Note: This was originally going to be one chapter but…well I passed 50 pages so yeah…it got split. I didn't want to give you guys a epic to read through. This will be long enough! XD
Chapter 12: Shinjiro Aragaki Part I
9/3/09
…I hate my life…the phone is ringing. I pick it up. "Good morning. This is Theodore." Well that's a damn surprise. "There is a human-1 of them, I think-wandering around Tartarus. Please carry out a search and rescue. Goodbye, now." I put the phone back on the table and groan. I can only hope today is better than yesterday. I take out the card Chance gave me and stare at it for a few moments…now that I look at it closely it does seem to be a blank Persona card…yet…something's off about it. I shake my head and get red to head for school. As I'm leaving I feel a strange sense of isolation fill me…along with the urge to prove to myself that I can fight the Shadows alone.
Gekkoukan High School, Front Gate…
"Good morning." Mitsuru greets me. I just look at her. "You may have already heard this on the news, but…The number of incidents has increased compared to those during the last full moon…" more good news. Fantastic.
"Does you know why?"
Mitsuru shakes her head. "I do not know…" she looks troubled though. "We will just have to remain alert at all times." with that we separate. Aeon thankfully doesn't cling to me all day but at lunch frowns at me.
"Is something troubling you Minako-chan?"
"…I'm fine." I rub my temples. "I…just need to think." I stand up. I need some time alone. I head to Duck Duck Burger but the place is packed. Sighing I head for Hagakure.
Iwatodai Strip Mall, Ramen Shop Hagakure…
I need to just…think. I take a seat and freeze. You've gots to be kidding. There is just no way my luck is that bad…I turn and there's Ja-Shinjiro eating his meal right next to me. Maybe if I'll ignore him he'll do the same.
"Can I have a special?"
"Coming right up miss!" The owner cheerfully waves at me and I nod. He's probably used to how much money I spend the few times I come here. He hands me an extra large special and I eager start eating, the hair on the back of my neck is standing up and I stop chewing and look up. Shinjiro's giving me an odd look. I decide to ignore him and keep eating but my appetite's been spoiled. I finish my bowl and pay my bill.
"Are you feeling okay?" I'm not surprised to hear the concern in the owner's voice. I flash him a quick smile. "I'm okay." I walk out of the shop and start heading towards the dorm. What a waste of a day. And I have to go to Tartarus tonight…
"Wait." I freeze and turn around, Shinjiro is right behind me.
"Is there something you needed?"
"I want to ask you something."
"Ask me something?"
"About Ken…"
"Ken?" Hm…he and Akihiko did mention Ken before . "What about Ken?"
"Is he- no never mind…" something in his tone though…what happened between Ken, Akihiko and Shinjiro? …And Mitsuru too come to think of it… "You're heading to the dorm now right?" I nod. "Well I'll go with you. Don't want you to get into trouble again." I glare at him but he shows no emotion other than looking forward, I begin walking quickly but he easily keeps up with me. I'm not going to lower myself to running though so in silence we walk all the way to the dorm. Before we reach the door he stops. "I never properly introduced myself did I? My name's Shinjiro Aragaki. You don't have to worry about me in battle I can take care of myself."
"Minako Arisato." I'm not to sure what to add so I just head into the dorm. He follows.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
Akihiko looks between me and Shinjiro in confusion. Not that I blame him from the way I acted yesterday.
"Two more days until the next Shadow…" Fuuka bites her lip.
"We're going to Tartarus tonight." I say shortly.
"Oh! Okay. I'll get everyone ready." I nod and at midnight we're off to Tartarus.
Tartarus…
I head for the transporter. The urge to test myself has only been increasing all day.
"Arisato? You're going alone?" Mitsuru asks in alarm.
Damn. I really need to be faster sometimes. "I won't be in there long-" I just want to test myself, to prove that I can fight alone and be victorious. …I want them to know that I can handle myself.
"Arisato-"
"I know my limits, Mitsuru." I turn to face her and the command in my voice is enough to silence her protests. She opens her mouth to say something else but I input the floor I want to go to. Theo said the person was between the floors of 106 and 111 right? I input floor 98. That's close enough. Before the green glow takes me though I hear a sigh.
"Damn you're an idiot."
There's a bright flash of green and when my eyes open I'm on the 98th floor. And Shinjiro's with me.
"Look…I can handle myself. Go back."
He just looks at me. "Right. And what let you get torn to pieces by Shadows?"
"I can handle myself." He shrugs. "Go back."
"You're really bossy you know that? Besides I'm not stopping you."
I turn around and start walking towards the stairs, he keeps pace with me the whole time. On the next floor we run into a couple of Wild Drive Shadows. I hate to admit it…but Shinjiro is pretty damn strong. Gah. Luckily or unluckily I suppose, seeing as I can't prove my strength to Shinjiro most of the Shadows run from us in fear. This is even more mind boggling considering they weren't running before…are they scared of Shinjiro? I run into a Wild Drive and two Ice Ravens…damn it. OW! Stupid birds direct their attacks at me! Shinjiro looks me over and I guess deciding I wasn't too badly hurt attacks the Wild Drive nearly killing it, he turns around and kills both of the Ice Ravens single-handled. Show off. I finish off the Wild Drive and try not to sulk.
Oh shit. This is bad…Shinjiro and I run into two Champion Knights I use Seiryuu's Magarula spell twice in a row and take one out. Shinjiro takes the other out with a slash of his axe. Ugh. Either these Shadows are ridiculously weak…or he's just that good. At least I'm holding my own now.
Those stupid giant hand Shadows with the sword are giving me a hard time. I swing my sword at it barely doing any damage when Shinjiro comes out of nowhere and hits it a second time dissolving it into Shadow Goo. …damn he's good. He shakes his head looking me over.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." this is harder than I thought it would be. I wouldn't have been okay by myself…but still…I had too try. I need to increase my strength. I can't afford to rely on other people all the time.
[You really do not need to be so stubborn…]
Orpheus? Where have you been?
[Sleeping actually.]
Sleeping! You slept for nearly 3 months!
I could sense his shrug. [It was a very nice rest I must admit. Especially after that stunt you pulled.]
Oh…I'm sorry about that…
I continue walking forward. There seem to be no Shadows in the immediate area.
[What possessed you to come here alone?]
…
[Ah. Pride. You should not be so unwilling to accept other's help.]
…I don't need protecting.
Usually I wouldn't have considered this but Shinji's words echoed in my head all night. I'm not some damsel in distress that needs a knight to save her. I…I won't rely on them. I refuse to become a handicap. I…I want to be strong enough to protect them all.
[Has anyone called you a handicap?]
No…but-
[Has this Shinjiro considered you a handicap?]
Well…no…but….
[Then instead of jumping to conclusions why do you not try to get to know him? He might surprise you. Hidetoshi managed to after all.]
I sigh.
I guess…
[Though I must say. I am very impressed. The two of you make quite the powerful duo.]
…That's not funny.
Orpheus chuckles. [That does not make it any less true.]
What are you-
"Stay still!" Shinjiro yanked me back he steps in front of me. "Do you hear that?"
…hear what? "I don't hear anything."
"Chains…I hear chains."
"Minako-chan! Shinjiro-senpai! You must get off that floor! I sense Death!" Death? Suddenly I hear the chains. "RUN!"
Run where? Shinjiro grabs me by the wrist. What the fuck is with people grabbing me? And I feel like my arm is going to yank off as I run behind him. Suddenly he starts cursing. What? A dead end? You can't be serious! We turn and there's….huh? It's some sort of giant- what is that thing? It has a set of revolvers that look around 6 feet long. It's wearing long robes with chains attached and its face is covered by a mask.
"GET OUT OF THERE!" I'd love to do that Fuuka, but I'm sort of trapped.
"Stand behind me." …what? I'm supposed to stand behind him like some helpless victim? Please. I duck underneath his arm and charge at the- I suppose it must be a Shadow.
[Minako! Stop!]
It's too late. I've already begun my attack, if I stop at this point I leave myself wide open.
"Shit!" I hear Shinjiro behind me running forward…my attack doesn't seem to have even bruised the creature. Instead it looks…amused? It chuckles.
"Oh this is just pathetic…I've come too soon it seems." The creature vanishes before Shinjiro reaches me.
Come too soon? Pathetic? Damn show off Shadow!
[Be happy you are not yet considered strong enough to be decent prey.]
So what…I'm too weak?
[To face him? Very much so. There wouldn't be anything you could do to hurt him. Be grateful for his benevolence. It would have been easy for him to kill you…]
Then why not just do so?
"It's far better if there's a challenge doing so. Seeing another part of myself so weak and feeble is…well…pathetic." the voice! I look around but whatever it was is gone now. Shinjiro shakes his head.
"What was that?" Shinjiro's eyes are narrowed.
"I don't know…" Fuuka called it Death…but…I'm not so sure that was death.
Orpheus is suspiciously silent the whole time.
"Well…we should get going before it changes its mind and comes back." I nod and the two of us hurry to the next floor. Thankfully there's Shadows on this floor so we continue fighting. Orpheus is right the two of us are a powerful duo. We end up being ambushed by a four shadows though. They're the type to spam Mabufula and Bufula spells. I switch to Saravati who is immune to ice attacks by the time we finish them off however Shinjiro's in critical condition.
"Hold still."
He is standing but barely. I summon Leanan Sidhe and heal him using Diarama until he's in peak condition again. "I don't need your help."
I glare at him. UH! He makes me want to scream sometimes. "We should get going."
I open my mouth to snap at him when he runs forward swinging his axe. Huh? There's a loud scream, I turn around just to see another Shadow dissolve into Goo. Oh. Didn't see that one.
"Uh…"
"Just returning the favor. You're okay right?"
"I'll be fine." He nods and picks up that heavy axe of his.
"In that case we should move on."
"Oh…okay." Had I just had a semi-conversation without snapping at him? Heck the two of us end up ganging on a Jotun of Power and take it out with ease. JoPs are huge Shadows with nasty attacks but the two of them take it down even if we both need serious healing afterwards. At least this time Shinjiro doesn't comment when I heal him. I earn two Personas from my battles with them, Kusi Mitama a Fortune Persona that looks like a comma, and Flauros a Hierophant Persona with a lion head and a weird body.
"…Is this usually so easy?" He looks a bit bewildered at the ease of defeating the shadows.
I laugh. "No way. You didn't get to fight the big ones."
"Big ones huh?"
"Yeah…they have a way of kicking our asses. They show up every full moon." I smile at him before I force myself to look away. I'm not supposed to be friendly with him! "Let's keep going." the stairs are right there. We keep going until we reach the 108th floor where Fuuka informs us there's a person.
"Got it." the woman is being attacked by one of those JoPs. We take him out and help her to her feet.
"Alright then. I'm going to teleport the two of you, are both of you okay?" Fuuka's voice echoes in my ear. I nod and we're warped to the entrance. Mitsuru looks pissed.
"Eh…"
She doesn't say anything though. "We are leaving I assume?" I feel a chill.
"Uh…yeah." Jeez. Now I know how Junpei felt…why doesn't she just yell or something? She nods stiffly…and we head back to the dorm. The walk back is eerily quiet.
9/4/09
Gekkoukan High School, Front Gate…
"S'up dude!" Junpei runs up to me. "There's a full moon tomorrow! …You remember?" How could I forget with you all reminding me practically every day. "But, this time will be tougher than the last…"
"So, what about it?" Each time is going to be tougher than the last. We can handle it.
"So? Dude, how can you be so calm? There's only four Shadows left…maybe they're getting' desperate." Oh joy. That can only mean more two for one specials. Just what we need. "…Or, maybe the next one is just insanely strong!"
"Must you jinx it?"
"Oh…Uh…well. I'm sure we can handle it!"
I just sigh.
At lunch Akihiko approaches me. There's…something off with him today.
"Oh, it's you, Minako." …and what the hell's that supposed to mean? "Well…D-Do you have time today?"
"Yeah."
"I-I see." What's with him? "…I uh, have something to tell you. Come see me after school if you're free. …I'll see you later." with that he walks off quickly. No sooner than he leaves than do I get several dirty looks. …damn it.
"Minako-chan?" Aeon's sitting right next to me too. "Is something wrong?"
"No…nothing's wrong." Though if this rumor spreading doesn't stop soon I'm going to hit someone.
After School…
I head over to where Akihiko's waiting for me he looks up and has a strange expression on his face. What's up with him?
"Ready to go?" He nods and the two of us start walking. He's oddly silent the whole time.
Iwatodai strip mall, Hagakure Ramen…
I wave to the cook and order the large special as always. I dig in but even though Akihiko's eating he's oddly quiet.
"Is something wrong?"
"Well…um…how are you? …Physically, I mean?"
"I'm fine."
"I-I see. All right, then…" he looks down as if troubled by something. "It's just that…when I watch you fight…and yesterday when you ran into Tartarus alone with only Shinjiro following you I get…I don't know…I just felt so…angry…"
"Angry? What did I do something wrong?"
"No…but…yesterday." He looks down again. "Don't…don't do that again. Please." he looks up at me his eyes locking onto my own. "I…I was so…worried when I heard Fuuka warn you about Death. You…could have died and there would have been nothing I could do."
"I…I'm sorry." It was remarkably stupid of me. If Shinjiro hadn't followed me… "I just…lost my head for a little bit."
"Well. Try to keep it on. We're depending on you after all." Akihiko smiles a little but its pained. "Though…other than yesterday…I'm not so much angry, as I am irritated…no, that's not it, either. I guess…I get nervous."
Nervous? "Is it because I seem unreliable?" I could see why he'd think that way. More often then not people end up collapsing under my command and even though we always win there are so many close calls it's starting to become a running theme.
"No…You're doing a great job." He smiles at me. Really? He thinks I'm doing well? He falls silent for a moment stirring around his noodles before speaking again. "Is…is there any way…that you can avoid having to fight?"
Avoid having to fight? What does he mean? "Oh…" he must have seen the confusion on my face. "Never mind, sorry. Forget what I just said." he looks so troubled though. "I mean, you're trying the hardest out of all of us. I shouldn't have said that to you." he sighs but what could be wrong? He looks…so down.
"What's wrong?"
"…Sorry. I'm confused, myself…" he sighs again. "What am I saying…?" The hell if I know Akihiko. "Deep down, I know why I don't want you to be fighting…It's just that…I'm worried about you." he blushes when he says the last line. He looks down quickly after speaking. And my inner strength increases. "C'mon…eat. Eat up."
