you, and would attract the Arcana Shadows once it came near enough. I only had an use for you until the moment you stepped into this city and the Arcana Shadows awakened. From that moment on, all I would need are Persona Users to defeat the Shadows and cause Death to absorb them, and I'm sure the others can do that just fine without you. You know about my plans, and I can't have you ruining them now, can I? One more reason to kill you." Ikutsuki pointed a gun at her. "And no one will find out. I'll just put the blame on Strega or something. Easy, isn't it? Ha ha ha!" He laughed like when he does those lame puns of his.
Minako looked around. She was unequipped. No naginata, no Evoker, nothing. But it was Dark Hour. So, maybe... in despair, she shouted the first thing that came to her mind...
X:X:X:X:X
"Personaaaaaa!" Minako awoke with a start. When she noticed she had actually shouted, she felt a bit embarrassed. She tried to go back to sleep, but it was no use. It was six in the morning, and Minako concluded she wouldn't get any more sleep that morning.
... ... ... ... ...
In the afternoon, Minako invited Rio and Yuko to the movies, but she barely paid attention to the screen. Her mind was occupied with the one flower that was silently awaiting the right time to leak its poison. Who could it be? Ikutsuki was the most logical candidate. Or maybe, by extension, Aigis. Although it hadn't been of her will, the robot girl had nearly killed them when Ikutsuki reprogrammed her. Could Pharos' premonition be about the chairman's betrayal, or was it about something that would happen sooner?
The movie ended. Minako parted ways with Rio and Yuko. On the way to the dorm, she ran into Junpei.
"Hey, Mina-tan!" Junpei waved cheerfully and halted in front of her.
"Hi, Junpei. You seem to be in high spirits! Did something good happen?"
"You won't believe this!" Junpei grinned from ear to ear. "I've just gone on a date!"
Junpei's statement came so out of the blue that it took Minako some time to register what he said. "... What?"
"Well, sort of, hahaha." Junpei laughed sheepishly. "Uh, let's go back to the dorm, and I'll tell you on the way."
"Okay." Minako could tell that Junpei was dying to tell someone about whatever had happened to him that day.
They resumed walking, and Junpei began narrating his story.
X:X:X:X:X
The other day I met this girl called Chidori. We didn't talk much, though. She speaks little and draws a lot.
Today I ran into her again, quite literally! I was distracted, bumped into her and ruined her drawing...
"Ah! I'm sorry!" I apologized. "I messed up your drawing, didn't I?"
She didn't say anything, and only stared blankly at me as though I had said something obvious. Then again, I really had, haha.
I thought she was angry. I felt I needed to make things right. "I-I'll make up for it, okay? How about I buy you something?" I didn't know what to offer and blurted some options out. "Do you like ramen? We could go to Hagakure... oh, wait, it's hot because it's summer... maybe an ice cream would be better? ... Or maybe we could check out the movie festival that's going on..." Then I realized what I had said. I had asked her out to the movies. We had met only once. Now she'd get the wrong idea and be definitely angry. "Hahaha, no, scratch that. Then..."
"Fine."
"Huh?" I balked. "What?"
She kept staring at me with the same blank expression. "A movie is fine. Then, an ice cream..."
For a second, I thought I had heard wrong, or that she was making fun of me. "R-really?!"
Chidori nodded. She seems so closed up. I was surprised she accepted an offer by a total stranger like me, but I was glad that she did. For some reason, I feel as though she needs help, and it was nice to know that I could do something for her. "A-alright! We have to set a time then. When can you-"
"Now."
It was my turn to stare.
"I'm free right now." She added.
"Th-then, let's go...!" I practically jumped in joy.
Until then, I had only seen her look around blankly as though she hadn't been finding joy in anything, but on our way to Screen Shot, she kept glancing at me once in a while, and it wasn't that blank look. She seemed curious, like she wanted to ask something. But she said nothing, and I had no idea what she might've been curious about. But I wanted her to have a good time. For that, I had to make sure to choose a good movie.
