CHAPTER 5 – CATCH THE RAINBOW
Monday, 7th February 2011 – Afternoon – Okina City
Minako was approaching the commercial area in Okina City on the bike she bought from an old man a few days ago. Elizabeth and Tamaki have not returned to visit yet after the day she got enrolled in Yasogami High School. Despite her previous propensity towards actions taking large amounts of courage, she was finding it difficult to take on the task of contacting her old SEES comrade with the number Elizabeth had given her. She really missed her old friends, but knew that attracting too much attention from powerful forces like the Kirijo Corporation was too dangerous, especially as the task given to her by Philemon had not yet even left the abstract level.
Mitsuru Kirijo is a person Minako had gotten to know only very late in the existence of SEES, and despite the trust in her as a person and comrade-at-arms, she had no knowledge if the death of the previous CEO as well as the end of the SEES project led to any changes in the company's power dynamics or other unfavorable developments.
If anyone were to be close to the situation, yet retain an objective and impersonal eye to the situation, as well as be sharp enough to make sense of the subtleties, it would have to be Fuuka or (her heart ached at the thought) Shinjiro. Yukari had always retained a certain distrust and detachment from most in the group but her and her bickering-partner Iori Junpei. Junpei was… well, Junpei. A good friend to have, but a person whose focus was always on the here and now. Akihiko was always too close to Mitsuru, and there was no point to even consider the other team members like Ken Amada or Koromaru. Finally, there was Aigis, but her fate following that tragic March afternoon was completely unknown and impossible to deduce, for it could have taken a myriad of paths forward.
Finally, Minako had to admit that, having gotten to know Shinjiro's personality before his unfortunate fate on October 4th, he wasn't a realistic option either. The sequence of events leading to them not seeing each other until her death, would have made Shinjiro very likely to take the easy way once again.
Isolating himself and placing the blame for the death of Amada Kumiko on his shoulders, led to him weakening his body with Strega's Suppressants instead of coming to terms with what he had done. Having his cynical heart melted away and finally opening up to a person he had no previous history with and was willing to accept him as he was, opening up his heart to her, showing his buried skills, exposing his personal weaknesses? All of this lead to him finally coming to terms with his previous traumas and defending Ken Amada's life at the cost of heavy injuries.
Yet this change only led to being rewarded with nothing. The news that the person that helped him achieve all of these things had died, not during a fight to the death against a powerful foe, but collapsing on a bench on the school's rooftop just a few days after his own recovery? It must have come across as a bad taste joke to the man.
Minako realized that Fuuka was her only option if she wished to reconnect with her past.
"Yamagishi Fuuka… Thank you Elizabeth."
Minako had pulled out and stared at her phone for a solid minute by the sidewalk right next to the Okina City's Commercial Area's Music Store. She was trying to gather her thoughts to start the phone call she was now determined to make, as cars went by and some youths gathered to talk about mundane stuff near the entrance.
Her hand was unsteady as she tapped the numbers on her screen, culminating with a nine and a tap on the green handset icon. The tone indicating a lack of response was heard once, twice and after the third time, a startling, yet expected voice appeared on the other end of the line.
"Yamada's Computer Repair Shop. This is Yamagishi Fuuka, how may I help you today?"
Minako forced herself to calm down quickly and after a concerned "...Sir?" she managed to respond:
"Hey, Fuuka. It's me."
"I'm sorry ma'am, but…" The Green-Haired Girl currently sitting at the front desk of a small shop in Tokyo realized she had heard that voice before, and was immediately taken aback by the realization of who it could have been. It seemed impossible. She thought it could have been a strange prank or her hearing playing tricks on her, but a revelation of this scale could not possibly be ignored.
"...Minako?"
"Yes. Can we talk?"
"Where are you?"
"Okina City, Yamanashi Prefecture. Commercial District"
"Okay. Give me a couple of hours. Is this your cellphone number?"
"Yeah... Thank you."
"See you soon." Fuuka didn't want to put down the phone. She wanted to hear the voice of the former leader of the SEES once again, but Minako had ended the call. The girl in Tokyo was worried, but had an immediate drive to fulfill her promise. She approached her boss and managed to talk him into giving her the rest of the day off for a "family emergency" and immediately walked in the direction of the nearest train station to buy a ¥5000 ticket, as she took out her phone to make another phone call.
