Within the Velvet Room, Sokila frowned as Elizabeth waxed poetic about her Guest. Literally: the older Attendant was slathering wax over a blank canvas, forming a haiku of sorts.
"-but d'ya feel...jealous?" she shyly asked.
"Oh?" Elizabeth smiled impishly, gazing over her shoulder at Sokila. "For what reason would I ever be jelly? Jam has much more sustenance!"
"...does it?"
"But of course!"
"Huh..." Shaking her head to get her thoughts back in order, Sokila asked, "It's just...I could sorta feel what your Guest felt for...Aye...Eye-ga...Ay-gee...the shield lady!"
"Yes. And?"
"...I dunno. Don't you love him...?"
Elizabeth calmly hummed, even as waxy fingers darted over the paper. "Love...devotion...passion...adoration...there are a lot of words I could use to describe what I feel. Those are things my Guest helped me to learn, and understand for myself...for that, I will always be grateful. Though I would be overjoyed...over the the moon...over the rainbow...an aircraft carrier? Something to that effect."
Sokila blinked dumbly. "Uh..."
"Anyway, it would be quite interesting if my Guest's affections were mine, and mine alone...but he would probably be quite a boring person if he could only have a bond with one person..." She paused, struck by insight. "Although...if he were the kind of person who would only have a bond with the likes of me...perhaps that would make him even more interesting than me...? I'm not sure how to feel about that."
Sokila fiddled with her fingers, looking around with a strange uncertainty. "...I guess...I've just been wonderin', about Mister Ikari's bonds with other people...he's gotten a lot, and they're getting strong..."
"Worried about being left behind?" asked Elizabeth with a wry grin. "And you think you shouldn't be feeling in such a base way, hm?"
"...if that means 'feeling yucky', I guess," admitted the younger Attendant. "I'm happy for him...I really am...and I know he won't leave me...but I still can't help but wonder-"
"Ah, the worries and fears from the mouths of babes...babies...baboons...babadook? No, that's not quite right..." Elizabeth grumpily punched the canvas, disintegrating with Almighty-tinged fingers. "Ah, how perfectly artistic!"
"...Elizabeth-senpai?"
"As one grows, and as one learns...you become more aware of what you have...and what you can lose. You become all too aware that your capacity for caring is not infinite...and that in the grand scheme of things, some relationships become a higher priority than others. To become wise is to become aware of one's limitations...and you are unused to thinking in such a grown-up way, aren't you?"
Sokila's fragile nod was answer enough.
"Do you still have faith in your Guest?"
"Always!" cheered the younger girl.
"Then that's your answer. Persevere to the end, little one; giving up before the race is over is hardly sporting behavior! Though, to be fair, the feelings you have for your Guest are assuredly different than mine~"
Sokila puffed her cheeks out. "You're teasing me, aren't you?"
"Why ask a question if you know the answer already?" The older Attendant wiggled her fingers, dabbling wax droplets over another canvas. "Though, your Guest seems to be following standard procedure...he has quite the bevy of beauties around his person, hm?"
"...I guess they're all nice," admitted Sokila, looking thoughtfully at her bare feet. Gazing over at her sandals in the corner by her bed, she added, "But...I don't think they're right for him..."
"And I'm sure you're not biased at all," said Elizabeth with a smug grin.
"But you know what my answer is!" retorted Sokila with a pout, slapping her heel into the ground with ineffectual anger. "Why ask then?"
"Because teasing my little kouhai is so very much fun~"
The faint haze of blue began to brighten-
xxxx
/Monday: August 31, 2015/
/Room 23, 2nd Floor, Izanagi Dorms, Hakone Academy/
Shinji Ikari wearily sat up, looking down at his phone with an instinctive impulse. It's...just past 3 AM...?
HEROD: WE HAVE ANOTHER QUERY FOR YOU.
HEROD: OF THE FOLLOWING 'KINDS' OF LOVE, WHICH DO YOU THINK IS MOST IMPORTANT?
HEROD: PLATONIC? FAMILIAL? FILIAL? OR ROMANTIC?
HEROD: THERE IS NO RIGHT OR WRONG ANSWER.
HEROD: PLEASE RESPOND WITHIN 96 HOURS.
...it was WAY too early to think about anything.
So Shinji lay back down and went back to sleep.
xxxx
As the early darkness of August the 31st lingered in Japan, the sun loomed high over America's western shores on August the 30th...
xxxx
As their chartered jet soared into the sky, Asuka Langley-Sohryu quietly watched as California's Pacific Coast fell away from her field of view; before long, it would slip beyond the horizon entirely. "This sucks," she murmured. "Gonna have to deal with jet lag because of a bunch of paranoid jackasses..."
Mari was sleeping in a chair across the aisle, electing to try and mitigate the jet lag as much as possible.
Asuka...wasn't in the mood. Not yet. The sheer stupidity of how the 'authorities' were behaving still galled, even over a month after the fact. I hope Mitsuru executes them all.
Her Other arched an eyebrow.
"Figuratively, right?"
The Beast leaned in close.
"...right?"
