"Akeno?"
"What is it, Buchou?"
Rias Gremory adjusted her seat as she looked at the vice-president of the Occult Research Club, Akeno Himejima, who was also her Queen. The raven-haired beauty was seen reading a novel as she perked her head to look at Rias, who was sitting on a couch while enjoying a cup of tea.
"Do you agree that Aigis makes a decent Knight?" Rias asked. "Or considering what we had seen from her, a good Rook?" Akeno blinked when Rias presented her with those questions. "Wait, now that I think about it, I remember Aigis telling us that Labrys' specialty is her physical strength. Do you think it's best for me to use Knight for Aigis and Rook for Labrys?"
Akeno looked at Rias before she opened her mouth to say something. "Rias-"
"I wonder if we can really use Evil Pieces on robots. Hmm… I remember seeing some peerages having golems as the members, so I think it's possible to use Evil Pieces on robots," Rias mused some more, not realizing Akeno placing her palm on her own face in exasperation. "What do you think, Akeno?"
"Rias."
"Hmm?" Rias tilted her head, noticing the exasperated look on her Queen's face. "What's the matter, Akeno?" She blinked a few times as she realized that Akeno's left eyebrow was twitching. "Oh! Are you perhaps having the day of the month? Are you having a cramp, perhaps?" She said as she hit her palm with her fist as she came up with that conclusion. Akeno's right eyebrow twitched. "I'm sorry, Akeno. If only you have told me earlier, I would've told you to come home early."
Akeno tried her best to compose herself as she spoke, "I… I am very happy for your consideration, Rias, but that's not really the problem here."
"Oh? Then, what is it? Is there something bothering you?" Rias asked. As the Devil Mistress of her peerage, it was her responsibility to take care of the well-being of the Devils that served under her. Even though she had known Akeno for a long time, she also knew that Akeno also had a fair share of hardships. It's only logical for her to be concerned about her well-being.
"Well… it's about you, actually,." Akeno said.
"Me?" Rias gave Akeno a bewildered look.
Akeno nodded. "Yes. It's been happening for the last few days, actually," she said. "You have been talking about having both Aigis and Labrys joining us, and today, you have been talking about the same thing. Many times." She let out a soft sigh. "Six times, to be exact."
"Oh…" Realizing that she had been saying the same thing to Akeno many times, Rias couldn't help but feel a little guilty. "I didn't realize it. Now that I think about it, I've been saying the same thing over and over again to you." She figured out that she might have annoyed Akeno by bringing up the same thing so many times. "I'm sorry…" She lowered her head. "I didn't know. It's just… How do I put it?" She brought her hand to her chin. "That thing has been on my mind for the last few days…"
Akeno smiled at Rias as she got up from her seat. Then she went to the back of the couch where the crimson-haired beauty was sitting on before she placed her hands on her shoulders, giving her a light massage. "I know…" Her lips curled up into a playful, mischievous smile. "I can understand that. You really want them to join us…" She brought her hand up to Rias' face, using her slender fingers to touch her cheek. A chuckle escaped her lips as she gently stroked Rias' cheek. Then she brought up her other hand to touch Rias' lips. "But… don't you think it's too much? You should relax for a bit."
"A-Akeno…" Rias was unable to resist as Akeno moved her hand to stroke her chin. Her cheeks were flushed red when Akeno sniffed on her crimson hair, savoring the fragrance of the shampoo that she used.
"Just relax…" Akeno whispered seductively to Rias' ear. Rias could feel Akeno's warm breath as her hands continued stroking her intimately. "We have known each other for so long, remember? We have nothing to hide to each other anymore, so just rest your head and leave everything to me…" She licked her lips as she said that.
A while later…
"Seriously, though…" Akeno sighed as she stroked Rias' hair as the red-haired beauty used her lap as a pillow, sleeping soundly. "You can be quite a handful sometimes, Rias." She looked at the face of the sleeping Rias, noting how cute her face looked while she was sleeping. She even resisted the urge to take pictures of her for future use because she knew that while the idea of taking pictures as blackmail material was quite appealing, Rias really needed her rest. "Oh well, I guess I'll be staying here until you wake up, then."
Akeno considered Rias as her most precious friend. She knew how much she was indebted to her, the one who had given her a new life after being deprived of her old one. That was one of the reasons why she decided to always be by her side.
