Chapter 6: Highway to Hell
Disclaimer: I do not own Persona 3, work at Atlas, or own the myths and legends mentioned in my story
Warning: There will be strong language, graphically detailed violence, crude humor, dark angst-y moments, deep thought, and the occasional feminine joke. The list will potentially change to reflect changes in the story without advance notice. You have been warned.
Was fortunate enough that I only had to stay overnight for observations. The doctors were all surprised at how well my left was had healed considering how it looked. Despite being insecure about my arm I turned down recommendation for plastic surgeons and opted for some several rolls bandages. The nurse was a nice lady but looked sad when I got released. Turning around and thanking her lifted her spirits. Taking several large bowls of tapioca pudding and hiding it in my jacket the time paradox earlier? That lifted my spirits. I might dislike being in a hospital, but there was no way I was going to pass up a chance at their pudding. That stuff is still the best food in there.
Seeing how it was still a few hours before school started, I swung by my favorite pasty shop. Seeing how I had no where to go for a bit, I got to spend a few minutes with the owner. Turns out the shop is ran by a husband and wife couple, transplanted Chinese actually. So that conversation lasted a bit longer than I thought it would. They also wasn't fooled by the large bowl of tapioca I had hidden in my coat and offered me some tupperware before cleaning it and promising they will return the bowl for me. I thanked them by buying a dozen before promising to return after school to by some frozen ones so I could steam then up as a snack. Before leaving with my now half emptied bag, I built up the courage to ask them what their sign actually said. After a few rounds of hearty laughs at my Americanized roots, they told me their sign says 'Chi Bao Bow' or 'Eat Bread Full'... It would be totally funny if you understood either Cantonese or Mandarin.
Anyways, I finished most of the buns early and took my time with the quart of pudding before Yukari spotted me at the school gates, "Morning, Dark-san. You seem to be doin' pretty well."
"What can I say? I'm made of awesome. Would you like some of this delicious pudding?"
With a look of disgust, "No, thank you. But really, how are you feeling?"
Lifting up some of the neck bandages, "Barely noticeable, just a pale line on my skin. Kinda wish it had scarred over, would have been a totally cool story to tell."
"And..." Thankfully she lowered her voice more than that whole debacle with Junpei a week ago, "Your arm?"
Sticking the spoon in my mouth, I roll up the sleeve on my duster to show that I had bandaged it up with the good ol' leather glove on, "Carefully hidden. Look, I freaked out when you and Minako saw it and I understand some day I need to let the world see it. But, at least for now, I'm not ready."
"Oh... Sorry..."
"No worries. If anything, I'm glad a I have some cute dormmies for worry about me."
"Dormmies?"
"Sorry. It's just something I say a lot in English. It's just the word for 'dorm mate' but shortened."
"Cool. Before I forget, Ikutsuki-san wants to talk to you today. Come to the 4th floor of the dorm after school today, okay? Don't forget. Oh, you might also buy a new glove for your left hand. There's a hole in it now."
Flashing her the 'thumbs up', we got to the shoelocker just as the first bell rang as I got the last word, "There was a spike sticking out of my hand, what did you expect. AND FIND OUT WHERE IT WENT! I WANT IT BACK!"
I am now regretting my decision to leaving the hospital so early. Apparently the old dude with the kabuto was in fact a teacher, history teacher to be precise. Now don't get me wrong, I love history, but my interest fell along the Three Kingdom era of China. Call me bias, but that was interesting. Of course, I'm also interested in wars and weapons, but apparently if you admit that, in conjunction with my medical and psychological 'issues' it might prompt a trip to the councilor's office. So I just counted my blessings that Mr. Ono was on the *cough*-ithic Era and not Dark Age Europe or Puritan America.
My mind was wandering when I heard Mr. Ono call out Junpei's name, who stood up so quickly, his chair bumped into my desk and me out of my daydream, "Junpei? How about you? The Stone Age is divided between the Paleolithic era and the Neolithic era. What's the difference between them?"
Tapping on my desk, I lifted my head just enough to look at Junpei, "Uhh... How am I supposed to know about something way back then? Come on dude! Help me out here!"
"How the tools were made."
"How the tools were made!"
"Very good Iori-kun. But seeing how Phatiamos-kun helped you, I don't suppose he'd be willing to tell me what those tools were?" Interestingly enough, Mr. Ono wasn't being a jackass, from my reading of him, I think he's trying to give credit back to me. Heh.
Standing up slowly, "Um... If I remember correctly, Neolithic used ground stone or the act where they take a large flat-ish rock, place what they want ground and proceed to... Crap... what's the word I'm looking for..." Forming a loose fist with my right hand I place it onto my left palm and proceed to run it back and forth for a bit. "Anyways, Paleolithic used chipped stone or flaked stone tools. where they... I don't know the Japanese equivalent of..." Balling up a fist again, I use my left hand to strike the side of my fist at an angle.