Sighing, the redhead wondered why this phase of her journey was so vexing. Was it the fact she couldn't teleport? Was it the fact she was going to be in Japan for an extended period of time? Or was it...
xxxx
Another place. Another time. Somewhere...bearing the sweetness of triumph, before the bitterness of despair.
Her foes were monstrous: clad in white, with crimson lips and angelic wings.
Yet she towered over them all, ripping and tearing; the song of victory pulsed with every beat of her heart.
However...she had miscalculated.
She reached out to stop a wicked spear, but it pierced her defenses, and then her left eye-!
HER EYE-!
xxxx
...something else?
Asuka shivered, wondering why it sometimes felt she lived in a world not worth saving...
xxxx
Meanwhile, in Central Asia, midnight had passed...and the first hours of August the 31st were greeted by a scene of destruction...
xxxx
/The Metaverse/
/Somewhere in Kyrgyzstan/
Takaya Sakaki watched, satisfied, as the facility containing three MAGI — the only MAGI that the country of Kyrgyzstan had at its disposal — went up in a technicolor pyre. "And so, one-by-one, they are deprived of their tools..."
"If they're smart, they'll just find other means to get into the Metaverse," remarked Jin Shirato, passively analyzing the data transmitted into his brain by Moros. The robotic Persona's UFO-esque head spun about with excitable chirps as it observed the tumultuous rip in reality. "Desperate fools will resort to means illicit and illegal for the sake of survival."
Sho Minazuki snorted, sticking one of his blades into the torso of a dead A.T. Agent. The landscape around the discreet MAGI facility had been rendered into a proverbial wasteland, littered with the bodies of Anti-Terror Task Force members and Cognitive Freelancers that had been under the direct employ of the local government. "Like crushing ants...not worth my pants that you'd wear for dantsing..."
Jin glared irritably at Sho.
"...I got the joke," said Keita Asari, his smile seeming somewhat creepy on his monochrome face; the lightning scarf of his Persona, Phobos, wavered amidst the winds of the cognitive world.
"Thank you," said Sho. "Seriously, why do people hate puns...?"
"Don't know," murmured Musashi Strasberg, his body emitting numerous nanites that scoured the battlefield for anything of interest. His Persona, Deimos, was calmly turning the remaining cognitive buildings into rubble. "...got a strange feeling though...like someone's heading towards Japan...?"
Takaya chuckled. "Well, Iruel is your patron; it is only natural that you would glean information that the Angel claims for itself." As he spoke, the moldy veins on his chest throbbed. "Ah...it would seem that the Second Child has left NERV's facility in Nevada...no more use to Shuji Ikutsuki, perhaps...?"
The mere mention of Ikutsuki elicited an angry snort from Sho. "Tch. Figures." As Tsukiyomi's black fire crackled with irritation, Sho added, "you know, stomping on these morons was entertaining...but it wasn't that fun."
"If Ikutsuki's little creations start showing up, that might change...but if you'd like to return to Japan to check in on the Third Child, I'm sure he would be most appreciative. He must continue to grow, after all..."
"...if we run into our sister, we're going to try and recruit her," solemnly said Musashi. "It's been more than a week since we last saw her...I think she's had time to think about it..."
"And if she disappoints you?" snidely said Jin with a skeptical sneer.
"Then we put Mana-neesan down, and give her more time: as long as she needs," answered Keita, his eyes gleaming with power. "We owe her that much."
"It is of no consequence," assuaged Takaya, establishing his authority. "So long as you do not forget our grand purpose, you may do as you please."
Sho Minazuki's toothy grin was way too cheerful. "Nice." Sheathing his swords, Sho turned back towards Keita and Musashi. "Let's hope those brats are in the mood for some Japandemonium...heh heh...HAHAHAHAHA!"
(Quietly, Jin glared at Takaya. "I despise him.")
("Your complaints have been noted," dryly said Takaya, under his breath.)
xxxx
The hours rolled on, and the afternoon of August the 31st greeted the Japanese mainland...
xxxx
/Kobayakawa Memorial Hospital, Tokyo-3, Japan/
Toji Suzuhara watched quietly as one of the orderlies — 'Yu Narukami', his nametag read — finished switching his little sister's blankets, checking on the IV bags and writing down a current snapshot of her vital signs. The older boy calmly remarked, "I notice you weren't accompanied by the man with the cane, today."
"Sakamoto-sensei gave me the day off; we did a lot of training yesterday," Toji remarked, wondering if his sister's soul was...actually unharmed in the big picture. In another timeline, would she be just fine...? As his thoughts pondered the subject of family, his eyes were drawn back to a message he had gotten earlier that day from Ikari:
-Team Statherós Group-
S. Ikari: got an interesting question from the MAGI
That had led to a very interesting flurry of responses.
K. Aida: lay it on us
K. Aida: Will be busy soon with NERV stuff, so I may not respond until later :V
Mana: the question?
S. Ikari: What type of love do you think is most important? Platonic, familial, filial, or romantic?
M. Yamagishi: ...where did this question come from?
K. Aida: like, for real
S. Ikari: Like I said, the MAGI asked me.
S. Ikari: It's a long story.
T. Suzuhara: two of those words look odd. 'kinds' of love?
M. Yamagishi: Well, the categories seem somewhat mixed?
M. Yamagishi: Platonic love would be love that isn't sexual or romantic.
M. Yamagishi: Familial love would represent the bonds between family members, without distinction; think of the Greek word storge.
