The Fool - Chapter 3
Your two senpai declared you leader on your first excursion to Tartarus. Junpei and Yukari were, understandably, somewhat displeased. Junpei in particular was not thrilled about being subordinate to a girl. Other girls might have been annoyed by that.
You just shrugged.
"Why does she get to be the leader?"
"She's the only one who can comfortably summon a Persona," Akihiko told them. Yukari looked uncomfortable. She still felt guilty over not being able to protect you. You yourself weren't sure what happened that night. After Yukari went down, you bent over, picked up her Evoker, and blasted yourself in the head. Everything that happened after that- your Persona's awesome transformation, in particular- was as yet unexplained; however, the damage was done. The others respected your power.
You found yourself wanting to tell everyone that it was totally just an accident.
But, really- did you want Junpei or Yukari to be leader? Neither of them seemed terribly responsible. With a resigned sigh, you kept your thoughts to yourself, tacitly accepting the responsibility that had been thrust upon you.
It didn't take long to figure out everyone's fighting styles. Yukari fought with a bow, so she would stay in the back and use magic. Junpei insisted on approaching every fight with a balls-to-the-wall level of aggression, charging directly towards every Shadow without even checking to see what he was attacking. That left you to take over a flanking position, which you were more or less comfortable with. While the Shadows were distracted by Junpei, you jabbed at them from the side, or behind. This strategy, such as it was, led you to be reasonably successful in your battles inside Tartarus.
"You're a very effective leader," Mitsuru told you, after the first week of training. You wanted to say that that was an accident, too. All you did was let your partners do what-the-fuck-ever, and fill in the holes.
Or, maybe that was what effective leaders did. You weren't really sure.
In any case, thanks to the nights you spent inside Tartarus, you, Yukari, and Junpei developed an uneasy camaraderie. Even if you didn't much want to be friends with them, you had to trust them to have your back, just as you had theirs. Each night before you went to Tartarus, you all ate dinner together. It was a small ritual, but it helped keep your head in the game.
"How much longer do you think we have to go? Before we reach that barrier that Mitsuru-senpai mentioned, I mean," Yukari asked. You shrugged and swallowed your noodles.
"Dunno."
"Well, I'm sure it'll be a piece o' cake," Junpei said smugly. "If you need any help, Yuka-tan, don't hesitate to ask."
"Shut up."
That night, you reached the barrier. The following night, you faced your second ordeal. The Priestess Shadow, on the monorail. Mitsuru found it, and she sent you, Junpei, and Yukari to investigate. That night, you discovered an uncomfortable truth:
Shadows were much smarter than you'd given them credit for.
You'd taken for granted that they were just malicious monsters that only attacked you because that's what Shadows did: attacked whatever was near them. Your strategy worked because you were attacking stupid beasts, like sheep, or lions, or something. Unfortunately, the Priestess saw through your attack patterns.
"I see one!" Junpei shouted. He ran forward, the way he always did. The monorail cars were just too narrow for the three of you to run abreast comfortably with your weapons, so you were just behind him, and Yukari was behind you. As the three of you approached the Shadow, it turned around and floated away.
"I'm going after it," Junpei snarled.
"Hold on," Mitsuru said quietly. She used her Persona to talk to you, and it never stopped being creepy. "It's behaving strangely. It might be best not to rush ahead."
"But it's getting away!" Yukari, a few steps back, shook her head.
"Junpei-"
"You can see better than I can. What do you think we should do?" Mitsuru was talking to you, and you didn't miss Junpei's jealous sneer. Chasing after Shadows was what you usually did, so it seemed rational to follow that pattern again. Junpei, however, hadn't been there for the attack on the dorm, and if this Shadow was something like that one-
"I'm going in," Junpei shouted, and he charged into the next car. Apparently, he decided to decide for you. Yukari tried to run after him, but unfortunately, two shadows appeared, effectively separating you.
"They played us!" Yukari shouted. She took several steps back to get into attack position.
That left you as the buffer between her and the Shadows.
You hadn't attacked a Shadow head-on before, and you sensed that they knew that. Both of them charged at you, ignoring Yukari completely. The frantic, amorphous blobs were repulsive to you. You found yourself swallowing your own barf. Squeezing your eyes shut, you thrust forward with the bladed end of your weapon.
Something connected, but you didn't open your eyes to see what.