Apparently hand waving explanation was good enough for Mr. Ono, "Very good Phatiamos-kun, despite not being able to *something* or explain it verbally, you demonstrated it very well! (WHOOP!) Either way, they both used stone tools… UGH! I can't wait until we get to the age of katana..."
As Junpei griped about not getting recognition for having the right answer, I could here the other student admire my intelligence. Resting my head in my palm, I had a hard time hiding the smile on my face.
During lunch I was able to fish out the few buns I didn't finish along with my remaining pudding. Junpei approached my desk probably to start a conversation but was quickly greeted with a glare and a growl, "I paid for this food. (some of it at least...) If you treasure your manhood, you will leave. The pudding. Alone."
"Point taken." Taking a seat across from me, he doesn't say anything and just stares at me. I, rather begrudgingly slide a roast pork bun his way before he said anything, "So, what happened to you? Lot's of rumors going around about the seven days you went missing and the three for the Arisato twins. I tried to ask them but they didn't want to talk about it." Didn't need eyes in the back of my head to tell the twins were starting to panic and would have sprinted towards me if they weren't too busy talking to the crowd surrounding them.
"Rumors? Like that rumor about how I was dating Minako and Minato picked a fight with me?"
"So... Y-You heard about that one?" You are sooooooo busted.
"Hard not to when your buddy Kenji straight up and asked me about the apparent asskicking I got from Minato. Okay. I'll tell you the truth. I found an interesting article online about psychological manipulation but I started getting sleepy. I thought to myself, 'I need to get something to drink.' But all the dorm has is coffee and that energy drink that came out. The one in the blue and silver can? I got the bright idea to make a pot of coffee, but instead of water, I used the energy drink."
"No way dude!"
"Stuff came out a radioactive green."
At this point, I started drawing a crowd, cause that's the thing about stupid stories, everyone wants to either top it, feel better about themselves, or be amused. Taking my dramatic pause I didn't have to wait long for someone to ask me to continue. That someone was Kenji, "What did you do?"
"What did you think I did? I poured it into a coffee mug and took a drink. Don't get me wrong, the stuff actually smelled good and tasted like someone poured honey and raw molasses into your mouth. Between the lot of us, after that one cup, either my heart stopped completely or it was beating so fast that I couldn't find my own pulse. I finished reading the article, unpacked everything, and got about halfway through with every textbook the school assigned to us. That all happened in the span of... fifteen minutes. I realized this because the timer on the oven where I was making cookies told me. How does this affect the twins? Remember how I said I made a pot of coffee? The twins each drank some. They were smart enough to only take a shot as a taste test. They each crashed about a few hours later. I crashed about midnight. As it turns out, having your resting heart rate at about ninety-five beats a minute? You get the superpower to start into infinity. I saw shit there that would turn Michael Jackson black and Will Smith white. I might have also saw Cthulhu himself but I'l going to hold judgement on that."
"Dude, that doesn't explain why you were out for seven days."
"Well. Yukari-san found us eventually and called the hospital. The twins were held for observation and extreme heart fatigue, I needed to have all the blood drained out of me, cleaned before putting it back it. They also had to cut into my neck to force in some tubes so I could breath." Separating the bandages around my neck just slightly to tease them. "Oh and before you ask about my left arm, they needed to put a cow vein into it just to clean all the blood."
"Dude... is any of that true?"
"Every word. Yukari can verify that the three of us went to the hospital and I'm pretty sure I can still get my charts."
"Dude... that's totally messed up."
"I'm totally doing it again. This time I'm going to use a smaller dose. Mostly because I'm pretty sure two doses of the same size within the same month will probably kill me. No saves allowed." I wasn't able to bask in all the attention any longer due to the bell and the start of class again.
End of the class day and I got to hang out with the twins as we headed back towards the dorm, it was clear that Minato didn't like the fact that Minako was hanging off my arm but chose not to say anything. Funny how a life endangering event could bring people together... and subsequently kill my source of entertainment in Japan. Oh well. Headed back to CBB to pick up some frozen bun for breakfast the twins and I got to talking about school, the people we hang out with. the dorm. We talked about everything except the floating turd in the punchbowl, but that bridge was rapidly closing in and I had to start picking between the Molotov or the C-4.
As the three of us made our way up to the fourth floor, Minako quietly wrapped her arms around mine and Minato's. There was no need for words between us, we knew she was scared and needed no cue. The two of us closed the space between each other, to provide as much cover as we could for the bubbly girl who was trying to hide her shivers.
"Hey Emo, didn't know I was your type. Kinda flattered really."
"Blow it out your nose you lying ass. The stairways just too narrow. Take a step back and let a man lead."
"By all means. I'd rather stay in the back with the lovely angel."
"You're a compulsive liar."
"You emo fringe makes you looking like a douchebag kid musician that will never hit puberty."
"Oh! There you are!" The two of us had to put our health man-love on hold as Yukari opened the door and waved us in.
