A/N: Welcome to Chapter 5 of Path of Discovery. It's the longest chapter so far, I think. Outstripped Ch3 by about 600 words. It wasn't originally that long, but...well, these things happen. XD
I'd like to dedicate this chapter to October Autumn, who has taken an interest in this fledgling story of mine. :D
(You've really helped me out a lot by asking the sorts of questions that make me really think about what I'm going to do with my story. Thank you so much! You're the best! I hope you continue to enjoy this fic!)
In any case, I hope all of you wonderful readers enjoy this latest installment of Riko's story. If it's not too much trouble, drop me a review when you're done reading the chapter. Pretty please~ :D
Riko woke up to Shun's worried face. Which was actually not a bad first sight, all things considered. The view was nice.
"Riko!" he exclaimed. "You're awake."
She winced; her head was pounding. "Hi."
Sitting up slowly, because her body felt unexpectedly creaky and stiff, she saw that she was on a park bench, the stone kind. Frowning, she looked around. She was embarrassed to see the others standing nearby, their expressions ranging from confused to concerned. Out of all of them, she was surprised to see that aside from Shun, Tatsuya looked the most worried for her.
"Riko?" Tatsuya knelt down on the ground, so he could look her in eyes without looking down at her.
"I'm fine," she said automatically, even though her head was still spinning.
"I'm sorry," he said. "It was what you did, wasn't it? That made you collapse."
She shrugged, trying to play it off as inconsequential. "It's no big deal."
Tatsuya, being a young man of the not-stupid variety, really didn't seem to buy her act. "Riko…I'm sorry."
She waved him off. "I knew this would happen. So stop apologizing. It's annoying."
Katsuya looked startled. "You knew you'd collapse?"
She flickered a look at him. "What of it," she said flatly.
Baofu regarded her with an unreadable expression. "You knew you'd have that sort of reaction and you came anyway?"
She looked at him seriously. "Why wouldn't I?" Did she really seem like that much of a bitch, that she wouldn't help someone, just because it might affect her adversely? She had to bite back a bitter laugh; such a characterization was so far from the truth it was borderline hilarious. Or would have been, if she wasn't exhausted with a budding migraine. As it was, she didn't seem to have the energy to feel much of anything other than a weary sort of bemusement.
"Riko?" Shun tapped her gently on the shoulder, careful to not touch her for too long.
She turned back to him at once. Looking at him, she couldn't help but notice that his eyes were dark with worry, and that he was a shade paler than normal. Was that because of her sudden collapse? "Yes?" she prompted, when he didn't say anything right away.
"…I was worried about you," he answered after a moment, a slight flush creeping across his cheekbones.
"I didn't mean to frighten you," she said honestly. "I didn't know that I'd react quite that badly." She had to admit that it was more than a little unsettling, really, how much of an impact the transfer had had on her, mentally and physically. But there was nothing to be done about it, was there? It was what it was. "There's really no need to worry," she assured him. "I'm fine now."
Shun pursed his lips, clearly not convinced, but said nothing.
She looked at him for another moment, then turned away, intending to sit up.
"Wait," Ulala said suddenly. "You shouldn't move!"
Riko ignored the older woman, and struggled to rise.
"Don't you listen?" Baofu asked, looking down at her.
She ignored him as well.
"Here," Katsuya said, coming over behind her, "let me help you."
She eyed him mistrustfully. "Come again?"
He bit his lip and looked at her. "I don't know you, and honestly I don't trust you, but….you helped my brother."
Tatsuya looked at his brother. "Nii-san…"
"Let me help you," the detective offered again, moving to brace her shoulders.
It was a tempting offer, especially with the pounding in her skull that was interfering with her concentration. But she hated being touched, and she didn't trust these people either. Out of all those around her at the moment, the only ones she might even consider trusting when she was this vulnerable were Shun and Tatsuya, and she barely knew either of them.
She pulled away, and sat up on her own. "I don't need your help," she said coldly, turning away from the detective. "Now, if you don't mind, I need to get back home."
"What about the others?" Baofu asked.
"Yeah," Ulala added. "Maya and everyone else. Don't you have to find them?"
