Chapter Six: Aeon + Empress: Power fusion? Making memories!
Yu enjoyed the cool breeze that accompanied him on his ride to the shopping district. Once he found a spot to park his scooter at the local gas station, he began to mentally go over the plans for today. After topping off his scooter, he would head over to a certain room that exists between the realities. He had meant to take Marie out again for a while now, and was certain she must be growing increasingly tired of the room's cramped space. He'd also accumulated a fair amount of personas recently, so he planned to speak with one of the room's other occupants as well. Speaking of which…
A familiar Moel attendant approached Yu as he was bringing out his cellphone. They looked over at the grey moped set up near the pump before greeting him with a cheerful smile.
"Hey there! Fancy seeing you again. You filling her up today?"
Narukami nodded politely in affirmation before returning his attention to the screen. "So the first requiring multiple steps is… Neko-Shogun…" he mumbled. The attendant glanced over at the odd teenager muttering to his phone before turning back to the scooter and striking up conversation; after a while the silence would begin to become palpable. "That rain was pretty relentless yesterday, don't you think?"
"Yes," said Yu, not moving his gaze.
Huh. That was rather succinct. The gas attendant grinned. "The silent type, huh? Or maybe just not much to say?"
Narukami shrugged ever so slightly. "I'm sure there will be plenty for us to talk about soon enough."
The employee was caught off guard for a split second before recovering quickly enough to finish attending the scooter with a nervous laugh. "Hah… not exactly sure what you mean by that, but sure! There's always gonna be something to talk about in a town like this. Gossip, rumors, news stories- am I right?"
"Sure thing." Narukami paid for the gas and went on his way, leaving the attendant with a feeling that couldn't exactly be placed. This kid was peculiar, indeed.
Marie looked up from her seat as someone entered the Velvet Room, interrupting the usual monotony of silence that permeated its space. It turned out to just be Silver McBowl-Top. But who else would it be, right? He was the only one that ever visited this place, anyway. The Nose threw him the usual welcome that Yu acknowledged with a nod. Then he looked her way, so she sat up straighter as he approached her and cut him off before he could speak.
"Hey." She greeted almost dismissively. "You going out somewhere today? Any longer sitting in here and I'll go completely stare crazy."
"Dear girl," Margaret chimed in with a short laugh. "I do believe that the term is in fact, stir crazy."
Marie glared over at her supposed mentor. "Shut up. Nobody asked you."
Margaret casually shook her head and returned her attention to the large volume that never seemed leave her lap. What would they do with this brash girl…?
"Yes," Yu said in answer to Marie's inquiry. "Was there anywhere in particular that you wanted to go?"
"Yeah!" She replied excitedly, preparing her things to leave the room. "Well no, not in particular I guess. I don't know. Just somewhere new. Now c'mon let's go! Take me out." Narukami couldn't help but smile at the girl's impatience as she made her way to the exit.
"I'll be right out," he called after her. "Give me a sec." He turned to the silent woman on Igor's left, who looked up in surprise upon realizing that his attention was directed towards her.
"Ah. Forgive me," Margaret apologized as she closed her Compendium. "Is there something I can assist you with, honored guest?" She glanced upward shortly in thought and pondered aloud. "Of course," she said. "Nothing takes place in this room without purpose. In fact…" Her golden eyes made their way back over to the boy in front of her. "Yes indeed. So far, you have grown tremendously on your current journey. I believe you are ready for a challenge— a request on my behalf, if you will." She offered an elegant smile. "Tell me, would you be willing to take on such a task?"
Yu dipped his head, answering without hesitation. "Of course."
"Very well," she began. "Then if you please, I require of you specific feats of Persona fusion. To start, please bring to me an Ippon-Datara that possesses the skill 'Sukukaja'. After you have accomplished this fusion, I will point you toward the next; each proving to be more challenging than the la—"
"Here."
Margaret was pulled out of her monologue as Narukami brought a tarot card forth to show to her. He looked back at her expectantly as the card floated just above his hand.
