AN: And here's another reason I was taking so long to update Volume 1. It's been a while since I've updated Volume 0 since I wanted to finish Persona 5 so I could include it into Volume 0. As always, thank you all for you continued support and I hope you enjoy.
After saving the world, life returned to normal. Well, as normal as possible. The only ones of us that remembered what truly happened that night was Minato, Aigis, and me. There was no reason for it. It was like everybody's memories were simply erased.
And so, the rest of the year passed by in relative peace and the third year's graduation ceremony came. As we were making our way out of the gym after the ceremony was finished, I was almost immediately tackled down to the ground by Mitsuru.
It… Caused quite the scene considering the so-called "Ice Queen" was being anything but.
Later, when the entirety of S.E.E.S was back in the dorm, everyone explained that their memories were returned to them somehow. Probably a product of the strong feelings they had for us triggered by the ceremony. It sounds a bit more romantic that way, right?
Well… Nothing much could be said for our final year at high school. After the third years graduated, Mitsuru went on to a prestigious university while taking over the Kirijo Group while Akihiko began travelling the world in order to get stronger. Minato, Aigis, Yukari, Junpei, Fuuka and I continued living out our days at Gekkoukan in peace. Before we knew it, we graduated as well with different futures in mind.
Ken went to middle school while taking care of Koromaru, Junpei went on to coach little league baseball teams, Yukari went to college while working part-time as a model and as a result got scouted to play a main role in Phoenix Ranger Featherman Victory, Fuuka continued into her third year at Gekkoukan, Aigis went to support Mitsuru in forming the Shadow Operatives, Minato went to a university while helping out Mitsuru, and me, well, I decided to strike out on my own.
After travelling around the world to sight see for a couple of months, I received a sudden business call from Mitsuru. Apparently the Shadow Operatives detected multiple sudden spikes in Shadow activity in a rural town called Inaba. Some investigation into the matter revealed a string of strange deaths that begin with the victim seemingly disappearing without a trace and then their corpse reappearing some time later hanging from impossible places along with a thick fog. The victims included Mayumi Yamano, a TV producer that was caught in a scandal with a politician, Saki Konishi, a high school student from Yasogami High, and Kinshiro Morooka, a teacher of the same high school.
Unfortunately since everyone else was busy with their own work already, Mitsuru could only send me to go do some field work so I found myself sitting in a train on the way out to the middle of nowhere back in Japan's countryside.
Now… Where to start from…
I had checked into my room at the Amagi Inn that Mitsuru had paid for in advance and was now sitting cross-legged on a cushion going over the information they had already garnered with the rain softly pattering against the window.
It seems over the months there have been other disappearances, but they hadn't lead to any deaths. There were rumors back when the first murders happened that Yukiko Amagi, the daughter of the owner of the Amagi in, had gone missing but showed up just fine not long after. Of course, this could just be attributed to her running away from home unable to deal with the pressure placed upon her shoulders about inheriting the inn. Later, Rise Kujikawa, a rising idol in the entertainment industry, was reported to have vanished from Inaba when she came here to get some R&R from the limelight. Although, in a small town like this, I wouldn't be surprised if her relatives and manager managed to hide her away.
Normally, I would've passed those two incidents off as coincidence, but the first two murders followed pretty much the exact same process.
The only outlier is the third one. That teacher didn't disappear and according to the autopsy reports he had suffered from a blow to the head from a blunt object before being asphyxiated while the first two just simply died.
Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair and threw the files down onto the table. Nothing much to do now but to wait for midnight. If the Dark Hour occurs then I think it's safe to say that Shadows are responsible for these incidents.
The hands of the clock ticked slowly forward until finally the hour hand struck twelve.
Nothing happened.
No green tint fell over the world, the lights were still working and my bottle of water wasn't filled with blood instead.
Suddenly, the television in the corner of the room clicked to life and started displaying static.
The hell? Don't tell me this inn is haunted. I… honestly wouldn't be too surprised if it is considering it's a historical inn.
As I reached for the remote, the static on the screen began clearing up and revealed an image of a figure standing in the middle of a heavy yellow fog.
"CoME anD Get me."
The person's voice was heavily distorted, but it was clearly male. A few seconds later, the image disappeared returning the screen to its original state.
Come and get me… Was that guy the culprit behind the murders? Does he know that I'm here already? Guy sure is full of himself, though.
