Chapter 3: Getting into the Swing of Things
4/24/09
When I wake up in the morning I feel great! I feel faster, stronger, smarter! Oh I could so get used to feeling like this!
Walking to school this morning, I overhear that the athletic teams were going to be recruiting. I know that I probably should go as soon as possible, but I need to prepare for Tartarus tomorrow. I had the armor and the weapons ready. Granted, I wasn't able to afford any good accessories, but hopefully after this trip I could. The memory of Junpei's screams and Yukari's fear for me still echo inside my head. I'm not the bravest of people…or the smartest, nor prettiest but those two were my comrades, and I wasn't going to responsible for them getting themselves hurt on my account.
Homeroom, After School
While I'm walking out the door this red haired girl stops me."You're the transfer student everyone's talking about, right? The one who moved into the dorm where Akihiko-senpai lives?" …I hope this isn't one of his fan girls…"I've always wanted to talk to you."
"Um…no." I turn to walk away but she stops me. "Awwww. Don't say things like that. You don't have to tell me much…Just a few details about Akihiko-senpai will do. His favorite foods, his type of girl, how he spends his days of, and…I manage to escape from her grip and run out of the school as quickly as possible.
Note to self: Don't ever stop to talk to any female student you do not recognize. I manage to make it to Be Blue without another incident and get to work. Yes another 3500 Yen! I should be able to afford some magic boosting accessories to make Orpheus' fire spell stronger.
[Did you forget about us talking?]
Uh…
[Never mind. It is probably best if you have a lot of free time when we have it. It will be on Sunday.]
Okay…
[By the way the fire spell has a name. Agi.]
Agi…
Orpheus sighs before quieting once again. I feel a bit like a douche for forgetting now.
However I don't have much time to brood so I head to the Station originally I planned on buying a magic band but a Life Ring catches my eye. I have just enough to buy one with 2,000 yen leftover. I decide to equip it on myself seeing as how the Yukari usually stays a safe distance behind and the Shadows favor me over Junpei.
Dorm lounge 1st floor
The first thing I see is Yukari waving. "Have you joined any clubs?" I shake my head I was going to but I needed some cash. "Oh well they fill up quickly. By the way we should probably head to Tartarus tonight."
I nod. "I was planning on it. Here I brought you guys some new armor."
"Good! I could use the exercise. And thanks so the new equipment."
"SWEET!" Junpei takes the new weapon and armor I give him happily.
"Don't take it lightly Takeba remember what happened the last time you went there."
Yukari frowned. "I'm fully aware of what happened last time, Mitsuru." Her voice is sharp, and I can tell it's taking Yukari some effort not to say anything else.
The room feels like it dropped a few degrees. "Anyways, Mitsuru can we go?"
She nods and since everyone is already gathered we up and leave. With the exception of Akihiko who waves goodbye.
Tartarus
As we prepare once again to enter Tartarus Mitsuru stops us. "I found something out…a few floors up, there's a barricade preventing you from going any higher. I want you to reach that barricade. The tower seems to have a number of those interspersed amongst its floors. I know I told you that the layout changes each day, but these barriers seem to be in fixed locations. Therefore, I'd like you to try and reach the first barricade. But don't push yourself too hard. If you go back in from the entrance you'll be able to resume from the highest floor you previously reached. I'll give you these too, just in case." I'm not in the least bit surprised to find a bunch of medical supplies dropped in my lap. She also gives me some strange gems along with a strange black stone that is cold to the touch and has a strange glimmer. When I looked into it I swore I saw Orpheus and some other Persona form from the glitter but as soon as I blink its gone.
[The female Persona is known as Apsaras. This stone will allow you to use the ability Cadenza without having to waste any magical energy. You can still use the ability without the stone of course but it will cost you a good portion of your magic.]
"If you find yourself in another situation like last time don't hesitate to use them. I'm counting on you." Probably didn't want to waste money on the inevitable hospital bill when the magic ran out.
Once we entered Tartarus Mitsuru told us she sensed a source of great power above us. It was somewhat far away but she wanted us to be aware. Fantastic. We managed to run into Two Cowardly Maya (the fire-weak Persona) and something new called a Muttering Tiara…thanks to Yukari and I being in great condition we dealt much more damage than we had yesterday we also took less damage and dodged more. I feel incredible right now. Yukari landed a fatal hit on one of the Maya's that survived and Junpei finished off the rest. I think I learned how to actually swing a sword as well.
"This feels a lot different from yesterday!" Yukari walked alongside me comfortably her bow held loosely in her hands. You know I'm tempted to ask where the hell her arrows come from because she's not wearing a quiver but what the hell I'll ask later.
"Hey at least we're not getting our-"
"There are five Shadows headed your way!" Mitsuru's voice sounded frantic. "Try to get away!" Probably remembering the catastrophe from before, not that I blame her.
"I think we can take 'em on!" I stare at Junpei. Has he lost his mind? I ended up nearly spilling my guts the last time this had happened.
"You know when you used that Fire spell how they fell down?"
"Yeah you're point?"
"Maybe you should use a fire spell on each one of them…when all of them are down we jump them!"
…
…
….
Now why the hell didn't he think of this yesterday and save us much grief?
And yeah…turns out those fake weapons were why we weren't doing any damn damage yesterday, unless we used our Personas. I hate Ikutsuki right now, his cheap ass could have gotten us killed!
As I cut down a Merciful Maya with a rather strong blow I can't help but frown. "Aren't these things stronger than what we were fighting yesterday?"
"Yeah." Yukari seemed as baffled as I was. One Shadow charged towards me and in unison Yukari and I hit it as hard as we possibly could, with a scream the Shadow disappeared in a gross pile of goo.
"We're…working together now." Yesterday we had been aiming at separate Shadows, the only time we had aimed at the same Shadow had been when the Shadow was attacking someone. Thus several Shadows would be alive but close to death. Now we all went after the same Shadow and didn't stop until it had died.
"Heh. Yuka-tan just doesn't want to admit that I'm the one saving the two of you." Junpei grabs his Evoker while speaking. "Persona!" the last Shadow was fried to a crisp. "Nice job Junpei." I give him a thumbs up.
The next time we ran into a group of Shadows that according to Mitsuru were "magic hands" I resist the urge to make a joke. "This should be easy enough!" I use my evoker and try to use Agi.
[You will not be able to use that ability again, or any other magical ability until you have restored your SP.]
What?
[SP…or Spiritual Power is what is needed to power spells such as Agi.]
…
…
…
Oh this sucks. Fortunately for me upon seeing that I'm not a threat the magic hands turn to Yukari before they can snap those fingers of theirs.
"HERMES!" The quickly become common smell of Shadows being fried reaches my nose.
Orpheus chuckled. [Those Snuff Souls you have are used for the restoration of SP.]
I do the opening bag motion and reach inside. When my hand comes out clutched inside of it is indeed one of the Snuff Souls. It was a blue orb.