Riko flashed a glare at them, more than a little annoyed. She'd just come to from a sudden blackout and they were already pushing her to go find the others. Oh jeez, guys, don't fall all over yourselves thanking me. Not like I'm compromising my own well-being for the sake of your friends or anything. Really, don't trouble yourselves to spare any consideration for me. Not like I'm a fellow human being or anything. "Yes," she said sharply. "Within the next three months. But I have work tomorrow. And I need to get some sleep." She rubbed her forehead, then stood up. She swayed for a moment, her head spinning.
Shun took her elbow, steadying her gently. He released her as soon as she stopping wobbling, constantly keeping in mind her overreactions to being touched by other people. He couldn't help but wonder why she always reacted the way she did; what had happened in her past that was so traumatic? And what did Baofu mean about gang involvement? He bit his lip, the possibilities troubling him.
Meanwhile, Riko struggled to clear her head. The main headache had subsided, but she still felt faintly dizzy. Well, worse than faintly dizzy. More like just-got-off-a-gut-churning-roller-coaster dizzy. But she doubted saying so out-loud would garner any sort of sympathetic response from her so-called companions. So she did what she normally did when she was injured or ill: she ignored it, shoving it to the back of her mind.
"We need a door," she said, re-focusing and looking around.
"A door?" Tatsuya repeated, then realized. "Ah, Igor."
She nodded. "He should've realized by now that I've returned your memories. He'll want to check out your new Persona and- ah, there's the door." She spotted a blue door where previously there had just been a plain brick wall, and led their odd little group through it to the Velvet Room.
"Welcome back," Igor said, nodding to Tatsuya with a wide smile.
"Thanks," was all Tatsuya said in response.
"You've done very well," Igor said, turning to Riko, who had moved to lean against the padded wall. "But as you know, this is far from the end."
The corner of her mouth turned up in a half-smirk. "I'm aware." She had to gather the others on the list, at which point their real journey began. "I'm expecting you to explain everything properly once I drag the others here. And I do mean everything."
"I promised you that I would."
"I'll be holding you to that," she said, leaning her head back and closing her eyes. God, she was so freaking tired. "Now hurry up and tell us what Tatsuya's new Persona is so I can go home and rest."
Igor gave a little sigh, but gestured for Tatsuya to step forward. Despite her exhaustion, Riko slitted her eyes open to watch.
Igor took Tatsuya's hand and closed his eyes in concentration.
"Well?" Baofu said expectantly, when the silence had stretched on for several minutes.
"Hush," Riko told him automatically. "Don't break Igor's focus."
The long-haired man shot her a glare but said nothing else.
"Metatron," Igor said at long last. "Your new Persona is Metatron."
"Metatron, huh..." Tatsuya looked thoughtful. "I see. Thank you, Igor."
The long-nosed man nodded. "You are quite welcome. Now, Miss Riko?"
She looked at him, trying to mask how out of it she was. "Yeah?"
"What is your group going to do next?"
"Hold on," Baofu interrupted, cutting off Riko before she could say a word. "Why is that her call? Why does she get to decide?"
Igor looked amused. "Because Riko is the leader."
"I'm in charge," Riko affirmed, enjoying the expression on Baofu's face. "If you've got a problem with that, you're more than welcome to take a hike. In your case I encourage it."
"Riko," Igor chided.
She sighed. "Fine, fine. Don't leave the group. But I'm in charge, so deal with it."
"Maybe we can have a vote for what we can do next?" Ulala suggested.
"This isn't a democracy," Riko remarked. "It's a lax dictatorship. No voting."
"So you're our overbearing monarch?" Baofu asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Something like that," she agreed, then turned back to Igor. " But all good monarchs have good advisers. What do you suggest we do?"
Igor sat down and drummed his fingers on the table. "The next person you should contact is Miss Silverman."
"Lisa?" Tatsuya looked surprised. "Why not Jun or Eikichi?"
"If I'm not mistaken, Miss Silverman is going to be making an appearance at Miss Riko's workplace sometime this week. It may be your only chance to meet with her easily."
"Don't you work at a maid cafe?" Shun asked in a low voice, leaning towards her.
"Shut up," she muttered, blushing despite herself. "What's she coming to Kiki's for?" she asked Igor.
He shrugged. "I do not know. Be grateful I received this information at all, Miss Riko, and use it to your advantage."
She huffed and crossed her arms. Wonderful. So this Lisa girl is going to end up at Kiki's sometime this week...Is she going to apply for a job or come in with her boyfriend or what? Then something occurred to her. "Wait, so are you suggesting that we all just hang out at my job until this girl shows up?"
