Chapter 22: Crimson's Lovers' Full Moon
7/07/09-Tuesday, Dark Hour
She kicked the door open.
Nothing.
But the girl clad in crimson definitely felt a presence within the room. It gave her that strange, uneasy feeling in her chest, similar to one she felt from 'back then'.
She knew that it could only be none other than her target that night, The Lovers.
Among all the ordeals she faced in the past, The Lovers was... a little special. It wasn't all that powerful, really. While yes, it was a formidable foe, it was not on par compared to the other Arcana Shadows which came after. It's just that- its ability was problematic. If she'd rank the Full Moons by 'worst' to 'not that bad', The Lovers would be ranked as second worst: 'note to self: pretend it never happened'.
The mere thought of it made her cringe.
With a nervous gulp, she made sure to first check the room for anything suspicious; her eyes drifted toward the bed, then to the large wall mirror right beside it. She found nothing, not a single movement, nor a trace of the Shadow. That was not good. The past few Full Moons were filled with unexpected surprises after all; on the night of The Priestess, the Emperor and Empress also showed up. It was the second Full Moon then, and it was also her brother's night of awakening. Since the royal Arcana pair already appeared, what should have been their Full Moon became but a big blank for her, who relied heavily on her 'past memories'. That was at least until The Hierophant, which was supposed to be paired with The Lovers, suddenly appeared in the stead of the royals.
If she followed the pattern of events, backed by information she obtained from a certain 'source', an Arcana Shadow should appear tonight, no matter what. Since The Lovers was up next, it was definite that it will appear. Of course, that meant that there was also the chance of Justice and Chariot somehow appearing, but that's the least of her worries.
"In that case..."
Her first priority was to somehow draw out the The Lovers, but how?
If her memory served her correctly, gazing at the mirror made them fall for the Shadow's trap back then. Maybe she should break them then? Breaking the mirrors at the lower floors made it possible for them to enter the room when it was shut.
It was definitely worth a shot. Breaking it. What's the worse that could happen? She's alone anyway, so it's probably safe...
"Okay, here goes!" she said to herself, raising her naginata-
-But what came after made her freeze in place.
"Hey, what're you doin' here?"
It was a gruff voice that called out. THUMP- went her heart, there was no way she could mistake the owner of that voice, yet in the very corner of her mind, she had hoped she was wrong.
Slowly, she turned her head over toward the door's direction.
"What the hell's with that weird get up?"
Her fear was realized. It really was him. He was even wearing his usual attire, beanie and all, with an axe slung over his shoulder. What was he doing there?!
Finally realizing what was happening, she tried to rush over his side to stop him from stepping inside, dropping her weapon in the process.
"No! Don't get in!" she shouted, attempting to push him back out, but it was too late.
Immediately a loud bang erupted from behind.
"The hell?" he snarled and began pounding it, "Tch- it won't budge...!".
Crimson sighed, "look, that's not goi-" her words stopped midway. It was bad, her mind began to feel foggy. She held her head, her knees felt like it was about to give out. "N-no..." she gasped, trying to stay up.
However, it was too late- and everything just went black.
'Ungh...'
Embrace you desire...
'... h-huh...?'
I am the voice of your inner self...
Enjoy the moment...
'I...'
That which cannot be felt is merely a dream...
The present is all we have...
'No...'
The future is but a fantasy,
memory, a fabrication...
'No... no... that's not...'
Let your desire free you from your shackles...
such is my wish...
'Desire? My desire is...'
Pleasure is what you truly want.
You stand before the doorway to bliss.
'But...'
You cannot deny your instincts...
Embrace your desire...
'Yes...'
Embrace your desire...
'Yes... my... desire...'
"Get out of there now-!"
"Ah... huh...?"
Suddenly the darkness faded, and all was covered in white.
The voice shook her out of the trance.
What was going on? Shaking her head, her senses began to return. The first thing that dawned on her- was that she felt all wet.
"Mhm... s-shower...?"
That's right, she was in the shower room. It was pretty hazy for some reason, the tap was open, and water continued to pour out on her. She wiped some water off her face with a hand, and then reached out to the tap which cut the water flow. Now that that was out of the way, her mind finally started to clear.