K. Aida: why would we think of Greek though
M. Yamagishi: I...may have did some reading on common Greek philosophical terms after we picked our team name?
K. Aida: Nerd indulgence. Nice. d(-_･ )
M. Yamagishi: thanks, I guess? ^.^
Mana: whats wit the symbols?
T. Suzuhara: We should give Mana-san a crash course on emoticons
S. Ikari: anyhow, you were saying, Yamagishi-san?
M. Yamagishi: ah, right
M. Yamagishi: Filial love can be understood as that between parent and child, but that's already covered by the second choice
M. Yamagishi: So I think the intention is that it refers to the bond of friendship and affection...like the Greek word philia.
K. Aida: the Greeks have a lot of words for love
K. Aida: then again, so does Japanese
M. Yamagishi: The last is romantic love.
M. Yamagishi: I trust that one is self-evident. (#._.#);
Mana: how come?
Mana: what does romantic love involve?
M. Yamagishi: um.
M. Yamagishi: well
M. Yamagishi: can someone help?
K. Aida: ooh la la ( ͝° ͜ʖ͡°)
M. Yamagishi: AIDA-SAN
S. Ikari: think of how Ken Amada and his wife Yukari interacted
Mana: so husband and wife, boyfriend girlfriend stuff
Mana: got it
Mana: i think thats the kind of love my Big Sis liked reading about, come to think of it
Mana: Little Sis got into one of her books once, and Big Sis got real mad
(Toji had grimaced at that particular message. Not even gonna touch that one...)
T. Suzuhara: But why would the MAGI ask you a question about love?
S. Ikari: I don't know
S. Ikari: some of the questions I get are pretty random
M. Yamagishi: I would have thought agape would have been a choice, since it's so unlike the others.
M. Yamagishi: It refers to a kind of unconditional, self-sacrificial love, like charity without thought for personal gain.
K. Aida: which clearly means the MAGI aren't interested in sacrificing themselves for humanity
K. Aida: obviously, your answer will determine whether the MAGI opt for the Power of Friendship or attempt to seduce mankind to do their bidding
S. Ikari: ...why would you say that
K. Aida: cuz it's funny :D
The conversation had ended there, as everyone had moved on with their day...but Toji had spent some time thinking about it.
So he sent a message to Ikari privately, because there was NO way he was going to talk about this sort of thing where girls could see it.
T. Suzuhara: I've thought about it.
T. Suzuhara: I think I've gotta go with the "familial love"
T. Suzuhara: Because that's the bond I'll fall back on when I've got nothing left.
T. Suzuhara: That's what I think, anyway.
As he hit send for each message, Toji leaned back in his chair, thinking about what would come in the immediate future. "What is love...?" he recited aloud, briefly gazing back at his insensate sister...only to pause at the sight of the nearby orderly. "...what are you doing?"
Yu Narukami, bobbing his head back and forth, stoically replied, "You asked 'what is love'."
"...love involves bobbing your head?" he dumbly said.
Yu paused immediately. "Ah. So you don't get it. I suppose that's fair enough." Without another word, the silver-haired orderly left the room.
Toji threw up his hands out of indignation. "The hell is that supposed to mean?!" Grumbling, Toji turned back towards his sister. "People can be so crazy, am I right?"
Sakura didn't answer.
Toji huffed, his face somewhat crestfallen at the reality of the situation. "...yeah. Anyhow, so where did I leave off..."
Thus did older brother continue to relay stories of life to a littler sister incapable of living her own.
xxxx
/Katsuragi Apartment, Tokyo-3/
Mayumi Yamagishi sat in...well, she supposed it was now 'her' room.
The books from her family's apartment had been moved in, set into a large pile in the center that was taller than she was.
(After the movers had deposited the last of her books into the bedroom, Misato had looked at her with a...mildly chagrined expression. "So...I'm going to put my foot down and request at least a touch more organization, because the state of your old room was kind of ridiculous. If we need to spring for additional shelves, we can do that..." A complicated look flickered across the woman's face, followed by her eyes darting in the direction of the master bedroom. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to do something about about my frickin' hypocrisy..." Over the next few hours, the sounds of grumbling could be heard from Misato's room as she put it through a fierce cleaning.)
I suppose I'm not the only forced to change by circumstances, mused the bespectacled girl. The previous day had been spent trying to devise a new system, followed by putting up books in a particular fashion that would have made the average librarian weep.
Alas, there was only so long she could dedicate to such a laborious task, which is why she was taking some downtime...by concentrating on summer homework. The assignments weren't that difficult, so she found it rather...cathartic.
It also allowed her to absentmindedly think about the question that Ikari had asked Team Statherós earlier that day. What type of love is most important of the four...? What an odd question for supercomputers to ask...and for what reason? Platonic love, separate from romance and relationships...the bonds of family...the affection of friendship...and the love of 'aishiteru'. How can one rank them?