"Oh." She waved her hand and the card was transported to the now open tome situated in her lap. Sure enough, the Persona's attributes were appropriate. "You are proving to be quite resourceful. Well done." She snapped her fingers once, and the card was gone. "Now. On to the next task. I would like you to develop a Matador with the ability to cast 'Mahama'. Mhm…" She smiled to herself. "Quite fascinating, considering the Arcana from which the Matador originates. Once this is completed, return to me so that—"
"Here."
Margaret received another card that, sure enough, contained the requested Persona. "How… interesting. I believe I was correct in entrusting you with this responsibility. Hmmm…" She cleared her throat and continued. "When you are ready, present to me a Gdon that is able to use—"
"Rampage," Narukami finished and handed her another card. "Right here."
"I… Goodness. I must admit. Even I was unable to predict such initiative."
Yu offered a smile as he prepared to leave. "I'll be back later with the Neko-Shogun."
"Of course," Margaret replied knowingly with a smile of her own. There was a brief silence once the door to the Velvet Room closed, both remaining occupants staring after their guest's retreated form.
"…Wait," Margaret turned to Igor, who had been silent for the majority of Narukami's visit. "How did…?"
When Yu made it back outside, Marie ran up to him and began pulling him towards the northern part of the shopping district.
"There you are, finally." She huffed. "I went to get some of those fsteak skyewwer things at that place over there. But the woman said that I had to give her Munny or whatever first, so I couldn't get any."
Yu blinked as he was dragged in front of the food stall. "You could have just waited. I was coming out of the Room right after you." He reached into a pocket to grab his wallet.
Marie rolled her eyes. "You were taking way too long talking to the Nose, or whatever you were doing. Then," she continued, "some little person walked by with food too, so I told them to give me some Munny instead. But they just ran away." She crossed her arms. Narukami paused after paying for the snack.
"'Little person'? You… told a random kid to give you money?"
She shrugged indifferently. "Well I tried. But like I said, he just ran away like he was scared or something." Honestly, she couldn't tell what his problem was.
Yu squinted at his friend, trying to imagine her stopping a child in their tracks as they meandered down the sidewalk and ordering them to give her all of their cash. He sighed heavily as he received their order and handed a steak skewer to Marie. She took the food as coolly as possible, trying and failing to hide her obvious excitement at being able to eat more of this world's strange cuisine.
"I want to go somewhere high-up today," she said between bites. "Like… a mountain. Take me to that one over there." She pointed to some scenery far off into the distance. This would already prove to be an eventful day.
After once again explaining to Marie why they wouldn't be able to walk to the top of the nearest mountain within the day, Narukami guided her through a well-known trail that led to the top of a hill with an excellent view of the countryside.
"Okay so," Marie was saying, "I also can't walk up to someone I don't know and tell them to give me Munny because if a… 'Cop' sees me do it, they can take me away for robbery?"
The taller boy rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah… pretty much."
"How stupid," she dismissed. "What do people even need Munny for in the first place? It's just paper. You can't do anything with it but write on it."
Yu smiled. "Like how you write poems?"
"Eh—what?! S-shut up! No, that's not what I meant-"
"If you want money to buy things, then you should just try getting a job."
Yu's statement caught her off-guard before she could provide a retort. "A… job?"
"Yeah. You have set tasks that you carry out, and whoever hired you pays you for your work."
"Huh." Marie brought a hand to her chin. "Well, they did give me fixed responsibilities in that Room… Blondie calls it an 'apprenticeship' though." She looked up at him. "Doesn't that count as a 'job'?"
"Well… sort of."
"But they don't even pay me for that." Her eyes narrowed. "That long nose's been cheating me this whole time. I'm gonna make them start paying me or else… I don't know. I'll find a better job." She'd leave the Velvet Room if he had to; it's not like she needed them anyway.
Yu cleared his throat. "Maybe that's not the best—"
"What about you?" she interrupted. "Where's your job?"
"A… lot of places." He replied with an open air. In truth, he worked a number of odd jobs throughout town. "Most of the money I get is from fighting shadows though."
