Disclaimer: I do not own Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4, Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3, or most of the characters within this story as they belong to Atlus.

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Veluti In Speculum

Chapter 7: Heat

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Saturday arrived at a leisurely pace and Akihiko was waiting at Yasoinaba Station. The train was pulling in slowly, almost antagonizing to him, but then again, maybe he was just eager. Oh geez, how sad was that? He just talked to her the other day with video chat. God, he really needed to…

"Akihiko, were you waiting long?"

He turned around, startled, but then smiled, stepping forward, "Hey Mitsuru. No, it wasn't that long."

"That's good. If you got sick waiting for me, I would feel terrible," Mitsuru said, smiling. She was dressed in a black business suit, with matching knee-length skirt, and black heels. Her hair was as always; a wavy cascade of red falling over her shoulders and reaching to her mid to lower back. Her auburn eyes locked with his silver ones, "Have you been watching Shirogane?"

"Yes… I hope you don't mind, but I gave her a copy of the picture from the article," Akihiko said, walking over and picking up her bag. He was expressionless as he added, "She's been waiting anxiously to know, but she hasn't pressed on the matter."

"Hmm… What's the soonest time I can meet her, you suppose?" Mitsuru sighed, thanking him as he helped with her luggage. He didn't have to. It was just one bag since she couldn't stay past Monday.

Akihiko rose with the bag in hand, thinking, "Well… today at school they're having their Culture Festival. We can check it out if you want or just go to the Inn. I can call her up later."

Mitsuru was silent, pondering with a hand on her chin and her eyes closed. He just waited, turning away and looking around. The small town was really quaint as compared to the hustle and bustle of the large cities. Reminded him of the orphanage…

"… Our final Festival was cancelled… let me check in at the Inn and then we can check out the school," Mitsuru replied, looking at him, "Inui can come along too unless he has found a way to occupy himself."

"Inui? Nah, he's been looking for a way out. He never wants to just walk around town," Akihiko said, chuckling. He walked over to the bus stop with her and then added, "He might run out of the Inn if I told him Risette hangs out with Shirogane. He didn't notice the first time we went to find Hanamura."

"Oh, too slow if you ask me," Mitsuru said, laughing softly. The bus was rolling up now, but they continued to talk to each other. "Did you find anything interesting to you?" she asked as they took their seats.

"There's a weapon shop here and not just those antique, blunt ones, but real. You could probably ask him to make a new rapier for you. It is quality work," Akihiko said, smirking, "If you don't want that, there is a bookstore nearby."

"We'll have to look at both later. You'll accompany me of course, right?"

"Why wouldn't I, Mitsuru?"

She took hold of his hand, "We've been apart for a while. I thought you were enjoying it."

"No," Akihiko whispered, "I missed you."

"I missed you too," she said just as quietly, leaning on his shoulder. The rest of the bus ride was silence between them, just enjoying the other's presence.

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"I'm not going out there."

"You have to."

"I'm not being demeaned to this level!"

"You have to come out of that bathroom sometime."

"Gouto! How did you even get inside school!?"

"Tatsumi was gracious enough to sneak me in. He even gave me some fish, but that's beside the point. You have to follow through with this, Naoto."

Naoto opened the door a crack and looked down at the cat sitting outside of the bathroom. Nobody was in the halls, but the stage was right across the way. Quickly, she shut the door again and looked down at herself. Of all the suits, Teddie and Yosuke had to pick a dark blue string bikini for her. It would not stay over her chest and it would not stay tied around her waist. She was already imagining several horrible wardrobe malfunctions on the stage. She growled, "Gouto, I didn't even sign up for this! It's was Yosuke-senpai's doing!"

"Even so, you already did round one you might as well wrap it up."

"Gouto…"

Gouto somewhat laughed at Naoto's frustration, but then had to quickly dash off at the sound of heels clicking against the floor. She didn't notice and looked back in the mirror. She just wanted to get dressed and forget about this whole thing. There was no way she was going to humiliate herself in front of the entire school.

She jumped as the bathroom door opened and closed, shooting into one of the stalls immediately. The person didn't move, confused at what just happened, but then they sighed and started pacing. Naoto could hear a phone beeping as buttons were pressed. The person in the bathroom started to speak and she couldn't help, but overhear in her position.

"Hello, Yukari… Oh, you're in town already?"

