The doorway into my throne room opened.
My sword and shield walked in.
I stood to my feet, walking towards them.
"They're coming." Aigis told me, nodding gracefully in her white and gold armour, baby blue cloak waving slightly in the non-existent breeze.
I turned to Yukari. He eyes have changed over the years, but she is still just as beautiful as ever. "Let's just get this over with." She said, flicking her chin as she stood in her pink and brown armour, black cape framing her and concealing the powerful bow she carried.
I nodded, walking past them both, hand straying to brush Yukari on the hip as I went, my fingers slipping through her armour and touching her skin.
They followed me as I raised a hand to the doors. I wasn't armoured. I was wearing a short-sleved hoodie and knee-length shorts.
Armour would slow me down.
I stood over the balcony, looking towards the horizon as the airships came. Must be those new Humanitas models.
Why am I making assumptions? I already know what they are.
And I know the Leviathan Burrow is riding that one there.
I stepped forward, over the balcony and strode on the air.
This battle wouldn't involve the others.
/`''''`\\\\\\)
I woke up.
I haven't done that in a long time.
Let's see. Hotel room. Sleeping on the couch. Mitsuru's on the bed.
In pyjamas. That's unusual.
Right, switcheroo'd last night, then came here.
Check clock. seven thirty.
And what is that smell?
Why do I think it's me?
Sniff. Sniff.
Oh hey. It is me.
I make human body odours now.
Which means I need to brush teeth, comb hair, wash hair, shave, take showers, ugh.
So much time wasted.
And sleep. I could have done so much without that lack of hours gone.
Yay.
I got up and grabbed the paperwork, deciding on the route to Inaba. Hopefully I'll get to do some driving today.
"Good morning." Mitsuru yawned, pushing herself upright.
"Morning." I replied. "Who wants first shower?"
"I'll go." Mitsuru volunteered, getting up from the bed. "Try and remember how to shave while I'm in there."
Huh?
Dang I look haggard.
Serious. That is a serious amount of stubble I am currently rocking.
With the fact that I haven't washed, didn't sleep well, and I'm still getting adjusted to this whole mortality business, I look a mess.
Right then.
Foam is involved in here, right?
Minato usually used an electric razor, but I reckon I can get by on the hotel's free stuff.
And get by I did. Tell you what, I am good at this whole morning routine for someone who hasn't had a morning for multiple years.
Eight thirty and breakfast is over, and we're about to head out to Inaba, after meeting up with Natalie.
Mitsuru pressed the button on her car keys, and a mercedes's lights flashed. Oooh.
"We'll stop to get you some clean clothes along the way." She said, opening the door. "I've made sure that we aren't followed."
I nodded. "I'll drive." I said, then got to the important business. "Got any good music?"
Fingers tapped the wheel as I waited at the red light.
I don't need a parachute
You don't need to ask if I'm okay
I can look after myself
We've been walking for hours now
My feet are starting to itch
Blisters crack all over my skin
And my shoes don't even fit.
I'm so sorry for the pain,
Sorry for the aches,
Sorry for the moods I'm swinging.
But I don't need your hand,
I don't need your heart,
I don't need a parachute.
Green light, time to go pick up Nat.
I have tried to carry you
As far as I can go but I'm not strong
Enough to do this on my own
I pack my bags to leave this town
Cause I'm not welcome back here any more
Upon these shores
Mitsuru's phone rang, and I turned Charlie Simpson down. "It's the guy you left in charge." I told her before she reached into her pocket. "You should talk to him. People need your business to eat."
I'm so sorry for the pain,
Sorry for the aches,
Sorry for the moods I'm swinging.
But I don't need your hand,
I don't need your heart,
I don't need a parachute.
I'm so sorry for the greed,
Sorry for the hate,
Sorry for the mess I left you
But I don't want it back
I don't need it back
I don't need a parachute.
Ignoring Mitsuru's boring business calls, I focused on solving the real mystery.
Why does she have English musicians on her iPod?