Seated in a rather uncomfortable-looking chair, Chairman Ikutsuki gestured for us to sit across a table from him, "Ah, there you are. I'm glad that you're okay. The reason I asked you here is because I needed to talk to you. Please, have a seat." Plopping on the end, Minako predictably sat between me and Minato. Yukari took the lone seat besides Minato. Mitsuru sat to Ikutsuki's right while Akihiko just stood a bit away. "Oh! Before that. I believe I mentioned him earlier, but this is Akihiko."
While the twins waved, rather meekly, I just gave him an acknowledging point, "We met when he showed up for breakfast."
"Very good. Now, down to business... Okay, let me start off by asking you this: would you believe me if I told that a day consists of more than twenty-four hours?"
"Eh-yup."
"Yes."
"Of course,"
If I could just live off of the live off the tears, disappointment, shattered dreams, and surprised looks of people, I would never go hungry again. I've said it millions of times, but the look on everyone's face. DELICIOUS!. Oh they never saw this coming.
Recovering quickly, Ikutsuki clears his throat, "I guess I should be surprised by your response, seeing how the three of you experienced the truth firsthand."
Meekly Minako raised her hand, "Um... I hope you weren't talking about last night. Onii-san and I knew about it since we were fifth grade."
"I knew about it since ten years ago." The only ones in the room not staring at me like I had just pulled a Lazarus were the twins since I told them the first day we met. "Since what is literally the second greatest, haunting memory of my existence I can safely say I knew about free-time since my accident ten years ago. After all, it was what caused it." A quick flinch from Mitsuru told me she knew something and that guilty look she was trying so desperately to hide? That told me I was going to have a lot of fun getting it out of her. Smirking, "Keep in mind, I didn't stay in Japan after the accident. I moved back to America, that's kind of why I call it free-time. Due to a difference in timezone, what is midnight here, is bout eight or nine o'clock in the morning. Depending on daylight savings. After a few times I just sat around doing nothing, I kind of figured it lasted about an hour."
"Actually, we would prefer it if you didn't refer to it as 'free-time'. We call it the Dark Hour."
"Yeah. not going to happen Mitsuru-senpai. Here's why. Remember how I was reminiscing about sitting around doing nothing but figuring out how long free-time lasted? I did that because it started to rain outside. Thunderstorm actually." Watching for the reaction in the room I was gauging how long that penny was going be in the air. "So the moment that kicked in. The lights went away." Penny just dropped for the twins, Yukari, then Akihiko. Either the Mitsuru and Ikutsuki still haven't figured it out or they got good with hiding their reaction. Regardless, I started to lean in with a rather impudent smile, "The people you're with turning into coffins. And every bit of water doing something I only read about in Catholic school at the time. When you're in that position where every bolt of lightning illuminates the world and throws shadows in the shape of coffins at you. Where every clap of thunder reminds you of the sound of a Mack truck smashing into the car you're in just two months ago on your seventh birthday. And when you endure this, during every thunderstorm just as you wake up since you were a child." Snap-pointing at her, my hand starting wagging at her. I wasn't doing that on purpose nor was my silence meant to emphasize a point.
I was rapidly losing control of my temper and considering what I had in my pockets. That was not something I wanted to do. Biting the inside of my lower lip, the taste of blood cleared my head, "When you finally go through something like that as a kid, after a traumatic experience, then I might start listening to what you have to say about how I name things. You lot can keep calling it the Dark Hour. Fine! But I'm sticking to the name that allowed me to cope."
Oh yeah. Totally killed the mood. It wasn't until Akihiko valiantly tried to restart the conversation did anyone say anything, "So! Normal people don't realize it, since they're all sleeping in their coffins, and the Shadows will attack anyone unlucky enough to not be in their coffin. It's our job to defeat them. Sounds exciting, huh?"
Snapping to her feet, Mitsuru glared at him, "Akihiko! Why are you always like that? You just got hurt the other day!" She's angry at him because I almost just made her cry. Gotta remember that words hurt.
"Now, now. He does his work well. Long story short, we're the Specialized Extracurricular Execution Squad. SEES for short. On paper, we're classified as a school club. But in reality, this group is dedicated to defeating the shadows. Mitsuru is the leader. I'm the club adviser."
"That's lovely and all, but exactly are you asking from my sister and me?"
"A Shadow feeds on the mind of its prey; the victim becomes a living corpse. They're responsible for most of the incidents on the news, if not all of them." Mitsuru explained but not answering Minato's question.
"Although rare, there are those who can function during the Dark Hour." Ikutsuki continued. "Some may even awaken to a power that enables them to fight the Shadows. That's 'Persona', the power you used the other night. The Shadows can only be defeated by Persona-users...which means it's all up to you guys." Reaching under the table, Ikutsuki retrieves a gleaming metal briefcase from under the table. Having Mitsuru open it, she turns it towards us to reveal three silver pistols and three red armbands with 'SEES' on it. "What we're trying to say is-"
Reaching over I picked up a pistol and an armband.
"-we want you to join us. Dark-kun?"
"Nothing against nothing. I'm sorry I snapped. I'm not all good in the head, so I snap at times. Far as I can figure, I need to make it up to you AND now that I know I can fight, I can't look away anymore. I'm doing this."
