A.N. Huh, this seems familiar...
Journey (1) - New Game
"Kujikawa-san."
The last few years of middle school were undoubtedly the most significant years of his life.
Because he met people he could call his friends. People who got him involved in such crazy adventures and events. And people who he could never forget even after years passed. And for those who were still with him even after he graduated, he still kept in contact with them.
"Kujikawa-san, please pay attention."
The events during that time helped shape his path down the line and his decisions on how he wanted his life to be. Not only did it allow him to come to terms with his role in this world, but it also acted as a prelude that would lead him down the road towards new opportunities.
"Nagi! Are you listening to me?"
Finally realizing that someone was calling out to him, Nagi raised his head and met the eyes of the teenage girl sitting across from him. Blinking the drowsiness out of his eyes, he realized that he must have dozed off.
He yawned out loud before replying. "Sorry, Mitsu-chan. I'm not used to this time zone yet."
The younger girl grimaced at his term of address. "Please, take this seriously Kujikawa-san."
"I am taking this absolutely seriously," he replied. "Super seriously. So seriously that 'serious' might as well be my first name."
Ah, if only he could make a Harry Potter reference. Shame that the series didn't exist in this world.
Long and curly red hair, stunning brown eyes, and a sort of grace to her every movement. An appearance that would drive most other girls her age green with envy, but Nagi didn't really care about that. After all, it was hard for him to see Mitsuru Kirijo as nothing more than a slightly friendly acquaintance.
From an observer's point of view, the two of them sitting together at the table of a fancy café might seem like a date. In reality, that couldn't be any further from the truth. She was only two years younger than he was, but he knew that there was no way in hell that the two of them would ever consider the other a potential romantic partner. Ignoring the minor fact that she was also the heir to the Kirijo Group and technically his employer.
The other girl just sighed. "Kujikawa-san, did you learn anything during your trip out in the states?"
"Not really," he shrugged. "I looked into a rumor I heard about demons or something. But it was just some cursed artworks acting up. Oh, and I did get into some trouble with some random time traveler in Tomakomai upon my return. It all worked out in the end, and the time traveler's already gone back to his own time. So that's done and over with."
Despite the frankly incredulous things he just said, Mitsuru accepted it with a simple nod of confirmation. "Have you submitted a report yet?"
He winced. "I'll get to that once I settle into my hotel room."
"You won't have to." She passed over a vanilla folder to him. "We already have your next mission here, which will also take into account your living accommodations for the foreseeable future."
He flipped the folder open and quickly skimmed over the pages. His eyes widened and he looked up to her in surprise. "You want me to gather more Persona-users?"
Other than him and Mitsuru, there were only a few other individuals they knew who possessed the ability to call forth a Persona. There were the Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapons, most of them being inactive at the moment. There were Artificial Persona-users, although those that were still alive were unaccounted for and could not be located. And then there were outsiders who sometimes acted as consultants, such as the detective Touko Aoi or the former police commander Satoshi Hiwatari.
Each of them had their own issues that would make recruiting them difficult, especially since Tatsumi Port Island wasn't the only Shadow infested area (even if it was the most infested). Those that they were already on friendly terms with were busy handling those parts on their own, but that left them with little to no candidates for recruitment.
The only other option would be to discover those with the potential that have yet to unlock it. A dangerous task since that usually meant that they were someone who could wander about the Dark Hour unhindered with no means to protect themselves. Finding them was as much for their safety as it was to their own benefit.
"One of the teachers spoke in a recent staff meeting about a student of theirs talking about having difficulties sleeping at night. The student claims to have bad dreams relating to waking up surrounded by blood in a world with a green sky and yellow moon while monsters roam the streets."
It clicked immediately what she was hinting at. "You think they're talking about the Dark Hour?"
"No doubt about it," Mitsuru replied. She opened her own copy of the folder she gave him and started to summarize its contents. "Akihiko Sanada, a junior high student and member of the school boxing club. Originally living in an orphanage, he was later adopted by a wealthy family that currently pays for his tuition and living expenses. Because of their occupations, his adopted parents rarely spend time at home and mostly keep a hands-off attitude toward their ward. Other than that, he has no notable social support structure or relatives to speak of other than a close friend from during his time at the orphanage."
"And you're sending me to recruit him?"
"Pardon my words, but I believe that your shared circumstances would make it easier for you to persuade him. The fact that you are also an orphan that was later adopted by a wealthy family is something that he might empathize with."
"Except the difference between us is that I was adopted by a distant family member after my uncle refused to take me in."
"Still, it's something that you can use to bring him to our side. Regardless, I already confirmed that he has the potential. All he needs is an Evoker to awaken his Persona."
"Oh sure, let's give this guy a gun and convince him we're not part of some shady organization plotting to devastate the world. You realize that there's no easy way to sell this, right?"
"Just get it done, for his sake if nothing else. The longer he remains unaware of the dangers regarding the Dark Hour, the higher his chances of getting attacked by a rogue Shadow are."