What was she doing there again? The girl paused, her eyes turned to a nearby bathroom clock.
12:00 AM- that was the time. It stopped right there.
"Hey, what're you waiting for? Get your clothes on!"
The voice called out again.
At that moment, she turned away from the clock, then faced a nearby mirror. Instead of seeing Crimson, she saw Minako... and she was naked. No wig, no mask, her auburn hair was down and her face was fully exposed.
Immediately, her face burned red, and she instantly attempted to cover her body with her arms.
"Y-you! You didn't peek d-did you?" she stammered, trying to pick up some of her clothes which were carelessly strewn on the bathroom floor.
Minako felt her body shake. What could have happened if he didn't snap her out of it? She couldn't bear the thought.
The night was already definitely worse than her first encounter with the damned Shadow.
"Of course not."
The tone of the voice outside was a whole lot weaker than before. A lot less confident? No, more like... embarrassed? Either way, it was quite difficult to make out because of the door separating them.
In any case, she felt her face getting warmer as she squeezed her clothes close to her chest.
"H-how did you know I was naked then?"
She tried to keep her calm, yet her hands trembled.
For someone who could freely walk around Tartarus in bikini, or battle panties, something like that shouldn't be a problem. And of course, it's not much of a problem, especially knowing that he's the least malicious guy she knew next to Akihiko. If it was Junpei or her brother, then that's a whole different matter. Then again, that's not the worst of her worries. It was probably a skewed sort of priority, but had her cover as Crimson been blown? Crazy thoughts began to fill her mind. It was as if it was starting to feel foggy again.
"I didn't see anything alright? Your clothes were scattered outside the showers so threw them in. Happy?"
He answered with the same tone from before.
His words gave her a feeling of relief, at least, for now. The girl picked up her attire, but she still can't help but feel uneasy, "... Are you telling the truth?".
He didn't respond. Though, she did hear strange sounds, as if someone was rummaging through the drawers and ransacking the area. She couldn't take a full peek outside though, since she might end up revealing her face... that was, if he was really telling the truth that he did not peek.
Enough of that- whether he peeked or not, whether he figured out or not, there was nothing she could do, was there?
For the time being, the Shadow. Yes. The Lovers must be destroyed before her brother makes contact with it. But even before that- clothes first.
Putting everything back on felt nasty. They were all wet, but she had no luxury of being picky. She wondered how the others were doing... couldn't be worse than her, could it? The thought of Minato being placed in that situation... quite intrigued her. It would be hilarious to see how he reacts considering his usual deadpan-ness about everything, but at the same time, she'd feel sorry for whoever he gets paired with. The thought made her smile.
"And there-!" she said to herself triumphantly as she slipped on her shoes. She was all set, her mask and wig however, was nowhere to be found. "Umm... hey, is this all?" she called out, opening a small gap in the shower door.
It took a few moments before she heard his voice again.
"If you mean this mask-thing and... this, then yeah, I have em'" he finally replied.
"Oh. Then hand them over, I don't have all day!" her tone of voice had a hint of agitation. At the back of her mind, she worried that the Dark Hour might end without her accomplishing anything.
"What're these shit for anyway?"
"Just... Just hand em' over alright? No questions!"
There was a another short moment of silence before she heard his voice again, "here" he said as both items were slid through the floor over her direction.
The moment she pulled them in, Minako donned back her disguise and stared at the mirror. Now, she was really all set.
Crimson took a deep breath before she carefully clicked the door open. The room that greeted her was pretty much how she had remembered it. Blood stains were all over the purplish wall and floor, there was also a water bed, mirrors and potted plants... though, as she expected, the whole place looked as if a storm came by. The bed covers and pillows were all over the floor and the drawers at the corner looked as if a thief went through it. Most importantly, he was nowhere to be found.
He wasn't there?- That thought only lasted for a second when she heard grunts coming from behind the bed. "Hey, what're you-" she paused, her face flushed again the moment she laid her visible eye on him. She couldn't help but stare.
He stood up and growled.
"W-why are y-you half-naked?" she stuttered.
True enough, he was. In fact, he only had a towel covering the lower part of his body.
"Tch... Those damned Shadows must have taken them..." Shinjiro hissed, cracking his knuckles. "I checked everywhere even under this fucking bed-" he groaned.
