Shout out to Persona 1 in this chapter. And WHEEEE, TWO SHADOWS. Enjoy!
Sometime after falling asleep, Aika woke up to a familiar room cloaked in blue velvet. "Welcome," said the bald man with the long nose. His name was Igor, if she remembered correctly. "Do not be alarmed. You are fast asleep in the real world. I have summoned you within your dreams."
"So just like in the train," Aika mused.
Igor grinned at her. "And so we meet again. Now, allow me to introduce my assistant." He gestured to the foreign-looking blonde woman sitting next to him. "This is Margaret. She will assist you in your endeavors."
Margaret graced Aika with a warm smile. "Pleased to meet you," she said in a pleasant voice. "This is a space that only those who have, in one way or another, entered into a contract may enter."
"But I don't remember signing any contract," Aika pointed out. "Nothing out of the ordinary, at least."
"In your daily life, you subconsciously heard the call to awaken, and you chose to follow the destiny of your inner voice," Margaret explained, "thereby enacting your glorious awakening to your power."
"My power…" Aika echoed. "Are you talking about Aoandon? My Persona?"
Margaret nodded. "Correct," she answered.
"I didn't have to face my Shadow to access her power," Aika thought aloud, "so did you call me here because of that? Or is it the other way around? Did I not have to face my Shadow because I was called here before?"
"All will be explained in due time, my dear," Igor said sagely. "But to answer one of your questions, you did not have to face any Shadow because there was none to begin with."
"In other words, you are completely honest with yourself," Margaret clarified. "What you choose to hide from the world, you are not necessarily hiding from yourself. You are perfectly aware of your own faults and shortcomings, and do not make excuses for them – something that would have caused a Shadow to manifest." The tiniest of smiles appeared on her face. "You truly are worthy of the Hermit Arcanum."
"Hold onto this," Igor instructed her. Aika's hand tingled briefly, and then there was a cold, metal key there. "From this night forth, you are our guest in this Velvet Room. Your destiny will require you to hone your power, and for that, you will inevitably require our help."
"Okay, so what's the catch?" Aika asked.
"There is but one price," Igor explained. "You must abide by your contract and assume responsibility for all decisions you make."
Aika frowned in confusion. "That's it?" she asked. "Isn't everyone supposed to do that anyway?"
"Not everyone follows the same moral principles that you do," Margaret pointed out.
Aika exhaled slowly and nodded. "I understand."
"Very well," Igor said, his grin widening. "The Persona you have acquired… It is a side of you that shows itself when you face the world around you. Perhaps you can think of it as… a façade of determination you wear to face various difficulties in life."
"So that's what she meant when she said we're the same…" Aika said quietly. "But you said something about honing my power. If my power were the same as Yosuke's, then he'd be here too, right? Or you would've met with him at some point. But I awakened to my Persona without having to face my Shadow like he did… Does that make me… different?"
"Your ability is that of the Wild Card," Igor explained. "Compared to that of others, it is very special. It is like the number zero… empty, yet holding infinite potential within itself. This particular ability is the power to control one's own heart… and the heart is strengthened through bonds. As you form bonds by becoming involved with others, your own Social Links will gradually develop. The power of these Social Links is what will determine your Persona's abilities."
"I'm sorry," Aika said. "I don't really understand what you're talking about."
"Social Links are necessary for more than strengthening your Persona," Margaret said. "At times, they will help light the way to the truth you are searching for."
"So…" Aika said slowly. "You want me… to use my relationships with other people… to strengthen my Persona? Isn't that… well… using them? I don't think I could do that to them."
"All relationships are inherently selfish," Margaret said bluntly.
"Not to mention, with the nature of your power, it will happen regardless of what you desire," Igor said. "Now I believe it is time for you to return to your own world. I look forward to traveling the road of your destiny together."
He chuckled, and Aika's vision began to darken. "Wait!" she cried. "I'm not finished yet!" But it was too late, and her vision faded entirely to black, and when her eyes flew open again, she was staring at the ceiling of a room that didn't quite feel hers yet, dim light streaming through the window. The bone-deep exhaustion she'd felt after awakening to Aoandon was gone, without a trace of it having existed at all. Sitting innocently on her table was the pair of white-rimmed glasses Teddie had given her the day before. Aika exhaled sharply, making a note to purchase a case and cleaning cloth for it, as she stood up, ready to face a new life.
Chie approached her after school, her face deceptively blank. "So…" the short-haired girl drawled.
"Um…" Aika mumbled.
"About yesterday…" Chie continued hesitantly.
"I-I didn't mean to…" Aika said quietly.
"I'm sorry!" both girls blurted out at the same time. Chie laughed, and it was as if a great weight was lifted from Aika's chest. "And here I thought you'd be mad," Chie said.
"I-I thought you would be…" Aika mumbled. "Um… I didn't mean to offend you or anything, Chie-san. I just…"
"I know," Chie said helpfully. "You thought what happened was your fault, and you wanted to fix it without dragging anyone else into it. You know, you really don't look like it, but you sure have nerves of steel!"
"I-I do?" Aika asked.
"Well, you did sort of jump in after Yosuke at the first sign of danger, even though you knew it could be dangerous," Chie pointed out. "I wish I was brave enough to do something like that."
Aika could feel her face heat up. "I-I'm not that brave though. I was really scared, but it was my fault he was in that situation to begin with, so I just…"
"Yeah, but it takes a lot of guts to own up to that," Chie said. "It sounds like something straight out of a kung fu movie, ya know?" She sighed. "Guess I should start following their lessons. I really do have a long way to go…"
Aika took a deep breath to strengthen her resolve and said without stammering: "I wish I could be like you, Chie-san."
"Huh?" Chie asked, bewildered. "Me?"
Aika nodded. Now there really was no turning back. "You're really nice, and you have a lot of friends, a-and it's not like you have to spend time with me or anything but you do it anyway, and…" She trailed off as she ran out of words.
Chie's grin was too wide for her face. "Aw, that's the sweetest thing anyone's ever said to me!" she gushed. "But hey, let me know when you do more… TV stuff, okay? I wanna help."
Aika nodded. "Okay."
And then, suddenly, there was a voice echoing in her mind.
Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to the truth…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Chariot Arcanum…
Aika gasped, and Chie frowned at her in concern. "Are you okay?" she asked.
"Huh?" Aika mumbled, looking up at Chie. "Oh… yeah…" Were these the Social Links that Igor was talking about? So when he said it would happen "regardless of my desire," he wasn't kidding…
"Hey, what's your cell number?" Chie asked. "I'm kind of busy today, but we should definitely hang out later."
Aika smiled and nodded. "Okay." Chie left not long after exchanging numbers with her, and Aika sighed, smiling contentedly. Just because these Social Links would happen automatically, didn't mean that Aika had to use them, right?
"So that's what happened." Aika jumped when she saw Yosuke standing by her desk, smirking. "Geez, you made it sound like the world imploded or something."
"Um…" Aika mumbled. "Well I know it's not such a big deal now, but yesterday…"
"I get it, I get it," Yosuke said. "So anyway, remember how I was gonna take you out for grilled steak before this whole mess started?" Aika flushed a furious shade of red and nodded. "Well, if you're not too busy right now, I'd like to finally make good on that. And I promise, I won't take you to Junes this time."
"I… um…" If that Social Link thing happened with Chie, then it'll probably happen with Yosuke too… No! Stop it! I'm not going to use it, I'm not going to use it… "Okay."
The steak was better than Aika had expected, and though she tried to eat daintily, she couldn't help nearly inhaling the food in front of her. Yosuke grinned as he ate his own steak, though not quite as voraciously. "You like it, don't you?" he asked, amusement evident in his voice. "What did I tell you? Inaba's got great steak for such a tiny place in the middle of nowhere."
"I didn't know grilled steak could taste this good," Aika admitted, and she had tried many varieties before. Unlike the steak served by some places in Tokyo and Mikage-cho and Sumaru, this steak wasn't drenched in grease or over-seasoned. In fact, the grease to seasoning ratio was nearly perfect. She could pick out hints of garlic, onion, black pepper… Not to mention, it was cooked perfectly – neither overdone nor underdone.
"So are you okay now?" Yosuke asked suddenly.
She tilted her head to the side. "Huh?"
His forehead creased in concern, and Aika blushed. "You got really sick after we went into the TV for the first time, right?" Yosuke asked. "That's why you missed school that day, and then you had to get all caught up in this murder case after that… You shouldn't overdo it, especially on the first week of school."
Aika flushed even redder as it occurred to her that Yosuke wasn't trying to make himself look attractive to her or anything – he was genuinely concerned about her. He was making an honest effort to befriend her, to make up for everything his Shadow had revealed about his thoughts toward her before. "I'm fine now," she said quietly. "I think… I think it was Aoandon that gave me such a hard time."
"What do you mean?" Yosuke asked.