Oh. The distracting me with food technique? Noticing his blush I decide to go ahead and eat. I don't need to push the issue. We eat in silence and walk quietly back to the dorm together. Akihiko still seems troubled and I'm not sure what to say to him.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"…Hey." Shinjiro looks up from feeding Koromaru when Akihiko and I walk in. The Chairman's here and everyone's in the lounge.
"Tomorrow is finally the day. I'll make sure we win, no matter what…" Akihiko nods in resolution.
"Hey Shinjiro-senpai." with that I head upstairs to get the spare money from my room with it in hand I head for Paulownia Mall to go to the police station. I hope he's gotten some new weapons in.
"Ah there you are. They found that missing office lady the other day. I tried questioning her, but…she said some kids saved her from a black thing. I assume that was you guys again?" I nod and he hands me another skill card. This one is for the spell Mediarama. "I got some new things in so take a look."
I buy enough equipment for everyone I regularly use in battle. With that done I head to the Velvet Room. Once there, I fuse Flauros and Kusi Mitama to create Raga Naja. A Mermaid like Persona of the Emperor Arcana. He's powered by my link with Hidetoshi. I fuse Oumitsunu, Leanan Sidhe, and Setanta to create Samael. A red dragon that is of the Death Arcana. He's powered by my link with Pharos. I take Oumitsunu back out from the Compendium at the steep price of 158528 yen. What exactly does Theo need the money for I can't help but wonder. I withdraw Setanta as well for around the same price. With that done I head back to the dorm.
Koromaru is happily eating whatever food Shinjiro gave him. I walk over to the two of them, Shinjiro looks up at me with a questioning expression.
"Shinjiro-senpai…could I talk to you…in private?" It would be best if I apologized for my behavior yesterday.
He nods and the two of us head out the dorm. We get a looks from the others but it's not long before we're gone. I start heading towards Naganaki Shrine, he follows me in silence.
Naganaki Shrine…
I take a deep breath and turn around when we're alone. "I want to apologize for my behavior Shinjiro-senpai."
He just looks at me. I force myself to give him a warm smile. "I was having a bad day and took it out on you. It was childish of me." I bow. "So I hope that the two of us can get off to a fresh start."
He keeps looking at me before he nods. "Fine then. Let me tell you something about my battle style, if you haven't already figured it out yet. I attack. I do not heal. If you need someone to heal you, do not look at me. This clear?"
I nod. "Crystal."
"That said…I'm your senpai. So I'll watch your back."
"Alright."
He looks at me again with those scrutinizing eyes of his. "So…that's all you wanted to say?"
"Pretty much…um…thank you." I add awkwardly.
"Hm?"
"For yesterday. If you hadn't followed me I might have…" Huh. Might. There's no might about it. I'd have been ripped to shreds.
"You're supposed to be their leader right?" …how odd. He say's "their" like he's not a part of SEES.
"Yes…"
"Then act like it." with that he turns and walks away. I can't even get angry because he's right. I watch him go but instead of following him to the dorm throw myself into one of the park benches. I sigh looking up at the moon. It's almost full…I'm not looking forward to tomorrow.
I close my eyes allowing the cool breeze to blow on me…it's so nice out here.
Somewhere…
Where am I? Am I dreaming?
Why am I on a bridge? And…why is it the Dark Hour? …there's….blood everywhere. It's covering me…debris surround me and I heard clashing as though two powerful entities are fighting behind me. But, my attention isn't on that…I'm too busy screaming for all I'm worth…reaching towards the charred remains of a car.
"You really are an idiot." What?
Naganaki Shrine…
My eyes flutter open and I turn in the direction of the voice. Shinjiro's sitting next to me. I can't help but stare blankly.
He sighs shaking his head. "And you can handle yourself you say?" he stands and looks down at me. "Well, let's get going. Mitsuru's wondering why you're missing so close to the Dark Hour." I stand and nod. When I blink I feel wetness in my eyes. I was crying? I wipe the tears away but they won't stop. "Here." Shinjiro hands me a handkerchief. I want to ask him where he got it from but it's more important to stop myself from crying.
He's not going to ask me why I was crying? He looks at me again a troubled look on his face before looking at the offertory box. "We should get going." I nod and follow him back to the dorm. By the time we get back the Dark Hour is now in effect. Mitsuru looks up when we come in.
"Arisato. …are you okay?" Oh. I must still be crying. How…pathetic. I nod, Akihiko's looking at me in concern as well.
"I tripped and got some dirt in my eye."
Aeon frowns. "I do not understand you-"
"I'm…going to bed." I cut him off and walk back to my room. The green glow basks everything in the same creepy light. The tears still haven't stopped and now that I'm alone they flow more freely than ever. Why? Why would I have such a strong reaction today of all days? I feel so weak for some reason. I shake my head and climb into bed. Maybe I'll feel better come morning. …Though what a strange dream.
9/5/09
I feel better at least. Ugh…everything that happened last night is a humiliating memory now.
Gekkoukan High School…
"Good morning!" Fuuka walks up to me cheerfully. I give her a bright smile in return. I don't want to be questioned about last night. Thanks to that and the day before I'm going to have to do my best to come off as flawless come next mission. I don't want them to start thinking I'm weak or unable to handle the responsibility. I can't help but inwardly chuckle at the irony. A few months back and I would have given anything for them to feel that way. "…There's a full moon tonight." I nod.
"We'll be fine!"
"That's nice to hear…" Fuuka perks up at my words. "I was getting worried because it's so soon after summer vacation." with that we headed to class. After School I head straight for the dorm, I need to make sure I fully prepared. With that done as soon as evening hits I stand and head for the command room.
Dorm, Command Room…
Fuuka's summoned Lucia and is searching for the Shadows.
"Where's Junpei?" Yukari looks around questionably. Huh. It's not like him to miss an operation.
"Maybe he's sick. Ken…do you mind looking for him?" I turn to Ken who runs off.
"Tonight marks the 6th full moon…do you detect a Shadow?" The Chairman looks at Fuuka.
"Yes…It's near Paulownia Mall…I think." Fuuka responds…though what's with that "I think"? "For some reason, I can't quite pinpoint its location…but, I'm trying to narrow it down…"
"Is that its power?" Akihiko muses.
"I don't know."
"We have enough to go on…" Shinjiro is already full prepared for battle.
Ken comes back.
"Did you find him Ken?" I ask
Ken shakes his head. "I can't find him anywhere. His backpack isn't here, so I don't think he's been home yet."
"That idiot…" Yukari snaps. "He knows tonight's the night!"
"I don't sense him anywhere nearby." Fuuka's searching too? Where could he be that Fuuka can't sense him? "Should I take more time to look for him, just in case?"
"No, it's okay." The Chairman interrupts. "You're all young; sometimes you just get in one of those moods. Anyway, we should focus on the task at hand."
"We can't afford to waste any more time. Let's go." Mitsuru gets her equipment out of the bag.
Akihiko nods as he starts putting on his gloves. Fuuka dismisses Lucia and everyone leaves leaving me and Shinjiro alone. I turn to head back.
"Wait…" I turn back to face Shinjiro. "Did he say anything earlier?"
"Not that I remember…why are you worried?"
"Whatever." he walks off frowning. …Okay then. With that I head for the mall.
Paulownia Mall…
Fuuka's resummons Lucia and is again searching for the Shadow.
"Detect anything?" Jeez Mitsuru she just started! Nothing wrong with a little patience!
"Only a faint presence. It seems so close, but…why…?"
"Alright, let's split up and search for it. There's no time to lose; hurry!"
"Wait! Please, give me a moment! This is my responsibility…!" Fuuka closes her eyes in intense concentration. "Tell me, Lucia…what is this thing that deceives me…? Hear the wind's answer in your ear…touch the earth's answer with your fingertips…" okay this is a bit creepy. "Taste the water's answer on your lips…"
"Hey, is she okay…?" Akihiko looks at Fuuka in concern.
"Don't break her concentration." Jeez Mitsuru he was just asking.
"…Right beneath our feet….some kind of…webbing…?"
"Webbing? That may be a reference to the old power cables underground." Aeon steps forward. "They were just left there when the island's construction was completed."
"Power cables?" I turn to Aeon.
He nods. "Yes. There are cables underground. They run in many directions, similar to a web."
"And they're interfering with her ability?" Akihiko looks from Aeon to Fuuka.
"…Thank you, Aeon. I understand now. Interference isn't the problem…the cables themselves have been possessed by the Shadow!"
"Uh…what?"
"So…it's underneath this whole area?" Yukari blinks her eyes wide. Not that I blame her.
"How are we supposed to fight that?"
Shinjiro just sucks his teeth.
Mitsuru sighs. "This is a problem…we have no means of attacking it.
"In your notes from previous battles, it said there was a Shadow that took control of the monorail. Just like that one, this Shadow must have its own body. Let me see if I can find it…" Fuuka begins to concentrate again.
"Even if we know where it is, we might not be able to get to it…" Akihiko sighs. …That could be a problem.
"Not necessarily." Aeon shakes his head. "There may still be a way to reach the structure the buried cables feed into…"
"We'll see…" Shinjiro turns to Fuuka.
"…I found it…" huh? She sounds like that cost her a large amount of energy. "It's close by…in this mall!"
"In here?"
"It's inside a small chamber underground. …It's rectangular, so I assume it's man-made."
"Is it some sort of room…?" Ken wonders.
"Wait a minute…" Shinjiro glances at club Escapade before continuing "I overheard the manager of Escapade. He was saying that the power's been acting up lately. There was a power outage because of it that forced him to cancel some big, important event."
"That's no surprise…"
"He said the control panel is located beneath the club. Maybe we should take a look…"
"…That's it!" Fuuka adds. Late as always.
"Good job, Yamagishi. Alright. Once we're ready, we'll make our move! Arisato pick a team of four people, those of us left will stay behind just in case."
I nod. "Alright." I don't think it would be a good idea to take Aeon. I mean…power cables usually equal electricity and both he and Yukari are weak to that. With that in mind… "Shinjiro-senpai, Akihiko-senpai and Ken-ken…come with me."
I hand Shinjiro and Ken their new equipment. Akihiko already has equipped the things I bought for him. "Alright. Let's go."
We nod and head into Escapade.
Club Escapade, dance floor…
What…the…fuck. .
The Shadow is in the middle of the dance floor with a bunch of wires in it. It's weird looking like an old 4 legged animal with a hunched back with light bulbs in it it's legs are attached to the cables making it look like a knurled tree.
"That's the source! It's connected to all those cables…" Ah…Fuuka. So much for Akihiko being Captain Obvious huh? "…so be careful you don't get shocked!" with that we charge at the thing. I don't think it can move from it's current position so at least it should be easy to dodge attacks. I land a critical hit so we perform an all out attack.
"Akihiko! Focus on status lowering!"
"Understood."
Ken lands a critical hit as well so we bum rush it again. The Shadow then cries out loudly and starts glowing. Oh shit…please don't tell me that's a charge spell…
"The Shadow has a lot of electricity charged up…Please be careful!" Fuuka warns.
The creature doesn't attack but merely glows brighter. Why is it just letting us pummel on it like this? Suddenly bits and sparks of electricity fly everywhere…though…the damn thing's aim sucks balls. The only one it manages to hit is Ken who screams before falling to his feet. Ouch. That must have hurt. Shinjiro and Akihiko look pissed now too.
"Apparently it has to charge before it uses that one attack! Please be careful whenever you see the enemy charging!" Fuuka warns. Ken heals himself and we resume to beating the shit out of it. Crap…the damn thing's charging again. We manage to finish it off before it can use that attack though. Huh. That wasn't too bad. I look over at Ken who's wincing. Well…for most of us.
"Congratulations. I no longer sense its presence. Oh, and also…I think I've found Junpei." Oh good, now I can laugh as Mitsuru rips him a new one. "He's back at the dorm, but something seems strange…the Chairman's there too, so he should be okay. But, let's hurry back just in case." with that we hurry back to the dorm.
"Ken? Are you okay?" I look him over granted he healed himself with a Diarama spell but…he gives me a quick nod.
"I'm fine."
"Junpei's on the rooftop." Fuuka tells us once we reach the dorm. Oh…okay then. With that we hurry to the rooftop.
Ken's still wincing. Shinjiro looks him over in concern.
"I'll take the kid to his room to rest up."
Ken looks like he wants to protest being called a kid but sighs instead. He must have been worn out. That Diarama spell healed his body but he must be exhausted. He's not as used to it as the rest of us are…
Dorm, rooftop…
Yukari's the first one to open the door.
"Junpei?" Oh. So he's there then.
"Tch. They're back already?" Who's she? She's wearing some weird gothic style dress and has long red hair. Junpei's on his feet tied up. She backs up and takes out something that looks like a evoker and prepare to pull the trigger.
"She's a Persona-user?" Mitsuru gasps.
"Medea, come…" Before she can finish though Junpei slams into her from behind.
"Chidori, stop!"
"Ahh!" his tackle causes her to drop her Evoker. It slides over to Akihiko, who picks it up.
"No! Give it back!"
"Sorry, but we can't let you use this."
Someone's rushing towards us from behind. Aeon whirls around before relaxing.
"Hm? When did she…!" Oh. It's just the Chairman. …he was in the dorm all this time and din't notice anything until just now?
"Aeon, restrain her."
"Very well." He firmly holds Chidori's arms behind her back.
"Medea!" Chidori struggles feebly in his grasp eyeing the evoker in Akihiko's grip.
"I…I didn't sense her up until this very moment…This is my only power and yet…"
"If even Fuuka couldn't sense her, then she must have some sort of power to conceal her presence." the Chairman muses. "I didn't have the slightest clue she was here…"
"Are you a member of the group that goes by the name Strega? I have a number of questions for you."
"…I'm not…afraid…of dying…." Chidori murmurs.
"Ch-Chidori…?"
"…M-Medea…I'm…" okay…she has some issues. She starts breathing shakily.
"Clearly, she's emotionally unstable. We'll let her rest, and save our questions for later."
"Chidori…" Junpei murmurs.
Okay…I've had it. I'm going to bed. Without another word I head for my bedroom and climb into my bed.
9/6/09
I'm tired…but there's no school so I can rest if I wish. Instead I get up and head to Naganaki Shrine. I want to see Striped Shirt today.
Naganaki Shrine…
I walk over to Striped Shirt who's sitting on a bench alone. I take out the blood red pen I gotten from Koromaru.