We went to the movies, then had ice cream after that. I think I got a good movie. It had lots of action, but also had a lot of beautiful sceneries. Although Chidori didn't comment much, I could tell she liked it. I hope this movie has inspired her. Her drawings are kind of dark. It'd be good if she got inspired to draw brighter stuff.
X:X:X:X:X
Minako was impressed. That date hadn't happened in the other timeline. Junpei's carried over maturity was making a big difference. As perverted as he was, he hadn't asked a girl out to the movies just for the sake of it. He had already begun reforging his bond with Chidori. Minako hoped they would be able to save her this time around.
"Wow... that was nice. I think you left a good impression on her."
"Really? Eheh..." Junpei's ego pumped up, and he produced imaginary music notes towards the Magician Social Link. "I did what I could."
They returned to the dorm, and Minako's focus went back to the fourth flower.
Come to think of it, in the previous timeline, something had happened between Junpei and Chidori during the September full moon operation, and that had been when they found out she was from Strega. Junpei didn't tell SEES in detail what had happened, but it seemed like he had accidentally spilled out information or something. Minako was sure Chidori was one of the three opposing flowers. Could Junpei be the fourth one?
That night, Minako had trouble to sleep again. This time, her dream was about Junpei.
X:X:X:X:X
"Mina-tan, I have something important to tell you. I... I'm quiting SEES."
"... What did you say?" Minako asked incredulously.
"I'm quiting SEES." Junpei repeated. "You see, Mina-tan. I love Chidori. She doesn't want the Dark Hour to end. I want to respect her wish, and because of this, I can't help you guys anymore. Sorry."
"No. This can't be happening..." Minako murmured, dejected.
X:X:X:X:X
"This can't be happening... this can't be...! Ah!" Once again, Minako awoke with a start and realized she had been muttering things in her sleep. "No, this can't be happening..." She repeated, but this time referring to her current situation. Minako glanced at the clock. It was almost the time she usually woke up, and she decided to get up.
... ... ... ... ...
SEES went to Tartarus that Dark Hour, but they had to quit their exploration early because Minako wasn't focused enough.
Back in the dorm, Minako went to bed. But then...
X:X:X:X:X
"Minako-chan, we should stop defeating the big Shadows," Fuuka said. "I know we had that talk the other day, but I think I really don't want the Dark Hour to end. I'm only useful because of my Persona's power. If the Dark Hour is gone, my usefulness will be gone too..."
"No, Fuuka-chan, not you too... no, not this again...!"
X:X:X:X:X
Minako opened her eyes tiredly. Seven in the morning. Yup, no more sleep today either.
... ... ... ... ...
On the night from August 27th to the 28th, Minako dreamed about Akihiko.
X:X:X:X:X
"I'm done here. I'm joining Strega!"
"What?!" Minako couldn't believe that. "You, joining Strega!? Why, senpai!?"
"If we end the Dark Hour, we won't be able to fight Shadows anymore. This means that I won't have Shadows to use as punching bags anymore! They were the strongest opponents I've ever fought. If I can't fight then anymore, it'll be no fun!"
"Aaaaaaaaah! No, no, no! Enough! I'm sick of this!" Even inside the dream, Minako was aware she was dreaming, and she couldn't take those kinds of nightmares anymore.
X:X:X:X:X
Upon waking up the next morning, Minako came to a decision. Since no one had showed any suspicious sign yet, she had nothing concrete to go on. She probably should watch and hope to catch suspicious signs when they happened rather than try to guess blindly.
... ... ... ... ...
That night, Ken officially joined SEES. It happened just like it had the other time.
Minako was restless in her sleep again, but she couldn't remember what the dream was about. At least her sleep had been better than the previous nights.
... ... ... ... ...