"Ever since I first saw the Midnight Channel," Aika explained, "I could hear her voice in my head. It was like… like she was trying to get out, or something. And every time I heard her, I'd get this really bad headache, and then I'd feel really sick. When we first went into the TV, I could hear her all the time."
"Huh…" Yosuke mumbled. "I guess that explains it then. That's weird, though… that never happened to me."
"It's a good thing," Aika pointed out. "You're really lucky you didn't have to go through that."
Yosuke grinned at her. "Well, you got sick, I had to deal with my Shadow, so I guess we're even."
Aika gave him a flat look. "Except I had to deal with your Shadow."
Yosuke waved his hand dismissively. "Minor technicalities," he said simply. "Seriously, though. Do you feel all right now?"
Aika nodded and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."
He smiled back. "That's good to hear." When the Social Link formed, it didn't surprise Aika as much as Chie's had.
Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to the truth…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Magician Arcanum…
Still, she grimaced when the bond formed, prompting Yosuke to stare at her in concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," she said a bit too forcefully, then immediately backtracked. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to—"
"Don't worry about it," Yosuke said with a smile. "Anyway, did you see the Midnight Channel last night?"
"No," Aika replied. "I was really tired after we got back, so I went to bed early last night. Did you?"
"Yeah, and I saw someone," Yosuke answered, his voice serious. "I couldn't tell who it was because the silhouette was so fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure it was a girl. It's supposed to rain again tonight, so I'm gonna watch it again."
"I will too," Aika told him. "Um… what's your number? I-I'll call you i-if I find anything."
"Okay, sounds good," Yosuke said. "It's…"
Aika sat with her back propped up against the table, Teddie's white-rimmed glasses perched on her nose. Though they didn't do anything to her vision, Aika felt more… secure with them on. Sure enough, at midnight, the TV whirred to life, except instead of a blurry, indistinct image like she got the last time she watched the Midnight Channel, the TV was rather clear. A girl with long black hair, wearing a frilly pink dress and a tiara appeared on the screen, holding a pink microphone. "Good evening!" she greeted cheerfully, and Aika widened her eyes in surprise.
"Yukiko-san…?"
"Tonight, Princess Yukiko has a big surprise," the girl on the screen said. "I'm gonna go score myself a hot stud! Welcome to 'Not a Dream, Not a Hoax'! Princess Yukiko's hunt for her prince charming! And I came prepared!" Aika looked away as Yukiko's hand drifted downward, to just below her abdomen. "I've got my lacy unmentionables on…" She bent downward, showing off her cleavage. "… stacked from top to bottom! I'm off to catch a whole harem, and the best of them will be all mine! Well, here I go!" The camera seemed to pan out, and Yukiko ran into a swirling red and black vortex.
The screen faded to black, leaving Aika blinking at it in confusion. "What just happened…?" Her phone rang suddenly, and she answered it without looking to see who was calling. "H-Hello?"
"H-Hey, did you see that?" Yosuke asked shakily on the other line.
"I don't… know…" Aika mumbled. "What just happened?"
"That was Yukiko-san for sure!" Yosuke said. "It looked like her… I mean, she even said her name!"
"I don't think…" Aika said quietly, struggling to put her own racing thoughts into words. "I mean… She didn't act anything like Yukiko-san."
"And she looked like she was on some low-budget TV show," Yosuke pointed out. "Was it like this before too?"
"Definitely not," Aika said flatly. "I couldn't even tell who it was before." She exhaled sharply. "What if… What if Yukiko-san's the next target?"
"We should probably contact her," Yosuke advised. "But… damn, I don't have her number… Oh! Chie would know! … but I don't have her number either."
"I do," Aika said helpfully. "I'll try calling her."
"Okay," Yosuke said. "Let me know what happens."
As it turned out, Aika didn't even need to try. Less than two seconds after hanging up with Yosuke, Chie called her. "Wh-Wh-What was that?" Chie screeched, and Aika had to hold the phone away from her ear so that her ear wouldn't burst open.
"L-Let me guess," Aika said quietly. "You saw the Midnight Channel too."
"But Yukiko would never say something like that!" Chie yelled. "'Score a hot stud'? What was she… What're we gonna do?"
"Why don't we try asking Teddie tomorrow?" Aika suggested as gently as she could.
"Teddie?" Chie echoed. "Who's that?" She paused briefly. "Oh, you mean that bear who let us out the other day?"
"He said someone was throwing people in," Aika told Chie. "If Yukiko-san really is in danger, he'd be the first to know."
"So we're just gonna head over to Junes tomorrow and ask him?" Chie asked.
"I… guess," Aika said slowly. "I'll call Yosuke and let him know too."
"Okay, you do that," Chie said, hanging up almost immediately afterward.
Aika dialed Yosuke's number, breathing deeply to calm her nerves. "Yosuke-kun?" she said as soon as he picked up. "Chie-san knows, so we're both heading to Junes tomorrow morning."
"All right," he said. "I'll come too. Anyway, there's something that's been bothering me about what Teddie said yesterday. He said that when your Shadow goes berserk, it draws other Shadows to it. That means that there are other Shadows besides the ones that come from us."
"The ones that kill the people in there when the fog lifts, right?" Aika asked.
"Right. So what if they attack us?"
"Why would they attack us?"
"Why wouldn't they? So just to be safe, bring something you can use as a weapon tomorrow. Preferably something you can get away with carrying in public. And tell Chie to do the same."
Aika exhaled sharply. "Okay…"
She finally collapsed on her futon at almost one o'clock.
When Aika woke up the next morning, it was as if she hadn't fallen asleep at all. Pulling on a sweater Auntie had knitted for her back when she first entered middle school (she stopped growing around then) and pinning her hair back haphazardly with a clip, she dragged her feet downstairs. It was still dark out, as Aika had set her alarm for a time where she knew Uncle and Nanako wouldn't be up. She spent the next hour or so sautéing vegetables, making a mental note to go shopping for better ingredients so she could make better things. Uncle came down as she was piling vegetables into omelettes. "Morning," she said distractedly as she rolled up one omelette and lifted it onto a plate, oiling the pan where it was before.
"Oh, you're up," he said tiredly. "Listen, I'm gonna head into work."
"Can you wait for a few minutes?" Aika asked as she scrambled to find a box.
"I… guess?" A few minutes later, Aika was holding out a bento for her uncle, and he frowned at it quizzically. "What's this?"
"Lunch," Aika answered. "Or breakfast. Or… just food, I guess."
He opened the lid, and Aika's stomach flopped when his eyes seemed to bug out a little. "You didn't need to go through the trouble."
Aika smiled sheepishly. "That's okay. I know you're really busy, and I don't know what you do for food, so I thought you'd like something homemade."
He stared at her with an expression halfway between a smile and a grimace. "You really don't have to—"
"If it makes you feel any better, I'm doing the same thing for Nanako and myself," Aika said flatly. "Besides – I like cooking. It's no trouble at all."
He exhaled slowly and closed the bento. "Well… thanks," he said.
And then the voice in her head was back.
Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to the truth…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Hierophant Arcanum…
Aika winced when the Social Link formed. Why did one form with Uncle? I've known him my entire life! Aren't Social Links supposed to form with people I don't know?
"Something wrong?" Uncle asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.
"I'm fine," Aika replied hastily.
But he didn't appear convinced at all. "If you're sure…"
"Really!" Aika said a bit exasperatedly. "I… Nothing's wrong."
He frowned at her for a few more seconds before shrugging and heading to the door. "Well, I'm off."
"Bye, Uncle," Aika said quietly, waiting until he shut the door before she headed back into the kitchen.
Nanako came down several minutes later, taking a quick glance around before sighing and sitting by the table. "Good morning," she said to Aika. "Are you making breakfast?"
"Yeah," Aika replied as she handed her younger cousin a plate carrying two omelette rolls. "Your dad left for work already."
Nanako seemed to sag visibly. "Oh…"
When Aika finally joined Nanako at the table, the TV was on. Breakfast was a quiet affair as usual, and Aika ate quickly so that she could leave quickly. It wasn't until she was at the sink, washing dishes, that Yosuke's suggestion to bring something she could use as a weapon resurfaced. She looked to the clean dishes, where a frying pan sat innocently. She lifted it, weighing it in her hand and shifting it from one hand to another. I wonder…
She took it upstairs, making sure Nanako wasn't watching, and rummaged through her various move-in boxes that she had yet to unpack for a backpack. She found one quickly enough, and she stuffed the frying pan in there, along with her wallet, cell phone, and keys.
When she made her way downstairs again, she felt rather guilty when she caught Nanako staring at her. "Are you going somewhere?" the little girl asked.
