Mercenaries of Fortune Chapter 14

Yosuke knew what was going on and said, "Well, I have an idea on what our suspicious foe is."

"Then who's the suspicious Shadow that's still in here?" Yu asked.

"There's no other explanation: it has to be the Shadow of Saki-sempai."

"Excellent deduction, Hana-chan. However, it's about time for me to properly appear." a voice said.

"Who's there?" Saki asked.

Another Saki Konishi emerged from the steam in the room and like the real one, the 'other Saki' wore a female Yasogami High School uniform. However, this one's eyes were a creepy yellow.

"Just face it, bitch! You only seduced Hana-chan because he pitied you and to get hours off from working at that department store!" the 'other Saki' shouted at the real Saki.

"No, stop it." Saki replied.

"[Aw shit, it's just like with Yukiko's Shadow! Guys, get ready to kick some Shadow ass!]" Enforcer transmitted to the members of the Investigation Team.

"You only worked at that damned Junes in the first place because your family's business was going through hard times. If you hadn't done so, you would have lost everything along with your family!" the 'other Saki' shouted.

"Quiet!" Saki shouted.

"All that joking and fooling around with Hana-chan was only a way for you to vent out your frustration in an easy way! You pretended to like him, but I know that you secretly think of Hanamura-san as a pain in the ass! Isn't that right, ME!?

"Shut up! You. . ."

As Yu, Minato, Yosuke, and Yukiko prepared for a tough battle, the other members decided to back off and watch for any Shadows that tried to interfere. Eventually, Saki Konishi shouted at the other one, "You're not me!" and it only laughed at her.

"Hahahahahahaha! That's what I was waiting to hear from that mouth of yours, bitch! This power. . . it makes me feel. . . bloodthirsty. I'll satiate this blood-lust by killing both you and Hana-chan!" Shadow Saki said before transforming into a large two-halved creature, half of which was a fox body that had three heads while the other half was humanoid and its head was simply a skull.

Saki Konishi collapsed onto the ground, prompting Yosuke to rush to her and pick her up, then set her down in an out of the way location.

"I am a Shadow, the true self! I'll kill Hana-chan and my other self with my own power! If you decide to interfere, I will kill you as well!" Shadow Saki said as she unleashed a Kill Rush on Yosuke.

"[Analysis complete! Here it is:]"* Enforcer said as he transmitted the data to Yu, Yosuke, Minato, and Yukiko.

SHADOW LOG

Category: SHADOW SELVES

Entry: SHADOW SAKI

Arcana: EMPRESS

HP: 3750

SP: 3550

Strength: ? | Magic: ? | Endurance: ? | Agility: ? | Luck: ?

Abilities: Kill Rush, Needle Rush, Masukunda, Maragion, Mabufula, Null Dizzy, Ziodyne, Garula, Megido, Micro Nova, Dragon Eye.

Elemental Properties: resist magic, Null Light and Dark, weak to Physical.

Yu unleashed a normal attack and knocked down Shadow Saki, allowing an All-Out Attack to commence when the opportunity came. Minato used a Fatal End next and set things up for a second All-Out Attack. Yosuke used a Sukukaja on himself while Yukiko triggered a third AOA when she attacked normally. Shadow Saki decided to cast Masukunda and it lowered everyone's hit/evade rate except for Yosuke who was returned to normal agility. Yu then used a Purifying Salt to eliminate the effect and Yosuke unleashed a Sonic Punch that knocked the foe down again and another All-Out Attack was unleashed. Minato decided to use a War Cry and Yukiko guarded as Shadow Saki unleashed a Micro Nova after using Dragon Eye. Due to both War Cry and its Tarunda effect, almost no damage was taken by anyone, but the Shadow Self immediately targeted Yukiko with a Needle Rush that inflicted Exhaustion before using Micro Nova again and then stupidly tried to blast Yosuke with Garula. Yu then switched to Oberon and had him unleash an Arm Chopper attack on Shadow Saki, which knocked her down and allowed another All-Out Attack to commence. Minato then unleashed a Fatal End that finished off the Shadow.

"I can't LOSE!" Shadow Saki shouted as she collapsed to the ground in defeat, regressing back to normal form after doing so.

Saki got up and walked over to her Shadow and said, "No, you're not. . ."

Yosuke put a hand on her left shoulder and said, "You're not alone, sempai. Everyone has a side that they don't want other people to know about. I also faced my own suspicion about you when I faced my Shadow."

"I see." Saki replied before saying to her Shadow, "Thinking that Hana-chan was a pain in the ass, joking with him to get hours off, my financial situation, those are all a part of my life. You are me, and I am you."

Shadow Saki nodded in agreement and transformed into a woman wearing an elegant green kimono that was adorned with several images depicting slugs before it turned into a card that spun around as it disappeared into a blue light that touched and then engulfed Saki's torso for a split second.

Saki has faced her other self. . . she has obtained the facade used to overcome life's hardships, the Persona Tsunade.

Saki Konishi collapsed onto her knees and Yosuke said, "We've been through enough for today, let's head back." and everyone agreed. Saki then said to everyone in a cheerful mood, "Thank you for understanding what I've been going through. I hope that we can work together to make sure that no one else becomes a victim of their suppressed thoughts."

Yosuke helped Saki get on her feet and supported her as the Investigation Team left the Steamy Bathhouse.

Here's Saki's initial Persona, Tsunade.

Tsunade

Description: The maiden who the ninja Jiraiya had fallen in love with, Tsunade is a master of slug magic. She is quite powerful, but to what extent is what no one knows.

Arcana: Empress

Current Level: 19

Abilities: Stamina Drain, Mana Drain, Zionga, Garula, Micro Nova (LV 27), Mediarama (LV 35), Masukunda (LV 38), Matarunda (LV 42), Marakunda (LV 46, replaces Mana Drain), Energy Drain (LV 50, replaces Stamina Drain), Megido (LV 52, replaces Micro Nova), Mediarahan (LV 60, replaces Mediarama), Megidola (LV 65, replaces Megido), Samarecarm (LV 70, replaces Zionga), Spirit Surge (LV 74, replaces Garula), Mega-Debilitate (LV 80, replaces Masukunda), Megidolaon (LV 85, replaces Megidola, Spell Master (LV 90, replaces Matarunda), Pierce (LV 97, replaces Marakunda)

Elemental Properties: Resistant to Fire, Ice, Electric, and Wind, weak to Physical.

Persona abilities introduced in this chapter: Micro Nova, Stamina Drain, Mana Drain, Energy Drain, Spirit Surge.

Micro Nova: deals light Almighty damage to all enemies. Cost: 12 SP

Stamina Drain: drains a small amount of HP from one enemy. Almighty elemental. Cost: 7 SP

Mana Drain: drains a small amount of SP from one enemy. Almighty elemental. Cost: 7 SP

Energy Drain: drains a small amount of HP and SP from one enemy. Almighty elemental. Cost: 10 SP

Spirit Surge: regenerates 10% of Max SP on each turn, except for One More. Passive ability.

A/N: So what do you think about Saki's initial Persona? Read and review to leave your opinion.