Catch-22: The Clarity of Moments
By: M14Mouse
Summary: Yu makes a new friend and figures out why Futaba's palace bothers him so.
Disclaimer: Don't own them. Sadness
Many thanks to AKatsinTcups for betaing this chapter.
It doesn't matter where you're going, it's who you have beside you.
-Unknown
Shadow Futaba looked over Yu's shoulder.
"You should go on and catch up with the others. They will worry."
"I don't doubt it. Until later…Futaba-chan," He said with a grin.
He turned around and looked up at the wall of stone. He pressed his hand against one of the boulders seeing if it would move Getting no give from the boulder, he looked around and notice some ledges nearby.
"I should be able to climb up on those…"
"Are sure that it's safe, Sensei?" Lilim asked.
"I will test it once I get up there. Ready?"
Black Frost and Lilim nodded their heads. They made their way up the ledges until they reached the top of the boulders. He put his foot on one of the boulders to test how stable it was from above.
It didn't move.
"It seems safe. Black Frost, ready for a piggyback ride?" He said.
"HEE HOO!"
He grinned as he kneeled to allow Black Frost to get on his back. Once the little shadow was situated. Yu tested the boulder against his new weight before jumping onto it. It took him and Lilim a bit of time to cross the boulders before they made to the ledge. He kneeled back down to allow Black Frost off his back.
Black Frost crawled off his back clapping and bouncing in joy.
"Fun, huh?"
"Hee Hoo!"
"What now, Sensei?" Lilim asked looking around the area.
"We wait for the others."
"Okay…OH! NUE!" Lilim said as she pointed over his shoulder. Nue was sitting in a corner licking its limp paw gently.
He wondered if he hurt his paw.
Lilim and Black Frost rushed over to Nue. Yu smiled slightly as he watched them with Nue. There was a lot of arm waving.
"Come here Sensei! You have to meet Nue!" Lilim called out waving him over.
He walked over to the little group eyeing Nue's paw for an injury.
"Hello, Nue. Is your paw okay?" He said.
"Hello, Mr. Sensei. No…Nue step on something. Nue can't get it out," Nue said with a frown.
"Would you hold it up for me and Lilim to look at it? Lilim is an excellent nurse," He said to Nue.
"Yes, I am but I don't have my bag," Lilim said sadly.
"We'll just look at his paw. If we need anything to patch it, we'll wait for the others to show up."
"Okay…Nue trust Mr. Sensei and Ms. Lilim." Nue said as he showed them his paw.
He took the paw and flipped it over carefully examining it for the foreign object.
Ah.
"There is a nail in your paw. I am going to try to pull it out. It may hurt a little, okay?" He asked looking up at Nue.
"Okay Mr. Sensei," Nue said nervously.
"Ready?"
Nue nodded.
He grabbed the head of the nail and quickly pulled it out.
"OUCH! RAWR!" Nue shouted as pulled his paw away from him.
"There…all gone."
Nue looked down at his paw, seeing nothing in it, before testing putting his weight against it. Feeling no pain Nue took over running around gleefully.
"NUE, Better! Thanks, Mr. Sensei!" Nue said as he tackled Yu to the ground and licked his face.
He laughed as he tried to get up.
"I'm glad."
Finally, Nue let him get to his feet. Once he got back to his feet, he patted Nue's head.
Nue looked so happy.
"I still want to clean out your wound to make sure that it heals properly.,"
"Okay, Mr. Sensei!"
"You could have asked for permission before tackling Sensei like that!" Lilim said.
"Hee Hoo!"
He chuckled softly as he dropped the nail into a nearby vase. He didn't want anyone else to step on it.
"Per…mission?" Nue said in confusion.
"Yes, it is asking for something before doing it," He said.
Nue frowned.
"Mr. Sensei…can you please scratch Nue's head more?" Nue said eagerly.
"Of course. Thank you for asking," He said.
He scratched Nue's mane. Nue's little tail wigged on the floor.
"SENSEI!" A familiar voice shouted.
He turned around to see the others and Nue got up and jumped in front of them.
"RAWR!"
