Chapter 17
Just one day.
That's all Yukari asked for.
One day where she could just relax and unwind, and not have to worry about running into someone, or running away from something.
Like, I don't know, maybe a group of Goddamn boys.
It could be worse, the brunette realized as she power-walked across the hallway. It wasn't like they were all fighting for her affections or anything; not like what they did with Mitsuru. For Yukari, it was usually one guy, someone who makes the mistake of admitting to kinda-sorta-maybe liking the brunette, and suddenly, bam, a swarm of dudes are all goading this guy into asking her out. Most of them know that she'd never say yes (they've already tried), but they still harass the next boy until he caves in and starts the timid walk up to the brunette's desk.
And that's when she runs. Because God knows Yukari's taken enough 'Not right now'-s and 'I'll see you later'-s of her own to keep giving them to the next kid who asks.
(And no, it's not actually running away because they're being just as much cowards as she is by attacking in a group! …Right?)
So, as usual, the brunette found herself soldiering through the school, dipping and dodging like a pro as she evaded the boys trying to act like they were casually following her (and failing miserably, she might add).
She followed the hallway hooking to the left, giving a little inward victory cry as a big class let out behind her and students swarmed the hallway. Hopefully they'd stall the boys for a few more moments. Taking the door leading outside, Yukari tried to control her pace and let it look leisurely, even though there was nobody else in the small courtyard to notice.
The doors she was going to use as an exit (those opposite to the ones she used to enter) were so, so close when she heard the depressing noise of doors opening. However, the noise didn't come from in back of her, it came from…
…right in front of her?
Wait a sec-
"Eep!"
She couldn't help the squeak that flew out of her throat as something barreled into her from the complete opposite side that she'd been focusing on. Another sound also came from the door in front of her, a decidedly more deep-sounding grunt as she toppled to the floor.
Overriding the thought of 'Seriously, is this gonna happen every week?' was a voice slowly becoming more familiar to her.
"Ugh, what the…?"
"A-akihiko-senpai?"
"Yukari?" The groggy grey-haired senior righted himself from his similarly downed position on the floor. "What the heck were you doing, walking that fast?"
The brunette's jaw could have dropped. "Senpai, you were sprinting!"
"Yeah, but I'm running from my damn fan club. And at least I was looking forward." He didn't notice the girl's suddenly creased brows and slowly clenching fists as he continued. "Why're you in such a hurry, anyways?"
That threw her for a loop. How to respond…? "My… uh, My…"
"Oh, your own fan club, huh?" Akihiko said, scratching his chin as he finally stood up. And sadly, before Yukari could rebut with a 'No, they're not my 'fanclub', and if you ever even suggest I have a fanclub again, you won't have the time to regret it,' the boy had already moved on. "So, how're we gonna get out of this, then?"
"Well, I'm gonna go through that door, and you can go through the other one."
"That's a bad idea. They'll just grab you and force you to show them where I went, so- crap! Behind the pillars!"
In the middle of Akihiko's explanation, a commotion on the other side of the tinted windows made the boxer snatch Yukari's arm and drag her through a gap in the stone pillars beside the duo. She barely had the time to jump over the gap and duck behind a pillar (and give the senior a glare) before the doors burst open, and footsteps pounded out into the yard.
Yukari cocked her head at that noise. Was it just her, or did it seem like Akihiko's 'fan club' was only-
"Where'd he go?"
"He's gotta be here somewhere…"
"Okay! You go over there, and I'll-"
Slam!
This time, another set of doors opened… but now, it was from the doors Yukari had used. A much larger amount of footsteps entered the courtyard, and fanned out until they all stopped and a stilted silence filled the air.
"…So," a male voice asked. "What're you girls doing here?"
"What're you doing here?" a girl asked, equally defensive.
The silence stretched out longer, until a different voice piped up on the boys' side. "Well, we're looking for Yukari-chan, so this guy can ask her out."
A squeak followed that statement, and Yukari had to roll her eyes. A freshman. Naturally.
