Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or any content from the Megami Tensei series as a whole. I do not claim to own anything. All contents' right belong to their respectful owners. Once again, I do not claim to own anything.
Okay, my competence and confidence…and self-esteem are high for this chapter, because not only is it a conclusion to one of my favorite parts of the game, but the key perspective here is Masao, my favorite character overall. I have a very firm and nice grasp on his personality, I can write well for him, and I have this chapter deeply planned even though it's only three scenes. Also HALFWAY mark of fic hit. Like I said after this we're going to be rolling easy for four chapters at least. That being said, I have planned those chapters and the first three are mostly story and comic relief, then when we hit the fourth chapter we're going to be skyrocketing with action and story into the endgame basically. Didn't expect to be there this early, huh? Well that's how the game is, but playing the game is no where near as quick if you're reading this because I cut out basically 97% of all dungeons and enemy encounters, essentially stream-lining the game with story and bosses only which is most likely going to be the formula for the P2: Innocent Sin dungeons, but those are more unique than P1's so I still need to plan those out. Currently I don't even have a chapter list done for P2 or P3. By the end of this, I should have those done, but not all the chapters fully planned. Regardless, I should be able to jump into both relatively fine at the end of this after a break, of course. Then, again, I'm getting way ahead of myself. With that aside, welcome to Persona: Be Your True Mind Chapter Fifteen.
Chapter Fifteen: Black Market Part 3: Chisato
Masao stood, axe in hand, knuckles white, his friends at his sides, Kei in front, at the entrance to Chisato's throne room. A door was placed in the threshold they walked in earlier, painted with the Harem Queen's wretched mess of black she called art. Just glancing at it made Masao's blood boil, just knowing his best friend was trapped beyond that door at the mercy of such a pretentious and insecure girl made him want to hack away at any demon in his sights. It didn't matter. They were there and they'll save Naoya.
"I've got your back, Nao! I always will!" Masao kept a blank face, trying to keep his anger and disconcertion controlled which is something he was usually unable to do. His face betrayed him in the end, no matter how hard he tried. "Let's go!" He bellowed.
"Masao, hold on!" Kei threw his arm in front of Masao, closing the gates for the galloping horse. "I told you at Peace Diner. We cannot run in there halfcocked. We'd be fighting a losing battle if we do not fully understand Chisato's power."
"Perhaps she could send us away again and put us in a infinite loop of back-and-forth." Eriko suggested.
"I don't care Nanjo! I'm not gonna sit here and leave Naoya to Chisato while we think over what she can and can't do! We bust in, we take her out, we save Nao!" Masao snapped, waving his axe.
"Masao-kun!" Maki shrieked. "You can't…just…kill…Chisato-chan…" She sniveled, tears welling-up again.
Masao's outburst subsided, looking at Maki, stepping closer to her. Her head was lowered, her bangs covering her crying eyes. "I…don't want…anyone…to die…"
"Oh, shut up!" Reiji venomously spat, harshly grabbing her by the arm, much to Maki's and Masao's surprise. "How the hell do you think we're gonna end this? We have to kill Kandori or else this won't be over! In order to kill Kandori we have to kill this bitch! What don't you understand about that? I'm sick and tired of hearing you whine!"
Masao gnashed his teeth. "Reiji, you son of bitch! Let her go!"
"And you!" Reiji raised his fist to Masao, then pointed his index finger austerely at him. "My patience has run thin with your excessive bullshit of going on and on about the punk, Inaba! If you feel so strongly about saving him, then, buck up and fucking do it! Hell, even Four-Eyes was able to do that and his Persona evolved out of it!"
Reiji released Maki's arm, leaning his back to the wall, crossing his own arms. Maki went to Masao, he wrapped around her tightly, taking in Reiji's words.
"And if you won't kill her, Inaba. Bres and I will. One Mudo Skill and we're home free to b-line for Kandori's fortress."
"Masao-kun…please…don't kill Chisato…" Maki kept weeping into his shoulder as he lugubriously stared into the gray of her uniform and the brown of hair.
"C-c-c-can I do this…I'm dead-set on saving Nao, but…is it possible to talk Chisato out of this. Can we beat her or Kandori without killing them? This hadn't crossed my mind this whole journey. I figured Nao would make the decision when the time came, but he isn't here and it isn't his decision. This must be what he felt like back in S.E.B.E.C. during the fight with Takeda and when he had to choose between the switches. Thinking everything over is a real pain in the ass and I'm not honestly sure what Alignment I'm in right now nor can I decide on what I can do. Even if this Maki next to me isn't the Maki I know I can't…kill the real Chisato…I can't make Maki cry anymore…I won't, even if she isn't our Maki."
Masao smiled, patting Maki on the shoulder as he lightly pushed her from his grasp, making his ruling on the matter. "Don't worry, Maki," He whispered with the softest of voice. "I'll get us through this. Remember…Nao and I always know the best and worst times to pick a fight and now is the worst time."
Maki spread her lips and rosy cheeks as she matched Masao's smile. Masao nodded and turn to Kei, having rectified his misplacement of ideas.
"Are you ready to strategize, Masao?" Kei asked.
"Yep, Nanjo. Make it as quick as possible." Masao tucked away his axe, no longer requiring it. "Chisato, for Maki's sake, Nao's sake, probably Yosuke's sake too, if Nanjo and Reiji won't, I'll get you out of her and save Nao even if I have to drag you out of her kicking and screaming. Kandori…you bastard…you're life isn't my choice, it's Nao's. I leave it to him as soon as he's back."
Persona: Be Your True Mind
They entered, greeted with the garish décor that was presented to them before. Naoya stood up on Chisato's shell, fully clothed and his katana sheathed and submachine gun at his heels. His pupils were still pink. Naoya was mostly unchanged but the Harem Queen standing next to him was different. Her face was beaming with moles, a larger number than the last time, awkwardly protruding from her paling cheeks and forehead.
"Ugh! Not again! More moles!" Chisato huddled close to Naoya. "Oh, Nao-kun, this mirror is great, but I hate how I get more moles every time I make a wish!"
Masao's sweat dropped. "So, she's just gonna ignore us." Masao cleared his throat. "Chisato!"