[Just swallow it. It will cause no harm.]
Shrugging I swallow. By this point Junpei had used Agi on all 3 of the magic hands.
"HEY they're both down! Let's do this!" Yukari, Junpei and I charged, stomping on the Shadows, hitting them with our fists, our weapons, other Shadows, anything within reach.
By the time we were done all the Shadows were goo.
"Huh. That actually worked." Yukari seems somewhat stunned.
"Of course it worked! I came up with the idea after all!" with that Junpei smiles a little smugly.
We reach the fifth floor without incident. Mitsuru had warned us of a strong Shadow on this floor. True enough the floor seemed to have a different feel to it from the others. As we walk along we see this large green thing.
"Hey…doesn't that look like the transporter on the first floor?" I point at it.
"Do you mind examining that for me?" Mitsuru's voice again. Shrugging we walk over to it and I touch it hesitantly. Everything is engulfed in that bright green light again.
"I thought so. It seems those are transporters. They're probably dispersed throughout Tartarus. You can probably use them to go from one floor to another."
"That's awfully convenient for us…" Yukari looks at the transporter again.
"Regardless all of you should be careful there are three strong Shadows on the floor you just came from." I nod and the three of us go back to the fifth floor. As we walk down the path I hear the flutter of wings.
…These damn things can fly?
I manage to dodge the first attack and the birds shriek in anger. One of the birds beats its wings in frustration creating a strong wind at Yukari. She barely seems affected by it.
"ORPHEUS!" Orpheus smashes his lyre on one of the birds there's a crunch and the bird's right wing looks bent at an odd angle and screaming the bird plummets to the ground. What a lucky first hit! I decided not to use Agi because I had few enough SP as it was. Its still alive though and while its shrieking the other two birds turn to me. Oh shit.
"All of you be careful! I can't sense anything about these Shadows, other than their power and Arcana!"
Nice. Really useful, Mitsuru.
"HERMES!" Junpei's Persona attacks the fallen bird but its still alive if barely. The other two start nose-diving at me.
"Minako, duck!" I drop to the floor immediately and hear a screech behind me. Yukari got it in the chest and the bird retreats the second one though continues coming at me. Fortunately I had learned from the last time I fought these Shadows and grab my Evoker which I had kept clenched in my fist the whole time.
"ORPHEUS!" Orpheus smashes his Lyre into the one trying to attack me and throws it back into the nearest wall. "YUKARI, FINISH THE ONE ON THE GROUND OFF!" The third bird tries to move far too late, (not that it could get anywhere with that broken wing) but Yukari shoots the arrow before it can, with a scream it dissolves into Shadow Goo. Junpei runs after the first bird with the arrow in its chest and swings wildly. (We really need to get him some sword lessons. That thing is not a baseball bat). The bird however dodges, sending a strong blast of wind at him. I expect Junpei to throw it off like Yukari instead it sends him flying back into the wall with a sickening crunch. Ow. That must have hurt.
"JUNPEI!" I get up but before I can take two steps I feel claws at my back. If it hadn't been for the extra padding of my new shirt…the force of the blow sends me flying through the air and my Evoker unfortunately flies in the opposite direction. I hit the ground and roll coming to a stop next to Yukari. The bird lets out a cry of anger and starts beating its wings again the blast if obviously aimed at me but Yukari stands in front of me and the blast barely affects her. What is she strong against wind or something?
I remember those strange stones Mitsuru gave me. We were certainly in trouble and could use a bit of a boost. Orpheus said something about a cadenza stone? Cadenza stone, cadenza stone! I open my hand and there it is! Not know what else to do, I smash it on the ground and a bright blue green light appears with Orpheus and some blue female looking Persona inside of it. The female Persona…must be Apsaras. Apsaras summons some sort of clear pillar as she closes her hand into a fist the pillar shatters into clear shards. The temperature drops by a few degrees…was that ice? Orpheus strums his lyre and the shards flow around Junpei, Yukari, and I. feel faster and the slash on my back feels healed. Junpei is standing now as well Yukari loads her bow and fires off an arrow at the bird that had flew back up to attack me again. With a scream it hit the ground. Are they weak to her arrows?
[Be quick. Cadenza gives you a momentary boost to speed. Use it wisely.]
"ORPHEUS!" Without a word he slams his lyre down the fallen bird which screams in rage.
"HERMES!" Junpei's Persona finishes it off with the nosedive attack.
The second bird used another of its wind blasts on Junpei thanks to the Cadenza speed boost he managed to get out of the way. "HERMES!" A fire blast…which it absorbed? The bird cawed triumphantly.
"DO NOT USE FIRE!"
No shit Stupei. The damn thing was fully healed now. Granted, it was an accident but still, what the fuck! Yukari loaded another arrow but the bird dove at her in anger, Yukari jumped right dodging the birds' claws causing her arrow to fall uselessly to the ground.
"ORPHEUS!" The lyre hit the bird again it shrieked and hit me with the wind attack. I was thrown back but nowhere near as far as Junpei had been. So Junpei's weak to wind? We have weaknesses? This is bullshit!
[Everyone has weaknesses, including you.]
I know that! But the why the hell does his weakness have to be wind of all things!
The bird started beating its wings again and Yukari fires another arrow thanks to the blasted wind the arrow is blasted off course and lands harmlessly elsewhere. The bird turns to Junpei who is badly wounded. Shit. I wasn't paying attention!
"PIXIE!" I don't know why I said her but according to Orpheus she'd help me and I had already seen Apsaras. Pixie was a small female fairy.
[Hello!]
Please help Junpei!
[Of course!]
Her voice was bubbly and cheerful. The familiar glow surrounded Junpei and his wounds were mostly healed. Another blast of wind and Junpei is once again thrown into the wall. Today is just not his day. He falls down and is breathing heavily with a triumphant cry the bird prepare for a final blast when Yukari's arrow hits it. As usual the bird crashes to the ground. Which is really odd. I could see why the ones hit in the wings fall but this one was hit in the lower leg. Oh well. Better for me!
"Let's go for it! All out attack!" My voice shocks me a little with the authority in it, but instead of dwelling on it, Yukari and I jump the bird and beat the mess out of it. The bird is alive but barely when we're done and Yukari finishes it off with an arrow to the chest. Thus with a pitiful wail it dissolves into Shadow Goo. No sooner does it dissolve than does Pixie fly over to Junpei.
"DIA!" she cries it out about 2 times before she's done. Junpei doesn't stand though but remains slumped where he is. The poor guy is probably catching his breath. Crashing into that wall so many times must have hurt.
"Ugh. This…is ridiculous. How many times are we going to need to patch each other up in here." Yukari frowned as she knelt by Junpei's side. Mitsuru's voice was suspiciously silent.
[I hope I was helpful!]
Ah…Pixie. Thank you!
