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.
To Sodomi, thank you so much for your review, it was so sweet to hear how much you like my story and Natsumi, you won't need to worry as I have no intention of willingly dropping this story so it will be finished. The reason for the Betwixt fact is that I needed a reason why Natsumi got her Persona before Joker showed up in the story because I couldn't do it during without it seeming awkward, a bit of research and the idea of the Betwixt was born and I decided to run the whole nine yards with it. As for Rise, the answer is a hard no on her joining the Phantoms because that just invalidates Futaba's presence and I love Futaba, so I'm not cutting her out, but Rise still going to be involved but more similar to Sae and Sōjirō just with the experience of someone who knows this stuff and can help see things from that perspective. Also, your sentences were fine, could not tell English wasn't your first language. I hope you keep enjoying the story.
I would appreciate any responses that you have, please enjoy.
Chapter 45: - Temperance, Lovers, Hierophant
Kawakami Sadayo very much felt the desire to slump over her desk and simply sleep for the remainder of the day. This whole crazy mess with Kamoshida was dumping more stress on top of her already far too full plate. First there was Kobayakawa putting the transfer student in her class, though at least Amamiya was behaving himself, then of course her damn night job just kept getting worse and it was attracting Chouno's attention due to how exhausted Kawakami was feeling, which the exhausted teacher didn't need. Her regular teaching job was already suffering, but this whole mess was making things worse!
"Kawakami-sensei," A delicate voice spoke. Kawakami jolted up right at the voice she heard and stared right into the green eyes of Chiba Natsumi who looked quite annoyed, even now the Japanese teacher couldn't understand how the ever quiet girl had suddenly changed and seemed to be changing more every day. "You were about to fall asleep," Chiba pointed out. Kawakami stifled a deep yawn behind her lips, not wanting to reveal just how sleepy she actually was.
However, it seemed Chiba must have noticed something. Her tense expression melted away suddenly and worry replaced it, the girl turned her back and quickly walked off, only to return and set her chair right in front of Kawakami's desk which caused the woman to blink in confusion at what she was doing, it was dinner break so Chiba should be out with her friends. It didn't escape the teachers' notice that Chiba, Amamiya, Takamaki, and Sakamoto had suddenly become friends.
"Is everything alright Kawakami-sensei?" Chiba asked. A genuine concern shimmered within her eyes and Kawakami felt terrible, how bad was she looking that one of her own students was going so far as to actually worry about her. "You don't need to tell me any details, but something is clearly depriving you of sleep and that is only dangerous for you," Chiba stated. Kawakami tried to smile but she knew it came out as more of a grimace by the darkening expression of Chiba's face.
"Oh, no. Nothing's wrong Chiba-san," Kawakami lied. There was a lot wrong, but Kawakami felt it was wrong to tell any of this to a student even if they had just asked for the basics; besides that Kawakami knew she couldn't tell anyone about the full reason, her night job that she was too ashamed to even admit she had; but she needed it, it was the only way to atone for what she had done in the past. However, the response was clearly not going to dissuade the young girl seated in front of her
"Fine," Chiba muttered. She shook her head and then grabbed her bag which she reached into and started to pull stuff out, a bentō box followed by a couple of small round containers and a large thermos; this only earned a very confused look from the teacher, as Kawakami didn't quite know what to make of the sudden surge of stuff appearing on her desk from arguably her best student. "You're too exhausted to keep doing you're work. It's clear sleep isn't solving it and as a student I have no right to pry into your private life. But the fatigue will only get worse and I'm not about to let that happen. So, I made you this meal, it's pretty basic but hopefully it will help you," Chiba stated. The girl then stood up and approached the door to leave Kawakami's classroom. "Please take care of yourself sensei," Chiba requested. With that, the girl disappeared out the door.
Kawakami couldn't find it in herself to do more than gape after the girl, it was quite forward of the girl to just do something like this for her and so unexpected as well. But it would probably be rude to ignore such a gift, especially when Chiba had gone out of her way to make something like this. Kawakami reached out to the thermos and twisted the top off in order to look inside.
