Good Day Readers! Obviously, I do not own anything connected to the Persona series in general or Persona 5 specifically, I DO own Chiba Natsumi and Anais Ouvrard, along with Natsumi's immediate family members and the original Personas that will be showing up on occasion.
I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy.
Chapter 30: - Exams and The Councillor
With our exams starting today, I now had something new to be nervous about. Primarily because the goal of stopping Kamoshida had been practically all consuming so I was a little nervous about how well I would do during these tests. Ren seemed completely calm as we walked into the building, although we were soon greeted by quite the commotion near the notice board right across from the school's entrance. I looked at Ren with a perplexed look and saw one of equal bafflement there, so we approached the gaggle of students.
"I can't believe this… a school assembly? During exam week? The hell are they thinking?" A student asked. He sounded rather listless, but his words did surprise me, calling an assembly so suddenly when our exams were expected to take priority was a surprise; it really was appropriate to wonder what the principal could possibly be thinking to schedule such a thing during the exam week of all times.
"It's the day after tomorrow, right? I wonder if it's gonna be about Kamoshida-sensei again…," Another student commented. Her serious tone showed how she felt about this fact. Great, so not only was it during exam week, but they also couldn't even wait until the exams were actually over and done with to hold it. That just meant there was going to be some shuffling of the schedule around… what was that bloated piece of filth thinking?!
"Ugh, I can't believe the school is messing with our schedules like this," The listless student complained. Agreed, it would have made much more sense to wait until the exams were done and then have the assembly hosted; I could already feel a headache forming and we weren't even through the first segment of the day.
"I don't care what it's about, it's gonna have nothing to do with us students. I wish they'd stop dragging us into their mess," The serious student snapped. Not really, considering this assembly was only being called due to Kamoshida's actions which were directed at students, so it probably had a lot to do with them, but I somehow suspect that Kobayakawa had no interest in caring for the victims of a man he had grovelled to so effectively.
"A mandatory assembly during exam week, huh? Sounds rough for all of you," Morgana whispered. He was right, it was rough for us, but there was nothing to do about it, instead Ren proceeded to lead the way to our classroom.
*Persona 5 Royal*
Needless to say, exams and studying ate up an enormous chunk of our time, so much so that we could scarcely find the time to meet up for any talks about the Phantoms or even try to train. When we did, it pretty much descended into me and Ren trying to wrangle the other two into studying – especially Ryūji – to try and get around their weak points as Ann focused on helping us with English since that was her best subject.
In short, we were tired and stressed. To the point that – I at least – ended up face planting into bed more often than not by the end of the day and falling into a dreamless sleep.
*Persona 5 Royal*
"Ever since that specific incident," Kobayakawa began. It was time for the mandatory assembly and we were all gathered in the same hall where Kamoshida had revealed his disgusting acts to the entire school; frankly I kind of wish I could be studying for the last day instead of stood here doing nothing while listening to this filth and his lies. "Many of you have voiced concerns that I could not bear to ignore," Kobayakawa continued. A scoff came from my right.
"He let Kamoshida do as he wished," Ann growled. Her voice was quiet as a whisper, but her tone held all the necessary venom she felt; Ren gently nudged her shoulder and the blonde took in a deep breath to try and calm down. I spotted Ryūji giving us concerned looks since he was a short distance away from us and couldn't force his way over to us due to how tightly pressed the student population was.
"We believe the mental health of our student body is absolutely vital, so we've acquired the services of a therapist. The floor is yours, Doctor," Kobayakawa revealed. A man came over and I was rather surprised, he looked rather young probably in his late twenties, so I was surprised to hear he was a counsellor. The man was tall and wore glasses, he had short, brown hair that was unkempt and a small stubble underneath his chin, he wore a blue dress shirt tucked into his upturned dress pants that were similar in colour to khaki. He also wore a chequered dark blue tie with a white lab coat over the top. On his feet were open-toed sandals without socks; in his coat's chest pocket, he had a yellow pen and a staff ID that was further tied around his neck via a red strap.
'He looks… very strange.' I thought. The way he was dressed would have been smart and professional, if not for the upturn of his pants and the sandals that he wore. I wasn't entirely sure if he was trying to get people to feel relaxed around him by dressing in such a peculiar manner or if he had a bizarre sense of fashion. To me, it made me wonder if he was truly capable of 'caring for our mental health', if Kobayakawa actually cared about such a thing.
