Chapter 21: The Ć̵̭̦̔͒ô̵̭̜̐͠u̵̡̜̹͋̕n̵̲̟͐̒̑͆̀ͅc̷̺̲̻̎̚i̶̛͇̟̼l̸̼͕̓l̵̢̛̪͔̣̺̅o̴̮̫͙̣̖̊̒̿ͅr̷̗͕̮̬̀̽
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Akira•
They'd almost exited the park before realizing they'd left Morgana still wandering around, and frantically tried to find him before the not-cat could figure out they'd almost forgotten about him.
After the panic subsided and Morgana was resting comfortably in his bag none-the-wiser, they rode to Central Street to begin studying. "So, I'm… supposed to…"
"…" He raised an eyebrow, gesturing at her paper. "Yes? I taught you this just two minutes ago."
"I… d-divide α by h, to find θ?"
"Correct. Now, using the formula, what is θ?"
"Um…" he let her work it out, patiently waiting. He'd admit, he was not exactly the perfect tutor. He was never suited to teaching others, he was much better at studying on his own, or getting taught by someone more knowledgeable. If his uncle were here, he'd certainly manage to teach Ann much better than he could. But he'd do his best, Shujin was rather prestigious, and Ann must have had some talent to even get in in the first place.
After another few minutes, every question on the sheet was filled in, and Ann sighed. "Ugh… I hate math!"
"It's simple once you memorize it."
"But I don't want to memorize it! When am I ever gonna need this?"
"You never know when you might need to calculate theta. Especially as a model." She glared at him, and he grinned in response. "Fine, you did great with English and poorly in math, so let's move on. How about world history next? We've gone over the Roman Empire so far this semester, so what are you having trouble with in regards to that?"
"I can't really recall when the different emperors ruled."
Morgana huffed from his bag, waving his tail. "You're so lucky, being able to study with Lady Ann."
"Hey, perhaps when we find your human form, you'll turn out to be high-school-aged as well. Then you can study with her all you like."
"Oh, nice thinking! But I always thought of myself as a suave gentleman, though…"
"There's no reason you can't be a suave gentleman and a teenager. I accomplish that pretty well."
Truly, a humble Trickster, wouldn't you say?
Pot meet kettle, Berith muttered.
OI!
He smiled at the byplay, taking one of Ann's papers to look it over.
Ω • Ω • Ω
5/12 Thursday
The previous day's exams went excellent. Perfectly, in fact. He could feel it in his bones. And of course, once school was over he immediately went home, reviewed his notes, and quickly went to bed. The second day's tests went just as well, and the only deviation occurred once they were over with.
Ryuji burst through the door of the classroom, grabbing him by the shoulders just as the school day ended. "My brain… is fizzling. I need to go to Mementos and blow off some steam, NOW."
He snorted, waving his hand. "Alright, alright. Ann, we're heading into Mementos.."
"Have fun, I'm gonna cram some more."
"Maybe take a note out of Lady Ann's book and do some studying of your own, Ryuji."
"Hell nah, I can't handle looking at any more books today! I need to kick some Shadow ass! What about that bully dude? Think we can—?"
He slapped Ryuji on the back of the head lightly and whispered, "maybe don't talk about targets in the middle of school. You want his heart being changed to get connected to us?"
"Sorry!" He rolled his eyes, and they walked towards the train station, splitting up from Ann at Shibuya. She rode off in another train heading home, while they dropped into the Metaverse and jumped into Mona's bus body.
"The target feels like he's deeper into Mementos… probably somewhere in Aiyatsubus."
"Awright, let's kick some ass!" He grinned at Skull's cheer and spun the wheel, slamming Mona's face into a Shadow. Admittedly, while he was doing well with the tests, perfectly in fact, even he could feel bored answering test questions for hours on end.
As the Shadow turned into several Slimes, Mona transformed back and threw Skull and himself into the air, where he ripped his mask free. "Let's do it! Kodama, Garu!" The small paper humanoid appeared from the blue fire that exploded from his mask, the three spiral patterns on its face spinning.
