Chapter Nine: The Priestess
May 8, 2009, After School
Student Council room – Minato's POV
FRIDAY
I decided to go to Tartarus last night. Even though we had already reached the top, that wasn't an excuse to stop training. I pushed the team harder than before and I was already feeling the consequences. My left shoulder was sore from all the training, so I decided to attend the council meeting rather than practice Kendo.
Hidetoshi was talking to a teacher by the time I came in. "...Hidetoshi, I'm counting on you... for both our sakes." The teacher was saying. "Yes sir." Hidetoshi answered. I made way for the teacher as he left the room.
"Oh, Minato-san.." Chihiro noticed me.
"...Hey, what did he mean by "for both our sakes"? What's he talking about?" I heard a council member press Hidetoshi. "He just wants to create a better school environment, so he simply asked for help from an apt student." Hidetoshi glanced at me. "Just like how the president asked Minato-kun to join the council."
The SC member glared at the head of the Disciplinary committee. "You can't decide something like that without the President's permission!"
"What's going on?" I asked.
"S-someone found a cigarette butt in the boys' bathroom..." Chihiro answered me. "And that teacher wants us to look for the one who did it..." I couldn't resist smiling. Ah, a little detective work eh?
"Well someone broke the rules, and it's our responsibility to find out who." Hidetoshi declared. "Look, you have two choices. Either help out and prove you're trustworthy, or refuse and raise suspicion. We sure have to deal with a lot of B.S around here, don't we Minato-kun?" He smiled. "Now if you'll excuse me." Hidetoshi left the room.
"H-Hey! Don't ignore me! You teacher's pet!" The council member yelled and ran outside after Hidetoshi.
"Student Council members shouldn't be fighting like this..." Chihiro said in a hushed tone. "I think you better go get the President." I told her. She nodded, quite relieved to do something. "Okay."
I leaned against the wall and sighed. There's not much I can do here... But I'll just wait until Chihiro and senpai returns. After a while, the door opened presenting Mitsuru-senpai followed by Chihiro.
"Arisato, you're still here?" Senpai said when she saw me leaning against the wall. "Oh, I was just holding down the fort." I answered. "Is there something I can do to help?" Senpai chuckled at my weary tone. "No. You can go home, we can clean up here."
Finally. "Thanks." I said. And went back to the dorm.
Minato's Room, Evening
I made some small talk with Junpei and Yukari before goin up to my room. The former complained about our harsh training last night and the latter didn't attend Archery practice because of it. I apologized but reminded them about our responsibilities. But I was tired myself so I slept early.
May 9, 2009, Dark Hour
Command Room – Third Person POV
SATURDAY
Mitsuru was leaning on the console in front of her. Her hands punching buttons on its control panel. Penthesilea's power to scan shadows outside Tartarus was quite weak and she needed specialized equipment to scan with detail, since Penthesilea was more combat oriented. The council president did this often when the team didn't need her help in exploring Tartarus.
She rubbed her temples and sighed as the door opened and the school's boxing champ entered the room. "You're still at it?" Akihiko asked. "You should rest you know."
Mitsuru smiled at his concern. "You never know when the enemy might appear." Akihiko appeared puzzled. "But I thought you couldn't scan outside of Tartarus."
"To be honest, I lack the power..." She frowned. "Maybe this is the best Penthesilea can do in terms of data gathering." Then Mitsuru smiled. "Although, the power of Persona seems to be quite broader than we thought... Take Arisato, he can switch personas in the middle of battle. There's something special about his ability."
"It hasn't been that long since he awakened too. I have to admit, I was surprised at his power. But in the end it's up to him whether or not he can reach his full potential." Then the boxer realized what Mitsuru was trying to do. "But don't change the subject! We're talking about you here."
Mitsuru suddenly turned to the console, surprising Akihiko. "It's a Shadow!" Mitsuru punched in a complicated series of buttons. "But this isn't right..."
"What's wrong?" Akihiko asked, worried that another one of those might show up.
"The reading's too big." Mitsuru frowned. "We've never encountered anything like..." She faltered. Remembering the night Minato first summoned his persona. "You mean it's one of those?" Akihiko exclaimed. Mitsuru nodded confirming his suspicions.