"Well, we're here to find Akihiko-senpai. We've got this whole workout routine planned for him to try out, and we'll have to help him with his stretches, and refill his water, and get him new towels-"
"Um, right," the first guy cut in. "Well, if you're gonna go that way… Wait, actually, did you guys see her walk that way?"
"Nah, we didn't. Did you guys see a drop-dead beautiful man walk out that way?"
"Um, jeez, I dunno if I should even tell you that…"
"What?! Are you withholding information?!"
"You two are scarin' the hell outta me!"
The argument continued, but Yukari had already tuned it out, turning to the senior next to her with an even fiercer glare than before. "Two girls, Senpai? You're running from your 'fanclub' of two girls!?"
"You have no idea! Those two are psychopaths!" he hissed back, not even turning to meet the brunette's gaze. She opened her mouth to reply, but:
"-This is inexcusable! We are so close to getting Akihiko-senpai's respect, and love, and commitment, and-"
"Okay, okay! I didn't see him, all right?! Take, like, five big steps back! Five!"
…Well, maybe Yukari could see what Akihiko was talking about, after all.
"Not until you help us find him!" one of the psychopathic girls continued.
"We will!" a boy replied, clearly exasperated. "Listen, if you didn't see her, and we didn't see him, then they're still here, right? So we just need to spread out and look!"
Yukari was suddenly caught between crushing despair and wanting to roll her eyes. Oh, now you suddenly grow a brain. How convenient.
"…But why should we trust you, huh?!"
"Wh-what are you talking about?!"
"You were withholding information! Maybe we should do the same to you!"
"Huh?!"
Despite the fact that the girls' side of this unlikely alliance was going to stall them, it was only a matter of time before both she and Akihiko would be caught. Yukari tensed her legs, preparing for an inevitable chase as the newly formed team finalized its plan, but a light tug at her shoulder made her turn. The grey-haired senior was looking at her urgently, and pointed to the sky when she looked at him.
One of the archer's eyebrows rose. What…? She looked up, finding only the blue sky above, and a few assorted clouds strolling through the air with one covering the sun. And, of course, there was the pillar above them-
The girl's brown eyes widened. He didn't mean-
"Give me a boost!" he whispered, getting onto his feet (a sound disguised by the insane girls' diatribes) and pantomiming a boosting movement with his hands. "Quickly!"
The girl rapidly complied, cupping her hands as the boxer shoved his foot into them. She pushed him upwards and he grabbed onto a ledge, dangling for a moment before finding his footing. Hooking an arm and leg around a marble decoration, he swung himself down, offering his hand to the girl still on the ground.
"Grab my hand! Now!"
And she did just that, though also considering the absolute ridiculousness of the situation as he swung her upwards and they both started climbing to the uppermost part of the pillars, somewhere near the second story of Gekkokaun.
And fortunately, just as they reached the top of the pillar-
"This is ridiculous," the lead boy on the ground said. "Just look around already! I don't care how glorious Akihiko-senpai is to you, just help us look for both of them, alright?"
"Hmph. Fine. But if I find out you really were-"
"Yeah, yeah, whatever."
The large team began to spread out around the courtyard. That sight took Yukari's focus for a few seconds, until (once again) a jerk on her arm brought her back to the present situation.
"Lie down!" Akihiko murmured, already doing it himself. "They haven't seen our shadows because of the cloud cover, but if you don't get down now, they'll see you for sure in a moment!"
Yukari nodded and lay down totally still, merely listening to the sounds of the Unlikely Alliance scrounging about for clues.
It took a good ten minutes, but after finding nothing relating to the duo they were searching for, the groups dispersed.
"God, all that effort for nothing…"
"Eh, one of us will see her later in the day. Don't worry, we'll get Kazuto-kun here to ask her out."
"Eep!"
"Shut it, Kazuto."
All of that was said over the sound of the two girls wailing, audibly mourning the loss of their "Akihiko-senpai, Akihiko-senpaaaaiiii".
Two sets of doors closed with respective clunks, and Yukari breathed a sigh of relief as she sat up. "That… was stupidly insane."
