Time to face the Reverse Hierophant and Lovers fights! I hope you all enjoy!
July 7, 2009, Tuesday, Dark Hour
After a week of training, S.E.E.S and the young members of Heiwa were ready to face the month's Shadow. Both groups were at the S.E.E.S dorm's command room, including Ikutsuki, and Fuuka had summoned her Persona to scan the city for any large Shadows.
"I'm glad we got all that training in." Seth said while clenching his hand and flexing his arms. "I already feel even much stronger than before."
"Let's hope that strength is enough to defeat tonight's Shadow." Daichi said.
"Any luck, Fuuka?" Akihiko asked.
"Not yet…" Fuuka spoke in their minds through her Persona. "… I found it! I sense a strong presence!"
"W-we were right!" Junpei exclaimed. "It IS every full moon!"
"It's located in Iwatodai…" Fuuka continued. "Inside a building on Shirakawa Boulevard."
*Shirakawa Boulevard?* Seth thought. *That's the place Makoto mentioned.*
"If the Lost have been found in pairs lately, that would explain why." Ikutsuki said.
"In pairs…" Mitsuru muttered. "Oh, I get it."
Homura was just staring at the ceiling blankly. "… I don't."
Fuuka dismissed her Persona.
"What's on Shirakawa Boulevard?" Fuuka asked. "I'm not familiar with that area."
"Me neither." Minato spoke up.
"I've heard about it, but…" Yukari said.
"There're hotels there where people… Ya know…" Junpei hinted.
Fuuka blushed and Homura still looked like she was confused.
"… What do they do?" Homura asked.
"Do you really need it spelled out?" Daichi questioned.
"Nonsense." Ikutsuki said. "They're no different than ordinary hotels. They just look fancier."
"That's it? Really?" Junpei groaned in disappointment. "Man…"
Yukari squirmed with her arms behind her back. "On second thought… Maybe I shouldn't go…"
"Heheh, you're as anxious as a little kid, Yuka-tan!" Junpei chuckled.
Yukari glared at Junpei. "W-whatever! Fine! Let's go!" She stood next to Fuuka. "I want a piece of the action this time! So who's gonna lead?"
"Arisato's been in charge of our team, but Carter has also displayed excellent leadership." Mitsuru said. "Perhaps we should put it to a vote. All in favor of Arisato leading?"
Yukari, Junpei, Mitsuru, Fuuka, Akihiko, Ikutsuki and Minato raised their hands.
"Since we already have a majority vote, Arisato will lead." Mitsuru proclaimed.
"Traitor." Seth murmured to Akihiko.
"Sorry, had more combat experience with Minato." Akihiko said.
"Yamagishi, I want you to handle support during this operation." Mitsuru turned to Fuuka.
"I'll do my best." Fuuka said.
"So, Minato, who're you gonna take with you?" Akihiko asked.
"If we're talking about a hotel, we should limit ourselves to a smaller team." Seth surmised. "At most four."
"I agree." Mitsuru said. "Arisato, since Takeba will join you, you must choose the two others for the assault team. The rest of us will take care of the lesser Shadows gathered around it."
"I want to go!" Homura spoke loudly. "I don't know what kind of place you're talking about and I really want to see it."
"Homura, this is serious." Daichi said. "You think that's gonna convince Minato-senpai to-"
"Alright, Homura. You can come." Minato said plainly.
"Seriously?!" Daichi exclaimed.
"Seth, I want you to join, too." Minato turned to the American. "You have the same power I do. The more of us there are, the better."
Seth smirked. "Music to my ears."
The combatants all went to one of the love hotels on Shirakawa Boulevard with Minato, Yukari, Seth and Homura taking the lead with everyone else keeping an eye on their rear. Fuuka identified the Shadow's location to be the third floor, which was fairly easy to get to. The four entered one of the rooms to see a large, portly Shadow wearing what looked like clerical robes and two rosaries next to him and a tall, nude woman with her arms wrapped around the fatter Shadow's head and a head shaped like coral.
"Why'd it have to be here of all places?" Yukari moaned begrudgingly.
"I still don't understand!" Homura said. "We came to this thing so quickly I didn't get a chance to look!"
"I'll tell you later." Seth said. "Minato, you ready?"
"Yeah." Minato nodded.
The Shadows began laughing and a vision of a cemetery appeared behind them. In that instance, Minato and Seth fell to their knees, barely able to keep themselves up.
"Minato-kun!" Yukari gasped.
