Chapter 15 - Little Things I Should Have Said & Done
Junpei, Aigis, Yukari, and the rest of the team sat there, in almost silence, as the situation dawned on them and they realized exactly what they were fighting for. For whom they've been fighting for. Or at least, were supposed to have been fighting for.
It was a sobering feeling, to recognize that perhaps they might not have known as much about their dearest friend as they'd have liked. To think a video game would provide them with more insight into his character than they could have ever imagined. But there was something that each of them knew, each of them felt, each of them completely understood - it was a feeling that had reached them all, and while they might not have wanted to admit it to each other, they were willing entirely to admit it to themselves.
It felt troublingly nostalgic.
Disturbingly like coming home.
And in their deepest recesses, they knew it would provide them a closure they didn't need, but wanted more than anything."Koromaru-san wishes to continue playing the game," she said suddenly.
Everyone was stirred back to reality by a bark. Koromaru smiled widely, eyes brimming with excitement.
"He wishes to see our journey through to the end," she continued.
"What do you want, Aigis?" Mitsuru asked her.
"Me?"
"You were the one who inherited his abilities," Mitsuru continued. "Would you wish to pursue this?"
She closed her eyes. "Yes. I would. It only feels right. We have a chance now, to know him for who he was. We'd each come up with our own understanding of him, but now we've the chance to understand how he saw us. He's helped us so much... I only want to return the favor. I feel compelled to continue this."
"So do I," said Fuuka. "Time and space bent and opened just to provide us this one chance to learn about the person responsible for giving us the lives we have now. I want to give it my all."
"Fuuka...," muttered Yukari. "I want to push through with this, too. It doesn't feel right to give up on this, after everything he'd done for us."
"Can't say I disagree," Junpei nodded.
"I'll admit I'm not as well-versed in this as some of you are...," Mitsuru stated plainly. "But I'd like to continue as well. I'll do my best to learn alongside you. Akihiko?"
Slowly, he nodded, facing the screen. "I think at this point we'll just be bothered by it forever until we finish it. So we might as well finish it."
"I hope you'll be okay with playing the lion's share of the game, Junpei-san," Ken shrugged. "I don't play very many games."
"None of you play very many games," Junpei groaned. "Only Minato had ever played any games... he and Ryoji, I guess."
"Something strikes me as odd," Aigis said suddenly then. "The concept of Social Links."
"You're tellin' me," Junpei chuckled. "Jeez. If we're collecting friends like Pokemon this'll be the worst. Minato had a ton of 'em..."
"I feel that it wouldn't be right to do this without finding and resolving every single Social Link available to us in-game."
Everyone faced Aigis now, for she had proposed something perhaps unbelievable.
"You want to find everyone?" asked Yukari.
"It would be a disservice to him to try otherwise. He'd worked so hard for everyone he had known. Imagine if we couldn't do the same."
"We'd probably have to restart the game," Junpei sighed.
"You really think so?" Akihiko groaned.
Fuuka nodded. "I think so, too. You could make friends even earlier than this point. They take up an entire afternoon in-game. Probable that if you miss one, the whole house of cards crumbles. Given how sociable we know Minato had been, it's likely that if we make one error we'd have to make a do-over. Take on an earlier save."
"We've saved frequently," Mitsuru shrugged. "So it shouldn't be too much of an issue. I hope."
They have. Thanks to Junpei's traumatic memories involving the loss of a couple dozen hours' worth of Skyrim due to a misplaced save, for this game he took the time to save relentlessly whenever he could. Aigis followed suit when she took the reins. So hopefully, all this Social Link nonsense shouldn't be that bad to keep track of.
"Elizabeth said she had guides we could use?" Yukari asked. "We should probably ask her for them."
"That'd help. Jeez. Just thinking about making all the friends Minato had made over that one year...sounds stressful."
"But he needed to do that. For us," sighed Fuuka. "It's only right."
Junpei nodded, "It's only right."
There was this reigning feeling among them all, it was bizarre to have felt it rear up so strongly after so long. The day they had decided to, all at once, go after the end of the world - with their heads held high. They hadn't felt like this since the night they had promised each other to meet again, that fateful graduation day. And so it began again. Right then.
But first things first, they needed whatever guide Elizabeth had had on her.
"So what do we do next, do we call her?" asked Yukari.
"Yeah. Yeah we should. If it works...," Junpei tapped away at his phone. "How should we get in contact with Elizabeth, then...?"
