A/N: This is going to be a short chapter that focuses on Chie and Yu's training progress showing in battle. I'll do one of these every few chapters or so. I couldn't remember the exact resistances of the Tough Guy and Nice Guy while writing this, so they are slightly mixed up so I apologize.
"Kya!" Chie's right leg cuts through the air and makes a shadow explode after making its impact. She immediately side steps as another shadow takes a swipe at her with its sharp claws. She counters by sending her shin to the side of it's head, sending it stumbling sideways.
Yu quickly steps in and impales the shadow's gut with his sword which makes it keel over. He begins weaving his body left and right in an infinity like motion while sending overhand strikes to the shadow's head. He finishes the shadow off with one final, explosive right hand. He retrieves his sword as the shadow's body dissipates and looks around to confirm that the battle is over.
Yosuke and Yukiko looked on with surprised expressions. "Whoa... I never noticed it before, but Yu really knows how to fight while unarmed. I guess I never really paid too much attention to it before now." Yosuke looks towards their leader, very much so impressed.
"Chie's fighting style seems different now. It seems more... Graceful, don't you think? It was like she was dancing around those shadows. They didn't even use their personas for this fight." Yukiko added.
Yosuke and Yukiko catch up to Yu and Chie. They had stayed a safe distance ready to summon their personas when Chie and Yu rushed the shadows without hesitation.
"What's with you two? You haven't been coming to the TV world without me and Amagi, have you?" Yosuke looked a bit worried now.
"No, no. We just started training together a few times a week. Martial arts and stuff." Chie attempted to reassure them.
"Oh, private lessons huh?" Yosuke winks at Yu.
Chie promptly stomped on his foot, "It's not like that Hanamura!" She yells at the top of her lungs.
"Quiet down! Let's not attract any more attention than necessary. We're here to save Tatsumi remember?" Yu reminds his teammates sternly.
"He's right, save your squabble for some other time." Yukiko looks worried.
"Yeah, sorry." Yosuke apologizes, "Hey partner, you think you could show me teach me some of those moves sometime?"
"Sure thing, but I don't really know much about dual wielding broadswords... I could just help you with some footwork drills." Yu seemed to be in deep thought.
"Hey, don't get distracted! You guys have time for that later! It's really stuffy in here so let's make this quick. Look, the stairs are over there." Chie points towards the staircase amidst the warm steam that enveloped them.
"Sensei, I smell him! He's on the next floor!" Teddie's voice echoes the room.
"Let's do this." Yu looks at his team, who nod in affirmation of their resolve. They rush up the stairs, ready to take on whatever is waiting for them.
They reach the top of the stairs and find themselves in front of enormous double doors.
"Isn't this... Pretty much the same layout that castle Yukiko was in had?" Yosuke raises an eyebrow, "These shadows really don't have much creativity, do they?"
"Should we really be nitpicking about that right now? Kanji-kun needs our help!" Yukiko chastises Yosuke for forgetting their objective.
"I think he has a point... I mean, these doors here kind of make it obvious that the boss is in this room." Yu looks as disappointed as Yosuke is.
"I think you two play too many video games." Chie glares at the two boys, who look away from her icy glare. "Oh whatever! Stop stalling already, let's go! KYA!" Chie kicks the doors open. Her fighting spirit is almost radiating from her.
When the doors open, they see Kanji confronting his shadow while poised in a threatening stance.
"I-I..." Kanji struggles to find the right words he wants to express.
"Oh, come now, enough with the charade. Isn't it awful to deceive people? To deceive yourself? What's so bad about doing what I want to do" Shadow Kanji replies, acting as flamboyant as ever.
"That has nothin' to do with it..." Kanji looks dejected.
"I'm what you really want, aren't I?" Shadow Kanji questions.
"Hell no!" Kanji yells indignantly.