Once dialing the number, she said:
"Junpei, I need you to drive to Okina City in Yamanashi Prefecture right now and meet me at the… Okina-Stadium train station. NOT the main station."
"Eh, what's this about? I'm at work right now."
"It's very important. In the worst case, it could even be a trap."
"A-a... Fuuka, tell me: what's going on?" The young man in the delivery/employee smoke break area of a Triple 7 in Iwatodai City suddenly had his full attention to the words his secret comrade spoke through the phone line.
"I got a call. From Minako."
Junpei's was visibly stunned and his coworker had asked him if he was okay.
"Call Yukari and take Koromaru with you. Are Mitsuru, Akihiko and Aigis back yet?"
"No, they're not."
"Alright… if this is true… Well, see you soon Junpei. I gotta go."
Junpei responded with a meek "Yea", and his friend asked him once again if he was okay.
"Ota, I gotta go. Tell the boss I got a medical emergency in the family or something."
"Ain't Fuuka…? You know what man, I got it. Don't worry"
"Thanks, dude." Junpei patted the man on his shoulder and ran outside, still wearing the store uniform.
Meanwhile, in Okina City, tears quietly flowed down the face of Minako Arisato for the first time in a very long time.
A brown-haired youth wearing a Yasogami High School uniform with red headphones around his neck was walking by the scene. Noticing the apparent distress of a woman roughly his age, he approached her.
"You okay, lady?"
Minako nodded, adding: "I'm happy."
"Uh, alright. I'll leave you alone then."
The young man hesitated a bit, before heading into the store and immediately turning around after stepping through its automatic doors. He took out a pack of pocket tissues, and handed them to Minako.
"Here, to dry out the tears." To which she responded with a smile.
"Would you like to talk about it? I know I'm just a stranger, but…"
"It's fine, I just talked on the phone to a friend I thought I would never hear from again." Minako said, as she used the JUNES-branded tissues to wipe her face.
"Must be someone special. I'm jealous."
"She was, yeah. The whole team was." The boy noticed that despite his concern, the girl that stood in front of him was in fact not in need of help, and he felt his own worry fade away.
"Okay. Will you be alright here?"
Minako nodded, with a glad expression turning into a beaming smile last seen a long time ago, but somewhat clashing with her new gloomier appearance.
"Good to see. So, uh… I'll see you around?"
"Sure! I'm Mi… Kotone Shiomi! Nice to meet you!"
"Yosuke Hanamura." He said as they waved at each other and he finally entered the shop to buy the new CDs he wanted.
"Nice Girl." The boy quietly said to himself and thought it was nice that he was able to talk to people without being judged for being the son of the local mall's manager. He thought he should visit the city more often, and maybe invite Saki to come with him...
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 Magician Arcana.
Minako felt touched by the boy's concern and mentally noted to say hi the next time she saw him. She also realized that her meeting with Fuuka would take place some time from now, so she went into the store and bought a magazine, before leaving towards the meeting place with her bicycle in tow.
Monday, 7th February 2011 – Late Afternoon – Okina City
"Minako… it seems too good to be true. Are you really sure it was her, Fuuka?"
A bored-looking girl dressed in a long pink dress with exposed shoulders, lined with fuzzy material was watching the scenery outside the window of Junpei Iori's car. Inside, she was actually quite anxious about the meeting organized by Fuuka Yamagishi, who was sitting in the rear seat, next to a white dog.
"I… don't know. I agree that it seems to good to be true, but that voice… the moment I heard it, I just knew. There's many people in this world with similar voices, and probably some named Minako, but…"
The blue-haired girl was dejected, and worried that her recognition of SEES' former leader might have been a mistake or some kind of trap that they were being led to. A concern that Yukari shared in a conversation earlier that day. The only person with complete and unshaken enthusiasm was the driver Junpei Iori, tapping his hands on the steering wheel to the rhythm of the music from the radio, with a barely restrained grin on his face.
"I think you worry too much Yukaricchi. And so do you Fuu-chan. I think we're gonna be okay here."
"You can always count on Stupei to say stuff without thinking."