"Um…" Aika wanted to melt into the floor. Nanako was going to be all alone at home, and Aika had no idea when she'd be back… but then again, she promised Yosuke she'd meet him… "Yeah…" If it was her mother in Nanako's place, Aika would probably be shoved out the front door with a squeal of delight that she was finally hanging out with friends. But Nanako…
"I'll be fine by myself," Nanako said in an inflectionless tone.
"Um…" Aika mumbled making her way towards the door. "I-I'll see you later, Nanako…"
Aika met Yosuke and Chie at the food court in Junes, at the table they'd used back when she first met Saki Konishi. Yosuke eyed her and Chie evenly. "So…" he said. "What have you guys got?"
Aika unzipped her backpack and pulled out the frying pan. "Um… I brought this."
"A frying pan?" Yosuke asked incredulously. "That's not a weapon! Well, I guess you could hit things with it… But isn't your uncle a detective?"
Aika shrugged. "It's not like he leaves any weapons lying around at home." She surreptitiously placed the frying pan back in her backpack and zipped it up. "So what did you bring?"
Yosuke laughed nervously and pulled out two monkey wrenches. "I found these at home," he said sheepishly.
"Those aren't weapons either!" Chie yelled.
"Oh yeah?" Yosuke shot back. "So what did you bring?"
"I don't need any weapons!" Chie proclaimed. "I'll just kick everything that gets in my way!" She screeched something that probably came from a kung fu movie.
Yosuke sighed. "Well, we'll just need to defend ourselves, so I think we're good."
"And we still have our Personas, right?" Aika asked.
"Persona?" Chie echoed. "What are you guys talking about?"
"We'll explain later," Yosuke said hurriedly. "Right now, we'll just ask Teddie if he's seen anything."
"But Yukiko really did disappear!" Chie shouted. "I called her cell this morning, and she didn't pick up, so I called her home phone, and…"
"So she's probably inside the TV already…" Aika said quietly. "We should probably get going."
"Both of you…" Yosuke said slowly. "Just… don't push yourselves, okay?"
"What, you don't wanna fight with two girls?" Chie demanded.
"It's called trying to be a gentleman!" Yosuke yelled back. "I'm being considerate!
Needless to say, they didn't make it into the electronics department until almost half an hour later.
"Whoa, it really is that bear from last time!" Chie gasped when she saw Teddie standing in a corner. "H-Hey! Um… Teddie right? Someone came in here recently, right?"
Teddie turned around, his eyes wide. "Wow! There's a girl with a better nose than me?" He grinned. "What's your name, miss?"
"M-Miss?" Chie echoed. "Uh… I'm Chie. But never mind that! Tell me more about that 'someone'!"
"I think it happened sometime yesterday," Teddie explained, his eyes drifting over to Yosuke and Aika. "Sensei! Yosuke! You came back!"
Aika smiled at him. "Of course we came back," she said. "Um… we're looking for the person who fell in here. Sh-She's someone we know."
"The presence is over that way," Teddie said, pointing to different walkway from the ones Aika had used before.
"Then let's go already!" Chie yelled, running in the direction to which Teddie pointed.
"Ch-Chie-san, wait!" Aika called after her, practically yanking the frying pan out of the backpack. "Teddie, is it okay if we leave our stuff here?"
"Of course!" Teddie replied as Yosuke pulled out his wrenches. "It's not like anyone's going to take it."
Smiling at the bear one last time, Aika ran after Chie, and, before long, she found herself before what appeared to be a large castle. Sure enough, Chie was standing in front of it, with her mouth open. "What the… Y'think this is the place they showed on TV?"
"Wait, hold on a sec," Yosuke interjected. "Is there… someone behind a camera for that bizarre midnight program?"
"Program…?" Teddie echoed. "I don't know. Maybe people on your side can see stuff in this world. It might be that. And I told you before! There's only me and Shadows here! There's no 'camera' stuff going on. This world has been like this from the beginning."
"That's what we don't understand!" Yosuke yelled at Teddie.
"I dunno," Teddie replied. "Can you guys explain everything about your world? I've never seen this 'program' thingy before, so I don't know."
"Well…" Chie drawled. "Is that really what's happening? Are we really looking into this world? Because the first time Yukiko showed up on that channel was before she disappeared. Doesn't that seem off?"
"Wait, what?" Aika asked. "Really?"
"Oh…" Chie mumbled. "You didn't see it, huh?"
"So that girl on the Midnight Channel was…" Yosuke mused, before his eyes widened suddenly. "That was Yukiko-san?"
"Not to mention, Yukiko saying stuff like 'score myself a hot stud'? That's not like her at all!"
"'Score'?" Teddie asked. "'Stud'?"
"Yeah, I couldn't believe it either," Yosuke said. "Yukiko-san would never say anything like that."
"Wait a minute!" Aika interjected as an idea struck her. "What if… What if it's like what happened to you, Yosuke-kun?"
"There's a lot of things I don't get," Teddie said, "but I think that 'program' happens because of the person who appears on it. Or something like that… Maybe it is like what happened to Yosuke."
"So… Yukiko's producing that show herself?" Chie asked, then groaned in frustration. "I don't get this at all!"
"So…" Aika said slowly. "Do you feel Yukiko-san's presence from inside?"
"I'm pretty sure," Teddie replied. "So um… what's this 'scoring with a hot stud' thing?"
"Yukiko's here!" Chie gasped. "I'm going on ahead!"
"Chie-san!" Aika shrieked, before groaning in frustration. "What is it with you people?" She took off running after Chie.
"H-Hey!" Yosuke yelled after her. "Don't go alone! Be careful!"
"S-Sensei, wait!" Teddie yelled. "Th-They're here!"
"What's here?" Yosuke asked.
"The Shadows!" Teddie answered in a scared, high-pitched voice. Aika stopped dead in her tracks, frowning at him quizzically. But before she could get a single word out, Yosuke was yelling something at her and swinging one of his wrenches above her head.
A strange floating sphere faced her, with its abnormally long tongue whipping back and forth. "Get down!" Yosuke yelled, and then they both crashed to the ground, him on top of her with his arms wrapped tightly around her.
"A-All right, stay calm!" Teddie instructed. "I'll try sniffing out its weakness!"
Aika crawled out from under Yosuke and slammed the frying pan down on her Persona's card. "Aoandon!" she shrieked. Again, seemingly nonsensical words floated to her mind. "Hama!" The sphere was engulfed in a bright white light, but it continued forward. It whipped its tongue, hitting Aika and sending her falling backward.
"Aika!" Yosuke shouted. He practically growled in frustration and struck his own card with his wrench. "Persona!" Jiraiya rose above him, and the Shadow was struck with green-tinted wind.
"Nice one, Yosuke!" Teddie cheered.
Aika swung her frying pan at the Shadow, but it swerved out of the way. She struck her card once more and picked another word that floated to her mind. "Mudo!" Again, the Shadow was unaffected, and she suffered one more blow.
"Hang in there, Aika!" Yosuke called, striking the Shadow with a wrench, making it disappear in a puff of black smoke. Aika let him help her up, though she refused to look into his eyes. She was perfectly fine against his Shadow… what happened to make her so useless? "Are you okay?"
His large hands clasped her shoulders tightly, and he shook her slightly, though in his worry and her bout of relative uselessness, Aika could forgive him. "I'm okay," she answered quietly. "I-I'm sorry I couldn't do anything…"
"Damn it, this was probably a bad idea…" Yosuke muttered. "Maybe you should head back. I'll go find Chie on my own."
"No!" Aika squeaked. "I-I'll be fine. This – this won't happen again. R-Really."
But even though Yosuke agreed to let her come along, he still faced every Shadow on his own, vanquishing them before she could do anything. At long last, they reached a large set of doors. "Here you go, Sensei," Teddie said, handing her a tiny seed.
"What's this?" Aika asked, staring at it. Then, all of a sudden, every blow, every injury she'd received before seemed to vanish, and she dropped the seed promptly in surprise.
"I picked it myself!" Teddie said proudly. "It heals you!"
"Sweet!" Yosuke cheered. "Hey Ted, can I have one too?"
"Of course!" Teddie replied, handing Yosuke another seed. "Chie-chan's in there!" The bear pointed to the doors. "Be careful!"
Aika thrust the doors open, and, sure enough, Chie was standing in the middle of a bright red carpet. "Chie-san! Are you all right?"
"Chie?" Yosuke asked, approaching the motionless girl.
Suddenly, Yukiko's voice echoed through the room. "She said that red looks good on me…"
"Yukiko-san?" Yosuke called.
"I hated my name…" Yukiko's voice continued, but the tall girl was nowhere to be seen. "Yukiko… 'Snow'… Snow is cold and it melts quickly… It's transient… worthless… But it's perfect for me. Apart from inheriting the inn, I'm worthless… Still… Chie told me that red looks good on me."