"Seth-kun, what's wrong?!" Homura asked.
"Why am I… so scared?" Minato mumbled.
"This… this Shadow's nothing… so why…" Seth shuddered.
"That Shadow must've cast a fear-based spell on them." Fuuka spoke to them through her Persona.
A shining, sparkling light appeared above Yukari's head.
"Yukari-chan, get out of the way!" Homura shouted.
Yukari looked up to see that the light was actually a lightning spell that was about to strike her, but before it hit, Homura tackled her out of the way and the bolt barely missed them.
"Thanks, Homura-chan!" Yukari sighed with relief and then looked to the guys. "I can get the guys back to normal, but I need some protection to cast the spell."
"Then I'll keep the Shadow busy." Homura slammed her gauntlets together and ran toward the Shadow.
Homura punched the Reverse Hierophant in its gut and it seemed to keel back a bit from the blow. As she distracted the Shadow, Yukari went over to Minato, pulled out her Evoker and pointed it at her forehead.
"Io!" Yukari shouted.
Yukari pulled the trigger and her Persona Io appeared, casting a Patra spell on Minato to cure him of his fear affliction.
"Thanks, Yukari." Minato said as he stood up.
"Help Homura while I help Seth." Yukari told him.
"Right." Minato nodded and ran toward the Reverse Hierophant, pulling out his Evoker on the way. "Hua Po!"
Minato fired the Evoker to summon one of his Personae, Hua Po, to cast a spell on the Reverse Hierophant. When Homura punched it again, the attack seemed to deal more damage than before.
While the fight continued, Yukari had just finished casting another Patra spell on Seth.
"I see you helped your boyfriend first." Seth stood up.
"He's NOT my boyfriend!" Yukari snapped.
"Yeesh, I was only kidding." Seth said before charging at the Shadow with his double-sided sword. "Let's end this quick!" He pulled out his Evoker and pointed it at his head. "Sarasvati!"
With the pull of the Evoker's trigger, Seth summoned the Persona Sarasvati and with a wave of her hand, a chunk of ice appeared in front of the Reverse Hierophant and froze a portion of its body. As it struggled to break free, Yukari took this opportunity to aim her bow and shot the large Shadow right in the face. Its mask broke and its body became limp as it began disintegrating into nothingness.
"Good job, everyone!" Fuuka said. "We'll all be waiting for you outside."
"Finally, let's get out of this pla-" Yukari immediately made it to the door and tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. "What the hell…"
"Hold on! I still sense another Shadow in that room!"
"You're kidding!" Seth exclaimed.
"That fight WAS too easy." Minato said.
"Well, it's got to be here somewhere…" Seth said.
They all started searching the room for where the Shadow might be, but Homura was staring at the bed.
"This bed… These designs…" Homura muttered to herself. "These colors… It's a Valentine's Day hotel!"
Seth almost fell over from hearing the conclusion Homura came to.
"Homura, this is a love hotel!" Seth said as he walked over to her.
"Isn't that what I just said?" Homura asked.
"Well, yes, but this place is open all year round and it's meant for… How do I word this nicely… No, I can't. Couples come here to pork."
Homura just froze in place and a blush formed on her face. As seconds passed, the blush only got redder.
Meanwhile, Minato was examining the large mirror in the room.
"Hm… This mirror looks kind of odd…" Minato mumbled.
Minato reached out to touch it and suddenly the next thing everyone saw was a bright, blinding white light.
In one of the hotel rooms, Seth finally regained consciousness after being knocked out. He didn't know what happened after Minato touched the mirror or how he ended up in a completely different room. In what seemed to be the bath room, he could make out the sound of someone taking a shower and he sat up to find he had been lying on a heart-shaped bed.
"God… what the hell…" Seth groaned.
Embrace your desire…
Seth felt like he heard a voice, except it was as if he was hearing himself.
There's no need to be in a rush. I am your inner lust. Take in the pleasure.
"I can't…" Seth said to himself. "There's something more important I have to do, even though I can't recall what it was. And I'd be setting a poor example for Luke."
He doesn't have to know. She's always been at the back of your head, you just haven't accepted it.
"No…"
What's one little fling going to hurt? You think you have to always be a stand-up guy because you want to give your brother someone to look up to. You're denying your inner nature. Your mind is filled with lust, but not once in your life have you been able to relieve yourself of such tension. How ironic… You wish for your brother to have a family of his own and yet you won't even allow him to acknowledge that it's only natural to feel lust. It's all been locked up for your entire life and now is your chance to set it free.