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Ryuji squawked as he stumbled back.
Nue groaned at his students. Black Frost and Lilim ran in front of Nue and started waving their hands to stop him.
"HEE HOO!" Black Frost said as he waved in front of Nue.
"They are friends. You don't hurt friends," Lilim said as she got in front of Nue too,
"Friends? Nue no need to protect Mr. Sensei and friends?" Nue said in confusion.
"That is right. These are my students," Yu said kindly.
"Students? Friends? Do you think if…I asked per…mission…they would scratch my head and rub my belly?" Nue said eagerly.
"I am sure that they will," He said with a smile.
Nue bolted toward his students. It was understandable to see his students react with alarm as Nue stopped in front of Yusuke.
"Mr. Student….Mr. Sensei has been teaching about per…mission. He said…if I ask per…mission…you will scratch my head. Will you scratch my head?" Nue said eagerly.
Yusuke blinked.
"What an endearing creature. I would be delighted to scratch your mane," Yusuke said as he did just that.
"It is very soft."
Nue beamed eagerly.
Ann walked over and reached over to scratch Nue's head.
Nue jumped back.
"PER…MISSION! Ms. Student must ask for PER…MISSION!" Nue said in a panic.
"Oh, I am very sorry! May I scratch your head too?" Ann said with a bow.
Nue beamed.
"Yes, Ms. Student can scratch Nue too!" Nue said.
Soon, everyone was scratching and patting Nue….with permission. It was rather nice to see his newest shadow friend get along with his students.
"Hello, Ms. Human Kitty," Nue said as he got down to Mona level.
"I AM NOT A KITTY…wait…did you say human?" Mona said hopefully.
"Huh huh…" Nue said as he purred.
"SEE! He knows!" Morgana said as he pointed at Nue.
Yu wondered if he should point out that Nue did call him a girl.
Nah…he will just leave that be.
"How about we get moving?" Ren said behind his hand.
He grinned slightly. Ren caught that too.
"YES! Nue will show all the way. Come! Come!" Nue said as he took off down the hall and around the corner.
"Ahh…he is adorable!" Ann said to everyone.
"HEE! HOO!" Black Frost said with his hands on his hips.
"Not as adorable as you."
Black Frost beamed at Ann before he went and grabbed Yu's hand.
"COME COME!" Nue said as he darted back toward him.
"We are never going to get through this palace with him making so much noise," Morgana said.
"I will talk to him," Yu assured Mona.
"We need to hurry before he makes more noise," Makoto added.
The group followed Nue down the hallway to another room were the shadow had stopped and was standing by the door.
"Sad room, Mr. Sensei," Nue said sadly.
"Sad room?" He asked.
Nue nodded his head and went into the room after Ren pulled the lever.
They entered another room similar as before….
"The is the same mechanism as the one we saw before," Makoto said.
"Then we just gotta touch it and make something happen, yeah? C'mon, let's try out," Ryuji said.
Ren touched the panel and another scrambled picture appeared on the wall. Ren and the others started working on unscrambling the picture. Yu took his place on the back wall with Lilim and Black Frost.
"It seems it is complete," Yusuke said as the image become clear to them. It was of Fubata's mother jumping in front of a car.
"Is she jumping in front of a car…?" Makoto questioned in disbelief.
"Could this be the moment when Futaba's mother committed suicide…? Huh…another voice," Ann said sadly.
"F…Fubataaaa….-You….arrrreeee" The female voice resonated throughout the chamber.
"…She died right in front of Fubata's eyes," Ryuji said.
"That's horrible," Makoto added.
"So, did her desire to forget those memories cause her to repress them?" Yusuke said.
"If I take a guess…partly yes…and partly no," Yu commented as he watched as picture vanish and a new opening appeared.
"Sensei?" Ann said prompting him to explain.
"Her shadow self is very aware of her memories even to the point…of acknowledging them. Perhaps, even more so than Futaba herself. There have been moments that she has been out of control. Those moments are few and far in between compared to other shadows that I have seen. Personally, I have only seen a case like this once before,"
"Can I ask…what was the case?" Makoto said.