"Hey! Watch out!" The second Shadow was coming after you. It hit you from the side- just like the way Junpei and I attack- and you stumbled back. An arrow flew past you, narrowly missing your shoulder, and embedded in the Shadow's mask. It vanished. Yukari was shaking too hard to lower her bow.
"Are you all right?" she asked. You could see how heavily she was breathing. "This isn't a two-woman job."
"Catch up to Iori," Mitsuru barked into your mind. You stumbled forward into the next car automatically. Shadows that were smart enough to exploit the group's weaknesses?
This was a new kind of hell.
When you reached Junpei, he was in a one-man battle with three Shadows. You rescued him easily, with a shot from your Evoker. He didn't thank you. He was angry, and guilty, and embarrassed that he'd been rescued by a girl. You chose to ignore these emotions and move the fuck on with the mission. The monorail was moving. You ran towards the front of the train, taking for granted that Yukari and Junpei were behind you.
"Is this thing really willing to kamikaze itself just to kill us?" Yukari gasped.
"I'd rather not find out," you muttered back.
The three of you burst into the front car, and came face-to-face with the Priestess. She was shaped differently than the Shadow from the night you moved in, but she was a similar size and strength. She looked more human than the first Shadow. Even though she had no eyes, you could feel her staring at you. The message was clear.
I've been waiting.
This Shadow had been pulling the strings. It was the one controlling the train. To stop the train, you had to stop it. These thoughts occurred to you, in quick succession, accompanied by a powerful emotion that you weren't entirely familiar with.
The will to live.
You were in the habit of drifting along, rather comfortably at that, without feeling any strong attachment to life. Usually, your will to stay alive wasn't relevant. Being alive was something you took for granted. The only other time you'd been forced to confront your own mortality was a month ago, when you were attacked by the last Shadow.
Was this feeling what had called forth your Persona…?
In any case, you were not going to die on the stupid monorail.
You lowered your naginata and charged. Beside you, you could feel Junpei, doing the same.
"Watch out!" Mitsuru called. "The temperature is lowering- it's Bufu!" A wall of cold air hit you, and forced you back. Your Persona- Apsaras- was strong against ice, so you managed to stay on your feet, but Junpei was pushed back into Yukari. Ice creeped up the walls of the train car. The Shadow laughed, a creepy, high-pitched wail.
"What is that noise it's making?" Yukari wailed. You weren't sure how you knew it was a laugh, actually. Junpei was back on his feet, and he lunged at the Shadow, but was unable to make it through the ice.
"Dammit! I can't get close!" The train was accelerating. You bit down on your tongue so hard that it bled.
Now or never.
"Junpei! Together!" you shouted. You thrust your naginata at him, indicating that he should grab on. The two of you pointed the weapon directly at the Shadow's heart- or, where its heart would be, if it were a person. Your naginata wasn't really a stabbing weapon, but the blade was sharp enough to push through the oncoming wind. Protected by your resistance to cold, Junpei was able to hold on, and move forward.
"Eat it!" Junpei screamed, rather inarticulately.
The blade of your naginata buried itself into the Shadow's stomach.
The Priestess howled, this time with pain, and her hair and limbs began to fade away. With a mighty heave, you twisted the naginata. The mighty shriek made your brain split- you saw Junpei go down. The Shadow disintegrated in slow, uneven pieces.
As it disappeared, you felt an odd sensation.
You were at peace.
"We're not stopping!" Yukari startled you out of your relief. The monorail you were on wasn't stopping. Actually, you seemed to be speeding up. Junpei leaned heavily on the rail, having trouble regaining his balance. Mitsuru's voice popped into all of your heads.
"You're going to crash into another train!" Yukari screamed, and Junpei swore.
For an instant, you did nothing. People- or rather, movies and manga- had always told you that during a near-death experience, your life would flash before your eyes. Well, it did, sort of, but all you saw was a bored teenage girl listening to her headphones. For that instant, you thought, would it even matter if I died?
Fortunately- unfortunately?- that train of thought got derailed pretty quickly, thanks to another scream from Yukari, as she fell against the seats.
The train was accelerating.
You quickly glanced around for an escape route. The doors were still shut, and you were moving too quickly to jump out, anyway. You needed to put on the brakes. The three of you were stuck in the front car, and you could see where the operating equipment was. With only a slight stumble, you charged towards the console.
You dove, grabbed the first lever, and pulled as hard as you could.