"Is that my missing fountain pen…?"
I nod and hand it over.
"Ahh…welcome home, dear friend." He runs his finger of the pen with a gentle reverence before looking up at me. "…Thank you for finding it for me." He looks so sad. "My name is Akinari Kamiki…Have a seat if you'd like, I'll write something for the two of us…" I sit next to him. "…I remember you. You're the girl who was playing with that elementary school girl."
"You mean Maiko."
He nods. "She was very…bright." Bright? "Her face shone with the warm light of a new life. …And then there's me, cooped up in the hospital, struggling to breathe. Compared to her light, I'm but a vanishing shadow. Misery is a harsh mistress." He's sorrow hangs around him so heavily I can taste it. "I feel as though I'm lying in an unyielding darkness. …Can you understand how I feel?"
As though you have a set death date? I shake my head. "No, I can't." That's the simple truth. I can't understand how it feels to know you're bodies failing you and there's nothing you can do about it.
He smiles bitterly. "I didn't think so…" he's silent for a long moment. The only thing I hear is the gentle whispers of the wind. "Any day now…" his voice is so soft for a moment that I think I misheard until he continues. "…I'm going to die. I have a genetic disease without any known cure. Unless you're in my situation, you can't understand what it's like. …But I prefer it that way. I wouldn't wish this on anyone. There isn't anything you can do to slow this down or make things better." He stops speaking. …I'm not sure what to say. To know that you're going to die…no matter how much you want to live is just…a depressing thought. I've never even given any thought to the way I was going to die before. To know it…and have to force yourself to keep going…
"Sorry about that. I didn't mean to depress you or anything. I haven't spoken to someone my own age in a long time. …It's natural for those in darkness to yearn for the world of light. I'm glad we could meet, though. If there's a god, I'll be able to thank him soon enough…"
Thou art I
And I am thou
Thou hast established a new bond
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Sun Arcana…
Sun? Dying guy was Sun?
"However…I would rather you not come here ever again." Well…the voices in my head would rather I come here…and, I look at him despite his words it looks like he didn't mind me being here. "You only live once, right? So why waste your life among the dying? …Goodbye." I nod there really isn't anything I can say. Any words of comfort I give him would be meaningless. What do you say to someone who's going to die?
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"Hello Minako." Aeon greets me when I walk in. My discussion with Akinari leaves me quiet. "Due to Mitsuru's and Akihiko's absences we will not be able to go to Tartarus."
I nod. Koromaru trots up to me tail wagging. He wants to go out for a walk does he?
"Ah. Minako-san." Ken walks up to me. "Do you mind if I go with you and Koro?" Koro huh?
"Sure. It's no problem Ken."
Naganaki Shrine…
As usual the moment we reach the shrine Koromaru takes off. Ken chases Koromaru around to the point when he's panting in exhaustion.
"Koromaru's so fast. I'm jealous…" he looks down at this.
"Are you feeling better? You're not still hurt from yesterday are you?"
He shakes his head still looking down. "No…I'm fine…though…how was your day?"
"My day? It was fine." Frankly it was depressing but there's no need to mention Akinari.
Ken still looks down. "Everyone seems to be on edge…but no one will tell me what happened…am I…THAT unreliable…?"
Oh yeah…he wasn't with us when we captured Chidori was he? I suppose no one must have told him about it either.
"Am I THAT childish…? I need to work harder…"
"That's…not it Ken." He looks up at me. "We captured a member of Strega. No one told you I suppose because they forgot you didn't know…" I mean…I hadn't been forbidden from telling him or anything.
"Strega?"
Ah. "They're a group of Persona-users trying to stop us from eliminating the Dark Hour."
"But…why would they-?"
"They don't want to lose their powers. Other than that I can't really say. I don't fully understand their motivations."
"I see…" he looks troubled now.
"It's not that we don't trust you Ken. You are a member of SEES and despite your age we understand that if you're willing to fight Shadows, you deserve to know everything else as well." I hope the rest of them feel that way…I know I do.
"Thank you Minako-san." He gives me a small smile.
Koromaru trots over. Huh. He has good timing for once.
"Oh, here comes Koromaru. Hey, stop digging!" Koromaru's begun digging at the sand near Ken's feet sending it everywhere. "A-choo!" Ken sneezes loudly from the sand getting up his nose. I hide a smile behind my hand.
"That's enough Koromaru. No need to pick fun at Ken."
Koromaru barks happily his tail still wagging. Ken sneezes a few more times and we head back to the dorm.
9/7/09
I'm still tired I get up and head for class.
Gekkoukan High School, Front Gate…
"Mornin'. It doesn't seem like Chidori is gonna talk, does it?" They've been interrogating her all this time and have gotten no information. That said it hasn't been that long but still. "Junpei is worried about her…" and judging by your expression Yukari, you're worried about him. "I wonder what happened…"
I shrug.
"Well, it makes me worry…" with that the two of us head for class.
After School
As soon as the bell rings Junpei leaves. I guess he must be going to the hospital again…I head for the Student Council Room.
Gekkoukan High School, Student Council Room…
The meeting is pretty fun…or maybe I've just grown used to it. It beats being bored during the summer anyway. "…That's it for today's meeting." Hidetoshi walks over to me and whispers in my ear. "…Minako-kun. I want to talk to you after the meeting." with that he walks away and begins cleaning up. After everyone leaves he gestures for me to follow him.
Gekkoukan High School, rooftop…
"I'm sorry to drag you up here, but I wanted to tell you something…" he turns to me. "The cigarette butt incident will be dropped. …They say it's my fault, for asking so many questions. I wanted to be Student Council President next year, and the P.E. teacher agreed to endorse me. But, I lost any chance of achieving that goal when I disagreed with him. The student body is also annoyed with me." He pauses then before continuing. "I rambled on about rules and fairness, but all I really proved was that I was desperate for power…"
"It's good you realize that." I really am. For all the arguments that happened in the Council he's a good friend. I didn't want to see him isolated because of his bullheadedness. Not that I'm one to talk considering the stunt I pulled a few days previous.
He smiles at that. "…Now I know why the President asked you to join Student Council. You don't say things to put people down. You're just honest with them." …I'm not sure what to say to that… "The system only works if you have people's trust, and trust is not something you force them to feel. When the P.E. teacher suggested that you should be a suspect, I felt as if I was being bullied by an ignoramus who just had more power than me. I felt like the truth was being bent and I might lose a friend as a consequence. If it wasn't for you, Minako-kun, I would've gotten carried away. Thank you." He's appreciative of my help? But…I don't think I really did anything.
[You stayed by his side…that was enough.]
…That's not Orpheus…
[I'm Raja Naga. You did far more by simply remaining by him than you would have accomplished by yelling or arguing. You let him realize the truth for himself and supported him as he did so.]
…I see. I don't feel like I did anything special though. Just…be a friend.
[Which is all he needed.]
I…think I understand. Thank you, Raja Naga.
I feel him nod before he quiets. And my inner strength has once again increased. The sun is beginning to set.
"…That teacher may not be a complete numbskull." he gives me another smile at this " "Fall for a girl," huh? He's right." Eh? "…Minako-kun. No, Minako…san. It seems…I am attracted to you." How can he say this with such a straight face? "To exaggerate a bit…I like you." Exaggerate? I just stand there gaping at him. He laughs at this. "Why are you surprised? I'm only human. I have emotions, too." Well I know that much but… "…You don't need to answer. I just wanted to tell you." …I'm not sure what I would answer. "Right now, both you and I have things we need to do…when I'm confident that the time is right, I'll say it again…so…until the, I guess I can dream." I know I'm blushing now. "Now, let's go home." I nod quickly.
"Yeah…hopefully…when you tell me again," I pause for a while and he looks at me questioningly. "I'll…have an answer."And not gape at him like an idiot like I did today. He gives me another smile and nods with that the two of us head for the school gates.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"…Hi, how was your day? …Our senpai are at the hospital and won't be back 'til later." Again? "From what I hear, that girl Chidori won't say anything…" Fuuka frowns in concern. "Maybe we should wait to go to Tartarus until things are under control…"
"I see…"
Shinjiro's sitting by himself I walk over to him. "Shinjiro-senpai…"
"…Yeah? You want something?" …uh. So much for my apology breaking down the barrier. I probably should be friendlier with him. It doesn't do SEES any good if everyone doesn't get along. Not to mention I can't really get him to spar with me if we're not on good terms.
"Want to go get something to eat?"
"…What, with me? Let's go." Hm? That's it? "I don't know any fancy places though." With that we headed out.
Iwatodai Strip Mall, Ramen Shop "Hagakure"…
Oh he totally did this on purpose. "I don't know that many places to go out to eat." he looks a little embarrassed. …I guess it wasn't so intentional…
"It's fine. I like the special here." I'm being honest. If I want to be a good leader I need to learn to get along with the people that are counting on me to keep us all alive.
He chuckles at this. "…You're an odd one. Well, let's eat. Watch the soup, it's hot." he blows on his own. What is with him and Akihiko treating me like I'm five? "Ow…"
"What's wrong?" He looks like he's in pain.
"…Forgot I had a cut in my mouth. It's 'cause Aki punched me." Why would Akihiko punch him? "Sheesh, that guy's gotta learn how frickin' heavy a boxing champ punches…"
"Were you two training?" Maybe they'll let me join in.
He laughs at that. "Hell no." So much for that. He's in an awfully good mood. "…I gave him a little "lecture" on how his fighting style's too reckless, and this is what I got in return. Well, we get in fights all the time. Just get used to it."
"All right."
He chuckles again. When he smiles he's like a totally different person, warmer and friendlier. "Yeah, thanks." He looks me over. "But man, you're actually younger than him…? Not that it's too surprising with how reckless you act…" at this is shove a fork full of food in my mouth. Keep the peace Minako. Keep the peace… "Though I must admit…those powers of yours a hella useful. We're lucky to have you." He sounds like he's mocking me with that smile of his but I get the feeling he's being serious. How odd.
Thou art I
And I am thou
Thou hast established a new bond
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personas of the Moon Arcana…
…And somehow I'm not surprised. …I seem to have one of these with everyone in SEES with the exceptions of Mitsuru, Ikutsuki and Aeon. Odd to say the least.
He winces in pain again. "That reminds me…I cut the inside of my mouth the first time he punched me, too. I couldn't eat for a while because of that." he smiles again.
"When was that?"
"…We were kids. I forgot why." he laughs before he puts his food down shaking his head with a sigh. "This just ain't gonna work…I'll have to wait until it cools down." with that we wait for his food to cool and I have an extra 3 bowls in the mean time. He gives me a look when he seems me downing the food.
"You certainly like food don't you?"
I nod. I can't help but be in a good mood when I'm eating. He watches me eat and I could swear there's a small smile on his face.
9/8/09
I'm sick…Fantastic.
Junpei runs out of class again. Heading to the hospital I suppose. I watch him leave and shake my head. I might as well see Saori today.
Gekkoukan High School library…
We work as usual.
"Minako-chan, can you find a book on shelf A3 for me…?"
Suddenly there's an announcement. "…Please pardon the interruption. Saori Hasegawa of class 2-C…Minako Arisato of class 2-F…" …what is it now? It better not have to do with that creepy PE teacher. "Please report to the faculty office at once. I repeat…"
Saori turns to me in confusion. "…They're calling for us?"
"You know why?"
She shakes her head. "No…"
"Well…let's go see what they want."
She nods and we head for the faculty office.
Gekkoukan High School, Faculty Office…
…Oh great. It's Ekoda. Of all people. I sniffle a little and head into the faculty room.
"I'm surprised you could waltz in here without any sense of shame, Hasegawa. What is the meaning of this?" he slams a magazine on the desk. …what the? The heading reads. "The Continued Corruption of Our Nations's Youth: Rampant Sexuality in 'G' High" …girls having sex. Oh noes. …though…that article is obviously bullshit.
"Huh…?" Saori's confused expression pretty much confirms it.
"This is your picture, isn't it?" …huh. Ekoda's right. The girl in the photo has black bar over her eyes but she does look like Saori. But knowing Saori, she let someone take her picture and didn't even know what they were going to do with it. I sigh heavily. The name's also been changed to "Shiori Nagatani." …ugh. "I'm not even going to go into the filth in this article. Some brainless journalist must have talked to you." Journalist my ass. I skim through the article wondering what could be so bad. Apparently this "Shiori Nagatani" is talking about the "nightly activities" all the girls participate in. …this is the big deal? Granted I don't care much for the material myself but there's no solid proof anything in this magazine is true. It most likely is a bunch of bullshit. And even if it was true, Saori herself wouldn't have time do such things. Hell she can't even go out with me to Duck Duck Burger!
"I…never…" Saori can't even defend herself against Mr. Ekoda's ranting.
"Another student from this school brought this to my attention, saying "my school's reputation is ruined!" She also made a report on you:" he takes out a notepad and reads what's on it ""Hasegawa-san makes sexual advances towards male classmates, uses vulgar language behind our backs…and she never interacts with us because she thinks she's superior to the rest of the students,"."
Saori's struck dumb by the accusations. …Ekoda's a goddamn idiot. I actually wish Mitsuru was here right now. This pathetic sniveling excuse for a teacher…
"In other words, your reputation is terrible. I'm not surprised you'd stoop to doing something like this."
But all of that's bullshit. I open my mouth but Saori places a hand on my arm. She looks so sad…
"I don't know about your "nightly activities," but you can't go around causing your school trouble like this. This affects not only you, but your guardians and the people around you as well. …Anyway, it's been decided that you're going to be suspended." What? My jaw drops and Saori says nothing. Is she not going to defend herself against this at all? I bite my lip hard to keep myself from saying anything. "Do you understand?"
"I…" she stammers oh that's enough.
"Those are blatant lies!" Surely Ekoda realizes this?
"Zip it, Arisato." Oh you jackass! "The important thing here is how this article reached the general public." …his holier than thou attitude makes me want to punch him. "You think you can change that? Hm?" I think I can rearrange your face! I suck my teeth. "We have to make an example for the other students and their parents. There must be punishment." For a crime that wasn't committed? What kind of bullshit-! "Your parents told us to be careful about you…" what? "Now I see why." How could Saori's parents say such a thing? "…You have such wonderful parents, Hasegawa. Why are you doing this to them?" Saori's looks even sadder with this. …and she still hasn't said a word to defend herself. With that she turns and with her hand still on my wrist gently tugs me along. She walks so slowly and releases my wrist at the front gate.
