I know this story hasn't been particularly interesting so far, but it will. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy!
May 4, 2009, Monday, Dark Hour
There was a tense air surrounding the two groups, one led by Seth and the other led by Minato. Although Minato was keeping his cool, everyone else was uneasy to some degree.
"Why are you three in Tartarus?" Homura interrogated. "What is your objective?"
"We should be asking you the same thing!" Yukari argued.
Emi walked up to Yukari and the two started to butt heads with each other.
"Don't order us around just because you're the popular girl!" Emi shouted.
"Of course a goth like you would say that!" Yukari shouted back.
"What did you call me?!"
"I'm just calling you as I see you!"
As the two girls bickered, everyone else returned their attention back to Minato and Seth.
"Hm? What is it, Senpai?"
It looked like Minato had heard something and was talking with someone who wasn't there. It seemed like Junpei and Yukari also heard it, but Seth and his group were left in the dark as to what was happening.
"… Yeah, I understand…" Minato said before looking at Seth again. "Our Senpai wants to speak with you personally. She's on at the entrance on the first floor of the labyrinth. We'll take care of the labyrinths while you have a chat with her."
"And why should we-" Emi was about to lash out at them again.
"All right." Seth said, interrupting Emi. "Be careful out there."
"Same to you." Junpei said.
As Minato, Junpei and Yukari left, Yukari looked back to see Emi sticking her tongue out at her and Yukari mimicked her before returning back to her team.
Seth simply raised his eyebrow. "What did Junpei mean by 'same to you'?"
"I have a bad feeling about this." Homura muttered.
Seth's group arrived at the first floor and saw two familiar faces from their school.
"Akihiko-senpai… Mitsuru-senpai…" Daichi straightened his body like an army recruit.
"So… I was right to be suspicious of you, Carter." Mitsuru said.
Seth could feel Mitsuru's intense stare. It didn't feel like she was glaring at them, but as if her eyes were stuck like that and plastic surgery would be required to change it.
"Tell me what you're all doing in Tartarus… Now!" Mitsuru demanded.
Homura, Daichi and Nobuo all yelped like puppies and were terrified of the woman before them, but Emi just scoffed.
"Tch, another high and mighty one…" Emi muttered.
Mitsuru looked at Emi with a true glare. "Don't test my patience! What are you doing here?"
*What should we do?* Homura thought. *There's no way we can tell them our true objective. That we're members of Heiwa, even if she is the heir to our financier. She's not going to let us off so easily, no matter what excuse we end up making.*
"Fine, here's the truth." Seth spoke up.
Homura, Daichi, Nobuo and Emi all just looked at Seth with blank, flabbergasted expressions and wide eyes.
"… Heh?!" They all exclaimed.
"We're members of a secret organization of Persona users formed to keep the peace called Heiwa." Seth said. "The Kirijo Group helps to finance us. We mostly fend off our nemesis organization called the Hands of Anarchy. One of their members was responsible for my recent hospitalization. As of right now, our goal here in Tatsumi Port Island is to detain any Hands of Anarchy and discover the secrets of Tartarus and the Dark Hour." He looked at everyone staring at him and he just shrugged. "… What? It's true."
"Do you expect us to believe that?" Akihiko questioned.
"You talked?!" Seth exclaimed. "You were so quiet I thought you might've been mute!"
Everyone just leered at Seth.
"… I thought it would help lighten the tension…"
Mitsuru seemed to be lost in thought at the moment. "… Get out. Now."
"Yes, ma'am!" Daichi and Nobuo exclaimed before running out of Tartarus.
Homura soon followed, walking and trying her best to sidestep Mitsuru, and Emi just leered at her on her way out. As Seth was leaving, he looked at Mitsuru's intense eyes and finally left the tower.
Akihiko turned to Mitsuru. "Do you think it was a good idea to let them leave without even a slap on the wrist?"
"Carter didn't seem to display any ill intentions." Mitsuru replied. "But I'll have to confirm this with my father first."
On the way back to their dorm, Seth was getting a lot of flak from his friends.