The girl looked away and laughed nervously. She tried her best to take her eyes off him, but in the end, she couldn't help but stare from head to toe. Indeed, his body was well toned... Heck, Junpei's scrawny body from last time was easily forgotten.
WAIT- NONONONO. BAD. It's not the time to think those things. She's no Junpei! There's a Shadow to destroy, ogling should be saved for the beach vacation!-but that line of thought would make her comparable to Junpei, won't it? She shook her head, but instead found herself still at an uncontrollable trance.
Purposely dressing up the boys in swim trunks while on an operation to battle manifestations of human thoughts was enjoyable, but when someone was half-naked not because she made it happen was a whole different matter.
"Hey. How do we fix this mess?" the half-naked man spoke, finally snapping her out.
She was taken aback, and answered without a thought, "w-well... t-this is all your fault!"- pertaining to the distraction that was him.
"Ha?" he glared, "my fault? You're the one who wandered in here!"- misunderstanding her words.
"I didn't wander in, I came here purposely" his retaliation helped her regain her composure, even just by a bit. "Look, let's just cut the chat. I still have a Shadow to kill, now, if you'll excuse me...".
She was about to leave when he suddenly grabbed her by the wrist. Crimson blushed that moment.
"I ain't letting you beat the shit out of whatever that is alone. I'm coming along" he said in a gruff tone, "I want to give that son of a bitch a piece of my mind" he added, again, cracking his knuckles.
She just stared at him dumbfoundedly. Was he serious? He was half-naked! How can she fight along with him like that? The girl shook her head and tried to get him to just leave her be, but not a single word came out of her mouth. Instead, she just pulled her hand away from him and ran off...
Of course, the whole predicament wouldn't have happened if only she had smashed the mirrors in the first place. However, she knew she was pressed for time. She wanted to defeat the Shadow before S.E.E.S. arrived. She came in alone anyway, so she didn't really think the Shadow would manage to manipulate her like last time. Shinjiro's arrival was definitely something she did not expect, and now...
He's still following.
Half naked.
She could practically hear the thumping of her heart.
The girl walked stiffly along the halls, with him following from behind. Crimson turned her head back and gave him a quick glance. Her face immediately burned red. She bit her lip and shook her head. Finally, she clenched her fist and stared at her hands before sighing; she didn't have her weapon, only her Evoker. The naginata was most likely still back at the Shadow's place. Normal Shadows wouldn't be a problem, but even if the Full Moon Shadow was 'not-that-strong-compared-to-others', it'd be best to be fully prepared.
Speaking of which, where had his clothes gone to? Was it part of the Shadow's trick? If it was, it definitely wasn't funny... when she suddenly remembered its words- Embrace your desire. 'Ahhh- NO NO NO NO NO! THAT WAS NOT MY DESIRE...!' she internally roared. 'I know I said I wanted to see him in a swimsuit... is this divine retribution for all those Tartarus dress ups?' she thought, while attempting to keep herself calm.
"Besides, I'm pretty sure it what meant was a different kind of desire..." Crimson mumbled to herself.
The two managed to continue on their way quietly, without a Shadow in sight. Lucky- what was she thought, that would make breaking the mirrors much less of a hassle. So now, her plan was- smash the mirrors, get back in the now sealed Lovers' chamber, beat the Arcana Shadow then get out...
"Everyone, you know what to do?"
She heard a somewhat familiar, yet distant voice.
Shinjiro had reacted as well, probably from having heard it.
Before he was able to say or do anything else however, Crimson pulled him down by the wrist, cupping his mouth with her hand. "Shh-! Keep it down. You want them to see you like that?" she shushed.
At first he struggled, but right after hearing from the girl, the boy pulled his arm away and turned his back on her, "tch... y-you didn't have to tell me."
"Yeah. Thank me later" she sighed in relief as she continued listening to the voice. It sounded like it came from the other hallway.
"We'll break the mirrors, right?"
It was a different voice from the first. Definitely Yukari's- was what she thought. So... they were inside now huh? And seemed like they figured out the mirror thing already. In that case, change of plans- leave the mirror breaking to them, then head for the chamber right now.