He nodded.
"You can, but this isn't the right place to explain it. After we are done here, we will sit down at the Sojiro's and I will tell everyone about it."
He didn't want to bring down the mood of the group anymore than it was, specially so close to the treasure.
"It didn't…end well, did it, Sensei?"
He smiled sadly at Makoto. She would pick up on that fact.
"No. I don't want my experiences to cloud yours. It would be best to move forward," He said.
Everyone nodded before jumping down the stairs. Another door opened, the group ran up to be met with another safe room.
Ren slipped in and marked it on his map before they moved on to the next area.
"Wow….these statues are huge," Ann said as she looked up.
"They are. Seeing such divine sculptures in person is exceeding rare," Yusuke said in awe.
"Yeah, I guess you prolly wouldn't be seein' anything this shit if we weren't in a palace," Ryuji added.
"Seriously. This almost feels like a trip aboard or something," Ann said.
Yu made a note of his students' expressions.
Maybe a visit to the new buildings in Kenya and South Africa would be a good trip for them. Of course, that is an excuse for them to go on a vacation.
Hmmmm….
"…I can sense lots of shadows up ahead!" Mona said.
"Yup! YUP! Lots of shadows to eat!" Nue said.
"I don't think that they will taste very good," He said.
"Awww!"
"Don't worry. When I come back, I will bring you some treats."
"TREATS! Thank you, Mr. Sensei."
He chuckled softly as the group moved on. He watched as the group worked together to take out some shadows until they made it to a small opening.
"Nue can't get through there, Mr. Sensei," Nue said as he sniffed the hole.
"Don't worry! I know another way!" Lilim said.
"Hee Hoo?" Black Frost said.
"Yes, that way!" Lilim said as she clapped.
"Uhh…should we be worried?" Ryuji said to Ren.
"Hee Hoo." Black Frost nodded his head yes.
"Well…it is kind of dangerous for you all. But us and Sensei should be fine," Lilim said as she tapped her chin.
"'girls," Ryuji mumbled.
"Don't worry! We will meet you by the next door," Lilim said with a grin.
Everyone looked at each other.
"I will be fine," He assured them with a smile.
"Okay…we will meet you at the next safe room," Ren said hesitating before leading the way into the opening.
He nodded as the others went in after Ren, hearing Ryuji offhandedly complain to Yusuke .
"Man…Sensei is going to have all of the fun, isn't he?"
"Yes, I believe so," Yusuke answered back.
Yu chuckled and shook his head.
"So, what is this way that you talked about, Lilim?" He asked.
"Up! Then Down…then Left…or it is it Right?" Lilim said as she floated around the area. She seemed to be looking for something and pointed the correct way out when she found it.
"RIGHT! Come! Come! Mr. Sensei, Ms. Lilim and Mr. Black Frost, get on!" Nue said as he ran circles around.
"I won't be too heavy for you?" Yu asked.
"NOPE! YOU HAVE PER-MISSION!" Nue said as he crouched down.
"Thank you," Yu said as he helped Black Frost and Lilim onto Nue's back. He slipped on behind them and Nue stood up.
"Are you okay, Nue?" He asked as he held onto Nue's mane.
"NUE is fine! Mr. Sensei is nice. Ready?" Nue said.
"Ready!" Lilim shouted.
Nue took off.
Riding Nue was much like riding a horse. A very big horse.
Jusis would have loved this.
"WEEEE!" Lilim shouted as they jumped over walls and rushed down hallways.
"HEE HOO!"
It was utterly nerve wrecking at first. The bumps and sudden turns but…once, he got over it.
It was kind of fun.
"LOOK! A Shadow!" Lilim said as she pointed ahead of them.
"Slow down a little bit Nue," He said as he drew his sword.
Nue slowed down a little bit…just enough for Yu to cut the shadow in half.
"WHOA!" Lilim shouted.
"HEE HO!" Black Frost cried in excitement.
"THAT WAS AWESOME! LET'S DO AGAIN, MR. SENSEI!" Nue said as he rushed down another hallway.