A clear liquid with no scent greeted her, a quick sip proved it was just basic water as opposed to anything alcoholic, not that she expected that from Chiba, it was actually better than Kawakami had been expecting it to taste. Setting the thermos aside, Kawakami looked in the round tubs, one was filled with a mixture of seeds and nuts while the other was filled with grapes and slices of apple. A lump appeared in Kawakami's throat at the effort that Chiba had put into this.
Swallowing down, Kawakami reached for the bentō box, determined not to fall apart over something like this, Kawakami didn't believe she didn't deserve the kindness Chiba was showing her, so Kawakami was going to keep herself together. A hitch in Kawakami's breath was her response to the sight in the box. Perfectly cooked rice, a diced cube of tofu, a large slice of fish, some leafy greens dotted with tomatoes and peppers.
Placing the lid down, Kawakami took in a deep breath to control herself and prevent the stinging in her eyes from spilling out and over her newly acquired food as she didn't wish to contaminate the effort that Chiba had put into making it. Luckily for Kawakami, she could eat all of the food that had been prepared, Kawakami picked up the chopstick and quickly clapped her hands together.
"Thanks for the food," Kawakami choked out passed the tears she fought down. The food wasn't anything special, but to Kawakami, it was a gift from the gods.
*Persona 5 Royal*
Ann was really glad that Natsumi had agreed to meet her after Ann had gone to see Shiho that day, they rarely got to meet up and go to see Shiho together likely the other day. But Ann still went every opportunity she got so long as no model work got in the way, yet afterwards… after watching Shiho struggle through her work outs, Ann needed someone to talk to. She was already training her heart with Ren and didn't feel right burdening him with more emotions, but Natsumi had been there for her and Shiho from the get-go.
"Enjoying yourself?" Natsumi's voice cheerfully asked. Ann opened her closed eyes and stared into Natsumi's glimmering eyes, they had decided to meet at Inoshakira park and Ann… well despite the mess she had decided to sit down underneath a tree, just to try and get a little more comfortable. "How was Shiho today?" Natsumi asked. The girl didn't even hesitate to sit down beside her friend.
"She's okay, but it'll be a long road to recovery according to the physio, but Shiho's really throwing herself into it," Ann explained. There was such a determination within Shiho when she did any physiotherapy, Ann could understand Shiho wanting to get her full mobility back but it was also a little unnerving for Ann to see Shiho pushing herself so hard, but all Ann could think to do was gently encourage her friend.
"No surprise, on the first day I may have… encouraged her determination as a way to get revenge of Kamoshida," Natsumi revealed. Ann's head snapped over to look at Natsumi who had a slightly bitter smile on her face, but no hint of regret for doing what she did; honestly Ann felt more than a little giddy when she heard the reasoning because it was so perfect.
"That's a good idea. It certainly explains Shiho's fire, I haven't seen her this determined since she first took up volleyball," Ann admitted. The brilliant joy that had shone in Shiho's eyes when she first joined the volleyball team back in middle school and how happy Shiho had been whenever she talked about the sport still gleamed brightly in Ann's mind; it was such a shame that Kamoshida had destroyed that joy.
"How are you handling it, the physiotherapy?" Natsumi asked. Ann frowned as she looked at Natsumi, that was an awfully strange question to ask so suddenly and with how Natsumi's green eyes were boring into Ann – making the model feel like a butterfly about to be pinned in a case – then Ann knew she wouldn't relent without hearing an answer; but Ann needed some serious clarification to answer it properly.
"Me? Why would the physiotherapy affect me?" Ann wondered. After all, she wasn't the one fighting against her own body in order to recover from a suicide attempt, all she could do was be there for Shiho and help her in any way possible; Ann really wished she could do so much more to help her friend but it wasn't like she could take Shiho into the Metaverse and heal her wounds… Ann had already experimented with that secretly.
"Ann-chan, seriously?" Natsumi questioned. Natsumi even proceeded to raise an eyebrow at the blonde model. "Your best friend, the most important person in your life, jumped off a roof and was hospitalised, now you watch her fight to get her body back under her control. That must be difficult for you to watch," Natsumi pointed out. Ann mentally cursed the fact that Natsumi always seemed capable of asking the probing uncomfortable questions.
