Pairings: Shinjiro/Yuuki. Yukari/Ren. Minato/Fuuka.
Warnings: Slight violence. Suicidal implications.
Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 3 Portable or any of the characters, but the OC characters belongs to me
Chapter Twelve: The Visit
It didn't take too long for all of SEES to gather in the lounge area, even Koromaru. Currently, all of them were staring at Minato and Ren, waiting for them to start talking. Shinjiro who was seated beside Yuuki was staring at Minato for a whole other reason, the cogs in his brain turning furiously.
Yuuki had never mentioned that she had an older twin brother the last time around, even though he did overhear a conversation that Yuuki had with Yukari and Fuuka once about her brother. But apart from that, Shinjiro had never heard anything about her twin brother before. It made the brunette feel a little hurt, as Yuuki didn't seem to trust him enough to tell him about her brother.
And then again, should he really be one to speak? After all, he had never said anything about Strega, the Persona suppressant pills and even the incident with Amada's mother to Yuuki the last time around. And that disastrous night on Oct 4, despite feeling his life force rapidly draining away from him, he can't help but feel as if his heart is breaking into pieces when he'd seen Yuuki crying her eyes out next to him.
As Shinjiro looked from Yuuki to her twin brother, he can't help thinking that they're as different as far as twins could get. It's like they're complete opposites, for one. Yuuki is rather cheerful and gentle, and rather soft-spoken, but Minato seems to be rather aloof and had a rather dreamy expression on his face. But Shinjiro wasn't fooled, as he could see the sharp glint in his eyes, and knew that somewhere in there is a calculated tactician. The brunette assumed that that is probably where Yuuki got her head for tactics.
"All right." Ren coughed into his hand, glancing at Minato who hadn't yet shifted his eyes off of the beanie-wearing brunette even once ever since Yuuki had ushered them into the dormitory building. Said brunette seemed rather uncomfortable with Minato's unnerving gaze as well. "Let's start with the introductions first. I'm Ishigawa Ren. I'm a junior at Yasoinaba High School."
Ren glanced at Minato, but as the blue haired teen didn't even move or say anything, Ren jabbed him in the side none too gently with his elbow. The blue haired teen rubbed at his ribs, glaring slightly at Ren before glancing at SEES. "The same, Hariyama Minato," he introduced himself with a seemingly bored tone. "I'm also the older twin brother of Yuuki."
This information was new to all of SEES except for Shinjiro who already knew somewhat, given how Yuuki had talked about Minato briefly, and how she had greeted him outside the dorm earlier.
"You're Hariyama's twin brother?" Mitsuru asked with surprise.
"You've never mentioned it." Yukari looked at Yuuki.
"I did."
Ren coughed loudly, and all attention was focused on him once more. "Thank you," he said solemnly as the room quietened down once more. "And just like all of you, we're Persona users as well." He told SEES, much to their shock.
"P-Persona users?" Mitsuru spluttered, losing her famous composure for the first time. "How?"
"The same way that you did, I'm sure." Ren said sarcastically. "We woke up in the middle of the Dark Hour, found that—"
Minato sighed and interrupted his best friend, already seeing a twitch at the side of Mitsuru's brow.
The twins exchanged looks as one.
Ren seriously had a gift, Yuuki thought to herself. She had never seen the muscle in Mitsuru's cheek twitch that badly before. And then again, she doubt that her elegant senior ever had to face someone mocking or such straight to her face before. Behind her back, sure. Yuuki doesn't doubt that even within the school, Mitsuru had quite a few enemies who are jealous of her. But even they aren't brave enough to voice their opinions straight to Mitsuru's face. Ren must be the first one to do that.