Chisato was startled, leaning away from Naoya. "Ah, you're all here all ready! Well if you managed to make it pass my special ladies you must have been really impressed! Tell me! What did you think? Wasn't my painting better?" Her face was rapturously contorted, eager to hear that her work of art was supreme.
"Plan A: talk her down is go," Masao whispered. "Maki…"
Maki stepped ahead of Masao, to his left, who was leading the pack. "Chisato…just end this already…" She paused for a moment. "I know your paintings are better than mine. And…your moles…" Maki tried to be as courteous and complimentary as she could, but the Tyrannical Queen was not having it.
Chisato's face crunched up in a pit of rage, her moles pulsating as her recently re-painted lips curled inward and her eyes narrowed. She fiercely bit down on her lower lip, her teeth drawing blood. "SHUT UP, MAKI! Don't say things you don't mean and don't YOU ever dare patronize ME! You probably think I deserve these moles!"
Maki grabbed her arms, turning away.
"Shit, plan A's done and Chisato's pissed. What are we gonna do now? If I can't talk her down, Reiji's gonna off her himself! I can't let that happen!"
"Chisato!" Masao yelled again.
"Settle down, Masao! I want to show you all something!" She waved her hand to her right, casting a spotlight on Maki's Gates of Paradise painting and her own Harem Queen painting.
"My, my painting!" Maki stammered, seeing her pearly white gates illustrated on the canvas behind the stray life-sized, human-like stone statues.
"Alright, Nao-kun, you first!" Chisato looked to the captured leader. "Which do you like more? My masterpiece or Maki's smear of filth on canvas?"
Masao snarled. "How dare she insult Maki's painting? She put all her heart into that work! She painted it with all the inspiration from her favorite book: The Gates of Paradise! Come on, Naoya! Show me you're in there! Say Maki's is better! Don't let Chisato pull the strings!"
Masao's best friend opened his mouth, his tongue clicking. "Your," His voice stuttered, his mouth closing tightly.
Masao grinned. "He's in there! Come on, say hers sucks and Maki's rocks, Nao!"
Chisato glared at Naoya, wrapping her arm tightly across his body. "Marin Karin," She whispered, her mirror glowing bright for a moment and another blotch of moles sprouting at the bridge of her nose. Naoya's pink pupils pulsed for a moment. "Nao-kun, tell me…which is better?"
The leader's mouth opened wide and accurately pronounced and stated, "Yours is better, your majesty."
"Good boy, Nao-kun, you get another kiss!" Chisato pecked his cheek.
Masao frowned. "He was there! Chisato keeps the charm on him, we'll have to break it. Somehow,"
"Now, your turn!"
Masao stomped his foot. "M-"
"Masao, stick to the plan!" Kei ordered.
"Like, to me…" Ayase said aloud. "Maki's is, like, totally better than yours Chisato!"
"Yuka…no!" Eriko gasped.
"You where suppose to complement her, Ayase!" Brown exclaimed, crouching and covering his head, preparing for the shit-storm.
"You damned air-head!" Yukino shouted.
Reiji face-palmed. "Oh, fuck this!" He threw an uppercut in the air, a scarlet mist rising at his feet. "Hell yeah!"
Chisato erupted at Ayase's comment. "HOW DARE YOU!" She darted her eyes to her mirror. "MIRROR WHERE MY FACE IS SHOWN, TURN THESE MONKEYS INTO STONE! ERUSAER TYSMMOM!"
A patch of moles grew from Chisato's forehead and her mirror glared, firing a blast of white light.
"Maki!" Masao grabbed at her and threw him and her backwards to the other side of the room, the light barely touching her shoes. The mirror's blast had consumed the others in a instant, dissipating afterwards.
"Whoa!" Masao exclaimed, regaining his stance with Maki.
"What in all the hells-" Kei snapped as his body progressively changed texture and structure, gaining a stone-gray, becoming as stiff and immovable as a statute.
"Stop this, Chisato!" Maki begged.
The Harem Queen responded with laughter. "You all turn to stone!"
"You're shitting me!" Reiji cursed as his arms were frozen in the position he held them in, completely turned to statue stone.
"This can't be happening!" Brown cried as he realized he could no longer move any part of his body below his neck, stuck in the defensive position he put himself in.
"Like, why me!" Ayase's entire lower jaw was turning to stone.
"We're in this situation because of you, dumb ass!" Yukino insult right before the stretching gray configuration to her body reached up to her ears.
"Oh, brave leader…" Eriko weakly said, wanting to reach her arm out to Naoya, unable to, wanting to strike with her rapier at Chisato's legs, but unable to. With both of her arms trapped in space at her sides, the stone completely taken over, finely trapping her sadden expression and hung low head as a human-like statues on par with the others in the corner of the room.
"AHAHAHAHAHA!" Chisato laughed none stop until she saw her reflection in her mirror. "UGH! DAMMIT! Even more moles!" She glared at Masao and Maki. "And you two got away! Turning you eight to stone was too nice! I should've made you suffer more!"
"Shit! Everyone's a statue except me and Maki! Chisato's pissed beyond her limit! Those afroed dudes over there…they must've been from the market! They were turned to stone for not liking her painting too! I don't know if we can make it out of this! I have to get a plan together and fast."
"Masao-kun…" Maki weakly spoke, causing Chisato to laugh again.
"Maki…" Masao's eyes broaden and he greatly gasped. "You're…"
Maki was turning to stone, the crawling streaks and stretches of the gray, transfiguring ever curve, ever inch, ever shape and figure of her petite being. It slowly slinked up her limbs, her legs stuck firmly planted beside each other and her arms bent inward, her hands grabbing her chest. "I guess I didn't escape it in time, Masao-kun."
"Maki! Hold on! I'll think of something, just don't turn to stone!" Masao was desperate, the girl her cared for, even if she wasn't truly the one he knew, was turning into a statue before his eyes and he wasn't sure what he could do on his own.
"Masao-kun…" The stone crept up the back of her head, turning her hair first. "Please…" Her forehead followed. "Save…" The frame of her face was next, leaving the area around her mouth free. "Chisato…" Her closed mouth met the overpowering spell, shutting and becoming a perfect line for her statue.
"No!" Masao fell to his knees. "Nao…Maki…everyone…there gone…because of Chisato! I have to save Maki and Nao! I have to stop Chisato! I won't let her break a bond I've shared for three years. They're too important to me to let them be her playthings and I won't die or become one of her toys!"