And Rias was also quite cute, so it was a plus for Akeno.
Akeno also thought that Rias had been acting oddly these last few days, but it was just probably due to tiredness or excitement over the thought of having two strong members for her peerage.
Akeno closed her eyes, humming a tune as she continued stroking Rias' red hair. They were the only two people present in the clubroom because the others were having some kind of activity together with Aigis and Labrys, so the room was quieter than usual. As the raven-haired girl continued humming the tune, she noticed something moving in the air in front of her.
"A butterfly?"
In front of her was a black butterfly, fluttering in the air before it perched on the teacup that Rias used earlier. Akeno blinked a few times as she looked at the butterfly. She had no idea how the insect was able to enter the room, considering that the door and the windows were closed.
As she continued staring at the black butterfly, Akeno felt something strange. She felt as if she was looking into something far deeper, into some kind of dark abyss which was reflected by the blackness that the insect displayed.
She felt like she was in the darkness itself.
In the world without darkness, she could easily identify herself, a person with her own identity. But in the world where she was surrounded by nothing but darkness, she might not be able to see even herself.
How could she identify herself if she couldn't see even herself?
There were many things she could describe about herself. She was reincarnated as a Devil, but before that, she was something else. Who was she before being turned into a creature of the Underworld? Was she a human? Was she something else entirely? Of course she knew what she was, but in the darkness, in what way could she prove it? Was there something else she had yet to know about herself?
When she thought about it, when she was in the darkness, she was nothing but a cluster of swirling chaos. In a world without light, she was nothing but a contradiction.
When she came back to her senses, the black butterfly was nowhere to be seen. Blinking a few times, she looked at the teacup a few seconds before she looked down to see Rias' sleeping face. Then, she looked back at the teacup.
"Well…" Akeno muttered. "That was weird…"
An understatement of the century.
Heart of a Butterfly
Persona 3 and High School DxD Crossover
Chapter 15: Soul Phase
"Graah!" Using his gauntleted fist, Issei threw a punch towards Pallas Athena, who dodged the punch by tilting her head aside, narrowly avoiding the punch that was amplified by the Boosted Gear by a paper-thin margin.
The goddess retaliated by grabbing Issei's arm, attempting to throw him over her shoulder. Issei tried to get away, but his attempt was unsuccessful as Athena managed to effortlessly throw him over her shoulder. The throw sent him to the ground.
"Urgh!" Issei landed on his back. "Ow… that hurts…" he groaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head in pain.
"Hmm… your move is still sloppy, but you are getting better, boy," Athena said. "You still need to think about your next moves. Putting all your strength into one decisive blow can potentially end a battle, but it can also backfire if your opponent manages to counter your attack."
"Y-yes…" Issei said as he got up from the ground. "I'll remember that, Sensei."
Athena smiled. "Good. Now, let us continue."
"Alright, Sensei!"
As Issei continued training with Pallas Athena, the others were watching them. This time, Labrys also joined them, sitting on the picnic blanket that was spread on the ground. Kiba was seen drinking a can of soda while Koneko was eating her eighth onigiri. Asia was eating her sandwich slowly, wincing whenever she saw Issei being thrown to the ground by the goddess. As for Aigis, she was watching the training. Due to Pallas Athena being her Persona, she had to remain conscious in order to keep Athena around.
"So," Labrys spoke. "Is this what Issei-kun been doin' for the last few days?" She spoke with her usual Kansai accent.
"Yeah…" Kiba said, nodding. "I guess we got used to this kind of sight." He shrugged. "I mean, it still looks painful, but at least we're not wincing anymore." Issei was once more being thrown around by Athena, and Asia winced. "Well, not everyone, I guess," Kiba added.
"Huh." Labrys blinked and looked back at both Issei and Athena. "So that explains why he ain't gettin' all too loud lately in class. Normally he's joinin' those other two, reading some porno magazines and stuff like that." The ponytailed mechanical maiden was referring to both Matsuda and Motohama, the other two perverts who were always together with Issei. The three of them were infamously known as the Perverted Trio due to their perversity.
"Good for him," Koneko said after she finished her tenth onigiri before she took out her eleventh from the picnic basket. "He should stop being an unrepentant pervert…"
"Now, now, Koneko-chan, don't say such a mean thing about Issei…" Kiba said to Koneko in placating manner. Koneko reacted by letting out a huff before she started eating her tenth onigiri while her other hand was taking out her eleventh onigiri. "As a boy, I can understand his obsession with stuff like that."