"How could you just tell her that?!" Daichi questioned. "Are you freakin' stupid?!"
"My grades would say I'm above average." Seth retorted.
"How?!" Daichi exclaimed. "And just because your grades are good, that doesn't mean you're smart!"
"She may have been a Kirijo, but you shouldn't have told her about Heiwa." Homura said.
"Homura has a point." Nobuo added. "How can we be a secret organization if you keep telling people about it?"
"I say we should've silenced her while we had the chance." Emi showed them her sharpened nails.
"There's no need to kill anyone, Emi." Seth gently put Emi's hands down.
"I didn't say we needed to… I just wanted to." Emi stated.
"I don't want you to think I would just tell anyone, but we didn't have many options and her father should be aware of Heiwa." Seth said. "You should be more trusting."
"When it comes to who we are, Seth, it's possible to be too trusting." Homura said. "If you let too many people in, one of them might end up stabbing you in the back."
"That sounds suspicious." Emi muttered.
"Don't start, Emi." Homura pointed at Emi without looking at her, trying to contain her small amount of aggravation. "Seth, I just don't want to see any of us get hurt. You're our leader now and you have to look out for our well beings."
"If we can convince Mitsuru of our cause, we can gain more allies and that'll help our well beings." Seth rebutted. "It'll increase our odds of success."
"It also increases your responsibilities." Homura pointed out. "You'll have more people to look after, so nothing will change."
Seth stayed silent, unsure of how to properly argue his way out of it.
"… I'm sorry." Homura said, now with a sad look on her face. "I didn't mean to sound heartless. I think it's sweet how you see the good in people, but I just want you to understand that some people can take advantage of that."
"The higher-ups told you they think I'm gullible, didn't they?"
"Absolutely." Homura nodded to Seth's question.
Seth let out a brief sigh and everyone was silent for a few seconds.
"… Oh, God, just kiss him already!" Emi spoke up.
Homura blushed furiously as Seth looked over at Emi.
"That was very rude, Emi." Seth said.
"Get used to it." Daichi muttered loudly enough for Seth to hear him.
Just then, the air returned to normal, the street lamps came back on and the coffins had turned into people.
"Yawn, we should head to bed once we get back to the dorm." Nobuo said.
May 5, 2009, Tuesday, Morning
After Seth got dressed, he sat on his bed and pondered what to do for the last day of Golden Week, Children's Day.
*I wonder what I should do today…* He thought to himself. *Is there anyone I available today? Now that I think about it, Theodore wanted me to take him around the island. Maybe I'll see if he's free… What am I thinking? He just stands in an elevator and waits for me to come in. Of course he's free! But where can I-*
His phone went off and he picked it up to see that it was from an unavailable number, but something inside him was telling him to answer it, so he did.
"Hello, Mr. Seth?" Theodore's voice came from the phone.
"Theodore? How did you get my number?"
"Not important. Anyway, I just wanted to inform you that if you want to access the Velvet Room at a time other than the Dark Hour, come to Paulownia Mall and make your way to the back. You'll know when you see it. Thank you. Goodbye."
Theodore hung up, leaving Seth a bit confused.
"Okay, that was weird…"
May 5, 2009, Tuesday, Daytime
Seth went to a dark corner of the Paulownia Mall underneath the karaoke bar Mandragora and saw the same ethereal blue door that had appeared in Tartarus. He figured that's what Theodore was talking about on the phone earlier, so he went in. After being blinded by that white light again, he found himself inside the Velvet Room where Igor and Theodore were waiting.
"Glad to see you here, Mr. Seth." Theodore politely bowed to him.
"Theo, are you ready to see the outside world?" Seth asked.
"Already?" Theodore seemed a little surprised. "I didn't think you'd grant my request so soon."
"Shall we?" Seth motioned his arms toward the door like a butler.
"Mr. Seth, might I ask if you can show me around Paulownia Mall?" Theodore requested.
"Of course."
Seth and Theodore left the Velvet Room and the moment they came to the center of the mall, Theodore's eyes were glistening like a Christmas tree.