"Yes, thank you, Ren." Minato interrupted, seeing that the redhead looked ready to throw something at his best friend's head, preferably the table lamp next to her. Having dealt with Ren as his roommate, classmate and then best friend, Minato knew that Ren can be quite irritating at times, but he is a good guy at heart. This time around however, Minato knew that Ren's attitude towards Mitsuru is more personal than anything. Ishigawa Ren had never bothered to hide his disdain for the Kirijo Group, especially after the duo's brief encounter with them. Minato then glanced around the room. "Like what Ren was saying, we're Persona users as well. I am the summoner of the Persona, Orpheus Telos."
"Mine is Susanno." Ren grunted.
"I've never heard of Persona users outside ourselves before." Akihiko frowned.
"Of course not." Minato deadpanned. "Seeing as how we tend to keep our 'nightly' activities in Inaba quiet. And Inaba is a small town after all. Anything that happens in there rarely reaches the ears of folks outside it."
"You mean that things like Shadows and stuff have also been happening in Inaba?" Junpei gaped.
"Not as bad as Iwatodai yet, but yes." Ren nodded. "They tend to appear from time to time, particularly during the Dark Hour. But it gets especially worse after it rains. I've already lost count of the number of times when Minato and myself either overslept or ended up sleeping in class after a rainy night, since we tend to spend the night before fighting Shadows and stuff."
"I've never heard of anything like this happening in other places apart from Iwatodai." Yukari frowned. "I wonder if Ikutsuki-san knows…?"
Shinjiro coughed loudly before someone makes the suggestion to call Ikutsuki here to listen to this. Something tells him that it is better off for everyone involved if the two-faced bastard does not hear a word about this. "So is there is a reason why you're here telling us about your involvement in the Dark Hour and the Shadows?" he asked curtly.
Ren and Minato exchanged quick glances before turning back towards SEES, Minato's gaze resting on Mitsuru for a fraction of a second longer before tearing his eyes away. "I wouldn't say a reason exactly. More of a necessity." He corrected, much to everyone's confusion. The blue haired teen glanced at his sister. "Yuuki, if your lot are Persona users too, then I'm sure that you've heard about the experiments done ten years ago on Tatsumi Port Island by the Kirijo Group?" he asked, and Yuuki nodded.
Ren took over next. "And if you're Persona users as well, then it's only a matter of time before you run into 'them'." He then narrowed his eyes. "Or… Have you already met them?"
"If the 'them' that you're talking about refers to that bunch of crazies calling themselves 'Strega', then yes, we've already met them." Junpei snorted, recalling the two crazy guys whom they'd met during one of the full moon nights, and when they'd ended up getting themselves locked in after the brief battle.
"That makes things easy then." Minato cleared his throat, exchanging looks with Ren before turning towards SEES. "As of now, we're still unclear about their general motives. We only know that it has something to do with the Kirijo Group." He glanced at Mitsuru. "But if possible, do try to avoid them if at all possible. Though with the way things are going, I doubt that it's entirely possible." He sighed.
"Minato, we've been here long enough." Ren said, glancing at the blue haired teen next to him. "We should go."
"Yeah." Minato sighed and got up.
"Wait! What do you mean by that?" Shinjiro demanded, his mind reeling at the fact that Strega had also been active briefly in Inaba.
Ren sighed and turned towards Shinjiro. "Let me ask you something. Have any of you sparred against each other using your Personas before?" he asked, and he got blank looks for his answer. "I take that as a no. When two Persona users fight against each other, most of the time, only one survives."
"What?" Mitsuru paled.
"What are you talking about?" Yukari demanded, standing up from her seat, her face pale. "You're saying that every single time two Persona users duel, one—"
"Not duel, miss. Fight." Ren corrected. "A Persona is an embodiment of one's soul. You probably knew this already." Yukari nodded. Mitsuru, Akihiko and even Ikutsuki had told her about it when she had first joined SEES. "Thus, every time you summon your Persona, you're summoning part of yourself. What do you think will happen if a fellow Persona user or even a particularly powerful Shadow 'kills' a Persona?"
There was deadly silence.