Naoya's eyes twitched into a somber gaze and the pink soon pulsed again, realigning them into a blank stare.
"I'll give you one last chance, to save yourself, Masao! Which is better? My breathtaking painting or Maki's piece! I want an honest answer!"
Masao stood back to his feet. "MAKI'S PAINTING IS A MILLION TIMES BETTER THAN YOURS!"
Chisato cringed. "You have big balls, to say that in your situation, Masao! You can turn to stone like the rest!" She turned to her mirror yet again.
There was a white flash. "Yeesh, you're still at it!" A young girl's voice spoke.
Masao spun around. "Aki!" The devilish littler girl dressed in pure black was swinging her legs back in forth in midair.
"Hey, monkey boy! Ook ook eek eek!"
"You brat!"
"Anyways, Queenie, Daddy says if you kill these guys I can fix your face!" Aki stated to Chisato.
Chisato showed a major sign of mitigation. "Really? All right, I'll do it!"
"I'll be back when they're all gone! Bye bye, monkey boy! Have fun! Erusaer Tysmmom!" At Aki's chant she vanished in a flash of light.
"Damn it, Aki! Get back her!" Masao shouted.
"If that is what Miss Angel wants, then the plan has changed." Chisato said. She eyed Naoya. "You know, if Nao-kun carries this sword with him he must be proficient with it."
"What are you getting at Chisato?"
"You and him are best friends too aren't you, Masao?"
"Of course!"
"Then, I have the perfect way to finish you off, Masao! You who was eternally blinded by Maki's lies! You'll die by the hands of your best friends in front of the girl you love!"
"What?" Masao gulped. "Nao, kill me, in front of Maki…what is she talking about? Nao would never…"
"Nao-kun! Sword!" Chisato ordered, his pupils pulsing.
Naoya drew his katana from the sheath on the back of his waist.
Chisato extender her hand forward. "Kill him, Nao-kun! KILL MASAO INABA!"
Naoya jumped high up from the shell, swinging the katana in a downward slash with both hands. Masao fumbled backwards, falling to the ground as the blade narrowly missed him. Naoya rose up high and heaved his weapon with him.
"Nao's trying to kill me? Damn you, Chisato!" Masao quickly stood and evaded Naoya's oncoming stroke. "Come on, Nao! You don't wanna kill me!"
Naoya fixed his angle and swung in a half-circle to his right at where Masao dodged. Mark ducked and then jumped backwards a foot to avoid the follow-up slash downward.
"Don't let Chisato's bull take your mind, dude!" Masao swung his bag to his hip, fishing into it and retrieving his hatchet. "Guess I'll need you after all." He chucked his bag at Maki's stone feet.
"It's futile, Masao! He's under my Marin Karin! The charm will last forever as long as I live! You can't break it!"
"You're full of shit, Chisato!" Masao put his axe forward and Naoya's random stroke was blocked on the edge of his weapon. "Nao's my friend and I know him almost as well as Maki does! He isn't a coward whose afraid to do what's right! He isn't a person who'd lay down and watch his friends die!"
"How can you be sure of this, Masao? From the looks of it, he's trying hard to kill you!"
Naoya's katana grinded off Masao's axe. Masao was pushed back slightly. "Shit! Backs at the wall!"
Naoya thrust at Masao's head, who stepped to the left and danced around Naoya's back. The tip of the katana pierced the wall, causing Naoya to have to pull it out.
"You don't know him at all, Chisato. Nao, Maki, and I have been friends for three years straight. I might not have known him as long as Maki, but he's my best friend, and the only guy I'd trust to watch my back and he knows I'd do the same for him!"
Naoya slashed another half-circle chop behind him, Masao already backing up in anticipation. Naoya charged, unleashing a barrage of strokes that Masao blocked with his hatchet as the shield.
"You're bond of friendship is as useless as your strives to break my Marin Karin! You're fate is sealed Masao! So is Maki's, so are all your friends! I win, so shut up and die with your puny bond! Nao-kun, kill him! NOW! AHAHAHAHA!"
Chisato's hearty laughter filled the room once again, Naoya's blinking pink eyes going at a rapid pace. His strokes became more intense, heavier with a grander amount of weight and force that shoved Masao at every connection against his grinded weapon. Naoya levered his weapon and bashed away Masao's to the left, opening his guard. Naoya followed through with a horizontal slash across Masao's chest.
"AH!" Masao stumbled into Kei's stone shoulder, the rim and sleeves of his jacket cut with his shirt and bleeding gash traveling rib to rib. "So, that's what the demons feel when I hit em' with my axe. Good to know…gotta keep that pain in mind."
"You see, Masao! Your bond means nothing to my Nao-kun! He is mine! Not Maki's! Not yours! Not anyone's but the Harem Queen!"
Naoya kept his katana readied and so did Masao. They locked stares, Naoya's empty and Masao's determined.
"I'll show you, Chisato! My voice will reach Nao! Our bond is profound! It isn't brittle!"
Naoya struck at Masao, who shielded with his axe yet again. "I'll save you, Nao! I promise myself! I won't let what happened back in middle school mean nothing!"
The faint memory floated in the back of Masao's brain as he guarded against the controlled Naoya's strikes. It was a memory of three years ago, of a time were Masao, Naoya, Maki and their friends were in middle school. It was in a time were the Mikage streets weren't vacant at midday and small gangs roamed them until the MPD cleaned them up three years later in 2006. (A/N) It was a time were Masao Inaba had not met Naoya Todo until that one day after class.
Persona: Be Your True Mind
The day of school ended, the cloudless, serene sky and warming, blinding sun beckoning the middle school student body out the doors. Masao Inaba wandered through the gates with the other students, watching and keeping a keen eye out for Mikage Police Department's Lieutenant Oda known to Masao as Lieutenant Baldy who often attempted to stop him from expressing himself with his artwork.
Oda was a friend of the Inaba family and kept Masao in place and away from jail. Masao was usually let off as long as he washed the graffiti he sprayed, but if Oda caught him with the spray paint or in the process of tagging, he'd force Masao to clean until it was spotless or even until the sun had set.