While Minato just stared Minako reach over and grabbed a set as well, "Phatiamos-san is right! My powers awoke too! If I don't help, more people will fall prey to the shadows."
"Not giving me a lot of choice here sis. I can't have you run around alone and I'm sure as hell not entrusting your safety to someone who is literally crazy. I'm in too."
Letting out a sigh, Yukari clapped in delight, "I was so worry you would say no. Welcome aboard!"
That prompted a goofy grin from Minato.
"Oh, I almost forgot, about your room assignments... why don't you just stay here, in your current rooms? I don't know what the holdup is, but I guess it worked out in the end, didn't it?"
Looking rather confused, Yukari kept looking between us and Ikutsuki, "Holdup? But wasn't that... oh, nevermind. It doesn't matter anymore."
The shattering of glass got my attention, but that quickly shifted to the fact that no one else was moving. Before me, I could see a blue card with a two-face design. As it turned over I saw an image of a man at the start of his journey and the number zero.
'Thou shalt have our blessing when thou choosest to create a Persona of the Fool Arcana...'
As it shattered before me and showers me with little motes of light I felt an... itch in the palm of my left hand. Before I could scratch it, time started up again. I think I'm going to keep that under wraps before I head back to the hospital for a CT scan.
Sitting at my table as Dark Hour, my free-time, started up. Of course, I didn't even notice the change. The itch on my left hand was insane! Removing the glove, I was literally swearing at how much bandage I used and how tightly I had wrapped it. The damn itch was annoying seeing as how the only sensation I got from my left arm was a slight sense of pressure that let me know that it wasn't dead. After a long and relieving scratch, I place my hand on a beam of sickly green moonlight to see what the hell was going on and there it was!. There was a mark on my palm! It looked like someone just drew an oval on my palm!
"Well isn't that interesting?" Someone whispered into my ear.
Diving out of my chair I slam my back to the wall opposite of my bed, my automatic spike fully extended in my hand. Yeah, that fight with Magician has got me a bit wired. But there he was, the little kid who obtained my contract. Apparently to him, a frighten teenage with a spike in his hand was normal since he neither moved from the spot next to my chair or did he stop smiling. Letting out a sigh of relief, I press the spike against my left palm to retract it when I flinched in pain. That hasn't happened since the accident.
"Hi. How are you?"
"Not too bad I guess. Would you like a seat?" Gesturing toward my still unused bed.
He sat down, kicking his feet a bit, while I pulled my chair up next to him. For a while, neither spoke. We just stared at each other. Feeling rather awkward, "Least this tells me I'm not crazy. Nice to see you again."
Smiling, "It's good to see you. Soon, The End will come. I remembered, so I thought that I should tell you."
Clicking my tongue, I think The People's Eyebrow went up again, "The End?"
"Of everything." Oh hell. "But to be honest, I really don't know what it is..."
"If that's the case, I wouldn't worry too much about it." Getting up I pat down my duster until I found a bar of chocolate. Breaking off a few briquets for myself, I drop the bar on his lap, "Everyone predicts 'The End' and pretty much none of them has come true. Far as I'm concerned, short of absolute proof, I'll keep going on with my day. Oh... don't worry about the chocolate. I'm not a freak who drugs children and whatnot- and now I sound like a total creeper... great..."
Nodding, he starts breaking off pieces and munching on it, the two of us just enjoyed the chocolate and some company while I kept picking at the odd oval on my palm.
"Oh, looks like you've awakened to your power... and an unusual power it is. A power that takes many forms, yet is bound by none... it may prove to be your salvation, depending on where you end up."
"Long as it's not a ditch by a road or in jail. I'm golden."
"Do you remember when we first met?"
"Honestly? I remember how and that it was earlier this month. Ask me in a few months and I'll be able to tell you that we met and you had me sign a contract some point within the year. Sorry, but temporal dyslexia is something I'm still dealing with."
Oh, that got a nice chuckle out of him as he vanishes off my bed and reappears by the door, "I expect you to honor your commitment. I'll be watching you, even if you forget about me..."
Before he could turn around, "Wait. I don't know where you're going, but take this with you." Grabbing the bar of chocolate from the bed, I place it in his hands with a smile. He accepted with a nod and disappears.
Plugging my earbuds, I quietly hum All-Stars to myself as I reread Bone Collector.
Finally finished with the idiot's guide to Japanese I 'picked' up way back when, I freshened up, re-bandaged my left arm, and then headed downstairs to make breakfast.
The fridge was half-cleared of the leftovers and I finally set down my fourth dish when I heard movement. Checking the clock, it was almost nine. Deciding on one more plate of food, I pulled the frozen buns out of the fridge and started to steam them.
Despite knowing my surroundings, I apparently still tense up at the sound of approaching footsteps while my back is turned. Gripping the handle of the wok, I was ready sacrifice the buns that were steaming within.
"The food outside smells delicious, were you up cooking all morning Phati- I mean... Dark."
