Author Note: Good night! Hello! Shenjay here, it's 1:30 am, and after FINALLY reading through TFT for the first time (2 years after completing it) and HATING some parts and LOVING others (much like readers, duh) I decided to resume The Fool's Turmoil. Shocker. I'm 19 now, more or less a stablished artist (if you want to check that, just google Sandra Molina) living in a classy appartment with my boyfriend, my English is somewhat better, and I decided to do this alone, as Evilshroom preferred not to get involved.
It's been a long while. I'd love to know how you all are doing, and what you think of this. The general outline was written a year and some ago, but the chapter per se was completed in 3 hours. I'm sorry it's not one of my ultra long chapters- I don't feel quite ready for that yet.
Also, check out my new comic, Prozaic. I assure you it has the best of TFT like references and character development and none of the terribad drama.
So, anyway. Here we go. As you requested, TFT2 is gonna be resumed.
As it was to be expected from Rise, finding Adachi would require more than a visit to their own little world, accessible only to a few chosen ones. If Fuuka had been that incompetent, Minato doubted they'd ever have found any of the people missing in Tartarus. At least their version of the Dark Hour, to call it somehow, was accessible at any point in the day.
While in Minato's terms that meant 'more time to be efficient and get rid of goddamned Adachi' it seemed to signify something… entirely different in the others' minds.
"You are all. A bunch. Of idiots."
"Vhat? Vhy?" Yosuke tried to yell, his mouth full of steak.
"Arisato-san, this is a valid form of training." Souji stated dryly, eating his endless bowl of steak slowly.
"It's NOT! You CAN'T learn anything from a stupid beef-"
Something clicked in the back of his mind, and he sighed, rubbing his forehead. He then proceeded to sit next to Aigis and get his own bowl. "Alright, but we need to focus more on the case."
"Maybe we should hold a celebration after this ordeal is over." Naoto commented disinterestedly. "I know a ski resort…"
Minato held back an "Et tu, Brute?" as his eyes drifted towards Aigis, looking for support.
"Party now, study later!" She exclaimed happily.
Minato's need to kill someone increased with every minute he spent with the fun-loving gang. Finding them a mere annoyance, and being unable to go back alone under Aigis's strict prohibition, he took to accompanying them… but this was driving him crazy.
"DAMN IT, YOU GUYS!" Minato screeched, earning a glare from the whole shop. "In SEES we knew how to do everything WELL. Mitsuru would tell us what to do, we did it, and then we partied and the world was almost over."
"I recall you and Hamuko partied a whole lot more than that." Aigis commented, taking some noodles to her mouth.
"I-I was sixteen." He harrumphed.
"How old do you think we're?" Kanji asked furrowing his eyebrows.
"Irrelevant, I was in a magic world."
Yosuke coughed into his hand. "Lay off the drugs, dude."
"What—how dare you! I'm older than you, you know?"
"Yeaaaah, you just said." The boy with headphones sneered at him. "Are you senile yet, old man?"
"Get that damn smile off your face! You have no idea of what kind of torture that was! I was forced to repeat the same events of my life countless times and—"
"Aigis-san did it too, right?" Rise asked, curious.
"Well… yes, but…" Minato looked down.
"She looks just fine, doesn't she?" Kanji stated, sounding rather dumb at that.
"No, of course she's not fine either!"
"I am FINE, Minato." Aigis retorted. "And before you say anything, YES, I lost people precious to me too. Countless times. But I decided to move on. For her sake."
"I know, but, what I lost…" He mumbled. "You wouldn't understand it, no matter how much we explained it to you."
"Of course I would! Of course I did!" She defended.
"That's just what you think!"
"It's not an opinion, it's a FACT!"
Their discussion was beginning to get louder… "IF you did, you wouldn't be able to move on!"
"Of course I would! I did!"
"IT'S NOT—!"
"It is!"
"What would YOU know, you are just a—!"
Minato suddenly became quiet. He could feel everyone's inquisitive gazes stabbing him.
"I'm a what, Minato?" She asked, trembling slightly.
"W-what I wanted to…" The tension began making him sweat. "I… I didn't mean…"
"A what, Arisato-san?" Chie wanted to give him a piece of her mind too.
"I know you're angry and sad, but…" Aigis's eyes were quickly becoming glassy, even though her lips remained pressed into a line. "But so am I, and I don't let that be my excuse to act in such a way towards others."
"How DARE you make Ai-chan cry?" Teddie yelled, stomping his way towards him.
"Teddie." Souji called softly, asking him silently to calm down. "Arisato-san, you've been obviously under a lot of pressure. I don't mean to sound rude, but such a mood won't benefit at all our party. We need to work together as a team." His eyes were as cold as always, but his voice told a lot. "You should go home and rest until you feel less anxious."
The scruffy boy looked left and right, only to see disapproving looks. Of course, Aigis was hidden by the rest of the team.