Masao traveled down the street, observing other citizens of Mikage driving and parking, some jogging on the sidewalks, others taking care of their yards or lawns, a handful of kids playing in the open space of grasses, knowing they'd soon be called inside near midday due to the minor rise of gang activity that the MPD did all in their power to suppress. Masao shrugged. He enjoyed using reality as inspiration because no matter where you look you'd find something. It could be interesting, sketchy, romantic, depressing, terrifying, or stimulating depending on your point of view. To Masao Inaba it was inspiration all the same.
Masao had walked two blocks without seeing an inch of Oda. He decided to head along the alleyways, adjusting his raggedy yellow baseball capt to cover the whole of his bushy reddish hair. "I have to shave this hair one of these days." he thought, searching for the right alley to cut across to the subway station, each passage blended into the exact same image overtime: two concrete walls, tarnished aluminum trashcans, and aged, greased, and noxiously smelling dumpsters.
"Not this one, I think it's the next one." Masao wanted to whistle to pass the time as he approached the alley he had to use. Just as he was about to blow the inhaled air, a booming crash and a pounding sound of something hitting the concrete crossed his ears. "What the hell?"
"Should've just given us the money, Todo! Now, you're gonna lose more then your wallet!" A rugged boy's voice yelled from Masao's selected alley.
"Dude, chill! You'll kill the poor bastard!" A scared boy's voice commented.
"That's the plan! He didn't pay up! He'll pay us in blood! That's how it works!"
The pounding and crashing continued, but Masao could now hear the tiniest grunts of pain after each clash on the concrete. He clenched his fists. "Goddamn, punks!" He peeked down the alley. Three street-clothed, bowl-cut boys at the height of five feet and the age of sixteen were standing over and stomping and kicking into a fallen and ground-laid student wearing the same black khakis and jacket Masao was. They were planting the soles of their cleats not only into the weaken students defending arms, but a stray stomp or two reach his torso and face, bashing his entire body against the concrete wall of one of the buildings. "Really valorous, dickheads! Three-on-one is completely fair!" He sarcastically thought.
Masao un-slung his backpack, stuffed with spray paint cans, drawing utensils, and notebooks. "Let's even the odds!" Masao spun into the entrance, letting his weighted bag fly from his hands and through the air.
"Heads up, ass-clowns!"
"What?" The punk the closet to the right gasped as the bag bowled him over face first.
The other two were distracted by the thrown yellow bag, they didn't notice Masao charging forward.
"There's more where that came from!" He landed a hard right jab to the middle punk's nose, breaking it. The strength of Masao's punch knocked the punk into the final one, who caught him. Masao took advantage of his misplaced hands and connected a left cross to the third one's temple.
"Crap! Let's get out of here!" The middle punk ordered, his nose gushing blood, whilst he and his two buddies absconded.
Masao spat to the side and then crouched down to make eye-contact with the beaten student. His hair wavy and ebony and one earring in his ear. He was motionless, muddy foot prints trailing his sleeves and shirt, several cuts and bruises on his face. Masao offered his hand and the student accepted.
"They sure did a number on ya." Masao stating, pulling him up.
The student dusted himself off with his weak and stomped arms and fiddled with his earring. "Thanks…for…saving….me…" He said, halting in between words as if he wasn't used to talking to others.
Masao shrugged. "Eh? It was no problem, just did what I thought was right." He raised up his palm. "By the way, name's Masao Inaba, others call me Mark."
The student hesitated to speak, but raised his palm up to Masao's. "Naoya Todo…nice to meet you Masao."
Masao smacked their hands together in a high-five. "Dude, don't be so formal. Just call me Mark and how bout I call you Nao."
Naoya cringed. "Uh…I'm not sure…Masao." He stammered.
"Come on, Nao! It's short and sweet and stop being so formal. Just call me Mark."
Naoya lowered his head in defeat "Okay…Mark."
"All right!" Masao felt a little accomplished. "We go to the same school, right? Let's head back and see if we catch the nurse before she leaves."
Masao helped Naoya backed to the school grounds learning on his way out of school, he decided use the alley as a shortcut to reach Joy Street. He was heading towards the arcade and that's when the three of them jumped him. At the school, Masao dropped him off with the nurse, who was thankfully in and she went to bandage and clean his cuts and ice his bruises. Masao decided to stay with him for the half-an-hour he was there, the day and sun progressively climaxing. As much as he wanted to leave, it was the right thing to do to stay.
"So, much for tagging today. Oh, screw it! It's no big deal. A human life is more important than my artwork."
Naoya was let out of the nurse's office and the two went outside back to the school's gates, ready to part ways. "How you feelin', Nao?"
"Fine. The nurse said I should go to the clinic to see if I broke any bones."
"If you're moving your arms you're set. Anyway, I'll catch ya later." Masao ran out of the gates, Naoya's words in the background.
"Thanks again, Mark!"
Masao kept his pace. "Ma and Oda will give me shit if I don't get home before sunset. The last thing I need is them on my ass more than the already are."
Despite his knowledge that the alleys weren't safe, Masao did not want a shorter leash and curfew from Oda and his mother for coming home late. His home was on the other side and he had no time to go around. There were two stray pedestrians on the other side of the street and Masao had this feeling that he was being followed. It didn't matter, he was blinded to only wanting to get home and nothing else. He snapped the turn into the alley, surprised by a sudden figure creeping out from the shadow of the dumpster. It was the punk Masao broke the nose of!
Masao halted. "Not this guy again." His back was struck and he was pushed into a lunge forward. The two boys across the way had attacked him from behind. "This must have been how they caught now. It's a pincer!" The two punks had pushed him into a lung into a heavy haymaker of the broken nose punk who was wearing brass knuckles. Masao felt the immense attack on his jaw, the power of the blow shifting his posture and causing him to brush his shoulder and back roughly into the wall.
"Circle this bastard! Fuck him up! He ain't getting away with breakin' my nose!"
The three instantly enclosed any escape Masao had and began an onslaught of hammering kicks to his defensive arms and his open chest. "You've got some fuckin' nerve! Stepping into my alley after breaking my nose! Didn't think you were stupid enough to come back!"
"Damn it! GAH! UG! UG! AGH!" Masao body was showered with the unremitting kicks and slams of the soles of the cleats. His back jumping at each blow into the concrete.