"It's nice to meet you all," The counsellor greeted. He had a gentle cadence to his tone, no surprise there, but it was enough for one girl to claim it was 'sexy'. "My name is-," The counsellor continued to speak. However, he suddenly stopped and started to fiddle with the microphone as it had stopped amplifying his voice; a few moments later, he pulled back. "My name is Maruki Takuto. Thank you for welcoming me to your school," The man introduced. He then proceeded to bow.
Unfortunately, his bow caused his head to smack into the microphone. The painful feedback sound rang out and I clutched my ears as the sensitive cartilage and bones made the protest to such a sound very well known. I have to wonder if this man was actually an idiot, especially since he seemed surprised by the fact that he'd headbutted the microphone, before eventually recovering himself.
"No need to be formal with me, though. I'm just here to counsel anyone who's interested," Maruki-sensei insisted. He looked to be in pain from his unexpected collision. "You can even call me Doc, if that would help you feel more comfortable. Any assistance you need, I'll be- Oh… I guess I'm not really any good for helping with money problems," Maruki-sensei admitted. It sounded like he was trying to make a joke… I don't think it really worked.
"Thank you, Maruki-sensei," Kobayakawa stated. He even forcibly moved the bespectacled man from the microphone to take his place. There was a little more talking about the counselling sessions now being offered before we were dismissed from the assembly. A relieved breath escaped me as I proceeded to walk away with Ann and Ren also seeming glad to have escaped from this awkward situation.
"Yo!" Ryūji's voice called. I pivoted around to face the blonde with the other two also turning to face him. "You ever expect this place to actually give a shit about our mental health?" Ryūji asked. Not really, Kobayakawa wasn't the kind of man to care about such a thing, some of the teachers like Kawakamai-sensei and Chouno-sensei I did believe would care; but unless a lot of them made a unified statement, then our useless principal wouldn't care about such a thing.
"Well, our school's made national news. Maybe they figured they'd look even worse if they didn't do anything for us," Ann suggested. That was the most likely reason why this had happened, it was a stupid publicity stunt by Kobayakawa to show he was doing something about it so that more parents would send their children here. Honestly, that just increased my doubt as to the capability of Maruki-sensei as a psychologist.
"And Doctor, uh… Whatshisname?" Ryūji commented. All three of us intoned in a deadbeat voice the family name of the new counsellor. "Yeah. Wasn't that guy just basically clowin' it up onstage? You really think he'll do us any good?" Ryūji wondered. At least I wasn't the only one who felt a weak amount of faith in the supposed therapist we'd been introduced to.
"Not going to lie, I certainly didn't feel any faith in him as a counsellor given his actions," I admitted. Ryūji's expression became pinched at my words as Ann frowned heavily and started to fiddle with her sleeve's cuff. Ren shuffled his stance slightly and reached up to grip the back of his neck as he rubbed it slightly with a strained expression on his face.
"If Kobayakawa hired him, then he probably isn't all that good if he even is a real therapist in the first place," Ren commented. A hushed 'guys' escaped Ann and we all looked at her only to see her eyes gazing passed us; we quickly followed the look and found that Maruki-sensei was approaching us. He had a focused look in his eyes which seemed at odds with his appearance and previous behaviour.
"Hey there," Maruki-sensei greeted. Why had he decided to come up to us four students? This seemed incredibly suspicious to me. "Sakamoto-kun, Takamaki-san and Chiba-san, right? And that must make you Amamiya-kun," Maruki-sensei added on. My eyes widened at those words and surprised expressions came onto the others' faces before a glare twisted up Ryūji face as his entire body went tense.
"How d'you know our names?" Ryūji demanded. He was right to demand such a thing, true all students' information would have been provided to him, but to have picked out the four of us despite the short amount of time he'd been here – Ann and Ryūji might stand out, but still – and approach us was something to be wary of. I felt Ann drift closer to me, as if she was seeking shelter from whatever was coming.
"Well, I was informed of certain students before beginning my tenure here. Those that had, ah… previous interactions with Kamoshida-sensei, along with a close friend of theirs," Maruki-sensei admitted. Ah, so we'd been pointed out by the higher-ups specifically, well that made sense given how the other two were known victims, plus the knowledge of Amamiya's record leakage might have been passed around, but for me to be pointed out was unsettling. "Amamiya-kun, it must've been especially tough for you after having just transferred here," Maruki-sensei acknowledged.
"Yeah, I guess so," Ren quietly admitted. He seemed slightly uncomfortable at being the focus suddenly, he pulled at a lock of his perpetually curly hair as his grey eyes darted away and he angled his head so that the glasses became opaque which prevented us from being able to read much from his eyes, but as three of us knew him well enough by now, we guessed his body language showed he was uncomfortable.