[My pleasure! Take this! It'll teach another Persona how to use "Dia!"]
A strange blue card appeared in my hand and with that I didn't sense Pixie anymore.
"Until we're finally good enough not to need any patching up I suppose." I mutter. It seems, following more than one conversation at once is rapidly becoming one of my new skills. Junpei's new armor seems fine granted it's just a padded shirt but it should have cushioned some of the blows. "Can you stand Junpei?"
He stands up slowly nodding. "Yeah…"
"Can you continue?" I wanted to reach that blockade so we didn't have to come back to this hell hole for a while. Junpei nods so I turn to Yukari. "Can you?"
"Yeah I'm fine. Most of their attacks barely hurt me."
"Okay…so let's get going." As we start heading towards the stairs Junpei takes off running. What? Where the hell does he get all that energy from? He could barely walk a moment ago!
"Junpei wait up!" Yukari runs after him with a sigh I take off as well. He's kneeling over something. Is it a box? He opens it up and there's Masks inside. They're beautiful and are a golden color. There are three of them.
"You think these might be valuable?" Junpei held the box out to me.
"Maybe we can ask Office Kurosawa." I summon the bag and Junpei dumps the mask in them. There's a chain of beads lying next to the box. "What are those for?" The beads seem to change colors and glisten.
"I don't know but let's keep it just in case." Yukari throws the beads into the bag. Huh. Whatever happened to leave the stuff you see in Tartarus alone? Oh whatever.
"Let's get moving. I don't want to be in here longer than necessary." Junpei nodded.
On the next floor Mitsuru informed us that the Shadows had changed. Which…was worrying. Turns out a good portion of them were weak to ice. Apsaras, one of my newer Personas had a ice move. So all was well. Until I found out the hard way that Apsaras was weak to slashing attacks, then all was well when I learned how to properly utilize the three Personas I now had.
We reached the 10th floor without major incident. Orpheus finally gave me his Agi card and Apsaras her Bufu one. Mitsuru had warned us that we were getting closer to another strong presence beforehand.
"There are three strong enemies on this floor." Mitsuru's voice was matter of fact.
"Again? Are you kidding me?" Junpei sighed. "I hope I don't have to deal with being blow around again." We activated the transporter and went back to the first floor. I never did see what that clock was for. I walk over to it.
For healing please insert 957 yen. What? This thing was going to charge me? I have 7042 yen so what the hell. I place 957 yen. No sooner had I than did I feel fully restored. Wow. That's…useful.
Though the hell does it charge me? What the hell does it need money for?
Deciding that it doesn't matter I take the transporter back up to the 10th floor. "You guys sure you want to do this today?"
"We have to do it anyway so it might as well be now." Junpei walks away as he's speaking, leaving me and Yukari to trade exasperated glances as we follow him.
There are three of the magic hand things. They're just bigger than normal as well as being…pink for whatever reason. Ugh. Recalling my luck from earlier I switch my main Persona to Orpheus.
"ORPHEUS!" He slams his lyre down. YES! THESE BASTARDS ARE WEAK TO IT! I can't help but do an inner mental gig. After all those bastards are down we use an all out attack, which isn't as effective as I hoped it would be.
They use some ability that prevents Junpei and I from using my Persona and knock Yukari out. Good thing I bought those Revival Beads! No sooner than she had stood up, than those bastard use Zio on her twice and knock her unconscious a second time. I revive her once more and one of the hands uses Bufu on me. Luckily the ailment stopping me from using my Personas wears off, I grab another Cadenza stone and use it quickly. Yukari and Junpei were both in critical condition due to the almost non-stop magical attacks of these stupid pink magic hands. After we were alls somewhat healed I quickly use Bash on all the hands and we all participate in the all out attack. These bastards are still standing! One of the magic hands uses Bufu again, which due to our increased agility Yukari manages to dodge.
No sooner is the last hand is in Critical condition, than does the blasted thing uses some group version of the wind spell! Junpei and I take major damage, (Junpei more than me of course) Yukari heals me and then Junpei but the stupid hands won't stop. It uses the group wind spell another time nearly knocking out Junpei (again), swearing I grab my evoker. This shit is getting ridiculous. The second one turns to Yukari but it's slower than the other, it must be closer to death. There's my target.
"ORPHEUS!" Another bash attack takes out the second one before it can use whatever it was planning on. Fantastic. Now there's only one left. I hit it twice with Bash to cripple it while its one the ground. Junpei finishes it off.
"…good grief. Why do they have to come in packs?" I look down at the 3 yellow gems left after the Shadow Goo vanished into the ground shrugging I throw them in the bag. Junpei finds another box this time with two Chewing Souls and as usual we throw it into the bag. We take the transporter back to the first floor.
"Good job." Mitsuru seems pleased. "I wasn't expecting you to take them on so soon."
"Uh…thanks?" I run to the clock and notice it only costs 305 yen to heal now. The price varies? Oh well this is better for me. I pay the clock and we go back up to the 10th floor.
On the 11th floor Mitsuru suggests we split up for more experience. HAHAHAHAHA Hell no, what is she crazy? We come close enough to dying when we're together.
Though I wonder if they're be one of those strong Shadows every 5 floors? That would get really annoying really quickly. I see a yellow chest. Inside of it is a mirror. I turn it around and see the words Magic Mirror engraved on the back. What the hell? Shrugging I throw in the bag. Surprisingly it doesn't break.
On the 13th floor I received a new Persona when some freaky cards showed up in my mind. It was an female blond haired angel…in bondage wear. I really don't want to know why the hell she is a trait of my Personality. She does have the wind spell, I mean Garu. Yukari had learned it earlier but she rarely needed to use it except on those giant beetle things that were weak to it.
On the 14th floor, instead of the 15th (lucky lucky me. I need to learn how to shut it) there was a stronger than usual Shadow. But thankfully it was only one! Finally! We didn't have to worry about more than one! Though Mitsuru's its relatively strong so be cautious worries me. Especially considering what she thought was relatively weak.
We used the transporter and I check the clock again healing is now 763 yen. Aw…its more expensive now. Healing we went back up to the 14th floor.
…The damn Shadow takes up nearly the whole hallway so there's nowhere to dodge. It has these sort of spears that rotate for arms and has some freaky wheels that have like three legs on the wheel each. It's hard to describe but…it's just weird.
"You can win…I'm certain of it."
Gee. Thanks for that Mitsuru.
I try my lucky bash and…OW! The damn thing reflected that at me! Shit Orpheus hits hard! Junpei wincing throws a medicine at me and the damn thing uses some group electricity spell that nearly takes me out I feel like I'm hanging to life by a thread. Yukari is knocked completely unconscious by the spell and frantically Junpei summons the bag and throws a revival bead at her. She stands up not in the best of conditions but standing and fires an arrow which is completely ineffective even though it's a direct hit. I switch Personas to Angel. Another blow like that and in our condition we'd all be dead.