Heh. Alright. I'll play your little game. First order of business tomorrow is to investigate the two that disappeared. Yukiko should be easy since she helps out around the inn and its summer break, but Rise is another story. No doubt she has some kind of security detail hanging around her that wouldn't take too kindly to nosy people.
-xXx-
"So, I hear you've been asking around town about the recent incidents. Care to tell us why?"
I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. I admit. This situation was completely my fault. I should've been more careful in my questioning and I left a pretty obvious paper trail.
"I told you already. I'm a freelance journalist and I wanted to investigate into the murders."
The grizzled-looking detective sitting across from me shook his head and muttered something under his breath. Something about 'vultures'.
"Look kid," he said as he folded his arms and leaned back into his chair all the while glaring at me. "The police are already looking into this matter. We don't need nosy outsiders like you poking around town stirring the locals up."
In situations like these it's best to just give up and agree, right? Going against the police directly couldn't be any more of a stupid idea.
"Alright, I understand," I replied with a practiced smile. "But I've already paid to stay here for about a month. I hope you don't mind if I take advantage of that. This town is quite nice, after all. I promise I'll stop asking around about the mur – ahem – incidents."
The detective stared at me as if I had grown a third eye or something before regaining his composure. Guess he didn't expect me to agree so easily.
"Hmph. I'll hold you to that promise. If I catch you stirring up trouble again…"
"I got it. Won't ask around, and won't cause trouble. I swear."
"Good," the detective grunted before standing up, grabbing his coat and slinging it over his shoulder before opening up the door to the interrogation room. "Come on, I'll show you out."
Hehe. Fool. I only promised you that I'd stop asking about the murders. I didn't promise anything about not stalking the two girls that disappeared for a brief time.
Following the detective out the police station, I finally stepped back out into the warming embrace of the sunlight. I must've spent about half an hour in that dark, dingy room.
"You'd better not go back on your word!" The detective called out towards me before disappearing back inside.
Yeah, don't worry old man. I won't.
Stretching my arms, I began walking towards the local Junes to grab a bite to eat. I didn't exactly bring a lot of money with me, and I didn't want to ask Mitsuru for money either so I'll have to settle for the cheap stuff.
Arriving at the food court, I order some fries and a soda before taking a seat at one of the plastic tables near a group of students chatting amongst themselves.
Heh. To think that I'd be able to find both Yukiko and Rise within minutes of leaving the police station. What kind of crazy luck is that? It does look like they're with a bunch of friends from their school, though.
Let's see… There's a guy with silvery-gray hair in a swept bob that looks like he's the center of the group, a guy with brown hair with orange headphones hanging around his neck that's acting all buddy-buddy with gray, Yukiko Amagi who seems to be friends with some girl with short brown hair wearing a green track jacket, also some rough looking delinquent guy with bleached hair, a strange red and blue bear mascot suit, and finally there's Rise Kujikawa herself that's clinging onto the gray guy.
All in all, I'd say that's a pretty strange group.
Slipping a pair of fake headphones on, I lean back and listen in on the conversation they were having.
"So, we're sure we're ready to take on that weird dungeon now?" Orange Headphone asks.
Dungeon? Are they talking about a video game?
"We secured a route to the boss the last time we were in there, and we did some training as well." Rise says. "What do you think, Yu-senpai?"
Yu-senpai, the gray-haired guy, nods and answers, "I also got everyone some better weapons, and stocked up on recovery items. Although there's still time, the sooner we take care of Mitsuo the better."
Mitsuo? That doesn't really sound like the name of a dungeon boss.
"Then what're we waitin' for? Let's haul ass and go kick that loser's ass!" Biker shouts as he pounds his fists together.
"Alright. Let's move, then." Yu-senpai declares as he stands up from his seat.
The rest of the group follows his lead as they head inside the Junes.
Quickly finishing off the rest of my fries, I dump the rest of my soda down my throat before hurrying to tail them. It's a weekday so the inside of the store is fairly sparse making it easy for me to spot them; especially when they're the only people around heading to the home appliances section. They continue moving to the back of the store to where the TV aisle is and stop in front of one of the big plasmas. I hide in the aisle next to them and pretend to browse the stock while keeping an eye on the big convex mirror hanging on the corner. One by one, the students reach out and touch the screen of the TV they're standing in front of before disappearing into it. The only evidence left of their existence are the ripples across the screen that vanishes as well before long.
Well… That's not the strangest thing I've seen in this world, but it's still pretty damn weird.