Surprisingly, Fuuka was the first one to speak, given how quiet that she had been the entire conversation. "They…die, right?" she squeaked. "Given how a Persona is half of our soul in essence."
"That's right. When they 'kill' your Persona, they kill or even injure half of your soul. In essence, that is more than enough to harm the living body. Thus, majority of the time, when two Persona users fight, only one survives." Minato sighed. "Take my advice. Try not to fight them. If not for yourselves, at least for them. I doubt you would want murder on your hands." He murmured. "Let's go, Ren. If you want to contact us, do it through Yuuki. She has my email."
The dormitory doors closed behind them, leaving an awkward silence in its wake.
XXXXXX
~August 16, Naganaki Shrine, Evening~
"It's been awhile since I've been to any festivals in Iwatodai." Shinjiro commented, craning his neck to look at the lights of the shrine where the several vendors have set up their stalls. There was even music chiming from somewhere.
"…Yeah."
Shinjiro turned towards Yuuki who looks rather desolate sitting next to him. Both are currently seated on one of the steps that lead up to the shrine. As it is a festival day, Shinjiro had taken Yuuki with him, also to cheer her up, as she had been so down ever since her brother had made that announcement that day.
Yuuki wasn't the only one however. Akihiko, Mitsuru, Yukari, Fuuka and even Junpei are all equally down.
And Shinjiro found that he is practically giving himself a major migraine at this point. Too many things simply don't add up here. True, Shinjiro knew first-hand that when two Persona users fight, most of the time, one ends up dead. Especially if you're a member of Strega and can't control your Persona. If Strega weren't such bastards, Shinjiro could almost feel sorry for them, since their ability to have Personas are mainly due to the experiments done on them.
Shinjiro sighed. "Are you thinking about what your brother had said?" he asked, and Yuuki looked at him, surprised. "I'll tell you to not mind it, but I know that it's impossible for you." He said bluntly, and Yuuki smiled. Shinjiro sighed. "I know that you've talked about your brother before, but seriously, he is quite different from you, isn't he?" He snorted. "Are you two really twins?"
Yuuki laughed, and Shinjiro grinned inwardly, pleased that he at least managed to make Yuuki laugh. No one has seen her smile and laugh for days ever since her brother had dropped the bombshell on their heads.
"Everyone says that. Even Ren said that when I'd met him at Inaba," she said. "Mina-nii is a little…well, special." Yuuki said weakly. "He might look like that, but he has quite a sharp mind. He doesn't really care what he has to do in order to achieve his goals. While this might make him look ruthless and uncaring, he isn't really a bad person. He just has to become this way because back then, it's the only way for us to survive. Even when we're kids, he's always protected me." Yuuki smiled sadly. "In a way, he's turned out the way he is because of me."
Shinjiro said nothing. He can relate to that, as he knew that he himself had changed too after the orphanage fire, and then the incident with Amada's mother.
"I doubt that we can avoid our encounters with Strega though." Yuuki sighed. "But if even Mina-nii and Ren have encounters with them…" She trailed off slowly, a frown on her face. "What are they planning?"
Shinjiro sighed. "Who knows?" 'Damn it, why do I feel like something bad is about to happen soon?' He scowled inwardly to himself, resisting the urge to massage his temples.
"Oh right." Yuuki seemed as if she'd just remembered something, and turned towards Shinjiro. "Mina-nii asked me to give you his cellphone number and his email." She told a surprised Shinjiro.
"Huh? What for?" Shinjiro asked, surprised.
Yuuki shrugged. "I have no idea," she said, right hand out for Shinjiro's cellphone that he handed over, and she then keyed in something. "He wouldn't tell me. He just told me in his latest email to give you his contact, and for you to call him as soon as possible. He said that it's something urgent."
Shinjiro drummed his fingers on his desk as he waited for Minato to pick up the call.