"Not so tough now are ya! This'll teach ya to get a cheap shot in! Whose the ass-clown now?"
"Holy shit! Just shut up already!" Masao yelled and received a punch with the brass knuckles.
"You shut up! I'm gonna beat you to death!" The broken-nosed punk pulled his fist back, the other two kicked into his arms and ribs. "Say goodbye to your teeth, you bastard!"
Masao clamped his eyes shut, only seeing a glimpse of the feet and the oncoming fist. "They have me pinned, can't get a shot in with three of em' on me. If one of them let up for a minute, I could-HUH?"
Masao eyes widen at the broken-nosed punk retracting his fist to pressure his cheek. A flying pebble had hit him mid-punch. His two friends stopped for the moment to see the pebble touch the street and the remaining punk growl in exasperation.
"Now's my chance!" Masao swept his leg under one of the punks who had turned their backs, sending him to the floor face first liked he'd did with his backpack. Taking advantage of the second one distracted with his friend's fall he kicked him into the brass-knuckled punk with his other leg, planting it directly into his abdomen.
Masao struggled to his feet as brass-knuckles punched his underling down to the ground on top of the first Masao dropped.
"I don't know who threw that rock…I ain't leaving until your blood makes up for the cash I lost today!" Brass-knuckles pulled out a switchblade, brandishing it in his right and the brass-knuckles slipped on his left. "Try me now! A rock ain't saving you this time!"
"How about five?" A voice echoed through the alley, originating from the way Masao was tackled in. A figure stood at the end, at his question and exclamation, he sent a handful, a total of five, pebbles soaring and struck brass-knuckles in the face with each.
Masao dug into his pack quickly, taking the moment to retrieve whatever was at the bottom. "Where are they? Where are they?"
Brass-knuckles snarled and swung his knife. Masao wasn't ready and his hands were occupied. The arm was stopped, the slash uncompleted. The boy earlier had ran in and halted the knife arm with his own grip.
"Todo! You damn better let go of my arm! I'll deal with you next!"
"Nao!" Masao found what he needed, aghast at the ebony-haired boy holding back the knife.
"Thanks, Nao!" Masao victoriously pulled up a handful of charcoal stones.
"More rocks! Why the hell do you have those?"
"Never heard of charcoal paintings!" Masao, in the close-quarters tossed the charcoal at brass-knuckles forehead, creating an egg at each contact from the four stones Mark had scattered under his pads and spray paint.
Naoya let his arm go, shallowly escaping an abrupt punch with the knuckles. After charcoal being thrown in the face, brass-knuckles stumbled, dropping his knife, and rubbing the contusions jutting from his cranium.
Masao produced another four charcoal stones. "Wanna take a crack at it, Nao?"
Naoya smiled, picking up each stone and threw each one like a baseball, making four knuckleballs with charcoal strike the punk in the stomach until he collapsed backwards onto the other two.
Masao breathed sharply, moving his jaw back and forth as the two exited death way. "Jeez, a couple minutes later and I would've been a goner. Shit…those knuckles hurt!" Masao hissed sharply at the ache. "How'd you find me anyway Nao…well actual what are you doing here?"
Naoya smiled again, appearing comfortable unlike prior. "You left so suddenly, I didn't get to properly thank you for your saving me…I also wanted to thank you for waiting up for me."
Masao rubbed the underside of his nose. "Ah, shucks, it was nothin'…like I said before I just di-"
"Did what you thought was right, right? That was I did. I followed behind you, hoping to catch up, lost you a block back and had to catch up to this point, hearing that idiot yelling and curse orders…to be honest when I saw they had you cornered…I was scared shitless…I wasn't sure if I could stop it…I thought about turning tail and running…but I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I let someone die and I could've done something to stop it. So, I did what I thought was right, just like you, Mark."
Masao stopped and offered his palm up. "Thank you, Naoya Todo…for saving my life this day." Masao snickered. "Didn't think it be that corny when I said it."
Naoya added his palm up and the two high-fived and clutched their fists firmyl together. "Thought you said not to be so formal, Mark…Nao's fine…and thank you for saving my life today."
"NAO-KUN!"
Naoya's jaw dropped as if saying "OH SHIT!" He shook his head. "Why?" He mumbled.
"Whose that?" Masao looked and saw a brunette girl with a red ribbon pounding down the payment. At that moment a spark of love was ignited and Masao could've sworn she was encased in a heart that blotted the environment around her and a Western musician was playing a song relating to a certain "Yumei no Oko." (A/N)
"Whose she, Nao?" Masao asked, love struck.
The girl reached them. "Nao-kun! The nurse told me what happened and I left archery practice immediately! Look at you! You're bruised and cut…and banged up! You had mere worried!" The girl was rambling in a nervous and urgent manner.
"Sorry…I didn't tell you…" Naoya said.
"Oh, Nao ain't no pushover…" Masao respectively said. "Hell…he just saved my ass three minutes ago…Miss…" The brunette turned towards him. "Maki Sonomura, I'm practically Nao-kun's sister. Whose this Nao-kun?"
"Maki, this is Masao "Mark" Inaba, he's the one who saved me from the guys who jumped me after school."
"Oh my gosh! You saved Nao-kun!" She hugged Masao tight, causing him to go into a awe and painful state. "What can I do to thank you, Masao-kun?"
"You…can…let…go…my ribs…aren't exactly intact…"
"Oh my gosh!" She released him. "I'm so sorry! Nao-kun come on we have to take him to my house and patch him up!"
"No…that's alright…Maki…I'm fine." Masao attempted to turn, but Maki and Naoya hooked their arms under his and caught each other behind his neck.
"Sorry, Mark…I'm with Maki on this one…I wouldn't feel right if I let you walk home without getting those bruises taken care of."
"You read minds, Nao?"
"Huh?"
Masao shook it off. "Never mind…let's go, huh?"
Nao and Maki nodded and smiled.
At the setting sun, a bond was forged. The bond forged in the irons of respect, affection, love, care, and friendship. That day Masao Inaba and Naoya Todo saved each others lives. That day Masao Inaba, Naoya Todo, and Maki Sonomura created a bond between themselves that they would keep throughout middle-school, onward to high-school, and that would transcend the limits of others' imagination.