Marie wasn't completely sure what he meant by all of that, but it didn't matter as they'd reached the top of the hill. Narukami had been true to his word. The view from up here was truly breathtaking. She sighed contently as a cool breeze wafted past them. She was pulled from this small moment as she heard Yu clear his throat somewhere behind her.
"The fallen angel… is chained down."
Marie froze.
"Her wings torn off, eroded by prejudice,
her last breaths full of black despair...
Do you know her name?"
She spun around in a split second and, to her surprise, saw Narukami reading from a familiar piece of paper.
"Will she eventually return to nothing,
forced into the realm of oblivion...?"
"Hey, where did you…? Give me that!" She rushed forward and tried snatching the poem out of his hand, but he quickly sidestepped her and held the paper higher above him as he read aloud.
"-NNNNo!" He continued dramatically.
"Her requiem will become a roar
And tear away the mask of hypocrisy!"
"How did you even get that at all?!" She asked as she reached for the small parchment being held just out of reach. "UUGGHH- giveitbackstupiddummyIhateyou-!"
"Do you know her name,
she who will strike down the cowards and tear down the lies?"
"Shuttup Shuttup! Dumbassblockheadinfidel! I'llneverforgiveyougiveitback!"
"That's right," he pressed on for the grand finale. "Her name… is-Oof!"
Narukami looked up from the ground where he'd fallen after a swift kick to the abdomen rendered him powerless. "Her… n-name…"
Marie reached down and grabbed her poem from his trembling fingertips, quickly stowing it in the safety of her bag. Before she could begin scolding him, loud footsteps could be heard running up the hill.
"And lllo' and behold," someone said as they made it to the top. "King o' the Hill, Daisuke- what'd I say! Don't worry though. It's not like I already told you I'd win or anything." The boy grinned triumphantly.
"S-shut up," his buddy came up next to him, seemingly winded. "You weigh less, of course you'd be quicker. So basically, you cheated."
"What? Man don't be a sore loser. You should be happy I beat your ass- it shows you're off your game, heh."
"Tsk, whatever. Rematch! But this time down the hill. The weight from my superior muscles would carry me down faster." The taller boy psyched himself up.
"Uhh… then by your standards, wouldn't that make you the cheater this time?"
Daisuke rolled his shoulders. "Nah, it ain't cheating Kou— it's just biology."
"Ha! You hypocrite."
Someone huffed a few feet away, and they both finally realized that they were in the company of others. "Oh! Sorry for our loudness," Kou apologized politely. "Guess we can get pretty carried away." He looked past the rather unresponsive girl in front of him and saw someone he thought he recognized on the ground.
"Yo! Is that you, Narukami? Fancy seeing you here, dude."
A grunt of some kind could be heard from Yu's facedown position in the grass. Daisuke took in the strange scene with suspicion. "Did ah… did we just walk in on a robbery or some weird shit?"
Kou laughed nervously. "Honestly, I'm not really sure what to think… Looks like… he could have made the wrong move or something, if you know what I mean. Ouch."
"Robbery?" Marie repeated. "N-no that's not it, you've got it all wrong! I didn't take any of his Munny, so you'd better not go telling one of those 'Cops' anything!"
"Whoa… cops? Nah, Daisuke was just joking. He's stupid like that."
"Hey—!"
"Then again…" Kou continued, "We did choose the perfect time to run into something so bizarre. Good on you, Narukami!" he exclaimed with a thumbs-up. "I won't even ask."
Daisuke looked down at their friend's motionless body and scratched his head. "Yeah, talk about having his back." Poor guy was probably too embarrassed to move. It was actually pretty funny. "I'll help him up."
Kou stopped him with a hand to his shoulder. "He… might have deserved whatever caused this. Am I right?" he asked, winking at Marie and trying not to burst out laughing.
Marie crossed her arms with a shrug. "He might have."
"What?" Daisuke protested. "Nah man, bros before ho—oww!"
"Yep. Thought so." Kou said while covering his friend's mouth. Marie watched the taller one hold his elbowed ribs.
"You're both really weird."
Yu could sense his friends' amusement as they joked amongst themselves. He didn't plan for this day to escalate in the way that it had, but at least he felt he'd made some progress…
Her name is…
What is it?