The goateed-man looked offended by the comment and cried out in protest. "Hey, come on! There's no need for that!" Having no snappish reply this time, but unwilling to let the comment slide, he felt the need to elaborate on his thoughts. "You know, I think it's actually pretty likely for the leader to come back. Just like what happened to my Chidori. She used her powers on these flowers, and then it ended up doing good for her when she needed it most. Whoever is in charge of this world must've smiled upon me that day. So why couldn't it have happened again?"
Fuuka smiled at Junpei's comments, which succeeded in lifting her spirits up some. But of course, it was barely anything more than wishful thinking.
"You're placing a lot of trust in luck here." Yukari remarked.
"Actually, I'm placing a lot of trust in Fuuka. She's never failed us before, and she's got that neat Persona of hers. Juno. Fuu-Chan, you told us you immediately knew it was her. What are the odds that her abilities told you?"
Koromaru happily barked immediately afterwards, and Junpei's face had a grin on it once again. "See? Koro-Chan agrees with me."
"Actually, Junpei might be right." Fuuka interjected. "During that phone call, I felt much the same energy as I did back when we fought the Emperor and Empress. I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it."
Yukari sighed, but actually felt slightly relieved. However, her suspicions weren't fully stilled. "I guess we can at least defend ourselves, if it turns out to be something bad after all." She referred to the suitcase of weapons from the SEES era in the trunk of the car, as well as their persona abilities.
The group continued along, until the Train Station was visible in the distance.
"Park here. There's a police station over there, it's better they don't stumble upon the weapons I brought." And Junpei did. He was the first to get out of the car, still dressed in his work uniform, and Fuuka and the others followed.
"Do you see anyone?" The pink girl asked.
"Not yet. We need to move in closer."
The plaza had a completely normal appearance. People were going on their daily routines, a short line was in front of the cinema advertising an anime movie and the quiet roar of engines from cars driving by was heard. Nothing to indicate hostile intent from any kind of enemy, at least not in the open.
"Keep your guard up. Let's go."
Arriving at the centre of the plaza, in front of the escalators leading to and from the train station, nothing had changed. Fuuka felt something was definitely nearby, but it did not match with her previous readings of their old leader. "What… is this?"
"Guys… is that?" Junpei was looking at a cafe situated right next to a clothes' boutique. Next to a garbage bin, sat a person on the bench, sipping on a hot beverage from a paper cup. Short- and black-haired, very pale and sickly looking, wearing a heavy winter jacket and black pants. The description didn't fit beyond the height, yet at the sight of the man, she got up, letting the drink fall to the ground and spill around, and jogged towards them with the cry of "Junpeeeeeiiii!". This caught everyone's attentions and they dropped their guard as they saw the girl jump-hug the man and the dog Koromaru do the same to her on a smaller scale.
"It's… really her! Fuuka, this…!"
Junpei and Fuuka were both left speechless, alhough the man had returned her hug after regaining his balance, as the dog barked happily.
A few people turned their heads to see the scene unfolding in public, but none of the people involved cared at that point.
"I knew you'd come back." The man said, eventually letting go of the girl, to no reciprocated gesture.
"I missed you all so much." Tears were streaming down Minako's eyes for the second time that day, with no sign of stopping. "It was horrible! I had to… I chose that fate, but…"
Junpei felt compelled to put his arms around her once again. "Everything's alright now. You're back with your friends now. You're safe."
"We all missed you a great deal. Glad to have you back." Fuuka said as her own glasses were getting foggy, while Yukari said nothing and just joined what has now become a group hug.
Minako finally let go of Junpei, dissolving the mass embrace and looked down, noticing the attention-craving canine. She picked it up, gently stroking the fur on his head, much to Koromaru's approval.
"Come on guys," the male of the group took out his car keys from the pocket and proclaimed: "let's go celebrate!"
The decision was both unspoken and unanimous, ignoring any inconveniences like two of them being dressed in work uniforms, having a dog along or a case full of weapons in the trunk.
Monday, 7th February 2011 – Evening – Junpei Iori's house, Iwatodai City.
Eventually noticing the difficulties and inconveniences associated with their current group composition, the former SEES members settled on a private celebration at Junpei's home in Iwatodai City. The apartment was small and modest in a late 1960s danchi apartment building, not far from Tatsumi Port Island, the centre of events of times gone by. He lived together with his girlfriend Chidori, a person whose fate was deeply intertwined with the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad and not too dissimilar from Minako's.