The boxer smiled. "Well then, this is gonna be fun." He walked over to a big red button and pressed it sending an alarm throughout the dorm. "That should wake up the others."
After a while, the three juniors burst through the command room's doors. Yukari and Junpei were still wearing their Pajamas. Minato, however slept in his school uniform. "What's going on?" The field leader asked with authority.
"We've detected a shadow outside Tartarus." Mitsuru answered. "We don't know for sure but we think it's another big one."
As the boxing champ listened to this, he noticed a weird similarity between Minato and Mitsuru. The way they take control of the situation... It's like they were born to lead or something.
"We have to defeat any of them we find ASAP." Mitsuru explained. "Most people don't know the Dark Hour exists. But, if half of the city is destroyed, there will be a massive panic."
Junpei interpreted the complicated string of words in his own fashion. "You mean we have to kick some ass, right? Aww yeah! Count me in." Yukari sighed at his energy. Minato took no notice of this and ordered his fellow juniors to prepare themselves.
"Akihiko, you stay here and wait for the Chairman." Mitsuru told Akihiko as the juniors retreated to their rooms to prepare. Akihiko was taken aback. "A-Are you serious? I'm going!"
"You still need to recover. You'll just be a hindrance." Mitsuru harshly stated. She had no time for his stubbornness. Akihiko glared at her. "What?"
The redhead took a deep breath. "They'll fare better than you, in your current state." She explained, trying to calm the two of them down. "Have faith in them. They're ready."
Akihiko resigned. He had never been able to win an argument against Mitsuru. "Dammit..."
"Relax!" Junpei said, witnessing the argument. "I've got it covered!" Akihiko grumbled. "I guess I've got no choice... Minato, you're in charge."
"Him again?" Junpei's shoulder sagged. But he didn't really expect the leadership to change, he just didn't like hearing it. "We're counting on you." Mitsuru said. Akihiko nodded his approval at the field leader.
"Heh, looks like you're stuck playing leader again." Junpei said. "...Sucks to be you."
Akihiko turned to Mitsuru. "You should let them go first. You still need time to prepare, right?" The redhead agreed. "I'll meet you in front of the station."
"Got it." Minato said. "All right, guys. Let's go!"
Iwatodai Station
The three juniors waited by the stairs of the station. Junpei sat on the single spot where there wasn't any blood, Yukari was walking around in circles obviously getting impatient and Minato leaned on the railings of the stairs, his hands in his pockets.
"Where is she?" Yukari mumbled. "She'll be here soon." Junpei answered her. Yukari looked up and saw the full moon for the first time. "There's a full moon tonight... It looks even creepier during the Dark Hour."
Minato looked up as well. Full moon... was this the 'ordeal' that kid was talking about? He was distracted by the sound of a roaring engine.
"Huh? What the?" Junpei stood up, shocked at the sports motorcycle parking in front of them. The rider removed the helmet and underneath was the head of Mitsuru Kirijo. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Listen carefully. Tonight, I'll be providing support from here. Everything else is the same. The shadow is currently located inside a monorail, not that far from here. To get there the three of you must walk on tracks."
"Isn't that dangerous?" Junpei asked, forgetting that electronics don't work during the Dark Hour.
"Don't worry. Electronics don't work during the Dark Hour. Including the monorails."
"B-But your bike..." He said, flabbergasted.
"It's probably special." Minato interrupted. "C'mon let's go."
"If circumstances change, I'll inform you immediately." Mitsuru told them as they gathered their equipment.
MONORAIL TRACKS – MINATO'S POV
Yukari had just ended a transmission from senpai confirming that the monorail in front of us was indeed the one. "Oh yeah! Hermes is just beggin to be used." Junpei was brimming with enthusiasm as usual. No question how the Greek god of thieves and deliveries became his persona...
Yukari climbed up the ladder leading to the train door. Midway, she stopped as she noticed that the wind was ruffling her skirt. "D-DON'T LOOK UP!" She pressed her left hand to her skirt and glared down at the two of us.
Too late... Junpei and I looked away, snickering. "What are you boys waiting for?" Yukari was definitely mad. "Get up here!" I suppressed the urge to say 'Yes ma'am.' as I climbed the ladder after Junpei.
