Hello hello!! Sorry it took me awhile to update... I had exams and then spring break came... Not to mention my seventeenth birthday is in less than a few days so I've been busy with that... Whoopsies!! I'd like to thank the people who've been reading this and who favorited it!! It means so much to me, probably to a creepy kinda level, but oh well! *cries* So happy! =) Da dadada! Onto disclaimer!

Disclaimer: I don't own Persona 3. Well, I technically own a Persona 3 video game, but I don't own the whole thing, so boo. ='(

Chapter 3: Flower Town

December 28, 2006

Port Island

"Dear Strawberry Curls, even though I'll be living in Nara, we'll still be friends. Once you get others to help fight Shadows, I'll come back to Port Island and help out, too! I'm sorry that I can't aid you more, just call me when you have more team members. With much love, Shee-chan."

Mitsuru stared at the letter that Sheena had written seven years ago. "Well," she spoke aloud, "I suppose it's time for me to give her a call." She looked over at the two young men standing in the dormitory's lounge.

Nara

"Sis, hurry up!!" shouted Hikari. "Don't keep them waiting!" Hikari knocked impatiently at the bathroom door. Her wig began coming loose from all of the commotion she was causing, so she yanked it harder down onto her head. She pulled out a beautifully decorated fan and attempted to cool herself off. Her white makeup started to come off like peeling paint.

The bathroom door flung open, and fourteen-year-old Sheena glided out it as if she were the epitome of wind. "Geez, sorry, sorry," she said nonchalantly. "I'm just a maiko! My clients can hold their damn horses . . ."

Hikari clamped her hands over Sheena's mouth. "Shh!! Keep your voice down!" she whispered into Sheena's ear. "If someone hears you curse like that, you won't be the only one who gets in trouble. As your Onee-chan, I do too! And I just became a geisha, Sheena, so please, please don't ruin this for me!"

Hikari's pleading eyes swayed her to act more politely. "Fine," she mumbled. The two of them walked quickly to the room that Sheena's clients were in. "Time to put on a show," Sheena said with a smile. Sighing, Hikari whispered "good luck" under her breath. Sheena heard, and as she opened the sliding doors, she turned her head around and winked confidently at Hikari.

After entering the room, Sheena bowed politely to the men gathered around the walkway. With her back turned to the men, the lights dimmed down, with one light shining on her. As the music in the background began to play, she slowly pulled out two ornate fans. She drew them open as she stretched her arms outward, parallel to the ground. Turning around, she enticed the men by covering half of her face with one of her fans while its partner danced elaborately in front of her body. She continued to move effortlessly like a leaf on the wind. Her performance of difficult yet artistic moves received a loud applause from the onlookers.

An hour or so later, she left the room, allowing a geisha to take her place. She entered a courtyard-like area and sat down on the deck. She pulled off her black wig, and lying down, relaxed as she listened to the small stream's gentle chords. Just as she got comfortable, heavy footsteps plopped toward her. "Sheena! How did it go?" asked the person with the annoying footsteps. The female sat next to Sheena and punched her in the side.

With a painful moan, Sheena shot up and glared at her attacker. Hikari smiled and nudged her again for an answer. "Huh? Oh, the performance. It went well, I guess. I didn't trip or anything, so you could call it a successful run." Though her words sounded uncaring, she smiled bashfully. "You know, being a maiko is pretty tough . . . I wish I could become a geisha already. These shoes are killing me!" Laughing, she laid back down.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention it, but I think your phone went off while you were with your clients. I couldn't get to it in time to answer for you, but it said the caller was Mitsuru-san," said Hikari.

"WHAAAAAAAAT????!!!!" Sheena screamed. "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER??" Hikari shook her head and sighed. Confused, Sheena looked around, realizing that people were staring. The viewers looked as though they wanted a reason for the outburst and wouldn't stop glaring until they received one. "Sorry about that. Her boyfriend just found out he's pregnant." Disgusted and confounded, the people returned to what they were previously doing. Sheena's back burned from the heat waves Hikari was giving off. Laughing it off, Sheena looked at Hikari. "Did she leave a voice message?"

"Nope, she didn't leave anything. You should probably call her back soon," Hikari said, but before she could get it all out of her mouth, Sheena had already run off toward her room.

Sheena stared at her phone in her hand. "Wow, she really did call," she mumbled. "I wonder why . . . Oh no! Maybe something bad's happened!!" Panicking, she dialed Mitsuru's number. After three rings, a voice appeared on the other line. "Hey, it's Sheena! I'm sorry I missed your call! So, what's up?" she casually asked, trying to hide the worry in her voice.

"Oh, Sheena-san, I called to inform you that I've found others who've joined the cause of fighting Shadows. I have a team now, and I was wondering if you would keep your promise and return to help us out," Mitsuru said, hesitating.

Thoughts rushed into Sheena's mind. "Sure, I'll be there in a few days, just give me directions to where you want to meet up." Even though she sounded excited, her heart filled with worry. She thought, "What if I end up being no good for them? What if I can't help out at all? What about Hikari? Maybe I should back out of it . . . But, I made a promise, and I don't want to break any promises!"

"That was . . . a fast decision. Are you sure? There's not much of a rush, though it would be helpful if you could arrive around the time the new semester begins, that way it will be easier to enroll you into Gekkoukan."

"No sweat, Mitsuru! I'll tell my sister that I'm leaving so she'll help me pack and pay for the trip. So, mind telling me the directions?" Sheena asked. She could hear a male teenager's voice in the background. He was asking Mitsuru if her friend was going to join. Mitsuru replied quickly, before returning to the phone and telling Sheena the directions to the dormitory.

After the phone call ended, Sheena found Hikari and dragged her back to their room. "So, I'm going back to Port Island to lend some assistance to Mitsuru with the whole Shadows thing. Mind helping me pack?" she casually asked like it was no big deal.

"You're going back, huh? Well, yeah, I'll help you, but I have to say, it'll be boring without you. Plus, the clients will be pretty disappointed with your leaving. No more 'fourteen-year-old with a seventeen-year-old body'!" Hikari said, tears clouding up her eyes. A few sniffles later, she was crying. Sheena hugged her older sister and patted her back. Hiccuping, Hikari spoke softly. "How embarrassing. I became a legal adult a few months ago, and I'm crying like a baby over my little sister leaving me. Haha . . ."

Sheena smiled. "I may be leaving, but I'll visit you sometimes. And after I graduate high school, I can come back and take up my training to be a geisha again!"

"That's if you graduate," Hikari jokingly said. Sheena pouted before the two broke into laughter. "We have to go shopping though! You'll need some new clothes. Oh! And a bathing suit, too! Definitely a bikini. You have to show off the body that all your training sculpted!" Sighing, Sheena allowed herself to be led by Hikari into the local shopping district.

Hopefully that wasn't too boring. You'll have to bear with me as I get closer to the more interesting stuff. I wonder who those two handsome studs are! *wink wink*

Here's a little fun fact: the reason the title is "Flower Town" is because of the fact that geisha live in hanamachis, or flower towns. Fun stuff!!

Bonus points for anyone who can figure out what her weapon in battle will be!! XD