Exhaling a bit louder than I had hoped, I give the buns a quick test poke before giving them another five minutes, "Good morning Mitsuru. And no. I only started about half an hour or so ago." Didn't need to see her face to know she believed that lie, "Contrary to what others may say, you can basically make anything into a fried rice. Spaghetti is no exception. Might be a bit early for it, but... meh. And don't make that face! Don't need to see to know. Try out the food first, then decide if it tastes good."
"Actually, I was going to ask why you decided to serve all the food on one plate?"
Crap! I knew I forgot something! Japan's like America, everything is done in individual servings..., "Well. I decided to go a bit Chinese on it. Communal-style. Everyone can gather however much they want. Brings people together."
"Really?"
"Yup. Still see it happen in a lot of Chinese restaurants back home."
"Huh."
"Would you mind passing that on to the others? Just so I don't have to repeat myself."
"I don't see why not. I noticed your Japanese has improved a lot."
"Thank you."
"Dark?"
"Yes?"
"How are you cooking, conversing with me, and still listening to your music all at the same time?"
"Practice."
Breakfast was a bit more lively that usual, Mostly because Minako started biting Minato when he reached for the last steam bun and everyone's surprise at how good the food actually tasted. They still didn't believe I had tossed in the pesto spaghetti along side the three-cheese lasagna. Of course, it turned out richer than I had expected, but that's what happens when you cook with that much fat and dairy.
Having forgotten today was Sunday and therefore meant no school, I didn't have anything planned. And for once. I didn't feel like rereading the same books again. I stayed at the lounge and just stared into space while the twins when to their rooms, Akihiko and Yukari went out, and Mitsuru was being Mitsuru in her room, I think. In time, my mind began to drift, thinking about animals to fighting-styles to cooking. About mid-thought in creating a tomato-olive-tilapia recipe the doorbell rang and snapped me back into reality. Grumbling at the oven cooked fish I'll never get to make, I nearly tore the head off a postal dude.
"I have a deliver here for a Mr... Dark Fah-"
"Mine." Signing off quickly, I boot the door close with another package in my hands. Placing it on the counter, I carefully use one of my spikes to split the tape. On the very top of the package was a typed letter.
I'm sure your settled by now and need something to help you slack off.
Here's help.
Sent a few of your favorites.
Don't bother looking for TWEWY. I have it and is currently whooping your high score on the time trials.
In it's place, I sent the CD soundtrack
~Karma
PS: Sent a few universal plugs too. Just in case.
Didn't need look any further to know what she sent me. Bless. Shuffling over to the TV, I quickly hook up the PS3 before popping Fallout 3 in. Starting up my old, I realize I was already at the end and the decision had to be made. ... While I sad that I was about to lose my stealth suit AND deathclaw gauntlet, I started up a new game anyways. Mostly because I couldn't believe I wasted perks on getting skill increase.
Built a character like myself, high agility, luck, and intelligence with moderately-low everything else. Got through all the quests in Megaton with nothing more than a good knife, pistol, and lots of sneaky headshots.
I didn't even realize it was mid-afternoon until Mitsuru, who thought she could quietly read though the sounds of me putting rounds into raider skull, warned me about a raider sneaking up behind me while I was in the supermarket. Until the sound of my landmine going off settled her down.
"You knew that was going to happen?"
"Nope. But if I have landmines and I'm more than likely going to be surrounded. I'm setting them up behind me so I don't get backstabbed while backstabbing."
"Why does that little cartoon figure show a missing leg?"
"Because the radius of the landmine blast took off my character's leg."
"Aren't you going to heal? You're moving rather slowly. They're going to catch up."
"... Neh. Don't have a lot of resources to spend healing myself. Between me dropping landmines behind me, my high sneak plus backstabbiness, and near-perfect accuracy. I'll be the last thing they never saw coming." Getting a bright idea, I immediately make a save before dropping the controller into Mitsuru's hands. Grinning at her, "Game's starting." The squeak she gave was totally hot.
It actually took her a while to make her character, but damn if it didn't look like her. I think I had a little too much fun teasing her about the SPECIAL and skills, it was around the third time she threatened to execute me did I finally drop hints on what might she need in accordance to her play style. Which was EXTREME AGGRESSION! I mean holy balls! There was no banter between her and the overseer. Just straight introduction to Mr. Shiv-to-the-Face.
"Dark, what does that 'Gained positive karma' mean?"
"To put it simply, the game uses a very simple moral system. You kill bad guys, give to the needy, help those for the sake of helping and not reward, you get good karma. On the inverse: harming innocent bystanders, stealing, enslaving, Conventrating a small community for the sake of comfort, that will total into negative karma. The total amount will indicate whether you are good or evil in the game."
"Is there any benefit for going in either direction?"