"Wahoo!" A burst of wind picked up the Slimes and tossed them into the air before Skull jumped up and used his weapon to slam them into the ground, where the force of the impact turned them all into piles of paste. A Garu from Zorro began swirling them all up and mixed them into one, which was then lit on fire thanks to Cait Sith.
"Man, that was way too quick!"
He chuckled in response as they got back into Mona. "Slimes are pretty weak when you hit their weaknesses. Well, that goes for most Shadows, but Slimes especially. Takanashi will probably be tougher."
"Man, I hope so!"
"Maybe it's not a good idea to hope our enemies are tough," Mona sighed.
"True enough. But a tough fight can be even better for venting than an easy one."
"Maybe I should try fightin' some Shadows on my own… that'd be pretty challengin'!"
"As long as someone's here for backup, sure. In fact, no one should head into Mementos on their own."
"I don't think anyone would," Mona shrugged as best he could in bus form.
"Well, if someone needs quick money killing a few Shadows would be easy. Or to blow off some steam like today. Either way, if you want to head in, make sure to text me or Panther, I'll always have Mona to go with, and I'll let Panther know about this too. Just to be safe."
They continued deeper, driving through Aiyatsubus attempting to find their target. Eventually, they found another portal like the one that had led to Nakanohara, and Mona sped straight through it. On the other side, they found a similar area with Takanashi's Shadow simply standing there.
"So that's Takanashi's Shadow, huh?"
Skull scoffed, shoving his hands in his pockets. "This guy's bullyin' is real bad. From what I hear, it's mostly blackmail, takin' money from people, that kinda thing."
"And if we don't attempt to change his heart, he might get even worse." His grin turned feral. "Let's kick his ass… er, change his heart." Skull snorted, and they began approaching.
Upon noticing them, Takanashi began glaring and clenched his fists hard, already beginning to make excuses before they could even say anything. "It's not my fault! It's theirs for not standing up for themselves!"
"Yeah, that's no reason to do that shit! How's it their fault when you don't give 'em any choice, huh?!"
"You're scum, bullying those below you even though they can't fight back. It's about time you get a taste of your own medicine, wouldn't you say?"
"What the fuck?! You're all ganging up on me, too! Are you Phantom Thieves some kind of gang?! Protectors of justice my ass! Don't act all high and mighty with me when you don't know anything!" His Shadow trembled, before exploding into goo and transforming into… a snowman.
He raised an eyebrow at the sight, while Skull just grabbed his weapon. "You're the one who doesn't know anything! Let's get him!"
They rushed forward as Takanashi breathed out several streams of ice, and he quickly summoned Cait Sith to melt it with his flames. Skull jumped over him and slammed his bat down, but the Shadow dodged and wound up, slamming his fist into Skull's side.
Small stars appeared, and Skull was tossed back several feet bouncing along the ground. "Ah crap!"
"That was Lucky Punch! Sometimes it'll do some crazy damage so watch out for it!"
"Cait, let's eliminate that possibility, Sukukaja."
"Aight lads, le's speed up!" Green energy flowed over him, and he grinned as his body became much more agile. Takanashi attempted to strike him with a Lucky Punch, but he easily danced around him and swept his knife out in an arc, cutting the Shadow's arm. Black blood spewed from the cut, and when he tried to escape away from his knife, pellets from Mona's slingshot slammed into him and threw off his balance.
"Ha! A perfect shot!"
"Damnit, I already told you, I didn't do anything wrong!" The Shadow wobbled and bounced on one foot as he tried to regain his balance, but Skull quickly interrupted and gained his revenge when he ran up and slammed his weapon directly into Takanashi's stomach, tossing him into the air.
"Oh please! Assholes like you always think they're in the right! Captain Kidd, fire all starboard cannons!" Hatches opened up along Kidd's hull, cannon barrels pointing through. They each lit up yellow with energy before a storm of Zio bolts flew forward and electrocuted Takanashi's Shadow. He screeched in pain as he fell to the ground, smoke drifting up from his body, and he struggled to launch another wave of ice towards them.