"I'm…sorry for dragging you into that Minako-chan." she looks away. "If you stay near me, you're going to lose any reputation you had." That doesn't matter! Besides I already have people calling me skank behind my back! I could care less what they think of me. Though…I wonder why Ekoda didn't bring that up. Probably because Akihiko and Junpei could easily put that rumor to rest. I sigh heavily.
"Look. I could care less about that sort of thing. Are you okay?"
She smiles at me. "Thank you…" she's trembling. "I…think I'll be fine." …damn Ekoda. "That article's a lie…"
"That much is obvious." I can't help but snap glaring towards the school gates. "I wouldn't be surprised if it was that stupid twit."
She looks at me in shock. "Stupid twit?"
"The one who came in screaming about her boyfriend."
"Ah…you mean Takaoka-kun's girlfriend."
I nod stiffly. Yeah…that bitch. Hell it was probably Takaoka himself.
"…I did let a photographer take a picture of me though…he said it was for an article about the straightedge lifestyle in today's high school students…he wanted a shot with me in my uniform." she sighs. "Look what 4000 yen got me into…"
"How did you meet him?"
"A girl in my class asked if I'd be willing to do an easy job…I didn't really want to do it, but I didn't care…" she smiles a bit. "…Maybe I just wanted to help her out. Maybe…I just wanted a friend." she laughs but it's a sad laugh. "I really am older than everyone now…when I was younger, everyone said that I was more mature than the kids around me and wouldn't have young friends…but adults were kind and treated me well…but everything…was a lie. Everything…like when they said things like "I love you…"." she smiles but it's another of her painful smiles and I can see tears shining in her eyes. "I acted just how the adults around me wanted me to act. All I had to do was smile and stay quiet. As long as I did that, they'd call me cute and be happy with me. It's too late now…I don't know how to stand on my own anymore. I'm too scared…"
"I'm here. You can depend on me Saori-kun." I know I should probably encourage her to stand on her own two feet right now but…I can't help but feel protective of her. She's just so…defenseless.
"Minako-chan…" her lips are trembling. I think I understand her a bit more…my inner strength has increased. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess…I…I know I shouldn't be feeling this way, but part of me is happy and thankful that you were with me…" she gives me a small but genuine smile at this. "I probably…wouldn't be able to endure this myself…" I walk her home, we walk side by side the whole way in a companionable silence. After watching her go into her home safely I head back to the dorm. It's already evening by the time I make it back.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"…Oh, hey." Yukari greets me when I come in.
"Hey Yukari." I'm exhausted not physically but emotionally. And so help me if I ever get the opportunity to tear one into Ekoda I'm taking it. I sneeze Shinjiro looks me over.
"You're sick?" I nod. He sighs shaking his head. "Stay there." Hm? He walks upstairs probably to his room. It doesn't take him long to come back. "Here. Take this." He drops some tablets in my hand. "You'll feel better in the morning."
"Thanks Shinjiro-senpai." I sniffle a little and he walks away. Huh. That was awfully nice of him. Maybe Yukari's right and he's a big ol' softie inside. Taking the medicine I head upstairs. I suppose Aeon must be in his room…doing whatever it is he does.
9/9/09
Huh. Those pills worked great. I feel fine now.
Gekkoukan High School, Front Gate…
"S'um Minako." Junpei greets me as I'm walking up to the school. "Sorry I haven't been around…but, you know, I can't just leave her alone…don't ask me why…"
"Take care of yourself."
"Yeah…thanks." with that the two of us head to class.
At lunch Hidetoshi approaches me and asks if I'm coming to Student Council.
"Uh…yeah." I have nothing else to do today. He gives me a small pleased smile before nodding and walking away.
After school I head straight for the Student Council Room…
Gekkoukan High School, Student Council Room…
Hidetoshi made a presentation and asked me to help. It wasn't difficult so we did it together.
"So that's my review on the proper way to wear one's uniform. Please keep these things in mind. I'm not trying to force everyone to change the way they dress; I would like to hear your opinions."
"Hey, did Hidetoshi just say he wanted to hear our opinions?"
"Before, he didn't care WHAT we thought."
"Well…at least he's trying."
Several council members are whispering to each other. Afterwards everyone leaves with the exception of Hidetoshi and I.
"Thanks, Minako-kun. I couldn't have done it without you. Um…How'd I do?"
"I'd say you did pretty well."
He smiles brightly at this. "If you say so…Anyway, it's a big weight off my shoulders." He blushes at this. "I may have given people the impression that I'm selfish, but I'll win back their trust. Look at this." he reaches in his pocket and takes out a lighter. "You know that cigarette butt in the bathroom? One of the guys fessed up. And you know what else? He promised me that he'll never smoke again. This lighter is proof of that. I earned his trust by showing concern for others, just like you taught me. Here, I want you to have this." He takes my hand and gently places the lighter in it.
"Thanks."
"Thank you. I've been looking down on people. But that caused friction with everyone, and dragged in someone dear to me…it really hit me, when I was persuading the lighter's owner, how important it was to make an effort to understand…I learned that technique from you…as you employed it upon me." …I think…he's taught me several things as well. He's still a bit embarrassed but I smile warmly at him. He helped me in ways he'll never know…giving me a new perspective as well as strength.
Thou art I…
And I am Thou…
Thou established a genuine bond…
The innermost power of the Emperor Arcana has been set free
We bestow upon thee the ability to create Odin, the ultimate form of the Emperor Arcana…
Wait what? Odin? Ultimate form? I feel a strange warmth in my heart.
[Odin is a part of you. As much as I am. Your bond with Hidetoshi allows you to connect with Odin.]
Why now? Why not before?
[Because before your bond wasn't strong enough. Now the bond the two of you share is eternal and shall never fade away.]
It's odd…but…I understand.
I look up smiling at Hidetoshi. An unbreakable bond between the two of us huh?
"…Do you remember the story I told you? About the TV anchorwoman…?"
"The one with the man accused of perjury?"
Hidetoshi nods. "The man sent to prison was my father…I see now that sincerity IS important, and I'm proud of myself for learning its true meaning. I also realized what an amazing man my father is…One day…One day, will I be able to stand by your side…?" He murmurs the last bit but I still catch it. And yet…I'm not so embarrassed this time. He looks at me intently before speaking. "…It's time to go home. You wanna go somewhere? You know, we've never hung out outside of school."
"Sure! Let's go get something to eat."
He laughs. I guess he's as excited about this as I am. The two of us head to Duck Duck Burger.
Duck Duck Burger…
Hidetoshi watches me eat in astonishment. Though instead of saying anything he merely shakes his head with a small chuckle.
"Do you like this kind of food? We could go somewhere else if you like." I took a momentary pause in my eating to address him.
"It's fine Minako-kun. Just being here is nice."
I nod and go back to eating.
He talks to me while I eat mostly about his plans for the future and how he hopes to win everyone's trust. I support his efforts and offer some suggestions. The warmth inside me is strong and steady.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"..Hey. How long have we been holding that Chidori girl…?"
"Around…four days I think."
"…Oh, yeah? …You feelin' better?"
I nod smiling. I feel fine. I feel a strange warmth inside me now. It tingles a bit.
"Shinjiro-senpai. Do you want to get a bit to eat?" I pretty much owe him for the medicine. I feel so much better now.
"Sure. I don't mind." Despite his rather aloof attitude I could swear I saw a small smile.
Iwatodai strip mall, Wakatusu Restaurant…
He said he didn't care where we ate, so I brought him here. The last place we went was Hagakure and I had just come from Duck Duck Burger with Hidetoshi so…
"You eat here often?"
"Just once in a while." Duck Duck Burger is my favorite haunt.
"I see…it's be better if Aki ate here, too." He looks away with a slight sigh. "That guy isn't getting a balanced intake of nutrients." What is he his mother? "Oh, yeah…about Aki…in your opinion, do you think he's fighting well?" Given the large amount of times Akihiko's saved my life? Yeah. I'd say he was doing pretty well.
"Yeah."
"I see. All right, then. You understand a lot more about fighting than me, after all." Is that sarcasm? …no. He's being serious. But…surely he realizes how much stronger he is than I am!
"But…"
"I rely mostly on brute force to pummel my enemies down, I saw you in action. You use the multiple Personas you have to your advantage." He smiles a bit. "Brute strength isn't everything."
It's odd…to hear him say that. Even if it is true.
"You're quite skilled. I must admit I was impressed when I first saw you in action." He nods at this "…I'll leave it up to you. …Sorry, I know you're the leader, and I keep stickin' my nose in. It's not that I don't approve of you…That's just how I am. Aki and Mitsuru both seem to be more comfortable fighting than when I was around. Back then, we were just fumbling our way through…But your powers look like they're helping out a lot, too."
"Well…I do try."
He gives me another of his smiles. "Don't strain yourself too much. You're gonna have to face a lot of things soon…" his laugh is sad…reminds me of one of Saori's laughs. Though…I think I understand him a bit more…and once again my inner strength increases. "…Eat up. It's gonna get cold." he looks at the food with a worried expression. "Is everyone eating a well-balanced meal like this…?" …he's like a mom. I chuckle a bit and he looks a bit embarrassed.
"We should get going…it's close to closing time."
Oh yeah. Try changing the subject. We finish the meal in silence and walk back to the dorm together.
9/10/09
After School
Aeon looks me over after class.
"Minako-chan looks better than usual."
"Hm? Oh. I feel better." What else could I say to Aeon.
"That is good…does Minako-chan mind if I walk her back to the dorm?" He wants to walk me back to the dorm? What for?
"Uh…I was planning on meeting Fuuka today…"
Aeon just smiles at me. "I do not mind waiting for Minako-chan."
Okay then… "I won't be gone too long." He simply nods. "You don't mind waiting by the gates do you?"
"No. I will be waiting for you at the front gates Minako-chan." he walks off with that.
Wondering why he'd want to walk with me I head to the home economics room…
Gekkoukan High School, home economics room…
"What should we try today, Minako-chan? I've brought a new cookbook today…" She's brought a cookbook filled with sweets. I look through the book, the only thing we can afford to make mistakes on would be cupcakes.
"Let's make some cupcakes Fuuka." I mean…she can't screw that up too badly…can she?
"D-Do you think I can making something that difficult…?"
"We'll make it together."
"O-Okay, I'll try my best not to get in your way!" …and that's totally not what I meant. "Let's do this. Let me know if I do something wrong. Um…First I need to sift the flour, right?" she starts dumping sugar into the sifter.
"…uh…that's sugar Fuuka."
"Huh?" she actually looks at what she's holding. "…Oh, you're right. It was white, so I thought it was flour…Th-Thanks for stopping me. Um, I sift it into the bowl and then mix butter in…should I use my hands to mix it in? I know that you use your hands when making hamburger patties." …and how are cupcakes and hamburgers remotely similar? I sigh. "No. Use a whisk."
"Oh, yeah…I-I see. It would stick to my hands if I did that, huh." we have some leftover bananas so I go ahead and mix them in, afterwards I pour the batter into the cups. …Now all that's left is baking them.
Huh. They came out perfect.
"I'm surprised that you were able to improvise like that…" please do not do the same Fuuka. We you follow the recipe bad things tend to happen. I don't want to know what'll happen if you improvise. "Whenever I try that…"
"Let's try them!"
"Oh…yeah, you're right…thanks, Minako-chan." she takes a bite of one before giggling. "They're delicious. I'm so happy that I was able to make something so difficult. …It's all thanks to you, Minako-chan." with her thanks I feel our bonds strengthen…as well as my inner strength. "I'm going to take my share home and enjoy them later. I don't want to enjoy them all at once…I wish they'd last forever. With that Fuuka and I split up and I head for the school gates.
"Minako. There you are." Aeon is surrounded by a group of giggling and blushing girls. As soon as he smiles at me they scowl, giving me a bunch of dirty looks.
"Isn't she the one who constantly hangs around that girl Saori Hasegawa?"
"Isn't Hasegawa like, the one that sleeps around with guys?"
"I wouldn't be surprised if she did the same thing."
My eye twitches but Aeon grabs my hand tightly. It's cold and hard but there's something comforting about it as he grips it. We leave the school together silently.
"I do not understand the hostility generated for those girls towards Minako-chan…"
"It's stupidity." I snap.
"So…Minako is not pleased by said reactions." Huh. We're alone then? I shake my head.
"No. They're just being stupid. They think that the two of us are dating."
"Dating?"
"…You've gots to be joking. How could you not know what dating is?"
"I was created to be a weapon. Unless dating, refers to some fighting method I have not heard of my creators more than likely believed the information to be useless to me."
"Well…dating is…when you go out with someone."
"Then…Minako and I are dating?"
"NO!" Aeon blinks at my loud outburst. "Uh…I mean…" Aeon simply stares at me. "Dating…is what you do with someone you like."
"So Minako does not like me?"
"I like you but-"
"Then why wouldn't you and I be dating?"
…I really don't know how to explain this… "Um…dating is what you do with…someone…you like in a more…intimate." I really don't know another word to use. "fashion."
"Intimate? As in mating?" …
"Yeah." I really don't want to explain this anymore.
"I understand."
"I do like you though Aeon." he turns to me. "As a friend I mean. You like me too don't you?"
Aeon nods. "I wish to always be by your side. To protect you. I assume such things are similar to liking yes?"
"Yeah." I think…
"So…would Junpei and Chidori be considered "dating". I listened in on one of their exchanges-"
"You shouldn't do things like that Aeon!" He eavesdropped on them?
Aeon simply shrugs. "It was nothing of importance anyway. They did not talk about Strega, merely each other and of Chidori's self-mutilation issues. Most of the time was spent with Junpei simply being near here. What was the purpose in that?"
I smile a little. "Junpei likes her."
Aeon blinks. "Likes? He desires to be companions with our enemy?"
"The other like."
"He desires to mate with her?" I still for a moment. Aeon can be so damn blunt.
"Uh…sure you could say that." …I really hope this doesn't reach Junpei.
"So his daily visits are a courtship?"
"Yeah."
"Ah….I understand now." Aeon nods in satisfaction. "Do you believe she desires to mate with Junpei?"
…I never should have brought it up. "I don't know. Maybe."
"I see…" Aeon stops and looks at Duck Duck Burger huh. I hadn't even noticed we had walked this far. "This is one of Minako's favorite places to eat no?"