Persona: Be Your True Mind
Masao groaned as Naoya's slash bounced off his axe again. "He won't let up…Chisato's control hasn't degraded…I can't give up on Nao…he saved me, I saved him and we had each other's backs as buds for these three years and Maki was always their to patch us up when we got into it on the way home. It means everything to me…our bond…it must mean everything to him too…"
"Masao give it up! My Nao-kun will strike until my command is fulfilled! Why not at least try to fight back with that axe of yours? As long as each of you hold your weapons, you hold your opponent's life in your hands!"
Masao looked at his axe. "Each other's life and the other's hands…what am I doing…holding this up against Nao…he's not my enemy…I can beat the charm."
Masao swung up his axe.
"Finally are you going to go for blood!"
"Nope!" Masao chucked his axe to his right, letting it slip from his fingers with the momentum and stick it directly into the floor by the bladed-section.
"WHAT?"
"I never should've raised a weapon to Nao in the first place, Chisato! I won't need my axe anymore! Nao's not going to attack!"
"Oh, really! Nao-kun! Attack him! Kill him! Kill your best friend, like your Queen commands!"
Naoya's eyes pulsed and he angled his blade, stepping towards Masao.
"Nao…don't be the puppet! You can't! I no you're stronger than this! I can't even count how many times you pulled my ass out of the fire following the day we met and I know you know all times I helped you…with bullies…with punks…with all the times you were afraid…all the times I was afraid!" Stray tears wanted to drip to express the sadness that their owner felt like others that very day. Masao recalled Naoya trembling to put the card in the card reader back at the abandoned factory that led into S.E.B.E.C. He could almost see the scene reflected in Naoya's eyes, the pink irises and pupils splintering.
Naoya shuddered, his katana sinking in his grasp, his unarmed hand clasping at the right of his head. The Marin Karin was weakening, Masao's constant words striking Naoya in the mind, body, soul, and heart. Each memory, word, and reminder of their bond chipped away at the minor enchantment encasing his internal and external body systems.
"Nao-kun! Nao-kun! What are you doing? Kill him! I ordered you to kill him! My Marin Karin commands you to do what your Queen orders!"
Masao raised his palm up to Nao. "You got this Nao!"
Naoya growled, screaming up to the ceiling, dropping his weapon. The fragmented pink withdrew and he regained composure, his mind, thoughts, bonds freed from the strings of Chisato's petty desires and jealously that birthed the spell via the mirror.
"HOW? MY MARIN KARIN!"
"I told you, Chisato!" Masao snapped, Nao raised his hand as he stood abreast to Mark. "My voice would reach Nao! Our bond isn't brittle!" They high-fived and clutched each other's fists. "It's strong!"
"That's right…Chisato." Naoya stated. "Your twisted games aren't going to conquer our bond!"
"What are you gonna do, Chisato? You're Nao-kun isn't yours and I'm sure Aki's going to be angry when she comes back and realizes you haven't killed us." Masao yelled.
Chisato bit deep into her lips, expanding the dripping wounds. "I'll kill you all myself, starting with Maki!" Her moles grew as she glanced at her mirror for the spell. "MIRROR, MIRROR, NOW'S THE HOUR; GIVE TO ME YOUR STRONGEST POWER! FREILA!"
The mirror glowed as bright as the other moments and unleashed a familiar greenish yellow-colored cannonade directly at the statue Maki Sonomura.
"No!" Masao leaped, picking up his axe and dashing to protect Maki. "Fine, Chisato! LET'S DO IT TO IT!" Masao swung his axe high in the air. The velvet blue mist surged up, turning Masao into a barrier, blocking the Freila Skill from Maki.
"You won't win this Chisato! I didn't fight, Nao! I won't fight you either, but I won't let you harm Maki! I'll bring us all back alive, I'll watch our backs! No matter what, you won't win!" Masao peered into the struggling energy attempting to bend around his raging blue aura. "PERSONA!"
A shatter of glass was heard in Masao's mind. "Thou art I and I am thou! Thou hast proven thyself worthy of the power of Chariot! Thou hast had a revelation of the heart and demonstrated victory, self-assertion, and the characteristic of a true honorable warrior! Thou hast earned his Ultimate Chariot! Ogun hast become Susano-o, the God of the Seas and Storms!"
Ogun, the voodoo and brown wrapped Persona materialized in the mist, his spear spinning in midair. At a quick rotation of the staff, free from him, six cold-steel, four foot long spikes punctured the cloth of Ogun's shoulders, three spikes per shoulder. At the second rotation, twelve six inch spikes matching the previous erected and pierced the cloth of Ogun's wrist, circling around, six for each wrist. At the third rotation, Ogun's mask bisected, the green wiggling forms of hair/mane, withering away and a samurai's top-knot protruding in replacement with a mess of scarlet, orange hair that stretch at least the length of three men, un-kept, wild, and flowing eventually draping itself over Ogun's neck, the halved mask falling away. Two bottomless abysses of blackness with emerald slits for eyes were the sockets of the skinless skull revealed. The worn bone held the top-knot on the peak of his defined cranium. The upper jaw was intact and the teeth sharpened to a fine point to that of a fiend's. The lower jaw was missing, replaced with a purple skinned chin, decorated with a beard of matching scarlet, orange hair. The staff rotated a forth time, and the cloth covering Ogun's remaining body and limbs rippled and tore itself away, revealing the complete form of Susano-o. Iron shoulder plates and gauntlets held the steel spikes. His exposed skin was bare, naked, a deep purple, painted with squares and stripes and streams of black and white. At last the spear spun for the fifth and final time, presenting itself to Susano-o horizontally, who raised his fierce, well-crafted gauntlets to the blunt-end and spearhead. He clapped his hands together, the spear vanishing into his gauntlets as they longed for each other, connecting into the clap. A peaking purple spark shined and the Persona opened it's hands, bringing forth a golden, refulgent blade, branched from hilt to tip with six prongs of equal length and height. The Persona arced the sword in a swipe and floated above Masao, blankless emerald-slits pitying the paltry attack trying to damage it's muscular physique.
Masao shut tight his eyes. "Ultimate Chariot…true warrior…then my Persona evolved like Brown's and Nanjo's!"
"Yes…Masao Inaba…you surely can hear my words…you surely have questions…" A collected and raspy voiced male stated in Masao's mind.