"I'm gonna leave you if you move slowly you know" Crimson quietly called out to her companion as she moved on.
The male rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath, "this cocky brat-"
She shrugged, continuing her train of thought, 'I'd better kill that Shadow quick... before they get to the chamber. I don't want to end up crossing paths with them...' she gulped, giving her 'partner' a quick glance, 'I definitely wouldn't want them to see me with him like this...'
Her deduction was spot on. The supposedly sealed room was open, and inside, the Lovers' awaited them.
"Oh, look, I think I found your clothes." Crimson pointed out flatly. "... and I think I see our weapons over there too."
Shinjiro snarled.
Indeed, they were sitting on the water bed behind the gigantic heart-shaped Shadow, along with his axe underneath. Her naginata on the other hand, was carelessly littered on the floor not so far away.
"Tch. This asshole's gonna pay!" he growled, grabbing a nearby chair.
Now that she had thought of it... he wasn't carrying his weapon either, nor an Evoker.
She stared at him blankly, suddenly caught with a realization- there she was, worrying about stupid things, while he had nothing on him. At least she had her Evoker, but he had nothing but his fists. Knowing him, the reason he must have tagged along was... because he was worried about her.
While in the middle of contemplating, her companion suddenly charged in and smashed the chair on the Shadow. It seemed to have worked, albeit, his weapon was also crushed in the process.
However, the Arcana Shadow was no joke. Immediately, it retaliated and sent him an attack of its own.
"Ugh...!" he was thrown back, crashing into some furniture after being hit by its Holy Arrow.
Crimson rushed to his side in an attempt to help him up, but the Shadow flung another attack on her way. The girl had no choice but to back off. She turned to the Lovers which again, threw her a barrage of attacks. 'Argh-! Is it trying to keep us apart?' she hissed, giving the fallen male a quick glance.
His body was quite banged up from the recent crash. In fact, the damage he took was very visible with his bare skin was exposed. The male slowly stood up from the rubble, throwing the Shadow a deathly glare. "Bastard. I'm gonna rip you apart!" he roared, planting his fist on his palm.
"See...? I told you you shouldn't have come." The masked female, who was still trying to hold her own against the Shadow, said bluntly. "You can leave this to me." she added.
He just shook it off and rolled his eyes. "Tch. You're starting to get on my nerves..." he growled under his breath.
He's hopeless, she thought. Her sad attempt to get him to safety failed miserably. Really, he's not the type who'd leave a girl like her to battle such Shadow alone huh? What can he do? Well, knowing him, he'd use his fists if he had to. After all, he had no weapon on hand.
"Let's fix that then" she nodded to herself. The girl then called out to her comrade, "here!" she threw her Evoker over to him, "use it to distract the Shadow while I try to grab our weapons!"
Shinjiro managed to catch the item. His eyes widened quite a bit, surprised the the girl gave him her only weapon against the Shadow.
"Quick!" she called out, trying to get through the floating heart.
He hesitated, and stared at the gun for a whole second, before noticing that the Shadow was aiming at the girl. In the spur of the moment, he clicked the trigger as if it was natural to him.
"Castor!" he called out.
In an instant, glass shattered. A black horse-back riding figure emerged in front of him and rammed the Shadow back.
The Lovers attempted to fire another attack at the teen, but his Persona simply rushed forward and brushed through the wave of attack. Castor slammed the creature once more and knocked it down with pure force. The moment it landed its attack, the black rider disappeared.
Before the Shadow managed to get up, again, it was brought down by a swift slash of a blade.
"Hey, I got em'." the girl called out, running over to his side as she handed over his weapon. "Good job on your summon there" she smiled.
For some reason, his expression showed both relief and pain. Perhaps, he felt relieved knowing she was safe, and that his Persona didn't lose control...? Or perhaps, could it be that he didn't want to call out Castor as it reminded him of certain bitter memories from the past? He wanted to forget, that she knew, and that was why he tried to suppress his power in the first place. He probably never really expected that he'd have to use his Persona again.
In the end, she found him rolling his eyes as he shoved her the Evoker, "whatever. You can have it back."
Crimson stared at him for a moment, still confused over his actions... when she realized that he was still naked. Her face flushed, seeing him up close. She shook her head and pushed him away. "L-less talk, more fight!" she commanded, trying to avoid him.