The train's brakes screamed into action. You were thrown backwards against the wall, then fell sideways, smashing your head against the window. The noise was unbearable. Finally, the train screeched to an unsteady halt, and you tumbled forward onto the console. Behind you, you could hear Junpei and Yukari struggling to right themselves.
"W-what happened?" Junpei stammered.
"The brakes- did you-?" You recovered quickly from your fall, and walked casually back out into the train car. You weren't dead. That was a good thing. Yukari was staring at you with amazement. "How did you know which lever to pull?" You straightened your jacket, and shrugged.
"I guessed."
The others- save Junpei, of course- hailed your first real mission as leader as a smashing success. The Shadow had been eliminated, and no one was horribly injured, or dead. You supposed that those were, indeed, the hallmarks of a successful mission. Unfortunately, just like with the first battle, everything that had happened had been a total accident.
That didn't sit well with you.
Normally, you were aggressively apathetic. Rarely did something stir you enough to drive you to action. Your near-death experience, however, had inspired a bit of a change in you. For the first time, you'd actually fought for your life. Rather than approaching the day-to-day with a sigh and a well, it's going to happen anyway, you stood up and declared that you wanted to live. The emotion was heady and unfamiliar. But most importantly, it made you realize one thing:
You didn't want to have to guess to save your life again.
You started practicing with your naginata in your spare time. Your room was mostly empty, and you had just enough space to swing a hockey stick around without breaking anything. You did your research, of course, and looked up a few basic exercises online, before trying them yourself.
The progress, however, was rather slow.
Your room wasn't quite big enough for the more advanced maneuvers, so sometimes, at night, you sneak down to the lounge to practice there. With the table and chairs pushed aside, you had to plenty of room to practice your swings.
"One- two-" you murmured, hacking at invisible enemies. "One, two." Your midnight hockey practice sessions had become habit, now. Once the Dark Hour ended and everyone went to bed, you would double back, and set up your studio in the lounge. This particular evening, the group hadn't gone to Tartarus at all, so you were able to squeeze some extra training in.
Your speed was getting better, as was your hitting power. It was difficult to practice accuracy with no targets. You'd have to look into that, later. But just as you launched an all-out attack on a particularly gruesome imaginary Shadow-
"Hey. Training hard?" Without stopping your follow-through, you spun around and pointed your weapon at the intruder.
Akihiko Sanada.
"Whoa," he said. He put his hands up, as if to say, I come in peace. You lowered your hockey stick, and brushed your sweaty bangs out of your eyes- an instinctive effort to make yourself look more presentable.
"Hey, Senpai," you greeted. You hadn't spent any time alone with Akihiko-senpai. That would be improper. He was, after all, your Senpai, and also a boy. You also got the impression that he didn't like talking to people, anyway. At least, no one besides Mitsuru Kirijo.
"Don't you need your sleep? All the training in the world won't do you any good if you don't keep yourself in good physical condition." You felt his concern, academic as it was. You were indeed exhausted from training during the Dark Hour, and you obligingly flopped down into a nearby chair.
What were you supposed to say, anyway? It's ok, I sleep in class?
You'd thought that Akihiko had come from upstairs, but on second inspection, you realized that he'd come in from outside- you just hadn't heard the door while you were practicing. His clothes were dirty, and he had a bruise on his lip. He'd moved straight past you to pour a glass of water in the kitchen. Realization dawned on you.
"Does Mitsuru-senpai know you've been sneaking out to fight at night?" you asked, one eyebrow raised. He was still injured, and you both knew that dear Mitsuru would have some strong words if she found out. For a second, Akihiko hesitated, before downing his water in one gulp. You saw him shuffle his hands. He was trying to cover up bruises on his left knuckle. Akihiko was clearly conflicted- torn between lying, or telling the truth, or saying nothing at all.
Well, this way your midnight training sessions could stay undisturbed.
You stood back up, hoisted your hockey stick, and went back into your routine. One, two. You changed from practicing slashes, to jabs. Akihiko was now fiddling around in the kitchen, maybe making himself a sandwich. Whatever he was doing, it wasn't going upstairs. You could feel him watching you.
"Bend your knees a little more," he said, suddenly. "Your stance is weak. You don't want to get knocked over." You gritted your teeth, but obliged. Sure enough, your attacks felt stronger, and more balanced. Your level of control was enhanced.
"Thanks," you said.
"You're doing a really good job, by the way," he added. You supposed he meant fighting Shadows, or maybe he meant as leader. You obviously weren't that strong a leader if you couldn't even stop Junpei from sprinting off to get himself killed.