"Dunno about that." The girl's companion stayed down, but spread his legs out as he relaxed. "It worked, didn't it?"
"Yeah, but just because no one was crazy enough to check and see if we were hiding up the marble decoration."
"Exactly!"
"Right!" The archer blinked. "…Wait, whose point did I just prove here?"
"Beats me." The senior finally sat up too, swinging his legs over the edge. "But hey, we did it!" He grinned and raised his fist to the girl. "Come on, pound it!"
The brunette stared at the fist with conflicting bemusement and bafflement. "Senpai, that's not really a girl thing to do."
An exasperated breath of air escaped Akihiko as he lowered his fist. "You sound like Mitsuru."
Brown eyes narrowed, and the girl's hand rose in her own fist bump. "Put that thing back up."
"You know what, Yukari?" The girl tilted her head at the senior's voice, until he turned his head to meet her gaze. "I'm starting to see a pattern here, Yukari."
"…What are you talking about?"
The boxer pointed a finger in Yukari's direction, one eyebrow raised on his face. "You really don't like Mitsuru, do you?"
"I thought you were supposed to be unobservant," Yukari muttered, turning away from her interrogator and adjusting one of her folded sleeves.
"I'm stupid, but I'm not blind." The silver-haired boy turned away too, resting his gaze on the same horizon Yukari was staring at. "Don't be so harsh on her."
"…What?"
"You don't know half of the shit she's had to go through. Honestly, you don't have any right to judge her." The senior's face turned oddly stony as he continued. "Don't judge someone until you've got the chance to know them. Especially not her."
"…Heh." This time, it was Akihiko's turn to look in surprise at his companion, who now wore a clearly fake smile. "I'm getting everyone mad, huh? First Hamuko, now you… Wonder how long 'til Stupei gets pissed at me again."
The duo was quiet for a moment. But after a few seconds, Akihiko hesitantly replied. "I ain't angry at you. Not really. It's just…" He huffed a sigh. "Well, you're not the only one who hates Mitsuru. And I hate it, 'cuz no one really knows her. Trust me, they'd all act different if they did."
"I guess so. But… Senpai, I'm sorry, but I've gotta ask. Don't you think she's hiding something from us?"
"Sure. But so'm I. And aren't you, too?"
Yukari blinked.
"We've all got secrets, Yukari." The boxer shrugged. "That's a damn stupid reason to hate someone."
A heartbeat passed before the brunette chuckled and placed a dangling string of her hair behind her ear. "Y' know, Senpai, you're surprisingly insightful sometimes."
The boxer's eyebrows furrowed. "Muh?"
"Oh, nevermind."
Then, a full minute or so passed in silence, with the duo merely listening to the wind ripple through the trees beneath them. But then the senior raised his fist again with an expectant look.
"Putting everything else aside… How about it? To a job well done?"
"Considering what we do most nights, I hardly think this counts as a job, Senpai," the archer replied. "But… and this is just to humor you, mind you…"
"Heh, 'course."
Thump!
"Though, now the problem is how to get down from here."
"Hmm… Yep. Oh!"
A squeak! from one side of the building caught the duo's attention, and the sunlight bouncing off a moving window shone into their eyes, blinding them.
"Yo!" A familiar voice called. When their vision returned, both the archer and the boxer were unsurprised to see a grinning mop of auburn hair poking out of the now-opened window. "Thought you dorks might need an escape route. So, you're welcome!"
Yukari got up with an exaggerated eye roll. "Thanks, Hamuko-chan. What would we ever do without you?"
"Break your backs, probably. Now come on and get in here before a teacher sees you crazy kids!"
The gentle creak of the dorm's opening door was music to Mitsuru's ears, as it always was when she walked into the lobby. Even better was observing that the room was nearly quiet and deserted, the perfect conditions for a perfect reading environment.
Although, "nearly" was the operative word. The redhead's new blue-haired assistant was lying face up on the couch with a heavy, hardback book covering his face, snoring lightly. Also per usual, he was taking up the entire couch, his broken leg (and Mitsuru still had to endure a pulse of guilt whenever she saw that) propped up against one armrest while his head took the other… thus taking up both of Mitsuru's favorite spots in the lobby (Or "hogging" them, as the boy's sister claimed).