"Obviously being evil is the easiest and more rewarding in terms of loot and wealth. It would also be easier to kill raiders if you didn't care whether or not those villagers get hit by your shots. Oh, and different dialogue, companions, and hunters. I mean, you can always choose to be neutral." It was totally obvious how uncomfortable the idea of being evil made her feel. The rest of the afternoon was spent laughing at how she didn't break any laws in game. Didn't hack or lockpick anything! She also waited to be shot at first before returning fire. Oh it was precious. Of course, her poor choice of dialogue nearly got the sheriff killed, but as Three-Dog puts it, 'The threat has been deep-sixed. AWOOO!'
It was around five when the twins came downstairs, I was about to order some take-out when Mitsuru offered to pay for the full meal if I would tell her where all the landmines were and if there was anyway to bypass them. "If you're fast enough, you can run up to the landmines to disable them and then pick them up or shoot them from the distance or lob an explosive from the distance and catch it in the blast or run up really fast to trigger and backpedal like the wind or finally, trick some nearby animal slash raider to run toward it. Now about-"
"Cash is in my backpack on the table of the third floor or you can take a card from my purse in my room. I'll have whatever you'll have."
Deciding that raiding a backpack was safer than being labeled a pervert, I blitzed up to the third floor and quickly looted the backpack. I have no idea how much nine-thousand yen is in U. S. dollars, but I'm pretty that more than the cost of three pizzas. Grabbing about thirty, I punch in an order for three large pizzas: a super combo, a cheese, and a vegetarian just to cover all my bases. Total cost: two-point-six. I made a good call. Popping back downstairs, Yukari had just walked through the door in-time to watch Mitsuru shriek and then panic-fire a ghoul's head off with a shotgun.
By the time Akihiko showed up, Mitsuru had discovered a few things about the game. One, she loves the shishkebab. Two, she hates feral ghouls and mirelurks. And three? She hates people who sets down landmines even more than feral ghouls and mirelurks combined. Also, me and the twins had finally stopped laughing... mostly because our jaws hurt and our voices gave out.
"Good, everyone's here. There's someone I wanna introduce." The three of us, Yukari had gotten rather annoyed of our cackling that she took a spot by the dinner table to do something... Wasn't paying attention to her, I was laughing too hard at the time. Anyways, the twins and I finally pulled our attentions away from Mitsuru versus King Mirelurk to watch Akihiko stick his head past the doorway to shout 'Hurry up at someone.'
"Hold your horses. This is freakin' heavy." The voice instantly drew our undivided attention to the doorway. Just in time for Junpei to walk in with, what I guess is his luggage. Waaaay more stuff than even what I brought with me.
"That's because he had your stuff shipped at a later time."
That caused me to do a dry-spit take. To me, it was a 'Holy Shit' revelation. To everyone else, I just had a bad sneeze or cough or I didn't like the fact that it was Junpei who walked through the door. Regardless, Holy fuckin' balls! Is that you Orpheus?
"Not the time nor place."
Junpei looked hurt, "Dude. That was totally uncalled for."
Holding up a hand, I quickly get up and jog to the kitchen for a cup of water, bringing it out with me, I take a few quick sips, "Sorry dude. Throat is a bit dry. Spent most of the time laughing. Holy crap my voice sound hoarse. Anyways, why wouldn't I be glad you're here? We're totally bros, you and I." Cheering up a bit, Yukari's expression totally revived his spirit.
"J-Junpei? Why is HE here? Wait- don't tell me..."
"This is Junpei Iori from class 2-F." Akihiko explained. "He'll be staying here as of today."
He was grinning from ear-to-ear, "What's up?"
On the other side of the spectrum, Yukari was as unamused as Queen Victoria, "He's staying here? You've gotta be kidding me!"
"I bumped into him just the other night. He has the potential, but only awakened to it recently. I told him about us, and he agreed to help."
"You have the Potential? For real?"
"Yup. He found me cryin' like a baby at the convenience store surrounded by a buncha coffins. ... I don't remember much, but man, that's embarrassing." Rubbing the back of his neck, "He said that's... y'know, completely normal in the beginning. Like, being confused and not remembering anything. Did you guys know that?"
"Nope."
"Not that I remember."
"Same as onii-san."
Doing a sarcastic jazz hands, "Big deal. It happens to everyone else. But man, I was shocked to find out about you guys. I had no idea. I'm glad I'm not the only one. It could get kinda lonely, y'know."
I know I shouldn't have said anything, but I'm starting to think I may have some form of impulse-control issues. Deadpanning, "Like you wouldn't believe..."
This was the first time Junpei surprised me. He didn't give me a smirk or more sarcastic jazz hands. No, this was the first time he looked at me with a mixture of pity and understanding. I hated it. If there weren't so many witnesses, I would have drawn my spike. If it wasn't for the fact I liked him a bit, I would have punched him in the face. The look didn't last long, soon enough that grin of his was back, "I bet you're stoked too, right? Havin' me join..."
With a cleansing breath I grinned back, "Zetta ya, mate!" That drowned out Yukari's rather weak-ass response. As the look of understanding dawned on everyone who got it, the twins, Junpei, and I landed an earth-shattering group high-five. Looking at the confused faces of the senpais and Yukari, I just shrugged, "Either you know The World Ends With You or you don't. Oh and Mitsuru? You're about to get a faceful of landmine. Ka-boom." She totally walked right into that cluster.