"Okay… yeah, it is… it's hard to watch Shiho being wheeled about. Legs shaking like a new born animal. She's so tired as well, something I normally never attribute to her. I honestly feel like crying whenever I see her struggling so much," Ann admitted. Ann felt like her throat was suddenly turned into a vice as she got the words out, her blue eyes were staring at the ground.
"And?" Natsumi asked. Ann felt Natsumi shuffle closer and sensed the girl wrap an arm around Ann's shoulders, pulling the model close enough so that their sides were pressed against each other and their opposing hair colour proceeded to mingle together; Ann sniffled slightly as she dragged up the courage to answer the question.
"And I feel so pathetic," Ann answered. It was something she had to do deal with every time she left the physiotherapy, it was so easy in the beginning to watch Shiho work through her exercises and chat with her on the way to the exercise, but afterwards… Ann always had to leave quickly in order to fight down the tears that always seemed determined to spill over her eyelids as she watch, it was only when she was alone that Ann finally cried and this feeling always followed after her.
"Why do think it's pathetic?" Natsumi asked. Her tone wasn't condescending which lightened Ann's tumult slightly, it was instead rather soft and warm sounding; Ann shuffled closer to her new friend despite their already close proximity, but she needed a bit more of the steady presence that Natsumi seemed to radiate with such confidence.
"Because I'm not the one who's bones and muscles were broken from jumping off a roof. Shiho isn't letting one tear slip free, yet I keep feeling like I'm about to turn into a blubbering mess," Ann explained. It really wasn't fair that she felt like crumbling to pieces when Shiho was facing down her treatment with her head held high and a fire in her heart.
"You're wrong you know," Natsumi stated. This caused Ann to jerk backwards and she looked at Natsumi with confusion on her face and a watery stain to her blue eyes. "Shiho is crying, but I think she doesn't want you to worry. Shiho is putting on a brave face, doesn't mean she isn't hurting inside," Natsumi revealed. Well, that just served to make Ann feel even more horrible than she already felt.
"I must be a horrible friend. First, I don't realise that Shiho is being hurt by Kamoshida and now I don't even realise how much she's hurting," Ann cried. The tears finally tumbled from her eyes and she started to sniffle and hiccup, Natsumi pulled Ann back into their embrace with Ann's eyes pressing against Natsumi's shoulder as she felt a slightly calloused hand rub her back through her jersey.
"No, you're not horrible. It's just that Shiho doesn't want to burden you, she knows how much you've been hurt by Kamoshida. I'm sure she just wants you to be free of him. Both of you are so compassionate, but you both need to realise that you can rely upon each other instead of staying silently strong," Natsumi reassured. That caused a scoff to escape from Ann as she proceeded to pull back and wipe away the watery residue.
"Says the pot to the kettle," Ann commented. Despite the croaky sound of her voice, her words were understood when Ann saw Natsumi give her a confused look. "Come on Natsumi, you opened up about Ouvrard but only the bare minimum. None of us know the details but I'm starting to think it was much worse than you told us given how you reacted in the challenge the other day," Ann pointed out.
"That's um…," Natsumi tried to explain. It looked like she was struggling for words and that hurt Ann, not that Natsumi couldn't trust her but how Natsumi couldn't even open up; Ann still trembled when she recalled the stricken expression on Natsumi's face when they saw that statue and how she had gouged red lines into her own throat which, if Morgana had treated when he did, might have turned to rivers of blood.
"I'm not saying that you have to open up to me, but I do think you need to open up to someone. Whether it's me, or Ren, Morgana, Ryūji, Maruki-sensei or even Yusuke since he might know what it's like, but I do know that you can't keep quiet anymore, it'll only end up hurting you even more," Ann insisted. Natsumi sighed and slumped back slightly as she gazed at the ground with a complicated expression on her face.