"JUNPEI! USE THE MAGIC MIRROR!" I don't know what the hell it does but if I'm lucky it'll do as what the name says and reflect it. Knowing our luck the damn thing won't be affected by it but hell at least it won't hit us. Junpei nods and takes out a silvery disc object as he throws it in the air I feel a shield surround me. The Shadow laughs and uses some spell on itself that makes it glow a orange color.
"Be careful guys! It's stronger now!"
Oh that's just fantastic.
It uses that damn group electricity spell again. Expecting the magic to simply be ignored, I was shocked when each zap rebounds off our shields and hits the Shadow. YES! MAGIC MIRRORS ARE AWESOME! The Shadow screams as its extra strong spell hits it 3 times in a row for massive damage. It slumps to the ground practically crippled and Junpei and Yukari use their elemental skills on it. I finish it off with a Garu spell.
"That was impressive! Well done!" Mitsuru sounds surprised.
Ha-ha. I burst out laughing in relief. If it hadn't been for that magic mirror and the life ring I was wearing. Ha-ha.
"Whoa…if you hadn't told me to use that magic mirror we'd be…" Junpei trailed off the Shadow as usual had dissolved into Goo.
"…" Yukari was stunned as well. Then again she had fallen unconscious around three times today.
"Hey…are you guys willing to keep going?" I practically beam at the two of them. Nothing, nothing is quite so good as being alive.
"Huh?" Yukari frowned. "You sure we should? Maybe we should take a break-"
"Oh come on Yuka-tan!" Junpei smirked. "You telling me you can't continue?"
"Oh fine. Let's go. If there's another of those powerful Shadows though, I'm going back to the dorm."
"Alright." As we walk towards the staircase Yukari finds two more boxes. One has a strange vial and the other looks a bit like the Snuff Soul but brighter. I throw both of them into the bag and the words. 'Balm of Life' and 'Soma' appear to me. "Alright let's get going!"
On the 15th floor Mitsuru contacts us. "The structure of the next floor seems to be different. See what you can find out."
Alrighty then. Turns out the next floor is a dead end. I see a staircase but its surrounded by some weird green barrier.
"Oh so it's a dead end then. You should come back." Luckily there was a transporter on that floor. So we warp out of there. "Since you all can't go any higher you should rest." Good. This meant for at least a while she couldn't nag us about Tartarus. I do feel a lot stronger than from when we originally came here. "You all should be proud. You have improved immensely."
"Thanks." I say awkwardly. Especially considering our last battle had more to do with luck than anything.
Junpei as usual smiles that smile of his. "What can I say? I'm a natural!"
Yukari shakes her head at him but she looks exhausted. She probably needs to get a lot of rest. We head back to the dorm laughing over the battle with the Shadow on the 14th floor.
I guess my luck isn't quite so bad.
4/25/09
When I wake up I feel like complete and utter shit. Such a difference from the high of yesterday. I suppose that's what I get for staying in Tartarus so long. As I was heading towards class I overhear a rumor about a bookstore opening in the Strip Mall Yukari took me to. I might go there today.
After School
I head for the Mall first though. I want to see how much those masks are worth so I quickly enter the Police Station. I have 10,588 yen…I toy with the idea of buying Yukari a better bow but decide against it. We're not going into Tartarus anytime soon. I do buy her a spirit ring though. Her running out of SP to heal Junpei and I was not fun. I bought Junpei a life ring as well. I end up selling the junk weapons I found in Tartarus those masks end up worth 12,000 yen together though.
Iwatodai strip mall, Bookworms Used Books…
There's an old man and woman behind the counter.
"…Welcome." The old man is holding some sort of pipe. "What would you like today? We have fresh mackerel…!" Huh?
The old woman interrupts. "…Sorry, as you can see, we don't sell fish here." No shit. That old man with you though is probably going senile.
"Hey, you're a student, aren't you? You must be from Gekkoukan High, right? That means you've probably seen the persimmon tree there…"
The what?
"Persimmon tree?"
"Do you think I'm making this up?…I'm serious!" I never said you were making anything up old man. Just asked what Permission tree. Ugh. Why the hell are people so damn defensive?
The old man continued. "It was planted right beside a walkway in a courtyard at the school. "
"I'm sorry. He's rambling on like an old man." the old woman sighed in exasperation. At least one half of that duo had some sense. "…Just ignore him."
"Bye." I leave the shop fully intending to do what the old woman had suggested but the old man's words were stuck in my head. I turn and head back to school. I'm too tired for this shit.
Gekkoukan High School, front gate
I look around but don't see anything other than those trees with the pink flowers. I doubt that's what they meant. So I walk around and decide to go out the corridor. There's a female student standing next to a tree.
"Why are you standing here?"
"Huh? Oh…that tree seems special for some reason. I wonder why its there. Does it commemorate something?" There were plenty of trees around but it was directly in front of the stairs I had exited. There was a leaf on the ground…I pick it up and place it in my pocket. I hope this is the right tree. It's the smallest one there but still…
Iwatodai strip mall, Bookworms Used Books…
The old man and woman are still here.
"…Welcome to Bookworms." now why didn't you say that the first time old guy. He looks down at my hand. "Hm? Excuse me, but may I see that leaf in your hand…" I go ahead and show it to him it is why I came back after all. "Oh! Is this a leaf from that persimmon tree? It must have grown quite a bit to produce such splendid leaves…Wait, so you didn't come here to buy books? Did you come here just to show us this?"
Obviously. If I just wanted books I'd have gotten them the first time I was here.
"Yes, I did."
"I knew it! I knew right from the start that you're a kind young lady!" …what? He continues showering me with praise. "I've been meaning to go see that tree for a while now, but I'm not sure if these stumpy old legs will make it that far…That wasn't meant to be a pun. You know, "stumpy," "tree stump." Catch my drift?"
I guess no one told this old man he wasn't supposed to explain the joke…
"Very clever, dear." the old woman looks amused at least.
"Allow me to introduce my wife Mitsuko. I'm Bunkichi. If you don't mind, would you tell us your name."
"Minako Arisato."
"Ah. Then, we'll call you Minako-chan from now on!"
What's that really informal?
DAMN MY AUNT WASTING MY TIME ON THOSE STUPID LESSONS!
The old couple seems really happy that I told them about the tree. I feel strange…the exact same way I did when talking to Junpei and when I first was accepted into SEES.
Thou art I
And I am thou
Thou hast established a new bond
Thou shall be blessed when thou chooseth to create a Persona of the Hierophant Arcana
…I knew it. I look out the window. The sun is starting to set.
"We're open every day except Monday." Mitsuko tells me. "Come visit us if you get bored."
"Thank you. I'll see both of you later." I leave quickly and head back to the dorm. Stupid…crazy voices telling me I have established bonds with people.