Phone rang.
"Did someone want to get in contact with me?"
"Y-yeah, we've... come to a conclusion."
"I know."
"What?"
Suddenly she burst right in through the door, as if she'd never left, and hands the team a set of papers worth at least a couple dozen pages long. "You intend to perform a full Social Link run, correct?"
Junpei eyed the sheets of paper, flitting through the pages. "Holy shit."
"You must start rather early. The game is rather unforgiving when it comes to missing deadlines."
"Thank you," Mitsuru told her. "We appreciate this, deeply."
"As do I. As would he. It would be a rewarding experience."
Mitsuru eyed her, then said suddenly, "You should join us."
Elizabeth blinked. "Me?"
"You're sure?" Yukari asked her.
Elizabeth looked surprised, as she placed a hand to her chest modestly, "I... I didn't share the same type of relationship you all had with him."
"What do you mean?"
"Our relationship was that of master and attendant... for a time. Different in nature from his bonds with all of you. I guided him through his journey, but I never fought his battles for him, nor had I ever stood by his side like all of you. Are you certain I have a place, here?"
"I'm sure," Mitsuru nodded, turning back to Elizabeth. "In case we miss something, we'll need you to help us keep track. And... you were as much a part of his life as we were. It might have been in a capacity we don't yet fully understand... but as far as I'm concerned, you've as much a right to be here with us." She turned to everyone else. "Are we in agreement on this?"
"We'd appreciate the help," Akihiko nodded.
Elizabeth bore a warm look in her eye, then spoke almost bashfully, "If... if you would have me, I'd be honored."
Aigis lent a hand out, "The honor is ours."
Elizabeth, for just a second, looks like she wants to cry. Then everyone finds out why, "Oh, we'll have to restart the game right from the beginning! I can't wait to play with all of you!"
"Wait, what?"
"Look at the documents! They'll tell you how many Social Links you must push through before the full moon! This is so exciting! You ought to order us some food!"
They open the first page.
Holy God.
So they began the game again. Took in all the cutscenes they'd played previously, Elizabeth at their side. They did end up ordering food, a certifiable buffet - Mitsuru covered it, because of course she did. It'll come in half an hour.
For all Junpei's growth since those years, he'd recall the times he'd spent with Minato to have been too few and far between. A quarter of the year, he'd spent jealous of him. The quarter after that, he'd tried to fill the void by being a good friend, and showing off to Chidori, and generally being less of a stupid dick. Then Shinjiro-san happened, and then Chidori died, and then they were responsible for the end of the world, and suddenly it wasn't all that fun being a hero anymore. Throughout all that time Junpei recalls he'd ever only really affirmed their friendship once.
Yukari had finished feeling sorry for herself since the Abyss of Time situation had been resolved, but she wasn't done mourning him. She hasn't been done mourning him, even after all this time. She's turned down so many dates her co-stars came up with a tally system; since the day they've known her, they've marked every single person she's refused. For as draining as high school was, she well and truly missed Gekkoukan at times, and seeing the game replicate the school's halls so clearly... it reminded her of the time she had come across the unlikeliest of friends, and found it in herself to trust again.
Fuuka felt a passion she did not understand, weighed down by an anxiety she understood too well. It was something she had felt far more often in her youth, something that'd been kneaded away over the years, through tight communication with her friends and generally developing the confidence she needed as a Shadow Operative.
Ken was withered. He'd never been even particularly fond of video games to begin with. Even more so with games that reminded him of what he was like when he was ten. Shinjiro-san still weighed heavy on him, every now and again. In his most private moments, he'd see that proud look in the man's eye, the blood lapping out his lips - and it'd bring him to his knees.
Akihiko wanted to see Shinji again. That was the long and short. But those tempestuous days, where he threw himself into combat so recklessly - seeing himself again made him realize that perhaps he hadn't changed that much at all since then. In his older age he'd become more obsessed with thrill seeking, with getting stronger and measuring his strength against his equals or betters. He's downed more protein shakes than most athletes stuff their veins with steroids. Some part of him felt shamed.
Mitsuru wanted to see her father again. Even if she had to see Ikutsuki a thousand more times in-game, if it meant she'd see her father once more it'd be worth it. But would she be able to take it when she'd see him die again? Would she not just want to smash the television into a thousand pieces? She didn't know. Honestly part of her was just furious the game thus far hasn't let Minato pick up a fork and stab Ikutsuki in the throat.