Once we were all inside, I saw a lone coffin -a transmogrified human- at the end of the car we were in. I was just about to inspect further when I observed something. "Hey, we're not in a station, right?" I said. "Then why is the freakin' door open?"
As if on cue, the doors shut, almost crushing Junpei's fingers. "H-hey!" I was mentally kicking myself for not realizing it sooner. You're supposed to be the heir to the family business, idiot! You shame your blood! ...Idiot!
"What's wrong? What happened?" Senpai asked.
"The doors are shut tight!" I answered. "We're trapped inside."
"That must be the work of the Shadow. It must know you're there." Mitsuru-senpai stated. "Be ready for anything. Proceed with extreme caution."
"Got it..." Yukari trembled. "Tch." I muttered. "Let's proceed." We walked over to the next car but no shadows were in sight.
"What the heck? I don't see any shadows." Junpei said. This is not good... I have a veery bad feeling about this. We walked for a few steps more.
"It's so quiet, it's creepy..." Yukari muttered. I suddenly noticed a dark blob forming above us and I pulled them back. A shadow dropped in front of us, making the two of them gasp. I hefted my sword and was about to attack when the shadow turned around and drifted away into the car ahead.
"Hey, It's escaping! We gotta go after it." Junpei exclaimed. But I stopped him from chasing the shadow.
"Wait. The enemy is acting strangely." Senpai said through the connection.
"But if we don't go after it, we're gonna lose it!" He argued.
"We don't know what they are planning, Junpei." I stated. "It has to be a trap!" Junpei grumbled. "Who needs your advice?" He yelled. "We can beat that thing no prob! Hell, I'll do it myself!" Junpei shrugged my arm off and ran to the next car.
I was about to chase Junpei when the door closed after him, almost crushing me in between. "Behind you!" Mitsuru-senpai yelled. I looked behind me just in time to see two Shadows appearing out of nowhere.
"Argh! I knew it." I slashed one of them with my sword. Then Yukari finished it with an arrow. The other however aimed a Garu spell at me and I was unable to dodge the wind spell because of the cramped space.
"Minato-kun!" Yukari yelled. "I'm fine!" I said as I summoned Nekomata to finish the annoying shadow off. "This is just what the enemy wanted..." Yukari sighed.
"We don't have a choice. Let's go after him!" I said. "Arisato is right. You'll have to go after him or you'll be picked off one by one. He's only a few cars ahead." Yukari and I nodded to acknowledge this and ran after Junpei... Only to be stopped by three more shadows. In our pissed off state, the shadows stood no chance.
"He's not in this car either..." Yukari muttered. "Did you say something to piss him off, Minato-kun?" I shook my head. "I don't know. Maybe I should ask him when we find him."
A few cars later, we found him surrounded by three shadows. Junpei was obviously in trouble. Yukari and I rushed in to help him. "Yukari, heal Junpei. I'll take care of these pests." Once the shadows were defeated, Yukari chastised Junpei. "See, this is what happens when you don't listen." Then her voice turned soft. "So, are you okay?"
"O-Of course! I was just doing just fine..." Junpei continued his bravado act. "Excuse me!" Yukari exclaimed. I caught Yukari's eye and shook my head. She grumbled and glared at Junpei instead.
"Iori. I'm going to talk to you about this. Later." Mitsuru-senpai said through the connection. "For now, be careful. I don't detect any movement but stay alert." Any response from what she said was soon forgotten as the train lurched, making the three of us grab the nearest object to prevent ourselves from falling.
"Whoa! What the..? Why are we moving?" Junpei asked, forgetting his anger.
"Senpai?" I inquired, letting go of the pole I grabbed as Yukari let go of my arm. "It seems the monorail is under the enemy's control." Mitsuru stated.
"What do you mean 'it seems'?" Yukari exclaimed. The train lurched one more time as it gained speed. "This doesn't look good..." I muttered.
"If the three of you can't stop that thing, it'll crash into another train!" Senpai exclaimed through the connection.
"W-what?" Yukari was puzzled. "Oh no... You mean, the other train is not moving? What're we gonna do?" "What else can we do?" I exclaimed. "We just have to defeat that shadow!"