"You might be right, it's just…," Natsumi began. Ann didn't say anything, opting to simply cup Natsumi's elbows and silently wait for her friend to speak up about what happened. "I'm so used to not talking about it, at least not unless I'm directly asked and that was normally not to check on my health but my progress. My answers were either yes or let Ouvrard explain," Natsumi explained.
"Who the hell is that heartless?" Ann wondered. She couldn't stop herself from saying those words and it truly baffled Ann as to who had such a cold heart that they were completely oblivious as to the suffering of a child that they saw regularly; it looked like there might be someone else in Natsumi's life that was in desperate need of a Change of Heart.
"My uncle," Natsumi answered. That caused Ann to deeply frown at this fact, she couldn't imagine one of her own family members doing something so horrible. "He's the one who took me in after my family died and also the one who brought Ouvrard in," Natsumi added on. That was worse in Ann's mind, Natsumi might still be in danger of being hurt because of this man. Her panic must have shown as Natsumi take Ann's shoulders a gentle squeeze. "It's okay, I don't live with him anymore, so he can't influence my life," Natsumi revealed.
"Good, still sounds like the kind of person who deserves a Change of Heart," Ann commented. A chuckle escaped Natsumi which caused Ann to perk up, Natsumi had a really cute laugh after all.
*Persona 5 Royal*
Sōjirō wiped down the counter, feeling relaxed as the only customers in his café that day were the regulars and not that man. Sōjirō had to take a deep breath in order to avoid trembling with barely restrained rage at the fact that he had been discovered by someone like him; it would cause a lot more problems if he kept sticking around and that was the one thing that Sōjirō wanted to avoid, for the sake of someone so precious to him.
"I'm heading out Sakura-san, goodnight," Amamiya stated. The boy darted passed, Morgana's face just peeking out of the bag that he carried with him, and out the door; Sōjirō didn't have a clue what to make of the boy. He had been accused of assaulting someone – whoever that was, Sōjirō didn't know – but Narukami had sworn up and down that was impossible when he pleaded for the barista to take the boy in.
Even now Sōjirō didn't understand why he'd agreed to take Amamiya in, but nothing to do about it now. His bell jingled and he looked up, silently breathing a sigh of relief upon seeing Natsumi walk in, she gave the usual order and Sōjirō quickly got to work on it. As he worked, the man took notice of how much lighter the girl appeared when compared to how she had been a short time ago when they'd discussed her acquaintance.
"Here you go kid," Sōjirō stated. He set the meal in front of her and watched her green eyes light up, they did that every time and it was like a knife to his chest whenever he saw that expression if only because it reminded him so much of another girl and how she used to light up for his curry. "Are you feeling any better? You were little down the other day," Sōjirō wondered. He didn't like seeing Natsumi unhappy, he couldn't help his daughter but maybe he could at least ensure Natsumi got what she needed.
"Yes, I'm fine Boss. The person I mentioned is safe now, he realised how horrible his situation was and got to safety," Natsumi answered. Sōjirō was relieved to hear that the thing which had caused Natsumi so much pain was over and done with, he slipped into the seat across from the girl as she took a sip of her sweetened coffee.
"Good to hear and to see you looking brighter," Sōjirō admitted. Natsumi tenderly smiled at him as she lifted up the spoon to start digging into his curry with a gleam of enjoyment in her eyes. "You asked a really cutting question the last time you were here Natsumi-chan," Sōjirō commented. That caused Natsumi to pause in her eating, she proceeded to set the utensil down and a small frown appeared on her face.
"I'm sorry about that Boss, I shouldn't have been so probing," Natsumi apologised. Sōjirō was surprised that she looked so remorseful about asking that kind of question, he didn't hold it against her though since she had seemed desperate for some kind of parental guidance; with a warm smile on his face that he reserved for Natsumi, his daughter… and begrudgingly Amamiya, Sōjirō reached over and patted the girl's hand gently.
"Ah, it's alright, you did nothing wrong," Sōjirō reassured. The frown left Natsumi's face and the barista's heart ached in response to the ease with which it left, how Sōjiro wished he could bring a smile like that to his daughter's face, but it felt like she was slipping away from him more with each day that passed; he was desperate to help her but had no idea how to do that.