"I… I can't…"
Give in to your desires.
"… I see your point…"
Yes, that's it… Embrace your desires…
"… But now is not the time." Seth then thought to himself. *I know that voice was only trying to tempt me, but it was right. I've been denying my desires my whole life because I wanted to set an example for my brother, but perhaps I was taking it a bit to its extreme. Once this mission is done and we're back at the dorm, I'll-*
Suddenly, his head felt clear again and the sound of the running shower stopped. Seth turned to the bath room door and a few seconds later, he saw Homura walk out from it as she was drying her hair with a towel.
"What was I doing in there?" She asked herself.
Homura didn't see anything past the towel, but in that brief instance, Seth was able to see her entire body without any clothing covering it whatsoever. He blushed and had an insatiable urge to just stare at her, but he knew that she would notice him in the room, so he quickly covered up his eyes with his hand just as Homura lifted up her head and could see him.
"… Seth?"
Seth couldn't see anything, but he could make out the sound of her stomping towards him and felt a slap to the face so hard that he was knocked off the bed and onto the floor.
"PERVERT!" Homura shouted as she ran back into the bath room.
As he felt the stinging sensation in his cheek, he could make out a voice speaking to him.
"Seth-kun, I've finally reached you!" Fuuka's voice spoke.
"Fuuka, what happened?" Seth asked.
"I'm not sure. After you beat that first Shadow, I lost contact with your whole group."
"Are Minato and Yukari okay?" Seth asked.
"They're fine, but something must've happened because Yukari seemed a bit, um, defensive."
"… I think I can imagine why…" Seth muttered.
Homura came out of the room with all of her clothes on and headed straight for the door.
"I suggest we never speak of this to anyone." Seth said.
She didn't say anything back and just opened the door. As soon as they left the room, Minato and Yukari came up to them.
"Just in time!" Seth said.
"Are you guys okay?" Minato asked.
"Could be better… but could be worse." Seth replied.
"Hm?" Minato and Yukari raised their eyebrows.
"Never mind." Seth said.
"I've got it!" Fuuka said.
"Got what, Fuuka?" Minato asked.
"It's the mirrors! They're giving off the same energy as the Shadow we're looking for! Perhaps breaking them might make the seal vanish."
"Wait?" Homura asked. "We have to BREAK the mirrors?"
"NOW you speak up?!" Seth questioned.
"I'm still mad at you!" Homura glared at him.
"I remember this one mirror on the third floor was different from the others." Yukari stated. "When I stood in front of it, I felt kinda strange."
"Minato, you and Yukari check out this floor while Homura and I search on the third." Seth suggested. "Once one of us is done, we wait in front of the room where the Shadow is. No one fights that thing alone."
"Let's go then." Minato said.
Seth, Minato and Yukari scattered with Homura still standing around.
"But we'll get seven years of bad luck!" Homura shouted.
In one of the rooms on the third floor, Seth and Homura could feel something strange about the mirror, so the former was about to break it with one of the ends of his sword.
"Seth, wait!" Homura said.
"Seven years bad luck, I know, but what choice do we have?" Seth responded. "I'm willing to take the bad luck for you."
"It's not that, but… thank you." Homura said. "What I want to say is… I'm sorry for snapping at you earlier. I… wasn't aware you were out there and I probably should have covered myself with a towel at least. And…" She lightly blushed. "I already saw you naked, so just this once I'll just say we're even."
"Glad you aren't still mad at me."
"But if you DARE peek on me again, I WILL be mad. REALLY, REALLY mad."
The scary look on Homura's face made Seth shudder in fear. He quickly smashed the mirror and heard Fuuka speak to them through her Persona.
"That's it!" Fuuka said. "Minato and Yukari just took care of the mirror on the second floor. Please await them where you fought the Hierophant Shadow."
"Got it!" Seth responded to Fuuka.
Seth, Minato, Yukari and Homura had converged at the door on the third floor where they had fought the previous Shadow. Minato took the lead and opened the door, revealing a giant heart-shaped and winged Shadow floating above the bed in the center.
"Because of you…" Yukari muttered before speaking louder. "I had to come to this disgusting place!"
"And I was humiliated!" Homura shouted.
"You're gonna pay!" Both girls shouted as the men just blankly stared at them.
"… Let's not ask." Seth said to Minato.
"Agreed." Minato nodded.
Seth pulled out his Evoker and aimed it at his head. "Mothman!"
Once fired, Seth summoned the Persona Mothman and it a green aura appeared around the Reverse Lovers.