"Are these… Yukiko-san's inner thoughts?" Yosuke wondered aloud. "I remember hearing Saki-senpai's too…"
"Chie was the only one who gave my life meaning," Yukiko's voice said, taking on a hard edge. "She's bright and strong, and she can do anything. She has everything that I don't… Compared to Chie, I'm… I'm…"
"Yukiko!" Chie shouted.
"Chie protects me," Yukiko said. "She looks after my worthless life. And I… I don't deserve any of it. Chie is so kind…"
"'Chie is so kind,' huh?" a distorted voice said mockingly. "What a joke!" Aika's stomach sank when she saw a figure that looked exactly like Chie, except shrouded in dark mist approach them.
"It's just like Yosuke!" Teddie said. "She lost control over her suppressed self! Now it's a Shadow!"
The Shadow laughed mercilessly. "Are we talking about that Yukiko?" it asked. "She says I'm protecting her? She says she's worthless! That's how it should be, right?"
"Wh-What are you saying?" the real Chie stammered.
"Ch-Chie-san—" Aika called hesitantly.
"Yukiko's so good looking," the Shadow continued. "So fair-skinned… so feminine… She's the one all the guys drool over. When Yukiko looked at me with such jealousy… Man, did I get a charge out of that! Yukiko knows the score. She can't do anything if I'm not around. I'm better than her… Much, much better!"
"No!" the real Chie shrieked. "I've never thought that!"
Aika ran toward Chie. "Stop it!" she cried.
"No…" Chie whimpered. "Don't come near me! Don't look at me!"
"Aw, look at the cute little transfer student," the Shadow mocked, and a shiver ran down Aika's spine. "So shy. So quiet. So submissive. She's just another Yukiko, isn't she? Maybe she can join our little group! … where I'm on top, of course!"
"Shut up!" Chie screamed at her Shadow.
"Chie, calm down!" Yosuke warned.
"No…" Chie said, a hint of desperation to her voice. "No! This isn't me!"
"W-Wait, stupid!" Yosuke yelled. "Don't say anything else like that!"
The Shadow laughed again. "That's right. I'm the one who can't do anything alone… I can't win as a girl, let alone as a person… I'm pathetic. But Yukiko… she depends on me… That's why she's my friend. I'll never loosen my grip on her. She's too important to me… and soon enough, Aika will be the same way!"
"No…" Chie said again. "That's not how I think of her! That's not how I think of either of them!"
The Shadow chuckled. "So you're just gonna turn your back and deny me again?" it asked. "But things are different now… When the time comes, I'll be the one left standing. You won't mind, right? I'm still you!"
"Shut up!" Chie cried. "You're…"
"Chie, no!" Yosuke yelled.
"You're not me!"
And then, it was just like what happened with Yosuke's Shadow. Dark swirls zoomed toward Chie's Shadow, and the next thing Aika knew, a large yellowish figure with a whip loomed before her, and the real Chie was lying on the ground. "I-It's coming!" Teddie said cautiously.
"Kneel before me!" the Shadow ordered, whipping the ground. "I am a Shadow… the true self… What do you think you're doing? Trying to defend the 'real' me? Then you're gonna pay the price!"
"Chie-san…" Aika whispered. "Hang in there!" She destroyed her card and used the spell that worked on Yosuke's Shadow. "Megido!"
The Shadow staggered back, and Yosuke let out a whoop of delight. "Hey, that actually worked! I mean… not that you haven't been useful… Wait, no, that's not it! I mean… Never mind. Forget I said anything." He struck his card with a wrench. "Garu!" he yelled, and wind whipped around Chie's Shadow. "C'mon, Aika! Let's go!" And with that, the two of them charged toward the Shadow, just hitting it, doing anything that would damage it at all.
"Looks like you won't understand without a little pain…" the Shadow drawled.
All Aika could feel was pain. She couldn't even register what had happened because she was so dizzy. All she could see was Yosuke standing back up and having Jiraiya attack the Shadow with another gust of wind. Before long, her head cleared, and Aika found herself standing up again. "Persona!" she screamed as she summoned Aoandon and had her cast the same spell again. But she knew she couldn't keep this up. She was beginning to feel more and more exhausted, and, with one more blow, she could swear she could see two of Chie's Shadow.
Teddie let out a whine. "Aika-chan's dizzy now!" She was too busy trying to plan her next attack to wonder when and why she had been demoted from "Sensei".
"Hang in there, Aika!" Yosuke called, swinging his wrenches wildly at the Shadow. Aika managed to cast one more Megido spell before she could finally be sure that she was out of energy. "Come on! Let's finish it!" Despite her exhaustion, she managed to drag her body forward and smacked the Shadow with the frying pan with everything she had. At long last it fell, and Aika and Yosuke simultaneously sank to their knees. "Please don't tell me mine was this hard to deal with."
"No…" Aika replied wearily. "This was way worse."
Yosuke grinned tiredly at her. "That's good to hear."
"Chie-chan!" Teddie yelled. Chie groaned as she stood up.
"Chie, are you okay?" Yosuke asked, standing up and running over.
"What happened…?" Chie asked dazedly. Her Shadow, which was back to its original form, simply stared blankly at her. "What's the matter? Got nothing to say anymore?"
"Stop it, Chie," Yosuke said in a calm voice. Aika shakily stood up and stood a little ways behind him. "It's all right."
"But…" Chie protested weakly.
"We understand," Aika said quietly.
"She's right," Yosuke agreed. "I went through the same thing. So I can understand… I mean… Everyone has a side like this… What was it you told me, Aika? That it's a part of you, but it's not all that you are."
Chie turned around to face her Shadow and put her hands on her hips. "Yeah… I kinda get it now. You are me… A side of me I couldn't forgive… that I tried to ignore… But you still exist. You're a part of me." The Shadow nodded once and disappeared into blue light. A figure dressed in yellow, carrying what appeared to be a naginata, hovered in the air in front of Chie, before shrinking into a card. The card fell slowly, and Chie's body was bathed in a blue light.
"Chie-san…" Aika said quietly, making her way over to the girl she now considered her friend.
"Um…" Chie mumbled. "It's true that a part of me feels that way… but I wasn't lying about being friends with Yukiko!"
"Like we didn't know that already," Yosuke said good-naturedly, smiling. And then, suddenly, Chie collapsed to her knees. "Hey! Chie!"
"I'm okay," Chie replied. "Just a little tired…"
"You don't look okay at all," Yosuke pointed out. "And I bet you can use the same power we have now."
"Okay, then let's go!" Chie said, but her eyes refused to focus and she teetered back and forth.
Teddie ran in front of her, blocking her path. "Don't overdo it," he warned.
"Y-You need to get your strength back," Aika advised, crouching down next to Chie. "We'll definitely be able to save Yukiko-san, now that you can fight too, but…"
"But I have to tell Yukiko something!" Chie protested. "I'm not as strong as she thinks! It's because she was with me… Because we were always together, I was able to act that way. If we weren't, I'd…"
"Well you need to get your strength back," Teddie said, smiling at her. "Then you can tell her! Yuki-chan's normal. The Shadows don't attack normal people."
"Until the fog lifts, right?" Aika asked. "So she'll be safe until then, right?"
"I'm positive," Teddie answered.
"Why…?" Chie asked tiredly. "I don't get it…"
"We'll explain later," Yosuke said. "Anyway, the fog usually appears after it rains. But it's been sunny lately. I don't think it's going to rain anytime soon."
"So we'll have a few days, at least," Aika finished, smiling at Chie. "We can come back tomorrow, if you're up to it."
"But Yukiko's all alone!" Chie protested. "She's probably really scared!"
"Don't you get it?" Yosuke snapped at her. "How much farther until we reach her, huh? It could be even more dangerous up ahead. If we get wiped out, who'll save Yukiko-san then? We can't fail, no matter what."
"We'll come back tomorrow, first thing after school," Aika assured Chie.
Chie sighed. "All right," she said finally. Aika helped her up and allowed Chie to lean on her as they started walking back. "Hey, um… I'm sorry about before. I shouldn't have rushed in like that by myself…"
"I-It's okay," Aika replied. "Yosuke-kun did the same thing before. But… until we know this place inside and out, let's just stick together, okay?"
"Okay," Chie said confidently.
But during the walk back, Chie began leaning more and more heavily on Aika. "Are you okay?" Aika asked as soon as they were back in the studio-like place.
"I'm feeling even worse than the last time we came in here…" Chie groaned. "My head feels like it's gonna split open… Are you guys okay?"
"That's right!" Aika gasped, mentally kicking herself for not noticing before. "You don't have the glasses!"
"Oh yeah…" Chie mumbled. "What's with those anyway? Did your eyesight go bad?"
"Man, you didn't notice until now?" Yosuke asked incredulously. "How panicked were you?"
Teddie hummed a fanfare and pulled out a pair of yellow-rimmed glasses. "I got a pair ready for Chie-chan too!"
Chie put them on almost immediately and glanced around. "Whoa…" she gasped. "What the… This is awesome! It's like the fog doesn't even exist!"