"Uh…yeah."
"Would you like to go inside?" …can he even eat?
"You can eat?"
"Of course. Why would I not?"
….Okay then. "Sure. Let's go."
Iwatodai Strip Mall, Duck Duck Burger…
The place is packed so the two of us end up practically squished together at a small table. Unsurprisingly Aeon does not seem to mind.
He didn't eat as much as he watched me eat with an unnerving stare.
"Uh…Aeon."
"Hm?"
"You…realize you're staring at me right?"
"Minako-chan is very interesting to look at. She has interesting facial expressions when she eats."
I do? I feel my cheeks burning. Aeon smiles "And yet again…you've shown me one of your interesting expressions."
"Well…cut it out! The staring is creepy!"
"Minako-chan does not like it when I watch her?"
"No. I don't." I answer quickly. He frowns at this.
"Very well. I shall try to amend my observations of Minako-chan's expressions from now on." Huh? Is he…sad about that? …No way. He's a robot for crying out loud.
"I don't mind it so much Aeon…but…could you lessen it a little." There a compromise. Surely he could agree to that. His expression brightens.
"Ah. I could do that for Minako-chan. I shall cut my observations down to 50%."
With that I continue eating, granted he's still staring but I just let it slide.
When I'm done eating the two of us start heading for the dorm.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
My phone is ringing. With Aeon's piercing gaze on me I answer. "Hello? This is Theodore. I sense intense power deep within Tartarus. It seems a path that was blocked is now open…please be careful. Have a nice day." …why the hell is he always so cheerful after telling me another gate of hell's opened up? I end the call shaking my head as I close my cell.
"Is something wrong Minako?"
"Uh…it's nothing."
Aeon obviously doesn't believe me but he doesn't push the matter further.
"Welcome back." Mitsuru greets me when I come in "…I will allow Iori to take care of that girl for the time being. It's not the right time to be bombarding her with questions. Besides, we still have three Shadows to contend with. We should be able to accomplish that within the next few months, unless the situation changes. Don't let your guard down until the very end." with that said Mitsuru turns back to her book.
Aeon turns to me. "…Thank you."
"Huh? What for?"
"You have taught me something valuable today."
"Okay…" Aeon can be downright weird sometimes. Granted that should be a given considering he's a robot but…with that Aeon sits on one of the lounge chairs and adopts that thoughtful expression. I guess he's searching his databases for something. Or maybe updating them…
"Hey…Ken?" He's standing by himself again. "Do you want to go out for a bite?"
He nods eagerly and catches himself before mumbling. "Y-yes."
Iwatodai strip mall, Wakatusu Restaurant…
Once again we managed to get in just before closing time. We've got to start coming here earlier.
Ken orders a meal I'm not too sure what he ordered I was too busy mulling over Aeon's strange behavior earlier.
"Thanks for the food." Oh. It was sweet-and-sour pork. Amusingly enough he pushes the bell peppers away from the meat and doesn't eat them.
"You gonna eat those?" I point to the bell peppers. Heck. I'll eat them if he won't.
"…You like this? But, it's so bitter." He looks disgusted before we lapse into an uncomfortable silence.
"How's school…" I have to get him to talk somehow.
"Um…It's okay. I do all right on my tests, and I have people to talk to…It's nothing out of the ordinary." He shrugs indifferently. I could see why he might feel that way though. Compared to the Dark Hour and Tartarus everything else feels so damn ordinary. "Do you watch TV?" Granted he probably does. He's in his room all the time.
"I watch the news, at least." What is he an old man? "Everything else is so boring. The guys at school seem to like things like Featherman R, though. …It's an action program." he smiles at this. "Last week, Hawk snuck into the enemy base and planted a missile guidance system…" he practically beams with excitement and starts speaking faster "but, the launch switch feel into enemy hands, so Swan proposed a battle of riddles…Uhh, um…that's just what I heard happened." Ken…you can't lie to save your life. "I-I kind of…like action stuff. …The movie was fun to watch." Oh. He's talking about the hero movies that we went to see together. He falls quiet before starting to eat again. After a while he looks up at me. "…Do you watch any TV shows, Minako-san?" Yeah. I watch anything with a good enough plot.
"Yeah. I like action shows too." …Well I like original Gundam anyway.
He looks surprised at that. "Huh…? R-Really?" I nod. "B-But, you're an adult…and a girl…so…" heh. For all that he likes to act grown up he's still a kid inside. "…Oh, it's going to get cold." he starts eating again. Oddly enough I feel stronger inside. …that wasn't much of an exchange was it? "…Can I leave the bell peppers?" he looks at them with a sigh.
"Just give them to me. I'll eat them."
Giving me an odd look he gives me the bell peppers. When we finish our meal the two of us head back for the dorm.
9/11/09
Gekkoukan High School, Front Gate…
Yukari greets me today. "Mornin'. Hey, Minako…I wonder why Shinjiro-senpai came back so suddenly…"
"I wonder that myself." All I know is that it has something to do with Ken. But what exactly?
"He's kinda scary, if you ask me…"
"Huh? I thought you said he was nice when he helped us before?"
"Well…he is but…I don't know…something about him. It doesn't seem like he came to SEES just cuz he likes to fight. But I think he has his own reasons for joining."
"Didn't we all?" Well…most of us anyway.
"Yeah…"
The bell rings then and the two of us head for class. After school I head for the home economics room.
Gekkoukan High School, Home Economics Room…
When I enter the room Bebe's already working on something. He looks up and spots me waving happily. "Minako-samaaa! I'ave come up wiz a great idea to show Japan's charm to my uncle! I will show 'im a kimono, and make 'im understand the beauty of Nihon!"
"It'll work." I hope.
"Since you agree, Minako-sama. I'ave nozing to be afraid of! Ze kimono eez a Japanese treasure! If I show it to my uncle, he will surely let me stay in Nihon. Ze design will be…roses." Roses? Of all things? "I zought of zis design because…Minako-sama's eyes remind me of zem!" …Oh. Okay. I smile at his words I feel my inner strength increase. "I am no longer confused! I will 'urry up and make ze kimono! I will sew like ze wind!" with that he starts working on it. …he said I should start with a scarf right? I take the instruction manual out of my book bag and get to work. …damn this isn't as easy as I thought it would be…this'll take a while. The two of us spend the rest of the day working in silence. Afterwards I headed directly to the dorm.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"…Hi, how was your day?" Fuuka greets me when I walk in.
"It was fine. Yours?"
She smiles. "I had fun."
I walk over to Shinjiro who's standing by the kitchen. "Uh…want to go out to eat?" I always feel like a dork when I'm asking him something.
"Sure. You don't mind if I pick the place right?"
"No problem."
Iwatodai strip mall, Wakatusu Restaurant…
So this is where he wanted to come. He orders some healthy looking meal for me. I poke at with a pout. I like vegetables and all but…
"This crossed my mind the last time we ate here…those guys eat on their own, right? Well…are they doing okay?"
"What do you mean by "okay"…?"
"Your body's your most important tool. Still, all those guys ever eat is instant noodles and stuff like that." Well…all I ever eat is cheeseburgers so I'm the last person to ask about healthy food choices. Shinjiro sighs. "…Well, Persona is supposedly the "strength of the heart…" So, I guess it might be better if they eat what makes them happy. But…
"You're like someone's mom…worrying about if we get all our nutrients." I grin at him.
"Huh? …I already told you, that's just how I am." I chuckle. He's a bit embarrassed but still…he admits to being Team Mom. HA! "If you get the chance, let them know. Tell 'em they need to eat better. …That includes you too." …damn it. "They won't listen if it comes from me. Especially Aki…" I nod with that I feel my inner strength increase. "…You are gonna eat those vegetables, right?" …He stares me down until I shove them in mouth. After we're done eating he stands.
"I don't want to keep you out too late. Let's get going."
I nod and follow him back to the dorm.
9/12/09
Early Morning, Bedroom…
My phone is ringing. It has to be Theo. He's the only one who would call me this early in the morning. "Good morning. This is Theodore." and there it goes. "A lone human has found its way into Tartarus. I suggest you make haste in performing your rescue operation." Make haste? "Particularly given that this human is an acquaintance of yours…" What? "Goodbye now." I feel myself pale. Who could it be? I check around the school but everyone's there…I then head to Naganaki Shrine to make sure Maiko's okay…she's fine too…then…I head to Bookworms I notice the store is closed and the inside is deadly quiet. …One of them? Quickly I head back to Naganaki Shrine. I decide to spend some time with Maiko to get it off my mind.
Naganaki Shrine…
We play for a while. Granted I'm rather disheartened but I make sure not to let Maiko notice.
"Hey! Let's go get some takoyaki!"
"Sure Maiko." with that we head for Octopia.
Iwatodai Strip Mall, Takoyaki Stand "Octopia"…
The two of us sit on the bench in front of the stand. Maiko's silent as she eats but she pauses looking up at me. "I made my decision..." about which parent she's going to live with? "I'm going to live with Mom. …She can't cook or clean or do anything without me." I sincerely hope that isn't true. "She needs my help! I don't have to worry about Dad…even without me around, I think Dad will be okay on his own." she forces a smile. "…So, Mom and I are gonna move pretty soon. …Sorry."
"That's not your fault Maiko…"
She doesn't look any happier with my attempts at reassurance. "We'll still be friends though, right?"
I smile down at her. "You'll always be like a little sister to me."
She brightens at that. "You really think of me as your little sister? I hope you always do." she's tearing up…but I think those are tears of joy. "You can't ever forget about me. Promise, okay?" she holds out her pinky finger so I go ahead and pinky swear.
"I promise to never forget about you Maiko." as she smiles up at me I feel stronger inside. "…I need to get ready to move, so I'm going home now. I'll see you later…" Maiko goes ahead and leaves. I headed to Paulownia Mall and played the Quiz game until dark.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"Hello." Aeon greets me when I walk in. There's plenty of time until the Dark Hour so I walk up to Fuuka she's in the kitchen making something. I look over at whatever she's managed to ruin before speaking.
"Fuuka? Could you tell everyone to prepare to go to Tartarus? Shinjiro and I will meet you guys there."
"Oh. Okay." with that I walk over to Shinjiro. She's completely focused on whatever she's making. I hope she doesn't burn anything down.
"Uh you mind going to get something to eat?"
"Sure. Well then, let's…? Do you smell something?" I sniff the air. Smells like…something's burning. I look over at where Fuuka's cooking and sigh. Already?
Shinjiro looks over at the direction I'm looking in. He walks over and sees Fuuka cooking. "Hey…are you causing this smell, Fuuka?"
"Huh? Does it smell?" She looks shocked. …Does she have a cold or something? Shinjiro looks at her for a moment before sighing. "What're you doing?"
"Um…I was trying to make beef stroganoff…"
Shinjiro looks over at Fuuka's charred remains. "What about the roux?" Hm? He can cook?
"Oh, I didn't use any!" Why is she so proud about it? "I made it from scratch with flour…"
"Don't start acting all proud after you've burned it…" Shinjiro sighs.
"Oh, you're right. This is burnt…what should I do…?"
Shinjiro looks over Fuuka's ruined beef stroganoff again. "You got any of those ingredients left?"
"Oh, yes. I bought extra everything…"
"…I'll make it. Watch and learn. Arisato…You okay if we have this for dinner?"
"If it tastes good…"
He laughs. "Just watch."
"I-I'm sorry, Minako-chan. Weren't you going to go out with Shinjiro-senpai…?"
I shrug. "It's not that big of a deal Fuuka." Though I can't help but wonder why Fuuka admits food is ruined when she tries to go outside the recipe and then proceed to do it.
"Hey, let's get started." Shinjiro starts preparing the food. …He's good.
"Oh, yes! Please!" I might as well watch. I didn't know Shinjiro could cook.
"How much oil did you use?"
"I didn't use any. I thought it would be healthier that way…"
"…How much red wine did you put in?"
"I don't know. I poured it form the bottle until it looked like enough…" I sighed. That is such a Fuuka thing to do.
"…How long did you pour it, then?"
"Um…two or three seconds."
Shinjiro just looks flabbergasted for a moment he looks over at the meat frowning. "This meat's pretty fatty."
"Oh, yes. I asked the butcher for the best he had."
Shinjiro sighs heavily. "There's so much wrong here, I don't know where to begin…"
"Huh?"
"Don't start messing around with recipes until you've improved your basic cooking skills. Seriously…Don't you feel bad at all for charring all this food?"
"…I'm sorry."
"Now listen up. Prepare everything beforehand. Chop everything that needs to be chopped. Measure out all your seasonings, too. That way, you won't panic while everything's cooking."
"Y-Yes. Um, memo, memo…"
Shinjiro begins cutting up ingredients while Fuuka just writes everything down. "Gotta cook the onions at low heat. They'll taste better if they're cooked until they just start to get burned." How he can lecture her and prepare the food so quickly at the same time is impressive.
"Umm, "Onions need to be…"." she's writing it down in a notepad.
"Put that notepad down and watch me." Fuuka awkwardly places her notepad on the table before turning to Shinjiro. "Here's the meat. When you put it in…" I stop listening at that point and just watch him. His movements are all precise and he knows exactly what he's doing. I can't help but be amazed. It doesn't take him too long before he's done either.
…The food looks perfect. Fuuka may praise my cooking skills but all of my food tends to have flaws but this…this is perfect.
"Wow, it looks so delicious."
"…Just shut it and eat up before it gets cold."
"Chow time!" I eagerly take a portion and dig it. …Oh…I didn't think it was possible but the food is better than it looks.
"…Y-Yeah…" he watches me scarf it down in embarrassment. Though embarrassment for who I can't tell.
"I guess looks are deceiving…"
"You talking about me? Can't you just say something like "Hey, this tastes, great, thanks!"?" he sounds annoyed but he looks a little embarrassed.
"I didn't say it doesn't!" I continue eating.
"You're amazing, Shinjiro-senpai…" Fuuka looks at the meal he made in surprise. She takes a swift bite and her eyes widen.
"I mean, anyone could do something like…"
"No, they can't!" Fuuka shakes her head. She's right. If anyone could cook like this we wouldn't need chefs. "Please, teach me again! Promise!" Shinjiro looks a little stunned at her enthusiasm. I continue eating…Aw…there's not much left. I savor the last remaining bites. With that I stand and start taking the dishes to the sink. Considering I ate most of the food the least I could do is wash the dishes.
"No! Minako-chan, let me do that!"