The voice was crisp and obviously female. It almost sounded familiar…

"No, Akihiko and I wanted to see the Culture Festival going on at Yasogami High… Apparently, they have a beauty pageant as one of their events… Ahaha, I don't think Odagiri would have approved it even if there was a majority vote."

Naoto flushed red. So, whatever school this woman had gone to, they didn't have beauty pageants. The student council must have controlled the Culture Festival preparations unlike here where the teachers mostly did.

"Oh, so Aigis and Fuuka came with you? … Yes, that might be for the best. If it is true, than she must be a persona-user."

'…! Persona!?' Naoto leaned closer to the door, careful as the woman stopped pacing.

"I'm afraid we're starting to lose ours… Personas can only be summoned for so long and the strain to call them now is becoming greater. They'll just integrate back into our souls and we'll no longer be able to fight with them, but that doesn't mean we'll be useless."

Naoto frowned. Who were they talking about?

"I'll talk to you later Yukari. Say hello to Fuuka and Aigis for me."

The phone snapped shut and the sound of heels suddenly got louder. Naoto scrambled back, trying to hide herself in the corner, but the voice demanded harshly, "Come out. I know you're hiding in there."

Strangely, that voice actually unnerved her, just like her grandfather. She remained outside of the door; waiting and Naoto could feel her gaze through the door. This woman was probably not going to leave until she did come out. Nervously, she stepped forward, unlocking the stall and stepped out. This was worse. Now she was before someone she didn't know and in a bloody bathing suit.

The woman before her knew how to hold herself. Her mahogany hair was long and wavy, her suit was dark, and her stance composed as her arms crossed under her chest. She seemed to be analyzing Naoto up and down until she nodded, "Shirogane, congratulations on the pageant. You don't have to hide anymore."

"What?" Naoto blinked, confused behind her red cheeks.

The woman's ruby lips curved into a smile, "That's right. You must be hiding in here. Well, you were declared the winner already. You can change if you wish. Goodbye."

Naoto just stood there; staring at the door long after the woman had left.

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The tensions of the day melted away from all of them as they stepped into the hot springs at the Amagi Inn. Chie sighed, leaning against a rock, "It's been a while since I came in here. It feels nice."

"I haven't been in a hot spring since that tour in Kyoto," Rise sighed, sinking in the water, "This is the best."

"Yeah, I always enjoy coming in here," Yukiko said, smiling. She paused and looked over at Nanako. The little girl was bobbing in the water, giggling. Yukiko beamed and then looked over at Naoto. Her back was towards them all and she was hugging the towel tightly to her body. Yukiko giggled, "Naoto-kun, come on over. There's plenty of room."

Naoto jumped after being addressed and glanced over her shoulder, "Huh? Oh, o-okay…"

As she moved back, Rise swam forward, stopping behind Naoto, "Wow, Naoto, your skin looks so soft. Can I touch? Can I touch?"

Now Chie and Yukiko moved forward while Nanako watched. Naoto blinked, "Huh? U-um…"

"Wow, it really is smooth," Yukiko said, touching Naoto's back, making the younger girl quiver.

"You're so lucky. You have such fair skin and silky hair..." Chie said, trailing as she played with Naoto's short, dark tresses.

Rise touched lower, first feeling Naoto's stomach and then her leg, moving up, "No unneeded body fat, either."

"Eek!" Naoto squeaked, "H-hey, where are you touching…?

Rise, Chie, and Yukiko laughed while Naoto turned scarlet. God, this was weird. She swam away and spoke to Nanako, but soon, they were swimming around the hot spring. They paused though when the door opened and a few new voices spoke, "This hot spring will have no effects on me still."

"Well, as long as it doesn't become another episode like Kyoto, I don't think it will matter," a second voice said, "Senpai, I don't think you should freeze anyone."

"Stupei isn't here so it doesn't matter. I could really use a soak. Hehe, I bet you could use one especially. Still thinking about how to speak to her?"

"Yes. I don't know how to explain this without it sounding too unbelievable."

Four more bodies entered the water and they heard content sighs.

"This feels wonderful and to get away from all that school work..."

"The water just melts away all my tension."

"Fuuka, I don't think you should sink down like that."

"… We're not alone in here."