"So this is Paulownia Mall…" Theodore was looking in every direction. "Indeed it's exactly as I imagined it."
"You seem excited." Seth said before scratching the back of his head. "Then again, if I spent my whole life cooped up with Heiwa, I'd be reacting the same way to this."
"Don't think I'd be so easily amused, Mr. Seth."
"You don't have to keep calling me that. Just 'Seth' is fine."
"V-very well. But I insist on at least referring you as 'Mr. Seth' while inside the Velvet Room. I'm afraid of the Master's consequences should I fail to follow protocol."
"Fine by me. I totally understand. I'm usually not very formal, but I need to keep up the façade when I'm around business bosses or school teachers."
Theo's attention was drawn to the center of the mall. "What's that over there?"
Seth looked in the direction Theo was pointing in to see the water fountain.
"An aqueous duct in a place like this?" Theo asked.
Seth looked blankly at Theo and blinked. "I have no idea what aqueous means, but I'm guessing it has something to do with water…" He then motioned his eyes toward the ground and to his side. "Maybe I'm not as smart as I think I am…"
"The dwellers of your world must get thirsty easily."
Seth then looked at the vending machine nearby. "… I won't deny that, but that water isn't for drinking."
"O-of course I know that!" Theo panicked. "It's used to wash hands. You must be so discontent with your cleanliness, that you just put this here for convenience."
"… Try again."
Theo began to blush with embarrassment. "I was merely jesting. But… Would you mind telling me what it's for?"
"It's really just cosmetic. It looks nice. People also sometimes throw coins in to make wishes."
"Wishes? I-I knew that."
"You know, you're not a very good liar."
Seth and Theo looked inside the fountain to see that it was halfway full of coins.
"Something tells me that my sister was here not too long ago." Theo said before his attention was drawn to another part of the mall. "What is that?"
Theo walked toward the police station and examined the wanted posters on the bulletin board just outside.
"These photographs…" Theo mumbled. "'Most Wanted'… 'Reward'… I see. So your world has the concept of subjugation requests as well."
"Beg pardon?"
"Shoot, I forgot to explain to you that you can partake in requests to find treasure and hunt specific Shadows within Tartarus for a reward."
"Well, these aren't anything like fighting Shadows. For one, the goal is to bring them in alive."
"Sounds like your world takes pride in apprehending ruffians with skill. If there are skilled hunters in your world, perhaps I can submit a few requests of my own. On second thought, Elizabeth and I already have you and our other guest for such tasks."
"Who is this other guest anyway?"
"I'm afraid I can't answer that. Besides, what's that over there?"
For the rest of the day, Theo kept making incorrect observations about the mall's club, arcade and smaller fountains, among other things. When it was time to take Theo back to the Velvet Room, he and Seth walked up to its door.
"Your world is so enthralling." Theo said. "I would like to see some more venues next time."
"I'm glad you had fun." Seth said.
"Thank you very much for today."
May 5, 2009, Tuesday, Evening
At the Iwatodai Dorm, Mitsuru was on the phone and waiting for someone to answer it.
"… Hello, Father… I'm sorry to call you at such an inopportune time, but I have something important to ask you… Last night, SEES encountered another group of Persona users. They claim to be members of an organization of Heiwa. Are you familiar with them? … Please, tell me everything…"
May 6, 2009, Wednesday, Lunchtime
Seth was leaving his classroom to get himself something to eat when he saw a familiar girl run up the steps leading to the rooftop.
*What's Emi up to?* He wondered as he followed her to the roof.
Careful not to get noticed by her, he hid behind the door and peeked through the crack to see Emi giggling evilly to herself while holding onto something tightly.
"Emi." Seth greeted as he casually walked up to her as if he wasn't spying on her.
Emi let out a brief, quiet gasp and turned around to face Seth while hiding the object behind her back.
"What are you doing here, Seth?" Emi asked. "Are you stalking me? Don't you know that I'm the one that does the stalking?"
"… I'd rather not know about that, but what's that behind your back?" Seth inquired.
"None of your business."
"All right, then I'm going to take a wild guess that it's some guy's underwear."