"…I really don't mind Fuuka-"
She shakes her head and takes the dishes out of my hands. …Okay then with that I head over to the lounge it's almost midnight anyway. I sit on the one of the nearby chairs and Shinjiro follows me. He sighs " "Please teach me again…" Huh. Looks like she made me promise without letting me say anything…" he doesn't sound bitter at all though. Just resigned. "Well…I guess I'll make something again later."
"You should make enough for everybody next time." I'm not going to ask him to make me another meal. …no matter how much I really want one.
"You mean, treat them all to a dinner? That's kind of pushing it…" he quiets for a moment. Probably mulling it over. "Well, you got a point. Maybe it'll be okay to do once in a while…" he smiles again. Seeing as he put up practically no resistance I guess he doesn't mind as much as he pretends. "Well, we'll talk about that some other time. I'm gonna go check up on Fuuka…" It's just washing dishes. She can't possibly- There's the sound of dishes shattering.
"…Too late." Shinjiro sighs
"We should probably help her before she breaks something else." with that the two of us walk over and finish cleaning the kitchen.
"Okay…so we're heading to Tartarus now right?"
Fuuka nods. "I already told everyone."
With that we head to Tartarus.
Tartarus…
I take Akihiko, Ken, and Shinjiro with me. We find Bunkichi on the 120th floor. He's trembling probably scared by all he's seen.
"Bunkichi-san?"
Akihiko looks at me in shock. "You know this man?"
"He's the owner of the bookstore in the strip mall."
"Fuuka…We're ready to go."
"Alright!" with that we're warped back to the entrance.
"Junpei, Yukari. Do the two of you mind?"
The help Bunkichi back to the dorm. With that done I head back up the stairs into Tartarus. On the 122nd floor there was a trio of powerful Shadows. Figures. I head to the entrance to heal up before going on to attack them. We end up running into three large silver tanks. Huh. They look just like the ones we've fought getting here. They were weak to electricity were they not? I start off with a Magarula spell, just in case they were null to electricity. …and yup. Ken used an electric ability and they weren't effected at all. They used some spell that made me feel weaker as well. Akihiko healed Ken while Shinjiro started wailing on the Shadows. I use Matarunda a spell that lowers all enemies' attack. I switched to Samuel and used Megido a powerful spell. Ken manages to finish off the first tank but the second one attacks him nearly crippling him. I use Masukunda which slows the enemies down. Ken heals himself and then Akihiko ugh. What a pain. We manage to finish off a second one leaving one…damn that thing used that stupid weakening spell again! Shinjiro lands a critical hit on it and we finish it off with an all out attack.
"So…those were the types of Shadows you were talking about?" Shinji walks up to me after the battle.
"Yeah. They're a pain."
There's three giant wheels where the Shadows were. We somehow manage to fit them in the bag and with that we're off. On our way upstairs we find another suitcase though this one contains two balms of life. With that done I head for the entrance and then the Velvet Room, once there I fuse Ganga and Orobas to create Saki Mitama of the Lovers Arcana. It is powered through my bond with Yukari. …It looks like a yellow comma with a smiley face. I then fuse Saki Mitama and Setanta to create Thoth. It's a monkey reading a book and is of the Hierophant Arcana so is strengthened by my bond with the old couple. With that done I head back to the dorm.
Bedroom, Dark Hour…
We hadn't been in Tartarus long so I simply changed and climbed into bed. I would shower in the morning. I hadn't even closed my eyes when I felt a familiar presence watching me. I sat up and saw Pharos smiling down at me, while sitting on my bed as usual.
"Hi…it's been a while. Three seasons have passed since we met. Time goes by so quickly, and many things change. Yet, some things will always remain the same…don't you agree?"
"Everything can change." At least…I hope so.
"Hmmm…if you say so, perhaps you're right. Talking with you has stirred up certain memories…" Memories of what? "…That tower, for instance. I've been thinking about it lately…I wonder…will our relationship stay the same…?" He looks pained as he says this. "Or, will it evolve…? …No matter what the future holds," he smiles down at me. "You and I will be friends. …That is for certain." He has a sad smile on his face…I can't help but be reminded of Saori's smile. I felt my inner strength increase as a result. "I'll come again. Until then, good night…" he once again brushes my hair back. "My dearest…" he vanishes as soon as he says that. …and that still hasn't gotten any less creepy.
9/13/09
I'll go see Akinari again today.
Naganaki Shrine…
Akinari looks a little surprised to see me, but not disappointed. He smiles brightly and offers me a seat. I take it.
"You're…not like the others."
"What do you mean?"
"I didn't expect to see you again. Usually, people don't come back." I hate to admit it but I didn't come back for purely autistic reasons either. I want to know about him… he gives me a sad smile at this. "Nobody treats me like a normal guy…not even my family. I can tell by how they look at me. The pity in their eyes is unmistakable." He sounds angry…not that I blame him. I wouldn't want pity either in his situation. "…I don't need their sympathy any more than I need their curiosity. I'm sorry, but…I don't expect anyone to pity me. Dying isn't so unusual, is it? What is there to gain by staying in this world for a long time, anyway?"
"I never gave my death any thought." I don't want to lie to him.
"…They say that necessity is the mother of our industrialized society. And yet, fire does not realize that it's burning away. Not exactly foolishness, but sad nonetheless." he shakes his head. I can't help but be silent as I sit beside him. His words echo in my mind and I mull over them. Had I been taking my life for granted? Was there a chance it could all be snatched away from me? "…Hey. Thanks for coming today. You don't seem like everyone else. I'm not sure I know how to describe it exactly, but…you don't look down on me the way everyone else does…" why would I? You're just a human being…maybe not in the best of situations but a human being nonetheless. As a result of his words I feel my inner strength increase. He starts coughing his body trembling from the force. I want to comfort him, but there's nothing I can do. "Damn it. What did I do to deserve this body?" He wheezes before he eventually calms down. I sit beside him quietly the whole time. "…I hope we can meet again." I nod I feel as though if I speak something fragile will be disturbed with one last look I turn and head back to the dorm.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"…Hey." Shinjiro greets me when I come in.
"Hi. Mitsuru?" I walk over to her.
"Yes Arisato."
"…Do you remember near the beginning of the year when you offered me sword lessons?" She nods. "Is that offer…still open?" I'm not too bad when it comes to speed and agility, nor power to be honest but frankly I could be better when it comes to using my weapon. "There's always room for improvement." indeed.
"Sure. I can make arrangements. Is there any time you'd prefer to have the lessons?"
"Uh…any time would be fine." With that Mitsuru nods.
"I should be able to give you an answer on Tuesday."
"Thanks Mitsuru-senpai." with that I head to Club Escapade. I should go see Mutatsu.
Paulownia Mall, Club Escapade…
"You're late. I was just about to leave." is the first thing he says to me. Huh? Leave? "You come here a lot too, huh?" I sit down next to him. "…Hey, are you alright, kid? You know, money-wise? High school kids don't have much money, do they? At least, I never gave much to my son."
Every single dime I get is wasted on buying weapons and armor. And those bastards never pitch in even though Mitsuru could afford to buy us an armory!
"It's not tough, but…" all my money down the tubes. Just thinking about it is depressing. The little bit of money I do have for myself usually ends up being taken by Theo whenever I want to get a specific Persona out of the Compendium.
"…What the hell kinda answer is that?" Well I can't exactly tell you I climb a tower of doom and find money in there now can I? "What're they teachin' you kids at school these days?" he shakes his head in disappointment. "Your roundabout way of talkin' gets on my nerves. Just say "yes" or "no"! …Now, gimme a straight answer…is there anything you want right now?"
"There is." what kind of question is that? Almost everyone has something they want.
"Hmph. I should've guessed." he has a bitter smile on his face. "Materialistic desire can lead to aspiration, but still…" this is coming from a monk that's smoking and drinking? "When you get to be my age…hmph, never mind. You work to make money so you can have a better life, but to make enough money you gotta work all the time…So you never get to enjoy that better life you're working so hard to have." Wasn't Tanaka complaining about that very same thing? "…Quite a paradox, isn't it? …Do you know what the average lifetime income of a white-collar worker is? …Including a retirement fund and an annual pension? 250000000 yen! Hmph, that's not even close to a lottery jackpot!" he smiles at me. "Thanks to me, you learned somethin' new today, eh, kid? Now, don't waste your time workin' all the time tryin' to get rich; just take life as it comes." with that I felt my inner strength increase.
I can't hold back a yawn. I'm getting tired.
"I worked my ass off for a lousy 250000000 yen! And for what? I wish I could buy back all the time I lost…" he looks over at me. "Kid…go home." I nod sleepily and leave.
9/14/09
After school I decide to head to cooking club. At least Fuuka learned something from Shinjiro so I can somewhat relax.
Gekkoukan High School, Home Economics Room…
"Hey, I decided what we're going to make today. Um…I-I don't want you to watch, so could you make something different?" She doesn't want me to watch? "I'm sure that you'll be able to make anything with your cooking skills, Minako-chan." with that I go ahead and start making some sweet fries.
Hm? Fuuka's working really hard on something…I start walking over to her.
"Done! Here, look, Minako-chan." She presents me with a rice ball. …I can't help but be reminded of the last time she tried to feed me rice balls. …granted it doesn't smell putrid but…I sigh and shove it in my mouth. …it's edible. For once. Actually…it tastes pretty good…
"H-How is it…?"
"This is pretty good Fuuka! You did well."
"Huh…? Oh, yeah. …Thanks." she smiles at my praise. "I thought that there would be no way I could mess up making a rice ball, so I did a lot of research." …I guess Fuuka forgot about the first time. That thing was as hard as a rock too. "The more I looked into things like what salt, seaweed to use, I got more and more into it…I got so excited when I was doing my research, and even more excited when I was making them now. …I think the most important thing is the feeling of wanting others to enjoy what you make…I think because of that, I was able to make this taste good. I wonder if this is what they mean when the say, "cooking requires love". …I'm so glad that you like it, Minako-chan." she laughs and as I feel our bond strength my inner strength increases. "I'll make something that's even better next time. All right, I'm gonna keep trying harder!" with that we clean up and head back to the dorm.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"…Hey." Shinjiro waves me over when I come in. "There's someplace I wanna go today. You wanna come along?"
"Where are we going?"
"…Paulownia Mall. C'mon let's go." Why Paulownia Mall? It doesn't take us long to get there and the first place he heads for is Chagall café.
Paulownia Mall, Chagall Café…
He wanted to come here? Maybe he's just in the mood for a cup of coffee.
"Uh…What do you want?" It's too late for coffee for me. If I drink it I'll be up all night. I learned that very quickly after working here.
"Give me a Melon soda."
"What are you, a kid…?" he laughs at this. "Okay. Give me a melon soda\ please." He's not getting anything for himself? Not long after the waiter leaves than does he start coughing harshly. Is he sick? He coughs for a while before eventually calming down. I watch him in mid concern. First Akinari, and now him. Is there really nothing I can do to help them?
"Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. It's not contagious or anything, so don't worry." But…that's not what I was worried about…he gives me a wryly smile. "…It happens once in a while. That's why I try not to come to these kinds of places that often."
…Is it some sort of disease? I decide to change the subject. "So…why are we here?"
"…I needed to buy something."he seems a bit embarrassed. "Ground coffee. I need to make sure I don't forget to buy some on the way out."
"What're you going to use it for?"
He blushes a bit at this. "It's for cooking." Cooking? "Hey, you're the one who brought it up." I guess he saw the question on my face. "You said that stuff about treating the guys from the dorm…"
"Hey you were the one who agreed!" I laugh at him.
"I-I know. You don't have to remind me. We'll do it once I decide on what I'm gonna serve." he smiles at this. "…Even if it tastes awful, you better be responsible and tell everyone it's great." he laughs.
"So…what are you making?"
"…You'll have to wait and see." I pout a little and demand he tells me but that doesn't help. He refuses to tell me.
"We should probably get going. They'll worry if you're out too late…" not to mention we'll walk head on into the Dark Hour. Granted I'm used to it but it's still a bit unnerving to walk around surrounded by coffins and blood. Before we leave he buys the ground coffee. As we're walking back to the dorm still discussing the party I feel our bond strengthen and my inner strength increase. As soon as I get back into the dorm I head to my room.
9/15/09
Gekkoukan High School, Front Gate…
"Hey, Minako." Oh. It's Akihiko. I wave hi to him as he walks over. "Three left, huh? And the next one won't come for another three weeks. Man, why can't they just come all at once?"
"We'd be dead." I deadpan. We would be dead. The first Shadows were fought with just Junpei, Yukari and I and we barely even worked together at the best of times back then. Or heck that night in the dorm. Akihiko's arm had been broken, Mitsuru was only one person no matter how good she was, the Chairman was completely useless, Yukari couldn't summon her Persona and I didn't even know what a Persona was.
"True….but, with more people now, it should be easier to defeat them. I can't wait for the next full moon." with that we go our separate ways towards class.
At lunch I'm surprised to see Saori walk up to me. "Hi…Minako-chan. …I really shouldn't be talking to you." I shake my head.
"Welcome back Saori." I give her a warm smile.
"…Thank you." she giggles. "That makes my day…I was planning to go to the committee today. I might just cause you trouble…but it's my job. I'll see you."
"I'll be there."
She smiles a real genuine smile before walking away. As she leaves I hear a few whispers and some looks being cast in my direction.
…I swear I'm going to punch someone really soon. I glare at the rumormongers and that's enough to silence them as I walk past.
Gekkoukan High, Library…
No one is going anywhere near Saori today. I look over at her and her head is down. …she has nothing to be ashamed off. …damn this is pissing me off!
"Don't let it get to you."
"Minako-chan…" she looks relieved but apparently some of the students spot me talking to her and are giving me odd looks Saori looks alarmed. …How many times do I have to tell her I don't care about what they say? "…You shouldn't be talking to me. If someone sees you…They'll get the wrong idea, like when we were both called to the faculty office together." …about that. I think the only reason Ekoda didn't try to pin such rumors on me is because Mitsuru was pissed off at him enough as it was. Being a member of Freaks Dorm has it's advantages. "…I don't want to get you involved." Far too late for that now.
"I don't care about that Saori."
"You should, though…but I'm glad to hear you say it. Um…I might be transferred to another school." I'm so shocked the book I was holding falls to the ground.
"When!"