And by the time we picked Nat up, we were listening to Chopin.
"I was hoping you would be able to answer some of my questions while we travelled, Ryoku-san." Natalie said, buckling up in the back seat.
"My name's Minatos." I pointed out to her. "Ryoku's a fake name on a fake identity. I'll be using others by the end of the day."
Naoto smiled, in spite of herself. "Very well Minatos-san. Are you responsible for the murder of the late Isamu Minami?"
That ruined my great mood. "Nat- you okay with me calling you Nat?" I asked, then shrugged. "First, it's only homocide if Humans kill Humans. I'm a Shadow. Mostly. Kinda having an identity crisis at the moment. Anyways." I coughed for the sake of it. It made my lungs rattle. "Second, There's a difference between Murder and Suicide."
"So you admit that you are guilty." Naoto asked as I pulled out into the road.
"Not at all, I'm proud of what I did, and I'm sure that young lady whose name I can't quite recall at this point was thankful for my help."
"And the same for the other world leaders you have assassinated?" Naoto asked.
"For the most part." I shrugged, keeping my eye on the road. "Child trafficking was to take the poor kids out of the hands of pedos and into the hands of mobsters who I am paying quite a large sum to raise well and provide education and shelter for. I gave a number of those kids the ability to summon Persona so they can defend each other from any threats. So far, that plan's going well and at the rate it's going, the child sex trade should be completely wiped out within ten years. I've got the whole thing taken down already, except for the stragglers who haven't quite got the point yet. Once those children reach adulthood, they'll spread out and eliminate anyone who tries to set up shop. As an added bonus, the mobsters stop selling drugs and loan sharking and start running orphanages. Win Win situation for everybody."
I caught her eyes in the mirror to make sure she was understanding where I was coming from. "That is the difference between me and a global vigilante, Natalie Arisoto. I don't murder. I want people to choose to be good. I only remove those who refuse to change and are making life hell for everyone else. Terrorists want domination, control, to feel power. I'm merely the Minato Arsoto revival project."
And that's why I'm driving. Either of those two would have slammed on the brakes or veered off the road at that statement.
"Now when you both make your reports to SEELE and Interpol and whatever, make sure to mention that." I told them, pulling into the Drive-Thru of a Wacdonalds. "This place still does breakfasts, right?"
Long road trip is long. Serious. Even with the stop to pick up some clothes and toiletries for me. And lunch along the way.
...
Driving long distances is hard.
Guh.
I could be in Argentina ending gang wars right now. But Nooooooooo, I have to hang around old friends and family who thought that I was dead and kill demons and pretend to be all casual about it.
...
Grah.
But hey. Spending time with my sorta-sister and Mitsuru can't be that bad, right?
...
Awkward silence.
"So, how was that whole investigation thing, eh?" I asked, trying to get the conversation going again. "Bet the whole Adachi thing was a shocker, huh?"
...
Ugh.
Eventually, we got there.
To Inaba at least.
There was a GEWEHR road block in the way.
"Mitsuru, have you guys been leading me into a trap?" I asked with a slight smirk, glancing as she contained her rage.
She accomplished it quite well. If you didn't know her well, you'd have no idea that she was about to snap someone's neck.
"I had nothing to do with this." She stated, glaring daggers through the windshield at the oncoming suit.
I nodded. "Still, glad to see that SEELE's competent enough to know I'm depowered, even if they're stupid enough to try and do something about it."
Knock on the window next to me. I rolled it down. "Is there an officer, problem?" I asked, making it clear that I wasn't drunk.
He recognised me in a second, and backed off, drawing his magnum and pointing it at my neck. "GET OUT OF THE CAR! NOW! WE HAVE YOU SURROUNDED!"
I reached to undo my seatbelt, and Mitsuru put her hand on mine. "You're still chained down." She warned. "You can't speed your way through them like before." Unsaid but clear was the fact that she was going to slow me down.
Something she was ashamed of.
I winked at her.