"Calm down and listen." said senpai. "I sense a strong presence in the front car. That must be the shadow. Defeat the shadow to stop the train!" As her transmission ended, three shadows dropped from above us.
"W-what kind of messed-up ride is this?" Junpei yelled. "We don't have time for this! Just keep on attacking!" I ordered.
"We don't have much time! Run!" Mitsuru-senpai yelled when the shadows were obliterated. We didn't hesitate to follow her orders and we ran to the next car. We encountered some more smaller shadows but we used our running momentum to our advantage, not stopping as we attacked the shadows. Once we reached the last car, I opened the door without hesitation... only to see the most disturbing shadow I have ever seen.
"There it is!" Junpei yelled then he faltered when he saw the disturbing sight. "W-What the heck? Is this the friggin' boss?"
The shadow had a form of a giant woman with legs spread wide. The right side of the body was entirely white as her left was entirely black while the hair was colored vice-versa. The shadow wore a red masquerade mask on its face and had a long cloth resembling a skirt over her legs. The upper body stood out in the open however, and two letters could be read on the shadow's breasts. A B on the left and an I on the right. The shadow kept taunting us with disturbing moans, sending shivers down my spine.
"We're in the front car; it has to be the one!" Yukari yelled. "Hurry!" Mitsuru-senpai said through the connection. "The train is only a few meters ahead!" That's more than enough motivation! "Nekomata!" I shot myself with the Evoker. "Cleave!"
The shadow's size gave us an advantage, given the cramped space of the last car, it was unable to dodge our attacks. Junpei summoned Hermes and cleaved the shadow, making it sag. "All right! This is our chance." I yelled. "All-out-Attack!" The three of us rushed in, taking advantage as the shadow lowered it's guard.
Enraged, the shadow summoned a cloud of smoke in front of us. The smoke took form, revealing two Muttering Tiaras. "Where the heck did they come from?" Junpei exclaimed.
"Reinforcements? I have never heard of a shadow creating other shadows..." Senpai's voice could be heard through the connection. "No.. it summoned them. But there's no time to ponder it. You have 6 minutes left!"
I grimaced. "Senpai! Analyze the big one. Let us know what other tricks it has up it's sleeve!" I turned to the others. "Ignore the tiaras! Focus on the big shadow!" Which was harder said than done. But we had to defeat the shadow fast unless, we wanted to be the first casualties of the biggest train accident Iwatodai has ever known...
"I have finished analyzing. It's name is The Priestess." Mitsuru-senpai said. "It repels Ice and Light and Dark don't work. You have less than 5 minutes left!"
Then as if that wasn't bad enough, one of the tiaras casted a Dia over the Priestess. "What the hell?" I rarely cursed but this was really pissing me off. "Finish the small ones first! We can't let them heal the Priestess again!"
Junpei and Yukari complied, simultaneously casting Agi and Garu spells over the Muttering Tiaras, effectively defeating them. The Priestess however, took advantage in the shift of attention and called forth a spell. "Mabufu..." She said in a grave voice.
The three of us cried out in pain as shards of ice struck us, knocking us back. Junpei moaned. "I-I can't move!"
"Arisato, do something! Takeba and Iori are frozen!" Mitsuru-senpai said through the connection. I stood up and shook my head. "You have 3 minutes left!" three... minutes. 3 minutes left before I die... My head was throbbing and my sword arm was pierced by ice shards. Master... Don't give up. Apsaras... Take our Power, Master. Orpheus?...
"Arisato!" Mitsuru-senpai was getting frantic. Her words were dulled by my headache though. "Do you hear me? You have THREE MINUTES LEFT!" I took my Evoker in my left hand and pressed it against my head. Can I do it? Orpheus and Apsaras... Lend me your power! "CADENZA!"
An unseen wind billowed my uniform as Orpheus and Apsaras materialized in front of me. Green light engulfed the three of us as I felt my strength returning and my head was getting clearer. I presumed the same was happening to Yukari and Junpei. "All right!" I yelled. "I have no intention of dying here! Give it all you got guys!"
We rushed in to attack the Priestess with renewed vigor. Time seemed to slow as managed to evade her attacks and strike with precision. "Yukari! The mask!" I ordered. "Attack the mask! If it's anything like the maya shadows in Tartarus, the mask is its weak point."