"Why didn't you whip those out earlier if you had them?" Yosuke demanded.
"I made them right now!" Teddie explained, glaring at Yosuke. "You didn't tell me she was coming! It was all so sadden! I mean, sudden!"
"Huh…" Chie said. "So that's the trick. I was wondering how you guys could see where you were going. Hey, is it all right if I keep these?"
"Fo' sho!" Teddie replied.
"Okay, so let's promise each other," Yosuke said. "Nobody goes in alone, all right? It's way too dangerous."
"That's what I've been trying to say since the beginning," Aika deadpanned.
"I agree," Chie agreed. "We'll come back together and save Yukiko!"
"Okay, so we're all agreed," Yosuke said. "But… uh… Who's gonna call the shots?"
"Aika should do it," Chie said.
"M-Me?" Aika squeaked. "Wh-Why me?"
"Well, you did get this power first," Yosuke pointed out, "and you tend to pick up things faster. You definitely caught onto the whole TV world thing faster than I did."
"I still don't get what's going on," Chie said blandly.
"B-But I'm useless in fights…" Aika protested weakly.
"That's okay," Yosuke said. "You just set the pace of our investigation. Like decide when we go in, when we come out…"
"I'd feel a lot more comfortable if you're the one calling the shots," Chie said helpfully. "So, think you can do it?"
"I… guess?" Aika said slowly. "B-But I…"
"Look, I understand that you don't think you'll make a good leader," Yosuke said sincerely. "But we really need one. If things go bad, then this whole thing will fall apart if we're all squabbling over who's in charge. Hopefully, it won't come to that, but we need to get this whole leadership thing straight just in case it does. And honestly…" A genuine smile spread across his face. "You'd be a way better leader than me."
Aika flushed a furious shade of red and averted her eyes downward, putting her hands behind her back. "I agree with Yosuke too!" Teddie said cheerfully. "You'll be great, Aika-chan!"
"What happened to 'Sensei'?" Yosuke deadpanned.
"It sounds kind of weird for Aika-chan," Teddie answered. "Now that I think about it… 'Sensei' sounds like a scary old man that hits people with his walking stick!"
"Teddie, would you please stop talking?" Chie groaned, "I'm really on edge right now…" Teddie seemed to wilt as his face fell, but Aika couldn't stop thinking about how she was just unanimously appointed for the leader… probably because she wouldn't fail as badly as the others thought they would. And then, all of a sudden, the voice in her head struck again.
Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to the truth…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Fool Arcanum…
Aika gasped, and Yosuke, Chie, and Teddie looked in her direction. "Something wrong?" Yosuke asked.
Why did another Social Link form just now? I already have one with Yosuke and Chie, and it doesn't feel like it formed for Teddie… "Nothing," Aika answered finally, exhaling slowly.
"Okay," Yosuke sighed. "Let's get some rest today so we'll be ready to move on tomorrow."
"Yeah, yeah," Chie mumbled. "Let's just go home already."
Aika couldn't agree more.
It happened while Aika was walking home from Junes. She couldn't stop thinking about her trek into the TV world and how useless she'd been against all the Shadows she'd faced, including Chie's, not to mention that everyone had appointed her as the unofficial leader despite her… lack of skill. She wandered into the shopping district when a bright blue door appeared before her. The Velvet Key, which she'd placed into her backpack without a second thought that morning, was shining, and she could hear Igor's voice in her head.
So you finally require our assistance. Now, if you will give me a moment of your time…
She didn't so much open the door to the Velvet Room as get pulled in, as if something was drawing her to it. Igor grinned at her cryptically, as usual. "We've been expecting you," he said. "The catastrophe that is headed your way… It has already taken human lives in its approach towards you… But you have nothing to fear, for you have the power to fight it. It seems the time for you to use your… unique ability has finally come." He chuckled, and a shiver ran down Aika's spine.
"Your ability is that of the Wild Card," Margaret elaborated. "When you strengthen your bonds properly, their power will help you overcome any ordeal." She smiled gently. "As you so eloquently put it at our last meeting, you will be weaponizing your relationships, though I cannot see what is so despicable about that."
"It just…" Aika said slowly. "It just feels wrong. It's like… am I making new friends and forging new relationships to strengthen my Personas, or is it the other way around?"
"Destiny calls for you to use this ability regardless," Igor said simply. "My role is to give birth to new Personas. By mixing together multiple Persona cards, I can transmute them into a new form. This, in other words, is the fusion of Personas. You have the power to hold multiple Personas and to use them accordingly."
"Multiple Personas?" Aika repeated, her eyes widening. "You mean other than Aoandon?"
"Yes, my dear," Igor said, nodding. "If you have been developing your Social Links, then your Persona will gain even more power. They will be one of your chief sources of strength… You would do well to take this to heart."Aika sighed, recalling the four Social Links that had formed over the past two days – Chariot, Magician, Fool, and Hierophant.
Margaret held up a black book. "The tome you see in my hand is the Persona Compendium," she explained. "Registering the Personas you hold will allow you to recall them at any time. Please see me when you wish to use it." Aika exhaled sharply.
Igor chuckled again, and his grin widened. "Do you remember what I first told you? 'The coming year is a turning point in your destiny… If the mystery goes unsolved, your future may be forever lost.' I meant precisely this. Defeat in battle is not the only way your journey may come to an end. Please do not forget this."
Something heavy settled in Aika's gut, and she clasped her hands together tightly. "You appear… troubled," Margaret observed.
"I am…" Aika said quietly.
Margaret gave her a warm smile, which lifted a weight ever so slightly from Aika's shoulders. "I will personally assist you to the best of your abilities," she said sincerely. "Oh, there is one more thing I should mention: before, we mentioned that your primary affinity is to the Hermit Arcanum. This means that fusing and utilizing Personas of the Hermit Arcanum will come very easily to you, and your strongest Personas may be of this Arcanum. However, there are other Arcana for which you may have an affinity, though not necessarily as strong. Would you like a new Persona now?"
Aika sighed and nodded. "I guess…" she said. "Aoandon… I can't do much with her… and the one thing I can do with her just takes up so much energy.
Margaret smiled and opened the Persona Compendium, flipping through the pages almost listlessly. "Let me see…" she mused. "I do have some old Persona cards that may strike your fancy." She flipped through a few more pages. "Ah! What about this one?" A shimmering blue card rose from the book, and above it, what appeared to be a hologram of a lanky green figure with red spirals where its eyes and mouth should have been appeared. "The tree spirit, Kodama, of the Hierophant Arcanum. Offenses and defenses balance out, yet the chance of landing a successful hit with this one are… less slim than they are with your own Persona."
The image disappeared into the card, and Margaret, held out her palm, the card floating and shimmering above it. Aika swallowed hard; Kodama was of the Hierophant Arcanum – Uncle's Social Link. She was going to use her relationship with her uncle to become stronger, and he would have no idea. It felt so wrong, but nothing could be worse than being completely useless in a fight. And so, Aika swallowed her pride and guilt and nodded, and the card disappeared. The Persona appeared before her – not as a hazy, translucent figure, but as a physical being. I am Kodama, a deep, yet gentle voice echoed in her mind. I am the echo you hear when a tree falls in the forest. I am the voice you hear the minute before your death. I am thou…
A warm feeling bloomed inside her chest, and then the voice was gone. Margaret smiled warmly at her. "There is no need to look so troubled," she said. "You have simply accepted another side to yourself. A wise man once told to me: 'People live by wearing different masks. Your current self may be only one of those innumerable masks.' Persona is the ability to summon one of these many masks within you – the gods and demons you harbor. While your companions have only weaponized one such mask, you have the potential to use them all."
"But doesn't that make me…" Aika began, but then trailed off. Did the ability to use multiple Personae mean that she was completely honest with herself, but dishonest to the world? Did she simply put on a new mask for every person she interacted with?
"Every other human is the same way," Margaret said gently, "and they lie if they deny it. For you to use only one mask for every interaction would be to transcend the nature of humanity itself. There is no need to have such high expectations for yourself."
Aika forced a smile. "Thanks, Margaret."
"Of course," Margaret replied, nodding. And with that, the voice struck again.
Thou art I… and I am thou…
Thou hast established a new bond…
It brings thee closer to the truth…
Thou shalt be blessed when creating Personae of the Empress Arcanum…
"Another Social Link has just formed," Margaret guessed correctly, her smile widening. "And it is with me… how interesting…"
"I-I should probably get going," Aika said shakily. "U-Um… thanks again…"
Aika felt guilty, and for once, it had nothing to do with Social Links. She'd be lying if she said that she didn't enjoy dinners when Uncle came home more than those where it was just Nanako and her. She found it easier to talk to her Uncle, and whenever he was around, the Auntie-shaped hole in the Dojima household seemed to disappear. "So, it looks like you've finally settled in," Uncle said in between mouthfuls of curry.