"Yukari, go!" Seth ordered.
Yukari shot her Evoker and summoned her Persona, Io. A large gust of wind enveloped the large Shadow, keeping it trapped and off balance. Homura began running toward one of the walls and pushed herself off of it to leap right above the Shadow. At the same time, Minato readied his Evoker.
"Orpheus!"
Minato's Persona Orpheus appeared and bashed its lyre against the Reverse Lovers just as Homura crashed into it with her fist. Despite the considerable damage done to it, the giant Shadow was still kicking.
"It's STILL standing?!" Yukari groaned.
"Not making this as easy as last time, I see." Minato said.
The Shadow faced Yukari and just as soon as she raised her bow, her irises turned pink and lowered the weapon.
"Yukari, just shoot the damn thing!" Seth shouted.
Yukari turned to Seth and shot an arrow at him. Before it could hit, Homura ran and tackled him to the ground as Minato got in front of them.
"What are you doing, Yukari?" Minato asked.
"Yukari-chan's been charmed by that Shadow!"
Upon closer inspection, Minato noticed the color of Yukari's eyes had changed. At that moment, he pointed his Evoker at his head.
"… Sarasvati!" Minato shouted upon firing the Evoker.
The Persona Sarasvati appeared behind Minato and with a strum of her sitar, Yukari's eyes reverted to their normal coloring and the teenage girl looked back and forth in confusion.
"… Did I miss something?" Yukari asked.
"Yeah, I almost got an arrow through my brain." Seth replied. "Fight's still going!"
Suddenly, all four of them were hit by a spontaneous explosion of flames. Minato and Homura fell to the ground due to their susceptibility to fire attacks with serious burns. Seeing both of his friends in pain, Seth clenched his grip on his sword and turned to Yukari.
"Yukari! Heal Minato and Homura!" Seth shouted before pulling out his Evoker and pointing it at his head. "Jason!"
The image of the golden hero appeared behind Seth and he thrust his spear right into the center of the Shadow and pinned it to the wall. Seth then charged at the Shadow and began furiously slashing and stabbing it with his sword all over its form. While Seth was going ballistic, Yukari had used her Persona to heal Minato and Homura of their injuries. All three of them simply watched Seth go completely crazy on the Shadow until Jason pulled his spear back and stabbed it through the top of its head and all the way to the ground. Its wings went limp and its body completely disintegrated into nothingness. Seth recalled his Persona and walked back to the others with both blades of his sword covered in black goop, panting as everyone just stared at him the whole time.
"Shall we head home?" Seth asked.
All of S.E.E.S. and Heiwa went outside the hotel where Fuuka was waiting now that the Shadows have been defeated.
"I'm glad you're all safe." Fuuka said.
"Thanks to you." Seth said. "We'd still be running around like chickens with our heads cut off if you hadn't picked up on the mirrors."
"You and Arisato also deserve credit." Mitsuru stated. "You both withstood the enemy's mental assault."
"I gotta admit that Carter-kun got a bit scary at the end there." Yukari said. "Probably because his girlfriend got attacked."
"Hey, Minato was in just as bad of a condition and I value my friends more than anything!" Seth rebutted.
"Then why are you blushing?" Yukari questioned like she was about to laugh.
Seth realized his face was flushed a bit and his agitation at Yukari was making his arms shake.
"Consider that payback for what you said earlier." Yukari smirked mischievously, referring to calling Minato her boyfriend.
"Enough you two." Akihiko spoke up. "Let's call it a night."
On the top of a roof overlooking Shirakawa Boulevard, right across the street from where the Shadows once were, a shirtless, tattooed man, a younger man with glasses and a young woman were watching the young teenagers below head home.
"Faster than I expected…" The shirtless man said as he clapped his hands. "That was quite a show. They've been rather busy these last few months, including their frequent forays into the tower… And I see they've acquired some new recruits and allies as well. Their fighting style… fascinating… Wouldn't you agree?"
The tattooed man turned toward a figure wearing a white cloak and mask standing behind them.
When Seth and the others got back to the dorm, the Dark Hour had passed and everything was back to normal. Everyone went to their respective rooms to call it a night and Seth was lying on his bed as if waiting for something. After about a minute, he got up and went into his bathroom.
A/N: Yeah, sorry the fight scene wasn't as detailed as the others, but the chapter was going on longer than I had intended. I have something different in mind for the next fight, so I plan to write that one well. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! Stay tuned for next time!