"Oh, how I hate girls." Shadow Kanji continues anyway, "So arrogant and self-centered! They cry if you get angry, they gossip behind your back, they spread nasty lies... They look at me like some... some disgusting THING and say that I'm a weirdo... Laughing at me, all the while! 'You like to sew? What a queer. Painting is so not you. But you're a guy... You don't act like a guy... Why aren't you manly...?' What does it mean to 'be a guy?' What does it mean to be 'manly?'" Shadow Kanji rants furiously. "Girls are so scary..." Shadow Kanji pauses a bit.
"I-I ain't scared of 'em!" Kanji nervously rebukes his shadow's words.
"Men are much better..." Shadow Kanji starts again, "They'd never saw those awful, degrading things. Yes, I vastly prefer men..."
"Hell with that! What makes you think you can say that shit with my face!?" Kanji is fuming, letting his shadow get on his nerves.
"Why, you're me... and I'm you... You do know that, don't you?" Shadow Kanji has this creepy grin on his face.
"No... Nuh-uh! No way! There's no way in hell that you're me!
Shadow Kanji cackles maniacally, "You're me, and there's no denying it!" Shadow Kanji is enveloped by a vicious aura as he he grows bigger and transforms in to a big musclebound shadow. Standing at about twelve feet tall, it seemed to be just a shell. A huge, roided up shell. Shadow Kanji's upper body is protruding from where the enormous body's face should be, surrounded by flowers that covered most of his torso, only exposing his obliques. He summons two other shadows that looked identical to each other on both sides of him. One half of their whole bodies were a dark skin tone, while the other side was ghostly pale, as if they used body paint to color each half of their bodies to represent their favorite sports team. They were considerably smaller, but just as muscular. "I am a shadow... Of your true inner self. I'm just being true to myself, and that's why... I'll get rid of anything in my way!"
"Are these Kanji-kun's true feelings?" Yukiko says in horror.
"No way! His emotions are just going haywire!" Yosuke gets ready.
"Be careful! This is one tough grizzly!" Teddie barks.
"Get rid of them one at a time! If we don't dwindle their numbers, we don't stand a chance! Rakshasa!" Yu rushes forward along with his persona. He bobs his head to dodge the shadow's punch and steps in to slash the shadow's chest. Rakshasa slashes at its neck level.
"Tomoe!" From behind, Chie runs up and delivers a powerful kick to its ribs while her persona does the same to the shadow's temple. She quickly zones out before the shadow retaliates.
"Clear out of the way you two! Persona!"
"Persona!" Yosuke summons his just after Yukiko does. The fire spell Yukiko uses his strengthened by Yosuke's wind spell, but it does no visible damage. The shadow just grinned at the miserable attempt to harm it.
"Fire is no good! Ugh what can I do?" Yukiko bites her lip in frustration.
"Amagi, calm down! Fall back and support us!" Yu leaps back and narrowly avoids another punch. He slashes at it's knuckles which makes the shadow reel back and clutch its hand in pain. "Chie, Yosuke! One final blow! Izanagi!"
"Tomoe!"
"Jiraiya!"
They start to run behind their personas, eager to finish it off when the other two shadows intervene. The other henchman kicks Yosuke and he gets sent flying, while Yu gets the wind knocked out of him by Shadow Kanji's weapon, which are basically a pair of huge metal male symbols.
The other shadow sends its huge fist at Chie, but she already saw it coming and counters it with a kick to head. It was ineffective, in fact the shadow looked like it took pleasure from the strike.
"Oooo, that feels good! Let me return the favor!" The Shadow groaned with pleasure. It throws a back hand punch that sends Chie flying towards where Yosuke had landed. Although the personas had finished their attack, they were unable to finish off the weakened shadow.
"That hurt... I don't think physical attacks work on that one." Chie mutters while struggling to get back on her feet.
"I need to be more aware of my surroundings. That one isn't even finished off yet..." Yosuke clutches his side while he stands up. A light shines above their heads and the pain subsides.
"Are you two okay?" Yukiko runs over to them making sure they're alright.
