CHAPTER 3 – YOUR AFFECTION
Minako sat on the slow train to the town she would soon have to live in, at least until she was able to find stable footing in a world where everything she was certain of had changed. The plains of coastal Chūbu were giving way into an increasingly varied and more beautiful landscape of hills, forests and some mountains, spiced with the occasional bundle of houses and agriculture. It had gotten colder too, and remains of day-old snow were slowly melting under the bright sun.
She exchanged messages and humorous images with Elizabeth on her new phone to pass the time, when the train announced the next stop in the Inaba train station. Minako bid farewell to her extraordinary friend and got up to retrieve her bags. Looking outside, she saw the same town she visited with Rio, Yuka and the Volleyball team. Low-rise housing, vast agricultural fields, a river and a handful of larger buildings – probably public services like fire stations or schools. The biggest difference from her last visit resulted in the appearance of a large concrete building in the middle of this landscape, a mall called "JUNES", if the signs are to be believed.
The train lost speed and its brakes screeched for a few seconds before coming to a full stop and releasing the locks on the doors. Minako stepped outside as the train engine turned off, waiting for the next scheduled departure in the opposite direction, and ventured beyond the small building containing only a few benches, a ticket vendor and toilets, into the courtyard and parking lot.
All that was left to do is find the address Tamaki had given her. Low on battery, she instead approached a girl loitering near her bike a few steps away.
"Excuse me, do you know where I can find this address?"
The short haired tracksuit-wearing girl looked at the piece of paper and looked up ready to answer.
"Uh... sure! That's in uh...", the girl looked concerned all of a sudden.
"Hey, are you okay?"
It was not the first such question Minako had received since leaving the Kuzunoha Detective Agency's office. Neither was it dissimilar to her declining health in the final weeks after the battle with Nyx.
"Yeah, I've been ill recently. I'm fine now, thanks."
"A...lright, if you say so. As for that place you have to go to, it's..." Minako got the route to Tamaki's Aunt's house described, and the sporty girl thought to keep talking before she set off.
"Are you gonna be alright with the bags? You know, it's a bit of a walk, and I still have some time before Yuki… my friend arrives."
"Thanks for the offer, but I'll be fine. I just moved here, so I guess we'll see each other around? My name's ...Shiomi Kotone." She was unsure why she just gave this random girl her name, but it couldn't hurt to get on a few locals' good side and to practice using the new identity she had to adopt as a returnee from beyond the brink of death.
"Sure, call me Chie. Satonaka."
Minako smiled and waved while departing in the direction provided by her new acquaintance, and it was then that she felt a familiar sensation in her heart.
Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou has established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to salvation…
Thine Connection to Eurydice shall be strengthened through the power of the Chariot Arcana.
She felt her consciousness fade for a second, and re-awake on the seat of a car-form Velvet Room.
"Ah, a visitor! And one we already had the pleasure to meet and aid! This is quite rare indeed." Igor wasted no time in beginning to speak to the Arisato girl, who seemed only slightly surprised by the turn of events.
"I was wondering if I'd be able to meet you again, Igor. How are you guys holding up without Elizabeth?" Minako asked the long-nosed and bloodshot-eyed man, while noticing the silvery-blonde haired woman sitting next to him. She had a familiar aura to her, similar to Elizabeth and Theodore, another of Igor's servants, who she had interacted with a few times in the past.
"We share a special destiny here in the Velvet Room. I do not approve of personal quests taking priority over doing our assigned tasks, but fate has given her a choice and she did indeed choose." The strange master of the Velvet Room then gestured to the left of him, inviting his companion to speak.
The woman then spoke in a soft, yet authoritative voice. One betraying a hint of amusement to the keen listener.
"I am Margaret. You've already had a fruitful relationship with my dear siblings, and I will strive to assist you to the same effect when necessary. I hope you do not mind keeping it on a simple cordial level.", she ended with a smile.
Minako nodded to the new attendant's words and turned her attention to Igor once he resumed.
"You do not possess the power of the wild card anymore, as you might have felt. In fact, your persona powers laid dormant until you stepped foot on the soil you now have to walk upon. The unique fusion of the powers of Thanatos, and your previous self, Orpheus, have given birth to Eurydice, of the Judgement Arcana."
The man paused, laid down a deck of tarot cards on the table and began to shuffle.
Margaret explained: "It is a Persona derived from the closure of Orpheus' journey, who failed in retrieving his beloved from the depths of Hades when success was right around the corner. When Orpheus himself was later sent to the same place, suffering the same fate as she did, they were finally reunited. You have similarly faced the realm of death, and succumbed to it at the moment of reunion. As often happened in the Ancient World, such myths and legends were altered, discarded or continued. Our master has taken liberty to do the latter."
"Interesting story. But what does it mean for me? Can I only use one Persona, Eurydice? Does it have any drawbacks, like Thanatos' presence had?"
"That is the case. However, the compendium tells me it is a Persona which evolves, grows stronger, the more bonds you create and strengthen. It is of course up to you how you will nurture this power in fulfilling the master's task. As for drawbacks, I do not know. Avoiding the reversal of bonds might be a good precaution."
"Maybe try that gaining 100 friends approach that's so popular in these picture tomes my sister now enjoys." Margaret finished Igor's line of thought with a joke and a slight chuckle, prompting a smile in response.
Minako turned her focus to Igor, who was trying to re-gain both's attention.
"I shall now predict your fate in the coming year."
The first card left the deck, grabbed with the old man's boney fingers, and gracefully fell upon the table.
Temperance. In the upside-down position.