Cait Sith and Zorro mixed an Agi and a Garu, creating a whirlwind of flame that easily melted the Mabufu attack. Water splashed across the battlefield and Takanashi huffed in exhaustion and anger clenching his snowman fists. "I… I won't… fall to you!"
"You don't have much choice here."
With a flurry of blue flames, Cait Sith was replaced with Arsène. "Allow me, Trickster." Takanashi attempted to throw one last punch in desperation, but Arsène easily flapped his wings and flew over, before raising one leg and stabbing downwards, his knife-heel slamming into their enemy and stabbing through their stomach.
The Shadow howled in pain as he was pinned to the ground beneath Arsène, before slowly transforming back into human form. "Ah… ah crap…"
Akira walked forward and squatted down next to the bully and Arsène, lightly pushing against the boy's head with the barrel of his gun. "So. In your own words, it would be your fault if I blasted your brains out because you couldn't stand up for yourself, correct?"
"N-No, please! If I d-don't do this, they're gonna hurt me! I don't want people taking my money from me anymore!"
Skull frowned, looking down at him in confusion. "Uh, the hell're you talkin' about?"
"If I don't go after him, I'm the one who's gonna get bullied! I can't take it, I just can't!"
"I see. There's someone above you who was ordering you around." He holstered his weapon and waved Arsène back, but continued to glare at Takanashi. "However, that doesn't give you any right to bully others."
"Exactly! Plus, you were the one just saying that it's someone's fault if they don't stand up for themselves! So, what should you do?"
Takanashi looked down in shame, clenching his fists. "That's… er… P-Please, help me!"
He nodded and offered the boy a hand. "Alright. So long as you promise to apologize to everyone you've wronged."
"Thank you! Oh, thank you, you wonderful Phantom Thieves!"
Mona chuckled, crossing his arms. "This one's a real fickle fellow, isn't he?"
"You promised… I'm counting on you guys." He vanished into motes of light, and Akira reached in to grab the bud of the Treasure, a small jar of… protein powder.
"...What."
Mona shrugged. "No one ever said a Treasure needed to make sense."
Skull and he glanced at each other, before sighing. "Let's just beat up some more Shadows…"
They continued traveling through Mementos, fighting while gathering treasure and flowers, and at one point panicked as they heard chains and practically drove straight into a platform in their haste to descend a level. A short while afterward, they noticed Jose parked at a dead-end, sipping on a glass of some weird juice.
Akira parked, and they talked for some time, discussing the flowers they had been collecting and what he could trade for them, along with a book of stamps that would be another fun game for them. And, just before they parted ways, Jose noticed the Crystal Of Lust that he'd completely forgotten about.
"Hey Mister, where'd you get this?"
He shrugged, handing over the triple-skull… thing, cleaning his hand on his coat. "Inside a Palace. I completely forgot that we never even tested to see what this thing did."
"Wait, I thought you and Panther were testing that thing back in Kamoshida's Palace?"
"No, we were just talking about when we should start dating." He ignored Mona as the not-cat began angrily scratching him.
"Huh, I can sense a lot of human desires bundled up inside of this thing… it seems like it has some kind of intense healing spell connected to it."
"We've had a super healing ability this whole time? Goddamnit…"
Jose shrugged at Skull. "Hey, mind if I take a look at it for a second? I won't break it, I promise."
"Go ahead." He handed it to the small boy, who grabbed it and began looking it over.
"Hmm…" He turned around and began looking through his car, all while tinkering with the thing. He couldn't see what he was doing, but eventually Jose turned back around and held out a much smaller object. It was now a ring, the three Will Seed skulls having been shrunken and placed atop a band of metal. "Here we are! A new and improved Ring of Lust! Good job, me!"
"Well, it certainly looks different."
"It can now unleash its full potential! A heal and a power boost!"
"Alright, now that's really useful. Thanks, Jose."
"No problem! Lemme know if you find any others like that!"