August 29th. "It's that time again! In one week, the moon will be full." Pharos was seated to Minako's right on the edge of her bed.
"Yeah. So, how many Shadows?"
"One."
Just as Minako had expected. It should be the Hermit in Club Escapade. "Alright. Anything else I should know?"
"No, I think this is all. Just be careful like you've always been, and you'll be fine."
Minako recalled how Pharos had gotten worried about her safety during the operation against Emperor and Empress. Now he didn't seem as worried anymore. He trusted her abilities a lot more now. "Okay, thanks." She changed the subject. "Pharos-kun, have you found out anything about the fourth flower? I've been thinking about it a lot lately, but nothing came to my mind."
Pharos shook his head. "Nothing on my end either."
Minako sighed. "Well, then I'll have to just wait and see, I guess. I'll keep my eyes open."
"You're losing sleep over it." It wasn't a question. "You're having nightmares, aren't you? You've tossed and turned a lot, and have awoken shouting many times. I got worried."
"Yeah, I'm having nightmares about my friends saying they won't help us anymore because they concluded they don't want the Dark Hour to end, or that they'll join Strega... things like that." Minako summarized.
"Hmm." Pharos furrowed his brows with worry. "Maybe I shouldn't have warned you about those flowers. I just wanted to help, but that warning seems to have been doing more harm than good. Since neither of us has any clue to identify the flowers, it's no use thinking about then. All I've done was worry you. I'm sorry."
"I think it's good that you warned me about the possibility of someone betraying us. But I also came to the conclusion that it's no use thinking about it while we have no clues. So, I decided I'll stay more alert around my group, but I'll try to not think about this all the time."
Pharos nodded. "Okay. Then you should go to sleep. You look tired."
Minako yawned, and had to agree. "Okay. I'll do just that. I hope I don't have nightmares this time..."
"I'll turn the lamp off for you!" Pharos reached for the bedside table and turned the lamp off.
"Thanks." Minako climbed onto bed. "Good night, Pharos-kun."
"Good night!"
... ... ... ... ...
The following Dark Hour, SEES went to Tartarus so that Ken could test his Persona. Everything had gone well. The group got separated by the end of the trip, but Fuuka guided everyone safely to the access point where Minako had been waiting for them.
"Um, I found some money," Ken said to Minako.
"You may keep it." Minako responded.
"Really?" The boy's eyes widened. "It's 70,000 yen! This would be enough to buy the entire Featherman R mini figures collection! Are you sure I may keep this much?"
"Wow, you were lucky. I haven't seen the suitcases in these floors yield so much." Minako commented. "We have nothing urgent to buy right now. It's all yours."
"Oh, th-thanks!"
Yukari and Koromaru also arrived, and the group used the access point to return to the entrance.
On the way back to the dorm, Junpei spoke. "I've been wondering... what are the Shadows, exactly?" Before Yukari had a chance to make a Witty remark and say it was an obvious question, he added, "I mean, I know they're monsters that we have to fight, but where do they come from?"
"They are created from humans' negative emotions, or so I have heard." Aigis answered.
"... Yes... I believe I have heard this somewhere as well, although I do not recall where..." Mitsuru said with a pensive expression. "If I recall correctly, Personas are basically the same."
"This is what I have heard as well." Aigis spoke again. "When individuals manage to control the Shadows inside themselves, these Shadows will manifest as Personas. In other words, Personas are merely tamed Shadows."
"Wait. Let me see if I got this right," Junpei said. "You're saying Personas and Shadows are basically the same thing, and only have different names?"
"Exactly." Aigis confirmed. "This is the reason only Personas are able to defeat Shadows. Because they are the same."
"Makes sense..." Mitsuru muttered to herself.
"And why do we find money and equipment in Tartarus?" Ken asked.
It was a good question Minako had also wondered about but had never come to a conclusion.