"That's a fantastic idea." Minato said calmly as he stood up from his table. "Sorry for bothering you."
He could perfectly hear Aigis's calls for him not to leave, but he agreed.
He was doing no good there.
And so his days became blurry again. Laying on bed all day long, whenever he wasn't out in the strange, persistent TV fog. He did little more than sleep and ponder in the real world, as a barrier had been seemingly erected between he and Aigis since that incident. A barrier erected by him, actually… He had so many memories… that he just couldn't quite see what was the present and what was the past at times.
They would do a much better job without him bothering them in their moments of relax. He could just… sleep.
Sleep and drink sounded about right.
A strange noise coming from the front door woke Minato up one night. He got up reluctantly only to see Aigis and Yukiko carrying some bags.
"What are you two up to?" He asked, yawning.
"We're going to Souji's house."
Before Minato's skeptical look, Aigis clarified: "He's holding a party to cheer everyone up and keep the spirits high."
Minato nodded slowly. "Have fun."
He made to leave, but Yukiko intervened. "He asked us to invite you."
Minato's eyes were wide open as he looked at Aigis asking for confirmation, but that only lasted a second. Once the surprise was over, he managed to offer them a wry smile, as he let himself fall down slowly on the futon again. "I… may turn up later.."
Aigis gave him a grave look, but she only nodded and left without insisting anymore, following Yukiko out. As soon as they left, Minato heaved a long sigh.
"They'd better grab a seat if they're going to wait for me." He chuckled to himself, suffering the bad taste of the absolute silence of the room.
Then again, wasn't he so used to silence? Hadn't silence been a constant in his life?
Lying under the kotatsu, he tried desperately to find something to observe, if only to shake away any bad thoughts about looking for a TV to jump into, now that he had the one from his room removed. Some fresh persimmons lying on a dish over the table happened to be his item of choice for a distraction. He sat up and looked for a marker, and so his work began.
"Minato! Let's save the world!" The boy muttered with a high pitched voice as he lifted the mean faced persimmon in the air. "And then we can go get wasted and stuuuuu—," he let himself fall again on the cushion below him being careful not to crush the fruit, "…uuuuuuff. How's that sound, Minato?" He changed his voice to normal. "Sounds good to me! But let's skip the part about the world…"
He wanted to get up and look for a specific item in his room after this act of desperation -a certain bottle filled with liquor- but there was something in those eyes he drew that rendered him immobile. He remembered her. At every occasion. Of course he remembered the days that weren't silent. He even remembered his last lonely Christmas Eve, at least the one in his perfect little world, talking to a wise man and his granddaughter. Even that was better.
But in his contact list, the number he recalled calling was forever indisposed. It probably did not exist. It probably wasn't Naoto's nor Johei's, or maybe they just refused to answer his calls. But it didn't matter. Not anymore. Then again…
His eyes travelled to the persimmon in his hand. It stared back at the boy. He tried escaping. He honestly tried being above her influence. But there was ONE last number he hadn't tried dialing before, busy escaping as he was.
He dialed each of the digits he memorized so well, trembling with a mix of fear and anticipation, trying to cling to the dimmest hope that someone would answer his call. Someone who wasn't even there. Someone who couldn't do any such thing anymore.
Beeeep, beeeep… Each noise resonated in the emptiness of the inn room. Beep, beep…
He waited patiently to be informed that the number he phoned did not exist. He waited patiently for the answer of some old lady asking if that was her grandson calling, or some random man yelling over the top of his lungs.
A click sounded, though.
"Minato?"
A sudden silence filled the room, so deep that it was maddening, for Minato didn't even dare to exhale.
"Minato, I know you're there." A barely audible voice insisted, letting the faintest trace of a sneer be felt through the device.
Over the deafening sound of his own heart beating, the boy finally managed to speak: "Ha… Hamu?"
"I see you haven't forgotten my number." A little snort resonated, one so familiar to him. He couldn't tell anymore if his grief was so mighty that madness had finally overtaken him, but then again, he couldn't really find himself caring at all. "Get out, will ya? There's better reception out here."
Minato's skepticism was nowhere to be found, and he didn't hesitate. He grabbed the first jacket he found and put on his shoes hastily, rushing out of his room without bothering to grab his keys or his wallet. Drunkards in the open rooms and the dining room cheered for him as they lifted their beer cans in the air.
Panting heavily, Minato reached the exit door, and he was greeted by the cold wind and the snow, barely discernible from the thick fog surrounding him.
"Okay, you can hear me now, right?" The voice came from some point in front of him, rather than from the phone. "C'mon. I need to talk to you."
If he was crazy, he was truly past the point of caring. He just sprinted off wherever the wind would take him, feeling his hands get swollen with the cold and his lips getting drier and drier until he could taste blood in his mouth.