Koneko gave Kiba an icy glare. "Then Kiba-senpai is a pervert too."
"That hurts, Koneko-chan…"
As for Aigis, she smiled as Kiba attempted to fix the notion of him being labelled as a pervert by Koneko. Asia noticed it and scooted over to the blond mechanical android, sitting close to her. "What's the matter, Ai-san?"
"No, it is nothing…" Aigis said, shaking her head. "It's just that… I find it fascinating how similar humans and Devils seem to be. In fact, there is no difference between them, from what I can see…" Then, she sighed. "Still, the basis of my opinion comes from my observation of the Devils who are serving under Gremory-san rather than an observation of the Devil society as a whole."
Asia tilted her head. "Well, Buchou has been treating me kindly, even though I am practically useless to the group. Even if the rest of the Devils are different compared to Buchou, I know that as a whole, Devils are no different compared to humans."
Aigis nodded. "Yes, I suppose you are right." It would be a matter of time before she was able to see beyond what Rias Gremory and her group had presented to her. From there, she would be able to decide whether the existence of these creatures of the Underworld could bring harm to humanity as a whole or not. "By the way, you shouldn't put yourself down, Asia-san. To still retain a portion of your Sacred Gear even though it should have been extracted from you is still noteworthy." She remembered the moment when Asia breathed her last after having Twilight Healing taken out forcefully by Raynare, and how much it broke her heart to see someone she considered as a friend having to suffer like that.
Now that Asia had been given a second chance to live, Aigis also swore to herself to do what she had failed to do once; protecting her. This time, she promised to herself to not fail again.
"Asia-san…" Aigis said softly. "This time, I promise… I promise I will protect you." She moved her gloved hands to touch Asia's, and the ex-nun let out a startled squeak when the mechanical maiden did that. "I will protect you, even with my life as a price."
"Hawawa?!" Asia was stunned upon hearing that from Aigis. "I-I… uwa… A-Ai-san… umm…" Her cheeks seemed to be getting redder as the ex-nun mumbled incoherently. Aigis' gloved hands shouldn't be able to generate heat, considering her nature as an Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, but she could feel the comforting warmth coming from her touch.
Meanwhile, Labrys, who was being an onlooker, didn't lose her chance to express her opinion regarding the exchange between her sister and the ex-nun. "Is she crushing on my sis or somethin'?"
Kiba blinked a few times as he looked at Asia, whose face was red due to embarrassment. "Well, it kinda looks that way, I suppose." He brought his hand to his chin, as if stroking an imaginary beard. "And here I thought she likes Issei."
Labrys glanced at Issei who was thrown a few meters away by Athena's blow. "Looks like my sis is involved in some kind of complicated relationship…" She folded her arms. "Is this what people call ménage à trois?"
Kiba chuckled nervously. "Well, I can't say you're wrong there, Labrys-san."
"Huh." Labrys tilted her head before she continued watching the training. She was about to comment about the training when she suddenly heard a beeping noise inside her head. "Hmm?"
"What's the matter?" Kiba asked.
"Phone call," Labrys said as she got up and went a distance away from the group. Unlike her sister, she installed her phone internally. "Labrys speakin'."
"So…" Kiba looked at Aigis. "You have your phone inside your head?"
"Yes," Aigis nodded. "But unlike my sister, I prefer to use the external means. As an ASW, I am equipped with software like a built-in GPS, an online encyclopedia, a translator and many more." She glanced at Asia. "I believe having a translator built inside my head allowed me to speak with Asia-san the first time I met her. She was speaking Italian at that time."
"Ah, I suppose that makes sense…" Kiba said. All the Devils, including the reincarnated ones, were able to understand other languages. That was why Issei was able to understand what Asia was saying back then when she was still a human. That was also the reason why Asia was able to understand Japanese after being turned into a Devil.
As for Labrys, she was seen nodding several times before she turned on her heel after ending the conversation. She walked over to Aigis. "Sis, we got a call. Mitsuru-san wants us to return to headquarter."
"Oh? Did something happen?" Aigis asked.
"Yes, but…" Labrys glanced at the others. "It's confidential. She wants us to return as soon as possible. A helicopter is gonna come fetch us."