"Miss Silverman," Igor said, subtly correcting her manners. "And yes, I believe that would be the best course of action."
"This works out well, doesn't it?" Ulala said. "You said you had to go to work, even though we still need to find the others. This way you can do both."
She muttered a curse, ignoring Igor's scolding look. "Fine," she said. "Whatever. But if you guys think you're staying at my apartment you're sadly mistaken." Even if she had the social skills needed for such an arrangement, her apartment had enough space for her and her alone.
"What!" Ulala looked furious. "You're leaving us to fend for ourselves?"
"You're grown adults," she snapped. "You can afford a hotel."
"But-"
"Riko's right," Tatsuya spoke up, surprising them. "We shouldn't impose on her; she's already doing a lot for us. We can find a cheap place to stay until we meet up with Lisa," he said to Riko. "Don't worry about us."
Riko hesitated, then nodded.
"Tatsuya..." Katsuya looked at his brother with a worried frown. "I don't know about this..."
"If any of you can't afford a hotel room," Shun said with a sigh, "I suppose you could crash at my place for a bit."
Baofu turned to look at him. "And where do you live?"
"At my office. It's a decent sized building," he added at the older man's skeptical look. "It's a two-story townhouse sort of thing."
"How can you afford to rent it?" Riko asked. "You're almost as poor as me."
Shun rolled his eyes. "It belonged to my grandfather; I inherited it. And thank you, Riko, for being so impressed with my income."
"It's your own fault you've got no money," she said, flashing him a grin. "All that pro bono work."
He chuckled. "I don't hear you complaining."
"Ahem." Igor cleared his throat pointedly.
Riko exhaled gustily. "Alright, alright. We'll meet up with the Silverman girl when she shows up at my work, okay? And I'll return her memories as soon as possible."
He nodded. "I'm counting on you, Miss Riko. Don't forget what's at stake."
"As if I could." Fate of the world. No pressure. She went to the door and opened it. "See you soon."
She stepped out onto the sidewalk outside Shun's office. "Huh." It is sort of impressive, she thought, looking at the brickwork building. She'd been so focused on her mission before that she hadn't bothered to notice.
She heard Ulala whistle behind her. "Not bad."
"Thanks," Shun said. " Anyone who wants to stay here can go on in," he continued, unlocking the door. "The rooms on the top floor are all empty, and there are folding cots in a closet somewhere."
As it turned out, everyone wanted to stay with Shun rather than at a hotel.
"Hooray," Riko drawled. "Roomies."
Shun sighed. "I was hoping only one or two of them would want to stay here. I'm not really one for having guests,"
She shrugged. "It's only for a week. I'm sure it'll be okay." She bit her lip. "But thanks anyway."
He blinked in surprise. Thanks? "Riko?"
"You don't have to do this. And it's my fault you're involved in the first place...So," she shrugged again. "Thanks." And without another word she turned and walked down the sidewalk. "I'll call you tomorrow, before I leave for work." She gave a lazy wave. "See you."
Her alarm woke her up the next morning and she groaned.
Maybe it's not too late to give up this stupid quest and get on with my life...
But she got up, just like every morning, and just like every morning she pulled out the list of names and read it again. She paused at one name. The next name. Lisa Silverman, huh? She glanced at the clock and sighed. Better get ready to go.
Twenty minutes later she was dressed for work, in a maid outfit that could have come straight from an anime. She grabbed her cellphone and dialed Shun.
He answered on the fifth ring. "Hello?"
"It's Riko," she said. "I'm going to work now. Do you know where it is?"
"You're talking to a private detective who has two other detectives rooming with him," he said, sounding amused. "Of course I know where it is."
"Just checking," she remarked testily. "My shift starts in half an hour, and I work until five."
"We'll see you there."
"Okay. Hey, wait-"
But he'd already hung up. She stared at her phone. How many of the group is 'we'?
'We', it turned out, meant all of their party. Shun, Tatsuya, Katsuya, Baofu, and Ulala were all there.
"If Silverman-san does show up, we all want to be here to meet her," Shun said, trying to pacify her.
She repressed the urge to throw a coffee pitcher at someone. Luckily, the cafe wasn't open yet, so her temper tantrum wasn't going to drive away customers. And she wasn't lucky enough for her attitude to drive away the unwanted company.
"Riko-chan," the store owner called to her from the storeroom. "I don't mind your friends being here, but I really do need you focus on your work, okay?"