Yukari sent a volley of arrows aimed at the red mask. Three of them hit their point as Junpei and I attacked the lower body with our swords and personas. The Priestess moaned, unable to stop our onslaught. "All-out-attack!" I ordered. In the shadow's weakened state, it stood no chance.
I let out a sigh of relief as the shadow disappeared. The train lurched. We cringed as we realized that the train was still moving. "Why is the train still moving?" Yukari yelled. I ran over to the now exposed control panel.
"What are you waiting for? There's a train up ahead!" Mitsuru-senpai yelled. "You will crash in less than a minute!"
"Dammit!" Junpei cried. "I don't know how to stop this thing!"
I ignored them and just pulled the first lever that I saw. Oh God. I don't want to die just yet! The monorail lurched again and I hit my head hard against the edge of the control panel.
"Aaaah!" Yukari and Junpei screamed as they fell down. The monorail stopped with an audible screech. "D-Did we s-stop?" Junpei asked as he sat up. "I-I think so..." Yukari sighed.
"Is everybody alright!" Mitsuru-senpai asked, her voice tense. "Yeah." I moaned clutching my head. "We're fine."
Yukari laughed feebly. "My knees are shaking..."
"Dude... I'm like drenched in sweat." Junpei sighed.
Mitsuru let out a sigh of relief. "I'm so glad you're safe... I'm sorry I couldn't do more on my end." She paused. "I don't detect any more shadows. You guys did a great job, so come on home."
The three of weren't in any hurry though. We sat there on the cold steel floor of the monorail, catching our breaths. "But how did you know which one was the brake, Minato-kun?"
"Huh?" I looked at her. "Oh, I just trusted my instincts."
"You saved me again." She smiled. "Thank you, Minato-kun."
"Ah, whatever." Junpei said. "Wanna grab a bite to eat? I'm freakin' hungry!" I laughed. "Who's up for some takeout pizza? My treat."
"Oh, me!" Junpei beamed.
"Men..." Yukari groaned. "But hey, I won't resist free pizza!" We laughed there on the cold monorail floor. "Thou art I... And I am thou..." said the voice inside my head. I ignored the droning voice.
"Let's go back." I said. "I'm sure they accept deliveries."
Iwatodai Dorm
Command Room – Third person POV
Akihiko and Ikutsuki impatiently waited for Mitsuru's next update. Or rather, Akihiko waited impatiently for Mitsuru's next update. Ikutsuki was almost giddy when he heard the news and he was not impatient at all.
Akihiko on the other hand, was worried sick. Mitsuru ended the last transmission immediately, which indicated that something has happened. In her last report, she had said that the train had been taken over by the shadow with the three juniors inside.
Akihiko was kicking himself mentally. If only I was there... I could've... done something. I hate this! I hate feeling powerless! I kept on telling myself this would never happen again... not with what happened to Miki.
A sudden beep on the console caught the men's attention. "This is Mitsuru speaking." Mitsuru's voice came through the console. "Akihiko here." Akihiko pressed a button on the control panel.
"We've successfully completed the operation." She was unable to keep the joy from her voice. "The monorail didn't sustain any noticeable damage and the shadow was successfully exterminated."
"Thank you, Mitsuru." The chairman said. "When I heard they'd hijacked a monorail, I feared the worst. Well done." Akihiko rolled his eyes. Feared the worst, my foot. Ikutsuki chuckled. "Now, I don't have to worry about tomorrow's headlines."
"The team did a great job. Arisato is certainly showing his prowess as a leader." Mitsuru stated. "He even managed to summon two personas in the heat of battle."
"He what?" Akihiko exclaimed. "Damn... as if switching them isn't enough." Ikutsuki was just as surprised. "But what are the shadows up to? Taking over a monorail..." The boxer continued. "This is getting out of hand."
"I will look into the matter. Mitsuru I need you to give me details of this shadow and the first." Ikutsuki said.
"Does this mean... it's begun?"
"Let's not jump to any conclusions. We should study their behavior for any patterns or clues." The chairman mentioned. "We can't afford to be on the defensive all the time."
"If I had more power, things wouldn't be so difficult for the others." Mitsuru sighed.