The fog was so dense that he didn't see anything other than silhouettes moving in it, but he continued regardless, pursuing the giggles and the soft voice prompting him to.
"Hamu! HAMU!" He yelled once and again, trying to find a hint of her presence. "Hamu!" He hollered once more.
"Stop… running…" He heard pants in the distance. "Who… asked you to run… gah…"
"Hamu?"
He stood very quietly, trying to hear her once again. In the few seconds of silence that ensued, his heart felt like it was being crushed.
"Boop!"
"Ha—!" Minato turned around, only to be greeted by an unexpected sight.
In front of him, there was nothing. Nothing that could be considered even remotely human. Even remotely alive.
Only a shadow, roughly his size in height, stood in front of his eyes, staring at him through a featureless mask. A fuming mass with beady red eyes, blending into the dense, yellowish fog.
"…Muko?"
"Gee, you don't sound so stoked anymore." The shadow's voice resonated all around him as it squinted its flaming eyes in a kind manner. "The one and only, Hamuko Seikatsu, also known as Miki Sanada, also known as The Overlord of The Desert of Doors, at your service!" It bowed, or so Minato guessed.
"Is that… really you?" He asked, running his eyes up and down the unfamiliar figure.
"This is the shape of a shadow, as a shadow is what I am." He could feel the pain in her words, much like he felt Aigis's some days prior. "If you're not comfortable, you can turn awa—"
She hadn't even finished her sentence before Minato threw himself at the form, finding the ground sooner than any flesh to embrace. As he rubbed his legs, the shadow towering him laughed. She was, definitely, Hamuko.
"I'm not going to turn away from you, I don't care how you look, I'm just… God, I'm just so glad I could…"
"There, there, no need to cry." The shadow crouched down besides him. Her eyes changed ever so slightly. "So, aren't you gonna ask why I'm here?"
Minato remained quiet, observing the unfamiliar figure. "I don't care, I just…"
"Won't you?" She insisted.
"…Why are you here?"
"Because… YOU ARE A GODDAMN LIAR!" He could tell she was yelling, as the voice seemed to resonate more in his heart than in his ears. "LIAR, LIAR, LIAR! I swear, can't leave you alone a damn second."
"Please, don't!" Minato begged bowing his head down like he was worshipping some god. "What did I do? Please, tell me! I did all you asked of me!"
"Damn it…" She growled, quite menacingly. "How can you..? All I asked of you…?"
The shadow lunged towards him, stretching an ethereal arm that passed right through him.
…She irradiated frustration as she stared at him. "That was meant to be a slap for being a depressive idiot." Idiot…? "Honestly, I thought you were ready, but then again, it's not the first time I think too highly of you…" What was she even…? "I guess this is all my fault for letting you run around like that. I've always been way too impatient… But this is ridiculous!" What the hell?
"That's the first thing you can think of? Scolding me? Really? Not even an 'I missed you' or 'I'm glad to see you'? Won't you even give me an excuse for not talking to me before?" He demanded, screaming like a mad man in the middle of the street. "I've… I've been looking for you everywhere! I've been called crazy a million times! I DON'T EVEN KNOW IF THIS IS REAL."
"WHY ARE YOU ALWAYS LIKE THAT, HAMU? " He was desperate. He was heartbroken. "Why can't it be like before…? All I wanted was…."
The shadow narrowed its eyes once again, and then looked at Minato. "Try summoning Orpheus Telos."
"What… is this some sick joke of yours? I can only summon anything now inside a TV."
"Just shut up and do it. Please."
Minato didn't even know what to think anymore, so he complied. "Come forth!" He ordered without much energy.
The form in front of him began glowing a soft blue, and rapidly changed its shape. The image of Orpheus Telos crystallized and manifested itself in front of him, flicking a finger on his forehead. Afterwards, it immediately changed back to an undefined shape.
"Are you convinced yet, or do I like, have to Agi you to death?" She asked facetiously.
"You… you were Orpheus all this time? You were with me?" The wheels began spinning inside Minato's head. The implications, the answers… "…I could summon you at any time now? How? Why is that possible?"
"See, this is your world." She moved a hand to a side. "This is my fog." She moved the other. "And someone gave them a drink and they began making out and now we've got a problem."
"…What kind of problem? I can be with you all the time now, if I summon you, right? Why aren't you happy?"
"…No matter what you think, I'm very happy to see you. Maybe even more than you are, as I've been trying to talk to you for a very long time… trying to warn you." She turned slightly. "I'm not the only creature in this fog."
Minato perked up at this affirmation. Squinting his eyes, and focusing strongly enough, he could finally tell apart the silhouettes he mistook for people. They were, in fact, very much not human, as even from that distance he could see their glowing eyes.
And yet he felt… "But… I can see you again, Hamu."