She cast one last glare at her allies before storming off to set up the coffee pots. She tried to ignore their looks as they watched her bustle about her job, straightening checkered tablecloths and polishing the bright pink counters.
"Go figure," Baofu remarked at one point. "You actually do look like a maid."
Don't kill him, Riko, she told herself. Igor will be cross with you if he's dead. So she flipped him off instead, and went to help the owner, Kumiko, set up the snack displays. Kiki's offered a decent selection of treats for its patrons, ranging from cookies to muffins to scones, all baked from scratch by Kumiko. On holidays they even sold slices of cake and pie, all at reasonable prices. It wasn't for nothing that they were the most popular maid cafe in the district.
"Is it just the two of you?" Ulala asked when she came out from behind the counter.
"Unless you're offering to dress up and join us, yeah." She lined up two rows of porcelain cups near the coffee and tea pots, and then stacked up small plates near the pastries. "We had another girl to help out, but she had to move last month, so now it's just us."
"How'd you get this job, anyway?" Baofu asked suddenly. "You don't really seem like the maid type."
She smirked. "I can actually take that as flattery, thanks."
"You're not answering the question."
"It was after that horrible mess with Aina-chan and that awful gang," Kumiko said, coming out of the storeroom, a large box of napkins in her arms.
Baofu raised his head, and Katsuya stiffened.
"Kumiko-san!" Riko objected. "Please don't tell them my personal business."
"They're your friends, aren't they? Riko-chan?"
Riko frowned at her. "You know better than anyone that I don't have any friends, Kumiko-san." Not anymore.
Kumiko tsked. "And whose fault is that? You could have told your side of things. But did you? No. You just let those people get away with their wrongful assumptions."
"I tried telling them what actually happened," Riko said, irritated as she always was during these debates. "No one listened." And she wasn't masochistic enough to want re-hash every single painful minute of the worst days of her life over and over and over again for people who'd never believe her anyway. Her heart and soul were in tattered shreds already; she needed to keep what was left stitched up as best she could. And the best way to do that was to not talk about it. Any of it.
"What the hell are the two of you talking about?" Ulala demanded. The expressions of the rest of the group indicated similar confusion and bafflement.
"None of your business," Riko responded flatly. Don't talk about it. "Stay the hell out of it."
"Mind your language, Riko-chan," Kumiko scolded. "And go set out the poster for today's specials."
"Yes, ma'am," she said curtly.
The cafe owner sighed. The girl would more than likely be in a bitter mood for the rest of the day. She always regretted bringing up Riko's past, but she couldn't seem to help herself. She kept hoping that someday Riko would finally be able to move past everything that had happened.
But it didn't seem like that day would be anytime soon.
Four hours later it was almost noon, and Riko's mood had more or less leveled out with the rapid influx of customers.
"Welcome to Kiki's," Riko said cheerily, greeting the couple at the door. "If you'll please follow me, there's an open table this way."
"Thank you very much, Maid-chan," the woman said with a smile.
Riko beamed, while her companions stared at her.
"It's like a completely different person," Ulala said, looking awed.
Baofu snorted. "It's an impressive act, to be sure."
Katsuya crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair. "What did you think of what the cafe owner said earlier?" he asked the other man in a low tone.
"About the brat's past?" He lit up a cigarette and shrugged. "Doesn't mean anything, really. More than likely the kid just fed that Kumiko woman some story about how she was just a victim of the gang and no one believed her. She seems like a kindhearted woman; she probably bought it without question."
"No smoking, please," Riko called sweetly, while flashing the tall man a death glare.
"Hmph." Baofu stubbed out his cigarette on the saucer beneath his coffee cup. "Brat."
If Riko heard him, she gave no indication of it, instead saying cheerfully to the now-seated couple, "May I take your order?"
The woman smiled. "Yes, we'll have two coffees, one black with no sugar, and one with cream and two sugars."
"And two blueberry scones," the man added.
"Two coffees, one black, no sugar, one with cream and two sugars, and two blueberry scones," Riko repeated. "Got it." She smiled at the couple. "I'll be right back with your order."
"She's pretty good at that," Tatsuya remarked, looking up from the magazine he was reading.