Checking to make sure the coast is clear, I make my way until I'm standing in front of the TV they went into. I slowly stretch my hand out towards the black screen. As my fingers tips graze the surface, instead of feeling resistance, they instead sink right through.
This thing's a portal of some kind… Could this be the source of the Shadow activity? If that's the case then that means those kids are fighting the shadows. Just like we did.
My free hand reaches underneath my coat. The reassuring cold steel of my Evoker greets my fingers, giving me a sense of relief. I may not have my naginata with me, but I'm sure I'll be able to handle things.
It's now or never, Saya. Come on.
Taking a deep breath, I force myself to jump into the TV. My vision goes white as a sudden feeling of weightlessness overcomes me. Suddenly, I can eyes clear just in time for my face to crash into the floor.
I thought that portal would've put me a lot higher up.
Groaning, I push myself onto my feet, rubbing my sore nose.
"Ah…"
I stop in my tracks as I realize I'm surrounded by the group of students from before, except now they're all wearing fashionable glasses and brandishing various lethal looking weapons.
Yu-senpai is two-handing a katana held low, parallel to the ground, Orange Headphones is carrying a pair of kunai, Track Girl has a pair of heavy-looking metal greaves on her feet, Yukiko is carrying a bladed fan, Biker is hefting a metal folding chair, the bear mascot has long claws attached to his arms, and Rise… appears to be unarmed.
There is an unspoken tension hanging in the air around us, although that could just be the dense, yellow fog surrounding us.
Orange Headphones is the first to speak.
"Hey! Who are you?"He shouts, pointing one of his kunai at me.
"Don't worry," I answer while slowly raising both my hands above my head. "I'm not an enemy."
Yeah… I don't think they'll buy that. Telling them that I'm a Shadow Operative is out of the question. Mitsuru made it really clear to me that she'd 'execute' me if she found out I leaked information.
"You didn't answer my question. Who are you?" Orange Headphones repeats.
"I'm… an investigator. I came to Inaba to try to get to the bottom of the disappearances and murders."
The group only grows even more wary at my explanation.
Dammit. I should've waited a little bit before following them into the TV. A flash from the side catches my attention and I see some strange, lanky female figure in a white dress with a satellite for a head floating beside Rise.
A Persona.
"Th-this is-! Everyone, this woman is extremely powerful! I don't think we should mess with her!" She calls out.
I see… So she has a support type Persona like Fuuka.
Wait, but how did she summon a Persona? I don't see any Evokers on them. Could it be the glasses?
"Look, I know how suspicious I might be, but I'm not here to fight you guys. Let's just calm down, okay?"
"Orrrrah!"
Sensing danger, I leap to the side just in time to see Biker come crashing down with a stomp.
Holy shit. If I had been standing there I would've been flattened.
"Kanji!? What the hell are you doing, idiot?!" Orange Headphone shouts.
"Ah? This chick is clearly suspicious as hell! In fact, she's probably the one that's responsible for the murders!" Biker, Kanji, yells back. "Take-Mikazuchi!"
A blue tarot card appears in front of Kanji before he crushes it in his fist. Above him appears a gigantic black robot with a skeletal decal. It rears its arm back and stabs downward with a massive lightning bolt that appeared in its hand, sending electricity running along the ground towards me.
A Mazio spell.
Well, at this point I might as well try to knock some sense into him. His friends are looking torn between helping him or leaving him to fight it out, so I should finish this fast.
Leaping backwards, I reach under my coat and draw my Evoker.
"Kanji-kun!"
Ah… That's right. They probably think this is a real gun.
All of a sudden, the others in the group leap into action and surround me.
"Go, Jiraiya!"
At Orange Headphones call, a weird frog ninja hero appears begins spinning, generating a tornado that starts to draw me in.
"Get her! Tomoe!"
A female Persona comes forth below me wearing a yellow tracksuit with a double bladed naginata. She spins her weapon and begins rising towards me.
"Come! Konohana-Sakuya!"
Next, Yukiko summons her Persona, a pink and red cheerleader with large feathers on her arms forming a kind of cape around it, which fires a fireball into the tornado creating a flaming twister.
"Come out! Kintoki-Douji!"
The bear mascot, to my surprise, also summons a Persona: A rotund red robot carrying a tomahawk missile which it sends flying my way.
"Izanagi!"