"I still haven't finished unpacking," Aika replied.
He waved his chopsticks dismissively. "That's okay. You've got all year to unpack."
Aika giggled. "And repack at the end of the year," she pointed out.
"Yeah, yeah," Uncle muttered. "Anyway, I'm sorry I haven't been around much to ease the transition. Not to mention, you had to get all caught up in this whole murder case."
Aika froze. Did he know just how involved she was? Did he notice that she took the frying pan with her that morning? No, that wasn't possible; she left after he did… but Nanako must have noticed. Did she tell him? "I came at a really bad time, didn't I?" she asked finally.
"Yeah…" Uncle replied wearily.
"And now, our weather forecast," the announcer on TV said. "Due to high pressure fronts from the west, that sunny spring-like weather will stay with us for a while longer." Aika sighed in relief.
"Is this lady the one who decides the weather?" Nanako asked. "'Cause when she says it'll be sunny, it always is."
"Uh…" Uncle said nervously. "She's not really deciding it…" He paused for a few seconds before sighing. "Never mind…"
Aika couldn't be more relieved that her head was voiceless for the rest of the day.
"Hey, Aika!" By the Samegawa Flood Plain, Yosuke ran up to her, waving his arm above his head and grinning. "So, are we heading back in today?"
"I thought we already agreed that we are," Aika replied flatly.
"Hey, you're not mad, are you?" Yosuke asked, his tone still light. "I mean, we kind of sprung that whole 'leader' thing on you pretty suddenly yesterday."
Aika exhaled slowly. "It's not really that big of a deal, right?" she asked.
"Not really…" Yosuke agreed. "But still. I'll try to make this as painless as possible. I can't speak for Chie, but I won't saddle you with all the work."
Aika couldn't help but smile at that. "Thanks, Yosuke-kun.
"Anytime," Yosuke replied.
"Hey, wait up!" Aika stopped dead in her tracks and looked behind her, only to see Chie running to catch up. "You guys are not gonna believe this."
"Chie-san, are you okay?" Aika asked quickly.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," Chie replied dismissively. "Anyway! So I overheard my mom talking to my uncle last night, and… and he actually sells weapons! Like, no joke!"
"Seriously?" Yosuke asked. "Geez, you couldn't have figured this out before?"
"I hardly ever see my uncle!" Chie yelled at him. "No one really talks about him anyway. He's kind of the family oddball… So anyway, I was thinking we should check out his workshop after school before heading over to Junes."
"That sounds like a good idea," Yosuke agreed.
"But we can't just walk into Junes carrying a bunch of weapons," Aika pointed out. "And we'll be walking in and out a lot, depending on how long solving this case takes, a-and security's probably really tight right now because of all the murders, so…"
"So…" Yosuke drawled. "Oh, I know! Why don't we just leave all our weapons and armor and stuff inside the TV? It's not like we're gonna need 'em outside."
"Good idea," Chie agreed. "And we can just hide them in our bags and stuff until we get inside the TV."
"Right," Yosuke said. "No unnecessary detours once we actually buy new equipment. We just head straight in, dump our stuff there, and come out."
"Um…" Aika piped up once the school gates came into view. "We should probably stop talking about this stuff. There are a lot of people."
The school day passed by in a blur, and Aika couldn't focus at all because her mind kept wandering over everything Persona- and TV world-related. When Yosuke and Chie walked over to her desk after the last class had ended, she couldn't keep it in anymore. "There's something I have to tell you," she said quickly, and, all too quickly, her resolve began to fade, and she was reduced to a stuttering mess. "I can… I-I can summon – I can summon m-more than – than one Persona." Her face felt hot, and both Yosuke and Chie were staring intently at her with unreadable expressions.
It was Yosuke who reacted first. "Oh, really? That's kind of cool. How does it work?"
"Um…" I get close to random people – and you're one of these random people, by the way – which allows me to create and use new Personas. "I-I don't really know…"
"That is kind of weird," Chie said, and Aika felt strangely thankful for her reaction. "Then again, we're hopping into TVs and secret sides to ourselves are trying to kill us. It doesn't get much weirder than that."
"So… you don't mind?"
"Of course not!" Chie said, smiling. "Hey, summoning lots of different Personas could really help us out. Anyway, why are we still here? Let's go already!"
Chie's uncle was a rather scary-looking old man with short auburn hair with sideburns that connected to his mustache. "H-Hey there, Uncle," Chie greeted nervously, waving at him.
The man looked to Aika and Yosuke, his eyes narrowing at Yosuke. "Where's Red?" he asked in a deep, gruff voice.
"O-Oh, you mean Yukiko?" Chie asked. "She's kind of… busy… A-Anyway, as much as I love visiting you…" The old man's eyes narrowed at that. "… I was wondering if… if maybewecouldgetsomeweapons."
"Your mother would shoot me," her uncle said flatly. "Whaddya need 'em for anyway?"
"We're… uh…" But Chie just looked down, trailing off, perfectly impersonating Aika.
"We're roleplaying!" Yosuke came to her defense quickly. "There's… uh… There's this American movie with elves and dwarves and stuff, and we – we're just trying to…"
But the old man didn't look convinced at all. "Whatever," he said. "Just find something you like, buy it, and leave."
"Wait, buy it?" Chie interjected. "But you're my uncle! Can't you just—"
"Give it to you for free?" the man finished. "Well, yeah. That's what I'm doing. You're just paying me to keep quiet about all this."
Chie's shoulders sagged forward. "Oh…"
"W-Well…" Aika piped up. "Um… Th-Thank you… uh…"
The man rolled his eyes. "Daidara," he supplied helpfully.
Aika bowed her head forward. "Th-Thank you, Daidara-san."
He raised his eyebrows at her. "Dojima or Nakamura?" he asked.
"Huh?" Aika replied. "U-Um… N-Nakamura."
Daidara simply shrugged at that. "You look more Dojima than Nakamura. But you act more Nakamura than Dojima."
"U-Um…" Aika mumbled. "Thank you?"
Daidara stared blankly at Chie. "Don't tell your dad you're hanging out with this one." He jabbed a thumb in Aika's direction. "Her mom's a scary bitch warrior."
"Y-You know my mom?" Aika asked.
"Everyone knows your mom," Daidara deadpanned.
"Okay, here we go," Yosuke said, effectively cutting off the conversation as he dumped a set of two short swords onto the countertop. "This one's for me."
Chie placed a pair of dangerous-looking boots on the countertop as well. "I'll take these."
But Aika couldn't decide what she wanted. Almost everything was too big for her, and she most likely wouldn't be able to use the ones she could probably handle properly. "Hey, how about this?" Yosuke suggested, holding up a rod-like object with a head that looked a bit like antlers. "It's… uh… I don't really know what it is exactly."
"It's a rod," Daidara said in a dull tone. "You hit things with it."
"I-I'll take it," Aika said shakily.
"That'll be twenty-four thousand yen," Daidara said.
"What?" Chie screeched. "Come on, can't we get a little discount or something?"
"You're paying me to keep quiet about all this," Daidara said again, "not for the actual weapons. You know, I'm coming over for dinner in a couple days, and I've got some great topics for discussion at the dinner table."
"Fine, fine," Yosuke said, slapping a wad of bills down on the countertop. Once he received his change, the three left, with Chie sticking her tongue out at her uncle before disappearing from the shop.
"Let's go," Aika said quickly. "The sooner we get to Junes, the better."
"He's gonna ask us to pay him every time we shop there, isn't he?" Yosuke asked.
"I'm sorry about this…" Chie mumbled.
"No, it's okay," Yosuke said, "but we should probably come up with a way to pay for all of this, so we don't have to pay out of our own pockets."
"But doesn't that make the most sense?" Aika asked.
"Not really," Yosuke replied. "It's not like we'll all need upgrades all the time. You'll be fighting mainly with your Personas, right? So we won't have to go weapon-shopping for you as often as we would for, say, Chie."
"What're you trying to say?" Chie asked, a hard edge to her voice.
"I'm thinking we should put some money aside just for upgrading our equipment," Yosuke suggested. "You know – pool our money together, since we're all fighting for the same cause and all that. But…" He groaned, running a hand through his hair. "Damn it, I'm the only one with a job!"
"I get an allowance," Chie said helpfully.
"I have some money saved up," Aika added. "My parents gave me some money every month, but since I'm not really living with them this year, I'm not sure how the whole money situation's going to work out."
"Okay, so how about this?" Yosuke asked, his eyes taking on an excited gleam. "We'll set some money aside every time we get some more for equipment and stuff."
"It should be proportional to how much we get," Aika suggested. "Since we might be getting different amounts."
"Yeah, of course," Chie agreed. "I'm pretty sure you make more than us, Yosuke."