She sighed lightly, taking off her coat and hanging it on the coat hanger next to Minato's pea coat and Akihiko's scarf. Her footsteps were muffled by the room's rug (whose color was somehow already fading after only a month of activity) and she plopped down on the armchair.
Meanwhile, the boy rolled over, muttering something unintelligible as the book fell off his face. It hit another pile of books beneath the coffee table, tipping them over and sending them tumbling in a heap.
However, the taller Arisato merely sniffed at the noise. Mitsuru raised an eyebrow with a light smile.
Quite the heavy sleeper.
Being the person she was, Mitsuru automatically began picking up the books, though she couldn't stop herself from also reading the titles as she did.
'Intermediate Programming'
'Train Operating for Morons'
'My Boss is a Maniac! Help! (Female boss edition)'(Mitsuru couldn't help a quiet huff of laughter at that title. Normally she'd have to act offended, but here, with nobody around except a sound asleep boy… she could share her sense of humor with the book.)
'Better Communication in the Workplace: Level 1' [Feel like you can talk well with everyone but your coworkers? Pick up this book!]
The redhead stared at the last book's cover for a while. It had been a couple weeks since Hamuko, Junpei, and Yukari had walked into the lobby discussing Minato's social awkwardness (or lack thereof), with two of the group claiming he just didn't care, while the boy's twin said he just needed to 'warm up' to them. At the time, Mitsuru had been inclined to agree with the brunette and black-haired boy arguing the former point. But now, after flipping through a few of the boy's highlights and annotations…
'Always remember to make eye contact!' - Oh, really?
'It's vital to give thanks to your coworkers.' - But what if they really don't deserve it?
'Try to find common ground with your coworkers! Getting buddy-buddy with your boss is never a bad thing!' - First part? Near impossible. Second part? Suicide.
…she was inclined to say that none of those three were right. Despite his sarcastic notes, the fact that he was reading and writing in the book showed not only that he was trying to connect with S.E.E.S., but also that he didn't need time to warm up to them: he needed to learn how.
Now, the only question that remained was why he could connect well with others at school, but not with S.E.E.S.
Caught up in thought, Mitsuru didn't notice the people near the door until they were fumbling with the latch. She hastily shut and shoved the book away, snatching another one from the bookshelf and swinging around on the armchair as the trio of Hamuko, Yukari, and Akihiko walked in with all the hush of a wrecking crew.
"I still can't believe you guys did that."
"Just wait 'till you get your own fan club. Heh, you'll be pulling those kinds of stunts every day."
"Urrgh, I'm not gonna get a fan club, Senpai."
"I wouldn't be so sure, Hamuko-chan. Do ya know how many rumors there are about you already?"
"Uhh, no? And I dunno if I wanna- oh, hey, Mitsuru-Senpai!"
The three latecomers were over halfway across the room before the operational leader noticed the redhead "reading" in the lobby. The redhead glanced up at them with a look of half-surprise.
"Welcome back, you three. I hope your days were pleasant."
"Heh, it was… and especially exciting for these two jokers." Grinning, Hamuko jabbed two fingers at her friends, who were suddenly rather sheepish. But before they could reply, the auburn-haired leader had already continued with a look pointed at the couch in back of Mitsuru. "And I'd guess the punk feigning sleep behind you had a pretty good day too."
Mitsuru's heart stopped. Feigning?
She tried not to whirl around and stare at the boy behind her, eyes now open and his usual sleepy stare somehow more… sleepy than normal as he slowly glanced at the others in the room.
"Wasn't feigning," he mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his face, "'til you three walked in."
And thus, Mitsuru's heart continued beating.
"Aww, did we wake you up, Mina? Poor baaaaby-pphhth!" Hamuko crooned from across the room, making pouting faces until a couch cushion soared over Mitsuru's head and whacked the girl square in the mouth.
"Poor baby yourself," the girl's ornery brother muttered. "You're the one that needs a pacifier."