Finally, Yu-senpai joins in. A robotic figure wearing a gakuran carrying long sword appears above me and comes crashing down with electricity enveloping its blade.
The level of teamwork these kids have is amazing. To think they managed to easily surround me and perform such a coordinated attack that I can't dodge in only a few seconds is beyond impressive.
It's impressive, but it's not good enough.
I place the barrel of the gun against my forehead. The feeling of cold steel accompanied by a rush of adrenaline is intoxicating and I can't help but feel a maniacal grin creep up on my lips.
"Stheno!"
Shattering glass.
Time seems to slow down.
The familiar form of my trusted partner appears in front of me.
She looks back at me, a wordless smile etched onto her mask.
I return it, and the world explodes in a flash of white.
-xXx-
"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow! Wh- Hey! Cut it out! That hurts!"
Sighing, I finish applying the healing ointment to Hanamura's, the guy with the orange headphones, forehead before giving him a light slap. "Stop complaining. How do you expect to fight Shadows if you're whining about something like this?"
"Haha! She's right, Yosuke! Stop being such a baby!" Satonaka, the short-haired girl wearing the tracksuit, comments while snickering.
In any case," I say, turning to the leader of the group, Narukami Yu. "Care to explain what's going on in this town, now?"
The grey-haired boy nods. "Of course. A deal's a deal, but I also want to hear a little bit more about you."
Heh. Nothing like a good Megidolaon to get people to listen to you.
Taking a moment to think, Narukami then proceeds to launches into a summary of his adventures so far. He mentioned that something called the Midnight Channel, a TV 'program' that appears exactly on midnight while it's raining, shows the Shadow of the person dragged into the TV world. Apparently, the bizarre murders that happened in the town was caused by the person being killed by their own Shadow. So Narukami, after accidentally finding out he can enter the TV world, decided to fight against the Shadows and investigate who's been throwing people into TVs. In addition, it seems like he's a Wild Card like Minato.
So Persona users are able to enter TVs? Maybe the rule only applies to Persona users in Inaba, though. There's also the fact that they don't need Evokers to bring out their Persona. Instead, in order to receive their Persona they had to overcome their own Shadow and accept it into their hearts. I guess these kids could be considered true natural Persona users. If that's the case… Could there be a Shadow of me in this world? No. Narukami had his Persona before which allowed him to enter into the TV world in the first place, and he said he hadn't faced his Shadow.
Ah man. All this stuff is way too complicated for me. If only Minato or Mitsuru were here.
Sighing, I massage my forehead to try to nurse away the oncoming headache.
"Alright, in any case, it's about time to explain myself, right?"
At that, all the kids gather around me and stare at me with rapt attention. That makes sense considering they must've thought they were the only people who could use Persona before meeting me.
Clearing my throat, I begin, "I came here to investigate the town of Inaba after our sensors detected a massive, sudden spike of Shadow activity not too long ago. It was extremely brief, but it warranted some investigation. After digging into it a little, my CO discovered the string of bizarre deaths and disappearances that took place in this town. Deciding that it'd be safer to investigate, she sent me over. Although, the last thing I expected to see was a group of high school kids using Personae to fight Shadows in a foggy TV world."
"Huh? That's it?" Tatsumi, the biker, asks.
"That's it," I reply.
"Huh? But that doesn't explain anything!" Hanamura says. "Like why you can use a Persona and how you know about Shadows and stuff!"
I guess it wouldn't hurt to give them a little information to get them to trust me more.
"Well… All you need to know is that a Shadow incident took place a few years ago and we went through a similar ordeal where we awakened our powers in order to fight against the Shadows. In fact, if it hadn't been for my brother, the world would've been completely destroyed by now."
"Destroyed?"
"I'll just leave the rest up to your imaginations." Turning around, I throw a wave over my shoulder at the group of kids as I begin walking to the stack of TVs sitting nearby. "In any case, I have to report back my findings here and gear up. After I'm back, let's go take on that Kubo guy.
Without waiting for a reply, I slip into one of the boxes and the feeling of weightlessness overtakes me once again.
-xXx-
"Don't rescue anymore…" I mumble as I stare down at the message composed of cut out letters.
"What do you think, Arisato-san?"
My eyes flit towards Yu then down to the letter in my hands.
"Looks like a message from the killer to me. It also looks like they know who we are."
"Right?" Rise says. "There's no way such a specific letter sent to Senpai's place could be a prank!"