Who tried to answer, though, was Fuuka. "Hmm. I don't know. But now that I think about it, Shadows and Personas only manifest during the Dark Hour, and both come from humans' emotions. Tartarus also only appears during the Dark Hour. Maybe it came from humans' negative emotions, too? If so, what is inside might also be the same. There's a lot of trouble because of people's desire for money. And some of the weapons we find in there are the kind used by assassins and such, too..." Fuuka must have noticed everyone was having second thoughts about the money and equipment they were using. "Ah, b-but we're using all of those for a good cause. Even though our Personas might be dangerous, they are helping us. And the equipment too."
"Yamagishi is right." Mitsuru agreed. "Anything may be used both for good and for evil. Even a kitchen knife may be used for harming people. What matters most are not the tools, but how we use them."
That reasoning convinced Ken. "Using those dangerous things for the sake of justice. It's as cool as the heroes from movies!" He said in admiration.
"Hmm, yes, this is a 'cool' notion, Amada-san." Aigis agreed.
"Back on the topic of Personas." Akihiko changed the subject. "What if the person fails to tame the Shadow inside him or her?"
"The Persona goes out of control and might even kill the user." Aigis answered.
A few seconds of heavy silence followed, which Junpei broke. "Th-that sounds dangerous...! I had never thought something like that could happen. When I found out I could use a Persona, I only thought it was pretty cool. I never imagined that Hermes might try to kill me... I had always thought Mina-tan having many Personas was cool too... but now that I think our Personas might attack us, having multiple of them sounds much more dangerous than having only one!"
That got Minako thinking. She briefly considered that the fourth flower might be one of her Personas rather than one of her team members, but since none of her Personas had misbehaved in the other timeline, she discarded that possibility.
"A card..." Ken muttered to himself. "Err, no, nothing... I mean..." He spoke louder. "Uh, Minako-san, your Persona went out of control when you summoned it for the first time, didn't it?"
"Really? I don't think I've heard of this," Fuuka said.
Junpei also seemed curious. "Yeah, Mina-tan, you never gave us the details."
Minako had to be careful with her answer, especially because she was sure Pharos was listening, and he had become pretty worried about her after the incident. "It was only a few days since I had moved to Iwatodai. One of the Arcana Shadows came and attacked the dorm. Yukari-chan and I tried to run away, but the Shadow got to us, and Yukari-chan summoned her Persona to protect me. Then the enemy attacked her and she dropped her Evoker. I took it, managed to summon Orpheus and tried to fight too. But I lost my grip on Orpheus, she mutated into another Persona, and went out of control."
"That new Persona was scary!" Yukari joined the conversation. "It made quick work of the big Shadow like it was nothing, then looked about to attack us! I thought my heart would stop right then and there! Thankfully it calmed down and transformed back into Orpheus. But then Minako-chan passed out and stayed in the hospital for one whole week."
"So, this was what happened..." Junpei muttered.
The team members that hadn't known about that incident were shocked.
"It must have been tough..." Ken concluded. "Minako-san... aren't you scared of it happening again?"
"Since that day, all my Personas have behaved well. I think it's okay now. But even if my Persona were to go berserk again, I'm much stronger than I was back then, and I think I'd fare better in controlling it. Well, let's hope it doesn't happen, though..."
And Minako came to a conclusion that should have been obvious. Having Death inside her - and consequently all the Arcana Shadows SEES had defeated - was much more dangerous than any of her Personas.
... ... ... ... ...
August 30th was a Sunday. Minako went to the shrine and spent some time with Akinari, and the Sun Social Link ranked up.
... ... ... ... ...
Minako awoke in the middle of the night. In fact, she realized it was Dark Hour, and that she wasn't alone. Right beside her, the incomplete form of Death slept peacefully without a care in the world. Even though he might not be one of the mentioned flowers, he had his good share of mysteries and dangerous abilities. He was still a peculiar flower, and Minako was sure he would blossom in a good way if she took good care of him. She thought back on that discussion about the dangers of Personas and Shadows, and how her group was using such dangerous powers for a good cause. That was also valid for Pharos. Despite having so much power, he still managed to be so gentle and adorable. The more Minako got to know him, the more she was sure that placing her hopes on him was the right thing to do, and that he had what it took to stop the Fall if he put his mind to it. Everything was going to be alright. That thought put her at ease and soothed her back to sleep again.