And Aigis.
Aigis wanted so many things.
They skipped what they could and focused on keeping up the pace. Focused on getting every single rank up they could at the beginning of the game, so later they wouldn't suffer as bad trying to fit everything in. They decided, if they came upon a cutscene they hadn't seen, they wouldn't skip it. And if they messed up they'd reload. Every new in-game week, a new save file. There were multiple slots available - something Junpei had to explain to the less savvy, like Mitsuru and Yukari - so they didn't have to worry, as long as they remained consistent.
They went to watch a film to get an extra boost of the courage stat. They redid Kenji and Kazushi's initial Social Link ranks. Following the guide without question.
Elizabeth pointed out something interesting, come April 23.
"Go to the nightclub," she said.
Aigis asked, "What's there?"
"A line of dialogue you might just miss."
4/23
At her urging, the crew did as was told.
Minato arrived at the nightclub in Paulownia Mall; Club Escapade. Just old enough to enter, not old enough to actually drink anything.
They could have spoken to any one of them; instead Elizabeth pointed them to a woman in the far corner. At the bar.
[Fortune Teller: Hmm... I feel a strange aura around you...] she said to him voicelessly. [In my mind, I see visions... People's past, present, and future... For most people, I see clearly, and far ahead... But you are different... Your future is filled with both blinding light and stagnant shadow... I can see but a small portion... What lies beyond that is shrouded in mystery... What a peculiar fate you carry... Now, young man... Bearer of light and shadow... If you wish to know more about the near future... come and talk to me... I will share my limited visions with you... Now, tell me... Would you like to know your fortune?]
{"Yes, please."}
{"No thanks."}
"Wait wait wait waaaait," Yukari suddenly said, "What is this?"
"Just an interesting little thing. We should speak with this woman periodically, as the plot moves forward," Elizabeth responded. "It is... quite enlightening."
Everyone looked at her suspiciously. Aigis, finger on the button, pressed on.
[Fortune Teller: Very well... You have pulled fate's trigger... The bullet passes through many, heading directly to it's target... What target that may be, however, is unknown to me... You must find that out for yourself... Farewell, then... May your future be bright...]
And that was it.
The team sat there, soaking it all in. Junpei narrowed his eyes, "Wait, that's it?"
"Yes," Elizabeth smiled. "Sometimes a few lines of dialogue is all you need."
Ken pursed his lips, "Less is more."
And then they hit Kenji's second Link boost, as a song played over the scene - titled Joy.
4/24
Iwatodai strip mall, ramen shop "Hagakure"...
Contrary to its simple appearance, the soup has a complex flavor that is accentuated by the noodles...
[Kenji: Hey, dude, your dorm's co-ed, right?] his cutout asked smarmily, [So, can you, like, go into Yukari-san's room and stuff?]
{"Of course."}
{"No."}
{"That's a secret."}
"I suggest picking-"
Junpei selected That's a secret and rudely interrupted Elizabeth.
Because screw Kenji.
[Kenji: Whaddaya mean it's a secret? Are you trying to say that there's nothing going on between you two?]
Kenji is grinning.
"Oh my God," Yukari groaned. She had never really liked Kenji, and distance and time had allowed her to forget why. But she was now five feet away from a screen displaying his mug, and time had finally caught up with her.
Mitsuru and Fuuka felt embarrassed for her. Elizabeth, however, let loose a bit of a chuckle.
"What's so funny?" Junpei asked her.
"It must be quite an experience, to live as this boy did. So blunt with himself."
Aigis half-agreed, "There is a charm to it... but I doubt it would be very sustainable in the long run..."
[Kenji: Well, I'm not interested in girls her age, anyway. When it comes to women, I like them to be older than me. What about you?]
{I like older women.}
{I like girls my age.}
{I like them all.}
Yukari stuck her tongue out. Mitsuru instinctively held her arms up close to her chest.
Elizabeth began chuckling again, but it grew louder and louder as the seconds passed. "Oh my..."
"What? What should we pick?" asked Akihiko.
Elizabeth bloomed red. "The third one."
"What!?"
"I like them all."
[Kenji: No really! Really? So you don't discriminate, huh? That's awesome. Good for you, man.]
Kenji seems impressed with you.