"I've never fought anything before," you admitted, following through with a particularly aggressive strike. "I mean, the others- Yukari-san already knows how to use a bow, and I'm sure Junpei-kun's at least street-brawled a couple of times."
"You've never played any sports, or anything?"
"I used to play softball, in middle school," you admitted. "They called me the Wall. I had this really low center of gravity, and none of the other girls could knock me over." You paused. "I don't know why we were trying to knock each other over in softball." Akihiko laughed at that, a genuine laugh, though it was quiet. You weren't sure why you felt the need to share a charming childhood anecdote with him. Usually, you didn't go in for that sort of thing.
"Maybe sometime you can teach me how to throw a punch," you grinned. "After your ribs are healed, of course."
"It's not that hard. Just make sure you use your whole body- it's all about the momentum." He demonstrated, slowly, pulling his shoulder back and twisting his upper body to provide the force for the blow. You copied his motion, using your right hand.
"Yeah, that's pretty good," he said. "Just imagine a Shadow in front of you. That makes it easier."
"Ew," you said, automatically. Akihiko laughed again.
"Punching them's not that bad," he grinned. "It's actually pretty satisfying."
"I'll take your word for it."
You didn't see Akihiko at night again. Either he was more careful about sneaking out, or he'd stopped doing it altogether. You quietly assumed it was the former. Soon enough, though, his ribs were healed, and he was planning to re-join the team. You hoped that that would relieve you of your leader duties, but you had no such luck.
"Do you mind staying on as leader?" he asked. Like you were gonna say no.
The group dynamic changed dramatically when Akihiko joined. He was different from the others. Junpei and Yukari- and yourself, though you didn't want to admit it- stumbled through battles, waving your weapons and letting your Personas do most of the work. Akihiko-senpai, by contrast, was both experienced and physically strong. He approached fighting with a passion that set him apart from the rest of you. Within the first couple battles, you realized that you weren't really going to be able to tell him what to do. Besides that, he fought without using a weapon, so he had to be in the heart of the battle to do any damage. That made him a target.
"Junpei," you said. "Attack the same enemies as Akihiko-senpai." With both of you flanking, you could prevent your senpai from getting too brutally injured. Of course, Akihiko didn't see it that way, and you chose not to mention it.
"All right, if you say so," Junpei muttered. He didn't like taking orders from you, even if those orders were closer to suggestions. In any case, you were pleased to discover that he did more damage with his sword when he wasn't attacking from the front.
Strategy, man. You had it.
When Fuuka joined your group, your tactics became even more complicated, thanks to Fuuka's constantly feeding you information on enemy movements and weaknesses. The Shadows seemed to have become aware of your decidedly unwanted presence, and they were getting stronger, too. Still, your group won every fight without much difficulty.
Until the Shadow's tactics became more complicated, too.
You went into Tartarus one night in the middle of June. Junpei, Yukari, and Akihiko came with you into the maze, with Mitsuru staying behind to support Fuuka. She was still shaky on their missions, understandably so, and no one wanted to leave her alone on the first floor.
In minutes, the four of you met a pack of Shadows, strong but nowhere near impossible. The fight started out in a perfectly normal fashion.
"It's weak against wind," Fuuka shouted. Even after months of exploring, you still weren't used to hearing voices inside your head like that; however, you nodded over at Yukari before hoisting your Evoker. Fortuna erupted from inside of you with a powerful Magaru, just as Io did the same. Like usual, Akihiko and Junpei charged directly into the swarm, weapons blazing.
The first Shadow went down easily, and Akihiko charged towards the second one. It lifted its hands, as if it were going to attack, but it used a spell you'd never seen before. Whatever it was, it managed to stop Akihiko in his tracks, and that was no easy feat. You kind of respected that little Shadow.
Or, you did, until Akihiko turned on his heel and charged towards you, instead.
Both of your senpai had warned you about Shadows that were able to manipulate thoughts. Draw up old memories, take advantage of your healing abilities. Force you to attack your comrades.
Your suspicions that this was, indeed, the last type of spell were confirmed, when Akihiko evoked and sent his Persona barreling towards you. You blocked his Zio attack easily.
"Senpai, what are you doing?" Junpei yelled.
"Akihiko-senpai isn't thinking straight!" you heard Fuuka gasp.
"No shit," you snapped back. Polydeuces vanished, and you figured he was going to back down. But of course, you were never that lucky. Akihiko scowled and stared at you with flat eyes.