"I can see you are going to face a period of self-healing and recuperation of what you have lost since death. That is not a guarantee these processes will be successful, but it is a promising start."
Second card. Tower. Upright.
"Ah yes, the card that keeps coming up in my readings of the near future. I'm afraid a large upheaval of some kind is coming to this town and you shall also be involved. However, if my understanding of my master's mission for you is correct, it will not be up to you to resolve it."
"A new Wild-Card Persona user is around. And I am obliged to render assistance… is what this Philemon man said. I have very little information to go by." Minako added to Igor's musings, hoping that this would prompt some additional help in understanding.
"A man touched by the creators of this land, awakening the ancients, charming even the toughest foes with a silver tongue and wielding the strength of a thousand demons."
Minako was amused by the description, and convinced that Igor simply refused to give her any detailed information.
"You're describing this man as if he were a demi-god."
"Perhaps." Igor chuckled and allowed his eyes to rest, before ending the conversation.
"Now go, enjoy your stay at this wonderful town. And do check out the hot springs, I very much enjoyed my last visit."
Minako found herself back in the streets of Inaba, with a bag over her shoulder, one on the back and another 10 minutes to walk. Slightly unnerved by the events that happened, she nonetheless kept on walking.
The address given to her by Tamaki led to a small house with decaying grayed-out white exterior walls, the entrance immediately adjacent to a narrow road with no sidewalks or vegetation beyond weeds growing in the cracks of the worn asphalt. The doorbell not working, Minako decided instead to knock on the front door.
Nearly half a minute later, the door was slightly opened and a small, over 70-year-old woman peeked outside and asked:
"Yes?"
"I've been looking for Miss Hisano Kuroda; my friend Tamaki Uchida from the Kuzunoha Detective Agency sent me."
The woman sighed softly and opened the door fully, revealing her black garments, which Minako immediately noticed.
"Oh, did I come at a bad time?"
"It's all right, dear. By all means, come on in." and gestured the younger woman to come inside.
The old lady's house was tidy, but the defining feature was a shrine dedicated to a man, with a signature black band over the photo. Minako guessed the old lady was in a state of mourning, possibly since recently, but preferred to not comment on what she saw out of respect for what seemed to be her new host. She thought it ironic, that she'd be faced with the consequences of death so soon after overcoming her own.
Hisano saw her glancing at the shrine and commented: "He was my husband."
"Was it recent?" Minako sought to be respectful, but was unprepared to offer any kind of support for a situation she had never been in before.
Her parents and brother died when she was very young, on that damned day she was cursed with becoming the unknowing host of Pharos of the Death Arcana, and the cold and bureaucratic police officers and social workers were both unwilling and uncaring enough to offer an orphan girl any support, eager to just finish their shift and go home to entertain themselves until bedtime.
When Shinjiro was shot by Takaya and fell in a coma doctors thought could be permanent, they had still kept their relationship a secret and thus SEES treated her just as another team member losing a comrade. Her friendship with Akihiko and Ken in the following period could be considered supportive, but there was always something forced about them, especially the latter, due to the kid's one sided yet obvious crush on her. The events of October 4th hitting heavier than what some of the worst attacks of Tartarus Shadows could do.
"No, dear. He passed away last month. You however are young and have a future where you can still live unburdened by regret, so don't mind an old lady's mourning"
Minako was unconvinced and saw a deep sadness in Ms. Hisano's eyes, which she could not stand to see, but let be for now.
The two walked up the stairs and entered a room at the end of the corridor. Inside was a time capsule of a time gone by. Simple concrete walls, posters of Akina Nakamori and Alain Prost lining the walls, a dust-covered record player placed on a dusty shelf next to a few even dustier books and a calendar for April of 1987. No TV, no computer, no video game console or other appliances a teenaged person would find important nowadays.
"Wow." Minako expressed her surprise, which was noticed by the old lady.
"I'm sorry I can't offer you anything better."
"No, no. It's okay. I actually kinda love it. It's charmingly retro. Add a couple of important things, clean up a bit and it'll look lovely."
The old lady was taken aback, but was pleasantly surprised by Minako's enthusiasm. After all, she reminded him in appearance of her husband in the worst years of her life. The aura of a person weighed down heavily by some injustice of life.
"It was my son's. I kept it as it was ever since he moved to Europe all these years ago. He stopped visiting long ago, so I am glad to see that someone will get use out of it once again."
Minako set aside her things and started cleaning up her new room, while thinking back to how she could cheer up Hisano-san. Once finished, she ventured to the living room, where the old woman was watching television, in a better mood than before.
"Miss Hisano? I have finished cleaning up. Also. Miss Tamaki called me. She said she'd be coming by tomorrow morning to bring some documents and officially enroll me to the local school. Would you like to come along?"
"I have a doctor's appointment in Okina City unfortunately, but thank you for the offer."
"Tamaki said your name is Kotone Shiomi, am I correct?" The lady continued
"Yes, that's me. I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself." She had looked ashamed at herself, but sought to fix that. "I hope we can spend this year in harmony, and end it in friendly terms."
Minako and Ms. Hisano spent the evening together, getting to know each other at a leisurely pace, before going to bed and preparing for the second day in the countryside.
Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou has estabilished a new bond…
It brings thee closer to salvation…
Thine Connection to Eurydice shall be strengthened through the power of the Death Arcana.
Friday, 28th January 2011 – Minako Arisato's futon, Inaba
Sent, 11:49 PM - hey elizabeth! has igor ever been outside of the velvet room?
Sent, 11:49 PM – he probably wears a disguise right?
Read, 11:50 PM – Does he? 👀