Her thoughts circulated upon each other in that fashion for a time, so much so that she almost didn't hear Mana walk in. "Ah, Mana-san...?"
"What'cha doin'?"
"Ah. Thinking about Ikari-san's question from this morning...while doing summer homework."
Mana clinically looked at the books and notepads sitting on the floor in front of her, before looking towards the massive stacks of tomes and novels and manga still occupying the majority of the room. "Your bed's still leaning against the wall in the living room. Shouldn't you be focusing on finishing with your organizing?"
Mayumi flushed with embarrassment; the only reason she could think of as to why Misato had yet to get on her case was because the woman had been relatively busy working on her computer, grumbling about a disc of some sorts. "Um...I guess I'm trying to distract myself...?"
"...guess that's fair enough." Eyeing some of the visual novels, Mana's focus turned towards a rather old Featherman book. "Not quite Featherman Z...might as well expand my horizons..." Plopping down besides Mayumi, Mana asked. "Figured out an answer to the question?"
"...I'm honestly not sure," admitted Mayumi.
"Hmm." Mana wordlessly pulled out her phone, typing something with measured movements. It took her a minute, but once she sent it, Mayumi felt her phone buzz.
-Team Statherós Group-
Mana: my answer is all of them. why should i have to pick one love or another? it just seems like a waste of time trying to choose
"Is that how you feel?" asked Mayumi.
Mana shrugged. "I know my family's not like a 'blood' relationship...but my Big Sis, Little Sis, and my brothers...I can't think of them as anything else. They're what kept me going through all of Tokita's shit. But now...you and the boys are my comrades. My friends. And that feels nice to admit."
Mayumi couldn't help the smile on her face; even though it may not have seemed like much, the differences between Mana before the road trip and after were heartening. "And what about the other two? Platonic versus romantic? Which is somewhat confusing, because you can have friendships blossom into romances, and family members who share romantic love, such as between a husband and wife." (And some other types that she didn't dare mention right now...the Internet could be a scary place...)
"...guess what I have with my siblings and you guys would be platonic, right? Not even sure what a romantic love would feel like," Mana admitted bluntly.
...I wonder. Eager for yet another distraction, Mayumi asked, "What do you think of the boys in our group? About Aida-san, Suzuhara-san, and Ikari-san?"
"Like in what way?"
"Just whatever comes to mind first."
Mana frowned, crossing her arms as she began thinking. "Aida's a bit of a goofball, but he tries hard? Suzuhara...he's straightforward. Reliable. Maybe it's 'cause he knows what it's like to have a sibling you'd do anything for. As for Ikari..." Mana went quiet. "He's tough. Kind of scary. But also...hmm. Talking about it like this feels weird."
"Oh?"
"Not sure why, but he's been willing to give me a hand, even though we literally started out trying to kill each other." The no-nonsense way she said that brought a chill to the air, which was why Mayumi was glad she continued without another beat. "I get the sense that he'd try to pick me up before he tries to pick himself up."
"...Ikari-san does come across as quite selfless."
"Nah, I don't get that sense from him. It's more like...he wouldn't know what to do with himself if he didn't have us. We help give him purpose. Which is kind of crazy, given how much power he has at his fingertips."
Thinking back to all the various conversations she'd had with Ikari since June, Mayumi found herself agreeing. "I suppose you have a point..." Speaking of memories, "which brings me to another question: why exactly does Ikari-san still call you Kirishima-san? I thought you don't like that name."
"I don't," she flatly answered.
"So why?"
Mana gazed at the ceiling, meditating on the subject; her lips scrunched together into an adorable pout. "Not sure why. It just became a habit, I guess. Never bothered to correct him."
...I wonder...hmm. With a shrewd look, Mayumi asked, "If he were to call you by Mana-san, or Mana...how would you react?"
Mana, tellingly, looking somewhat unnerved by the idea...and was that a slight hint of red in her cheeks? "Like normal, I guess? It would feel kind of weird though...why are you smiling, all of a sudden?"
"Oh, it's nothing..." How cute!
As the conversation died down and Mana went to reading from the Featherman visual novel, Mayumi took the opportunity to open her one-on-one message log with Shinji Ikari and answer the question for herself.
M. Yamagishi: After thinking about the question, they all have some degree of importance.
M. Yamagishi: But if I had to pick the love that's most 'important'...I would have to go with romance.
M. Yamagishi: Because compared to the others, romance can be the most surprising of them all.
M. Yamagishi: That sort of unpredictability adds a variety to life that makes it...mesmerizing.
For some reason, the obvious crush between Toji Suzuhara and Hikari Horaki came to mind. Even if they were 'predictable', the knowledge of when they would finally admit it was not. I wonder who will confess first...? It was a safe and lighthearted thing to think about, far away from the darkness at the fringes of her life.
Thus did the two girls continue reading from their texts of choice: comrades forged in battle, adoptive sisters in the eyes of the law...but not yet sisters in truth and spirit...
xxxx
At NERV HQ, Shinji Ikari was quietly undergoing another scan with Dr. Ritsuko Akagi — something about 'determining baseline changes' and 'testing for Overdrive residuals' and 'comparing cognitive profiles now that he switched Personas' and whatnot — when he spoke his mind. "Dr. Akagi?" he asked, voice somewhat muffled by The Tube™.