"Alright, that's enough with the introductions." said Akihiko. "I think we're about ready."
"Ooh, we gonna go do something? Sweetness!"
"With this many people, we can start exploring that place."
Yukari raises an eyebrow, "You mean Tartarus?"
This time it was Junpei's turn to do the People's Eyebrow, "Tartarus?"Sounds like toothpaste."
A bit off to the side, I could see Minako tug at Minato's arm, "Onii-san? What's a 'Tartarus'?"
"Uh..."
I knew I shouldn't but this was mythology and there was no way in hell I was going to pass it up, "Tartarus, proper noun. According to Greek mythology, it is a deep, gloomy place, a pit, or an abyss used as a dungeon of torment and suffering that resides beneath the underworld. Essentially, it's Greek Hell." Grinning like a creeper as I loomed near Minako, putting a bit of a raspy bass in my voice"Minako-chaaaan~! We're going to hell! Have you been a good girl?!" At this moment, I am so glad I didn't decide to ham it up by throwing my head back with an evil cackle. If I didn't I am with out a doubt Minako's kick would have crushed my gut. My god! Did that girl kick like a mule! I had instinctively brought my left hand to stop the attack and my arm screamed with pain. All jokes and anger went out the window when I hunched over and cradled my left arm, hissing in pain.
"Ohmygod! Phatiamos-san! Are you alright?!" While it was Minako who started worrying, it was Minato who guided me to a chair had Yukari fill a bag with ice for my arm. Even with my hoodie on, I could feel how cold the ice was on my left arm. Seriously, what the hell was happening here?! I was lucky to feel pressure on that arm, nevermind actual sensations. When the arm was sufficiently numbed I planted the wet, cold bag of ice on the back of Minako's neck to cheer her up. Her adorable squeal earned her the hearts of most dudes in the room. For my actions, I earned a pout from the girls, the bro-wink from Junpei, and a disapproving scowl from Minato. That by itself was weird, combining it with the fact he was the first one to tend to me, that made it all freaky.
When Akihiko was sure my life was not in jeopardy, "We believe we can find the reason for the Dark Hour there."
"I hope so..." Yukari commented.
Look at each of us newbies, Akihiko continued, "The chairman will give us the details tomorrow night, so be ready."
Snapping giving Akihiko fingergun, "Gotcha. Mitsuru, if I catch your grade slipping due to my game, I'm taking it away." Not really waiting for a response, the twins and I earned some bro-points with Junpei by helping him move into his room.
Same old routine with school, except this morning I just stir fried all the take-out with some take-out noodles. I'll be the first to admit that mixing three or four different sauces may not be a good idea, but I had mixed something like five to six and they weren't all Italian dishes. The color came out to the same tone as fresh squeezed orange juice and neither the smell nor taste was horrifying. Shrugging, I plated and ate with the rest before heading out.
I could never get tired of the walk to school, course I also stopped by CBB if only just to chat for a bit. Funding was getting kinda low and seeing how I was paying for the herbs and spices around the dorm, I had to start abstaining from buns everyday.
Passing the gate, I heard two girls gossiping about school assembly or something such nonsense.
As soon as the lunch bell rang, I couldn't help but stretch in my seat. New knowledge was always interesting for me, but man, I was struggling just to stay awake. Minato was subtle with the 'resting-his-head-on-his-knuckle' approach. As oppose to Junpei, who didn't even try to hide his light snoring. Getting up, I went to Minako's desk and gave her a gentle nudge to wake her up. By the looks of it, Minako started to rest her head on her forearms when she accidentally fell asleep and judging from the drool and smile, she was well on her way in dreaming.
The four of us was about to start a conversation when Yukari joined us with a yawn, "Man, I thought I was gonna fall asleep in there."
The conversation we started was still in its infancy, a debate between who had a better taste in music, Yukari was our judge, when the conversation was cruelly cut short. Mitsuru had walked into the room, went straight to our group. "Can I have a minute?" She asked but gave us no time to respond, "Come to the lounge when you get back to the dorm. I have something to tell everyone."
"Oh, are we havin' that talk?" I facepalmed at Junpei's comment.
Mitsuru replied curtly, "I'll save the details for later. See you there."
And whoosh, she's gone. It wasn't the fact she just showed up and told us that nor was it the speed in which she left. It was the speed in which she left while wearing those heels that impressed me the most.
"Wow," Junpei commented with a click of his tongue. "She didn't waste anytime leaving..."
"She's probably busy with things like Student Council, unlike us," Yukari remarked with a slight tinge of bitterness.
We all noticed it, but it was Junpei who acted on that knowledge, "Whoo! Yuka-tan, do I sense some hostility?"
"Well, it's not that I don't like her. She's just..."
"Bottled up? Hiding in a shell? Distant?" I offered.