He laughed.
They rushed down hallways, corridors, and rooms, killing three more shadows before stopping in front of a safe room and climbing off Nue's back.
"Thank you, Nue. May I pat you to say that you were a good boy?" Yu said.
"YES! YES! THAT WAS FUN! Mr. Sensei is so much fun. Can Nue come with Mr. Sensei?" Nue said as he brushed his mane against Yu's hand.
"Of course."
"YAY!"
"ooo…look, it's Futaba-chan," Lilim said as she pointed down the hallway. He watched as Futaba-chan walk into another room.
"MS. QUEEN FUTABA!" Nue shouted as he took off.
"We should probably go after him," Yu sighed.
"Hee Hoo…" Black said as he nodded his head.
"Sensei is right…" Lilim agreed with a sigh of her own..
He chuckled and offered Black Frost his hand. Black Frost took it and their little group walked down a hallway to another room with a row of tombs on either side. Futaba-chan was sitting on a large table at the end with Nue sitting on floor in front of the table.
"Can Ms. Queen Futaba please scratch my belly? You have per…mission!" Nue said as he hopped on his feet eagerly.
Futaba-chan looked conflicted between confusion and wanting to go down and scratched his belly.
"If it helps…he doesn't bite," Yu said as he approached the altar.
"You're late. I thought that you were dead," Futaba-chan said.
"Aww…didn't know that there was a timetable," He teased.
"…I'm not sure. There's not much left at this point though."
"Time…or things to show them?"
He sighed when Futaba vanished without answering.
"RAWR!"
He stepped back as Mot appeared in front of them. He saw Naga and Lamia beside him.
"NOT ANOTHER ONE!" Lilim said with a huff.
"WHO DARES INTRUDE UPON THE PEACE OF THIS HOLY GROUND? THIS IS THE PHARAOH'S TOMB. NONE MAY DISTURB HER SLUMBER," Mot shouted.
"We didn't, you stupid head. We were invited," Lilim said as she threw a vase at the Naga. It hit Naga right in the face.
Nice shot.
Although….
….Where did she get that vase from?
Nue jumped on top of Mot preventing him from attacking. He growled at the coffin shadow.
"RAWR! NUE WILL EAT YOU AND YOU WILL TASTE AWFUL!"
Black Frost frozen the lamia with his ice attack then he used miracle punch to destroy it. Lilim continued to attack the Naga with vases until he took mercy on the poor shadow and finished it off..
"Get off of me! GET OFF OF ME, MOONCALF!" Mot shouted.
"Nue is no mooncalf!" Nue growled.
"Nue, I am going to need you to get off. So, I can open him up and destroy him," Yu said.
"Hear, that! Mr. Sensei is going cut you down and Nue will eat you and you will taste awful!"
"NO, I WILL PROTECT HER TOMB!" Mot shouted.
"Nope. Nue and Mr. Sensei decided that you will be cut up and eaten!"
"No….No…No…I will not be eaten! My Queen help me!"
"Yes, you will. Even if you taste awful! Ready, Mr. Sensei?" Nue asked.
He nodded as he put his blade in front of Mot. Nue got off the coffin shadow but instead of opening himself up to attack. Mot kept his door shut and started hoping down the hallway.
"I will not be eaten. I will not be eaten!" Mot shouted as he hopped out of the hallway and passed Yu's students who were at the opening of the room.
He heard Isis laughing inside of his head.
"Wow…Nue…you really scared him," Lilim said in awe.
"Nue knows! Nue is awesome. Hey, Mr. Sensei….what is a mooncalf?" Nue asked.
"A foolish person," He said as he waved at his students. His students came over to where they had gathered.
"Nue is not foolish! Nue will go after Mot and eat him," Nue said with a growl.
"Sooo….do we ask what happened?" Ren asked to them with a smirk.
"Man, I told you….Sensei has all of the fun," Ryuji said with a sigh.
"Nue is awesome!" Nue said proudly.
"That he is. I don't think that we have much more to go. Futaba-chan hinted as such," Yu said.
"That's great!" Ann cheered, "Did she say anything else?"