Junpei had told them that it had taken months for her to fully regain her memory, but he had been by her side for each step along the way. Eventually, she had recovered fully and had any records of her death deleted by the direct intervention of the Kirijo Corporation. Her newfound will to live and make something out of it led her to start pursuing a Degree in Art at the local university and eventually led to her moving in with Junpei Iori.
"We're actually planning to get married some day. After she gets her degree and I find a real job." Junpei chuckled nervously at the last sentence, insecure about his own abilities. "I have been looking at this local factory job. They make canned food and stuff. I actually had an interview with them, but they haven't called me back yet."
Chidori placed her hand on his and reassured him. "I'm sure it went well. I'll be there for you in any case."
Minako was taken aback by how much the whole squad had moved on in their lives and matured at the same time. She heard how Fuuka had moved to Tokyo to pursue a degree in Electrical Engineering while working part-time in a computer repair shop, how Yukari found a job as a voice- and Children's Tokusatsu actress of all things, how Junpei managed to find a more-or-less stable direction in his life and how Ken Amada left his SEES past behind and was now attending a boarding school somewhere in Hokkaido.
Not much had changed for Mitsuru and Akihiko, who still worked for the Kirijo Corporation and furthered their research on shadows and related phenomena to avoid the dark hour from ever returning. They had gotten quite close to each other from what she heard. Aigis on the other hand, had no real future for herself and was hired by Mitsuru to assist them in research. The world was not ready for synthetic life and without the use of specialized machinery or string-pulling from above, the android girl could not count for support of any kind. According to Yukari however, she was faring quite well and exploring the joys of life to the best of her ability.
"You've got it Junpei, I believe in you." Minako turned to the rest of the people in the room and said:
"You've all changed so much, and not for the worse. I'm glad to see that." She caressed the fur of Koromaru, who was curled up on her lap. "But not you Koro-Chan. You're just as cute and fluffy as before!"
"It was hard at the beginning. For all of us, I mean." Yukari said.
"But we had to keep on going. You know, back when we… got sent to the Abyss of Time, things almost turned sour. We had fought each other, some hoping to undo the past and others… we... thought it was too dangerous." Fuuka added, but also looked ashamed or perhaps regretful of her decision to stand by Aigis and Metis, knowing still that it had been the correct decision.
Yukari comforted the diminutive girl. "It won't do us any good to bring up that part of the past now. And besides, it ended well after all. The Dark Hour hasn't returned so far, so we don't have to worry about that headache yet, Minako is back with us and from what she told us, she's not going away anytime soon."
Minako was suddenly dizzy and in a state of mild panic due to a realization brought upon by what the pink-clad girl had said, but forced herself once again to remain calm and in control. Like before, when fighting particularly strong foes in Tartarus; her old mannerisms and skills resurfacing naturally from seeing her old comrades yet again.
She mostly shut out what the others were saying, nudged Chidori and looked at her directly for a few seconds, hoping she had made her intentions clear. Meanwhile the topic of the discussion among the SEES had turned to a more mundane topic, Akihiko and Mitsuru's trip to Singapore and relationship speculation.
Minako stood up and said something about going to the balcony to take some fresh air (a scarcity in the now crowded small apartment), and Chidori mentioned coming along to do the same. Fuuka looked with some scepticism, and neither Yukari nor Junpei had noticed, but she left the leader alone.
The night brought the neighborhood to a standstill, but the moon shone pleasantly white across a blue, starry sky, as Chidori approached the other girl's figure, who had their hands on the railing and was looking towards the offshore wind turbines barely visible in the distance.
"Tatsumi Port Island."
"Yeah." Minako replied, saddened from hearing that place's name.
"You wanted to talk to me? What's wrong?"
"I'm sorry Chidori. I'm basically a stranger to you and yet here I am, hoping to talk to you about stuff I probably shouldn't."
Minako had only known the Chidori of old. Quiet, reserved, uncaring toward the world. Only opening her heart to Junpei Iori, with similar consequences that her bond with Shinjiro Aragaki brought. Yet she was the likeliest person in the room to be unaffected by what she was about to say, and that was absolutely crucial to her at that moment.