"Mm," Katsuya said noncommittally. "I suppose." Riko had helped his brother, but her attitude and overall bearing were still troublesome. Not to mention her file, he thought, eying the nineteen year-old. In that regard, he agreed with Baofu. Which in and of itself was monumental. If they were in agreement over something, then it really was serious.
Meanwhile, Riko went about her work as normally as possible, doing her best to ignore the audience of her 'friends'. Occasionally she heard a comment from one of the party, sometimes about her. She knew Baofu and Katsuya didn't trust her; she wasn't sure how much she actually cared about that. She did care that they thought she had been in a gang. Because that was so far from the truth it was all she could do to stop herself from shouting them down every time they brought it up.
Oh, who cares. She served her last table and then went to greet someone who had entered the door. If they want to think that, what the hell do I care. Everyone else hated her already; what was a few more?
The next two days passed in much the same way as the first, and she started to get both more relaxed and more restless. More relaxed because she was more or less back to her normal routine of wake up-go to work-go home. More restless because even as she worked she was constantly thinking of the list, and the Shadows, and the fact there wasn't a lot of time left. They had three months sure, but time had a tricky way of sliding by without your really noticing; she could turn around and suddenly the deadline would be up. The thought of that possibility was more than a little terrifying, and she found herself wishing, with more and more frequency, that something would hurry up and happen already.
Waiting had never been something she was good at, even...before. She was the sort of person who needed to be active, to be doing something. Just sitting and waiting...it was harder than she liked to admit, even to herself.
How much longer? she wondered, putting away the washed dishes as they prepared to close for the day. How much longer until this Lisa girl shows up? Glancing around, she saw that Kumiko was divvying up the leftover pastries amongst her friends, something they'd arranged in the last couple days. As payment for keeping her company at the expense of their own careers, Ulala had said somewhat jokingly the day before. Riko herself was putting away the last stack of saucers when she heard the tinkle of the bell above the door. She turned, and saw a blonde girl standing uncertainly in the doorway.
Is she American? Riko wondered. She definitely had the looks for it; blonde and blue-eyed, she was definitely not of Japanese heritage.
"Lisa!" Tatsuya exclaimed.
Riko jumped in surprised at his sudden shout, then looked again at the girl. That's Lisa? Well, she thought, Silverman isn't a Japanese name, after all. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised...
Tatsuya waved at the blonde girl, who just stared at him, confused.
She wouldn't remember him, Riko realized. Before Tatsuya could get up and go to Lisa, she hurried over to the blonde girl. "Welcome to Kiki's," she said, trying to keep her voice from shaking. "We're about to close, but is there something I can get you?"
Lisa shot another nervous look at Tatsuya and the others crowded around the table, then looked at her. "Um, yes. I'd like to apply for a job."
"Sure thing. Why don't you sit here," Riko rapped her knuckles on a nearby table, "and I'll be right back with an application, okay?"
Lisa smiled. "Okay. Thank you."
Riko went behind the counter, gesturing for Tatsuya and Shun to join her. Katsuya made to stand up and follow his brother, but Baofu muttered something under his breath and the detective sat back down, frowning.
"She didn't know me..." Tatsuya murmured.
"I'm sorry," Riko said sympathetically. "But she doesn't have her memories back yet, you know?"
He bit his lip, but nodded. "I understand. It's just...hard."
"Speaking of her memories," Shun said in a low voice, "what are you going to do, Riko?"
"How do you mean?" she asked, pulling a job application out of a drawer near the cash register.
"Well, you need to give them back to her, right?"
She rolled her eyes. "No, Shun, I was thinking I'd hang on to them."
He ignored her sarcasm. "Are you going to do it now?"
"What, with Kumiko in the back room?" She jerked her head pointedly towards the storeroom; Kumiko had gone in to check their supplies for the next day. "What if she came out unexpectedly? That wouldn't be awkward at all." Not to mention the potential trouble an interruption in the transfer could cause. Igor hadn't gone into the specifics of the consequences for such an occurrence, but she highly doubted that the outcome would be good, on either end.
"Well, what then?" Shun demanded. "It's not like we can afford to wait, right? Igor wants us to gather everyone together as soon as possible."
"I'll go ask Nii-san what he thinks," Tatsuya said, and then went over to the table where his brother and the others were sitting.
"What'd he say?" Riko asked tiredly when Tatsuya returned, rubbing the back of her neck in an attempt to relieve some of the tension there. It had already been a long day, and the hard part had barely even started. She really did not like her life sometimes.