"So… whaddya want with us?" Ryūji asked. His face had relaxed, but I saw the looks he was shooting Ren was filled with worry about the boy he probably considered his best friend; he was likely attempting to divert the topic away from the ravenette boy, Ann moved around to gently press her hand against Ren's own as I positioned myself to stand between Maruki-sensei and our leader, as if acting as a bulwark for him.
"Ah, yes, I'd forgotten. I know I already offered my services to the student body earlier, but would you four be interested in counselling?" Maruki-sensei wondered. If he'd been informed of even the smallest piece of information about us, then it wasn't that surprising that he was offering his services to us; but I could already guess Ryūji's reaction before the boy opened his mouth.
"Nope, not at all," Ryūji answered. This apparently surprised the counsellor as he lurched back with a shocked exclamation escaping his lips and his eyes widened. "How's that surprising?" Ryūji asked. He seemed genuinely puzzled by the shocked response that had escaped from the brunette man, even I was a little surprised by how shocked the psychiatrist had been at Ryūji's refusal.
"You were just a touch more emphatic about it than I'd expected," Maruki-sensei admitted. The blonde Electricity wielder had been quite… passionate in his refusal to engage in the therapy sessions being offered directly to us. "Ah! But it if you come to my office, you can have free snacks! All you can eat… would be nice, but there's still plenty to be had. So, how about it?" Maruki-sensei offered. Snacks? Was he really trying to bribe us with snacks?
"We're not little kids you know," Ren stated. It was rather baffling that he thought he could lure us into attending these sessions through the usage of a treat or two. Maruki-sensei looked down slightly, appearing rather sheepish at his failed attempt at a bribe; despite how foolishly he acted, he was also becoming someone that felt really hard to distrust, he just seemed so earnest.
"To be frank, I've be explicitly ordered to provide counselling to the students directly involved with Kamoshida-sensei. It's in the school's interest… for the students," Maruki-sensei revealed. Well, that was an interesting bit of information, it caused me to raise an eyebrow since despite everything, I wouldn't have been considered to be involved with Kamoshida, so why was I given the same focus as the others.
"Then I don't see why I'm included. I was hardly involved with that filth," I commented. Maruki-sensei looked at me with wide eyes, likely due to the way I had referred to Kamoshida, but I wasn't exactly going to mince my words regarding that depraved beast; he wasn't even fit to be considered human despite his moral compass having been restored, I don't think he'll ever pay back the people who he'd harmed so drastically.
"True. But you're extremely close to three others who were. So, even if someone didn't see anything, something still could have happened to you," Maruki-sensei admitted. That… hadn't been anything I'd been expected to come from him. "I know that asking you to be open with a complete stranger like myself is a lot. Making this mandatory wouldn't do you any good, either. Might as well turn it into a worthwhile experience," Maruki-sensei sullenly admitted. However, his face suddenly brightened up as if he'd had a good idea. "Ooh, I know! If you attend my counselling sessions, I'll teach you different ways to improve your mental acuity. Like ways to hone your concentration before exams, or not getting nervous on dates. How's that sound?" Maruki-sensei offered.
That actually sounded rather interesting, not for the concentration or lack of nerves issue. But instead, because it might actually help us in regard to the Metaverse since Soul Power was mentally linked; if we improved our mental condition, then we might be able to increase the capacity of our Soul Power. Although, Maruki-sensei did slightly ruin it by mentioning the snacks again.
"Alright, alright! Enough with the snacks!" Ryūji snapped. He seemed annoyed by the snacks comment before diverting his attention to look at Ren. "So, which way are you leanin'?" Ryūji wondered. I cast my gaze over my shoulder to look at our leader and I noticed he had an intrigued look within his eyes at the offer Maruki-sensei had extended to us.
"I guess there's no harm in having a small chat. I'll do it," Ren agreed. There really wouldn't be any harm to come from it, we could at least experience it and if none of us felt comfortable continuing with it, then there wasn't anything stopping us from walking out on these sessions and not coming back. I could see the benefits of those mental exercises and we needed every advantage we could use against the stronger Shadows.
"I guess it'd just be more trouble for us if we didn't go," Ryūji muttered. Probably, if Maruki-sensei had been specifically informed of the four of us, then I'm betting the principal would find some way to force us to attend, despite Maruki-sensei not wanting it to be mandatory. If we went willingly then it was all the better for us as we wouldn't be watched like a hawk by more people, Niijima-senpai was probably still doing that.