He tossed his Evoker aside, and lunged.
You pressed your own Evoker against your temple, but Akihiko didn't give you enough time to use it. He was on you in a second, and he knocked it out of your hand, as easily as if you'd thrown it away yourself. You barely had a chance to grab your naginata before he was throwing a punch at you, a punch that you were sure you only dodged because his movements were a tiny fraction slower than usual. A quick look around told you that Junpei and Yukari were tied up fighting the Shadows; that left you to deal with Akihiko yourself.
"We're coming!" you heard Yukari shout. You held your naginata in front of you as you dodged Akihiko's wild swings, careful to keep the blunt end pointing forward, waiting for an opportunity to strike back.
Finally, he punched just a bit too hard, and when he missed, you were able to duck behind him. Instinctively, you swung your naginata at his back; at the last moment, you managed to redirect it to the back of his knees. You thought you were only hitting him with the pole, but you saw a flash of red as the blade grazed the skin.
"Shit, I'm sorry," you said, automatically. But your blow hadn't managed to knock Akihiko down. In that one moment when you hesitated, he righted himself, and launched another attack.
You got to find out exactly how hard a boxing champ punches.
You felt your teeth cut the inside of your mouth. Your neck cracked as you were knocked aside. Akihiko followed up with another punch, straight to your gut. Blood flew out of your mouth. Your naginata tumbled uselessly onto the floor.
"Someone help her!" Fuuka shouted. Akihiko grabbed you from behind, and put you in a headlock, twisting your neck so hard you saw stars. He was taller than you, and your feet lifted up off the ground, only slightly. You'd never felt so small and helpless. He was choking you. You were going to pass out.
You hadn't been entirely truthful when you told Akihiko that you'd never been in a fight. At your middle school, where you'd had quite the reputation, a girl from your class had approached you in the bathroom and accused you of stealing her boyfriend. You, naturally, told her to shove it. Instead, she shoved you. That was when you slapped her. By the end of the slap fight, the two of you were both bruised and suspended from school.
"Girls fighting," your teacher had said. "What is this world coming to?"
Those memories came flooding back to you now, even though you weren't really sure why. In any case, you suddenly remembered how you'd gotten that bitch to let go of your hair.
Hoping that Akihiko was not used to girl-fighting, you stomped on his foot as hard as you could.
That didn't get you as far as you'd hoped, but it did surprise him enough to loosen his grip, only slightly. It was enough to be able to bite him in the arm. You tasted something bitter and you realized it was his blood. Without stopping to think about how fucked up that was, you reached behind you and grabbed a fistful of his hair- too short for a good yank, but he had enough for it to hurt. You pulled as hard as you could.
Your triple-attack was enough to disorient Akihiko, probably because he was already disoriented to begin with. You thought, quickly, about what would be the easiest way to incapacitate him. What do they always tell girls to do to boys who grab them inappropriately?
You curled your fingers into a tight fist, and clubbed him in the balls.
When he stumbled back, you whirled around, and kneed him in the crotch again, as hard as you could. It was going to hurt like hell tomorrow, but then, he'd almost broken your neck, so you didn't really care. You could already feel a bruise forming under your left eye.
"Hey! Get back!" You heeded Junpei's order just in time to watch Hermes plow into Akihiko from the side, pinning him to the wall. The Shadow's spell seemed to be wearing off, and Akihiko slumped into semi-consciousness.
"Sorry it took me so long," Junpei gasped. You were sure it was only a matter of seconds, but everything seems to take longer when you're scrabbling for oxygen. You found yourself pleased that Junpei wanted to protect you, even if he didn't want you to be leader. Your trust in him grew.
Meanwhile, Yukari was holding off the last of the Shadows with a flurry of non-stop Garu spells. Just as she prepared the final blow, the last Shadow burst free from the pack, barely escaping Yukari's fatal spell. It slipped behind her, and paused. For the briefest of moments, you could see the wheels turning behind its beady little eye-sockets. You were the most vulnerable of your group, still knocked off balance, with no weapon at the ready. It was only strategy, after all.
You understood the Shadow.
It bolted towards you with a maniacal force.
"Hey! Look out!"
"It's coming right for you!" You heard your friends' warnings, but it wasn't like you had any time to get out of the way, anyway. If you reached for your naginata, the Shadow would be able to hit you in the back. No, the only way was to face it head-on. You stared directly into the Shadow's eerie mask, and bent your knees.