"What is it?"
"...HEROD asked me another question this morning."
"I'd gotten pinged about that subroutine sending your phone another packet, but I hadn't had time to read the submission yet." After grumbling under her breath about PILATE, she asked, "What was the question?"
"What's the most important kind of love: platonic, familial, filial, or romantic?" He waited for her to respond. "...Dr. Akagi?"
"Sorry, I blanked out for a second. Did you imply that the MAGI asked you about love?"
"...is that a problem?"
A somewhat deranged giggle slipped past the woman's lips, even as her expression simultaneously darkened from sheer disbelief. "Well, isn't that amusing..."
"...Dr. Akagi?"
Despite repeated queries on his part, she did not answer; so Shinji settled for silence until his time in the scanner was over. There were apparently no abnormalities of note as far as his cognition and spiriology went...but that didn't stop him from wondering just how the relationship between Ritsuko and her mother (even if all that was left of her mother was technically a triad of supercomputers) had gotten so bad. (Was it possible for anyone to have a parental relationship as strained as the one between him and his father...?)
The Beast chuckled in the dark.
Before he could ponder the subject any longer, he received a text.
K. Aida: Call me when you're available, okay?
As Shinji stepped out of NERV HQ's main lobby on the ground level, he promptly fulfilled Aida's request. "Kensuke?"
"Finally free from the Doc, eh?"
"I guess...is something wrong?"
"Nah, just wanted to find a spot to talk, and hash things out. Mind meeting me somewhere? If my calculations are right, I should make it there in less than thirty minutes."
"Where at?"
"In the Metaverse...at the place where I faced my Shadow."
Shinji's eyes boggled. Eh?!
xxxx
/The Metaverse/
/Mount Hiru/
Approximately thirty kilometers north-northeast of Tokyo-3 was a familiar peak, capped with ashen snow: with the Rising Sun to the west and the void-stricken corpse of Old Tokyo to the east, the location evoked memories in Shinji that were quite young, but felt very old. It's been over two months since I last set foot here...it's felt much longer than that, he mused, idly watching as Hamlet warily patrolled the peak.
Still, fast-travel advantages of Evangelion aside, Shinji was honestly surprised when he saw Kensuke arrive with Ozymandias; both were held aloft by Koppa Tengu Archetypes, which seemed to have a familiar aura about them. When the mythical birdmen set them down, Shinji couldn't help but noticed the massive grin on Aida's face. "Success!"
"What was a success?"
"Through the power of Marin Karin, Ozymandias and I arranged for quicker travel!" exclaimed Kensuke with glee. Turning towards the two Koppa Tengu, he said, "You two can take back off now. Whenever the Charm wears off, you'll just think the tiredness is because you did a nice, therapeutic workout. We cool?"
"Cool," chorused the two bird-men as they soared into the sky, leaving them behind.
"...it would've been quicker if you let me bring you here," remarked Shinji.
"Yeah, but it would've defeated the point." The bespectacled teen stepped forwards the spot where his Shadow's Realm had once been; the expression on his face was one akin to marvel. "I might as well have been an entirely different person, back then...June the 14th. Hard to think it was just two-and-a-half months ago when I faced my Shadow, and awoke to Ozymandias."
"I was thinking the same thing," agreed Shinji, stepping closer to Kensuke's side. As the two looked at the distant ruin of Tokyo-1, the Third Child asked, "What did you want to see me for?"
"...had a big speech lined up in my head," said Kensuke, his face scrunching up with irritation. "That's irritating. Was going to talk about the mental health guy that my father made me see, at HQ. It was...interesting."
"How so?"
Kensuke shrugged, looking rather...light on his feet. He even sounded lighthearted. "The questions didn't seem too probing, but maybe it's because they thought I was handling things well. Or well enough. Found out his daughter and one of his friends were both A.T. Agents, so he has experience with the kind of dilemmas I felt when it came to Mom...after hanging with all of you for so long, I'd forgotten what it felt like to talk about her with someone who's practically a blank slate. But his experience with it...it really helped."
Shinji couldn't help but smile at the relief in his friend's voice. "Wow...it seems like therapy solved all your problems..."
"PFFT, heck no. A friendly chat with a shrink isn't gonna do anything about our problems with fighting Angels or dealing with a threat that spans literal timelines," he joked.
"...oh. Right." That seems fairly obvious in hindsight. "Then why...?"
"Why do I look so peppy?" guessed Kensuke. "I guess...me sharing stories of Mom, the therapist swapping with stories of his daughter and his friend...it reminded me of simpler times. Happier times. But...life isn't always gonna be simple, or happy."
Shinji wondered where Kensuke was going with this. "And then...?"
Kensuke held up his hand, revealing that he had been holding an old journal of sorts. "I...got into the habit of writing into this, after Mom passed. Just...to try and keep my head in order." Flipping through old pages, many of which were lined with old sketches and doodles, he added, "never told Toji about it, 'cause he'd just call it a 'diary' and give me grief."