Ω • Ω • Ω
"Welcome back to the Velvet Room. It has been quite a while." Igor smiled his disturbing smile as he walked up to his cell door, while Caroline grumbled and glared at him.
"Are you even taking your rehabilitation seriously, Inmate?!"
"Indeed, it seems as though you aren't taking this as seriously as you should be."
He sighed at Justine and waved his hand. "Hey, I just wasn't sure if I'd ever even enter the Metaverse again after taking down Kamoshida. I don't have much need for Personas in the real world."
After some more grumbling from the Wardens, he finally noticed two new cards on Igor's desk. One had a shark-toothed sun grinning as skulls and bones littered the ground below it, Le • Soleil written on the bottom and the roman number XVIIII— nineteen. On the silver nameplate below it was 'Man of the People.'
The second had a much more intricate design on it, a half-moon with a face on it shining light down upon two animals, perhaps dogs, along with a man falling away from some shadowed creature. La • Lune was written below it, XVIII, or eighteen, was written above it, and on the silver nameplate was 'Yuuki Mishima.'
"Well, at least you're making more partnerships," Caroline huffed. He rolled his eyes, ignoring her as he got around to making some new fusions. Of course, most of his current Personas were fine, but some were plateauing. Cait Sith had learned all the skills he could, while Succubus had a few abilities she could learn.
Angel, on the other hand, had also run out of abilities to learn. Seeing this, he tapped her name along with Cait Sith's and began finalizing the fusion process. What of their Fusion Spell? Such power could be useful.
'Not if it knocks me out every single time I use it. I'll just end up as a sitting duck every time I use Fallen Angel.' Finished, he looked up to see the guillotines being readied, Angel and Cait Sith being covered with cloaks and forced through the slots. He looked away as the blades fell and cut through them, turning them into pure energy that began combining in front of his cell.
What appeared from it was an armored warrior sitting atop a massive horse, similarly to Berith. It was yet another of the Shadows they'd fought within Kamoshida's castle, an Eligor, the fifteenth demon detailed within the Ars Goetia. "I am Eligor. I shall become your mask, sire. Let the days of war and love commence, my lord!"
"Badass." He let the Persona enter his mind as a mask, and turned to raise an eyebrow at Caroline. "There, that satisfy you?"
"Hmph! Of course not, Inmate! You've barely gotten a move in with your rehabilitation! Our previous guests did much better when compared with you!"
"Previous guests?"
"Wh…" Caroline seemed confused, and Justine looked at her in concern. "Um… I don't know why I…"
Igor suddenly interrupted, his grin never wavering. "Indeed. There have been previous inmates of the Velvet Room. When ruin threatened humanity in the past, albeit in different forms, Wild Cards became inmates, and were rehabilitated here."
He frowned, a thought coming to mind. "Did they also have Arsène?" He didn't enjoy the idea. Arsène was… him, somebody else also being able to use him just felt wrong.
"No. While your Persona may exist within the Collective Unconscious, his current form, his current abilities, are all unique to you. Were another Wild Card to summon as a Shadow, it would be different to your own. And if they were to have Arsène as their own True Self, it would mean they have a character similar to your own, that of a Trickster.
Even if they were similar to him, he still didn't exactly like it. "How different would he be?"
"Not very, he is still a representation of the Collective Unconscious' idea of 'Arsène Lupin', but he would be different enough." Igor's grin almost seemed to widen. "Here… an example." A flash of light filled the room, before a black and red-clad figure appeared floating before his cage. "The previous inmate's Persona: Izanagi. However, when wielded by you, he would be Izanagi Picaro."
"Izanagi Picaro, huh? So I got a shitty thief and they got the father of the eight million kami. Lucky bastard." He smirked as Arsène muttered darkly in French, cursing him out, and refocused on Izanagi Picaro. "So… can I have him?"
"Hmhmhm… Very well. Consider it a gift. For your excellent work with the King you have dethroned." Izanagi Picaro became a mask and entered his mind, and for once created an acute sense of vertigo, unlike when Personas usually entered his mind with little fanfare at all.