"Not the time, dude, let's just stop Chisato! We have to destroy her mirror, it's the only way!"
"Then repeat the name of my technique, true warrior!"
Masao heard Susano-o's technique spoken in the foreign tongue. "SUSANO-O! BRAVE BLADE!"
The luminous branch sword, released a maroon aura, Susano-o taking it in both hands, his biceps straining. He flicked the sword forward at the struggling Freila Skill, wrenching the weapon from his hands. The sword, packed with the building red energy spun expeditiously, riving the cannonade in half, the crimson splashing away the green and yellow to make a tunnel in the attack to drive the sword into the mirror. The Brave Blade struck the mirror clean, the glass and frame unscathed, but coated and drenched in the remnants of red sealed in each prong and tip. The reflective surface ceased its glow, the spell ceasing with the magic, the blade returned to its owner's hands like a boomerang, spinning backwards in its own arc that Susano-o originally readied it with.
"My mirror!" Chisato fell to her knees. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY MIRROR? I CAN'T FEEL ITS POWER! IT'S GONE! YOU BROKE IT!"
Masao threw his fist in the air and rested his axe on his shoulder, Susano-o imitating his master with his branched sword and unarmed armored knuckles. "Mirror ain't broken, but her magic sure is, right?"
"Yes, True Warrior Masao Inaba, my Brave Blade has rendered that meager medium useless. She'll no longer be able to project her wills through the magic of the mirror. My divine aura has robbed it of it's false power. You have won and without a causality. I shall take my leave, until you need me again, myself, True Warrior Masao Inaba…"
Susano-o faded and Masao could see in the blackness of his mind a stray card, decorated with a mask image on the back fall. "The card Igor used…to predict my arcana…" The card's full image came in sights, depicting Susano-o standing tall, his hands clapped together and the golden branched sword stabbed directly into the earth. "Thank you…myself…I guess…couldn't have done it without you."
Naoya grabbed Masao by the shoulder. "Whatever you did with that new Persona of yours, it definitely worked, Mark. The others seem to be returning to normal.
The gray of the statues was indeed draining away, soon they would return. Chisato kept on glaring at her mirror, Aki arriving on the scene in a white flash.
"Hey, Queenie! How weak are you, losing to nobodies like them?"
"That little brat!" Masao shook his fist.
"If you can't win, I'm not gonna fix your face! Though I never was gonna do that anyway!" Aki stuck her tongue out and blew a raspberry.
Chisato gasped, utter abhorrence. "Huh? Hey, wait…WHAT DO YOU MEAN?" She was absolutely desperate.
"Daddy called you a "guinea pig" and a "useless pon"! He said: "Even if Chisato loses, she's not worth our trouble!" So you can have fun staying that way as long as you live! Bye-bye, Queenie! ERUSAER TYSUMMOM!" Aki removed herself in her usual flash of light, leaving Chisato on her knees.
"W-wait! Am I going to be like this forever! NOOOOOOOO!" Chisato's voice cracked as she carried on.
"Damn, she really know how to whale!"
"Mark, look!" Naoya pointed to Maki and Kei, the statue stone was dissolve, shedding like a second skin and freeing them from the imprisonment.
"What in the hells?" Kei hissed, wiping dust off his glasses with his scarf.
"Were we still alive like that?" Yukino asked herself, gulping.
"Man, my back is killing me! How long was I hunched over?" Brown complained.
"Like, what…?" Ayase asked, clueless to the problem she caused.
"Goddamn bimbo…" Reiji cursed, harshly wiping miniature shards from his jacket and hair.
"Brave leader…" Eriko whispered. "You're all right…you're you…thank heavens…"
"Chisato's spell is gone! They're back to normal!" Masao turned and saw Maki, who hadn't said a word, instead she was slowly moving to the forlorn Chisato.
"Miss Angel…betrayed me! I can't be like this! I can't look like this!" Chisato whimpering.
"Chisato…just wait here for us." Maki started calmly. "We'll go catch that girl!" She shouted with a renewed vigor. "And when we do we'll make her put your face back to the way it was!"
Chisato, her face nearly a giant mole itself, turned to Maki. "Maki…" She faulted for a moment, then burst. "You're lying! Don't feed me that crap! I know you think I deserve all this!"
Maki crouched, going on her knees on Chisato's shell. "I'm not lying, Chisato." She moved Naoya's tossed machinegun to Naoya himself, everyone else remaining silent. "I still like you…even now."
Chisato faulted again. "You…like me…?"
Maki nodded up-and-down. "Yep! You're energetic, beautiful, fashionable, and self-possessed. I can tell what Yosuke sees in you."
"No!" She snapped. "I'm…sure Yosuke still has a thing for you, Maki." She remembered suddenly everything she had done. "I'm sorry…I was so jealous of you, Maki. You say I'm self-possessed, but it's just an act. The real me is helpless. I have to act out and look pretty or everyone will ignore me. That's why I envied. You just had to be yourself, and everyone loved you.
"Maki has such a big-heart Chisato doesn't realize that's why everyone loves her. She's kind, and selfless and never holds a grudge…even now when she isn't our Maki she's connecting and forgiving our Chisato."
"Chisato…" Maki said.
Chisato cut her off. "Yosuke will hate me now. Then, you and him will…" She stopped opening up. "Yosuke…" She repeated with pure sorrow and worry.
"Ohhh, you are so stubborn!" Maki exclaimed fully benign. "Deep down, you really like Yosuke, but you don't have to worry about me getting in the way. See…"
"Oh…wait…I remember now." Naoya said.
The door to the chamber was busted in and Yosuke feebly limped in, bones still fractured and body still in-sling and bandaged.
"Yosuke, what the hell is he doing here? How is here?"
"Chisato, I finally found you! I've been looking for you all this time!" Yosuke yelled, out of breath and grunted. "What happened to your face? Did you get hurt?" He limped his way to Chisato, Naoya, Kei and Masao clearing his path.
"No! Yosuke, please don't look at me! I'm hideous!" Chisato cowered behind Maki.
Maki clicked her tongue, helping Yosuke up on the seashell. "Umm…what happened was, Aki put a curse on her, and…"
"That's not what…"
"Maki!" Chisato stood up to Yosuke's eye. "Are you trying to cover for me? No…not this time…" She came up-close and personal to Yosuke, having Maki step down, allowing them both to see her moles clearly. "Look, Yosuke! This is my face now! I did terrible things…I was so cruel to Maki! This is my punishment!"