[Kenji: ...Well, to tell you the truth, I - wait, this is just between us, okay? - I have my eye on someone. This is the "secret plan" I was talking about. I'm going to ask her out. Not that that's a big deal or anything. Well, I guess it IS a big deal since she's a teacher at our school...]
"Oh my God," Junpei groaned.
Mitsuru shot up immediately, "WHAT!?"
Fuuka covered her face with a hand as Yukari let loose the heaviest sigh of all time.
Akihiko shook his head, "Is this guy for real?"
"Yeah, yeah, it was - let's just not talk about it," Junpei exhaled.
"Isn't he married now?" Yukari asked.
"Yeah," Junpei answered.
"I remember Rio," Yukari nodded. "He must've put her through so much..."
[Kenji: Anyways, I want you to be there when I ask her out. But you gotta promise you won't tell anyone, okay? Cuz if people find out they'll be all like, "That's inappropriate" or whatever...]
Kenji told you his secret plan...
Your relationship is stronger now!
A SMASHing noise burst through then, startling the players.
...!?
A mysterious voice rings in your head...
Thou art I... And I am thou...
Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Magician Arcana...
The Classmate Social Link has reached level 2!
Your power to create Personas of the Magician Arcana has grown!
[Kenji: Damn, dude! My favorite TV show is on! Laters!]
You decided to return to the dorm.
"I want to kill myself," Mitsuru said suddenly.
"Don't kill yourself! Who will pay for our delivery?" asked Elizabeth.
"After that..." Fuuka murmured, eyeing the papers. "Hierophant's next."
"Hierophant?" Akihiko blurted aloud. "Wait. Did - did Minato meet Shinji before he even joined back up with us?"
"I don't think so," replied Fuuka. "Apparently Hierophant is represented by an old couple...?"
"Minato made more friends than we thought, huh...?"
4/25
Iwatodai strip mall, Bookworms Used Books...
An old man and woman are behind the counter.
A portrait of an old craggly man with messy clouds of hair and a white shirt appears on screen.
[Old Man: ...Welcome. What would you like today? We have fresh mackerel...!]
A woman his age, meek and small with big round eyes, approaches then. [Old Woman: ...Sorry, as you can see, we don't sell fish here.]
[Old Man: Hey, you're a student, aren't you? You must be from Gekkoukan High, right? That means you've probably seen the persimmon tree there...]
{"Huh?"}
{"Persimmon tree?"}
Aigis picked the second option.
[Old Man: Do you think I'm making this up!?] the old man blurted out, disgruntled. [...I'm serious! It was planted right besides a walkway in a courtyard at the school.]
It seems there's a persimmon tree somewhere at Gekkoukan High School.
But, it's not clear how the tree and this old couple are connected...
[Old Woman: I'm sorry. He's rambling on like an old man] his wife says, somewhat sadly. [...Just ignore him.]
After saying goodbye to the old couple, you decided to leave the bookstore.
Nobody really knew where this was going; except perhaps, Mitsuru.
"Minato had mentioned something to me... about a persimmon tree in the back of the school grounds. That was a long time ago."
They realized that technically, time had not passed. When they left the bookstore evening had not come.
So then Mitsuru urged Aigis, "Go back to Gekkoukan, see if there's a tree there."
"You're sure, Mitsuru-san?"
Fuuka examined the script, "Yes! There is a tree! We should go there immediately."
"Go go go go go!" cried Yukari then.
And they went, and they found the tree, and from there retrieved a leaf from one of its branches.
Then, they went right back to the old couple.
Iwatodai strip mall, Bookworms Used Books...
An old man and woman are behind the counter.
[Old Man: ...Welcome to Bookworms. How many guests? Smoking or non-smoking? Hm? Excuse me, but may I see that leaf in your hand...]
The old man is interested in the Persimmon Leaf. Would you like to show it to him?
{Show it to him}
{Don't show it to him}
"Why wouldn't we show it to him?" asked Yukari.
"Well, what if you were shy?" Elizabeth chuckled.
"We picked the leaf specifically to show it to him."
"Well, of course you did, but why did Minato pick the leaf?"
"Because we told him to...?" she narrowed her eyes.
"In the world of the game, the world you live in now, he may have picked the leaf for any number of reasons. Perhaps it was to speak to the old couple, perhaps it was just because he thought it looked nice. Perhaps it compelled him, in such a way."
"We'll never know," sighed Aigis, picking the first option.