"We might not have been friends, but I know you have been a dear one to my Junpei and that is good enough for me. What's troubling you?" Minako found the positive response welcome and better than hoped.
"It's something that Yukari had said earlier. About me staying here for good. ...I actually don't know if that's true." Minako had Chidori's undivided attention, and she appreciated that she was at least heard out. "It wasn't mercy, or luck that took me off the Great Seal and back to the real world. The man who freed me, Philemon; he gave me a task to fulfill. To aid some person I know nothing about except that they have the same powers I do. But after that? For all I know, I could be back the moment Philemon decides my task is gone or even earlier. A former servant of his, a person I have full trust in, has told me some things about him... and while I know that I can trust his powers, I can't say the same about the man behind them."
Minako felt both like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, as well as worry over the powerlessness she had towards the masked Master of the Velvet Room. Chidori had initially not replied, thinking of an appropriate response.
"You're scared." Chidori said calmly, to which Minako nodded once.
"It's funny. We got told the date of what was said to be certain doom, and while life felt pointless at the beginning, returning to business as usual had kept me sane until the very day I had to go. Now that I'm back, and regained much of what I had lost, I'm more scared than I was before."
Chidori knew the feeling all too well, despite remembering only vaguely what had happened between her forced departure from Strega and waking up with memory loss in a hospital laboratory's morgue, with no known friends, family, occupation or purpose and only a mysterious boy who came to visit and give her flowers.
"Yet your chains have been taken off. This task you have mentioned. It sounds like you won't have to do everything alone. The same can be said of your friends here. As long as your time is not up, why not keep making good memories; go on, business as usual just like before? After all, you have Takeba-san, Yamgaishi-san, Junpei-kun… and, if you'd like, me."
Minako looked at the calming smile of her former enemy, and couldn't help but react much in the same way. The two had exchanged contact information and went back inside, as the gathering of old comrades was winding down.
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 Sun Arcana.
Fuuka glanced at the two and saw that Minako looked in a way better mood than she was before. "Thank you, Yoshino-san." She thought.
Tuesday, 7th/8th February 2011 – Midnight - Minako Arisato's futon, Inaba
Sent, 11:45 PM - hey elizabeth! thank you so much!
Sent, 11:45 PM - could i ask you for another favor?
Read, 11:46 PM – Oh my, I don't even need my trusty deck to predict you've reached out to thy comrades. It was long overdue indeed. :thumbs_up:
Read, 11:46 PM – I have already made efforts to lure Aragaki-san into the open. I will let you know once I succeed.
Sent, 11:47 PM – you're amazing ❤
Message 2:
Aigis – Sent, 11:55 PM – SHIOMI_KOTONE? Junpei_Iori, who is that?
Junpei_Iori - Sent, 11:55 PM – Welcome to the SEES 2 chat!
Shiomi Kotone – Sent, 11:55 PM – it's me Aigis.
Aigis – Sent, 11:55 PM - ?
Junpei_Iori – Sent, 11:56 PM – Here's some pictures from today! [6 files included]
Aigis – Sent, 11:56 PM - !
Aigis – Sent, 11:56 PM – Those Pictures are unedited!
Junpei_Iori – Sent, 11:57 PM – M_Kirijo Do you have Ken's new number? Oh and do tell Akihiko to finally get a new phone.
FYamagishi92 – Sent 11:59 PM - Today was so much fun! I'm glad things turned out so well. :D Shiomi_Kotone what's with the username? A pseudonym?
Shiomi Kotone – Sent, 12:02 AM – sorry i was talking with Aigis. yeah it's my new name (it turns out coming back from the dead isn't so easy. also no dark hour today woo!
M_Kirijo – Sent, 11:54 PM (JST -1), Reply to Junpei_Iori – No I don't, and he says he doesn't need a new one.
M_Kirijo - Sent, 11:56 PM (JST -1) – ...
Message 3:
Read - Sent, 11:58 PM (JST -1) – We're coming back first thing tomorrow. Please come to the R&D Lab in Iwatodai by noon. [sent map link]
Minako Arisato had long turned off her phone and went to sleep already, in what was one of the most stressful yet joyous days in her life.