"What are you doing?" Junpei screeched. You balled your hands into tight fists. You squared your posture, twisted your waist and hips, and leaned into your back foot, building up pressure. You calculated carefully, based on the Shadow's speed, and right when it was upon you, you loosed your fist.
The Shadow ran head-on into the Wall.
Your fist connected with the mask. You felt just a tiny hint of resistance, before it gave way with a mighty crack. The mask shattered, and your fist burst through, straight through the Shadow's would-be head. You'd never touched a Shadow before. It felt cold, and gooey. Like stale pudding.
"Whoa- what-?"
The Shadow broke into several pieces, flailing miserably on the ground, and then you stomped on them 'til they were dead. It was a delicious, cathartic feeling. When the Shadow had been reduced to goop, you casually flipped your hair, and bent down to pick up your weapon.
"Dude," Junpei stammered. "Dude. Did you just kill a Shadow with your bare hands?"
"Yeah," you said, casually. "Pretty sweet, right?" Your teammates stared at you with slack-jawed admiration and respect.
Something swelled inside of you.
You identified it as pride.
Yeah, that's right. This, this right here,is why you got to be leader, and not them. 'Cause you were a super-powered badass, that's why. You had abilities they didn't have. You were able to act when they couldn't. You beat up Akihiko Sanada, undefeated boxing champion.
From that moment on, you were at peace with your leadership role.
Yukari rushed over to cast Dia on Akihiko, and soon he was well enough to be walked out of Tartarus. His head still hadn't cleared, and you couldn't really talk to him, but he was mobile, and that was what was important. Junpei supported him on his shoulder as you walked through the labyrinth.
"I think we're all tired. That's probably enough for the night." You strutted over to the access point and led the team back down to the entrance. After collecting Mitsuru and Fuuka, the six of you headed back towards the dorm. You, Junpei, Yukari, and Fuuka chatted amicably as the Dark Hour faded and normal time started up again. Mitsuru immediately dragged Akihiko off to treat his wounds, and you didn't see him again.
The next morning, the blow you'd taken to the face had produced a pretty beautiful shiner. You covered it up the best you could at school, and thankfully, if anyone at school noticed, they didn't say anything. That night, you were studying in your room when you heard a timid knock on your door. You immediately recognized the knock as not belonging to Yukari or Mitsuru, your usual visitors.
"Who is it?"
"It's me. Uh, Akihiko." You stood up and walked over to the door, pulling it open. Akihiko stared back at you, looking for all the world like a kicked puppy. You'd never seen him so miserable. His eyes traveled to the bruise on your face, and if possible, his misery deepened. He spoke quietly.
"I'm really sorry."
"It's not your fault." He was wearing shorts, and your eyes slid down to his left knee, which was wrapped in a tight bandage. His arm had a band-aid covering up where you'd bit him. "Besides, I messed you up, too." You wondered briefly if his groin had recovered from the blows, then decided it was better not to ask.
"Yeah, only because you were defending yourself." Akihiko's guilt choked the hallway. "I wasn't strong enough. I shouldn't have-"
"Seriously, don't worry about it. The bruise will heal in a couple days." Watching your senpai act so apologetic and sad was painful. He shuffled back and forth, staring at his hands.
"Ok. I mean, if you're ok," he said. Suddenly, he perked up. "I heard you killed the last Shadow by punching it in the face." A tiny smile appeared on his face. "Junpei told me. I guess you're a pretty good student, after all."
"Thanks, Senpai. You were right." He looked at you curiously, and you smiled. "It was pretty satisfying."
LOLOL FUUKA'S DIALOGUE SUCKS LOLOL
OMG I am cranking these out much too quickly. And they're getting longer. That leads to expectations. The scene with MShe fighting the charmed Akihiko was actually the first one I wrote- I wrote it after watching the opening of The Answer, where Aki fights Aigis. Of course, Aigis can shoot bullets out of her hands, so she doesn't need to punch him in the balls.
Many thanks to Kathi, who reviewed that last chapter not once, but two times. Hey- maybe you should get an FFnet account so I can actually reply to your reviews? Dammit, Kathi, I don't know how to quit you.
The next chapter will be about family. That's right. It's dead parents time. SPECIALIZED EXTRACURRICULAR BROKEN-HOME SQUAD UNITE
Bonus points to anyone who knows where "They called her the Wall. She had this really low center of gravity, and no one could knock her over" is from.
B-MU OUT