He grimaced. Even with the two of them working nearly every night to exterminate the rogue Shadows that escaped Tartarus, there were always a few that manage to slip past their notice. It was a matter of scale, the problem with having only two people patrol an entire city on their own. That only highlighted the urgency and need to recruit more people to their side.
"I'll talk to him," Nagi promised. "Just in case, I'll even move my patrol route to be near his neighborhood in case he starts getting the idea of wandering around at night."
"Good idea. Even if the chances are low, we have no idea what he might do if he wakes up in the middle of the Dark Hour again."
"Hopefully the guy will have a good head on his shoulders and realize that it would be better to stay indoors instead of going outside where all the monsters are."
Then again, this was Akihiko they were talking about.
}-{
That night…
A swing of his blade caused the body of the enemy Shadow to split in half, the cut off screams echoing before dying off. Flicking the remains off the blade, Nagi sighed as he took in the sight of the neighborhood around him.
Once again, he marveled at the drastic change in scenery whenever the Dark Hour happened. It must have been around three years now since he first discovered it himself, learning that he was thrown in the midst of danger unprepared for the dangers that would target him. Had he not received the help of a certain girl in awakening his own Persona, then he doubted that he would have survived up to now with how often Shadows seemed to gather toward him.
"Still, I can't get used to using this damn thing." Holding up the Evoker with his hand, he tested the weight and moved it side to side. "I mean, what's the point of even using it? It's not like I need it to summon my Persona."
Mitsuru claimed that it would help him not stand out, but it wasn't as if every Persona-user needed an Evoker to summon a Persona. The Suppression Weapons were one example, but even the Artificial Persona-users could summon them if they did not care about the drawbacks.
The sounds of groaning and shrieking alerted him to a new group of Shadows ahead of him. Pointing his blade to the ground, Nagi sped up his pace until he settled into a comfortable jog. Right as he reached the first Shadow, he poured strength into his leg until he launched himself into the air, soaring above the crowd of enemies below him.
He pointed the Evoker to the side of his head.
"Persona!"
Glass shattering. A frigid wind surrounded them all as ice covered every surface within sight. The faint outline of a young woman briefly appeared by his side, spreading out her arms and commanding ice and snow to attack his enemies.
Landing on the ground a second later, he turned around to see the frozen figures of all the Shadows caught in the attack. Cracks echoed before the ice sculptures shattered into countless pieces.
"Well, I guess aesthetics are important. If nothing else, evoking the power of suicidal ideation to destroy my enemies does appeal to my chuuni heart."
Still, it was strange that there were so many Shadows here. Finding one or two on their own wasn't unusual, but it was worrying that there were at least a dozen or more gathering in this area.
Unless something was drawing their attention toward this area.
"RRAAAAAAAGGGGHHHH!"
A hoarse yell. In the absence of people, the sound rang out at a volume far louder than normal.
"Shit!"
Running immediately toward the source of the yell, Nagi prepared himself for the worst. If there was someone awake during the Dark Hour, then no wonder so many Shadows were drawn here.
Right now, there was no time to waste.
Reaching his destination, he came upon a grisly sight. Five Shadows were surrounding a young boy lying on the ground clutching his stomach. It was hard to tell from his maroon coat, but the blood-soaked hands were a clear indicator that he had suffered a grievous injury.
He was dying.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!"
Nagi was enraged. Not even bothering to use the Evoker this time, he called forth his Persona. A storm of hail began to swirl around him as the same young woman from before appeared behind his back. This time, her figure was no longer a faint outline but tangible and imposing. The aura that surrounded the two of them caused a physical effect in the form of a heavy pressure on the area, crushing the Shadows underneath her might.
"Megido!"
Directed and controlled Almighty energy exploded into existence, instantly defeating the five enemy Shadows and clearing the area quickly for Nagi to run up toward the boy's side.
"Hey, focus on me. Let me see your wound."
A garbled noise was the only response he got. Now that he could get a closer look, Nagi took in the details of his appearance. The gash was large, almost certainly fatal had this happened in the real world. Reaching into his bag, Nagi immediately used a healing item to deal with the injury. The magical effects of the consumable worked in an instant, returning color to the boy's face and giving him enough strength to slowly open his eyes.
"W-Wha…?"
"It's okay, I've got you."
Their eyes met.
Nagi blinked. It didn't occur to him that the boy in front of him would be someone he knew. But in hindsight, the fact that he was patrolling near Akihiko's neighborhood should have clued him in on the boy's identity.
And thus, this was how he first met Shinjiro Aragaki.
I had no plan on starting this series until yesterday, but I couldn't help it. This is my way of celebrating the release of the new P3R game.
Nagi Kujikawa is a character that I made a while back with the intentions of getting involved with the Persona series. Now that I have an excuse to start this story again, this will finally be the time when he really interacts with the P3 cast.