"I see…" Aigis mused. "Well then." She looked at both Issei and Pallas Athena. The goddess stopped herself and looked at her other self before dissipating into motes of blue light, much to Issei's confusion. "Issei-san, I apologize, but there is something important I need to attend to, so I think we should call it a day for now." She went over to Issei to explain the situation.
"Uh, okay?" Issei said uncertainly. "Is there trouble, Ai-chan?"
Aigis smiled reassuringly. "I believe there is no trouble going on. We'll probably be gone for a few days, so I suppose we'll meet again soon."
"Alright, if you say so…" Issei nodded. "I'm gonna train by myself in the meantime, I guess."
"Please do just that, Issei-san." Aigis smiled. "We will resume the training as soon as we return."
Thinking that it was time to call it a day, the others started to gather their things before they heard some loud noises from above. There was also wind from above before they looked up and saw a black helicopter. A military-grade helicopter, to be exact.
"How did they find you here?" Kiba asked Aigis, almost shouting due to the noises generated by the flying vehicle.
"They have some kind of tracking device, I suppose!" Aigis answered, almost shouting back. "Let's go, Sister!"
"Got it, Sis!" Labrys replied, nodding.
Before the helicopter could drop a rope ladder, both mechanical maidens used their rocket propellers to go to the helicopter, getting into the flying vehicle in fluid motions. From the way the helicopter moved, the others who were on the ground could tell that both androids managed to startle the pilot.
"Well, that's kind of awesome…" Issei muttered.
"Yeah." Kiba nodded. "Here I thought this kind of situation only exists in manga or anime."
Asia continued staring at the helicopter as it flew away while Koneko was hugging the picnic basket and eating her twentieth onigiri.
The trip to headquarter was uneventful, except for the fact that the pilot of the helicopter, another Kirijo maid was grumbling about being scared by two flying robots in midair while piloting the helicopter. On the way to headquarter, Labrys explained the situation to her sister.
"Mitsuru-san wants all members of Shadow Operatives to come to headquarter in response to the sudden visit from the leader of the Devils a few days ago?" Aigis paraphrased what Labrys had told her earlier.
Labrys nodded. "That's the gist of it, I suppose. There's gonna be a meeting with the rest of the members, I think."
"Then, Yukari-san and Junpei-san will show up too?" Aigis asked.
"Yup. That's what Mitsuru-san told me." Labrys nodded again.
"I cannot wait to meet them." Aigis seemed happy as she thought about meeting her closest friends.
"Akihiko-san is unavailable, for some reason, though," Labrys added.
"Hmm… He's probably on his training trip or with Detective Kurosawa…" Aigis mused. "Still, it's so good to meet everyone again."
When they finally arrived at their destination, both of them stepped out of the black helicopter. The leader of the Shadow Operatives, Mitsuru Kirijo, had been waiting for them. Both Aigis and Labrys walked over to her direction before they stopped.
"Shadow Operative Number 5, Aigis, reporting for duty!" Aigis gave Mitsuru a salute as she spoke to her in formal tone.
"Shadow Operative Number 10, Labrys, reporting for duty!" Labrys also did the same.
Returning the salutations, Mitsuru smiled at both mechanical maidens. "It's so good to see you two. Come, everyone's been waiting for you." She spun on her heel and walked into the building. "Except Akihiko, who's been busy for quite some time…" she added.
After they entered the building, walking down the corridor, they saw a red-haired man in his mid-thirties, clad in a gray suit with red shirt underneath, leaning against the wall while talking to Kikuno, Mitsuru's personal maid. The man seemed to be wearing a pair of shaded glasses. When he noticed Mitsuru and both androids, he looked at them and spoke, "It's been a while, Kirijo."
"It's been a while too, Detective…" Mitsuru nodded. "Thank you for accepting our invitation. And please allow me to introduce these two." She gestured at both Aigis and Labrys. "This is Aigis, one of our senior operatives, and this is Labrys, the newer one."
"Huh…" The man removed his glasses as he studied both mechanical maidens. "So, they are robots, huh?"
"Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons, to be exact," Aigis corrected.
"Ah, yes…" The man smiled. "So, Aigis and Labrys, huh? Well, this is our first time meeting each other, so let's work alongside each other for the time being. Like you and the rest of the Shadow Operatives, I am also a Persona-user and I have been in this kind of thing for more than ten years."
Aigis gave the man a curious look. "So, you are our senior, then?"