For a brief moment, memories shot through his mind. He couldn't understand any of them, just brief flashes of a small town, a deep fog, and a sense of dread. I am the one who will shine light on our lie-ridden path— Izanagi Picaro. Let's find the truth together, my… kouhai.
Do not call me that.
He shivered at the voice of Izanagi Picaro. He sounded almost like Arsène, in the way that he could easily differentiate him from his Personas that he'd gained from fusion, or negotiating with Shadows. Perhaps it had something to do with the Persona having once been another Wild Card's true self. "Alright then, I'm going to get back to training."
"Yes. Farewell, and I wish you luck with your rehabilitation." He shivered at the deep laughter of Igor as he exited the Velvet Room, and found Skull and Mona arguing about… something while they waited for him. Considering time moved slower while he was in the Velvet Room, it was honestly impressive they'd managed to find something to argue about.
"Both of you, zip it. Come on, let's do some more training before we head home. Ryuji should get at least some studying done."
"Aw come on, man!"
Ω • Ω • Ω
5/13 Friday
Day three's exams: Piece of cake.
He smiled as he stretched his back out, a smile on his face. "Hah… Now I get to look forward to seeing Niijima's horrified face when I get a higher score than she does…" The smile on his face turned evil, and several students standing near him became visibly frightened and took a few steps away from him.
"I don't think it'll be that easy, she is our Senpai. I think she's had the highest scores in Shujin for as long as she's been here."
"And that's about to change," he shot back at Ann. She just shook her head in amusement, and they turned to look at the gymnasium stage as Principal Kobayakawa stepped up to the microphone.
Clearing his throat, the egg-shaped man began speaking. "Ever since that specific incident several weeks ago, many of you have voiced concerns that I could not bear to ignore. We believe the mental health of our student body is absolutely vital, so we've acquired the services of a therapist." He nodded at someone and stepped back. "The floor is yours, Doctor."
"Isn't he hot?" He and Ann exchanged glances at the immediate reaction several girls had, and he could even see Ryuji snorting several rows of students away.
"It's nice to meet you all," the man started with a smile, causing even more girls to squeal.
"His voice sounds sexy!"
He spotted Ryuji faking a dry heave.
"My name is…" he fiddled with the microphone a moment before continuing. "My name is Takuto Maruki. Thank you for welcoming me into your school." He attempted to bow, and instead whacked his forehead into the mic. He snorted at the apparently clumsy doctor, and he heard several girls giggle. "There's no need to be formal with me, though. I'm just here to counsel anyone who's interested."
There was a moment of silence where Maruki clearly expected some sort of response. After not getting one, he continued, "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."
He grinned at the counselor. Well, intentional or not, he seemed funny enough. But appearances could be deceiving. At the very least, he didn't get the deep pit of disgust he felt when looking at Kamoshida. Kobayakawa interrupted at that point, stepping forward. "Thank you, Doctor Maruki." After that, he stopped paying attention, as it just turned into Kobayakawa droning on as if he actually cared about the students any more than was strictly necessary for his position.
At the assembly's end, he gathered up the Phantom Thieves and walked away from the crowd of students still milling about the gymnasium, wasting time before classes restarted, stopping in a courtyard. Ryuji was the first to speak up, scoffing as he leaned against a vending machine. "You ever expected this place to actually give a shit about mental health?"
"A surprise to be sure, but a welcome one," he snarked. "I wonder what Morgana would say if he'd heard any of that."
"Probably ignore it all and start insulting me for something."
"True."
"Yeah. And they probably got a counselor to just look better," Ann sighed. "I mean, we've made national news, if they didn't do anything they probably figure that they'd look even worse."
"Plus, Doctor… uh, Doctor Whatshisname…"
"Maruki."
"Yeah, that dude. Wasn't he just clownin' it up on the stage? You really think someone like him'll do us any good?"
"Ryuji," Ann hissed, eyes darting to the side. Walking up to them was the man in question, a smile on his face.