"But you're the one throwing a temper-tantrum!" And the pillow whooshed right back across the room and onto the boy's head. He grabbed it with a glare, rearing his arm back for another throw…
But, sadly, as much as the other two seemed to be enjoying the situation, it wouldn't do in a setting like this. A light cough from the redhead immediately made everyone freeze faster than being caught in a mabufu, and each of them snapped their heads around like kids caught with their hands halfway into the cookie jar (with the exception of Minato, who just dropped the pillow and gave a light humph. Mitsuru ignored him.)
"I believe that is quite enough for right now," the Kirijo heir said in her regal voice, wordlessly ordering them all into the other room. And just as expected, the three muttered slight apologies before ducking into the kitchen and restarting their previous conversation. Mitsuru would have to ask about that later. But for now…
"Arisato." The redhead's voice turned the boy's head, and he raised one eyebrow expectantly. "I was going to wait until later to give you this, but since you are awake, I suppose you might take it now."
With a light jangle, a USB drive dropped from the redhead's hand into the blue-haired boy's outstretched one. The raised eyebrow didn't disappear.
"It is a USB drive containing Level 4 security access. It is not the highest security clearance that exists, but it is certainly enough for accessing the shadow databases. I am expecting you to take advantage of these databases for reference purposes, now that you are... assisting me."
"…What would require a higher security clearance than the shadow database?"
"Honestly? I, too, am unsure." She shook her head. "Level 4 is the highest clearance I have access to."
The taller Arisato blinked. "Ah." He looked down at the innocuous USB in his hand. "Then, this is…"
"One of my personal access drives, yes." Mitsuru's smile suddenly seemed to turn down the thermostat. "I assume I do not need to tell you the consequences if you somehow misplace that?"
The blue-haired boy tried not to swallow audibly. "No."
"Wonderful. In that case, I must be off. Oh, and Arisato," she said, turning back for a moment. "Do not try to update the files yourself. That is my job; I am simply giving this to you for reference."
"Understood," he replied (And not voicing his thoughts of 'Of course, you workaholic').
With that, Mitsuru swept upstairs like royalty, head held high and not looking back.
So no one noticed Minato's grim smile as his hand tightened around the thumb drive.
(Watch your back, Ikutsuki… I'm one step closer now, you slithery bastard.)
AN: Hey guys, long time no see! I do wanna apologize for the break, but I'll write a little more on that below. For now…
Shout outs to: Cherished Tenshi, Rek-san, PhilTH, Kweh Viola, Specs95, Biscione, ApplePajama, Ahmed324, DarkIs4EverInLight, Tlice, SOP369369, TheLastTest, Secluded Tune, InnocentSerenade, DiJei Aya, Volpa, YTaMSPw, Korus207, Kisua, lurker77, Shiro-Cero, A Natsume Yuujinchou lover, retona, WitchJuliana, darkroydante, Godrik55, Al Skyler, and NatsuRyuu for following;
Feathery-Dreamer, laurent1991, Specs95, Seiye, Silent death 01252, Enigmatic Magus, ApplePajama, Ahmed324, Athena, The Three Kings, InnocentSerenade, Korus207, xXYuseiXAkikoXx, RezokukenVIII, , EpicStarNight, Alice Nick Odair, Tyrandale, Infinite Ivan, Buttonben, Al Skyler, and NatsuRyuu for faving;
And Hawkeye Raider, MagatsuIza, Yoshikunitsu, VastBlueSky, paradoxjr, crymblade, gu3st, G.A.S.A., Biscione, and ApplePajama for reviewing!
In response to:
[VastBlueSky: Haha yeah man, me too! It won't happen in the priestess battle, sadly… But, I will say that it might happen during another similar event after this one. Thanks for reviewing!]
[Gu3st: Hahaha I totally never thought about it that way, but yeah, in a way that's true! And yep, I agree with ya there. Thanks for reviewing!]
Before anything else, I really do want to apologize for taking such a damn long time with this update. A lot of stuff has been happening with me, stuff that's made it pretty tough for me to find time to write (I won't bore you with the details here, but if you're curious, I've written up a summary of what I've been up to on my profile page). So: sorry! I have been writing though, so don't you worry, more stuff is coming soon!