Yukiko, Chie, Naoto, and Rise jumped, knowing they were busted. Nanako didn't seem to care at the moment, smiling and swam around. Chie followed after her with a sigh. It didn't really matter anymore she supposed. Yukiko and Naoto walked over as well, but the latter paused at the sight of the four girls. It was the woman from earlier and three more girls that looked oddly familiar.

… That photo Akihiko had.

"Shirogane. It's a surprise to see you here," the eldest of the group said.

Yukiko politely bowed, "Kirijo-san, I hope everything at the Inn is to your liking."

"Kirijo!? A-As in the Kirijo Group?" Rise asked, her eyes widening, "Oh my God, you sponsored one of my tours!"

"Risette's première tour. I remember that," The woman said. Rise gasped while the woman turned faintly pink, "Oh, that's right. I didn't introduce myself from our earlier meeting. I'm Mitsuru Kirijo. I believe you have met Akihiko and forgive me for this afternoon at the school. You seemed quite uncomfortable."

"Wait, you were the one who found Naoto in the bathroom?! Awe, you got to see Naoto in a swim suit. Not fair!" Rise cried, looking over at Naoto.

Naoto shrunk in the water, "You're seeing me in a towel right now. I don't understand the difference."

Nanako smiled, looking at the teal-haired woman, "Oh, so you're friends with Naoto?"

"I'm afraid I'm not. I came here with my friends just today," she replied, smiling sweetly, "My name's Fuuka Yamagishi though. It's nice to meet you."

The last two seemed silent, looking at Naoto. Once again, the detective felt anxious under their gazes. They whispered something and nodded to each other in agreement, but of what she wasn't entirely sure. Everyone was getting acquainted while they seemed to judge her. Finally, they smiled and the girl with sandy hair spoke, "Sorry. We were just confirming something for later. I'm Yukari Takeba and her name's Aigis."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Naoto," Aigis said, smiling.

"It's nice to meet you as well," Naoto replied.

"So you're all friends with Sanada-san? Wow," Chie said, amazed.

Yukari grinned, "Uh oh, someone's hitting on your boyfriend again, Mitsuru."

"I wouldn't say hitting on him. He does have his fans for boxing," Mitsuru replied calmly while Chie gawked.

Nanako giggled, "Chie likes a lot of martial arts. She got really mad at Yosuke when he broke one of her DVDs. Big bro told me about that."

"So did you kick him or something else?" Yukari asked, having a feeling this Yosuke was like a certain idiot they knew.

"Oh, I kicked him where it hurt," Chie said, growling somewhat at the memory, "He gave me another copy of 'Trial of the Dragon', but that first one was mine."

"Oh, Chie, let it go," Yukiko said, "Come on, let's just swim around and forget about it."

Mitsuru looked at Naoto, "Could you come to Room 626 later this evening? I wish to speak with you more about… what I know Akihiko was telling you about."

"… Alright," Naoto said, nodding. Mitsuru was about to say something when a blur bounded into the hot springs, startling everyone present. When Teddie surfaced, Yukiko, Chie, Rise, and Naoto gasped, covering themselves while the other four girls looked irritated. Mitsuru looked livid as she turned around, spotting the intruders.

Kanji, Souji, Yosuke, Akihiko, and Inui (they must've met each other while walking down here) were standing there, eyes wide. Kanji covered his nose while Souji and Yosuke just stared at all the girls. Akihiko and Inui paled while Mitsuru hugged her towel tightly, "Akihiko…! Inui…!"

"M-Mitsuru! Wait! This isn't…!" Akihiko was waving his hands, taking a step back. The Inaba-born girls were grabbing water bins as ammo to chuck at the gaping males.

Two more guys raced in, one with a baseball cap exclaiming, "Senpai, wait--- O-Oh shit! Kyoto all over again! R-Retreat!"

"YOU AREN'T GOING ANYWHERE!"

The capped male was frozen in a block of ice suddenly while the young boy next to him jumped, "M-Mitsuru-san!"

"Get them!" Yukiko exclaimed and water bins started soaring through the air, smacking the remaining boys in the head.

Gouto watched Souji, Yosuke, Ken, and Inui flee from his hiding spot near the hot spring door. The cat shook his head as the remaining males' yells rang throughout the building.

"Idiots…"

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Me: You can't leave out the hot springs as a filler. No sir-e… review please.