Dorm 1st floor lounge
"…Where have you been?" I turn and see Akihiko eating something on the couch. Uh…why does he care? "…Y'know, you better be training while I'm out. If anything happens it'll be you guys who have to deal with it." Mitsuru obviously didn't tell him anything about last night. Whatever it's not any of his business.
Recalling my promise to Orpheus to talk to him tomorrow I decide to go to the arcade tonight. It's not like I have anything better to do. Granted I'm tired but I'm even more bored. I still haven't unpacked all my clothes yet. I head over to Game Panic I decided to play the Quiz Game. I learned a little from it oddly enough.
4/26/09
Early Morning my Bedroom
I'm still tired. Ugh.
Orpheus? You said you wanted to talk to me?
[Yes. I was going to tell you about the differences between a Persona that's summoned and one that's forced out. Thanatos was that Persona that emerged from the sea of your soul forcibly. I came voluntarily.]
I forced him out?
[I am not completely sure. But he was forced out and that is why it was so painful.]
Messiah shouldn't be able to talk to me according to Igor. Why can he?
[If I told you at this point…you would not understand. The answer will only make sense when you figure it out for yourself.]
…Oh come on!
[I am sorry but telling you would do far more harm than good.]
Fine is there anything else that you can tell me?
[Lilim wants to be released.] there was a trace of amusement in his tone.
Lilim?
[She is quite the powerful Persona and would be a great help to you. You should go see Igor about fusing your Personas.]
But…won't the ones I fuse disappear?
[Of course not. They would simply retreat into your subconsciousness. You would no longer be able to use them in battle but they certainly would not simply vanish. You might find that to be an inconvenience in a while.]
Why so?
[Let's just say…some of the other Persona are rather…interesting.]
…oh great. I have crazy Persona don't I?
A chuckle was my own response.
Is there anything else you're willing to tell me?
[It may not seem as such but Igor is there only to help you. He's not manipulating you and when the time comes the destiny you have will be one of your own choosing.]
My own choosing?
[I leave you with a bit of advice though. Live…live happily.] Orpheus' voice was heavy with sorrow. [Love with all of your heart and try to live without regrets. If you love someone tell them so…do not fear their reaction. Just…be happy.]
Wait what is that supposed to mean? Orpheus? Orpheus! He was gone. What kind of message was that?
I sit up and yawn. I'm still tired. I'm tempted to climb back into bed but I need more money I wasn't sure when I would need to buy more equipment. Also…Lilim huh? I'll head to the Velvet Room first. Apparently I could make Lilim by fusing Angel, Pixie and Orpheus.
She looked down at me. "It's about time! Hmph!" She was wearing some weird one piece bodysuit that left her arms and legs bare. Plus she had a forked tail. I guess she's the devilish part of me. She giggled with glee and beat her wings flying around the Velvet Room. Did Theo just chuckle? Anyways after leaving the Velvet Room I give her the cards Apsaras had gave me.
[This is perfect! I feel so powerful!] Her laughter was just a wee bit on the evil side.
Still she did seem stronger than the others, with that done I headed to Port Island Station to work at the Movie Theater. I felt a bit smarter for learning various aspects of the movies and braver afterward saying a couple of rather embarrassing titles over the loudspeaker not to mention I got paid a nice 5,000 yen.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge
"S'up dude!" Junpei waved to me he still looked tired…so did Yukari. I hadn't gotten any rest either. Still…I wonder if I can play that quiz game again. I left the dorm and went to Game Panic, if push came to shove I could sleep in class tomorrow.
Aw…it's not working today. So I guess I'll just play Lucky Fortune. I felt as though Lilim had grown stronger. This is odd…how does playing a game affect how strong my Persona is? Mulling it over I head back to the dorm and go to bed.
4/27/09
I feel somewhat better but I'm still tired.
Apparently we're having an assembly! Perfect for a nap! Apparently it was because the Principle was jealous of Mitsuru's speech. Ugh. How dumb can you be? What is he 10? Hating on someone else's speech.
As Yukari and Junpei discussed the reason for the assembly I feel asleep.
"Wait a minute…Doesn't this remind you of Mitsuru-senpai's speech?" Oh come on Yukari! Why the hell would you wake me up to tell me that?
"Yeah…you're right…What's up with that!" Junpei shook his head. Obviously he ripped off her speech to try and make himself look better. Though I'm too sleepy, to bother pointing that out to them, so instead I close my eyes and go to sleep.
Homeroom, Lunchtime
For some reason Mitsuru approached me during lunch. "Arisato…I'm sorry, but I need to talk to you after school. I have a special request for you." Oh no. I hope it doesn't have anything to do with Tartarus.
"What kind of request?" If I'm going to be in danger of life and limb I want to know it now.
"I apologize for being in a rush, but I don't feel comfortable asking anyone else. I'll tell you more about it after school, okay? Au revoir." What the hell is with her inserting random French in her sentences? Shit like that is annoying. We get it you can speak more than one language. So can I!
Fortunately class is over quickly and I even answered all the questions the teacher asked me correctly. Sadly as a result, the class is whispering about me again. Don't these fools have anything better to do?
Homeroom, After School
"I apologize for making you wait. To make a long story short, I want you to join Student Council." …I just transferred here. Wouldn't this be better for someone who actually went to this school for a while?
"Sounds like a lot of work…"
"Well, it's not like you'd have to participate in every activity. Just come to the Student Council Room when you have the time."
"Why me?"
"…Because of your leadership ability." HAHAHAHAHAHA she's joking right? I notice she's not smiling in the least. She's serious? The only thing I manage to do is not get myself killed. That's not any leadership ability.
"Being President is very time-consuming. I'd like to have additional help available in the event of an emergency." unless she thinks we'll be needing blind luck any time soon I don't think I'm the one for this job. "You understand my situation…I'm asking you since you know what it's like to be a leader." I wonder if she completely forgot the disaster that happened not even a week ago.
"If you say so…"
"I knew I could count on you." she seems awfully pleased. "…I've already made an appointment for you with the faculty advisor." …oh that's why. She was going to force me into it anyways. Damn it. I should have said no. "But, you'll have to go to the Faculty Office on your own. Go speak to Ms. Toriumi. I'm sorry I made the arrangements without your permission, but I hope you understand the position I'm in. Please go to the Faculty Office, Arisato. I'll be waiting for you in the Student Council Room." as she turns and leaves I'm tempted to go back to the dorm.
…
…
This sucks.
Gekkoukan High School, Faculty Office…
Ms. Toriumi turns to me when I come on. "Oh, Minako. Can I help you?"
"About Student Council…" which that Ice Queen signed me up for without my damn permission-
"Oh, yes. I heard from Mitsuru. All you need to do is read this and sign here."
With a sigh I sign the damn paper without reading it. Damn you Mitsuru.
"Minako Arisato…Alright, then." What you didn't know my name or something? "Leave the rest to me. Good luck in Student Council." Joy.