The man smiled blandly. "You could say that." Then, the man looked at Mitsuru. "So, are we going to start the meeting?"
Mitsuru nodded. "Yes. Though I apologize for the inconvenience caused by some of my operatives…" She averted her eyes, as if recalling some past events. "Iori's heart is in the right place, so I hope that you do not think badly of him just because of that one incident."
The man shrugged. "It's quite alright. Let's just say I got used to this, even though my allergy to cats isn't quite cured yet…" He smiled. "Oh, I almost forgot. I haven't introduced myself to both of you yet." He looked at both Aigis and Labrys. "I am Katsuya Suou, a police detective. Kirijo here sent me an invitation for me to join the Shadow Operatives due to current events…"
"It is nice to meet you, Suou-san." Aigis bowed.
"Nice to meet'cha, Katsuya-san!" Labrys said to the police detective enthusiastically.
The police detective, Katsuya, smiled dryly. "Well, it's good to have a go-getter among us. So, let's go. We shouldn't waste any more time with idle chatting. We still have something important to discuss."
"Understood," Aigis responded, nodding.
The meeting was held in a meeting room. Almost all the members of the Shadows Operatives were there, except Akihiko. Fuuka was not there because she wasn't formally a member of the Shadow Operatives.
Aigis could also see some new faces among the members, recognizing them as the ones that Mitsuru wanted to recruit into the team. The leader of the Shadow Operatives also once discussed the possibility of having the Persona-users from Inaba recruited into the team once they reached adulthood. While she still wanted them to have normal life, having more Persona-users among their ranks would benefit all.
It's just that the Persona-users from Inaba felt more like an independent organization, and Mitsuru knew that they probably wouldn't feel comfortable working with her. And considering that the famous Detective Prince, Naoto Shirogane, was also a part of Inaba's team, Mitsuru figured out that they would be alright if left to their own device. Moreover, their leader, the ever calm and level-headed Yu Narukami, reminded her of the former field leader of SEES. So, whatever might happen to them in near future, she was sure that she could trust them to do the right thing in the end.
As for the meeting, the members of the Shadow Operatives were told about the details regarding the existence of the biblical factions, as well as the sudden appearance of the leader of the Devils, Sirzechs Lucifer, who showed up right in front of Mitsuru some days ago, asking her about the reason to why Shadow Operatives existed in the first place. The leader of the Devils told her that he was curious.
"For an All-Powerful Lord of the Underworld, he sounds rather carefree…" one member of the Shadow Operatives, Yukari Takeba, commented. Unlike usual, she was wearing a rather formal suit.
Mitsuru raised one eyebrow after hearing Yukari's comment, but she decided to not reprimand her for interrupting the meeting as she continued, "While it's still too early to decide whether the existence of these biblical factions can harm humanity and the world or not, it is still prudent for us to be cautious. And…" She glanced at Yukari. "These factions are also not our only primary concern, due to the fact that a few weeks ago, a group of individuals who claimed themselves to be vampires assaulted the filming crew at Yukari Takeba's workplace. It's safe to assume that we are no longer dealing with Shadows alone." The red-haired woman clasped her hands together. "The world of supernatural is vaster than what we expected, and certain measures have to be taken in order to prepare ourselves to face the potential threats from the world of supernatural in the near future."
The members of the Shadow Operatives nodded their heads, determination seemed apparent in their expressions. The youngest member of the team, Ken Amada, raised his hand. "Will we have to prepare ourselves to fight these factions?" The boy asked.
Mitsuru looked at Ken before she answered, "We can only hope that it will never come to that. Based from what I have gathered from both my meeting with Sirzechs Lucifer as well as Aigis' reports, we cannot stand a chance against these factions if we were to declare them as the bane of humanity. We may have Personas and combat prowess, but their numbers exceed us, and not to mention that we are not experienced in combating their kinds before."
"So, if we cannot stand a chance against them, what do you suggest we do?" A bespectacled man with sophisticated tone spoke. He seemed to be wearing a leather suit that had number one written on its back.
Mitsuru glanced at Aigis before she answered, "For now, there is no certain answer to that question. The best we can do is to do more research regarding these factions, especially the Devils. We can only hope that our field agents, Aigis and Labrys, will manage to gather sufficient information regarding these factions. We will decide our next course of action once they manage to do that."