"Way ahead of you" he replied confidently as he held up his blunt weapon.
The girl grinned and gave him a nod. She took the Evoker up and shot it by her temple.
"Messiah!" she called out as the familiar echoing sound of breaking glass filled the room.
As usual, the white figure materialized before her.
Her companion couldn't help but stare. The power she was releasing was so overwhelming.
The next moment, her Persona raised its hand and struck down a gigantic golden fist on the enemy. "Quick, it's your turn now!" she shouted.
"Tch. You're not the boss of me". Immediately, he rushed forward as fast as he could and smashed his axe on the Shadow. His weapon had such a strong impact that left a crack on the enemy.
It has grown weak, but it managed to get back up. The Shadow attempted to continue the fight and called out life drain on Shinjiro.
"Watch out!" she shouted, pushing him out of the way.
The attack somehow missed, though both of them ended up falling flat on the ground.
"I didn't need your help..." he scowled.
The girl rolled her eyes.
"... and will you get off me?" he added.
She stared at him, only to notice that she was on top of his chest. Immediately, the female jumped up and dusted her clothes. "S-sorry..." she mumbled with a reddish face, though thanks to her mask, it wasn't very visible.
"Whatever. You weren't that heavy anyway" he shrugged.
"A-anyway, looks like it'll be down after the next strike!" Crimson stated, trying to change the subject. She grabbed her weapon from the floor and held it tight.
Shinjiro smirked. "Alright, let's kick some ass!" he said, raising his weapon.
The girl nodded at him.
The two rushed toward the Shadow. It attempted to call out another attack, but the two were able to dodge it with an ease. The duo jumped up and slashed the Shadow together. Immediately, it let out a long shrill screech before disappearing into the dark-green night...
"Heh. You're not bad." he smirked.
"You're not bad yourself. We should do this more often." she replied with a sly smile on her face.
Shinjiro grunted, rolling his eyes on what she had said. "No" he answered her bluntly.
"I wasn't serious" the girl chuckled and gave him a final nod before heading for the window.
"Hey, couldn't you use the normal way out?" he grumbled, pointing out the door.
Crimson shrugged. "No. I don't want to run into them right now..." she answered flatly.
"Tch. Whatever floats your boat then. Just be careful on your way out" he paused, "... one more thing- you better get changed quick. You could end up with colds with those damp clothes"
"..."
"..."
His last words seemed to have frozen her in place. She was just by the window, staring at him. Did he say something wrong? As seconds ticked by, he felt more and more uncomfortable.
"Well, shouldn't you be going now?" he finally broke the silence.
"... Pfft- You're really a worrywart aren't you?" she chuckled, "don't worry, I plan to get changed as soon as I get home~"
"Shut up. I'm not" he knew that he gave a sad attempt to defend himself. His face even felt all warm.
He expected another remark from her, but she didn't say anything else anymore. She simply leaped out.
He ran toward the window and stuck his head out. She landed safely, and immediately went on her way as if it was nothing. Internally, he sighed in relief. It was dangerous suddenly leaping out like that after all. For some reason though, he knew he should be worried, but he wasn't. She was reckless, but somehow, he knew that she was capable of taking care of herself. For the most part, she was like every troublesome girl out there, but at the same time, she was... different. Just who was she?
Before he finished processing his train of thought, footsteps suddenly echoed from behind him. A group of familiar looking students soon came into view.
"Shinji... I knew it those were yours-" Akihiko motioned his eyes on the large bed at the edge of the room. He was pertaining to the clothes they found before they fell unconscious. "What are you doing here anyway?" he blinked, staring at his friend from top to bottom, "... half-naked?" the silver-haired senior pointed out.
Shinjiro shrugged. "... Stuff happened" he answered, grabbing his coat tightly. "Now, get the fuck out of the room." the brunette grimaced, slamming the door shut.
Extra:
Akihiko: Y'know, it's kinda hard to admit, but it was actually comfortable moving around without clothes like that.
Junpei: Hehe... Then why don't you try fighting without clothes next time?