"Izanagi!" The fearless leader was already back up on his feet. He and Izanagi slash at Shadow Kanji's wrists, making him drop his weapons and then uses the opening to dart towards the weakened shadow while Izanagi zaps it with a lightning spell. Izanagi and Yu seem to be in complete sync as they slash at it three times, with the final slash making it explode in the usual blackish-red smoke.
Yu quickly turns around and puts his guard up as Shadow Kanji and the other shadow lunge at him. However their timing was off, and Yu was able to side step both of their attacks, while zoning out of their range. His attention still on the remaining shadows, he says to his teammates behind him.
"You guys alright?" Yu visibly grips his weapon tighter. "Sorry, that was my fault. I wasn't paying enough attention to the other two." The only initial response he got was a light shining over his head and his breathing becoming easier.
Chie and Yosuke step up beside him, "Don't even worry about it. Let's just take out these creeps!" Chie flexes her arm playfully. "His underling seems to actually like being hit with physical attacks. Let's stay away from those for a while."
Yu nods, "Ready, everyone? Let's hit it all at once over and over again!"
"Let's do it! Here we go!" Yosuke yells and summons Jiraiya.
The others follow suit and the shadow is continually bombarded with ice, lightning, fire, and wind continuously until it falls to its knees. Since they are only casting spells, they are able to maintain a safe distance while avoiding Shadow Kanji's attacks.
"You are so annoying!" Shadow Kanji screams. "Time for me to take it up a notch!" He throws his weapons in the ground and flexes.
"Watch out! He's up to something!" Teddie warns them, fear prevalent in his voice.
A few moments later, lightning falls from the sky and strikes all four members of the investigation team. Yu is thankful that he was using Izanagi, as the attack barely damaged him. However, his teammates were a lot worse off. Especially Yosuke who had been knocked down.
"Is that all you got?" Shadow Kanji uses this opportunity to lunge at Yosuke, sending him flying back a few yards with his weapon.
"Yosuke! Sarasvati!" Yu changes his persona to heal Yosuke's wounds.
"Here!" Yukiko follows up with her own healing spell.
Yosuke is still in pain, but he can stand now. "Thanks partner! You too Amagi. You're going to pay for that!"
"Let's finish off this one first!" Chie sends a spell at the kneeling shadow and encases it in ice.
"Izanagi!"
"Jiraiya!"
The shadow is hit by the burst of wind and the lightning bolt and succumbs to its injuries.
"One left!" Yukiko uses a fire spell, and it seems to do a little damage, but nothing significant. "Not again!"
"Don't be discouraged Yuki-chan! That still did some damage!" Teddie encourages her from a safe distance.
"Make healing and support your priority, while hitting it whenever you get a chance." Yu has a determined look in his eye while he gives issues Yukiko her new orders. "Izanagi!" He sends Izanagi forward to slash at Shadow Kanji. "He doesn't seem to be impervious to physical attacks like the other one! You know what to do Chie! Yosuke, cover us!"
"Understood!" Chie dashes towards Shadow Kanji and summons her persona.
"Roger that!" Yosuke summons Jiraiya and sends bursts of wind at Shadow Kanji.
Yu rushes forward. With the end of the battle in sight, he is more determined than ever to finish it. He keeps Izanagi around just in case Shadow Kanji decides to use that lightning attack again.
With two different targets to deal with, Shadow Kanji has a hard time focusing enough to hit even one of them. Chie and Yu are agile enough to dance in and out of his range while attacking every time they step in for an attack. Not to mention the constant wind attacks and the occasional fire attacks. Shadow Kanji drops to one knee.
"This is our chance! Let's go!" Yu declares as they go for an all out attack.
End Note: I ended it right there since I don't want to have to write out every single detail of the events that happened in the game. I wanted to just show the progress Chie and Yu have made with their training. I wasn't even planning on doing the Shadow Kanji fight, I ended up just being bored during a slow day at work. I wish I was able to look things up during that, as I only remembered the Forbidden Murmur and Roar of Wrath attacks Shadow Kanji used after I had written it all out. And I'm too lazy to go back and add those in.