The meeting went on for one more hour, with the members reporting their current status as well as the events that they had undergone these last few days. Junpei, in particular, figured out that his encounter with a ghost in a toilet seemed to be a suitable thing to report, much to Yukari's exasperation. Still, Mitsuru told them that the encounter with such entity might provide them with insight for the supernatural entities so that they could come up with suitable counters for future encounters.
Once the meeting was over, the members of the Shadow Operatives were dismissed. Both Aigis and Labrys were told to wait for the next order before they were allowed to return to their mission. In the meantime, both mechanical maidens decided to see both Junpei and Yukari.
"So, you two are posing as students at high school, huh?" Junpei said. Unlike other members, he seemed to be wearing something casual; a fur-trimmed jacket over his plain shirt as well as a pair of denim pants. "What's the name of the school again? Raoh?"
Yukari rolled her eyes. "It's Kuoh, Stupei."
Junpei groaned. "Will you quit calling me that, Yuka-tan?!"
The actress huffed as she folded her arms over her chest. "Hmph! You should pay more attention to what Mitsuru-senpai had told us, you know? Still…" She looked at both Aigis and Labrys. "I hope you two are doing fine. I'm glad that you're doing okay after encountering them, Aigis."
Aigis returned the smile that was given to her by Yukari. "I'm glad for your concern, Yukari-san. But I am doing fine."
Yukari gave the mechanical maiden a concerned look. "Still, in case if you need my help with something, feel free to tell me, 'kay?"
"But, are you not busy with your work, Yukari-san?" Aigis asked.
Yukari chuckled. "Nah, it'll be fine. After all, you're my best friend."
"Best friend…" Aigis then looked down. After a while, she looked back at Yukari, giving her a bashful smile. "Yes. I'm glad to be your best friend, Yukari-san."
"Um, hello? Did anyone forget that I am here?" Junpei asked exasperatedly.
Yukari smiled slyly at Junpei. "Well, if two girls are bonding with each other, all you can do now is wait there until we're done. You have to deal with it, Junpei."
"Heh… Girls and their bonding stuff…" Junpei rolled his eyes. Then, he noticed that Labrys was silent. "Hmm? Labrys-chan, something wrong? You're awfully quiet today. Did you get a stomachache or something?"
Yukari gave Junpei a weird look. "Junpei, Labrys is a robot. She won't get a stomachache…"
"Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon, to be exact," Aigis corrected.
"Yeah, that. Whatever…" Yukari shrugged. "But, now that you've mentioned it, you're so quiet today, Labrys. Is something wrong?" She asked with a concerned tone. As a senior member of the Shadow Operatives, it was her responsibility to take care of the junior member. In a way, Yukari seemed to be treating Labrys like a little sister. "You can just tell us if there's something bothering you, okay?"
"Umm…" Labrys began. "I-it's nothin'. There ain't nothing botherin' me at all."
"Sister?" Aigis spoke to Labrys, seemingly concerned.
"I-I wanna be alone for now. S-see you guys later!" Labrys said before she rushed down the hallway, leaving the three of them.
"Huh?" Junpei looked at the ponytailed android girl go confusedly. "Now that's just strange."
"Yeah, that's just plain strange." Yukari nodded. "Did something happen to Labrys?" She asked Aigis.
"I… I don't know…" Aigis admitted as she lowered her gaze, as if in shame. "But I can tell that there is something bothering her right now, but I did not even realize it beforehand." She made a dejected expression. "What a failure of a sister I am…"
"D-don't say that!" Yukari said, patting Aigis' back. "Maybe she just wants some time alone. Just give her time, 'kay? Once you think she's ready, you can ask her what's wrong with her…" she said to Aigis in a reassuring tone.
Slowly, Aigis nodded. "Yes, I suppose you are right, Yukari-san. Thank you."
"Hehe, that's what a best friend is for, you dummy!" Yukari gave Aigis a heartfelt smile. "Seriously, though, you ought to stop worrying over the smallest of things, you hear me?"
Aigis returned the smile while blushing slightly. Then, they heard the sounds of footsteps before a man in a gray suit came over to them, wearing a neutral expression. He removed his shades and gave the trio a small smile.
"Suou-san?" Aigis looked at the man, a Persona-user who was also a police detective. She gave him a salute, and the man returned it. "How may I help you?"