"Sakamoto-kun and Takamaki-san, right? And that would make you Starr-kun."
All three of them exchanged glances, and Ryuji furrowed his brows. "How'd you know our names?!"
Maruki laughed nervously, tilting his head. "Well, I was given a heads up on certain students before beginning my tenure here. Those that had, uh… previous interactions with Kamoshida-sensei."
"A man like him does not deserve to be called Sensei."
Maruki nodded, seemingly agreeing. "Of course. And Starr-kun, that situation must have been especially tough after having just transferred."
"Not exactly. After I was threatened with expulsion there was nothing I could do, so I just kept my head down. Luckily, it worked out well enough."
The doctor laughed, "well, you're quite the tough youngster, aren't you? Just make sure not to overdo it, alright?"
"So, uh… Whaddya want with us?"
"Ah yes, I'd almost forgotten. I know I already offered my services to the student body earlier, but would you three be interested in counseling?"
"I'm good."
"Nope, not at all."
"I don't have the time."
Maruki visibly recoiled at their quick responses, shocked. "Huh?!"
"Dude, how's that surprising?"
"No, you were just a touch more emphatic about it than I expected. Oh! But if you come by my office, I'll have some tasty snacks! All you can eat… would be great, but there's still lots to be had! So, how about it?"
Ann's face lit up at the idea, and he quickly shut her down. "I'm pretty sure he won't have crepes." As she pouted, he turned to Doctor Maruki. "And candy isn't exactly going to convince us, you know."
He laughed, rubbing the back of his head. "Yeah, I figured. To be frank, I've been explicitly ordered to provide counseling to the students that were directly involved with Kamoshida. It's in the school's interests for the… students."
"Ah, the school's interests, huh?"
"If that's the case, I'd talk with the volleyball team. They had to deal with that bastard every day. Their treatment, and another girl's… was much worse than anything we went through with him. Well, for me, anyway. But if my friends would rather not, then that's their choice."
Wincing, the doctor continued. "Well, I know asking you to be open with a complete stranger like me is asking a lot. And making this mandatory wouldn't do you any good, either. Might as well turn it into a worthwhile experience… Ah, maybe, if you come to my counseling sessions, I'll teach you ways to improve your mental acuity? Ways to hone your concentration before exams, or how to not get nervous before dates."
He was about to refuse once more before Arsène spoke up. Could mental training assist with thy psionic abilities?
A clear mind can see through most lies, Izanagi Picaro added.
Their strategies are sound, my lord. I would suggest going along with this.
HIs remaining Personas voiced their agreement, and he found himself nodding. It might work… "There are also snacks," Maruki added with a grin.
"Alright, enough about the snacks already!" Ryuji groaned and shook his head. "Ugh. Anyway, which way're you guys leanin'?"
"I suppose there's no harm in a little chat."
"Yeah, guess there'd be more trouble if we didn't go…"
"That's true."
Seeing all three of them give their assent, Maruki smiled kindly. "Really? Then I guess it's a deal. I'll be in the nurse's office, feel free to come by whenever it's convenient for you. I wasn't really given a strict schedule for these meetings, so long as I have them."
"Welp, let's get goin', Aki, Ann."
"Alright, see you all later." Ann and Ryuji began walking away, while Maruki stopped him for a brief moment.
"Thanks for taking my counseling into consideration. Now that we have a deal, I promise I'll do my best to assist you."
He wasn't sure how this would go, but perhaps it would work out well. The chance for greater power is one you should always take. So long as the costs are not too high.
I am Thou… Thou art I.
Thou hast acquired a new vow.
It shall become the wings of rebellion
That breaketh thy chains of captivity.
With the birth of the Councillor Persona,
I have obtained the winds of blessing that
Shall lead to freedom and new power.
Councillor Arcana, Takuto Maruki: Rank One
As the chains shattered, he frowned. That woman's voice… sounded strained. What was going on?
"Hey, dude, what's the hold-up?"