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Mitsuru." Akihiko scolded. "You're doing so much already." "That's right." The chairman agreed. "More importantly, do you have anything to drink, Akihiko?"
The boxer gave him a puzzled look. "Why do you look so tired, Ikutsuki-san?" He paused, looked outside then looked back to the chairman. "Wait, don't tell me the bike outside is yours!" Ikutsuki chuckled feebly. "I'm going to be really sore tomorrow... Ow, my back."
Akihiko scratched his silver hair. "We do have drinks here, Ikutsuki-san but, its still the Dark Hour, so..."
May 10, 2009, Early Morning
Minato's Room
SUNDAY
Minato was having a nightmare. His head twitched, his breathing was shallow and sweat trickled down his neck. The bed he was now on was unruly due to the actions of its owner. From time to time, he muttered words made unintelligible due to his shallow breathing.
Images from a long unsolved car accident flashed through the field leader's head. The eerie color of his surroundings... burning cars... water turning to blood... the sound of metal clashing against metal...
"AH!" Minato gasped. He looked around him, shocked at the sudden change of surroundings. Minato leaned back against the wall, taking a deep breath. That dream, huh? Didn't think I would... have it again. Serves me right for eating after a night of shadow extermination. His phone rang beside him, bringing Minato out of his thoughts.
What now? Minato irritably answered the phone. "What?" He was not in the mood to be polite.
"Hello?" said the voice on the phone. "Minato-kun, this is Elizabeth. I'm calling to inform you of a change in Tartarus." I remained silent. "I believe a path that was blocked is now open. I thought you would like to know."
"Thanks, Elizabeth." said Minato.
"I wish you a safe journey." She ended the call. Minato's nature would not allow him to dwell on bad memories when there was something more interesting to dwell on. The path that was blocked is now open, huh? Interesting... Hmm but maybe now is not the right time...
Minato groaned as he stood up. I knew I would definitely feel this in the morning...
Lounge, Daytime
Minato found the rest of SEES at the lounge. He guessed everyone just wanted to take it slow after last night. "I can't believe I'm still alive." Yukari told him as he sat down at the table.
"Yeah, me too." He replied.
"If you weren't there, we'd all be dead..." she smiled. "I guess I should thank you." "I really thought I was gonna die, man." Junpei joined our discussion. "You saved the day by pulling the brake! I'm so glad you were there, dude!"
"I couldn't have done it without you guys." Minato shook his head. "It was just a lucky guess, anyway. I hate to think what could've happened if I guessed wrong..."
Junpei stared at the leader. "Hey, don't put those images in my head, man! Life is wonderful, isn't it?" The juniors laughed. Then they looked up as they saw Mitsuru walking towards them. "I want to apologize." She looked down.
The three of them exchanged looks. Minato himself was quite puzzled. "What for, senpai?" It was Mitsuru's turn to be puzzled. "What do you mean? I-I wasn't strong enough last time, which resulted in a difficult situation."
"There's no need to apologize. You couldn't have known that the monorail was being possessed by the shadow." Minato stated. "You did your best. That's all we could ask for."
The council president smiled. "That's very kind of you. But even if you can forgive me, I don't think I can forgive myself. I promise to be stronger if there is a next time."
"Tell me about it." Junpei sighed. "Do ya think we'll face another one of those?"
"We'll never know... the only thing we can do is train." said Minato, earning him horrified stares from his fellow juniors and a puzzled one from Mitsuru.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" The field leader questioned. "I don't mean tonight!" Junpei and Yukari let out a sigh of relief. "Besides, I'm still sore after last night. So, even if you guys wanted to, you'd have to go by yourselves."
"But what about that blockade?" Yukari asked.
Minato hesitated. "Oh, I'm sure we'll find a way." I can't tell them that the seal's gone. Sides' how can I even explain how I know that when they can't even see the Velvet Room door... "Tomorrow." He added just to make his point.
Evening
Minato had decided against going out since he wanted to rest. He went up to his room after talking idly with the other SEES members and spent the day chatting with Maya. The field leader was walking down the stairs when Junpei called him over. "Hey, man. Check out the news!"
The rest of the team, along with Ikutsuki, faced the TV in the lounge. "... near miss when the monorail overshot its mark." The newscaster was saying. "The last train, Anehazuru, failed to stop at the red light and went much farther than its stopping point. Police and the monorail management are still trying to determine what caused the incident."