"By the way, I wanted to know," Natsumi began. Sōjirō felt a tickle run across his body when he heard how serious Natsumi sounded and the stern expression that she happened to have on her face. "Did that shady man show up at all afterwards?" Natsumi asked. A grimace immediately pulled at the barista's lips as he recalled that unwelcomed visitor that he had some weeks ago.
Unfortunately, Arata had returned just the other day, he had been pestering Sōjirō for money once again and the barista hadn't been interested in giving him any, not after what Arata had done. As luck would have it, he'd been tutoring Amamiya on how to brew coffee at the time and that kid had been quick witted enough to pull out his phone and surreptitiously call Sōjirō after the barista had lied about a phone call to get rid of Arata and it had scared him off. The man normally didn't have anyone else's contact info in his phone apart from his daughter, but he was glad that he and Amamiya had that information now.
"Sakura-san! Good to see you again, no brat this time either!" Arata's voice came. Sōjirō lurched up from his seat and saw the man standing in the door with that infuriating fake smile on his face, the man moved over to stand beside the table and Sōjirō was about to tell him to leave when someone else beat him to it.
"Excuse me, sir. But, once again, could you please leave?" Natsumi coolly asked. Sōjirō focused upon the girl and took in the rigidity of her shoulders and the white knuckle grip she had on her cup as she took a sip from it, appearing to Arata as a calm high school student but the ice in her eyes set off warning bells in Sōjirō's head.
"Look girl, don't you give me that kind of lip, I'm just visiting my old friend Sakura-san. So, butt out!" Arata sneered. He even went so far as to harshly jab Natsumi in the shoulder; but the moment he did that, things changed. Sōjirō had been about to snap at him, ordering him to leave or something like that, but he never got the chance because Natsumi beat him to it. Natsumi had somehow sprung to his feet and gripped Arata's hand hard enough to force him back so that she could stand out side of the booth and somehow twisted Arata's arm around to the point she was behind him with her hand braced against his shoulder.
"I don't believe I gave you permission to touch me," Natsumi hissed. All Sōjirō could do was gape in silent shock, he'd never seem Natsumi move or even act like this before and the barista was having a hard time reconciling the normally sweet, quiet, book loving student with this almost fierce and powerful warrior currently bearing down on Arata.
"How dare you, I'll sue you for assault!" Arata yelled. Sōjirō's heart leapt with fear at the prospect of Arata ruining Natsumi's life just because she had stepped up to protect him from Arata's questioning; the man reached out to try and stop Natsumi when a sudden snort of amusement seemed to escape from the girl.
"Really, because what you did was more in line with assault, what I've done is self-defence," Natsumi calmly stated. Sōjirō blinked his eyes in shock at how relaxed Natsumi seemed to be taking this whole situation. "Also, you'll have a hard time proving assault with no injuries and no witnesses. I'm holding you tight enough to immobilise but not bruise and I'm betting Boss doesn't like you so he's on my side not yours," Natsumi explained. Sōjirō had heard enough and gently put a hand on her shoulder, causing blazing green eyes to lock on him.
"Kid, let him go," Sōjirō softly insisted. Natsumi remained silent for a few moments longer before her hand opened, allowing Arata to go stumbling forward since he had been struggling – which only terrified Sōjirō more when he considered the implications that made towards Natsumi's strength – to escape the grip.
"Damn brat," Arata hissed. He grabbed the wrist that Natsumi had held and then turned around to glare at her with a sneer that was too familiar to Sōjirō and every impulse in him urged him forward to bring Natsumi back and shelter her behind him, keep her safe; but Natsumi surprised him once again by taking a single step forward and putting herself directly between Arata and Sōjirō
"Leave!" Natsumi ordered. Natsumi was about average height, but right now she seemed to loom over Arata in a manner that seemed very suffocating with her shoulders thrown back, head held high and legs parallel to her shoulders. "You aren't welcomed here, so leave and don't come back," Natsumi snarled. That caused Sōjirō's eyes to widen as he'd never considered Natsumi to have so much venom in her, Arata seemed to realise it was best to retreat and he did, fleeing out of the door without a backwards glance.