It is currently ten o'clock, and the rest of the dormitory have long turned in, all of them tired out from their outing to the festival. And from what Shinjiro had overheard, Akihiko had actually taken Mitsuru out, with Yukari, Junpei, Fuuka and Aigis going together as friends.
Finally, after what seemed like a long while, the call was picked up.
"Hariyama speaking. Who is this?" A voice spoke on the other end of the line that Shinjiro recognised as Minato's.
"It's Aragaki." Shinjiro answered. "Yuuki told me that you'd asked for me to contact you?" He sounded unsure of himself for a moment, wondering what the brother of his girlfriend wants with him.
"Ah. That was fast. I half expected for you take a week at least before calling me." Minato replied, and Shinjiro twitched. This guy and his best friend seem to have a natural talent in pissing people off. "It's about Strega."
Shinjiro paused. "Strega?" he echoed. "If it's about them, shouldn't you be telling this to the rest of SEES?"
"I don't think so," came Minato's low drawl. "I seriously doubt that they would even take me seriously. Besides, majority of SEES is more of the action type than the listen type. If I tell this to that redhead, do you honestly think that she'll take what I said seriously?"
Shinjiro grudgingly had to agree with Minato here. Mitsuru would probably ignore whatever 'advice' that Minato had given her, though it is probably due to the fact how Ren had treated her. Not a good first impression, definitely.
There are some members of SEES however, apart from Shinjiro himself who seemed to have taken a liking to Minato and Ren. Fuuka for one seems to take a personal interest in Minato, and Junpei seems to like Ren, not that Shinjiro is really surprised, as the latter two seems so similar in terms of personality. If they weren't living a train ride away from each other, they could almost be best friends, brothers even. Though nothing is stopping Junpei or Fuuka from taking the train to Inaba to see them.
"Why me then?" Shinjiro asked. "Why don't you tell this to Yuuki? She's the leader after all. In case you hadn't noticed, I'm more of the action guy."
"Of course, I will tell Yuuki what I know as well." Minato sounded as if he is rolling his eyes. "But I have another reason why I'm letting you know. I've heard of your name prior to you rejoining SEES. I do believe that you're already long familiar with Strega even before they made their appearance to SEES?"
Shinjiro froze for a second before he growled. "What do you know?" he hissed. He is very sure that no one knew of his…brief history with Strega. Not even Akihiko knew the last time around until he had basically shoved Persona suppressants down the Chidori girl's throat.
"Relax. I know only a little. Just that Strega supplied you with Persona suppressants for nearly a year before you suddenly stopped taking them nearly half a year ago. And by helping SEES, you've basically made yourself an enemy of them."
Shinjiro growled. "Get to the point."
"Fine. Ren is currently turning out any information that he could on Strega. Right now, all that we know about them is that they have some kind of connection to the Kirijo Group and the experiments performed roughly a decade ago. What exactly, we have no idea, thus why Ren is currently investigating." Minato explained.
Shinjiro listened, inwardly thinking that Yuuki definitely isn't joking when she said that her brother isn't your run-of-the-mill teenager. He has a sharp and quick mind ready to rival that of an adult's or even Mitsuru's. Yuuki had even said that Minato had turned out the way he had because he tried to protect her. Just what had happened to the twins in the past that had caused Minato to turn out the way he had?
"What are you asking me to do?" Shinjiro asked.
"I want you to protect my sister." Minato said simply. Shinjiro blinked, as he could almost detect a hint of worry in the normally impassive teen's voice. "Protect her with your life if you have to. If SEES is on the radar of Strega, then she'll be the one that they will target. I want you to protect her. We'll do what we can on our side as well, but I want you to keep her safe when I'm not there."
"Of course." Shinjiro said at once.
"Well, onto other matters." Minato drawled, and his voice suddenly grew rather dark. "I heard a rather interesting story from Fuuka the other day. What's this about you and my sister being an item?"
Shinjiro blanched. Oh right, he'd nearly forgot that he had failed to inform Minato about his relationship with Yuuki.
"Er…"