And now, I have some bad news… there's not gonna be myth corner for the next few chapters.
I know, I know, I'm sorry, but there's a reason! I'm introducing something else here, and it's called Lateral Files.
What is Lateral Files? And why am I doing it? Well, as you all know, the main purpose of this fic is to tell a P3 story from a different angle than normal. To do that, I've left many things the same, including (of course) most of the normal events in the game's story.
But you already know that. The problem is, I have changed a few things, and some of those things I haven't fully explained yet. That's what I want to do in L.F.: explain things succinctly (well, relatively succinctly) so I don't need to figure out a way to put them into a narrative format in the fic itself.
So! What am I going to be talking about first? It's…
Lateral Files 1: Penthesilea's scanning and communication abilities
After summoning her persona for the first time, Kirijo Mitsuru was hastily subjected to a battery of tests to determine her persona's functions and abilities. Needless to say, the ability of her persona to act as a limited scanner was met with great shock, as the ability was incredibly rare in any format.
Regardless, those tests showed that her ability, although certainly useful, had many limitations. First, Penthesilea's scanning relied entirely on her master's eyes, meaning that when doing in-depth scanning (Obtaining a visual on a team's surroundings, scanning an enemy for weakness, etc.), Penthesliea's summoner would be partially or totally blind to her immediate surroundings. Fortunately, that ability could be turned off, allowing Penthesliea to act only as a communication channel (more on that below) while allowing her user to use her eyes.
Further, due to the persona's need for her master's eyesight, Penthesilea's scanning could not go beyond the third dimension like other scanning personas; hence, she could not scan in two places at once, and would have to split her focus if the group she was monitoring split up.
Last, while Penthesliea could scan for enemy weaknesses, she had no innate memory to recall those things herself, instead relying on her master's memory for that (hence the creation of the Kirijo Shadow Database [which we'll talk about in next week's Lateral Files!]).
In addition to those weaknesses, however, Penthesilea did have an advanced ability shared by all known scanning personas: long-range communication. When her master begins scanning with Penthesilea, it is possible to connect all allied forces to a sort of "network," allowing for easy communication between all members if they simply think of talking on the network. However, the larger the group, the easier it would be for communications to get jumbled when several people are talking at once. That is why Penthesilea's ability to allow for different channels of communication is vital for this ability: simply think of who you wish to contact instead of merely thinking of being "connected," and Penthesliea will connect you with those people alone.
This itself can lead to problems, as in the thick of battle, some communications meant to go to a few people will get sent to the entire network and vice-versa, but overall, the ability for dividing communication into various channels is a life-saver.
Okay, done! What'd you guys think of that? Too long? Too short? Too boring? Or are you just thinking dammit all, give us back myth corner! Lemme hear your thoughts!
Boy, this chapter sure took a while to come out. I wonder how long it'll take for the next one to come out… (And I wonder why I'm bringing this up so specifically at the end of this chapter…)
Anyways, next update, we've got the start of the Priestess battle, and I can't freakin' wait!
'Til next time guys, thanks for reading, and thanks for sticking with me!
[Also, special note: for various... reasons... that should soon become clear, I had to rush the proofreading of this chapter. So if you see any typos, or weird grammatical errors, etc., please let me know!]
EDIT: 1/29/15: Yes, I really do have to do an edit this soon. In this chapter's AN, I referenced "various reasons" that I had to rush proofreading of this chapter. Those reasons were that I was going to surprise you all by posting not only this chapter, but also the 2 priestess battle chapters over the next 2 days, meaning I'd have done 3 chapters in 3 days. It was going to be my apology for taking so damn long with this update... but I'm sorry guys, that's not happening. I actually have written part 1 and a bit of part 2 of the Priestess battle, but it just feels rushed. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but I really want the priestess battle to be as good as I can possible make it. So, I'm gonna take a bit more time to polish that chapter, and get something out there that you all can really enjoy. Sorry again, guys!