Once Arata left, the oppressive aura that had been emanating from Natsumi seemed to evaporate almost instantly. Her shoulders relaxed and the girl easily walked over to the booth and slipped back into it, acting as if nothing had happened. As if Sōjirō's entire perception of this girl hadn't just been upended in a single event, the barista warily approached and looked down at the girl who still looked the same but Sōjirō was completely baffled.
"Please Natsumi-chan, don't do that again. I don't want you to get hurt," Sōjirō pleaded. He needed to say those words, even if it seemed obvious that Natsumi could take care of herself after that display, he didn't want Arata to have any reason to go after Natsumi; Arata had already ruined one brilliant girl and Sōjirō would never forgive himself if he allowed it to happen again when he could stop it.
"No," Natsumi refused. She set the spoon down with a loud click and Sōjirō couldn't stop his jaw from stopping as Natsumi gave him a burning emerald look. "Even though it's only been twice, I can see that man's presence is hurting you, I may not know why but I don't want someone as kind as you to be hurt," Natsumi insisted. At least that remained the same, the sweetness hadn't been an illusion and for that Sōjirō was grateful.
"And I don't want you getting hurt, you got lucky this time, but what if he's prepared next time!" Sōjirō protested. He didn't want Arata to do anything to harm Natsumi the way he had done to Futaba, even if it seemed that Natsumi was capable of physically protecting herself from any harm; Sōjirō doubted that Arata would stick to physical attacks after seeing the kind of person he was dealing with.
"So, I should just let him keep hurting you?" Natsumi questioned. Her tone was incredulous, likely annoyed that Sōjirō was asking her not to get involved, really the barista couldn't understand why her – or Amamiya for that matter – seemed to like involving themselves in other people's problems, but it also caused some warmth to start bubbling up within his chest at this expression of concern.
"Natsumi-chan… you are really stubborn you know that," Sōjirō stated. He couldn't think of anything else to say towards the girl, she was so stubbornly opposed to standing down against Arata and would likely get herself hurt because of this situation; Sōjirō didn't want her to get hurt but that was quite likely to happen given how obtuse she happened to be acting about this whole issue.
"So are you," Natsumi responded. Sōjirō really couldn't argue with her about that, the barista was well aware of how stubborn he could be; Natsumi let out a heavy sigh as she rested her elbows on the table top. "Look Boss, I'm not saying that you should let me punch him, no matter how satisfying it would be to do so. But you also can't just keep letting him come in here and make your life miserable," Natsumi insisted.
"What makes you think he's doing that?" Sōjirō asked. She wasn't wrong though, Arata certainly was making him miserable by coming into Sōjirō's life and harassing him as he had been doing which was definitely something he could do without; but how did Natsumi know that he was feeling unhappy with Arata pestering him as he had been.
"I thought that was kind of obvious?" Natsumi stated. She even went as far as to shrug her shoulders in response to this comment. "You clearly don't like him being here, your voice is icy whenever he turned up, discussing him makes you uncomfortable, he apparently wasn't meant to know about this place, and he seems to be aware of things in your past that you don't broadcast to others," Natsumi pointed out.
"Well… I can't deny that you're right. But what are you even going to do, Natsumi-chan?" Sōjirō wondered. Just how crazy observant was this girl, and if she noticed all of that stuff then there was every chance that Amamiya had as well; Sōjirō didn't particularly want either kid getting wrapped up in his personal business, though for rather different reasons.
"I'm not going to hurt him, if that's what you're worried about," Natsumi answered. Sōjirō didn't even contain a sigh of relief at knowing that Natsumi wasn't going to do anything violent towards him. "But I'm not just going to stand on the side-lines and be quiet. I'll probably just try to annoy or scare him into leaving, if he ever come back after that display," Natsumi acknowledged.
"I'm not sure whether I should be grateful, or terrified," Sōjirō admitted. And Sōjirō had to wonder just how little he actually knew about this girl.