"Chisato…!" Yosuke exclaimed.
"I don't deserve you, Yosuke! I'm a terrible person! Even the face I was so proud of shows it! If people see you with me, they'll laugh at you, too! That's why it's okay if you want Maki instead! You always liked her, right?"
"Hey, hey, hey don't get me wrong!" He frantically replied. "Yeah, I did like Maki…but that was in the past. I like you now, Chisato!" He closed in and she lightly held him back. "Argh, listen to me! This is so embarrassing! C'mon let's go, huh? Leave this place, a white angel told me to come her…told me your were in danger?"
"White angel, his isn't talking about Aki that's for sure."
"Your efforts weren't in vain, Yosuke!" Naoya shouted, catching everyone's attention. "Chisato wanted you here to…she had the maze deliver you here safely…I saw it."
Chisato dropped her arms, thanking Nao and Maki subconsciously. "But, Yosuke…these moles will never come off, you know…" She accepted his embrace. "You won't care if your friends laugh at us…?"
Yosuke kept her in his arms. "Let 'em laugh! See if I care! You said you're a bad person? Well, I'm no saint, either. Don't worry about it. Just be honest with me, like you were a second ago. I'm your boyfriend, Chisato…I don't care what you look like…as long as you're you…that's all I could want in the world. I-I-I love you, Chisato!"
At Yosuke's ejaculation, the mirror gifted by impractical devil known as Takahisa Kandori, glowed one last time and crumbled, the atrophy of the wood reducing the frame to rotten chunks and the glass shatter in on itself into a thousand shards that were the size of grains of salt
"Oh! The mirror…" Maki said.
"It's destroyed!" Masao completed.
Yosuke was shocked. "Chisato! You're face…it's back to normal!"
With the destruction of the demon's mirror, Chisato's face became blemish free, perfectly fine, polished, and as flawless as porcelain. "You're right, Yosuke! This is wonderful and I'm not talking about my face. I always thought you still liked Maki, Yosuke. Thanks…" As they puckered and kissed, they stepped down on the ground level and circled up with everyone at Naoya's recommendation.
"Like you said, Maki. Deep down, I like Yosuke. I'd hope you could forgive me but I doubt it, I did want us to be friends again, though…" Chisato said.
"Oh, come on! What's to forgive? You're still my best friend, Chisato. I'm really happy for you!"
Masao and Naoya high-fived again as Chisato and Yosuke embraced again. "Best friends, huh? Guess you and I are no different Nao. We beat this. Kandori has nothing on us, we'll take that rat bastard down, no matter what."
Naoya spoke. "It seems Aki escaped. Chisato, do you known anything about a man named Kandori? He's in league with Aki."
"I don't know anyone named Kandori, but you know that girl said that she lives in a castle like a princess."
"A castle? Say what?" Masao exclaimed.
Kei snorted. "It's not all that surprising. Though still a child, Aki's powers are immense. She has created familiars of gods, making a castle would be easy."
"Alright, then that's our next goal. Let's find that castle!" Maki cheered.
"It's nice to see her happy again, even if-"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you, Chisato, but that Maki isn't the Maki we know." Yosuke stated.
"Huh?" Chisato questioned.
"It's a long story…" Masao answered.
"We'll tell you at the top." Naoya replied, pulling out the Traesto Gem Igor gave them. "Gather together everyone!" As they grouped together, Naoya crushed the gem in his hand, becoming a pile of white ash. "TRAESTO!" He threw the powder over head, casting it down on all eleven heads, and they felt the jerk and decomposition of matter that traveled passed the ten floors of the Kama Palace and to the top floor of Joy Street, the Black Market where their matter reformed.
Persona: Be Your True Mind
Kandori, sat in the darkness, Aki sitting beside him. She had just given the report on Chisato, the Harem Queen, and the whole situation. "They are heading here then…the trial with the mirror turning that pitiful girl into the Harem Queen was needless…Aki…prepare the trap at the gates and lock them shut while you're at it."
"Yes, Daddy!"
"They'll do the work for us. Mai will give them what we desire and then they shall perish."
Persona: Be Your True Mind
A/N: I'm not sure if 2006 is the exact year it may actually be 1998, but I'm not 100 percent positive but for my series of novelizations this one takes place during 2006
I'm tempted to say why do you even have to ask what that translate outs to, but if you know the scene I was getting at you know what it says. Weaver of dreams is what it translate out too take a swing at what I'm referencing and you can't just say the song.
*Groans in displeasure* My God, I'm sorry this took a longer than I wanted, but I had no idea this would be nine hundred words and honestly it didn't turn out entirely how I wanted due to the fact that while I was writing this with severe head congestion and sleep deprivation and sporadic writing for this chapter. In each of those sittings I lost all sights of what I was doing and ended up struggling with how to explain, how to write, how to shape this dialogue and jeez it sucked, especially with Masao's revelation really not being clearly seen, because I'm trying emphasis that he knows who he is, where he lies in life, what he wants to do, how he runs what he wants to do, and he knows when to pick a fight, because in my opinion a true warrior knows when, where, and why to raise his sword and put it down. Now to be fare the Chariot Arcana isn't all about honor. It's more about conquest, but also command and self-assertion which fits Masao well including artistry and etc. I personally blame the head congestion for the lack in that department, but I'm still kicking myself in the ass. I can't let it get me down. Also I know I crammed three Persona evolution close together, but the next chapter will not have one but will be in the lone view point of one character, try and guess who. For the record the next evolution will be in maybe three or four chapters try and guess whose next. Either way, I hope you *Yawn* enjoyed Chapter Fifteen of Persona: Be Your Mind *Shuts eyes* and I'll see you next time for Chapter Sixteen: Castle Gates Locked. *Falls unconscious*
Eriko: Oh, the poor thing has fallen asleep hasn't he?"
Reiji: He's lucky! I was gonna kick his ass for not having any of us say more then two lines this chapter.
Yukino: Save it for later, Kido. There'll be plenty of opportunities!
Brown: *Facepalm* For his sake, I hope not.
Ayase: Like, me too!