Akihiko: Junpei, that's a brilliant idea! I'll go try that next time, thanks! *pumps his fist in the air before running off*
Junpei: Wait! Senpai! That was a joooke! Akihiko-senpaiiii-!
Mitsuru: What has gotten into Akihiko? I heard from Takeba and Yamagishi that he went to Tartarus... without clothing...?
Minato: Go ask Junpei, he suggested it.
Mitsuru: ... I-iori? I see... tell him to meet me later.
Junpei: *listening from afar* Why meeee...? QAQ
*years later, P4A-verse*
Akihiko: Hey- Junpei, Junpei! Is that you?
Junpei's eyes widen as he sees the topless former upperclassman.
Junpei: Ahaha... haha... Senpai... you're still uhhh... 'comfortable' I see... just to be clear, I have nothing to do with that this time. I don't wanna hear from Mitsuru-senpai again... *whimpers at the memory*
First of all... I'M SOOOOO SORRRYYYYYYYY ;A;
THIS TOOK FOREVER TO GET OUT DIDN'T IT? ASDFGHJKLHJGKJHKJHFKJHGKJHGL T_T
Actually this has been finished for... well... a very long time now. I just did a whole lot of edits and revisions and- /lies down
I do have an excuse for why this took too long... buuuut... yeah, to sum it up: a lot happened. Deleted files, repeated edits due to site errors, lappy problems, and well... I have work now. 6 days a week, no holidays ;_;
I actually didn't want to get this out yet until I've actually finished the next couple of chapters. I'd prefer to give everyone a more regular release after all (and not a yearly release like this...). But hey- it's Christmas. The chapter's done and all, so, why not?
I'll be honest here- I had fun with this one.
Originally, I kinda wanted Crimson and Shinjiro get on bad terms with each other...
But things just... happened by itself.
and this happened.
Oh, and this was originally supposed to be the whole of the 'Lovers'' arc. Like I mentioned before, I kinda didn't really plan to do the previous chapter, so this was meant to be a one-chapter arc.
On the side note, does anyone remember how (short) long it would take to beat the Lovers at level 99 during New Game+? Just a thought ^^"
And so- this concludes the Lovers' arc-and marks the beginning of... uh... probably what will be the longest arc of this fic. Unfortunately, there won't be much action, but more drama. Ummm... Kinda. Cuz... like... you know what happens... beach... and stuff... and... uh... I'll leave you to speculate XD
ANYWAY, about Minato's pairing. Poll is still ongoing yadda yadda if you haven't checked. Currently, default end is on the lead. No worries to fans of other pairings though, I'll try to give Minato moments with everyone... then maybe, you can decide his partner :P
One last thing- if you people want faster releases, I'd really appreciate some help. A beta tester would be nice :D. One of the reasons I hadn't gotten this out immediately was cuz' I was anxious... and lo' and behold, months after reading it again, the grammar and flow made me cringe. I ended up doing countless edits and revisions myself. I had a beta tester for a couple of chapters I've made before, and it was a nice experience. I even got those chapters out as soon as I've done the edits! Soo yeah, feel free to message me if interested. Plus, you'll get the perk of reading the chapters earlier, I guess?
On an unrelated note- PERSONA 5 HYYYYPPPPEEEE. MASKED PHANTOM THIEVES ASDFGHJKL.
Y'know, the idea of a masked Persona-user leaping around buildings in the dead of the night was my base idea for this fic, so when they revealed details on P5... I was really surprised! It's like I predicted P5 long before anything was revealed lol.
-Persona 3 or any SMT series does not belong to me-
Yoshikunitsu- Thanks XD /and yup, definitely had fun with this one XP
Gin Nanashi- Weeeelp looks like Minako got away this time... or did she? =w=
FateOblivion- No one said it was Crimson's clothes... notice how it was Akihiko who reacted? Yeaaaaah- it was Shinjiro's *evil laughs* After what happened with him and Junpei though, it kinda slipped out of his mind. Exactly how, what or why it happened... who knows? Only the *now* dead Lovers' know XD
mimichiro- I hope this chapter answers those questions? Minako's out to kill The Lover's, and Shinjiro, being the worrywart mom followed. As for Minato, I'd say he's seriously dense, with a touch of inner sadism.
AND TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO REVIEWED- THANK YOU!