... ... ... ... ...
Minako had gone with Ken to the movie festival, and they had just left the premises of Screen Shot.
"So, Amada-kun, did you like the movie?" Minako asked as they walked side by side.
"Yeah, I liked it. It was cool. I think it was a bit too predictable, though."
"... Predictable?" Minako found it strange. Such an unusual thing for a kid to say.
"Yeah. A lot of things happened just the way I thought they would. It's weird. Even though this movie just got released, I feel as though I've seen it before. To tell the truth, this kind of thing has been happening a lot lately. Not only with movies. I mean every day, all the time..."
Minako had noticed it too. Everyone in SEES was showing signs, but Ken's were the most noticeable, followed by Aigis'. The boy had been spacing out a lot and saying strange things out of the blue since the moment he moved to the dorm. It was as though his memories from the other timeline were almost coming to the surface.
"Want to talk about it?"
Ken seemed a bit hesitant, but began talking anyway. "It happened when I moved to the dorm. I thought it'd be hard to be around everyone, since they're older than me and all. But even before i realized it, I had settled in no problem. I feel at ease around everyone as though I'd known you all for a long time."
"I see what you mean. Even to me, everyone in the dorm feels more like a family than my relatives I lived with after my parents died."
"Ah." Ken's mood darkened at the mention of Minako's loss. "Come to think of it, almost everyone in the dorm is an orphan. You lost your parents too. Yukari-san lost her father. Sanada-san is also an orphan. Even Koromaru lost his owner..." Ken paused. "I had been feeling down for a long time. After my mom died, I thought I'd never have fun again. Life in the dorm is fun, though. All of us really get along well, and everyone is there for one another. The dorm really feels like home to me. I guess the others also think the same." After a pause, Ken suddenly stopped walking. "Minako-san."
"What is it?" Minako also stopped walking.
Ken turned to fully face her. "There's something bothering me, and I haven't talked to anyone about it. It's... well, I wouldn't say it's a secret, but it's... really hard to talk about."
"You can tell me." Minako encouraged him.
Ken took a deep breath and stared at Minako with a serious expression. "You know my mom died in an accident two years ago. Just the other day, I finally found out what really happened. You know Aragaki-san, right? Sanada-san's friend?"
Minako gave a stiff, hesitant nod. They were entering a dangerous topic.
Ken seemed to notice her hesitation. "I see. You know the truth too." His tone was almost accusing.
Minako froze. She recalled the reason Ken had joined SEES in the other timeline, which should be the same this time as well. He had found out Shinjiro Aragaki's Persona had killed his mother. To everyone else, Shinjiro was an ally who gave up his power and refused to rejoin SEES. But to Ken, Shinjiro was a killer, and he wanted revenge. Ken joined SEES because he wanted to strengthen his Persona to be able to kill Shinjiro and avenge his mother's death. But they simply let him join. No one could ever suspect Ken had been after something like that, and would only find out once it was too late. Only now everything clicked, and Minako realized she was face to face with the poisonous flower from her group.