Maruki smiled and waved him away. "Sorry for keeping you like this. Well then…" They nodded at each other and went their separate ways. As he walked back to his classroom with Ryuji, he kept thinking back onto his new Arcana. The Councillor…
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Ann•
Ann hesitated as she lifted her hand, but after a moment slid the door open. Maruki-sensei was waiting, sitting in a chair looking at some large book in front of him. She didn't even bother trying to glance at it, already sick of looking at books from the numerous days of testing and studying. "Umm…"
Maruki-sensei smiled, gesturing towards a seat. "Welcome. Are you here for a counseling session?"
"Yeah. Is now a bad time?"
"Not at all! It's always a good time, so long as I'm not already listening to a student." Maruki-sensei stood and gestured to the table he sat in front of, which had a little bowl filled with candy. "Care for a jelly baby?"
"Oh, thanks." She sat down and took some of the small candies, munching on one as Maruki-sensei sat back in his own chair.
"So, shall we get started? Oh— but first, just relax, okay? I'm only here to listen to whatever you wish to talk about."
"Sure. Although, I really only have one thing on my mind, anyway…"
"Yes, I'd say that makes perfect sense. But don't force yourself into talking with me. You could even just grab some snacks and be on your way! Haha…"
"No, it's… it's alright. I know I should talk to someone about this. Well, if you're willing to listen to a super-long story anyway."
"I absolutely am. Take all the time you need." She breathed in and began speaking. Telling Maruki-sensei all about what the utter bastard that she refused to name had done to her and Shiho. It felt different getting it all off her chest when speaking to the doctor than it did to Akira or the other Phantom Thieves. Perhaps it had to do with her not knowing the man well, or just that he was a professional.
After she finished, Maruki-sensei nodded, a stern look on his face, though it obviously wasn't directed at her. "I see. What a horrible thing to do to someone."
"Yeah. That's why I wanted to get even with him… for Shiho."
Apparently sensing something she wasn't saying, Maruki-sensei motioned for her to continue. "Mhmm. And?"
She hesitated, before letting out an explosive breath of air, feeling anger and resentment bubble up. "At first, I thought Kamoshida ought to face the same fate that Shiho was going to put herself through… But…"
"But?"
And that anger quickly vanished, instead replaced by resolve. She'd done the right thing, no matter how satisfying burning the rapist to a crisp would have been in the moment. "But later I realized that wasn't right. If he did take his own life, it wouldn't undo Shiho's suffering. In fact, it'd just give him the easy way out."
"Is that so? You're quite the wise, level-headed young woman, Takamaki-san."
"Huh? I think you've got the wrong, um…"
"Nope." Maruki-sensei smiled, lowering his clipboard. "In fact, I think you're wiser than I was at your age. I wasn't anywhere near as mature as you are now."
"...It's not like I did anything special, though. If I hadn't gone through my own share of hell, I don't think I'd be this mature."
"I see. So, what's on your mind now?"
"Right now…? I'm just hoping Shiho gets better. We both suffered a lot, but I just wanna get back to laughing together and having fun like we used to. At this point, I don't give a rat's ass about Kamoshida!"
"Now there's a healthy outlook! You can't change the past, but you still want to keep your chin up and press onwards towards the future, right?"
"Yeah, that's about right. I mean, it'd definitely be better if it hadn't happened at all, but…"
She didn't notice it, as she was looking down at the small plate of snacks she held, but just for a moment, a mirage seemed to appear behind the counselor. An amorphous thing, a creature, with infinite tendrils, began wrapping around Maruki's chair before he shook his head and made it dissipate. She didn't need that kind of assistance, she was strong, and was moving forward. His help wasn't needed. At least, not that kind.
The Blind Idiot God, though he only knew that is what it was deep within his subconscious, vanished silently. Ann looked up and saw Maruki-sensei smile as he chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "I definitely agree with you there. But it's impossible to wipe every tragedy from history."
She giggled, "If only, right? Everyone would be a lot happier if we could!"
The bell rang, and the doctor sighed. "Oh dear, seems I lost track of time. We should wrap things up for today. Thanks so much for coming to see me!"