"Just call me Katsuya," the man, Katsuya, said. "Well, it's not that big, actually. It's just that I have something to deliver to you." He took out an envelope from his suit and handed it to Aigis. "An acquaintance of mine told me to deliver this to you."
"Hmm?" Aigis took the envelope.
"Well, you can open it and look into it, but I suggest you look into it on your own time," Katsuya said. "I guess that's it. In case if you ever need my help, just contact me." He took out another thing from his jacket, which was a card with his name and contact number. "Something big is going on behind the scenes, Aigis-san. I suggest for you to be prepared…" he said before he left.
As the trio watched the police detective leaving them, Junpei was the first one to speak. "Well, that sounds kinda enigmatic, if you ask me."
Yukari sighed. "He's our senior, remember? He's been into this Persona business long before we could even use our Personas."
Aigis inspected the envelope and flipped it to look behind it. "S. Chandraputra?" She frowned.
"Well, that's an exotic-sounding name…" Junpei commented. "Are you goin' to read it, Ai-chan?" From his tone, it seemed that he was curious about the content of the envelope.
Yukari frowned at the part-time baseball coach. "Beat it, Stupei. Katsuya-san told her to read it on her own time, remember? Maybe it's something really important?"
"I know, I know…" Junpei sighed. "So, you know this Chandraputra guy, Ai-chan?"
Aigis blinked a few times. "I… I don't know," Aigis admitted. "I will read the content soon," she said before she put the envelope into the pocket of her coat. "So, considering that I am waiting for the next order from Mitsuru-san, I will remain on standby for the time being. That way, I will be here for a few days."
"Is that so?" Yukari then grinned. "Then, why don't we hang out? I mean, it's been a while since the last time we went shopping together, right? The clothes are on sell this time around, you see? I'm sure you'll like all those cute clothes, Aigis." She seemed rather excited over the thought of putting some cute clothes on the mechanical maiden.
"Cute clothes? Well, if Yukari-san believes that it's good, then I shall agree…" Aigis nodded.
"Alright! Let's get prepared, then!"
And so, both Aigis and Yukari left, and Junpei was left alone.
"And what am I? Chopped liver?" Junpei muttered to himself.
Once again, I was in the reflected world, where the surface of the floor I was standing on reflected the image of the cloudless sky above. As usual, the blue-haired boy was there, his hands in his pockets as he looked at me, displaying a kind smile.
"So, you're back, huh?"
The boy spoke kindly before he held out his hand. Without saying anything, I took his hand, feeling his warm palm over mine. It made me feel comfortable.
"Let's talk again, like always."
And so, like usual, we talked about a lot of things. Most of them were mundane things, but I was interested in all of them. Whenever we talked, I didn't even realize how much time had passed.
Then, he stopped. I looked at him, and I saw a sad smile on his face.
"Didn't I tell you to stop chasing after a ghost?"
I remembered what he had told me before. He told me to stop chasing after a ghost, chasing after him. But, I knew that it had to be done.
I just wanted to tell him something.
I tried to say those words, but whenever I tried to do so, those words stuck in my throat.
"I see…" As if noticing my anguish over my inability to do something that was important to me, he mused. "Alright, I won't tell you to stop chasing after me, a ghost from the past."
That was fair enough.
"Still, chasing after a ghost is a dangerous thing to do. One wrong step, and you won't be able to get back to what you previously were."
I told him that I would not lose myself. He responded to that by patting my head. I was embarrassed.
"Still, it makes me wonder why you're so adamant in chasing after me…"
It was easy to answer that question. My words didn't stuck in my throat as I spoke out my reason.
"Because you made my sister happy."
TO BE CONTINUED
Author's Note: Hello, Prince Arjuna, reporting for duty! Sorry for the wait, considering that right now, I am busy with college and stuff like that. And not to mention that I have three other projects to write. So, this is P3-centered chapter, with the members of the Shadow Operatives meeting to discuss about the current events. And let's not forget the existence of a certain black butterfly, as well as the reappearance of a few characters from Persona 2. Also, things may get pretty complicated in the future, so I hope you guys will like it even though it's getting complicated.
Also, thanks to Sorata Shioya for beta-reading this chapter. It is so nice working alongside you. So, I hope you'll like this chapter, and don't forget to send a few reviews in order to motivate this lazy author. See you in the next chapter, Chapter 16: Broken Heart. Until then, farewell.
Prince Arjuna (2015)