Ken flashed a bitter smile. "Well, you're the leader. Of course you'd know something about it." He took another deep breath before continuing. "I had awoken at night by voices and loud noises outside. The clock marked midnight. When I looked outside, everything felt wrong. I didn't know at the time, but it was Dark Hour. the sky was weird, the moon was creepy, and coffins were standing on the street. Some people were outside of coffins, and monsters that now I know are Shadows were attacking them. Some other people using what must have been Personas were fighting the Shadows. Suddenly one of the Personas went crazy and began trashing about violently. The user, a teenager, was clutching his head and yelling while another Persona tried to hold his crazy Persona off. But the crazy Persona attacked our house and destroyed a wall. My mom grabbed me and tried to take me outside, but the rest of the house collapsed just as we were about to get out. She pushed me away just before everything fell down. I made it, but she... she didn't." Ken closed his eyes tightly. "That night was so surreal that at first I thought it was only a horrible nightmare, and all I wanted was to wake up. But it was no nightmare. It was all real. Every day after that, the weird hour at midnight has always happened to me. My mom was gone forever, I had no home, and I was alone..."
Minako had a pained expression as she listened. Ken had never told her those details even in the other timeline. He had suffered a lot. Minako wanted to do something to comfort him, but she didn't know what. Her first impulse was to put a hand on his shoulder, but her body refused to move. She was scared of touching him as though he were indeed a poisonous flower.
"I told this story to the police, but of course they didn't believe me." Ken continued talking. "Since no one would believe me and no one would help me, I decided to find a way to take justice into my own hands, but I found no clue of where the culprit could be, and could do nothing about it. No relatives wanted to take me in. A uncle agreed to pay for my studies, but I'd have to stay at the elementary school dorm. Then, Ikutsuki-san found me and brought me to your dorm."
Minako nodded to show she was still listening.
Ken continued. "Just a few days ago, I finally found him. I saw Aragaki-san and Sanada-san enter Hagakure. And he remembers it. He was talking about how he didn't want to come back, about how he wanted to forget what happened two years ago... yeah, it was him. It was his Persona. I was angry, and I thought a lot of horrible things. Like what? Well, let's say I must've created a lot of Shadows right then and there. Then, on the night right before we discussed Shadows and Personas going out of control, I had a nightmare about my Persona going crazy and attacking everyone from the dorm. It was horrible. Then the weirdest part of the dream happened. When everyone was fallen on the ground, my Persona calmed down, turned to me and said, 'Be careful with your choices. A true Featherman mustn't make the same mistake twice.' Hahaha..." Ken chuckled awkwardly. "Yeah, it was weird. What kind of a warning was that?! ... And then the following night we had that discussion about Shadows and Personas. It was a creepy coincidence, and I've been wondering about Personas ever since. Now I think I understand how Aragaki-san must be feeling, and can't bring myself to be angry at him anymore. If my Persona were to go crazy and kill people, I don't think I'd stand to even live two years."
"A-Amada-kun..." Minako didn't know what to say. A deep feeling of relief washed over her, and her heart began to pound faster. Normally, Ken would have been blinded by his desire for revenge. If he had managed to triumph over it, it meant that his experiences from the other timeline had made a difference!
"When I meet him, I have to talk to him about all this. He doesn't seem to be someone easy to talk to, though. Do you think he'd listen to what I have to say?"
"Well, I think he should. It'd be good for him, too."
Ken looked at her hopefully. "Would you help me talk to him if I need it?"
"Yeah, of course. And I'm sure the others in the dorm would, too. Like you said, we're there for one another."
"Thanks!" Ken smiled with gratitude. "Um, and thanks for listening to my story, too. I really needed to talk to someone about it. I was scared that Nemesis might really go crazy if I kept all this bottled up. Or maybe I'd go crazy myself..." Ken's tone was lighthearted now.
The tension broke and Minako relaxed. "Anytime." She nodded assuringly. "I'm glad you decided to open up to me before it was too late. We'll sort this out. Everything will be alright." She put a hand on his shoulder at last.
"Thanks, Minako-san. I feel much better now. Maybe if I do this right, I can become a true Featherman... hahaha, never mind!" Ken shook his head in embarrassment.
Minako giggled, and they resumed their walk to the dorm.
A/n: more memory leaks from the other timeline! Aigis' explanation about the origin of Shadows and Personas is basically what Metis told them in The Answer.