Silently, she also undid her seatbelt, as did Nat behind us, and we all stepped out of the car.
Thankfully the chain passed through the metal effortlessly, so we had at least that much distance between us before the chain started to choke people.
"HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!" The suit shouted, and the rest of his team drew their weapons and prepared their Personae. "GET TO THE GROUND, NOW!"
Mitsuru looked at me from behind.
Then she jumped and slid over the car bonnet as my hand lashed out, grabbed the gunman's wrists, twisted them so the gun pointed down and slammed my chained fist into his face, sending him flying and his dropped gun into my free hand.
Mitsuru's frost shield blocked the wave of bullets from the roadblock and I returned fire as the swordsmen came. "Showtime." Naoto snarled, taking cover behind the mercedes and firing from her revolver.
A gun fight in the middle of the afternoon in rural Japan. These guys did not think this one through, did they?
Especially with the gun restrictions in Japan, but I digress. Still got enough bullets to do the job.
Then came the Personae. Undine, Attis, Loki, Ares, Arahabaki, Bishamonten, they're really going for it, aren't they?
"GET READY TO HURT, DAMMIT!"
The GEWEHR suits at the back turned to get a fresh load of motorcycle in their face. Kanji roared, swinging the bike and launching Rokuten Maoh to tear a hole in their defence with his burning blade. There was another battlecry as Funky charged in, swinging his pole and taking the GEWEHR suits out one by one.
And subtlety is out of the window, but that's the way I like it.
Following Mitsuru's lead, we charged forwards, grabbing swords along the way and cut down our attackers. We've been doing a pretty good job so far at preserving life, aiming for non-lethal spots, chopping limbs, but reality of the situation?
BLAM
These guys are here to kill.
"FUNKY!" Kanji shouted, then ducked under an axe swing and slammed his bike into the guy's forehead. "GET UP DAMMIT!"
Unfortunately, the gunwoman double-tapped Funky to make sure, then turned on Kanji, before receiving some lead in her ear from Naoto.
I've forgotten the poor guy's actual name.
Damn.
The battle was over already.
Corpses and wounded suits filled the streets.
I knew each of these people by name once.
You'd think that would make it easier to keep them alive.
It didn't.
All I saw was how much their families were convinced they went out to work each day to fight bad guys and make the world a better place.
And they killed Funky.
They would've killed Nat if she let them.
If I let them.
"CALL AN AMBULANCE!" Kanji shouted, kneeling over Funky in anguish. "HURRY DAMMIT!"
I put a hand on his shoulder.
He punched me in the face.
I hugged him.
He sobbed.
He swore.
He heard the sirens coming.
I ran him back to the Mercedes and drove out of there.
Naoto took over the emotional stuff.
I drove around, looking for another way into the town.
Except...
Dammit.
They'll have blocked those off too.
GEWEHR...
How many people need to die today..?
We dumped the car near the river and torched it, then headed for Kanji's place via the TV. Hopefully GEWEHR would have realised what had happened and bailed before this became a full scale police investigation.
Hell. Of course it is.
There were six corpses, twenty wounded.
I made sure to dump the gun I stole back with the guy I took it from.
Make the thing look like a gang war.
Normally, I'd stuff their pockets with cocaine to add to weight to the story.
No time for that this time, though.
And, no drugs on hand to contaminate the crime scene with.
Kanji punched a large tree down as we walked along the brook. "Dammit... we just came to see what the fuss was about... Why the hell did he have to die..?"
Don't monologue. Whatever you do, Shadow, don't monologue. It never helps.
Naoto helped him along.
She was good at that.
She and Kanji had been close for a while.
A couple hours later and we'd washed the blood out of our hair.
One advantage of Kanji's mother being in the hospital was that he had the house to himself.
Kanji slammed the Memo on the table, updated and detailed for him, since he was out of the loop, and he was fuming.
"We're gonna kill this thing." he snarled. "I don't care what I gotta do, this thing is going down."