"Tch. This bastard's got some balls tryin' to threaten us like that!" Kanji shouts as he pounds his fist into the table, drawing more than a few curious stares from the people around us.
"Hey, you idiot!" Yosuke cries, jumping to his feet. "Don't lose your cool like that! You're going to scare away all the customers!"
"Er, sorry…"
Sighing, I throw the letter back onto the table in front of me. "Back on track, I don't suppose we can wipe this thing for fingerprints, right?"
Naoto shakes her head. "Unfortunately that would not be wise. Although I do have access to the police station, I'm sure they would not take too kindly to an outsider using their forensics equipment. Not to mention they would start asking questions about the letter which would lead them to Yu-senpai."
"Good point. The last thing we need are the police coming down on us because they found out we're investigating the murders. I already got enough heat from them when I first got into town."
That's right. A couple of months have passed since I first met up with and joined the Investigation Team and since then not much has happened. After capturing Mitsuo Kubo, we found out that he was just a copycat killer due to Naoto Shirogane's, a young prodigious detective that awakened to her powers not long after Kubo's arrest, deductions.
"Anyways," I say while grabbing the letter before standing up. "I'll send this thing back to HQ to see if they can't find anything about it. The results may take a while to get back, but it's better than nothing. Right?"
Yu nods. "Alright. Thanks again for you help, Arisato-san."
Smiling, I gently tapped the grey-haired kid on the head. "Don't worry about it. Its admirable how you're all working so hard, but don't forget to relax once in a while. You're all free today, right? Why not go out and do something fun together with your friends?"
"Then would you like to come with us, Arisato-san?" I hear Yu say as I'm beginning to walk away.
"Huh?
I turn around and see the boy looking at me with a slight smile on his face.
"I asked if you'd like to come with us," he repeats.
"No, no, no. I heard you the first time, but why would you want me to come with you?"
Yu's smile morphs into a smirk as he sits back in his chair. "You said so yourself, didn't you? That I should go out and do something fun together with my friends."
I was taken aback by his statement. It wasn't the words that surprised me, but the way he said it that took me by surprise. He said it so matter-of-factly that even I believed it for a second.
"You… See me as a friend?"
The boy nods. "Of course."
"You do know that I'm just going to disappear once this whole incident has been taken care of, right? Besides, you barely know a thing about me. How could you say that I'm your friend?"
"That's not true, Saya-san!" Rise suddenly exclaims. "You've helped us all so much over the past couple of months!"
Yukiko nods. "Even though you're our guest, you've been helping out at the inn whenever it gets busy."
"Same here," Yosuke adds with his signature grin. "My dad says you're a big help to have around the store."
"Yeah! So don't go sayin' shit like that! My ma would've been sad if she heard ya say that!" Kanji shouts.
These kids…
"Indeed," Naoto says. "Your insight and previous knowledge of Shadows have been invaluable to us."
"Aaaaah! Alright, alright! That's enough! I get it!" I shout before anybody else can voice their opinions.
Dammit. I can feel my face burning up.
Yu smirks at me and pats me on the back.
"Well, friend, what do you have in mind?"
-xXx-
I stare down blankly at the lifeless body of the little girl in front of me. She looks so much more frail tucked into the white sheets of the hospital bed, hooked up to life support machines, as if a singular touch would turn her to dust. The only sound in the room is the long, drawn out tone of the EKG monitor.
"Nanako-chan…" I hear somebody whisper behind me.
In front of me I can see Yu's shoulders shaking as he struggles to hold back his tears.
Even though I've only known the little girl for a short time, it was long enough for me to start treating her like a little sister. My hand hovers over my heart. It hurts. It hurts just as much as when Shinji died.
"Nanako!"
The door to the hospital room bursts open and Dojima stumbles in with a nurse trailing behind him trying to rein him back. He takes a glance around the room, seeing the expressions on our faces before his eyes finally land on Nanako.
"Nanako..." He repeats as he staggers up to his dead daughter's beside before collapsing onto his knees. "Please, open your eyes… It's dad… Nanako… Please…"
Tears stream down his face as he desperately clutches the little girl's hands. All of the Investigation Team members sob alongside the broken man until he comes to a sudden, shuddering stop. A look of rage washes over Dojima as he stands, trembling.
"NAMATAMEEEEE!" The man roars, his voice filled with grief as he storms out of the room. The nurses quickly take off after him doing their best to stop the rampaging man.