"...aren't a diary and a journal the same thing?"
"You'd think, but culture dictates otherwise!" he said with grandiose gestures. "All kidding aside...I was so obsessed with how heroic my mom was...that I wanted to be like her. Even if I knew, deep down, that I couldn't." Briefly gazing at Ozymandias, the boy said, "I...I was learning to accept that I could be heroic as a bit character. As a support. It fit my strengths." In his other hand, he raised the crossbow that Shinji had forged in the Velvet Room not so long ago: the Naptime Bolter. "But over the summer vacation...I learned the hard way that just because I accepted my limits, it didn't mean I had to stay bound by them. I could still grow. I could still change."
The boy seemed to be on a roll now, so Shinji was quite content to let him ramble. "And?"
"...and I think it really hit me, when I was going through all of the mementos my dad had kept...it became so much easier to remember Mom in all her pros and cons. 'Cause she wasn't perfect! She...wasn't the greatest cook...and when she got too excited, she'd start rambling to the point it sounded like she slurred...and I think she was a real big showoff, which probably explains why she didn't have a dedicated team of her own...but even with all that..." With a brief sniffle, Kensuke removed his glasses, running an arm across his eyes to remove the unshed tears. "...she loved what she did. I think...I think that's what hit me, more than anything else, when I was growing up..." Stepping back, Kensuke held his arms out, as if inviting Shinji to observe. "...and, well...now look at me."
"...do you love what you do, Kensuke? Being a part of...all of this?" 'All' was carrying quite a lot of weight in that sentence.
Kensuke pondered the question, his eyes turning towards the red-and-black sky of the Metaverse, high above. "...it's been...kind of harrowing. And dangerous. But...compared to where I was at the beginning of June...where else would I rather be?" Looking back down, Kensuke — with a friendly smile — said, "And a lot of it's thanks to you, you know that, right?"
Shinji dumbly pointed at himself. "Me?"
"Well, you certainly aren't the same person who stepped into Tokyo-3 way back when; even though there's some parts of this life of ours you really don't like, you've...well, you've stuck with it. And you've managed to become a pretty cool guy. If you can manage that, despite everything that's been thrown your way...then what excuse do I have, to not try and do the same?"
(Inwardly, something began to tug, and pull.) "Kensuke...you don't have to measure yourself against me."
"Eh, I'm not being that literal. It's just...well, it may not be the path I anticipated, but I still want to try and be a hero. To be the kind of example that Mom was for me...even if it's not in the same way. But I won't rest on my laurels, either! I'm not going to stop...because life's about moving forward...well, so long as I'm not moving towards a cliff, but you get my meaning!" Sighing explosively, the boy scratched at the back of his head nervously. "...I think I may have said everything I wanted to say. Maybe. It was a lot messier than how I was reciting it in my head."
Such heartfelt words, delivered with self-deprecating humor; it was so Kensuke that Shinji couldn't help but chuckle. Just a bit. "Well...I hope that I continue to count on you, Kensuke."
"At this point you don't even need to ask." Kensuke reached out with his hand: an open invitation. "Until the end of the road, wherever it leads...I've got your back."
(New power was about to be born.) "...and I'll have yours," acknowledged Shinji, taking Kensuke's palm with a firm handshake.
xxxx
And all the while, on a subconscious level, in words he had no way of knowing...a familiar voice spoke, within the depths of his being:
I am thou, thou art I...
Thy bond hast given birth to a new covenant.
Parting the seas of depravity,
thou hast entered a land flowing with milk and honey.
With the fullness of the Magician Arcana,
defend your Promised Land,
with all of thy heart, mind, soul, and body...
Within his mind's eye, a humanoid titan with a burning sword gazed from beyond the ether. "If thou can summon me...the power of Surt will be yours to wield..."
xxxx
Before Shinji could say another word, there was a flicker of light in his field of vision. Both he and Kensuke gazed towards Ozymandias, who was...glowing. "Kensuke...?"
His friend was at a loss for words. "Uh...?"
As Hamlet warily stepped away, the masked pharaoh stared at his Other Self with...gladness. "Thou hast finally acknowledged thy limits for what they are: stepping stones. Whether they are too high for thou to cross...is something only thou can decide." Blue fire overtook Ozymandias's form, as he swelled to a height similar to that of Hamlet or Gilgamesh.
"Yet the adventure of life is always open to you," he said, speaking in a tone that was simultaneously more casual yet more confident, "and yearning for the edge of the horizon, you have resolved to brave those perils, even if it be at the mercy of Fortune and Fate!" As the flames died down, they unveiled a lithe and wiry man with sunkissed skin, clad in pale blue trousers that bore old stains of seawater; his boots were made of hard and durable leather, and the golden vest upon his bare chest was tied down by a crimson sash wrapped around his waist several times over. A similarly covered turban covered his head, giving him a slight measure of austerity in appearance; however, it was countered by the tiny, face-fitting mask of gold and silver that barely covered the eyes, which gleamed a brilliant yellow as ever. Such was the minimalism of the eye mask that his facial expression — a joyous grin full of swagger, framed by dark facial hair fashioned into a slim mustache and goatee — was on full display. Resting the dull side of a scimitar on his bare shoulder, the Awakened Persona spoke with clarity and conviction. "The same adventure may not be available to everyone...but anyone can find an adventure with their name on it. I, Sinbad, shall remind you of this truth...always..." Dispersing into azure flames, Kensuke's new Persona burst apart, rejoining with his Other Self.