"Really? Then, I guess it's a deal," Maruki-sensei celebrated. Just how earnest was this guy? He seemed unusually happy that we were agreeing to this proposal. "I'll be in the nurse's office, feel free to come by whenever it's convenient for you," Maruki-sensei stated. Well, at least he'd be easy to find and not be picky about when we came to see him.
"Welp, we should get goin'," Ryūji insisted. With that, we proceeded to turn and walk away from the counsellor and back to our class, Ren had lingered briefly but he soon caught up although that strong yet still growing sensation tickled my mind and I could have sworn that the sensation was similar to Kushi Mitama's aura. I really wish I had some more information about all of these odd sensations I'd been feeling. Returning to class, I quickly settled into my seat as Kawakami-sensei came in. There was a lot of chatter going on between students, especially regarding our new therapist.
"Alright, settle down," Kawakami-sensei called. The chattering stopped and we all focused on our homeroom teacher. "I have an addendum to the earlier assembly, regarding the counselling you've all been offered. The counsellor will be available to you after school starting today, in the nurse's office. Maruki-sensei will only be posted here through November, so be sure to speak with him soon if you feel the need. For the majority of you, it's your choice whether or not you see him, but… there are a few students I'll speak with later. The school's decided: visits to Maruki-sensei will be mandatory for these individuals," Kawakami-sensei revealed. Almost instantaneously after those words left her mouth, my phone buzzed.
Ryūji: Yo, you guys gonna go for it?
Ann: What, the counselling?
Natsumi: I think we've just been told we have to.
Ann: Yep. Sounds like we're being forced to
Ryūji: I told Maruki I'd do it, but…
Ryūji: I dunno if I'm really that into the idea, you know?
Ren: It's understandable, given everything you've gone through.
Ren: But not going will be suspicious.
Natsumi: Especially now that it's mandatory.
Ann: Which is weird, I though he said it wouldn't be.
Ren: Not him. The school made it mandatory.
Natsumi: Kawakami-sensei did say it was them who decided that.
Ann: Anyway, we definitely can't afford to avoid them, since the school's got their eye on us.
Ann: I think I'm gonna try going today.
Natsumi: Same. Might as well bite the bullet, so to speak.
With that, I closed my phone and slipped it away, although I honestly wondered what I could possibly talk to him about.
*Persona 5 Royal*
School had ended and I decided to do as I had suggested in the chat and headed to the nurse's office. On my slow walk over, I tried to sort out what I could possibly even talk to him about, but nothing came to mind since I wasn't really a victim of Kamoshida's like the other people he had to talk to. All too soon, I was outside the nurse's office with a small, confused frown on my face; taking a breath I raised my hand and knocked on the door, still at a complete loss.
"Ah, come in," Maruki-sensei's voice called. I pushed the door open and stepped inside, but I stayed hovering by the door even as I pulled it close, feeling a little uneasy. "Welcome. Are you here for a counselling session?" Maruki-sensei asked. What other reason would someone have for coming here? I really didn't know what to make of this man and his weirdly flickering Will of Rebellion, not oscillating like Haru-senpai's was but appearing brightly and then vanishing completely.
"Yes, although I haven't a clue what to talk about," I admitted. I moved over and slid into the brown seat that sat near the couch that the counsellor was currently occupying. "I wasn't a direct victim of Kamoshida's cruelties unlike the others were, so I can't imagine why the teachers would assume I'd need to be here," I admitted. I set my bag down beside the chair, but the strap rested on the arm in case I wanted to leave quickly.
"That may be so, but some wounds might not be seen, even by the person bearing them," Maruki-sensei stated. He leaned forward slightly to rest his elbows on his knees as his hands clasped together. "But you shouldn't force yourself to be here if you don't want to. Just grab some snacks and be on your way if that makes you feel better," Maruki-sensei offered. A warm and comforting smile on his face as he gestured at the snacks on the table. But in response to his offer, I shook my head.
"No, I want to do this, if only so that my friends might be encouraged to open up to you and the teachers don't start chasing me about this," I admitted. I reached my left hand up to rub at the bridge of my nose as I tried to organise my thoughts. "But I really don't know where to start," I repeated. I'm starting to feel like a broken record at this point.
"Why don't you tell me a little about yourself," Maruki-sensei suggested. I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, shouldn't he know all that he needed already from my file? "Your file tells me the kind of student you are, not the kind of person you are. It might be a good way to find those hidden wounds. Just relax," Maruki-sensei encouraged.