The camera moved over to the Anehazuru. "Even though the train overshot its mark by over 2,000 feet, no one was injured. Monorail management are suspecting the train driver, and are holding him for questioning. In the meantime, they are promising to make every effort to reduce the monorail accident rate. For now, service on the Anehazuru car will continue as normal." The news report went over to other news.
"Man, I feel sorry for the driver." Junpei said. "Yeah. The people on the monorail must've been scared..." Yukari agreed. "It was so far off course after the Dark Hour ended. I bet they had no idea what happened to them."
"Yes." Mitsuru-senpai said. "But the general public considers the monorail incident an accident caused by human error. This could be quite damaging to the reputation of the monorail company. Even though it was still a Shadow that caused all the trouble, I still feel sorry for them."
Ikutsuki didn't seem to share the feelings of the others. "Oh yes. But what a difficult mission! I cannot believe what happened. Luckily, no one was hurt thanks to the three of you. You should be proud!"
"I suppose..." Minato muttered. Junpei however was elated at the praise. "I suppose? What's wrong with you, dude? We're freakin' heroes!"
Minato stared at his fellow junior. "Heroes?" He scoffed. "Not me. Heroes are prepared to die for others. I just did what I had to last night. Saving other people was just another factor."
Junpei was taken aback. "Uh, okay?"
"Even so, Minato-kun." Ikutsuki interrupted. "Your actions yesterday saved the lives of many. I think that's enough to call you a hero." Yet, the field leader was unconvinced and remained silent. Whatever...
Mitsuru decided to change the subject. "Furthermore, I want to talk to you about your actions last night, Iori." She turned to Junpei. "You openly ignored orders without reason. Your rashness and insubordination could have jeopardized the operation."
Junpei looked down. "Uh... sorry."
"An apology is not enough, Iori!" Mitsuru chastised. "Lives were in danger last night, including yours." The council president sighed. "Maybe a punishment would suffice..."
Junpei's mood darkened. "Punishment? Isn't that too much? This isn't kindergarten, Mitsuru." Akihiko interrupted.
The redhead did not like being interrupted. "As I have said, lives were in danger last night! And there's a reason we appointed a leader, Akihiko."
"That's right, senpai." Minato said. Junpei looked as if he was going to cry. My own best friend deserts me... "And since I was in charge, the fault for any possible failure goes to me." He continued.
Junpei was shocked. Eh? Minato looked at him and smiled. "Junpei might have saved the day by doing what he did. If he hadn't chased that shadow, the three of us might have been trapped in one car as the train accelerated." He paused for dramatic effect. "Man, what a mess that would make."
Junpei smiled at the blue-haired junior. Dang... Never thought of it like that. You're really sumthin' Arisato. "You can't argue against that, Mitsuru." The boxer smiled.
The council president sighed with a smile. "All right." Mitsuru looked at the capped junior. "As long as Iori learns from his mistake." Junpei's vast reserves of energy returned. "Oh yeah! I got that, senpai. Geez, that made me hungry." He elbowed Minato. "Hey, do you want to treat me to some pizza again, pal?"
The field leader crossed his arms. "Maybe senpai should go ahead with that punishment she mentioned..."
"Hey! Don't be like that... you could've just said 'no'..." Junpei pouted.
Author's Note: Hello again. So in this chapter, The Priestess goes down. And I'm sorry if some of you got confused when the POVs changed. I just wanted to try it out. What do you guys like better? And how did this chapter go for you? For the people who read my fanfic, I would really appreciate it if you review. Tell me your suggestions, your comments, the things you don't like in my story... anything!
Team Status
Minato Arisato: Lvl 10
Yukari Takeba: Lvl 9
Junpei Iori: Lvl 8
Minato's Personas
Orpheus: Lvl 7
Apsaras: Lvl 7
Pixie: Lvl 6
Nekomata: Lvl 8
Angel: Lvl 6
S-Links
Fool: Sees, Rank 3
Magician: Kenji, Rank 2
Emperor: Student Council, Rank 3
Chariot: Kendo Team, Rank 3
Hermit: Maya, Rank 3
Strength: Yuko, Rank 1