He shook his head.
"Okay, let's move on," Ren said.
The group nodded as they headed forward.
He watched his students fight some shadows with ease. They are getting much better at fighting, he could see them improving and working well as a team.
It made him smile.
They crossed floating green platforms and jumped over the statues that they saw when they first came in.
That was kind of cool.
Finally, they made it to another room where the light was pointed to the mural.
"The mural should display on the front wall now, right?" Ann said.
"I'd expect so. Joker, if you please," Makoto asked.
Joker pressed the button on the panel…another scrambled picture appeared.
"Wait, what? I can't even begin to tell what this one is," Ann said.
"It may be a rather difficult puzzle for us to solve…" Makoto said.
Ren nodded his head as he got to working on unscrambling the picture.
"Yes, we finished it!" Ann shouted in celebration.
"A child pulling on her mother's clothes?" Yusuke said.
"…Mom…" Futaba's voice echoed through the chamber.
"More voices," Ann said sadly.
"I'm…I'm tired of eating dinner alone all of the time. It's always just convenience store bentos. I wanna go somewhere. Take me on a trip," Futaba-chan said.
Yu's heart twisted in his chest. He spoke those words so many times to his parents…
He forgot how many times those words went unanswered….
"The one clinging to her mother would be Futaba-chan, right?" Ann said.
"Don't be so selfish! You know I'm working hard to support you, right?! Ugh!" Futaba's mother's voice rang out in reply..
"She seemed pretty angry…Is that the maternity neurosis the voice from earlier mentioned?" Makoto said.
"I thought it was pretty normal for a child to want to spend time with their parents though…" Ann said.
"Panther is right. It is normal. But…." He said in frustration.
This place had been bothering him from the beginning. He just couldn't pinpoint it yet.
"And…it looks like Futaba was pretty lonely growing up."
"So these incidents compounded, forcing her mother to suicide…?" Yusuke said.
Yu rubbed the bridge of his nose as he closed his eyes. He felt a headache forming.
"…I must die…." Futaba-chan said.
"Huh?" Ann said in confusion.
Focus…Yu…He needed to work this out. The answer was right in front of him.
He remembered Naoto telling him to take one clue at a time. He'd find the answer that way.. He knew it.
"I killed her….That's why I'm here in this tomb…" Futaba's voice said.
First the mural of her mother's suicide…she witnessed it. It didn't surprise him that the moment was presented to them in a palace.
No…what bothered him was the voices…they called her a murderer….
Normally, adults wouldn't call a child that…..
Unless it was personal….
Unless it was a grudge….
"Don't say that!" Ann shouted.
Or….
The third mural….her mother was at a desk…a computer.
"I will die…"
"Futaba-chan!" Ann shouted.
His eyes snapped open and he let out a curse.
"Sensei?" Makoto said in surprise.
"I figured it out. Part of it…."
"Come on…share! Because that Futaba isn't the one that has been dragging us through this palace!" Ryuji said.
"I can only answer part of it because I am not sure what Futaba's mother was working on."
"Working on?" Morgana asked.
"Yes…what she was working on. She heard voices…she was seeing things before she threw herself in front of that car. Symptoms of a mental shutdown, correct?"
Morgana's eyes widen.
"That is right! From what we gathered…it lasted a few days. She must have had a strong will to last as long as she did," Morgana said.
"Then why target Futaba-chan?" Ann asked.
"Because she was the closest to her mother. She might have heard something about her mother's work. Since…Akechi didn't want any lose ends….but why wait now?" Makoto said.
He pointed to Ren then the rest of his students.
"Holy shit because of us," Ryuji said.
"Partly…yes. Partly, he thought that she would undo herself. Since, she didn't…he moved it along," He said as he turned away from his students. Black Frost squeezed his hand and he smiled softly. Lilim looked at the empty space in sadness.
Nue laid on the floor with a sorrowful expression on his face.
Oh…Akechi.
"…Sensei…is she growing weaker?" Yusuke asked softly.