He sighed. "He agrees with Shun that there's not a lot of time. But he also says that we should be careful not to scare Lisa. If she runs away from us before you have a chance to give her memories back..."
"We might not be able to get to her again. In which case, we're screwed," Riko agreed. "We have to do something now."
"I'll go distract Kumiko-san, then," Shun said, and left to do so before she had a chance to object.
"Hey!" she hissed, clenching her fists. So much for my dictatorship.
"You'd better hurry," Tatsuya said quietly. "Lisa's starting to get anxious."
Riko sighed, snatched up the job application, and went back to the blonde girl. "Here's the application," she said flatly, handing it over. "But I need to ask you for a favor," she added, thinking quickly. She had to make prolonged physical contact with Lisa, and was reasonably certain the head-touching technique she'd used with Tatsuya wasn't going to work here; they'd had time to explain the situation to Tatsuya beforehand, and he'd subsequently made it easier for her. But this Lisa girl had no clue, and Riko didn't have time to explain. "May I see your hand?"
"M-my hand?"
"Yes, please."
Lisa hesitated, then extended her right hand.
Riko took it firmly in her own, and then focused on Lisa's memories, tucked away safely in the back of her mind. She pushed them forward and out, trying hard to get them to Lisa before the other girl pulled her hand away.
She heard Lisa's gasp of shock as the first of the memories went through, and tightened her grip on the blonde's hand, worried that she might try to get away.
But instead of trying to pull away, Lisa's grip on her hand became stronger. Riko felt a wave of relief go through her, and renewed her efforts to transfer the memories. She saws flashes of Lisa's time at school; Tatsuya with his motorcycle, running through the halls, someone around their age with spiky dyed blue hair...The memories whirled faster and faster, until she was once again struck with that terrible vertigo, like she was falling down and being torn into pieces, ripped apart by the whirlwind of another person's life. It wasn't as bad as with Tatsuya's memories, though...She wasn't sure whether that had to do with Lisa and Tatsuya specifically, or just Riko because she'd been expecting the whiplash. Either way, she was grateful for any reprieve, no matter how slight.
She watched in her mind's eye as the memories finished flowing back to their rightful owner, and once the process was complete she was once again left with that peaceful darkness where the memories had been.
Immediately after which came a migraine of massive proportions.
She tried to ignore it as Lisa smiled at her, eyes shining with unshed tears. "Thank you...Thank you so much!"
Riko managed a smile. "Don't mention it." She jerked a thumb over her shoulder. "There's someone over there who wants to see you."
Lisa frowned slightly, confused, then her whole face lit up. "Tatsuya!" And she bounded out of her chair and over to her friend.
He caught her in a hug, to the immense surprise of his brother. "Hey, Lisa...It's been a while..."
"Tatsuya," she squeezed her arms tighter. "I can't believe that I f-forgot...I-I'm s-sorry..." she stammered, tears sliding down her face.
"It's not your fault," he said softly. "If it's anyone's fault, it's mine."
Riko's attention drifted away from the conversation of the two long-lost friends as her headache started pounding at the back of her head. She rubbed the back of her neck again, hoping to ease the building pain, but to no avail.
"Riko?"
She jumped, startled, and looked up to see Shun standing there, while the others were with Tatsuya and Lisa. "Y-yeah?"
"Are you okay?" he asked, looking at her with a worried frown.
"I'm fine," she lied. "Just a little headache, that's all." She looked past him for a moment then back at his face. "Would you mind going with the others, to take Lisa to the Velvet Room?"
"You're not coming?" he asked in surprise.
She shook her head, trying to ignore the sharp stabbing pain the motion caused. "I'm tired, so I'm going to go straight home."
Shun bit his lip, clearly conflicted about leaving her alone at the moment. "Okay," he said at last. "I'll take them to see Igor. You get some rest, okay?" He hesitated, then touched her cheek gently. "You're really not looking so good."
"Just tired," she assured him, noticing that for whatever reason she didn't mind him touching her right then. Maybe it was the fact it was just a soft touch from his fingertips, or maybe it was that she had a pounding headache and couldn't work up the energy to care about the physical contact. Or maybe it was just because it was Shun. "I'll be fine by tomorrow."
He nodded, eyes dark with worry. "I'll see you tomorrow, then?"
"I'll come by the office," she promised.