I nodded. "They took Nametame too, didn't they?"
Naoto turned to look at me in shock, and then to Kanji as he nodded. "He was protecting us the whole time, but once they got under that shield?" Kanji spat, his face a picture of rage. "I don't know how we survived. Those Shadows weren't natural. They were too much."
"What about last night?" Mitsuru asked, wondering if there was any correlation.
"Nuthin." He shrugged. "We holed up at Nana-chan's and held the fort, but nothing came. Dojima-san turned to a big, white, thing like everyone else, with Nana-chan freaking out about the whole thing."
"Does she have a Persona?" I asked, getting to the crux of the matter.
"She ain't fighting." Kanji snapped. "No way in hell am I gonna let you do that to her."
"I wouldn't do that to her." I told him. She'd be useless as a child soldier. "I'm trying to keep her safe."
He grunted, leaning back against the wall. "Aren't we all..?" he asked dismissively.
Dojima and Nanako showed up around eight-ish, both visibly shaken and tired. "You the guy I was told about?" He asked, ignoring the greetings as he walked in behind Kanji.
I nodded, bracing myself to get a fist to the face. It seems to be the common greeting nowadays.
It never came.
He just sat down, Nanako sitting down behind him and Naoto.
She was so brave, so bold, so outgoing...
Until that night three days ago.
Heck. That'd mess any kid up.
"I want you to shove me in the TV." Dojima said, looking me in the eye. "I need a Persona."
"Having a Persona won't just get you into Veritas De Skoll, and not having one won't automatically exclude you." I told him, glancing briefly at Nanako as I did so.
She visibly shrunk from me.
"I saw what you did on the outskirts of town." Dojima stated. "Frost burns, sword wounds, snapped wrists, you think I don't know what's going on?" He asked. "This isn't some murderer kidnapping a few people with a damned TV screen, this is open war and I need to protect My Daughter." He stressed those last two words for emphasis.
Nanako would have said something.
Before the trauma.
...
I reached into my trousers and pulled out an evoker, tossing it to him. "Prove it." I said, leaning back. "Blow your brains out."
That got Nanako's attention. She gripped the back of her dad's shirt.
He gave me a look as if to say 'Behold, thou art stupid'. "Don't play games with me." He said, holding the evoker between his thumb and forefinger. "This toy couldn't do anything."
I grinned, not caring how the atmosphere in the room turned colder every second I continued this. "Do I care?" I asked him. "Put it to your head and pull the trigger."
"Dad-"
"Not now Nanako." Dojima told her, quickly and comfortingly, before turning back to me. "And you'll give me a Persona?" He asked.
How easily does man forget the lesson painfully learnt?
"If you want one." I said, gesturing for him to continue while Nanako clearly wanted this to stop.
Ryotaro Dojima considered it.
"Dad, you-" Nanako started, but was stopped as Dojima primed the gun and put it to his head.
Nanako's blood ran cold. "Dad..?"
"DOJIMA!" Kanji shouted. "The HELL ARE YOU-?!"
"DADDY?!"
BLAM
Dojima was on the floor, pinned down by Kaguya Hime, the armoured princess holding him down with one hand and the evoker hand in the air with another.
Nanako was panting, sweating, and dived onto her father, sobbing. Begging. Pleading.
And he starts to remember why he wants to fight.
And realises why it's important not to fight.
Because if he does...
Then Nanako would be forced to follow him into battle.
"Dammit..." Dojima swore, putting his hands around his daughter as Kaguya Hime faded away "Sorry Nanako... it's okay..."
=]+[=
About time too. Shame to leave you hanging there like that, but you've been waiting a while.
Sorry for the delay, I'll try to keep an acceptable pace in future. Lemme know what you think. What do you want to see more of, what questions do you have, how can I improve?
And yeah. I just did those things. I was forcing the story along. I'm gonna take a break, get some Shinji-108 written as that's what I seem to have fuel for at the moment. I'm bringing in Cortana and the Flood. Enjoy!