"It is possible. With the tv world, if the person doesn't accept their true self, the shadows attack them. That world also saps your strength…makes you weak. I tend to like to make my travels in one trip. It gave my friends time to recover. Here…since the person is the ruler…Mona can correct me if I'm wrong …the distortion can destroy them more so than the shadows."
"Sensei is right. I have seen it…maybe twice. It is painful to watch because you can't reach them…or their treasure," Morgana said sadly.
"Well…we need to stop talking and save her!" Ann said.
"Ann…," He said softly to calm Ann down.
"I…sorry…"
"You have no need to be sorry. We want to save her, remember?" He said with a smile.
"Right!"
The group started to work the way down to the stairs again. The door opened to reveal another door…this time in caution tape and a sign that read keep out.
"It's open…but what's this?" Ann said.
"Hey, this ain't openin'…Think there's way to open it somewhere else?" Ryuji said as he started pulling on the tape.
"Hm?…this door…." Makoto said.
"…It looks familiar…" Morgana said.
"Where have you seen it, Mona?" He asked.
"It's Futaba's room!" Makoto exclaimed.
"That's right!" Mona added.
"Why ain't it openin'?" Ryuji said.
"It must be her cognition that no one can enter it," Morgana said.
"Ms. Queen Futaba. Nue knows Ms. Queen is sad. Can Nue please lick your face to cheer you up?" Nue said in excitement.
He turned around to see Futaba behind them. Her eyes looked from Nue to him…then to Ren.
Heh…
"Uhh…no…maybe later?" Futaba said in confusion.
Ahhh….
"But I'm surprised that you made it this far. Beyond lies the Pharaoh's Chamber."
"Ah…the treasure," He said.
"Indeed, however you need my permission to open this door."
"PER-MISSION! Nue will get permission then Ms. Queen Futaba will scratch his belly," Nue said in excitement.
"Shhh…." Lilim said to Nue.
Nue frowned and laid on the floor.
"Then open it for us," Ryuji said.
"I cannot. You must have her invite you in," the shadow said.
"What the eff…Ain't this your palace?!"
"Skull… I think that we need the real Futaba's permission."
"Sensei is right."
"So, we need Futaba-chan open her room and let us in?" Ann clarified.
"Considering that you made it all the way here, you may be able to do it…" the shadow said as she floated away.
"It looks like we have to go back," Ann said.
"But I remember Boss saying that she won't let anyone in…" Makoto said.
"Right. She's a serious shut in," Ryuji added.
"How will we convince her to allow us entry?" Yusuke said.
"Standing around here won't help. We'll have to give a try. That is what she wants after all," Makoto said.
He stared at the door and tilted his head slightly.
"Have you thought of bringing her here might open the door?"
"You can't bring someone into their own cognitive! That isn't how it works!" Morgana argued.
Yu shrugged.
"Just an idea. Besides, she and her shadow can have a conversation. It might help accept her true feelings. Making it easier to change her heart."
"That might work in the tv world but it won't work here."
"True."
Morgana looked like he was about argue back then realize Yu agreed with him.
Ann shook her head.
"We have to try…even if we have to force our way in."
"Someone sure is stoked about this…" Ryuji said.
"We have no choice but to sneak in again," Yusuke added.
"It is your call when you want to do this, Joker," Ann said.
"Leave it to me," Ren said.
"So…you're doing your calling card now?"
"Yup! Hey, Fox. Give me the one that Alibaba sent us," Ryuji said.
"Skull…"
"Come on. We have to announce it! Besides, we have to show Sensei how it is done. Queen is going to help me write it."
"Oh…that explains it."
"Explain what?"
"Why the last one was an improvement over the others…"
"HEY!"
End of The Moments of Clarity
Next Chapter: The Calling Card
A/N: Now, we have Nue. XD I based him off of Doug from Up. I also paid homage to the fact that I thought Mona was a girl for a bit in the beginning of the game. Sorry, Mona…blame it on your name! To answer my reviewer, there is a Hulu show called Catch-22. It caught me for a moment when I saw it. We are almost finished her palace! YAY! Anyway, thanks for the wonderful reviews, favorites, kudos, etc.