Shinji's eyes were wide. "What the...?" As those flames died down, his eyes widened once more. "Kensuke...your clothes...!"
Looking down at himself, Kensuke was clearly shocked; gone was the outfit that had looked like a pale imitation of an A.T. Agent's, with parts that were ill-fit and not up to par; now, it fit his form well, as though it had been tailor-made to fit his frame. Even the half-cloak that was one of the distinctive characteristics of an A.T. Agent now hung from his shoulders. The sole differences were twofold: the blue bandana with a simple yet intricate pattern wrapped around his head, keeping his hair bound and away from his eyes...and the breastplate, which once bore the famous sigil of the Anti-Terror Task Force, now bore the kanji for 'Aida' in its place. "...oh. Oh..."
"Do you know what just happened?" warily asked Shinji.
"...I think I just had an epiphany." It was a sign of his growth, or perhaps the nature of said epiphany, that Kensuke didn't freak out; he simply grinned, whispering, "Sweet."
xx
Shinji's brief freakout at Kensuke's transformation was quickly assuaged. "So...this sort of thing can just...happen?"
"It's not common, but it's been known to happen," explained Kensuke, watching with an intrigued expression as Sinbad tested out his scimitar against a bemused Hamlet; the latter was parrying the former rather easily. "Industry parlance is Second Awakening, so to speak: because you already awakened your Shadow into a Persona...and now it undergoes another Awakening. Mom had a few peers who experienced a Second Awakening, but the mechanism isn't understood." He suddenly frowned, as if something had struck him out of the blue. "Not sure if Katsuragi-san would have had one...but given what we know about Ryuji Sakamoto's life, maybe Seiten Taisei is his Second Awakening? He's been through enough."
"...having a Second Awakening come from a new personal understanding seems preferable to one that might have come from his first or second wife dying," Shinji flatly said. "And that's assuming he's had a Second Awakening."
"Hm, good point," admitted Kensuke. "...it's not like adults don't undergo big epiphanies...maybe their minds have stronger foundations, so their cognition is less susceptible to transformations? I mean, I think it's safe to say I've been through a lot more than most kids my age, even those who have gone through the accelerated A.T. Agent trainee route...hmm...how would one test for...that..." Kensuke's voice died away, and his face lost all color. "...oh no."
"What is it?"
"...Dr. Akagi's gonna want to run so many TESTS on me."
Shinji's stared dully at Kensuke. "...I mean, why wouldn't she? We both know what she's like, by now..."
"...d'ya think we can hide it?"
"...everyone else will find out the first time you summon your Persona, and then Dr. Akagi will find out anyway."
Kensuke moaned piteously.
Alas, he eventually relented; as such, they slowly made their way back to Tokyo-3, riding atop the back of Akabeko. "Not quite the same as flying," remarked Kensuke as he looked over the side of the giant crimson cow. "But it you're tall enough, it doesn't really matter as far as avoiding combat goes." Sure enough, local Archetypes vacated their path along the old asphalt highway, not wanting to mess with them. "...it's still interesting, though. Your Wild Card ability."
"What do you mean?"
"Well...just the ability to use multiple Personas? I mean, Ozymandias is gone; he's turned into Sinbad, now. Not that I'm ungrateful, but it only cements just how...out there, your power is." Grinning nervously, he added, "then again, given that Room, I guess it's to be expected..."
Don't think I haven't thought long and hard about the powers I just so happen to have, inwardly grumbled Shinji. Naturally, he changed the subject. "While we're talking...what's your answer, about my question from earlier?"
"You mean about the MAGI's sudden interest in being 'Doctor Love'?"
"...is that a reference?"
"It's just...was trying to be clever...you know what, ignore that I said that." Coughing to try and force away the embarrassed blush, Kensuke forced himself to continue. "Anyhow...after thinking about it, I'm going to say platonic."
"Why?"
"Well, it kind of covers family and friends; my bond with Mom was really important for the longest time. Still is. And Dad...well, it's a work-in-progress. Better than it was three days ago, at any rate. But what I've got with Toji, you, and the others...that's a big deal for me as well. So might as well get 'em both in one package!"
Shinji nodded, taking his words into consideration with what the others had said. "Just out of curiosity, is there a reason you're excluding romance? Suzuhara-san got on your case often enough about the kiss from Akane Hasegawa-"
"Hey come on, what happens in Nishiawakura stays in Nishiawakura and...I think I'm going to just shut up, because that makes it sound worse." Forcefully coughing even more, Kensuke trying to answer without turning into a blushing wreck. "I mean...we've got enough to deal with, you know? Plus, I don't think romance is in the cards for me in the near future..."
"Why not?"
"Well...look, why are we talking about my love life?!"
Shinji held up his hands in self-defense. "Sorry; it's just, you seem to like poking fun at Toji for how often he talks about Horaki-san without prompting..."