"I don't get an allowance though," Yosuke said. "My paycheck is my allowance. So it's probably around the same as you guys." By now they were at Junes, and they hurried into the electronics department as quickly as possible. "We'll talk about this more later. Let's just hurry and save Yukiko-san."
"Megido!" Aika cried, realizing too late that it was Kodama she had out instead of Aoandon. The tree spirit simply floated there aimlessly, doing nothing. "I mean…"
"Persona!" Yosuke yelled, and a gust of wind vanquished the Shadow she was trying to attack before.
Aika sighed, almost dropping her weapon. "I'm sorry," she said.
"Don't worry," Yosuke assured her, removing his headphones from his ears putting his hand on her shoulder. "You just… You just need to get a good rhythm going. Once you do, you'll be unstoppable."
"Yeah, don't worry, Aika," Chie said, running up to her. "I mean, it's not like we're experts at this either. We're all new to this. And… so it's a little harder for you to get used to the whole fighting thing. It's not the end of the world."
"But we've been in here for hours, and we still haven't found Yukiko-san!" Aika protested before sighing. "I'm slowing everyone down…"
"Okay, so maybe we should come in here to train more after we save Yukiko-san," Yosuke suggested. "All it comes down to is practice, right? Like I said – once you get a good rhythm going, you'll be fine."
"And we can still go for a little longer!" Chie said emphatically.
Aika sighed again. "Okay…"
"Here you guys go!" Teddie said, handing each of them a series of seeds and beads, and Aika could feel her energy being replenished. They stood before a large set of doors much like the ones before the place where they fought Chie's Shadow. Throughout their trek through the strange palace, Aika had found strange cards much like her own after defeating some Shadows, and, all too quickly, more and more Personae wormed their way into her arsenal. Still, she refused to use anything but Kodama and Aoandon, since she had no idea what any of her new Personae's capabilities were. "She's right behind this door!" Teddie announced. "I can smell her!"
"Yukiko!" Chie cried, shoving the doors open and running inside. Sure enough, two Yukikos were there – the one in the frilly pink dress from the Midnight Channel – only this time, her eyes were glowing bright yellow– and the other, more normal-looking Yukiko, half-conscious and collapsed on the floor.
"Oh?" the yellow-eyed Yukiko said. She stood at what appeared to be a throne, at the top of a flight of red-carpeted stairs. "What's this? Another little princess has come to see me."
"Huh?" Chie asked. "You mean me?"
"I seriously doubt that," Yosuke deadpanned.
Yukiko's Shadow descended the stairs slowly and gracefully, giggling, and stopped before Aika, clasping the shorter girl's hands. "Oh, how I wish I could be like you. A traveling princess. You've been everywhere, haven't you Aika?"
"U-Um…" Aika mumbled, her heart racing. She wanted to step back, to maybe hide behind Yosuke, but the Shadow was clutching her hands too tightly for her to move.
"You stay away from her!" Yosuke yelled, pointing one of his swords at the Shadow's neck.
"Y-Yosuke!" Chie yelled.
"Aw, how sweet!" the Shadow gushed, chuckling. "Your own special prince coming to save you… just like he did the other day at school."
"Wait, prince?" Yosuke asked incredulously. "Are you talking about me?"
"Duh!" Teddie said. "She's obviously talking about me."
"You don't even go to our school!" Chie pointed out.
"You're so lucky, Aika," the Shadow drawled, slowly releasing her wrists. "A nice boy bending over backwards to help you, doing everything for you… and you didn't even have to lift a finger." And then, suddenly, the Shadow's expression contorted into a vicious scowl, and it put both hands on Aika's shoulders and shoved her to the ground. "Where's my prince, huh? Who's going to come save me?"
"Wh-What…?" Aika whispered.
"What have you ever done to deserve someone like that?" the Shadow demanded, stepping dangerously and threateningly towards her. "You don't even need a prince!" The Shadow's expression softened, and a shiver ran down Aika's spine. "And yet you get one anyway, a prince who's just perfect for you…" The Shadow sneered. "… and all I get is Chie."
"Y-Yukiko…" Chie mumbled.
"Chie can't take me away from here!" the Shadow ranted. "She can't save me! And it's not like your prince can either!"
The real Yukiko struggled to stand up, but she glared at the Shadow with all the strength she could muster. "S-Stop it…"
"Historic inn?" the Shadow said scornfully. "Manager training? I'm sick of all these things chaining me down! I never asked to be born here! Everything's decided for me! From how I live, to where I die! I'm so sick of it! To hell with it all!"
"That's not true…" the real Yukiko protested weakly.
"I just want to go somewhere far away," the Shadow continued. "Anywhere but here… Someone, please take me away! I can't leave here on my own! I'm completely useless…"
"Stop…" Yukiko mumbled. "Please stop…"
"I have no hope if I stay," the Shadow sneered, "and no courage to leave… So I sit on my ass hoping that someday my prince will come! I don't care where we go! Anywhere's fine! As long as it's not here, I don't give a damn! Historical tradition? Pride of the town? What a load of bullshit!"
"How dare you…?" Yukiko said weakly.
"That's how I really feel," the Shadow said with finality. "Isn't that right… me?"
"N-No!" Yukiko said angrily.
"Stop!" Yosuke yelled. "Don't say it!"
"Yukiko-san!" Aika cried.
"No!" Yukiko yelled. "You're not me!"
Aika was so not getting used to this. She really wasn't. But she honestly couldn't say she was surprised when Shadows swarmed to Yukiko's Shadow, which was now laughing maniacally. "Ah, this feels wonderful! It's building… more and more… If this keeps up, I'll… I'll…"
"Ew…" Yosuke groaned. "That sounds so wrong…"
Yukiko's Shadow was back to laughing, and, in no time at all, it transformed into a magnificent red bird connected to an open cage. "So…" Aika said slowly. "The forms your Shadows take when they go crazy are supposed to be symbolic, huh?"
"No they're not!" Chie denied quickly. "That would make me…" She covered her face with both her hands and screamed. "Ew, that's so gross!"
"Guys!" Teddie yelled. "We have to stop it! That girl's in danger!
"All right," Chie said. "Hang in there, Yukiko! We'll save you!"
"I am a Shadow," the giant bird said in a distorted version of Yukiko's voice. "The true self… Well, it appears my real prince is in another castle. How disappointing."
"Hang in there, Yukiko!" Chie yelled. "I'm right here for you!"
"I thought I already made it clear that you don't count, Chie," the Shadow taunted. "But if you really want to save me so badly, I'll make sure to give you plenty to deal with!"
Hurt crossed Chie's face, and Yosuke glowered at the Shadow. "That's enough out of you!" he yelled, slamming one of his swords down on his card. "Persona!" Jiraiya swung its limbs at the Shadow, making the bird fall from the cage. "Come on, let's go!" And with that, Aika and Chie followed him, just attacking the Shadow with everything they had.
The Shadow chuckled and then, all of a sudden, flames engulfed the room. The smoke made Aika's throat burn and her eyes water, and she couldn't feel Yosuke or Chie anywhere near her. "It's all right, Aika-chan!" Teddie said from behind her, and she couldn't help but sigh in relief that she wasn't alone. "I'm still here with you!"
"Thanks, Teddie," Aika said, but the smoke made her cough. "Y-Yosuke-kun! Chie-san!" she yelled, only to burst into another coughing fit soon afterwards. "Are you okay?"
"Chie!" Aika heard the real Yukiko shriek from somewhere on her right. Something in Aika's heart seized at that – was Chie in trouble?
"How disappointing," the Shadow said again. "I really thought you'd be the one to save me, Chie, but I guess I was wrong…"
Aika squinted through the searing heat. The Shadow was only a little ways in front of her. She waved her arm once, closing her eyes. "Aoandon…" she whispered as she changed Personae. Then, she stepped forward. "That's not true!" she yelled at the Shadow. "Go, Aoandon!" Megido, Megido, Megido, Megido, Megido!
The Shadow shrieked in pain, flinching, and Aika smirked in triumph. But her victory was short-lived, as the Shadow quickly recovered. "You little bitch," the Shadow seethed. "That actually hurt! You're going to pay for that one!"
"Aika!" she heard Yosuke yell from somewhere on her left.
One long talon struck her across the stomach, sending her crashing into Teddie. Her vision darkened around the edges, and her head was swimming. "Aika-chan!" Teddie cried.
"Yukiko!" Chie yelled suddenly.
"No…" the real Yukiko whimpered. "Chie, run… please…"
"I won't run," Chie said in a firm voice. "There's something I need to tell you, Yukiko. I… I've always been jealous of you. You have everything… so I was really happy that you needed my help. I liked thinking… that you needed me to protect you. But… your Shadow's wrong, Yukiko. You can do things on your own. You're one of the strongest people I know. You wanna be free? Then smash that stupid cage with your own hands and fly wherever you want! You don't need someone to come save you!"