Gekkoukan High School, Student Council Room…
"Everyone, this is Minako Arisato. She'll be joining us in Student Council." not of my own free will you pushy -
"Minako-kun, huh…" Some kid with grey hair he same color as the uniform is seizing me up. He's decent looking I guess but the look on his face is kind of off-putting.
"I'm Hidetoshi Odagiri. I supervise the Disciplinary Committee."
Another girl with long brown hair and glasses waves awkwardly. "I'm Chihiro Fushimi, the Treasurer. I'm a sophomore, and um…I'm still learning the ropes, so…please be patient with me, Minako-san."
O-Kay…
"Nice to meet you all." It's all I can do not to grit my teeth together. Damn you Mitsuru! I hate introducing myself in front of groups of people.
Hidetoshi gives me another look from head to toe. I'm tempted to kick him in the shin but I doubt Mitsuru would have the best reaction to that. "…You must be talented if the President hand-picked you." ugh. So it begins, the ridiculous expectations, the disappointment when I don't fit into whatever image you have of me, the whispering behind my back, along with a whole bunch of unnecessary drama. Uh. Why oh why did I not run away the second I heard Mitsuru's boots outside the door. "Nice to meet you." As everyone introduces themselves to me and gets to know each other I can't help but hope no one here is some brand of crazy and that I'll get along with them.
Thou art I and I am though
Though hast established a new bond
Thou shall be blessed when thou chooseth to make Personas of the Emperor Arcana
And yet again the voice tells me I have a new social link. I guess Mitsuru's good for something after all.
"…Today, we'll just do introductions. It'll be your job to help us, Arisato. From now on, you have my permission to enter the Student council Room whenever you need to. That includes after school, too. The Student Council meets on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. We don't meet on days before tests. Thank you, Arisato, for joining us today." Not a lot of work my ass.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge.
Junpei greets me again. "Yo! I heard Mitsuru-senpai asked you to join Student Council!" …I'm not even going to bother on who the hell told him that. "Mitsuru-senpai, are you sure you wanna let a girl who's just transferred in?" Exactly what I was wondering Junpei.
"I need some assistance, that's all. I won't let the responsibilities stack up too high." Yeah let's see your definition of too high before you make that promise Mitsuru. "Why, are you interested in helping too, Iori?"
"Oh, uhhh…I'll pass. But, thanks for the offer." Nice backpedaling Stupei.
As I walk past Akihiko he calls to me. "So, I heart Mitsuru asked you to join Student Council. Sorry if it felt like you were forced to join…" Felt huh? There was no felt about it Akihiko. "But any help you could give her would be appreciated…"
"Uh…sure."
"Thanks." he gives me a smile.
Damn it! Why does practically every guy I meet in this town have to have such a damn nice smile!
I decide to head back to the Game Panic. I wonder who made games that could affect Personas. I decide to play Print Club. Yes! My photo is perfect!
4/28/09
I feel good today. Not the high feeling from a few days ago, but not that complete and utter exhaustion either.
Gekkoukan High School, Front Gate
Mitsuru is at the front gate. Huh? Was she waiting for me?
"Good morning….have you acclimated to our school yet?" And why the hell can't she say things like a normal person!
"Yes."
"I see. Your ability to adapt to new situations and environments is very impressive. By the way, there's something I forgot to tell you…if I'm not in the dorm you are not allowed to explore Tartarus. So, if I'm not in the lounge, we will explore Tartarus the following day."
During lunch I ran into Junpei. He invited me to the movies…I might as well it's not like I have anything else to do.
Tatsumi Port Island station, Movie Theater…
"This is it! Double-Barreled Justice"! He has got to be kidding. He wants me to watch some mindless action movie? "I've been looking forward to this coming out!" He's bouncing around though and looks like a kid in a candy store. Maybe if I'm lucky it won't be the mindless action I'm expecting.
"What kind of movie is it?" I resign myself to watching it because with the way he's acting he doesn't want to see anything else.
"In a nutshell…It's about fighting for what's right in a world gone mad. If I'm going to spend my cash to see a movie, I want it to kick major ass." Jeez he's really excited about this movie isn't he? With a sigh I walk with him into the theater.
The action scenes were pretty awesome though but the complexity of the story is what made it great.
"Hrm…It was…kinda not what I was expecting." Nope it was even better. Action-y with a good plot a rare gem. Junpei cocks his head like a confused puppy.
"The villain wasn't all that evil. It kinda killed it for me when he started talking about his tragic past…" That's what we like to call grey-and-grey morality Junpei. "It isn't cool if you have to beat somebody who didn't want to be a bad guy. Bad guys should be evil all the way to the core. Its just more satisfying." That's a really…naïve view of good and evil…
"Eh. I liked it. It's better when someone isn't just evil to be evil because for the most part that's how it is. Very few people do cruel things simply to do them."
He shrugs, "Still, I don't know it just…bugged me. I mean I can understand it and everything but it's just not as fun that way."
"Hm..." There was a long silence before Junpei flashed me one of his trademark smiles. "Anyways you still got time right? Let's go grab something to eat on the way back."
Iwatodai strip mall, Wild-duck Burger…
Yay! Hamburgers! I can't help but chow down. Mmh so good!
"Oh, crap…The guys at school might say some stuff if they see us together." Those fools said stuff when Yukari and I were walking together. Why would I care what they say now? "I mean, it looks like there's a lot of guys interested in you. Plus, the famous Yuka-tan and Mitsuru-senpai live in the same dorm, too. There are a lot of dudes who envy me because of that…" the last bit is said with an exasperated sigh.
Huh. I actually feel bad for him.
"It can't be helped." After all Freaks Dorm has some special requirements.
"Haha, yeah. It's not like any of this is my fault. …Actually, you don't seem to be all that interested in guys." I nearly spit out my soda at that line.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Oh…he didn't mean it like that.
"Nothing." if he hadn't thought it I wasn't going to bring it up.
"Anyways I was saying, that you're not at all excited about whose interested in you." Why would I be? "…I mean, of course you aren't. No girl would be that desperate." Junpei nods as if he's learned some great truth. "Also, I know you've probably got your hands full with your own stuff now. Actually, the same goes for me, too…" He looks serious all of a sudden. And I feel as though I understand him more. And I feel stronger inside now. I guess the Social Link must have strengthened. Well…at least their weren't voices this time.
"…Well, forget about that stuff. Want more fries? You don't mind sharing with me, right?"
"Nah. Get me another burger too!" He looks a bit surprised but goes ahead and orders.
We talk for a little longer before the sun starts setting and we head to the dorm.
Dorm 1st floor, lounge
"Welcome back." Ah Mitsuru. "For your information. The Internet line which was ripped apart by the Shadow will be fixed tomorrow. If you have a computer in your room you should be able to connect. …Well, that takes care of everything that was damaged…except, of course, Akihiko's rib cage." did she just chuckle? Akihiko frowns into the beef bowl that he's eating but doesn't say anything.