"He's going to kill Namatame," I say as the room falls quiet once again. Without waiting for an answer, I turn around and leave the room.
I can't say I don't understand Dojima's feelings, but he's a cop. He shouldn't go around killing people in anger. Something like that would be best left up to me.
Making my way to Namatame's room, I see Dojima struggling weakly against the police officers stationed there.
"Dojima-san," I say calmly as I walk up to him. "Killing him won't bring Nanako back. Not to mention Nanako wouldn't have wanted for her father to end up ruining the rest of his life. "
The man stops struggling long enough for the officers to properly detain him as he vehemently turns toward me.
"What would you know?! I've lost my wife and my child! What else is there to live for?!"
"Then live. Live for the sake of living. Live the life you have to honor the memories of the family so unjustly taken from you. Live for them when they didn't get a chance to."
My words seem to have some effect on Dojima as he stops moving and goes limp. Tears spill from his eyes and land gently on the hospital floor.
"Nanako…" He whimpers as the two police officers give me a grateful nod and begin to escort him back to his room.
Once the coast is clear, I open the door to Namatame's room and step inside. The middle-aged man is still unconscious in the hospital bed. I walk to his bedside and wrap my hands around his throat when the door opens again.
Several gasps come from behind me, and I can only assume that the Investigation Team had arrived.
"Saya-chan! What are you doing?!"
I don't look back at Rise's protest and instead begin to squeeze. It's easy. So easy. Taking a life has never been this easy. Just like back then. Just like with that bastard. The best part is; I don't feel a thing.
"Saya-san! Stop!"
Naoto is the one to speak up this time.
"I said stop! Or I'll be forced to shoot!"
I turn my head around just enough to see the young detective in my peripheral pointing her revolver at me.
"Really now? Do you have the guts to kill your own friend?"
Naoto's eyes widen as she lowers her gun. During my stay in Inaba, I had grown the closest to Naoto. Perhaps it was because our appearances are similar or maybe it's because I enjoyed being able to help her solve her cases. Whatever the case, the detective had become more than a little fond of me.
"Go ahead then. You kill me, or I kill Namatame."
My grip tightens and a single gunshot rings out in the silence of the hospital ward. Crimson begins to pour forth from my right shoulder and stain my clothes as I'm forced to release Namatame due to the searing pain. Clutching at the wound, I stagger backwards and brace myself against the wall.
I reorient myself until I'm facing the Investigation Team. All of their mouths hang agape except for the blue-haired detective who has steel in her gaze while pointing the smoking barrel of her revolver at me.
"Well done, Naoto," I mutter as I push myself off the wall and stumble towards the TV. "Thank you."
The screen engulfs me and the last thing I see are the panicked expressions of the Investigation Team trying to reach for me.
-xXx-
Living in the TV world was rough. There is no sense of time, no source of water, and no food either. If it was anyone else but me, I'm sure that they'd be dead within three days providing that the Shadows don't get to them first. The Shadows and the lack of resources weren't a problem for me, but the presence of the Investigation Team was. I didn't doubt that they would come into the TV world to try to search for me so I ended up travelling as deep as I could in order to avoid them. Of course, I also spent a lot of my time training and in the end I managed to get the hang of summoning my Persona without using my Evoker.
Eventually I stumbled across another dungeon area, except the feeling I got from it was significantly different from the others. A wide red path stretched before me decorated with gates while floating over a misty chasm. In the distance were extremely powerful Shadows that are comparable to the ones in the upper levels of Tartarus.
Stepping forward through the gates, I brandish my naginata and begin making my way through the new dungeon. If I had to guess, I'd say this is the area before the final boss. In that case, if I go ahead and take care of it now it'd save the Investigation Team the trouble of having to fight it.
In almost no time at all, I manage to climb the dungeon while easily disposing of the Shadows standing in my way only to find a battle already taking place at the end. The entirety of the Investigation Team appears to be fighting a giant blood red skeleton with a vaguely female figure composed of the same bones sitting at the top. However, it looks like they're fighting a losing battle.
"It is a shame that things have to end this way," the skeleton woman says, her voice seemingly coming from all directions at once.
All of a sudden, a swarming mass of hands sprout up from the ground and latch onto each member of the Investigation Team and begins pulling them down into the ground. Their screams get cut off one by one as they disappear underneath the surface.
This… reminds me a lot of the time when we fought Nyx. If that's the case, then it's Yu's responsibility to get back up and defeat this thing as the Wild Card.