Apparently satisfied with her response, Shun went back to the others and explained in a low voice what was going on. Riko dimly noticed Lisa and Tatsuya shooting her worried looks, while Baofu and Katsuya seemed torn between suspicion and concern. Ulala just seemed eager to be on her way.
"Let's get going," she said. "The sooner we get to Igor the sooner we can head home and rest right?"
"If by 'home' you mean my office, then yes," Shun replied.
The reddish pink-haired woman just shrugged. "It's all the same to me. I just bunk with Kaoru at his place half the time anyway."
Kaoru? Riko wondered, at the same time Shun said it out loud.
"That's my name," Baofu said flatly. "Though I don't go by it much anymore."
Kaoru, huh? Riko looked at him. So 'Baofu' is an alias, then...Any further musings were cut off by another wave of pain from her headache. She stood up quickly and hurried to the storeroom. "Kumiko-san?"
"Yes, Riko-chan?"
"I'm not feeling well, and since we're closing up anyway, I was hoping I could go home?" She said it questioningly, to be respectful, even though her instinct was to just rush out of the cafe and go home.
Kumiko nodded, looking sympathetic. "Of course, dear, you go on home."
She smiled weakly. "Thanks."
When she emerged back into the main body of the cafe, the others had disappeared. She saw a fading blue glow around the door to the restroom, and knew they'd gone to the Velvet Room. She wondered if Igor would mind too terribly much that she wasn't there, and then decided that she didn't care. She'd done her part and returned Lisa's memories, just like she'd promised. Besides, Igor knew the toll the transfer could take on her. Hell, he probably knew more about the costs of it than she did.
I'm going home, she thought blearily, grabbing her bag off the staff coat rack in the corner behind the counter. Right this minute. And I'm going to get a good night's sleep for once. She trudged home, exhausted. When she finally reached her apartment, she dropped her bag by the door and collapsed onto her couch, not even bothering to go to her bedroom. She stared at her ceiling in a detached manner, distantly wondering how things had gone with Igor at the Velvet Room. She wasn't sure how much time had passed when her phone buzzed. She made to fish it out of her pocket, then realized she hadn't bothered changing out of her maid uniform, and as a result her phone was still in her bag.
With a groan she rolled off her couch and retrieved her phone. She flipped it open to see a text from Shun.
Her Persona is Cybele, it read.
"Awesome," she muttered, too tired to work up much enthusiasm. She quickly changed into a t-shirt and shorts, and then went to her bed and crawled under the covers, leaving her phone on the bedside table just in case there was an emergency and her allies needed her.
No calls came, and she sank gratefully into a deep sleep.
A/N: And that's Chapter 5. :) I apologize for any typos it may have; the first draft was written during a time when I'd lost my glasses, and my eyesight's akin to that of a gopher. Possibly a hamster. No, really. Anyway, I'm pretty sure I caught all the mistakes on subsequent read-throughs and edit sessions, but if not...sorry. XD
Anyhow, we now have Lisa with her memories back, in addition to Tatsuya. Next up is Eikichi, and then Jun. And somewhere during all that comes the Aina arc, which will reveal more about Riko's past, followed by the Finding Maya arc. None of you know what any of that means, of course, but I do, and I am so excited! Hopefully you guys are excited, too. ;D
Review, please! What do you think? How's Riko doing? Are the itty bitty ShunxRiko moments okay? Is everyone (relatively) believable?
I realize now that my characterization of Lisa might be pretty lousy; as mentioned previously I have yet to play either P2 game(though that is going to change in the near future, thankfully), so I have little real basis for my charcterizations other than the scripts I've read and other fics. That being said, I feel like some OOC behaviour compared to the games is okay, since it's been at least a couple years timeline-wise since the plot of the games, so Lisa as a person would have changed during that time. Yes, I am making excuses. XD
Is the plot moving too fast? Too slow? I love feedback, my friends! Tell me what you think! :)
Also, and this may or may not interest you at the moment, but I've decided to make this into a series of fics; Path of Discovery will be the first in a series of three (maybe four, but most likely three), all with Riko as a main character. The later stories will likely involve rotating out the P2 crew to bring in a storyline involving freeing the P3 twins from the Seal, and various other things. Worry not, though; if you're here just for Tatsuya and everyone, this first fic is all Persona 2 people, and I'll wrap up the storylines involving them by the end of this first fic. :) It'll all work out in the end, I promise. ;D