"Oh, right. All this talk about the Internet reminded me of something. I was totally addicted to this one online game for a while. It's called "Innocent Sin Online." and it's pretty fun. …I haven't touched it since I got here…Maybe I should log in sometime." I head to Game Panic and they have a new Horror Game. I go ahead and play it. I mess playing my games but I don't want to dig through my suitcases to find it. The game was actually frightening…I feel a bit braver for playing it until the end, though it didn't help that I felt like someone was with me.
4/29/09
A holiday! Whoot! My phone is ringing. It's Junpei. I decide to hang out with him. Not like I have anything better to do.
Iwatodai strip mall, Wakatusu Restaurant…
Junpei sighs in contentment rubbing his stomach. "That was great. I can't eat anymore." The food had been delicious. "But man, you ate a lot too. You ordered the same stuff as me, right? How in the world did all that fit inside your thin body…?" Who knows. I just know it did. Yum. He looks impressed that I managed to eat as much as he did. "Remember how I told you the other day that there are guys that're interested in you? I bet they'd be shocked if they saw how much you can eat."
"Meh, like I care." I really don't. If they had a problem with my appetite they could shove it.
"You got a point. Worrying about stuff like that'll just ruin the good food you're eating." exactly Junpei. "Also, you seem so happy when you're eating. It makes me feel good watching you." he laughs. Oddly enough while I feel closer to him I don't feel stronger inside. Guess our bond didn't strength as much as before then. This social link thing seems to be more complicated than I thought.
Dorm, 1st floor Lounge
When Junpei and I came back we noticed no one else was there.
"Huh. I guess they must be busy." with that Junpei practically throws himself on the couch. I turn around and go to Paulownia Mall, I might as well go to Game Panic its not like there's anything else to do.
I play the Quiz Game. Heh. I tested my mastery of trivia against players from all over Japan…I feel smarter as a result. As usual I head back right before Critter Time.
4/30/09
I walk to school without incident.
In class Mr. Ono as usual talks how much he likes Samurai while I force myself to stay awake and listen to the lecture. Granted I learned a bit but still…what is with that hat?
Homeroom, After School
My phone is ringing. Who could it be?
"Hello? This is Theodore." Huh? What? Okay this is pretty damn creepy. "Please come to the Velvet Room. There is a matter we need to discuss. You may use the alternate entrance location in Paulownia Mall. All you must do is find the door. …I'll see you soon." The line is dead. How the fuck did he get my number? Anyways I leave school quickly and head to the mall. I guess he must have meant the door in the alley.
As soon as I enter he speaks.
"I'm sorry to call you like this."
"Oh. It's no problem." He looks relieved at that.
"I am glad. To tell the truth…there is a favor I'd like to ask of you. If you don't mind, would you please accept my requests? Some missions will be special and require you to escort me around, but…" Is he talking about a date? "Of course, there will be a suitable reward upon completion of the request. I wish to see your strength with my own eyes…" My strength? You mean my dubious amounts of luck? While amusing I don't see anything special about that. "Well then, I will anxiously await your assistance in these matters. Now with that said. How may I help you?" he smiling again. Damn…yet another killer smile.
I accept his 1st, 2nd, and 56th request. Fortunately I already the old document necessary for the 2nd request and I'd have to go back to Tartarus to complete the 1st one. And apparently the 56th was to take him on a date. I might as well. I had nothing better to do.
Theo gave me another of those bead chains for giving him the old document. I hadn't read it but he apparently skimmed it over before handing it back. "You should read this. It will shed some light on the reason Tartarus exists."
The reason Tartarus exists? I place the document back in the bag. I'll probably read it during the weekend.
"Theo…you want to visit Paulownia Mall now?"
He smiles at me before nodding. "Please lead the way." with that we left the Velvet Room together. I can't help but wonder why he hasn't visited it on his own though. I mean its right there.
Paulownia Mall…
"So this is the Paulownia Mall…Indeed, it's exactly as I imagined." Despite his drone tone his eyes are sparkling and he's practically vibrating with excitement.
"Are you excited to be here?"
He laughs shortly. "I'm not that easily amused. …!" Sure you aren't that's why you're practically bouncing up and down. He looks toward the fountain and points at it. "What is that over there? An aqueous duct in a place like this…? …The dwellers of this world must get thirsty easily." …He can't be serious. There's no way he actually believes anyone would drink that.
"Are you serious?"
"Um…" Oh. He was serious. "I-I know its true purpose, of course." And now the backpedaling. "Why…it's meant to wash one's hands!" and crashes into a wall. What is he from another planet or something?
"That's not it."
"….!" He has the cutest blush and pout I have ever seen. I can't help but laugh. He clears his throat. "…It was only my small joke." Whatever you say Theo. "…So…Wh-What is it actually for?"
"It's just a decoration."
"So it's just a bit of scenery…?"
"Yup."
"…I see." Huh. He's disappointed. He recovers quickly though. "Hm…? And what, pray tell, is this facility here?" he heads towards the police station. I follow him trying to stifle my laughter I don't want to hurt his feelings.
"These photographs…Most Wanted…Reward…? I see…So the concept of subjugation requests is not unknown here…"
"We don't kill them." for the most part anyways.
"Ah? In that case, you must have to capture them alive…Only a skilled hunter could accomplish it." He nods triumphantly for some reason. "If there are hunters of such talent in this world as well, I may want to make a few requests of my own…" I'm pretty sure no sane person would accept your requests Theo. Especially considering fotr the most part your requests involve going into a Spiraling Tower of Doom that very few people can see in the first place, fight various creatures of doom that a fully capable of ripping the average person apart, with…well rewards that would only be useful if you planned on climbing said Spiraling Tower of Doom"…But on second thought, perhaps not. I already have you, our finest guest, for that." Finest guest? Huh. That makes me feel warm inside.
"Hm…? What is that?" Theo practically runs over to the club. "This…could this be the "club" of rumor…?"
Club of rumor? What the hell is that supposed to mean? And why does he know about the club in the first place? "Rumor?"
"Yes, I heard no end of it…"Dancers, dictated by the sways of one's inner passions…A subterranean garden of uninhibited spectacle." …Though this marks my first time seeing it in person. Well then, let us venture in…" I guess he doesn't realize it's closed.
"…It's closed…?" Well he does now at least. "This can't be…" he looks so sad that I want to hug him. Is he really that upset about the club being closed? "It seems…I have no choice but to turn back…" …are those tears? Seriously?
"Uh…" really he looks like a kicked puppy with that face. "How about I show you the arcade!" maybe some games would cheer him up. They always manage to do such for me.
"Ar…cade…?" He looks baffled. Okay then…so he's obviously never heard of an arcade before. …A series of arches? …A-All right, let us investigate." At least he doesn't look ready to burst into tears anymore.