"You're wrong," the real Yukiko replied, and her voice was wavering so much that Aika was sure she was crying. "I… I'm not strong at all! I'm not…"
"So what?" Chie retorted. "It's not like I'm the person you thought I was, either. There's good and bad in all of us… I don't care how hard you try convincing me that you're the worst person in the world, because I know you're not. You're my best friend, Yukiko, and I'm not leaving you!"
"No!" the Shadow screamed.
"Persona!" Yosuke yelled, and, all too quickly, the Shadow went down, the flames scattered throughout the room disappearing one by one. Aika leaned on Teddie as she struggled to stand up, the spot where the Shadow had hit her still searing with pain. Yosuke ran over to her immediately, and, suddenly, she was in his arms and her face was being pressed into his shirt. "What the hell were you thinking?" he yelled. "You could've gotten yourself killed! Don't ever piss off Shadows like that again!"
"I'm sorry…" Aika whispered.
He released her, only to clasp her tightly by the shoulders. "We're gonna come back in here every day if that's what it takes to get you used to fighting," he said determinedly. "This is so not happening with the next one!" And despite the seriousness of the situation, Aika couldn't help but laugh. She couldn't remember the last time anyone outside her family had ever expressed such concern for her. "Chie, you too!"
But Chie didn't pay any attention to him – she was crouched by the real Yukiko, hugging her tightly. With Chie's help, Yukiko managed to stand up, and she stared at her Shadow with a blank expression. "No," she said quietly. "I'm not…"
"It's okay, Yukiko-san," Aika assured her.
"I'm so sorry!" Chie cried. "I was so self-centered that… I never understood what you were going through… I'm your friend, and still…"
"Chie…" Yukiko said slowly. "Thank you. And… I'm sorry, too. I never saw the real you either. I was too busy trying to find an easy way out." Yukiko broke away from Chie and staggered over to her Shadow. "'I want to run away'… 'I want someone to save me'… You're right; those feelings are a part of me too… but they don't always have to be." She stared at her Shadow with a serious expression. "You're me, and I'm you… for now, anyway. I can still change. If I want to be free, I'll have to do it myself, instead of waiting for someone to come rescue me." The Shadow nodded once and disappeared into blue light. A Persona appeared above her, and her body glowed with blue light. "Thank you…" Yukiko whispered. "… Konohana Sakuya." And with that, she collapsed to her knees.
"Yukiko-san!" Aika called out in alarm as they all ran up to her.
"Are you okay?" Yosuke asked.
"I'm fine," Yukiko replied shakily. "I'm just a little tired… So… you all came to rescue me?"
"Of course!" Chie replied.
"Thank you," Yukiko said sincerely.
"Don't even mention it," Chie retorted, rubbing her eyes with her sleeves. "I'm just so glad you're safe…"
"Y-Yeah…" Aika agreed.
"So…" Teddie interjected, waddling to the front. "Who threw you in here?"
"Huh?" Yukiko asked. "Who are you? Rather… What are you?"
"I'm Teddie!" the bear introduced himself. "So, who threw you in?"
Yukiko's face fell. "I don't know…" she answered. "I think… someone called my name… But my memory's a blur. I can't remember who it was… I'm sorry, um… Teddie."
Teddie sighed. "No new clues…" he said glumly.
"Not necessarily," Yosuke retorted. "Now we know for sure that someone threw Yukiko-san in here."
"But that means someone really is trying to kill people…" Aika mumbled.
"Come on, guys," Chie said. "Let's hurry back home. We're all exhausted – especially Yukiko. Thanks again, Teddie."
"Wait, you're leaving me here?" Teddie cried incredulously.
"What are you talking about?" Yosuke asked. "You live here."
"Well, yeah, but…" Teddie mumbled.
"I'm sorry, Teddie," Yukiko apologized. "I promise to come again. So be a good boy and wait here until then."
Teddie's face turned as red as the fur on his body, and Aika couldn't help but laugh.
"Yukiko, are you all right?" Chie asked concernedly outside Junes. Aika's school bag felt heavy on her shoulder, and each step she took seemed to sap more and more of her energy. "You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"
"No, I'm just a little tired," Yukiko replied.
"We'll walk you back home anyway," Yosuke said. "After that… Who lives closest to the inn?"
"Is the shopping district close to the inn?" Aika asked. "I live near there."
"Not exactly…" Chie replied.
"I'm sorry…" Yukiko apologized. "I really don't remember anything that happened."
"Well no worries," Chie replied. "You're safe, and that's all that matters for now."
"But there's no mistake that Yukiko-san was… attacked… the same way as the last two victims," Yosuke pointed out.
"A-And the one we saw on the Midnight Channel was definitely her Shadow," Aika added. "So… maybe the things she was suppressing in this world took form inside the TV?"
Yosuke groaned. "It's no use," he grumbled. "We just keep going round and round in circles…"
"Let's go over it some other time," Chie suggested. "I think we're all a little too beat to think straight right now."
By that point, they'd reached the Amagi Inn. "Thanks again," Yukiko said. "Um… see you all later." With one last wave, she disappeared into the inn.
Aika woke up to Nanako's cheerful exclamation of "He's home!" She couldn't remember when she had fallen asleep in the first place, or why she never bothered unrolling her futon and just going to bed early. She rubbed her eyes, which did nothing to wake her up further. Fortunately, she managed to look awake enough by the time Uncle finally walked in… with the detective who arrested her just a few days ago. "Um…" Nanako mumbled. "Hello…"
"Hi there," the detective replied with a smile, and Aika only felt slightly guilty that she couldn't remember his name.
"We got off work at the same time, so I'm giving him a ride back to his place," Uncle explained. "I thought we might as well swing by."
"Nice to meet ya," the detective said. "I'm Adachi, your dad's slave since spring." He waved awkwardly at Aika. "Hey, Aika-chan."
"Don't push it," Uncle warned. "You're still not off the hook for that little stunt you pulled last week."
"Hey, I'm really sorry about what happened, Aika-chan," Adachi said. "You looked a little suspicious, and I jumped to conclusions, and… well, you know the rest."
"What happened?" Nanako asked, tilting her head to the side.
"I'll tell you later," Aika whispered.
"I'm hungry," Nanako complained.
"Yeah, my stomach's growling too," Uncle agreed.
"S-Sorry!" Aika squeaked, standing up hastily. "I-I'll get started on dinner right now."
"Nah, you stay put," Uncle said. "I'll take care of it."
Adachi chuckled. "Well what do you know?" he asked. "You do have a softer side around your girls, don't you Sir?"
Uncle frowned sternly at Adachi. "Shut up and siddown," he ordered. "And wash your hands first! … Hm, I should do the same…"
Aika giggled as she sat down, any remaining traces of sleepiness slowly fading. As it turned out, a lively dinner could be fun.
And now we've reached the end of the Yukiko arc. And we're only three chapters in. YIKES. So the Persona 1 reference was Margaret's quote by "a wise man" (more commonly known as Philemon, the dweller between consciousness and unconsciousness). So here's what I was going for in this chapter (and in this story in general), so tell me how much I succeeded (and/or failed):
So Aika sucks at being a Persona game protagonist. She's not super badass, and she kind of sucks at fighting. Her physical stats (attack and defense) are absolutely atrocious, and she gets knocked around a lot. Literally the only thing she has to compensate for this is the Wild Card, which she hates using, since she's kind of morally against weaponizing her relationships. That, and a ridiculous amount of SP (compared to the others, at least) that just gets poured into magic attacks, because that's pretty much all she can do. But she's kind of clumsy, so it's hard for her to switch Personae in time to attack a Shadow that's coming for her… or something like that. Basically, she stumbles a lot, since she's not used to this. You know Wander in Shadow of the Colossus? How he kind of sucks at using his sword? It's like that. (No, seriously, I thought of that when writing Aika's fight scenes in this chapter.)
As for Social Links, she's just getting bombarded with them right about now. First Chie, then Yosuke, then Uncle, then Chie and Yosuke, then Margaret… basically, it's driving her crazy right about now, and she hasn't told anyone about the Social Link aspect to her special little ability. I'm going to take liberties with her situation and say that Yasogami High doesn't get very many transfer students. So when she shows up, everyone looks at her as free game. Yosuke sees another girl he could woo, Chie sees someone who could become a second Yukiko to her, and Yukiko sees someone in the position completely opposite to her own, and is kind of jealous of that.
So one of the most glaring differences between canon and this little continuity is that Aika is considerably closer to her parents and her uncle than Yu ever was, to the point that, were this a game, the interface would say "Uncle" instead of "Dojima". Not to mention, Aika starts Uncle's Social Link way before she starts Nanako's. And (spoiler alert?) she'll have one with her parents too.
And Master Daidara is Chie's uncle. I don't know, her surprising lack of backstory, at least compared to the others, kind of bugged mer.
I think I've rambled enough for one chapter. Please review!