"I wouldn't say it that way necessarily, but something along those lines..."
"I would offer more words, but some of them gets rather extreme and I would rather not give Junpei or Minato leverage to blackmail me."
"Shoot."
"Damn..."
After class, the our ever growing group chattered as we headed back to the dorm. Four out of five us knew we were about t be briefed and it was probably Ikutsuki who was going to do it. May God have pity on Junpei when those crap puns starts...
Since it wasn't meeting time, I spent a bit of time in the kitchen, looking for a sharpener. Lo, there I see a whetstone! Stuffing it into my duster, I practically dash back to my room. Not subtle, I know. But necessary all the same. I ended up sharpening my Bowie, my darts, and a few spikes. I know, I'm a walking armory, but hey, it ain't paranoia if it's true! Anyways, I was just about to reach for the remnants inside the emergency package when Minato knocked on my door to let me know it was time.
I ended up sitting besides Minako, when she dragged me and her brother over to the same old sofa. Perhaps she feels safer with the two of us besides her?
We had just gotten situated when Ikutsuki cleared his throat, "Okay, everybody's here. I'd like your undivided attention." It was unnecessary for him to say that since clearing his throat made us focus on him, "For long time, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the only Persona users we had. But, that number recently jumped to seven. Therefore, Starting tonight at midnight, I'd like to commence exploration of Tartarus."
Raising his hand, "Sorry, I know I asked this yesterday... But what is Tartarus."
"You mean, other than my explanation Junpei?" Wow, that came off waaaay hostile.
"That's right. Don't get me wrong, I learned something from it, but are we really about enter the Greek equivalent of hell?"
Yukari turns to look at Junpei, "Wait, are you telling me that you haven't seen it yet?"
"Now now. That is no surprise seeing as how Tartarus only appears during the Dark Hour."
"Just like the shadows. In fact, it's full of them. Makes Tartarus the perfect place to train. Think of it as their nest. " While I'm sure Akihiko was trying to be informative, the smile on his face told me that he was just itchin' for a fight.
"Whoa... Their nest, huh?"
Yukari frowned, "But, Senpai... what about your injury?" That instantly killed the smile off Akihiko's face.
"Since Akihiko hasn't fully recovered yet, he'll only come as far as the entrance."
"... Yeah, I know."
"Well, I'm sure he won't complain, as long as you don't go too far in." Wow, I had completely forgotten all about Ikutsuki being in the room, "Since we're dealing with shadows, Tartarus isn't something we can avoid."
Junpei, being enthusiastic as he is, hopped right out of his seat, "Relax, I got your backs."
Yukari did not feel as assured, "I don't know about this…"
Feeling a bit of pressure on my right arm, I turned to look at Minako. She wasn't saying anything but that frown said it all. Nudging her slightly, my voice was a whisper to avoid letting the others hear, "Stop frowning, it doesn't suit you. Mo men tie, you got me and I have your brother. If it worries you that much, I'll be hiding behind your brother the entire time."
"Like hell you will."
"Like fuck I won't."
"The second you get behind me, I'm mule-kicking you in the balls."
"I'll Sparta-kick you into the nearest shadow." Our growling got the attention of the others, but needless to say, it quickly cheered up Minako.
Mitsuru ignored us and turned to Ikutsuki, "What about you Mr. Chairman?"
Letting out a nervous chuckle, Ikutsuki acted embarrassed, "I'll stay here. I-uh, I can't summon a Persona."
I think something went off in my head, but I was too busy growling at Minato and enjoy Minako's laughter to pay it any attention.
The lot of us walked in silence, I was humming along the song playing on my iPod.
"Hey Dark?" Turning I gave Minato a curious look. Tapping his ear, "What are listening to? The tune is kind of familiar."
"Highway to Hell."
Junpei laughed sarcastically, "Haha, real funny dude."
"No. I'm serious. My iPod has been looping Highway to Hell since we left the dorm."
"Why has it been looping that?"
"If you believe, then my iPod has been blessed by a close friend to notify me of important, life-changing event via music. Personally, I think it's because of the time I got caught in the rain and my iPod randomly loops songs until I change the setting."
"That's enough chitchat. We're here!"
Junpei was probably expecting some evil castle or something, honestly so was I. None of us expected to be standing right outside of our school, "This is it? THIS is the place? Why HERE?"
"Just wait a sec. It's almost midnight."
The moment I felt the pulse and the wave of cold, I new it was time. The building before us warped and grind as bits of it sank but more exploded from it. I may not have an engineering degree, but I'm pretty sure that buildings don't just build itself, this was not Red Rose. It only took a few moments, but by the time the building stop expanding upwards, I was mildly sure that it was taller than the Sears Tower and that was only because most of it was lost to some clouds.
We, the newbies, just stared in stunned silence. I was first to find my voice, "So... Anyone other than me need to make a run back to the dorm because they laid an egg too? Fresh underwear for anyone?"
Author's note: A bit longer this time, wanted to get everything out of the way and start up Tartarus as soon as possible.