"You can't bring up banter between bros against me! That's like, a violation of the bro code!"
"...there's a Bro Code?" Shinji incredulously asked.
"It's a figure of speech. And besides, it's unwritten! You just know, deep down, what it means to do right by your bros. You know, bro?"
"...no, I don't."
"Ah, come on, bro!"
"Why are you saying 'bro' so much all of a sudden?"
"Because it's successfully distracting you!"
"...right." Sighing, Shinji decided to let the question drop; as Akabeko ponderously neared Tokyo-3, Shinji leaned back against the crimson cow's flesh, staring up at the red-and-black sky. I wonder...which would I choose? There were plenty of reasons to choose 'platonic' and 'filial'; 'familial' was somewhat out of the question at this point...and he didn't even know what to think about 'romantic' love. It's not like I'll be finding out anytime soon, he mused, borrowing a page from Kensuke.
xxxx
As the hour grew late, and midnight approached, a chartered jet made landfall at the Chubu Centrair International Airport, situated on an artificial island in Ise Bay, to the south of Nagoya.
Once the plane was situated off of the runway, and the walkway extended from the cabin, Asuka Langley-Sohryu poked her head out. "Welp. Here I am."
Her nose curdled with immediate disdain. "Ugh, it's so humid here. This is going to mess with my hair, I just know it."
"Consider it an exercise in patience and humility, Miss Sohryu!" cheerfully said a perky Sister Mary from behind. "At least until you find a shampoo that agrees with your delicate sensibilities."
"Hardy har." Stepping down onto the concrete, Asuka gazed up at the stars, and wondered why they felt nostalgic. "Let's just hurry up and get to our hotel so I can sleep in an actual bed."
The Second Child had finally arrived.
xxxx
END OF 8/31/2015
xxxx
Author's Note: Because it WOULD be Yu who gets the "Night at the Roxbury" reference. :V
But, beyond lots of interesting discussion about the types of love, we've got the Magician Social Link at Rank 10! As is typical, Shinji unlocked the most powerful Persona of that Arcana; it varies between games, but I've chosen Surt (which is a pretty top-tier Persona of the Magician Arcana) to be the one. But even more importantly...Kensuke had his Second Awakening!
From Ozymandias, the Forgotten King of Kings...we've got Sinbad the Sailor!
There wasn't really much difficulty in picking Kensuke's Ultimate Persona: I was looking for renowned adventurers in the world of literature that hadn't been previously utilized in Persona and SMT. Sinbad fit the bill quite nicely.
Note that Kensuke's original hang-up that resulted in Ozymandias is related to his first Persona's origin: in terms of literature, Ozymandias is known as the tragic figure in a poem, wherein his grandiose works are naught but ruins per the poetic narrative, and Ozymandias himself and his legacy are all but forgotten.
Sinbad, meanwhile, is a merchant with a perpetual eye for a journey: he didn't set out to be famous per se, but his stories do have a particular formula: he gets wanderlust (or, in some of the earlier voyages, broke), goes off on a trading expedition, gets shipwrecked or stranded, runs afoul of some sort of monster, meets up with a king who showers him with wealth and favors, and finally finds his way back to Baghdad. IRL, when One Thousand and One Nights was being translated to French, the stories of Sinbad were added on, despite originally being independent of those other stories...and now, at least as far as the West goes, Sinbad is indisputably linked with Arabian Nights. Simply by going on epic adventures (with plenty of mishaps along the way), Sinbad is now a heroic archetype (of sorts, Values Dissonance notwithstanding) in the eyes of many.
This fit with how Kensuke privately knew that he would never be a hero like Naomi Aida, his idol and role model...he just didn't want to admit it.
But now, after everything he's been through these past few months?
He's been bloodied. He's been through some near-death experiences. He's found a way to make having a Support-only Persona work in tandem with his comrades. Even in spite of his own personal inadequacies, he took the initiative to find a way to be more than just a Support-only guy. Now, his reasons for wanting to become better are less to do with idolizing his mother, and more with being the kind of hero he wants to be. Even if the circumstances and stakes are sometimes daunting to the point where Kensuke wonders why in the world he ever wanted to do this...that itch just won't let him be, and so he sets out to try the hero thing over and over again.
Just like how Sinbad's wanderlust eventually drives him to set out from home whenever the boredom gets too great.
And most fittingly of all, Sinbad, at least in the original stories, isn't an Action Hero type: instead of physical prowess or fighting skill, Sinbad prefers to find ways to avoid conflict...and if is forced into battle, he uses cunning to try and keep it from being a pure brawl.
So Sinbad's Skills will reflect that: Kensuke's Persona still veers more towards the Support role still...but with some more versatility, as we'll see when he gets a chance to try him out.
Last, but certainly not least: Asuka's finally made it to Japan.
What a nice way to finally say farewell to the month of August...CAUSE I'VE BEEN WRITING IN THIS CHUNK OF TIME FOR TEN MONTHS FINALLY WE'RE MOVING ON TO SEPTEMBER AAAAAAAAAAAA
/time for a recap chapter :V