[Old Man: Oh! Is this a leaf from that persimmon tree?] he asked, a twinge of nostalgia coming clear despite the fact this person wasn't voiced and only had a semi-static portrait to portray his emotions. [It must have grown quite a bit to produce such splendid leaves...]
Suddenly, surprise crossed his face.
[Old Man: ...Wait, so you didn't come here to buy books? Did you come here just to show us this?]
{"That's right."}
{"Um, no..."}
They told him as much.
"That's right."
[Old Man: I knew it! I knew right from the start that you're a kind young man!]
The old man is showering you with praise.
[Old Man: I've been meaning to go see that tree for a while now. But I'm not sure if these stumpy old legs will make it that far...]
Only Elizabeth chuckled at that.
[Old Man: ...That wasn't meant to be a pun. You know, "stumpy," "tree stump." Catch my drift?]
[Old Woman: Very clever, dear.] his wife interjected, her portrait's expression betraying the fact she's probably heard him say such puns forever.
[Old Man: Allow me to introduce my wife Mitsuko. I'm Bunkichi,] said the old man then. [Bunkichi: If you don't mind, would you tell us your name?]
Minato makes a gesture.
[Bunkichi: So, your name is Minato Arisato...] he said cheerfully. [Then, we'll call you Minato-chan from now on!]
Bunkichi and Mitsuko seem happy you told them about the persimmon tree.
You got to know the old couple a little better.
SMASH!
...!?
A mysterious voice rings in your head...
A new card appeared in sparks on-screen; a Pope's hat clad in a blue light, with two figures on either side of it painted in red and white.
Thou art I, I am thou...
Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Hierophant Arcana...
You have established a new Social Link!
It's getting dark out.
[Mitsuko: We're open every day except Sunday. Come visit us if you get bored.]
After saying goodbye to Bunkichi and Mitsuko, you decided to go back to the dorm.
"It's so sweet of Minato to have made friends with even these people...," Mitsuru affirmed. "I remember now. He tried to preserve that tree. Even spoke to me about it."
"Did it work?" asked Yukari.
"No. It was cut down. But it was done so with full approval from Bunkichi and Mitsuko Kitamura."
"That's kinda sad...," muttered Junpei.
"Quite," Mitsuru nodded. "But they understood, in the end."
"There's so much we have to keep track of," Fuuka said then, eyes on the script. "How long do you want to keep at it for the day?"
Everyone looked at each other. Aigis then muttered, "I would like to reach the first full moon, at least."
"That's not until a couple of weeks from now. Not until...," she peered through the pages. "May 9."
"I know," Aigis nodded. "But I feel it best we reach it."
"I agree," Mitsuru said. "We must pick up the pace."
"The script advises we should head to Tartarus Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, or Sunday," said Fuuka then.
"The old schedule," grinned Akihiko. "We should keep at it. Get him more Personas, not just Orpheus. That helps with these... Social Links, no?"
"They do," said Elizabeth. "The more Personas of matching Arcana you have with others, the more likely you are to bond with your Social Links."
"Everything works together into a cohesive whole," Ken murmured then. "Interesting game design."
"It's a positive feedback loop," said Elizabeth then. "Helping your friends in the day will grant you strength come nightfall, and the more you comb Tartarus' halls, the more Personas you obtain to help sustain and advance your relationships in the day."
"This makes me so uncomfortable," said Junpei bluntly, mirroring the others' thoughts.
"How so?"
"You talk about his friends, about us, like we're just... resources," said Yukari.
"Perish the thought," Elizabeth said then. "These Links he's formed with you? They could never have happened if he did not care, well and truly, from the bottom of his heart. It is a two-way street, as humans would put it."
"Still a little uncomfortable that we didn't know any of this...," Ken murmured.
"How would he tell you? If you knew what he knew, would you tell anyone? How could you even begin to try?"
At that, no one said a word.
Aigis pressed X and continued on.
.
.
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PERSONA 3 HAS COME TO PS44444
This story's continuing! This chapter's been on the backburner for the past year or so lol
Been trying to figure out a good way forward but I think I've managed it. Hope you guys like this story getting back on track, and I'm so sorry for taking like 2 ish years to update. Felt we needed to do something of a soft reboot, resetting the characters to an earlier time in-game. Because now we're doing full social links! Will we do a full compendium? Probably not, no. But hey, this is something
Thanks to all who've stuck by and waited for this story to continue on. Hope you like what's coming.