"Once the paperwork is done…" she kneels down and picks up the book before handing it too me. "My parents said that I'm an ungrateful child and a shame to my family…" but…surely they let her explain herself? "…They're going to send me to a private school far away. That's…fine with me, but…I don't really like that I'm going to be separated from you…" she gives me another of her sad smiles. …and even as I feel such bitterness over the whole situation I feel my inner strength increase. "I need to start packing. Still, I don't really have much luggage to take along. Whenever I came back from overseas, my room would be empty…just like it is now. I…don't need anything." I bite y lip. …what could I say to that. I head back to the dorm wondering how I could help Saori the whole time. While I frankly wouldn't care about the rumors the same isn't true of Saori. I can tell it hurts her when people whisper about her in the halls, when they won't meet her eyes or start whispers every time she enters a room. Saori's not the type of person to just brush it off.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"….Hi, how was your day?" It was shitty Fuuka.
"Fine."
"I head that Chidori-san is starting to open up a little…however, she's still uncomfortable talking about Personas. It might take a while before she's ready."
"Oh well." Akihiko as usual is eating beef bowl. "We still have three Shadows to worry about, so I'll concentrate on that. They'll be sorry they ever set foot into this world."
"Ah. Arisato. About the lessons you requested." I turn to Mitsuru, "I have found a teacher willing to teach you on Sunday afternoons, Monday nights, and Thursday nights."
"That will be fine. Thank you."
"Your lessons will start on the first of October."
"Thanks." with that she nods and I walk upstairs passing by Koromaru though as I pass he lets out a small whimper. He wants to be walked?
"Alright. I'll walk you. Shinjiro…"
Shinjiro looks up at me. "Yeah?"
"Uh…do you want to come?" Maybe if I'm lucky I can get him to tell me what he's cooking.
"Sure." with that we head to Naganaki Shrine…
Naganaki Shrine…
Koromaru's prancing around. He's awfully excited today.
"Quit prancing around like that…you act like this is the first time I've ever taken you out on a walk." Shinjiro looks off into the distance. The sky looks violent… "I don't like the look of that weather…Seems like a storm's coming. …well, what happens, happens."
"You're rather nonchalant aren't you?"
Shinjiro just shrugs. "That's just how I am."
"I just hope the storm doesn't decide to hit when I'm outside." Though…knowing my luck…
He chuckles at this. "I'm sure you'll be fine. You're pretty damn tough after all."
Was that just a compliment? Before I can question it, Koromaru comes trotting back. Damn it Koromaru!
"That was fast. Had enough for tonight? …You used to live here, huh?" Koromaru does one of his yes barks. "Well, c'mon…let's go home." with that the three of us head back to the dorm.
9/16/09
During lunch Aeon sits next to me. "Minako-chan. I have heard that Yukari-san is going to be working at a maid café during the festival. She's going to be wearing a maid outfit…for some reason this made nearly all the male students cheer…is there a particular reason for this?"
"It's because they're a bunch of guys…"
"Hm?" Aeon clearly doesn't understand. "A…guy thing? Junpei said something similar but…"
"It's just a fetish."
"A fetish?" Oh…no…no…no, no, no. I am not going there.
"You're going to have to ask someone else Aeon."
"Minako-chan?" He tilts his head to the side in a perfect imitation of a confused puppy. "Why won't you explain it?"
I feel my cheeks burning. "I've…gotta go." and I flee from the classroom the only place I can think of where I can see Aeon a mile off would be the field.
Gekkoukan High School, field
Rio and I play by ourselves some more. "Be sure to keep yourself hydrated!" she's good. Granted thanks to my additional training with Akihiko I can keep up with her but barely.
"H-Hey there!" Oh. It's that boy from before…Kenji? I believe. He runs over to us.
"You again? What do you want now?"
"Umm….Huh? Are you the only guys here?"
"If there's anybody else here, they must be ghosts." Rio replies dryly.
"Would it kill you to stop being so sarcastic all the time? It really isn't cute at all." Then don't state the damn obvious. Kenji sighs in irritation.
"So, what are you looking for?" Rio looks somewhat bored.
"…Ms. Kanou." he brightens. "She's this club's advisor, right?" and she's rarely here.
"Yeah, but she's never here. She doesn't care…She doesn't even know the rules of the game."
"Well, a sophisticated woman like her wouldn't care much for children's games in any case." …is he an idiot? He does realize Tennis is a world wide- Oh forget it.
"Children's games…?" and there you go pushing Rio's berserk button. Moron.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Ack! Don't waste that pretty face of yours by getting all red like that."
"Y-You shouldn't say stuff if you didn't mean it!"
"But man, where could Ms. Kanou be? She wasn't in the faculty office, either…"
"…No idea. Do you know, Minako?" Why would I care where that air headed teacher was?
"She probably went home already."
"Really? You think so, too? Aw, maaaaan. I'm so bummed I could just fall over and die right here." Dramatic much?
"Why are you looking for her anyway?"
"I got the tickets that Ms. Kanou wanted…" he got her tickets? To what?
"You realize she's just using you right?"
"N-No way! Ms. Kanou's not that kind of person!" Ignorance is bliss I suppose. "She's so beautiful and mature and sweet that I can't help but-Oh." he blushes. …Way too much information.
"…Why do you like her?" Rio asks.
"…Huh? You're such a kid, Rio-san…Listen up, okay? It's got nothing to do with logic or reason…love is something that just happens whether you want it or not!"
"It just happens…?"
"But seriously, don't tell anybody about this, got it? I don't even want you and Minako-san talking about me! Okay?" Whatever. You're not my problem. He runs off.
"Love…it just happens to you?"
I shrug. "I don't know. I guess…judging by Kenji anyway that yeah it probably does."
"He doesn't make any sense at all…It'll never "just happen" to me…" she looks off in the direction that Kenji left in. Once again my inner strength increases. "…Let's get back to practice. C'mon we can't let someone like him get to us! I'll round up the balls." it doesn't take long for us to decide to call it quits. Since the sun was still up I decided to see if Bebe was still in the Home Economics Room…
Gekkoukan High School, Home Economics Room…
"Sewing iz my life. Even zough my wallet eez light and I can only buy cheap material…I will work 'ard to make ze best kimono, and save my future!" Bebe is working delicately but quickly on the kimono. I worked on my scarf as he did the kimono.
"Your scarf iz almost complete! Tanoshimi! I look forward to zat! But I, too am working 'ard to finish zis! Hmm…so far, so good, ne? Right?" I look over it. It's coming out pretty well. "When my uncle sees zis, I know he'll agree wiz me about how great Nihon eez!"
"When do you think you'll be finished?"
"It's far from being finished…so I'll work even 'arder!" with that the two of us continue working on our projects the only sound is the hum of sewing machines. After a long day Bebe nods. "I accomplished a lot today wiz your 'elp, Minako-sama! Arigatou! Zank you!" he's very grateful and with this gratefulness I feel my inner strength increase. "oooh…my arm eez very tired. It must be from working so 'ard…but, I will finish zis kimono no matter what! Yosh! I can't give up now!" the two of us work until the sun sets and go our separate ways.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
As soon as I enter the dorm I walk over to Shinjiro and wave.
"…okay then. Today's the day. You better not go anywhere, all right? Just be patient and wait about an hour. …Tell the other guys that, too."
"Make it good." I already know asking him what he's making it is a lost cause.
He chuckles. "Thanks for the vote of confidence. Sheesh…start looking forward to it." He heads toward the kitchen. "Fuuka!" Fuuka gets up from the lounge and walks over to the kitchen. I might as well watch them again.
"I've already got everything ready beforehand, like I taught you to do last time. You remember what to do from here?"
"Yes! Um…I need to put oil in the frying pan! That's right…Wait, what're you doing with the cooking wine? I said olive oil. It's over here."
"Umm, four tablespoons of oil…right?" Why is she holding a ladle?
"Put that ladle away! Haven't you ever seen a measuring spoon before?" He looks at her in astonishment.
"Ohhh…so that's what this thing is." I resist the urge to laugh. Shinjiro's going to have his hands full. Though…he's cooking whatever he's making for dinner while teaching Fuuka.
"Is it ready yet?" I know it isn't but I just want to tease him a bit. I'm sure to say it in a childish whine.
He smiles at me. "…Even Koromaru knows how to wait, doesn't he?"
"I-I'm sorry, Minako-chan. If only I was better at cooking…" huh? I'm not mad at her or anyone really…
"Just hush up and watch what you're doing. A piece of eggshell just fell in there." He actually noticed that?
"Huh? Oh, you're right. It's amazing that you noticed that, Senpai."
He sighs. "C'mon, I said to keep the egg white. Why is the yolk all by itself in the bowl?"
"Huh? When did that happen…?" By now whatever Shinjiro's starting to cook is starting to smell really good.
Junpei walks over to us. "Man, something smells good. …Huh? Is that you cooking, Fuuka?"
"H-He's teaching me right now!"
Koromaru trots over followed by Aeon.
"Koromaru seems to be anxious." watching us from the lounge everyone else comes over as well. With the exception of Ken. He's in his room as usual.
"Wow, that smells so good! It's making me all hungry…" Yukari walks over.
"So Shinji's cooking…will there be any leftovers?"
"Can't you tell?" Shinjiro keeps cooking. …I really wish he had just told me what he was making. The anticipation is driving me up a wall.
"…You're supposed to be a good friend and make larger servings when you cook in front of lots of people."
"You're supposed to not be an idiot. Look, there's obviously more than twelve servings here."
"Huh?" Junpei looks over at the stove and yeah…there's obviously more than enough food for all of us.
"Do you mean…?" Yukari looks over as well.
"Yeah there's enough for all of us."
"Shinji…!"
"Shut up and sitdown…"
Koromaru barks.
"He says that he's sitting already." Aeon supplies. I still don't understand how in the hell he speaks dog.
"So…what are you making Shinji?" I have already tried that tactic Akihiko.
"You'll have to wait and see." Shinjiro goes right back to cooking.
"Hey Aeon?"
"Yes Minako?"
"Do you have a sense of taste?" I'd wondered about that for a while.
At that question everyone at the table looks at Aeon curiously even Fuuka though Shinjiro quickly told her to pay attention to what she was doing.
"Of course. I was made to fully emulate a human being."
"For real?" Junpei looks stunned. "Wait…so you have a-"
"JUNPEI!" I snap. I already know where this conversation was going. "That is not necessary for us to know!"
Aeon looks between me and Junpei in confusion. "I do not understand…"
"It's better that you don't. Junpei's just a pervert."
"Pervert? It's a perfectly good question?"
"Why do you even care?"
"I'm just curious!"
"Would you all shut up!"
We sit there in silence for a few moments before Junpei turns to Aeon.
"Well do you?"
Shinjiro just sighs as the arguments starts right back up again.
I guess after we tested his patience he would yell at us to shut up again, not that we were for long. And he's still teaching Fuuka how to cook.
Two Hours later…
"Is…all of this for us?" Yukari stares at the food Shinjiro's sitting on the table. …It is a awfully large amount.
"Whoa…is this some kind of party?" Junpei looks over the spread as well. …I have to admit, Shinjiro went all out.
"Is Mitsuru-senpai in her room? I'll go get her!"
"Oh…and, Aki. Go get Ken, too. It's a little late, but he's probably still up…"
"…Got it." with that Akihiko and Fuuka go upstairs.
"I don't even know how to make even one of these dishes…" Junpei's still stuck in awe.
"on top of that, they're all made from scratch, too…"
"So…Shinjiro has performed a difficult endeavor?" Aeon eyes all of the food.
"Yeah…I'd say so." Yukari replies.
The tell tale sound of Mitsuru's boots come down the stairs. "What's the matter? Why are you all gathered together all of a sudden…?" Ken follows her along with Fuuka and Akihiko. She manages to see the food on the table. "What's…this all about? Did someone call a chef?"
"No need. We have one right here." I point to Shinjiro. Who looks a little embarrassed at my comment.
"…So…Shinjiro-san made this?" Ken looks at the food. …Why are the three of them so odd around one another?
"…Everyone, sit." I guess Shinjiro's gotten over his earlier embracement.
"Yessir!" Ah Junpei.
"Now, pick up your chopsticks…and dig in."
"Of course." Aeon picks up his chopsticks and starts eating.
"Thanks for the food!" Akihiko hasn't even finished speaking when I start digging in. I thought his earlier food was good…this is delicious…it's all delicious! Where did he learn to cook like this?
"Oh man, I'm in heaven…" Yukari sighs.
"This-This is a ticket to the delicious dimension." What? Trust Junpei to make absolutely no sense.
"…What does that even mean?" Mitsuru gives him a questioning look.
Akihiko eats to fast and ends up nearly chocking.
"H-Here's some water!" Fuuka quickly passes him a glass and Akihiko drinks it coking and sputtering.
"That's why you're supposed to chew your food Akihiko-senpai." I can't resist teasing him. He just keeps coughing. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine…"
Ken hasn't eaten anything at all. He's just stirring the food around at his plate staring at it. …Is he not hungry?
"…Huh? Aren't you going to eat, Ken-kun?" Fuuka turns to him.
"Oh…I-I'll have something. …Thanks for the food…" he mumbles.
"…Yeah." with that we kept talking through dinner.
"By the way, Minako mentioned something to me earlier…she said she would not explain." My eyes widen to the size of saucers. Oh he can't be serious- "What is a fetish?" There is dead silence for a couple of moments.
"A fetish?" Ken frowns. Oh god why?
"Uh…" Akihiko turns bright red.
"I don't think we should have this conversation with Ken at the table?"
"Why not?" Ken looks genuinely curious. Oh for the love of-
"…" there is dead silence.
"So…um…" need something to distract all of them. "I found these strange documents in Tartarus."
"Documents?" Mitsuru turns to me. For the first time I'm thankful I haven't read any of them yet.
"Yeah. Near the barricades."
"Have you read them already?"
I shake my head. "No. We should probably read them together. They seem to be notes though." I open up the bag of holding and take out the first one.
Mitsuru picks it up. "It's awfully short. …Is this!" She reads over all the documents I have and is silent for a long moment. "…they're documents about the experiment."
"What?" Yukari takes the notes from Mitsuru and begins reading them aloud. "The electricity's hooked up. But, why do they need so much? There's only a school on this island…" she places the first note down and picks up the second, "Weird….Kirijo's Ergo Research branch plans to build a lab on this island. I wonder what for…" she flips to the third "They built a research facility here; they want me to join the team, but I have a bad feeling…" she goes ahead to the fourth, "The team leader asked me himself…I was so surprised! It's the same man who once saved my life." she turns to the last one. "I wanted to be with him, so I joined. What a mistake…we shouldn't be experimenting with these 'Shadows'…"
There's complete silence for a long moment.