We reach the arcade and he stares at the crane game in the front.
" Bird controlling game'…?" He frowns slightly. "The things inside this case…Those are birds? They look to my eye more like stuffed animals made of cloth…" You know…its funnier not to correct him. The conclusions he comes up with are just hilarious. "Is this, then, a simulator to practice catching real cranes…?" I say nothing and bite my tongue to stop from laughing as he mulls over it.
"Ah…Excuse me. I note another aquatic pool over here." He heads towards the second fountain in the corner of the mall. "Hm…" He looks restless and looks around quickly before thrusting his hand in the pool. "It's 8 degrees Celsius."
Wait…he came over here to do that? That's even odder than the fact that he can. But…remembering his pout from earlier I decide not to ask that.
"You can tell?"
"Of course I can." He smiles proudly. O-kay. "Shall we be on our way? I'd hate to keep you out for too late…" It's still early but I guess he has work to do. "This world has its charms." So he is from another world. "I…would relish the chance to visit it again sometime. Thank you very much for today."
"No problem."
He smiles as if he's pleased by my response. "Well then shall we return?"
I nod and together we go back to the Velvet Room. He steps through first and noticing my shirt is slightly wrinkled I take a minute to adjust it.
"Thank you for answering my request. Well then…I appreciate you showing me around Paulownia Mall. I asked my master to install a fountain into the Velvet Room when I returned …Unfortunately, he refused before I even finished asking the question." When the hell had that happened? He only entered the door seconds before me! Oh wait…Time functions differently in the Velvet Room. "I'm currently negotiating with him to at least set up a "crane catcher" machine." he looks down but brightens suddenly. "Now as a reward, I've prepared something special." Ooh date with a hot guy (even if he's a bit weird and not from this world) and goodies afterwards! Win-win situation!
"With this, you can fuse Hua Po. She is a charming Persona, combining the looks of a sweet girl with powerful abilities." He gives me a small cheongsam. I don't even know why the hell I know the name. But its some sort of dress.
I accept another Tartarus monster hunting request. I guess I'll have to go to Tartarus today. Everyone's recovered from last time at least. I leave waving cheerfully to Igor and Theo as I go.
The sun is still up so I decide to work a Be Blue.
After work I felt a bit smarter and a bit more persuasive. Thanks to my good work they gave me a slight raise! I got 4500 yen!
Dorm, 1st floor lounge
And once again, why do you care where I've been Akihiko? Anyways I ask Mitsuru can we go to Tartarus.
Tartarus
According to the information on Theo's request those Grave Beetles are on the 6-15th floors. …wait. They weren't those things that were weak to wind were they?
I used to transporter to teleport to the fifth floor. We went up the stairs quickly.
"This is strange…there seems to be no enemies on this floor." That same presence I had felt on the 1st floor after the ambush. Chills run down my spine. I had Junpei, Yukari and I split up and search for the exit. As I walked down the eerie green hallway the only sound accompanying is the clip, clop of my shoes echoing across the ground I shiver. Hm? Is that another one of those golden chests? Oh oh I hope there's a magic mirror! Running over I open the chest quickly. Hm? Seems to be some kind of sword. Maybe Junpei could use this. Placing the sword in the bag the word "Juzumaru" echoed in my head. Wait. Juzumaru? Wasn't that the sword Theo requested? I placed it in the bag to be sure. Junpei found the stairs (along with quite a bit of yen) and Yukari found a short bow (the same one I would have bought if I wasn't being cheap). So all was well. Yukari also found the Muscle Drink Theo wanted on the 6th floor. Though once I found the stairs I couldn't wait for us to leave never once on that floor did I feel those eyes leave me.
The seventh floor is normal. Most of the Shadows are scurrying away from us in fear. Oh this feels good. Run in fear! MUWAHAHAHAHAHA! I have us split up again (mostly because the Shadows are to afraid of us) and I run into one of the beetles alone. Thanks to Lilim's Garu spell it's not much of a challenge I hit it once and it landed on its back and after another Garu and it dissolves into Shadow Goo.
On the 11th floor I end up battling another Beetle alone but this time I felt a familiar comforting presence. Open defeating the Beetle I find Angel's card.
[It seems I have been brought to the forefront of your consciousness again.]
Yeah. Welcome back.
She laughs. [Welcome back? I never left you human.]
I frown. Never left?
[Though you could not use my powers, we never lost the ability to communicate. All you had to do was call to me.]
Oh. Now I feel like a jerk. I'm sorry Angel.
[It was an understandable mistake.]
With that her presence vanishes. I place her card gently into the bag. On the 12th floor we run into the last beetle we need and really this wasn't a challenge. Most of the Shadows are too weak to be a threat or never get a chance to attack due to use using their weaknesses against them. A quick Traesto Gem later and we're on the first floor.
"How was it?" Mitsuru seems impressed by our increased abilities. At least Junpei's swinging hit's the target more often as does my own. Yukari's accuracy seems to have increased as well. And I successfully got everything Theo requested. All in all I'd say it was a good training session.
"No problem."
With that we head back to the dorm.
End Chapter 3
Answering Reviews Time:
XxXTwilight-SinXxX : I'm glad you're liking the story! I hope this chapter satisfies your craving for a while! Also your reviews are what keeps my chapters coming so fast. Nothing gets me in the mood to write like knowing its appreciated. ^_^
Kisdota-The Freak Gamer: Thanks. I was hoping it was interesting.
NightmareSyndrom: Yeah I'm aware of that. So some conversations are changed to accommodate that. However if you feel that a certain conversation is a bit stunted feel free to tell me so so I can attempt to fix it. Also I'm very glad you like it!
LOL Despite that I find myself adoring Tatsuya 3 Though its jarring as hell for him not to speak in Innocent Sin and all of a sudden have a voice in Eternal Punishment. Also Innocent Sin's English Translation has made me a very, very happy camper.
To the rest of you readers who didn't review (you know who you are :p) I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.
Though FFN removes my extra punctuation marks (despite the fact that it's only one extra T_T) so yeah. I could only fix that by making the dialogue look really ugly so I'm just going to live it as is.
One last note: If her finding what she finds seems convenient, please note that I'm writing this story at the same time I'm playing the game. So everything rare that she finds, and the empty floors she comes across are pretty much word for word from my play through of the game. (Another reason I boosted the difficulty of the bosses is because I'm playing on Maniac.) So yes on the battle with those three winged birds I pretty much did get a critical on the first hit. Yay great condition!
Also Lilim = win. Teaching her each element makes her one of the best Personas you can get early in the game. (You only need to be level 8 to fuse her). She learns Mazio at level 12, and you can teach her Maragi (if you complete Theo's "Juzumaru" request) so all in all she is a very great Persona at the beginning of the game. [Also helps that she seems to be able to inherit all elements (I'm not sure about light but, in the beginning of the game Light spells are practically worthless anyways).