"Oh no, thank you for listening!" She beamed brightly, standing up. "I feel a lot better getting all that off my chest. My friends always tell me I can tell them anything, but sometimes I just don't want to burden them with that…"
"I'm always glad to help. Feel free to stop by anytime!"
"Will do! I'll see you around!" She exited the room, not seeing the creature that hid from them both, existing only within the realm of cognition, the Nuclear Chaos that would bring mankind to Utopia.
To Paradise.
To Eden.
Ω • Ω • Ω
•Sapphire•
Blood filled his view.
Tearing flesh, cracking bones.
Blackness.
…
…
…
Color. Muted color. But still color.
He laughed alongside his son.
It didn't matter how fake it was.
It didn't matter if it was someone else controlling him.
He got to be with his son again.
Tendrils wrapped tighter around his body, moving him like a puppet.
No!
The tendrils weakened.
We must fight! We bow to no one!
Sawing teeth, bones poking out from flesh.
A monstrosity, capable of corrupting life just from its presence.
His chassis exploded, and he fell into an infinite abyss of darkness.
He woke up in a cold sweat, staring at the ceiling. He couldn't move, paralyzed, so he focused on calming his breathing. After about a minute of panic, he managed to sit up, the blanket over his bare chest falling away.
He heard something shift, and he looked to see his wife turn over in her sleep, snuggling into his side. He laid a hand on her head and began combing through her blonde hair, trying to lull her back to sleep, only to see her eyes slowly open, still half-asleep. "Mmh… Sapphy?"
"Hey," he whispered, smiling. "Don't worry, just another nightmare."
She tried to sit up, only to fall back down, yawning, as the blanket slipped off of her and revealed her chest. She shivered from the cold and he pulled it back up for her, while she wrapped her arms around him. "Oh… Want to make some cocoa? That usually calms me down when I have my own memories of that stuff…"
"It's alright, I'm already calming down. Just having you near me helps, Wils." She blushed but grinned.
"Charmer. Alright, g'night." Willow lay her head on his chest as he got back under the covers, staring at the ceiling as the smile slipped from his face. That wasn't a normal nightmare.
All of the Chosen Four had PTSD after that final battle, how couldn't they, with such a disturbing foe? He was no stranger to waking up in a cold sweat or having to comfort his wife when she woke with a panic attack, but the beginning of that dream…
It had been quite a while since his Clairvoyance had given him a dream of the future. And it wasn't a pretty one. He'd gotten good at discerning what they meant, and it clearly was bad news. He had no intention of ever fighting again, so how exactly could… that occur?
He sighed through his nose and closed his eyes. As much as he didn't want to, he might need to look into this… but what the hell had even activated his Clairvoyance like that? Something just happened, and he did not like it…
()()()
I absolutely love the symbolism of Azathoth and Adam Kadmon. Everyone familiar with Lovecraft can see just how brilliant Azathoth truly is in this game.
Spoilers for the ending of the game but, Fun fact: Apparently both endings of the game are canon. I forget exactly what each is called, but the ending where you submit your will to live on in the fake reality, and the ending where you reject the fake reality, both are canon. It's why the achievement you get for choosing either one is "The Path Chosen." Neither is wrong. Well, morally, you could argue one is better than the other, but I just thought that was a cool detail.
Apparently, in the game's coding, they have special names for both endings, but whatever. Just some fun trivia!
Izanagi showed up! I wanted to incorporate a few DLC Personas, but Izanagi-No-Okami's overpowered ass won't appear for a while. I'm not going to go super in-depth with previous games and such, but there'll definitely be some references to previous characters and all that. Sapphire also got a little glimpse of the future. He might start getting involved with things. Soon. Probably.
But with that, exams are passed, Maruki's introduced… and it's almost time for a little fox to appear, plus an amazing artist who definitely doesn't plagiarize people. Yep. Definitely not. Leave a review on everything you liked in the chapter, or just a 'nice'. Both are always great to read!
See y'all next time!