"So…who was these written by?"
"I have no clue." Mitsuru shakes her head. "I'm not even certain who the team leader was."
We mull over the documents contents in silence.
"So…you don't know what a fetish is Aeon?" …trust Junpei to bring it back to that!
Aeon frowns. "I shall find out eventually."
Junpei just smirks. Probably happy that he knows something Aeon doesn't. Urgh. Men. "Sure you will."
Aeon and Junpei have a mild will too will not argument.
"…I expect Junpei to have no maturity but I'm disappointed Aeon." I say lightly.
He freezes mid argument.
"Look…if you have to know what a fetish is I'll let you look it up on my computer. But warn me before you do. Last thing I want to do is look at the screen at the wrong time."
"Can I search too Minako-san."
"uh…sorry Ken. You're a bit too young."
"What? Don't treat me like a kid-!"
"You are a kid, Ken." I respond.
Thankfully the subject was changed to more pleasant and more appropriate for Ken things.
I ate until I felt ready to burst. Thankfully due to everyone helping cleaning up was a breeze.
Shinjiro and I are alone in the lounge now. "You want some tea?"
"Uh…sure." He gets up and makes some. It doesn't take long and he gives me a cup…it's pretty good.
"Looks like everyone enjoyed it." he laughs quietly.
"It was fun."
"Is that so…If you hadn't brought up the idea, I probably never would've done something like this. It was so simple, and all I had to do was do it…" he mutters the last bit to himself but I still manage to hear. With those words I felt my inner strength increase. He starts coughing again, when he's done he sighs heavily. "Today really tired me out. I'm gonna go to bed." He gets up and walks away.
"Thanks and good night Shinjiro-senpai." I call to his retreating back. He stops, before turning around and giving me a small smile.
"You should head off to bed too, 'Night." with that he heads back upstairs to his room. I finish my cup of tea before heading to my own bed.
9/17/09
Saori approaches me at lunch again today. I promise her I'll go the the committee meeting.
First thing do I head to Paulownia Mall.
"Ah…there you are for some reason, we just got a delivery of a bunch of mysterious dolls. You know anything about this?"
Uh…He looks at me before sighing. "Your face says you do. Just take them." he hands me 10 homunculus's. That done I quickly head to Bookworms…I peek inside and Bunkichi seems to be doing well thankfully. Smiling in relief I head back to the school.
Gekkoukan High, library…
The students are still keeping their distance from Saori. …I'm getting tired of this. I thought about how to help her. But I need a way for her to send a message throughout the whole school at the same time without being interrupted. …I sigh.
"…Hey, Minako-chan? Would it be okay if I asked you to take care of the counter by yourself? There aren't many people here today…And…it seems like nobody wants me to be checking their books out anyway, so…I'll go put the book returns back on the shelves."
"Is she the one that was in the magazine…?" some guy is whispering.
"You hung out with her? …Seriously?" Oh that's it!
"She'll do anything you ask. It's like she can't say no." Fucking creeps.
"That's it. I'm kicking their asses-!"
"N-No, don't! It's not going to change anything. I was a fool…thanks, Minako-chan. I'm really hapy that you're willing ot stand up for someone like me." she gives me a small weak smile. Gah. The guys keep whispering but thankfully the bookshelves are the kind that if you shove hard enough the books topple on the other side. I give them a hard shove and Saori gasps.
"OW! What the hell?" he looks at me and I give him a glare. "Uh…" he and his cronies scatter.
"Minako-chan!"
"I didn't hit them." I didn't.
She shakes her head. Even though I know she's admonishing me there's a smile on her face. "Thanks…for defending me. I want you to know that everything about that article is a lie. All those things about me having sex and seducing boys and acting superior…I don't care how other people see me…but I want you to know that."
I frown. Granted I'm the type to not really give a shit but Saori?
"You sure about this?"
She nods. "Yeah." …she gives me another of her weak smiles. I've had it.
"That's it. We're not letting this bullshit go unopposed anymore! Let's expose that article for the lies that it is."
"Minako-chan?"
"Huh…? How?"
"By making them see the truth of course."
"But, how can I do that to everyone…?" that's the exact problem. We need a way that everyone in school will hear it at the exact same time no matter where they are.
"This is an announcement…Takao Yamaguichi of class 1-E, we have found your lost property."
"PERFECT!" I yell. A couple of people around me stare at me. "What?" I glare at them and they look away. Huh. I guess my glares must be getting pretty good. The red eyes probably help.
"Huh?"
"The school announcements Saori. If you tell the truth over them, the whole school will hear. And that stupid Ekoda will just have to shove it."
"The broadcast…b-but I can't do that…"
"Aren't you sick of lies being spread about you? Look I'll be with you the whole time."
"Minako-chan…I…I don't want people to think the wrong things about me…I want them all to be my friends. I…always thought that. …If you'll be by my side…" I nod "Then I'll do it."
"So let's go!"
PA Room…
Thankfully there's no one inside.
"I can't go inside with you. I have to barricade the entrance so no one interrupts."
"My heart's pounding…Look, my hands are cold…" I grab her hands and rub them with mine to warm them and hopefully give her confidence.
"Minako-chan…I'll…do my best. I need to do this…running away won't help." she's trying to encourage herself. "I didn't know that speaking from the heart was this terrifying. But I remember something. "It feels good when your feelings match your words…" I've heard that before, but never believed it…You're the one who made me feel that way before. But, I'm going to do this, because you believe in me." She grips my hand tightly and I feel my inner strength increase. With that she heads inside and I casually block the door.
"This is Saori Hasegawa of class 2-C. There's something I'd like to say. Everything in that magazine article is a lie. I never said anything to a journalist. That picture is of me, I didn't know how it would be used, and I deeply regret not considering that when I agreed to let it be taken."
"Hey, Hasegawa!" a group of teachers rush forward. Ugh. Ekoda's among them.
"Are you part of this, Arisato? How disrespectful do you have to be to hijack the school broadcast to pull a stunt like this?"
I just stare at him. If he thinks he can intimidate me the way he does Saori he's sadly mistaken. "Hasegawa! Stop this at once!" He yells. He moves his arm toward the door but I casually push it aside and stand in front of the door. It really is taking me a lot of effort not to smash my fist in his face. "Arisato…now, look how wonderful Ms. Toriumi's students are!"
Ms. Toriumi is apparently among the group of teachers. She shoots Ekoda a disgusted look. "…What?"
He then turns to Ms. Ounishi. "Ms. Ounishi, isn't Hasegawa one of your students? Her behavior must be caused by your teaching ability."
"…Is she saying anything that isn't true?" Ms. Ounishi steps forward. "If I recall, the one who tried to cover up the truth about that was-" WHAT? …I really should have punched this prick in the face.
"Don't start pulling reason on me! Ugh, you science majors."
"What?" Ms. Ounishi snaps. I can't help but think that if I did hit him I probably wouldn't be the only one here who wanted to.
"I love this school." Saori's still speaking. "The teachers are kind but strict, and I have a friend who believes in me…I'm very sorry that I caused all of you, students and faculty, any trouble. I really am sorry…from the bottom of my heart…" her voice is trembling.
"What's with this announcement? Is this going out all over?" It's some male student.
"Maybe Saori-san joined the drama club." A female student responds. A bunch of students start gathering around the broadcast room.
"E-Everyone, get lost!" No one seems to care what he thinks.
Ms. Toriumi smiles. "Everybody, if you stay here I'm going to begin handing out homework!" With that everyone scatters. Ha. She knows how to clear a room doesn't she. I feel the door opening I move back I resist the urge to stomp on Ekoda's foot as I turn.
"Ah…" Saori comes out. "…I'm sorry for what I did. I don't care if I get suspended or expelled because of this."
"You wanted to prove your innocence, didn't you?" Ms. Ounishi asks gently.
"…Yes. Everyone's said so many terrible things about me…but I've never done anything wrong."
"…But, was that the correct way to go about it?"
"Look…it was my idea."
"No Minako-chan!" she shakes her head. "I went ahead with this."
"Well, that makes this our problem then." Ms. Toriumi steps forward. "Mr. Ekoda, leave these students to us.
"Wh-What?" Mr. Ekoda stammers.
"Aren't you the one going on every day about how I should be taking on more duties as a teacher?" she smiles at him.
Mr. Ekoda hmphs in disgust. "…I-I'd better see a report about this when it's over!" with that he leaves. What a pathetic man.
"Bleah!" the second he's gone Ms. Toriumi looks at where he left in disgust. She turns back to me with a smile. "Arisato-san, write up a report about this for us." Bleah indeed. "Something about how we all sat down, we should have given this more thought, blah blah blah…or should I do it?" she chuckles then.
"You seem to be letting her off rather easily." Ms. Ounishi doesn't seem surprised though.
"You don't plan to punish Hasegawa-san, do you, Ms. Ounishi? What she did made me feel a lot better too. I don't know how many times I've reprimanded my students for gossiping, but they just won't listen. It must have taken guts to stand up for yourself like this."
"Oh…yes. But, it's because Minako-chan was with me…"
"See, all it takes is a good friend." Ms. Toriumi beams at this.
"Yes, yes, you're the best teacher in the universe, Ms. Toriumi. …Well then, you're free to go. I don't even want an essay out of you."
"Th-Thank you very much." Saori bows and the two of us head for her house. Her smile is genuine now and bright and I can feel her happiness and new found strength the whole way. After I drop her off at her house I head back to the dorm.
Dorm, 1st floor lounge…
"Welcome back." Mitsuru greets me when I walk in.
"Thanks." I walk over to Shinjiro.
"Um…do you have a fruit knife?"
He gives me a questioning glance. "What for? You want to cook with it?"
Actually no. I want to give it to a resident form another world…
"Yeah."
"There you go. It's kinda old, but it has a great grip." It is old…and it looks well cared for…is this his? "…Well? Take it." I take it but now I'm not too sure I want to give it to Theo. Maybe I'll be lucky and he'll just examine it and give it back. I head to Paulownia Mall .
"That sharp, shining knife…this is the knife I asked for! It's…incredible. It seems as though it's been in use for a long time, but it's almost as sharp as the day it was made…and I could bet it could cut many things, not just fruit. It has a variety of uses…you can cut things, open cans, peel vegetables…It's an all-purpose cooking tool. What's this..? There's something written on the handle…" Huh? I didn't notice that. "It's a bit hard to read, but let's see…"Graduation…gift…orphanage…"…It seems that this is very important to its owner." and he just gave it to me like that? "This is what I asked for, but I cannot take something so significant. Please keep it." I nod and he hands me back the knife. I place it back in my pocket. He hands me a Guillotine Axe as a reward. Still…I wonder why Shinjiro would give me something so important to him. As I walk out of the Velvet Room I notice Tanaka. I decide to go ahead and talk to him.
"I've decided to make a donation." He has? "She's raising money to help orphans in foreign countries. I don't look at it as a donation so much as an investment." he can never just do something to be nice can he? Let me explain….Children who learn to cope with adversity are more likely to become rich and famous, like me. I'm thinking of donating 10 million yen. Not a corporate donation, but a private one. When I told them over the phone, they sent me this." he hands me a thank you letter. "I received it the very next day. Now, I can't back out…10 million yen is nothing to me, though." He flashes me a grin. "Once those children grow up and become successful, I'll introduce myself to them. I'll say, "I'm the one who made all this possible!" Then, I'll be well taken care of in my old age! This idea probably would not have occurred to me if it wasn't for our conversations." …so he's doing a good thing…for the wrong reasons. …oh well. At least he's doing something positive. "By talking to you, I seem to have developed an interest in watching others mature…I thank you for that. Actually, I should be thanking myself…for wisely noticing this." Trust him to turn a compliment for another into self-flattery. Despite this I know that he's grateful.
Thou art I…
And I am thou…
Thou hast established a genuine bond…
The innermost power of the Devil Arcana has been set free
We bestow upon thee the ability to create Beelzebub, the ultimate form of the Devil Arcana…
And there's that warmth again.
"…You can keep that letter. I worked myself to the bone to earn that money, and all I get in return is a piece of paper?" despite his words there's a smile on his face. "…But it's not a bad feeling…" I placed the thank you letter in my bag. "…I'm going now. The paparazzi could be anywhere. If any of them were to find out, my plan would be ruined. Oh, by the way…I've decided to cancel the exclusive modeling contract we discussed. You're better off being a diamond in the rough. No one needs to polish you' you'll shine on your own. When you do, everyone will take notice." was that a genuine compliment? "…I'll look forward to that day. Tootaloo, girl." with that he leaves. Huh.
End Revised Chapter 12
Answering Reviews Time:
NightmareSyndrom: The links are supposed to be close to the originals. ;) I said in the beginning that I was closely following the plot of P3P. LOL Aeon has feet. I always felt that to be a ridiculous part of Aigis' design. You make her humanoid but don't give her any feet? Lolwut? Of course Aeon's feet doubles as weapons which you'll see later. XD Angry bitch? I said that? *is confused* My original intention was always to have her be a bit of a bitchy brat in the beginning over time she's supposed to mature into a calm, forgiving, peaceful person. …I thought that was made clear by her whole conversation with Orpheus and Messiah. :/ Huh.
XxXTwilight-SinXxX: I could never discard Koromaru. He's the only one in the main cast without parent issues. (Other than Shinji but well…we already know what happens with him.)
Kisdota-The Freak Gamer: I'm following my own personal walkthrough. (So yeah that whole Minako and just Shinji part? I played it with just the two of them. Was ridiculously easy. So either I'm over leveled or Shinji's just a tank. …then again it could have been both. '
Hamujiro: Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Ichigo Rocks: Love triangle? I don't see one…unless you mean AeonxMinakoxAkihiko. But Aeon at this point isn't in love with anyone. (Heck he barely understands what it means). And I always thought at this point Akihiko was at the awkward crush stage.
cartoon moomba: Ah yes. Aeon is indeed love. Hope you enjoyed your flight!
Note: I had hoped that Minako seemed to have been maturing at had a minor regression in the beginning of the chapter…but I might have been way off the mark. (This is my first Persona fanfic after all) so if I was feel free to tell me and suggest changes I might have made.