That doesn't mean I'm just going to stand around and watch, though.
"So you're the god being behind this whole situation, huh?" I announce as I begin making my way towards the structure of bones.
"You are different. I sense a great power within you. What are you?"
"I'm…" I hesitate for a second as the words form on my lips. "I'm their friend."
"I see. So you are an ally. Very well, you shall suffer the same fate as them."
The same dark hands burst forth from the ground to try to grab me but are repelled almost instantly as Stheno materializes beside me.
"What?! What is this power?!"
I stand with my arms crossed while Stheno fends off any and all attack directed at me by the woman.
"I could probably destroy you quite easily at this point, but I feel like I've interfered with this journey too much already," I say with a smirk as a human hand covered with the sleeve of a gakuran bursts out of the murky red substance in front of me. "The one who'll defeat you, is him."
The figure then continues to pull himself out of the mud before using his katana to steady himself and then stands at his full height. He shoots a glance over his shoulder at me and nods before squaring off against the final boss.
"Go get'er, tiger."
Turning around, I feel a massive, world-shattering power explode from the teenage boy and engulf the arena behind me.
"Come! Izanagi-no-Okami!"
I suppose that ends that.
-xXx-
"Saya-san, I have arrived to pick you up. Kirijo-san congratulates you on a mission success."
"Thanks," I mutter with a yawn as I step past my escort and into the limousine. Couldn't Mitsuru have picked a less conspicuous vehicle? I'm getting curious stares from the Amagi Inn staff.
It's over, huh. I feel like my involvement here was entirely unnecessary. Sighing, I lean back into the leather covered seat as the car begins to move.
In the end, I never did get to clear up my relations with the Investigation Team. Even during checkout I did my best to avoid Yukiko. It kind of does make me feel bad for just skipping out of town like this, but I have no doubt that Yu will tell the rest that I'm fine.
But to think Adachi was the mastermind behind all this. Goes to show that you can't judge a book by its cover.
I'm jolted out of my thoughts as the limo comes to a sudden stop.
"Saya-san, some teenagers are saying they wish to speak with you. What should I say?" I hear my escort's voice call out from the front.
Teenagers? Don't tell me…
Opening the door, I step out and am greeted by the sight of the Investigation Team crowding around the front of the limo.
What the hell are they doing?
"Saya-chan!"
Rise is the first one to call out to me as she breaks into a sprint and tackles me to the ground before I have a chance to react.
"We were so worried when you suddenly fell into the TV and disappeared like that!" The idol cries as squeezes the life out of me.
"Heh. Did'ya really think you could just skip town like that without telling us?" Yosuke says with a smirk.
"Yeah! What's up with that? Aren't we friends?" Chie adds.
"Besides," Kanji says as he pushes Naoto, who was hiding behind him, out in front of me. "She has somethin' she wants to say to you."
"Ah…" The Detective Prince, averts her eyes and pulls her cap down to cover her regret filled face. "I... I apologize for shooting you, Arisato-san. At that time, I didn't know what to do and I just… Panicked… and…"
Although she was putting on a tough front, her voice quivered and threatened to break with each word.
Sighing, I did my best to stretch my arm out to caress her face with Rise still clinging tightly to me.
"It's alright, Naoto. I lost myself for a moment there. You did the right thing."
"Arisato-san…"
Retracting my hand slightly, I deliver a light poke to the girl's nose.
"I already told you to call me, Saya, right?"
Naoto's face turns red at that as she proceeds to try to bury her face under her gakuran's collar.
"Okay, Saya…"
After finishing saying the last of my goodbyes to the Investigation Team and stopping by Dojima's house to bid farewall to the grizzled detective and Nanako whom I learned had a miraculous recovery, I was on my way back to the Kirijo Group Headquarters to deliver a proper mission report to Mitsuru.
Certainly, my presence here in Inaba may not have made a big difference, but the bonds I've forged with Yu and the others can only be described as real.
Perhaps if fate allows it, our paths will cross again someday.
-Status-
Name: Saya Arisato
Age: 18
Academics: Genius
Charm: Charismatic
Courage: Badass
Persona: Stheno
Arcana: Universe
Strength: N/A
Weak: N/A
Skills:
Sexy Dance
Recarmda
Makarakarn
Tentarafoo
Spirit Drain
Poison Arrow
Dekaja
Megidolaon