"Okay," I muttered. I thought over what I could tell him that wouldn't be in a student file. "All of my immediate family are dead," I admitted. My gaze had been on the roof when I said those words, but I heard the choke sound and violent tearing of paper; I tilted my head down and found Maruki-sensei staring at me performing very convincing impersonation of a gaping fish with the paper on his clipboard bearing a large tear. "Is everything okay, Maruki-sensei?" I asked. He seemed to be reacting rather strongly to my words.
"Is everyth- No!" Maruki-sensei exclaimed. I blinked my eyes as I shifted slightly in my seat, he seemed rather put out by this revelation. "Everything is not okay! Chiba-san, that is a terrible event and yet you treat it like it's an everyday occurrence," Maruki-sensei explained. Okay, put out was putting it lightly, instead he seemed to be very upset by the fact that I had blandly spoken of a fact of my life.
"It's been three years, I don't see how else to speak of it," I admitted. Even if I had recently cried over them, it didn't change the fact that three years had passed since that day; no amount of tears would ever pull the dead back from their graves. I had accepted that they were gone a long time ago, I'd had to do it the moment Hikaru's heart monitor cut out.
"Three years! That kind of trauma doesn't just fade away! I've seen it plenty of times, how people continue to be stung by it when longer than three years have passed," Maruki-sensei insisted. He… he was really upset by this, nervously I raised my hand and dragged a lock of my hair behind my ear as I tried to think about what to say in response to those words he'd said… maybe telling him the truth was for the best.
"Well… I haven't exactly been grieving them," I admitted. Maruki-sensei's eyes took on a confused shine as I settled my hands onto my lap and curled them into fists as the memory of that day rose like an undying leviathan. "I was ordered not to cry about their passing. It was only last month that I was actually encouraged to cry by a friend of mine… it was the first time I'd cried since they died," I revealed. My breathing was starting to tremble as I tore my gaze to focus upon my feet, trying to keep myself together.
"You should never have had to go through that, Chiba-san," Maruki-sensei soothed. He reached over to wrap a hand around mine, the grip was gentle and warm, the faint callouses of his hand simply seemed to strengthen it rather than detract from the kindness it tried to impart. "It is natural for us to cry over the loss of loved ones, you should never have been forced to wait so long to express your grief," Maruki-sensei stated.
His words weren't the same as Ren's, but the emotion behind them was very much identical to Ren when he had encouraged me to accept that I could cry. As a result, the floodgates opened once more as I hiccupped slightly and salty water tumbled down my cheeks. A tissue dabbed at my cheeks, soaking up the tears as much as possible while I tried to get myself under control. It probably should have been embarrassing to cry like this in front of a stranger, but I felt like it was okay for some reason, like Maruki-sensei wouldn't care about the tears.
I felt something, a sensation that rippled over me suddenly. I pulled my hand back from Maruki-sensei's gentle grip and shook my head as if trying to dislodge something, it felt like my mind was being smothered by something thick and heavy. Thankfully, I felt Phantom's resonance in my soul flare as I mentally hummed the Velvet Room's song, the strange feeling began to fade and I felt my mind clearing up.
"Sorry about that," I muttered. That was incredibly weird, whatever that sensation was it had felt like my mind was being clouded by the strangest of thoughts, but now those thoughts felt like grains of sand drifting on the winds, I couldn't quite grab a hold of them so instead all I was left with was confusion and a rapidly growing headache.
"No, no, it's quite already. Clearly this is still very painful for you, but it's good that you managed to get it out of you," Maruki-sensei admitted. However, despite the laugh that escaped from him, there seemed to be something strained running underneath his words which caused me to look at him; I caught a worried look in his eyes, perhaps he was concerned for what I had been through? It was probably good he didn't know about Ouvrard then.
"I think I'd best leave now," I decided. Maruki-sensei seemed to fumble for words as I grabbed my bag and hoisted it onto my shoulder. "Thank you, Maruki-sensei," I stated. Crying for the second time since my family's dead had worn me out, I just wanted to retreat to my bed and not think about my exams tomorrow.
Standing up, I turned to the door and pulled it open, only to have to catch a fist that had been swinging to knock. I followed the jacket clad arm back to the source and saw the red haired first year whose eyes had gone so wide I thought the organs would fall out. She immediately began to babble out apologises as I released her fist.
"Sorry about that," I spoke. I slipped passed the girl and proceeded to walk away, feeling the headache continuing to pulse within my mind; enough that I reached my hands up to massage the base of my cranium as best I could to alleviate this strange fogginess that was crowding my thoughts.