"So? You LIED to me, Minato. You promised that you'd go ahead." She growled. "I couldn't let you stay there forever… but this isn't what I imagined, damn it!"
"But… Hamu…"
"Stop with the 'Hamu', Minato! This is more serious than you could ever realize!" The fumes began getting more dispersed. "Yanno, I always wondered what was up with Phil's no-intervention rule. I guess I have a broader perspective now." The red eyes disappeared, blending completely into the fog. "I shouldn't have done this. Give Adachi his due punishment, Minato, and just lemme go."
"Hamu? HAMUKO?"
Minato stared at the distant silhouettes, his gaze lost in the distance as desperation began welling in his chest once more.
He finally heard another whisper in the fog, one that he couldn't really understand.
The red eyed figure manifested itself one last time, right in front of him. The dark humanoid blob in front of him changed almost imperceptibly. Some color here and there, the slightest distinction of a brown hair over her head, more defined… curves… and a hint of a grin, always meaner than loving. Just as he remembered her.
"It's difficult to me too, don't you know…?" The female stepped forward, almost floating, towards him, and reached his face easily. "…I hate you."
"Who's the liar now?" He asked, tearing up. "I know it's difficult! I know what's in that mind of yours! You want to come to my house as much as I want you to!"
"I do owe you one for leaving you alone that Christmas Eve." Her annoying laughter sounded like music to him, even as her appearance turned to the previous one. "But I'm afraid it's gonna hafta be Souji's."
The fog cleared ever so slightly, only to reveal the wall in front of a wooden house, but Minato kept his eyes fixed on hers.
"If you actually try to make friends and stuff… If you really do… I might visit you again."
"You promise you will visit me?"
"…" Her expression saddened hearing that familiar question. "Take a wild guess."
Hamuko's s doppelganger finally disappeared, like smoke vanishing into the fog.
The boy smiled for the first time in a long time, finally realizing how painful stretching his chapped lips was. He was trying to hold too many emotions at once…
"Arisato-san? Why are you standing there?"
The bluenet looked askance at the girl wearing a cap who walked into the scene carrying a bag. His tears were frozen over his cheeks, and his eyes hurt from the exposure to the fog.
"Are you okay, Arisato-san?"
Minato turned to her, his lips trembling as he tried to offer a smile of sorts. "I'm sorry I… seem to have forgotten to bring a gift." His false expression faltered more and more. "It wouldn't be appropriate for me to act like a freeloader, right?"
"Then what about that… orange in your hand?"
"This…" The soul piercing stare of Kaki-kun touched a fiber deep inside Minato. "…Was my dinner."
"Do you… usually cry when you eat oranges, or…?"
"It's a persimmon. I loathe them." He heaved a long sigh. "So please, if you'd be so kind, let's just end this awkward conversation and ring the bell, okay?"
Naoto relented surprisingly easily, perhaps already accustomed to the lack of coherency among her classmates.
And so there he was. Sharing cake with all the new loons in his life.
"Ai-chan! I'd be beary glad if you'd give me some cake! C'mon! We're meant for each other! A shadow and an anti-shadow weapon and—!"
"Shut your trap, Teddie!"
"There's no trap that can hold this bear of love back, Yosuke! RAAAAA—"
An angry persimmon hit his face, effectively shutting him up. Everyone looked at Minato completely flabbergasted.
"Anyone who wants to flirt with Aigis will have to be accepted by Kaki-kun first!"
Everyone began laughing, probably in shock at seeing Minato do something so uncharacteristically humorous. Of course, they didn't know him. They didn't know half of it.
But he could see Aigis smiling warmly at him. She understood.
"Hey, Arisato-san." Souji said as he approached him to talk later on. "I just wanted to thank you for coming."
"No. No way. Thank you for always looking out for Aigis." Minato smiled, just a little. "And for me as well. I'm sorry for all the trouble I always end up giving you."
"That's okay, friends look after each other."
"I'm… I'm your friend?"
"Of course. But don't tell my uncle, he wouldn't want me befriending someone so unkempt."
"I'll… see what I can do about that." He replied, rubbing his beard.
Souji and Minato shared a warm look among the ruckus. A look of thankfulness. Of comprehension. Or maybe he was just hitting on him, who knew. But it was a look as warm as the smile Aigis gave him as he saw them. As warm as the thumbs up Yosuke offered him for hitting Teddie. As warm as the nod Naoto gave him in recognition for trying to help. As warm as the room thanks to a wonderful heater and a lot of people crammed into it.
In that very instant, merely joking around, he felt more fulfilled than he'd ever felt in his time in this world. It was not yet happiness… but it was a nice feeling, no doubt. And he didn't need a social link for that.
"Just you wait, Hamu," he thought to himself as he devoured his piece of cake, "I'm going to make you eat your words!"
So there we go. Cheese and drama and stuff. I didn't think you'd expect less.