(Super short because it doesn't really work with the next stuff. imo; also I'm running out of stuff to post again; blast.)

Chapter 44

"Mabufu!"

"No, wait!"

The octopi in Rage's dungeon had developed a resistance to ice; Devil Zukin was a bit late in telling her. You, Rage, Emi, Yuni, Akira, and Zukin had all made it into the first man's old dungeon to train. Emi was in need of learning new skills, while three of the others had stronger powers to try. Zero and Alice were unable to make it that Wednesday, but you still preferred a small group over a large one.

But having run into a problem with ice, you thought you would have to explore a different dungeon after the battle was over...

"Rage, what happened to your guy?" Yuni asked. "He looks like he just ripped his clothes off and got old."

"Psh, what about your Persona? She's like half Hidesato's size."

"Yeah, but she can kick-"

"Yuni, concentrate!" Akira scolded.

"Yeah, yeah."

You were partnered with Emi, much to Rage's dismay. You didn't want the fire and ice powers to mix and do nothing. You wanted to coach Emi into being a better fighter, and she seemed to be doing well with her weapons. Yet part because of the type disadvantage, she had barely learned any new spells. You encouraged her to think deeper, to try and learn something new.

"I can't!" she argued. "This is all so weird; all this," she defended against a small tentacle with her knife, "all this moving and concentrating," she slashed at an octopus, "I can't do both!"

She should treat it like a dance.

"Huh?"

She loved to dance, didn't she? All she had to do was what felt natural to her. This was only practice, after all; she didn't need to think hard about her Persona as much as she needed to feel its presence. It was there not only to protect her, but to guide her. All she had to do was rely on her inner self.

You hoped she had listened to what you said, but you wouldn't know for sure until she got better.

"Can't we try something else?" Emi said. "These octopi are really cute... I don't like hurting them."

"Cute when they're deep fried and seasoned," Rage joked. These matches were obviously far too easy for him...

So you proposed that your group venture to Yuni's odd dungeon...

-.

The criminal that you encountered on the first floor multiplied about fifty times. There were plenty of fast-moving enemies for you to fight. Not only were Emi's attacks finally doing damage, but Hidesato was working on his agility, which you noted had been much better than Benkei's, even if he was still the slowest Persona.

"Guojiu!"

Akira's dragon also seemed to increase in speed after growing, but no one was a match for the ever-fast Kishijoten. You could barely see her dart through the shadows of the dimly lit building; of course, you could barely see anything in the shadows without light from Guojiu's electricity or Hidesato's fire. You and Emi seemed to both be having the hardest time...

You used Futsunushi to outspeed the shadow thugs. His swords tore through their knife attacks and you took them down easily. Your concern wasn't so much with eliminating them as it was protecting Emi. With her multi-enemy attacks, she should've been fine, but she would need something stronger than Bufu to end them more quickly and easily.

"Hahaha, awesome!"

The temperature skyrocketed for a moment as you heard Rage's voice; you had to shield your face from a deep heat wave. You asked him to be more careful.

"C'mon Souji, that was Hidesato's strongest move! I would be pretty happy about that."

"Cool, Rage!" Emi said.

You told her not to encourage him...

"Quit showing off," Yuni said, "you're not the only one with a strong Persona!"

"All right, what can your girl do?"

Kishijoten teleported in front of Yuni. They looked at each other before nodding. Standing in front of Yuni, the Persona turned and faced a group of Shadows. Yuni and her partner posed with their hands folded as if it was some sort of ninjitsu; the Shadows were engulfed in dark auras and dropped like flies.

"Oh. That is kinda cool."

"Hmmph," she mumbled confidently..

"And we already saw Akira destroy Hades. We need to bring Zero and Alice back in here and see what they've got."

"What about me?" Emi asked innocently.

"Ah, you're doing pretty good for your second time. Me and Yuni and Akira... we've done this like three times now, I think. A little more practice, and Nixie will be amazing, I'll bet."

She frowned, disappointed from his answer.

-.

Emi stopped you outside Yuni's mansion.

"Do you think I'm strong enough?"

You didn't want to tell her no, or that the others were so strong that they would barely need her. Considering the latter half of that thought, you told her that she would probably be fine in the final battle the way she was.

"But I don't want to be fine... I want to be good. I want to be a big help to everybody..."

You had to tell her that her own power could only get her so far; if she wanted to truly be good in the other world, her Persona would need to be stronger. She and Nixie would need to learn to fight together so that her two sides would become one.

"I guess I see what you're saying. It's just... once I learned how to use Bufu, it was so comfortable to keep doing that. Mabufu was cool, but I could barely control it. Even Bufu almost got you and Zero hurt the other day. Just with stronger moves, I don't think I could be good enough."

She lacked confidence in herself. You could tell that she was afraid of the consequences of more power. Could it be her natural liking for the present that prevented her from moving forward in her abilities...?

"Maybe," she said. "Maybe I don't want to know what'll happen if I have to try different things. I don't like when things become different...

"But I was looking at Rage and the others. They were all getting stronger, and I felt like I was getting left behind. It's not just like that in fights; in real life, I'm supposed to be getting stronger and growing up. And I don't think I'm alone on that; everybody's growing up alongside me."

She had matured since you met her. You could sense an adventurous spirit in her.

"Even if I have to say goodbye to old stuff, I want to say hello to new things. I want to be with my friends as long as I can, and meet new ones in the future. Thanks to you and the others, I still have a future to look forward to. I won't let it go to waste!"

A sudden impulse beat through your body, changing the surroundings to a familiar empty space. You and Emi looked above and saw the tiny Nixie disappear; what reappeared what a much larger nymph-like creature with hair and garments made of crystals. You could see she was always smiling; that joyful Persona levitated for a second before fading away when you returned into reality.

Emi looked at you with wide eyes. "Did I... did I just get my new Persona?"

Happily, you confirmed it. She quickly hugged you, nearly tackling you to the ground in the process.

"This is amazing!" she said. "I won't let you down anymore, Souji! I promise!"

She released you and hopped backward. "Maybe we can train one more time on Friday. I'll see you then, okay?"

Sure, but was it okay to miss a day of DDR?

"I think it'll be okay. DDR was just what brought everybody together. But now we have this new way to be all one team and work for something. And don't forget, we have to help Robert's dad. When he's better, maybe Robert can play more DDR with us."

Of course, her motivations all came back to bringing people together. You hadn't expected anything else out of her; her bond with you had become unbreakable, after all.