"… You're close, but no cigar."
"… Did you steal some girl's bra?"
"… Maybe…"
"Okay, whose is it?"
"Little Miss Popular, that skank. I stole it while she was in the middle of gym class. I was about to toss it from the roof so the monkeys would run rampant and Miss Popular would be shocked to find out what happened to it. The looks on everyone' faces would be priceless."
"Yukari? What's your beef with her?"
"I hate bitches who think they're better than everyone else! Plus, it's fun to pull pranks on people."
Seth groaned and placed his hand over his face. "I'm… not a prankster, so I can't understand what makes a good prank, but don't you think this is going too far?"
"… No."
Seth gave Emi a serious look. "Emi, you are going to take that back to Yukari, apologize… Politely… And never pull this shit ever again. Got it?"
Emi just looked at Seth's face for a few seconds. "… I didn't think you had any backbone to you. All right, I'll do exactly as you say."
*That was easy.* Seth thought.
Emi was about to walk back into the school, but she stopped where Seth was.
"You're pretty sexy when you're angry." Emi whispered.
Seth then felt something pinch his butt as Emi left and just stood where he was, completely dumbfounded.
"… Did that just really happen?"
May 7, 2009, Thursday, After School
Once class was over, Seth went over to Daichi's homeroom and saw him trying to pick up some girls.
"So, do you want to hang out sometime?" Daichi asked.
"Why would we do that?" One of the girls questioned obnoxiously.
"Daichi, don't you think you're a little out of your league here?" Seth asked as he walked up to them.
"Wait, you know the American transfer student?" The other girl asked Daichi.
"Y-yeah." Daichi replied. "We're best buds. Isn't that right, Seth?"
"… Don't you mean 'Seth-kun'?" Seth asked.
"We should get going." The first girl said as she and her friend left the classroom.
Daichi then slapped Seth in the back of the head. "You really are an idiot! Two hot chicks wanted to go out with me just because I was friends with you."
"Didn't they come across as bitchy to you?" Seth asked. "At all?"
"They were smoking hot. Why would being bitchy matter?"
"I believe the answer would be the difference between a girlfriend and a one-night stand."
"Ouch, that hurts…"
"Shall I tell you a story?"
"Does it involve your little brother?"
"Yes."
"You never stop talking about him, do you?"
"Luke used to have a crush on this girl and one day he tried to talk to her. Unfortunately, the girl told him right to his face that he didn't like him. To this day, he has an especially hard time around girls because of that."
"What's the point of this story?"
"I just don't want to see the same thing happen to you. You're a pervert, but you deserve better than those girls."
"Do… you really mean that?"
"Yes."
"Huh…" Daichi looked down at the ground. "All you're trying to do is look out for me. Now I feel bad for calling you an idiot."
"Well, I'll admit I'm not as smart as I think I am. Want to head to the arcade?"
"Sure."
Seth and Daichi made their way to the arcade, Game Panic, at Paulownia Mall and spent the rest of the afternoon there.
May 7, Thursday, Late Night
Seth had finished taking his shower and looked at the homework on his desk.
"… Yawn… I'm feeling kind of tired anyway… I'll just do it tomorrow morning."
Seth hopped onto his bed and started to fall asleep without bothering to do his homework or review his notes. Hopefully, this won't hurt his grades in the long run.
A/N: I hope I made Seth a little more identifiable this time around. I know things have been slow, but I promise that the next chapter will be the Reverse Priestess incident. I have several major events in the story set already and I hope some of you will keep reading. I'll make sure that the payoff will be worth it. I hope you all enjoyed it! Stay tuned for next time! By the way, here are the current Social Link stats:
Heiwa (Fool) – Rank 1 (Jason)
Junpei (Magician) – Rank 2 (Nekomata)
Homura (Lovers) – Rank 2 (Pixie)
Theodore (Hermit) – Rank 1 (Yomotsu-Shikome)
Nobuo (Fortune) – Rank 1 (Fortuna)
Daichi (Strength) – Rank 2 (Valkyrie)
Emi (Devil) – Rank 1 (Lilim)